TFA2 17.1 – First Victory
60 km west of Buriek coastline,
23:20, 27 Oct 2025
Under the darkness of the night, more than 4000 ships from Battle Group C entered Buriek's waters. Unlike Battle Group B which focused its strength on the destroyer squadron, Battle Group C focused its strength on Rider for both sea control and land attack. Therefore, even though it had fewer ships than Battle Group C, it still had power projections that could not be underestimated. In total, they had 90 thousand sailors, 300 thousand landing forces, and 1500 Riders.
Also, while both Battle Group A and B had to wait until Count Issak gave Viscount Issel the last warning from King Makai XXII, Battle Group C could directly launch their offensive as their target was Kingdom of Buriek. Along the journey, Battle Group C did indeed not encounter opposition from Buriek Navy or Buriek Rider, but they considered that they had already engaged.
Inside the war strategy room on the carrier ship Solera-01, Duke Velker and Prince Dellan carried out the last strategy meeting.
“Your Highness, the final say is yours, but I suggest we start our attack immediately."
Prince Dellan firmly gave a nod. From the beginning, he wanted Battle Group C to take the offensive role, and not only as a mere distraction. “Let’s launch it.”
“As you wish.” After grinning for a moment, Duke Velker pointed his finger at three islands on the map on the table, “Renne, Ranna, and Ronno, these islands are only 12 miles away from Buriek Continent's mainland.
They are easy targets for massive landings because they have long and flat sandy beaches, surrounded by deep water. These islands also have enough coconut trees to support construction, along with fresh water reservoirs.
We will use these three as a stepping stone for offensive on Buriek Continent, so we have to capture it before sunrise."
"How strong is the defender on these three islands?"
"We know nothing about it."
In an instant, a big question mark appeared on Prince Dellan's forehead. "Not even the rough estimations?"
“Unfortunately, yes." After taking a deep breath, Duke Velker continued, "This afternoon we sent a squadron of Riders as a probe, but the opposing side didn't answer our challenge.
Our Riders also didn't see any activity on these islands."
“Maybe they employ an underground defensive line."
“Most likely, therefore we will flood these three islands with landing troops in a lightning manner.”
“I see.”
Basically, Prince Dellan knew nothing about sea warfare or beach landing operations. Therefore, he could only trust Duke Velker to carry out the first phase of the offensive. Only when the beach landing on Buriek Continent was accomplished and the land warfare started, he would lead the offensive personally.
---
While Battle Group C's main formations anchored 36 km to the west of the targeted islands, more than 500 transport ships continued sailing forward, escorted by a combination of 300 corvettes, frigates, and destroyers.
The convoy of transport ships approached Renne, Ranna, and Ronno Island with ease, up to a hundred meters from the beach. Without delay, landing boats and landing troops were deployed into the water. The attempt to secure a beachhead began afterward. The first wave consisted of 100 landing boats for each island, and each boat carried 36 seasoned landing troops.
From one of the landing boats, Brigadier Kollak observed Renne Island's beach using his sharp eyes, and anxiety enveloped his heart as he did not see a glimpse of light, silhouette, or movement. "Damn, this is too quiet."
“Yeah,” Captain Rasak who kneeled next to Brigadier Kollak calmly replied. “I believe they have already detected our presence. We also already entered their footbow and longbow ranges. If to this moment they don’t welcome us, then they must be up for some nasty surprise.”
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“I hate to admit it, but your prediction always spots on.”
After a deep sigh, Captain Rasak said, “Actually, I do hope I was wrong this time, considering that the opposing force has insane fire power.”
“So do I.” Brigadier Kollak then turned his eyes toward a neatly stacked sandbag wall on each side of the landing boat. "I hope this thing works as we expected."
Each Battle Group developed their own way to counter TF Amethyst’s assault rifle, and Battle Group C chose to use sandbags. Once the landing boats touched the sand, the 61st Landing Brigade’s personnel immediately jumped out of their boats. Wasting no time, they built the sandbag walls for a cover. They had already done it a hundred times during their training, so they could swiftly build the sandbag walls in a matter of minutes.
Then, as the landing boats returned to the transport ship to pick up the second wave of landing troops, the 61st Landing Brigade's personnel lay behind the sandbag walls silently.
Behind one of the sandbag walls, Brigadier Kollak said to Captain Rasak, “Well, we manage to safely land without fire support. So, I guess they will not launch the salvo unless we ask them.”
“It seems so, Ser.”
“Then, let’s ask it.”
“At once.” Wasting no time, Captain Rasak reached out for his crystal communicator. “61st Brigade to Landing Command, do you copy?”
[61st, we heard you, go ahead.]
“Requesting for fire support on the first objective.”
[Do you meet any resistance?]
“Negative, we reach the beach safely, but we will appreciate it if destroyer squadrons soften the opposing defensive line.”
[Hold the line, we need to request direct permission from high command to launch a salvo in the current circumstances.]
“Understood.”
The 61st Landing Brigade then patiently and vigilantly waited behind the sandbag walls, but they didn’t need to wait for long. Five minutes after the request for fire support, footbowmen on every corvette and frigate in the vicinity launched a salvo of fire arrows. The flight of fire arrows made a high arc above the 61st Landing Brigade's position before accurately hitting the targeted fishing village. A moment later, each destroyer launched a salvo of fire trebuchets.
The salvo of fire support was launched for 30 minutes in a well-coordinated manner. As a result, the fishing village became a flat and blackened field. With ease, the 61st Landing Brigade seized it, then conducted a wide-spread search on every corner of Renne Island.
---
Emergency Docking, Renne Island.
15:00, 28 Oct 2025
It turned out that the three targeted islands were empty. It seemed that Buriek Navy had evacuated the fishermen and their families around 2–3 days ago. In summary, Battle Group C won their first victory almost for free. In a matter of hours, hundreds of thousands of landing troops and their logistics landed on Renne, Ranna, and Ronno. After that, various types of construction began.
Once the first docking port in Renne was completed, General Hetraz immediately went over there. He and his staff casually came out from the side door of a destroyer and stepped into the wooden dock, while Brigadier Kollak respectfully welcomed him.
“General, Sir, your command post is ready.”
“Good,” General Hetraz calmly replied.
“Regarding the request for fire support in the last night landing, I will fully take the responsibility.”
“We really wasted a huge amount of ammunition last night. But fortunately, the High Command didn't want to issue a punishment in order to maintain the troop's morale."
“General, this servant will never forget this kindness.”
General Hetraz gave a slight nod and said, “Other than barracks, Cloud Hawk’s pen, and logistic storage, we will also build a healing camp for the slaves, on each island.”
“Healing camp and not isolation camp?”
“You heard me, Brigadier. Don't make me repeat my words.”
"Yes, General."
While following behind General Hetraz, a big question mark appeared on Brigadier Kollak's forehead. Two days after the departure of Battle Group C, a deadly infectious disease arose among the slaves.
Out of fifteen thousand slave workers, only half of them survive. As for the slave women and slave children, only a little over 2000 survive the disease, or around 5% of their initial numbers. The deadly disease also took the life of 1255 sailors and landing troops.
Fortunately, the healers were able to stop the spreading of this deadly disease. The High Command then decided that after the landing they would isolate the slaves and make them work in separate spaces until they met their end.
“General, may this lowly servant know the reason behind the healing camp’s construction?”
General Hetraz calmly explained, “At 10 this morning, both Battle Group A and B launched their first offensive. In a matter of hours, they were beaten back so badly. Each Battle Group lost around 40-60 thousand combatants, and maybe more.”
“That’s a nasty result for a few hours of contact.”
“Yeah,” After a moment of silence, General Hetraz continued, “After that, Battle Group B launched their second landing attempt. This time, they also employed the human shield tactic. Surprisingly, it worked very well.”
“The human shield tactic is actually effective?”
“Yes, Battle Group B managed to secure a beachhead without suffering any losses. They even secured a giant military camp in perfect condition, without versus contact.”
“What a jackpot.”
"Yeah." General Hetraz nodded in agreement. “Therefore, we will try to heal our slaves, while a new batch will come in 10-12 days.”
“Understood, General. This servant will make sure the process to heal the slaves runs smoothly.”
“Good.”
Wasting no time, Brigadier Kollak then led General Hetraz and his staff to their command post.
*****