Promotion to Corporal

"The purpose of this counteroffensive is to concentrate our forces and destroy five German encampments in one stroke. According to the coded information on the map, one is a large operational base, three are medium-sized encampments, and the remaining one is a lightly manned transit camp."

Colonel Marcos began his explanation. Every officer in the command tent listened intently; clearly, they had been waiting a long time for the chance to launch a counterattack.

They had been passively suppressed by the German army for too long. Sooner or later, the frontline defensive zone would fall completely. But if this counteroffensive succeeded, it would deal a heavy blow to the Nazis' momentum.

"The enemy's large operational base will be raided by me personally, along with two Lieutenant Colonels and no fewer than five units. The three medium-sized encampments will each be handled by an officer ranked Second Lieutenant or above, leading three units."

As Colonel Marcos spoke, he gestured across the large map with his finger. It was a military-grade three-dimensional simulation map, clearly displaying five marked German camp fortresses beyond the defensive line.

Looks like we're really going big this time. The commanding officer is personally leading the operation, we have the enemy base coordinates, the troop deployment is sufficient, and there's a nighttime raid on top of that—this operation would be hard to lose.

Kyle mused to himself. He had personally handled the decoding of the messages and had long been familiar with the intelligence recorded on the map. The moment he heard the colonel's troop allocation for the raid, he knew the battle was basically in the bag.

That was the importance of intelligence in war. The side that seized the initiative usually won.

Over the next while, Colonel Marcos assigned each officer their respective units and raid plans. Once the officers learned their missions for the night, they quickly left the tent with brief copies of their operation plans and began making preparations for the raid.

Before long, Kyle was the only one left in the command tent.

Don't tell me the commander forgot about me?

Kyle silently grumbled as he looked at Colonel Marcos, who had returned to his seat. Still, he had not wasted his time. During the planning meeting, he had drawn several decent Green Ability Cards from the officers nearby.

Although once Green Ability Cards had accumulated to a certain extent, stacking Ability Cards of the same specialty no longer produced much noticeable improvement in physical attributes or abilities.

Colonel Marcos took a sip of water, then turned his gaze toward Kyle. His tense expression softened considerably as he smiled. "Soldier Kyle. Tonight's raid is extremely important. Although you only returned from the frontline combat zone this morning, after resting this afternoon, you'll still be participating in the raid tonight."

"Of course. Being able to take part in the first counterattack against the Nazis is an honor for me as an American soldier. Tonight, I'll give everything I have to kill the enemy." Kyle spoke righteously.

"Your will and drive as a soldier, along with your remarkable performance on the battlefield—I've heard plenty about them from the sergeants these past few days." Colonel Marcos nodded in satisfaction. He was genuinely pleased with this new soldier; the more he looked at Kyle, the more agreeable he found him.

When a new recruit first entered the battlefield, it was already good enough if he could perform at seventy percent of his normal ability. Yet Kyle, despite having just arrived, performed like a battle-hardened veteran, moving through the battlefield as though he belonged there.

Aside from arranging the counteroffensive over the past few days, Colonel Marcos had repeatedly confirmed Kyle's identity with the rear base, afraid that he might be some secret German spy in disguise.

Colonel Marcos cleared his throat and said meaningfully, "But tonight, I'm not merely asking you to join the raid as a soldier."

"Not as a soldier? Then as what..." Kyle looked surprised. As if he had suddenly guessed something, his expression turned strange. "Colonel, you're not going to have me lead troops to raid the fifth German camp, that small transit station, are you?"

"That's right." Colonel Marcos nodded, showing that he was not joking. He took a rank insignia from the drawer and placed it on the table. "Of course, you won't be leading them as a soldier, but as a Corporal."

"Me, a Corporal?" Kyle pointed at his own nose in stunned disbelief.

Although Corporal was not a high rank, it absolutely counted as entering the non-commissioned officer ranks in the military!

After only three days of fighting, he was skipping Private, Private First Class, and Senior Private to become a Corporal in one leap? Since when had the rank of Corporal become so cheap?

"What, you don't believe in your own ability?" Colonel Marcos smiled.

"I naturally believe I'm capable. But being promoted directly to Corporal... I really didn't expect that." Kyle shrugged, quickly calming down.

"In peacetime, rising from a new recruit to Corporal in three days would be impossible even with a general backing you."

Colonel Marcos said gravely, "But this is World War II! Soldier Kyle, the battles you've fought over these past few days and the enemies you've personally killed likely number several times more than what veteran soldiers living in peacetime might kill over more than a decade."

"Your outstanding individual combat performance and exceptional talent for intelligence analysis—having someone like you remain merely a soldier would be far too wasteful. Since you have the ability, the army urgently needs elite talent like you, and you have real military achievements as your foundation, what does a direct promotion to Corporal amount to?"

"I understand." Kyle nodded.

Heroes emerged in troubled times. It was precisely because this was an era of conflict like World War II that capable people could rise rapidly through the ranks without relying on connections or accumulated experience.

I like an era like this.

The corners of Kyle's lips rose slightly. His azure eyes shone with confidence, and for the first time, he felt fortunate to have been reborn into Marvel's World War II era.

Colonel Marcos smiled. "Don't worry. This is your first time leading troops, and it's such an important counteroffensive. I won't have you commanding alone."

"That's good. I was afraid I'd mess it up by myself." Kyle let out a breath. He now understood clearly that while launching the counterattack, the colonel was also giving him an opportunity to train himself.

Colonel Marcos called outside the tent, "Communications officer, go call Sergeant Fury over."

"Sergeant Fury?" Kyle rubbed his chin. The name sounded somewhat familiar.

Not long afterward, a Black officer entered the tent. His left eye was still wrapped in bandages, yet he was already dressed in a full combat uniform, looking ready to deploy at any moment.

"It's you, Sergeant." Kyle exclaimed in surprise. The man who had entered was the Black sergeant he had encountered during his first experience on the battlefield.

"Soldier Kyle—no, I should say Corporal Kyle." Sergeant Fury greeted him warmly, then saluted the colonel. "Sir! Sergeant Fury has recovered and returned to duty. I am capable of carrying out any operation plan!"

"Very good." Colonel Marcos nodded and introduced him to Kyle. "This is your partner for leading the troops tonight, Nick Fury. He has commanded as a sergeant for some time and possesses extensive field command experience."

Kyle blinked. Upon hearing the Black officer's name, he was instantly dumbfounded.

Nick Fury? The future Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the twenty-first century?

"Please take care of me tonight." Sergeant Fury looked amiable as he nodded at Kyle. He was nothing like the intimidating and imposing man he would become in the future. Right now, he looked very young, only around twenty-five.

"You're too polite." Kyle composed himself. This was World War II, after all. Let alone the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., even S.H.I.E.L.D. itself had not been established yet.

But leading troops into battle with the future Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

That was rather interesting.

Fury's age is correct. Later on, he kept himself alive by taking the Infinite Equation serum. Please look it up on Baidu yourself.

For every original movie character in this book, their age will be checked on Baidu before being written. Read with confidence.