A sharp screech came from the sky—the sound of artillery shells tearing through the air. As the shells fell, the Golgar soldiers scattered and lay down in panic within the collapsed fortifications.
"Boom boom boom!"
It wasn't just one shell, but several, exploding in a horizontal chain. Within the blast radius, bare tree stumps were forcibly "pulled" out of the ground, and soil mixed with stones of all sizes was thrown into the air several meters high.
With a whoosh, these objects fell to the ground again. The Golgar soldiers lay on the ground covered in dust, the buzzing sound of the explosion still echoing in their ears, while some who had been hit by the shells were already howling in pain.
The soldiers who were lucky enough to escape the blast wave spat out the dirt in their mouths and looked up. They saw steam rising from the upturned ground, with stones and burning wood scattered irregularly around the outer edge of the crater. Inside the crater were several unrecognizable skeletons, their white skin tinged with charred black.
The soldiers stared wide-eyed, their stomachs churning, the metallic taste in their mouths almost making them vomit, but before they could react further, a superior's roar rang out beside them:
"Quickly! Get up!"
"Fire! Fire!"
The soldiers finally recovered from the shelling and realized they had to quickly counterattack the enemy who were advancing in their direction. However, the fortifications were collapsing and the trenches were gradually being buried by earth and rocks. Some of them were even buried by the collapsing rocks during the shelling and could not escape.
Even so, there was no retreat to speak of. The Gortian soldiers raised their guns and pulled the triggers at the Yan army infantry who were charging towards them.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Bullets flew densely and fiercely through the air. The Yan army infantry, which was using long-range firepower for cover, had approached the Golts' defensive line. However, as the distance closed, the Golts' counterattack became more and more intense. Although they had artillery cover, attacking from below was never easy.
By this time, the battle had raged on until after 2 a.m. During this period, the Yan army had suffered considerable casualties, but also achieved some results. On the two flanks of the hillside, several of the Goertek army's defensive lines had been breached, and the Yan army had taken over some strategic locations from them.
An hour earlier, the main force of the Yan army on the main road also launched an attack from the front. The long-range heavy artillery used its powerful firepower to indiscriminately bombard the high points within a two-kilometer radius below the pass.
The offensive from three directions intensified the battle. Inside the Golte camp at the pass, logistics personnel were constantly transporting ammunition and supplies to the front lines. In such fierce fighting, the ammunition consumption at the front lines reached an alarming level. This consumption made the officers in charge of logistics increasingly uneasy. At present, their most effective way to kill the enemy was with artillery shells, but their shell reserves had already been used up by nearly a third, which far exceeded their expectations.
Upon realizing the problem, a logistics officer quickly reported to Dylan after taking a rough count of the ammunition reserves.
After listening, Dylan's expression grew even colder, and he said in a deep voice, "Don't worry about so much. If the front lines need it, just send it there!"
"We absolutely cannot show weakness in front of the Yan people! We're running out of ammunition quickly, but they're running out even faster!"
Upon hearing this, the logistics officer frowned and said, "Then we probably won't have any more shells after tomorrow afternoon."
"If you don't have cannonballs, then there are logs, rocks, whatever you can use. Just throw them down if they can inflict damage on the Yan people!"
"Remember this well! We have only one goal..." Dylan glared at him, then said coldly, "To eliminate the enemy's manpower to the greatest extent possible!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shortly after the logistics officer left, a communications soldier returning from the battlefield north of the pass brought an urgent message.
"Sir! The enemy has broken through to within 1.5 kilometers of our lines. Many of our defensive fortifications have been destroyed by artillery fire, resulting in heavy casualties. General Mark requests that our troops deployed at the front be withdrawn."
"No retreat! Even if our casualties are heavy, they're still fewer than those of the Yan Kingdom! They dare to charge forward recklessly, so what reason do we have to retreat?!"
"Take my words with you! Even if everyone dies, die on the battlefield!"
The communications soldier gritted his teeth and immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"
After issuing the tough order, Dylan looked coldly at the battlefield below the mountain, his gaze fixed on the main road leading to the pass, which was now under intense bombardment.
However, Dylan was not too worried, because he had not deployed any troops to defend the main road in front of the pass. Although there were fortifications built on both sides of the main road, they were just a feint to attract enemy fire and make the enemy waste a lot of ammunition there.
This was a somewhat risky move, but it seems to have worked so far. The Yan army on the main road dared not launch a direct assault, but instead used their usual long-range firepower to bombard the area. In the past hour or so, Dylan guessed that they had used at least several thousand shells. Although the fighting was fierce, the consumption of ammunition was also increasing rapidly. No matter how well prepared the Yan people were, Dylan believed that their ammunition would eventually run out.
——
2:30 a.m.
Boxes of ammunition were being transported to the western and northern battlefields by logistics personnel. At the same time, troops were being continuously dispatched from the rear of the Yan army along the main road to support the northern and southern battlefields. In the Yan army camp 2 kilometers away from the battlefield, Yan soldiers lined up in neat rows were also rushing to the front line to join the battle.
Inside the camp, a communications soldier would return from the front lines every fifteen minutes to report the latest battle situation to Qin Ze. At this moment, upon receiving the latest news, Qin Ze raised an eyebrow and said:
"These Goths have come up with some tricks for me... Impressive tactics."
"Your Majesty, now that we have ascertained the situation, should we send infantry units to attack the pass from the front?" the communications officer asked.
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Ze said, "No, have the main force cease shelling."
"As for the attacks on both flanks, slow down the pace from now on and stop advancing. Wait for my next orders."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The communications soldier immediately accepted the order and left.
Qin Ze glanced at the time; it was just past 2:30, four and a half hours before sunrise. The hour before dawn would be the decisive moment in this battle.
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