Chapter 514: Chapter 240: Heavy Armored Combined Brigade, Tens of Thousands of Tons of Force in One Punch! (Seeking Monthly Pass)_2
For officers below the rank of Lieutenant General, this battle plan is absolutely confidential.
The reason for keeping it from them is to avoid spies infiltrating the army and leaking the strategic directives.
Of course, Xu Zhou anticipated that now most of the First and Second Armies have already rapidly deployed, and perhaps some units have already crossed beyond the "38th Parallel."
Even if spies do obtain the information, by the time it’s transmitted back to Earth Star, they won’t have much time to react.
Never underestimate the marching speed of the Group Army.
Under the leadership of high-grade experts, the marching speed of army-level units is measured in "thousand miles per second," let alone the more powerful Group Armies.
At this moment, after hearing Xu Zhou’s words, Zhong Qiang showed a look of shock: "For such an important matter, you’re still here arguing with me. Let’s go back quickly!"
Xu Zhou, however, was calm and said, "Don’t rush. The Chief of Staff said that several crippled armored brigades will be integrated here, which will take some time."
"But indeed, time is of the essence. Let’s go."
The two of them turned into a streak of light, soaring into the sky, speeding towards the direction of the 23rd Brigade.
...
Western War Zone, District 23, 23rd Brigade station.
By the time Xu Zhou and Zhong Qiang arrived at the station, they found that a battered unit had already arrived.
To call them a battered unit doesn’t refer to physical injuries but to the destruction of their organizational structure, originally thousands reduced to just a few hundred.
Leading the unit, an officer in black and gold armor stepped forward to salute Xu Zhou.
"Greetings, General!"
Zhong Qiang saw this scene and couldn’t help but murmur in his heart, I’m the real commander of the 23rd Brigade!
But he said nothing, knowing that he was only a colonel, while Xu Zhou was already a lieutenant general.
The counterpart was also a colonel, and it wouldn’t be right to address him as a superior, would it?
Xu Zhou looked at the man and nodded: "Which unit are you from?"
"Reporting, we’re from the 11th Armored Composite Brigade of the Third Group Army! I am Deputy Brigade Commander Zhang Yuandong!"
"Deputy Brigade Commander?"
Xu Zhou’s expression changed slightly; just the deputy brigade commander held the rank of a colonel, then the brigade commander must be at least a lieutenant general!
This means the original 11th Armored Brigade was probably composed of seven to eight thousand troops.
At this moment, he didn’t ask further, knowing that for the brigade to be battered to this scale, the brigade commander probably had fallen.
Xu Zhou looked at this battered unit and suddenly realized that each of them was equipped with exceedingly heavy armor, with weapons resembling heavy shields or bows on their backs.
Though only a few hundred, standing there, they exuded an aura of weight and power.
"Members of an armored brigade are equipped with special armor, which can enhance their combat performance by twenty percent," Zhong Qiang explained.
"Enhance by twenty percent?" Xu Zhou was a bit surprised.
He knew his previous battle formation reform plan only improved performance by thirty percent.
And now this armor alone could increase it by twenty percent?
Zhong Qiang, seeing his surprise, smiled helplessly: "What did you think a heavy armored brigade was? Typically, they are elite forces, the most formidable at the brigade level."
"Hence, their equipment is naturally very advanced."
It was also Xu Zhou’s first time learning about this, and he asked, "What about a composite brigade?"
"A composite brigade means these troops are not like ordinary brigades with a single combat approach, but are versatile, able to attack, defend, and provide cover."
Zhong Qiang admired, "Our 23rd Brigade is also a composite brigade, just without such excellent equipment."
Not far away, Zhang Yuandong also seemed to realize it was Xu Zhou’s first encounter, and he shouted, "Brothers, form up and show our new commander our strength!"
"Yes!"
At Zhang Yuandong’s command, the few hundred troops instantly shouted in unison, rapidly forming a formation.
Their armor emitted a glow that outlined their figures, appearing significantly larger.
Soon, they drew weapons from their backs, shouting in unison.
"Spirits of ancestors, bless our military might!"
"Defend the homeland, fight to the death!"
Several hundred voices roared together, so powerful it seemed capable of overwhelming the original 4,000-strong 23rd Brigade.
Xu Zhou, witnessing this scene, couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked.
What had he been consuming before, plain soup and simple fare?
If just a few hundred of the armored brigade could be this capable, what about several thousand? Unimaginable!
Then Zhang Yuandong said to Xu Zhou, "Commander, as a lieutenant general, you can also exchange for a similar battle armor from the Military Department, with effects even better than ours."
"Oh?" Xu Zhou’s expression shifted slightly, intrigued by such battle armor.
After all, at his level of realm, enhancements from armor are usually minimal.
To increase by twenty percent is extremely rare.
"Where can I exchange?" Xu Zhou asked.
Zhang Yuandong replied, "You can see it on your war merit exchange page."
"I see."
Xu Zhou nodded slightly and promptly returned to his tent, opening the wristband page.
He had viewed the exchange page before but found nothing he needed. Now it seemed the Military Department did offer decent items.
Soon, Xu Zhou found the armor Zhang Yuandong mentioned on the exchange page.
[Heavy Armor · Military Use · General Grade] Exchange price: one hundred thousand war merit
The Military Department’s exchange store was quite rudimentary, with almost no description for the heavy armor.
Seeing its price, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but be surprised: "One hundred thousand war merit, it’s so expensive."
Fortunately, he now had over two hundred thousand merit points.
Without hesitation, Xu Zhou placed an order.
[Xu Zhou
Rank: Lieutenant General
War Merit: 121,500]
Subsequently, Xu Zhou browsed the store a bit more but found nothing else of interest.
Five minutes later, a Sixth Grade expert delivered the new armor to Xu Zhou.
"Thanks."
Xu Zhou didn’t expect the Military Department to send a Sixth Grade expert to make a delivery.
What surprised Xu Zhou even more was the contorted expression of effort on the Sixth Grade expert’s face while carrying the armor.
"Boom!"
When the armor box was placed on the ground, it emitted a deep thud, and the entire floor trembled slightly.
The Sixth Grade expert immediately seemed relieved, gasping heavily.
Seeing this, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but ask, "Is this armor really that heavy?"
"Weighs a hundred thousand kilograms, what do you think?" the Sixth Grade expert replied grumpily.
"One hundred thousand kilograms?"
Xu Zhou was shocked.
How is it possible to wear such heavy armor?
Even for a Sixth Grade expert, lifting a hundred thousand kilograms isn’t hard, but wearing it at all times would indeed be demanding.
Seeming to understand his doubts, the Sixth Grade expert said, "Drip your blood on the armor, and you can wear it."
"Alright."
Xu Zhou raised his hand, a drop of blood hitting the armor on the ground.
"Buzz!"
Instantly, the armor in the box trembled slightly as the blood was absorbed and glowed, circling around the box.
"Click!"
Subsequently, the armor broke free from the confines of the box, floating automatically towards Xu Zhou.
"Click~ Click!"
The heavy armor swiftly attached itself to Xu Zhou.
"This..."
Xu Zhou showed a peculiar expression: "This heavy armor doesn’t feel so heavy to wear."
"So that’s it...the armor can resonate with my Qi-Blood."
Soon, Xu Zhou showed a look of realization.
Once the armor linked with his blood, it merged harmoniously with his Qi-Blood, as if it grew from within him, thus perceiving little weight.
But in reality, the armor weighed at least a hundred thousand kilograms.
"Wearing this armor, I can deliver a punch with tens of thousands of tons of force!"
Feeling the power of his own body, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but express wonder.
He was exceedingly powerful now!
Even as an individual, when he masters the armored battle formation, the energy he could unleash might easily kill a high-grade opponent.
Buying this heavy armor was worth it!