Chapter 1 The Dragon City in Turmoil

From 7:30 PM onwards, activity stirred within The Dragon City, with various factions initiating protests as planned by the merchants, plunging the entire city into chaos.

Simultaneously, in coordination with the city's unrest, the First Army Corps of District One also began their operations.

Under the command of Lieutenant General Mules, an advance force of fifty thousand troops, along with a fully equipped armored division, launched a large-scale offensive, aggressively pressing towards the buffer zone between the First Army Corps and the garrison defense line.

"Boom, boom!"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

At the military airport inside the base, a series of rapid jet roars filled the air as over fifty fighter jets took off in succession, beginning their patrol!

These aircraft acted recklessly, and after two patrol flights, directly intruded into The Dragon City's defense zone.

Ignoring multiple warnings from the Garrison Headquarters, this massive fighter jet formation began patrolling the skies above The Dragon City. Moreover, all the fighters were fully loaded with ammunition, and during their patrol, they repeatedly fired into the open areas of The Dragon City, even dropping bombs!

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Wooo, wooo, wooo—"

Air raid sirens wailed throughout The Dragon City, explosions erupted everywhere, and the flames illuminated half the sky!

The First Army Corps' land and air forces launched a coordinated and powerful suppression campaign against The Dragon City. However, Lieutenant General Mules was not satisfied and initiated the third phase of military pressure.

The First Fleet, which had been conducting military exercises in the waters outside The Dragon City, received his orders and immediately turned their bows, advancing at full speed towards The Dragon City's inner sea!

The sea surged with waves as the ships moved forward in unison! In almost no time, this massive fleet had intruded into The Dragon City's waters, reaching a point less than ten nautical miles from The Dragon City's inner harbor.

Furthermore, the warships had spread out their formation, and all the firepower systems on board were locked onto The Dragon City's coastline, ready to launch long-range strikes at any moment.

With a three-pronged attack, fierce fighting broke out both inside and outside the city, and it was only a spark away from igniting a full-scale war.

...

Meanwhile, at The Dragon City Garrison Headquarters.

Under the intense pressure from District One, the entire headquarters quickly became tense.

In the operations command center, all members of the staff were loudly discussing battle plans, and relevant combat data flashed rapidly across the surrounding screens.

On some of the larger screens, frontline officers were also connected via video to the operations command center.

Tan Hengqiang stood with his hands behind his back in front of the large screen, watching the opponent's military movements, his expression still calm and composed.

Zhang Xunchen walked over and stood beside Tan Hengqiang, saying with a worried expression, "Commander-in-chief, I don't think this looks like they're just putting on a show! Look, their planes have already crossed the border, and they've dropped airburst bombs in multiple areas. This is a real attack!"

"They're still acting," Tan Hengqiang said calmly, with his hands behind his back. "District One still wants to play the strong-arm game."

As he spoke, Tan Hengqiang turned around, walked to the conference table, and the staff members who were discussing immediately stopped and turned to look at him.

Tan Hengqiang instructed, "Notify the forward troops, do not yield an inch, hold the line. If they want to drop bombs in open areas, let them bomb, and don't bother with their planes. All troops remain in their original positions, do not move!"

"Yes!"

Although the staff members were somewhat puzzled, they still agreed without hesitation and immediately went to execute the orders.

"Di Ling Ling!"

Inside the command center, a telephone suddenly rang, and the staff member next to it immediately answered the phone, communicated with the other side, and then turned to Tan Hengqiang and said, "Report, Commander-in-chief, Anze City is calling!"

"Mm." Tan Hengqiang walked over and picked up the phone. "Hello, Lao An, what's wrong?"

In the phone, Anze City's voice was loud and urgent as he asked, "My Commander Tan, what exactly is going on right now? I see that they're about to attack, what should we do, do we have any direction?"

Tan Hengqiang said calmly, "Lao An, don't worry."

Anze City said anxiously, "How can I not worry? Many of my troops are still patrolling on the front lines! And they're all lightly armed! If a real fight breaks out, they definitely won't be able to hold on!"

The emotions expressed by Anze City in the phone were very rapid and full of worry, giving people a feeling of being somewhat cowardly.

Tan Hengqiang paused for a moment and comforted him again, "I estimate that they are still engaging in military pressure. If they really wanted to fight, they wouldn't need to advance armored troops face-to-face. At this distance, as long as they open fire, even the stronger side will have difficulty controlling the battle damage! They have warships and planes, if they really open fire, they would definitely use naval and air coordination to wipe the area. Listen to me, keep your troops inside the line, and just don't move."

Anze City thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let me know immediately if there are any decisions from our garrison."

"Mm, that's all for now."

The two ended the call, and a staff member nearby, who had heard their conversation, couldn't help but say, "General An seems a little timid. Having a scholar in command is not suitable for frontline command."

Tan Hengqiang glanced at him and said nothing.

...

District One's entire military operation lasted for almost an hour.

The armored forces of the First Army Corps had advanced to a position less than two kilometers from The Dragon City's defense line, which was almost face-to-face for modern troops. Both sides could see the other's troop formations within their respective defense lines.

At the same time, on The Dragon City's border, within the Second Army's defense zone responsible for garrisoning the area.

Behind the defense zone, Tan Mingzhao stood next to a military vehicle, using binoculars to observe the movements on the distant border line.

Originally, Tan Mingzhao had suggested to his father that he personally take command and directly participate in the operation, but Commander Tan did not agree. Little Tan inevitably felt a bit negative, so he brought his troops to the front lines.

A staff member beside him couldn't help but whisper, "I really don't understand, the enemy is in this kind of formation, how can the Commander-in-chief still insist that they won't dare to fight!"

Tan Mingzhao put down his binoculars, turned to look at the staff member who had been with him for many years, and explained directly, "Because the old man has never given the other side a clear attitude, District One is still holding on to a glimmer of hope for peace talks, so the old man dares to bet that the other side won't dare to open fire. Lao Mo, Panama City, the Renmin Army, The Dragon City, the scope of this battlefield is too large, even for a super-district like District One, as soon as they open fire, the entire region will be dragged into the quagmire of war."

The staff member sighed, "In this situation, it's hard to say anything..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud bugle call suddenly came from the border line.

"Wooo—"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Immediately afterwards, a row of flares shot into the sky! The dazzling white light instantly illuminated the entire area!

"Rumble!"

In a series of earth-shattering tremors, the armored units of District One's First Army Corps, which had been stationary on the border line, suddenly moved, stirring up a cloud of dust, like a continuous torrent of collapsing mountains, advancing towards the defense zone of The Dragon City's garrison!

The staff member's face turned pale as he watched this scene and exclaimed, "What's going on? Are they really going to attack?"