Chapter 276 - United We Stand, United They Fall
(Elaria POV)
I crested the hill on my horse that overlooked the battlefield in front of me.
I had rushed here as soon as I could, pushing every available unit I had at my disposal to make their way here as quickly as possible.
Every crew had already gone through enough training to operate the machines but this would be the first time we deployed them on an actual field battle.
There were a few complications like engine problems and vehicles getting stuck on the rough terrain we took to get here, but we still managed to reach here on time.
The Dong dogs were already charging towards the town, I will need to do something to stop them…
Ah, that's right.
I took out the loudhailer I had attached to my horse, something I needed to coordinate the vehicles that I was leading.
Turning it up to the maximum volume, I yelled, "Fear not! BeiYang's calvary is here!"
That got most of their attention.
They even tried to form a spear wall, how cute.
"Sherman M-four-A-three-E-eight division! Line Formation!"
The ground rumbled and my group of eighty Sherman tanks rolled up on top of the hill, their turrets trained on the enemy army in front of us.
While they were lining up, I used my binoculars that I had strapped around my neck to estimate the distance between us and their army.
I dropped the binoculars to make sure that all the tanks were in position before I lifted the loudhailer again.
"Target, archer formation behind spear wall! Range! One thousand metres!"
The sound of clicks and whirring echoed throughout the tank line as the gunners adjusted their turrets.
"FIRE!"
The chorus of eighty tanks firing their cannons filled the air, the shells whistling through the air in a graceful arc before they plummeted back down towards the earth.
Through my binoculars, I could see the faces of the soldiers looking around in confusion at what was making the whistling sound.
Not more than a second later, the explosions of eighty High Explosive shells wrecked the line of archers behind the spear wall, filling the air with their dying screams and exploded body parts.
I lifted the horn to my lips and blew a single long note, the sound echoed by the tank commanders of each combat group.
The tanks moved forward as one, taking advantage of the confusion that has spread throughout the enemy's ranks to get closer.
"Target, Practitioner formation behind the archers! FIRE!"
All the tanks fired again, the rounds arcing over the dying archers to fall upon the damned Practitioners hiding behind their meat shields.
A few of them managed to react fast enough to erect some form of shield around themselves, but the others could only gawk up into the sky before the shells crashed on top of them.
"Sherman Tank Division! FIRE AT WILL!"
Each of the tanks began picking out their own targets as they got closer and closer towards the Dong army, their High Explosive shells killing dozens with every shot they fired.
I took out my compass, aligning it to the enemy army and taking note of their relative position to us.
"M-thirteen rocket! Range three kilometers! Bearing two-two-five!"
"Range three kilometers! Bearing two-two-five!" Someone echoed behind me.
"Fire!"
There was a small blast before something ignited, blasting out into a loud howling sound as a rocket flew over my head and straight into a throng of Dong soldiers in their central formation, blasting them into pieces.
"Add hundred! Left Fifty!"
Behind me, the crew manning the rocket artillery trucks immediately set to work on adjusting the frames to my specified location.
"Katyusha launchers, FIRE FOR EFFECT!"
The rockets were lit and the deafening howl of fifty sets of rocket artillery being ignited could be heard from anywhere on this battlefield.
As though on cue, the sun's rays penetrated through the night's darkness in the air, bathing the rockets in what appears to be holy light. It is only a shame that the Death Mountains hid the sun from view here, or else Odriana would have loved to paint a poetic picture about this scene.
A total of a thousand and six hundred rockets took to the air above the battlefield, soaring over our Sherman tanks that were still charging towards their lines.
The rockets bombarded the enemy army to kingdom come, sending widespread panic and destruction into their ranks.
Their years of training definitely did not prepare them for this.
Meanwhile, the Sherman tanks had gotten close enough to start firing their mounted machine guns, each of them spraying lead at six hundred rounds per minute and mowing down the Dong dogs in front of them.
Probably trying to regain a semblance of order, the Dong's stupid Practitioners materialised a barrier that stretched over their front lines, blocking our tank shells.
Too bad for them, we were prepared for that as well. In fact, I was quite surprised it took them this long to materialise it.
I detached the red flag I hung by my side, lifting it up into the air and waving it a few times to the forest behind me.
A light blinking in the shrubberies was enough to tell me that my order had been received.
I picked up my binoculars again to spy on the enemy's front lines, most of their divisions were in disarray after the artillery bombardment, many of them trying to regroup.
The good thing is that they were no longer advancing on the town but instead, trying to form a defensive formation against us. Not that it would do them any good.
I had to hold back my laughter seeing their archers ready bows to shoot at our advancing tanks.
Thinking that enough time has passed, I raised my red flag again before dropping it down.
Ten explosions rocked through the forest behind me, sending ten Armour Piercing shells fired from ten Tiger One tanks piercing straight into the barrier.
That salvo exploded on the barrier itself, apparently doing no damage.
I counted down the seconds before raising my flag and dropping it again.
The second salvo crashed against the barrier but this time causing cracks to appear on it.
Third time's the charm and the barrier shattered like glass the moment the third salvo came down hard on it.
The Sherman tanks resumed their firing, their main guns blasting the Dong's front line into pieces while the machine guns mowed the others down indiscriminately.
Arrows were fired from the Dong's archers, all of them bouncing harmlessly off the tanks' armour.
A couple of their Practitioners tried to attack as well, lobbing fire, earth, lightning and ice Techniques at them.
The tanks shrugged off most of the attacks but a few still managed to pierce through or crush the armour, reducing the number of operational tanks.
"Mam! Katyushas reloaded!" The artillery captain reported behind me.
I surveyed the battle lines again, before turning back to shout, "Add two hundred, right two hundred! FIRE FOR EFFECT!"
As though heralding their death, the howls of a thousand rockets were blasted into the sky again.
The Dong Practitioners tried to erect another barrier above them but two golden lightning bolts appeared from the middle of the town, shattering it instantly.
I noticed that the rockets were a little close towards the town and a few might land there.
Fortunately, a blue coloured dome appeared around the town, blocking it from the bombardment completely.
I believe that was sister Diao Chan's trump card, she should be able to keep that shield up for about thirty minutes or so, enough time for us to mop up the rest of the Dong army.
The rockets bombarded their army again, blasting everyone who had been caught in the zone to bits.
A number of them turned and started running back to the mountains, abandoning their comrades to their deaths.
That was the catalyst for their army to break into full retreat, every single one of them dropping their weapons and running back into their caves.
Of course, that didn't mean we stopped firing.
Since they dared to barge here without an official declaration of war and intended to slaughter everyone of us, we will give them no quarter either.
I blew my horn again, the Sherman tank commanders echoing my order for a charge throughout their formation.
The Tiger One tanks rolled out of their forest hiding spot as well, switching to High Explosive shells to join the charge.
We will be shooting down every last one of them who failed to make it back into their goddamn caves!