Boom! Boom! Boom!
With the roar of cannons and thick smoke, the once luxurious palace-style hotel quickly turned into a pile of rubble.
Standing on the top floor of a house across the street, Claire Voyant's expression was somber.
If Josh hadn't prepared a secret escape route in advance, they would have been buried in that destruction.
That's right—a secret passage.
Earlier, when Claire Voyant led her team back into the hotel in a panic, hoping to join forces with Josh's group to break through the attackers' blockade, Josh, who had already realized the hotel was cut off from the outside world, suddenly led them to a storage room in the basement. After moving some supplies aside, a hidden passageway was revealed.
The moment she saw the passage, Claire Voyant finally understood how Josh had managed to investigate everything over the past few weeks without ever leaving the hotel.
Following the passage, they easily avoided the attackers' search and moved to this safe house.
After escaping the hotel, Voyant originally wanted to go straight to Nehru.
But Josh stopped them, saying their whereabouts had to be kept secret.
And then, just moments later, the hotel was bombed.
Seeing how Nehru was even willing to bomb the hotel, Voyant could no longer predict what would have happened if she had gone to meet him.
In fact, her experiences during the UN investigation had already caused her to lose any goodwill toward that country.
India had always had more men than women, so in many places, men simply couldn't handle seeing a woman.
If she hadn't been a trained agent with good reflexes and weapons, she might have ended up as just another helpless victim.
And now, after everything that had happened, Claire Voyant's hatred for Nehru—and the entire country—ran deep.
"This time, I really have to thank you, Mr. Kahn. If not for you, we would all be dead," Voyant sighed, suppressing her anger as she sincerely thanked Josh.
"No need to thank me. Right now, when it comes to India, we're allies. What we should be focusing on is how we're going to report this when we get back," Josh said seriously.
"You're right. Nehru will have to pay for this," Voyant replied, her expression just as serious.
While they discussed how to deal with Nehru, on the roof of another building near the hotel, Nehru's face was just as grim.
He knew exactly what he had done and the consequences he would soon face.
But at this point, there was no going back.
As soon as the smoke cleared, he immediately ordered the army to begin a "rescue operation.
In reality, this was just an excuse to search for the bodies of the UN representatives and the attackers.
For Nehru, the best outcome would be if they were already dead.
If not... then his men would finish the job.
Only then could he think of a way to cover up the truth.
But this idea was only a fantasy.
Not only had Claire Voyant and Josh escaped long before the hotel was bombed, but just as the search team approached the ruins, one of the soldiers—who had particularly sharp hearing—suddenly picked up the low, rumbling sound of an engine coming from beneath the debris.
Before anyone could react, the deafening roar of the engine grew louder.
The next second, with a massive explosion, a section of the hotel's southern ruins was blasted open from the inside.
Then a monstrous steel beast charged out.
The so-called "rescue workers" who failed to dodge in time were instantly crushed into pulp beneath its massive treads.
As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the terrifying war machine finally revealed itself to the Indian army.
Two massive 125mm cannons, four Mammoth anti-air missiles, eight dual-mounted 14.5mm heavy machine guns, and four enormous tracks supported its colossal frame—40 meters long, 15 meters wide, and 12 meters high—covered in 16 layers of reinforced steel armor, equivalent to 1600mm of protection.
This was a true superweapon.
Its name; Apocalypse.
Yes, this was the Apocalypse Tank from the world of Red Alert—the undisputed king of land warfare.
Unlike in the game, where a wealthy commander could mass-produce them, in the real Red Alert universe, Apocalypse Tanks were never standard weapons. They were ultimate land-based fortresses, deployed only in key strategic locations or by elite frontline forces.
While the Soviet Union in Red Alert had over 100,000 regular tanks, the total number of Apocalypse Tanks never exceeded a thousand due to their extreme cost.
But their sheer power was unquestionable.
With enough supplies, a single Apocalypse Tank could take on an entire Allied infantry brigade—complete with heavy artillery and air support.
Against the outdated Indian army? Forget a brigade—this thing could tear through all the forces stationed around New Delhi without breaking a sweat.
"Destroy it! Destroy that tank, now!"
On the rooftop, Nehru's mind went blank as he heard the tank's engine roar. Panic swept through him and he frantically ordered his troops to attack.
The soldiers, members of the capital's elite guard, reacted quickly. Artillery of all sizes immediately opened fire on the Apocalypse Tank.
But the most powerful weapons available to them were just some old British six-pounder guns and 5.5-inch (140mm) howitzers left behind by the British before their withdrawal.
These were formidable weapons in their time, used by the British to break through fortifications and even counter German Panther and Tiger tanks during World War II.
In fact, they were the same weapons used to bomb the hotel earlier.
But against the Apocalypse tank?
They were utterly useless.
The shells either bounced harmlessly off the tank's thick armor, landing among their own troops and causing friendly fire, or exploded with barely enough force to scratch the paint.
The Indian soldiers were dumbfounded.
And the Apocalypse Tank was never one to take hits without striking back.
It didn't even fire its main cannons.
Instead, its eight dual-mounted 14.5mm heavy machine guns came to life, unleashing a deadly hail of bullets.
Originally developed by the Soviets in the 1950s, the early versions of these guns had been used for anti-tank warfare during World War II.
By the 1990s, they were still powerful enough to destroy armored vehicles and light bunkers—against infantry, they were absolute killing machines.
And now, in 1948 India...
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