Ketonli was completely befuddled by Hu Hao's sudden, devastating bombardment. He no longer knew if any of his previous strategic assessments were correct.
Just moments ago, he had been absolutely certain that Hu Hao's goal was live-fire training, leading him to conclude that Hu Hao wouldn't launch a massive offensive. Yet now, Hu Hao was not only attacking but had mobilized his tank divisions for a combined-arms assault.
"Commander, we must request immediate reinforcements! Even a single corps would be enough! He can't possibly have that many troops! Perhaps Late City is completely empty right now, and this is his entire remaining force!" Janlis urged, standing beside Ketonli in the bunker.
"But... but if he wanted to annihilate us, why didn't he bombard us the moment we arrived? Why hasn't he launched a general offensive against Yonghe City?!" Ketonli muttered, still unwilling to accept that his brilliant deductions were flawed.
"Because his troops weren't in position! Hu Hao only had a skeleton crew holding the first defensive line! His main reinforcements just arrived from Late City, which is why he's launching the counter-offensive now! It all makes perfect sense!" Janlis argued, offering a desperately simple explanation.
"Damn it!" Ketonli gripped his head, his mind a chaotic swirl of conflicting theories.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The apocalyptic bombardment outside continued unabated.
Jinhe City had a limited number of subterranean bunkers, and they were currently packed far beyond capacity with the surviving Allied soldiers who had fled the fields. However, thousands more were still trapped outside in the flooded streets and ruined buildings, desperately seeking cover from the relentless rain of high-explosive shells.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the distance, the sharp crack of tank cannons joined the thunder of the artillery. The Eastern Spirit tanks were systematically targeting the structural pillars of the remaining high-rises, collapsing them to deny the Allied infantry any elevated firing positions.
"Report! Eastern Spirit tank divisions are advancing on our sector! They are currently leveling the buildings in their path!
"Once the artillery barrage lifts, their infantry will undoubtedly follow the armor in! Commander, our troops cannot remain bottlenecked inside these bunkers! The Eastern Spirit forces are too close! If they maneuver their tanks to cover the bunker exits, we'll be trapped underground and slaughtered!" a Division Commander burst into the room, shouting over the din.
"Order all units out of the bunkers immediately! Disperse into the rubble and prepare to repel the infantry assault! Move!" Ketonli commanded.
He immediately recognized the danger. If the Eastern Spirit tanks closed the distance—a matter of mere hundreds of meters—they could easily position themselves to fire point-blank into the bunker entrances. The troops huddled inside would be entombed.
"Yes, sir! But... but the artillery is still firing outside!" the Division Commander hesitated.
"They have to go out anyway! Get them out now!" Ketonli roared.
"Yes, sir!" The Division Commander saluted, turned, and sprinted away to herd his terrified men back into the meat grinder.
"Damn it! We don't have enough ammo! How are we supposed to fight without ammo?!"
"Who has extra magazines?! Medics, strip the ammo off the wounded!"
"I need grenades! Did the supply trucks make it?!"
As the Allied soldiers prepared to leave the relative safety of the bunkers, a horrifying realization swept through the ranks: they were critically low on ammunition. When they fled the staging areas to escape the creeping barrage, they had abandoned their vehicles—and with them, the vast majority of their ammunition reserves.
Most of those supply trucks were currently bogged down in the mud outside the city, either burning fiercely or already blown to pieces.
"Everyone out! We'll figure out the ammo situation later! Just get out and secure firing positions!" the junior officers yelled, shoving their men toward the exits.
They knew that if they hesitated and the artillery barrage lifted, the Eastern Spirit tanks would be on them in seconds. If they were still clustered at the bunker entrances when the armor arrived, it would be a massacre.
"Commander, our ammunition reserves are critically low! The vast majority of our munitions were left outside the city! The units are currently redistributing whatever scraps they managed to carry in!" a staff officer reported to Ketonli, his face pale.
"Damn it all!" Ketonli stared at the officer for a long moment, the sheer hopelessness of the situation washing over him, before spitting out a curse.
"Order the troops out immediately! We will dispatch armored personnel carriers to the rear to attempt ammunition recovery once the barrage lifts! Tell the men to find cover and hold the line at all costs!" Janlis ordered the staff officer, stepping in for the paralyzed Ketonli.
"Yes, sir!" The staff officer hurried away.
"Commander, we must call High Command. Our strategic assessment was completely wrong. We need reinforcements immediately! I don't know how long we can hold out under these conditions. Tell them to send whatever they can—even just a tank division would help!" Janlis pleaded, looking at Ketonli.
"Get me the Supreme Commander. He's going to skin me alive," Ketonli closed his eyes and sighed in defeat.
He had called Vostok three times today, each time with a wildly different assessment of the battlefield. It would be a miracle if the Supreme Commander didn't relieve him of command on the spot.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital, Supreme Commander Vostok was currently discussing Ketonli's previous, horrifying theory with his Chief of Staff, Vitali.
"Highly unlikely. Yes, Hu Hao is recruiting heavily, but it's physically impossible to equip and organize seven full corps in a matter of days.
"I estimate Hu Hao commands three corps at most, and they are spread perilously thin across multiple fronts. Regarding the theory that he is using our elite forces for live-fire training... I simply don't buy it. Hu Hao doesn't have the luxury for such games. If he truly possessed overwhelming force, he would have annihilated us long ago. Remember the corps he wiped out previously? Remember the Mara 43rd Corps?
"And what about the Lima Kingdom's 11th Corps? How do you explain those total annihilations? It's not that he doesn't want to annihilate the 1st Corps in Yonghe City; it's that he can't! His Group Army is newly formed; he desperately needs decisive victories to solidify his political standing. If he had the opportunity to wipe out the elite Mara 1st Corps, he would take it without hesitation! The prestige alone would be invaluable!" Vitali argued forcefully, dismissing Ketonli's theory entirely.
"I know. That was my initial assessment as well. But Ketonli is the commander of the Holy Ancient 7th Corps, and he is on the ground facing Hu Hao directly. I place significant weight on the judgment of my frontline commanders!" Vostok defended Ketonli's deduction.
"But I also trust Kelly's judgment! He insists Hu Hao has a substantial force, but certainly not an overwhelming one. Why hasn't Hu Hao launched a general offensive in Yonghe City?
"Because he lacks the troops! He is holed up in Late City, trying to defend against assaults from all four directions! How many troops could he possibly spare to launch an offensive against a fortified heavy corps?
"Furthermore, you know the political situation in the Eastern Spirit Empire. Hu Hao's only responsibility is to fight the battles in front of him. Training raw recruits in the middle of a siege? Haha! Hu Hao isn't stupid enough to undertake such a thankless, risky task! You've heard the reports of Eastern Spirit generals being fragged by their own mutinous troops! Why would Hu Hao risk his life and his command to train unwilling conscripts?
"The Eastern Spirit Empire has billions of citizens. As long as Hu Hao holds out until he links up with the central front forces, he will have an endless supply of pre-trained troops from the rear depots! He doesn't need to train them himself!" Vitali laughed, confident in his analysis.
"That's a fair point. Hu Hao's true objective is likely breaking out to the north! However, if he intends to push north, he must annihilate the 7th Corps first! If he destroys Ketonli's forces, his path to the northeast is clear!
"Your Mara forces are concentrated to the northwest. He could easily bypass you! So why hasn't he launched a decisive strike against the 7th Corps?" Vostok asked, still troubled by the inconsistencies.
"Again, because he likely lacks the troops, or they are still maneuvering into position. The 7th Corps had barely arrived before Ketonli made that wild deduction. I believe it was entirely premature. Perhaps tonight, Hu Hao will launch a massive assault! If that happens, the 7th Corps has squandered a golden opportunity today. It's entirely possible Jinhe City was practically empty this morning!" Vitali stated dismissively.
"Report! General Ketonli is on the line, sir! He says he has critical intelligence to report!" a secretary interrupted, opening the office door.
"Sigh. Put him through," Vostok sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.
If the 7th Corps weren't his own Holy Ancient Empire's elite troops, he would have started screaming. Three calls in one day, demanding the Supreme Commander's personal attention for every slight tactical shift! Did Ketonli think he had nothing else to do?
"Supreme Commander, this is Ketonli. We... we are under massive assault! Our previous assessments were likely completely wrong!
"Their artillery is currently obliterating our occupied sectors, and their infantry and armor are massing for a combined-arms offensive! Once the barrage lifts, their tanks will hit our lines!" Ketonli reported, his voice tight with panic.
"What did you say?!" Vostok bolted upright, his eyes wide.
"Supreme Commander, I am requesting immediate reinforcements! We cannot hold the line! Earlier... earlier, his main forces must not have been in position! But they are here now, and they are hammering us! My corps is suffering catastrophic casualties!" Ketonli yelled over the line.
"You... you are going to be the death of me! Why the hell didn't you confirm the tactical situation before feeding me wild theories earlier?! How long can you hold out?!" Vostok roared in fury, though he immediately asked the critical question.
"Hold out?! I don't even know if we'll survive the night!" Ketonli confessed bleakly.
"You must hold until tomorrow evening! Do you hear me?! I will mobilize armored and mechanized reserves to reinforce your position immediately! But you must hold the line until they arrive!" Vostok screamed into the phone.
(End of Chapter)