In the Air Force Command, Xiao Yun listened with his hands behind his back as his subordinates reported various attack results. During the three days of strikes, his troops had achieved remarkable success. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"The communication nodes of the Qin Army are almost completely silent now. Our electronic warfare aircraft have suppressed many communication channels; their equipment is too outdated and cannot counter our attacks." The commander responsible for suppressing communications and jamming radar beams confidently said, "The anti-radiation missiles are incredibly effective."

"Possibly due to range limitations, the 183 Fighter Jet has not appeared on the battlefield, and our patrol J-7 Fighter Jets haven’t found suitable interception targets," another Air Force general added.

During this period, neither side has engaged in serious air combat; the jet fighters of the Datang Empire already have limited range, and those from the opponents have even shorter range. The main forces have not yet clashed, and the few dozen propeller fighter jets downed were merely the appetizer.

"The J-6 took down those who came to court death, but both sides have yet to begin large-scale air combat. Our main forces are conserving energy," said the general in charge of directing fighter jets, chin raised.

Xiao Yun nodded, then ordered, "Continue according to the previous plan—there’s no need to change anything. Everything from the opposition is within our predictions, so there aren’t any surprises."

"They’ve given us quite a few surprises; from the onset of the war to now, things have unfolded exactly as predicted by the Staff Department—this is the real surprise, isn’t it?" quipped the deputy officer, relaxed.

Everyone laughed—all this time, they had simulated and rehearsed this war countless times, only to find that they had overestimated the capabilities of their opponents when the real war began.

Their responses mirrored the most foolish approach from the drills, even down to the lower-ranking soldiers’ reactions when the command system was paralyzed.

With a lack of surprises and unexpected events, the commanders of the Datang Empire Air Force felt as though they were conducting another rehearsal—one of those scripted, most boring exercises.

"Alright, gentlemen! We don’t have many advanced aircraft, so let’s leave the remaining tasks to the H-6 and J-6 divisions," Xiao Yun said after stopping the laughter, issuing orders for a full-scale attack: "Deploy the main forces and tell those Qin Army idiots standing around watching to hurry up and surrender their arms!"

For the Datang Empire, the advanced A6-E electronic warfare aircraft, as well as specialized A6 and A10 attack aircraft, were actually not in abundance.

The year-long preparation was still too rushed—if given more time, the Datang Empire might have transformed this war into an Otherworld version of the Gulf War.

Yet, the war arrived as scheduled, and the number of advanced aircraft in the Datang Air Force merely met the basic requirements. They still retained a large number of J-6 and H-6 aircraft; in fact, these types remained the mainstay.

Thus, after using A6s and A10s to paralyze the Qin Army’s frontline troops, the Datang Empire Air Force prepared to crush the enemy outright.

...

In Qili Village, the Qin Army wasted another day aimlessly digging trenches, following yesterday’s orders to build defensive fortifications and stay put waiting for new commands.

Everyone began to take action, using engineer shovels to dig the initial shapes of trenches, gradually deepening them and firming the mud on both sides.

The weather had become quite cold—even snowfall wouldn’t be unusual at this time of year—yet, recently, conditions had been good, with only a few clouds in the sky.

After a busy morning, Qin Army soldiers once again resorted to consuming their reserve canned goods; the recruits ate heartily, not realizing the dangerous signal this represented.

Veterans, however, felt nervous, understanding that resorting to their carried food meant that their logistical supplies were indeed cut off. Yet, disbelief persisted—they couldn’t accept they were surrounded by the Tang Army.

Wars weren’t supposed to unfold like this—it defied common sense: How could they be encircled so quickly? Often, they couldn’t even hear artillery fire, making it hard to believe the battle was lost this way.

But this time, just as they prepared to open their heated cans, they heard artillery fire erupt from the nearby open ground, unmistakably close.

"Thud thud! Thud thud thud!" The 40mm Anti-Aircraft Gun mounted on a truck chassis, developed by the Great Qin Empire as an anti-air vehicle.

This vehicle sported a Bofors 40mm caliber single-barreled anti-aircraft gun, sold by the Great Tang Empire, welded onto a heavy truck, dubbed the "self-propelled anti-aircraft gun."

Before firing, this anti-air vehicle needed to deploy a jack structure to stabilize the chassis, preventing shake from the gun’s recoil—thus, it couldn’t fire while moving.

However, previous orders had all ground air defense units enter combat status, and the adjacent air defense camp had deployed their weapons accordingly.

The Qin Army’s combat effectiveness was still very high; they utilized anti-air disguise nets and constructed professional air defense positions, surpassing other nations’ troops in excellence.

Yet, this time, the enemy they faced wasn’t one they could defeat with mere experience and prudence...

In the sky, a J-6 Fighter Jet, not a specialized attack aircraft, had to serve in that role, flying at its slowest yet still lightning-fast.

In an instant, it descended from high altitude, unleashing a volley from the rocket pods under its wings toward the barely visible Qin Army positions.

It was unavoidable—this tactic wasn’t suitable for J-6, as it wasn’t designed for ground attacks.

But there was no other choice—the Datang Empire’s A10s were in limited supply, and the Stukas felt too outdated, so the J-6 was pulled in to fill the gap.

After all, it wasn’t unusable, just unsuitable, with somewhat appalling attack precision. At worst, fly more sorties, use more rockets to cleanse the ground—why not?

Consider the air gentleman who still conducts target practice with rockets during drills—why can’t the J-6 make its mark?

No sooner said than done, the Tang Army pilot hadn’t even begun surveying the ground details before swooping across the Qin Army’s still-unfinished positions.

And for the first time, the Qin Army at that position encountered such a swift ground attack... Their anti-aircraft gun fired a burst of shells, and tracer bullets flew in entirely different directions to the aircraft...