Counterfeit Hero

”Where has the Northern Commerce Alliance’s forces moved to now?”

Chuck strode up to the electronic sandbox, lowering his head to scrutinize the blinking cursor and the virtual terrain where mountains and valleys were vividly detailed. He was growing impatient with this tedious battle.

”The Blood Shadow Mecha Group’s four battalions of the Northern Alliance have already left Central City west and are assembling 25 kilometers east of Puluo Town. They are preparing to maneuver southwest through the ring road,” the staff officer standing beside the sandbox quickly answered, glancing at his wristwatch. ”However, the bandit army has destroyed most of the roads between Central City west and Puluo Town, so their progress is slow. It’s expected to take another two hours to reach the designated location.”

”Two hours! Is this their most elite Armored Group?” Chuck sneered, his eyes roaming over the sandbox. ”What about the northern line? I remember they have two Armored Groups departing from the Northern Industrial Zone of Central City. Where are they now?”

”Those are two Mixed Formation Groups of the Northern Alliance,” the military staff officer said, ”They are advancing even slower. Ever since the bandit army’s long-distance raid on Silicon Valley, the area roads have been turned into a muddy quagmire. Now, they have just passed through Silicon Valley by the outer agricultural area’s small roads, still 200 kilometers from Puluo Town.”

”These idiots, is this their so-called coordinated attack?” Chuck slapped the electronic sandbox in anger.

”Colonel, those guys are trying to grab the ready-made,” said a military staff officer with brown hair and sickly pale skin. ”When we attacked Lille Port, our militia allies got a taste of this, with a thousand ’Far East Victory’ mechas and over a dozen ’Sly Foxes,’ causing the collapse of the world’s largest faction. This time, with us serving as the main attacking force, they seem to think they can swagger into Puluo Town.”

”Stupid merchant organization...” Chuck sneered, ”Always playing their little tricks. I really don’t know how the Military Department could choose such a bunch of trash... Contact Selwal, order his troops to speed up and join the attack quickly. The precious lives of the Suss Empire warriors are not for sacrifice on this filthy planet.”

”Yes!” A military staff officer departed to comply with the order.

Chuck turned his gaze to the virtual screen. In the long-range viewer monitoring image of the electronic mecha, the 7th attack by the 402nd Group had ended in failure once again. The remnants of dozens of ’Boxing King’ mechas piled up on the not-too-steep slope of Hill 205, burning fiercely. The retreating Suss mechas, under the enemy’s fierce artillery, scattered like ants, hastily retreating back to the staging area.

Looking at the less than 500 meters wide terrain of Hill 205, Chuck’s face turned iron-blue, and he promptly issued orders contrary to the precious lives of Suss warriors: ”Order the First and Second Battalions of the 402nd Group to immediately reorganize and launch another attack. Tell them, anyone who dares to retreat even one step will be executed on the spot! Command the Third Battalion to follow behind and reinforce the attack, even if it means sacrificing their lives. By nightfall, this high ground must be taken!”

Chuck could not bear to be ridiculed by his Suss comrades after the war—two full-strength armored groups unable to capture a single high ground. To him, the honor of Suss military was far more valuable than the lives of Suss soldiers.

The creaking sounds of metal grinding and the clamor resumed. The staging area of the Suss Armored Group was charged with the loud shouts of officers barking commands and reading out freshly received orders. The battered ’Boxing King’ mechas, retreating with gray faces, reformed their assault formation amidst the roaring engines and commands, regaining a semblance of their former sharpness.

The few failures previously did not mean much to the Suss army. Although the high ground occupied by the enemy was not very steep, it was a complex terrain, and the narrow slope could not accommodate many mechas attacking at the same time. The enemy’s powerful firepower was also beyond anyone’s pre-battle estimations. During the first attack, the Suss soldiers almost thought they had run into a main force of one of the Fei Alliance countries.

After several probing attacks, the 402nd Group lost nearly 200 mechas across two battalions, but the enemy was also suffering. Their resistance weakened with each assault. Several times, mechas from the First Battalion had even breached the enemy trenches. If it weren’t for those cunning traps with leg mines buried in pieces across the battlefield, and their desperate final attacks, the 402nd Group would have been roasting meat and camping on Hill 205 long ago.

Colonel Chuck had issued a death order, and the officers were tensely preparing for a pre-battle mobilization. Over a hundred ’Boxing Kings’ and a dozen ’Fortress’ mechas furiously unleashed artillery fire at the enemy high ground from the slope of the staging area. Behind them, a thousand mechas formed three assault formations. This time, retreat was not an option. If the entire First Battalion fell in the attack, the Second Battalion would fill in, and if the Second Battalion also perished, the Third Battalion would charge forward—until the position was completely taken!

Concentrating superior forces to forcefully pierce a point on the enemy’s line was a tactic the Suss army was very familiar with. They had done this countless times before. The only difference was, in the past, their opponents had been Armored units of Chuckna or other countries. This time, they were facing infantry from the Free World.