With the protection of the 6th Division, the 7th, 5th, 1st, and 4th Divisions finally got a rare chance to catch a breather as they retreated. After learning that the 6th Division had been ambushed, the four P5 commanders were made aware they had fallen for the expeditionary army’s trap.
So what they needed to do now was definitely not to mourn for the dead soldiers of the 6th Division, but to race against time.
Only if they managed to return south of the Great Wall could the Pyro Company continue dealing with the expeditionary army.
Among them, the 1st and 4th Divisions were in a better situation. When they were pursuing the barbarians, they had slowly fallen behind the rest, so they were the fastest now when they needed to retreat.
The 1st Division’s commander, P5077, was lamenting to his adjutant as he ordered his troops to retreat in an orderly manner.
He stood in the command vehicle and looked into the distance. When he saw all his soldiers showing signs of fatigue, P5077 said, “If only I had listened to P5092 earlier; that would have been great. How could we let our own interests get to our heads in the face of a big battle? We’re the ones at fault.”
“Sir, it’s useless to say that now. Our utmost priority is to retreat.” His adjutant said, “Fortunately, our troops are quite far away from the battlefield. I estimate we can reach the Great Wall in another two hours. At that time, the firepower on the walls will be able to stop the barbarians from pursuing us any further.”
“Hopefully…” P5077 said.
But just as he trailed off, the infantry brigade commander at the rear suddenly radioed the command vehicle, “Sir, our flanks are under attack. It’s the expeditionary army!”
“What’s going on?” P5077 frowned and asked, “Why are there barbarians here?”
“They must’ve been lying in ambush here since early on and only appeared now.” The commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade said anxiously, “Fortunately, they were one step too late. Their main target is the 7th Division behind us, so our troops should be able to shake them off quickly. Sir, awaiting your instructions. Should we go and support the 7th Division or continue retreating?”
P5077 immediately ordered someone to bring over a map. He took a serious look at the nearby terrain and gasped, “It’s not that these barbarian troops are late, but that we retreated faster than they expected! The troops that appeared on the flanks meant to surround all of us. Don’t tussle with them. They must be one of the expeditionary army’s main forces. If we get held back here, we’re all gonna get wiped out!”
“Roger!” the infantry brigade commander answered.
A chill ran through P5077. If 6th Division had not pledged to provide cover for half an hour, their 1st and 7th Divisions to the rear of the west flank would definitely have been caught in an encounter with the northern barbarians’ main forces. Then they couldn’t have retreated so quickly.
If they had been late by half an hour, the barbarians’ main forces that suddenly appeared at this moment would show up at their rear and block their escape route back to the south.
But things were different now. The 1st Division had gotten out of the barbarians’ encirclement in advance.
P5077 said, “Contact the other divisions immediately and find out their situations!”
Soon, the staff officer received replies from the various divisions. “4th Division to the rear of the pursuing forces just like us got out of the encirclement in advance. But the 7th and 5th Divisions are still caught within the encirclement area. The enemy troops have enveloped them from both flanks. If we had been late by half an hour, none of our four divisions would have escaped. They estimate the encirclement was carried out by a total of more than 15,000 barbarians.”
In other words, the 7th and 5th Divisions each had to face an army of over 7,000 barbarians.
A 15,000-strong force of the expeditionary army was enough to stop 40,000 Pyro Company troops that had run out of ammunition and food. Although they might not be able to kill everyone, it should not be a problem to drag things out until more of the northern expeditionary army’s army arrived.
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Only at this moment did the significance of the 6th Division soldiers who had pledged to provide cover for the rest become obvious.
P5077’s adjutant looked at him. “Sir, should we go back and reinforce the 7th and 5th Divisions?”
P5077 sat in his chair and stayed silent for a long time before saying, “Retreat, continue retreating. 6th Division sacrificed themselves to give us this extra half an hour, so we must cherish it! Get 7th Division on the line!”
At this moment, the highest-ranking commander of the 7th Division, P5067, was looking back at the expeditionary army that had appeared to their rear and flank. Amid the chaos, the soldiers could only fight hastily. As the difference in strength was too vast, many of the frontline soldiers were killed as soon as they made contact with the barbarians.
When the call connected, the person on the other end said, “I’m 1st Division’s P5077. Our troops are just south of you all, but we can’t turn back to reinforce you.”
P5067, who was heavily surrounded, laughed. “You guys go ahead. We’ll leave it to you all to protect mankind south of the Great Wall.”
P5077 said in a low voice, “Old buddy, do you know what you’re up against?”
“Of course I know.” P5067 laughed and said, “But we can’t just let P5031 get punished all by himself, right? It’s clear that all of us have made the wrong decision, so we have to pay the price for it.”
P5077 hesitated for a while. “But…”
“No buts.” P5067 said firmly, “Since 6th Division could hold off the barbarians for half an hour, our 7th Division can also do the same for everyone. Have your troops continue to retreat. I repeat, have your troops continue to retreat.”
After that, P5067 hung up. He got his subordinate to get his saber for him and then pressed a red button in the command vehicle. “It’s a great honor to have served with everyone. 6th Division has already been wiped out. Now, it’s time for our 7th Division to step forward. Since 6th Division bought us half an hour, let’s also do the same for the 1st and 4th Divisions.
“Time is very precious, isn’t it? Everyone says that a moment of time is worth an ounce of gold. I don’t have that much money to be able to buy time, so I can only trade for it with my life.
“Comrades, we’ll fight to the death today. The glory of protecting mankind in the Central Plains is our Pyro Company’s to enjoy!”
But at this moment, someone from the troops at the front suddenly connected with the command vehicle on the radio. “Sir, some outsiders have entered the battlefield all of a sudden! I repeat, some unknown people have entered the battlefield!”
“Who are they? How many of them are there?” P5067 was stunned.
The “unknown people” referred to people other than the Pyro Company and the expeditionary army’s forces. It could mean that they were from the Wang Consortium, the Zhou Consortium, or anyone else. But no matter what, they were people who should not have appeared here.
“Sir, there’s only two of them. One of them is the legendary White Mask,” the frontline soldier reported.
P5067 quickly walked out of his command vehicle and climbed on top of it. Then he raised his binoculars and looked towards the front line in the distance.
He was surprised to see two people walking towards the battlefield with sabers in hand. They did not look like they were in a hurry and seemed unexpectedly calm.
Be it the Pyro Company or the expeditionary army, there were thousands of soldiers from both sides. As such, these two individuals looked a little weak and lonely.
Moreover, a lot of people who paid enough attention to news about superhumans knew that White Mask was not an actual person but someone’s superpower, and that someone was an important figure in the Northwest.
When he realized the other party was only a single individual, P5067 felt the person entering the battlefield was even more lonely than before.
P5067 suddenly saw the other party apparently say something to the frontline soldiers through the binoculars. He immediately asked, “What’s he saying?”
A frontline commander said with much struggle over the radio, “He told us to retreat. He said he’ll buy some time for us.”
As they spoke, the sound of a sniper rifle firing came from the distance.