Chapter 402.3: Counterattack BABY

Just as he was about to say something else, the previously silenced gunfire erupted again, bullets whizzing from one side of the corridor.

All of them returned fire while retreating into the 400mm main cannon chamber.

"Damn... these guys are ruthless. We just wiped out one team, and another immediately took their place."

Even as an adversary, Ample Time had to admit that in terms of fighting spirit, those people were incredibly strong. If they were facing a group of marauders, the members of the Burning Corps would have stormed through the entire airship.

There was no way they would be surrounded like that.

Outside, the corridor filled with a cacophony of voices.

Listening, it seemed like a call to surrender.

"You're surrounded!"

"General McClennan promises that if you lay down your weapons and surrender, he will allow you to leave alive."

Their yells were loud, and Old White barely understood what they were talking about. Anyway, he turned to Ample Time whose mastery of their language was the best among them.

"What are they blabbering about?"

"They're calling for our surrender."

Old White blinked, then yelled towards the door. "Surrender? Haha, go to hell, did I climb all this way just to surrender? Tell your general to eat shit!"

After finishing, Old White realized the marines of the Army couldn't understand him, so he quickly looked back at Ample Time. "Translate that for them!"

Ample Time sighed, reluctantly translating the phrase. The soldiers squeezed outside were momentarily stunned, but soon recovered, shouting back in a flurry of retorts.

This time, even Ample Time couldn't understand what they were saying, seeing his teammates looking at him, he shrugged helplessly. "Probably some West Coast dialect..."

Night Ten sighed. "What if they get desperate, disregard martial honor, and start bombing us with grenades or explosives?"

Ample Time chuckled. "Doesn't matter, this is their main goal anyway. If they want to blow up the 400mm main cannon along with us, they're welcome to."

"Haha, right! Let them bomb us if they want!" Old White laughed heartily, his mouth twitching up as he continued, "Anyway, the 400mm cannon is already disabled, our mission is complete! All we need to do is hold as long as possible and wait for support..."

He took a light breath, his gaze focusing on the door leading to the corridor, his finger rubbing the trigger. "Anyway... It’s up to Gale now!”

...

A few kilometers away from the artillery position, at the command post.

Darkest jogged back to Spring Water Commander, saluting for the full game immersion experience.

"Sir!"

"Our fake reinforcements failed to reach the southern city district to establish defenses! They executed Plan C, retreating to the small town by Highway 417 in the southern suburbs!"

Spring Water Commander, holding the binoculars, nodded. "I know."

According to the original plan, a mixed 1,000-man team led by the Silver Corps and other T3 corps was to head to the southern city district of Lucky Valley Municipality, relying on pre-constructed fortifications for defense.

Once the bait drew the enemy's main forces, the scattered Death Corps and three mercenary-led 1,000-man teams would launch a full-scale attack, using anti-tank equipment to annihilate enemy armored units while forcing the enemy out of the city district.

Subsequently, the armored units of the Skeleton Corps would join the Goblin Corps' aerial attack squadron to deliver a fatal blow to the retreating enemy.

As for the Jungle Corps, they would execute air support as the final operation. However, expecting every element of the plan to execute perfectly was impossible. The battlefield situation changed in an instant.

They were making their moves as the enemy made theirs.

According to the pre-established battle plan, if the fake reinforcements failed to reach, they could only retreat to Town 417, and the focus of the ground battle would have to shift from the southern city district to the southern suburbs.

As one of the contingency plans, that town also had fortifications secretly excavated.

However, compared to the positions they had prepared in the city district, the fortifications there were nothing short of pathetic.

Due to the presence of the airship, they couldn't undertake major construction in the town with little cover, and could only work at night, so they only had time to prepare some simple bunkers and sandbags, with no underground tunnels connecting their bunkers.

Standing next to Spring Water Commander, Kakarot frowned. "At least three 1,000-man teams are besieging our bait army. They probably won't last long..."

The mixed 1,000-man team was mainly composed of Lifestyle Profession players and individual players with combat experience.

Although it also included Awakeners and veterans who had participated in more than six campaigns, their overall combat strength was quite limited, clearly no match for the New Alliance’s regular army.

Even so, their morale was off the charts and they were ready to fight till the last man standing.

Spring Water Commander's brows were furrowed as he held the binoculars, gazing towards the vague silhouette of the south, and suddenly spoke. "How many artillery do we still have?"

"All artillery positions are lost! Only the last 20 unexposed rocket launchers remain!" Despite the dire situation, Darkest saluted energetically.

"What about our planes?" Spring Water Commander asked calmly.

Darkest immediately responded. "We lost all our Dragonflies! Goblin Corps' Mosquito attack army is still fully staffed!"

Watching Spring Water Commander deep in thought, Kakarot couldn't help but say, "The enemy is equipped with numerous anti-air guns, and those aren't just makeshift toys from the Bonechewer Clan. If it's left to the Goblin Corps, there might only be one chance... How about I lead a team to support them?"

The Storm Corps still had over 300 men waiting in the woods, ready to coordinate with other units. However, even if those men were thrown into the fray, it would be like a drop in the bucket, quickly devoured by the enemy.

It wouldn't alleviate the pressure on their bait, and might even put them in a passive position. Ordering the Death Corps to attack early was also impossible.

If they launched a full assault before the enemy artillery was disabled, once the enemy support fire was restored, all targets exposed outside the shelters would become sitting ducks.

"It's not time yet!" Spring Water Commander looked towards the Heart of Steel, his originally calm mind tinged with urgency.

He had anticipated that after breaking through the defenses, half of their troops should have landed on the dome of the Heart of Steel.

However, the paratroopers had suffered over half casualties before even landing, and it was doubtful they could muster even two 100-man teams.

Even though he had prepared for the worst and fully anticipated the enemy's combat strength, the firepower limit of the Heart of Steel still exceeded his expectations. Especially since they had resorted to the trick of aiming the engines skyward at the last moment. If not for Falling Feather’s last-minute judgment, the Burning Corps would likely have been completely wiped out. Although he had no doubts about the capabilities of those big shots, the outcome in the air undeniably became the biggest variable on the entire battlefield.

His thoughts raced, and as Spring Water Commander pondered countermeasures, a streak of fire suddenly flashed in the sky.

The gun bay at the front lower part of the airship suddenly burst into a fireball, the flames engulfing 12 forward-pointing guns.

At the same time, a thin stream of red smoke almost simultaneously wafted from the 400mm main cannon.

Although in the pitch-black fog and pouring rain, the red smoke appeared as faint as a candle flickering in a storm, those on the ground could still clearly see its presence.

Staring dumbfounded at the sky, Kakarot muttered, "Damn, awesome!"

They really blew it up?!

Seeing the flames bloom in the sky, a cloud lifted from Spring Water Commander's face, joy flashing in his eyes.

Success!

And more so, quicker than planned.

Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered, "Rocket artillery positions, open fire immediately! Target the armored cluster on the north side of the town!"

"Also, notify those at the border, the counterattack has arrived!"