Chapter 218: Expansion

Sitting in the command center and watching the drone feed, Hu Hao saw his helicopters arrive and immediately eliminate a large number of Allied tanks and armored vehicles. Now, the helicopters were launching a frontal assault on the remaining Allied armor, while his own ground forces charged simultaneously!

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Explosions blossomed across the battlefield. The deafening roar of heavy machine guns echoed as the helicopters strafed the ground below.

Countless Allied soldiers caught in the middle of their assault formation were cut down by the relentless heavy machine gun fire. Seeing this, Hu Hao felt a solid wave of confidence. He knew he had successfully swallowed the Limaguo 11th Corps. For now, he had neutralized his two most immediate threats.

The only remaining immediate threat was the Mara Empire 1st Corps, currently pushing toward him from the west. They were expected to arrive tomorrow!

“Defend! Hold your ground and defend! Anti-aircraft! Use your heavy machine guns and rocket launchers to shoot down those helicopters! Hurry!” the 11th Corps Commander roared. He never expected to face such a massive swarm of helicopters. For his ground troops, this was an absolute nightmare.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Get down! Hurry, get down!”

“Help me!”

“Fire! Rocket launchers, take down those helicopters! Hurry!”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The Allied forces were being slaughtered, particularly the units caught in the center of the formation. Because their vanguard tanks had been decimated, the charging Eastern Spirit tanks faced virtually no opposition. Their only task was to hunt down the scattered Allied armored vehicles and infantry.

Meanwhile, the helicopters simply drifted toward wherever the enemy troop concentrations were highest. With a sweep of their autocannons and heavy machine guns, Allied soldiers fell in droves. To the Allied forces on the ground, the helicopters overhead were the true nightmare, as they could maneuver freely across the battlefield, raining death upon the soldiers below.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!” “Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Suddenly, a continuous, dense barrage of explosions and heavy machine gun fire erupted from the rear of the Allied formation!

“Damn it! There’s another Air Cavalry unit attacking from behind! How do they have so many helicopters?! Hurry! Request immediate air support! We need the Air Force!” the 11th Corps Commander bellowed frantically.

He knew his forces were completely encircled by the Air Cavalry. Without air support, not a single one of his men would survive; those helicopters would slaughter them to the last man!

“Report! We’ve contacted the Air Force! They told us to hold out for an hour; they’ll be here in an hour!” a staff officer reported.

“An hour?! Are they coming to collect our corpses in an hour?! Tell them I need them here immediately! Right now!” the Corps Commander roared fiercely.

“Yes, sir! But the Air Force says there are no Allied fighters or bombers in the immediate vicinity!” The staff officer looked at his commander helplessly.

“Damn it! Why aren’t there any?!” Watching his soldiers being relentlessly strafed and slaughtered by the massive swarm of helicopters, the Corps Commander felt a profound sense of agony and rage!

No intelligence report had warned him about a massive tank force here! Furthermore, their intel stated there was only a single Eastern Spirit Air Cavalry division in the area. Yet, the swarm attacking them right now was the size of at least three divisions!

Additionally, the tank forces that had ambushed them earlier were supposedly engaged at Muqiao City! Based on normal marching speeds, there was no way they could have reached Late City this quickly. That was the primary reason he had dared to order his troops to push toward Late City—he wanted to avoid a clash with those tanks!

But he never expected to encounter another force of over 200 tanks here! How could he possibly accept this?! Launching an offensive without accurate intelligence was tantamount to sending his own troops to their deaths!

“Corps Commander, we must retreat! Our troops can’t hold on! Casualties are simply too high! The Eastern Spirit helicopter force is too massive!” a senior staff officer yelled over the din of battle.

“Retreat?! How can we retreat?! Do you think we can outrun those helicopters?! Counterattack! We must counterattack!” the Corps Commander roared back.

“Yes, sir! Counterattack!” the senior staff officer shouted tragically. In truth, they all knew that without air support, their forces would be entirely swallowed up very soon!

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The battle raged on. Watching the live feed, Hu Hao saw that the Allied forces were dwindling rapidly.

“In ten minutes, order the Air Cavalry to withdraw! The Allied forces will likely have air support arriving soon! Have the Air Cavalry fly straight into the underground air-raid shelters in Late City! Leave the remaining enemy forces to the tanks; there aren’t many of them left anyway!” Hu Hao ordered, his eyes fixed on the screen.

“Yes, sir!” A staff officer immediately contacted Air Cavalry Division Commander Zheng Longjiang.

“Order Wu Kexiao to detach one infantry division and send them here! Have Ye Zifeng do the same! Our troop numbers here are simply too low; we need them transferred immediately!

“Simultaneously, order Wu Kexiao and the others to expand outward as much as possible! We must seize this opportunity while the Allied forces haven’t fully noticed us to expand our strategic operational space! We must trade space for time and opportunity!” Hu Hao instructed another senior staff officer.

“Yes, sir!” the staff officer replied.

“Order Li Jingsong, Bo Gang, and Xiao Quan to begin full-scale conscription immediately! We will transport the necessary weapons to them! Tell them to recruit as many men as possible! The newly recruited units are to continue expanding westward, and our main force will push west as well!” Hu Hao continued.

“Yes, sir!” Another staff officer standing beside Hu Hao snapped to attention.

“That leaves the North and the East. We cannot expand north. As for the East, we need Wu Kexiao and Ye Zifeng’s troops to return first. The rainy season is approaching rapidly, and that will be a critical period for our forces. We must use the rainy season to rest and reorganize.”

Having issued his orders, Hu Hao stood up. He didn’t need to watch the live feed of the offensive anymore; his forces had definitely won.

Allowing the helicopters to continue their assault for another ten minutes meant ten more minutes of hell for the 11th Corps. Countless Allied soldiers were torn apart by the heavy machine guns; survival was impossible.

Meanwhile, at the Allied Southern Line Headquarters, Commander Vostok and Chief of Staff Vitali stood in the command center, their expressions grim.

From last night until now, they had lost nearly two entire corps. Most concerning was the Limaguo 11th Corps. Shortly after their battle began, Headquarters had completely lost contact with the Corps Commander. In their hearts, they knew the Corps Commander was likely already dead; otherwise, communications wouldn’t have been severed entirely.

“It’s those troops near Late City again! We’ve sacrificed a total of six corps for Late City! Just whose troops are garrisoned there?! Why is their combat effectiveness so terrifying?!” Vostok growled angrily.

“It’s the Eastern Spirit 27th Corps, 87th Division. The Division Commander is Li Jingsong. Furthermore, according to our intelligence, this division has likely expanded its forces!” Chief of Staff Vitali replied.

“Li Jingsong?! I don’t believe it! I know exactly what kind of useless shit those aristocratic generals are! I refuse to believe he’s this capable! Investigate this further! Find out the truth and report back to me!” Vostok ordered.

“Yes, sir!” Vitali nodded immediately.

“Also, the Mara Empire 1st Corps is heading there now, and the two Vaal Kingdom infantry divisions have crossed over as well. Tell me, can our forces successfully capture Late City?

“There are definitely Eastern Spirit forces remaining there. They refuse to let us take it. Perhaps they received orders to hold it at all costs, or perhaps they simply couldn’t retreat in time. Regardless, we cannot underestimate their combat effectiveness. Tell me, can the Mara Empire 1st Corps swallow this enemy force?” Vostok asked his Chief of Staff.

“They definitely can! The 1st Corps is one of the most formidable forces in our nation! They have never suffered a single defeat against Eastern Spirit troops!” Vitali guaranteed confidently.

“Mm, I certainly hope so! We must secure Late City! Firstly, because of the massive arsenals located there!

“Secondly, if Eastern Spirit forces maintain a presence there, they pose a massive threat to both our Southern and Western line offensives! We cannot allow Eastern Spirit forces to remain in that region! Absolutely not!” Vostok stated resolutely.

“Yes, sir. They will definitely be annihilated! I have faith in the strength of our Mara Empire 1st Corps! They are heavy mechanized infantry; dealing with Eastern Spirit troops will not be a problem!” the Chief of Staff reassured him once more.

“Report! We still cannot establish contact with the Limaguo 11th Corps! Their forces have likely suffered catastrophic casualties. Should we still dispatch the Air Force to support them?” a senior staff officer asked.

“Send them! If they spot the Eastern Spirit Air Cavalry, order them to attack! We’ll have to launch an offensive against that sector sooner or later anyway. Also, order our reconnaissance aircraft to conduct a thorough sweep of Late City!” Vostok commanded.

“Yes, sir!” The senior staff officer nodded and hurried off to relay the orders.

“Based on the intelligence from last night and today’s engagements, Late City is defended by the equivalent of three Air Cavalry divisions and two tank divisions. Factoring in standard Eastern Spirit troop allocations, there should be roughly two full corps garrisoned there!

“But how is that possible?! Two entire corps stationed in such a small area?! They wouldn’t even have room to deploy properly!” Vitali murmured to himself. He simply couldn’t believe there were that many Eastern Spirit troops present. A few divisions, perhaps. But two entire corps? He found it highly improbable.

(End of Chapter)