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The soldiers on Emilia's side were full of both excitement and passion, as if they couldn't wait to bathe in the enemy's blood. And had it been a traditional battle with cold weapons, there was no doubt that they would have overwhelmed almost any enemy.
Unfortunately, when the battle involved guns, tanks, and explosives… their advantage wasn't quite so great.
With her sharp sight, Emilia could clearly see hundreds of those armored metal beasts, surrounded by thousands of troops, and even she couldn't help but feel a little nervous in her heart. 'Thankfully, we've already fixed enough traps around the perimeter to stop the tanks… but the infantry… aren't there too many?!'
Even with their more than generous estimates, the total number of soldiers under the Federation's command shouldn't be more than ten million, and although she couldn't reasonably count them all, Emilia felt that there had to be at least a million men in front of her.
At a distance of almost ten kilometers, they were already clear 'close enough' for Emilia to be able to view the back of their unreasonably wide line.
The crimson-haired girl felt her lips twitch. "They're trying to surround and attack us from all sides, huh?"
Maybe the Federation was looking for an overwhelming victory, or maybe they were excited to take her down in one go after somehow figuring out that she would be here. But either way, she wondered if they'd forgotten about her empire being at the back of their 'camp'.
Even if their tanks could fly, there was no way they could surround her from the back, where she would be receiving reinforcements from. Not to mention, the anti-aircraft systems should be able to take them down in that case, right?
Emilia didn't have much time for idle thought as the enemy army rapidly advanced, though they abruptly halted in their tracks at the five-kilometer mark.
It wasn't that they planned to stop there, but… it's normal for them to halt after their leading tank explodes.
The enemy officers ordered a few 'scouting' units forward and confirmed their suspicions when they exploded to bits and pieces as well.
Emilia smiled as she watched the enemy's oppressive momentum collapse, and the soldiers on her side cheered and booed at them, though she knew this was only a temporary 'break' before the grim battle ahead.
The expected range of the best of the Federation's tanks was about three thousand meters, but Noelle had suggested that they build a 'barrier' at almost twice that distance just to be sure.
Of course, there were plenty more surprises waiting for them at the three-kilometer mark as well.
As expected, not even thirty minutes later, the enemy seemed to have determined the next strategy, and several heavily armored vehicles rushed in a straight line, though there was considerable distance between each of them.
Given their weight, their speed wasn't actually that great, and Emilia had plenty of time to ask Dixie for her weapon before shooting down the guy driving the first one…. then the second, then the third.
Of course, a few of her shots did miss, as even with the support of chaos energy, the incredible stability of her physical form, and her sharp eyesight, there were many external factors that determined the trajectory of her shots. But that didn't stop the soldiers near her from cheering.
Unfortunately, a few of the enemy vehicles did manage to pass through the line where they'd planted the anti-tank mines, but the traps they expected weren't triggered.
The enemy commanders couldn't help but curse. "The difference is only fifty percent, but those mines are calibrated quite disgustingly… if only we had some lighter tanks… their faces would have definitely been worth looking at."
The man by his side sighed. "It looks like we can only waste a few tanks, huh?"
"Hmm."
They didn't seem to be too bothered by the loss of hundreds of their comrades, and simply ordered some soldiers to take back the 'abandoned' armored vehicles.
After all, they weren't particularly damaged, and would definitely be very valuable in the upcoming battle.
Emilia shot down a few more before she realized that she was wasting some very valuable rounds on 'grunts', and instead focused on the head of one of the commanders.
He might not be wearing a different uniform, but he was shouting and cursing quite animatedly. She assumed he must be quite important.
Since she could kill him… why not?
Boom!
A head exploded like a watermelon, and the surrounding soldiers couldn't help but be stunned.
Unfortunately, the order in the army didn't collapse, and Emilia was sad to see that they soon started pretending that nothing had happened.
"There must be other idiots hiding nearby instructing them, huh…?"
Too bad even her hearing wasn't good enough to distinguish everything from such a distance, especially with all the commotion everywhere.
A few minutes later, multiple tanks lined up one after another, and orderly progressed towards their 'certain doom' without a care in the world.
Emilia sneered. "They plan to clear a path through the mines this way, huh?"
It wasn't a bad idea. But unfortunately for them… it was bound to fail.
It wasn't that they had some magical 'self-renewing' mines, though that would have been amazing, but a fifty-meter anti-tank trench hidden beneath the hollowed-out ground just beyond the 'mine' zone.
When their first tank fell into it, the enemy commanders almost fainted.
"Shit! Where did they learn to dig like that?! There was no trace of the ground being touched there at all!"
Obviously, they had no idea how 'pro' Emilia's subordinates were with digging tunnels. That was pretty much all they did during their rebellion, after all.
Another thirty-minute break followed, and Emilia tried a few more 'guesses' at who could be the commander, but the exploding heads couldn't really confirm her success.
Dixie couldn't help but sigh. 'If only I had as good an aim, we could have kept scores. It would have been so fun!'
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