Munitions Empire

The Goblin garrison in Dingcheng now feels tormented seeing the flag of the Great Tang Empire flying over the Central Square. They've attempted to reclaim the lost ground, but their efforts have proven fruitless.

The Orc firepower is simply too strong for the Goblins; as the battle progresses, Shan Lu has been receiving more and more reinforcements.

The Great Tang Empire ordered a large batch of Thompson Submachine Guns from Chu Country, greatly enhancing the firepower density of the Orc troops.

In street combat, the Orc forces are increasingly equipped with automatic weapons, leaving the counterattacking Goblins helpless against such overwhelming firepower.

An Orc gunner can casually find a spot and produce the effect of a light machine gun; the Shen Army can only throw lives into the fray, what else can they do?

Looking from some ruins, the entire square is covered with the bodies of Shen Army soldiers, even including the wreckage of two tanks.

Speaking of these two tank wreckages, it's quite interesting. Orc troops somehow brought in a Type 4 tank, hoping to break through the Shen Army defense swiftly under its cover.

But they failed. The Shen Army fought back fearlessly, finally managing to cover a mad soldier to use a Sting Thunder and destroy the Orc tank showing off in the Central Square.

After destroying this tank, the Orcs dared not send in new tanks again, because tanks are precious assets for the Orcs.

Subsequently, the Goblins also brought in a tank, trying to use it to cover their infantry to reclaim the western side of the square and regain control of the square.

But this tank was directly penetrated by a rocket from the Orc troops during the attack and exploded on the square.

Thus, both sides abandoned a tank in the Central Square and stopped pursuing such attempts thereafter. Sensibly, both sides began sending more soldiers to fight over this square, as if there was gold buried under it.

Of course, there's no gold buried here, not even a proper sewer system. Thousands of bodies were left here by both sides, really just for that last gasp.

The sky gradually darkened, and behind the street barricades, a group of Shen Army soldiers began gathering again. They were about to launch another attack, continuing to seize that cursed high ground.

"For Your Majesty, the Shen Emperor!" The leading commander drew a command saber from his waist, lowered his voice to rally his soldiers.

The soldiers silently drew bayonets from their waists and affixed them to the muzzles of their rifles. They had no other weapons left, not even bullets.

Before setting off, they were ordered to leave all remaining bullets for the later troops. Now all they could use were various cold weapons at hand.

Some held knives, some bayonets, some spears, and some iron shovels or hoes.

Compared to an army, they looked more like a band of revolting civilians, with mixed weapons, unkempt uniforms. Their clothes were patched, and their steel helmets were left for later troops.

Due to the lack of resources, even steel helmets are in high demand; even with a hole on them, they are precious.

"After setting off, do not make any noise casually!" The officer watched his soldiers before him, exhorting them word by word, "Try every means to get close to the enemy position, only by successfully assaulting can we survive!"

All the soldiers listened seriously to the words of their officer. Compared to other reckless commanders, following this officer's days seemed fairly decent.

Unfortunately, after retreating here all the way, they were finally used in a desperate counterattack. Orders had to be followed, this battle... seemed unavoidable.

As the sky darkened further, the artillery continued to echo from afar, and the soldiers began to climb over obstacles. The buildings on both sides of the square had become ruins, making the terrain inconvenient for the attackers.

Enemies hidden in the opposite ruins had excellent vision, but the cautious Goblins carefully bypassed dangerous zones, proceeding along the more complex terrain on both sides of the square.

Only moonlight illuminated the surroundings, with dark surroundings making it hard to see clearly. The Goblins groped forward, gradually approaching the Orc positions.

Wielding a command saber, the Goblin officer led these veterans and recruits, helplessly grumbling in his mind about his superiors' stupidity and cursing their madness.

One-third of his officers and veterans were drawn to new troops to serve as commanders; this was the best news he had heard before setting off.

As for why not withdraw the most valuable veterans, it's because without these backbones, the new recruits wouldn't have the courage to launch a desperate attack.

But why launch such an almost impossible attack? Because the Mirage Country's troops are starting to experience an ammunition shortage. Even if so many troops remained, they wouldn't get any ammunition, so why not try a counterattack at night...

As for why not retreat these extra troops without ammunition back to the Shen Capital, that involves another problem: who stays and who goes?

If you let someone withdraw, the ones remaining will have opinions. Giving everyone hope in such a situation is equivalent to choosing a major defeat.

In the end, no one was allowed to leave; only people were added in, and no one was withdrawn, which was the only way to maintain the basic battle situation.

But doing so would consume a large number of veterans who had endured the brutal battlefield, making their sacrifices meaningless.

Further ahead was the frontline of the Orc troops, and the distance between the two sides was already very close, so much so that the Goblins could vaguely hear some Orcs talking.

The kind of loud screams of "long live" charging from hundreds of meters away was impossible, as no one with even a bit of sense would first notify the enemy of their arrival.

The actual situation is that only when very close to the enemy, ensuring a quick advance to engage in bayonet combat, would the commander initiate the shout first.

This shout was actually the command to charge and the order to communicate with those around. Because if you don't shout, how would smaller groups in the dark know you've initiated the attack? No one could know, without communication, whether they should continue advancing covertly, or how long to standby at the same location.

So, when the Orc troops' defensive line could vaguely be seen, the leading Goblin commander stood up from a narrow cover and shouted loudly back, "For His Majesty the Shen Emperor! Charge!"

"Long live His Majesty the Shen Emperor!" shouted the already agreed-upon slogan by the Mirage Country soldiers, who then crawled up from the ground and launched their attack towards the enemy's trench now visibly near.

The Orc troops probably anticipated the Mirage Country's counterattack at night, as fierce gunfire soon echoed across the battlefield.

In less than thirty seconds, a flare rose into the sky. It burst ablaze in the air, casting a harsh white light over everything around.

Also pale was the face of the Shen Army commander, who saw on a slightly higher main position behind the Orc front defensive unit, an MG42 machine gun with ammunition belts aiming towards his location.

Beside him, dense Mirage Country soldiers were climbing up with weapons, struggling over ruins and corpses with unsteady steps and not moving quickly.

As these soldiers prepared to give the frontline Orcs a hard time, the chainsaw-like sound echoed from the machine gun positions behind the Orcs.

It was a sound familiar to many Goblins, a sound many Goblins feared immensely. Whenever the sound of tearing cloth arose on the battlefield, it heralded no good news.

Sure enough, blinding tracer bullets began tearing across the battlefield, causing the Goblin soldiers advancing towards the Orc troops to halt abruptly. Many soldiers began to stagger and fall as if under some sort of magic spell.

The front-line soldiers hadn't a clue what had happened before the blood from their comrade gushed onto their faces. Before the blood-covered soldier could shout, another bullet pierced his chest.

This was the clash of flesh and steel. Even with heavy casualties, some Goblins still rushed into the Orcs' defensive line.

The Orc troops didn't back down either, and both sides quickly engaged in bayonet combat. The Orcs, with their firepower advantage, occasionally had submachine gunners join the battle, whose continuous fire took many lives from the bayonet-wielding Shen Army troops.

The officer commanding the Shen Army attack continued to charge forward with his soldiers, stepping on the bodies of his own men step by step. Along the way, he saw an Orc soldier killed by a bayonet, which signified some success in their attack.

But... this success seemed not very remarkable. Gradually, the Goblin troops began to collapse due to lack of follow-up support.

"Attack! Keep attacking! Running means certain death!" the Mirage Country commander shouted loudly, reminding his soldiers to find their courage. He knew that if they turned and ran back to the starting point under the Orcs' firepower, scarcely anyone could survive.

But his effort was futile. While he was shouting aloud, a stray bullet from who knows where struck him in the head. He fell to the side, silent forevermore.

The soldiers who moments before were charging with cries, now, like weasels seeing a dog, covered their heads and fled. They were driven back to their start point once more, as if nothing had changed.