169: Chapter 169 A Storm is Brewing!

Sure enough, just as Li Mo had expected, not long after Zhao Zhenyuan spread out the map, he announced to all The Military officers that they would be the first to occupy the Qiyuan Mountains.

The reason was simple: they could not afford to drag this out!

In recent years, the government had been withholding military funding, and money was the foundation of war.

Every day the 500,000-strong army remained here, The Military expenditure consumed was in the tens of millions. The losses from war were already high, and if they dragged it out any longer, they might not even be able to pay the soldiers' wages.

Only by taking the Qiyuan Mountains would Zhao Zhenyuan have the leverage to negotiate with the government and force them to release The Military funds.

Therefore, even if it was somewhat risky, Zhao Zhenyuan had to strike first.

Otherwise, waiting for the Baiou Empire and the Black Earth Tribe to make a move could take forever.

Zhao Zhenyuan divided the core area of the entire Qiyuan Mountains into seven regions, two of which were easy to attack but difficult to defend, so there was no need to occupy them.

Therefore, everyone's task was to occupy the remaining five regions.

These were Mountain Area 1, Valley 2, River Valley 3, and the cliff terrains of 4 and 5.

"Regiment Commander Zhao Xin, you are responsible for the sixth region of Mountain Area 1. This place is very close to us. As soon as you arrive, you must start building defensive fortifications to intercept the majority of the enemy!"

"Lu Mo, you are responsible for supporting the Third Division of the First Army in occupying the fourth region of Valley 2 to prevent the enemy from launching a fierce attack!"

Although this was Zhao Zhenyuan's first time fighting a large-scale positional war, his arrangements were orderly and could be described as seamless.

Currently, neither the Baiou Empire nor the Black Earth Tribe expected Daxia to take the initiative to attack, so this provided a window of opportunity for Daxia's troops. Taking advantage of the time before they reacted, Daxia's troops could occupy most of the locations in the Qiyuan Mountains immediately.

Of course, once they reacted, it would inevitably be an extremely brutal battle for control.

After Li Mo waited for a while, Zhao Zhenyuan finally called his name.

"Li Mo!"

As soon as these two words were spoken, almost everyone's eyes turned toward Li Mo.

Everyone knew that Li Mo was currently at the center of the storm, so many people were concerned about what kind of combat position Zhao Zhenyuan would assign to him.

"Present!"

Li Mo replied "Present" and then respectfully gave a military salute to Zhao Zhenyuan.

At this moment, Zhao Zhenyuan's command baton pointed to a location in the Qiyuan Mountains called Height 212.

Height 212 was a cliff and could be considered one of the few rare commanding heights in the Qiyuan Mountains.

Due to the significant destructive power of modern weaponry, commanding heights were one of the main locations contested between countries during wartime.

The Baiou Empire Major General, General Walter, whom Li Mo had killed, had made his name by using a commanding height to wipe out an entire enemy regiment without losing a single soldier.

In this kind of large-scale positional warfare where the entire army was deployed, commanding heights were even more important because such terrain allowed for heavy weapon support across a battlefield spanning tens or even hundreds of kilometers!

By putting Li Mo in charge of this position, the importance Zhao Zhenyuan placed on Li Mo was self-evident.

"Li Mo, I want you to occupy Height 212 and hold this height for at least three days. Are you confident?"

"Reporting to Marshal Zhao, I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

They had been training for so many days; it was time to put their skills to the test.

Moreover, Li Mo had already entered the Qiyuan Mountains once and was somewhat familiar with the terrain inside. From Height 212, he could better support friendly forces.

"Good!"

Zhao Zhenyuan nodded approvingly.

It took a full two hours for Zhao Zhenyuan to finish laying out the combat missions.

This battle was crucial. If they won, the path ahead would naturally be clear, they would go down in history within the country, and the government would not dare to make things difficult for The Military again.

However, if they lost, it was feared that the morale within the country would not recover for a very long time.

This was the largest-scale war in nearly thirty years.

Zhao Zhenyuan said earnestly to everyone: "Everyone, this victory is vital to us, and I hope you will all give it your all!"

"As long as we can hold the Qiyuan Mountains and annihilate more than fifty percent of the enemy forces, that is our victory! Does everyone have confidence?"

"Yes!!"

The whole scene was filled with boiling blood; The Military had been looking forward to this major battle for a long time.

"Good! Tomorrow morning at six o'clock, everyone will immediately proceed to your designated combat positions according to my deployment. Now, go back and rest!"

This night was destined to be a sleepless one.

Many people didn't even rest all night, including Li Mo.

The sky at dawn was dark and gloomy, and the forest was silent, with only a cool breeze brushing against their faces. However, the trees desired stillness but the wind would not cease; a murderous aura appeared on the faces of every member of the Independent Regiment.

Everyone knew in their hearts what they would be facing once they climbed to Height 212.

Li Mo stood on the treetops, looking up at the Qiyuan Mountains while watching his watch.

The moment the hour hand pointed to the number 6, Li Mo immediately gave the order.

"Attention everyone, listen to my orders! The whole army will move at the fastest speed, immediately occupy Height 212, move out!"

Following Li Mo's order, the more than ten thousand members of the Independent Regiment marched majestically toward the Qiyuan Mountains.

The location where Daxia's troops were stationed was originally less than a few dozen kilometers away from the Qiyuan Mountains, so it would take at most an hour or so to reach Height 212 in the Qiyuan Mountains and set up their formation.

It must be said that ever since Zhao Zhenyuan purged the spies within The Military, The Military's security measures had improved significantly. For such a large-scale operation, neither the Baiou Empire nor the Black Earth Tribe reacted in time.

But only about fifteen minutes later, the movements of Daxia's army had already been reported by their scouts to the ears of Commander Morpheus and Commander Wright respectively.

"Is Daxia crazy? Does Zhao Zhenyuan really think he can fight two opponents at once? Pass on my order: everyone gather within half an hour and immediately rush to the Qiyuan Mountains!"

Morpheus's response was extremely swift. Although there was no prior intelligence, he had already prepared deployment plans for emergencies and mobilized the entire army to set off for the Qiyuan Mountains at the first opportunity.

In contrast, Wright of the Baiou Empire was far worse. He had been carousing all night, and when the messenger reported, he was still asleep, taking at least ten minutes to react.

"What are our people doing? Such a major military operation by Daxia, and there wasn't a single bit of news beforehand?"

The moment Wright woke up, he blamed his subordinates instead of deploying actions.

Fortunately, he had a steward named Hanks. While Wright was still waking up, Hanks had already notified the entire army and made deployments.

Whether it was the Baiou Empire or the Black Earth Tribe, they both had the same thought at this moment: they could not let Daxia occupy the Qiyuan Mountains.

The wind is rising before the storm; since early morning, the wind in the Qiyuan Mountains today seemed to be blowing exceptionally hard!