It was 11 p.m. at the Yan Army's main camp.
Standing outside the tent, Qin Ze frowned and looked particularly grave as he surveyed the military base. In his line of sight, the Heinrich military base was ablaze with flames, illuminating the night sky in that direction. Thick black smoke rose straight into the heavens, and explosions could be heard intermittently. These were not artillery attacks launched by his own forces, but rather the Goths had detonated the ammunition depot.
As early as nine o'clock, the communications soldier brought good news: they had captured most of the military base, and the Gothic garrison inside was not very large. If things continued this way, they would be able to wipe out all the enemy troops inside the base. However, not long after, several bad news came from the front line. The worst news was that the Goths had destroyed the road behind the military base leading to the Enzo Mountains. Before the destruction, some Gothic troops had already withdrawn.
In this way, although the military base had been captured, it would take a lot of time to clear the way and pursue them. Therefore, Qin Ze had no choice but to order the military base to be completely cleared inside and out. Some Goths were still left in the bunkers and fortifications. These enemies, who were cornered and had gone mad, were the ones who started the series of explosions.
As a result, our soldiers who went to clear out the enemy suffered considerable casualties, but it was something that had to be done. However, compared to clearing out the remaining enemy troops, the Golgar army that had retreated to the Enzos Mountains was more troublesome.
In fact, during the three-day attack on the Heinrich military base, our side suffered considerable losses. According to incomplete statistics, the number of casualties was at least 90,000. Looking at the battles fought in China over the past year, there has never been a situation where such heavy casualties were suffered in just a few days.
Qin Ze knew that the Golts would suffer even greater losses, but once they retreated to the Nzos Mountains, they would occupy a more advantageous position, and if he wanted to lead his army to open up the road through the Nzos Mountains, he would probably have to pay an even greater price.
Thinking of this, Qin Ze looked into the distance. Under the cover of night, the outline of the massive mountain range was faintly visible, while its upper part was covered in a silvery white color, which was the snow that had fallen a few days ago and had not yet melted.
"With this mountain range serving as a bulwark, if we can't break through it quickly, the Gothic troops will keep coming..."
Qin Ze muttered to himself. In his initial plan, he intended to sweep away the enemy forces in the shortest possible time and march on Salibia. But now it seems that the Enzos Mountains have become the biggest obstacle for his side, and this is also the greatest advantage that the Goths possess.
"Very well, since we can't change the terrain, let's go with the flow and see just how many troops you can send..."
Qin Ze said coldly, then turned and went back into his tent.
——
The following day, in the afternoon.
At the Brulin Pass in the Enzos Mountains, a dozen or so riders hurried along the mountain road, where Dingle had been waiting for a long time with a troop of soldiers.
"Harris!" Dingle shouted from afar.
Harris looked haggard, and upon seeing Dingle, he hurriedly dragged his exhausted warhorse over.
"How many people were evacuated?" Before Harris could dismount, Dingle anxiously asked. Harris tumbled off his horse and nearly fell to the ground, but Dingle quickly reached out to support him.
“Only a little over 60,000 people.” Harris shook his head, looking dejected.
As soon as he finished speaking, Dingle's face turned ugly, and Harris sighed repeatedly. The military base had eleven divisions of troops, plus logistics support personnel, so there should have been more than 350,000 people in the base, but now only more than 60,000 people had been evacuated.
Of these 60,000-plus men, apart from Zoye's cavalry division, which was a complete unit, half of the remaining 30,000-plus men were logistics personnel, while the other 10,000-plus men were remnants of various units. Therefore, strictly speaking, only one and a half divisions of troops were evacuated from the military base.
"If only I had come down the mountain sooner, then more of us could have escaped..." Harris said, his head bowed, his face filled with self-blame and regret.
Dingle glanced at him, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "You've done very well, Harris."
“We should have withdrawn from the beginning, but unfortunately General Brewster was too stubborn.”
"By the way, has General Brewster been safely evacuated?"
When he asked the question, Harris bit his lip and shook his head, saying, "No, it was too late when General Brewster realized it was time to evacuate. Our second position was almost lost by then."
"In order to buy us time to evacuate safely, he led his troops to defend the military base and fight the enemy to the very end."
“We all tried to persuade him, but he insisted on staying.” Harris sighed deeply at this point.
Upon hearing this, Dingle's face darkened, and he fell silent.
Harris continued, "The evacuation was too rushed, and we took too few supplies with us, especially weapons, ammunition, and food, which are now in serious short supply."
"Although the road into the mountains has been partially damaged, I think the Yan people will restore it to normal. Dingle, our situation is very bad right now."
Upon hearing this, Dingle coughed several times, but still said:
“We brought a lot of food and supplies when we went into the mountains, enough to last us for two or three weeks.”
"But what about ammunition? You know, the ammunition we brought last time is clearly not enough. Those damned Yan people still have at least three or four hundred thousand troops!" Harris said urgently.
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