Chapter 989: Chapter 532, Got Messy_2

Recalling the familiar faces that startled him awake time and again in the dim cabins of the transport ships, he often felt how wonderful it would have been if he had died alongside his brothers on Yuehe VII.

That way, he wouldn’t have to endure the current torment.

The transport ship sent him to a rear world known as ‘Ramilo’.

Here, it could be considered a large logistics base. A large quantity of war materials and personnel gathered here, ready to board ships and be sent to where the front lines needed them.

Instead, those like Xiong Lei, who withdrew from the front lines, were in the minority.

Once on the ground, he went into the military hospital, and after staying for two days, a political commissar wearing a red hat found him.

“Colonel Xiong Lei?”

“That’s me.” Xiong Lei’s voice was deeply somber.

He lifted his head, inspecting the person in front of him.

It was quite a youthful face, with a vigor unscarred by hardships, exuberantly radiating from his face in a somewhat glaring manner.

The insignia of two vertical bars and a star denoted his rank of major. The red trim on his epaulettes signified his status as a political commissar.

The red-hatted one saluted, then introduced himself: “I am Zhan Weidong, here by order to assist you in rebuilding the 311th Division of the 5th Army Group!”

“Rebuilding?” Xiong Lei’s gaze was somewhat bewildered, “I thought it would be disbanded.”

“How could that be?” Zhan Weidong said with a smile, “The 311th Division is a unit of merit.”

“A merit unit that has been completely wiped out, you mean?”

Zhan Weidong put away his smile and said seriously: “You seem a bit desolate, I can understand the feeling after losing your troops.”

“What the hell do you know? Fresh off the military academy…”

Before he could finish, Zhan Weidong shouted back in an even louder voice: “It’s even more unbecoming for you to be like this!”

“Get it together, Colonel Xiong Lei, it’s not just the 311th Division, there are also two other divisions the same way. Heroes sacrificed their lives in the war, their spirit remains with the living.”

Seeing Xiong Lei remain silent, Zhan Weidong’s tone softened a bit.

He spoke about specific tasks: “The army brothers coming from the rear, apart from the seven army groups brought by General Yan, there are also more than thirty million unassigned troops pulled from new recruit camps. Additionally, another thirty million were selected from various Native Defense Forces in the Menghe Star Domain. These reserve troops are to fill the frontline combat units, supplement personnel, and be used for the rebuilding of depleted formations.”

“I will be your partner.”

“Although you might miss your previous partner, I trust I can exhibit enough professionalism to earn your satisfaction.”

“I’ve reviewed your record; I believe you are worthy of being called an Alliance hero. I also hope you can demonstrate enough professionalism. Otherwise, I would regrettably have to report to the higher-ups that you are no longer fit to lead the troops. You wouldn’t want the 311th Division to be commanded by someone else in the future, would you?”

After a moment of silence, Xiong Lei said: “Are the new political commissars graduating from the Loyal Heir Academy as eloquent as you?”

“Maybe I am indeed the special one.”

“Phew…” Xiong Lei let out a long breath, then asked: “How much time do we have?”

“Five months,” Zhan Weidong replied, “The soldiers from the Dragonhawk Star Domain are all coming from Alliance training camps, no need to worry about their level; the locally recruited ones from the Menghe Star Domain, though a bit uneven, have at least been selected from various Planetary Defense Forces, so there’s some level of assurance. Both sides’ personnel will be mixed in a 5:5 ratio to form our new troops. We have five months to reorganize the troops and develop combat capability. After five months, the Command Center could order us back to the battlefield at any time.”

Xiong Lei smiled wryly: “The ones who’ve had their blood replaced, can it still be called the 311th Division?”

“That depends on you. I believe, with you here, the spirit of the 311th Division can be passed on.” Zhan Weidong said, with the same kind of vivacious smile reappearing on his face.

He reached out his hand to Xiong Lei.

Xiong Lei gave him a deep look: “I hope your professional level is as strong as your talking level.”

In his words, he also reached out his hand and clasped firmly with his new political commissar.

…

Formations like the 311th Division, units of division and brigade level that were utterly annihilated and devastated, would all be rebuilt in a similar manner.

Actually, Xiong Lei’s situation was already considered fortunate. After all, as the division commander, the highest military officer of the unit, he survived the brutal combat.

Most divisions requiring rebuilding had in fact lost their commanders.

For example, the 077 and 240 divisions that previously fought alongside the 311 Skeleton Division. The highest rank among those who survived was merely a major battalion commander.

At this time, the situation of rapid promotion in war reoccurred.

That major battalion commander was directly field-promoted to a new rank of lieutenant colonel and, like Xiong Lei, began reorganizing his 077 Division as provisional commander. Another 240 Division without even a regimental-level officer had a lieutenant colonel transferred from another unit to serve as commander and take on the task of rebuilding.

Their organizational sequences still belong to the 5th Army Group and will return to the battlefield once reorganization is complete.

As Zhan Weidong mentioned, these sixty million reserve troops, and the increasingly numerous reserves arriving with subsequent major forces, will be supplementing understaffed frontline units or entirely rebuilding designations in a similar manner.

The Alliance will ensure that the order of battle for each frontline combat unit does not shrink too drastically through this method.

Continuous transfusion is the only way to maintain combat effectiveness.

…

As for the frontline battle, when two battleships of the Furyflame reached Yuehe VII, the Furyhawk had no choice but to retreat.

However, it did not leave the star system, but rather prowled around the outer orbit, eyeing the two vessels larger than itself like a tiger.

Relying on the fact that those two battleships couldn’t catch it, the Furyhawk was bold enough to frequently launch attacks.

Popping up, firing two shots, then running away before the battleships could react.

Alternatively, it would lead raids on the subsequent logistics fleet coming from the warp point to deliver supplies to the ground, forcing one of the two Furyflame’s large ships to shift from providing orbital support to escort duties. Otherwise, without a battleship on site, the Furyhawk’s raids on Furyflame’s transport fleet were nearly guaranteed to succeed.

The battlecruiser showcased its function.

Its capabilities are hard to ignore.

Furyflame’s two battleships were pulled to exhaustion.

If it had been an ordinary fast cruiser, the battleships wouldn’t even have glanced at it.

But not with a battlecruiser; leave it unchecked, and it could freely stir chaos and even deal a distant ‘Divine Punishment’ shot which is a significant threat to battleships, given it’s an X-class Light Spear Array, not to be underestimated.

Yet going after it couldn’t contain it. The Holy Grail-class ran too fast, slippery as an eel.

With its pull, Yuehe VII star system indeed had two enemy battleships, but the orbital threats encountered by the surface Alliance forces were almost the same as before!

After all, with supplies just replenished and even having the time to rearrange and strengthen a few orbital cannon fort positions on the planet, there was inherently a robust defensive capability.

Conversely, the Princess’s Rebel Army on the ground, though no longer needing to fear bombardment, required time to reorganize the units previously scattered, giving the Alliance troops an opportunity.

Seeing Yuehe VII turning into a protracted meat grinder battlefield of mutual attrition, it’s crucial to seize the chance to eliminate some active forces while the enemy’s disorder had yet to conclude.

Eliminating one more enemy now might mean one less of our own dying later.

But at this juncture, the Alliance discovered these traitors from the Empire’s north had fled!

Large numbers of the Princess’s Rebel Army, after restoring their formations and organization, moved into a region cleared of orbital cannons, boarded transport ships, and evacuated from the ground.

The entire evacuation operation lasted a month. The vast majority of the Princess’s Rebel Army withdrew from the surface and, under the escort of battleships, left Yuehe VII.

They abandoned this star system.