Chapter 334 – Chinese Army Moves South (9)
The day of the decisive battle.
The Chinese soldiers hiding in trenches, mountains, and crypts are in high spirits as they wait for the order to charge.
This was due to expectations about North Korea’s secret air raid shelter, which was widely advertised by the command.
-If you win this battle, your arduous wandering life will be over! We will settle down and sow!
There is not only the supplies that will be there, but also the hope of returning to a settled life.
“Have you ever seen so many troops moving? “The enemies will be scared when we charge in.”
The new soldiers were excited and talking.
When all the troops, artillery, vehicles, and special forces gathered together, the success was enormous.
Being a part of this great army gave us great pride and a feeling of the good times before the war.
If they all rise up and charge while playing the flute, the enemies will collapse on their own.
‘Those who have never experienced a real war are only talking about it.’
‘It will be very satisfying for the commanders to see it. ‘You idiots.’
On the other hand, the veteran soldiers cursed in their minds.
These are new recruits whose combat experience is limited to clearing out dozens of infected entities or organizing small camps.
In a battle of this magnitude, the fate of infantry soldiers is to simply be torn apart.
It was laughable from the perspective of the veteran soldiers who fought against the billion-dollar wave of infectious agents that came from leader and fought to the death with the surviving Russian Federation Army and U.S. Navy.
Of course, the higher the morale of the new recruits, the higher their chances of survival, so I didn’t bother touching them.
“No matter how I look at it, it feels strange.”
A sergeant looks at the opposing camp with a gloomy expression.
Unlike the friendly camp, which is so overflowing with military spirit that even gravity feels heavy, the enemy camp is abnormally calm.
“Comrade company commander! Is that the right place to occupy?”
A veteran soldier who was smoothing his chestnut beard asked his company commander.
The brigade also included many communist party members, and they valued their pride in being the last party members. That’s why they prefer to refer to themselves as party members.
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s strangely quiet, isn’t it?”
What the veteran was talking about was not just noise.
As you move through numerous battlefields, you can vaguely sense the momentum coming from the enemy lines, but you can’t feel it at all.
For example, the low-ranking soldiers of the current Chinese army stuck their heads out and looked at the enemy lines, despite the order to ‘stay calm and take cover.’
This is because you can never let go of your curiosity about what you are fighting.
When unit units exceeded three digits, such individual deviations occurred throughout the front.
Bulletproof hats and tense whites of eyes are bound to catch your eye, as if a Christmas tree lamp is blinking.
The small and medium-sized groups I had dealt with so far had this tendency so much that I was able to estimate the size and disposition of the enemy just by looking at them.
However, the enemy we faced today showed nothing like that.
“It just seems empty. Not a faint conversation, not a sound of moving supplies, not a single shaking shadow could be heard. Are you sure there are really enemies over there?”
“It seems like they took over by surprise and then when we looked at our strength, it seemed like we had no chance of winning, so we gave up.”
Everyone internally agreed with the abandoned-looking scenery.
“Everyone, please wait quietly. Wouldn’t it be better if you don’t have it? “Throw away distracting thoughts before the battle.”
The company commander said.
As he said, it was not good for the soldiers to have too many thoughts at a time when they had to launch an assault ahead of traditional trench warfare.
Above all, the company commander himself did not know much.
“The enemy is only about two or three companies. It is well-armed and has many electricians. It appears that several attack helicopters are also in operation.”
There was no significant difference in the information received at the pre-battle briefing whether he was a captain or an ordinary soldier.
“But what decides the battlefield is numbers! Compared to our absolute strength, our enemies are only a handful. If you charge all at once and push them away, the battle can be ended in an instant.”
The soldiers laughed helplessly at the company commander’s words, which were not much different from what the speaker said.
“I can’t comfort you at all?”
“The level of armament is excellent, there are many electricians, and they operate attack helicopters, but…? Anyway, it looks like there are too many ominous modifiers to just say he won, right?”
No matter how elite the enemies are, if their numbers are 10 or 20 times different, they have no choice but to break through.
Their armed forces are not the crude warriors of a local warlord.
Even so, if the enemy’s firepower is strong, our allies will inevitably fall.
Unlike high-ranking people who would risk everything if they could achieve just one victory, soldiers considered their own lives to be important in addition to victory.
Because he was a company commander who understood that feeling, he tolerated his soldiers even when they grumbled.
“How many electricians are there over there?”
A squad leader asked worriedly.
Helicopters are the messenger that kills infantry, but in today’s era, they also cause a great deal of damage to those who operate them.
This is because pigs gobble up endless amounts of oil, ammunition, and maintenance consumables.
No matter how many units are used, their firepower is bound to be premature, so they can never be a meaningful card in large-scale battles.
Moreover, this is a battlefield with lots of places to hide, and there are many anti-aircraft weapons I brought with me, so I am not afraid of helicopters.
But electricians are different.
Whether it was a tunnel or inside a building, robots that followed like evil spirits and grabbed infantry were objects of fear.
They know this well because they had fun using it to eradicate infectious agents.
The sleepless security robot sent with a poison gas bomb was capable of selfish battle at any time.
“Can’t we just clean up what little gas we have left? I don’t think I’ll have anything to write about after this anyway.”
“No.”
The company commander shook his head at the soldier’s request for chemical, biological and radiological warfare.
“That is not a passing point. This will be our new base. It would be difficult if it were filled with poisonous gas. “Because we don’t have enough supplies for decontamination.”
The Chinese military refrained from using poison gas when dealing with Russian warlords, but that was not because they were humanists.
This is because if poison gas was applied, all the loot had to be thrown away.
When it comes to battles in this era, victory itself has no meaning. Victory only shines if you can take everything from the loser and utilize it.
Military supplies, food, various clothing, and even meat from corpses could be used frugally.
“… Damn it.”
Although the company commander soothed the soldiers’ anxiety, he was very annoyed.
This is because he was unusually reticent in his command.
He did not fully disclose what they knew, perhaps to maintain morale.
-Be careful. The electrician they run is not an insomniac model. It was a new type of weapon I had never seen before.
According to a story secretly told me by a friend working in the intelligence department, the enemy was much more dangerous than what was said on the speakers.
-New model? Ours is a new model too, right?
As far as the company commander knows, the electricians operated by our forces and the insomniac robots brought from the political prison camp are the latest model of prison robots released on the market.
The Chinese government did not spare any money in this area.
-According to the interrogation of the survivors, their performance is on a different level. Everything from mobility, reaction speed, and tactical movements. It’s like a warm new product.
-Are there any research institutes or factories operating normally in the world right now? Korea has been criticized, right?
-What do we do with the origin? That’s only important before fighting. Now that we’re facing an all-out war, just think about how you can survive.
-That’s true too. So what is the ratio?
-Don’t be surprised. They say the robot ratio was 100%. They said they didn’t see a single human combatant during the surprise battle.
-You’re kidding, right?
-It was said that even the helicopter could not see its occupants.
-…
The company commander was astonished before the unbelievable story.
Even my friends working in the intelligence department had limited information. However, he was an opponent that I really didn’t want to fight with just by receiving a little hint.
“Maybe this is why they controlled the information.”
Even so, the company commander has no choice. If you fight like a soldier, you just risk your life.
In any case, our army was well armed and the difference in numbers was so large that victory itself was not in doubt.
I was just worried about how many of my subordinates would be alive after the battle.
“Company commander!”
A signal soldier carrying a metal backpack radio approached.
[Instruct… Repeat.]
The command center’s communication was being transmitted from a radio with speaker mode turned on.
[The attack begins after 5 minutes. Instruct each echelon to administer anti-chemical agents.]
The company commander nodded and looked around at the surrounding soldiers.
The sharp-witted senior soldiers were already scolding his subordinates.
In their hands are combat syringes that look like adropines.
“Administer chemicals!”
The company commander gave the order.
“Medication!”
“Administer medication!”
The non-commissioned officers and soldiers repeated the song and simultaneously inserted needles into their forearms.
This agent is a chemical, biological and radiological protection measure used by the Chinese military. Although there were aftereffects, it was very effective in short-term combat.
This is because, unlike gas mask cartridges that cannot last for tens of minutes depending on the gas bomb, a single dose guarantees a duration of 10 hours.
Even if chemical warfare is not assumed, it alleviates carbon monoxide poisoning inhaled at the fire site and improves endurance by increasing the efficiency of oxygen transport.
It drastically increases the survival rate of new recruits who cannot quickly put on a gas mask during battle due to their low level of training.
“Wow!”
“Wow!”
Most people ended up just frowning, but some troops whose constitution did not suit them lowered their heads and vomited.
However, that feeling of nausea will be a hundred and a thousand times better than the pain you would experience if you ingested poisonous gas.
“Chemicals are not all-purpose. If you see signs of mustard gas during combat, immediately wear a gas mask.”
The stocky sergeant went around among his soldiers reminding them of his instructions.
“Sergeant, do you think they would even use something like that?”
“Just in case.”
In the battles so far, most chemical attacks were used against the enemy.
Unlike conventional weapons, which are mass-produced and stockpiled, chemical weapons were in small quantities, and most of them were used up in the infection war.
“Korea is a place that has been isolated ever since the Corpse War. “You never know what they might have in store, so stay alert.”
A corporal who was inspecting the assault line with a sergeant stopped in front of a new soldier. It was a guy with glasses shaking and wiping vomit from the corner of his mouth.
Tung!
When I hit the bulletproof hat with the back of his hand as if knocking, he was startled.
“Don’t be too scared. Just follow the older guys and do what they tell you.”
“Yes! Yes!”
The glasses of the recruit who nodded hastily were cracked here and there.
“Your name is… Jang Shirin?”
“Yes! That’s right!”
As the corporal’s gaze lowered, the new soldier quickly unfolded his name badge to make it more visible.
“If we take over the North Korean bunker, let’s start with new glasses. If you look carefully, you will definitely find something new. “There is no one among the soldiers who are higher than me, so just trust me.”
“Thank you!”
Recruit Sirin Jang found great comfort in this seemingly trivial conversation. He felt his heart, which had been pounding as if it was going to explode, sink.
“Kaaaaak, hehe!”
“Hueup… Hueup.”
After about 2 minutes, the sound of vomiting subsided, and after 4 minutes, only the quiet sound of breathing was heard again.
Everyone’s eyes turned to their company commander. He is just looking at his wristwatch with a stern face.
The eyes that had been moving along the hour hand suddenly looked ahead.
“Five minutes.”
There is still no movement in the company commander’s eyes.
* * *
The Chinese army always used intimidating tactics when fighting people and camps.
They constantly remind their opponents of their superiority in both quality and number.
Anyone can easily lose their will to fight if they are immersed in the despair of ‘the fight will be lost anyway’.
There was an object that was used very effectively in that method, and that was the flute.
A sharp tone that put psychological pressure on UN and Korean troops during the Korean War.
Even in today’s era where equipment, tactics, and enemies have all changed, the sound of the flute is still valid.
Beep-.
The backpack radios carried by each echelon’s signalmen made mechanical noises.
It was a fateful time.
[Order from command center. All troops attack.]
Immediately after the voice came out from the radio, there was complete silence for two seconds.
Soldiers want to listen to orders.
Officers fill their lungs with air before shouting.
“Charge!!!”
The company commanders shouted.
Beep ririri-!
“Wow!!!!”
A huge roar shakes the heavens and earth along with the flute that pierces the battlefield. Numerous soldiers ran forward all at once.
The largest compatriot war that has never occurred since the Infection War began.
[There is no retreat! To retreat is treason! Crush everything in your path in the name of neutrality! Your military skills will pioneer the future of our country!]
Political officers of the Communist Party, revived during the infection war, shouted everywhere with loudspeakers.
5 seconds after battle starts.
Although it was only a moment, it felt too long for the feverish fighter who was charging at the forefront.
Beep-!
Even though a large-scale offensive is coming, there is no reaction from the enemy.
Another 5 seconds passed.
“Whoop!” Whoop!”
Zhang Shilin exhaled harshly. It wasn’t because I was tired, but because I was extremely nervous, my breathing became extremely short.
“Waaaaa!!!”
Even while he was sprinting at full speed while carrying military uniforms, his colleagues were constantly shouting. It’s hard to believe where this lung capacity came from.
Another 5 seconds passed.
If you look at both sides, no one has fallen.
Even in front, there is not even an enemy in sight.
At this point, some of the enemies will be taken aback by the shouts that shake the heavens and the footsteps that shake the earth.
But there is not a single bulletproof hat looking out from the trenches, hills, or buildings.
‘I guess I really have no enemies! When they saw our numbers, they got scared and left!’
As the outline of the empty enemy lines becomes closer and closer, my heavy breathing calms down. Even kicking my feet off the ground has suddenly become easier. Now we have reached gentle ground.
“Charge! “Dolgyeook!”
“Let’s sweep it away at once!”
The hellish tension just before the battle was fading away. Even Zhang Shirin, a timid person, felt encouraged by the support of his colleagues.
Jang Shirin’s lips, who had been laughing at him for wasting his stamina by shouting needlessly, open wide.
“Aaaaah!!!”
He charged with a shout that was almost like a scream.
And right after that.
I love you!
The bullet that came from the front shattered Jang Shirin’s two front teeth and entered the room.
“Oh?”
The uvula, which had been rattling due to heavy breathing, disappeared without a trace, and a tunnel opened in the back of the neck, pulling out blood and flesh.
The body of a new soldier lying around after spitting out a question. He was the first casualty of the Chinese army.
“The enemy!”
The enemy camp, which had been as quiet as a graveyard, began to boil in an instant.
It felt as if a giant sleeping beneath the enemy trenches and defensive positions had risen.
Through the shouts and screams, an unpleasant sound of mechanical devices moving in unison can be heard.
Giiiiing-.
Cherrrr-.
Nightmare-looking machine guns began to rear their heads from the opposing camp.
The soldiers reflexively aimed their guns, but fell into confusion.
Neither the gunner nor the second gunner is visible. However, the barrel was rotating and moving the direction of the muzzle on its own.
“Sentry Gun!!!”
“Aim for the eastern part! Shoot at protruding electrical wires or ammunition supply devices!”
The non-commissioned officers urged, but most of the soldiers who took the lead were low-ranking soldiers.
Some were so scared that they fell down, some wasted their bullets in the wrong place, and even those who shot properly did not hit the vital spot.
Kwaaaaa!!!
Meanwhile, countless lead bullets were flying in from all directions.
“Kwaaaaa!”
“Kahaak!”
The soldiers in the front row who were charging majestically fell like dominoes.
Moreover, there were not only sentry guns in the enemy lines.
Gunners were standing up in shooting positions all over the enemy’s positions.
“Fuck, I couldn’t see it!”
One of the veteran soldiers cursed into the air. The enemies didn’t even wear helmets or anything.
Tree roots and rocks even stood up on their own as if they were possessed by ghosts.
Like a mimic octopus, it was camouflaged with its color and texture perfectly assimilated.
“W-what are those? What are they doing?!”
“It’s a monster!”
Even the officers in command felt goosebumps at the scene of a battle of a type they had never heard of before.
“It wasn’t like it wasn’t there. “It was all laid out in front of us from the beginning…”
There is nothing more dangerous than an unpredictable, unknown enemy. That is the absolute truth we learned in the past struggle for survival.
The army of steel with shining red eyes pointed their guns emotionlessly.
The hole in the muzzle was large enough to fit their thumbs through.
Regardless of whether they were veterans or new recruits, everyone running started screaming.
