In order to avoid affecting morale, the news of Pangolin's injury was not made public in the Corps. Today's broadcast was unprecedented and did not report the glorious achievements of the G53-7 defense zone, but broadcast trivial matters that had nothing to do with the front-line situation.
Position G40.
At the door of the anti-artillery cave, there was a big pot. The broth in the pot floated with fragrant bubbles, and the cut bread was placed on the shelf next to it. The clone soldiers lined up under the leadership of the centurion, and the chef holding a spoon shouted impatiently.
"Next."
Most clone soldiers are not very smart and have a stubborn mind.
Absolute obedience is one of their advantages, but on the contrary, if no one orders them, they will do nothing.
If the chef does not tell them that they can get out, they will wait in front of the pot.
A spoonful of broth, half a sausage, and a piece of bran bread that is hard enough to smash a can are a simple meal for the clone regiment.
Occasionally, the broth and sausages would be replaced with stewed meat or canned food, but the iconic bran bread rarely changed.
The kind of bread that needs to be dipped in soup to soften, even a mouse would have two front teeth broken out. In critical moments, it is not only bulletproof, but can also be stuffed into a sack as a shelter, or directly used as a blunt weapon to hit the enemy rushing up.
Next to the big pot of boiling soup stood a two-person-high wooden pole with a loudspeaker tied to it with wire, broadcasting today's headlines of the Triumph News.
Although newspapers would be delivered to the front line, supply trucks did not come every day. If you want to know the latest news, you can only listen to the radio next to the mobile kitchen.
After receiving his lunch box, Daniel sat on the small stool under the radio speaker and picked up a small stool as a dining table.
Most officers born in the natives of the Falcon Kingdom are not very particular, but he is a Willant, and a centurion, so he naturally will not eat in the trenches like those big-headed soldiers.
At this time, his adjutant Peterson came over, picked up a bench and sat opposite him, took out a bottle of wine and placed it on the "dining table".
Daniel raised his eyebrows, looked at the bottle of gin in surprise, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Good stuff, where did you get it from?"
"When the trade route in the north was still open some time ago, I bought it from the hands of people coming over there, and it cost 500 dinars a bottle."
Peterson grinned, unscrewed the bottle cap with a sizzling sound, and took out two bottle cap-sized cups by magic, first poured a cup for the superior, and then poured one for himself.
"... Those damn old turtles cut off our trade with the Free State of Bugera. There is a lot of food on the front line, and it is too difficult to get good wine with pure flavor."
Daniel picked up the cup and took a sip, with an intoxicated expression on his face, and sipped his lips as if to savor the taste.
"It's not cheap if you can get it, 500 dinars... two bottles of wine buy one slave."
Not all officers have their own manors. Generally, low-level officers such as centurions live on salaries, which are only two to three thousand dinars a month. Centurions will have more salary, but if they are relatively young and not the children of nobles, they usually don't have much savings.
Although this money sounds like a lot, you can buy two or three strong slaves after working for a month, but in fact it is just enough to maintain a decent life.
Especially in large cities directly under the jurisdiction of the legion, such as Kaixuan City, there are strict regulations on the working environment and living standards of slaves.
In remote areas such as Luoxia Province, no one will care about them, and the territories and manors of the nobles are also another matter, but if they are in Kaixuan City, they need to prepare an 8-square-meter room for the slaves, and ensure that the slaves have three meals a day and can live healthily to over 50 years old, otherwise they need to pay expensive fines to the local government.
And once the transaction is completed, unless the slaves resist the execution of orders, the owner shall not terminate the slave contract without authorization.
This sounds more like a lifetime employment.
Although it restricts the freedom of life and is forced, it is still more "civilized" than the practice of shackled slaves in most survivor settlements.
And this is one of the few rules set by His Majesty the Marshal himself.
"Enough for me to drink in the tavern on 70th Street in Triumph City for half a month." Peterson grinned.
Daniel laughed, and a trace of yearning appeared in his eyes.
"The bar on 70th Street? It's a good place. You can smell the pine fragrance across the street... I used to drink there when I was in the NCO school. Damn, I haven't been back for five years."
"Sometimes I can't help but wonder why we come here," Peterson shook the bottle cap-sized wine glass and said with a melancholy face, "There is indeed a lot of food here, but the oasis is only the size of a palm, which is not enough to feed the people in Triumph City. Not to mention the desert in the middle... It's not easy for us to go home, let alone the food that needs to be moved."
"This is not something we should care about." Daniel immediately stopped the topic after sobering up a little from the drunkenness.
Peterson also realized his gaffe, and his eyes drifted to the radio speaker next to him, changing the topic about his hometown and the future.
"...It's really strange that there is no news about 537 today."
Daniel's mouth curled up with a smile.
"It seems that the barbarians will be afraid too."
Come to think of it, they have already lost 3,000 lives on a position, and the only one guarding there is a hundred-man team made up of escort officers and clones.
If the commander on the other side knew what kind of opponent he had been fighting wits and courage with for so long, he would be so angry that his nose would bleed.
There are not many awakened people like "Pangolin", but they can have as many hundred-man teams as they want like those stationed in the G53-7 defense zone.
It's a pity that they don't have enough ammunition.
Otherwise, there is no need to waste time here. The whole army will go forward directly and trample those natives underfoot in minutes!
After finishing the food on the plate, Daniel returned the plate to the kitchen and took Peterson to the front line for a tour.
Today's front line is still calm.
Although the soldiers have few bullets in their backpacks, the alliance has been pinned down in the 53rd defense zone, so he is not worried about any problems.
Take up the telescope and look into the distance. Seeing that there is no trace of anything on the horizon, Daniel intends to go back to the anti-gun cave to rest.
However, at this moment, a towering figure slowly emerged from the thick clouds, like a shining sharp blade hanging in the air without any warning.
Seeing the towering bow and front pod, Daniel was stunned for two seconds, and then a trace of fear appeared on his face.
Heart of Steel!
The alarm sounded at the same time, resounding over the entire position.
While shouting loudly, Daniel rushed to the direction of the anti-gun cave.
"Enemy airship!"
"Everyone! Hide!"
Almost at the same time as the voice fell, twelve flames flashed below the clouds, and strings of white smoke floated to the side and merged into the clouds.
Dragging orange-yellow tracers, twelve 155mm heavy artillery pieces fell heavily on the G40-1 defense zone like thunder from the sky.
Except for the alarm that was sounded earlier, there was no sign, and the flames of the explosion bloomed on the position like flowers from heaven.
Because the bombardment came too suddenly, many clone soldiers were still eating on the side and failed to respond immediately after the alarm sounded.
Unexpectedly, more than 30 people died on the spot, and some were injured by the fragments and shock waves of the explosion, and buried by the dust. Half of the 120-man team lost their combat effectiveness.
Those who survived all looked frightened, looking at the sky in the distance in panic, and fear gradually appeared in their pupils.
"Fuck..."
A centurion raised his head, his pale lips and the hand holding the rifle trembled constantly, and his expression was like seeing a ghost.
"Is this a 100mm artillery?!"
"It's definitely not!"
"I heard it! The Alliance modified the airship! People who came back from the front said that they rebuilt the front gun compartment and replaced it with a larger caliber artillery--"
Before the voice fell, the second round of bombardment soon fell on everyone's head, and the splashing mud and stones almost fed into the mouths of the centurions.
Daniel, who had luckily escaped the first round of bombardment, was not so lucky this time.
A shell happened to fall near the entrance of the anti-gun cave.
"Boom--!"
The pots and pans in the mobile kitchen were blown into the sky, the boiling soup splashed everywhere, and the bone residue and minced meat were scattered all over the ground.
He had just heard the deafening roar, and the spreading shock wave hit him heavily on the back like a hammer.
A stream of blood rushed to his throat, and Daniel coughed violently, but he didn't dare to stop.
He almost rolled into the anti-gun cave along with the rubble and smoke raised by the explosion.
"Damn it!"
When the dust cleared, Daniel got up from the ground cursing, raised his sleeve to wipe the blood from his mouth, and his face was full of shock.
Peterson, who was following him, was also covered in dust. Although he was lucky to survive, there was no trace of joy on his face after surviving the disaster.
"What is going on?"
Daniel swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva and replied with a trembling voice.
"I don't know..."
Iron Heart!
Since the big guy was captured from McLen, this thing has become the main force of the alliance... But why did the main force of the alliance appear here? !
They suffered a loss on the G53 defense line. Shouldn't they get up from where they fell?
Why did they target them here!
Although it was just artillery fire now, Daniel knew very well that artillery fire was often just a prelude to an attack, and soon the Alliance's ground forces would follow up and occupy the land that had been plowed by artillery fire.
Thinking of this, Daniel's face gradually became ugly.
Before, their ammunition had been distributed to the 53rd defense zone. He didn't know the situation of the thousand-man team, but he knew the hundred-man team in his hands very well.
There were not even 20 bullets in the backpacks of those clone soldiers, and the entire hundred-man team had only five Iron Fist rocket launchers!
He gritted his teeth and looked at Peterson who was standing aside.
"I'll go to the radio to call for reinforcements... You wait here. When their artillery stops, you must hold on with the rest of the people!"
Peterson nodded his head.
"Yes!"
After giving the order, Daniel quickly walked into the depths of the anti-artillery cave, found the only radio in the entire hundred-man team, put the headphones on his head, and shouted loudly.
"This is G40-1 defense zone! We are under fire!"
"The Alliance is attacking our position, we need reinforcements--!"
There was no response from the other side of the communication channel, only a continuous busy tone.
There are only two possibilities-
Either the other side used some direct or indirect means to interfere with their communication! Or the headquarters also encountered a situation and was busy at the moment.
Daniel cursed, threw his headphones on the radio, grabbed the rifle next to him, and strode towards the entrance of the anti-artillery cave.
Fortunately, the noise made by the artillery on the opposite side was loud enough.
Not to mention the headquarters of the thousand-man team 20 kilometers away, even the headquarters of the ten-thousand-man team 100 kilometers away could detect the situation here.
Maintaining a rhythm of one round per minute, the bombardment lasted for five minutes, and the Alliance poured at least sixty shells on their positions!
Daniel quietly waited for the gunfire to stop, then took Peterson with him, lowered his body through the winding tunnel, and moved to the observation port of the anti-gun cave.
The Union Army had appeared in the distance.
Dust rolled in from the end of the horizon. Daniel unconsciously tightened his rifle, his heart in his throat.
He was a well-trained officer who had followed General Griffin all the way here. He was a veteran of many battles, and he would not be scared by such a small battle.
Daniel was thinking quickly about how to survive this round of offensive. He had to at least wait until the friendly forces in the 41st and 39th defense zones came to support him.
The Heart of Steel was indeed a trouble, but the Air Force could not land on the ground to occupy a point. As long as he held on like a pangolin, the final victory would definitely belong to them——
However, while he was thinking this, his eyes caught a glimpse of a faint outline in the dust that covered the sky.
It was this discovery that made him freeze on the spot, and there was no trace of blood on his pale face.
Tanks!
And there were hundreds of them!
The thick barrel was like a lance of a lancer, emitting a cold light under the scorching sun. The desert-colored steel armor blended into the horizon and the rolling yellow sand, like a steel wall charging forward!
Not just tanks -
There were also hundreds of armored trucks with welded steel plates following closely behind, rolling in with the dust raised by the tracks, forming a surging steel torrent together with the tanks in front.
One by one, murderous Alliance soldiers sat in the back of the trucks, and next to each helmet were automatic rifles that were far more sophisticated than theirs.
At most one minute -
They would collide head-on with this steel torrent!
Witnessing everything in front of him, Daniel felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head, and the coldness that penetrated into his bones went from his back all the way to the soles of his feet, nailing him firmly in place.
He suddenly realized that the previous round of shelling was just an appetizer.
The real highlight has just begun...
"Damn..." Peterson squeezed out a sentence with trembling lips, "Did they drive all the tanks to our place?!"
In addition to the models he couldn't recognize, there were about fifty Conqueror No. 10 and No. 5 tanks in this wave of steel.
He knew it very well.
The armor-piercing shells fired by the Iron Fist could not penetrate the armor of the Conqueror No. 10 tank.
In other words, they had no means to resist this steel torrent, and could only watch their defense line being torn apart.
In fact, this thing has already happened.
Hundreds of tanks opened fire at the same time, and another round of flowers bloomed on the trenches of the legion.
After a round of direct fire coverage, more than 20 trucks rushed out of the queue at an accelerated speed, and under the fire cover of the machine guns on the roof, they drove directly into the face of this hundred-man team.
"Infantrymen, get off the car! Find cover! Quick!"
Jumping down from the back of the car first, Irena rushed to the front with an LD-50 submachine gun in her hand, and fired at the trench in front of the wheel, sending away the clone soldier who was about to get up from the ground.
"Ahhh!"
The clone soldier hiding behind the sandbags suddenly jumped out, screaming shrilly, grabbing the bayonet-inserted rifle and rushing towards Irena.
However, the clumsy action was as slow as a mosquito with its wings plucked in the eyes of the Elf King Fugui. He took out the shotgun slowly and loaded it, and with a bang, he pushed the clone back behind the sandbag and sent him to see their marshal.
Seeing that the Alliance soldiers had already rushed into the trench, the centurion guarding the trench howled and asked his clone soldiers to insert bayonets into their rifles.
Then he pulled out the plug of the smoke bomb and set off a "self-deception" in the trench, preparing for the final resistance.
"Tsk, it seems that not many people survived..."
Brother Fugui, who turned on his passionate vision, glanced at the smoke-filled trench and soon saw the two Lao Liu hiding in the corner.
The way he was holding the rifle tightly and waiting for an opportunity to move, it was obvious that he had no intention of surrendering.
So he also changed to LD-47 without hesitation, and fired a burst of bullets, taking the heads of the two people.
"The artillery and tanks have done their work, and what's left for us is to clean up the battlefield." Irena had a funny smile on her face.
After all, it took half a month to prepare in advance, and this operation was much easier than expected.
The Legion had never expected the Alliance to launch an attack at this time, let alone choose this location. While they were turning the No. 53 position into an iron barrel, the Alliance's armored spearhead had already circled their flanks and tore a hole in the No. 40 position.
From the Legion's perspective, this is the place least likely to be attacked.
After all, if they choose to attack here, it means that the Alliance's supply line will be stretched by at least 200 kilometers.
Not only is every meter of these 200 kilometers a flaw, but the No. 39 and No. 41 positions, which are in a pincer attack with the No. 40 position, will also quickly support them.
Even if the Alliance completely captures the No. 40 position, the reinforcements of the No. 39 and No. 41 positions will close the dagger in the pocket like a closed pocket.
It is for this reason that they will give priority to distributing the ammunition of the No. 40 position to the attacked No. 53 position.
When formulating the specific offensive plan, Quanshui obviously saw that they were fearless and decisively took advantage of this and used a trick against them.
The Legion would not guess that the alliance, which had already decided to launch a full-scale offensive, had no intention of leaving a retreat. And as the vanguard of this full-scale offensive, the Skeleton Corps, which took the lead in attacking the No. 40 position, had no intention of stepping on the brakes.
This steel torrent will move forward all the way and divide the entire battlefield in two from the middle!
The voice of the Corps Commander Mole came from the communication channel.
"Clear the trenches and anti-artillery holes! Find the Corps' command post! You must have seen the radio and the map!"
"The surrendered prisoners are all concentrated in the anti-artillery holes. We will not stay here for too long. The friendly forces of the Lion Kingdom will watch them for us."
At the same time as the order was issued, the battle in the trenches was basically over.
These "armored grenadiers" who fought infantry battles are all old players. The group of new recruits who were recently recruited are mainly drivers and gunners.
They don't need too much command.
Just spend some time to get familiar with these familiar equipment.
With a team of ten people rushing to the front, Irena quickly locked the location of the enemy's front-line command post.
There was a crater printed on the door of the anti-artillery cave, and broken pot racks and lunch boxes could be seen next to it, as well as black food residues all over the ground.
Clearing his throat, he shouted into the cave in non-standard human language.
"Hey, is there anyone alive in there? If there is no one alive, we will throw Molotov cocktails."
There was obviously someone in the anti-artillery cave.
Hearing this, the people hiding inside immediately reacted and shouted loudly in panic.
"Don't! Don't shoot!"
"We surrender!"
Seeing the other party being so sensible, Irena also showed a happy smile on her face and fired two shots into the sky.
"Then come out quickly! Don't waste our time, I'll give you ten seconds!"
Surrender is easy to say.
Prisoners are much more valuable than corpses.
After hearing Lao Na's ultimatum, the two people in the explosion-proof cave immediately ran out, pointed at by the players with guns, and squatted in the corner with their hands on their heads.
"Good guy, two centurions, one chief and one deputy, squatting together." Looking at the clothes on the two people, the Elf King Fugui smacked his lips in surprise.
Irena also said with a smile.
"It saves us time."
In less than three minutes.
The first section of the 40th line of defense has been occupied, and the flank of the entire 40th thousand-man team is exposed to the muzzle of the Skeleton Corps!
However——
Their target is not there.
The friendly forces can do the work of cleaning the battlefield and clearing the remaining enemies.
What they have to do now is to continue to move forward, join the Burning Corps that airdropped to the front, and remove the front-line command post of the 40th thousand-man team!
At the same time as the two centurions surrendered, the tanks of the Skeleton Corps had already arrived at the position.
The hatch on the top of the turret opened, and the mole leaned out half of his body, glanced at the completely occupied position, and ordered the team leaders holding the walkie-talkie.
"The prisoners stay where they are, all the infantry get on the car!"
"Leave this here to the friendly forces, we continue to move forward!"
"Hurry up!"
A uniform answer came from the communication channel.
"Received!"
Without a trace of dragging, the armored grenadiers who had gotten off the car earlier quickly returned to the truck.
The Skeleton Corps, armed to the teeth with steel, quickly got back on the road and continued to advance along the temporary dirt road built by the legion.
The friendly forces were about one kilometer behind them and would arrive here soon.
These prisoners left behind had lost their ability to resist, and even if they were not tied up, they could not cause any trouble.
If they dared to resist, they would be punished again.
Looking at the dust raised by the steel torrent, the faces of the dozen or so captives who were thrown behind were full of bewilderment.
It took less than ten minutes.
Before they could react to what happened, everything was over.
Peterson swallowed his saliva and said in a trembling voice.
"...Are these people really natives?"
Looking at the direction where the steel torrent left, Daniel also had a stunned expression, wondering what those people were going to do.
However, at this moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he seemed to understand something vaguely.
Retracting his gaze from the outline that merged into the horizon again, Daniel relaxed his tense shoulders and sighed softly.
"It's over."
Looking at the expression of giving up on the officer's face, Peterson was slightly stunned.
"The end is..."
Daniel, who had completely figured it out, looked much more relaxed in an instant.
Without looking at his deputy, he said to himself.
"Nothing... If everything goes well, we will be able to go home soon."