151: The battle begins

Li Xiao spoke at this moment: "Yes, everyone might be afraid when hearing this number, but don't forget that we have accumulated countless anti-tank equipment in our hands."

"They only have three hundred and fifty main battle tanks, and the rest are all light armor. Besides our existing less than two hundred armored vehicles, we also have nearly one hundred thousand military off-road vehicles!"

"These vehicles are enough to deplete the vast majority of their ammunition and durability points!"

Li Xiao looked at everyone after saying this: "If we don't fight now, when will we? I will now announce the combat orders!"

At this moment, everyone stood up.

"Tang Wu, lead 500,000 troops from Hengshui to attack the eastern part of Weixing City! Cheng Mo, lead 500,000 troops from Zhaoming to attack the southern part of Weixing City! I will lead the Xi City troops and the remaining forces from the three cities, totaling one million, to launch the main attack on the western part of Weixing City. Another 500,000 will serve as a reserve force to guard against any emergencies at any time. All units must launch a strong attack at all costs!"

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

"Yes!"

They were not professional military personnel; all they could do was utilize their greatest advantages to complete the mission.

This time, two-thirds of the Xiaoyao Squad's strength was mobilized. If they failed, their power would be severely weakened, and they might face not only retaliation from the Black Hawk Empire but also the covetous eyes of other surrounding forces.

Under the cover of night, the roads in the three cities of the Xiaoyao Squad were brightly lit. Troops from various towns were assembling toward the main cities, and the road was filled with the roar of military off-road vehicles and the noise of civilian vehicles speeding by.

The indigenous people watched from their buildings as the massive army marched toward the east. When these Tian Yu civilians learned that these troops were going to attack Weixing City, cheers echoed through the night.

The Black Hawk Empire's intelligence was always very swift; they possessed reconnaissance micro-satellites and aerial reconnaissance drones. When the Xiaoyao Squad's army stepped across the border of Hengshui, the 129th Group Army began to deploy.

Two hours later, in the early morning, because the Black Hawk Empire's 129th Group Army had limited manpower, they did not intercept them on the way to Weixing City, allowing Tang Wu's unit, which had set out first, to successfully circle to the eastern part of Weixing City and deploy their offensive formation.

Meanwhile, Cheng Mo and Liu Nian also arrived with their troops at the southern and western parts of Weixing City, respectively.

As for why the reserve force was not ordered to attack the northern part of Weixing City, it was because a large river passed through the north of Weixing City, and several large bridges were firmly controlled by the 129th Group Army, making it impossible to capture in a short time.

Just as Li Xiao's main force arrived five kilometers outside Weixing City, they were dealt a heavy blow by the Black Hawk Empire, as over a thousand aerial bombs dropped by multiple bomber echelons fell into their positions.

The western city position, still dim in the early morning light, was instantly plunged into a sea of steel and fire, with over thirty to forty thousand casualties and thousands of vehicles destroyed.

Seeing so many people killed without firing a single shot, Li Xiao felt even more strongly that he had to finish the battle quickly; otherwise, if the bombers came for a few more rounds, there would be no need for him to fight.

"Attention everyone! Launch the attack from all three directions simultaneously!"

Li Xiao issued the attack order on the squad command channel, and immediately, the two-million-strong army rushed toward Weixing City like a flood breaking through a dam.

In an instant, thousands of military off-road vehicles carrying countless machine gunners launched a fierce attack on the Black Hawk Empire defenders on the main highway leading into the city.

The sound of gunfire and artillery instantly enveloped the sky over Weixing City.

"Teams ten through twenty, charge! Do not stop!"

Qin Luming shouted on the squad command channel, and immediately, hundreds of thousands of troops, directed by the military off-road vehicles, charged toward the defensive line filled with infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks.

In the early morning sky, the net of fire formed by thousands of light and heavy machine guns covered the enemy armored vehicles layer by layer, beginning a style of attrition consumption.

And more soldiers braved the enemy's fierce firepower to try to get closer to the enemy.

The Black Hawk Empire's tightly organized defensive line opened fire immediately after the Xiao Yao Unit entered range. The powerful firepower composed of over five hundred infantry fighting vehicles and one hundred and fifty main battle tanks blew up the rushing military off-road vehicle groups one by one.

Their vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns fired desperately at the scattered troops, and countless soldiers fell into pools of blood without firing a single shot.

Yet even so, the speed and density of the Xiaoyao Squad's army charge made it impossible for them to block everyone.

At this moment, Major General Caston, who was sitting in the Group Army command headquarters in Weixing City, sat leisurely on his sofa chair, watching the real-time battlefield footage transmitted by the reconnaissance drones.

Beside him, several high-ranking officers were constantly studying countermeasures. When the Xiaoyao Squad's western offensive line was less than one thousand meters away from the Black Hawk defenders, an officer reported: "General, the enemy in the west has advanced to within one kilometer of us!"

Caston sat up and sneered: "Then, let these clown-like 'Outsiders' see what fire suppression is! Order the artillery brigade to open fire on the enemy in the west of the city!"

"Yes, General!"

With the transmission of a radio wave, Li Xiao, who was observing the battle situation in the mobile command post behind the western part of the city, suddenly noticed that the sky over the northern part of Weixing City had suddenly turned fiery red.

Just as he felt the danger, countless orange-red light points suddenly fell from the high altitude, trailing long tails of fire, in a parabolic arc toward their positions.

"Not good! It's long-range rocket artillery! Everyone, get down and take cover immediately!"

Yun Dongliu reacted and quickly shouted into the command channel, but the reaction time left for them was too short. A few seconds later, hundreds upon hundreds of heavy rockets fell.

Huge fireballs rose into the air, and the shockwave formed by the warhead of each rocket, mixed with thousands of pieces of shrapnel, shot outward at high speed, with a lethal range covering almost the area of a large stadium.

This volley consisted of eight hundred rockets, almost covering the entire front-line battlefield of the attack. This wave of suppression fire instantly turned Qin Luming's first wave of attacks into nothing, causing the loss of over thirty thousand people and nearly ten thousand vehicles.

Li Xiao was completely shocked by the power of the rocket artillery. In modern warfare, a simple infantry human-wave tactic was really no different from suicide.

But now, all Li Xiao had to offer was people. He suppressed his heartache and issued an order to Qin Luming, who was commanding in the center: "Continue the attack! Do not stop!"

Qin Luming's eyes were red. Although the six or seven hundred players in the first wave were all in the back commanding the battle, and not a single one had died.

But their unit of over one hundred and twenty thousand people, with whom they spent every day, had already suffered more than half casualties within ten minutes of the start of the war. All the players in the first wave command post had red eyes.

"Continue the attack!"

The squad had iron discipline; no player would dare to withdraw the troops from the battle for selfish reasons. The remaining sixty thousand-plus people and several thousand vehicles continued to charge toward the enemy's defensive line along the two-kilometer-long front.