Chapter 340: Chapter 239: Swallowing Ji State (Second Update)
Jibang Jinlao Mountain.
Fifty thousand Chan Country soldiers found themselves in a desperate situation with no ammunition and no food.
Those who could be sent to the front line to confront the Jieke Group were the most capable veteran units of the Chan Country Governnt.
But even the most capable units, faced with a lack of food, water, and exhausted ammunition,
would inevitably head towards defeat, whether they were a modern army or an ancient one.
Within the trenches of Jinlao Mountain, a short figure rolled in, clutching two struggling field mice in his left hand, his dark face brimming with a smile.
...
“Old Pu, Tangerine, Ah Feng, everyone co over quickly, look what good stuff I’ve caught.”
Duwa excitedly held up the field mice, but the joy on his face didn’t last for more than a few seconds. Upon seeing the sorrowful mood of his comrades in the bunker, he seed to understand sothing.
“Squad leader, the squad leader…”
Duwa’s hands trembled slightly as he saw a sealed body bag added to a corner of the bunker.
Five days before, the squad leader who had always taken care of him had gone to make trouble at the logistics officer’s place to get food and was injured when being dispersed by the discipline enforcent team. The wound got infected, and lacking food and clean drinking water, he kept having a high fever.
“He didn’t make it.”
A comrade’s voice was low. With the ongoing siege and continuous bombardnt by the Jieke Group, soldiers often either got blown up by shells or died due to the lack of water, food, and dicine on Jinlao Mountain where the Chan Country army was stationed.
Those who were blasted to death were the minority. Hidden in the bunkers, unless hit directly by large-caliber howitzer shells, they wouldn’t have anything to worry about.
More soldiers died of various diseases.
In such a tropical rainforest environnt as Chan Country, October was the ti of scorching weather, and high temperature with frequent rainfall was the norm.
The constant high temperatures baked the soldiers hiding in the bunkers and trenches, making them like a group of moles trapped in a sweltering steam box.
Both their physical strength and will were enduring torture, with people suffering from heatstroke at every mont.
And sotis after the high temperatures, there would be days of continuous rainy weather, turning the trenches into a muddy ss.
This hot and humid environnt led to many soldiers developing various skin diseases.
The most common was jungle rot of the feet.
Lacking dicine, they could only watch helplessly as their feet rotted away bit by bit.
Even more soldiers beca ill after eating contaminated food and drinking rainwater, leading to various kinds of diarrhea, high fever, and dehydration.
Now, the field hospitals were no longer accepting patients, and the sick soldiers had to fend for themselves. If they could hold on, they lived; if not, they died.
“Can we still win this war?”
Duwa sat in despair on the muddy ground, his eyes full of confusion and helplessness.
Before the war began, Duwa’s unit, the 5th Infantry Division of the Chan Country Governnt Army, an elite among elites, had faced off against warlords in the jungle on many occasions, boasting a comndable record.
Duwa initially thought this deploynt would be like any other, but they ended up trapped on Jinlao Mountain with daily bombardnt and tornt from hunger and sickness, completely wearing down the morale of these soldiers.
“Win? Unless the governnt manages to break through Jiwei City, otherwise we’d have to stake our lives to win!”
A nearby soldier muttered as he started a fire to roast the two field mice.
Several soldiers sat around swallowing their saliva, their eyes almost glowing green with hunger.
Hunger was another problem for the Chan Country Army on Jinlao Mountain. They started with three als a day, then two, and now, it had co down to one al every two days, and that food was so bad even dogs wouldn’t eat it.
The lower-ranking soldiers, with growling stomachs every day, had no choice but to seek out ga to supplent their diet, risking being blown up by Jieke Group’s shells, like Duwa.
But the ecosystem of Jinlao Mountain was not sufficient to support the consumption of fifty thousand famished troops.
After many days, the ground had been scraped bare, and finding any kind of ga, let alone a mouse, was top-notch, and people had now started to gnaw on tree bark and wild grass.
The Chan Country Governnt had also tried air-dropping supplies, but how much food could that deliver? When divided among fifty thousand people, it wasn’t enough for even one al.
Latterly, they had even lost several cargo helicopters to the Jieke Group’s portable air defense missiles, and since then, no more airdrops had been seen.
“Hey, starting a fire will cause smoke. Do you want to attract shells and get us all killed?”
A roar ca over, and the group of soldiers roasting field mice turned to see two mbers of the discipline enforcent team approaching.
As there had been nurous cases of disorder and desertion lately, these discipline enforcent teams were intensifying their patrols, showing no leniency to deserters they found.
Seeing the two roasted field mice, their eyes imdiately lit up, and they hurried over.
“Sorry, we’re just too hungry. You see, it’s broad daylight and we’re in thick jungle, the smoke isn’t that visible. We’ll put out the fire as soon as we finish roasting.”
An older soldier stood up, trying to smooth things over.
“Hmph, if everyone acted like you, what would be the point of rules?”
The discipline enforcers stamped out the fire and then picked up the two field mice, saying, “We’re confiscating these as a lesson for you.”
Although these discipline enforcers ate slightly better than the ordinary soldiers, they too were starved and couldn’t resist the temptation of roasted field mice.
A group of soldiers were so angered by the actions of the two discipline enforcers that their faces turned red and then white, unable to utter a word for a long ti.
But Duwa wasn’t ready to let it go. Thinking of his deceased squad leader, he reached the peak of his anger, his eyes flashing with an uncontrollable rage, his facial muscles twisting ferociously as his hand reached for his rifle.
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