Chapter 246 Mushroom Cloud Rising on the Battlefield

Rubyon V, 80 kilometers south of Ptolemy City, the coalition headquarters.

The coalition headquarters, which had already retreated once, was now deployed at a long-selected backup location.

In the camouflaged box car used as a large mobile command post, the coalition commander Major General Benjamin was staring at the battlefield enemy situation map presented on the electronic sand table with a serious face.

In one sentence, it can be summarized as "all-round alarm, and the organization of each unit is steadily declining."

The first battle group of the coalition is composed of troops from seven private military companies and defense contractors, with a total of 7 brigades.

The battle determination is also to concentrate superior forces on the left wing of the front line to break through and intersperse the enemy troops surrounding the center while the right-wing troops are feinting and the central troops are slowly advancing.

Let alone other things, the idea of ​​the battle determination is actually still very beautiful.

But from the beginning of the war to now, the three brigade-level units responsible for the attack on the left wing have all been blocked.

Not only did they fail to complete the task of breaking through the defense line, but they also lost a lot of manpower and caused the front line to retreat in the counterattack of the remnant soldiers of the Empire.

In particular, the two brigade-level combat units on the far left, which were formed by the three companies, suffered casualties as soon as they met the enemy.

According to the information just updated, the Imperial Armored Brigade Combat Team in front of the two brigades is currently in pursuit.

Its highly mobile HCP troops have begun to carry out interspersed attacks, trying to divide and surround some battalion-level units of the two brigades on the left wing of the coalition.

"What are these things. The forces of two combined brigades are being chased and beaten by a brigade-level unit of the Empire!"

Major General Benjamin angrily threw his cigarette butt on the ground of the shelter car. After the ventilation device above his head detected the smoke, it increased the power and ran "buzzing".

The orderly beside him glanced down and saw that many cigarette butts had been crushed on the floor.

In other words, the major general has never stopped smoking since the start of the war.

Although according to the daily management regulations, smoking is prohibited in the command shelter car.

But who can blame him for being the commander of the entire coalition? There is no one in the entire combat unit with a higher rank and command authority than him.

Major General Benjamin did not know that the orderly who was recruited from the local area and was good at handling housework, cooking, and preparing afternoon tea was thinking about something.

He looked at the electronic sand table in front of him, and inexplicably felt that the familiar feeling of defeat when he led the planetary garrison and faced the invasion of the imperial army was back.

This "top student" who graduated from the command seat of the First Federal Army Command College was able to become the commander of the planetary garrison at the age of more than 40.

In addition to relatively solid basic skills and business capabilities, the support given by the family business behind him is not less.

At least on Rubion V, there are several large industrial parks invested by the family business behind Benjamin.

Despite these objective reasons, the young major general still believes that being able to climb to this position is "inseparable" from his excellent performance in combat command.

Even though they were swept by the expeditionary force airborne by the Empire, Major General Benjamin attributed the reason to the poor combat capability of the planetary garrison.

The same is true for the coalition forces he is commanding now. In his opinion, they are just a bunch of ragtag troops.

Otherwise, why would they be beaten into such a mess under his textbook-like standard combat deployment?

However, there is good news on the entire front.

The two brigades located in the middle of the front, although their attacks were also blocked, at least they stabilized and were not repelled.

These two brigades are the troops of Thunder Defense, which has the strongest comprehensive strength among the 15 companies.

In addition, the Atlas Mixed Synthetic Brigade, which was originally deployed on the right wing and responsible for containment and feint attack - this team was looked down upon by other companies because they were not optimistic about this attack at the pre-war meeting.

Instead, it became the only combat unit on the entire front that could do the "attack".

"What is this all about?"

Major General Benjamin had to admit at this time that he had indeed made some mistakes before.

But at the same time, he still believed that his deployment was "indispensable".

If it weren't for his "magic stroke" to arrange Atlas' troops on the right wing to be responsible for the feint attack.

This mixed brigade of more than 3,000 people could not have achieved the current effect.

Thinking of this, Major General Benjamin couldn't help but think of the beam of light that fell from the sky in the night sky, and the huge fireball that rose up afterwards.

According to multiple channels, the coalition headquarters, including other troops, also knew that this round of attack was completed by Atlas's warships in orbit.

"How many good things does this Atlas have hidden?"

Not to mention Major General Benjamin who was in the rear command, even the commanders who were organizing the retreat of the brigade in the front were wondering how this unknown company completed this "shocking blow".

Many people even took advantage of their own company's warships to communicate with the captains of these warships when they passed the top, asking them if they could learn from Atlas's warships and provide fire support for the ground forces.

One of the captains laughed at these "military peasants who don't understand the navy and give blind orders" in his heart, and gave a rather black humorous answer.

"We can provide support, but there are two possibilities, each accounting for 50%."

"What two possibilities? Hit the target or miss? It doesn't matter! You can scare the Imperial Army on the opposite side."

"No." The captain interrupted the emotional commander and continued:

"There is a 50% chance that the supporting warship will fall into the atmosphere, and a 50% chance that this attack will fall on top of our own people."

"."

——

Located about 35 kilometers behind the offensive line of the imperial forces, several armored command vehicles equipped with anti-detection camouflage nets were parked in a relatively dense forest.

Several soldiers from the brigade's communications support company were checking several optical fibers connected to the vehicle's external interface.

These optical fibers are connected to the command information network management vehicle and communication node vehicle 3 kilometers away. While ensuring smooth communication, the brigade headquarters will also be reimbursed without allowing the communication node to be discovered.

In the armored command vehicle, several imperial officers were crowded together, looking at the on-board command terminal.

Since the mobile command cabin vehicle had to be destroyed and abandoned due to mechanical failure in previous battles, the combat command headquarters could only move to a few armored command vehicles.

The commander-in-chief of this ‘Broken Blade’ counterattack, Colonel Viscount Drake of the Royal Army of the Star Dragon Empire, also looked at the electronic sand table with some worry.

Judging from the current situation, the imperial forces' counterattack is progressing at a rapid pace in most directions.

Most of the federal troops they faced were easier to fight than they imagined.

Especially on the west side of the battle line, the 58th Armored Brigade Combat Team was even chasing two federal brigade combat units on its own.

But that dazzling bulge on the Eastern Front stuck like a nail in Colonel Drake's heart.

According to the news sent back by the 49th Armored Brigade Combat Team that was contacting the enemy in that direction, the combat effectiveness of the enemy brigade-level unit in the salient was not at the same level as other enemies.

The extremely strong frontal attack capability, coupled with the terrifying orbital strike, has caused two battalion-level units of the 49th Brigade to withdraw from the battle.

The entire 49th Brigade was also forced to stop the offensive momentum under the opponent's rapid attack. Now it is relying on a small town to barely stabilize the front.

"Lord Viscount, the troops to the east have encountered this tough problem, which is not easy to deal with."

A combat staff officer said:

"The 49th Brigade was reinforced with personnel and combat vehicles before the attack was launched. It can be said to be the brigade with the strongest offensive capabilities on the front. But now it is like this. I suggest that the 54th Brigade on their flanks provide emergency support. Let them withdraw first.”

As the combat staff member spoke, a dotted line representing the 'planned attack' was extended on the attack arrow of the Atlas mixed brigade.

"Obviously, this enemy force wants to cut off the 49th Brigade's retreat and try to completely annihilate them."

"I second the proposal, Lord Viscount." Another staff officer also said.

"We have now lost support and supplies, and we absolutely cannot afford the loss of our established troops. Pulling back the 49th Brigade is the best choice now. If we are dragged into urban warfare in the future, we will have more mobility. troops to defend.”

After listening to what the staff said, Colonel Drake did not think for too long, and the fierce battle situation on the front line did not allow him to think carefully.

And he has actually made his own decision.

"Pass me an order to have the 54th Brigade speed up the attack and coordinate the 49th Brigade to withdraw before the enemy encirclement is formed."

While issuing this order, the imperial commander opened his personal terminal and transmitted an authorization command to the command terminal after identity verification.

"At 0230 hours, authorize the 58th Armored Brigade Combat Team to use tactical nuclear weapons and tell the commander of the 58th Brigade to annihilate the opponent's effective forces as much as possible before the headquarters orders a retreat! He knows what to do."

Drake's order was quickly issued, and at the same time, a combat staff officer in the command car also asked cautiously:

"Sir, are you sure you want to use nuclear weapons?"

"What? Do I still have to think about protecting the environment of this planet at this time to facilitate subsequent colonization?"

Colonel Drake said disdainfully, his tone full of resentment towards the empire and navy:

"**** (imperial expletive), those sons of bitches in the Navy ran away and left us on this planet to die. Do I still have to think about these bullshit things?"

——

After receiving the order from the headquarters and seeing the authorization code for the tactical nuclear weapon, the commander of the 58th Armored Brigade Combat Team looked at the battlefield situation map and immediately understood what Colonel Drake meant.

Under his order, the troops, which were already attacking smoothly, accelerated their attack pace.

The HCP troops that have interspersed at the junction between the enemy units have also received new instructions - to focus on attacking the enemy's accompanying air defense units and draw the enemy's HCP troops away to weaken the enemy's air defense units as much as possible. Air defense capabilities.

After receiving the order, the Imperial HCP pilots immediately abandoned some armored and infantry units in front of them, and then relied on the HCP's mobility to crush other units on the ground to search and destroy all air defense units.

The two brigades being pursued by the coalition forces were also confused. Their commanders did not understand why the enemy in front of them was going crazy and frantically targeting their own air defense units.

But they didn't have time to think so much, so they could only let the HCP troops that could still fight go forward to intercept and protect their own air defense units, which were not cheap.

Just as the HCP and air defense units of both sides played the game of "Eagle Catching Chicken".

On a hillside 5 kilometers away, an HCP carrying a huge launch box removed its optical camouflage and walked out of the forest.

After the walking unit ejected several mechanical auxiliary hoes for buffering and fixing, the launch box on its back, which looked "ordinary", opened its front cover, revealing a stealth-configured warhead inside.

"'Light Picker' has arrived at the designated launch position and is currently conducting the second phase of the 'Explosion Point' operation."

"Enter the authorization code to complete the verification!"

"Launch program unlocked!"

"HQ, now for the last confirmation, do you want to execute the final phase of the 'Explosion Point' operation?"

"This is HQ, confirming the execution of the final phase of the 'Explosion Point' operation."

"Received, start the launch program. The program has entered the irreversible stage."

"3, 2, 1, launch!"

In the smoke and dust that suddenly rose from the hillside, a warhead with a tail flame rushed quickly towards the target airspace with the sound of breaking the sound barrier.

At this moment, all the imperial units on the Western Front stopped the attack, the mobile infantry either hid in the vehicles or used the vehicles as cover, and all units also turned on the 'anti-nuclear' mode.

The coalition HCP on the front line looked at the enemy units that suddenly retreated, and thought that the other side had given up the plan to continue the attack due to their interference, and cheered one after another.

The next second, a dazzling light tore through the dark night sky, like a supernova exploding on the surface of Rubion V.

The huge fireball expanded rapidly like the blazing sun in midsummer, lifting itself up with its majestic power and climbing towards the sky.

Its brightness was so bright that it was impossible to look directly at it. Even on the distant front, the reflection of this strong light could be seen on the armor of mobile infantry and vehicles.

As the fireball soared into the sky, the air at the center of the explosion was compressed and expanded violently in an instant, eventually forming an invisible but destructive supersonic shock wave that swept around.

Wherever it went, whether it was solid concrete fortifications or armored units such as main battle tanks and HCPs, they were easily torn and thrown like paper in front of this huge force, mixed with debris, soil and the wailing of countless unfortunates.

Finally, when the huge mushroom cloud slowly rose in the flames, the units on both sides of the battlefield finally felt the oppression that this former "King of War" should have.