Empire Conquest
Chapter 233 - 229: Fate or Fortune

Chapter 233: Chapter 229: Fate or Fortune

"Because they had horses to ride, circling Liuhuang Island took less than an hour."

"It was called an inspection, but it was really just to see if the officers and soldiers at each camp were getting up on time, working according to plan, and whether there were any abnormalities."

"In these three months, not much of the defense works had been built, because some officers and soldiers were depressed or used injuries as an excuse, and their numbers had increased several times over."

"Just the day before yesterday, Li Zhong had publicly executed two soldiers who had secretly climbed aboard a transport ship, trying to leave Liuhuang Island."

"According to Li Zhong, twenty years after the war, because there had been no battles, the days of comfort were too long, which led to the emergence of so many pampered and spoiled soldiers."

"In the last great war, the bravery of the Saiyi Army was known worldwide."

"It would take a war to revitalize the younger generation!"

"Li Zhong did not go back to the headquarter but went to the north side of the island to the beach. The staff officer who accompanied him knew his habits and brought breakfast with him."

"In reality, it was just rice kept in an insulated box, along with some ingredients and condiments needed for making rice balls."

"Don’t think that because Li Zhong was a Major General, he had any privileges regarding food."

"The entire Saiyi Army was the same."

"From the Commander down, what they pursued was not to eat well, but to eat enough."

"At times, just not having an empty stomach was considered good enough."

"According to unofficial statistics, during the last great war, about 500,000 Saiyi soldiers died of cold or diseases caused by cold on the Ice Storm Peninsula."

"In the last year of the war, millions of civilians in the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom died from famines caused by drought."

"In the resource-scarce Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, even generals would be lucky to get a rice ball made of white rice."

"Once the battle started, whether or not there would be rice balls to eat was another matter."

"While the staff officer was preparing breakfast, Li Zhong faced north, toward the direction of his homeland, and sat down."

"Over there, not only was his hometown, but also the family he yearned for day and night."

"Often, it was the thought of his family back in the homeland that made Li Zhong feel that the hardships endured here were valuable and gave him the courage to continue."

"Of course, not everyone thought this way."

"The battle had not even started, what was there to be sentimental about?"

"Commander, are the Navy’s fighter planes arriving today?"

"Hearing the staff officer’s words, Li Zhong opened his eyes and looked in the direction the staff officer was pointing."

"From afar, a group of dozens of planes was flying this way. However, they were too far away to be clearly seen or identified."

"Li Zhong was a bit puzzled."

"After the outbreak of the war, he had submitted a report to the Headquarter, hoping to quickly replenish Liuhuang Island with a batch of fighters."

"Li Zhong specifically mentioned in the telegram that he would quickly organize personnel to expand the island’s airfield, precisely by clearing a space next to the runway under Bobo Mountain, to accommodate the parked fighter planes. If needed, a barracks could also be built next to the airfield."

"Unfortunately, the Headquarter did not agree."

"In the reply, those irresponsible fellows clearly told Li Zhong that the defense of Liuhuang Island was under the Navy, and that they would also need to deal with the Liangxia Navy, so even if combat planes were to be deployed to Liuhuang Island, it had to be done by the Navy, not by using Army forces."

"Furthermore, they would pass Li Zhong’s request to the Military Command Department."

"It was unknown, however, whether the Military Command Department would agree to send fighter planes to Liuhuang Island, what type of planes, and how many."

"In short, the message was: wait for news patiently."

"Afterward, Li Zhong organized the island’s officers and soldiers to level the ground beside the runway, set up barracks, and even set up a High-altitude Gun position."

"Unfortunately, there had been no news, no additional support, not even High-altitude Guns!"

"To enhance training and get the officers and soldiers into the state of war early, Li Zhong had organized his staff to build a mock High-altitude Gun using wooden sticks and had the officers and soldiers practice with it."

"It should be said, on this volcanic island, even wood was very rare."

"Could those be the planes sent by the Navy?"

"Even if they were planes sent by the Navy, they should have given some prior notice."

"Is sending a telegram such a difficult task?"

"When Li Zhong stood up, one staff officer had already run over, taken a telescope from the saddlebag that hung on a horse, and ran back."

"Commander!"

Li Zhong caught the binoculars without further comment and looked toward the planes.

They were all single-engine planes, which did look somewhat like the Navy’s ship-borne aircraft, but something about their appearance was off.

Li Zhong abruptly startled, then put down the binoculars and looked back.

Behind him, the sun had just risen.

The planes were coming from the west!

If the planes were from the homeland, they should have come from the north, slightly veering toward the east, considering Liuhuang Island is southwest of the Volcanic Islands.

The radio stations sending out navigation signals were located on the islands northeast of Liuhuang Island.

Under no circumstances should they have come from the west.

They were not Navy planes!

Realizing this, Li Zhong’s face turned pale instantly.

"Commander..."

"Go... quickly to the headquarters... hurry, rush, issue the alert, issue it immediately..."

As he spoke, Li Zhong pushed the staff officer who had alerted him and pointed toward a warhorse tethered to a coconut tree some meters away.

The staff officer dared not ask any questions and ran towards the warhorse.

Truth be told, the staff officer was not frightened by the planes above, but rather by Li Zhong’s panicked demeanor.

Had Li Zhong ever been this agitated in the past few months?

Indeed, Li Zhong also realized he had lost his composure.

After the staff officer mounted the warhorse and rode away, Li Zhong walked toward the coconut grove.

This was the only coconut grove on the island, the only place with some soil, as the rest of the island was all lava.

By this time, the plane group had flown over Liuhuang Island.

Several enemy aircraft dove down and opened fire simultaneously, their machine guns mounted on the wings.

Indeed, they were fighter planes!

One of them targeted the galloping warhorse, the one carrying the staff officer bearing the message, and had opened fire as it dove down.

Run faster, run faster, run even faster!

Under Li Zhong’s watchful eye, a barrage enveloped the warhorse; to be precise, the bullets hitting the ground kicked up chips of stone and dust that obscured the view.

With such intense gunfire, there was no escape.

"Commander, be careful!"

While Li Zhong focused on the message-bearing staff officer, another fighter plane dove towards the grove.

The pilot of that fighter plane surely saw the warhorse tied to the coconut tree, perhaps even spotted Li Zhong, but did not recognize him.

From that distance, even if one knew what Li Zhong looked like, one couldn’t see clearly.

Of course, anyone eligible to ride a horse must be a high-ranking military officer.

On this barren volcanic island, where birds wouldn’t even defecate, keeping a few horses for riding, rather than for hauling goods, was an extreme luxury.

It could be said that it was due to Saiyi Army’s low level of mechanization, with not enough vehicles, that they had to resort to using warhorses instead.

The staff officer was shouting out loud while he leaped forward.

But it was too late.

A storm of bullets rained down from the skies, immediately engulfing the entire coconut grove. To put it precisely, there were only about a dozen coconut trees.

There were four 13mm aviation machine guns without fire-rate regulators, reaching a maximum rate of 900 rounds per minute.

When the four machine guns fired simultaneously, they discharged 60 bullets in one second, and a short burst typically lasted 5 seconds, sending out 300 bullets.

Crucially, the 13mm bullets were tremendously powerful.

Just one hit, no matter where, could cause crippling injuries even if it didn’t kill!

On this island, after being severely injured, one could only wait for death.