Chapter 176: Something Feels Wrong

After landing, Hu Hao realized the terrain here was far too flat. This was simply the geography of the Eastern Spirit Empire. Except for the mountainous regions in the north bordering Dongzhi, Dongxian, and Dongjun, the rest of the country was essentially plains.

Such terrain was incredibly disadvantageous for defending forces; an invading enemy could advance at terrifying speeds. This was precisely why the Allied forces had managed to conquer half of the Eastern Spirit Empire in just over a month.

Walking through the forest, Hu Hao stayed roughly 300 meters from the highway. Along the way, he used a machete to mark certain trees, creating a guide for the troops following behind to dig their trenches.

Hu Hao hadn’t even finished walking the full 30 kilometers when the troops arrived. He immediately emerged from the forest, hopped into a vehicle, and drove over to his men.

“Hao-ge, are we ambushing them here?” Ye Zifeng asked upon seeing Hu Hao.

“Yes, we ambush them here! It’s almost 5:00 AM. Have our tank units enter from that point and push all the way forward, knocking down the trees in their path! Remember, the tanks must maintain a distance of roughly one kilometer from the highway as they advance! Have our infantry follow the path they clear!

“Once inside, the infantry will move closer to the highway. At a distance of approximately 300 meters from the road, they are to begin digging trenches! Start digging immediately! Tell the soldiers they have to work hard today, but once the trenches are done, they can rest!” Hu Hao instructed the regimental commanders.

“Yes, sir! I will issue the orders immediately!” Tank Regiment Commander Bai Ye replied. They didn’t have many tanks left either—less than forty.

Bo Gang currently commanded more tanks, but Hu Hao had left his unit back in Santong County to assist Li Jingsong with the defense. After all, there were still tens of thousands of Allied troops trapped there; if they attempted a breakout, Li Jingsong needed the firepower to hold them back.

“Artillery units, wait for the tanks to clear a path, then have them continue pushing deeper into the forest. You will construct your artillery positions within the woods. I need your artillery to be capable of covering this entire stretch of highway!” Hu Hao told Artillery Regiment Commander Weng Tao.

“Yes, sir! We have plenty of artillery!” Weng Tao nodded.

“Ye Zifeng, Wu Kexiao, Lu Guangsheng, you must make it clear to the brothers, this will be a vicious battle! Only by swallowing these incoming reinforcements can we truly rest!

“Otherwise, we’ll be forced back into a defensive battle, and the brothers will definitely suffer massive casualties. In today’s ambush, as long as we destroy their tanks and armored vehicles, we won’t have to fear their numbers! Without cover, facing our troops will be a pure slaughter for them!

“Of course, destroying their tank and armored units will require our own tanks and helicopters. I will have them specifically target the enemy tanks. The soldiers just need to stay in their trenches and fire at the Allied infantry! This might look dangerous, but it’s actually fine; we have cover!” Hu Hao explained to his three infantry regimental commanders.

“Understood!” The three of them nodded immediately.

“Good. Have the infantry begin entering the forest. Enter from over there; do not enter directly from the highway, or you’ll leave tracks! If the Allied forces spot them, they might realize we’ve set an ambush here! So pay close attention to concealment. Any dirt we dig up must be covered with branches to hide it completely!” Hu Hao stressed.

“Understood!” The three infantry regimental commanders nodded in unison.

Soon after, the troops arriving from the rear began pouring in. Following their commanders’ orders, they entered the forest from the designated starting point, strictly forbidden from cutting through the middle.

The forest quickly grew lively. It wasn’t the sound of soldiers talking, but the sounds of entrenching tools digging into the earth and armored vehicles tearing down trees. As the armored vehicles cleared the way, transport trucks followed closely behind.

The soldiers retrieved tools, weapons, and ammunition from the trucks—especially rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. Hu Hao had brought a massive quantity of these two weapons, as they were absolute killers in an ambush.

The soldiers carried the weapons to the trench lines while Hu Hao inspected the entire position, personally instructing them on how to camouflage specific areas.

Slowly, the sun began to rise. Although exhausted, the soldiers seized every second to work. They needed to finish the trenches and heavy machine gun emplacements. Meanwhile, the tank crews were busy concealing their vehicles, meticulously covering them with branches.

They even walked out to the highway to check if their tanks were visible. Only when they confirmed the tanks were completely hidden did they relax. The armored vehicles required the same level of care. If they weren’t properly concealed and the Allied forces spotted them, all their efforts would be in vain.

The Air Cavalry helicopters were currently hidden in a city further back, awaiting Hu Hao’s orders. Meanwhile, back in Santong County, the remnants of the three Allied corps were suffering horrific casualties from the relentless bombardment. Yet, they still hadn’t considered breaking out. They knew that attempting a breakout would only get them killed faster!

“Damn it! Once the day gets hotter, the sun will roast you alive!” Abusai cursed as he stared at the distant Eastern Spirit forces.

He knew that by midday, the temperature in the Eastern Spirit Empire would soar, and the sun would be incredibly harsh. Soldiers exposed to it might not be able to endure.

“Hurry! Hurry up and pitch the tents! Make it quick, or we’ll be roasted alive!” Outside Santong County, the Eastern Spirit soldiers were actually pitching tents!

They weren’t launching a ground assault on Santong County; only the artillery was bombarding it. The artillery would fire a barrage, then wait for the forward observers to transmit new coordinates before firing again.

Therefore, the soldiers encircling the Allied forces currently had nothing to do. Positioned over 1,000 meters away from the enemy, they were relatively safe. Naturally, the Allied forces occasionally tried to sweep the area with heavy machine guns, but the Eastern Spirit soldiers were pitching their tents safely behind their armored vehicles, leaving the Allied forces powerless.

“Our reinforcements will arrive in eight hours at most! When they do, those Eastern Spirit troops will undoubtedly be forced to retreat!” Hakes said, staring into the distance with a troubled expression.

“Eight hours? How many troops do you think we’ll actually have left in eight hours?!” Abusai shot back.

“Hmph!” Hakes didn’t reply; he simply continued staring ahead.

“Our two corps currently have barely 7,000 men combined, and that was tallied this morning! After this prolonged Eastern Spirit bombardment, I reckon we have even fewer left! What about your corps? How many do you have left right now?!

“How many will be left in eight hours?! I’d say we aren’t far from complete annihilation, are we?!” Abusai refused to let it go, continuing to berate him.

“Now you’re blaming me?! Could we have broken out?!” Hakes glared at the two of them, deeply dissatisfied.

“Exactly! You wouldn’t break out even when we could! Isn’t it just because your Kabuguo reinforcements are arriving?! The Eastern Spirit forces aren’t idiots! They will retreat! Before our reinforcements even get here, they will fall back to their defensive positions! And then what? Would we dare pursue them?! With our battered remnants, would we dare take the initiative to chase them?!” Abusai retorted instantly.

“Damn it! So what if they fall back to their defensive lines?! You saw how few troops they have! As long as our reinforcements arrive, they will definitely be able to break through their defenses!” Hakes argued.

“Reinforcements arrive?! Those are your nation’s reinforcements! Not ours! We’re left with barely anyone, so Late City belongs to Kabuguo now!” Abusai said bitterly.

Earlier, he had received a call from his Mara Empire Commander. Over the phone, the Commander had furiously berated him. An entire corps, yet they had failed to capture the position! And now, they were reduced to a mere few thousand men, having suffered catastrophic losses!

Worst of all, because Abusai’s forces were so depleted, once they successfully occupied Late City, the Mara Empire wouldn’t be able to secure any of the benefits! This was what infuriated his Commander the most.

Having just been thoroughly cursed out, Abusai was in an incredibly foul mood.

Ren Kefu, standing nearby, was equally miserable. He couldn’t shake the premonition that he was going to die here. His opponent was incredibly formidable. Moreover, he found the Eastern Spirit forces’ strategy of ‘encircling without attacking’ deeply perplexing.

Logically, they should either launch a full-scale assault now or retreat. Simply encircling them and utilizing artillery fire baffled him; he couldn’t fathom the Eastern Spirit commander’s true intentions.

“I feel like something is wrong! Think carefully: why are they encircling us without attacking?!” Ren Kefu said to the other two.

“Encircling without attacking? Hmph, they need enough troops to do that! Right now, they only have around 20,000 men. How could they possibly attack us?! If they get bogged down fighting us, once our reinforcements arrive, they won’t even be able to disengage from the battlefield!” Hakes sneered.

“Mm, they won’t attack. They’re just encircling us and using artillery to inflict casualties. Santong County barely has any air-raid shelters; there’s no way to hide 20,000 men here.

“Furthermore, we don’t dare cram all our troops into the shelters anyway. Therefore, their current strategy of artillery bombardment is their most effective method of attack,” Abusai chimed in. On this point, he agreed with Hakes’ assessment.

“But I still feel like something is wrong!” Ren Kefu muttered.

(End of Chapter)