Chapter 158: Hidden Agendas

Hu Hao stood there, immensely proud of the excuse he had just come up with, while Xiao Quan could only offer a bitter smile.

“I have to say, Hao-ge, this incident should serve as a wake-up call for us!” Xiao Quan said, looking at Hu Hao.

“I know. After this battle is over, the brothers will hold a meeting together. We need to start making plans; we can’t afford to remain this passive. Sigh, right now our strength is simply too weak. The moment someone from the High Command investigates us, we’re put in a completely passive position.

“Fortunately, Jiang Kai proved to be a true friend this time and took the heat for me. Otherwise, things would have been incredibly troublesome. To be honest, leading troops out on our own right now carries immense pressure. With our meager numbers facing off against so many Allied forces, survival would be extremely difficult.

“However, since this incident has passed for now, we cannot let our guard down. We still need to carefully consider our future. After this battle, the brothers must hold a meeting!” Hu Hao nodded in agreement.

“That’s good to hear. I was worried you might not think about the future just because you got off the hook this time. To be honest, we only submit to you. As for anyone else—no matter who they are—things have already reached this point; who the hell is still afraid? Right now, the brothers just hope that one day, we can follow Hao-ge and fight our way back!” Xiao Quan told Hu Hao.

Hu Hao heard this and nodded. He also knew that this incident was a massive wake-up call. If Jiang Kai hadn’t shielded him, he would have been forced to leave with his troops this time.

And with such a small force, lacking funds and industrial backing, coupled with the dual pressure from both the Allied forces and the Empire, surviving would have been incredibly arduous!

“Hao-ge, Hao-ge, did you call for me?” Huan Xingtao entered the command center and asked Hu Hao.

“Mm, I have a mission for you. You remember that bastard Mu Qian, right?” Hu Hao asked.

“Mu Qian? Oh, the kid from the power plant? What’s up? Want me to kill him? I’ll go right now!” Huan Xingtao immediately turned to leave.

“Get back here! Can you not be so impulsive?! Go to Late City, find him, and bring him to me. I’m going to send him to the front lines. Motherfucker, his old man dared to stab me in the back; I’m going to return the favor!” Hu Hao ordered.

“Ah? Why go through so much trouble? Just kill him and be done with it!” Huan Xingtao replied, clearly reluctant.

“What the fuck do you know?! How much money is a dead body worth?! If I capture him, I can negotiate with his old man and squeeze some benefits out of him, understand? Take a hundred men from your company, head to Late City immediately, find him, and bring him to me!” Hu Hao instructed.

“Alright, as long as there are benefits! I’ll head out right now!” Huan Xingtao immediately departed upon hearing this.

“What are you planning to extort from his old man?” Xiao Quan asked as soon as Huan Xingtao left.

“I don’t know yet. The power plant is the bare minimum. As for other industries… right now we don’t even know how many belong to their family. We’ll see. Whatever looks good, we’ll take!” Hu Hao shook his head.

He currently had no idea how many assets the Mu family owned, so he hadn’t fully decided what to demand.

Meanwhile, on the opposite bank, Kabuguo 21st Corps Commander Hakes, Limaguo 7th Corps Commander Ren Kefu, and Mara Empire 11th Corps Commander Abusai were sitting in a small compartment within an underground air-raid shelter.

“The Joint Command has issued us a death order. Tonight, we must break through the defensive positions on the opposite bank. Currently, the other combat zones have all achieved massive success. It is only our sector that hasn’t made any progress.

“In order to shatter the Eastern Spirit positions here in one fell swoop, the Joint Command has deployed another four corps from the rear. If we haven’t broken through by the time they arrive, we truly won’t be able to explain ourselves to Command!” Kabuguo 21st Corps Commander Hakes said, smoking a cigarette as he looked at the other two.

“True. However, our opponent is a master as well. If we want to break through tonight, we need to attack early. My suggestion is to commence the attack at 8 PM tonight. We commit a massive force and take it down in one fell swoop. The forces on the opposite bank don’t have many men left.

“Over the past two days, we have also eliminated a substantial number of their troops. Therefore, as long as we maintain a superiority in numbers and firepower tonight, a decisive breakthrough is entirely possible!” Ren Kefu nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. They don’t have many troops left. Our attacks over the past few days have inflicted heavy casualties on them as well!” Abusai also nodded. Hearing this, Hakes sneered inwardly.

He knew the two of them didn’t want to damage their own reputations. Even if they had been beaten badly, they still had to claim they had inflicted massive casualties on the enemy.

And Ren Kefu and Abusai were indeed thinking exactly that. They commanded troops from different nations; neither wanted to admit defeat. Even in defeat, they had to claim they had caused the enemy massive losses, thereby creating favorable conditions for the subsequent offensive.

“How should we fight this battle? Do you two generals have any suggestions?” Hakes asked, looking at them.

“Well… we don’t have many troops left, so we wouldn’t dare make suggestions. We will have to rely on your forces. My combined forces currently number less than 10,000 men.

“However, I assure you that our Limaguo is more than willing to contribute its strength to this offensive. Although we only have 10,000 men left, these soldiers are all veterans. Their combat effectiveness is still incredibly formidable!” Ren Kefu stated.

“Right. Although our 11th Corps suffered heavy casualties, the remaining 20,000-plus troops are still perfectly capable of taking the front lines!” Abusai quickly added.

They both knew that if they launched a fierce assault tonight, the defensive line on the opposite bank was highly likely to break. If they didn’t participate in the attack, wouldn’t Kabuguo claim all the merit for this victory?

Their two corps had been fighting for days and suffered massive casualties, yet gained absolutely nothing. Forget their nations—even their own soldiers wouldn’t accept that!

“Mm, I believe you have already fought very hard. Forcing you to continue participating in the offensive might be a bit cruel. Furthermore, our 21st Corps has sufficient troops to handle the attack alone.

“I am confident that once our 21st Corps launches a full-scale assault, the Eastern Spirit forces on the opposite bank will not be able to stop us. How about this: your troops will serve as the reserve force. If our initial assault encounters difficulties, then you can step in?” Hakes knew exactly what they were planning, but he was reluctant to agree. The meat was already at his lips; he certainly didn’t want to share it with anyone else.

“General Hakes, I believe we possess immense experience regarding how to assault the opposite bank. Our soldiers have experience as well. Considering we have been attacking for so long, not letting our soldiers participate now is simply unacceptable. Additionally, your troops just arrived. I imagine they are exhausted and could use more rest!” Abusai argued.

“Exactly. Our troops possess substantial experience in assaulting the opposite bank. Your troops have traveled from afar and are fatigued; you should rest!” Ren Kefu chimed in.

“That won’t be necessary; we already rested all of last night. How about this: each of you deploy half your remaining forces as the first echelon of the attack, and the rest will serve as reserves. My troops will be fully committed to the offensive. What do you think?

“I believe you should preserve some seeds for your own units. If our attack encounters difficulties, you will still have troops left!” Hakes looked at them and offered with a smile.

However, Ren Kefu and Abusai knew this was the biggest concession he was willing to make. They exchanged a glance, then smiled at Hakes and nodded in agreement.

“I am very curious. You told me earlier that the forces on the opposite bank had suffered massive casualties. Why didn’t you continue the attack?” Hakes asked, looking at them. He was still somewhat suspicious. If they didn’t want him stealing the merit, they could have just attacked on their own.

“To tell you the truth, we wanted to preserve some seeds for our own units as well. Plus, our soldiers have been fighting continuously for two days and are exhausted. Therefore, we let the men rest first. However, we never expected your troops to arrive so quickly!” Abusai replied.

“Oh, haha! The Command has been constantly rushing us; otherwise, we wouldn’t have arrived so quickly. By the way, do you have any specific suggestions regarding the upcoming offensive?” Hakes laughed it off, then asked again.

He couldn’t exactly say that upon receiving the orders to attack this sector, the Kabuguo commander had ordered them to march with all haste, demanding they capture Late City as quickly as possible to seize control of the industrial enterprises and equipment there.

“We don’t have any. The Eastern Spirit forces on the opposite bank have already been nearly annihilated by us. I believe that tonight, as long as we attack the opposite bank together, they definitely won’t be able to stop us!” Abusai stated.

He didn’t want to provide Hakes with any valuable intelligence either. He firmly believed that as long as they launched a fierce assault, despite the high casualties, they could still break through. Furthermore, they hoped Hakes’ forces would suffer some casualties as well; otherwise, they would have no excuse to give to their own nations’ commanders!

“Mm, that is good. Then it is settled: tonight at 8 PM, our forces will launch a coordinated attack on the Eastern Spirit troops right on time!” Hakes looked at the two of them and confirmed.

“Excellent! No problems on our end!” Abusai nodded in agreement, and Ren Kefu followed suit.

(End of Chapter)