Huan Xingtao and the veterans drove their APCs directly into the breach. However, the skies above the gap were swarming with Allied attack helicopters—gunships specifically designed to hunt and destroy armor. Realizing the danger, Huan Xingtao ordered the infantry to dismount immediately, while he stayed behind the wheel, maneuvering the APC as his gunner unleashed the heavy machine gun at the sky.
"Good! Which unit is that charging the breach?" Zone Commander Jiang Kai, observing the battle from a distance, immediately asked when he saw fresh forces hit the line.
"Report! We're not sure yet! Their vehicles are newly scavenged, so we can't identify their unit markings from here! However, based on their uniforms, they appear to be from the 27th Corps. The 27th doesn't have many men left; it looks like they've committed everything they have!" a senior staff officer replied.
"It has to be the 27th. Hu Hao must be with them. Listen to those rapid, successive explosions ripping through the river—those are hand grenades. Only Hu Hao can throw them like that," Jiang Kai said, his expression deadly serious as he watched the distant fireworks.
"I pray to God they can plug that gap. If they don't, this entire army is finished. It won't matter how many men we have left; we will all be slaughtered."
Jiang Kai had absolutely no reserves left to deploy. He had been screaming for reinforcements all day, but they were still nowhere to be seen. He had no way to plug the breach himself; all he could do now was leave it to fate.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Hu Hao moved with terrifying speed. By now, almost all the soldiers along this stretch of the line recognized him. Whenever Hu Hao arrived at a sector, the Allied forces attempting to cross the river suffered catastrophic casualties. His relentless grenade barrages devastated the enemy, instantly relieving the crushing pressure on the Imperial defenders.
"KILL THEM!" Inspired by Hu Hao's brutal assault, many of the Imperial officers roared, rallying their men. In these trenches, rank had lost its meaning. It wasn't uncommon to see Brigadier Generals—and even Lieutenant Generals—gripping rifles and fighting desperately on the front line alongside the privates.
"Hu Hao! Hu Hao, push forward! Don't worry about this sector, we'll hold it!" a voice suddenly yelled over the din.
Hu Hao turned and was stunned to see Corps Commander Li Tianyuan. The General and his personal Guard Battalion were entrenched in the mud, firing their weapons at the river.
"Commander?! What are you doing down here?!" Hu Hao yelled in shock.
"Go! Every single General is on the line! Go plug the breach!" Li Tianyuan roared back.
"Understood!" Hu Hao yelled. Gripping his sack of grenades, he and his ammo carriers sprinted toward the collapsing sector.
"Brothers, GIVE THEM HELL!" Li Tianyuan screamed, firing his rifle as he watched Hu Hao charge into the fray.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battlefield was an unbroken cacophony of explosions. The Allied artillery never stopped firing, raining shells down on the Imperial positions and inflicting horrific casualties on Hu Hao's comrades.
The only saving grace was that the Allied heavy bombers had been forced to withdraw. A massive dogfight was raging overhead as the Imperial and Allied air forces viciously contested air superiority. Without the skies secured, the heavy bombers couldn't operate safely, leaving the outcome of the battle entirely in the hands of the ground troops.
When Hu Hao reached the breach, Huan Xingtao and his men were pinned down under heavy fire. The Allied forces were pouring toward the gap, launching wave after wave of heavily loaded assault boats across the water.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The moment Hu Hao arrived, he didn't hesitate. He pulled pins and began hurling grenades directly at the riverbank where the Allied forces were attempting to establish a beachhead.
Because the Allied soldiers had no cover on the sandy shore, they were forced to simply charge forward while firing. Hu Hao's airburst grenades caught them completely exposed. Explosions detonated right above their heads, shredding the charging infantry and leaving the survivors utterly disoriented by the sudden, devastating bombardment.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Seeing the Allied troops on the bank pinned down and unable to advance, Hu Hao immediately shifted his aim, hurling his explosives out over the water toward the incoming boats.
"Grenades!" Hu Hao yelled, tossing aside an empty canvas sack without looking back. An ammo carrier instantly shoved a fresh, heavy sack into his hand.
Hu Hao ripped the bag open, grabbed the grenades, yanked the pins, and threw them as fast as his arm would move. The rapid BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! echoed across the river.
Initially, the Allied commanders didn't realize what was happening. But after a few minutes of relentless explosions, they noticed a horrifying trend: the assault boats were reaching the shore, but almost no soldiers were disembarking. The boats were arriving filled entirely with corpses.
"What the hell is going on?! Why is no one getting out of the boats?!" an Allied Major General screamed, staring at the shoreline.
"I don't know, sir!" his staff officer replied, equally bewildered. The battlefield was completely chaotic, filled with the roar of artillery and the rattle of machine guns. It was incredibly difficult to trace the trajectory of Hu Hao's airburst grenades through the smoke, especially since Hu Hao constantly shifted his position. The Allied commanders still hadn't pinpointed him.
"Hao-ge, the boats are mostly clear! There are only about two thousand enemy troops left fighting at the breach!" a soldier yelled, handing Hu Hao another fresh sack of explosives.
"Good! Let's move!" Hu Hao grabbed the sack and sprinted further down the line.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Hao-ge is here!" the Imperial defenders cheered. Seeing the signature string of airbursts tearing through the Allied ranks above the river, they instantly knew Hu Hao had arrived.
Devastated by Hu Hao's relentless bombardment, the Allied defensive pockets at the beachhead began to crumble. Sensing the shift in momentum, the previously pinned-down Imperial soldiers roared and launched a fierce counter-attack.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!Bang! Bang! Bang!Rat-tat-tat!
"Brothers, KILL THEM!" Imperial officers brandished their weapons and screamed as they led the charge.
The bloodlust of the Imperial officers had finally been ignited. After days of being ruthlessly hunted and slaughtered by the Allied forces, their pride and fury boiled over. Furthermore, everyone from the Generals down to the privates knew the bitter truth: if this line broke, every single one of them would die. Forced into a corner, they threw their lives on the line, fighting with absolute, desperate savagery.
"Excellent!" Jiang Kai cheered from the rear, watching the situation at the breach stabilize. The number of Allied soldiers holding the beachhead was rapidly dwindling.
"Commander, we've plugged the gap for now. But what happens next? The Allied coalition is still pouring massive reinforcements toward our position, and our relief forces are still nowhere to be seen!" Chief of Staff Sun Qinxue warned.
"It's a tragedy... an absolute tragedy. Look at my men. Look at how fiercely they fight. Look at their courage. They are magnificent soldiers... truly magnificent soldiers!" Jiang Kai didn't answer the tactical question. Instead, he pointed a trembling finger at the distant, counter-attacking troops, his eyes welling with tears.
Sun Qinxue nodded silently. The men who had survived this far were the absolute elite of the army—hardened, fearless veterans. Watching such magnificent soldiers being ground into dust in a desperate war of attrition was enough to break any commander's heart.
"Commander, the vanguard division of the 37th Corps from Zhongliang Province is approximately half an hour away. However, their main force is still at least an hour behind them. The massive influx of retreating military units, combined with the hordes of fleeing civilian refugees, has completely choked the highways. They are moving as fast as they physically can," a staff officer reported.
"Good. Tell them to hurry. If they don't get here soon, we won't be able to hold this line!" Jiang Kai nodded grimly.
"Report! The Grand Marshal is on the line!" another staff officer announced, handing Jiang Kai the satellite phone.
"Good afternoon, Grand Marshal," Jiang Kai answered.
"What is the status of your line?" the Grand Marshal asked immediately.
"Report: we are on the verge of being overrun at any moment. Elements of the Allied forces successfully established a beachhead, and my troops are currently engaged in a desperate counter-attack to push them back into the river. I cannot guarantee the outcome.
We are under immense, crushing pressure. I urgently request that the relief forces accelerate their march. If they don't arrive soon, we will be forced to retreat again. Granted, we likely won't survive the retreat, but if we fall, the rest of the Empire's forces will have to establish a new defensive line far to the rear.
If our forces are pushed back another five hundred kilometers, Allied heavy bombers will be within striking range of the Imperial Capital!" Jiang Kai warned fiercely.
"I am well aware of the strategic stakes," the Grand Marshal replied. "Currently, units from every Combat Zone are converging on your position. Simultaneously, all Zones have begun emergency conscription and training of reserve forces.
His Majesty the Emperor will issue a general mobilization order very soon. You must hold your ground until tonight, no matter the cost. Once night falls, significant reinforcements will arrive!"
"Tonight?!" Jiang Kai asked, stunned.
"Yes. By tonight, a total of three full corps will arrive to reinforce your sector. I believe that should be sufficient to hold the line!" the Grand Marshal stated confidently.
"Only three corps?! Do you have any idea how many Allied troops we are facing?! They have eight corps bearing down on us, with God knows how many more in reserve! The terrain we are defending is a shallow riverbank! We have no artillery support, no attack helicopters, and no heavy armor! How the hell do you expect us to hold them off with only three corps?!" Jiang Kai screamed into the phone.
"More will come! The subsequent relief forces will bring heavy weapons. Once the line is stabilized, your surviving forces will be pulled off the front and sent to the provincial capital of Dingkang to receive the new conscripts and rebuild your corps!" the Grand Marshal ordered.
"Grand Marshal... I don't know how many of my Generals will die here today. Tell me, have you forced open the promotion channels for common officers yet?!" Jiang Kai demanded.
"I raised the issue again. However, the other members of High Command and the Generals from the other Combat Zones vehemently opposed it. They argued that the Empire still has plenty of outstanding young aristocrats ready to lead, and they believe these young men will hold the line!" the Grand Marshal replied carefully.
"Outstanding young aristocrats?! They are incompetent straw bags! Grand Marshal, you cannot do this! You cannot force my frontline veterans to follow those pampered idiots into the meat grinder! Grand Marshal!" Jiang Kai pleaded, his voice cracking with anguish.
"I know. The political resistance is immense right now. Just hold on. The channel will be opened eventually!" the Grand Marshal said, his voice lowering significantly.
"Sigh... has His Majesty the Emperor said anything about this?" Jiang Kai asked, a desperate edge to his voice.
"Facing such overwhelming opposition from the nobility, His Majesty has not taken a definitive stance. We still rely heavily on the aristocratic military families to defend the Empire against this invasion!" the Grand Marshal explained.
"I see..." Jiang Kai nodded in bitter, helpless defeat.
"Fight hard. The conscripts in Dingkang have already been assembled. The moment you pull off the line, you will be resupplied with fresh troops," the Grand Marshal promised before hanging up.
Jiang Kai lowered the phone, nodding once more in silent, crushing despair.