Chapter 59 Sniping the Major

At noon, the sun blazed fiercely.

The firepower positions in the East District received fresh supplies. The brilliant performance that morning had given the Prussian major in charge of the sector renewed hope for the offensive, prompting him to urgently dispatch three companies to reinforce the strongpoints with orders to counterattack the church and seize the streets flanking it.

The movements were spotted by a reconnaissance plane. After the report was filed, Lieutenant General Somerford, stationed at the camp, personally intervened. Instead of ordering a retreat, he demanded that the troops garrisoned in the church immediately organize a charge.

At 12:30 PM.

More than three hundred citizens of Leyden were driven out of the church by soldiers and forced to charge the third-floor stronghold.

Prussian soldiers fired warning shots to intimidate them, but after Tommy shot several people dead, the crowd was forced to press forward.

The first landmine detonated. The citizens standing closest to the blast point were blown to pieces, and a dozen bodies were sent flying through the air. Their tight formation resulted in devastating casualties.

The citizens tried to scatter and flee, but two Lewis guns blocked the left and right flanks. After cutting down more than thirty people, the machine guns continued to fire. Driven forward by the hail of bullets, the panicked citizens rushed headlong toward the third-floor stronghold. Landmine after landmine detonated with deafening roars.

Disgusted by such despicable actions, some Prussian officers ordered their men to open fire, but the gunfire was sporadic. One machine gunner committed suicide, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

As the panicked citizens rushed into the building, a certain individual and Charles XIV, who had been mingling with the crowd, immediately made their way to the third floor.

For the first time, Jiang He unfurled his blood wings. Spanning over five meters, the feathers looked hyper-realistic, resembling razor-sharp blades exuding a chilling frost. When the metallic sheen erupted, a crisscrossing vortex of blood blossomed before his eyes. The bodies of six Prussian soldiers were torn apart as ruthlessly as thin paper, their flesh and blood spraying everywhere.

Charles XIV stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him. The walls of the third-floor position were covered in deep gashes cut by sharp blades, spattered with blood and pulverized flesh, as if they had been swallowed by a giant meat grinder. Placed in ancient times, knights would undoubtedly be terrifying instruments of slaughter on the battlefield.

"Sir, is this what a knight is?"

"I don't know."

Jiang He fired four shots into the air, the intervals consisting of two short shots followed by one long one, signaling to the company's strongpoint that the position had been captured. After using his blood wings to attack, he felt a drop in his stamina. As the feathers retracted, the physical toll worsened accordingly, but the Lionheart Bracers provided a 20% stamina recovery enhancement, keeping him in an overall state of balance.

At 12:50 PM, the third-floor position was secured.

Tommy led his men in to take over the garrison, and the camp command issued operational orders via telegraph.

"... Your unit has been surrounded. You must hold out until dawn tomorrow. Knight Tommy and Rhein are appointed as majors with full authority to command the position's operations. This battle is of the utmost importance. Our forces are currently attacking the East Leyden Library. Should the flanks fall, the two commanding officers will be shot immediately..."

Tommy crumpled the military order into a ball and silently lit a cigarette. He caught a familiar scent; the memories of previously holding out at Position 145 left him with complicated emotions.

A prompt sounded in Jiang He's ear.

[Prompt: Your reputation +2000]

[Prompt: You have become a Major (5000/5000)]

Jiang He turned his head and asked directly, "How do military ranks work? I don't feel like I've gained any benefits from this."

"While reputation titles of this type are basic, they have high versatility and can elevate your initial identity in similar mission worlds. For instance, in a past mission world, I became the Earl of Roses through the chaos of war, and this time I descended with the exclusive right to inherit the earmlom. The power might not be huge, but it certainly makes getting things done much easier, and the effects can carry over to subsequent descents. However, the time dilation between the real world and reality is quite significant; descending to the same world a second time might mean many years have passed in a flash. That piece of intelligence is worth 2 D-rank military merits. Thank you."

A Codex page suddenly materialized in the empty air beside him.

Si Ning said, "Just press it down and swipe away two. This thing is pretty smart."

Jiang He gave her two D-rank military merits and said, "During the defense of the position later, help me create an illusionary projection of myself and hide my real body. We'll split the spoils of war three-seventy."

"I'd feel bad taking seventy percent just like that."

"What's the point of your wisecracks?"

"There it is, the robot's exclusive tone of voice!"

Si Ning feigned a gasp while flicking out a few crystal-like short stings.

On the other side, Tommy directed the soldiers in establishing defenses. The Maxim heavy machine gun still had plenty of ammunition, but now the roles were reversed; they needed to guard against the church side.

At 1:25 PM.

Three companies had finished assembling around the church. The Prussian major battalion commander directing the battle was clearly a hardliner. After ordering one company for fire support and having two companies advance in a pincer movement, he decisively launched a full-scale offensive to save time.

densely packed line of soldiers advanced from the open ground and ruins. The Maxim heavy machine gun poured out fire, but the enemy had prepared a howitzer, knocking out the strongpoint with a single shell.

Behind a ventilation shaft in the building, Jiang He rested his rifle and took aim.

The first shot rang out, killing the gunner.

The second shot rang out, killing the lieutenant company commander leading the charge.

The third shot rang out, killing the Maxim machine gunner on the fire support line.

The positions of the gunner, the leader, and the machine gunner were quickly filled by replacements. Three more shots echoed, and three more corpses hit the ground. The third group moved up to fill the gaps, and the result was the same.

"Take out that sniper! What are you all good for?!" the Prussian major battalion commander raged.

His adjutant personally fetched a mortar, sighted it with a raised thumb, and dropped in a shell. The projectile accurately arched through the air, landing between the walls and triggering an explosion. Once the smoke and dust cleared amid the ruined walls, a muzzle flash flickered again, and another officer dropped dead.

"Sir, I can't find him! The enemy is a knight!"

"Then keep charging anyway! The library decides who owns the East District. I have strict orders to hold nothing back!"

Jiang He fired continuously, while the illusionary projection in the ruins simultaneously mirrored his actions. The crystal short stings caused the projection to refract, masking the true muzzle and the direction of the ballistic trajectory.

With no external pressure, he could patiently aim without needing to change positions. Working the bolt to chamber rounds, firing, and ejecting casings, he burned through seven clips of ammunition before the enemy offensive visibly stalled.

Jiang He held his breath, his gaze peering through the scope to lock onto the major battalion commander six hundred meters away. The man was standing behind the window of a collapsed civilian house, closely monitoring the battlefield.

"It's practically a live-action shooting game."

Jiang He exhaled. This was his first time attempting a shot at such a long distance; the slightest error in wind speed or angle could result in failure. As his mind settled, a cyan-red energy surged from his palms, flowed along the rifle body, and poured entirely into the bullet.

Garuda Mode Four: Energy Excorporation allowed blood energy to successfully attach to the bullet, granting 22% additional corrosion damage, 20% shattering effect, increased bullet flight speed, and the sniper rifle's inherent lethality. The combined firepower was quite formidable.

With his stealth-killing technique gradually unfolding, he aligned the scope with the upper right corner of the enemy. Jiang He pulled the trigger, and the muzzle instantly spat a streak of scarlet light. At the same time, the illusionary projection crouching in the ruins made a firing motion and took another mortar shell for its trouble.

A sound akin to thunder tore across the battlefield, accompanied by a piercing whistle as the scarlet bullet streaked through the air.

A massive gush of blood and brain matter suddenly burst from the major battalion commander's temple, followed by a loud "bang" as his head exploded. The headless corpse collapsed heavily to the ground as blood gushed out in streams.

At 3:12 PM.

The Prussian major battalion commander was sniped and killed.

The three attacking companies instantly abandoned their charge and retreated toward the church.

The vanguard platoon, which had pushed the furthest and fought the bravest, became sacrifices. Trapped behind cover, they could neither advance nor retreat.

A sergeant popped his head up and immediately had his head blown off. Seeing this, his deputy broke into a sprint, only to have his chest shattered by a second bullet. Driven to madness, the group rushed toward the church together, but bullets seemed to come from everywhere, harvesting lives one by one.

The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. The soldiers of their own company watched as the enemy was coldly slaughtered like jackrabbits, sending a chill straight through their hearts.

Tommy kicked two ammo pouches aside and walked up to the building's ventilation opening, seeing the unmasked individual firing ceaselessly, moving so fast it left afterimages.

"He's playing on fast forward, pay him no mind."

Si Ning crouched in the corner, gnawing on a fresh lemon, the bitter and sour taste making her little face scrunch up into a ball.

A few minutes later, Jiang He lowered his gun and stood up. He had accumulated 147 D-rank military merits, a significant portion of which came from the killed officers—the major battalion commander alone was worth 12.

Is that right? No, wait...

"Orders from higher-up have arrived. The next phase will be a pitched battle fought in street-by-street warfare. We'll receive reinforcements shortly. Lieutenant General Somerford claims the camp command is launching the Water Tank Project, telling us not to despair over the encirclement."

Jiang He and Si Ning exchanged glances. Water tanks referred to tanks, first deployed by the British army during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Although compared to later varieties, the Mark I resembled a parallelogram track vehicle more than anything else, there was no doubt about the sheer firepower intensity of its two cannons and four machine guns.

"Then let's hold the line. It's not the first time anyway."

Tommy nodded. He didn't know if the Water Tank Project was feasible, but a sudden flash of intuition told him that Rhein's judgment was worth trusting.