Munitions Empire-Chapter 1025 - : A shot in the rain 947

Chapter 1025: A shot in the rain 947

Military equipment that seems unimportant can actually prove critical to the survival of front-line soldiers, subtly influencing their decisions and affecting their casualty rates.

Items such as raincoats, waterproof materials, and insulation materials may not seem vital on a regular basis, but when the time comes, they can offer soldiers safer options for their operations.

Snipers from the Great Tang Empire can use waterproof materials to set up hidden temporary positions without risking exposure by occupying buildings that are easily targeted; this is their advantage.

On the other hand, Dahua Empire’s snipers lack these novel gadgets. They have raincoats, but these are sourced from civilian factories, with designs meant for civilian use, leading to many non-professional aspects in detail.

Such raincoats, without special reinforcement, tear easily at critical points and are inconvenient to wear, leading many soldiers to avoid using them.

When national procurement funds are limited, it’s common to see the infantry’s shoes, raincoats, and canteens cobbled together and painfully traditional in appearance.

However, with ampler funding and downward technological diffusion, such so-called traditions vanish instantly. For example, aluminum canteens are replaced by plastic ones, and subpar canvas bags by backpacks for field operations…

Dahua Empire’s raincoats are really hard to describe – they were hastily adapted from civilian raincoats when procured, initially using the Great Tang Empire civil work raincoat style that just allowed for carrying objects in the sleeves.

Even after improvements, their practicality was still limited: rubber coatings peeled off, loose cuffs and hem allowed water ingress, they couldn’t be quickly removed, nor did they support carrying much additional gear…

As a result, Dahua Empire’s soldiers are often reluctant to wear these uncomfortable raincoats in the rain, preferring to find a sheltered spot instead.

Thus, Dahua Empire’s defensive positions often needed to be reinforced with covered shelters, which appeared to be artillery shelters but were actually simple rain covers.

In urban combat, Dahua soldiers also preferred to enter buildings; even knowing the risks and vulnerability to enemy attacks, they would habitually opt for such dangerous buildings for the comfort in rainy conditions.

At the very least, they would store spare clothing, sensitive ammunition, weapons, and other materials inside buildings to keep them dry.

These minor issues, if not examined deeply, might not seem consequential, but Great Tang’s snipers could utilize these habits to set up ambushes in advance, identifying and predicting enemy positions and likely defense spots.

Watching the relentless rainfall, the two snipers of the Dahua Empire lost any desire to change position.

Those who’ve played battle royale games know that a sniper’s mentality after finding cover is delicate: despite well-crafted camouflage, whether someone has spotted your concealed position remains uncertain.

Lying in a bush may seem an excellent spot, and with a ghillie suit, your concealment is quite high. But someone might have already been watching you through a scope as you’ve laid down.

The enemy may delay firing to consider others, may be seeking out your allies, or might not have noticed you at all… Unlike in games, in reality, you only have one chance to verify if the enemy has found you. Isn’t that terrifying?

Would moving forward a meter reveal you to someone? Did a mere glance to check your surroundings already expose your head to an enemy sniper?

While your movements might alert the enemy, whether they actually become vigilant is uncertain. If you fret over whether you’ve been spotted with each action, then nowhere on the battlefield will feel safe.

Therefore, snipers and artillery spotters usually enter their positions before dawn, using darkness as cover.

They’ll also observe for several days, ensuring they do not disturb nearby objects and alert the enemy, following an unwritten rule for survival.

Certainly, following such rules can significantly reduce the risk of discovery, but opportunities for perfect entry into positions are scarce. Often, one must take risks when entering or leaving positions.

The old hunter from the Dahua Empire didn’t dare dwell on it: if he abandoned this favorable spot right now to search for another in the rain, it was highly likely he’d end up soaked for nothing.

In good weather, he could find a new location if his foolish comrade compromised their ambush spot, but now, with the rain, he eventually decided to stay.

This isn’t a matter of luck but a strong heart cultivated through prolonged combat: caution has its limits—most times, you’re merely frightening yourself.

He walked into a room where the curtains were already soaked through, and the lack of windows left a puddle of water on the floor.

A bed is a good thing, for sitting, and for setting up a sniper rifle; by rearranging the other furniture away from the windows, a fine sniping position could be established.

The old hunter was making a nest for himself; behind him, in another room, the Dahua sniper eating moisture-dampened peanuts also began to prepare his sniping position.

He checked the angle of the window in his room, then dragged an old table from the wall with force, planning to move it to the middle of the room to support his rifle.

As he was dragging the table to the center of the room, what he didn’t know was that his head had already appeared in Cao Fei’s sniper scope.

“I’ve got him in sight! The one with a rifle on his back, he’s dragging a table,” Cao Fei informed his companion.

“I see him, you can fire at any time.” Through the lens of the observer’s binoculars, amidst the curtain of rain, he could see everything inside that far-off window clearly.

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Snipers of the Dahua Empire typically operated alone, so Cao Fei did not bother to confirm the number of enemies and chose the best angle to pull the trigger.

“Bang!” The abrupt shot pierced through the rain, with the bullet flying straight towards the distant building.

Since there was no wind at the moment of firing and the rain was falling vertically, Cao Fei only had to slightly elevate the muzzle, aiming just above the target’s Steel Helmet.

The bullet traversed over 300 meters in an instant, flying into the window where someone stood. The Dahua sniper, still dragging the table, saw blood spray upon the peanuts that laid atop the table, now damp.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, he felt his body losing control, strength rapidly draining away; he was losing support and quickly collapsing.

Driven by his falling force, the table in front of him dropped with a crisp clang, he heard it unmistakenly clear.

Then came his own body crashing to the floor, blood spraying before his eyes. Instinctively reaching out with his hand, he only felt a handful of fresh blood on his own neck.

“Help…” He opened his mouth to call for his comrades, but as he spoke, blood gushed from his mouth. The bullet had penetrated his neck, and his carotid artery was spurting like a fountain.

The old hunter in the other room heard the gunshot, and quickly the thud of something heavy hitting the floor.

Upon hearing the noise, the old hunter’s first reaction was to immediately find a safe cover to hide behind; crouching low, he approached the doorway of his comrade’s room but dared not recklessly enter to rescue.

Joking aside, it wasn’t yet clear where the enemy was hidden; rushing in could easily make him a target. So, the old hunter found a lower spot, peeked out to check the direction of the window, ensuring there was no vantage point outside.

Yes, he did not even look to check on his comrade, nor did he immediately ask about their condition.

Not until he pulled back did he ask, “Are you injured? Can you crawl over here by yourself?”

The person lying on the floor pressed hands against the gaping wound in his neck, his legs flailing weakly; he could see the blood spreading around him but could not utter a word.

Hearing no response, the old hunter shifted his position for a better view and quickly peeked out again toward the window. This time he confirmed that, as long as he wasn’t standing, there seemed to be no angle from which he could be shot.

Therefore, he slightly bowed and lowered his head, glancing at his lying comrade amidst the bustle, just a glance.

Then, he abandoned the idea of risking a rescue: just a look at the large pool of crimson blood in the room made it clear that there was no saving him.

The Dahua Empire did not have the medical capabilities of the Great Tang Empire; an injury was as good as a death sentence for soldiers of the Dahua Empire.

A corpse was not worth risking; thus, the old hunter did not give another glance, leaning against the wall, listening as the struggles inside grew fainter.

“Sorry,” he whispered to the person inside, who seemingly couldn’t hear anymore. As he spoke, the person inside had long stopped moving their legs; their hands, once clutching the neck, had slowly opened, and both arms lay spread out on the floor, immersed in the pool of blood.