Munitions Empire-Chapter 1141 - 1061 Ambush Convoy
Xiang Ziyu led his troops along the highway towards Leping, and at the same time, the reinforcement troops of the Mirage Country were also advancing towards Leping and Dongshan.
After receiving the order, these Mirage Country troops immediately organized to reinforce the areas where the Tang Army might attack. They were moving fast, some even driving vehicles.
However, since the main attack direction of the Great Tang Empire’s landing troops had not been confirmed, the armored corps of the Mirage Country did not move out. They were still deployed in the rear areas, awaiting orders from Shengwu Zhong.
Walking along the highway under the moonlight, Xiang Ziyu was earnestly hurrying towards Leping, when he faintly heard the sound of vehicles approaching from behind.
The paratroopers did have vehicles – the first batch included about twenty vehicles that were airdropped along with the paratroopers. But the sound of vehicles coming from behind seemed to be much larger in number.
"Enemy presence!" Xiang Ziyu turned and whispered to his soldiers, "Spread out to both sides! Prepare for battle! Ambush! Ambush!"
Upon hearing the order, the paratroopers left the highway and hid on the sloped roadway, taking their weapons off their bodies.
Soon, under the moonlight, a vehicle with its lights on approached, wobbling down the road, followed by a second and then a third... These vehicles driven by the Mirage Country formed a line, slowly moving along the highway.
Clearly, these Mirage Country soldiers were heading to reinforce Leping. It seems that the enemy had guessed the attack direction of the Great Tang Empire paratroopers and adjusted their deployment accordingly.
"Should we hijack a few trucks?" The platoon leader of the second platoon, finding it very inconvenient to move with so much gear, whispered to Xiang Ziyu.
Without thinking, Xiang Ziyu replied, "No need to deliberately capture, use those we can keep, and forget the rest! Prepare to fire! Catch them off guard!"
Soon, as the tenth vehicle passed the last of the Great Tang paratroopers, there were still more vehicles coming, but Xiang Ziyu knew they couldn’t handle any more.
So he leapt up, shouted "Fire!", and raised his assault rifle, pulling the trigger at one of the trucks in the middle.
"Ratatatata!" A barrage of gunfire startled the Goblin drivers, and immediately after they were pummeled by bullets from both flanks.
The leading truck was hit by an RPG from the third squad’s anti-tank gunner and was flung into the air. The explosion lit up the battlefield, and the flying bullets made the fireworks display even more spectacular.
Goblins jumping off the truck one after another were shot before they hit the ground, losing their lives. The Goblins inside the trucks dared not show their heads, but they were soon hit by bullets that pierced the vehicle.
Everywhere there were screams, everywhere there were explosions, the Great Tang Empire paratroopers attacked from both sides at close range, taking advantage of their firepower.
The majority of the Goblin soldiers only had Shireck 1 bolt-action rifles, and to make matters worse, they had no idea where the enemy was.
"Get off the truck! Get off the truck!" Inside the cramped cabin, the Goblin soldiers shouted loudly. Unfortunately, as soon as they lifted the curtain of the truck cabin, they were shot in the head.
"Ah!" The soldiers who were shot at the truck cabin fell from the vehicle onto the ground, while the Goblin standing beside them was also hit by bullets, splattering blood on the curtains, a horrifying sight.
The area they were in was illuminated by headlights and flames, while their opponents’ positions were shrouded in darkness, with only the fleeting flashes of gun muzzles.
The Goblins, utterly unprepared for battle, could only struggle amidst screams and cries. The few shots they managed to fire were hopelessly inaccurate.
Goblins inside the vehicles did not know where the enemy was; those who jumped out saw the enemy but had no chance to shoot. The concentrated bullets from the Type 56 rifles swept through the battlefield like a fierce storm.
Goblins who had just wanted to jump off the truck saw the ones in front of them riddled with bullets and lost the courage to do the same, lying low inside the vehicle, uncertain what to do.
But they too could not escape the deadly bullets. Soldiers of the Great Tang Empire kept firing at the truck cabin, leaving no chance for their enemies to survive.
"Reverse the vehicle! Reverse it quickly!" Seeing the vehicle in front being destroyed, the Goblin officer in the rear vehicle loudly ordered the driver to reverse immediately.
But just as the last truck was about to reverse and flee, a rocket flying from the side hit the truck’s head on. The flames instantly engulfed the vehicle’s engine and cab, and the two Goblins inside didn’t even have time to react before turning into charred corpses.
The Goblins inside the vehicle were engulfed by the spreading flames before they could jump off. The Goblin who was on the very edge, ablaze, leaped from the vehicle and rolled on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames on his body.
The Goblins outside the encirclement hastily reversed their vehicles. Two vehicles collided and ended up overturned below the roadbed. The rest also quickly reversed, fleeing the battlefield in complete disarray.
The goblin truck sandwiched between two exploding, burning vehicles could only remain stationary, with the goblins on board becoming nothing but targets.
They screamed and howled in agony, struggling amidst the barrage of bullets and gunfire, and after just a dozen or so minutes, the only sounds left on the battlefield were the crackle of flames and the whooshing wind.
Xiang Ziyu swapped out a magazine and stuffed the empty one back into his chest magazine pouch: "Send a few men to clear the battlefield, everyone else stay alert!"
"Have the rearguard Troops watch for fleeing enemies; don’t let them double back for a surprise attack!" He made his way onto the highway, standing next to a goblin car riddled with bullet holes, using the still glowing car lights to survey the goblin corpses strewn across the road.
"See if there are any cars we can use!" Old Chen held his assault rifle aloft as he loudly reminded his men: "Be careful! Don’t get ambushed by one playing dead!"
"Da da da da!" Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted from the rear of the formation, followed quickly by the explosion of a Hand Grenade.
Everyone was on high alert, taking cover behind vehicles and watching the distant situation without making a sound. freēnovelkiss.com
Soon someone brought word: "All clear! Two goblin trucks rolled off the embankment, they were hiding quite a number of survivors; our guys took care of them."
"Around 10 vehicles didn’t look back and just ran." The Soldier who delivered the message pointed toward the other direction of the highway and added, "Looks like they don’t have the guts to use this road tonight."
As he spoke, several Soldiers from the third squad brought good news: "This truck seems still operational! We can load our luggage onto the truck and drive it!"
"Any wounded?" Xiang Ziyu, assault rifle in hand, walked past several trucks, questioning the paratroopers who were kicking goblin corpses off the embankment to clear the road.
"No one here, leader," replied a Squad Leader as he quickly lit a cigarette, shaking his head.
There was visible firelight here, so there was no concern for light discipline; he wouldn’t have the guts to smoke if he left this spot.
"Damn, how could these goblin vehicles be made so shoddy? Jeez, this seat’s way too high," cursed a Great Tang Empire paratrooper attempting to climb into the blood-scented driver’s cabin of a truck.
He had never seen such poorly constructed vehicles: not only was the driver’s space extremely cramped, but even the gearshift’s position was irrational.
What frustrated him even more was that the clutch and brake pedals were surprisingly high, making the entire cabin seem like it was designed for a middle school student.
Moreover, when they had killed the goblins in the driver’s cabin earlier, several holes were left in the door, the truck’s windshield shattered, and blood stained all over, contributing to a truly ghastly driving environment.
"Alright, quit complaining; at least it can still be driven." After checking the truck’s engine compartment and pulling out a flashlight from his mouth, another paratrooper consoled, "Having a functional vehicle to transport equipment is good enough."
"Can it keep running?" inquired Xiang Ziyu concernedly. If the truck could still be used, their marching speed would undoubtedly increase significantly.
"Shouldn’t be a problem," replied the Soldier who was just previously grumbling, as the Commander asked, he soberly responded, "I’ll drive slow, it’ll be fine."
"Have the first squad throw the unnecessary supplies onto the truck." Xiang Ziyu immediately ordered the squad, which had already been in a skirmish, to load the luggage onto the truck: "Then, the rest of the squads should do the same! Carry only combat gear! Move quickly!"
While speaking, he called out to his subordinates still inspecting the battlefield: "Third Squad! Clear the road ahead, see if there’s a way around the burning wreckage of the truck at the front."
"Over 180, about a company’s worth... the runners... also about that number, likely a battalion." A Soldier counting casualties ran over, reporting a rather precise figure.
"Nothing useful captured; all infantry, no heavy equipment," he added afterward.
"Then let’s move out quickly! The sky will probably light up in about two hours; we don’t have much time left," Xiang Ziyu ordered after glancing at the star-filled sky.
The vehicles behind were still burning, and those that were unusable were set ablaze by the Tang Army Soldiers. They left the goblin corpses scattered behind and proceeded toward Leping village.
The goblin infantry battalion that had been on its way to reinforce Leping village was routed; while fleeing, they encountered some Great Tang Empire paratroopers and suffered another beating. Then they retreated to their barracks, reporting the roads swarming with Tang Army Soldiers.
The Commander of the Mirage Country Military was also cautious; he decided to wait another two hours until daylight before taking action...
