Meanwhile, about 20 kilometers away from Cain and the 597th Regiment, a "tank battle" between humans and the Tau was underway. Under Li Feng's command, a combined armored battlegroup of Cadia and Solar Auxilia was rapidly breaking through the Tau positions as a spearhead.
On the distant battlefield, human and Tau armored forces clashed fiercely, with metal and flames intertwining to create a stunning spectacle.
The combined armored battlegroup of Cadia and Solar Auxilia formed a sharp spearhead, piercing through the Tau positions, with fire and smoke rising in their wake.
A Solar Auxilia leopard 2 tank drove onto the front line, its 120mm electromagnetic cannon roaring. A hyper-velocity kinetic penetrator round sliced through the air, accurately hitting a Tau "Hammerhead" gunship. (Armor vs. Shell!)
The sound of tearing metal echoed on the battlefield as a hole was punched directly through the Tau gunship's turret. Its anti-gravity engine damaged, its massive body tilted and fell, emitting thick black smoke.
However, other gunships immediately reacted, their plasma cannons roaring to life, firing dazzling blue-white beams of light that intertwined with the human armored forces' artillery fire, creating deadly light and shadow.
The Tau gunships began to assert their power on the front line, their turrets slowly rotating, precisely locking their high-energy plasma cannons onto the Leopard 2's position. Seconds later, plasma rounds shot out, streaking across the ground with blue contrails.
The plasma rounds hit the "cloth bundles" on the side armor of a leopard 2 tank... The shockwave generated by the explosion instantly shook the ground, kicking up nearby dust, and the entire tank was instantly engulfed by the huge explosion... "Humans! Don't think you've won just because your navy won! Your officers made you hang cloth bundles on your tank's side armor! How cruel is your Imperium to its Soldiers! How about we show some greater good..."
Suddenly, from the smoke and dust, the tank remained intact, only a few of the cloth bundles near its side armor seemed to have disappeared... Yes, this was 40K's "Fossil" Heavy Explosive Reactive Armor, which had literally "swallowed" a Tau tank's plasma round.
The next second, the Leopard 2's turret aimed at the "Hammerhead" gunship that had just fired at it. With a 4-second reload speed from its bustle autoloader, a fin-stabilized discarding sabot round was then propelled out of the smoothbore barrel by the powerful electromagnetic force.
The steel dart directly hit the Tau gunship's frontal armor, piercing right through the entire gunship... The steel dart triggered a sympathetic detonation of the Tau gunship's plasma cell, causing the entire gunship to explode violently, its plasma cannon literally "decapitated" and blown into the sky.
The Tau XV95 "Ghostkeel" Battlesuit, piloted by a Tau pilot, activated its optical camouflage and, using the smoke and dust as cover, infiltrated the human defensive line, rapidly firing its fusion blasters at several light armored vehicles.
Wherever the shells struck, metal casings were cut open like paper, and the fuel and ammunition inside the vehicle bodies instantly exploded upon contact with the high temperature, turning into fireballs.
But the human forces reacted quickly. The rest of the "Cougar" armored vehicles were deployed behind the front line, unleashing dense autocannon fire onto the Tau battlesuits.
Each shell was a high-penetration "steel dart," carrying immense penetrating power, accurately striking the joints and engine areas of the Tau battlesuits. Soon, several battlesuits were forced to retreat, retreating in disarray under the artillery fire, returning to the Tau lines with multiple damages.
At the same time, a Cadia M1A4 Abrams Tank emerged from its hidden position, locking onto several Tau Riptide Tanks in the Tau formation.
A shot was fired, and the armor-piercing round accurately struck the side of the Tau armor's turret. Although Tau protection was strong, it could hardly withstand the terrifying penetration depth of an electromagnetic cannon coupled with a high-penetration armor-piercing round. The Tau armor was torn open, metal fragments killing the Tau crew inside, and internal ammunition caused a secondary explosion, with flames erupting like a volcano.
The Tau KV128 "Stormsurge" Ballistic Suit began to launch rockets, attacking again, firing several high-energy missiles at the human armored cluster.
The missiles tore through the air, skimming low, then accurately flew towards several human infantry fighting vehicles. The "Trophy" active protection system on top of the infantry fighting vehicles rapidly scanned and detected the incoming missiles using its small array radar, and fired numerous interceptor missiles from the interceptor launchers on both sides of the turret ring, intercepting several missiles in mid-air.
The interceptor missiles caused smoke and dust to rise across the battlefield, and the armored vehicles began to retreat rapidly. The Cadia and Solar Auxilia Apache and K-52 attack helicopters were already in position.
From the helicopter's weapon pylons, strings of missiles began to launch. The Apache's "Hellfire" missiles and the Ka-52 Black Shark's "Vortex" anti-tank missiles flew towards the retreating Tau armor.
A Solar Auxilia leopard 2 tank, its turret steadily aimed at a Tau "Barracuda" interceptor attempting to counterattack, fired a shell. A high-velocity kinetic penetrator round, electromagnetically boosted, tore through the air, accurately piercing the weak armor on top of the "Riptide" turret.
The instantaneous impact tore through the metal casing. The Tau tank's internal ammunition and fuel detonated, with flames and debris tumbling in the air.
Tau battlesuits and armored vehicles were successively annihilated under the fierce artillery fire. Deafening explosions came from behind the front line, as Apache and Ka-52 anti-tank missiles struck, heavily suppressing the Tau's reserve forces.
Tau battlesuit pilots repeatedly raised their weapons, trying to shoot down the Ka-52 attack helicopter that was constantly firing "Vortex" missiles in the sky, but the Ka-52's "Vitebsk" jamming system made it impossible for the Tau's aiming and HUD to lock on.
The Tau XV109 "Y'vahra" Battlesuit attempted a final stand, shouldering its plasma cannon to counterattack. The intense beam scorched the air, making it shimmer, and a blue-white plasma beam cut across the battlefield, aimed at a human Cougar armored vehicle.
The impact of the plasma cannon caused the Cougar armored vehicle's hull to violently shake. Under the protection of the vehicle's AMAP composite armor, the hull's protective armor was nearly torn apart, but the armor still stubbornly withstood this round of fire. However, its tracks were broken, rendering it immobile.
In the distance, a Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank seized the opportunity to flank the Tau, aiming at the exposed areas of the Stormsurge. Flames erupted from the 120mm electromagnetic cannon's barrel, and a steel dart-like armor-piercing round broke through the air, directly hitting the Tau battlesuit's chest.
The massive battlesuit was directly pierced, and the Tau pilot inside was torn apart by the steel dart that passed through his body. The battlesuit finally lost its balance, and its plasma weapon fell from its barrel to the ground, like a giant beast that had lost its claws and teeth.
At this point, the aerial support attack helicopter formation finally arrived. Apache and Ka-52 Black Sharks circled above the battlefield, their autocannons sweeping violently, completely suppressing the Tau Soldiers and light armored vehicle convoy.
Apache's "Hellfire" missiles fired one after another, locking onto scattered Tau strongpoints on the ground. The "Hellfire" missiles, with an ear-splitting shriek, accurately pierced the Tau defensive line.
Tau Soldiers scattered in panic. The Ka-52's "Vortex" missiles followed closely, striking directly at the engine areas of the Tau armored vehicles, almost completely paralyzing the Tau vehicles with a single hit, the metal jet burning through both the vehicle and the pilot.
The Tau Ghostkeel Battlesuits also attempted to counterattack. Several battlesuits ambushed from hidden positions, wielding plasma blades and charging at high speed towards the human light vehicles.
But the human infantry were prepared, quickly spreading out and counterattacking with heavy Bolters and TOW-4 anti-tank missiles. The Blade-Shadow battlesuits were surrounded by dense armor-piercing rounds and anti-tank missile fire. The plasma blades were powerless amidst the hail of bullets, and the armor at their joints was repeatedly hit, sparking and emitting thick smoke.
Furthermore, the massive tandem warhead of an anti-tank missile, after hitting the Tau battlesuit's massive shield, had its first warhead directly penetrate it, and the second-stage warhead's metal jet directly burned through the Tau battlesuit's head.
The combined forces of Cadia and Solar Auxilia continued to advance steadily. The Tau defensive line, littered with debris, had been torn to shreds. The Tau's will to fight faltered, and they gradually retreated from the battlefield.
Finally, the remnants of the Tau battlesuits attempted to cover the retreat of the Tau command vehicle, but the human forces had already achieved final lock-on with the support of their fire control systems.
An Abrams Tank fired first, its shell streaking across the sky and hitting the Tau command vehicle's hull, followed by the precise strike of a "Hellfire" missile.
The Tau command vehicle exploded with a roar under the continuous impacts, flames soaring into the sky, symbolizing the complete collapse of the battle. The Tau Soldiers lost their fighting spirit, and the remaining forces scattered and fled, attempting to withdraw from the battlefield.
"All units advance! It's time for our Tau friends to answer!"
At the Commander's order, the human armored forces accelerated forward, crossing the field of Tau wreckage, and pushing deep into the heart of the battlefield.
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