Munitions Empire-Chapter 1045: Have a good meal at 967

Chapter 1045: Have a good meal at 967

Reinforcements had been diverted to fill other gaps, but that wasn’t what angered Zhao Chen the most. The snipers from the Great Tang Empire, ghost-like within Fengjiang, also tormented Zhao Chen, leaving him restless throughout the nights.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

The Dahua Empire’s sniper troops had suffered increasingly heavy losses recently. Those Dahua snipers who had previously held a slight advantage in their duels with the Fengjiang snipers were now dying one after another.

Everyone almost knew that Dahua Empire’s snipers had joined the battle, but until now there had been no proof.

The enemy operated in groups; even if they were injured or killed in battle, their bodies would be taken care of by their comrades. Most of the time, they were outclassing their rivals with superior weaponry—Dahua Empire’s snipers simply couldn’t match them.

The Great Tang Empire’s snipers had weapons with longer ranges, better camouflage, and other equipment more suited for sniping, as if the designer of these gears was a super sniper themselves.

Within just over a month, the fatality rate for Dahua Empire snipers sent to the front lines for hunting missions had exceeded eighty percent. This meant that out of approximately five snipers sent on a mission, only one would return alive.

The heavy casualties were only half the reason; the other half was the difficulty in replenishment: most Dahua snipers were either seasoned hunters or nobility passionate about shooting.

Such talents were exceedingly rare to begin with, which made replenishment even more troublesome. This forced the Dahua Empire’s sniper troops to look for veterans with good marksmanship from regular units.

Although these veterans might be decent marksmen, they were at best sharpshooters, and such shooters were incapable of fulfilling the role of snipers.

Losses were hard to replace, and the replacements were hardly fit for purpose. This resulted in the Dahua Empire’s sniper troops dwindling in size and their combat effectiveness plummeting.

Eventually, unable to bear the losses, Zhao Chen had to suspend the sniper operations that he had once been very confident about. This tactic, which seemed very effective, was put on hold due to the inability to replenish enough snipers in the short term.

This marked the complete bankruptcy of the Dahua Empire’s sniper combat tactics, and Dahua snipers no longer appeared in large numbers on the frontlines.

…

Amidst the rubble-filled ruins, in an inconspicuous corner, Cao Fei peered through a crevice at the Dahua military resting in the distance.

They had just launched an attack and captured a high ground made of debris. The surroundings were extremely chaotic, with buildings nearby still emitting dense smoke.

Through the crevice where Cao Fei was hiding, he could clearly see these resting Dahua soldiers. They were resting with their weapons, and a platoon leader was distributing the remaining ammunition.

The battle, in reality, has always been sporadic—the kind of large-scale assaults seen only on rare occasions. Most of the time, these units, fragmented by the terrain and the attack routes within the ruins, even struggled for ammunition resupplies.

Real warfare and what’s shown in movies are completely different. In actual urban combat, the flexibility and organizational skills of the troops are tested.

During such times, the demands on commanders, and even ordinary soldiers, were immense: where are you, where is your unit, where are your supplies… and the most critical question, where is your enemy.

The ammunition carried might run out in one attack, and the new position captured could still be under threat by enemy firelines, making ammunition resupply an often impossible challenge.

Thus, many times, buildings or blocks contested in street fights, which cost the lives of dozens or even hundreds, had to be relinquished to the enemy. This constant back-and-forth contributed to the heavy casualties of urban combat.

Different from open field positions, every direction, every vertical angle here was obstructed by the ruins. Attacks could come from any direction, and most of the time the positions you constructed offered no real safety.

Such was the case now.

From Cao Fei’s perspective, the seemingly concealed Dahua troops didn’t even have proper cover. They lay in shell holes resting, smoking, or eating dry rations, completely relaxed, without the slightest vigilance.

And at this very moment, Cao Fei’s gun barrel was pointed at them. If he wanted, he could empty his magazine one bullet at a time and leave at his leisure.

No one would see him, because his choice of ambush spot was very cunning. Or rather, even if he were discovered, no enemy could return fire; the angle was too narrow for anyone to shoot bullets through the gap.

“Spot a target! One of them is a platoon leader,” the observer whispered from another crevice nearby, watching the Dahua soldiers.

“I see him,” Cao Fei replied indifferently, showing no intention to shoot, “I have the platoon leader in my sights.”

“Whether you open fire or not is up to you,” the observer, whose arm wound had healed considerably, responded nonchalantly.

There were only 7 of them, so calling for artillery support was obviously unnecessary. They could take out these defenseless targets on their own, and the enemies wouldn’t even know where the bullets came from until they were hit.

“Bang!” Cao Fei eventually pulled the trigger, the bullet traveled through the space, striking the Dahua platoon leader’s head. Blood splattered onto the face of another Dahua soldier beside him, who watched in horror as a life that was alive just moments ago ended before his eyes.

Working the bolt, Cao Fei swiftly aimed at another Dahua soldier who had yet to realize what was happening.

“Bang!” The second shot echoed between the buildings, mingling with the distant artillery, crisp and resonant, lingering on endlessly.

The soldier clutching his rifle was struck in the chest. He shivered, attempted to rise, but had already lost the ability. Blood dyed his chest red; his comrades beside him got up in panic, with their first instinct being to seek cover.

Sadly, he didn’t even figure out which direction the gunfire came from, just haphazardly dove to the ground, becoming another perfect target.

“Bang!” A third shot sounded; a soldier who had just scrambled up from the ground fell at the sound, collapsing next to the prone Dahua soldier.

It wasn’t until then that the remaining four Dahua soldiers shouted “Sniper!” and started to flee in panic.

Among these remaining Dahua soldiers, one was shot dead by Cao Fei as he climbed to the edge of a shell crater. Another soldier, clumsy from overwhelming terror, rolled back to the bottom of the pit. Yet another leaped into a different crater and was shot down by Cao Fei before he could find his footing.

The soldier lying on the ground believed that the bodies shielded him from detection. He continued to lay there.

Meanwhile, the Dahua soldier who had tumbled back to the bottom of the pit struggled to crawl up, only to be hit midway by Cao Fei and stopped there, motionless.

At this moment, through the scope, Cao Fei lined up the crosshairs on the coward who had been prone all along.

He pulled the trigger, firing the seventh shot. The bullet penetrated the body of the Dahua soldier, fixing him in his prone position forever.

“Seven! Not a single one got away! Impressive!” The spotter, using his binoculars, couldn’t help but exclaim after witnessing it all.

He had always thought highly of Cao Fei’s sniping skills, and now he gained more material to boast about: one shot, one kill, seven bullets took down seven enemies!

Until their death, none of these slain Dahua soldiers ever discovered Cao Fei’s location, nor did they even think of returning fire. They only ran, fled, then like prey were killed one by one by the hunter.

“Let’s go! Time to head back,” Cao Fei packed up his weapon, cautiously retreating to a safe position, and grabbed his backpack.

The spotter also shouldered his gear: “Today’s our last mission in Fengjiang, should we throw a Hand Grenade to celebrate?”

“Overconfidence leads to misfortune just as the sky does to rain,” Cao Fei glanced at the jubilant spotter and warned.

“Just joking! But we really haven’t seen much of Dahua’s snipers recently,” the spotter recalled the enemy they had outsmarted near the factory building with a hint of nostalgia.

Lately all they encountered were rookies, who barely posed any trouble. They were as naive as children, lying motionless at the decoy position, never realizing they were already exposed to the enemy’s guns until death.

Recently… they couldn’t even encounter such fools. It seemed the enemy had abandoned such tactics, remaining hidden regardless of how much Cao Fei and his companion taunted, the enemy snipers simply wouldn’t show themselves.

As time went on, Cao Fei and his team would soon return home for rest: after all, the opportunities were limited, and they had to let other troops’ snipers have their turn…

“Don’t let your guard down, the best respect you can show an enemy is to kill them, and then add another shot!” Carrying his backpack, Cao Fei kept low as he left his hiding spot. “The best celebration is to return alive, find a place to have a good meal.”

“You’re right,” the spotter felt that Cao Fei possessed a maturity that didn’t match his age. Or perhaps, that was part of his sniping talent.

After returning, they would be awarded the “Special Operations Medal” and the “Sniper Elite Medal.” Both medals were akin to badges of service, designed to honor soldiers who can’t disclose their locations during missions.

Such trinkets were not as practical as the Blade Medal, but they offered further benefits like “salary increase” and “tax exemption.”

“Have you thought about what to eat tonight?” the spotter asked Cao Fei while they walked.

“Of course, the canteen,” Cao Fei naturally responded.

“Huh? Didn’t you just say you wanted to eat something good?” the spotter was taken aback.

“The canteen is free,” Cao Fei’s reply was still natural.

——-

Dragon Spirit was vomiting everything he ate yesterday, not sure what happened, feeling better today. I’ll make up for the missed updates after a few days of adjustment.