Chapter 238 : For the Empress!!!
Chapter 238: For the Empress!!!
The dense saturation of bunker-busting bombs had swept across the battlefield, causing large sections of the Church’s defensive positions to collapse. Following that, bombers carrying conventional bombs released a dense barrage of standard explosives, beginning indiscriminate bombardment over the beachhead positions.
All three defensive lines of the Church suffered the same treatment. At the same time, the battleships and cruisers on the sea advanced into the precise firing range of their main guns and began coordinated salvos.
The thunderous roar of naval artillery and bomb explosions echoed across the entire battlefield, completely drowning out the shouts and wails of the Church soldiers, turning the area into a hell of firepower.
The fighter squadrons that followed lowered their altitude, conducting close-range strafing runs along the winding trench networks, shredding the Church soldiers hiding within into fragments of flesh scattered in all directions.
As large numbers of transport ships opened their hatches, various medium and large landing craft, packed densely with Alliance soldiers, surged toward the coastline.
The battleships’ main gun fire continuously extended forward, clearing the attack lanes.
On the landing craft, squad leaders repeatedly warned the silent soldiers around them:
“Don’t block the front ramp! Make way for the heavy-armored comrades, or you’ll be the first to be taken down!”
“Keep your eyes on the front at all times! If there are no heavy-armored soldiers shielding you, don’t cluster together! Groups of five are easy targets, but a single person won’t be targeted immediately!”
“There’s no cover below! Move as fast as possible in a half-crouch through the shallow water to the beachhead! If you’re not in the firing line, crawl when necessary!”
“Don’t be afraid—fear will lead you to death faster! Don’t try to jump off the sides of the landing craft. Your heavy gear and Exoskeleton Armor will drown you!”
As the shoreline drew closer, the Church’s artillery and machine gun magic began their counterattack. The foremost heavy landing craft were constructed with hardened materials and powered by large-scale magitech cores, resembling armored shells—more warships than landing boats.
After several failed attempts to destroy them, the Church commanders decisively shifted their targets, pouring their firepower onto the densely packed smaller landing craft at mid-range.
Many landing craft, unable to withstand concentrated fire, lost their shields and exploded instantly. The soldiers inside had virtually no chance of survival.
Yet more landing craft pressed forward through the intense barrage, reaching the shallow waters. From the foremost heavy landing craft disembarked heavily armored troops clad in full mecha.
They planted their front-facing, cone-studded shields into the sand, covering most of their upper bodies. The Gatling autocannons mounted on their shoulders unleashed torrents of fire, sweeping indiscriminately across the entire beachhead.
Behind them, more landing craft lowered their ramps, revealing soldiers inside. Troops wearing lightweight mass-produced Exoskeleton Armor took cover behind the standing mecha soldiers.
The five-meter-tall mecha soldiers unfolded one-meter-wide steel plates they carried, using them as frontal shields against the storm of bullets.
Although they still could not withstand direct hits from artillery shells and magic, the firepower of the Church soldiers’ Bolt-action Rifles, heavy machine guns, and light artillery had been suppressed to the minimum.
The Alliance’s rapid advancements in chemical etching techniques had enabled mass production of magitech modules, anti-gravity magic arrays, and mechanical bodies.
All heavy mecha now incorporated three layers of anti-gravity arrays internally, reducing combat weight by 30% and lowering energy consumption, greatly enhancing their terrain adaptability.
This fusion of ancient and modern tactics significantly reduced casualties during the Alliance’s beach assault. However, within a short time, the three beachheads still suffered tens of thousands of casualties combined.
As the Church deployed new weapons, more and more heavy mecha were destroyed—or pinned to the beach like stakes.
It was a magical weapon that functioned like a giant ballista. Each volley launched a high-speed anti-magic spear. The spearheads ignored the external magic shields of the mecha and pierced directly into the inner armor, the terrifying kinetic force easily punching large holes through them.
While such damage was not fatal to a five-meter-tall mecha itself, many pilots inside were instantly killed, their bodies torn apart by the spears.
As Alliance soldiers advanced at all costs, clearing space, more medium landing ships continuously surged onto the beachhead. Numerous light tanks rolled off the landing craft onto the sand, opening fierce fire against the Church positions.
At that moment, the Church’s well-hidden heavy artillery finally revealed itself, beginning bombardment of the beachhead. Shells rained down, creating waves of blood and destruction, while medium and large magic towers unleashed repeated volleys of combined offensive spells.
Lives on both sides were being harvested at an astonishing rate. Severed limbs and chunks of flesh littered the ground alongside destroyed tanks and mecha.
The vanguard troops soon broke through the obstacles and reached the reverse slope, gaining a brief moment to catch their breath—only to be cut down by machine gun fire emerging from concealed, inconspicuous openings.
Piercing screams and agonized cries filled the air.
“Medic!!!”
“There are enemies below here! Clear them out with grenades!”
“Where are the flamethrower troops? Get them here now!!!”
To achieve maximum lethality from elevated firing positions, reverse slopes were unavoidable.
The Church’s solution had been to construct fortified underground troop shelters beneath these slopes, with firing ports for outward attacks.
However, once these fortifications opened fire, they inevitably exposed themselves. Their narrow firing slits also provided poor visibility, and Alliance soldiers eliminated them one by one using grenades and rocket launchers.
Some unfortunate defenders encountered flamethrower troops carrying tanks of Solidified Gasoline. From fifteen meters away, high-pressure nozzles sprayed long streams of fire directly into the firing ports.
The incendiary fuel splashed into the confined shelters, and horrifying screams echoed from within—agonizing cries that sometimes lasted dozens of seconds, far more brutal than cremation.
As fighter squadrons continued diving and strafing overhead, a new wave of fighters was already appearing on the distant horizon.
The overall commander of Operation Overlord had no intention of delaying. Wave after wave of relentless assaults pressed forward, accepting any level of casualties to rapidly seize the beachhead defenses and drive straight toward the three Super Fortresses.
At the same time, the airborne divisions had already arrived above Lezhsk State.
Inside the aircraft cabin, Sergei, the Company Commander, pressed his headset and listened carefully before shouting to the soldiers inside:
“All right! Brothers of Company E, get ready! We’ve reached the target area—prepare to jump immediately!”
“Remember, once you land, locate the nearest beacon immediately, move toward it, and complete your armor-up as quickly as possible. Then regroup via radio frequency—understood?!”
“Understood!!!”
“For the Empress!”
“For the Empress!!!”
“Open the hatch!!!”