Chapter 116: London and Edinburgh.
London, March 3, 2018, 9:02 am
In the past London had been the capital of the Kingdom of England, this at least until 1807, the year in which Napoleon had marched on it as a triumph, while Queen Elizabeth III fled to Edinburgh and there would have been captured by the revolutionaries, only to be freed by her lover, Richard von Britannia, and flee with him across the Atlantic where she would remain for the rest of her days. With the birth of Europia, the city, one of the main European metropolises, had retained its role as the capital of England, one of the Union republics of the EU. In 2016 it had 8 million inhabitants. But then the reptilians had arrived, and now the megalopolis was reduced to a huge, desolate heap of ruins. The buildings were in ruins or collapsed, on the streets there were carcasses of civilian and military vehicles. And last but not least, it was the scene of furious clashes between the British-European armies on the one hand, the reptilian ones on the other. The fighting raged both on the ground, where the land forces deployed tanks (Leclerc and Abrams) and knightmares (Panzer Hummel, Sutherland) against enemy vehicles and mecha, in addition of course to the infantry, and in the skies, where fighter flocks (Eurofighter Typhoon , F22 and F16) and airships (Avalon class, Caerleon, Logres) faced the alien aircraft. The air was torn by screams, gunfire and explosions. Unit W-0, led by Leila herself, also took part in the operations. The girl, aboard her Alexander T02, had just shot down an enemy cruiser. These exploded into the air, throwing debris in various directions.
Damn, these bastards are putting up a stiff resistance!
She thought nervously.
Meanwhile, Ryo, Ayano and Yukiya, aboard their frames, were facing a formation of enemy mecha.
"Damn monsters!" Ryo exclaimed as he destroyed one.
"But how many of these disgusting lizards are there?" Ayano asked.
"As if knowing it made a difference ..." Yukiya replied.
That said, he fired at some enemy knightmare, causing them to explode.
They are really tough!
Meanwhile, Shin thought, while on board his Vergingetorix he trampled the enemy soldiers.
"Are you okay, big brother?" Akito asked him over the radio.
"Great, Akito! I haven't had such a good time in months! " He replied, smiling.
"Remember this is not a game, but a serious battle!"
Shin was about to answer but first fired a shotgun shot in the face of an enemy knightmare, and then threw his ax into the legs.
"I know, it's one of the first things they taught me as a knight! And now I'm sorry, but I can get distracted!"
"Got it, we'll talk later!"
Akito, aboard his Alexander, smiled.
"Ashley, do you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Akito!"
"Are you and your teammates doing well?"
"You bet!" The orange-haired boy exclaimed, as he mowed down enemy soldiers and vehicles with the Gatling guns of his frame.
His companions were no less, more and more reptilians ended up being massacred by them.
At one point the land forces reached the River Thames, beyond which, waiting for them, stood a tripod. The alien craft began to emit its deadly rays, attacking the European and British frames and tanks, which began to target it, damaging it. After a few minutes Shin ordered:
"Take it down with the Canterbury!"
"Yes, my lord!" One of his subordinates answered him.
The self-propelled artillery, advancing slowly, came close to the banks of the river, taking advantage of the fact that the tripod was engaged by the ground frames, then it got into position and fired a shot at the head of the tripod, piercing it from side to side. The shot had certainly killed the pilot, as the beams ceased and the out of control war machine crashed into the already damaged Westminster Palace, almost completely destroying it. Triumphal screams rose from the British-European ranks as Leila said:
"This is no time to cheer, the battle is not over yet! Let's cross the bridges, before the lizards destroy them!"
Edinburgh, 10am
Esdeath was in her mobile base, in the company of some officers, intent on observing the progress of the battle on a virtual map.
"The enemy is retreating further and further. At this rate Hamburg will be ours! " General Ricardos exclaimed.
Esdeath looked at him puzzled.
"You mean Edinburgh, right?"
He looked at her embarrassed before answering:
"Yeah, that's right ... Edinburgh will be ours!"
"And we will have completed the liberation of Scotland ..."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Scottish, right?"
"Yes, Scottish. And Edinburgh is my hometown. "
"I guess you are happy to free your city from the reptilians."
The woman was suddenly saddened and Manuel, noticing her sudden change of mood, asked her:
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Nothing ... It just breaks my heart to see it reduced to a pile of ruins and depopulated."
"I understand your pain very well. I tried it too, when I saw my hometown completely razed to the ground by the enemy air force. "
She turned to look at him.
"What city was it?"
"Guernica. It happened in the early stages of the invasion. "
She nodded, then returned her focus to the map.
