si-mexico Chapter 139: Attack from both sides
Chapter 139: Attack from both sides
On August 22nd, the meeting of the top leaders of the three bases finally ushered in the epic chapter later known as the "Battle of Langley." To be on the safe side, Li Chenglong contacted Yunlan to send half of the Second Regiment to bolster their combat capabilities, as the soldiers of Dawn City would play a decisive role in this battle. Fu Sanshan also sent a telegram, ordering his second brother, Fu Sanhai, a level 6 ability user, to lead 500 men to reinforce the troops. At this moment, nearly 3000 soldiers from Dawn City, along with 2500 soldiers from Huaxing Base, were rushing to Langley Base. Wei Lanxin was deeply moved by the strong support from her two allies and ordered all stored rare resources to be brought out to reward and comfort the two armies upon their arrival. She also had her adjutant send a large quantity of crystals to Li Chenglong and Fu Sanshan.
At noon on August 23, a long procession of nearly 3000 troops from Dawn City arrived in a grand procession. Li Chenglong and two other leaders came out of the city to greet them. Yang Liu introduced the First, Second, and Third Regiments and the Joint Logistics Support Force to the two leaders. Looking at the imposing and powerful troops, Fu Sanshan and Wei Lanxin exclaimed in unison, "Truly, a tiger general has no weak army!" After the army stopped, the regimental commanders, deputy commanders, and political commissars of each regiment dismounted and solemnly saluted Li Chenglong: "The Dawn City support forces have all arrived. Please inspect them, Lord Li! Please inspect them, Leaders Wei and Fu!" Li Chenglong returned the salute solemnly and then introduced these men to the leaders of the other two bases. The two leaders were greatly surprised to learn that all of them, except for Wang Yousheng, were Level 6 ability users. Subsequently, led by Wu Gang, the three of them inspected the troops.
Because only half of the Second Regiment came, only Wan Dahai led the troops; Zheng Aiguo and Sun Youcai, following Li Chenglong's instructions, did not come. Leaders at all levels of the Langley base, along with many residents, came out of the city to welcome them. Many ordinary people, especially, had been devastated by the news of the approaching zombie army, but seeing such a formidable force arrive to provide support, they felt much more at ease.
Wei Lanxin personally instructed her adjutant to settle the army in Dawn City, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of proper arrangements. At 3 PM, Li Chenglong met with the regimental, battalion, and company-level officers to explain the operational plan. Wu Gang and the others largely agreed with the plan. The Lanli base lacked city walls, possessing only fortifications and watchtowers. These were adequate against ordinary enemies, but against hundreds of thousands of zombies, they wouldn't last an hour. Since defense was ineffective, a counter-offensive was preferable. A flexible, flanking maneuver would encircle and annihilate a portion of the zombie horde, accumulating small victories to ultimately secure victory.
Li Chenglong concluded, "This operation isn't just for Langley Base, but for Dawn City. When you return, you must relay this message and unify your thinking. If we're not unified, we won't be able to fight well, let alone win. You've all seen Langley Base; it doesn't have any strong fortifications. If we lose this battle, a large number of zombies will overwhelm it, and then they'll definitely continue eastward, destroying large areas of farmland west of Dawn City. Those hundreds of acres of farmland are thriving and have a good chance of a good harvest in the fall. If they're destroyed, we definitely won't survive the winter. We've collected all the usable supplies in the surrounding area over the past few months. Now, our supply search teams are getting very little each day. These hundreds of acres of farmland are our hope, and even more so, the future of Dawn City."
Wu Gang solemnly said, "Please rest assured, City Lord, we swear to follow you and fight this battle well." The others followed suit, expressing their determination. Li Chenglong nodded, "Then let's adjourn the meeting. There will be no training this afternoon, let the brothers get some rest. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, our Dawn City troops, guided by a small unit from the Langley base, will depart from the west gate, splitting into two routes, north and south, to attack the junction of the zombie horde's vanguard and the main force. My special forces team and Wu Gang's regiment will advance from the south, while Wan Dahai will lead half of the second regiment and Hao Dahai's third regiment from the north. Once we reach our battle positions, we will launch the attack together."
Wei Lanxin had originally planned to host a banquet for the officers of the Dawn Army who came to support the Langley base, but Li Chenglong refused, citing the need to focus entirely on preparations for battle. Li Chenglong said, "Let's hold a victory celebration after the battle." The next morning at eight o'clock, Wei Lanxin, along with most of the leaders at various levels of the Langley base, and several thousand residents, came to the west gate to see Li Chenglong off with his army to meet the enemy. As Li Chenglong left, he said to Wei Lanxin and Fu Sanshan, "After we fight the zombie army, the rest is up to you."
Just outside the west gate, the Dawn Army split into two groups and began advancing towards their designated location. Li Chenglong, holding a map in the car, said to Wu Gang in the back, "Based on the zombies' advance speed, their vanguard will pass the designated location by 5 PM today. We need to arrive before 4 PM, then deploy our battle lines and cut off the zombie horde's communication. Then, Wu Gang, your unit will hold off the main zombie attack; of course, I and the special forces will accompany you. Next, Wan Dahai and Hao Dahai's regiment and a half will turn back to attack the zombie horde's vanguard. As agreed, Wei Lanxin will also send 1000 men to join us in a pincer attack. We must annihilate the zombie vanguard before 7 PM."
Li Chenglong paused and continued, "After Wan Dahai and Hao Dahai's regiment and one and a half regiments annihilate the enemy's vanguard, our Dawn Army will converge to jointly confront the zombie army. However, we don't need to hold out to the death. We will fight and retreat, using the terrain to block the zombies layer by layer, stretching their lines. As long as we can hold out for a day, giving Fu Sanshan's 2500 men on the left and Wei Lanxin's 4000 men on the right ample time to encircle them, our nearly 10,000 troops, along with so many superhumans, will surely inflict heavy losses on the zombies."
As Yang Liu drove, she said, "The plan is excellent. If it goes smoothly, we can achieve great results without making many sacrifices. We're fine with it; it's up to them." Li Chenglong said, "There shouldn't be any problems. Wei Lanxin will definitely fight with all her might to protect her territory. As for Fu Sanshan, Wei Lanxin has promised him a lot of benefits. Plus, our three bases are practically in the same boat. If we can't hold this place, a lot of zombies will go to them."
Zhao Liying said from the back row, "Han Xiaoling almost cried this morning when she heard she couldn't participate in the battle. But it's really too difficult for a twelve or thirteen-year-old to participate in this kind of battle." Li Chenglong looked ahead and slowly said, "I left behind a few very young and purely supportive ability users with no combat ability. It would be too dangerous for them to participate in the battle. By the way, Wu Gang, have you distributed the crystals I gave you to the ability users? These crystals can help them recover their strength at crucial moments, which is very important." Wu Gang affirmed, "I've distributed them all and made arrangements. Commander Wan and Commander Hao have also distributed them." Li Chenglong nodded, "That's good. Such a large-scale battle consumes a huge amount of ability power from the ability users."
The regiment only took a short break at noon, the soldiers quickly ate lunch, and then boarded the troop transport vehicles. During this time, Li Chenglong made sure the soldiers could see him at every station. He considered this very important; being with the soldiers before a major battle would boost morale and increase their confidence in fighting. Yunlan also communicated with Li Chenglong through her ring, reminding him to be careful.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Li Chenglong and Wu Gang's group arrived at the target location on time. Hao Dahai also contacted them via radio, saying that they had arrived as well. According to the plan, they would rest briefly in place before letting the vanguard of zombies in. A little while later, Yang Liu returned with her men, panting, and said, "Team Leader Li, the situation is worse than we estimated. The vanguard of zombies is much larger than we anticipated, at least 4. It seems they absorbed a lot of scattered zombies along the way, and there are not only zombies, but also zombie beasts and zombie birds among them."
Li Chenglong thought for a moment and said, "Let's stick to the original plan. We won't move yet; let's wait for this wave of zombies to pass." A little over an hour later, another scout reported that the first wave of zombies had entered the encirclement. Hao Dahai's Third Regiment and Wan Dahai's half-map had begun fighting, and the troops from the Langley base in the rear had formed a pincer movement against the zombie vanguard. Li Chenglong looked at Wu Gang: "Let's go. To give them enough time to eliminate these 4+ zombies, we need to hold them off here and delay the zombie horde's advance." With that, they rushed towards the battlefield.