Chapter 142: New Unit |
Gu Hang stood up and stretched out his hands in a downward pressing motion.
The agents quickly quieted down.
“I understand the urgency in your hearts, and I also believe that in the future, you all will make outstanding contributions to Garbage Town’s prosperity.”
Hearing this stabilizing statement, the agents felt much more at ease.
With this tone set, everything seemed secure; it meant that the Governor still planned to use them in the future, not worrying them about facing the fate of the Revival City nobles.
Indeed, Gu Hang had no intention of going that far; the situations between the two places were different, and these property-owning agents in Garbage Town had not shown any resistance toward him.
In fact, they had quickly aligned themselves, acted promptly, and even lent a helping hand.
Given these circumstances, Gu Hang saw no need for a major purge in Garbage Town; dealing with the opposition alone would suffice.
There had been numerous killings in Revival City; though necessary, it swiftly eradicated elements detrimental to governance within the city.
But Gu Hang himself wasn’t particularly concerned about these reactions.
Facing some resistance wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; in a full-scale takeover, dealing with the various malignant forces and parasites embedded within these survivor enclaves would later require a thorough cleanup under the Alliance system.
After all, tackling corruption still needed evidence, and it was more efficient to eliminate such matters under the guise of suppressing rebels during territorial reclamation.
One could say there were gains and losses.
In Garbage Town, a purge was not feasible, and managing the town would undoubtedly be more complicated than rebuilding Revival City from scratch.
These remaining agents held intricate and deeply entrenched control over their original industries.
Corruption, restricted productivity, resistance to policy reforms, and slow policy advancements—these issues were bound to surface.
However, besides the fact that these agents had surrendered swiftly, there was another crucial factor—current circumstances were forcing his hand.
In Garbage Town, the foremost concern wasn’t governance but war.
The threat from the Greenskin Beasts was still far from over.
Now, Gu Hang had no time to mess around with these agents.
With one statement setting the tone and easing their minds, Gu Hang proceeded to announce his upcoming strategy for Garbage Town:
“Garbage Town is now unquestionably in a state of war. The previous loose, ineffective system will not win this war.”
“Now, I am declaring that Garbage Town will fully transition to a wartime system, adopting military governance.”
“All non-essential production activities, apart from necessities and military manufacturing, will be halted; all residents are to remain indoors, and the entire city will be under strict lockdown.”
“All essential supplies for residents will be distributed by the military logistics department under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Tadius.”
Upon hearing Gu Hang’s announcement, the agents looked at each other.
Such strict management had never before been seen in Garbage Town; they appeared at a loss.
Some even instinctively felt that this approach was inappropriate.
Yet, no one dared to voice an objection.
Gu Hang paused briefly, then continued, “All of your previous comments have been noted.”
“You will oversee the operations of each industry you control and the people attached to those industries.”
“You are to be temporarily assigned to the military logistics department to assist Lieutenant Colonel Tadius in maintaining order within the town.”
“Your performance during this period will determine the kind of treatment you receive once Garbage Town stabilizes.”
“I promise that if your rank reaches C5 or even higher, such as the B rank, your income and standard of living will be better than before, and your power will surpass what you previously held.”
This statement seemed to serve as another reassurance.
Many of these agents had already researched the New Alliance’s policies in Revival City.
They were aware that, so far, no one had reached an A-level rank there, and those with B-level ranks were scarce.
If E-level was the subsistence line, then D-level was already a lifestyle many wastelanders dreamed of achieving.
Only technical workers, specialists, and mid-level managers could attain this standard.
C-level treatment was reserved for accomplished senior government officials, top factory managers, and high-ranking technical experts across various fields.
According to the Governor, if they performed well, there was a chance to reach B-level; word had it that the lady governing Revival City—technically just a department head, Osena—was currently only at B3.
Of course, they were well aware that this statement from the Governor was as much a reassurance as it was an incentive.
The prize was alluring, but attaining it wouldn’t be easy.
But at least it gave them something to strive for.
Seeing the interest spark in these agents’ eyes, Gu Hang smiled.
With the help of these local lords, things would indeed go a lot more smoothly.
…
With a wartime system, military control, and resource rationing in place, Gu Hang no longer worried about Garbage Town’s order.
He handed over the responsibility almost entirely to Tadius.
As the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, Tadius had had little opportunity to lead in direct combat since the beginning of the war and would likely have few chances moving forward.
But his role was clearly far more important than that of a mere military commander.
And Gu Hang had confidence in him.
After all, Tadius was the only SR-ranked talent under his command.
Once confident there wouldn’t be any major issues with the town’s order, Gu Hang immediately turned his attention back to military matters.
The Greenskin threat was still far from being resolved.
The two regiments of the 2nd Infantry Division had rested for only a single night in town before setting out once again.
To be honest, they were exhausted.
From Revival City to Garbage Town, a journey that should have taken six or seven days, Gu Hang led the troops to complete in under four.
Covering a hundred miles a day, most of the troops had come on foot, and by the time they reached the outskirts of Garbage Town, many were already physically spent.
They had to fight a battle just to enter the town.
Fortunately, that battle had been relatively easy; the adventurers’ fighting spirit had been weak, shattering at the first sign of pressure, or it would have been quite troublesome.
Despite resting only one night before heading to the front, there was no choice.
Even in that single night, Pobov at the front lines had already sent multiple bad reports.
After realizing that the defensive line built by 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion wasn’t easy to break, the Greenskins quickly shifted their assault, launching attacks from other directions.
Currently, there were only around fifty thousand adventurers left fighting on the front lines.
Many units, previously routed and forced to retreat, were still regrouping and had yet to return.
The defensive line they formed was full of gaps, and Pobov had been forced to deploy two mechanized infantry companies along the sixty-kilometer line to contain the fires.
In the High Tower Ruins, unlike in the open wasteland, the terrain was complex.
Although engineering units had tried to clear a convenient support route, delays still happened frequently.
On some occasions, the enemy even breached the line, with a significant number of Greenskins infiltrating and ambushing support teams.
If it weren’t for the support of the Walker V infantry fighting vehicles in the company, a serious disaster could have occurred.
In essence, Pobov simply didn’t have enough troops and couldn’t directly command all the adventurer units, resulting in his forces being stretched thin along the long front.
The 1st Regiment and divisional headquarters of the 2nd Division remained in Garbage Town to maintain town order.
The 2nd and 3rd Regiments, totaling around four thousand troops, were deployed to the front.
A unified command center was established in Garbage Town.
All Alliance forces, including the adventurers, would now receive orders from here to carry out their military missions.
With the addition of these four thousand regular troops, the front line would see some relief.
Furthermore, there were three artillery battalions, along with the firepower directly controlled by the division headquarters, and if Pobov’s battalion artillery was included, the total reached over a hundred cannons.
The cannons were distributed across numerous artillery positions, with a range of about twenty kilometers, to cover as much of the sixty-kilometer-long frontline as possible, ensuring immediate artillery support when the frontline needed it.
Additionally, the logistics support this time was reliable.
Thirty freight trucks that accompanied the 2nd Division were loaded specifically with artillery shells, totaling 4,500 heavy shells.
This represented almost all of Revival City’s artillery shell reserves, along with half a month’s worth of production from Weihsing City.
In practice, however, they would still need to conserve ammunition.
With a hundred cannons, these shells would last only a few dozen rounds; if used recklessly for full fire coverage, they could exhaust the entire stockpile in two hours.
However, the logistics department’s trucks were already on their way back, and the military-industrial system in Weihsing City had received orders to operate at full capacity. Ammunition production, including shells and bullets, would now be the highest priority.
Furthermore, new military production lines were already under construction, and with sufficient population and resources, achieving high production capacity shouldn’t be too challenging.
Yet, even so, it would only alleviate the frontline situation to some extent.
Four thousand troops were insufficient to cover the sixty-kilometer line.
The two regiments, along with some armed adventurers still on the front lines, could each manage only around ten kilometers of the line.
There were still significant gaps.
Not to mention, this was purely defensive.
If they wanted to launch an offensive, what would they do?
Artillery could inflict devastating damage on Greenskin Beasts daring to attack, but when launching an offensive and facing enemy defenses, shelling alone wouldn’t suffice. Especially in an urban ruin environment, where Greenskins could hide amidst rubble, with plenty of cover and fortifications around, the destructive power of shells would be significantly reduced.
In fact, in such terrain, even tanks and armored vehicles might struggle to advance.
Although Pobov reported in previous battles that two armored vehicles, a tank, and two infantry squads took out thirty to fifty Greenskins at the cost of only five to ten casualties, that was while defending.
If they tried that in an attack?
The entire situation resembled urban street warfare.
In the end, after the shelling, they’d still have to rely on ground troops.
Could they rely on the 2nd Infantry Division alone to handle this?
It would be difficult; the urban ruins turned every encounter into close combat, often within just a few dozen meters or even face-to-face. Even T5-ranked regular soldiers were at a disadvantage against the Greenskin Beasts.
There were nearly ten thousand Greenskins in total, and if it came down to attacking, even exhausting the 2nd Division might not be enough.
Under these circumstances, Gu Hang had two ideas.
The problem lay in firepower and manpower, so he aimed to tackle these two issues directly.
As for firepower, the 155 howitzer artillery represented the most powerful conventional weapon Gu Hang could deploy. It was more than adequate for defense but fell short in fully annihilating Greenskins hiding in the ruins during an offensive.
But Gu Hang could call for external support besides relying on his own firepower.
If the 155 howitzers were insufficient, then what about orbital strikes from space—artillery so powerful they couldn’t even be measured by caliber?
The second issue was manpower.
The regular army forces Gu Hang commanded were not enough to sustain the war; they could only maintain the line without pushing forward. However, the adventurers active on the battlefield offered a valuable pool of manpower.
Right now, they seemed inadequate—poorly equipped, undisciplined, loosely organized, with inconsistent training levels and low morale…
But under the influence of the Troop Card system, the issues of discipline, organization, and training could be resolved.
Morale was another challenge. However, he had prepared for this and assigned Tadius to train a few candidates as commissars to bolster the troops.
Since the Loyalist Academy had yet to be established, the temporary commissars weren’t ideal. Although the training duration was longer than the time he had set up the former Alliance army in Revival City, these adventurer forces had even lower ideological awareness than the old Alliance army.
At least the latter had once been part of a regular army, while the former had a mix of backgrounds.
They would have to rely on the Troop Card training effect and the commissars to build them up as best as possible.
As for the equipment, there was a preliminary solution.
Gu Hang had anticipated Garbage Town’s situation long ago.
The supply trucks sent by the logistics department included enough supplies, such as ammunition, shells, and military rations, and also brought five thousand sets of personal equipment, as well as company-level weapons like machine guns, mortars, and rocket launchers.
Gu Hang planned to recruit five thousand adventurers to form a reinforced regiment.
He had a specific target for the recruitment.
The Beast Slaughtering Group.
There were two reasons for this choice. First, of all the adventurer groups in Garbage Town, if there was one that could catch his attention, it was the Beast Slaughtering Group.
This assessment came from Pobov’s reports.
Another reason he focused on this group was that he noticed a slight shimmer in the “Events” interface within the system.
When Gu Hang clicked on it, he saw an event ready for activation.
“Event Activated: Greenskin Threat.”
“The Greenskin Beasts that mysteriously appeared on the planet have grown into a significant threat over the past few years. As they’re about to destroy Garbage Town, your troops have arrived on-site. However, the danger has not been eliminated; the Greenskin offensive continues.”
“Stage 1 Objective: Defend Garbage Town and ensure that it remains under your control until the Greenskin Beasts retreat.”
“Event Reward: T5 Additional Troop Training Option – Beast Slaughtering Group.”
“Beast Slaughtering Group: A specially trained infantry unit that, upon completing T5 training, can undergo additional training to specialize in combat against Greenskin Beasts. Beast Slaughtering Group troops possess combat experience and techniques for fighting Greenskin-type enemies, and under a mysterious blessing, gain a minor physical boost when fighting Greenskins.”
“Training Cost: 1 Grace Point per 100 soldiers.”
“Note: A special unit, severely lacking in equipment, has fought against Greenskin Beasts for a long time, mastering unique techniques and potential for the ‘Beast Slaughtering Group.’ Once trained to T5 level, they will automatically gain the additional troop characteristic of the ‘Beast Slaughtering Group.’”
This message piqued Gu Hang’s interest in the Beast Slaughtering Group.
Firstly, the event itself surprised him, as the Greenskin encounter had triggered an event, which was undoubtedly beneficial.
Unlike the “Phoenix Rebirth” event, which was only relevant to him due to certain conditions, activating such events usually cost Grace Points.
This time, however, his actions triggered the event without additional Grace Points.
Triggering events was undoubtedly a positive development.
Defending Garbage Town was necessary anyway, and with the event, there would be additional rewards.
Moreover, the event’s objective aligned closely with Gu Hang’s plan—to focus on defense first, then think about offense.
The preparations for counterattacking were far from ready, and since defense held the advantage, it would be best to prioritize it. He wanted to turn the defense line into a blood mill, draining as much of the Greenskins’ forces as possible.
As for the event reward, it pleasantly surprised Gu Hang.
An additional troop option… this was a new mechanism.
This meant that soldiers who completed T1-T5 Troop Card training could undergo further training by investing additional Grace Points, creating a special unit?
The Beast Slaughtering Group’s traits were especially relevant to this war.
If all troops possessed the Beast Slaughtering Group’s traits, they would gain an even greater advantage against the monstrous Greenskin Beasts.
Not to mention the event’s note.
A unique unit with the Beast Slaughtering Group potential? It had to be none other than the current Beast Slaughtering Group.
According to the note, as long as they trained the current front-line group calling itself the Beast Slaughtering Group to T5, they would automatically gain the Beast Slaughtering traits.
This adventurer group comprised about six thousand soldiers, effectively saving Gu Hang sixty Grace Points for further training.
And, conveniently, he had five thousand extra sets of personal equipment on hand, which he planned to arm them with as the first adventurer force to be absorbed and restructured.
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