Chapter 761.1: Intense Battle On Sandbar Island
Chapter 761.1: Intense Battle On Sandbar Island
Pale blue exhaust plumes streaked across the silent night sky as two enormous transport aircraft appeared above Sandbar Island.
The island was the second-largest natural island in the Southern Seas, famed for its vast stretches of golden beaches. Around 70,000 people lived on its roughly 400 square kilometers of land.
Unlike Ring Island, the cramped artificial island, Sandbar Island was more akin to North Island and Peace Island, still preserving much of its tropical natural scenery. Most of the island's residents lived on the relatively elevated southern side, where rows of two and three-story modern buildings were neatly scattered along both sides.
Since the island lacked an airport, the Burning Corps could only land on the waters surrounding the island.
The plasma exhaust from the engines skimmed just above the sea, scorching the waves into wisps of white steam.
The cargo bay doors folded downward, and a steel landing craft slid along its rails to the edge of the cargo hold. 12 players clad in exoskeletons stood ready aboard it. Mounted prominently at the bow were a 12mm heavy machine gun and a coaxial 60mm grenade launcher.
The former was intended primarily for engaging light surface targets, while the latter had been designed specifically for soft underwater targets such as combat divers.
The pressure-sensor-equipped 60mm underwater grenade used metallic hydrogen as its explosive charge. Once it approached its target, it detonated an extraordinarily high charge, relying on its shockwave to kill anything nearby.
The landing craft had originally been designed for amphibious operations on North Island and in Ocean Edge Province. Accordingly, besides firing underwater grenades, its 60mm launcher could also fire standard fragmentation rounds to suppress ground targets.
Although the Chairman, CEO, and factory director of Goblin Technology had become hopelessly obsessed with selling surplus junk on the Northern Front, the company's primary business clearly hadn't suffered because of it.
As they neared the target area, the player seated in the cockpit shouted over the communication channel.
"... Approaching the target! One minute to prepare!"
"30 seconds."
"10 seconds!"
"... Go, go, go!"
With a crisp click, the tow cable holding the landing craft released. The two Overlord transport aircraft simultaneously dropped the craft suspended at their cargo doors.
One after another, the landing craft splashed into the sea like dumplings dropped into boiling water. In the blink of an eye, 20 heavily armed speedboats bobbed upon the turbulent waves.
The boats split into two formations, one heading for the island's northern shore, the other toward the south.
Meanwhile, on the island's northern coast, the now-disarmed Sandbar Island soldiers and a group of exoskeleton-equipped security guards were digging beachhead fortifications together.
Half an hour earlier, they had already received a warning from Peace Island. A destroyer and a landing ship were approaching from North Island. Judging by their aggressive posture, they clearly hadn't come to negotiate. There were probably Mutant Humans aboard that landing ship.
Rumor had it that in the distant southern part of the Brocade River Province, being captured by Mutant Humans was no laughing matter. Whether man or woman, they would end up being eaten. Moreover, not all of them would be eaten in the same way.
Thus, even though they had stood on opposing sides not long ago, they now had no choice but to fight together for the sake of their families and loved ones.
As everyone stared at the row of landing craft speeding toward them, panic instinctively flashed across their faces. Soon, however, someone recognized the flashing signal lights aboard the boats.
"It's reinforcements from the New Alliance!" one soldier cried, delight spreading across his face.
The guards nearby reacted the same way. Once they confirmed the signal frequency, expressions of relief appeared across their faces.
10 landing craft charged straight onto the beach. Players wearing exoskeletons jumped ashore in succession, while two strength type players remained behind, hauling the beached landing craft completely onto land.
The steel plating on each side of the craft was over 15 millimeters thick. Folded together, it provided 30 millimeters of armor, enough to stop even some large-caliber machine-gun rounds. Combined with the craft's mounted weapons, removing its battery transformed it into an excellent improvised bunker.
Besides that, the craft also carried ammunition supplies and collapsible sandbags for building fortifications.
After stepping on shore, Ample Time walked directly over to the assembled guards responsible for defending the island. He swept his gaze across them before introducing himself briefly. "I am Ample Time of the Burning Corps. Who's in charge here?"
"I am." A man wearing a military-grade exoskeleton stepped forward. A standard issue assault rifle hung at his waist, though the body armor beneath his exoskeleton was clearly of police issue.
"Dumen, chief of the Sandbar Island’s guard station... and, uh... Commander of the Sandbar Island’s Army."
It was obvious he hadn't fully gotten used to operating his exoskeleton, probably because he had only acquired it recently.
Despite the seriousness of the occasion, Ample Time couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth when he heard the man calling himself a “commander.” There were only around 200 men gathered. Counting those elsewhere, they probably had only 400 to 500 personnel in total. On the Northern Front, that would barely amount to half a battalion, probably not even enough to attack two caves worth of Mutant Humans.
Then again, everything depended on what it was compared to.
Those 400 to 500 men would probably stand little chance against one of the Enterprise's companies or a battalion from the Army, but against the Xilande Empire's Expeditionary Force, they would probably have no trouble chasing a full battalion into retreat.
Of course, if they were facing the Gray Wolf Army or one of the two warlords on the borders of Port Gallon, that would be another matter entirely. Those 400 to 500 men wouldn’t even last 10 minutes there.
Dumen himself seemed somewhat embarrassed. He coughed awkwardly before voluntarily handing over command. "I'll be frank. We rarely have any chance to fight here. Even our drills are mostly for show. Defense has always been the navy's responsibility... I would rather leave the command to experienced veterans like you. Whatever you need us to do, just say the word."
"A wise decision." Without wasting words, Ample Time pulled out a tablet and tossed it to him. Displayed on the screen was the operational plan.
The New Alliance’s central command had already prepared contingency plans for both of the courses of action Chalas might take.
After glancing through it, Dumen's eyes widened. "This is... an operational plan? You already expected today to happen?"
The tablet showed not only a detailed map of Sandbar Island, but also the planned defensive positions, troop deployments, and unit assignments throughout the island. There was no way something so detailed had been put together in only two hours. It looked like the product of at least two or three days of preparation.
Seeing the astonishment on his ally's face, Ample Time smiled faintly. "We're accustomed to running simulations for situations that haven't happened yet. Those become contingency plans submitted to central command. Once they're finalized into operational drafts, they're sent to the administrator for approval. If one of our projected scenarios actually occurs, the plan goes into effect immediately. Our forces begin moving as soon as routine reporting procedures are complete, rather than waiting for further instructions from the administrator before making the next move."
That was, in fact, fairly standard procedure.
As for unexpected situations, like Xilande Empire’s soldiers wandering off and getting lost, he would handle them according to the relevant provisions of the Player Handbook and the New Alliance Constitution, deciding for himself whether to deal with them and how far to take it.
Ever since the Southern Archipelago Federation first split apart, the wavering allegiance of Sandbar Island had made it a potential powder keg. Everyone could see it except perhaps the island's own residents. Even the keyboard strategists sitting in Ideal City's Endpoint Cloud could probably tell.
Moreover, it was unlikely the New Alliance alone had prepared contingency plans. Chalas had almost certainly anticipated New Alliance intervention and made preparations of his own.
At that very moment, two Thunderbolt fighters were conducting a search to the north, probing the enemy destroyer's anti-air fire while scouting for any ambushes the Southern Sea New Alliance Navy believed might be lying in wait.
After reading through the operation plan from beginning to end, Dumen immediately led his men into action.
At the same time, on the southern side of Sandbar Island, Old White's company also arrived.
Because the southern coast was lined with residential neighborhoods, they did not beach their landing craft directly. Instead, they landed at the harbor.