96: Chapter 96. Lv.3 Fortress Approaching! Blackrock City-State Besieged on All Sides

Switched the communicator to Zhou Yuan's frequency.

"Chief of Staff Zhou, the latest position of the northern lv.3 fortress."

"City Lord Lu Chen, our radar still cannot detect its signal. Your radar data is my only reference source."

"Then I'll report the coordinates to you in real-time."

"Good."

"Currently, the northern lv.3 is located twenty-three degrees west of true north from The City-State, sixteen kilometers from the northern wall of The City-State, speed fifteen, steadily shifting eastward."

"Received, mapping complete."

"If its route remains unchanged, it will reach the front of the northern wall of The City-State in twenty-two minutes."

"The northern wall only has twenty-four cannons."

Zhou Yuan's voice was very tense.

"Twenty-four against one lv.3, we can't stop it."

"So I'll stop it."

Communicator switched to Lin Xiao.

"City Lord Lin Xiao, how many Patrol Cars can be spared for the north?"

"There are seven on standby in the Docking Area; I'll have them all set out."

"Not enough."

"Even if it's not enough, that's all there is! The remaining Patrol Cars must return to defend with the iron wall!"

"Seven it is then. Have them spread out along an arc five kilometers outside the northern wall, with one-kilometer intervals. When the lv.3 fortress comes over, take turns hitting it and running."

"And you?"

"I'll intercept it head-on."

A low thud came from Lin Xiao's end of the communicator.

That was the sound of The City-State's wall being hit by Ice Thorn's 180mm shells.

"How's the situation at the front?"

"Fourth volley complete. Ice Thorn's main city has advanced to twenty kilometers."

Lin Xiao's voice was mixed with the sound of cannon fire.

"I've started twelve fires on his wall, but they were all extinguished within thirty seconds."

"Strong fire suppression system."

"Yes."

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth.

"My wall was hit by seven of his shells that penetrated the outer layer, and five ribs of the second layer were broken."

"Can you still hold on?"

"I can hold. At a distance of twenty kilometers, the penetration rate is less than four percent, but he's accelerating closer."

"His penetration rate will double once he gets within ten kilometers."

"I know."

Lin Xiao let out a breath.

"So I need to take out at least one lv.3 before he gets within ten kilometers."

"I'll take the one to the north. What about the one to the south?"

"The one to the south is moving slowly. I'll use the cannons on the southern wall to stall it for now."

"Stall it for how long?"

"After the iron wall arrives, let Zhao Tiezhu to deal with it."

"The iron wall still needs an hour and a half."

"The lv.3 to the south won't reach my wall within an hour and a half. It's taking a long detour, and its speed is only twelve."

"Alright, leave the north to me."

The communicator cut off.

Lu Chen glanced at the radar screen.

"Northern lv.3 fortress: distance fourteen kilometers, speed fifteen."

He maintained the vehicle's speed at sixty kilometers.

In two hundred and thirty-three seconds, it would enter the radar's precise detection range of three kilometers.

Before that, he needed to make a judgment.

What was the standard configuration of a lv.3 fortress?

The iron wall was a lv.3.

He remembered the iron wall's data clearly.

Nearly a hundred meters long, over thirty meters wide, ten 105mm main guns, Forged Armor, thickness unknown, but 105mm shells could penetrate Lv.2 armor within three hundred meters.

Polaris's Angled Deflection Armor completely deflected Lv.2 and below, but only reduced damage for Lv.3.

This meant 105mm shells hitting Polaris would not be bounced off.

They would be weakened, but not bounced off.

There was a risk of penetration.

Lu Chen tapped his fingers on the steering wheel twice.

He couldn't tank a head-on 105mm volley.

He had to find an angle.

Sides, rear, joints.

Where were the weaknesses of a lv.3 fortress?

He pulled up all his observational memories regarding the iron wall.

There were gaps between the welded ribs on both sides of the wall, a structural seam where the chassis connected to the wall, engine exhausts at the rear, and gaps between the rotating bases of the turrets and the wall surface.

These were universal structural weaknesses.

But the construction craftsmanship and maintenance status of every lv.3 were different.

Ice Thorn's fortress had survived being crushed by the Iron Hoof Legion.

Surviving meant it had taken hits.

Taking hits meant it had been repaired in some places.

Repaired areas were weaknesses.

"System, load the third round of fragmentation grenade."

"[Consumed 50 Truth Points. fragmentation grenade: 3 rounds of 36 pre-loaded. Current balance: 800 points.]"

"Lin Wan, take two pieces of meat from the cold storage and put them in the pot to boil."

"Now?"

"Now. Have something hot to eat before the battle."

"Okay."

Lin Wan ran from the plantation area to the cold storage, took out two Frozen Beast Meat Bricks and threw them into the iron pot. Hot water from the purifier was poured in, and the meat broth bubbled in the pot.

Lu Chen picked up his thermos and took a sip of water.

The light spot on the radar screen was pulsing.

Distance to the northern lv.3 fortress: eleven kilometers.

In eight minutes, it would enter the precise detection range.

He tuned the communicator to Zhao Tiezhu's frequency.

"Battalion Commander Zhao."

"Here."

Zhao Tiezhu's gruff voice was mixed with the roar of the iron wall's engine.

"How far is the iron wall from The City-State?"

"A little over forty kilometers, traveling at full speed. Estimated arrival in one hour and forty minutes."

"Too slow. Can you turn on the supercharger?"

"supercharger? The iron wall's supercharger hasn't been maintained in a month. If it malfunctions after turning it on, it's over."

"If you don't turn on the supercharger, the battle will be nearing its end by the time you reach The City-State."

Zhao Tiezhu was silent for two seconds.

"I'll try."

The communicator cut off.

On the radar screen, the light cluster of the northern lv.3 grew brighter and brighter.

Nine kilometers.

Eight kilometers.

Lu Chen served a bowl of the meat broth from the iron pot.

He finished it in three gulps and put the bowl back by the pot.

"Lin Wan, you have a bowl too."

"Okay."

Lin Wan squatted in the corner of the plantation area with the bowl, taking small sips of the meat broth.

The constant twenty-degree air in the cabin mixed with the steam from the meat broth, creating a world apart from the roar of the hundred and twenty cannons on the wall overhead.

The radar scan line rotated once more.

Seven kilometers.

Six kilometers.

Five kilometers.

Four kilometers.

Countdown to entering the three-kilometer precise detection range.

Lu Chen reduced the vehicle's speed from sixty to forty.

Can't rush in too fast.

He needed to see the opponent's full appearance first.

Three kilometers.

On the radar screen, that light cluster turned into a clear heat source outline.

Rectangular, about one hundred and twenty meters long and forty meters wide.

One size larger than the iron wall.

Consistent with what Zhou Yuan had said before.

He saw the details of the heat source distribution.

Front: Two dense heat sources, the engine groups.

Middle: A dozen small heat source points arranged along the top of the wall, the gun positions.

Rear: A scattered heat source, the exhaust system and auxiliary power.

Middle section of the left wall: An exceptionally bright heat source point.

That point was three times brighter than the surrounding gun position heat sources.

What was it?

Lu Chen's finger paused for a beat on the control lever.

That exceptionally bright spot was in the lower-middle section of the left wall, at a different installation height than the usual gun positions. The gun positions were at the top of the wall, while that bright spot was in the middle.

A repaired location.

The metal used during welding repairs has a different thermal conductivity than the original armor, resulting in a brightness difference in heat source detection.

That was a repair weld.

In other words, the middle section of the left wall of that lv.3 fortress had been damaged.

Left behind when the Iron Hoof Legion crushed it.

A weakness.

Lu Chen's expression was blank, his gaze locked onto the screen.

"City Lord Lin Xiao, I've found its weakness."