Anti-War Game: Starting from Normandy Campaign
Chapter 129 - 112: The Most Costly Sneak Attack in ’Earth’ War History (3.2k)

Chapter 129: Chapter 112: The Most Costly Sneak Attack in ’Earth’ War History (3.2k)

In the game.

The next day, early morning.

A gentle breeze passed through the forest. The character controlled by Fang Ming shivered uncontrollably, slowly opening his eyes.

Eight people, covered in dirt and looking disheveled, were huddled together for warmth, having spent the night like this.

Fang Ming propped himself up, moved his numb limbs a bit, and took a few breaths of the morning air, almost choking on the smell of decaying leaves covering the forest floor.

Rustling—

From the edge of the distant forest, a large flock of birds suddenly took flight.

Fang Ming’s expression changed, they were coming this fast?!

Without pausing to think, he quickly woke the other squad members:

"Get up quickly."

"The Imperial soldiers have caught up again."

The others struggled to open their eyes, but upon hearing Fang Ming’s words, they immediately became alert. Ignoring their exhaustion and weariness, they got up at once.

They noticed the flock of birds taking off, accompanied by the barking sounds of military dogs.

Really?!

And they’re already this close?!

The group quickly grabbed their weapons and gear, heading in the opposite direction, but hadn’t left the forest before a growling came from where they rested last night.

Faintly hearing the shouts of Imperial soldiers, they quickened their pace.

Not two minutes later.

An urgent noise arose from behind, and turning back, they saw several Imperial military dogs pursuing them, barking and lunging at them.

The group’s faces turned grim as they raised their guns.

Bang—

A gunshot rang out, and a military dog was killed, startling the surrounding birds into the air.

But the other dogs, instead of halting, barked more loudly, seemingly guiding the Imperial soldiers behind them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several more gunshots, with the Imperial military dogs dodging left and right.

Seeing they couldn’t hit them, Fang Ming pulled out two grenades, removed the pins, and threw them at the dogs. With two deafening explosions,

the barking dogs were silenced completely.

Rat-tat-tat-tat——

Bullets from Imperial submachine guns swept from a distance, ricocheting all around, accompanied by the shouts of Imperial soldiers and military dog sounds from all directions.

Fang Ming kept his body as low as possible, took out a few grenades, set up a simple trap using lines, and then didn’t linger at all:

"Retreat north! There’s a river there!!!"

With so few people left, Fang Ming had no intention of fighting.

The edge of the forest was less than a kilometer away, and the group sprinted until they reached the fast-flowing river.

Compared to the forest, standing by the river,

the even colder and wetter feeling calmed the group, hot from running, in an instant. A Soviet Union soldier asked, voice shaking:

"Sir, won’t we freeze to death?"

Fang Ming was also uncertain; in the live stream, viewers were urging him to give up. But hearing the approaching shouts and barking behind, he gritted his teeth:

"Jump!"

"Otherwise, we’ll never shake off those Imperial dogs."

"Do you want to be captured by those Imperial guys?"

After speaking,

Fang Ming took a deep breath and leaped into the turbulent river. The icy sensation completely enveloped him, as if frozen.

The others followed suit, clenching their teeth and jumping in one after another.

Uncertain how much time had passed, the river’s current gradually slowed. Fang Ming, his face blue from the cold river, shakily climbed ashore.

After taking a few breaths, he saw the soldiers drifting from the river, and quickly reached out with his rifle to help them, nearly stumbling at the sudden weight.

Pulling them up one by one, however... counting Fang Ming himself, only five remained in the squad, with three others unaccounted for.

Currently, the progress condition was only [3/15 (days)].

The challenge difficulty for the [Moscow Defenders] medal was overwhelming for the viewers in the live stream, seemingly impossible, and in comparison,

the Blue Star player battlefields seemed much easier.

At this moment,

in Mo Xiaomo’s live stream,

under her ’command’, they successfully blitzed to the other side of the battlefield where the Imperial Camp players were, initially catching them off guard.

However, the Imperial Camp’s equipment was formidable, whether it was armored vehicles or tanks.

The destruction effect was limited, so they gradually retreated into a forest, using the muddy post-rain land to slow the advance of armors and tanks.

Mo Xiaomo led her team in and out of skirmishes with Imperial Camp players outside the forest.

Luckily, neither Imperial nor Soviet Union NPC troops were involved in the battle between the camps; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so leisurely.

In the temporary command post,

Mo Xiaomo ate canned food while looking at the map:

"The Imperial firepower is too strong, we can’t break through."

This was the first time she felt a sense of command; having been cannon fodder in the game for so long, finally becoming a superior, who could understand?

A Blue Star player with the rank of colonel nodded beside her and said:

"The main issue is the road, it’s too muddy."

"It’s seriously slowing us down, but they can’t catch up either; anyone going out now would be a target."

"However, our situation in Celestial Shark Live is one of the better ones."

The tone carried some sentiment; their engagements over the past few days were minor scuffles, seeming like child’s play compared to other battlefronts.

In contrast, Imperial Camp NPC troops and Soviet Union NPC troops were engaged in truly fierce battles.

However, the ones having a harder time should be those players and streamers challenging the [Moscow Defenders Medal], because the mission requires conducting guerrilla tactics to delay the Imperial troops’ advance while also breaking through.

What happened in Fang Ming’s livestream is typical; if you casually open any [Moscow Defenders Medal] challenge stream, the messiness is no less than Fang Ming’s.

In fact, it’s even worse.

Mo Xiaomo nodded here and then said:

"It would be great if it snows, then we can use the snow night to launch a surprise attack!"

"Hehehehe, this has to go down in military history."

The nearby regiment commander couldn’t help but hold his forehead:

"Snowing?"

"It’s better to run quickly, in snowy ground, everything will freeze."

"Once the ground freezes, the Imperial’s armor and tanks can cross over."

Mo Xiaomo thought for a moment:

"True."

"Then it’s better if it doesn’t snow."

On the other side.

The streamer from the Imperial Camp.

Standing at the command center’s entrance, looking at the overcast weather, it’s been cloudy for several days, and the armored tanks couldn’t drive far without getting stuck in the mud.

They couldn’t even reach the woods where Mo Xiaomo was hiding, otherwise, they could have directly driven over and shelled the place.

But they can’t get past.

Surely, an armored brigade can’t just run off for rifle shooting?

In the distance.

A player with the rank of a battalion commander came over, leading a tall man who didn’t look like he was from the Great Xia Federation. The battalion commander brought the man over:

"Commander, this player is from the Slavic Federation."

"He said it might snow in the next few days, and we need to prepare warm clothes or equipment."

The Slavic Federation player beside him nodded, as the game has automatic translation, so everything the player from Great Xia Federation says will be translated, and he could hear it.

Upon hearing this, not only were the comments in the livestream a bit surprised, but the Imperial Camp streamer looked up at the sky:

"It just rained, and it’s still so hot, snowing?"

The Slavic Federation player asserted:

"Yes."

"The climate here is very similar to our place in the Slavic region. Despite just having rained, the clouds in the sky haven’t cleared, and it’s so muggy."

"There might be a rare heavy snow brewing."

"We should take advantage of the snow to raid the Soviet Union Camp over there."

"It would be best if you give me a position; I want to command the battle."

The Imperial Camp streamer, pondering, nodded:

"Alright, I got it."

Saying that he assigned this Slavic Federation player the role of a company commander.

At this time, the barrage in the livestream was abuzz with discussions.

[Is this for real, this guy predicts weather in the game?]

[Seems plausible, after all, you know how realistic every aspect of "World War II: Empire’s Rise" is; predicting in a realistic way is fine.]

[But even if it snows, what difference does it make? Mo Xiaomo might just run away over there.]

[Snow might make the roads easier; recently, the Imperial advance has been slow due to muddy roads that armor can’t traverse.]

[Speaking of, during that CG cinematic [Red Square Parade], it was snowing, and Guderian’s troops had advanced to the Moscow suburbs, and now... oh crap?]

[Guderian has pushed further in, almost reaching the Moscow suburbs.]

[Is it really about to snow?]

On Blue Star’s side, players, from an observer’s perspective and with the CG information at hand, knew in advance that snow was coming soon, yet this revelation didn’t cause a huge stir.

However, those players and streamers challenging the [Moscow Defenders Medal] task were dumbfounded, fearing that a bit of snow would mean freezing to death outside, and the mission would be a bust.

Terrified, these players and streamers participating in the mission quickly tried to scavenge useful items and warm clothes from the enemy.

Afraid they wouldn’t make it through.

...

On the other side.

Polestar Company.

Zhao Ming leaned back on the chair and opened the real-time map on the official site.

At this moment, the front line on the map, which had been smoothed earlier, started to show vulnerabilities under the Imperial advance.

Many of the Imperial troops have already crossed the Soviet Union’s second line of defense, advancing toward Moscow, though the rain has halted the momentum.

Just when the offensive was gaining momentum, it stopped once again as the roads became impassable.

However, as the news of impending snowfall spread, there was considerable discussion on the real-time map about the potential outcomes once the ground froze.

After reviewing the current battle situation and developments,

Zhao Ming accessed the game’s backend database and went through the entire ’Earth’ data.

The game’s progress was currently following the timeline, and Zhao Ming’s attention was on the Pacific Theater.

This area hasn’t been opened up yet, so players see a dark zone on the official site, but in the backend database, it’s clear.

At this moment, the area representing the Axis Powers has been quietly expanding in the Pacific, unnoticed by the United States of America.

[Pearl Harbor Surprise Attack]

This signifies one of the most costly strategic events in ’Earth’ warfare history that is about to unfold.

This event,

not only directly involves the United States of America but also impacts the war dynamics between the Imperial forces and the Soviet Union, ultimately influencing the entire trajectory of World War II.