Throughout the process, Mr. Gu just asked a few questions before nodding, telling Yan Fangxu to hurry back and prepare the battlefield.
As he was leaving, Yan Fangxu also saw Mr. Gu pulling his old partner Tadeusz into a secret room, presumably to discuss logistics support and how to ensure a precise supply of the materials needed for the operation.
On the return trip on the Wind Falcon, Yan Fangxu’s resolve became even firmer, feeling that the upcoming operation was even more within grasp.
…
David Valenzuela was a lieutenant in the Central Group Army’s 3rd Beast-slaying Brigade, and the commanding officer of the 9th Company in the 2nd Battalion.
Three days ago, his unit received orders to take part in an operation codenamed ‘Flash Tail.’
At first, he thought it was just a routine operation, but when he and his company boarded their vehicles, he realized it was anything but.
The entire brigade had mobilized!
And it wasn’t just their brigade.
Watching the many Lion Tanks, Armored Combat Vehicles, and countless trucks towing artillery advancing on the same main road, he realized that this ‘Flash Tail’ operation was meant to be a big deal!
He became excited. Finally, he no longer had to control a defense perimeter spanning several kilometers with just one company, deploy numerous patrols, respond to ground patrol support requests sent by the ‘possible enemy spotted’ from their Air Force brothers, and because of the risk of being lured away, could only send out at most one platoon at a time.
Most of the time, these sorties ended in a wild goose chase, and on the rare occasions when they encountered small groups of the enemy, they would return victorious but with some personnel losses on their side.
The key issue was the strain on everyone’s spirits after being tormented for more than half a month. They launched countless sorties, each time suffering losses with some not coming back.
Unable to kick those mechanical monsters in the behind, the company’s ‘big guns’ and support from the artillery brothers in the rear couldn’t be used, which left him feeling all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Now, at last, they could go out for a big fight!
The first day after departure was relatively calm.
He heard some things from other brother units marching together and even heard distant artillery fire. Later in the evening, their convoy passed through the ruins of a checkpoint.
This seemed to be a defensive point for those steel monsters, but it had already been breached by the armored forces ahead, leaving nothing but debris.
It was unclear which division or brigade the sapper brothers belonged to, but they had already cleared the road, continuing to work on either side of it, apparently to haul the scrap metal back. He heard that the Alliance’s research institute needed some samples, and aside from the samples, Valenzuela guessed the remaining parts could probably be recycled as raw materials, too.
Overall, the first day’s journey was a calm one for his company; they didn’t encounter anything significant.
During that day, they mostly sat in the vehicle marching, day and night. The soldiers could catch some sleep inside, but the drivers had to take turns driving and had to keep going even at night.
Sometimes, driving on the main road was the most comfortable; when the main road was too congested, they had to drive on the rough ground below, which was a bit torturous—the vehicle jolted terribly, the speed had to be dropped to a very low level, and it was impossible for those sitting inside to rest.
On the second day, however, the excitement began.
Their convoy was targeted by artillery fire.
Three shells fell one after the other near their company. Sitting in the passenger seat of the troop transport truck, Valenzuela saw the shells hit the front side, with flying sand and clay smearing all over the vehicle’s windshield, while the sound of gunfire was accompanied by shock waves that nearly flipped the vehicle over.
Luckily, the Alliance’s troop transport trucks had been modified and were no longer like the old ones with just a canopy in the back. Now, at the very least, the sides were sealed with steel plates. The shrapnel from the exploding shell didn’t hurt anyone.
After being shelled, Valenzuela had the soldiers disembark to take cover, even preparing to follow the trajectory of the shells to investigate, but soon new information arrived: their own artillery unit had already shelled the opposition.
Therefore, they continued to advance and, by evening, entered a battle.
It wasn’t too difficult; the other brother units under the 4th Infantry Battalion that Yan Fangxu’s company belonged to had already gone up and fought a round. The artillery brothers of the brigade had used thousands of shells to cover their advance.
What they had to do was to keep moving forward within a hundred meters of the artillery barrage line, keep pushing the line while ensuring the speed of advance, and eliminate the enemies that survived under the barrage.
This is called artillery-infantry coordination, which is considered a basic operation in the training subjects of the Alliance’s army, nothing difficult.
The whole battle also had no difficult points. In his view and that of his warriors, it seemed more like a sweep of the battlefield. Most of the work had already been done by the artillery brothers.
After returning to their vehicles, they camped in the wilderness.
Today, they finally didn’t have to travel all night.
On the third day, they finally encountered a significant battle.
At that time, their convoy had just reached a main road, making the drivers comfortable, and the warriors could finally rest well in the vehicles. Even under the cadence of the company instructor, everyone started singing military songs in the vehicle.
But while they were singing, the sound of artillery fire landing came from a place still quite distant in front.
The sound was distorted and sounded like muffled thunder. However, the veteran soldiers who had crawled in the battlefield knew that it was the sound of artillery exploding upon impact.
Immediately, the atmosphere among the soldiers in the vehicles tensed up, and the singing stopped, as did the clapping.
Then, a soldier riding a tricycle motorcycle came towards them with a sign to stop their vehicle, asking them to pull over.
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The approaching soldier glanced at Yan Fangxu in the co-pilot seat, quickly saluted upon realizing he was a lieutenant, and said, “Lieutenant comrade, hello! Ten kilometers ahead, our marching troops have come under artillery fire! This area might become unsafe very soon. I don’t know if the enemy’s artillery will fire this way. Our commander has sent me to drive eastward and alert the units behind to be aware of the situation. It’s best for your unit to stop quickly, get off the main road, and drive into the desert, and spreading out would be better.”
After finishing his words, the soldier turned to leave, but Yan Fangxu stopped him.
Yan Fangxu took out a white cigarette pack from his jacket pocket, gave one to the private first class, and then asked, “Which unit are you from? What happened up front? Any specific intelligence you can share?”
The private first class hesitated after receiving the cigarette and said, “I’m from the 3rd Battalion of the Wind-Extinguishing Brigade. It seems there was an enemy ambush squad that broke through the 47th Brigade’s blockade to the south and slipped near the main road. They have self-propelled artillery and caught us by surprise. Our commander is already arranging defense and counterattack. He told me to come here quickly and notify the units behind to be cautious, spread out, and hide.”
Seeing that the lieutenant in the vehicle seemed to want to ask more, the private first class hurriedly waved his hand, saying, “Don’t ask anymore, sir, there are still many people I need to notify. I must hurry.”
“Go on, then.”
The private first class returned to his tricycle motorcycle, sped off towards the east. The sign still on the vehicle and the horn kept blaring.
Yan Fangxu looked away, picked up the handset radio, and barked orders. The entire company got off the main road and moved onto the adjacent bare ground.
The whole company, with about a dozen vehicles, indeed spread out to avoid being bombed if it indeed happened.
At the same time, he also picked up the handset radio to contact his superiors, inquiring if there was any specific intelligence.
But before he could ask, his communicator rang first.
The call was from the battalion staff officer, issuing them an assignment:
“Our marching column has come under artillery fire. The 2nd Battalion of the Wind-Extinguishing Brigade is already starting to counterattack. Command your unit to immediately move 35 kilometers to the southwest, interpose behind the enemy forces, and ensure this enemy group is blocked off, not allowing them to continue to roam!”
“Received!”
After repeating the order, the vehicle radio was hung up. Yan Fangxu then picked up the handset radio again, switched to the company’s channel, and bellowed, “Brothers! We’ve got work to do! We’re going to cut off those iron ghosts’ escape route! 35 kilometers, I want us to blitz there in two hours! Any problems?!”
The channel erupted with a cacophony!