Chapter 32: Hooking a “Big Fish”

Hu Hao led his troops as they continued their sudden assault forward. Their mission tonight was to clear the enemy out of Sector 9 entirely, so they had no choice but to keep pushing relentlessly.

“Brothers, keep up with me!” Hu Hao shouted. He sprinted out over a hundred meters, his grenades taking out scores of Allied soldiers. The survivors were so suppressed by the blasts they didn’t dare show their faces. Hu Hao waved the trailing units forward.

Huan Xingtao and the others charged up immediately. They had lost track of how much ground they had covered tonight.

“Hao-ge, look over there! Tanks! Enemy tanks!” a soldier yelled, pointing at a pair of distant headlights.

Hu Hao followed his gaze. Sure enough, several tanks were rumbling into view.

“Rocket teams, front and center! Aim over there and take them out. The Allied tank spotters can’t see us—it’s too dark on our end. Blow them to hell!” Hu Hao barked orders. Several soldiers carrying rocket launchers stood up and unleashed a volley toward the distant armor.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several anti-armor rounds streaked out, but only one found its mark, slamming into the side of a tank.

“Aim before you fire! The rest of you, scatter! Once those tanks zero in, they’re going to open up!” Hu Hao roared.

“Reload! Fast!” the rocket gunners shouted frantically. Having missed their shots, they were now the enemy’s primary targets.

“Scatter! Move it!” Hu Hao saw the enemy tanks accelerating toward their position, their turrets already rotating toward them.

“Give me that!” Hu Hao snatched a launcher from a soldier who was just about to shoulder it. He stood firm, took careful aim at the lead tank, and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh— BOOM!

“Quick, keep hitting them! There are more behind! Dammit, we must have hurt them bad for them to commit armor now!” Hu Hao shoved the empty launcher back into the gunner’s hands and turned to the others.

Rat-tat-tat! Boom! Boom!

With the tanks providing cover, the Allied infantry began a counter-charge.

“Dammit, get into the buildings on both sides! We kill the tanks first—once they’re gone, the infantry will be easy pickings!” Hu Hao shouted.

Six tanks had been sent to intercept them. They had taken out two, leaving four active.

BOOM! Another explosion rocked the distance as a third tank was hit. The remaining armor stopped and began shelling Hu Hao’s general area. Because the squad had already moved into the buildings, the shells hit the empty street.

“Get in here! Move!” The rocket gunners sprinted for the safety of the houses after firing their rounds.

“Get those launchers reloaded. You lot push forward along this line; I’m going to take out at least one more from here!” Hu Hao told them.

The tanks had to be dealt with. If they weren’t destroyed, the squad would be pinned down and unable to continue the assault.

“They’re coming! Hao-ge, they’re moving up!” a soldier acting as a spotter yelled as the distant armor continued its advance.

Whoosh— BOOM!

“Yes! Direct hit!” Hu Hao’s shot resulted in a violent explosion as the tank’s ammunition cooked off.

“Run! Push forward!” Hu Hao roared. He grabbed a launcher and sprinted ahead. The enemy never expected them to charge toward the tanks after firing.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Not fifty meters after they vacated their previous position, it was engulfed in explosions and heavy machine gun fire.

“Hao-ge, what now? There are three left!” Hu Hao and his group linked up with Huan Xingtao’s squad further ahead.

“Kill them. Who’s got a loaded round?” Hu Hao asked loudly.

“Me!” a soldier replied.

“Give it to me. The rest of you keep pushing—advance a hundred meters, then hold. Their infantry is about to swarm us. Also, I need two loaders to stay with me with fresh rounds!” Hu Hao commanded.

“Understood!”

“Go! Move!” Hu Hao urged them forward.

Once the main group moved off, Hu Hao waited for the next tank to emerge. He fired, immediately swapped for the next launcher, and kept his eyes glued to the street. He knew that if the tanks had an angle to shell the houses, he had an angle to hit them.

“Hao-ge, watch yourself! And how can you even see them? We can’t see a thing out there!” a soldier yelled.

The Allied drivers were being cautious; after the first few losses, they had cut their headlights to hide in the dark. They didn’t realize Hu Hao’s night vision was extraordinary, bolstered by his internal cultivation.

BOOM! Another tank rolled into view and Hu Hao let fly. His aim was incredibly steady; the rocket streaked true and slammed into the hull.

Rat-tat-tat! The enemy finally located Hu Hao. Heavy machine guns and rifles began shredding the walls around him.

“One left. Move! Into the houses! Dammit, let’s finish him!” Hu Hao stayed low, signaling the few remaining soldiers to follow him deeper into the building complex.

They navigated the ruins, pushing forward until they reached a massive pile of debris. Hu Hao stopped and aimed his launcher at the street, but the last tank refused to show itself.

“Dammit, he’s hiding!” After a minute of silence, Hu Hao cursed.

Rat-tat-tat! Ahead, Huan Xingtao and the others were already heavily engaged with Allied infantry.

“Hold this. Let’s move to the front!” Hu Hao handed the launcher to another soldier and led them on a sprint to rejoin the main force. Once they linked up, Hu Hao resumed his role as a human mortar, lobbing grenades.

“He’s here! That bastard is here!” Allied soldiers in the distance screamed as grenades began exploding rhythmically above their heads.

They had been driven back earlier by these same airbursts; they hadn’t expected to run into the “Grenade Devil” again so soon.

“Retreat! Everyone fall back!” the Allied officers shouted. They had no counter for Hu Hao—they couldn’t even pin down his location, making it impossible to fight back effectively.

“See that tank? Take it out! It’s covering their retreat—kill it!” Hu Hao roared. The last tank was idling in the street, providing suppressive fire for the fleeing infantry.

“Got it!” Three rocket gunners stood up simultaneously and fired.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! All three rounds slammed into the tank, turning it into a heap of scrap metal.

“CHARGE!” Hu Hao gripped his bag and sprinted forward. He didn’t know how long they had been chasing the enemy, but everyone was exhausted. Fortunately, the momentum of the straggler units had carried them forward for several kilometers, pushing the enemy back.

Hu Hao surveyed the surroundings. Despite the damage, he recognized the outlines of the buildings. He estimated they were less than a kilometer from the city limits.

“Almost there. One more kilometer and we’ve cleared the city. But if they send fresh reinforcements now, we’re in trouble,” Hu Hao said as they ducked into a house for a brief rest.

“Hao-ge! Hao-ge, look over there! Enemies… they’re moving in and out of that building!” a sentry whispered urgently.

“What?” Hu Hao crawled over and peered in the direction the soldier was pointing.

“Binoculars! Give me the binoculars!” It was too far to see clearly through the smoke and haze.

“Here!” Li Jingsong handed them over. Hu Hao adjusted the focus and looked intently.

“An Allied Major and a Lieutenant Colonel just went inside. That means there’s at least a Colonel in there—no, a Brigadier General. It has to be a Brigadier at least. That’s an enemy command post inside our city. Definitely a command post,” Hu Hao whispered, keeping the glass on the target.

“There are lights on, too. Look at the third floor—there’s a faint glow. They’ve shielded the windows well, but the light is leaking through!” the soldier beside him noted.

“It’s a command post for sure. That’s where they’ve set up their radio arrays. Brothers, forget the rest—we’ve got a ‘big fish.’ Dammit, if we catch them, we’re set for life!” Hu Hao lowered himself and turned back to the men.

“There’s definitely a General in there. A Brigadier General at the very least. According to our Empire’s wartime rewards law, capturing a Brigadier General gets you a one-million-credit reward. Fifty thousand if he’s dead. Plus, the capturing unit gets ten guaranteed promotion slots.

There are less than forty of us here. If it’s a Brigadier and we take him alive, that’s over twenty thousand credits each—plus ten of you get a rank jump. You in?” Hu Hao asked, looking at them.

“Twenty thousand? That’s a full year’s salary!” the soldiers whispered. A regular private only made about two thousand a month.

“Exactly. A year’s pay,” Hu Hao nodded. He knew rank didn’t mean much to these men right now, but cold, hard cash was a powerful motivator.

“Let’s do it! A year’s salary is worth it—we’re in this fight anyway. If we snag a live one, we’re lucky!” The soldiers were suddenly buzzing with excitement.

“Alright. Let’s move. We have to be quiet—don’t alert the nearby units. We’re going to slip in. I’ll lead; you stay on my heels!” Hu Hao saw the resolve in their eyes and nodded.

They checked their gear, shouldered their packs, and followed Hu Hao out into the night. They were deep in contested territory, but the Allied defense was in shambles after the recent retreat. This was their chance.