Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 481 - 36 Battlefield_3

Chapter 481: Chapter 36 Battlefield_3

Tang Zheng lunged to the side, knocking down Liu Qian and Han Mei. Ignoring the machine gun, he picked up the hand grenade Han Mei had just set up, pulled the pin, and threw it...

As the grenadiers charged out of the dissipating white fog, they were met by hand grenades falling on them like hail from the sky. The explosions rocked the area, creating an immediate sea of corpses, with blood seeping into the ground and dyeing the soil red.

The sound of artillery fire filled the air, but it was directed at the western side of the town where the humans were facing a wave-like offensive from the main beastman force. With all their firepower focused on the oncoming onslaught, they couldn’t spare any attention elsewhere. So, Tang Zheng was forced to fight back alone.

A newbie following Sun Bowen was hit by a stray bullet, losing half his head and fell into the trench. But no one spared him a glance, continuing to shoot, and to shoot again, doing everything they could to halt the beastmen’s advance.

The beastman’s offensive was halted as Tang Zheng stood firm like a rock, blocking their rush.

"Company Commander, get me two sniper rifles." Tang Zheng shouted at the Company Commander who was hiding in the fifth trench. The boss was banking on Tang Zheng to gain more credits, so he didn’t dare to delay and immediately sent over three heavy firearms, each bigger than the Barrett M82A1, along with five ammunition boxes.

"Liu Yue, take out those machine gunners, and change positions." Tang Zheng, after throwing the grenade, hid in the trench, ran for a while before daring to lift his head. He knew he was being targeted by a sniper - a near miss from a headshot and a bullet grazing him were clear indicators. But he still had the Firefly ability left.

Liu Yue picked up a rifle, fired five shots to get the hang of it, and then her aim rapidly improved. With the white fog dispersing, everyone saw that with the sound of Liu Yue’s gunshots, there was always an unlucky guy among the machine gunners in the bomb craters being shot down.

Tang Zheng too picked up a gun, cocked it and started firing. The beastman offensive stopped, and they finally retreated.

Cheers erupted from the camping ground. Experiencing two battles had boosted the courage of the civilians.

"Company commander, can we get some food for everyone now? The merit we gained should be worth that much, right?" Tang Zheng shouted at the top of his lungs. Whether they got food or not didn’t matter to him - he was trying to build rapport and reputation. As expected, civilians started to rally behind him.

"Sure, one loaf of bread per person." The Battalion Commander received a call from the Company Commander, attracted by the sounds of gunfire - the beastmen on their side had been driven back. This was an achievement. So, without hesitation, he ordered the logistics soldiers to distribute the bread.

Having had their fill of the long-lost bread, the civilians happily greeted Tang Zheng. The camping ground significantly relaxed as a result.

"The beastmen won’t burrow into the town, right?" Worried, Tang Zheng sipped on water. "If they sneak into our den, it’s over for us."

"You’re worrying too much. The town and the surrounding ten miles underground are filled with reinforced concrete and iron plates. The Burrowing Beasts won’t be able to drill through," an old soldier replied, puffing on a cigarette butt he had found somewhere, savoring the moments of tranquility on the battlefield.

However, those moments were short-lived. Everyone panicked and huddled in the trench as beastmen began to bombard them.

Cannon shells screamed in the sky as they fell onto the battlefield. Although their aim was poor and many of the shells were duds, beastmen didn’t care about that - they just let shells rain down on them, and infantry again charged the frontline.

"Shit, they are coordinating the artillery and infantry now. Who said beastmen don’t have artillerymen?" Gao Yu nearly lost his mind, praying that the falling shells wouldn’t land on him.

The human officers were equally shocked. Beastmen weren’t known to have artillerymen because their IQ couldn’t handle cannons. Expecting them to rank as artillerymen was considered a joke, so humans didn’t even dig trenches for bombardment. As a result, soldiers were left exposed under artillery fire.

"Come here, all of you." Lu Fan shouted and used his ability. A wave of soil, like a tidal wave, surged over the soldiers, forming a dome-shaped arc roof, which continuously thickened.

"Find Lu Fan." Clutching onto Li Muqing with one hand and dragging Liu Qian and Han Mei with the other, Tang Zheng ran towards Lu Fan. Relying on luck in this situation wasn’t feasible.

Chu Baichuan could not lift and run with his wife, so he covered her with his body, shielding her from falling soil and shrapnel. An Ping did the same, An Ning, with tears in her eyes, urged him to leave, but he refused to move.

The bombardment finally stopped. The officers observing the battle lines sighed in relief, only to gasp again. They were relieved because the beastmen’s infantry and artillery coordination was a failure - their cannon fodder had killed their own soldiers, which was laughable. Their gasps came from seeing the beastmen launching an all-out assault with their elites.

Employing their numerical advantage, the beastmen were determined not to give the humans any respite, launching a ferocious attack. The sight of the Guard Team, each soldier draped in Iron Canned Head armor, was enough to make anyone’s head spin.

Not only the Guard Team, but also the Motorized Troops and Tank Divisions were mobilized. Fearless machine gunners unloaded suppressive fire on human positions from their vehicles.

"See our treatment now? We might as well be regular army soldiers. What’s your obsession with fighting?" An old soldier joked, discarded his rifle, first made a Cluster Hand grenade, then collected an individual anti-tank missile launcher from the ammunition pile.

Other old soldiers were doing the same. In such dire times, they were all too ready for the possibility of sacrificing their lives. If they died in battle, their families would receive compensation. If they became deserters, they wouldn’t receive a dime. Moreover, if they didn’t escape the battlefield, they would be shot dead by the supervisory team.

"Compared to those frontline sods, these people are proper soldiers," Li Muqing commended, sighing. She felt her journey had come to an end.

"Liu Yue, use the Gauss." Tang Zheng also pulled out his sniper rifle, loaded armor-piercing high-explosive rounds. A steel torrent of enemy tanks rumbled in, quickly closing the distance.

"Get down, everybody get down." Warnings blared through the loudspeakers again. Tang Zheng looked back to see the tanks hidden behind the frontline shedding their camouflage and rushed forward at full speed. While in motion, their turrets rotated and muzzles spewed out angry flames.

Boom. A beastman tank turret was hit, and it stopped. The barrel was knocked awry.

Tang Zheng squatted in the trench as a forest tank rolled over his head. The creaking sound of the caterpillar tracks was teeth grating. The immense smoke belched by the exhaust pipes caught in his chest, causing a sharp burning sensation as he inhaled. (To be continued. If you like this work, please support it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)