Noelle trembled, she can't believe this is true, behind the thick dust screen is that mighty beast and humans! This is a shameful precedent, humans can be weak, but their spirit will never allow them to cooperate with the enemy.
“This… This can't be true…!” - She hastily ran back to the fortification.
Noelle shouted loudly in the castle trench: “Prepare! Everyone! Prepare for the invasion!”
She looked down by chance, the invaders looked so professional, it didn't look like any enemy the Mondstadt had fought before, she can tell it by the uniform they wear, even Mondstadt didn't achieve that precision technology. They must be manufactured by machine, oh, how modern are they? Noelle curious.
Anyhow, the stalwart of the knights Noelle trusted will knock them out of Mondstadt, the peace will be established again.
“Believe in yourself, Noelle. And believe in Mondstadt!...”
No step back until the enemy is shattered! With tenacity and spirit, victory is ours!
On the other hand, above the green steppe, far away from Mondstadt. General Lieutenant Günter had his own strategy in mind.
“Attention!”
Günter operated radio, as well as to spread information to everyone in the unit.
“The first line defense has been neutralized, our artillery can freely barrage the castle from behind.”
“Our objective is to capitulate the castle, not to kill people. Remember, no civilians!”
The Halftracks sped up, using its mobility to threaten the inner defense. Suddenly the anti-tank charge threw from the castle down right to its position.
"The enemy has an anti tank weapon!”
Strangely, they speaking Mondstadt language?
A huge wave of arrows falling down German soldiers' heads, like a rain, it won't stop for a second, but steel helmets and halftrack vehicles had covered them from arrow shots. They started a counterattack by operating Mg42 and burst all of it into Mondstadt Guards formation. Immediately it crushed the first front line of Noelle aegis.
Noelle is not standing there to let that anonymous army do what they want, she uses Klee's Satchel Charge and longbowmen constantly in order to blow them out of the bridge.
“Call Wirbelwind!”
Immediately, deep inside the woods, the Wirbelwind revealing, another beast has joined the feast. Right away, the dominant firepower of 4 2cm Flak 38 Kanonen burst straight through the formation. Instantly killed almost every unfortunate guard stood in Wirbelwind’s range.
“God damn it ! Can you guys conscript faster ?! Quick !” - Hans irritatedly shouted.
They don't know those young men were the target of the crossbowmen. The arrow pierced through their chest, they fell down the ground. Blood… Iron… And tears, everything just falling apart.
They seem like they will not step an inch back, at all cost.
The rain started pouring down after they fought for 30 minutes, tenacity and Teutonic Spirit did not allow them to stop before achieving the ultimate goal.
“ Do not step back !”
“ Those conscripts !! Faster, faster ! “
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Günter, commander of the unit, has received support requests from radio. Curious, he observed the battle through spyglass.
“Pssh! Damn it. Traverse back, we must have joined the battle ! My plan had crashed out !”.
The crew started preparing, in every battle they fought, the sharpness in mind they forged. They must not hesitate to bring glory back to the Fatherland !
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Heavy rain creates mud and mist, which makes combat conditions worse than ever, the vehicles disabled in muddy terrain, the mist restrained view range. But the battle was still there, the machine gun still buzzing like the chainsaw, the lowered Anti-Aircraft gun still barraging the castle through day and night.
“Hold the frontline, don't let 'em pass !” Erich shouted. Seems like the natural and the magic had on Noelle's side, everything against the Germans, that makes The finest technology holders hesitate on keeping attack.
“Bring me a fucking Panzerfaust crate, can you conscripts be faster ?” Hans is going crazy with those damn defenders.
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He can't see what is coming from inside the tower. Even if he is in the safest place, those bastard crossbowmen will find him out. Deadly silent and accurate, the finest men of Mondstadt are the nightmare of the Wehrmacht.
The instinct has told him something, now that was right ! The crossbowman had found him as his prey !
“ERICH !! "ACHTEN SIE !” That Private pushed him down the halftrack . The arrow pierced into his shoulder. Otto painly shouted and lied down on the ground.
After he recovered from that sudden moment. He trembled.
“Don't worry… About me, keep shooting”
Hans grumbling: “How can I even keep firing when you are down? MEDIC? MEDIC ! WHERE THE FUCK IS MEDIC ?!! “ Although the shot didn't kill him, but it causes continuous bleeding and he needs emergency aid. He breathes sharply, the blood won't stop, it drips to the ground.
The whole unit is 150 now only 85 capable fighting, the others were injured, or killed in action. Will their superior firepower cover those heavy losses? Hard to tell right now.
Blood and Iron boundarying together, they were stalled right in front of the Mondstadt gate. The statement before battle “will be a piece of cake” was terribly wrong, yesterday was 15 meters to Mondstadt, today was 30 meters, what can it be tomorrow? 70 meters? 150 meters? Or are we going to be wiped out?
What are we fighting for? Our family was still patiently waiting for us to come back, but we lay down on the mysterious land now, the land that nobody even knew before or even existed on the Earth. Some of them are so young to be pushed to the battlefield, too young to know what the war is, their hands are supposed to be handing a book, not a gun, that was so wrong.
The frontline is a living hell, where their lives could be counted on any minute. No matter how much time passed, the suffering still did not end.
It will never be alright with a child who saw the true color of the war, shocking is not enough for it, “Everything will be okay Diona… I'm here” Noelle eases her.
Noelle takes up the bow, she gently picks up Diona: “Now hear me out my little girl. Take the bow, and shoot it to the midsky. You are the only one who owns Cryo…” She hugged her tightly, this is the first time she felt death come closer to her than ever before.
“You can do it. Diona.” Noelle stretching bowstring and in ready position. Diona will takes up bowstring and release the arrow
“Twang.” The slight sound comes out, the tiny ices reflecting sparkling on the midsky.
“What are they firing? Flare? Do they even have flare guns—...?” Erich is confusing. Then he realizes that will not be an easy trouble he will be facing. Those tiny sparks fell down the ground, creating a large ice radius trapped Günter's soldiers.
Their legs are stuck inside the ice, couldn't move an inch, they hopelessly waiting for their dead. “My legs… It froze…” Erich couldn't believe what just happened to him. “It can be true…” Hans whispered, then shouted: “Everyone ! Retreat ! All retreat !”.
They made a tactical retreat from the ice radius, they had to leave those misfortunes people stuck in the ice there.
“...” Günter muses when saw the magic spell casted, he couldn't believe his eyes anymore. “It really happened…” He's frozen on the spot, trembling from what he saw.
“Fuck off ! Call that unit fast ! Tactical retreat immediately !” Günter shouted to the Radio Operator. “I'm trying !... Everyone, make a retreat back to the position !”
The Commissioned Officer caught the radio signal. “That's it, everyone, bail out the trench, fall back to the starting point.”
Several days ago they came through that point with glorious victory belief. Today they are back to the same point with hopeless and defeatist ideology starting to spread out the unit. Marching through the frozen to dead bodies, those tragic faces had shown a brutal reality. No matter what, they have to take down the Mondstadt defenders.
That Lieutenant General feels something is not good coming to him. “Everyone get out, get out ! Quick !” His commander's instinct was true. Right the moment the crew tank bailed out, the ice sparks had reached the tank, and immediately froze the Steel Tiger.
“... I was right… My tank…” the crew silents, they can't even realize what just happened. The cold wind is still blowing, and the rain won't stop.
“Commander, you just saved our lives, but how do you know it will freeze?”
“Instinct. I don't know how to explain it”
“Fuck that off ! Too much fiction to be true !” Hans grumbling scolded.
“...”
“I have heard about the myth that this world has magic interracted n, at first I didn't believe it, but now… It's hard to not believe so.”
As a realist believer, Günter does not trust in Hans's statement. “No, Hans, there is nothing such as magic, myth is myth. We are soldiers, we can't put our trust in this nonsense.”
“Now bring me FlammenWerfer, I can't leave my tank like that.” Another day of him, Günter brought two FlammenWerfer in case they faced infantry waves, as he expected. Otto and Hans would be very skilled in using them
The curious soldiers standing around the tank. Günter shouted at those: “Curiosity killed the cat. Get out !”
He continued: “Follow my order, start from the turret to the tracks.”
The flame bursted out, melting down the layers of ice. The soldiers cheering in the background: “Komm ! Melt it down”, “burn baby burn !”
The moment the last thin ice layer melted down, Günter finally could relieve a bit, “Good golly, FlammenWerfer. Now all of you ! Time's up ! back to the camp.”
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After the attack, the green field was covered with dead bodies and mines the Germans left behind. They don't know what is under them nor even know what “mines” are, the explosion sounds repeatedly bang from distances make the Mondstadt guards pursuing them cancel the hunt.
“It should not be like this...” The castle front wall was heavily damaged, hundreds of cannon shell marks on the wall. “What is going on ? What is going on ?!!”. Hundreds of guards fell down to protect what they loved behind.
Shock ! And suppression in soldiers’ minds ! The clouds flew to the East, where they suffered the loss that they had never been before. Noelle couldn't believe it was true, “I… I…” She said quietly, desperation held her back from saying any word.
Both Jean and Eula were shocked with what they saw in front of them. “... What happened ??” Eula can't control her voice, “This is far away from brutal.”
“We have been battled through many battlefields, but, this,...” Jean said, “This is unpredictable…”. Just like Hans, she is the sharp sword that was forged in many battles and flames. But this battle wasn't like the others, this is too far from what she expected. This is an absolutely unbalanced war, where they will be crushed by the anonymous forces, from technology to menpower.
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Günter just went back to the camp, where he met an uninvited guest from far away.
“How did you get here?” Günter surprised, “Who brought you?”.
That anonymous guest turns back.
“Surprise? We have been comrades for a very long time, Günter, at least welcome me a bit.”
Günter reluctantly welcomes him: “Pardon for my ungrateful, my old comrade”, he continues: ”Must be Demian transferred you to here.”
“I'll be here to support you, too bad for ya? My General ? ”
“Cut that off, if you were here already. Then I’ll go straight to the point, Schneider Emeric !”. He mused for a second, then he said: “Hmm… That's not right, I should have called you Takahashi Kazuya !”