Chapter 23

"Pop." The hatch of the "Leader" popped open, and Grant jumped out, fuming with rage. He was filled with both humiliation and anger. Charging up to Tian Kaiwen, he swung his fist and cursed, "You're so despicable, using such a trick to sneak-attack."

Tian Kaiwen quickly retreated behind Nadal, wearing a simple-minded and confused expression. "Do you reason with the enemy like this on the battlefield?" he asked.

Nadal stepped in front of the fatty and sneered at Grant. "You were the one who made the first move. In a face-to-face confrontation, how can you call it a sneak attack? You lost, and that's that. Can't you accept defeat?"

All the soldiers of the 1st Company of the special reconnaissance battalion rushed forward, clenching their fists and eager for a fight. It seemed like a brawl was about to break out.

Grant's face turned alternately red and white. Finally, he left with a harsh threat of "Just you wait" and led the people from the special forces battalion away in a huff.

Alice thought this despicable fatty was really detestable. His methods were despicable and shameless to the extreme. She really wanted to see the fatty being beaten down and begging for mercy. But since Grant had lost this competition, staying any longer would only be self-humiliation. Before leaving, she couldn't help but glare at the fatty. But then she saw the despicable fatty blowing kisses at her non-stop. Furious but helpless, she stamped her foot and ran away angrily, ignoring Grant, who was calling her to come along.

The camp finally quieted down. Nadal looked at the fatty with a half smile and said, "Not bad, fatty. You managed to make Grant suffer such a setback. I guess I misjudged you."

The fatty scratched his head with a simple-minded look and said modestly, "It was just luck, luck. My mecha-fighting skills can only bully those with a relatively low IQ."

Amid the laughter of all the soldiers in the company, Rashid announced, "From today on, Lieutenant Tian Kaiwen, the 1st Company of the 16th Division's Special Reconnaissance Battalion welcomes you."

Nadal left with a broad smile on his face. Seeing Grant fail was his greatest pleasure. He never expected that this unremarkable fatty actually had some skills. Not only was his tongue as venomous as if he'd eaten poison when he was being sarcastic, but his methods were also despicable enough. Haha, this time they had really gotten the better of the special forces battalion. Nadal made up his mind to spread the news at the division headquarters later.

The feeling of sharing a common hatred can easily bring strangers together, and a companion who shames the opponent is definitely a hero in the group. So, the fatty, now wearing a hero's halo, quickly integrated into the special reconnaissance battalion.

It was 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon of September 19, 2060, in the New Space Era, and 15:00 in the public time of Milok. Less than ten hours were left until the start of the famous Kato Meat-Grinder Battle in history.

At 15:00 in the afternoon, the Federal Military Intelligence Bureau confirmed that the defense map of Milok Planet had been stolen and the later-stage battle plan might have been leaked.

At 15:05, the director of the intelligence bureau connected the phone calls to the president's office and the Ministry of National Defense.

At 15:10, the Supreme War Command, jointly formed by the President's Office and the Ministry of National Defense, issued an order. The 5th Space Fleet was ordered to be stationed at major airports in the capital to implement space control. All aircraft were to cancel their operations, and any violators would be shot down immediately. At the same time, communication control was issued. All communication facilities were to be shut down, and the military activated jamming facilities.

At 15:15, the entire 1st Armored Division of the Army was mobilized to blockade major military units in the capital. The escort battalions of each military unit were required to assist in the martial law.

At 16:00 sharp, a total of sixteen high-ranking officials suspected and one hundred and twelve military staff who might have access to the maps and the later-stage battle plan were placed under isolation and investigation.

At 17:00, the fatty announced that he would pay for an extra meal for all the soldiers in the company, which was unanimously supported and loved by all the soldiers.

At the same time, the Federal Supreme War Command held a meeting. Since the preparatory work had been completed three days in advance, in this emergency, the command decided to launch ahead of schedule the battle plan aimed at opening the passage west of Kato City to rescue several cities still besieged by the enemy. The code name for the Kato Battle Plan was "Thunderbolt.".

At 18:00 in the evening, Company Commander Rashid, six company vice commanders, a communication squad leader, and a technology squad leader hosted a dinner for Tian Kaiwen to welcome him.

At the same time, the battle plan of the command was issued to the divisional units, requiring them to get ready according to the launch time determined in the plan.

At 18:20, the newly started banquet was forced to be interrupted. The battalion headquarters ordered the company commanders and vice commanders to attend an emergency meeting, cancelled all activities of the company, and required all soldiers to get fully equipped and be on standby at combat readiness level A.

At 18:25, Rashid and Tian Kaiwen rushed to the battalion headquarters and were informed to wait on the spot. Battalion Commander Nadal had already gone to the division headquarters to attend an emergency meeting.

At 19:10, Nadal informed the division headquarters by phone that the battalion-level meeting was expanded to platoon-level officers.

At 19:13, the platoon-level officers of each company rushed to the battalion headquarters.

At 19:30, Nadal finally returned from the division headquarters and immediately held a pre-battle intelligence briefing.

The front-line headquarters required all armored divisions and the Marine Corps of the Army to make pre-battle preparations. The special forces under its jurisdiction would set out in advance. Their mission was to conduct investigations and locate the enemy's radar, electronic jamming equipment, logistics bases, air force bases, missile bases, and the battlefield sky-net system, and to carry out unrestricted strikes in coordination with the air force.

At 20:00 sharp, the meeting ended. The whole battalion assembled.

At 21:00, the air force escort armored fighter jets gradually rolled out of the hangar and started loading energy and ammunition. At the same time, various special forces began to gather at major field airports.

At 21:30, the air force-escorted armored fighter jets took off. The first batch of special forces on the ground began to board the medium-sized transport ships.

At 21:40, Tian Kaiwen stepped into the hatch of the medium-sized transport ship in his "Logic." The hatch slowly closed, and the cabin lights turned on. The 1st Company of the Special Reconnaissance Battalion of the 16th Marine Division would be the strike force that penetrated the deepest into the enemy's territory. The air journey was over a thousand kilometers. They would be the first to take off.

At 22:00, the first batch of sixteen medium-sized transport ships that took off began to divide into teams. Three minutes later, the fleet completed the division and each flew to its destination.

At 22:20, the second fleet separation was completed. Three armored fighter jets were assigned to escort the transport ship where Tian Kaiwen was.

At 22:25, the medium-sized transport ship equipped with an anti-gravity device left the atmosphere for flight. The three escort fighter jets continued to fly to their destination within the atmosphere.

At 22:45, the transport ship re-entered the atmosphere and rendezvoused with the fighter jets.

At 23:05, the destination was reached. The imperial army's air-defense firepower became intense, and the transport ship was hit in many places.

At 23:12, the transport ship descended to the sky above the predetermined location, and the 1st Company of the Special Reconnaissance Battalion started to parachute.

At 23:13, a shout came from a tattered mecha that was the first to parachute!

"Fuck this war! I'm back again!"