Chapter 475: Disguise Self
Ludwig, of course, had no intention of actually charging in.
Even though controlling the "Siegfried Mark I, Modified" to crush through the Romanians' first trench line went so smoothly it felt somewhat unnatural to him...
To be honest, after experiencing so many battles, this was the first time Ludwig had encountered such perfunctory defensive fortifications.
The trench depth barely reached an adult man's head. Taller soldiers had to keep their heads down to avoid exposure. The trench walls were only hastily reinforced, and firing positions were so crude they practically didn't exist.
The most absurd part was the firepower deployment.
In the Armored Knight's "Sympathetic Control State," Ludwig had a commanding view from above, allowing him to clearly see the firepower deployment of the entire defense line. The Romanians' heavy machine gun positions were all deployed in parallel or set back; not a single one was placed on the flanks to form crossfire.
If this were submitted for earthworks assessment in the Saxon Imperial Army, the officer responsible for constructing the position would probably be scolded by the instructors until he doubted his existence.
Under these circumstances, the Romanian machine gunners made an even bigger mistake.
When Ludwig and the other two Armored Knights stepped onto the forward edge of the position, the muzzles of these heavy machine gun positions almost simultaneously turned toward them.
All firepower was concentrated on these three steel giants.
Bullets struck the outer shells of the Armored Knights, creating a continuous clatter. But for these Armored Knights, with a total combat weight of 18 tons and the ability to activate magical shields...
It looked like they were being chipped away, but in reality, no damage could be inflicted at all.
And during the time all heavy machine guns were drawn, the Kampfgruppe soldiers following behind the Armored Knights faced almost no effective suppression.
They sprinted hunched over for more than three hundred meters, closing the distance directly to the edge of the trenches.
The ensuing battle held no difficulty.
Ludwig and the other two Teutonic Knights raised their right mechanical arms, aiming the nozzles of their flamethrowers at the trenches below.
The instant the triggers were pulled, streams of orange-red fire surged from the ends of the mechanical arms, paving their way along the trench lines.
This was the greatest advantage of mounting flamethrowers on Armored Knights.
When combat engineers use flamethrowers, what they fear most is exposure... Standing at the forward edge of a position with a fuel tank on their backs, spraying fire inward, is when combat engineers are in the most danger, easily taken down by enemy sniper fire.
But having Armored Knights do this job completely changed the dynamic.
Standing nearly six meters tall, the Armored Knight itself was a moving shield wall.
Ludwig maneuvered his machine over a collapsed section of the breastwork. The mechanical foot stepped into the dirt at the trench's edge, causing the entire machine to sway slightly.
The instruction unit soldiers, who had already undergone "infantry-cavalry coordination" tactical training, vaulted into the trenches. Under the cover of the Armored Knights, they advanced using alternating grenades and short bursts of fire.
The battle lasted even shorter than anticipated. After a dozen minutes, the first trench line had been taken by the feinting troops.
Just then, an officer of relatively short stature but extremely fast movements ran over with several soldiers.
The man jumped down onto the edge of the trench, used sandbags to climb next to the Armored Knight, tilted his head back, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Major Ludwig!"
Ludwig looked down. It was Rommel from the instruction unit. He remembered Morin mentioning him a few times, highly praising this young officer's performance on the battlefield.
Right now, this young first lieutenant's face was covered in soot, mud splattered on the edge of his steel helmet, and like the other assault infantry, he carried a submachine gun.
Seeing this, Ludwig turned on the Armored Knight's external loudspeaker.
"Lieutenant, why did you run all the way over here?"
"Major Jonathan put me in charge of frontline attack command."
Rommel looked up and shouted rapidly.
"Breakthrough speed was much faster than planned! The enemy's second line reacted chaotically, but it seems reinforcements are hurrying this way!"
"Alright, Lieutenant, what's your plan?"
"Use this trench to fight a defensive round. Chew up some of their reinforcements before we withdraw!"
Rommel said decisively:
"Our current position perfectly chokes off their counterattack route... Although we can't get bogged down in a protracted fight, we need to make the feint look more realistic!"
Ludwig thought for a moment. The other party's judgment was sound. The biggest fear with a feint was making it look too fake. If they took the position and immediately ran, the Romanians might not take the bait.
But if the Saxons adopted a posture of continuing the attack from within the first trench, the Bucharest City Defense Command would have to keep funneling troops toward the northeast.
This was exactly what Morin needed.
"Acceptable."
Ludwig quickly gave his reply.
"But on one condition: once our flamethrower fuel is depleted, I suggest we immediately transition to the second phase and begin withdrawing."
Rommel nodded.
"Understood, Major! We won't get bogged down!"
Ludwig: "I will contact the Colonel to confirm the situation."
"Then I'll go deploy the machine gun teams."
Rommel turned and left. After taking two steps, he looked back and shouted.
"Major, you three big guys better stand firm. The Romanians lose their minds when they see you right now. It takes a lot of pressure off us infantry!"
Hearing this, Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle inside the cockpit.
"Alright, then let them keep losing their minds."
Rommel and his men quickly disappeared into the trench, and Ludwig activated the Armored Knight squad's magitech communication equipment.
"Unit Two, Unit Three, report status."
"Unit Two normal!"
"Unit Three normal!"
"Flamethrower fuel remaining?"
Silence fell over the communication channel for a moment.
Because the flamethrower was a temporary external attachment and wasn't integrated into the cockpit instruments, the two "Siegfried Mark I, Modified" units simultaneously raised their mechanical arms. The pilots, in "Sympathetic Operation State," looked directly at the fuel tank pressure gauges.
A moment later, Unit Two spoke first.
"Unit Two has roughly forty percent remaining."
"Unit Three has less than forty percent remaining."
Ludwig also glanced at his own machine's external fuel tank. He had controlled it fairly well, still having half his fuel reserves left.
"The three of us will deploy dispersedly. Unit Two to the left flank, Unit Three cover the right flank. I'll stay in the center... Remember, our mission is to help the infantry withstand the enemy's counterattack."
"Understood, Major."
Meanwhile, while everyone's attention was firmly gripped by the battle in the northeast.
On a dirt road two kilometers southwest of the city, four radiant crystal trucks with their headlights off silently came to a halt.
After the truck engines were shut off, the surrounding world fell quiet.
In the distance, the muffled sounds of artillery and gunfire from the northeast could be heard, intermittent in the night wind.
In that direction, the Kampfgruppe's feinting troops were vigorously acting out the final act of their "play."
Although for them, it wasn't acting at all, but genuinely beating people up...
Morin jumped down from the passenger seat, his boots landing with a dull thud on the dry, hard dirt road.
His enhanced five senses operated at maximum capacity in the night, capturing every surrounding sound.
The chirping of insects, the wind rustling through the grass, the low bark of a wild dog in the distance—even without the system map, Morin could confirm there was no one around.
A two-man MG14 light machine gun team was left on each truck as a support force for special situations.
The other twenty soldiers silently jumped down from the four trucks, quickly forming a two-column formation in the darkness.
The sergeant major leading the team walked over to Morin and reported in a hushed voice.
"Colonel, everyone is accounted for."
"Good."
Morin turned to face everyone. Tonight's moonlight was faint, but his low-light vision was sufficient to clearly see everyone's silhouette.
"From here to the edge of the city is about two kilometers, so keep close to me and approach rapidly... The usual rules: maintain silence, and no firing without my order."
"Understood!"
The response of the twenty men was extremely low, mere whispers.
Leaving the four trucks and machine gun teams on standby, the reconnaissance detachment began moving on foot toward Bucharest.
Morin walked at the very front. Although they were on foot, the team's speed wasn't slow. The first half was actually a jog.
For the instruction unit veterans, this distance wouldn't consume much stamina.
Judging from yesterday's aerial reconnaissance, the perimeter of Bucharest didn't have complete city walls.
Only the Old Royal Palace area in the center was enclosed by ancient stone walls; the outer areas were all residential and functional districts expanding outward in all directions.
Therefore, at the edge of this capital, the boundary between city and countryside was very blurred... You might be walking on a field ridge one second, and soon after, you'd start seeing two-story brick houses.
This kind of urban structure was a nightmare for defenders. Or rather, in this era, urban defensive battles under normal circumstances were actually fought outside the city.
After the field battles between two armies ended, if the defenders lost, they usually surrendered directly or withdrew, and wouldn't continue fighting street battles within the city.
At least, this was true before Morin transmigrated to this world.
And the bad part was that after Morin transmigrated to the Serbian front line, one of his "masterpieces" was dragging two early 20th-century armies into a street battle, which essentially set a bad precedent.
Immediately following, high-intensity urban meat grinders continued in Charleroi, Amiens, and other places. The final results caused all nations to prematurely realize the importance of urban warfare.
This intricate combat environment could largely mitigate the impact of the disparity in weapons and personnel training between the warring parties.
Even the most elite troops could suffer heavy casualties from ambushes by old farmers in the city...
The Romanians thought the same way.
From the aerial photos taken by Richthofen yesterday, although the Romanians' trenches were crude, there were clearly communication trenches leading into the city.
This indicated they would highly likely retreat into Bucharest for street fighting after the perimeter defenses fell, which wasn't an easy target for the Kampfgruppe to chew on.
However, for Morin's reconnaissance detachment currently approaching the urban area, this was somewhat good news.
And the effect of the feint in the northeast was better than Morin estimated.
On the system map, Morin could already see new enemy unit cards appearing on the northeastern positions to reinforce the line.
And the units these cards belonged to had been stationed on other defense lines during Richthofen's aerial reconnaissance yesterday.
This information let Morin know that the Bucharest defenders had been drawn by the feint and were beginning to move troops from other directions to plug the line.
So the density of defenders in the direction Morin was currently infiltrating was noticeably lower.
Judging from the unit cards currently illuminated by the reconnaissance detachment, only a few scattered groups of soldiers and some police officers rushing to support remained.
Relying on the "divine power of the system" and the cover of darkness, Morin led his team around the gaps created by insufficient defensive manpower. Following a dry drainage ditch, they crept up to the buildings at the very edge of the city.
Morin crept to the corner of a building and poked his head out. A row of low brick houses extended inward along both sides of the street. Dim streetlamps were spaced far apart, their light reaching only a few steps away.
According to the annotations on the system map, proceeding about five hundred meters further would lead to an intersection barricade guarded by reserve militia.
Furthermore, under Richthofen's aerial reconnaissance, the system map marked many similar barricades on the main arteries of the urban area.
However, Morin was well prepared for this. His very first 5th-circle spell was intended exactly for tonight's operation.
【Illusion School - 5th-Circle Spell - Disguise Self
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 10 feet
Duration: 1 hour
This spell allows you to change the appearance of any number of creatures you can see within range. You give each designated target creature a false new appearance.
(Targets unwilling to be affected by this spell can make a Charisma saving throw. On a successful save, they are unaffected by this spell.)
This spell can change a creature's physical appearance, as well as disguise clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment.
To the naked eye, the target's height can appear 1 foot taller or shorter, and their build can be fat, thin, or well-proportioned.
However, you cannot change the basic shape of the body, so the disguised form must have limbs or a similar physiological structure.
In addition, you can change other external physical characteristics at will.
The changes produced by this spell do not hold up to physical inspection.】
In Morin's view, aside from not holding up to physical inspection, this 5th-circle spell was overpowered.
It was a mass illusion with no limit on the number of targets within range, and the alteration to appearance was extremely thorough. It was simply a miraculous tool for infiltration and assassination missions.
However, based on Morin's previous conversations with other mages, including Master Haber, the legacy of the Illusion school among spellcasters in this world was almost extinct.
The 【Invisibility】 scroll was already the most frequently seen spell of this school among mage groups in various nations.
Or rather, besides the Evocation, Transmutation, and Conjuration schools, other schools had various issues with their legacies, resulting in extremely few practitioners.
Some schools had even entirely lost the legacy of high-circle spells, completely unaware of what their school's 9th-circle ultimate spell even was...
In short, while magitech in this world was booming, from the perspective of magical schools, spellcasters were mostly magical barbarians.
But for Morin, whose spell list was fully comprehensive and unrestricted by school, none of this was a problem.
And the fact that few people had cast 【Disguise Self】 was currently a huge help to him.
Activated by casting motions and obscure incantations, mana surged from his body, circulated through the constructed spell model, and the spell's effect spread out guided by his intent.
The appearance of all twenty soldiers and Morin himself silently and rapidly changed under his spellcasting.
The field-gray combat uniforms of the Saxon Army turned into the deep blue uniforms of the Romanian army. The Saxon infantry steel helmets on their heads morphed into the Adrian helmets commonly worn by Romanian infantry, even bearing the emblem of Ferdinand I.
The appearance of their weapons was also adjusted. Visually, the MP18 submachine guns were replaced by the Mannlicher Md. 1892 rifles common in the Romanian army. Even the unit numbers on their collar tabs were meticulously designed.
During the day, Morin had Kleist fetch several sets of Romanian military uniforms and gear from the POW camp. He spent a considerable amount of time carefully studying every detail.
The material and arrangement of the buttons, the stitching position of the epaulets, the shape of the belt buckle... all these details were perfectly replicated by him through 【Disguise Self】.
The 1st Company veterans who received the 【Disguise Self】 spell looked down at their "Romanian military uniforms," expressions of great surprise on their faces. One veteran reached out to touch his collar tab; his fingers passed right through the illusory image, feeling the fabric of his original Saxon uniform.
"Colonel, this thing... it'll be exposed the moment someone touches it, right?"
"Mhm. So don't let anyone touch you."
Morin simultaneously completed the disguise of his own appearance.
"Keep your distance. Do not make physical contact with anyone in the city. As long as you aren't touched, it's completely indistinguishable to the naked eye." He added one more point.
"If we are questioned... leave all the dealing to me. You just remain silent."
Unsurprisingly, Morin naturally knew Romanian.
After all, judging from the "Playboy's" memories, the quality of Romanian maidens was generally quite high, so he had put considerable effort into this language.
Sometimes Morin somewhat admired this "Playboy's" talent for language learning.
He even suspected that if the war hadn't broken out, this body of his might have become a master linguist and launched a pan-Europa seeding operation...
"Alright, remember what I just said. Act on my orders... Let's go!"
With a wave of Morin's hand, the reconnaissance detachment climbed out of the drainage ditch in single file, stepping onto the streets at the edge of Bucharest.
The twenty-one men formed a two-column formation. Pretending to be a troop movement, they strode briskly along the street into the city interior. Their posture also changed from sneaky infiltration to an open, rapid march.
Bucharest, Northeast Defense Line.
Before Rommel and his men had controlled the first trench line for long, the Romanians' first wave of counterattacks arrived.
In the darkness, approximately two battalions of Romanian infantry attacked from the second trench line in the rear.
Some tried advancing along the narrow communication trenches, while others attempted to approach rapidly from outside the trenches. The shouts of the soldiers carried far in the night wind.
The Kampfgruppe soldiers in the trenches weren't in a hurry to open fire. Instead, they stacked sandbags or ammunition boxes at their feet to create temporary firing steps, allowing for better aiming.
Three hundred meters... two hundred meters... one hundred and fifty meters...
Sharp whistles finally cut through the night sky.
The MG14 light machine guns along the trench line opened fire almost simultaneously.
The large number of light machine guns carried by the feinting force formed a temporary net of fire. They were even assigned specific sectors of fire to create an interlocking crossfire deployment—an absolute nightmare for densely packed charging infantry.
The Romanians' formation crumbled in the first volley. The soldiers in the front ranks fell in swathes, and the men behind them instinctively dropped to the ground.
Ludwig's three Armored Knights didn't even need to fire. In less than five minutes, the first wave of counterattacks was beaten back.
The open ground in front of the position was littered with over a hundred corpses and even more wounded groaning for help in the darkness.
Seeing the enemy retreat, Rommel also looked at his deputy, Schulz, who had just patrolled all the way from the other end of the trench.
"How's ammunition consumption?"
"Okay. Mostly burned through machine gun ammo... The rest still have enough."
"Conserve it. They'll definitely launch a second wave."
Sure enough.
About twenty minutes later, the Romanians organized a second counterattack.
This time, the scale was even larger; at least, it was no longer possible for Rommel to roughly estimate the exact troop strength. Furthermore, the Romanians had learned their lesson this time, spreading their skirmish line wider.
And Ludwig waited until the opponent advanced to about two hundred meters before adding the MG08 heavy machine guns mounted on their other mechanical arms to the battle.
Seeing the massive Armored Knights moving, Rommel ordered flares fired toward the front of the position. The feinting troops who had breached the first trench line also did the same.
The height advantage of the Armored Knights was fully utilized at night. The commanding firing angle allowed Ludwig to clearly see the Romanians who dropped to the ground and tried to crawl forward after the flares lit up the sky.
The heavy machine guns of the three Armored Knights and the light machine guns in the trenches fired alternately, covering the entire front of the position with firepower.
The second wave of counterattacks collapsed even faster than the first.
The Romanian soldiers routed backward through a hail of bullets, adding another layer of corpses in front of the position.
However, frontline officers like Rommel also noticed that the scale of the Romanian attacks was gradually increasing. They were clearly bringing in reinforcements.
Therefore, a third wave, fourth wave, and even more counterattacks were only a matter of time.
And the total amount of ammunition carried by the feinting force was limited, specifically to ensure their mobility wouldn't be hindered by excess weight during the withdrawal.
"Almost time..." Rommel calculated silently in his heart.
At this point, movement also occurred on Ludwig's end.
His flamethrower fuel was bottoming out. The needle on the pressure gauge had dropped into the red zone. Unit Two and Unit Three also successively reported running out of fuel.
Seeing this, Ludwig immediately used the magitech communication equipment in the cockpit to contact Morin, whose device was already paired.
"'Hercules' calling 'Zeus,' please respond if you receive!"
The communication device was silent for a few seconds, and then Morin's voice came through, pitched very low.
"'Zeus' receiving. Speak."
"Feint Phase One complete. We've taken their first trench line and repelled two waves of counterattacks. However, ammunition and fuel consumption have basically reached their limits."
Ludwig paused, then continued to ask:
"Is everything proceeding smoothly on your end?"
"Already entered the target area. The feinting troops may withdraw. Good work."
Hearing Morin's words, Ludwig felt a great sense of relief.
The core objective of the feint was to draw the attention of the Bucharest defenders and create a window for Morin's infiltration. Since Morin had successfully entered the city, their mission here was perfectly accomplished.
"Understood. We are preparing to withdraw."
Ludwig closed the communication with Morin, then immediately sought out Rommel in the nearby trench. After stomping over with heavy steps, he turned on his loudspeaker again.
"The package has entered. Phase Two can commence!"
"Understood!"
In the trench, hearing Ludwig's slightly distorted voice, Rommel immediately turned to Schulz beside him and shouted.
"Green signal flare! Quick!"
Schulz pulled the flare gun from his waist and pulled the trigger toward the sky.
A green signal flare rose into the night sky trailing a plume of smoke, exceptionally conspicuous in the darkness.
A few seconds later, three more green signal flares rose successively from other directions along the entire attack front. This was the signal for the feinting force to transition to the withdrawal phase.
The Kampfgruppe soldiers in the trenches didn't hesitate at all, taking action immediately.
The withdrawal procedure had been repeatedly confirmed before departure—light machine gun teams withdraw last, assault infantry goes first, falling back in squads using alternating cover.
Under the cover of the Armored Knights and light machine guns, the Kampfgruppe soldiers swiftly vaulted out of the trenches and sprinted hunched over toward the rear.
Ludwig operated his Armored Knight to retreat slowly. The muzzle of the MG08 heavy machine gun remained pointed forward, occasionally firing short bursts to suppress any enemies attempting to pursue.
Unit Two and Unit Three were doing the same. The three steel giants used their bodies and firepower to shield the retreating infantry from threats to their rear.
The entire withdrawal process was clean, crisp, and without any delay.
The Romanians' reaction wasn't slow either. Discovering the Saxons were withdrawing, the reinforcing city defense troops almost immediately organized a pursuit.
A large number of infantry forcefully pushed through the suppressive fire, charging back toward the first trench line they had just lost and regained.
They jumped into the trenches, re-occupying firing positions. Some impatient ones even mounted their rifles, ready to open fire on the retreating Saxons.
And then, the artillery shells arrived.
The 105mm field artillery battalion in the Kampfgruppe's rear positions had been waiting for this signal all along.
The green signal flare meant retreat for the infantry, but for the artillery, it meant opening suppressive fire once again. It was just that the timing was delayed slightly according to plan, allowing the feinting force to fall back and prevent friendly fire.
When the first volley hit the position, the Romanian soldiers who had just jumped back into the trenches didn't even have a chance to react.
The explosions of the 105mm high-explosive shells collapsed many of the unreinforced trenches that lacked bomb shelters.
Followed immediately by a second and a third round.
The bombardment accurately covered the entire first defense line, blasting the Romanians, who had finally regained their position, until they were crying for their mothers and fathers.