Shadow Empire

Chapter 758 George's Sense of Participation
The officer looked at the two documents in his hand, his eyes lingering on George and Ian for a moment, his eyes revealing an emotion George couldn't tell.

Hate?

hostility?

Probably something like indifference.

He didn't understand why the officer looked at him so coldly, but the reason was actually very simple.

There is a high probability that they will not come back.

Even if they could survive on the battlefield, it would be difficult for them to report the true situation.

The federal army is still exploring the federal way of fighting. Strategy and tactics are not classroom notes and applications. Every decision often brings consequences that people cannot predict.

This also led to some situations where the generals didn't know what to say, and they were cautious and would think more.

But the more cautious you are, the easier it is to miss opportunities.

It seems like fate is playing a joke on them, making them bold and decisive, but often making wrong decisions.

Therefore, every strategic and tactical arrangement is very difficult.

The top military officials and the Department of Defense have already begun to develop the Federation's operational thinking, strategies and tactics. This is a period of adjustment.

Use the passion and life of young people to integrate.

Every rotation will take away some people. The masters feel that these efforts are worthwhile, because the more they pay now, the less they will lose in the future!
They did not ask the young soldiers whether they were willing to accept such an outcome, nor did they ask them whether they were willing to gamble with their lives for the future of the Federation and their own future.

They are the key to the war, but no one cares about them.

If the power of an individual remains solely the power of an individual, it will have no meaning in front of the country.

There are many undocumented immigrants in the military. Even if they die, they will not have any strong impact on federal public opinion.

The officer found a jeep to take them to the front line. On the way to the front line, George took out twenty dollars and handed it to the driver.

The driver didn't react at first, but when he did, the car speed had slowed down a lot. "What does this mean, sir?"

He didn't reach out to take the twenty dollars. He didn't know what tricks George was playing that he had never seen before.

George put the money directly into the driver's shirt chest pocket and patted it carefully. "Nothing, we just want to find out about the situation at the front."

The driver didn't say anything, but the speed obviously didn't increase. He added, "There are only three of us here. No one knows what happened here. We promise not to say anything."

"I promise, no one told me anything, I just guessed everything!"

These words were spoken sincerely. The driver glanced at him and said in a low voice, "What do you want to know?"

George pursed his lips and asked, "How many of us have died in the war so far?"

The driver shook his head. “I don’t know.”

"You don't know either?" Ian couldn't help but ask.

The driver also looked at him, "Why do I have to know?"

"We lost about 30,000 men when we were setting up the defense line... over there, but the troops were replenished and dispersed after the attack. We don't know the exact situation."

"After every battle, there are some casualties, and new soldiers will come in soon. It is impossible for us to know every new soldier."

Although they didn't know the exact data, the fact that 30,000 people died in the defense phase alone was enough to make George feel cold in his heart.

Because in the official reports, they only mentioned "thousands of people", but in reality the number may be ten times higher!
More than 20,000 sacrificed soldiers were artificially "hidden", which is a crime!
Even their families didn’t know what had happened at this point, nor did they know that they had lost their own family members!

Such bureaucracy!

Ian didn't expect there would be so many casualties. He seemed a little silent. He also knew that the numbers might not be accurate, but he didn't expect so many would be hidden!
This also means that the Federation does not actually have an advantage, even though they have been winning!
"A shameful victory!" George commented.

The driver grinned and said nothing.

In fact... for these soldiers, whether ten thousand people died, one hundred thousand people died, or one million people died, it would not feel much.

All they could feel was how many new recruits there were in their company this time, maybe twenty or thirty. So in their minds, the real casualties were only these twenty or thirty people.

As for the rest, they behave exactly like the generals here, they are just numbers to them!

George asked more about the situation on the front line. Now the two sides were fighting a tug-of-war over two hills.

If the Federation can capture the two hills, then continuing eastward will be downhill all the way, giving them a greater advantage in battle.

If they could not seize control of these two hills, their subsequent offensive plans would be seriously hampered.

The federal military's grand strategy had completely split from that of the Slads, and they were executing their own battle plan, not the Slads'.

The top military officials, the Ministry of Defense, Congress, and the Presidential Office all realized that this was actually an important opportunity that would allow them to embrace war again after half a century!

Taking this high ground will affect the entire strategy and demonstrate the Federation's value in this war. Only then can we gain more benefits, have more say, and have a higher status after the war!

It's all about the Federation!
As the vehicle approached the foot of the mountain, the sound of artillery fire could be heard. The two peaks did not look very high, but when we really got to the foot of the mountain, we could clearly sense that they were not short at all.

It is at least 700 to 800 meters above sea level, and there are some tents on the gentle slope. The two sides are now in a crazy tug of war over the hilltop. Shells keep falling on the hilltop, and there are continuous gunshots and shouting. Coming here is like entering another world!
Wounded soldiers were constantly being dragged down from the car, and soldiers who had rested kept rushing back up. After the driver stopped the car and briefly handed over the goods to an officer, he left the two men behind and drove away.

He didn't want to stay here. What if he was suddenly called up to die?
The officers at the front arranged two soldiers to protect George and Ian. They did not stop and asked to go directly to the front line.

The officer just glanced at them sideways and agreed, wishing them good luck.

There were no corpses to be seen along the way, but the ground was covered with blood mixed with the soil, and the road leading to the top of the mountain was dark red.

There were continuous sounds of gunfire and artillery fire. Just when they were two-thirds of the way there, there was suddenly a loud cheer from the hillside. George opened his eyes wide, looking for something, and took out his camera at the same time.

The soldier who was responsible for protecting them shouted in surprise, "It's shot down!"

"Hurry, hurry up!"

George shouted and started to speed up with his things on his back. Ian followed closely behind him. After running for a while, the two began to pant. Fortunately, two soldiers occasionally helped them.

After more than ten minutes, the two finally reached the top of the mountain.

The top of the hill is actually... very bald. There is a fortification here that has been blown up. The concrete, at least half a meter thick, has been cracked and collapsed in many places.

Above the ruined building, the federal flag was erected.

The soldiers all seemed a little excited, but it was clear that the battle was not over yet, and they needed to hold out here against at least one or two waves of enemy counterattacks.

Their pressure will only be reduced when subsequent support troops continue to come up and then launch an attack down the mountain.

George was panting when he was almost at the top of the mountain. Just when a smile of "reaching the summit" appeared on his face, suddenly the soldier next to him pressed his head to the ground.

Before he could even ask what was happening, he heard a series of explosions!
The enemy's artillery units began to bombard the hill. They tried to drive the federal troops off the hill by bombardment, just as the federals had done before.

Shells flew across the sky, and no one knew where they would land.

Maybe far away, some soil and grass were blown up in the distance.

Maybe it's right beside you...

George had never felt such fear before!

He held his head and lay flat on the ground, but even so, he was hit by something on his back, which hurt badly. This round of shelling lasted for about ten minutes. When there were no more shells, the sound of machine guns in the fortifications on the top of the mountain began to sound, and the enemy began to counterattack!

George was eager to take some real close-up shots. He shook his head to shake off the sand and gravel, then turned to look at the soldiers beside him and was stunned for a moment.

Then his face turned pale with fear, because the soldiers around him were dead.

A piece of shrapnel happened to tear into his shoulder blade, exposing his flesh and internal organs.

Looking at his eyes that were still open, George suddenly felt a shudder. He urinated a little and then held it.

He got up in horror and looked around.

There were many corpses lying in a disorderly manner, some of which were just lying there quietly with no visible injuries.

There are also some corpses whose death makes people feel extremely uncomfortable.

For a moment his mind was blank, and the only sound in the world seemed to be his own breathing.

Some soldiers climbed up and rushed directly to the fortifications and joined the defensive operations, including the surviving soldier who escorted Amen up.

Ian also climbed up. He looked at the scene around him and was as shocked as George, speechless.

There are at least dozens of corpses lying here. The entire mountain is not just this small area. How many people died in other places?
Just one round of shelling!

Life seems ridiculous and insignificant in war.

The two men looked at each other and walked silently towards the ruined fortifications. They were exchanging fire with the Dantra people on the other side of the hillside.

George took out his camera and looked for a place where soldiers were shooting.

He was photographing a machine gunner who was firing at the dense forest below the mountain, and George pointed the camera at his face.

He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, his beard was just fuzz, and his face had a determined expression that didn't match his age.

While those rich kids were still driving yachts and playing with girls, he became a qualified machine gunner, killing enemies for the benefit of the Federation on a battlefield far away from his family!
The filming lasted less than ten seconds, and suddenly the young machine gunner raised his head.

Before George could react, the soldiers around him kicked his body to the side, and he fell backwards.

The soldier next to him cursed "Fuck", then quickly grabbed his body and grasped the handle of the machine gun that he was holding tightly.

The muzzle of the machine gun had flown into the sky. He pulled the soldier's hand away from the machine gun handle and then kicked him away from the gap.

Then, he turned over, grabbed the handle again, and started firing at the enemy who was approaching below.

There was no fear on his face, only anger!
Intense, unrelieved anger!
He turned all his fears, sorrows and joys into nutrients for his anger, nourishing his anger to an incomparable degree!

Another soldier came over and started connecting the ammunition belt, while also staring at him.

If he is also shot, the soldier holding the ammunition belt will take his place and continue shooting.

The whole process may only take seven or eight seconds to complete the replacement. Everyone is doing their own job. They are like a precision instrument that can operate automatically without human intervention.

Seeing this scene, George was silent. Perhaps each of them was mentally prepared to not be able to leave, so they could be so brave and throw away their personal greed for life to fight here!
He found a suitable position where no one had fired a gun before and started shooting at the bottom of the hill.

Among those woods, there were densely packed people holding weapons. They were climbing up with great effort, and one of them kept falling down suddenly and rolling down.

The two parties may never have met each other in their lives and have no deep hatred between them, but the moment they meet is the moment of life and death.

At this moment, George felt as if he had undergone some kind of sublimation!

The battle lasted for about ten minutes. When the second round of shelling arrived, the entire fortification was shaking and pieces of concrete kept falling from above.

The soldiers also tried their best to protect themselves and hid themselves behind cover. He looked at the soldier closest to him, and the soldier also looked at him.

The soldier held his weapon with an unusually calm look in his eyes, which even gave George a feeling that he was deserting his post!
The two men looked at each other, but not at each other, because the focus of the soldier's eyes was not on him, but on him. This was why he felt that the soldier was deserting.

The bombardment continued. After occupying the hill, the federal artillery was of no help and they could only endure it.

There was a sound of collapse nearby, accompanied by screams. He leaned over to take a look and saw that a section of the concrete room had collapsed, burying possibly several people, or more.

They did not die immediately, but were still screaming in the ruins.

The soldier who had deserted with a gun came to his senses, raised his weapon, and pulled the trigger coldly and ruthlessly at a soldier with a eager expression on his face.

The bang made George react. He pushed the soldier and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"He's still alive!"

The soldier just glanced at him and shook his head, "He won't survive."

Then he stopped talking.

George was silent again.

The shelling lasted for more than ten minutes and then stopped again. The enemy troops on the hillside were closer, almost right in front of them, only thirty or forty meters away at most!

The two sides exchanged fierce fire again. At this moment, George felt an emotion that he couldn't describe boiling up.

After he fixed the camera in a position, he picked up the weapon from the dead soldier.

He had hunted before and knew how to use weapons. Then, under the astonished gaze of the soldiers, he found a position and started shooting at the enemies outside.

Semi-automatic rifles, apart from being a bit troublesome to load, feel good to shoot, and are therefore the choice of soldiers.

He kept aiming and pulling the trigger. He was not sure whether the fallen enemies were shot by him, he just knew that he had to do it.

Suddenly, several pieces of concrete flew from the wall and stabbed his cheek. He quickly changed his position and continued shooting.

The camera recorded everything faithfully!
Just as the enemy was about to attack the top of the mountain again, reinforcements arrived from behind. An entire company came to this small area.

George relaxed a little. He slumped down in the corner, watching the new soldiers start to exchange fire with expressionless faces. He didn't know what was going on in his mind for a moment.

He stayed at the front line for a full week and roughly figured out the military's plan.

Because Slade was losing ground, in order to reverse the situation, it was necessary to curb the Dantra people's advancing mechanical forces.

Going down this hill is the enemy's supply line. If the supply line is cut off, the enemy troops fighting on the front line will have no supplies and will soon be surrounded and wiped out.

Devouring this part of the mechanical troops will have a more direct impact on the current battle situation, and it can even be said that it will reverse the situation to a certain extent!

The Slads did not quite agree with this idea, because it was not convenient for mechanized troops to pass through this hill, as part of it was very steep.

In other words, even if we capture the hill, only lightweight troops can pass through. Are we using our flesh and blood to fight against mechanical troops?

Not to mention the officers disagreed, the soldiers also disagreed.

However, the federal military believes that the plan is feasible and highly executable.

After a week of struggle, they finally occupied the hilltop firmly, and with the support of a steady stream of follow-up reinforcements, they began to launch an offensive down the hillside.

Standing on the top of the mountain, feeling the restless summer wind and looking at the land dyed red with blood, this year, this forest will definitely be extra lush!
He didn't know what "every inch of land is paid for with blood" meant, but he knew that every inch of land was gained with the lives of the soldiers.

He didn't know whether it was worth doing so, he just wanted to report these things in a fair tone.

Let the readers be the judge.

(End of this chapter)