Munitions Empire

Inside Dongqing City, at a checkpoint, a few Qin Army soldiers were playing cards out of boredom. This pastime had also been brought over from the Great Tang Empire and was a way to pass time when bored.

In fact, the Tang Army's bombing of Dongqing was mainly concentrated on the airport and other positions outside the city; attacks on the city itself were relatively fewer.

However, looking at the crater left by the bomb on the street and the broken sewer pipes inside, it's clear that war spares no one.

According to Ying An's operational plan, the main force is actually in retreat. But this retreat eventually turned into a rout, something unexpected for the high command of the Qin Army.

The elite forces were retreating, only to be shattered by the enemy's air force halfway, a scenario that had never occurred in previous wars. As for what to do, no one knew.

Ying An also doesn't know; he's currently struggling to use the few forces left in his hands to construct what looks like a relatively strong Dongqing defense line.

Calling it a defense line is actually not accurate, because Dongqing City is already besieged on three sides. Ying An is desperately defending Dongqing, hoping this place can hold out a bit longer within the encirclement.

In terms of supplies, the Qin Army is actually abundant. After all, Dongqing had stored a large amount of supplies meant to support Wang Luo's Northern Cluster Troops. Before these supplies could be transferred, Wang Luo's army collapsed.

So the warehouses in the city are filled with food, cotton clothes, and weapons and ammunition. With these resources, Ying An's troops can hold out for several months even while besieged.

Moreover, since Ying An withdrew a large number of troops, the remaining forces are much fewer than before. With fewer people and more supplies, being besieged isn't actually going to be too miserable under these circumstances.

"What's this war about… All we hear is the sound of planes, haven't seen the enemy, and we're already surrounded," a soldier at the checkpoint played an eight of clubs and complained softly.

Their checkpoint was actually not far from the Supreme Command of the Central Cluster, so there wouldn't be any urgent matters. As the garrison unit for the command, they indeed didn't have any serious tasks. By the time they joined the war? By then, the situation would already be lost...

The officer on duty at the checkpoint played out a ten of spades, flicked some cigarette ash, and puffed out a cloud of choking smoke: "I heard the Commander wants to leave, saying that half of the command staff will leave. The chief of staff, logistics people...all want to run."

In the distance was the sound of the Tang Army bombing outside the city, and the sky was filled with the annoying roar of jet planes. Of course, the air raid alarm had been continuous, but everyone in Dongqing City had already grown accustomed to such nights.

In the past two days, the Tang Army has been conducting large-scale air raids at night, not dropping many bombs, but certainly creating a lot of noise.

"Huh? The General wants to go?" Another soldier heard this for the first time, showing a look of disbelief. He hadn't expected that without even seeing the enemy, their main force was defeated, and even the Commander wants to flee.

"They'll leave; we're the unfortunate ones, stuck here," the officer grunted, putting the cigarette back in his mouth and urging unclearly: "Play a card..."

Before his words fell, the soldier sitting across from him wavered, his head blossoming open like a crimson flower.

Blood splashed onto the officer's face and quickly sprayed all over the four walls of the checkpoint. The body still clutching the cards fell rigidly, hitting the wooden walls of the checkpoint with a dull thud.

The soldier sitting opposite the officer instinctively looked at the comrade whose head exploded, while the soldier across from the head-blown soldier stood up reflexively.

The next second, the standing soldier's head was also pierced by a bullet, another shot penetrated his neck, and with a muffled grunt, he collapsed onto the card table, scattering boards and cards on the ground with a crash.

The officer reached for the checkpoint phone, while the soldier opposite reached for the submachine gun leaning against the checkpoint wall.

From afar came a not-so-clear but crisp sound, unlike gunfire; a bullet rushed out of the darkness, pinning the soldier trying to grab the gun to the checkpoint wall.

Before the soldier could scream, a second bullet flew in, shattering his jaw. From start to finish, he only managed to let out a tiny sound before his blood-soaked head drooped down.

Outside the checkpoint, a Qin Army soldier was struggling in the arms of a strong Tang Army soldier, slapping at the opponent's arm and kicking his legs continuously, yet losing strength bit by bit.

In the darkness, another Tang Army soldier had already sheathed his knife back into the scabbard on his shoulder; beneath him, the neck of the Qin Army soldier who had just relieved himself at the wall corner was gushing with blood, his legs occasionally twitching.

Inside the guard post, the officer's hand had reached the phone, but a sudden voice stopped all his actions: "If I were you, I wouldn't do that."

"I...I surrender." The Qin Country officer didn't have time to worry about the warm blood on his face, stammering for mercy while looking at the man standing at the door.

"All targets silenced, safe!" came the voice of the Tang Army sniper from afar through the headset, with almost no sound from the infantry squad of Qin Army soldiers under the streetlight as they were all resolved.

"Come on, tell me what you know...valuable intelligence," the man at the door made room, his face painted with dark oil paint, obscuring his true appearance. Even the way his weapon was fixed was entirely different from the Qin Army.

Even with his hands free, the rifle that the Qin Army squad leader had never seen hung on the man's chest, ready to be grabbed at any moment, convenient and quick.

On one side of the man's shoulder was a communicator, on the other side a knife, his waist was wrapped in magazines, and the pistol holster wasn't behind the waist but on the side of the thigh.

On his steel helmet was attached a strange device, resembling a binocular but seemingly more complex. Most exaggerated were the wires stuck to the helmet, trailing down the nape, disappearing into the unknown.

For the Qin Army squad leader, the Tang soldier in front of him seemed not to be of this world; the opponent might have come from another void, another world, or a different dimension.

"The command is in the yard ahead! The telecom room is next door, 22 high-powered radios in two buildings... all not started... Ying An is running tomorrow... that's all I know." Raising his hands, the Qin Army squad leader spilled all the valuable intelligence he knew.

As he stepped out of the guard post, an arm extended behind him, the knife in hand gleaming coldly under the streetlight, leaving the poor Qin Army squad leader to clutch his throat and silently struggle on the ground.

"I've known what you know for a long time, sorry, so you have to die," the man said to the Qin Army squad leader at his feet: "Your communications, the code... have long been deciphered. I knew Ying An was leaving today; if he wasn't, we wouldn't have come today."