Khan wasn't an ignorant soldier anymore. He had studied Lieutenant Pouille's books and had learnt many important aspects of the Global Army. His knowledge now involved ranks, levels, and the differences among various groups, so he could understand what it meant to send a whole battalion into the enemy territory.
Ecoruta would belong to the Guko even if the Global Army helped in its conquest. It didn't make much sense to win the war and renegotiate the favorable alliance with the alien species, so large attacks weren't part of HQ's plans.
The decision to send a whole battalion forward described how important the anti-mana project was for the Global Army, and Khan couldn't help but inspect the issue coldly. Forcing a large army to advance through multiple trenches was risky and expensive. HQ was willing to sacrifice many troops as long as the mission succeeded.
"How does that make any sense?" Moses whispered during the relatively calm uproar. "We don't know where they moved the labs. What's the point of seizing the whole quadrant?"
"Maybe the Guko on the space station know something about the tunnels," Khan commented.
'Or maybe they are sending us forward blindly in the hope of uncovering clues,' Khan continued in his mind.
Lieutenant Webburn saw a storm of polite questions fly toward him, but he dodged most of them with a believable excuse. He was also in the dark about the attack. Lieutenant Leville was still talking with a superior in the end.
The questions transformed into chatters among soldiers, and the news soon spread throughout the camp and the habitations outside. In a matter of minutes, everyone became aware of HQ's decision.
Khan didn't say much during that mess. He tried to listen to some voices from soldiers who had been on Ecoruta longer than him, but they also sounded quite lost. The troops had never left the trenches during their stay on the planet, and the assault team had been the only exception.
Still, Khan's experience in crowded battles was above his companions. The size of the battlefield would naturally surpass what he had witnessed on Nitis. Yet, he could develop a prospect in his mind after taking into consideration what the Stal owned in terms of weapons and defenses.
'The attack will be a bloody mess,' Khan concluded while heaving a deep sigh.
The issue wasn't with the sheer number of defenses that the Stal could deploy. The thirty-seventh battalion could probably match those after the efforts of the assault team. However, the side advancing toward the enemy lines would always suffer huge losses during a trench war. It would be impossible to dodge the rain of projectiles in a frontal attack featuring hundreds of soldiers.
The prospect was grim, even when Khan added eventual tanks and armored trucks in the frontlines. The regions on that side of Ecoruta were relatively flat, so vehicles wouldn't have problems advancing. Yet, that wouldn't improve the situation too much.
The same went for the air support. The spaceships could probably turn the tides of a battle, but the soldiers on the surface would have to take care of the anti-aircraft guns behind the enemy lines first. That alone would require considerable sacrifices in terms of human lives.
"What do you think, Khan?" One of the soldiers at Khan's table asked once the chatters began to quiet down.
"It's too soon to think about anything," Khan honestly explained. "We don't know the exact tactic. Also, the area covered by the thirty-seventh battalion is huge. We have the manpower to seize the whole quadrant, but that would normally require many months."
Khan only hinted at his idea, but everyone at the table understood what he meant. An attack that involved multiple frontlines would have a high chance of failure since it would force the battalion to spread its troops. It made more sense for the assault to target a specific location.
"They might really know something," Moses said as a hand fell on his chin.
"Khan," Peggy called while lowering her eyes and raising them again to look at Khan, "You have more experience than us in open battlefields. Can you teach us some tricks?"
The question ended up taking Khan by surprise. His profile had a few descriptions about Nitis, but they lacked many details, and Lieutenant Kintea had limited himself to talk about positive deeds. Peggy had to be really worried to ask for his help when she was so unclear about Khan's actual experience.
It turned out that all the soldiers at the table shared Peggy's worries. They turned toward Khan and waited for his answer as expectant expressions filled their faces.
"I don't know what to say," Khan replied while moving his eyes among those steading gazes. "How honest do you want me to be?"
"Don't treat us like kids," Moses scoffed. "We are also soldiers. We fought at your sides for weeks already."
Khan didn't want to shatter his companion's hopes, but he didn't know how to inspire them either. Captain Clayman would probably have straightforward and loud speech in those situations, but Khan wasn't him.
The images of the muddy valley appeared in Khan's mind as he tried to come up with an answer. Only madmen would decide to jump in such a chaotic, dirty, and dangerous environment. Actually, they would also consider their alternatives before making up their minds.
"There aren't tricks," Khan eventually stated. "A random bullet can blow your head off while you are distracted. An attack aimed at your companion can take you by surprise. A tank from the other side of the battlefield might fire a large projectile and catch you in the explosion.
"You shouldn't try tricks. You can only be careful and make sure to have trustworthy people around you. Everything else is a mix of preparation, determination, and luck."
A moment of silence followed those honest words. Even some soldiers in the tables nearby had listened to the conversation and had lowered their heads afterward. Khan didn't add any detail, but they still understood that the real battlefield could be merciless.
"How did you survive there?" Moses asked at some point, and many eyes fell on Khan.
The desire to have a drink appeared in Khan's mind as memories of the muddy valley surged. He recalled the chaos, the cries, the sudden invasion of the monsters, and the random deaths that had occurred. He couldn't see that, but his eyes grew empty, and his expression went cold.
"I'm fast, and I have a good understanding of my surroundings, even in the middle of the mess," Khan explained. "Still, I would have died if my superiors didn't sacrifice themselves to lead the enemies away."
Many faces went dark. The soldiers in the canteen weren't completely inexperienced. They had seen deaths and struggles inside the trenches, but they knew that an open battlefield could bring far more problems.
"Do you think we have chances to win?" Moses eventually asked the question that was in everyone's minds.
"Of course," Khan replied without showing any hesitation. "We should outnumber the Stal, and their inner areas shouldn't have defenses meant for foot soldiers. The initial attacks will be the greatest hurdle."
Some relief seeped into the dark faces. Khan was right. Everything would be easier after surpassing the initial trenches. The battalion would only have to deal with small settlements and cities that could be unprepared for war.
Khan had to suppress a helpless sigh when he saw that reaction. He didn't lie, but he had avoided saying a few things. He didn't mention how many soldiers could die during those initial attacks.
Almost half a day had to go by before the soldiers could obtain a proper announcement about the mission. Lieutenant Leville gathered all the soldiers outside the camp after lunch and described HQ's orders in great detail, even naming those who belonged to specific teams.
Khan turned out to be correct. HQ didn't plan an offensive that involved the whole quadrant. It wanted the thirty-seventh battalion to reach a specific location deep behind the enemy lines since it suspected that the Stal might have stretched the underground structure there.
The attack would have three different fronts. One would feature the main army fighting to pierce the enemy lines, another the team would handle the vehicles, while the last would have elite soldiers tasked to take care of specific defenses.
The plan sounded solid, and Khan felt glad to hear that he had gotten a few things wrong. He had initially believed that the Global Army would rely on the numerical advantage to advance forcefully, no matter how many corpses amassed on the ground. Yet, it seemed that HQ was ready to send a series of items meant to prevent substantial losses.
The details about the items and the different teams arrived on the soldiers' phones. Khan didn't feel surprised to be on the elite group, but the goods he would receive for the attack sounded useful.
The list was short. It contained a shield capable of enduring a few bullets, a protective vest that could partially repel mana, and a series of grenades meant to be as strong as spells. That wasn't a lot, but it would definitely improve the situation on the battlefield.
Khan cross-checked the list with the other soldiers in the camp. Most members of the assault team had become part of the elite group, while all the others had fallen into the main army. The latter had more protective gear in their items but lacked grenades since they could create problems in a crowded area.
The division among the three teams had to be immediate. HQ wanted to exploit the openings in the enemy defenses created by the assault team, so they had to prepare quickly. Khan didn't know how the higher-ups had discovered those weaknesses, but he guessed that there were some spies under Lieutenant Leville.
The vehicles in the camp weren't enough to carry the soldiers to the respective gathering points, so a long march began. Lieutenant Leville and Lieutenant Zartea led the soldiers meant for the elite team across the partially barren plain to reach another structure. The walk lasted for a few hours, but they eventually arrived at a series of relatively tall buildings that were experiencing a flow of troops.
Khan snapped out of his unique mental state at the sight of the other soldiers. He inspected the various faces, but he recognized only a few of them. They came from the large camp, so he could confirm that Delia wasn't in his team.
'She must be in the main army,' Khan concluded in his mind while suppressing a sigh.
The main army would be the most dangerous side of the battlefield, so he couldn't rejoice to know that Delia would be there. As for Rick, he probably wouldn't join the fight due to his status, which was for the best due to his inexperience.
The Lieutenants made the soldiers gather outside the buildings before planting a series of portable habitations. The elite team would have a total of two hundred members led by a third-level warrior called Bonnie Dyelow. She was a middle-aged woman with short brown hair and dark eyes. She was also a second-level mage, and her face featured a series of scars that cut through her mouth and nose.
Bonnie was a Lieutenant who would probably obtain a promotion after her period on Ecoruta. She didn't interact with the soldiers during the gathering, but her underlings took care of explaining the hierarchy of the elite team. She was at the top, while the Lieutenants under her would take care of different sides of the group.
Khan took a random habitation and waited for the official summoning to happen. He meditated a bit, and a message eventually forced him to come out of that state. He expected something related to the imminent battle, but surprise filled his mind after noticing that the notification had come from Delia.
'I've loved every second we have spent together,' Khan read on the message, 'Please, forgive me for leaving Ecoruta without giving you a proper goodbye. I don't want to experience the battlefield.'
Khan initially didn't understand what was happening, but a second message followed. Rick had sent something similar, even if his reasons seemed opposite to Delia. He wanted to see the battlefield, but his family had withdrawn him from Ecoruta after hearing about the mission.
Khan left his habitation to search for someone who could tell him more about the situation, but the area ended up intensifying his confusion. A few soldiers were arguing with the Lieutenants next to the tall buildings.. The discussion was loud, and he could often hear words like "treason" and "desertion".
