The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 436 - 429: Eye of the Storm

Chapter 436: Chapter 429: Eye of the Storm

The battle wasn’t as spectacular as it’s depicted in movies, with guns and cannons firing in unison, nor was there a charge of thousands of soldiers screaming and rushing forward with their guns.

But the charge of dozens, or perhaps a hundred people, the combat between a few tanks and pickups, did produce a brutal battle.

Such fights, where a squad-sized force insists on fighting to the last man without retreating, are very rare.

What was ostensibly just an attack at the battalion or company level, and only a probing one at that, turned into an all-or-nothing fight. This kind of battle is not just rare; it shouldn’t happen at all.

The pickups started to move quickly, relying solely on mobility and powerful offensive capabilities to contend with the enemy’s tanks, as they lacked any armor.

Both the Challenger-2 and the Leclerc have advanced fire control systems capable of shooting on the move, and these tanks can definitely hit a moving pickup.

If movement was necessary, it couldn’t be limited to circling in a small area. As long as the anti-tank missiles on the pickups weren’t depleted, they could divert the enemy’s attention and force them to focus on the pickups.

The pickups quickly disappeared from Gao Yuan’s view, and the two armored vehicles began to maneuver rapidly, each heading in opposite directions. If outnumbered, they couldn’t seek to maintain any formation; this wasn’t a large-scale tank assault but guerrilla warfare conducted by armored vehicles against tank units.

Gao Yuan was truly puzzled.

"I don’t understand, can someone explain to me? Our allies have to hold their ground to keep the enemy at bay because they need to create a survival space for us. But why would the enemy fight like this? Why are they doing this?"

Gao Yuan finished speaking, and now, only Klaus could answer him.

"Because... we might be in the eye of the storm. The enemy was already preparing for a major offensive, and if the Sanitation Worker attacks, the Solar System Company will of course defend. This region was already a front where both sides amassed heavy forces. Now that we’ve stumbled into the middle of both sides right before a big battle is about to erupt, well, this is what happens."

Klaus sighed, then continued in a low voice: "This is a large-scale campaign. The Sanitation Worker cannot allow an unknown force, of unknown size, from an unknown origin, with an unknown objective—us—to exist by their side. Now that they’ve discovered us, they must annihilate us, or at least, determine our numbers and equipment, deduce our purpose, then crush us and drive us out of this area. This is the inevitable prelude to a major conflict, with both sides engaging in scouting and counter-scouting, probing, and counter-probing over a frontline spanning dozens or even over a hundred kilometers."

Gao Yuan understood, murmuring: "You mean there’s going to be a major decisive battle in this area?"

"Yes, at least an important battle that will determine the direction of the victory. The Solar System Company can’t let the Sanitation Worker come onto their territory to fight this battle. The Sanitation Worker is on the offensive. From the intelligence we’ve gathered, their previous strategy was a surprise attack, but their offensive was thwarted by repeated harassment from the Solar System Company. This time, the Sanitation Worker has chosen to advance cautiously with heavy forces. This approach is slow, lacks element of surprise, but the Solar System Company can’t disrupt their offensive with harassment; they’re forced to engage in direct combat."

Just then, another explosion was heard. Gao Yuan could tell it was the sound of a missile explosion, not a tank gun firing.

There were two explosions, followed by four shots from tank guns, and then another explosion.

Klaus breathed out, looked at his watch, and said, "Nine minutes, the battle is still ongoing. The BTR-90 armored vehicles have not yet engaged, we still have time."

Gao Yuan spoke softly, "So, where is the main force of the Solar System Company?"

"Of course, it’s facing the main thrust of the Sanitation Worker. This battle is taking place on the plains, and it’s a confrontation between tanks and armored vehicles. If the Solar System Company wants to rely on infantry anti-tank forces with a few tanks as mobile support, then they must ascertain the Sanitation Worker’s main direction of attack; otherwise, how could they possibly stop their offensive?"

This was a campaign-level tactical issue; of course, Gao Yuan did not possess the knowledge reserve and perspective of a campaign-level leader. He was just a squad leader, not a brigade or division commander.

After speaking, Klaus sighed softly, "Let’s hold out for half an hour; that would mean the Solar System’s armored forces could arrive within about thirty minutes. Hmm, since it’s the Uranus Troops’ Armored Reconnaissance Company, it means that the Uranus Troops are deployed in this area."

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "How did you figure that out?"

"Isn’t it simple? Who does the Armored Reconnaissance Company serve? Obviously, the tank and armored forces. Do you think an armored reconnaissance company would be assigned to an infantry regiment? Moreover, as far as I know, the Uranus Troops are one of the few... subsidiaries of the Solar System Company with a full-fledged tank and armored force."

Klaus wasn’t sure how to describe the Solar System Company’s forces and ended up defining the Uranus Troops as a subsidiary. In some ways, it seemed entirely correct to say so.

He Yingjie mentioned rapid response forces, so there was no mistake; the Uranus Troops could arrive quickly.

At that point, Klaus suddenly said, "Do you know what?"

"What?"

"With the advent of helicopters, and as aircraft became more effective at striking ground targets, the possibility of tank group decisive battles was already becoming obsolete. Countries massively reduced their tank numbers, and tanks were unlikely to be used in concentrated formations like in World War II. A Kursk-style tank battle was not supposed to happen again. But, because the aliens destroyed all of our air forces, the best use for tanks has reverted back to World War II methods."

After Klaus finished, he paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile and said, "The last time tanks clashed with each other, it was Germany against the Soviet Union. This time, it’s a secret organization against a mercenary company."

Gao Yuan gave a wry smile, "I’m just concerned about how many tanks the Solar System Company has. If we’re about to have a major tank battle, whether they can hold back the Sanitation Worker’s steel tide."

Klaus turned to Renato and shouted, "Hey, Renato, how many tanks does Uranus have?"

Renato looked at Klaus and then shouted, "Two tank regiments, ninety tanks each, an artillery regiment, two towed artillery regiments, a 122 mm rocket artillery regiment, an armored regiment, a motorized infantry battalion, a special forces squad, two infantry regiments, one... engineer battalion, a communications battalion. Oh, most are Shenzhou People. If you’re asking why Uranus Troops are so strong now, it’s because of the support from Shenzhou. As of a year ago, Shenzhou has basically given all of its forces in Africa to Uranus. If you ask why Shenzhou did that, you’d have to ask Ram or the guy next to you."