The Fourth Calamity: Starting with Dungeon Slimes

Chapter 178 Internal Conflicts

Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the Dark Elf side was indeed very tense. After all, they had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle, and this sneak attack had left a deep impression on them.

First of all, this casualty ratio is somewhat outrageous.

They had initially planned to easily subdue this group of slimes, but reality dealt them a harsh blow. Now, it wasn't them easily subduing their opponents; rather, their opponents had easily subdued them. Before the battle even began, they had already lost nearly half their forces. They dared not even imagine how troublesome the subsequent battles would be.

The commander in charge of this battle looked extremely grim. He hadn't expected to be ambushed, nor had he anticipated that the enemy would be so reckless.

Before the other side was fully prepared in any way, they launched an attack on our side.

Aren't they worried that if this attack fails and they launch a counterattack, they'll be completely overwhelmed?

He could even organize the remaining forces to launch a counterattack, which was what troubled the commander at the moment. According to intelligence, the enemy only had about 400 men.

Now the opponent has posted over 1000 words, so he has to think about whether or not to take advantage of the opponent's current heavy losses and push straight through.

"The problem is that the previous intelligence was clearly false, so how accurate is the information I'm getting now?"

"If their numbers aren't 1000 but 2000 or even 3000, then I'll have to send people over. At that point, the people I send out will basically be doomed. What should I do then? No need to think, they'll just slink away, and the place might even be taken over by them."

Thinking of this, the commander-in-chief couldn't help but look troubled, and he directly called over the captain of the sixth squad.

"What exactly is the intelligence you've provided? Why is there such a large discrepancy between the actual situation and the intelligence you've provided?"

Faced with the commander-in-chief's questioning, the captain of the sixth squad naturally knew what this guy wanted to do. It was obvious he wanted him to take the blame, but it was equally obvious that this was absolutely impossible. The reason was simple: he was a seasoned veteran, and after all this time, if he didn't understand the other side's tactics, he'd have wasted his life.

Thinking of this, the captain of the sixth squad was not weak in spirit either.

"First of all, is there a problem with the information I provided? Obviously, there is no problem at all. The reason why it deviates from my original information is definitely not my fault. First of all, this information was not only provided by me, but headquarters also sent people to verify it. After the headquarters sent people to verify it, they confirmed the other party's quantity, which proves that my information itself is not problematic."

"The reason why there is such a big discrepancy now is that it is intentional on the part of the other party. They concealed their true number in order to catch us off guard."

"After all, the other side isn't stupid. The fact that they've been able to occupy this place for so long and eliminate so many of our people speaks volumes. Their combat skills are no worse than ours, and their numbers might even be higher. Under such circumstances, it's perfectly normal for them to use some tricks."

"Moreover, the most crucial person in this matter has nothing to do with me. All I can do is provide you with this intelligence. Since we are essentially a combat team, the intelligence team should be responsible for intelligence. Even the person sent by headquarters before was in charge of intelligence. So, if he found no problem, shouldn't you go to him instead of me?"

"Do you expect a combat team like mine to do intelligence work on the battlefield? If I were truly capable of that, I would have been doing intelligence work long ago. Why would I be here on the front lines fighting?"

"Furthermore, as the leader of a combat team, I feel I have already exceeded my duties by providing useful intelligence and even assisting the intelligence personnel in fulfilling part of their responsibilities. Under these circumstances, I would like to ask you why you called me here to question me face to face? I won't say anything else, but we have been guarding this place for so long and fought those slimes so many times. I'm sure headquarters is aware of these things and how much we have contributed to this place."

"Given this situation, when problems arise, shouldn't you reflect on your mistakes as commander-in-chief? Why did all the outposts you deployed get wiped out at the same time? As outposts, as the eyes of the battlefield, are they truly suitable?"

"To be so easily eliminated by the enemy, and then having someone like that as our eyes and ears... I don't think we've lost this battle by much, and it's also a management problem on your part, because this kind of person can act as the eyes and ears of the entire team."

I find it hard to imagine what could have caused you to do that.

Hearing the captain of the sixth squad speaking so confidently and then turning his attention to him, the commander-in-chief couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

At that moment, he realized that he had completely underestimated the captain's skills and thinking.

It's obvious this captain is different from the others. His thinking and eloquence are on par. At least in the current situation, he has proven his contribution while simultaneously shirking all responsibility, and doing so with sound reasoning and evidence. This argument is plausible no matter where you look at it.

In reality, under normal circumstances, no captain would dare to be so assertive. This is because if you dare to be so assertive, your superiors have plenty of ways to make things difficult for you, but the other side dares to do it.

It was obvious that the other side also knew that if they continued fighting in the current situation, they would definitely lose.

At this point, he didn't care about being retaliated against; his primary task was to get rid of the blame and absolutely not take it himself.

In that case, even if he is defeated, he still has a chance to escape and return to the base, and then be reused. But if he takes the blame and runs away after being betrayed, the consequences will be very serious.

At this moment, even the commander-in-chief couldn't help but start to re-examine this squad leader.

He realized he had underestimated the person in front of him, and the person's words had put him in a difficult position, leaving him in a precarious situation.

"What you said is indeed correct. Just like you said, this battle ultimately boils down to the intelligence team's problems."

"Of course, calm down. The main reason for this is that I didn't expect the intelligence team to send people over before, and the information they provided was the same as the information you provided, which means that they didn't investigate seriously at all, so they provided wrong information."

"The reason I'm so angry is mainly because I thought you provided this information, but now it seems to be a misunderstanding."

As the commander-in-chief, he was no pushover either. His first task was to shift the blame onto someone reasonable. Clearly, the intelligence team took the fall for him this time.

"As for why people like this can join the intelligence team, I'm sorry, I can't control that. It's not my responsibility to recruit people into the intelligence team. Of course, I will report this to my superiors."

"Presumably, after they understand the situation, they will review the existing intelligence team and select those who meet the requirements. In the future, those who do not meet the requirements will likely be removed from the team."

When the captain of the sixth squad heard what the commander-in-chief said, his expression turned serious.

On the surface, it may seem like the other party is shifting the blame, but in reality, they are digging their own grave.

This guy is also very difficult to deal with.

The captain of the sixth squad was not surprised by this. If someone could reach this position and be so easily controlled, then there would be a problem. What he said seemed reasonable on the surface, but in reality, it was full of pitfalls.

In a team, what's most important? Clearly, it's intelligence. Only by gathering clear intelligence and understanding the enemy's situation can you formulate appropriate tactics. However, if the intelligence team provides you with false information, your entire team could be wiped out.

Therefore, at this time, as the eyes and the core of the battlefield, the selection of intelligence team members is extremely cautious. They must be people the elders trust. In fact, the intelligence team is directly under the jurisdiction of the elders, who appoint capable and trustworthy individuals to join the team.

At this point, the commander-in-chief was simply trying to convey that, as he had just stated, it was because of the intelligence team. He questioned how someone like this could be included in the intelligence team, and what the reason was for such a person's inclusion.

The implication is that the other party's abilities and virtues are unworthy of their position, and they entered the group entirely through back channels. However, the fact that the elders directly manage the personnel of this group suggests that the elders are problematic or that their abilities are questionable. Regardless of the reason, if the elders find out, one's life will definitely not be easy.

This seemingly simple maneuver, ostensibly a report to higher authorities, was essentially a threat—a way of letting the elder know that the elder was suspected of wrongdoing.

This is what makes this whole thing so absurd. Although the other party's words seem plausible and without any apparent problems, and they even seem to agree with your own perspective, they are actually putting you in a very difficult position.

Taking a deep breath, the captain of the sixth squad couldn't help but take the guy in front of him seriously. It was obvious that his abilities were no weaker than his own, especially when encountering special situations, whether it was taking the blame or something else.

He's a seasoned veteran, with a wealth of experience.

"I never thought I'd meet my match, but don't underestimate me. I'm not as easy to deal with as you think."

At this point, the captain of the sixth squad organized his measures and then began to argue with the other side.

Unlike the oppressive atmosphere and blame-shifting among Old Six's team, the atmosphere among the players was much more cheerful. They had a great time in the battle just now.

After all, many players made a fortune from that sneak attack and the high efficiency of killing enemies.

However, many players are feeling very upset because their mechs were destroyed and picked up by others, and they are now melting them down for materials.

"Seriously, buddy, you guys went too far! You took all our mechs and are using them to melt down materials!"

.

"What are you talking about? It's like you can come back to pick up things after you're dead. If we don't pick them up, we'll definitely give them to someone else."

"You can pick it up and return it to the owner."

"Hey buddy, you're the boss, right? Do you want to hear what you're saying? Don't you think there's something wrong with what you're saying?"

""

"What do you mean you can pick things up and return them to their owners? I'd like to ask, who's the originator of this? Your things exploded, so they no longer belong to you. Are they still yours? We just picked up some dropped items. According to you, does that mean we can't pick up anything that someone else dropped? If I just casually drop something on the ground, and you pick it up, are you supposed to return it to me?"

"Is this how you play games? In games, things that don't belong to anyone can be picked up by anyone."

"Since when do we have to return things that have no ownership? According to you, all the armor you picked up on the battlefield has no ownership, so give it back to me—it's all mine. Aren't you kidding me?"

Seeing that people were arguing, the bystanders quickly stepped in to stop them.

"Alright, everyone, let's keep it to a minimum. That guy is right. The equipment you lose on the battlefield doesn't belong to anyone. If someone picks it up and you know them, it's normal for them to return it. But if a stranger cuts it up, it's also normal for them not to return it, because they don't know you. Why should they give it back to you? And that's how games are. Just because you see it or you wore it doesn't mean it's yours. If you don't own it, then it's not yours."

"Alright, alright, there's not much to say about this. And to put it bluntly, the mechs are all scrapped. They're just used to melt down materials and reforge them. In reality, it won't save you much money. A lot of the mech materials we picked up were low-level. In this battle, basically all the low-level mechs were destroyed. The mid-level and high-level mechs mostly returned safely."

"So these materials aren't worth much money, there's no need for everyone to have unpleasantness over such a small amount of money."

"Yes, there's absolutely no need."

Thus, everyone began to discuss the matter in various ways, and Jiang Chen, who was busy at work, couldn't help but ponder it as he listened to their discussion.

The issues they discussed definitely require careful consideration of how to handle them. Although nothing major happened this time, things are bound to go wrong if this continues.