The horn of the final offensive sounded, bringing not rekindled hope but a suffocating despair worse than anything before.
At least, that's how it felt for I Will Carry You.
She'd thought hiding inside a reinforced concrete bunker would keep her safe.
This had been one of the rebels' proudest strongpoints, its thick walls capable of withstanding direct hits from ordinary laser cannons.
However, when that mountain of a Leman Russ Destroyer slowly adjusted its intimidating siege cannon, the faint hope that had just risen in I Will Carry You's heart was instantly crushed to dust.
"BOOM——!!!!!!!"
An absurdly thick muzzle flash tore through the air, followed by a deafening roar like the birth of creation itself!
She didn't even see the shell's trajectory. She only felt the entire bunker get hammered by a giant's fist, the violent shaking throwing her to the ground.
The next second, a teeth-grinding sound of shattering concrete came from above! The thick ceiling tore apart like paper and peeled away!
Blinding sunlight mixed with smoke poured in, followed by a devastating shockwave and a storm of rebar fragments!
[You have been killed by: Leman Russ Destroyer]
"I..." I Will Carry You stared at her grayed-out screen again, profanity stuck in her throat.
How was this even playable? Hiding in the strongest fortification, only to get blown away along with the bunker from hundreds of meters out?! This wasn't a difficulty issue anymore. This was pure malice!
Refusing to accept it, she respawned.
This time she learned her lesson. She didn't dare go to any conspicuous fortifications.
Instead, she found a remote corner of the trenches, curled up there, and prayed the fighting wouldn't reach her.
However, her bad luck seemed to completely explode that day.
"Whoosh—!"
A stray shot from who-knows-where, maybe a ricochet from the Imperial and rebel exchange of fire, maybe a burst from a Cadian Shock Trooper casually clearing the battlefield, flew precisely and coincidentally into her hiding spot and struck her directly in the head.
[You have been killed by: Imperial Guard Soldier]
"..."
I Will Carry You fell silent. Her stream chat fell silent.
Then the comments erupted like a volcano, filled with cheerful energy:
"Hahaha Liora's fortune today: DO NOT LEAVE HOME!"
"That luck, unbelievable!"
"Hiding in spawn and still catching a stray bullet to the face, you should buy a lottery ticket."
"*The Unlucky Person's Guide to Self-Cultivation*"
"Liora: I just want to be a quiet battlefield beauty, why is that so hard?"
I Will Carry You felt like she was about to lose it. This game was straight-up targeting her!
User 114514 shared similar feelings, though his came not from bad luck but from real, suffocating pressure.
After the final offensive began, the Imperial side didn't just gain one absurdly overpowered Leman Russ Destroyer.
They also gained a hundred Cadian Shock Troopers!
These elite AI in dark green uniforms with distinctive aquila emblems on their helmets were less like soldiers and more like killing machines.
Their tactical movements were clean and efficient, their coordination seamless, and most importantly, their marksmanship was terrifyingly accurate!
User 114514 had tried to set up an ambush at an excellent anti-tank position over five hundred meters from the front line.
He'd just used his binoculars to lock onto the Leman Russ Destroyer's side armor and hadn't even called for anti-tank support yet when a laser beam of uncanny precision grazed past his scalp and struck the rock behind him, leaving a deep crater!
He immediately pulled back, nearly breaking into a cold sweat.
The enemy, from five hundred meters away, based solely on him peeking out from cover for less than a second, had nearly pulled off a headshot!
This reaction speed and accuracy far exceeded any veteran AI he'd encountered before.
He changed positions, trying to harass the advancing Imperial infantry from the flank.
However, the moment he dared show himself for more than two seconds, at least two or three Cadian Shock Troopers would immediately focus fire on him.
Their laser rifles seemed enhanced, and even hitting him through his medium assault armor, they still dealt considerable damage. Two or three shots would bring him to death's door.
"Absolutely brutal..." User 114514 was forced to keep moving, not daring to stay in one position.
These Cadian Shock Troopers were like an invisible net that, coordinating with that all-crushing Leman Russ Destroyer, easily tore apart any resistance the rebels tried to organize.
Ordinary rebel AI soldiers were mowed down like wheat before these Cadians.
Players had it even worse, getting instantly killed the moment they showed themselves.
The Imperial advance, after paying a heavy price, finally became "smooth," a kind of smoothness built on absolute crushing force that inspired only despair.
Bunkers on the plains defensive line were eliminated one by one by the Leman Russ's main gun.
Trenches were systematically cleared and occupied by Cadian Shock Troopers and Imperial Guard. The rebel defensive line was collapsing at a visible rate.
User 114514 watched the steadily deteriorating battle situation and that Leman Russ Destroyer, unstoppable as the grim reaper itself, and felt a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart.
Individual skill and courage seemed so pale before this level of steel tide and elite legion.
This battle seemed to have reached its inevitable conclusion.