Chapter 529: Forced March
Blowing the emergency assembly whistle is extremely rare.
How many times has it happened? Apart from exercises, this is the first time a whistle sounded in the expeditionary camp.
After the soldiers rushed out of the barracks, they saw Hodge and didn't even ask him at first, but instead breathed a sigh of relief.
Generally speaking, when the emergency assembly whistle blows, the main commander is likely to have been killed - as long as the commander is still there, it is unlikely that the situation will be critical enough to require the whistle to be blown.
The soldiers did not line up, but directly picked up their weapons and rushed to the sentry post near the barracks to stand guard. Several team leaders under Hodge came over here.
"Alert! Report the surrounding situation immediately and prepare for evacuation!"
Hodge gave the order without waiting for them to ask questions. Several non-commissioned officers opened their eyes wide in surprise, but they did not stop moving. They immediately organized the soldiers to search for the enemy and collect supplies.
After a few people left, the door of a tall house a little further away was suddenly pushed open.
A tall figure in heavy armor rushed over quickly.
The moment he saw that figure, even Hodge couldn't help but feel relieved. Her cold eyes and iron body covered with weapons always made people feel at ease.
Ash.
Due to the restrictions of the symbiotic contract, the Banshees cannot stay in the North permanently, so they are broken up and rotated.
The banshee on duty at the Canary Forward Camp this time is Ash.
If you were to discuss who is the smartest among the banshees, the banshees could argue for three days and three nights. But if you were to ask who is the strongest fighter among the banshees, no second name would come up.
Ash's combat power is at a crushing level. She is even much stronger than other banshees. She is like a steel wall. Wherever she is, the battle line will never collapse.
"What happened?"
Cold eyes swept over, Hodge took a deep breath, stepped sideways, and made way for the ground with the words written on it: "Lord Ash, look!"
He quickly outlined the situation, and Ash nodded, turning back to look behind him.
Several team leaders rushed over: "Report!"
"explain!"
"No enemies found in the direction of the Canary Mountains!"
"No enemy spotted in the southern railway direction!"
"No enemies found in the eastern valley direction!"
"No enemies were found in the western wasteland!"
Hodge was stunned.
The first priority for the expeditionary army in selecting a site for their camp is to have a good field of vision. Their weapons have a great advantage in range, so ensuring a clear field of vision within the firing range takes priority over other considerations.
The fact that no enemy was seen at the outposts in the four directions meant that there were no enemies within at least ten kilometers. This distance meant almost absolute safety for the expeditionary force.
Hotch frowned.
Was he being too suspicious? It was possible. Maybe it was just a prank by a soldier, and Gwen's induction just happened to be wrong. But thinking of the sloppy and anxious handwriting, Hodge always felt that something was wrong.
He looked at Ash - Ash was almost the chief commander among the Banshees, with a rank much higher than Hodge and only slightly lower than Alexi.
But now that Banshee is no longer the main force on the battlefield, she still has to obey Hodge's orders in name.
Hodge gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Ash, I think this is most likely a reminder from the secret helper. Helping to find the resistance army proves that he has reconnaissance capabilities far beyond ours. I am going to have the expeditionary force evacuate urgently."
This is a somewhat risky decision. At least the expeditionary force will not lack supplies in the barracks, but it will be different in the wilderness.
The expeditionary force's firepower far exceeds that of any opponent, but their biggest weakness is that they are still human and cannot carry more supplies, especially since there are no spare steam locomotives here.
Ash's gaze paused on the writing on the ground, and a steady voice sounded the next moment: "I also agree with the emergency transfer."
There was a hint of solemnity in Hodge's eyes. Ash's approval not only did not make him feel relaxed, but made him feel even more uneasy.
"Everyone assemble immediately! We are preparing to evacuate! Carry a base amount of ammunition! Abandon all heavy firepower, and bring a half-day supply of food!" Hodge ordered loudly.
Several team leaders looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.
According to the expeditionary force's algorithm, one base of ammunition is enough to sustain a day of medium-intensity combat. Troops must carry at least 2 to 3 bases of rifle ammunition and more than 5 bases of machine gun ammunition when they are deployed to the battlefield, otherwise it will not be enough.
Once fierce fighting breaks out, the ammunition base is not enough to fight for a day. This base is only enough to maintain ordinary combat and cannot cope with emergencies.
Giving up all heavy firepower and carrying only a basic amount of ammunition is not much different from running for your life.
Is it necessary to be so embarrassed?
Seeing the hesitation in his men's eyes, Hodge quickly explained: "We will evacuate along the railway line. The next train is already on the way. It won't take half a day to meet it!"
A few of them then showed a look of sudden realization and quickly ran away to organize the evacuation.
"You two, please carry some heavy firepower and ammunition. The expeditionary forces are all mortals and cannot carry too much weight. We need to rely on you." Hodge looked up and said to Gwen and Ash.
"Okay." Ash responded without hesitation, and Gwen didn't bother with how to address Hodge, and nodded.
She exercises regularly and is indeed much stronger than others, so carrying several hundred kilograms of bullets is no problem for her.
Needless to say, Ash's heavy machine gun was enough for Hodge's expeditionary company.
"Then we'll meet at the entrance of the military camp in ten minutes!"
Ash and Hodge left immediately. Both of them were members of the expeditionary force and had a lot of things to do. Gwen was only responsible for assisting the expeditionary force. She still had her clothes and armor on her, so there was nothing she needed to pack and she could just leave.
She looked down at the words "Run" on the ground and pursed her lips.
Ten minutes later, the expeditionary force filed out of the open camp gate. They only carried light weapons and were completely lightly equipped.
Hodge looked back at the military camp. There were still a large amount of ammunition and supplies left here. There was no time to take them away. He could only prepare some explosives to destroy them all. This should be the biggest loss of the expeditionary force since it arrived in the north.
If he had made a wrong judgment this time, he would definitely be dismissed from his post and might even be brought to a military court, but he still gritted his teeth and gave the order.
Castel's arsenal had no shortage of arms and supplies, but the entire company of expeditionary forces under his command was brought from Castel.
He had to bring these people back no matter what.
The expeditionary force trotted and marched quickly southward along the railway line. When they were far away from the military camp, the explosives prepared in advance exploded with a bang.
The ground in the north seemed to tremble. Hodge turned around and saw only an orange-red mushroom cloud.
(End of this chapter)
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