Francis was stunned for a moment before he asked again, "Where is Shire? Has his family also left?"
"No, sir!" the butler replied, "They are at the tractor factory!"
Without a word, Francis headed towards the tractor factory, his silver cane tucked under his arm.
The butler quickly followed, pleading earnestly:
"Sir, the Germans are right in front, they've already attacked, the tractor factory is very dangerous."
"Going there now is akin to walking into a trap, we should leave immediately!"
But Francis paid no attention to him at all. He strode downstairs towards the tractor factory, walking faster and faster, the butler had to run to keep up.
Francis wasn't worried about Shire's safety; he only wanted to hear Shire's explanation before the Germans captured the tractor factory. This arrogant, conceited little guy had made him wager everything, and now he had nothing left!
As he entered the tractor factory, Francis immediately spotted Dejoka and Camille. They were embracing each other facing the square, occasionally flinching at the sounds of gunfire and screams coming from outside the walls.
"Where is Shire?" Francis asked as he approached.
"Father!" Dejoka was initially surprised to see Francis, but he quickly realized Francis looked upset. After a brief hesitation, he understood that his father was angry with Shire.
Enraged, Dejoka gently pushed Camille aside and stood expressionlessly in front of Francis, "This has nothing to do with Shire, father! All of this was your decision!"
Francis pushed Dejoka aside and froze at the sight before him.
Shire stood on the platform in the square, calmly holding binoculars and looking beyond the wall, occasionally giving a few commands below.
Below the platform, hundreds of fully armed French Soldiers had gathered, divided into several small groups, each with an "iron can" in front.
"What is that?" Francis asked curiously, looking at the "iron cans."
"I don't know!" Dejoka replied, "Shire said it could keep us safe and protect the factory."
With a mocking laugh, Francis recognized the tracks; those "iron cans" were modified tractors, with steel plates around them, exhaust pipes emitting blue smoke, clearly ready to go.
"He thinks he's Napoleon!" Francis concluded, referring to Shire, "Using these modified tractors!"
However, Francis didn't go forward; he wanted to see what else this little guy could do!
Shire showed great maturity as he called out like a commander:
With a dull rumble, the "iron cans" slowly moved forward, the French Soldiers also moved, dividing into two lines and following closely behind with their rifles.
There were twelve "iron cans" in total, nine advancing in a line at the front, with three following slowly behind, seemingly deliberately maintaining some distance.
This was Shire's strategy.
He divided the "tanks" into four groups of three. The front three groups led the charge to breach the enemy formation, the rear group acted as a reserve, ready to reinforce or respond to unexpected situations.
For instance, if the flanks were surrounded by the enemy needing reinforcement, having a reserve force was key to victory.
The "iron cans" rumbled towards the wall, easily breaking it down with a crash, the tracks crushed the broken bricks, raising the wedge-shaped front, appearing imposing before the charging German soldiers.
The German soldiers, who had been on a winning pursuit of the French Army, were instantly stunned by this sight, coming to an involuntary halt in their charge.
"Is it their (the French) secret weapon?"
"We've fallen into the enemy's trap; they lured us here deliberately!"
People's nature is to fear the unknown; when afraid, they indulge in wild thoughts, leading to anxious emotions and rumors spreading swiftly through the ranks. Many subconsciously took steps back, clutching their rifles but forgetting to shoot.
This unit was the first army's elite, known as the Iron First Regiment, led by Colonel Jonas.
At this moment, Colonel Jonas, positioned in the middle of the troops, saw the commotion ahead and quickly advanced with his guards, just in time to see several "iron cans" rumbling over the ruins and onto flat land.
Without hesitation, Colonel Jonas loudly commanded:
"Attention all, raise rifles, and destroy it!"
Under his authoritative command, the German soldiers summoned their courage, raising their rifles to aim at the slowly approaching "monsters."
This showcased the German discipline; even though they were terrified of the "monster," no one recklessly fired; they awaited the Colonel's order.
A dense volley of bullets flew towards the "monster," but to everyone's amazement, the bullets only sparked a little on the "monster's" surface, and with a series of clanging sounds, the "monster" remained unscathed.
The German soldiers were all stunned, staring blankly at this thing before them, most pondering one question:
If bullets are useless against it, how else can we destroy it?
Or the spikes on their helmets?
Colonel Jonas' shock was no less than that of his soldiers, but his long battle experience and officer's quality made him suppress his fear, continuing to issue orders in a deep voice:
The German soldiers mechanically pulled back the bolts, once again aiming their rifles at the "monster." However, many turned pale, their foreheads sweating, some nervously gulping.
This round was even more synchronized than the last; they hoped that this simultaneous effort could inflict as much damage as possible on the "monster."
But it was still useless; the bullets only created tiny white dents on the "monster's" surface, like rain on smooth sand, nothing happened. The "monster" continued to advance on them, emitting an eerie roar.
From the platform, Shire coldly watched through his binoculars, knowing the Germans' actions were destined to be futile. At around 200 meters, they couldn't penetrate 9mm steel plating, let alone the angled armor at the front of the "tank."
Camille was stunned, and only after a while did she exclaim, grabbing Dejoka's hand:
"Dejoka, did you see? It's working!"
"It's incredible, it's really working!"
Camille turned her gaze to Shire, her eyes full of surprise and pride:
She unconsciously walked towards Shire but was stopped by Dejoka:
"The battle isn't over, we mustn't disturb him..."
Camille quickly understood, her tearful face showing an awkward smile:
"You're right, I almost did something wrong!"
As she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Shire, repeatedly murmuring:
"He's our son! Our son..."
Francis looked at the astonishing scene on the battlefield, his emotions conflicted.
Could this little guy have already thought of using this thing to stop the Germans when he persuaded me to wager everything?
If so, this foresight and cunning were terrifying!
At this moment, there was a new development on the battlefield:
The machine guns at the front of the "iron cans" roared, bullets "rat-a-tat-tatting" towards the German soldiers, while the French soldiers hidden behind also emerged one by one to shoot at the Germans.