Pebble Fortress, command center.
Li Huaiyuan held up the communicator, his face ashen.
Zhang Yansheng's voice came from the other end, hoarse and exhausted.
"Commander, the counterattack failed."
"The Third Legion... lost more than three hundred men again, and still couldn't retake the trench zone."
"The troops have reached their limit. Morale..."
"In short, if high-level martial artists weren't forbidden from acting freely, I'd be climbing up there myself!"
"Commander, for my father's sake, leave our Zhang family some seeds!"
"Even if you could rotate us out for a few hours and let us catch our breath, that would be enough."
"Leave you seeds? Rotate you out?" Li Huaiyuan stared at the real-time battle lines on the console. The blocking line he had drawn several hours earlier was still submerged beneath a sea of red marks.
His voice was cold as ice. "The entire front is under pressure right now. Where am I supposed to find a unit to relieve you?"
"Zhang Yansheng, how did you lose the trench zone? For your father's sake, I don't want to pursue the matter!"
"But your Zhang family made this mess yourselves. You can hold it yourselves!"
He paused, thought it over, and decided that he ultimately couldn't completely disregard Zhang Wuxian's standing.
So he spoke again in a cold, hard tone. "The 52nd Group Army is currently relieving the 32nd Group Army. Your Third Legion's task is to hold the defensive zone during this gap!"
"Once the 52nd Group Army takes over, I authorize you to withdraw and rest for four hours! Is that clear?!"
Zhang Yansheng fell silent for several seconds before forcing out one word.
"Yes!"
Li Huaiyuan cut the connection, dragged his finger heavily across the console, and connected to the 52nd Group Army's command post.
"This is Li