165: involution

"How did Li Xiao get past us! We didn't see him along the way!"

"This is terrifying, we even set up checkpoints on several national highways and county roads, how could..."

...

Seeing everyone panicking, Captain Yu Tu quickly raised his voice and said: "Everyone, stay calm! Li Xiao's coordinates will be sent to you immediately. All of you, contact the players near those coordinates and send the reserve teams to intercept him!"

"Other personnel, immediately organize the reserved troops to encircle Li Xiao!"

Captain Yu Tu made the deployment at the first moment. The chaotic command center quickly calmed down. Within minutes, reserve teams dispatched by hundreds of players began to close in on the location where Li Xiao had first been exposed.

But at this moment, Li Xiao was unhurriedly heading toward the next target. As he moved, his gaze never left the monitor inside the command vehicle.

"Boss! Right now, a force of about ten thousand troops is approaching you from the east, west, and south directions in multiple military off-road vehicles. They're expected to engage within five minutes!"

Zhao Feipeng promptly reported the situation detected by the Wing Loong drone. Li Xiao said calmly: "Understood. Keep reporting any new enemy movements and guide the troops through."

"Yes!"

Two minutes later, Zhao Feipeng reported again: "Boss, the eastern enemy forces are only four kilometers away from you. I recommend turning into the tree-lined road two hundred meters ahead to take cover."

"Received!"

Following Zhao Feipeng's instructions, Li Xiao immediately ordered Di Yun and Yang Chao to lead the troops into the forested area. A few minutes later, they heard the noise of a large number of vehicles passing on the national highway.

About sixty or seventy off-road vehicles sped past, racing toward the direction they had come from.

After this convoy had passed, Li Xiao quickly ordered the troops to continue advancing toward the next target.

"Captain! No sign of Li Xiao's troops in the target area!"

"None?"

Hearing his subordinate's report, Captain Yu Tu frowned deeply. At this moment, the frontline battle was fiercely contested, yet Li Xiao was still sneaking around behind their backs. His head was spinning.

Although they had once again destroyed tens of thousands of the enemy's military off-road vehicles, the four hundred infantry fighting vehicles blocking the main road into the city were like four hundred steel nails, firmly planted and unmovable no matter how much they were battered.

Captain Yu Tu pondered for a while. Just as he was about to order an expansion of the encirclement, bad news came through the command channel again.

"Captain! Li Xiao bypassed our encirclement and destroyed the level 10 base of the Hongxing Team leader!"

"What!"

Captain Yu Tu suddenly felt like a monkey being toyed with by Li Xiao. Furious, he directly ordered the hundreds of thousands of garrison troops near Li Xiao to surround his location.

"Occupy all the main roads and side roads! I don't believe he can grow wings and fly away!"

However, how could the hastily assembled garrison forces coordinate and deploy defenses in such a short time? Relying on information provided by drones, Li Xiao once again escaped the blockade with two armored companies.

After another level 10 base within the alliance exploded, the commanders in the Microstar Alliance command center grew anxious.

"Yu Tu! Are you even capable? You swore you could absolutely protect our rear! Now Li Xiao is already tearing down our homes!"

"If you can't come up with a solution soon, I'm taking my people back to defend. Otherwise, even if we capture Weixing City, I won't get much benefit, and I might even lose my own life!"

Everyone spoke one after another, constantly interrupting Captain Yu Tu's train of thought.

By now, he was in a difficult position. On the frontlines, there were still two to three million troops engaged, impossible to withdraw at this moment.

At this point, a tall, sturdy man with a crew cut and bronze skin walked out from behind Captain Yu Tu.

This man appeared to be in his thirties, his face exuding a resolute and composed demeanor. He stepped forward directly and said to Captain Yu Tu in a low voice: "Captain Yu! I suddenly remembered that after Li Xiao captured Weixing City, he seemed to receive two unmanned reconnaissance drones as a reward!"

"He must be using the visual information provided by these two drones to avoid our blockades in advance!"

"You mean the Wing Loong unmanned reconnaissance drone?" Captain Yu Tu suddenly understood, but then said angrily: "Even if we know he's using drones, what can we do?"

"Right now, we have no means to attack aircraft flying at cruising altitudes of at least five thousand meters or more!"

"Captain Yu! Why do we need to encircle and block him? Isn't he relying on drones to find our level 9 and 10 bases?"

"Then let's split our forces to surround the nearby level 10 bases. That way, wherever he goes, we'll have the strength to fight, hold him off, and wait for reinforcements!"

Captain Yu Tu suddenly realized and said urgently: "I was stuck in a dead end. Brother Meng, as expected of a military academy graduate, you're truly talented. I'll deploy this immediately!"

Although the Microstar Alliance had dispatched nine million troops to attack Weixing City, the garrison forces left behind were actually no fewer.

Under the alliance's emergency mobilization, up to five to six million reserve troops from various low-level bases began converging toward over a dozen level 10 bases in several southern cities!

This situation was soon detected by Zhao Feipeng. Learning of this, Li Xiao thought to himself that there were indeed some capable people in the Microstar Alliance.

"But do they think this can restrain me?"

Li Xiao sneered inwardly. Attacking level 10 bases was just to cause chaos within the enemy's command system, but that didn't mean he had no other options.

If level 10 bases represented the top command system, then those level 8 and 9 bases below were the mid-to-lower-level command personnel.

Destroying these people's bases would also strike a blow to the command order of the frontline enemy forces, perhaps even more effectively than directly taking out the leaders!

"Di Yun, Yang Chao, continue to operate separately. Don't spare any level 8 or 9 bases along the line!"

"Yes!"

Level 8 and 9 bases had low durability and few troops. Li Xiao split his forces into two groups and destroyed several bases in just over ten minutes.

"Li Xiao! Damn you! Have you no shame? Is this the conduct of the First Army?"

Hearing that Li Xiao had turned to attack level 8 and 9 bases, Captain Yu Tu immediately cursed loudly.

Originally, defending about a dozen level 10 bases was manageable, but when the enemy's targets became level 8 and 9 bases, the numbers were no longer small.

At this point, the man surnamed Meng spoke again: "Captain Yu, keep your cool. Sometimes, some necessary sacrifices are unavoidable!"

"Meng Fan, you..." Hearing this, Captain Yu Tu was stunned. He looked around; fortunately, no one was nearby.

He said in a low voice: "You mean we should withstand the pressure and capture Weixing City first? But that won't be accomplished anytime soon."

"If we really wait until we capture it, I'm afraid the Microstar Alliance might no longer exist."

"Hmph, do you really intend to become the alliance leader?" Meng Fan said disdainfully: "After eliminating the Xiao Yao Army, do you think those teams with strength comparable to yours will just hand over the army slots?"

Captain Yu Tu looked at this thirty-year-old man before him, feeling a secret sense of dread. Such fickle and unpredictable thoughts were truly unsettling.