Hu Hao, leading the four Special Operations Regiment squads under Zhao Yang, four squads from other squadrons, two fresh recruit divisions, and two veteran armored regiments, charged straight down Qingnian Avenue toward the Allied positions.
When Allied Commander Schliemann saw this, he was utterly shocked. Judging by their objective, this force was very likely aiming directly at his command center.
“Damn it! How many troops do we have over there right now?!” Schliemann bellowed!
“Report! We have two divisions, plus our guard division. Roughly three divisions in total!” a staff officer stood up and reported.
“General Schliemann, I don’t believe their target is necessarily our command center. They might not even know where it is. Rather, they likely intend to attack the railway station.
Their objective is our railway. This is a critical transportation hub. If Hu Hao’s troops reach it, they can destroy it, and all our rail lines will be severed. Their previous artillery bombardments only managed to destroy parts of it, which can be repaired.
But if their infantry gets there now, the damage will be completely irreparable. Even if we try to fix it, it would take an immense amount of time!” Kesma stated, standing nearby.
“You’re right!” Schliemann nodded in agreement.
“Report! Our military field hospital is located inside the underground air raid shelter at Zhanqian Park! There are over 10,000 wounded soldiers inside!
Furthermore, it also houses the command center for another of our corps—the Mara Empire’s 21st Corps!” another staff officer stood up and added.
“Damn it! Mobilize troops immediately! Stop them!” Schliemann roared. He couldn’t let Hu Hao’s troops break through. The Allied forces had also deployed drones, so Schliemann was fully aware of the frontline situation. He could clearly see Hu Hao’s forces charging toward them.
“Yes, sir!” Several staff officers immediately began mobilizing the reserve forces from the rear!
Bang, bang, bang! Assault rifle in hand, Hu Hao rapidly led his troops forward. In the center of the street they were advancing down, armored vehicles and tanks spearheaded the charge!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Rat-tat-tat! The tanks and their mounted heavy machine guns fired continuously, suppressing the Allied forces ahead. From the buildings above, the Special Operations snipers provided cover, keeping their scopes trained on Allied commanders and heavy weapons below.
“Cover me!” Hu Hao yelled just as his magazine ran dry.
A soldier stepped in front of him, providing cover while Hu Hao swiftly reloaded. He then followed behind the soldier, continuing the advance. The troops’ forward momentum didn’t appear fast, but it was relentless, slowly grinding their way toward Zhanqian Road!
“What is Hao-ge trying to do?” From behind his corps headquarters, Wu Kexiao observed the situation ahead. He knew Hu Hao was at the very front. Though worried, he knew no one could talk Hu Hao out of it, so he could only let him fight on the front lines.
“Our forces are pushing directly for the station? Fighting like this will only force the Allied forces to resist desperately! They’ve already stopped attacking, so why are we still pushing?” Wu Kexiao stood there, utterly baffled.
“Report! A call from the command center!” a staff officer brought a phone to Wu Kexiao.
Wu Kexiao took the receiver.
“Reporting to Biao-ge, this is Wu Kexiao!” Wu Kexiao said, standing at attention.
“Deploy a veteran division immediately to follow behind Er Lengzi! Order the rest of the troops to press down on the Allied forces! Er Lengzi has already initiated a breakthrough; our forces must keep up!” Zhang Debiao ordered over the line!
“Ah… but the Allied forces have already stopped fighting. Why are we still attacking? Furthermore, we have a lot of fresh recruits right now. Wasn’t the goal just to train them? We don’t need to attack this aggressively just for training, do we?” Wu Kexiao argued.
“Hmm. Training is training. But the Allied forces will attack Gunan City very soon. Your 106th Corps is stationed there. We are taking the initiative to attack now in order to wipe out a portion of the Allied forces in Tonglong City. Only then can we safely redeploy troops from Tonglong City to other areas!
The Allied forces won’t give us much time. Based on our calculations, it won’t be more than seven days at most, and could be as early as four days. Therefore, the time they’ve effectively given us is three days.
In three days, we must establish absolute superiority in Tonglong City so we can pull troops out. Furthermore, as long as we destroy a massive number of troops in Tonglong City, the forces pressing down from the north might not be as numerous, as they might have to divert troops to reinforce Tonglong City!
Additionally, Er Lengzi is assaulting the station right now to put immense pressure on the Allied forces. They think they can just stop fighting whenever they want?! What do they take our army for?! Even if they don’t want to fight, they will fight! We call the shots on this battlefield!” Zhang Debiao explained to Wu Kexiao over the phone.
“Yes, sir, I understand. I will dispatch troops to follow behind Hao-ge immediately. Oh, right, Biao-ge, will the Allied forces really attack Gunan City?” Wu Kexiao asked.
“Nonsense! Do you think they’re idiots? Just sitting there letting us beat them? Once our strength here grows, it will cost them a far heavier price to eliminate us later. Therefore, they will not allow us to easily control so many cities!” Zhang Debiao stated.
“Understood! I will make the arrangements immediately!” Wu Kexiao replied, and Zhang Debiao hung up.
“Does this Biao-ge really have what it takes?” Wu Kexiao harbored some doubts inwardly. However, since Hu Hao had ordered them to obey Zhang Debiao, he didn’t dare disobey. He could only execute the orders, even with his doubts.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The sector where Hu Hao was fighting remained locked in fierce combat, while other areas were noticeably quieter by comparison.
“Hao-ge, the Allied forces have brought in reinforcements! Looks like a lot of them!” a regimental commander approached Hu Hao and reported.
“Their reinforcements are exactly what we want! If they don’t fight, how are we supposed to wipe them out? Someone, notify our attacking forces: there’s no need to rush the assault. Kill them slowly. No reckless advances!
Observe the situation ahead. Only advance when there aren’t many enemies left!” Hu Hao instructed Zhao Yang, who had essentially become his personal communications officer.
“Understood!” Zhao Yang shouted loudly. He then ordered the dozen or so radiomen around him to contact the regimental commanders. Since the two fresh recruit divisions didn’t have division commanders yet, they could only communicate directly with the regimental commanders to pass down the orders.
Rat-tat-tat!
“There’s a heavy machine gun in the building opposite! Snipers, what are you waiting for?!” Hu Hao roared into his headset, taking cover behind a pillar.
“It’s already down!” A reply came through his earpiece almost instantly.
“Keep your eyes glued to that spot! Snipers, prioritize the heavy machine guns! Do not let them fire! Leave the rest of the ground forces to our troops!” Hu Hao ordered into his headset.
He then raised his assault rifle and continued firing forward. Hu Hao’s marksmanship was incredibly accurate. Even in the dead of night, while he couldn’t claim every single shot found its mark, taking down an Allied soldier with two or three shots was no problem at all!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, explosions erupted near Hu Hao’s position.
“Hao-ge, Allied tanks!” a Special Operations soldier yelled.
“Leave them to the heavy snipers! We keep fighting!” Hu Hao ordered without a second thought. From the buildings above, the heavy snipers aimed at the tanks’ turrets. A few well-placed armor-piercing rounds rendered the tanks’ main guns useless.
If the heavy machine gunners mounted on the tanks didn’t quickly identify their next targets, the heavy snipers would take them out too, not even leaving them for the regular snipers.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Spotting the enemy armor, the tanks providing cover for Hu Hao’s advance loaded armor-piercing shells and returned fire!
“Damn it! Hold the line! Hold the line! Our command center is right behind us!” The guard unit of the Mara Empire’s 21st Corps was currently holding the line in the buildings outside Zhanqian Park. Their casualties were horrific. Illuminated by the brilliant glow of the flares above, the guard division commander screamed as he saw the enemy tanks charging forward.
He had just witnessed his own tank units roll onto the streets, only to be entirely scrapped in less than ten minutes. Their only use now was serving as cover for the infantry behind them.
“Hurry! Call our Corps Commander and tell him to retreat quickly! We cannot hold this position! The Eastern Spirit Empire has too many troops!” the division commander yelled to his radioman.
“Yes, sir!” the radioman responded loudly.
“And the wounded! Tell the medical staff to transfer the wounded immediately! Move them somewhere else! This place will definitely fall!” the division commander continued shouting. Hearing this, the staff officers and radiomen behind him could only scramble to contact the hospital.
Boom! Boom! Boom! In the combat zone, the explosive flames reached toward the sky. If it weren’t for the relentless torrential rain, countless houses would likely have burned down tonight.
Even so, many houses still caught fire internally. However, no one had the time to care. Many civilians had already fled the city, so there was nothing to be done about the burning houses anyway.
Meanwhile, in the capital, the Emperor sat in his study, feeling extremely irritable. The day was almost over, yet Hu Hao still hadn’t returned his call. He hadn’t called back once since yesterday. This made the Emperor deeply anxious, fearing that Hu Hao truly intended to ignore High Command from now on.
“Imperial Father, perhaps… I should try calling Hu Hao again right now?” the Crown Prince suggested tentatively, seeing his father’s anxiety.
“No. Have our technicians notify Hu Hao’s side that I wish to video call him. A video call, immediately! Tell them I have urgent matters to discuss with him!” the Emperor decided after a moment of thought.
“Will Hu Hao accept the call?” the Crown Prince asked cautiously.
“He will accept it even if he doesn’t want to! Look at the situation we’re in! All I did was call him ‘Er Lengzi’ once, does he really need to hold such a grudge?!” the Emperor retorted, though inwardly, he wasn’t entirely confident himself.
(End of Chapter)