Assault Begins

Chapter 12: The Surprise Attack Begins

As the sun dipped below the horizon, its brilliant red afterglow faded from the sky, and night arrived as expected.

After nightfall, the German Army on the front lines retreated as they had for the past few days. Meanwhile, the American Army's temporary combat camp began to stir with quiet activity.

Hundreds of young American soldiers donned their combat uniforms, armed with American Rifles, and carried military green backpacks filled with ammunition and supplies. They stood in formation, maintaining standard military posture.

This staggered assembly was due to the fact that the five German Army camps targeted were in different locations, meaning their respective assembly times were staggered. Otherwise, the gathering of thousands of soldiers would have completely filled the open space within the temporary camp.

Fury had already assembled the hundred-man unit he was responsible for and was meticulously briefing them on the precautions for the night's surprise attack.

"I know some of you are fresh recruits recently transferred from the training base, so prick up your ears and remember everything I've just said. Don't slow me down tonight!"

"On the battlefield, anyone who retreats or disobeys orders won't be warned by a court-martial; I'll simply and directly put a hole in their forehead!"

Fury, educating his soldiers, stood alone at the front of the unit. He had shed the gentle demeanor he displayed at headquarters. Now, his dark face was stern, and his remaining right eye was as fierce and domineering as a wolf's.

The hundreds of soldiers were silent as cicadas. Among them, a young man standing at the rear of the formation, while maintaining his posture, subtly glanced left and right, as if searching for someone.

A nearby recruit noticed this and whispered, "George. This isn't the training base, don't get distracted."

"I know," George replied in a low voice. "Have you seen Kyle? He was sent to the front lines a few days ago, he might be here at this temporary combat camp too."

The recruit muttered, "Kyle? He might already be dead. No matter how superior his qualities and talents are, the training base and the battlefield are completely different."

"I hope he's strong enough to survive and see—the battlefield is where my true talents will be displayed." George clenched his fist. His physical fitness and talent ranked among the best of the recruits, but he had always been suppressed by Kyle at the training base.

"Who?!"

Fury's voice suddenly rang out, startling George. He quickly snapped back to attention and looked. Only then did he realize that the Sergeant wasn't referring to him.

"It's me."

Outside the illuminated area of the assembly ground, a fit figure emerged from the darkness of the night and approached the unit.

When the approaching person's young and handsome face was revealed in the light, many new recruits in the hundred-man unit gasped, some almost losing their military posture.

K-Kyle?

George's eyes widened in disbelief. With his strong pride, how could he forget the young man now standing before everyone?

In just one week, he had impressed various professional training instructors, broken records in all individual combat events at the training base, and set new shooting scores for pistols, rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers…

Even though Kyle had gone to the front lines early, his legend still circulated at the training base, even tending to exaggerate into myth.

Even the usually temperamental training instructors often used Kyle as an example to admonish new recruits.

"Silence!" Fury raised his voice. His sharp, one-eyed gaze swept over the unit, and the scattered noises subsided.

Kyle hadn't chosen to carry a military backpack. Instead, he slung his rifle over his shoulder, a Nepalese Kukri in a leather sheath hung at his waist, and two small pistols were holstered on either side of his legs. He was the most lightly equipped person in the formation.

He walked directly beside Fury, coolly facing the gazes of the soldiers.

As the new recruits in the unit were bewildered, Fury introduced him with a serious expression, "This is Corporal Kyle, and he is one of the commanding officers tonight. For tonight's surprise attack mission, you must follow our commands completely. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the soldiers replied in unison. Even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare say a single 'no'.

"Kyle… Corporal?" George, already stunned when he saw Kyle, couldn't help but lower his head in shame upon hearing his rank and identity, fearing Kyle would recognize him.

The recruit who had been talking to George felt his face slapped, muttering, "I was wrong. A monster is still a monster no matter where they are."

"Isn't it about time to depart?" Kyle asked Fury. He had spent a considerable amount of time mastering the newly drawn cards and had arrived precisely on time.

"Yes, it's time to go." Fury looked down at the time displayed on his instrument and waved to the hundred-man unit, "All soldiers, listen up! Follow the military vehicles and jog to the mission location!"

As soon as Fury finished speaking, he and Kyle got into the idle military vehicles on the open ground. The highly maneuverable military vehicles braked quickly and led the way, driving out of the combat camp into the wilderness.

The surprise attack mission. It wasn't a direct, obvious crossing of the defensive line, but rather a wide detour through the wilderness, avoiding enemy reconnaissance, and heading directly towards the mountainous forest next to the wilderness.

Upon reaching the designated location, Fury and Kyle abandoned the military vehicles and began climbing the mountain with the hundred-man unit, crossing the dense jungle in the dark.

Without knowing the exact location of the German Army camp, such a flanking maneuver would be pointless. However, with intelligence, it was possible to infiltrate deep into the enemy camp like this.

"Crossing this mountain will bring us very close to the location of the small transit station camp mentioned in the intelligence. Soldiers, pass down the order—everyone enter alert status. If you see the enemy, do not alert them; remain quiet and await orders."

Kyle, at the very front of the unit, spoke coldly. Although it was his first time leading and commanding, he exuded confidence and authority.

Fury, beside him, suddenly frowned. "Kyle. I feel something is not quite right."

"Hm?" Kyle looked at him in surprise.

Fury shone his small flashlight weakly on the mission map and said gravely, "Look at the map. After crossing this mountain, it's not a great distance to the combat zone, but it's too far from the German Army's main rear base. This location isn't suitable as a transit point for resource transportation."

"You think the intelligence we received is fake?" Kyle also frowned.

"It's hard to say. Let's keep moving forward. Even if it's fake, we can still retreat safely from this position." After Fury's analysis, the two continued to lead the soldiers over the mountaintop.

Crossing mountains and traversing ridges.

When Kyle and Fury, at the forefront of the formation, pushed aside the bushes blocking their view, the scene that unfolded below them caused both of them to freeze.

Below the mountainside, a circular area of wilderness spanning a hundred meters was enclosed by barbed wire fences. Every ten meters, there were artillery platforms serving as outer wall fortifications. Lights were on everywhere within the wire mesh, and a large number of German soldiers could be seen patrolling back and forth.

"My God, this is the small transit station camp the intelligence mentioned?" Fury's mouth gaped in horror, leaving him speechless.

"It seems the intelligence location is correct, but the target camp is… not quite what we imagined." Kyle remained calm, but he felt an urge to curse.

This was no longer a camp; it was the scale of an enemy base!