Another Worldly Summons

Chapter 110: Burning Steppes of Philades

Najar Province, Nurzaga Empire

In the 14th field army of Annonrial stationed at the Najar Province, a location predominantly of steppes, a sense of anticipation and deliberation permeated the air. The pervading urgency of incoming danger lingered, spreading throughout the ranks of Annonrials. The information that ASEAN had finally broken their two-week-long silence with massive airstrikes, something far greater than before, wrought destruction throughout the front like a hammer smashing through thin ice. The much-anticipated land war was increasingly becoming a reality.

A myriad of emotions swept through the soldiers - fear, nervousness, excitement, and confidence.

Information of the ASEAN armored columns breaking into the border of Nurzaga spread in murmurs, igniting speculation about their size like wildfire. Some claimed it was a battalion-size reconnaissance mission, while others feared full-on divisions poised for conquest. The truth remained elusive, as the intruders seemed to vanish without a trace, leaving behind only whispers of their presence. Attempts at reconnaissance, both by air and land, resulted in utter annihilation, leaving Annonrial forces in the dark about the enemy's movements.

However, one thing was certain: the ASEAN forces were cloaking their movements with an iron curtain of secrecy. This indicated a massive, systematic military operation in the making. In response to this looming threat, the 14th field army was mobilized.

"Hey, ASEAN said to be coming, why are we still entrenched here?"

"Who knows, I want to move out too. Besides, it's not hard to move out in the open in these grasslands in case they are on our doorstep."

"It's not bad to actively hit them head-on than waiting."

These were the thoughts running through the army, with questions lingering about why they had to wait for the enemy to appear. But God, who knows whatever their generals and officers are thinking. However, the offensive they anticipated was not something they had expected. There was no opening artillery showdown, no airstrikes, no blitz ground battles, nor any infiltration or comprehensively detailed and complex tactics. Instead, it was just a normal opening with pure brute force without facing them at all, not even a single soul in the vicinity.

Balaika, Southern Philades

24 M270 MRLS and 18 M142 HIMARS stood in a row, alongside a significant number of M2 Scud (R) TEL launchers from the Southeast Asian Federal Rocket Force, numbering 72 alone.

Standing next to the units was Lt. Col. Granger of the US Army Ravernal, a subordinate unit of I Corps, United States Army Pacific (USARPAC). He looked at the ancient pieces from the Soviet Union lined up in an abnormal row, spaced at 30-meter intervals, examining them with curiosity. "Can anyone tell me if these are dummies, or if Vietnam has secretly acquired these missiles from the Russians?" he asked incredulously.

The Americans were openly surprised by the amount of copycat F-15 and F-16 aircraft casually parked in Esthirant, as well as in airports and bases in the Philippines and Vietnam. They were equally taken aback by the concentration of Scud ballistic missiles in one place — not counting from Esthirant. In the last year alone, ASEAN had produced no fewer than 250 units, with half of them deployed in Philades, supplementing the original units for combat operations. They were producing them en masse, with standardization programs and the expansion of facilities, including the activation of additional aircraft manufacturing lines at a fast pace. The Southeast Asians hoped to have an aircraft production capacity of 16 to 20 per month by 1642, or even an overstretching estimate of 30 aircraft per month by the end of the year. However, their engines were their only obstacle. While wings, fuselage, avionics, and cockpits were being produced at a high rate, the engines simply could not keep up with the demand. This was exacerbated by the high-speed wear and tear on the frontline units that needed replacement. Even if Southeast Asians produced dozens of aircraft, they likely wouldn't have enough engines to fly them. They tended to allocate only a few engines for testing, typically swapping one engine among several F/A-15s or F/A-16s for cost-effectiveness and resource-saving measures.