Chapter 78: A Tragic Price

Hu Hao sat beneath a large tree in an urban park, leaning back against the trunk. He held a lit cigarette in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, lost in his thoughts. The veterans around him knew he was grieving, or perhaps contemplating something heavy, so they gave him his space.

As night fell, the entire camp was eerily silent. No one spoke. Even Major General Li Jingsong sat beneath a nearby tree, staring blankly ahead as if his soul had left his body.

Hu Hao didn’t know how long he had been sitting there when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and was surprised to see Liang Wanyu. He had no idea how she had managed to find him in the dark.

“Why are you here? Haven’t you gone back yet?” Hu Hao asked, his voice rough and hoarse from smoking and the sheer, overwhelming anger of witnessing the civilian massacre.

“I… I had to stay to film the aftermath,” Liang Wanyu choked out, her voice thick with unshed tears.

“Come here,” Hu Hao extended a hand, gesturing for her to sit beside him.

Instead of sitting next to him, Liang Wanyu stepped forward, threw herself directly into his arms, and burst into uncontrollable, agonizing sobs.

Hu Hao stiffened in surprise for a fraction of a second, but he quickly understood. The sheer horror of the slaughtered civilians was too much for her to bear. He wrapped one arm around her waist and gently patted her back with his other hand.

He knew that witnessing such an apocalyptic atrocity would inflict massive psychological trauma on a young woman. Frankly, it wasn’t just her; even his hardened combat veterans were on the verge of madness after seeing the streets paved with the bodies of their own people. No human being could stomach it.

“Waaaaah!” Liang Wanyu clung to Hu Hao, unconsciously pulling herself fully into his lap as she wept into his chest.

Hu Hao didn’t try to offer empty platitudes or tell her to stop. He just held her and let her cry it out.

Slowly, as her exhaustion overcame her grief, the sobbing subsided. She wiped her tear-streaked face against the fabric of Hu Hao’s uniform, then rested her head against his chest and went completely still.

“Go back tomorrow,” Hu Hao said softly, staring into the darkness. “Don’t come back to the front. You’ve seen it yourself… the Allied coalition aren’t acting like human beings. They’re animals.”

“Mmh,” Liang Wanyu nodded, keeping her face buried in his chest. Crying her heart out had actually relieved a massive burden on her soul.

“Do you know… after I finished my filming assignment, my only thought was, ‘Where is Hu Hao? Where is Hu Hao?’ I had to find you. I felt like out here in this hell, you were the only person I could rely on,” Liang Wanyu whispered.

“It makes sense,” Hu Hao replied calmly. “I’m the only person you actually know out here. After witnessing something so horrific, it’s human instinct to seek out a familiar face for protection. And since I’m a man you trust, you naturally came looking for me.”

“Maybe,” Liang Wanyu nodded against him.

“Go to sleep. I’m guessing that if I don’t hold you, you’d be too terrified to even close your eyes. When you get back to the Capital, make sure you have some of your girl friends sleep over with you for a while, otherwise you’re going to suffer from horrific nightmares. Sigh… damn this war,” Hu Hao sighed heavily.

“Okay,” Liang Wanyu agreed softly. The physical and emotional exhaustion of the day was finally catching up to her, and Hu Hao’s steady heartbeat was lulling her to sleep.

“Hey! Someone bring me a blanket!” Hu Hao called out quietly to the shadows.

“Got it, Hao-ge! I’ll find one!” He Jizhong stood up immediately.

“Make sure it’s clean!” Hu Hao added.

He Jizhong acknowledged the order and hurried off into the ruined city.

About 20 minutes later, He Jizhong returned and handed Hu Hao a pristine, brand-new blanket—God only knew which abandoned store he had scavenged it from. Hu Hao took it and draped it over Liang Wanyu.

“No… it’s too hot,” Liang Wanyu mumbled sleepily.

“Alright. I’ll put it on you later tonight when the temperature drops,” Hu Hao agreed, setting the blanket aside.

Liang Wanyu soon fell into a deep sleep, resting securely in Hu Hao’s arms. Hu Hao leaned his head back against the tree trunk, staring up through the canopy and contemplating his future.

Originally, his only goal had been to survive as a mere spectator in this world. But now? The Allied coalition was infinitely more brutal and barbaric than the Imperial Japanese Army he had fought against in his past life on Earth. If he simply sat back and watched, his own family in this world would inevitably fall victim to the coalition’s genocide.

He knew now that he could no longer afford to avoid military advancement. He had to take his career in the Imperial Army seriously.

If he wanted to actually defeat the Allied coalition, he couldn’t rely on the aristocratic “Young Master” Generals; they were incompetent fools who didn’t know the first thing about warfare. But currently, Hu Hao only commanded the equivalent of a single regiment. He didn’t have enough troops to make a strategic difference. He needed to climb the ranks.

For now, his best option was to continue advising Jiang Kai, ensuring the Zone Commander made the correct tactical decisions at critical junctures. Once he accumulated enough merit to command a significantly larger force, he could finally wage this war on his own terms.

Lost in his strategic planning, exhaustion eventually overtook Hu Hao, and he drifted into a light, fitful sleep.

Throughout the night, Liang Wanyu would occasionally jerk in his arms, sometimes curling into a tight, trembling ball as nightmares plagued her. Knowing she was utterly terrified, Hu Hao held her securely, unable to fall into a deep sleep himself. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that he finally managed to truly rest.

Hu Hao was sleeping soundly when he felt Liang Wanyu shift in his arms again. He opened his eyes to find her awake and trying to carefully extricate herself from his embrace.

“You’re awake?” Hu Hao asked, his voice thick with sleep.

“Mmh. Did I wake you? I’m sorry!” Liang Wanyu whispered, her face blushing furiously.

Hu Hao released his grip and let her sit up. She stood, stretching her stiff limbs in the cool morning air.

“Are you heading back today?” Hu Hao asked, looking up at her.

“Yes. I’m taking a transport flight back to the Capital later this morning. Thank you for everything. And… please be careful! I saw how you fight—you’re always leading the charge at the absolute front line. It’s incredibly dangerous!” Liang Wanyu crouched back down, looking him in the eye.

“Ha. On a battlefield, whether you’re at the front or the back, it’s all dangerous. It’s good that you’re leaving,” Hu Hao smiled. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and blew out a plume of smoke, smiling softly at her.

Under his gaze, Liang Wanyu’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, feigning annoyance.

“Because you’re pretty,” Hu Hao chuckled.

“Tch! You’re becoming more and more shameless!” Liang Wanyu rolled her eyes, unable to suppress a smile.

“Ha. Alright, all jokes aside. Please remember what I asked you: if you can use your influence to help Wang Yao and the other boys, do it. If you can’t stop their deployment, you absolutely must get them assigned to the Southwest Combat Zone!

We have veterans here who can actually teach them how to survive. Just because they graduated from a military academy doesn’t mean they know how to fight a real war, and it certainly doesn’t mean they know how to stay alive. Please, help them,” Hu Hao said seriously.

“I will. I need to go find my team now,” Liang Wanyu promised, standing back up.

“I’ll escort you. It’s not safe for a woman to be walking around this city alone right now. Once I drop you off with your unit, I’ll head back,” Hu Hao said, standing up and slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

The Propaganda Department team was currently embedded with Zone Command, which had relocated its headquarters into a massive underground parking garage in Nanlin City that doubled as an air-raid shelter.

Hu Hao escorted Liang Wanyu to the entrance of the command bunker. Just as he was turning to leave, a staff officer rushed out and called his name.

“Hu Hao! The Commander is looking for you!”

Hu Hao stopped, looking at the staff officer in confusion. A short distance away, Liang Wanyu also paused and looked back.

“He’s looking for me? Right now? Is the Commander already awake?” Hu Hao asked.

“Yes. Or more accurately, the Commander, the Chief of Staff, and the senior strategy officers haven’t slept a wink. The Commander has been sitting at his desk chain-smoking all night,” the staff officer replied grimly.

“Understood. I’ll head in,” Hu Hao nodded. He flashed a quick, reassuring smile at Liang Wanyu and followed the officer into the bunker.

“Do you know that Major?” another war correspondent asked Liang Wanyu, noticing the exchange.

“Mmh. We were classmates at the university,” Liang Wanyu replied briefly, turning her attention back to packing her gear.

..

“Commander, Hu Hao is here,” the staff officer reported as they entered the main operations area.

“You’re here. Find a chair and sit down,” Jiang Kai said, looking up with bloodshot eyes. He gestured to a nearby aide to bring a seat.

“Thank you,” Hu Hao nodded, accepting the folding chair from the aide.

“Smoke?” Jiang Kai offered a pack of cigarettes from his desk.

“Commander, you need to cut back. Look at the floor; it’s practically a carpet of cigarette butts,” Hu Hao said, accepting a cigarette but slipping it into his pocket instead of lighting it.

“Motherfucker… I never in my wildest nightmares imagined they would actually do this. I truly didn’t. They must have lost their damn minds! Those were our civilians! Unarmed, innocent people!

I am guilty, Hu Hao! Do you know that?! I am guilty! We are all guilty! We have committed an unforgivable sin against our own people!

I am terrified to even think about it… if the other cities and provinces they captured suffered the exact same fate as Nanlin City… if they wiped everyone out… I… I… I don’t know what I’ll do!” Jiang Kai stammered, his voice breaking as he shook his head in despair.

“Commander, you cannot let this break you. We must organize our forces immediately! We absolutely cannot allow the Allied coalition to occupy another inch of our soil! No matter the cost in blood, we are soldiers, and it is our duty to die so the people don’t have to!” Hu Hao said sharply, recognizing that if Jiang Kai wallowed in his guilt, he would be completely useless as a commander.

“You’re right. We must halt their advance at all costs. We are temporarily secure in this sector, but the other Combat Zones are still in critical danger. We still have no idea exactly how many troops the Allied coalition has landed on our shores.

Our pre-war intelligence estimated they were preparing an invasion force of 3 million men. How many of those have already crossed the ocean? We don’t know. Will they deploy even more? We don’t know that either!” Jiang Kai nodded, forcing himself to focus on the tactical reality.

“They absolutely will,” Hu Hao stated with absolute certainty. “Furthermore, Commander, you need to report your findings directly to His Majesty and the High Command.

You need to make them understand: this is no longer a conventional war of conquest. The Allied coalition’s objective isn’t to subjugate our nation; their objective is the total extermination of our race!

You must urge His Majesty to immediately establish diplomatic contact with the other nations in the Central Region. The coalition’s ambitions undoubtedly extend far beyond the borders of the Eastern Spirit Empire!

Commander, surely you realize the true reason behind these massacres by now? This isn’t just senseless slaughter. They are employing the most primitive, brutal method in human history to systematically empty this fertile land, explicitly to secure permanent living space for their own starving populations!” Hu Hao explained grimly.