Chapter 1246: Situation is difficult in the 1165th ga
The underground passage was slightly dim, and the lights on the walls emitted a faint glow. The Goblin guard at the door used that bit of illumination to make out the shoulder insignia of the visitor and imdiately stood at attention to salute.
Shen Haiping pushed open the door and walked into his new office. The setup was very basic, but at least the ceiling lamp was slightly brighter than the corridor lights.
Only the Commander’s office enjoyed such treatnt. Were it not for the poor ventilation inside the mountain, they would have already been forced to use kerosene lamps or candles.
Standing at a height not particularly impressive even among Goblins, Shen Haiping removed his military cap and hung it on the hook on the wall. There were no decorations here; the walls were simply a dug-out mountain cave reinforced with so cent.
With the dampness and poor ventilation, the air carried a sll that was hard to describe. Shen Haiping missed his old office, where he could push open a window to feel the sea breeze, but he could no longer return to it.
Nor could they return to Mirage Country anymore. The war had advanced to a state where everyone knew the outco—defeat was inevitable. But when and how defeat would co… that still required Mirage Country to struggle a little longer.
As a symbol, or perhaps a token, the Navy Admiral personally overseeing the front where the battle was the fiercest sent a signal to all fighting Mirage Country soldiers: this war is not yet lost! It must continue!
Though this held only a symbolic aning for boosting morale. As a Navy Admiral, Shen Haiping’s capability to command ground operations was essentially zero.
To put it more bluntly, he was nothing more than a senior-level organizational leader. The one truly skilled at leading troops on the battlefield and commanding fleets in combat had been the Main Fleet Commander Shen Haifeng who had died in battle.
Shen Haiping, the Supre Commander of the Navy, was generally occupied with logistics, personnel managent, naval shipbuilding oversight, and miscellaneous work, leaving little energy for command.
Yet this old man now had no choice but to pick a cave for himself and share the sa fate as the tens of thousands of Mirage Country troops also stationed in these caves.
He didn’t really have much room to complain, though. At least his location was relatively safe, without the constant threat of shelling or the endless sound of gunfire.
Furthermore, the living conditions here weren’t so bad: at least his walls were smooth and, aside from lacking windows, the place at least resembled a proper room.
Unlike most rooms or storage spaces in the underground bunker—crudely carved out and minimally supported—Shen Haiping’s room even had a portrait of the Shen Emperor hanging on its walls. In the sparsely decorated front-line caves, this was quite an unusual luxury.
From a strategic standpoint, Mirage Country found itself in a dire situation. After losing the western front line, the country’s position had turned increasingly passive. The central front line did not stretch across the entire Mirage Country; there was still a distance between it and the coastline.
The southern side wasn’t as bad, being a priority defense zone. It was about 30 to 40 kiloters from the shoreline, with less significant gaps and with defensive nodes like Dingcheng positioned there.
The northern part of the central front line, however, faced major issues. The key problem lay in how the central mountain range—a defensive stronghold for Mirage Country—did not extend to the northernmost beach.
The entire mountain range was roughly 50 kiloters from the northern coastline, and this stretch was almost devoid of proper defenses.
When building the central front line, the construction period was rushed, and the northern coastline, being mostly cliffs, was deed unsuitable for amphibious operations. As a result, Mirage Country hadn’t considered the possibility of an enemy attack from that direction.
Even if they had considered it, it wouldn’t have helped much. The tight tiline made construction impossible; completing the more vulnerable southern front line was already quite an achievent.
Initially, this wasn’t a huge issue since laborers had been continuously digging, attempting to reinforce the northern defenses.
But the collapse of the western front line was far too sudden. Now Orc troops were pressing toward the poorly defended gap with insufficient defenders, lacking both weaponry and equipnt.
If the Orc troops broke through Mirage Country’s defense at that gap, they could advance south along the periphery of the central mountain range from the north, threatening the rear of the central front line.
Without strong defensive positions, Mirage Country troops in open-field combat would undoubtedly lose against Orc forces gaining air superiority. At that point, Mirage Country forces stationed in the Central Mountain Region would face the risk of encirclent.
If the Orc attack went smoothly, they might break through Dingcheng and rendezvous with the troops bypassing the north, pushing Mirage Country’s predicant to near-collapse.
Shen Haiping was here not only to represent the Shen Emperor in overseeing the battle but also because he held no real authority—or administrative responsibilities—thus he didn’t have much work to do.
Just as he was idly staring at the portrait of the Shen Emperor hanging on the wall, his door was knocked upon.
“General! General You has arrived,” Shen Haiping’s adjutant opened the door and reported to him. Shen Haiping withdrew his gaze and issued an order, “Let him in.”
“Ah, Admiral Shen! It’s really wonderful to see you.” Having learned earlier of Shen Haiping’s arrival but choosing not to greet him, Shenwu You—the Army Lieutenant General—entered Shen Haiping’s office briskly after his announcent.
Symbolically standing at attention and saluting, Shenwu You then removed his military cap. “The front lines are tense; I just returned from Dingcheng and could not greet the Admiral properly. My apologies.”
Knowing the Army’s disdain for the Navy, Shen Haiping—reliant on others now—chose not to insist on face-saving gestures. He smiled lightly and gestured for Shenwu You to sit. “The battle rages on; General You is busy with military affairs. I completely understand. The situation is dire… there’s no need to be overly formal.”
If the Navy fleet were still intact, Shen Haiping could’ve slapped the man across the face, reminding him that a re Lieutenant General had no right to feign excuses for disrespect.
But under current circumstances, such posturing was pointless. His Navy was gone, and whether he could even get a al here depended on the Army’s goodwill.
Noticing Shen Haiping showed no inclination to vie for command authority, Shenwu You relaxed. He didn’t harbor deep personal hatred toward the Navy; their disputes were rely over conflicting interests. Personally, there was no animosity.
His earlier stunt of snubbing Shen Haiping upon arrival was more a warning to the Admiral—urging him to accept his symbolic role and abandon any outlandish ideas of asserting control.
In fact, he needn’t have worried. Given the current situation, no rational person would concern themselves with competing over command authority anymore. It was nothing but a hot potato; whoever held it would also bear the bla.
With differing perspectives, they naturally pursued their own strategies: Shenwu You feared Shen Haiping’s inexperience in ground warfare would speed up their demise, while Shen Haiping had long given up and was uninterested in vying for power.
“It’s reassuring that Admiral Shen understands our difficulties,” Shenwu You said, taking a seat as he sighed. “The situation is dire; the nation stands at the brink of survival. Since the collapse of the western front line, things have been deteriorating rapidly. The northern parts of the defensive line are strained, and the outlook is grim.”
The adjutant poured water for both generals as the ventilation system started humming—a distant, irritating droning sound. This system had to operate intermittently; otherwise, the bunker’s occupants risked suffocating themselves.
“How did the western front line collapse so suddenly?” Shen Haiping asked after taking a sip of water, addressing the question that had been bothering him.
As a forr Navy officer, Shen Haiping wasn’t too inford about the details of the western front line’s collapse. After all, he had not been assigned to this location until after its downfall.
“The Orcs advanced north, effectively cutting off our connection to the western front line,” Shenwu You explained. “The western stockpile of ammunition was depleted. Holding the defenses with no supplies was pointless, so withdrawal was the only option.”
Mirage Country’s western front line had almost no ability to produce weapons. Even if they had facilities, the lack of raw materials made production impossible.
Without ammunition or weapons replenishnts, the sturdy primary defenses could no longer be held, leading them to abandon the positions and attempt breakout operations.
In reality, the problems at the western front line extended beyond dwindling ammunition. The food supply had also run out. Nearly 40,000 front-line troops, along with local garrisons totaling 100,000 personnel, consud resources at staggering rates.
Furthermore, dical supplies were lacking. Injured soldiers couldn’t receive treatnt; minor wounds turned severe, while critical injuries ant awaiting death. Morale faltered, and combat effectiveness suffered.
Forced under dire circumstances, the western front line commander—when the entire army was only eating one full al a day—finally decided to abandon the still-sturdy defenses and launch a proactive northern withdrawal attempt.
But they collided with the Orcs’ 1st and 6th Divisions. With aerial support, fresh reinforcents, and the montum of recent victories, the Orcs surged forward. Mirage Country forces stationed to the west of Ben Island practically collapsed overnight, leaving the aftermath as nothing more than Orcs rounding up Goblin prisoners across the mountains.
The issue now was that, without the western troops to hold them back, the central front line faced the risk of being encircled… Soon enough, they too would confront the sa problems: running out of supplies and facing collapse.
It was an agonizing dilemma, stuck between advancing and retreating. Abandoning the central front line would an wasting carefully constructed defensive structures; staying the course would require proactive efforts to stockpile essential supplies for survival.
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