Ambush Battle

Chapter 24 1.24 Ambush Battle

Although the peak of summer in September had not yet passed, it was no longer as hot in the mountains.

However, those who came out of Jian City were now suffering from worsening autumn dryness. This was because they had been trapped in a battlefield that felt like a "glue-filled swamp" for half a month.

At this moment, on a section of mountain road suitable for an ambush, Beast Masters Zeng He and Fang Hong, dressed in woolen clothes, were hiding beside their Mechanical War Beasts. In front of the Mechanical War Beasts, another Dragon Horse lay on the ground.

The Dragon Horse's head had completely exploded. The kinetic energy of the sniper rifle bullet had been released on the carbon-based creature's skull, causing a complete shredding effect. Since it had just been killed, it was still twitching. Its anal muscles lost control, and feces spurted out.

A few seconds later, as if feeling that the surroundings were no longer dangerous, these two Beast Masters asked the accompanying soldiers to drag the dead Dragon Horse forward.

After retrieving the Dragon Horse's corpse, the Mechanical War Beast opened its large mouth and swallowed it. The Mechanical War Beast's abdomen, protected by the Lobster Ring Shell Structural Steel iron armor, bulged.

Half an hour later, this Mechanical Monster spat out a meat egg. The meat egg broke open, and a new Dragon Horse hatched. The newborn Dragon Horse's legs were still trembling after birth, but it couldn't wait to devour the meat eggshell and the surrounding plants.

At this time, seven hundred and fifty meters away, Wei Keng, with dried green grass hanging on his body, observed the Beast Master convoy through the 4-9x variable zoom scope of his sniper rifle. He had no intention of firing again.

Two hundred meters to the left of the sniper position, Wei Keng was communicating with the artillery position four to five hundred meters behind them using flag signals. This meant that if the snipers encountered any problems, they could directly report the shelling coordinates to the Mortar team.

However, the intensity of the war had not yet reached the point where artillery was needed.

The job of an outpost operation was to delay the enemy and constantly waste their time.

Facing the enemy's advance, Wei Keng's main force had already observed several passes and made initial arrangements. Although it was said that enemies with normal intelligence would not actively run into this trap, what if they were mentally challenged? For example, if a certain French Roller enthusiast issued an order via clear radio to retreat. Therefore, it was best to prepare as much as possible within the strategic timeframe.

As for the front-line mission, it was to keep an eye on which road the enemy would take.

Wei Keng's Strategic Brain: If the enemy army did not take the passes and chose to advance in an area at least a thousand meters wide, this small Combat Cluster of only twenty Horse Carriages would have to take a detour of three to four hundred kilometers. Therefore, it was correct for the Harassment Team to specifically target the horses of these "gentlemen" now.

Different tactics were used for different opponents. If the enemy was a military force with strong fighting will and rapid artillery counterattacks, Wei Keng's Sniper Team would fire simultaneously from multiple sniper locations and directly target their leaders or other high-value targets. After each shot, they would immediately relocate to prevent their position from being determined by sound and subjected to Mortar fire coverage.

But now?~

There was a joke: a soldier reported to his superior, "There's a sniper over there, but his marksmanship is terrible. He hasn't hit us for several days." The superior asked, "Since you've found him, why haven't you eliminated him immediately?" The soldier replied, "What if they send a more accurate shooter to replace him?"

The situation in the joke was what Wei Keng was facing, except that the sniper with "terrible" marksmanship was the enemy. Now, Wei Keng was preventing Fang Hong and Zeng He's advance from covering more than five kilometers a day, which was a disaster for an army tasked with attacking.

Anyway, Wei Keng's stay in this plane had been extended to three hundred days, so he had time to waste.

Like slowly boiling meat in water, they would attack their transportation and still give them some ability to move, so they could collect water from the surroundings and find firewood. The heat needed to be controlled to prevent them from being driven to desperation.

As an ordinary person, Wei Keng deeply understood what it was like to enter a state of procrastination. Procrastinating would turn "improving my rank in the next exam" into "it's best to take the exam later," and "the exam results will be out later."

Wasting time without a plan would ultimately lead to nothing.

As for Wei Keng's side, the new Steel Smelting Furnace was already melting Rail Steel, and the Brine from the Seaside was being dried. The tasks on the Schedule were progressing daily.

Returning to the battlefield, seeing the opponent so weak, they could be easily held back. Without taking some important passes, it was impossible for them to make any substantial approach to Wei Keng's area. And at their current speed through the passes, Wei Keng could set up an encirclement for them.

So, by holding on, opportunities could be created where there were none. Wei Keng intentionally gave up some minor skirmishes, just to wear them down with patience.

At the observation post, Wei Keng was also very interested in these Mechanical War Beasts. He originally thought they were just a fusion of machine and biology, possessing powerful recovery abilities.

But when he discovered that these things could actually devour corpses, Wei Keng became greatly curious about the scene.

Of course, after the system's explanation, this wasn't any kind of Resurrection, but rather the creation of a new individual from the remains.

The Dragon Horses that were spat out were also not in good condition. As soon as they appeared, they began to voraciously consume the surrounding grass and vegetation.

And this regeneration occurred under the life radiation of the Mechanical War Beast. The Mechanical War Beast also consumed energy during this process. Therefore, every time the Mechanical War Beast "reforged" a Dragon Horse, it would become as weak as if it had been exhausted seven times overnight.

After understanding the details of this process, Wei Keng said: "I kill the horses, you create them. I kill, you create again. We will tacitly continue in this mode. I consume a few bullets, you consume time and energy."

However, if the people of Jian City truly followed this pattern, slowly marching towards defeat like a Computer AI, that would be abnormal.

Humans often try to make a move while they still have cards in hand!

In the afternoon, when the newly born Dragon Horses could barely pull the carts, the two Beast Tamers did not continue to advance.

Under the slowly setting sun, they engaged in a heated discussion.

Because they were too far away, Wei Keng couldn't tell what they were saying. He could only assume they were discussing whether to "advance or retreat."

After their discussion, they seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Zeng He walked to his Dragon-type War Beast and, with his eyes closed, resonated with it.

A few minutes later, an egg emerged from the tail of the giant Mechanical Dragon Beast. The eggshell opened, and a Carrier Pigeon flew out. The two tied a letter to the pigeon's leg and then released it.

Wei Keng found it difficult to aim at the rapidly flying small target, so he could only let it fly past. However, Wei Keng notified his own people who were staking out near Jian City. And the Combat Decision Circle prepared a "Reinforcement Attack" contingency plan.

In this plan, elite squads would be dispatched to infiltrate the rear and observe which route the reinforcements would take, so that his main force could move to a suitable position to intercept them.

However, just as Wei Keng was calculating how many forces Jian City would send out of the city, things changed again.

The forward scouts responsible for monitoring Zeng He and Fang Hong's team discovered a new situation.

Wei Keng was on duty at 8 PM with Night Vision Goggles when he suddenly noticed that the two Beast Tamers were making a move that night.

Ten minutes later, it was confirmed that their entire convoy seemed to have fed something to the Dragon Horses, and they moved quickly. Wei Keng had already determined that these two were going to make a big push under the cover of night.

"Good heavens," Wei Keng exclaimed, "Good heavens!" Like a mobile game player who had found a money-printing bug, he immediately used the system's communication channel to summon his reserve team, who had been on standby.

"Don't worry about when to attack reinforcements, we'll be feasting tonight!"

In the rear camp, Wei Keng's two-hundred-man team immediately broke camp.

As for where the enemy intended to infiltrate, Wei Keng didn't even need to look at the map. Marching at night, especially with horse carriages and on mountain roads, was just asking to roll down a cliff. If they weren't fleeing, there was only one path ahead.

Thus, Wei Keng arrived at the area two hours early and set up an ambush.

Zeng He sat inside the horse carriage, the silent night outside the window. All the Dragon Horses' eyes had enlarged within their cranial sockets, allowing them to receive more light, and all the personnel were silently moving with wooden pellets in their mouths.

The mountains, like giant beasts crawling in the night, receded bit by bit. As the mountains constantly moved, new ones appeared ahead. As they advanced, the mountains ahead grew closer, and gradually the convoy entered them. The dark shadows of the mountains on both sides squeezed the convoy, like the open maw of a giant beast.

For some reason, Zeng He felt uneasy. Although she had strongly advocated for rapid action during the day's debate, it didn't mean she was completely confident. Ever since the night march began, her heart had been pounding.

Fang Hong was the first to speak. The Beast Tamer, after surveying the surrounding terrain, said in a low voice, "This is not a good place."

Zeng He stuck her head out the window and glanced, agreeing, "If we had arrived here during the day, there would definitely be an ambush on the mountains on both sides. We need to pass through here quickly."

She made a gesture to the outer soldiers. One soldier brought his finger to his lips and mimicked a few owl hoots, and then the team began to accelerate.

At the same time, on the mountaintop, Wei Keng watched the convoy accelerate and rush headlong into the pocket formation. His heart, which had been somewhat at ease, was now lifted to an even higher level.

Anything that wasn't yet secured in his grasp made Wei Keng's heart beat faster as the outcome drew nearer.

Wei Keng didn't use vocal imitations to signal like birds, but he had the system to relay commands.

As early as when they were delaying Fang Hong's team, Wei Keng's main force had dug trenches on both sides of the slopes at some important ambush points along the route. So, after receiving the information, they marched ahead and could immediately engage in battle.

As the adventurers from Jian City were completely trapped, Wei Keng, the "steady dog," finally unleashed his "big card."

More than thirty old rubber wheels stuffed with dry grass were lit and rolled down the mountainside. The fire illuminated the convoy's position in the valley, and at the same time, it chilled Fang Hong and Zeng He's hearts to the bone.

"Pah pah pah pah..." With twenty gunshots, all the draft animals of the convoy collapsed again. This time, it wasn't just one or two. In this terrain, Wei Keng felt he could eliminate them all with minimal cost.

"Counterattack!" Fang Hong issued the command first while Zeng He was still stunned.

The water-cooled heavy machine gun inside the horse carriage opened fire. The bullets struck the positions on the slopes, creating a lot of smoke. Of course, wherever the bullets swept, Wei Keng ducked. And wherever the machine gun fire moved away, Wei Keng would pop his head up and fire.

Water-cooled heavy machine guns were heavier than general-purpose machine guns but had better sustained firepower. If not for the advantageous terrain of occupying the high ground on both sides, Wei Keng would not have been confident in controlling casualties.

The 60mm mortars on the mountaintop opened fire. Following the trajectory marked by the system, the shells accurately landed on the first horse carriage, penetrating it. Then, in a burst of fire, the entire carriage exploded, and the heavy machine gun on it instantly broke into several pieces, flying twenty meters away along with the wreckage of the carriage.

The gunfire sweeping the hillside suddenly lessened, causing the other machine gunners to panic and look around for the source of the artillery.

At this moment, a voice echoed from the valley. Wei Keng thought it was clear and articulate, but to the locals, it was clearly a northern accent offering surrender: "Our side holds the absolute advantageous terrain and possesses artillery capable of destroying you. Laying down your weapons and surrendering to us now is your only chance. Resisting will only lead to your demise."

Zeng He looked up, gazing at the flickering torches covering the mountainside and felt how insignificant his force of 150 men was.

In reality, Wei Keng's ambush force numbered two hundred. However, spread out along the terrain, their encirclement appeared vast. Of course, her feeling wasn't wrong; even several thousand men couldn't break through.

Following Wei Keng's call, the fighting spirit within the enemy ranks had clearly waned, and the gunfire became sporadic.

Boom, boom, a massive Mechanical War Beast charged forward. Human fighting will could disappear, but a Mechanical War Beast controlled by a Beast Tamer would never falter. Fang Hong, as a Beast Tamer, refused to acknowledge the current defeat and unleashed his final card.

Watching the steel behemoth ignore the hail of bullets, Wei Keng inwardly offered praise.

If the people in the valley still had the will to fight, relying on this heavy semi-mechanical biological unit for infantry-tank coordinated tactics, he might have faced some trouble. But now, this lone monstrosity charging forward posed no threat.

Snipers fired first, their rounds blinding the Giant Beast's eyes. However, given its robust Vitality, it was merely temporary blindness. Wei Keng knew this thing could repair its eyes.

[Actually, if one were to dissect this Giant Beast, they would find multiple sets of eyes beneath the primary ones, like a cluster of grapes. When the outermost eye is damaged, another rotates up within ten minutes, extending nerves like worms to connect with the brain's nervous system. It takes about half a month to grow a new eye, so it's not as instantaneous as Wei Keng imagined.]

At present, Wei Keng didn't expect sniper rounds to destroy the highly regenerative Giant Beast, nor did he expect submachine gun bullets to wear it down bit by bit. All of the war beast's vital points were protected by its steel shell.

Wei Keng realized he had overlooked something and would need to research dual-base propellants and shaped charges upon his return. He also needed Iron Fists.

Now, the Wei Kengs on the hillside suddenly unleashed a full barrage, suppressing the machine guns below.

Then, several Wei Kengs ran down through the trenches, circling to the flank of the Giant Beast, and hurled the clay pots with burning cloth strips they held directly at its head.

Molotov Cocktails – a fine vintage for armored forces to savor.

After throwing the fire pots, Wei Kengs took cover in the corners of the Z-shaped trenches, and flames engulfed the Giant Beast from head to toe.

A few minutes later, the intense heat from the fire damaged the mechanisms that allowed the beast's muscles to open the mechanical panels and operate its weaponry. Furthermore, because the metal armor conducted heat well, as the flames continued to burn, oil seeped from the gaps between the iron plates with a sizzling sound.

Finally, the armored monster stepped into a void in the third section of the defensive trench on the slope. Its mechanical claws flailed, shattering some earth from the trench edge before it toppled into the deep pit, kneeling and unable to rise.

And down the hillside, Fang Hong and his soldiers, who had pinned their hopes on the war beast as their decisive unit, looked up amidst the suppressing fire. They saw the war beast was finished, their last hope extinguished, and their morale evaporated. A white flag was raised high from a vehicle.

Meanwhile, in the City Lord's chamber of Jian City, the potted kumquats had ripened. However, after one fell, there was little flesh inside, resembling cotton.