Fritsch sat in his vehicle, following his troops as they rushed to reinforce Santong County. He hoped they would arrive quickly so they could capture Late City in one fell swoop.
Late City was incredibly important to the entire Allied army. Right now, they were like hungry wolves eyeing a fat sheep, eager to pounce on the prize. The staff officers behind him had warned that rushing in blindly could be dangerous, especially since they didn’t know the full situation ahead; charging in recklessly might lead them right into an ambush.
But Fritsch didn’t care. What he wanted was to seize Late City’s industrial equipment for Kabuguo. The potential benefits were simply too massive.
“Corps Commander, a telegram from Allied Headquarters! They are urging us to hurry up! The Limaguo 11th Corps, which is currently facing the Eastern Spirit 27th Corps, also has intentions of marching on Late City!
“However, our Allied Commander has denied their request for now. But if we don’t get there quickly, the Limaguo 11th Corps might move out anyway!” a staff officer reported to Fritsch.
“Hmph, the Limaguo 11th Corps’ objective is to fight the Eastern Spirit 27th Corps! If they march toward Santong County, the Eastern Spirit 27th Corps will also reinforce Bopa City! Their job right now is to pin down the 27th Corps, not try to steal Late City from me!” Fritsch snorted coldly, thoroughly dissatisfied.
Kabuguo was a poor nation, whereas Limaguo was much better off. As a result, the Allied forces rarely considered Kabuguo’s interests, often leaving them in the rear where there was no loot to be had! Now that they finally had the chance to lead the vanguard, it was impossible for Fritsch to just give it up!
“Order the troops to increase their marching speed! Order the tank division to reach Santong County immediately! Also, reply to our Allied Commander: our tank division will reach Santong County in two hours at most!” Fritsch ordered.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer immediately began drafting the telegram to Allied Headquarters.
“Damn it! Forcing our troops to fast-march in such sweltering weather! If it wasn’t for Late City, I wouldn’t care about them at all!” Fritsch grabbed a towel and wiped his face. His clothes were completely soaked in sweat.
“Corps Commander, according to Headquarters’ orders, we must push our forces all the way to Eastern Spirit City before the rainy season arrives. Therefore, we have no choice but to fight like this right now!” the senior staff officer sitting behind him explained.
“Indeed. Once the rainy season arrives, our marching speed will drastically decrease. Furthermore, the Eastern Spirit forces will be able to rely on the rivers for defense. When the rivers swell, building pontoon bridges will become even more difficult!” Fritsch nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Therefore, we just have to bite the bullet and push forward!” the senior staff officer added.
…
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, Hu Hao was sitting shirtless. It was just too damn hot. It was so hot that Hu Hao wanted to curse. If he wasn’t here to command an ambush, he never would have left his command center. The command center had air conditioning; it was incredibly comfortable!
Unlike here, where there wasn’t a single breeze, and the temperature was terrifyingly high and unbearably muggy.
“Motherfucker, when are they getting here?! If they don’t get here soon, we’re all going to roast to death!” Hu Hao downed a bottle of water, tossed the empty bottle into the trench, and cursed out loud!
“Soon, I hope. Their vanguard has probably already reached Lu Guangsheng’s sector!” a staff officer sitting behind him replied.
“Fast indeed! But it’ll probably take them another thirty minutes—maybe more—to reach us!” Hu Hao grumbled. The trenches were covered with leaves, making the air inside suffocatingly stagnant.
“Just hold on a little longer! I reckon once we wipe them out, we’ll feel amazing!” the senior staff officer said with a laugh.
“Hao-ge, call from the 2nd Regiment Commander!” a staff officer walked over with the radio and handed it to Hu Hao.
“This is Hu Hao. What’s the situation on your end?” Hu Hao asked.
“Hao-ge, they’re here! It’s all transport trucks! aside from the tanks at the very front, the rest are entirely transport trucks packed with soldiers! This is going to be an easy fight!” Wu Kexiao whispered, his voice trembling with excitement.
“Good! Keep your eyes on them! Wait for my call! When I say attack, order the brothers to attack! transport trucks are the easiest targets! We brought so many rocket launchers, we’ll blast them to hell!” Hu Hao replied, equally thrilled.
“Understood!” Wu Kexiao smiled and quickly hung up. He couldn’t speak much right now, fearing the marching column in the distance might hear them and realize they were walking into an ambush. It was best to keep it brief.
Hu Hao remained seated, continuing to wait. About ten minutes later, Ye Zifeng called to report that he had spotted the Allied forces, and they were marching at an incredibly fast pace.
“Good! Wait for my call! Right now, order the soldiers: the moment they see our signal flares, open fire immediately! Tanks engage the Allied tanks and armored vehicles! Rocket launchers target their trucks and armored vehicles! Heavy machine guns open up immediately! Wait for my call!” Hu Hao instructed Ye Zifeng.
“Understood!” Ye Zifeng affirmed.
“Notify Lu Guangsheng, Weng Tao, Bai Ye, and Wu Kexiao! Tell them to wait for my call! Also, tell them to notify their troops now: open fire the moment they see the signal flares!
“Tanks engage tanks and armored vehicles! Rocket launchers engage armored vehicles and trucks! Our infantry will use heavy machine guns and rifles to fire as fast as possible! The Air Cavalry will also be watching for our signal flares; the moment they see them, they will fly in and destroy the vehicles below!” Hu Hao ordered his staff officers.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officers immediately nodded and began contacting the subordinate units. Meanwhile, Hu Hao listened intently, straining to hear the roar of vehicle engines approaching from the distance!
“They’re marching fast, just as expected! It seems the forces in Santong County don’t have many men left. If they had more troops, they wouldn’t be rushing these reinforcements so desperately!” Hu Hao remarked.
Hu Hao and his men continued waiting. Less than twenty minutes later, Hu Hao spotted the vehicles approaching from the distance.
Hu Hao’s position was less than one kilometer away from the exit of the ambush zone. The moment the Allied vehicles reached the point directly in front of him, he would order the attack. For a vehicle, one kilometer took barely a minute to cross.
“Contact the units! Prepare to attack!” Hu Hao roared at the staff officers behind him. The staff officers immediately dialed the Regimental Commanders, who in turn ordered their communications officers to contact the Battalion Commanders.
Hu Hao locked his eyes on the vehicles. He watched the first vehicle pass directly in front of him. After waiting less than twenty seconds, Hu Hao roared at the top of his lungs—
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” The designated signal flare gunners immediately fired their flares into the sky.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Rat-a-tat-tat!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
In an instant, the entire forest erupted with ferocious gunfire and earth-shattering explosions.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The tanks leading the vanguard, as well as the lead tanks of the various divisions marching in the middle of the column, were immediately struck by armor-piercing shells.
Following that, the transport trucks were subjected to a devastating barrage of rocket-propelled grenades!
Simultaneously, heavy machine gun fire swept relentlessly into the truck beds. The heavy-caliber bullets tore straight through the wooden sideboards. Countless soldiers huddled inside were gunned down instantly.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Dismount! Hurry, dismount!”
“Boom!”
“Dismount!”
“Rat-a-tat-tat!”
“Fire!” Back on Hu Hao’s end, the Eastern Spirit soldiers aimed their weapons and unleashed a torrent of fire upon the enemy.
Leaves were shredded and sent flying everywhere, but the soldiers paid them no mind. They just kept firing in that direction; they couldn’t miss.
“Hurry up! Dismount! Dismount!” Many Kabuguo officers leapt from the trucks, attempting to use the vehicles as cover from the hail of bullets. However, the penetrating power of heavy machine gun rounds was immense; even hiding behind the trucks, they were still struck.
“What’s happening?! What’s happening up front?!” Far in the rear, Fritsch heard the thunderous explosions and intense gunfire echoing from ahead. His vehicle ground to a halt, and he immediately demanded answers.
“I don’t know! The vanguard might be under attack! Damn it, they actually ambushed us!” the senior staff officer cursed.
Fritsch immediately jumped out of his vehicle and walked to the side of the road. Looking ahead, he saw thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky, accompanied by ferocious gunfire and explosions. He instantly knew his forces had encountered the Eastern Spirit main force—and an incredibly heavily armed one at that.
“Hurry! Send the rear units forward to reinforce them! Also, find out exactly what’s happening up front! Tell the frontline officers to send me a situation report! Hurry!” Fritsch roared.
“Buzz—” Just then, the distinct roar of helicopter rotors echoed from the distance!
“Damn it! Eastern Spirit Air Cavalry!” Several officers spotted them and cursed loudly.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” Before they even finished cursing, they saw the helicopters unleash a barrage of rockets directly at the vehicles on the road.
“Dismount! Dismount!” Many soldiers in the forward vehicles screamed frantically.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The vehicles were instantly blown to pieces.
Following Hu Hao’s orders, the Air Cavalry had split into two groups: one targeting the rear of the Allied column, and the other targeting the front. The Air Cavalry’s primary objective was to destroy the vehicles using rockets, while the heavy machine gunners aboard the helicopters strafed the Allied soldiers below!
“Brothers, kill them! They’re finished!” Hu Hao roared. The battle had been raging for several minutes now, yet the Allied forces hadn’t managed to mount a single organized counter-attack.
Hu Hao knew the Allied forces were doomed. The heavy machine guns sweeping across the transport trucks had undoubtedly slaughtered a massive number of Allied soldiers. As for the vehicles themselves, countless numbers were currently exploding and burning uncontrollably.
(End of Chapter)