Crisis

The sudden reward caught Keanu off guard.

Compared to the rewards he had already received, Keanu was more curious about how he had come across this one.

Up until now, he hadn't heard of receiving rewards for tasks that hadn't been announced yet.

Wyatt was still grumbling, "Fool, idiot, imbecile. I've never seen a dunce like you who'd spend 500 CPs to save 20 CPs, and that too shared among 20 people! That's a major loss! And here I was thinking you were a genius."

It wasn't just him. Even Max looked at Keanu sympathetically, "That was your life-saving medicine, which you should not have given away to an average soldier."

Facing the disdain of the other adventurers, Keanu suddenly had a thought.

"Wyatt, have you ever heard of a reward that can be received even if a mission isn't announced yet?"

"You mean a plot reward?" Wyatt immediately responded, "That's something from legends. No one knows how to trigger it or complete it. We only know one thing: plot rewards are very special and only appear after hidden conditions are triggered. Usually, they don't reward you with CP or items but with some special conditions that either make your task easier or yield more substantial results upon completion. But again, these are just legends. I don't know anybody who's received a plot reward. Why are you asking?"

"The legends are true," Keanu asserted, nodding, "I just received a reward; it must be a plot reward."

At his words, all the adventurers were taken aback and crowded around him.

Keanu held up his emblem, showing the reward that left everyone astounded.

The adventurers weren't too concerned about the command over the 2nd Airborne Battalion soldiers. Being a competent commander required not just innate skill, but experience and understanding too. One had to understand combat and know their subordinates well. Otherwise, a commander who didn't understand how to fight or was ignorant about his soldiers' skills could potentially make fatal mistakes.

Regardless of battle experience or knowledge of soldiers' abilities, the adventurers couldn't possibly surpass Frost, let alone any of his soldiers. Hence, they were not interested in overstepping their authority. However, they were keen on the allocated one percent contribution.

The 2nd Airborne Battalion currently consisted of over 600 soldiers - 600 guns, making them much more deadly than a group of 20 adventurers. While adventurers possessed unique skills to deal with specific targets or accomplish tasks that an average soldier couldn't, they still couldn't surpass the overall power of the 2nd Airborne Battalion or even a single average soldier.

The one percent contribution of over 600 soldiers equated to Keanu receiving the full contribution from 6 soldiers - an incredibly generous reward.

The adventurers looked at each other, and they all retreated in unison, leaving only Keanu, Max, and Kitty.

Kitty whispered to Keanu, "Why would you share this information? Nobody would've known if you hadn't spoken."

Keanu smiled and gestured towards the others. Kitty looked over and saw over a dozen adventurers, including Wyatt, generously taking out their inventory of healing items. Many soldiers, who were too injured to be saved by Keanu's healing, were now magically brought back from the brink of death, thanks to the adventurers' noble deeds.

Even Wyatt took out a low-grade healing potion, successfully treating a soldier with an amputated leg.

The "generous" actions of the adventurers earned the unanimous respect of all the soldiers in the 2nd Airborne Battalion.

Just respect, nothing more.

As time passed, the adventurers' faces turned progressively sour—no reward notification had arrived.

Wyatt was the first to approach Keanu, trembling as he asked, "Are you sure the reward was for the healing potion?"

Keanu nodded solemnly, "Absolutely certain."

"Why didn't I receive any reward then!" Wyatt would have cursed outright if it hadn't been for the presence of the 2nd Airborne Battalion soldiers.

Keanu took on a serious tone, "From the looks of it, plot rewards can't be obtained easily. I suspect it has to do with several factors; I saved the youngest soldier of the 2nd Airborne Battalion, Frost's pleas for help, his previous healing, and the fact that I was the first to take such an action."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Wyatt trembled, exasperated.

Keanu spread his hands innocently, "I only just discovered it."

Stunned, the rest of the adventurers didn't know how to respond. Their life-saving medicine, gone just like that?

But it wasn't as if the adventurers' sacrifices were entirely fruitless. At the very least, their actions had indeed resulted in the 2nd Airborne Battalion accepting their presence.

Battlefield camaraderie, shaped in life-or-death situations, holds immense value. Soldiers fight together, entrusting their lives to each other. This kind of bond exceeds all else but is not formed overnight; it demands considerable time and testing.

Adventurers, due to their particular skills, often had an air of arrogance, which was not likable to the soldiers of the 2nd Airborne Battalion. While the city could erase their national identities, it couldn't change their differing qualities or ideas, inevitably leading to conflict. However, the adventurers' "selfless sacrifice" in this instance had genuinely brought acceptance from the soldiers, laying a solid foundation for future battles.

However, the greedy adventurers weren't bothered about gaining acceptance. They only cared about two things: CP and survival.

Keanu had indeed gotten the better of them this time, leaving each of them despondently defeated.

Especially the fatty, who was sobbing outright. The soldier he had rescued from the 2nd Airborne Battalion couldn't help but feel guilty, expressing his thanks relentlessly. The fatty, embarrassed, sobbed and sniffled before sincerely telling the soldier, "You have to protect me later on."

Everyone was speechless.

Kitty stifled her laughter and whispered to Keanu again, "You're terrible. I see why you were so generous. You wanted to use them to explore ways to get plot task rewards, right?"

Keanu earnestly responded, "Don't put it that way. It's called voluntary participation."

Kitty's large eyes twinkled as she gently added, "Or perhaps it's 'investment comes with risks; proceed with caution.'"

With that, both Keanu and Max burst into laughter, while Wyatt collapsed on the ground.

Looking at Wyatt's despairing face, Keanu offered, "Don't worry about it. I'll get you another potion when we return."

"You mean it?" Wyatt instantly sat up.

"No," Keanu answered seriously.

Wyatt was so frustrated that he was ready to strangle Keanu.

Keanu didn't mention that he had heard another notification sound from his emblem, "The 2nd Airborne Battalion soldiers' friendship with you has deepened again, earning 50 points of amicability. Total amicability points: 250. You've acquired the privilege to display amiability. In the upcoming battles, you will receive an additional 1.25% contribution from the 2nd Airborne Battalion soldiers' combat efforts."

In the eyes of the soldiers in the 2nd Airborne Battalion, the generosity of the other adventurers was all under Keanu's influence. While grateful for the other adventurers, they were even more thankful to Keanu. As for the other adventurers, their amicability also likely increased; however, it hadn't reached the 250 points needed to unlock the amicability display. In other words, their investment wasn't without effect; they just hadn't met the prerequisite for the reward, hence, no notification was given.

The 1.25% boost doesn't mean much to Keanu. What truly mattered was that he finally understood how the plot tasks worked: plot tasks can be upgraded continuously. Others could imitate him, but their efforts would be less effective. For example, if Keanu could gain 100 points of amicability for doing something, anyone following his example would only gain half, and it would keep halving. His previous 200 points in amicability weren't just because of the single mid-grade healing potion but also included the effects of the healing spell. Still, since he didn't reach the necessary amicability, he wasn't eligible for a reward, hence no notifications.

Realizing this, Keanu felt like bursting out laughing, but this time, he wouldn't share his newly discovered secret.

※※※

Keanu's prediction was spot-on; the introduction of the adventurers indeed played a key role in transforming the 2nd Airborne Battalion's strength. This significant impact wasn't in terms of combat power—although most of them carried weapons that were technologically superior to the times, their combat power was far superior to average soldiers. However, in warfare, particularly in ancient and modern wars, quantity typically triumphs over quality. The power of 20 adventurers (in fact, 19 adventurers, given the uselessness of the fatty) was limited. On the other hand, morale often carries more weight than quantity.

The sight of 20 invincible adventurers, their bizarre skills, and their technologically advanced weaponry produced significant shock among the German soldiers.

They struggled to comprehend what type of troops they were up against, possessing such formidable strength.

Keep in mind, that among the 20 adventurers, there were four snipers. While they all wielded lightweight sniper rifles from the 90s, their range and accuracy far outmatched the Germans' current weaponry. 2 of the heavy artillerymen may not have had Flamestrike guns, but they used 12mm caliber Gatling guns. Even the least effective adventurer among them, the overweight guy, carried an AK-47 while Wyatt and Max wielded M17s. Even the weakest of their weapons seemed miles ahead of the Germans. (These weapons had very different attribute data from their Earth counterparts, with only similar models and styles.)

Moreover, the sight of soldiers from the 2nd Airborne Battalion being hit, falling, and then being touched by someone and standing back up to resume firing was terrifying to the Germans. Especially those whose radiant white light repelled their bullets.

When soldiers lose their spirit, their combat effectiveness decreases drastically. How many could push on and aim their weapons at an enemy that cannot be killed, someone who stands back up even after being shot?

With the support of the twenty adventurers, the battle for the bridge began to heat up.

Paratroopers are special forces, no rookies among them who could execute operations behind enemy lines. The elite of the 2nd Airborne Battalion had a higher combat readiness than the regular German soldiers. Their weakness was their lack of heavy firepower support, but the adventurers helped to solve this problem. The long-range snipers and rocket launchers took out the German heavy firepower and tanks one by one. A large number of paratroopers took this opportunity to charge—the adventurers couldn't provide the paratroopers with heavy firepower but could even the playing field.

The combination of the adventurers' superior skills and the paratroopers' combat experience had a complimentary effect. They progressively got into a groove, even the stout one started to get used to being in the line of fire, occasionally daring enough to take potshots. Once, when he let off a burst, he managed to hit a German soldier.

The fatty shouted with joy: "I hit one! I hit one!"

Three subsequent shots hit the sandbags in front of him, flinging sand and dirt all over. The stout one withdrew behind the sand pile, not showing his head for half an hour, with only his fat ass behind exposed.

As their spirit grew stronger, the 2nd Airborne Battalion started taking the initiative in the battle for the bridge. Based on their experiences from the previous battle, they swiftly secured the crucial points around the bridge's foundation to prevent the Germans from detonating it. After a day of intense fighting, the German soldiers retreat, leaving behind hundreds of bodies. The 2nd Airborne Battalion occupied over half of the bridge's area, which was greeted with cheering by the British paratroopers.

Meanwhile, many adventurers learned something new: Destroying a tank earned the CP.

Many of them were envious of Keanu, whose anti-tank gun allowed him to earn extra CP. No wonder he had refused to use his anti-tank gun on the firing point when they were crossing the river.

Keanu didn't care what they thought. He was too busy staring at the German line through Kitty's infrared binoculars.

"There are about 300 Germans on the opposite side and another 100 or so on the bridge," Keanu reported, "All tanks have been taken out. The remaining threats are an armored car and some cannons, but they won't pose much of a threat."

"Does it look like we're about to succeed?" Kitty asked.

"Don't celebrate too soon. Something feels off," Keanu answered as he sat down against the trenchwork, and lit up a cigar—a gift from a British paratrooper meant to curry favor after a full day of exhaustion. It was a perfect way to rejuvenate.

"What's off?" Kitty inquired.

"I feel like I've overlooked something," Keanu admitted, "Do you think the mission is going too smoothly?"

"You're trying to remind us all this is due to your hard work, aren't you?" Kitty asked, playfully.

"No, that's not what I meant," Keanu responded earnestly.

He felt the mission was progressing too effortlessly. Although this was his first formal entry into a mission world, he was fully aware of the difficulty of completing missions. According to Wyatt, even a level one mission historically had over a 60% failure rate; the optional mission's level was always way higher than the main mission.

Up till now, Keanu wouldn't forget the expense and effort he'd poured into eliminating Dracula.

And yet, right now, all the adventurers were exuberant and brimming with confidence. Some even claimed that it was the easiest mission they had ever undertaken.

"That's not how it should be..." Keanu mumbled.

While leading everyone to the North line undoubtedly increased the chances of mission success, Keanu didn't believe it would let them complete the mission virtually unharmed.

But where exactly was the problem?

As Keanu stood puzzled, he heard Frost's voice.

"Great job, men! Push harder tonight, let's take that bridge early!" Frost encouraged his soldiers. Despite the tough battle and heavy casualties, the prospect of victory spurred them to overlook their difficulties.

Take the bridge early? Keanu was taken aback.

Suddenly, he thought of something and shouted, "Wyatt, gather everyone immediately!"