My Items Have an Upgrade Panel - Chapter 119

Chapter 119: Countercharge? Directly Crushed

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Fortunately, 1 was cautious; otherwise, things might have taken a turn for the worse,” Tang Rui muttered as he surveyed the array of weapons before him.

Seeing the weaponry, Tang Rui couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Given the Middle East’s handling, extracting even 30% of the weapons’ potential would be a cause for celebration. Without proper control, these weapons could easily end up in a catastrophe.

He instructed, “Celia, activate the firefighting drones, unlock their connectivity, and switch to combat mode.”

“Understood, command updated,” replied Celia promptly.

Under Tang Rui’s expert control, the 720 drones dispersed in the sky, no longer flying in tight formation. They grouped into sets of six, forming squads, and six squads combined to create a larger unit, all operating in stealth mode.

The firefighting drones themselves were equipped with this feature, but the Middle East’s operators had opted for a full-speed, head-on assault, entering a combat mode that demanded air superiority.

Unfortunately, without air dominance, charging recklessly into the enemy forces was akin to treating their guided missiles as unguided projectiles.

On the Middle East’s side, no one noticed the change in the firefighting drones’ flight pattern. Their use of drones, whether for reconnaissance or firefighting, typically involved launching them, enabling automatic cruise mode, marking a target, and then letting the system take over.

Prince Salim paid little attention to the firefighting drones either, as he was busy commanding a special unit of mechanized dogs within his army.

These 200 specially trained soldiers controlled the mechanized dogs, directing them to charge toward the approaching Houthi armed militants. The staccato sound of gunfire filled the air as Gatling machine guns, glowing with a blue hue, relentlessly scanned the enemy.

The Middle East’s soldiers had one straightforward task: directing the mechanized dogs toward the enemy hordes. The Houthi militants had no effective countermeasures. Anti-material sniper rifles were practically useless in untrained hands, almost as good as firewood in the battlefield. As for individual rocket launchers, they were too slow to catch the agile mechanized dogs. Other weapons, whether rifles or otherwise, posed no threat to the mechanized dogs.

Inside the command vehicle, the soldiers operating the mechanized dogs began cheering for the first time. This was a new experience for them. The Middle East’s forces were taking the fight directly to the Houthi militants, even obliterating those who dared to charge head-on.

“Good, keep it up! The army advances, providing cover for the mechanized dogs from behind,” Prince Salim exclaimed with excitement in the command center.

Sometimes, people are pushed to innovate when facing dire circumstances. Prince Salim had no better option for his land army and had devised a unique tactical approach—dog-tank coordination. Mechanized dogs led the way while protecting the tanks behind them.

Did this tactic prove effective? Surprisingly so. Tanks primarily feared individual anti-tank rocket launchers, and with mechanized dogs at the forefront, automatically targeting high-threat individuals with heavy weaponry, the system made effective decisions. Missile launchers, radar operators, and commanders adjacent to the vehicles were considered top priorities. Soldiers near artillery pieces came next. Those carrying shoulder-fired rocket launchers were in the third category, and larger-caliber sniper rifles, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, and the like fell into the fourth.

In the current battlefield, there was no one left among the top three priorities. Thus, anyone carrying an RPG became the primary target for the mechanized dogs.

Just as the mechanized dogs were aggressively advancing, the firefighting drones arrived on the scene. With no cover available on the battlefield, the firefighting drones had to fly low, rendering the laser-based anti-drone weapons and close-range defense systems ineffective. These systems could only target aerial threats, not those flying close to the ground.

Roaring engines filled the air as the firefighting drones swiftly closed in. In the first wave, they obliterated the anti-drone equipment. While 5 kilograms of explosives couldn’t pierce tank armor, they could destroy laser devices, close-range defenses, and even the occupants inside vehicles.

Once the air defense problem was resolved, the remaining firefighting drones ascended again. They identified densely packed groups of enemies on the ground and initiated a devastating dive-bombing attack.

With mechanized dogs on the ground and firefighting drones in the sky, there was no escape for the Houthi militants. When the firefighting drones finally depleted their ammunition and the mechanized dogs ran out of bullets, most of the Houthi militants who had charged recklessly were either dead or wounded.

In an astonishing turn of events, the Middle East’s forces captured several dozen prisoners.

“Replenish the ammunition for the mechanized dog units, tanks keep pushing forward, no halting,” Prince Salim ordered upon noticing a tendency for the tank units to seek cover.

The majority of the Houthi armed forces had been eliminated, and now Prince Salim aimed to take the battle to their doorstep. However, just as they were about to do so, an alarm blared inside the command center. Five ballistic missiles were detected by radar and their trajectories analyzed. The targets of these five missiles were none other than the Middle East’s forward units.

However, the Middle East had countermeasures in place; they possessed Patriot anti-missile systems. These systems were now activated and intercepting the incoming missiles.

One missile intercepted, two missiles intercepted, and then… there was no more. The remaining three Volcano-3 ballistic missiles landed directly around the A’Liddle East’s vanguard forces.

Tang Rui watched the entire sequence unfold. The drones in the sky were his eyes. To be honest, the American performance in this round seemed a bit staged. Tang Rui could see everything clearly. The flight trajectories of the five Patriot-3 anti-air missiles were flawless.

However, after successfully intercepting the first two ballistic missiles, the flight paths of the remaining three Patriot-3 anti-air missiles suddenly shifted. It was like they were acting out a script, and it felt a bit overdone.

While it was known that most arms dealers had backdoors in their products, it was generally understood that such backdoors did not affect the product’s combat performance and sometimes even proved advantageous.

But what was America doing now? They were practically giving up. If the Patriot-3 anti-air missiles couldn’t intercept Volcano-3 ballistic missiles, then what was the point of deploying them? Even Three Fatties could throw Two Kicks’ shoes at America’s face.

It was over. The Middle East’s forces had suffered casualties, and their morale, which had just been boosted, plummeted. Although the mechanized dogs could still fight, without logistical support, their Gatling guns would run dry after one more charge. To eliminate the Houthi forces, the Middle East had to strike at their core, severing their roots. Otherwise, even if they wiped out thousands today and thousands more tomorrow, it would be futile. The Houthi had financial backers and a population base in their war-torn region. They could easily recruit more fighters as long as they had money and weapons.

“Celia, lock down the system’s performance and erase all data,” Tang Rui instructed.

“Understood,” Celia replied.

“Also, retrieve the footage of the Patriot-3 anti-air missiles deviating from their intended path and send it to my computer.”

“Of course.”

“And remember to monitor the situation of the mechanized dogs in real-time.”

“Got it.”

Tang Rui gave his orders to Celia and then left his office..