17th January 2022
17th passage 1 Ogdea 1650
Kingdom of Elose, border with the Empire
The war was raging across the Prabela archipelago, with demons everywhere confronting the guerrilla tactics of the elves, coupled with the relentless assaults of the German army, to such an extent that the frontline had frozen for the demons and even retreated in places.
In the air, the air force was unable to counter the Germans' anti-aircraft defences, which effectively shot down the planes. Some air bases close to the coast were pounded by missiles launched from the sea.
For several days now, the drones flying over the front had been recording major troop movements, so much so that all the soldiers and vehicles had made a more than disturbing retreat [https://img.wattpad.com/871899125bb7d4bbc6e43f1d32cbb7d1f85c878f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f303669684872766c2d442d636c673d3d2d313432353138333739312e313762363536623336633533383835653536373134373134373734392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
For several days now, the drones flying over the front had been recording major troop movements, so much so that all the soldiers and vehicles had made a more than disturbing retreat.
Subsequently, various groups had been sent out to scout and had found nothing in particular. This had enabled advances of several kilometres into the occupied territory to be made all over the main island.
While the troops advanced with ease at the front, the elves at the centre of operations were in a completely different frame of mind, some even in panic.
In one of the aunts set up by the Germans, the operations general was receiving Elose's chief of staff, who had requested an urgent meeting about the withdrawal of Volciste troops.
"What exactly do you know about this massive withdrawal?" Asked the lieutenant-general as he placed the documents on his table.
The elf swallowed before answering.
"The same situation occurred a few weeks ago, their troops had begun a retreat across the entire front, which provoked us to fight back and advance as far inland as possible. Morale was high and we were ready to face any ambush.
Even our vehicles were on board to assist us and yet it wasn't enough in the face of this new tactic on their part."
"So what happened?" Asked the lieutenant-general.
"That's when everything went up in smoke, I'm not talking about the operation but all the soldiers as well as the machines all went up in smoke.
Reports indicate that a new weapon had been used against us, none of the soldiers could see it but it fired shells at an extraordinary distance and with gigantic power on impact.
Their range of fire was sufficient to hit and knock down the nearest towns." He explained with regret in his voice.
"Are you saying these are shells?" Asked the puzzled lieutenant-general.
"I've heard quite a few accounts and each one describes the same thing, it's as if a cruiser was attacking them from the land."
As the elf finished, the lieutenant-general mumbled something barely audible. "So it's not nuclear."
"I'm going to send some drones to scout around to confirm and see what the threat is." He finished as he escorted the elf outside.
___
The ground in the countryside shook under the gradual passage of the 12th Panzerbrigade, which was accompanied by several Elosian battalions.
The soldiers had launched from the local command post a breakthrough into the abandoned defenses to occupy the airfields located on the west coast. The 8th Reconnaissance Battalion had scoured the area upstream and had spotted nothing in the vicinity.
~Monitor your positions, we are likely to receive very heavy shellfire and artillery cannon fire.~ Announce a soldier on the radio to all units.
Under the warning from the command post, the group reduced their pace and began to move away from each other.
Several minutes passed at reduced speed before a volciste plane flew over the area and was shot down by the anti-aircraft defences.
"Is it a scout?" Wondered the soldiers as they looked off into the distance at the smoking crater where the plane lay.
As the soldiers advanced between the hills, 3000 m above their heads a Luna x 2000 drone flew over the area in search of the weapons mentioned by the elves, that's when emerging from the edge of the immense forest the drone's cameras picked up a huge mass that reflected enormously in the infrared.
"What is that monster!" Wondered the drone pilot as he watched the huge vehicle appear in front of the cameras.
"Call the senior staff at the base, we have a huge problem." Spouted the soldier as the vehicle in the cameras began to move.
___
~Evacuate the area urgently.~ Was the order repeated to all units entering enemy territory.
For the 12th Panzerbrigade the order had just arrived when a violent explosion enveloped some Leopards.
"What the hell weapon are they using! " Complained Brigadier General Jörn Künneth as he watched in horror the results of the explosion.
As the casualties became cataclysmic, the 12th Panzerbrigade had begun to flee as far and as fast as possible to get out of range of the enemy guns, when suddenly a series of silhouettes emerged from the horizon and began to be clearly spotted by the group.
"What is that monster." The Germans were astonished, trembling at the sight of a gigantic tank visible in their binoculars several dozen kilometres from their escape point.
" The Germans were astonished, trembling at the sight of a gigantic tank visible in their binoculars several dozen kilometres from their escape point [https://img.wattpad.com/0d131cad18089031905364c7fd0c0bf7f086adf8/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f58654865544f67525355305453773d3d2d313432353138333739312e313762363834633537623438616430333733303132323332393335372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The vehicle was so imposing that the soldiers and tanks on its flanks had even become anecdotal.
"Its armour must be very thick, we'd have to aim at the turrets." General Jörn analysed as he watched one of the guns in the main turret rise up to fire at vehicles further away.
___
Not far away, binoculars in hand, a young woman watches the debacle with a sneer. "They'll understand what it's like to use cowardly weapons."
The young woman dressed in a military uniform was carefully examining the tactics employed by the Germans. With an air of satisfaction she rose from her position and faced the soldiers accompanying her. "I'm done here." She explained, arranging her cap between her horns.
After about ten metres, a car emerged from the foliage of the forest to pick up the young woman.
As the vehicle sped through the countryside grass, the young woman carefully noted the observations she had made. She was both pensive and impressed by the feat she had witnessed.
"Despite the roughness of the terrain, their cannon always remained aimed at precise points on their target, so what have they equipped their tank with to achieve such a result?" She wondered, as her eyes began to focus on the wreckage of a plane shot down several days ago.
As a result of all the young woman's reflections, the vehicle eventually arrived near a building with a more than ordinary appearance.
Once at the door, the woman thought about what she had seen earlier before opening the doors.
"How's the operation going?" she asked the man sitting in her chair.
"Your return has been eagerly awaited, Princess Oune." Communicated the man as he placed his foot down in front of her.
The princess looked with annoyance at the man who seemed to be waiting for the order to raise his head.
"General, we don't have time for this, I need to know how the other Peacekeepers' assault went."
The man noted the impatience in the princess's voice and stood up. "My apologies Your Highness, to come to your question unfortunately it seems that our Peacekeepers were spotted leading to a retreat on their side only a few rare fights took place to our advantage, moreover one of the enemy units have trucks equipped with their rockets which damaged one of the Peacekeepers."
The princess listened to the man, arms folded in silence.
"This information is very interesting." Finally deciding to speak, the princess sipped a cup of coffee and continued.
"I have carefully observed the debacle of the unit spotted to the east against our show of force, it is obvious that the range of our Peacemakers gives us a great advantage over their armour, but frankly without this advantage the victory would have been theirs."
The general listened to the princess with eyes full of interest.
"After a great deal of thought, I have come to the conclusion that if we want to gain the upper hand, we will have to use a strategy that includes our Peacekeepers, for example, replacing the aerial bombings, which have become impossible due to their anti-aircraft defenses, with bombings by our Peacekeepers, which are less at risk than our planes." She continued in the most serious tone.
"I'll take note of your comments, Princess, and adapt my strategies accordingly." He commented on the suggestion.
a few minutes later
The arrival of the super-tank on the front line had shaken people's spirits, and for the time being losses had been limited to a few unlucky ones who had come under enemy fire, such as the 12th Panzerbrigade, which had suffered heavy losses during their escape.
"What kind of lunatic agreed to create such a vehicle?" Complained the various soldiers.
Calm had finally returned although the brigade was still on the move in order to stay out of the super-tank's very long range of fire.
"Even anti-tank weapons won't be effective enough against this beast." Muttered Jörn.
___
Just 5 km south of the 12th Panzerbrigade's position, a group of Tigers flew over the island's vast forest, aiming for the super-tank that was being unleashed at this point on the front.
"It's visible from so far away." Greta Edelstrein was surprised as she observed from her aircraft a bright flash caused by a shot from the super-tank's turret.
After a few more minutes, the group of tigers covered the last few kilometres that prevented them from attacking the behemoth.
Once they had reached the 6km range, the Tigers immediately launched their Pars 3 LR, each of which locked onto the heat of the super-tank, before the Tigers turned around.
The missiles hit their targets in around twenty seconds, puncturing the super-tank's armour and setting fire to the ammunition bay, which exploded to the great helplessness of the demons on board.
The day continued with the gradual destruction of the other super-tanks scattered along the length of the front.
21st January 2022
21st passage 1 Ogdea 1650
North Sea 6h30
After more than a week of perilous navigation, carefully avoiding detection at all costs, the cargo ship carrying the royal family of Narlux had now entered the most difficult part of its journey. The ship hugged the norther route possible to pass as far away from the Volcist-controlled Difos Islands as possible, allowing the cargo to navigate through what was now called the North Sea, where the Empire's navy attempted to patrol.
The sun had not yet risen, yet a series of strange red lights streaked the horizon in front of the freighter.
"Captain this is the land ahead?" Asked the King who had been intrigued by all these lights.
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"Your Majesty, you are very early, unfortunately I do not have the answer yet it is indicated on the map that we are supposed to be several hundred millepass (minute) from German land." Replied the captain before two soldiers entered the cabin.
"Captain the balloon is ready for take-off." Inform the soldiers.
As soon as the information was passed on the captain glanced in the direction of the king.
"Excellent, have the reconnaissance team take off while we move the cargo away." He ordered.
___
From their hot-air balloon, Ogla and Amuhr watched the seemingly endless expanse of water below them. "Still nothing." Ogla complained, even though there was no sign of any land nearby.
"You're right." Amuhr replied with a sigh. "Lower our altitude to see what all these lights are." He suggested.
After ten minutes or so of lowering their altitude, the duo found themselves not far from one of the red lights. "Is that a platform?" Surprised Ogla after she projected a spotlight towards a yellow pylon that was going off white.
"It reminds me of the Empire's defence stations." Amuhr replied in astonishment.
"QUICK REVERSE!!!" Ogla ordered, raising her voice before Amuhr noticed a piece of the structure hurtling towards them.
Without having more time to turn the engine backwards, the balloon was hit by the strange pylon before gaining altitude very quickly.
"What's that?" The duo asked themselves as they realised that their balloon had not plunged into the icy sea.
"It looks like a windmill." Ogla noted as the flickering spotlight began to illuminate the centre of the structure, which was chased by three huge, slowly rotating blades.
"We must warn the boat not to approach this area." Amuhr expressed as he tried to make contact with the wireless radio. But as the wind turbine blade began to descend, it gradually slid the balloon towards the edge of the blade, which eventually plummeted rapidly into the sea.
___
An hour had passed since the departure of the balloon, and although the sun had not yet risen, the sky was bright enough for the wind turbines to be visible from the ship all along the horizon.
As the captain gazed in amazement at the strange landscape before him, a soldier called out to him. "Sir, we've had a call from the Crow's Nest, they've pinpointed the position of the balloon, it seems to have sunk but the crew's dinghy is hanging on to those windmill things." He finished.
"That's excellent news, their canoes can't go all that distance, get one down and send a team to recover them." He ordered in a calm voice.
After about thirty minutes of sailing, the dinghy was back alongside the cargo ship, aboard which were the crew of the hot-air balloon who, despite their warm clothing, were freezing from their swim in the sea.
Sitting at a table Sugnus consulted the report that had been provided by the balloon crew and their guess as to the reason for this structure offshore.
"A large-scale power grid." He mumbled, rubbing his chin.
After picking up the crew from the balloon, the cargo ship changed course to avoid the very large obstacle zone that was the wind farm, so as to be able to recover the desired trajectory.
While the navigation was going well, the crew was suddenly disturbed by the sound of a bell ringing in the command post.
"What's going on?" Asked the worried captain.
"The Telemobiloskop has detected a ship in the vicinity." Replied the sailor who was reading the information on the screen.
This information chilled the blood of the entire crew making the captain react quickly. "If it's the Empire, they must have detected us. Veer to starboard, we're entering this windmill field." He announced.
a few minutes later
30 km further south
The sun was finally rising for the crew of the Bad Büden, one of the few coastguard vessels to be equipped with a cannon, the ship had been assigned to the surveillance and protection of the northernmost wind farms.
The task was a peaceful one, with the exception of a few stray rigs, the ship had not needed to resort to force, until early that morning when strange radio signals were detected not far from the Dan tysk wind farm, to make matters worse the radar detected two floating masses some twenty kilometres apart.
image [https://img.wattpad.com/17ee416e3a10a03b34abe4fb73dacafb907d15bb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f713262526b5a5571535a6a434f773d3d2d313432353138333739312e313762383064363034633262613835663233313739333231313238342e6a7067]
The crew took the threat seriously and were already prepared to take all necessary measures in the event of a threat, so in order to find out the nature of the potential threat a Super Puma helicopter was sent out to reconnoitre.
Several kilometres away, as the helicopter approached the position of the two ships, once the two boats were in sight, the pilot was presented with an entirely different scene.
In front of the pilots were two ships shooting at each other, one clearly belonging to the Empire while the other was from an unknown nation.
"What's going on here?" The pilots asked themselves as explosions appeared on the decks of the two ships.
later
On the Bad Büden, the atmosphere was completely different. The simple little jumps observed on the radio had become a series of clear and precise messages.
"I still can't understand this language."
Complained the communications operator.
"Whatever they're saying, send them a message."
5 minutes passed after the message was sent, and communications resumed, this time it was German albeit in a more stammering form.
~SOS here Hope to all German ships in the vicinity.
We have come from the Iwux Islands to your country with the king of our country on board, who is fleeing from the Empire, and are seeking political asylum.
At present we have a leak as we are facing a volciste destroyer, and request the assistance of a combat ship.~
"Signal all civilian vessels to stay clear of the area, and advise our superiors on the course of action to be taken."
After about twenty minutes, the crew received a reply directly from the Luftwaffe.
~Bad Büden, an attack group will be sent to your position. In the meantime, intercept the Empire's boat and keep it occupied until reinforcements arrive. If a threat is visible coming from the second boat, report it, and it will be added to the targets.~
___
For the Hope the debacle continued, the Empire destroyer had received some damage but not enough to sink her.
"A German ship is coming our way!" Exclaimed the communications operator as he emerged from his room. "The translation is not certain but it appears to be a coastal patrol boat, they are going to attack the destroyer and inform us that they will not hesitate to retaliate if we fire on them."
The news had had the effect of a bomb in the command post, leading to a complete calm that was quickly cut short by Sugnus' words. "That's good news, warn the crew it would be a shame if they inadvertently fired on the ship."
But Sugnus's words were quickly cut off by the communications operator. "That's not all, I've managed to pick up a faint message from the magiccom to the destroyer, ordering them to stop all manoeuvres and turn back." He finished.
While the battle continued just as fiercely, a ship began to take shape on the horizon as seen from the masts of the two ships, before becoming a clear and distinct shape to the naked eye, which astonished the crew of the Hope for its appearance.
"What a strange boat." The crew wondered, looking at the deep blue hull.
"I can only see one cannon." Informed the captain at Sugnus, as a series of flashes emerged from the German ship's cannon.
As the sound of repeated gunfire reached their ears, the volciste destroyer received an extremely precise shower of explosions.
"Not a single shell to miss." Marvelled the captain as he lowered his binoculars.
From the destroyer Volciste
"I want a report on what the damage is." Ordered the destroyer's captain as multiple impacts had just been felt.
"This is bastard, he's preventing me from proving my worth to the Empire." Complained the captain as he watched the freighter take advantage of the opportunity to move away.
"A week of searching for the Empire around the Prabela Islands only for me to stumble across it, I don't want to lose this chance." Ruminated the captain, before turning his eyes to the German ship. "I want to see that patrol boat at the bottom of the sea!" He demanded.
Immediately after his order, the destroyer's turrets turned and fired towards the coastguard vessel.
The boat was surrounded by the explosions of the shells in the water, but there was no sign of impact. "Tsu We must be getting close." He noted with the faint precision of the salvo. "Prepare the next salvo." He ordered, as at the same time, more shots emanated from the German boat. "What an impressive rate of fire." Wondered the captain as the shells were about to hit.
"Front rangefinder damaged, it's unusable." Informed a sailor covered in blood.
The sailors aboard the destroyer were running from one end of the ship to the other to get to the stern rangefinder, when the ship was shaken by an even louder explosion that shook the entire ship at hull level. "What's going on?" Asked the captain as he got to his feet and avoided the shards of glass on the floor.
Just as the crew was recovering from the shock of the violent explosion, another bang came from the sky, this time of a completely different nature. "Have we angered the heavens." The sailors wondered as the sky roared omnipresently.
Very quickly, the crew struggled to stand upright as the boat dangerously listed to port. "Evacuate the boat." Ordered the captain, before the boat reached a critical point and capsized completely over onto its back.
On board Hope, the shock of the events was still great. "I didn't think their plane was at this level." Sugnus marvelled as he contemplated the destroyer that had just capsized after the missiles had hit its side.
"Looked at the back of the German patrol boat." Indicated one of the sailors as he noticed an aircraft coming out of a hangar, but quickly his gaze was directed towards the person who had entered the room. "The damage list is complete, we've lost compartment 2, compartment 4 and now under control, the fires are almost all under control." He listed.
On the destroyer the red hull still visible was now clutched by the few dozen survivors who had managed to escape from the destroyer, which with this cold morning had all gathered on the hull floating above the water. "Look, they've sent an aircraft." Pointed one of the survivors, shivering with cold.
The helicopter, coming straight from the Bad Büden, made a low-altitude pass, frightening the survivors who thought they were being shot at. However, nothing happened. Instead, the helicopter dropped a series of life-support overboard before turning back.
As the shipwrecked watched in amazement as the lifeboats dropped on them, a few miles away two orange-hued boats splitting the waves approached.
"They're coming with boats." Said another of the survivors, as the boats were clearly visible on the surface of the water.
"What a disgrace, they have firearms." Indicated another as two armed people per boat came into view.
"This is the German Federal Police Force, you are under arrest, please get into the lifeboats you will be towed to our boat." Inform a voice in a megaphone with a stammering continental language.
___
"The shooting has stopped." The king, sheltered with his family in their cabin, ready to evacuate at any moment.
"Father I can no longer see the destroyer from the porthole." Observed the prince, inviting his father to observe for himself.
"That great noise just now, perhaps something has happened to them." Said the king, but without having time to think more someone knocked on the door. "Your Highness you can come, it might interest you." Informing the sailor on the other side of the door.
The king turned around and faced the prince, as well as the princess, who was hidden under her bed. "I'll be right back."
On leaving his cabin the King was led to the top of the freighter where the captain and Sugnus were waiting for him. "There you are, Your Highness." Sugnus began, handing him the binoculars.
The King took the binoculars and began to observe what Sugnus was pointing at. In front of him was an upturned hull surrounded by orange channels and debris. "What happened?" The King asked, impressed by what remained of the destroyer.
"It's the Germans, they responded to one of our communications and came to lend us a hand using aircraft and this boat." He finished by pointing to the coastguard boat.
"What action do you intend to take now?" Asked the king.
In response to the king's question, Captain andSugnus turned to the towering wooden mast on their side, where sailors were visible untying cables. "We are rearranging the balloon take-off area to allow one of their vehicles to land." Finish Sugnus.
20 minutes had passed since the destroyer had overturned and ended up sinking, leaving an area covered in debris, while the demons slowly boarded the Bad Büden to either receive urgent treatment or be taken directly into custody.
As for the dwarves, they had finished detaching the support cables, leaving the runway completely clear and accessible to a helicopter, while in the distance the helicopter was already starting to approach and was clearly visible.
"Upon closer inspection, this ship is quite peculiar," remarked the Super Puma pilots as they were 500 meters away from the cargo vessel.
image [https://img.wattpad.com/354edc18dd194e3047a69dc5d27e68b842abda4c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e4e5671424932524c70786a67513d3d2d313432353138333739312e313762386339393063373136383137333637303932323139333133322e6a7067]
The cargo vessel was still smoking in some areas, but the landing area was clearly visible, allowing the helicopter to approach quickly before touching down. As the rotor began to stop, a group of men emerged from a tent-like structure. "They're not very tall," observed the pilots as the door opened, allowing the occupants of the helicopter to exit.
___
"So they have rotary wing aircraft." Looking at the king in amazement as a small group emerged from the aircraft.
"Father they are also equipped with firearms." The prince pointed out, noticing the belts worn by the men in front of them.
As the men approached the King climbed the steps of a stool to a more suitable height. "Welcome aboard the Hope, I'm King Mekso and these are my children." Said the interpreter, as the king held out his hand.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Axel Krauser and we're from the German Federal Police." The man replied, shaking hands with the king.
Once the greetings had been made, the Germans immediately broached the subject of their visit.
"As your communications have indicated, you wish to enter our country." He began. "We are going to guide you out of this wind field and take you for the time of an investigation to one of our overseas territories before you can access the continent." Finished the man, handing them a nautical chart of the area.