Counterfeit Hero

When Carl’s fingers stopped, time, distance, speed, number of ships, and types of vessels were fully displayed.

”And what about our ambush location?” Cecilia pressed on.

”This is our ambush position.” Carl pointed out several markers on the virtual screen, but his eyes never met Cecilia’s. His big head bobbed around; whatever Cecilia said, he answered, maintaining a very proper attitude.

Fatty sneered, this Radish Head has a guilty conscience!

”Here’s the U2 Jump Point of the third segment of the main channel. It takes at least ten hours from our location,” Cecilia said sarcastically, ”If we add the time squeezed by the enemy’s advance scout ships, should I assume we only have a two-hour window to set an ambush in this dangerous obstacle zone? Don’t you think it’s too risky?”

”It’s a bit risky...” Carl nodded, then quickly added, ”But the value of this fleet far exceeds the other transport fleets we’ve been tracking. Besides, given the speed of our fleet’s warships, we can arrive at the ambush point two to three hours in advance to complete the ambush concealment.”

Fatty saw Carl shaking his big head, his eyes bloodshot. He hadn’t slept in a long time because of these operational plans.

Since they started working together in the 6th Research Room, Fatty knew Carl’s life ambition was to become a Great General on the rankings.

For this, despite his seemingly nonchalant appearance, this Radish Head has made significant efforts in military theory and battle analysis research. Combined with his innate talent, he had already displayed his brilliance and formed his tactical thoughts and style when he was still a trainee staff officer.

He’s a genius who likes to walk on a tightrope.

This assessment was the conclusion Fatty reached after countless simulation confrontations with Carl.

At that time, Fatty was still a complete novice in military command. If it weren’t for his bizarre, lightning-fast Simulation Technique, Carl would have crushed him numerous times.

Carl’s tactics always liked to take risks. However, his genius lay in choosing tactics that often surprised others and possessed great deception. Several times, even after repeated simulations, Fatty couldn’t discern Carl’s killer move. Several countermeasures he deployed were effortlessly neutralized by Carl. It wasn’t until post-war research that Fatty realized Carl wasn’t at ease either. In some places, it was merely a paper-thin difference. A slight brute force push from him might have broken through.

However, during the confrontations, Fatty distinctly felt that he chose the wrong direction and couldn’t possibly commit more forces in that direction.

After understanding Carl’s characteristics, Fatty started playing the rogue in confrontations. For instance, even though simulations showed Carl had solid protection on the flank, Fatty deliberately concentrated forces for a fierce attack. Even though Carl’s strategic deployment strictly guarded against ambushes, Fatty insisted on launching one during the most intense combat.

This unreasonable and data-lacking approach made Carl extremely apprehensive. He couldn’t understand how Fatty saw through his tactics. When he asked Fatty, that rascal merely smiled faintly, feigning deep knowledge and refusing to speak.

Finally, Carl had no choice. Determined, he abandoned his self-perceived unique, die-hard risky tactics, and instead mixed falsehood with reality, causing Fatty to suffer considerable losses until he left the Staff Department.

On his record, Carl might not have any noteworthy achievements. Yet, based on Fatty’s understanding, he’s undoubtedly a rare tactical genius, a strategist who likes to use unconventional methods and knows how to alternate between reality and deceit. Moreover, war has made him increasingly mature! This time, when forming the Combat Department of the bandit army, Fatty directly appointed Carl as the Chief of Staff.

Fatty trusted his judgment, but others did not see it the same way.

With no praiseworthy achievements and not a single standalone operational plan that was smoothly executed, making such a novice the Chief of Staff of the Combat Department seemed like a joke. Even though there were positions like Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and other department heads in the Combat Department, the current bandit army’s Combat Department only had one team with twelve staff officers! Carl was essentially the primary staff officer.

This position, equivalent to the brain of the bandit army, being under Carl’s command, was unsettling for anyone.

And this was Carl’s first time executing the duties of Chief of Staff, taking on this heavy responsibility alone, and his first independently devised operational plan that would soon be implemented.

The bandit army didn’t have the resources for Carl to pay the price of learning, so all he could do was fight desperately.

This was his first battle, his first test on the path to becoming a Great General. He didn’t want to mess it up.

Fatty watched Carl quietly as he argued with Cecilia. Originally, this Radish Head only needed to choose a weaker target to safely submit his answer. However, upon discovering this newly identified logistics fleet, he still chose his own tactical style.

This person is a stubborn madman too!

Cecilia was not satisfied with Carl’s explanation, ”Major Carl, arriving two to three hours earlier doesn’t guarantee we’ll reach the designated position and successfully conceal ourselves. Moreover, we’re facing the Suss Fleet, which is not weaker than us. Can you assure with your four-star Simulation Level that your simulation is completely flawless...”