Chapter 67: A Beautiful Scenic Line

As time passed.

After armored vehicles and military troop transports appeared one after another, mechanized battle tanks equipped with heavy machine guns arrived.

In the end.

The earth shook, the ground roared.

Reporters and anchors present could all feel the ground trembling slightly, the sound of heavy metal dragging rolling in.

Looking back, everyone instantly became tense and terrified.

Metal tracks turned, driving them forward.

Those were armored vehicles, equipped tanks.

The military was deploying troops.

Not just troops, but powerful military weapons were also deployed.

Judging by the situation, the entire First Division's forces had been pressed forward.

"Is this going to be a war?!" someone in a car stuck in traffic on the highway screamed, their face horrified.

The words had barely fallen.

Boom!!!

A thunderous roar, like spring thunder suddenly rising.

On the outskirts of Higashi-Ojima, countless people saw the direction of Higashi-Ojima, where fire exploded, blooming into the sky, illuminating Higashi-Ojima's pitch-black night.

Many screamed, their expressions panicked.

This was not some firecracker exploding.

Firecrackers do not have this kind of power; only artillery shells possess this kind of momentum!

Connecting the military's deployment, one could imagine the military was firing artillery shells, and powerful ones at that.

The flames shot up into the sky.

Even from far away, it could be seen.

That firelight was like the flame igniting a fuse, starting the war, firing the first shot of the conflict.

Boom!!

Boom!!

Deafening roars, one after another, like firecrackers, exploding across this sky.

Above Higashi-Ojima, flames rose everywhere, blinding and dazzling.

The red light, like the sun or flames, yet it could not warm the heart at all; this firelight was cold, making people tremble, causing chills to run through their bodies.

"Quick!! Quick, go in, stomp the accelerator to the floor, rush over with all power!!"

On the outer perimeter of the blockade, a Japanese officer of high rank stuck his head out of a military vehicle, shouting at the tanks and battle tanks behind him, his voice filled with urgency, hoarse and desperate.

As an insider, the Japanese officer knew the situation in Higashi-Ojima.

He knew deeply what it meant once the artillery shells were fired.

This meant the situation was critical, brooking no delay; it meant the situation was escalating, heading toward a direction that could not be controlled.

Military emergency!!

The border area between Higashi-Ojima Hall Village and Higashi-Ojima City Village.

Scattered houses and floors, some broken, some collapsed; not a single building was intact, a scene of chaos, with flames burning in all directions.

This area was burning in a sea of fire.

Thick smoke rolled, flames overflowed wildly.

Looking at this desolate ruin and sea of fire, one could not imagine that this place was still prosperous this morning, with skyscrapers standing in rows, filled with laughter and joy.

A tragic scene, completely unrelated to any sign of prosperity.

At this moment.

On the outskirts of Higashi-Ojima near the blockade, more than ten kilometers away from the war zone, inside a building, a group of reporters and anchors appeared.

For fame, to capture an exclusive scoop, under the constant pressure from TV station executives, using various means, exhausting every method, they finally entered the blockade zone and found a high-rise building where they could film the battle zone through high-magnification cameras.

"Friends in the audience, I am risking my life to broadcast to you; send some gifts. To get in here, I not only risked my life but also spent a lot of money and used many connections to get in."

As that anchor spoke, he pointed the high-magnification camera at the distant scene.

Red, the view was a sea of flames shooting to the sky; buildings burned, like giant flame gods, emitting wailing roars before collapsing with a crash.

The scene of the battle zone, like a fiery purgatory, exploded in the viewers' eyes.

【Holy crap! Anchor, are you sure you're filming Higashi-Ojima? And not some Middle Eastern region?!】

【Oh my God, what the hell is this beast attack!】

【Stop talking, I believe it now, what a 'beast attack'.】

【Don't ask anything; if you ask, it's because this beast is terrifyingly powerful. I guess the beast is probably a Charizard.】

【What are you still standing there for? Anyone catching Squirtle, hurry and bring your Squirtle to put out the fire.】

【Tsk tsk tsk, such a huge fire; could this be a monster that ran out from the Supernatural world? Hahaha】

【Oh my grandmother Amaterasu Omikami, is the US fighting a war on our soil?】

Thick smoke pressed down the sky, like lead clouds, making people feel oppressed, their hearts heavy.

The camera moved, revealing figures soaring in the sky above that were familiar to military otaku in the live stream: the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jets produced domestically in Japan.

Looking at the ground, heavy tanks of massive tonnage were driven along the ruined city streets, their dark cannon barrels aimed at the sea of fire.

And beside the tanks, a batch of battle tanks arrived side by side, equipped with Gatling guns on top, with Self-Defense Force soldiers on both sides holding powerful machine guns, and others carrying shoulder-fired rocket launchers.

At this moment.

At this moment.

"Open fire!!"

"Open fire for me!!"

"Full-scale fire!!"

In the combat zone, amidst the roars, orders were constantly issued.

The next instant.

This place seemed to have gone mad.

Deafening cannon fire erupted, its momentum shaking heaven and earth, deafening to the point of bursting the ears.

The cannon barrels roared in unison.

Armor-piercing shells and heavy artillery rounds fired and exploded in a barrage.

Above the sky, armed helicopter machine guns poured down fire; fighter jets either launched or dropped missiles, all the most powerful, largest-caliber missile firepower.

Everyone felt their ears would go deaf; painfully covering their ears, the roaring and ringing sounds made them wish to tear off their own ears, wanting to abandon the function of hearing.

Flames filled the sky.

Military enthusiasts were terrified, their eyes sharp.

They recognized that those missiles and shells were not for area suppression, but for pinpoint powerful strikes, used to forcibly assault and destroy the most terrible and sturdy things.

"This is not hunting beasts!! What exactly are they fighting?!"

The reporter screamed in terror.

What kind of beast requires the strongest armor-piercing shells? What beast has skin and flesh so tough that shells and armor-piercing rounds are needed to penetrate it?

None! Absolutely none!!

Just an instant.

A ten-li sea of fire rose up a magnificent mushroom cloud; the flames were like a volcanic eruption, exploding upward, filling the sky in all directions.

The building was wrapped in flames, already unbearable; under the impact of the artillery fire, it collapsed into pieces. The originally ruined combat zone became even more ruined, desolate, and dilapidated...

"Fire!!"

"Without my order, no one is to stop for me!"

An officer with the rank of Captain roared; he stood on a tank at the very front line, holding a Gatling gun.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Three black, thick barrels spun at high speed; finger-long bullets poured down crazily, turning into three wild fire dragons, blasting toward the flames.

And beneath his feet, spent casings had already piled up.

The artillery fire bombarded for a full five minutes, never stopping once during that time.

Inside the live stream, there was a deathly silence.

Reporters and anchors stood stunned and terrified, utterly shocked; countless people's teeth chattered.

Now, they finally understood that tonight's blockade of Higashi-Ochiai must involve a secret, major event, an event that would spark a war.

【Is it dead?】

"Has the matter ended?"

From the dead-silent live stream and the building, bullet comments and voices successively emerged.

At this moment, not a single person doubted; even those who knew nothing about the military believed the military had already destroyed the target.

That was five minutes of non-stop artillery assault.

One could not imagine what kind of beast or person could survive such terrifying firepower; even the hardest steel and alloys in the world should have been blasted into fragments.

Everyone thought this.

And the next instant.

Hiss!

As if a hundred years of tree growth were condensed into one second, the sea of fire churned; countless black, branch-like things shot out crazily, blasting toward the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jets and armed helicopters in the sky.

Countless people were stunned.

Just moments ago, the fighter jets that had been majestic and sweeping the entire field were now like birds startled by a bowstring, frantically dodging; yet they could not escape their fate of destruction. Like thin paper, they were pierced by the black branches, easily torn apart, and exploded in the sky.