Horatio gestured, pointing at the trench knife pressed against his neck, indicating that he had been eliminated.
The Storm Sergeant Major let out a helpless snort, then obediently lay on the ground to signify his 'death'.
Horatio looked around and gestured to Louise.
After a simple plan, at a single command, both of them raised their Hellguns and fired rapidly, first hitting the three closest individuals, then mercilessly opening fire on the Sergeant Major who had her back to them and was focused on counter-attacking.
"+Squad Leader, prioritize suppressing fire on the right!+"
Louise pulled back behind a tree, turning to her right.
"+Damn it! We're flanked! Right side, find cover immediately and contract your counter-attack!+" The Storm Sergeants Major shouted over their comms.
Facing the sudden attack, several Sergeant Majors on the right swiftly disengaged from their original positions, and their line contracted orderly to the left.
If it were a regular unit, they would probably be thinking about abandoning their position by now.
But these experienced Sergeant Majors immediately began re-planning their positions and calmly analyzed how many people had gotten behind them.
"+Archie, their right flank has contracted, we need support+"
Horatio fired a few shots, then changed positions, attempting to disrupt their judgment in this way, and contacted the 15th squad, which was also part of Squad 13.
Even so, the Sergeant Majors still determined that there were only 2-3 attackers.
Four Sergeant Majors who had pulled back from the right flank gestured, preparing to pincer them.
Upon hearing their tactical planning on the communication channel, Louise broke into a sweat. The Sergeant Majors had already decided to prioritize encircling and annihilating the two of them. A sneak attack was possible, but a head-on confrontation would likely offer no chance.
"+Fidio, Lydos, immediate support, we're about to be pincered.+"
"+Received+"
Now, the two found it difficult to switch positions; no matter which side they moved to, they would be exposing their backs to the enemy.
"+Squad Leader, we must pull back and maintain our distance from them,+" Horatio said, observing the situation.
"+You fall back first, I'll cover you.+"
Lasers crisscrossed above the bushes, and burnt branches constantly fell to the ground.
Horatio and Louise covered each other alternately, creating distance, but the Sergeant Majors still pressed on relentlessly.
One of the Sergeant Majors looked to his left; he heard hurried footsteps, so he stopped advancing, leaned against a tree, and aimed his Hellgun.
Two shock lasers flying towards their heads caused Lydos and Fidio, who were flanking to reinforce, to hit a tree trunk as if, falling to the ground.
As the other three Sergeant Majors got closer, Louise retreated.
Horatio suppressed three individuals, but the person who was setting up his Hellgun in the back had already aimed at the direction Louise might run.
"Hiss!" A shock laser struck Louise's leg armor, and the huge impact knocked her off balance, causing her to fall to the ground.
"+Archie, now's your chance!+"
Lying on the ground, Louise caught a glimpse of the Prefect squad rushing in through a gap in the right-side bush hedge and instantly understood why Horatio wanted her to attack the right side first.
Archie's squad, taking advantage of the Sergeant Majors' defensive contraction, swiftly moved through the open ground, arriving at the location where Lydos and Fidio had previously been.
Upon receiving Horatio's instructions, five Prefects attempted to breach through the gap.
[So he had taken the entire Squad 13 into tactical consideration...]
Louise, lying on the ground, felt her inadequacy. From the beginning of the battle, she had still been commanding with a squad-level mindset, overlooking the fact that the Prefects and Loyalists had already merged into a single tactical squad.
Archie, holding his Hellgun, was the first to breach, leaning against a tree, with two teammates following closely into tactical positions.
The Sergeant Major on the left discovered this infiltrating squad and immediately opened fire in retaliation, hitting the fourth person attempting to pass through the bushes, who fell to the ground. The last person had no choice but to quickly lie down to avoid the gunfire.
The four individuals who were rushing towards Louise and Horatio realized the situation behind them, and before they could react...
"Fire!" The three who had successfully infiltrated immediately fired at those four Sergeant Majors, successfully forcing them back and taking down one.
The Sergeant Majors abandoned their pursuit of Horatio, attempting to change positions to the left, but Horatio seized the opportunity to shoot down one, completely forcing them to abandon their current positions and retreat to the other side.
Thud!
A Prefect was shot down by a shock laser.
Archie quickly ducked behind a tree, a laser beam grazing the tree trunk, leaving a faint charred mark.
Upon discovering this, Horatio immediately hunched over, using the bushes as cover, and swiftly moved around to the left.
Louise provided him cover, and just as the four Sergeant Majors were about to swarm from one side, Lydos and Fidio successfully provided suppressive fire, thwarting their plan.
[Pinned down.] Archie poked his head out, and a laser beam immediately forced him back.
A brief burst of gunfire, Archie looked out, and Horatio and Louise had already taken the Sergeant Major who was pinning him out of position.
Since it was a training exercise, the Sergeant Majors did not engage in any tactical flanking maneuvers, generally remaining relatively passive. With Squad 13's disruption, their entire right flank collapsed and began shifting to the left flank, while several squads led by Henry Harvey also pressed forward.
This ambush had, in fact, been thwarted. Although the Sergeant Majors had a myriad of ways to take down these cadets, the training objective had been achieved.
' +Observation subject possesses excellent tactical thinking; expected to be deployed on Kill-teams missions soon+'
Valina snorted coldly, sending Squad 13's combat records to the Fleet Military Intelligence Headquarters, then jumped down from the tree trunk and made a general call on the public channel.
"+Exercise over. From now on, pay attention and stay vigilant no matter where you are. Anything fired at you outside will be something that can take your life. Now, go finish the remaining 7 kilometers+"
With Horatio's help, Louise, whose legs still felt numb, struggled to her feet.
"Thank you, uh..." Before she could finish, she lost her balance and stumbled forward.
Horatio raised his hand to protect her and considerately helped her remove her heavy helmet.
"Rest for a while."
The young woman was supported by Horatio, leaning against a tree, her flushed face covered in sweat. A breath of fresh, natural air made her feel relieved.
"Horatio," Louise softly called.
"Hmm?"
"This knife is for you."
Louise took a single-molecule Cadia trench knife with knuckle dusters from its sheath at her waist: "As a gift for becoming one of us, and also to represent my recognition of your strength."
"Then you..."
"Don't worry, I have another one. Take it, it's reliable enough."
"Thank you." Horatio smiled as he accepted the trench knife and fastened it to his tactical belt.
Unsteady footsteps approached from nearby.
"I thought you'd be the first to fall, but I didn't expect you to be the only one still standing in the squad." Lydos, with a red forehead, walked over with Fidio, carrying his helmet.
He had been hit twice on the head today, and it was already a bit swollen and red.
"I shouldn't have underestimated you."
Lydos pursed his lips apologetically and extended the back of his hand: "Welcome, partner."
"Partner." Horatio smiled and slapped his hand.
A tired Fidio also placed his hand on top, managing a strained smile.
Finally, it was Louise. As the Squad Leader, she looked at Horatio, who had already integrated into the team, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Partner."