Munitions Empire

On the eastern border of the Leite Kingdom, the trenches, already in disarray, were filled with bodies of soldiers from both armies, scattered in every direction.

Mostly they were bodies of soldiers from the Kingdom of Gemalin, mingled with those from the Leite Kingdom… They all lay there quietly, allowing flies to crawl on their cheeks.

Due to the weather, the trenches were filled with a stench, clearly indicating it was no longer a viable position to hold, so the border troops of the Leite Kingdom had abandoned it.

On the artillery positions behind the defense line, a destroyed C64 cannon lay askew, one of its wheels long gone without a trace.

The emptied ammunition boxes were carelessly discarded next to the cannon, and a crowbar used to pry them open was still stuck in the crevices of the sandbag fortifications.

A man in the uniform of a Gemalin general covered his nose with a handkerchief as he carefully stepped over the body of a Leite Kingdom soldier lying on the ground, circumvented the badly trampled muddy road flattened by carts, and ascended a gentle slope.

His troops had finally broken through the border defenses of the Leite Kingdom this morning, and now he had two corps advancing along the road.

The speed of the offensive was much slower than expected; he hardly dare believe that his troops had already breached the Leite Kingdom's defenses.

To be honest, this thin line of defense of the Leite Kingdom had impressed him deeply, as it cost him the heavy loss of 1,200 soldiers just to break through here.

Even with such heavy losses, he had not managed to completely annihilate the enemy forces. His troops only destroyed the rear guard of the enemy, and the numbers were pathetically small.

Considering the losses of the Leite Kingdom in the battle for positions, his six corps engaged one border corps of the Leite Kingdom and still found themselves so passive in combat; it was enough to make him feel a bit frustrated.

The casualty ratio was 3 to 1; after sacrificing 1,500 soldiers, the forces of the Kingdom of Gemalin had eliminated 500 of the enemy and captured their positions.

The enemy's retreat was very composed; they took the wounded with them, managed to take away more than half of their cannons, and drove off two-thirds of their carts.

The carts left behind on the position were mostly damaged, many parts even disassembled and taken. The cannons that remained were all blown up, the extent of precision clearly showed that the Leite Kingdom's troops had not fled in panic.

They organized a retreat! And they did it very calmly. They didn't even leave behind the seriously wounded and went as far as burning some documents completely.

That machine gun, which caused massive casualties to the Gemalin forces, was also not found; nor did they capture many prisoners…

"Damn it... just what kind of troops are we fighting against," the general cursed, covering his nose, walking up the gentle slope and staring into the distant woods with a sullen utterance.

In previous battles, the troops on both sides would form up and then advance with drums beating, and the fight would end after one melee.

But now, a fight could last for several days, with both sides struggling and killing over a piece of ground without a clear victor for a long time.

This was just one battle. If the fighting continued in this way, the losses on both sides would rise further, to previously unimaginable extents.

In the past, the loss of a few hundred men in a battle would decide the victory or defeat. The defeated troops would surrender, and the victors would continue to fight.

But now, to completely defeat an enemy corps, it took the price of a corps! More than 2,000 soldiers died on both sides, all for a few meters of land.

"General! Two corps can only rest in place, and one corps has suffered such heavy losses that it can only be used as the rear guard," an officer walked up behind the Gemalin leader, handing him a report: "Of the remaining three corps, two are advancing along the road, and one is assembling in front…"

"I've got it," the leader took the paper, glanced at it, and stuffed it into his pocket: "Go find the people from the Shireck Consortium."

The officer nodded at his words, then approached a man inspecting a C64 cannon nearby. After whispering a few words, he gestured toward his general.

The Shireck Consortium man nodded, then followed the officer to the general's presence: "I heard you were looking for me, General!"

"Yes! It was me!" The general nodded, "I called you over to ask about your subsequent supplies. They should be arriving soon, right?"

The man from the Shireck Consortium who had just been examining the abandoned C64 cannon immediately responded, "I just inquired, and 1,000 shells are on the way."

He had not actually verified this, as he had no way to be sure where those shells were.

All he knew was to keep the general before him reassured; whether or not the subsequent shells arrived, or when they would arrive, was irrelevant.

After all, according to Shireck's plan, they were destined to win this war; no one could stop Shireck's victory.

In the Northern Region, a storm is brewing. Soon enough, kingdoms like Poplar and Songmu will be too busy dealing with their own troubles to concern themselves with the affairs of Leite Kingdom.

In Dorne, rebellion is on the verge of eruption. With the staunch support of Taren Kingdom and Xilun Kingdom, it looks poised to succeed.

The only one left is Leite Kingdom, struggling to stand alone… The Great Tang Group, at least everything the Great Tang has in Brunas, will become spoils of war—Shireck's spoils of war.

"A thousand rounds of artillery shells are far from enough. I need at least 30 more cannons and 10,000 shells to ensure that we can continue to break through the enemy's defenses in the upcoming battles!" A Germelin general pondered for a moment before presenting his new demands.

The head of the Shireck Consortium calculated quickly and nodded in agreement to the other's request, "Agreed!"

He had just examined the breech mechanism of the C64 cannon—ingeniously designed and technically impressive.

Looking at the breech part of the cannons that had been destroyed and rendered unusable, he knew Shireck's own artillery paled in comparison to the enemy's.

For that advanced technology, he must get his hands on the Great Tang Group! Those cutting-edge technologies must become Shireck's!

Only then could Shireck continue to thrive and reclaim the throne as number one in the world!

"Now we are even further from our supply point. We need a large number of wagons, more manpower, and a sufficient number of soldiers to replenish our ranks…" the general listed some more demands.

It couldn't be helped; the losses he had suffered in the attack on the first line of defense were too great. Without reinforcements, his offensive would stall.

"I'll find a way! Rest assured!" The man from Shireck laughed, then glanced toward a tattoo-covered, muscular figure, "Send in the recruits you've gathered! Don't screw up again!"

A man, who now sported a hook where his hand used to be, nodded and walked down the hillock followed by several subordinates.

"Qiumuluo! This is your chance to redeem yourself for your crimes! Don't mess it up!" The Shireck official called out as he watched the man's retreating figure.

Qiumuluo, having lost nearly half his arm and looking a shadow thinner than before, paused in his steps. He stood motionless for a while before giving a slight nod of his head, then left without uttering a word.

Unable to make his way in Leite Kingdom, he defected to the nearby Kingdom of Germelin to join the Shireck faction, continuing his opposition to the Great Tang Group.

He had no choice; the Great Tang Group had put a bounty on his head, and only Shireck was willing to take him in because they shared an enemy in the Great Tang Group.

Thus, Qiumuluo continued to serve Shireck, hoping one day to destroy the Great Tang Group and avenge his lost arm.

"I'll replenish your forces with 1,000 soldiers! Continue the assault! We can't allow them to rebuild such defenses..." the Shireck official told the Germelin general icily.

The general huffed in dissatisfaction before responding, "You don't need to remind me! I know what to do!"

…

A fast horse charged into King Leite VII's camp, hurriedly dismounted in front of the tent, and rushed inside, gasping for breath.

Upon seeing Leite VII, the knight knelt on one knee and handed a box and a letter to his sovereign.

Leite VII took the box and the letter, first opening the missive, then turned ashen as he handed the letter to his trusted general.

"This is bad…" After reading the letter, the general donned a mask of anguish and lamented, "The border troops have been forced to retreat, abandoning their position… It's actually not that serious… but."

"Yes… how to explain this to Mr. Tang." King Leite VII slumped back into his chair, head lowered: "The border legion fought so well all thanks to those trainee officers. I truly didn't expect them to be so exceptional… But the better they performed, the more I… I do not know how to face those… who are left…"

Restlessly, he stood up again, holding the box. He glanced at it and then, unable to resist, opened it.

Inside were several messily stacked letters and rings of varying sizes, some bloodstained, some not.

On one blood-covered ring, the unmistakable pattern of a dandelion stood out sharply against the dark stains.

"They died for Leite… so they… are our heroes," the general said, looking at Leite VII.

Leite VII nodded, "Are a few of the trainees from the Great Tang Military Academy… are they here? Have them come see me! Someone, help me into my formal attire! Since they battled for me to their last breath, I owe them that much!"

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