The First Order

1253 One win, one loss

D−5.

The artificial intelligence’s first probing attack was brought to a stop by a forest fire that burned a large number of its troops in the forest to death.

Even if the humans controlled by the artificial intelligence were approaching a true “healthy physique,” could they possibly outrun a wildfire?

The forest, autumn weather, and wildfire. P5092 had vividly utilized the advantageous terrain and conditions to their maximum potential. However, this plan had to be executed as quickly as possible since they knew heavy rain was coming.

This was because they understood the importance of the weather. If P5092 had tried so hard to keep such a powerful weapon from being deployed until the last moments and ended up not being able to use it due to rain, it would have been such a waste of his efforts.

After P5092 used the white phosphorus munitions at Position 317, a lot of people witnessed the might of this move. Someone asked him what he was going to do next, but P5092 actually answered by saying the soldiers should quickly transfer out to a new defensive position. He wanted them to reach the designated area within four hours.

P5092 made this decision based on the data obtained from the various fighting forces. In his opinion, the previous defensive arrangements were not satisfactory.

When P5092 changed the defensive deployment, everyone looked at him awkwardly. That was because the initial battle plan was set by Zhang Jinglin. P5092 was basically undermining Zhang Jinglin with what he did.

It was equivalent to calling out Zhang Jinglin for his lack of martial ability.

When Zhang Jinglin saw everyone’s reaction, he chuckled. “That’s the order of the current highest-ranking military commander of the Northwest Army. Are you all trying to get court martialed by dawdling around? It’s alright, there’s no need to keep respecting me. My military command ability was a result of me being forced into my role.”

When he said that, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Even P5092 heaved a sigh of relief at this. To be honest, he was also a little worried about how Zhang Jinglin would react, so he continued observing him.

From the look of things, the future commander did not lie to him. As long as he served in the Northwest Army, he would not have to worry about all those political schemings.

But at this moment, Wang Yun, who was still sorting out the data, looked up and asked, “But is it really alright to transfer them out of the defensive position so suddenly?”

“That’s true. What if there’s a gap in the defensive line during the transfer?” the Great Hoodwinker asked.

P5092 shook his head. “That won’t happen. First of all, these are troops in the second echelon of the defensive line being moved away. Even if the enemy suddenly attacks, the first echelon’s position will be able to buy them some time. Secondly, the AI has always been fond of managing its operations very closely, so it should be chopping down trees to create a buffer zone at this moment. It won’t be able to come and attack us.”

P5092 knew very well that the idea of using white phosphorus munitions to ignite a wildfire could only be used once.

After this, before the other artificial intelligence-controlled troops began their round of attacks, they would definitely create buffer zones in advance in case the Northwest Army tried the same trick again.

And that was exactly what happened.

Farther behind, the artificial intelligence-controlled troops quickly felled the trees dozens of kilometers away to create buffer zones. Only then did they completely isolate themselves from the wildfires to prevent further losses.

Even after a few hours, no enemy troops came to attack by the time the troops completed their transfer to the new defensive position. This time, everyone was utterly convinced by P5092. He could even predict whether the enemy would attack or not.

“What’s next?” Wang Yun asked, “Any good ideas?”

P5092 shook his head. “The following battles will all be tough ones. Moreover, the enemy troops that were held back by Black Fox’s group are probably coming for us already. In the south, the two groups of enemy troops from the Qing Consortium will also be arriving on the battlefield soon. We already have a headache facing one group of enemy troops, so we can only hope we can still enjoy some good luck in this war.”

…

Whatever was going to happen would happen. After the artificial intelligence established enough wildfire buffer zones outside the defensive line, it would launch another attack.

Outside Position 317, Ji Zi’ang had helped the 129th Engineering Battalion’s soldiers plant thousands of land mines within a few hours.

Among them, the majority were anti-tank mines while anti-infantry mines were laid out separately. In an instant, the area outside Position 317 and the path on its left were turned into a terrifying minefield.

Every minefield that came into existence would turn into a huge potential threat after the war, and such zones would become devoid of people.

No one would dare step foot into such areas. Even the engineering battalion soldiers who laid the land mines might not remember where they were buried. If normal people were to accidentally venture inside such an area, they would definitely die.

But how could P5092 care about what might happen after claiming victory in this war? Even winning the war was already a very difficult task.

Just as P5092 expected, the artificial intelligence had indeed chosen this location for the Wang Consortium’s mechanized troops to pass through after its analysis for the optimal solution.

But something unexpected happened. The anti-tank mines did not work as intended.

The horde was surging over from outside the minefield. What was strange was that these people were carrying another person on their backs and advancing towards the minefield in a carpet sweep formation.

The principle behind anti-tank mines was just that they were filled with more explosives and used pressure fuses that infantry was unable to trigger.

The fuse would require a pressure of 90 kilograms to be triggered. Meanwhile, it wasn’t actually that easy to find normal people weighing over 90 kilograms, especially in the military.

Soldiers in the military trained all year round and had extremely low body fat, so they rarely weighed more than 90 kilograms.

It was the same for the AI-controlled troops. After undergoing the most scientific of training regimes, their bodies had reached the highest standard of fitness.

However, the artificial intelligence actually increased the weight of each individual soldier by having them carry another soldier on their backs. Then it carried out mine-clearing of the area in the most direct of methods using human bodies.

Mechanized troops were like a fortress for infantry. When the battle got intense, the artificial intelligence would also choose to advance its mechanized troops as quickly as possible.

The explosions that reverberated within the mountains from the minefield were so loud the soldiers at Position 317 could hear them. But just as they happily thought the minefield had successfully stopped the enemy’s mechanized troops, they saw a shocking sight through their high-powered binoculars.

Countless lives were lost as the enemy troops advanced into the minefield one after another. When an enemy soldier stepped on a land mine, they did not stop and just continued advancing. Then they were killed by the triggered land mines.

There were no mine-clearing strategies or detection measures.

All of the AI-controlled humans behaved like moths drawn to a flame. At this moment, life seemed to have lost its meaning and was simply used as a tool.

The lives of these young and middle-aged humans seemingly became unimportant as they were sacrificed by the artificial intelligence in exchange for time.

The soldiers at Position 317 fell silent. They suddenly felt an extreme sense of despair. The cold ruthlessness of the enemy seemed to have become a different form of strength at this moment, terrifying everyone.

It was as though nothing could stop the artificial intelligence.

When the battalion commander of the 191st Artillery Battalion saw this, he suddenly said, “Comrades, now we’re all aware of the kind of enemy we’re facing.”

The minefield’s dirt ground was stained red with blood, but not a single enemy tank could be seen.

Everyone in the Northwest Army was well aware that humans were probably the last resource the artificial intelligence lacked.

Sacrificing 10,000 to 20,000 people in the minefield was just a drop in the bucket for the entirety of the enemy’s troops.

The battalion commander at the defensive position immediately had his soldiers prepare their short-range artillery. Their mission at Position 317 was to prevent the mechanized troops from passing through. Although the minefield did not work as planned, it did not mean the battle could not be fought.

At this moment, in the command center where P5092 was, a staff officer gave a sitrep of Position 317 to him.

P5092 thought for a moment and said, “Inform the 191st Artillery Battalion to launch an all-out attack.”

The “all-out attack” was to disregard all consequences and preservation of ammunition and carry out suppressive fire against the enemy.

Wang Yun was stunned. An order like this was basically asking Position 317 to finish expending its ammunition before it got breached.

He asked P5092, “Do you plan to have the 191st Artillery Battalion retreat?”

P5092 shook his head. “They can’t retreat. Even if they have to charge forward with explosives, they still need to hold Position 317 for another eight hours. Only then will the other positions have a chance to stop the AI’s infantry.”

With those words, it meant the 191st Artillery Battalion would be completely forsaken. This also made Wang Yun understand how much pressure P5092 was under. He was actually trying to squeeze out every last bit of each soldier’s value.

Wang Yun suddenly felt that P5092, who was currently taking charge in the command center, must be feeling heartbroken throughout all of this.

P5092 suddenly said, “To carry out such an attack with no regard, it must mean the AI also knows the urgency of the situation. In that case, the gift I’ve prepared for it at Position 291 should give it a surprise.”

Position 291 was located in the middle of the two defensive support points, Mt. Yongjing and Mt. Xigu. It was just a minor position with no strategic significance.

If the enemy attacked from here, the Northwest Army’s troops at Mt. Yongjing and Mt. Xigu would be ready to provide support at any moment and lay siege to the opponent at Position 291.

But once the enemy had enough numbers and firepower, it could forcefully cut off the link between Mt. Yongjing and Mt. Xigu from there.

If the artificial intelligence continued sending more troops to occupy that position at all costs, Mt. Yongjing and Mt. Xigu would lose their co-dependence on each other.

When that happened, it would only take a day for the isolated defensive line at Mt. Xigu to fall completely.

Or it might not even take a day.

Using a huge numerical difference to overwhelm this position was the best solution for the artificial intelligence on this battlefield.

The Three Mountains defensive line battle and the probing by the artificial intelligence over the past two days seemed to suggest to humans that it did not like overwhelming its opponents with a human wave.

However, P5092 felt that the artificial intelligence did not overwhelm them with a human wave previously only because it wasn’t necessary, not because it did not know how to use such a tactic.

Position 291 might be P5092’s final chance to surprise and deal the artificial intelligence a heavy blow. After this, the artificial intelligence would probably not choose the “optimal solution” whenever there was a choice to be made.

P5092 was constantly reminding himself not to underestimate the artificial intelligence.

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A message from weirdo and Legge:

Thank you all for being such patient readers in this tale of Ren Xiaosu. It has been fun translating and reading your comments, and I hope the quality was up to expectations. Every word chosen, and every character’s motivations were analyzed to reconcile possible “out of character” behavior. It is my belief that translations should bring across the author’s intended message in its most original form.

I know I took a long time clearing up at the end, but I know you’ll understand. Yes, we’re really reaching the end. My thoughts are that The Speaking Pork Trotter had planned out the story very well, and most side characters were not forgotten. Their backstories also endeared to me as I translated their parts. My personal favorite has to be P5092, depicting how everyone has two sides to them. Sometimes, you just can’t judge a person if you don’t understand their motivations. Who can forget Hu Xiaobai and Wang Yuexi, two side characters who aren’t extraordinary in strength but made a difference in the Prosperous Northwest goal. Zero’s story affected me pretty deeply as well.

If you’re feeling empty after this, do check out my other translated work: I’m Really a Superstar on NovelFull. (disclaimer: the story might not be for everyone)

Alternatively, you can support me on patreon/legge if you like and appreciate the work I’ve done.

Also, please check out weirdo’s work by searching @ wxw “the grandmaster strategist”. He has been a great editor, and I often consult him when parts of the story did not add up.

Thank you, :’)

-translator, Legge

Thanks for sticking with us for so long, and I hope you enjoyed the story!

-editor, weirdo

Video resources for The First Order:

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…

…

Position 291 was not situated at a high altitude, and the terrain was not steep enough either. Therefore, it was not strategically suitable to mount a defense there.

But the conditions on a battlefield were never constant. Sometimes, some subtle decisive factors could turn a situation around.

The surprise P5092 had in store for the artificial intelligence was Zhou Yingxue, Ren Xiaosu, and Yang Xiaojin.

The sharpest blade would have to be reserved for the most critical moments.

At this moment, more than ten kilometers away from Position 291, a fearsome horde was surging towards the defensive position like an earth-shattering tsunami.

The tsunami was getting closer and closer. Humans armed with firearms were rushing over from the forest.

But at this moment, a green web of vines fanned out into the wilderness. Sharp tentacles pierced the enemy troops’ bodies one by one and drained them of their blood. Then that blood was converted into life force and fed back to Zhou Yingxue.

Without any loss of the creeper vine’s tentacles, Zhou Yingxue’s life force would continue to grow endlessly, and perhaps there would come a day when her quantitative change would reach a qualitative change.

However, the artificial intelligence was experienced enough in dealing with the creeper vine. Previously, when Zhou Yingxue was at the outpost, she could not do anything to the horde and could only see her life force decrease slowly.

A moment later, the surging horde crashed into the web of creeper vines. But every time an enemy troop got restrained or penetrated by the creeper vines, another soldier would take the initiative to help tear the vines apart.

In the human horde, the division of duties was extremely clear. Some of the creeper vine’s tentacles were even caught by the AI-controlled humans before they could pierce a target’s skin.

When superhumans encountered an army that behaved like a sophisticated machine, they were somewhat helpless too.

However, since P5092 had Zhou Yingxue, Ren Xiaosu, and Yang Xiaojin stand guard here to help with the defense, he naturally had a new strategy.

In the forest, a dense hail of potatoes suddenly shot out from somewhere. The potatoes were as large as heads, and they emitted a buzzing sound in the air when they were fired. When an enemy was hit, the sound of their bones breaking could be heard.

All of a sudden, the dense horde was overwhelmed by the rows of Potato Shooters and could no longer sweep through the creeper vines with ease.

From the moment P5092 took over command of the Dawn defensive line, he immediately deployed Zhou Yingxue to this defensive position.

It was quite difficult for P5092 to order Zhou Yingxue directly, so he had Yang Xiaojin haul Zhou Yingxue to Position 291 instead.

Of course, hauling was just a hyperbolic way of saying it, but P5092 realized it was way too easy to order Zhou Yingxue around using Yang Xiaojin as a shield.

Zhou Yingxue cursed P5092 in her mind, but she still put on an obedient face when she was ordered to move. She quietly planted thousands of Potato Shooters in front of Position 291 in just a day.

Zhou Yingxue was a little “spent” after planting the Potato Shooters. The creeper vines she sent out earlier were just an empty show of strength. Now that the Potato Shooters had knocked out the first line of enemies, she hurriedly took the opportunity to absorb their blood to replenish her life force.

This was the only way for her to keep going without harming herself.

Previously, Ren Xiaosu did not allow her to absorb the life force of humans. But with the situation so dangerous now, anything was allowed.

Faced with this endless calamity, the entire world seemed to have fallen into darkness. The soldiers at the Dawn defensive line might appear determined, but a sense of despair had already begun to set in.

At times like these, Ren Xiaosu allowed Zhou Yingxue to resort to extreme measures to fight for those still alive. He no longer cared about absurd benevolent and moral rules.

This era might not be able to nurture innocence, but absolute darkness would nurture light.

However, there was also a limit to Zhou Yingxue’s tactics. Although the Potato Shooter was stronger when planted by her, it only had a capacity of a 100 shots per day. Moreover, many of the Potato Shooters were destroyed after the enemy opened fire at them.

Even so, Zhou Yingxue could still bury hundreds of thousands of enemy troops here.

But despite that number, it was not even close to the enemy’s limit.

Based on Wang Yun’s estimation, there were still millions of AI-controlled humans despite only one of the four enemy’s fighting forces arriving at the defensive line.

A few hours later, the Potato Shooters finally ran out of ammunition.

Zhou Yingxue’s life force started running out again. Without the aid of the Potato Shooters’ defense, the enemy troops quickly reorganized and tore through the creeper vines that were binding them.

Before Zhou Yingxue could absorb the enemy troops’ life force, the vines were already torn apart.

But at this moment, Old Xu, who was wearing the white mask, suddenly charged into the forest and started a brutal massacre.

The moment the AI-controlled troops saw Old Xu, they immediately opened fire and formed a blockade.

This blockade was much more terrifying than any suppressive fire Ren Xiaosu had ever encountered. He even felt there were no gaps in it he could exploit.

At Position 291, Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojin, and Zhou Yingxue stood in a row. The three of them suddenly felt a little helpless.

It was especially so for Yang Xiaojin. She specialized in decapitation operations, but there was no figurehead for her to attack in this scenario.

Perhaps she could gun down a 1,000 enemy troops in one day like she did at Mt. Zuoyun, but that would still be meaningless.

Zhou Yingxue looked at Ren Xiaosu helplessly. “Master, my life force is nearly used up. I’m unable to absorb much of the enemies’ life force before the vines get torn off.”

However, Ren Xiaosu suddenly said, “Wait a minute, I think I’ve got an idea!”

A moment later, Ren Xiaosu walked to a secluded spot and recited an incantation with the black Eye of True Sight in hand, “Prosperous Northwest.”

When the stellar gate opened, an exceptional suction force tried to pull a creature out from behind the portal to Position 291.

The moment the portal was activated, Ren Xiaosu immediately stepped back. Yang Xiaojin and he held their black sniper rifles at the ready in preparation to kill the unknown creature coming from behind the gate.

In the end, the stellar gate summoned a blue whale from the sea this time.

The blue whale was so large Ren Xiaosu had never seen something like it before in his life. Even Midnight and Dusk could not compare to it.

The blue whale that was suddenly summoned by the stellar gate struggled with all its might on land. But it was useless no matter how hard it struggled. That was because this was not where it belonged.

The blue whale’s tail kept hitting the ground, but its size was too cumbersome. After it “ran” aground, it could not even flip its body around.

Ren Xiaosu’s expression darkened when he saw the blue whale. He knew the stellar gate had summoned some other creature because Midnight and Dusk were probably dead.

But now was not the time to feel sad. He turned to Zhou Yingxue and said, “Use this creature to replenish your life force. After you’re done with it, I’ll summon another one for you.”

Zhou Yingxue’s eyes lit up. It was as though she had gotten access to an unlimited source of endurance.

With Midnight and Dusk gone, Ren Xiaosu’s summoning spell had become a little useless. That was because even he might not be capable of dealing with or controlling the extremely powerful creatures he summoned.

But now there seemed to be a new way to use the summoning spell, and that was to summon an unlimited “battery” for Zhou Yingxue!

Speaking of which, the blue whale was way too unlucky. However, Ren Xiaosu had no other choice. He could not sympathize with other species now and had to prioritize the survival of mankind first.

Therefore, justice only existed within the scope of civilization. Humans only had any sense of “justice” for other humans.

With the summoned blue whale, Zhou Yingxue immediately regained her ferociousness once again.

The creeper vine quickly wrapped around the blue whale and stabbed its tentacles deep into the whale’s body. An enormous amount of life force continuously channeled into Zhou Yingxue’s body. The enemy troops who were surging over on the battlefield could no longer gain any ground.

Although there were a lot of enemy troops, it was impossible for hundreds of thousands of them to charge in at once. As the terrain here was narrow, tens of thousands of people passing through at once was the limit.

As more blue whales appeared one after another, Zhou Yingxue was able to defend Position 291 all by herself. To the soldiers who were defending Position 291, all of this felt like an absurd dream.

However, it was extremely inspiring as well.

When it turned dark, the enemy troops outside Position 291 gradually started retreating.

Actually, even though Ren Xiaosu had provided Zhou Yingxue with an endurance boost, she was unable to wipe out all the enemies here. She could only be considered to be stalling for time. Once she got tired and needed rest, Position 291 would once again face a real crisis.

Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence did not dwell too much on it. That was because its purpose in attacking Position 291 was to catch them by surprise. But the attack had lost its “cost effectiveness”

The defeat at Position 317 and the victory at Position 291 made it look as though the two sides had come out even against each other.

But beyond these two positions, the artificial intelligence had occupied another 11 positions along the first echelon of the Northwest Army’s defensive line in just a single day.

By tomorrow, the number of fallen positions the Northwest Army might suffer could be even greater.