Chapter 245: Counter-Pushing the Front Line

The front lines were filled with the Long Country army's tracked vehicles and supply trucks, transporting supplies and ammunition day and night without pause.

The soldiers were all high in spirits; thinking of the sacrifices of heroes like Wang Wei, their will to fight was even higher.

Amidst the billowing smoke, the Long Country army was like a hot knife through butter, advancing all the way.

The enemy's organized resistance grew fewer and fewer, and many units even retreated voluntarily without engaging in fire.

On a high ground that had just been recaptured, a Company Commander used binoculars to observe the scene of the enemy forces retreating in a panic, and could not help but laugh out loud:

"I've been in the military for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen the Di Guo bastards retreat so fast—their backsides are practically on fire!"

The Political Commissar beside him laughed: "That's for sure. I just heard from the Communication Soldier that all of the Di Guo bastards' fighter jets were shot down by our Feilong-2s, not a single one left. If it were you, wouldn't you run?"

The Company Commander was stunned for a moment: "Feilong-2? What kind of thing is that?"

The Political Commissar smiled mysteriously: "I heard it's a new weapon designed by that kid Li Mingyuan. I don't know the specifics, but it's incredibly powerful. The Di Guo bastards' planes are like paper in front of it—one shot, one hit."

The Company Commander clicked his tongue in wonder: "Is it really that bizarre? Does that mean we won't have to fear the Di Guo bastards' planes anymore?"

"That's for certain!" The Political Commissar patted his shoulder. "From now on, no one can think about laying a finger on our Long Country's sky! Now, hurry up and keep moving forward; let's try to take that Yamaguchi ahead before dark!"

As the front line advanced, the Long Country army recaptured large swaths of lost territory one after another.

Strategic points and transportation hubs returned to the hands of the Long Country army, and supply lines were greatly improved.

Because the enemy forces suddenly lost the support of their air power, their morale was dealt a heavy blow, and their resistance grew increasingly weak.

Although their numbers of tanks and Heavy Artillery still held an advantage, without the cover of aircraft, the mobility and power of this equipment were greatly diminished.

The battlefield situation was tilting toward the Long Country army at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Yunlong stood on the newly recaptured hilltop, overlooking the battlefield in the distance, his face full of excitement:

"Good! Damn good! Now we can finally hold our heads high!"

Zhao Gang nodded, though his expression was somewhat worried: "But the Di Guo bastards definitely won't just let it go. Their industrial strength is there; they will soon have new troops and equipment to replenish their ranks."

Li Yunlong snorted: "So what? We have Li Mingyuan, this human weapons arsenal; I don't believe they can develop anything we can't handle!"

He raised his binoculars to continue observing the front-line situation: "Pass on my order: continue the attack, and try to push to the original defense line before the enemy reacts!"

Zhao Gang saluted: "Yes!"

The sun set in the west, and the afterglow dyed the entire battlefield red.

Columns of the Long Country army's tracked vehicles advanced along the mountain paths, the dust they kicked up forming golden curtains under the sunlight.

On this day, on the battlefield of Taiyang, the wind direction had completely changed.

Inside the experimental tent, Li Mingyuan worked at his desk until late at night.

His table was piled high with blueprints and calculation papers, and an oil lamp illuminated his tired but determined face.

"Chief Engineer, you really must rest," Lao Liu said, walking in with a bowl of steaming noodles. "You haven't eaten a single bite since yesterday."

Li Mingyuan looked up, his eyes bloodshot from working for so long: "In a little while, I'm almost finished with the preliminary design for the next generation of 'Feilong'."

Lao Liu set down the noodle bowl and forcibly pulled Li Mingyuan up: "Even an iron man has to eat. Come on, eat this bowl of noodles first, then sleep for two hours. The blueprints won't run away, but if you collapse, everything is over."

Li Mingyuan smiled weakly, picked up his chopsticks, and began to wolf down the food.

Only then did he realize how hungry he was.

"How is the front line?" he asked indistinctly.

A smile appeared on Lao Liu's face: "Very good! We've been advancing all the way, the Di Guo bastards have suffered heavy losses and have already retreated over ten kilometers!"

Li Mingyuan nodded, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes: "That's good. But the Di Guo aren't pushovers; they will soon send new planes. We must hurry and produce more Feilong-2s, while simultaneously developing new Anti-aircraft weapons."

"Don't you worry about that," Lao Liu patted his chest. "The factory has already started 24-hour production of the Feilong-2. According to your design, we can complete ten a day."

Li Mingyuan put down his chopsticks and sighed: "Not enough, far from enough. The industrial strength of the Di Guo is dozens of times ours; they can produce hundreds of planes in a week. We must use our technological advantage to make up for our numerical disadvantage."

He walked to the large map hanging on the wall, his gaze scanning the terrain of Taiyang:

"Look here, this mountainous terrain is very suitable for setting up anti-aircraft positions. If we can deploy enough Feilong-2s at these key points, we can form an airtight anti-aircraft net."

Lao Liu looked at the grand blueprint Li Mingyuan was describing and couldn't help but feel a bit worried: "Chief Engineer, our industrial capacity..."

Li Mingyuan interrupted him: "I know our industrial capacity is limited, so I have already begun to simplify the design of the Feilong-2 to reduce manufacturing difficulty and increase production efficiency."

He stood up and stretched: "Alright, I'll listen to you; I'm going to sleep for two hours. But wake me up in two hours—we still have a lot of work to do."

Lao Liu watched Li Mingyuan's tired but firm back, a feeling of admiration welling up in his heart.

……

The Long Country's counterattack continued, and the front line pushed forward like a tide.

The defensive lines hastily organized by the Di Guo collapsed one after another; their prideful air superiority was gone, and the morale of their ground troops hit rock bottom.

As the momentum of the Long Country's counterattack continued to expand, the situation at the front gradually became clear.

Li Yunlong stood before the command post's sand table, carefully observing the marked enemy movements, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Strange, why haven't the Di Guo bastards reacted? Logically, they should be fighting back desperately by now." Li Yunlong puffed on a cigarette and poked the sand table in confusion.

Zhao Gang pushed up his glasses and analyzed: "According to reports from reconnaissance units, the enemy is indeed mobilizing troops, but they are mainly concentrated on our two flanks, while there is not much pressure on the main attack direction."

"This isn't right," Li Yunlong frowned. "Are they ignoring our main attack force and turning to reinforce their flanks instead?"

An intelligence staff officer trotted in, holding the latest reconnaissance report:

"Report, Commander, the enemy is indeed massing troops in the two flank areas, especially here and here." He pointed on the sand table to the two directions where the Long Country was advancing more slowly.

Li Yunlong stared at the sand table for a long time, then suddenly realized: "I understand! The Di Guo bastards have spotted our weak point."

"What weak point?" Zhao Gang asked.

Li Yunlong pointed at the sand table: "Look, our current advance has formed several 'arrows,' concentrating most of our firepower and new weapons. But the troops on the two flanks have relatively outdated equipment, and their advance speed is much slower. The enemy has seen this and is deliberately avoiding our 'Sharp Knife' to reinforce the weak links on the flanks."