Chapter 140: Armed and Ready

Chapter 140: On High Alert

Two hundred kilometers away, in Huangshi City.

After receiving Chen Jian's warning, Huang Yu immediately rang the alarm bell hanging in Huangshi City, assembled from metal fragments.

The residents of Huangshi City, who had just fallen asleep, were awakened, and all the sentries on duty instantly snapped to attention.

Everyone gathered in the square of the activity hall; Huang Yu briefly explained the situation to the crowd and redeployed the subsequent work plan.

All non-essential work, including gathering, hunting, and logging, was completely suspended, and residents' activities were restricted to the Dahuchi Lake area.

At the same time, no outsiders were allowed to land on the island, even merchants coming for trade were to be temporarily refused.

Huangshi City had actually entered a state of martial law—a decision that should have caused great panic—but fortunately, they had only just struggled out of a life‑or‑death crisis, and neither mentally nor spiritually had they let down their guard.

No one objected to his decision, for everyone knew that Huang Yu represented not himself but the true leader of Huangshi City.

His orders were the orders of the regiment commanders; past experience had taught the citizens of Huangshi City that to survive they must obey commands.

Thus, in an extremely short time, a stream of orders was swiftly carried out.

And after a night of anxious waiting, as the sun just rose, everyone eagerly began to put their plan into action.

Weapons and ammunition stored in the armory were taken out and distributed to each combatant.

The most powerful heavy weapon, that 022 heavy machine gun, was lifted into the newly built makeshift machine‑gun emplacement; its 360‑degree field of view was sufficient to strike enemies from any direction.

The remaining four thermobaric rocket launchers were given to the two city‑defense soldiers with the longest training, while the other six DZJ19 rocket launchers were handed out to six different individuals, to be used when the enemy drew near.

Even the two air‑to‑air missiles that could not possibly be used at the moment were brought out by Huang Yu and placed at the highest point in the city, serving as a deterrent.

There was no way around it—the city's weapons were still too few.

Chen Jian's squad had taken away a large amount of high‑lethality weaponry; what remained for the dozens of fighters in the city was somewhat insufficient.

——

Of course, the notion of being 'caught short' is relative.

After all, having one automatic weapon per person is a luxury that even the Holy Guard of the Machine God Temple's Sanctum might not enjoy.

Following the training manual left by He Shuo, Huang Yu assigned each combatant a fighting position one by one, then directed them to dig tunnels and construct simple camouflage works near their posts.

Half a day passed, and the people here had completed every preparation they could make.

And that very afternoon, via the trade route of the Ring merchants, the first batch of ammunition supplies from the Anqing cargo depot was transported back to Huangshi City.

Under martial law, Huang Yu cautiously arranged for the convoy to unload on the opposite shore of the lake, then sent personnel to inspect the cargo, confirm it was problem‑free, and only then moved all the equipment into Huangshi City.

A large number of hand grenades, more than ten rocket launchers, mortar shells, plus the weapons station whose purpose Huang Yu did not yet know, instantly strengthened the city's defensive forces.

But at the same time, the arrival of this batch of equipment made the atmosphere in the city even more tense.

The young man named Huang Meng, whom Huang Yu had personally chosen as his deputy, stood beside him, cleaning the hand grenades about to be issued, and spoke:

"Suddenly we have received so many weapons back; it looks like this battle won't be easy."

"Captain Huang, do you really think the people of Huadu will travel thousands of miles just to fight us?"

Huang Yu shook his head and replied:

"Perhaps not thousands of miles."

"According to the regiment commanders, Huadu is likely to hire the Holy Blooded, the Machine God Temple's militant clergy, or other hunters and guards nearby to attack us."

"Their own combat strength is not great, but obviously they are very wealthy."

"If that is the case, then the time they launch their attack will not be too late."

"Perhaps at this very moment they have already found enough 'mercenaries' and are preparing to launch an offensive."

"How soon could that be?"

Huang Meng looked anxiously toward the distant lake surface and then said:

"The regiment commanders won't make it back in time; we’ll have to rely on ourselves. Can we hold them off?"

"Yes, why not?"

Huang Yu rose to his feet and declared firmly:

"The regiment commanders are ordinary humans, just as they say—they are no nobler than we, no more sacred than we."

"Indeed, they are far stronger than us in battle, but they became that way only through long years of fighting and training."

"We have neither the opportunity nor the time to train extensively, so we can only learn in the midst of combat." "Perhaps we will pay a price, but those who survive will grow ever stronger."

"Think about it—aren't we already far stronger than we were before that great battle?"

"Before we fought that battle, many people couldn't even fire a gun."

"But now, many have even learned to use rocket launchers and hand grenades."

"Rest assured, we will win."

"But before we open fire, we must have sufficient confidence."

".Understood."

Huang Meng nodded slowly and then continued to ask:

"Do we need to organize a drill?"

"What I mean is, following the regiment commanders' teaching, before combat we should anticipate every possible situation, and the best way to do that is to hold a drill."

"The enemy hasn't attacked yet; we still have time."

"We can!"

Huang Yu declared decisively:

"All work has already been suspended; since that is the case, starting now we will conduct the drill."

"You go and notify everyone; I will pretend to be the enemy."

"I will keep sending out attack signals, and they must respond accordingly."

"Those who do well will be rewarded; those who do poorly will not be punished this time."

"But everyone must give their all."

"Understood!"

Huang Meng turned and left; shortly afterward, the sound of loud commands rang out across Huangshi City.

Their first drill began.

Although it was not formal, it was absolutely a good start.

Meanwhile, in the woods on the opposite shore of the lake, two Holy Blooded from Anqing City, using an old pair of binoculars, silently watched their movements.

One of them shook his head and, with a tsk‑tsk, remarked:

"What are these people doing? Are they fighting an imagined enemy?"

"This is downright childish, like kids playing war games."

"If the garrison of Huangshi City is only this capable, I even think that those hunters do not need to go into battle."

“Perhaps just a few of us would be enough to wipe them all out?”

“Perhaps.”

The man beside him likewise lowered his binoculars and then said:

“According to intelligence, the main force of the Huaxia army in Huangshi City has already withdrawn.”

“What remains are merely the original civilians of Huangshi City.”

“How much combat strength could they possibly have? This bounty from Huadu is rather overkill.”

“Besides, our objective is simply to destroy this city—what need is there to take unnecessary risks?”

“Notify all mercenaries to get ready.”

“We will launch the attack at dawn tonight.”

“They have only a few dozen, while we even have over a hundred.”

“I think, even if they hold advantageous terrain, they cannot possibly withstand our assault.”

“After all, our ranks boast a full five Holy‑Blooded warriors.”

(End of Chapter)