Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

"Stop arguing! I know where you want us to go! Just wait!"

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"Is he here? Huh? Is he here?!" That was Mr. Harry's voice.

"Here they come! Here they come!—"

"Beat his mother!"

On a street, an M8 armored vehicle suddenly flew out from the earthen slope close to its right, its cannon already turned to the left in mid-air—where a familiar giant was also advancing alongside it.

With a gust of air, a cannonball shot out of the barrel amidst a crisp firecracker sound, heading towards the blue-purple figure. The nimble vehicle then landed back on the ground, leaving behind a not-too-dull drumbeat.

Clearly, the 37mm cannon's luck was almost gone. The projectile plunged headfirst into the building's exterior wall, spitting out a cloud of brownish-gray cotton. The doll then rushed into the cotton's embrace, like a comb, sweeping away every strand of dust it passed by, leaving behind only the hissing sound of its continued advance.

“Oh, that was close…” Arugel from Sunderland broke out in a cold sweat.

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"Turn left!--"

The intersection was just ahead. The young man driving the M8 licked his lips, turned the steering wheel all the way, and the armored vehicle suddenly veered to the left, screeching as its tires scraped the ground, and turned onto the street on the left!

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As the armored vehicle sped further and further away, Sunderland roared, and the blue-purple giant warriors charged once more.

"Slow down, buddy! Don't let him lose us!"

Whether the M8 armored vehicle slowed down or the puppet accelerated too quickly, Mr. Harry looked up and saw the blue-purple iron head gradually appearing in the scenery outside the turret. The scorching drive wheels on his legs slowly stepped into the dust kicked up by the armored vehicle's tires.

"It's just around the next intersection, sir!"

"Haha! Good! Hard to starboard!"

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Aruger watched as the little green dog slid into the corner of the intersection once again, but this time, he had a sudden inspiration.

He had Sunderland shoot his two grappling hooks onto the exterior wall of the building to the right of the corner, and the moment the hooks bit, he leaned to the right, gracefully kicking up the dust at the intersection like a short track speed skater.

In this way, when he turns, the steel cable can not only give him a centripetal force, allowing him to reduce the speed loss when turning, but also act like a net to block the dog that tries to turn around and run away if the green dog tries to play tricks, and may even cause it to crash directly into the cable!

However, the moment he crossed the intersection, he realized that this might be the last time he ever tried to be clever.

Because in front of him, on a long, straight street, less than two hundred meters away, everything was a gray-green...

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"Fire! Fire!"

Lieutenant Hare Two, standing behind the turret of the Stuart tank, shouted and pulled the trigger of the roof-mounted machine gun. The once tranquil street instantly transformed into a swarm of bees, like millions of bees dancing wildly. The roar of the M8 armored vehicles and the Sunderland tanks rushing in behind were long since drowned out; instead, dozens of American soldiers stood on windowsills and along the street a hundred meters ahead, each with a gun firing at the top of their lungs!

Bullets danced through the air like a meteor shower—no, even a meteor shower couldn't compare! The glint of bullets as they streaked across the air coalesced into a roaring waterfall cascading down the cliff. Each drop of water from the bullets gathered together, forming a furious torrent that pounded against Sunderland's blue-purple steel armor!

Aruger could no longer sit still. In the past, the infantry's light weapons would pelt the armor like a gentle spring rain. But this time, it was beyond a downpour! The sound of bullets hitting the steel plates was so numerous and dense that almost all the impacts were strung together, becoming a roar like an electric drill, clamoring to use its indestructible sharpness to shatter him and his mount in one blow!

The gunfire was so intense that it almost rendered the tank obscured; its main gun stealthily aimed at Sunderland's chest. A sharp blast followed, and the 37mm shell, leaving a trail of fire at the muzzle, hurtled towards the dummy!

However, the puppet suddenly dodged to the side and missed!

The giant began to sway left and right, letting bullets rain down on its armor. Looking at the tanks in the distance, the direction of their turrets seemed somewhat unpredictable.

"Damn! That kid in the tank is way too young!" Mr. Harry cursed loudly from inside the M8 armored vehicle running in front of the doll.

"What should we do, sir!"

Section 43, Chapter 29: Burning a Doll for My Beloved Dog

If Sunderland immediately brakes and reverses, the tanks will be able to target him more easily once he slows down.

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But precisely because of this, since the enemy only has one tank, the only thing to watch out for is the artillery that can't fire every second.

Looking at the street layout, there's not much clutter, so you can easily speed through and escape.

In a split second, the pilot, Arrugel, figured it out, rhythmically manipulating the control stick in his hands and the pedals under his feet. Unexpectedly, Sunderland navigated effortlessly through the streets and the hail of bullets overhead, much like a reckless skier.

Well, it seems that the gunner in the tank is obviously not as good as his little brother in the armored vehicle in all aspects. The mech's excellent mobility can be put to good use and save his life.

However, Aruger suddenly sensed an ominous atmosphere...

The M8 armored vehicle that had been moving quite fast in front of him suddenly started to slow down and was almost alongside him.

At this moment, he absolutely could not slow down. Looking at the armored vehicle that was swaying a bit, he took a breath, calculated his range of movement, and tried his best not to hit the little dog while maneuvering.

But the puppy doesn't think so; it's already prepared to "cross the line"!

"Are you all ready?" Mr. Harry shouted from inside the turret, curled up in a ball.

"no problem!"

"Okay, kids! Get ready for your new cars!" The man smiled broadly.

"Let's get started!"

Suddenly, the M8 armored vehicle roared and swerved wildly to the right, instantly appearing right in front of Sunderland's legs!

“Oh no!——”

Startled, Arrugel swiftly moved the lever, immediately halting his subsequent swaying motion. In the midst of Arrugel's chaotic actions, Sunderland actually leaped up, attempting to jump over the M8's body.

But clearly, that less than 5 seconds of hesitation was enough.

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Whether the Stuart gunner understood perfectly or it was just a lucky accident, in that brief moment, the cannonball, which had been lying in the breech for a long time with hesitation, finally flew out of the muzzle with a pleasant sound, staring intently at the doll as it sped away!

A shattering sound filled with sparks erupted from the lower half of the doll's torso, and a fountain of energy, emanating from burning electronic components, engulfed his lower body in the blink of an eye.

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Unfortunately, the M8 armored vehicle's round turret was also tripped up by the doll's legs.

This time, it wasn't just Sunderland that suffered. The M8 armored vehicle, weighing only nine tons, naturally tilted to the left and began to roll on the ground after being jostled like that.

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The armored vehicle turned into a log rolling on the ground. After rolling a few times, it got stuck in the turret and became a piece of wood that was sliding and rubbing against the ground.

But the mannequin, like a bundle of firewood thrown out, was instantly severed in two by the immense kinetic energy of the shell's fatal impact and subsequent fall. Now, in high-speed motion, its broken arms and legs, and its torso, hurtling forward like a boulder rolling down a hillside, were no longer connected. They bounced and leaped across the chaotic road like a herd of mad horses, charging towards the American soldiers entrenched in the street ahead!

"Scatter! Everyone! Scatter!" The lieutenant, who was still crouching on the tank, realized that something was wrong. The soldiers on the road hurriedly scurried to both sides, and one guy even forgot about the M1919 machine gun he had set up.

The 15-ton Stuart tank immediately reversed, clearly not an immovable vessel, and unwilling to be hit by that intimidating-looking behemoth.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!" The lieutenant collapsed behind the turret, screaming hysterically as he frantically pounded on the turret hatch. The rolling steel limbs were getting closer and closer to him!

"Oh God!" Without thinking, the lieutenant instinctively leaped to the side of the street, landing and then rolling again. Looking back from a distance, the puppet's torso had stopped rubbing against the road. Stuart slowly reduced the engine noise, and the mangled mechanical arm gradually slowed down, completing its final roll and coming to a steady stop a few centimeters in front of the tank tracks.

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The lieutenant took a few deep breaths, glanced at the tank, then at the mannequin's miserable state, before turning his head to the group of soldiers beside him.

"You!" he called out to a combat engineer whose "gun" had a tube attached to its tail, the other end of which was connected to the bundle he was carrying on his back—two cylindrical iron cans side by side, painted green, with cold oil flowing inside.

So its name is no longer in doubt...

"Flamethrowers, quick! Don't let this monster get back up!"

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Now let's turn our attention back to the overturned M8 armored vehicle.

"Damn it..." Mr. Harry gradually woke up, his forehead pressed against the cold turret wall, his whole body curled up in the cramped, overturned turret.

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The man felt something cold below his Adam's apple. Touching it, he saw an Iron Cross medal with a smiley face engraved on it, stuck between his collar and collarbone. The button on the left side of his breast pocket had popped open sometime earlier and fallen into some dark shadow.

The Iron Cross was an award German soldiers received from their former leader, so why would it end up in the pocket of an American armored vehicle commander? Well, there's probably not much to say about that.

"Are you alright, Locke?" He looked at another young man lying in the turret.

"Phew..." The sound drifted from the young man's mouth, "God, we're so lucky to be alive..."

Just as the man was about to call out to his two buddies in the driver's and passenger's seats, he looked up and a dirty hand reached out in front of him.

"Hey! Buddy!" an American soldier called out to him from outside the turret. "Come out already! Playing hide-and-seek like that is tiring!"

The man grabbed the soldier's hand, and then another soldier outside the turret came over and pulled him outside.

"Hey! Go easy on me! Ouch! My foot!"

Amidst Mr. Harry's not-so-angry shouts, the sound of a jeep engine drifted up to the beagle's side, and Jonathan jumped off first.

Looking around casually, besides the few people gathered around the turret of the M8 armored vehicle, there were five or six soldiers surrounding the two open hatches at the front of the vehicle. The left hatch was empty, while the right hatch had a young man with a bruised forehead emerging from it, passed around among the others. As for why the man in the left hatch wasn't there, it was because he had already been pulled out, grimacing and wiping the blood that had already trickled down his lips from under his somewhat deformed nose.

In contrast to the relatively relaxed atmosphere here, not too far away, the sapper carrying a flamethrower was busy aiming the nozzle at the dummy slumped on the ground. Bright orange-red flames erupted from his hand, like a terrifying giant python coiling around the dummy.

The original blue-purple steel exterior now looks more like a pile of burning haystacks, emitting a nauseating stench, and with the help of a breeze, it has turned half the street into a smoky boiler room.

Surrounding the soldiers and wreckage about ten meters away were another dozen or so American soldiers. All of them raised their guns and aimed them at the fire, clearly still wary of the fallen humanoid monster.

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"Cough! Ah, cough cough cough!—"

A cough coming from the turret of the M8 armored vehicle drew Jonathan's attention back.

“Mr. Harry?” A familiar face was sitting on the ground, surrounded by two soldiers.