Chapter 62
600m.
Finally, they were close enough for us to see the seams between their armor plates.
"Now."
When I murmured the word, Major Hermann shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
"All batteries, fire!!"
KABOOOOM-!!
With a roar that seemed to turn the earth upside down, the 88mm gun muzzles belched fire.
The tremendous muzzle blast tore away the camouflage netting, sending the surrounding brick rubble and sandbags flying in every direction.
This was the firepower of real artillery, on an entirely different level from mere tank guns.
And then.
Whooosh-!
It was too fast for the eye to follow. A high-velocity armor-piercing shell traveling at 1,000 meters per second split the air.
Clang!
A metallic rupture rang out, so crisp it was almost eerie.
Sparks flew from the frontal armor of the lead Rene medium tank. A ricochet? No.
Crunch!
With a dull impact, the nearly 30-ton mass of steel lurched backward as though struck by a giant. Carrying immense kinetic energy, the armor-piercing shell crushed through its sloped armor like rotten plywood and tore into the interior.
And 0.1 seconds later.
KABOOOOM-!!
An ammunition explosion erupted inside the tank. The steel turret, weighing dozens of tons, shot high into the sky like a cork.
Thud.
The turret that slammed into the ground rolled like a top. A massive pillar of flame rose from the headless tank hull.
"……Huh?"
Someone let out a blank, dazed groan.
"…It, it penetrated?"
Dietrich muttered blankly.
It was an unbelievable sight. That sturdy armor, which neither 37mm shells nor mana bullets could penetrate, crumpled like wet cardboard.
"Load the next round! Don't just stand there—keep firing!"
Only then did the artillerymen snap out of it at my shout. They barely managed to aim at the enemy tanks through the clouds of dust.
Boom! KABOOM!
Successive cannon blasts shook the streets of Rosenheim.
The second tank tried to swing its turret around in a hurry, but the 88mm shell was faster.
Boom!
The turret, gun barrel and all, was blown away. The headless steel giant lost its momentum, spun around and slammed into the rubble of a building.
The tanks behind it panicked and tried to brake hard. But the narrow intersection was already blocked by the burning lead vehicles. They were trapped with nowhere to go.
They were perfect targets.
Boom! Boom!
"Tank No. 3 destroyed!"
"Tank No. 4! Track severed! It's stopped!"
The third tank was hit from the side and flipped over, while the fourth tank's track was severed, leaving it spinning in place until a follow-up shot turned it into scrap.
But the battle wasn't turning entirely in our favor. Once the effects of the initial ambush faded, the surviving Republic tanks began their counterattack, deploying smoke grenades.
Pffssshhh-!
"Damn it! Smoke grenades! We can't see!"
"Cease fire! We'll hit our own men!"
The anti-aircraft crews shouted in confusion. No matter how powerful the 88mm anti-aircraft guns were, once their vision was completely obscured, they were helpless.
But I had cheat skills. I focused on the [Minimap] in the corner of my vision. The positions of the enemies within the hazy smoke were clearly displayed as red dots.
They pretended to retreat, then circled behind the collapsed buildings to target our flank.
"Battery No. 3! Two o'clock! Aim at the wall of the red-roofed building!"
At my shout, the gunner looked bewildered.
"Sir? Isn't that just a brick building? We can't see the enemy…."
"Do as you're told! They're hiding behind the building!"
At my barked order, the gunner turned the barrel in a fluster.
"Armor-piercing round loaded! Fire!"
KABOOOOM-!
The muzzle belched fire, and an 8.8-centimeter armor-piercing shell flew at more than three times the speed of sound.
Crunch!
The thick brick building exploded like fireworks. And from beyond it came the metallic scream of something that had been lying in wait.
Clang-! KABOOOOM!
"It, it hit them through the wall?!"
As the smoke cleared, a gruesome sight emerged. The armor-piercing shell had punched through the wall and penetrated the tank's side armor. The Rene tank, its insides blown apart, stood still, belching black smoke.
The Air Force soldiers' mouths fell open.
"H-how is that possible…?"
"It can penetrate buildings and tanks, too?"
They seemed to be realizing only now the power of the weapon they operated. When used against aircraft, it had at most sent fragments flying, but on the ground, it became a deadly spear that pierced through everything.
"What are you doing?! Press the attack while they're shaken!"
I slapped Major Hermann on the shoulder as he stood there dumbfounded.
"Ah, ah! All batteries! Follow Captain Jaeger's orders! Keep firing!"
Hermann's eyes had changed. The fear was gone, replaced by a strange fervor.
"Ten degrees to the right! Range, 400! Moving target!"
I called out coordinates without pause while watching the [Minimap].
"Lead the shot! Aim for where it'll be one second from now!"
Boom!
"Hit! Turret ejected!"
"Eleven o'clock to the left! It's hiding behind the rubble! Aim low!"
Boom!
"Track destroyed! It's stopped!"
It was a one-sided massacre.
"Kahahaha! Did you see that?! Did you see?!"
Before I knew it, Major Hermann had climbed atop a gun emplacement and was waving his command baton.
"This is the power of the Air Force! Blow those stupid Army tin cans all to hell!"
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Heinrich von Hermann]
[Status: Extreme excitement]
[Emotion: Greatly thrilled by the sight of his cherished anti-aircraft gun slaughtering tanks.]
Was this really the same man who had been trembling over the regulations just moments ago?
"Major! There's another one trying to run!"
"Don't let it escape! Not even a single fly gets away without my permission!"
KABOOOOM-!
A hole was punched into the engine compartment of the last fleeing Rene tank. It sputtered for a few moments, then came to a stop amid a huge explosion.
Annihilation.
The vanguard battalion of the Republic's vaunted 4th Armored Division had been reduced to a heap of scrap at Rosenheim Station, defended by a mere infantry brigade.
The streets were filled with the wreckage of burning tanks and the acrid smell of oil. And a little while later.
"W-we… won…."
"We destroyed the tanks! We wiped out an armored unit!!"
"Waaaaaaaah!!"
The infantrymen who had been huddled behind cover burst out and cheered. They embraced one another, threw their helmets, and reveled in victory.
But the most excited of them all were the Air Force personnel.
"This is insane…. It's really insane."
Major Hermann was still caressing the smoking barrel of the 88mm as though it were a lover's skin.
"This beautiful penetration power…. This overwhelming stopping power…. Why didn't I realize it before? This wasn't something to let rot as a mere anti-aircraft gun."
He turned to me with an ecstatic expression.
"Captain Jaeger! No, Lord Jaeger!"
His form of address suddenly changed.
"You're a genius! How did you come up with this? This is a revolution! You've changed the paradigm of anti-aircraft guns!"
"I was just trying to put out an urgent fire."
"No, no! You recognized the true value of this 88mm anti-aircraft gun… the Acht-Acht!"
Spittle flying, Hermann clasped my hand.
"Regulations? To hell with them! I have to report this to Air Force Command right away. Tell them to supply this thing with more armor-piercing rounds! No, we should create an entire dedicated anti-tank battery!"
Huh.
"Acht, Acht (Acht-Acht)…! Oh, my lovely 88 millimeter…."
He seemed to have completely lost his mind.
Just then, someone staggered out from behind the cover. It was Brigade Commander Dietrich.
With an incredulous expression, he gazed at the graveyard of burning Republic tanks. A battalion's worth of state-of-the-art tanks lay scattered around as heaps of scrap.
"Heh, heh…."
His lips trembled.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Status: Extreme elation]
[Emotion: Unable to believe he had achieved a one-sided victory against a battalion of Rene tanks.]
"We stopped them…. We really stopped them…."
He slowly turned his head to look at me. The fear and tension that had filled his eyes were nowhere to be seen.
"Captain Jaeger!!!"
Whoosh!
The old gentleman ran over and embraced me, forgetting all decorum.
"What… what on earth are you?! Are you even human!? How did you achieve… such an impossible feat of arms!"
Ah, about that….
That? It's historically accurate, though.
"We were lucky. It was thanks to the Air Force's cooperation."
"Lucky?! Humility can go too far and become deceit! This is a miracle! A revolution in tactics!"
Dietrich, unable to contain his excitement, patted me repeatedly on the shoulder.
"When those Central Command bastards receive this report, they'll be floored! An infantry brigade wiped out an armored unit?! Hahaha! My star! My star is shining again!"
[Hidden Desire: To embellish this achievement, earn two stars, and make his mark in central politics.]
The old fox's mind was already filled with thoughts of promotion.
Not bad. The higher he rose, the more my value as his brains would rise along with him. For now, there was more to gain than lose.
But despite the brigade commander's jubilation, the situation around us remained tense.
"Supply squad! Get the ammunition! Especially the armor-piercing rounds! Raid the Air Force depot if you have to!"
"Medic! The platoon leader here has collapsed!"
The battle was over, but the war had only just begun. There was no time to be intoxicated by victory.
"Brigade Commander—and Major Hermann."
I spoke to the two cheering men, throwing cold water on their celebration.
"Celebrate later. They're only the vanguard. The main force won't sit idle once they hear the news."
At my words, the smile vanished from Dietrich's face.
"Ah, yes. Of course. The main force… We should assume the entire 4th Armored Division is bearing down on us."
"Exactly. It amounts to saying there are hundreds more tanks."
"H-hundreds…."
Just as Dietrich was about to turn pale again, Major Hermann cut in, his eyes flashing.
"Hmph! Let them come! As long as I have my Acht-Acht, they're nothing but scrap metal! Captain Jaeger, let's rebuild the position as you said. This time, how about constructing a dedicated anti-tank ambush position!"
…….
Instead of answering, I used [Status Analysis].
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Heinrich von Hermann]
[Status: Addicted to the sensation of his gun tearing tanks apart]
This man really did seem to have lost his mind.
The Air Force's elitism was gone, leaving only a firepower fanatic. Well, it wasn't actually a bad thing. We needed that kind of fanatical enthusiasm right now.
"Good. Major, gather every available 88mm gun. We need to use the ruins of Rosenheim's urban area to form a kill zone."
"Leave it to me! I'll have it ready even if I have to run every Air Force maintenance man into the ground!"
Major Hermann dashed off humming. He was like a fish in water now.
"Major! Battery No. 3 has been relocated! We're setting up the camouflage netting!"
"Ammunition! Bring more ammunition! I said bring every last round from the depot!"
After confirming that the Air Force soldiers and officers who had seen the 88's power were all actively redeploying, I crossed the ruins of Rosenheim.