"Fire! Fire!"

"Kill them!"

On the slope north of the pass, Commander Lieutenant General Mark, his eyes blazing with fury, roared as hundreds of artillery pieces, irregularly arranged along the defensive line, fired downwards. Behind several bunkers at the front of the artillery line, infantrymen were also firing their rifles.

Below them were the Yan Army infantry, who were advancing over the terrain. They were now advancing up the slope from several directions under the cover of artillery fire. However, despite the cover of artillery shells, advancing forward inevitably exposed their positions, so they were currently being fiercely resisted from above.

Even so, they continued to advance resolutely despite the casualties, and this aggressive behavior made Mark realize that the enemy's attack was no small matter.

During the brief respite, the logistics troops delivered replenished ammunition, but there simply wasn't enough time to evacuate the wounded on the defensive line. Now, with the enemy suddenly intensifying their offensive, Mark grew anxious, sensing that the enemy might continue their fierce assault. Immediately, amidst the thunderous artillery fire, Mark urgently summoned a communications soldier and shouted into his ear:

"Request reinforcements from headquarters immediately! We need more troops to defend this area!!"

A few moments earlier, Mark had learned from the communications officer that the situation south of the pass had been roughly the same in the last few hours: the Yan people always launched their attacks at the same time and then stopped at the same time.

The situation was completely different on the main battlefield. Although the main force of the Yan Kingdom was on the main road, they had only bombed for a period of time a few hours earlier and had not attacked again since. However, the main force of this defensive operation was deployed on the front of the pass.

Immediately afterward, the communications soldier relayed Mark's plea for help to the rear.

Fifteen minutes later, the distress call was delivered to the operations command center where Dylan was located.

"Sir, General Mark requests reinforcements. The enemy's attack this time is no less intense than the initial offensive. Our defenses have suffered heavy casualties. The enemy has not only launched a fierce bombardment, but has also sent infantry to advance!"

After the communications soldier delivered the message, Dylan's face darkened, and he said, "Keep firing for now, and wait a bit longer."

Just minutes later, a communications soldier returning from the southern battlefield brought the latest battle report.

"Sir, the enemy's offensive is fierce and they have begun to advance, engaging our troops in battle around multiple areas."

"Do we need reinforcements?" Dylan asked in a deep voice.

"General Pact did not request reinforcements. Although the enemy's offensive is fierce, our defenses are very tight, making it difficult for them to advance," the communications soldier replied immediately.

Upon hearing this, Dylan's deputy, Hisoka, immediately said in a deep voice, "Sir, it seems that this time they are focusing their attack on the northern battlefield."

"I think we need to send troops to reinforce General Mark immediately."

After finishing his sentence, Dylan turned and asked, "Has the enemy on the front shown no signs of attacking yet?"

The communications soldier shook his head and said, "No, sir."

After pondering for a while, Dylan ordered, "Have Kyle send five thousand men to the north to provide reinforcements."

The messenger immediately took the order and left, but his deputy frowned and asked, "Sir, sending five thousand men to reinforce might not be enough."

Dylan shook his head: "That's enough. Unless the Yan people really concentrate their forces on the northern front, and right now, I don't think they really intend to break through from the north."

“The main road is the most suitable place to send the most troops to the pass as quickly as possible. Although the fighting on the flanks is fierce, the terrain there is rugged and they cannot send a large number of troops up in a short period of time.”

"The less they attack from the front, the more they conceal their true objective. I believe they will eventually choose to attack from the front as their breakthrough point."

Upon hearing this, the deputy's expression changed slightly. He said, "So all of this is a feint attack. They're just trying to divert our attention and make us neglect our frontal defense?"

Dylan nodded and said, "That's why we can't spare more troops to support them. The slopes on both the north and south sides are very steep, and the terrain is quite undulating. It won't be easy for the Yan people to break through."

At this point, Dylan took a deep breath and continued, "If the Yan Kingdom still cannot make effective progress on the northern front, I think... they will either temporarily cease hostilities, or... launch a real all-out offensive."

It was just past 5 a.m.

The soldiers who had come to reinforce the northern front had only been there a short while when the fighting below the mountain gradually subsided. Mark, his eyes bloodshot, roared angrily at the fleeing Yan soldiers below:

"Bastard! Come on! Come on!"

"Weren't you fearless?! Come on! I'm waiting for you!"

"You bunch of cowards! Why are you running?!"

Unlike Mark, who was furious and clamoring to continue fighting, the soldiers hiding in various bunkers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the enemy slow down their offensive.

This fierce battle in the mountains has been going on since around 7 or 8 p.m. last night. The few breaks in between were rare brief respites for them. As the battle raged on, familiar comrades fell one by one around them. The newcomers who came to take over the fight were also killed in a very short time. In the alternation of battles, the dilapidated defensive lines remained, but the fighting force had changed wave after wave.

Now, countless limbs and fragments lie scattered across this ravaged mountain landscape, some belonging to our own side and others to the enemy. If this continues, they will undoubtedly become part of it as well. Therefore, this brief ceasefire is all the more precious.

After hurling a few angry curses, Mark did not forget his duty. He immediately ordered the logistics soldiers to take advantage of the time to transport ammunition to various strongholds, and at the same time, to let the soldiers rest as soon as possible in case of the enemy's next attack.

At the same time, the fierce fighting in the south gradually weakened and eventually ceased. The Yan army made virtually no progress in this less than half-hour-long offensive.

Subsequently, the communications soldiers who rushed back from the north and south reported the battle situation to Dylan.

"Sir, although this attack was more intense than the last one, it lasted for a shorter time. I think it's just as you guessed; we've figured out the Yan people's tactics."

"It will be dawn in two hours. I think there's a high chance they'll stop firing then," the second-in-command said, sounding slightly excited.

Dylan rubbed his forehead, looking somewhat tired, and said, "From what I can see now, it does seem like they're running out of steam."

"After daybreak, our visibility will be much better, making their attack more difficult. Hopefully, they will cease fire."

"But it's still two hours until dawn..." Dylan turned to look east. The night seemed to grow even deeper before daybreak, and the snow falling from the sky had not stopped.