Chapter 150, Orbital Bombardment
After receiving the news, Gu Hang couldn't even enjoy his meal.
There were ten thousand greenskins, more than three thousand of them were real orcs, and their number was still increasing.
There were already differences in individual combat capabilities, and the biggest gap was in the ability to withstand attacks. Now, the enemy also had all kinds of crude, ridiculous, but powerful heavy firepower and heavy equipment...
This is already a huge threat.
My goodness! Gu Hang was planning to wait until two days later to call for orbital bombardment and then launch a full-scale counterattack, but now those greenskins are the ones who are going to attack with all their strength first?
Fortunately, this information was discovered in advance. If we were caught off guard by such an attack, it would have been a big problem.
Gu Hang is thinking about a solution.
First of all, the mobilization of troops must be accelerated.
The troops who are still taking rest in the joint military camp need to assemble urgently.
The number of soldiers on the front line has actually been reduced to about 50,000. There are still about 50,000 soldiers on rotation and reorganization in the rear.
Even though the front line is half-manned, it is definitely more stable than when the adventurers in Garbage Town were stationed there before. After the reorganization, the soldiers have more reliable equipment and greatly improved military skills, and they can fight much better than adventurers.
However, doesn't this mean we need to prepare for shocks or even launch a full-scale counterattack?
Of course, the follow-up troops have to move forward as reserve forces, ready to put out fires at any time.
Of course, if it is not used, it is definitely the best.
Wasn’t the orbital strike firepower that we asked Ye Licia for earlier intended to solve similar problems?
If those greenskins were scattered and hiding in the ruins of the city, it would be really hard to fight them. The orbital strike was powerful, but could a city that was already in ruins be blown to pieces? Those greenskins hiding in the ruins had strong vitality. If they were in the core area of the orbital strike bombardment, they would definitely die. But if they were in the marginal areas, I'm afraid many of them could survive.
And now, they have gathered together and cleared out an open area as a starting point. Isn't it clear that they are preparing to attack him?
Gu Hang was thoughtful and asked Ye Licia to help launch a small-scale but more targeted artillery attack.
Use a few 'Heat Hammer' macro cannons and ten 'Scalpel' ship-borne missiles to bombard the departure position directly. It may not be possible to kill all the greenskins gathered there, but killing 90% of them should not be a problem.
But after thinking about it, Gu Hang suppressed this tempting thought.
You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. If you fry it now, you won't get the maximum benefit.
The only opportunity Ye Lisia could get him was one round of bombing, which he had to seize.
Be patient, be patient. What he needs to do now is to prepare his troops to deal with all challenges and take the initiative to attack, and then wait patiently for the intelligence from the front before making a decision.
…
Deep in the ruins of the tower, while walking, Martins suddenly asked Schneider next to him a question:
"There's something wrong with these greenskins. Do you feel it?"
Schneider thought for a moment and responded: "There is nothing wrong with them. They are no different from the greenskins we have eliminated in the past."
"This is the biggest problem," Martins said. "They shouldn't be so powerful. Their number is not large enough, just tens of thousands of greenskins, not enough to support a disaster. If the greenskin spores fell on this planet for some reason, took root, and then this clan developed from scratch, at this stage and with this number, they should only be able to maintain a very primitive technological state. Even if the original natives of Junk Town gave the greenskins some brains during the battle to accelerate their development, this level of greenskin technology should not appear so quickly."
"Are you trying to say that these greenskins didn't simply develop from their own local areas?" Schneider's attitude also became cautious.
If that's the case, and these greenskins are from a powerful, star-spanning clan, then there's trouble.
But soon, Schneider rejected this idea: "It's unlikely. There has never been any report of alien attacks on the Wrath of the Owl. If the greenskin clans with interstellar navigation capabilities really set their sights on this planet, given their characteristics, they would not send only a small number of teams. Several large warships carrying hundreds of thousands or even millions of greenskins will land and multiply rapidly to flood the planet. That is their usual method."
Martins agreed with what Schneider said: "So, this is the most contradictory part of the whole thing. We must remind our brothers that we cannot simply regard these greenskins as wild orcs or primitive orcs in this operation. We must be vigilant. I really don't want to see the loss of a combat brother in the battle at the power plant outside Renaissance City again."
After hearing what the Chapter Leader said, the other four also fell silent.
They said no more.
It is not difficult to find the enemy base camp by following the route where the greenskins transport supplies and replenish troops.
On the evening of the second day after their departure, they had found their target.
Of course, the greenskins were also preparing for war with all their might. Their base camps were brightly lit and their factories were bustling with activity.
Space Marines and Stormtroopers did not have the ability to sneak into the base camp. After all, without the conditions for disguised reconnaissance, cross-species investigations could only go so far.
But it's enough.
They marked the greenskin base camp and the greenskin military factory, and then found three large-scale hatching farms in the surrounding area. Those huge things that looked like tropical plants grew strongly in the ruins of the city.
Just as Martins had told Gu Hang before, this was definitely not an ideal place for the greenskin orcs to reproduce. Even though these greenskins had tried their best to open up a relatively flat area, expose the soil as much as possible, and connect to the water flow as much as possible, the soil was not suitable, the light was not good, and the water resources were not sufficient...
The greenskins are very tenacious and can grow again and again in this environment.
Now is the season for the 'harvest' of green-skinned plants. They saw with their own eyes that under the light, they saw huge fruit pods hanging down from the twisted plants, and something seemed to be wriggling inside. Then suddenly, the fruit pods opened directly, and a green-skinned creature fell out of it.
This process continued to happen in front of them.
Most of the time, what falls out is an animal of different sizes but similar appearance.
This thing is called Squig, a kind of orc livestock that has always existed in the greenskin tribe. These creatures lack intelligence and are ferocious, with sharp teeth and a mouth that can open to an exaggerated size. But in fact, they play the role of livestock in the greenskin ecosystem.
Some are used for beauty and hairdressing, some are used as food, some are raised by orc boys as pets, and the largest ones can even be ridden into the battlefield.
These Squiggles feed on all kinds of garbage.
The Squigs eat what the Orcs don't, and the Orcs eat the Squigs.
Together with fungi, they become the main food source for the orcs.
Apart from the Squigmon, the second most numerous group is the Fartmon.
These are the orcs' servants, cannon fodder, and can also be eaten when necessary.
And even fewer are real green-skinned orcs.
No matter whether they are Squigmon, Fartmon, or Orcs, they are already adults as soon as they land.
It is truly the harvest season in this incubation farm.
If all the hatching operations in the three hatching farms were completed at this efficiency, I'm afraid that within a month, the number of green-skinned orcs alone would increase by another 20,000, and the number of fart spirits would increase by at least 50,000 to 60,000.
Martins was now glad that he had seriously warned Gu Hang of the risks involved. He was also glad that Gu Hang had heeded his warning and did not ignore the threat.
Otherwise it will be a big trouble.
What happens next is relatively simple.
It's nothing more than marking coordinates.
It was impossible to be very accurate, because when they marked, they were still a certain distance away from the target location. Even at this distance, they encountered greenskins several times, but they were killed silently.
Given the greenskins' high level of discipline, they shouldn't be able to notice if a few people are lost - many of them die in internal fights every day.
But even if the marking is not very accurate, it doesn't matter much. It's probably this position. The macro cannon still covers a large area.
A single Scalpel missile can almost destroy a small wind farm, not to mention the much more powerful macro cannons and large macro cannons like the Chuji's Wrath.
Of course, in order to improve efficiency, they still set value levels for these places.
The two points with the highest value are the base camp and the starting point where the greenskin army is gathering.
Secondly, he marked the arsenal, the hatchery, and the killing tanks in the greenskin army in more depth. Then, he marked a bunch of places that could not be explored in depth but were suspected to be valuable.
After completing these tasks, they moved away from the greenskin base and then informed Governor Gu of the news.
Then, they soon received a reply from the Governor:
"Leave the area as soon as possible. You have 14 hours to escape the orbital strike. Please ensure your own safety and confirm the effectiveness of the strike after the orbital strike is over."
"receive."
"Thank you for your hard work."
…
After replying to the task force's message, Gu Hang breathed a sigh of relief.
All preparations are finally complete.
He contacted Ye Licia again, provided the relevant attack coordinates, and told the female brigadier general that all operations were proceeding as planned.
Tomorrow, at 11:00 Terra Standard Time, the orbital strike will arrive as scheduled.
His troops will complete their pre-war preparations before then, eat well in advance, and then launch an attack on the enemy in front after the orbital bombardment is completed.
The green-skinned orcs confronting them will not be bombarded too strongly. At most, there will be a few "scalpel" missiles that will accurately hit several key positions. Macro cannons will not be fired here.
The main reason is that the macro cannon is too powerful, covers a large area, and is not as accurate as the "scalpel" missile. If it is slightly off, it will easily cover your own position.
It would be better to use a "scalpel" to bomb a few times and then leave the rest to your own army.
…
At the front, the commander of the 3rd Independent Regiment, Ruggie Likoshi, who was striving to regain his title of "Beast Slayer Regiment", had just finished a combat meeting and sent off Thadius, the chief of political work of the army who came to inspect.
Lieutenant Colonel Taddius conveyed the Governor's order to them. At a meeting attended by all military commanders and instructors above the company level in the regiment, he announced that the 3rd Independent Regiment would serve as the fist and the vanguard in the full-scale counterattack at noon tomorrow.
Their goal was to tear open the greenskins' defense head-on from the middle of the entire line, completely capture their positions, cut the front line in two, and create space for the three mechanized synthetic battalions to penetrate from the middle.
Afterwards, after the follow-up friendly forces come up to take over the position, they will dispatch troops, accompanied by a combined battalion, to execute a flanking movement to the north, cut off the retreat space of the green-skinned orcs on the north side, and complete the encirclement with the friendly forces in the front to completely annihilate the green-skinned orcs there.
All commanders and fighters listened in silence to Taddius's description of the combat objectives and requirements.
The silence continued.
But this is by no means fear or dread.
Li Kexi could see the fire in the eyes of his subordinates.
And he himself is the same.
They have waited too long.
"Okay, let's go back." Li Kexi broke the silence, "Go back to your respective companies and get ready. There are still 13 hours until tomorrow noon. The General Staff will break down tomorrow's offensive mission and deliver it to you tomorrow morning at the latest. This is a battle we have been looking forward to for a long time, and it is also an opportunity we never dared to think about in the past. I have only one request: we must fight beautifully! We must be worthy of the people we have lost, worthy of the hatred we are willing to sacrifice our lives to avenge, and worthy of the opportunity the Governor has given us!"
"Roar!" The officers stood up suddenly and returned to their respective teams.
Andrei Alexei, who was transferred to the independent regiment as the political commissar, was a little confused. He just wanted to boost the morale of the officers as the chief political officer, but found that it seemed unnecessary.
The team leader Li Kexi patted him on the shoulder without explaining anything further.
I wonder how many of the Beast Slayer soldiers can really sleep well.
But they will force themselves to have a good rest, all for the purpose of playing at their best tomorrow.
Tonight is exceptionally long.
…
No matter how long the night is, it will eventually pass.
When the sky brightened, Li Kexi woke up and went to the front line of the troops to check.
He watched the soldiers eat, watched them check their weapons, watched the officers talk to the soldiers...
All this inexplicably calmed his anxious heart.
They had done everything they could and were only waiting for the order to attack.
The pocket watch that was distributed to me ticked to eleven o'clock in the morning.
The order to attack had not yet been issued, but he first saw many red spots faintly appearing in the sky.
Meteor shower?
No, he quickly dismissed the idea.
This should be part of the powerful blow that Lieutenant Colonel Thadius mentioned earlier.
At that time, he thought that the artillery positions in the rear would fire fiercely and without restriction, but it seemed that there was more to it than that.
He watched the red meteor showers streak across the sky, getting closer and closer, and then falling into the ruins before him that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Immediately afterwards, two huge balls of light suddenly appeared, almost covering the city.
Along with these two huge balls of light, there are many smaller ones, but they are not as clear because of the obstruction of the ruins of the buildings.
The scene felt inexplicably strange. There was only light but no sound, as if one was watching a silent movie.
But what they were waiting for soon came.
The earth is shaking.
As if there was an earthquake, some soldiers who were not standing firmly even staggered. Even some ruins that were not strong enough due to artillery fire in the previous battle collapsed in the vibration.
Fortunately, the fortifications where they were hiding were specially reinforced, so there were no casualties.
Then came the shock wave accompanied by a loud noise!
It was as if a strong wind blew, bringing with it a feeling of heat. Many people took several steps back, feeling a stuffy feeling in their chests.
Although they felt physically uncomfortable, all the soldiers of the 3rd Independent Regiment, from Li Kexi on down, felt very happy!
The explosion occurred deep in the ruins of the tower, where the greenskins are most concentrated!
Even at a distance of dozens of kilometers, the aftermath of the explosion can be felt so clearly, whether it is the heat or the shock wave... then what about those greenskins at the core of the explosion?
Even though the vitality of those monsters is much stronger than that of humans, they can never survive such a blow!
As long as they eliminate the enemies in front of them, this greenskin disaster that has been spreading for several years and gradually becoming more and more serious will end in their hands!
Li Kexi couldn't wait to command his troops to launch a charge.
But it's not time yet.
The order to attack has not yet come.
However, a whistling sound came from above.
The artillery positions in the rear began to show their power.
At the joint artillery position, one hundred 155 howitzers were lined up in a row, with their barrels pointing to the sky, firing continuously.
The production of artillery shells is limited. In order to support the logistics of hundreds of thousands of troops, Weixing City needs to produce a lot of things. Armored vehicles, bullets, guns, equipment, explosives, grenades, rocket launchers, artillery...
They have worked hard to increase the production of artillery shells, but they still cannot withstand such intense consumption.
However, since it has been decided that today will be the final battle, there is no need to save money.
Hundreds of artillery pieces opened fire at full speed, launching 500 shells per minute, pouring down a hail of artillery fire on the orc positions in front of them.
This was an unprecedented full-force bombardment, and the artillerymen no longer cared about the life of the gun barrel or the consumption of shells.
They were going to fire 15,000 rounds of heavy artillery at the Green Orcs' positions within half an hour, but the total artillery shell reserve was only less than 20,000 rounds.
The remaining four or five thousand artillery shells were not to be saved, but to be kept to support the infantry attack.
As the artillery opened fire, Ruggie Le Corbusier finally received the order to attack.
He couldn't wait to convey the attack order to the entire regiment.
More than 5,000 soldiers of the 3rd Independent Regiment needed to move to a position about 200 meters away from the enemy position and stand by within 25 minutes. They had five minutes to rest and launch a full-scale attack on the orc position the moment the bombardment ended.
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This chapter 5.2k
It's the end of the month, and I've updated 135,000 words this month. There are still four days left, and I still have 25,000 words to go before I reach 160,000. I'll try to get more than 6K words per day in the next four days!
(End of this chapter)
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