Chapter 425.2: Pangolin's Super Credit + GETTING FAMOUS

Griffin squinted at him before muttering softly, "Your troops are already gone, what's the use of staying here?"

McClennan’s expression didn't change as he spoke. "The Heart of Steel is now in the hands of the Enterprise. If they have mastered how to use that airship, you will be in trouble. Only I know how to deal with it."

Hearing what he said, Griffin’s expression changed slightly. He quickly glanced at the officers behind him and asked hastily, "Didn’t you bring all your men to retreat from the battlefield?”

Facing that murderous gaze, McClennan appeared somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly explained, “A few were missing. Everything happened too suddenly. They were outside the airship and didn't catch the last flight. That guy is a logistics officer. He probably knows how to start the ship.”

The person he was talking about was originally not a front-line soldier. His personality was almost the opposite of Richie’s and if he could surrender, he would do so in a heartbeat.

McClennan was more than 90% sure that as long as the New Alliance caught him, they would definitely be able to pry the method of piloting the airship from his mouth.

Griffin sucked in a long breath and it took him some time to stabilize his emotions.

He had already prepared to face the aircrafts of the Enterprise, but hadn't expected to face not just the planes from the Enterprise but also their own 400mm main cannon.

"I'll give you a 1,000-man team. You're responsible for containing that airship. I'll request more support from the rear." Griffin growled ungraciously.

"Not enough, give me 10,000 men, and the equipment needed to counter the airship. I know you don't like me, but right now our asses are on the line here. You understand what I mean.”

Griffin stared at him for a long time before squeezing out a response through his teeth. "Fine"

...

At the same time, on the northern front of Oasis No.9, the howling sandstorm had just swept through. The yellow sand that blocked the sky was like the roar of the Spirit of the Desert.

"I thought I was going to die." Emerging from a pile of sand, Battlefield Cheerleader dug for some time before he found Cowley.

Spitting out the sand in his mouth after appearing beside him, Cowley wiped his mouth, his expression still one of shock. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, glad you're alright." Battlefield Cheerleader replied.

It's been almost a week since they left the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, and after three weeks, he was getting better and better at acting.

Patting the shoulder of his trusty dusty subordinate, Cowley looked ahead, a hint of joy on his face despite his furrowed brows. "We've arrived!"

Right up ahead was the Army's front-line station. Although he didn't know which unit they were, the flag they were flying was unmistakable.

Adan and others who had gotten separated in the sandstorm also gradually caught up. From their disheveled appearance, they clearly hadn't suffered any less.

Even one of the wagons was wrecked, and rifles hung from each camel.

"Are you all okay?" Adan, walking in front with the camels, shouted at them.

"We're fine, haha! Thanks to the protection of the Spirit of the Desert, we’re fine!" Cowley laughed and waved his hand, signaling them to come closer.

As the sandstorm eventually died, the nearby camp clearly noticed them. Led by a centurion, a squad of ten walked towards them.

"I am the decurion under Captain Richie of the Heart of Steel Airborne Marine Corps, my name is Cowley, here are my credentials and military ID." Watching the approaching centurion, Cowley took the initiative to clarify his identity and presented proof of his identity.

The soldiers exchanged glances as the centurion in front frowned. He took the card before glancing at Cowley with a hint of suspicion.

"Heart of Steel? Weren't you supposed to be on a mission in the River Valley Province?"

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

As a front-line unit, they were fighting against the Lion Kingdom and were unaware of other combat zones. Cowley didn't answer his question and he spoke in a commanding tone, "There was an incident there. You have to ask your superiors for the details. Right now, I need to see your commanding officer.”

The centurion didn't continue to probe. He nodded, returned the military ID, and kept the papers.

"I need to verify your identity. Are you going to wait here, or come back to the camp with me?"

"Of course I'll go to your camp. What, should I stand here eating sand?" Cowley snapped impatiently.

After checking Cowley's credentials, the centurion also checked the credentials of the merchant, Adan, quickly allowing them and their party to pass after seeing the order that had been filled up.

Following the ten-man squad, the group headed to the nearby camp.

As soon as he entered the camp, Battlefield Cheerleader quietly observed the layout.

Unlike the camps he had seen in the River Valley Province, there were few concrete fortifications present, instead, it was built with square sandbags that formed walls around their compound.

That type of field camp was quite common in reality. Sandbags were good at resisting explosives and can be used as an alternative to concrete. Also, they could be easily rebuilt.

Almost every wall had trenches dug out behind it, with firing shelters and watchtowers covered in desert-colored camouflage nets, under which lay a black heavy machine gun, appearing to be the 20mm model.

One could say it was a standard military base, accommodating about 500 to 1,000 people.

What surprised Battlefield Cheerleader wasn't the layout, but that he actually saw a mutant in their camp! There was no doubt about it. It was definitely a mutant.

Although his skin wasn't green but a vivid grey-black, and he had a beard on his chin, his ‘beautiful’ face was exactly the same as the mutant humans they had cleared out on 76th street back in Clearspring City. b

If the mutants from before could be considered orcs, these would be trolls...

The mutant glanced at him, baring his blood-red teeth, then trudged towards the camp gate with a swaggering gait.

Those mutants didn't seem to live with the Army. Rather, they set up a separate camp next to this military base. Presumably, no one wanted to live with those man-eaters.

Watching the disappearing figure at the camp gate, Battlefield Cheerleader furrowed his brow and asked, "... Are they mutants?"

Following his gaze, Cowley smiled. "Mutant mercenaries, from the Great Desert. Those beasts may not be smart, but they're fierce in battle, able to charge under machine gun fire, and even regrow a severed leg. They are tough and undemanding. They're natural cannon fodder."

It was unexpected that the Army had enlisted the services of mutants...

"But why is their skin grey-black?" Battlefield Cheerleader wondered, "I saw green-skinned ones at the border of the River Valley Province and Brocade River Provinces."

Cowley responded casually, "The locals in the Falcon Kingdom say it's a curse of the Spirit of the Desert, but really, they’re a subspecies. They were probably messed up by the radioactive substances in the Great Desert. Who cares how they came about, as long as they're useful."

Battlefield Cheerleader nodded woodenly, secretly amazed. However, he couldn’t help being excited. Grey-black mutants...

This information was significant!

But speaking of which, his undercover role felt completely effortless.

Basically, all he had to do was to act ignorant and ask, and Cowley would boastfully spill everything. Honestly, he felt a bit embarrassed by the level of trust he had gained.

Following Cowley towards the depths of the camp, Battlefield Cheerleader soon made another discovery.

In a warehouse with its doors open, several engineers were squatting in front of a tank he hadn't seen before, twisting screws. With a curious expression, Battlefield Cheerleader looked at them and asked, "What tanks are those?"

"Model 2 Conqueror No.10, equipped with a 150mm heavy howitzer. It's actually a self-propelled gun! The tank beside it is the The one next to it is a Model 3 Conqueror No.10. Its turret has been replaced with an eight-barrel anti-aircraft machine gun. Even though it’s meant for air defense, since the Lion Kingdom has no air force, we usually send it to the front line to support our infantry." Looking at the tanks in the warehouse, Cowley squinted, his eyes sparkling with pride. "... This time, our opponent is the Enterprise. I heard we plan to send a batch of Conqueror No.11 tanks over!”

Battlefield Cheerleader immediately asked. “Conqueror No.11?!”

Cowley didn’t suspect he had any ulterior motives. Instead, he turned to look at Adan before lowering his voice cautiously, "It’s our Triumphant City Army Equipment Research Institute's new heavy tank designed against Gauss weapons, I've only heard a bit, don't go spreading it around... They say its armor is tough. Ordinary armor-piercing and electromagnetic rounds can't penetrate it, but it's also expensive."

“Including our pre-war stock of the Pathfinder tank that are equipped with the Meissner effect armor, we prepared everything for the Enterprise. They probably won’t guess that after 200 years, we will still be able to use thee equipment.”

Survivors' settlements would at most come up with armor-piercing shells and the armor of Conqueror No.10 could perfectly defend against them.

However... About the ultra-high-speed steel spikes fired by Gauss weapons, their armor would be considered somewhat inadequate. Cowley spoke enthusiastically as Battlefield Cheerleader burned a hole in his brain trying to remember everything.

It was true... It was difficult to find a god damn book when they needed...

Everyday communication wasn't too precise. Some specialized terms he couldn't understand and couldn't inquire in detail, he had to note them down using some effects or whatever he could describe. He would post them on the forum to be discussed with the other fools later.

After thinking about it, Battlefield Cheerleader started to regret.

Being uneducated was indeed a disadvantage! He should have memorized a few more words like that little doggy Ample Time!

Seeing that Cowley seemed tired of talking, Battlefield Cheerleader quickly threw him a topic to continue. "Speaking of which, do our amazing tanks have any weaknesses?”

"Of course there are weaknesses... The Conqueror series' weaknesses are mainly concentrated on the top cover and chassis, so we have to be sure to protect these areas. It’s especially so for the chassis. The armor near the escape hatch is thinner, and it's next to the transmission components."

As he spoke, Cowley suddenly changed the topic as a smile appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, I heard the New Alliance has a kind of drone specifically for sneaking under tank bellies, giving that Bonechewer Clan a lot of trouble."

Battlefield Cheerleader felt his heart tighten and he nodded once. "Yes... I think I've heard of it."

Seeing the look on his face, Cowley roared with laughter and patted his shoulder. "There’s no need to worry, that drone is only for dealing with dimwitted marauders. All we need to do is to hang a curtain under the belly of our tank to tangle and capture the drone. We can even hang a plate to mitigate the blast.”

After all... Bombs were only effective if they exploded right under the chassis. Anywhere else was nothing but a mere tickle.

Battlefield Cheerleader nodded as if he understood, but silently noted down those details.

As they were chatting, time passed quickly as they waited in the open plaza.

Just as Battlefield Cheerleader was getting a good grasp of the situation in the camp, an officer came from not far away and stopped in front of Cowley. "Your identity has been verified, we will arrange transportation to take you to the command post."

Cowley's face relaxed into a relieved smile, and he returned a military salute.

Following closely, Adan came forward to congratulate him. "Congratulations, Mr. Cowley, you'll soon be back with your troops!"

"Thank you for your help, I'll remember this favor." Cowley grasped his hand and shook it. "What are your plans for the future?"

Adan thought for a moment before chuckling, "After the logistics officer here completes the handover, I'll probably continue on the road for the next deal. The Lion Kingdom probably won't last two more months. While this war is still not over, I plan to make a few more trips."

"It looks like we'll have to part ways." Cowley smiled and extended his right hand. "But I believe there will be a place for you under this heavens. Until we meet again."

Adan's face flashed with surprise, A smile broke on his face as he shook the outstretched hand. "Thank you for your trust. Until we meet again!"

As Cowley and Adan said their goodbyes, Battlefield Cheerleader was looking around, trying to find a place to log off.

From the newly arrived equipment, the mutant mercenaries from the Great Desert, and many more... There were so much explosive intelligence he gathered!

I’M GONNA BE FAMOUS!