Communications and Firepower as One

"The First and Second Main Assault Regiments, deploy to the flanks and establish offensive positions!" Su Ming issued the order.

The communications team quickly relayed the order, and the Gold Dragon Elder Can Xin and the Silver Dragon Elder Yin'er, who were in charge of leading the teams on both sides, responded immediately.

On the command center screen, the formations of the two main attack groups gradually changed. The massive dragon horde seemed to be moved by an invisible hand, with most of the dragons extending laterally to the left and right, spreading out across a vast front nearly thirty kilometers wide, and beginning to ruthlessly sweep away the scattered goblin scouts and isolated small groups on the ground.

Meanwhile, the dragons in the center of the formation accelerated forward, flying to a relatively flat area pre-marked by the drones. Several Red Dragon raised their heads and took a deep breath, their blazing dragon breath cascading down like a waterfall, instantly turning large swathes of jungle, shrubs, and thorns into charcoal and ashes.

The Azure Dragon's wind-based breath followed closely behind, blowing away the flames and debris, tearing a huge blank space in the once lush vegetation on the ground.

With heavy thuds as they landed, the first batch of dragons descended onto the freshly cleared scorched earth. The necromancers on their backs nimbly leaped down, quickly untying their bindings and unloading the supply crates.

These supplies were quickly deployed, ground communication base stations were set up, and emergency medical arrays were assembled. Functional zones were marked on the ground, and a temporary take-off and landing area was formed at a visible speed.

More dragons followed, landing and unloading their cargo, including a large amount of ammunition.

Some of the dragons, carrying excessively heavy supplies and showing signs of fatigue after their long flight, began to take a break. Meanwhile, their companions, who were lighter in weight and size and in better condition, continued to circle and take to the skies, patrolling the airspace around the temporary position and hunting down goblin scouts or combat units.

This location is only about ten kilometers from the main gathering area of the goblins and has been designated as a bridgehead for the attack. Subsequent resupply, short rest, and treatment of the wounded will all be carried out from this offensive position.

The dragons will be organized into predetermined waves and launch a thunderous attack from here on the goblin army ahead.

The offensive positions were set up in two locations, one in the north and one in the south, respectively occupied by the 1st and 2nd main attack regiments. They were 15 kilometers apart, like two iron pincers clamping down on the goblin gathering area in front.

But this is what can be seen from the drone's overall overhead view. Without modern information technology, it would be almost impossible for the goblin commander to obtain accurate intelligence in a timely manner and coordinate troops to launch an attack on these two strongholds.

Even if the goblins go all out and launch a desperate charge on one side of the position, the other side can provide strong flank support or firepower, forming a stable corner position.

These preparations and arrangements may be redundant, or even unnecessary after the battle ends. But in the ever-changing battlefield, it is never a bad thing to maintain a cautious layout.

****

Inside the command center, a large screen clearly displays the real-time operational status of the two attack positions, one in the north and one in the south.

As the cleanup work continues, nearly one square kilometer of land has been cleared, and most of the dragons have landed and are taking a break.

As small groups of enemies in the surrounding area were gradually eliminated, the number of dragons landing and resting continued to increase, with only a few combat teams on guard duty circling overhead.

"When is the ground cluster expected to arrive?" Su Ming asked, looking up from the screen.

The communications team immediately verified the location information with the ground troops, and a moment later turned around and reported, "Commander, we are expected to arrive at the front line in about thirty minutes."

Su Ming frowned slightly. This speed was a bit slower than originally planned, but it was still within an acceptable range.

The forward-deployed reconnaissance drones transmitted the latest developments on the goblin side. Judging from the footage, the enemy commander had clearly noticed the dragon legion's cross-border raid. The various goblin units, which were originally on the march, halted their advance and hastily regrouped on the spot.

Countless green-skinned figures were thrown into chaos. At the officers' shouts, they frantically untied the cables securing the transport vehicles, hurriedly unloaded various heavy weapons, and hastily began to build defensive positions.

Su Ming didn't dwell on it. Although the bone machine troops responsible for ground support were not yet in place, the opportunity was fleeting! An army that was fully prepared and firing at full power was worlds apart in terms of combat effectiveness from a marching column that was still carrying heavy loads and unloaded gear.

Especially in such an open field environment, as long as one's offensive is swift enough, the goblin troops will be unable to form an effective defensive formation, let alone launch a counterattack.

"Order the First and Second Assault Regiments to launch the first wave of attack immediately!" He glanced at the clock. "Attack launch time: five minutes countdown!"

Upon receiving the order, the atmosphere on the attacking position immediately tensed up. The dragons, tasked with the first wave of assault, quickly lined up under the guidance and command of the observers. Their powerful Dragon Claw grabbed the aerial bombs assigned to them and securely fastened them to the specially designed throwing straps.

At the same time, Su Ming issued an order to the ground forces that were on their way: the necromancers who were in charge of the main combat mission should break away from the heavy infantry and move forward at full speed to reinforce the main battlefield that was about to unfold.

"Commander, is the long-range rocket artillery battalion participating in this attack?" a staff officer inquired.

"Save them for assaults; we don't need them for this kind of field assault." Su Ming decisively shook his head. "Order the Long-Range Fire Battalion to maintain combat readiness and be ready to respond to any unexpected situations."

Gelie's enormous head peered into the command center through a large window specially carved out for him, his deep dragon eyes scanning the busy yet orderly command hub.

"This is what a well-organized war looks like," the Dragon King remarked, his deep voice tinged with admiration. "In such a short time, you have completely transformed the Dragon Race's organization and command on the battlefield."

"These achievements wouldn't have been possible without your strong support," Su Ming said with a light laugh.

"The level of ideals you've demonstrated is beyond the reach of us old dragons." Gelie shook his head, carefully examining the various situational data. "At this point, the outcome of a direct confrontation is no longer in doubt."

"My philosophy of war," Su Ming said, his gaze still fixed on the battle situation screen, "Is to do everything in our power to complete all preparations and plans. As for the specifics of the battle, that's left to the frontline soldiers to execute."

"With such meticulous preparations and a battle plan as support," Gelie's voice held a hint of doubt, "Is there still a need to exert ourselves?"

"The soldiers who fight valiantly are always the protagonists of war," Su Ming replied calmly. "We are merely trying every possible method to eliminate their 'blood-soaked' aspects!"

****

In the attacking positions, as the timer pointer pointed to the designated attack moment, with a long battle roar from the Dragon Elder, one hundred dragons belonging to the Dragon Claw Regiment rose into the air from the north and south positions respectively, tearing through the sky from the left and right, and swiftly rushed towards the gathering area of the goblin army in front.

These dragons had been stripped of all unnecessary weight, and each dragon carried a massive aerial bomb suspended from its belly. The cold, metallic shells reflected blinding sunlight in the fierce wind.

"Drone number two, descend and conduct close-range observation!" Su Ming issued a voice command to the Electricity-Swallowing Beast. "Real-time battlefield data will be simultaneously pushed to the observers. At the same time, all Dragonback observers are authorized to independently mark attack targets based on the on-site situation!"

"Commander Su Ming, voiceprint matches." A mechanical voice responded, "The following is a repeating of the command—"

Su Ming listened quietly to the recitation, "Confirmed, execute!"

"Executed!" the mechanical voice replied.

Above the main battlefield, the observers on the dragon's back were intently focused on the LCD tactical screens on their wrists. The screens were updated in real time with combat commands and displayed a battle map centered on themselves, including information on enemy targets.

At the same time, the positions and flight paths of the friendly dragons around the area are clearly marked, effectively avoiding overlapping flight paths or conflicting attack routes.

A beep sounded in the observer's earpiece, indicating that free firing authorization had been granted.

"Disarm the fuse!" The observer waved his hand, releasing the Mage Hand. The mechanical safety pin on the bomb's head was pulled out, and it was dropped from the sky.

"Where to bomb?" The dragon's deep voice echoed through the wind, carrying a metallic vibration.

As the spearhead of the first wave of attacks, this dragon was exceptionally large, a male in his prime. Although it carried only one bomb, it was the heaviest of its kind. Its heavy load was pushing its flight capabilities to the limit.

"At the 11 o'clock position ahead on the left, 4.2 kilometers away!" the observer replied quickly, while simultaneously gathering Magic Power at his fingertips, and a striking red magic beacon shot forward, marking the location.

"Received!" The dragon roared deafeningly, its wings flapping violently as its massive body began to ascend, subtly adjusting its flight posture.

The observer's fingers flew across the LCD screen, uploading the bomb coordinates determined by their side. This way, friendly fire from nearby units could see their attack targets, preventing them from repeatedly bombarding the same area.

4.2 kilometers is not far for air power. After confirming that everything was ready, the dragon let out a short roar, "Hold on tight!"

Before the words were even finished, it suddenly spread its wings, and a surge of Magic Power rushed and gathered beneath the tough wing membrane. In an instant, a very faint, almost imperceptible, ethereal blue glow quietly appeared on the wingtips and trailing edges.

The observer fastened the straps, securing himself firmly to the dragon's back—the dragon activated its ionized hydrodynamic propulsion, EHD flight mode!

While shaking, he switched the display on his wrist to offline and anti-interference mode, and turned off the noisy headphones. This "Lightning Dash" move was good, but the downside was that the electromagnetic surge from ionizing the air was incompatible with the electronic devices on his body!

****

Under ionization acceleration, the distance between the person and the dragon and the target rapidly shortened.

"Altitude 520 meters, distance 1105!" Without the drone's signal guidance, the observer raised a handheld infrared laser rangefinder, and an invisible laser beam shot towards the target, yet the data remained accurate.

The dragon's pupils locked onto the target's direction, and its Dragon Claw pulled open the safety harness on its belly. With a click, the bomb's final safety mechanism disengaged.

He immediately adjusted the angle of attack of his wings, pulling his flight path into an upward arc, while his Dragon Claw claw decisively yanked.

The straps came undone completely, the dragon lifted its body, and the heavy bomb broke free of the straps and began to fall.

But soon, long, slender gliders popped out from both sides of the bomb. With the aid of the gliders, the bomb's flight path immediately became horizontal, tracing a smooth parabola with deadly elegance as it continued to fly towards its target.

The dragon ascended smoothly, then rolled to one side, its massive body making a small-radius turn in mid-air, detaching itself from the attack axis and returning to the temporary take-off and landing site.

The bombing effects were none of their concern; dedicated battlefield assessment team members were responsible for observation and recording. Furthermore, an alchemical observation beast, personally controlled by the guild leader, was circling overhead.

But the observer couldn't help but look back, as the light closely followed the deadly creation hurtling down.

It exploded as it approached the ground, accompanied by a muffled bang, expanding into a large cloud of smoke in mid-air. Due to inertia, the cloud continued to fall rapidly, crashing into the densely populated area of goblins below and engulfing a large group of them.

"We hit it!" the observer roared excitedly, clenching his fist.

The dragon turned its head and looked back, witnessing the rolling and spreading smoke and clouds, and let out a long, triumphant roar.

This result was not unexpected. In order to pursue accuracy, and after confirming that the goblins had not yet deployed effective anti-aircraft weapons, they chose the tactic of low-altitude close-range bombing.

If they still fail under these conditions, they'll be too ashamed to return, and the other groups will definitely laugh at them to death!

****

Goblin territory.

Ten enormous bombs hurtled down from the sky one after another. Several powerful figures tried to intercept them, but the result seemed to remain unchanged: the bombs detonated suddenly about thirty meters above the ground, exploding into dense and eerie milky-white clouds.

Contrary to their enormous size, the explosive force released was only that of an alchemical explosive the size of a can.

The bewildered goblins were unaware that this seemingly harmless white fog was actually a fuel cloud composed of aluminum powder and ethylene oxide. When these substances were fully mixed with the air to form a giant suspended aerosol cloud, a second ignition was triggered instantly.

"Boom!"

Amidst a deafening explosion, a blazing fireball a hundred meters in diameter rose from the ground! At the forefront of the supersonic spread of the flames, a visible shockwave swept across like the scythe of death.

Following closely behind was a massive, overwhelming shockwave. Carrying destructive energy, it savagely advanced along the ground, tearing goblin soldiers, weaponry, and makeshift fortifications to shreds like fragile pieces of paper, which were then swept up and churned into the billowing dust, spreading rapidly.

Almost instantly, a large area of death zone suddenly took shape on the meticulously concentrated battlefield!

"Boom boom boom--rumble rumble!"

More and more raging fireballs leaped up from the goblin positions, forming huge mushroom clouds.

As these violent shockwaves swept across the surroundings, a powerful vacuum suddenly formed at the center of the explosion.

The scorching air was as if it were being violently pulled back by an invisible giant hand, rushing back into the scorched earth of the explosion's epicenter.

This surging backflow tore and tossed the remnants of the first catastrophe apart, subjecting them to a second devastation.

When the smoke and dust finally cleared, what remained was a true picture of hell. As far as the eye could see, there were only shattered remains of broken bodies and limbs. Even the few corpses that appeared intact had their internal organs turned to mush.

Unlike traditional explosives that rely on their own oxidizers, this terrifying weapon uses oxygen from the air as an oxidizer, releasing several times the heat energy per unit mass compared to TNT. The ethylene oxide blend fuel chosen by Su Ming has a calorific value seven times that of TNT!

The entire bomb is composed almost entirely of this destructive fuel!

The reconnaissance footage from the high-altitude drones coldly revealed that within a 300-meter radius of the explosion's epicenter, the once densely packed, writhing green figures had mostly fallen into silence, leaving only huge, charred craters and twisted debris, silently telling the story of the tragedy.

On Earth, there are good reasons why this weapon can be reverently called the "Father of All Bombs" or the "Mother of All Bombs"!

But upon closer inspection, some figures are still stubbornly active. This is an alternate world where extraordinary powers exist, and elite goblins, whether powerful or lucky, have survived by using various defensive methods.

The footage shows that although they were not torn apart, most of them were severely injured and lay limp on the ground unable to move.

But when the survivors opened their mouths wide, trying to breathe, they found it was all in vain. These demonic fuel-air explosives had already burned up all the oxygen in the area.

The goblins could only stare in despair as they waited for the icy, suffocating feeling to fill their chests like cement.

****

"This is a forbidden spell! It's a forbidden spell!"

On the ground, the scene of divine punishment terrified the goblin soldiers. The frontline officers were on the verge of a mental breakdown; they simply couldn't comprehend how, in a single exchange, those dragons had simultaneously unleashed ten—ten forbidden spells—a devastating attack!

No! The power of these attacks even surpasses that of forbidden spells!

"Could it be that the dragon race has suddenly produced ten powerful Saint Rank experts?!" In the command post behind the goblin army, the commander looked at the scene at the front line, his voice trembling and hoarse with disbelief.

However, he quickly lost the desire to think—ten more earth-shattering roars! Ten mushroom clouds, symbols of death, burst forth amidst the second wave of goblin troops!

A terrifying shockwave swept across the area like a raging tide, carrying dust and debris of flesh and metal, soaring into the sky. This time, the explosion was even closer to the command post, and the violent blast wave was shaking the makeshift shelters violently, sending dust flying everywhere.

The local commander, peering through the observation port, saw the third group of ten dragons approaching, each carrying the familiar destructive creature on its belly. As the dragons precisely dropped their bombs and gracefully flapped their wings to fly away, the commander utterly broke down.

He slumped to the ground, his face ashen, leaning against the cold rock wall. His vacant eyes reflected the rising flames nearby, and he uttered only broken syllables: "This is—the—descent of an evil god—"

Before the words were even finished, the entire command center was completely engulfed by the expanding orange-red fireball. The goblin commander's last words, along with his body, were burned to ashes in the thousands of degrees of heat and devastating overpressure.