Chapter 404.1: End?

With its fuel exhausted, the long, shuttle-shaped escape pod turned off its engines, and parachutes opened at the top and tail, dragging it to fall into a sandy area.

Scared by the noise, the semi-human-tall mutated scorpions scattered in all directions, leaving only a few confused yellow beetles shaking their antennae.

A hissing leak was heard, and a crack opened in the pod.

A few bodyguards with submachine guns crawled out first, crouching on the ground on alert.

After confirming the safety outside, one of them immediately returned to the side of the escape pod, knocking on the door to signal the comrades inside to fully open the door.

Soon, with the help of two bodyguards, a disheveled General McClennan limped out of the escape pod.

Even though they called it an escape pod, it was actually just a giant rocket with a few parachutes as decelerators. The experience when riding it was naturally not very good.

Although he had sat in it a few times during drills, McClennan had never thought that one day he would actually use it.

"Damn natives... Maggots..." He cursed continuously, his gloomy eyes searching the sky, worried about their planes catching up.

Fortunately, the New Alliance's planes did not catch up with him, and the sky within a hundred miles was clear.

He had already entered the Sunset Province, and besides him and a few bodyguards, the escape pod also carried more than 20 senior officers, including his adjutant and staff officer.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It was nearly the maximum capacity the escape pod could accommodate.

The remaining fuel was not enough to help them fly back to the military base thousands of kilometers away, but they were already a couple of hundred kilometers away from the River Valley Province.

While inside the escape pod, he had learned through the communication channel that the Heart of Steel had completely fallen... It happened just ten minutes after he had departed.

Thinking about what could have happened, he shivered uncontrollably.

He dared not think about how roughly those barbaric and blood-drinking savages would treat them if they were captured.

At the same time, he also learned from the frontline troops that those savages not only occupied his airship but also hung a flag on his bridge.

That flag seemed to belong to the New Alliance.

Yes.

By then, he had finally figured out the identity of his opponent.

It was not just the survivor settlement of Boulder Town opposing the Army, but an ‘alliance’ formed by all the survivor settlements in the southern part of the River Valley Province.

"... These mangy dogs." McClennan almost crushed his teeth, squeezing those words through his clenched teeth.

He swore he would return.

He would make those people pay for their stupidity with their rotten blood, washing away his disgrace...

...

No matter how furiously McClennan raged, it did not change his embarrassed and disheveled state, nor the outcome of the Army's total defeat in the operations across the River Valley Province.

In the Falling Leaf Camp, the sound of gunfire continued for a full hour.

Soldiers in black robes and bulletproof armor clashed fiercely with wastelanders dressed in counterfeit military uniforms between the tents.

An hour ago, under the leadership of Eye Owe Money, Construction Boy, and a group of veterans from the Death Corps and Storm Corps, more than 200 of them swiftly took over five ammunition and weapon depots in the Falling Leaf Camp.

After securing the ammunition depots, Eye Owe Money immediately handed out weapons to the still dazed soldiers originally from the reserve army.

"The Army burned down our homes! They enslaved our brothers, sisters, wives, and children! Today they want to send us to the frontline as cannon fodder!"

"We will tell them with our fists and gun barrels that we are humans, not beasts bred by these hyenas!"

"If you still have a bit of dignity left, even just a bit..."

"Grab a gun, and follow me!"

To be honest, their mobilization was very hastily prepared, and Eye Owe Money's rallying speech was just average, and most people didn't hear it very clearly. However, amidst the loud gunfire and chaos, most were still moved by the impassioned speech and subconsciously accepted the rifles and magazines thrown to them.

The rebels rolled up their sleeves over their arms to distinguish friend from foe and engaged in fierce gunfire with the black-robed soldiers rushing to suppress them.

The most loyal cannon fodder had been pulled to the front lines, leaving behind 3,000 or so members of the reserve army who had only touched rifles for a few days or who had originally disagreed with the Army but had submitted to the Army's tyranny and donned the uniform.

The Army soldiers stationed at the Falling Leaf Camp numbered barely over 500, but there were as many as 100 players mixed into the camp. Every one of those players were awakeners.

Moreover, most of those players were newly promoted junior officers who, upon hearing gunfire, directly led their subordinates to defect.

The forces under Cowley quickly fell into disarray.

Especially after the airship's forward cannon bay was destroyed and the bridge flew the flag of the New Alliance, the black-robed soldiers fell into despair.

In the chaos, Cowley, clad in an exoskeleton, grabbed his rifle and led his dozen or so personal guards toward the western gate of the camp.

However, before he could reach the gate, over half of his personal guards had been killed or wounded, leaving only four.

Watching the sparks fly and the flickering fires within the camp, a hint of despair surfaced on Cowley's face.

He couldn't understand why the soldiers of the reserve army, who had been fiercely fighting those natives just the day before, suddenly turned their guns and vicious gazes toward the Army.

Especially those junior officers, each of whom had taken the lives of several or even dozens of other wastelanders. Weren't they afraid of being captured and held accountable when they defected?

Also, when did these people conspire together?

He had never seen them whispering to each other!

Just then, a fierce wastelander suddenly approached him. He killed his way over with a single rifle in hand.

Cowley instinctively glanced at his arm, seeing that the sleeve was not rolled up, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and signaled the few nervously twitching personal guards not to fire.

Luckily, that single wastelander hadn't betrayed him.

Having just fought his way out of a sea of corpses and bones, Battlefield Cheerleader panted heavily, looking at Cowley. "Sir, those incompetent traitors have betrayed the Army! My clansmen... They unfortunately died while suppressing those traitors."

"Anyway, you must not fall into the hands of those barbarians. I will cover you, please retreat quickly!"

His speech was crafted by Ample Time, and he took quite some time to memorize it.

Originally, he had planned to stir things up with Eye Owe Money and the others, giving Cowley a surprise, but unfortunately, he had received a new mission on the forum the night before.

The administrator asked him to continue playing undercover and even to cover Cowley's successful retreat to the Army's military base in the Sunset Province.

The military order was as heavy as a mountain, so he could only mess around next time.

But thinking about it, it made sense. The Army was doomed to defeat, with hundreds of platoons and teams surrendering in an organized fashion. There were plenty of captured officers. A few more wouldn't make a difference.

It might be better to let a few small fry go to catch bigger fish later.

"These traitorous dogs..." Grinding his teeth, Cowley looked at Pangolin who still stood by his side. He felt a rush of emotion.

Even if everyone else had betrayed him... There were still one or two loyal guys who stuck by his side through thick and thin.

He swore. If he was lucky enough to survive, he would not let down Pangolin’s shining loyalty.

"Cover me!"

Seeing Cowley hadn't become suspicious, Battlefield Cheerleader relaxed and he yelled fervently, "Yes, sir!"

...

Shortly after Cowley's escape, the armored units of the Skeleton Corps killed their way to the southern gate of the Falling Leaf Camp.

Upon seeing the towering quad-mounted machine guns, the 50 or so sentries stationed at the gate immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered.

They had been wanting to surrender for a long time, just not to the members of the reserve army who had rolled-up sleeves.

After all, they used to be their dogs, and psychologically and physically, they could not accept the humiliation.

Anyway, the final outcome wasn't much different.

The number of infantry in the Skeleton Corps was limited, and after disarming the members of the Army, they had them kneel along the wall, turning them over to the reserve army who had arrived at the gate.

Seeing the tide turning, many of the reserve army who had still been helping the Army resist also began to roll up their sleeves and defect.

In the end, under the siege of the rebel forces, the 50 or so soldiers were taken down. Among them were Army centurions and centurions who had fled from the marine’s camp.

Although most of the Army's forces had already surrendered in an organized fashion, there were still those who stubbornly resisted.

Whatever it was, nothing would change.

With Escaping Mole’s command, five Tank 1s stopped on the gentle edge of the slope and lined up along the edges of Falling Leaf Camp.

Aiming at the enemy's last position on the hilltop, Makka Pakka looked down at the loader and ordered, "High explosive shells!"

"Copy!"