Caelia had done it, she'd found the Masked Men. After sacrificing everything she owned to find the mysterious people, Caelia finally was looking right at one. It was everything she'd asked for. There was only one problem.
Caelia had attacked their leader.
Now she was on her knees, both hands bound behind her back, staring down the end of one of their magic staves. Her mouth was gagged while the Masked Men discussed things in their strange language. She only prayed she'd be able to tell her side of the story before they went to execute her.
It was an accident, the result of instinct from years of experience mixed with tiredness. Caelia hoped they'd be merciful, her life depended on it.
The man she'd attacked, their leader, walked up to Caelia and remove the cloth from her mouth. He had a small book out and spoke slowly with a thick accent. "You Imperial soldier?"
She shook her head vehemently. "Never. I am not an Imperial."
He relayed the information in his own language to the other. "Why you attack then?" He asked.
This was her chance. "I-it was an accident! I didn't mean to, I was just tired!"
"Why you looking at..." The man searched for a word in his book. "Iron chariot?"
Caelia hesitated for a moment before responding. "I was looking for you."
He tilted his head to the side. "Me?"
"You, the Masked Men. The ones who had destroyed the Imperial Army. You who slaughtered the Imperials with your magic."
He nodded slowly. "Why you want find us?"
"I..." This was the moment she'd been preparing for. "I wish to join you in your fight against the Empire."
The Masked Man looked to his companions and spoke in their foreign tongue, leaving Caelia to wonder what would happen. She needed this and she was willing to sacrifice everything for it.
Finally, he responded to her. "No. We not need."
She blinked twice as she heard the information. Caelia couldn't let this happen. "Please! If you won't take me as a soldier, I'll serve as a slave. I have traveled throughout Falmart, I can gather my own food and never burden you. Please, let me help against the Empire."
The man held his black eye, the one she'd given him, and spoke to the others. He turned back to her and asked. "You know Bellnahgo? You know Imperial Capital?"
She nodded eagerly. "Yes! I know both of them and many more places. I'll do anything, just let me help."
He sighed before he said. "Fine, we let you in. You now auxiliary of the Russian Ground Forces." Caelia didn't know what the Russian Ground Forces were, but she assumed it was their army. She'd been accepted.
One of the Masked Men unbound her arms. Immediately, Caelia leapt up and hugged their leader, she'd finally gotten what she needed for her wish. Vengeance against the Empire.
The man she was hugging looked a little uneasy, so she let go. He cleared his throat before speaking. "One last question. Why you so eager?"
Caelia's mood dampened. "The Empire..." She stopped and cleared her throat. "They attacked my land and... and..."
He nodded in understanding. "Welcome to the Russian Military."
The remaining trip to Bellnahgo was not far. Viktor knew they'd be there soon and according to their new recruit, Caelia, there weren't any villages in the way.
Their BTR-82A was designed to be able to carry eight people, including the gunner and driver. With the addition of Caelia, they'd run out of seats. For the time being, she sat on the metal floor on the BTR as it went over rough terrain. Viktor couldn't imagine it was a comfortable ride.
Despite this, she never complained once. Instead, she'd taken it upon herself to try and learn Russian from Viktor's squad. So far, Caelia was making good progress and was already able to say basic words and phrases. She'd learned the essential things; such as 'hello', 'thank you', and 'fuck'.
The squad liked Caelia. Alina and Kilment were spearheading her Russian education, with Luka pitching in every once in a while. Igor was trying to use his language book to ask her questions about Falmart while Sergei and Tomas had both tried to expose Caelia to as many modern items as they could. As for Viktor, he knew she'd be an important asset in exploring the Special Region. That, and he hoped she'd be able to become their permanent translator soon. Speaking the Saderan language was hard.
As expected, the trip didn't last long. They arrived at Bellnahgo with no problems. Viktor gazed through his periscope at the massive city. It was a sprawling mess of houses surrounded by walls. At its center was a large structure; the Temple of Hardy.
"Command, this is Shapka-213, we have arrived at the city of Bellnahgo. The route has been cleared for other Russian forces. Over."
"Shapka-213, we hear you. Remain at your location until further orders. We're sending reinforcements immediately. Over."
"Understood, command. We'll be waiting for you."
They parked the BTR on a hill overlooking the city and Viktor sat back in his seat. Within a few hours, he knew they'd be attacking Bellnahgo. It was best to get sleep when he could.
"Viktor." He looked up at the voice. "I sorry because attack I do." Caelia said to him in a very broken Russian. Viktor assumed she was apologizing for what happened last night."
"Its fine. Next time you want to see me, don't give me a black eye." He promptly slouched back down in his seat.
Caelia looked at him questioningly before Alina translated it to her. She chuckled before going back to her language lessons.
They had arrived at Bellnahgo in good time. Lieutenant Colonel Zolotov stood at the command of his motorized rifle battalion, as well as an additional self-propelled howitzer battalion he'd been assigned. Major General Rozovsky had given him one job, take the city by any means necessary.
Zolotov looked at the city as one of his aides listed off information about it. "The city of Bellnahgo, estimated population of about 750,000 people."
"How many soldiers?" Zolotov questioned.
"Presumed to be around 30,000 Saderan combatants left over from the battle, in addition to militia risen from the city. In total anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 combatants, sir."
"More than a hundred times as many men as we do..." He silently comtemplated the issue for a moment before nodding for his aide to continue.
The man cleared his throat. "Reports from GRU operatives suggest that the enemy is preparing to use a form of guerilla warfare and is willing to use the civilian population to blend in. It is also confirmed there are no captured Russian civilians in the area. The heavily urbanized city will present problems for our forces however, we estimate potential casualties to be less than fifty."
"Too many..." Zolotov muttered to himself.
"As a result of the high population, in addition to our reconnaissance team reporting the city to be home to a major temple of the local religion, artillery will have to be restricted from firing directly into the city."
The Lieutenant Colonel snapped his head up at that. "And precisely why we can't use our full strength against them?"
The aide stumbled on his words. "W-well, uh... the temple is a culturaal location and the massive potential civilian cas-."
He was cut off by Zolotov. "Did you fight in Chechnya?"
"N-no, sir." He muttered out while taking a sudden interest in his boots.
"Of course not, you'd have been just a child then." He paused to look over the city. "My first battle was at Grozny. An utter disaster and one of Russia's worst failures."
The aide tried to speak up. "Sir, I-."
"We went into Gronzy overconfident and expecting the Chechens to roll over like beaten dogs. Instead, we lost hundreds of soldiers to a force less equipped than us but determined to fight to the last man." Zolotov sighed deeply. "I will not be making that mistake here."
The aide nodded slowly. "What are your orders then, sir?"
"Give the civilians twenty-four hours to evacuate the city and surrender to our forces, that any who remain will be considered active combatants. As soon as the deadline is up, have the artillery and air support bombard the city."
The aide nodded. "Understood, sir."
"If ten-thousand of these Roman lookalikes have to die in order to prevent the death of one Russian, then so be it." The aide saluted and went to deliver Zolotov's orders.
Hundreds of kilograms worth of explosives were being dropped onto Bellnahgo. Yesterday, thousands of civilians had fled the city upon hearing the Russian ultimatum. Viktor himself had helped deliver it.
"Persons who stay in the city will be considered terrorists and bandits and will be destroyed by artillery and aviation. There will be no further negotiations."
It was a harsh ultimatum, requiring civilians to leave anything they couldn't carry behind them and their flee their homes, but Viktor thought it was fair. The alternatives were to either bombard civilians or risk Russian lives, this option was clearly the best. Still, it was estimated that around half the civilians had refused to evacuate their homes.
What had followed was three days of constant artillery barrages and aerial bombing.
From what Viktor could see from inside his BTR, the city was in ruins. White phosphorus shells had been incredibly effective at burning down the wooden slums that Bellnahgo's south end was comprised of. The stone buildings in the wealthier areas were now blown out husks of what they had previously been. Walls and arches stood where full buildings had once been, Viktor doubted anyone could live their anymore.
The great walls that defended Bellnahgo had been specifically targeted. Artillery made short work of them, reducing entire sections into dust. They couldn't protect Bellnahgo against this threat.
The Temple of Hardy, once a majestic and beautiful building, was now nothing more than a rubble. Two days ago, a bomb was dropped directly onto it. Where it was by accident or on purpose, Viktor didn't know. All he knew was that it certainly could never be repaired.
Caelia had watched the destruction over the past three days in silence. Viktor supposed that this was one way to show off the incredible power of modern weaponry to her. He could only guess at what she thought of it.
Bellnahgo was no longer the city it had been. Viktor knew that the infantry would be moving in to mop up any resistance and secure the city any minute now. They'd been put on standby until the last shells and bombs were dropped.
Despite the utter destruction that had been delivered to Bellnahgo, Viktor knew that they'd still find resistance inside. No matter how well destroyed something was, a determined defender could always find somewhere to endure the destruction. While their defenses may be in shambles and thousands maybe dead, Viktor was certain they'd still be up for a tough fight.
Caelia was also going to be coming with them. While Viktor initially didn't want her to accompany their assault, she had insisted that she needed to be with them. Viktor wasn't in any mood to argue. He just hopped she didn't herself or anyone else killed.
"All motor rifle squads, commence the assault! Repeat, all motor rifle squads, commence the assault!" Viktor radio crackled with his new orders.
"Ready to kill some Roman bastards?!" He asked his squad.
"Yes, sergeant!" They said together.
"Driver, advance onto the city!"
The BTRs rolled forward together. As they approached the ruined walls, Viktor saw arrows come down on their vehicle from an unknown source. The arrows did nothing to the reinforced armor, but he knew they'd have to be careful once they dismounted.
Viktor could see the ruined buildings get closer as they approached Bellnahgo's city streets. They wouldn't be able to risk staying inside the BTR once they got there, infantry was needed on the ground to prevent against ambushes.
"Alright! When we dismount, go to either side of the road and follow the BTR as it moves! Do not expose yourself, move from cover to cover and keep a lookout for the enemy!"
The armored vehicle suddenly lurched to a stop.
"Dismount!" The hatches on the BTR opened up and Viktor's squad began to head into the open. "What are you waiting for?! Move! Move! Move!"
Caelia looked disorientated as the squad left the BTR. There wasn't any time to explain what was going on, Viktor dragged her out of the vehicle.
"Come on, come on!" Viktor headed towards the side of the street with Caelia being pulled along with him.
Gunfire immediately started as men opened fire on the Saderan soldiers coming from hiding spots in the ruins of buildings. Viktor had to let Caelia go in order to bring his rifle up. He fired a two-round burst into an imperial archer.
"Come on, keep moving! Follow the BTR!" He shouted at the Russians who'd taken cover.
Viktor ran forwards to the edge of a building. An arrow whizzed past his cover half a second later.
Breathing in, he popped his head out from behind the structure and spotted a man with a crossbow reloading. Two bullets to the chest put an end to him.
Viktor let his squad catch up to him as they followed the BTRs moving down the street. Caelia was blindly following them, disorientated by the gunfire and explosions.
They approached an intersection. Leading from the front, Viktor took position against the corner of a building that lead into the adjoining road. He could hear someone moving.
Acting on instincts and adrenaline, Viktor turned the corner and took aim. Two blurry figures met his view. He fired a burst into each of them.
Moments later, his vision cleared, revealing an elderly couple.
Fuck...
There wasn't anytime to feel guilty, he had to keep moving.
The BTRs continued on their path towards the ruins of the Temple of Hardy. Viktor followed, with his squad providing cover.
The ruins came into sight. Immediately, a wave of Saderan soldiers came from the nearby buildings. They charged at close range and engaged another squad in melee combat.
"Viktor ran to Demian. "Get to cover and watch for any incoming men! Understand?!"
"Yes, sergeant!"
"Kilment, Alina, Caelia, come with me! The rest of you, follow Demian!"
Viktor led his group to the engaged squad. They got to close range then began shooting Imperials that were attacking Russian soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.
Advancing into the melee, Viktor put two rounds into the side of a Saderan grappling with a Russian soldier. He moved forward and shot another enemy charging at him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Viktor could see Caelia finally snapping out of her daze. She was in her element here, using her large sword to cleave through Imperial like butter. She cut through four men in the time it took Viktor to shoot his two.
Viktor fired a burst into the last Imperial; a young man that had tried to stab Caelia in the back, then he turned to the other squad. He grabbed one of the soldiers they'd saved. "Tell your squad leader to keep advancing and watch the buildings!"
The man nodded and Viktor ran back to Demian with his group. He was about to tell him to advance when several arrows flew past their heads.
"Get to cover!"
More arrows followed and plinked against the pieces of rubble Viktor had hid himself behind. He looked around for the source. Viktor spotted at least ten men on the upper balcony of a partially intact building.
"Up there!" He pointed at the Imperials. "Give me suppressive fire!"
Igor immediately opened up with his RPK-74M. A stream of bullets flew at the balcony, forcing the men there to take cover from his fire. Seeing this, Viktor stood. "Caelia, Alina, with me!"
The two women followed him as he ran towards the building's bottom floor. Kicking open the door, the three of them cleared the bottom floor. Viktor headed for the stairs, rifle pointed up.
Emerging on the second floor, Viktor was immediately charged by one of the Imperials. He put two bullets into the man's torso but the Imperial didn't stop. Viktor found himself against a wall as the bleeding man tried to stab him with a short sword.
Caelia came to his rescue. She thrust her longsword into the back of Viktor's assailant, killing the man. Meanwhile, Alina sprayed down the remaining Imperials with her Kalashnikov.
Viktor let out a sigh of relief and radioed back to Demian. "Building is clear! Cease fire!"
The sound of Igor's RPK firing halted and bullets stopped impacting the house. Signaling Alina and Caelia, Viktor headed out of the building to rejoin the rest of the squad.
The Russian forces finally reached their objective at the Temple of Hardy.
Due to the large amount of rubble, the BTRs had to remain behind while the infantry secured the temple.
There was very little in terms of a standing structure remaining. A few pillars were intact and part of the wall was still standing. Beyond that, the regal temple that had once stood was gone.
Viktor had his squad take defensive positions, along with several other squads while they awaited further orders. He rubbed his face, feeling the dirt and grime on it. Viktor's squad had taken no casualties so far and the other squads had only a few minor wounds.
This had gone much better than he thought it'd go. They managed to take their objective in record time, despite fierce enemy resistance.
He thought back to the elderly couple. Viktor had been in such a hurry that didn't have time to feel regret, now it came at him in full force. Shooting the elderly...
He shook his head. They gave the civilians ample enough time to evacuate, they were told what would happen if they didn't leave. It wasn't his fault, the Saderans probably left them there on purpose, to use them as human shields. Viktor did nothing wrong, at least that's what he told himself.
Suddenly, a loud crunch drew his attention away from his thoughts. Two more loud crunches followed the initial one. Is something collapsing?
"Holy fuck!" Viktor snapped his head towards Kilment's voice.
"It's a giant!" Alina shouted.
Viktor saw what they were yelling about. A massive humanoid creature broke through a line of nearby houses. It was outfitted with metal armor and carried a giant club. The monster stomped towards them.
"Start shooting the fucking thing!" Viktor snapped the Russian soldiers out of their amazement.
Hundreds of bullets immediately started flying at the giant. The monster roared at them and kept stomping forward, ignoring the multiple bullets flying at it. Regular Imperial soldiers follow in the path of the ogre, charging forward. Viktor knew they wouldn't last long with the current strategy.
"Everyone, aim at the humans! Kilment, Sergei, get over here!"
Small arms fire was redirected away from the giant and towards the regular soldiers, cutting down their charge. The monster kept coming.
Kilment and Sergei made it to Viktor's position. "I want you to put a rocket right into that bastard's face! Understand?!" He yelled into Kilment's face.
"Yes, sergeant!" Kilment replied as he unslung his RPG. He loaded a HEAT round into the launcher while Sergei checked the surrounding area. The giant was getting close enough that a few soldiers had to abandon their position and run.
"Clear to fire!" Sergei yelled.
"Firing!" Kilment shouted.
The HEAT round flew through the air at an incredible speed. It missed the ogre's head and instead impacted its shoulder, tearing the limb off.
"Fuck! Reload!" Sergei handed another rocket to Kilment who loaded it. The monster seemed to be extremely mad and it started to rush at the grenadier team.
"Clear to fire!" Sergei repeated with a hint of fear in his voice.
"Firing!" Kilment let loose the rocket, sending it flying towards the giant's face.
It didn't miss.
Impacting its forehead, the giant fell backwards onto the ground. The upper portion of the head was obliterated by the RPG, killing it instantly. Remaining Imperial soldiers watched their greatest weapon die.
The effect was immediate. Soldiers threw down their swords and spears, raising their hands into the air. The battle was over.
Viktor let out a sigh of relief.
Reviews:
kasrkinsquadtrooper: Oh, I see.
Thank you!
This story didn't made by me but to the original author.
Maroon567: I never read the light novel and only watched the anime version, but I do get what you were saying.
The politicians are idiots in the Gate series, especially that woman who wanted to frame the JSDF for whatever reason. No sane politician would sell their own citizens for give immunity for an enemy that only wants to kill and enslave.
All news outlets, even in real life, choose whatever leader as long as it suits to their interests or money. In a certain episode of Gate Season 2, a reporter said to the girl (whom the JSDF rescued not long) that the news media don't care if its true or not, only for the business.
That's fine bro. Just let it all out. :)
I only fixed spellings and grammars, which I said on the first chapter, and add/replace some new words but that's it.
Arms Dealer: Thanks for the suggestion! :)