Captain America and the Counterattack

Chapter 9: Captain America and the Counterattack

Inside the forward operating base's command tent.

"After last night's all-night battle, our forces have lost 987 soldiers. The German enemy's casualties are higher than ours, with nearly two thousand counted so far."

Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Colonel Marcos frowned deeply.

Nearly three thousand soldiers dead, and countless more wounded and unable to fight – it was clear how brutal last night's battle had been!

"The Nazi Germany forces were so desperate to capture this area last night, they must intend to use it as a strategic zone to break through the European mainland's heartland. Although they've temporarily retreated, they won't give up so easily. After regrouping, they'll surely return. Communicator, how many troops do we have left in the rear that can come as reinforcements?" Colonel Marcos's brow remained furrowed.

The communications soldier replied, "Manpower and military supplies are also extremely tight in other frontline areas. Only three units, totaling three hundred men, can be sent here as reinforcements. One of those units is composed entirely of raw recruits, freshly assembled from the training base."

"Recruits?" Colonel Marcos roared upon hearing this. "What good are recruits? This is the front line, not a nursery!"

Just then, a soldier's voice from outside the tent announced, "Report! A soldier named Kyle is here, saying he has something important to inform the Colonel."

"Soldier Kyle?" Colonel Marcos was taken aback. He thought hard but couldn't recall any new soldier named Kyle in his camp. After a moment's consideration, he allowed Kyle to enter.

As Kyle walked into the tent, Colonel Marcos was slightly startled. He blurted out, "Aren't you the recruit who reported in last night?"

"Yes, Colonel Marcos," Kyle nodded, recognizing the officer who had picked him up last night and sent him directly to the front lines.

"What do you want?" Colonel Marcos asked coldly, unimpressed. Kyle hadn't even cleaned himself up yet, his combat uniform stained with the grime and smell of battle.

"Last night, I obtained a very important intelligence item from an elite German squad. I believe it will be of great help to the campaign, so I came to see you directly after the battle ended," Kyle said, pulling out two parchment scrolls from his pocket.

"An elite German squad? An intelligence item?" Colonel Marcos was surprised and immediately perked up. He took the scrolls, asking, "How did you get them?"

"By killing them, of course, and finding them on their bodies," Kyle shrugged, briefly recounting his encounter with the elite German squad on the way to the combat zone.

"You killed an elite enemy squad that was lurking behind our main forces?" Colonel Marcos found it hard to believe. He then nervously unrolled the parchment scrolls, seeing they contained maps and countless German codes and words.

"They are indeed German intelligence codes," Colonel Marcos's eyes widened. He exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, "All their intelligence-gathering information from the combat zone should be on here! Communicator, immediately go to the rear and bring a specialist who can decipher these codes!"

"No, it's not necessary," Kyle said, waving his hand gently.

"Not necessary?"

Both Colonel Marcos and the communications soldier looked at Kyle in confusion.

A tired smile appeared on Kyle's young face. "As it happens, I learned German codes from a specialist at the training base."

Three days later.

Three days had passed since Kyle was deployed to the front lines.

Meanwhile, in an underground research facility.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

In the training area, a heavy-duty hanging sandbag was being tossed around by powerful punches.

A tall, powerfully built blonde youth, wearing a sweat-soaked tank top, stood steadily before the sandbag. Each of his ordinary punches delivered an unimaginable force, sending the sandbag swinging back and forth.

Watching from the side, Carter's beautiful eyes showed a hint of concern as she spoke, "Steve. You should rest. You've been doing this for an hour."

'Bang!'

Steve seemed not to hear her, continuing to punch the sandbag with increasing force, sweat pouring onto the ground.

"Steve!" Carter raised her voice, her tone cold and elegant. Only then did Steve stop punching the sandbag, patting it to finally bring the swinging mass to a halt.

Steve said with a wry smile, "What am I, a super-soldier? Or an experiment hidden in a basement? I don't want to be like this."

"Steve, your battle hasn't arrived yet," Carter consoled him.

"Then when will it arrive? How much longer do I have to wait?!" Steve's handsome and righteous face was filled with pain. He said dejectedly, "My brother – Kyle. Has already gone to the front lines to fight! And I, Steve Rogers, entrusted with his hopes, am left here living a peaceful life without the sound of war."

"Kyle." Hearing this name, Carter also fell silent.

"I should be able to do more than just spend my time idly here," Steve said.

"Of course. Soldier Steve, you can certainly do more."

A voice with full of vigor suddenly interjected. Steve and Carter turned to look, seeing a middle-aged man in a suit and tie.

"I am a Senator. I have abundant stage resources and opportunities, enough to showcase your extraordinary talents to the entire nation. It will also be a powerful boost to the current war effort." The Senator smiled, taking out a business card from his pocket and handing it over. "I call it the Captain America Propaganda Plan."

"Captain America?" Steve was taken aback. After a moment of hesitation, he finally took the business card from the Senator.

At the same time, at the forward operating base.

"Kyle, the Colonel wants you at the command post."

"Command post?" Kyle, who had just returned from a mission, was slightly surprised. He handed his firearm to the communications soldier who delivered the message and walked directly towards the white command tent.

"Soldier Kyle, reporting!"

"Come in."

As Kyle stepped into the tent, he realized it was filled with officers in military uniforms, nearly a dozen of them.

Colonel Marcos, the highest-ranking officer in the command post, sat in his chair. Seeing Kyle enter, he raised his voice to introduce him, "Gentlemen, this is the soldier, Kyle, who brought back and deciphered the two intelligence maps three days ago."

The dozen or so officers immediately turned their gazes to Kyle. Seeing how handsome and young he was, they all wore expressions of astonishment.

"Soldier Kyle, you've truly accomplished something great this time!"

"Yeah, I heard there was a map with intelligence about our camp. If those hateful Nazis had gotten it back, this place would probably be blown to smithereens by bomber shells right now."

"Don't just say that, the second map is even more important."

"Both are important, both are important. Bringing back the intelligence map and finishing the decryption, the quality of new recruits these days is just getting better and better."

"A rare talent indeed, our army needs this kind of fresh blood."

Kyle was immersed in a shower of praise until Colonel Marcos cleared his throat, and the people in the tent quieted down.

"Soldier Kyle. Your significant contributions to the army will be officially reported collectively once we secure the results of this operation," Colonel Marcos said solemnly.

Kyle's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed in surprise, "The results of this operation? You mean..."

"That's right," Colonel Marcos nodded, spreading the deciphered information from the second parchment onto the table. He said with imposing authority, "Thanks to you, the second map you deciphered marks several German encampments outside of this operational zone."

"With this, the General has issued the latest orders – tonight, we will launch our first large-scale counterattack!"