Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 294 Hammer and Anvil Tactics
The smoke cleared.

With a huge explosion, the old order of the entire Hanshui City was shattered.

The Holy Army's supervisory team, hiding in the basement, turned into minced meat in a can. When Li Xian took the lead and entered the basement, he could only rely on the number of remaining armor pieces to judge the final number of kills.

"38, 39, 40"

"The number of people matches up."

Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

"The entire 40-man supervisory team has been killed—what about you? How's the situation?"

Upon hearing Li Xian's question, Zhou Yan, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly and then answered:

"Those who needed to die have all died. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we also killed some people who weren't originally on the list."

"Overall, Hanshui City is now quite clean."

"If you still can't completely take control of this city under these circumstances, then you should seriously reflect on your own problems."

"That's good."

Li Xian's expression was slightly serious.

"Our losses were also considerable."

"The death toll of the Christian Guard has reached 170. Now, only 280 Christian Guards in the city are still capable of fighting."

"Moreover, of these 280 people, fewer than 60 are true 'soldiers'."

"The others are just temporary conscriptions composed of ordinary believers."

"Their fighting ability is quite low. We cannot rely on them to defend Hanshui City at all."

"The next step should be for the Chinese army to take action as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, even if it were just another ordinary level four monster, we wouldn't be able to withstand it."

"rest assured."

Zhou Yan patted Li Xian on the shoulder and said comfortingly:

"They never disappoint."

"Now, they have most likely begun mobilizing what they call 'unmanned combat clusters' and advancing towards Hanshui City."

"If nothing unexpected happens, they should arrive within an hour?"

"hope so."

After saying that, Li Xian suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Watching the Christian guards cleaning up the mess, he remarked with emotion:

“A few months ago, when we first realized the threat posed by the Chinese army, we were trying to nip them in the bud before they could grow stronger.”

"Then, just a few days later, because of that great defeat, we began to pray that the Chinese army would not attack."

"But now, the situation is completely reversed."

"We hope they can attack as soon as possible and take over the city quickly."

"We are like a straw swaying in the wind, seemingly without a firm stance or any real direction of faith."

"Do you think those Chinese soldiers view us like a joke, like a clown?"

"Perhaps we're just objects to be manipulated?"

"Even if we join the Chinese army, how can we guarantee that we will be treated better than we were under the control of the Cult of Machines?"

As he spoke, he unconsciously stroked the pistol he was holding.

There was only one bullet left in the chamber, and that last bullet was the one that jammed and failed to fire during the final battle.

By the time he cleared the obstacles, the battle was over.

He didn't know where else this bullet could be used.

Perhaps, I should use it on myself?
Zhou Yan keenly noticed his movements and then spoke:
You shouldn't be so pessimistic.

"At least from my perspective, the regimental commanders of the Chinese army have a very high opinion of you."

"I have had the privilege of hearing their assessment of you."

“They say you are also a complete speculator, but you are a speculator with a purpose.”

"What a joke! Which speculator is without an ulterior motive?"

Li Xian shook his head with amusement.

“All speculators are driven by profit, and I am no exception.”

"But you're not necessarily acting in your own best interest, isn't that obvious?"

"Maybe."

Li Xian didn't say anything more, and at this moment, dust began to rise on the east side outside Hanshui City.

At the same time, several drones flew at low speed, passing overhead.

Gunfire erupted as weapons mounted on the drones spewed deadly bullets. However, consistent with the intelligence received by Li Xian and Zhou Yan, not a single bullet struck the heads of the Christian Guards, nor did it hit any civilians in Hanshui City.

This is just a deterrent.

The Huaxia Army has arrived. They are announcing their existence and the terrifying power they possess in this way.

Panic and chaos instantly engulfed the city. The Christian defenders, who had just finished a fierce battle, fled blindly, trying to find a reliable cover to avoid the Chinese army's attack.

Clearly, such efforts are completely futile.

Under the cover of air fire, the Huaxia Army's unmanned ground combat units rapidly approached Hanshui City.

A few minutes later, the unmanned combat cluster entered Hanshui City and formed an impenetrable encirclement around it.

The Huaxia army arrived as scheduled, ready to take over Hanshui City.

Li Xian took a deep breath and then issued a notice to the entire city.

"Everyone, lay down your weapons."

"Don't try to resist, we are incapable of resisting."

"I'll repeat myself, on my command, lay down your weapons!"

"I will personally go out of the city to negotiate, and I assure you, no one will die here!"

Upon receiving the order, the terrified crowd laid down their weapons as if granted a pardon.

Li Xian gripped the pistol tightly and walked out of the city. Approaching him was He Shuo, who had already prepared everything.

The two met outside the city. Li Xian remained silent for a long time before finally asking:
"What do you need me to do now?"

"You don't need to do anything, just surrender."

He Shuo waved his hand and then said:

"Don't overcomplicate this matter."

"After the takeover of Hanshui City is completed, we will arrange a new position for you."

“You will still need to assist us in managing Hanshui City – in other words, you can still be the manager of Hanshui City, but you are no longer the owner of Hanshui City.”

"So, does this arrangement meet your expectations?"

"It exceeded my expectations."

Li Xian nodded calmly, but he still did not put down the pistol in his hand.

After a pause, he suddenly continued, asking:
"So, to you, who exactly am I?"

He Shuo didn't seem surprised by his question.

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

"A person who has traveled all the roads, trying to find the right one."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xian froze. He remembered what Zhou Yan had said.

In that instant, it was as if he had finally realized what kind of person he truly was.
On the other side, Jinling New City.

The third bomber has rolled off the production line, and the pilots who have completed their initial training have just piloted it to a takeoff and landing.

This pilot may also be exceptionally talented, but compared to Jiang Yu, his talent is somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, neither Chen Jian nor Lei Jie intended to pursue the ultimate in the pilot assessment.

Objectively speaking, they only have one requirement for pilots.

It just needs to be able to take off and land, and drop bombs when conditions permit.

Thus, this Chinese military officer from Huangshi City naturally became the third bomber pilot in the Chinese military.

His successful enlistment significantly reduced the pressure on the Huaxia Army when facing the mobilizing beast tide.

"After the third bomber entered service, our bombing density can be said to have increased significantly."

"When we had two planes, we could only launch a maximum of six sorties per day."

"But with the third aircraft, the number of sorties we can launch per day instantly increased to 12."

"Basically speaking, as long as the supply of aerial bombs is sufficient, we have been able to completely contain the trend of the beast tide gathering in the southeast direction through bombing."

"As a result, the pressure we face will mainly shift to the southwest and northwest sides."

As soon as Chen Jian finished speaking, a battlefield situation map was updated in real time on the large screen in the operations command room.

On the situation map, four huge red arrows marked the direction of the beast tide's gathering and movement, while two of them had been marked with red horizontal lines by Chen Jian as "blocked".

The only directions that are not blocked for the time being are the northwest and southwest.

Looking at the updated map, Lei Jie chimed in:
"Theoretically speaking, the beast tide gathered on the northwest side will also be disintegrated in a short period of time."

"He Shuo has already captured Hanshui City, almost without losing a single soldier."

"He acquired nearly a hundred high-quality soldiers there. Once equipped, Hanshui City will become a solid fortress on the northwest side of the beast tide's advance route."

"The beast tide from this direction will either bypass them and withstand the impact from the rear."

"Either we risk launching an attack on Hanshui City and turn the battle for Hanshui City into a siege like that of Jinling City, thus diverting our forces."

"Whichever option we choose, it will be a good thing for us."

"On large-scale battlefields, the pressure has gradually begun to decrease."

"The possibility of 'organizing a decisive battle without regard for the consequences,' which we feared most, has been nipped in the bud."

"At least for now, we can make a preliminary judgment."

"That means we will no longer be overwhelmed by the beast tide."

"really."

After Lei Jie finished speaking, Chen Jian nodded in deep agreement, then smiled and said:

"You know what, He Shuo is really good at this."

"When he said he was going to establish a base in Hanshui City, I thought he was going to follow our previous tactics and use the equipment we had to launch a surprise attack on Hanshui City and completely wipe out the forces there."

"I never imagined he could do something like this."

"Without firing a single shot or firing a single cannon, we took this city."

"Indeed, everyone has their own area of ​​expertise."

"In the future, we can let him do more of these kinds of things."

As soon as he finished speaking, smiles appeared on the faces of everyone in the command center.

It must be said that the uprising at Hanshui City can be considered the first victory after the Battle of Jinling New City.

The significance of this victory is even greater than the victory of the Jinling New City in this counter-encirclement campaign.

If the victory against the encirclement and suppression campaign only meant "establishing a foothold," then capturing Hanshui City meant that the Huaxia Army had truly "gone out."

From this day forward, the Huaxia Army has two footholds.

The combined force of these two fulcrums will create an even higher upper limit.

After a slight pause, Chen Jian stood up, pointed to the battle map in front of him, and continued:

"Therefore, our operational direction for the next stage is very clear."

"On the one hand, we need to supply Hanshui City with enough weapons and equipment to help He Shuo quickly establish a sufficiently strong defense line in Hanshui City."

"On the other hand, we need to strengthen support for the infiltration companies and guide them to carry out combat operations in the southwest direction with more refined tactics."

"Now, we'll intersect at this position."

Chen Jian tapped the map, and Fuxi immediately updated the location of the infiltration alliance on the map.

"It is located on the southeast side of Tongling City, 26 kilometers away from the main urban area of ​​Tongling City."

"They faced two main waves of beast tides."

"One group is a small cluster of monsters that came from the direction of Xuancheng and were scattered after being hit by a nuclear attack."

"One wave is a large-scale beast tide that comes from several directions, including Chuansha and Ji'an, and is gathering in Jinling City from the southwest. It has not yet participated in any battles."

"Among the previous wave of enemies, there were fewer than 20 large monsters, and their strength was relatively weak."

"In the next wave of enemies, the number of large monsters is conservatively estimated to be over 200, which will become the main opponent of the flanking unit."

"The current battle plan is as follows."

"In a short period of time, the infiltration detachment needs to take the initiative to counterattack the scattered beast horde and completely eliminate it."

"Subsequently, the infiltration unit needs to enter Tongling City, using Tongling City as the core fulcrum, to control the triangular area with Tongling, Jiujiang, and Huangshan as the apex, cut off the connection between the beast tide in the southwest and the beast tides in the northwest and southeast, and prevent the enemy from merging."

"This is not an easy task. Even just the logistical support alone is enough to cause us a lot of trouble."

"We must mobilize all available resources to support them, while also preparing contingency plans and being ready to change the operational plan at any time."

"The most advantageous tactic I see for us right now is to take advantage of the geographical location of the two cities of Hanshui and Huangshan and try to encircle the beast tide from the southwest."

"Hammer and Anvil Tactics".

Lei Jie chimed in, and Chen Jian nodded slightly before continuing:
"That's right, the hammer and anvil tactic."

"The most crucial prerequisite for executing this tactic is that we must actively control the direction of the beast tide and guide it into our pre-designed battlefield."

"And this is something that only the interweaving of oneself can achieve."

"Therefore, they will continue to move towards Huangshan in the next two days."

"What we need to do is to prepare all the resources for them there."

"Lei Jie!"

"To!"

Lei Jie stood up. Chen Jian pondered for a moment, then gave the order:

"Organize the air force to deliver combat supplies to Huangshan City."

"The inter-command is expected to complete the clearing of the fleeing monsters from Xuancheng in 6 hours and will arrive at Huangshan in 24 hours."

"Before they reach Huangshan, we must ensure that the supplies delivered are enough to replenish them to full strength."

"Can it be done?"

"no problem!"

Lei Jie answered decisively.

"Then let's do it this way!"

At Chen Jian's command, everyone immediately sprang into action.

Shen Yue, who was hundreds of kilometers away, also received the order at the same time.

At that moment, he clearly realized that this newly formed infiltration company was finally about to face its first real battle.
(End of this chapter)