amaotonovel Chapter 1352 Why can't we turn defeat into victory?
Chapter 1352 Why can't we turn defeat into victory?
The surviving soldiers moved silently and laboriously, supporting each other and dragging the wounded toward the grove of trees that symbolized a meager chance to catch their breath.
The wind and snow seemed to intensify, and the world was shrouded in a vast expanse of white. This once mighty Tsarist guard, which had once dominated the north, now resembled a group of lonely ghosts abandoned by the world, leaving behind lines of desperate and wretched footprints in the cold mud.
Every step was taken on the ruins of a collapsing empire.
Shahar kept encouraging them; in fact, he was not only encouraging them, but also encouraging themselves.
They didn't know how long they had traveled, but they finally managed to leave through a small path...
They arrived at the Ironwall Fortress, which formed the second line of defense for their Slavic Empire...
At this moment, the fortress's huge inner city square and outer barracks were filled with chaos and noise.
Countless soldiers, like a swarm of ants startled, poured out from the paths and dense forests leading to the front lines.
They were ragged and disarmed, their faces frozen with lingering fear and bewilderment at surviving the ordeal.
Many people, wounded and supporting each other, struggled to move across the cold snow. The air was thick with the stench of gunpowder, blood, sweat, and despair.
They all rushed towards the fortress...
At this time, Shahar did not enter the city, but waited here to greet these so-called remnants of the defeated army...
"His Majesty!"
An officer with crooked armor and a fresh bloodstain on his face jogged over, knelt on one knee, and said in a hoarse voice: "The remnants of the Fourth and Seventh Infantry Regiments have been gathered, about... about 1,200 men, and are being reorganized. But morale... is very low."
Shahar did not turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the distraught figures in the square.
He could see the fear in the soldiers' eyes, the marks left by the "Iron Birds" tearing the sky apart and unleashing a rain of destruction, the wounds from their formations being crushed by the armored vehicles and heavy machine guns of the Allied forces that spewed deadly tongues of fire.
"So down that you want to give up?"
Shahar's voice was icy cold, even colder than the snowstorm outside the fortress.
The officer trembled, his head bowed even lower: "Your Majesty! It's just... we've never seen such weapons, such fighting style... our bows and swords are no match for them..."
"enough!"
Shahar whirled around, his eyes burning with humiliated rage and a barely suppressed fear. "Never seen it before? Then learn with blood and will! Tell all the soldiers! That last defeat is nothing, but they must know where this is!"
"This fortress will be the last stronghold of us Slavic warriors, the graveyard of those Eastern barbarians! This time, I will stand with you and annihilate all those who invade!"
"Anyone who is cowardly or fearful of the enemy!"
"Kill them on the spot! Reorganize the troops, distribute all stockpiled weapons, and reinforce the city's defenses here! Immediately!"
Shahar was practically roaring as he gave commands.
Upon hearing Shahar's roar, the generals all sprang into action...
Shahar took a deep breath, and the icy, lung-piercing air cleared his muddled mind somewhat.
He knew that the mere threat of killing could not truly unite the troops.
He needs a victory, even a small one, one that proves the enemy is not invincible.
More importantly, he needs time to wait for that one last hope.
As Shahar spoke, he summoned all the generals present.
These generals had all wanted to go to the front lines, but after hearing the news of one defeat after another...
The highest-ranking commander here made a temporary decision to station all troops at this fortress.
Preserve their embers!
Shahar summoned his generals, and they arrived quickly...
Shahar addressed the generals, saying, "This time, after those two crushing defeats, it wasn't for any particular reason, but because of those iron birds in their skies. If it weren't for those iron birds, even if they had armored vehicles, we wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat!"
"Therefore, gentlemen, we need to find a way to deal with those iron birds..."
However, many of these generals had never seen those iron birds.
Seeing that these people didn't know what to do for a while...
Shahar's voice was low but carried a desperate ruthlessness: "Summon all the craftsmen! Ballistae! Modify them! Increase the firing angle! Use the toughest animal sinew strings! Tie oil canisters to the arrowheads! Shoot them into the sky! Even if it costs ten ballistae to get one of his iron birds, it's worth it!"
"Archers on every rooftop and tower, armed with armor-piercing heavy arrows! Also, gather all the bronze mirrors and tinfoil; use them to reflect sunlight and impair their vision during the day! At night... light bonfires and create smoke! At all costs!"
Some of the generals nodded. But some of the officers who had participated in the battle looked at each other, their eyes filled with doubt.
They had witnessed the power of those iron birds, using bows and crossbows to deal with those monsters that nimbly traversed the clouds and rained down death.
This was utterly delusional. But under Shahar's bloodshot gaze, no one dared to object and could only grit their teeth and obey.
After all, they couldn't think of a better way...
For the next dozen or so hours, Ustj Fortress transformed into a massive, bustling war workshop.
The sounds of hammering, commands, and the cries of wounded soldiers filled the air.
Shahar, like a restless, trapped beast, patrolled the fortress, urging every lazy person to improve.
In his hoarse voice, he kept repeating the glory of the empire, and the bravery and determination of the Slavs!
They encouraged them while telling them that the Slavs had no way out.
Repeating the bloodthirsty nature of the people of their East Asian Federation...
He personally participated in the defense deployment, reorganizing the nearly 10,000 soldiers he had gathered, and building concentric defensive positions relying on the fortress's strategic terrain and sturdy fortifications.
Dig deep trenches, add barricades and deer pens, and stockpile rolling logs, stones, and molten gold.
The fortress's warehouses were opened, and stored food, jerky, and cheap vodka were distributed to boost morale, which was at its lowest point, even if only temporarily.
He forced himself not to think about the despair in his son Reese's eyes when he was captured, not to think about Han Da's calm face that was more chilling than any mockery, and not to think about whether Wei Wuji's haunting "iron birds" would appear on the horizon at any moment.
He must seize everything before him; this time, he must hold on...
If they lose this side, and he doesn't lose much more, then the country will truly perish...
Just as the tense and oppressive atmosphere inside the fortress was about to reach its peak, and Shahar summoned his core officers to the operations room underground for a final detailed rehearsal of the defenses, a sudden...
The heavy oak door to the operations room was pushed open silently.
There was no announcement from the guards, not even the sound of footsteps.
A man was standing at the door.
He was extremely ordinary in appearance, of medium build, wearing a gray cotton-padded coat that was no different from that of an ordinary Slavic soldier. His face was plain and unremarkable, the kind of person who would disappear instantly if thrown into a crowd.
Behind him stood nine soldiers dressed in the same uniform.
They stood ramrod straight, their movements meticulous, their eyes vacant and lifeless, like exquisite wax figures.
The sudden change caused the captain of Shahar's guard to instantly draw his scimitar and shout sharply, "Who goes there?! Guards! Where are the guards?!"
The man at the door raised his hand and made a precise, non-necessary stop gesture.
His voice rang out, calm and devoid of any emotion, as he looked at Shahar: "Your Majesty Shahar, there is no need to panic! We have been ordered to come and support you! You should know who we are!"
"Coming here on orders?" Shahar's pupils suddenly contracted! It was that mysterious man's force! He forcibly suppressed the elation and suspicion in his heart, waved for the captain of the guard to step back, and stared intently at the newcomer, especially his mysterious eyes.
After a brief moment of excitement, seeing these people arrive, no one else came...
"You...you're the reinforcements? Just the few of you?"
His tone carried an undisguised disappointment and a hint of anger at being fooled.
Ten people? What can they do on a battlefield with thousands of troops? Deal with those steel behemoths?
The lead android completely ignored the skepticism in Shahar's tone.
He stepped forward and entered the operations room.
The nine robots behind him followed silently like shadows. Their movements were so coordinated it was chilling.
"We are just the first squad to arrive! There are many more squads to come..." the android captain stated calmly.
"We are here on orders to assist you in delaying the East Asian Allied Forces' offensive until the main force arrives. The main force is already on its way at full speed..."
His gaze swept over the rough map on the wall of the operations room, and over the expressions on the faces of Shahar and the others, a mixture of astonishment, doubt, and a glimmer of hope.
"Delay? With just the ten of you?"
A Slavic general with a full beard couldn't help but sneer: "Those Easterners' iron birds and steel chariots could crush you to pieces with a single charge!"
The android captain did not show any signs of being offended!
His gaze shifted to the general, and the empty look in his eyes sent a chill down the spine of the bearded Slavic general.
"If we can't do it, then you're even less capable!"
He said mechanically, "Your Majesty Shahar, you should know how powerful we are. Would you like to demonstrate it to me?"
Before he could finish speaking, and before Shahar could even open his mouth...
The android captain raised his right hand at a speed and angle that no human could achieve.
A barely perceptible whooshing sound rang out!
"boom!!"
In the corner of the heavy stone wall of the operations room, a worn cast iron shield that was hanging there as decoration suddenly revealed a round hole with extremely smooth edges, emitting blue smoke!
The hole penetrated the stone wall, which was at least half a foot thick, allowing sunlight to stream in from outside!
The entire operations room was deathly silent. All the Slavic officers, including Shahar, were frozen in place, their eyes wide open, staring at the still-smoking hole and the beam of light shining through.
In that split second, no one saw how he made his move! What kind of weapon was that? So small, yet possessing such terrifying penetrating power?!
As if he had done something insignificant, a tiny device, almost the same color as his skin, quietly retracted into his sleeve from the wrist he had raised.
"7.62mm electromagnetic kinetic energy pistol, single-shot mode, effective range of 1500 meters, armor-piercing performance superior to any known individual armor on the current battlefield."
His voice remained calm: "The standard equipment for each soldier in our team includes: one main weapon of the same type, one miniature fully automatic submachine gun, four high-explosive grenades, one tactical knife, and basic detection, communication, and electronic warfare modules."
The nine robots behind him simultaneously raised their arms, displaying equally inconspicuous devices on their wrists, their movements perfectly synchronized, like mirror images.
They had never heard of the names of the weapons the other party mentioned.
Silence. Deathly silence.
The bearded general who had been sneer just moments before was now deathly pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Shahar's heart was pounding in his chest, and the blood seemed to rush to his head!
Disappointment and anger were replaced by an almost frenzied excitement!
Rusty little iron pipes that can penetrate stone walls! And weapons specifically designed to deal with tanks!
These...these reinforcements...no, these killing machines!
They didn't bring ten people, but ten walking killing machines far superior to their weapons!
And this is only the first squad! There's more support coming!
As long as they can delay their advance, they can wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Once the main force arrives, they will achieve true victory! Go and crush them...
He excitedly took a step forward, almost grabbing the captain of the androids by the shoulder, but stopped himself under the lifeless gaze of the other man!
Shahar's voice trembled slightly with excitement: "Good! Good! That's wonderful!"
"Thank you, Mr. Mysterious Man, for not forgetting us!"
"Welcome! You've come just in time!"
He then turned to the still-shocked officers, his voice suddenly rising, filled with unprecedented confidence and a morbid excitement: "Did you all see that?! This is true power! Support from the great, mysterious man!"
“We told you there would be reinforcements! Those iron birds and beasts of the East are nothing but lambs to the slaughter before them! Our shame will be washed away a hundredfold with their blood! The Empire has not yet fallen!”
Shahar's roar echoed in the war room, as if injecting a powerful stimulant into the dying empire.
As the officers looked at the ten squad members who had come to their aid standing silently, the fear in their eyes was gradually replaced by a twisted hope and a flame of revenge.
Yes, with such formidable weapons and such reinforcements, why couldn't they hold Ust-Isti fortress?!
Why can't we turn defeat into victory?