The Exercise

A few days later, Monthly Fasting Day.

The followers of the Temple of Light fast from dawn to sunset on the first day of each month. This day is also the day when the most festive activities are held.

But Su Ming felt that not eating or drinking all day and still having to participate in activities was a bit too much for him.

Especially during the summer days, it's so hot and so long.

He researched the customs of the Divine Covenant Faction period and found that clergy members above the rank of bishop were not subject to the fasting rules of the Monthly Fasting Day.

Now that Su Ming is a high-level administrator, he simply announced:

On Monthly Fasting Day, eating food "blessed" by the bishop is considered an act of respect for God.

The Su Ming method is very simple: add a "blessing food" segment to the activity, which preserves the custom while eliminating most of the drawbacks.

The effect was immediate; by the afternoon, the religious participants were no longer as listless as before.

However, Su Ming underestimated the allure of being able to eat during the Monthly Fasting Day.

The continuous investment in infrastructure over the past few months has made transportation between towns more convenient.

The gradual streamlining of government affairs has significantly improved the lives of ordinary people in First Sunrise, giving them more leisure time.

As a result, the number of people participating in the festival activities on the Monthly Fasting Day began to increase rapidly.

Especially the Radiant Holy City.

This place is a holy site for believers and also a bustling tourist destination. The various vendors, theater troupes, and acrobats that gather with the crowds make the whole city even more lively.

Su Ming originally intended to retract the order.

However, the advantages of the revised Monthly Fasting Day have already become apparent, with a significant improvement in public cohesion and morale at the First Sunrise.

The administrative department believes it is well worth it.

It's still dark, and a large crowd is gathered near the square, waiting for sunrise so that the "fasting" can officially begin.

Even Su Ming had to get up early.

Because on this day, most staff members will arrive at their posts early.

The same thing happened throughout the First Sunrise Republic.

"The followers of the God of Light really love to join in the fun," Su Ming remarked.

"Taya lacks cultural and recreational activities, and even more so, large-scale events," said Dodder, her eyes gleaming with dark circles, her voice dripping with resentment. "We, on the other hand, are the ones who suffered this undeserved misfortune!"

****

The story begins a few days ago.

Unlike the previous two Monthly Fasting Day, this time the Radiant Holy City was bustling with activity, with hotels and temporary market stalls packed to capacity, and even abandoned warehouses fully rented out.

The people at the Holy City's administrative center were unaware of the gravity of the situation; they were simply preparing for Monthly Fasting Day as usual.

But the situation was so obvious that even satellite images revealed something was wrong.

Digital models show that millions of people will flock to the city from surrounding areas during this Monthly Fasting Day.

In Su Ming's hometown, this scale is nothing special. Even a security guard in a certain neighborhood would calmly remark on it as "small-scale" and then light a cigarette.

But this is Taya.

The Dodder Group immediately issued an emergency warning!

The Holy City Guard, the City Hall, and the Temple Affairs Office were all mobilized to widen, demolish, or modify staircases, alleyways, corners, and narrow gates within the city that posed a risk of stampedes, or to allow one-way traffic.

Road signs are posted at all major intersections.

Guards will be stationed in key areas, and traffic will be temporarily prohibited on sections of road prone to congestion.

A buffer zone was set up around the perimeter of the square.

Water supply points, medical points, rest sheds, and registration areas for lost children were all set up in advance.

The urban management team has been temporarily expanded to focus on curbing illegal street vending, unauthorized shed construction, blocked passageways, and price gouging.

A whole host of measures were implemented all at once.

The entire Radiant Holy City was like a giant machine that had just been forcibly calibrated, preparing to accommodate crowds more than twice the historical peak.

"I previously thought you were only involved in warfare and industry." Ainuobia looked at the dispatch schedules, her expression...

His feelings were complicated. "Why are you so skilled at this?"

In another segment of the online meeting, the staff of the "grassroots organization" who were busy providing guidance sighed.

"Although I know you're praising us."

But I really can't be happy.

****

After the pre-sunrise meeting concluded, the responsible personnel proceeded to their posts as scheduled during the Monthly Fasting Day.

Su Ming certainly wouldn't waste his time on this.

"This morning's schedule is the training ground next to the Diamond Base," Lilishan said. "The newly formed First and Second Legions of First Sunrise will conduct a combat exercise."

Su Ming glanced at the time; it was only six o'clock.

He pondered for a moment, then came up with a plan. "Immediately notify them that the exercise will start earlier, in half an hour!"

The scheduled time was 9:00 AM.

Lilishan's eyes lit up immediately. "This is going to be interesting!"

She immediately turned around to inform them.

Jin Rongjia also praised, "Not bad, that's our style now."

Su Ming quickly set off on the giant dragon.

When the group arrived at the training ground, it was indeed in complete chaos.

Both sides' troops have just completed their emergency assembly.

Soldiers didn't have time for breakfast, so they could only jog along while stuffing their emergency rations into their mouths. Officers ran back and forth, and messengers sprinted between the camp and the armory like they were being chased by dogs.

Su Ming landed in the director's office.

Yise, the host of the training program, was giving orders in a fit of frustration. Her hair was unkempt, roughly tied back with a hair tie, with a few stray strands sticking to her forehead.

Upon seeing Su Ming, she gave him a look that seemed to want to kill him.

"What happened to the promise of liking you? Has it all disappeared so quickly?" Su Ming lamented inwardly.

However, he did not disturb their work.

After all, among the busy crowd right now, Yise is definitely not the only one who wants to kill him.

Su Ming picked up the exercise script from the table.

The exercise involved a field encounter.

Among the participating troops, the Red Force consisted of a thousand-strong unit from the First Army Corps. These soldiers were all Beginner Rank to Intermediate Rank combatants, using rifles and machine guns as their main weapons, and were also organized into some heavy firepower units.

Their weapons were all new equipment produced "locally" at the Diamond Base during this period.

The Blue Force consisted of two thousand-man squads from the Second Legion. They were deployed according to traditional Taya combat configurations, primarily using various types of melee weapons, heavily armored warriors, and runic artillery.

The original purpose of this exercise was to test the combat effectiveness of different weapon systems, both old and new, and to find more suitable tactical combinations.

But when Su Ming issued his "chaotic decree," the nature of the matter quickly changed.

The exercise began at 6:30.

But the first round of the exercise ended in less than twenty minutes.

After the Blue Team completed its troop assembly, it discovered that there were less than five minutes left before the exercise was scheduled to begin.

They simply abandoned the tedious preparations, took only all their melee weapons, and headed directly to the designated exercise area before launching an attack.

Rune Cannon?

Alchemical weapons?

Anyway, even if we bring them, we can't beat the Red team's modern artillery.

This caught the Red Team, who had been diligently following the exercise plan, preparing weapons, distributing ammunition, and building fire positions, completely off guard.

Although the Red Army soldiers were also equipped with bayonets and melee weapons, the Blue Army's combatants, who outnumbered them by two, charged into the position.

Once traditionally heavily armored soldiers get into close combat, their firearms advantage is quickly diminished.

Several makeshift firing positions had just been set up when they were overwhelmed by the Blue Team's assault team.

Before the machine gun squad could finish filling the barrels with cold water, the command ruled that the position had been lost.

"The soldiers of the First Army Corps are not yet familiar enough with the maintenance of firearms," Ruixiuli commented.

"We need to strengthen our training," Su Ming said.

He thought for a moment and then summoned the military clerk.

"After the reorganization of the First Sunrise Third Legion is completed, we will slow down our pace and refrain from adding any new troops."

"Without sufficient resources and training time, new weapons will be used almost like firewood."

****

The drills continued.

Although the first drill was chaotic, the purpose of the drill itself is to identify problems.

The directing staff spent an hour reorganizing the troops on both sides and resetting the judgment markers.

Then, the second exercise began.

The Red reconnaissance team dispersed in advance, using rune flares to mark the Blue team's advance route. Machine gun positions were arranged in a crisscross pattern behind the gentle slope, riflemen were scattered along the edge of the tree line, and artillery squads completed their loading behind temporary earthen ramparts.

The Blue Team had just crossed a patch of low bushes when the command determined they had entered the Red Team's firing range.

The sounds of blank and training rounds clattered together.

As the command post placed the judgment cursor, the Blue Army's front-line assault team was marked "dead" one after another. Several Blue Army officers immediately split into groups and attempted to flank the Blue Army.

The Red team's mortar team immediately adjusted their angle.

The gunner knelt on one knee, the assistant gunner reported the distance, and a third person quickly passed the shell.

"Load!"

"Put!"

Boom!

The training missile landed in front of the Blue Team's flank, the rune-based light mist exploded, and a large number of death markers appeared.

The Blue team was forced to change course.

****

Less than ten minutes into the second round, the situation had completely turned one-sided.

Both sides' soldiers were superhuman.

The side possessing firearms has significant freedom in terms of attack range and firepower density.

Weapons and ammunition provide superhumans with additional combat endurance.

During the process, problems also came to light.

On the Red Army's artillery position, a mortar suddenly emitted an abnormal muffled sound.

"Retreat!" someone shouted.

Before he could finish speaking, the gun exploded with a loud bang.

Fortunately, the cannon barrel did not completely explode; only a grotesque crack bulged in the middle, from which scalding white smoke billowed out.

One gunner was knocked down by the blast wave, and another soldier's hand was cut by metal fragments.

"Medical team!"

"Seal off the artillery positions!"

The whistles from the director's office sounded one after another.

Before they could finish dealing with this situation, the rifle squad also sent a report.

Several locally produced rifles jammed after continuous firing.

The soldier pulled the bolt to eject the cartridge as trained, only to find that the cartridge case had expanded and was stuck in the chamber, preventing the bolt from being pulled back. The squad leader tried to clear the obstruction, and just as he turned the muzzle to a safe position, the remaining runic gunpowder in the chamber exploded with a short, muffled bang.

The butt of the rifle slammed into his chin.

Technical observers immediately stepped forward, removed the weapons and related ammunition, and sealed them away.

Soon, more questions were compiled.

The firearms experienced a higher-than-expected failure rate after continuous firing in high-temperature environments.

The artillery's stability was insufficient, and the trajectory deviation exceeded the permissible range.

After a brief discussion, the directing staff announced the termination of the second round of training exercises.

A large number of technical personnel from the Diamond Base entered the site.

They disassembled and inspected the cannon, collecting the remaining dregs into small vials to take back to the laboratory for analysis, looking for quality issues.

The officers organized the participants to review the incident, working backwards to determine the cause of the accident.

If the problem stems from improper operation, then the military's training procedures need to be strengthened.

If the human-machine interface design of the equipment is unreasonable, the interaction needs to be adjusted.

Warfare itself is a complex and systematic undertaking.

After all that fuss, it was already ten o'clock.

Because a considerable number of problems have been exposed, each department needs time to process them.

Su Ming announced the disbandment of the training troops.

Yise sprawled out on the chair, legs spread wide.

Su Ming glanced at her a few times and noticed that this girl was somewhat different from usual.

"I didn't put on makeup today, and I didn't have time to wash my hair," Yise said resignedly.

Su Ming swallowed back words like "This is fine too".

"Yise, what are the arrangements for the army on Ramadan?" He changed the subject.

"Aside from a short prayer meeting and a ceremonial meal, there are no other arrangements," Yise replied. "Quite a few troops have been deployed to the city to maintain order."

"Assign as few miscellaneous tasks as possible to the newly formed First and Second Legions," Su Ming said. "This battle against the orcs is about drawing them into the fray."

There were only two months left before the start of the war against Water Chestnut Island.

This amount of time is definitely not ample.

However, Su Ming suppressed all opinions that called for extending the preparation period and pursuing a more prudent plan, insisting on launching an attack as soon as possible.

"Understood," Yise replied.