Counterfeit Hero

”You’re overthinking it.” Fang Xiang placed a hand on Fatty’s shoulder and said softly, ”This is war, isn’t it? War always involves sacrifices. The means of war is slaughter. If someone wants to fight you, the only thing you can do is defeat them. Losses will always happen, but as long as you can keep them within an acceptable range, that’s a victory. There’s no war without casualties.”

”In one battle I lost twenty-seven percent!” Fatty lamented, his face twitching with pain, ”By the second battle, I can only fight with three-quarters of my forces, losses will reach up to fifty percent. By the third battle, I’ll be completely annihilated!”

”Though there are many madmen,” Fang Xiang said, ”It’s not certain you’ll come across all of them. If this was reality, I wouldn’t fight you this way. If I found I couldn’t crush your fleet, I’d retreat.”

”What if I run into them?” Fatty worriedly pursued the thought.

Fang Xiang smiled and said, ”You can run away.”

”What if I can’t escape or have to fight?” Fatty stubbornly continued to probe.

”Alright...” Fang Xiang felt overwhelmed by Fatty’s questions and held out two fingers, ”First, you need to be strong enough. This time it’s a one-on-one battle; you can turn it into two-on-one, three-on-one, or even ten-on-one! Second...”

”What’s the second?” Fatty asked eagerly.

”You need to possess superior command skills, above all your opponents. Use tactics and strategy to make up for a lack of strength.” Fang Xiang explained, ”It’s not impossible, though I don’t know how you do it. At the very least, from your simulation capabilities, you already have the foundation to become a great military strategist. I believe, in terms of individual simulation ability, even Sobel and Hastings aren’t necessarily better than you. Although in real warfare, simulation is only part of military decision-making, typically completed collectively by the Staff Department, having exceptional simulation ability also means more accurate judgment and more comprehensive command.”

”Hastings... Sobel...” Fatty softly mouthed these names.

The war was far from over, and no one knew what kind of enemies they’d encounter on the road to revitalizing Leray.

Fang Xiang was right; now the most important thing is to enhance the bandit army’s strength and his own abilities! Otherwise, in the face of the mighty Western Alliance and those crazy great generals, the bandit army will be easily crushed to pieces.

”How’s it going?” Fang Xiang checked the time, ”Execute the plan?”

Fatty snapped back to reality, looked at Fang Xiang seriously and said, ”Although you’ve agreed to the battle plan...I still understand your good intentions. I know, you’re reminding me that the bandit army can’t afford any losses. If the commander of that escort fleet is crazy, we’ll suffer. So I’ve decided...”

Fang Xiang looked at Fatty with satisfaction. Fatty’s words made her feel that although she had lost this confrontation, her gains were far more valuable than winning.

”...let’s still give it a try.” Fatty blinked with a confused logic, seemingly surprised at Fang Xiang’s gritted-teeth expression.

”The attack site is very close to the Mars Free Channel; if we can’t win, we can run! The bandit army needs to grow.” Fatty concluded, then watched Fang Xiang leave the simulation room angrily, licking his lips.

Shush, this sister’s walking in high heels is quite graceful.

Ten minutes later, as Fatty crossed the long metal corridor of the port hall and appeared on the dock, Fang Xiang, Carl, and Markovich were already waiting at the entry ramp of the battleship [Holy Sword].

Fatty raised his head, outside the transparent dome windows of the port, another majestic battleship [Holy Light], cruisers [Magic Cube], [Magic], [Scorpion], [Demon King], [Magic], [Magic Blade], and twenty-two [Fierce Bandit] grade armed merchant ships and four electronic ships of the bandit army fleet, were already floating high in space outside the port.

The tawny planet orbiting the satellite where the base is located blocked most of the sky. The starlight made this planet like a mottled bright and dark jade disc, with a hazy white meteorite belt, dreamy and picturesque. Twenty-nine warships were quietly waiting in this tawny light sphere, with the blue flow of their steering propulsion like countless gathering blue floating tadpoles.

Fatty walked into the battleship. The heavy hatch slowly closed. The battered external armor spread out along the tracks covering the battleship’s hull, wrapping the entire battleship.

As the battleship slowly floated into space, Fatty’s voice echoed through the broadcast on all the warships.

”I’ll tell everyone what we’re getting ready to do.” Fatty leisurely crossed his legs, munching an apple while delivering the pre-battle briefing, ”This time, our mission is to find the Suss Fleet. Follow them, hit them, grab their stuff and run. We’ll make them as frustrated as possible. It’s time those bastards paid the price.”

Fatty’s words sparked laughter. Especially the crew members from pirate and mercenary backgrounds were quite thrilled. The phrase from the commander Fatty, who would rather die than lose advantage, really hit home.

”I don’t like categorizing our actions as revenge.” Fatty said, ”Revenge is always passive. We should have the right mindset, actively bullying our enemies in the most vicious ways we can imagine. Again and again, tirelessly, until they’re tormented and their spirit breaks.”

”I especially allow you to unleash every bit of darkness and venom from deep within your hearts. You can spit and rub your noses on your enemies’ faces... There’s nothing to worry about, this is a war that won’t end until one’s death. I’m no moral standard-bearer.” Fatty puckered his lips and blew a whistle, ”Follow me, this is a trip for letting off steam.”

The fleet accelerated amid the cheers and bizarre cries of the bandit soldiers.

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. Amitabha Buddha, I have practiced five thousand dharma for three days, dear patrons, please bestow monthly tickets. It’s actually not easy asking for monthly tickets every day, in a variety of ways.

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. (To be continued, if you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)