Although the battle last night ended with the victory of the Lena Tower garrison, according to the information from the frontline troops chasing the enemy, the situation of the Xibo people during this retreat was completely different from before. Just as Dream Jia had observed, this time the Xibo did not intend to withdraw completely from the battle. Instead, after withdrawing a portion of their forces, they concentrated a significant part further on the grasslands beyond the Lena Mountains. More importantly, the majority of their mechanized combat units, including the undamaged motherships, remained stationed on the outskirts of the Lena Tower mountains.
It appeared that the Xibo troops had entered a state of standby in their usual daytime posture, contrary to Karl's prediction that they would continue retreating day and night after their defeat.
This prompted the soldiers of Lena Tower to celebrate their victory cautiously. Despite the Xibo's retreat, the large number of troops still surrounding them suggested that the Xibo intended to temporarily halt their advance due to the unexpected attack on their mothership. Clearly, the Xibo were not ready to accept defeat and instead opted to withdraw defensively, regroup, and possibly launch another attack on Lena Tower once they ensured they wouldn't be caught off guard again.
Considering these factors, Elsie and the others decided to have the pursuing troops tactically withdraw rather than continue surrounding the Xibo forces. They feared the possibility that the stationary Xibo troops might be bait. It was possible that by nightfall, the Xibo would emerge again and attempt a counter-encirclement against the pursuing garrison. Although the Lena Tower garrison dared to chase the Xibo without retaliation, they lacked substantial defensive fortifications, making them vulnerable if the Xibo launched another attack.
To avoid any surprises, Elsie and the others felt it prudent for the garrison to temporarily abandon the encirclement of the retreating Xibo forces. They would continue closely monitoring the movements of the contracted Xibo troops and simultaneously use the time to reinforce the defenses of Lena Tower, preparing for any unforeseen actions by the Xibo troops.
Back at base, as they listened to the discussions of the frontline situation among the soldiers and privately chatted over the system channel, Hao Yun and the others discussed, "Given the current situation, the Xibo are unlikely to launch another attack on Lena Tower soon. But if they continue to encircle Lena Tower, that won't be sustainable!"
"In that case, shouldn't we launch another attack on them tonight? Since they've consolidated into stationed units, wouldn't it be easier to concentrate our attacks and cause significant damage?" Hao Yun suggested.
Upon hearing this, Dream Jia swiftly slapped Hao Yun on the chest and said, "No way. Firstly, our actions last night were quite conspicuous. Tonight, everyone will be closely monitoring the battlefield, greatly increasing the risk of exposing our strength. Since we still don't know much about Elsie and her team, we should remain cautious to avoid being forced into a defensive position by revealing our strength."
Dao Lao, meanwhile, stroked his white beard, enjoying the spectacle of Hao Yun getting slapped and then intentionally playing up his injuries, and Dream Jia scolding him whenever she saw Hao Yun's mischief, all while squabbling with each other like a jealous couple. Dao Lao remarked, "Dream Jia is right. The Xibo troops may still be stationed around Lena Tower for deceptive purposes. Perhaps they were caught off guard last night and forced to withdraw. So they might want to use the remaining troops stationed around to lure us out again and find a way to deal with us. Anyway, I think tonight will probably be a quiet night. We should stay put, observe the Xibo's next moves, and respond accordingly."
After Dao Lao finished speaking, he looked at Hao Yun and Dream Jia with a wry smile, because these two were now engrossed in their argument, completely ignoring what he had just said.
"Hey! How come you're starting to flirt so early in the morning?! Can't you at least be more discreet?! There are plenty of single guys around here!" At this moment, Elina's slightly sour voice drifted over from a distance.
Dao Lao's eyes lit up at Elina's words: "Hey! Look at Elina's sour expression. It seems like these three lovebirds are about to embark on another exciting squabble!"
"Boss! Why are you here again?" Hao Yun quickly released Dream Jia's hand, pretending to fend off her playful attack, then respectfully saluted Elina.
Elina nodded lightly in acknowledgment of Hao Yun's salute. Then her expression changed slightly, and with a slight pout, she glanced disdainfully at Dream Jia, saying, "With the intensity of last night's battle, of course I had to come check on the brothers during the ceasefire! But judging from your atmosphere, my concern seems to have been unnecessary!"
"Wow! Thanks a lot for your concern! But rest assured, Boss! Everything was fine with us last night. Under our care, Ayun remained safe throughout! And because of the intense battle last night, we kept firing all night until the Xibo retreated!" Dream Jia replied with a contemptuous roll of her eyes, her words seemingly responding to Elina's "concern" as a leader but actually mocking Elina's attempt to show favor to Hao Yun by using concern for him.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Hao Yun naturally knew that Dream Jia's words were intentionally provoking Eva. However, what Dream Jia said was too stimulating, wasn't it? What did she mean by "shelling"? Did she understand the other connotation of "shelling"? She was just speaking nonsense here! This is really shameful, isn't it? Thinking of this, Hao Yun couldn't help but blush and glanced at Dream Jia. In his mind, he went through a tumultuous and turbulent contemplation.
The atmosphere on the scene was instantly tense due to the seemingly simple but actually tense dialogue between Dream Jia and Eva. Seeing this, all the officers and soldiers around quieted down and stared at the two strong-willed beauties with an expression of "the drama is about to unfold." Unfortunately, after waiting for a while, they didn't witness the intense confrontation they had anticipated. Although Eva's face at this moment was unfriendly, she did not continue to verbally attack Dream Jia as before. Eva just bit her lips very restrainedly and narrowed her exotic eyes into two beautiful slits, while wearing an angry smile that quickly swept between Hao Yun and Dream Jia twice.
Finally, as if figuring something out, Eva exhaled heavily with resentment, then lifted her chin with a "huh!" and turned around saying, "Humph! Since you guys are fine, I can rest assured! The three of you immediately return to the command center of Renata City and wait for me! Due to the strange situation last night, our squad has received new orders!"
After saying this, Eva jumped onto the floating motorcycle waiting not far away, without looking back, and continued to drive towards the front battlefield.
Since the leader had spoken, Hao Yun and his two companions simply put down their work and immediately drove their motorcycles to return to the main city along with their other teammates. When they returned to the command center of Renata City, they saw many members of the Skull Special Operations Team waiting outside the command center's playground.
"Yun Ge, Jia Meier, Dao Lao! You're back?! How is it? You guys aren't injured, are you?!" As soon as Hao Yun and the others reunited with their teammates, Karl immediately ran over and asked loudly.
"Tch! The boss has always arranged for the three of them to hide in the trenches. What injuries could they have suffered?! Hey! I'm telling you, kid, I'm the one who's been keeping you alive on the battlefield! How come I haven't seen you show this much concern for me?! You sly, two-faced dog!" Following Karl's approach, Wang Defa was extremely dissatisfied and cursed, while casting a contemptuous glance at Hao Yun and his companions.
Seeing Wang Defa's extremely unfriendly look and the extremely ugly faces of Hao Yun and his companions, Karl hurriedly stood in between them and acted as a peacemaker. He first smiled all over his face, very humbly bowing to Wang Defa to express his apologies repeatedly. Then, Karl turned around and winked at Hao Yun and his companions, indicating that they should not provoke Wang Defa. After all, he was a small leader in the squadron. If they showed disrespect to him, it might be seen as insubordination and result in military discipline.
So, after a few laughs, Karl quickly led Hao Yun and his companions to the other side of the team, and then reassured them, "Hey! You guys mustn't be mad at Brother Fa. He just has a straightforward personality, so sometimes he speaks harshly. Actually, Brother Fa is really nice! Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to go on missions with him, nor would I be able to come back alive from the battlefield, jumping and hopping around."
Although Hao Yun and his companions were angry with Wang Defa, since Karl was so protective of him and they were all teammates, they didn't want to continue to entangle with Wang Defa. Moreover, compared to openly provoking Wang Defa, maintaining their status as transparent figures within the team obviously better suited Hao Yun and their needs. After all, only by maintaining this identity could they more easily engage in special activities without being easily noticed by others.
So, Hao Yun adjusted his emotions and asked, "Karl, how have you been these past few days? Is the front battlefield very dangerous?"
"Don't worry! Our squad's expertise lies in field reconnaissance, so we naturally know how to protect ourselves on the battlefield! Besides, as you saw, the initial attack intensity and saturation of the Westerbork people weren't very high. Therefore, as long as we remain vigilant enough, we can find a relatively safe and concealed place on the battlefield for ourselves!" Karl replied.
"Have you discovered any special intelligence? For example, the riot that occurred behind the Westerbork army last night?" Dream Jia intentionally lowered her voice, asking with great curiosity.
Karl slapped his thigh hard in response, saying, "Oh! Speaking of last night, it's really a pity! Fa Ge and we were originally planning to sneak into Sector B for reconnaissance missions. But halfway through our mission, we suddenly discovered a large group of fighters gathering nearby. So, to figure out the movements of those fighters, we temporarily changed course to monitor them, in case we missed the military mobilization of the enemy. Who would have thought that such a big thing happened over there as soon as we left the original reconnaissance route? Since we were the only reconnaissance team closest to the area where the incident occurred last night, after missing the first time observing why those mother ships were bombed, Fa Ge was also furious. That's why his temper was so bad this morning."
Karl continued with a lingering fear as he rubbed his head, "But then again, fortunately, we didn't appear in the area of the incident at the first time. Otherwise, with the explosion of that magnitude last night, I'm afraid we would have either died or been skinned alive! Oh! We should be the only humans who witnessed the destruction of the Westerbork's mother ship! The scene of that explosion was really shocking! I really don't know who launched the attack that caused such massive damage to the Westerbork's mother ship."
"Could it be that it wasn't the Savior who destroyed the Westerbork's mother ship last night?" Hao Yun pretended to be ignorant and asked.
"Of course not. The Savior has said that they don't have that ability. Moreover, it's necessary to cause damage to their mother ship in the case of breaking through the Westerbork's defense line! Moreover, we haven't developed powerful enough weapons capable of destroying the Westerbork's mother ship. Besides, Lady Elsie confirmed last night that all the Savior who came to help us resist the Westerbork were in the command post, and no one has tried to attack the Westerbork's mother ship without authorization."