Chapter 731.2: Since You're Already Here, Just Stay And Work

Tail: Then let's just have them pioneer the wilderness and skip the training part!

Midnight Pubg: What about the ammunition costs required to maintain the settlement?

Sisi: I heard Dawn City has been carrying out another round of industrial upgrades recently. The new ammunition production line completed in the level B7 Manufacturing Center has already been assembled over there and is preparing to replace the old one... Why don't we buy the old line and ship it to Port Gallon? We could manufacture bullets there and send them to the Baiyue Strait. That should reduce costs somewhat.

Old White: That's actually not a bad idea... But what happens after the war ends and the expeditionary army leaves? 10,000 vacant jobs could become a problem.

Sisi: Bringing in some population from Port Gallon shouldn't be an issue. Once the infrastructure projects there are completed, a lot of labor will be freed up. We can use this new harbor as a buffer zone for introducing population into French Fry Harbor.

The southern shore of the Baiyue Strait also contained vast stretches of undeveloped land suitable for cultivation. Compared to the rugged terrain of the northern shore, the southern shore was much flatter and more suitable for large plantations and farmland dedicated to tropical cash crops.

Having the Jungle Corps clear out the local Mutant Humans before sending those lost expeditionary soldiers to reclaim the land was actually a fairly good option.

After all, if they were sent to the battlefield, they would probably only get in the way. Letting them occasionally conduct target practice and military drills for appearances' sake would be more than sufficient.

Ample Time: That raises another question. What do we call the new settlement?

Irene: Since we've already got French Fry Harbor, why not make it Cola Harbor? UwU

Night Ten: At this rate, the New Alliance map is going to turn into a fast food joint.

Makka Pakka: Hahahaha, damn!

...

At that very moment, General Isair had no idea that the fate of himself and the cannon fodder under his command had already been thoroughly arranged in another world.

Yet because of this, they would inadvertently embark upon a path completely different from the one fate had originally intended.

...

On the Northern Front, the third day after the arrival of the coalition forces.

On Black Cloud Peak, the second tallest peak of the Ten Peaks Mountain, a bloody battle was just beginning.

Perhaps after seeing how easily the New Alliance's Death Corps had captured Manor Peak, the Wislanders who had traveled from afar were eager to show off their capabilities in front of their allies.

At the planning meeting, Liam had practically snatched the task of capturing Black Cloud Peak from the Academy and Enterprise commanders.

Thanks to his old friend's assistance, Expeditionary Army Commander Babita also benefited from the arrangement and was allowed to send a battalion as a feint attack force. In other words, they could be used as reserve troops.

After all, the winding mountain paths of Ten Peaks Mountain were so narrow that only one or two battalions could effectively engage at a time.

As expected, the Army intended to send the Army of Glory in first while reserving its main forces for the main battlefield beyond Ten Peaks Mountain.

Events unfolded exactly as Babita had predicted.

Early in the morning, the Army of Glory assembled at the foot of Manor Peak and marched upward under the leadership of a group of Wislander officers.

At precisely 10:00, the Bison raised its 200mm guns and casually spat out enough shells to fill five train cars onto the summit of Black Cloud Peak.

Countless explosions erupted across the towering mountain and its surrounding slopes. Forests on the mountainside were incinerated, while the clouds winding around the peaks were blown apart by the bombardment.

The moment the artillery barrage ended, a battalion assembled launched a charge amid thunderous battle cries. Carrying Ripper rifles, they advanced along the narrow mountain path, relying on jagged rocks for cover as fierce firefights erupted between them and the Mutant Humans.

Seated on the bridge of the airship, Liam ate ice cream while overlooking the battlefield below, where the sounds of battle echoed across the mountains.

A faint smile rested on his face, but suddenly, he turned slightly toward his adjutant. "By the way, how long did it take the New Alliance to capture Manor Peak?"

His adjutant respectfully replied, "If I remember correctly, they did it before sunset."

Liam nodded. He glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist, then comfortably leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Looks like this battle will be over before lunch. I plan to eat down there afterward... I heard the New Alliance's cooks are pretty good. You ate there yesterday, right? Any recommendations from their cafeteria?"

The adjutant paused for a moment before answering, "The braised pork knuckle rice I had yesterday was excellent."

The flavor really had been impressive. In Triumphant City, pork knuckles were usually roasted until charred or smoked in wooden crates. It was his first time eating pork so tender that it was softer than bread, almost like jelly.

Liam smiled. "Let's go try it together later."

Not only did Liam underestimate the Mutant Humans. Babita, who had personally come to command on the front lines, felt the same way. However, unlike the Wislanders who had fought Mutant Humans countless times before, Babita's confidence came from the fact that he had never seen such green-skinned creatures.

Based on the rumors and stories he had heard along the journey, he regarded them as nothing more than poorly evolved savages. He felt that perhaps wasteland beggars needed 300 rounds to fight them to a draw, but Poro Province was hardly the wasteland. He thought If he personally took the field, he felt he could crush those weaklings in minutes.

Besides, he doubted his troops would even need to participate in this battle. The Wislanders were already handling it.

Yet just as Babita assumed this would be little more than a ceremonial trip to the front line before heading home, events developed in a way he had not expected.

The clone soldiers charging up the mountain had actually become deadlocked with those unevolved savages.

"... What the hell?" Holding a pair of binoculars, Babita stared for a long time.

Watching the clone troops fail to advance no matter how hard they tried, he could not help but curse under his breath. "What are those Wislanders doing?!"

He had never fought mountain warfare before, but he could still read a battlefield. Even if he occasionally missed details, judging the distance between the frontline and the back by the sound of gunfire was basic military knowledge.

Before long, two 100-man units had already been wiped out. Wounded Wislander officers were being carried down the mountain by medics.

Meanwhile, the green-skinned creatures continued to emerge in seemingly endless numbers, growing more ferocious the longer the battle continued.

Watching the brutal fighting, Babita could not help but break into a cold sweat. If his old friends did not start getting serious, they were going to get pushed all the way back down the mountain.

Babita was not the only one stunned. The players watching from the summit of Manor Peak were equally dumbfounded.

That earlier artillery barrage had been spectacular. Some of them had even opened betting pools to guess how long it would take those big-nosed Wislanders to plant their flag on the summit.

The result completely shattered their expectations. The Mutant Humans who had just endured that devastating bombardment looked as if nothing had happened and proceeded to beat the clone cannon fodder black and blue halfway up the mountain.

Eye Owe Money swallowed hard and muttered in shock, "Holy crap... They flattened the entire mountain with artillery and still ended up like this?"

Had the Mutant Humans turned on cheats too?

Construction Boy frowned while looking through his binoculars. "There's definitely something wrong with those guys."

"Yeah..." Sideline Slacking nodded solemnly. "They're definitely different from the ones we encountered when we first got here."

Back then, a single artillery barrage had killed half the green-skins. The remaining half had been wiped out in a single charge. They had encountered some resistance while advancing toward the summit, but only a little.

Seeing the allied position on the verge of collapse, Babita finally lost his patience and immediately ordered the commander beside him to attack. "Take your men up there! Now!"

"Yes, sir!" The commander dared not delay. He quickly rallied his troops and led over 1,000 soldiers into battle.

The mountain had seemed close enough to touch and not particularly intimidating from afar. Only after reaching the front lines did he realize how wrong that impression had been. The towering mountain stood before them like an insurmountable wall.

There was no real road at all, only a narrow goat trail barely leading to the summit.

Going around the mountain was impossible. Steep cliffs lined both sides, and beyond them lay unnamed peaks whose terrain was even worse. The soldiers could only climb upward while grabbing onto rocks along the path. They had to fire at the enemy while simultaneously avoiding being knocked off the mountainside by the corpses of their comrades.

Their opponents, meanwhile, enjoyed the advantage of firing down from higher ground.

Some of the smaller goblins would suddenly leap out from behind cover carrying rocks, daggers, or even satchels of explosives to give them a nasty surprise.

Over the past two weeks, the Death Corps had already become accustomed to such surprises. The newcomers from the Poro Province, however, had never encountered anything so vicious and ruthless.

The Wislander Army of Glory had at least managed to advance halfway up the mountain before being halted.

Those men, on the other hand, had not even reached the rear of their allies before their morale was already nearing collapse.

No matter how loudly General Babita shouted and cursed from behind them, he could not stop the Ratfolk soldiers from fleeing after being terrified by the hulking green-skinned brutes and goblins.

The battle raged from morning until sunset and the entire sky turned blood-red.

...

On the bridge of the Loyalty, Liam stared dumbfounded at the mountain that had finally fallen silent.

His mouth hung open, but no words came out. The ice cream stick he had been holding had long since fallen to the floor, yet nobody noticed.

That was because he was not the only one frozen in shock. The entire bridge had fallen silent.

An untimely growl from someone's empty stomach finally broke the silence.

Looking at the mountain that still had not been captured by sunset, Liam's face gradually turned the color of pig liver.

Suddenly, he exploded with rage and slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair.

A bunch of useless embarrassments! If I had known this would happen, I would've let General Modlin take the job!

"Prepare the main gun and aim it there!"

"Blast the damn mountain to pieces!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.