Chapter 152: Chapter 132, Global Strategy Timeline_2
They truly couldn’t hold out any longer.
Moreover, the statement “The leader has escaped” might actually be true.
Many middle-ranking leaders had indeed not received any directives from Terrell, the supreme leader from the rear, for a long time. Even when they tried to inquire back, there was no news. Battlefield communications had been jammed by the ‘Listener’ who had advanced to the front, leaving only static on the radios; those who were sent back to ask in person either never returned, leaving it unclear whether they were dead or had deserted, or they came back as clueless as headless flies, having found nothing.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that there would be a widespread occurrence of leaders from all levels surrendering starting with the Marauder Tribe.
The battle should be nearly over by now.
However, Perbov soon received news that wiped the smile from his face.
He received intelligence from the front line that the soldiers had seen dozens of Green Skin Orcs on the battlefield.
He immediately thought of the Marauder Tribe named ‘Prisoner of War’, the one that nearly annihilated them around the PoDong Society.
During that battle, he was not enlisted and had not seen it with his own eyes. But he had studied the compiled materials on it; he had also heard some details during his exchanges with Captain Yan Fangxu—who was now a colonel.
If those kinds of Green Skin Orcs, especially in such numbers, had indeed appeared, they’d be in big trouble.
Those monsters were such that ordinary rifles and even machine guns in the hands of regular soldiers could hardly inflict effective damage. It was said that the squad of the governor’s bodyguards killed the one outside PoDong Society with more powerful electromagnetic rifles, and the governor himself even took part.
His soldiers did not have such powerful individual weapons at their disposal.
Given the firepower the soldiers had, it would probably take bazookas, armored vehicle-mounted machine guns, and grenade launchers to inflict actual, effective damage.
Yet those monsters possessed immense destructive power, capable of tearing human bodies apart with their hands. Not to mention, they might also have some kind of powerful individual firearms.
Perbov immediately prepared to order the frontline soldiers to not engage these enemies head-on, but to seek nearby ‘Strider’ Infantry Fighting Vehicles and rely on the vehicle’s firepower for combat. If none were nearby, they were to rely on fire support teams and use individual rocket launchers to eliminate the enemy.
At the same time, he was mentally prepared for the troops to suffer a significant number of casualties.
“Just when we’re on the verge of a great victory, we encounter such an unexpected problem!” he cursed inwardly.
If they had prior intelligence and were prepared, it might have been better. But to suddenly encounter this kind of enemy during the pursuit of victory, while expanding the battle results or even while conscripting the enemy, casualties were almost unavoidable.
However, while he was worrying, new frontline battle reports came in.
After hearing the report, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
It was good news.
On one hand, the enemy was also quite unprepared when those Green Skin Orcs appeared, mainly within the ranks of the Marauders. It seemed they had no real control over those creatures, who attacked all the humans indiscriminately once they appeared. As a result, the Marauders themselves bore the brunt of the casualties.
The other piece of good news was that those Green Skin Orcs were far from being as formidable as Perbov had remembered.
Although their ability to withstand injury was indeed exaggerated, they were not completely immune to conventional firearms. After taking dozens of bullets, they could still be killed. Most importantly, they had little intelligence, often charging out recklessly. The firearms they used belonged to the Marauders themselves and were of average power.
In that period, there had indeed been many casualties reported, with even entire squads being wiped out. But at the same time, a large number of Green Skin Orcs were also killed.
Especially after the Infantry Fighting Vehicles entered the fray, performing dedicated sweeping tasks, the situation had stabilized once more.
Half an hour later, the main battlefield had quieted down completely.
The Green Skin Orcs had been wiped out, and most of the remaining Marauders had surrendered, with only a few scattered individuals fleeing. ‘Hunter’ motorcycles and some Infantry Fighting Vehicles had already set out, beginning the pursuit operations in the plains area.
The pursuit was estimated to last for a day or two; very likely, less than a hundred of the Marauders would manage to escape with their lives.
After the basic fight was considered over, Perbov personally went to the frontlines and saw the bodies of those Green Skin Orcs.
No more, no less, a total of eighty. Their appearance had resulted in about twenty-seven soldiers’ casualties.
Perbov sighed deeply; he was pained by the loss of his soldiers but also understood the principle that compassion did not lead an army.
In the end, he could only order,
“Burn the bodies of these Green Skin creatures. Make sure they are burned completely.”
…
[You have gained an upper hand, received 347 points of grace]
[Losses: 154, kills: 2772, captures: 2468]
[1st Calming Wind Brigade (1st Composite Battalion): Losses: 154, kills: 2772]
Only after the pursuit was entirely over did Gu Hang receive the belated battle statistics in the system.
By that time, Perbov’s battle report had already arrived first.
The casualties and number of prisoners matched, but there was a slight difference in the number of kills. After all, Perbov had to clear the battlefield, using prisoner interrogations and body counts to confirm the specific results. Some of the missing and unaccounted for, those whose bodies couldn’t be pieced together after being shelled, buried beneath the rubble and not dug out in time…