Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: The First Thousand-Person Battle—Why Is the Production Team Using So Many NPCs???

One hour later.

The various battalions, companies, platoons, and squads of the Seventh Mercenary Regiment, scattered around the outskirts of Bebatsha, began to advance toward the blockade line set up by the LS rebels around the perimeter, following orders from regimental command.

This was a large-scale battle involving thousands against thousands.

For Han Cheng, after participating in a dozen or so small-scale skirmishes involving tens or hundreds of combatants, this was his first time engaging in a battle on the scale of thousands.

“Wow, so many people! Are these all NPCs?” Han Cheng was stunned as he looked over the vast expanse filled with soldiers and armored vehicles.

“The production team is ruthless. This real-life battle royale is hardcore. Between our side and the enemy’s, there must be two to three thousand NPCs involved,” he remarked.

“If each person receives a base pay of 100,000 yuan for a single match, just the payroll alone would be two or three hundred million yuan, wouldn’t it?”

“With such a huge investment, is this foreigner’s real-life battle royale really that profitable?”

Before Han Cheng could marvel any longer, the attack order for their sector was issued.

Without hesitation, Han Cheng led his team in a charge: “Go! Go! Go!”

The rapid rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire echoed instantly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, the entire outskirts of Bebatsha erupted into chaos.

The thunderous roar of gunfire and artillery shook the earth and shattered rocks.

This was destined to be a brutal fight—every minute, every second, someone fell victim to the smoke and carnage of war.

Although the Seventh Mercenary Regiment threw almost everything they had into the all-out assault on the LS rebels’ blockade line around Bebatsha, the task was far from easy.

The LS rebels had carefully chosen terrain around Bebatsha that gave them natural geographic advantages—areas easy to defend and difficult to assault.

Relying on these strongholds, the rebels were nearly invincible.

Under such circumstances, breaking through the blockade was extremely difficult.

With this in mind, the Seventh Mercenary Regiment called upon the air force of the Yuestan Kingdom and long-range fire support units to assist in the battle.

Rumble rumble rumble...

Between engagements, Han Cheng gazed up at the sky, where A-29 “Super Tucano” light attack aircraft, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Mi-17 helicopters, and MD-530 armed reconnaissance helicopters streaked overhead.

Han Cheng was dumbfounded: “Damn, this real-life battle royale is serious—they even have fighter jets and attack helicopters!”

“But aren’t those models really outdated? Where’d they get this junk from? The planes even have propellers!”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think this guy was playing Season 2 of S2!”

If the Yuestan government had overheard Han Cheng’s words, they would have been furious.

True, as a poor Middle Eastern country, Yuestan’s military strength was somewhat weak.

But they had an air force—something even the Night Wolf Mercenary Corps lacked. What was Han Cheng complaining about? What did he expect, a Ferrari?

At first, Han Cheng found it hard to accept. Here was a hardcore real-life battle royale, yet they fielded a bunch of relics from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

It felt over the top.

But then he thought: this isn't a real battlefield. Having planes at all was impressive. It was just a formality; there was no need to fuss over it.

And so, Han Cheng continued down the path of treating the real battlefield as a real-life battle royale.

Swoosh—swoosh—swoosh—swoosh—swoosh—

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

Once the Yuestan air force and long-range fire support units officially entered the fray, the LS rebels’ geographical advantages were somewhat diminished.

Geographical advantage meant a lot to the ground forces, but for the Yuestan air force and long-range fire support units wielding high-altitude and long-distance strikes, it was irrelevant.

Suddenly, missiles and aerial machine gun rounds poured down relentlessly on the LS rebel positions.

Seizing the opportunity, the ground troops pressed forward rapidly, using tanks, mortars, rocket launchers, drones, and more to advance, coordinating with air units to strike enemy positions.

At the start of the battle, this air-ground cooperation brought sweet success to the Seventh Mercenary Regiment.

That was until the LS rebels suddenly deployed their air defense system.

It was an American-made NASAMS air defense system, composed of ground vehicle-mounted launchers, radar, and a control center.

It could monitor up to 60 targets within a 120-kilometer radius, with an interception range of 50 kilometers.

Once this system went live, its AIM-120 missiles began intercepting the long-range weapons launched by the Seventh Mercenary Regiment, the Yuestan air force, and the fire support units.

The Seventh Mercenary Regiment’s advantage in air and long-range weaponry vanished completely.

Swoosh—boom!

Watching a warplane explode midair after being hit by enemy air defense missiles, Han Cheng’s jaw dropped: “Wait, are there any real people on those planes? The explosions look so real—they’re really going all out!”

Meanwhile, the Seventh Mercenary Regiment’s commander, Rodson, was furious.

“Damn it! Those damn Eagle country bastards actually gave that level of air defense support to those terrorists hiding deep in the mountains. They really want to stir up trouble everywhere!”

This was a national defense-grade air defense system, and the Eagle country had directly provided it free of charge to the LS terrorists.

And now, this very system was the weapon halting the Seventh Mercenary Regiment’s advance. Was this not dishonorable?

With the Seventh Mercenary Regiment and Yuestan’s air superiority neutralized, the ground forces’ assault once again bogged down.

The LS rebels’ ground advantages were overwhelming, making every step forward a struggle.

However, Rodson found some comfort in the fact that not all ground units were struggling due to the enemy’s geographic advantage.

Some units were advancing more easily, pushing forward faster.

This unit was none other than the Third Armored Platoon of the Flames Company, operating in a mixed formation.

At this moment, due to Han Cheng’s earlier reckless charge, and the previous air and fire support suppressing the enemy, Han Cheng’s momentum only grew fiercer.

The entire Third Armored Platoon of the Flames Company, along with other units, had broken through the enemy’s first heavy fire defense line, engaging in close combat with the rebels.

But even so, Han Cheng did not slow down.

His sword still charged recklessly forward, the sharp blade piercing deeply into the enemy’s throat!

Looking at Han Cheng, it was as if he had abandoned his own troops, plunging alone headfirst into the dense enemy ranks.

The Third Armored Platoon leader, Sanker, panicked: “Sir, please stop Long! He’s charging blindly again!”

Upon hearing this, Rodson snapped angrily: “Second Lieutenant Sanker, shut your mouth!”

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