“CFN forces plunge deep into the defense lines of the Empire of Kusari. Kusari forces faced a rout after weeks of intense fighting, with multiple sectors of the line being breached, causing the badly equipped forces of the Empire to stagger into chaos. The borderlands are already being abandoned, with a mass exodus of civilians from the falling cities causing major supply line disruptions on the already demoralized Kusari forces. However, multiple units proved their valor in combat, with one of the expeditionary KDUs, the 3rd Knights Detachment Unit conducting a valiant rearguard action in the Aldesh salient, holding out against two motor rifle divisions of the Pozneki Army, preventing the encirclement of two Kusari infantry divisions.”
- Geopol Press
+++
Eight Kilometers from Alfaun
June 29, 2025
I OEF Corps
C/4-5 Light Mech Brigade “Donnergrollen”
Niko watched the wreck of one of their M8 IFVs on the road to Alfaun. The vehicle burned on the asphalt, as one of his company’s recovery vehicles pulled it out of the area. He could only sigh, watching as the 4th Platoon’s commanding officer shouted in the background—unable to accept that one of his squads was completely wiped out by a single ATGM.
“All units,” Niko ordered over the radio. “We have to keep moving. It’s already 03:00 hours, we’re very late. Those Gallians are still besieged. Keep moving. We’ll pay respect to the fallen later.”
Niko sighed, falling back into his seat inside the turret, as Armin too watched the wreck that was being towed away with clear anger. The enemy had been a pain to them. They were ambushing them each step of the way. Last time, two of their tanks ambushed them. This time, it was a single DMB-5 IFV that threw an ATGM to his column before they could respond.
The result was the wreck in front of them, alongside the deaths of nine men under his command. It was…another loss for C Company.
“Think they’re going to have more out there?” Armin asked. “We’re only a few inches from them.”
“Hilly area ahead,” Niko said. “With trees and crap. And it’s dark. And foggy. Bad visibility. Rough terrain. They can hide against us. We’re going to advance in a more dispersed manner down the road.”
“That’s going to slow us down,” Armin said.
“Better than getting mauled by an ambush,” Niko replied, looking at the countryside around him. Beside the highway, were fences and grazing fields. “We’ll disperse near the approaches.”
Soon, Niko’s Company continued their advance along the highway, further spacing themselves as they went. No more were they charging forward at high speeds—no, they advanced slowly, cautiously. The moment they reached the six-kilometer mark from the city, with its outer outskirts and the few buildings downtown becoming visible even with the thick fog, they slowed down further as they fanned out into combat formations.
“All units, space out. Check for hostiles. Steady advance,” Niko ordered as he popped his head above the hatch. In front of them, destroyed and abandoned civilian and military vehicles filled the highway. Behind them, the other companies also began spreading out of the highway, with Niko’s company advancing forward straight into the main highway.
Others began entering from other minor roads, as they finally reached the first barricades and sandbag positions of the city. Niko eyed the flag on one of them. It was the Gallian royal flag.
One of his Lieutenants buzzed him on the radio, telling him that it was the Gallians in front of them. Already, the forward elements of his company entered the city further—as the first Gallian soldiers went out of the residential homes and firing positions they occupied, cheering at them.
“Right…we somehow made it,” Niko said, as they continued forward. “Somehow.”
Above him, multiple AH-22 choppers flew overhead, as word from the top came. The other battalions also took other approaches to Alfaun with limited resistance. It was another victory for Orland.
Niko soon exited his mech as they parked it into the side, with the rest of C Company advancing forward through the highway, making his way to one of the Gallian officers calling for him.
Next…get them out of here.
+++
The shelling intensified around Alfaun as of 04:00 hours. Both Niko and Armin watched from the hatch of their mech as both Gallian civilians and military personnel drove out of the highway that they secured. Trucks, civilian vehicles, and even the occasional Gallian vehicles, like the Dupont Main Battle Tanks, passed in front of their parked vehicles.
Niko removed his headset for a while to cool his ear a bit, as it had turned sweaty due to him having it on for hours, while Armin shook his head.
“So what’s next?” Armin asked.
Niko merely moved his head around to relieve some pressure off his tired neck as he grimaced.
“Just the usual,” Niko answered. “We’re moving out at 05:00 hours. Reinforce the guys fighting on the west end of the city. Then hold out till 08:00 hours before conducting a fighting retreat for the rest of the day. Just enough to get these people out.”
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“Four hours more,” Armin sighed. “Man…this sucks.”
“The Goddess must really hate the idea of us sleeping.”
“Yeah? I haven’t had an inch of sleep for weeks now,” Armin complained. “I feel lightheaded. Say, can I have thirty minutes of shuteye?”
“Stow that for tomorrow,” Niko answered with a laugh. “We’re Oscar Mike in a few minutes. I’m just giving the folks some more rest.”
“I don’t trust that crap man, tomorrow, I’d still probably only get half an hour of sleep. I swear, wherever shit happens, it’s always us and us and us being sent to it. No damned rest.”
“Well, you can take your complaints to high command.”
“You’re the officer here,” Armin grinned. “Can you send them a letter saying, ‘Yo, we need sleep.’”
“Even the Queen won’t listen to your belly-aching.”
“Oh come on, man,” the two of them looked at a bus filled with children, many of whom looked up at them from the windows. “Damn, kids too?”
“You look quite shocked. Gee, a city with children? Who wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“They’re shelling this city to bits, man,” Armin said, looking in the distance. The eastern part of the city was certainly on fire already, with the continued shelling hitting their positions over there. “No care for the civvies.”
“Seems like their entire style in this war,” Niko said, popping his canteen and taking a sip from it. “Gonna be their style going forward. I mean, to be fair, the Gallian government has to be quite braindead not to evacuate this city like, I dunno, weeks ago. Goddess, they know this place is vulnerable to becoming the frontline in the span of days, and they didn’t organize mass evacuations.”
“Seems like everyone managing this war suffers from a severe form of mental illness anyway.”
“Nothing more to expect than that, really.”
“Hey!” Sven called from below as he climbed their vehicle, carrying a bunch of potato chips. “Bought some crap from a nearby store. Want some?”
“You mean you paid, or…” Armin asked, knowing that everyone was evacuating.
“Well,” Sven laughed awkwardly. “I left two blancs on the counter. That should be enough, right?”
“Don’t care, I’ll have one,” Niko said, grabbing one of them from Sven. Armin followed suit when Sven moved near him, while Niko ripped the package open, munching immediately on the junk food. “Now, this wakes you up.”
“Come on, there’s more air in mine than chips!”
“You complain about everything,” Niko said, as he poured a bunch into his mouth, mumbling his next words. “Someone can fix all of your life problems and you’ll still whine.”
“I’ll whine all I want.”
“I like his style,” Sven laughed a bit. “Fits this situation well.”
+++
West Orland
November Palace
Amelie massaged her temples.
The last meeting with the OHC placed some strain on his mental fortitude once again. Gallia wasn’t…in the best of shapes right now. The enemy was breaking through the new defense lines hastily set up by their forces. The I OEF Corps managed to relieve a few encircled Gallian units after the rout, but things weren’t holding out well.
And there were arguments—lots of arguments, between her military staff regarding the request of the Gallians to start the offensive immediately. General Albrecht hadn’t given his opinions yet, but the OHC was now divided between two camps. The ‘decisive victory’ camp, and the ‘save Toldoi’ camp.
“They should just attack,” Nia gave her cent on the matter as she placed a teacup in front of Amelie’s table. Amelie smelled it for a while, before sipping it.
“Thanks, Nia.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Nia said, before frowning. “Amelie, I’m sure you get it too. Toldoi has millions of civilians. We can’t let it fall.”
“I know, I know,” Amelie replied as she placed the cup back onto the plate. “But those officers had a point. We’re still stockpiling the necessary equipment and supplies for the counterattack. With the enemy’s numbers advantage, we can’t do it half-assed. They’ll escape.”
“But they’ll retreat.”
“That’s not our plan,” Amelie replied. “Even if we rout them into a retreat, if we have to stop the offensive midway, they’ll just escape to Poznek. Those officers don’t want that. They want to destroy their armies in Gallia. And the only way to do that is to set everything up right. It takes time to prepare for that.”
Amelie sighed, looking at the map of the frontlines on her laptop. It bugged her how close they were to Gallia’s capital. They’re only a few hours of driving away from Toldoi. Amelie thought. Just seventy kilometers away. Just seventy. Without stiff resistance, they can just drive toward it with no problem.
“I wanted to see Toldoi for myself,” Nia said, as she sighed, returning to her seat, near Amelie’s table, tending to the piles of documents she needed to sort for Amelie. “You know, there’s so much culture and history in that city. If they reach it, they’ll demolish all of it. Just like what they did to Halia. Just like Thein.”
“I know,” Amelie said. “They’re already trying to bomb it. If they advance even just forty more kilometers to Toldoi, they can start firing their long-range artillery on the city. It’d be chaos.”
“Exactly,” Nia said, dropping the files back down her desk as she turned to Amelie. “Order them to start the counterattack. I mean, it’s not like it’s a stupid decision. We have a lot of officers saying that they think it’s the best idea, and that the ‘decisive victory’ plan of the other officers is delusional at best. They’re all experts in this. It’s just up to us which camp of experts sounds the best. And I say the ones who want to save a city of millions is the camp that has the sound argument.”
“If we don’t find a decisive victory, then we risk turning the war in West Vaeyox into that of…of a stalemate,” Amelie said. “It’d be the Great War again. It’d be the same here in Orland.”
“Maybe that’s how things are fated to be,” Nia said. “I mean, didn’t they say that the Larissans have such deep reserves and massive production lines, alongside manpower, that they might just regenerate their forces even if we win in Poznek? Maybe, Amelie, whether we get a decisive victory or not, the same result will still come in six months. You said it yourself. This war will be a long one. At least save our allies’ capital.”
“That’s what I promised them…”
“Exactly.”
Amelie sighed, taking another drink of her tea.
“I’ll think about it.”