Counterfeit Hero

The three guides looked at the plan brought by Fatty and showed a look of difficulty. Such attacks had been carried out many times by the Freedom Front, and each time the losses were heavy. Trying to succeed while preserving forces was truly challenging. Yaric said gloomily, "Messenger, to be honest, the Gazalin Empire has stationed a large number of troops in their only Star Domain. Surprise attacks are possible, but preserving strength is not easy."

Fatty was surprised and said, "You are experts in this area. In the strategy of enemy rear raids, the results are the least important factor; preserving strength is the most important. If one raid doesn’t achieve much, the results can be accumulated through multiple raids. As long as you can withdraw in time before being surrounded by the enemy, it’s not difficult at all."

Seeing the heavy expressions on the faces of the three guides, Fatty said in disbelief, "Could it be... every time, after setting the attack target and retreat route, you just started the operation?"

Yaric and the other two exchanged a glance, nodded awkwardly, and replied, "Isn’t that how it should be? Our plans are well detailed, but losses are still unavoidable."

Fatty asked with some headache, "What about the enemy’s electronic systems? Were they destroyed before the action?"

Sanjad smiled, "Of course, in Gazalin, we have planted many people in various systems. Our electronic experts are also quite capable. Controlling the surveillance system for one or two hours is doable. However..." He shrugged with an embarrassed expression, "The losses are still significant, especially when exceeding the planned time... "

Fatty smiled bitterly, "How could there be situations where the planned time was exceeded during a raid behind enemy lines? You aim to disrupt within the time limits. Whatever you can achieve within that time, just do it. The pre-arranged blocking forces, retreat routes, and time control must leave room for flexibility. Don’t expect one hundred people to achieve one hundred percent outcomes. If you can achieve forty percent while preserving your strength, it’s already good enough." He pondered for a moment and asked, "How many attack targets do you choose at once?"

Sanjad exclaimed in surprise, "Just one! Now, focusing on effective raids on a single target is already enough for us to rack our brains. The preliminary understanding, reconnaissance, and planning require a lot of work. Moreover, our forces only allow us to concentrate on raiding one target."

"Damn, Russell, it turns out the guys you handed to me are all single-minded!" Fatty lamented internally and tried to ask, "Haven’t you deployed special operations teams?" The three guides shook their heads. Sanjad said, "The enemy’s forces are too large, we can’t proceed without concentrating our forces." Fatty asked again, "Never used feint attacks?" The three guides shook their heads again. Fatty sighed and asked, "Never used strategies like Fortifying Failure to Rescue, or Borrowing a Knife to Kill, or Looting a Burning House, Fishing in Troubled Waters, or Rattling the Grass to Startle the Snake, or Passing Out at Sea, or Involving Fake Smiles, Stealing Targets, or Luring the Tiger from the Mountain, or Better a Peach than Plum, or Stealing a Beam to Replace Pillar, or Borrowing a Corpse to Resurrect?"

The three guides were confused by Fatty’s rambling and looked at each other in dismay. Oberto asked, "What is Feint Attacks?" Fatty explained, "It’s pretending to attack one place while actually planning to strike another. Successfully executing the plan in the real target area."

The three guides suddenly understood. Yaric nodded and said, "We fought a few battles like this twice, but we don’t really understand these concepts very well." He blushed slightly and continued, "You see, apart from Algarfar, we haven’t been able to receive formal military education. The Gazalin Empire’s Military Academy doesn’t accept people like us. The tactics we know are those we figured out from frequent battles, combined with some experience passed down from predecessors. In theory, we don’t really understand much."