I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 23 We are the main force

Commissar Walter meticulously surveyed the entire No. 7 position, from the forward temporary bunkers to the rear support area. His brow remained furrowed the entire time.

Everything here was far removed from his impression of the elite.

The fortifications were temporary, the firing positions were haphazard, and the soldiers were undisciplined. He even saw several soldiers huddled together, gambling gleefully using empty shell casings as chips. Others were loudly boasting about how they had just blown up seven or eight enemies with a single grenade, showing absolutely no reverence for war.

Aside from their high spirits, which could even be described as overly optimistic, there was nothing commendable about this company.

Commissar Walter was puzzled and confused.

He simply couldn't understand how this company, whose morale, tactical skills, and military discipline were comparable to those of the armed workers in the Xiachao, could achieve such a great victory over those fearless cultists in a head-on positional battle.

Judging from the soldiers' casual conversation, they seemed to have even killed the Chaos Wizard who commanded those thousands of cultists. That was even more incredible; a psychic of that level would have to pay a heavy price to take down even if he personally led the charge.

"The casualties must have been heavy after this positional battle, right?" he asked Ruan Wenbo, who had been following him.

"Uh……"

This question really stumped Ruan Wenbo. Were the casualties high? Absolutely ridiculously high. Aside from him, the company commander, who barely participated because he was hiding in the rear, almost every player under him had died multiple times. The casualty rate was several hundred percent.

But can you really say that? Tell an NPC political commissar that our company, with a total strength of less than a hundred people, just suffered hundreds of casualties in a single battle? Commissar Walter isn't stupid.

So Nguyen Van Bo could only vaguely reply, "Yes, Political Commissar. Many comrades... have gloriously sacrificed their lives."

Fortunately, Commissar Walter was only asking casually and didn't intend to delve into the matter further. He was more concerned with practical issues: "How are your equipment losses? Are they significant?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Wenbo's eyes lit up instantly—this was perfect for his field! He quickly switched to a pained expression and said, "Yes, Political Commissar! The losses are enormous! Our weapons and equipment were completely used up in the battle just now. We urgently need replenishment! We need at least two hundred laser guns, two hundred sets of body armor, six hundred fragmentation grenades, and..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Walter quickly raised his hand to stop him, amused by Walter's outrageous demands. "Are you making a wish to the Emperor? There aren't even a single laser gun or bulletproof vest. At most, we can borrow some grenades from other units' quotas, maybe two hundred."

"So little?" Ruan Wenbo's face immediately fell, his expression full of disappointment.

"Heh," Walter chuckled dryly, then pulled a somewhat tattered paper map from one of the pockets of his overcoat and unfolded it in front of him. "Can you understand what this is?"

Ruan Wenbo leaned forward for a glance, and in his field of vision, the system panel's automatic annotation function immediately translated the ancient Gothic script and markings on the map into a language he could understand. It was a detailed map depicting the lower industrial area of ​​this nest city.

"I think I can understand it."

“Come on,” Walter said, “point out where we are.” Nguyen Van Bo looked carefully and quickly found the marker for Waste Disposal Area 7 amidst the intricate network of pipes and buildings. He pointed and said, “Here?”

“Not bad, you found it pretty quickly.” Walter praised, then used his weathered finger to draw a tiny circle on the map centered on their location. “This is the area we currently control.”

Ruan Wenbo stared at the circle. If the entire map were a basketball court, the circle Walter had just drawn would barely be the size of a manhole cover, and taking up even one-thousandth of the entire map would be an understatement.

He swallowed hard and asked tentatively, "...We've become separated from the main force?"

Walter put away the map, patted Nguyen Van Bo on the shoulder expressionlessly, and said something that made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"We are the main force."

Seeing Nguyen Van Bo standing there in a daze, Walter stuffed the map back into his pocket, his tone becoming heavy: "Now you understand why we could only give you two hundred fragmentation grenades, and why we made you scavenge guns from piles of corpses at the beginning, right? The foundries that produce military products have long been captured. All we have left are remote, easily defensible corners that other forces see as devoid of profit. That's why only cultists are attacking us so far; killing the Emperor's followers has symbolic significance in their eyes."

He paused, glancing at the players still making noise in the distance.

"Otherwise, if even a small team of sane thieves comes along, we might be finished."

“In the end, our current defense is nothing but a slow death,” Walter said, his gaze fixed on the perpetually sunless dome of the upper hive, his voice weary. “There will be no supplies, no reinforcements. Shells and grenades are consumables; once used, they are gone. All we can do is try our best to inflict as many casualties as possible on the Emperor’s enemies before we are overwhelmed.”

Walter continued, "And that previous charge, though seemingly a great victory, actually didn't inflict much damage on the cultists' manpower. Those heretics have no shortage of supplies... In the end, we could only be worn down by them."

These words silenced Nguyen Van Bo. He realized that what he and the players saw as victory was, in the political commissar's eyes, merely a delay in defeat.

Ruan Wenbo was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Political Commissar, could I see that map again?"

Walter simply pulled it out and handed it to Nguyen Van Bo: "Here you go."

Ruan Wenbo spread the map out on the ground, examined it carefully, and then pointed to a place on the map marked as "Chemical Refinery No. 9" and said, "This place... isn't far from us, is it? Even if we take it, we won't be isolated and helpless due to the terrain, making it difficult to provide support."

Walter looked at the spot he was pointing to in surprise: "You want to attack here? The cultists are definitely heavily guarding this place, and I can't possibly send my entire army to attack it. Otherwise, even if I take this factory by myself, I won't be able to hold it. We have to hold the existing positions, and at most we can only send one company—this is simply a waste of manpower."

Nguyen Van Bo looked up at the political commissar and said, "But not fighting is just a slow death, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)