Anzuri City, Kingdom of Azuria
August 12th, 1427.
9:32 AM
The morning sun shone down on the medieval-esque city as its people continued on with their daily routine. Housewives haggle on prices with shopkeepers while merchants offer their newly imported industrial paraphernalias from Elysia to blacksmiths and passerby, healthily marking their prices up thrice over their original cost in the United Federation to hopefully make a quick buck for themselves. Many Elysian construction workers and Azurian guides are also present, waiting for a bus ride to the newly incorporated Elvish Republic to aid in the rebuilding effort and to make way for Elysian colonization of the Eastern Continent.
An Elven governor for the Elvish Republic had been installed to look over the reconstruction and future expansion, picked from the most qualified among the refugees of the Yarian conquest. Loyalty was of little concern for the United Federation, as all of them have expressed gratitude to the Elysians for saving them from a life of horror and horrific death.
A pair of hatted figures sat outside a shop in the market, unbothered by the commotions around them.
Miritta stared at the black-color substance in the cup on her hand with curiosity. It has an alien, but definitely strong aroma to it. This ‘coffee’ – or do the Elysians called it, is apparently their favorite drink, she recalled from memory. Sitting in front of her is Alice, her new friend she had made along the way ever since she stumbled on her last month outside Anzuri.
She took a sip, quickly recoiling back from the bitter taste. “Eek… how do those Elysians even drink this?!”
“You shouldn’t drink black coffee right away if you haven’t drunk it before.” Alice chuckles, pouring some milk and a sugar cube in Miritta’s cup before stirring. “If you mix these, it won’t be as bitter.”
“Huh…” Miritta took another sip, finding the taste much better. “So this is how you do it. It’s actually kind of sweet.” She set the cup down and let out a sigh, cooling herself from the hot drink.
“What an eyesore…” She comments, looking at the newly arrived group of Elysians in brightly-colored vests and hard hats operating yellow-colored machinery, digging up a part of the ground at unthinkable speed for a laborer “Those guys are so loud.”
“They’re just construction workers, Mita. Doing what they do best.” Alice explained.
“Mita?”
“Do you like that nickname? Hehe.” Alice smiled. “I don’t like to use a goddess’s name to call for my friend anyway, besides how did you even get that name in the first place?”
“I guess my parents just want me to be like the Goddess herself. ” Miritta answered, looking away slightly as she let out a hidden smile, puzzled by how someone could be so naive. “They’re both gone now for a long time now, so I’m all by myself. And for the nickname, I think the nickname is fine… you can call me that…”
Miritta continued to look at the Elysian workers, somewhat concerned for the Eastern Continent’s future. She had been watching these Elysians for the past several weeks, quietly observing their construction work on the Eastern Continent as well as their military movement. “Those guys, despite having no magical capabilities they still construct as fast as a mage could. Their level of craft is also much better, perhaps on par with the Holy Celestial Empire.”
Noticing the name, Alice began to analyze Miritta’s words. “You’re comparing these Elysians to the Celestials, which means…” She paused slightly to let the conclusion click in her head. “You’ve been in the Holy Celestial Empire before?!”
“Uhh…” Miritta paused, recalling the time when she attended Empress Celestia’s crowning ceremony around three hundred years back. “You could say that.”
“That’s amazing! You must’ve had some connection with powerful merchants! Not many have that opportunity to travel between the continents!” Alice comments.
A vast majority of merchants in the Eastern Continent only trade their goods within the continent themselves, rarely bringing goods from other continents. The vast distances between the ports and lack of demands, combined with trade restrictions on advanced magical goods from the Celestial Continent meant that only cheap magical communication devices and miscellaneous items are permitted to be exported beyond the continent.
Deliveries of goods from the Western Continent only came once a year in September in Azuria, causing Miritta to realize something. “Wait… merchants…”
“Yes?” Alice asked her, not knowing where Miritta is going with her mumbling.
“Several Celestial merchant vessels are going to arrive in Azuria in about half a month, which means that they’re going to find out about the existence of the Elysians!”
“You’re right…” Alice puts a hand up to her lips. “But how is that a problem?”
“The Holy Celestial Empire prided themselves as the “strongest” nation in the world. If they found out about the Elysians who are building all this infrastructure and resettling their people then they would certainly react with panic at losing their influence in the Eastern Continent! If not, then outright aggression at the Elysians!”
Alice found herself thinking of Miritta’s words. “Wait a minute. The Elysians bought all of the exotic and regular food for sale in the Eastern Continent to ship back to their country, including the ones meant to be shipped to the Celestial Continent… Which means that the Celestials would’ve taken around six months to come here for nothing!”
The sudden realization of the impending grim future waiting for them was not something both would like to have experience in the morning. Angry Celestial merchants and traders would be the least of Alice and Miritta’s concerns, but a potential war over influence with a superpower could destroy the Eastern Continent, even if the Celestials are on the other side of the world.
“I… I don’t think it would be that bad, Alice.” Miritta said. “The Celestials still had the Florentines as their neighbor, maybe they wouldn’t make such a big deal over losing their influence on the other side of the world as long as the Florentines keep them busy.”
Miritta facepalms, letting out a long exhale before taking in the air to relieve herself of the sudden stress. “Forget what I just said… sorry for ruining the morning mood, Alice.”
“It’s ok, Mita. I wouldn't worry about it too much though.” She gestured at the column of Elysian Army military trucks moving through the market, carrying more soldiers and weapons to the western part of the Eastern Continent.
Miritta thought about the situation in the former Yarian Empire. From the news being broadcasted by Elysian’s ‘radios’, many dissatisfied Yarian generals and elites are conducting insurgency warfare against the Elysian Army, threatening their hold over the newly established Elvish Republic. The United Federation had deployed about fifty thousand Army personnel to the Eastern Continent to keep order, often resulting in easy victory over the Yarian rebels due to their advanced firearms, which could only be compared to the Florentine’s rifles if memory had served her right.
“Anyway,” Miritta switched topics, trying to find ways to stop thinking about things that they couldn’t change. “It’s been nearly a month since your boyfriend got taken by his friends, shouldn’t you check on him? The post office is already open, there should be mail from Lewis.”
“Oh yeah, I completely forgot!” Alice sips the rest of her tea, putting some two silver coins on the coffee table as payment. “Let’s go!”
– –
10:15 AM
The old post office building had already been radically transformed by the Elysians construction workers within less than a month. New sophisticated wirings, electrical lights and cooling systems were all installed within the building’s structure, giving new life to the previously shabby building that could only be called a poorly maintained dump with a roof. A large, strange disc-shaped structure lays atop of the roof, linked by wires and other mechanical instruments.
Cool air welcomed the pair as they walked in, giving the two some relief. “Was this really that ugly warehouse of old?...” Alice gawked at the ceiling, particularly enjoying the cool air from the ventilation. The Elysians brought many of their technological wonders to Azuria, but one she appreciated the most was air conditioning in every building refurbished or newly built by them. She wonders if everywhere in their homeland was like this.
Miritta pulls Alice’s hand, getting her off from the comfortable distraction. “The stall is this way.”
They arrived at stall number 4, where a female Azurian accountant in office uniform met them. “Hello, welcome to our establishment! How may I help you?”
“I’m here to retrieve mail. My name is Alice ad Alwyn.” Alice said to the accountant.
Due to the lack of development on the Eastern Continent, the United Federation had decided to maintain the old system as a stop gap where people will have to arrive at the post office in order to retrieve mail or delivered goods while the Elysians work on modernizing the infrastructure to allow for home delivery.
“May I see your Federal Card?” The accountant politely asked.
Alice pulls out a cassette tape-like device from her purse, on which many tiny and straight engravings of unknown symbols are carved precisely into it. She pondered if the engravings on these ‘Federal Cards’ also work similarly to how one must learn how to draw magical symbols to enhance the effects of the Magical Gems. One had been distributed to each of her family members including herself as well, due to her family’s business of selling their wine to the United Federation as exports. Many other merchants and business owners have also been given one, allowing for easier trade between merchants from the Eastern Continent and Elysia alike.
The people of Elysia do not use coins nor any physical commodities to trade, rather these cards contain everything they would ever need, including personal wealth, identification and more, something that seemed too good to be true but it is. Moreover, the Elysians have made the lives of every merchant who exclusively conducts with them far easier and more convenient by not requiring them to carry heavy bags of coins of various currencies, which could make them attractive to both pirates and common thieves.
Upon receiving the card from Alice, the female accountant inserts it into a boxy metallic device. Its black mirror lits up, displaying the wide arrays of menus and options in a mix of orange and black. Miritta looked at the device attentively, finding many similarities with those from the Holy Celestial Empire albeit devoid of magical energy within. Though she thought highly of the many magi-tech devices within the Holy Celestial Empire, she couldn’t help but be surprised that the effects of advanced magical displays can be entirely replicated with mere mechanical instruments.
Miritta notices strange movement outside the post office, which prompts her to walk towards the door. “I’ll be waiting outside, Alice.”
“Alright, Mita! I’ll be there shortly!” Alice said.
“We just got these computers from the Federation last week.” The female accountant explained, quickly and expertly typing on the mechanical keyboard as she maneuvered between the menus. “Packages… mail… Alice ad Alwy- ah, got it. Connecting to Marine Communication Service. Eight letters from… Lewis Wesley. Specialist rank.”
The accountant continues to type before giving Alice a smaller boxy device connected to the computer. “Please put your thumb on the glass.”
Alice complied, putting her thumb on the small glass panel lit in a white light. A beep confirms a quick scan, turning the light green.
“Identity confirmed.” The female accountant announced, utilizing the printer next to her desk to quickly create several physical letters. She carefully put each of them into envelopes before handing them to Alice. “Thank you for using our service!”
“Um,” Alice stutters, checking her purse. “How much is the processing fee? I heard it is eight bronze coins…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Miss. It’s actually free of charge since it's from the Elysian military.” The female accountant bid farewell, bowing slightly before returning to her job.
Miritta heads outside the building first, watching the long column of Elysians trucks carrying armored vehicles and supplies. They are heading westward, to the Elvish Republic along with Azurian support. Things must’ve been pretty unstable, she imagined. The Elysians had no concept of magic, judging by their curiosity and bewilderment at even basic magical spells conjured by novice mages.
She continued observing the Elysian construction workers laying long steel pieces on the ground as well as pipings, carefully aligning them using mechanical tools and instruments. Their televisions and films, similar in functions to the magical displays in the Holy Celestial Empire, that they had shown to the people of Azuria explained that these ‘railways’ are the primary ways in which these Elysians transport their goods and people around rather than their smokey horseless carriages that they called ‘trucks’.
She has only travelled to another continent once to Celestara, and thus couldn’t call herself knowledgeable in all subjects. Perhaps this is what an advanced mechanical civilization looks like? Though they are indeed helping the people of Azuria by building for them all this infrastructure, their goals in the end seem like conquest by more quiet and agreeable means to the people of the Eastern Continent.
Almost everything that Azuria and Lior had made, the Elysians bought them. While this had made the people of the Eastern Continent far wealthier and happier along with better living standards, she couldn’t help but feel like the Federation had ulterior motives to do all of this. If they’re truly desperate for food and resources only, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to turn the fallen Elvish Kingdom into a republic before subjugating it under their rule.
Noticing Alice exiting the post office with a pack of letters in her hand, Miritta cuts off her thoughts as she refocuses on her friend. “Have you gotten what you need?”
“Yes! He sent me a bunch of letters through the metallic machine box! They told me that while they can send the letters I gave them, Lewis wouldn’t be able to read them before returning.” Alice answered, getting a bit sadder as she went on.
“He’s on his job, Alice. You can’t expect soldiers like him to answer to ever-” Miritta tried to explain before being reminded of Liam, her old husband who died in battle in the Elvish Kingdom after she became a Goddess. “N-Nevermind what I just said. He’ll answer you if he can.”
“I know he will.” Alice puts the letters into her purse. “If not I’ll make him regret it!” She shouted, her voice echoing a familiarly vicious tone of female dominance. Sending a slight shiver down to Miritta.
“Alright I’ll see you in another time, I got some work to do.” Miritta bid farewell, which Alice returned in kind as she found seating in the newly built bus station.
As the pair split and went their own ways for the day, Miritta’s mood turned. Shouldn’t have said that to Alice, she thought. As someone who had lost a loved one, she couldn’t speak down on someone in a similar situation like she was, much less her first and only friend in a long time.
More Elysians arrived, this time not in uniform but in a diverse array of t-shirts and casual clothes. They began taking pictures with their ‘cameras’, posing in front of each other like children playing in the field. Tourists, Miritta figured. The business owners and merchants here love them, locals don’t.
Another group arrived. These men and women carried themselves with much more dignity, ignoring the obvious scammers on the streets. They bring even stranger mechanical instruments, ones that Miritta couldn’t identify nor have any reference to. Many Azurian mages and scholars also followed with them, making for an interesting sight to Miritta. She closes her eyes, transferring her consciousness to a plant next to the group to eavesdrop on them.
“Alright, people. Let’s head out to Site number 21, apparently there’s another Relic site over there.” A bearded man in glasses wearing a hefty backpack behind his back said to the group, holding a map of Azuria with many areas crossed out on them.
Miritta had picked up on the Elysian’s fashion sense. She found that those Elysians who are currently working usually carry their own name tag and role on their clothing, finding it very convenient for her in her current quest of gathering more information about these people.
A woman by his side held up a rusty metallic contraption on her gloved hands, the name tag on her shirt identifying her role as a ‘Geologist’. “Site 20’s harvest was pretty good. The science people back in Arlette want more of these Relics. This thing on my hand looks like a processing unit of sorts, but I wonder how it works...” She put the object back in a small box which had a logo imprinted on it: FEDERAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT.
An Azurian mage stepped up. His greying beard, calm demeanor and other magical artifacts on his body indicate long experiences in the study of Relics. “Indeed. Your analysis is most astute, much worthy of praise. I am wholeheartedly surprised at your understanding of these Relics despite having only known about them for mere months.”
“Thank you for your praise, Mage Torquari.” She nodded.
“You said that these Relics are from… how long ago?” One of the geologists asked the Azurian guides.
“Many thousand years ago, belonging to the Ancient Khanterran Empire. Many stories transferred throughout generations have told of massive battles across Sorval, fought between the Khanterran and the Celestial along with their allies. The Khanterrans were extremely successful in their conquest and subjugation of Sorval, so much so that almost the entire world fell under their rule. Until the Celestials rose up against them. The details of these battles have largely been lost through time, but these ruins and Relics have remained here as reminders of battles long past.”
“Sorval?” A historian asked, intrigued by the name. He noted down the mage’s story, adding it to his research list.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“That’s the Celestial’s name for this world, good sir.” Mage Torquari held up another small Relic. “These Relics are too difficult to analyze for us in Azuria, and the Celestials have largely cleaned up after their war with the Khanterran was over so only small artifacts remain, I hope your scientists and scholars can decipher these objects.”
The historian continued questioning, finding the stories that this world contained intriguing him immensely. “What happened to the Khanterran? Even if they were defeated, surely at least their descendants would still exist in some form or another?”
Mage Torquari shook his head. “I do not know how true this is, but the ancient texts have said that the Khanterran have fled from Sorval using what the Celestials called Heavenly Ships. The text described each of their Heavenly Ships ascending beyond the skies in a ball of flame until they were no longer seen, leaving Sorval behind. Many prophesied their return one day throughout history, but none materialized. It’s been thousands of years, many have simply forgotten about the Khanterrans all together but not we scholars and mages, for it is our duty to pursue knowledge.” He fiddled around with the Khanterran Relic in his hand.
Mage Torquari stops, giving the Relic to the leading Elysian scientist following the group. “Now, shall we head to our next location? Many of my students came to the next area to practice their aptitude, perhaps you may find something there that piques your interest.”
The bearded leader put the artifact into another crate, similar to the one before. “Thanks for the story, Sir Torquari. You may lead the way.”
The group eventually left, packing their equipment on research vans and headed out of Anzuri.
“So they’re studying this world as well…” Miritta whispered, returning her consciousness back to her body. A revelation struck her. If these Elysians are this advanced with their mechanical technologies, then maybe they could learn something from the magi-tech Relics of the defeated Khanterran Empire. The mage guiding them was right, many have stopped thinking about the Khanterran altogether and instead on their daily lives. The thought of them returning has become more so a joke in Sorval than a genuine fear, bolstered by the Holy Celestial Empire’s assurance that they have been expelled completely off this world for all eternity.
Many countries of Sorval truly believed that the Holy Celestial Empire is the strongest country on the planet, and that no one could challenge them due to the tales of their victories, except the mechanical Florentines. Besides the Florence Republic to their south, the Holy Celestial Empire didn’t consider anyone else on Sorval to be their rival and thus couldn’t be bothered by what was going on in the Eastern Continent. An annual arrival of a merchant fleet to buy and sell large quantities of goods, that was enough to remind the people of the Eastern Continent that the Holy Celestial Empire was the great power that they should look up to.
With the knowledge that the Holy Celestial Empire’s Eastern Merchant Fleet will arrive within several short weeks, Miritta couldn’t help but be excited and a bit worried at the same time. A single thought lingered in her mind: What will Empress Celestia think about these people when she found out about them?
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Hōshōjima Island, Harukami Shogunate.
3:54 PM
The sight of another great mountain greets the helicopter squadron heading towards it. Its familiar chopping noises filled the atmosphere, filling in for the usual silence of the southern island.
“Casper 1-1. I got visual on target. Beginning approach.”
The four rotors of the UH-48 began to turn vertical, transitioning to helicopter flight.
“This is Roland 2-1. Copy that Casper 1-1. Beginning strafing run. All weapons’ hot.”
The current escorting flights of AH-24s split up, spraying cannon and rocket fire at the nearby treeline to suppress the hungry pack of Kibaōkami hidden within to make way for the UH-24 to unload its valuable cargo.
Senki looked outside the armored glass window of the UH-48, grabbing the canvas chair nervously. She had never seen such massive flying machines, much less riding inside one. The Elysians truly are advanced if they could field something as massive like this.
The quadrotors lower their altitude, touching on an empty field where several green smoke grenades were dropped by AH-24, indicating that they were cleared for landing.
“Let’s move!” Captain Raleigh switched the safety off of his R-25, rushing out of the front ramp as it was opening, opting to waste no time waiting for it to fully open. A hundred Marines followed behind, disembarking and spreading out to take cover.
The second UH-48 Rorqual landed down, quickly unloading a pair of towed AD-25-2 twin barreled 25mm anti-aircraft automatic cannons using the Hussar tracked vehicles. The anti-aircraft guns were chosen due to the threat of Onibanes being aerial threats as well as the massing Kibaōkami swarm. Their lack of power requirements also contributed to the decision, as battery power was deemed to be too valuable to waste on powering defensive emplacement.
“We’re clear! Set up a perimeter!” Raleigh shouted, which prompted the tracked vehicles to use their dozers, pushing dirt and small rocks aside as they began clearing the areas. Other Marines quickly erected tents and ammunition dump, unloading the supplies off of the Rorquals before they had to leave the area and back to the ships for fuel and more supplies.
“Where the fuck did you get that thing?” Rita looked at Joker’s back, eyeing the peculiar launcher.
“Army’s ‘donation’.” Joker smirks, proud of himself for thinking out of the box to procure hardwares not meant for them.
“They’re going to rip you a new asshole if they found out you stole the missile! This shit on your back probably cost about a hundred thousand Credits!” Milton yelped in horror.
Joker tapped Milton in the shoulder. “They won’t find out if this thing is gone by the time we return, heh heh.”
“Unbelievable…” Boris facepalm. “Make sure you do before we’re done with this shit. Do you even know how to use that thing?”
“Yes, Staff Sergeant! There are manuals printed on the missile tube, sir!” Joker gave a quick salute.
Boris let out a sigh, turning his gaze to Captain Raleigh in the newly erected command tent who is currently looking at maps and barking orders at the radiomen. Was the man truly sorry for what he did? Couldn’t be, he thought. Lewis had talked positively about him, but the young lad didn’t serve with him ever since he was a Lieutenant in the Marine Corp.
He rethought about what happened that fateful day with Raleigh.
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6 years ago.
People’s Democratic Republic of Yun.
January 2nd, Elysian Calendar Year 1981
Snow fell gracefully on the ground below, unbothered by the rising columns of smoke stoked by the flames of war covering a small town below. Sounds of people yelling and screaming can be heard in every small corner and alleyway before being silenced by automatic gunfire. Tracer rounds flew upwards in the hundreds, attempting to hit their maneuvering aerial targets.
The People’s Democratic of Yun had collapsed into civil war due to the inherent instability of regime change. The People’s Army of Yun is waging war against multiple rebel groups to reassert its control over the country, backed by the Socialist Republic of Yarik. The Elysian 5th Marine Mechanized Battalion was dispatched to Yun to aid the Yunnish Unity Front rebels in the retaking of their country with the promise of setting up of a government aligned and friendly to the United Federation’s interest.
On the main road going through a town, a small group of townsfolk raised white flags and marched towards the Elysian Marines. “P-please! Help us! We have children with us!” the leading elderly man yelled at them, his outfit clearly distinguishing himself as the town chief.
“Get off the street!” A young-looking Marine yelled at them before being dragged down by his comrade due to the whistling noise above. “INCOMING!!!”
Explosions rocked them, flipping over a Marine Cavalier APC and leaving only a burning wreck behind. The burning crews bailed out of the hatch, rolling on the asphalt road in an attempt to put out the fire. “Corpsman! I need a corpsman!” One of the Marines called for help, quickly dragging away the burnt vehicle commander to safety after he helped put the fire out.
“God damn heavy mortars!” The Marine Lieutenant looked up to check on the civilians ahead. Half of them were unrecognizably mangled, with only a few bloodied individuals still alive. “Get off the streets now!” He yelled at the bloodied young boy ahead.
The boy caught on his warning, who stood up trying to run away but suddenly fell to the ground as multiple flashes on the end of the street lit up. He looked at the boy with worries. “Stand up… please, crawl away from there….” The young boy’s body was unresponsive, his clothes beginning to turn red as blood poured out onto the road from his body.
A loud voice ringed over the speaker over the end of the street. “No mercy for traitors and reactionaries of the Revolution! All those caught surrendering to the enemy will be shot! His Supreme Leader Jun Zhihao has mandated that all must resist the invaders without fail!” Multiple red flags were raised on the end of the street, indicating an imminent assault.
“Motherfucker!” He moved over to the dead Marine, flipping his body over as he turned on the man’s backpack radio and tuned into the correct frequency. “This is Lima-2-1! This is Lima-2-1! How copy?! Over!”
“This is Overwatch, we’re clear for support. Over”
“Priority mission! Priority mission! Requesting armor and aerial firepower reinforcement on Route D7! Main street! Main street! Our position is about to be overrunned! Over!”
“Negative on air support, Lima-2-1. Socialist MANPADS already shot down three Orcas. Directing armor to your location. ETA, three minutes.”
“Overwatch, this is an emergency! I need CAS right now! Over!”
“Negative on close support, Lima-2-1. Hang on until armor arrives. Overwatch out. Over.”
A Marine Private ran up to him, dropping a box of ammunition. “We’re low on ammo, Lieutenant Raleigh! These are the last of what we have, plus a few magazines for the R-25!”
“Shit…” He mumbles.
A sudden roar of men rang out on the end of the street. “FOR THE REVOLUTION!” The Socialists yelled, waving their red banners as they leaped over their sandbags and charged towards the Marines on the other side of the road.
“No time to think. Get that MG up, Tarya!”
“Yes, sir!” Tarya placed the R-125HB on its bipod and began firing long bursts, causing many of the Socialists to fall down and roll over.
They continue to charge, trampling over their injured comrades as they begin to wildly fire their QBZ-63 assault rifles at the Marines in an attempt to suppress them. The leading flag bearer suddenly blew up from below due to a mine, causing the rest of the chargers to stumble and lose their momentum.
Capitalizing on this opportunity, Raleigh empty his entire magazine at the group before quickly loading another magazine to do the same, stopping the charging Socialist.
‘I brought some reinforcement!” A familiar voice yelled out behind Raleigh. The Marine corporal was accompanied by around ten local fighters, armed with a hodgepodge of captured Socialist grenades and Elysian rifles. They began firing into the Socialist, aiding the Elysian Marines in the firefight. “Aries tanks are behind us as well!”
A local fighter, identifying himself as Haoyu, speaks up. “We’re here to help! My daughter is somewhere in the town, I have to get her out!”
“We’ll find your kid with you, but we gotta defeat these fuckers first!”
“I understand, sir!”
“Thought you’d never come, Boris!” Raleigh laughed, patting the corporal on the back. “Good job! Now give ‘em hell!”
A 4-tanks platoon of Elysian Aries Mk.4 finally arrived over the rubble, which caused the charging Socialists to run back where they came from, terrified for their lives. The tanks stopped, firing a 105mm high explosive round into the group of Socialists which caused limbs and blood to fly everywhere. The surviving yet stunned Socialist fighters stumbled around due to the shock, trying to find their weapon before being cut down by a hail of 5.56mm from the tank’s dual coaxial machine guns.
– –
“Tarya, you keep security.” Raleigh orders him, which he follows without question.
A small squad of five Marines moved inside a building, meticulously checking every room of every floor of a small apartment complex. Several “clear” were announced from every Marine who finished checking the rooms, including Boris and three other Marines.
The local fighters closely followed behind, covering the entries that the small Marine squad couldn’t fill to prevent any sudden intrusion. Haoyu also followed, showing the way for the Elysian Marines. “My home is on the third floor of this building, I can show you the way around.”
Urban warfare is a nightmare, every soldier in Elysia knows that. But it’s a nightmare that everyone in the country trained for. The Socialist Republic of Yarik has been threatening the United Federation with invasion for a long time, with many close calls throughout the decades.
Up to 80% of Elysia’s mainland is considered to be urbanized, so any invasion of the United Federation would certainly be fought within urban areas. Decades of training and preparation have ensured that everyone knew what they were doing.
The sound of a crying child caught everyone’s ears.
“That’s Yijun!” Haoyu exclaimed, hurriedly sprinting up the stairs to search for his daughter. “Daddy’s coming!”
“No!” Raleigh yelled at the man “It could be a trap!”
The Marines quickly sprinted up the stairs, trying to stop the man from doing something stupid in hopes of saving his daughter. They eventually ran up, finding the man standing next to the door with a shocked expression.
Boris pered inside the apartment, where the crying sound still emanates. He finds the body of a woman, dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and a single one to the head.
“N-no… Xiuying…” Haoyu mumbles. “That’s my wife.”
One of the Marines pushed inside the room to check. “We got civvy!” He shouted. “Female, ‘bout eight to ten years old!”
Boris slaps the man’s face, which causes him to snap out of his shocked state. “Your daughter is still alive! Get a grip! We gotta get her out of here before the Socies get their artillery up again!”
“O-okay.” He said, sprinting inside the apartment, finding his daughter tied up on a chair next to the balcony which was half blown by artillery. “Yijun!”
He puts down his captured QBZ, hugging his daughter. “Daddy will get you out of here, daddy promises.”
Boris tried to untie Yijun off of the chair before discovering something metallic sandwiched between her back and the chair. He nudges her a bit, finding two 76mm mortar shells tied to her.
“-Shit!” He jumps back instinctively, werry of the IED. “They rigged her!”
Raleigh springs into action, looking at the IED’s mechanism. Noticing that the wiring leads to a hastily wired clock, he checked the timer. It was clearly made hastily, made to cause as many casualties as possible after a retreat. Two mortar shells of this size could demolish the already weakened building they found themselves in.
The fact the Socialists did this to a little girl was sickening, but he couldn’t deny that it was effective, more so than the death charge against the Marine’s Aries tanks they did just then.
He notices that the IED’s clock almost hit midnight, with only a minute left. He knew about the Socialist’s habit of letting bombs struck midnight to detonate, this one is no different.
“Daddy! Get me out of here!” The little girl cried out. “They killed mommy!”
Haoyu put his roughened hand on his daughter’s face, trying to console her. “Be brave, Yijun. These people are here to help, alright? Daddy’s here too. You don’t have to worry. I’m sorry for going away, but everything’s alright now.”
“Thirty seconds.” Raleigh checked the bomb’s clock. Trying to cut away the rope wrapped around the girl’s waist with her father. Without removing it, there is no way they could pull the IED out.
“Twenty second.” He checked again, cutting the ropes quicker until began turning loose. “C’mon!”
“We can make it!” Boris shouted, not wanting to lose faith. He’s a caring person that Raleigh knew very much about, but he knew that Boris cared too much at many times, even to his own detriment.
“Be brave, Yijun! You’re the only one I have left! I will not give up!” Haoyu said to his daughter.
The rope fell off, giving the men some hope. The girl finally stood up, ready to run. But then, an awful sight struck the men: the mortar shells were wrapped around her hands behind her back.
Raleigh and Boris instinctively looked down at the girl, checking her arm. Boris pulls out a knife and begins cutting, not giving a care about the timer. “We have to save her!”
Raleigh looked at the bomb. “Ten seconds! It’s almost there!”
“I can make it!” Boris yelled.
Haoyu jumped into helping his daughter, before being met by a fist to the face from Raleigh.
5 seconds
He grabs Boris’s flak jacket, pulling him away from Yijun.
4 seconds
Boris jumps up to Raleigh, trying to defuse the bomb but is met by a heavy kick to the face, putting him down.
3 seconds
Raleigh grabs the girl’s legs before lifting her back over the balcony. “What are you doing?! NO!” Haoyu screams at him. “Don’t do it!”.
2 seconds.
“Daddy! Help me!!!!” Yijun cried out to her father as she was thrown off the balcony, who couldn’t do anything as he was restrained by his comrades who understood what Raleigh was about to do.
1 second.
“BRACE!!!” Raleigh yelled at the Marines in the room, who instinctively dived down to hug the floor.
A shockwave rocked the building from the outside, causing dust and cracks on the structure to spread faster.
Raleigh slowly stood up on his legs while still concussed from the explosion, trying to understand what just happened before taking a punch to the face from Boris.
“Why the fuck did you do that for?! I could’ve saved her!” Boris yelled at him. “You bastard!”
“I… what did I do?…” Raleigh mumbles for a bit before realizing that the building’s rumble is getting stronger. His eyes widened at the thought, but there was no time to think. “We gotta get out of here.”
Noticing that dust is beginning to fall from the top floor, Boris instinctively grabs his rifle as he helps another Marine stand up.
Raleigh stood up, trying to pull Haoyu up to make a run outside the building to no response. The man’s eyes were lifeless, but he was conscious. “Yijun…”
“We cannot stay here any longer, let’s go!” A Marine said to the group, helping to carry an unconscious rebel fighter on his shoulder.
“Leave me alone.” Haoyu mumbles to Raleigh before staring him in the eyes. “You killed my daughter.” He grabs the QBZ next to him.
Not wanting to stay in the crumbling building any longer, Raleigh picks up his rifle and begins sprinting towards the stairs. He glances back briefly into the apartment one last time as he makes his way down the stairs, seeing Haoyu with the rifle’s muzzle inside his mouth.
He looks away, running down towards the exit. A loud popping sound rang clearly through the crumbling structure, causing Raleigh to bite his teeth in guilt.
Finding himself outside, he sprinted as quickly as possible before being reminded of something. He turns around, looking for somebody. “Tarya! We gotta mov-“
Tarya’s body was lying there mangled and lifelessly, right below where Haoyu’s apartment was. His body was missing an arm, and his legs were bent unnaturally due to the explosion’s shockwave. Raleigh continues sprinting, barely dodging the debris and dust as the building collapses on itself.
The Aries tanks rolled past the rubble, continuing to fire their cannons and machine guns at the retreating Socialists. Another group of Marines found Raleigh laying on some rubbles, coughing aggressively due to the dust of the fallen building.
“Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Get him to safety, go!” The Marine corpsman in front of him yelled out. “You’ll be fine. You’ll be alright.”
Raleigh glances back at the pile of rubble that used to be an apartment building, breathing heavily before passing out due to exhaustion. “Tarya… Boris… I’m sorry…”