Starting from the Planetary Governor-Chapter 804 - 441, Must Not Let Down the Heroes! _2

Chapter 804: Chapter 441, Must Not Let Down the Heroes! _2

They could no longer hold on.

Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t have infiltrated headquarters.

At this moment, Zhang Zhikai faced an exceedingly painful decision.

He had no idea of the current situation on the high ground, and with enemy bombardments ongoing, there had been no news from the defending army at Gaomen Ridge for quite some time. Assuming the worst scenario, it was not impossible that the entire army had been annihilated.

The troops at the base of the mountain were initially about two-thirds of a regiment, and now, maintaining one-third was fortunate.

Losing half their personnel wasn’t as simple as just reducing the combat power by half. Most of those lost were frontline combat units, while logistic troops, communication squads, anti-air units, and artillery units likely had much lower casualty ratios.

Such a high casualty rate meant that many frontline units probably had only three to five squads remaining.

Although logistic troops, artillery men without shells, and anti-air units had all been sent to the front lines, replenishing a lot of manpower, there was definitely a gap in the combat prowess of these soldiers compared to the frontline infantry — their usual training and tactical coordination were different.

In this sense, Gaomen Ridge had indeed been lost.

His troops no longer had the capability to continue defending.

Even the artillery support platoons were running out of shells!

Without reinforcements or supplies, even if they survived this wave of attack, the next wave would inevitably be overwhelming.

Rationally thinking, it was time to retreat.

The only difference between retreating and not retreating was whether the Green Skins would take Gaomen Ridge directly next time or after they had eliminated the 7th Regiment.

In fact, the Green Skins seemed to have noticed the exhaustion of the 7th Regiment.

Their attacks had been fierce, resulting in substantial losses, so the Green Skins did not continue attacking but withdrew momentarily.

But this was clearly not a retreat; it was to gather strength.

The Beastman commander on the opposite side was reorganizing his troops, aiming not to charge blindly but to concentrate his forces and launch a full-scale fierce attack.

What should he do?

Zhang Zhikai was extremely conflicted inside. He had thought about ordering a retreat several times, but on one hand, he thought of the brothers on Gaomen Ridge, in case they were still alive.

On the other hand, he also thought of the words spoken earlier by the division commander:

“I want Gaomen Ridge!”

At his most conflicled moments, a communications soldier approached.

Zhang Zhikai’s eyes lit up!

“Did the division headquarters reply?”

Was it good news?

Zhang Zhikai was full of anticipation.

Right before his command vehicle was destroyed, he had sent a message to the division headquarters describing the dire situation of the 7th Regiment and requesting support.

Transferring a new regiment over, or even just a battalion or a company from a brother regiment would be good.

If nothing else, having the air force bomb them or the division’s artillery battalion reorient its guns to provide support would also work.

In any case, something was needed!

The communications soldier’s face looked a bit grim, but at this critical moment, he didn’t hesitate: “It is indeed a message from the division… Both the division commander and the Commissar have been sacrificed. The chief of staff is now in command. He says that the entire division has no more troops to reinforce the 7th Regiment, the air force has been wiped out, and the artillery battalion has also been destroyed in the exchange of fire with the Green Skins across the river. The 7th Regiment can only rely on itself.”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhikai seemed to see the dire situation of the whole division.

It turned out, it wasn’t just the 11th Regiment or the 7th Regiment that had been emptied, but the entire 326th division.

Zhang Zhikai said with difficulty, “I understand.”

“Commander… what should we do now?” someone asked.

Zhang Zhikai looked around, seeing his comrade, the regiment commissar.

“Commissar Wang, what’s your opinion?” he asked softly.

Commissar Wang’s lower leg was injured, a large chunk of flesh torn away by a stray shrapnel, allowing him only to limp painfully.

Upon hearing the question, he didn’t hesitate and said with a smile, “You lead the men to retreat; I will stay and cover your departure.”

“Old Wang…”

“Don’t look so glum. Our mission has failed, but I’m not foolish. Don’t you think I know that it’s not your fault, nor is it the fault of anyone in our 7th Regiment? Everyone has done well, all heroes. At this point, the whole regiment dying here won’t change the outcome, so let’s retreat and keep the seeds of our unit alive.”

Biting his teeth, Zhang Zhikai made the decision.

Retreat!

Since it had come to this, there was no point in hesitating.

He planned to let the communications soldiers deliver orders to each platoon.

The choice of who would cover the retreat also needed careful consideration.

Just as he was about to issue the order, the explosions echoing from Gaomen Ridge finally ceased.

Could the situation have changed?

He paused the order.

Then, he received news from the reconnaissance forces on the front lines—the Green Skins, who had been amassing their strength for another battle, were retreating!

The battle must have changed!

Otherwise, it couldn’t have happened like this!

“Send someone to Gaomen Ridge immediately, go up and check if our brothers are still there! Also, see if anything has happened across the river!”

Zhang Zhikai immediately issued the order.

The scouts set out, but before they could report back, another piece of good news arrived.

From the high ground, the 1st Company’s radio called in.

“Commander! We’ve won!”

Zhang Zhikai was immensely exhilarated!

The brothers of the 1st Company on the high ground, who had been bombarded with intense artillery fire all day, still had survivors!

Moreover, he was even more exhilarated by the news from the comrades on the high ground.

About twenty minutes later, Zhang Zhikai personally climbed up Gaomen Ridge.

The area was now devastated, with craters everywhere, no vegetation in sight, and even sizable rocks were scarce.

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But he could no longer concern himself with that.

With a telescope, he looked towards the south.

On the wilderness, the Green Skins were being utterly shattered by an advancing Alliance Army!

This Alliance Army, coming from the western side of the river with armored forces leading, included not only the Lions and the Lion King but also something much bigger:

Titans!

Through his telescope from Gaomen Ridge, Zhang Zhikai saw four Titans!

The Warhound-class Titans continually launched rapid-fire grenades and rockets, precisely distributing devastating firepower wherever it was needed.

Though positioned slightly behind the Lion Kings and Lions, allowing the cheaper tanks to absorb the Green Skins’ firepower, it acted decisively when needed.

Zhang Zhikai personally witnessed a Skugg Beast, after taking several hits from heavy artillery and rocket barrages, still rampaging on the battlefield, toppling two Lions. A Warhound Titan then seized the opportunity, its Gravity Fist suddenly striking the side of the beast’s head.

The external steel armor, tough scales, and sturdy skull could not withstand it; under this powerful punch, its entire head was somewhat deformed.

Its body twisted and fell while the Titan, at that moment, fired several more grenades into the beast’s relatively softer belly, completely ending the war beast’s life.

We’ve won!

Indeed, we’ve won!

At this moment, Zhang Zhikai couldn’t help but shed tears of heat!

In his mind, flashed the faces of one comrade after another who had sacrificed themselves.

The 7th Battalion, the 326th Division, and indeed all the troops engaged in this tough riverbank defensive battle had paid an unimaginable price.

And now, these sacrifices had finally seen their return.

“Fallen comrades, you cannot see this scene, so I shall witness it for you!”

…

Perbov had not anticipated that the riverbank defensive battle would reach such a devastating extent.

Firstly, the scale of the assembled Green Skins was beyond expectations; the enemy on the southern bank of the Great River already exceeded two million, and they were attacking across the entire front.

He thought the riverbank would surely be lost and his plan seriously flawed.

Just as he was urgently preparing for a total assault and ready to initiate Plan B, he realized that the riverbank, despite being relentlessly bombarded and fiercely attacked, was still holding firm!

The 326th, 376th, and 442nd Divisions under the Alliance Army 1st Army Group had nearly been wiped out, with casualties over a hundred thousand.

Adding the losses from the Defense Army, the total was probably over two hundred and fifty thousand.

But they had eventually held on, and Perbov swore that he would not fail the sacrifice of those heroes!