Four hours later,
The Stormwind Gang's Executive Officer walked into "Desert Lion" Hart's room with a solemn expression.
"We… were ambushed by the enemy a short while ago. They wiped out all our patrol teams, only letting one vehicle return…"
"Where is the enemy's main force now?"
The Executive Officer's voice was very low, and Hart's voice was even more grim.
"They should still be about thirty kilometers away, not showing themselves."
"Hmm… So they won't launch an attack for now; they're planning a siege."
Since no one had returned alive to tell what exactly happened that night in Red Iron Town, Hart knew nothing about Cangyuan's weapon and equipment levels, and was still predicting the upcoming battle according to a typical siege.
For a siege, the defending side naturally has an inherent advantage, especially since he occupied a pre-apocalyptic fortress that was immune to all artillery bombardment.
When the attacking side starts suffering casualties and their supplies can't keep up, that's the perfect time to launch a counter-attack!
At worst, it would result in negotiations!
He pushed the door open and looked at the hundreds of Raiders in the hall.
"The enemy has finally come, good! Excellent! I've been waiting for this day for a long time! We have ample supplies and ammunition! Our brothers are even well-trained! Our defenses are impregnable, and the enemy will surely be utterly defeated at our feet! We will definitely win this battle!
"After we win, I'm going to lead you to conquer Oasis City! Those who perform meritorious deeds will be heavily rewarded! The gold, silver, treasures, mansions, and women of those nobles! You can pick whatever you want! Long live the Stormwind Gang!"
"Long live the Lieutenant Colonel!" The Executive Officer shouted, building momentum.
We will win!
Upon hearing that they could plunder Oasis City, the Raiders' primal desires were reignited.
One second they were dumbfounded, the next they were screaming excitedly, some immediately gyrating their hips in an air-humping motion, completely high.
"Oh yeah! I've never had a noble girl in my life!"
"Long live the Lieutenant Colonel!"
"Alright! Everyone to your battle stations!"
Boom…
No sooner had Hart finished speaking than a low explosion sounded outside, followed by a second, then a third…
All the screams immediately ceased, and the hall fell silent.
"Re-report! Our outer bunkers have been destroyed!"
What?!
"Can you confirm?"
"Abso-absolutely, seventy percent have… been destroyed!!"
Hart glared at the Executive Officer.
"Damn it! Didn't you say the enemy was still dozens of kilometers away?!"
At the same time, Ying Ji Chang Kong hummed a tune, remotely controlling the loitering munitions, which took off from a makeshift stand on the back of a truck.
The Stormwind Gang's bunkers were reinforced concrete permanent fortifications, with various calibers of artillery inside, connected by tunnels.
To be honest, they were very tough, but that was against traditional indirect artillery fire.
For these bunkers to exert their firepower, they physically had to have weapon firing ports. One only needed to use high-precision weapons to blast these firing ports.
Even if it didn't kill the personnel inside, it could destroy the weapons.
This was precisely what loitering munitions excelled at!
Five minutes later, the loitering munition controlled by Chang Kong accurately hit a large heavy artillery bunker.
This loitering munition carried a thermite warhead. After the warhead's fuse triggered, a large amount of incandescent molten metal immediately burst out.
The artillery inside the bunker had a very thick gun shield protecting the breech and the main breechblock behind it, but the gun barrel sticking out was unprotected and was immediately deformed by the high-temperature molten material, rendering it unable to fire normally.
"Executive Officer," Grassland walked up to Lu Yuan and saluted, "The bunkers in the frontal direction have all been cleared. Should we push forward?"
"No need to be so impatient," Lu Yuan shook his head, "Let's play with them a bit longer."
Drones then took off, flying towards the enemy's camp.
Among them were suicide FPV racing drones and civilian drones, the latter carrying large-caliber shells seized earlier, dropped from high altitude, not aiming for precision, but for low cost.
For a time, all the Raiders in the camp who dared to show their heads were subjected to a barrage of artillery fire. The racing drones deftly flew into warehouses through vents and windows, ghost-like, destroying war vehicles they thought were well-hidden. Some were even lucky enough to find the Stormwind Gang's ammunition storage points, causing huge explosions that lit up the sky.
Among these drones, one was particularly special; it had a loudspeaker hanging beneath its fuselage.
"Cough, cough!"
Ye Xing cleared his throat and began to loudly recite the "surrender" lines he had thought up overnight.
"You are surrounded; resistance is futile. Lay down your weapons, raise your hands, and actively stand at the designated drop point, and we will give you a swift end! Those who stubbornly resist will be randomly subjected to the following punishments."
"One! The Punishment of the Brazier: being tied to a copper pillar and heated with fire until completely roasted!"
"Two! The Punishment of the Bronze Bull: being confined inside a hollow, sealed bronze bull, filled with water up to the neck, and slowly cooked over a low flame!"
"Three! The Rat Punishment: an iron basin is placed on the abdomen, with rock rats inside. After heating the iron basin, the rock rats dig through the belly to escape the heat and burrow into the abdominal cavity!"
"Four! Dismemberment by Chariots…"
"Five! Lingchi…"
"We take no prisoners! Don't believe us? Try it!"
Of course, Lu Yuan had no real intention of implementing these gruesome methods.
Mainly because he found them too troublesome.
But none of the Raiders who heard the announcement dared to take these words lightly.
Various forms of torture and brutal killing of prisoners of war were all too common in this apocalypse!
One had to remember that in the previous battle, not a single one of the 500 men sent out returned. Who knew what they had gone through!
Unimaginable!
"Damn it! I became a Raider for wealth and glory! Not for this!"
Under the continuous bombardment of drones, many Raiders were directly scared out of their wits, throwing away their weapons, helmets, and tactical vests that would slow them down, and fleeing for their lives.
"Our army is defeated! Our army is defeated!! Run for your lives!"
"Shoot those traitors!"
Seeing this scene, Hart's veins bulged on his forehead, filled with anger, bitterness, and fear.
Were the enemies he faced truly the combined forces of Oasis City and Apollo?
No! If they were, they wouldn't be so ruthless, otherwise it would be detrimental to uniting and controlling other Raider war gangs in the future.
Hart realized internally that the commander of this attacking force would not treat him differently from other Soldiers.
The title "Desert Lion" meant nothing to that person.
Just a random passerby.
The machine gunners hiding in the main building of the camp aimed at their own fleeing Soldiers and opened fire, large-caliber bullets cutting them in half.
After the machine gunners finished their work, these machine gun firing ports, having exposed themselves, were also specifically targeted by FPV racing drones, so much so that the machine gunners behind them no longer dared to open fire to supervise the battle, each fearing for his own life.
The Stormwind Gang's morale completely collapsed, and at this point, less than ten minutes had passed since the start of the battle.
"Advance."
After seeing the enemy camp in utter chaos from the aerial footage, Lu Yuan said to Grassland beside him.
"All units! Advance!"
Grassland repeated loudly.