Little Masoud looked at General Tor Khan and asked the most critical question: "General Tor Khan, if Barzani disregards casualties and launches a costliest assault on Elbil, how long can we hold out?"
General Tor Khan strode over to the detailed city defense map, scanning the marking lines of defense, support points, and predefined combat zones.
He silently calculated for about ten seconds, an eternity in the quiet command center.
"Relying on the three outer defense lines we constructed before the war, along with the urban street fighting fortification system, we'll conduct flexible defense, resist layer by layer, and delay and exhaust the enemy's forces to the maximum..."
"Most optimistically, forty-eight hours. The premise is that the rebels' morale is low, there's chaos in their attack organization, and our forces can inflict effective damage continuously during defensive operations. However..."
He lifted his gaze to face Little Masoud and Song Heping, speaking honestly:
