The Fourth Calamity never believed in the steel torrent!

Chapter 11: A devastating blow to friendly forces!
Retreat? Why the sudden retreat?!
Although Andrei was glad to have been able to retreat from this damned hell, he was curious as to why they had to retreat.

Was someone already prepared to replace his company, or was there some other situation, such as them having been completely defeated?
So Andrei quickly grabbed the messenger and asked him what was going on.

The messenger seemed to recognize Andrei, or at least know something about him. Upon hearing Andrei's question, he didn't show any impatience, but quickly saluted and said:

"Report to Captain Vorontsov! According to the latest news, a Black Hawk Empire Iron Cavalry Composite Division has broken through our left flank, and our right flank is also in grave danger. If we do not retreat, we will be surrounded by the enemy!"

"You now have about 30 minutes to evacuate to the rear. In 30 minutes, our artillery in the rear will launch a bombardment of the front-line positions to block the enemy's advance!"

Andrei nodded, telling the messenger to go about his business. Then, he quickly ordered the soldiers to pack their things and prepare to leave!
Although they were retreating, this wave of them was not yet a rout, so all the weapons, equipment, and ammunition boxes that could be carried away from the position needed to be moved as soon as possible.

If it's something that can't be moved, then just destroy it here on the spot, and don't leave it for the enemy!

At the same time, based on some knowledge he had learned from watching documentaries, Andrei ordered the soldiers on the position to quickly make some booby traps with hand grenades.

Although they had to choose to retreat and give up the position, he didn't want the enemy to take it too easily!

Upon hearing Andrei's order to retreat, most of the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, eager to get off this hellish battlefield as quickly as possible.

Even with the players' full-fledged cover and Yelena's medical assistance, Andrei's company still lost 12 soldiers in the battle just now.

Looking at the row of corpses before him, although Andrei had no memory of the people present and did not recognize them at all, a sense of inexplicable sorrow still welled up in his heart.

Beside Andrei, other soldiers looked at their fallen comrade and couldn't help but sob quietly.

In any case, these comrades-in-arms were companions they had known for several months. Perhaps they were chatting and joking with them just a moment ago, and even slept with them last night. But today, these people have become cold corpses.

Even the players summoned by Andrei were slightly moved by this scene, and they all took off their helmets and observed a few seconds of silence.

To Andrei's surprise, it was only then that he truly confirmed it. The player he had summoned didn't seem to have aroused any astonishment among those around him.

To the surrounding soldiers, the players that Andrei summoned seemed no different from their other comrades; even their interactions and greetings were perfectly normal.

However, under normal circumstances, if so many people suddenly appear in a company, it is absolutely impossible for no one to notice. It's like ten new transfer students joining a classroom; how could no one notice them?

"Wow! This system of ours is really something!"

Thinking of this, Andrei couldn't help but smile. Since summoning players wouldn't surprise his allies, he had a lot more room to maneuver.

To put it bluntly, their current performance may still be a bit lacking, but if it were placed in a brutal urban warfare scenario, where soldiers could suddenly pour out of a building in an endless stream, then this tug-of-war would be truly interesting!

Just as Andrei was busy pondering and figuring out what new uses his players might have, he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the sky. Hearing the shrill cry that suddenly streaked across the sky and echoed across the entire battlefield, Andrei's heart tightened.

But before he could react and figure out what the sound was, soldiers on the battlefield suddenly screamed:

"Damn it! It's artillery fire! Take cover!"

Upon hearing this voice, Andrei did not hesitate at all. He shouted to the soldiers around him and grabbed Yelena's hand as fast as he could, leading the medical nun into the cave.

This was entirely an unconscious reaction by Andrei; he didn't know why he did it.

It's unclear whether Andrei subconsciously felt that Yelena, the medical nun, was the most important person in the company, or whether it was because the person he saw as soon as he opened his eyes was Yelena.

At the same time, the players were running towards the anti-artillery bunker as fast as they could, pulling along a few soldiers who hadn't reacted yet.

It has to be said that these players are incredibly thick-skinned. Even now, they are still excitedly discussing in the chat area, trying to figure out what exactly happened with this barrage and whether it was a scripted death.

"Damn it, what's going on with this shelling?"

As he watched the artillery fire crashing down on the position, Andrei was shocked and furious to discover that this wave of shelling had actually come from the rear!

He suddenly realized that the artillery barrage, which the messenger had said would arrive in 30 minutes, had inexplicably come much earlier! At least 20 minutes earlier!

They were still busy moving things and hadn't even had time to withdraw from the position when the shelling began!

"Damn it! How reliable was that messenger's message? Was he late, or did he deliver the wrong message? Or was it some idiot commander who issued the order?"

"Don't let me catch him, or I'll kill him if I get the chance!"

Feeling the shells raining down on him, Andrei couldn't help but curse inwardly, while silently praying to some unknown deity that the shell hole above his head was strong enough.

Such simple defensive fortifications are fine if they are only affected by artillery fire, but if they are hit directly by a large-scale artillery shell, the people inside will have absolutely no chance of survival!
The other soldiers next to Andrei couldn't help but curse as well, not understanding what the artillery was doing, firing at their own friendly forces!
At the same time, Andrei suddenly saw that all five of his players' avatars had gone black, and all five players had died on the spot!

He realized that the bunker where the five players were hiding must have been destroyed by the bomb! Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened!

Fortunately, the five players turned around and respawned in another bunker. Unfortunately, Andrei didn't know how many people the bunker he had set as his respawn point could hold.

If more and more players die and then all respawn there, that'll get interesting!

(End of this chapter)