Chapter 212 - 143: Assuming Command, Tier Two Corps
Chapter 212: Chapter 143: Assuming Command, Tier Two Corps
Lin Feng’s sharp command carried the overwhelming aura of a Tier Two Peak Awakener.
His sheer presence stunned everyone present.
The moment he finished speaking, the company and platoon-level commanders before him—mere captains and lieutenants—all hurried back to their posts along the defense line.
The farthest edge of the defense line was a full five kilometers from the square. Fortunately, these grassroots commanders had an Awakening Level of at least Tier One, Early Stage and could easily run at over thirty meters per second. The round trip would only take them six or seven minutes.
However, considering that the common soldiers were only Enhanced People, Lin Feng deliberately waited for a full half-hour to account for the time needed to make the announcement and gather them.
During this time, newly recruited soldiers trickled into the square.
The massive square was three hundred meters long and one hundred meters wide, more than enough space to accommodate over ten thousand people.
Lin Feng had expected two to three thousand people at most.
After all, admiration was one thing, but to actually leave the solid fortress and its defense line to face a Zerg Swarm in the open with no defenses, offering up their own flesh and blood... not everyone possessed that kind of fearless, death-defying courage.
In reality, the moment Lin Feng had stepped onto the second line of defense, the screening process for the remaining fifteen thousand new recruits had already quietly begun.
He couldn’t possibly raise all of them like a nanny.
As an Awakener’s Level increased, their personal strength would gradually come to rival that of the Zerg Race. Once they were fully equipped and could even surpass them, true warfare was no longer a matter of filling ranks with sheer numbers.
Cultivating a group of a hundred or so Tier Two Awakeners, or even Genetic Warriors, was far more beneficial than painstakingly trying to train all fifteen thousand of these people.
Lin Feng didn’t need that many combat units.
Besides, he had neither the energy nor the resources to waste on a group of strangers to whom he had no connection.
However, to Lin Feng’s surprise, he had originally estimated that fewer than two or three thousand soldiers would volunteer to fight outside the city, but in the end, over five thousand showed up.
That was one-third of the total number.
Following their company commanders, these soldiers swarmed into the square, filling nearly half of it. They arranged themselves in small formations, lining up in order from north to south.
There were about a hundred such formations, each with forty to fifty men.
Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction, then signaled for the high command of the Thirteenth Division to begin the handover ceremony.
Although the other high-ranking officers were indignant at Lin Feng’s grand entrance and his disregard for their authority, the old Division Commander could see that Lin Feng had his own unique insights and plans for the future of the war.
And they were highly personalized.
In the past, personal charisma was a double-edged sword. But now, with his own Power to back it up, as long as Lin Feng could maintain his absolute strength, his position would be unshakeable.
Moreover, the force under his command would become a troop of tigers and wolves, daring to fight and kill.
The future Thirteenth Division would surely become a sharp sword for humanity in the counterattack against the Zerg Race’s invasion, plunging straight into the heart of enemy territory.
Watching Lin Feng’s tall and imposing figure, the old Division Commander fastened the rank insignias of a Major General onto the shoulders of his armor, then gave a farewell salute.
Lin Feng, along with the elite soldiers led by Li Ran standing by the Tanks behind him, all raised their heads, puffed out their chests, and returned the salute with a proud and imposing air.
After watching the Thirteenth Division’s high command depart, Lin Feng turned to face the new recruits who remained. He channeled the aura of a Tier Two Peak Awakener and announced in a powerful, resonant voice:
"You should have been notified yesterday. With the successful relocation of key industries from Jin City, the battle to hold Wu City has fulfilled its strategic objective..."
"But the Thirteenth Division cannot take everyone with them. The division command has lost its supply lines. Without me, your lunch today would have been your last meal together."
"After that, you’d be disbanded and left to fend for yourselves."
"But now I, Lin Feng, have been invited to be your new supreme commander, and I will naturally take responsibility for everything."
"That includes logistics like weapons and equipment, food and medicine, and even advancing your Awakening!"
"And the fundamental condition for all of this is absolute obedience to orders. That includes leaving the city to kill Zerg and facing the Swarm head-on!"
"Your commanders should have made this clear to you. And now... I’m giving you one more chance!"
"Listen up! If you’re not afraid to die and are determined to kill Zerg, then stay! If you’re just looking for a free meal, you can go back and hide behind the defense line right now. Or leave this place and get the hell out of Wu City."
"Of course, if you decide now, no one will stop you, and it won’t be considered desertion. But once you’ve made your decision to stay or go..."
"...if you change your mind later, don’t blame me for being merciless!"
"The choice is yours, gentlemen!"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire square fell silent.
The men looked at each other. A long moment passed, but not a single person made a move to leave.
They were especially captivated by the sight up front: eight gleaming black Tanks near the Land Patrol Battleship, and rows of orderly Black Armored Soldiers holding large-caliber weapons...
The new recruits’ eyes were filled with envy. They wished they could join them immediately and become one of the warriors fighting bravely outside the city.
The image of the Invincible Fleet’s massive bombardment of the Zerg Race yesterday, of it rampaging freely through enemy territory, was still fresh in their minds. The soldiers who had come were already mentally prepared; in fact, their hearts yearned for it.
Seeing this, Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.
He didn’t need all five thousand-plus of these soldiers to become a Tier Two Corps and enter the Underground Hive to fight. In the end, he only needed to screen out the hundred or so bravest among them.
But they could drive the Tanks, coordinating with the Land Patrol Battleship to strike the invading Zerg Race and deal with the massive Low-tier Zerg Swarms.