The military train, carrying all the equipment and personnel of the 39th Division's Iron-Blood Battalion, departed from Black Flame City. After nearly two days of travel, it finally arrived in the Karur region on the morning of the third day.
Zhang Tie was woken up from his sleep. Ever since he boarded the train, Zhang Tie had been sleeping soundly. After waking up, he would either fight with a bunch of wild beasts in the Soul Tribulation Fruit or visualize two abacuses to practice his < Abacus Mental Calculation >. Compared to those fragrant and lovely girls, sitting on the train with a bunch of smelly old men was really boring.
The soldiers were smoking and playing cards in the carriage, while the violent freaks who dreamed of making a breakthrough in Iron-Blood Divine Fist were silently practicing their skills. Most of the veterans were either resting with their eyes closed or quietly polishing their weapons, making final preparations for the upcoming battle.
During this day and night, the train only stopped once or three times at a few small stations along the way to replenish coal and water, each time for only one hour. Under strict discipline, none of the soldiers and officers on board stepped out of the carriage.
The soldiers' carriages were filled with smoke and fumes, while the officers' carriages were so stuffy that not a single fart could be heard.
Under these circumstances, Zhang Tie went to his sleeper compartment, lay down, and slept soundly for days on end, hardly ever coming out except to eat.
"Wake up, Lieutenant Zhang Tie, we've arrived in Karur..." Zhang Tie, who was having a sweet dream in bed, was shaken awake by a lieutenant sleeping in the bunk above him. Zhang Tie opened his eyes and found that the train had stopped. There was a bustling noise outside. He glanced out the train window and saw that the sky was just about to brighten. The entire station was filled with people in dark red military uniforms and mountains of supplies.
Zhang Tie jumped out of bed, quickly dressed and put on his shoes, tidied himself up a bit, and went to the train car's dining room, which was now the Iron-Blood Battalion's temporary meeting room.
When Zhang Tie arrived at the restaurant, an officer with the rank of lieutenant, but not from the Iron-Blood Battalion, had just hurriedly left from the carriage next to the restaurant.
A minute later, the Iron-Blood Battalion's first military meeting in Karur was held in the train's dining car.
A map of the Karur region was hanging on the restaurant wall. At its center was a city, its north and south sides marked by large blue or red areas. Between these red and blue sections lay large gray areas, completely surrounding the city of Karur. Major Guderian, holding a pen, used concise language to explain the current situation in the area surrounding Karur.
"Right now, our forces and those of the Radiant Feather are concentrated in a vast area fifty kilometers around Karur. Karur is currently neutral. To the south of Karur, in the blue area on the map, is the Radiant Feather. To the north of the map, in this red area, is our Iron Horn Legion. The station we are currently at is eighty-seven kilometers away from Karur. It's here..." Major Guderian's pen pointed to a small town called Karichi, located at the edge of the red area on the map.
"This narrow gray area surrounding the Karur City on the map is about 75 kilometers long and 124 kilometers wide. It's the mountainous region around Karur, and also the area where our clashes with the Radiant Feather are most intense. Currently, many forces from both sides are entangled in this area, and numerous skirmishes are taking place every day. Just now, the Legion Command issued an order for us to rush here and capture it. We originally had a battalion here, but before nightfall last night, this unit lost contact with its superiors. Normally, this means that our brothers in that battalion are now in grave danger..." Guderian's command pen drew a straight line from Karichi, directly penetrating into a place called Sorane that gray area. The contour lines on the military map made it clear to everyone that Sorane appeared to be a village built on a mountainside.
Guderian's pen drew lines and circles on several points on the map, conveying the next steps in the fastest possible language.
"Our first mission is to retake this place and maintain operations within this complex area of over 100 square kilometers for at least two weeks, clearing out the three known enemy strongholds. During these two weeks, we must inflict the greatest blow on the Sun God Dynasty's forces in this area. In this mission, we can only utilize our own supplies and will not receive any reinforcements. We will return to the Iron Horn Legion's No. 4 Fortress near Karur City for rest and reorganization in fourteen days!" At this point, Major Guderian put away his pen. "Does anyone have any questions about this mission?"
Everyone shook their heads. Only Zhang Tie was participating in a major battle for the first time, felt a little nervous. He hadn't expected that as soon as he arrived in Karur, before he even had a sip of water, he would be given a series of urgent combat missions, giving him no time to prepare.
"Alright, the battle map will be distributed to each company shortly. If there are no problems, everyone has five minutes to prepare. Then get off the vehicles, assemble your teams, and we'll set off!"
All the officers stood up abruptly and then went to their respective companies to relay the combat orders.
During those five minutes of preparation time, Zhang Tie put on the Norman Empire's Arrowhead Type B light armor for the first time. It was a set of light armor that could cover most of a person's vital organs and important joints in alloy plates.
Besides wearing the same armor and supplies as the other officers, Zhang Tie also carried a javelin weighing over 100 kilograms on his back and held the " Proof of Manhood " in his hand.
Not only the officers, but also the soldiers below completed all the pre-battle preparations in those five minutes.
At this moment, the Iron-Blood Battalion's war efficiency became apparent. From the first prepared soldier receiving orders to open the train carriage doors and jump down, to the last thousand-plus troops quietly completing their pre-battle assembly at the train station, all of this was accomplished within two minutes.
At this moment, the Iron-Blood Battalion, having completed its pre-battle assembly, was like a ferocious beast, finally revealing its murderous nature. Everyone had swords and spears in hand and armor on their bodies, and they all fell silent, but a strong killing intent emanated from them.
"Ah, the Iron-Blood Battalion, our Iron-Blood Battalion has arrived..." As the Iron-Blood Battalion assembled at the station, the Norman Empire soldiers and officers couldn't help but cast astonished glances at the menacing force that was gathering.
Which division is it?
"I heard it's the Iron-Blood Battalion of the 39th Division!"
"Ah! Is that the Iron-Blood Battalion led by that madman Reinhardt?" someone exclaimed.
"Great! The Iron-Blood Battalion led by that madman Reinhardt will definitely teach those bastards from the Sun God Dynasty a lesson they won't forget!" someone exclaimed excitedly.
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Zhang Tie realized that Reinhardt seemed to be very famous throughout the entire Iron Horn Legion.
"Who is that guy holding a terrifyingly large weapon and carrying a bunch of heavy javelins on his back?"
"I don't know, it looks really impressive!"
Zhang Tie hadn't expected that even standing in the ranks would attract so much attention. However, being a first-time participant Zhang Tie only felt a little nervous and had no intention of showing off.
"Let's go!" With Reinhardt's roar, the Iron-Blood Battalion brothers began to stride and jog out of the station.
As soon as Zhang Tie ran out of the station, he understood why the Iron-Blood Battalion had been ordered to march to Sorane. The small town where they got off the train, located on the front line of the friction zone between the two sides, had almost half of its buildings destroyed in the war. Everywhere was ruins and rubble, and buildings were burned beyond recognition. The roads were severely damaged. The steam-powered armored vehicles that could only exert their maximum power in plains and group charges were of little use in the mountainous terrain of Karur.
The town was filled with the Norman Empire soldiers in dark red uniforms, so the sudden appearance of over a thousand people from the station didn't seem particularly unusual. The Iron-Blood Battalion troop jogged away from the station and, within minutes, had left the town and entered the wilderness.
Solare is at least 25 kilometers away from here.
It wasn't until this point that Zhang Tie realized how incredibly stupid it was to use a heavy sword as his primary weapon. With the heavy sword on his body, the pouch on his back, and other miscellaneous items, Zhang Tie 'Zhang Tie load exceeded half a ton. Carrying half a ton of gear for twenty-five kilometers, and then participating in a battle—even with the added Nine Wolf Strength, this intensity was still quite strenuous. After all, carrying heavy loads wasn't the wolves' forte.
At this point, Zhang Tie could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Before the column entered the mountains, a cavalryman riding Iron Horn Beast galloped up from behind, handed a metal cylinder containing orders to Battalion Commander Reinhardt at the front of the column, and then quickly rode away.
"According to the reports from the Scout Battalion, those Norman Empire bastards have chopped off the heads of all our brothers in that battalion in Sorane and piled them up in the threshing ground. Not a single one survived, not even the wounded or prisoners. The latest order from the Legion Headquarters, which is also the latest mission given to our Iron-Blood Battalion, is to kill all the Sun God Dynasty bastards who are currently occupying Sorane. We cannot let a single one escape..." Reinhardt shouted with murderous intent.
"Kill them all!"
"Kill them all!"
The entire Iron-Blood Battalion erupted in cheers... (To be continued, please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)