115: Tank cluster artillery fire

With hundreds of thousands of zombies reduced to ashes in last night's frenzied artillery saturation and the hellscape of thermobaric bomb, the number of Jiang Xin's hero badge skyrocketed like a geyser! It directly broke the 600 mark! The cold numbers glimmered with a light that made one's heart surge with excitement.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Xin immediately began to "spend" this fortune:

400 hero badge were used to promote the Flametrooper and Tesla Trooper of the Mecha Unit, and 96 hero badge were used to promote 12 Heavy Infantry who had already reached the three-star level!

Thus, the Red Alert Legion's Mecha Unit truly became a Mecha Unit worthy of the name! It now possessed:

20 destroyer mechs (Heavy Infantry)

20 blaze mechs (Flametrooper)

20 thunderbolt mechs (Tesla Trooper)

A terrifying force composed of 60 mechs had taken shape!

The vast preset tank position outside the east gate of Lujiang Base.

"All units pay attention! Enter the designated firing positions! Calibrate main gun azimuth and elevation angles! Target area: the leading cluster of the Zombie Tide on Hongshan Avenue!" Chen Hao's rough and powerful voice rang out in the cockpit of every tank via the encrypted vehicle radio. He held up his binoculars, gazing at the black shadows vaguely squirming on the distant horizon.

The engines roared with a low growl, and the heavy tracks crushed the soft, scorched earth. 40 steel behemoths—the sharp-lined grizzly tank and the more massive, heavily armored rhino heavy tank—drove steadily and precisely into their numbered firing positions like mobile fortresses.

"Vehicle 1 (grizzly tank), in position! Data calibration complete!"

"Vehicle 2 (rhino heavy tank), in position! Fire control system locked!"

"Vehicle 3..."

...

Reports sounded one after another in the communication channel, steady and capable. The gunners were fully focused, eyes glued to the sights, fingers hovering over the firing buttons; the loaders had already chambered the first high-explosive grenade, muscles tense, ready for the next reload at any moment. The tank commanders waited calmly for orders.

Time ticked by second by second. The black shadows on the distant horizon became clearer and clearer, finally converging into an endless, surging black wave! The roars rolled in like muffled thunder, and the earth trembled slightly under the trampling of countless footsteps!

"Targets within range!" The observer's voice carried a hint of excitement.

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Hao's eyes as he slammed the intercom button, his voice like a thunderclap: "All units attention! Rapid fire, one round! Fire!"

The order was like lighting a fuse!

"Boom!!!" "Boom!!!" "Boom——!!!"

Forty tank guns roared with an earth-shattering sound simultaneously! The muzzles spewed scorching flames several meters long, and the massive recoil made the tens-of-tons-heavy hulls jerk violently! Forty high-explosive grenades, accompanied by ear-piercing shrieks, cut through the dawn sky like death's invitation, smashing precisely into the surging vanguard of the Zombie Tide!

"Boom! Boom! Boom——!!!" A series of deafening explosions burst forth within the Zombie Horde! Massive fireballs rose into the air, and the shockwaves, carrying lethal shrapnel and scorching heatwaves, expanded violently in a ring! The zombies at the center of the explosions were instantly torn to shreds and vaporized; wherever the shockwaves reached, swathes of zombies were harvested as if by an invisible scythe, limbs severed, torsos shattered, and filthy black blood and visceral fragments splattered across the sky! With just one volley, a huge, bloody gap was forcibly torn into the vanguard of the Zombie Tide! Tens of thousands of zombies were reduced to ashes!

However, the madness of the Zombie Tide far exceeded imagination! The subsequent zombies trampled over the remains of their companions, ignoring the hellish scene ahead, still roaring and pushing, fearlessly continuing to charge toward Lujiang Base!

"Echelon fire! Maintain fire density! Hit them hard!" Chen Hao's voice remained clear amidst the explosions.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The artillery fire was uniform, denser, and more lethal! The 85mm guns of the grizzly tank emitted a continuous roar, while the 120mm heavy guns of the rhino tank produced a dull, more devastating boom! Artillery shells fell into the Zombie Horde like raindrops, each explosion raising a storm of blood and gore! The remains of the zombies were repeatedly tossed, torn, and scorched in the continuous explosions! The air was filled with an impenetrable smell of gunpowder, burnt odors, and nauseating stench of corpses!

"20 rounds of bombardment complete! Cease fire!" Looking at the ammunition consumption and barrel temperature data on his tactical tablet, Chen Hao decisively ordered, "All units! Turn on the barrel air cooling system! Stand by in place! Check ammunition reserves! Await orders!"

The position was instantly enveloped by the loud "buzzing" sound of large fans. Inside the specially made cooling sleeves on the tank gun barrels, high-speed airflow rushed rapidly over the scorching barrels, and white steam mixed with heat rose up. The loaders and some gunners leaned wearily against the vehicle cabins to catch their breath, sweat soaking through their combat uniforms. The tank commanders, however, still observed the battlefield vigilantly.

Two hours later, when the last wisp of forced cold air stopped, a thick layer of charred zombie remains, resembling a mudflat, had piled up in front of the position. At least 300,000 zombies had fallen under this continuous baptism of artillery fire! The offensive momentum of the Zombie Tide finally showed a visible sluggishness, as if a surging tide had crashed into an immovable reef, becoming chaotic and weak.

The dawn's light finally pierced through the thick smoke and dark clouds, casting golden rays upon the towering walls of Lujiang Base. Not a single one of the million zombies in the frenzied attack had managed to get close to the majestic walls of Lujiang Base.

Although the residents who had not slept all night had red-rimmed eyes, their faces were filled with indescribable excitement and pride. They had truly witnessed how a million zombies headed toward destruction in this torrent of steel and fire!

However, the atmosphere in the command room had not completely relaxed. Jiang Xin stood before the giant holographic sand table, his brows slightly furrowed. Radar scans showed that the number of remaining zombies in Lujiang City was still astonishing, approaching two million! But their movements had changed.

"The Zombie Horde has stopped its concentrated assault on the east side..." Jiang Xin pointed at the sand table, his voice carrying a hint of amusement, "They have started to disperse on a large scale... Look here, here, and here..." His finger traced several longer roads leading to the west, south, and north sides of the base, "They want to take the long way around, attacking from all four directions simultaneously to form an encirclement?"

"Heh, they actually know how to split their forces for an encirclement to avoid being wiped out by concentrated firepower?" Beside him, Zhang Long's eyes glinted with a playful light, "This Corpse King... is a bit 'smarter' than we expected."