CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65 MO XIAOMO: I FEEL LIKE I’VE GOT IT, BUT I HAVEN’T...

Mo Xiaomo clicked her tongue repeatedly, waited for Guderian to go out to inspect the war situation, and then explained the contents of the telegram to her viewers.

[Hiss, write it down, write it down.]

[No, what are you writing down again? What did you learn? I didn’t get it.]

[It’s Guderian’s words, the flank? That’s something the enemy should be worried about.]

[Blitzkrieg is about continuous assault; you can see it as attacking the enemy’s exposed flank with every advance, so it’s the enemy that should be worried.]

[Replace defense with offense, forcing the enemy into chaos?]

[I believe it now; we really can learn something from this.]

However.

The Imperial Headquarters kept sending telegrams urging Guderian to stop advancing, and Guderian argued with reason over the phone, finally securing 24 hours to continue the advance.

Yet, 24 hours was not enough to reach Saint-Quentin.

May 17th.

The 24-hour period had passed, but the 19th Armored Corps led by Guderian still did not stop advancing.

The senior officials at Imperial Headquarters were already furious, repeatedly ordering Guderian to halt.

These were familiar scenes to Mo Xiaomo and the viewers in the live stream.

Because during the part where Mo Xiaomo was a communications soldier, she kept receiving telegrams urging Guderian to stop advancing, and with the communications soldiers coming over repeatedly, Mo Xiaomo had a strange look.

Because....

Before the communications soldier spoke, she already knew what the telegrams contained.

All were urging Guderian to stop advancing.

Looking at the time, Mo Xiaomo estimated it was almost time.

Before long.

Guderian gave the order, leaving a few people to set up a temporary military command.

He then took the 19th Armored Corps to Saint-Quentin for ’combat reconnaissance’, quickly encountering the enemy and alarming the Federation’s defenders in Saint-Quentin.

A day of fierce assault.

Guderian’s armored army group smashed through Saint-Quentin’s defense like a heavy hammer, plunging into the city center, causing the defenders of Saint-Quentin to begin retreating.

Inside the command post.

Guderian ordered the divisions:

"Don’t stop, keep biting into their fleeing troops."

"Step hard on the accelerator towards the direction of gunfire."

Such intense advancement even stunned Mo Xiaomo and her viewers in the live stream, realizing the details they missed earlier.

Forced march, forced march, strong attack, chase during forced march—it was relentless.

How did the Imperial soldiers endure such a strenuous march? Were they on drugs?

Seeing the confusion in the live stream chats, Mo Xiaomo tentatively asked:

"General, shouldn’t you let the soldiers rest for a while?"

Guderian glanced at her:

"Rest?"

"Resting now means giving the French Federation a chance to rebuild their defense line."

"Tanks are just conductors; psychological collapse is the real blitz."

"We’ll only have time to rest if we pursue their retreat until it becomes a strategic collapse."

Nightfall.

The Federation military command in Saint-Quentin.

Guderian brought people inside, while Mo Xiaomo looked around at the chaos left behind due to the rushed retreat, and Guderian walked to the large map hanging in the center.

Then he laughed, turned to everyone:

"See what I’ve discovered?"

Lifting his hand, he pointed at the markings on the large map:

"The French map, indicating our position from three days ago."

Laughter spread throughout the command post.

That night.

The 19th Armored Corps, after a brief rest.

On May 19th, they resumed the forced march to the next city, Amiens.

In just one day.

May 20th.

The 19th Armored Corps captured Amiens, followed by Abbeville.

Reaching the English Channel.

Dunkirk was within reach, yet....

The command from the Imperial Leader was delivered.

Making the general, who dared to defy the Imperial Headquarters multiple times, fall silent while looking at the map showing the path from Arden Forest to the current English Channel, curved like a lightning bolt.

While Mo Xiaomo, on her end, through the dispute between Guderian and the Imperial Headquarters,

vaguely understood why the Imperial Leader ordered the pursuit to stop.

The armored army group’s blitz tactics were not accepted by the traditional high-ranking generals, and over at the air force, Goring guaranteed to crush the Federation using the air force to achieve encirclement.

Plus, over three hundred thousand people were no small number; if all were killed, it might provoke backlash from the Federation.

The Empire now wanted to resolve these three hundred thousand people peacefully.

And the aggressive armored corps, under multiple pressures, were forced to pause on the spot.

This completes the plot.

No wonder the Dunkirk Evacuation was successful. It turns out the Empire wasn’t monolithic either, with traditional army generals backstabbing, and the Air Force marshal making promises.

No matter what, Guderian was just a corps commander, facing an Air Force marshal and the Supreme Leader... he could only stay put reluctantly.

Guderian slowly turned around in front of the map.

Under Mo Xiaomo’s surreptitious gaze, Guderian walked to his seat, sat down, and took out a notebook.

A few seconds later, he began to write.

"The use of blitzkrieg is not about how many enemies are annihilated, but about crushing the enemy’s will with speed."

Slam!

The notebook closed.

The scene in Mo Xiaomo’s eyes gradually darkened.

[End of the plot]

Mo Xiaomo had already returned to the main menu, only to realize absentmindedly:

"Is it over?"

"So fast, the exclusive first-person plot is indeed very well done."

"And it also fleshed out the plot and the worldview."

"Hiss—"

"So many celebrities in the Hall of Fame have exclusive plots, how awesome it would be to experience all of them."

"But this game is too grindy!!!!"

The barrage in the live stream agreed.

This game is so damn grindy, triggering any hidden plot is all down to luck.

So far, Mo Xiaomo has been the only lucky one to unlock Guderian’s plot. To unlock them all, all players might have to play for years to collect everything.

After some complaints, Mo Xiaomo chuckled:

"Guys, look at the core of the blitzkrieg I’ve compiled."

"With this, [Blitz Empire] is not a dream."

Mo Xiaomo pulled up a folder containing in-game recorded scenes.

[Blitzkrieg Core]

["Focus, never disperse!"]

["Step on the pedal in the direction of the artillery!"]

["Tanks tear through the frontlines, motorized infantry fill the gaps, artillery pinpoint clears, the Stuka... that’s flying artillery."]

["Let the enemy worry about the flanks!"]

["The essence of blitzkrieg is not waiting but the enemy’s psychological breakdown."]

["It’s all about speed! Fast enough so the enemy has no chance to catch a breath."]

["No prisoners, no supplies, only speed!"]

["Flank? Full speed ahead!!!"]

Each short aphorism is quite stirring to read.

But....

After the initial excitement, Mo Xiaomo felt a bit puzzled:

"How do I put it?"

"Feels quite exhilarating, like I understood something, but somehow my mind feels empty...."

There was a brief silence in the live stream, followed by a surge of comments.

[.....So you’re the same?!]

[Damn, so everyone feels the same!]

[Funny, it’s like you understand and don’t at the same time, feels like watching the replay a few more times is needed.]

[If everyone’s like this, then I feel relieved.]

[Scared me, I thought you were all geniuses, thankfully not.]

[These are distilled essences, the excitement is universal, but true understanding requires practice.]

[Practice? Where to practice, there’s no war in the Six Major Federations.]

[That’s not entirely true, isn’t there an Imperial Conquest game? Just find one to mess with, and isn’t the [Blitzkrieg Poland] scenario about to launch? Then I’ll command the army, this time.... I shall!!!]

[Getting fired up! I’ll find an Imperial Conquest type game right away!]

Seeing this, Mo Xiaomo opened the Hall of Fame again, found Guderian’s photo:

"Should I experience it again... huh?"

"Why is there a cooldown time?!"

Looking at the countdown in Guderian’s introduction after [Battle of France], there’s actually a cooldown time?

Well, there’s no way around it.

However, Mo Xiaomo noticed a new module appeared at the top of the Hall of Fame.

[Tactical Library]

Mo Xiaomo was a bit bewildered:

"Guys, do you have this?"

"It wasn’t there before entering the game, right?"

Mo Xiaomo glanced at the replay.

Indeed, it wasn’t there.

A module unlocked after experiencing the exclusive plot?

Mo Xiaomo clicked in.

What met the eye was a card lit up, labeled [Blitzkrieg], while the other cards were densely arranged but all in dark gray, seemingly inactive.