CHAPTER 1815: 1732 BREAKING THROUGH THE MUD

The 11th Corps of the Dwarven army, blocked on their path, is making a desperate struggle, attempting to break through the Tang Army’s encirclement, but all efforts ultimately prove to be in vain.

The 12th Corps is faring no better; though their initial location was advantageous, allowing approximately three divisions to break out towards Furnace Fortress, their main forces remain trapped within the encirclement.

Now, these troops can only rely on themselves. They have no supplies, lack heavy weaponry, and air support is out of the question. The only good news is that the sky remains overcast, halting the Tang Army’s airstrikes temporarily.

Without the suppression of the electronic jamming planes, the dwarf troops’ communications temporarily recover, and with no anti-radiation missiles, each unit’s command is also daring to use radio waves to command their troops in battle.

Thanks to the absence of electronic jamming, the commanders of the 11th and 12th Corps can finally locate their troops and perform some simple statistics on previous losses.

The statistics were shocking: about five divisions were severely damaged in previous battles, and one division surrendered, giving its defensive positions to the Tang Army.

The entire encirclement had already been compressed, and now the 7th Corps of the Tang Army had completed their operational objectives, forming a large pocket that squeezed the dwarf troops’ living space from all sides.

At this time, the 11th and 12th Corps reported their situation to Furnace Fortress: now they were surrounded, and the hope for breaking out was virtually nonexistent.

The Furnace Fortress side finally clarified where the Tang Army’s armored brigade, previously rampaging across the Southern Plains, had gone: this unit blocked the path of the dwarven 11th and 12th Corps!

Learning of this news, Xie Ke and Binghan the First were naturally very excited, as it meant their plan indeed had a chance of success.

The armored troops tasked with encircling the dwarven 11th and 12th Corps could not withdraw for the moment, which was much better than the Tang Army’s armored forces moving south! Because if the Tang Army headed south, they could always pull back to eliminate Xie Ke’s attacking forces at any moment.

But now, the Tang Army cannot return; if they retreat, the plight of the dwarven 11th and 12th Corps would be lifted. Then Xie Ke’s attack would equate to freeing the 11th and 12th Corps, which would surely be worthwhile.

So, a few hours later, the command of the 11th and 12th Corps received a telegram from their own side, with the message using the newly replaced code, indicating its high status.

The telegram’s content was very clear: the counterattack had already begun, and they now merely had to continue executing the order to break through towards Furnace Fortress.

To maintain confidentiality, the Ice Cold Empire did not inform the commanders of the two corps of their counterattack plan, because they knew their communication security system was as good as non-existent, almost playing no role at all in maintaining secrecy.

Although the counterattack of the Eastern Front Army commanded by Xie Ke on the Southern Plains was not mentioned, Binghan the First still ordered the two corps with the sternest tone to fight to the last soldier.

After all, if these two corps were quickly annihilated, the Tang Army would be capable of turning their forces to swiftly head south and trouble Xie Ke’s force.

Upon deliberation, the commanders of the two corps realized they indeed had only one path to take: they must continue attempting to break out; surely, they couldn’t lead tens of thousands of soldiers to surrender, right? That would make them everlasting sinners of the dwarven race!

Besides, the weather lately was on their side; the overcast clouds shielded them from the Tang Army’s planes, and the continuous snowfall forced their mightiest aerial forces to pause their assault.

This way, everyone was more or less back to the same starting line: all were ground forces, all engaged in flat warfare, at least the dwarfs did not need to fear any sudden catastrophes from above.

Braving the light snow, the dwarven soldiers trudged across the muddy wilderness, launching an attack on the newly established defensive positions of the Tang Army.

They advanced wave after wave, treading the already muddy ground, clutching their weapons, and taking heavy steps in the freezing cold.

Many soldiers had their shoes melded to their feet, their socks long soaked, mixed with blood and snow, and each step causing unbearable pain.

Over time, the wounds would get infected, flesh would decay, and frostbite and necrosis would eventually turn these soldiers from lightly wounded to severely wounded.

If such medical conditions persisted, these soldiers would not even be able to keep their toes or even their entire legs, which would all be amputated.

In such an environment, they still braved the Tang Army’s artillery to fight: when a soldier fell, he would soon be covered by the white snow and then trampled into the mud by the soldiers following behind, merging into the dirt as an unrecognizable mass...

A dwarf’s tank, piled with camouflaging branches, wobbled forward, slowly advancing under the cover of infantry towards the Tang Army’s location.

To enhance protection, logs were tied in front of the tank, which the armored troops gathered locally as chips for their survival.

Seeing their ally’s tank, the dwarven soldiers’ morale soared: they hadn’t seen their armored brigade for a long time, since tanks, once they appeared, would quickly be destroyed by Tang Army aircraft.

Now, braving the fine sand-like snow particles, these tanks finally reappeared on the battlefield, how could they not be excited?

"Ura!" Long-absent cheers resounded once more, and amidst these shouts, the dwarven soldiers seemed to quicken their pace.

But the next moment, a flash darted from the Tang Army’s position, hitting the advancing dwarf tank with lightning speed.

The logs tied to the front of the tank were shattered into splinters flying everywhere, sharp as shrapnel, some even hitting nearby dwarf soldiers.

The surrounding dwarf soldiers fell to the ground with cries, the tank’s front armor pierced by armor-piercing rounds, forming a searing hole with melted edges. The entire tank slowly stopped, paralyzed on the spot, lying silently without any more movement.

Fortunately, the tank did not explode; unfortunately, the crew inside were all dead. The moment the jet streamed into the tank interior and swept over each one of them, they were already dead.

The morale that had just begun to rise vanished instantly, and a tough battle commenced.