Shadow Empire

Chapter 747 The Price and Purpose of Victory
I don't know why, but it's easy to feel sleepy in a shaking car.

Some scientists say that this is because the frequency of the car body or tire vibration matches a certain switch in the human body, which amplifies fatigue and causes people to start feeling sleepy.

Some scientists also say that slight bumps and shakes are like a cradle in childhood, which can cause people to form conditioned reflexes in their subconscious mind that have been developed over the years, causing them to start feeling sleepy.

But no matter whether they were right or not, or whether it was true or not, many soldiers began to feel sleepy.

Life in the trenches always made it difficult to sleep, as we were always worried that the enemy would attack, so everyone slept very lightly.

It might only take one or two gunshots to wake someone up, and then they won't be able to fall asleep again.

Stress, anxiety, even depression.

If it weren't for that wine, I really don't know what I would do with this damn life!
Boll took out a hook, hung it on the beam of the troop carrier's canopy, then half-leaned and closed his eyes.

He planned to take a nap before arriving at the designated location.

I woke up too early in the morning and now I sleep so well.

There were already some snoring sounds around. Perhaps the biggest change for the young people here after they went to the battlefield was that they were really sleepy. Even if shells fell around them, as long as they didn't explode, they would not wake up.

Whether they wake up or not depends on their sense of security. When they feel safe, the sound of artillery fire is just a lullaby for them to sleep and have good dreams.

When they feel insecure, even the creaking sound of a wooden stepping stone in the trench being stepped on may wake them up.

The shaking car, the snoring of comrades, and more people trying to find ways to rest.

The driver drove the troop carrier somewhat roughly. He looked back and cursed a few words, but it did not affect the people behind him.

Boll had a dream in which they won the battle, and the entire war.

Finally, he stood in the capital of the Republic of Dantra and personally planted the federal flag on the Prime Minister's Office building.

After returning to the Union, he retired as an officer and found a very good job. He met a beautiful nurse, married her, started a family, and had children.

When he was old, he would lie in his recliner, holding the photo that shocked the world, and tell his children how he raised the Confederate flag.

He laughed heartily, full of pride, but he didn't know why. When he looked at the children and grandchildren around him, their faces were blurry.

Just as he was rubbing his eyes and trying hard to see what these people looked like, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his ears.

It's gunfire!
He turned his head and looked confusedly towards the place where the gunshot came from, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The noisy environment and the terrified sound of "enemy attack" filled his ears, vibrating every nerve in his body.

The next second, he woke up completely. It was too late for him to curse. He could see a layer of blood on the glass of the cab and the truck crashed into the woods on the slope beside the road.

There were screams of fear all around, followed by a loud bang, no fire, only a small amount of smoke, and the car stopped.

All the people in the truck rolled into a ball, and some of them screamed, "My bones are broken."

Because Boll hung himself on the frame of the canopy, he was not "thrown" together like the panels like the others. He took a deep breath, glanced at the soldiers who were getting up, lowered himself, and jumped out of the truck.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

"Counterattack, counterattack quickly!"

There are gunshots all around!
Their battle plan was discovered and the enemy ambushed them halfway.

Paul didn't want to know what went wrong. It had nothing to do with him. Someone would be judged for it. He just wanted to survive.

If possible, he wants to survive with more brothers!

He crawled on the ground, and had a brief problem with his ability to recognize everything in his sight. When he caught his breath a little, he saw the enemies starting to emerge from the woods on the other side.

The two sides began fighting around the road.

The speed of troop carriers is faster than tanks and infantry vehicles. These heavy firepower are still behind and it will take at least 20 to 30 minutes for them to arrive. We can't rely on them and they can only fight on their own.

After pulling the bolt and opening the safety, Boll aimed at an enemy with the sight and pulled the trigger. He pulled it once and paused so that the muzzle would not fly into the sky due to the recoil.

The enemy's firepower covered quickly. He just fired a few shots and suddenly heard the "tongtongtong" sound of machine gun fire.

He crawled on the ground tightly, and the surrounding mud was blown up, along with the green grass leaves, flying everywhere!

The enemy's machine gunner also took into account the troop carrier that had not overturned. The machine gun bullets easily penetrated its iron guardrails which had no defense in the first place. The soldiers who had just stood up and had not yet figured out what was happening soon fell back into the vehicle.

They hadn't even figured out where the enemy was.

Boll was in a very strange state. He fought mechanically, doing what he did in every battle. He read the manual carefully and even pulled out two grenades and threw them out.

The exchange of fire came very quickly and was very sudden, but it ended just as quickly. In less than fifteen minutes, the other side withdrew on their own initiative.

Only until the follow-up mechanical troops caught up did Bol dare to stand up down the slope.

The first thing he did was to look at the truck bed, where more than a dozen bodies were lying, three of whom were from his class.

In the morning they were still chatting about the uncertain future, and a few hours later, the three of them became corpses.

The two recruits were so scared that they couldn't even hold their guns steadily.

Soon the officers began to check the casualties. They killed more than a hundred people, but more than three hundred were killed. The company commander's face turned green.

The original plan was to launch a surprise attack, but now it seems that the opponent must have been prepared, and the next battle will become more difficult.

Everyone simply cleaned up the battlefield and the bodies were thrown onto troop carriers to be transported to the rear.

There is a high probability that they will not be sent back to the country, and only their ashes will be sent back, because the federal government currently has no intention of actually revealing how many people have died.

This number will make people lose confidence in the war, and they will only announce it bit by bit.

The priest accompanying the army looked a little funny wearing a helmet, but he was always calming people down. He helped the frightened recruits overcome their fear.

In the words of the old priest, people will die anyway.

When we die of old age, we will be judged to decide whether we go to heaven or hell.

If you sacrifice your life now for the good of your country, you will definitely go to heaven when you die!

In a word, if you die, you gain. Those who are still alive should be worried. Maybe they will go to hell in the future if they can survive to the end!
These things are indeed somewhat useful. Some recruits quickly got over their fear, but it is certainly impossible for them to be completely well all at once. However, they have tried their best to adapt.

There are others who are not convinced.

For these people, as long as they don't run away and don't disrupt the plan, the officers don't care whether they die on the battlefield in fear or die on the battlefield without any regrets like the old soldiers.

But if they tried to escape, they would surely be greeted by bullets from their own people.

This time the troop carriers did not continue to advance quickly, but coordinated with the tanks and infantry vehicles, and their actions had to be more cautious.

The two recruits were still shivering. After glancing at them, Boll took the initiative to walk over, took out his small bottle of wine, and motioned for them to take a sip.

The spicy taste made the two recruits' faces turn red instantly, and Boll took a sip himself.

Golden Lion wine is really strong!

He pursed his lips and screwed the lid on. "Don't think too much. The more you fear death, the more likely you are to make mistakes on the battlefield."

"If you make a mistake in the barracks, the instructor will at most whip you, but if you make a mistake on the battlefield, the only thing you can get is a bullet."

He patted their cheeks and said, "Come on like a man. Even if you are, you have to kill one of them before you die. Do you understand?"

The two recruits didn't say anything. Boll was a little annoyed and slapped them each in the face, "Are you cowards?" The eyes of all the people around were focused on them. The eyes of those people were like thorns, making them embarrassed.

After all, they are young people, full of courage, and they can't bear it once they are provoked.

"We are not cowards!"

Paul nodded, "Very good, prove it to me later!"

He paused and said, "There is wine in your supply packs. If you don't drink it..."

"Report to the commander, let's drink!"

Boll laughed and cursed, "Keep it up."

When he said to keep going, he meant maintain the spirit of not giving up and of resistance. Don't be a coward, don't be a wimp!

This was just a small episode. The ambush here has been reported to the command center, and they quickly fed back the news. The plan remains unchanged.

The pace of the march picked up again and they got back on the truck.

The bloodstains in the truck bed had not been cleaned up and there was a strong fishy smell.

Someone grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it on the blood, then stomped on it and rubbed it back and forth, which felt a little better.

At 5:15, they barely arrived at the designated location, but because they had been exposed, the next step was to storm rather than attack.

The enemy's defense line has been established, it's just a simple direction. You can see temporary fortifications made of sandbags. Although it's a bit difficult, it won't be too difficult.

They have tanks and infantry vehicles, so the chances are still great.

As the artillery positions in the rear began to show their power, artillery shells began to attack the enemy positions.

The shrieking sound tearing through the air was like the laughter of death, and enemies continued to die from the bombardment.

They are actually just mortals like the federals, and there is nothing to be afraid of.

The battle began. Boll began to advance with a tank in accordance with the company's requirements. Their main job was to prevent enemy soldiers from getting close to the tanks.

And when necessary, attack the bunkers or fortifications at close range, or pave the way for the tanks to continue their advance.

The battlefield was full of flying bullets. Appearing on the battlefield as an attacker for the first time gave Boll a feeling he had never experienced before.

Greater pressure, greater fear, but he can't retreat now, the only thing he can do is move forward!
The fighting on the front battlefield was even more brutal, and every meter of advance would cost many lives.

When collective consciousness dominated individual consciousness, they had forgotten their fear and rushed forward one after another!
The battle lasted until after nine o'clock in the evening, with flares constantly rising to illuminate the battlefield.

Although the enemy responded from the side, it still took several hours for them to obtain the intelligence and for the federal troops to arrive, so they had no time to respond.

There was not even enough time to withdraw troops!
The strong attack launched by the federals on their "main battlefield" involved a large number of troops. The soldiers on the flank fought desperately until nearly 9:40, when they were finally all defeated!
The battle was not over when Boer and the main force rushed into the enemy camp and shot and killed all the enemies.

They also need to move south and continue to exert pressure on the battlefield from the flank.

Just this one line is not that difficult.

Some simple fortifications could not stop their advance at all, and the Dantra coalition soon realized that not only had their plan to put pressure on the Slade people through the flank battlefield failed, but they were also hit by a sneak attack by the Federals.

As a result, some changes also occurred on the real main battlefield, and these changes triggered the battle on the main battlefield ahead of schedule.

The Slads shouted various slogans and launched a charge on the enemy's positions at the call of the charge. The federal troops also began to move closer to the main battlefield, forming a pincer attack.

The front-line commander of the Dantra coalition decisively made the correct deployment and began to strategically adjust and shift backwards. After leaving some troops to hold back the main force of the Slad people, the other troops had already retreated.

The fighting around this spot essentially came to a halt, with the Union troops moving into the main battlefield, where it was completely killed off before daybreak.

It was early in the morning, and the sky was dim. This is how it is during daylight saving time, with long days and short nights.

The sky was already turning white at five in the morning, and the battlefield was filled with the cheers of the soldiers. After the Dantra coalition's overwhelming advance, they finally stopped one of their routes.

This is a huge victory!

Bol looked at the cheering Slad people, but he actually couldn't understand that feeling, because behind them was not the Federation, not their families, and this was not their land.

He didn't understand the significance of the Federation's intervention in this war. At this moment, he didn't want to figure it out, because whether he understood it or not, it was still meaningless.

He found a spot, sat down on his knees, and placed his weapon within easy reach.

Then he lit a cigarette, slowly tilted his head back and took a puff.

The thick smell of smoke seemed to cover up the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield. He tilted his head to look at the corpses all over the ground and the blood sticking to the soles of his shoes. There was no sense of sacred mission, glory, or excitement in his mind.

There is only the calmness of "surviving again".

He took out the small bottle, shook it a few times, and then drank the little remaining wine in one gulp.

Fuck the war!

In the Presidential Palace, the manors and big mansions in the suburbs of Xinjin City, people have already received the news from the front line and are toasting and singing in surprise!

A victory on the offensive end will completely suppress all the negative aspects of this period.

They don't care how many people died or whether the casualty ratio has been reduced to an appropriate level. They only care about this victory that was completely dominated by the federal army!

Having a large number of troops participating in a battle does not necessarily mean that one will become the one with the final say in the military alliance.

Some countries do not have many troops participating in the war, but their combat effectiveness is extremely strong, and they often have more say in the distribution of interests than the Federation.

Although the Federation has joined this military alliance, they have not yet proven themselves, so it will be difficult for them to become the leader of this military alliance as Congress and the President want.

If they cannot become the leaders of a military alliance and the makers of the future world order, what is the point of their participating in this war?
Therefore, this offensive war must be fought, and victory must be achieved. No matter how many people are sacrificed, at this moment, their sacrifice is valuable!

Of course not for those who have sacrificed, but for those who are still alive.

For the gentlemen!
In the rear area of ​​the homeland, another invisible war is about to unfold, a civil war, an internal diplomatic war.

It only won a war, but the federal government can demand more respect from the international community and a higher status in the international community.

Everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, but it always makes people feel a little uncomfortable.

Lance had already boarded the train back to Golden Harbor City. With his intervention, some cooperation was reached between the State Police Department and the State Prohibition Committee.

For example, when local contraband management agencies lack support or consider the possibility that the law enforcement system has been infiltrated, they can directly ask the state police for help.

If the state police are tight-lipped about some legal approvals, they can also go through special channels from local hazardous materials management bureaus or even from the state prohibition committee and get legal approval on the spot.

This will greatly promote the work of both parties. Of course, the only one who can do this now is Lance, and no one else can do it.

It is conceivable that the prohibition situation in the entire state will soon reach a new level, and no one will be spared, no matter how big or small, except those authorized by Lance.

It is worth mentioning that Golden Lion wine is more popular on the battlefield because its alcohol content is slightly higher than other wines, making it more useful whether for soothing wounds caused by war or for disinfection.

There were even cases where some soldiers exchanged other brands of wine and cigarettes for Golden Lion wine, which gradually established the status and influence of Golden Lion wine among the soldiers.

Not long after Lance returned to Jingang City, he heard the news from Sumuli.

The two men he sent, as well as the bodies of Alberto and Fortis, were thrown into the sea by Christopher and eventually disappeared...

(End of this chapter)