It was high noon, and the scorching sun had turned the Athiess Plateau into an inferno. The soldiers hidden in the trenches were drenched in sweat, but they still clutched their rifles tightly, staring unblinkingly at the front.
In the forest ahead, Cheng Lin had returned from the camp. He and Wang Dahai had enlisted together and were assigned to the same recruit company. Although they were assigned to different units after boot camp, a twist of fate brought them together again within two years. Through several coincidences, they became close friends who could talk about anything. However, most of the time, it was Wang Dahai who did all the talking, while Cheng Lin was a good listener and rarely offered his own opinions.
The two had developed a tacit understanding over the years. Cheng Lin had already understood Wang Dahai's intentions from his hand signals. He quickly brought back an unmanned reconnaissance drone and anti-personnel mines from the camp. After handing the mines to Zhao Yang and the others for placement, he joined Wang Dahai in operating the drone.
The portable drone Cheng Lin brought was the latest Rainbow-802 model, equipped with visible light and infrared reconnaissance devices on the nose. It had an operational radius of 30 kilometers, a flight endurance of two and a half hours, and could transmit real-time images captured from the air to the military computers of ground operators. It was known for its low noise and high concealment, and was specifically provided for reconnaissance units and special operations forces in the country.
With a flick of Cheng Lin's arm, the drone buzzed into the sky. In no time, the images captured by the drone appeared on the computer screens of Cheng Lin and the command center.
The drone flew through the lush forest and reached a plain, where an army fully armed to the teeth was advancing towards the highland where the expeditionary force's camp was located.
Philip II rode his beloved warhorse, watching his troops set off one after another. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. After a period of integration and under his iron-fisted rule, with a few beheadings, who in this huge coalition would dare to disobey?
The offensive force at hand was carefully selected by him, composed of spearmen from the Duchy of Gis and heavy infantry from the Empire, forming the front line to crush the barbarians from the other side of the Stone Gate.
Behind the heavy infantry, there were the archers from the Duchy of Ruul, ready to sweep the enemy clean with a barrage of arrows.
His elite cavalry would then strike like an arrow, catching the enemy off guard and annihilating their forces.
Then, he would be able to claim the credit for the first attack on another world, and present this feat to Charles the Old, who would surely grant him greater benefits!
Philip II was content with his own calculations, not at all worried about any resistance from the green-clothed men.
They were mere barbarians from the outskirts, without even decent swords or armor, what qualifications did they have to fight against his elite troops?
Moreover, he had timed his attack to catch the enemy off guard, as they had just emerged from the Gate of Transworld and were unprepared. With his swift and fierce assault, the battle would be over in no time. He should consider how many prisoners to take to gain more advantages in front of Charles.
However, the smug Duke Philip was unaware that a drone was constantly monitoring their movements from above.
Inside the command center, everyone looked at the fierce army and thought the same question - did this medieval force, armed with spears and swords, riding on horseback, really think they could defeat the fully informatized expeditionary force?
After Cheng Lin's drone took off, the expeditionary force command also launched several drones for reconnaissance, and front-line videos were continuously gathered at the command center.
From the current intelligence, it can be confirmed that this land has not yet entered the industrial age, not even a glimmer of industrialization, and its level of civilization is equivalent to Europe in the Dark Ages.
Everyone in the expeditionary force was confident that in the face of the absolute advantage of technology and civilization, this medieval army attacking the camp was just an appetizer for the expeditionary force.
However, ten kilometers away from the camp, on a plain, there was an army of about 100,000 people stationed, and now the expeditionary force had just crossed the Stone Gate and was not fully prepared, and the most important heavy equipment such as tanks, armored vehicles, and armed helicopters had not yet been transported.
What the expeditionary force had now was only individual weapons and dozens of portable field guns.
"All soldiers prepare three batches of ammunition and prepare to meet the enemy!" Zhang Tianya looked at the approaching enemy and gave the order.
In the trenches, the captains of each expeditionary squad used binoculars to watch the approaching coalition forces, constantly giving combat preparation instructions to their team members, the enemy was approaching the highland!
"Commander, the enemy has entered the range of the field gun, should we fire?"
Inside the command center, a staff officer asked.
"No, wait a bit longer!"
Zhang Tianya casually picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea and sighed, "Good tea, Longjing is still the best on the fifth day of May, this Wang Chaoyang is so stingy, if it weren't for the war, I guess he would still be hiding it!"
"But commander, if we wait any longer, it will enter the dead angle of the range!"
The operations staff was anxious, this was his first time participating in actual combat, and he was inevitably a bit panicked. Looking at the indifferent Zhang Tianya, he was very anxious.
"Don't worry, wait a bit longer."
Zhang Tianya suddenly turned to Yuan Qinyu next to him and said, "How many howitzers and cannons have been equipped?"
"About twenty or so."
Yuan Qinyu replied, and then as if suddenly realizing something, he woke up: "Are you planning to take down all the enemies?"
"Yes, we'll lure the enemy in and then..."
Zhang Tianya made a beheading motion with a wave of his hand, his eyes showing a fierce look: "It's time to avenge our fallen comrades!
This is our first battle in a strange world, we must win beautifully and let these natives with big knives and spears know what is an insurmountable gap of civilization!"
As the coalition got closer and closer to the highland, the soldiers' mood became more and more tense, two kilometers.... one kilometer..... eight hundred meters.....
Philip II had already arranged the formation, with a row of heavy infantry in the front, the silver-gray armor shining in the sunlight, and the long spears protruding from behind the heavy infantry were emitting a cold light.
The entire army was uniform, as if to flatten the entire Athiess Plateau, and Duke Philip's elite cavalry were divided into two routes, ready to enter the battlefield at any time.
"Four hundred meters.... three hundred meters! Commander, the enemy has entered the effective range of the rifle, should we fire?"
At this time, the operations staff could no longer sit still, stood up and shouted to Zhang Tianya.
"Don't worry, wait a moment longer."
The soldiers in the trenches could clearly see the shiny armor of the enemy in front, and some soldiers couldn't help but want to shoot, but without the order from above, no one dared to shoot.
The distance closed in, and the soldiers on both sides could almost see each other's faces. Duke Philip drew his battle sword and swung it towards the sky, roaring from his warhorse, "Attack, flatten them for me!"
At the Duke's command, the heavy infantry marched with heavy steps, and the pike men behind placed their pikes on the shields of the heavy infantry, thundering towards the position.
"Commander, they are 150 meters away!" The operations staff couldn't help but jump up.
Zhang Tianya's eyes lit up, and he slapped the table fiercely: "Fire, hit them hard for me!"
In the trenches, all the soldiers extended their steel guns out of the trenches, aiming at their targets. At the same time, the coalition also saw the black tubes emerging from the trenches aimed at themselves. The coalition soldiers found it amusing; did these barbarians from the other side of the Transworld Gate think they could defeat the elite coalition armed to the teeth with these strange iron tubes?
Even the always calm Duke Philip had a confident smile on his face. These cowards in front of him, hiding in the trenches, did they not even have the courage to face the enemy in battle?
These barbarians in green clothes and strange helmets were just a small appetizer for his elite troops.
"Soldiers, listen to my command, break their formation for me, with the swords in your hands, cut off the heads of these barbarians, and establish great achievements right now!"
Duke Philip roared while galloping on the side of the formation.
"Kill!"
The coalition let out a deafening roar and rushed towards the position of the expeditionary force.
"Tut Tut Tut!"
Suddenly, crisp gunshots came from the trenches, and the expeditionary force finally opened fire. The barrels of the guns sprayed out deadly flames, and relentless bullets poured towards the flesh and blood of the coalition.
In an instant, the heavy infantry that Duke Philip was proud of fell in rows. The heavy armor that was once thought to be impenetrable was like thin paper in the face of the powerful penetration of the Type 95 rifles. Bullets instantly penetrated the armor, causing a burst of clinking sounds, and the front-row heavy infantry immediately screamed and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
Seeing the miserable state of the heavy infantry, the coalition, which had just maintained a neat formation, became chaotic for a moment, and the pace of advancement almost came to a halt.
"How is this possible, are these barbarians all sorcerers?"
Duke Philip II was shocked. His soldiers hadn't even approached the enemy's position when they heard a series of crackling sounds, like the overture of death, and harvested his proud heavy infantry. Now it's impossible to charge into the enemy's position with a complete formation.
"Infantry, disperse the formation for me, advance, for the glory of the empire, advance! Archers, archers, shoot for me!"
Duke Philip is indeed a great monarch. Seeing the situation is not right, he loudly reorganizes the troops, letting the armies holding broadswords and pikes disperse.
Then he rode to the back of the coalition formation, directing the archer troops of the Duke of Ruul to shoot arrows at the position, while ordering his own elite cavalry to split into two routes and quickly encircle the position from both sides.
At the same time, the pike men and infantry holding broadswords in the middle of the formation rushed forward desperately under the gunfire, constantly attracting the firepower of the expeditionary force.
"Kill!"
At this moment, the coalition was also red-eyed, holding up their weapons and shouting angrily towards the position.
With a series of breaking air sounds, a torrential rain of arrows poured towards the position of the expeditionary force. The Duke of Ruul is indeed a country rich in archers. The archers standing at the end of the formation quickly calmed down after the initial confusion and began to skillfully operate the bows and arrows, quickly shooting arrows into the position of the expeditionary force.
Watching the rain of arrows like drizzle rushing towards the trench, the soldiers of the expeditionary force did not dare to be careless. With the urgent call of the team leaders: "Enemy attack, cover!" Almost all the soldiers instinctively lay down in the trench.
Their equipment, the QGF-11 aramid helmet, can withstand the frontal attack of a 54 pistol bullet, and the Type 06 bulletproof vest can also withstand the bullet of an AK47. Naturally, arrows cannot be compared with bullets. The soldiers only need to protect their exposed arms.
The torrential rain of arrows slammed onto the position, and for a while, the ground and the sides of the trench were filled with arrow feathers, densely packed. Many tents on the camp were pierced like hedgehogs.
The soldiers of the expeditionary force temporarily took cover in the trench and did not fire. Duke Philip saw that the arrows were effective and loudly scolded the infantry to advance. At the same time, his own elite cavalry also quickly encircled the position, and it seemed that they were about to charge into the position.
As long as the cavalry charged into the position, the battle could be gloriously concluded. Of course, the glory of victory naturally belongs to oneself. Duke Philip thought with satisfaction.
In the trench, the team leaders saw the enemy start to advance again, almost to the edge of the trench, and they were all anxious and red-eyed, shouting loudly: "What are you still doing, hurry up and fire for me!"
The members of the expeditionary force once again stuck their heads out of the trench, raised their steel guns, and fired fiercely towards the front. The sound of gunfire rang out again, and the dense bullets fiercely hit the coalition, splashing blood, and in the blink of an eye, countless bodies of the coalition soldiers were left behind.
"The brave men of Bavaria, charge for me!"
Duke Philip commanded his cavalry to attack. It didn't matter how many coalition soldiers died, as long as his cavalry could charge into the enemy's position, the fruit of victory would eventually belong to himself!
Seeing the cavalry about to cross the first trench, the heavy machine guns on both sides of the trench finally opened fire.
The expeditionary force had placed two QJZ89 heavy machine guns on both sides of the first trench, and the 12.7mm caliber bullets were fired from both sides, forming a crossfire, like two impenetrable walls of fire.
In the muffled gunfire, in an instant, the elite cavalry that Duke Philip was most proud of fell to the ground one after another, suffering heavy losses.
Bullets flew all over the sky, harvesting the lives of the coalition like a fire rain.
The crisp and ruthless sound of gunfire, the soldiers' roar, and the screams of the coalition soldiers were mixed together, forming a unique symphony of hell.
In the mid-air, flesh and blood flew, filled with endless smoke and scorched earth. The ground was covered with broken limbs and mangled corpses. At this moment, the Athiess Plateau was like a meat grinder in purgatory, but what was being ground was once the mighty imperial coalition.
The powerful firepower of the expeditionary force suppressed the coalition within 50 meters of the trench, and they had to pay a painful price of hundreds of people for every step forward.
Duke Philip was confused at this moment. What kind of warfare was this, and how could the enemy's magical weapons be endless? Could it be that this time he was going to be defeated?
I am the monarch of the mighty Duchy of Bavaria. Over the years, I have fought east and west with Emperor Charles, and I have made great contributions and was personally appointed as a first-class duke of the empire. How could I be defeated by these exotic barbarians?
"Charge! For Bavaria, for Byzantium, charge for me!"
Watching the soldiers around him fall continuously, Philip had fallen into madness, raising his sword and urging his horse towards the position.
The Duke's gorgeous armor was glittering, and he soon became the target of the expeditionary force. The soldiers quickly raised their guns to aim, and in the moment of firing, Duke Philip was pushed off his horse by his personal guards.