A Cornered Beast Still Fights

Ever since learning he had been cast aside as a pawn, Opodo had been in a terrible state. He cursed Ivanov's entire family over and over in his heart, yet outwardly he had no choice but to put on an air of confidence and steady the troops.

Things had come to this. No matter how unwilling he was, Opodo could only grit his teeth and fight the enemy to the death.

Surrender was out of the question. Everything he had was rooted in Russia, and his wife, children, and elders were all waiting for him to return home in glory.

Nor was he the only one without a choice. Every senior officer of the Fourth Army was the same. Either they held back the enemy and waited for reinforcements to arrive, or they died on the battlefield and used their blood to cover up their mistakes.

Under an intense desire to survive, people could always unleash extraordinary strength.

The Fourth Army's senior officers were now beginning to do just that. To stabilize morale, officers who had once held themselves aloof went down among the troops one by one, asking after their welfare and frequently visiting the front lines to raise their spirits.

To save food, Opodo even ordered the officers' mess abolished. All officers were to eat alongside the soldiers. Etiquette and hierarchy meant nothing in the face of survival.

The officers had no choice but to understand. The supplies being airdropped now followed a single standard: all of them were high-calorie food meant for soldiers. There were no officers' meal packages at all.

Everyone knew that this unauthorized operation had deeply offended Marshal Ivanov. At a time like this, no one dared submit a report and invite trouble.

Since airship cargo capacity was limited and weapons and ammunition also