Upon hearing the news that the Savior was waiting for the special forces to return, Haoyun and his team were naturally thrilled. They hadn't expected their luck to be so good, affording them the opportunity to see the mysterious Savior so soon. Immediately, they began planning their next steps, preparing strategies to respond swiftly upon meeting the Savior. They believed the Saviors might be connected to the two mysterious figures who had killed Haoyun's parents, possibly even being those very figures themselves. Therefore, from this moment on, Haoyun and his team had to be vigilant, ready to face any sudden changes.
"Phew! We're finally almost home! Look, ahead is our main city—Lena Tower City!" After hours of travel, Karl suddenly stood up on the motorcycle and excitedly pointed ahead. The other members of the special forces almost simultaneously erupted in cheers, instantly boosting the morale of the team. Haoyun and his companions quickly followed Karl's direction and saw in the distance where the crimson clouds of the sky and the green plains converged, the towering mountains that melded sky and earth together.
"Is that Lena Tower City?" Haoyun pointed to the mountains that stood out starkly amidst the vast grasslands.
"Yes. Those mountains are called the Lena Tower Mountains, a massive circular mountain range. Although Lena Tower Mountains rose abruptly from these grasslands and its overall elevation doesn't exceed a kilometer, its unique shape still makes it an impregnable natural barrier."
"With the protection of this circular mountain range, Lena Tower City doesn't suffer from vulnerabilities like human cities of old, where the Mastanians could attack from any direction. If the Mastanians want to invade us, they can only choose to break through our defenses built along the mountain," Karl explained proudly and firmly.
"Thanks to the protection of these mountains, Lena Tower City has never been breached by the Mastanians in over ten thousand years. If they dare attack us, we will crush them at any cost, just as our ancestors have done for millennia!" Karl's voice resonated with pride and determination.
Then, Karl added somewhat regretfully, "Of course, the reason the Mastanians have been unable to breach our defenses for years also has much to do with their lack of aerial striking capability. Hmph! Those Mastanians are truly cunning! If they hadn't suppressed human aviation technology, we would have wiped out these invaders long ago! But then again, it was our ancestors' complacency that allowed them to seize the opportunity."
After taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, Karl stretched and yawned lazily, "Ah! But what's done is done. No matter what happened in the past, we can only move forward and never give up, right? Oh! Good Lord! I miss my big bed so much! When I get home, I'll definitely sleep for a whole day!"
As the special forces continued to approach the Lena Tower Mountains in the distance, armed patrols and various defensive fortifications became more frequent on the grasslands. At the same time, numerous soldiers were arriving in heavy floating war vehicles. These soldiers all wore serious expressions and immediately began bustling nervously before reaching the defensive fortifications. Some were inspecting the heavy artillery of the fortifications, while others were busy transporting supplies inside.
"What's going on? Why is everyone suddenly setting up defenses?" Karl asked in confusion, seeing the scene. The rest of the special forces looked around, equally puzzled.
"Why ask? It must be that the Mastanians are planning to attack Lena Tower City, so everyone is preparing for battle!" Dream Jia rolled her eyes at Karl and replied.
"But this shouldn't be happening, right? According to the human's millennium-long summary of Mastanian attack times, it's far from time for them to launch a major assault on human main cities," Karl denied immediately.
"What if they acted very efficiently after the last major war and prepared for another major attack ahead of schedule? Furthermore, forgive me for being blunt, even if you have summarized a timetable of Mastanian activities according to human calculations. But don't forget, the initiative to wage war on humans is in the hands of the Mastanians. Why would they need to act according to our calculated rules?" Dream Jia questioned, expressing concern about Karl's unconditional trust in the Savior.
"It's impossible. Based on past experience, the timetable we deduced for Mastanian warfare is extremely accurate. Moreover, these rules were calculated with the help of the Savior. Remember, the information provided to us by the Savior has never been wrong. So, something must have gone wrong," Karl asserted firmly.
"No one is infallible. What if even the Savior's calculations have made a mistake? Or perhaps, the Mastanians seem to be following human-calculated rules of operation every time, just to take advantage of our mental fatigue one day and use sudden unconventional actions to deal a heavy blow to humans?" Dream Jia suggested, expressing worry about Karl's blind faith in the Savior.
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Although Karl was a faithful follower of the Savior, he had to admit that Dream Jia's doubts were not unreasonable. Therefore, unable to come up with any rebuttals at the moment, Karl cautiously said, "Maybe! It seems that something very serious has happened. No matter what, we should return to Lena Tower City as soon as possible!"
As the special forces approached the Lena Tower Mountains, more and more war vehicles and engineering vehicles towing heavy artillery appeared on the road. On the grasslands on both sides of the road, squads of troops were assembling, and all the officers and soldiers on the scene were poised and prepared to meet the seriousness of battle.
Upon brief exchanges with the stationed soldiers along the way, the Skeleton Squad quickly confirmed the reason behind the massive mobilization of the defenders of Leinata City: news of an imminent Mastanian attack. Carl couldn't help but sigh in disappointment, glancing at Dream Jia with a wry smile that seemed to say, "See, I was right." Dream Jia's proud expression confirmed her guess—this time, the Mastanians were indeed playing by a different set of rules.
Upon learning of the Mastanian's impending attack on Leinata City, the Special Expedition Team naturally didn't dare to linger any longer. Thus, they hurriedly made their way to the foot of the Leinata Ring Mountains before nightfall. Although the sun had already set, Haoyun could see that beneath the Leinata Mountains, the lights were bright, illuminating the area as brightly as day. Despite the lush vegetation covering the mountain walls, the defense fortifications hidden within were clearly visible thanks to the installed lights. Upon closer inspection, they could see gunports camouflaged among the foliage, all aimed squarely at the distant night sky.
Judging by sight alone, Haoyun could tell that most of the cannons mounted in the mountain bunkers were small-caliber rapid-fire cannons. Although these cannons were not particularly powerful individually, the sheer number of rapid-fire cannons mounted on the mountain walls, along with several hundred heavy artillery pieces, allowed the defenders stationed within the mountain defenses to create a formidable curtain of fire capable of inflicting lethal damage on any intruders breaching the restricted zone.
In addition, human defenders on the outskirts of Leinata Mountains were equipped with a large number of mechanized combat units boasting heavy firepower. These units fired energy beams, eliminating any concerns about ammunition shortages. Therefore, Haoyun and his companions immediately understood why, despite the Mastanians' superiority in large battleships, heavy tanks, and continuous reinforcement at the front lines, they still found it difficult to breach Leinata City's defenses.
After routine registration and inspections at the checkpoint ahead, the Skeleton Squad drove across a large metal bridge into a tunnel built into the side of the mountain. According to Carl, Leinata City had a total of eight such tunnels distributed in various directions around the Leinata Mountains. Each tunnel's width and height exceeded fifty meters, allowing various large vehicles of the human defenders to enter and exit Leinata City smoothly.
These tunnels were also equipped with many defensive cannons so that if the Mastanians did manage to breach them, the defenders would still be able to delay the enemy's advance and strategically demolish sections of the tunnels to block the enemy's path.
"However, demolishing the tunnels is the last-ditch effort of the human defenders. Although it allows us to delay the Mastanians and buy time for the defenders in the city to regroup against the enemy's next wave, it also means that human activities would be completely confined to the Leinata Mountains. Fortunately, due to the thorough preparation of human defenders each time, no main city has been destroyed in the wars initiated by the Mastanians," Carl explained.
Taking a pause, Carl continued, "Of course, while the flames of war have never crossed the defense lines of the main cities, the defensive fortifications built on the Leinata Mountains have not been so fortunate. During the wars that last at least a year, although we have been able to withstand the Mastanians' attacks, our defensive fortifications have suffered severe damage. However, the fortunate thing is that such large-scale battles only occur once every hundred years, allowing us enough time to repair and rebuild the fortifications on the Leinata Mountains in preparation for the Mastanians' next major assault."
"Building defensive fortifications around the entire ring mountain is indeed a huge project! Moreover, in a year-long war, many of our defenders will inevitably be killed in action," Haoyun sighed after listening to Carl's explanation. Looking at the defense works around the Leinata Mountains, Haoyun could tell that, despite the strong firepower configuration here, the essence of the war between human defenders and Mastanians was still a modern weapons confrontation. Therefore, Haoyun found it difficult to imagine how many heroes would sacrifice their precious lives to win such a bloody battle.
Understanding Haoyun's meaning, Carl sighed and replied, "Indeed, even though our defensive fortifications are very strong, facing a year-long Mastanian attack will still result in tens of thousands of brave deaths on the battlefield. This will also undoubtedly pose difficulties for us in the post-war reconstruction due to personnel consumption."
"After listening to Carl's introduction, Haoyun couldn't help but sigh. Because looking at the defense facilities around the Leinata Mountain, although the firepower configuration here is very strong. But combined with the situation on the side of the West Boxer, Haoyun still saw it at a glance. The large-scale battle between human defenders and West Boxer was actually a head-to-head confrontation using modern weapons.