Having gone this far, Yu Lian had no choice but to agree. Fortunately, Lieutenant Pakin and his men were cut from the same cloth as him: all were muscular, agile headshot monsters. They were naturally better at breaking through enemy lines and providing reinforcements than defending, and had always played the role of vanguard in the 101st Company.
"Those goblins shouldn't dare pull anything now. You can judge the situation and choose the targets for artillery fire yourself. Just give the orders."
"Very well. Heh, young man, our company has a few part-time technicians and gunners, too. They may not have fired thousands of shots like you, but they won't be fooled so easily."
That was true. Those technicians and gunners had at least operated small phase cannons at technical school. After watching the goblins work for so long alongside Yu Lian, they should at least be able to tell what they were doing.
Yu Lian thought for a moment, then added, "Be careful of the north side of the high ground. I've observed that the cliffs there are relatively gentle, and there's soft sand and a lakeshore below. If the Sandfolk want to launch a surprise attack, they could sneak in by water. They didn't evolve from reptiles, but they're still quite good at swimming underwater and climbing—at least better than humans. I'm worried someone might attack from that direction."
History would later tell Yu Lian that most of the 101st Company's casualties occurred in the latter half of the battle. Kazhan, the future father of Sandfolk independence, led his personal guard in an attack from that blind spot. A considerable number of his guards fell to their deaths while climbing, and Kazhan himself was eventually routed by the defenders, who reacted quickly. Even so, they managed to inflict some casualties on the 101st Company.
From then on, Kazhan earned the name "the Climber."
Captain Winter nodded. Had it been anyone else, he might have dismissed the warning, but since it came from Yu Lian, he took it seriously.
"Matthew! Move three of the sentry guns from the stone gate to the north!"
The 101st Company's detachable sentry guns were automated and could detect enemies with infrared and heat sensors. Even if the Sandfolk really had evolved from reptiles, they were so active that their body temperature couldn't possibly be lower than a rock's, could it?
Of course, it would be a different matter if they had a psychic, but Yu Lian remembered that Kazhan's astral chart was "Guardian."
Yes, he was tough, thick-skinned, and reckless—but none of that would help him here.
Yu Lian felt reassured, but after a moment's thought, he called Ina. "How's the situation?"
"All the enemies who tried to attack us have been driven back! Their disarray is obvious now. There's no need to worry."
"Good. Stick to the original plan. Have the mercenary meet me at Point C."
"Understood." Ina didn't ask any questions, but added, "I'll have Sergeant Baka take a squad along."
A security force combat squad had five people. Whether they were reinforcements or there to keep an eye on the mercenary, if Ina said it was fine, then it was fine. On this battlefield, the future "Scarlet-Eyed Witch" was the person Yu Lian trusted second-most, after Captain Winter. She was certainly more trustworthy than his senior, who was currently riding the waves.
Yu Lian and Lieutenant Pakin's squad deployed their mechs' glider wings, swept over the ravine above the dazed Sandfolk, then took out more than a hundred Sandfolk cavalrymen who had rushed over to reinforce them. Using the howls of the dying raptors as cover, they circled a mountain and soon spotted figures emerging on the opposite slope. Naturally, it was Baka and his group.
Besides his rifle and oversized power axe, the bear-man sergeant was even carrying one of the two blaster rifles. He grinned broadly at Yu Lian.
And the person bringing up the rear of the group was none other than Yaxiu Stein.
"Your infiltration just now was brilliant. I'll report it to the Governor's Office and make sure you get a handsome reward. You might even be awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Tulong."
What the hell was that good for? Would it get him out of paying taxes? Yaxiu Stein gazed at Yu Lian in despair, but managed to force a smile. "Heh heh. Maintaining the international order and protecting civilians are also the duties of us Rangers. So, are we heading back to the valley to reinforce them now?"
You're only a graduate of the Ranger training camp. You don't even have a license yet. Of course, you never got one in your life.
Yu Lian looked at him sympathetically, then opened his communicator again and called Youyou in the canyon.
Fortunately, this time there was only a two- or three-second delay before the connection came through.
"What's the enemy doing?"
"They're still attacking. The sergeant has gone to the front, but..." The voice coming through the communicator wasn't Youyou's this time, but that of the dim-witted communications soldier... Come to think of it, what was that guy's name again?
"We'll be right back." Yu Lian had barely said it when the communications soldier on the other end let out a scream. "Ah! Why did you come in? This is—Aah!"
Had the enemy broken through? Cold sweat broke out on Yu Lian's forehead. Fortunately, just a second later, Frederica's voice came through his earpiece.
"Don't come back. We're fine here."
"Huh? Wait, why did you..."
"I'm no good at fighting, but I at least know which side matters more. I'm very good at dealing with idiots. Warrant Officer, do what you need to do!"
"Um, Miss Frederica, I think..."
Before he could finish, the signal on the other end cut off.
Yu Lian stared in stunned silence at everyone's bewildered faces, took a deep breath, then said in a low voice, "We're not going back. We're attacking! Straight for the enemy's main camp!"
Yu Lian couldn't possibly be completely at ease. But given that the Alliance's genius young lady was the kind of person who valued her life above all else, if she said she could handle it, she probably could... more or less. Besides, the situation really didn't allow him to split his forces any further.
At its heart, war was about making choices.
Even so, just making that decision left Yu Lian feeling as exhausted as if he'd used up all his strength.
Lieutenant Pakin whistled. Sergeant Baka looked thrilled. Only Yaxiu Stein, after staring blankly for half a second, exclaimed, "W-wait! You're planning to decapitate the enemy with just this few people?"
"The enemy's in complete disarray. There won't be any organized resistance! I remember the military courses at the Ranger training camp were tougher than at most military academies. Don't tell me you can't even make that judgment!"
"E-even so, you expect the rest of us to go with you?"
"What's the problem?"
"You want us two-legged people to keep up with you mech-suited folks? Listen to yourself!"
Before the mercenary had even finished speaking, he suddenly sensed the psychic energy radiating from Yu Lian. He hurriedly leaped back and struck a pose with his arms spread like a crane. In an instant, Yu Lian's psychic energy formed an invisible cage. It didn't rush toward Yaxiu, of course, but swept down the mountainside instead. Then came a buzzing sound.
A stitched-together tank that had either been passing by or fleeing was caught in the psychic field, then slumped to a stop on the spot.
Yaxiu watched, his skin crawling.
He knew Yu Lian hadn't released a psychic pulse, but an advanced psychic wave—in other words, he'd condensed psychic energy into infrasound vibrations. It could kill living things instantly without damaging mechanical or electronic structures.
"W-w-what ring are you?"
"First ring."
Do you expect me to believe that? Yaxiu rolled his eyes. He was just about to spit out a retort when Yu Lian added, "Get in the tank. I know you can drive one. Baka, you and your men get in too. Mount that blaster rifle on it!"
Let's return our attention to the canyon for a moment. Councilman Jiang Yudong stared in stupefaction as the purple-haired Alliance girl walked out of the communications room, a bottle of liquor in hand. So many surreal events had happened recently that he was ready to stop thinking altogether, but this might just have been the most surreal yet.
"Don't wait for him. I told Warrant Officer Yu Lian not to come back." Miss Frederica Wilbart said this to Councilman Jiang and the crowd of public representatives beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"M-Miss Wilbart! How could you do that?" the councilman wailed, stricken with grief.
"You little monster!" One of the mine owners lost his temper and charged at the girl, roaring.
The girl raised her bottle and smashed it into his forehead without hesitation, with perfect aim. With a resounding CLANG!, the mine owner, who looked to weigh at least three times as much as Frederica, promptly passed out.
"Gasp!" Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn't that the girl had displayed some terrifying skill. It was the viciousness and ruthlessness she'd shown that was truly frightening. She clearly had plenty of experience cracking skulls.
"There are only two or three hundred of them, and we have the advantage in firepower and terrain. You're already scared witless? You don't dare take up arms and fight, but you've got the nerve to bully a delicate, frail lady like me?"
D-delicate and frail? Since when?
"You brought enough supplies to feed a thousand people for a week, but you wouldn't hand them over until I generously offered to pay. That was one thing. But now the battle has begun, and you're still acting like this? Look over there! Even the women and children have picked up weapons, while you so-called upper-class people can only hide here and whine for help! Are you still nursing? Looking for your mothers? Want me to put you in diapers?"
The well-traveled councilman and his equally well-traveled representatives were left utterly dumbfounded. It wasn't as if they'd never been cursed at before. It was just that they weren't used to seeing a delicate young lady from a distinguished family completely let loose.
"Cowards! Scum! Unworthy of being men! A disgrace to humanity! Even an amoeba is more deserving of being called an intelligent life-form than you!"
The young lady alone cursed the eloquent councilman and his companions into fleeing in disarray, even stripping them of their status as living beings.
"If you come whining again, I won't give you a single cent, no matter how much you've spent over the past few days! Just so you know, I'm not even an adult yet, so nothing I say has any legal effect!"
Well, that was probably the line that really scared them.
Before you continue