Ye Fan sat inside the car, watching everything on the battlefield through the radar screen.

After the demise of the Suicide Squad, this battle no longer held any suspense.

The Alliance was merely holding on through inertia because they had already become entangled within the town with their own troops, making command ineffective and communication difficult. Many had already hidden away during the fighting, unwilling to come out and die.

Only a few people, maddened by blood and smoke, continued fighting, but such people were becoming fewer and fewer.

The complete elimination of the Suicide Squad left the Alliance with no potential.

Especially when the ten tanks of the Dawn Army returned, their last psychological defense collapsed.

Some people began to flee, as the town had no walls, allowing them to escape from all directions.

Those who could run, ran; those who couldn't, surrendered on the spot.

Ye Fan did not concern himself with the scattered soldiers, even instructing his subordinates not to continue shooting at them, telling them to let them run.

Letting them return to their base could help spread the invincible might of the Dawn Army.

He believed these people would no longer have the courage to oppose the Dawn Army, and with their bases' defenses emptied, they could beef them up, helping ordinary survivors get through the winter.

Without tank vehicles, they couldn't make any waves.

It didn't matter if a few soldiers escaped, but the leaders, Ye Fan did not plan to let them get away.

Zhang Zhijian and his men, seeing the unfavorable situation, also planned to flee north.

At this moment, Zhang Zhijian regretted immensely not having immediately brought the Rakshasa into the fray.

If the Rakshasa had joined, perhaps the outcome of this battle would be different.

Now he wanted to seek the Rakshasa, but it was like trying to put out a distant fire; it was too late.

Zhang Zhijian could only drive wildly, hoping Ye Fan would target the ordinary soldiers and not pursue him.

Inside his car was a personal bodyguard who had always been by his side, Zhang Xiaofei, his personal aide.

Zhang Xiaofei drove while he sat in the passenger seat, escaping quickly.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

Three helicopters took off and initiated pursuit on the fleeing leaders.

Ye Fan, aboard a combat helicopter, with several elite subordinates, caught up with Zhang Zhijian's car.

Sniper Zhao Ming said to Ye Fan, "Sir, should I shoot and kill Zhang Zhijian?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment, "Don't kill him outright, just leave him half-dead, unable to survive."

"Understood!"

The sniper lifted his rifle, found a suitable angle, and fired a shot.

The bullet pierced through the car door, breaking one of Zhang Zhijian's legs.

The thigh was broken, blood flowing unceasingly.

If he were in a hospital bed or an ambulance now, there would be no problem, but under these circumstances, he was essentially beyond saving.

After one shot, the car flipped over.

The people on the combat helicopter didn't get down to check, possibly thinking those inside were already dead, and flew away to pursue other leaders.

Zhang Zhijian and Zhang Xiaofei miraculously survived, struggling to climb out of the car.

Zhang Zhijian's face was pale, unable to stop the bleeding from his thigh.

"Second Leader!"

"Second Leader, how are you?"

Zhang Xiaofei anxiously asked beside Zhang Zhijian.

"I... I fear I'm done for."

Zhang Xiaofei still wanted to speak, but Zhang Zhijian waved his hand, "Listen to me."

"I can't go back; this time we... suffered a complete defeat, many have died."

"My elder brother... has been gravely ill, and has never liked dealing with the Rakshasa, so this vengeance, only Xiaofei, you can take on for me."

Zhang Xiaofei nodded, "Second Leader, you say."

"From today, the Wangbei Army is in your hands, remember... avenge me."

Saying this, Zhang Zhijian picked up the radio, informing those left at the Wangbei Army that Zhang Xiaofei would now lead them.

After speaking, Zhang Zhijian's remaining strength waned, and he finally closed his eyes.

With Zhang Zhijian's death, Zhang Xiaofei stood, glanced at the helicopters in the sky, took Zhang Zhijian's radio, and left.

Under the pursuit of the Dawn Army, the leaders of other survivor bases also did not return alive.

Those who could return were all minor soldiers under them.

This marked the end of the Battle of Pinggang.

Of the 15,000 members of the Huacheng Survivor Alliance, only over 2,000 returned alive.

Some were wounded, some captured, with about 3,000 taken to Dawn City.

The captured surrendered, and the wounded, after treatment, surrendered unconditionally.

These people would become the main force in the production and construction of the Dawn Army, undergo labor reform, and be assessed for potential residency rights in Dawn City.

The remaining armed force of over ten thousand was all left in Pinggang.

********

Upon returning to the Wangbei Army, Zhang Xiaofei immediately took control of its power.

Due to Zhang Zhijian's dying words, the Wangbei Army people were all quite obedient and accepted Zhang Xiaofei's leadership.

A few troublemakers were directly eliminated by Zhang Xiaofei.

Upon hearing the result of the Qin Han side's battle, the Rakshasa people immediately wanted to cross the river to annex the Qin Han territory.

But they suddenly realized that the times had changed.

The Wangbei Army, which had always been close to them, suddenly turned hostile.

Zhang Xiaofei announced the end of cooperation with the Rakshasa and warned that if the Rakshasa insisted on coming across the river, he would seek aid from the Dawn Army and fully align with them.

The other leaders of the changed Survivor Alliance were also generally unwilling to continue cooperating with the Rakshasa.

The previous leader's aggressive military expansion had squandered all their resources; they were tightening their belts for the winter, and continuing the war would mean they might resort to cannibalism.

The Rakshasa didn't expect the Survivor Alliance to suddenly turn against them, disrupting their plans.

Forcing an attack might unite all survivor forces in Huacheng against them, potentially backfiring.

While Rikov was hesitant, a Qin Han beauty he had long pursued, named Xiaoyu, agreed to move into the Hai Shan Wei city hall.

This was a groundbreaking development that sent Rikov over the moon.

However, he still didn't fully trust Xiaoyu. One night, he barged into her room, wanting to make her his own woman.

Only in this way, he thought, could he trust her unconditionally.

So he completely put his heart at ease with Xiaoyu.

She was a good girl, and being her first time, in this post-apocalyptic world without authoritarian institutions, he had nothing to worry about.

Thus, Xiaoyu truly became a core figure in Hai Shan Wei.

However, Xiaoyu was very reserved, never getting close during the day, only consenting at night after they drank and chatted in her room.

Moreover, he didn't feel tired; not even a bit sleepy during the day, likely due to his improving physical condition.

As Xiaoyu was a Qin Han person, Rikov told her he would eventually invade Qin Han; the only reason for not attacking yet was their secret weapon was not ready.

Xiaoyu asked him what the secret weapon was.

Rikov, in a moment of excitement, took Xiaoyu to see their ongoing, Rakshasa-exclusive combat units.

"Don't be afraid when you see them; they may look frightening, but they're actually very obedient..."

*********

After the battle at Pinggang, Ye Fan immediately ordered the transport of the wounded and the burning of the bodies.

This battle had caused some losses to the Dawn Army, with over three hundred casualties.

Of course, injuries to the Red Alert didn't really matter; as long as they weren't dead, they could be saved. The medical team's work just got a bit busier.

Actual fatalities did not exceed fifty; the rest were all injured.

The bodies on the ground were gathered and ignited by a Flamethrower Warrior, and Ye Fan, having no time to watch over this, quickly retreated with the troops.

There were many wrecked tanks and a lot of steel, but there was no time to sort and transport these now; they would handle current matters first.

Although this battle didn't yield gold or silver, it firmly established the Dawn Army's dominion in Huacheng City.

Henceforth, the Survivor Alliance would step down from the historical stage; it wouldn't crumble in a single stroke, but close enough.

Zhang Xiaofei became the head of the Wangbei Army, which was a significant gain for Ye Fan.

Since then, the Wangbei Army was no longer his enemy.

Especially in the face of the Rakshasa threat, they would surely stand on the same front line with him.

War is a matter of attrition; having fought and lost this battle, they would have no chance of recovering and might have to rely on the Dawn Army's support to survive in the future.

Ye Fan was lenient towards ordinary survivors, but there was no such thing as a free lunch; to get anything from the Dawn Army, they must comply.

The threat from Coal City was also significantly reduced; at least, they didn't have the strength to invade again in the short term.

Ye Fan didn't immediately cross the river to fight the Rakshasa; a large battle left many issues to handle, and his current strength made an active assault on Hai Shan Wei challenging; the timing was not right.

Fortunately, it seemed the Rakshasa had concerns too; after Zhang Xiaofei clearly rejected their crossing request, they temporarily lowered their flags and drums.

After recuperating at home for a few days, Ye Fan dispatched troops to Pinggang Town to collect the abandoned tanks.

With engineers available, repairs were made when possible, and irreparable items were melted down for metal.

Those repaired were to be sold externally by Ye Fan.

Ye Fan was stockpiling supplies, aiming to create the impression that everything was available for purchase at the Dawn Army once the trade market opened.

Not long after the troops were dispatched, Ye Fan received two pieces of news.

A piece of bad news and a piece of good news.

The bad news was that all the bodies in Pinggang were gone, not even bones remained, as if they weren't burned but dragged away.

Moreover, all the zombies in the local elementary school had also disappeared, not one left.

This immediately reminded Ye Fan of when Wang Huining led the zombies on a mass migration.

This situation indicated the emergence of a wild commander-type zombie.

Don't be fooled by the decent development of many survivor forces now; that's because no zombies attacked them. Once zombies were led by a commander-type, they would be humanity's biggest enemy.

This was definitely bad news, weighing heavily on Ye Fan's heart.

But simultaneously, a piece of good news arrived.

Nana's alert:

"Commander, our spy has entered the Rakshasa Battalion, and from now on, our new recruits will automatically become One-Star Soldiers."

"Moreover, we've acquired a piece of Rakshasa technology, and the barracks have added a combat unit. Please check, Commander!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.