Chapter 112: Bitter Battle

Although Wangu led a large force in a desperate charge, he was positioned in the north, making it difficult to reach the southern front immediately. Meanwhile, the armies of the Liaogu Kingdom to the east and west were on the verge of collapse due to chaos, while Special Forces Teams 2 and 3 continued their sabotage operations.

At the same time, on the southern battlefield, Zhang Desen led Special Forces Team 1 to attack the southern military camp of the Liaogu Kingdom. The camp had been rendered virtually useless after heavy artillery bombardment. Nearly a hundred surviving Liaogu soldiers inside, seeing Zhang Desen and his team charge in, were few in number and had no desire to fight; they promptly surrendered.

Simultaneously, Wu Jieming, commander of the Liu household forces, arrived at the same location with ten thousand troops from the combined forces of the Zhang and Liu households, joining Zhang Desen’s group.

Regardless of whether they belonged to the Zhang or Liu households, all the household troops now wore the uniform of the Northern Expedition Army.

Soon, the position was marked with the banner of the united household forces. Following the plan, the troops quickly established a temporary defensive line at maximum speed.

This line was equipped with 50 hand-cranked Gatling guns and 50 Maxim machine guns, backed by 50 Napoleon cannons.

In truth, the strength of this united household force was considerable. In Zhang Desen’s original universe, a patrol squad from an elite team once held back an attack by the formidable Zuluk invaders using just six Maxim machine guns. So, despite having only ten thousand soldiers now, their combat effectiveness might rival General Feng Yucai’s hundred-thousand-strong army.

Of course, the United Industrial Park had yet to replicate the Maxim gun, so these were relics left by the super-ancient humans. Although hand-cranked Gatling guns could now be duplicated, their numbers were insufficient, so these too were remnants from the super-ancient era.

All the household troops were armed with replicated M-24 grenades and Hanyang rifles, supplemented with stockpiles salvaged from the super-ancient humans.

At this moment, all household troops prepared meticulously to resist the oncoming Liaogu forces as planned.

When the Daxing elite troops charged in, they erupted in cheers upon seeing the situation. They proceeded to capture prisoners according to protocol and awaited further orders.

Just as the celebrations broke out, a tremendous rumble came from the north. Everyone looked up to see General Wangu, commander-in-chief of the Liaogu Kingdom, leading over 700,000 troops stationed in the north in pursuit.

Originally, Wangu had deployed 800,000 Liaogu troops around the encirclement: 25,000 in the south, 25,000 in the east, and over 700,000 in the north under his direct command.

However, chaos had struck all three directions due to attacks, with only the northern force under Wangu’s leadership remaining intact. Seeing the encirclement beginning to collapse, Wangu could not let the opportunity slip away and personally led his northern army in pursuit.

No one panicked. They immediately prepared to meet the enemy again. General Feng Yucai’s troops found that the main front against the enemy was held by the united household forces, leaving them somewhat sidelined and awkward. Nonetheless, he ordered all Daxing archers to face the advancing Liaogu army from the north and ready their bows.

At that moment, Zhang Desen snatched the communicator from a signalman and called out to the Krupp long-range artillery units of the United Industrial Park behind them:

“Adjust coordinates to minus 5, 10. Adjust coordinates to minus 5, 10. Fire, fire.”

Before Feng Yucai and the others could grasp the meaning of Zhang’s command, the Zhang and Liu artillery units promptly adjusted their coordinates and opened fire. Soon, artillery shells rained down like a storm upon the advancing Liaogu forces. The Napoleon cannons also immediately fired in support.

The fierce bombardment left everyone in Feng Yucai’s camp awestruck. If the charging Liaogu army resembled a terrifying flood, then the relentless artillery fire was like a storm from hell, annihilating everything in an instant.

Without hesitation, Zhang Desen led his special forces to open fire on the Liaogu troops as the shells fell, primarily using single shots, as he did not want the rest of Daxing’s forces to witness too much of his capabilities.

At the same time, the entire united household force unleashed their firepower. Because it was nighttime, some household troops were assigned to continuously fire flares into the sky to illuminate their own side’s operations.

Moreover, eight pilots from the united household team flew biplane trainers—modified versions of the super-ancient “Red Baron” and “Camel” fighters—overhead, continuously dropping larger flares before returning to base to reload and repeat the process.

These massive flares hovered over the battlefield like giant lanterns, lighting the pitch-black night like broad daylight.

Since these planes lacked night-flight combat capabilities and to avoid friendly fire, their night role was limited to illuminating the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Daxing archers, seeing Zhang Desen’s team fire their unknown weapons, also began shooting arrows at the Liaogu forces in support.

General Feng Yucai felt somewhat uncomfortable, as his troops were mere bystanders, their role limited mostly to shooting arrows.

They had tried to assist the united household forces by transporting supplies, but unfamiliarity with many items led to misplacements and caused trouble. Eventually, apart from having archers shoot, cooking meals, and transporting water, Feng agreed with Zhang Desen’s suggestion to keep his forces as a reserve.

Feng dispatched numerous scouts to probe for gaps in the enemy lines and offer reinforcements where possible.

Due to the distance of the Liaogu charge, their forces were somewhat scattered, preventing the artillery from rapidly crushing them as they had the 25,000 troops in the southern camp.

Nonetheless, the charging Liaogu army suffered heavy losses. Except for Zhang Desen, who had witnessed such firepower in his original universe, none of the special forces had seen such bombardment before. With no knowledge of effective defense, the blindly charging Liaogu troops were utterly overwhelmed and collapsed one after another.

Soon, the first wave of Liaogu cavalry was nearly annihilated by the ferocious firepower of the united household forces. Furious, Liaogu Marshal Wangu ordered a second assault, spearheaded by shield-bearers.

However, the shields proved ineffective, and the second attack collapsed quickly.

Seeing this, Wangu lost rationality in anger. He ordered his troops to form dense human walls, like relentless waves, to charge the united household position again and again—but each assault was repelled.

Throughout the night, the united household forces withstood ten massive assaults by the Liaogu army without suffering a single casualty.

Meanwhile, in the western capital city, from Emperor Zhao Xinglong to ordinary citizens, all were kept awake by the fierce artillery fire echoing through the night, eyes fixed on the distant blazing battlefield.

None had ever witnessed such intense combat and feared the Liaogu army might suddenly reach the city gates.

Watching this, Zhang Chengwei and Madam Liu, father and daughter, were deeply anxious, their fists clenched tightly.

…

At dawn, the eight united household fighter planes ceased dropping flares and launched continuous attacks on the Liaogu rear.

Soon, the Liaogu army’s rear bases—including their field hospitals, medicinal reserves, food supplies, weapon depots, and horse stables—suffered severe damage and tremendous losses.

Even the army’s accompanying craftsmen and their hastily built catapults were utterly destroyed, leaving no trace.

The Liaogu army tallied their losses after a night of fighting and found that they had lost 180,000 men in assaults alone, with other casualties yet unknown.

Even more disheartening, they had failed to reach the enemy’s front lines even once.

Faced with this, Wangu’s deputy urged retreat:

“Marshal, let’s withdraw. If we don’t, our brothers will be wiped out.”

Gazing upon the countless fallen soldiers, Wangu, filled with grief and fury, declared:

“I, Wangu, have fought countless battles but never faced such a stubborn foe. This must be witchcraft. I will summon our grand mage to break their sorcery. Order the troops to continue the charge! I refuse to believe we cannot defeat these southern barbarians. Kill!”

The deputy was stunned but tried again:

“Marshal—”

Before he could finish, Wangu shouted:

“Go at once!”

Helpless, the deputy obeyed:

“Yes, sir!”

Before dawn, Zhang Desen had already launched a signal flare to summon Special Forces Teams 2 and 3, who promptly regrouped with the main force.

Zhang had expected the Liaogu army to rest after a night of fighting, but to his surprise, their attacks resumed once more.

For Zhang Desen, no matter how many times they attacked, it was just more trouble to handle. He immediately ordered the entire united household force into battle.

However, Zhang, Feng Yucai, and nearly everyone noticed the Liaogu army had thinned and lost the sharpness they had the previous day. It was estimated that only about twenty thousand remained, which boosted morale and fighting spirit immensely.

The united household forces fought through the entire morning, repelling twenty-five furious Liaogu assaults in succession.

…

Notably, at about the same time, the Galaxy Empire began intensifying preparations for defensive warfare against the Olmei Empire’s invasion.

In the command center of the capital city basin, a pre-battle mobilization meeting commenced. Goba Xiaofu spoke first, with all attendees prepared to listen attentively.