Munitions Empire

"Hey! Are these lunatics not afraid of death?" a soldier from the Great Tang Group’s security troops lay on the edge of the trench, watching the Shireck soldiers press forward again, muttering with an incredibly vivid expression on his face.

"They’ve charged twice already, and they don’t even scatter... Are they all idiots?" another soldier scoffed as he looked at the dense formations.

They had already discussed such matters during their previous classes; once an attack is suppressed by modern weapons, one must find a way to solve the problem, rather than rigidly executing outdated tactics and wasting the lives of soldiers.

For example, when Tang Mo hypothesized that the enemy had automatic weapons, in order to pass the exam, all soldiers had to come up with their own corresponding tactics.

The most basic tactics included: dispersing troops, crawling forward, alternating covering fire, and using the sharpshooting rangers to continuously fire and suppress the enemy’s firepower.

These tactics could minimize one’s own losses as much as possible and were considered passing measures.

More reasonable tactics were to organize artillery fire coverage, trench digging to shorten the distance of the charge, and boldly interspersing using the terrain, and so on.

Of course, regularly devising more advanced tactics, improving weapons and equipment to avoid falling behind technologically was also something Tang Mo required the students to strive for.

Under such training, the commanders of the Great Tang Group’s troops would never resort to using outdated square formations to blindly charge the enemy’s machine-gun positions.

These officers would not be so stubborn in their thinking, let alone charging three times in a row. They would come up with more tricks before initiating the first attack.

One could unreservedly say that in the presence of Tang Mo’s students, the so-called famous generals of the era were almost like NPCs in a novice teaching mode, simply "greenhorns" for the taking.

"Two consecutive attacks, at least two legions lost, and damn it, they haven’t even touched our positions... That’s really terrible," muttered a soldier from the Great Tang Group’s security troops, who hailed from a family of blacksmiths, squinting through the cracks of the weeds, watching those enemies stepping over bodies as they advanced.

The squad leader beside him evaluated, with some speechlessness, "If this was in our squad assessment, forget passing, they wouldn’t even get thirty points, okay?"

"Thirty points? Stop joking, did you see the test paper with thirty points last time? At least they knew to fire a couple of rounds of shelling for suppression first, right?" another soldier sneered.

Every soldier in the trench was actually trained to be on the level of battalion or even regimental commanders, so each of them could discern something at this moment.

In fact, this war was also a large-scale drill and assessment for them. Tang Mo once told them that, after this assessment, they would have the chance to be selected for more important tasks.

"At least... give us a chance to have a real fight... What is this?" Behind this trench, in another trench responsible for covering the machine-gun position, the platoon leader complained anxiously.

From the start of the battle until now, his troops had been almost entirely in hiding. In other words, the Shireck troops had been fighting up to this moment without even having a clear idea of where the core defense positions of the Great Tang Group’s troops were located.

As a frontline commander, he very much wished that his troops, the ones he trained, would have a chance to prove themselves in such a precious battle and learn even more.

Unfortunately, up to this point, they had not had the opportunity to open fire on the enemy, and most soldiers hadn’t even had the chance to take one shot.

The rangers deployed in front of the trench had the chance to fire a few shots, making their presence known. But for the soldiers guarding the trenches in front of the machine-gun positions, they truly hadn’t had the opportunity to fire a single legitimate shot.

Not to mention, they had also been looking forward to assessing grenade handling, testing trench concealment capabilities, and incidentally verifying various tactical coordination...

None of these tests had been completed, because the enemy’s artillery was too outdated. They couldn’t even collect enough data to verify the explosion resistance of the trenches...

The one time the enemy artillery had hit the trench, it hadn’t caused significant casualties, yet no one could prove whether such a solitary incident represented an accurate result.

In the midst of all the grumbling, the enemy approached the machine-gun position once again, and the sound of sweeping gunfire started up once more.

This time, the enemy seemed a bit more experienced. When the machine gun began its sweep, these soldiers began to crouch and hide. The phalanges on the flanks started to disperse, and most of the soldiers in the middle found suitable positions and lay down among the mountain of corpses and seas of blood.

Reasonable evasion allowed these soldiers to avoid the incoming bullets. Still, having to make such close contact with the already deceased corpses would undoubtedly cause significant psychological trauma.

Some other soldiers turned and ran towards the back. Compared to their hesitant behavior during their charge, their speed now could definitely set a world record.

It was precisely because the enemy units dispersed faster this time that the number of people killed by machine guns was obviously much less compared to the previous two instances.

With the addition of the artillery losses, the first attack cost the Shireck side about 1300 men, while the second attack’s losses were around 1000.

This time, because Baron Stela’s troops collapsed so swiftly, they probably lost fewer than 500 men.

Although it was still a grievous loss and the entire corps had almost lost its combat capabilities, compared to the previous two times, a loss of 500 men was really not that much.

When the subsequent troops surged forward like a tidal wave, what they saw on the ground were nearly 3,000 bodies that had almost covered the land.

The temperature was already very high at this time of the day, so the stacked and crowded bodies filled the air with an odd smell.

In fact, a big part of sensing such a smell was psychological. Because compared to the stench of sulfur, in such a short time, it was impossible for the bodies to decay and produce a strong odor.

However, these piled-up bodies indeed affected the morale of the attackers and made the road difficult to navigate.

If it were possible, Gis wished to order his soldiers to remove the bodies scattered across the battlefield and dispose of them thoroughly.

After all, in this season, the slightest carelessness could lead to the bodies starting to rot and breed malaria and epidemic diseases, which would spell true disaster.

Regrettably, Gis also knew that Tang Mo might not agree with his plan to collect the bodies for his soldiers.

The battle had entered a climax from the very first day, as Shireck’s 4th Corps pressed forward across the whole line, with three battalions of soldiers arrayed in a line, threateningly advancing toward the Great Tang Group’s defensive lines.

The offensive battle started once again, but this time, after less than three minutes of machine gun fire, the troops faltered, retreating at all costs, not even daring to look back.

This time Shireck’s troops disintegrated just as quickly as the ill-disciplined military of Baron Stela; they held on for less than five minutes before dispersing like scared birds.

The entire corps collapsed in an instant, crying and screaming as they fled under the relentless strikes of the machine guns, quickly exiting the cover range of the guns.

Upon regrouping at the starting point, these Shireck lost over 500 men, but the injury rate was extremely high.

On the defensive position of the Great Tang Group’s security forces, a soldier stared dumbfounded at Shireck’s formations retreating once again like the tide, and asked in a somewhat frustrated whisper, "They... aren’t here to scam bullets, are they?"

"Yeah! They run after a single exchange of fire?" Another soldier nodded and agreed emphatically.

"Ha…" A soldier nearby yawned, idly wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, saying helplessly, "I’m getting sleepy! Damn it, can’t these guys just come over so we can shoot a few?"

For this excellent student of his class, the battle was too easy, so easy that it barely aroused his interest.

The squad leader pointed to the protruding trench at the end of their position and said to his men, "Dream on, see the Ranger over there?"

"Mhm, saw him, what about it?" A group of men nodded together, like children reverting to their school days when they collectively answered the teacher’s questions.

The squad leader held up two fingers and explained seriously, "He’s only fired two shots since the battle began! Just two shots…"

Indeed, only two shots; it couldn’t be helped, the enemy was too dense. They didn’t even get a chance to fire before most were torn apart by the machine gun bullets.

"Standing so close and only getting to shoot twice?" Several soldiers asked incredulously.

The squad leader pointed at the retreating Shireck soldiers, shaking his head, "Didn’t you see how each time they run, it’s smoother than before?"

"Ha! That’s so true!" The group nodded politely, as they could indeed feel the change in the enemy.

After all, those teams that attacked relentlessly like steel were a minority; the vast majority of Shireck’s soldiers were mere flesh and blood, unfit for fierce battles.

While everyone was mocking Shireck’s stiffness and weakness, a man on horseback appeared on the distant horizon.

He was a Shireck private military officer, astride a spirited warhorse, holding a white flag high with caution as he came closer and closer.

"I am here to negotiate!" the Shireck officer shouted at the top of his lungs. "Don’t shoot! I am here to negotiate!"

While shouting, he also waved the white flag in his hand as if afraid of being misunderstood, "I am here under the orders of Lord Gis to negotiate!"

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