The Pride of Boke Campaign

When Augustus returned to the 1st Squad, Raynor was sitting with the rest of the men in the Engineer Corps tent, resting and using a charcoal stove salvaged from the ruins and a well-preserved wok to heat up individual rations and sweet pies.

The atmosphere inside the tent was incredibly lively; Harnack's distinct, arrogant laughter could be heard even from a distance.

It was only after Augustus stepped inside that he learned the recruits' salaries for the last month had finally arrived.

Just as Warfield had promised, everyone in the squad had received an extra 8,000 credits as compensation for the Ardien Crystal they had turned in after defeating the Kel-Morian Assault Cavalry, which meant everyone had become a wealthy man in the barracks.

Raynor, Omo, Zander, and Harnack—all poor boys from the countryside—were ecstatic, though they each planned to use the money differently; Raynor and Omo both sent their shares to their parents to ease their families' financial burdens.

Zander, who came from the slums and had no family, chose to save his, while Harnack planned to spend his entire share treating his brothers to a feast or hitting the bars.

The surprises didn't end there; Second Lieutenant Reagan, Augustus's platoon leader, happened to be in the tent as well.

Reagan informed Augustus that he had been promoted to corporal, and now, beneath the three inverted "V" chevrons on his shoulder, there was an additional equilateral triangle.

From that day on, Augustus officially served as the squad leader of the 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, 1st Company, 5th Battalion. Everyone was overjoyed that day; even the usually reclusive and taciturn Ward and the new sniper, Rick Kidd, wore happy smiles.

"Boss, what did Warfield want with you?" After chatting for a while, Raynor finally remembered to ask.

"Oh, I went to the division headquarters with him." Augustus found a folding chair and sat down.

"What for?" Raynor pondered. "Are you about to be transferred to the division staff as an officer?"

Hearing Raynor say this, the faces of the men, which had been glowing with joy, suddenly dimmed.

"How could that be? I don't have the skills to be a staff officer." Augustus shook his head, finding the idea amusing.

"Don't you guys know yet?" Reagan, who was sitting on the ground, said in confusion. "Augustus is the younger brother of our division commander."

"You mean that division commander is also named Mengsk?" Harnack's mouth hung open wide enough to fit several eggs.

"Hank, you idiot, you don't even know who our division commander is or what his name is?" Raynor laughed, though it was unclear what he was actually happy about. Even though Raynor didn't know the commander's name either, it didn't stop him from mocking Harnack.

"That's amazing!" Omo felt he should say something, but after the words left his mouth, he felt redundant; this fact didn't seem to have anything to do with whether Augustus was capable or not.

"Yay! The squad leader is amazing!" Amy Brandon said with a smile.

"Does this mean we have a backer?" Josephine seemed very concerned about this.

"You actually hid such an important thing from us." Zander felt dejected.

Including Platoon Leader Second Lieutenant Reagan, everyone in the squad was extremely curious about the matter, and Augustus answered every question they had. Although Augustus did not discuss the status and power of the Mengsk family on Korhal IV, everyone had already reached a consensus: Augustus's family must be incredibly wealthy.

However, the men in the squad soon lost interest in Augustus's family composition and their status on Korhal IV, turning instead to other topics. Augustus was happy to let it go; he truly didn't want to say too much on the subject.

After a while, the conversation gradually drifted toward bars and which barmaid had the most explosive figure.

Just as Platoon Leader Reagan was about to leave, Augustus decided to talk to his subordinates and Reagan about what Arcturus had said regarding the general offensive on the Pride of Boke. In any case, by tomorrow at the latest, all the garrison troops on the Pride of Boke would know about it.

"Arcturus told me that we are about to go to war with the Kel-Morians on the other side of the Pride of Boke." Augustus looked at Reagan and his men. "You saw it today; the Paddick River is impossibly wide. This means we have to swim to the other side wearing iron shells, using our flesh and blood to plug the Kel-Morians' gun barrels."

As Augustus said, if the Confederate army wanted to launch a general offensive on the Pride of Boke, they would first have to cross a turbulent, wide river, and after landing, brave a hail of bullets to smash through the city defense walls and the concrete bunkers wrapped in iron and Plasteel plating, only to then engage in a head-on collision with the Kel-Morian Ripper units hiding inside.

Under the blockade of anti-aircraft fire from the opposite bank, most of the Confederate airborne division's transport ships would be shot down before landing, and bomber squadrons would be severely restricted.

Therefore, the Confederate army had only two choices: build a pontoon bridge while under fire from Kel-Morian close-in weapon systems and machine guns, or force a crossing using large numbers of ferries and assault boats. But it was currently the flood season, and the water level of the Paddick River was at its highest and fastest flow of the year; in this situation, the Kel-Morians on the north bank were effectively guarding an impassable natural barrier.

It was foreseeable that the Confederate army would suffer heavy casualties in this upcoming war.

The people in the tent stopped talking. Once the reality set in, their reactions varied. Everyone knew that people died in war; the only difference was who would die.

Or, if it was already fated that they wouldn't live until the day they were discharged, when, where, and in what manner they would die.

Raynor couldn't laugh anymore; he lowered his head, likely thinking of his family. Harnack and the others just stared blankly at Augustus, as if they still didn't understand what was happening.

Ward, who hated the Kel-Morians to the bone, kept his face taut. To spare his comrades' feelings, he didn't show his abnormal excitement, while Omo had already taken out paper and was silently writing his third will for his family.

"Just in case, it'll come in handy," he whispered.

"I'm not that surprised," Reagan said. "The higher-ups transferred an entire Onuru Sigma legion, plus the local army; there are nearly 100,000 troops stationed on the Pride of Boke. They didn't bring us here to collect a paycheck and go on vacation; the generals aren't that kind-hearted."

"The Kel-Morians have been entrenched here for so long, and there are only twenty or thirty thousand of them; what is there to be afraid of?" He said sarcastically. "No matter how fierce the Kel-Morian artillery and machine gun fire is, a marine's life isn't worth more than their bullets."

"But you don't have to be too afraid; the fleet will definitely participate when the time comes. From what I know, Alpha Squadron, Delta Squadron, and over a dozen air wings from Tarsonis have already arrived at Turaxis. The pressure on the ground troops will be much lighter then," Reagan said, looking at everyone.

"Ridiculous! Harnack has never known what fear is!" Harnack immediately jumped up like a grasshopper that had been poked.

"Right, we're never afraid; we're only afraid when we don't have money." Raynor was no longer sad; he looked up at the jumping Harnack and grinned.

"Will the war start tomorrow?" Omo asked, tucking his written will into his pocket.

"Not that fast," Augustus said.

"From the issuance of documents to the various units, the assignment of divisions to various generals, to the completion of offensive preparations by all units and logistics, it all takes time." Reagan said, pulling back the tent flap and waving at Augustus and the others.

"I'll keep this confidential, lest I be accused of leaking classified information; the prison food at the Marine Corps Central Security Bureau isn't very good," he said.

"I'm going back to work. And you lot, don't just sit there; finish your food and get out there to keep watch."