Munitions Empire

The soldier instinctively waved his arms trying to struggle, but he found that he lost all his strength almost instantly. He saw the tip of the knife in front of his chest plunge back into his body, and then saw it emerge from another spot...

Immediately afterward, he fell to the ground, the cold surface beneath him wet, presumably from the blood he was losing. He felt himself being dragged a few steps, and then he knew nothing more.

Inside the headquarters of the Ice Cold Empire, General Moss grabbed the phone, reporting the front-line situation to His Majesty The Emperor distant in the Imperial Capital: "Yes, Your Majesty, the Tang army's air raid was much stronger than we estimated, many of our facilities have been destroyed... However, everything is still within bearable limits. Yes, yes, Your Majesty... I'm waiting for the Tang army's air raid to end, and the troops deployed on the second line are ready for their paratroopers."

"Long live the Emperor!" After hanging up the phone, Moss looked at the adjutant waiting by his side and asked, "What is it?"

"Report, General, there have been new developments on the battlefield," the adjutant reported nervously. "The Tang army has dispatched warships to start bombarding the coastal defenses... this has never happened in previous battles."

As he spoke, he pointed at the map: "Here and here, they are using large-caliber artillery, presumably battleships."

Two points? Moss looked at the places the adjutant pointed to, unsure why the Tang army would choose these two spots to attack. Could it be they plan to focus on these two places for a major attack tomorrow morning?

Of course, he couldn't possibly guess that the Tang Imperial Fleet was concentrating their bombardment on these two sectors to block any possible movement from the Dwarf coastal defense troops, ensuring the safety of the Tang army's special forces in the middle of those two points.

"General, the Tang's large warships are closing in to open fire, should we counterattack?" the adjutant tentatively inquired.

Moss rubbed his eyebrow, falling into thought: he was having difficulty deciding whether to deploy the speedboat troops to counterattack.

The torpedo boats at night were still quite combat-effective in coastal waters. They were fast and didn't have to attack closely; as long as they launched torpedoes from afar, the battleships of the enemy, almost stationary to ensure the accuracy of their bombardment, would definitely suffer.

Yet he hoped the small force at his disposal could be used against the Tang's aircraft carrier: if a miracle really happened and a few of Tang's carriers were sunk, the battle situation would reverse immediately.

He slapped his cheek, knowing he must not be too greedy. The opponent's carrier fleet was undoubtedly of highest value, but they also wouldn't easily expose any weaknesses; sometimes, getting a small advantage was enough, without wanting everything.

Having figured it out, he rubbed his face, massaging his eyes, and decisively ordered, "Deploy the speedboat troops! Engage the submarine forces too! At all costs, launch an attack on the southernmost Tang Imperial Fleet!"

"Don't hesitate! Use up all the torpedoes! Even if you can't sink the enemy ships, force them to abandon their continued bombardment of our coastal positions!" he said while looking at the map, at the location being bombarded to the south.

No matter what the Tang army was intending, he should at least attempt to hinder them. It had been going on for almost half the night; the Tang army's three-wave tactic became silent after the first strike, a highly unusual situation making Moss more and more vigilant.

He felt he had to do something to disrupt the Tang army's deployment. After all, if everything went according to the Tang army's plans, he would only become more passive.

Across the pitch-black sea, the dwarf torpedo boat troops, who had survived the day hiding in concealed bunkers, began mobilizing, firing up their engines and rushing towards the Tang fleet over a hundred kilometers away.

With their high speed, these torpedo speedboats could be deployed 200 kilometers away from the battlefield: within just two or three hours, they could reach the engagement zone, which was their significant advantage.

In contrast, ordinary warships didn't have such flexible deployment options: too far, and they couldn't reach the battlefield in time, too close, and they risked being directly destroyed by air strikes.

Having issued the speedboat attack order, Moss's sense of unease grew stronger. He looked at the clock; it was almost 3 in the morning, and logically, the Tang army's paratroopers should already be parachuting.

But whether they were coming, how many were coming, how they were coming... he had no idea. Waiting was the most frustrating thing, making Moss increasingly anxious and doubtful.

Walking to the telephone, he grabbed it and ordered, "Connect me to Stronghold 5!" The Stronghold 5 he mentioned was in the middle of the two points under Tang army bombardment.

Moss was still a bit uneasy; he felt a reminder was necessary for the defending forces there that the Tang army might likely land on both sides of Stronghold 5 at dawn, focusing on flanking the dwarf garrison within.

"Unable to connect, General." On the other end, the operator awkwardly reported, "Perhaps the air strikes severed the phone lines."

Tonight, many places had difficulty connecting calls; some were due to simultaneous usage by others, while some were genuinely damaged by Tang's bombings, destroying infrastructure.

Although this situation wasn't uncommon, for the already suspicious Moss, the inability to reach Stronghold 5 seemed to reveal a lot of issues.

Even from the most assured angle, cutting off Stronghold 5's communication line to prevent their distress calls and delaying the Ice Cold Empire's reinforcement speed was already very dangerous.

So Moss immediately looked at the adjutant and ordered, "Send a messenger to Stronghold 5 immediately! Inform them the phone line has been cut, and that the Tang army is very likely to land where they are..."

At this, Moss seemed to realize something, he looked at the two Tang bombardment points recently marked on the map with a red pen, and burst into a rage: "Damn it! They might have already started landing!"

Speaking while grabbing the phone, he commanded loudly: "Hello! This is General Moss! Connect me to line 2, Stronghold 5! Now! Quick! Hello! It's Moss! Immediately order the reserve troops to advance! Enter first line Stronghold 5! If the Tang army is attacking there, reinforce and hold the position. If not, stay put and await new orders!"

"Yes!" On the other end of the phone, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the dwarf officer replied immediately, and after hanging up, he instructed the on-duty officer: "Assemble the 340th regiment on standby rest immediately! Enter first line Stronghold 5!"

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One more chapter updated