Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

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Amidst the suppressive fire of the infantry, Lemilia also saw several thicker, brighter silver threads in the ammunition belt, leaving behind steps similar to the sound of cannons as they flew towards the doll, carving several shiny, rivet-like eyes into its metal body, causing it to slow down, fall down, and collapse completely to the ground.

"Okay! Well done!"

"Hey! What's that?!"

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Meanwhile, Gilech summoned an assault gun and, taking advantage of the moment when the tank had just destroyed a Sunderland tank and was reloading, immediately launched a preemptive strike.

The thunderous roar of artillery struck the ground beneath Lieutenant Gilech's feet, raising wisps of dust as thick shells arced through the air toward the tank!

A beautiful rose exploded at the other end of the block, but unfortunately, Sunderland could see it clearly; the shell flew a little too high and landed on the ground behind the tank.

The T-34 tank also spotted this more threatening target than the previous ones—a square, black shape that looked like a tank, but also somewhat like an armored vehicle.

"Are the shells loaded?"

"alright!--"

"New target! 12 o'clock! 300 meters away! Fire!"

The T-34's 85mm main gun was aimed at the black figure, but this time, perhaps to balance out the bad luck, the gleaming train swept past the side of the target turret and exploded on the buildings behind it.

"Missed! One more shot! One more shot!"

"Back up, back up!"

The moment the T-34 moved, the assault gun had already fired its second shell—although the caliber was large, the automatic loader made it much faster than manual loading.

The shot missed the T-34 again, exploding right in front of it. A fiery rose rose from the ground, making the T-34's green coat appear as dazzling as the morning glow, and the slender 85mm main gun swayed like a flagpole in a fierce wind amidst the blast wave.

"hurry up!"

"All right!"

"Stop the car! Open fire!"

No one expected that the T-34 and the assault gun would deliver a fatal blow to each other at almost the same second!

The T-34's commander instantly felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his tank. The explosion roared into the vehicle like a lion, and everyone's eardrums felt like dough being kneaded, bringing a nauseating and dizzying sensation that rushed into everyone's brains.

But the train commander saw the scene he was most looking forward to through the periscope.

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Gilech's Sunderland was still busy pinning Gloucester against the exterior wall of the building behind him when he turned around and saw a daisy of electric sparks burst open from the lower glacis of the assault gun. Then, instantly, a huge ball of flame shot out from the hatch of the assault gun turret, turning into a fiery chimney that shot into the sky, completely illuminating the street and even the enemy-held buildings across the street.

Soon, more flames surged from the seam between the turret and the hull, roaring and engulfing the steel shell like a burst dam. The fiery red thunderbolt instantly ripped the massive turret off the vehicle, and the assault gun, which had been firing with great momentum just ten seconds ago, was now completely transformed into a black steel inferno.

The wrecked turret fell back to the ground, crashing down like a giant ping-pong paddle, right in front of Lieutenant Gilech's stunned eyes.

Section 69, Chapter 43: Machsdorf's Labyrinth

"It's over, it's completely over..."

Gillespie hesitated, preparing to fiddle with the radio, but Gloucester, pinned beneath his vehicle, couldn't contain himself any longer. He shoved Sunderland aside, his right hand holding a spear, and his right leg began to stomp wildly across the road.

"Ah! Revenge! Kurk will avenge the fallen warriors!"

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Just then, the tank fired another shell from the same spot, whistling past Gloucester's spear. A burst of hot sparks and a fleeting chainsaw-like whine erupted as the spear flew from his hand like a bamboo pole, leaving only the slightly bent spearhead, still attached to the metal rod at its rear, lying motionless before Kurk's eyes.

He stood there stunned for a long time before picking up the spear in a fit of anger and frustration, roaring as if he had been insulted.

"Are you okay?"

Gloucester grabbed the spear as if it were a sapling pulled from the ground, and pointed the deformed spearhead at Sunderland's forehead.

"You! You insect have no right to speak to me! Kurk will personally blow up the tank! Kurk is a hero of Britannia!"

"Hey! Hey!" The lieutenant watched as the Gloucester's drive wheels screeched on the ground and it sped off in the direction from which the shells had come!

"Listen to me! Come back quickly!" He hurriedly started Sunderland and followed closely behind the reckless Kurk.

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However, just as Gloucester was about to leap over the assault gun in front of him, he had no idea that the tanks on the other side of the battlefield had been watching him for a long time. The instant his vehicle left the ground, he saw another spark appear in the distance, and another solid shell flew straight out of the tank's gun barrel.

"ah?!--"

The cannonball's fangs bit down perfectly, like a giant crowbar, tearing Gloucester's upper body off with sparks flying everywhere.

Gillette didn't have time to brake! Gloucester's cockpit slammed into him like an out-of-control truck, and Sunderland was instantly thrown backward and fell to the ground with a thud, his steel armor screeching violently against the mottled pavement. After a series of ear-piercing cracking sounds, his waist joints separated, still crackling with sparks, and finally came to a stop in the middle of the road.

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The cockpit door of Sunderland pounded against the ground again and again, like a stiff wooden mallet.

Then it stopped.

"Cough cough cough..." Gilech struggled to climb out of the gap in the hatch, which had almost been locked shut due to the double pressure.

“Wow, my God…” He stared incredulously at the pile of parts in front of him.

"You almost killed me, Kurk..."

"Hey!—"

The lieutenant turned around and saw a convoy of assault guns and infantry fighting vehicles blocking his way. Several soldiers were walking around the lead vehicle, shouting as they approached him.

Are you hurt, sir?

"No, no, cough cough!..." He wiped the dust off his face.

"Let's retreat..."

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"So where are we headed?"

"After we rendezvous with the other squadrons that are arriving from behind, we need to choose another street to launch our attack!"

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"Cease fire, comrades!"

On the other side of the deserted open field, Soviet soldiers lowered their gun barrels from the windowsills, and the band of gunfire gradually ceased playing.

"Yes, that's right! They escaped!" Lieutenant Lemilia put down his binoculars with satisfaction. "Shouldn't this commotion make the bandits think they're in deep trouble?"

“Is that even a question?” a young comrade chimed in. “Ah, just be careful not to let the infantry sneak over in the dark.”

“Absolutely right!” the lieutenant laughed. “Does anyone have some bread? I’m a little hungry.”

"Here you are, Comrade Petrovsky!" A soldier sitting in the corner with a Mosin-Nagant rifle handed him a large piece of meat.

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Well, compared to the Soviet lieutenant who had just savored the black bread, did the people in the Reichstag have any appetite?

"General! Colonel Darwin reports that they have encountered Soviet resistance in all the streets of Makhsdorf! The losses are heavy!"

"Ugh! Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Maren was so angry he could barely sit still, almost knocking the teacup off the table. "Who are they...?"

"Also, the colonel has something else to say," the communications officer added. "They received a video from one of their Gilech's squadrons, using a Sunderland probe, showing three mechs and an assault gun being destroyed by enemy tanks. Would you like to see it?"

"What are you looking at! Get Darwin back here right now and apologize!"

"Wait a minute, General!" A staff officer suddenly came over and interrupted his angry outburst. "I think we need to be patient about this. There must be something in the video that we should pay attention to."

"You brat! Have you already forgotten what I just said?!" Without another word, the general pulled out his pistol again, pointing it at the officer's head. "Do you really want me to drag all of you deaf and stupid idiots out and shoot you?"

The officer said nothing, but calmly looked into Marendo's eyes.

"Speak up, kid! Don't you even have the courage to beg for my forgiveness?"

At this moment, the officer did something that shocked everyone present—he slowly walked up to the general and then pressed the muzzle of the general's pistol against his own heart.

"General! If you believe not a single word I have said, and that Colonel Darwin's intelligence is useless, you may pierce my heart at any time!"

Marendor was stunned. He really didn't expect this young man, who looked to be around 30 years old, to have such courage. The key was that the gun was pressed against his heart, and the calm heartbeat was conveying a message to him through the gun.

"The confidence in my words is consistent with the courage in my heart. If you don't even have confidence in your own judgment, then how can you lead us?"

The general finally put down his gun.

"Pull up the video!"

"Thank you, sir." The officer who had spoken to him unexpectedly bowed and then went back to his business.

"This kid has potential..." Marendo thought to himself.

Oh right, I suddenly wanted to ask a question: Colonel Kari, who went back to Area 11 to handle his re-entry procedures, hasn't come to report to the General yet, even after more than half a day?

Ah, actually, it's because Governor Carares of the Tokyo Concession sent a message to the General saying that there seemed to be some minor trouble with the supply of the expeditionary force. Since Carrie was still there, the General casually told him to finish up there before coming over. Besides, he believed he could still command the troops confidently and keep the enemy outside this city called Berlin; he didn't really need his best old subordinate to worry about it, did he?

In addition, he might be somewhat wary of being too deeply influenced by that kid Caronville, who might make him overly pessimistic judgments about the enemy. The general probably wouldn't want to see his old subordinates whispering all sorts of worries in everyone's ears.

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"Hmm, the enemy tank's cannon seems to be on good luck..."

"Are you kidding me? How did these two good-for-nothings bump into each other? Did they even pass their exams?"

"Ugh, if only a mech carrying a recoilless rifle had come, this assault cannon should really be thrown back!"

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"Alright, General, that's all the footage..."

"Alright, it seems the enemy is also quite lucky. Order the 23rd and 24th Hokkaido Regiments to support them! If they can be repelled by this, they can come back and get ready to be shot!"

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Let's take another look at the streets where the smoke of battle has not yet cooled.

"Wait a moment, Lieutenant, it seems there's been a small problem."

"Okay." At this moment, Lemilia was next to the radio operator, waiting for the messages that other units were about to send.

It didn't seem to be anything very urgent, so he simply went outside because he could hear some human voices and the clanging of metal from the T-34 tanks parked on the street.

"What happened, comrade?" Two tank crewmen were shining flashlights and feeling around on the side of the tank.

"Look here." The tank crewman shone a light on the tank for the lieutenant. A huge black sun had appeared on the green body of the tank. In the center of the sun, the smooth steel armor seemed to have been hit by something and had a noticeable dent—yes, this was the damage caused by the shell from the assault gun.

But that's not all. Looking down, the T-34's tracks seem to have been broken off in the explosion, falling off the tank's road wheels like a piece of linen, with several pieces of track fragments even on the ground.

"We can't just fire randomly now," the tank crewman muttered. "If the spare tracks aren't replaced yet, and enemy artillery makes noise while we're loading, we can only pray that we'll miss our target."

"Well, good luck to you then," the lieutenant said, offering all he could say.