Chapter 97: A Massive Haul

“Still no contact?” the Limaguo Lieutenant General asked, glaring at the duty officer inside his Corps Command Center in Xike City.

“Report, General! We still cannot establish contact. The timeline is highly irregular. It has only been six hours since the Division Commander was assassinated in Santong County.

Immediately following the assassination, the 3rd Regiment garrisoned in Daman City reported a massive ambush and abruptly went silent. Following that, the three-Regiment relief column dispatched from Santong vanished completely from the comms net while en route to Daman.

And just ten minutes ago, the 5th Regiment guarding the Imperial military base in Santong reported a massive armored assault before going completely silent as well. Based on their final transmission, they were under bombardment by a massive armored force, potentially the size of an entire Imperial Armored Division! Now, they are completely offline. It is highly likely our forces…” the staff officer trailed off, unwilling to voice the obvious conclusion.

“Damn it! The Eastern Spirit Army actually possesses the combat capability to launch a coordinated, multi-front offensive against us?!” the Lieutenant General scowled, clasping his hands tightly behind his back.

“General, according to the grand strategic directive from the Coalition Joint Command, our Corps is tasked with pushing north. Our primary objective is to capture Late City—a massive Eastern Spirit industrial hub containing critical oil reserves and manufacturing infrastructure.

We currently possess no intelligence regarding the Imperial troop strength garrisoning Late City. However, given that we have just lost an entire vanguard Division in that general sector, I believe we must re-evaluate our operational tempo!” the Corps Chief of Staff, a Major General, advised grimly.

“I am aware. If the Eastern Spirit Empire intends to heavily defend Late City, how large of a force do you estimate they will deploy?” the Lieutenant General asked.

“We don’t have concrete figures. However, our pre-war intelligence indicates that the Southwest Combat Zone is still active in this region. Assuming their command structure remains intact, they could theoretically field up to 330,000 men.

Our current coalition offensive thrust consists of 10 Corps, totaling over 600,000 troops. According to the Joint Command’s timetable, we must launch a coordinated assault against the Imperial defensive lines within a week at the latest.

Losing an entire Division right before a major offensive will severely impact our operational momentum. I recommend we immediately dispatch an armored reconnaissance force to Daman City to aggressively probe their lines and ascertain exactly how many Imperial troops are operating in this sector,” the Chief of Staff proposed.

“We deploy tomorrow at dawn. We absolutely must identify the Imperial unit responsible for this attack and annihilate them!

However… what deeply concerns me is the total comms blackout of our three-Regiment relief column. That is not a good omen. To rapidly neutralize a force of that size, the enemy must possess absolutely overwhelming, concentrated firepower!” the Lieutenant General mused, his concern growing.

“We cannot definitively conclude they were annihilated, General. It is entirely possible there is another explanation for the blackout,” the Chief of Staff offered hopefully.

“No. They were absolutely annihilated. A simple comms failure doesn’t explain this sequence of events,” the Lieutenant General shook his head firmly. “Think about the tactical timeline! The Imperial forces attacked Daman City, drew our relief column out of Santong County, and then immediately launched an assault on the military base in Santong!

If the Imperial forces hadn’t completely annihilated the relief column, they never would have dared to attack the military base! They knew our rear was vulnerable!

Damn it! That military base contains massive stockpiles of Imperial munitions! Tanks, APCs, attack helicopters, and an astronomical amount of infantry ordnance! Securing that base would have massively alleviated our logistical supply lines!

But now that the Imperial forces have retaken it, they certainly won’t leave those weapons for us! If they can’t haul it all away, they’ll undoubtedly blow the entire armory to ash!” the Lieutenant General cursed furiously. Watching a perfectly cooked duck fly right out of his mouth was maddening.

“You’re right. If we had known this was a trap, we never should have authorized the relief column to deploy. If they had simply fortified Santong and waited until dawn, we could have provided massive air support,” the Chief of Staff sighed, realizing the strategic blunder.

“It wouldn’t have mattered. The Imperial commander orchestrated this entire sequence flawlessly. From the surgical assassination of our Division Commander to the coordinated assaults on our garrisons… it was a masterclass in strategic manipulation.

Regardless of whether our relief column deployed or not, the Imperial force’s primary objective was the total annihilation of our Division and the recovery of that military base!” the Lieutenant General concluded, a grudging respect for his unknown adversary bleeding into his voice.