Chapter 2: A Hundred‑Battle Veteran Is Just a Threshold

Regiment, what are you doing?

Seems like... training?

In front of the trench, with other Planetary Defense Force units beside him, the Star Realm Army supervising behind, and even the distant Rebel Forces staring in amazement, Xisi stood before the entire Regiment, took up his weapon, and led the soldiers in practicing shooting and close combat.

I have to say, the Regiment is more elite than I imagined.

Watching the close-combat moves become increasingly skillful, the gunplay more precise, the Political Commissar, who was staring intently at Xisi and constantly wary of Xisi fleeing, quickly had his attention drawn to the soldiers' elite performance.

Although still not comparable to the handpicked elite of the Star Realm Army, among the Planetary Defense Force, which was merely filling numbers with poor training and extremely inferior equipment, Xisi's Regiment truly qualified as elite.

After all, just in terms of numbers, the soldiers under Xisi have practiced close combat tens of thousands of times and shooting tens of thousands of times within this brief twenty minutes.

This speed isn't fast, but seeing his soldiers in a famished, cold state, Xisi knows this is the limit he can train them to.

Another bugle call sounded from behind the trench; Xisi exhaled a faint white breath, reloaded his magazine, and the trench around him, stirred by the call, became crowded with moving heads.

A large number of soldiers stood up under the officer's scolding behind them; their faces were full of despair and terror, they instinctively looked toward the Rebel Forces' position, then shut their eyes, frightened by the countless corpses ahead.

At this moment, only the intermittent crisp gunfire can pin their bodies, trembling violently in the cold wind, firmly to the position.

The gunfire continued, the Political Commissar inspected the line, only made a round, and finally his gaze fell on Xisi's side.

Because regardless of the supervising officer walking back and forth behind, Xisi commanded the entire Regiment, and there was not a single sign of 'insufficient loyalty'.

On the contrary, at this moment across the entire front line, Xisi's soldiers' morale was absurdly high!

Xisi glanced at the astonished Political Commissar staring at him, and the supervising officer behind, whose face showed a hint of existential doubt, and likewise felt a slight sentiment:

This Hundredfold truly is a Concept Technique!

My soldiers under my command, even their morale is Hundredfold.

Although morale was originally low, after being multiplied Hundredfold, Xisi's soldiers' fighting will already crush their comrades.

If the initial morale were higher, after a Hundredfold increase, wouldn't these people start shouting to look for a fight?

He made a slight jab, and the bugle call that was originally every five minutes began to sound every minute.

The tighter cadence of the bugle call drove more soldiers out of the trench.

The cold wind blew over the hard ground, through the crowd, yet no longer made people feel cold.

Only countless eyes stared fixedly at the densely packed fire points in the distance, and the guns and cannons aimed at them.

No words, no hope, only gripping the gun until the hands turned white.

Until the final bugle call, wailing in the cold wind, sounded right on time......

For the Emperor! For the Human Empire!!!

The officer roared, pulled the trigger of his pistol toward the sky, followed by a clearly audible deep breath, and then a charge that roared like a mountain tide!

Crowds, bullet rain, roars.

The machine gun emitted a long dark-red beam, like a whip sweeping down the dense crowd.

The armor‑less Planetary Defense Force, facing the dense fire spewed from the Rebel Forces' fire points, had their bodies instantly explode into clumps of flesh and blood.

Thus, comrades behind had to endure a sky of blood rain and bodies, still shouting as they launched the charge.

The Laser Rifle in hand frantically pulled the trigger, firing ammunition toward the Rebel Forces without regard.

Then these lasers, fired with all their might, ultimately left only charred specks in front of the Rebel Forces' fire fortress......

The same charge, the same death.

The supervising officer could not withdraw his gaze, the Star Realm Army stared at each other, finally turning their eyes toward the commander.

The commander's expression was cold, about to withdraw his gaze as well, but when the front‑line smoke slightly cleared, the scene before him froze him in place.

The commander's eyes widened instantly, and those around who were looking at the commander also froze before following his gaze.

Then a scene in the distance made them all open their eyes wide!

Charge... charged up???

The crowd was shocked, and seeing the final charge onto the line, the entire Rebel Forces had to abandon the fire point, entering the trench to meet Xisi's blood‑soaked dense enemy tide; the commander, after a brief stunned moment, suddenly looked at the Messenger Soldier beside him:

Quick! All artillery, friend or foe, fire every Cannonball!

The Star Realm Army acted immediately, with no surprise on their faces, only what was expected.

At this moment on the front line, Xisi held a pistol in his left hand and a saber in his right, standing on layers of stacked corpses, surrounded by Rebel Forces crowding together, faces full of terror, daring not to come within half a step of Xisi.

Then, a heavy Cannonball landed among the nearby mêlée of crowds.

Bodies and blood rain fell from the sky, and the soldiers on both sides, who had been fighting desperately, were stunned by this blast.

Xisi stood on the corpse pile, fired a shot at a distant Rebel Forces attempting to sweep him with heavy fire, then gritted his teeth and looked at the Star Realm Army behind, which had launched covering artillery, ready in strict formation.

That Cannonball indeed eliminated many enemies.

But it would have been better if the covering fire had allowed me to run farther beforehand!

No time to curse, Xisi raised his hand again, fired a shot at another relentless Rebel Forces near the heavy weapon, then amid the increasingly dense artillery around him, facing his own soldiers, he pointed further ahead:

Advance forward! Continue advancing forward!

If you want to live, cut through these traitors!

The soldiers who had survived until now had fierce gazes; facing Xisi's orders, they quickly dealt with the opponents before them and followed Xisi, continuing to charge at the Rebel Forces.

The Rebel Forces, already stunned by the artillery, did not expect a group of ruthless men to dare to cut straight through the entire barrage, cutting any obstructing enemy in half along the way.

Especially the officer at the front, as if receiving the Emperor's Blessing, fired his pistol like a machine gun, so fast that the blocking fire points couldn't even pull the trigger in time.

And the Star Realm Army behind, amidst the gaps in the artillery, witnessed Xisi's continued assault.

This scene of cutting across the sea of fire, bearing heavy cannon fire to pierce the entire Rebel Forces' position, even the harshest Political Commissar was left speechless in shock.

Had we known, we wouldn't have sent them to the front...

The commander also couldn't help but regret; after all, he thought it was just a worthless sand grain from the Emperor, but a glance revealed a hard glowing silver coin inside!

The gold coin is an Astat; being recognized as a silver coin is already the highest commendation for mortal troops.

But the commander's regret was only a fleeting moment; after witnessing Xisi truly cut through the entire Rebel Forces' defense line, the commander glanced at his own map, at an isolated friendly position in the distance surrounded by countless red dots.

After thinking, the commander pointed at Xisi:

"Send a message to this unit, ordering them to press on and relieve the besieged Supply Station."

The crowd glanced at each other, for after all, venturing deep into enemy rear while isolated and unaided to reinforce a position that might already have fallen is tantamount to suicide no matter how you look at it.

But now supplies are scarce, and finally there is a unit that has broken through the enemy, so the commander, grasping at straws, assigned the task of scouting out supplies to Xisi.

At this moment, smoke filled the air; the Rebel Forces on the position suffered heavy casualties from artillery fire and dared not leave their firepower stronghold any further.

Only in the rear, far from the front lines, General Xisi planted his sword into the ground, sitting amid a heap of corpses, panting as he inspected the soldiers under his command who had survived to this point.

Seeing their reborn expressions and the killing intent almost coalescing into substance in their eyes, Xisi confirmed one thing.

In this goddamn galaxy where a Waaagh breaks out at the drop of a hat, the troops under my command will start out as battle-hardened veterans!