Chapter 400.1: To The Frontlines!

[... I believe this is our last chance.]

[If we can't keep it in the River Valley Province, once the airship returns to port for resupply and meets with local ground forces, we will face a crisis several times greater than the current situation.]

Shelter 79, administrator's office.

Besides Chu Guang, there were a dozen people standing there.

A few days ago, when Chu Guang left Clearspring City for Lucky Valley Municipality, he had issued the order to move the headquarters to the front lines.

Apart from advisors like Vanus, the officers from the First Corps, including Wrench, were also transferred over.

Chu Guang was holding a handwritten operational plan and after reading the introduction, he looked at the table of contents.

The entire plan consisted of 24 pages, and it was written by Spring Water Commander, the commander of the Storm Corps. It was objectively very well-written, with detailed planning both their macro movements and microscopic details.

The plan divided the campaign into three phases. They would fight both in the air and on the ground, before the final takeover of the airship and battle within.

There were objectives needed to be achieved in each phase, how many personnel would be used, the amount of weapons, and even contingency plans depending on how the battle went. There were even detailed descriptions for different scenarios.

It was clear his plan wasn’t completed in a day.

Chu Guang had long noticed that ever since the Storm Corps arrived in Lucky Valley Municipality, or rather... From the moment their 400mm main gun fired, Spring Water Commander had been observing the airship.

He was recording things like its observation range, firepower accuracy, firing interval, muzzle turning speed, reconnaissance efficiency at different distances, and more.

Those operational parameters were listed as evidence in his operational plan, and the action plans for each phase were designed to target those identified weaknesses.

Even though his plan was so detailed, the player named Spring Water Commander still mentioned the key point at the end.

[The disparity between the enemy and our forces is vast, our chances of winning are less than 20%. The same method will be difficult to use a second time, we only have one chance to do this!]

[Since the outcome will be decided in one go, there is no need to conserve our strength.]

[It is recommended to mobilize everyone!]

Turning the plan to the last page, Chu Guang casually handed it to Vanus standing beside him. "What do you think?"

Vanus took the plan and flipped through it, taking slightly longer than Chu Guang. He read to the end and after a moment of thought, gave an objective assessment. "It's well written, but still a bit modest. In my opinion... There's a 30% chance of success."

As a captain of the Army’s clone infantry, he hadn't been on the airship. The airship's detailed operational parameters were also confidential.

He could only analyze through several public battle reports of the data tested in actual combat. He felt that Spring Water Commander’s assessment should be more than 70% accurate.

The New Alliance's only advantage was probably only their intelligence.

After the Bonechewer Clan fled helter-skelter, the Army's intelligence network in the southern Valley Province was virtually nonexistent.

The Bugra Free State in the north might have Army spies, but they were too far away. The New Alliance's trade routes with the north had just begun, and because of their rapid growth, much of the intelligence that could be passed through Bugra Free State to the Army was outdated by several months.

Wrench frowned beside him and asked, "Only 30%?"

Vanus nodded, speaking carefully. "Yes... In my experience, the battles involving the Heart of Steel are mostly one sided wars, or what we call suppression battles. Considering this... They might not have experience in electronic warfare, but it could just be a lack of experience."

"Forgive my bluntness, this is a huge gamble," Venus grunted.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before he replied, "We’re gambling that they've never seen this kind of tactic, right?"

Vanus nodded. "Yes, it's a crazy plan, and I wouldn't recommend you adopt it. But I must admit, your corps commander has studied the parameters of the Heart of Steel so thoroughly in just one month."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

Ability was one thing, but the key was the powerful information sharing capability based on the morphogenetic field technology.

Every player or cloud player active on the forums, no matter their profession, could propose their analysis based on the intelligence gathered in the game. Players could verify which conclusions were more reliable.

Although the New Alliance's weapons are mostly at the level of World War II or the Cold War, their information technology might even surpass that of the human era.

After all, the morphogenetic field, which could not be blocked or interfered with by existing technology, seemed to have been developed after entering the Wasteland era by the first administrator of Shelter 404.

There were also the lives of the players of the Storm Corps that had been used to verify their intelligence gathered.

Taking the plan from Vanus, Chu Guang stared at it for about five minutes before finally speaking, "I plan to adopt this plan."

Vanus revealed a shocked expression and he looked at Chu Guang who was seriously considering the plan. He asked in a low voice, "Are you... Sure?"

Chu Guang nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

Vanus couldn't help but continue, "I don't want to pour cold water on you, but implementing this plan requires huge manpower!"

"Even if there aren't 10,000 people on that airship, they won’t be any weaker than that... If we are to implement this operational plan within a week, with the most conservative estimate, we need to mobilize at least 7,000 people in three days."

"Three days... Is that even possible?"

That was not only his concern.

The faces of several other staff members also revealed their worry.

It wasn't about being timid either. It was purely strategic consideration that setting the decisive battle within a week seemed too hasty.

War was not chess. Moving a single piece wouldn’t decide their win or loss.

Such a major campaign would also require at least a month of preparation to ensure coordination between different corps and orderly progress of various plans.

Their final battle with the Bonechewer Clan took a month and a half of preparation before they made their move.

Chu Guang smiled faintly before replying with confidence, "It's feasible. Three days is completely enough. Mobilization is not a problem for us!"

He believed in his players.

Not because of the power granted by the shelter, but because it wasn’t just his game any longer.

The New Alliance didn’t belong to him, but all to everyone who had bled and sweated for their land. When the New Alliance faced existential threats, whether they were farmers, fishermen, or traders... Everyone would step forward without hesitation.

It wasn’t just for profit.

It was to protect their world.

They didn’t need a week to mobilize. A single minute would be enough.

"... Apart from mobilization, I plan to deploy some mercenaries alongside the regular army. Conservatively estimated, the number of participants in the battle could reach 10,000!"

Closing the operational plan in his hands, Chu Guang placed it on the desk beside him, looking at the officers in the office. Looking at those eyes boiling with fighting spirit, he paused, then continued.

"How long the trenches should be... Where to place the machine guns... These tactical details are not my expertise, but there's a sentence in this plan that I very much agree with."

"If we don't keep the airship here, we'll have bigger trouble later."

"It must stay here."

"It shall not leave!"

There wasn’t even a need to mention a 30% chance of success. Even if there was only 1%, he would still give it a shot!

...

After the combat meeting, Chu Guang used a disposable temporary communication device to send the next phase of work arrangements to Little Seven, far away in the shelter.

The information was less than 10mb, and it included the updates on the official website, as well as the details of the general mobilization and the specific plan for recruiting mercenaries.

The latter part of the content was mainly aimed at NPCs. Little Seven would translate it from Chinese into Human Federation language, and accurately convey the orders to specific departments and individuals.

In fact, even without his mobilization, players had already gradually stopped their ongoing work. They were gathering towards Lucky Valley Municipality for the new expansion.

On the other side, it was daytime on Earth.

Spring Water Commander started a thread for casual chat, attaching the operational plan while tagging the commanders of various corps.

Looking at the IDs of the big shots in the post, Spring Water Commander was somewhat cautious while typing.

Or rather... he was nervous.

After all, his commanding ability wasn’t the same as his ability to organize his thoughts when speaking to so many important people.

The former was about strategy and tactics, the latter was more about interpersonal relationships.

He got access to Wasteland Online with Darkest during the closed Beta. Compared to those who got access much earlier and could be considered to be T0 or T1 players who had limited edition medals hanging on their chests, his qualifications were a lot shallower.

To put it in practical terms, he felt like he was a general commanding the marshal.

If it were someone else, just coaxing these big brothers to listen would take a lot of effort.

Fortunately, the server atmosphere of Wasteland Online has always been good.

Thanks to the game developers being good people, not deliberately inciting players to stand against each other or compete to level up, everyone had a great experience in game. Players in the different tiers were friends, whether they were T0, T1, or T2 players. It was far from the ecosystem in other MMORPGs, where there were pay to win players, people with princess syndrome, and simps who bowed to wishes of others.

As long as the strategy was well written, everyone would like the post and read it carefully even if it was written by a newbie.

Old White: I think your operational plan is good, just be a bit more confident. >ᵥ_ᵥ<

Night Ten: Exactly! What do you mean 20% success rate? Clearly the advantage is with us! (≖⩊≖)

Ample Time: Professional things are indeed best left to professionals. Brother, you’re a real commander. We’ll leave it up to you. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Gale: +1

Spring Water Commander: Ahem... You guys are too kind... This is actually my first time commanding such a large-scale war...

Escaping Mole: Hahaha, no problem, Rommel was just a lieutenant in his first battle! After this battle, you can at least become a division commander. (≖⩊≖)

Sideline Slacking: The Death Corps will follow your orders! Leave the most dangerous battle to us!

Midnight Pubg: The Jungle Corps will be behind you too! <(˘ ˘ ˘)>

Mosquito: Ace pilot applying for battle! ♡૮₍ฅ ᵔ ꈊ ᵔ ฅ₎ა

Looking at the replies on the screen, Spring Water Commander was moved. He took a deep breath before typing his replies...