Chapter 179: Descent

Chapter 179 – Descent

After Jin Zhong departed, Chen Jian immediately began organizing aerial reconnaissance of the Huadu forces stationed north of Jinling City.

It was already two o’clock in the night; the small reconnaissance‑strike drone locked inside Fort 095 still could not lift off, and relying on the two miniature rotor drones that Chen and his men carried for scouting was virtually impossible.

After all, their position at Fort 011 lay nearly sixty kilometres from Jinling, and the Huadu troops were theoretically over eighty kilometres away.

Even with a dual‑drone signal relay, that distance remained far beyond reach.

Fortunately, the unmanned combat cluster paired with the 30A tank already included a long‑range patrol‑surveillance drone codenamed “Sky Dome‑S,” with a range of close to five hundred kilometres, a reconnaissance radius exceeding two hundred kilometres, and a maximum loiter time of forty‑eight hours.

Though satellite signals were unavailable and the cellular network had yet to be fully laid, the drone’s modest onboard AI chip allowed it to complete its autonomous survey of the target area after take‑off without incident.

When the drone returned within the fifteen‑kilometre radius covered by the current cellular network, a flood of reconnaissance images unfolded before Chen and his companions.

Sitting in a true command centre, Chen finally could analyse the battle situation and make decisions in the manner he knew best.

He opened the widest‑angle aerial photograph, tapped a few times, and the War‑Crown system instantly marked every anomalous heat source and parsed the identifiable weaponry captured in the high‑definition image.

“…the numbers match our earlier estimates: roughly three thousand combatants, of whom a little over two thousand are relatively professional soldiers, the remaining thousand are refugees and militia swept along.”

“Moreover, along the line from Lai’an to Xuyi, there are countless labourers engaged in material transport.”

“What they ferry appears to be the logistical supplies the front line needs—grain, ammunition, medicine, and the like.”

“In terms of equipment, we see that Huadu’s regular troops heavily favour automatic weapons, chiefly the 191 rifle, the 201 machine gun, and other light arms.”

“From this we can infer they have indeed activated Facility No. 6 in Quancheng.”

“However, the reconnaissance images reveal no sufficient self‑propelled artillery, tanks, or armored vehicles; it remains unclear whether such assets have been destroyed or simply not employed.”

“Conversely, there are many towed artillery pieces and towed rocket launchers, and we even glimpse a few missiles of unknown type.”

“Within the clash zone between the Mechanical Cult and Huadu, the scars left by these heavy weapons are evident.”

“In short, up to now their firepower is formidable—somewhat stronger than we had anticipated.”

When Chen finished speaking, the War‑Crown’s analysis was complete.

Even before he could delve further, the system had already presented a recommended course of action.

Yet Chen did not adopt it outright; he continued, “Fuxi, do you think the enemy could still possess heavy, highly mobile platforms like the 30A tank?”

“Unlikely.”

Fuxi answered at once:

“Based on the high‑resolution ground imagery, the towed artillery they retain is in poor condition, with obvious rust.”

“Coupled with the prolonged loss of contact with Facility 006 and your assessment of it as ‘half‑destroyed,’ it is probable that its environmental‑maintenance systems have collapsed.”

“Without effective measures to slow electronic decay, any intelligent vehicle dependent on electronics may have become entirely inoperative.”

“The imagery corroborates this point.”

“We can see that among the few Huadu personnel wielding weapons are the original 12.7 mm heavy machine guns mounted on high‑mobility unmanned cars, and a scant number of flamethrowers used for bunker assaults; this suggests that the bulk of unmanned combat units have been dismantled.”

“Logically, they would have only begun dismantling after discovering those unmanned units were unusable.”

“Thus, when we weigh all factors, the likelihood that they still retain heavy intelligent platforms is below one percent.”

“Understood, then there is no issue.”

Chen nodded, then enlarged the War‑Crown’s recommended operation plan onto the screen.

“The overall plan is divided into four phases.”

“First, deploy four Golden Eagle‑11 micro reconnaissance‑strike drones, supported by a swarm of twenty Zhuque‑10 cruise missiles and four 107 rockets to suppress enemy rear artillery and heavy support positions; once suppression is achieved, send six Puffer‑S‑2 attack drones to seize control of the area and clear residual targets.”

“Second, while suppressing the enemy’s rear support fire, advance with a 30A tank accompanied by twenty Spear‑2 wheeled combat robots to strike the enemy front line, and deploy six Xingtian‑9 unmanned vehicles to occupy key high ground, thereby imposing fire superiority on enemy infantry.”

“Third, launch forty Iron Wolf‑A quadruped robots from the east, west, and south to compress the battlefield space and constrain the combat zone.”

“Fourth, after the first wave concludes and the enemy line collapses, He Shuo will join me in a northern infiltration, seeking high‑value targets for a decapitation strike; we must avoid exposure, strike swiftly, and withdraw once the job is done.”

“That is my preliminary resolve; does anyone have other suggestions?”

As Chen’s words faded, He Shuo raised his hand and asked:

“The War‑Crown recommends striking the enemy’s supply lines first—are we ignoring that?”

“Although the foe’s strength is limited, using aerial units against their logistics would cost us virtually nothing. Why not give it a try?”

Chen shook his head and replied:

“The labourers employed on their supply routes are overwhelmingly civilians, not Huadu’s regular soldiers.”

“Attacking them yields little gain while needlessly sacrificing precious human resources—there’s no need.”

“I expect this battle to end within twenty to thirty minutes; whether we hit the supply line won’t fundamentally alter the outcome.”

“Understood.”

He Shuo nodded in acknowledgement, while Zeng Yi, standing nearby, pressed on:

“What about us? Are we only to fire rockets? After the suppression phase, what do we do?”

“You lie in wait, primarily to monitor enemy movements along the battlefield’s edge and cooperate with the Iron Wolf swarm to constrain the arena.”

“Put plainly, your objective is to annihilate every fleeing, scattered enemy—let none escape.”

“Those Huadu lunatics are more malignant than a blood‑stained skeleton; we must not let them get away!”

“Understood!”

Zeng Yi gave a firm nod, and Chen rose abruptly, issuing orders:

“Fuxi, complete equipment preparation within two hours and set out immediately!”

“Lay temporary power lines and install cellular relay stations along the route, establish defenses, and keep the supply corridor open.”

“By eight o’clock tomorrow morning we must reach the designated staging point, and within a maximum two‑hour prep window launch the full assault before ten.”

“Copy that!”

Four hours later, at eight in the morning, twenty kilometres north of Jinling.

Jin Zhong gripped his rifle, weary, perched behind a sandbag cover.

After his conversation with Chen ended, he and his guard regiment’s squad spent over six hours traversing nearly sixty kilometres back to Jinling, then, bearing the intelligence from the Huaxia forces, boarded the few remaining steam locomotives and raced nonstop to the front.

He now stood ten kilometres southeast of Lai’an Town, in a hamlet called “Banta.”

The settlement’s strategic value was considerable; should Huadu launch an attack on Jinling from the Lai’an direction, they would have to use the main road that cuts through Banta to achieve rapid mass movement.

In other words, Banta was the final defensive line between Huadu and Jinling.

If Banta fell, the oncoming Huadu army would sweep through unchecked, and no one could save Jinling.

That is why Jin Zhong, despite his exhaustion, rushed to Banta.

Though Chen had already given him his promise, a warrior like him regarded any aid from “outside” as far less reliable than his own flesh, blood, and weapon.

Relying on others is ultimately futile; should the Huaxia troops never arrive, or fail to get there in time, his own corpse.

It will become the last line of defense outside Jinling’s walls.

Thinking of that, Jin Zhong let out a heavy sigh.

He rose to his feet, his gaze soaring high toward the distant horizon.

On the plain to the northwest of Banta Town, the blaze ignited by Huadu was slowly dying out, and amid its smoldering ashes a broad road emerged. That road would likely be the direction from which Huadu would launch its assault, and the less‑than‑800 guards of the Vanguard Brigade had already trained almost every cannon toward that bearing.

Should any enemy appear there, the artillery priests would instantly order fire, letting ruthless shells and powder bury the foremost foes in a merciless grave.

———

Jin Zhong could not tell how much loss those enemies would suffer, but now there was little else they could do.

He paced through the hastily‑dug trench, patting each soldier’s shoulder and offering encouragement.

When the warriors asked, “Can we hold?” his answer was a single, stark reply:

“If we cannot hold, we shall only die here.”

“But before we die, we must drag a few more of Huadu’s scum to cover our backs!”

“Yes!”

On the brink of life and death, the soldiers’ blood‑fire was rekindled.

One by one they rose, rifles in hand, weapons ready for the inevitable clash.

A small relief eased Jin Zhong’s heart, and even a faint, perhaps unrealistic thought took root:

What if we could actually hold?

Though we have already suffered great losses, the Cathedral Vanguard Brigade remains the elite of the Mechanist Faith!

Huadu’s three thousand are but a rabble; though they have shown respectable combat skill in previous skirmishes, they never reached the “incomprehensible” level of those Huaxia troops.

There is still a chance, isn’t there?

Holy Trinity above, I pray here for your blessing.

Jin Zhong lifted his head, eyes closed, and whispered a silent prayer.

In truth, he did not truly expect a miracle.

For in countless prayers, no miracle had ever manifested.

Yet this time was different.

As he finished the prayer and opened his eyes to the sky brightening above, an omen suddenly unfolded.

Meteors streaked across the heavens, trailing long tongues of flame, their bright amber light nearly flooding the ground.

The meteors, linked head to tail, passed in silent procession, as if forming a celestial bridge.

Jin Zhong stared, mouth agape, at the spectacle before him; he could never have imagined a miracle would descend at this moment.

But what, indeed, does such a miracle signify?

He blinked, bewildered.

Then, in the next instant,

“Boom!”

A violent explosion erupted; he turned toward its source, where a burst of bright amber fire had erupted!

Immediately thereafter, more detonations rang out around Banta Town.

At that moment, Jin Zhong finally realized that the so‑called explosions

were the meteors blazing across the sky!

That was not the miracle of the Holy Trinity!

That was Huadu’s artillery!

“Take cover! Take cover!”

Jin Zhong roared in fury, darting through the trench, pulling each unresponsive, still‑peeking Vanguard soldier back behind the parapet.

By then, the frequency of falling meteors had peaked.

Explosions rose and fell, the ground swathed in flame and smoke.

Amid the chaos, endless screams and wails echoed.

The elite combat brigade managed to keep its composure, yet the rear artillery, under attack, had fallen into total paralysis.

Scores of servomechs and artillery priests fled in panic; Jin Zhong tried to rally them, but under the enemy’s dense barrage, those whose faith wavered lacked any courage to continue fighting.

“Back! Back!”

Jin Zhong bellowed and pulled the trigger, firing at his own men for the first time.

A blossom of blood burst from the victim’s body, and in an instant life was snuffed out.

Yet even so, the fleeing crowd did not pause a moment.

It seemed they had already seen the end.

To flee was death, to stay was death; better to run and cling to a sliver of hope!

The tide of collapse could no longer be halted; Jin Zhong could only gather his brigade’s soldiers, attempting to man the cannons for a counter‑strike.

Their movements were clumsy; without servomechs and artillery priests to aid them, their fire was as insignificant as a lone firefly beneath a sky of stars.

Meanwhile, the second wave of Huadu’s bombardment had already arrived.

This time, the heavy artillery possessed power comparable to the Mechanist Faith’s great cannons!

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

A massive shockwave hurled Jin Zhong to the ground; shattered shrapnel pierced the body of a warrior before him, then lodged deep into his chest armor.

Like a hammer striking stone, he struggled to rise, only to find the surroundings a living hell.

Blood, gunpowder smoke, wails.

Jin Zhong staggered to his feet, bewildered, no longer knowing what to do.

He yearned to find an enemy to grapple with, yet the foes lay hundreds, even thousands of meters away.

The dense crowd was as small as ants; Jin Zhong knew that when they finally surged forward, the defenses of Banta Town would have little strength left to resist.

Is this the final ending?

The Mechanist Faith truly has waned.

Even a suddenly rising Huadu cannot be met.

Has the deity abandoned us, or have we abandoned the deity?

Jin Zhong closed his eyes in despair.

But, at that very moment,

“Bang!”

A tremendous cannon blast roared from behind him.

In an instant, a dense buzzing sound swept across the sky above.

Jin Zhong turned his gaze backward.

A steel behemoth, an iron elephant, vaulted over the shallow trench with an arrogantly supreme bearing!

And as it thundered down, a massive plume of dust rose, and the second projectile had already been launched!

“Boom!”

Jin Zhong stared, mouth agape, at the spectacle; a moment later, the radio strapped to his chest emitted a staccato, faintly indistinct voice.

“Electromagnetic shielding. Established.”

“Intervention. Communications.”

“Mechanical Cult Guard Brigade, withdraw from the position!”

“Under my command!”

(End of Chapter)