Holt looked at Lilizago with appreciation. Although this fellow viper-blood wasn't overwhelmingly strong in combat, no one was better at devising insidious schemes. Once they got to the Human-Demon Battlefield, he would need Lilizago's help often to rack up military merits.

"Four transport platoons..." Qian Jin looked weakly at the troops in his hand, suddenly missing Fen Tu Kuang Ge, who was somewhere in the Ancient Desolate Sands, his life or death unknown. Fen Tu Kuang Ge was a professional soldier trained in strategy and tactics since childhood. The power wielded by these four transport platoons in Qian Jin's hands was a completely different concept from the power they would wield under Fen Tu Kuang Ge. "How should I use them?"

Qian Jin looked out over the vast territory ahead, gently tapping the table. In his mind, he recalled the massive collection of books and notes he had seen at the Qian family—one of which contained a particularly unremarkable battle record, achieved by personnel who had failed to awaken their bloodline.

It was small, utterly insignificant, and even the ancestors of the Bloodline Warriors hadn't recorded it. It was only because a commendation certificate sandwiched a very inconspicuous piece of parchment that this battle was documented.

It concerned the failed bloodline awakeners leading a grain supply escort that got lost due to heavy fog, only to appear directly in front of the enemy reinforcements when the mist finally cleared.

The small grain escort team suddenly materializing in the enemy's front lines caused the opposing force to assume they were an ambush bait.

The supply squad dared not move rashly. The Demon Clan cavalry were incredibly fast; trying to flee would only invite their annihilation. All they could do was stand frozen, awaiting rescue.

In just half a day, the Demon Clan lost patience and sent troops forward to probe. The result was, naturally, the complete demise of the grain escort squad. However, that mere half-day delay allowed the Zhence Dynasty's scouting teams to gain considerable advantage in that war.

Try it out? Qian Jin drew a straight line across the chessboard with his game piece, pushing it toward the main army tent at the far end of the board. A dashed line instantly appeared on the board, advancing slowly toward the enemy.

"What is this?" Lilizago looked at Qian Jin's four transport platoons on the board in surprise. "The light spots are advancing at the full speed of transport troops, and their target seems to be the very front."

"Huh? Why so fast?" Holt looked at Lilizago in confusion. "The speed of these transport troops is too high. When they started moving, shouldn't they have been fully loaded? Their speed should be very slow! What are they trying to do?"

Lilizago shook his head repeatedly while looking back at Holt. Transport troops had inherently weak combat power, their main purpose being logistics transport, perhaps serving as reserves if necessary. Sending this small force forward was clearly courting death! It was virtually meaningless suicide! And that speed...

Lilizago's eye twitched several times. That speed suggested they were almost completely unburdened, having discarded most of their supplies—and yet they were utilizing the grain wagons to execute a charge!

If... Lilizago swallowed repeatedly. If this were a real war, the commander of this squad would already have been arrested and beheaded! But precisely because their side lacked a true supreme commander, and the teacher deliberately wanted everyone to learn reactive coordination under pressure, an opening had inadvertently appeared for him.

Qian Jin pressed forward rapidly. Time on the chessboard was also progressing, though a few seconds there might equal an entire day in reality, forcing everyone to act quickly and make judgments with maximum speed.

Ding!

Qian Jin’s transport squad on the board had just climbed onto a high mountain and, taking advantage of the open vantage point, spotted a unit—a transport team that wasn't particularly large.

This transport team was also making its way toward the summit, but their progress was painfully slow, clearly indicating they were fully loaded.

This is...? Qian Jin paused, quickly observing the terrain. He realized the location was exceptionally strategic: not only suitable for stationing troops, but if the main force advanced further, this position would become an even more secure rear area, perfect for stockpiling provisions.

"Oh~" Qian Jin nodded lightly. Based on the movement speed of the other students' armies, they were still a considerable distance away. The teacher was clearly using this element of the unknown to push the transport troops to rush ahead. Because fully loaded transport troops were forced to move quickly, they were already showing signs of fatigue while preparing ahead for the main force. Although the enemy transport team numbered a full five hundred, their overall combat rating was lower than Qian Jin's four platoons combined.

"Damn it!"

Lilizago cursed in frustration in the quiet classroom. Qian Jin noticed a green light spot near him suddenly vanish—it was a scout sent by a classmate who, unluckily attempting a flanking maneuver for multi-point reconnaissance, had been eliminated.

"The defense is too tight," Lilizago said, tapping his chin as he watched the vanished green dot. "There are ambushes even on this most inconspicuous small path, and they were instantly wiped out. We couldn't get the intelligence we needed. But the teacher's forces must be finite; where exactly is the empty space?"

Holt stood silently, watching Lilizago, merely placing his soldiers beside Lilizago's formation.

"I wonder if Qian Jin's squad is dead yet," Lilizago muttered sullenly. Qian Jin’s transport squad moved too fast and had gone beyond the visual range of the main army. They might very well have been annihilated. Qian Jin glanced at the location where the green dot disappeared, shaking his head. That scout’s position was too low; he could see it, but it couldn't see him.

The forty transport soldiers quickly gathered stones on the mountaintop, preparing to launch them. Qian Jin began to admire this magic device; its functionality was surprisingly comprehensive, even capable of projecting a line of magical graphics that presented him with several options. This was somewhat reminiscent of the Endless World.

However, compared to the functions in Endless World, this device offered too few options, and they lacked realism. Everyone was still handling game pieces, missing that genuine flavor of life-and-death slaughter on a battlefield.

With minimal preparation, Qian Jin selected the command for his squad to attack. The statistics for the forty-man transport squad increased by a full ten percent, seemingly due to morale and the element of surprise, pushing their data value up to a formidable 160!

The enemy grain escort team, nearing the summit, surprisingly saw their data value drop by half—from the initial 120 down to 60—perhaps because they believed they were about to reach their destination.

The instant Qian Jin saw the data plummet, his finger ruthlessly selected the attack command, pushing his grain escort piece directly into the enemy's grain escort piece.

Stones flew instantly. The enemy's data dropped from 60 to 40. Immediately following this, Qian Jin's transport squad, with 160 data points, surged to 163 and lunged at the enemy.

"Hong!"

The old mentor, seated calmly behind the podium, felt his two long white eyebrows twitch. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. How could the enemy appear here? And transport troops? Strange! Very strange! And only forty of them? Why would they initiate an attack? Is there an emergency march nearby? Why did they choose this location to strike? According to normal military theory, this position should already be occupied by me. How dare they risk it? Who thought of this? Should I rescue them? How many reserves are nearby?

After a brief moment of thought, the transport squad's data had fallen from 40 to 20.

Rescue! They couldn't possibly send a large force here! The teacher instantly understood: this must be a reckless gamble! But who would dare take such a risk? And they sent heavily laden transport troops, which possessed minimal combat strength.

Following a brief moment of confusion and analysis, a squad of light cavalry rapidly charged toward the mountain. However, the time spent hesitating, doubting, guessing, and deducing meant that the entire enemy transport unit had already vanished.

Time on the chessboard ran much faster than real-time. As the nearest light cavalry began to move, Qian Jin was already starting to clean up the battlefield.

Weapons and equipment? Qian Jin hadn't expected that the annihilated heavy transport team was actually carrying weaponry. He immediately used the equipment option to arm his four heavy platoons and set up various crossbows on the mountaintop.

Escape? Qian Jin never considered escaping. Once the fight began, it meant his unit was doomed. Fleeing would only lead to quicker death. It was better to kill a few more enemies before dying to gain some points.

Two hundred light cavalry, boasting a combat rating of 2,000, faced Qian Jin. He looked down at the light cavalry, which had stopped its high-speed movement, and let out a long breath. Fortunately, it was light cavalry. If it had been heavy cavalry or heavily armed infantry, it would have been troublesome.

The two hundred light cavalry quickly split into four ten-man teams, spreading out to search the surroundings, because with the annihilation of the heavy transports, his side had once again lost the ability to track the opponent's position.

Find them, I must find them immediately! Nanmen Xiangrong dispersed the four cavalry squads, casually ordering ten light cavalry to dismount and move up the mountain to secure the supplies from the destroyed enemy heavy transports. A mere forty enemy heavy transports couldn't possibly carry away that much material.

Ding! A bright light flashed again from the mountaintop where the fierce battle had just concluded. Ten light cavalry soldiers clad in light leather armor vanished without a trace.

"This is... they didn't leave?"

Nanmen Xiangrong looked at the spot where his soldiers had died again with great surprise. Although the total number lost wasn't high, he had been defeated here twice in a row.

Most importantly! Which student commanded this squad? They brought heavy transport troops and turned them into a spike, lodging them firmly on this hilltop? Despite having little combat power, they didn't choose the conventional tactic of immediate withdrawal after winning, but instead opted for stubborn defense? Utilizing the captured equipment to hold fast?

The dispersed light cavalry continued their search outside. Nanmen Xiangrong was skeptical. Surely not all the heavy transports remained on the peak? Could they have left a portion behind to continue holding the position, creating an opportunity for the rest of the soldiers to retreat?