Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1253: Chapter 35: The Ruthless Trap (Part 2)

The warfire has raged unimpeded since Suss invaded Resk, and Beiguan City has been attacked and defended multiple times. The city no longer has its former prosperity; between the scarred buildings lie sporadic ruins.

However, this time, when Canglang Star was sneak-attacked by the Jiepeng, Beiguan did not suffer much damage.

At that time, the Fei Alliance Joint Army focused all their attention on Leifeng Star, thinking they could eliminate Suss’ main force in one fell swoop and drive them out of Resk entirely. Unexpectedly, the force allocation was unbalanced, leaving only a few ragged divisions on Canglang Star, which were overwhelmed by Mikami Yuto’s Mount Tai-like force in one night, rendering them incapable of resistance.

In the city, the buildings that were under reconstruction have ceased work, and all shops have closed their doors. The vast city is as silent as death.

The residents are accustomed to hiding in their homes, used to the silence, and familiar with the deserted streets where squads of Jiepeng soldiers patrol.

Facing these invaders of their homeland, who burn, kill, and loot at will, every window hides a few pairs of eyes filled with hate.

However, on this day, when the residents followed their routine and peeked into the street through the curtains’ gap, they were surprised to discover that the atmosphere on the familiar yet desolate street seemed somehow off.

Every street corner in the city had a post. Fully armed Jiepeng soldiers wore grim expressions, constantly appearing on alert as if facing a formidable enemy. The armored mecha nearby no longer lounged lazily by the street, watching their owners smoke and brag. Engines roared as squads of mecha patrolled neighborhoods, glaring at any suspicious target.

Many buildings have been turned into firepower fortresses, with construction happening rapidly at various fortifications. Squads of troop transport mecha frequently passed by, loaded with soldiers, and self-propelled artillery and armed mecha came and went in an unending stream.

Something major must have happened!

People, whose instincts were honed by war, scurried like mice through corridors and communities, silently seeking information.

They learned from some that large numbers of Jiepeng transport ships have landed at various bases on the city’s outskirts, delivering important figures and huge, elite troops. From others, they learned that defensive fortifications are being built around the city, massive troop movements are underway, continuously streaming north along the No.5 Resource Highway to the Northern Mountain Region.

A variety of rumors, combined with everything seen, wove into a mystery. The more people wanted to solve this mystery, the deeper they sank into it.

Was the Fei Alliance’s counterattack imminent or already underway, was an endless wave of resistance stirring a new climax, were these inhuman Jiepeng preparing for a massacre, ready to swing their butcher’s knives, or......

People quietly watched outside their windows, feelings of hatred, anxiety, dread, and anger mixing together like the unpredictable black clouds above this chaotic city.

A day passed, two days passed, three days passed....

The mystery was finally unveiled at dusk.

Quite a few witnesses from better vantage points saw a silent Jiepeng force enter the base in the East Suburb.

They meticulously described the army. These Jiepeng marched silently in a long procession. Their mecha and troop carriers were covered in dust and scorched marks from energy cannon blasts; many mecha were missing limbs and had to be dragged by trucks and transport mecha. The army bore various insignias as if they were from multiple divisions.

This was not a force brought in from elsewhere, nor was it a normal army; just one look at the strange, silent atmosphere, at the soldiers’ weary appearance, their tattered uniforms, scorched mecha, and the constant stream of medical vehicles—witnesses could confidently declare—this was a defeated army! The Jiepeng had suffered a major defeat!

It’s true!

The witnesses’ words were confirmed a few hours later.

The Republic’s 13th Armored Division and the 51st Mechanized Infantry Division, once besieged by the Karachi River and on the brink of annihilation, miraculously broke through. They fiercely beat several Jiepeng armored and infantry divisions, and even the two main Jiepeng Mechanical Armor Groups stationed at Hot Spring Town were brutally crushed by them.

Now, they have entered the Northern Mountain Region, active in the vast territory west of Beiguan City. Many towns now see their presence, and numerous underground resistance organizations, upon receiving the news, have been heading to the Northern Mountain Region in droves.

A storm is about to break...no, this is a spark landing on a field of dry grass, and in the next moment, the flames will shoot up into the sky!

This night, people found it hard to sleep.

They drank, whispered conversations. They dared not cheer, dared not parade the streets, dared not wave Chuckna’s flag and rush through the streets shouting madly. Yet, their eyes could shine bright, their hearts could beat, their blood could boil hotter and hotter within this news of victory...

Until it boils!

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”Conquest...”

Bobett stood at the edge of the dark balcony of a skyscraper, looking at the faint outline of Beiguan City a thousand meters below Space City, gazing west of Beiguan City at the dark, wave-like rolling mountains, his voice as cold as water: ”For hundreds of years, our Jiepeng ancestors persevered in ceaseless pursuit of expanding westward beyond the borders, to make a name in the starry sea. Today, the path framed by our predecessors lies at our feet, requiring only our march, only our sacrifice.....”