The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse-Chapter 400 - 393: Natural Moat

Thanks to a minute trace, Gao Yuan and his team had obtained a lot of information.

A real military map details even the length, width, and load capacity of a small bridge that might seem commonplace and unimportant for a map, like one you’d find in front of your home over a small river.

During World War II, German military maps, especially those of domestic use, were so detailed that they included the layout of every single house in a town and even the exact location of wells in backyards.

If they had such a map, Li Jingang could have been familiar with all the buildings, rivers, roads, bridges, and lakes in an area he had never visited before. That was true for every qualified special forces member and anyone who knew how to read a military map. That’s the significance of a military map.

Gao Yuan and his team had no military maps, only large-scale civilian maps and printed satellite photos.

There are no paths in this world until people walk on them so often that they become paths.

There are no military maps in this world until there are enough people who can make them.

Gao Yuan and his team had not measured every piece of land by foot, but wherever they went, they made sure to record the terrain and key information along the road. Gradually, even a civilian map started to resemble the most basic form of a military map.

To Gao Yuan and his team, this map chronicling their journey wasn’t very useful. But for anyone who would take the same route, this map was a treasure.

Each night before rest, it was time for the special forces soldiers to sit together to enter the day’s observed and recorded data into the map. And it was at this time that Gao Yuan, Yu Shunzhou, and others, who were novices in this aspect, just sat aside and watched.

Even Yuri, the Russian only concerned with locating the enemy, would scribble on the map.

The Russian style of warfare may be simple, straightforward, and brutal, but when it comes to map-making, they’re quite precise. During World War II’s fierce urban battles fought in Russia, it was common to find hand-drawn maps with pencil on paper, clearly marking nearby buildings in the absence of military maps.

"Distance 176 kilometers, bearing to the southeast 17 degrees, with seven significant landmarks," said one recce report.

"Distance 179 kilometers, bearing southeast 17.2 degrees, with seven significant landmarks," read another.

"Distance 177 kilometers, bearing southeast 17 degrees, seven clear landmarks," confirmed another.

Li Jingang was the first to take out his paper where he had recorded their route, winding this way and that to illustrate their day’s progress. Beside that route, he marked seven points, then added shorthand for the landmarks he believed were significant.

Once everyone produced their papers, a rough comparison revealed that the drawn maps were nearly identical, all depicting an oversimplified route generally heading from west to southeast.

The lengths varied, but the details were strikingly close—a remarkable feat considering they were recording this while in a moving vehicle. If the records differed significantly by nightfall, it would mean someone was undoubtedly wrong.

But now, with all three records largely in agreement, the data could be added to the map.

This was the most rudimentary way to craft a military map, all hand-drawn, but it was also the most difficult, for only the finest scouts in the military could achieve such a feat.

If Spark Squad had been leading a large army, that army would navigate and fight based on this map. Any errors in it could have catastrophic consequences.

The distances were determined using the vehicle’s odometer, and bearings checked continuously against a compass. It was difficult to note minor changes in direction, but significant turns had to be recorded.

Li Jingang carefully unfolded the map and began to draw today’s route on top of the previously empty space, using the records they had all made.

The deviation by 17 degrees was of course measured from the starting point. Now, Gao Yuan and his team needed to head south, circumventing certain areas before heading continuously southeast towards Ram’s location.

Once the route was marked on the map, Gao Yuan finally had a say.

After examining it, Gao Yuan expressed his surprise, "Guys, we’ve entered South Sudan’s territory, and in a few tens of kilometers, we’ll be at the White Nile River."

The territories of North and South Sudan were interwoven, sharing a relatively straight border in the west. But in the eastern half, the Malakal Region of South Sudan extended north into Sudanese territory, and moving further east, Sudan’s land stretched south into South Sudan, forming an elongated area, leading to the tripoint between North and South Sudan and Ethiopia. freewebnøvel.com

Ram’s territory was located at the elongated tripoint, on the edge of a mountain range, where sparse-tree grassland met tropical rainforest.

Looking at the map, Gao Yuan and his team were on the western bank of the White Nile River, less than 300 kilometers in a straight line from the area occupied by Ram.

Three hundred kilometers seemed very close on the map; with a highway, it would take only three or four hours to reach.

But here, at this time of apocalypse, Gao Yuan would be overjoyed if they could make it in ten days.

That’s because the White Nile River was their biggest obstacle on this journey, a symbolic landmark, or rather, a terminus of their long-range travel.

The reason was simple: there were no bridges across the river, and with the rainy season causing the waters to swell, their vehicles could not possibly make the crossing.

If all went as expected, Gao Yuan and his team would have to abandon their vehicles. They would use inflatable boats to get across the river, then finish the remaining 300 kilometers on foot.

After studying the map for a long time, Gao Yuan finally sighed in resignation and whispered, "Let’s rest well tonight. Tomorrow, during the day, we’ll find a suitable crossing point by the river and make the crossing."

These were plans set in advance, things that were supposed to happen according to their schedule. Sadly, but decisively, Gao Yuan made his decision.

Ram scratched his head and said a few words, then Cross, who spoke Chinese, translated, "The Sanitation Worker suggests that we are between Malakal and Malut, less than fifty kilometers to the north is Kodok. These are all cities along the White Nile River. After crossing, we could scout one of the cities, and if it’s not occupied by Sanitation Workers, we could find some vehicles."

Ralph immediately objected, "I disagree, the risk is too high."

Cross continued calmly, "To me, the presence of a vehicle doesn’t matter, but we should scout these cities to see if they have been occupied by Sanitation Workers. Otherwise, the risk to us will be even greater because we are about to cross the heartland of the Sanitation Workers’ operations."