Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 472 - 465: Luring the Enemy Deeper

Chapter 472: Chapter 465: Luring the Enemy Deeper

Visibility is crucial for firearms combat. Unlike the forests in the north, this place is a subtropical primeval forest, where the trees cover the sun thoroughly. In areas not covered by trees, the shrubs and tendrils grow wildly, even taller than humans. Fighting in such a place is like the United States invading Vietnam back in the day, where every tree and vine seemed to speak Vietnamese.

Therefore, Cheng Ziang’s plan was to draw these people out of the jungle and fight in open areas, thereby allowing the snipers in the advance team to demonstrate their power. The elf troops would lie in ambush in nearby jungle, employing a strategy of silence.

Taking into account that these people might not fall for the bait easily, the elf troops also arranged for some female elves to lure them. This task required those who could run fast, because hunters generally don’t shoot at female elves; a hit could spoil their appeal.

Given the hunters’ past experience, Ilanadale’s army largely lacked firearms. That’s why Cheng Ziang planned to give them a taste of the guns in the hands of the advance team, ideally knocking them off balance right from the start, causing them to retreat in disarray under their fierce firepower.

If Ilanadale cooperated with the headquarters, modernizing their weaponry was crucial. In such a jungle environment, high-rate automatic weapons could compensate for the elves’ fire power shortage. Then not just the hunting teams, but even regular armies might find it hard to deal with them.

Though the elf race worshiped a unity of mankind and nature and emphasized coexistence in harmony with nature, times had changed. They had to adapt to avoid being bullied. Getting help from the headquarters in the form of weapons was just the first step; their next step was to recruit half-elves living outside Ilanadale and make them part of the city’s productive and defensive force.

While the whole Otherworld was still in feudal times, the dawn of the industrial revolution was on the horizon. With the backing of the headquarters, achieving industrialization was easy, as the power behind the headquarters was a country with the world’s top industrial system.

According to the prearranged plan, all members of the advance team had taken their positions. The plan once again was to fight in dispersed positions, relying on signals such as whistle calls for communication. Yet today’s advance team was not what it used to be; even when fighting apart, they could maintain basic coordination. The only unknown variable was probably Nina, who had just joined them.

If the Cheng Ziang, who had just entered the Otherworld, were to command this battle, he would have chosen the most aggressive plan and confronted the enemy head on. Yet as his experiences deepened, Cheng Ziang was gradually becoming more like Luo’er, less adventurous.

Now the advance team got along well with each other and cared deeply for one another. The loss of any member would be a huge blow to the team. So, even the formerly aggressive Cheng Ziang now had to take everyone’s safety into account.

The members of the advance team hadn’t disguised themselves for long before the female elves acting as bait rushed into the village. Seeing them arrive, the villagers became nervous. As per the prearranged plan, after a brief panic, the female elves started heading towards where the advance team was hidden.

Just as they predicted, the hunting team did not dare to shoot at the female elves, but instead intended to capture them alive. So, the advance team didn’t hear any gunshots, just a clamor of shouts from afar.

The retreating female elves purposefully slowed down to maintain a distance from the hunting team. After seeing the early elements of the hunting team enter the village, these female elves ran into the jungle, ensuring the hunting team could see the direction in which they had fled.

Soon, a myriad group appeared in front of the advance team, composed mainly of men, including both Aud and Bobulu people, and even some mixed-race individuals.

There were approximately thirty to forty of them, dressed as adventurers. Although somewhat haphazardly arrayed, they had some clear identifiers on their clothing to prevent friendly fire.

Their weapons varied greatly, from bolt action rifles to semi-automatic ones. All kinds of gun calibers were present, including Britain’s Enfield 77, HK’s replica of 98K, as well as the U.S.’s "Eight Big Grains". Cheng Ziang even saw some carrying the Lebel 1886, one of the first smokeless powder guns. Heaven knows how their logistics managed to handle such a mix of calibers.

There were mages among the hunting team, largely making up the plebeian mages. Of course, this goes without saying, as no official mage would be caught dead doing such work. These mages mainly took on roles of supplying magical support and providing cover during combat. The metal arrows of the Elf Race, Kedal, might wreak significant damage on regular armor, but they’re powerless against magical shields.

Cheng Ziang noticed that about half of the group wore some form of a metallic armor, though only chest plates and no protective gear for their limbs. Their helmets didn’t shield their faces, reminiscent more of modern helmets.

These individuals were likely the backbone of the hunting team as Cheng Ziang noticed that all of them uniformly carried semi-automatic rifles. Some even bore light machine guns, making them a formidable force. When the fight begins, these machine gunners must be taken out first to prevent them from retaliating and messing up the Advance Team.

However, he didn’t need to relay this information, knowing that Baiyue would target and eliminate the high-value enemies, sparing him the need to worry.

Looking at the equipment of the opposition, it was evident that they were heavily influenced by Earth’s military. Even their military weapon combinations mimicked that of Earth’s military. Given the terrifying penetrative power of the Kedal metal, most of them donned Rune Armor for self-protection.

The Kedal metal was a strange substance. Capable of easily piercing through Earth’s latest bulletproof panels, it was defenseless against the Rune Armor, which consolidated atmospheric magical energy for protection. Lower level armor might still stand a chance, but once the armor grade surpasses level one, all bets are off. This explains why these hunting teams dare to wreak havoc within Ilanadale.

The silence within the village made the group increasingly apprehensive. They slowed their pace, shielding the defenseless targets and mages in the middle as they cautiously advanced towards the village.

Though cautious, they apparently failed to detect the members of the Advance Team lying in ambush within the village. The thoughts of the female elves who had escaped the village prompted them to quicken their pace nonetheless.

Soon, they unwittingly ventured into the ambush circle of the Advance Team, all members ready for combat.

Nina hid behind a short wall, clutching an AK rifle belonging to her son, praying in silence. Before firing, she must inspect the weapon status, first checking the safety catch and then whether a bullet had been chambered—skills that Luo Chuan had taught her.

Nina switched the AK safety to the middle full-auto position, slowly pulled back the bolt to confirm a bullet had been chambered, then rested the rifle on the wall, ready to fire.

Unlike Luo’er, Nina preferred full-auto firing and didn’t fuss too much over it. As long as she could unleash a barrage of bullets, full-auto or semi-auto made no difference. Luo’er, on the other hand, wished he could permanently lock the rifle on semi-auto, completely forsaking full-auto.

The peculiar silence further heightened the hunting team’s vigilance, but they were not in a state of panic. They were all too aware that Ilanadale’s army could hardly pose any significant threat, unless greatly outnumbered. Otherwise, they would catch as many as the hunting team sent.

However, they were about to meet their match this time. Their adversaries were not those poorly-equipped elf troops, but the well-experienced and technologically superior Advance Team.

Hu Daoke mounted his machine gun on the roof. The Wood Elves liked to construct their roofs with mud and tiles, so the roof was sturdy enough to support his weight. Watching these people walk unknowingly into his machine gun range gave Hu Daoke an inexplicable thrill. He was itching to rake them down with a barrage of bullets just like mowing down grass.