“Yes, just as I remember, Eleanor is still the same, her fit and tall body wrapped in a form-fitting Marine Corps uniform, standing quietly with her hands clasped, as beautiful as an elegant marble statue.”
“Of course, these are all appearances.”
“Yu Lian remembered that the first time he met this breathtakingly brave Eleanor, it was on the combat training ground. She threw a certain senior from the Marine Corps Command Department, who was twice her weight, with an over-the-shoulder throw, and he landed right in front of Yu Lian, making him stare in awe.”
“What do you mean, I can do it too,” the Miss, his childhood friend, said unhappily in his ear.
“The rose-colored youth, it truly flies by like a shuttle…”
“Eleanor’s gaze swept across Yu Lian’s face at an extremely fast speed, surprise and relief flashing through, but she first addressed Captain Winter: “Captain, you’ve worked hard. Can you now report your force’s strength and position?””
“The 127 mobile infantry of the 101st Company have all arrived, but they did not bring any vehicles,” Captain Winter said. “As for our position…” He looked at Yu Lian, who quickly opened the holographic map on his terminal and pointed to the canyon where everyone was located.
“This place is equivalent to the rear of the enemy’s main camp. According to my observations, it is about 50 kilometers from the Sand People Command HQ, which is where Elder Hessen is located,” Yu Lian first pointed to a spot among the dense Sand People encampments, and a red dot immediately appeared there.
“You already know the location of the enemy Command HQ?” Eleanor raised her eyebrows, which were as sharp and graceful as fine swords.
“Yes, it’s right here.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“During these past few days of lurking, Sergeant Major Xi Lika and I spent at least ten hours a day observing. Based on the flag signals and the size of the camps, we have a general understanding of the encampment locations of the enemy’s various tribes and city-state forces. I will send this information to everyone’s terminals later. Yesterday, before the Sand People attacked Tulon, dozens of riders carrying colorful command flags departed from here, galloping towards the major camps. These were all the Sand People’s couriers.”
“The so-called flag signals were actually stone objects similar to totem poles. This planet lacked trees and vegetation, at least before humans colonized it. Thus, the Sand People, who were skilled at manipulating mud and stone, made long stone poles of various colors and shapes from sand and stone to serve as flag signals.”
“It must be noted that the designs of these totem poles were very ancient and elegant, and could be considered works of art, highly sought after in the All-Galaxy international collectibles market.”
“It must also be noted that although the Sand People had armor, firearms, and even tanks and artillery provided by their collaborators, the customs of a cold weapon army were not so easy to change. One must know that in the cold weapon era, courier riders who moved through various parts of the battlefield amidst a hail of bullets were a highly admired and respected profession. How could they simply be abolished? Replacing them with a group of people shouting into machines would put the dignity and honor of the Sand People warriors in what position?”
“There was nothing they could do. Weapons could be bought, but the organizational core of an army was a very detailed and grand system engineering project that could not be completed in a day or two.”
“Eleanor nodded, finding it reasonable, but then looked at Yu Lian with an uncomprehending gaze, and then looked at Ina, who was biting her lower lip, with interest: “I need your guarantee!””
““I swear by the Blue Star National Emblem, I am willing to be responsible for everything I have said! Furthermore, the spiritual energy fluctuations there are the most obvious. As is well known, Hessen himself is already a Third Ring ‘Wizard’, and among his disciples are several carefully selected sensitives and even awakeners. This must be his location!””
“Hessen had activated the “Driving” Star Ring and had reached the Third Ring “Wizard” stage, which was not a secret. The Governor’s Office’s database contained detailed information, and every officer had permission to access it. However, this spiritual leader among the Sand People had always appeared relatively submissive, so few people bothered to read it seriously.”
““You’ve really done your homework, this is the style of us Moon People… Wait, spiritual energy fluctuations?” Eleanor was about to praise him, but then realized something seemed off.”
““Uh… to let you know, I have already awakened my spiritual energy, and so has Sergeant Major Xi Lika, who is also a Sentinel with extraordinary senses. Therefore, we can capture the spiritual energy fluctuations of the other party.””
“Of course, also because Hessen is now a “Wizard,” as the name suggests, his spiritual abilities are diverse spiritual energy spells. He excels at fighting one against a hundred, summoning wind and rain, and conjuring lightning and fire, making him very conspicuous. But perhaps because he is too conspicuous, spiritual energy users of this path are not very good at concealment before reaching the Five Rings.”
“Eleanor’s expression was a little stiff, which was understandable. After all, two spiritual energy users appearing among dozens of ordinary soldiers in a small outpost was about as likely as digging up two dog-head gold nuggets in your backyard vegetable garden.”
““The feng shui of your outpost is really good!” Lieutenant Parkin widened his eyes and touched the large string of Tai Chi symbols, Buddha statues, crosses, crescent pendants, six-pointed star talismans, and other charms hanging on his chest. He was genuinely envious, jealous, and resentful now.”
“Captain Winter was not very calm either. This young man was both a Moon Person and a spiritual energy user; his future was truly limitless, and he really shouldn’t put on airs as a superior in front of him. Thinking carefully, he should not have been disrespectful before, right? Hmm, it seemed not.”
“Eleanor clasped her hands and snorted in an incomprehensible way, but the look in her eyes towards Yu Lian seemed to carry a hint of disdain, which made the latter shiver inexplicably. His finger quickly continued to move across the holographic map, and he then tapped a high point to the northeast of Tulon, where another red dot appeared.”
““Also, from here, it’s 20 kilometers to Archy Hill 6.””
“Eleanor finally stopped looking disdainful, and a smile of approval appeared on her face as she nodded slightly: “Very good, it seems you’ve also observed that the enemy is setting up artillery positions there.””
““Yes, it can be confirmed that there are at least ten high-power ion cannons or electromagnetic cannons. This will pose a huge threat to the city’s shields!””
““But this is also our opportunity…” Eleanor nodded thoughtfully, first looking at Yu Lian, but still addressed Captain Winter: “Captain, what do you think?””
“The elite company commander of the Marine Corps carefully observed the map, especially the environment around Hill 6 and the enemy’s dispositions. After some deliberation, he stated confidently: “We can capture and quickly destroy all of the enemy’s heavy artillery, and then retreat before the enemy’s main force encircles us.””
““No, I need you not to destroy the enemy’s heavy artillery so quickly, but to attract enough enemies to reinforce, creating maximum chaos. Then, I will lead all the soldiers in the city to launch a counterattack and kill Hessen. This person is the banner of these Sand People; once he falls, these native rabble will naturally completely collapse. Captain, can you do it?””
“Captain Winter’s face darkened as he looked at the map without speaking.”
“Everyone knew what this meant. Even if they were elite, they were only a little over a hundred people. Attacking the enemy’s heavily guarded heavy artillery positions was already quite dangerous, not to mention having to try to attract the Sand People’s reinforcements. If they were not careful, it was very possible that they would be completely annihilated.”
“In theory, Captain Winter had the right to refuse Eleanor’s orders. Firstly, he was Marine Corps, and not subject to the New Yumen Garrison Command HQ. Secondly, Eleanor had not received orders from her superiors and did not have the authority to control all reinforcements and be responsible for the entire campaign.”
“Captain Winter looked at Parkin, then at the other officers and senior Sergeant Majors of the company. He pondered for a moment, then quietly nodded: “Yes.””
“It’s starting, it’s starting! Yu Lian’s expression was calm, but his heart began to pound with excitement. He knew that this was the beginning of the assault that would later be featured in almost all All-Galaxy military academy textbooks, the beginning of a legend.”
“Captain Winter and the officers and soldiers of the 101st Company truly achieved the speed of wind, the stillness of a forest, the aggression of fire, and the movement of thunder. They secretly arrived in front of the enemy’s artillery positions before launching a fierce assault, immediately disorienting the enemy. The battle began and lasted no more than twenty minutes before the defenders were completely routed, the ten newly set up heavy cannons were destroyed, and a group of Karda Goblin Engineers were captured along the way.”
“Although the subsequent defensive battle was dangerous, it was not tragic. Because Captain Winter and his men quickly built fortifications on the high ground and immediately destroyed several of the Sand People’s tanks. They attacked all incoming enemy forces from above.”
“On the other side, Eleanor led all the troops in the city out and directly into the Sand People’s main camp, killing Grand Elder Hessen on the spot. His carefully cultivated favorite disciples were also almost completely annihilated. The million-strong army immediately scattered like birds and beasts, and many city-state princes immediately knelt and surrendered.”
“The final battle losses for the 101st Company were less than ten casualties. For Tulon, it was only a little over two hundred people.”
“However, there were still regrets.”
“First, Hessen’s truly most favored disciple, the later Sand People national hero who raised his banner, the Father of Sand People Independence, Kaz Khan, escaped and continued to lead the remaining Sand People in resistance, remaining a major concern for the Governor’s Office. Later history proved that he indeed completely buried the Commonwealth’s rule on New Yumen Star.”
“Second, Eleanor was simply too reckless. She was not some high-level spiritual energy user capable of fighting a thousand men alone, but merely a delicate and beautiful girl who, in a military academy combat class, had thrown a Marine Corps Command Department classmate into the infirmary.”
“Yes, she truly was not a spiritual energy user, yet she insisted on charging forward bravely, and while personally killing Hessen, she was also knocked unconscious by the spiritual energy user’s final burst, lying in the hospital for half a year.”
“If she had continued to oversee the overall situation, perhaps this major incident would not have ended in such an anticlimactic manner.”
“Thinking of this, Yu Lian spoke: “Sir, I have a small, rather immature suggestion.””
“Everyone’s gaze turned to him, which put a little pressure on him, but even more, it was an inexplicable excitement and a tremor from the depths of his soul.”
“He knew that he was truly standing at a turning point in history.”