Chapter 81: Change of Plans

Chapter 81: Plans Change

At ten o’clock at night, in the hall of the Machine God Sect in Huangshi City, Chen Jian and his two companions had just finished treating the wounds of all the injured.

They had won this counter‑ambush operation, but the cost was heavy.

Among the city’s defenders, already few in number, three unlucky souls fell to the knives of the Holy Blood fanatics who stormed the bunkers, and two more were struck by bullets fired from the Machine God Sect’s miners, suffering grave injuries.

Besides that, out of a total of sixty‑two combatants, five sustained light wounds; lacking any professional training, they could not be thrown into the next phase of fighting.

Thus, the number of usable fighters left in Chen Jian’s hands was only fifty‑two.

That was certainly not good news.

But it was not without good news either.

The weapons Lei Jie brought back were more than enough to arm every combatant fully.

And after enduring the baptism of a fierce battle, Chen Jian believed these people deserved better arms.

So a large number of Type 191 rifles and two Type 201 machine guns were quickly distributed to all combatants; after a brief explanation and some practice, everyone who received a gun easily learned to aim and fire.

How did the saying go?

A squad of farmers holding muskets could easily rout a squad of seasoned heavy cavalry.

That was still the era of front‑loading guns, whose operation was extremely complex.

Modern firearms are far simpler: change the magazine, aim, pull the trigger, then wait silently for the enemy to fall— that is enough.

Morale, which had been low, rose swiftly with this new batch of weapons; many even forgot the brutality of the fight just past.

They were eager to do something, eager to vent their repression and anger with bullets.

But Chen Jian stopped every irrational impulse.

He knew the outcome of this battle was not decided inside Huangshi City.

That kite flown far away was the key to victory.

Standing in the temporary command post, Chen Jian looked at the map on his PDA and said:

“Lei Jie’s operation is proceeding smoothly; he is currently fifteen kilometres from us, and according to his estimate he will reach the planned drop point in eight hours.”

“Then, plus or minus one hour after nine hours, the nuclear device will drift with the current to the vicinity of Yùqìng Prefecture.”

“Now is the dry season; the river here is only seven hundred metres wide, so wherever the device detonates, its combined lethal radius will cover roughly one kilometre inland on both banks.”

“In other words, the one thing we must guarantee is that the device explodes near Yùqìng Prefecture.”

“That is hardly difficult.”

“But the precondition is that the enemy is still there when the blast occurs.”

When Chen Jian finished speaking, Hé Shuò nodded thoughtfully and then said:

“In other words, we must ensure the enemy does not launch a full‑scale attack before tomorrow afternoon at fourteen hundred.”

“Is that possible?”

“I think it is unlikely.”

Shěn Yuè unconsciously tapped the metal table, his eyes darting; the intelligence recorded on the PDA instantly streamed to the smart goggles of the other three.

“According to drone reconnaissance, a reinforcement has already arrived downstream of the Yangtze near Jiāngzhōu: two steamships, with about three hundred combatants.”

“Add the enemy forces from Xiánníng and the Hàn River, and the total hostile strength approaches two thousand.”

“Surround them ten to one, attack them five to one— even if they are cautious, they should try a real assault.”

“Not necessarily.”

Chen Jian waved his hand and continued:

“They do have two thousand men, but you must know that at least five hundred of those two thousand are full‑time artillery priests operating the guns, plus a large number of machinists, priests, and other odd clerics.”

“In other words, the infantry truly capable of close combat numbers fewer than a thousand.”

“And in the first two waves of attack they have already gauged Huangshi City’s defenses.”

“If it were you, would you use that thousand to try storming Huangshi City?”

“.I wouldn’t; you can’t break in.”

“Exactly, you can’t break in.”

Chen Jian spread his hands and went on:

“It’s not overconfidence on my part; the facts are just that.”

“Whether it’s the Protectors of the Faith or the Holy Blood fanatics, in the face of dense automatic fire they are too frail; blind attack only brings needless loss.”

“Their current artillery poses us little real threat; to create genuine suppression they must mobilise more large‑calibre guns.”

“And right now, the number of guns they can call upon is clearly insufficient.”

“So they will keep waiting.”

“But we don’t know exactly how long.”

When Chen Jian’s words fell, Shěn Yuè frowned and said:

“I don’t think they’ll wait long.”

“These Machine God Sect fanatics aren’t the brainless villains of TV dramas, handing us vegetables one by one like the gourd brothers rescuing their grandfather.”

“They will give everything they have.”

“If they need artillery, they will likely pull it from the major cities they control.”

“We know the speed of the steamships: average about twelve knots, top speed perhaps fifteen knots.”

“The waterway from here to Jīnlíng City is four hundred kilometres long; given the enemy’s mobilization ability is not low, within thirty hours artillery—or warships—from Jīnlíng could reach Yùqìng Prefecture.”

“If we calculate that way, around eight o’clock tomorrow morning they will meet fresh reinforcements.”

“From deployment to unfolding, plus a few more hours, they will probably launch a general offensive before fourteen hundred.”

“Once they start attacking, who can our nuclear bomb still hit?”

“Unless someone straps a bomb to their body and rushes into the crowd—but that is a last resort.”

“The main problem is the time lag. Lei Jie is slow.”

When Shěn Yuè finished, everyone present fell into silence.

After a moment, Hé Shuò spoke:

“We cannot make the Yangtze flow faster, so there is only one option.”

“Have them drop the device nearer.”

“Impossible.”

Chen Jian sighed and continued:

“If they could drop it closer, they would not have needed to go so far in the first place.”

“You yourself ran into the Holy Blood fanatics; that shows their reconnaissance upstream must be extensive.”

“That is a vital supply line; they know how to fight— how could they leave it unguarded?”

Especially since Reyje still needs to get close to the river to drop the supplies; if they’re spotted, they’ll hardly be able to escape.

Even if they could get away, even if they could win a fight, once they’re targeted they’d lose the chance to drop the supplies—and that’s the crucial point.

So we must create an opportunity for them.

He Shuo said with a firm tone:

“We’ve been surrounded for too long; it’s time to take the offensive.”

“There are Holy Bloods over there, and we have Holy Bloods nearby—what if the ones near us are all killed?”

Chen Jian instantly understood He Shuo’s meaning.

“Exactly, the enemy’s main reconnaissance force consists of the Holy Bloods scattered at every key point.”

“But the number of Holy Bloods is limited.”

“If our squad can take out a batch, then the loss will be theirs and the gain ours—upstream will inevitably expose a huge gap.”

“We can do it!”

Chen Jian nodded heavily, then said:

“The timing is perfect; they know night is our turf, so they certainly won’t launch a large‑scale attack.”

“Let’s seize this chance and go out hunting!”

“Understood!”

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

Meanwhile, aboard the great ship of Yuqingzhou, Xu Lie, who thought he had seen through these “Chosen Ones,” remained unaware that, bolstered by modern intelligence analysis, his enemies had already moved ahead of him.

(End of chapter)