A pale blue plume pierced the silent night sky, and two huge transport planes appeared over Sandbank Island.

The second largest natural island in the southern seas, the island is known for its vast golden sand beaches, and is home to 70,000 people in about 400 square kilometres, equivalent to just over 1% of Singapore's actual area.

Unlike the narrow and crowded artificial islands of the crater, it is somewhat similar to the North Island and Anle Island, and the island still retains a lot of tropical natural scenery.

Most of the island's residents live on the relatively high south side, and modern buildings with two or three storeys are scattered on both sides of the ring road.

Since there was no airfield on the island, the Burning Corps could only land on the sea on the outskirts of the island.

The plasma plume ejected from the engine approached the surface of the sea, and the scorching spray emitted a white mist.

The hatch of the cabin opened downward, and a steel landing craft slid down the track to the door of the cabin, and twelve players in exoskeletons were waiting on the landing craft, with a 12mm machine gun and a coaxial 60mm grenade launcher mounted at the front of the landing craft.

The former is mainly used against light targets above the sea surface, while the latter is designed for underwater soft targets such as "frogmen".

The 60mm underwater grenade, which is equipped with a pressure sensor, uses a metallic hydrogen charge, which will explode at an extremely high rate of explosion when it approaches the target, relying on the shock wave to kill nearby targets.

This landing craft is mainly designed for landing operations in the North Island and Haiya Province, so the 60mm grenade launcher can fire universal fragmentation grenades in addition to underwater grenades to suppress ground targets.

Although the chairman, CEO and factory director of Goblin Technology is obsessed with selling rags on the northern line, it is clear that Goblin Technology's main business has not been abandoned because of this.

As the target area approached, the player sitting in the cockpit shouted in the communication channel.

“…… The goal is near, and you have a minute to prepare! ”

"Thirty seconds."

"Ten seconds!"

“…… Let's go! ”

With a clear "click", the rope towing the landing craft was lifted, and the two Overlord transport planes threw down the landing craft hanging at the hatch at the same time.

Immediately after that, the landing craft were lowered one by one like dumplings, and in the blink of an eye, there were twenty more speedboats armed to the teeth on the rough sea.

The speedboats split into two teams and headed for the north and south sides of Sandbank Island.

Meanwhile, on the northern side of the island, disarmed Sandbank Island soldiers were digging a beachhead with a group of guards wearing exoskeletons.

Half an hour ago, they had already received an early warning from Anle Island.

A destroyer and a landing ship are coming from the direction of the North Island, from the menacing posture of those guys, obviously not here to negotiate with them, sitting on the landing ship is afraid that it is not a mutant.

I heard that in the distant southern part of Geumcheon Province, being caught by mutants is no joke, and both men and women will be eaten.

And it's eaten in a different way.

So even though they were on opposite sides not long ago, they now have to stand on the same side for their relatives, friends and families.

Looking at a row of landing craft heading straight in the distance, a trace of panic subconsciously floated in everyone's eyes, but soon someone noticed the flashing signal lights on the landing craft.

"It's the Alliance's reinforcements!" A hint of surprise was written on the face of one of the soldiers.

Standing next to him, the guards not far away were the same, and after confirming the frequency of the signal light, they all showed saved expressions.

Ten landing craft rushed directly onto the beachhead, and players wearing exoskeletons jumped off the landing craft one after another, and two power players stayed behind, pulling the landing craft stranded on the shore directly to the shore.

The steel plates on both sides of the landing craft are more than 15 mm thick, and the two layers are stacked together to make it 30 mm, and even some large-caliber machine gun shells can be blocked.

Coupled with the stationary weapons on the landing craft, the removal of the battery is an excellent cover.

In addition to this, the landing craft also contained ammunition supplies and a number of folding bags for sand, gravel and earthwork.

Fang Chang, who walked to the shore, walked straight to the front of the armed men, glanced around at them, and briefly introduced himself.

"Captain Fang, Burning Corps, who is in charge here?"

"Me."

A man in a military exoskeleton walked out. He carries a Federal-style assault rifle around his waist, but the body armor inside the exoskeleton is a police style.

"Dumen, the head of the Shazhou Island Security Bureau, and the army ...... of the new authorities on Shazhou Island Uh, Commander. ”

Probably because he had just acquired this set of equipment, it was obvious that he was not fully accustomed to the use of the military exoskeleton on his body.

Although it was a serious occasion, the corners of Fang Chang's mouth couldn't help but twitch when he heard the word "commander".

There are only about 200 people standing here, and it is estimated that there are only four or five hundred people who are not here, and if they are put to the top of the northern line, they can make up half a thousand people, and I am afraid that they will not even be able to fill the two caves.

But then again, this thing still depends on who it compares to.

If these four or five hundred people fight with the mountain battalion of the enterprise or the thousand-man team of the legion, it is enough to choke, but if it is against the expeditionary force of the Xilan Empire, it should be no problem to run the latter's 10,000-strong team.

Of course, the Gray Wolves or the two warlords on the border of Port Golden Gallen would have to be said for another matter.

Du Men himself seemed to feel a little embarrassed, so he coughed dryly and took the initiative to hand over the command.

"I'll be blunt, we don't have any chance of fighting here, the exercise is just a formality, and defense is mainly the work of the navy...... The conductor may have to trouble you veterans, so if there is anything you need to cooperate with, just tell us what to do. ”

"A wise choice." Fang Chang didn't talk nonsense with him, and directly took out a tablet and threw it into his hand.

On the tablet is the battle plan.

In response to the two possible courses of action for Charas, the Alliance's Army Staff has prepared a response plan.

Du Men took it and glanced at it, and a surprised expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"It's ...... Battle plan? Do you already have a premonition of today's events? ”

The tablet shows not only a map of Sandbank Island, but also the positions deployed in each area and the troops to be attached.

It's not like it's a two-hour job, and it would take two or three days to prepare, to say the least.

Looking at the surprised ally, Fang Chang said with a faint smile.

"We used to rehearse what didn't happen, and then make a plan and submit it to the General Staff, and finally finalize it as a draft of action and send it to Mr. Manager for signature. As soon as the scenario we envisage occurs, the draft action will take effect immediately, and our troops will act as soon as they are routinely reported, rather than waiting for a response from the management before making the next move. ”

This is actually a relatively routine operation.

As for unexpected situations, such as the loss of soldiers in the Xilan Empire, he will deal with them in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Player's Handbook" and the "Alliance Constitution", and decide whether to fight back or not, and what part to stop fighting back.

Sandbank Island has been a potential powder keg since the beginning of the Confederacy, and in addition to the residents of Sandbank Island themselves, even the keyboard masters on the point cloud at the end of Ideal City can see it.

I'm afraid that not only have they made a defensive plan, but Charas's side has already considered the situation that the alliance will make a move, and has long been prepared for both.

At present, the two Thunder fighters are searching northward, testing the fire of enemy destroyers and reconnoitring the South China Sea Alliance Navy to determine that there may be an ambush.

After seeing the entire battle plan from beginning to end, Dumen immediately took his men into action.

At the same time, on the south side of Shazhou Island, the company led by Lao Bai also landed on the island.

However, due to the large number of houses scattered on the south side of the island, they did not rush the landing craft directly to the beachhead, but landed directly from the pier to the shore.

Lao Bai, who went ashore like the commander, informed the guards who were consolidating their defenses on the south bank of the battle plan.

Looking at the Alliance soldiers who had taken over the defense, the guards on the south bank looked at each other.

“…… Doesn't seem to have anything to do without us? ”

A bearded guard snuffed out his cigarette butts and stuffed them into a garbage bag in his pocket, and looked blankly at the soldiers who were busy consolidating their positions.

He always had a delusion.

Compared to these guys, the well-armed self is more like a civilian.

Lao Bai, who was directing the work, happened to hear his words, and then looked at him with a smile and said.

"What are you talking about, there are still a lot of things you need to do, don't think about throwing everything to us."

After a pause, Lao Bai continued.

"Now take your family to evacuate, remember to stay away from the coastline, in two hours we will airdrop a batch of supplies to the center of the island to help you set up a temporary camp, and when everything is safe we will tell you to go home."

The guards who received the task immediately straightened their backs and gave a non-standard Alliance military salute.

"Yes!"

Looking at his funny appearance, Lao Bai smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"yes, cheer up! Now that you've mustered up the courage to get here, don't give up halfway and finish what you need to do. ”

The guard took a deep breath and nodded vigorously, but there was still a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Seeing that the leader from the Alliance was about to turn away, he couldn't help but stop him.

"Wait, can I ask a question? I don't understand...... If you're so well prepared, you could have blasted Charas away from here before we revolted, so why do you have to wait until today? ”

Old White grinned.

Other players may not know, but he knows that Fang Chang has indeed made a similar plan-

That is, before Charas consolidates the defense of Sandbank Island, the airfield of the crater is used as a springboard to occupy Sandbank Island, thus increasing the number of islands controlled by the South China Sea Alliance from four to five.

Compared to the 30-square-kilometer crater, Sandbank Island, which is flatter and less densely populated and located closer to the middle of the southern seas, is clearly more suitable as an air base for the alliance in the southern seas.

In fact, the South China Sea Alliance authorities also expected so, and Commander Lee even offered to risk sending a fleet to provide cover for troops landing on the islands.

This plan has been submitted to the Alliance General Staff, and the General Staff has even made a battle plan and an execution plan, but unfortunately it has not been approved by the management.

“…… Equality that is forcibly given is not equality, it doesn't matter if you don't understand it, and I don't understand everything, but I believe that our manager can take us to end the wasteland, just as we believe that he can take us to hold back the bone-chewing tribes and the waves. ”

Lao Bai shook his shoulder and let go of his hand.

"Go do your job, just like we do."

As he spoke, there was a thunderous explosion on the quiet sea, and a dense string of tracer lights formed a curve in the air, swinging towards the sky like a long whip, and then bursting into two flames.

Moments later, the voice of a Goblin Regiment pilot was heard in the communication channel.

“…… Here the wind is clear, the fire network of enemy destroyers is too dense! Our missiles could not break through their point defenses ......"

The Federal Navy was built on the basis of the Legion as an imaginary enemy, and naturally it would not be so stupid as not even having an air defense system.

What's more, the main purpose of destroyers is anti-submarine and aviation, and the reason why Charles sent destroyers to escort the landing ships was to take into account the alliance's "air superiority" and General Li Minghui's submarines.

But I didn't expect these guys to even have an air defense phalanx......

Lao Bai frowned slightly.

And at this moment, new news also came from the command of the Southern Alliance.

“…… Enemy landing ships and escort destroyers are approaching 20 nautical miles to the south of you. We searched for sonar and radar signals from 27 ships within a 150-nautical mile radius of Shazhou Island...... We can't be sure that coordinate is a valid coordinate, can we trouble your Air Force to go over and take a look? ”

27 coordinates!

Span 150 nautical miles!

Lao Bai's expression was slightly solemn, and he said in a low voice.

“…… I have already conveyed to our Air Force, please continue to search your submarines in the nearby waters! ”

The operator of the South China Sea Alliance immediately replied.

"Okay!"

Due to the special situation of low earth orbit, there are no strategic satellites on the wasteland, and even if there are strategic satellites, it is not easy to lock down the precise location of a fleet in the vast ocean.

After the contact with the goblin corps ended, Lao Bai immediately switched to the voice channel of the squad and informed all his teammates of the situation on the battlefield.

"The enemy intends to attack our positions on the southern flank! All ready to fight! ”

There was a majestic response from the communication channel.

"Yes!"

The company of one hundred and twenty people, divided into three platoons, spread out a triangular defensive fulcrum along the buildings on the southern side of the island.

And at the same time, returning to the silent sea, two huge ships appeared.

According to the intelligence provided by the South China Sea Alliance, it was none other than the destroyer USS Reef of the North Island Navy!

The point defense system at the bow and stern of the ship can pour a dense array of mass projectiles weighing 100g at a limit rate of fire of tens of thousands of rounds per minute, which is equivalent to dropping a whole ton of working fluid into the air in just one minute!

The firepower network composed of this thing, I'm afraid that not to mention any missiles and drones, I'm afraid that even a sufficient number of shells can intercept it!

In addition to the point defense system against the air, the Reef chase ship is equipped with torpedoes, missile launchers, and a 150mm naval gun.

If you let this thing get close to the shore, the consequences will be unimaginable!

However, the "asymmetry" in the wasteland is mutual, which is the biggest difference between the wasteland and the real world.

The Union Navy, which has been developed for more than 150 years, is certainly powerful, but the Alliance's land-based weapons are not vegetarian.

The "Dragon" missile developed by Jushi Military Industry has evolved into an "ultra-long-range ship-to-ship version" launched by land-based after being improved by the researchers of Vault 70 - "Sea Dragon"!

Shortly after the "Thunder" fighter failed to break through the firepower network, at the end of the floating airfield outside the roundabout, a boxy missile launcher raised its huge head.

As the launch order was given, a white smoke broke through the dust shield and soared into the sky, pushing a silver-white missile through the dense dark clouds.

The missile was like a sharp dagger, and after drawing a parabolic trajectory, it impartially pierced the "Reef" that was actively exposed to the radar of the alliance and the South China Sea alliance as a "decoy."

The point defense system of the Reef played a role without any suspense, and a dense rain of bullets poured out of the raised cannon barrels, like a dense swarm of bees to pounce on the "Sea Dragon" falling from the sky!

The blinding light exploded in the air, but it was not the light of the sea dragon's martyrdom, but the detonation of the mother warhead after detecting the approach of a high-speed object!

In the bridge behind the reef, the pupils of the man wearing the epaulette hat shrank sharply, and he already had a premonition that something was wrong at the same time as the missile exploded.

Their radars did not detect enemy ships in the nearby seas!

This is a land-based launched missile!

At the same time, there was only a burst of exclamation and angry scolding in front of the row of terminals not far in front of him.

"The radar component is overloaded! The transmitter is not working! ”

"Unable to locate enemy aircraft!"

"The sonar system is malfunctioning! Damn it! ”

"It's EMP! Notify the repair team to troubleshoot! ”

"How long will it take?!"

"The damage was not serious...... It should be done in five minutes! ”

"Five minutes?!"

The destroyer USS Reef has an "anti-EMP device" installed, but it needs to turn off the active phased array radar and sonar system, and enter a state of radio silence before it can be turned on.

However, their previous attention was entirely on the two touch-and-go planes and the submarine lurking somewhere, and they had no expectation that the alliance would make such a move.

Relying only on passive anti-electromagnetic pulse components is clearly not enough to completely shield the direct strike of such a strategic-level EMP weapon.

Spear and shield are always relative concepts, and there is no defense that is absolutely impenetrable.

And the failure of sonar and radar is undoubtedly equivalent to blinding two eyes for the destroyer Reef.

Although the point defense system on the destroyer has two sets of identification equipment, which can use optical lenses to complete the visual identification and locking of flying objects without relying on radar, the interception efficiency is certainly not comparable to that of radar.

And the most important thing is the sonar system......

Three attack submarines are the biggest cards of the South China Sea Alliance!

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, a cold sweat broke out on the captain's forehead, and he hurriedly looked at the operator of the main artillery area and asked.

"What about the fire control system?"

"For the time being...... No faults found! The operator of the main artillery area, who was sitting in front of the terminal, swallowed and replied nervously.

Hearing this answer, the captain did not get the slightest comfort in his heart, and at this moment, the communicator sitting in front of the radio suddenly shouted.

"Sir! The command sent us a request to shell the coastline! The forward landing ship will drop the landing craft after thirty seconds! ”

The captain's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Are they crazy?! There are the inhabitants of Sandbank Island! ”

The battle plan did mention that the landing force would arrive on Shazhou Island, and even mentioned in detail that he would use it as bait to lure out the "rebel fleet" of Anle Island, and cooperate with the main fleet ambushed in the nearby waters to sink it, but there was no mention in the plan that he would bomb his own people!

Although he was furious about what happened on Sandbank Island, it was the guards who caused the trouble, and the survivors living on Sandbank Island were innocent.

At least in his opinion, those people are his compatriots!

The correspondent reported the situation to the command, and after receiving a reply, looked at the captain hesitantly.

"Command said...... They are traitors who want us to open fire immediately. ”

There is no time to hesitate.

The captain gritted his teeth and looked at the gun operator who was sitting on the sidelines.

“…… Aim for the coastline! Avoid the city and open fire! ”

The artillery operator was stunned, but still took the order.

"Yes!"

As the order was given, the 150-millimeter guns on the destroyer Reef slowly lifted their barrels and fired a test-fired corrective shell towards the south shore of Shazhou Island, and then began to continue to vent ferocious fire.

Hearing the deafening sound of artillery, Lao Bai, who was squatting in the building in the city, took a deep breath, held a telescope in his hand and stared closely at the heavy landing craft that were getting closer and closer on the sea, and gave the order to fight in the communication channel.

"All teammates prepare! Cancel the insurance! Put our enemies ashore first, and then give me a hard beating! ”

After a pause, he switched the communication channel to Brother Chicken and said in a deep voice.

"EMP successfully detonated...... The enemy ships did not react to the flyby of our fighters over the clouds, and the radar system was suspected to be paralyzed, and if the analysis of the engineers at Vault 70 was to be believed, their sonar system was estimated to be enough to choke. Now it's your turn to do something. ”

A hearty answer came from the communication channel.

"Roger!"

At this moment, on the rough sea, more than 30 landing craft were already approaching the shallows on the south side of Shazhou Island under the cover of artillery fire, and rushed straight to the beachhead.

As a cockpit door opened, a group of black, green-skinned mutants roared ashore, their amber pupils glowing with a seeping green glow.

They carry large-caliber rifles and even machine guns in their hands, wear modified exoskeletons, and have thick bulletproof steel plates on their chests that even hang the remains of vomit.

Apparently this is the first time they have been on a boat, and most likely this is the first time in their lives.

After seeing that the opponent was a mutant, and it was likely to be a mutant transferred from the northern front, the players squatting in the city no longer had a trace of mercy in their eyes, and they all became fierce.

"Fire ——!"

With that roar, the dark windows were suddenly lit up by the flames of the heavy machine guns.

Tracer light rained down on the beach, colliding with the mutant who had washed up on the beach.

The spills of blood stained the beach red, but these mutants had the upper hand in numbers, with nearly a thousand people crammed into more than thirty heavy landing craft, and their heads scattered across the beach were like cockroaches crawling all over the ground.

Not only that, but Charas apparently made some modifications to these mutants with industrial equipment from the North Island, and even made them fully protected exoskeletons and mutant-specific assault rifles.

The mutants who landed on the island were divided into ten teams, like a large bowl clasped into the streets scattered along the coastline, and the boiling flames of war were burning along the outlines of the city!

At the same time, the Reef, which was bombing the coastline, stopped firing and alerted the main fleet or submarines of the South China Sea Alliance as planned.

Then, to Charas's surprise, the fleet of the South Sea Alliance did not appear.

After sending ground troops to Sandbank, the Coalition appears to have ended all naval offensives with a single test of the Reef and then a land-based missile, even when the Reef launched an artillery attack on the ground forces they had sent to Sandbank.

Honestly, it's anomalous!

North Island Command.

Looking down at the fiercely fought battlefield through the drone, Charas cursed.

“…… What the hell is Zhang Ruowen doing! Not a single shell landed in the city! ”

Zhang Ruowen is the captain of the Reef.

The landing battle had been going on for more than ten minutes, and more than half of the more than 1,000 mutants who had landed on the island had been killed or wounded.

The defending forces stationed in the city suffered almost no losses, at most shells damaged several roads.

Now that the landing force has been blocked, the main fleet of the South China Sea Alliance has not been lured out, and his fleet in the nearby waters has also been ambushed.

Standing next to Charas, the staff officer lowered his voice and said.

"I'm afraid that the current strength on Shazhou Island is not enough to occupy the entire island, and the Coalition has a defensive force deployed on the northern beachhead...... If the decoy operation doesn't work, I'd suggest that the Reef be withdrawn first. ”

Charas said with a dark face.

"We haven't lost our battle yet."

The staff officer nodded and said.

"Indeed, but it will not be better to wait any longer, especially since the Anle Island side has already known that our main fleet is not ...... North Island"

Hearing the second half of the sentence, Charas quickly calmed down.

Truly.

The biggest risk of the whole plan is not the possible loss of a destroyer, but the risk of creating a defensive vacuum in the North Island.

With his arms folded in front of his chest, he tapped his index finger twice on his arm, and immediately looked at the correspondent and gave the order.

"Let the Reef withdraw...... Forget it, let their captain listen to the phone and give me the headphones! I'll tell that idiot myself! ”

So saying, he snatched the correspondent's headset and put it on his head.

"What the hell are you doing! I asked you to bomb the city of Sandbank Island, and you smashed the shells on some kind of bird where they don't! ”

There was no response in the communication channel.

The guy seemed to know that he was wrong, and he was speechless in shame.

After scolding his men, Charas gasped twice, calmed his breath and continued.

“…… I don't care what you think and excuse, just because of your dereliction of duty, we missed the opportunity to crush our opponent in one fell swoop! Get back to me now! ”

However, what he didn't expect was that an unfamiliar voice suddenly came from the communication channel that had been silent for a long time.

"They can't come back."

Charas blurted out reflexively.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The other side of the communication channel smiled and reported to his home happily.

"Commander of the Midnight Chicken Killing Jungle Corps! All in all, thank you for this ship. ”

Charas: "??? ”

(End of chapter)