novelaction Chapter 1341 As long as the wall stands, the people will stand!
Chapter 1341 As long as the wall stands, the people will stand!
Finally, it was Zhao Jie's turn as the commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou.
At this moment, the face of this promising youngest regimental-level officer among the survivors revealed an undeniable weariness.
However, thanks to his experience in military leadership since the end of the world, when faced with the current extremely chaotic and critical situation, as the backbone of the troops, he not only kept his mind in good order, but also performed better than Zhao Tielin, an old soldier, in terms of troop management.
Seeing Zhao Jie's performance, Du Yuming remained silent on the surface, but he was very pleased inside.
Putting aside other factors, as the commander of the Jinling Military Sub-district, he did not expect everyone under his command to be outstanding or to produce a great number of fierce generals, but at the very least, they should be able to handle things and take charge on their own in times of crisis, rather than having to rely on him to solve everything.
Therefore, from the current perspective, Zhao Jie is already considered qualified as a brigade commander.
"Reporting to the Commander! The reconnaissance, surveillance, and small-scale mopping-up units of the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou have received orders from 'The Furnace' and are making every effort to recapture them!"
"To date, about 60 percent of the dispersed forces have successfully disengaged and are converging on 'Eagle's Nest' and secondary assembly points."
"However, the recovery process encountered strong electromagnetic interference and sporadic spore sedimentation, communication was not smooth, and some units were out of contact. The final recovery rate is expected to be less than 70%."
Zhao Jie's voice was relatively steady until he said the estimate of "less than 70%", when his Adam's apple visibly bobbed and his eyes instantly reddened.
He single-handedly established the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou under the orders of his superiors!
From the initial militia of 50 people, most of whom were his classmates and juniors, they developed along the way, experiencing countless hardships and smashing the heads of countless zombies before finally replacing their skull-crushing hammers with Type 191 assault rifles.
Even today, he can call out the name of almost every soldier in the entire brigade without missing a single one. In his eyes, they are not only his soldiers, but also his family who give him a sense of security in the apocalypse!
At this moment, he finally understood with all his might, and with his own flesh and blood, the profound sorrow and despair behind the historical record's line, "Even if the elders and brothers of Jiangdong pity me and make me king, how can I face them?"
Under the pale lights of the command center, the young brigade commander's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. He pursed his lips tightly, suppressing the sob that was about to escape his throat.
Only the tears welling up in his red-rimmed eyes and the bulging veins on his forehead spoke of the immense pain he felt, as if a thousand ants were gnawing at his heart.
Du Yuming took in Zhao Jie's momentary loss of composure without urging or blaming him.
...
A few seconds later, Zhao Jie took a deep breath and let out a heavy, clear gasp.
When he raised his head again, the tears in his eyes had been forcibly suppressed, replaced by a deeper, more resolute determination.
But beneath that unwavering resolve, cracks were clearly visible.
He spoke again, his voice hoarse, yet regaining its cold, hard quality:
"The recovered troops will be prioritized for deployment to the core defense zone. Please provide instructions for the next steps, Commander."
The grief has not subsided, but it has been forged into the bones by a heavier responsibility.
Du Yuming remained silent for two seconds, but ultimately chose not to offer any words of comfort.
As someone who has been through it all, he knows that some things must be experienced and understood by oneself; the comfort of outsiders can never truly reach the heart.
"Understood. The recovery troops will be prioritized for deployment to the core defense zone and main passageways of 'Eagle's Nest.' Are the brigade's directly subordinate air defense units in position?"
"The air defense unit has entered its position."
However, at this very moment—
"report!"
Inside the joint command center, a communications staff officer suddenly stood up, his voice shrill:
"Urgent military situation! From Ranger 2! 2nd Infantry Battalion forward reconnaissance team, use the highest priority code!"
All eyes were instantly focused on him, and Du Yuming suddenly turned around:
"Read!"
The staff officer took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but his voice still trembled:
"Rider 2 reports: E7 Highway, location unknown, retreating at full speed. A large-scale unidentified biological swarm has appeared behind us! Covering the mountains and plains, like waves! The number is incalculable! Moving extremely fast! Individuals have strong bioluminescence! Moving towards Gucheng Lake!"
"A bioluminescent cluster? Could it be one of those fungal beasts in Jinling City?" Upon realizing this, Du Yuming's pupils constricted, instantly linking the spore cloud to this ground attack.
He had always felt something was off, and now he finally understood: with the intelligence of the Jinling Ancient Brain, how could it possibly lack ground support in conjunction with the sky!
Thinking of this, he suddenly looked at the electronic map: "E7 highway! Distance?"
"The last signal source is about eight to ten kilometers away from the western perimeter of Gucheng Lake!" the staff officer replied hastily.
Eight to ten kilometers?!
'For a rapidly advancing mutated swarm, it's over in an instant!'
Even more critically, the E7 highway extends directly towards the flank of the Gucheng Lake settlement's defenses and is adjacent to a major civilian evacuation route!
'We must not allow this surge to rush into the evacuating traffic, and we must not allow it to approach the "Eagle's Nest"!'
"Ambush operations in the wild are impractical!" Du Yuming made a decision instantly, speaking rapidly.
"Brigade Commander Zhao! Change the plan immediately! All your recovered and mobile combat forces within the city must cease their retreat towards 'Eagle's Nest'!"
He pointed sharply at the outline of the city wall already built on the west side of Gucheng Lake on the map:
"Relying on the existing city wall fortifications! Establish a defense depth along the west and southwest walls! Keep those devils firmly outside the walls!"
"How much time do we need to buy?" Since it was a blocking operation, Zhao Jie asked the core question right away.
Du Yuming glanced quickly at the slowly moving convoy of lights and the spreading purple hue on the screen, his mind racing with calculations:
"At least four hours! We must buy four hours to change the evacuation route and enter the 'Eagle's Nest'!"
"Yes, sir! The 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou, hold the city walls firmly!"
Zhao Jie knew full well that this order carried the danger of total annihilation, but he did not hesitate and turned to leave to make arrangements.
"Director Hu!" Du Yuming's gaze shot towards Hu Renfu, whose face had turned deathly pale:
"Immediately notify all convoys evacuating southwest! Route change! Avoid E7 highway and the western area, detour via the northern or eastern route, and converge on 'Eagle's Nest' and other alternative entrances! Notify by all means! Repeat the broadcast! Send personnel to intercept and guide them!"
"Zhao Tielin!" He turned to the garrison commander:
"The garrison and all available forces within the city are to do everything in their power to manage the traffic flow that has changed routes! Prevent further congestion and chaos!"
"The positions of the Second, Third, and Fourth Regiments should be raised to the highest level of alert to guard against possible infiltrations from other directions, and be prepared to provide support for the battle on the west wall at any time!"
"Du Wu!" He finally looked at the Crystal Warrior who stood in the corner like a black iron tower:
"The Imperial Guard Squadron and its directly subordinate Guard Company are responsible for the last line of defense at the entrance to 'Eagle's Nest' and the security of key areas inside! Anyone who attempts to storm the site without permission, whether human or monster, will be killed on sight!"
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison, and the command center instantly became like a bowstring stretched to its limit, with every link in the chain infused with a do-or-die spirit.
"Zhao Jie!" Du Yuming shouted in a low voice at the back of the brigade commander who was hurriedly issuing orders.
Zhao Jie turned around.
"The city walls can be breached, the positions can be lost," Du Yuming stared at him, emphasizing each word:
"But we must buy you time! Even if we have to fight to the last man, we must keep those glowing ghosts pinned against the wall for four hours!"
Zhao Jie nodded emphatically, his eyes burning with a steely resolve and determination beyond his years:
"As long as we're alive, the wall will stand!"