Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
“Country F proposed that the northern part of MLL Island, which is occupied by the guerrillas, is under the actual control of Country F and should be temporarily managed by Country F. Leyte Island, as a war zone, suffered a nuclear strike and should be controlled by UN peacekeeping troops. Both sides should take a step back and withdraw their troops from Leyte…”
The officer responsible for conveying the message hadn’t finished yet, and Ivan was already fuming.
“This isn’t taking a step back! This is a conspiracy!”
Compared to Ivan’s anger, Jiang Chen’s expression seemed much calmer.
He finally understood that Country F government’s delivery of guerrillas to MLL Island wasn’t a suicidal war of attrition, but rather the move was meant to gain actual control of the region.
Immediately afterwards, through an external cause, the UA or the United Nations would intervene to forcefully end the war!
This ceasefire line would cause the entire northern part of MLL Island to fall to Country F’s side!
“Using the three divisions located across the Surinam Strait as bait, they seduced us to launch a landing attack on Leyte Island to cut off supplies for the three divisions, then left a brigade in Tacloban to block us from advancing. Finally, they detonated the nuclear bomb hidden in the city after we almost seized control of Tacloban…” With his finger resting on his chin, Jiang Chen whispered while thinking.
[Air superiority was in our hands, and sea superiority was also in our hands. From the outset, Country F didn’t plan on winning the war on the battlefield. Instead, it intended to win the battle outside of the battlefield. Once the war hit the international tribunal, the United Nations would be responsible for examining which party used nuclear weapons.]
Obviously, if they go to court, the Freemasonry with a wider range of influence will have a higher chance of winning.
Regardless of the outcome of the verdict, Moro would lose control of northern MLL Island.
From the very beginning, they intended to detonate the nuclear bomb!
“How much time did the United Nations give us?” Jiang Chen looked at the officer.
“Twenty-four hours,” the officer said nervously. “The observers dispatched by the United Nations have a tough stance. If we can’t achieve a ceasefire in 24 hours, the United Nations will authorize permanent members to forcibly intervene in the regional situation…”
“Twenty-four-hour to achieve a ceasefire? The war was provoked by them. Now they want a ceasefire!” said one of the officers.
“Fu*k United Nations! This isn’t fair!”
“Sh*t! Moro can’t accept such a result! This is no way—” the officer from Moro shouted.
“Now is not the time to complain.” Jiang Chen’s fingers rapped on the table and interrupted the voices. Sharp eyes swept across the table. “Everyone, we have twenty-four hours.”
“Think about it, what can we do with these 24 hours?”
Jiang Chen paused and put out two fingers.
“Typically speaking, there are only two situations in a ceasefire. Both sides lay down their weapons and return back to the ceasefire line or one of them surrenders.”
“You mean?”
“We go directly to the capital of Country F.” Jiang Chen tapped on the holographic map, erased the original offensive line and drew a red cross directly at City M’s position. “Before the UN trial, we’ll prosecute the war criminals who detonated the nuclear weapon!”
All the officers at the table held their breaths and looked at each other.
The silence lasted for nearly half a minute. No one said a word.
“…This is crazy.” Ivan broke the silence.
However, contrary to the skepticism raised by him, his eyes were filled with fanaticism.
“Yes, this is crazy,” Jiang Chen nodded, his hand slamming on the command table, eyes scanning from one face to the next. He then squeezed out the last sentence from his teeth, “But remember, they were crazy first!”
…
City M’s underground bunker. It was the temporary headquarters of Country F’s National Army.
Because of the loss of air superiority, the Defense Ministry, the Congress, and the Presidential Office temporarily moved into the bunker to maintain the operations of the military and government agencies in order to prevent the Aurora-20s from launching air strikes against the capital.
“Bastard! What did you do? What you did was wrong! Answer me!”
Marshal Stark, Country F’s Defense Minister, kicked open the door to the office. He took two steps forward and grabbed the military adviser Moritz’s collar. However, the latter only looked at him indifferently and allowed the old man with white sideburns to drag him by the collar.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“The nuclear explosion in Tacloban! Aside from the Jews, who else could’ve possessed nuclear weapons!” With spit flying in the air, Marshal Stark growled furiously.
“Please pay attention to your what you’re saying,” Moritz, a military adviser from Europe, said indifferently and removed Marshal’s hand from his collar. “There are many countries that possess nuclear weapons, either publicly or secretively. Although there’s no evidence, we can assume that Xin possesses nuclear weapons.”
“Bullsh*t!” Stark shouted, “They already gained an advantage, so why would they need a nuclear bomb? Exchanging 13,000 people for a brigade of 2000 people – even if a pig was commanding, it wouldn’t have made such a stupid and absurd decision!”
“But this is a fact. It was a nuclear bomb that was dropped by a Celestial Trade bomber. We have no evidence, but they don’t either. Air superiority was in their hands, and it was impossible for the nuclear bomb to fall by itself.”
“That was a city! A city where 100,000 civilians hadn’t yet evacuated! I’m not talking about the soldiers who are still fighting with Moro! It’s 100,000 people! 100,000 unarmed civilians!” General Stark’s eyes turned crimson and he almost crashed his own teeth in rage.
“But this is a war,” Moritz said without emotion.
The office was quiet.
Marshal Stark’s chest swelled violently. Like a caged beast, his mouth and nostrils let out loud breaths.
“The United Nations will intervene and the two sides will ceasefire in twenty-four hours. The peacekeeping forces will take over Leyte Island, which was hit by the nuclear weapon. The entire northern part of MLL will return to Country F because it’s under the actual control of the guerrillas.”
While speaking, Moritz paused and fixed the collar of the old man in front of him.
“Since things have happened, I think we’d better be unified.”
“The people who died…”
“There’s no war that can be won without sacrifice. I asked you from the very beginning – what are you willing to do? Now I tell you that your compatriots who died are all necessary sacrifices to win this war.”
A cold bead of sweat dropped, and Stark’s lips trembled.
“You lunatic… I can’t let you command the army of Country F. I will apply to the president to withdraw your command!”
“The command can be returned to you. There are only twenty-four hours left. Moro will do everything to attack the guerrillas in northern MLL Island. At this time, we only need to maintain the continuous landing on the island and the artillery positions to support the guerrillas in defending our ‘winning fruit’—”
Just then, a harsh warning sound interrupted Moritz.
Moritz frowned slightly and looked at the door.
“What’s this sound?”
Stark looked up at the concrete ceiling and murmured.
“It is an air defense alarm…”
“Airstrike?” Moritz frowned.
[At this point, what’s the use in air striking City M?
“I hope…” Somehow, Stark made such a statement.
However, intuition told him that things might not be as simple as an air strike.
