Chapter 679 07.678: “Trench Battle (Part )”

On the dead silent battlefield of gray and black, the Krieg soldiers in the firing trenches ahead, their eyes penetrating the eyepieces that filtered out all emotions, caught a glimpse of blinding red light.

“Throw grenades! There are enemies there!” Horatio quickly pulled out the microphone of the walkie-talkie from behind the speechless grenadier and shouted loudly to the front-line battle trench like a loud bell.

A platoon leader who was promoted from a soldier received the news and, without saying anything, raised his hand and issued a crisp and clear order.

In an instant, the Krieg soldiers moved quickly. They skillfully reached into the grenade bags on their bodies and took out the long-handled grenades with retro appearance.

Although this grenade looks ordinary, its explosive power is incomparable to that of its ancestors of the same appearance in ancient Terra.

The reason why the Kriegs have continued to use long-handled grenades is closely related to the combat environment they are in.

In a trench that is lower than the target’s position, the long-handled grenade has a unique advantage. It can be thrown farther than the egg-shaped grenade. Whether it is thrown low or high, it can perfectly adapt to the Krieg’s combat environment.

A row of soldiers quickly crouched behind the trench bunker, pulled the safety rope with their nimble fingers, and then threw the grenade towards the position locked by the red mark with amazing accuracy.

boom!
A violent explosion occurred instantly, and a severed hand was thrown into the air by the powerful impact force, and then fell into the trench with a “pop”.

Almost at the same time, artillery shells from both sides whistled down from the gray sky like dense raindrops.

An enemy artillery shell had a strange trajectory, as if it had eyes. It drew a tricky arc in the air and hit a battle trench squarely.

Blood mist rose up instantly, and the thick blood mist spread, making it difficult for Horatio to see what was happening in front of him through the observation mirror.

This attack killed 27 people in a trench on the spot.

However, the shock wave of the shell gradually weakened after reaching the corners on both sides, and the scattered shrapnel was also absorbed by the thick soil.

Although the soldiers on both sides were dizzy from the artillery shells, fortunately it did not hinder the battle.

Suddenly, a row of artillery shells trailing blue smoke came towards the position like meteors.

These shells were completely different from the previous ones. After landing, they pierced into the ground like steel pestles, and thick smoke and dust quickly sprayed out from the tails. In just a moment, they blinded everyone’s sight.

“It’s a hallucinogenic gas bomb!”

The staff officer’s expression changed drastically when he saw this, and he hurriedly shouted, “Colonel! Check your respirator.”

The Krieg soldiers in the front-line trenches reacted quickly and immediately began checking the airtightness of their gas masks.

If they find any damage, they will immediately take out a replacement mask from a waist bag.

It was also at this time that Horatio was finally able to see the faces of these soldiers clearly.

Among them were both men and women, and everyone had a cold and stiff expression. Their skin was so pale that it was almost transparent, and one could even clearly see the blue blood vessels beneath the skin.

What’s even more surprising is that they all look like they are only fifteen or sixteen years old, looking extremely young and with the awkwardness of being on the battlefield for the first time.

“There’s no problem with the airtightness. Staff officer, does this smoke have a hallucinogenic effect?” Horatio frowned and asked after finishing the inspection.

“Yes, a neurotoxin. Once inhaled, it can cause nerve paralysis, hallucinations, and even cannibalism.” The staff officer explained solemnly.

“What a sinister plot. Fortunately, the Kriegs wear respirators at all times.” Horatio snorted.

“Although the respirator can isolate its toxic effects, it will still hinder our shooting line of sight.”

The staff officer held a power saber in his hand, leaned forward slightly, and lay on the sandbags. He stared vigilantly at the thick smoke in front of him and shouted loudly, “Check the bayonet! Check the bayonet! Get the engineer shovel ready! Chainsaw sword!”

For a moment, except for the crisp metal collision sound made by the bayonet recheck, the battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence. The battlefield, which was noisy just now, became particularly quiet at this moment, as if time had stopped at this moment.

Soon, a human figure appeared faintly in the thick blue smoke.

“For the only supreme God of truth!” A fanatical shout instantly broke the brief peace.

The Kriegs reacted quickly, throwing grenades out of the trench.

A barrage of bullets exploded in the barbed wire area, prefabricated shrapnel flew across the battlefield like sharp blades, and shrill screams and painful wails instantly resounded throughout the entire battle line.

A few seconds later, Horatio saw a group of blue-masked rebels stepping on the fallen bodies from the blue smoke, holding bayonets, rushing over with enthusiasm. They pushed each other and jumped into the trench desperately.

But as soon as they landed, they were immediately “warmly welcomed” by the Krieg people.

The soldiers in the standby area had already held their laser guns with bayonets, with the muzzles pointed upwards, aiming at the enemy.

The moment the rebel jumped down, a round of close volley fire was instantly launched, killing the approaching enemy in front of the shooting position.

Many rebels who jumped into the trenches were pierced through the body by sharp bayonets.

(The Kriegs have several Lucius-type lasguns, the main difference is the bayonet, there is the short sword bayonet used by the infantry and the multi-purpose bayonet used by the grenadiers)

As the corpses gradually overwhelmed the Kriegs in the trenches, the rebels who jumped in from behind saw this and thought they had seized the opportunity to break through.

The Krieg soldiers were not afraid at all. They quickly picked up the weapons around them and fought hand-to-hand with the enemies.

At this moment, bayonets, engineer shovels, hand axes, homemade trench weapons, and even hands, feet, and heads, all became their weapons to defeat the enemy.

In this trench with visibility less than five meters and filled with thick smoke and dust, the soldiers were fighting fiercely, and Horatio could hardly see the specific situation at the moment.

[Is this Tzeentch? It seems like it was intentional. Even with a bird’s eye view, all I can see is a long-lasting blue smoke.]
Horatio remembered the settings in Gothic Fleet and discovered that Blue Bird (Tzeentch)’s skill was always fog of war, fog of war, and eternal fog of war.

“Officer of Staff! Mobilize the reserve troops! Prepare to block the communication trench!” Horatio quickly gave the order.

Horatio carefully estimated the width of the trenches. These trenches were three meters wide, and it was impossible for a normal person to jump over such a width.

The standby area is on a reverse slope, the terrain is high and it is impossible to climb up, and there are no reserved shooting holes.

This meant that even if the enemy occupied the trenches, they would not be able to turn around and fire towards the rear.

If the enemy soldiers wanted to infiltrate the rear, they had to go through the communication trench, or risk climbing out of the trench and charging under the firepower of the soldiers in the second trench and the strafing fire from the surface bunkers.

These seemingly simple trenches actually contain a great deal of battlefield knowledge. These are the experiences gained by the Kriegs during the century-long civil war at the cost of countless blood and lives.

There was no need to worry that the smoke would make it difficult to distinguish between friend and foe in the blocked communication trenches, because Krieg would not desert the battlefield at this time. Anyone advancing from the first trench to the rear could only be an enemy.

“Yes, sir!” The staff officer immediately shouted the order: “Three companies on the second line, leave two infantry squads to block the communication trench, and the others support the first trench!”

After receiving the order, the Krieg soldiers moved in unison.

They stood up quickly and held their guns steadily, their tacit understanding seemed to be guided by the Gestalt’s will.

They jumped from their standby positions onto the wooden boards at the bottom of the trench, quickly formed a team, and then rushed forward like a long dragon.

The first trench was now in the midst of a fierce battle.

(End of this chapter)