The livestream camera locked onto the plains battlefield as host Charles watched the one-sided carnage unfold, his voice tinged with undisguised awe:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the outcome is crystal clear!
Under the absolute firepower of tanks and assault squads, the defense has completely collapsed!
They're now huddled in a few isolated strongholds, putting up futile resistance!"
On screen, the Leman Russ Demolisher looked like a demon returned from hell.
Its massive hull was covered in laser burns and vicious craters left by promethium explosives.
Even one of its track guards had twisted off, exposing the complex machinery underneath.
It was clearly on its last legs, but that made the still-roaring, still-spewing main cannon even more oppressive, as if declaring an insane will to crush every last enemy before stopping.
"User 114514 must be losing his mind! Hahaha!"
"Six promethium charges and that iron turtle's still kicking? Is its health bar locked or something?"
"Feel bad for the guy for one second. This game experience sucks!"
The chat rallied behind User 114514 while being shocked by the tank's resilience. And User 114514 himself?
He was definitely not having a good time. Crouched behind a half-collapsed bunker, staring at that steel beast still dominating the battlefield, he was about to snap.
"What kind of broken tank is this?! I hit it with six promethium anti-tank charges and it won't blow?! How is that fair?!"
He couldn't help but roar into the public channel.
Every single time, he'd used perfect terrain awareness and suicidal charges to break through the fire net and plant those expensive promethium charges on the tank.
Each explosion gave him hope, but when the smoke cleared, the tank was just more battered yet still standing!
What made him feel most helpless was the Empire's "cursed" tactics.
That Leman Russ never operated alone. At least four or five Cadian Assault troops always circled around it like the most loyal guards, quickly and precisely eliminating any approaching threat.
Even more ridiculous? Four or five Engineers followed right on the tank's tail!
These Engineers did nothing else, just watched the tank's health bar and damaged parts.
The moment the tank took any damage, four or five wrenches immediately went to work, hammering away with repairs!
"How are we supposed to fight this?!" User 114514 felt deeply powerless.
No matter how skilled an individual was, they couldn't counter this systematic, practically shameless tactic.
He felt like he wasn't fighting a tank but battling an entire elite guard squad.
In stark contrast to the rebel side's despair was the cheerful atmosphere on the Empire side, especially in Scorchwind Squad's channel.
"Hahaha! Awesome! This bolter's incredible!" A squad member wielding an airdrop bolter squeezed the trigger at a rebel-held bunker entrance in the distance.
"BOOM! BOOM!" Two deafening blasts, and the bunker's metal door along with the rebel soldiers behind it were blown to pieces!
"Two shots! Just two shots! Could blow up an armored vehicle with this! Except for low ammo and losing it when you die, it's perfect!"
Scorchwind himself kept calling in battlefield support using shared squad points.
[Smoke cover deployed!]
Dense smoke grenades rose before the rebels' last core stronghold, blocking their line of sight.
[Artillery support in position!]
Imperial cannons roared again, repeatedly plowing the ground around the rebel stronghold, suppressing them so they couldn't raise their heads.
[Armored unit has arrived!]
Although there was only one Leman Russ Demolisher, Scorchwind Squad still summoned Chimera transports to coordinate with infantry for the final assault.
Points? No need to conserve them now! Victory was at hand. They wanted a thorough, crushing victory!
"Push forward! Push forward! Pour all firepower ahead! For the Emperor!" Scorchwind roared into the command channel, his voice hoarse with excitement.
Under overwhelming firepower and systematic tactical coordination, the rebels' last resistance melted like snow in sunlight.
One stronghold after another fell, one rebel banner after another burned.
Finally, when the Leman Russ Demolisher's main cannon reduced the last rebel command center to burning rubble, the system notification rang out like final judgment in every player's ears:
[Rebel core energy array destroyed!]
[Battle concluded!]
[Victory: Empire!]
A massive golden Imperial Aquila emblem unfurled across the screen, backed by solemn, majestic hymn chanting.
"We won!!" Scorchwind Squad's channel erupted in cheers.
"Hell yeah!!"
"That was incredible! This game!"
The Empire players, regardless of how many times they'd died, were now immersed in victorious euphoria.
Those dozens of minutes of intense combat, those repeated struggles at death's edge, that final rush of crushing everything through teamwork and overwhelming force gave them an unprecedented, ultimate sense of achievement.
I Will Carry You looked at the "Battle Failed" notification on her screen and her abysmal K/D ratio, yet unexpectedly didn't feel too disappointed.
She let out a long breath, as if waking from a long and terrifying nightmare.
"Finally... it's over."