Chapter 317: Decisive Battle

Chapter 317 – The Final Battle

Inside the operations command room of Base 011.

Everyone was fully armored, awaiting Chen Jian’s final order.

After finishing the latest report from the front of Mountain City, Chen Jian rose abruptly.

“Lin Yu reports, the nuclear strike has confirmed impact.”

“Mountain City lacks strong electromagnetic pulse shielding, resulting in massive power outages.”

“The power grid is being restored incrementally.”

“According to Lin Yu’s data, to date the restored zones amount to twenty percent of Mountain City’s total area.”

“An additional sixteen hours are needed for the whole city to regain electricity.”

“Our time is tight.”

“The window is only sixteen hours; if we consider only the core functional zones, it shrinks to roughly eight hours.”

“Within eight hours we must move toward Tongling City’s outskirts and encircle the main force of the southwestern beast tide.”

“We can no longer hesitate.”

“The Assault Company, the Insertion Company, and the Han River Expeditionary Force all deploy!”

“Mobilize every transport available, employ every rapid‑deployment method, and race to the battlefield!”

“Moreover, the Support Company moves out at once.”

“Assist the Mechanical Cult’s Guard of Jinling City, organize its defense.”

“Jinling City must hold out at least another twenty hours.”

“After twenty hours we will turn north to reinforce Jinling City!”

“Understood!”

The order was given, and everyone in the command room rose in unison.

After a crisp salute, under the hands of Fuxi and Zhanlu, all command consoles simultaneously received the fragmented mission data.

This time Chen Jian could no longer command from the rear.

He had to lead the Assault Company himself, with an unyielding onslaught that would scatter—and even annihilate—the beast tide from the southwest.

He walked toward the perimeter of Base 011; as he stepped onto the lift, every reconnaissance drone inside the base had already taken to the sky.

The whine of propellers intertwined, each lone drone stirring a trivial gust that merged into a fierce wind across the ground.

Sand and dust rose, then gradually settled.

When the last reconnaissance drone vanished upward, a newly retrofitted Mosquito bomber at the base’s airfield also lifted off.

This bomber had shed its external bomb bay, replaced by a remote‑controlled weapons station mounting a 12.7 mm machine gun.

It carried no aerial bombs; its cabin was packed with a full six thousand rounds.

The ammunition was divided into nearly twenty belts, reloaded by a modified ant‑swarm robot.

Perhaps it should no longer be called a “bomber,” but a “ground‑attack aircraft.”

Yet, what difference does the name make?

A 500‑kilogram missile is a bomb; a 130‑gram bullet is a bomb too!

The attack aircraft roared into the sky, its cockpit occupied by Jiang Yu, the finest pilot the Huaxia forces had forged in record time.

Hot on her tail were three more bombers, each lugging the remaining six missiles the Huaxia army possessed.

The quartet of bombers swept across the heavens in formation, a farewell to the troops below before the clash.

Many looked up at them, but more kept their heads down, checking their gear.

“Assault Company, assemble!”

Chen Jian shouted the command; moments later the reinforced, fully staffed Assault Company gathered on the square outside Base 011.

Along with the troops came the equipment that Fuxi’s ant‑swarm robots had readied.

“This raid we will take every piece of gear and every round of ammunition with us!”

“We have no resupply; this will be a decisive, hammer‑down battle!”

“Our objective is to use this single strike opportunity to eradicate our enemy completely!”

“The fight will be brutal; casualties are inevitable!”

“But if we do not fight this war, peace will forever elude us!”

“Therefore, every combatant must summon the courage of a scorched‑earth resolve!”

“That is all! Move out!”

With those words, under the guidance of each platoon and squad leader, the Assault Company swiftly boarded their vehicles.

A massive convoy formed in an instant.

Within it rolled freshly serviced 30A tanks at full capacity, infantrymen equipped with automatic grenade launchers, cat‑cars bearing 107 mm rockets, and a fleet of unmanned trucks hauling combat drones and ammunition.

The convoy surged westward along the main road; as the last truck cleared the perimeter of Base 011, the newly formed, equally ready Second Insertion Company set off as well.

The base’s population dropped by nearly three hundred in an instant, yet the story was far from over.

The remaining combat strength of the base was almost entirely absorbed into the Volunteer Company.

Yu Qian stood before the volunteers, urging them with words he was not accustomed to delivering.

Then, with a sweep of his hand, the modestly equipped Volunteer Company broke camp and moved out.

They possessed no armored vehicles, no heavy weapons.

Every piece of gear they could rely on was shouldered upon their own backs.

191 rifles, single‑man grenade launchers, rocket launchers, recoilless guns, hand grenades

The extraordinary load made each step feel heavy, yet they treasured those burdens as if they were gold.

For in the coming battle, those were the only things they could lean on.

Three hundred men, plus the dwindling elite Sacred Army of the Mechanical Cult—fewer than two hundred souls.

They must hold back dozens of monsters assaulting the northern flank of Jinling City.

They must protect the tens of thousands of civilians within Jinling’s walls.

Time was running short.

They had to reach the vicinity of Jinling Bridge within three hours, where a steam locomotive dispatched by the Mechanical Cult would await to fortify the city.

Still nursing his wounds, Yu Qian perched on the lone cat‑car left behind, clutching a star folded from a tin can by his son.

This departure might truly be a one‑way journey.

Yet, among these three hundred, who does not share that resolve?

Yu Qian drew a deep breath.

When he lifted his head, the attack‑17 drone once hailed as an “angel” streaked across the sky, stirring a funnel‑shaped sonic boom cloud.

And after it, more attack drones had already taken to the air.

Yu Qian knew these drones would, guided by the so‑called “honeycomb network,” fly toward Tongling, make their first supply run within the city, and then plunge straight into battle.

Perhaps, even for these machines, for the “machine souls” within them, it would be a one‑way fight with no return.

No one could shrink back.

He turned his gaze toward the direction of Jinling New City.

After all the combat personnel had left, the bustling scene there had vanished without a trace.

The women, children, and elders who remained had already taken up arms.

They were militia too, they were reserves.

In this world, in this war, no one could stand apart.

Yu Qian drew a deep breath.

When he looked back again, his eyes held only a single target.

Jinling!

Two hours later, the second infiltration company arrived at the designated combat zone and linked up with the first infiltration company from Hanshui City.

Without waiting for the rear assault company to take position, this infiltration company launched an immediate strike against the beast tide.

Their mission was starkly simple.

Without seeking to inflict casualties, they were to pierce the beast tide at breakneck speed with overwhelming firepower, lure the tide into attacking, and harvest intelligence on the monsters within.

It was a daunting task.

They were not merely to slip behind enemy lines; more precisely, they were to “set a trap in the ranks.”

Even if any mishap occurred, they would sink into a quagmire from which they could not escape, ultimately being devoured.

Everyone knew the possible outcome they faced.

Yet no one retreated.

Because the armored commander surged ahead, leading from the front.

“Tank, clear the way for me!”

“Aim at that level‑two monster!”

“Break it open! Blast a path!”

Seated in the cat‑track, Shen Yue unfurled the weapon rack behind him, and with a roar, a fin‑stabilized, shell‑piercing projectile burst from the gun barrel.

“Boom!”

A massive explosion roared.

The contorted, writhing monster that had been crawling forward was instantly pierced.

Viscous slime and blood splattered, the creature’s arthropod limbs shattered into debris under the tank’s treads, while the carapace fragments embedded in the load wheels were crushed by the crushing steel.

“Do not seek to kill!”

“Proactively lure the monsters to attack!”

“Everyone, follow the pre‑set plan, provide alternating cover and move through swiftly!”

“We must infiltrate to the rear of the beast tide!”

“Maintain stable communications!”

“Relay intelligence to the assault company!”

“Mark high‑value, high‑priority targets!”

A cascade of orders rang out, and under Shen Yue’s lead, the infiltration company sliced through the beast tide like a spear.

The monsters, like muscle pierced by a blade, contracted and writhed toward the “wound” they had created.

Shen Yue had never witnessed such a kaleidoscope of attack methods.

Remote sprays of acid, parasitic spores expelled from massive maws, wind‑driven spikes, and rocks that erupted from the ground.

Even currents of electricity.

And flames!

In that instant, the clash between man and monster, between hot weapons and “biological weapons,” produced a conflict that felt on par with a battle of equals.

Shen Yue carefully steered the infiltration company’s direction, exploiting every stretch of paved ground that allowed a rapid passage.

The whole unit kept a speed above twenty kilometres per hour, maintaining a razor‑thin balance that let them evade the monsters’ encirclement and pursuit.

——

Of course, that balance came at the cost of continual sacrifice among the rear guard.

After reinforcement, the infiltration company had swelled to a hundred men.

But after they pressed twelve kilometres into the beast tide, their numbers had dwindled to seventy.

“Three squads, three sections!”

“Establish a fire support point! Stop that moth!”

Shen Yue issued the order again; the three‑section unit, which had been marching with the main force, halted immediately.

They set up the only 12.7 mm machine gun in the company, directing a furious barrage at the monsters pursuing from behind at breakneck speed.

“Bang bang bang bang bang—”

Bullets streaked through the creatures like meteors, and that brief pause instantly plunged them into the heart of the beast tide.

There was no chance to retreat.

The crack of grenades echoed over the hastily erected position, buying the breaking infiltration company a final twenty seconds.

“I’ve reached the designated turning point!”

“When will fire support arrive???”

Shen Yue’s voice was hoarse.

“Immediately.”

“Ten seconds.”

Chen Jian’s calm reply came through the headset.

Moments later, artillery roared.

The assault company arrived.

The pulling artillery’s durability advantage manifested fully now; 152 mm shells launched from a firing line ten kilometres away arced dramatically before raining densely into the beast tide.

“Boom—”

Explosions followed in rapid succession, and the monsters clustered near the “wound” dissolved into clumps of flesh and blood.

The overwhelming majority of shells struck their targets directly.

Even when they missed, the dense pattern of impacts inflicted massive damage on the surrounding monsters.

—

Perhaps, if Zhang Tao could witness this scene, he would understand why, despite possessing so many cannons, he could not hold the strategically advantageous Xuyi defensive line.

Numbers are not the crux; efficiency is.

It is not only the artillery’s efficiency, but also the infantry’s coordinated advance.

After the first barrage ended, the assault company's foot soldiers had already advanced to within five hundred meters of the beast tide.

From there they launched their attack, like an iron wall pushing forward.

With no need to consider ammunition consumption, every combat unit fired at full throttle.

Chen Jian meticulously directed the assault company's fire orientation, using dense, unified firepower to blanket every angle where monsters gathered.

Simultaneously, the drones and bombers that had taken position finally commenced their assault.

Air and ground as one, fire and signal as one!

The crack of rifles, the roar of exploding shells, the blast of aerial missiles, and the whir of attack‑plane propellers skimming the sky in pursuit of high‑value targets.

The battlefield rang with chaos, yet it possessed a strange, underlying order.

In the first round of the offensive alone, the assault company effortlessly eliminated nearly twenty monsters.

The eastern front of the beast tide was instantly exhausted, and immediately thereafter the assault company faced an even thicker, more complex line of battle.

‘Press forward!’

Chen Jian issued the command with calm resolve.

‘He Shuo! You can move in now!’

‘Cross the river! Prepare to wrap the dumplings!’

‘Compress the front; I need a smaller battlefield!’

‘Understood!’

He Shuo’s reply crackled through the headset.

Soon after, the expeditionary force, already tempered by a round of combat, poured onto the field.

Their weapons paled in comparison to the assault company’s, and their tactical acumen, combat skill, and resolve were far inferior.

But that mattered not.

They had only one task to perform.

Advance slowly, keep firing.

Deprived of unified command, the beast tide now resembled a band of leaderless deserters.

Where the gunfire roared, they fled in that direction.

Perhaps, in the clash between humanity and monsters, this was the first time the beasts felt genuine, overwhelming terror.

They had once feared fire.

Yet through prolonged struggle they learned that ordinary flames could not harm them, and they overcame that fear.

Now, however, that dread surged anew.

For before them raged an endless barrage of artillery.

The battlefield began to contract.

As the beast tide started to scatter, the reaping scythe was already held aloft.

(End of chapter)