CHAPTER 866: CHAPTER 866: DEATH CHARGE!

On the bridge of the Horn Number airship, John sat in his chair, idly playing with a shell pendant in his hand, while gazing boredly at the smoke-covered hills in the distance.

A man in a white lab coat stood beside him, whose fanatical demeanor sharply contrasted with the boredom on his face.

The man’s name was Martin, a biologist from the colony on the West Coast of the Great desert, and reportedly a Resident of the refuge.

John didn’t really like this guy.

Not because this guy was a Blue Ground Squirrel, but because he was uncomfortable from head to toe.

Maybe it was because he often dealt with corpses; he had a corpse-like smell about him.

Nevertheless, this guy came with a letter of introduction from General Giulion.

Even if John didn’t like him, it wasn’t quite appropriate to dismiss him so unceremoniously.

Besides, these days, it’s not easy to find a Blue Ground Squirrel who favors the Army.

In the end, this guy was on his side.

"Mortal Serum...just a capful can wither plants! Cause organ failure! Kill the Land! And become a breeding ground for new toxins!"

Listening to that rambling muttering, John yawned disinterestedly.

"...We have at least 20 poisons stronger than this. How is your ’Mortal Serum’ any stronger than them?"

Martin smiled sinisterly.

"Stronger in after-effects! Like complications, like transmission, and so on! It won’t kill our enemies quickly but will torment them, making them struggle in sickness and spread to more people."

John, who initially paid no heed, suddenly sat up straight on hearing those words.

"Transmission? Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

As he spoke, his gaze was already fixed on the soldiers building a bridge over the river outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

After all, they were his compatriots.

Even if they were land-dwelling fools, he couldn’t watch them walk to their deaths.

"Hehe... there’s no need to worry," Martin chuckled upon seeing this Commander Ryan so on edge, and continued, "That’s an expected effect, like super-strong transmission, and it’s effective only on humans, and specifically on certain groups."

"These effects aren’t realized yet, but they’re close... and I’ve controlled the toxic dose; with Vellante’s immunity, antibodies will form within an hour, they basically won’t be threatened by this toxin."

"Basically." John gave him a meaningful look, dissatisfied with this ambiguous qualifier.

"Yes."

Martin did not deny it, honestly nodding and admitting it.

"...I can’t guarantee 100%, just like I can’t guarantee that today will definitely be a Sunny Day, but 99% can be guaranteed, and this probability seems acceptable to those in high positions."

He paused and fervently continued.

"Once we complete the final version of this virus... it will, like the ancient Black Death, eliminate most of the Poluo people on this Land."

"What good does that do us?" John glanced at him, "We don’t need a Wasteland, the Great Desert is already enough."

Sometimes he really couldn’t figure out what those higher-ups were thinking, including Ryan.

Compared to other natives in their colonies, the Poluo people were almost too docile.

They were practically slaves bestowed upon them by His Excellency the Marshal, and eliminating them felt like a waste.

However, Martin didn’t seem to catch his meaning, just replied with a smile.

"How would it become a Wasteland? It’s a Wasteland already! Instead... it’s like giving the Wasteland a blood transfusion."

The frenzy in those pupils caused John a bit of discomfort, though he said nothing.

In the distance, crossing the river was the first thousand troops of the 36th Ten thousand troops, under the command of Wolfe, the Ten Thousand Leader.

Due to the significant progress on the east line, General Giulion dispatched two additional Ten thousand troops here and also sent a batch of officers to Lion City to train the Servant Army.

The 36th Ten thousand troops were one of the reinforcements, having severely defeated the elite armored division of the Alliance, the Skeleton Corps, in the western part of Reed Bull County.

The main force led by Commander Ryan was advancing here from the area around Lion City, with the Horn Number airship first deployed to the front line to assist the 36th Ten thousand troops in establishing an outpost on the other side of the river.

According to Commander Ryan’s own judgment, if the Alliance and Poluo Country intended to attack their supply lines, they would certainly target the area around the bend of the Everflow River.

Akale County was the most likely.

Whether or not there were Poluo Country guerrillas on the other side of the river, they had to at least take a look...

At the same time, in a small nameless village less than 20 kilometers west of Akale County and the Everflow River, the command center of the 36th Ten thousand troops was stationed.

Famine seemed to arrive here before the Weilante people.

The local Villagers had already moved away, leaving behind only empty hovels and dilapidated tiled walls.

Although survivors in Poluo Province had Red Soil to eat, it’s not available everywhere.

Only large population settlements or Noble estates had the foundation to cultivate vast amounts of Red Soil.

Having a large population was key.

But just having a large population wasn’t enough; they had to exploit harshly enough, turning part of the people into livestock.

After all, it was not proper Food, and if given the choice, no one would eat it when they could have a mouthful of beans.

Sometimes Wolfe felt like they weren’t here to conquer the home of the Indigenous People but to rescue this almost primitive group of natives from their ignorant lives.

No matter how the residents of West Sail Port lacked freedom and dignity, they were far better than during Witch Camel’s rule.

The residents of Lion City would soon be the same.

All they lost were some wooden shacks and beggars, and before long, they would gain clean and tidy streets, and even sewers they had never had before.

In the command vehicle.

The assistant stared at the screen, watching the repaired pontoon bridge and the troops that successfully reached the other side of the river, finally easing a tense expression with a smile.

"...the first thousand troops have successfully crossed the river, haha, looks like we thought too highly of them."

Beside him, the staff officer frowned and calmly reminded.

"Don’t get complacent, our opponents aren’t just the locals, but also the Alliance."

The assistant grinned, dismissively saying.

"I know, the Alliance is a nuisance, but they only have so many numbers, there will always be corners they can’t cover."

Like in the battle at Lion City, the Alliance troops only managed to create some trouble for Commander Ryan’s troops outside the main battlefield, before being obliterated in the plains and turned into a brand-new Medal on his chest.

Even if they truly face the Alliance, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Wolfe pondered for a long while, a slight idea suddenly stirring in his mind.

"I remember... the airship’s precision fire needs to deploy after dropping the anchor chain?"

The adjutant was slightly stunned, exchanging a glance with the staff officer, then cautiously nodded.

"That’s right, what’s the matter?"

The airship’s fire control system is divided into two modes, one is barrage distribution and the other is precise shelling.

Due to recoil and wind resistance among many other reasons, it often needs to drop the anchor chain to carry out more precise fire strikes.

In other words, if their troops are too close to the enemy, support fire might be hard to apply effectively.

Thinking this, Wolfe immediately made a decision, looked at the adjutant, and ordered.

"Have the support team prepare to pre-aim the shooting elements towards our first thousand team’s direction of advance."

Though puzzled about whether there was a need for this, the adjutant still dutifully accepted the order.

"Yes!"

At the same time the order was given, nearly a hundred "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled guns were divided into three groups, moving from concealed areas to the nearest shelling points, completing their deployment.

Meanwhile, the first thousand team, led by Taote, had successfully crossed the Everflow River without encountering any attack.

The Poluo country’s army seemed to have fallen asleep, handing over the entire position without resistance.

Looking at the silent forest, the Centurion sitting in the reconnaissance vehicle couldn’t help but frown, pressing his eyes closer to the binoculars on the electric machine gun for a better look.

He wasn’t the only one who found it suspicious, the driver sitting at the wheel felt the same, rubbing the steering wheel with a vigilant expression on his face.

"Something’s a bit strange here..."

Fixing his gaze on the sight, the Centurion casually remarked.

"Did you notice anything?"

"...Because I didn’t find anything, that’s why I find it strange."

The driver shook his head, swallowed nervously, and continued staring at the dense forest.

"The river bends here, and beside it is a hill, there’s no better spot for an ambush... yet they seem to have vanished, handing this perfect position to us."

A soldier sitting in the rear seat whistled and grinned, teasing.

"Maybe our shelling wiped them out."

The gunman sitting next to him also chimed in with a laugh.

"Can’t rule it out, I heard these natives don’t even have gas masks."

"I really don’t get what the guys upfront were doing, being disarmed by these things."

"You remind me of that poor snot-nosed kid."

"Haha, really don’t want to remember that pathetic guy—"

Just as the words were falling, a massive impact collided with the side door.

A stream of metal instantly penetrated the door, the high-temperature shrapnel blew away half the body of the gunman with the machine gun on his back.

The rifleman beside him was scared out of his wits, seeing only half of the body and half of the carriage soaked in black blood, he cowered on the floor in fear.

He was completely unaware that his pants were already wet, half from his comrade’s blood, and the other half from urine he couldn’t hold back.

This place was completely different from the Great Desert.

In the Great Desert, the most lethal threats were only the natives’ Molotov Cocktails or remote-controlled bombs buried at the roadside, never encountering any weapons capable of piercing their vehicles.

Even though just not long ago, their friendly forces had already stumbled on these equipments.

Due to their arrogance, they suffered a similar loss again in the same place.

The skewed car nose crashed into a tree, the driver’s forehead nearly hit the window, everyone inside the car was jolted violently, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Damn it—!"

"RPG!!! It’s the Alliance people!!"

"From the right side!"

"Joe is down!"

"Get out of the car! Quick!"

The Centurion, now sporting a black eye, cursed as he turned the machine gun, aiming in the direction the rocket came from, immediately firing a burst regardless of sighting any targets.

The driver used his shoulder to shove the door open, the other soldiers also quickly scrambled out of the car, taking cover by the vehicle while firing in the direction the rocket came from.

Another rocket soon followed, hitting the engine hood in front.

High-temperature metal jets instantly poured into the engine, fragments flying off punched through the driver’s side window.

"Damn it!!!"

Seeing the bulletproof glass spiderwebbed, the Centurion in the gunner seat cursed angrily, commanding his subordinates to scatter to the sides while calling for reinforcements from behind.

"This is Recon Team One! We’re under a guerrilla attack! We need reinforcements!"

Static crackled through the headset, followed by a leisurely voice.

"Received, report enemy numbers and positions!"

"I don’t know! Damn it! They’re right on top of us!" The Centurion looked terrified, frantically firing the electric machine gun while trying to discern the attack direction.

But the scene was too chaotic, bullets seemed to be coming from all directions, even from behind them.

They had clearly scouted that area, where did these guys come from?!

Apparently hearing the tense battle situation.

The voice in the communication channel gradually turned serious too.

"Understood, we’ve already dispatched reinforcements to your location, hold on!"

"Copy that!"

The Centurion shouted back.

Simultaneously, the machine gun was forced to stop firing due to the overheated barrel.

Cursing, he grabbed the rifle hanging nearby and hurriedly scrambled out of the now open vehicle.

Almost at the same moment he stopped firing and got out, another RPG rocket came over.

This time the rocket directly hit the fuel tank, the explosive flames soared skyward, flipping the entire vehicle over.

The Centurion grunted as he fell to the ground, and a soldier unable to dodge was pinned under the car, unable to utter a scream before dying.

Gazing at the burning reconnaissance vehicle, everyone was filled with terror, panic thoroughly throwing them into chaos, not knowing what to do.

"The captain is down!!"

"Damn it! Who’s going to wake him up?!"

"I can’t get to him!!"

"@#%!"

The gunner holding the machine gun cursed, fired a burst of bullets towards the distant woods, then handed the machine gun to a teammate beside him and crawled quickly towards the captain.

Unfortunately, he had barely left cover when a bullet whizzed by and shot through his helmet.

The gunner fell to the ground without a word, and the surrounding soldiers were completely thrown into panic.

"It’s a sniper!"

At the same time, 200 meters away on a hillside, a player with a sniper rifle took a deep breath and moved the scope to aim at the next target.

"The machine gunner is down! Someone’s taken his place!"

Another player placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don’t shoot everyone, leave a few as bait."

The player with the sniper rifle fired a shot, knocking down the soldier who had taken over the machine gun.

"Copy that! I’m counting."

Meanwhile, four armored troop carriers, led by an armored personnel carrier, charged in mighty force towards the direction where their allies had been ambushed from the edge of the Everflow River.

20mm cannons and 10mm machine guns fired at the forest, and the concentrated firepower temporarily suppressed the rain of bullets aimed at the recon team.

However, the Weilante people sitting in the vehicles did not notice the whispering under the trees and bushes beside them.

As they sped along to reinforce their allies, two teams carrying anti-tank equipment and light machine guns had already maneuvered to their flank and completed their deployment.

Watching the Weilante hundred-man squad get closer, Laplace slowly raised his hand, then clenched it into a fist forcefully.

"Fire!"

At the moment his order was given, ten rockets, trailing flames, shot towards the speeding armored personnel carrier and the armored troop carriers like a swarm of locusts.

Because the rockets hit exactly at the edge of the safety distance, at such close range, the crew had no time to react and collided head-on with the rockets.

The unluckiest was the armored personnel carrier, with an RPG piercing directly through the driver’s seat, followed by a deafening explosion, and it stalled beside the road, crashing into a tree trunk as thick as a thigh.

Out of the four armored troop carriers, two had their engines blown out, and one had its compartment destroyed.

Another one tipped over due to a sudden turn, but fortunately avoided the RPG.

Dazed, the Weilante disembarked hurriedly, unable to figure out where the rockets had come from, only to be caught in a dizzying hail of gunfire.

Tracers flew chaotically through the forest, weaving deadly nets.

"Disperse! Quick!"

The centurion, who was the first to get off, shouted at the top of his lungs, then took cover behind a wrecked armored vehicle, trying to assess the situation around him.

However, bullets whizzed from all directions, making it impossible to tell where the most people were.

With only one armored vehicle, it was impossible to fend off the fierce gunfire, so he had to lay back on the ground awkwardly.

Furious gunfire came from every direction, disorienting the disembarked Weilante soldiers, who could only lie prone and return fire towards the direction of gunfire.

The entire battlefield was in chaos!

All they could hear was the gunfire and sporadic explosions, with no clue where the enemy was!

Seeing the dire situation, the centurion lying next to the armored vehicle quickly removed the communicator from his shoulder and shouted into the communication channel.

"This is One Squad! We are under attack by an enemy sniper squad!"

"Their firepower is overwhelming! At least a thousand team surrounds us!"

Just as he finished speaking, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from a distance.

Before he could react, the explosive firelight blossomed on the position.

Two Weilante soldiers were blown to pieces, their exoskeleton-clad bodies tumbling to the side.

The centurion barely lifted his head and swept a glance over the position, a hint of panic finally showing in his eyes.

"Damn it! Mortars!"

By the Everflow River.

The thousands’ leader Taote, commanding from the front line, was also extremely anxious as he listened to the shouting in the communication channel.

But his combat skills proved quite good, not panicking due to the sudden situation.

The enemy is in the woods!

And at least a thousand team in size!

Possibly even the Alliance’s regular army!

Without any hesitation, he immediately connected to the airship’s communication channel.

"This is the first thousand team of the 36th ten thousand troops! We are encountering dense enemy fire, need artillery support!"

As he finished speaking, Taote quickly reported the artillery coordinates.

After a brief burst of static, the communication channel soon responded.

However, the response pushed Taote’s mood to rock bottom.

"This is the Horn Number, we cannot approve your request... The airship is in motion, and we cannot perform precise fire support. Directly firing would cover you within the artillery range. If you still wish to receive support, please maintain at least a 1-kilometer distance from enemy units."

One kilometer?!

This would mean retreating across the river!

Taote mentally cursed all the ancestors of those on the opposite side, then quickly glanced across the river, but soon turned his head back.

Why retreat?

The opponent is just a group of scattered fighters, only engaging his one recon team and one hundred-man squad.

According to the front report, the enemy is at most a thousand team in size, and if he pushes his troops forward, he can easily crush the grasshopper biting his toe!

If he retreated now, he would not escape the label of a coward.

Having sorted the pros and cons, Taote hesitated no longer and grabbed the communicator to shout loudly.

"All infantry disembark! Second and third hundred-man squads reinforce the flanks of the first hundred-man squad!"

"All remaining combat units advance into the forest! Eliminate any enemy you see!!"

Upon hearing the commander’s orders, the people on the riverbank let out high-spirited roars.

"Roger!!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

The mighty army advanced towards the forest, with seven hundred-man teams penetrating straight into the heart of the hills, while two other hundred-man teams clamped the smoldering battlefield from the left and right like a pair of pliers.

The reason for such an action was because Taote judged that there might be other ambushers in the forest.

He had judged correctly, one had to admit.

However, unfortunately, he clearly underestimated the number of ambushers.

What was stationed here was not just a thousand team, but the Death Legion of the Alliance and the Poluo Country’s third ten thousand troops!

A mere thousand team charging in was practically no different from sending them to their deaths...

"Well, damn, the Weilante people are starting a futile rescue mission."

Watching the troops advancing into the forest, the Debt Giant Eye behind cover clicked his tongue in surprise.

"Peacemeal tactics are a major taboo in warfare. I remember this big-nosed bunch wasn’t this dumb before?" The construction boss lying beside muttered, utterly bewildered.

"They’re too confident, this time we might hook a big fish."

Suppressing his excitement, he had already reached the edge and opened the safety of his rifle, while shouting towards the communication channel.

"First group artillery, open fire! Gradually advance the barrage to the riverbank, and blow up their floating bridge for me!"

"Second group artillery, lay smoke! Retreat to the concealment point after three rounds of barrage!"

"Brothers of the first battalion! Follow me!"

After speaking, he took the whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth and blew hard.

"Whistle——!"

The piercing sound was like an arrow piercing the forest, startling the advancing Weilante people.

Especially with the sound of artillery fire that followed, causing a wave of panic to Taote who was following the frontline troops forward.

Support artillery!!

There was definitely more than just a thousand team stationed here!

However, it was already too late to realize this.

The overwhelming shouts and murderous cries, almost simultaneous with the booming explosions, came crashing onto his face!

"Charge!!!"

Those people seemed to have appeared out of thin air, or like trees that had come to life.

They wore simple uniforms, donned gas masks, and held shiny bayonets and rifles.

"Open fire!!!"

Taote shouted into the communication channel.

In fact, there was no need for him to give orders.

At the very moment the whistle sounded, his troops had already engaged in combat with the forces emerging from the forest.

The rapid gunfire echoed through the forest, accompanied by continuous death.

The number of those people seemed endless.

Like a tsunami crashing ashore, they instantly engulfed several hundred-man teams under his command.

Until the scout team, still calling for help a moment ago, lost signal; the two hundred-man teams sent for reinforcement were caught off guard by ambushes halfway, forced to escape in disarray.

The roaring and exclamations in the communication channel rose and fell, a trace of fear finally appeared on Taote’s face.

Just what kind of unit were they fighting against?!

"Gas masks..."

His Adam’s apple moved, swallowing involuntarily.

Could it be...

The Death Legion?!

It wasn’t just the Weilante people who were shocked.

The observing Alliance soldiers, including Yishel and the third ten thousand troops, were also stunned.

What shocked them wasn’t just the Alliance soldiers’ combat power, but also their unwavering courage and morale.

Life and death seemed to have already been set aside by them. The moment the whistle blew, everyone unhesitatingly climbed out of the trenches to charge at the enemy.

Moreover, it wasn’t a reckless suicidal assault.

They aimed at the enemy’s weaknesses, thrusting out with a deadly precision using their bayonets.

In the face of such close-quarter assault, the Weilante people’s airships could only watch helplessly.

Standing beside Yishel, a centurion murmured in a low voice, struggling to speak.

"...Thank goodness they’re our friends."

If possible, he would rather face the Weilante people than engage with this fearless group.

After all, even the supposedly war-like Weilante people might surrender.

But this bunch, once they fought, it was like a fight to the death. No one could withstand that.

Yishel said nothing, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on their comrades fighting valiantly.

A soldier, fired up with passion, couldn’t resist asking him.

"Do we really not need to go and help?"

Yishel shook his head.

"They said it’s not time for us to go yet."

For now, they were to learn, and there would be opportunities for them to take the stage.

At that moment, thunderous artillery fire suddenly erupted from the distance.

That sound came from a great distance, and it was from the ground.

Hearing the artillery, the faces of the observing officers all changed in unison.

"It’s Weilante’s artillery!!"