Building a Conglomerate in Another World-Chapter 164: Snapped

Time seemed to freeze as the first shot rang out, echoing through the jungle. Then, chaos erupted.

Amerathian soldiers dove for cover, their rifles snapping into action as they responded to the threat. Ramirez shouted orders to his men, his voice drowned out by the cacophony of gunfire. Workers scattered, scrambling to escape the crossfire, while Matthew grabbed Amber and pulled her behind a thick tree for protection.

"Stay down!" Matthew shouted over the din, his heart pounding in his chest.

Amber clutched his arm, her face pale but determined. "Matthew, what do we do?"

"We wait it out!" Matthew yelled, peering around the tree to assess the situation. "Hayes will try to contain this before it spirals out of control!"

The clearing had devolved into chaos. Gran Colombian soldiers, emboldened by the initial shot, fired sporadically at the Amerathians, while Hayes’s troops returned fire with disciplined precision. Several workers and engineers who had been too slow to escape lay flat on the ground, covering their heads and praying for the gunfire to stop.

Ramirez, furious, grabbed the young soldier who had fired the first shot and yanked him backward. "You fool! Do you realize what you’ve done?" he bellowed.

The young soldier stammered an incoherent reply, his face a mask of terror as he realized the magnitude of his actions. Ramirez shoved him aside and tried to rally his men, shouting for them to fall back, but the momentum of the skirmish was too strong. His orders were drowned out by the chaos.

Hayes, crouched behind a fallen log, barked commands to his troops. "Hold your fire unless they advance! Do not escalate! Keep the workers safe!"

One of the Amerathian sergeants crawled over to Hayes, his face grim. "Captain, we’re holding them off, but they’re not retreating. If this continues, we’ll have casualties."

Hayes’s jaw clenched as he considered his options. "We need to break their momentum. Fire a warning shot above their heads—something loud enough to remind them what they’re up against."

Hayes nodded grimly at the sergeant, his voice sharp as he barked out the order, "Grenadiers, launch a flare above their position. Let’s remind them of our capabilities."

The designated soldier scrambled into position, loading the rifle grenade with practiced efficiency. Moments later, a deafening thud sent the explosive skyward. It detonated in the canopy above the Gran Colombian troops, raining debris and light down onto the battlefield. For a split second, the jungle was illuminated in blinding red and orange, and the fighting paused as both sides instinctively ducked for cover.

But the respite was short-lived.

"Hold your positions!" Ramirez roared, his face twisted with rage. His men, rattled but determined, responded with renewed aggression. Several opened fire again, bullets whizzing dangerously close to the Amerathian soldiers.

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"All units, return fire!" Hayes bellowed, realizing the situation had spiraled beyond containment. The Amerathian troops, trained for precision and discipline, unleashed hails of bullets aimed at suppressing the Gran Colombian advance. The sound of gunfire thundered through the jungle, shaking the earth beneath their feet.

The clearing quickly transformed into a warzone. Trees splintered as bullets tore through the dense jungle, and the acrid stench of gunpowder filled the air. Workers and engineers, caught in the crossfire, scrambled to safer positions behind rocks and hastily constructed barriers. Some shouted prayers, while others simply covered their heads, their faces pale with terror.

Amber clung tightly to Matthew, who kept her pressed against the thick tree trunk. "Stay low!" he ordered, his voice barely audible over the chaos. He glanced around, searching for any sign of an opening to retreat to safety, but the sheer ferocity of the battle left little room to maneuver.

Meanwhile, Ramirez pressed forward, barking orders to his men to flank the Amerathian positions. "Move to the left! Pin them down! Show them that Gran Colombia will not be intimidated!"

Hayes, observing the maneuver, quickly issued a counter-command. "Cover the left flank! Don’t let them gain ground!"

The Amerathian soldiers responded with precision, redirecting their fire to halt the encroaching Gran Colombians. A series of well-placed shots forced Ramirez’s men to retreat behind the cover of fallen trees and dense underbrush, temporarily halting their advance. Yet the skirmish showed no signs of letting up.

In the chaos, an Amerathian corporal spotted a group of workers pinned down near the center of the clearing. "Captain Hayes!" he shouted. "We’ve got civilians trapped out there!" Your next chapter awaits on novelbuddy

Hayes turned, his face grim. "Sergeant Mallory, take your squad and get them out of there! Cover their retreat!"

Mallory nodded, signaling to his men. They advanced in a low crouch, moving with precision and shielding the workers with their bodies as they guided them back toward safer ground. A volley of gunfire from the Gran Colombians sent one soldier sprawling, clutching his leg, but the squad managed to extract the workers with minimal casualties.

Amber, watching the daring rescue, turned to Matthew. "We have to help them! They can’t do this alone."

Matthew shook his head, his face pale but resolute. "There’s nothing we can do right now, Amber. We’d only make things worse."

Back on the Gran Colombian side, Ramirez snarled as he surveyed the battlefield. His initial strategy was failing, and the Amerathians’ disciplined response was keeping his forces pinned down. He turned to one of his lieutenants. "Bring up the mortars! If they want to play this game, we’ll make them regret it."

The lieutenant hesitated. "Captain, the cannons? That could escalate this into—"

"Do it!" Ramirez snapped. "We’re past diplomacy now. If they want to hold this land, they’ll pay for it."

Moments later, two soldiers lugging portable mortars appeared on the field. They quickly set up their equipment under Ramirez’s direction, aiming toward the Amerathian positions. Hayes noticed the movement and his blood ran cold.

"Cannons," he muttered. "They’re about to shell us."

"Captain, what’s the call?" one of his officers asked, panic flickering in his eyes.

Hayes gritted his teeth, his mind racing. "Snipers, take out those cannon teams! Everyone else, hold steady! We need to neutralize them before they can fire!"

The crack of sniper rifles split the air, and one of the Gran Colombian mortar operators collapsed, clutching his chest. The other quickly ducked for cover, but Ramirez barked an order for his men to provide suppressing fire, forcing the Amerathian snipers to pull back temporarily.

The surviving cannon operator adjusted his aim and fired a shell. It arced high into the air before crashing down near the Amerathian positions, sending a plume of dirt and shrapnel skyward. The explosion rattled the ground, and the soldiers closest to it were thrown off their feet.

"Get those civilians out of here!" Hayes yelled, his voice hoarse. "We can’t hold this position if they keep shelling us!"

The gunfire reached a deafening crescendo as both sides dug in, neither willing to cede ground. Ramirez, emboldened by the mortar strike, ordered his men to press forward, even as the Amerathians pushed back with equal determination. The clearing became a chaotic dance of smoke, blood, and fury.

Matthew, still huddled with Amber behind the tree, clenched his fists. "This is expected, there will now be a war between Amerathia and Gran Colombia Republic."