Chapter 89: Ground Offensive
Gu Hang suddenly felt a pang of unease.
He stood up from his seat and walked to the window to look outside.
From here, he couldn’t see the specific situation on the battlefield, but the sound of the heavy artillery’s rage could be heard across half the city.
He already knew that Gretel, along with the Battle Nuns, had headed over there. Logically speaking, there shouldn’t be any problems.
However, Gu Hang could not ignore the unease he had felt before.
He was a psychic, and intuition, most of the time, was a real premonition that something was going to happen.
Listening to the continuous sound of artillery, Gu Hang was still uneasy.
Instead of being entangled here, it would be better to go in person and find out.
Gu Hang set off.
In addition to setting off, he also sent a message, hoping that the Phoenix Battle Group, which was resting somewhere in the city, would also arrive quickly.
This was still a mission request. According to him, Sister Gretel might run into trouble.
He believed that Martince, who had fought alongside Sister Gretel before, would not sit idly by.
Anyway, they were idle.
…
Gu Hang’s speed was very fast. As soon as he had the thought, he soared into the sky.
This was the advantage of being a psychic.
By the time he arrived at the scene, Lambert, Pobof, Gretel, and others had already been conducting ground attacks for a while.
Several rounds of heavy artillery had been fired, with more than a hundred heavy shells hitting the area.
The entire factory district, if not turned into ruins, was not far from it. According to their assessment, under such circumstances, the non-professional soldiers inside, who were merely armed workers, must have suffered heavy casualties, and their morale should have almost collapsed.
The next step was for the infantry, led by the battle nuns, to enter and clean up the battlefield. The dead were left alone, the living were captured and thrown into the prisoner-of-war camp, and how to deal with them later was not the army’s concern. As for those still resisting, they were, of course, to be killed.
According to Pobof’s idea, this should be a very easy task.
Indeed, all fear stemmed from insufficient firepower.
Without this type of heavy artillery capable of directly damaging concrete and cement structures, relying solely on the previous 60mm mortars, grenades, and rifles… even if the opponents were just armed workers, it would likely cost many lives to take down this factory district.
But now, with just ten captured 155mm heavy cannons, the battle was much more comfortable.
If you could use heavy artillery, first bombard them with a dozen rounds, and then send in the infantry to clean up the battlefield, who would be willing to risk their lives in the trenches? That’s why artillery is called the god of war.
However, before entering, Gretel issued a warning to him and the commander of the 6th Battalion.
“Do not let your guard down; there are still strong enemies inside.”
“Strong enemies?”
Pobof was a bit skeptical at the time. What strong enemy could be tougher than a 155mm howitzer?
Then, he remembered the elegance of the Phoenix and the Saint Mercy Lilies on the battlefield.
Uh… if the enemies were of that caliber, it might indeed be a problem.
If someone else had said it, he might not have believed it, but it was this gentle yet formidable Sister who spoke.
So it was best to believe her.
Pobof discussed with the commander of the 6th Battalion and decided not to throw all their forces in at once.
Although they only had six hundred men, which was a bit insufficient for such a large factory district, it was better to proceed cautiously and slowly.
They each sent in a company first.
As the companies advanced, they operated in squads, each responsible for pushing forward; the squads were spaced apart, and each squad was further broken into three-man teams to sweep through the semi-ruined factory district.
At the officers’ orders, the soldiers crouched, using the ruins as cover, advancing slowly and meticulously. They wouldn’t move forward until a sector was confirmed safe.
As it turned out, there were indeed enemies.
Moreover, these enemies were highly determined to resist.
Those men, dressed in workers’ clothing and wielding weapons barely better than iron pipes, emerged from the ruins.
When they appeared, they were usually only thirty to fifty meters away from the advancing soldiers, not far at all.
Upon emerging, they would fire a burst at a squad of infantry.
The soldiers reacted quickly, dropping to the ground and seeking cover.
The armed workers’ marksmanship was poor, and most shots went wide. Even if a soldier got hit, their plastic steel armor could save their life.
While one squad was suppressed, another three-man team nearby would immediately launch a counterattack.
Comparatively, Gu Hang’s soldiers were far better marksmen than the armed workers, and the G9 assault rifles they used were much more reliable than the workers’ weapons.
One burst from a three-man team would be enough to kill all the armed workers who had emerged.
After securing the kills, they did not lower their guns but continued to aim at the spot while signaling tactical gestures to the previously suppressed squad.
The three soldiers quickly got up and headed to the location of the fallen targets.
They needed to confirm the kills and check for any remaining enemies.
If there were any survivors, they would finish them off. Meanwhile, the three who made the initial kills provided covering fire. If any enemies appeared, they would immediately engage them.
Not far away, Gretel, who was about to take action, lowered her weapon.
Her gaze showed a hint of surprise.
The performance of these soldiers exceeded her expectations.
Previously, she hadn’t paid much attention to the combat conditions of the Governor’s ordinary infantry.
Although their individual equipment looked similar to that of the Imperial regular army—G-series rifles and plastic steel vests—this could only be considered basic cannon fodder gear.
Ideally, a squad should be equipped with mortars and possibly several LR-type laser guns and HS-type electromagnetic rifles.
Simple fragmentation grenades might not suffice; even if they couldn’t get thermal bombs or compressed energy bombs, they should at least have more rocket launchers.
Even for pure light infantry, the equipment of the Governor’s soldiers was somewhat lacking.
But this was understandable, forgivable, and even commendable.
At least, the Governor was making efforts to bring his troops’ armament closer to that of the Star Realm Army. What more could be demanded?
However, in actual combat, the combat skills and performance of these soldiers were impressive.
Although their equipment was insufficient, their training level resembled that of the regular units of the Star Realm Army.
Even Gretel couldn’t underestimate such a team.
With their help, she felt she and her sisters could relax a bit.
But just as she thought this, a sudden change occurred!