Chapter 144: Perfect Ambush Battle

Lu Province Field Army's First and Third Divisions slowly advanced in the dim light before dawn. A massive force of over twenty thousand soldiers marched along the official road of Shencheng West Suburb, their columns stretching several kilometers.

Division Commander Xiao Yunlong rode on horseback, squinting his eyes toward the distant outline of Shen City. Shen City, shrouded in morning mist, loomed faintly like a sleeping giant.

"In two more hours we'll reach our designated position." The chief of staff came over and whispered a report: "The Fifth Division has already shifted south according to plan, preparing to form a pincer attack."

Xiao Yunlong nodded, secretly pleased. They were well prepared for this operation; intelligence showed the Fourth Bureau's main forces had been tied down on the northern front, leaving Shen City's defenses empty. If they quickly seized several strategic points in Shencheng West Suburb, they could cut off the Fourth Bureau's supply line.

"Pass the order, speed up the march." Xiao Yunlong commanded, "I want to reach the target area before the sun fully rises."

The troops began to accelerate forward. Soldiers carrying heavy equipment stepped in unison, pressing ahead. In the morning mist, their silhouettes resembled a giant dragon, winding along the roads outside Shen City.

Xiao Yunlong looked at his troops, his heart full of confidence. The First Division was the elite of the Lu Province Army, well equipped and well trained. The soldiers wore uniform uniforms, carrying Lanyang-made rifles, with bayonets and hand grenades at their waists. Each battalion was equipped with four Czech light machine guns and two Maxim heavy machine guns, giving considerable firepower. The division's artillery regiment also had twelve 75mm field guns and twenty-four mortars.

At that moment, a cavalryman came galloping from afar, the horse's hooves sounding urgent, the animal's breath forming white vapor in the morning mist.

"Report, division commander! Forward scouts have detected an anomaly! Large traces of camouflage on the western hill!" The cavalryman dismounted, knelt on one knee, and reported.

Xiao Yunlong frowned: "What kind of camouflage traces?"

"Not clear; it looks like large equipment covered with camouflage netting. The scouts were driven off by gunfire as soon as they spotted it. Two scouts were hit, one killed, one wounded." The cavalryman's voice was tense: "The shooting was extremely accurate, at least five hundred meters away."

Xiao Yunlong's heart tightened. Could the intelligence be wrong? Had the Fourth Bureau set an ambush here? He lifted his gaze to the western hill, shrouded in morning mist, vague and indistinct, unable to make out details.

"Order the troops to heighten alert and prepare for battle." Xiao Yunlong had just issued the command when dozens of orange-red flashes suddenly appeared on the distant hill, like demonic flowers blooming in the dark.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Deafening artillery fire instantly tore apart the dawn's tranquility. Dozens of 150mm caliber shells screamed across the sky, trailing long plumes of flame, striking precisely the middle of the marching column.

"Enemy attack!" Xiao Yunlong shouted, but his voice was immediately drowned out by even more violent explosions.

Shells exploded within the ranks, throwing up huge waves of earth and dust. Soldiers and horse limbs blown into the air traced terrifying arcs. A truck loaded with ammunition took a direct hit; the blast's shockwave hurled dozens of nearby soldiers into the air, their bodies tumbling like ragdolls before crashing heavily to the ground, never to rise again.

"Scatter! Seek cover!" Xiao Yunlong yelled desperately, but chaos had already begun to spread.

Soldiers panicked and fled in all directions, looking for any possible shelter. Some jumped into roadside ditches, some hid behind overturned wagons, while many simply dropped to the ground, covering their heads with their hands, praying the shells would not land near them.

A second barrage followed immediately, this time an even denser volley from 105mm howitzers. Shells fell like rain, turning the entire marching route into a sea of fire. Explosion sounds merged into one, the ground cracking under violent tremors.

One shell landed squarely in the middle of a platoon; the blast's shockwave hurled a dozen soldiers into the air. One soldier had both legs blown off, blood spurting from the stumps, staining the surrounding soil red. He howled in pain, desperately pressing his hands on the wound, but blood kept gushing out; soon his voice weakened and then faded away completely.

Another soldier had his chest and abdomen torn open by shrapnel, entrails spilling out; he tried with both hands to push them back in, to no avail. His eyes filled with fear and disbelief, as if he could not believe his life was ending like this.

"Division commander! We've been ambushed!" the chief of staff's voice filled with fear: "The artillery fire is too precise; they must have been prepared in advance!"

Xiao Yunlong's face turned ashen. He knew this was no ordinary ambush but a meticulously planned annihilation battle. The Fourth Bureau not only knew they were coming, but also knew their exact route and timing.

"Order the troops to launch an immediate counterattack! Artillery regiment, locate the enemy's artillery positions and return fire!"

But before his order could be fully conveyed, an even greater disaster struck.

On the western hill, dozens of superbly camouflaged tanks suddenly tore off their camouflage nets, their engine roars shaking the earth. They formed a line and slowly descended, turrets turning toward the chaotic field army units. As each tank's camouflage net was lifted, it kicked up a cloud of dust, forming gray smokescreens in the morning light.

"Tanks! The enemy has tanks!" a soldier screamed in terror, his voice full of despair.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The tank guns fired simultaneously, 75mm and 88mm caliber shells screaming toward the defenseless troops. Each round could tear a platoon to shreds. The intense heat from the explosions instantly ignited the surrounding air, creating small fireballs that illuminated the misty battlefield.

A supply truck was directly hit by a tank shell; the fuel drums on board exploded, flames shooting skyward to form a huge fireball mushroom. The soldiers aboard were instantly consumed, their screams drowned out by the blast's roar. Burning gasoline splattered everywhere, dousing nearby soldiers and turning them into living torches. They ran and rolled in agony, trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies, but to no avail.

Xiao Yunlong watched helplessly as his troops collapsed under the tank guns. Their equipment was utterly unable to oppose these steel beasts. The few 75mm field guns that had just been set up with the column were destroyed by the tanks' long-range precision fire. One shell struck the gun position directly, blowing the entire gun crew and piece to pieces. The gunners' limbs were scattered across the ground, blood staining the surrounding soil.