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

The bandit gang was entrenched in an abandoned church on a mountaintop.

This mountain has a monoclinic structure, with a near-vertical cliff on one side and a relatively gentle slope on the other.

On the gentle slope leading to the summit, the bandits deployed multiple crossfire positions.

The reconnaissance team observed that at least two artillery pieces were pointed directly at the road leading up the mountain.

If they launch a frontal assault, even if they eventually reach the summit, Cassius's forces will suffer heavy casualties.

If it were Lieutenant Zod, he might have crushed the enemy head-on with overwhelming power.

The scene of the battle at Zhongta Town is still deeply imprinted in his mind.

But Cassius knew he didn't have the power to lead his troops and tear through the enemy lines on his own.

Even if it is barely successful, the number of casualties will inevitably be staggering.

Even if the mission is accomplished, it would be far from what Lieutenant Zod would want to cause Imperial soldiers to bleed profusely just to wipe out a band of mountain bandits.

He had to find another way to reach the abandoned church.

But apart from that gentle slope, there was only the direction of the cliff, which was about 30 meters high and almost vertical.

Although that road leads to the church at the top of the hill in the least costly way, it is just as risky.

While climbing the cliff, one is always at risk of being discovered by bandits. Once discovered, the climber will inevitably find himself in a dilemma, becoming a sitting duck.

Therefore, it would be best for a small, elite team to climb the cliff and reach the abandoned church at the top of the mountain, which is the bandit group's rear base.

Soldiers who reached the summit lowered ropes from the top and provided cover for subsequent troops to ascend.

If this squad is discovered, they must withstand the attack no matter what and cover the subsequent troops as they ascend the mountain.

Otherwise, the mission will fail, and the team will be doomed and wiped out.

Although the risks are high, this is the least costly option Cassius could think of compared to a direct assault.

Now that Zod is no longer there to make decisions for him, he must make the decisions he believes are right himself.

After much deliberation, Cassius finally gritted his teeth and made this difficult decision.

Cassius rallied his soldiers and announced his battle plan: "In order to reach the abandoned church at the top of the mountain, I have decided to abandon the frontal attack and instead sneak in from the cliff behind, directly reaching the bandits' rear."

"For this purpose, I need nine strong soldiers as the vanguard to climb the cliff with me to the rear of the bandit group."

"Once we reach the summit, we will immediately lower the ropes and then cover the following mountaineering troops at all costs. Once all the following troops have reached the summit, we will take advantage of the terrain to launch a concentrated attack on the bandit group below from the high ground."

"The nine soldiers must be strong enough, and preferably have some experience in free climbing."

Do you have any other opinions?

Cassius glanced around at the soldiers who were looking at each other in bewilderment.

One of the soldiers asked, "Sergeant Major, I thought you should be with the follow-up troops. The advance team is too dangerous. We don't even know the situation on the mountaintop."

"In the event of an accident, we would be unable to provide any assistance to you."

Although the soldier's opinion was reasonable, Cassius could not adopt it.

"No, I must be at the forefront. I proposed the battle plan, so I should bear the risks."

Cassius pondered for a moment, then continued, "Besides, in case of an emergency requiring cover for the follow-up troops to reach the summit, no one here is more suitable than me!"

Currently, Cassius is the strongest player on the entire team.

After hearing Cassius's answer, the soldier said nothing more.

Of the nine soldiers who fought alongside Zod, some volunteered and some were specifically requested by Cassius.

Everything was done to ensure the smooth execution of the entire operational plan.

Guided by the reconnaissance team, Cassius led his group silently to the cliff behind the abandoned church.

It was already late at night, and apart from the bandits on night duty, the other bandits should all be asleep.

According to the established battle plan, Cassius led nine pre-selected soldiers, each carrying a bundle of rope, and began free climbing.

Thanks to the fact that humans in this world can achieve superhuman physical abilities through training.

Therefore, free solo climbing is not as risky as it is on Earth.

Although there is still a certain risk of making a mistake.

Military operations are never without risks; it's simply a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

They clung to the rock face like geckos, slowly making their way up.

Things were progressing even more smoothly than Cassius had anticipated.

They climbed the cliff to the top of the mountain with almost no bandits noticing.

The only bandit they encountered was urinating on the edge of a cliff in the middle of the night. He was in a daze and didn't notice Cassius, who was about to reach the top of the mountain. Cassius then silently dealt with him.

The mountaintop was more open than Cassius had anticipated, and behind the church was an abandoned cemetery, rarely visited by bandits.

This provided just the right space for the troops to assemble.

After the advance team quickly secured the ropes, the follow-up troops climbed to the top of the mountain smoothly along the ropes.

Just when two-thirds of the troops had reached the summit, the remaining soldiers were still halfway up the mountain.

An accident happened.

A bandit on the second floor of the church, for some unknown reason, stayed up all night and started looking out of the church window to admire the night view.

When the bandit saw a large, dark mass on the ground, he initially thought he was seeing things.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure the dark mass below was made up of soldiers in imperial uniforms.

He abruptly retreated, grabbed the rifle by the window, and fired wildly outwards while shouting hoarsely, "Enemy attack—! The Imperial army is coming down the cliff behind us!!"

Cassius acted without the slightest hesitation.

He grabbed the rifle from the soldier next to him, raised his arm, aimed, and fired—the whole action was completed in the blink of an eye.

Gunshots shattered the silence on the mountaintop, and the bandit who had been peering out of the window fell to the ground.

"Everyone, speed up and climb to the top!" Cassius shouted, tossing his rifle back to the soldier and placing his right hand on his sword hilt.

He quickly directed his troops to advance towards the church in skirmish lines to avoid the crowd gathering and becoming easy targets.

Fortunately, most of the troops had already reached the mountaintop and were deploying in formation as ordered.

The sudden attack from behind threw the bandits into chaos. Some of their forces were scattered on the opposite hillside, while others had just woken up from their sleep. The entire group descended into disorder and chaos, like a swarm of wasps.

The undisciplined bandits blindly grabbed rifles and machetes, rushing instinctively toward the sound of gunfire, only to run straight into the well-organized firepower of the imperial army.

Faced with the scattered bandits charging forward, the imperial soldiers calmly fired short bursts, and the bandits fell one after another on their way.

Cassius led his troops to quickly surround the abandoned church, which was now sealed off like an iron barrel.