Infinity, Progressing from Arasaka - Chapter 272

And isn't it too fierce?

The little bird didn't know or understand, because it was just a bird.

"You scum, die!"

"Asshole!"

During the close combat, the sidearms were flung away, and the Arasaka soldiers and the Militech soldiers grappled and punched each other.

One moment you're on top of me, the next I'm on top of you; choking, cracking fingers, gouging eyes, punching groin... all sorts of methods that can cause stiffness and weakness are used.

Unfortunately, the Combat Cybernetics are similar. The presence of the Pain Editor plugin, exoskeleton, and subcutaneous armor prevents either side from easily breaking through the other's defenses. They also dare not allow the other to create distance and draw their weapons, so the two can only fight at point-blank range.

The stalemate lasted for more than half a minute.

Ultimately, perhaps it was Arasaka's [EXO Exoskeleton] that had stronger overload performance, or perhaps it was the timely injection of a new combat stimulant by Arasaka's built-in low-intelligence AI medical detection program that had a more potent effect, that caused the Arasaka soldier to fall on top of the Militech soldier.

The moment one hand broke free of its restraints, he grabbed a piece of concrete with reinforcing steel bars, and the electric drive system of the exoskeleton slammed it hard into the opponent's visor.

Bang! Blunt impact causes stiffness.

The Militech soldier's head tilted to the side, and his faceplate was dented.

Taking this opportunity, Arasaka soldier finally drew his EMP-equipped fighting knife, gripped it in reverse, and stabbed it into the gap in the neck armor of the opponent's exoskeleton, then pressed it down with all his might.

Without a thought of mocking or further desecrating the corpse, or rather, without the time, he hunched over, picked up the fallen gun, finished it off, and rushed into the house, finally throwing a Molotov cocktail.

Realizing that his neck artery had been pierced, the combat knife's built-in EMP discharger caused his prosthetic system to malfunction wildly. The Militech soldier, powerless to save himself, could only cough up blood, turn his head to look at the incendiary bomb rolling beside his head, and stare blankly at the sky.

"Mom... Sorry..."

Then, boom!

Blindingly hot, sparks enveloped the fallen Militech soldier like a steel furnace that had exploded.

"You rushed too fast."

Thump, thump, a team of Arasaka combat units, composed of cyborgs and robots, rushed over the wall.

Meanwhile, the Militech defenses of the building were being reinforced with rapid, rhythmic sounds.

Large-caliber kinetic energy warheads slammed down like a torrent, accompanied by fragmentation grenades, creating a deafening roar as debris flew everywhere.

Someone groaned and collapsed.

In the blink of an eye, Arasaka's counterattack arrived.

Amidst a hail of bullets and collapsing buildings, people from both sides were constantly being shot and knocked to the ground; the Grim Reaper's scythe efficiently reaped lives.

By this time, the swallows, having quenched their thirst and stored water, had already flown away from the other side of the house.

East.

A desolate wilderness.

"Gogogo!"

"Go ahead!"

Smoke and dust from tanks and other armored vehicles filled the suburbs of the city.

Sparsely distributed arsenal fire support vehicles, drone mothership vehicles, air defense vehicles, and radar vehicles stand at the rear of the formation.

Rows of rocket launcher vehicles are unleashing their firepower at full speed.

The Power Armor Unit's maintenance vehicles were positioned in the most heavily guarded central area.

The flow of people was mixed yet orderly, weaving through the queue from side to side.

In the ensuing dust and smoke, the silhouette of a floating vehicle could be faintly seen.

One after another, airlift aircraft carrying containers flew to the front of the attacking force.

Once they reached their destination, they dropped the containers.

Buzzing—thump! thump! thump!

After the container ignited the boosters on both sides to slow down, it crashed to the ground.

Click! Click! Click!

The sound of airtight gates opening was incessant, and a dense array of armed robots marched out in neat formations, organized by a swarm algorithm.

Before long, the commander of the Arasaka combat squad, who was waiting there, received his assigned robot auxiliary force under the quartermaster's allocation. After the division of authority was transferred, he led the robots to join his soldiers.

Then, depending on the mission requirements, they either board a vehicle or walk into hell.

Sigh, why was the deployment of the Intellitron forces so complicated before the Fourth Corporate War?

A central control program is deployed in the war zone, and a firewall force is established, which can then be used to unify the command of the Intellitron forces in that war zone.

Unfortunately, the initial network crashed, releasing a large number of AIs that roamed freely, and the emergence of Abomination Intelligence... The deployment of Intellitron forces could only be done in small groups, which were then combined into larger deployments, independent of each other, and had to be used in conjunction with frontline human commanders.

Even if the intelligent control program is compromised and loses control, it will be a small-scale, controllable, and fault-tolerant incident.

"Damn it, Rachie Batmos!" This is a common phrase among many corporate cybersecurity professionals. The more they admire that legendary figure's cybersecurity skills, the more they resent the viruses he created.

During combat, if the frontline commander dies, authority is passed down to the next person in turn.

Intellitron units like armed robots are just cannon fodder. No idiot would treat mass-produced robots like treasures and would rather use real people than waste robots filling in the gaps.

Above the Humanoid Combat Robot are more valuable military technology equipment, including small infiltration robots, standard multi-legged robotic beasts, medium Multi-legged Tank, heavy multi-legged tanks, and so on. The medium and larger ones can be operated by humans or unmanned personnel, depending on the needs.

Whoosh—whoosh—

On the edge of the still uncontested battlefield, the swallows struggled to fly out of the noisy war zone.

Just as it was descending and slowing down to recover its strength, it thought, "Oh? It really is a wild bird, species... barn swallow (Hirundo Rustica)."

Accompanied by a rough murmur, a dark shadow enveloped it.

The net was cast into the sky, covering everything.

Looking down at the birds caught in the net is a towering iron giant clad in thick, black armor. The Arasaka logo and the SAT Unit insignia are clearly visible on his shoulder armor.

"Commander Vera, are you... interested?"

Inside the non-body-sized Power Armor, a bald old man with gray hair and beard looked at the video frame on his retina.

Didi.

Vera: Yes, why wouldn't I? It was a gift from Old Man Ram. Besides, domesticating it might be considered saving a small life; North America is likely facing another, more devastating extinction event.

The visitor was none other than Hessman Ram, the First Deputy Director of the General Security Bureau the Security Department and head of the SAT Unit.

[Vera: You're going to have a tough time now, old man. As my trusted confidant, you'll be anchoring the offensive along the central line, launching a fierce assault on the Grand Ed-Norfolk- Omaha urban belt, threatening Lincoln, and penetrating into Iowa. I need you to maintain this high-intensity offensive for two weeks. During this time, I won't be sending you many SAT Unit, except for the Death Camp.]

Ram nodded. "That's enough. Attack where they must defend, and use a feint to the east while attacking in the west."

Then, after a moment of contemplation, he asked, "But with the pipeline raid offensive, are you really planning to use abandoned energy pipelines from the Old USA to launch a surprise attack on the Great Lakes region? Forgive my bluntness, but heavy equipment can't be transported there, and light infantry might not be up to the task."

[Vera: A small move, but worth a try. I won't rely on shortcuts. To achieve our full objective, we need to see if the northern offensive can break through Miles's defenses. Hansen has requested reinforcements from the south; he's under a lot of pressure there.]

Chapter 268 Vera in the War.

"Lincoln..."

Murmured softly, Vera leaned forward, her hands resting on the interactive holographic table in the War Room. On the table: a holographic military situation sand table depicting the area north of Nebraska slowly rotated, various army numbers, data frames, and data readings labeled on it, undergoing periodic calibration.

[TZ] Tokyo: 02/18 Los Angeles: 09/18 Berlin: 18/18 New York: 12/18.

The low-intelligence AI, equipped with a targeted perceptive module, then amplified the area south of the fiercely contested Grand Ed Norfolk Omaha urban belt.

Lincoln City is highlighted.

Yes, this Lincoln is the same Lincoln from the White House. The current capital of Nebraska was originally named Lancaster, but was renamed Lincoln after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, hailed as the "greatest president of the Old USA."

Undoubtedly, this place has inherent political attributes.

Whether for military strategic needs or political prestige, Miles could not easily allow Vera to capture it.

Vera adopted a central breakthrough strategy, pinning down her trusted confidant Hessman Ram and his SAT Death Camp squad there, a classic case of attacking where they must defend.

Would Miles, who relied on foreign wars to divert internal conflicts and maintain his rule and political life, dare to lose Lincoln?

Losing Lincoln means losing Nebraska, and losing Nebraska means opening the gates to the Great Lakes region.

Having lost the border defenses built before the war, the central region was almost entirely flat plains. The agricultural states had few large cities and no natural defenses. After Iowa, the Great Lakes region would become the heavy industrial base of the New America.

Having barely recovered from the wounds of the Fourth Corporate War, Chicago, the second largest city directly under the control of the New America, is now facing the formidable enemy of Arasaka, not to mention the Free State Alliance Army, which dares to hold a referendum on the spot, undermine the foundation of the new United States, and seize territory to establish its own state.

Seriously, if Miles dares to bet so much to lure the enemy in, Vera is willing to bet big in return!

The feint attack turned into the main attack.

If she could break through the central line and advance into Iowa, she could even completely overturn the previously established strategy and push all the mobile forces deployed on the northern front, as well as the fresh troops and reserves that Arasaka had mobilized from around the world, to the central line.

Without sufficient depth, even if Miles amassed a large number of troops in this region and maintained a strong air defense, Vera was confident that she could spread the war to the entire Great Lakes region within March 7th.

Judging from her own experience, and making a bold assumption, Vera felt that Miles wouldn't be so unwise.

Therefore, the Central Offensive should be made to be larger and more realistic.

Vera for a moment, then with a thought, snap! She flicked her finger, enlarged the miniature sand table, and lightly touched the topographic map with a light pen. Subsequently, clusters of light of varying thicknesses appeared on the holographic sand table composed of faint light.

The dried-up riverbeds of the Missouri and Platte Rivers, canals, large oil and natural gas pipelines long abandoned, the CHOOH2 pipeline (currently in use but urgently cut off due to the war), water pipelines, tunnels...

"Use orthodox tactics to engage, and unorthodox tactics to win. Once you have the orthodox tactics, it's time to use unorthodox tactics."

A glint of light flashed in Vera's unfathomable eyes.

Let's give it a try, a surprise attack.

She knew, of course, that this was a risky move.

The enemy in Militech is far from being at its wit's end.

A surprise attack might not be very effective.

But how can you launch a feint attack if you don't use surprise tactics, don't reveal any weaknesses, and don't show that you're putting effort into scheming against the enemy?

Simply building strongholds and engaging in stalemates, purely engaging in direct confrontations, is not only costly but also easily creates a sense of constraint.

That won't do.

She will cherish her Arasaka.

Miles is a man who fought his way up, not just a pretty face.

Moreover, besides Militech and the New America, Arasaka still has many other "competitors" to be wary of.

"So, we need to give the lads some handy equipment, and let a steady stream of new 'decisive battle weapons' appear, creating a sense of impending doom and impending collapse... Also, has the reorganization of the SAT Unit's Power Armor combined arms brigade been completed?"

Vera drew lines on the map showing the pipes and tunnels, and issued action orders.

"It's done, Your Excellency!"

The liaison officer from the Security Department immediately expressed his opinion, but then hesitated slightly.

"However, some aspects may still need time to adjust..."

"Adjustment? The ones who need adjustment are the players selected in March, right?"

Vera didn't turn her head back.

"Yes."

"Transfer them to the central front to begin clearing out the remaining enemy forces deep behind enemy lines, using real combat training as a substitute for actual combat training. They will be nominally under Ram's command. It will take time to devise suitable attack routes and conceal military intelligence. Give them half a month; they must get to Omaha!"

While applying pressure with regular troops, using surprise attacks might attract Miles's attention and cause him to misjudge the situation.

It doesn't matter if we fail; war is not a short-lived battle, Vera has room for error.

The so-called battles where the few win against the many are always local victories where the many win against the few, the strong against the weak, and the superior against the inferior, then snowballing until one side can no longer hold on and collapses.

Small victories accumulate into a great victory.

She didn't have high hopes for the outcome of the surprise attack, but even a small victory would be good to startle Miles and disrupt the front lines.

As the battle situation changes, this surprise attack could be used as a cover for the real surprise attack.

Vera hesitated for a moment before placing the wargaming icon representing a part of the SAT Unit in Omaha and Lincoln.

She was not afraid of losing battles, nor of casualties, as long as the battle did not turn into a war of annihilation.