Chapter 1627: Chapter 1544: We Are Great Tang Paratroopers
“What exactly happened? How could the Tang Army appear near Ben?” In Ben’s City Hall, a Dwarf General angrily questioned the officers around him.
They had just received accurate information that near a factory outside the city, Tang Army tanks had appeared, and Ben’s defense line was crumbling or had already collapsed.
“No one can say for certain, it’s just that their combined infantry and tank operations were too well-coordinated, and our defense line couldn’t withstand a single hit.” The officer helplessly answered the General’s question.
The officers of the Ice Cold Empire couldn’t guess that the Tang Army could mount high-caliber rockets on helicopters to easily destroy bunker fortifications, nor could they anticipate that a large deployment of anti-aircraft guns would be decimated under the Tang Army’s fierce aerial assaults.
Those concealed anti-aircraft gun emplacements had been marked by the Tang Army since their construction, and even if they were camouflaged later, they couldn’t escape the detection of the Tang Army’s various precision observation equipment.
Frankly speaking, once night falls, the temperature of the weapons and the surrounding environment are simply not the same, making it impossible for the Dwarves to hide so many scorching cannon barrels.
Having lost a significant number of anti-aircraft guns, the Tang Army’s helicopters operated unimpeded on the battlefield. These helicopters had incredibly strong destructive capabilities, and their ability to hover in the air made their suppressive power unmatched by fixed-wing aircraft.
Helicopters facing dense ground-based anti-aircraft fire were not outdated but needed stronger protection from the Air Force.
As long as these helicopters could keep hovering in the sky, the Tang Army’s advance wouldn’t slow down at all.
There were too many Dwarf defensive structures destroyed by rockets, grenades, and individual weapons. Those bunkers, which had been highly anticipated, essentially only served to slightly delay the Tang Army’s advance.
Originally, General Moss had hoped these bunkers could serve as strongholds and hold out for a few days, luring the Tang Army into a tough battle.
But now, these fire points were practically useless; within seconds, any Dwarf soldier inside who dared to fire would be obliterated.
In one or two minutes, the Tang country’s heavy firepower would engulf these exposed defensive works, and the defense line composed of Dwarf soldiers, deprived of the cover of these bunkers, would be as fragile as paper.
The reaction speed of both sides wasn’t even on the same level, and on the Dwarves’ side, towards the end, even soldiers firing back were scarce.
Everyone was busy surrendering because they truly didn’t want to fight against monsters: the diversity and power of the bombs dropped by those Tang Army planes were enough for the Dwarves to consider the Tang people as monsters.
If they surrendered too slowly, they might be directly killed, so the Dwarf soldiers along the route either retreated in panic or raised their hands in surrender. After a day and night of fierce attacks, the Tang Army easily approached the crucial middle section of the Dwarf defense line, Ben.
“Continue to resist using the city? Have the troops enter civilian residences, at all costs… hold for one day! You know, we’re surrounded by allies on all sides; as long as we stall the Tang Army, reinforcements will quickly arrive.” The Mayor of Ben still wanted to make a last stand.
Originally, the Ice Cold Empire’s Dwarves also used a City Lord system, but later learned from the Great Tang, changing the title of City Lord to the more dignified Mayor.
Unfortunately, due to the deep-rooted nobility system, those serving as Mayors were still the renowned local nobility, and the Mayor’s authority remained largely unchanged.
“Sir, I can’t contact the command of two infantry divisions right now.” The General shook his head helplessly and explained, “The troops to the north of the city can still be communicated with, but there’s no news from the south; chaos has already spread, and I can’t make judgments or give any orders.”
As the commander of the city’s defense, he clearly knew Ben wasn’t prepared for defense. The warehouses here stored various supplies, and everywhere were officers’ families and civilian personnel.
This place had always been used as a reserve warehouse and supply distribution node, and it simply couldn’t function for combat; the entire process of preparing for battle required time, but it was already too late.
The Dwarven officials in City Hall were in chaos; some wanted to leave, while others prepared to stay on duty, documents were scattered on the ground, with no one concerned about confidentiality matters anymore.
The haste was such that no one even ordered the burning of documents, nor ordered security in the vicinity of City Hall; everything was still in the state of a day ago, and even the broken windows from the bombing weren’t repaired.
“There’s news that the Tang Army has entered the city, and some say they’ve seen human infantry in the warehouse district.” An officer walked over, bringing the latest intel he had gathered: “There’s no reliable word, and the 2nd brigade on the south still has no news.”
“Damn… how did it become like this…” The Dwarven Mayor complained, and then saw his distant subordinate push the door open and walk in.
This City official hurriedly walked over, reporting that their communications remained severely problematic: “The phone doesn’t work, radio interference is too great, and we can’t receive any replies.”
In the outer room, while guarding the door, one could hear someone grabbing the phone and loudly questioning: “Hello! Hello! Speak clearly! Explain what ‘white flag’ means! Hello! Hello?”
Soon, the door was pushed open again, and an officer walked in, quietly reported to his superior: “Someone saw a white sheet being hung in the south; I don’t know if it’s true… The news isn’t confirmed…”
“What?” The Dwarf general, still unclear whether the Tang Army had entered the city, frowned and looked at his subordinate, “White sheet? What’s going on?”
“Bang!” Just as the room descended into chaos, a crisp gunshot rang out from outside the window. Everyone froze for a moment, then instinctively looked out the window.
A 96 Main Battle Tank had knocked down the courtyard wall, crushed a car wrecked during the air raids, and stood motionless in the courtyard of City Hall.
The people inside the room hurriedly stepped back, as if that would make them safer. Then, no one came to report anymore because the door was pushed open, and fully armed Tang Army Paratroopers rushed in. After killing a few officers reaching for their waist guns, the scene suddenly fell silent.
“We are Great Tang Paratroopers!” Xiang Ziyu kicked away the pistol beside a corpse and coldly said.