Chapter 910: The Power of the Wanderer
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
The first engagement with the Wanderer tank was on the street near the bridge.
After seeing the Wanderer tank, the Tiger II, which was providing cover for the infantries, immediately aimed its Type-50 electromagnetic pulse cannon. A glaring electric arc emerged from the side of the barrel.
The orange-red arc crashed into the Wanderer tank. However, the sh.e.l.l didn’t hit the armor. Instead, a strange projectile appeared in front of the tank armor and the sh.e.l.l was redirected into an old building on the side of the street.
The cylindrical sh.e.l.l was transformed into a superconductor under the effect of a special electric field. The instant it approached the electro-magnetized armor, influenced by the Meissner effect, the magnetic field generated by the antimagnetic superconducting current in the superconductor deflected the bomb to the side. It was why the Wanderer was known as the Land King. Metal warheads were ineffective and insulated warheads couldn’t pierce the armor. Even NATO’s most powerful armored forces wouldn’t dare to engage in a direct battle against the Wanderer.
The Tiger II used the smoke generated from the explosion and quickly retreated to the corner of the street. Soliders dispersed into the buildings on both sides, avoiding the machine gun bullets that pierced through the smoke screen.
However, Tiger II’s escape plan was unsuccessful.
The secondary rapid-fired electromagnetic pulse cannon unleashed high-speed projectiles and left a row of bullet holes in the bottom armor of the Tiger II and knocked off the belt on the right side.
“Abandon the vehicle! Fast!”
The tank lost its mobility. The captain yelled while opening the top cover as he climbed out of the tank. The gunners and machine gunners tried to crawl out. However, they didn’t have time to climb out before there was a flash in the smoke curtain not far away. The high-temperature particle cl.u.s.ter pa.s.sed through the snow and created a daunting hole on the side armor of the Tiger II. The hit punctured the power module directly, leading to the explosion of the nuclear fusion core.
The aftermath of the mini-nuclear blast blew away the snow and concrete blocks on the entire street. Behind the scattered dust was the frightening muzzle.
The primary cannon of the Wanderer – Type-52 Particle Cannon!
The sound of cannons firing came from the distance and napalm bombs covered the area. However, in the blizzard of this scale, the fire didn’t last long. The Wanderer ran over the wreckage of the Tiger II, and the infantries of the Northern Alliance Area previously hidden now followed behind the tank and pushed forward.
Through the long-range aerial photography of the drone, w.a.n.g Zhaowu examined everything with an emotionless expression.
The blizzard twisted the picture into a “white paste,” but from the light pus.h.i.+ng forward, he could still tell that the Second Army’s line of defense was being pushed back.
Strategically, NAC was undoubtedly successful. Laser array air defense vehicles could effectively counter Aurora-20, but they couldn’t protect the entire 700-kilometer supply line. w.a.n.g Zhaowu avoided weaknesses of NAC and utilized his strengths. He used the 20 Aurora-20s of the Second Army to attack the supply line of the Northern Alliance Area. It was impossible to completely cut off the supply line, but it was more than sufficient to seriously limit its efficiency.
On the other hand, for the Second Army, their supplies came directly from Hongcheng, which was adjacent to Wu City. The supply line was only about two hundred kilometers away. Whether it was artillery or ammunition, it was more than abundant to supply the needs of the army. As long as the Second Army held its position, the Northern Alliance Area would definitely be the first to fold under the limitations of the supply line!
However, the commander of the First Legion wasn’t an idiot. He was well aware of his disadvantages in supplies. From the very beginning, the First Legion hadn’t planned on using conservative tactics. Instead, it used a scattered tactic to disperse NAC’s artillery support and competed with NAC’s infantry for regional control. Then he simultaneously pushed their strongest armored force to the front of the battlefield and chewed away at the most secure position of NAC’s defensive line.
Just as w.a.n.g Zhaowu stared at the holographic screen and was in deep thought, a military officer dressed in winter clothes came in and opened the door of the tent. With a grim expression, he saluted then gave his report.
“According to the information from the frontline troops, the effect of the napalm rockets didn’t meet expectations. The blizzard is too big and the temperature is too low… It’s going to be very difficult for us to hold the line of defense in front of the bridge.”
w.a.n.g Zhaowu looked at the holographic screen, called out the aerial view of the drone, and transferred it to the tactical map of Wu City.
A green line ran several kilometers into the mouth of the Yangtze River from the Han River and pa.s.sed through the bridge. This line separated the northern suburbs controlled by the Northern Alliance. The forces on both sides were evenly distributed on both sides of the Han River. If the bridge in the middle of the battle line faltered, NAC would be forced to shrink the line of defense, retreat to where the Han River estuary met the Yangtze River, and fight in the city.
The closer they were to the center of the city, the taller the buildings, and the less effective the support artillery would be, which would undoubtedly increase the difficulty of NAC’s defense.
[Retreat?]
[Or defend to the death.]
w.a.n.g Zhaowu’s fists clenched and his arms swelled.
If it was just individual strength, the average of his three properties would reach a daunting 40, but the so-called bravery was rather ridiculous on the battlefield consisting of army-level forces. Even if his muscle strength and agility reached the absolute boundary of human limits, he didn’t have 50% the strength of a Dead Claw. Even the Mother of Dead Claws would be unable to withstand a 10 kg ma.s.s bomb launched from the Type-50 electromagnetic pulse cannon.
Just as he was planning to order the troops to defend at all costs, a soldier suddenly ran into the command room. He saluted while gasping for breath, and was met by w.a.n.g Zhaowu’s frown.
“Report.”
“What’s the matter?”
“AS Order has arrived at the southern suburbs of w.a.n.ghai and Chief of Staff Han Junhua is on the s.h.i.+p.”
w.a.n.g Zhaowu opened his eyes slightly and a hint of joy appeared in his pupils. Although the Order couldn’t approach too close to the battlefield, the heavy electromagnetic pulse cannon suspended on the s.h.i.+p could bombard the position of the Northern Alliance Area and exert some psychological pressure on the “barbarians”.
“What did the Chief of Staff say?”
“The Chief of Staff is taking the General’s order to take over the command of the Second Army and directly command the entire army.”
Slightly frowning, the previous joy faded from his face and his expression was hesitant.
He wasn’t reluctant to give up control; all his responsibilities came from the General’s trust. If Jiang Chen ordered him to surrender his military power, he wouldn’t hesitate for a single second. However, he doubted that changing command in the middle of war would really have a positive effect?
And although Han Junhua had some abilities, after all, she used to stand on the opposite side of NAC…
w.a.n.g Zhaowu didn’t reply. Instead, he grabbed the phone and called the General through a special line. Out of loyalty to the NAC, he needed to confirm the truth of the order with Jiang Chen.
The phone soon connected.
However, to his surprise, the order was actually issued by Jiang Chen.
Hand over command to Han Junhua.
Jiang Chen repeated this sentence again.
Hanging up the phone, w.a.n.g Zhaowu looked at the soldier and ordered, “Pa.s.s on my orders; the entire unit of combatants of the Second Army will completely obey the command of the Chief of Staff, Han Junhua!”
“Roger!” The soldier saluted and immediately ran out of the command post.
w.a.n.g Zhaowu looked at the holographic screen, sighed and sat back in his chair.
With a large-scale battle like this, with matching strengths on both sides, that was the most he could do.
He hoped the Chief of Staff, who had been an officer before the war, could be the turning point in this battle…