I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 17: The Mob vs. the Mob

Just as Ruan Wenbo and the other players were drooling over the powerful but expensive war machines on the virtual shop panel, a blinding red laser beam "whooshed" past their heads, instantly igniting something in the distance.

"Fire!"

"Enemy attack!"

The players in the trenches scattered reflexively, hastily grabbing their laser guns and cautiously peeking out from the edge of the trenches. However, they were soon disappointed to find that they could see nothing at all.

The terrain of the lower nest area was as complex as a maze. The trench they were in was blocked by a huge corner of a building, so they could only see the laser beam shooting towards a place outside their field of vision.

"What's going on? The enemy is here?" Nguyen Van Bo shouted at the high ground as he raised his gun.

However, the player on higher up did not respond. The shouts echoed a few times in the empty ruins before fading away. Ruan Wenbo quickly realized that the two sides were too far apart, and with the noise of the battlefield, the other side couldn't hear what he was saying at all.

He casually pointed to a new player next to him: "You! Go up there and ask what happened, why they opened fire!"

"Yes!" The player accepted the order and immediately scrambled up the slope beside the trench, running towards the high ground.

Ruan Wenbo turned his gaze forward again, though he still couldn't see anything.

'I should have chosen a better spot...' he thought with some regret. It was all his fault for being so presumptuous; he only realized this after the game had already started. This game doesn't have a convenient God's-eye view or real-time communication.

Soon, a player came running up, panting, and awkwardly performed the Eagle Salute, mimicking the NPCs: "Reporting, Company Commander..."

“Wait a minute,” Ruan Wenbo interrupted him, looking at the other person with suspicion, “Who are you?”

The player in front of him was completely different from the one he had sent out before, in terms of ID, appearance, and voice.

"Oh, my squad leader sent me here," the player scratched his head and explained somewhat embarrassedly. "Our squad leader only realized what was happening after firing the shot, and it seemed like he should send someone to report the situation to you, so he quickly sent me over."

"..." Ruan Wenbo was speechless for a moment, thinking that this command system was really quite arbitrary. "Alright, at least they've come. Tell me, who is the enemy? How many are there? What types of troops are they? How far are they from the front line?"

"The enemy is a cult!" the player answered the first question decisively, then hesitated, "Number... uh, a lot. Troops... um, I've forgotten a bit, but there shouldn't be any elite troops, they're all dressed in rags. They're quite far from our first line of defense."

After hearing this, Ruan Wenbo felt his head start to ache.

How much is "a lot"? What level of equipment is "tattered and broken"? How far is "quite far"? How can he command with such vague information? Perhaps the only saving grace is that the enemy is relatively far away, giving them time to react.

Just then, the player that Ruan Wenbo had initially sent out came running back, panting: "Reporting, Company Commander..."

"The enemy is a cult, their numbers are unknown, their equipment is dilapidated, and they are far away?" Ruan Wenbo said weakly.

“Uh…yes,” the player looked at him in astonishment, “Company Commander, how did you know?”

"...After this battle, I must create a dedicated communications soldier position." Ruan Wenbo rubbed his temples, muttering to himself, "System, will communications soldiers receive merit awards?"

Anyone who contributes to the victory in the war will receive corresponding honors.

A cold, mechanical voice rang directly in his mind.

"Wow, I just asked casually, and they actually answered?" Ruan Wenbo was startled. "Are you spying on us, planner?"

This time, the system did not respond to him.

He didn't even have a chance to try asking new questions. A ball of energy, flashing with an ominous purple light, hurtled towards him and landed precisely beside him! "Boom!"

The psionic missile exploded, and the massive shockwave instantly tore a player next to him into dust. Although the player's body was reassembled in the light the next second, the sudden scene still terrified Ruan Wenbo and the surrounding players.

Ruan Wenbo looked up abruptly and was immediately horrified.

Before anyone knew it, a large number of ragged cultists, armed with crude weapons, had rushed to the front of the first line of defense!
"What's going on?!" Ruan Wenbo was getting anxious. This was completely different from the scene of a commander who "wielded a feather fan and wore a turban, talking and laughing while the enemy's ships and forts were reduced to ashes" that he had imagined. "Didn't you say that we were still some distance away?"

Assassin, who had been keeping a close eye on the front lines, shouted back, "Company commander! They seem to have suddenly appeared from around another corner! I can't see them very clearly either; the terrain is too complicated!"

"Then why was Commissar Walter able to give the order in advance during the first test?" Ruan Wenbo asked subconsciously.

“Uh…” Assassin hesitated for a moment, then answered uncertainly, “Perhaps…Commissar Walter had placed reconnaissance squads and sentries outside beforehand?”

Although he knew that Assassins' words were not meant to be sarcastic, Nguyen Van Bo still felt his cheeks burning, so embarrassed that he could dig a whole garden out of the trench with his toes.

"...Next time, next time I will definitely deploy reconnaissance squads and sentries too!" he said through gritted teeth.

Another psionic missile came flying in. The enemy seemed to have identified his position as the commander, but unfortunately, the accuracy was poor, and it missed again, only blowing up a large patch of dirt next to him.

"Holy shit! My bulletproof armor is completely destroyed!" the unlucky player who was hit by the blast wave cursed. "You got your grudge against me, huh?! Damn it, don't let me catch you, you son of a bitch!"

Meanwhile, the two missiles with their distinct trajectories successfully revealed the attacker's location. Following the trajectory, the players saw a Chaos Wizard in a magnificent robe standing arrogantly on a ruined platform, seemingly making no attempt to conceal himself.

"A rabble!" Chaos Wizard Elias Holmes looked at the chaotic Astragalus Army on the battlefield below and said disdainfully, "I don't think these so-called Imperial Guards are anything special!"

The cultists around him immediately began to fawn over him: "It's all thanks to your wisdom and brilliant strategies, sir. It doesn't matter who comes!"

"Hahahaha!" Elias laughed triumphantly, but pretended to be modest and said, "Don't exaggerate. You all know I'm a very modest person."

Although the other cultists harbored deep contempt for this nouveau riche who had risen to power through the grace of the warp, they didn't hold back in their flattery and compliments.

On the other side, in the players' territory.

"It's too dangerous here!" one player shouted at the arrogant wizard. "Company commander, you should retreat right now!"

The other players immediately realized what was happening and chimed in, "Yes, yes, the leader should go first!"

"Protect the leader! Protect the leader!"

Ruan Wenbo was touched for a second as he watched the players scrambling to "protect" him, but he quickly realized that these bastards were afraid that he, the "company commander," would be gone. If they died, no one would approve the inheritance of the merits they had worked so hard to accumulate!
Bit, who was in the warp, saw all of this clearly and couldn't help but sigh, "What a rabble!"

Whether they were attacking cultists or defending players, they all seemed like a disorganized mob.

If it were an ordinary civilian army, under circumstances of command errors and lack of intelligence, such a surprise attack would have absolutely crushed them, leaving them no chance to correct their mistakes.

Unfortunately, these cultists are targeting gamers. Gamers always have countless opportunities and costs associated with trial and error.

Moreover, this is a player who can be resurrected on the spot with full health under Bit's protection.

(End of this chapter)