The Stormwind Gang was very cautious. Their scouts seemed to be exploring a large area around Red Iron Town thoroughly, only daring to attack after confirming there were no ambushes nearby.
Left with no choice, Lu Yuan could only order Black Smoke and Salty Fish to temporarily retreat to avoid exposure.
Time passed second by second. Finally, at five minutes past five in the morning, the Stormwind Gang's main force passed the "last point of no return" without realizing it. From this moment on, even if they detected something was wrong and immediately retreated, Cangyuan would have enough time to complete the encirclement.
Lu Yuan remained clear-headed and rational. He wasn't in a hurry to give the order; he wanted the enemy to go deeper into the "pocket".
7 kilometers, 6 kilometers, 5 kilometers...
When they closed in to 4 kilometers, the Stormwind Gang's main force saw the outlines of artificial objects silhouetted by the moonlight in the distance. Those were the steelmaking blast furnaces in Red Iron Town.
The battle was about to begin.
The one in charge of commanding this army of Raiders was Major Liyá, a confidant of the "Desert Lion".
"Get closer!"
The large army advanced. Liyá climbed out of his wheeled combat vehicle and raised his binoculars. He saw that the town's residential area was quiet, with only scattered lights.
Completely defenseless, at least that's how it looked.
"Heh, heheheh!"
Liyá couldn't help but chuckle softly. He knew this mission was going to succeed, and he was about to earn merit!
"Charge!"
............
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan connected to the team channel, his voice as calm as ever.
"Attention everyone, the enemy has entered the 'pocket'. Operation begins, silent status lifted. Repeat, operation begins, silent status lifted!"
"They're finally here!! Brothers! Follow me closely!"
Upon receiving the order, Black Smoke floored the accelerator. The wheels kicked up a large amount of dust under the high torque, and the all-terrain vehicle launched forward, with the heavy-duty truck following closely behind.
"Male God! Did you see the enemy scouts? Two o'clock direction."
"Saw them, clear as day!"
In the passenger seat, a new player named "Victory Male God" gripped the roll cage with one hand and operated the grenade launcher with the other, half his body leaning out of the vehicle.
"Take this!"
He pulled the trigger repeatedly, firing a six-round burst, giving the opponent no chance.
The PVP-specific grenades had been completely upgraded. The explosive filling was changed from RDX to ONC, doubling the power compared to those used in dungeons.
After a series of violent explosions, orange-red fireballs rose. The opposing all-terrain vehicle turned into burning scrap metal, sliding forward another dozen meters due to inertia before stopping. The scouts on board were annihilated.
"Commander, this power is impressive!"
"Indeed, let's keep going!"
............
On the other side of the battlefield, Liyá commanded the army of Raiders to advance to one kilometer before the town, entering combat range.
"Major, the town is just like we scouted before. There are no defensive works or firing points. The guards are probably still sleeping! What a bunch of useless trash!"
A subordinate bowed, reporting to Liyá on the combat vehicle, his eyes filled with greed and desire.
"I can see that!"
Liyá grinned, excitedly slapping the vehicle's roof.
"Listen up everyone, the town is completely defenseless! Same old rule, the first one to charge in gets a heavy reward! Pick whatever loot you want!"
Roars rose and fell behind him.
"Yeah!! I heard the women in Red Iron Town are good! Sturdy bodies, can take a beating!"
"Didn't they say we couldn't touch the pretty young girls captured this time? They're for Apollo. Damn, how disappointing."
"You're really f*cking stupid! Couldn't you just have played with them until they died and then burned them beforehand? Who would even know such a person existed?"
"Right! You brat, you really know how to be a Raider! Hahahaha!!"
"Alright! Shut up, all of you!" Liyá roared sternly. "Artillery, target the town area, fire at will! Be careful not to hit the factories, clear out the guard posts first!"
Direct-fire cannons of various calibers fired simultaneously. The artillery roar was deafening, and the guard posts were immediately reduced to dust.
Bang bang bang bang!
In less than a few seconds, the town's houses were riddled with holes, their contents turned into piles of debris. Water tanks were also shattered, the precious freshwater mixing with brick and stone dust to become mud.
The Raiders screamed and laughed maniacally, their destructive urges unleashed to the fullest extent.
At the rear of the force, six truck-mounted cannons raised their barrels high and roared as they fired.
The 155mm shells first flew high into the sky, then shrieked as they landed, each shell destroying a house.
Meanwhile, the sound of aircraft engines came from the sky behind them, growing increasingly distinct.
"The air force is here! Lieutenant Colonel Harte has sent the aviation unit from the main camp! We're guaranteed to win!"
Five piston-engine fighters brazenly flew with their navigation lights on, arranged in a tight and orderly formation, swaggering as they flew towards Red Iron Town from a distance.
The sense of oppression was extremely strong.
Seeing these planes, Liyá's heart surged.
In this Desert, whoever had an air force had the biggest fist! This was the ultimate manifestation of strength, the capital that even Oasis City had to look at differently!
The five planes simultaneously spat out orange-red tongues of fire in the air, their 30mm cannons strafing the already devastated residential area.
"Everyone, charge!"
Encouraged by the air force, nearly 200 fully armed Raiders' morale soared. They climbed out of their infantry fighting vehicles and launched a charge under artillery cover.
The sound of artillery fire carried all the way into the underground mining area, plunging the townspeople who had come to seek shelter into extreme panic.
When they were woken up earlier and learned that the Stormwind Gang was about to come and raid, many still held onto hope, thinking the Old Town Chief had either received incorrect information or was too paranoid, and that the Stormwind Gang might just be passing by, perhaps heading to attack Oasis City.
Now, all illusions were shattered. Young girls were pale, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Many elders and parents had even forgotten to be afraid, just shedding tears numbly and despairingly.
Unless a miracle happened, today would be the last day many families would be able to be together.
Even the bravest among them didn't have the courage to rush out and fight for their lives. They looked anxiously at the Town Chief, who frowned deeply and said nothing.
"Charge! Chop them to pieces!!"
Outside, the Raiders charged while roaring and cursing, vowing to vent all the resentment from not being able to drink or gamble for the past few days onto the town's residents.
Ground vehicles continued to fire while moving, and the large army advanced as a whole.
Engines roared as the five fighters all climbed upwards, preparing for a formation dive-bombing run.
They were loaded with 250-kilogram bombs, far more powerful than heavy artillery. Once dropped, they could cause astonishing destruction and completely break the town's will to fight.
At this moment, Jubian connected to the team channel, his tone steady.
"Enemy aerial units locked, requesting fire!"
The response came from an even steadier and calmer voice.
Lu Yuan: "Fire."
On the mountaintop, Jubian had a clear view of the entire battlefield situation and had long been waiting for a chance to show off his skills.
Under the night sky, the pulse laser cannon's cold metal parts reflected the moonlight, exuding a chilling killing intent. It had finished charging, like a crouching beast ready to strike, thirsting for slaughter.