Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Talent In An Apocalyptic World-Chapter 85: Dark America

"I like you." Miller smiled at me.

’Gay,’ I silently cursed while rolling my eyes.

"You proved your strength on the battlefield, and now you’re proving your intelligence in the strategy room." He clapped merrily, like a child who just received a new toy. "Initially, I had my doubts when I heard a student claiming to be the strongest Limitless of his generation, but it seems you weren’t bluffing."

Holding back my real thoughts, I returned the smile and responded.

"I’m still lacking in many ways. But my capabilities go beyond just brute strength."

Bam!

"GOOD!" Miller exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the holographic table, causing the images to vanish and return a few times before stabilizing. "Since we know a human is behind these people, it’s safe to say this won’t be an easy fight."

Everyone, including myself, nodded at this. Just crossing the bridge had left many of us wounded and dragged me close to death’s doors. We were nothing but pieces on a bloody chessboard where Lee Bai was the only player. If Louisiana wasn’t being attacked from all sides, we would’ve been obliterated easily.

’I’d like to see how you plan to keep this territory all to yourself, Lee Bai!’ My eyes burned with fighting spirit, and my hands clenched tight.

Miller pointed at a forested region on the map where we were located, and it zoomed in. Surprisingly, the path on the map had been cleared just enough to make room for the war vehicles to pass through.

It was extremely detailed.

"This is where we are." Major Miller pointed at the base on the map. "Just 0.7 miles east is the buffer zone, a place I would consider no man’s land."

I watched his hand trace a path through the forest down to an open road flanked by a few ruined buildings. It didn’t seem like much at first, but based on what I knew, this place was a good spot to set up an ambush.

"We’ll meet resistance here?" the Goth girl asked in a hoarse, grating voice.

It was the kind of voice that made you wince—high-pitched, like someone who’d been screaming through a dry throat for a decade straight. Permanent damage, no doubt.

Honestly, I preferred when she stayed silent.

"Even if we meet resistance there, it would be light." I responded before Miller could speak. "This place is not easily defensible, since we can always go around them and quickly surround them. I’m thinking..."

"Hit-and-run tactics." Miller completed the words I was about to say with a smile.

It seemed we both shared the same thoughts, and this surprised him. But not just him—Deacon and Kenza kept looking at me as if they had seen a ghost. But I didn’t blame them. I too would be shocked if a boy who lived as a civilian for 18 years suddenly became more knowledgeable about warfare than veterans who have spent nearly a decade of their lives on the battlefield.

"Their goal will most likely be to destroy our heavy machinery and force us to deplete our supplies," Miller said.

"And probably buy time to prepare their defenses in Lake Charles. Harassing us is the only way to slow us down." I added, and Miller nodded in agreement.

The room fell silent as everyone pondered the information just revealed.

Having a big army wasn’t always a good thing. The fewer soldiers one had, the faster they could move. Guerrilla warfare is still used today for a reason; it is by far the best way to deal with larger troops.

"To leave this base, our men still need to clear the forest and create a path... Before then, I suggest we deploy a small team of 50 to go ahead, seek out, and engage these orcs." I suggested, and Miller agreed instantly.

It seemed he already had this in mind, but the problem was...

"Who should I send over?" Miller asked with narrowed eyes. "I cannot send all my Limitless to the front lines without knowing what’s out there. It’s too risky," he added.

’My Limitless?’ My eyes narrowed.

It felt like we were some sort of property to this man. It pissed me off, but I didn’t voice my concern. Instead, I swallowed my discontent and gave my opinion on the matter.

"Then send the Limitless with the highest survivability with a small team of Ascendants to do the job. People that can escape if things go south," I suggested.

Miller nodded at this, and his gaze instantly fell on Deacon.

"Can you do it?" he asked, and Deacon smiled.

"Of course. I can hunt down these barbarians if you want, but escaping is not my thing. It will hurt my pride. But should the situation call for it, I’ll do just that." Deacon gave an unnecessarily long speech when a yes or no would have been sufficient.

Miller didn’t seem to mind. He simply nodded at Deacon’s words before turning his attention to me and letting out a heavy sigh.

"I watched the way you use your gates, and I know you are more than capable of this task. But you seemed to have taken a heavy hit from today’s fight. Even though your wounds are healed, you’re pale." Miller said with a rare frown. Only then did I remember I was in a weakened state.

In the past, when I had low stats, the side effects of the Berserk mode were severe. I would feel sick and weak. But now, I felt normal—just not as strong. I suspected this had something to do with my insanely high vitality stat.

"Do you think you can handle it, or should I pick someone else?" Miller asked.

I shook my head.

"I can."

Miller’s frown turned into a smile.

"GOOD!" he exclaimed. "I guess that’s it?"

Kenza blinked in confusion and looked at the holographic map, pointing towards the ruined suburban district before shifting her slender finger to Lake Charles’ wall.

"What about these two zones?" she asked the question on everyone’s mind. "Aren’t we going to make plans for them?"

However, Miller tilted his head just like I normally do when someone asks a stupid question or says something I don’t understand.

"What about it?" Miller’s response left everyone confused, but he explained further.

"Orcs can never compare to us in warfare. We are just too advanced for that," Miller bragged. "As long as our tanks and war machines can reach these locations, the battle is as good as won. All we have to do is blow everything and everyone up."

Buzz!

Everyone exchanged worried glances, wondering if they heard him right.

I understood Miller’s point and agreed with him, but there was one small problem he seemed to overlook.

"Hostages!" Kenza blurted out the words in my head. "What if they have hostages?!"

This was the main problem. If Lee Bai was as smart as I think he is, he wouldn’t just kill millions of civilians in Louisiana. In his position, I would hold enough hostages and use them as meat shields to deter invading forces.

"What about them?" Miller’s confused look sent shockwaves across the room as everyone except me instinctively took a step back.

"You..."

Even the Goth girl was shocked.

"I’ll explain this in simple terms." Miller spoke up after seeing their reactions. "Those hostages do not matter. We were tasked with retaking Louisiana at all cost."

"By the way, the world already considers them dead. Why let the enemy occupy and strengthen themselves enough to invade more states?" Miller continued. "It’s their fault for not being able to protect their homes. Should Texas fall tomorrow, we’ll be treated the same way. The tragedy of Congo cannot be allowed to repeat itself."

With that said, Miller walked out of the room, leaving all of us standing there, dazed by his words. Even someone like me was shocked by this.

This America is not the America I came from in my first life.

What changed?

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om