Chapter 37: The Plan of Ignition
Editor: Geoffrey_
Fatty was jolted out from his thoughts by a burning slap to the face. Caught unprepared, his face had moved from the left to the right as a line of saliva from the edge of his mouth flew out in a glistening arc before landing right below his right earlobe.
At this moment, an electronic broadcaster within the cabin of the transport ship emitted out a message, “First lieutenant Tian Xing Jian, please report to the captain’s room.”
Fatty, who felt like he had been slapped for no reason, could only watch as the female doctor who slapped him walked away. Wiping away the line of saliva frantically, he headed towards the captain’s room.
Within the room, other than Nadal and Rashid, there were two lieutenant colonels, a colonel, and a senior colonel. One of the two lieutenant colonels was wearing the uniform of the air force, signifying clearly that he was the captain of this transport ship. The other lieutenant colonel was the staff planning officer of a combat division.
Seeing Tian Xing Jian walking towards the door and reporting his presence, Rashid hurriedly pulled him in before introducing him to the senior colonel, “This is our Aviation Squadron, 16th Armored Division, Division Commander, Zhou Zhi Sen.
Zhou Zhi Sen was a typical Easterner from Ancient Earth. From his name alone, it would appear that he should also be of Chinese descent. Although he had a short stature and a flimsy figure, his eyes contrasted greatly as they were brilliant and full of expression. Just simply standing there, one could feel from him the aura of a commander who had been through hundreds of battles.
The Aviation Squadron, 16th Armored Division was one of the elite squads of the Leray Federation’s ground forces. They were one of the heroic divisions that had been passed down ever since the battle for independence. Among the 300 ground-based armored divisions and the 200 aviation squadron armored divisions that were formed completely by a mechanized team, their military strength ranked them just two places away from being one of the top-grade, elite squads in the entire Federation—12th. For such a person to be the division commander, he would certainly have to have solid military commanding ability and leadership skills.
Hearing the introduction by Rashid, Fatty immediately saluted him, showing a posture of a proper, iron-blooded soldier as he shouted out, “Greetings, Division Commander! Directly subordinate to the 16th Division, Special Scouts Battalion, Vice Company Commander Tian Xing Jian reports to you. Please deliver your instructions!”
Senior Colonel Zhou Zhi Sen saluted back out of courtesy. Walking towards Tian Xing Jian, he thoroughly observed this fatty, who had led the team out from the enemy’s rear lines with limited transportation and lack of weapons and only had a section worth of Battle Mechas.
“Your family’s name is Tian? A Chinese?” Zhou Zhi Sen asked.
“That’s right, Senior Colonel.” Without a single hair out of place, Tian Xing Jian continued his act of an iron-blooded soldier.
“Very good, stand at ease. Keep whatever ‘Senior Officer’ and ‘Senior Officer greetings’ to yourself.” Zhou Zhi Sen had long ago heard of this fatty. This time, during the rescue mission given by the command team, he was assigned by Bernadotte himself to lead this team of soldiers. He had done plenty of investigations on this commanding officer from the group who had escaped from the enemy’s rear lines.
The stiff fatty immediately let himself down like a donkey, changing to an expression full of smiles as he showed a naive, innocent, and honest look.
Zhou Zhi Sen laughed. “Very good, Tian Xing Jian. A person of noble character should never stop striving for self-improvement. Your name is truly interesting, bringing with it the smell from our eastern culture of ancient Earth.” After having said that, he walked slowly towards the computer control system within the captain’s room and signaled for Fatty to come over. He continued, “Let’s skip all the nonsense. I am truly pleased with your performance this time. Right now, tell us more about the deduction of the battle outcome you had sent to forward command.”
Tian Xing Jian walked towards the computer display screen and took a look. On the display was a simulated three-dimensional map formulated which used the deduction and analysis based on the fatty’s deduction strategy.
This map simulated a real war situation by inputting the deduction numbers and combat plans. The moving images of small soldiers represented the individual units on the map moving according to the deduction. When explaining how the deduction worked, those moving soldier figurines were extremely vital, and they represented how change happened even during the ancient times of war. However, this time, instead of explaining with words, the computer would be the one doing the explanation and self-demonstration.
This set of things was something which Fatty knew from the inside out. Seeing the senior colonel asking him, he did not hesitate to tell him the process of his deduction.
Zhou Zhi Sen listened to the report given by Tian Xing Jian before contemplating for some time and asked, “Are these deduction from the computer in your Battle Mecha?”
Tian Xing Jian truly wanted to say that he had actually dreamt of all of this while sleeping. After all, this fatty had experienced before the logic of how people hated to be famous, and pigs hated to be fat [1]. However, there were too many witnesses when he did his deduction in the underground tunnel, and furthermore, this was his superior’s direct superior. Lying to him would have dire consequences, thus he finally nodded, “That’s right, Division Commander. I personally feel that forward command should re-arrange the related divisions in order to prevent this from happening.”
Zhou Zhi Sen laughed and asked everyone to sit on the sofa. He waved his hands at Tian Xing Jian and said, “This deduction had only been received by the forward command yesterday.”
Seeing the confused expression on Fatty, the staff planning officer, who was a colonel, explained awkwardly, “This deduction was hidden by a traitor, so the planning team did not know of it beforehand. Only after a thorough investigation did we this traitor. Afterwards when he gave up the documents, we discovered the serial number linking to the deduction. At that time, we tried to look for the deduction, but it was all for naught. Only when we finally searched through the computers related to acknowledging successfully receiving a message did we find a copy stored within.”
Seeing how flushed with anger he was, needless to say, this traitor was probably his co-worker. He was the staff officer who sent the Special Scouts First Company to their death.
At this moment, a soldier orderly came in at the right time to bring them tea. The scene started cooling down, as everyone seemed to want to avoid discussing the problem regarding the traitor.
Zhou Zhi Sen picked up the cup of tea in front of him and gave it a light blow. He frankly said, “In any nation, there will be cases of such traitors arising at a certain time. There’s nothing surprising about it.”
He took a sip of tea before putting the cup back onto the table, seemingly as if the cup of tea was scalding hot. Looking at Tian Xing Jing, he said, “We saw your deduction, and we conclude that… it is extremely accurate. To tell you the truth, other than having been assigned here by forward command, the reason why I personally came over here is to accept the mission to ascertain the enemy’s military composition and the end result of the ‘ignition’ plan.”
Tian Xing Jian was puzzled. “Ignition plan?”
The lieutenant colonel staff planning officer took out a document from the file in his hand and passed it to Tian Xing Jian. “This is the plan formulated by forward command during yesterday’s midnight meeting. After your deduction was sent to the forward command team and was analyzed, they think that the outcome you have deduced could be a possibility, thus in order to avoid such an outcome, forward command has already sent three ground-based armored divisions and two aviation battalions to strengthen the defense of the area surrounding 200 kilometers of Catosi Canyon.”
While moving his hand, Zhou Zhi Sen continued from where the lieutenant colonel left off, “Afterwards, just an hour after sending the orders, the forward command team received news regarding a large-scale movement on the enemy side. It seems that there are still some traitors within our internal department. After sending out the orders, the other side immediately changed their strategy.”
Needless to say, Zhou Zhi Sen took over from the lieutenant colonel, as it could be awkward for him to talk about matters regarding traitors.
He continued, “Our intelligence isn’t weak. Hehe, after the enemies started moving, we discovered that the region of reorganization is precisely within this zone where we were conducting the rescue mission. Thus, for the sake of understanding the true military power of the enemy and to ignite this bomb hanging over our head at a location far away, we decided to use the deployment sent during this rescue mission to eliminate all the enemies reorganizing within this region.”
It seemed that Tian Xing Jian had a sudden realization. “That’s why the Federation decided to use a total of five aviation battalion worth of military power! No wonder! I was wondering why there was information about how strong and resolute the enemy’s resistance was… So this was the location where they were regrouping at!”
Seeing Zhou Zhi Sen nodding his head as he smiled, Tian Xing Jian asked curiously, “Then, what about the Myth Legion? Have you found the location they are gathering at?”
[1] This saying regards to how man is afraid that there would be trouble finding them when they became famous, just like how pigs are afraid that they would be slaughtered when they became fat.
Chapter 38: I Don’t Want to be a Hero
Editor: Geoffrey_
Zhou Zhi Sen shook his head, saying, “Not yet! But this no longer that important. We have just received information that the enemy’s newly assembled space fleets have started to attack our fleets. The aircraft carrier battle group that was supporting the ground battles had been forced to leave the battle and regroup with our fleets. As the enemy took full advantage of this gap period to attack with their fighter aircrafts while simultaneously regrouping, they managed to take over Banfoli Mountain Pass and threaten the logistic channel to our rear. Forward command has given orders for all soldiers to return. If no accidents happen, then the war will return to its original stalemate condition, as both sides are currently occupying parts of each other’s combat routes. I feel reluctant to say this, but it seems that a huge battle will be erupting soon. Oh yes, the soldiers who occupied the Banfoli Mountain Pass are from the Myth Legion. We have one aviation battalion and two divisions’ worth of military power defending against their advance. However, despite this, it was all futile. Judging from the enemy’s reactions, regardless of how we see this, your deductions are all accurate.”
Seeing Tian Xing Jian’s tense frown, Zhou Zhi Sen laughed. “Fortunately, we have at least ignited this bomb, preventing them from blowing it up in our key positions. Right now, it only resulted in us receiving some injuries on our limbs, so I can say it’s a victory for us. At the very least, the divisions moving out will not face the danger of being isolated.”
Tian Xing Jian frowned as he contemplated for a moment. “I have always felt that deductions are not holistic and the enemy could always take a backdoor or a short-cut. Now that it has happened, I had not considered that the enemy would have long ago driven the battle to this point. Even if their plan failed, they can still take the advantage against the Federation.”
Zhou Zhi Sen had a habit of waving his hand as he laughingly said, “You are merely a vice company commander of the special scouts company. It’s truly praiseworthy for you to reach this standard. If we had not seen your deduction at the last minute, the Federation might have even incurred an unexpected loss. Furthermore, your opponent has experience that is much richer than yours by a thousand times. Very soon, you will be in contact with him. This time, regardless of how we see it, you are considered to be a true hero of the Federation and should be awarded and protected. It is not appropriate for you to go to the front lines anymore. The forward command has decided to assign you to the combat planning team as a staff officer. These two staff officers came especially to bring you back to Jialipalan.”
Seated by Tian Xing Jian, the colonel staff officer took out an appointment letter with a smile. “This is my very first official meeting with you. I am from the combat division and the director of the 2nd Research Unit, Compton. First Lieutenant Tian, we’ll be work partners in the future. Welcome.”
Fatty shook his hand blankly. After receiving the appointment letter, he opened it and took a look. What was written inside was very simple: Appointed under the direct subordinate to Aviation Squadron 16th Armored Division, First Lieutenant Tian Xing Jian of the Special Scouts Battalion will be assigned to the Miracolo Ground Resistance Army, subordinate to the Forward Command Department, Combat Planning Division as a staff officer. His previous assignment will immediately be terminated. Behind the letter was stamped with the sigil of forward command along with the current date.
Fatty flipped through the appointment letter a few times. Not even a month had passed since he was assigned to the special scouts company and had gone out on a mission, yet he has already been reassigned to the combat department to become a staff officer. This was truly bizarre.
He pondered in his heart, “Previously, after becoming a hero, I was assigned to the front lines under the glorified pretense of imparting my experiences to others. I’ve almost died from this mission, and now that I’ve became a hero, I’ll be assigned back there again. By tossing me here and there, what do they think this father is? An omnipotent god? Saying that I should be protected is merely for the fact that they are afraid there would be a hiccup with their new hero, causing a stain on the media. I wonder... if I become a hero in the future, where will I be assigned then? With the pretense of telling me that I am a hero, that I should naturally sacrifice my life for the Federation and all the citizens watching, despite the dangers, they would tell me ‘you will be going there’!”
The probability of such a thing happening is quite huge. With his self-declared superhuman logical thinking, Fatty immediately made a decision—he would henceforth pretend to be dead, so that he could no longer become a hero. Whoever loved this hero would have this hero assigned to their division. Whatever the reason, it seemed that this fatty would be retiring in the combat department.
At the moment when he left, Fatty used an extremely earnest expression to ask for a request from Division Commander Zhou Zhi Shen—he did not want to participate in any media-related activities and also requested for the forward command department to consider keeping his name a secret. It was fine even if he did not receive any rewards for his effort. The reason he gave was that he did not want to become a hero, and neither did he want to become a target which the journalists chased after; everything he had done was simply his responsibility as a soldier for the Federation.
Zhou Zhi Sen had a puzzled expression as he looked at Fatty. He was baffled and pleased at the same time with the requests. “If required, cooperating with the media is also part of your mission. However, since you have explicitly requested for this, I’ll tell that to the forward command.” Laughing, he patted Fatty’s shoulders. “Very good! It seems that you truly understand the culture of the east. Succeeding yet not returning, becoming a husband but not bounded to home. Where it is is where you will go [1].”
This wretched person, who was not cultured, walked out the door with a fog in his mind regarding the last sentence. What success? Go where? [2]
As the opposing fleets were having an intense battle outside Miracolo Planet, the medium-sized transport ships had no way of leaving the atmospheric layer. Instead, under the protection of the fighter aircrafts, they proceeded through the recently-opened air channel, all the way until they reached Cato City’s military airport.
The highest Supreme Headquarters and the President’s Office would of course not forgo this perfect opportunity to spread propaganda. They held an enthusiastic and touching welcome ceremony, causing almost all the journalists on Miracolo Planet to start acting. The military had even used their website to advertise this ceremony organized by the Federation.
Fatty, who had slipped away through the safeguarded door of the transport ship, did not see the scene of the citizens welcoming them. He was currently looking at the Federation’s 《Freedom Newspaper》, which had an article:
<The airport has already been filled with the soldiers and citizens who received the news. Under the protection of countless fighter aircrafts, the transport ships slowly descended. Several families who have received their members—the local soldiers of Miracolo—could not help but cry bitterly. This emotional sensation spread out as many others teared at the sight. These Federation soldiers have experienced so much suffering, but now, they are finally back!>
When Colonel Peter, the highest ranked soldier among the group of prisoners-of-war and the first person to exit from the transport ship’s entrance, walked out, the crowd roared out with cheers that reverberated in the universe. They were in tears as they shouted out the names of people they knew amongst the Federation soldiers who were captured. The entire scene was truly very emotional.
On the makeshift information panel was the relevant information of all the soldiers that were rescued. Every single one of the soldiers that appeared at the ship’s entrance would receive a cheer as if they were heroes that returned.
That’s right, they were truly the heroes of the Federation! These Federation soldiers had fought for Miracolo Planet, for the freedom of the Federation, and for the glory of their nation!
They truly deserved to be called heroes!
Standing in a phalanx formation, the friends of the returning soldiers stood there quietly. As strong as they were, most of them had their eyes turn red from the scene.
They said to the journalists how they lived for the honor of the nation and how proud they were of the Federation Army for doing their best to rescue the prisoners-of-war. They believed that the Federation would never abandon any of the children she loved. Likewise, the soldiers and officers of the Federation would protect them till the very end.
Tian Xing Jian sighed before placing down the newspaper. Looking outside the windows of the transport ship flying towards Jialipalan, he was lost in thought.
To the Federation, saving these prisoners-of-war, who had been used as test experiments successfully, was more important than winning a large battle. To this nation, treasuring all lives and freedom was one of their most important traditions. The majority of the citizens loved peace and treasured life; they respected every person by their sides.
Tian Xing Jian seemingly saw that face of Ali, who tried his best to garner his favor—the dazed face that became pale and numb following the sound of a gunshot.
Resounding by his ears was the voice of Thoriko: Even if we die, we must never let this damned nation become our conqueror!
[1] Kind of having a meaning of not letting success get into one’s head, nor claiming the credits for it. Instead, one just treated it indifferently and continued on with his journey of life.
[2] He had not really understood the idiom given from previously.
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