4."This is a mech-servant?"
1238 Words
"Too bad," sighed Gu Hang as he raised his binoculars.
He lamented the enemy's swift reaction; they had already taken action before the artillery barrage began. Otherwise, the results of the bombardment could have been even more significant.
He regretted the lack of firepower on their side. If they had exchanged the 60-millimeter mortar for a larger-caliber howitzer, the infantry could simply have swept the battlefield, with the main issue being dealt with by the artillery.
But under the circumstances, there was nothing to be done.
Overall, after two rounds of bombardment, the enemy had lost one-third of its forces. Although it seemed like there might be a chance for a few more rounds of artillery, the results probably wouldn't be as good.
The remaining enemies would ultimately have to be dealt with by the infantry.
Meanwhile, Patel, who was nearby, seemed quite pleased. He had already learned from the captured enemy that most of his people, apart from the dead, had been transferred to the captor's stronghold, so there was no risk of collateral damage from the artillery bombardment on the temporary camp.
Seeing the marauders who threatened his homeland being bombed, with the casualties mounting, he was truly ecstatic.
"Blessed be the Governor, eliminate these bandits! I, Patel, am I willing to serve you for life!"
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the Governor put away his binoculars and signal to the soldiers guarding him to move forward.
He quickly followed suit.
---
Accurately locate the target, open fire, and eliminate. Feeling the slight warmth on his cheek from the HS3 'Eagle' electromagnetic rifle in his hands, Yan Fangxu felt somewhat reassured.
The situation on the battlefield was always unpredictable. He had expected that, taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, the multiple rounds of artillery barrage would deal a devastating blow to these indigenous bandits. Then, with the remaining enemy likely disoriented, he could lead the infantry to clean up the survivors.
But unexpectedly, the enemy was quite alert.
Even though they were just wasteland raiders, they can't be underestimated. The enemy had already dispersed into multiple small squads, forcing him to launch an attack immediately, or risk being discovered by the enemy. The artillery barrage had to be launched several minutes early, and the infantry he led had to eliminate those enemy squads several hundred meters from the enemy camp.
Eliminating these bandit squads wasn't difficult.
But the subsequent battle left him somewhat frustrated.
The casualties caused by the mortar fire were smaller than he had imagined. Now, they had to tackle the hard bone with insufficient firepower.
Winning wasn't a problem, but what about the casualties?
If they were to suffer significant casualties while fighting a group of wasteland raiders, even with the advantage of taking the initiative, it would be shameful. Moreover, excessive losses would also affect the plans of His Excellency the Governor.
He had full confidence in the thirty Marines he had brought down from the starship, but the mech-servant soldiers were another story. Originally designated as cannon fodder, their equipment was subpar, and more importantly, the combat instincts implanted in their brains leaned towards recklessness, an advantage for cannon fodder but not necessarily for regular troops.
He was truly afraid that these mech-servants would be too reckless and suffer too many casualties.
But as soon as the battle started, he was relieved to a large extent.
While eliminating the peripheral raider squads, these mech-servant soldiers didn't show too much exceptionalism. After all, he had already dealt with the main targets of the Marines. The mode of operation biased towards special operations was something the Marines excelled at, especially with various accessories such as auxiliary aiming, rapid reconnaissance, and precise shooting units... Despite being somewhat rigid, the tactical movements of these mech-servant soldiers were sufficiently standard and effective in his eyes.
Those raiders who wanted to break out were pinned down in the camp and couldn't come out.
They could only occasionally shoot some bullets from inside, but they were not accurate. They didn't dare to show their heads, let alone aim and shoot.
Soon, multiple assault teams had entered the camp. The mech-servant soldiers maintained their professionalism, advancing alternately, providing cover fire, approaching from multiple angles, and covering blind spots in their field of vision... They employed all the necessary technical movements.
The bandits, thinking they could finally launch some substantial counterattacks at close range, were met with merciless slaughter by the mech-servant soldiers.
Of course, the mech-servant soldiers were not invincible. There were inevitable casualties in close-quarters combat, but it was much better than Yan Fangxu had previously estimated.
Has the governor's training truly been effective? It wasn't just for show; there was a tangible improvement in combat effectiveness.
Three hundred cannon fodder transformed into three hundred regular soldiers in such a short time; he truly found it incredible.
But that was a good thing.
With mech-servants of this caliber, he no longer had to worry about significant losses in the assault.
Those bandits simply couldn't resist the mech-servant soldiers' assault.
This battle was secured.
---
Yan Fangxu found it incredible, but Ka Jia was truly desperate.
His reaction was fast, but he couldn't reverse his fate.
His brothers, trapped in the camp, had less than half their numbers left.
The whistling of mortar shells had stopped; it was feared that there would be collateral damage. He had thought this would give them some breathing room, maybe even a chance to counterattack, but it didn't happen. Those attacking soldiers with mechanical eyes were the most despair-inducing thing for him.
He had heard of 'mech-servants' like this. Some major powers had them under their command, but they were just like slaves.
They couldn't think for themselves, only obey orders to perform low-end repetitive physical labor. They were unsuitable for training as soldiers; if forced, they would only become cannon fodder. If there were any advantages, it was that they wouldn't leak information, they were absolutely loyal, and they obeyed without question.
And now, these were mech-servant soldiers?
Were there mech-servants as absurd as this?
Their cold eyes showed no trace of foolishness, only ruthlessness. They were well-trained, agile, methodically slaughtering their subordinates.
Counterattack?
Many of his fierce bandits had indeed tried to counterattack, but scattered attacks were useless. Occasionally, when a mech-servant soldier was injured, it didn't affect their morale. Even hiding in temporary structures made of building debris and rubble was futile. The mech-servant soldiers would throw two to three grenades in succession, then unhesitatingly enter with their guns, unafraid of casualties. However, they rarely suffered any casualties themselves, yet managed to kill the stubborn bandits.
Now, he knew it was all over.
His makeshift camp had been bombed to ruins, with debris and craters everywhere. His brothers were scattered, killed by bombs, shrapnel, well-equipped soldiers shooting them with electromagnetic rifles from a distance, or executed at close range by mech-servant soldiers.
The 'Prisoner Takers' were no more.
But Ka Jia still had one last resort.
His tribe was beyond salvation, but perhaps he still had a chance to survive.
Taking out a palm-sized dirty green glass bottle from his pocket, he hesitated. He had seen what happened to people who drank this stuff; it wasn't much better than death.
But if he didn't drink it, he would die now.
In the end, he gritted his teeth, pulled out the bottle stopper, and gulped down the potion.
- Writer
