The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 311 - 304: How Could This Be?

Chapter 311: Chapter 304: How Could This Be?

"I’ve been a soldier for twenty years! Nothing but exercises, exercises, and more exercises..."

Cao Zhenjiang repeated the phrase three times before pointing to a group of people in front of him with a slightly dazed expression, "Is this really the strongest enemy we have now?"

Panxin whispered, "Don’t talk nonsense, at most they are a hypothetical enemy, not a real enemy. In fact, they’re not even really a hypothetical enemy; they are the Air Force and Navy’s hypothetical enemy."

Cao Zhenjiang sighed again and said quietly, "My grandfather fought against them."

"Hmm?"

"My grandfather lost ten toes. He could never stand up straight until the day he died, all because of the freezing cold. They sent up a reinforced company of 155 men, only 55 came back—that’s exactly a third. Afterwards, another twenty died, leaving just thirty-five men who could move, including my grandfather."

Cao Zhenjiang looked at Panxin and said, "I just don’t understand. The Americans were truly formidable; their reputation wasn’t just hot air, it was deserved. But now, how did they become like this?"

Cao Zhenjiang’s face was full of confusion. He extended his hand, and his sweeping arm cut across his line of sight, pointing to the hundred-and-some American soldiers assembled and ready to depart.

"How did it come to this?"

Panxin smiled, then whispered, "You’re just a cook, and I don’t mean to make fun of you. I’m saying, as just a cook, you shouldn’t criticize other armies’ transformations, just like I’m a special forces soldier, but I never say someone is no good."

With utmost seriousness, Panxin patted Cao Zhenjiang’s shoulder and said quietly, "Old Cao, don’t be cocky. The Americans have their own ways; their reputation is not unearned."

Cao Zhenjiang shook his head stubbornly and said quietly, "No, if they were up against our division, I think this bunch would have bitten the dust right here already. Just one salvo from our artillery, and they would have been finished. I just feel like they’re no match for us. Don’t think I’m just a cook, what exercise haven’t I participated in? Like this, they’re not up to par!"

Panxin smiled again and said, "Back then, they had just finished World War II; they were veterans straight from the European battlefields. They were a heavy army that emerged through clashes of armored streams and had triumphed over the Nazis. Now, their role is to fight stability operations. They don’t need a flood of tanks because they’re not facing tank battalions; their enemies are guerrillas. Do you understand?"

Panxin took a breath and said to Cao Zhenjiang, "Their role is to fight stability operations, specifically to counter guerrillas. And you? Your old unit is the best combined arms brigade in the army. Your hypothetical enemy is also heavy forces. The enemy you’re preparing for is the most powerful in the world, not guerrillas hiding in the mountains. You’ll be galloping across the North China Plain, charging over the Outer Mongolian Grassland, facing an enemy with the world’s best tanks, the best artillery, and land forces with air cover. Do you understand now?"

Cao Zhenjiang shook his head and said, "I don’t understand."

Panxin laughed and said, "That’s exactly why you never got promoted; because you don’t understand what transformation means and why your old unit never gets a real fight. Your enemy has disappeared."

Cao Zhenjiang seemed somewhat bewildered and said, "We... turned ourselves into the best land force, but now we have no adversary? Over the course of decades, with the best tanks, the best artillery, the best rifles, and the best soldiers, we have rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, we have armed helicopters, we have..."

Cao Zhenjiang squatted down, then, with a puzzled face, pointed to the soldiers beginning to board the armored vehicles in front of him, and whispered, "We made ourselves into the best land force against the strongest enemy in the world, but our enemy has turned into this?"

"They’re not the enemy, at best a hypothetical one."

"Our enemies have become like this, and then the aliens arrived. I think, we’ll probably never get a chance to fight again."

Cao Zhenjiang’s expression was somewhat unfocused as he squatted down, buried his head, and drew a circle on the ground. Then he said softly, "Mr. Jian’er, I’m feeling quite bad. I never thought you guys were incredible, because you couldn’t fight the kind of war we fought. The real kings of land warfare were us, not you. But now you’ve become the main force, and we... we’ve been phased out..."

Cao Zhenjiang squatted on the ground while Panxin looked down at him and noticed a small patch of ground by Cao Zhenjiang’s feet that had suddenly become wet with water.

Panxin placed his hand on Cao Zhenjiang’s shoulder and pressed down, whispering, "Mr. Cao, it’s not that we’ve been phased out, we just have to adapt to the evolution of the times. We have to adjust ourselves according to the era."

Cao Zhenjiang said quietly, "Do you know the battle history of my old unit? Let me tell you, my grandfather served in the same unit as me. Until his death, he said that if they had had an anti-tank gun back then, his squad leader wouldn’t have been killed by a cluster grenade. If they had had a tank, they wouldn’t have had to trade the lives of four squads for four tanks. After one ambush battle, an entire company was wiped out. Tell me... it took us decades to be ready to truly fight them, and then they just fucking changed tactics. What’s all this about?"

Panxin whispered, "It’s because your grandfather’s generation fought that you don’t have to, and because your division now has everything, the hypothetical enemy no longer exists. The logic is simple. Don’t you understand?"

Cao Zhenjiang still squatted there and said softly, "I understand the logic, but it hurts. Mr. Jian’er, I just can’t help wanting to try, to see if there was one more battle, whether I could avenge my grandfather. It’s hard, Mr. Jian’er."

Andrew wanted to use a drone for reconnaissance. He intended to surprise the enemy that kept raiding Kandahar Air Base, and if it wasn’t for the urgency of reconnaissance, Andrew wouldn’t have been able to quickly quell the disturbance in the mess hall.

Now Andrew was directing the infantry in the base to get into the armored vehicles, ready to strike at any moment and wipe out the enemy that was coming to raid.

Panxin and his group were just spectators, originally there just to watch the excitement. But experts don’t like to be mere onlookers, and Cao Zhenjiang was an expert, so he looked for the technique, and then, Cao Zhenjiang felt heartbroken.

This dark-faced man who had been a cook for over twenty years felt heartbroken.

Cao Zhenjiang’s heartbreak wasn’t for himself, but for his old unit.

Once again, Panxin pressed down on Cao Zhenjiang’s shoulder and said softly, "Get up, they’ve all assembled."

Cao Zhenjiang squatted there without moving.

Panxin understood why Cao Zhenjiang was heartbroken.

But Gao Yuan didn’t understand, so the very excited Gao Yuan, after seeing Cao Zhenjiang’s state, came over with a shocked and worried expression, "What’s wrong with Mr. Cao? He’s not feeling unwell, is he?"

Cao Zhenjiang’s discomfort was in his heart, not physical pain, but Cao Zhenjiang still said softly, "Mm, my stomach hurts a bit. I’ll be fine after I fart."