Chapter 283: Hostilities - II
The infantry firefight intensified as well.
Hawford soldiers held positions throughout the industrial blocks. Some fired from behind concrete barriers and abandoned vehicles while others occupied windows and loading platforms overlooking the road.
They knew what they were doing.
The problem was that the soldiers advancing toward them were no longer ordinary System infantry. Most of the squads committed to the operation were already at maximum Star Promotion.
Unlike the Hawford soldiers, every System unit in the formation shared the same Radar picture. Hostile markers moved across their HUDs even when walls, smoke or vehicles blocked direct sight.
They didn’t need to wait for someone to shoot first. If a hostile contact was inside the next building, the shared picture usually showed them before they exposed themselves.
"Three contacts inside the warehouse. Upper level."
"I see them."
The Army Soldiers approaching the intersection already knew where the markers were.
One Hawford soldier leaned out from a broken window. Three rifles immediately shifted toward him.
He quickly shifted away and disappeared from their sight before anyone fired.
Another marker moved behind the same wall.
A Machine Gunner dropped beside the corner of the building and braced his weapon.
"Window line marked."
The next burst tore across the upper floor.
The Hawford soldiers inside disappeared from view, taking cover from the machine-gun fire.
Farther ahead, another group attempted to reposition through an alley.
A Guardian GI was already waiting for them.
His ballistic shield struck the ground.
"Deploying."
The MK19 came into position behind it.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Grenades crossed the alley and detonated around the enemy’s position.
The first explosion forced several soldiers back. The second struck behind their cover. The third and fourth scattered the rest before they could establish another firing line.
The Army Soldiers moved afterward, not rushing blindly into the opening.
Two covered the windows while another group crossed. Conscripts followed behind them, firing whenever another hostile marker moved into sight.
Above and farther behind the advancing squads, the Sniper Overwatch Teams were already working.
Each platoon had two of them.
Their Snipers occupied separate positions overlooking the industrial blocks while their Scouts watched the approaches and fed anything useful back into the shared picture.
One Hawford sniper occupied a damaged office building several hundred meters away. His marker lingered around the same section long enough for one of the Army Soldiers crossing the street to notice it shift toward the edge.
"Sniper, northeast."
"Watch northeast!"
The soldier changed direction immediately. A rifle cracked from the distance.
The round struck the pavement where he would have been less than a second earlier.
"Missed!"
"Don’t get cocky now. Get into cover."
"Already on it!"
One of the Golden Eagle Army Snipers was already settled behind his Barrett.
The hostile marker sat on his HUD, with its range, elevation and movement updating beside it. The Radar feed and his own optics handled the rest.
He found the narrow section of window the shot came from.
"Got him."
The Hawford sniper did not remain there. He pulled away from the window after firing.
The Golden Eagle Army Sniper fired anyway.
Boom!
The .50-caliber round punched through the edge of the wall just as the Hawford sniper disappeared deeper inside.
"That guy is quick."
"Mark it. Keep your sight on that sniper."
"Don’t worry, hotshot. I won’t miss the second time around."
The Hawford sniper changed rooms, and his marker moved with him.
The Sniper adjusted his rifle without leaving his position.
The enemy sniper could relocate, use another window or change floors.
As long as the Radar continued tracking the enemy, disappearing from sight did not mean disappearing from the fight.
Another Hawford sniper shifted farther west. His marker settled near one of the windows overlooking a Machine Gunner.
The Machine Gunner noticed the angle and dropped away from his bipod.
A rifle cracked a moment later.
The round smashed through the concrete beside him.
"Sniper west. Fucker almost got me!"
"Already on him."
A second Sniper shifted toward the new target.
The western Hawford sniper fired again.
The Sniper moved before the round reached his previous position.
Concrete burst behind the Sniper. He slid behind another section of the rooftop, planted the bipod and reacquired the target.
Max Star Promotion did not make them faster than bullets. It made them fast enough to react before a marked shooter could finish taking the shot.
The Hawford sniper was already pulling away from the window when the Sniper fired. The round tore through the window frame instead of his chest.
Neither side’s snipers were amateurs.
The difference was that one side could not disappear from the other’s battlefield picture simply by changing windows.
Below them, the infantry firefight continued.
A Hawford machine gun opened from farther down the street.
Rounds struck the wall around the advancing squad.
"Machine gun, eleven o’clock."
"Marked."
The Machine Gunner shifted his position. Both weapons opened fire almost simultaneously.
The Hawford gunner fired in controlled bursts.
The System Machine Gunner barely needed to stop.
His promoted weapon remained stable while he continued pouring rounds into the marked position.
The Hawford gunner ducked before the first burst reached him, then leaned out somewhere else.
Another marker shifted and the Machine Gunner corrected toward the new position.
The next burst swept across it the moment the Hawford gunner leaned out again.
"Position suppressed."
"Move."
The squads advanced.
What started as two formations staring at one another was now a battlefield.
Brandon clenched his jaw.
"Get me Voroltz."
The Radio Operator beside him immediately changed channels.
"Colonel Voroltz, this is Southern Command. Your recovery site just turned into a fucking firefight."
Static answered for several seconds.
Then—
"What happened?!"
"They fired first."
"What do you mean they fired first?"
Brandon stared at the red markers moving around the compound.
"I mean exactly what I said, Colonel. Diplomacy aside, they aimed their guns at us and opened fire."
There was silence from the other line. Brandon didn’t wait for him to answer.
"Those idiots from the south! Is Hawford really planning to fight against us?"
"Are you worried, Colonel?"
"How could I not be damn worried? Anyway, I’ll alert my side and everyone else as well. A large force should be reinforcing your position soon."
Another explosion flashed across the tactical picture before one of his operators spoke.
"Southern Command. We have additional movement."
𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Brandon turned.
"What now?"
"More contacts approaching from the south."
He stared at the tactical display.
The first hostile group was already engaged with his forward elements. If another force was coming from the same direction, then the situation could become much heavier in a matter of minutes.
"Send in the air package."
The Radio Operator nodded and quickly changed channels.
"Silverpeak Flight Ops, this is Southern Command. Requesting immediate air support on the designated coordinates."
The response came almost instantly.
"Roger that, Southern Command. Air units are already on standby."