Hu Hao stood in the command center, his eyes locked on the live feeds transmitted from the front lines. A staff officer approached him, quietly reminding him that the general offensive was scheduled to commence in exactly two minutes.
Hu Hao nodded and turned to the assembled staff officers. "Are all frontline assault units in position?"
"Yes, sir! All units are staged and ready. Three infantry divisions and four tank regiments are in position!" one of the staff officers reported crisply, standing at attention.
"Good. Very good. Order the troops to commence the assault! Annihilate them!" Hu Hao commanded, giving a sharp nod.
"Hao-ge... launching a massive infantry assault like this... our casualties are going to be incredibly high," a staff officer voiced his concern softly.
"They might be. But they might not be. Our artillery has just leveled a massive swath of the urban sector they occupied. Their available hard cover has been drastically reduced.
"Furthermore, our counter-battery fire has effectively neutralized their artillery support. As long as the frontline commanders execute the assault intelligently and maintain momentum, our casualties might actually be quite manageable," Hu Hao explained. The staff officers nodded, understanding his logic.
Meanwhile, inside the besieged subterranean bunker, Ketonli stood in grim silence. The vast majority of the Allied soldiers had been forced out of the bunkers and into the ruins to establish defensive positions, leaving only a small strategic reserve underground to reinforce critical sectors once the assault began.
"Commander, our casualties are already catastrophic! The Eastern Spirit artillery is still pounding our positions, and the men outside have almost nowhere left to hide!" Chief of Staff Janlis reported, his voice tight with anxiety.
"It's still better than being trapped in these bunkers and slaughtered like rats when their tanks roll up to the entrances! We have no other choice! Damn it all!" Ketonli cursed bitterly.
He was drowning in regret. If he hadn't misjudged Hu Hao's intentions—if he had ordered a relentless, all-out assault the moment they breached the city perimeter—things might be very different now. At the very least, they would control a much larger sector of the city, providing them with strategic depth and far more defensive options.
But now, his corps was exhausted. They had force-marched all day through the mud, and now they were facing a brutal night battle. The physical and psychological strain on the soldiers was immense.
Ketonli was terrified that his fragile defensive line would shatter. He knew that holding out until reinforcements arrived was a near-impossibility. Hu Hao had massed an overwhelming force against them, and the Eastern Spirit tank divisions had already deployed. They were simply waiting for the artillery barrage to lift. The moment the shells stopped falling, the Eastern Spirit infantry would charge!
If they controlled a larger section of the city, or if they had time to construct proper defensive fortifications, he might have been confident in holding the line. But their current perimeter was incredibly shallow. A single, concentrated armored thrust from Hu Hao's forces could punch straight through their lines, fracturing their defense and allowing the enemy to isolate and destroy them piece by piece.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The relentless roar of the artillery barrage continued outside, fraying Ketonli's nerves. Yet, perversely, he didn't want the explosions to stop. The moment the artillery fell silent, the true nightmare—the infantry assault—would begin.
The atmosphere inside the bunker was suffocating. The remaining soldiers huddled in the damp darkness, unsure of their fate. They didn't know if they would live to see the dawn. Many of the 7th Corps soldiers simply sat on the concrete floor, praying silently.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of the artillery ceased.
An eerie, terrifying silence descended over the battlefield.
Ketonli and his staff officers froze, straining their ears.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The silence lasted less than ten seconds before it was shattered by the sharp crack of tank cannons, the frantic chatter of heavy machine guns, and the concussive blasts of rocket-propelled grenades.
"Damn it! Here they come!" Janlis cursed under his breath.
"KILL THEM!"
Outside in the rain-slicked streets, the Eastern Spirit forces unleashed a massive wave of suppressive fire, completely overwhelming the Allied positions as the tanks surged forward to spearhead the infantry charge.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The heavy machine guns mounted on the advancing tanks and APCs, combined with the entrenched Eastern Spirit machine-gun nests, poured a continuous, withering stream of lead into the Allied lines, pinning the defenders down and providing covering fire for the sprinting infantry.
"Hold the line! Damn it, hold the line! Get those heavy machine guns firing! Move!" an Allied commander roared over the din of battle.
But the air was thick with flying lead. Bullets snapped past their ears and chipped the concrete around them. Any Allied soldier who dared to poke his head out to aim was instantly cut down. The Allied machine-gun crews couldn't even reach their weapons without being shredded by the suppressive fire.
"Shoot! Damn it, shoot! Their tanks are right on top of us!" an Allied Regimental Commander screamed desperately. He could hear the grinding treads of the Eastern Spirit tanks approaching rapidly, but his men were completely paralyzed. The Eastern Spirit suppressive fire was absolute and unrelenting.
"CHARGE!"
Before the Allied soldiers could even attempt to return fire, the Eastern Spirit infantry swarmed over their hastily constructed barricades.
BOOM! BOOM!
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The brilliant flashes of explosions and the continuous string of flares fired high into the night sky illuminated the battlefield with a harsh, flickering light.
The flares were fired in rapid succession; before one cluster burned out and drifted to the ground, another was launched, ensuring the attacking Eastern Spirit troops had clear visibility of the enemy positions.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Enemy infantry on the upper floor! Toss some grenades up there! Move! RPG teams, target those windows!"
"Tanks, keep pushing! Don't stop!"
The Eastern Spirit junior officers aggressively directed their units, coordinating the assault to rapidly overwhelm the Allied defenders.
"KILL!"
Driven by desperation and rage, the Allied soldiers finally began to fight back. Pinned down and unable to aim properly, some soldiers realized that hiding only delayed the inevitable. Abandoning all caution, they leaped up from cover and sprayed wildly into the advancing Eastern Spirit ranks.
But before they could empty even half a magazine, they were instantly obliterated by concentrated heavy machine-gun fire. The sheer kinetic force of the heavy caliber rounds snapped their heads back and threw their bodies violently to the ground.
"Where are our heavy machine guns?! Open fire, damn it!" The pinned-down Allied soldiers screamed in frustration.
But when they looked toward their heavy weapon emplacements, they saw nothing but piles of corpses. Every soldier who had attempted to man the guns had been slaughtered before they could fire a single shot.
The Eastern Spirit forces were prioritizing the destruction of all Allied heavy weapons and elevated positions. This was a brutal lesson the Eastern Spirit regimental commanders had learned the hard way in earlier engagements: if an enemy heavy machine gun on a high floor opened fire, it would massacre an entire squad in seconds.
Therefore, dedicated Eastern Spirit squads were tasked exclusively with neutralizing these threats. The moment the infantry breached a building's ground floor, specialized clearing teams immediately stormed inside to secure the structure and ensure no Allied soldiers remained alive on the upper levels.
"Report! Commander, the frontline is collapsing! Their firepower is overwhelming! They're burning through ammunition like it costs nothing! Our men can't even lift their heads to return fire!
"And once their infantry reaches our positions, it's an absolute slaughter! Commander, you must think of something!" a Division Commander crawled into the bunker, his uniform soaked in mud and blood.
He couldn't even walk upright; the air outside the bunker entrance was thick with stray bullets, and the concrete walls around the opening were already pockmarked with fresh craters.
"Think of something? What is there to think of? What do you suggest?!" Ketonli demanded, staring bleakly at the frantic Division Commander.
"Commander, at this rate, our entire corps will be annihilated in less than an hour! We are critically low on ammunition, and our heavy weapons have been entirely neutralized! Their troops are systematically hunting down our heavy machine-gun nests!
"Commander, if we cannot hold this line, you must take your personal guard and flee immediately! We will fight to the death and buy you an hour to escape!" the Division Commander pleaded, offering to sacrifice his own life to save his commanding officer.
"Flee? Ha! And where exactly would I flee? The roads out of the city have been turned into cratered swamps by Hu Hao's artillery! Vehicles can't move!
"Furthermore, Hu Hao's artillery has currently ceased firing. The moment he realizes I am attempting to break out, he will instantly resume the bombardment and obliterate my escape convoy!
"And even if I could escape... I refuse to. This catastrophic failure is my responsibility. If I run now, how could I ever face the ghosts of the soldiers who died under my command? I will not flee. Just hold the line as best you can!" Ketonli replied, a bitter, hollow smile on his face.
"Commander, please! You must run! High Command will undoubtedly give you another command in the future! As long as you live, you can return and avenge us!" the Division Commander begged, grabbing Ketonli's arm.
"I cannot escape. Hu Hao's sole objective tonight is the total annihilation of this corps. He has sealed every exit!" Ketonli sighed heavily, slumping back into his chair.
"We have to at least try! Guards! Grab the Commander! We're breaking out! Now!" the Division Commander roared at the personal guard detachment.
"I dare you to try!" Ketonli bellowed, surging to his feet. He drew his service pistol and slammed it onto the table beside him.
"Flee? I know perfectly well I cannot escape this city alive! I would rather die fighting here in this bunker than be gunned down like a coward running through the mud!" Ketonli glared at the Division Commander and his guards.
His intention was crystal clear: if they attempted to drag him out by force, he would put a bullet in his own head. The Division Commander and the guards froze, terrified by his absolute resolve.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! The deafening roar of gunfire was drawing terrifyingly close to the bunker entrance. The Division Commander was frantic with anxiety.
"Commander, please, reconsider! Who will avenge our brothers if you die here?!" the Division Commander pleaded one last time.
"The armies of our Holy Ancient Empire will avenge us! Hu Hao's true nightmare will begin once the rainy season ends. As a soldier, dying on the battlefield is the ultimate duty; there is nothing more to say.
"Return to your men. Hold the line. Kill as many of them as you can! When the time comes, I will take up arms and join you on the firing line!" Ketonli ordered firmly.
"Very well. I will return to my post," the Division Commander nodded in grim acceptance. He turned and prepared to crawl back out into the meat grinder. His surviving troops were out there, and he intended to die alongside them.
"Go. I will lead the reserves out shortly. We are the Imperial Guard of the Holy Ancient Empire! We must fight with the blood and iron befitting our honor! It is better to die in glorious battle than to cower and survive in disgrace!" Ketonli declared, his voice ringing with grim determination.
(End of Chapter)