The First Order

Chapter 936: Fault tolerance measures

Translator: Legge

The expeditionary army had herded the refugees here over such a great distance, but it was all for naught in the end. Not only that, but it even helped to enrage the soldiers of the 6th Combat Brigade.

They knew it was the Pyro Company soldiers' fearless suicide attacks that had created an opportunity for some of the refugees to escape while they were being driven here.

Now that those Pyro Company soldiers had placed their hopes in them, the soldiers of the Northwest would naturally cherish their sacrifice even more.

As soon as the battle started, Ji Zi'ang and the others were hoping the explosions would scare the expeditionary army into retreat like the previous time. However, that did not happen on this occasion. The expeditionary army soldiers did not retreat at all. It was as though they insisted on trading their lives to force through this attack.

P5092 said, "This is the worst outcome we could anticipate. The expeditionary army's general understands it's impossible to take down Mt. Zuoyun with simple tactics. They know they have to exchange any progress with their lives. The opponent has already accepted this fact, so this means that we have the toughest battle to fight on our hands."

Ji Zi'ang looked at the barbarians charging up with their shields raised. He said to P5092, "I can still topple those seven mountains. Why don't I bury them alive right now?"

"No." P5092 shook his head and said, "There's too many of the expeditionary army's troops this time. They still have more troops stationed beyond the mountains, so they're ready to replace their troops and continue attacking at a moment's notice. Even if you manage to wipe out a group of them, they'll be immediately replaced by another group from out there. So it's better to leave such a trump card for when it's really necessary. You can topple a mountain every time we face a crisis at the defensive position, so even if the barbarians manage to break through the line, you can still cut off their subsequent attacks. That way, the defensive position won't suffer too great a loss."

According to P5092, Ji Zi'ang's toppling of the mountains was a fault tolerance measure for the defensive position.

Ji Zi'ang muttered, "But leaving seven mountains intact is probably overkill, right? Why don't we topple two first to crush their spirits?"

"No." P5092 refuted, "Rather, I feel that seven is too few."

Everyone was stunned. So it turned out P5092 was so pessimistic about the situation.

P5092 explained, "Perhaps you guys don't understand the concept of a defensive battle, especially one where the kill ratio is ten to one. For the next ten days, weeks, or even months, we'll have to face an endless intrusion by the expeditionary army every day. At some point, you'll start doubting yourself, the world, and whether there's an end to these barbarians. During this period, everyone will be going through the abyss of suffering. The soldiers will start having trouble getting enough rest, getting feverish, and then becoming constipated. Our ammunition will start dwindling, and our food supplies will start getting rationed so we'd have enough to last. After that, the expeditionary army will start breaking through the defensive position more and more times until we can no longer defend this place."

Everyone fell silent. As this was just the beginning of their defensive battle, everyone felt that the expeditionary army was not that strong when they saw the barbarians falling one by one under the assault of the heavy machine guns.

But P5092 told them the scales of war would not always tip in their favor.

The expeditionary army was prepared to use tens of thousands of people to take down this position. In that case, the battle facing them would surely be the most devastating one in the world.

It would only get harder and harder by the day.

"Alright, everyone, just follow my orders." P5092 said, "The future commander promised I would be the highest-ranking officer of this army on the battlefield."

Everyone looked at Ren Xiaosu who nodded. "All y'all must obey his orders."

P5092 looked at Ji Zi'ang. "Everyone else can die, but before I give you the orders to topple those seven mountains, you can't die. Those seven mountains are our final trump card. You have to stay alive. You have to survive for the sake of the entire defensive position."

Everyone suddenly got the feeling that their existence on this battlefield was for a reason. That reason was so they could win the final victory of this war. They had to abandon their own wills to obey the collective will.

At this moment, the expeditionary army that had rushed forward was advancing rapidly on the mountain path. It was still the same old tactic as before. They were using the barbarians carrying shields in front of them as cover to protect the rest of the main forces at the rear as they advanced.

However, the shields they were wielding were different. A portion of the original leather shields had been replaced by the scrap of the armored vehicles they had dismantled. Even when the heavy machine guns' bullets hit them, only some sparks were produced.

The armor was so thick it required several barbarians to work together to lift it up.

When the expeditionary army came close to within 200 meters of the defensive position, the soldiers at the position were still firing at their usual rhythm. However, one of the barbarians at the front of the expeditionary army raised a shield by himself and suddenly launched into a rapid charge!

The barbarian's sudden burst of speed was extremely shocking. Even though he was carrying a shield by himself, he was still able to advance quickly on the uneven mountain path. When the soldiers at the defensive position reacted and were about to switch to using rockets and grenades to intercept him, the barbarian suddenly threw his shield horizontally at them.

The huge shield spun and whistled through the air. Meanwhile, the barbarian who had suddenly broken through the defensive position followed close behind it.

After he had thrown his shield, everyone realized the barbarian was wearing a full set of heavy armor that even bullets could not penetrate.

Before this, the expeditionary army had never been seen wearing such heavy armor. Therefore, no one knew the barbarians actually had that kind of defensive armor.

From the look of it, this was specially prepared for the barbarian elite to break through the defensive line of the Central Plains people. When a powerful individual possessed an unparalleled defensive capability, they would become extremely terrifying to deal with.

Just like Ren Xiaosu's armor, normal firearms were absolutely no match for it.

The heavy shield flew towards the defensive position and headed straight for the machine gunner!

Just as the shield was about to crush the machine gunner to pieces, a figure in a white mask suddenly appeared from the side and caught the shield with both hands.

In that same instant, White Mask's arms suddenly exerted strength and threw the shield back.

The barbarian did not seem to have expected someone to be able to catch the flying shield, so when it was sent flying back, it was too late for him to dodge, because the inertia of his charge was too great.

A second later, he sneered beneath his heavy faceplate. The Central Plains people were doing what he just did.

Thinking of this, he reached hands out to catch the flying shield and prepared to continue his attack.

But the moment his palm came into contact with the shield, the barbarian was stunned, because the momentum of the shield was much greater than the force of his initial throw!

The startled soldiers at the defensive position saw the barbarian who had let down his guard get knocked back by the flying shield.

P5092 had already arrived at this position. The soldiers here hesitated and said, "Sir, we didn't expect that barbarian to be so speedy. He was even wearing heavy armor, so we were nearly caught out…"

The soldiers felt very ashamed. If they allowed the barbarians to break through on the very first day, how were they supposed to fight the rest of the battle?

However, P5092 consoled them with a smile and said, "Don't worry, it's just the probing phase right now. The barbarians and I are both trying to see what tricks each of us have up our sleeves. It's a good thing to have found out they still have something like heavy armor on the first day of battle. The situation is ever-changing on the battlefield, so no one can guarantee they won't make any mistakes. Just be more careful next time."

After that, P5092 looked rather happily at Ren Xiaosu, who had rushed over. "Why did you know to arrange for White Mask to be here in advance? Did you know they would try to break through this side first?"

Ren Xiaosu replied, "I guessed."

P5092 nodded nonchalantly. Ren Xiaosu's accurate judgment of the barbarians could almost be categorized as magic.

He said to Ren Xiaosu, "You heard what I said to Ji Zi'ang just now, but I'd like to repeat it to you as well. Everyone else can die, but not you. You must survive until the end, not because you're the future commander, but because the defensive position can only continue to hold with you around. If you're gone, the defensive position can crumble at any moment.. Earlier, I said the seven mountains are our fault tolerance measures, but you have to understand that you're more important than those seven mountains."