I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

"Cassius, who told you to charge?" Zod hid inside the fortifications, listening to the bullets whizzing overhead.

Cassius's face was full of question marks: "No... Lieutenant, if we don't launch an attack soon, Warrant Officer Hitis will beat us to it. Now is the best opportunity before the enemy can organize a proper defense."

If Cassius can quickly seize the central square of Clock Tower Town, he can secure the final victory for Zod.

He will also gain enough merit to establish himself in the "Imperial Blade" legion.

He was more worried than Zod about their chances of losing the bet with Hitis.

"Um..." Zod's mind raced, and he made up a reason on the spot: "The enemy situation is still unclear, and the time is not right yet."

"But..." Cassius could only anxiously watch from inside the fortifications.

"No buts, just follow orders, Sergeant Cassius." Zod shut Cassius down with a single sentence.

Suddenly, Cassius seemed to understand something: "I see, I understand your good intentions now, Lieutenant Zod."

This time, Zod was completely bewildered: "Cassius, what do you understand?"

Cassius raised his rifle and fired a shot at the opposite side, then retreated back into the fortifications: "So you're planning to have Warrant Officer Hitis draw the main firepower of the Holy Kingdom's army first?"

"Then, when the time is right, we'll seize the opportunity to strike and take over the central square of Clock Tower Town before Warrant Officer Hitis."

Cassius's eyes were filled with admiration for Zod; he was once again impressed by Zod's profound wisdom.

"Hmm...uh...um...that's roughly the idea."

Zod couldn't very well discourage Cassius's enthusiasm directly.

Because he had no intention of launching an attack on the Holy Kingdom's army.

Even if they were to charge, they would wait until Lieutenant Hitis had nearly captured the central square before putting on a show of organizing the charge.

His popularity has surged too rapidly this time; he absolutely cannot allow his popularity to rise so dramatically again.

Otherwise, it would be far too dangerous.

To prevent any reckless soldiers from running out of the fortifications without orders, Zod specifically instructed his troops: "Without my order, no one is allowed to run out of the fortifications and charge the enemy. Just use ranged fire to cover them."

So Zod's squad and the Holy Kingdom's army began a fierce exchange of fire on the west side of Clock Tower Town, almost turning into a turn-based battle.

The Holy Kingdom's army attempted several small-scale assaults, but Zod's squads repelled them all.

The battle lines were thus locked in a stalemate.

……

……

On the other hand, there's Hitis.

From the start of the offensive, under Hitis's command, her entire squad meshed together like gears, advancing while maintaining continuous crossfire and cover.

Taking advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold, they chipped away at the defenses of Bell Tower Town in stages, quickly capturing several of the Holy Kingdom's strongpoints and steadily advancing towards the central square of Bell Tower Town.

Hitis lived up to her reputation as a sharpshooter, never missing a shot, and almost every time she fired, a soldier from the Holy Kingdom fell.

Soon, her squad advanced the battle line from the outer edge of Zhongta Town to within a quarter of the distance of the central square, with the clock tower in the central square within reach.

She sensed that the Holy Kingdom's army was firing more and more fiercely and densely.

The Holy Kingdom's army continued to reinforce her direction.

For every Holy Kingdom soldier who falls, the Holy Kingdom's army can quickly replenish its ranks; moreover, it can deploy even more troops.

Hitis's squad's advance came to a standstill at one point.

Even when facing the enemy's barrage of fire, her squad clearly felt their firepower was insufficient, making the advance of the battle line extremely difficult.

"Impossible. The garrison in Zhongta Town could not possibly be only 80-odd people. A garrison of 80-odd people could not create such a firepower network."

The hot cartridge case was ejected from the chamber. Hitis frowned deeply, a strand of bangs clinging tightly to her sweaty face. She gently bit the strand of hair that had slipped into her red lips.

The only possibility is that the Holy Kingdom temporarily reinforced the troops in Bell Tower Town.

If that's the case, then as time goes on, her team will become increasingly disadvantaged.

Meanwhile, the Holy Kingdom's military strength will be able to be continuously replenished.

Hitis suddenly realized: "So that's what the higher-ups wanted! To use us as bait to draw their fire."

"That's why we transferred a greenhorn second lieutenant from the rear to be our second lieutenant. Anyway, even if someone like that is gone, the higher-ups in the corps won't care."

Hitis clenched her fists tightly and slammed them against the wall.

"Since you dare to be so confident in making a bet with me, I hope you do indeed have enough strength and leadership to break the current deadlock."

The team is currently unable to make any progress, and she is feeling somewhat discouraged, even placing some hope in Zod, a man who made a solemn bet with her.

However, before the final turning point arrived, Hitis had no choice but to lead her soldiers and fight back against the Holy Kingdom's soldiers.

Currently, the other side has established a firm foothold and its firepower is much stronger than that of Hitis's side.

The balance of power has now shifted between offense and defense.

……

……

Just as Hitis was hoping that Zod could launch a strong attack to relieve the pressure on her side.

Zod and his soldiers remained hidden in their fortifications, using long-range firepower to repel the Holy Kingdom's army.

Zod's offensive was not very strong, or even nonexistent.

Therefore, the Holy Kingdom's army did not deploy too many troops on the west side of Bell Tower Town.

The main force was still on the east side, which was the direction in which the imperial army was attacking most fiercely, and also the direction where Hitis was located.

Thanks to Hitis's fierce attacks and Zod's laissez-faire attitude.

The Holy Kingdom's army did not deploy many troops on the western side.

Therefore, Zod's defense is not under much pressure.

Zod now only needs to wait for the special forces to complete their mission of destroying the giant cannon fortress and receive the signal that it is time to retreat.

He could then meet up with Hitis's troops and complete the final evacuation.

His mind was not on the battlefield at all; he only wanted to retreat as soon as possible.

Cassius, holed up in his fortifications, listened to the intense gunfire from the other side, and his patience was slowly wearing thin.

In his imagination, his first time on the battlefield would involve charging into battle amidst enemy bullets and artillery fire, engaging the enemy in combat, and fighting to the death for their respective honors.

The results were quite different.

They cowered behind their fortifications like turtles, watching helplessly as the Hittis squad and the Holy Kingdom's army fought fiercely on the other side.

This is not why he longed to join the "Imperial Blade" legion.

Cassius pleaded anxiously with Zod, "Lieutenant, give the order to attack! Listen to the intensity of the enemy fire on Hitis's side; it's not even in the same league as ours."

"Yes, give the order! Lieutenant, Warrant Officer Hitis is holding off the enemy's main force!" The other soldiers couldn't hold back any longer and urged Zod to launch an attack.

However, Zod remained unmoved.

"No, now is not the best time to attack. No one is allowed to attack without my order!"

Zod licked his slightly chapped lips and remained huddled inside the fortifications: "How could I not know Warrant Officer Hitis's strength? I believe in her abilities; dealing with a small group of enemies from the Holy Kingdom is no problem for her..."

Just as Zod was holed up in his fortifications, intending to hold out for a while longer,

He suddenly saw a force rapidly approaching Zod's location in the distance behind them, under the cover of night, in the direction of Clock Tower Town.

Zod could vaguely hear the sound of soldiers running in unison.

Without a doubt, those were Holy Kingdom troops coming to reinforce Bell Tower Town.

A bone-chilling coldness shot straight up from Zod's tailbone to the top of his head.

not good!!!