Darkstone Code

Chapter 1221 - 1219: Air Raid

The sound of the aircraft in flight is very distinctive.

How distinctive?

It’s like a tangible wave of sound, roaring from afar.

Initially, the sound isn’t actually harsh or violent, like something subtly trembles in your ear, and you can’t even discern it’s the sound made by the aircraft in flight.

As the plane gets closer, the initially unassuming sound begins to reveal its power.

The sound transforms from something intangible to tangible, pressing heavily on everyone’s hearts, making breathing difficult!

Then the sound of destruction fills the heavens and the earth, like a giant tsunami, and people are so small before it!

"The sound of bombers!" Ryan knew this sound very well. In Mariluo, he had once been close to the bombings, and it was this sound that brought destruction.

It’s nighttime now, and he’s a bit perplexed. He’s not very familiar with air force operations, but he knows the most important part of nighttime bombing is to find the target and then bomb.

Except for the searchlights continuously sweeping the beach on the defensive line’s frontline, denying anyone from approaching under the cover of darkness, there’s hardly any light outside the defense line, pitch-black.

Camping under the enemy’s gunfire and illuminating the area is definitely asking for death, as if lucky to have survived the daylight.

If there’s no way to lock onto the enemy’s position at night, how can bombers find the target?

Ryan was somewhat at a loss; he didn’t quite understand this, but instinctively felt it was odd.

As the sound of bombers grew closer, more soldiers appeared in the base, turning on searchlights to start searching for those planes against the sky, followed by the sharp sounds of alarm!

In fact, two minutes earlier, the command had received a call from the front line asking if they needed to launch flares to help bombers find the target.

The command was bewildered; although they had planned the bombing, it wasn’t meant for tonight’s midnight!

They intended to delay the bombing until four in the morning. In Nagariel, at four in the morning, there was already visible light, allowing bombers to find the enemy camp accurately and then bomb it.

Furthermore, most people would still be asleep at that time, and sudden bombing would make them run around the camp like headless flies, eventually becoming dust.

The command immediately called the airport, asking if the plan had changed, only to be informed that no planes had taken off from the airport, then immediately realized it might be the enemy planes!

The piercing alarm echoed through the camp, and the tanks parked within the camp began to move, machine gunners controlled quad-gun turrets, adjusting angles, and started shooting towards the sky under the beams of searchlights.

The base also had several anti-aircraft guns, originally intended as a precaution, unexpectedly coming into use.

Unlike those tanks, the bullets from these anti-aircraft guns included tracer rounds, tracing lines as they flew skyward, serving as calibration for pre-aiming.

Soon, a plane suddenly spun and plummeted toward the ground, and before people could cheer, their ears were filled with dense, whistling sounds!

Just standing on the ground, one could imagine bombs or artillery shells spinning head-downward to the ground, evoking panic in everyone’s hearts.

Ryan shivered abruptly, rushing towards the power station while shouting loudly, "Quickly turn off all lighting systems, hurry..."

Just as he had considered earlier, if there’s no guidance, nighttime bombing is difficult to accomplish.

No one could have predicted that Peng Jieao would initiate night bombing first, and the Federation’s negligence became an "accomplice."

From the aerial view now, the ground’s starlight twinkles, and near each light source, or not too far away, there are inevitably some people.

This provides an extremely simple and direct target for those pilots; they don’t need to risk marking enemies at night, nor do they need to guess where there’s someone and where there isn’t.

Just drop the bombs near those light sources!

Ryan rushed into the power station, conveying his thoughts to the soldiers, who, after brief comprehension, began shutting down the power station.

Large swathes of light sources in the camp began to disappear, and everyone started to pray in the darkness.

The sound of explosions kept coming, everything seemed like hell!

Not knowing how long after, Ryan woke up from unconsciousness, opening his eyes, his mind blank until after ten seconds he came to his senses.

He looked around and sat up.

The next second, intense pain came from his ankle, almost making him leap from agony!

A power cabinet had fallen, crushing his leg; his ankle might be fractured.

But there was a bittersweet news too, under the cabinet lay a comrade, seemingly dead beyond dead, bearing more weight.

Ryan managed to pull his leg out from under the cabinet amidst screams, stood up, and turned to look at the camp behind him.

The entire camp seemed... blasted to pieces and then fell back to the ground.

At this point, no intact building could be found, everywhere were scenes of ruins and apocalypse.

Colleagues were actively searching for wounded and giving treatment, possibly Ryan’s screams earlier were heard, as someone loudly pointed towards him from afar, "There’s a wounded person needing help!"

Soon, two colleagues, faces exhausted and covered with dust, ran over. One asked, "Do you need a stretcher?"

Ryan shook his head and stretched his arms over the shoulders of two colleagues, hopping deeper into the area.

"How are our casualties?" he asked.

Both colleagues fell silent, clearly indicating the situation was grim.

About half a minute later, the colleague on the left sighed, "We’ve estimated that over two thousand people died in last night’s airstrike. The exact number will have to wait until every area is cleared."

The person looked at Ryan, "You’re from the power station? Who ordered the power cut last night?"

Ryan was taken aback, then hopped twice more to avoid being dragged along, "I ordered the power cut. Did I do something wrong?"

He was a bit anxious; under those circumstances, he acted instinctively.

In his understanding of night airstrikes, positioning was very crucial.

Previously, to facilitate night airstrikes against the warlords of Mariluo, they had to fire differently colored flares over the enemy’s occupied area for identification.

If there was no light, no target, the bombers might not find the right location.

The soldier on the left sighed with some emotion, "You saved us. The subsequent bombers missed their targets. If it weren’t for you, our casualties might have been even worse!"

The person laughed twice, "You’re our hero..."

Ryan was soon taken to the medical area. The doctor looked at his ankle, and it wasn’t too bad, just a mild fracture and a tibia fracture, so he couldn’t walk for a while.

Being unable to move, unlike injuries to arms or other places, he had to be sent back to the Federation to receive better treatment until fully recovered.

The morning’s tally showed that over three thousand three hundred soldiers had left this world due to the airstrike, and the death toll from the front line had not yet been compiled.

This message was delivered to Lynch at 10:15.

Mr. Wardrick was also present; he had come over early in the morning, looking very calm.

In fact, the results obtained with the armored vehicle far exceeded his expectations. From the feedback on the field, the armored vehicle exhibited extremely efficient killing power against infantry.

Moreover, it also had excellent anti-air capabilities during nighttime air defense.

Aircraft of this era actually did not fly fast, nor very high, so the core combat intent of anti-air weapons was still to destroy the airplanes.

With further technological advancements and increased aircraft speed, the role of anti-air weapons would shift from destruction to deterrence.

The quad-barrel cannons were very effective against aerial targets.

Whether dealing with enemy infantry units or serving as rapidly deployable anti-air force, they were very suitable for the current situation.

The Ministry of Defense sent personnel to his factory early to conduct on-site inspections and possibly purchase some.

According to Mr. Wardrick’s friends, the order could exceed a thousand units!

Lynch was reading the report without being disturbed, just sitting quietly on the side.

Once Lynch finished reading, he showed interest in the report as well, so Lynch tossed him the report.

After reading for a while, Mr. Wardrick’s expression turned serious, "Nearly four thousand people died, one-third of them, along with a large amount of military equipment and supplies being destroyed. The losses are severe."

He solemnly lifted his head to look at Lynch, "Are you planning to pull back the men?"

Lynch shook his head, "War always results in death, Mr. Wardrick. Don’t delude yourself into thinking there can be a war with no casualties."

"We were a bit careless this time, next time we will be doubly cautious."

"Moreover, compared to the Federation Government, our losses are not that severe. What we have to do next is make them understand they have provoked the wrong people."

Mr. Wardrick was a bit surprised, "What are you planning to do?"

Lynch grinned, "Of course, repay them with double the retaliation!"

Meanwhile, in an airport in eastern Nagariel, far from the border, planes began loading cluster bombs. Originally, conventional bombs were supposed to be used, as this wasn’t a real war.

In a sense, this was just a slightly escalated "friction", with both sides engaging in offense and defense for some time around here.

But now, it wasn’t anymore!

The command received orders, and aside from a portion staying behind, others were ready to head to the battlefield anytime.

Darkstone Security Company would conduct saturating bombings on potential enemy areas, at least twice!

After the bombing, the troops would enter the battlefield and leave all Peng Jieao people on this land!

Meanwhile, another batch of aircraft is rapidly approaching the eastern Nagariel airport, trying to hold the Peng Jieao planes back. Lynch quickly dispatched some fighter jets to eastern Nagariel to intercept their bombers.

Whether they intend to continue bombing or leave, Lynch would not let them have their way.