Just as Robert and the other players were gathered around the virtual shop panel, drooling over the powerful but expensive war machines within, a dazzling red laser beam "whoosh"ed past their heads, instantly igniting something in the distance.
"They're firing!"
"Enemy attack!"
The players in the trench instinctively scattered, hastily grabbing their lasguns and cautiously peering over the edge of the trench. However, they soon discovered, to their disappointment, that they couldn't see anything.
The terrain of the Lower Hive was as complex as a labyrinth, and their section of the trench was precisely blocked by a large building corner, obstructing their view. They could only see the laser beam flying towards somewhere beyond their sight.
"What's going on? Are enemies here?" Robert shouted towards the high ground, raising his gun.
However, the players on the high ground gave no response. The shouts echoed a few times through the empty ruins before dissipating. Robert quickly realized that the distance between them was too great, and with the battlefield noise, the other party couldn't hear what he was saying at all.
He randomly pointed at a new player beside him: "You! Go up there quickly and ask what's happening and why they're firing!"
"Yes!" The player accepted the order and immediately scrambled up the slope beside the trench, heading towards the high ground.
Robert refocused his gaze forward, though he still couldn't see anything.
'I should have chosen a position with a better view...' he thought with some regret. He blamed himself for being too complacent. Now that the battle had begun, he realized that this game didn't have a convenient God's-eye view or instant communication.
Soon, a player ran over, panting, and awkwardly performed an aquila salute on his chest, mimicking an NPC: "Reporting, Company Commander..."
"Wait a moment," Robert interrupted him, looking at him confusedly, "Who are you?"
The player in front of him, whether by ID, appearance, or voice, was completely different from the one he had sent out earlier.
"Oh, our squad leader sent me over," the player scratched his head and explained somewhat sheepishly, "Our squad leader realized after firing that he should probably send someone to report the situation to you, so he quickly sent me over."
"..." Robert was speechless for a moment, thinking how casual this command system was. "Alright, at least someone came. Tell me, who are the enemies? How many? What types of units? How far are they from the front line?"
"The enemies are cultists!" The player answered the first question decisively, then started to falter. "Numbers... uh, a lot. Unit types... *hiss*, I kind of forgot, but there shouldn't be any elite units; they're all dressed in rags. Distance from our first line of defense... hmm, still quite far."
After listening, Robert felt his head starting to ache.
How many is "a lot"? What level of equipment is "dressed in rags"? How far is "quite far"? What kind of command could he give with such vague information? Perhaps the only thing worth celebrating was that the enemies were relatively far, giving them time to react.
Just then, the player Robert had initially sent out also huffed and puffed back: "Reporting, Company Commander..."
"The enemies are cultists, unknown numbers, shoddy equipment, and far away?" Robert said weakly, preempting him.
"Uh... yes," the player looked at him in surprise, "Company Commander, how did you know?"
"...After this battle, I must set up a dedicated communications officer position." Robert rubbed his temples, muttering to the air, "System, will communications officers receive Merits rewards?"
A cold, mechanical voice echoed directly in his mind.
"Holy crap, I just asked casually, and it actually answered?" Robert jumped in surprise, "game dev, you're not spying on us, are you?"
This time, the system gave him no further response.
He also didn't have a chance to try asking new questions. A ball of energy, flickering with ominous purple light, whistled in and landed precisely beside him!
"Boom!"
The psychic missile exploded, and the enormous shockwave instantly tore a player next to him into scattered dust. Although the player's body reformed and recovered in a flash of light the next second, this sudden scene still gave Robert and the surrounding players a fright.
Robert suddenly looked up and was immediately horrified.
At some unknown point, large numbers of ragged cultists, armed with crude weapons, had already charged to the first line of defense!
"What's going on?!" Robert was a bit anxious. This was completely different from the "commander with a feather fan and silk scarf, who, in a flash of conversation and laughter, reduced enemy warships to ashes" scenario he had imagined. "Didn't you say they were still some distance away?"
The player with the ID Mua'dib, who had been watching the front line, loudly responded, "Company Commander! They seem to have suddenly appeared from another corner! I can't see very clearly either; the terrain is too complex!"
"Then why was Commissar Walter able to give orders in advance during the first test?" Robert instinctively retorted.
"Uh..." Mua'dib paused, then answered somewhat uncertainly, "Perhaps... Commissar Walter had reconnaissance teams and sentries placed outside in advance?"
Although he knew Mua'dib's words held no sarcasm, Robert still felt his cheeks burning, so embarrassed he could dig an entire garden world with his toes at the bottom of the trench.
"...Next time, next time I will definitely set up reconnaissance teams and sentries too!" he said through gritted teeth.
Another psychic missile struck; the enemy seemed to have pinpointed his position as commander, but unfortunately, their aim was poor. This time it also missed, only blowing up a large patch of dirt nearby.
"Damn your mother! My bulletproof armor is completely ruined!" The unlucky player, who had been affected by two consecutive explosions, cursed loudly, "You've got a grudge against me, don't you?! Damn it, don't let me catch you, you son of a bitch!"
At the same time, these two clearly visible missile trajectories successfully exposed the attacker's position. The players followed the trajectory and saw a Chaos Sorcerer, dressed in a magnificent robe, standing arrogantly on a ruined platform, seemingly with no intention of hiding himself.
"Rabble!" The Chaos Sorcerer, Elias Holmes, looked at the chaotic Astra Militarum on the position below and said disdainfully, "I see this so-called Imperial Guard is nothing special at all!"
The cultists beside him immediately flattered him obsequiously: "This is because of your Lordship's boundless wisdom and brilliant strategies; anyone else would fare the same!"
"Hahahahaha!" Elias laughed triumphantly, but his mouth feigned modesty, saying, "Don't exaggerate too much; you all know I am a very humble person."
Although the other cultists inwardly despised this upstart who had risen through warp blessings, their flattery and compliments were relentless.
On the other side, in the players' position.
"It's too dangerous here!" A player shouted, looking at the arrogant Sorcerer, "Company Commander, you should retreat quickly!"
The other players immediately reacted, echoing, "Right, right, the leader goes first!"
"Protect the leader! Protect the leader!"
Robert looked at the players, each vying to "protect" him, and was touched for a second, but then immediately realized—these bastards were afraid that if their "Company Commander" was gone, and they died, there would be no one to approve the inheritance of their hard-earned merit!
Terrabyte, in the warp, saw all of this clearly. He couldn't help but let out a sigh: "Rabble!"
Both the attacking cultists and the defending players were like a disorganized group of skirmishers at this moment.
If it were ordinary mortal troops, under conditions of command error and intelligence deficiency, such a sudden assault would definitely lead to them being overrun by the cultists, with no chance to correct their mistakes.
But unfortunately, these cultists were facing players. For players, there were always countless opportunities and costs for trial and error.
Moreover, these were players who could revive on the spot with full health, under the protection of Terrabyte.