Apocalypse Gachapon
Chapter 2136: Half correct
When commanding large-scale group operations, Cheng Liujin's skill was far beyond Ye Zhongming's. Though Cloud Peak had experienced several battles involving millions on Earth, Ye Zhongming had always served as a spearhead or a surprise tactic; the actual command had fallen primarily to Xia Lei and Guang Yao.
Upon discovering that the Huandu Wolves were beginning to attack from other directions, Cheng Liujin immediately responded. Using his direct communicator to relay orders, every member of the First Regiment knew exactly what they needed to do. Once the orders were issued, the entire First Regiment moved with the precision of an extension of his own arm.
From a bird's-eye view of the battlefield, one might have taken issue with Cheng Liujin's formation—or at least found it puzzling.
Because his formation had very obvious gaps. For cunning, highly coordinated pack hunters like the Huandu Wolves, these gaps would be natural points of breakthrough.
Indeed, the wolves keenly spotted these openings. With only a slight adjustment to their formation, the agile giant wolves surged toward those weak points.
The ability to change direction flexibly during a high-speed charge and accurately identify gaps was something that, even among the myriad races, only the elite of the large clans could achieve.
But what awaited them were formations of all kinds.
These gaps were all covered by formations Ye Zhongming had laid down. When the Huandu Wolves entered them, they were immediately attacked.
The formations varied—illusionary, debuff, and offensive types.
These were all small formations, with only one medium-sized formation in the center—the Yin Zhe Formation, which Ye Zhongming had learned from the Library Palace.
It would certainly be impossible to defeat the Huandu Wolves with these formations alone; they would likely break through in under two minutes. But these formations were not meant to defeat them. The real strike force consisted of the First Regiment warriors positioned beside the formations.
When the wolves entered the formations, the warriors began their assault.
Left to attack without interference, even support warriors, let alone main combatants, could deliver powerful blows.
In an instant, countless Huandu Wolves were killed around the two unnamed hills and the narrow passage between them. After days of silence, the First Regiment had finally revealed its ferocious side.
Neither Ye Zhongming nor Cheng Liujin joined the battle. For the former, though there were many in the First Regiment stronger than him, without the ability to transform temporarily, his contribution would be limited. Besides, he was still injured and needed about another day to recover.
As for Cheng Liujin, though he was powerful, it was not yet time for the overall commander to personally enter the fray. His presence here was more valuable.
"The battle is going well, but it won't last long," Cheng Liujin said, his tone a mix of satisfaction and concern. Satisfaction because, in this short time, with the formations pinning the wolves down, at least five thousand Huandu Wolves had been killed, with even more wounded.
His concern was that not all the wolves had been funneled through the formations. Some had charged from other angles and were now locked in direct combat with First Regiment warriors. Moreover, as the formations were broken through, their effectiveness would fade. When that happened, the wolves and the First Regiment would engage in true close-quarters combat.
Ye Zhongming hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze shifting past the battlefield. "Now it depends on whether our 'friends' lend a hand."
Cheng Liujin followed his gaze and saw the other mutant population—over eighty thousand strong—now positioned behind the wolves.
This was the crucial part of Ye Zhongming's plan.
From fishing to catching Zhi Zhuo to setting up this trap, the key was betting that these creatures would eat the meat and become irritable, aggressive, and bloodthirsty.
If both populations ate the meat, that would have been ideal—perhaps the First Regiment would not have needed to fight at all; they might have torn each other apart.
In reality, the wolves did not eat, but the Double-Tailed Gouwo did. So the bet was only half right.
But half right was still something.
The later-arriving group was not a single species; the powerful psychic lifeform, the Double-Tailed Gouwo, had forcibly gathered them. In terms of discipline, they could not compare to the Huandu Wolves—or even to other groups of the same species.
So, having eaten the meat, with its effects now activated in their bodies, nothing had seemed amiss during their journey. The Double-Tailed Gouwo's authority had kept them in check. But once on the battlefield, surrounded by unfamiliar wolves and stimulated by the combat and the scent of blood, they lost control and began attacking the Huandu Wolves.
The Double-Tailed Gouwo attempted to rein them in, but with little success. They could control one side, but not the other. They could not afford to expend the psychic energy needed for full-scale control. Finding the situation increasingly unmanageable and seeing that the wolves and invaders combined were roughly equal in number to their own forces, they simply gave the order to attack—kill the Huandu Wolves, kill the invaders, all of them.
"Have everyone engage the wolves enough to keep them tied down, but don't push too hard. Just prevent them from breaking away from the battlefield," Cheng Liujin relayed the pre-agreed plan to all First Regiment warriors.
Ye Zhongming and Cheng Liujin were afraid that the cunning wolves, realizing they were being caught in a pincer, might break out through the sides. If that happened, the First Regiment would be left to face the already frenzied Double-Tailed Gouwo army.
At this stage of the battle, there was little left to command. The rest would depend on the battalion and squad leaders to adapt to their respective situations.
………………
At the Overlapping Water Dead Zone.
Inside the command post, everyone's faces were etched with worry and helplessness.
On the light-screen map, the green dots representing the First Regiment had completely merged with the red dots representing the mutated lifeforms. Everyone knew a battle was underway—but the outcome… looked grim.
The Fourth Regiment had already set out, but they were still far away, at least two hours from reaching the battlefield.
"Send the Second Regiment to support them!"
The two Lords had abandoned all other considerations.
The Second Regiment was currently on their way back. From their position, if they changed direction and angled toward the First Regiment, they could arrive half an hour earlier than the Fourth Regiment.
That half-hour could very well decide the First Regiment's fate.
Though it was unfair to the Second Regiment, which had already fought for three days, and could even create rifts within the alliance, the two Lords no longer cared.
Nothing was more important than the lives of Ye Zhongming and Cheng Liujin.