This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 727: Bringing Death to the Alliance’s Enemies

Chapter 727: Chapter 727: Bringing Death to the Alliance’s Enemies

As Duke Garava pondered whether to send some people to the frontline to scavenge war loot, the train departing from the City of Dawn had already confidently crossed the river valley and the Brocade River, rumbling across the steel bridge over the river flowing through the mountains.

Next to the reconstructed Dusty Town, people working in the outskirts saw the distant white smoke, dropped their tasks, and looked toward the direction of the train.

On the flatbeds, there were rows of chillingly bright artillery and military green painted trucks.

As for the other fully enclosed carriages, although one couldn’t see what was inside, the aura of somberness was palpable even from several kilometers away.

However, no one felt panic due to this somber aire.

In the area around Brocade River City, the Alliance’s flag symbolized order, and the thunderous clash of steel brought them more a sense of security rather than fear or death.

It was these people who had driven away the Looters, Slave Owners, and Mutants from here!

They even helped them rebuild their homes!

Eyes watching the train radiated with eagerness and hope.

"That train..."

"It’s an Alliance military train!"

"The brothers from the Alliance are back!"

"So many artillery! Are they going to fight somewhere again?"

"Great Antler God above! And respected Big Horn Rat... I hope they return safely."

At the entrance of Dusty Town.

Mayor Qin Baitian rushed there, his face filled with excitement, his hand trembling on his cane, muttering as he watched the train.

"The Great Antler God and Big Horn Rat have returned!"

Since the reconstruction of Dusty Town, the three gods they worshipped left a note in the temple and disappeared without bidding farewell.

The note stated they were going to faraway places to spread their beliefs to save this dying world.

If they encountered insurmountable trouble, they could seek those in the blue jackets in the City of Dawn, who were just as kind-hearted as them.

The note also wrote.

"[...One day we will return, don’t miss us. Just keep walking the path that’s already lit, and you will be us.]"

Until the train disappeared into the distant horizon, Mayor Qin had yet to see those familiar figures appear.

His eyes were slightly sorrowful, but that was all—mostly, it was blessings.

Perhaps it wasn’t time yet...

They would remember the teachings of those great beings and continue to walk the sunlight-sprinkled path.

...

Singular Point City.

The rumbling sound came from afar, and people laboring in the fields looked up and toward the train station, only to see that the train didn’t stop at the platform but continued without slowing down towards the south.

Kong Lingkai, at work in the fields, lifted his head, his face hollowed out by debauchery was covered in a cold sweat, and his dry lips were slightly blue, looking utterly miserable.

It wasn’t that someone was forcing him; it was just the rules of Singular Point City.

Living standards were linked to the completion of production tasks which were delegated layer by layer from district to team to group and assessed at each level.

To lead a comfortable life, one had to work hard; only the best production team could use the district’s most advanced production tools, and only the best group could receive the most resources. To become a group leader, one had to be the standout member.

Slacking off was an option, and it wouldn’t lead to whipping as in real farms in the past, but dragging down the production tasks of other group members and teams would inevitably result in punishment by the leader, facing nothing but oats boiled in lots of water.

To truly live comfortably, one had to become a leader, whether of a group, team, or district.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t outperform those who had once been serfs. His former servant had even become a group leader, directing him to do this and that while he still wielded a hoe at work.

But this struggle had its advantages; no matter how hard he pushed himself, unable to become a leader, his body was much healthier than last year, having cured ailments like fatty liver and athlete’s foot.

Occasionally, he thought about just leaving the farm; after all, the farm owner named Frost never forbade anyone from leaving, and a leader had even left before.

But the thought of leaving and not being able to return, potentially faring worse in the Wasteland than here, filled him with anxiety, and he ultimately decided he better endure.

Next to him, Ma Hechang felt the same.

He had hoped that by relying on the Alliance’s principle of "appointing people on their merits" and his minor influence as a former mayor, he might at least manage to become a team leader in Singular Point City. However, finding himself competing in labor with simple peasants, he felt deeply conned.

These people were nothing like they claimed, respecting talents!

Himself, who had been a high-ranking official in a town, was surely more elite than Liu Youxiong, who could barely talk and only knew hunting!

Yet, that man had become a group leader; this AI must be malfunctioning.

If it weren’t for the regret that leaving would make all his past hardships worthless, and that the merit of leading the townspeople of Hope Town to pledge allegiance would be forgotten, he might just run away and find work in the City of Dawn!

"Speaking of which, where does this railroad ultimately lead?" he muttered, watching the train grow more distant.

Casting a glance in the direction the train left, Ma Hechang’s face was filled with resentment.

"Who knows... They’ve been fixing that damn thing since last year. At the rate they’re going, they could probably extend it up to Brocade River Province."

"You mean to the manors over there?" Kong Lingkai asked in surprise.

Near Brocade River Province, right by the Wei Mansion Plain?

He had heard of that place.

Once, the Weifu Plain was actually Weifu City, but this city disappeared even more thoroughly than Brocade River City, leaving nothing but a boundless wasteland and piles of concrete rubble.

There was a settlement called "Fu Manor", built right next to the old site of Weifu City on the "Wei River", located over a hundred kilometers south of Mafu Town.

Its scale was even larger than the Pinecone Wood Farm, reportedly housing nearly a hundred thousand people, though it was uncertain whether this was an exaggeration or the truth.

Starting from last year or the year before, it had become the territory of the Torch Church and had even started cultivating Nago before Pinecone Wood Farm owned by Boss Zhao.

Then, for a long time, there was no news from there.

It seemed that a fog had arisen, and after the wind blew the fog away, the entire settlement had vanished.

He had only heard from the traders and Wasteland Wanderers who traveled to and from Town Of Hope that the master of Fu Manor, along with his family, servants, vassals, and serfs, had converted to the faith of the Torch and followed the bishop to Haiye Province to build a new "Heaven" in that New Era.

But everyone knew, the further south you went, the closer you got to mutant territory.

It was hard to say whether any of those people were still alive, and if so, how many were left...

"Eighty percent chance... Aren’t they the mortal enemies of the mutants? They must have gone to find those beasts," speculated Ma Hechang, smacking his lips and, ignoring the departing train, buried his head and continued working in the field.

Let them die.

It would be best if both groups of beasts died out there.

With both the noble and the vile gone, their own new era could truly begin!

Ma Hechang cursed in his heart while taking out his frustration on the hoe in his hands and the soil under his feet.

He did not deny that these people were noble, but being noble didn’t necessarily make them likable.

That was a completely different matter!

By contrast, those Weilante people he had heard about in rumors seemed more likable...

Meanwhile, at the mansion of Pinecone Wood Farm, Yinyin stood on the rooftop balcony, gazing in the direction of the train.

It had been over half a year already.

Since her physical body had died and been replaced by a bionic one, she found she had lost her sensitivity to time. It felt as though a moment’s distraction could let a long time pass by, yet she could easily recall what had happened in that span the moment she focused again.

It was like sitting in an audience watching an endless movie.

Even though she had left that "Holy Land," the world still felt as though it were separated from her by a layer of glass. She could see every detail within her field of vision clearly, but she couldn’t truly approach the past.

Perhaps that old man named Luo Gan was overseeing the world from this perspective...

Humans seemed to be no longer human, merely chess pieces to be maneuvered for a purpose.

Her pupils, veiled in a layer of mist, watched the direction in which the trail of white smoke had disappeared, her thin lips moving slightly.

"Manager, that gentleman’s person has returned."

"Hmm!"

Standing next to Yinyin, Frost, dressed in a maid’s outfit, wore a charming and confident smile, though her words were far from polite.

"It looks like those pests, worse than cockroaches, are in trouble now!"

For it, humanity was like its children. Those predatory beings, from the perspective of this old mother, were nothing but scum, weren’t they?

Pity that it didn’t have outstanding combat abilities on its own and could only be useful in a systemic combat setting.

Otherwise, it would have liked to personally strangle those degenerate organisms by the neck.

Eclipse looked at it expressionlessly and said in an unfluctuating voice.

"We need to quickly gather resources and send a batch over, the front line will soon need them."

Last year, when Singular Point City was just being rebuilt, the Manager had made its plans for this year clear to them.

Although the war had started half a year earlier than expected, they were not completely unprepared.

Ever since the Tide ended in Clear Spring City at the beginning of the year and the Southern Construction Corps moved to Brocade River Province to prepare for battle, this settlement had been getting ready for this inevitable war.

Including construction materials for fortifications, supplies needed by the frontline soldiers, and isolation areas for Nago patients, among other things.

They had to eliminate not only the Torch but also the plague left on that land by the Torch, and completely destroy that "Heaven" submerged in a sea of corpses and mountains of bones.

"Mm!" Frost nodded vigorously, a bright smile on its face, "I’ve already received the Manager’s list, and there’s plenty of stock in the warehouse, let’s send it all over!"

Eclipse paused, "Not all... people here need to eat, too."

Frost snapped its fingers, its smile unchanged.

"That’s what I meant! Eclipse, you need to be more flexible, don’t be too rigid!"

Eclipse: "..."

...

The 1,500-kilometer journey by train, departing from the City of Dawn, crossed plains and jungles, turning left and right, finally reaching the frontier of Brocade River Province.

In the distance, layers of mountains appeared.

After crossing the mountain in front, turning right would lead to the deadly spread of Haiya, while turning left would lead into the vibrant Baiyue Jungle. Passing through the vast jungle and mountain ranges, one could even reach the picturesque Potato Harbor and see the lively thighs—oh no, seas.

How I envy the brothers of the Burning Corps...

Holding a roasted sausage bought from Mafu Town in his hand, Debt Giant Eye yawned as he looked out the window, pondering that this put-on-hold time was indeed a bit too long.

"How much longer do we have?"

"Should be soon," the construction site youth and Brick glanced at the map, then out the window, stroking his chin as he spoke, "Once we cross the Wei River, it’s Ten Peaks Mountain with its stretch of Eighty Miles of Bone Road. Beyond that lies the old lair of the Torch Church."

It was said that this eighty-mile mountain road wasn’t originally called Bone Road but was known as Snow Peak Road.

However, after a group of mutants who devoured their victims without spitting out the bones arrived there and set up camp on the mountain, survivors began to call the eternally snow-capped peaks Blood Peak and the snow covering the mountain road the resplendent white bones.

In any case, Ten Peaks Mountain housed quite a few nests of mutants and, following the usual practices of the Torch Church, they were likely to coexist with these mutants and arm them using technology from the Prosperity Epoch.

For instance, assisting them in giving birth and breeding, or manufacturing prosthetics and biological power armor that mutants could use among other things.

No matter how much they strategized and underestimated their enemies tactically, they had to pay enough attention to these creatures.

Otherwise, they would be very likely to suffer major losses.

Debt Giant Eye sighed.

"My kids are so hungry they’re howling. If we don’t start dinner soon, they’re going to revolt," he said.

Sitting next to him, "Midnight with Umbrella without Knife" leaned over and chuckled.

"Aren’t they your wives?"

Debt Giant Eye rolled his eyes and made a shooing gesture with a skewer.

"Scram, scram, scram."

After passing Mafu Town, further south was an uninhabited wilderness.

It wasn’t until they reached the depths of the wilderness that the people of the Death Legion saw a hint of human activity.

It was the base of the Southern Construction Corps, which also marked the real end of the railway line, the most southern point.

This unit was made up of a complex mix of people, including voluntary survivors, members of an organization called "Iron Tower," and criminals undergoing labor reformation.

At the beginning of the year, the Alliance had cracked down on the slums outside Giant Stone City. They dispatched the army to thoroughly purge gang members hiding in the slums. Those captured were sent for training and labor reformation near the mines in Qingstone County, then formed into punishment camps and sent to the front lines to resist the Tide.

During the fight against the Tide, their brave actions earned the recognition of the militia of Giant Stone City.

After the Tide ended, the Manager integrated the survivors into the Southern Construction Corps, where they were sent with other criminals still undergoing labor reformation to Brocade River Province to build roads and bridges, preparing for the upcoming "Battle of Heaven."

After nearly half a year of preparation, this construction corps of nearly four thousand not only finished the railway across the wilderness but also built a large military base on the north side of Wei River that could accommodate 100,000 people, and dug many trenches, machine gun bunkers, and other defensive shelters on the position.

Naturally, the enemy to the south wouldn’t just watch the Alliance dig trenches and build roads; every so often, they would amass mutant troops, cross the Wei River, and launch a raid on the position of the Southern Construction Corps.

Just two months ago, a thousand-strong squad of mutants even attacked!

These green-skins wielding clubs and rifles might look like a jumbled mess, but when it really came down to fighting, their ability to inflict burns was anything but trivial.

Even the weakest mutants possessed physical strength far beyond the average survivor.

Their hearts could be punctured, yet they continued to fight on the instinct of slaughter, capable of healing lethal wounds with their robust regenerative abilities.

To kill them completely, one had to viciously crush their heads, smear their brains on the ground, or use a 19-mm Bomb Gun to completely blast apart the left side of their chests so the rotten flesh couldn’t regenerate before their blood ran dry.

It was clearly impossible for the mere four thousand of the Southern Construction Corps to defeat the mutants, even with sturdy shelters and ferocious fixed weapons—it was destined to be a difficult and bloody battle.

Fortunately, the Alliance that had left them in the wilderness hadn’t truly abandoned them.

When the attack occurred, more than three hundred players active in the vicinity all received the mission and rushed to the scene.

With even fiercer tactics than the mutants, those three hundred players, at the cost of nearly being annihilated themselves, cooperated with the allied forces to crush the mutants crossing the Wei River.

That very battle severely hurt the mutant tribe on the mountain, leading to two months without any large-scale attacks, only minor harassments by small groups.

It was evident that the mutants were not truly fearless; when faced with adversaries more ruthless than themselves, they too felt hesitation and fear, even retreating.

However—

There was another possibility.

They weren’t scared; they simply realized that this tough nut wasn’t easy to crack, so they were secretly gathering strength, planning to make a big move at a critical moment...

At the same moment the 902 Giant Cannon atop Ten Peaks Mountain came into view for the players, a train dragging white smoke also entered the sight of the green-skin mutants on the mountain.

Pairs of huge, bell-like eyes instantly reflected bloodlust and ferocity. With a piercing howl, green oily heads popped out from caves and crevices.

A mutant Big Guy, over three meters tall, strode to the front of his minions.

His face was ugly and ferocious, a tattered flag hanging behind him; in his hand, he held a shotgun resembling a club. Under his muscular shoulders hung armor as sturdy as steel.

Especially his legs, from the knee down, the entire lower leg to the footpad was modified into a mechanical structure with beast-like feet, the outward protruding razor-sharp claws similar to daggers.

His name was Gray, and he was a Thousands of leaders from the Stone Horn Tribe. On Ten Peaks Mountain, anyone with a name was either a sly old fox or a top-tier ruthless character.

"Train! From the Alliance!"

An excited howl came from Gray’s mouth as he lifted his shotgun above his head.

"Loaded with fierce and fierce big things, Torch has ordered us to smash it, burn it, kill it, rob it!"

Hearing the robust and powerful roar, a group of bare-chested minions broke into shouts of excitement.

"Roar—!"

Battle cries resonated from the mountain peak like the beating of war drums, quickly mustering a motley crew of about a thousand people.

Aside from those strong and sturdy green-skins, there were also swarms of little dwarfs, only as tall as an ordinary mutant’s knee, crowding around the larger group.

They too were mutants, their DNA hardly distinguishable from that of the green-skin mutants.

Though their stooped and petite stature was almost near disability, one couldn’t associate them with Mutants just by looking at them.

Since the reproduction rate of Mutants was not fast enough, the Torch Church utilized biological technology to redesign the gene expression sequence of some Mutants, developing this hunched "new thing" at the expense of a shorter lifespan.

Unlike purebred Mutants, these small guys reproduced and developed at an incredibly rapid pace, usually producing offspring every five to six months, and a litter often consisted of three or four.

Although they lacked the terrifying regenerative abilities and strong physical capabilities of Mutants and aged very quickly, with bloody births, they could still form sufficient combat power through natural reproduction in a short time.

Active players in the southern region of Brocade River Province called them Goblins to distinguish them from the "classic skin" Green-skins. The operators of "Wasteland OL" adopted this name and updated it in the setting collection.

In fact, not only outsiders but even the Mutants themselves did not recognize these weak creatures as one of their own, often referring to them as "short stuff" or "ugly thing."

Due to incomplete brain development, they were often even more foolish than the Mutants and had tendencies closer to wild beasts, similar to the dogs kept by the Mutants.

Nevertheless, their small stature was more suitable for moving through mountainous terrain, and their slender fingers could perform tasks such as running errands or even pulling cannon ropes, perhaps no worse than the intentionally designed Clone Cannon Fodder of the Weilante people.

The reason the Mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain allowed this group of short creatures to stay in their nest was because they could help with some tasks and had barely any meat on their bones.

As a group of Green-skin Mutants surged toward the base of the mountain, they failed to notice a fat gray rat crouching behind a rock watching them, a VM wrapped around its belly like a belt.

Days before the brothers of the Death Legion had set out, it had already set its sights on this group.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is Difficult for the Strong. The Mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain are coming down, they’ve spotted you from a distance, they’re definitely headed for you!"

"Haha, then they’ve picked the wrong opponent!" came a hearty response from the communication channel, that voice was the commander of the Death Legion, Paddle Brother.

Listening to the voice from the communication channel, it seemed he was already eager for action.

After a half-second of silence in memory of the descending Mutants, Difficult for the Strong continued.

"Trash Older Brother is already waiting below the mountain, ready to join you at any time... That guy said he plans to show you a move, though it seems you probably won’t need his help."

Paddle Brother laughed in response.

"Why not? Welcome his presence! But tell Trash Brother from me, to wait a moment before acting and to stand a little farther back."

Difficult for the Strong paused then asked.

"Why?"

Paddle Brother chuckled.

"We got two big ones from the Weilante People, Manager directly gave them to us! Those things are even bigger in caliber than those on Iron Heart, my brothers haven’t seen the world, are all clamoring to test fire one, might as well use those descending chumps."

"That big 902 Cannon?!" Difficult for the Strong exclaimed, smacking his lips, "You brought it for the first battle?"

"What else? Keep it until it lays eggs?"

"Hahaha, alright, I’ll tell Trash Lord to wait a bit before jumping in..."

After hanging up the communication, Difficult for the Strong scratched his head with sharp nails across the VM screen, trying to contact Pick up trash 99 level, but there was no response after a long attempt.

"Strange."

Difficult for the Strong scratched his head, murmuring as he looked down the mountain, but could not see the guy.

What on earth was that damn thing up to?

While he was contemplating where Trash Lord had gone, a large lizard was lying in a reed marsh on the south side of Wei River.

Its amber-colored pupils unblinkingly locked onto the group of Green-skins swimming across the river, its large nostrils blowing nearly undetectable ripples across the water surface.

As for obstructive gadgets like the wrist-mounted computer, it had long been thrown to the shore.

Although Wei River was a hundred meters wide, it was not very deep, with the deepest point in the channel being only three to four meters, and the places along the banks where reeds grew were even shallower, at only one or two meters deep, thus the water flow was not very rapid. Hence, crossing without a bridge was not difficult.

The greenskin giants, two to three meters tall, could easily ford the river by holding their weapons above their heads. It was only the small Goblin who looked anxious, either ferrying across on rafts or being carried by the giants.

Just as the group of Green-skins was about to reach the opposite bank, and Trash Lord was planning to move closer for a surprise attack, a deafening roar suddenly resounded in the distance.

The sound was like thunder suddenly booming.

Although it originated several kilometers away, the quiet surface of the river shook.

Pick up trash 99 level was momentarily stunned, gazing in the direction of the sound along with the bewildered Mutants standing in the river.

"What the hell?" Trash Lord murmured under his breath, but an ominous premonition silently crept into his heart.

At the same moment, the forcefully stopping military train, with smoke from the 902mm giant cannon slowly dispersing to one side.

Paddle Brother, riding atop the Claw of Death, was the first to leap from the carriage, holding a 20mm Cavalry Gun, he roared to his equally ready brothers.

"Brothers—"

"Follow me!"

"Bring glory back to City of Dawn! Bring death to our enemies!"

Morale-boosting roars erupted all around the military train.

Whether it was players riding on the backs of Claw of Death, or the Claw of Death being ridden by players, all roared at the same moment the gunfire erupted.

"For the Alliance!"

"Long live the Manager!"

"Crush them!"

"Arr-arr-arr!"

——

(Thanks to the alliance chief reward from "book friend 20220427092621369"!)

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