Section 482 Situation
"Yezi, the situation isn't looking good," Shang said with deep concern. On the holographic screen in front of Ye Zhong was a star map of the entire Grey Valley. This star map was covered with red zones everywhere. Grey Valley now resembled a patient covered in red sores, looking precarious. These interconnected red areas were regions where Red-Tailed Beasts had already been discovered.
Through the collaboration between Shang and Mu, the decryption of the Grey Valley virtual network algorithms was finally completed. After accomplishing this most difficult step, Shang began quietly searching the virtual network for valuable intelligence.
Recently, reports about Red-Tailed Beasts had suddenly surged dramatically. The pressure on various cities also increased sharply, with the number of casualties rising at a frantic pace every day. Even the atmosphere in the training camp had suddenly become tense. Smiles that were once common on everyone's faces were now hard to come by; each person was training desperately.
Until now, every inhabitant of Grey Valley had held absolute confidence in winning this war, but the situation was worsening.
Looking at this scarred star map, Ye Zhong fell silent for a moment. After some thought, he asked, "How is the defensive strength of the passage to the He Yue star domain now?"
"Hmm, from the intelligence I've gathered, although the defensive strength has decreased somewhat, it's definitely not something you can pass through right now," Shang replied.
Shang was more skilled than Mu in intelligence analysis, which Ye Zhong hadn't anticipated. After Shang's explanation, he understood. Shang was proficient in psychology and could often deduce useful information from seemingly useless intelligence—a capability Mu lacked.
For them now, money wasn't an obstacle to his departure, but they still chose to stay here. The potential appearance of Red-Tailed Beasts at any time during travel made space flight extremely dangerous. Leaving Haina Star at this time would be even more perilous. Even though Ye Zhong's abilities were exceptional, in such chaotic times, he still had to proceed with caution.
An individual's power in turbulent times is pitifully small. Therefore, after discussion, Ye Zhong and Shang decided to stay here and observe how the situation developed further.
Every day was training, every day was sparring. These trainees were all like they had red in their eyes, their fighting styles becoming increasingly ruthless. Even the usually composed Xi Qing had become like this. Ye Zhong understood their psychology and didn't hold back in his responses. Later, he simply had them form teams of five mechas, fighting one against five. This allowed them to practice team coordination and provided some challenge for Ye Zhong.
However, what Ye Zhong didn't expect was that these people had no understanding of tactical coordination. He had no choice but to start teaching them how to cooperate and how to position themselves.
If only there were a Sang tribesman by his side. When it came to tactical coordination, the Sang tribe were undoubtedly number one, with the Xi Feng tribe ranking second.
Unexpectedly, Shang showed an extraordinary interest in this task. He collected a large number of recordings of classic tactical coordinations from the virtual network, analyzed them, and ultimately proposed a set of Shang-style tactical theory. What surprised Ye Zhong even more was that Shang's theory proved to be very effective.
Having received Ye Zhong's approval, Shang was in a state of excitement beyond measure, almost speaking with a hint of frenzy. This abnormal state lasted for several days.
Ye Zhong began training these trainees using Shang's tactical theory. Unlike Mu's precise and rigorous style, Shang's system was entirely different—simple yet full of flexibility. For example, the five-person team tactical coordination designed by Shang didn't specify every step each member should take. However, once any member made a move, all other members had to immediately make corresponding adjustments. No matter how they adjusted, the entire team's actions needed to adhere to several tactical principles he had established.
Ye Zhong hadn't studied theories in this area, so when he first started teaching these trainees tactical coordination, their progress was very slow. But based on these few tactical principles, combined with Ye Zhong's rich practical experience, the trainees'默契 in tactical coordination improved by leaps and bounds.
Now, fighting one against five was no longer as easy for Ye Zhong as before. The trainees, in turn, held their instructor's strength in utmost respect. Having developed默契, they clearly understood the combat power their five-person coordination could generate. Yet, even so, facing the instructor alone, they were still utterly defeated. So far, they hadn't achieved a single victory against the instructor.
Just how strong was the instructor? No one knew, but Ye Zhong became increasingly unfathomable in their eyes.
What puzzled Ye Zhong was that the staff here seemed to pay no attention to them these days. The staff who used to come daily were now nowhere to be seen. This training program, launched with such fanfare, was now left unattended, as if they were being left to fend for themselves. Had some change occurred?
Ye Zhong couldn't be bothered to look into it, focusing solely on daily sparring. He was the trainees' sparring partner, but weren't the trainees also his sparring partners? Where would he have had the opportunity for group combat training before? Although the trainees' current level wasn't very high, they carried a deep imprint of Ye Zhong's combat style—concise and efficient. Facing the围攻 of these miniature Ye Zhongs, Ye Zhong also felt pressure.
Five D-6s moved at high speed within the training ground, seemingly chaotic but already subtly surrounding Ye Zhong. Each mecha had companions covering its two flanks. If Meng Nan was entangled by any one mecha, the others would seize the opportunity to attack.
Inside the cockpit, a flicker of movement finally appeared in Ye Zhong's perpetually still eyes.
The trainees were becoming increasingly adept at tactical coordination. This seemingly simple positioning had already left him with three traps. Although each trainee's individual combat power was far inferior to that of mature close-combat masters, their exposure to close-combat mechas was still short. They hadn't formed unchangeable habits and could constantly adjust to better suit team coordination. Moreover, they were at an age where learning ability was strongest, and each was unafraid of hardship. This was why they could form the雏形 of a quite combat-effective team in such a short time.
If Ye Zhong found them somewhat tricky, it indicated their strength was already considerable. Although Ye Zhong wasn't too concerned about the报酬 for this job now, he believed that if an assessment were held now, these trainees would definitely achieve very good results.
But now...
Glancing at the five D-6s, Ye Zhong had no intention of going easy. Going all out in every battle was a crucial secret to Ye Zhong's growth. It was also a key reason why these trainees had improved so rapidly during this period.
Ye Zhong's understanding of this tactical coordination was far deeper than the trainees'. Although the trainees were becoming more familiar with coordinating with each other, they were far from flawless.
First, he feinted an attack towards the front mecha, then suddenly changed direction and turned around. Using this sudden maneuver, he created a flaw in the coordination among the five mechas.紧接着, he forcefully切入 this opening. Ye Zhong's action immediately caused a slight混乱 among the five D-6s.
The chaos was brief, lasting less than two seconds, but it was enough for Ye Zhong.
Erratic changes of direction,犀利冲刺es, feints that blurred reality and deception...
The formation of the five D-6s was immediately torn apart, utterly defeated. Two mechas desperately lunged at Meng Nan, trying to buy time for their companions to regroup, but how could Ye Zhong give them that chance?
A convincing feint, three dazzling direction changes, and he was out of the two D-6s' control range.紧接着, a nimble yet powerful reverse冲刺, forcefully切入 between the two D-6s behind him.
Meng Nan initiated the attack with a move common in unarmed combat—a backhanded strike under the ribs from a turned position.
Meng Nan was like a beast that had stored up power for too long, suddenly erupting. A storm of attacks followed. The ground trembled and groaned under the powerful stomps of Meng Nan's heavy legs. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Like war drums, each strike reverberated through the watching trainees, stirring their气血. Amid the clouds of dust kicked up, D-6s were thrown out one after another.
The observing trainees discussed the gains and losses of the battle, while the five D-6 pilots climbed out of their cockpits and gathered to exchange thoughts. No one showed挫败感; on the contrary, their fighting spirit was high.
Ye Zhong had never used Meng Nan's offensive weapons. It wasn't about holding back for the trainees or challenging himself. He knew clearly that using those weapons would likely damage the D-6s, necessitating repairs and consuming a lot of time.
But he was finding it increasingly difficult. The trainees' rate of improvement was truly astonishing. They were completely immersed in training, unaware of changes outside the training ground. Perhaps the worsening situation in Grey Valley was also significantly motivating them.
"Yezi, there's a situation!" Shang interrupted Ye Zhong's training, his voice tinged with urgency.
A message suddenly popped up on Meng Nan's holographic screen.
"Frontline Alliance Completely Routed!" The bright red words were as striking as blood.
Looking closer, Ye Zhong's expression grew increasingly grim.
A few days ago, Shang had noticed signs of a major military operation on the front lines. Seeing this news, Ye Zhong's first thought was of the intelligence Shang had mentioned. This news came from surviving pilots. The allied forces at the front had attempted to concentrate all their power to annihilate all the Red-Tailed Beasts in the对峙 purple mist in one stroke but were decisively defeated. Reportedly, less than one-tenth of the pilots survived. Most critically, a large number of Red-Tailed Beasts were in close pursuit! They were following the retreating forces, advancing deep into the heartland of Grey Valley on a large scale.
Ye Zhong immediately said gravely, "Shang, pull up the star map of Grey Valley."
A star map of Grey Valley popped up on Meng Nan's holographic screen. Examining the star map carefully, Ye Zhong's heart sank continuously.
On the star map, Haina Star was the second closest planet to the front line, separated only by Dongming Star.