CHAPTER 500: CHAPTER 498: CORPS: THE ADVANTAGE IS OURS_1

The cool night breeze swept across the Chihuahua Desert. The night was soft, yet it couldn’t disperse the deadly aura permeating the area.

Hundreds of thousands of people were gathered, a vast mass of darkness with no visible end in any direction.

Minor leaders, one after another, acting on orders from above, ran through the crowd, preventing the scene from descending into chaos.

A series of satellite phone calls came through different channels, informing the cartel leaders about the current situation.

The Shadow Emperor wanted to annihilate them and prop up a puppet to take control of Mexico.

After loudly cursing, the leaders couldn’t help but consider a harsh reality: how to retaliate.

They were able to survive in this line of work. Morality aside, they definitely didn’t lack ruthlessness.

In Mexico, honest and decent people were either in factories or in the fields growing raw materials for flour; either way, they ended up being exploited.

The principle of the Mexican cartels was a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood.

If a member was killed, they would take the bloodiest revenge, killing the enemy’s entire family by the most brutal methods.

Beheading, heart extraction—those were all standard procedures.

Besides, their current situation offered no way out.

The enemy clearly wanted to use their corpses as stepping stones, so they had to fight to the end.

The Mexican cartel leaders were clear about this: begging for mercy was only useful if the opponent intended to show forgiveness.

If not, crying until they were blind would be useless; they could only rely on the guns in their hands to make a difference.

According to information from the military, the Shadow Clan and the people of this world might differ somewhat.

They couldn’t just shoot blindly; their fire had to be targeted, choosing specific areas to attack to test the enemy’s weaknesses.

The military personnel tried to control them remotely, to help them win or, to put it another way, to test the Shadow Clan’s weaknesses.

The cartel leaders were well aware of this but didn’t refuse their arrangements.

They couldn’t help it. After all, the cartel leaders were not a regular army and had no experience with warfare on such a large scale; they were only skilled in small-unit combat.

The cartel leaders in Mexico had to rely on the military’s remote arrangements to control the situation.

This was only possible because the cartel leaders managed their subordinates strictly in line with the military management system laid down by Amherst, controlling their men as an army would.

Over 300,000 cartel soldiers, spurred on by their leaders’ roars, quickly formed a defensive formation in the vast desert based on the military’s remotely issued orders.

Any occasional deserters were also promptly executed by the minor leaders.

Anyone with a brain knew that since their enemies could bring them here from all over Mexico, fleeing anywhere else in the country would be futile.

As for arranging helicopters to pick them up, that was out of the question; all their people had already been brought here.

Not to mention helicopters, no one could drive any vehicle to the site. The military personnel were even less likely to help; they merely wanted to test the Shadow Clan’s Abilities and had no real intention of rescuing these people.

"Damn it, both sides treat us like expendable pawns."

"No use complaining about that now. Set up the formation and prepare to meet the Shadow Clan."

"Only by fighting to the end do we stand a chance of Victory."

"Fight!"

Daco lifted his gun and shouted. The men to his right and left echoed his cry, raising their guns. The shouts spread through the crowd like a tidal wave, eventually swelling into a roar that seemed powerful enough to overturn the very sky.

"Fight!" "Fight!" "Fight!"

Amidst such spirited shouts, shadows spread across the desert ahead. In a mere breath’s time, the front lines of the northernmost cartel forces could see that endless black sea.

GULP. They swallowed nervously, gripping the guns in their hands tighter.

「...」

It’s finally coming, Nett sighed.

Having received calls from his Mexican collaborators, he immediately used military satellites to monitor the Chihuahua Desert and ordered images of the desert to be relayed to Air Force One.

He and the military high command gathered in this hall, observing the events unfolding in the neighboring country through the big screen.

This was the first time in human history that a nation from a Different World had been recorded intervening in the affairs of a nation of their world.

The Shadow Emperor... Nett’s eyes revealed his deep concern. Mexico is too close to the United States.

For years, to ensure the safety of the U.S. homeland, they had adopted a strategy of aggressively weakening neighboring countries.

Latin America is America’s backyard. This had become a consensus in the international community.

This was based on the United States’ global hegemony, allowing them to exploit those countries at will.

If a hegemonic power comparable to the United States emerged in Latin America... who would Latin America belong to then?

Nett was worried about this, yet he also harbored a strong desire.

For the United States, this isn’t a good thing. But for me personally, this is a tremendous opportunity! It means I can finally establish formal contact with a nation from the Different World and negotiate various terms. Most importantly, we could acquire knowledge about the supernatural. I don’t need overwhelming destructive power; if I can just extend my own lifespan, then any loss to the United States is worth it.

I want to become younger, to live longer!

Countless thoughts flashed through Nett’s mind, causing him to gaze intently at the large screen with a fiery look in his eyes, watching an army rise from the black sea.

From the satellite’s perspective, the Shadow Emperor’s army was clearly smaller than the makeshift cartel army; the difference in numbers was quite evident.

Nett let out a sigh of relief. This means there aren’t as many members of the Shadow Clan as I imagined.

The current numbers are still within an acceptable range, he thought.

The cartel grunts on the front lines didn’t feel the same way; they stared at the overwhelming mass of Shadow Soldiers.

Their eyes glowed red. About a hundred meters away, they were clad in armor and wielded heavy, medieval-style long spears.

A knot of fear formed in their stomachs, and their legs grew weak.

The cartel leaders had more courage, shouting loudly, "Fire!"

At the command, the deafening gunfire made their eardrums numb.

Bullets poured down like a torrential rain.

To test which part of the Shadow Soldiers’ bodies controlled their movement, the firepower swept from lower left to upper right.

In an instant, the leaders discovered that hitting the head made the Shadow Soldiers vanish. They hurriedly shouted, "Quick! Aim for the head!"

Amidst the strained, hoarse commands, the tide of bullets shifted towards the Shadow Soldiers’ heads.

「...」

Aozawa was in the middle of the Shadow Soldiers.

A huge castle tower formed of Shadow stood there. He was at its balustrade, overlooking the distant scenery.

"How spectacular," he exclaimed. It was the first time he had seen so many people gathered—an overwhelming mass with no end in sight.

Visually alone, it gives the thrilling sense of shooting an epic film.

Aozawa raised his right hand and swung it forward, saying, "Kill!"

The Shadow Soldiers didn’t stand still; they quickly charged forward.

A moving target was usually hard to aim at.

But the cartel army’s firepower was so fierce that the web of bullets they wove left virtually no gaps.

The Shadow Soldiers continued to charge, but their heads were blown apart, and then they dissipated as black smoke.

Machine guns roared, bullets raining down, a dazzling barrage with nowhere to hide.

Under the threat of life and death, each cartel leader unleashed astonishing potential, directing their subordinates to attack the Shadow Soldiers while simultaneously trying to pull back and avoid close combat.

Thanks to these desperate maneuvers, the Shadow Soldiers were kept from breaking through the fifty-meter mark.

Daco’s face lit up with surprise when he heard the report from his subordinates. "We have a chance to win!"

The current situation was consuming a lot of ammunition, but the Shadow Emperor had been foolish enough to give it all to them earlier.

This led to their abundant ammunition reserves.

As long as we continue to wear them down like this, we can achieve the final Victory in this war!

Over a hundred Rocket Launchers were aimed directly at the central black castle tower. Aozawa didn’t move; Shadow Soldiers beside him leaped forward protectively.

BOOM! Hundreds of rockets exploded before his eyes, the dazzling sparks beautiful to behold.

Shadows veiled Aozawa’s enthusiastic expression, preventing outsiders from glimpsing the enjoyment on his face.

Not everyone gets the chance to experience commanding this kind of large-scale wargame. Even I, after the major reduction next week, might not be able to assemble a Shadow Legion of this size again.

Aozawa wanted to play a while longer. With a wave of his right hand, he ordered a contingent of the Shadow Legion to split off to the left, attempting a flanking maneuver.

This move quickly dragged the cartel forces on the left into the fray. They responded with rapid gunfire, demonstrating fierce tenacity.

The RAT-A-TAT-TAT of gunfire was so clear that even Aozawa could hear it. He waved his hand again, directing another contingent to rush from the right, pulling the cartel forces there into the battle as well.

Another contingent of Shadow Soldiers tirelessly rushed to the cartel army’s rear, intending to cut off their retreat and prevent them from pulling back any further.

As for the Shadow Soldiers who were killed, Aozawa simply spawned more at the rear, maintaining their numbers at one hundred thousand.

These Shadow Soldiers weren’t truly living beings to begin with, so the concept of death didn’t apply to them.

Daco received a directive from the military. Combining it with on-site reports from his subordinates on all fronts, he believed he understood the enemy’s intentions.

How foolish! The enemy is trying to flank us even though they don’t have the upper hand in a frontal assault. Even a military novice like me knows this will inevitably leave their main force depleted. Attacking now is indeed a good choice.

Having followed Amherst for sixteen years and earned his trust, Daco was naturally not a timid or foolish man.

He well understood the principle: opportunity knocks but once.

"Relay my orders! All units, cease retreating! Charge forward! Rocket Launchers, hand grenades—don’t spare any munitions! Charge to the foot of that castle tower! We’ll take the Emperor’s head and use it as a chamber pot!"

Daco roared, his eyes reflecting fierce determination. As long as we can kill the Emperor, we can end this war!

The cartel army began to charge forward.