Chapter 664: Kuwait Border: The Lurking Hunter

"Has the scout been sent out?"

"Sent. Three squads crossed the river last night at midnight. They should be on the opposite bank now."

"Let them figure out: the British Army's deployment, fire‑point locations, where the reserve is, and who the commander is. The more detailed, the better."

Li Tiejun nodded, turned and went to send a telegram.

Zhao Dengyu kept looking at the map.

Kantara crossing, the narrowest part of the canal. It's just over a hundred meters wide, and a floating bridge can be erected in a few hours. Once we charge across, the opposite bank is Egypt, Africa, the British backyard.

He stared at the crossing, his finger lightly tapping the table.

Soon.

Almost there.

At the same time, the Kuwait–Yilang border.

Wang Guojian lay behind a sand dune, holding a telescope and watching the faint road in the distance. The sun baked the sand to scorching heat, but his camouflage uniform was already soaked with sweat, clinging to his body.

Next to him, a scout lay prone, also holding a telescope.

"Commander, you should go back. This place is too dangerous; if a British patrol discovers us…"

Wang Guojian ignored him.

"Do you see that truck?" he pointed at a tanker moving along the distant road, "British. It came out of Abadan. It carries crude oil, shipped to the Persian Gulf mouth, then taken back to Europe."

The scout nodded, "Seen."

"How many per day?"

"Scout report: about fifty trucks a day on average. At peak, seventy or eighty."

Wang Guojian set down the telescope, squinting at the road.

"Fifty. Each carries ten tons of oil, that's five hundred tons a day. A month is fifteen thousand tons. Enough for the British to fight a medium‑sized battle."

He rose, crouching, and walked back. The scout followed.

After a few hundred meters, over a dune, a cluster of tents appeared. It was their division's temporary camp, set in a hollow between two dunes, invisible from afar.

Several officers came forward.

"Commander, back?"

Wang Guojian nodded and entered the largest tent. Inside hung a map marking the location of the Abadan oil field, British Army positions, the road, and the oil‑pipeline route.

He stood before the map, looking for a long time.

"Abadan oil field," he finally said, "the British have over two thousand people here. Two battalions of Indian troops, plus some technicians and security. The defense is lax, because no one expected us to strike from Kuwait."

He turned, looking at the officers.

"The President's order: no attack until I give the command. But we can prepare. Scouts keep gathering intel, artillery calibrate fire data, infantry familiarize terrain. When the order comes, I want to capture Abadan within an hour."

The officers stood at attention together, "Yes!"

A communications soldier ran in, "Commander, Colonel Yang is on the line; his division has reached the designated position and can send scouts to rendezvous tomorrow."

"Reply: Agreed. Have his men go north, ours go south, and sweep the entire oil field perimeter."

The communications soldier saluted and ran out.

Wang Guojian glanced at the map again.

Abadan. The British oil depot. Cut off their oil, and their warships become a heap of scrap.

Soon.

Borneo naval base.

Zhou Zhen guo stood on the bridge of the Zhenyuan, watching the Sakura Nation soldiers disembarking on the pier.

The first batch of fifty thousand, aboard fifteen transport ships, had just arrived. The pier was a sea of people; soldiers queued to go down, officers shouted nearby, translators weaved through the crowd, shouting half‑baked English and Japanese, "This way! This way, assemble!"

Zhou Zhen guo watched for a while, then turned to face the officers on the bridge.

"Is the commander from the Sakura Nation, Shan Ben Yifu, arrived?"

"Report, General, just arrived. Waiting at the pier, says he wants to see you."

Zhou Zhen guo nodded and went down from the bridge.

On the pier, a middle‑aged man in a general's uniform waited for him. He was of average build, expressionless, but his eyes were bright—the kind of gaze only someone who has seen blood and led troops possesses.

Shan Ben Yifu.

The two saluted each other.

"General Zhou," Shan Ben Yifu began, his Chinese stiff but understandable, "First Army of the Sakura Nation, commander Shan Ben Yifu, reporting as ordered."

Zhou Zhen guo stared at him, silent for three seconds.

"General Shan Ben Yifu, the journey was hard."

"Not hard. The soldiers are eager for battle and want to arrive early."

Zhou Zhen guo nodded, pointing at the soldiers lining up on the pier.

"How are they? Have they adapted to the tropical climate?"

Shan Ben Yifu smiled—a shallow but sincere smile—"Report, General, our soldiers can adapt to any climate. As long as they're equipped and supplied, they can go anywhere."

Zhou Zhen guo looked at him and suddenly asked, "General Shan Ben Yifu, how many years have you led troops?"

Shan Ben Yifu paused, "Twenty years."

"Twenty years. Then you know, what is most important on the battlefield?"

Gang Cun Ningci thought for a moment, "Obey orders?"

Zhou Zhen guo nodded.

Shan Ben Yifu was silent for three seconds.

Then he stood at attention and saluted again.

"General Zhou, I will pass this on to every soldier."

Zhou Zhen guo nodded, turned and walked toward the pier. Shanben Yifu followed behind.

In the distance, the silhouettes of Zhenyuan and Jiyuan glittered in the sunset. Their four twin‑mounted 380mm Main Guns resembled four sleeping giants, quietly awaiting the moment of awakening.

"Those two ships," Shanben Yifu said softly, "are huge."

Zhou Zhen guo smiled.

"You've never seen them fire, have you?"

Shanben Yifu shook his head.

"When you see it, you'll know what a 'giant‑ship cannon' is," Zhou Zhen guo said. "A 380mm Shell, one shot, can level a building. Yingguo built a battery in Singapore that calls itself the 'Eastern Gibraltar.' When our ships arrive, we'll show them what a real cannon is."

Six o'clock in the evening, Red Sea.

The sunset was sinking below the sea level, dyeing the whole sea a golden‑red. Three massive battleships formed a single Column, steaming north at 20 knots.

Nagato led at the front. Dingyuan was on the left rear, Zhiyuan on the right rear. Six destroyers spread on both flanks like loyal hounds guarding their master.

Li Te stood on Nagato's bridge, holding a telescope and looking ahead. In the distance, where sea met sky, a faint gray line traced the coastline of the Sinai Peninsula.

"General," the Chief of Staff came over, "the telegram we just received says General Zhao Dengyu's troops have all arrived at Hordassa. They ask when we can reach the scheduled position."

Li Te set down the telescope: "Tell them that tomorrow morning we will reach the southern entrance of the Suez Canal."

He walked to the chart table and looked at the Red Sea map. On the map, the southern entrance of the Suez Canal was marked with a red circle.