Hu Hao left the small conference room and sat down outside.
“What’s wrong? You look upset,” Xiao Quan asked with a smile.
“It’s nothing. They just don’t understand anything. But it’s understandable; they’ve never experienced war,” Hu Hao shook his head.
“Why the sudden comment? Did something happen?” Xiao Quan asked, puzzled.
“Forget it, it’s nothing serious. Just personal stuff between us,” Hu Hao waved it off.
“Hao-ge , a call from the Chief of Staff!” a staff officer said, handing over the phone. Hu Hao took it immediately.
“Hey, how are things on your end?” Hu Hao asked.
“How else? Just hiding in the forest. But you, Haozi, you’re fierce! You actually shot Mu Zhifu’s youngest son several times!” Li Jingsong laughed.
“You even know about that?” Hu Hao chuckled.
“Of course. Someone already called me to ask if it was my doing. I told them no!” Li Jingsong said.
“What, do they want revenge?” Hu Hao asked with a grin.
“Revenge? Why the hell would we be afraid of him? We belong to different combat zones. He wouldn’t dare bring his troops here. And if Mu Zhifu comes alone, wouldn’t you just take him down?” Li Jingsong replied.
“Hehe, so no big deal then?” Hu Hao asked.
“There will definitely be trouble. They don’t know your background yet, and down the line, they might make things difficult for you. But for now, don’t worry. As long as you’re the Commander of the 87th Division , he won’t dare touch you, and Jiang Kai won’t let him.
However, I’m telling you, people like that will endure it for now. They’ll wait for an opportunity to strike!” Li Jingsong explained.
“Are you suggesting I should just finish them off?” Hu Hao joked.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle it later. I’ll pay that kid a visit and let him know that provoking you is a death wish.
He’d better forget this ever happened. If he doesn’t, I’ll kill him—and Mu Zhifu too. I know you have your ways!” Li Jingsong said over the phone.
“Alright. We’ll deal with it after the battle,” Hu Hao nodded.
“But why? You personally went to the power plant for electricity? We have a 5,000-unit free quota. We only need about 300,000 units a month anyway. That’s only a matter of a few thousand yuan. Why draw your gun?” Li Jingsong asked, confused.
“You don’t know a thing. I installed air conditioners in the trenches!” Hu Hao laughed.
“Holy shit! You—that’s too much! I’m sweltering in the forest with nowhere to hide, digging holes just to stay cool, and you’re enjoying AC in the trenches? That’s crossing the line!” Li Jingsong shouted into the phone.
“Enough, enough. It’ll be the same for you when you get back. I won’t leave you out. It’s just for a few days, so hang in there!” Hu Hao laughed.
“Fine. But hurry up. Notify me as soon as the fighting starts.
The mosquitoes in this forest are lethal. Luckily, it stays cool at night so we can stay in the vehicles, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough of us to feed them all!” Li Jingsong reminded him. Hu Hao promised it would be soon.
After hanging up, Hu Hao burst into laughter.
“Feeding the mosquitoes?” Xiao Quan asked.
“What do you think? Haha!” Hu Hao laughed
Meanwhile, on the opposite bank, the Allied forces were on the move. They were moving from Daman City toward Santong County. The Mara Empire’s 11th Corps had fully deployed to Santong County and begun organizing.
Dozens of small surrounding villages were occupied by Allied troops. The Limaguo 7th Corps, which had been there previously, remained in Daman City as a reserve unit. Since it was too hot during the day, Abusai, commander of the 11th Corps, ordered his men to set up under the cover of night.
“Hao-ge , Hao-ge , come look!” a staff officer at the observation post shouted. Hu Hao ran over immediately. Wang Yao and the others heard the shout and tried to follow.
“What are you doing? Get back to your work; you’re staff officers!” Xiao Quan snapped as he saw them crowding over.
“Huh?” Hu Hao’s classmates were taken aback by the Deputy Division Commander’s anger.
“You are command post staff. Do not move without the Division Commander’s orders.
Why are you grouping together? Are you waiting for a shell to wipe you all out? There are rules in war. You can play around normally, but once the fighting starts, you follow the rules!” Xiao Quan barked.
“Yes, sir!” Wang Yao and the others didn’t dare move closer and returned to their duties. Hu Hao stood at a high vantage point, using binoculars to scan the opposite bank. There were lights visible.
“They’re here!” Hu Hao could see the Allied units arriving.
“Someone, come here!” Hu Hao shouted, and a staff officer ran over.
“Contact the engineers. Launch the high-altitude drones. I want that area scouted; I need to know exactly what’s happening in front of us!” Hu Hao ordered.
“Yes, sir!” the officer replied and hurried back to the desk to call the engineers. Xiao Quan also joined him at the observation post. “They’ve arrived?”
“Quite a few units. Look at those lights—they’re being so brazen!” Hu Hao pointed toward the opposite bank.
“There are a lot of them. Look at all those headlights. They’re partially blocked by the woods and villages, but it looks like a massive force is closing in on us,” Xiao Quan observed.
“They dare to deploy so many troops on the first day? Is their commander a total amateur?” Hu Hao asked.
“I doubt it. Didn’t you say you wiped out several of the 7th Corps’ divisions?
The Allied forces couldn’t be that careless. They know you have some skill, so why would they just dump everything here?” Xiao Quan countered.
“True. But this many troops? Are they just deploying to fight a war of attrition?
Do they think they can reach us by digging trenches? That would be a massive project,” Hu Hao mused.
“Is that even possible?” Xiao Quan asked.
“Not likely. They’ve deployed two corps against our single division. If they fight like that, their superiors will curse them to death!” Hu Hao shook his head.
He continued to watch for a few minutes until a staff officer returned. “Hao-ge, the drones are in the air for high-altitude reconnaissance.”
“Good!” Hu Hao hurried back inside.
Soon, the feed showed a massive number of armored vehicles, trucks, and tanks. Troops were closing in on the riverbank, though they were still some distance away.
“Artillery staff, get over here! Estimate the distance!” Hu Hao shouted.
“Yes, sir!” an artillery staff officer came over and began analyzing the video. Wang Yao and the others watched from a distance since their own tasks were finished and the fighting hadn’t started yet.
“Report! They are approximately 10 kilometers away. Look, we are here, and the bulk of the Allied units are here. The straight-line distance on the map is 10 kilometers,” the officer stated.
“Is that within our shelling range?” Hu Hao asked immediately.
“Yes, sir. Our 120mm howitzers have a range of 35 kilometers; we can easily reach them!
Our current artillery positions are only 2.5 kilometers behind us. Shelling them wouldn’t be a problem at all! We could even hit Santong County!” the officer replied.
“Don’t shell Santong County yet. We’ll save that for later.
If we shell them now, they might not come at all. Besides, the effectiveness wouldn’t be great, and it would heavily expose our artillery positions!” Hu Hao shook his head.
“Understood!”
“Hao-ge, what’s your plan then? Are we just going to watch them approach?” Xiao Quan asked.
“That won’t do. Them coming over like this is clearly bullying us. I said we can’t shell Santong County because we shouldn’t reveal all our artillery yet; we need to wait.
However, using thirty guns is fine. Since the Allies are going to launch probing attacks tomorrow anyway, order the 1st Artillery Battalion to use thirty guns from Artillery Position No. 3 immediately. Can you give them the firing parameters?” Hu Hao asked the artillery staff.
“We can. With the drones, we know exactly where the Allied forces are. We know the situation on the opposite bank!” the officer replied.
“Then shell them. Since they have the nerve to show up like this, they clearly aren’t afraid of me!” Hu Hao laughed.
“Yes, sir! We’ll start the calculations immediately. A few more staff over here!” the officer called out. Several junior staff, including some newly assigned artillery officers, hurried over. Wang Yao and the others continued to watch.
“Calculation complete, start the bombardment immediately! Keep firing unless Allied bombers show up.
Otherwise, do not stop. I reckon the Allied bombers aren’t ready yet. They didn’t expect me to dare fire!” Hu Hao declared.
“Yes, sir! Calculations ready, opening fire now!” the artillery officer nodded.
“You guys, come over here!” Hu Hao called out to Wang Yao and the others. They followed him to the observation post, unsure of what he wanted.
“In a moment, watch the explosions on the opposite bank. Then, come back inside and look at the drone footage.” Hu Hao told them.
“Yes, sir!” Wang Yao and the others nodded.