Chapter 1624: Chapter 1541: War Is Already at Hand
Ben, this city isn’t particularly large, but because it has been fortified, its residential and storage capabilities become quite critical.
This city has many warehouses, serving as an important supply base within the Dwarf Steel Bastion, and also acts as a crucial transportation hub.
Due to the fortification, there aren’t many urban residents left; most of the population has been relocated, leaving only a few to provide various services to the military.
In reality, the military cannot operate without civilians. A large number of troops need numerous residents to offer daily supply services to ensure their operations.
Two or three hours ago, four Intruder Attack Aircraft from the Tang Army bombed Ben, dropping bombs in the city outskirts. These bombs destroyed the field airport in the outskirts of Ben and disabled a radar station nearby.
The Dwarf engineering team took immediate action, heading to the suburbs to assist in repairing the now unusable airport, and to check if the radar station was worth repairing.
No one thought there was anything different about this day; everyone believed the Tang people were still far away. They carried shovels and hoes, boarded several trucks, and grandly exited the city.
“They wouldn’t bomb our power plant, would they? I still have work tomorrow,” a dwarf with an armband said, shaking his beard while speaking to a familiar person beside him.
“Who knows. Anyway, the supply of food is plentiful, which is enough for our entire family,” the acquaintance answered, muffledly.
The vehicles soon stopped at the edge of the bombed airport. The road was not very bumpy, obviously because the Tang Army hadn’t had time to damage these small roads.
The dwarfs jumped off the trucks, then looked at the airport ruins with their tools. This sight made them somewhat panicked, as what they saw was terrifying.
They were familiar with this place because they built it. It should have been a flat runway, but now it was unrecognizable.
The Tang Army’s destroyer bombs left craters on the airport runway, and next to these craters were planes destroyed by shrapnel.
Stationed at Ben Airport was a Dwarf attack aircraft troop, which had about 70 planes, including 45 Il-2s and 25 MiG-3 fighter jets.
Now, the vast majority of these planes have been scrapped. Some were still parked in the hangar, but their wings were broken, and their cockpits were filled with shattered glass.
The towering control tower had collapsed, still emitting thick smoke. Several structures specifically prepared for the pilots had also turned into ruins, with colorful posters still visible inside the collapsing walls.
“Damn…” A dwarf carrying a shovel widened his eyes, looking at the broken aircraft by the runway and sighed.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed war could be this cruel. Just a single air raid and a vast airport turned into this state.
“Hurry up! Get to work! We need to clear this place before dark!” The leading officer clapped his hands to get the attention of all civilian volunteers, then loudly reminded, “If you see anything suspicious in the bomb craters, stop immediately and notify the surrounding soldiers! Don’t handle it yourself! Understand?”
This officer had experience with this. He had been transferred from another airport and had seen the power of the Tang Army’s destroyer bombs: these bombs left delayed bombs behind after bombing the airport to disrupt repair work… Simply, simply too dastardly.
Everyone nodded, then grouped apart, led by soldiers and temporarily appointed foremen to begin the clearing work.
Some people started to pick up the plane parts that had fallen around, stacking the broken wings together. Others helped to fill those bomb craters, while some went to the control tower to help extinguish the fire.
Soon, someone discovered the “cluster bombs” left by the Tang Army… They didn’t know what these things really were called, so they just considered them cluster bombs.
Shouts were constant, and several soldiers responsible for clearing these bombs ran around carrying a basket. They were risking their lives, without any bomb disposal technique, just putting unexploded bombs into a basket and dumping them at a specific location…
In general, it’s not a good job, highly dangerous. However, someone has to do it; otherwise, this airport might not be repairable for dozens of days.
When the clearing work was about to reach dinner time, some ragged dwarf soldiers suddenly emerged from the other side of the airport. They were like rabbits driven by hunters, fleeing in panic, some even crashing into the dwarf civilians working to clear the airport.
“Move aside! The Tang Army is attacking!” A dwarf soldier staggered, pushing an bewildered civilian aside, and continued to crawl and scramble forward.
The dwarf civilian, who heard what was shouted but didn’t understand its meaning, stood there blankly, not knowing what to do for a moment.
A tracer bullet came through, cutting through his body like a hot knife cutting into butter. The dwarf civilian shuddered once, then fell straight backward.
“…” Another dwarf holding a shovel nearby, startled by the blood splashed on his face, quickly shrank his neck and ran off, joining the panicked retreating soldiers.
A dwarf machine gun position, which had been hidden on the other side of the airport, suddenly opened fire. The dense sound of machine guns echoed over the open airport.
The previously somewhat quiet place instantly became noisy, like boiling water vigorously rolling.
Unacquainted with such scenes, the civilians immediately panicked. They hadn’t received this kind of training and couldn’t possibly stay calm under gunfire. So they dropped everything and started to flee, becoming the best targets for the bullets coming from behind.
“Ah! Ah!” Terrified by the soldiers dying in front of them, the dwarfs screamed loudly, running frantically. A bullet hit the truck parked beside the runway where they had just passed, leaving a dent.
Soon, a Type 96 tank burst out of the woods, crushing a scrapped MiG-3 fighter jet, and drove onto the airport runway. Its machine gun fired continuously, like a monster from hell.
On the second day of the Tang Army’s landing, under the cover of paratroopers, the vanguard of Tang Country’s 1st Armored Division reached the Dwarf City of Ben.