HCB Chapter 268 The Entire Territory of Liri Falls
Chapter 268 The Entire Territory of Liri Falls
The front line of Lirui City, once a prosperous shopping mall, has now become a battlefield filled with smoke and the smell of death.
"Huff huff huff..." Liu Xian gasped for breath, his body exhausted from the long, continuous transformation and battle.
Looking down at the remaining Worms (adults) slowly dragging away the corpses of their kind, I breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Senior Zhao Kai, these damned Worms, so many of their kind have died today, they shouldn't be able to charge up anymore, right?"
Upon hearing Liu Xian's words, Zhao Kai slowly turned his head, a complex expression on his face, a mixture of nostalgia for his old friend and helplessness about the present situation.
He looked at the young man who had just received the Kick Hopper from Qin Xiao, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly began to explain.
"They won't be rushing over again for a while, but we'll have to leave once all the residents in Ruili's urban area have been evacuated."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xian's face showed a hint of astonishment and confusion. "What? We have to retreat too? What about this place? This is all Ming territory. Are we just going to give it up like this?" His voice revealed his reluctance to leave this land and his unwillingness to accept defeat from the enemy.
Zhao Kai did not answer Liu Xian's question immediately; instead, he turned his gaze to the front mountain position behind him.
Liu Xian followed Zhao Kai's gaze and saw that the battlefield behind them was in a mess, with ruins everywhere and bloodstains all over the ground.
Although many soldiers remained on the position, they all remained silent, their heads bowed as they gathered the remains of their comrades who lay forever asleep there, even those whose bodies were no longer intact...
Seeing this, Liu Xian suddenly realized how foolish her question had been.
His face instantly turned ashamed, and he involuntarily lowered his head.
Zhao Kai continued, "We did clear out a lot of Worms today, but that's mainly because of our advantage with the Knight Armor."
"But they didn't..."
At this point, Zhao Kai suddenly paused.
Then, he turned his head to look at the other side of the battle line and said, "Moreover, even with our armor advantage, we can no longer hold this place."
"Even if we ultimately manage to hold it, the number of people who would have to sacrifice would likely far exceed the value of this land. It's not worth it!"
After saying that, Zhao Kai left with the person in charge of the battle line and began to prepare for the retreat.
Liu Xian was left staring blankly at the hundreds of broken Leo cavalry drives that the Special Operations Bureau's logistics personnel had collected not far away.
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Half an hour later.
With the safe evacuation of the last batch of citizens from Lirui City, the border defense troops and special operations teams stationed along the entire front of the mountain also began to carry out their evacuation operations in an orderly manner.
In distant Myanmar, the worms that had temporarily left the worms noticed the situation, but surprisingly, they did not intervene. They simply watched the human army depart in silence.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere was unusually heavy inside the frontline command center of the Nanyun Provincial Border Defense Military Region.
"Reporting to Commander Mu and Chief of Staff Xu, all troops stationed on the front line of the Qian Shan battle have completed their withdrawal and have now arrived at the nearest logistics base for rest!" A combat staff officer saluted and reported loudly.
Mu Tiande and Xu Tie exchanged a glance, and then Xu Tie nodded first.
"Well, let's report on the casualties!" Chief of Staff Xu asked first, his voice revealing a hint of tension.
"Yes, sir!" The operations staff officer took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady.
"The number of troops participating in the defense of the front line was [number missing], of which 2573 were wounded and [number missing] were killed in action..."
At this point, the operations staff officer's voice suddenly trembled. "The death toll is 7254. Report complete. Requesting instructions!"
Upon hearing the final death toll, Mu Tiande's face turned deathly pale, and the command stick he was gripping was suddenly squeezed.
With a "crack!" it broke in two.
Xu Tie, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed, his pupils contracting sharply.
moment.
"Have all the citizens of Lirui City been safely evacuated?" Xu Tie took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady, but his slightly trembling tone still revealed his inner unease.
"Lirui City has a total population of 20, and about 15 people were safely evacuated this time. The local authorities have not yet fully compiled the exact figures."
The operations staff officer's voice echoed in the quiet room, each word striking Mu Tiande and Xu Tie's hearts like a heavy hammer.
After the operations staff finished their report and left, Mu Tiande felt as if all his strength had been drained, his body trembling uncontrollably. He slowly sat down in a chair, as if that were his last support.
He shakily pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, but the lighter seemed to be deliberately working against him, refusing to light it no matter what he tried.
"Old Xu!" Mu Tiande's voice carried a hint of dejection.
"The casualty rate among frontline troops exceeded one-half, while the civilian casualty rate was over a quarter..."
He raised his head, staring blankly at the LED strip above him, and muttered to himself, "I am already a sinner in Nanyun Province!"
Xu Tie was silent for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Heh, if we're talking about who's guilty, I can't escape it either!"
"But this isn't the time to talk about that. We have to find a way to get help, otherwise we'll have no choice but to detonate that thing to buy time!"
However, just as the two were discussing the next arrangements, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the command center.
The operations staff officer rushed into the command center like a gust of wind. His face was pale and his forehead was covered in sweat, clearly indicating that he had run all the way there.
"Commander, Chief of Staff!" the operations staff officer's voice was urgent.
"Unmanned reconnaissance aircraft report: A large number of Worms within Myanmar have flooded into Lhweh City. Lhweh City fell completely five minutes ago!"
The news came like a bolt from the blue. Although Mu Tiande and his group had anticipated this situation, they still felt a chill run down their spines when the fact was actually presented to them.
Mu Tiande frowned deeply, and his eyes became unusually serious.
The chief of staff gasped, his face turning extremely pale.
The two looked at each other and saw deep worry and concern in each other's eyes.
The fall of Lirui City means that the Ming Dynasty's border defenses have been breached by Worms.
Afterwards, the Ming Dynasty not only had to face the Worms within its borders, but also had to guard against the continuous influx of Worms from Myanmar!
"This is just adding insult to injury!"
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