novelnext Page 51
Page 51
“Ah, Viktor,” he addressed the officer by name, “how is the troop deployment going?”
"Yes, no problem, Your Excellency. All troops have completed their defenses in the city streets, and everything is proceeding according to your orders. However..."
"Just what? You casually killed a bunch of ants and then came to me to claim credit?"
“No, no, General.” Viktor looked flustered. “The troops in the east of the city, while conducting reconnaissance outside the city, discovered a large number of troops approaching from the outskirts. According to the intelligence provided by the vanguard, it should be Soviet Union troops.”
"Ah, I know those damned bugs, they're basically the Soviet Union, utter trash!" The general curled his nose, answering the officer not particularly angrily. "What are they doing out there?"
"The construction of fortifications appears to be in preparation for defense."
"Huh? I have to personally order the conquest of them?" Marendo brushed the dust off his collar. "Then I need to be even more prepared, Victor. What's the progress on the army group's supply transport?"
"Seventy percent, General. If all goes well, it should be finished in an hour or two."
"Hmm, very good. Oh, by the way, what time is it now?"
"I see... exactly two o'clock, Your Excellency."
"Alright, come on, light this for me." The general took out a cigar, and Victor pulled out a lighter, ready to light it for him.
However, at that moment, he and the general suddenly felt that one after another, overwhelming thunderclaps, mixed with short whistles like steam whistles, came from all directions, and the whole city was trembling!
"Damn it!" the general cursed at the officer who had accidentally dropped his lighter. "You're scared by a bunch of toads burping?"
Viktor's face had darkened—perhaps because of the deafening thunder, or perhaps because of the general's reprimand. Soon, the surrounding thunder and howling were gradually replaced by even more deafening explosions, the roar of waves, and the sounds of crashing debris!
He picked up the lighter with trembling hands and finally lit the general's cigarette. However, he also noticed that the cigar held between the general's fingers was trembling slightly.
Marendor had just exhaled a puff of smoke when he saw another officer rushing up the stairs from the rooftop to the ground floor.
"General! Something terrible has happened!"
"Speak up if you have something to say! What's wrong?"
"The troops stationed in the four directions of the city—east, west, south, and north—were all subjected to enemy artillery fire in just a moment!"
"Wh-what!" The general sensed something was wrong and hurriedly started walking downstairs with the two officers.
Are there any reports of casualties?
"Just a moment ago, almost all the units that had entered the positions sent out reports of casualties. Even the headquarters of the 9th Shinjuku Regiment lost contact with the command center five seconds after sending a message saying that it had been shelled!"
"Order the troops! All troops to leave their designated positions and retreat to the city center!"
"Yes, sir!" The officer took the lead and ran downstairs.
……
The Berlin oil pan, which was just warm, suddenly boiled over in an instant!
“огонь!” (Russian for “fire!”) —
“Ogono!”
One after another, firing orders in Russian echoed from the outskirts of Berlin, from the gunners at howitzer positions, and from the commanders of Katyusha rocket launchers.
"огонь! огонь!"
The hands of the clock, like the sword of the underworld emperor, swept across the two o'clock mark. In that instant, the 250 square kilometers of land in Berlin and its suburbs were instantly engulfed by thousands of cannons and rocket launchers of the Soviet Red Army surrounding the city, as if being submerged by an army of demons. The peaceful scene was torn apart into a blazing ocean of flames.
Explosions burst forth like roses, dust surged like a tsunami, and countless howitzers, like thousands of giant drums, transformed into a sky full of thunderbolts under Thor's drumsticks. All tranquility, all peace, all that should have been ordinary was mercilessly swept into the endless abyss of purgatory!
However, the howitzers were merely the bass line of this underworld orchestra!
If howitzers are like ten thousand elephants trampling the earth, then the Katyusha rocket launchers are like millions of eagles circling over Berlin! The bursts of fire, the piercing whistling—these chilling cries of the eagles have drowned out the thunder of the howitzers. The rocket eagles, howling, take flight from their truck launchers, their fiery wings unfurled, soaring into the sky, flying into the distance, flying towards anything they desire to prey upon!
They want all of Germany, even the Germany reduced to ashes, to be forced to give up their last breath and tremble in the earth-shaking cry of Katyusha!
No one could withstand the overwhelming bombardment of the Katyusha! No one dared to stop the overwhelming bombardment of the Katyusha! All fools who attempted to hide, roar, or even resist amidst the whistling organ sounds of the Katyusha would be reduced to nothing under the unstoppable pressure of the Soviet Red Army!
……
"Hey, stop covering your ears, squat down and take a look!"
In the same jungle, Anton roused the trembling soldier from before.
"Oh, I can't believe it, comrade!" The soldier slowly lowered his arms, opened his eyes wide, and took a deep breath, letting the thunder and eagle cries give his eardrums a relaxing massage.
Berlin, the former capital of the Third Reich, looked up at the sky and cried out in agony for the second time as it was ravaged by a rain of fire from the sky. Having missed the first time, it was finally fortunate enough to witness it today!
This is truly delightful for a soldier!
“Yeah! I couldn’t believe it either a few months ago!” Anton laughed triumphantly. “Now, all we have to do is wait for the bandits in the city to perish to the tune of Katyusha and obediently roll out of their houses with their hands up.”
……
"Calling command center! The 16th Siberian Regiment is under artillery fire! More than half of its personnel have been killed or wounded! Medical teams are needed!"
"Report! Colonel Kashan of the 28th Sakhalin Brigade has been killed in action! The entire brigade is in chaos!"
General Marendor stood quietly in the command center, observing the hall, which resembled a rabbit being wantonly plundered by a swarm of falcons.
He had already ordered the entire army to consolidate its defensive lines. Now, apart from adjusting his breathing, receiving the constant stream of new battle reports, and waiting for the officer corps to handle the matters that needed to be dealt with, there was nothing else he could do.
The flying mechs and helicopters hadn't yet been brought in from Area 11 through the portal. He knew perfectly well that his ground forces, under such firepower, had no choice but to shrink their defensive zone. Otherwise, he probably would have already ordered the air force to bring their weapons and swarm out of the city like bees, since these artillery pieces hurling shells at their heads were useless against targets in the sky.
"Hello, General! Lieutenant Colonel Novell, commander of the 13th Tokyo Regiment, requests to speak with you!"
"What?" Marendor was extremely surprised and slowly walked to the microphone.
"What is it, Lieutenant Colonel?"
"Hello? General!" The lieutenant colonel's voice was barely audible amidst the artillery fire.
"I regret to say this last thing to you, sir. Our regiment has less than half of its remaining wounded soldiers, and our retreat route has been completely cut off by artillery fire. I will now deploy all troops to assault the enemy positions on the outskirts of the city. Please do not worry about us, General!"
"Bastards! Idiots!" Marendo cursed. "Either get back here or find cover and protect yourselves! You're disobeying my orders, you know that!"
"But, Your Excellency, if we die like this in the collapsed bunkers or on the way back, it will disgrace our reputation, tarnish the name of the 41st Army, and tarnish His Majesty the Emperor's high expectations of us! I do not want myself, nor do I want my men, to be like cowards who know no shame. We will die on the way of the charge! Even in death, we will drag dozens of enemy corpses with us to heaven!"
"Farewell, General! Lieutenant Colonel Novell has finished his call!"
I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for Volume 2 for so long, but please rest assured that the long wait will definitely bring you a great story, at least I can guarantee that.
Section 58, Chapter 36: Ideals are beautiful, reality is cruel.
"Keep trying to establish communication! Contact Lieutenant Colonel Norwell! Quickly!"
"Yes, General!"
The general's brows furrowed forever.
"Ah, sorry, General, Lieutenant Colonel..." The communications soldier froze for a moment before slowly removing his headset. "The Lieutenant Colonel may have turned off his communication device."
Marendor nodded and slowly turned to leave.
"Keep doing what you're supposed to do, kid."
……
Despite the constant noise, the command center maintained an orderly atmosphere.
“That bastard…” The general’s face showed a mixture of worry and anger.
Well, this goes back a few months.
At that time, Major General Maren had just been entrusted by a seriously ill noble general to temporarily act as the supreme commander of the 41st Army Group—yes, the official designation of the 100,000-strong army under the Major General's command.
For the past few months, he had been entrusted by the nobleman to manage both his original legion's affairs and this army group composed of local Britannians from District 11, training them as he would his own legion and leading them in battle against the scum who dared to resist the Empire's expeditions, just as he usually did.
……
The reason this army is so powerful is probably largely because that nobleman went too far in inciting the soldiers.
“My subordinates are eager to hear me give speeches every day, or rather, they ask to have some of my speeches recorded and played for them. They’ve long since become obsessed…”
"I think this kind of fanatical force should be to your liking. So, I'll temporarily hand over the army group to you, is that alright?"
Maren was initially very willing, and the performance of this unit made him quite happy. There were many star players among the soldiers, especially a lieutenant colonel named Norwell—a young man who was almost 30 years old, confident yet arrogant, full of vigor but also exuding a bullying-like aura.
Why was he the only one who left the deepest impression on the Major General? This kid had lost contact with his original unit during the Black Rebellion and went to fight alongside Cornelia's Royal Guard until the final counterattack. During that time, he even single-handedly slaughtered more than a dozen scum of the Black Knights—you might not be able to replicate that even if you sent a Knight from the Royal Guard now.
It was because of this legendary feat that he was promoted directly to lieutenant colonel, and from then on he became particularly arrogant and stubborn, and it was commonplace for him to eagerly perform.
Such warriors were readily available propaganda material for the martial Britannian Empire.
……
……
……
……
But now, that idiot Novell actually dared to order his men to go through a sea of fire with him, despite the enemy's overwhelming firepower!
……
……
"Watch me, General! I'm going to try something new on this expedition!"
This was something Norwell had solemnly promised him before the expedition.
……
……
Now, Novell, piloting his Gloucester, was hiding behind a building, loading the two machine guns in his hands amidst the flying gunfire and mud all around. Pilots used to carry either a machine gun or a spear, but he had long been fed up with this ridiculous routine. He wanted to wield two guns like a wandering knight and roam the battlefield. This plan had been on his little notebook for who knows how long.
He had calculated that this place was currently in the blind spot of the enemy's artillery trajectory. As long as you weren't too far from the building behind you, the shells that were originally going to hit your face would be blocked by the building.
He looked up at the dozens of KMFs lined up close to his car.
"Are you all ready?!"
"Yes, Sir!—"
Of course, this number of people is definitely not the entire remaining strength of his group.
"All squadrons report status!"
"Major Jacques reporting! The group is ready!"
"Major Grank reporting! Ready to depart at any time!"
"Major Charlton reporting! At your command!"
"I've marked the assault targets for each of your clusters on the map. Have you all received them?"
"Everything is normal, sir!" the three lieutenant colonels answered him in unison.
"OK! Warriors!" Novell raised his voice instantly.
"The enemy has blocked our retreat! They want us to obediently wait to die here! But they are wrong! I have told you more than once! Faced with the unparalleled strength of the Britannian Empire, the cries of the enemy fleeing for their lives and the screams of those being killed will always be ten thousand times louder than the sound of their gunfire! This is the power of life and death that we are born with! This is why only we can become the undisputed masters of the world!"
"Today is the day we give our lives and our loyalty for this expedition! Let us crush all those bluffing maggots beneath our footsteps! For glory! For victory! All Hail Britania!!!"
"All Hail Britania!!!——"
Hundreds of soldiers, like mad addicts, tore their throats, their eyes bloodshot, and shouted slogans of praise over the radio.
"Warriors! Charge!"
……
The lieutenant colonel's vehicle soared over the rooftops like a high jumper, scoffing at the shells landing on the surrounding houses. Spreading out the arms of the mech like a child playing by a reed bed, it gently brushed the plumes of smoke and dust kicked up by the explosions with the muzzle of its gun, and continued its rapid speed along the eastward street.