Chapter 162: A Fierce Tiger Emerging from its Cage

The General Staff, officially designated as the New World General Headquarters, operates directly under the Central Military Commission.

Its mandate is to oversee all affairs of the New World, answering directly to the central authorities, with the authority to deploy the New World garrison and the First Army Group.

The highest-ranking commander is General Shentu, but because he has remained stationed in the Xuanlü mainland to manage various localized conflicts between Xuanlü and other nations while standing ready for total war, he exists merely in title. The true power in the New World is Colonel Qin Le.

However, this colonel clearly views his post as a place simply to punch in and out for meals. He rarely involves himself in operational matters, delegating the vast majority of responsibilities to the think tank. On ordinary days, even the head of the think tank, the Chief of Staff, finds it difficult to catch a glimpse of this superior.

The only occasion for an audience is the end-of-month briefing.

The semicircular, amphitheater-style room features rows of computers arranged on every tier. Data streams continuously across the screens, reflecting the current status of every region across the Eastern Territory.

This includes, but is not limited to, base expansion and construction, military defense infrastructure, road development, demographic statistics, the construction of the Qingyang Trade Zone, and ideological re-education. This is the nerve center governing the affairs of the entire Eastern Territory, dictating the actions of millions of people.

An invisible brain.

Orders issued from this place are executed with absolute precision.

The highest level of martial law is enforced within the Xuanlü territories of the New World. All regions under Xuanlü jurisdiction, operating within its system, are obligated to obey Xuanlü commands unconditionally.

Qin Le took his seat as usual, and Chief of Staff Xuan Hongguo handed over the compiled report just as he always did.

In theory, he and Xuan Hongguo are peers, though only in theory.

"Sir, this is the March report."

"Mm." Qin Le gave a slight nod and picked up the report, flipping through it with a convincing display of engagement.

First, the initial phase of road construction in the Eastern Territory had been successfully completed. Seven cities (each with a population of thirty thousand and a surrounding regional population totaling one hundred thousand) and thirty-two towns were now basically connected by roads. While not all roads were paved with concrete, they were no longer isolated by hills and forests as before, which had previously rendered them impassable to modern military forces.

Assuming current road conditions, if a war were to break out again with the late Count Lev, Xuanlü was confident it could completely rout the enemy and complete the occupation of all major cities within three hours.

Second, the establishment of the secondary industrial system: various industrial mother machines had now been transported into the base.

Seeing this, Qin Le raised an eyebrow, finding this section of the report somewhat difficult to comprehend.

Establishing an industrial system was understandable; achieving self-sufficiency in the New World was crucial to freeing up vital transportation capacity. However, the inclusion of all those industrial mother machines in the report clearly defied logic. Wouldn't it be far more convenient to manufacture the machines completely and then transport them in for reassembly?

Third, military expansion.

Currently, the number of Xuanlü personnel stationed in the New World had reached thirty thousand, the majority of whom were administrative personnel, scientific researchers, and technical specialists. Logistics personnel numbered over seven thousand—equivalent to a single brigade.

Considering the unique circumstances of the New World, this force did not follow standard military organization. Artillery and armored units constituted the vast majority, while infantry was relatively sparse, comprising only two field battalions.

Of course, there was also an air force consisting of just three aircraft. These three planes were short-legged MiG-29s—Airport Protectors—the most advanced fighters of the current era.

They were advanced tactical aircraft developed by the Xuanlü National Aviation Design Bureau to counter the Siberian United Kingdom's FX Project (a new type of tactical aircraft).

The Xuanlü National Aviation Design Bureau had proposed developing a new fighter to replace the Fuyao-21 and Fuyao-23 in military service. The new light fighter would undertake tactical air missions, escort duties, and ground attacks, initially designated internally within the bureau as the "Fuyao-29."

However, following a senior leader's remark—referring to them as "Airport Protectors" and "short-legged runts," echoing an angry rant from back in the day when the youngsters were bombed, demanding why Xuanlü couldn't produce a MiG-29 while airfields were bombed daily and wars still had to be fought—the aircraft was ultimately officially designated the "MiG-29."

The aircraft had been successfully developed, but due to a chronic lack of funds, it had never been put into mass production.

The three planes in the New World were prototypes that had been disassembled, reorganized, and shipped to the New World to serve as its sole air power.

Now, the General Staff intended to transfer another field battalion, along with a dozen military hovercraft, to protect the oil pipeline across the Dead Swamp.

At this point, Qin Le put down the documents in his hand, looked up, and asked, "Wasn't the original plan to increase troop strength to two divisions? Why was it canceled?"

To counter the extreme individual superhuman powers in the New World, the only course of action available to Xuanlü was to continuously increase troop strength and build three to four additional military bases to ensure they could not be wiped out in a single blow. At the same time, more artillery units would be deployed to blast the enemy to death with sheer volume.

While high-tier superhuman strength was terrifying, they were ultimately human, with finite stamina incapable of sustaining high-intensity combat over long periods. One could deduce from the battles involving the kings that such intensity of combat left high-tier superhumans exhausted within half an hour.

Modern military forces, however, provided with sufficient logistics, can sustain high-intensity combat for months or even over a year.

"The two divisions originally scheduled to enter the New World have been reassigned," Xuan Hongguo replied.

"Reassigned? Where to?" Qin Le's confusion deepened. Who else back home could compete with them for troops?

The development of the New World concerned the life and death of the nation; Xuanlü urgently needed the petroleum resources of this world to alleviate the disastrous industrial stagnation at home.

The moment he finished speaking, a dark premonition arose within Qin Le.

This suspicion was quickly verified and confirmed.

In a somewhat low tone, Xuan Hongguo replied, "One division was transferred to the Southern Theater Command, and the other to the Northern Theater Command, to conduct joint operations and handle localized conflicts."

"The Seven Nations and Northern Bear?"

"Yes. Recently, they've started probing us again. Enemy missiles crossed into our airspace along the southern border; our interception failed, and a missile struck a town, causing forty-two deaths. The Seven Nations publicly claimed it was an accidental discharge due to weapon maintenance failure," Xuan Hongguo said. "The missiles they used were a model we've never seen before, representing the world's most advanced technology. There is no way the Seven Nations possess such things."

"An accidental missile discharge." Qin Le clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. "Has it been carefully covered up?"

News of this nature should be suppressed immediately and must never leak. It would cause domestic turmoil, plunge more citizens into panic, and consequently fuel war fever—while also stoking defeatist sentiments among certain individuals.

If a missile could strike the border today, one could land on their own heads tomorrow.

Stability is the foundation of everything, especially during this period; standing firm is more important than anything else. When everyone pushes you into a corner with a knife, panic only makes it easier for the enemy to strike.

There was another reason as well: to avoid exposing their own weaknesses to the enemy. This was a probe of Xuanlü's missile defense system. A successful interception would be one thing, but a failure brought them one step closer to war.

"It failed," Xuan Hongguo shook his head. "We had already managed to successfully seal the information, but because of certain rats, the news leaked."

"So the leadership transported these industrial mother machines in to prepare a fallback plan?" Qin Le asked.

"Exactly. The First Military Region behind the portal has gathered talents from all fields across Xuanlü. The moment a total war breaks out, they will enter the New World. Assuming Xuanlü falls, we shall become the final spark."

As the words fell, Xuan Hongguo suddenly felt a sense of suffocation. An unbidden panic rose in his chest as the temperature in the entire room seemed to plummet. The others felt it too.

Qin Le pursed his lips, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes as a bone-chilling killing intent spread through the air.

Perhaps his usual mild demeanor had caused everyone present to forget his true identity. The sudden outburst caught them off guard and reminded them of a fundamental truth.

No matter how mild a tiger appears, it remains a tiger.

"Chief of Staff, help me prepare a report. I think it's time to let the tiger out of its cage."

Hearing this, Xuan Hongguo's pupils constricted slightly. "Are you planning an assassination?"

In the early days of the World War, the reason Xuanlü was able to fight the entire world single-handedly relied not only on technology far surpassing the era and numerous genius scientists, but also on a military unit that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard its name.

The Empire's Tigers—the Vanguard.

These cold killing machines operated in the shadows, executing various assassination missions to disrupt enemy operations. The most common among these was the targeted assassination of enemy political figures and military commanders—so-called decapitation strikes.

During the Rainforest War of the past, the Vanguard unit had relied entirely on its own strength to completely destroy the enemy's command system, thoroughly reversing a situation where defeat had seemed imminent.

However, with the development of modern technology, increasingly advanced weaponry, and the advent of various detection technologies, the utility of the Vanguard had steadily diminished.

Qin Le stated, "Our overall military deterrence has already been tested and probed by the enemy. Xuanlü needs another kind of deterrence, just like in the old days."

"But in this day and age, the assassination operations of the Vanguard unit恐怕..."

Before Xuan Hongguo could finish, he clamped his mouth shut.

Before he knew it, a group of figures had materialized around the room. Built like oxen, their deep eyes radiated a faint, eerie glow, resembling tigers crouching and ready to pounce.

Cold, powerful, and brimming with murderous intent.

"It will succeed." Qin Le pulled out a pen, swiftly scribbling a line of text along with his signature. "Deliver this to the Senior Leader. When the time comes, prepare to receive the harvest of the New World."

"Falcon."

A tall, slender figure stepped out of thin air: short black hair, eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and striking facial features resembling a black rose with thorns.

"I need forty-two heads from the Seven Nations. Don't let them die too quickly."

"Understood."