I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 39: How can blowing up both the enemy and friendly forces at the same time not be considered coordinated infantry and artillery fire?
Upon receiving the combat order, the third squad, who had just won the right to use the vehicle, immediately sprang into action. Without hesitation, the squad leader selected the two fastest-reacting players in the squad, and the three of them climbed into the brand-new "bipedal dragon" and began to familiarize themselves with the controls in the somewhat cramped cabin.

The remaining squad members quickly dispersed around the vehicle, forming a temporary circular defensive line, vigilantly watching their surroundings to ensure their vehicles wouldn't be ambushed by the enemy sneaking up unnoticed.

With the help of the game's built-in assistance system, the basic operations of the driving and weapon systems were not difficult for the players, and they got the hang of it easily. But soon, the three-person crew discovered the key to the problem.

As the squad leader of the third squad, he locked onto the enemy position in the distance through the periscope on the roof of the vehicle. He skillfully operated the eyepiece, and with the help of the simple rangefinder and wind sensor displayed on the system, quickly calculated the target information. He pressed the intercom button and gave instructions to the gunner in the most professional possible tone:
"Gunner, attention! 11 o'clock position, reference point is that half-collapsed red brick building. About fifty meters to the left of the reference point, there is a temporary fortification built with scrap materials. Distance 850 meters, target is the cultist group behind the fortification. Wind direction 3 o'clock, light breeze, prepare for a rapid-fire barrage!"

However, after the order was given, there was a moment of silence at the gunner's position, followed by an embarrassed reply: "Uh... squad leader, this thing... it doesn't have a trajectory parabola display! I couldn't find any firing tables or anything, I have no idea how far it will fly at different elevation angles!"

The squad leader was taken aback upon hearing this. He then realized that it was indeed true. When they threw fragmentation grenades earlier, the game didn't provide any trajectory guidance; everything relied entirely on the player's instinct. However, the game's realism was so good that everyone subconsciously accepted this setting, and no one realized that throwing projectiles in a game should theoretically display a trajectory.

After all, a grenade is something you just toss around; everyone's thrown rocks and such in real life, so you can roughly gauge where it'll land. But a mortar… who the hell has ever actually operated one in real life?!

The squad leader scratched his head, unable to come up with a solution for the time being. Finally, he could only say in desperation, "How about... you just find a feeling and fire a volley first, and we'll see where it lands?"

The gunner's voice suddenly rose an octave: "...Squad leader, are you serious? One round is four shells, which costs 120 merit points! You could take on a hundred cultists all by yourself and you might not even earn that much!"

"What's there to be afraid of!" the squad leader waved his hand with an air of bravado. "The company commander's on the bill!"

"Okay! I'll play!"

Hearing this, the gunner had no more worries. He adjusted the quadruple mortar to a position he felt was safe using the main control panel, and then pressed the fire button without hesitation.

Meanwhile, on the other front line, the Seventh Platoon was acting as the spearhead, fiercely disrupting the enemy's formation. The cultists, caught off guard, were desperately trying to resist, but under the Seventh Platoon's relentless onslaught, their collapse was already evident. It seemed they would soon be easily defeated by the players, without even needing intervention from other platoons.

After all, Squad Leader 7, "Hawk Sheriff," is a genuine Oglin. In terms of pure physical strength, he's a terrifying being who can rival the Space Marines' predecessor—the Thunder Warriors. Although he'll definitely be the loser in the end, he's certainly not someone that a mere hundred or so grunt cultists can withstand.

However, just as Class 7 was getting into the swing of things, enjoying the thrill of unstoppable combat, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the sky. These players, who had never personally experienced artillery fire and had only ever heard it from a distance, instinctively looked up... This fatal action delayed their final reaction and evasive maneuver. By the time they realized what had happened, it was too late to do anything.

"Boom—boom boom boom!"

With a deafening explosion, four Storm mortar shells precisely struck the entire cultist position—and the 7th Platoon in its center. The violent blasts sent sand, rubble, and severed limbs flying into the air. When the thick smoke and dust slowly dissipated, nothing remained but a massive cluster of craters, a testament to what had just transpired. The other players providing covering fire in the distance watched the scene in utter shock.

"Holy crap... that's the power of a single artillery barrage!"

"I retract my criticism of the Astronautical Army's lack of heavy firepower."

"However, I heard that this round requires 120 merit points to be earned."

"I launched a smear campaign against the expensive heavy firepower of the Astronautical Army."

"The chameleon part."

Amidst the players' relaxed conversation, the unfortunate Seventh Squad, situated in the center of the shelling, was respawned in the chemical refinery behind. The burly 【Eagle Police】 charge menacingly to his squad's walkie-talkie, grab the receiver, and roar, "Hey guys! You think you can play this game by yourselves?! Look where these shells are hitting!"

On the walkie-talkie, the squad leader of the third squad was also in an extremely awkward situation. He coughed and quickly apologized, "Sorry, brothers, it was a mistake, purely a mistake! I'll buy you guys a new set of equipment from the store later, it's on me!"

"Forget it! We're all fucking buddies!" Although still furious, [Eagle Cop] waved his hand and said gruffly, "Anyway, our gear isn't worth much. Don't go around firing shells randomly next time!"

Ruan Wenbo, who had witnessed everything, did not show much anger on his face. Instead, he had a calm that was a mixture of helplessness and expectation.

In his view, it was almost inevitable that a player's infantry and artillery would coordinate and end up blowing their own men into the air. To be honest, the fact that the third squad's first round of blind firing could accurately hit the enemy position was far beyond his expectations.

However, the problems that followed gave him a real headache.

One test firing earns 120 merits. If every squad had to go through this learning process of using expensive shells to get a feel for the gun and calibrate the trajectory when they took over this "two-legged dragon", then this friendly fire incident would be secondary. At least the enemy was hit. More often than not, the shells would be fired blanks, or even miss the enemy and hit friendly fire instead.

Ruan Wenbo vaguely realized that he might have been oversimplifying things. Compared to the two thousand merit points spent on purchasing the vehicle itself, the real money-burning aspect would likely be the constant need to replenish the ammunition. Could he afford to make it back and forth with his remaining merit points?
We still need to bring that cyborg priest and that squad of papal guards over as soon as possible...

(End of this chapter)