System: Game World

In a tent.

"Sir, you've done a good job charming these fools." A man took out Grant's jacket and respectfully bowed to him.

"No need to praise, Lopez. They are fools for a reason. They can't tell if they are charmed or not, of course, they were fooled!" Grant laughed and after a few seconds, he calmed down. "On a more serious note, how's the front doing?"

"The two sides have not yet engaged. The expedition march is under His Second Highness while the defensive army is under General Dummkopf. From the spies have reported, the Second Highness' army should be equal to the one under Dummkopf."

"General Dummkopf... I heard that he has excelled in military tactics since young and is quite strong himself. If we manage to repel this attack, I should be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel..."

Seeing his next rank so close to him made him very confident, Lieutenant Colonel could be said an important step to his career. He had only entered and became a Major of a division through the support of his family. However, the rank of Lieutenant Colonel would give him a position in His Highness's military HQ.

Thinking of this, Grant smiled and almost couldn't control his excitement. He finally restrained himself and told the servant: "Lopez, we'll need to train these cannon fodders up. It doesn't really matter about their morale, as long as they can take several volleys of fire, they would be useful. Send Patrick to train them up and remember to tell the auxiliary unit to assure that the armor is not botched this time, we need them for a little more time. What about the hunters we recruited? Are they good?"

"Your order has been received." Lopez bowed and looked at Grant again, "The hunters have been unwilling to cooperate so we could only force them to go with us. It doesn't really matter, they are only here to shoot. However there are some exceptional hunters here, there is one who has the First Order of Flux, three of them have equipment made from Synthesizers while the others have good rifles in general. I'd say we got a good batch."

"Hmmm... then what's the enemy's situation?"

"Our scouts have detected the use of Excel in Nein City. It appears that they are coming big this time, sir." Lopez briefed the scouts' report.

"Colonel Kent has said that the counterattack would be manifold as payback for His Second Highness' humiliation. However, I did not think that they would bring out the big guns..."

Nein City was 100km away from Bao Feng City and boasted a superior military and economy compared to the latter. It would already be hard to defend against the normal weaponry from the military personnel sent out by His Second Highness but to bring Excel to the battlefield...

"No. It won't do. Bring another batch of 'volunteers'. I am not confident with only one batch of cannon fodders..."

===

"One, two, three!"

A group of men thrust their spears in a formation as a sergeant counted up to three.

"One, two, three! Yes, that's it! You're getting the hang of it!" The sergeant shouted.

Among the group, Tang Ling sneered. If they were really trying to train "soldiers", they would have given them firearms. Instead, like what was literally said and not implied, is that they are cannon fodders and would only result in tanking some firepower.

That spear training was just a way to increase morale with minimal investment and effectiveness. They were all charmed by this major and could not think properly. How are they supposed to fight when the enemy is 300 meters away shooting at them?

A squad of well-equipped men could probably shred them in mere seconds.

[Spearmanship proficiency increased.]

But he stayed quiet. He couldn't convince the men in his group that the major was manipulating them. They stayed head-strong about this matter, believing that the major meant the best for them. He couldn't also escape from the camp, the military would probably catch him and even if he managed to escape, they had his name and address in the files.

"Now, charge!"

"YES!"

The brainwashed rough men shouted and began to ready their spears and started charging.

"Yaaaaa!"

Spears pierced the thin targets.

"Good! Good! Good!"

During this time, they've also received their armor. They were clearly made of metal scraps from who-know-where and the process was clearly rushed since some of them were clearly unfinished. It was clear how much they thought of them.

But under the mysterious spell cast by the major, the crew gladly accepted the equipment and even praised the major for being so generous.

This chilled Tang Ling's heart even further. It seems that the effects lasted longer than he expected. In the middle of the day, the major would come and go, casting [Charm] to the group and reinforcing their morale and behaviors.

On the third day, the whole army received intel that the enemy army has begun marching and they were ordered to march forward with the cannon fodders being at the forefront of this.

Reaching the place where two mountains seemed to have been split from a bigger mountain, there was a gunshot. Then soon, more followed until it rained bullets.

"ARGHH!" The guy beside Tang Ling cried out of pain as a bullet lodged itself into his arm. Then a guy on the front row cried as his armor failed to defend him from the incoming bullet. This time, it penetrated the guy's stomach.

"Shit!"

Suddenly, the whole group woke up. Their fanatic wills dissipated, leaving only weakness and fear. This was their true nature, faltering under overwhelming force.

They originally were able to think and after the enchantment dissipated, they knew that they had been tricked.

It was a no-brainer. The major didn't even hide his disdain towards them and they gobbled it up like it was sweet nectar. If they had to think, they would feel ashamed of themselves.

It was a shame that even such time was lacking as they were under enemy fire.

Tang Ling, who was more prepared than the group, immediately shouted: "Put the shield down to the ground! Form up a shield wall!"

Instinctively, they followed the voice of the one who seems to be in control and immediately formed a shield wall with their shield.

Bang! Pak! Pak!

Hails of bullets came and came for what seemed to be an eternity. The bullets struck repeatedly against the heavy shields. Thankfully, the shields were not as defective as the armor provided by the army and could block off most bullets coming their way.

"Huff... Huff..."

Collective sighs could be heard, they... they had survived the attack.

Then the soldiers behind them took out their rifles and pointed at them:

"Move. Or we'll shoot."

"You..."

The men were shocked to see the friendly soldiers point their guns at them.

"Quick!" The man in charge of the squad behind frowned and bellowed.

Immediately, they knew that if they did not move quickly, they would be shot. Gritting their teeth, they took out their shields from the ground and moved.

It was humiliating but at least, there's a chance to live.

...

Tang Ling looked at the trembling men, trembling both from fear and humiliation. Quietly, he followed along as they marched onwards to the enemy line.