Kill That Fire Thief

Many factors can determine the success or failure of a war.

Equipment.

Logistics.

Officer's degree.

And... morale.

Or rather, willpower.

These Element are almost equally important, and the absence of any one of them can lead to serious consequences... But if we really have to compare them, willpower is indeed relatively more important.

Because it is ultimately people who carry out combat operations and use weapons.

Without a strong will to fight tenaciously and high morale, even a well-armed American-trained comprador force would be routed, reduced to mediocrity, and forced to transform into a courier company.

However, sometimes, astonishing contrasts can subtly corroborate certain racial theories... For example, a certain corrupt regime of a certain ethnicity in a certain era, even though its army had degenerated into a rotten and shameful comprador type in its later stages, was still able to withstand a full-scale attack for three years by another legendary army from the same ethnicity whose fighting spirit had reached the pinnacle of humanity. This compelling evidence dramatically proves the enormous racial advantage of a certain ethnicity, that even a comprador army can be so fierce.

But this moment is not like that moment.

Over several months, Griffin used dwarven craftsmen, conscripted laborers, magical machines, and Earth School magicians to excavate and construct trenches and defensive lines that were ahead of their time, almost perfectly combining human wisdom and the technological power of magical Civilization to build this iron defense.

It can be said that such a defensive line could defeat the armies of any country in the Mortal World.

Ordinary soldiers have begun to be equipped with early-stage firearms and long-range projectile weapons on a large scale, elite troops have begun to enjoy the amplification of the Star Palace technology, and strategically there are powerful weapons such as Deceleration Field.

Such an army would be perfect in the Mortal World.

Attacking this defensive line would result in cavalry being overwhelmed by the complex and rugged trenches, infantry formations being hampered by the intricate terrain and barbed wire, and ranged units being attacked by the well-rested Council mage brigade. Even in a head-on exchange of fire, the Council's army could naturally hide in sturdy fortifications to avoid the brunt of ranged attacks—and even attempts to bypass the defensive line would be met with constant harassment and disruption.

These are tactics and weapons that were ahead of their time.

But Griffin's opponent was Kang De.

Layered, continuous, sturdy, and deadly trenches, while a tactic ahead of its time in the Mortal World, capable of bringing defeat to any great power's army... But in Kang De's view, it had a major flaw.

That is--

This was merely a flash of brilliance from Griffin and his staff, ahead of their time.

However, it has not been tested and improved in actual combat.

This was the first time that the Distant Harbor Army had launched a large-scale offensive against this defensive line.

Experience in trench construction, the setting of open and concealed fire, the tactics of crossfire, the consolidation of easily breached areas, the strengthening of defenses... all these details cannot be covered by the ingenious ideas of one or two wise men. Instead, problems must be discovered through actual combat and compensated for with the tragic sacrifices and endless bloodshed of soldiers.

Humans were doing this a hundred years ago, and they perfected it in the largest and most horrific war to date, even bringing it to a complete end. The related tactics are still widely used today, and the experience gained from it is countless and has been refined through countless trials.

The seemingly perfect steel defense line was utterly meaningless in the face of an armored assault that was far ahead of its time, and in the face of Horus, who had studied the entire history of human warfare from the first World War onwards, based on the database he had obtained through the American Empire A Chuan over the past few months.

This is the true meaning of artificial intelligence—although memorization and comprehension are two different concepts, Horus today undoubtedly remembers the most glorious moments of the art of war by the greatest armored assault masters and offensive tactics masters in human history.

For decades, scholars who have made a living by studying this history have repeatedly interpreted and researched it.

Even the least efficient method of rote memorization can provide the most accurate answers to many questions.

Therefore, Horus began to micromanage.

Don't misunderstand, the term "micromanagement" isn't derogatory; it's just that, like many innocent terms, it's been tarnished by a particular person. While Zhukov could use micromanagement to outmaneuver Guderian even with inferior forces, that particular person frequently used micromanagement to turn his own army into the one being chased.

Drone reconnaissance, real-time image transmission, Superman analysis.

Thus, the battlefield is one-way transparent.

Relying on hyperspace jumps, combat units can be deployed rapidly, and support firepower can respond instantly.

In this battle, the command chain was streamlined to the extreme. As the highest-ranking battlefield commander, Horus issued orders directly to platoons and even responded to squad requests for support.

All commands are displayed directly on the tactical unit's visual helmet panel, and when conditions permit, safe movement routes and high-threat areas are even marked.

In addition to the enemy targets marked by drones, when soldiers encounter and engage the enemy, any enemy force that a combat unit visually locks onto and engages will also be marked in real time on the visualization panel of all units, so that friendly units that are not yet engaged can calmly flank and attack from all directions.

At this point in the war, it would be unjust if we didn't win.

"Hitdog!"

The riflemen squad, forced to retreat by a barrage of enchanted crossbow bolts, had just finished assembling their molten missile launchers and hoisting them onto their shoulders when they saw the stubbornly resisting firing port being destroyed by a mage's vehicle passing by from the side with its rapid-fire machine gun, splattering blood and dirt everywhere.

The squad leader, seeing only "Assists +20," "Squad Tactics +40," and "Cover Awareness +50" accumulated points on the tactics panel, angrily cursed, "Points! Our points!"

He roared, "Keep pushing! Charge! Charge! Charge! You son of a bitch, so what if you're driving a vehicle?!"

"Captain, pay attention to the tactics, calm down!"

Then he was pulled back by the deputy captain, who shouted amidst the continuous roar of artillery fire, "Don't be reckless! If you rush in too fast and get pinned down by the enemy... you'll lose points!"

Grades! They are indeed very important.

Performance in combat, including completing squad orders, eliminating enemy personnel, achieving important tactical objectives, and even demonstrating actions such as rescuing people, providing cover, being brave, cautious, and calm on the battlefield, will be recorded by the system in real time and accumulate points.

The total score obtained will be assigned a military merit coefficient after the battle based on the strategic significance, difficulty, and results of the battle. The two coefficients are multiplied together to obtain the military merit points earned by the soldier in the battle.

These military merit points are similar to wages, but their uses are extremely wide-ranging.

Besides purchasing supplies, daily necessities, luxury goods, and real estate at military-official prices, the funds can also be used to apply for special weapon modifications, improved armor, and additional tactical weapon rations.

Even promotions in rank, advancement in troop type, and entry into legendary units... all require military merit points.

The real-time scores earned during battle can also be used!

This is a problem that Kang De and Horus discovered during military exercises in the White Mist World —when combat units find themselves able to call for support without limit, they gradually develop a bad habit of calling in a long-range rocket artillery barrage to mow down a rat that is shooting at them.

This leads to a huge waste of military resources—excessive firepower and excessive consumption of weapons are secondary issues; the more important issue is that the dense requests for support can easily clog up fire channels, preventing local battlefields that truly need support from receiving it quickly. This, in turn, further increases the anxiety of frontline units, causing them to rush to call for support when problems arise, lest they not receive an immediate response.

So they rolled it up.

To avoid this situation, Kang De racked his brains for hours and decided to screw over the grading system.

Calling for support costs war points!

--Support project licensing!

Some special support can only be called upon by special forces or high-ranking officers!

From munitions delivery and drone reconnaissance to suicide drones and alchemical war dogs.

Even targeted artillery fire, strafing, saturation artillery fire, and air-to-ground support.

Even hyperspace bombs, battle bunker jumps, giant dragon aviation platforms, and Super-Phase Cosmic Vacuum Suction.

In addition, there are a series of super weapons that will be launched in the future, including the Corona Cannon, which was just unveiled today.

They are categorized according to their power, intensity, and scarcity, with licensing rights defined and prices clearly marked.

For example, even if a regular rifleman squad on the front line racks up points to the max, they can forget about calling in Corona Cannon. To improve their authorization, they have to steadily accumulate military merits, and even undergo relevant training, pass cultural assessments, advance in rank, and eventually enter the ranks of commanders.

He could even rise to a higher rank and become the most outstanding and capable fighter in the Distant Harbor military.

Only then would one be qualified to call in Corona Cannon on the battlefield.

Of course, this scoring system is not so rigid as to be inflexible. For example, if a squad is in dire straits and has run out of points, but has an important tactical objective to achieve or encounters a crucial opportunity, then using [beep--] to draw points and call for support is also an option.

But this means that it must be verified afterward.

If the review department determines that the withdrawal has achieved significant value commensurate with its value, such as killing an important target, capturing a key battle point, rescuing friendly forces, or protecting oneself, then it is a meritorious act and will even receive other rewards. However, if it fails to pass the review, the individual will be reprimanded and punished, and points will be deducted double.

This scoring system is incredibly rudimentary; even on Earth, no army has ever used it before. Yet, its application in this battle is remarkably stable.

Since the points used to call for support will be accumulated into total points and converted into military merit points after the battle, there is no need to worry that soldiers will be reluctant to call for support because they are concerned about losing military merit points. However, the fact that support will consume points will also make them more careful in using support where it is most needed.

Even certain reckless behaviors, such as rushing forward, disobeying orders, individual heroism, and failing to seek cover, can lead to point deductions.

This will gradually help soldiers develop such conditioned reflexes and behavioral norms.

For the same reason, tactical actions such as rescuing teammates, supporting friendly forces, responding to offensives, and occupying advantageous terrain, due to their generous rewards, will gradually lead soldiers to develop relevant tactical skills. After all, the reward mechanism is more useful than military academy learning... That's just how humans are.

To perfect this battlefield score system, Kang De even instructed AWSL Company to hire headhunters worldwide, poaching numerous numerical designers from well-known competitive game companies to work in their newly formed game department. The only task these renowned game developers received was...

It involves early numerical planning for a large-scale battlefield competitive game that has "no demo, no project, no code, only the boss's imagination," to prevent a series of problems such as "score devaluation due to later inflation" and "opportunistic cheating to inflate scores and exploit loopholes."

Many game developers are unwilling to waste their time on this unreal project. After all, when they start a job, making money is one thing, and making their resumes look better is another. This strangely named shell company's project seems so bizarre; there isn't even a programmer, just a group of people sitting together calculating data.

I've never seen a game company like this before.

But they agreed anyway.

Because the other party gave so much...

This was also part of Kang De's plan: to use movies and games as a pretext to hire the world's best talent to help Distant Harbor design urban planning and develop its economic system.

In addition, they spent money to hire online trolls to post on various forums and websites around the world where users who enjoy politics, military affairs, and games are single, obese, have social difficulties, or engage in online banter. They set the tone and guided these idle minds to supplement Kang De's military-political-civil system.

Today, the stunning urban landscape and management system of Distant Harbor are the result of the work of a renowned game development team, who even hired experts and professors from top universities as consultants.

Because Mr. Kang De said, "I want to make a large-scale MMO game with a Civilization city that incorporates magical Element," and it needs to be so detailed that the cable laying, sewer system, urban planning, etc. are completely self-consistent. In short, a real city can be built according to the design.

This request is outrageous.

After all, it's a game. Artists and modelers only need to create images that look incredibly stunning and magnificent. They don't care how much productivity it takes or how many years it would take to build such an outrageous and awesome thing. But since Mr. Kang has given so much money, he can design a realistic city if he wants.

The plan is progressing steadily. The only concern is that if it's made too grand, it might arouse suspicion among those with ulterior motives... Kang De isn't particularly afraid that Earth will find out about the other world, just as he doesn't care at all that Mortal World beings know he comes from another world.

But it's best to keep this kind of thing a secret for as long as possible.

He even seriously asked the Parrot, "How about we actually play a few games?"

Of course, the Parrot will roar.

She said she wanted to become a recommender for Xianxia (fantasy martial arts) mobile games.

When faced with a large-scale armored assault, Griffin realized that he was fighting against the power of an entire Civilization, and it can only be said that his premonition was accurate.

The Grand Speaker of the Arcane Council not only had to face the culmination of a century's Civilization, but also couldn't fathom how many strange and even completely unrelated people were strategizing behind the suffocating Distant Harbor War System that was waging war against him.

But the battle situation was indeed deteriorating rapidly, as visible to the naked eye.

The local troops conscripted from the northern prefectures had low morale and integrity, and large-scale surrenders and routs had already occurred. The elite troops at the front were unwilling to surrender to the Distant Harbor, but their retreat and rout were not even as fast as the advance of the Distant Harbor. News of the battlefield defeats was like a boulder thrown into a lake, causing a huge upheaval. In the chaotic scene that resembled the end of the world, the army's fighting spirit was rapidly fading.

Soldiers are the most bewildered group. When they join the army and fight on the battlefield, it's like a small pebble thrown into a huge torrent. They only know the fighting in front of them and how to survive. They don't know the situation on the battlefield, the bloody back-and-forth of the entire battle, or the overall battlefield situation... They know nothing.

But they are also the most perceptive group, able to sense the subtle nuances in the air.

The taste was... a failure.

The relentless barrage of fire, the surging waves of steel torrents, the airships soaring through the sky, the pillars of light rising all around, and the meaningless shouts and cries... even the still resolute Griffin elite force had to admit one fact—defeat was inevitable.

So, what should we do next?

Retreat?

When to retreat?

We can't possibly fight Kang De to the last breath here, can we?

Even the most determined elite troops began to get restless.

Morale was low, and their eyes frequently drifted toward the command post. The Grand Speaker gave them no further orders than to hold their posts and fight bravely against the enemy.

The broadcasts of the Distant Harbor even surged forward along with the torrent of steel.

"Griffin ran away!"

"Griffin Williams ran off with his master!"

"You are all expendable pawns! You have all been abandoned! Think of your families!"

"I am Kaliusi, the acting Grand Speaker of the Council. Soldiers, I assure you, as long as..."

Inside the bunker, Griffin had already refused the generals' repeated requests to see him. The group was blocked at the entrance to the underground fortifications, looking at each other in bewilderment. Several female mages had begun to sob.

The ground shook violently.

This inexplicable battle, launched in response to a single individual, seems to be drawing to a close.

Inside the house, or rather, in the vast secret chamber excavated within the Grand Speaker's private living quarters, green flames flickered and shone. This was a different set of the Star Palace devices from the Deceleration Field. Before this device, the Grand Speaker and Phaethon locked eyes.

"I've already told you everything about the Star Palace's future plans, including our arrangements and secrets in the Mortal World, and the permissions and knowledge Apophis granted me."

The God of the Star Palace's face darkened. "It's time for you to give your response— Griffin. I'm telling you in advance, if you're thinking of using these secrets to grovel before Kang De, I advise you to abandon that idea now. Now, you either activate this device, showing the Star Palace your resolve and will to completely oppose Kang De, or I'll kill you right here, which will also throw this country into chaos."

The door to the room slowly closed, swallowing up the last glimmer of light.

Only green Flame flickered on the device.

Griffin's expression shifted in the firelight; he seemed to have been silent for an eternity. Finally, he raised his head, his face cold, and laughed.

"Good."

He pressed down on the star chart of the Star Palace device in front of him and poured his magic power into it.

The pale green light shone and inspired, eventually transforming into a rich, intense color, spreading out in invisible ripples!

In the next instant, the generals waiting at the bunker entrance, the local troops weeping and wanting to surrender, the elite troops with firm will but also beginning to feel restless, and all the Council combat personnel—all of them suddenly had a terrifying green light in their eyes. Their will to self was being lost, and endless hatred was growing. Griffin, who was in charge of the army, could easily add something to the logistics supplies!

In an instant, they roared in unison, their hatred solidified and directed towards them.

Kill!

Kill!

Kill!

Kill the Fire Thief!

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: I slept through the night until this afternoon... I'm really sorry, I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. After taking the medicine, I slept very soundly. Damn, this is probably the longest and most restful sleep I've had in days.