This Game Is Too Real-Chapter 756: Battle Lines Springing Up Everywhere

The fierce battle north of Lai Mountain City had lasted all night, ending in a draw as the Sticky Community made their first move on the Torch Church’s "native" land.

On a position halfway up Lai Mountain, belonging to the 310,000-strong team, Jie Ning pulled out his binoculars and glanced down the mountain.

This was already his thirteenth time doing this, and it was still morning.

He had arrived at the front line from the western side of Central Continent just a few days ago, after traveling thousands of kilometers, only to lamentably miss the decisive battle at the Guardian Manor Wasteland.

He had heard that the ten-man team he was now in had seen all its brothers wiped out, leaving only their Centurion, Oliver, alone.

The man bore a deep scar on his face, reportedly from a skirmish with a mutant Big Guy... back when Oliver was still a Centurion.

Indeed, the battlefield was the fastest place for promotion.

Glancing at Officer Oliver standing not far away, a hint of reverence was written in Jie Ning’s eyes.

Ever since he heard of this officer’s deeds, he had become his true admirer.

This was a man who could decapitate monsters capable of regrowing their own heads!

"There probably won’t be any major battles these next few days."

Standing next to Jie Ning, a companion from the same rookie camp said listlessly.

"How can you tell?" Jie Ning asked curiously.

"Isn’t it obvious?" his friend shrugged, popping a chewing gum into his mouth, "Yesterday, the corporations and the Alliance got a bloody nose down there. Even if they don’t want to swallow that setback, they’d likely have to regroup and come up with a new plan before making a move."

"Typical of Ideal City’s wimps and their friends, two people die, and they can’t handle it."

"Hahaha."

A group of recruits laughed and joked, clearly not taking the corporations and the Alliance seriously. Some older soldiers who had been on the front line for a while just smiled and didn’t bother to explain.

They too didn’t regard the corporations and the Alliance highly, seeing the Army’s ground forces as the strongest on the Wasteland.

However, it must be said that these rookies were oversimplifying their opponents.

If their rivals were really as stupid as they thought, what did that make them, who had been entangled in the desert with these guys for months?

Though he was also a new recruit, Jie Ning from the officer’s school held a different perspective.

The situation in Haiye Province was indeed unusual.

These guys didn’t even have a stable frontline, and even he couldn’t think of a better strategy.

Especially now, with the road and rail lines through Ten Peaks Mountain still under construction, there were certain difficulties in getting supplies from the rear to the front line, and a stall in the Allied forces’ assault was understandable.

Hearing the discussion among his subordinates, Oliver, the Centurion inspecting the front line, just curled his lip, as if listening to children’s jokes.

"You guys are underestimating those guys."

That night he was at Government Hill, and he had seen what the real elites of the Alliance looked like.

Compared to himself who had barely picked up his own life, those guys clad in heavy exoskeletons and brandishing large-caliber shotguns were the real tough ones.

To those mutants, they were like chickens lined up for slaughter, being efficiently killed off one by one in the caves, their movements as practiced as if repeated thousands of times.

It was unimaginable what kind of hellish trials those guys had undergone.

He did indeed kill a green-skinned Big Guy, but the total amount his own team had taken down was nothing compared to the tally of the guy who had pulled him out from the cave.

Speaking of which, he was lucky that person had grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the tunnel.

Even today, he vividly remembered that shortly after he evacuated from that corpse-filled tunnel, over a dozen "zombie mutants" had swarmed to the position where he had fought earlier, engaging in battle with those big-shield-bearing guys.

It was only later that he learned, just when he was trapped, unsure of whether to advance or retreat in the tunnel, those mutants had chased his teammates all the way to the foot of the mountain, nearly recapturing the Black Cloud Mountain position...

Hearing Officer Oliver join the conversation, a new recruit saluted and asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you think they will make a move today?"

Seeing the young lads all looking at him, Oliver spoke with a light smile.

"From what I know of them, yesterday’s level of attack can at best be considered a probe. If nothing unexpected happens, they have already figured out the enemy’s strength."

He paused briefly, then continued succinctly.

"You’ll find out after a few more days on the front line."

However, even Oliver himself hadn’t expected that shortly after his words, the position at the foot of the mountain had already become active.

A group of soldiers clad in "jet-black exoskeletons" were seen carrying supply boxes taller than themselves, moving gradually across the rugged mountain path.

Coincidentally, from the armbands on their shoulders, these soldiers were from the Alliance’s Storm Corps!

Aside from them, there was also a huge creature with a lower body full of tentacles trailing behind them.

The thing looked somewhat fierce, but its round head grew on you and appeared somewhat cute after a while.

If he remembered correctly, that thing was the "incubation chamber" from Qingquan City’s Lair, not fully unfolded yet.

Once fully expanded, it could convert the organic material sent by the spores into new spores.

According to the information disclosed by the Sticky Community, the Alliance had already treated the Qingquan City Lair harmlessly. Thus, this "incubation chamber" should also be safe, and the Eaters and Crawlers it produced probably wouldn’t attack people.

Nevertheless, Oliver still felt a hint of surprise at the appearance of the Storm Corps, having not heard of any attack plans from the Allied forces today.

Unable to suppress his confusion, he called out to them.

"Any missions today?"

Hearing the shouts coming from the mid-mountain position, "Kakarot" looked up, lifted his tactical goggles from his helmet, and said with a smile,

"There we go, big work ahead."

Big work?

Oliver was confused and didn’t understand what he meant.

However, the man did not explain, and he led the more than two hundred brothers directly toward the murky wasteland.

Shortly after that group departed, a noisy bunch emerged on the mountain path beneath their position.

They didn’t wear exoskeletons, slung LD-47 rifles over their shoulders, some even had rocket launchers attached, and their only protection was the gas masks they already wore, looking as if they were just messing around.

There were about a hundred of these loud ruffians, and it was unclear what exactly they were clamoring about.

"Boss, do we really not need any protection?" Fiddling with the gas mask hanging on his face, a player walking in the group couldn’t help but complain.

His gamer tag was "Born in Spring," and he had just started playing in the Game’s Beta 0.7 version; he had been playing for a month and only just passed level LV5.

Those who had started playing with him included "Born in Summer" and "Born in Winter," with levels similar to his own.

As for the guy walking ahead called the boss, his ID was "Feels Not Like Rick Five." He was the leader of the Abstract Army, a body constitution expert from the Beta 0.5 version of the Game, and he was also the big brother who was leading them on a "Pass the Torch" mission.

He remembered when he first entered the Game, he used to admire this boss who was supposedly capable of soloing monsters, until they actually encountered real monsters one day on the Wei Estate Wasteland.

It was then that he truly grasped the reality of this Game.

Even a "strong player" who had undergone a Second Awakening could be careless and get smacked over ten meters away by a berserk monster...

"What do you mean by not having protection? You make it sound like I am stingy. Aren’t you wearing gas masks?" Rick rolled his eyes in response to the complaint, but his casual remark made everyone explode.

"Shit?"

"This counts as protection?"

"This thing was given out for free!"

In the "Endless Mode" monster farming activity, gas masks were the only equipment available for free, and they were even the same model used by the Alpha Special Mobile Force, produced by the industrial zone in Dawn City.

"Born in Spring" seriously suspected that if it weren’t for the free distribution, this guy would probably have skipped giving them even gas masks.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

Aside from the body constitution players, with their body constitution stats, they could last three to four days in the fourth stage of the Heavenly domain without gas masks.

Usually, with their combat power, they wouldn’t last that long; it was likely they’d be devoured alive by fungal mutants active within the domain before being infected by the Nago mycelium.

He guessed only those big shots in exoskeletons could count their survival time in days.

Watching the noisy newcomers, Rick coughed to halt their discussions.

"Alright, alright, be grateful for the free stuff. What more can you ask for? Stop thinking about what you want all the time, think about what you’ve contributed to our Army! Listen to me, you can’t handle high-end equipment yet, start with the basics, build a strong foundation, and one day you’ll become a powerhouse like me."

Everyone involuntarily rolled their eyes at him.

Seeing no one contesting his words, Rick perked up and shouted at his brothers.

"Listen up, guys, we’ll be following the big shots from the Storm Corps! Wherever they plant the flag at the Purification Base, we plant ours right behind their asses!"

Born in Summer interrupted, "Wait, Boss, don’t we have to keep a distance of at least 600 meters between each purification base to complete the validation?"

Rick responded with a smirk.

"That’s easy to fix, just keep a 600-meter distance, why do you think I headed out so early?"

The players were stunned at his response.

Good lord.

He really knows how to play the system!

Watching the noisy guys march towards the wasteland, the Weilante people crouched in the trenches glanced at each other and murmured,

"What are they even talking about?"

"Who knows..."

"Do you think they can make it?"

"Who knows..."

"..."

This time, Oliver didn’t join his subordinates’ discussion but watched the rowdy bunch with a bizarre expression.

He could be sure that these were all rookies, probably even greener than the inefficients from Ideal City.

Sending such inexperienced guys to the battlefield, those who could survive and return were probably one in ten.

Was this really how the Alliance trained their troops?

This method seemed overly rough...

...

Oliver’s surprise was only a minor interlude.

Because soon he realized that his astonishment was trivial.

While his men were discussing betting on how many of the Alliance’s rookies could make it back, another large group of people crossed the rugged mountain path and confidently walked into the plague and curse-ridden wasteland.

Those guys were noisy and speaking an incomprehensible language, yet their hearty laughter hardly resembled that of men heading to a man-eating battlefield—it sounded more like they were going to a banquet.

Their voices, rich with ups and downs, were filled with a disdain for death; they harbored the ideal of saving all of humanity but gave no thought to their own safety.

Initially, the Weilante soldiers looked at them with scornful eyes, but soon they began to realize that their mocking glares only made them look like clowns, so they gradually stopped laughing.

These fellows were true warriors!

When faced with a crisis threatening all humanity, they did not just pay lip service to unity while acting selfishly; instead, they stood resolutely at the forefront without hesitation.

Even though most Weilante soldiers had no interest in the Alliance’s proclaimed ideals, dismissing the dream-like talks of "equality," they couldn’t fathom hating these true heroes.

They respected the truly strong!

Out of respect for the strong, they quietly withdrew the betting pools on how many would return...

The surprise wasn’t limited to the frontline Weilante soldiers—General Lucien aboard the Loyalist Airship was also greatly shocked.

After hearing the reports from the front, he hesitated for a while before asking his adjutant.

"... How many people does the Alliance have?"

The adjutant paused, hesitated for a long time, and then said,

"A million?"

Maybe one hundred and fifty thousand.

Ever since the Sticky Community meeting had been held, survivors had continuously flocked to the Alliance, and he even heard that a manager of a shelter had settled near Dawn City.

Since the Alliance was quite lax with the identity verification of incoming survivors, the population there changed daily.

As to the exact number, he suspected that not even Chu Guang himself knew for sure.

General Lucien, with an odd expression, shifted his gaze from the face of his adjutant to the grey-green fog enveloping the frontline, seen through the floor-to-ceiling window.

According to reports coming from the Lai Mountain position, as of just moments ago, the Alliance had deployed nearly a ten-thousand-strong force to the frontline!

Part of them were regular troops, and a significant portion seemed more like Waste Land Wanderers with their own weapons and provisions...

They received only one piece of equipment from the Allied forces logistics, a gas mask.

As for things like rifles and bullets, they even had to prepare those themselves...

"... Is this the mobilization capability of the Alliance?" A trace of shock emerged in Lucien’s eyes.

Even under the great His Majesty, the Marshal of Triumph City, such a feat was unimaginable...

As General Lucien was astonished, the battle situation near Lai Mountain City was fiercely boiling.

Fungus-infected mutants, controlled by Nago mycelium, continuously crawled out of the ground attempting to exterminate those "heretics" who had invaded the Heavenly domain. However, the combat power of these "heretics" far exceeded the apostles’ expectations.

These guys were clearly alive but fought tirelessly like the Walking Corpses.

Looking at his nearly red-hot gun barrel, "Born in Spring," taking cover behind a damaged mud wall and shooting, couldn’t help shouting to his captain,

"Captain! Call for an airstrike, quick!"

"Born in Summer," close by, also couldn’t help but shout,

"We can’t hold much longer!!!"

"Hold on a bit longer!" Rick, glancing hurriedly at the numbers on his VM and feeling the immense pressure, still gritted his teeth and yelled, "We’re short 200 points! With 1000 points, I can call in an airdrop!"

I heard that container C2 in the airdrop has a "Ripper" heavy machine gun! And 3000 rounds of machine gun ammo!

With just the equipment and ammunition they currently have, they couldn’t hold out for long; even calling a couple of airstrikes would at most help them clear out some lesser troops, only with the heavy weaponry from the airdrop supplies could they hope to last longer!

As for the 500-point exchange for a 100 kg aviation bomb, that was reserved for the Evolutionary bodies!

He had a detailed plan on how to maximize the value of every single point!

Rick was thinking this in his heart when suddenly, a fierce roar came from behind the dense fog.

"ROAR—!"

Before he could ask what happened, he heard the dying screams of "Born in Spring" and "Born in Summer."

Following that, a giant beast that looked like a crocodile but with the thick body and legs of an elephant and a mouth three to four meters long greedily snarling appeared. The blood and scraps of clothing hanging from its fangs were exactly the portion size for two...

The dark green mycelium stitched its pockmarked body together, eyeing its prey, a malevolent green gleam flickering in its pupils.

Locking eyes with those dreadful green orbs, Rick involuntarily held his breath, feeling a chill in his hands and feet, then instinctively glanced at the numbers on his VM.

975...

Just 25 points shy of the heavy machine gun!

There was no time to hesitate.

He secretly cursed as he spent 500 points to call in an airstrike.

However, when he saw that the airstrike would take three minutes to arrive, he nearly spat out blood.

"What the hell is this!"

The crocodile-like monster didn’t care about such things, snapping its massive jaws towards his commanded position.

7mm rifle bullets seemed like child’s play against it, and the RPG rocket, due to safety distance, couldn’t be used effectively.

Rick frantically shouted at the group of newbies to stand back while he tried to attract the monster’s attention and updated the bombing coordinates for the airstrike arriving three minutes later.

However, regrettably, as many players from the Abstract Army were first-timers on the battlefield, the entire position had descended into chaos.

In an instant, more than ninety people at the purification station were slaughtered by the monster.

The newbies, equipped with RPG rocket launchers but having lost their allies’ cover, were caught by a group of walking corpses and Corpse Dogs, devouring them as if at a buffet. Desperate, they used the last bit of their strength to pull the trigger, launching the armor-piercing bullet inserted in the launcher randomly.

Finally, after three minutes, the sound of a diving bomber came over their heads, dropping a 100-kilogram aerial bomb.

The warhead, mixed with solid hydrogen and azide compounds, exploded with tremendous force, pinning the once-unrivalled monster to the ground.

Watching the seething flames and the monster wincing in pain, the badly injured Rick finally couldn’t hold on and was pounced on by a Crawler that bit through his neck.

Converted into time, they had only lasted slightly over an hour.

Taking into account the difficulty coefficient, the 105 players divided a total of 110,000 silver coin bonuses, with each person getting approximately a thousand.

After deducting the costs for ammunition, clothing, and remaking the VM, they even made a little profit.

Although it wasn’t much...

At 600 meters in front of the Abstract Army’s purification station, the scene in front of the Storm Corps’ purification base was equally tense and bustling.

However, the players here were true veterans, and "Kakarot," commanding the operation, was an old hand at frontline command, naturally experienced unlike the Abstract Army’s abstract strategies.

Yet, while the allies’ performance was somewhat amateurish, there was no contempt for the newbies.

After all, who didn’t start as a newbie?

Most who play the Game experience this.

Die and die, and then suddenly one day, they become strong.

"... Brother Ka, those guys hanging behind us trying to leech seem almost done for. Should I lead some men to assist them?"

Wiping the sticky fluid off his helmet, the veteran known as Old Lefty looked to "Kakarot" for instructions.

Compared to the newbies, they didn’t feel much pressure.

Moreover, the incubator had already successfully started operating, producing some eaters and even Crawlers carrying the B strain, although not in large numbers, yet it still helped alleviate some of their burden.

So far, they hadn’t suffered a single casualty, and he even began to suspect that those lurking in the Holy Land deliberately targeted the newbies following them, deeming them an easier bone to chew.

After all, Heaven was not a natural occurrence but shaped by human will.

"Kakarot" smiled and said,

"Don’t worry, let them hold out a little longer. How can they grow without facing adversities?"

He always felt that the Torch was enticing them to divert some troops to aid the rearguard.

Dividing forces now might play right into their hands.

The player beside him set down his binoculars and turned to his captain.

"... No need to help, it seems they’re already gone."

"Kakarot’s" expression turned awkward, and he coughed before continuing,

"Then... take a few men and retrieve their equipment. Once that’s done, I’ll call for an artillery strike to cleanse the area, ensuring their sacrifice wasn’t in vain."

Being able to recover their VMs would help them minimize some losses.

As for the remaining weapons and ammo, as per usual, those who found them could use them first. After the mission, whatever was left would be returned.

Hearing about opening up their fallen comrades’ Blind Boxes, the player was instantly invigorated, energetically agreeing,

"Got it!"

With that, he summoned a few teammates, hoisted a supply box taller than a man on his back, and ran towards the position 600 meters behind...

In just one day, the Alliance deployed hundreds of "troops" toward Lai Mountain City, launching an assault as dense as a tidal wave against the Torch Church’s Heavenly domain.

These troops were like nails, firmly digging into the flesh of the Torch Church.

While not all nails managed to root firmly, the pain for the Torch was significant enough...

Watching the battle bloom all over the battlefield, a trace of astonishment gradually shaped in the calm eyes of the Human Emperor.

"...Have these guys gone mad?"

Using this life-for-life strategy to deplete his chess pieces...

In just one day, he had lost scores of evolutionary bodies, nearly six hundred thousand "puppets"!

Although he possessed billions of chess pieces, this loss was still significant.

Especially since the Alliance liked to clear the field with incendiary bombs after each battle.

This meant he had to be cautious with his chess piece deployment, ready for the reality that once played, they could not be taken back—neither too many at once nor too few.

Once the Alliance soldiers established themselves in the area, they would continually send unpleasant surprises his way...

The astonishment gradually gave way to wariness.

But that wariness lasted only a few seconds in his eyes before dissipating into unfathomable madness.

Underestimating the challenge...

A war of attrition with him?

Simply suicidal!