binnovel Chapter 232 Battle Situation
Chapter 232 Battle Situation
After noon, according to the reconnaissance unit's report, the zombies had retreated and there had been no further unusual activity. Li Chenglong allowed the soldiers to take this opportunity to rest, maintain their weapons, and replenish necessary supplies. Many soldiers simply rested in the fortifications after finishing their work.
In the afternoon, the first wave of fighting in the Central Theater Command also ended. Reportedly, casualties were considerable, but the zombies were successfully repelled. Li Chenglong, Wei Jing, and Gao Shixin, the military commanders responsible for guarding the southern defense line, held a video conference, each reporting on their achievements and exchanging information about their encounters with the zombies.
Wei Jing said seriously, "I didn't expect the zombies to be so powerful this time. To be honest, when I first saw such strong zombies, I almost wanted to run away. The vanguard of the various enemies we encountered here numbered 100,000, including more than 1000 of them level 7 or above, and no less than 20,000 of them level 8 or above. Fortunately, with the help of Brother Li and our efforts, most of our soldiers were equipped with Type 20 rifles. In addition, with the energy rifles we had ordered, we were finally able to inflict a great blow on the zombies. Even so, we still suffered more than 3500 casualties, and this is only the first day."
Gao Shixin was also in low spirits: "We encountered the largest zombie army here, no less than 13. The number of level 7 and above is about the same as that of Commander Wei. Thanks to the newly equipped energy rifles and crystal swords, plus our slightly higher combat strength, our losses were not as great as those of Commander Wei, but we still suffered more than 3000 casualties."
Li Chenglong said, "Actually, it was all about the same. Although we didn't have many zombies on the main battlefield, a sizable zombie force tried to ambush our flank. Fortunately, the three regiments in the northern part of Yichun City held us off in layers and fought a hard-fought battle, which repelled the enemy. All units suffered more than 2000 casualties."
Gao Shixin said, "I feel that we can't fight like this. Right now, we're just huddled in a defensive position, fighting the zombie army to the death. We can't afford this kind of war of attrition. Apart from the troops left behind and the forces responsible for guarding the coast, we only have about 100,000 people in total. But the zombies? I conservatively estimate there are 700,000 to 800,000. That's a ratio of one to seven. The vast majority of our soldiers are still ordinary people. Although we can kill level 6 zombies with our crystal rifles, once the enemy gets close, in hand-to-hand combat, dozens of our ordinary soldiers can't even kill a level 4 zombie, let alone a level 6 one."
Wei Jing added, "Yes, and zombies don't get tired, but our soldiers can't. Even if the superhumans can withstand it, they only make up a small part of the force. The vast majority are ordinary soldiers. In this high-intensity combat environment, they quickly experience both mental and physical fatigue, which greatly affects their combat capabilities. With such a huge disparity in troop strength and individual soldier quality, it would be too difficult to continue holding out."
Li Chenglong said with a wry smile, "We had already discussed these difficulties in our previous combat meeting. It can only be said that we, the Sea Lions, underestimated the difficulties at the time. The situation we encountered today can be said to have sounded an alarm for us. We can't do anything about the gap in individual soldier quality. Although those ordinary zombies can't release superpowers, their attributes will also increase as their level increases. We can only make up for this gap through weapons."
He continued, "The second issue is that we definitely have to defend our positions. I understand everyone's thoughts; holding them to the death will indeed cause us huge damage. However, if you study the map, you'll find that we don't have enough depth for strategic maneuvers. And ahead lies a zombie-infested land; it's not a wise choice for us to rush in. But I still suggest that you retreat your positions a little north, to the Lishui-Wenzhou area to set up defenses. But you can't retreat all at once; you can retreat while fighting."
Wei Jing said, "That's good too. When we set up the defensive line before, we were too simplistic and pushed the positions too far forward. If we slowly retreat to the Lishui and Wenzhou area, then we will be basically on the same level as your positions. This way, the troops from our three bases can support each other, which will also be beneficial for the battle."
After deciding on the new battle line, Wei Jing and Gao Shixin immediately jointly requested instructions from Sun Tianlong. Sun Tianlong then forwarded their request to Chen Guoqiang. After discussing with some high-ranking officials, General Chen Guoqiang agreed to the withdrawal of troops from the Qingshui and Feiyun bases to form a new defensive line. At the same time, General Chen Guoqiang also ordered the troops in the central theater of operations in Nanhu Province to withdraw slightly, thus forming a defensive position that was almost in a straight line from west to Jishou City and east to Wenzhou City.
However, Li Chenglong and the others also understood that this was the last line of defense. If this line of defense was breached by the zombie army, they would flood into the bases that were undefended due to the fighting outside, causing great harm.
After the meeting, Li Chenglong, Feng Tian, and Zheng Yong prepared to inspect the position and relay the high command's decision. Although the decision was meaningless to them—only Zheng Aiguo's troops needed to retreat to the central part of Yingtan City—Li Chenglong could confidently pull back the troops that had been defending the Dawn Army's flank to bolster the strength of the main force once a straight battle line was formed.
The three men, accompanied by only a guard platoon, began patrolling the position. After a morning of fierce fighting, the soldiers were quite tired, and most were taking the time to rest, while some were checking their weapons and ammunition. They could also see many logistics support personnel carrying military supplies onto the position.
After surveying the area for a while, Li Chenglong saw a soldier wiping his Type 20 crystal rifle ahead. Surprisingly, only his right arm was still intact; his left arm was missing its sleeve. Li Chenglong frowned and walked over. "I should have a rule that all seriously wounded soldiers must return to the rear to recuperate and are not required to participate in the subsequent battles. Why are you still on the front line?"
The soldier was concentrating on cleaning his gun when he suddenly heard someone speaking. He turned around and saw that it was none other than Commanders Li Chenglong, Zheng Yong, and Feng Tian. He immediately stood up and gave a standard military salute: "Reporting to Commander Li, Political Commissar Zheng Yong, and Chief of Staff Feng, someone called me back, but I don't think I'm seriously wounded. The temporary medical battalion led by Comrades Li Xue and Yang Liu has already treated me."
After saying this, he put down his rifle, rolled up his left sleeve with his right hand, revealing a small section of his mutilated left arm: "The wound has healed completely, it doesn't hurt at all. In this battle, we all sacrificed ourselves. I promised our platoon leader that as long as I'm on the position, our platoon will stay on the position, so I absolutely cannot leave. Commanders, please let me continue fighting." This soldier looked to be only twenty-one or twenty-two years old, his face still showing signs of youth, and his eyes reddened as he spoke.
Li Chenglong and his two companions, along with the guards behind them, stood at attention and saluted him. Li Chenglong walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Then I can't let you be on the battlefield. You are the only one left in your platoon, the hope of your platoon. There are still new battles to come. The future of the Dawn Army and Dawn City still needs you to witness for the soldiers of your platoon. So you have to live well."
Li Chenglong immediately said, "Zheng Yong, please take this opportunity this afternoon to have someone check all the positions to see if there are any more of these situations. Anyone who is unable to fight well due to disability should be forcibly reassigned to the rear." Zheng Yong nodded, "Okay, I will personally lead the team to handle this matter." After saying that, he left.
Li Chenglong and Feng Tianyou continued their inspection, discovering some problems along the way and promptly pointing them out for correction. Through Zheng Yong's efforts, they found over a hundred disabled soldiers, and, according to Li Chenglong's instructions, sent them to the rear base.