Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 212: Psychological Warfare [3]

March 22nd, Year 583 A.G.

Around 7am in the morning, Leon observed with his invisible C-5 drones as armored trucks and caravans were escorted into the city after security checks.

This was the first batch of reinforcements that arrived in Iron Reef.

This was evidence of the effects of Ren Nora’s speech yesterday, and it didn’t stop. For almost the entire morning, more trucks and caravans approached the rebel city as more mercenaries and rebel soldiers came to reinforce the city.

At some point, the caravans and trucks started showing heavy damage by the time they got to the city as the mercenaries and soldiers reported that they were being assaulted by the Federation Army.

Plenty of them were injured by the time they got to the city, and most died on the road to the deadly attacks of the Federation Army.

This news riled up Iron Reef as the soldiers reacted in an angry and bloodthirsty manner, seeking blood and revenge.

Clearly, yesterday’s victory already got to their heads.

But not all of them were that hot-headed. Ren Nora, still clear-headed ordered his soldiers to stand down as he made another speech just to pacify them.

Like Leon expected, Ren Nora didn’t dare lead his army out of the city to protect the reinforcements coming to the city since the probability of fighting against a C Rank Ascended outside Purgatory was high.

Leon realized that this was the Federation Army’s response to the wave of support and reinforcements coming to Iron Reef.

But Ren Nora was not out of ideas.

That morning, he started another live video that attracted hundreds of millions of views worldwide.

[LIVE VIDEO=]

In the live video, the videographer employed great cinematographic skills as he showed the hundreds of trucks and caravans coming to reinforce the city, and he emphasized the dirty attacks by the Federation Army to cut off their reinforcement.

He showed all the trucks and caravans that were assaulted by the Federation Army, emphasizing the dirty and cowardly tactics being used by them.

While the live video played, Ren Nora spoke in the background, arrogantly talking down on the Omnicore Federation and calling them cowards.

The set-up of the entire video was created to rile up and provoke, and the effects hit maximum efficiency in no time.

The video riled up the general public across the entire world as the rebels got more online support, more people in the South and the North called for the Synth Army and the Gene Army to join the war and support the rebel army.

Leon keenly noticed that this was another form of psychological warfare.

To see the once mythical Federation Army resort to such dirty tactics, the myth that once surrounded the Federation Army was completely shattered by now.

Ren Nora didn’t fight yet he was dealing invisible damage to the Omnicore Federation.

Leon also keenly noticed something else... Ren Nora being here in the live video talking in the background meant he didn’t attempt the Trial yet!

’Is this another form of misdirection?’

Leon felt like he was watching a grand game of chess between two grandmasters of the game as a bystander.

Around 10am that morning, the Federation Army attacked again with full force, resulting in another major battle above Iron Reef’s airspace.

The C Rank Ascended, General Sylvari Charr didn’t personally make an appearance but Leon had no doubt that the General was secretly watching, ready to intervene if Ren Nora plotted to assassinate another of his high-ranking Ascended Champions.

Thousands of more lives were lost in this epic battle on March 22nd, and finally Leon began noticing a pattern.

He realized that just like Ren Nora, the General now had a plan.

Just like Ren Nora was tarnishing the reputation of the Federation Army worldwide and they couldn’t stop it, in the same way these intermittent attacks kept Ren Nora on his toes, preventing him from actually playing the bluff and attempting the C Rank Ascended Trial.

Afterall, if Ren Nora attempted the Trial, he would be unavailable for an indeterminate period of time, leaving the city unprotected in his absence.

Even with Purgatory, without the presence of the genius NetRunner, Leon doubted if Iron Reef could survive an assault by the Federation Army that was led by a C Rank Ascended.

These realizations filled Leon’s heart with a cold chill. ’F*ck, this is really a high game of psychological warfare!’

Yesterday, Leon noticed the silent challenge that Ren Nora threw at the C Rank Commander leading the Federation Army during the battle.

And today, he noticed that it was the General’s turn as he counter-challenged.

The General also threw his own challenge. ’I dare you to attempt the Trial, I dare you to leave your city unprotected against me!’

’You think they stand a chance without you?’

The psychological game in play during this war stretched Leon’s brain to its very strategic limit.

And the more he understood, the more worried he became. ’How will Ren Nora attempt his Trial in these circumstances?’

If he was Ren Nora, Leon wouldn’t dare take on the General’s challenge and actually attempt the Trial.

That night, Leon was filled with conflicted emotions and thoughts as he once again stayed up late. Under pressure from the hidden games being played in this war, he began drafting an entirely new plan based on his clues.

The fact that he already understood the high-level game of psychological warfare being played meant he could finally participate in it.

Leon already realized that unless a miracle happened and the Synth Army or the Gene Army got involved, Ren Nora would never be able to challenge the Trial in peace knowing that his city was not in safe hands.

It was not just a matter of his city’s safety, it was also a matter of Ren Nora’s own safety.

Afterall, if the city fell in the process of him attempting his Trial, incapacitated by the ongoing Trial, the Federation Army would be able to kill him easily.

It may seem like Ren Nora and the rebel army were winning this war, but the more Leon understood, the more he realized that both sides were in a stalemate.

’Something needs to change!’ He realized.

Leon didn’t know if he even had the capability to influence a war of this scale, but since his Trial success mandated it, he had no choice but to try.

’No matter what, Ren Nora has to attempt this Trial and succeed!’

’I must make sure of it!’