Chapter 20: They’re All Geniuses
Four Marauders were the first weapons Gu Hang used to shatter the defenses of the River Valley Estate.
His second weapon was himself.
He personally joined the battle.
Gu Hang sat in an armored vehicle, his gaze fixed on a bunker.
It had a hole dug into it, with heavy stones constructing the upper structure, leaving shooting ports. Inside, heavy machine guns were arranged, posing a significant threat to infantry.
Even the cannons on the Marauders couldn’t easily shake the sturdy bunker.
The mercenaries had constructed three bunkers, forming their second line of defense.
Realizing that the simple stone walls couldn’t hold, a large number of mercenaries had already retreated.
They planned to rely on these bunkers for sustained resistance.
Gu Hang closed his eyes, feeling the tremors of his mind and the taste of blood.
In his psychic sense, the resisting mercenaries formed blurry shadows, detected by his psychic vision.
He locked onto the nearest bunker.
A blade, invisible in the real world, slashed through the heads of two mercenaries inside, beheading them.
In reality, the bodies of the two mercenaries appeared unchanged, but they fell backward as if decapitated, their bodies twitching from nerve spasms.
Next, Gu Hang used the same method to eliminate the machine gunners in the other two bunkers.
He felt that his psychic energy consumption was manageable, at least less than when dealing with the mutated green-skin prisoner.
This could be due to two reasons: one, the green-skin beast’s body, strengthened by drugs, also increased its soul strength, making it much more costly to cut off its leg than to kill multiple mercenaries.
The second reason was that after his last upgrade, his psychic attributes had increased by one point, making his control over psychic energy 150% more efficient than before the upgrade.
A single attribute point held immense value.
Killing these mercenaries, whose willpower was only slightly more resilient than ordinary people, wasn’t too strenuous.
The simultaneous silencing of the three bunkers created a significant gap in the mercenaries’ overall firepower.
Under the cover of mortar and advancing armored vehicle cannons, the infantry took the opportunity to charge forward.
Some mercenaries tried to re-enter the bunkers to restart the heavy machine guns, but those attempting this were either torn apart by the armored vehicle’s cannons or accurately killed by the marines.
If anyone managed to get inside, Gu Hang’s psychic vision could see clearly, and another ‘Soul Slash’ would easily decapitate the enemies.
At this point, the mercenaries’ morale completely collapsed.
They knew they couldn’t escape.
Leaving cover and trying to flee on foot in open terrain under the pursuit of armored vehicles was impossible.
Not to mention the terrifying psychic user.
A significant number of mercenaries dropped their guns and raised their hands in surrender.
Thus, the second line of defense at the River Valley Estate was destroyed.
The main force of the mercenaries guarding the estate was almost annihilated.
…
The exact number of surrenders and casualties was yet to be counted.
However, based on initial inquiries and confessions, the remaining enemies numbered no more than twenty and were concentrated in the central building.
That building, not far from the small river bay, was the residence of the estate owner’s family.
Among the twenty, most were Wohan’s personal bodyguards, not mercenaries.
Additionally, they learned the location of the previously plundered supplies, stored in several warehouses not far from the main building.
They had only just returned, and the goods hadn’t been fully unloaded.
Tied livestock and wooden carts loaded with goods were still nearby.
Gu Hang had already dispatched members of the Wasteland Society to clear the warehouses.
They were to guard against any remaining enemies and check if the goods were intact and how many there were.
The remaining forces surrounded the last building yet to be conquered.
The building was quite beautiful, a four-story Western-style mansion with a large footprint. When Wohan was not in Fuxing City, he usually stayed here. The house also had his servants, butlers, and other service personnel.
As for the farmers working the estate fields, they were not allowed near the mansion. Their residence was in a more remote area, with some simple plank houses housing about two hundred people in communal quarters.
That area was already under the soldiers’ control, and the unarmed farmers stayed obediently inside, not daring to move.
At least twenty more armed men were in the main building.
Wasteland Society soldiers had tried to persuade them to surrender, but the soldier sent to negotiate was met with bullets.
Fortunately, the distance was not too close, and two bullets hit his chest but were blocked by his bulletproof plate.
The young soldier, with a painful chest, ran back frantically, cursing with lingering fear.
Company Commander Pobov kicked the young guy twice: “What are you panicking about? Can these two bullets take your life?”
The young soldier shrank his neck.
He was brave enough to charge during the battle and tried to negotiate up close, but he feared the company commander.
It shouldn’t be the case.
Commander Pobov was an old acquaintance, originally from the Wasteland Society, the leader of the mining team.
When they were conscripted, the leader had Pobov lead the team. After they were formed into an army, Pobov was promoted to temporary company commander in charge of training.
A mining team leader knew nothing about military training or command.
But in the past few days of training, this company commander miraculously mastered the skills and abilities of leading and commanding troops.
Even he found it strange, as if his memory, comprehension, and even muscle memory had been enhanced during training.
He quickly became a qualified officer.
He knew how to train soldiers, understood that discipline and strictness were essential in the army, but also maintained his care and understanding for everyone, treating them as family from the same hometown.
Under his training, the soldiers also miraculously mastered various skills to become qualified soldiers.
From not knowing how to shoot, they became proficient marksmen, capable of executing precise tactical maneuvers, understanding combat terms, and knowing how to form teams, attack, and retreat.
The whole process was magical but also felt natural to Pobov. He could sense the changes happening within him—it just happened quickly.
Maybe this hundred-strong group was born to be soldiers, all geniuses?
Of course, this speed was horrifying to an experienced veteran like Yan Fangxu.
Pobov had heard such evaluations from him during their exchanges.
Worried there might be issues, he asked the governor, who simply replied:
“Don’t overthink it. Normally, you are all geniuses.”