Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 144 Bombarding the Port!

Port Champelli

Iker sat in his office in the center of the port, taking a puff of a fine cigar.

"The transport ship will dock in about half an hour," Iker said, glancing at the port official. "What's the status of the security forces?"

“In excellent condition, sir,” the official said quickly. “The port is three layers deep, like an iron barrel! If Milton dares to come here, he won’t leave without knocking out a few teeth.”

"We prepared a full nine SAM-7 air defense missiles this time, and everyone was eager to see Milton's helicopter in the sky."

"All of our strongest armored forces are concentrated inside the port. To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, the tanks are almost out to sea! This is to ensure they are not injured in the first wave of attacks. Wherever Milton attacks, we will quickly deploy our armored forces there, so that we can concentrate our strongest forces in a short time to launch the most intense counterattack against Milton."

"There are also a lot of machine gunners and a lot of RPGs—with tandem armor-piercing warheads—among the way. Milton's flimsy armored vehicles simply cannot withstand them."

The official said, with a hint of smugness, "Unless Milton comes from the sea, even if there are 10, no, 30 armored vehicles, we guarantee he won't come back alive."

This is absolutely not bragging.

Everyone knows how much Senator Lopez values ​​this howitzer and how much he hopes it can be used for strategic bombing of Milton's headquarters, leaving no room for error.

So they even conducted a simple military exercise these past few days.

The results of the two exercises were the same—even though Milton sent all his armored forces, including bulletproof vehicles, he was unable to breach the port and threaten the howitzers.

Even a slight delay in escaping could lead to total annihilation.

Iker was actually quite confident in the port's defenses. He nodded and asked, "What about the scouts? Have they spotted anything from Milton?"

Another lieutenant in charge of reconnaissance immediately stepped forward and reported.

“No, absolutely no movement, not even a suspicious car. To be honest, Mr. Iker, I don’t think Milton will come tonight.” The official looked very relaxed. “He certainly knows that attacking on his own would be suicide.”

"We estimate that Milton will likely launch a suicide attack during the transport of the howitzer."

"But don't worry, that won't happen. We've made corresponding contingency plans, take a look!"

Looking at the plan in his hand, Iker nodded with great satisfaction: "Very good, Milton is indeed no longer a threat to our transport convoy."

"Once the howitzers arrive, hehe... Milton will be completely finished."

The lieutenant asked with a curious look, "Mr. Iker, is this howitzer really that powerful? Can one shot wipe out Milton, that rat?"

"Um, I heard that Mr. Lopez's offensive on the main battlefield hasn't been going very well lately? Is this cannon really that useful?"

In the past few days, Lopez has started recruiting soldiers in the three provinces under his control and has sent out many advance teams to try to attack Milton's territory.

Although television news reports portrayed the regular army as winning big victories, annihilating countless enemies every day, and achieving great triumphs daily, those insiders knew that these reports were utter nonsense.

Battle reports can lie, but the front lines cannot.

The fact that the offensive has lasted for so many days, with so many people dead, yet the front line remains unmoved and is even occasionally pushed back is enough to show that the offensive is not going well at all.

The resistance from Milton's side was more intense than anyone had imagined. They were not only brave and highly professional in combat, but also well-equipped!

The soldiers leading the charge were practically tickling the enemy with their guns.

Not to mention the combat quality of soldiers who were temporarily conscripted and sent directly to the battlefield; they were simply crushed.

Aside from consuming Milton's bullets, the cannon fodder did almost nothing.

This has forced Lopez to now mobilize his real elite troops, attempting to coordinate an attack with cannon fodder to destroy Milton's defenses.

Iker nodded and said, "Milton is indeed a remarkable man; our offensive on the northern front has been much smoother."

The lieutenant nodded, but muttered to himself that even on the northern front, facing their old adversaries, the rebels, they were having a much harder time than before.

For some reason, the firepower over there is much stronger than before, and it seems... they have found a source of food, at least they haven't seen any rebels starving to death recently.

The offensive was able to proceed relatively smoothly because Lopez went all out, risking being shot down, and deployed three Dragonfly attack aircraft to sweep through the enemy's positions from the air, thus opening a gap in the defense line.

This involves almost all of Lopez's current fixed-wing combat aircraft!
The rebels' anti-aircraft missiles were really close to hitting the attacking aircraft.

The lieutenant asked, "So, is a cannon really that amazing? Can it be more powerful than our airplanes? Tanks and armored vehicles are so fast, can it even hit the enemy?"

“Heh, it seems you haven’t quite figured out the difference between tactical operations and strategic offensives.” Iker took a drag of his cigarette and explained slowly, “Actually, I don’t really understand either, but Mr. Lopez gave me an example.”

"If we have bombers, do we necessarily have to find high-value enemy targets and destroy them?"

"Can't we just fly bombers directly into enemy territory, not looking for any high-value targets, but instead conduct aimless and continuous bombing?"

"The same principle applies to howitzers... We can launch a continuous bombardment of Milton's town from 20 kilometers away. We don't need to look for targets like armored vehicles, and we don't need much progress. We just need to ensure that the shells are landing on his town every moment."

"Then, with the help of extensive news propaganda, such as driving out Milton, or promising that surrender would get us to stop bombing."

“This will cause Milton’s rule to collapse rapidly… Even if the townspeople cannot overthrow him, they will flee amidst the constant bombing.”

“Even if such a bombing fails to destroy a single one of Milton’s armored vehicles, he’s finished because he’s lost his base of operations, his source of tax revenue, and his stronghold, understand?”

"Tactically, we need to destroy Milton's weapons through battle after battle; strategically, we need to find ways to destroy his chances of regaining these weapons."

The lieutenant suddenly realized: "I see, I understand now..."

Iker nodded smugly: "That's why I said Milton is doomed as soon as the howitzers arrive."

The lieutenant thought for a moment and said, "And our territory is large enough that we are not afraid of Milton retaliating in the same way, are we?"

“Yes, that’s our advantage.” Iker said smugly. “Don’t always think about fighting the enemy with your fists, think about your own advantages, and think about how to make use of them. That’s Mr. Lopez’s wisdom.”

"It seems Milton is completely finished... He has no chance of fighting back at all."

Iker nodded and said, "That's right. As long as we destroy his rear to a certain extent, his front line will naturally crumble at the slightest touch, and he will eventually become just like those useless rebels who are running around everywhere. They are not worth worrying about."

"Didn't the rebels also receive aid from Cuba and have some decent equipment? But what good was it? On the battlefield, equipment doesn't determine everything."

"After struggling for a few more years, Milton will be just like the rebels, forced to wag his tail and beg for peace from us like a dog."

"By then, we can write whatever we want in the peace agreement."

"Perfect!" The lieutenant was completely impressed by Iker and Lopez in front of him, and said with a smile, "Milton is probably so desperate that he can't sleep all night, right?"

Iker said nonchalantly, "Maybe he's using his oratory skills to gather a suicide squad and prepare to attack our convoy?"

The lieutenant laughed wildly: "Then he's miscalculated! Attacking the convoy will be much more difficult than attacking the port. Our defenses will be stronger, and even our planes will be on standby!"

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Iker waved his hand. "Go contact the scouts again and ask them if Milton has made any moves yet."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Two or three minutes later, the lieutenant strode back and gave a report.

"Report, all scouts have found nothing suspicious, not even a single suspicious person," the lieutenant said. "Milton wouldn't make it in time even if he came by helicopter."

"Should we let the brothers rest?"

Iker immediately shook his head: "We can't rest. Mr. Lopez emphasized that Milton is very cunning. He likes to take risks and play tricks that are hard to predict. So, we can't let our guard down until the transport ship docks..."

"Or rather, we cannot let our guard down until Milton is completely eliminated. Have you heard about Mr. Lopez being assassinated during the interview? Milton might also arrange for someone to destroy the howitzer in a suicide attack."

The lieutenant was a little puzzled: "Then, can't we buy more? If we could buy 10, wouldn't Milton be completely finished? He wouldn't be able to blow them up even if he wanted to."

"Heh!" Iker sneered. "Do you think you can just buy something like this? Do you know how much an F-117 costs? Only $1.1 million! It sounds like a lot, but if Mr. Lopez really wanted it, he could definitely come up with that money. But do you think he could actually buy it?"

"Even $11 billion wouldn't be enough to buy it."

"Mr. Lopez is just a local councilor. It's already not easy for him to buy this cannon. It might be easier after Milton is wiped out, or after Lopez becomes president."

"I see……"

"Anyway, this one cannon is enough to make Milton kneel on the ground begging for his mother, we don't need that many."

"Instead of wasting so much money, you might as well save it and build yourself a nice house or buy a beautiful yacht."

The two chatted for another twenty minutes or so before they could finally make out the outline of a transport ship in the far distance.

The lieutenant exclaimed with delight, "Mr. Iker, look... isn't that the ship?"

Iker immediately turned around, looked in that direction, and nodded slightly, saying, "That's right, that should be it. No other ships will dock at this time."

As he gazed at the transport ship carrying D-20 howitzers, Iker also took the opportunity to glance at the garrison guarding the port area.

The cannons of the armored vehicles and tanks were pointed straight ahead, aimed at the direction from which the enemy was most likely to break through.

The machine gunners and RPG operators hidden in the tower also held their ground in their respective directions.

To prevent Milton from using car bombs to drive straight in, cranes were deployed along the route, ready to drop containers and block the road at any time.

It can be described as strict and vigilant.

“What a pity…” Iker shook his head. “All these arrangements have been wasted. Milton, that coward, didn’t have the courage to come and challenge us.”

The lieutenant, smugly gazing towards the sea, remarked, "If Milton had dared to come, I'd have admired him for his courage and acknowledged his reputation as the 'Hell Tax Collector.' But it seems he wasn't as insane as he boasted; he's actually quite afraid of death, hahaha..."

Iker nodded: "Alright, get ready to welcome our howitzers ashore."

Even among the guards on site, many turned their heads curiously to secretly glance at the transport ship that was gradually approaching in the distance.

By this point, Milton had not launched an attack, so it was practically impossible for him to do so.

They'd never seen this legendary behemoth before, shouldn't they take a good look at it and feast their eyes?

"Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights for them!"

“Milton isn’t coming. Turn on the lights; it’s almost completely dark now. Show our transport ship the way.”

"Hahaha... I really want to see what a howitzer looks like, and I really want to see how cool it looks when it's bombing."

"..."

Soon, the lights that had been turned off at the dock were all turned on again.

Just as the transport ship approached the shore to within about 3km, Iker suddenly frowned.

Because the ship looked particularly slow, and for some reason, the bow suddenly turned in a different direction.

Soon, the transport ship oriented its side toward the port.

Iker looked on, somewhat confused: "What's going on? Why don't we get to shore quickly?"

The lieutenant wasn't quite sure either, so he said, "How about I go ask the captain? I just chatted with him for a bit."

Iker thought for a moment and nodded: "...Heh, if I'm not mistaken, this captain may have secretly smuggled some other things on his own. Afraid that we would investigate, he may have placed a speedboat on the opposite side to smuggle his own things ashore. I know these people very well."

"Go and urge him to stop dawdling, or Mr. Lopez will hold him accountable."

"Okay, I'll go and urge them."

The lieutenant nodded, walked out of the room, went to the communications room about 40 meters away, bypassed a tank at the door, and entered the communications room.

Then, Iker suddenly saw a burst of fire erupt from the transport ship 3 kilometers away.

He was stunned for a moment, his mind went blank, and he didn't understand why he was seeing this scene.

It took a full seven or eight seconds for an extremely absurd and unbelievable guess to take shape in his mind.

Fear surged through Iker, his pupils widened suddenly, and as he dropped to the ground, he roared in terror, "Down! Down now!"

However, no one could hear his voice anymore.

At the same time, an extremely terrifying semi-circular fireball exploded directly near the communications room 40 meters away. The shockwave and flames instantly destroyed and engulfed the surrounding buildings, tanks, and lives.

The deafening roar of the 152mm high-explosive shells shook the entire port.

boom! ! !
(End of this chapter)