The Tang Army continued advancing along the border from the west, forcing the Elf-deployed troops to retreat continuously. Felix had no way to stop the troops from retreating, as the forces he commanded lacked combat power.
The 4th Corps was previously defeated by the Tang Army in Saint Luo and hasn’t recovered yet; similarly, the 5th Corps suffered heavy losses earlier, making their defensive line easy prey for collapse at present.
However, what saddened Felix the most was discovering a new identification for the Great Tang Empire at the frontline... this instilled more fear than a re local defeat.
A new corps from the Great Tang Empire, the 10th Corps commanded by General Allen, had already appeared on the battlefield.
This ant that the Tang Army had increased its combat units, and the total troops at the frontline grew... this was certainly bad news for the endlessly retreating Allied Forces.
Allen’s 10th Corps wasn’t a main force; it mainly consisted of infantry, whose combat strength was average. But this ’average’ was asured against the Great Tang Empire’s standards; on a global scale, this unit’s fighting power was still quite significant.
With this unit’s addition, the situation near Hotwind Port was quickly reversed; the Elf’s 7th Corps retreated another 30 kiloters, completely abandoning the counterattack against Hotwind Port’s bridgehead.
anwhile, the Tang Army began to push horizontally along the Elf and Dwarf border, occupying large swathes of territory, ensuring the safety near Saint Luo.
After this battle ended, the weather had beco particularly harsh; Eternal Winter Port welcod this year’s first snowfall, and further northern mining areas also had their production tempo disrupted by a heavy snowstorm.
The sudden snowfall seed to show the Allied Forces’ leadership a glimr of hope for reversing the battle situation. Felix imdiately contacted Poplar The First, reporting his view: post-winter the battle situation would stabilize, making it a good ti to solidify lines and repair defense works.
In his eyes, with a three-month adjustnt buffer, the Allied Forces could completely regroup and wage a steadier defensive battle in the coming spring. Relying on major cities to deter the Tang Army’s fierce attack through street combat, the war seed it could still be persisted.
Poplar The First agreed with this view, he also believed that once winter arrived, the situation would be sowhat favorable for the Allied Forces. The Tang Army, having co from a long distance, definitely couldn’t be unaffected by weather.
Indeed, the Tang Army’s logistical transport and air support were impacted by harsh weather; in so regions, offensives did pause due to climate issues.
Yet, how much the temperature drop affected the Tang Army wasn’t as severe as the Allied Forces’ leadership imagined; conversely, the Allied Forces were also troubled by the sudden temperature drop.
The southern troops of Dorne were now tornted; they didn’t even have proper winter clothing, they could only pillage within Furnace Fortress city to barely scrape by. This plight made them very passive, and their combat strength plumted several tiers as a result.
The Dwarves similarly faced related problems, though they had so winter clothing reserves, making their situation better than Dorne’s, it was only slightly better.
Approximately a third of the units had to solve their winter clothing issues on their own, fuel for the troops was severely deficient, and most vehicles were directly abandoned.
No choice, to ensure winter supplies for the troops, any extra waste was strictly forbidden. Transportation tasks could only be entrusted to ox carts and horse-drawn carts, many of which were requisitioned from southern farrs.
"It’s snowing!" A Dwarf soldier squatting in the corner of the ruins looked up, extending his hand to catch a descending snowflake, muttering softly.
He truly didn’t know whether such occurrences were good or bad for him: for days Tang Army planes had indeed rarely appeared, which was definitely good news for the Dwarves, yet they themselves were underclothed and hungry, truly not looking forward to winter arriving so soon.
"Yes, it’s snowing." Clearly visible was the white mist from his breath, another Dwarf soldier sighed in agreent. He only wore a sweater, and the snow falling down upon him was sheer torture.
Snowfall weather was alright, didn’t feel as uncomfortable, but when the snow stopped the biting cold would spread, torturing every unlucky soldier.
Subsequent challenges were hellish for those troops with inadequate logistics: soldiers’ shoes would soon soak through, quickly resulting in socks freezing and sticking to feet.
Soldiers with mild symptoms would get foot infections, most would experience localized skin eruptions and ulcers, with worse cases requiring digits or even an amputation.
Designing military boots logically and scientifically, organizing soldiers to regularly dry and change them, every mission finish taking off shoes for foot care... Such tasks were evidently not achievable for the Dwarf troops defending the Furnace Fortress surrounding ruins.
To resist the cold, many Dwarf soldiers draped raincoats over their clothes, wearing weapon belts outside for combat convenience; this attire made them look quite funny.
But no choice, whether it looked good or not was irrelevant to these Dwarf soldiers. They just needed to survive, desperately survive.
Indeed, many tore single clothes to stuff into military uniforms, using this thod to slightly strengthen warmth. Others shredded paper for the sa purpose, rushing into libraries and similar places, tearing up found books to stuff into clothes.
The situation wasn’t yet dire; if the weather grew colder, the troops would burn books, papers, and furniture wood they found for warmth—this would make the city’s circumstances more desperate.
"It’s snowing!" At the basent doorway, stepping out for fresh air, the Pri Minister wrapped tightly in his coat. His hands were cold, after all, his advanced age led to poor circulation... Yet his hands touching snowflakes still felt a hint of chill.
He didn’t know whether this snowfall was a good on for the Ice Cold Empire; he only knew soon this place would be snow-covered, obscuring the harsh ruins from clear view.
At least with the temperature drop, the corpses everywhere wouldn’t imdiately emit foul odors; due to drainage systems’ collapse waste stagnating across streets and alleys didn’t sll bad; epidemic risk had nearly vanished...
This snowfall was like a polisher disguising all humanity’s ugliness, leaving behind rely an empty white future.
Reviews
All reviews (0)