Chapter 64: Infantry-Artillery Coordination!

Inside the inn room in Huangshi City, Chen Jian kept his eyes locked on the thermal imaging signals displayed on the screen while briefing the other three:

"The number of Mechanicus Skitarii is not ten, but thirty, divided into three squads."

"Squads one and two are mobile patrol units, following two fixed routes along the city edge and the city center respectively. They have already completed one cycle and are currently swapping to begin the second patrol cycle."

"Squad three is the garrison force, holding the church in the center of the city."

"Furthermore, squad three is internally divided into two groups: one deployed for perimeter security outside the church, and the other stationed for security inside."

"According to the close-range reconnaissance intelligence gathered by Zeng Yi and Xie Liu, the Mechanicus church in Huangshi City is built as a semi-fortress."

"The exterior walls of this stronghold are constructed from rammed earth, marble, and fired bricks, reaching a thickness of about two meters."

"The church has almost no extra windows, and the main entrance is a heavy blast door made of spliced metals and controlled by hinges, making it extremely difficult to open from the outside once sealed."

"Currently, we have no weapons capable of directly penetrating a bunker of this thickness, so it is foreseeable that assaulting the stronghold will be the most difficult part."

"Regarding weapon configurations, the vast majority of the Skitarii use single-shot or semi-automatic rifles we saw back in Hanshui City, basically modified versions of 'old-era' rifles like the Type 191 and Type 81."

"However, in the hands of some members of Skitarii squad three, Zeng Yi spotted light machine guns similar to the Type 201, as well as the coaxial rifles we encountered last time."

"Two 15-kilogram smoothbore cannons are also deployed inside the church, which might be loaded with canister shot."

"Overall, the enemy's firepower is not weak, and coupled with their numerical advantage, taking them down won't be easy."

As Chen Jian finished speaking, Zeng Yi raised his hand to add, mimicking He Shuo's manner:

"There are also close to fifty regular city defense troops in the city. Although their weapons are outdated, we must figure out a way to deal with them."

"Leave those city defense troops to you two," Chen Jian said decisively.

"The two of you need to pin down or clear out fifty city defense troops. Can you do it?"

"…… We'll do our best!" Zeng Yi nodded slowly, then turned to ask:

"What about you guys? You're going to rely on just four people to attack the Mechanicus church stronghold?"

"To be precise, two people," Chen Jian exhaled softly and explained:

"Lei Jie and Shen Yue are on their way. They need to operate heavy weapons from a high ground on the lakeside 1.5 kilometers away to provide us with necessary suppressing firepower and organize fire support."

"They can't come over; they're carrying too much equipment. If exposed, the Mechanicus will inevitably be alerted."

"Therefore, the close-quarters clearance can only rely on the rest of us."

"…… Four people against eighty, and thirty of them are elite Mechanicus Skitarii??"

Zeng Yi was dumbfounded.

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen these Chosen Ones use superior tactics and overwhelming firepower to beat giant monsters to a pulp, nor had he failed to witness them holding off the joint armies of Hanshui City with just four people.

But no matter what, the current situation was completely different!

When fighting a monster, there was only one beast, and through coordination, the Chosen Ones could severely restrict its range of movement.

When fighting the Hanshui City coalition, they were still far away, allowing them to fully exploit the advantages of long-range firepower.

But what about now?

They were launching a fortress assault!

And an assault meant close-quarters hand-to-hand combat!

Perhaps a single bullet would be enough to send a Chosen One packing.

Because what flowed in their veins was not "holy blood"—at the end of the day, they were merely flesh and blood.

What kind of insane gamble was this?

Zeng Yi took a deep breath, his internal judgment swaying between "can" and "cannot."

He felt they could because he had witnessed the truth with his own eyes, seeing the ancestors of these Chosen Ones accomplish incredible feats under even more desperate and difficult circumstances.

Since their ancestors could do it, they should be able to as well.

He felt they couldn't because of his instinctive judgment formed after countless battles over the past decade.

He believed that no one across the entire continent could pull off such a battle.

The Mechanicus couldn't, and neither could the Holy Bloodbearers!

At this thought, he instinctively wanted to voice his "劝退" ( dissuasion ), but the words turned into a question right on his lips:

"So, what's the plan?"

Chen Jian gently adjusted the night vision goggles on his helmet and replied:

"We cannot give the Skitarii a chance to counterattack."

"To be even more extreme, we can't even give them a chance to fire a single shot."

"One assault, one strike to take them down."

"Only this way can we win with the lowest probability of casualties."

As his voice fell, not only Zeng Yi, but even Xie Liu cast a look of sheer disbelief.

After a moment of hesitation, she said:

"But that's almost impossible……"

"It's already daytime; your advantages in night combat cannot be utilized."

"Even if you want to launch a sneak attack, it's still……"

"It's not a sneak attack," Chen Jian waved his hand, explaining:

"Although the tactical goals to be achieved by an assault and a sneak attack are largely similar, the methods of execution are completely different."

"We possess the advantage of heavy firepower and have clear targets, so there's no need for a sneak attack."

"It's time to let these Skitarii know what modern warfare is really like!"

……

One hour later, Zeng Yi and Xie Liu arrived at their designated attack positions.

Meanwhile, Lei Jie and Shen Yue had already seized the commanding heights by the lakeside and began deploying their equipment.

Li Shiyun also helped out on the side. He originally had very little mobility, so to drag him along, Lei Jie temporarily cobbled together a flatbed cart using spare parts and hitched it behind the cat-cart. It rolled quite well, and even hauled a great deal of extra ammunition and gear.

In a mere two minutes, the three people across the lake had deployed two automatic grenade launchers, one Type 301 heavy machine gun, two mortars, one sniper grenade launcher, and two rocket launchers secured and aimed with tripods.

According to the plan, Li Shiyun would operate the Type 301 heavy machine gun to deliver uninterrupted short bursts, applying pressure to Skitarii squads one and two on the outer perimeter. Hit or miss, it would still constitute formidable suppression.

If they got lucky and managed to drop a few, it would be pure profit.

As for Lei Jie and Shen Yue, each of them would fire a rapid six-round volley with a mortar before quickly switching to use the QLZ-24 automatic grenade launchers to shell the outer perimeter of the church stronghold, blasting a path for the assaulting Chen Jian and He Shuo.

This was destined to be an extremely perilous assault.

Yet in Chen Jian's view, the danger might not come from those Skitarii, but rather from……

The artillery shells of their own comrades behind them.

Standing behind the door of the inn, he confirmed the enemy's positions and movements one last time, took a deep breath, and decisively gave the order:

"He Shuo, push forward and seize favorable assault positions."

"Zeng Yi, Xie Liu, start creating chaos and draw the attention of the city defense troops."

"Li Shiyun, open fire with the heavy machine gun in ten seconds, covering Skitarii Squad One by the lakeside."

"Lei Jie, Shen Yue, begin the first round of bombardment in thirty seconds."

"Aim straight!"

"Show them what true infantry-artillery coordination looks like!"