Mission ⑧ · The Sword, Part One

Foreword:

There's no need to water the weeds; they'll grow at night.

[Part 1: Fury]

"Before we officially set off, I have something to tell you."

Liu Weiqiang spent half an hour preparing his team members psychologically, showing them the interior of the Panther Tank and familiarizing them with the functions of each part.

"Our driver is Billy. Apart from the armor of the tank, we entrust our lives to him because the crew is a unified whole. Once the vehicle is hit and damaged, we must not abandon it and run away unless I give the order."

Shasha immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"

Billy the Kid and Fuyanni tensed up. "Yes, sir!"

Strong Bro: "Our main gunner is Fuyanni. He will operate the Panther's 75mm cannon to attack and destroy the enemy. He is our most powerful fang, our decisive weapon. He will control the turret and the coaxial machine gun, and will select the firing arc on my orders."

Fuyanni lacked confidence and responded weakly.

"Yes, sir."

"I don't need your yes or no answer." Strong Bro had served in the army, and he knew these young lads who had only recently joined the army lacked courage, so he changed his tune. "I don't even know why you saved me. Tell me again, Fuyanni, why did you get in my car?"

Fuyanni: "I... I want to do something?!"

Strong Bro: "What do you want to do?"

Shasha: "I want revenge! Revenge for my mom and dad!"

Strong Bro: "Are you also seeking revenge? You and Billy the Kid have no grudge against those bastards from the Mercy of Eros, so where does your fighting spirit come from? I'm very curious! Without a clear answer, I dare not entrust the archer position to you."

Fuyanni's eyes suddenly reddened.

He was breathing heavily.

"I am Shasha! I am Shasha! I am Shasha too!"

Strong Bro listened quietly, without moving an inch.

Fuyanni stood ramrod straight, staring intently into the older man's eyes, seeing the marks of time etched on his brow and temples, and his resolute yet profound expression.

"I just feel like I have to do something! Before, when I was with Brother Billy, we just drifted through life, taking it one day at a time. If we met someone kind and weak, we'd try to extort a few dollars from them; if we met someone fierce and ruthless, we'd just bow our heads and behave ourselves. I don't want to live like that anymore! I have to do something!"

Fuyanni turned to look at Shasha, and then at the two brothers' benefactor.

"This damn God won't let us live a good life. I'm not very educated and can't really explain why, I just feel that this is wrong! This shouldn't be! If we can't even do bad things properly, why don't we think about doing good things?"

Strong Bro asked in a booming voice, "So, the two Crouching Dragons and Phoenix Chicks have always known what is good and what is bad?"

Billy, his face full of resentment, suddenly spoke up.

"I didn't know that originally."

Fuyanni answered sharply.

"I only realized this after meeting Shasha!"

Strong Bro took a deep breath and then emphasized, "It's a rare opportunity for you two to become members of my crew. I need to be upfront with you: dying in a tank is painful—extremely painful. It's like a burning coffin; before you're even completely dead, your fate is sealed."

Shasha pouted and raised its nimble forelimbs. "May Lady Luck protect Shasha!"

Strong Bro then turned to the two brothers and asked, "You two are the same. Have you mustered up your courage and are you ready? Once the turret hatch is closed, there's no turning back."

Fuyanni hugged the little fish-man, trying his best to explain, as clusters of spiritual energy burst forth from his arms like floating clouds of light. "I don't have a father or mother either! I think they must have been murdered, otherwise why would they abandon me?"

Billy continued, "On Gin Street in Vanessa City, we were raised by the Beggars' Guild. To us, those who adopted us were like Shasha and Old Khan—they were our great benefactors, our second parents."

Fuyanni growled in a low voice, "But they were like rats in the street, hated by everyone! Back then, Brother Billy said that you have to be ruthless! You have to be bad! If you can't be, you'll only be bullied!"

Billy covered his forehead, looking dejected. "I left that place, taking Fuyanni far away, not wanting to grow up to be a pariah myself."

Fuyanni: "We went to so many places, so many places, and finally, while working for the Little Brotherhood, we met the gunsmith."

Billy the Kid's nose tingled with tears. "We almost died, just a hair's breadth away."

Fuyanni's eyes reddened. "After spending a few months in jail, he got arrogant when he came out, thinking he was capable again."

Billy shook his head vigorously. "When we arrived at the White Ape, and Eureka came, I almost lost myself, I almost did."

Fuyanni leaned on Billy's shoulder, feeling guilty and unable to look at Shasha.

"To be honest, I'm really scared. I'm so scared. There's something I haven't told you, Billy."

"Go ahead and say it."

"When we were outside the theater, Shasha and I were waiting for you. That Shaxian restaurant owner came out and threatened me, demanding that I kill Shasha. He said Shasha was a bastard and a menace, and that if I made a move, I would become their brother—I didn't dare to say a word at first."

"Then you're such a jerk."

"It was terrifying. I've never killed anyone, never. I don't even dare to hurt anyone—my mind went completely blank for a moment, I couldn't remember anything."

Strong Bro quickly called out, "Okay, stop crying!"

Fuyanni and Billy the Kid finally adjusted their mindset, and they were now determined to sacrifice themselves for righteousness.

There was no poetic embellishment, nor any grand pronouncements.

Often, we just do what we think of, especially when we're eighteen or nineteen, or in our early twenties, full of youthful vigor.

"Shasha is your loader." Strong Bro's expression was as firm as iron. "Fuyanni, Billy, Little Shark—I entrust my life to you. My name is Liu Weiqiang. I am your machine gunner, road clearing engineer, repairman, scout, communications officer, artillery instructor, medic, and tank commander."

Shasha raised its hand.

Strong Bro: "Speak!"

Shasha: "Sir! Do you possess Soul Might? Why can you create so many illusory bodies?"

Strong Bro: "Are you worried about things not falling into the category you mentioned?"

Shasha immediately replied, "No, sir! I just wanted to tell a joke to lighten the mood!"

Strong Bro had a strange expression, but finally he patted the child's head.

"I shouldn't have sent you to the battlefield, child. You're too young."

Shasha's eyes were resolute, and finally, both eyes turned to one.

"When our enemies harmed my parents, they didn't show any mercy just because I was a child! Commander! Don't underestimate me!"

Strong Bro was stunned for a moment, as if Shasha knew everything.

"Let's go, lads."

Little Shasha crawled into the turret and counted the ammunition as instructed by Commander A Qiang.

There are a total of 21 APCBC capped armor-piercing rounds, 30 APCR hard-core armor-piercing rounds, and 15 HE high-explosive rounds. Judging from the empty slots on the ammunition rack, Strong Bro has already fired several rounds.

The tank started up and, under Strong Bro's command, set up a coordinate system with the City Hall in the Krum District as the center point, and moved towards the northeast slope without going onto the highway.

The four men stood ready, parking the tank beside the Eureka First Canal.

--This is the first bridge after ships enter the port, and it is also one of the main roads leading into the bustling city center.

Fuyanni: "What do we do next?"

Strong Bro immediately got out of the car and observed the surrounding wilderness and city buildings to confirm that there were no residents or enemies, and the nearest building was more than 400 meters away.

The tanks were parked in a field by the river not far from the bridge, next to farmland.

"You remain where you are."

After saying this, A Qiang jumped out of his observation post, immediately ran into the wheat field, crossed the farm to drive away the cattle and sheep, pulled out a haystack from the warehouse, surrounded the Panther Tank, and completely hid it inside the haystack.

"Commander, why are you hiding here?" Billy the Kid noticed something was amiss, but he didn't quite understand—he could grasp a little bit.

Strong Bro said, "The garrison at Canyon Pass won't be so docile. They can't work for the Mercy Society forever. If something happens in the city, these heavily armed gatekeepers will definitely find an opportunity to go back and seize control of Eureka."

He pointed to the bridge directly in front of the farm's fields and earthen slopes.

"It's 180 meters from here to the bridge. Enemy troop carriers and armored units have to cross the canal via this bridge. We must eliminate as many of their personnel as possible."

Next, all that's left is to wait patiently.

The vehicle was turned off and kept silent. About ten minutes later, the driver's shouts could be heard.

Looking through the gun scope, Fuyanni observed a vehicle crossing the bridge, but it was a military pickup truck.

Should we fire?

Strong Bro: "No, let him go."

It's clearer through the telescope.

"The truck was carrying an anti-aircraft machine gun, which means the disaster must have spilled over from the area around the city. The garrison at Xiagu Pass is just putting on a show; they only have so few men. It's not our turn to go in yet."

Billy: "Keep waiting? Aren't the troops from Guangling Zhixi about to arrive?"

Strong Bro: "Don't worry, this is good news. Scouts have gone into the city to explore, and soon even bigger fish will take the bait."

About twenty minutes later, the roar of an engine could be heard from a great distance.

Just as Fuyanni was about to move the turret, Strong Bro immediately shouted to stop.

"Don't change your shooting line, keep an eye on the bridge."

The field of view through the gun scope was very narrow, and Fuyanni couldn't see what was happening outside. He had to listen to Strong Bro's instructions.

[Part ② - Luckily, I didn't teach him how to reverse]

Strong Bro calmly described the battlefield environment.

"A small group of infantry, accompanied by six Panther Tank, is approaching from the southwest, about 1,200 meters away. They're heading for the bridge; there must be good news from the city. The Flash Butterfly suffered a major defeat, and they're going to reap the rewards of victory."

Billy perked up. "So many people have come?"

Strong Bro: "Vehicle crews and troop carriers, infantry and motorcycles—judging by the size of the unit, there are three or four hundred people in total, that should be the number."

Fuyanni asked eagerly, "Shall we fire?"

Strong Bro: "In about one minute and forty seconds, the tanks and troop carriers will drive onto the bridge, while the infantry units behind them will be a little slower."

Shasha remained silent, much calmer and more composed than its two older brothers.

Strong Bro instructed, "I need an AP hard-core armor-piercing round loaded into the chamber. Shasha, prepare the next HE high-explosive round and hold the next shell in your arms."

Shasha: "Yes, sir!"

Strong Bro: "After starting the engine, you need to control the RPM, Billy. This old car is prone to overheating. Keep an eye on the speedometer; it can only go a maximum of 45 kilometers per hour."

Billy: "Yes, sir."

Strong Bro: "Shooter, get ready."

Fuyanni nervously glanced through the gun scope, his palms sweating. This was his first time firing a gun; he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

This was followed by forty-five seconds of silence.

The distant sound of engines grew closer, and the sharp whistles were the intimidating cries of the Snow Owl Mobilization Troops clearing the road as they marched. They also served as a reminder to Fuyanni that the enemy was about to enter his firing range.

Strong Bro said, "They've gone onto the bridge."

Fuyanni couldn't see, so he tried to leave through the gun scope and go to the observation window to take a look.

Strong Bro immediately said, "Don't move, don't move, don't move."

The repeated "Don't move" calmed Fuyanni down.

"Don't move, keep an eye on the bridge. Don't rotate the turret."

Strong Bro muttered to himself, peering through the gaps in the haystacks at the slowly advancing tank column.

"You can see clearly, can't you, Fuyanni?"

Fuyanni replied nervously, "There are many abandoned vehicles on both sides of the bridge; only the middle road is passable."

Strong Bro: "Yes, force their lead car to stop. I want you to hit its wheels. The Leopard's chassis is very high; you'll definitely be able to see it."

Fuyanni: "I know! I know!"

As the lead vehicle entered the gun's sight range, Fuyanni held his breath.

Strong Bro: "Just like that, wait for it to come, wait for it to reach the center of your crosshairs."

Almost before Strong Bro could shout "Fire!"

--Spherical flames erupted from the main gun muzzle, and the booming sound of the cannon rang out!

Shasha gripped the handle inside the turret tightly, but was still startled by the recoil. It immediately ejected the scalding hot shell casings and loaded in a high-explosive HE shell.

At the same time, Strong Bro shouted, "Well done! I saw the tracks fly off! The steel wheels turned into pieces!"

Billy: "You're like a poet, Commander!"

Fuyanni: "I did it! Reload! Reload! I want to do it again!"

The spherical flames from the cannons blew the haystacks away, revealing them.

Strong Bro hid back in the turret, no longer daring to use his body to scout, and instead looked at the outside world through the periscope.

He was quite surprised by Fuyanni's performance. Although he was a novice, he was able to hit the target so accurately on his first shot, and it was a low shot hitting a high one. It was a miracle. He hadn't expected to stop the lead vehicle with one shot. He hoped to use a high-explosive HE shell to cause chemical damage to the lead vehicle.

"Fuyanni! Forget about firing! Billy the Kid! Run! Run towards the bridge! Before the enemy turrets turn to us! Run! Run forward!"

The steel wheels spun rapidly, the tracks rolled over the high slope, and it immediately sped towards the front of the field.

The sound of bullets clanging against the armor filled the air. Billy was extremely nervous. Looking out through the driver's observation window, he saw dozens of gun flashes erupting from the bridge. They were all enemies, and the tanks on the bridge were turning their turrets around.

Billy: "I think we should try to find a way around this?"

Strong Bro: "Don't worry, young man. The frontal armor of the Panther is hard and thick; even an 88mm gun might not be able to penetrate it."

"They were driving the same type of armored vehicles as us. The Panther's reverse speed is four kilometers per hour, so there was simply no way to back up. It was impossible to slowly reverse each vehicle off the bridge one by one."

"Their downward angle is only negative eight degrees; as long as they run forward, they can't hit us."

"Fortune favors the brave— Billy! Keep going, or you'll survive!"

Billy: "Thank goodness you didn't teach me how to back up! Otherwise I would have messed things up!"

Just then, the turret coaxial machine gun unleashed a torrent of fire, and the MG34 machine gun began to sweep the infantry on the bridge.

Strong Bro: "Well done! Fuyanni!"

Fuyanni: "No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me."

The Shasha had gone berserk; somehow it climbed to the machine gun position and started playing freely.

Strong Bro: "Then let the kid vent his anger. I need you to turn the turret around immediately, Fuyanni. Turn it 180 degrees. Don't rush, take your time."

The tanks moved toward the embankment below the bridge. The garrison at the canyon pass was suddenly attacked. Upon receiving orders from their commander, anti-tank infantrymen immediately ran toward the bridge's approach shoulder with rocket-propelled grenades.

Strong Bro: "Shasha, adjust the firing arc with the turret rotation and keep an eye on the infantry on our left. They have rockets and can pose a threat to us."

After the tanks crashed into the road at the bottom of the bridge, the world fell silent.

Strong Bro crawled out of the turret and looked at the ravaged external machine guns. He suddenly felt that the design of the Leopard was really stupid.

He raised his gun and blew the head off the scout ahead, only to find that the man still had a Molotov cocktail in his hand that he hadn't had time to throw.

"Keep moving forward!"

The tank commander jumped off the tank and hid at the fishing boat dock under the road bridge, following the rear of the tank to protect the Panther's most vulnerable rear end. Strong Bro retrieved an FAL automatic rifle from the corpse and used it to block the entrance and exit. Let alone an anti-tank infantryman peeking out half a rocket warhead—even a small glimpse of their head would be fatal.

Just as the tank was about to leave the embankment road under the bridge, and the turret had completely turned around, the coaxial machine gun's firing arc and the commander's position were switched, and they were turned around to provide mutual cover, Strong Bro finally returned to the vehicle.

In that instant when the view opened up, they saw that the last vehicle on the other side of the bridge looked quite disheveled, and ordered the infantry and troop carriers behind it to retreat immediately.

"Shasha, hold onto the capped armor-piercing round!"

Strong Bro shouted loudly.

"Every subsequent shell will be a high-explosive (HE) shell, until the HE shells are exhausted!"

"Yes, sir!" Shasha returned to the loading position, glancing nervously at the chamber.

Strong Bro: "Aim at the last car on the bridge!"

Fuyanni: "I've got him!"

Strong Bro: "Stop the car."

Billy: "I stopped!"

The tank swayed slightly due to the inertia of coming to a stop.

Strong Bro: "Fire once the gun scope is reset!"

From the driver's seat, Billy the Kid saw an infantryman carrying a pack of RDX explosives charging toward the tank, and he was just about to step on the gas.

Strong Bro also spotted this infantry unit.

"Don't move!"

The moment the scope returned to its stable position, Fuyanni gritted his teeth and immediately opened fire!

The HE shell emerged from the muzzle and flew towards the rear vehicle on the bridge. The shell struck the side armor of the enemy Panther vehicle and immediately exploded in a dazzling flash.

Almost simultaneously, the massive spherical muzzle flash blasted the infantryman who had come to cause trouble to shreds! This unfortunate fellow happened to be right in the front half of the spherical flash, and the overpressure shockwave from the cannonball tore his body into several pieces!

Shasha has already entered its golden working mode; the spent cartridge case naturally ejects from the barrel, and it immediately reloads with a new capped armor-piercing round.

Strong Bro: "Fire."

Eight seconds later.

"Bang--"

The second round struck the side armor of the rear vehicle, which was under heavy fire, right where the ammunition rack was located. The turret looked like a pressure cooker, with the lid flying off and taking a long time to fall back down.

Strong Bro: "Fire! Blow up the bridge!"

In the short time it takes to fire three shots, Shasha had just replaced the first two sets of cooled shell casings, carried the shell casing tray to his feet, and replaced it with a new tray. The turret was filled with thick smoke, all of which was residual smoke from the shelling.

The suspension bridge finally collapsed from the rear under the torment of ammunition rack explosions and successive artillery bombardments. The remaining four tanks fell into the river and crashed onto the embankment road, immediately becoming paralyzed.

Strong Bro turned on the broadcast, threatening the remaining scattered infantry.

"I am a nameless warrior from the Nine Realms Station. My warriors have never been defeated; they are invincible divine soldiers. Now, your armored forces have been completely annihilated. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately! Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

Upon hearing the word "[Anonymous]", the morale of the garrison at Canyon Pass collapsed instantly.

They didn't even bother to surrender; they immediately abandoned their equipment and fled.

Billy watched the enemy soldiers scatter and flee, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Commander! What if these guys neither run away nor surrender?"

Strong Bro is telling the truth.

"If they don't run, we will! We must annihilate the enemy in motion!"

Shasha cheered, grinning from ear to ear.

"We have the best tank commander in the world!"