Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Startled by the shout, Sunderland turned around and saw an infantryman in a tan uniform running toward him and throwing a grenade!

"Damn it!" The pilot had forgotten how to operate the mech. The mech's legs twitched a few times before he could only watch helplessly as the grenade exploded between Sunderland's legs.

"Do not!--"

The Iron Knight's upper and lower body separated instantly, and he crashed to the ground amidst sparks, completely helpless.

"Keep going, keep going!" But the Soviet soldiers showed no mercy.

Another comrade rushed out of the house, swung his arm and threw what he was holding—it wasn't a grenade, but a glass bottle with a trail of fire, a Molotov cocktail.

The glass shattered and exploded on the steel exterior, and flames, like a giant canvas, completely enveloped the stubborn creature.

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"You still don't want to come out?" Lemilia felt a little strange.

But at that moment, the steel doll's chest suddenly became even brighter, and a burst of air gushed out. The large iron box on its back actually flew away, trailing a fiery tail!

"This?" The lieutenant was stunned. He wasn't the only one; none of them had ever seen anything like this before.

However, the doll's arms stopped moving, indicating that it no longer posed any threat and was merely a burning pile of waste paper providing warmth for the soldiers.

"Alright, comrades." Lemilia didn't want to say much more. "Let's set up our positions here first. The enemy will definitely come to investigate when they hear the commotion here. Now, it's their turn to prick up their ears and be wary of us."

"As ordered!"

Section 72, Chapter 45: The Cannibalistic Feast

Throughout Machsdorf, the air was thick with the buzzing of submachine guns, the clatter of rifles hitting the ground, and the deafening roar of tank cannons echoing between buildings and streets. Howitzer shells whistled through the air from outside the city, slamming into every unfortunate brick and tile within, etching the flames of war deep into every bullet hole in the walls.

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Of course, amidst the surrounding lightning and thunder, Sunderland's machine guns were also spitting out belts of ammunition, and recoilless rifle shells were whistling between the buildings. But soon, the crackling of electric sparks arrived as expected; everything was just reducing its own weight before being swept into the grave of a bomb crater—the weight of the ammunition it carried.

They might be swept in by the blast wave of an explosion, propelled in by the hull of a tank, or perhaps kicked in by Soviet soldiers with disdainful eyes.

Wherever the Soviet troops went, all that remained of the streets and intersections were colorful dolls, either engulfed in flames or broken into pieces, like the skeletons of wild beasts being devoured by vultures and crows in the wilderness, staring blankly at the reddening sky above.

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Assault guns and infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed far fewer times than KMFs. Perhaps it was the Soviet soldiers' habitual thinking that kept them away? Or perhaps they posed a greater threat to tanks?

It's unclear, but at least they have successfully acted as costly roadblocks, preventing Soviet armored vehicles from passing through some streets.

And the Britannian infantry? They were a feast for scavengers.

Either riddled with bullet holes or left with only mutilated limbs and torsos, they lay piled up among the cement bricks and tiles, an absolute paradise for crows and vultures.

Unfortunately, these scavengers, even if they were active at night and hibernating during the day, would never have the chance to feast, because they would definitely be seen as a threat by the soldiers and be mowed down by bullets, adding their wings to the pool of blood of the Britannian infantry.

Only the cunning and agile rats could quietly scurry to the side of the beginning-to-stink corpses. But even so, it didn't mean they had the right to plunder. All the fighting was testing the courage of these plague spirits, and most could only flee at the sound of the noise, while only the strong were qualified to taste human flesh.

It's hard to imagine that a feint attack force of one or two thousand men could trample everything as if it were an empty field—back then, under the walls of Berlin, countless T-34 tanks were destroyed by German anti-tank grenades, and countless Soviet soldiers fell to the MG34 and MG42 machine guns hidden in the gaps.

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Meanwhile, inside the Capitol, the warriors on the other side of the battlefield disappeared one by one from the radio signals on the electronic map in the command center, like fish scales being scraped off.

"Colonel Darwin's entire brigade has suffered more than half its casualties, General!"

This was only news from the East; before this, all the troops heading north and south had encountered setbacks without exception. The mechs and tanks, no longer able to swagger about, either lay scattered like fruit shells on the ground in front of the Soviet army's positions outside the city, or replaced piles of rubble and collapsed buildings, blocking the Soviet army's path into the city.

Only the western front has been relatively lucky. The general only ordered the troops there to organize defenses, and so far, apart from artillery shells flying from afar, they haven't been hit by anything.

Maren was beginning to have some concerns. Were the soldiers still unable to regain their morale after six hours of artillery bombardment? Or was there really a problem with his tactical arrangements? He still believed it was the first point.

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“General?” Marendor heard someone call him from the side. An officer approached him—it seemed to be the same one who had dared to defy him in front of his pistol earlier.

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"Well, I have a suggestion, but I'm not sure if I should say it..."

"Excuse my bluntness..." the officer continued, "Colonel Kari has experience fighting against Soviet forces in the Vanguard Army, and I think it's necessary to bring him back as soon as possible, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"Otherwise, I think the only thing we can do when enemy planes fly over us again is to burn the flag of Holy Britannia..."

After speaking, the officer closed his eyes tightly, as if waiting for the general to send him to hell ahead of time.

“Hmm…” Marendo had actually wanted to do this for a long time, but his identity was not only that of a general, but also that of a nobleman, a position similar to that of a politician.

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“General, Governor Carares has asked me to stay here tonight to attend the banquet in your place. If the fighting is not a concern, then I will stay.”

"Of course it's alright, this is nothing to worry about."

That's right, that was something Marendo had boasted about to Colonel Carrie.

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If we rush him back now, wouldn't that make everyone think that my army is in big trouble?

Another world, oh no, His Highness Schneizel said this place is called District 45.

The contempt shown towards the enemies of District 45 has already caused quite a stir. In such an atmosphere, to send out such a signal in front of everyone would surely become a handle for his political enemies to ridicule him in the future. Nobles who value their reputation and honor cannot do this if they want to survive. Moreover, Governor Carares is the highest-ranking person in charge of District 11. Not attending his banquet would probably hinder his future development in District 11.

Moreover, the colonel had fought alongside Caronville. If that pale-faced scholar were to find out that he had been arrogant and condescending just a few days ago, and was now humbly and indirectly seeking his advice, he would be incredibly embarrassed.

"I understand," the major general called to the communications officer.

"Get me connected to the Tokyo Concession City Hall and tell them to look for Colonel Greimael Carrie. Tell him that I need to have a few words with the Colonel about the wine treaty on this fine occasion."

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So, compared to war-torn Berlin, what was the Tokyo Concession like?

The neat buildings and clean streets were brightly lit, and the city hall, with its dazzling lights, stood out among the much smaller buildings, like a large lamp in an opera house placed in a jar of candles, which was really imposing.

And now, the city hall is hosting a ball...

I don’t know why the governor is holding another banquet, but with such a feast and entertainment opportunity, what pleasure-seeking noble or general eager to curry favor would want to miss it?

The ballroom was brightly lit, with people chatting over drinks or dancing in pairs. Suits and evening gowns, adorned with diamonds and jewels, formed a golden galaxy under the lights, effortlessly keeping all darkness and decay at bay.

However, there was one person among them who was wearing his own military uniform, which seemed out of place.

Indeed, Colonel Kari was so busy that he hadn't even prepared his formal attire and was brought in rather hastily. He is currently being led by a soldier to the communications room to contact the expeditionary force.

Good evening, General.

"Yeah, you had a good time at the party, didn't you, Kari? Enjoy it. You know, those losers in Caronville have never been able to have any fun here, have they?"

“I understand, Your Excellency. But you must not be here for these reasons at this time.”

"Ha! You understand me!" The general laughed heartily. "About those matters? And with the governor?"

"Yes, no problem. His Excellency Carares has already said he will provide us with new funding."

"Great! Keeping you here was the right decision! Unlike some of those clueless greenhorns who can't even speak properly, haha!"

"So may I ask, sir? What is the situation in Berlin?"

"Huh? Well?" You have to be careful what you say at this point, or it will be bad if the communications soldier next to you tells him.

"Everything is under the control of the 41st Army Group! I'd love to see those sluggish people come and eat the scraps of my victory!"

"But General, you must preserve your strength. It seems that more troops will need at least two weeks to assemble."

"Do you have to be so cautious about something as trivial as a sesame seed? Speaking of which, how did you deal with the enemy here a few days ago?"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, what ingenious strategies did you use to allow your less than 10,000 men to survive and still achieve considerable results?"

"It's roughly about understanding the enemy's situation early on, then avoiding their strengths and striking their weaknesses. For example, when we raided the Americans on the first night, since they lacked heavy firepower, we sent helicopters to scout ahead first, and then had the squadrons surround and annihilate them one by one. But on the second day, we were unprepared for the Russian artillery barrage and suffered a lot of losses."

"Suffering a loss?"

"Their tanks were difficult for us to disable, and the Soviet army would withdraw its troops from the front line during the offensive and then use barrages, which caused us to lose a lot of soldiers."

"Yes, yes, you've added a lot of interesting things to my life, old buddy."

"Well, do you have any questions, sir? Or perhaps..."

"No, no, there's no problem at all!" the general shouted again. "That's enough for now, enjoy yourself, Kari!"

"Yes, as you wish."

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"General? Are you alright?"

"Phew..." Marendo let out a long sigh of relief, without saying a word.

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Section 73, Chapter 46: Just a Small Hunt

Marendor lingered in front of the map table, quietly watching the red dots of varying sizes appear on the electronic screen.

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“Look, General,” an officer said, pointing to the area where the new enemy had appeared. “In front of us are the remaining forces of the 18th Siberian Brigade, and behind us are the two Hokkaido regiments that are still advancing. These newly appeared Soviet units show signs of maneuvering towards our flanks. So I think the Soviet army is likely planning an encirclement operation, infiltrating to tighten the encirclement, and then annihilating them.”

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"They haven't spotted us yet, huh?"

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"Good! Order the 23rd and 24th Hokkaido Regiments! Send 10 companies to reinforce the ambushed vanguard and the 18th Siberian Brigade. The remaining troops will deploy to the north and south flanks of the advance route to prepare to block the enemy's encirclement! If the enemy on the south flanks is repelled, immediately pursue them!"

"Yes!"

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A group of seemingly unsuspecting black-clad infantrymen accompanied a truck as they slowly approached the intersection ahead.

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"Hey, are these night vision goggles any good?"