A Bear of a Leader Makes for a Bear of a Team

"Don't panic." The captain suppressed his anxiety and reassured the other officers and messengers in the tent, "These are just a bunch of poorly trained militia. They might be able to maintain their morale while firing at long range, but once they see blood, they'll scatter immediately."

Is that really the case?

The inability to break through the defenses head-on made intelligence gathering even more difficult.

Judging from the density of their firepower, their numbers are roughly the same as estimated during last night's reconnaissance...

But the captain's brow was furrowed.

The annoying aircraft would occasionally drop bombs that seemed to be imbued with ice magic, making it extremely difficult to maneuver from behind.

Without Shieldguards, even if the enemy's projectiles are slightly weaker, trying to force our way through such intense firepower... If this medical company had a melee unit hidden within, given our current depleted state, the casualties would be incalculable!

The original intention was to save it for the retreat...

On the other side of the battlefield.

W was not entirely comfortable staying in the command center.

Another tablet terminal bearing the Rhodes Island logo was placed in front of her, displaying images transmitted short-range by a near-ground aircraft.

"Most importantly, you must first learn how to make decisions when you have sufficient information. Now, most of the soldiers are in position. I have laid out the endgame; let's begin solving it."

The psychological signals that should have brought a sense of security, certainty, and pressure now only gave W a splitting headache.

"So annoying! They're all your puppets now!? Just charge in and you'll win, why all this fancy stuff!"

"Relying solely on explosives and Sarkaz mercenaries will have limited effectiveness on a larger battlefield," Oute stated bluntly. "At the very least, you need to learn how to use artillery, how to use armor, and how to lead other units—my units."

I have higher expectations for you.

"..." W's face contorted for a moment, then he quickly succumbed to Oute's words and started rambling on to thin air. "Fine, fine, you win!"

"You always have so many grand principles!"

She stubbornly insisted on her plan, but obediently began racking her brains.

His troop deployment clearly indicated he wasn't planning a direct confrontation. The aircraft's trajectories were intentionally designed to provide the enemy with attack routes... a retreat ambush?

With Oute present, the risks of a retreat tactic are virtually nonexistent, which seems quite suitable for teaching purposes?

W began to try to figure out what the question setter was thinking.

After all, demolition is a delicate craft, and this young girl is actually quite intelligent—it's just that she often relies more on her intuition and acting skills to get things done.

If I were to drop the bomb... no, that's not what he meant!

I understand. He placed the soldiers here to make me do this.

When should the retreat begin?

How to lure the enemy troops?

How to carry out an ambush?

W bit her lower lip, sat in front of the tablet, and started shaking her leg.

"By the way, I strongly discourage learning from my current practice of treating combat as a teaching tool."

The Sarkaz girl, her train of thought abruptly interrupted, rubbed her acupoints. "How come you always say you don't recommend it, but then you're having so much fun yourself?"

"When someone tries to accomplish too many goals in a single battle, the battle itself becomes hampered by too many extraneous matters, and may even lead to its demise by constantly finding local optima."

Otter, shut up!

Now, W and Amiya have a lot in common...

If W itself is considered as a combat unit, then winning this battle is not difficult.

But...

Oute put forward some new requirements: W should be stationed at the command post, and at the same time, test the high-power mode of the Winter Soldier Type III, the effectiveness of the freezing bombs, and the supply capabilities of the liquefied gas backpack on the front lines.

It's too easy for you to play alone, you should bring this instead!

"Time flies, W."

As Oute announced his verdict, a dozen or so armored vehicles suddenly sprang out from the battlefield. This mechanical behemoth withstood the soldiers' fire and tore open a gap for the remaining troops.

Chernobog had limited military supplies, but they were still able to scrape together some.

Who do you think I am?!

With a command from W, the aircraft began to disperse bombs.

Due to Oute's deliberate actions, the bombs were dropped entirely in accordance with W's orders. Surprisingly, yet predictably, most of them landed successfully near the Ursus armored vehicles.

Considering the errors caused by low-altitude flight, W's "intuition" was also frighteningly accurate.

She is indeed suited for this path.

Despite still lacking systematic mathematical training, this talent alone was enough to pave a path for her to become a general, a path that would otherwise be considered "mediocre."

Oute stopped in front of the Medical Department.

Warfare, the oldest art of humankind.

Individuals with exceptional command skills can often achieve Pegasi and unpredictable results. However, not everyone possesses such talent.

W lacked the talent for large-scale operations and strategic command, but her mathematical abilities made up for it.

These experimental demagic-free devices absorbed a large amount of heat at the moment of explosion. A thick, bone-chilling fog also billowed up with the explosion of the freezing bombs. Through the fog, the soldiers began to retreat in an orderly manner.

"Why did their convoy split up?" W asked, puzzled, but his command showed no hesitation.

"Several freezing bombs landed directly on the vehicle," Oute explained. "It's highly likely that critical components were damaged by the freezing, which reduced the vehicle's speed."

The armored vehicles that this remnant force scavenged from Chernobog were not specifically designed for breaching enemy lines. Moreover, due to the influence of the powerful society, the use of armor in Terra's war had not yet developed into a complete theoretical framework.

The enemy captain's infantry and armor were not even "seriously disconnected," since there was no intention of coordination from the beginning.

After the armored vehicles pierced through the dense fog and occupied the positions previously held by the Deepwinter Soldiers, they finally located the enemy's casters inside the vehicles and began burning mana bars to activate the Originium Cannons against the "fleeing" soldiers.

A series of muffled thuds followed one after another.

"I've been wanting to play with this mine for ages!" W exclaimed excitedly. "This 'Psychosis Disruption Mine' is amazing!"

These mines were originally intended to deal with the Patriot, and this place was actually one of the battlefields that Oute had originally planned. After using the despicable "daughter tactic" to temporarily lure the Patriot onto the ship, this batch of mines was moved here.

As the casters inside the vehicle fainted, the armored vehicle began to move like Brownian motion. A few highly skilled casters had already pushed the Originium cannons to their final stage; their own fainting merely caused the artillery fire to lose its restraint.

The staff fires.

The Originium ammunition ignited wisps of sparks at the muzzle and then bombarded out indiscriminately.

These shells, which undergo Brownian motion along with the armored vehicles, have a very low probability of hitting any valuable target. However, low-probability events do occasionally occur on the battlefield—a few shells destroying several other armored vehicles.

"..."

This has no educational value, right?

Can luck be learned? Can it be taught?

Oute even had the urge to call a halt.

However, looking at it from another angle: if W is allowed to appear as a super soldier, then with her dropping bombs from the sky, these armored vehicles won't even have a chance to show themselves.

Chapter 185 A Bear in a Nest

"Doctor. Oute..."

Upon seeing Oute's arrival, FrostNova, who had been waiting for a long time at the operating room door, couldn't help but call out to him.

"Don't worry, we chose the option with the highest margin of error," Oute reassured him. "Even if the surgery fails completely, he will only lose the opportunity to participate in the war."

Immediately afterwards, he launched into a low-EQ statement. "Looking at it from another angle, if this surgery fails, then Bohdrokasthim won't have had the chance to kill Talulah while he's recuperating."

"They're all good..."

These are all good things!

Amiya immediately jumped into Oute's arms, wrapped one arm around Oute neck, and covered his mouth with the other.

"Hahahaha..." The little rabbit laughed awkwardly for a while, then said, "Mr. Bozocasti's surgery is not dangerous, I think that's what Doc Otter meant, right?"

As if afraid that Oute would "talk nonsense" again, she patted Oute's back with the hand that was holding her steady.

Looking at Amiya's constantly blinking eyes, Oute slowly nodded.

The little rabbit breathed a sigh of relief, moved its little hand away, and jumped down from Oute's arms.

"Amiya."

"Huh?"

"Your weight is too low; that's not healthy."

When the little rabbit jumped into Oute's arms, her pelvis felt a little uncomfortable.

"..." Amiya blushed.

That's awful! You have to glare at them!

The little rabbit glared at Oute, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

She wanted to say something like, "I gained weight in the right places," but it wasn't very convincing.

"You should eat more on weekdays." Ignoring Amiya's blushing face, Oute then looked at the silent girl on the other side... the Daughter of the Han Tan.

After realizing that the "fellow patient" was actually the legendary Wendigo from the Northern Front, rather than an ordinary Ursus soldier, Han Tan's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.

Perhaps it was the camaraderie born from being "in the same trench" in a broad sense, or perhaps it was out of admiration for a hero... Han Tan also came specially when Bozokasti entered the operating room in reality.

To be honest, the scene at the entrance, where all sorts of people rushed to see Patriot one last time, as if Patriot were facing a life-or-death situation... was a bit surreal.

Oute shook his head.

However, they can't be entirely blamed.

For them, surgery to replace most of their internal organs is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous procedure, with a success rate that is not just negligible, but practically zero!

Even for FrostNova... Although she had personally experienced the Fate Reconstruction, her past common sense, her deeply ingrained worldview, and her concern for her elderly father still left her in turmoil.