Chapter 195: Intense Warfare
Shintaro Takayama's orders spread rapidly through the entire combat network via encrypted data links, and Arasaka's war machine roared to full speed once again.
After a brief pause, an offensive far more violent than before erupted across the landing zone.
Arasaka's armored units deployed into attack formations on the outskirts of Night City.
Main battle tanks formed the first shock wave. Their heavy tracks crushed the rubble-strewn ground as turrets rotated slowly, searching for any suspicious targets ahead.
Armored Personnel Carriers followed closely, maintaining appropriate spacing, their roof-mounted heavy machine guns already trained on the distant outline of the defense line.
Infantrymen gripped their weapons tightly through firing ports, their breathing heavy inside their gas masks.
Power Armor troops were dispersed on the flanks and in the gaps of the armored cluster. The heavy footsteps of the "Onimusha" units mixed with the roar of tank engines to create a continuous low-frequency vibration.
These three-meter-tall steel soldiers were more agile than tanks, capable of responding rapidly to sudden threats.
Behind the armored columns, self-propelled artillery units had completed firing preparations.
Cannon barrels fine-tuned their angles continuously based on data returned from the front, and auto-loaders fed the first wave of shells into the chambers.
The crisp sound of metal colliding echoed across the artillery positions.
Simultaneously, carrier-based aircraft on the deck of the White Whale lifted off in succession.
After completing formation in the designated airspace, the attack group pressed toward the Abandoned Town in combat formation.
Pilots confirmed weapon status as target data continuously updated in their fire control systems.
The entire Arasaka attack echelon was like a precision killing machine, pushing forward steadily according to pre-set procedures.
Brief confirmation signals passed over the radio as units maintained strict combat spacing.
There were no superfluous sounds, only the symphony of metal friction, engine roars, and grinding tracks playing the prelude to a total offensive on the smoke-filled battlefield.
On the perimeter of the Abandoned Town, the joint defense line constructed by Barghest and Lazarus forces was enduring the heaviest pressure since the start of hostilities.
"All units attention! Engaging enemy frontally! Repeat, massive armored cluster engaging frontally!" The warning from the forward observation post in the comms channel carried unconcealed tension.
Colonel Hansen's single eye stared fixedly at the tactical panel, where densely surging red signals almost covered the entire frontal sector.
His expression became exceptionally grave.
"Execute pre-set defense plan!" he growled into the microphone. "Echelon configuration, organize crossfire! Lazarus teams, utilize mobility advantages to hunt and clear key targets!
"Barghest squads, hold steadily relying on existing fortifications! Without my order, no one takes a step back!"
The curtain of battle was raised by the Arasaka artillery cluster.
Dense shells smashed toward the defender's positions with ear-piercing screams. The firelight of explosions flashed continuously, connecting into a sea of searing heat.
Smoke and dust shot into the sky, rapidly permeating the entire battlefield.
The earth trembled violently under the incessant explosions.
Machine gun bunkers built from reinforced concrete prefabs shook violently under sustained shelling, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on their reinforced surfaces.
When standard sandbag firing positions were hit directly, the entire structure disintegrated instantly, sending sand and debris mixed with smoke flying into the sky.
Trench walls reinforced by engineers peeled off in large chunks under the shock of near-misses, exposing the rough reinforcement frames inside.
Every heavy artillery shell that landed left a shocking crater on the position.
Fragments of prefabs, twisted metal supports, and sandbag remains flew everywhere, carried by the shockwaves of explosions.
Although these fortifications were much sturdier than temporary cover, under continuous heavy bombardment, their defensive capabilities were being eaten away bit by bit.
The violent tremors generated by the explosions churned the insides of the soldiers guarding them, while flying metal shrapnel and concrete fragments posed a lethal threat.
Just as the artillery fire began to extend in depth, Arasaka's armored troops surged up like a flood bursting a dam.
Tank main guns spewed blinding firelight. High-explosive and armor-piercing rounds sliced through the air, smashing ruthlessly into Barghest's fire points.
Heavy machine guns on the APCs spewed tongues of fire continuously, suppressing any possible counterattack attempts by the defenders with dense barrages.
"Fire!" Hansen's roar exploded in the brief interval between blasts.
On the Barghest positions, all weapons erupted with lethal firepower simultaneously.
Soldiers equipped with new laser rifles executed precise single shots, sending crimson beams toward the observation equipment of tanks and the joint seams of power armor.
Soldiers using traditional ballistic weapons strafed the flanks and tracks of APCs with armor-piercing belts.
Temporarily reinforced anti-tank rocket gunners pulled their triggers. Rockets dragged clear tail flames, emitting ear-piercing shrieks as they pounced straight at the Arasaka tanks rushing at the very front.
However, on this vast and chaotic frontal battlefield, the limitations of the shield technology began to show.
For the veterans among the Lazarus mercenaries, the shield generators installed on their power armor were equivalent to a second life.
Relying on exquisite piloting skills and battlefield intuition, they could precisely judge threat levels and incoming directions, activating shields only at critical moments to block or deflect, thereby significantly enhancing survivability and combat efficiency.
These power armors shuttled flexibly across the battlefield, utilizing the brief defensive windows created by shields to rapidly cut into the flanks or rear of the Arasaka armored units, destroying tanks and armored vehicles one by one with precise fire.
But for the Barghest rank-and-file soldiers, who were greater in number but varied in training levels and combat experience, the situation was completely different.
The performance of the shield generators mounted on their basic exoskeletons was already inferior to the Lazarus models, with limited energy reserves and continuous operation time.
Faced with overwhelming artillery coverage and dense machine-gun barrages, many recruits, due to nervousness and lack of experience, often activated their shields too early or kept them on continuously, causing the energy cores to overload and shut down rapidly in the initial stages of the firefight.
"My shield! Shield failure!"
"Energy depleted! Recharging!"
"Recharge can't keep up! Their fire is too heavy!"
Panicked calls began to ring out in the comms channel.
Losing the protection of the shields, the Barghest soldiers had to rely on their basic exoskeletons and ballistic armor, their protection level instantly reverting to its original state.
Large-caliber machine gun bullets fired by Arasaka soldiers easily tore through exoskeleton protection, and armor-piercing rounds from anti-materiel rifles caused terrifying casualties.
For a time, casualty numbers on the Barghest positions began to rise significantly.
Soldiers fell constantly, screams and calls for help rising and falling.
Combat medics shuttled across the positions through a hail of bullets, but were often powerless to save them.
The density of fire on the defense line began to drop due to attrition.
What surprised the Arasaka soldiers even more was that, in the brutal close-quarters melee, they discovered that the shields of the enemy power armor seemed to have lost their effectiveness.
(End of Chapter)