Capítulo 2: Advance, Ares Warlord
After passing the assessment, the current group of trainees was assigned to the Astralis Star Region Military District.
Jake Tenorio spent another six months in the special training team and, after mastering mechanical maintenance skills, was recommended by a colonel to his old friend, the logistics chief of the Atlantes Star Region Military District. From there, Jake Tenorio went on to become a private in the first platoon of the logistics unit of the third armored battalion of the fifth armored division of the Cassiopeia star system, which belonged to the Atlantes Star Region.
At first, Jake Tenorio was somewhat proud of himself. After all, he had come from the special training team and had undergone training in both the reconnaissance and mechanical maintenance camps. With the colonel's recommendation, he had been promoted directly to a private, one rank higher than other soldiers who had graduated from the special training team. But after joining the platoon, he realized that the platoon leader of the logistics unit's first platoon was also just a private.
His good luck had run out.
Three days after Jake Tenorio reported for duty, the Atlantes Star Region of the Lumina Democratic Federation was invaded by the entire Celestria Empire, and war broke out. Within six months, four immigrant stars in the Cassiopeia star system fell one after another. After retreating with the remnants of the Fifth Division to Nebulae-2 star, they were surrounded by the Newton Front of the Empire and the Cassiopeia Front that followed closely. After finally boarding a ship of the Ninth Division, he was ordered by the headquarters to be dropped onto Nebulae star to participate in the defense.
The Empire achieved a landing on Nebulae star within a week.
Then, this chubby officer who seemed to have some skills in escaping was assigned to help with the maintenance of mechas at the front line.
And then, the Empire launched an attack.
Jake Tenorio, with barely enough time to catch his breath, could only focus on escaping.
Jake Tenorio was running as fast as he could on his two legs, trying to keep up with the mechas, feeling angry and scared at the same time. Even if he ran as fast as he could, his speed was only about 20 kilometers per hour, compared to the mechas, it was like a typical tortoise and hare race. The only thing he could be grateful for was that mechas, due to their size, had difficulty moving in the jungle. And surviving in the jungle and evading enemies was one of Jake Tenorio's specialties. After all, he was just a logistics and maintenance soldier. Who would be interested in chasing him specifically?
Climbing up a tall tree, Jake Tenorio carefully observed the situation on the battlefield. If the twelve federal Ares Warlord mechas could leave the battlefield, Jake Tenorio wouldn't mind following them in the shadows to retreat.
Smooth sailing all the way would, of course, be a good thing. If he encountered a small number of enemies, at least he had this not-so-weak force to rely on. If he encountered a large number of enemies, Jake Tenorio would disappear without a trace like a small star next to the sun.
The focus of the battle was concentrated on the small hill that Jake Tenorio had just left. Two federal Ares Warlord mechas had already approached the hill, followed by a platoon of Imperial Ironclad Goliath single-pilot mechas, like a swarm of mad bees. Part of them formed a skirmish line, constantly launching attacks against the two Ares Warlord mechas. The other part activated their high-speed boost rockets, flanking around the hill, completely ignoring the long airtime and becoming easy targets for the Ares Warlord mechas.
The Federal Army was in dire straits, unable to shake off the enemy's pursuit up front, and losing control of the high ground in the rear. This battle seemed unwinnable. Only by holding onto the small hills and relying on this defensive position could most of the mechas break free from combat.
There was silence over the comm.
"Damn it! Let's go all out! We, 2119, strike. Brothers, cover our backs."
A heavily damaged Ares Warlord mecha forcefully broke away from the battlefield without any cover, charging towards the top of the hill.
The exposed 9-2119 immediately became the target of enemy fire, and the defensive shield was quickly reduced to a dangerous red color after just a few hundred meters of progress.
"2119, get your ass back here!"
"Fire, fire!"
"Come on, guys, we can't let 2119 die in front of us."
"The Leray Federation has no cowards."
"Are we warriors, gentlemen?"
"We are!"
"And proud of it!"
All the Federal Ares Warlord mechas roared with determination. They simultaneously charged out of their positions, their top-mounted rotary energy cannons unleashing firepower to the maximum, while the energy shields quickly faded to a faint red. This meant that in order to cover 2119, these mechas unhesitatingly turned the energy valves to maximum attack, completely abandoning their protective shields.
"Haha, this is fucking exhilarating! Take that, you sons of bitches from Celes-tria."
"You imperial fleas, let me teach you a lesson."
"This missile says hello to your mom, and this one says hello to your dad."
The Empire was caught off guard by the sudden increase in firepower from the Federation forces. Twelve red mechas charged out like twelve gods of death from hell, surrounded by red light, wielding deadly scythes, and unleashing a barrage of missiles like a dense rain.
"9-2108, enemy concentration at 1 o'clock, open fire!"
"9-2117, advance!"
"9-2121, advance!"
"9-2119, keep advancing! We're almost there, guys."
"9-2110, move forward!"
"9-2111, damn it 2119, that place is mine!"
"9-2106, charge ahead, don't let those bastards behind us."
"9-2133, advance."
"9-2129, brothers, let's go."
"9-2101, advance."
Jake Tenorio, who was climbing a tree, couldn't help but tremble all over, with goosebumps all over his skin. He didn't know if he was excited or scared. He just knew that he would never forget the scene in front of him. One of the defense shields of the Ares Warlord mecha dropped down and charged fiercely towards the hill, while the other two mechas, which had abandoned their defense energy, desperately intercepted the oncoming Imperial mechas. Nine other mechas also abandoned their defense energy, spraying firepower recklessly, while closing in on the hill to attract enemy fire.
"Advance! Ares Warlord!"
The twelve Ares Warlord mechas played a resounding charge anthem with their fierce gunfire and the scent of blood soaring to the sky.
The sudden counterattack of the Ares Warlord Land Battle Mecha caught the Imperial team off guard. Despite having a numerical advantage, they were all single-pilot mechs, which offered no advantages against medium-sized mechas. One direct hit from a missile or two energy blasts would easily destroy a Ironclad Goliath.
As they watched the Ironclad Goliaths explode into fiery balls under the relentless firepower of the Federal Army, the Empire's firepower advantage, which was based on their numbers, gradually diminished. The ratio of mechas between the two sides had already reached 5:1. In other words, there were only a few dozen Imperial single-pilot mechas left that were still capable of attacking, and after prolonged fighting, the five light missiles that the Ironclad Goliaths could carry were already running low. The battlefield's reserve firepower had reached a very dangerous point. Without missiles, relying on two mounted machine guns would only tickle the Ares Warlords of the Federal Army.
The Ares Warlord's do-or-die fighting style made the Empire fearful. Losses rapidly increased as one panicked Imperial single-pilot mecha after another was hit. Panic spread uncontrollably throughout the Empire. Even the commanders dared not lift their heads within the Federal Army's range of firepower, instead seeking refuge in craters or obstacles.
War is a peculiar thing.
Perhaps your soldiers are formidable, or perhaps your tactics are brilliant, your weapons are advanced, or even if you have the perfect timing, location, and personnel, you still lose. Because you have lost to something that no one can control.
Luck!
At a particular time and place, when this thing appears, the result is likely to be completely opposite from what was initially expected.
At this moment, the Federal Army's luck was undoubtedly very good. These warriors lowered their defense shields and almost nakedly entered the battlefield, yet not a single piece of their armor was destroyed by the enemy. Instead, they accidentally seized the upper hand.
In ancient Earth's wars, there were often cases of a soldier chasing after a group of soldiers.
Morale and luck.
Without the morale to fight to the death, such a crazy action would not have been possible. And without luck, even if the soldier running away turned around and randomly shot, they could kill the fool who was chasing a group of people.
An ancient philosopher once said, "If the hearts of men are scattered, it is difficult to lead the team." Now, this saying hit the Imperial commander like a ton of bricks. Their soldiers were beyond control, and most of them were already fighting on their own.
As they watched the pressure mount as one mecha after another was destroyed by the Federal Army, the Empire began to waver, then gradually dissolved into a scattered retreat. Eventually, this retreat suddenly turned into a panicked rout. The mechas scattered and ran away, just like a flock of sheep fleeing from a pack of wolves.
Jake's mouth felt bitter. He really wanted to cry out loud. He couldn't go on living like this. In the distance, the shadow of the Empire's armored squad was already visible. In just ten more minutes, the squad would have circled around the jungle and reached the battlefield.
The battlefield was chaotic. Jake Tenorio thought, "If I can escape, I'll apply for retirement!"
The poor fatty Jake was sweating profusely as he ran.
One year of reconnaissance training did not make him lose even a bit of weight. Half a year of war experience only prevented him from gaining more weight.
"If I had known that I couldn't lose weight, why did I come here to suffer?"
Jake Tenorio felt like his life was a tragedy.
He would rather have stayed at home with the villa and flying car left by his parents when they passed away, found a simple job, married a beautiful wife, and spent his evenings drinking with friends. That was his dream life.
"I'm Jake Tenorio, a temporary logistics support mechanical maintenance soldier. Requesting communication."
Jake licked his tongue as he ran towards the battlefield, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"The fatty who came to repair the mecha a few days ago? Why are you still here?"
This was the armored squad's closed channel, and being able to connect to it meant that the person was nearby. The ground armored soldiers were puzzled. The battle had been raging for two days and one night, and yet this fatty who had come here a few days ago to repair the mecha was still here.
Jake thought to himself, "I want to run, but can I just escape with the battlefield recorder on my arm?"
The battlefield recorder usually did not restrict the withdrawal of logistics forces from the battlefield. Its main function was to record combat achievements and limit the range of combat for soldiers. However, for soldiers with abnormal data, the battlefield recorder would modify their orders. More than twenty times of leaving the battle without firing a shot, not killing any enemy, and staying hidden outside of the battle, without being detected by any enemy.
What else could this be if not abnormal data?
Jake Tenorio's combat data had entered the red alert list of the Federation's combat command center's computer.
"Fatty, run for your life." 9-2101 mecha leader said.
"How can I escape?!"
Jake Tenorio's wailing was full of sorrow.
"Except for this small patch of jungle, everything around here is flat. The Empire's heavy mechas are also coming."
The Empire's "Beast" Type 2 heavy mecha combat unit was twelve meters high, weighing eighty tons, made entirely of alloy. Equipped with omnidirectional radar, heavy energy defense shield, eight reverse joint mechanical legs for climbing and walking, and a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour. It had sixteen huge mechanical wheels for lying down, and on the highway, it could travel at a speed of 280 kilometers per hour. It could carry twenty medium-sized missiles, four anti-aircraft missiles, two energy guns, and a 360-degree rotating "Fire Snake" heavy machine gun.
To detect and kill a logistics soldier traveling at 20 kilometers per hour, and wearing a uniform, in the jungle, the "Beast" would be a formidable opponent.
"We're running out of time. Everyone follow the single mecha ahead of us. We'll head north, then west, then south, along the Golden Glade River. The central defense line to the east has already been breached, and we're being blocked from behind."
Jake Tenorio was gasping for air, his lungs beginning to feel congested from the high-speed running. It took him five mouthfuls of saliva to get the words out.
"Fatty, is this for real?"
The mecha soldiers were half-believing, half-doubting.
"Fuck! I'm a scout from the special forces!"
The mecha soldiers fell silent, immediately executing Jake Tenorio's plan.
On the battlefield, scouts are the people whom combatants are willing to believe. Even battle plans need confirmation from scouts before they can be executed. In the rapidly changing battlefield, scouts often become the dependents of combatants. Analyzing the situation on the battlefield and choosing the correct direction for retreat is a must-have course for scouts. Therefore, the mecha soldiers, who had no time to argue, immediately believed Jake Tenorio without reservation and accelerated their advance to the north.
When the fatty ran to the edge of the jungle and saw the Federal mecha rolling away at 150 kilometers per hour,
"It's over!"
Jake Tenorio threw his gun hard on the ground and cried, "Why the hell didn't you take me with you?"
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