By the afternoon, the frontline positions were empty. Around noon, the Allied forces had raised a white flag, requesting a ceasefire to treat their wounded. The soldiers on the ground immediately reported this up the chain of command. Hu Hao’s response was a blunt: “No, we don’t want any living Allied soldiers!”
The soldiers below warned those holding the white flag to turn back. Both Hu Hao and his men understood clearly that this was a fight to the death. Furthermore, considering the Allied forces’ war crimes of massacring prisoners, the soldiers would never allow them to rescue their wounded.
Throughout the afternoon, the soldiers rested inside the air-raid shelters. Across the rest of the defensive line, the Allied attacks had also ceased. The heat was simply unbearable for the Allied soldiers, so they halted their offensive, providing the Eastern Spirit Empire’s defending troops with a brief respite. However, on the other positions…
…there was no air conditioning. The soldiers could only cover their trenches with leaves and hide underneath. They didn’t dare enter their air-raid shelters; the temperature inside was suffocatingly high. Had it not been for the Allied artillery bombardment, they never would have gone inside.
By dusk, Hu Hao had already taken an afternoon nap!
“Report, Hao-ge! The Allied forces are currently eating!” a staff officer came over and told Hu Hao.
“Eating now?” Hearing this, Hu Hao immediately walked over to the observation port to look. Sure enough, the Allied troops were having their meal. Hu Hao checked his watch; it was past 6 PM.
“Order our logistics units to hurry up and deliver food. Also, prepare late-night rations. Tonight might be a fierce battle!” Hu Hao told Xiao Quan, who was standing behind him.
“You think there will be fighting tonight?” Xiao Quan asked immediately.
“It’s highly likely. They’re eating now to prepare for rest. Once they’ve rested, a battle will definitely break out in the middle of the night!” Hu Hao nodded to Xiao Quan. Hearing this, Xiao Quan immediately went inside to make arrangements.
“Report! Our scouts just called in. They spotted two divisions deploying from Daman City, heading this way!” a staff officer ran over and reported to Hu Hao.
“Two divisions? From the Limaguo 7th Corps?” Hu Hao turned around and asked.
“Yes, troops from the Limaguo 7th Corps!” the staff officer nodded.
“So that means there aren’t many Allied forces left in Daman City. Their artillery arrived this morning, and now their infantry is here too—two whole divisions!” Hu Hao stood there muttering to himself, then turned and walked back into the command center.
“Notify the troops below: as soon as they finish dinner, they must rest immediately. The Allied forces might attack tonight. In tonight’s offensive, they will try to break through our defensive lines in one fell swoop. I estimate that by the latter half of the night, their assault will be extremely fierce!” Hu Hao instructed the staff officers.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officers immediately began contacting the units under their purview, ordering them to prepare and rest well! Hu Hao stood there, staring at the map hanging on the wall.
“Hao-ge, the notifications have been sent. The logistics units are working overtime to get the food ready tonight!” Xiao Quan came over and said.
“Think about it. The Allied forces in Daman City have all come out. If we can annihilate them entirely, then could we occupy Daman City? We could even devour the garrison in Jinpu City and continue expanding outward, pushing our defensive perimeter further out.
Wouldn’t that be much safer for the civilians behind us? Plus, we could allow more refugees to escape to our side. If we create an opening here, the civilians will definitely hear about it!” Hu Hao said to Xiao Quan as he stood there.
“You mean… you want to fight our way out?!” Xiao Quan asked, staring at Hu Hao.
“Yes, the best defense is a good offense. I don’t like defending; it’s too passive. I prefer to attack, to find opportunities through the offensive. Only by doing so can we draw the Allied forces out and fight them on our terms. If we’re always on the defensive, think about it—our troops are pinned down. We can’t mobilize even if we want to!” Hu Hao nodded to Xiao Quan.
“But it’s very dangerous. If our troops push forward and the Allied forces find out, they’ll definitely focus their attacks on us!” Xiao Quan thought for a moment before replying.
“I know. But if we just stay here and defend, the civilians on the opposite bank won’t be able to cross because of the Allied presence. Once the Allied forces stabilize their foothold here, our civilians will suffer again.
“We soldiers sacrifice ourselves for our country without a single complaint. But those civilians—we must save them. Otherwise, they’ll point fingers and curse us!” Hu Hao said to Xiao Quan.
Hu Hao thought back to his time on Earth. The civilians there never cursed him, because he fought for the country, bleeding on the very front lines. The civilians always loved and supported their soldiers. But now…
…since arriving here, Hu Hao had already heard civilians leveling accusations multiple times. Even though it wasn’t his fault, he still wasn’t used to being cursed by the citizens of his own country. This was something Hu Hao simply could not accept!
“Mm, but it’s very dangerous. You have to realize we aren’t just facing one corps of Allied troops, but millions of them. Moreover, their nations are constantly sending reinforcements. Can we really rely on just you, me, and this single division?” Xiao Quan asked, looking at Hu Hao.
“Whether we can or not, we still have to try and save them. Even if we only manage to save one civilian, or kill one Allied soldier, we will have a clear conscience. We’ve been fighting here for so long now.
“I, Hu Hao, can say I have a clear conscience. I’m worthy of this uniform, and I’m worthy of our soldiers. But if I know there are still civilians trapped on the opposite bank, I have to go. That is our responsibility. I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking…
…but as soldiers, protecting our people is our duty. Don’t you agree?” Hu Hao looked at Xiao Quan.
“That’s why the brothers respect you so much. It’s us lower-ranking officers who actually think about the civilians. Hao-ge, you command, and I’ll assist. We’ll fight however you say. The brothers aren’t afraid of the Allied forces, nor are they afraid of dying in battle. They’re only afraid of dying a meaningless death. Now that we’re going to save civilians, even if the brothers die, there will be no complaints!” Xiao Quan smiled as he looked at Hu Hao.
“Good! Then we fight our way over! I’m going to carve out a piece of the sky right here for the civilians, so they can live in peace!” Hearing this, Hu Hao nodded, speaking through gritted teeth.
“Alright!” Xiao Quan nodded firmly at Hu Hao.
“The Allied forces will attack fiercely tonight. We have to hold the line. We won’t counterattack today. When they attack again tomorrow, that’s when we’ll counterattack and fight our way over. I’m definitely devouring these two corps!” Hu Hao stood there, pointing at the map.
“Haha, Hao-ge, they probably still don’t even know we have artillery left!” Xiao Quan laughed.
“Mm, go get some rest first. I slept last night and this afternoon. You go rest. If fighting breaks out, I’ll have someone wake you. Tonight will be a fierce battle!” Hu Hao told Xiao Quan.
“Alright!” Xiao Quan nodded. About ten minutes later, the logistics units delivered the food. Hu Hao and the others sat in the command center, eating their meal.
Meanwhile, in the Allied command center in Santong County, Abusai and Ren Kefu sat together, studying the map and discussing the upcoming battle.
“I feel like our opponent is a sly old fox. Li Jingsong actually possessing this kind of ability truly took us by surprise. Leaving aside everything else, the fact that he wiped out three of my divisions proves he is highly experienced in warfare.
“And today, his use of incendiary bombs against you shows he’s extremely proficient in how to utilize weapons on the battlefield. It’s truly surprising. I never expected that among the young master generals of the Eastern Spirit Empire, one would actually know how to fight!” Ren Kefu stood there, looking at the map.
“During the day today, over 10,000 of my soldiers died, and several thousand more are currently in the hospital suffering from heatstroke. The weather here is simply too hot! Li Jingsong exploited this weather to deal with us. To be honest, I admire him. If it were us, we probably wouldn’t have thought of such a tactic!” Abusai chimed in. Even now, they still believed that the commander of the Eastern Spirit 87th Division was Li Jingsong. They remained completely unaware of Hu Hao’s existence.
“Yes, we must handle this man with caution. You just said we should break through their defensive line tonight, but I feel that will be difficult. You mentioned before that the Eastern Spirit Empire might have more than just the 87th Division deployed here. They have a lot of troops.
“But we don’t know exactly how many. Therefore, I think we need to be more cautious and not act rashly. Let’s launch probing attacks first to ascertain their numbers. If our troops can sustain the attack into the latter half of the night, and if there aren’t many enemy troops on the opposite bank, then we’ll take the opposite bank in one fell swoop. If not, I suggest we retreat.
“We can wait until tomorrow night to devour the troops on the opposite bank. Right now, none of our combat units in other sectors have managed to breach the enemy lines either. In fact, our entire offensive line suffered losses today. Our casualties are significant. They have permanent fortifications, and they have quite a few veterans leading the new recruits in combat. So, it’s normal for us to suffer losses. After all, we are the attacking side, so our casualties will naturally be higher!” Ren Kefu advised Abusai.
“Mm, then we’ll play it by ear. If there’s an opportunity, we break through. If not, we fall back!” Abusai nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
“Alright, let’s get some rest for now. We launch the attack at exactly midnight!” Ren Kefu checked his watch.
It was almost 7 PM; it was time for them to rest as well. Once the fighting started, there would be no time for sleep.
(End of Chapter)