After the creatures in the wilderness started mutating, the rivers started becoming dangerous as well.
In the earlier years, there were still people who went into the rivers to catch fish. But now, the fishermen had to be extremely cautious. If they did not catch hold of the fish properly, they might just get their fingers bitten off by the omnivorous fish.
As the Kong Consortium’s east bordered the sea, its fishing industry was very advanced. But in just the recent few years, the industry had rapidly declined. It was not that there was no demand for fish, but that it was becoming impossible to go out to sea.
It was unknown what kind of animal skeleton the northern barbarians had used to frighten off the ferocious schools of fish. But from the look of it, it seemed like they were already prepared for this.
The Qingyan River was the main river in Mt. Dashi, and it ran from the northwest to the southeast. To cross this river, the Pyro Company even built sturdy arch bridges specifically for this purpose.
Now, the Qingyan River was acting as the water source for the main forces led by P5092. The riverbank closest to the camp was only 300 meters away.
When P5092 gave the order for the main forces to attack Longtan Canyon, the entire Pyro Company’s camp was left quite empty. It was no longer bustling with activity like before, and from the outside, it even looked a little deserted.
The Pyro Company’s main forces had spent several days driving all of the barbarians into Longtan Canyon. Now that it was time to reap the fruits of their labor, in order to ensure that the main forces would be able to overwhelm and surround the barbarians, they sent out all their troops except for those on chow duty. As such, when dawn arrived, no one noticed danger approaching.
Outside of Longtan Canyon, the Pyro Company’s mortar units had already carried out their final adjustments and aiming. Meanwhile, the temporary defensive fortifications were completed for the passageways that could be used to get in and out of the canyon while heavy machine gun positions were used to seal off the roads.
In this way, the Pyro Company could ensure that no barbarians could walk out of the canyon alive.
The commander at the front line reported to P5092 over the radio, “Sir, we’ve completed our deployments. We’re just waiting for the recon company to confirm the number of barbarians in the canyon.”
“Recall the recon company and open fire immediately. I want full coverage fire support bombarding the canyon. Let’s plow the area once over before proceeding,” P5092 said calmly in the command vehicle back at the camp.
Mortar shells did not cost much. Previously, they did not resort to using fire support because they were unable to determine the locations of the barbarians in the wilderness. But what they had been doing these past few days was to gather the barbarians together so they could use artillery fire to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Longtan Canyon did not span a large area, so it was not difficult to cover it entirely with fire support.
Of course, quite a few barbarians would still survive the bombing. But at that time, their combat capabilities would have plummeted.
A moment later, the commander at the front line gave his orders to the mortar units after ending the call with the command center. “We’ll carry out an areawide bombardment on the canyon. Open fire!”
This time, the barbarians were no longer facing small-scale guerrilla warfare. Instead, they were about to experience the power of firearms and explosives that had ensured the survival of the Central Plains all this time!
Explosions, screams, and angry roars sounded in the canyon. It was only at this moment that the frontline commander felt relieved. Earlier, the reconnaissance troops had been recalled from their scouting before they infiltrated the canyon. Therefore, the Pyro Company was also unsure if the barbarians were really in there.
Although the plan was very meticulous, and P5092 had already led the troops to progressively seal off the entire wilderness, no one could be sure they had really forced the barbarians into the canyon until they heard this definitive answer.
As long as there was still a 1% chance of something going wrong, there would still be unforeseen circumstances that could affect the actual war itself.
But now, the frontline commander could finally heave a sigh of relief.
When the artillery fire petered out, the frontline commander immediately ordered the infantry regiment to enter the canyon and finish off any survivors.
The infantry regiment put on their gas masks and launched a large number of tear gas grenades into the canyon before moving in.
The canyon was filled with a faint white mist as the Pyro Company’s soldiers advanced inside holding a tight formation.
But 30 minutes after the infantry regiment went in, a perturbing sitrep immediately sounded on the radio. “The number of barbarians we found doesn’t tally with the intel. There’s only about a 100 of them here!”
The frontline commander frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Affirmative. All the barbarians in the canyon who survived the bombardment have been captured. According to the intel from the scouts, there should be around 300 of them in the canyon, but there’s only about a 100 of them here.”
“Interrogate them!” The frontline commander shouted into the radio, “Interrogate them in the canyon and find out where the others have gone!”
But at this moment, a barbarian whose arms were tied up and kneeling on the ground spat out a mouthful of blood. He sneered and said, “You’re even willing to give up your base just so that you can capture us?”
The infantry regiment’s officer immediately knew things were not good. He shouted on the radio, “The barbarians are probably launching an attack on our camp! Sir, should we return to base to help the rest?”
The commander’s expression changed. He shouted to the radio operator, “Connect me to the command vehicle!”
However, the radio operator shook his head. “I can’t get through! I’m not getting a response from that side!”
…
Outside the camp, more than a 100 barbarians climbed up the riverbank like river demons. They looked at the campsite that was nearly 300 meters away before swinging the giant axes in their hands to flick off the water.
The leading barbarian sneered, “Charge! The expeditionary army will remember y’all. When the general builds a palace on the land of the Central Plains, your names shall be inscribed on the stone tablet at the entrance.”
He then shouted, “Long live the expeditionary army! Charge!”
A moment later, over a 100 river demons started sprinting madly, and their heavy footsteps sounded like war drums beating on the riverbank.
For a normal person, a 300-meter sprint would take about 40 seconds to finish. But for these barbarians, it would only take them 10 seconds.
10 seconds was just a short moment in a war that could drag on for months or years.
The barbarians had already planned how they would kill all of the soldiers in the camp. Moreover, they were going to be the first advance guard of the expeditionary army to kill a high-ranking commander of the Pyro Company!
The leader of the barbarians charged even faster. Among this group of wild beasts, he stood out as the strongest leader. His physical condition was visibly much tougher than the others.
A moment later, a glaring spotlight suddenly lit up in front of them. The barbarians used their arms to shield themselves from the blinding light, but they could vaguely see an officer in his thirties standing within the camp. He was neatly dressed and wearing a military cap as he stood with his hands behind his back. This person was P5092, the person that the barbarians wanted to kill most.
In front of P5092 was a heavy machine gun position manned by several dozen soldiers.
P5092 laughed heartily and said, “My dear guests, you’ve come from afar! As your host, I’m sorry for being rude as we have not prepared a welcome. However, I do have a surprise for all of you.”
The barbarian leader was stunned. From the look of it, the Pyro Company had probably expected they would be attacking the camp!
