Chapter 177: It’s Hot

Over in Santong County, Ren Kefu sensed something was wrong. He didn’t believe the Eastern Spirit forces were unwilling or unable to attack.

Abusai and Hakes, however, dismissed his concerns upon hearing them. They believed the Eastern Spirit forces lacked the capability to launch an assault and simply didn’t want to get bogged down by the Allied forces here.

“You’re overthinking it. It’s understandable; our opponent isn’t your average Eastern Spirit young master general. He is a highly capable commander. I truly hope he doesn’t gain command of more troops.

“However, we must admit that with the immense merit our opponent has achieved, coupled with his status as a descendant of a military aristocratic family, he will undoubtedly command a massive force in the future,” Abusai said, glancing at Ren Kefu.

“Indeed. But General Ren Kefu, the reason we failed previously was because we underestimated our opponent. The reason they aren’t attacking us now is because they don’t dare underestimate us.

“Look at the troops outside! We all know they didn’t have many men left on their defensive line last night. The reason they don’t dare attack now is out of fear that their defensive line might be compromised. If they suffer heavy casualties here, how will they hold off our Kabuguo 32nd Corps when they arrive?!” Hakes stood there, also trying to persuade Ren Kefu.

“Perhaps I am overthinking it. If it were me, I would definitely dispatch at least a small contingent to launch a probing attack. Otherwise, they have no way of knowing how many troops we actually have left.

“Right now, even we don’t know how many troops we have left inside this city! With a bombardment like this, many of our soldiers might not have found cover. They’ve been bombarding us for so long using large-caliber artillery! Aside from the air-raid shelters, anywhere our troops hide is unsafe!” Ren Kefu nodded, his voice still tinged with worry.

It was true; they currently had no idea how many troops they had left. The last time they had tallied their subordinate units was several hours ago.

Now that several hours had passed under this relentless Eastern Spirit bombardment, they had no idea how many men had perished in that time!

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The explosions outside continued unabated. They could only hide in the air-raid shelters and wait—wait for the Eastern Spirit forces to finish their bombardment. But no one knew when that would be.

To the Allied soldiers hiding within the city, today felt like the darkest day of their lives. The roar of explosions echoed everywhere, yet they couldn’t seek refuge in the air-raid shelters, terrified that the Eastern Spirit ground forces might suddenly charge in. Thus, they were forced to hide behind the rubble.

Sometimes, even when a soldier was perfectly hidden and no shell landed directly beside them, a shell would strike a nearby building, sending massive chunks of stone crashing down. Countless soldiers had been crushed to death this way.

But if they didn’t hide in the rubble, they were in even greater danger. Shrapnel flew everywhere, and no one knew where the next shell would land.

“Damn it! We came here to loot, and now we’re the ones surrounded! We had three entire corps! Why couldn’t we even beat a single division?! Is our commander eating shit?! He can’t even beat a single division?!” A soldier hiding inside a ruined house complained to his comrades.

“Tell me about it! And our Air Cavalry never even showed up! Every other unit has had such a smooth advance; why has it been so grueling for us?! Even though our equipment isn’t as good as the Eastern Spirit Empire’s, we still had plenty of firepower! Why couldn’t we win?! Especially when their artillery started bombarding us—our artillery didn’t react at all!” another soldier chimed in.

“I heard our artillery was wiped out by the Eastern Spirit forces first!” a soldier nearby added.

“Our artillery was in the rear, yet they were wiped out by the Eastern Spirit forces? What does that tell you? It tells you our commander is a pig! Our frontline was still attacking, and our rear got wiped out! They didn’t even think to leave some troops behind to guard it! Seriously, how many men have we lost?! When we got here yesterday, we were at full strength. Now? God only knows how many are left,” the first soldier grumbled.

“Motherfucker, this is so suffocating! All we can do is hide here, not knowing when a shell is going to land right on top of us,” an older veteran sat there and cursed.

Meanwhile, outside the city, the Eastern Spirit soldiers were also incredibly frustrated—frustrated by the blistering heat. It was only 10:00 AM, yet the soldiers felt like everything they touched was scalding hot.

“It’s here! It’s here! The ice water is here!” A soldier drove up from the rear, delivering ice water and blocks of ice for the soldiers to cool down. They didn’t actually dare drink too much ice water, as it would only make them suffer heatstroke faster. Instead, they mostly held it or placed it against their heads, hoping for some relief.

“Hurry! Bring it over! Motherfucker, it’s so much hotter here than in the forest!” Li Jingsong roared. He was standing shirtless at the entrance of a tent, shouting loudly.

“Coming right up!” a soldier yelled from a distance.

“Bro, please talk to Hu Hao for me! I’m begging you! Let me be the Deputy Chief of Staff here! I want to learn something too!” Li Jinghe pleaded with Li Jingsong from inside the tent.

“Piss off! Motherfucker, my old man chewed me out just for coming here! If you come here too, who’s going to lead the troops back under my old man?! Seriously, wait until I’ve finished learning!” Li Jingsong scolded him without looking back.

“But bro, you’ve already accumulated so much merit! Do you really still need to learn? I can see the soldiers here already respect you a lot,” Li Jinghe argued from behind him.

“Respect me?! I’ve never even commanded independently! They respect me because I endure hardships alongside them. But I still haven’t learned the actual skills of command! So drop it for now! Once I’ve learned enough from Hao-ge, I’ll let you come over, alright? For now, just behave yourself and follow our father. I’m stuck here and can’t look after him, so I’m leaving that to you!” Li Jingsong reprimanded him.

“Fine! But you have to promise—you can’t let Jingliu come first! I get to be the first one, right?” Li Jinghe insisted.

“Alright, alright, alright! I promise! I’ll make sure you’re the first one to come over when I go back! Satisfied? Seriously,” Li Jingsong pointed at Li Jinghe, a little annoyed. He naturally knew exactly what Li Jinghe was competing for.

“Big brother, this was actually uncle’s idea! Really! If you don’t believe me, ask him! He was the one who told me to come! Just ask him when you get back,” Li Jinghe quickly explained upon seeing Li Jingsong getting angry.

“What the hell does he know?! The old fossil! Look at what time it is, and he’s still… forget it, I won’t say it. Just go back and properly relearn everything you threw away at the military academy!

“You want to be a Corps Commander? If you don’t have the ability, do you honestly think you can just be one?! The soldiers below you will kill you! You need real ability for everything! Do you think me being the Chief of Staff here is a joke?!

“I came here to learn real skills! To learn Hao-ge’s skills! Without true ability in chaotic times, the more troops you hold, the faster you die! Don’t think I’m just trying to scare you! When you get back, I’ll send some materials over for you. You and the other brothers must study them thoroughly! If I find out you didn’t study them properly, I’ll beat you to death!” Li Jingsong warned Li Jinghe sternly.

“Understood, bro! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely study them properly! The other brothers will definitely study them too! Since you’ve spoken, big brother, who would dare not listen?!” Li Jinghe smiled.

In the past, Li Jingsong had been a notorious playboy. He did everything except legitimate work. Now that Li Jingsong actually wanted to learn how to fight a war, who would dare disobey him? If Li Jingsong decided to beat someone up, no one would dare say a word.

Furthermore, Li Jingsong was Li Tianyuan’s eldest son. The entire Li family depended on Li Tianyuan. Therefore, Li Jingsong’s words carried significant weight among the younger generation of the Li family.

“Good!” Li Jingsong nodded.

“Bro, let me ask you something. Look, Hao-ge didn’t even take you with him to fight. He just tossed you to the side. Do you think Hao-ge is…?” Li Jinghe whispered to Li Jingsong.

“What kind of bullshit are you spouting?! What the fuck do you know?! Do you think fighting a war is a joke?! Aren’t I commanding here right now?! Didn’t I lead the ambush troops earlier?! What do you think ‘teaching’ looks like?! Let me tell you: if you want to learn, you have to calm your mind! Don’t bring your old young master habits into the military; they’ll get you killed!” Hearing this, Li Jingsong instantly erupted, cursing Li Jinghe out.

“Yes, yes! I was just thinking of you, big brother!” Li Jinghe chuckled awkwardly.

“Hmph! If you’re thinking of me, then you should properly learn some real skills! Spend your free time communicating more with your regimental commanders! Don’t think you’re something special just because you’re a Division Commander! If we didn’t have good backgrounds, do you think we’d ever get to be Division Commanders?! Do you think there’d even be a Division Commander spot for us?!

“It’s already come to this! There’s no such thing as a ‘young master’ anymore, nor is there such a thing as a ‘Division Commander’! Staying alive is the priority! Killing the enemy is what we must do! Sigh, it seems I really need to take a trip back. The next time I go back, I’m going to discipline all of you, one by one!” Li Jingsong declared.

“Yes, yes! Big brother is right! I’ll remember that!” Li Jinghe nodded repeatedly.

“Sigh!” Li Jingsong sighed, gazing into the distance.

“Chief of Staff! The ice is here!” A soldier walked over carrying a bucket of ice!

“Good! Excellent! Motherfucker, the weather is too damn hot! By the way, does every brother get some? Has it all been distributed?” Li Jingsong asked happily.

“It’s been distributed! Two jin per brother! This is all we can manage for now. They’ll send more in an hour. We have no other choice right now!” the soldier carrying the ice replied.

“I wonder how Hao-ge is doing. It must be scorching hot over there too!” Li Jingsong said worriedly.

(End of Chapter)