CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 86 COLLAPSE OF THE FRONTLINE, IMPERIAL BLITZKRIEG (3K)

Watching the reminders from the live stream room, Duan Yu couldn’t help but twitch his mouth:

"No way?"

"This unlucky?"

Duan Yu quickly opened the Polestar Games official website according to the live stream room reminders, found the real-time map, zoomed in, and quickly located Kyiv.

The troops in front of Kyiv were in a difficult battle to hold on.

On the map, the Soviet Union’s troops were retreating while fighting, moving towards Kyiv.

And not just Kyiv, at this moment on the map.

The color representing the Imperial forces, like irregular branches, seeped into the Soviet Union’s domain from everywhere. The Soviet Union’s troops fought while retreating, and if they retreated too slowly, they’d be encircled.

Compared to the Blitzkrieg in Poland.

The Empire’s two-thousand-kilometer-long frontline against the Soviet Union clearly showcased the essence of Blitzkrieg.

The Empire’s forces pierced the Soviet Union’s territory like swords, splitting the battlefield.

Then the progression was to cut off retreats, encircle, and destroy—the smooth operation was why the Empire’s invasion advanced such depths in just days.

Looking at the real-time map.

Duan Yu looked resigned, returned to the game:

"Where can one run to?"

Lowering his head to check his attire, he noticed the shoeshine toolbox and small stool at his feet.

Hmm... relaunched as a shoeshine boy.

Then there’s nowhere to run, not even a gun, running out there as a target?

Moreover, hoping two legs outrun an armored tank with four wheels? How is that possible...

Duan Yu simply sat down resignedly, sitting on the small stool, picking up the shoe brush and cloth to inspect them:

"Running is not possible."

"Speaking of... even shoeshining is taught? So detailed?"

A shoe brush and cloth tutorial appeared in front of Duan Yu. After fiddling with the toolbox items, he sat on the small stool and looked around. Few pedestrians, all hurried.

They probably all knew about the battle ahead; Duan Yu shook his head.

Then thinking of something, he put down the shoe brush and cloth, pulled up the real-time map from Polestar’s official website in the live stream room, zoomed in, and found the names of the Soviet cities not yet captured.

Watching the city ’Dubra’ holding out ahead.

Then opening Celestial Shark Live, searching for the word ’Dubra’, many live stream rooms with ’Dubra’ in the title popped up.

Due to the Empire’s attack, Blue Star players discovered after initial chaos.

That although each player’s immersive storyline in the game was independent, the time progress was the same, synchronized with the Empire’s offensives. To attract traffic, some streamers added place names to live stream titles.

To facilitate player’s search and battle check, subsequently many streamers followed suit.

Now if you want to watch battles anywhere, you just search for place names.

With World War II: Empire’s Rise having a large player base, despite independent [immersive narratives].

The large number of players means people everywhere, search and you’ll find.

Even ’Dubra’ such a small city, you can find a dozen live stream rooms.

And for Federation big cities like ’Moscow’ and ’Stalingrad’, you can find hundreds of live rooms with streamers broadcasting different perspectives.

Duan Yu glanced at the ’Dubra’ live stream rooms.

Quickly spotting the most popular one, surprisingly from a tank soldier’s perspective, Duan Yu clicked in.

At this moment.

[Fierce Battle at Dubra, Soviet Union Must Win!!!] Inside the live room.

The roar of engines echoed in the live stream, the crowded tank cabin came into view, Shi Ze the gunner observed Imperial armored units through the sight:

"Quick! Load!"

The loader rapidly shoved shells into the cannon.

As the Empire’s tanks got closer, Shi Ze stepped on the pedal, trembling the entire tank.

Boom——!!!

A shell hit the top turret of an Imperial tank.

However.

Shi Ze showed no joy, as it only grazed and exploded, causing no irreversible damage to the Imperial tank, but instead that tank seemed enraged, turning its head.

Another shell returned fire.

Boom——!!!

Shi Ze’s tank shook violently, a brief check after, the crew breathed a sigh of relief:

"All fine."

"Quick, keep fighting!"

Then.

The old radio equipment emitted anxious voices:

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"The Empire’s Stukas are coming! Don’t gather together!!!"

Hearing the radio warning, the crew’s faces shifted, Shi Ze commanded the driver to rapidly retreat while observing the Imperial tank units through the sight, gritting his teeth:

"Damn, so freakin’ frustrating!"

"What the heck is this fight?"

Clearly, we have a numerical advantage of 4:1 (3100 tanks of the Soviet Union against 728 tanks), yet even so, there’s no advantage gained. Except for an initial surprise attack, for two consecutive days, our tanks have been chased by the responding Imperial tanks.

And this is a plain area, with nowhere to hide; only a direct confrontation is possible.

However, on the Soviet Union’s side, except for a few T-34 tanks with superior performance, the majority are outdated T-26s, needing repairs and lacking wireless equipment.

Adding to the chaotic command system, Shi Ze’s crew received three different, conflicting orders on the second day, which was one of the reasons for the defeat.

So this has led to the current situation.

If viewed from a high altitude, you’d see Imperial and Soviet Union tanks scattered across the vast plain.

But it’s mainly dozens of Imperial tanks chasing hundreds of Soviet tanks.

Stuka Dive Bombers fly overhead.

Dropping a large number of bombs on the retreating Soviet Union armored units, exacerbating the already chaotic situation.

Shi Ze’s tank, being a T-34 with much superior performance,

was not caught by the Imperial armored units and luckily evaded the bombing, until resting at dusk.

Climbing out of the tank cabin, Shi Ze looked at the gathered Soviet tank units and said to the livestream:

"At least one-third is gone."

Shi Ze shook his head and pulled up the Polestar Official Website’s real-time map.

The entire battlefield is in a state of collapse, but the orders from above are still to attack. It’s already the third day; no one knows how many days they can hold off the Imperial troops. Once this place is breached, Kyiv is next.

"What the hell..."

The impact of an individual in war is almost nonexistent. Although he blew up a few Imperial tanks in the past few days, they were still chased. How can anyone continue fighting?

And Shi Ze wasn’t the only one with these doubts.

Other players were too.

After a few days of fermenting, players’ attention shifted from being caught off guard, dying, and grumbling to analyzing the war itself.

Unlike war used as a backdrop in war chess simulation games or other games.

In "World War II: Empire’s Rise," this Operation Barbarossa, because of Zhao Ming’s undertone, at least 60% of players had their timelines synchronized.

So nearly the majority of players are experiencing this war, along with real-time maps constantly showing the latest situation, creating an immersive feeling of watching the game’s crucial world events unfold.

Players’ attention is gradually drawn to the confrontation between the two sides, beginning to analyze and discuss who will win, leading to more game discussions in the forums.

...

...

Four days later.

In Duan Yu’s streaming room.

Duan Yu is wandering inside Kyiv with a shoeshine toolkit, looking at the scenery.

Barrage floats past in the streaming room:

[Should have run, but it’s too late now, Dubra can’t hold on.]

[Kyiv is next, you’re done, streamer.]

"???"

Duan Yu, with a puzzled expression, looks at the barrage in the streaming room:

"It’s only been a few days?"

"Can’t be held off this quickly?"

Barrage floats past in the streaming room:

[Check out the official website; someone has sorted it out on the forum.]

[Ridiculous, tank losses for the Soviet Union reached 2648, with only 260 lost for the Imperial side, a ten-to-one loss ratio is absurd.]

[No chance, the Imperial side just blitzed through Poland and France, sweeping Europe’s tanks and soldiers, while Soviet here has outdated tanks that stall just walking; how can you fight?]

[It is ridiculous, Soviet’s command is too chaotic, collapse happened way too fast.]

[Kyiv is definitely done for.]

Duan Yu looks at the barrage in the streaming room, opens Celestial Shark Live, searches Shi Ze’s account, and finds it’s not active.

Barrage prompts in the streaming room.

[Stop looking; the guy was killed last night.]

[This time it’s over.]

[Can Kyiv hold on?]

[Uncertain, the entire front is in a state of collapse, retreating would be to Moscow.]

Duan Yu looks at the real-time map; at this moment, Imperial forces, having destroyed the armored units resisting in Dubra, begin another familiar Blitzkrieg maneuver.

An Imperial armored unit charges straight in, piercing the arc-shaped front line, dividing it from both sides, seemingly aiming to hammer this armored force right into Kyiv.

Player forums begin to speculate how many days it will take this unit to push into Kyiv.

Because the resistance forces have already collapsed, there’s currently no defensive action at all, yet Kyiv isn’t unprepared, considering Dubra held for over seven days.

Kyiv has already gathered forces, seemingly preparing for a counterattack.

A large force is concentrated around Kyiv, waiting for the Imperial troops to strike.

But at this moment.

The Imperial side made a move that shocked all players, catching the Soviet Union completely off guard.