Chapter 193: Useless

Lu Guangsheng’s troops were launching their assault on the Allied forces in Nage City. The enemy presence was minimal—just a single battalion, and a logistics support unit at that.

Faced with Lu Guangsheng’s offensive, the Allied forces completely crumbled. They weren’t combat troops to begin with. On top of that, Lu Guangsheng’s men were all battle-hardened veterans fresh from the front lines, possessing extensive combat experience. For a force of their size to attack a single logistics battalion was a walk in the park.

Under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles, Lu Guangsheng’s troops quickly pushed into the city. The obstacles the Allied forces had set up in the streets were completely useless against the advancing tanks!

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Divide and encircle! Wipe them out! Motherfucker, on our territory, with barely any troops, they actually dare to resist! Seeking death!” Lu Guangsheng roared from the rear.

Thousands of troops surged into the city. Before they even needed to fully divide and encircle the enemy, the few hundred Allied soldiers were mostly wiped out. The entire battle concluded in less than half an hour.

The primary reason was the sheer ferocity of the Eastern Spirit soldiers. Especially after spotting civilians watching them from the distance, they fought with even greater desperation. They absolutely could not lose face in front of their own nation’s people.

Following the battle’s conclusion, Lu Guangsheng’s troops immediately fanned out to secure every major intersection, aiming to take complete control of the city as quickly as possible.

As the soldiers spread to every corner of the city the civilians emerged from their hiding places. They stood quietly along the sides of the streets, watching in disbelief. They could scarcely believe their country’s military had actually arrived. This place had been occupied for nearly a month.

They had prayed for their country’s troops to come every single day. From hope to disappointment, and finally to utter despair. Now, seeing these familiar military vehicles, these familiar faces, and these familiar uniforms, they couldn’t quite believe their eyes. Tears streamed down their faces as they watched the vehicles roll past.

“Salute!” a Company Commander leading the vanguard roared.

“Shua~” The soldiers standing atop the tanks and armored vehicles immediately snapped crisp salutes to the civilians below.

“Waaah~~~” Seeing this, countless civilians broke down, weeping uncontrollably.

“Our country’s troops are here! Our country’s troops are here!” Many civilians cried and shouted, attempting to approach the vehicles. However, the soldiers remained perfectly still, standing ramrod straight as they saluted the civilians, while the vehicles continued their slow advance!

“Our country’s troops are here! We’re saved! We’re saved!” The civilians wept.

Seeing that the vehicles weren’t stopping, they could only stand incredibly close, reaching out, wanting to touch the soldiers. But the soldiers maintained their rigid posture.

They were soldiers of the Empire. Even though they had just come off the battlefield, in front of their people—their family—they had to maintain the bearing of true soldiers. They had to use this display to show the civilians that they were a highly disciplined force, a force capable of winning battles! Weeping, the civilians could only brush their hands against the passing vehicles.

..

Meanwhile, back at Santong County, Li Jingsong had already ordered the troops to begin compressing the encirclement. Utilizing Li Jinghe’s tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry, they slowly pushed into the city.

“Bro, you just said Hao-ge wiped out the reinforcing 32nd Corps. Is that true? With just that small infantry force?!” Li Jinghe stood beside Li Jingsong, asking in disbelief.

“If he didn’t wipe them out, wouldn’t the reinforcements be here by now? Look at the time! Hehe, Hao-ge is truly formidable! You just don’t know because you haven’t worked with him. His command style leaves you completely baffled until the trap springs!” Li Jingsong chuckled.

“Bro, when will you be able to learn those skills?” Li Jinghe asked with a smile.

“Tch, anyone can learn these skills! Learning just half of what he knows is more than enough for me! We’re in the middle of a war right now, but once the fighting stops, Hao-ge will definitely teach us. He doesn’t want to micromanage everything anyway; that would exhaust him to death!

“Especially now that our division is expanding to a corps-sized force! Although we still carry the ‘division’ designation, think about it: the 87th Division belongs to the 27th Corps. If our division expands to the size of a corps, hasn’t our 27th Corps essentially expanded as well?” Li Jingsong smiled.

“True. But what if this unit is separated from us later? Wouldn’t our 27th Corps suffer a massive loss?” Li Jinghe pointed out.

“You… you truly lack the capacity for greatness. With a mindset like yours, achieving great things is impossible!” Li Jingsong looked at his cousin with evident disappointment.

In the past, he had thought this cousin was quite clever and capable. But hearing the things he had said today, Li Jingsong realized his cousin lacked both vision and magnanimity.

“Big brother, I’m just looking out for our family’s forces!” Li Jinghe immediately defended himself.

“Hmph, if you were truly looking out for our family, you would know that the expansion of forces is an unstoppable tide! If the day comes when this unit is separated from our 27th Corps, do you honestly think they wouldn’t come to our aid if we were in trouble? Who would dare underestimate our 27th Corps then? After fighting this corps, they’d have to face another corps waiting behind it!

“Enough. Stop overthinking things! If you lack the ability, don’t harbor blind ambitions! You want to be a Corps Commander? Hmph, cultivate your vision first! With the way you are now, even if I made you a Division Commander, I’d be terrified the brothers below you would become dissatisfied and shoot you in the back! That would only be harming you!” Li Jingsong reprimanded his cousin.

“Big brother, I’m not as useless as you make me sound, am I?!” Li Jinghe replied, somewhat irritated.

Li Jingsong glared at him, and Li Jinghe immediately lowered his head.

“Those who achieve great things must be patient and possess a vast magnanimity! As you are now, you simply don’t cut it! I, your older brother, might lack other skills, but I possess self-awareness! I know exactly what I can and cannot do!

“Back in Tianyu Province, I clearly distinguished who I could mess with and who I absolutely could not! I caused trouble every single day, but tell me, did I ever cause a disaster?

“You… sigh. When we get back, I’ll have my old man teach you a thing or two. If you became a Corps Commander like this, the brothers below you would definitely kill you!” Li Jingsong warned him.

“Why?! I treat them well! I often treat them to meals, and whenever there are benefits, I think of them!” Li Jinghe argued.

“What they want is to stay alive! What the fuck is the use of benefits right now?! Survival is king! Look at you—the moment you see a potential loss of minor benefits, you start calculating and scheming. When it comes time to fight, if a situation requires sacrificing some minor benefits and you refuse, if you start scheming against your subordinates, won’t they kill you?!

“I’m even willing to give up the position of Division Commander! What can’t you bear to part with?! I’ve told you: broaden your mind!” Li Jingsong continued scolding his younger brother.

“Yes, I’ll remember! I was just talking!” Li Jinghe grumbled.

“Just talking? Hmph! Once it becomes a habit, you won’t be able to control your mouth! Once the brothers below hear you say things like that, it’ll cost you your life! Don’t you know that disaster comes from the mouth?!” Li Jingsong cursed at him.

“I’ll remember. I won’t say it again,” Li Jinghe nodded. Li Jingsong stood there, observing the distant situation, and noticed the battle was progressing a bit too quickly.

“Ask the front lines: why are our troops advancing so fast?” Li Jingsong ordered Li Jinghe.

“Yes, sir!” Li Jinghe immediately began calling the frontline Regimental Commanders.

At that moment, the roar of helicopter rotors echoed from the sky. Li Jingsong turned to look and saw one of the helicopters descending. Once it landed safely, Hu Hao stepped out.

“Hao-ge, you’re back!” Li Jingsong hurried over to greet him.

“Mm, I’m back. How goes the battle? It’s been about two hours since the offensive began, right? Where have our troops advanced to?” Hu Hao asked as he walked away from the helicopter.

“They’ve already pushed into the city center! I’ve just ordered them to find out the specific details. I feel they’re advancing a bit too fast. The Allied forces still have quite a few troops inside, but their resistance doesn’t seem very intense!” Li Jingsong shouted as he walked alongside Hu Hao.

“That fast?” Hu Hao paused for a moment in surprise, then continued toward the command vehicle.

“Hao-ge!” Li Jinghe called out as Hu Hao approached.

“The troops are advancing extremely fast! Have there been any other reports?” Hu Hao asked as he walked up.

“I’m asking them right now!” Li Jinghe replied immediately.

“Ask them immediately! It’s too fast!” Hu Hao ordered sharply!

“Yes, sir!” Li Jinghe nodded.

“Hao-ge, is there a problem?” Li Jingsong asked quickly.

“I don’t know exactly how many troops the Allied forces have inside, but it’s impossible that our artillery killed all of them! Furthermore, you two are Division Commanders! Why aren’t you advancing with your troops?! Only by doing that can you understand the frontline situation immediately! Standing back here, what could you possibly know?!” Hu Hao scolded Li Jingsong.

“You’re right. I just didn’t expect the troops to advance this quickly; they’re already near the center!” Li Jingsong nodded.

“Hao-ge, there’s no problem! I just asked them. They said the Allied forces are putting up barely any resistance, except outside the air-raid shelters, where the resistance is extremely fierce! They suspect there are many wounded inside. Our troops are currently launching a heavy assault on those positions. The Allied forces might all be hiding inside the air-raid shelters!” Li Jinghe reported after finishing his call.

“Impossible! With so many wounded, there wouldn’t be any room left for the combat-capable soldiers! Order the troops: go on high alert immediately! Prioritize searching the collapsed buildings! The Allied forces are likely hiding in the rubble! There’s no way their soldiers are hiding in the air-raid shelters; that would just be asking to die! Once our tanks roll up and fire inside, how many of them would survive?!” Hu Hao roared at Li Jinghe.

(End of Chapter)