Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 189 Are they finally willing to speak?
Retalu Leu, the garrison command post.

Gunfire and artillery fire could be heard incessantly outside, and they were getting closer and closer...

A lieutenant hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed in, panting, shouting, "We have to retreat! Milton's men are almost here!"

The so-called temporary commander was just a lieutenant before, who was urgently promoted to captain after Retaluleu was in dire need.

The others had already retreated to Quetzaltenango.

The temporary commander scrambled out of bed, shoved the woman beside him aside, and asked in astonishment, "So fast?! Wasn't progress slow yesterday?!"

The reason he was able to sleep so soundly was that, based on the progress of yesterday's attack, Milton still had at least seven more days of fighting to take down Retaluleu.

How come the battle line is already almost in front of the command post when I just got up?
"Night battles! During the day, they basically consolidate the territory they've occupied, giving us no chance. They only launch their attacks at night!"

"Before each battle, they would cut off the power and then use their superior equipment to wipe us out... In urban warfare, their equipment was too good; we couldn't beat them in urban combat!"

The commander, exasperated, demanded, "Why didn't you tell me sooner last night?!"

The lieutenant who came in to report glanced cautiously at the woman who was hurriedly getting dressed, but said nothing.

The commander was speechless for a moment—he finally remembered the order he had given himself last night, "No matter what happens, you are not to disturb him."

"Forget it, it's too late to talk about this now, let's retreat!"

In order to survive, the city set up multiple backup command posts—it didn't matter if the front line pushed forward, as long as they retreated as well, according to the theory of relativity, they would maintain the status quo.

The commander hurriedly packed his things and finally said, "Pass on my orders: pile up all the explosives you can find in this area. Place the bombs wherever there are many people. Delay for as long as you can, and cause as much damage as you can to Milton."

"Let those newly recruited soldiers drive them—don't tell them there are bombs in the cars!"

The main force of the 2nd Infantry Brigade is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels on the front lines in Vevetenango province. They are simply not capable of directly confronting the Pan Madre Bloc forces. The orders from above are clear: to block them by any means necessary.

The lieutenant paused for a moment upon hearing the order, then reminded him, "Sir, if you're talking about a lot of people, the hospital has the most, and there are still some people at the school. Are we going to find a way to blow them all up?"

The temporary commander waved his hand dismissively: "Yes, just blow it up."

The lieutenant carefully confirmed again, "Are you sure you want to send those people directly by car? We still have some mortars in our inventory."

The commander became anxious at the mention of mortars.

“We have very few mortars, so don’t use any of them. Don’t forget that I managed to get this batch of mortars with great difficulty. The Juarez Group is willing to pay $2 for each one. $2! Do you know what that means? You could work here for a lifetime and still not save $2!”

The lieutenant still hesitated: "But, if we send those people to their deaths, won't we still have to pay them compensation? And that compensation must be quite substantial, right?"

In order to maintain basic internal stability, Lopez finally stopped cutting back on military spending, and the pensions were finally able to be paid in full, albeit barely.

"Are you an idiot?" the commander yelled. "Lopez will pay the compensation, but the money from selling the cannons will go into our pockets. How can that be the same? Milton just destroyed one of our mortar positions on the front lines. This shipment can get out safely. We're rich, understand?!"

"Those drug dealers are fucking rich!"

“Let me tell you, if this war goes on for another month… no, half a month, at most half a month, we’ll have saved enough money to last a lifetime.”

"Oh, right." Before leaving, the commander pointed to a warehouse on the map and instructed, "There are a lot of people in this warehouse, but they are all my men. They are moving goods from the Juarez Group. You will get a share afterward, understand?"

Taking advantage of the war, they sold drugs and weapons like crazy, making an insane amount of money.

Making money by exploiting soldiers is a quick way to make money.

The lieutenant paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand... Sir, the problem is, won't doing this cause the defense line to collapse too quickly? If we can't win, everything will be for nothing."

The commander sneered and pointed to the map again: "Can't win? How could we not win? Milton's advance is a little faster than we expected, so what?"

“Even if he takes down Retalu, there are still a lot of defensive lines waiting for him—there are many mountain roads ahead, and Milton’s advance will definitely be slowed down.”

"What's more, there's still a Quetzaltenango waiting for him to devour... Once he's done it, the front lines can hold a victory celebration."

“Did you see Milton’s equipment? He even has tanks! They look like they came from the Soviets… Russia. What good are our few mortars? We might as well sell them for money. People need to be smarter and learn to analyze situations.”

After giving the lecture, the commander hurriedly grabbed his belongings and left the soon-to-be-abandoned command post.

Just then, the phone in the command center, which hadn't yet been disconnected, rang.

The lieutenant hurriedly went to answer it, listened for a few words, then turned to the commander and said, "Sir, it's for you."

The commander, growing increasingly impatient with the approaching and intense gunfire, picked up the phone and shouted, "Hello?" before his subordinates could even tell him who was on the other end.

A cold snort came from the other end of the receiver: "Are you impatient?"

The commander's forehead immediately broke out in a sweat: "Mr. Iker? Do you have any orders to give?"

Why is the number two person in the Lopez Group suddenly calling me?!

Could it be that my arms dealing has been exposed?

Iker continued to berate, "You idiot, can't you control your men a little?! Do you know how many eyes are watching us right now? Can't you tone it down a bit???"

"Look at the news reports, just go buy any newspaper and see what good deeds your soldiers have done!"

"He gave the middle finger in front of reporters' cameras, killed someone for saying a single word, and even claimed he would arrest people on the street and send them to the gas chamber!"

"Do you know what people are saying? Some have already called us fascists!!!"

"Even if we have to do these things, can we do it behind people's backs? We desperately need external assistance right now. If this gets out, what will Europe and North America think of us?!"

"No, it's not about how we're viewed, we're already being condemned... Many humanitarian supplies have been declared unavailable, and Mr. Lopez will have to fill those gaps with his own share."

"Those stupid politicians in Europe can actually be coerced by voters. They won't risk offending voters for our sake! From what I know, quite a few people reacted like a stressed cat upon seeing this news, hissing at us!"

"..."

Iker launched into a long, unending tirade of curses.

It seems that the disruption of this supply of materials has indeed been a huge blow to them.

The commander was sweating profusely: "I... sir, I don't know, I really don't know. This wasn't my arrangement, you know me, I always follow the rules."

“Tell me which unit it is, and I will immediately criticize and educate them.”

Iker retorted, "How would I know which unit it is? Go read the news yourself and find out for yourself. Don't cause us any more trouble, understand? Things are progressing very well at the front, and we'll be victorious soon."

"Holding Milton back for a few days is not about letting you defeat him head-on. It's not a difficult task, so don't make excuses."

"Not only should we criticize and educate them, but we should also come up with a solution that satisfies everyone, and we should actually punish a few people!"

"This is my last warning. Don't let me hear anything I don't want to hear coming from behind or from you again."

The commander immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest vigorously, and assured him, "Don't worry, I'll investigate who did it right away and give you a satisfactory answer!"

"Beep beep..."

The phone was abruptly hung up.

One of them was harshly criticizing, while the other humbly accepted the insults. Both felt that this unit needed to be thoroughly cleaned up and dealt with.

Yet not a single person harbored even the slightest doubt—that it was possible they hadn't done it.

Iker expressed intense anger, but not a single doubt; everyone believed they had such an outrageous force under their command.

Even the lieutenant listening on the phone didn't sense anything amiss and asked, "Sir, shall we go investigate this unit now?"

"What's there to investigate!" The commander rolled his eyes, completely lacking the obedience he had shown on the phone. "Move it first... Go and gather some newspapers for me, we'll talk about investigations when we get there."

Ten minutes later, the commander took his valuables and got into an armored vehicle.

boom!
The sounds of grenades and artillery shells exploding behind us could already be faintly heard.

The soldiers on their side defending the barricades had only a few rifles and rocket launchers, relying on sandbags and landmines for cover. Every soldier had a look of fear on their face.

"Quick, drive!" He patted the driver's seat. "Drive faster. The CIA has provided intelligence; they highly suspect Milton's team smuggled drones. There might be a pair of eyes watching us from the sky right now!"

If we don't hurry, we might hear dragonflies whistling overhead soon.

Once the car engine was running and the car was far from the street, the commander picked up the newspaper beside him and began to read it.

He didn't need to search for it deliberately, because there was a very clear photo on the front page of the newspaper—a group of government soldiers with their feet on heads, their hands pointing the middle finger, and their faces full of malicious smiles.

They're even more like the government army than the government army itself!

"Whose people are these..." The commander frowned, not immediately recognizing them. "Does anyone remember?"

The remaining two officers in the car shook their heads.

“Strange.” The commander knocked on the car window. “Well then, pull three reliable people out of the supervisory team and form an investigation team to find out what happened as soon as possible. After you find out, arrest the ringleader and execute him—execute him in front of those stupid reporters’ cameras. They want an explanation, right? Then give them an explanation.”

The death penalty is more than enough to quell a significant portion of the anger.

Not long after, good news arrived.

The lieutenant excitedly shouted, "Sir, I just received a message that someone knows them!" "Oh? Tell me more."

The lieutenant continued, "They are from the 3rd Infantry Platoon of the 2nd Infantry Brigade. They had a minor disagreement with the reporting unit over how to handle drugs, so they left a deep impression on me."

Upon hearing this, the commander's expression turned strange. He thought for a long time before finally saying, "That's not right. I remember this unit isn't under my command."

"Wait a minute, let me think about it..."

"Which unit is this again?"

"Damn it, I remember now! Isn't this the damn unit responsible for defending Champerico Port? What kind of outsiders are coming to my Retaluleu to beg for food?!"

"Champelliport has fallen, so how come a force from over there suddenly appears? Are they trying to rob me? I can't beat Milton, but surely I can beat a bunch of remnants?!"

The commander was furious and decided to vent his anger on this ungrateful ally.

At this moment, the lieutenant said with some difficulty, "Sir, I... I remember... almost no troops escaped from Champelli's side. They were either wiped out by Milton or incorporated by him. I haven't heard of any unit that escaped and retained its complete structure."

"Do you think it's possible... that the government troops in the news might not be ours at all? Maybe Milton's men in disguise?"

“I looked at the newspaper, and it seems that all the people in it have made deals with us and have some tacit understanding. There’s no reason for our people to fire on them for no reason.”

"Moreover, although it has not been officially reported, don't we all know internally that Milton has a history of disguising himself as an enemy soldier and using their identity to do bad things?"

“It was definitely Milton who did it!!! He’s trying to smear us, trying to cut off aid supplies to Quetzaltenango, trying to brand us as fascists. How vicious, how cruel, how insidious, how disgusting!”

"We need to clarify this quickly."

Seeing the commander fall silent, the lieutenant was extremely anxious.

If he were only defeated, he could still run away with the money; even if he were unfortunately caught, he would be imprisoned as a prisoner of war.

However, if he were to be associated with fascism, he might face the most horrific verdict in a military tribunal, and almost no mainstream country would be willing to accept him.

This needs to be clarified!
Milton, that beast, did this!
The commander coldly interrupted him: "Clarify? Tell me, how are we supposed to clarify this? I don't even have direct command over this army. If we want official clarification, we have to coordinate with higher-ups and ask them to step in and help."

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'It takes only a mouth to spread a rumor, but it takes a lot of running around to refute it'? If we spent all our time refuting rumors, we wouldn't need to fight wars; we'd be exhausted to death."

The lieutenant asked, "Then what should we do? Say that this is an individual action by the military and does not represent the official stance?"

"What's the difference between this clarification and no clarification at all?" The commander shook his head vigorously, took some white powder from the refrigerator in the vehicle, and inhaled it forcefully to relieve some of his anxiety. "Do you think saying this will have any effect?"

"...No, then what should we do?"

"What should we do?" The commander chuckled. "Didn't Ikel just tell us that we should 'come up with a solution that will satisfy everyone and actually punish a few people'?"

The lieutenant was nearly frantic. He almost blurted out, "Sir, have you lost your mind?" but he patiently reminded him, "Sir, the problem is, we can't catch Milton's men at all. How are we supposed to execute them?"

Don't even mention that they can't catch them; if they actually do, it's uncertain who will catch whom.

"Why execute Milton's men?" The commander frowned, his tone displeased. "I've said it before, it's easy to spread rumors, but incredibly difficult to refute them. We shouldn't be the ones refuting rumors; we should be the ones spreading them, using rumors to fight rumors, using magic to counter magic."

"what?"

"What we need to do is not execute the culprit, but make people believe that the culprit has been executed," the commander explained impatiently. "I can just pick a few people in the army, shoot them, and announce to the public that the murderer who committed this tragedy has been killed, can't that do it?"

"Don't fall into the self-justification trap."

“Perfect timing. I’ve always disliked Per. That guy doesn’t do much work, yet he wants to take 30% of my drug and arms deals, and he keeps threatening me with it… Let’s take this opportunity to eliminate him!”

The lieutenant was genuinely surprised that this could be done, and he nodded, feigning confusion, "Huh? Oh... is this okay?"

“Why not? Don’t forget you’re part of this deal too.” The commander opened the car door and quickly got out under the cover of the building. “If we take him out, our shares will all increase. Why not?”

To ensure safety and avoid detection by helicopters that might be hovering overhead, they had to move around inside the building after getting off the vehicle, using the building as cover to walk a distance to reach the new command post.

The lieutenant followed along eagerly, saying, "I understand! I completely understand!"

"Oh, and after executing the 'fascists' who infiltrated the army, remember to issue a statement saying that the unit that committed the massacre has been officially discharged and that what they do from now on has nothing to do with the government forces; it's all their personal behavior." The commander added one last point, "so that Milton won't send them out again."

"Roger that!"

"Great, I'll get on with it as soon as I receive it. I don't want to be bothered by this kind of message again tonight."

"..."

……

While Lopez's brilliant subordinates devised a brilliant solution to resolve the crisis, things weren't exactly peaceful on Milton's side either.

The monitoring system has just received a startling piece of intelligence.

The enemy's high command has assigned tasks to the middle ranks to carry out suicide attacks on hospitals, schools, and other locations!

According to the intercepted radio signals, the soldiers who ultimately carried out the mission were unaware of this.

“I was just making a fuss about them, and it turns out they really are?!” Milton laughed in exasperation. “Quickly set up an interception team and make sure we take them out.”

The troops have just captured the hospital, a very important stronghold, and absolutely cannot afford to lose it.

"And schools must also be protected. I need teachers and education now. Schools are just as important as hospitals."

The government forces' desperately devised underhanded tactics were thus neutralized in such a subtle and pervasive way.

They couldn't even imagine that the problem would lie with the radio they owned.

Flora nodded: "We've already made defensive preparations... Now, during the day, our main focus is on consolidating our positions and advancing slowly. Nighttime is when we'll truly be in control."

Milton then asked, "What about those we captured? Have they confessed?"

Those who collude with the Lopez Group must have some intelligence, and they must be able to implicate some people. By following the intelligence layer by layer, they will surely find suitable targets for Milton's taxation.

"Huh? We were so busy beating them that we forgot to ask." Flora joked, then nodded. "We've beaten them enough. I saw a few of them were itching to confess, but we didn't care. Everyone has to be beaten enough before they can talk."

“Not bad…” Milton nodded. “What about Brandon? I asked him to turn the seized drugs into gas chambers. Any progress?”

“It’s ready.” Flora opened the door. “The engineers modified a heavy truck and used a special pipeline to fill the sealed vehicle with poison gas. It can execute 40 people at a time in no more than 3 minutes. It’s right outside. Come on, I’ll show you!”

Not bad, this is much more efficient than execution.

Two minutes later, Milton saw the truck parked outside—it looked very much like a heavy-duty campervan.

Just then, a Type 59-2 tank drove by, its tracks rolling over the road. Its seemingly heavy armor and the tank cannon revealed a drug dealer's corpse hanging beneath it, making it look quite imposing.

Before long, Milton's panel began to receive a series of intelligence notifications—it seemed that the battle was finally over and the enemy was willing to talk.

They were quickly taken to the vicinity of the vehicle-mounted gas chamber, and upon seeing the gas chamber, these people even showed expressions of relief.

"Boss!" Just as Milton was herding these scumbags into the car one by one, Brandon suddenly led a convoy toward them, with several prisoners in the cars. "Boss, these scumbags were captured after we stormed the hospital!"

Milton suddenly realized, and looking at the people who had been kicked off the car, he said, "You now have a chance to give me a reason not to kill you. Don't lie."

The first man immediately looked up and shouted, "I'm just a small businessman! Don't kill me! I had no choice but to cooperate with the government forces... Who can defy them?"

Milton nodded and pressed further, "What kind of business do you do?"

"I just sell small stuff, like ecstasy, cocaine, and stuff like that... Sir, do you need anything? I have 99% rare items here!"

Milton took a deep breath, waved his hand, and, ignoring Milton's screams, ordered him to be taken to the gas chamber.

"next."

"Sir, I just run a clothing business! Please don't kill me!"

Milton asked, "Oh? What clothing business?"

"Indian scalp..."

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of anger appeared in Ismya's eyes. She threw the man into the car, slammed the door shut, and pulled the lever to release the poison gas.

The group of humanoids immediately showed terror, struggled helplessly inside the car, frantically scratching at themselves with their fingers, and finally collapsed to the ground in despair and died.

The screams echoed through the carriage and lingered outside for a long time.

Milton calmly said, "Next."

"Sir, sir!" The man was terrified, and he stammered, "I, I, I..."

He thought for a while, then his eyes lit up.

"I stumbled upon a clue, a clue about Lopez's dirty secret!"

"A clue that his financial situation suddenly improved!"

(End of this chapter)