The Proper Use of an Anti-Aircraft Gun

The north gate of Changjiu Farm. Gunfire erupted suddenly like firecrackers. Whistling bullets tore through the night, and towering plumes of fire ripped across the freezing dark like cornet blasts sounded from hell. "Forward—!" "Rip their guts out with your bayonets! Cut off their heads and turn them into wine jugs!" "Kill them!" "Pillage!" "Tear them to pieces!" The night raid had been exposed. The marauders no longer bothered to hide. Leading the charge was a short-haired man. Drawing a Decurion pistol, he pulled the trigger while shouting wild, wanton cries. Figures crouching in the snow rose one after another like jackals pouncing on prey. Howling like fiends and ghouls, they launched an assault toward the north wall. Battle erupted instantly! Fewer than four guards were on duty atop the concrete wall and the watchtower. Caught completely off guard by the concentrated fusillade, they lost two men in the very first exchange of fire. The other two fared little better, pinned behind cover by the swarming bullets and unable to even raise their heads. A piercing alarm blared inside the farm. The garrison's guard corps seized their weapons immediately and dashed toward their respective combat positions, just as they had practiced countless times during drills. Unlike the "hyenas" hiding among the ruins, these marauders were not only well-trained, but also equipped with Legion weaponry, boasting exceptionally ferocious firepower. Aside from bolt-action Ripper rifles, they carried automatic weapons and even five or six light machine guns! Even though Wrench valiantly led his men onto the wall the instant fighting broke out, facing a surprise attack by over a hundred marauders and a surging tide of firepower still subjected them to immense pressure. Without supporting trenches, a lone wall could never hold back so many enemies. Under cover of the rear line's firepower, a ten-man marauder squad took the lead in crossing the snow-buried trenches, creeping to within twenty meters of the farm's wall base. "Molotovs!" "Throw them!" The short-haired man roared. Behind him, more than a dozen marauders ignited Molotov cocktails and hurled them together toward the three-meter-high concrete wall. With shattering clatters, flames surged into the air. While the Molotovs caused no substantial casualties among the guards on the wall, they still created considerable chaos. This was a customary trick of wasteland marauders. Using Molotov cocktails to sow confusion, they forced defenders to abandon burning cover, shrinking the defenders' tactical space while concentrating forces to strike at weak points in the defense. To a certain extent, the marauders' offensive worked. More and more Molotov cocktails flew onto the wall, severing it into several burning segments. A young guard risked his life to scramble up the tower, taking over for his fallen comrade and setting up a light machine gun to spray the area outside the wall. Yet before many seconds passed, he was taken out by a rocket fired from the darkness. Flames raged atop the watchtower. "Fuck!" Wrench, holding the line at the front of the wall, cursed furiously as he pulled the pin on a wooden-handled grenade and hurled it outward. With a booming blast, snow flew high into the air, and a marauder collapsed on the spot. Yet before the wave-like offensive, the grenade was like a pebble tossed into an ocean, utterly unable to stem the surging tide. A marauder clutching a submachine gun charged up close, pulled a tube off his back, and fired an Iron Fist rocket toward the north gate. The arm-thick projectile blasted a gaping hole clean through the iron gate, but failed to blow it completely open. Seeing the breach fail, the marauders did not give up. They immediately rushed forward to plant demolition charges. The guards on the wall returned fire, dropping two men who had closed in, but were quickly suppressed again by incoming bullets from the distance. "There are too many of them!" A wounded guard leaned against the concrete parapet, his arm soaked in blood. Enduring the pain, he shouted toward his nearby captain, "Sir! They're planting explosives at the gate!" "Can you hit them from your spot?" "I tried... Their firepower is too heavy!" Wrench gritted his teeth, made a split-second decision, and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Everyone fall back!" "Let the beasts inside and fight them here!" Directly inside the north gate of Changjiu Farm lay a construction site, featuring snow-buried brick piles and an unfinished dormitory building. The dormitory had originally been intended to house refugees, but a blizzard had delayed the construction schedule. So far, only the second floor was built, and the exterior walls of the third floor were half-finished. It could not have been more suitable as defensive cover! The moment the words left his mouth, Wrench raised his rifle and fired a burst outside his cover, drawing the machine-gun fire toward himself. Seeing his comrades had already pulled back to the stairwell, he threw his last grenade, engaged his exoskeleton, leapt down from the perimeter wall, and sprinted after his comrades to regroup. Almost at the exact moment the guards withdrew from the wall, a thunderous explosion erupted from the north gate. A towering blast of heat and flame blew the gate entirely away, sending it flying several meters alongside the snow on the ground. Seeing the gate breached, the marauders cheered wildly and charged inside with rifles in hand. It was fortunate that the men on the wall had retreated in time. Had they been even slightly slower and allowed the marauders to flank behind them, everyone on the wall would have become sitting ducks in high perches, cut down where they stood. Having retreated into the apartment building, the guards finally caught a brief breath. Taking advantage of the fact that the marauders had not yet completely rushed in, Wrench immediately organized the thirty-odd remaining guards to establish a new defensive perimeter centered on the apartment building. Some dispersed around the perimeter of the dormitory, while others mounted machine guns at the windows, engaging in a fierce firefight with the marauders storming into the farm. In less than ten minutes, the battle reached a fever pitch. Both sides slaughtered each other along the north wall area of the farm, each leaving behind more than a dozen corpses, their eyes red with bloodlust. Faced with the brutal marauders, the guards resisted tenaciously, their morale holding strong. Yet the grim reality remained: the marauders held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, equipment, and combat experience. Many among them had followed Lion Fang's banner, fighting their way here all the way from central River Valley Province. Along the journey, they had weathered countless battles large and small, burning and destroying innumerable villages. As for the guards stationed here, many were green recruits who had only recently completed review. Their backgrounds varied widely—some recruited from refugees, others from surrounding survivor settlements. Perhaps a few had tasted trial by fire and blood, but the vast majority were stepping onto a battlefield for the first time. This was nothing like lying in a trench shooting at targets. The suffocating murderous aura hit them full in the face; fire burned right beneath their noses, and the pungent stench of gunpowder choked their throats. In the chaos, all they could see were flickering muzzle flashes, making it impossible to tell where people actually were. As more and more marauders surged past the north gate, the guards were forced to contract their perimeter repeatedly, until they had retreated completely into the dormitory building. The outcome seemed to carry no suspense. Barring any surprises, this battle would conclude within minutes. Holding a pair of binoculars, Gray Wolf gazed in the direction of Changjiu Farm, a sneer curling the corner of his lips. "A bunch of weaklings." Victory was arriving even faster than he had anticipated. Having heard that Black Snake had suffered setbacks at the hands of these people twice, he had prepared himself for a bitter struggle. That was why he had drafted meticulous plans, observing outside for an entire day before giving the order to launch tonight's surprise assault. Yet what he had never expected was that once the fighting actually started, he discovered the force standing in front of him was an utter bunch of battlefield greenhorns. At the cost of fewer than ten casualties, his subordinates had effortlessly stormed inside, seizing the perimeter wall and the watchtower. This was supposed to be a siege assault? What a waste of his anticipation! The hyena crouching at his feet bared its teeth excitedly, rumbling a low hissing growl in its throat, a bloodthirsty gleam dancing in its eyes. It smelled the scent of death. It seemed there would be an extra meal tonight! "...How strange. I thought they had at least seventy or eighty men, but going by the gunfire, there are forty at most?" Beside Gray Wolf, a scout draped in a white cloth spoke in a low voice, his eyes filled with bewilderment. He had been a scout for quite some time. While he wouldn't dare claim he could guess the exact number of people in a camp with absolute certainty, his extensive experience had rarely led to an error greater than a factor of two. Standing on the other side of Gray Wolf, a burly brute made no effort to conceal the sneer on his face. Looking at the wall blazing with fire, he clicked his tongue. "And they're all raw recruits! Look at the way they ran—plenty of them probably pissed their pants from fright! Haha!" His name was Wang Tuo, one of Gray Wolf's trusted lieutenants and a mercenary who had joined the Bone Chewer Tribe alongside Gray Wolf back then. Not only was his marksmanship top-notch, he was an Awakened! The scars carved across his muscles were all proof of his ferocity. Watching the brothers sweep over the wall like an unstoppable tide, Wang Tuo rubbed his fists excitedly and looked at Gray Wolf beside him. "Boss, let me go in too!" If he went in late, there wouldn't even be any scraps left to lick! The five ten-man squads kept in reserve had originally been meant to guard against the defenders charging out of the side gate and flanking their rear. Now, however, it seemed the enemy didn't even have enough hands to fill the front line. Detaching forces to flank at this point would be no different from seeking death. It looked like this was wrapping up. Gray Wolf lowered his binoculars. After a moment of cool reflection, he issued his command. "Take a ten-man squad, slip quietly along the eastern flank to their south, and don't let them escape." "Remember, wait until they come out of the gate before opening fire." "Don't kill them all. Keep two alive; I have things to ask them." Hunting down deserters? He was all too good at this kind of feast! "Yes, sir!" Wang Tuo eagerly accepted the order. Without another word, he bounded down the slope, arriving before his troops. That pack of ravenous wolves had long grown impatient, gripping bayonet-fixed rifles and rubbing their fists, their eyes practically boring holes into the south. Looking at these fierce men, Wang Tuo shouted with excitement. "Brothers, follow me!" "Don't let our prey get away!" ... Running away was out of the question. The marauders had already encircled the dormitory building; the guards holding out inside had no way out. Nor did anyone intend to retreat. They had already yielded the north gate. If they gave up this ground too, there would be no reliable cover left to defend, and the marauders would completely overrun the entire farm. This was their final line of defense! After fierce fighting, the marauders had seized control of the side stairs of the dormitory building and hurled a grenade upward. Flames erupted violently! The gunfire from above abruptly ceased. The marauders crouching beside the stairs were about to charge up, yet at the critical moment, gunfire suddenly rang out from the darkness on their flank. "Ah-da-da-da-da-da—!" Tail, having charged from the rear all the way to the front line, sprayed bullets toward the base of the dormitory wall while furiously providing her own mouth sound effects for the gunfire. Bullets flew blindly everywhere. Full-power rifle rounds were terrifying not just for their roar, but also for the flying debris and dust they kicked up as they struck the walls. The marauders about to charge upstairs were startled by the firepower suddenly bursting from the shadows. Thinking reinforcements had arrived, they dared not keep pressing upstairs and scrambled to find cover on the spot, raising their muzzles to return fire at the source. Bullets zipped through the air, practically grazing Tail in the chaos. Quick to react, Sisi yanked the over-eager girl backward by her collar. Almost simultaneously, a dense volley of rounds slammed into the pile of red bricks in front of them, showering the ground with crushed brick fragments. Pinned down by the light machine gun, they couldn't even raise their heads. Hugging her rifle behind cover, Tail grumbled indignantly. "Damn it! If only Tail's Bear were here!" "Sisi thinks that would probably be even worse." Releasing her grip on Tail's collar, Sisi glanced at the map on her VM screen. Just as she was about to think through an attack route, surprise suddenly flashed across her face. "Wait, how could I forget something so important?" Tail whipped her head around toward her. "What is it?" Sisi mused. "Nothing, well... it doesn't matter anyway. Our reinforcements have arrived." "Huh?! That fast?" "Look over there." Seeing Tail's astonished look, Sisi pointed toward the building to the south and continued, "Remember? That's our save point." Although there weren't as many people here as at the outpost, anyone coming to Changjiu Farm to do quests in this weather was basically a combat-class player, if not an outright carry. Just as the front-line battle reached a deadlock, inside the save point on the south side of Changjiu Farm, more than ninety hibernation pods popped open in unison. Amid hissing releases of air, faces poked out one after another from the open pod hatches. Drum Washing Machine: "Fuck my life, I was right in the middle of lunch! Does the dev team not have families???" Battlefield Hype Group: "Hahaha, I was eating too! My family made dumplings. I just finished a plate when I saw people in the group chat screaming that work was up!" I'm the Darkest: "Hurry it up! I'm only halfway through my takeout! Cost me twenty bucks!" Battlefield Hype Group: "Where's Spring? Dog-fucking Spring, hurry up and lead the team!" Commander Spring, busy slipping on his exoskeleton, couldn't help snapping back when he heard that. "Dammit! Is that how the fuck you talk to your father?" "Stop your fucking whining," Battlefield Hype Group rolled his eyes at him, chambering a round into his rifle. "What good is wearing that thing on you? I've never seen you charge forward once." "What the hell do you know!" Commander Spring cursed as he pulled up his trousers and put on his shoes. "If I go down, is the team supposed to rely on you to command?" The gear sat right beside the hibernation pods. Geared up within half a minute, some players had already charged out, while a small portion gathered into squads. Taking minimal time to count squad members, exactly twenty people were organized into two ten-man squads. Commander Spring issued commands decisively. "Group A, follow the Battlefield guy to the front line to trade fire and reinforce the NPCs in the unfinished building. Group B, follow me—we'll stick to the east wall to flank behind them, target the north gate, and cut off their retreat!" "These bastards have no sense of honor, actually copying us with a night raid!" "Now we go show them what real tactical infiltration looks like!" Morale soared among the group. I'm the Darkest in particular accidentally fired two excited shots into the ceiling. "Awoo!" "Let's fuck 'em up!" ... One kilometer north of Changjiu Farm. Listening to the ceaseless gunfire ahead, Gray Wolf pulled out a rusted pocket watch, glanced at it, and frowned slightly. Half an hour had passed since they breached the north gate, and quite some time had elapsed since his fierce lieutenant Wang Tuo set out. By all logic, this battle should have ended long ago. Yet for some reason, the gunfire coming from the front was growing fiercer rather than dying down, showing no sign of winding up. Could reinforcements have arrived? Impossible... It was at least ten kilometers from the urban district of Qingquan City to here, and the snow along the roads reached knee-deep. Even if they had vehicles, they wouldn't be much faster than traveling on two legs. Even assuming they had responded the moment the attack began, a conservative estimate would still require an hour to rush over from the city. And that was assuming they even had reinforcements to spare. People couldn't just drop out of the sky, could they? "Why aren't they done yet?" A faint premonition stirred in Gray Wolf's heart. Battlefield intuition told him that the ten squads that had stormed past the wall might have run into trouble. Raising his binoculars, he peered toward Changjiu Farm. The concrete wall blocked his line of sight, making it impossible to see clearly what was happening inside. Just then, several figures abruptly entered Gray Wolf's field of view. Panic etched across their faces, they were fleeing out through the north gate in disarray. Gray Wolf froze for a moment. When he got a clear look at their faces and gear, his eyes widened so far they threatened to pop from their sockets. Those deserters were none other than his own subordinates. "Boss, things on the front line don't look good..." The scout standing beside him swallowed hard. He had harbored an ominous feeling for a while now, but hadn't dared voice it. Now, that premonition had grown ever stronger. "What are those idiots doing!" Over a hundred men! Against a mere forty green recruits, and they had botched it into such a pathetic mess! Gray Wolf couldn't help cursing under his breath, wishing he could chop off the heads of the leading decurions and feed them to the dogs. *Grrr...* The hyena crouching at his feet suddenly bristled all over, a hissing growl leaking from its bared teeth. Irritated, Gray Wolf had no time to soothe it, offering only a dismissive brush-off. "Just wait. You'll eat in a bit." The hyena whined, biting at his pant leg and tugging backward. Annoyed, Gray Wolf kicked the beast aside and stepped before four of his other confidants. "Take your men forward." "And shoot those two deserters while you're at it." "Yes, sir!" The four decurions acknowledged the order and led their eager marauders charging furiously toward the north gate of Changjiu Farm. Gray Wolf drew a flare gun from his coat and fired a shot into the sky. Chiliarch Lion Fang had personally handed him this flare gun, instructing him to send up the signal the moment the fortress fell, after which reinforcements would arrive in waves. While it was slightly early, he felt the time was close enough. The glittering phosphorus streak arced across the sky, like a bright lantern illuminating the night. Gray Wolf narrowed his eyes toward Changjiu Farm. The two deserters had already been executed, and the forty-odd men were nearing the north gate, preparing to storm inside. Right at that moment, two headlights suddenly pierced the night from the east side of Changjiu Farm, drawing rapidly closer. Spotting the anomaly first, the scout beside him cried out in alarm. "Boss! It's a truck!" Gray Wolf started, snapping his binoculars toward the two lights, only to see a truck barreling across the snow. Wait— Barreling?! What was with that speed?! Only when the truck bobbed and surged closer did Gray Wolf finally see clearly. Beneath the truck's chassis were not tires at all, but two black... tracks?! And the tracks appeared to be made of rubber?! Gray Wolf's face twisted in horror. Especially when he saw what was mounted on the truck's rear bed, sheer dread flooded his eyes. Four thick, long gun barrels were joined together, aimed straight toward the north gate of Changjiu Farm—pointed directly at his marauders on the wall and the forty-odd men who had reached the gate. The truck rolled onto a gentle slope and halted. The slightly elevated quad-mount autocannon on the bed leveled out. The next second— Thick, long tongues of flame erupted! *Thump-thump-thump!* Cannon fire reverberated across the snowy plain. Amber tracer rounds lanced through the night like piercing spears, and within mere breaths, dozens of high-explosive shells rained down upon the snow before the north gate! There was no time to dodge, and nowhere to hide. The forty-odd marauders who had reached the gate were like mosquitoes swatted against a wall. Flesh and blood flew in an instant; before a single scream could leave their throats, they were cut down like wheat under the sweep of high-explosive shells. "No—!" His pupils instantly shot with blood, Gray Wolf's eyes bulged, corners nearly tearing. A despairing cry tore from his hoarse throat, his heart bleeding. Those men were his trusted core. They represented the force he had painstakingly accumulated over months! And now— Everything was turning to ash. The marauders holding the wall in the distance were terrified out of their wits by the sudden firepower, leaping frantically down from the ramparts. The battle turned upside down in an instant. The suddenly frantic gunfire seemed like a final burst of madness. The focal point of the battlefield was pushed back to the north gate. More and more deserters appeared, fleeing through the gate in blind terror. Yet that was only the beginning of their nightmare. This fortress sat isolated on the wasteland, surrounded by endless white snow where even the trenches lay buried. The quad autocannon mounted on the truck had clearly finished reloading. What awaited them would be a massacre! Gazing at the gruesome slaughter in the distance, Gray Wolf felt as if a chunk of ice were lodged in his throat. That bone-deep chill and sense of utter helplessness dragged his mind back to the purgatory he had witnessed in the north. The scout standing beside him trembled all over, stammering in terror. "B-Boss... are we... still going to fight?" Fight? Fight with what? A bitter expression crept across Gray Wolf's face. He looked toward the northwest—to Yumu District, roughly nine kilometers away. That was likely his only chance of survival. No vehicle could traverse the dense woods. As long as he made it through that forest, he would have a shot at returning to Yuanxi Town in the north to regroup with the main army... But then what? Watching the flare slowly drift down from the sky, Gray Wolf looked at the scout beside him. "Head northwest. Pass through the woods and you can get back." The scout froze. "Then... what about you, sir?" Gray Wolf glanced south. "I'll cover your retreat."