Ancient Dragon in Arknights

"As expected of Earl Barrett's son, it seems you are very confident in your grasp of the battle situation?"

"Ha, theory is useless; in reality, it all comes down to our combat capabilities. If there are strongholds inside, the enemy has probably already discovered us. We'll be engaging them soon."

"The cinema windows are very high, which means there are bound to be shooting spots, and the internal layout is even more complex, so this battle will be very difficult."

The two classes sent out their personnel, and the one in charge was the class monitor of class (1) - this guy had a good appearance, and even among the young noblemen, he had an outstanding appearance; his golden hair and blue eyes were the traditional Victorian image, and his fair skin and relatively strong muscles were indeed worthy of that military uniform.

This guy exudes confidence and nobility in every gesture; judging from his demeanor, he must be from a prestigious family.

However, judging from his previous statements, he does have a certain level of skill and is not just a pretty face.

"To be honest, if we had explosives, our operation would be much easier. Instead, we have to sneak into their stronghold as we are now."

"But isn't this our only chance? Their internal infrastructure might not be fully completed yet, and they might even still have personnel who haven't returned."

John Barrett nodded politely in response to the agreement of those around him.

The two classes split up, forming groups of four and began to sneak into the cinema.

Currently, John's team appears to be the fastest.

"That shouldn't be the case... We've been chatting and making progress at the same time; the others should be moving faster..."

Chapter Ninety-Four: Key Clues

John knew it couldn't be that he had overdone it. He was the commander, not a spearhead for a quick assault.

Others would be faster than him, and only then could he formulate a suitable battle plan based on the situation. That was how everything was originally planned.

Which link in the chain went wrong?

A buzzing sound came from the radio clipped to his shoulder.

Originally, in order to prevent the other party from eavesdropping, the decision was made to proceed in radio silence—initiating communication under such circumstances must mean that something very important is happening.

"This is operations command. All squads! Report your situation! What's going on?! Why haven't you reached your designated combat positions?!"

"Damn it...why is this happening..."

"There's only one person on the other side!"

"Retreat... This guy—it's Neltharion!"

"Zizzizi..."

After a string of incoherent ramblings, the radio fell silent again.

But John had already heard the most important information—Nesario.

"It's that guy from Class 10, that monster-like Vayvan..."

After taking care of the last standing guy, the squad in this area was completely wiped out. No one else around was able to stand; they had all been swiftly knocked down by Nesario's over-the-shoulder throws or punches.

"Phew... these guys, crying and screaming like crazy, anyone who didn't know better would think I was carrying out a massacre."

The primary requirement for the exercise is, of course, safety. Otherwise, the school would not have de-threatening the weapons and arranged for medical personnel to wait at various medical stations, all in order to prevent accidents from happening.

Nesario, of course, didn't cause any trouble. He didn't even use his tail, relying entirely on his fists to beat his opponent to a pulp.

"Next... is the so-called battlefield command, right?"

Nesario picked up a walkie-talkie from the ground; it had just been making noise, and judging from the tone of the other person's voice, they seemed to be completely panicked as well.

Tracking the walkie-talkie signal was obviously impossible, but Nesario had other methods.

Neltharion had a small green lantern hanging from his waist—a lantern that would be just an ordinary decoration to others, but in Neltharion's hands, it was no decoration at all.

"Go, little ones, find something just like this."

New World Biotechnology – Guide Bugs: Your best partner for hunting and finding things at home!

A light green fluorescent band began to appear, and Nesario began to move forward, guided by the guide worm.

The first walkie-talkie we found was clipped to a squad leader; unfortunately, he's out of the game. The second walkie-talkie was on the ground—apparently, the careless guy lost it in the chaos. The third... ah, we've got something!

Nesario noticed that this route was different; it was more concealed and was starting to distance itself from his base.

"Want to escape? Humph!"

Now that he had a general direction, Nesario could rely on his sense of smell to find his target—a strong smell of men's cologne. What noble young master would wear that to the battlefield?! Were they afraid the enemy's military beasts wouldn't be able to spot them?!

"found it!"

Nesario leaped over a wall—four retreating remnants were emerging from the narrow alleyway.

"Eula!"

......

"How come it feels...too simple?"

Losley, who had witnessed the entire event from the base, was somewhat stunned. She had thought this positional battle would last a long time. The two sides fought for control of the hall entrance, capturing it time and again, charging once more, until finally, when they ran out of ammunition and supplies, the war came to an end.

"Unfortunately, the storylines you're imagining are all artistic interpretations of large-scale battles."

"In intense battles for strongholds, troop strength is the most important force to preserve; a round of Originium shells bombards the area, a round of spellcasters bombard it in formation, then the Royal Guards and Shield Guards clear it out—and then take over the stronghold. This is the most common situation on the battlefield. As for those places that are held to the death, they are usually extremely important transportation hubs, such as stations or city control centers."

"However, if even places like that are attacked, then the situation on the battlefield is basically settled."

After Rita's explanation and lecture, Losilly reluctantly accepted the theatrical scene unfolding before her.

"But this is too easy, he didn't even mess up his clothes!"

"Isn't this inevitable? There are no explosives, no lethal weapons, just some unsharpened training weapons. In situations like this, someone as strong as Nesario has the biggest advantage."

Rita knew very well that this exercise didn't have much practical significance—its only value was to let the students experience this atmosphere in advance, laying the groundwork for future real-world combat.

In a real battlefield, Nesario would behead his opponent the moment he attacks, but the opponent would also prepare spells, traps, explosives, and even Originium weapons to retaliate. In the end, the outcome would depend on the command and intelligence of both sides.

"By the way, how's your deciphering of those cipher texts going?"

The scout team returned, bringing with them not only intelligence about the surrounding area but also a lot of scattered coded messages.

"It's nothing, the content of the cipher is actually nothing. It's probably some teacher's teaching notes, full of textbook knowledge, it's so boring."

Losley yawned. Was this really how the exercise was going to end?

She picked up another piece of paper from the collected ciphers—this time it wasn't aged letter paper, but a photograph.

"This is?"

"Ah, that's what we photographed. There was a lot of writing on a drainpipe. Since we couldn't bring it back, this was the only way we could do it. If you can't see it clearly, there's also a close-up shot."

The scout team members who were responsible for providing assistance enthusiastically introduced the situation to Rosselli. In a short time, Rosselli deciphered dozens of ciphers—their class would definitely be number one in terms of efficiency and the number of enemies killed outside!

"It's alright, I can see it very clearly. It's just that this..."

Compared to the previous easily deciphered ciphers, this text is much more interesting—the whole passage looks like gangster slang left by some graffiti enthusiasts.

But upon closer inspection, the arrangement of each character is quite interesting.

"We've got a big fish!"

Losley immediately took out paper and pen and copied down all the clues she had observed; it seemed it would take a long time.

"Report! The external threat has been completely eliminated."

"Recall the combat team."

“There’s one more thing… Nesario said he’s captured a commander.”

"?"

The exercise even included intelligence interrogation? That's incredibly exciting!

Chapter Ninety-Five Mini-Games

"What should we do in this situation? Logically speaking, prisoners captured on the battlefield can indeed be used to extract information through torture... but is it really necessary to go to such extremes this time?"

Looking at the four people bound hand and foot in front of her, Rita was also in a dilemma. Eliminating them directly was indeed an option; but that would be of little value. Nesario's judgment was quite correct; this guy was the commander, and apparently, a rather important one at that.

"Why not just leave them be? Most of the fighting force in those two classes has been wiped out. They'll definitely be wiped out quickly by the other classes."

"But the problem is that we won't have any points then. That's two classes! It's not worth giving them away to others."

"..."

The squad leaders began a discussion, which focused on two main directions: to launch an offensive and capture the points from both classes; or to solidify their defense and avoid casualties.

Rita preferred the former, but an attack requires a target, and she hadn't yet found the locations of those two classes.

“I have something to say—torture is one of the skills on the battlefield. But besides that, we can also negotiate, can't we?”

Neltharion walked up to the four prisoners with a smile on his face. His expression was very kind, but in the eyes of these four men, he was no different from a demon. Neltharion had brought them here in a rather ungentle manner. After all, he only had two hands, so he could only grab two people from each side.

"How about we play a little game?"

"What game...?"

Being under someone else's roof means having to bow your head. John Barrett was well aware of his current status—a prisoner of war. If he were on the battlefield at this moment, only two paths awaited him.

First, they were tortured to extract information; second, they were held hostage in exchange for the enemy's demands.

Given his status, the latter was more likely—after all, he was the son of an earl; but John knew very well that his father would not do such a thing, as the Earl of Barrett, who had served in the army for decades, had long warned him that an incompetent nobleman's son was not worthy of being used as a bargaining chip.

If you want your father to spend a lot of money to save you, the only way is to make yourself outstanding and important.

"It's just rock-paper-scissors—if I win all three rounds, you mark the location of your stronghold; otherwise, if you win one round, I'll let one person go. How about that? Pretty good deal, right?"

"...I accept."

John pondered for a moment, but he couldn't see any trap in it—Nesario needed to win three games to win, while they won even one game!

"By the way—I'll only be using stones from now on."

"!"

'Damn it! So that was their plan?!'

In a normal game of rock-paper-scissors, it is indeed a game of probability; but once psychological warfare is added, the game instantly becomes tense.

'If he plays rock, then I can win by playing paper, but he might have thought of that, so he'll play scissors! No, no, no... this could also be part of his opponent's plan...'

"3, 2..."