CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71 [BLITZKRIEG POLAND] REAL-TIME MAP

Fang Ming couldn’t help but curse, what the hell is this?!

However.

Upon hearing the NPC soldiers’ orders, some players eagerly grabbed shovels and ran off to dig trenches.

Watching this made Fang Ming’s mouth twitch. Haven’t these rich kids ever done any work?

Enjoying digging trenches like this?

As some players and NPCs headed towards the designated direction.

Fang Ming looked down at the shovel in his hand.

Alright... let’s dig.

Carrying the shovel, he walked towards the direction pointed out by the NPC. It was roughly afternoon when looking at the sun, and since the Empire started its attack at dawn, it meant there were at least ten more hours of prep time.

In the live stream room.

The viewers fully displayed their playful nature, cheering Fang Ming on, urging him to work harder – this was the first line of defense against the Empire. Fang Ming, meanwhile, cursed while digging trenches, glancing at the barrage of comments.

....

....

[Emotion Value +2741]

[Emotion Value +1872]

[Emotion Value +....]

Zhao Ming kept receiving Emotion Value notifications, clearly indicating that players who entered the game first were already confused.

In Celestial Shark Live’s gaming section, at least seventy percent of the streamers were mere grunts, with a few holding a Lieutenant rank, allowing them to randomly command a company.

Zhao Ming’s Federation Headline account was also flooded with comments.

[Hilarious, good thing I’m at work, otherwise I’d also be cannon fodder.]

[I knew this bastard was up to no good, exactly as expected.]

[This guy is truly shameless, couldn’t even manage as Prime Minister, let alone being cannon fodder.]

[Luckily, I was cautious and watched the streamer live, otherwise I’d be trapped.]

[Guys, a streamer discovered a vehicle, and it’s freaking horses?!]

[Charging on horseback against tanks???]

[Damn, at least give us tanks already!]

Regarding Zhao Ming’s character, many players remained skeptical, seeing as he couldn’t even show his face; how much integrity could one expect?

Now, watching other players and streamers as grunts, many players thought, "Absolutely what I thought."

This sneaky bastard...

As many players continued to vent.

The Polestar Game Company website suddenly launched a live stream module, externally linking Celestial Shark Live, pinned at the top of the gaming section.

The left side of the website’s page featured [National War] [Troop] [Deployment], clicking on it allowed viewing of both factions’ troop arrangements and the original attack plans.

While the right side showed a dynamic map of the Empire and Poland’s border, occupying half of the central screen.

Each circle and number represented a troop of both factions.

These circles and numbers weren’t fixed on the map; they were slowly moving, with the Empire’s circles continually advancing towards the Polish border, while Poland was making moves.

However, they weren’t as fast as the Empire.

At this point.

A prompt appeared in the stream room.

[Click the army name to view current personnel and configuration.]

[Double-click to view a top-down perspective of the battlefield.]

Upon seeing this, many players understood that this was a real-time map.

This sparked the curiosity of quite a few players.

Compared to the confusing situation at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, this real-time map provided a clearer understanding of how the Empire swiftly conquered Poland.

Especially since the maps in the Prime Minister’s Mansion didn’t move.

In Fang Ming’s live stream room.

Sitting on the edge of a shallow trench he had just excavated, his consciousness entered the live stream room, pulling up the Polestar Official Website’s live stream on the other half of the screen.

Then he started trying to click the circle labeled [25], representing a troop, and immediately an introduction popped up.

[25th Infantry Division]

[Troops: 29th, 56th, 60th Infantry Regiment, 25th Artillery Regiment (without artillery)....]

[Manpower: 16,824 people (2,274 players)]

[Affiliation: Poznan Army Group]

[Commander: Shi Jun]

"Me???"

Not only was there an introduction, but also how many players were within this division, and it was commanded by Shi Jun?

Fang Ming double-clicked to zoom in on the infantry division.

Suddenly, from a high-altitude perspective of a hundred meters, he looked down at the slowly moving army below. Although it appeared small, he could clearly see the direction they were moving, heading north to rendezvous.

Fang Ming retracted the view and then clicked on the circle labeled [4] to the north.

[The 4th Infantry Division]

[Troops: 57th, 58th Infantry Regiments, 14th Artillery Regiment, Machine Gun Company, Motorized Anti-Aircraft Company...]

[Troop strength: 14,824 people (3,274 players)]

[Affiliated: Poznan Army Group]

[Commander: Shi Jun]

Fang Ming clicked again to zoom out the screen.

The high-altitude bird’s-eye view appeared again, and then.... he saw a large group of people distributed in various places, busily digging trenches.

The live stream chat immediately erupted in laughter.

[Streamer, stop sitting there, move around a bit and supervise yourself.]

[This high-altitude view is hilarious, isn’t it?]

[Wow, Shi Jun is commanding two divisions?]

[Not just two, I checked. Besides the streamer’s division, the neighboring 17th and 26th Infantry Divisions, along with two cavalry brigades and two light tank companies, are all under Shi Jun’s command. Didn’t you see they’re all gathering towards the 4th Infantry Division?]

[Total strength is over 70,000, with over 10,000 players involved.]

[I thought it was just those few at the start of the stream. If there are over 70,000, that’s something. But I wonder if they can hold off the Empire.]

Can they hold off the Empire?

Looking at the chat barrage, Fang Ming’s mouth twitched, and he switched the view back, hearing a discussion among some players. One of them, presumably a fan of Shi Jun, was explaining:

"I heard in the group before, Shi Jun and other experts were discussing."

"As long as the trenches are dug deep and wide enough, all of the Empire’s tanks can be buried here."

Then, with the shovel in his hand, he dug into the soft soil under his feet:

"Dig another half a meter, and it will definitely trap the Empire’s tanks, keeping them from getting out."

"The essence of Blitzkrieg is speed. Now with the tanks stuck, will the motorized infantry in the back charge at the machine guns?"

Another player nearby nodded:

"That’s true."

"I’ve played other games before, also war-themed."

"In those, when a tank gets stuck in a pit,"

"it’s basically immobilized, unable to move."

The player next to him said:

"Of course, the Imperial Tank is just that tall."

"Once it falls into a pit over a meter deep, it’s stuck with two-thirds of it in. It definitely can’t climb out."

Listening to their discussion, Fang Ming didn’t quite get it, but he understood the Empire.

Based on the performance of generals in the narrative, would they really be stopped by such trenches?

However, they should still have some preparation time here.

Because it’s not on the border’s edge.

So when the Empire attacks, it would take a few days. But thinking too much was pointless. Looking at the shovel in his hand, Fang Ming sighed.

Keep digging.

...

...

As time passed, night fell in the game world.

Yet, no one rested; everyone was busy digging trenches, while the Empire’s troops had all reached the border.

In the game’s early morning.

The Empire’s forces began crossing the border. With preparations and some hints from players, not all of Poland’s airplanes were destroyed, but the preserved number was limited.

And at the border, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth troops were already clashing with the Imperial army.

Players at this time no longer complained about Zhao Ming screwing things up, instead, everyone focused on the movements of both the Imperial and Polish forces in the game’s live stream.

From time to time, they zoomed in on certain areas for a bird’s-eye view.

In the Polestar Games Official Website’s live stream.

At the very bottom of the real-time map, in the southern region.

This was the place where players’ attention was most concentrated.

After the Empire’s army crossed Poland’s border, their speed noticeably increased, obviously starting the rapid advance of Blitzkrieg.

However.... it was different from the long march during the Battle of France.

After the rapid advance from both sides into Poland.

Several Imperial forces began to converge on a single point, encircling and dividing the resisting Polish troops.