Munitions Empire

Just as he was frantically shouting, a side of his tank was pierced by an incoming anti-tank rocket. A streak of white smoke flew out from the ruins on this side and directly impacted the side armor of the tank.

The rocket didn't cause a sympathetic explosion, and the Dwarves inside the vehicle didn't have time to think. They jumped out of the pierced tank like rabbits whose tails were on fire, and ran away quickly.

The Tang Army didn't even fire at them. They just watched the terrified tank commander and later those Dwarf tank crew members who jumped out, allowing them to escape back to their own positions.

The battle here was basically over. Three Dwarf tanks were knocked out by a single Tang Army 96 main battle tank without even firing a shot, and the remaining one was eliminated by the Tang Army's anti-tank team.

On another side, intermittently hearing on the radio about friendly tanks being pierced, the Dwarf tank platoon leader started sweating on his forehead.

"Stop! Target at two o'clock!" He loudly ordered, and the tank halted its advancement under his command. After a slight shake, the seemingly mighty turret began to turn.

Due to the armor being too thick and heavy, the turret rotation speed of the Type 10 tank was incredibly slow, which was a major reason why the Dwarf tanks couldn't aim at the Tang Army tanks earlier.

In fact, because the armor on the front of the turret was too heavy, the Dwarf Type 10 tank had to lock the turret while going uphill, or else it might start rotating on its own, potentially damaging the motor or gear structure.

As the motor worked frantically, the turret of this tank slowly turned, and the sight quickly captured a camouflaged target.

The Tang Army's tank had already pointed its thick gun barrel at them, and seeing all this, the Dwarf gunner shivered and stomped on the firing pedal.

"Boom!" A loud explosion followed as the 100mm caliber tank gun of the Dwarf tank spewed rolling flames, launching a shell straight at the Tang Army tank.

In almost an instant, the shell directly hit the left side of the Tang Army tank's turret main armor. Immediately, the shell began to deform, leaving a dent on the Tang Army tank's armor, scraping off the paint, and creating a black scorch mark before changing trajectory and flying upwards to the left.

Yes, it was deflected!

Seeing his shell failed to penetrate the enemy's armor, the Dwarf gunner's face turned white, and he shouted loudly, ordering the loader to quickly load a new shell.

Meanwhile, he started to fine-tune his cannon, aiming at the body of the Tang Army tank because according to Dwarf experience, the hull armor of a tank was generally thinner than the turret armor.

Just as he was adjusting, the Tang Army tank fired. Similarly, the dark gun barrel spewed a hot flame, and a shell directly hit the Dwarf tank.

The enormous impact was felt by everyone inside, making the tank shake. Subsequently, the metal jet raged through the interior, like a steel blade ruthlessly cutting through anything in its path.

The radio inside the Dwarf tank was pierced by shrapnel, sparking blinding flashes. The loader who was holding a shell was hit by a shard, causing the shell to drop. The commander, with his face still on the periscope, felt blood starting to spray from his abdomen, yet hadn't felt any pain. The driver's seat back was penetrated, and shrapnel shot from his chest, shattering the instrument beside him.

A moment later, the pierced shell ignited the propellant, causing a sympathetic explosion, and brutal flames instantly filled the entire tank. The fast-expanding, trapped hot gas directly lifted the turret weighing over ten tons, throwing it into the air.

Due to the lack of effective safety measures, not even having automatic fire extinguishing systems, it was common for Ice Cold Empire's tanks to experience disastrous sympathetic explosions when pierced. At least, when facing the 125mm smoothbore cannon, their tanks were as fragile as paper.

Another nearby Dwarf tank searching for the Tang Army's tank position was immediately blinded by the burning exploding flames.

The Dwarf commander inside, wearing a headset, heard the explosion of the platoon leader's vehicle. Nervously, he checked outside through the all-around periscope atop his head, only to see the unmoving, smoking hull of Tank 201.

"Damn it!" He knew his platoon leader was done for, and he was almost certain that he wouldn't survive much longer either.

"Reverse! Reverse immediately!" In a flash, he thought of a way to survive: reverse immediately and use the burning wreckage of the platoon leader's vehicle as cover to avoid the Tang Army tank's deadly strike.

Upon hearing his order, the tank suddenly halted, inertia causing everyone inside to sway back and forth. Immediately, the desperate voice of the driver came through the headset: "Stalled! Stalled!"

Driving a tank is not an easy task. Maneuvering these heavy beasts smoothly requires long training and precise operation.

For performance reasons, the propulsion system of the Dwarf tanks was already not very reliable, and encountering malfunctions on the battlefield wasn't surprising.

In almost a second, the Dwarf commander issued a new order: "Abandon the tank! Quick! Leave here!"

Simultaneously, he opened the hatch above his head. The gunner moved quickly, also opening his hatch and climbing outside.

The loader was in a worse spot, lacking his own exit and having to wait for the commander and gunner to leave first before he could climb out—there was no other choice, as the loader was the least valued in a tank crew.

The driver didn't hesitate either, abandoning the tank to escape. Due to increased reliability in radio equipment, armored corps worldwide have generally eliminated radio operators, making tank crews the standard four-man teams.

The exception is the Great Tang Empire, which has adopted an automatic loader, so the tank crew consists of three people, without a loader.

Watching the Dwarf crew escape and blend into the fleeing infantry, Liu Guozhu had no intention of pursuing them.

He had completed his mission, supporting the special forces in holding the position. Now that it was daylight, the conclusive landing by Tang Army was in full swing, clearly indicating that the Great Tang Empire's military had established a strong foothold on the beach.