Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 875. What do you intend to do, Colonel?
Before handing over command to Bennett and Gago today, Kurt Hansen solemnly promised his two subordinates that as long as they could hold out for the allotted time, he would bring them victory.

Bennett and Gago did not suspect Hansen.

This was not because they were so loyal that they blindly believed and had no doubt that Hansen would abandon them and retreat alone under the pretext of setting a time limit, but because they knew very well that Hansen was not the kind of person who would desert in the face of battle.

Hansen created the 'Ghost Hounds' and transformed them into the army that supported his kingdom. For him, retreating and abandoning them meant betraying all the ideals he had established.

If he escapes, the soul of the Ghost Hound will dissipate, and that would be more unacceptable to him than any failure.

Hansen is the king of Dogtown, and a king would rather die than run away!
If Hansen wanted to run away, to escape, to abandon his ambitions, he would have obediently followed orders and fled during the unification war years ago. If he wanted to abandon his ambitions, he would have surrendered long ago. Why wait until today?

Bennett was Hansen's loyal subordinate, while Gago was someone who came to join Hansen voluntarily because he saw Hansen's ambition and potential.

If these two were placed in a dynasty, they would undoubtedly be the Grand General and Prime Minister of the Netherhound Kingdom. At this moment, what they were gambling with was also their past belief in King Hansen.

Three hours. No matter what, as long as they can hold out for three hours, Colonel Hansen will definitely bring them victory!

Hansen's personality cult was not limited to the soldiers of the Ghosthounds; the infection had already spread from top to bottom and then from bottom to top, causing every Ghosthound to succumb to his ambition.

"Hold on, everyone! Hold on!"

Bennett, his forehead beaded with sweat, roared into the communicator, trying to send his meager reserves to the most critical locations, but for every gap he closed, two new emergencies would immediately come in.

The New America's surprise attack precisely targeted all the weak points in his defenses. Although the enemy was outnumbered, every move they made made the Hound of the Underworld's defenses appear clumsy and sluggish.

"The Joint Intelligence Agency, damn the Joint Intelligence Agency, just how much information have they gathered in Dogtown?!"

Even Gago, who usually appears mild-mannered and steady but has a certain cowardice, was anxious at this moment. He couldn't even care less about his usual tendency to shirk responsibility and duty; he just hoped that he and Bennett could hold out for the next three hours.

The two men originally thought that with their numerical advantage and pre-prepared fortifications, they could at least hold out or even push back. But now, their troops are being slowly eroded and disintegrated by an elite force that is far smaller in number but far better trained and equipped.

"Sir! An enemy infiltration team has been spotted outside the east side of the stadium. They are attempting to cut off our external communication links!"

"Hold them down! Send a team over." Before Bennett could finish his order, another urgent communication suddenly came in.

"Lieutenant Colonel! The Southwest 'Gemstone Blue' region is in dire need of attention! They're about to break through to the core area!"

Gago had no time to dwell on past grievances. Seeing that Bennett was struggling to coordinate, he took the initiative to switch to communications and issued a stern order:
"Send the fourth team to take over! Regardless of casualties! I authorize you to use all means necessary—even if it means blowing every building along the way to ruins, bury every road with rubble to stop their advance!"

The person on the other end of the communication was visibly startled—it was Gago's voice coming through, not Lieutenant Colonel Bennett's, but they reacted almost instantly:
"Yes, Mr. Gago, at your command! Fourth group, proceed immediately!"

Faced with a powerful foreign adversary like the new United States, setting aside internal strife and uniting against external threats became the most natural choice. No rational person would remain entangled in internal conflicts at such a time.

Bennett glanced at Gago giving orders out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

Their struggle will continue after today—until one side completely yields, the two will continue to wrestle on the scales of power, refusing to give an inch. But all of this is a matter for 'after today'.

Today, they will cooperate and fight for the Hound of the Underworld, for their Dogtown, and only today.

Let's get through today first.

The combination of Bennett and Gago produced a strangely efficient effect.

Bennett was in charge of overall command and frontal defense; his military expertise allowed him to quickly determine which positions absolutely could not be lost.

Gago, on the other hand, leveraged his familiarity with every dark corner of Dogtown and all its 'unofficial' resources. He bypassed the normal chain of command and directly contacted mercenaries, black market merchants, and even gang members who were originally hostile to Dogtown. He offered them large sums of money or even death threats to order them to harass from the flanks and set traps to delay the progress of the new America.

Despite their starkly different yet complementary collaboration, the arrows representing the new American offensive on the holographic map continued to slowly but surely advance toward the heart of the stadium, but the Ghost Hound's defenses resembled a tattered coat that had been repeatedly torn apart—even with countless tears in its eyes, Bennett and Gago desperately tried to mend it back together with their limited "needle and thread."

However, as time goes on, the available threads are becoming fewer and fewer.

“Time.” Bennett glanced at the timer. There was still one hour and forty minutes left until the three hours Hansen had agreed upon. This was longer than any battle he had ever experienced.

“He will,” Gago seemed to see through Bennett’s thoughts. His voice was hoarse from shouting when he was giving orders. It was unclear whether he was speaking to Bennett or encouraging himself: “The Colonel will not let us down. If he says he will bring victory, he will.”

As if to confirm Gago's earlier words, the next second they received a communication from Kurt Hansen.

"Colonel!"

Upon seeing Hansen's face appear on the other end of the communication, Bennett and Gago were both invigorated.

“You’ve done a great job, Bennett, Gago, you haven’t let me down—we’ve made it past the halfway mark.”

In the picture, Hansen stands with his hands behind his back, clearly inside Dogtown Stadium.

"The final adjustments are about to be completed, and I must personally oversee everything at this final juncture. I will take command in the last thirty minutes."

"Yes, Colonel!"

The two men had no objection to Hansen's instructions, but they also noticed that Hansen's location seemed to be in the stadium's underground area—they vaguely remembered it being there.
Before they could ask any questions, Hansen continued:
"In the final stage, I will reveal my location and lure the New America forces into the stadium. At that time, you will lead all the Ghost Hounds from the Gemstone Blue side to evacuate."

"What are you planning to do, Colonel?" Gago asked instinctively.

Hansen gazed at the gradually brightening light before him, his tone unusually calm:

"I will detonate the nuclear bomb buried beneath the stadium."

(End of this chapter)