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Page 24
Gloucester was positioned in the middle of the street next door, wedged into a group of soldiers in yellow coats like an arrow. The surprised infantrymen were shooting at him as they fled into the house, the crisp sound of rifles hitting him like water falling from the eaves.
These infantrymen are currently insignificant; at the head of the column, a bright green tank, seemingly hearing the lieutenant's arrogant entrance, halted its advance—this was the key point in the orders from above.
……
"Be careful!" the lord said, sounding somewhat anxious. "Draw that tank's attention and make it turn its gun around so I can go to the front and knock it on the back of the head!"
"No need! Your Excellency! Leave it to me!"
The lieutenant paid no heed to the pinging bullets hitting Gloucester. He immediately grabbed the machine gun in the puppet's left hand and pointed it at the tank. A UL round quickly fired from the launcher above the machine gun, followed by a crisp chime. The shell left a white mark on the back of the tank and then disappeared without a trace.
The lieutenant didn't lower his gun; another shot followed, another ringing of the bell, and the second UL round slammed into the tank's rear, creating a burst of flames. Unfortunately, it only left a barely noticeable black dent.
"Okay, I knew it..."
……
There was even a machine gun behind the tank turret, and before the cannon could turn back, it brazenly opened fire on him. He wasn't about to stand there and watch the enemy make a sound—even if the machine gun couldn't penetrate Gloucester's armor.
But just then, a burst of bullets, even more violent than the machine gun in his hand, suddenly struck the rear canopy of the cockpit, making his ears ring. Another group of infantrymen in yellow uniforms rushed out from around the corner of the street behind him and opened fire.
What made him frown even more was that, seemingly around the corner, a familiar engine roar was breaking through the roar of bullets and reaching his ears—like the rumble of the engine of the tank he had just scratched with a UL bullet.
Without a word, the lieutenant activated the Gloucester, holstered his machine gun, picked up his spear, and charged straight towards the corner. The infantrymen on the street stared at the running beast with faces full of fear and astonishment. In the blink of an eye, the puppet swung its arms and slammed them hard against the exterior wall of the building inside the corner, then swung them again with all its might at the building directly opposite on the other side of the street. A thunderous roar followed, and the two dilapidated buildings, like felled trees, collapsed one after the other, billowing yellow dust, onto the street.
In the dust, a familiar yet unfamiliar green tank vaguely came into the lieutenant's view—this was the final courtesy of keeping it off the stage.
……
"OK! Today isn't sandwich day." After finishing, Wilson, still with an arrogant expression, turned Gloucester around again, and then, on the street, amidst shouts and gunfire, began to dance gracefully like a ballet dancer, drawing his gun and continuing to fire at the tank from before.
"Hurry up, sir! Pay for my two UL rounds!"
"Don't worry!"
I glanced at the mini-map to the side. There was an intersection just ahead. If we couldn't get past the buildings, this was the only viable shooting position.
……
"Okay, this crappy place is really not as good as Area 11..."
……
……
"Haha! Come on, you little rascals!"
While dancing to his heart's content, the lieutenant didn't forget what he had to do: the green iron turtle in front of him was slowly turning its head, its black cannon muzzle seemingly poised to fire.
Then he saw a thick, silvery-white pipe protruding from the road intersection in the distance, and a radio began to play softly.
"Wilson! Can you see me?! Get out of the way!"
"Let's get started, sir." The lieutenant smiled slightly, put away the machine gun, spread Gloucester's legs back, and grabbed the freed mechanical hand onto the ground in the center in front of him.
"That's too easy!"
The yellow-clad soldiers around them began to shout in all directions, because in the distance, the tube that had previously only shown its head now revealed its entire body—a steel giant that seemed to be holding a rocket launcher.
See you in the garbage dump!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a bright meteorite shot out from the dark muzzle of the cannon, whistling across the empty street. Immediately afterward, a deafening thunderclap exploded in the sky above the street, and bright sparks burst forth on the tank's turret, which had already turned to the rear, almost completely engulfing the front half of the tank along with the turret.
Just as the plumes of dust rose into the air, two more fiery meteorites flew in and landed on either side of the tank. Two more clouds of dust and mud spread out, accompanied by deafening thunder, and the rolling ash transformed into a spectacular supernova. The once gray road instantly became a dust-filled tunnel.
"Prey secured! Perfect!"
The ochre-colored curtain whipped up by the explosion still hung in the air. Gloucester, who had been posing with a spear in the middle of the road, slowly came to his feet.
"Those lying on the ground are yours, sir! I'll go set some traps for the little bastards behind them."
"Go ahead! I can clean it up by myself!" Idus said, putting down the rocket launcher he was holding in his right hand on the vehicle, raising his left hand, and then a series of smooth mechanical twisting sounds rang out as the fist bar on his left arm unfolded.
"Come on, my children." The lord, unhurried, put away the drive wheels and began to stroll slowly down the street. "Let me check if your bones are as strong as steel rods!"
He hadn't walked far when he came into view an infantryman kneeling on the ground, sluggishly brushing the dust off his head.
"Alright, first little ant." Lord jerked the lever, Gloucester pulled his left hand into his pocket, and then slapped the poor yellow-clad soldier hard across the street wall with the afterimage of the swinging fist. He fell down and was never to be seen again.
"Hmm, number 1, not up to standard!"
He had just taken a step forward when he saw another infantryman, head down, his rifle propped on the ground like a crutch, limping toward him. He seemed to see this towering steel body, raised his rifle, slowly aimed at it, and with a dripping sound, fired a mournful bullet.
……
Then, Gloucester kicked out, and his tan body, like a kicked-open soda can, fell into the darkness of the ruins and disappeared without a trace.
"Hmm, Number 2, commendable courage. But... you didn't use it in the right place!"
He took a couple of steps and found several motionless bodies lying on the ground. Gloucester knelt down on one knee, picked up a limp body, and examined it from all angles.
"How pitiful..." The soldier in his hand was bleeding from all seven orifices and lifeless—killed by the shockwave of the explosion.
“Defective product, no…” The lord tossed him aside and was about to grab another one.
But just then, a faint electrical sound reached his ears.
"Hmm?" After checking, it wasn't a radio sound. Could it be...?
As the dust in front of us gradually dispersed, a green steel pipe quietly peeked out from behind a thin, earth-colored veil.
The curtain had been drawn back by a gentle breeze, and the lord suddenly saw clearly that the tank that had been bombarded by his recoilless gun had somehow turned its head to face forward again!
"How...how could this happen..."
At this moment, the dark muzzle of the cannon in front of him slowly rose and was aimed at Gloucester's cute little head!
"Oh no!" the lord cried out in a hysterical voice, as if he had seen the gates of hell. "Wilson! The tank is still alive!"
"What!--"
The purple doll, who had just climbed to the top of a building, didn't have time to look back when it heard a thunderous roar mixed with the crisp sound of a heavy hammer striking an anvil. Suddenly, a giant mouth of flame appeared at the other end of the street!
The sounds of sparks and flying debris followed one after another. In the blink of an eye, the once invincible steel knight was smashed into pieces like a rag doll! Carrying a shower of meteors swallowed by the flames, it flew off the ground, landing in the distance and transforming into a silent, fiery cloud along the street...
"Su...Do not fxxk with IS-2..."
……
……
"Ah! You damned turtle!—"
Wilson was both angry and anxious when suddenly a bullet struck his vehicle. Looking closer, he realized, oh my god, now he was the target of gunfire from the entire street. The whistling of bullets, like a storm of barking wild dogs, made it hard for him to breathe.
Even more terrifying is that it seems the giant tortoise has spotted him too! If it were to raise its head and fire a shot, even if it only hits the exterior wall of the building below, Gloucester would die in the rubble under the pull of gravity due to his weight of over 7 tons.
"Hahhhhh!" He couldn't help but yell, then threw down the machine gun, picked up the spear with the top end facing down, started the drive wheels at full speed, and swooped down from the top of the building!
……
The moment it landed, the sound was like a giant bell being thrown from a tall building and shattering on the ground, echoing throughout the entire street. Gloucester's more than 6-meter-long golden spear had actually plunged deep into the tank's engine cooling vent!
This was bad news. Amidst the rising dust, it was clear that the rear of the tank had sagged somewhat. The engine exhaust suddenly spewed out several plumes of black smoke, and then there was no more movement.
"Don't even think about leaving, you bastard!" He glanced coldly at the completely stalled tank, gritting his teeth and muttering, trying to pull the spear out again. But it felt like a big tree deeply rooted in the soil, clinging tightly to the tank, unwilling to let go.
"Damn it, are you kidding me...?"
Just then, bullets began to fly past in front of them for the first time in a long time, accompanied by dull thuds, as if hitting the dolls' heads. It seemed that the soldiers with rifles were not going to give up.
But at that moment, Wilson was surprised to find several irregular black patches with snowflakes suddenly appearing in front of his screen—this message did not mean that the screen was broken, but that Gloucester's "eyes" were broken, or more precisely, that the optical detection head had been damaged by the enemy!
A man climbed onto the turret of the tank that had been knocked down, picked up the heavy machine gun on top of the turret that was making a racket like a pile driver, and started shoving thick bullets at Gloucester's face.
"You're asking for trouble, kid?!"
In his frantic rage, he suddenly remembered that there was a small machine gun under Gloucester's chest that could be fired, and he quickly prepared to aim it at the audacious fellow.
However, just as the first bullet was fired, the display screen flashed brightly like a light bulb suddenly exploding, followed by a command prompt panel appearing on the screen whose background was filled with charcoal: Camera signal interrupted, please check in a safe environment...
"Oh, it's all over..."
“Command center calling Lieutenant Wilson! Please respond!” A sudden radio call calmed his heart.
"Wilson, I hear you!" He swallowed hard; the sound of bullets hitting the bulkhead was deafening. "Lord Edus is dead! All combat equipment destroyed! My camera is also broken! Requesting backup!"
"Calm down, Lieutenant! Is your electronic map working properly? Can you see the squadron approaching from the northwest?"
"Report! The map displays correctly, but..."
"Get close to them immediately! They'll bring you back!"
"Yes!"
As he was speaking, he suddenly noticed that the temperature of Gloucester's left leg had risen considerably in the mech's module status bar.
Ignoring everything else, he thought about where the debris was on the road in front of the tank, glanced at the map, and with a sudden, forceful movement, as if breaking off a spear, the lieutenant led the ravaged Gloucester away from this nightmarish neighborhood.
Section 27, Chapter Fifteen: The Expected Finale of the Sky
"Calling Lieutenant Wilson, we're here to pick you up, can you hear us? We're right in front of you now, stop moving immediately! Your left leg is burned to a crisp!"
……
……
Upon hearing this, the lieutenant slammed on the brakes and brought Gross to a stop. Immediately afterward, he felt a strong, large hand resting under the left armpit of his vehicle.
"Don't move the levers! Lieutenant!"
The other party gave a word of advice, followed by a series of gunshots and the sound of steel breaking. Wilson saw that the schematic of the left leg in the mech's status bar had turned black, indicating that Gloucester's left leg had said goodbye to him.
"Alright!" Another large hand swiftly appeared on his right. "Put the drive wheels away, we're taking you back for emergency repairs now!"
……
……
"Ah, thank you..." the lieutenant sighed. "So, did you see how that leg caught fire?"
“I don’t know. But I saw it clearly when you rushed out. The fire was stuck to the outside armor plating, not burning from the inside with thick smoke. I guess some little brat threw a Molotov cocktail on it.”
"Really? By the way, how's that group of helicopters doing now?"
……
"According to Major Leffer, whether they succeed or not, they won't be coming back..."
"this?!"
"The helicopter formation is now surrounded by enemy ground forces from all sides."
"Then you are..."
"Use this time to regroup and break up the enemy's offensive. We can't save those birds anymore."
"How could this be! I don't believe me..."
"War didn't leave us many options, sir..."
The pilot who answered him looked behind him; outside the city, golden bullet chains were already spreading across the sky...
……
"Calling Eurasian Falcon 1, Eurasian Falcon 3's vertical wing is damaged!"
"Owl 2 reports! Rocket launch site damaged!"
At this very moment, the eastern suburbs of Berlin were already echoing with the roar of crashing waves. Gun barrels were already pointed at the tops of the small houses in the suburbs, and above them, five silver vultures were soaring through the sky, flying in a long line towards two distant hills.
However, even larger treasures awaited them; a thick mass of black ink, accompanied by the deafening roar of fireworks, suddenly spread around them.
"Owl No. 3 has been hit!" In an instant, the silence inside the helicopter was shattered by the radio: "SOS! SOS! We are losing altitude!"
A bolt of lightning, filled with flames, followed from the ground behind them, and a "LOST" appeared on the electronic map.
"That's it..."
……
"Calm down, everyone! Lower your altitude! Get ready! Maximum speed!"