Thunder Warrior Saves the World

Page 33

No, there is actually a way...

There are still a few 9M133 "Kornet" rounds on the vehicle, aren't there? Although it might seem like a waste of national funds, it's still better than letting them fire a second or even third round of shots.

Although the Kornet only has an initial velocity of 240 meters per second, which is much slower than that of the main gun, it is still instantaneous for the target. The artillery position, which had not detected the threat, was easily and completely destroyed by this anti-tank missile.

The only artillery that could stop the enemy's chariots had been lost, and the road to the castle had been engulfed in flames. The Belken people outside the castle realized that they were in a desperate situation with no one to help them. Although the battle on the defensive line would not end anytime soon, it was clear to everyone that when the tracks of the enemy's chariots rolled over them, it would be the end.

It's time to make a choice.

To be or not to be, that is the question. However, this question has never been a concern for the Empire. The Empire has a complete legal system to deal with these officers and soldiers who surrender in the face of battle. In addition to the soldiers themselves being brought before military courts, their families are also labeled and publicly shamed, their daily lives are greatly affected, and they will live under the scrutiny of the world for the rest of their lives.

Not to mention that they all knew to some extent that their protected target could not be lost, and that if anything went wrong, the Empire would not let them off easily.

"Still unable to contact the castle?" The answer was naturally no. "Send a farewell message to command, destroy all documents, dispose of the wounded who are unable to move, and the rest of you prepare to charge."

"At least this way, our families can still enjoy honor and allowances."

And so, a scene unfolded that nearly triggered PTSD in the veterans who had fought against the Japanese: the enemy, fearless and relentless, charged towards this armored unit through the trenches, braving a hail of bullets! But times had changed; they were no longer light infantrymen facing a drug-addicted enemy charge alone…

"Armored forces have taken control of the perimeter of Swarthburg, the external enemy forces have been annihilated, and the infantry are advancing into the castle."

"Spetsnaz has secured the upper levels of security and is currently engaged in battle with the garrison forces inside the castle."

"Commander, the first phase of the operation has been successful."

Right where the reconnaissance company had once been lying in ambush, a concealed forward command post had been set up. This time, Lu Wu continued to uphold the fine tradition of commanding from the front.

"The real test is about to begin..." Lu Wu's gaze fell on Swarthburg, where guns and cannons were still roaring. The ones ahead were just taking advantage of their superior equipment to get by; the real challenge was yet to come.

……

This is the last update of 2022.

It's quite a感慨 (feeling of deep emotion), I've spent the last week in a positive state. Everyone, please take good care of yourselves, and see you next year!

Volume 1: Chapter 183 (Chapter 168) The Siege of the Castle

Initially, Vasily's 2nd Company's advance within the castle was quite satisfactory, until they encountered a defensive line established by Gilahani warriors who had rushed to the scene.

To ensure a rapid advance, the lead squad employed a "front-and-rear" corner search tactic, commonly known as the "Hebrew Dance." This tactic proved effective in the initial stages of the assault on the castle, as most of the enemy troops inside were still in disarray, unaware of the outside situation or whether the enemy had already entered. Soldiers of the 7th Brigade using this tactic gained the upper hand due to their awareness and equipment. However, as the castle's defenders gradually grasped the situation, the risk of this front-and-rear strategy increased dramatically. The two lead soldiers, just as they rounded a corner and exposed themselves, fell to the roar of machine guns. Although their comrades immediately threw a grenade towards the corner and pulled them back by the handle on their vests, the medic could only shake his head at the sight of the bleeding wound on his neck.

The small apple thrown during the rescue didn't seem to be very effective either. The small mirror the scout extended to observe always attracted fierce machine gun fire, making it difficult to pinpoint the machine gun's exact location, and even cutting through the corner was challenging. While there's the "elevation" technique, a 50% chance of casualties, to get around the corner, it's clearly unnecessary now. In typical urban warfare, encountering such a troublesome firing point, they would usually choose to bypass it. If that's not possible, they could use demolition work to create a passage through the walls to continue the attack.

However, neither of these two methods was suitable for the castle now. Firstly, there were only a few passageways inside, and if they took a detour, other teams might happen to pass by and suffer the same fate. Secondly, Swarth Castle was composed of a local rock with stronger blast resistance than granite, making blasting quite difficult. Therefore, they adopted a more suitable method.

That's summoning rogue warriors.

For close-quarters combat (CQB), the 7th Brigade wouldn't forget about the valuable water-cooled body armor. Before the operation began, Lu Wu had provided Vasily with a batch of water-cooled body armor. Although wearing it would slow down the infantry's advance, the extra protection it provided was very useful in the current situation. Initially, their plan was to rush as far as possible, thus keeping these rogue soldiers behind. But now that the rush wasn't working, they were switching to a more cautious approach, so it was naturally these rogue soldiers' turn to clear the way.

However, what these soldiers were unaware of was that a far more difficult battle was raging within their own ranks than they were currently experiencing.

Sergeyev is now feeling immense pressure.

Although Sergeyev had learned before the battle that their enemies might possess superhuman physiques, he hadn't expected them to be this tough. He witnessed a machine gunner's three-round burst from a PKM rifle strike the abdomen of a Gilakani warrior with an exaggerated scar on his face. An ordinary person would have been torn open by those three machine gun rounds and fallen to the ground, and this Gilakani did indeed fall. But a few minutes later, he saw the scarred man, his waist wrapped in bandages, return to the front line of the assault on the stairwell! This level of resilience might even surpass that of their fully-enhanced Spetznaz! Even with their fully-enhanced lives, the Spetznaz only had a chance to withstand a 12.7mm bullet or a fragmentation attack of equivalent damage.

This discovery truly startled Sergeyev, but fortunately, after his AK-12 fired a 5.54mm bullet that hit the scarred man in the head, his worries lessened—the law that people die when they are killed had not yet failed these Gilakani warriors; the enemy simply seemed to be more resilient than ordinary people…

Let's rewind a little, to the moment when Sergeyev led Spetznaz in launching the vertical attack. The Gilakani soldiers below weren't deaf; upon learning that the enemy was attacking from above, the Gilakani commander immediately organized reinforcements for the research area at the top. However, their actions were ultimately too slow, or rather, the annihilation of the top-level defenses came faster than they anticipated. By the time Spetznaz had initially secured a defensive position, the reinforcements had finally entered the fray.

Logically, the Gilahani warriors were at a disadvantage, being on high ground. The stairwells in the castle were even narrower than those in a typical apartment building, limiting the manpower available to both sides. The Spetsnaz, with their height advantage, could spot the enemy faster than the Gilahani warriors, even if this advantage lasted less than a second. But that less than a second was enough for them to pull the trigger and kill—if the enemy was an ordinary person. The Gilahani scout, as if possessed by precognition, ducked his waist just before the shot fired, causing the bullet to miss its mark and only hit the scout's helmet, deflecting it.

The Gilahani warriors were also very shrewd. After the firefight broke out, they immediately threw grenades at Spetsnaz's position. Because they were unfamiliar with Belken Empire grenades, the two special forces soldiers guarding the stairwell did not dare to play the game of musical chairs. They rolled away from the stairwell and used the wall of the entrance to block the fragments and impact of the grenade.

This retreat, while ensuring their own safety, allowed the Gilahani warriors to seize the opportunity to advance up the building. When the two Spetsnaz soldiers' return to defense was interrupted by enemy fire, they retaliated in kind. But an unexpected scene unfolded: the attacking enemy did not take cover despite the threat of grenades. They casually kicked the grenade that had fallen to their feet aside, but their gunfire did not stop.

Although the explosions and screams from below proved that the grenade had caused some damage, it did not change the fact that Spetsnaz and his men were being suppressed by the lower-level enemies inside the stairwell. Although the automatic weapons in the hands of the Gilahani warriors had a slightly lower rate of fire than AKs, their larger caliber and more powerful explosive charges made it impossible to avoid the erratic ricochets that occasionally hit the stone walls.

Unable to gain any further advantage from that position, the two retreated behind the entrance as planned, placing the Gilakani soldiers within range of the machine guns. Thus, Sergeyev encountered the scene described above…

Volume 1: Chapter 184 (Chapter 169) An End That Was Not Yet Over

Through the radio, Lu Wu, at the forward command post, naturally learned of the stalemate that had begun inside the castle. If this were a Paradox Interactive game, the icons displaying these two battles would likely have changed from green to yellow.

Worse still, Lu Wu found it difficult to intervene further in these two battles, and the situation had even devolved into a reactive, piecemeal approach—the castle's internal structure gave the defending Belken Empire a significant advantage, while the 7th Brigade's infantry struggled to deploy. Now both sides had revealed all their cards, and it was a matter of who would give up first.

However, the smaller overall force of the Gilahani fighters seemed to have a harder time losing ground in this tug-of-war. After all, in close-quarters indoor combat, with similar weapon performance and roughly equal tactical levels, it all comes down to who reacts faster and makes fewer mistakes. Even though the Gilahani fighters' exceptional physical condition gave them a higher margin for error, the personal protective equipment of the 7th Brigade infantry and the subsequent reinforcements negated Belken's advantage in this regard.

On the lower levels of the castle, the 7th Brigade finally resumed its advance after combat engineers clad in heavy, water-cooled bulletproof armor joined the battle. Since the main force of the Gilahani warriors wasn't present, the lower battlefield saw them mostly fighting in two- or three-person teams, holding off key points. Although their pace was much slower and they suffered some casualties, it was still generally good news. As for the secondary battlefields on the upper levels of the castle, the situation was more complex.

Both sides relentlessly unleashed a barrage of ammunition at top speed, their ammunition rapidly depleting. Various gun-wielding techniques forbidden in wargames became commonplace. Deadly stray bullets and fragments of brick flew wildly in the confined space, slicing wounds into the soldiers' bodies. The echoing gunfire and explosions caused a buzzing in the heads of both sides, even those wearing noise-canceling headphones. The Gilahani warriors, at the cost of casualties, gained ground to advance the front line, but the Gilahani wouldn't easily relinquish their territory. Each time they ceded a position, the Gilahani would generously leave behind small gifts made from modified apples for their next master, which the Gilahani warriors, eager to advance, often overlooked.

However, the four-story fortress of the Seventh Fortress was extremely limited in its ability to be captured and abandoned by Spetsnaz. Soon, Spetsnaz found himself in an awkward situation with nowhere to retreat—behind him lay the area containing a large amount of equipment and data, and it would be disastrous if the battle affected the data stored inside. In the all-out head-on confrontation, Spetsnaz finally suffered casualties.

As time went on, both sides were running out of ammunition. The Gilahani soldiers, fighting on their home turf, could only rely on manpower to transport ammunition from various points to the front lines. Once the nearest supply point ran out of ammunition, they had to travel to even more distant points to replenish their supplies, making resupply increasingly inefficient. The Spetznaz, on the other hand, benefited from a large hole in their roof, allowing them to evacuate personnel and replenish ammunition, and even to send soldiers up to the top to compensate for their losses. This slight advantage gradually accumulated, and before they knew it, the Gilahani soldiers had to switch from fully automatic water spray to controlled bursts of fire to maintain firepower for longer, while the special forces continued their indiscriminate water spraying.

The balance of power on the battlefield finally began to tilt in favor of the 7th Brigade.

In reality, once the garrison inside the castle lost contact with the regular forces outside, and the regular forces were cut off and annihilated, the remaining Gilahani troops entered a hidden, timed race: their objective was to destroy the high-ranking researchers and various research materials before they were wiped out. When the lower-level units were no longer able to resist the advance of the 7th Brigade, and the upper-level assault teams were unable to penetrate the research area, this race had already failed. What awaited them was only being attacked from both sides, resulting in their complete annihilation.

However, subsequent developments slightly exceeded Lu Wu and his team's expectations.

This extremely aggressive unit, seemingly driven only by recklessness and determined to achieve its objective, decisively abandoned its current mission before the situation became irreversible. The lower-level Gilahani combat teams, tasked with delaying operations, quickly withdrew from the battle line and retreated into the depths of the castle after receiving orders. The infantry, eager to reinforce Spetzner, didn't even have time to attend to this small group of fleeing enemies, instead rapidly moving up the ranks.

The report of a small number of enemies escaping from sight did not initially attract the attention of the command staff. Everyone's attention was focused on the battle at higher levels. After all, the escape of two or three enemies was not a big deal. You can't expect to annihilate all enemies in your predetermined positions in every battle.

But after Vasily's infantry company and Sergeyev's special forces annihilated the high command's assault team at the cost of more than ten casualties and joined forces, Yelena finally noticed the information reported by several infantry squads earlier.

"So, while we have largely taken control of Swarthburg, a special forces team of a dozen or so Gilahani warriors has actually gone missing?" Lu Wu understood Yelena's meaning. "Have the troops outside spotted any Belken people coming out of the castle?"

"Only our people."

Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles couldn't enter the castle, so they naturally remained outside to surround and guard the perimeter, with Hind helicopters circling overhead. Both the T-72AV and the Berezovsky possessed thermal imaging capabilities; if this special forces team wanted to leave the castle by ground, they would inevitably be detected unless targeted measures were taken. The only escape tunnel inside the castle had collapsed a century ago due to an earthquake, and the royal family had never repaired it.

"Then there are only two possibilities left: they are either waiting for an opportunity to escape or they are planning to give us a surprise." Lu Wu concluded, "We need to conduct a sweep of the castle interior. Leaving a special forces team in our controlled area is too dangerous."

This decision was approved by the entire command staff. In the previous battles, the Jilin Lahani unit had demonstrated combat capabilities no less than those of Spetsnaz. Such a special forces team hiding right under their noses would obviously make everyone uneasy.

Volume 1: Chapter 185 (Joint Operation)

"What is the casualty situation of the troops?" Lu Wu asked in a low voice.

"A total of 12 men were killed and 61 wounded. The deaths were mainly among the regular infantry, with 9 killed, the highest-ranking being Sergeant Barannikov, while almost everyone in Spetznaz was wounded. As for vehicles, a total of three Berezoks and two T-72AVs were damaged, all during the march," the staff officer in charge of statistics replied, holding his personal terminal.

“Barannikov? He’s dead too…” Lu Wu sighed upon hearing the name. Barannikov was a veteran member of the 7th Brigade, practically one of the first recruits. It was only on a whim that they gave him such a sinister name—after all, a dead man can’t die a second time, right? But unexpectedly, this guy survived Grozny, only to fall here…

Unlike Lu Wu, who was sighing with regret, the officers of the Kingdom of Elgia, who had observed the entire operation of the 7th Brigade, fell into whispers among themselves:

"Only 73 people? Unbelievable, they wiped out at least seven or eight hundred."

"The enemy was a full-strength infantry regiment equipped with a tank battalion, and they were completely wiped out in just half an hour. If it had been our Imperial Guards, they probably wouldn't have lasted even half an hour..."

"Have you noticed? The Belken's firing positions and tanks were almost all eliminated before the tank units even began their advance."

Although the Kingdom of Ergia has already begun cooperation with the 7th Brigade at different levels and has started to learn new knowledge in terms of tactics and military equipment—they have formed their own armored forces, hired tactical instructors, and introduced advanced equipment in an attempt to reverse engineer—it is still relatively new. This kind of integrated air-ground mechanized rapid strike is still extremely novel to these traditional Kingdom officers. The shock brought about by this on-site observation can even be compared to the impact of the 1991 war on China.

Although the Belken garrison was equipped with tanks and trucks, making them a standard motorized unit in terms of composition, their use of vehicles and choice of defensive tactics remained those of a traditional infantry force. Their thinking was still focused on digging trenches, setting up machine guns, and erecting barbed wire, waiting for enemy infantry to advance. The 7th Brigade, on the other hand, was ostensibly a mechanized unit, but in terms of information connectivity and some tactical applications, it had begun to move towards information technology. Against this traditional infantry force, it was a clear case of being outmatched; such a disparity in casualties was to be expected.

The impact of this battle on the Kingdom of Elgia's army will not be limited to the current discussion, but that is not what Lu Wu is concerned about now. He is more concerned about how to achieve the goal of clearing out the remaining enemy in the castle more quickly and with less casualties in the following operations. Such casualties are not among the highest in the history of the 7th Brigade, but Lu Wu felt heartache.

Leaving aside the grief and regret caused by the passing of an old acquaintance like Sergeant Barannikov, even from the somewhat ruthless perspective of soldier training costs, it would be a loss to trade one modern infantryman for one Gilakani soldier: thanks to the BVVD, the benefits of killing one Gilakani soldier are not even enough to buy him a fully armed little green man, not to mention the side effect of personnel changes causing a short-term decline in the unit's combat effectiveness.

The task of clearing out the remaining enemy is a typical example of an enemy operation in the dark while our side is in the open. Clearing rooms one by one and setting up a blockade might require mobilizing more manpower. Compared to the previous direct confrontation, this kind of environment is more likely to cause casualties and will also take more time.

However, the value of Swarthorough meant that the 7th Brigade wouldn't have much time to eliminate threats within the castle. Although the electronic warfare unit had suppressed the castle's external communications, and Belken's command was temporarily unaware of the attack, the fact that Swarthorough had fallen could not be hidden forever. After all, it was close to Highway 76, a vital supply line, and any anomaly would alert Belken's command, which would mean exposure.

Similarly, the 7th Brigade only has one mechanized infantry company, one reconnaissance company, and one special operations detachment here. It can't possibly cram all its infantry into the castle to carry out the mopping-up operation. At least another company needs to be deployed outside to blockade the castle. In addition to cooperating with the infantry to blockade, the tanks also need to be wary of enemy troops that may appear on Highway 76. In other words, the only force available to eliminate the threat is one company of infantry and one special operations detachment. It seems that it is somewhat beyond the capabilities of such a small force to capture so many people on the enemy's home turf.

Should we continue to bring in more people from Alpha Base...? The casualties of this assault also made Lu Wu put away the slight contempt he had harbored due to the absolute generational difference in weaponry, and he began to treat these enemies with a more cautious attitude.

"General Lu, I have an idea regarding the current situation."

Lost in thought, Lu Wu didn't notice the brief discussion that had taken place among the royal army officers, a discussion that even included Princess Rosa. So when Princess Rosa appeared beside him, Lu Wu was initially somewhat confused.

"Please speak." Q

But that didn't stop him from giving that answer. In fact, he was also quite curious about what kind of ideas this young girl, who hadn't received formal military training, could come up with.

"General, the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Elgia is a garrison force established to protect the royal palace and the capital. Therefore, their hypothetical enemies include small, elite units that have infiltrated the capital, and they have also received training in confined space and indoor combat. I believe the Royal Guard can assist you in eliminating the remaining enemies in the upcoming operation."

"Hmm?" This is a perfect match for her expertise? Lu Wu's face showed some interest. He hadn't expected Rosa to want to get involved. Besides wanting to help the 7th Brigade, she probably also wanted to obtain firsthand information about the battles against the Gilahani warriors.

"Are there Royal Guard troops nearby?" He was somewhat uncertain, since the Kingdom of Elgia had never mentioned any of their troops near Swarburg initially. Unless the Royal Guard were all green-skinned and could spring from the ground, this was rather unsettling.

“Here it is.” Princess Rosa pointed. “There is a battalion of the Royal Guard here. We can transfer some of our men from here.”

Lu Wu's gaze fell on the icon beneath the slender finger. "I'm afraid we have a slightly different interpretation of the word 'nearby.' Let's wait for them..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Wu stopped himself. Yes, the Imperial Guard couldn't be deployed to Swarthburg quickly, but the 7th Brigade could. Sigh.

Volume 1: Chapter 171 Which will arrive first, the reinforcements or the enemy?

Dozens of empty helicopters took off, leaving Swarburg and heading towards the territory controlled by the Kingdom of Ergia, tasked with transporting a company of the Imperial Guard.

After discussion, it was decided that the task of clearing out the remaining enemy forces at Swarthburg would be carried out jointly by Spetznaz and the Imperial Guard. While nominally a joint operation, the main force would actually be carried out by the Imperial Guard, with Spetznaz providing some technical support and as a last resort. This situation could be considered a result of both sides' actions.

On one hand, Lu Wu felt sorry for them; after all, these were Spetsnaz, and deploying them behind enemy lines would allow them to play a greater role. The Kingdom's army also wanted to gain experience against the Gilahani warriors, as they might face the same enemy in the future. On the other hand, there was a longer-term consideration: if they developed this habit of seeking powerful external assistance whenever they encountered a tough opponent, what would their army be like after this war? Would they be able to cope with the next possible war? Lin

Therefore, after the fighting inside the castle temporarily subsided, Spetznaz established a temporary joint operations center on the cleared top floor. Although most of the Belken equipment and data had been moved out through holes in the ceiling, the interior was still a mess after the battle, littered with shell casings, rubble, dust, and acrid gunpowder fumes. Fortunately, the people in the operations center weren't exactly pampered; this level of environment was quite comfortable for them. While awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, they used their miniature drones to further reconnoiter the castle's interior, laying the groundwork for their next move.

The reconnaissance company, which had been lying in wait here for some time, did not participate much in the subsequent CQB at the castle. Therefore, they have now been transferred to carry out forward reconnaissance missions along Highway 47. The mechanized infantry company, which had just finished a fierce battle, has also begun to replenish supplies and rest in batches, except for some of them who have to maintain the blockade and vigilance inside the castle, in preparation for the battles to come.

At this point, the Belken command center also became vigilant. Although the electronic warfare unit's 1L269Krasukha-2 jamming station had suppressed Swarburg's communications, after the castle was blown up and contact with the garrison outside was lost, the officer in charge of communications ordered the destruction of important documents such as codebooks. Once the 7th Brigade took control of the telegraph room, they could no longer obtain any valuable intelligence or utilize the equipment inside. Therefore, when Swarburg failed to send a situation report within the stipulated time, the command center immediately sent several telegrams to Swarburg and its garrison to inquire about the situation, even resorting to field telephones.

Naturally, these telegrams and phone calls also went unanswered.

The enemy commander frowned and immediately organized a team to investigate the situation at Swarthburg while restoring communication between the two sides.

He figured it was most likely a problem with Swarthburg's jamming equipment, which was interfering with his communications as well. After all, this jamming equipment had malfunctioned indiscriminately before, although this was the first time it had even blocked landline calls. Considering Swarthburg's location deep within his controlled territory, it was impossible for the Kingdom of Elgia or the Amelia Federation to silently infiltrate his territory and cut off Swarthburg's connection with him. The most likely explanation was that the equipment had malfunctioned again.

But this prediction was quickly proven wrong just ten minutes later.

It wasn't that the communications personnel arrived at Swarth-el-Fort ...

The command staff naturally knew that their air force's operations today would not pass through this location, so they traced the flight path of the fleet on the map and discovered that one end of the path pointed towards Swarthburg.

This discovery sent a chill down the commander's spine. He almost immediately connected it to the communications blackout at Swarthorpe. He began to realize that the situation might not be as simple as an equipment malfunction as he had initially thought. According to intelligence from the front, the air force was small, and given the size of his own aircraft, they shouldn't have been able to destroy both the garrison's and the castle's communication systems in a short time, especially considering there was an infantry regiment equipped with a tank battalion on the ground there. But just in case, he ordered the regiment closest to Swarthorpe to move closer.

Unfortunately, shortly after the regiment received orders to set off, a report from the front lines in another direction made the commander realize that the thing he least wanted to see had happened.

The troops tasked with attacking Alpha Base discovered that their FP106 highway outpost had lost contact. The reconnaissance team found that the outpost had been completely destroyed, and the scene was horrific, clearly indicating a heavy attack. At the same time, there were some unusual signs on the highway: there were large areas of asphalt pavement torn at the bends, and all the obstacles used to block the road had been removed.

It was clear that a force had broken through this reinforced artillery outpost and then sped along FP106.

q As for the enemy's destination, it was obviously Swarthburg at the end of the road.

At this point, Belken's commander no longer harbored the suspicion that Swarth's loss of contact was merely due to equipment malfunction. When he reviewed the map again, he was filled with alarm. Unless the enemy possessed the same communication jamming equipment, their only option was to annihilate the defenders in a very short time using extremely high firepower to achieve their objective without alerting the enemy command.

He didn't believe the Ergia had similar jamming equipment; otherwise, Belken's troops would have been subjected to the same communications interference long ago. But to wipe out an entire regiment in such a short time? How intense would that firepower have to be? Did their heavy artillery have wings, allowing it to fly from the front lines to Swarthburg in just a few hours?

Regardless of which possibility is true, this is not what the commander wants to see. This is no longer an ordinary Elgin army; a decisive blow is necessary!

Volume 1: Chapter 187 (Chapter 172) - Reinforcements and Unexpected Events Arrive Simultaneously

The race ultimately ended with the Elgin Guard reaching the finish line first. Although the Guard was farther from Swarthorpe, they had the advantage of flying, traveling in a straight line, and being smaller and more flexible in formation. By the time an entire battalion of the Guard had already been crammed into aircraft and rushed to the front lines, several regiments of Belken's army were still not ready to deploy!

However, both the Elgiah Army and the 7th Brigade overlooked a detail that actually diminished some of the advantages brought by flexibility and speed.

The 21st Rifle Battalion of the Ryukyu Imperial Guard never imagined they would one day need to use helicopters for battlefield maneuvers. Their lack of understanding of aircraft and flight led to many unnecessary anxieties—how does this thing even fly? Won't it crash mid-flight? How many people can it carry? Won't it be overloaded and crash? The Belken also have aircraft, equipped with machine guns; can our planes withstand them? Will the Belken on the ground hit us? Will falling from a twenty-story building result in a bloody pulp or a chance of a decent corpse…?

This tension quickly spread throughout the rifle battalion, a fact the pilots failed to notice—they were only focused on getting their men to the designated position as quickly as possible. Even the officers in the rifle battalion were somewhat affected by the tension of this "first time." It's well known that when the nerves are under high tension, one's perception of the surrounding environment becomes heightened. And when they were confined to a small space, breathing polluted air, feeling the vibrations of the cockpit, and looking down at buildings barely larger than erasers, their faces began to turn pale.

Motion sickness struck without warning.

When the first unfortunate soul, unable to bear the spasms in his stomach, poured the pungent mixture of solid and liquid onto his comrades, a hellish chain reaction began. To make matters worse, the 7th Brigade hadn't provided them with vomit bags.

So, when the helicopter landed in the open space of Swarthaburi and the cabin doors opened, the faces of the Royal Army staff turned green—

"By the gods above..."

A highly pungent odor wafted out of the cabin. A group of weaklings, barely able to hold a steady gun, staggered and stumbled, trying to escape this hellish place. But they seemed to have forgotten that many of them were covered in something with a unique smell, turning them into mobile biological weapons. The staff officers, who had originally intended to watch the "first batch of Kingdom Army warriors rapidly deployed by air assault," tacitly took a few steps back, trying to get out of its attack range, but judging from their actions of covering their mouths and noses, it had little effect.

"So we can't count on the 21st Rifle Battalion, right?"

Upon hearing this news, Lu Wu felt like he'd swallowed a fly. He never imagined that motion sickness could cause such damage to friendly units! Good heavens, what mobile unit has soldiers who get carsick or airsick?! Well, the Steel Seventh Company is a special case that requires special handling…

The officers of the 7th Brigade initially wore expressions of wanting to laugh but having to suppress it, but after realizing what was happening, their faces became as contorted with embarrassment as their previous laughter. As for the staff officers of the Kingdom Army, they looked ashamed and unable to speak.

The guards of the 21st Rifle Battalion are currently resting near the castle. Anyone who has seen them knows that the 21st Rifle Battalion is practically incapacitated. Nearly a third of the soldiers are experiencing severe motion sickness; aside from those caring for them, only half remain, including those with milder symptoms (who can still pick up a gun and aim). But if these remaining hundred or so somewhat sluggish soldiers were actually thrown into indoor mopping-up operations, it would only enhance the reputation of the Gilahani warriors.

"One hour! Give us one hour, and they can recover to a combat-ready state," the royal army staff officer whispered. Those lying in bed on IV drips are fine, but those with mild symptoms should be mostly recovered after an hour's rest, right? He speculated to himself. After all, they were the Imperial Guard; compared to other royal army units, they were known for their unwavering will. However, they might need to reorganize the personnel, since the non-combat casualties of each squad were different…

"This accident was due to our lack of foresight." Lu Wu ignored Wang Guojun's explanation and took the blame. He should have thought of this basic problem much earlier. He reflected on himself, realizing that he had cooperated too much with allies of similar caliber in the past and hadn't broken free from this ingrained way of thinking.

Fortunately, after determining that the 21st Rifle Battalion could not be deployed for combat in the short term, they activated their contingency plan. The Army Air Force had already gone to Alpha Base to scout for reinforcements. Although it would take a lot of time, it was better than brazenly handing the enemy a victory. However, with all this commotion, their plan to eliminate internal threats before enemy reinforcements arrived would most likely fail.

Thinking about this, Lu Wu felt a pang of frustration. After all, since arriving here, there had been no problems with the tactical arrangements, but such a basic mistake had caused them to miss their chance...

"Any new developments from Belken?"