RMM – Chapter 28 During the Military Exercise

Eight o’clock in midsummer wasn’t too late yet. The sky was tinged with the afterglow of the setting sun, casting a fiery brilliance across the evening clouds as they continued to burn on the horizon.

By this time, Xi Yuechen had already left the camp with his men, swiftly moving through the dense forest.

Not everyone was moving together—doing so would make them an obvious target, hindering concealment and increasing the risk of being discovered. The regiment’s soldiers had been divided into three teams by battalion, and further split into smaller squads by company. Aside from the general direction of movement, almost all the operational details had been delegated to the battalion and company commanders. Xi Yuechen couldn’t lead them personally every step of the way. What he needed weren’t obedient subordinates, but ones who could think and act on their own. Moreover, they needed to grow in order to develop better.

This military exercise presented many opportunities—opportunities for achievement. If there was a chance, it had to be seized.

Xi Yuechen personally led a few elite members from three battalions along with one battalion commander, acting as the main force for the surprise assault. His sole order was: Avoid direct confrontation; focus on breaking through.

Once they succeeded in breaking through, they would regroup. Their battle would only have value if they found the Blue Army’s command center. There was no need for pointless sacrifice—no one would call them cowards.

“Stop…” The silently advancing squad was abruptly halted by Xi Yuechen’s low command.

Ming Shen listened carefully to the surrounding sounds. After pondering for a moment, he spoke, “Hide northwest!”

Even as he spoke, he had already turned and dashed toward the dense thicket in the northwest. The others didn’t hesitate and followed him almost immediately.

Just as they concealed themselves and signaled to one another with a few hand gestures, rustling sounds clearly came from the direction they had just passed.

Several soldiers behind Xi Yuechen exchanged glances without a word. The regiment commander’s hearing was almost superhuman. They hadn’t noticed a thing earlier. If not for him, this mission might have ended in disaster before it even began—“Failure before the first move,” so to speak.

Xi Yuechen stared intently at the people passing by ahead. Judging from their movements, it was obvious that these were some of the Blue Army’s top elite forces. He hadn’t expected them to send so many to “encircle and eliminate” them. It seemed the Blue Army had focused its main attention on his reinforced regiment from the very beginning. He wondered how the other groups were doing.

His deep, contemplative gaze turned toward the originally planned route. Should he change the plan…?

At this time, in the Blue Army’s command center, the topic of discussion was Xi Yuechen.

“Commander, why did we send all our elite forces to deal with Xi Yuechen? What about the other areas?” A middle-aged officer with the rank of senior colonel questioned the lieutenant general who was studying the map thoughtfully.

A nearby major general chuckled and said, “Old Luo, you still don’t get it? Think about who Xi Yuechen is. If we don’t deploy our main force to intercept him, what else are we supposed to do?”

“But this exercise isn’t just against Xi Yuechen’s reinforced regiment. No matter how strong they are, can they really take on our entire Blue Army?” Colonel Luo still didn’t understand and continued to frown.

“Old Luo, after all these years, why are you still so impatient? Think it through, and you’ll understand.” The lieutenant general looking at the map finally looked up and smiled.

“We all know how formidable Xi Yuechen’s regiment is. You think the Red Army would overlook such an elite unit? If they didn’t give him the main mission, wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“Main mission? Doesn’t the Red Army think too highly of Xi Yuechen? Or are they underestimating us Blue Army too much? If the Red Army gives the key task to Xi Yuechen, then what are the rest of them going to do—play hide and seek with us?”

Colonel Luo still couldn’t make sense of it.

“Old Luo, if the Red Army wants to win, what’s the simplest and most effective way to seize the initiative?” the major general asked, patting Luo on the shoulder.

“Could it be…our command center? That’s impossible!” Luo said in disbelief.

“Why not? Xi Yuechen’s reinforced regiment is well-known across the military district for its combat strength. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Red Army entrusted the task of attacking our command center to him. The others would just play guerrilla to divert our attention. Once Xi Yuechen ‘takes out’ our command center, what else is there to say?”

“But wouldn’t it be too risky for the Red Army to pin everything on Xi Yuechen? What if he fails?”

“If Xi Yuechen fails, then the Red Army can fall back on conventional combat. Their plan’s quite clever,” the lieutenant general said with a smile.

Colonel Luo looked even more confused. If the Red Army had set their sights on the command center from the start, shouldn’t they be strengthening its defense instead of sending their elite forces to encircle Xi Yuechen?

The major general and the lieutenant general exchanged a knowing smile. The major general said slowly, “By the time Xi Yuechen reaches our doorstep, it’ll be too late to defend. The only way to rest easy is to eliminate him on the way. Besides, does the Red Army think we Blue Army are just sitting ducks? They think it’s that easy to wipe out our command center? Even if they break through, finding it is another matter. Let our elites spar with theirs and drain some of their strength.”

“Find the command center? Isn’t it right here?” Colonel Luo asked.

The lieutenant general gave a mysterious smile. “If the Red Army can think of it, why wouldn’t we? If they want to target our command center… well, let’s see if they can even find it.”

Let the outcome speak for itself.

After the Blue Army soldiers had passed, Xi Yuechen’s group cautiously revealed themselves, brushing off leaves. A soldier asked softly, “Commander, there weren’t many of them just now. Why didn’t we take them out?”

“Our current mission is to preserve our strength and break through. If we can’t eliminate them silently, we’ll attract attention from other areas, expose our position, and trigger a large-scale encirclement. How many do you think could escape then?”

Xi Yuechen replied coldly without turning his head, though his mind was already racing—should he alter the plan?

The soldier who asked scratched his head, embarrassed, and chuckled awkwardly, falling silent.

In a very short time, Xi Yuechen mentally ran through all possible scenarios. In the end, he looked toward the original route and said, “Stick to the original plan.”

Li Lichen and the others by his side didn’t question him. They followed Xi Yuechen out of the hiding spot without hesitation. Xi Yuechen’s decisions had never failed. As the legend of the entire military, they were more than willing to obey.

Since the Blue Army had deployed their elite forces to surround them from all sides, breaking through from any direction would be the same—they were all being watched. The only question was whether the other units could break out too.

Xi Yuechen looked up at the darkened sky, uncertain. The Blue Army was certainly going all out this time to eliminate them.