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墨書 Inktalez
The rapid-fire cannon on the "Wales" unleashed a fierce bombardment, with metal projectiles from the explosive shells ruthlessly claiming the lives of the Taiwan soldiers. This blatant massacre further solidified Xu Shaoqiang's belief that this was a well-organized and planned invasion by foreign forces. However, continuing in this manner was not a solution; if they did not respond soon, they would likely be annihilated by the cannon fire without even firing a shot. Therefore, Xu Shaoqiang urgently ordered his troops to retreat to a safe area while commanding some soldiers to return to the camp and retrieve the long-unused mortars from storage. He prepared to engage the invaders in an artillery battle. Although mortars had a shorter range than rapid-fire cannons, they had no blind spots when fired from suitable positions, making them effective against high targets due to their parabolic trajectory, which could accurately hit the structures and facilities on the "Wales."
The two mortars brought out began to play their role at this moment. Xu Shaoqiang ordered the soldiers to set up and adjust the angle of the cannons. Two fin-stabilized mortar shells slid into the barrels, and with two loud booms, they shot into the sky like small rockets, heading towards the "Wales." Unfortunately, they had not calibrated the firing angle accurately, and both shells fell into the water about ten meters in front of the ship's hull, creating two towering columns of water upon explosion.
Although these few mortar shells were insufficient to sink the massive "Wales," they still startled the First Mate. If one of those shells had struck the bridge directly, it would have been troublesome. While it might not sink the ship, losing control of it would render it as good as scrap metal. The First Mate was counting on the "Wales" to take him back to his home far away in Lusang Nation. Thus, he quickly ordered full power to leave the port; as long as they could escape the effective range of the mortars, they would be safe. He was not worried about whether Taiwan would send warships to intercept them after going out to sea because the "Wales" was well-equipped enough to withstand an initial assault. Additionally, he could call for assistance from Lusang Nation's naval fleet. As one of the world's foremost military powers, Lusang Nation's navy typically did not limit its activities to its territorial waters and often intruded into other nations' waters. According to what the First Mate knew, there were cruisers from Lusang Nation operating within Taiwan's territorial waters. Historically, Taiwan and Lusang had maintained friendly relations, so both sides tended to turn a blind eye to such matters. As long as he could wait for support from Lusang's navy cruisers, it would be a victory for him.
Seeing that both mortar shells missed their target, Xu Shaoqiang became furious and shouted loudly, wishing he could shoot those two gunners immediately. The gunners quickly adjusted their firing angle and launched two more shells. This time, their aim was accurate; both shells landed firmly on the deck of the "Wales," accompanied by two thunderous explosions that caused the ship to sway violently. However, due to the limited penetration power of mortar shells and the thick steel plating of the "Wales," this massive reaction only created two small dents in the deck without causing significant damage. Seeing they had hit their target, both loaders frantically loaded and fired again. The firing rate of these mortars depended entirely on how fast they could load them; each shell was loaded and fired one at a time based on gravity sliding it into place, causing its primer to strike against the firing pin at the bottom of the barrel. Nevertheless, with good coordination between them, they could fire twenty to thirty shells in a minute—about one shell every two to three seconds.
This barrage caused the "Wales" to sway left and right. With its cargo already unloaded, it was essentially an empty ship relying solely on ballast water for stability; thus, it swayed easily under such bombardment. However, compared to rough seas, this was hardly significant. Fortunately, most shells landed on deck; aside from two empty containers being blown away and damage to the foremast, there were no severe injuries that would affect its navigation—though if a shell had struck near the bridge area, it would have been another story.
As First Mate ordered full speed ahead for "Wales" to escape from port while also commanding gunners to continue bombarding in Taiwan Army's direction, most shells failed to hit their intended targets due to distance and ongoing swaying of the ship. After much struggle, "Wales" finally sailed beyond effective range of Taiwan Army's mortars and breathed a temporary sigh of relief; in this chaotic skirmish, "Wales" emerged as victor since none of its sailors were harmed by Taiwan Army's mortars while inflicting casualties on over a hundred enemy soldiers.
Seeing his mortars rendered ineffective as "Wales" sailed far out of port while surveying scattered limbs and wounded soldiers around him made Xu Shaoqiang unable to contain his anger any longer; he cursed vehemently—he couldn't swallow this bitter pill. Not only did he fail to inflict casualties on enemy forces but instead lost many of his own men; such a crushing defeat was unacceptable for Xu Shaoqiang. However, now that "Wales" had escaped port, how could he seek revenge? Hence his frustration turned into curses. It was then that Chief of Staff approached him with an idea: "Old Xu, I think we should report this situation up top and request support from either naval or coastal artillery units." Upon hearing Chief of Staff suggest reporting up top again made Xu Shaoqiang feel like he was slapping himself in the face—how could he explain that his regiment couldn't even take down one ship while suffering heavy losses? Just as he glared angrily and was about to explode with rage again, suddenly an idea struck him.
Xu Shaoqiang laughed as he patted Chief of Staff on the shoulder: “Hahaha... you’re right! How did I not think of that? Alright everyone! Immediately take all mortars with me towards the bay to intercept that ship! And get me Old Ding’s phone number!”
It turned out that beyond this port lay a bay through which ships must pass before entering open sea. The bay’s surface wasn’t wide enough for mortars to reach halfway across it; thus ships like "Wales," weighing thousands of tons could only navigate through deeper channels in its center. Therefore Xu Shaoqiang believed he could effectively deal with those foreign forces here in this section of water. On both sides of this bay were stationed coastal artillery units guarding Taiwan’s maritime gateway equipped with advanced weaponry including long-range rocket launchers along with missile systems and anti-missile systems. More importantly, Old Ding—the commander Xu Shaoqiang referred to—was someone who had served alongside him before; their relationship was exceptionally close so if his own troops faltered Xu Shaoqiang could always call for support.
At that moment intense gunfire erupted from behind a distant hill; Xu Shaoqiang knew it was one company he sent out engaging in combat with soldiers from Abayir’s 114th Division against those black-clad enemies. He had no interest in checking on their situation given such overwhelming odds against them—a company plus about a hundred remaining soldiers from 114th Division totaled over two hundred men while those black-clad enemies numbered only thirty or forty at most—this lopsided battle held no suspense whatsoever so he ignored those gunshots entirely as he hopped into a vehicle along with his remaining soldiers and twenty mortars marching swiftly towards bay.
However, it became evident that Xu Shaoqiang’s expectations were completely wrong—of course predictions made without understanding circumstances are bound to fail—and he never anticipated falling into a trap where his soldiers would inevitably pay with their lives.
The company under Xu Shaoqiang's command pursued those fleeing black-clad enemies while around one hundred soldiers from 114th Division followed closely behind them in pursuit too. Those black-clad enemies were remarkably agile; sensing they were being pursued by larger numbers they dared not resist but fled desperately instead—they ran swiftly despite being visible clearly enough for pursuers yet remained untouchable since they kept just outside effective range of automatic rifles’ firepower even when shots rang out behind them aimed at their backsides proved futile efforts at best! The leading Company Commander could only order his subordinates forward at full speed feeling quite pleased with himself since his men managed largely keep pace with fleeing foes maintaining distance equivalent roughly one bullet’s worth apart—but unfortunately for Abayir’s 114th Division soldiers who joined pursuit soon found themselves panting heavily unable keep up anymore falling behind significantly!
The leading Company Commander couldn't help but look down on the soldiers from Abayir. It turned out that the troops from the capital were just like this; perhaps it was because their treatment in the unit was too good, causing them to become soft and sluggish due to overeating and lack of exercise. It seemed that the credit for annihilating the enemy would be his alone, so he ignored the soldiers from the capital behind him and urged his subordinates to charge forward fiercely.
In no time, they saw the black-clad figures running to the foot of a small hill. They continued along the base of the hill and quickly turned a corner, disappearing behind it. When the Company Commander noticed that the black-clad figures had vanished, he felt a surge of anxiety. If they managed to escape, he would lose all his credit. So, he fired a shot into the air and shouted loudly, "Catch up as fast as you can! Whoever is last will be shot!" As soon as these words were spoken, the soldiers surged forward like they had been injected with adrenaline. My goodness! This was too motivating; there would always be someone at the back of a group, and whoever was last would be executed. That was terrifying! Someone had to die; they just hoped it wouldn't be them. Thus, they desperately pushed themselves forward. However, some soldiers wondered what would happen after shooting the last one—wouldn't the second-to-last then become the last? Would they be shot next? And so on?
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