45: The Anti-Japanese Army issued a duel letter, the US Army accepted the challenge, and the two sides dueled!

Ever since the U.S. Military Joint Military Action Command created an official account and tagged the Darwin City Anti-War People's Army official account, hinting at compromise and concession, this war became a hot topic of discussion among global netizens.

Suddenly, the Anti-War People's Army's account released a unique message, specifically tagging the U.S. Military Joint Military Action Command.

—

“Challenge Letter to the United States.”

“War is terrible, yet it is unavoidable.”

“To minimize the damage caused by war as much as possible,”

“Our side proposes a new, yet ancient, solution.”

“In the West, it’s called a noble knightly duel; in the East, it’s called a duel between generals before the lines.”

“Given that times have changed and cavalry has long declined, we will adopt modern military branch duels.”

“People's Army has no navy.”

“Therefore, People's Army has decided to send fighter jets and tanks, to face your fighter jets and tanks, elite against elite.”

“For fairness and impartiality, People's Army suggests establishing the following basic rules.”

“First, both sides shall use the same model of equipment.”

“Second, the duel will be broadcast live and publicly, with professional military experts hired to explain and monitor the execution of the rules.”

“Third, the duel will take place within a limited area, whether in the air or on the ground.”

“Fourth, there will be no time limit for the battle, until one side is no longer capable of fighting.”

“Fifth, no matter which side wins, they will have the initiative in discourse and set the agenda.”

“Challenger: Darwin City Anti-War Army.”

—

As soon as this challenge letter was released, it made headlines on almost all international news platforms.

How novel.

In modern warfare, one side actually proposed a duel between generals before the lines to determine the war's outcome.

Many people immediately thought the Anti-War Army was crazy.

But many others found this proposal very interesting.

Some even started betting pools.

Military observers from various countries around the world also joined the discussion.

Most experts believed that the U.S. Military would not abandon its numerical superiority to accept such a gambling-like challenge.

However, if the U.S. Military did not accept the challenge, it would also cause some negative impact on its reputation.

A large number of online trolls, whose origins were unknown, began to loudly agitate on various platforms, urging the U.S. Military to accept the challenge, otherwise, the U.S. Military would be cowards.

It can be said that ordinary people, far more than military experts, were more inclined to have the U.S. Military accept the challenge, so that there would be excitement to watch; as for how this would affect the war's outcome, they didn't really care.

“What the f—”

Darwin Air Force Base.

General Aris cursed as he looked at the news information handed to him by his chief of staff.

“Who the hell would agree to such a childish challenge letter!”

“Am I brain-dead, to give up an absolute numerical advantage and use some front-line duel to influence the war's outcome?”

The chief of staff cautiously asked, “Commander, how should we respond to the Anti-War Army?”

Aris: “Respond to what? Just ignore it.”

After his outburst, Aris calmed down slightly.

He somewhat regretted using the internet to stir up public opinion earlier; now he was in a passive position.

The office door was knocked.

“Come in.”

Then seven or eight military officers entered, whose uniforms indicated high ranks and different branches, all of them generals.

Aris asked, “Do you have anything to report?”

Unexpectedly, these generals collectively saluted and jointly petitioned:

“Commander, please allow us to accept the challenge!”

Facing so many high-ranking officers requesting to fight, Aris lost his temper.

“Has your intelligence regressed?”

“The other side clearly wants to gamble, to risk little for a big gain.”

“But we have no need to take risks with them.”

A U.S. Military Army Lieutenant General saluted first and said loudly, “Commander, we understand all of this.”

Aris: “Then why are you still petitioning?”

The Lieutenant General stated, “The honor of the United States military needs to be upheld.”

The others also said:

“We can win, and we can lose, but we cannot lose without fighting!”

“If we don’t accept the challenge, they will repeatedly humiliate us online.”

“I believe that even if we accept the challenge, there’s no reason for our powerful United States soldiers to lose to them.”

“We have a hundred thousand excellent soldiers, while they only have ten thousand rabble!”

“Their fighter jets and tanks were seized from us. With the same equipment, our superior training level, I believe People's Army will definitely not lose the duel!”

“The shame of the U.S. Military base being captured earlier also needs to be washed away, General!”

Even Aris, under the continuous bombardment of these top generals, who were second only to him in military status, felt somewhat exhausted.

He waved his hand, “Alright, you all go out first. I’ll consider it carefully.”

Aris pondered alone in his office.

While these subordinate generals could act impulsively, he, as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, could not.

Even if there was a slight risk and the decision was not necessary, it could not be implemented.

Unless it could be guaranteed that the opponent, the Darwin City Anti-War Army, would definitely lose.

Aris's eyes lit up as he thought of something, and he called his chief of staff in: “There’s something I need you to arrange…”

Soon after, on the internet, the U.S. Military's official account responded to the Darwin City's official account.

Only a few brief words: Challenge Accepted.

At this moment, global public opinion erupted.

Inside Darwin City, Fang Le saw this and breathed a sigh of relief.

The rest was for both sides to further discuss the specific details of the duel.

The duel would adopt a scoring system, with one point awarded for defeating an opponent.

The first half in the morning would be ground combat.

The second half in the afternoon would be aerial combat.

Fang Le, as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, inspected the twelve soldiers before him.

They were all tank drivers, gunners, loaders, and Commanders.

The ground combat would be tank-on-tank, with both sides forming three-member teams to engage.

The tanks participating in the ground duel were U.S. Military's M1A2 main battle tanks.

And these twelve soldiers were all synthetic humans, professional soldiers specialized in operating tanks.

Fang Le began a brief pre-battle speech:

“You are all the most elite warriors of People's Army. I won't go into technical details.”

“I can only say, when you return victorious, I will personally award each and every one of you a medal!”

The twelve men collectively raised their hands in salute: “We guarantee to complete the mission. We will not return without victory!”

“We will not return without victory—”

The loud shouts of the twelve men were transmitted through the live broadcast cameras to the global live stream broadcasting the competition.

And the U.S. Military's farewell contingent was grander and more inspiring.

Then, the duel officially began.

Fang Le and the other high-ranking Anti-War Army officials collectively saluted, watching the three tanks start and head to the battlefield.

At this moment, the air itself seemed to contain a heroic aura.

Twenty minutes later, in the outskirts of Darwin City, the first half of the ground combat duel officially began.