Chapter 387.1: My Good Brother... Lend Me Your Head Please

On the southwest side of Lucky Valley Municipality, a motley crowd dressed in various attire was moving in a crooked formation toward the northeast side of the city, led by 10 soldiers draped in black robes.

The group was dressed in mismatched clothes, and they were made up primarily of local survivors who were formerly scavengers, hunters, and even farmers and herders.

In the Army, such troops composed of survivors from territories they occupied or ‘non-core populations’ were usually referred to as their reserve soldiers.

Unlike the well-equipped Army soldiers, these men not only showed signs of malnutrition on their gaunt faces but also had equipment so rudimentary it was inferior even to some of the slightly stronger marauders.

Each person was issued a Ripper rifle and received either 10 or 30 rounds before battle. Once those were exhausted, they had to pick up rounds from fallen comrades or resort to bayonets for close combat.

Moreover, they had not undergone any professional training before. At most, they would have dealt with some mutated roaches and rats.

However... In reality, there was no need for training.

In the eyes of the Army soldiers, these people were merely cheap cannon fodder. They were used to deplete the enemy's ammunition.

No one expected them to return alive. In fact, it was preferable if they didn't.

Of course, that was just the viewpoint of the majority within the Army.

Those tagged as cannon fodder, however, did not see themselves this way.

The Army promised them that if they survived three battles, they would be considered one of their own and have the chance to be promoted to a decurion. If they survived six battles, they might be promoted to a centurion.

Actually, there was another shortcut available!

The head of a certain Deathclaw was on a table for a fast track at promotion!

Just bringing back the beast's head would not only secure a centurion's rank but also a reward of 10 slaves!

Hearing about such a boon, many survivors who had signed up for the retinue army eagerly volunteered to join the hunting party.

Though the Deathclaw's reputation was terrifying, actual survivors who had seen, and even more rarely, survived, an encounter with the creature were few.

In the imagination of most survivors, supported by artillery and various anti-armor weapons, facing a beast that could be killed with a bit of effort seemed much easier than clashing with the elite forces of the Enterprise in the jungle.

After all, those were the same forces that had confused and overwhelmed the Army. Facing those adversaries, one might be sent to meet the Great Stag God without even seeing the enemy...

Li Ba caressed his rifle as fascination was written all over his face. He had never touched such a finely crafted rifle before.

In his village, the double-barreled shotgun owned by the old hunter next door was considered an extraordinary weapon.

He had long dreamed of having one.

Glancing at him, Battlefield Cheerleader wanted to comment that the gun was pretty much trash, but his command of the language was so poor that he couldn’t express it. In the end, he swallowed whatever he wanted to say.

However, as he shifted his gaze away, Li Ba suddenly initiated a conversation. "Bro, you're from Baker Street, right?"

"Yes."

"Are there Deathclaws there?"

He looked anxious, but beyond that, Battlefield Cheerleader unexpectedly saw a hint of excitement.

He could tell that Li Ba was someone who hadn't experienced combat and likely harbored some unrealistic fantasies.

Battlefield Cheerleader responded briefly. "Yes."

Li Ba’s eyes widened in shock. "Awesome! Have you seen one?"

A smile appeared on Battlefield Cheerleader’s face. "Heh, more than just seen."

They are a common sight.

There was a big one outside the shelter, a smaller one inside. Occasionally, a couple of Deathclaws would wander near the nuclear crater in Elm District.

He had long become desensitized to them.

Li Ba's eyes lit up, immediately following up with another question. "Are Deathclaws tough?"

"Pretty average, just able to slap a person's head off and gut someone with a swipe."

Hearing what he said, Li Ba's face turned slightly pale. "Really?"

Battlefield Cheerleader chuckled. "Just kidding. Why don't you try it out later?"

Li Ba didn't respond.

Seeing his frightened look, Battlefield Cheerleader didn't continue to tease him and instead comforted him with a smile. "Don't worry, we probably won't see that guy today."

Li Ba was puzzled and he asked with a frown, "Why?"

"Just a hunch."

Of course, Battlefield Cheerleader wouldn't tell him that he had already leaked their plan to his brothers in the Storm Corps.

Xiangling Town was the entrance to Shelter 79.

Before they made any progress in the raid on Shelter 79, they wouldn't let the Army deal with the gatekeeper boss.

Looking up at the sunlight crawling over the treetops, Battlefield Cheerleader muttered to himself, "They should be reaching soon..."

Almost as he finished speaking, a loud explosion suddenly erupted from the housing area ahead.

A tracer streaked across the sky, and heavy body armor shattered into pieces as a soldier in a black robe was blown away like a broken kite, his upper body a bloody mess.

Surprise flashed through Battlefield Cheerleader’s eyes.

Nice shot!

An anti-material rifle against a person... That's harsh!

He recognized the sound all too well. It was the New Alliance's 20mm Cavalry, which could use armor-piercing, high-explosive, or incendiary rounds.

This weapon was excellent against both infantry and mutants. Four of them mounted together could serve as anti-aircraft guns, or each could be detached to be used as a sniper cannon.

It was incredibly versatile.

"Ambush!"

"Everyone spread out! Find cover!"

"Quick!"

Although caught off guard, the black-robed soldiers, being well-trained soldiers, reacted immediately to the attack.

The officer in the black robe shouted loudly, leading the three remaining subordinates to nearby cover. The survivors also quickly regained their senses and sought nearby cover.

However... Their opponents were clearly no weaklings.

Almost the instant the thunderous gunfire erupted, machine guns deployed in the windows unleashed torrents of bullets on them.

7mm bullets poured down like rain, whipping up a bloody storm on the street directly in front of them.

Those who couldn't dodge in time fell like harvested wheat, instantly incurring over a dozen casualties. The remaining soldiers, though they scattered to cover, were pinned down by the fierce gunfire, unable to raise their heads.

At the first sound of gunfire, Li Ba was completely stupefied.

He didn't even know how he had gotten behind cover. All he heard were bullets whizzing by as sparks, debris, and cement chips flew everywhere.

Hugging his rifle, he sat against a damaged concrete wall. His pale lips trembled but he couldn’t utter a word.

Just three meters away from his feet on the street lay a horribly mangled body. There was no double that person was dead, but their legs were still twitching.

Letting go of the hand that had been clutching Li Ba's collar, Battlefield Cheerleader glanced at the corpses littering the nearby street.

Although those deceased cannon fodders were also victims of the Army's invasion, the soldiers of the New Alliance did not spare them any mercy.

No matter what... It was a battlefield. Showing mercy to their enemies was a no go.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I... I..." Li Ba's face was ashen as he moved his mouth, his originally pale face suddenly turning a shade of purple.

"Breathe deeply, calm down. Don't embarrass yourself by suffocating... That would be too shameful." Patting the guy's shoulder firmly and seeing his utterly terrified expression, Battlefield Cheerleader sighed and comforted him with a few clumsy words in Federation language.

Then, he picked up the Ripper rifle he had tossed aside before cocking it.

At that moment, a shout came from a nearby alley.

"Advance!"

"Everyone, push forward!"

"Let's see who dares to cower behind cover like a wimp, I'll personally finish them off!"

With machine guns roaring in front and a battle cry from behind.

"AHH!”

Unable to withstand the pressure, a survivor burst from cover, screaming out his fear and clutching his rifle as he ran towards the high-rise buildings directly ahead.

He hadn’t taken two steps before his body exploded in a mist of blood, his scream cut off abruptly. He fell straight down onto the blood-soaked street.

The survivors ready to rush out of cover were petrified by the scene. Their legs became as heavy as lead as they were unable to move.

The officer behind cover, seeing blood pouring out from the body that had just fallen, roared in anger, "Are you fucking stupid?!"

"I told you to flank! Who the hell told you to charge straight at them?!"

Unfortunately, the dead couldn’t speak, and the bloodied corpse obviously couldn't respond.

However, the living example had taught the other cannon fodders a lesson, and they all buried their heads and stayed close to the cover, cautiously advancing from the sides.

Still, lacking proper training, those cannon fodder had virtually no combat skills even if they had adapted to the chaos of the battlefield.

Everyone crowded into an alley, quickly becoming as chaotic as headless flies.

The distant machine gun fire paused for a second or two, and those greenhorns, who had less than 24 hours of training, didn't even know which direction to run.

But Battlefield Cheerleader knew what to do. "It's time to go."

He grabbed Li Ba from the ground, taking the terrified man through an alley that the machine gun fire couldn't reach.

Staying in place meant certain death.

The Army would mercilessly execute them as deserters, making an example out of them.

Moreover, as a double-agent, relying on merely surviving to the end to gain the enemy's trust was not an option.

Battlefield Cheerleader had discussed it the night before with his brothers in the chat group.

According to Spring Water Commander's plan, the Storm Corps would launch an ambush based on his information, intercepting the Army's team headed to Xiangling Town.

After thwarting the Army's plans for the day, they would give him a chance to score a kill.