Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 129 They're shameless, they're playing the shameless card!
In the afternoon, Milton's combat troops were very close to Lyman's checkpoint.

Everything is ready. We've done our best, and now we can only leave the rest to fate.

Before launching an attack, gather as much information as possible.

The helicopter flew to an altitude of 2000 meters, where Brandon was using a telephoto night vision device to observe enemy troops from the air.

Once an aircraft exceeds 1800 meters, it becomes virtually undetectable to the naked eye. Even if the enemy might have anti-aircraft missiles, they lack radar and have no idea where Milton's aircraft is.

The prerequisite for shooting down Milton with a man-portable air defense system is that they know where Milton is.

The enemy's location, the methods they intend to use for defense, and where reinforcements might come from...etc.

Although the excellent matchmaking system in South America makes it difficult for any great tactical mastermind to emerge, Milton still dares not be careless.

Even the US and Soviet armies could be defeated by such a seemingly weak enemy.

Even though he looked down on Lyman, Milton still carefully gathered information.

"Hmm... Based on our observations, Lyman seems to have done some work. The first line of defense looks like it's all cannon fodder, with no high-value targets, and they're scattered around."

"It seems that Lyman has moved all his treasures to the second line of defense. We can bomb the first line of defense as we please, as long as our armored vehicles and infantry don't move, his forces behind it will definitely not move, is that right?"

Flora chimed in, "This tactic is very old, but at least it's not a disorganized mess, and we don't have enough manpower... It actually seems to be somewhat effective?"

"After looking at it, we still have to use the old-fashioned method. First, we'll use rocket artillery to cover their first line of defense, and then we'll use rocket artillery to cover their possible reinforcement routes, cutting off the routes for reinforcements from the second line of defense."

"During this period when the enemy is unable to provide support, our men should move up quickly, eliminate as many enemies as possible in the first trench, and capture the position."

"However... I think their defenses are fairly well constructed, the fortifications are barely complete, and their troops are scattered. If we directly bombard their defenses, it might not cause them much casualties."

"After Xu Jin suppresses the enemy's reinforcements with his barrage, our gyroplanes can go up, which may bring a little limited air superiority, but that's all."

"Then it will be time to test the capabilities of our 'army'."

Flora finished speaking seriously about the important matter, then immediately put on a smiling expression: "But I don't think there should be any major problems. You really shouldn't overestimate these people's morale."

Milton nodded slightly, and was about to say something when Brandon next to him suddenly exclaimed.

"I've spotted a high-value target!"

Milton immediately turned around and asked, "Have you found any high-value targets?"

To ensure that reconnaissance information arrives quickly, the helicopter is also equipped with a radio, enabling direct communication with the ground commanders on the front lines responsible for directing the battle.

Maintaining smooth information transmission channels at all times can, to a large extent, directly determine the outcome of a battle.

"Boss, wait a minute... wait a minute." Brandon seemed a little incredulous at what he was seeing. "I think I can see the command post on the other side! Really, I can see it!"

"You actually saw what?" Milton frowned. "How could you see that in the middle of the night? Do you have superpowers?"

It's not that having night vision goggles means you can see the enemy—if that were the case, why couldn't American soldiers, who had absolute air superiority, find the Viet Cong in broad daylight?
These forward command posts are usually well hidden, at least in semi-underground bunkers, surrounded by various camouflage features, making them very difficult to spot.

“Really, boss!” Brandon exclaimed excitedly. “It’s not that I have superpowers, it’s that they’re having a barbecue, an open-flame barbecue. Anyone who’s not blind can see that at night…”

"..." Milton was stunned for a moment. "What did you say? Are you sure it was their commander barbecuing?"

"He must be an important person at least. I saw several people wearing bulletproof vests standing around him, and there were heavy machine guns nearby."

Milton paused for two seconds, then asked, "Could it be a decoy?"

"Boss, I feel that with their current manpower, they shouldn't mistake nearly 20 people with so much good equipment for a false target. Even if they are false targets, it's really worth it to take them down."

On the eve of battle, at dusk, a barbecue was being prepared over an open fire...

Milton thought about the preparations he had made over the past month, feeling somewhat like he was trying to wink at a blind man, and then said, "Let me confirm this again."

"I'm sure they were drinking. I couldn't see clearly from that distance, but my gut feeling told me it was good wine... and people without status and position would never be drinking on the front lines."

Milton: "Let me confirm again."

"Sure!"

"Notify the artillery to cover this area." Milton turned around and said nothing more. "Then, as planned, cover the roads that the enemy's second line of defense might use to reinforce..."

Ten minutes later, the coordinates had been calibrated.

Armored vehicles and trucks full of infantry were ready. All the soldiers with guns disembarked in an orderly manner and followed behind the armored vehicles, waiting for the shelling to end before launching the attack.

Flora then flew the helicopter out of the rocket artillery's trajectory range and continued to circle in the air. If the shot went astray, she would have to prepare to have the artillery check it.

A few minutes later, Milton saw 107mm rockets, trailing plumes of fire, hurtling towards the "barbecue stand" from afar!

A 107mm gun has 12 barrels, but Milton brought a total of 25 guns this time, and a total of 300 rockets were fired down. From the air, the scene was spectacular.

Meteor shower!

When the first 107mm rocket whistled as it crashed into the ground—it landed directly on the barbecue grill, exploding into an orange-red firework—the poor guy, who was well-equipped, was blown to pieces before he even had a chance to take his first sip of alcohol.

In an instant, the enemy camp was turned into a sea of ​​fire, and these "warriors" who were originally recruited from various places and were strangers to each other suddenly became acquaintances.

"The first round of shelling was extremely effective!"

"Armored vehicles, advance! The next round of artillery fire will block any possible support routes! Hurry! We don't have much time!"

Soon, all the armored vehicles rushed forward at full speed and soon reached the core of the first line of defense, which had been reduced to scorched earth.

Milton was prepared to lose armored vehicles, or even more than one.

Don't feel any reluctance or sadness about spending it; this stuff is meant to be used!

What does the loss of equipment matter as long as we can win?
……

At this moment, on the ground.

Those who held the first line of defense were caught off guard by the shelling, and the entire command team was blasted into charred remains!
boom! boom! boom!
Amidst the roar, those who hadn't had time to retreat to their fortifications, along with the two "commanding machine guns," were directly engulfed by the near-saturation artillery fire and reduced to ashes.

Those soldiers who did their best to huddle in the trenches and lock themselves in the fortifications listened to the constant, violent explosions around them and watched as some unlucky guy in the distance was blown to pieces by a rocket that hit the crater. They kept praying in their hearts that God would protect them.

Of course, this is because they don't have the opportunity to watch television.

If they saw what happened to Father Raymond, they wouldn't expect God to save them.

Here, God has no say.

"The 'Second Lieutenant' is dead!!!"

"Damn, something flew over and hit us... It's an eyeball! It must be that idiot 'Lieutenant's' eyeball. Didn't he say Milton wouldn't attack us today?"

"That idiot! He lured Milton here by lighting a fire for a barbecue at night! Otherwise, how could the enemy's artillery fire have been so accurate?!"

"How to do?"

“We have other brothers around us, don’t be afraid!” At this moment, a rather fierce gang member struggled to his feet. “Quick, go into the bunker and get the RPG!”

"It's not completely dark yet! Hurry, if it gets completely dark we're doomed! I heard those vehicles have equipment that allows you to see people clearly at night!"

"Spread out! Don't all huddle together! Do you want to get taken out by Milton's shot?!"

"Go, go to the bunker, ask Lyman for help! We can't hold out..."

"It's over! Our radio station has been destroyed!"

"Run!"

The entire defensive line was in chaos. Some people were trying to reorganize the troops, some were trying to call for reinforcements, and some were even preparing to pack up some belongings and escape.

"We can't escape anymore, Milton is here! Counterattack! Counterattack!"

Not far away, six LAV-25 infantry fighting vehicles have appeared, providing artillery suppression for the position, and further behind them is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and a self-propelled mortar with the same chassis.

Da da da da da…

Several men leaned out and began firing indiscriminately with their Type 56 assault rifles.

He fired shots while shouting to bolster his courage.

"Die!" "Come on, you scum!"

"You son of a bitch, do you think we're scared?"

Another gang member was crouching in the trench, frantically loading his RPG when he looked up and suddenly heard an extremely dense barrage of artillery fire.

hum hum...

A short burst of fire from the anti-aircraft gun turned his two comrades, who had just been shouting, into blood splattered all over him.

He was startled, raised his RPG, and randomly aimed at an armored vehicle before firing.

call out!
The rocket-assisted armor-piercing projectile, spewing fire and leaving a long trail of flame, flew past and actually hit the frontal armor of an LAV-25!
A violent explosion rang out, and a fireball exploded in front of the armored vehicle, producing a huge plume of smoke.

The gang member was overjoyed, threw down the rocket launcher, and shouted, "Hit! I hit their armored vehicle, Joel, did you see that? I..."

boom! boom! boom!
Before the words were even finished, a self-propelled mortar in the distance, based on the location information just now, directly laid fire on the area where the gang was located.

Ten high-explosive grenades flew over, blowing the man and the rocket launcher into the air.

Such simple trenches are no match for the firepower of mortars raining down from the sky!
What's even more terrifying is that the armored vehicle that was hit seemed completely unharmed, driving straight out of the thick smoke at high speed, its machine gun firing wildly, and its 25mm autocannon also firing furiously.

In the rush, the gang member had just loaded the RPG with anti-personnel fragmentation rounds, and Milton's armored vehicle was equipped with explosive reactive armor, so a single shot hitting the frontal armor was simply not enough to destroy the armored vehicle.

Instead of destroying it, it enraged the soldiers on the armored vehicle—one of the three rebels who harbored deep hatred for the government.

The armored vehicle's engine roared, mocking the carbon-based creature's vulnerability, before its wheels rolled into the trench.

What is the biggest fear of trenches?
They are armored units!

When the first armored vehicle rolled over the trench, repeatedly crushing Lyman's men like lubricant for wheels, the defensive line almost simultaneously declared a partial collapse.

On the other side, another gang member picked up a rocket launcher and hit the frontal armor of the armored vehicle. This time he used an armor-piercing round, but it was still deflected by the explosion.

He wasn't holding a tandem armor-piercing projectile!

The gangsters had never seen such a massive iron lump that even a rocket launcher couldn't destroy. Terrified, they turned and fled.

"Run! The rocket launcher just hit the armored vehicle, but it didn't work!"

"Why risk your life for such a small amount of money?"

"That's right, the 'Second Lieutenant' eats meat, we eat compressed biscuits, and he wants us to risk our lives? Let's run..."

But how could a person outrun artillery shells? Those who got up to run away were almost instantly locked on by the machine guns on the armored vehicles and the machine guns on the bulletproof vehicles, and fell in droves.

"Go shoot their armored vehicles, they're so vulnerable!"

"Shoot them!" Joel shouted, his voice trembling as he picked up his rifle. "We have to shoot them so their armored vehicles will have to slow down to cover the infantry, giving us a chance to escape. Shoot them!"

As he spoke and shouted, Joel half-squatted up and actually saw a figure in the distance rushing towards them in an armored car.

The armored car's guns were firing at the side...

good chance!
Without hesitation, Joel aimed at the soldier next to the car and pulled the trigger. A dozen bullets swept across the area, and surprisingly, one of them actually hit the soldier.

The soldier fell to the ground.

"Hahaha!" Joel exclaimed with elation, "I took one down! I took one down!"

Before the words were even finished, and before the feeling of joy had even reached its peak, the soldier who had fallen to the ground staggered to his feet, seemingly unharmed, with only a slightly dirty hem of his clothes.

He dove and hid behind the armored car, shouting something. The next second, the machine gun in the armored car turned and spat fire.

Boom boom boom boom!
Joel dropped to the ground quickly, and the bullets missed him, but the unfortunate guys next to him fared much worse. One of them was shot in the waist and crawled toward Joel on his hands, screaming for help.

"How can we fight this?"

Joel was completely bewildered.

For some reason, the rocket launcher couldn't hit the enemy's armored vehicles. Despite risking countless lives for a chance to fire, both shots failed to hit and couldn't disable even a single enemy armored vehicle.

What puzzled him even more was that he had just clearly seen the bullet hit the enemy infantryman, but the man was only knocked to the ground and got up the next second, looking like he hadn't even suffered a minor injury.

why?
Could it be their bulletproof vests?

Are bulletproof vests really that powerful?
When have they ever seen such a desperate situation when fighting gang street brawls?

A car will be smashed if it is hit by a rocket launcher, and a person will die if he is hit by a bullet. This is common sense!

How could Milton's men resort to such underhanded tactics?
"Our rocket launchers can't damage their armored vehicles, and our bullets can't get through their men. We're done for! Run! Run!"

Joel glanced desperately behind him, crawled out of the trench, kept his body low to the ground, and ran frantically backward.

During this process, people kept falling and dying, and several bullets even grazed Joel's scalp.

The dozen or so people who were still alive were all in a terrible state, and most of them were injured.

Of the 50 people, only these few survived after a battle that lasted more than ten minutes.

The efficiency of the massacre was comparable to that of tying up unarmed civilians and executing them one by one.

Fortunately, it seems that because the enemy's main focus was on the defensive line and capturing positions, their firepower weakened significantly after they had run a certain distance.

With the cover provided by various terrain features, it's unlikely that bullets will hit them anymore.

Great, we're safe now...

Once we get past this pass, we can retreat to the second line of defense...

The thought had barely formed when countless rockets suddenly flew down from the sky, accurately covering the pass. Unfortunately, a police officer who was running too fast was blown to pieces.

Joel stopped in his tracks.

Although it was called a pass, the terrain was actually quite open, and there might have been a chance to break through even if one charged through under artillery fire, but Joel didn't want to take the risk.

He believed that Milton did not have enough rocket launchers and ammunition to cover the road for an entire day.

The main purpose of this bombing was to prevent support vehicles from the rear from getting through.

Sure enough, after three rounds of shelling, Joel waited for quite a while but didn't see any more rocket attacks.

"Freedom awaits us ahead!"

“I will never go back to the front lines after I go back. No matter how much money you offer me, I won’t do it. Milton is a monster.”

"Lyman actually expects us to hold out for a month?!"

"I can't even last half an hour..."

The gang members and police officers ahead cheered and ran wildly toward freedom and life.

"..."

"I should go now... After this war is over, I'll go home and get married!"

Joel patted his chest, relieved to be alive, and just as he took a step, he suddenly heard the sound of propellers coming from the sky.

Joel stopped abruptly, realizing that he had overlooked a very important issue during the intense battle.

Milton has an air force!
With support from the second line of defense blocked and anti-aircraft missiles unable to reach the first line, Milton could use air power...

Why didn't he use it before?
The next second, a wall of fire standing in front of him gave him the answer.

napalm bombs!
The raging fire engulfed the entire pass and the people who had just rushed through it, completely blocking all escape routes.

Behind me, the sound of an armored vehicle's engine slowly drifted up.

"It's over..."

This was Joel's last thought.

He didn't hear the cannon fire because before the sound of the shells even reached him, the rapidly spinning shells had already shredded his body into mincemeat.

(End of this chapter)