This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 401 - 341 Burn!

Chapter 401: Chapter 341 Burn!

July was a rainy season.

Although the River Valley Province was situated inland, and the rainclouds had diminished considerably by the time the monsoon winds carried them here, it was still inevitable to experience several torrential downpours at this time of the year.

Just like now, it had been scorching just a second ago, but in the blink of an eye, the sky was now covered with thick, dark clouds...

"... Enemy traces discovered to the southeast, with a scale of over a thousand team! Their equipment mainly consists of light weapons, complemented by several different models of modified exoskeletons; no armor or transport vehicles have been spotted!"

Inside the tent.

A reconnaissance soldier knelt on one knee, reporting the intelligence gathered.

Sitting inside the tent, Rachel quietly listened to the subordinate’s report and the corners of her unperturbed mouth suddenly curled into a cold smirk.

Finod, standing behind her with hands clasped, spoke thoughtfully in a low voice.

"I never expected that the natives have been entangled with us for over half a month..."

No matter how numerous the reinforcements sent by the Enterprise faction were, they couldn’t possibly keep coming in endlessly.

Especially those rudimentary arms, they made him even more certain; these were the locals living here, most likely coming from some nearby, larger Survivor Settlement.

And the lord or town chief there happened to be an ignorant fool.

"What on earth are they after?" Finod still couldn’t quite understand.

Was it for CR?

They had indeed found enterprise weapons on the bodies of those soldiers, such as the G9 assault rifle.

But just for that bit of money, opposing the Army was really not very smart.

They would crush these natives into a pile of dregs just as easily as crushing an ant.

Only those who surrendered intelligently from the beginning could receive their mercy and become slaves of the great Army.

As for those who resisted stubbornly,

Death was the only thing waiting for them.

"Maybe they’ve been bought over by the enterprise people, maybe they’ve lost their minds... No matter what, their arrival is timely."

Rachel stood up from her chair.

A cruel smile split her lips, and a chilling murderous aura radiated from her, cooling the hot air in the tent several degrees.

General Mclen had previously issued an order to change deployment, suddenly moving to Oasis 9, and she had been worried about missing the chance to avenge her fallen brothers.

Now, this opportunity had come knocking on its own.

She would show these natives

What it means to court death!

"Vito, Walter..."

Murmuring those names, she picked up the jet-black helmet from the table and slowly placed it on her head.

"... I will avenge you."

...

In the mountainous area of the west district of Rui Valley City.

Here lay the artillery position that the New Alliance had been preparing for a month.

More than twenty "Storm" rocket launchers and thirty replicated 100mm cannons were spread across the range of hills, each with at least a five-hundred-meter interval.

Next to each rocket launcher and cannon, separate shelters for personnel, ammunition, and artillery positions were excavated to ensure the maximum safety of personnel and equipment in the event of retaliatory firepower.

Of course, even with such thorough preparation, Yang Shu was well aware.

He had only one chance.

"... The enemy’s retaliatory firepower will reach our heads within half a minute!"

"We are the first cannon, and the brothers on the other hills are all waiting for our signal! We cannot fail under any circumstances; I need you to stay calm at all times, and whatever happens, follow my command!"

"Do you all understand!"

Walking at the front of the column.

Yang Shu looked at the gunners under his command, making the final pre-battle mobilization.

The line of gunners stood with high morale, heads held high, chests out, responding with a resounding voice.

"Understood!"

Gazing at those slightly youthful but immensely resolute faces, Yang Shu nodded in satisfaction.

He seemed to see his own past in their expressions.

Half a year earlier, a bowl of hot green barley porridge had ended his wandering. He decided to follow the Manager’s steps and join the Alliance’s Army to fend off the Chewing Bone Tribe’s invasion.

During the following six months, he marched north with the northern expedition Army, participated in several battles to liberate West State City, and ultimately drove those cannibalistic Looters from the river.

Though he had been enlisted for less than a year and even learned how to fire artillery on the battlefield alongside other Old Soldiers, his combat experience had grown to be on par with veterans after several battles. Now, he had even become the captain of the First Army Corps’ Eleventh Artillery Squad.

As orders for action were given, everyone sprang into motion.

The entire artillery position operated like an ignited engine, with each part moving in an orderly fashion.

Yang Shu walked alone to the observer’s post, took out his binoculars to glance in the command center’s direction, waiting for the signal.

The first group’s 100mm cannons would fire smoke barrages near the Steel fortress according to their signals, interfering with the airships’ visual observation.

As their second signal of gunfire sounded, a group of gunners would immediately launch a second round of barrages, projecting shells laced with chaff near the Iron Heart to explode and form a jamming cloud.

The widespread reflection of radar waves by the chaff could deceive radars, creating a "cloud" and thereby shielding the airborne troops as they penetrated the enemy’s anti-aircraft defenses.

These two shots were crucial.

Intuition would determine whether their paratroopers could successfully reach their enemy’s heads.

After completing these tasks, he would need to quickly take his brothers and retreat to the nearby anti-cannon hole, waiting for the enemy’s area fire to cease.

Reminiscing about the battle plan, Yang Shu felt his palms sweat.

If the enemy’s counterfire consisted of 100mm cannons, they had a high chance of survival.

However, if it were 400mm barrage rockets...

With the sub-nuclear weapon-level power, their chances of survival were less than twenty percent.

Yet, even knowing this, there was no fear in his heart.

Compared to the Warriors charging on the front lines, their battle station was relatively safe.

Besides, it was just one life.

Nothing to fear.

Had it not been for those who extended a helping hand to him, his life would have concluded half a year ago.

The clouds in the sky grew denser and denser.

Yang Shu looked up at the heavens just as a raindrop fell precisely onto his stubble, trickling down his neck and into his collar.

Feeling the chill on his nape, he frowned slightly and muttered under his breath,

"...It’s going to rain."

"It’s starting to rain... Seems like even the heavens aren’t always on our side."

Not far from the artillery position was the command center.

Standing behind a boulder, "Kakarot" held his assault rifle and looked toward the direction of the airships, curling his lips and musing mockingly.

Rain would affect the accuracy of radars.

But it would also shorten the duration of the smoke and jamming shells.

Especially the impact of rain on airplane maneuverability was a severe test for the Alliance, which primarily used propeller planes in combat.

While the heavy rain affected both sides, it was more pronounced for the attacking party.

However, they no longer had the time to delay their battle plan.

It was uncertain when this rain would stop, and undoubtedly, that airship on the opposite side would have retreated within two days.

Holding his binoculars, the demeanor of Spring Water Commander remained unchanging. He spoke with a calm, meticulous voice,

"Sunny and low wind speeds are naturally the best conditions."

"However, there are ways to fight in the rain, too."

He was certainly aware that July was the rainy season and would naturally have taken the current situation into account.

Putting down his binoculars.

He tapped twice on the side of his helmet with his index finger, closed the visor of his Exoskeleton Helmet and gave a crisp, clear command.

"Activate Plan B!"

Operation codename—

Whale Fall!

Standing nearby, I Max Black excitedly straightened up his back, and with a feeling of deep engagement, he stood straight and saluted.

"Yes!"

...

"It’s going to pour down soon..."

Dawn City Airport.

Looking at the raindrops sliding off the hatch, Falling Feather glanced at the VM strapped to his thigh and muttered to himself while reaching out to turn off the avionics equipment’s power.

Rainy weather.

Then the corresponding plan would be Plan B from the combat strategy.

The ground artillery would still fire their covering barrage, but the advancement sequence would have to be slightly adjusted.

If it were a sunny day, the Alliance’s aircraft would operate around the jamming clouds, and the ground troops would initiate the attack first, serving as bait to attract enemy fire.

In rainy weather, the effectiveness of the jamming clouds would be weakened, so it would rely on the extreme speed, Mach 3 jet plane beneath him, to serve as the main bait.

Actually, the tactical concept had no changes, just the order of operations.

At this point, a pale blue popup appeared on the VM’s screen.

[ECM connected]

The moment he saw these words, Falling Feather breathed a sigh of relief and raised his index finger, tapping his headset twice as he said,

"The electronic jamming pod has been activated! Confirmed to be running normally!"

There are two main approaches to radar jamming: using chaff to reflect radar echoes and "active illumination". Specifically, it means detecting radar signals and then actively sending back either random or structured radar signals to the enemy radar.

The former is like smoke grenades that can hide the exact location of a target, but the downside is that it has a short duration and can easily burn out.

The latter is like the enemy spotlighting you, and you shine a flashlight into their eyes, blinding them, or causing them to misjudge the size and scale of the target.

For instance, the electronic jamming pod hanging from his wing utilized the latter strategy, capable of simulating the radar signals of six hundred Mosquito-style fighter planes.

This was the latest equipment designed by the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team for the Alliance Air Force, specifically targeting the radar system of the Iron Heart.

Regrettably, the preparation time for this decisive battle was too rush.

Otherwise, they could have applied anti-radar stealth coating to every plane and organized several more "electronic warfare planes" to jam the enemy’s firepower.

But reality wasn’t filled with so many what-ifs.

They had already used every method available, even if those methods might not necessarily be effective, but if they could even gain an extra second of time.

The operation would have that much more chance of success...

The voice from the command center came through the communication channel.

"Command center received... ready to move into combat positions."

"Understood!"

As he replied, Falling Feather had already driven the plane onto the runway and pushed the fuel control valve to the maximum.

The roar of the engines gradually came from behind him.

Although he couldn’t see it, he could imagine the jet of flame, vaporizing the rainwater on the runway and propelling him forward at increasing speed.

The aircraft left the runway, charging towards the sky filled with dark clouds.

Pulling his gaze from the receding ground, Falling Feather, with his back tightly against the seat, took a deep breath, flexed his fingers gripping the joystick, and a boiling fighting spirit gradually ignited in his pupils.

Come on!

It’s time to show real skill!

At that moment, by the runway of North Airport of Dawn City,

Watching that arc of fire pierce into the curtain of rain, seated in the "Dragonfly" transport plane, the non-professional Anti-Mantou smacked his lips enviously.

"Damn, I also want to fly that thing!"

A slow propeller plane like this one, aimless as a target, could never be as thrilling as flying a jet.

Because the microphone wasn’t turned off, Mosquito’s teasing voice came through the communication channel soon after.

"Haha, that thing is a prototype, there’s only one made for now, so you’ll just have to wait."

"Well then, I’ll be waiting."

Glancing behind at the cargo hold, he saw that the paratroopers had already boarded. He pulled on the valve beside him and closed the hatch.

The signal light blinked.

He took the intercom hanging nearby, started up his vehicle, and spoke into the communication channel.

"Soaring Clouds One has taken off!"

"We should be moving out too."

...

At the same time, in the Western District of Rui Valley City.

Having detected enemy ground targets approaching, Rachel led three thousand-team units from the Marine Corps and two thousand Waste Land Wanderers as the attendant army. Guided by the observation cabin of the airship, they searched forward toward the target area.

The elite "Pangolin" hundred-team was also supposed to strike together, but due to heavy casualties on the last mission, they were "luckily" left behind.

Fallen Leaf Camp.

Coleway called Pangolin into the tent and said,

"We’ve received orders from above; we’ll be leaving Fallen Leaf Camp the day after tomorrow to return to the desert."

Although he had already heard about this news, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group pretended to hear it for the first time, feigning surprise before making a reluctant and troubled expression.

"Are you leaving then?"

It was indeed tough for him.

Not being able to go to the frontline with Rachel just then meant that he had lost an opportunity to cause trouble.

Although such uncertainties were expected, to have worked so hard and not get a ’kill’ made him feel as though his efforts had been in vain.

"We’ll be back by the end of August at the latest."

Looking at the fierce soldier before him, Coleway continued, "General Mclen has been watching your loyalty, and your bravery and devotion are clear to all of us. From today, you’re the head commander of the Fallen Leaf Camp’s attendant army. The formal appointment will be delivered here tomorrow."

Tomorrow, huh...

Just a day late.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group sighed silently to himself, thinking he probably wouldn’t receive the appointment, but still made a respectful face, bowing his head and feigning gratitude.

"Thank you for your promotion, sir."

Looking at the seemingly honest flatterer before him, Coleway nodded in satisfaction.

"Work hard."

"The Army never skimps on rewards for the loyal. I hope that when we return next time, I see a well-trained army."

"Don’t disappoint me."

The old soldier on the battlefield was pondering what words of loyalty to say when suddenly, a thunderous explosion sounded from afar.

Initially, Coleway thought it was thunder coming from the sky, but he quickly realized his mistake—it was the sound of an explosion.

And—

It wasn’t just one.

Regaining his senses, Coleway’s face paled slightly as he stood up abruptly from his chair and grabbed the intercom on the table, bellowing,

"Enemy attack!"

"Prepare for battle!"

...

Almost simultaneously with the bombardment, the Steel Heart had sounded the second-level alert, bustling from the observation deck to the gun positions.

Although that round of bombardment had not damaged the Steel Heart, the smoke generated by the explosions significantly hampered the observation deck monitoring ground conditions.

Ten minutes earlier.

They had just observed traces of enemy unit activity to the southeast.

However, just as they were about to search carefully, a barrage of artillery suddenly exploded about 500 meters to the east of the airship.

The billowing smoke obstructed the view from the observation deck, but fortunately, they had noted the general direction from which the gunfire had come.

"...Have these natives gone mad? They actually dared to fire at us?" The loader, while stuffing shells into the cannon, exclaimed in disbelief.

Those people should have realized that such a degree of artillery barrage would be completely useless against the Iron Heart.

Rather than panic, it would be more accurate to say they were utterly bewildered.

Standing next to the observation port, the assistant gunner locked onto the smoke and frowned as he said.

"It’s a smoke round!"

"...A laughable trick."

The officer standing behind the artillery positions sneered coldly, glanced at the note handed over by a messenger, grabbed the communications device on the side, and shouted an order.

"Artillery positions in the front three zones, prepare to fire! Bearing 112 degrees, elevation angle 27 degrees... five-volley salvo!"

"Fire!"

Twelve thunderous blasts resonated, followed by twelve tracers piercing the smoke, howling towards the Alliance artillery positions.

Flashes from explosions flickered atop the ridges, quickly followed by another round of artillery, blanketing the target area like rain!

One could see patches of flickering flames arrayed on mountains over twenty kilometers away, as plumes of thick smoke rose from beneath the curtain of rain, instantly turning the enemy artillery positions into a sea of smoke.

At this moment, inside the observation cabin.

The observer squatting in front of the sighting system exclaimed excitedly.

"Direct hit confirmed!"

The people in the observation cabin showed delight, but before they could high-five to celebrate, the message reported from the radar room caused everyone’s faces to change in an instant.

fighter jets were circling to their rear from due north at two times the speed of sound!

Without the slightest hesitation, the observer immediately adjusted the optical sights, locking onto the bearings of the 600 jets based on information provided by the radar operator.

No matter how he zoomed in or strained his pupils and lenses, he couldn’t see the silhouettes of the 600 jets through the veil of rain.

"Can you see them?"

"Damn it... I can’t see a thing!"

Generally, under good weather conditions, the maximum visual range can reach 9~20 kilometers. However, in rainy weather, this distance may be reduced by more than half.

Even so, even if those 600 jets were flying at top speed and the weather severely impacted visual observations, shouldn’t he at least be able to see their exhaust trails?

The observer standing in front of the sighting system couldn’t help but doubt his existence.

Was it a problem with the radar?

Or was it a problem with his eyes...

...

Inside the bridge.

Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, General McCullen’s face showed an expression of disbelief.

"600 fighter jets... How is that possible?!"

It wasn’t just him; almost all the officers standing on the bridge wore the same look of disbelief.

After pondering for a moment, the staff officer spoke solemnly.

"Could it be their method of deception?"

planes...

And all at twice the speed of sound.

No matter how you look at it, that number is just too exaggerated!

Staring at the flashing signals on the radar, General McCullen’s expression changed unpredictably, but his mind was racing.

Of course, he also thought that this might be a ruse by the natives.

But what would be the point?

Even if they successfully diverted the firepower of the Iron Heart, they couldn’t possibly breach the absolute defense of the deflection shield.

Over the past half month, those natives had tried every method they could.

Whether it was bombardments from the sky, artillery, or rockets... all kinds of attacks had proven meaningless in the face of their Steel Heart.

The officer at the radar terminal shouted.

"They’ve circled to our southwest, the signal source is enlarging... They’re approaching us!"

General McCullen made a decisive command.

"Whether it’s a decoy or not, get the anti-aircraft fire ready, shoot those flies down for me!"

"Yes!"

The barrels had long been locked onto the cruising trajectory of those six hundred planes. As the order to fire was given, streaks of orange-yellow flames burst from the gun muzzles, racing toward the target swarm depicted on radar.

However, what was surprising was that the six hundred planes continued to fly in formation, neither scattering nor taking evasive maneuvers, simply crashing into the barrage full-on.

Looking out the bridge’s floor-to-ceiling windows at the wall-like, dense smoke from the explosions, General McCullen squinted his eyes slightly.

Did we hit them?

The signals had indeed vanished from the radar.

But this success seemed a bit too easy.

At that moment, fluctuating signals suddenly appeared on the radar.

It seemed that the ground artillery hadn’t been completely wiped out; they were still firing around the airship, only what they were launching didn’t seem to be smoke grenades.

Instead, they were jamming shells.

A look of surprise flashed in McCullen’s eyes.

Knowing to use metal strips to interfere with radar, it seemed these natives had a trick or two up their sleeves. However, they had still underestimated the radar of the Iron Heart.

This level of interference, they could burn through in a minute.

And...

The coordination of these natives was still a bit weak.

Those six hundred planes had already been destroyed, and now, even if they fired jamming shells, it was too late; it would only continue to expose the positions of their ground artillery.

While McCullen was thinking this, twenty-two faint signal sources suddenly appeared to the direct south of the airship.

They were very close, within ten kilometers of the airship, almost appearing suddenly, and they were flying above the cloud layer.

The moment he saw this chain of signals, General McCullen was momentarily stunned, then he quickly realized.

"Prepare starboard gunners’ firepower!"

"Those six hundred planes were the decoy! Aim for the targets to the south!"

...

At the same time the Iron Heart was turning its guns, above the thick clouds.

Holding the joystick, the unprofessional counter-manipulator stared at the VM on his thigh while silently counting down in his mind.

It would take about 17 seconds for the cannons to turn to 110 degrees...

The ground artillery had begun launching chaff decoys for their cover, yet he was well aware that this level of interference would not last long before being burned through by the opposing radar.

There wasn’t even a need to burn through it.

The dense fire was enough to shred them along with the jam clouds.

Tracer rounds had begun to pierce the clouds in the distance, exploding into black smoke balls in the sky.

Deadly shrapnel scratched past propellers and wings, the sounds of metal colliding continuously reached them, and the plane’s body began to shake violently.

Judging the time was about right, the unprofessional counter-manipulator calmly grabbed the communicator hanging next to him and switched to the cabin’s broadcast system.

"This flight has now reached its destination, we will crash in 10 seconds..."

"The remaining one kilometer, depends on you!"

As the words fell, the rear cabin door slowly opened, and the high-speed airflow rushed into the cabin with it.

The sound in the communication channel was disrupted by the wind, yet from those intermittent words, he could still make out an unyielding heroism.

"Roger that!"

"Leave it to us!"

The airborne troops of the Burning Corps stepped out of the cabin in succession.

Watching the tracers slice through the clouds and the cockpit glass illuminated by the bursts of flames, the unprofessional counter-manipulator’s lips curled into a smile.

Mission accomplished.

But, probably not making it back.

Thinking this, he switched the communication channel and called out to headquarters.

"This is Flight Squad B... Our mission is completed, but the enemy’s artillery has locked onto us; we’re unable to return."

"Let’s take our paratrooper brothers on their final journey before we’re shot down!"

There was no response in the communication channel.

They realized non-professionally that it was probably due to a few electromagnetic interference bombs mixed in with the artillery fire, disrupting their communication.

But...

It didn’t matter anymore.

They threw the communicator aside and pressed the button next to the control stick; thick black smoke began to billow from the rear of the transport plane.

At the same time, with both hands gripping the control stick, they shouted at the riddled cockpit.

"Flight formation B!"

"Smoke up—charge—!"

Even though they couldn’t hear the shout,

the moment they saw the smoke screen, the 21 "Dragonfly" transport planes flying alongside immediately understood the intent and dove, leaving their own trails of smoke.

Orange and yellow tracer fire danced in the sky, nearly illuminating the entire heavens; without cloud cover for protection, the transport planes were quickly engulfed by flames.

Yet their sacrifice was not in vain.

The rolling black smoke, along with the kamikaze dive, fell from the sky like a flying waterfall, forming a collapsing wall of smoke.

The observer standing next to the aiming system stared intently, eyes wide open, focusing on the sky lit up by artillery fire.

He was sure that those sitting ducks wouldn’t escape.

But what he couldn’t believe was that those people had no intention of running away; they were charging straight towards them.

Then, he saw parachutes pass through the dense smoke.

Like dandelions floating amidst a fire,

their lives were burning away at a visibly rapid pace.

However, even so, the whirlwind of artillery and bullets couldn’t change the direction of their burning commitment.

Witnessing the parachutes floating down from the sky, the gunner behind the 100mm anti-aircraft cannon was filled with disbelief, murmuring as if in a dream.

"...Have these people gone mad?!"

Parachutes...

Parachutes, of all things!

These natives actually planned to board their steel fortress with these ridiculous contraptions.

Even if a few of them were lucky enough to get through their web of fire and board their airships, what then?

Even with five thousand-team forces deployed on the ground, there were still three thousand-team forces on standby in the airship.

Dozens, hundreds of ants...

They would be shredded by their firepower in minutes.

Inside the bridge,

General McCullen’s face was also filled with astonishment as he watched the airborne troops forcefully land.

Although he didn’t know what kind of confidence these people had to forcibly board his airship with so few men, at this moment, he couldn’t take it lightly no matter what.

Those natives had paid such a heavy price to send these men to his doorstep, surely not just to accompany him in watching fireworks.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, General McCullen bellowed an order.

"Adjust the engine orientation! Aim it at the sky!"

The aide-de-camp quickly came to his senses and took the command.

"Yes, sir!"

With the order given, the engines unfolding on either side of the airship slowly turned direction, the propellers pointing straight up.

The engines started, and the propellers began to spin.

A huge airflow blew from below, gently pushing the airship downward while also scattering the parachutes in all directions.

Seeing their brothers from the Burning Corps fall into peril, "Soaring Clouds," which had already left the battlefield, suddenly turned back.

Now, having discarded the electronic jamming pod,

it approached the target silently and swiftly like a dagger hidden in the night.

"""...The speed at which the raindrops fall is 30 to 60 yards."""

Clutching the control stick with both hands, Falling Feather locked his gaze onto the row of engines on the right side of the airship, muttering softly to himself.

"The trigger limit for the Deflection Shield should be around 60 yards."

"Just need to decelerate at the moment of approaching the edge of the shield..."

"I should be able to get in!"

Although it was his first time attempting such a haphazard maneuver,

the forward-swept wing aircraft...

should be able to do it!

Counting down the time to approach the shield in his mind, Falling Feather clenched his teeth hard, rapidly pulled up the control stick as he pushed the throttle!

The nose of the aircraft abruptly lifted.

The tail momentarily swung to the front.

It was in that instant, enduring the nearly unconscious acceleration, that Falling Feather violently pushed down the afterburner valve next to his right leg.

In the engine, the flickering arc of fire resembled a mere flame, yet at that moment, an intense light ignited within the engine.

The aircraft’s velocity plunged abruptly, as its violently shaking forward-swept wings were shredded into pieces by the high-speed airflow.

Without even time to let out a sound, Falling Feather felt a blackout before his eyes, as he disconnected from the Game.

The unbalanced body of the craft tumbled like a fallen leaf, continuing forward, but instead of being pushed aside by the Deflection Shield, it got sucked along with the broken wings into the propellers on the right flank of the airship.

A roaring blaze broke the right wing of the airship, and in an instant, the unbalanced airship tilted.

Night Ten, who had finally stabilized his parachute, stared at the explosion in astonishment, his eyes widening.

"Holy shit?!"

A Cobra maneuver?!

He wasn’t the only one surprised.

The soldiers and officers aboard the Steel Heart were also shocked.

They hadn’t even seen how the aircraft had managed to get close.

All they saw was it decelerating in the last moment, crossing the shield, and turning itself into a bullet that crashed into their right wing.

With the right side losing power, to prevent capsizing, the Steel Heart had to shut down the engines on the left side, lessening the pressure on the paratroopers landing.

However, the threat of death had not yet passed.

Even though they had entered into the blind spot of the 100mm anti-aircraft cannon and even though the enemy’s propellers had been forced to shut down, there were still a dozen 10mm machine guns aiming at them from every direction.

The exoskeleton offered a certain degree of ballistic protection, but it didn’t mean they were immune to bullets.

Having crossed the limit of the Deflection Shield, a surging tide of gunfire assaulted them.

Of the more than 500 paratroopers, over half had already been wounded or killed.

Many were shot to ribbons in the sky, drifting toward the ground, or getting caught on the hedgehog-like protruding gun barrels outside the airship.

Staring at the flickering gunfire and the final thirty meters, Old White pulled out the dagger hanging in front of his Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton and roared a charge command into the nearly paralyzed communication device.

"Even if our flesh burns out before we land—"

"We must sprinkle the burning embers into their eyes!"

"Cut the parachute cords!"

As his words ended, he swung the blade in his hand, severing the parachute tangled on the exoskeleton, breaking through the surging hail of bullets.

The distance of thirty meters disappeared in a flash.

His feet landed heavily on the top of the airship, denting the seemingly impregnable armor with two deep impressions.

Clearly.

It was not as unbeatable as it seemed.

"Target the 400mm main cannon!"

Pulling out the rifle slung on his back, he shouted into the communication channel.

"Everyone who can still move—"

"Keep moving forward!"

""