The First Order

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Chapter 883: The Pyro Company's strategic decision

Translator: Legge

P5092's deputy commander had submitted the intel regarding the deployment of the barbarians' emplacements. Moreover, because this document was submitted in P5092's name, the headquarters attached great importance to it.

After all, there were only a few dozen P5 commanders, and P5092 was even one of the best ones around.

But when this document was seen by the higher-ups, the headquarters immediately issued a notice to hold an emergency meeting. The participants would be all the commanders of the main forces that were guarding the Great Wall, and the 3rd Division's base was chosen as the meeting site.

On the same afternoon, a long convoy of vehicles arrived at the entrance of the 3rd Division's military base. They stopped at the entrance and displayed their identification documents before being allowed to pass. After that, they headed straight for the 3rd Division's command headquarters.

When Ren Xiaosu saw these vehicles, he had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

One by one, professional soldiers walked into P5092's command center with stern expressions on their faces while their subordinates waited outside.

There was even an old man who got out of an off-road vehicle and walked into the command tent calmly. All of the Pyro Company soldiers who saw him saluted him.

Ren Xiaosu had heard from Yang Xiaojin in the Sacred Mountains that the Pyro Company was controlled by five scientists. Could this old man be one of them?

From afar, the old man was dressed simply and did not even wear a watch. If he were walking on the streets of the stronghold, Ren Xiaosu might think he was just a normal old man going out to buy groceries to cook for his grandson.

In the headquarters, more than a dozen people were sitting around the conference table. These were all of the division commanders at the Great Wall's front lines.

The old man looked at everyone and said, "I called all of you here to discuss the next step of the battle plan. P5092 scored a beautiful victory yesterday and even brought back intel regarding the seven locations where the barbarians have deployed their emplacements. This is very important information. As time is rather tight, to prevent the barbarians from diverting their emplacements to other locations, we have to quickly decide whether to counterattack or not. However, let's first confirm with P5092 whether this intel is accurate or not."

P5092 thought for a moment and said, "Sir, the intel I submitted to you is absolutely accurate. The sand table is right there. I guarantee on my P5 rank this intel is accurate."

"That's good. Then let's talk about what to do next." The old man nodded.

A division commander said, "Since we've already confirmed the location of the seven emplacements, let's just destroy them with our missiles. After that, we can deploy six of our divisions and completely encircle the barbarians by overwhelming them."

P5092 suddenly frowned. "P5041, don't you think it'll be too risky to send out six divisions at once?"

That division commander looked at P5092 and said, "I'm suggesting this because I trust you. Since you vouch on your P5 rank for the accuracy of the intel, there's no longer any doubt about the outcome of this battle."

"What if there's other barbarian forces hiding in the forest?" P5092 said, "I personally think it's better to be more cautious."

P5041 explained, "If any more barbarians had been hiding in the forest, they wouldn't have been defeated by a 100-odd men from your 3rd Division in the last battle. Besides, I even heard all of your men managed to escape unscathed after winning? It's not that I'm not being cautious, but all of this shows the barbarians in the forest only appear to be strong. I suspect their main forces are currently concentrated on the Wang Consortium's side. The two battlefields are more than 200 kilometers apart. Even if we launch a counterattack in the forest, they won't be able to come to their comrades' aid in time."

P5092 was speechless. Of everyone present, he was the only one who knew about the special circumstances that led to the recon company escaping unscathed. Ren Xiaosu had been leading them. If not for Ren Xiaosu, none of the recon company's troops would have been able to make it back alive.

But he could not mention Ren Xiaosu now. As long as Ren Xiaosu had not officially joined the Pyro Company, he could not tell anyone he had let an outsider participate in such an important mission.

The old man looked at him and asked, "P5092, what plan do you have?"

P5092 answered, "My idea is to have the 3rd Division carry out a surprise attack in the forest after bombarding their emplacements. They'll be supported by a further two divisions in the attack. This way, it'll be safer and more reliable. As you can see, the barbarians are very cunning."

But someone off to the side laughed and said, "092, are you afraid that others will steal your glory? Don't worry, getting such an important piece of intel is already to your credit."

P5092 sighed. There was a saying that politics followed people.

Politics in one's profession, politics in the workplace, politics in religion, there were all kinds of politics. But when it came to politics, it was always about power and interests. In this aspect, the Pyro Company was no exception.

Ever since the Pyro Company set up camp at the Great Wall, it was P5092 who stood out the most. He first used the barbarian corpses to lure the enemy over before using his artillery to wipe out thousands of them. In terms of contributions alone, his achievements were the most dazzling among the division commanders.

Importantly, the position of commander-in-chief of the military corps above the division commanders was still vacant at this moment. It was headed by this old man in front of them for now, but everyone knew full well he was not interested in taking charge here.

Some years ago, it was said the higher-ups had found a suitable candidate for the role. It was rumored that the Life Research Department had created a clone but nothing came out of it after that.

P5092 was more informed. He knew the higher-ups had created a clone of Qing Zhen. But when that clone named Qing Shen started showing signs of defection, the higher-ups did not hand over the command of the military corps to him. Instead, they placed him under house arrest in the Sacred Mountains.

Right now, the position of commander-in-chief would probably be decided once this war was over.

However, for some reason, P5092 did not have much interest in this position. When his colleagues started targeting him as a result of their interest to become the commander-in-chief, he only felt a sense of fatigue.

In his opinion, war was a very pure thing. It should be fought with the purpose of securing victory by making the most rational decisions. It should not be affected by any other factors that could very well cause instability to their efforts.

At this moment, the old man said, "Our Pyro Company has a total of 12 divisions. In that case, we'll send out six divisions to make a counterattack. However, P5092 will be the acting commander for this battle plan to be carried out, and the objective is to successfully occupy the forest. 092, I know your concerns, but Istill have to plan this from the overall situation. It's not that I want to take the risk but that our Pyro Company cannot fight a protracted war any longer."

After that, the old man dismissed the meeting with a wave of his hand. As he was getting on in years, he was severely lacking energy. Just holding this meeting had taken a lot out of him.

P5092 followed the old man out of the command center. He stood at the entrance of the command center and sighed. In the end, the old man still chose to balance the relationship between the various division commanders.

However, the old man was absolutely right about one thing. After the Pyro Company's supplies were destroyed, they could not fight a protracted war anymore. This should also be the main reason why he decided to launch a counterattack with half of their troops.

If they did not win as soon as possible, the Pyro Company could not hold on for much longer.