Chapter 401.1: You Just Got To Ignite...

July was the rainy season.

Though the River Valley Province was inland, the cumulonimbus clouds, brought by the monsoons, had mostly dispersed by the time they arrived, but typically the time of year still brings several torrential downpours.

Just like now, the blazing sun was in the sky and the next moment, thick, dark clouds blanketed the skies.

"... Enemy troops spotted in the southeast direction, more than a thousand of them! Their equipment mainly consists of light weapons, supplemented by several types of modified exoskeletons. No armored or transport vehicles detected!" Inside the tent, a scout kneeled on one knee, reporting the intelligence gathered.

Richie listened quietly to his subordinate's report, his usually calm lips curving into a cold smirk.

Finod, standing with his hands behind his back, mused softly, "I didn’t expect that those who have tangled with us for half a month to actually be wastelanders..."

No matter how many reinforcements the Enterprise sent, they couldn't possibly keep coming endlessly. Especially those rudimentary weapons. They further convinced him that the people attacking them were locals, likely from a nearby larger survivor settlement.

He couldn’t help but think that the mayor was utterly reckless.

"What are they really after?" Finod still didn’t quite understand. Was it for CR?

They indeed found Enterprise’s weapons on the bodies of those soldiers, like the G9 assault rifle.

But to oppose the Army over such trifles seemed foolish. They would crush those natives into nothing more than dregs, just as one would crush an ant. Only those who surrendered early and wisely could hope for their mercy and become slaves to the great Army.

As for those who stubbornly resisted... Only death awaited them.

"Maybe they’ve been bribed by the Enterprise, or maybe they’re just mad... Either way, their timing couldn’t be better.” Richie stood from his chair.

A cruel smile cracked his lips, a chilling aura emanated from his body. Even the air in the tent grew a few degrees colder.

General McClennan had issued a redeployment order, suddenly starting a move to Oasis No.9, and he had been worried about missing his chance to take revenge for his fallen brothers.

The opportunity had literally come knocking.

He would let these natives know what it meant to seek death!

"Vito, Walid..." Muttering those names, he picked up a black helmet from the table and slowly placed it on his head. "... I will avenge you."

...

In the west mountains of Lucky Valley Municipality.

It was the artillery position the New Alliance had prepared for a month.

Over 20 Tempest rocket launchers and 30 replicated 100mm guns were spread across the rolling hills, each positioned at least 500 meters from each other.

Each artillery piece was manned by a specific crew. Their ammunition, and bunkers had been dug separately, ensuring maximum safety for personnel and equipment if they came under fire. Of course, even with such thorough preparations, Yang Shu was well aware. He only had one chance.

"... Enemy counter-fire will reach us within half a minute!"

"We are the first barrage, the brothers on the other hills are waiting for our signal! No matter what, we cannot fail, I need you all to stay calm at all times, follow my command no matter what!"

"Did everyone get that?"

Walking at the front, Yang Shu looks over his artillerymen, rallying them for one last time before the battle.

The lined-up artillerymen, high in spirit, looked up, and gave a resounding yell, "Understood!"

Watching those slightly youthful but utterly resolute faces, Yang Shu nodded in satisfaction.

He seemed to see his past in their faces.

Half a year ago, after a bowl of hot green barley soup ended his wandering, he decided to follow the administrator’s lead and join the New Alliance’s army to resist the invasion by the Bonechewer Clan. Over the next six months, he marched north with the Northern Expeditionary Army, participated in several battles to liberate West Continent Municipality, and finally drove those marauders down the river.

Although he enlisted for less than a year and learned how to fire artillery on the battlefield alongside other veterans, his combat experience rivaled the others. He had already been promoted to the captain of the 11th Artillery Squadron of the First Corps.

The moment he passed down his order, everyone started to move.

The entire artillery position was like an ignited engine, each part operating in orderly fashion.

Yang Shu walked alone to the observation post as he took out his binoculars. He stared in the direction of the command post, waiting for the signal to fire.

As the first wave of barrage, the 100mm guns would fire smoke barrages near the Heart of Steel on their signal to disrupt their visual capabilities.

On their second signal, another round would be immediately launched, sending chaff-filled shells near the Heart of Steel to explode, creating a cloud of interference.

With all sorts of metal shards spreading in the cloud, they would effectively block off the radar capabilities of the Heart of Steel, covering the planes as they broke through the enemy’s anti-air fire net.

Both rounds of bombardment were crucial.

It would determine if the New Alliance’s paratroopers could successfully reach their destination. Once they sent out both signals, Yang Shu would need to lead everyone in a hasty retreat to the nearby anti-artillery bunker, waiting for the enemy’s carpet bombardment to cease.

Thinking about the battle plan again, Yang Shu felt his palms getting sweaty. If the enemy merely concentrated their 100mm guns on their position, he felt that their chances of survival would be pretty high. However, if the other side turned their 400mm rocket launchers to the mountains...

With that level of firepower that was no weaker than an ordinary nuclear blast, their chances of surviving are less than 20%. Nevertheless, he held no fear. Compared to those charging on the frontlines, their position was relatively safe.

Besides... It was just death. There was nothing to be afraid of.

If not for those who reached out to him, his life would have ended half a year ago.

The clouds in the sky grow denser.

Staring up at it, Yang Shu felt raindrops falling onto his stubble before trickling down his neck.

Feeling the chill, he frowned before muttering softly, "... Looks like it's going to rain.”

...

"It’s raining... Seems like not even the heavens are always on our side." Not far from the artillery position, at the command post, standing behind a rock, Kakarot, holding an assault rifle, looked in the direction of the airship and smirked.

Rain definitely affected the accuracy of radar, but it also weakened the duration of smoke and chaff.

It was especially so on the maneuverability of airplanes in rainy weather. It would be a severe test for the New Alliance, which mainly used propeller-driven aircraft for combat.

Although the heavy rain affected both sides, the impact on the offensive side was more pronounced. However, they no longer have time to delay their combat plans.

The rain didn’t show signs of stopping soon, and the airship across them will undoubtedly retreat within two days.

Holding his binoculars, Spring Water Commander’s expression didn’t change. He spoke in a strangely calm tone, "Sunny, low wind conditions are naturally the best..."

"... However, there's a way to fight in the rain."

Naturally, he wasn’t an amauter. He knew July was the rainy season, so naturally, he had considered the possibility.

Putting down the binoculars, he tapped his finger twice on the side of his helmet. The visor of his exoskeleton closed and he gave a crisp order, "Initiate Plan B!"

Operation: Felling Whale!

Darkest, who was standing by the side, straightened up and performed a military salute with considerable immersion. "Yes!"

...

"It’s going to be a downpour..."

In the airport in Dawn City.

Watching the raindrops sliding off the cabin cover, Falling Feather glanced at the VM tied to his thigh and mumbled softly, while simultaneously switching on the power.

Since it was raining, that would mean that they would be pivoting over to plan B.

The ground artillery will still launch a covering barrage. It’s just that the order of advancement would be slightly adjusted.

If it were sunny, the New Alliance’s planes would operate around the interference cloud, and ground troops would initiate the attack first, serving as bait to attract enemy fire.

But in rainy conditions, the effect of the interference cloud would be diminished. As such, the jet he would be driving that was capable of reaching Mach 3 would become the primary decoy.

In essence, the tactical goal hadn’t changed, only the sequence did.

The next moment, a light blue popup window appears on the VM screen.

[ECM Connected]

Falling Feather heaved a sigh of relief after seeing it and raised his finger to tap his headset twice. "Electronic jamming pod activated! Confirmed to be functioning normally!"

There were two main strategies for jamming radar. The first was to use chaff to reflect radio waves, and the other was active illumination. Specifically, upon detecting a radar signal, it responds to the enemy radar with chaotic or structured signals. The former was akin to a smoke bomb, hiding the exact position of the target, but its drawbacks were its short duration and susceptibility to burn-through.

The latter was basically shining a flashlight in the enemy’s eyes to blind them or to make them misjudge the target’s size and scale.

For instance, the electronic jamming pod hanging on his wing used the latter strategy, capable of simulating the radar signals of 600 Mosquito fighters.

That was the latest equipment designed by the New Alliance's Scientific Expedition Team specifically for the Air Force, targeting the radar system of the Heart of Steel.

Unfortunately, the preparation time for the decisive battle was too short. Otherwise, they could have applied anti-radar stealth coating to every aircraft and arranged several more disruption systems to jam the enemy's firepower.

It was a shame there weren’t so many ifs in the world.