I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 285 Crossing the Mississippi River

Under the cover of night, Alice crouched in a shell crater by the grass, looking ahead through infrared binoculars. The roar of artillery fire filled the air as the sudden assault team captured the riverside position in the first instance, and the small village nearby became their second target.

Most of the Allied soldiers were asleep, and the battlefield was shrouded in darkness at night. The United States' infrastructure was insufficient to support the lighting needed for night battles.

Armored units can see clearly with active infrared headlights, but infantry do not have this privilege. The vast majority of soldiers in the world are still not equipped with sufficiently portable individual night vision equipment.

This allowed Alice's surprise attack to succeed. Relying on mortars used at close range, she unleashed a barrage of firepower, quickly disrupting the Allied forces deployed in the village.

More than a dozen tanks and armored vehicles parked in the village burst into flames. Before the Allied drivers could even pull up their trousers, these vehicles were destroyed by the People's Red Army commandos who stormed into the village with their anti-tank weapons.

The outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt, Alice thought. The gunfire became increasingly sparse, and the battle was drawing to a close.

"What? Enemy troops have attacked us on the Mississippi River and crossed it?"

"Lang Yi Xiu asked in surprise, how a unit had broken through their lines while he was sound asleep just last night."

It wasn't news that a single unit launched a counterattack. He knew that along the entire front, the Allied forces were seizing the initiative. The District of Columbia, the symbol of Colombia, was only fifty kilometers away from the Allied vanguard. Meanwhile, Mike Douglas had already left Washington for the United States forces command center in the central United States.

Neither the labor corps nor the United States had the same overwhelming advantage as the Confederate forces. The United States' front lines were too stretched out. Although the western armies were backed by major cities like Philadelphia and New Town, most of their supplies and reinforcements had to come from the United States-controlled areas in the Midwest.

The syndicate's forces were mostly composed of militiamen. These workers were not as skilled in combat as the regular United States troops, and their internal command was chaotic. Yet, they were the first force to engage the United States troops.

The Confederate forces, backed by aid and military guidance from the Glenard National Workers' Republic, swiftly destroyed every United States force they encountered.

"Was that the United States Army or the Workers' Corps?"

"The troops at the front said that the army was flying a red flag and had set out from Oregon City, which was under the control of the labor union."

"The union's troops..."

“That’s right, Your Excellency, but our spies in Oregon say that the army disarmed the local union guard as soon as it entered the city.”

"Traitors to the union?"

"I don't know, Mr. Senator."

Lang-yi Xiu suddenly became very interested in this army. The guild was in complete chaos, yet now it was able to deploy a force for a surprise attack?

"General, news from Highway 36: the 3rd Armored Division has been attacked by the main enemy force and has lost an entire tank regiment..."

"What's going on? Has the labor union launched an offensive?"

"It's unclear. The 3rd Armored Division reported that the enemy forces had been routed and requested permission to pursue them northward."

"They were waving the flag of the United States."

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency President..."

"By the way, we should eliminate that army as soon as possible, so that the trade unionists know that it's too late to sever ties with them now."

"Your order, Mr. President."

Langley Xiu nodded. He had no idea that the army that had piqued his interest was not an ordinary army.

"Allied forces are pursuing our column along its retreat route."

"Operation False Flag, Phase One, was a success."

Alice looked at the map and saw that the main force of the column that was going to lure the Union armored forces was heading north, while other troops that had withdrawn from the North Oregon Bridge were drawing the Union forces south.

"The anticipated battlefield will be in Oregon City."

"Comrade Alice, Oregon is about to go to war."

Alice nodded and said, "Alice isn't afraid of war at all. I'm happy whenever I hear about war. What's so great about crossing a river? It's just a few special forces soldiers firing a few shots and launching a few rockets. It's the Allied Powers fighting the United States that counts as a war. They have guns and cannons, and I've heard they even have fighter jets."

Alice snorted, and Zhu Kefu corrected her, "Fighter planes? I'm afraid there aren't any. Whether it's the Allied Powers, the United States, or the Confederation, they all have a large number of anti-aircraft missiles and air-to-air missiles. In less than a week since the start of the war, almost all of those fighter planes and bombers have been destroyed."

Zhu Kefu told Alice that on the other side of the three parties, the sky above Colombia was filled with trailing clouds and images of exploding planes falling, and the entire Colombian land was covered with the wreckage left by crashed fighter jets.

Now almost no one dares to deploy their air force on a large scale. The syndicate's three air combat ships captured two air tactical wings, but one of them was destroyed by several anti-ship missiles.

"The advance troops have already begun advancing towards the railway hub in the northwest. Comrade Alice, should we...?"

"I don't think we can necessarily capture the train hub; the United States relies heavily on it..."

Alice looked at the North Oregon Bridge to the north and had some ideas—once the follow-up troops arrived, she could send another force to take over the North Oregon Bridge, which would draw the troops at the train station to the bridge.

If the train station reinforces the bridge, the assault force will immediately move eastward; if the train station remains stationary, the assault force will cross the North Oregon Bridge a second time and attack the rear of the United States forces on the east bank, drawing the train station's attention.

But this was not enough to allow them all to move southwest by rail. Scouts reported that there were at least three United States mechanized divisions 30 kilometers away from the train station.

Alice glanced at the map. After the North Oregon Bridge, the Mississippi River bends northwest, and on the north bank, there is a local airport called Worth Airport.

Alice had no intention of taking a helicopter or airplane. The battlefields of the Colombian civil war were filled with field air defense facilities, ranging from anti-aircraft guns to anti-aircraft missiles.

Intelligence captured from prisoners indicated that Worth Airport had a stockpile of military trucks and armored vehicles, enough for some columns to use, allowing them to advance directly northwest along County Road 21 on the north bank.

Alice nodded and began to introduce herself to the other two.