Chapter 984: Chapter 530: Kick Their Asses_3

Although they quickly gathered heavy firepower and fought back again.

The three divisions, 311th, 077th, and 240th, commanded by Xiong Lei, numbering over ten thousand, held their ground in this fortress area, against the interference of two Furyflame units within Neili and a surrounding force three to four times larger outside.

The supplies stored within the fortress were sufficient for a prolonged period; occasionally, allied forces managed to break through and deliver precious supplies to them, and airdrops were also a form of supply delivery.

But these supply methods were unstable, and the fortress reserves would be depleted as fighting intensified. Moreover, there was no replacement for the fallen soldiers.

Xiong Lei repeatedly reported upwards for reinforcements, to no avail.

Even the wounded could not be transported out, let alone the complete rotation of troops.

But what else could he do?

He could only grit his teeth and hold on firmly.

Half a month passed as they continued to hold on.

His troops once again repelled an enemy attack.

As of today, his troops’ casualties had exceeded sixty thousand, significantly impacting the combat effectiveness of the entire force.

But it was gratifying that the enemy had to pay at least 160,000 casualties to kill these sixty thousand.

And today, after the enemy was repelled once more, something strange happened: they retreated more than twenty kilometers overall.

What does this mean?

Unable to fight, not fighting anymore?

Xiong Lei found this unlikely.

He and his staff leaned towards the belief that the enemy had suffered too much loss recently and needed to retreat to gather strength for future plans.

Although the enemy would inevitably come back, likely stronger and more formidable by then.

But at least for now, they could take a breather.

The troops still had no chance to withdraw for rotation, and the orders Xiong Lei received remained for them to hold these three divisions to the death here.

But after fighting consecutively for more than half a year, even if they prided themselves on being elite, soldiers were still human; after showing courage through cruel trials, consideration for the frailty of the flesh was needed.

He planned to take this opportunity to waste some logistical supplies, consuming more of the food in storage and releasing scarce supplies like alcohol and cigarettes for a day or two.

Even allowing various units that had rested to hold small internal parties.

To relax a little, easing the constant tension, it was considered a way to boost morale.

The weather was favorable, the night clear, and the starry sky brilliant.

Soldiers drinking by the campfire, eating military rations, and smoking, looked up to see a meteor with a long tail streaking through the sky.

One, two, three…

The trajectory of the meteors was becoming larger.

‘Beep beep beep beep!’

The urgent alarm sounded, and the scene became frantic.

Everyone knew that the orbital strike was coming.

But what could they do?

Find cover, lie down, shiver…

The bonfire was no longer a concern.

They could only pray that the fortress’s anti-orbital intercept firepower would be effective enough.

The anti-corrosion system seemed to hear their prayers; the fortress’s anti-orbital system detected the attack and went full throttle.

Meteors in the sky were intercepted one by one, and even a rapidly descending beam was stopped.

However, this time the enemy’s space navy seemed determined.

The firepower projected down was incredibly dense.

Ultimately, the orbital cannon could not intercept everything.

A beam pierced into the fortress.

The main gun of the anti-orbital system was destroyed.

Subsequent missiles, colossal cannons, and beams continued to rain down.

One anti-orbital weapon after another was destroyed, and those that missed struck various parts of the fortress directly.

The soldiers on the ground could only pray in despair.

After two hours of concentrated bombardment, the orbital focused strike from the traitor navy finally ended.

The fortress, which had already weathered the storms of battle for more than half a year, was now completely turned into ruins. Everything inside, including the anti-orbital system and defending troops, was buried in this wasteland.

…

‘Yuehe VII.3 Planet, Fortress 224, suffered a full-scale strike by the enemy navy and has been destroyed. The 5th Army Group, 077th Division, 240th Division, and311th Division stationed there were wiped out in formation.’

To Perbov, the Vanguard Commander-in-Chief, the fate of Xiong Lei’s troops was captured in such a succinct note.

Moreover, this note wasn’t sent exclusively to Perbov but was merely a line in an entire report, mixed among many unit numbers, even lacking prominence.

In fact, the situation the 311th Skeleton Division encountered was not an isolated incident.

It was a widespread condition across planet Yuehe VII.3, with some being blasted apart, some conquered, and some still holding on…

Not only on this planet but across the twenty or so fortress worlds across the north protruding section of the Menghe Star Domain, constructed by Perbov, almost similar situations prevailed.

War was undoubtedly cruel, with soldiers’ lives constantly expended on various planets.

It was also Perbov’s first time independently managing such an extensive conflict involving multiple star sectors.

He was naturally nervous and uncertain if the decisions he made were correct enough.

Only now did he have some confidence that he hadn’t made the wrong choices.