Chapter 30: The More Fanfare, the Less Likely to be Detected

Although they had occupied the village, Andrei and his men did not rest there for long. After only a few hours of brief repose, they chose to depart at the crack of dawn, well before the sun had risen. To break through enemy lines, speed was of the essence. Andrei had no way of knowing how long it would take for the enemy to discover that this supply depot had been compromised. Departing early and marching while it was still dark was far safer than lingering until mid-morning.

Several trucks, originally intended for cargo, had been repurposed as troop transports, giving his men their first taste of mechanized movement. Of course, this so-called "mechanized" infantry was limited to the wounded and a small number of exhausted soldiers. With only a handful of trucks available, they couldn't possibly carry everyone at once; they could barely fit a hundred men. Thus, they had to rotate, allowing the wounded and the most fatigued soldiers to rest on the trucks before swapping out with their comrades.

Although Elena, the medic nun, could heal their wounds, she could not restore the blood they had lost. Even with their injuries closed, the soldiers remained weak, their stamina and endurance severely depleted. Furthermore, the personnel currently on the trucks were almost exclusively from Andrei’s own company. This wasn't due to favoritism, but simply because his company had fought the hardest and earned everyone’s respect; everyone agreed they were the most exhausted. Andrei had been tempted to point out that his "players" were essentially perpetual motion machines who didn't need to worry about fatigue, but he thought better of it. While the players weren't tired, the ordinary soldiers in his company certainly were, and he couldn't just exclude all the players to make room for others. Inequity breeds resentment, and among comrades fighting side by side, such differential treatment would easily stir up trouble.

Because they were busy sleeping or found the march uneventful, most of the players were in "AFK" mode—or, from their perspective, they were simply fast-forwarding through a cutscene. However, as they marched, Andrei noticed that the situation along the route was quite different from what he had imagined.

He had assumed that at this hour, before dawn, most Black Eagle soldiers would be resting. Instead, he saw many of them busy on the move. He had to admit, these guys were full of energy, or perhaps they were so determined to launch a rapid surprise attack that their troops were pushing forward with everything they had. Meanwhile, military vehicles of the Black Eagle army were visible everywhere on the dilapidated road. Most of the transport trucks were returning empty, presumably having just delivered troops and supplies to the front. Aside from these trucks, the majority of the vehicles used by the Black Eagle army were still horse-drawn wagons; it seemed the Black Eagle Empire had not yet achieved full mechanization, relying heavily on horses for logistics.

Seeing the enemy everywhere, the Cambian soldiers under Andrei’s command grew nervous. Major Yuri instinctively wanted to order the troops to hide by the roadside and wait until the road was clear before proceeding. Andrei quickly stopped him, however.

"Major, we cannot leave the road. Tell the men to stop being nervous. Just act like everything is normal, and turn on our headlights!"

Before Major Yuri could issue his own orders, Andrei grabbed his arm and explained, "Look at the Black Eagle soldiers along the way—we need to be exactly like them! Everyone is marching openly on the road; if we act sneaky, we’ll surely give ourselves away."

Listening to Andrei, Major Yuri recalled the Black Eagle soldiers he had seen earlier and suddenly understood. He had been so focused on how to avoid the enemy's sight that he had forgotten they were all wearing Black Eagle uniforms, disguised as the very enemy they feared. He looked at Andrei in surprise, struck by the man’s sheer audacity. Around them were thousands of Black Eagle soldiers; one slip-up and they would be annihilated without a trace. Yet, not only was Andrei acting as if nothing were amiss, he was having his troops wear enemy uniforms, drive enemy trucks, and even operate captured armored vehicles! He asked himself if he would have the nerve to do the same, and the answer was a definitive no.

Seeing the armored vehicles in Andrei’s column, many Black Eagle soldiers along the way cheered or whistled. Andrei, who understood the Black Eagle language, occasionally shouted back to acknowledge them. Since these troops weren't there to conduct inspections, a casual greeting was the best way to blend in.

Looking back at the armored vehicles, Andrei felt a trace of anxiety. His greatest fear was that the players operating the armor would suddenly go "online" and start attacking the nearby Black Eagle forces. The players would certainly have fun, but Andrei’s unit would be surrounded and wiped out by the thousands of nearby enemies in an instant. The unpredictability of the players was a constant headache; the "Fourth Calamity" was great in many ways, but their refusal to follow orders was truly a nightmare.

Fortunately, the column was currently in a "marching" state, which meant to the players, this was just a skipped cutscene. It seemed the four players he had assigned to the armored vehicles weren't interested in a boring scene, as they showed no signs of stopping the "skip" function or popping up to cause trouble. Otherwise, Andrei would have been terrified.

Just then, Andrei saw an enemy checkpoint in the distance. It consisted of a small, improvised shack made of corrugated iron, a few barriers that were more symbolic than effective, and an enemy soldier standing guard with a submachine gun and a flashlight. The sight made Andrei’s heart pound.

"Damn, Captain, there's a checkpoint ahead. What do we do? Can you bluff your way through?" Boris asked, glancing at the front. "Captain, just so you know, you're the only one here who speaks their language. If you can't talk our way through, we'll have to launch an assault!"

Andrei’s heart hammered against his ribs as he stared at the checkpoint, but he maintained a calm and composed demeanor. "Don't worry," he said. "I have the identification papers of that officer we killed. As long as I keep my face partially hidden, it shouldn't be hard to fool them!"