Chapter 473.2: Clones Are Also Humans! We Shall Treat Them As Such... Just Maybe With Some Mental Deficiencies...

Frontline.

After a brief rest at Hill 330, the Skeleton Corps set off again under the lead of Escaping Mole.

Meanwhile, Marshal Yard of the Honey Badger Kingdom remained behind with the Resistance Army and 50 captured Conqueror series tanks. Their goal was to assist the Death Corps in reclaiming all of Oasis No.3.

Over the next two days, as they awaited the arrival of supply trucks from the rear, the Death Corps stationed at Hill 330 managed to capture nearly four fully staffed battalions, and they received more than 5,000 prisoners in total.

The majority were clone soldiers, with a smaller number of Wislanders and officers promoted from their reserve army.

To manage the prisoners, the New Alliance had to pull a Battalion from the Lion Kingdom’s army, temporarily detaining the prisoners in a nearby mountain cave.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Aside from the mass surrender, nearby villagers and nomads cautiously approached the area.

Previously, the Army had forcibly conscripted many local young men to build fortifications at the frontlines.

Now that the Army had been defeated, some came to look for missing family, others to seek revenge, and some simply out of curiosity or to gawk. Instead of the grateful locals bringing food and wine, what they got was a horde of troublemakers.

Since their dialect-heavy language was nearly incomprehensible, the overwhelmed Sideline Slacking simply dumped them onto Marshal Yard of the Honey Badger Kingdom to handle.

The moment the prince appeared, the few hundred gathered nomads all dropped to their knees with a collective thump outside the camp gate.

Gazing at Yard’s weathered face, the village elder leading them teared up with emotion. "Your Highness... You’ve finally returned!"

Looking at the frail old man trembling before him, Yard’s face filled with guilt as he gently helped him up. "You’ve all suffered so much."

The old man glanced nervously at the soldiers guarding the gate and asked carefully, "And... these people are...?"

Yard smiled. "They’re from the New Alliance. They are our friends!"

At that, whispers rippled through the crowd. The elder’s face lit up with realization, but quickly dimmed with worry. "You mean the New Alliance from River Valley Province?"

Yard nodded. "Yes. In our darkest hour, they extended a helping hand. It’s thanks to them that we made it back."

The elder glanced again at the soldiers nearby, hesitated a moment, then lowered his voice. "Letting outsiders meddle in desert affairs is dangerous. The Spirit of the Desert teaches us to beware of threats from beyond. It can bring disaster..."

Yard patiently explained, "But what’s done is done. The Falcon Kingdom allied with the Army and, with their support, invaded our homeland. We alone couldn’t stop them. We had no choice but to seek help beyond the desert."

The elder asked quietly, "But what if the New Alliance becomes the next Army? They’re already strong. What’s to stop them from forcing us into doing things we aren’t willing to do?"

"The New Alliance’s military is disciplined. They won’t act like that. Their administrator has already promised me. And from what I’ve personally seen in the Lion Kingdom, they’re genuinely spreading order and helping locals rebuild. That’s exactly what we need most right now."

Yard placed a firm hand on the old man’s shoulder, looking him in the eye with sincerity. "Please trust me."

...

As Yard worked to calm the local populace, an Orca transport aircraft slowly landed in a clearing at the center of the nearby camp.

A man stepped out from the cabin, looking entirely out of place in the battlefield and the wasteland. From his clothes to the aura he exuded, he looked like he didn’t belong.

Floating behind him was an interview drone. The moment he touched the ground, he started to yap in excitement, "Swofte? Where’s General Swofte, the one you captured?"

The low-ranking player he grabbed blinked in confusion before shooting him a blank stare.

"Who... Who are you?"

Other players gathered around, curious about the strange NPC.

Noticing the puzzled look on the soldier’s face, the man smacked his own forehead with a laugh and quickly pulled out a business card. "I am Wu Kaian, reporter of the Distant Times! I heard there was another big victory here at the frontlines, so I came all the way from Ideal City to interview your defeated enemies."

Hot damn!

A reporter from Ideal City?!

Reading the translated text on his VM screen, the player’s eyes lit up. He grinned and said, "A bunch of losers? What’s the point of interviewing them? Why not interview me?"

Wu Kaian blinked, not understanding what he meant. "Uh... You are?"

"I’m Lawless Madman! I’m serving with the Death Corps, and I’m a strength type! I specialize in shotguns. Too bad our damn commander never gives me a chance to fight. Shit, it pisses me off just thinking about it! I pedaled a tricycle for an entire day and the tires were practically on fire! Before I even saw an enemy, the fight was already over...” The player rambled on, voice growing more agitated by the second.

Wu Kaian, however, just stared in a daze.

Every three words he understood were interspersed with ten words he didn’t. He hadn’t understood a single sentence since the guy started talking.

At long last, when the player finished his rant, Wu Kaian asked meekly, "What... What does Lawless Madman mean?"

"It means..."

"Ahem!" A well-timed cough cut the player off. Old White, who had just arrived to meet the aircraft, reached out to take the reporter’s business card with a mildly annoyed expression.

"You’re here to interview Swofte, right? He’s been taken to Hill 330, about 17 kilometers from here. I’ll assign someone to bring you over."

Just a minute ago, the administrator sent him the mission, including the directive to have the interview conducted at Hill 330.

Turning to the Free Sniper who came with him, Old White gave an order. "Take him over, would you?"

"Got it, boss!" Free Sniper saluted, then turned to the reporter with a smile. "Please come with me."

Finally meeting someone he could talk to, Wu Kaian sighed in relief and nodded gratefully. "I’ll have to trouble you..."

Watching the two of them walk off, Lawless Madman grumbled with dissatisfaction. "Damn it! Why didn’t he interview me?!"

"I’m saving you. You’re welcome. Go read the player manual again." Old White gave the overexcited newbie a look of pity before walking toward the parked Orca.

Once he arrived, he greeted the pilot inside the cockpit. "Hello there. I’m the commander of the Burning Corps."

The pilot who was chewing gum stopped immediately and his eyes lit up. He immediately pulled his legs down from the console and opened the small round window beneath the cockpit.

"Burning Corps? You mean

the

Burning Corps?"

Old White chuckled awkwardly. "Not sure which one you mean, but the New Alliance only has one Burning Corps..."

The pilot grinned. "I’ve heard of you guys a long time ago! You know there’s even a Battle Royale skin pack featuring you guys trending on the Endpoint Cloud? Oh wait, I forgot, you probably don’t even know what Battle Royale is."

Old White stared blankly at the excited pilot. "Seriously?"

"You’ve no idea how popular you are over there! Damn, I should’ve brought a pen! Anyway, my name is Sun Ze, pilot for the Enterprise’s Military Department."

"Old White."

They shook hands briefly. After they were done, Old White cleared his throat and said, "... Let’s save the small talk. We’ve got a mission that requires your aircraft."

"Got it! Your administrator gave us the heads-up. We’re retrieving the pilot who ejected, right? Hop on board." Sun Ze gave a thumbs-up and gestured back, then asked with excitement, "How do you guys plan to get off later? Are you going to parachute?"

Old White coughed again. "Just... Just land normally."

Why the hell would they parachute if they didn’t have to?

He wasn’t crazy yet!

The pilot looked disappointed, like he’d just missed something fun.

Old White tapped his VM and quickly assembled a team. Soon, Night Ten, Gale, Quit Smoking, and the other elite members of the Burning Corps were dragged into the communications channel.

There were 20 of them in total, all T0 level players.

Among them, they had an exoframe, nine units of Type 6 Heavy Cavalry exoskeletons , and 10 Type 5 Light Cavalry. Their firepower rivaled that of an entire armored battalion.

To ensure nothing went wrong, the administrator had told them to bring their best gear.

Looking at the assembled team, Old White spoke into the channel.

"... Right, we got two pieces of news."

"Bad news first. Our ace pilot found a plane, so the mission to search Oasis No.8 has been canceled. As for the good news, the plane’s out of juice and crashed north of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. Command has given us a new task. We’re taking over the retrieval mission from the Goblin Corps."

"The mission is simple. All we have to do is to follow the Enterprise’s aircraft, take a roundabout route north, and recover Falling Feather and his baby. If possible, retrieve the rogue Eagle fighter as well. It contains special research material our white-haired NPC lady is very interested in. Try to bring it back for her."

Glancing at the brothers’ decked-out loadouts, Sideline Slacking, watching from the side, asked curiously, "Isn’t this lineup a bit much?"

Every single ace of the Burning Corps had arrived. All for a simple pickup mission...

It seemed utterly excessive.

Noticing the doubt in his eyes, Old White smiled. "We’re just playing it safe. Who knows what’s lurking near the Wandering Swamp? Falling Feather mentioned that there are quite a few mutants out there."

Night Ten chimed in with a grin. "Yeah. And hey, we get a free ride back to the frontline!"

As an airborne unit, the Burning Corps had to stay near the airfield to rapidly deploy to hotspots.

Word was, the Lion Kingdom had hit some nasty resistance in the northwest. They would likely be called in again soon.

Compared to riding on a truck for two to three days, flying was way faster and more fun.

At that moment, Eye Owe Money limped over on his crutches and sighed, "Take me with you!"

Night Ten smirked, "What, this place isn’t fun anymore?"

Scratching his butt, Eye Owe Money grumbled, "Oh it’s fun. Fun as hell... Fuck you!"