We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 87 The Collapsed Front, the Empire's All-Out Blitzkrieg (3k)

Seeing the notification in the live stream, Duan Yu couldn't help but twitch his lips:

"No way?"

"What bad luck?"

Following the prompts in the live stream, Duan Yu quickly opened the official website of Polaris Games, found the real-time map, zoomed in, and soon located the position of Kiev.

Meanwhile, the troops in front of Kiev are putting up a difficult resistance.

Judging from the map, the Soviet Union's troops were fighting and retreating, heading towards Kiev.

And it wasn't just Kyiv; on the map at this time...

The colors representing imperial power, like irregular branches, seeped into the Soviet Federation's sphere of influence from all directions. The Soviet Federation's troops fought and retreated simultaneously; if they didn't retreat quickly enough, they would be surrounded.

Compared to the blitzkrieg waged in Poland.

At this point, the Reich and the Soviet Union had established a battle line of more than two thousand kilometers, which more clearly demonstrated the core of Blitzkrieg.

The Empire's troops, like sharp swords, pierced through the Soviet Union, dividing the battlefield.

The subsequent developments involved cutting off their retreat, completing the encirclement, and annihilating them—a smooth and efficient operation that explains why the Empire's invasion was able to advance so deeply in just a few days.

Looking at the real-time map.

Duan Yu, looking utterly hopeless, returned to the game.

"Where do we run to?"

Looking down at her own attire, she then noticed the shoe-shining toolbox and the small stool at her feet.

Hmm. He reopened as a shoeshine boy.

Then there's no way to escape. They don't even have a gun; are they going to run out and become targets?

Moreover, how could two legs possibly outrun an armored tank with four wheels?
Duan Yu simply sat down and slumped over, sitting on a small stool. He picked up a shoe brush and a shoe-shining cloth and examined them:

"Running away is impossible."

"Seriously, they even teach how to shine shoes? That's way too detailed!"

The descriptions and instructions for using the shoe brush and shoe-shining cloth flashed before Duan Yu's eyes. After fiddling with the items in the toolbox for a while, Duan Yu, sitting on the small stool, looked around. There were very few passersby, and they were all in a hurry.

Duan Yu shook his head, probably already knowing about the battle ahead.

Then, as if remembering something, he put down the shoe brush and shoe-shining cloth, brought up the real-time map of the Polaris official website in the live broadcast room, zoomed in on it, and found the names of Soviet cities that had not yet fallen.

Looking ahead at the city of 'Dubra' that was being resisted.

Next, open the Tiansha Live platform and search for the three words 'Dubra'. The next second, many live streams with the three words 'Dubra' in their titles will pop up.

Due to the Empire's attack, the Blue Star players experienced initial chaos.

It was discovered that although each person's immersive storyline in the game is independent, the time progress is the same, and the Empire's offensive is synchronized in real time. In order to attract traffic, some streamers added place names to their live stream titles.

This made it easier for players to search and check the battle situation, and many streamers followed suit.
Now, if you want to see a battle in a certain area, just search for the location name.

The player base for World War II: Rise of Empires is there, even though they are all independent [immersive storylines].

But there are so many people, they come from all over the place, you can find them with a simple search.

Even in a small city like 'Dubra', you can find more than a dozen live streaming rooms.

In major federal cities like Moscow and Stalingrad, you can find hundreds of live streams, with hosts broadcasting from different perspectives.

Duan Yu glanced at 'Dubra's' live stream.

Duan Yu immediately spotted the most popular live stream, which turned out to be from the perspective of a tank soldier. He clicked on it directly.

at this time.

【Intense battle in Dubra, the Soviet Federation will surely win!!!】In the live stream room.

The roar of engines echoed in the live broadcast room. Inside the crowded tank compartment, the anchor, Shi Ze, the gunner, peered through the scope, observing the movements of the Imperial armored forces.
"Quick! Load!"

The loader inside the gun compartment quickly stuffed the shells into the gun barrel.

As the Imperial tanks drew closer, Ishizawa stepped on the pedal, causing the entire tank to shudder.

boom--! ! !
A shell hit the turret on top of the Empire's tank.

however.

Shi Ze showed no joy, because the explosion was merely a glancing blow and did not cause irreversible damage to the Imperial tank. Instead, the tank seemed to be enraged and turned around.

It was the same retaliatory shell.

boom--! ! !
The tank where Ishizawa was located shook violently. After a brief check, everyone inside breathed a sigh of relief.
"no problem."

"Keep fighting!"

At this time.

An anxious voice came from the old wireless equipment:

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"The Empire's Stukas are coming! Don't gather together!!!"

Upon hearing the warning over the radio, everyone in the cabin paled. Shi Ze directed the driver to retreat quickly, while simultaneously observing the movements of the Imperial tank force through the scope, and couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"Damn, this is so frustrating!"

"What's the point of fighting like this?" Despite having a 4:1 numerical advantage (approximately 3100 Soviet tanks to 728), they still didn't gain any advantage. After an initial surprise attack, they were chased and attacked by the Imperial tanks and armored vehicles that had recovered for two consecutive days.

Moreover, this is a plain, with nowhere to hide, so a head-on battle is the only option.

However, apart from a small number of high-performance T-34 tanks, the vast majority of the tanks on the Soviet side were old T-26s, which not only needed maintenance, but many of them also lacked wireless equipment.

In addition, the command system was also in disarray. On the second day, Ishizawa's crew even received three different and conflicting orders, which was one of the reasons for the defeat.

This has led to the current situation.

If viewed from above, one would see tank and armored formations of the Empire and the Soviet Union scattered across this boundless plain.

But most of the time it was just a few dozen Imperial tanks chasing after hundreds of Soviet tanks.

Stuka bombers flew overhead.

They dropped a large number of bombs on the retreating Soviet Union armored forces, exacerbating the already chaotic situation and causing it to collapse.

The tank that Ishizawa was in was a T-34, whose performance was far superior to the others.

Therefore, they were not caught up by the Empire's armored forces and were fortunate enough to avoid the bombing until they rested in the evening.

Shi Ze, emerging from the tank compartment, looked at the assembled Soviet tank force and said to the live broadcast studio:
"At least a third is gone."

Shi Ze shook his head and brought up the real-time map on the Polaris official website.

The entire battlefield is in a state of collapse, but the orders from above are to attack. This is already the third day, and it is unknown how many more days they can hold off the Imperial forces. Once this place is breached, the next step will be Kiev in the rear.

"This is fucking terrible."

Individual strength plays almost no role in war. Although we've destroyed a few Imperial tanks in the past few days, we're still being chased and attacked. How can we fight like this?

And Ishizawa wasn't the only one with this question.

The same applies to other players.

After a few days of development, players' attention shifted from being ambushed, killed, and complaining to analyzing the war.

Unlike war games that serve as a backdrop in military chess or other games.

In World War II: Rise of Empires, thanks to Zhao Ming's subtle manipulation, at least 60% of players have aligned their timelines with the 'Operation Barbarossa' event.

So almost all players are experiencing this war, and there are real-time maps that constantly show the latest battle situation, creating a feeling as if they are watching key moments in the game world.

Players' attention was gradually drawn to the two sides of the match, and they began to analyze and discuss who would win or lose. Discussions about the game on the forums also increased.

Four days later.

Inside Duan Yu's live stream.

Duan Yu was strolling around Kyiv, carrying his shoe-shining toolbox and enjoying the scenery.

The live stream chat was filled with comments:
[You dared to run? Now you're finished. Dubra can't stop you.]

[Next stop is Kyiv, the streamer's done for.]

"???"

Duan Yu looked at the live stream chat with a puzzled expression:
"It's only been a few days?"

"They couldn't hold them off so quickly?"

The live stream chat was filled with comments:
[Check the official website; someone has compiled a list on the forum.]

[This is outrageous! The Soviet Union lost 2648 tanks, while the Reich lost only 260. A ten-to-one casualty ratio is absurd.]

[There's no way around it. The Reich just blitzed Poland and France, sweeping through Europe with their tanks and soldiers. The Soviets are all using old tanks that stall even when they're moving. How are they supposed to fight?]

That's a bit outrageous. The Soviet command was too chaotic, and the situation collapsed far too quickly.

Kyiv is definitely finished too.

Duan Yu looked at the comments in the live stream, opened Tiansha Live, searched for Shi Ze's account, and found that he was not broadcasting.

The chat in the live stream prompted this.

Don't bother looking for him, that guy was beaten to death last night.

This time it's a total failure.

Can Kyiv hold them off?

[It's a close call. The entire front is on the verge of collapse. If we retreat any further, we'll be heading straight for Moscow.]

Duan Yu looked at the real-time map. At this moment, the Imperial forces had destroyed the armored forces resisting in Dubra, and the familiar blitzkrieg tactics began to be used again.

An imperial armored force swept through, piercing the arc-shaped battle line and splitting it in two, as if determined to smash this armored hammer into Kiev.

Player forums are buzzing with speculation about how many days it will take for this force to reach Kyiv.

Because the resistance forces had collapsed, there was absolutely no defensive action now. Kiev, on the other hand, was not unprepared, as Dubla had resisted for more than seven days.

Kyiv has amassed its forces and seems to be preparing for a counterattack.

Large numbers of troops gathered around Kiev, waiting for the Imperial forces to attack.

But that's it.

The Empire made a move that shocked all the players and caught the Soviet Union off guard.

(End of this chapter)