The Hazy Moonlight

One day after Stratos deployed defensive forces at perimeter two. Under the gentle sunlight of October days, the pale sun shone down on the Organization's field camp in the inner area of the outer perimeter. Lunamaria stood before the strategic map screen, her sharp eyes scanning every detail. With a stylus in hand, she marked each position on the map, each small dot representing communication lines or logistical transport facilities of perimeter two. Having taken control of the outer perimeter, she now shifted her focus to perimeter two, where Nation's defenses were heavily fortified. But instead of a direct attack aimed at suppression, encirclement, and isolation like before, she redesigned the tactics into two steps: first, weakening, and second, a general advance. For her, a general assault at this time was risky, as the time from now to perimeter two would take at least 54 hours, enough for Stratos and his defensive line to reverse the situation.

"Javis, Leon, what do you think?" Lunamaria gracefully moved her hands around the small dots, her eyes seeming to light up.

"You want to strike their logistics area and communication lines? I don't think that's a good idea right now," Javis replied, his eyes reflecting doubt about this strategy.

"Exactly, we used this tactic at the outer perimeter. I don't think that demon will easily let us approach those positions again," Leon's eyes shone with anxiety. Although the situation was in the Organization's favor, memories of the day Stratos crushed the hopes of the 12th Legion in the North still smoldered in his heart, the day when more than half of the 12th Legion fell under his hand.

She nodded in agreement with Leon, knowing that he wouldn't let the legions capture those positions easily. However, her true purpose wasn't to weaken logistics but to disperse Nation's defensive forces, forcing them to send troops to positions where she would feign attacks to defend. If successful, the main forces of all three legions would simultaneously deploy, striking directly at the center of perimeter two and completely crushing Nation before launching a general offensive on perimeter three right at Nation's border.

"So conversely, if the feint plan fails and he doesn't send troops to support, we'll capture the strongholds, then surround and attack simultaneously?" Javis spoke up, as if wanting to confirm his own guess.

"Exactly!"

"Then, I'll prepare the strategic task force. Don't forget, we still have information warfare." Javis smiled slightly, then left the tent.

"Right. Jam signals, spread false information about supply routes. Create conflicting messages so they can't tell what's real. We're not just sabotaging their physical strength but also their minds." Leon concluded firmly, then left the tent.

She remained there, her sharp eyes glued to the strategic simulation screen. Looking at the lines of strategy she had drafted, an excited expression clearly showed on her face. She wanted to see how he, Stratos, would handle this time.

On the other side of the front, as the last rays of sunset finally yielded their shining position to the hazy moonlight, in Nation's temporary command room at perimeter two, Stratos conversed with Kaslava, one of his comrades and also his most troublesome rival. Kaslava was a former major of the Organization's 5th Legion but was betrayed and abandoned by the nation bloc during a mission. Stratos, then only 17, was the one who proposed to bring Kaslava into Company VIII-W after a hand-to-hand draw at Nation Force's POW camp. Although he joined Nation Force that day, his papers still listed him as a discharged soldier from the Organization's 5th Legion.

"Kaslava, I want you to return to the Organization. There's a mission that only the underground spy network we've planted there can carry out."

"Let me guess, to disrupt them?" Kaslava nodded without hesitation.

Without answering, he just placed a stack of reports on the table, then handed them to Kaslava. These were reports from Yue and Zeris about the state of Nation's Elite Intelligence Unit. According to the information described, it seemed that many information sources within Nation were being controlled by United. This was why he and his section hadn't received any crucial information while at the southern front.

"United..."

"Yes, I suspect they're also influencing the Organization and this front," Stratos nodded, simultaneously opening the battlefield simulation screen.

"On what basis do you think they're involved?"

On the simulation map, he marked the positions of the 4th and 12th Legions before attacking the outer perimeter. According to the simulation, if the Organization decided to reinforce, they would have to deploy the 2nd Legion from the southwest or the7th Legion from the north to support, which would save a lot of time and speed up the campaign. The fact that they sent the 9th Legion from the headquarters' center to the western front suggests that headquarters had ordered Lunamaria and her 4th Legion to withdraw and hand over the battle to the 9th Legion.

"But she decided to cooperate with the 9th Legion to prove that she can handle this front herself," Kaslava nodded, offering his own thoughts.

"Exactly! Although it's unclear what United wants by forcing her to withdraw, the upcoming mission is crucial. So, I need you to disrupt them for at least four days. Even though Ed and John have completed the trap-setting mission, with our current numbers—me, you, the section, and the soldiers here—we're not enough to withstand a large-scale attack. Therefore, we need at least four days to regain the initiative."

A cunning smile spread across Kaslava's lips; he had been waiting for this day for a long time, the day he could personally disrupt those who had betrayed him. He turned and left the command tent with unrestrained laughter. The moon rose higher, but dark clouds from somewhere completely obscured it, casting a gloomy sky over the western front, or perhaps over the outer perimeter.

At the temporary base inside the outer perimeter, Lunamaria received an unexpected order. She was surprised that headquarters suddenly supported this plan, even sending the 2nd Legion to assist. This surprised her but also made her cautious. It wasn't what she expected from headquarters, who had just ordered her to withdraw a few days ago.

"This is strange. Before, they always held back; now they suddenly support it?" Leon skimmed through the order, his eyes suspicious.

She remained silent, her eyes fixed on the map in front of her. If this was real, she needed time to reorganize her forces. The 4th Legion needed to adjust its formation to coordinate with the incoming 2nd Legion. But if it was fake, what was the real objective of whoever was behind this message?

"We don't have many choices," Lunamaria said after a moment of thought.

"If this is real, we need to seize this opportunity to prepare for the general offensive. But if it's fake, they're trying to slow us down. Either way, we must be cautious."

While she was wary, her task force continued to sabotage perimeter two as planned. They infiltrated, destroyed food depots, and set up jamming devices everywhere. The signals reaching Stratos became ambiguous. However, he wasn't surprised by these signals. He pointed at the map in front of him.

"They're trying to distract us. Ignore those fake signals." He ordered the mobile teams to ambush any task force that ventured deep.

He deployed a force dispersion tactic, dividing the army into small groups of 10 to 15 people, focusing on pursuing and pinning down the Organization. Magic traps and treacherous terrain were fully utilized. Meanwhile, important supply depots were hidden underground, ensuring they weren't easily destroyed. Additionally, his spy teams planted false information and disrupted her front-line intelligence system, forcing her to constantly analyze and doubt the orders she received. At the same time, Section W actively provided fake positions and data to lure Nation's troops into unimportant targets, wasting their time and resources on decoys before being completely eliminated. Over many nights, fake and real signals intertwined like flickering lights.

While that pair was busy chasing after information traps, Graham from Section W decided not to waste time. He quietly led small squads, operating like sharp needles piercing the enemy's weak points. Instead of attacking large bases directly, Graham targeted logistical transfer stations, scattered weapon depots, or field communication posts. He appeared suddenly and disappeared before the enemy could react. Each attack lasted only a few minutes but was enough to unsettle and unbalance the enemy. A munitions depot destroyed, a supply route blocked, a signal station silenced—all contributed to pressure on the Organization's rear. By maintaining speed, flexibility, and surprise, Graham turned the enemy's rear into a precarious maze, forcing them to expend effort to recover. In this small-scale guerrilla campaign, no one saw Graham's face clearly; they only knew that each time he and his team withdrew, the enemy was left with ashes and a question: "When will they strike again?"

After receiving additional reports from both the front and rear lines, Lunamaria began to notice some anomalies. Weapon depots and communication stations in the rear were being mysteriously destroyed. This made her even more suspicious of the sudden change in headquarters' attitude.

"This is no coincidence," Lunamaria said coldly.

"Someone is trying to manipulate us. Leon, Javis, from now on, all information from headquarters must be cross-checked. We won't be led astray."

Leon nodded in agreement, simultaneously tightening the defensive perimeter, ready to launch an attack on perimeter two if the 2nd Legion never showed up.

On Nation's side, Stratos smiled quietly. No need for much bloodshed. Just maintain invisible pressure, making herwaste time and resources on meaningless preparations. With each passing minute, he and Section W drew closer to theirgoal, cutting into the Organization's lifeline