Chapter 152: The Battle of Langfang (Part Two)

Western players agreed to participate in this mission because even if the coalition forces failed, the losses would be minimal, whereas being blocked by Chinese players would mean total annihilation. Every Western player understood this. After Zorro indicated he would report their achievements to Seymour, more than 200 players quickly stepped forward to volunteer for the rear-guard action.

The 200-plus players who stepped forward were all Germans, equipped with brand-new Mauser G98 rifles, and each had received training at military academies before coming to China. Even though it was just a game, they still felt a deep pride in the fact that the German army of this era was the finest in the world. Led by a player named Manstein, they proactively took on the rear-guard mission.

The number of Western players participating in the coalition was only half that of the Chinese players. Due to different starting locations, foreign power players enjoyed far superior resources in the early stages compared to the Chinese. While Chinese players had to pay exorbitant prices for firearms and ammunition, players from the great powers could obtain ample ammo simply by completing minor quests, and acquiring superior weapons was much easier for them, making their combat effectiveness stronger than that of the Chinese players.

The two hundred-plus German players quickly established a defense relying on the terrain, while the other players, led by Zorro, launched a fierce assault on the blocking Chinese players in coordination with Seymour's NPC coalition forces.

Chen Hao had been well prepared for this. Over 900 Chinese players relied on trenches to engage in a fierce battle with the foreign players, whose individual combat stats were superior. Aside from heavy machine gun bunkers, the defensive fortifications Chen Hao organized were primarily trenches. Before the invention of mortars, trenches were the best defensive measure against enemies with superior firepower.

Seymour's coalition forces carried rapid-fire cannons, but in limited numbers. During Nie Shicheng's cavalry charge, they had been too busy fleeing and lost the artillery, leaving them with no good way to deal with trenches.

Although the coalition forces possessed greater firepower, the Chinese players held the terrain advantage, meaning the enemy would not be able to break through anytime soon. On the other side, the Boxer players and NPCs were also launching continuous charges, but the 200-plus German players desperately held them off by relying on their firepower advantage, preventing the Boxers from breaking through the blockade as well.

Overall, the coalition forces were caught in a pincer attack from the front and rear. Had the Boxer NPCs not possessed such weak combat capabilities, this battle would have held no suspense whatsoever. The players led by Chen Hao were facing a foreign army of over 4,000 men; as long as they could hold out until the Boxer pincer strike arrived, victory in this battle would be theirs.

Ten minutes passed, and the Boxers still had not broken through the German interception. This was mainly because the armed Boxer players were unwilling to risk their lives. The players who joined the Boxers were unaware of the situation on the other side and preferred to let the NPC Boxers armed with broadswords and spears take the lead in capturing positions, rather than taking risks themselves.

If the players who joined the Boxers had been willing to fight bravely and open a breach, the Boxer NPCs could have played a massive role in hand-to-hand combat. However, players participated in quests solely to earn experience points, and no one wanted to die during a hard-fought assault. This allowed a mere 200 German players to create a miracle and hold off several times their number of Boxers.

The foreign players fought with desperate bravery because they knew well that failing to break through would result in total annihilation. Zorro enjoyed high prestige and told the participating foreign players that this was the coalition's first battle invading China. Anyone who held back out of fear of dying and failed to give their all would undoubtedly become a laughingstock on the forums afterward.

The player team led by Chen Hao bore immense pressure; within ten minutes, over a hundred players had died, yet not a single one retreated. Nie Shicheng had granted Chen Hao the authority to issue missions on his behalf, and Chen Hao offered very high kill-experience rewards, ensuring that even players who died would be compensated upon respawning.

Zorro transferred party leadership to a player with a "Vigorous Assault" specialty and had that player appoint a deputy leader who also possessed the same skill. Amplified by the dual Vigorous Assault specialties, the foreign players received a tremendous boost during their offense, offsetting the defensive advantages of the Chinese players to a certain extent.

Chen Hao's commander specialty offered no defensive bonuses, but he did not transfer party leadership to anyone else. Having finally subdued the players, handing command over to someone else would make future coordination less smooth. Instead, he appointed a deputy leader who possessed a defensive commander specialty called "Impregnable Fortress," which provided a certain degree of assistance to their defense.

***

Fishing Passerby lay quietly inside the bunker. In accordance with Chen Hao's arrangements, the heavy machine gun bunker was positioned on the flank. Seeing that the foreign army was almost close to the trenches, he felt anxious inside, yet he patiently held his fire.

According to the Boss's instructions, his heavy machine gun was the key to this battle and could only fire upon receiving the order.

To set an example, Chen Hao constantly remained on the front lines. Due to his high stealth stat, he had managed to avoid dying so far. Seeing that the foreign player vanguard had charged ahead of the NPCs to become the main attacking force, he immediately instructed the nearby messenger player to signal Fishing Passerby to open fire. Since the combat effectiveness of the coalition players was far superior to that of the NPCs, eliminating the players would effectively bring this battle to a close.

After the courier left, Chen Hao pulled a broadsword from his duffel bag and roared, "Brothers, prepare for close-quarters combat! We have no advantage competing in marksmanship against these foreign devils, but when it comes to martial arts, they are definitely no match for us."

Many players burst into laughter. True to Chen Hao's words, even those Chinese players whose free attribute points were not invested in close combat still liked to learn a few moves in the game for self-defense. Compared to foreign players, Chinese players would definitely not suffer in hand-to-hand combat, as foreign players, blessed with abundant ammunition, rarely invested their early free attribute points into melee fighting.

"Tat-tat-tat."

The flank heavy machine gun began to roar, unleashing a dense sheet of bullets into the charging coalition forces, instantly stunning the enemy players. Having attacked for so long without encountering any machine guns, they had boldly charged in a dense formation. Just as they thought they were about to capture the position, the flank Maxim heavy machine gun suddenly opened fire, cutting them down in swathes.

It was not just the Maxim heavy machine gun ambushing the flank; over twenty players equipped with repeating rifles also pulled their triggers once the machine gun began firing. Since the coalition players were completely unprepared, those charging in the front suffered heavy casualties, with several hundred men gunned down in a mere minute.

Supported by the flanking heavy machine gun, Chen Hao reorganized his front-line defenses. It was now impossible for the coalition forces to take the position. With no other choice, Zorro ordered a retreat. Just as they were falling back like a receding tide, Chen Hao swung his broadsword and leaped out of the trenches, taking the lead.

Players with high melee stats immediately followed behind Chen Hao. Perhaps influenced by television dramas and movies, Chinese players disliked using bayonets and harbored a quirky fondness for broadswords.

The retreating players failed to notice that the enemy had launched a countercharge. By the time they reacted, Chen Hao's broadsword squad was only ten meters away. Chen Hao fired his Colt continuously, shooting down several foreign players. After crashing into the enemy formation, he put away his pistol, swung his broadsword, and lopped off a player's head. By now, he could crudely be considered a melee expert; in close combat, opponents with melee stats below 50 were guaranteed instant kills, and he soon dispatched over a dozen Western players.

Because the two sides were locked in fierce melee combat, firearms became useless, forcing Zorro to order fixed bayonets for hand-to-hand fighting. The coalition players resisted desperately, but lacking proficiency in melee combat, they found themselves at a disadvantage despite their numerical superiority.

Seymour was a naval officer and had never witnessed such a scene before; the coalition NPCs under his command lacked the courage for close-quarters combat. Seeing that the irregulars had initiated hand-to-hand combat, he did not order his forces to join the fray, but instead led the NPC army to reinforce the defensive positions of the German rear-guard players.

By this point in the battle, only a little over a hundred German rear-guard players remained, and their pressure was instantly alleviated by the addition of Seymour's NPC army. However, the German commander, Manstein, felt no gratitude whatsoever; he wished he could shoot Seymour, this useless NPC, right between the eyes.

***

The coalition forces could only escape if they captured the position. At this critical moment, instead of participating in hand-to-hand combat to carve out a bloody path, Seymour had come to reinforce the defense. If Zorro's players failed to take the position, even if Seymour managed to fend off the enemy behind them, the coalition forces would still face total annihilation.

No matter how displeased Manstein felt, there was nothing he could do. Seymour was the coalition commander and the mission-dispensing NPC; all players had to obey his orders. At this moment, Manstein could only pin his hopes on Zorro, praying that Zorro's players would win the melee and carve out a path of blood.

The broadsword squad led by Chen Hao consisted entirely of players with melee stats above 50. Divided into over twenty groups of a hundred-plus men, they continuously slaughtered the enemy. Zorro, holding a rifle with a fixed bayonet, charged fiercely alongside a few remaining men, only to discover that these Chinese players were formidable in close combat. He lost three subordinates just to bayonet a single enemy.

Knowing they could gain no advantage in hand-to-hand combat, Zorro had no other choice. He shouted loudly, ordering players to form three-man groups to counter the Chinese advantage in melee fighting.

Just as Zorro was shouting and screaming, Chen Hao spotted him. After using his broadsword to cut down a dozen players in succession, Chen Hao reached Zorro, raising his goose-quill sabre high and bringing it down heavily toward him.

Zorro horizontally raised his rifle barrel to parry, but the sabre's "severing" attribute triggered, slicing through the rifle barrel while simultaneously striking Zorro. Covered in blood, Zorro collapsed to the ground, and Chen Hao stepped forward to deliver a finishing blow, slaying the leader of the coalition's player reserve force.

"Player Chen Baxian, congratulations on killing Zorro, commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance reserve force. Your prestige stat has increased by 1, and you have obtained 100 merit points."

Merit points were a valuable asset; obtaining them during player missions would prove useful later for military promotions and the like. Killing the coalition's reserve commander yielded 100 merit points. What kind of reward would he get if he killed the coalition commander, Seymour?

Chen Hao's attention turned to the coalition officers. Realizing that his side held an overwhelming advantage in close combat, he led the broadsword squad in a ferocious charge, heading directly toward Seymour's coalition forces, which were currently holding off the Boxer attacks. Knowing that total annihilation was inevitable for this battle, the coalition players held no affection whatsoever for the NPC commander Seymour and could not even be bothered to intercept the charging Chinese players.

Chen Hao successfully led the broadsword squad around to the rear of the coalition forces. Just as he was preparing to launch a rear assault, he suddenly heard several gunshots. He hurriedly threw himself to the ground and looked up to see several members of the broadsword squad gunned down, while a few dozen foreign players not far away were charging aggressively in his direction.