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"You will see the tricolor light of Germany again before your eyes when the Stars and Stripes and the hammer and sickle turn to ashes... Seig Heil!—"
Section 217, Chapter 154: Enemies Afterward
When someone becomes rich, the first thing they'll do is improve the things around them.
With money, people no longer cramped in old houses, and everyone has a spacious place to move around; with money, old benches are moved out and thrown away, and new sofas and chairs are painted and moved into the house; even the things on the table can transform from an old lamp into a magnificent ashtray, pen holder, and so on, complementing each other.
Yes, all of this happened at Clark's Bald Eagle Gang's hideout.
"Oh my, look at this..." A new computer was delivered to him. After a few days of instruction down the mountain, he had already connected the power cord and plug himself. It wasn't that there was anything shameful about the computer; after all, he was just an ordinary soldier a few months ago, and disassembling gun barrels and cleaning sand was commonplace for him. So now, he wanted to find something more sophisticated to play with and satisfy his urge to use his hands.
He opened a news website to see what major news was happening in the Tokyo Concession that was bad for him, but unfortunately, it seemed that the reporters who ran faster than the emergency response army could not provide anything. The Black Knights could hardly see anything. The news content they were trying to find was really too naive.
"Hmm... is there absolutely no progress on those terrorists?"
Then, there were a few knocks on my room door.
"It's me, sir! Yamashita!"
"Come in and close the door."
……
When the people down the mountain got closer, they lowered their voices.
Have you seen those soldiers?
"Yes, I saw it. They asked me to give this to you." As he spoke, he tossed a matchbox wrapped in transparent tape down the mountain. It showed no signs of having been torn open and re-wrapped.
“Um, sir… I remember that you and those soldiers were just ordinary friends. You seem to be just a deserter. Is it necessary to hide it so deeply?”
"Well, deserters are punished very severely in the army. If I get caught, I'll most likely be executed." Clark twirled the matchbox in his hand a few times. "By the way, did you have any problems meeting with them this time?"
"It's nothing, except I felt a little guilty about looking at that outfit..."
"Haha! Just do it a few more times! Just like I said in the note I gave him last time, this matter will probably be entrusted to you in the future."
"Ah, okay, okay..." Yamashita nodded upon seeing this. "Then, shall I head back now?"
"Go ahead."
Not long after the young man went out, he heard what sounded like the usual commotion coming from inside the house.
"Hey! Yamashita! How come you've hidden so many games? Can't we play with some later?"
"Hey! Can't you guys talk about this later when you have a computer? Hey, don't move that!"
"What's this? A life-or-death combat game? This DVD cover is interesting! Can I borrow it to show off? Those blonde twin tails are so pretty!"
……
Then, looking at the note, Clark felt differently than when he had just heard the jokes; he was no longer as relaxed.
"Sorry, buddy, things have been really bad lately, haven't they? We've run into some trouble here too. You probably know that a lot of German civilians have been captured since the beginning, right? It seems there are quite a few Nazi spies hiding among them. What's worse, these Germans have now grown to a considerable number. Even with us 'surrendered' guys and the Russians, we're no match for them."
"We are very uneasy. They are gradually gaining the trust of the higher-ups, just like us. What's worse, they seem to be very active and outstanding in cracking down on the newly formed Black Knights. Three people involved have already been arrested because of their actions. Most importantly, their performance is not like our pretentious pretense. They seem to be doing it desperately, as if they want all of Britannia's enemies to be imprisoned."
"So I am very worried that the Nazis might want to join forces with Britannia to deal with all Americans and Russians, including us. It is not impossible that they want to rebuild their Third Reich. It is also possible that they will try to tell Britannia about the structure of our world. In that case, we prisoners of war, the Black Knights, and the countries of our world will be in danger."
"This is my idea. If there is an opportunity, please make sure to cause some trouble for these bastards of Hitler. The longer they grow, the less chance there is of winning this war. We cannot allow these bastards to cause an even more terrible world war."
Clark felt a mix of emotions after reading the note.
"Can't the Nazis even let people have some fun in peace anymore...? They all look like the new regular army of Britannia, are they going to use gangster tactics against them?"
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, amidst the bustling crowd, a blond young man wearing sunglasses, a small floral hat, and casual clothes was leisurely strolling through.
"Hey, hey, hey! Please slow down, sir..." A middle-aged man hurriedly followed behind.
"Hey? What did you say when you left?" The young man leaned closer. "Didn't you say you'd call me 'nephew'?"
“Oh, oh, okay, Mr. Wienberg…”
"Ouch?" Well, this push led them to a less crowded pedestrian path. The young man took off his little flower hat, and only then could one vaguely recognize him as Gino, the Third Knight of the Round Table.
"Ahem... So you officers are so adept at flattery, but you need to practice your acting skills! You almost gave yourself away just now..."
"I'm sorry, we've never..."
"Alright, alright, my Tristan isn't fully repaired yet, I just wanted to get out and relax, let's not talk about it anymore..." Gino scratched his head, "Speaking of which, repairs are really troublesome."
“There’s really no other way, sir. Tristan has many parts that require special supplies. The amount of maintenance needed for this damage is unusually large. The transformation system needs to be re-inspected, the wear and tear on the machine body needs to be refurbished, and most importantly, the energy cannon… Sometimes we can salvage some internal parts from the Sunderland and Gloucester for temporary backup, but there’s really no way to find a replacement for this powerful weapon in the grappling hook. So for now, we can only barely carry these two ‘little shields’ that can’t fire…”
"Hmm, all show and no substance, huh? That's really enough. My injury in District 45 has caused quite a stir in District 11. I wonder what the Imperial Capital's attitude is. Anyway, His Highness Schneizel seems a bit angry, and also a bit incredulous..."
“Yes…” the middle-aged man paused, “but sir, this shouldn’t have much impact on the war in District 45, right?”
"There's definitely no way. The expeditionary force seems to have been trained very well, hasn't it? I've even heard that some of the elite pilots from over there have been transferred back to take over the newly delivered Vincents. One of the girls, I had someone award her a medal on her behalf, you know. What was her name again? Well, I only remember her last name was Lütjens."
“Uh, that’s not what I meant, sir. I was thinking that the situation in District 45 is getting tense, leading to a series of chain reactions, such as the delays in the ships delivering new parts to us, and…”
"Oh right... Lord Suzaku Kururugi is still on the EU front. Because we've drawn too many reserve troops from that front, he'll have to hold out there for a while longer. Originally, his surveillance mission as the person who captured ZERO was supposed to be postponed due to ZERO's reappearance... And what's more, Ashford's open day has also been postponed..."
"It seems that Britannia's enemy this time is indeed not something the EU can compare to, Your Excellency."
"Indeed, it's said that among the people captured by the expeditionary force in District 45, a group who surrendered, from some 'Nazi Germany,' did a pretty good job! They've even captured a few members of the Black Knights?!... But I suddenly have a feeling of unease..."
"What do you mean?"
“I’m not sure if His Majesty the Emperor has assigned Zhuque to support District 45. If… if he’s sent instead because of our defeat, I’m really worried he might run into even bigger trouble… And the worst part is, the situation there is not good. If it gets to the point of extreme deterioration, I’m afraid even Zhuque, Anya, and I might not be able to turn the tide…”
Chapter 155, Section 218: Firepower Strike! From the Earth and the Baltic Sea!
This is a trench abandoned by the Soviet army. The craters created by artillery fire and the sand and gravel scattered across the ground from the explosions are still everywhere in the trench—time was too short and too precious, so the attacking side that captured the position had little interest in cleaning up.
Rifles and machine gun mounts buried in the sand were sparsely thrown out of the trenches, then replaced by battle-worn KMFs and black tanks, along with a few tense infantrymen patrolling and standing guard between the trenches. It was almost time to raise the Britannian flag.
Clearly, not all military commanders are willing to spend their days directing battles from inside a sealed vehicle. Look at Gloucester sitting on the ground over there, isn't he? Griffin and a few others are following behind this officer.
"Okay, everyone, please come over here." A table with an electronic map has just been set up here.
"'Captain, I've been doing well in District 11. The testing department isn't too noisy, and I have my own room. I've definitely gotten used to living in such a quiet space. But for some reason, these past few nights I've been missing Angelie and Ypel in my bed,' huh?" Griffin followed behind, holding a letter. "Hey, Lilizia contacted us so quickly? Looks like she's having a much better time than us... cough, why don't I have that kind of luck..."
“Sir, please prioritize.” Angelie turned and collected the letter.
"Hey, Lieutenant Vorian's idea seems pretty good, huh? Before each attack, give the enemy positions a good artillery barrage. The neighboring unit heard about it and tried it out. Apparently, it's quite effective at reducing our own casualties, huh?"
“Praise with encouragement is fine, but the steps to solve the problem still need to be strictly followed.” Angelie tilted her head. “Make sure they understand that firing at the enemy’s positions in advance is to destroy the machine guns and artillery positions that are being used for reconnaissance, not just to indiscriminately bomb the enemy and make them afraid.”
"Haha, it seems that a few neighboring units made this mistake."
"The Soviet heavy machine guns and artillery are the most important targets for our KMFs and tanks on the way to the charge. They are much more threatening than those anti-tank guns and grenades with limited endurance. Targeted attacks are necessary, aren't they?"
"However, their artillery is not as simple as we imagine." Xixi'an also wanted to add, "We can indeed use reconnaissance to locate their high-value targets on the front line, but there seems to be something fishy going on here that we need to be careful about."
"for example?"
"When we captured Yarmen, our reconnaissance revealed that the enemy had built bunkers and similar structures. But when we stormed them, we found that these were made of wood or supported by canvas, and were completely empty inside. As for the so-called..."
As they were talking, two KMFs carrying things nearby drew everyone's attention—they pulled a blown-up utility pole and a bunch of metal obstacles that should have been blocking the road out of a ditch.
"If I remember correctly, this is the position that the reconnaissance report mentioned had 'several long-barreled cannons,' right?"
"Hmm... So we're still getting scammed all the time?"
“That’s not all, Brigade Commander.” Xi Xi paused for a moment. “Secondly, your 92nd Independent Brigade must have encountered artillery counterattacks in the EU as well. However, the Soviet army had a considerable amount of artillery deployed on the second line. They retaliated against us from the rear. In particular, they used mysterious methods to find our fire preparation units and directly locked shells on our heads.”
“That’s true…” Angelie thought for a moment and scratched her face. “We’re not entirely sure how the enemy came up with this method, and if we rely solely on the air force to chase after where the enemy is firing, it doesn’t seem like we can keep using this method indefinitely.”
“Hey, oh my, is it really necessary to think about the future so early…” Griffin couldn’t stand it anymore. “Compared to this, isn’t it much more important to tell the pilots and crews to be careful when they approach their trenches to see if anyone is hiding there and trying to cause trouble?”
“You don’t have the same ability to assess situations as your subordinates, Captain. Our current troubles don’t involve what you’re talking about.”
Everyone turned their gaze northward, where the devastation of the distant battlefield came into view.
……
The steel-clad troops were thrown into chaos by the roaring geysers of flame. The trenches, ravines, and craters beneath their feet held them back, forcing them to abandon their comrades who could not move forward.
The location from which these shells falling from the sky were launched still needs to be searched, and the helicopters currently passing overhead are responsible for this task.
But they forgot what kind of enemy they were. How could they tolerate these things that reflect the sky in a place where even sparrows dare not fly in?
The Soviet anti-aircraft guns were not far away. How could they let them pass? What do the anti-aircraft gun ammunition belts look like? Awls? Electric drills? Or axes? Anyway, you can hear the bullets leaving the barrel, see meteors streak across your eyes, and then watch these unauthorized guests fall to the ground—either covered in flames and thick smoke, or turned into ribbonfish cut into pieces on a cutting board.
"Hehe, that's perfect! Let's kill them all! Kill them all like that!"
Catherine and Ilya were positioned not far from one of the anti-aircraft guns, their sniper scopes fixed on the approaching enemy. To their left rear was a highway running along the Baltic coast, where a large group of green trucks and armored vehicles were retreating northwest.
Their mission is to cover the retreat of the troops in front. Has the war become so critical that even anti-aircraft guns have to be deployed to the front line?
Turning around, they saw that the single-mounted M1939 anti-aircraft gun beside them, along with its counterparts in the distance, had lowered their anti-aircraft muzzles and were aiming at the giant bushes that were advancing towards them.
"Fire!—"
Amidst the whistling of dust being blown away, the rhythmic hammering of the wall resumed its diligent work at the gunner's command. Only this time, the ammunition belts used to destroy and disperse fighter jets traveling at hundreds of kilometers per hour were being used against a more peculiar, yet slower, enemy.
The KMFs were still busy crossing the shell craters and assessing the dire condition of their comrades when they ran into a sky full of metal sparrows several times thicker than machine gun bullets. There was no part of their bodies that could stop these 37mm bullets. Each puppet was like frost being gnawed off by icicles in a freezer, the cracked armor and sparks completely blending into the dust storm.
Suddenly, I realized how incredibly merciful the DShK machine gun was. The puppet's torso was completely immune, while the 12.7mm bullets could only patiently drill through the steel armor of its limbs, turning it into a honeycomb. These anti-aircraft guns were so ruthless! What did they look like? Were they harvesting wheat in Ukrainian fields? Or lawnmowers cleaning the back gardens of the Imperial Palace in Beijing?
"Hahahaha! Just like this! Comrade!" Ekaterina had probably been suppressing her emotions for a while. "They won't be able to raise their heads! Yeah!"
Yes, this time they probably succeeded in making the enemy fully experience what it was like 30 years ago, when the battlefield was sealed off by machine guns and artillery, a no-man's land that forced people to cower like turtles.
……
"what!……"
"What happened?" The two turned around and saw a comrade from the anti-aircraft gun group lying down—his hand was painfully covering a bandaged area on his leg, probably because his wound had reopened.
The young man in the naval infantry uniform was responsible for retrieving magazines from a box at the rear of the gun crew. Now that there were fewer people, the speed at which the anti-aircraft guns were firing suddenly slowed down.
"Let me do it!" It was Ilya again, who actually stood up, leaving her behind, and went over there.
"I'll carry him inside to rest! You guys continue!"
After the young man finished dealing with his business, Ilya did not return to her original position. Instead, she picked up an anti-aircraft gun magazine and headed forward.
"Huh? Comrade?" The soldiers in the artillery crew were all stunned for a moment, watching her skillfully insert the magazine into the anti-aircraft gun more than anyone else, and the shells inside fell one by one with the roar of the gun being fired.
"Don't just look at me, comrade, focus."
"Uh, we didn't mean anything by it... I mean, have you received training in operating anti-aircraft guns? Who certified you?"
“Certification?” Ilya looked up at the sky and thought for a moment. “Ah, three years ago a Stuka bomber was left with a fiery tail and crashed into the Volga River. I think its pilot should have that authority.”
Well, that joke was alright, but it was probably too late to ease the tension. As they were talking, several shells landed not far from the anti-aircraft gun, splashing sand all over the startled crowd.
"Oh no... this seems to be bad..."
Yes, the anti-aircraft guns are powerful, but what about dealing with those black assault guns? They're not enough. And what's worse, the anti-tank gun positions, which complement the anti-aircraft gun positions, are also struggling, and can only watch helplessly as the figures emerge from the smoke of the artillery fire, continuing their desperate stand against them.
“Cough…comrades…we need to be more prepared…” A soldier shook his head. He was very reluctant to tell the others what he saw: a dark mass of enemies was emerging from behind, showing no regard for casualties on their way to the charge.
"There will be solutions. This isn't four years ago... There are many solutions, some may come from the air, and some may come from the sea..."
Amidst the artillery fire falling before them, the comrades on the air defense positions heard the invincible, rolling thunder from the sea.
……
As the sea fog gradually dissipated, it gave way to the enormous creatures of the sea, and several blurry black figures appeared on the waves not far from the sea cliffs.
Located in the very center of the column, furthest from the shore, was a warship with a cluster of tall, slender superstructures at both ends of its hull. The four triple-gun turrets were arranged in front of and behind the two structures, drinking in the cold sea breeze along with the five-pointed star red flag fluttering at the bow.
Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya, this Russian pronunciation translates to October Revolution in English.
This name, which symbolizes the glorious beginning of the great Soviet Union, now belongs to the first ship of this modernized Gangut-class battleship.
Along with it was the third ship of the Kirov-class cruisers mentioned earlier, the Maxim Gorky. The two warships, one with twelve 305mm main guns and the other with nine 180mm main guns, had the same goal—yes, even closer to the coast, as did the Red Navy destroyers that were also involved.
The quiet sea suddenly boiled amidst the blazing flames on the crests of the waves!
In an instant, the muzzles of the warships spewed forth billowing flames and dark smoke like vengeful spirits from hell. It wasn't just one cannon, nor was it the cannons of a single warship! It was the nearly one hundred main and secondary guns of the entire warship, too many to count on two hands! The brilliant flames, like sun jewels embedded in the steel chains of the warships, loudly proclaimed the arrival of the Baltic Fleet!
……