Ye Fan currently has no ability to manage the affairs of Ice City.

He remains very clear-headed. No matter what happens to Ice City in the future, his current crisis is the one hundred thousand troops of Guo Zhun's Liberation Army.

Although the Dawn Army is formidable in combat strength, the numerical gap is simply too large. He still has to prepare for war; otherwise, he would be a laughingstock if Guo Zhun's Ice City is fine but his own army is defeated.

Therefore, Ye Fan did not call Guo Zhun anymore; he had already done his utmost in this matter.

The next day, Ye Fan personally led the third and fourth field corps of the Dawn Army to the frontline at the border.

With four field corps, plus armored units, artillery units, the Land Air Force Group, and air forces on standby, as well as the armored train already outside the city, Ye Fan was confident they could win this battle.

The recently peaceful Divine Dragon Province once again entered a countdown to war.

.....

Engineers' obstacle-clearing vehicles roared along the streets, pushing the ice and snow to the sides of the roads.

The original highway revealed itself from Dawn City to the border; all the abandoned vehicles from the past were gone.

Valuable ones had been taken, and most of the rest, whether repairable or damaged, had been pushed into the ditches by the roadside.

In the post-apocalyptic world, former vehicles and appliances were worth the least, with too much supply and too few people needing them, so they were unnecessary.

On the cleared highway, military vehicles of the Dawn Army sped through one by one.

The troops also had many flatbed trucks, specially used to transport tanks or armored cars, improving marching efficiency and saving fuel.

Ye Fan was sitting in his Brigade Commander's Mighty Bull off-road RV, a vehicle he hadn't used for a while since acquiring a helicopter, just parked at the residence.

This vehicle was still quite good; after modifications, it was not only bulletproof but also equipped with machine guns and was amphibious, with very formidable performance.

Alongside the icy roads, person-high wild grass could be seen everywhere; since the apocalypse, unmanned, it was desolate everywhere.

It took a bit over an hour to cover more than a hundred kilometers, and Ye Fan had arrived at the frontline.

This was already a vast military camp, with layer upon layer of defense positions built extensively.

Numerous machine gun bunkers and air defense infantry scattered across the positions formed a depth of over two thousand meters.

Ye Fan entered the temporarily-built operations command room, which was a bunker built in the deep mountains. Despite being constructed decades ago, these fortifications remained solid, at least until ground-penetrating missiles came, as ordinary bombings couldn't shake them.

The power here was driven by four generators, and the electronic warfare units had moved their surveillance computers here, connecting directly with the radar station for real-time observation.

Once there, Ye Fan began checking on the situation at the Daqing Mountain Prison Base.

"Where are the enemy forces now?"

"Report, sir. Guo Zhun's advance forces have already reached Daqing Mountain and have been resting there for two days. They've even fortified defensive works at Daqing Mountain, showing no sign of intending to launch an attack and prepared to defend in place."

"And what about the other forty thousand?"

"The other forty thousand have been lurking twenty kilometers away in a mountain pass, remaining inactive. However, from the radar images, it seems they are with their armored units, serving as a standby strike force."

Ye Fan smirked, "Guo Zhun is indeed cunning, intending prolonged attrition on the surface, waiting for us to attack first. If we lose patience and initiate an attack, he would flank us on both sides, trapping us like dumplings."

The group of Dawn Army leaders behind him urged proactive attack, seeking a decisive battle with Guo Zhun.

Ye Fan tapped the table and said, "Why should we attack? If we attack, wouldn't the defenses here be wasted? If Guo Zhun wants to drag it out, we'll drag it out with him. After all, we're closer to Dawn City, making resupply easier."

Chief of Staff Zhongjing pondered, "But Guo Zhun's side isn't particularly far away; their resupply shouldn't be too difficult either."

Ye Fan waved his hand, "It's fine, soon their resupply won't keep up."

Saying this, Ye Fan asked Zhongjing, "The soldiers' winter clothes are brought, right?"

"Brought, according to General Yan's request, winter clothes, hats, boots, sleeping bags, even hot water bags and hand warmers are all brought to ensure warmth."

"That's good. Pass the order to the catering units to prepare meals immediately. Good food and drinks; I want to see how long Guo Zhun can last against us."

Following Ye Fan's command, the Dawn Army began preparing meals.

.....

Today is April 3rd, the hottest day since the start of spring this year.

During the day, temperatures reached minus three degrees Celsius.

At minus three degrees, under direct sunlight, ice and snow showed signs of melting.

Plus, there was no wind today; the snow in the valley gradually melted, and puddles started forming on the ground.

Yan Zhihuan had been here for over a day with a force of four thousand and an armored unit of five hundred tanks.

Knowing the temperature would continue to rise over the next few days, they didn't even bring much for warmth this time.

Thermals and a camouflage jacket were the basic gear for the soldiers.

Because they were more than twenty kilometers from the Dawn Army and hidden in the valley, the Liberation Army was very relaxed.

Yan Zhihuan was well aware of Guo Zhun's battle plan, which was initially to hold position and wait for the Dawn Army to attack.

According to Guo Zhun's analysis, this defensive stance wouldn't last long, at most three days before the Dawn Army would lose patience and attack.

This was because spies from Dawn City had reported that the Dawn Army was preparing to start farming. With the temperature rising, it was the perfect time for spring sowing, and any further delay would miss the planting time; the Dawn Army wouldn't be able to maintain composure for long.

The Liberation Army was fully aware of even the Dawn Army's land distribution system; this was Guo Zhun's confidence.

Yan Zhihuan had only brought three days' worth of supplies, mostly canned goods, so they could stay here for three days.

The latest news was that Ye Fan was already on the way with his team, so Yan Zhihuan waited patiently.

But after waiting, another day and night passed.

The soldiers in his unit were growing restless in the valley. Today's weather had warmed again, with temperatures nearing zero, and the warriors were getting a bit hot in this tightly closed area.

Moreover, the food was running low. They could manage to last another night, but by tomorrow noon they'd be out of rations.

So he specifically talked to Guo Zhun, hoping to receive more supplies.

Guo Zhun agreed too, saying that if Ye Fan did not attack by tomorrow morning, they would deliver supplies to them.

Time quickly reached the evening of April 5th.

The soldiers of the Liberation Army had pitched tents in the valley and were soundly asleep inside.

Yan Zhihuan also slept in his own tent, unconcerned, as there were sentries on duty outside.

Not only was this place a valley with complex terrain, but there were also dense coniferous forests. Even if the Dawn Army discovered them and launched an air raid, it wouldn't be very effective.

However, as he slept, the valley gradually became windy.

Yan Zhihuan wrapped the carried blanket tighter around him, feeling a little cold.

"The weather in April is still unstable, a little chilly at night. I should have brought some cotton clothing."

He tightened the blanket but felt increasingly cold.

"What's going on? Is it really this cold at night?"

Just when Yan Zhihuan couldn't bear it, an orderly came in to report.

"General Yan, it's snowing outside."

"What? Snowing at this time?"

He got up and walked out of the tent, immediately shivering.

Large snowflakes were falling densely from the sky, driven by the north wind, covering everything below.

In just a few minutes, a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the ground.

"Achoo! Achoo!"

He sneezed twice in succession, and Yan Zhihuan shivered all over.

"What's happening? Why did the temperature drop so much!"

The orderly was shivering next to him: "General Yan, it must be a late spring cold spell, though it's never been this severe before. I think the temperature dropped by at least twenty degrees?"

Yan Zhihuan rushed back to the tent, took out a thermometer outside, watched it for a while, and found that the temperature had dropped to twenty degrees below zero, and it wasn't even the coldest time of the day.

"Damn it! At this temperature, it's enough to freeze a person. Tell the soldiers they can light fires to keep warm, but control the size of the fire so it isn't too conspicuous in the dark."

The soldiers of the Liberation Army hurriedly ran to gather dry wood and lit fires inside the tents.

But tents weren't the best place for a fire, and soon it was filled with smoke, causing them a lot of discomfort.

By the middle of the night, the snow showed no signs of stopping; instead, it grew heavier, with the snow in the valley almost knee-high.

Everyone was too cold to sleep, stamping their feet or huddling together for warmth.

They thought if they could endure the night, things might improve the next day, but unexpectedly, the snow continued unabated.

The post-apocalyptic winter was showing its last bout of madness, with the northwesterly wind cutting like knives, the snow-particles stinging on exposed skin.

Yan Zhihuan instructed his subordinates to eat the last canned food, then urgently pleaded for help from Guo Zhun.

Guo Zhun was also flustered, as his troops hadn't prepared enough winter clothing and were now urgently requisitioning it from Ice City.

However, snow fell continuously through the night. The roads, difficult to traverse initially, were now completely frozen.

The road leading to the Daqing Mountain Prison Base might still allow some transportation, but the valley where Yan Zhihuan was stationed made delivering supplies an arduous task.

Yan Zhihuan bitterly complained to Guo Zhun: "Count, you must send us supplies, warm clothing, and food. Otherwise, we'll all turn into corpses here tomorrow."

"I've sent them; I've dispatched ten helicopters to airdrop supplies. Keep an eye out to receive them."

Yan Zhihuan eagerly awaited the airdrop supplies, but before long, bad news arrived.

The helicopters transporting the supplies were spotted by the Dawn Army's patrol planes as they approached the valley, drawing attacks from the Dawn Army's fighter jets.

All ten helicopters were shot down without exception!

This news, like a bolt from the blue, plunged Yan Zhihuan and the others into despair.

Without supplies, all that was left was to wait for death.

He wondered how Ye Fan remained so patient, refusing to move.

When he reported back to Guo Zhun, Guo Zhun was also at a loss.

"There's no other way now. While the Dawn Army hasn't discovered you, immediately lead your troops to assault the Dawn Army's camp. I'll also deploy troops to attack, using the snowy weather to catch the Dawn Army off guard."

Yan Zhihuan realized there was no other way. He could only lead his cold and hungry troops out of the valley and head towards the Dawn Army's camp.

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.