I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 16: Is becoming a company commander really that awesome?

Facing a hundred pairs of trusting eyes, Nguyen Van Bo took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He's just a gaming blogger and knows nothing about real-world military command. Fortunately, he does understand basic military organization. And having played so many strategy games, he has considerable theoretical knowledge of warfare.

"Attention everyone!" Ruan Wenbo cleared his throat, his voice more steady and powerful than he had expected. "Now, I give my first order! All veteran players who participated in the first closed beta test, step forward!"

Nine people, including Assassin and Eagle Police, immediately stepped forward.

"The nine of you will serve as temporary class leaders. Now, we will begin the division process. Each class leader will lead nine new players to form a combat class, for a total of ten classes."

As soon as he finished speaking, group information automatically popped up on the system panels of all players, clearly indicating that the system had made the fastest possible assignment based on his command.

However, no sooner had the groupings been completed than a discordant voice rang out.

In the seventh squad's formation, a new player raised his hand with a pained expression: "Um... Company Commander, reporting!"

“Speak,” Ruan Wenbo said, looking at him.

"Are you sure... you want that Oglin to command us?" The player pointed to the burly, dim-witted Eagle Policeman standing at the front of their class.

"Pfft-"

Upon hearing this, not only did Ruan Wenbo fall into a brief silence, but the other players also couldn't hold back, and a burst of suppressed laughter echoed through the trenches.

Only the Eagle Policeman himself glared at the player who asked the question and said in a gruff voice, "What? You look down on me? Come on, let's fight!"

As he spoke, he shook his body, which was thicker than a normal person's thigh and covered with heavy metal plates.

The player glanced at the Eagle Policeman's attire, which resembled light armor, wisely shrank back, and muttered, "I won't stoop to Oglin's level..."

"Ahem..." Ruan Wenbo coughed twice, breaking the awkward yet amusing situation. "How about this, I'll manually switch them out."

He looked around at everyone, a new idea forming in his mind: "All players who like or are good at melee combat, raise your hands!"

A handful of players raised their hands, including Big Eagle Police. Most of them had a combative look in their eyes, or simply enjoyed the thrill of "every cut going in."

“Very good.” Ruan Wenbo nodded. “The Seventh Squad will be reorganized and will consist of all melee players, with Big Eagle Police as the squad leader. You will serve as the company’s reserve and assault team. Wherever the situation is critical, or where a counter-offensive is needed, the Seventh Squad will be the one to take the lead and fight in hand-to-hand combat!”

This arrangement was reasonable, allowing those who were good at something to do what they were good at. The players nodded in agreement, and those who were assigned to the melee class were especially excited and eager to get started.

Next, following the defensive deployment methods he remembered from the veteran Astronauts, Ruan Wenbo assigned the remaining nine squads to key positions in the trenches, making simple arrangements for crossfire and key defensive zones. After all this, the defensive posture of the position finally looked presentable. With the orders relayed, the trenches fell silent for a moment, save for the sound of the wind and the occasional echo of distant artillery fire. The players checked their weapons, awaiting the enemy's arrival.

Squatting in the makeshift command post, Ruan Wenbo couldn't help but begin to recount his sudden promotion to company commander. In any case, for a recruit who had only been in the army for a few days to be promoted to commander of a hundred-man company on the front lines and entrusted with the crucial task of holding the line was an extremely unusual event in any serious military context.

In other games, one might simply say "it's a game," but in this game that is so realistic it's appalling, Ruan Wenbo believes that every NPC's decision has a strict logic behind it; otherwise, the game developers wouldn't be so confident as to allow players to cause trouble at will in the game world.

'Could it be... that the war has already deteriorated beyond repair?' A terrible thought flashed through his mind.

He recalled that even his initial ten-man squad had been personally picked up by a high-ranking official of the political commissar's rank. Could it be... that all the other mid- to low-ranking officers in the regiment were already dead?
Perhaps it should also be added that the position they are currently defending has lost its original strategic importance, becoming a "white elephant" that can be discarded at any time. If that's the case, then it explains why Political Commissar Walter dumped a group of greenhorns here and randomly assigned a "veteran" who had only fought for three days as their company commander. It was nothing more than a cheap way to make use of waste.

Ruan Wenbo shook his head, banishing these negative speculations from his mind. Overthinking wouldn't help him complete the mission; the most important thing right now was to improve his own and the entire company's survivability.

He decided to check out the newly opened "faction shop" to see what his meager merits could buy.

However, when he opened the redemption list with his mind and saw the few golden options at the top, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Holy crap!" he blurted out. "Me, a company commander... and I get to trade for a 'Poison Blade' super-heavy tank?! So our company is an elite reinforced company of the Kadian Blitzkrieg?"

His shout immediately attracted the attention of several players nearby.

"What? A poisoned blade? Company commander, let me see it, let me see it!"

"Holy crap, it really works! This exchange list is amazing! Is the company commander's authority that powerful?"

"Hiss... That's damn expensive... It'll take forever to accumulate these merit points..."

The players crowded around and glanced at the astronomical number of merit requirements, and they all gasped in shock.

Ruan Wenbo also recovered from his initial shock, scratched his head, and asked a very practical question: "Even if I really accumulate enough merits to exchange for it... then where can I get this poisoned blade from?"

Players cannot answer this question.

But deep within the subspace, beyond the perception of mortals, the god of information, Bit, heard this question and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Where else could it come from? Of course, it's me, the "planner" hiding behind the scenes, who will personally orchestrate it for you.

Bit even hoped that players would redeem more items, especially these complex war machines. Each creation from nothing was a profound application and practice of His power, greatly enhancing His grasp and understanding of its essence. Moreover, all of this occurred in the real universe, where energy fluctuations would be diluted by the vast material world, so there was no need to worry about making too much noise and attracting the attention of those greedy and filthy "neighbors" in the warp.

(End of this chapter)