Munitions Empire

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"You're down to just a few people?" Having resumed his position at the very front of the team, Cao Fei asked the small boy ahead.

This boy who led the way was named Liu Zhu, with the common nickname Zhu Zi, a vulgar and ubiquitous Zheng Country name, found everywhere.

The boy deftly parted a leaf and grasped the neck of a small snake, tossing it aside, and without looking back said, "My dad and several uncles were killed by Shen Country men, the remaining uncles and brothers all fled deep into the mountains... Grandpa said, we must always leave some 'fire' (descendants) behind."

"We are here now; you won't have to hide in the mountains anymore."

"There are only a few of you. There are so many Shen Country soldiers... our Zheng Country military has been defeated and is fleeing everywhere..." The boy still did not believe what Cao Fei said, replying with great disdain.

Cao Fei didn't say much, just smiled and followed behind the boy.

"To tell the truth, when I came out with you guys this time, I didn't plan on going back! I want to avenge my dad..." The child stubbornly pushed aside the grass in front of him, then turned to look at Cao Fei, "How about it? Will you let me...?"

"No! What war could a child like you fight? Later on, you need to go to school, learn to write, learn arithmetic, also learn to shoot guns, learn hand-to-hand combat, and you must learn science... There are a lot of things to learn." Cao Fei tousled Liu Zhu's hair with his hand, his face beaming with an extremely peaceful smile.

He had seen many sights by now; these were beautiful sights he had never witnessed in Zheng Country.

In Brunas, he saw the streets under the neon lights, glass windows piled full of candy, skyscrapers taller than mountains, and beautiful women that made mouths water.

He once watched a 280mm caliber heavy cannon roar during an exercise, leveling a mound with a single shot. The massive explosion made the very earth tremble, and from that moment on, he felt that he feared nothing.

The massive steel ship he traveled on was several times larger than the biggest sailboat he had seen in his life! Standing on the ship's side gazing at the sea, he could even reach out and touch the wings of a seagull!

Liu Zhu did not know, but he did; he knew that there were too many things in this world worth seeing, worth waiting for.

So, as he tousled Liu Zhu's head, he continued, "We are here, and you won't be bullied again..."

"Psh..." Liu Zhu continued walking forward, thoroughly unconvinced by Cao Fei's words; to him, these promises were not worth a dime.

It would have been better to hand him a Shireck Flintlock Gun, load it with a bullet for him, and let him go gamble his life with those short Goblin bandits.

"Up ahead is the roadbed! If you head south, that's Fengshun City; to the north... that's where the Shen Country soldiers are." After a morning's battle, Liu Zhu, who hid not far away, naturally knew the exact location of those Shen Country men.

Cao Fei parted the shrubbery in front of him and indeed saw a somewhat sloppily made roadbed. He cautiously climbed to the edge of the road, surveyed both sides, and gestured to those behind him.

The camouflaged Rangers, carrying weapons and bending low, crossed the road at top speed, disappearing on the other side in a matter of seconds.

"Please, give me a gun. I want to take revenge..." Liu Zhu continued to plead, for this might be his only chance for revenge.

"I promised your grandfather I would bring you back safe and sound! Just follow me obediently! I guarantee I'll help you kill a few more Shen Country men, how about that?" Cao Fei was not willing to let a child go to war and negotiated with the small guide.

While he spoke, most of the soldiers from the first row had already crossed the road. The gunners carrying the heavy machine guns and their assistants holding the tripods followed one after another across the road.

Liu Zhu looked somewhat bewildered; clearly, he had not seen a military force fight like this before. He had thought these people would form up along the road and then, with drums beating, charge from the back towards the Shen Country encampment.

Little did he know, this so-called army looked nothing but a bunch of cowards to him—they only tried every means to hide in the woods, just like the civilians.

At this sight, Liu Zhu was very disappointed; he felt that Cao Fei was deceiving him, and these men were merely stragglers and scattered troops, not here to fight but to rob at roadsides.

He was half right!

The second battalion indeed planned to rob at the roadside, annihilating the Shen Country's retreating forces headed for Fengshun City in the open field, without letting a single one escape.

For the second battalion, this tactic was the least costly, simplest, and most effective. As long as these Shen Country field troops could not retreat to Fengshun City, then taking the city afterwards would become much easier.

Although they did not bring heavy weapons, if there were only a few defenders left, would they still need heavy artillery for a siege?

Well, at least the logic was consistent, wasn't it?

While Liu Zhu was disappointed, the second battalion commander had already ordered the communication soldiers of the battalion headquarters to start cranking the handle, charging the telegraph machine.

With these communication devices that could be connected at any time, the tactical flexibility of the Great Tang Group was naturally much higher than their opponents.

A few minutes later, with preparations complete and just waiting for the first battalion to take position, they began the long-prepared general offensive.

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It's not an exaggeration to say that the firepower of the headquarters, along with the artillery left by the 2nd Battalion and the 1st Battalion's own artillerymen, dozens of guns of various models and calibers, instantly unleashed a barrage of shells on the heads of the Shenwu Troops.

The centenarian of Shenwu was completely stunned... It was the first time he had experienced such fierce artillery fire, and he was so shocked that he couldn't even speak clearly for a moment.

Standing by his side, Shengwu Yuan had experienced similar bombardment, so he was a bit calmer than the centenarian, but not by much.

By the time Shengwu Yuan had gathered himself and took over command from the centenarian, directing the troops to regroup, he realized that he seemed to have lost control over the military.

The sky full of artillery fire forced his troops into hiding. The communication soldiers he had sent out, to his disbelief, not a single one returned with news.

He wanted to understand what exactly had happened to his troops, but before he could figure it out, the centenarian had already recovered, and he was still clueless.

In fact, there was no need for him to figure it out anymore, as the centenarian had mobilized three legions from Fengshun City, a total of 4,500 men and 30 cannons...

After the first and second assaults, they had lost about 500 men, and then they were ordered to stand by until now.

There were about 4,000 usable soldiers left, and after this round of merciless shelling, at most about 3,000 remained.

However, this was only the number of troops they could gather and find; it didn't mean these troops were still capable of combat. They had been scared witless by the terrifying artillery fire and had long lost the will to fight.

So, the centenarian of Shenwu, having come back to his senses, immediately made the decision to retreat—given the enemy's ferocious artillery, it was wise to withdraw quickly.

As long as they retreated into Fengshun City, tens of thousands of civilians could be used as human shields, and two legions defending the city could provide reinforcements. At least they could try to hold the defense. In the field facing such artillery, he definitely had no confidence.

Thus, abandoning the wounded on the spot, the Shenwu forces that had set out from Fengshun City began their retreat. The centenarian of Shenwu, without looking back, handed over command to Shengwu Yuan, and with dozens of cavalry, charged towards Fengshun City, much faster than when he had led his troops out.

On the other side, Liu Zhu, listening to the distant and dull artillery fire that made his heart pound, was once again somewhat confused.

He had seen battles before. Zheng Country's troops had fought against Shenwu's on Dongwan Island a few times, but those phalanx confrontations were clearly different from the battle at hand.

Liu Zhu even wondered what kind of fight could be considered a real battle: were the bloody scenes of battlefields he had seen before all wrong?

Before he could understand these issues, Cao Fei nudged him lightly with his elbow, "They're coming! I'll count this shot as yours, so watch closely! The second one from the left!"

In the ranger unit, Cao Fei always targeted the second on the left. This was a tactical arrangement that had long been agreed upon.

He rested his K3 rifle on a horizontal tree root, aimed at the galloping cavalry in the distance, gently pressed his finger on the trigger guard, and then softly placed it on the trigger.

Two seconds later, after adjusting his breathing, Cao Fei pulled the trigger. The K3 rifle jerked back slightly, and a bullet flew out of the barrel.

Amidst a series of crackling gunfire, a third of the charging knights fell from their horses.

Liu Zhu's eyes widened in shock; he had never seen such a clean and efficient way of killing. While he was still in a daze, Cao Fei had already pulled the bolt back, reloading the rifle with a fresh round.

"Tatatatatata!" The Maxim machine gun opened fire, the horses neighed and slowed, and the goblins riding them were thrown off in a flurry.

The goblins hadn't grasped what was happening before they were turned into sieves by the bullets flying toward them.

The centenarian of Shenwu grasped the reins tightly as soldiers on his flank fell, shot down one after another. His eyes wide with shock, he failed to see where the bullets were coming from.

Even though they were being surrounded and hindered, shouldn't the enemy have formed up in a line to block the way? He subconsciously gauged the Great Tang Group's strategy with the tactics he was familiar with.

He didn't reflect on the fact that the 1st Battalion blocking their advance hadn't set up their defense line in the middle of the road either.
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Unfortunately, before he could make sense of it all, he saw a flash of cold light on the hillside a hundred meters away.

A bullet flew straight at him, hitting the centenarian of Shenwu right in the forehead. He reeled backward, clutching at his horse's mane, not even having the chance to let go of the reins before making the horse rear up with a neigh.

The centenarian of Shenwu tumbled off his horse, and nearby soldiers rushed to help their commanding officer. But those who approached quickly realized that their centenarian seemed beyond help.

Although his father had named him in the hope that he would live a hundred years free from illness and trouble, it was now obviously impossible—he was far from it, more than half short...

The Shenwu soldiers hadn't even had the time to retreat before they were mowed down by sweeping gunfire, screaming as they followed their hundred-year-old master to the end.