Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 276-275 Operation Ancient City: Long-Spear Gang Soldiers Launch Sneak Attack, Critical Situation in the City
In response to the emergency landing of the Condor Legion's latest German fighter BF.109 in Cáceres, the International Brigades immediately organized an action team.

This is a temporary unit composed of international fighters from several countries. To facilitate communication, all members are required to be able to communicate in English.

There are fifteen people in total.

This includes pilot and operations commander Fang Wen, wingman pilot Du Jiahuai, and transport aircraft pilot Deng Zhongyu.

There were also 11 International Brigades fighters and one Spanish officer from the Popular Front.

After the aircraft maintenance was completed, all personnel gathered at the Asia Air Force camp, where Fang Wen presided over the pre-operation briefing.

"This operation will involve flying to Cáceres in southwestern Spain. The main purpose is to contact the local authorities, retrieve the German fighter plane that was forced to land, and also to arrest the Condor pilot who participated in the Spanish Civil War. As for the situation in Cáceres, Major George Baker will explain it to everyone."

George Baker stood up and stubbornly explained, "My rank is Teniente Coronel, which in English is Lieutenant Colonel (Major)."

This is indeed a communication issue. In the Spanish Second Republic, the rank of Teniente Coronel means "deputy" or "acting" in Spanish, while "Coronel" means "colonel." To outsiders, this rank should be somewhere between captain and lieutenant colonel.

After identifying himself, George Baker continued, "When I was in Madrid, I was in charge of military affairs in the southwest region, so I know the area quite well. The situation in Cáceres is rather complicated due to historical reasons. Currently, neither our side nor the rebels have troops stationed there; it is mainly managed by the locals."

To better explain, he briefly recounted the history of Spain.

Cáceres was originally founded by the Romans and later occupied by the Moors.

The Moors were Muslims who invaded Europe from Arabia during the Middle Ages.

After they occupied the Iberian Peninsula, they also spread Islam in Europe.

For hundreds of years, Muslims ruled this region.

Later, after 800 years of the Reconquista, the Spanish defeated the Islamic state and regained control of the Iberian Peninsula.

From that time on, the city of Cáceres returned to Spanish hands, and 300 fanatical knights gathered in the city to form the Brotherhood of Cáceres.

This is the location of what later became the most prestigious Order of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

It can be said that the place is full of traces of cultural conflict, and it is also very traditional, refusing to engage with technology and living an ancient religious life.

After explaining the local situation, George Baker instructed, "We must not act recklessly this time. I will handle the communication with them, and the local government should not make things difficult for us."

Fang Wen, however, had a different opinion.

"Could the Falange Party members be there?"

The Falange is a fascist political party in Spain, but nominally maintains a good relationship with the church. Fang Wen asked this question because of the strong religious atmosphere in the area.

George Baker shook his head: "Caselles only has tens of thousands of people. The Falange prefers large and medium-sized cities, so they probably won't go there."

Now that we have a pretty good understanding of the situation, it's time to take immediate action and not delay too long to avoid any mishaps.

Immediately afterwards, the International Brigades' quartermaster brought the weapons and distributed them to the operatives.

Everyone was given a Labora M1935 submachine gun and an Astra 600 pistol.

Both of these weapons are Spanish-made and were supplied to the International Brigades by the Popular Front, which controlled the arsenals.

In addition to each person's individual weapon, there was also a box of Spanish-made barrel grenades.

These weapons are sufficient for the operations to come.

"Set off."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he led the way out of the Asia Air Force camp.

He boarded the Shrike, while Du Jiahuai piloted a modified Ilyushin Il-16 wingman. Subsequently, Deng Zhongyu and others boarded the Boeing 247.

Three aircraft took off one after another, forming an escort formation and flying toward their destination.

More than an hour later, the flight formation arrived over the ancient city of Cáceres.

Fang Wen piloted the Shrike ahead to explore.

The plane descended and circled over the ancient city.

Looking around, this ancient city is built on a high plateau of plains and consists of a large number of medieval stone buildings, which should all have been knights' manors.

In the heart of the city, there is a spacious square with smooth stone pavement, which is the best runway for landing.

He then sent a coded message, guiding the plane to land in the city square.

After the three planes landed, the action team immediately assembled.

The commotion also attracted the attention of city dwellers, who peered out from the distant streets.

Fang Wen looked around and said, "Du Jiahuai and Deng Zhongyu, you stay here to guard the plane. The rest of you come with me to the municipal government."

Immediately afterwards, the 13-member action team, carrying weapons and equipment, walked quickly towards the outside of the city square.

They had just reached the street corner by the square when they encountered a large group of people.

The citizens on horseback, carrying spears and iron weapons, looked at Fang Wen and his group with hostility.

George Baker spoke loudly in Spanish, and after a while, he gave an update on the conversation.

"They said the mayor had ordered the German pilots to be imprisoned, but he wouldn't allow us to go over. He said it was to maintain neutrality."

"Stay neutral?" Fang Wen frowned. Generally speaking, such a statement implies uncertainty, which makes things more likely to go wrong.

He whispered to George Baker, “Tell them we only want the pilot and the plane, and that must be handed over to us. We don’t have to go into town for that.”

George Baker turned around and continued the conversation, while the other person shouted loudly and kept shaking his head.

Clearly, they were adamant: they wouldn't release the people, wouldn't allow the plane to be taken away, and wouldn't even allow the action team to enter the city.

This attitude is not neutral.

Fang Wensheng had a strange feeling and immediately talked to the action team members.

"Everyone be careful, there might be rebels in the city."

The team members immediately became alert, half-raising the submachine guns slung over their shoulders to maintain a state of readiness.

This reaction made those people somewhat flustered, after all, they were just ordinary people who had never experienced such a scene before.

Some people turned and left, and the crowd began to disperse.

In this situation, George Baker raised his voice, and the other party became intimidated.

A moment later, he returned to give feedback.

“Someone told me that a few people came from outside the city last night, and it was after they went to the mayor’s house to talk that this change occurred.”

It seems the rebels have appeared in Cáceres.

Fang Wen realized that he had to deal with the rebels; otherwise, if they were allowed to obstruct his operations, his mission would be hindered at every turn.

He whispered to George Baker, "Find those guys and take them out."

George Baker nodded seriously, then turned to talk to the locals.

He must have used the power of the People's Front government to forcefully suppress some people, who then chose to submit.

They agreed to lead him to the city hall, and George Baker followed with five team members.

Time passed slowly, and George Baker and his men had been there for half an hour.

The lack of activity in the city puzzled Fang Wen and his group.

After a while, gunshots rang out, indicating that George Baker was fighting with the rebels.

Judging from the gunfire, the two sides were exchanging blows fiercely, showing no signs of ending immediately. Fang Wen was about to lead his team to provide support when a teammate behind him reminded him.

"Fang, someone's coming from over there."

Fang Wen turned around and saw nearly 20 soldiers carrying rifles walking over.

The soldier at the very front was holding up a flag.

Those were members of the Falange, who had actually appeared in Cáceres.

Judging from the situation, the other side has quite a few people.

Fang Wen immediately turned around and retreated into the street corner, picking up his submachine gun.

"Ready to fight."

The operatives also hid behind the corner stone wall, raising their weapons.

Bugle calls came, along with shouts in Spanish.

The citizens who had been watching from the sidelines quickly retreated into their homes, and a street battle was about to begin.

At this moment, Fang Wen's heart couldn't help but tighten.

He currently lacks the machines to use his superpowers, and he can't have the mechanical armor of Iron Man from the future. Therefore, he must now repel the enemy's attack and head to the plane in the square.

As long as he can get on the plane, Fang Wen has a way to deal with these enemies.

He took a deep breath, composed himself, and focused his mind.

Even without superpowers, their own abilities, enhanced by those mysterious religious treasures, make them far stronger than ordinary people, and they might very well be able to win this battle.

At this moment, even without activating his mechanical perception ability, he simulated that state of high spiritual and physical unity.

Fang Wen's highly focused mind calmed him down. He understood that what he needed to do now was find out the situation of the enemy on the other side of the corner.

He took out a small round mirror, stuck half of it out, and used the reflection to see what was happening on the other side of the corner.

The long-gun soldiers slowly approached, hugging the wall. This angle was tricky; if they leaned out rashly, the enemy would immediately open fire.

But now that Fang Wen has pinpointed the other party's location, he immediately reacts accordingly.

He whispered to his teammates, "You guys stay here, I'll go over there."

After saying that, he quickly rushed to the other side of the street and entered a shop.

This is a ham shop, the most famous specialty of Cáceres.

As soon as Fang Wen entered, he bumped into his terrified boss.

The shop owner hurriedly explained in English, "Those people are not locals and have nothing to do with us."

Fang Wen nodded, looked around the shop, and asked, "How do I get upstairs?"

The shop owner quickly pointed to the back door on the right.

Following his directions, Fang Wen climbed the sloping stairs and arrived at the second floor of the building.

From the third room on the second floor, you can see right across the corner.

He released the safety on his submachine gun, quietly poked the muzzle out, and, with intense concentration, aimed and fired.

A burst of bullets poured out instantly, muzzle flashes spitting fire, and the long-gun soldiers lined up against the wall became the perfect targets.

In an instant, five soldiers were shot and fell, while the rest were stunned by the sudden attack.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen changed to a second magazine and continued firing.

Under his firepower, the team members behind the corner immediately rushed out and launched an attack.

The uniform firing of submachine guns proved far more powerful than the rifles of the long-range gunners in close combat, and the soldiers fell one by one against the wall.

It's over. All 20-plus pistol-wielding soldiers have been wiped out, but more are still on their way from further away.

Fang Wen immediately ran downstairs and quickly directed, "Go to the planes in the square."

Immediately, the operatives ran quickly after Fang Wen towards the square. This time, there were no enemies to stop them, so they were safe.

The group ran back to the square, and Du Jiahuai and Deng Zhongyu, who were left behind, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that it was their own people.

Fang Wen immediately made arrangements.

"You get on the Boeing 247. There are two airborne military machine guns on board. Use them for cover. Deng Zhongyu will be in charge of teaching them how to use the machine guns. Du Jiahuai, let's get on the plane."

After a brief setup, Deng Zhongyu adjusted the direction of the Boeing 247, positioning it sideways to the intersection of the square, with the onboard military machine gun aimed at the intersection for defense.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen and Du Jiahuai were piloting their respective fighter jets, preparing for takeoff.

The enemy also charged in.

Nearly a hundred soldiers, led by officers carrying long guns and flags, marched toward the city square.

The operatives, relying on the Boeing 247 for defense, immediately began their counterattack.

Two M2 machine guns, welded to fixed supports, fired a barrage of bullets into the distance.

The 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets were incredibly powerful in ground combat, instantly felling several enemy soldiers in the front ranks.

They immediately retreated to a position where they couldn't be hit by machine guns.

At that moment, two fighter jets also took off from the square.

After taking off, Du Jiahuai's modified Il-16 immediately turned around, attempting to find ground targets for dive-bombing cannon fire.

In the first round of firing, 20mm cannon shells swept across the area, causing more than a dozen casualties. However, in the next round, the soldiers of the Long Rifle Party took cover on both sides of the street, rendering the aircraft's dive-bomb cannon fire ineffective.

In urban warfare, bombing is the best solution for air combat aircraft.

This time, however, neither fighter jet was prepared to carry bombs; their only weapon was a 20mm cannon.

Seeing this, Fang Wen issued a secret telegram ordering Du Jiahuai to return to the base and request support, while he himself looked for an opportunity to deal with the Long Gun Gang from the air.

Du Jiahuai received instructions to fly back to base.

Fang Wen hovered over the city of Cáceres.

The low-altitude flight under mechanical perception allowed Fang Wen to gain a clearer understanding of the situation in the city.

More than 200 riflemen had gathered on the northeast side of the city square. Due to the suppression of machine gun fire, they were temporarily unable to take down the Boeing 247 on the square.

Inside a tall, castle-like building on the other side, George Baker and his men were fighting off a dozen or so enemies in the garden. With the building behind them and cover in place, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, neither daring to break out.

In other parts of the city, the streets were deserted, and the city's residents were all hiding in their houses.

Further out of the city, several hundred more Phalanx troops were arriving.

If the troops outside the city are allowed to enter, George Baker and his crew, along with the Boeing 247, will face enormous danger.

Having learned about the situation in the entire region, Fang Wen immediately took action.

He wanted to use a fighter jet to stop the army outside the city.

As long as we stop this army, we can resolve this crisis once Du Jiahuai arrives with reinforcements.

Immediately, the Shrike fighter abandoned its attack on the soldiers in the city and flew to the northwest outside the city.

(End of this chapter)