Chapter 143: Adaptation of Garbage Town
Rugi Likoshi received the order to retreat and rest.
Since being saved by the Alliance forces and then fighting alongside them with his brothers, two days had passed.
The past two days had been equally difficult. The Greenskin beasts knew the six to seven-kilometer frontline in Zone 5 was hard to attack and instead tried to break through from other places. Meanwhile, his Beast Slaughtering Group endured Greenskin assaults from surrounding areas.
If it weren’t for the Alliance’s artillery support and the quick mobile assistance of Captain Pobov’s armored vehicles, even if they managed to hold, the casualties would have been substantial.
But as hard as these days were, they were better than before.
At least, they had a real fight on their hands. His brothers had sustained severe injuries and losses, but seeing the Greenskins fall under artillery fire and bullets made him feel that their sacrifices weren’t in vain.
For this reason, when he received the order for his unit to pull back and rest, he was a bit reluctant.
In his view, besides the Alliance’s army, no one could fight as well as his men. If his force of five to six thousand withdrew, the line might not hold.
However, what happened next silenced him.
The replacement forces were still Alliance troops.
The unit that took over his defensive line belonged to the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division.
Although the 3rd Regiment had less than half his numbers, about two thousand soldiers at best, and lacked armored vehicles or tanks, they did bring thirty heavy cannons.
Well, in that case, it was clear that they were indeed more powerful.
Moreover, while he wanted to fight, some of his subordinates were struggling to hold up mentally.
Reluctantly, he led his troops back.
Before leaving, he went to meet Pobov to express his thanks.
It wasn’t only for saving their lives but for saving his group.
If Pobov’s forces hadn’t arrived in time, he would have died, and the morale of the Beast Slaughtering Group would likely have crumbled, causing the unit to disband.
Pobov accepted Likoshi’s gratitude openly.
Afterward, the two discussed the current state of the battle and the situation surrounding the Beast Slaughtering Group’s reassignment.
“You should prepare yourself—the Governor might want to integrate your forces.”
“Integrate?” Likoshi frowned, instinctively resisting the idea. “Why integrate us? Isn’t the current arrangement fine? We’re already following the orders of the Governor’s command center in Garbage Town.”
“It’s more than that. In the future, you might become an official part of the Alliance military.”
“I don’t really want that… In the past, many agents, including Mr. Swan, tried to make us follow orders completely, but we rejected them. That doesn’t align with the original purpose of our group.”
Pobov shook his head and said, “Whether you accept the integration is your choice, but I highly recommend it…”
Raising two fingers, Pobov continued, “I’ll give you just two reasons to consider carefully:”
“First, Garbage Town won’t be the same in the future—there won’t be room for adventurer groups as there was before. Everything will become formalized. Think of the future of your brothers. Do you all intend to die here just for revenge? Or when revenge is achieved, to kill all the Greenskins and then live without a purpose? Accepting formal integration is best. You’ll receive military rations, a stipend, and only need to train and follow orders. You don’t have to worry about anything else. Even if you die, there’s a generous death benefit, and if you retire, there will be a transition arranged. Your future is secure.”
“Second, even if you’re only considering the present fight against the Greenskins, integration is better. You are the most capable Greenskin killers among adventurers, but even so, you still lose three to five men to take down just one. With formal integration, you’ll receive direct weapon support, which will make killing those Greenskins easier.”
With that, Pobov lowered his two fingers and truly said nothing more.
Initially reluctant, Likoshi found he couldn’t refute Pobov’s two arguments.
…
After saying goodbye to Pobov, Likoshi led his unit back. After about half a day’s journey, they arrived at the Joint Military Camp.
This newly established rear camp now housed nearly forty thousand people.
The ten thousand adventurers of Garbage Town were now distributed as follows: ten thousand held in the prisoner-of-war camp in the western part of Garbage Town, where they would be barely kept alive—these were the people who had tried to flee with Nather and Mark Ferry.
Forty thousand were stationed in the Joint Military Camp, mostly adventurers who had fought on the front line a few days prior and had withdrawn after suffering heavy losses, now being regrouped, rearmed, and rested on-site.
Fifty thousand were still on the front lines, maintaining the defense line.
After two days of rest in the Joint Military Camp, the command center began rotating troops.
Expecting these adventurers of varied skill levels to hold the front line indefinitely while taking casualties was impractical. Rotating units was more reliable than throwing all hundred thousand of them into the front line at once.
Of course, the most crucial factor in maintaining their morale was money.
They were adventurers, mercenaries fighting for pay. Gu Hang made no hesitation in paying them in Alliance Coins, spending freely, and promising that these Alliance Coins could be used for purchases in Garbage Town during the war. He even sourced supplies from Garbage Town to meet the demand. Furthermore, he promised that after the war, those who remained with the Alliance could convert their Alliance Coins into work points as part of the new order.
Though it appeared to be a significant expenditure, the actual cost was not as substantial as it seemed.
Alliance Coins were often little more than promissory notes.
What good was it to issue Alliance Coins? If the adventurers spent them immediately, it was essentially Gu Hang drawing on reserves from around Garbage Town. If they saved them, redemption would come later.
If it came down to it, adventurers who joined the Alliance could convert their Alliance Coins into work points, but those who chose to leave would face uncertain redemption rates based on changing values, set by the Alliance, not by them.
Naturally, Gu Hang wouldn’t resort to underhanded tactics unless necessary, as it would damage his reputation.
Gu Hang hoped they would all stay.
Even if they didn’t remain as soldiers, ten thousand people converting to workers would still be a substantial population.
Among these individuals, Gu Hang focused on the Beast Slaughtering Group the most.
After their retreat and rest, Gu Hang summoned the group’s leader, Rugi Likoshi.
Regarding Gu Hang’s suggestion of integration, Likoshi ultimately chose to accept.
On their way back, he discussed it thoroughly with his brothers, including all the team leaders, mid-level commanders, and lower-ranking soldiers, asking for their opinions.
Their answers differed slightly in wording but conveyed the same sentiment: they were willing to accept integration.
What else was there to say?
Since the Beast Slaughtering Group had been established, they had fought for half a year, with constant deaths, endless sacrifices, and harsh living conditions.
Hatred drove them, but another factor couldn’t be ignored. They were originally a group of adventurers; they didn’t know anything else.
Revenge was their motivation, but the need to survive was an even greater force.
What was wrong with integration?
Life could be better, the future secured, and it wouldn’t hinder the fight against the Greenskins.
As for their initial purpose of maintaining independence… that was indeed one of the founding principles of the Beast Slaughtering Group. They accepted sponsorship but not commands to stay focused on fighting the Greenskins, avoiding assignments from the agents of Garbage Town.
Now, the situation in Garbage Town had completely changed, and sticking to the old ways was unnecessary.
Since his brothers felt this way, and Likoshi had nearly been persuaded during his earlier conversation with Pobov, he had no further resistance to the Governor’s personal invitation.
However, he did make one additional request.
“I hope to retain our name, the ‘Beast Slaughtering Group,’ as a unique designation. I heard from Pobov that Alliance forces allow for such requests.”
“Hahaha!” Gu Hang laughed heartily. “I can certainly grant that request, but not yet.”
Noticing Likoshi’s puzzled expression, Gu Hang suppressed his smile and said seriously, “If you want to retain the name ‘Beast Slaughtering Group’ as your unit’s designation, then prove your worth. Go and kill those Greenskin beasts. Once you’ve slain enough of them, making ‘Beast Slaughtering’ truly fitting, I’ll give you that name.”
Likoshi took a deep breath, his expression firm. “It’s a deal.”
…
The adventurer group known as the Beast Slaughtering Group completed its integration over the next few days.
Five thousand G9 personal weapons were distributed among them, and they were given a new designation: the 3rd Independent Regiment.
Gu Hang invested fifty Grace Points into them.
Upon completing their training, they reached the T5 rank and became an infantry unit possessing the ‘Beast Slaughtering’ specialty, leveraging their accumulated combat experience.
The newly transformed 3rd Independent Regiment soon returned to the battlefield.
Though they were only equipped with personal weapons and had no regimental artillery or many mortars—just plenty of rocket launchers—the G9 rifles far surpassed their old equipment, and training under the Governor’s watch over the past few days had given them a noticeable sense of improvement.
These changes manifested directly on the battlefield.
With support from the concentrated rear artillery fire, the Independent Regiment could hold a ten-kilometer defensive line on
their own, requiring only occasional assistance from “militia regiments.”
These so-called militia regiments were former adventurer groups.
During those days, the 3rd Independent Regiment wasn’t the only one integrated. Other units were restructured while resting at the Joint Military Camp.
Their willingness to remain was also confirmed.
Those who chose to stay were reorganized into garrison divisions. Gu Hang, lacking sufficient personal equipment for them or the resources to train them all to T5, didn’t intend to push them all to T5 immediately—without equipment, combat readiness would suffer, wasting the effort.
However, restructuring was necessary; otherwise, command would remain too chaotic.
Ultimately, seeing the Alliance’s military benefits, over seventy thousand were willing to join.
The comparison was simple: even an Alliance soldier starting as a private enjoyed a better standard of living than scavenging in the wastelands.
Of the seventy thousand, apart from the Beast Slaughtering Group being formed into an independent regiment of six thousand, the remaining sixty-three thousand were organized into six garrison divisions, receiving designations from 4 to 9.
No new equipment was issued; they only received promises of benefits and modified command structures.
Division and regimental commanders were selected from the 2nd Division and Pobov’s regiment, while others were promoted from leaders of large adventurer groups or esteemed adventurers.
Commissars couldn’t be assigned below the regimental level due to the extensive restructuring, so only the division and regimental levels received commissars. They were to foster soldier loyalty to the Empire and the Governor by establishing committees and training guides for battalions and companies.
In addition, over twenty thousand who preferred to become civilians or leave the Alliance were temporarily hired as soldiers with private ranks.
These individuals were organized into ten militia regiments, assigned sequence numbers instead of official designations, with internal structures and command levels modeled on adventurer groups.
When the garrison divisions rotated back to the front lines, they took on some main force duties, while the militia regiments performed labor-intensive tasks like building fortifications.
Gu Hang saw no need to send people as cannon fodder.
There was no call for such measures yet.
Once the six garrison divisions completed their equipment and training, Gu Hang would have nine brigade-level units, a sufficient military force.
A nearly one-hundred-thousand-strong military force with high-grade equipment was more than adequate for future military expansions.
After all, armies needed to defend their territories after battles. Newly reclaimed lands, whether for retention or population resettlement, required stationed troops to enforce policies.
However, that would come later; the immediate goal was to continue the battle against the Greenskins.
Gu Hang planned to stay put and engage in two months of defensive warfare.
With two months, the integration of the nine brigade-level units, training funded by Grace Points, and the production and allocation of all light and heavy equipment should be completed.
Then, it would be time for the counteroffensive.