Chapter 123: Forward Base – I

The sun shone brightly on the compound as Hans observed from the command room’s window. Two Guardian APCs opened their rear hatches.

Army Soldiers stood by the sides; they waved their hands as they urged to rescued civilians to follow the path to the inside of the APCs.

“Officer, where are you taking us?” One of the rescued hostages asked.

“You will be taken to a colony that our Commander holds,” an Army Soldier responded. “Do not worry. That area is safer than here.”

“You… you are not kidnapping us, right?”

The Army Soldier frowned but then shook his head in understanding. These people recently experienced trauma; their suspicions not unfounded.

“The military does not exercise such slanderous thoughts,” he warned. “You’re being relocated to safety. Please get inside. Time is running out.”

The civilian nodded several times; his shoulders hunched together as he entered the cold transport.

“Mr. Johannes.”

A woman stopped right before she followed. Johannes, who was helping the civilians embark, paused then glanced at her.

He smiled, tearing off her worried face. “Don’t worry, madame. If it makes you uneasy, I will join everyone in the return trip.”

His words released their pent-up anxiety and stress that held long within.

The convoy filled up quicker than before.

“That should be all of them,” Johannes stopped at the walking platform.

Thirty-two civilians all rescued from the hands of these raiders. And the one who saved them was the man whom Johannes pledged his loyalty with.

An investment worthy of my time, he thought as he glanced at the broken window of the command room.

He nodded at Hans.

Hans responded with a nod.

Johannes finally stepped inside and joined the civilians who waited for his entry.

“Bastion Three and Four,” an Army Soldier patched into the radio. “All loaded up. You’re good to go.”

“Thanks for the assist. Bastion Three and Four, out.”

The Guardian APCs roared forward out from the compound and into the western bypass road.

Hans’s boots slowly tapped on the floor.

The return trip should be smooth. Johannes’s hands will be full for a while. I should take this time to train more units.

His eyes focused on the transparent system panel in front of him.

——

[ Gold: 532,420 (-36000) -> 496,420 ]

[ Gold: 496,420 (-24000) -> 472,420 ]

[ Gold: 472,420 (-20000) -> 452,420 ]

——

[ 2x HMT-90 Hellhammer Artillery Tank training queue started. ETA: 6 hours. ]

[ 3x Guardian APC queued for training. ETA: 4 hours. ]

[ 2x Vanguard MBT queued for training. ETA: 3 hours and 20 minutes. ]

[ Armored Units batch total queue time (sequential): 13 hours and 20 minutes. ]

——

Hans restrained the HMT-90’s training until now. These vehicles were slow moving; he was also unsure of the western bypass road’s integrity. Complications would have risen should he had trained them in advance.

The last hive spawned near the southern industrial area of this city; Hans furrowed his brows. Kimmy’s words should have been a warning. I should trust her and my instincts.

Now was the time to unleash this beast—a self-propelled howitzer that could bombard a large area ten of kilometers away.

If a hive dared to block his way, then it would die without ever knowing how it met its death.

With the retreat of two Guardian APCs, Hans was now left with six of them.

Eigh Guardian APCs. Five Vanguard MBTs. Three platoons worth of personnel. Four DASF units.

This was Hans’s arrangement for his northern trip.

The rest guarded the colony. He wouldn’t want to return with the citizens acting in mutiny against his reign. Or find it in ruins after a disaster his soldiers could have prevented.

Feeling a little underpowered, Hans decided to train more.

Armored units were no longer a luxury given his sudden windfall.

The western horde had proven something to him—numbers could be thinned; density could be shattered.

But the lack of sustained firepower would eventually lead to being overrun.

Missiles were powerful, yet they were finite. Infantry was disciplined, yet too fragile for prolonged fights. Tanks were not invincible, only more durable than the rest.

What Hans needed was layered redundancy for his troops to the point that it would keep his army fighting for hours or days to no end.

He would not repeat the mistakes of many historical battles—both of this world and his previous life on Earth.

Overwhelm the enemy or be overwhelmed by them.

That was the rule of warfare.

Armored units already numbered high, he hovered into the Infantry Tab. I should increase my infantry units as well.

——

[ Gold: 452,420 (-29,000) -> 423,420 ]

[ 30x Conscript queued for training. ETA: 30 minutes. ]

[ 40x Army Soldier queued for training. ETA: 2 hours and 40 minutes. ]

[ 4x Machine Gunner queued for training. ETA: 1 hour. ]

[ 2x Sniper queued for training. ETA: 40 minutes. ]

[ Infantry package A total queue time (sequential): 4 hours and 50 minutes. ]

——

[ Gold: 423,420 (-138,200) -> 285,220 ]

[ 16x DASF Units queued for training. ETA: 10 hours and 40 minutes. ]

[ 14x Missile Infantries (MANPADS) queued for training. ETA: 5 hours and 50 minutes. ]

[ 12x Engineers queued for training. ETA: 2 hours. ]

[ 13x Guardian GIs queued for training. ETA: 4 hours and 20 minutes. ]

[ 2x Attack Dogs queued for training. ETA: 12 minutes. ]

[ Additional batch total queue time (sequential): 23 hours and 2 minutes. ]

——

Hans felt that his infantry power was lacking in some aspect.

Mechanized warfare was a must. But Vanguard MBTs and Guardian APCs were simply force multipliers, not the endgame.

He needed the element that was mechanized in this regard—infantry.

Steel may win him battles. It was his men that would hold the ground.

Without infantries to clear corridors, his Vanguards would be blind.

Without rifles to secure the rooftops, his APCs were coffins to attacks from above.

Without engineers to fortify and repair, a rapid advance was just a temporary victory. If the enemy counterattacked, he would quickly lose what he had gained.

The northern sector was dense with structures—factories, warehouses, and tight corridors.

Armor may dominate the highways, but infantries dominated the buildings. And DASF would cut through whatever the others could not, then live to tell their glorious tale.

Hans wanted a balance force; a strategy that allowed civilizations to survive.

He would not gamble on a single branch of strength. Only foolish ones would think they can do so. Even armies of the past wouldn’t rely on their best equipped units alone.

If the northern industrial sector truly housed a hive… then infantry alone would bleed to death.

He needed armor to absorb the damage and aggro; artillery to erase everything into dust; and sufficient mobility that decided the survival of his infantry and the entire army.

Settle some of these units for guarding the outpost, Hans spaced out. The rest should come with me.

The plan formed in his mind. After putting everything into place, he looked at his personal information.

——

Commander: Hans Flemmens

…

[ Troop Count ]

170 (+30) Conscripts

110 (+40) Army Soldiers

(+2) Attack Dogs

45 Scouts

18 (+2) Snipers

8 (+12) Engineers

18 Medics (8 females, 10 male pairs)

21 (+4) Machine Gunners

17 (+13) Guardian GIs

16 (+14) Missile Infantry

4 (+16) DASF Units

10 (+3) Guardian APCs

6 (+2) Vanguard MBTs

0 (+2) HMT-90 Hellhammer Artillery Tanks

…

——

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