Chapter 273
What any organization fears most is this indiscriminate approach, where the core members are all lost. Not only does it fail to train soldiers, but it also squanders resources. The only option is to recruit new people and train them from scratch, but often they are sent back to the battlefield before they are fully trained, only to suffer another crushing defeat with most of them killed or wounded.
"Is a new 'hammer' rising or is this the end?"
"David, I hope you can get through this."
To be honest, David has gradually reached the level of Vera's expectations of him when they first met. All he lacks is to go through this war inferno and forge his fear into obedience.
Mentioning David and his group of soldiers who had recovered from their injuries and returned to their unit, Vera seemed to remember something, and turned around with a cold expression, "Have the bonuses and combat injury compensation been properly distributed?"
"It has been issued."
"That's not enough. Send someone to notify the Counter-Intelligence Department to investigate. If anyone is found to be embezzling, or if an employee's family member has been humiliated because their breadwinner died in battle, deal with them. If you can't resolve it, submit a report to James Thomas, the vice president stationed at Night City."
"Yes!"
Nodding, Vera refocused her attention on the holographic sand table depicting the North American war.
The northern front is locked in a stalemate, the central front is characterized by westward attacks and eastward defense, and the southern front is characterized by eastward attacks and westward defense...
Seeing the Lone Star Republic, whose troops were stationed on the Western States but remained unmoved, Vera's face darkened. "Tch! These cowardly bastards who won't act until they see results! Insects!"
All bark and no bite; this is clearly a case of holding out for a high price, waiting for the outcome of the first major battle between Arasaka and Militech.
It seems the White House is really putting up a good "pillow talk" with them, and they've probably promised a lot of benefits.
However, Vera didn't have much to say; it's only human nature.
Just as everyone knows that offering help in times of need is better than adding to someone's success, there are always fewer people offering help in times of need, while there are always many people adding to someone's success.
Alas, it's just a pity for Kurt Hansen and his Barghest Group.
They agreed on something, but one side ended up getting beaten up.
If Vera's nuclear bomb hadn't dealt Lazarus Group a timely blow, causing heavy casualties to Lazarus and the advance forces resisting NUSA, Hansen might have even lost Albuquerque.
"Order the 3rd Marine Division of the Seventh Fleet stationed at San Diego Naval Base to move out and support Hansen."
"Tell Masao Mizuno that it was hard for him to make a detour to Austin (the capital of Texas) via Mexico and explain the pros and cons."
"Notify all Manufacturing Sector heads in the Americas region to attend the Logistics and Equipment Support Conference and discuss again how to increase ordnance production capacity."
There is war on the front lines, and there is war in the rear.
It would be extremely difficult for Vera to personally go to the front lines and fight on the front lines these days!
Even though she came from a field background, her combat skills were well-known.
As soon as she shows any sign of wanting to go to the front lines, not only her retainers and servants, but also the Arasaka executives in the Bay Area, Free State legislators, and even the frontline generals will do everything in their power to dissuade her.
Because she was not only the glue that held the Arasaka North American Free State Alliance forces together, but also the military commander and the person in charge. Micromanagement was ultimately a minor skill; she was responsible for making strategic decisions, ensuring logistical supplies, coordinating allies and headquarters, maintaining morale, listening to feedback, setting rewards and punishments, increasing production capacity, and improving technology...
She has to do all of this.
There are some things that Saburo Arasaka himself did them, he might not be able to completely replace her in achieving the same results.
Vera answered the battle reports with practiced ease, her tone sometimes stern, sometimes reprimanding, sometimes gentle.
Depending on the specific situation, some situations involved encouragement followed by discouraging criticism; others involved serious criticism in official documents following procedures. In private, Vera would make video calls to briefly discuss the issues and engage in some psychologically-based, corporate-style care and political work.
If we're at war, and we want people to risk their lives on the battlefield, we shouldn't be so reserved.
Just as Vera was drinking tea to soothe her throat, the bell rang.
[Caller: Michiko Arasaka]
Well, she also has to take care of her blended family.
Good afternoon, sister.
Walking to the office opposite the War Room, a private space, Vera tapped lightly on the large silver-white box on the table with her slender fingers.
And so, more than a week passed with continuous gunfire across North America.
Norfolk, Nebraska.
It was sweltering. The flames of war had already ignited the air.
Inside and outside the city, bloody scenes of close combat unfolded one after another, a truly brutal spectacle.
"Tsk."
Having fully recovered and returned to his unit, Suneo, clad in Arasaka's standard Power Armor, stomped on a Militech, then walked through a pile of human and machine corpses, muttering to himself, "Damn it, I don't want to be one of them..."
Before he could finish speaking on the common communications channel, squad leader David's shoulder-mounted plasma cannon had already fired a high-voltage plasma energy blast. The blue ball of light, crackling with lightning, burst from the barrel and exploded in a gap in a dilapidated building.
Amidst the surging smoke and dust, the special coating of thermo-optical camouflage shimmered and crackled.
That was a Militech Power Armor lying in ambush here.
We finally met.
With a thud, the engine roared, and inside the heavy, black armor, David remained focused.
"Come on! This time, I've got Power Armor too."
Chapter 269 Cyberpunk 2077 [Large Battlefield Mode - Conquest]. jpg
Amidst the ravaged concrete ruins, corpses littered the ground, houses burned to the ground, and bullets rained down, crackling and popping.
The charred gate collapsed with a long, mournful sound, raising a cloud of dust.
Boom!
Plasma exploded.
Debris from building materials rained down on the rampaging steel behemoth, David and clashing as David clashed with the armored cavalry of Militech.
All the combat robots along the way were violently smashed aside.
Too slow... I can see it clearly and keep up.
David skillfully manipulated his new 'body' without any delay.
[Big Ghost 4-B] The information scanned by countless sensors on the surface of the Power Armor is converted into the most direct neural signals and input into the brain-computer interface. David dodged the laser cannon that was aimed at his face, and used the Power Armor's long-handled thermal axe in front of him to block the Power Armor sword that was coming at the same time. As the opponent's sword swung along the handle of the axe, David moved the thermal axe to the side.
With a hissing sound, the high-frequency conductive axe blade, glowing red like freshly cast iron, lay horizontally.
Then, buzz—
The drive system operates at high power! The super-torque muscle motor roars!
David instantly swung his heat axe.
Clang! As easily as a hot knife through butter, with a crisp metallic tearing sound, the thermo-optical camouflage coating crumbled, and the Militech- grade Power Armor warrior broke apart, cleaved in two at the waist with an axe.
The broken cable exposed sparking wires, which were flying around, and liquid energy was dripping down, making a hissing sound.
Unfortunately, the load-bearing wall within the range of the swing collapsed.
"I have been reborn." With these words in mind, David effortlessly withdrew his stance, then brought down the axe without hesitation.
Finishing off an enemy is an essential skill for any competent soldier on the battlefield.
With a snap, the head section of the military-grade Power Armor was completely chiseled into its armored neck, tearing apart the internal parts and other obstructions. As the thermal axe was swiftly pulled out, several small bursts of lightning exploded, releasing a cloud of foul-smelling magenta steam.
For non-body-sized Power Armor, head damage does not necessarily mean death, or even loss of combat capability, but torso damage will inevitably lead to shutdown. Even the best Power Armor will be rendered useless without its pilot.
David immediately drew his axe and jumped back.
Boom! The Power Armor, whose entire system was severely damaged, exploded.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The Militech troops lying in ambush at this location were horrified.
What?! Just one glance?!
"A giant demon? It's Adam Smasher?!"
"What a load of rubbish! Didn't the report say that cyber scum was in Albuquerque on the southern front?"
"Focus fire! Focus fire! Kill him first!"
The skirmish immediately escalated into a fierce battle.
Light and heavy firepower converged, and explosives rained down like a string of pearls, ash surged, and the crackling and booming sounds echoed across the rubble.
David remained silent, simply moving forward and wielding his heavy, heat-generating axe.
It swept across, directly crushing and pulverizing the military combat robots and mechanical dogs in front of it, dismembering those blocking its way with three axe blows in a second.
His free left arm would occasionally rise, sometimes activating the machine gun mounted on it to accurately hit the enemy's vitals, and sometimes casually swinging his fist to send the exoskeleton military soldier who burst out from the ruins flying and crush the self-destructing drone.
With the airborne radar and sensors operating at high frequency and humming as they charge, the plasma shoulder cannons and electromagnetic railguns fire intermittently, following the established plans. In an instant, they either blast military personnel mounted on the roof of a building a hundred meters away into charred remains, or pierce through armored vehicles that emerge from street corners, turning them into bursts of flame...
In the blink of an eye, it had already smashed down several houses, killed more than a dozen people, and destroyed countless small technical equipment.
To the left and right, Kawakami Xiao Fu and four armored soldiers wearing Arasaka- made Power Armor followed closely, coordinating their anti-aircraft efforts seamlessly.
With a clang, David knocked down another person, who was wearing standard military-style Power Armor.
Xiao Fu immediately pressed forward, operating the Demon-style automatic shotgun and firing at face-to-face. The large-caliber armor-piercing slug tore open his chest. In the moment of stiffness, another armored soldier stepped forward and swiftly brought down his knife, and the iron-clad, flesh-clad, flesh-clad head rolled off with a 'thud'.
As the opposing Thermal Cannon, the soldier, aiming precisely at the movement trajectory of the supporting Arasaka soldiers, stood firm with his Power Armor and slammed his thick, black and red composite shield, which was taller than a normal person, into the ground.
Sizzle!
The shields failed to provide complete protection, and the stray beams of high-temperature energy grazed past them.
Although it was burned, the dispersed beams did not pose a significant threat to the armor, thus fulfilling the shield's purpose.
The heavy-firepower type Heze next to him immediately counterattacked.
With its shoulder-mounted missile launchers, backpack-mounted twin-barreled mortars, arm-mounted laser cannons, wrist-mounted machine guns, and full-body miniature rocket launchers deployed, the missiles unleashed a barrage of attacks, scattering the enemy troops in front of them to pieces, using thermal imaging sensors, sound waves, sensors, and other target acquisition equipment and a parallel system to share tactical data.
Taking this opportunity, David charged forward.
Thump! [Big Ghost] exerted exaggerated force, slamming the military-grade power Power Armor soldier and his standard-grade Power Armor guards into the wall. The wall cracked and collapsed, and dust billowed up.
With a reddish axe blade flashing, David struck down the first man.
The remaining roar, pushing aside the rubble, pressed forward with all its might, attempting a full-power collision, grabbing David's waist, but the pumpkin-sized iron fist fell with a howling gale.
With a bang, metal fragments flew everywhere, denting the man's chest armor. He was sent flying backward, crashing onto the roadside, sparks flying as he hit the curb and came to a stop, where he remained motionless.
Just as David was preparing to fire a follow-up shot, a military-grade Power Armor, nearly 3.7 meters tall, crashed through the wall and charged over with a muffled roar.
Attacking without defending, he knocked down an Arasaka Power Armor soldier in an instant and charged straight at David.
The massive steel body did not appear clumsy at this moment; on the contrary, it was as agile as a swimming fish.
Weaving through the barrage of bullets, and still accelerating, leaving trails of shadows, its weapon modules were firing like a madman with no end in sight, as if budgets would be cut next year. Arasaka soldiers and Intellitron who couldn't dodge in time were kicked to death like stray dogs on the roadside.
Sandevistan.?
Inside the [Great Demon], David squinted, having made his judgment.
Besides the Alpha-level cybernetic body Vera operated on him to modify, the new Combat Logic Programmer inside the Power Armor and the Super-Ego Sensor that accelerated the pilot's reactions on top of the original modifications also helped him see clearly.
My frame rate is higher than yours!
David trampled over him.
Bang! The exaggeratedly designed climbing claws slammed into the ground, and the exhaust flames from the propulsion system propelled the entire [Big Ghost] out of the air.
Steel clashed against steel, sparks flew, boom!
With a loud boom, a shockwave rippled outwards, sending debris flying.
In the end, both were sent flying backwards, and David crashed into a destroyed, transformable four-legged tank, his back joints cracking from the impact.
Shaking his head, David was the first to stand up.
He won. His opponent accelerated all the way, using weight and inertia, while he pulled off a straight jump from a stationary position.
"Wow, you can actually keep up with me! Hahaha, that's amazing! I love it here!"