Munitions Empire

"Calling..." Before he could finish his words, he was hit by an incoming combat missile, the flames devoured everything, and a Yinglong fighter jet roared as it swept over the blaze, its engine's roar like an enraged dragon.

After shooting down its target, the Yinglong fighter jet sped away, and the last plane nearby, with the Ice Cold Empire's insignia painted on its wing, was also annihilated.

Like dividing up a delicious meal, the Tang Army fighter jets, upon entering the fray, shot down all the stragglers. Their missiles have gone through many iterations, and the combat missile can lock onto the relatively low heat propeller aircraft.

Although the early warning aircraft couldn't detect these low-altitude battlefield entry planes, the Tang Army's smooth communication ensured the air force appeared precisely where needed.

Then, the Dwarf soldiers, who hoped their planes would appear again, realized their air force hadn't shown up since their early morning appearance over the battlefield.

The Tang Country Navy's Intruder attack aircraft flew frequently over the battlefield, fully loaded with bombs, greeting their Ice Cold Empire counterparts in their special way.

Previously, these MiG-3 fighter jets could take off because the airport they used was small, escaping the Tang Army's nighttime focused attacks.

Now, all the large airports capable of launching jet fighters were completely paralyzed, allowing the Tang Army's aircraft to spare some force for dealing with these so-called secondary targets.

When dense cluster bombs fell onto these small airport runways, the Dwarven Air Force could no longer launch fighter jets for combat.

Moreover, after exposure, many aircraft within these airports were destroyed: at several hidden airports, the Dwarves' concealed Saab bombers were bombed while still on the ground.

These ancient twin-engine propeller bombers were severely outdated, but the Dwarves still brought them into the battlefield.

This was due to the Dwarven frontline commander Moss's attrition tactics: he believed that stacking these weapons deep within the Steel Rampart, would attract some attention from the Tang Army regardless.

Even if it only consumed part of the Tang Army's ammunition, these originally obsolete bombers would have served their purpose at the end of their life.

If the Tang Army didn't bomb these planes, Moss would indeed seek opportunities to use these bombers, even if it meant bringing some damage to the Tang Army, these aircraft would be worth the cost.

Now, his scheme seemed to have succeeded, as Ice Cold Empire's fighter jets emerged in the sky, the Tang Army's ground attack increased several times, with Intruder attack aircraft seemingly going berserk, destroying every target they could find.

"The Groundfire Strike Group seems to be annihilated; communication is disrupted, they've lost contact." An Air Force liaison officer walked to Moss's side, reporting the latest battle situation.

"The Tang Army has destroyed our hidden small airports, and now we can barely launch planes to confront them." He was somewhat resigned, as the Tang Nation Air Force's strength was well-known, the result wasn't unexpected.

"What about those deliberate weaknesses?" Moss withdrew his gaze from the map, having just redirected a large number of troops to the 5th defense line, attempting a final counterattack.

He hoped that when his ground forces reached the frontline, those decoys would serve a certain role, distracting the Tang Army aircraft's ground attack efforts.

"The Tang Army bombed two airports hosting Saab bombers, we lost about 70 of them, but the pilots are fine." The Air Force liaison officer finally showed some relief.

The little traps designed before the war finally played some role, as the Tang Army was busy attacking those small airports and their decoys, leaving fewer planes for attacking the Dwarf ground forces.

What they didn't know was that as the Tang Army opened up their offensive front, their ground attack tasks were gradually shifting towards helicopter units and artillery units.

The Air Force was more focused on maintaining air superiority and supporting the paratroopers trapped within Dwarf encirclement. Indeed, the Tang Nation paratroopers were surrounded, Dwarves' deployment was precise, and upon gathering, Tang Nation's paratroopers found themselves nearly immobile.

Surrounded by Dwarf's makeshift defensive positions, although Tang Nation soldiers bravely seized some trenches and bunkers, they could no longer make new breakthroughs, as the opponent had already reacted.

This was also the frequent use of paratroopers' side effect: lacking surprise, the paratroopers' operations wouldn't be so smooth. This situation was bound to happen, potentially accompanied by significant casualties.

The Tang Army managed to stabilize their position with formidable air support and advanced weaponry, avoiding mass annihilation of paratroopers luck was on their side.

Tagg and Bernard never expected the paratroopers to achieve glorious results; their presence was merely a "diversion" baiting the enemy.

According to the pre-war plan, the Tang Army armored corps would advance to support and reinforce the paratroopers' defense line within one to two days. Until then, the paratroopers could only rely on themselves and air support to continue fighting.

"Very well, thus our ground forces can peacefully annihilate the Tang Country paratroopers within the encirclement, while striving to reclaim lost positions on the front." Moss slightly relaxed, thinking his plan was reasonably successful.

"Let the troops act according to plan... be in place by noon, start the counterattack! Drive the Tang Army into the sea!" He clenched his fist and slammed it onto the map.

Aboard the Bernard Admiral's flagship, Tagg was waiting for feedback from the frontline troops. His troops were extending towards both flanks, almost occupying the Dwarf positions previously destroyed by the gunfire from the fleet.

He had ordered more forces input to bypass these places, to attack Dwarves' 4th and 6th positions — he didn't know these positions' numbers, but he knew what it meant if he seized them.

Once he clears threats from both flanks, he controls more landing sites, allowing subsequent troops to land quicker and safer. Once deploying Tang Army's heavy units, Tagg is confident he can break through the Dwarves' defenses... regardless of how well-built they are.

"Start the attack before noon! Smash the Dwarves' flanks!" Tagg pressed his hand onto the map, speaking resolutely.

------

Supplementing another chapter