Inside the Allied command headquarters, a heated debate was underway. Both full Generals agreed they must attack, but the subordinate Corps Commanders were split. Those opposed cited the critical ammunition shortage, fearing that if they failed to break the Imperial lines before noon, they would be left stranded and defenseless.
“Do not worry. We attack,” General Wenkeduo declared confidently, looking around the room. “The Eastern Spirit Empire’s army is a joke. Look at our progress! Just in this sector alone, it’s been barely over ten days since we made landfall, yet look how far we’ve pushed. We’ve blitzed through three entire provinces.
If we continue our push northward, their Imperial Capital itself will be directly threatened. That is our primary objective: to strike at the heart of their nation as quickly as possible. Even if the Empire has massive reserves in other regions, an army without a head is nothing. No, I shouldn’t say they are dragons without a head—they are merely a swarm of leaderless rats!
They possess the richest resources in the world, an immense population, and unfathomable wealth. Their equipment is state-of-the-art, and they have an abundance of it. Yet, look at how easily we have crushed them.
We cannot allow ourselves to be dragged into a war of attrition. If we stall, the Empire’s massive industrial and demographic weight will inevitably crush us. We must be fast. As for ammunition and supplies, do not worry. The Air Force is currently preparing an emergency airdrop. It won’t be a massive resupply, but it will be enough to sustain our frontline operations for the day.
And as for the Imperial reinforcements… hahaha! We want them to come! It is better if every last one of them comes to us here!” Wenkeduo laughed, exchanging a knowing look with General Mushaqi.
“Exactly,” Mushaqi nodded, smiling at the room. “We want their reinforcements to pour into this meat grinder. By drawing their main strength here, we leave their other provinces completely exposed for our forces to conquer unopposed.
We will trade casualties with them right here. Do you fear we lack the manpower? The Mara Emmpire, along with the rest of our coalition nations, boasts a combined population of over ten billion! We have more than enough bodies to feed the grinder.
As long as we annihilate their standing, active-duty army now, the Eastern Spirit Empire is finished. We absolutely cannot give them the time they need to train their reserves. If we give them breathing room, this turns into a true war of attrition, and that is a fight we will lose.
Therefore, this morning, I order a full-scale, relentless assault. You must shatter their defensive line! But even if you fail to break through completely, it is acceptable as long as you inflict catastrophic casualties on their forces. Devouring the bulk of the Imperial Army right here, right now, is the absolute best outcome for our coalition.
We have prepared three hundred transport planes for an emergency airdrop of munitions. Put the logistics out of your minds and fight!” Mushaqi commanded, his smile never wavering.
“Yes, sir!” Seeing both supreme commanders absolutely unified, the Corps Commanders immediately snapped to attention.
“Go and prepare your men. Give them thirty minutes to eat and rest, then launch the assault. Tell them to be ready for anything. I am not worried about the Empire sending reinforcements. Frankly, I’d be much more worried if they didn’t send them!” Mushaqi chuckled.
“Yes, sir!” the Generals roared again.
“Dismissed,” Mushaqi waved his hand, and the commanders filed out of the room to prep their corps.
“General Wenkeduo,” Mushaqi began once they were alone, “regarding last night… do you believe the Eastern Spirit commanders finally realized how to strike our logistical arteries, or was destroying the bridges and ammo dumps merely a stroke of luck?”
“I suspect it was a sudden, desperate inspiration,” Wenkeduo replied after a moment’s thought. “Consider this: they moved three full corps of reinforcements to the riverbank last night. If they knew our ammo dumps were destroyed and our supplies were severed, why didn’t they launch a counter-offensive? If they had attacked us at dawn while we were vulnerable, we would have been forced into a desperate retreat.
But they didn’t move. There is absolutely no indication they are preparing an assault. Therefore, I believe the airstrikes were simply a temporary, isolated tactic devised by Jiang Kai, rather than a coordinated shift in their overall strategic doctrine. It won’t pose a permanent threat to our offensive capabilities.”
“Mmh. I was beginning to worry that their command structure was finally waking up. After all, the Eastern Spirit Empire is a superpower; mathematically, they must have at least a few Generals who actually know how to wage war. If capable commanders were given operational control, it would be a disaster for our coalition,” Mushaqi sighed.
“The geography of the Eastern Spirit Empire is primarily flat plains—terrain that heavily favors the attacker over the defender. Right now, we hold the initiative, so the terrain benefits us. But if the Empire were to successfully reorganize and launch a mechanized counter-offensive across these plains, the advantage would immediately flip to them!”
“Precisely. That is why we cannot give them a single moment to breathe. A war of attrition benefits them immensely, and it will bankrupt us—unless we can rapidly conquer half of their territory to fuel our own war machine.
For now, we must maintain the pressure. We must continue our furious assault to drag the entirety of the Imperial Army’s main strength to this specific front. We will hold our forces in the other sectors in reserve. Once the Imperial army is utterly consumed here, we unleash our other armies to sweep across the undefended provinces.
By then, the Empire won’t have any troops left to redeploy. They won’t be able to react!” Wenkeduo explained his grand strategy.
“Mmh. Just yesterday afternoon, the Emperor issued a General Mobilization Order. They are likely already conscripting millions of men,” Mushaqi noted, a hint of concern in his voice.
“It doesn’t matter. Look at the state of their current soldiers. Do you really think fresh, terrified recruits will possess any combat effectiveness? And honestly, the soldiers aren’t the real issue; the problem lies entirely with their Generals. An army of lions led by a sheep is nothing to fear. What good are millions of soldiers if their commanders are incompetent straw bags?” Wenkeduo sneered dismissively.
“Haha! Very true. The Eastern Spirit Empire has enjoyed peace for far too long. Frankly, it’s not just them—the entire Central Region has grown soft. They control the absolute best resources on the planet and represent the most developed nations in the world, yet their military leadership is a complete joke!” Mushaqi laughed heartily.
“Isn’t it? I’ve heard rumors that High Command is currently discussing our next steps. Once we devour the Eastern Spirit Empire, we might simply continue our push north, then pivot west, systematically conquering all thirty-plus nations of the Central Region and completely redistributing their territories!
It is fundamentally unfair that they occupy the most fertile and resource-rich lands on earth, especially to the people of the Southern Region. Our nations are plagued by unforgiving mountains and harsh terrain. We lack arable plains and natural resources. Merely surviving is a daily struggle for our citizens.
Meanwhile, the nations of the Central Region control the vast majority of the world’s grain exports! When we try to buy food to prevent our people from starving, they charge us triple the domestic price! We have virtually no exports of our own, which means we have no foreign exchange reserves to pay their extortionate rates! If we don’t conquer them and take their land, we are failing our own people!
Look at the forty nations of the Southern Region. Is there a single one that hasn’t faced a massive, violent uprising in the past decade? And why do they rebel? Because there is no food! When the people are starving, how can they not rebel?!
Fortunately, the nations of the Southern and Eastern Regions have finally forged an ironclad alliance. We will conquer the Central Region and redistribute its lands among ourselves. Only when we control these fertile plains will our people finally have enough to eat. Only then will the rebellions cease!” Wenkeduo declared, staring out the window with burning, fanatical conviction.
The geography of the Southern and Eastern Regions was dominated by rugged mountains, resulting in a severe lack of arable land and perpetual food shortages. This desperate need for resources was the primary catalyst for their massive, unified invasion of the Central Region.
“Mmh. Then we fight. We will either go down in history as the greatest sinners or the greatest heroes of our people,” Mushaqi nodded solemnly. “However… I have received reports that many of our frontline units are actively massacring Imperial civilians. This must stop. Indiscriminate slaughter will only force the Eastern Spirit populace into a desperate, fanatical insurgency against us!”
“Why should we care? If we kill them all, there will be more land and resources left for our own people to inherit, won’t there? We can simply migrate our citizens to settle these empty, fertile plains! If the remnants rebel, we crush them. We can simply wipe them all out!” Wenkeduo smiled chillingly, completely unbothered by the prospect of genocide.
“What?! Wipe them out?!” Mushaqi stared at Wenkeduo in absolute horror.
“Why leave them alive? So they can breed and eventually launch a war of independence to reclaim their nation? No. We cannot leave the roots intact. We must eradicate them completely!” Wenkeduo asked coldly.
“No! Absolutely not! This is unacceptable! The civilians are innocent non-combatants; we cannot endorse wholesale slaughter!” Mushaqi vehemently rejected the idea, shaking his head rapidly.
“Telling me that is useless,” Wenkeduo replied with a dark smirk. “Go tell the soldiers in the mud. Go tell High Command. Do you honestly believe the troops would dare engage in systematic massacres if the political leadership hadn’t already given their tacit approval?”
“No… this is wrong. If we do this, the Eastern Spirit Empire will never truly be pacified. This land will become a perpetual war zone. The resources we expend trying to violently subjugate an endless insurgency will vastly outweigh the resources we extract from the territory! From a long-term strategic perspective, this is a catastrophic mistake!” Mushaqi argued passionately.
Wenkeduo merely chuckled and offered no rebuttal.
“I am going to send a direct telegram to His Majesty the Emperor of Mara. I will request that he issue strict orders to rein in the troops and explicitly forbid the massacre of civilians!” Mushaqi declared, standing up abruptly to draft the message to his sovereign.
Wenkeduo watched him go, smiling and shaking his head in silent amusement.
…
Meanwhile, at the Imperial command post nestled beneath the bridge, Zone Commander Jiang Kai was eating his breakfast.
“Report! Commander, a team of war correspondents dispatched by High Command has arrived and requested an interview. They are being escorted by personnel from the Propaganda Department of the General Staff,” a senior staff officer reported.
“They’re only showing up now? Ha… fine. Send the team leader in,” Jiang Kai sighed with a bitter smile. This was something High Command should have organized days ago to boost national morale, but they were only just getting around to it.
“Yes, sir!” the officer saluted and hurried out.
A moment later, a striking young woman wearing an impeccably tailored Army uniform, bearing the insignia of a Captain, walked into the command post under the escort of the staff officer.
“Good morning, Uncle Jiang!” the young woman said brightly, stepping forward and delivering a crisp salute.
Jiang Kai paused, squinting at her. She looked incredibly familiar.
“You are…? You are…? Oh, my memory is going. Am I really getting this old?” Jiang Kai muttered, pointing a finger at her as he tried to place her face.
“Uncle Jiang, my name is Ma Wanyu. I am the granddaughter of General of the Left, Ma Zhenling!” the young woman announced proudly.
“Oh! Of course! I remember now!” Jiang Kai exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. “My dear, what on earth are you doing here?! How could Elder Ma ever agree to let you come to the front lines?! What was he thinking?! This is an active war zone! How could he possibly be at ease with you here?!”
Ma Wanyu was, in fact, Hu Hao’s classmate and Class President, Liang Wanyu. During her time at the military academy, she had deliberately used a false surname to hide her powerful aristocratic lineage from her peers.