A Furious Charge! Attack of the Huszár!
Nagano Prefecture - hilltop settlement - 12.40h Sunday
With the Panzer IV slowly creeping forward from its vantage point Miho was scanning her immediate surroundings in order to make sure that Tarczay had not left an unpleasant surprise behind for them. "Hmm," she said as she turned to have a look across her shoulder, "It looks like the area is clear."
Parked some fifty meters behind her tank was Hippo's StuG III having taken up an ambush position with the plan being that the Panzer IV would lure enemy tanks into its field of fire but much to the dismay of its crew the enemy had not pushed the attack.
"Why do you think they didn't push, Miporin?" Saori asked the question as she emerged from her hatch, still wondering why their opponents had made the decision to pull back.
Not looking down from her position, Miho was also pondering on that question as well. Although having been caught in an ambush and losing two tanks, Tarczay still was holding the tactical advantage by simply having more tanks, they could have simply made an aggressive push in order to clear Miho from her position and seize the hilltop settlement.
And for a moment it almost seemed as if that was what Tarczay was going to do. But as abruptly the lone tank was moving to flank her, it had stopped its attack before Hippo could even draw a beat to it.
"I think that something must have spooked them," Miho said in return, having come to a conclusion, "Something that must have given them enough reason not to push with the advance. I just hope that Anteater and Turtle weren't spotted when they were relocating."
"So what should we do next?"
"If possible I'd like to go after Tarczay while they're on the run, if they are still in a state of retreat when we catch up with them we might be able to turn it into a rout," she gave her answer although she was not entirely sure if they could pull it off as it was going to be a risky move. "Still, given how it played out I'm glad that I didn't give the order to Duck to try and get into the rear of their lines. Tarczay pulled back a lot sooner than I thought they would."
The ambush had not entirely gone as she had hoped that it would, she had been hoping that they could have pulled the opposing team further into the settlement and into Hippo who had been lying in wait only to follow it up by having Anteater and Turtle hit the column in the rear.
"It's a shame that we weren't able to fully execute your plan, Miho-san," Hana made a mention of it, "It would have been nice of them if they had been so kind to take the bait. If only they had been a bit more aggressive, such a shame." Making it obvious to the others inside the turret that the graceful-looking girl was actually somewhat disappointed about the fact that she had only been given the opportunity to knock out two enemy tanks.
Quickly looking the other way the two girls at the front of the hull did not dare to utter a remark, fearing that they would attract the black-haired girl's fury. Hana could be downright scary at certain moments, and this was one of those rare occasions.
Ignoring what was transpiring inside the confines of the turret Miho went back up her cupola as she needed a moment to think about what her next move was going to be, going after Tarczay while they were still in full retreat was the preferable course of action but without additional information where they were heading it could proof to be rather risky.
"Saori-san, could you contact Anteater and Turtle for me? Tell them to rendezvous with us." Relaying her order to her radio-operator Miho was confident that the ginger-haired girl would inform the other crews of what was to be expected of them.
Looking over her shoulder as the clattering of a tank track could be heard coming from behind her she noted that it was Hippo coming to link up with them.
"So Nishizumi-dono, what are we going to do about Mallard and Rabbit? We still haven't been able to contact either of them." Yukari brought up the second most obvious issue that they needed to address. "I don't like it that we haven't heard anything from them all this time."
Miho nodded before voicing her opinion about the matter, the tone of her voice giving away her concern. "I don't like it either. I agree with you that we need to do something but at the moment I'm worried that our options are rather narrow. We haven't heard from them, we have no idea where they could have gone, and Saori-san hasn't been able to reach either of them on the phone." The lack of any contact with either of the two missing tanks was something that was still troubling her, letting out a deep exasperated sigh Miho was feeling a twinge of guilt for not being able to do more to find her missing teammates.
"Nishizumi-dono?" Yukari asked the question when turned around and saw the troubled expression on her friend's face and it worried her, "Are you alright? Maybe you want to get some rest?"
Shaking her head the other girl said, "I'm okay, Yukari-san. Still, thank you for worrying about me. It's not good that we've not heard from them but they're both good crews, they'll be fine. I know that even we can contact each other that they're doing their best to find us."
Miho began to smile as she spoke, "We're going to find them, or they'll find us. Either way, we'll meet up with each other soon. I know that this is going to happen; I know it because I can feel in my heart. They're with us, even now."
Listening to what her friend was saying Yukari could feel herself being moved a little by the words of inspiration, it was enough to convince her that their absent teammates were not lost.
The other girls were also nodding their heads in agreement with the words just spoken, for them it only made sense to them. And besides, it was not like their missing companions would want for them to keep moping about it, they could likely expect a fierce reminder that they still had a match to win.
After a while, the rumble of engines could be heard coming from up ahead and just as the crew of Anglerfish turned to have a better look to see who it was the familiar shapes of both Anteater and Turtle appeared from around a building. "Ah, it's Anteater and Turtle. They're back."
"So, I guess that means we'll be going after them, right Miporin?"
Miho was not responding to the question asked of her, her mind currently being occupied by the map she was holding. Her fingers darting across it surfaces Miho was contemplating a change in her plan, if she was reading the map correctly there would be a more suitable location for her to continue and hopefully finish the match against Tarczay. But it would also pose some risks, there was still a lot that could go wrong.
"This could work, we've fought in such areas before so we have some experience with it," she said to nobody, unaware that the others could actually hear her, "The only question really is if we can make it there before they can figure out what we're trying to do. If we can get there first our chances of winning will be far higher. It should also help us negate their advantage in numbers. Hmmm… huh?"
Becoming suddenly aware of the awkward silence that had been settling inside the confines of the tank as well as the curious glares she was getting from the other four girls Miho just froze on the spot.
Letting out a nervous laugh she made an innocent-sounding question. "… Uh, is something wrong? Ehm, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Miho-san," Hana said, her words as kind and sincere as they could be, "But you were, how do I say it, a little absent-minded."
"Huh?"
"Miporin, just now you were kinda like Yukarin when she sees a rare tank. No, really. I'm serious."
"W-What?"
"Don't worry Nishizumi-dono! I won't tell anybody about this, I promise! Your secret's safe with me!"
"H-H-Huh!?"
"Oh my."
"Yukarin! Don't give her any crazy ideas! Miporin, don't listen to her."
"T-Takebe-dono?!"
"…..."
Abstaining from any remarks as she was viewing it as too easy, the driver did little other than to shake her head in disapproval at what was transpiring behind her back.
And then, all of a sudden, everybody inside began laughing out loud at the awkwardness that mere moments ago had been happening within the confines of the tank's armored hull. It was likely for the best that what had transpired had been reserved to just Anglerfish's crew. if any of the others had been privy to it who knows what their reaction would have been.
Enjoying the laughter together with her friends Miho was already feeling a lot better, even though her friends had been making a little fun of her but it had not been with any ill-intent. Instead, her friends had done it to lighten the mood a little and to help her ease her mind a little. Something that she herself was also in need of, ever since the start of the match something had been eating at her and the loss of several teams early one had done nothing to alleviate it. But this had, laughing with her friends over something silly.
Taking in a deep breath in order to steady herself, Miho was making use of the moment so she could order her thoughts before she was going to address the whole team and inform them of her intent. She had already been thinking about the next plan but it was all going to depend on whether or not Duck would be able to find their opponents and perform the role she had in mind for them.
"Attention," Miho said, clipping the throat-microphone between her fingers, before addressing those remaining tanks of the team. "We've had a rough start in this match but this is the moment that we're going to turn it around. From here on we'll be the ones going on the offensive. I know that our opponents haven't been making it easy for us, we've lost Leopon and we're still missing Mallard and Rabbit."
Letting those words sink in Miho was allowing the other crews to have a moment to look back at how this match had been going for them.
"But now we are going to fight back. We've shown them others what we're capable of. We're going to find our missing comrades and we're going to win this match to prove that their accusations are unfounded! I know that this isn't going to be easy but that isn't going to stop us! For us, it's never been easy but that hasn't stopped us before!"
The other four girls inside the tank were nodding their heads in agreement; the words that Miho was addressing to each and every single one of them were reverberating in their minds, her words igniting the fire in their hearts.
"Understood, Commander," came the reply from Momo, her answer setting off a raucous clamor of affirmations from the other crews. "You understand what this all means! We won't tolerate losing to them! Now let's go and repay the favor!"
"Alright then," Miho replied in acknowledgement of that, "Everybody! Panzer Vor!"
Nagano Prefecture - unknown location - 12.55h Sunday
The sensation of a throbbing pain at the front of her head was the impetus for Azusa's rise from her slumber, slowly opening her eyes her vision was just a blur of hazy images in front of her.
"… W-Where… we…?" A few garbled words were all that could escape from her lips, bringing up her right hand she rubbed her face in an effort to clear her vision but to little effect. She had no idea what had happened or how she had ended up in this situation.
Inside the now inoperable vehicle, a few mumbled groans gave away the disgruntled state of the tank's crew, the trio of enemy vehicles had not exactly been gentle with their fire and that last hit had been particularly nasty. Clutching her head between her knees Azusa felt like she was about to throw up as a nauseating sense washed over her. "I guess… that's it… for us…" she breathed underneath her teeth, a throbbing sensation at the front of her head causing her to want to close her eyes and grab some rest.
Looking around her again she was wondering how her fellow crew was feeling. "… A-Aya… Ayumi… Karina…?" she called out the first names that came to mind, "… S-Saki… Yuuki… a-anybody…?"
"…H-Here…" A soft response came from somewhere in front of her and reaching out with trembling hands Azusa was relieved when she felt that there was somebody in front of her.
"It's me…" the twin-tailed girl said in response, making the occasional cough, "…T-They got us pretty good didn't they?"
Gently nodding her head Azusa just responded with a soft sounding, "…Y-Yeah…" It was slowly starting to get back to her; they had been in a fight with several of the enemies' assault guns, she could recall that Mallard had gotten knocked out trying to shield them, and after that, they had been next.
Voices started to come from further into the hull and Azusa was starting to feel elated when it became clear that all of her crew, bar some bruises, were unharmed.
"Is anybody hurt? Are all of you alright?" Azusa began to ask as she wanted to make sure that her friends were alright, "Please let me know if you're not feeling well or if it hurts. I'm going to grab the first aid kit."
"I'm fine," Ayumi said in return, "I just got a little headache and some bruises on my shoulder when I hit the hull but otherwise I'm fine…" Even though she was claiming that she was feeling fine it was obvious something was troubling her. "… So… what we'll do next?"
"What do you mean next? What is there left for us to do until they come to pick us up? We got knocked out." Aya was quick to give an obvious answer to the recent question. "Besides, I'm tired…"
"… Yeah…" Karina mentioned underneath her breath, like the other girls inside the tank she was worn out from exhaustion and her body was feeling heavy after everything that had happened to them. "… I just… want to go home…"
The others all nodded their heads in agreement to that, as far as they were concerned this match was over, they had done their job to the best of their abilities.
"… Still… this isn't… how I imagined…" Azusa fell silent, her shoulders dropping to emphasize her demeanor, as she was thinking back about this match and how it had ended for them. She could not deny that she was disappointed in how it had ended for her. '… T-T-This… was supposed to be… my first…m-match…as…the… vice-commander… I-I-I…'
Burying her head in the palms of hands she was thinking how terrible she was feeling as that thought was sinking in with her. 'I've messed up… that we ended up like this… is my fault. I guess she must be disappointed with me.' It was a depressing thought.
Having been silent all this time Saki was just eyeing her fellow tanker closely before she would lean towards Azusa and give her a tap on the shoulder to let her know that it was alright, that there was no reason for her to feel depressed about what had happened.
Looking back at the other girl with tear-stained eyes Azusa just gently nodded her head in response and although she still could not shake the unpleasant feeling she was starting to feel a little better.
"I need to take my responsibility, right? That's what you're saying, aren't you Saki-chan?"
The silent girl didn't respond with words but with a simple nod which was all the answer that Azusa would need. The girl was right, now was not the time to be moping around, at least that was not what her captain would be doing at a time like this. No, now was the time for a commander to show their worth, she was the vice-commander and her captain would have not have given her that honor if she did not believe that Azusa would be up to the task.
Deep inside her own thoughts, she did not hear at first when one of the other girls was calling out to her.
"… Hey… Azusa, is it okay if I were to go outside and have a look to see how bad it is?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" At first, Azusa was caught unaware by that question as she did not fully understand what her friend and fellow tanker was asking, least of all because she was under the impression that their vehicle must have been knocked out. Then again, it would likely not hurt to get an idea of how bad it really was.
Karina hinted to one of the hatches before she gave her explanation, "I think it's better if we go and see in what shape the tank is… it took some beating."
"… Oh yeah…" Azusa said in return as she found herself agreeing with that, after what had happened she did not doubt for a second that their tank was likely to be in terrible shape. "To be honest, I really don't want to know how bad it is… I just don't…"
Karina could do little but sigh in response to that, she was not all that keen on going outside either. She was tired and exhausted, the last thing on her mind was to try and fix the damage their tank had sustained.
Yuuki also chimed in, her comment doing little to improve the collective mood, "You really think it's that bad? I think it could've been a lot worse."
Letting out a disgruntled moan Aya took off her glasses, offering a silent prayer for the fact that her glasses were still intact. "Thank goodness for that, I didn't bring a spare with me…"
"Even so… we really need to check up on the tank," Ayumi remarked began she reached out for the hatch behind her and opened it. "So, are any of you coming? It's not going to fix itself you know."
"You're right," Azusa whispered from her spot in the turret, "Alright everybody, we need to inspect the tank. Let's go outside and see how bad it is. Besides, we could do with some fresh air."
Nagano Prefecture - hilltop settlement - 12.55h Sunday
"Right, I'll inform her about it." Taeko could be heard responding to the radio message they had just received and from what the rest of the crew had been able to put together it had seemed that their team had managed to strike back at their opponents, taking out two of their tanks and driving them back.
Following their loss, the opposing team had made for a speedy withdrawal but after that, they had lost contact with them, and that is where their orders came in, they were to go and find Tarczay and make note of their positions. After that would come the crazy part of Miho's plan.
"That's a lot easier said than done, the last time we got chased off by those Toldis. Those were pretty vicious you know," Noriko was the one to voice her concerns, it was not that she was opposed to doing some reconnaissance but she was not all that keen on having another run-in with a large group of light enemy tanks.
"Yeah, they make it pretty hard to do any kind of recon," Akebi briefly said as she was in agreement with the difficulty of doing their job although she could not deny that there was a certain excitement about the challenge of it.
Pulling up a map Noriko was having a long thought about where would be the best place to go looking for their opponents; obviously, the first place would be further up the road that they had used to get away from the settlement. "There seems to a junction some distance up ahead, and a bit further than that there is the old rail yard that the captain spoke off. I can see why she wants us to lure them to that place. We'd need to hurry though if we want to get there before they do."
"Alright. Let's get going!" Shinobu replied as she shifted gears and got the tank moving, they had a good amount of ground to cover so she figured it would be best if they were to be on their way as quickly as would be possible. "It might get a little rough on the way there."
"I'll go and make sure that the coast is clear, the last thing we want to is to run into them," Noriko said as she acknowledged her driver's desire to get at the target location at the earliest opportunity although she was more concerned with getting there unnoticed.
They had been enjoying a steady advance for close to twenty minutes when up ahead there was a clearing that they would need to cross, seeing it the commander was quick to inform her driver to be a little more cautious with gunning the engine as she did not want to give away their presence. "Let me have a look, I'll let you know if it's clear."
Bringing up her binoculars and scanning their surroundings Noriko was for the time being satisfied that the area was devoid of any opposition and that they could advance. "Alright, everything looks to be clear. I can't see any tanks here. Shinobu, you're clear to get us across as qui-." She was cut off when the sharp crack of a gun whipped through the air.
"Ah crap!" Noriko exclaimed as she barely had time to duck inside the safety of the tank's armored hull before the shells start flying, churning up the ground around them as a furious barrage was unleashed upon the hapless Duck.
"It's them again!" she shouted to her fellow crewmates as she spotted a group of Toldis rushing towards her at great speed, seems like they had finally caught up with them and there was no doubt in her mind that these wanted to finished what they had started. "Akebi, get on the gun, take the shot if you got the opportunity."
There was still some distance between them and the Toldis coming after them which meant that the ones with the smaller gun were not much of a threat at the moment, the same could sadly not be said about the few that carried an obviously bigger weapon. "Prioritize those first," she said as she pointed at the ones that she viewed as being the greater threat.
"Taeko, get the captain on the radio. Tell them that we're going to act as bait and try to lure them towards that old rail yard!"
"Will do."
"And tell them to be ready for anything as I don't know if we'll be able to make it," Noriko was quick to add to her order as she was under no illusion that they had been lucky the first time, this time it could be very different as there was no telling if the other remaining Tarczay tanks might not decide and come their way.
Gritting her teeth Noriko was becoming aware that they were going to have to play a dangerous game with the enemy tanks, they had to keep a certain distance between themselves and the pursuing tanks, enough to keep them interested but far away so that they could get away in case things would go sour. They would have to thread a needle, but one way or another, this match was going end sooner than later.
"Shinobu gun the engine for what it's worth. Use whatever cover you can get between them and us, we can't afford to get hit, at all!"
Her driver nodded as she was about to affirm her commander's order when her eyes turned wide, "Shit! Hold on!"
The abrupt change to its direction of travel as the tank lurched violently to its side was almost enough to fling Noriko out of the cupola, holding on for dear life she the brunette found herself silently cursing her driver for pulling such a reckless stunt without warning.
"Damn, that was close," she whispered underneath her breath, already her knees were trembling from the experience, "What were you thinking Shinobu?! What were you trying to pull?!"
"One of them of them just tried to ram us!" the driver shot back at her commander, letting said girl know exactly what the reason had been for her sudden and violent maneuver. "Didn't you see that one coming right for us?! If I hadn't thrown the tank around we'd be done for!"
"I..." Noriko didn't say another word, a sense of shame washing over her as the realization of what her driver was saying sank in with her. Feeling embarrassed about not having caught sight of the offending tank she made a quick apology to her driver. "…I'm sorry. You're right, you did the right thing. It's my fault."
"It's okay."
Still clutching the trigger Akebi was anxious to learn what their next move was going to be. "They seem to be getting aggressive, don't you think? The way that those light tanks are coming for us, doesn't it make you think that they are pretty mad at us?"
"Yeah," Noriko said as she acknowledged her gunner's observation, there was an unmistakable aggression to the movements of the enemy light tanks, with the way that some of them were rushing towards she might even say they were getting reckless. "Just make sure to fire at any of them that dare to get to close to us!"
Outside the armored hull she could clearly make out the noise of automatic weapons fire and shells exploding, it was obvious that their opponents were serious about taking them down. "I just hope that we'll last long enough to lure them to the others…"
Risking another look over the edge of the cupola she caught sight of more tanks joining the group that was already chasing them, and as she squinted she could tell that these were something bigger and heavier than the Toldis.
"Okay new plan! Tell the captain that we're heading towards that old rail yard! And that we got company!" she cried out as the shells began to fly.
Nagano Prefecture - unknown location - 13.45h Sunday
"Well, that's gotta do it for now," Karina let out as she wiped off some of the sweat from her forehead before she would turn to face Azusa and make a report, "I think the track is going to hold but I don't know for how long, we've replaced the broken links and pins that we could with the few spares we were carrying but the damaged ones are… well…"
Nodding her head Azusa understood what her driver was telling her, the track had simply sustained far too much damage and it was only a matter of time before it would snap for good.
"You did what you could, there's nothing else anybody could've done," she said as she was letting the other girls know that they did all that they could have done in order to get the tank running again.
"Still, you've got to admit that it's pretty weird that that last shot didn't set off our flag," Aya made the same remark she had made whenever she had a look at the damaged sections of their tank, "Why didn't it trigger the flag?"
"… I… don't know, maybe it didn't hit us properly. Or maybe the system got damaged after those hits? Who knows," Azusa said in return, the brunette not really having an answer that could explain the burning question that was on their minds. Having let out a deep sigh she said, "… Even then, we got beat up pretty good. The engine's only running on half its cylinders, both our tracks are hanging on by a thread, the turret is jammed and the radio has given out completely."
"… Yeah… we're kinda in trouble… aren't we?"
Nobody could say a word in return to that question, they all knew just how terrible their situation was, they had no means of communicating with anybody and there was no telling if their tank could even get them out of these forests. And to make matters even worse, they were completely and utterly lost.
Ayumi was the one who broke the silence as she asked the obvious question, "So what are we going to do? Where should we even go to? We don't have a clue about where we are."
"Maybe we should just stay here and wait for the officials to come and pick us up," making a suggestion Yuuki wasn't entirely sure if that would be the right thing for them to do but at the moment it was really the only thing that she could come up with that made any sense.
"Yeah… maybe it's better if we did," Aya gave voice to her agreement with that suggestion.
"You want us to abandon the others?" Came the question from Azusa, the brunette reacting to suggestion as if it had been an inappropriate one, to her it was something that she found unacceptable as she knew that the rest of the team was likely still counting on them. "We can't quit just like that! What would the others say? What would the captain say?"
"Why shouldn't we?" Ayumi asked in return, shrugging her shoulders as she did, "I mean it's not like we're the most experienced crew nor have the meanest tank of the team. Do you really think that us staying here would make a big difference for the team, Azusa?"
"… I…" Taking a step back Azusa found herself at a loss for words, sure it was true what the other girl had said, she could not deny any of it but in her heart, it still felt wrong to just quite. This did not feel right to her, it did not sit well, and this was not what the captain would do. "… I-It's not the right thing to do… to just quit like this…"
The young leader of Rabbit let out an exasperated sigh, as much as she was looking against it she was the one who was going to need to make the difficult decision here. She was the tank's commander, and as such, the burden of leadership fell upon her shoulders. There was no doubt in her mind that some of her crew might come to resent the decision she was about to make but it was a decision that would need to be taken.
"How do you plan on going to fight our opponents? Our tank's been busted; we can barely drive with it. The sights for the hull gun are all messed up and the turret is jammed so we can barely make use of that gun as well." Expressing her concerns given the current state of their tank and the prospect of having to face their opponents Ayumi was vocal about not wanting to go back. As far as she was concerned it would be better for them to stay here instead of going on some wild goose chase.
Azusa did acknowledge the girl's concerns but that was not going to change her opinion, deep inside her heart, she could feel that going back to help their team was the right thing to do. That said she was not entirely confident in her ability to convince her fellow tankers that it was, not that she could blame anything of them for wanting to stay here as their opponents were strong and very driven to see Ooarai be defeated.
"Azusa-chan, you want to go and help the team, don't you?" Aya was the one to ask the question that was at the front of their minds. "You want to go and help the captain, am I right?"
"… I do…"
Nagano Prefecture - approach to derelict rail yard - 14.15h Sunday
"You're telling me you lost them?! How could you lose sight of that piece of junk?! It's a freaking Type-89!" Paprika was ranting and raving across the radio in response to the news that the lead Toldis had lost sight of the Type-89 they have been giving chase. To say that it had a profound impact on her mood would be an understatement.
"I can't believe it! I warned Tokaji about this! I told that idiot to not lose sight of it! How could she?!" Her fists were trembling, her foot tapping against the floor. She was beside herself with anger and disappointment, to think that this was happening right after a plan of attack had been formulated by her commander involving all of their armor in a two-pronged assault from both directions.
Having arrived from the eastern approach to the rail yard Paprika's group of Turáns was moving slowly, side by side, as they were carefully approaching the switch house from behind. Half of the Toldis had also been allocated to Paprika's group in order to increase their numbers although the team's heavy hitters were with the other group led by Goulash.
The biggest gun her group had was a short-barreled 75mm armed Turán II commanded by Palacsinta, not something that the red-haired girl was all too happy about. Having one of the Zrinyis would have been a lot better.
"Watch your surroundings! And pay attention to your damn flanks!"
Each tank gunner was keeping an eye on a different sector, scanning their surroundings for any potential threats but thus far the area was giving off the impression that it was devoid of any. And yet somewhere further ahead was the Ooarai tank that they had lost track off, lurking and waiting for them to come.
The tanks had barely edged over the first set of tracks when Palacsinta spotted trouble. "Tank!" she broadcasted the warning over the radio. "It's at one o'clock. Behind the station!"
"What?!"
Everyone halted, and inside her own tank Paprika rose up and swung her binoculars.
An enemy tank peeked out from behind the remains of the old train station across the tracks. Only a fraction of its frontal was visible, colored in a telling dark brown shade. Its gun, however, was pointing towards the ruined switch house, which would hopefully provide her group of tanks with an opening to land the first shot.
Csusza's main gun barked and recoiled back into the gun housing. Sparks leapt from the Ooarai tank downrange. Letting out a curse as her crew had only been able to deliver a glancing blow, and the enemy tank threw itself in reverse as it slipped from sight.
Profanity bemoaning the missed opportunity coursed over the airwaves, and then the chatter cut out abruptly.
The enemy tank was not alone.
A second enemy tank, this one colored in a tone of dark green, rolled forward from the same position, seeming eager to try its luck. But another one of the Turán Is was waiting for just the chance. The tank spat a length of flame as it rocked back on its heels. The tracer shell struck the enemy tank before it ricocheted skyward like a harmless flare- another strike that had failed to penetrate.
The second Ooarai tank began to pull back without firing a shot. Where it would relocate next was anyone's guess.
"Damn it!" spat Paprika as she slammed her fist against the armor next to her, "I can't believe it. We had two of them right in our sights! In our damn sights!"
Her gunner had seen enough, she was shaking her head. 'At least two enemy tanks here, as usual our shots bounced off.' If they were going to fire, they needed a weapon that could actually kill.
Exchanging a quick, concerned, look with her loader Csiga turned her attention back to her sight and began to look for possible targets but the area gave off the appearance of being deserted. That was something that she knew was wrong, there were others here, talking through the ruins in order to draw a beat to one of Tarczay's tanks, even know one of the Ooarai tanks might even have her tank in their sights at this very moment. It was a scary thought.
Paprika began to radio directions to the other tanks. But it was too late.
Somewhere from the front right came a green lance of tracer. One of the lighter Toldis that had been accompanying them shuddered as the clash of steel on steel rippled through the rail yard.
The sound of the punch had raised the hairs on the back of her Csiga's neck. A quick slap on her shoulder brought the gunner back to reality.
"Three o'clock!" Paprika shouted. The shot had come from the far end of the station.
Her gunner swung the gun farther to the right as fast as she could and took aim through the covered train platforms. The enemy tank that had fire had already vanished from sight. Csiga could feel a shiver run down her spine. 'They're good.'
"There! There are the bastards! Shoot! Shoot them!" Paprika yelled for all it was worth as she caught a glimpse of another one of Ooarai's tanks, wasting no time to let every other tank in her group know that it was time to open fire. "We've got you now! Everybody fire! Don't let it escape! Shoot!"
Directing her gunner towards the target, Paprika was observing their chosen target to make sure that it was not going to escape her. "Csiga, target that enemy tank. Aim for the sides! Distance, 100m. Fire!"
Pressing the trigger the girls inside the turret felt the violence of the shot as the breech went into full recoil before expelling its shell, the noise of it clattering as it hit the floor echoing throughout the metal confines of the tank.
Steam rose from the gun breech next to her before a smoking shell was expelled and could be heard clattering onto the floor. Their shot never found its target when it disappeared behind the railcars. One of the train carts shattered on impact, which sent a cloud of grey minerals skywards.
Other commanders were reporting muzzle flashes on the east side of the rail yard. In response to that, many of the Turáns and Toldis began firing blindly in that general direction. One crew turned back after a gun stoppage, another Toldi lurched to a stop after absorbing a heavy hit.
"All tanks advance!" Paprika was shouting into the radio, letting the other tanks of her group know that they were to cease firing and instead move to put some cover between themselves and their assailants. "Don't get baited into returning fire! Move!
Csiga was following the flight of the tracers as they would land in the buildings' shadows. With the shells pointing the way, she was taking aim at the gap between buildings but there was little point in firing without seeing the target.
The reticle was bouncing, which made it difficult to fix her arm. Accuracy was impossible with the tanks rolling forward over the rough terrain. "They really got us good there, this is gonna be a nasty fight," she whispered underneath her breath as she became aware of just how nasty it was going to be for them. "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this."
"Don't say that!" Paprika shot at her, seeming somewhat agitated by that remark, "You want us to lose? Don't you dare to tempt fate here! Don't you dare."
Csiga already had a reply to that. "This isn't gonna be as easy as we were told it was going to be. I know it, and you know it as well."
Paprika bit her lip as she had no answer to that, as much as she was loathed to admit it, deep inside she already knew that this match was not going their way and that their fight was only going to get harder.
"Stop! All tanks stop!"
On the other side of the rail yard, Goulash had been a bit more resolute with her approach into the area, but from the messages that she had gotten from Paprika's group it was clear that Ooarai had been able to get here before they had. "Damn you, Nishizumi. Damn you."
Pinching the bridge of her nose she turned her attention back to more pressing matters and the map that she was holding. Taking note of where Paprika's group had already made contact with their opponents she could tell that they were stuck on the outer edge of the rail yard. "Paprika's messed up, I can't believe that her group wasn't even abler to take out a single Type 89. And to think she's let Ooarai take out two of our Toldis, I'm going to have a few words about this with her and Tokaji after this match is done."
She was not in a good mood; to be honest, she was starting to get a little scared that their plan might not succeed. There had been euphoria after they had been able to take out Ooarai's heavy hitter and again with the knocking out of a further two more tanks despite the setback of having lost two of their Turáns.
She was acutely aware that her tank presented a priority target for Ooarai as her tank was carrying the flag, they would be coming for her the moment they realized that her tank was that important.
"This isn't good, they'll be trying to lure us deeper into the more built-up area," she said to nobody in particular as she began to ponder on how her opponent was going to exploit the area. "They still have all of their tank destroyers and those are likely going to be set up somewhere waiting to ambush us. And we don't have a tank with enough armor to withstand those; the lead tank is bound to be knocked out the moment it strays into their line of fire."
More tanks were idling behind her, their crews although eager for a fight were having some concerns about their opponents were able to claim another kill. That put them ahead with the number of kills that Tarczay had been able to claim thus far and there was a growing concern that a lot more of their own would be knocked out before this fight would be over.
Going up her cupola Goulash knew that fighting in built-up areas was not the best battlefield for tanks, especially ones that did not have sufficient armor or exceptional firepower. Their biggest guns were mounted on two of their Zrinyis, with their large-caliber guns they could easily reduce a building to rubble but their limited field of fire meant that they would be slow to react to any unexpected attack.
She was about to let out a troubling sigh when, without prior warning, from ahead and to the left, a green bolt rocketed into the formation at ground level. A violent strike of steel on steel sent Goulash ducking for cover. Down the line, an accompanying Toldi was stopped cold in its tracks.
The shot had been terrifyingly precise and shouts of alarms were filling Goulash's earphones.
"Dammit," she cursed underneath her breath as she got a report from the Toldi's crew that told her that their tank was disabled, Ooarai had just claimed their fifth kill. "Where are they hiding?!"
Other commanders were already scanning the area but nobody was able to locate where the shot had come from, none of them had been able to spot the enemy tank that had fired at them.
"We move forward. Galuska, you take the lead, you're tank has the most armor." She was informing the commander of their most powerful tank, the Turán III, to take point. It was a dangerous place for any armored vehicle to be but there was little other option. "Try and conserve your ammunition. Don't take the shot unless you have a valid target."
"Yes, commander."
Goulah's group would continue plowing forward, creeping ever deeper into the old rail yard. More green bolts, cracking like bullwhips, zipped through the ranks. A ricochet struck a tank and spun skyward with a wobbling noise.
"Keep up the advance, fire at anything that moves," Goulash was radioing her orders to the other tanks in her group, letting them know that they could fire at any target of opportunity.
Using their machine guns to lay down suppressive fire the tanks were making steady progress.
Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yard - 14.25h Sunday
Coming to a stuttering halt the small tank destroyer was no longer able to continue the fight; the small white flag that was gently moving in the wind gave a clear signal for all to see that it was done for.
"… Sorry Nishizumi-chan, but we got taken out," Anzu reported over the radio, letting the other girl that her vehicle was out of the match, "They're trying to force a breakthrough in our spot, this group definitely has the bigger guns with them. Also, be careful, they've got one with a long gun. Good luck."
"Thank you for everything you've done," Miho said in return, offering her gratitude for the fight that the crew of the Hetzer had given. She knew that it was not going to be easy as their opponents still outnumbered them but she had not anticipated that their opponents would group all of their bigger guns in a single group, in hindsight it should not have come as a surprise that this group would be the one to facilitate the breakthrough. "And I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Nishizumi-chan. You couldn't have foreseen this happening, don't worry about it~."
"Nishizumi!" The shrill sounding voice of Momo cracked in her earpiece. "I fully expect you to avenge us! Don't you dare lose to them! I won't forgive you if you do!"
Letting out a somewhat nervous sounding laugh in response to that Miho quickly shook those words from her mind as she had other things to worry about, right now their opponents had been able to claim another kill and with that, the second group was likely going to mop up the remaining two tanks opposing them. "Duck and Hippo are never going to manage that without any help."
She was left with a difficult choice to make, "I don't like where this is going but the group opposing us has ground to a halt. That might just give us the time we need but that means we need to leave now."
It was not an easy decision for her to make. "Anteater, please come with us. We'll go and reinforce the other group. Make sure that none of the enemy tanks see you leaving the area otherwise they might be on to our plan."
"Roger."
"Mako-san, try and keep the noise of the engine down as much as you can. I don't want to alert our opponents about what we're doing, the longer they believe that we're still here the better."
"Sure."
"Hana-san, Yukari-san, please pay close attention to our surroundings."
"Got it."
As her tank began moving Miho had another quick look at the map although by now it was of limited use as it contained no detailed information with regards to the layout of this rail yard. They would have to make do with it, clipping the throat-microphone between her fingers she spoke to her radio-operator, "Saori-san, please let Duck and Hippo know that we're coming to assist them. Let them know not to take any shots unless they absolutely have to. They mustn't let any of our opponents get a shot on them; we need to conserve our strength."
"Okay, Miporin."
Despite having just given her order Miho was not ignorant of the fact that should push come to shove, both Duck and Hippo would fiercely defend themselves but right now what she needed the most was for them to let the enemy group move in deeper into the area before they would ambush them.
Looking ahead of them Miho could see that they were fast approaching a junction, once they were across it they would be in a position to assist Duck and Hippo although the most recent report was somewhat troubling as Duck made mention that they had lost contact with the opposing group. As unfortunate as it was there was little they could do about it now.
"We'll need to go and see if we can find them, they couldn't have gone far," she said as she began to have a quick look at the map, there were plenty of roads that one could use although she had no doubt that many of these had likely been blocked off by debris over the years. "That won't leave them with many options; we should be able to find them quickly without too much effort."
Miho's only warning in what was about to unfold was the noise of engines roaring and clattering tracks coming ever closer, it was not something that would be out of order as she was expecting for the enemy tanks to be close by.
That close by would turn out to be a lot closer than she had bargained for as it almost came to a collision at the intersection. The noise that she had been hearing was starting to grow ever louder and the moment her tank crossed the street Miho spotted what she dreaded to see, rolling towards her was a tank she had only seen in photographs, its long-barreled gun pointing in their direction, its black muzzle hole seeming to be aimed for her.
What was worse, this tank was not alone, just behind it were even more tanks following its lead, it was Tarczay's second group. And this group was coming straight for them.
As surprised as Miho was to see them, but so were they, the lead Turán coming to an abrupt halt as the driver slammed the brakes hard. It was not difficult to imagine that its crew must have been surprised and confused about seeing Ooarai's Panzer IV appear in front of them at the intersection.
"Mako-san, floor it! Don't stop for anything! Just go!" Miho almost shouted the order, telling her driver to step on the gas and get them out of here, when she caught sight of a tank that she had not expected to encounter in this match and one that had completely caught her by surprise.
A loud crack signaled the other tank's gun having fired, no doubt its crew having recovered from their initial confusion, and inside the Panzer IV the crew could clearly feel it when the shot had narrowly missed them, pieces of dirt and stone clattering over the steel hull around them.
"Wow, I never thought I'd get the chance to see that one!" Yukari could only gasp in amazement as she caught a glimpse of the tank, this was a tank that even she knew little about, "I can't believe that they actually have one! Wow! This is so cool!"
"This isn't the time to be excited!" a somewhat distressed Saori shot back at the loader with a disapproving look, as now had to be one of the worst moments to be getting excited about a particular tank. "H-Hana, just shoot it! Otherwise, Yukarin isn't gonna stop!"
The driver did little other than just shake her head. "Pointless."
With its gun barrel still smoking the tank began to roll forward slowly, all the while its turret tracking them, its crew doing their best to keep Anglerfish firmly in the gunner's sight while the loader was frantically working a fresh shell into the breech.
The tank in question was a Turán III, a rare variant of the Turán that had traded in the short 75mm of its predecessor for a long-barreled 75mm gun that was easily on par with Anglerfish's main gun and made for a very dangerous opponent. This was a tank that they needed to be cautious with as even from the front this gun could knock them out.
"Don't let them get another shot at us," Miho shouted as she was observing the enemy's tank turning its turret, it was slower than she had initially guessed but that could work in their favor. Even so, her first priority now was to break contact as there was little point in fighting the enemy here. "Anteater, use your smoke charges and follow my lead! Make sure that you keep up with us!"
"Got it, nya!"
Both tanks fired fire off most of the smoke canisters that they had left, never having planned that they would have needed Miho had opted for bringing fewer of them than normal, in hindsight that had been an oversight on her part but there was little that could be done about it. They would have to do.
Trapped within the confines of the narrow road the vast white cloud was thick enough to obscure the view for every tank, denying anybody the notion of an aimed shot, but that was just what would provide both Anglerfish and Anteater with the opportunity to break contact with the Tarczay tanks and make good their escape.
"Mako-san, punch it!" she shouted before she could feel the engine roaring to life as the tank accelerated, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and their attackers, "Anteater, don't stop for anything. Follow me!"
To think that they would run right into the second group, Miho was counting herself lucky that they had been able to escape unscathed but it had not been entirely in vain. It had only been for a brief moment but she had at last been able to identify Tarczay's flag-tank, it was the one with the short-barreled gun and unless she was mistaken it was the tank that belonged to Tarczay's commander, the girl who had introduced herself as Goulash.
"Duck, Hippo, I'm sorry to say this but we had a run-in with the enemy group. It got close but I think we were able to give them the slip but I can't say for certain if we did. Luckily, I was able to confirm that the flag-tank is with them. We're now going to focus our attention on this group."
They had gotten pretty lucky, it had definitely been a close call but it had been worth it, knowing both the identity and location of the real target was going to be of immense help to them. That said it had also come at a price, their opponents would have surely spotted the flag on Anteater.
"This is going to be it," Miho said to herself, noting that this match was about to enter its final stage. Looking across her shoulder as the sounds of engines were dying down in the distance she told herself, "We're going to finish this at the next location."
Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yard warehouses - 14.55h Sunday
Once word had broken out that the second group had encountered Ooarai's flag-tank there no longer was any holding back as the first group renewed its efforts and made an aggressive push in order to link up with the second group. Emboldened by the knowledge that Ooarai's forces were now reduced to a mere four tanks the tanks were throwing caution to the wind as their crews were eager to get stuck in and claim the big prize for themselves, the honor of knocking Ooarai out of the match.
Inside her own tank, Goulash was planning on massing her remaining armor in order to deal the coup de grace to her opponents. "This is going to be it, Nishizumi. This is where you're going to lose and where we'll expose your lies. You've led us on a merry dance but it ends now."
Even then their advance was fraught with danger; one more tank had been lost to an ambush set up by Ooarai's StuG which had hidden in a ruined building. The tank's crew never saw the attack coming as they trundled past the building, giving their side to the assault gun.
"We only have nine tanks remaining but that's still more than double the number of tanks you have, Nishizumi," Goulash whispered underneath her breath as she was going over the numbers, even though her team was holding a two to one advantage to their opponents, a three to one ratio was always seen as being the bare minimum needed for being able to carry out an attack successfully. This made it all the more important to knock out any enemy tank whenever the opportunity would present itself.
"Everybody, make sure that you cover each other. Don't give those Ooarai bastards any openings! They're on their last legs but that'll mean that they'll start resorting to desperate measures. Don't fall for any of their provocations!"
For herself, Goulash had set her sights on different prey, not on Ooarai's flag-tank but rather the Panzer IV that was commanded by the youngest daughter of the Nishizumi household.
Shells exploded around her tank and Goulash had to duck inside the cupola. "What are those doing there? Just what are you planning on, Nishizumi?"
Seeing the two enemy tanks that were doing their best to harass them Goulash gave the order for most tanks to continue with the advance and to pay no heed to these as neither of them was carrying Ooarai's flag. Even then she was not keen letting those two go unhindered and as such, she gave orders to the remaining Turáns and the last of the Toldis to take them out, she would supplement these with the heavier firepower from two of their Zrinyis.
"Rétes, I'm leaving you to deal with those two tanks, take them out as quickly as possible and then regroup back with me. I'll continue the attack and take out Ooarai's flag-tank. Fight well!"
"Got it, Goulash! I won't disappoint you. Rétes out."
Those tanks she had given the order began to move away, turning to confront their respective opponents and their gunners were anything but reluctant about greeting their opponents by treating them to a barrage of incoming fire.
Many of the crews were more than eager to return the favors that Ooarai had given them upon entering the area, they were thirsty for blood, and they were very to satiate their desire for revenge.
"Paprika, you follow me. And keep yourself in check."
Listening to the orders she was receiving the red-haired girl was anything but happy about the way she was being ordered but there little that she could do about it as the girl who went by the name Rétes was a senior student and also the second in command. There was simply no way for her to disobey any further orders.
"Paprika, you'd better affirm that you heard what I said. Don't go off doing anything stupid, you know what I mean. Goulash is really disappointed in you but you still have a chance to make up for it."
"… Yes, I've heard the damn orders," Paprika said before turning her attention back outside. What the other girl had just said was true, she had made enough mistakes as it was over the course of this match. "Don't think that I'm not aware of it… I just… damn…"
Rubbing her hands through her face she was trying to clear her mind, which is what Rétes was hinting at but even so, there were so many emotions surging through her.
"Damn you Ooarai, damn you," she cursed underneath her breath, cursing this little school for mocking them, "I just want this damn match to be over. Why can't they just surrender?"
Pushing such thoughts to the back of her mind she lowered herself again inside the cupola and gave orders to her crew to focus their attention first on the two Ooarai tanks that they had been ordered to take out. "Ignore the Type 89; we'll focus our attention first on that damn StuG."
Most of the opposing tanks had opted to ignore them, likely in preference to more important targets which Hippo found somewhat insulting.
"They sure got some nerve ignoring us," Erwin remarked as she kept on observing their surroundings. Even if most of the enemy tanks had moved on there were still several of them who left who seemed to be content to test their mettle against the StuG.
Caesar had a wry smile on her face. "Let's not disappoint them. It'd be rude of us if we did."
"So what do you want to do?" Erwin asked as she noticed the look on Caesar's face, "You got something in mind for them?"
"I do."
Erwin raised an eyebrow in response as she asked, "Care to fill us in?"
The loader looked at her before giving an answer. "One of the oldest tricks in the book. A rope-a-dope, and just so you know we're the bait."
"Ah, that."
"If we can pull that off, it'll be like a regular Tsushima," Saemonza remarked as she had a grin on her face.
"Or perhaps like Myeongnyang," Oryou chirped in, her hands pulling at the controls as she was navigating her charge through the rubble.
"Then let us spring to our duty," Caesar replied in answer to that, "Also, get me Duck on the radio, there need to be informed of our plan. They need to, after all, play their part accordingly."
The Tarczay tanks were coming in hard, making a pretty aggressive push while the two assault guns were staying at the back while providing supporting fire. A solid combination that would likely tip the fight in their favor provided that Ooarai were to play along.
Naturally, it went without saying that neither of the two Ooarai tanks was in any shape or form inclined to play along. Hippo turned tail and with all due haste drove off in one direction, zigzagging until it disappeared between the buildings. And Duck was equally quick to scoot in the opposite direction, putting whatever building it could between themselves and their attackers. Such rapid maneuvering left their opponents confused, and quite understandably, very upset about having been dumped like this.
"Why you!" Paprika shouted at the top of her lungs in an outburst of anger as she watched both of the Ooarai tanks simply disappear without even so much as putting up a fight. She was angry, no, she was pissed. "Those damn cowards! I'm going to make them pay for this! Who do they think they are?! Do they think that we're not worthy of a fight?! Is that it?! I'll show them! After them! Full speed! Don't let them escape!" she yelled at her driver.
Her tank kicked off, leaving her supporting elements behind her as the tank began to give chase, setting off in pursuit of the StuG and the sooner Paprika could put a round through that tank the better.
"I'll show you what happens when you don't take us seriously," she spoke in a venomous tone which gave away her intent, "You're going to pay for this insult. Just watch my words."
Just in front of her Csiga just let out a short sigh in an effort to not have her commander hear her, she herself had her doubts about suddenly going after that assault gun. In her mind, it had all the markings of driving right into a trap. An obvious one she should add.
Still rolling forward at speed, the StuG was making its way through an area that was littered with debris, the rugged vehicle churning up rocks and dust, as the four reki-jo took to their given tasks with vigor.
Hippo's job had become a lot harder once they had lost the element of surprise. Although they held an advantage over the remaining Turáns in almost every aspect, they still had to be wary of suffering damage due to return fire, and in particular any damage to their tracks or wheels. For an assault gun such as theirs, such damage could be potentially devastating as it would leave the vehicle without the means to move, and therefore unable to bring its gun to bear.
As a result, the four reki-jo inside its armored hull were starting to be a bit more cautious, tempering their aggression and doing their level best to keep a certain distance between the StuG and its would-be attackers.
Nevertheless, Hippo was able to claim a kill when a tank had driven right in front of them, its crew likely never been aware of where the assault gun had been hiding.
"Scratch one of them!" the gunner hollered, letting her comrades in arms know about the kill.
The Turán that had crossed in front of their gun ground to a halt, the vehicle belching smoke as it did. "To be honest that one was just too easy."
"Splendid!" Caesar exclaimed with delight at the news. "The Gods favor the side of the stronger! We'll show them that our victories were no mere charade!"
"That's it!" the other there girls affirmed in unison.
"I think we need to reposition, and soon," Erwin opined as she became aware of what their opponents were trying to do. "We can't let them box us in. Furthermore, we need to make sure that they won't try and take out Duck, otherwise, they'll be able to outflank us."
"Then let us depart! Before it gets all quiet on the Western Front."
Having made their escape successfully and hopefully having baited one or more of the enemy tanks Noriko was starting to feel a rush of excitement building in her, even to someone like her it was clear that this match was now in its final stage.
"Alright!" she proclaimed, "You all know what to do! We can't allow a single one of those tanks to regroup with the others. We need to do whatever we can to help the commander win this match!"
"With guts?"
"With Guts!"
Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yardwarehouses - 15.20h Sunday
Inside the now idling Turán I the crew was busy with their assigned duties while its commander, Paprika was anything but happy about the latest news she had received. Having lost sight of its intended target the tank had been driving around the area hoping to spot it but to no avail. And now it was sitting here, at a deserted junction.
"What do you mean, you can't be serious?" she asked as she really wanted to hear confirmation of that news, it was not that she did not trust the girl on the other side of the radio but the news was just disheartening. "This can't be happening. This simply can't be happening."
"Unfortunately," Rétes, the girl on the radio, said to her, "They've just taken out one of our Zrinyis and also one of the Turáns, which just leaves us with three tanks to their two. I don't need to tell you that this doesn't make us look good."
Shaking her head Paprika did little other than letting out an exasperated sigh, the whole situation had been going from bad to worse ever since they had entered the rail yard. Her mind was still trying to come to grips with all of the losses they had sustained while they had only one kill to show for their efforts, somewhere at the back of her mind it just seemed unfair.
"C-Could it be that Ooarai's cheating?" she dared to ask the question, "I mean with the way things have been going for us there's no way that they could possibly be doing all this on their own. T-There has to be something going on, some kind of trick that they're using, r-right?"
The silence on the radio that greeted was enough of a sign that Paprika had said something that she should not have said and as the silence continued she was starting to grow nervous.
"… Paprika…" the other girl finally broke her silence, "Of all the things you can think of, this is what you ask? Do you even understand the severity of that question?"
"B-But?"
"No but! Not without any actual proof to show for it. It's one thing that we suspect them of collaborating with the big four but it's another to make baseless allegations just because things are going rough for us. You should focus on the fight at hand instead of wasting your efforts at some vague guesswork. We can't afford that."
"Rétes-senpai, do you even hear what you're saying?" Paprika objected, she could not even believe her own ears and she did not want to believe that the older student was giving voice to such thoughts. "H-How else could you explain what happening, there's no way that we could've lost that many tanks to that motley collection that they use."
"Oh I can explain," the other girl said, the calmness of her voice hanging over them like a knife, "It might just be because they're good. If you would've paid attention to their actions and how they've been operating during this match you might have noticed it earlier. They're a lot better than we gave them credit for, they're not a team we should have treated so lightly and right now we're paying the price for underestimating them."
"Why do you think that we underestimate them, senpai? They're a bunch of cheaters, there's no way that they won all of those matches of their own. Sure things are pretty bad right now but their luck's got to run out soon enough," Paprika said in return.
"Stop thinking that they're cheating, Paprika. That is going to cost us the match. We need to get serious about this fight, we all need to and you're no exception. Winning this match is far more important if we want to have any chance of rebuilding our school's legacy."
"…" The girl had become quiet, the words of the other girl weighing heavy. How could Rétes even say that she needed to focus on winning this match? She had been doing that from the very start. Paprika had been doing whatever she could to ensure victory over Ooarai. Why was it that the older girl had not seen that, why did she not acknowledge that fact?
"This is more important than how you feel. If we lose this match then we can't show our faces anymore, we'll be the laughingstock of the entire sport. Do you understand what that means? Losing this match is something that we can't afford. Paprika, we must win this match!"
"…" The red-haired girl was hesitant about replying, the pain in her chest growing. Paprika was hurt, it pained her, and she had to fight hard to hold back her tears. This was becoming too much for her to bear any longer,
Why were all of her efforts being denied like this? Had she not fought as anybody else on this team to reach this point? Why was she being so callously dismissed like this? It wasn't fair; she did not deserve to be treated like this like she had done nothing to help the team.
"Losing is not an option for us. If we lose this match then everything that we've worked for the past year will be for nothing. Goulash has worked harder than anybody in rebuilding the team to what it is today; losing would mean that all of her troubles and effort were for naught."
"… I… I understand… senpai…" Paprika said, speaking in a soft-spoken tone, her mind heavy with turmoil following the words that the older girl had directed to her but she could not shake off this uneasy feeling she was having in the pit of her stomach.
Why was this happening, why did this have to happen now of all times? Where had things gone wrong for them, where had they made the mistakes that lead them to this point? She could make neither heads nor tails off it all.
"I hope so, I really do. Because if you don't our chances of winning this match will be even worse than they already are. Goulash knows this herself. And you need to believe in it as well. We'll prove that we're right by winning this match and exposing the truth. Paprika, you need to believe as well, please do."
Wiping away some of the tears that had begun to form Paprika vowed that she would do her best to ensure that her team would come out of this match victorious and that Ooarai would be buried here.
Just in front of her Csiga had abstained from saying anything; she already had come to accept that they would need to treat Ooarai as an actual opponent and not the bunch of imposters that they thought they were. That said, even she could not deny that it was odd how that team was simply stacking up kills like it was nothing. 'We really brought this upon ourselves, didn't we? We were so busy with other stuff that we never saw them as an actual opponent.'
Despite that, and that in her mind Paprika had herself to blame for their current problem, she could not deny that she was truly feeling sorry for the red-haired girl. 'She's desperately trying to keep up a strong front, but I can tell that she's about to crack. I guess that we bit of far more much than we could chew. Paprika-chan, please hold out a little longer.'
She was scared about what was going to happen, she had been a part of Paprika's crew for long enough to know when her commander had reached her limit. As one of her friends, she was really scared of when Paprika reached that breaking point. Too much bad stuff had already happened; no doubt there was a great feeling of shame amongst the crews of the tanks that had been knocked out.
"What's that?!" Their driver shouted all of a sudden.
Lurching forward to in order to look through her gunsight a blur of motion caught her attention, adjusting the sight she was finally able to confirm what it was and the sight that greeted her was enough to send a shiver down her spine. "I-It's Ooarai's Type 89! And it's coming right for us!"
"Paprika, your orders?"
There was nothing, just silence. No clear orders, no directions coming from the tank's commander to let the crew knew what they should be doing. Turning around she was confronted by a sight that she did not want to see, her friend appearing to be in some kind of confused daze.
"C-Commander! P-Paprika!" Csiga sought to address her commander, "Pull yourself together now! We need orders, there's an enemy tank moving towards us. Paprika!"
"They're gonna ram us!" The driver cried out, "Use the MG's, get on the gun! Hurry!"
"Paprika, you need to come to your senses, please."
Still, there was no response from her friend.
"Dammit," she cursed underneath her breath as she turned away and relegated herself back to her sights, as much as she hated to ignore her friend's plight there were more pressing matters at hand. Turning to her gunner she told the girl to load AP and get a follow-up round ready.
Adjusting her sight Csiga breath stopped as the enemy tank slammed nose-first into a large pile of rubble to their left before it simply disappeared from her gunsight. "W-What? How did they?!"
The sudden and terrifying noise of a loud metallic scream over their heads sends the girls inside the Turán scrambling for cover, placing their hands across their ears in an effort to block out the horrific noise. But as abruptly as it had started, just as quickly did it stop.
"W-What happened?!" Paprika, who seemed to have regained her composure, called for an explanation. A nervous expression clearly etched across the feature of her face. "A-Are we under some sort of attack? S-somebody explain, now. Anybody, I need to know what happened?!"
Still recovering from their ordeal nobody of the crew had an immediate answer for their commander; they were still trying to figure out what had just happened.
Climbing back up to her station Csiga could only guess as to what had happened, but the idea was just reckless, and yet from what she had seen of the Ooarai tankers it made all the more sense. "… They're mad…"
"C-Crap, they're behind us!" Somebody cried out.
"…T-T-Turn the turret!" Paprika stammered as she sought to find the words, trying to get the order past her lips as quickly as she could but even she could tell that they were not going to make it in time, the enemy tank was already lining up to put a shot into their rear. And with that acceptance came the sober realization that she had doomed her tank as well as having robbed her team of their victory.
"…No! No! No! No! Nononononono!" she screamed in one final act of defiance.
Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yard warehouses - 15.30h Sunday
There were a few mumbled groans and protests as the tank slammed into the ground with a loud metallic thud, the noise outside the armored was terrifying as if the tank had begun to dismantle itself. Even more worrying was the snarling of the engine which was sounding more like the vicious noise of a wounded animal driven into a corner, but right now, now of the crew had the luxury of paying it any heed.
Noriko could not believe her eyes when she saw that Shinobu had launched the tank far enough for them to get behind the enemy tank, no doubt its crew was having as much trouble believing what had happened as she was. Now she had an inkling of how it must have been for the crew of that BT-42 when they had leaped across a chasm, that image vivid in her memory.
Even so, it was quite a feat, and she could not thank her driver enough for giving them this opportunity. One could hazard that the tank's crew were in some kind of daze, as their reactions became slow. The vehicle was still pointing away from its assailant before its crew could react, and Duck was already getting to position itself in order to deliver the killing blow. Slowly, but certainly, the vehicle began to move backward.
Seeing what the enemy tank was trying to do Noriko ordered her crew into action. "They're trying to turn! Hurry! It's now or never!"
"Take this!" Akebi shouted as she pressed the trigger, smoke filling the interior of the turret as the gun barked and recoiled back into the gun housing. The tank spat a length of flame as it rocked back on its heels.
With a loud pop, the white flag appeared as the assault gun ground to a halt, smoke belching from the back of the engine compartment where Duck had managed to land the killing shot.
"That's our second kill!"
A shell exploded right next to their tank, narrowly missing the drive sprocket, showering the tank in pebbles and pieces of dirt.
"Ah crap!" Noriko yelled as she caught sight of the tank that had just fired at them, it was a second assault gun but this one was spotting a long-barreled gun with a muzzle break at its end. "Shinobu, get us out of here!"
There was no way for them to get a repeat of their earlier success, the crew of the second Zriniyi knew what had happened to the other assault gun and they would make damn sure that they would not suffer the same fate.
"Damn it," Noriko was cursing underneath her breath as she came to the grim realization that there was only one option left for them, they were going to have to retreat for the time being and try to link up with Hippo if possible. "Taeko, can you get in touch with Hippo for me? We need to let them know where that long-barreled Zriniyi is. We'll need their help if we want to take that thing out."
"You got it."
Inside the StuG the crew was listening carefully as they were receiving word from their fellow tank, none of them could tell how they had managed to pull their feats but somehow the four girls from the volleyball club and their steel beast had been able to knock out two enemy tanks.
"Truly a feat worthy of the annals of history!" Erwin proclaimed, emphasizing on the extraordinary dual achievements of their comrades in arms. "Our Duck is like Hermann Bix in his trusty Panzer III when they came up against the KV-1 during the fighting at Oslavaya."
"Doesn't sound like it to me," Oryou interjected as she had her reservations about the comparison but other than that she did not say much as she was focusing her attention on getting to the appointed location that Duck had informed them of.
"Oryou's right!" Caesar spoke, "Right now we need to be where our fellow combatants have need of us the most! We must strike fast and swiftly. Deus nobiscum!"
Saemonza could do little but remark, 'Festina Lente."
Erwin let out a soft chuckle as she heard that, hiding her face underneath her cap so as not to show it to Caesar. Having had her brief moment of fun she went up the hatch of their charge and check their surroundings, given that speed would be of the essence it would pay off for them not to get lost. "Let's go and help our comrades."
Shinobu was doing her level best not to hit any obstacles while not letting their speed drop any further in their headlong rush to keep that Zriniyi from getting a beat on them. Having gotten instructions from the girl next to her on where Hippo would meet up with them it was taking all of her concentration to get them there in one piece.
"You see anything up there?"
Up in the cupola, Noriko was keeping an eye on their surroundings, doing her best to give the driver the earliest warning about any incoming shots but thus far nobody had taken the bait.
"No, there's nothing I can see but from the sound of it that Zriniyi is still following us."
Placing her hand next to her ear Noriko was trying to make a guess at how far the noise was coming from, it was difficult to guess, especially given how the noise was being amplified and funneled by all of these houses which almost worked like a corridor.
"You want me to slow down a little so they can catch a glimpse of us?"
Noriko was hesitant about that suggestion, on one hand, she would prefer it if she could keep visual contact with their pursuer but on the other hand, she was less than keen of exposing her tank to any incoming fire.
"Taeko, much how further till we get to the rendezvous point?"
"Not far, we should get there in a few minutes."
That was a good thing to hear, the sooner they would get there and join up with Hippo the better. Ever since they had lost sight of the enemy assault gun Noriko had been having this uneasy feeling creep up on her, as if somebody was watching them, as if it was lurking and waiting for them to come.
"Oh I really don't like this," the girl remarked as she kept of checking the area for any signs of an imminent attack. "This just feels wrong, something isn't right here. I'm getting nervous."
The attack came without warning when the crack of a gun stopped nearly the tank cold in its tracks, from their right, a burning red tracer cut through the air and cut a deep groove into the front plate just above the driver's position.
"Where did that shot come from?!" Shinobu cried out as she felt the vehicle lurch in the opposite direction. "Damn, they got us pretty good. That was definitely a killer spike, alright."
Recovering herself Noriko saw to her horror that the long-barreled Zriniyi was traveling down the road to their side, its gun barrel still smoking. She could not believe her eyes; why was it here, how had it manage to cut them off? As the noise of engines and tracks behind them grew louder once more she finally understood what had happened, the Zriniyi must have taken a shortcut while leaving the Toldi to continue the chase to give off a false impression.
They had driven right into an ambush.
"Look over there," Taeko shouted while she hinted as the street just further up ahead, rolling down that street was the sight of a second assault gun. "It's Hippo!"
"Saemonza! Target that Zriniyi now!" Erwin yelled at the top of her lungs as the threatening form of a long-barreled assault gun came into her view. Even with them having a similar vehicle she could not deny the threatening presence that this Zrinyi gave off. "That's their heavy hitter! We can't let that one get away from here! We've got to take it out, here and now!"
"You got it," the gunner was quick to reply. "Oryou, turn right. Hard right!"
Her driver was pulling hard on the controls just to get the tank to turn sharp enough to keep up with their target, the mechanisms protesting as they screeched and wailed while struggling to keep up with what was being demanded of them.
"Round loaded!" Caesar shouted.
Letting her forehead rest against the rubber brow pad Saemonza pressed her eye again the eyepiece of her gun sight, her finger already resting against the trigger. Waiting for the enemy assault gun to appear in her sight she was acutely aware that she would not be given a second chance and against this opponent, the first shot would determine everything.
Whoever would get to walk away from this would be the one who got off the first shot, tense seconds were following, her breathing slowing down as she sought to calm her body and mind. But as prepared as Saemonza was, she would not be given the opportunity to pull the trigger.
Hurtling towards its intended target at its top speed the lighter Toldi slammed into the side of the heavier vehicle with the noise of a great hammer whacking the side of a cathedral bell, the ringing of the impact reverberating through both of the stricken vehicles.
As the assault gun was violently shoved to the side there was an unmistakable crack coming from outside, a clear sign that something terrible had happened. Inside the StuG the four girls that made up its crew were thrown from one side to another following the violent collision. The brutal impact flung the vehicle's driver sideways and Erwin against the steel interior of the vehicle. As the assault gun lurched sideways, the gunsight punched Saemonza in the forehead, sending her sprawling against her backseat. Caesar experienced the painful sensation of having her body shoved against the inert mass of the gun's breech.
Within the stricken vehicle it grew silent.
Pulling herself together Erwin's head felt as if she had just slammed headfirst into a wall, a ringing sensation that refused to leave her ears present. What had happened? A feeling a warm liquid from the side of her head made its way through the fog that was her mind.
Reaching up she attempted to touch it only for a searing pain to force her hand away.
Looking around she found her other crewmates in a similar state of consciousness. Reaching out she tapped the barely conscious form of her gunner.
"… Are you… ok?" It was a mockery of a question but something she felt needed asking. She received only a light groan in response, not much to go with but still, it was a clear indication that the girl was conscious.
"W-What was that?" Caesar called out from across the other side of the gun, clutching her head with her right hand, a terrible feeling in her stomach as she tried to steady herself. "What… just happened? … D-Did we crash into something?"
"… I think we just got hit." Erwin said in return, before letting out a cough.
"By what? … A damn train?!"
"… Hell… if I… know!"
The commander and loader were exchanging some exhausted looks with each other, neither of them really knew what had transpired and at this point, neither of them could really care. They were just glad that nobody got seriously injured.
"So I guess this means we're out of the match, right?"
"… Guess so."
"What rotten luck."
But when Caesar looks up she got a shock at the sight that greeted her. "H-Hey, we're not out! The flag hasn't appeared! We're still in the match!"
"What?!"
"I mean it! The system didn't register that as a knockout! We're still in the fight!"
"Are you serious?!"
"I am!"
Outside, the enemy assault gun was moving towards the other tank before coming to an abrupt halt, with the noise of squeaking tracks the vehicle began to turn on the spot, the shape of its muzzle brake slowly but without doubt swinging in the direction of the immobilized StuG. It almost was as if the vehicle's crew had come to a sudden realization.
"… Ehm… there's that Zriniyi again…" Oryou whispered to them as she caught a glimpse of the threat through her visor. "… If any of you could… take it out… that'd be really nice."
"Saemonza," Caesar said, "You need to get on the gun, you still got a round in it."
It might the only chance they would ever get.
Nursing her forehead and with ringing ears, the girl in question crept back to her gunsight to resume her post. "… J-Just… say the word…" The girl grinned as she sized up her opponent.
"F-Fire!" Erwin shouted.
The gun roared. The muzzle flashed.
Rétes could do little other than watch in horror as the green tracer flew towards her, seemingly in slow motion. Suddenly it gained speed and zipped beside her gunsight. The shell slammed into the gun's housing, the assault gun hiccupped, and a red flash filled her field of vision, sending Rétes reeling backward.
Belching black smoke from where it was hit the vehicle heaved to a stop. On top of its roof plate, the white flag popped up.
"That's… three!" Whooped Saemonza as she was observing the now smoking hull of the Zrinyi I, with that she could now claim her third kill of the match. To the reki-jo, it was a satisfying notion and one she was proud of. She had been able to do the team proud, and with that, she dropped backward. "… I'm spent…"
"I guess that's it for us," Caesar said before giving out a deep sigh, it had been an exhausting match for her in particular given how ferocious she had been with reloading the gun, taking a guess she figured that she might have broken her personal record.
"I hope that the commander can finish the fight for us," Erwin said before taking a deep breath, letting it out gently she continued, "We've done our part, there are three tanks less for her to worry about."
Author's note: there you go folks, latest chapter for you all to read and enjoy. At least I can only hope that it was enjoyable for you.
Now, something that I would like to inform you all about is that this story will undergo a change to its title with the next chapter and I want to inform you about this in advance.
The main reason for this being that I want a title that is more in line with the animation, something that the current title is not. So starting with the next chapter, the title of this story will change to 'Girls und Panzer das Nachspiel'.
On a different note, many of you have likely seen the news that the second episode of das Finale will not see its retail release until February 2020, which means that we all still have a couple of months to bite our time.
Now while I am excited to get to see the second episode this waiting is really becoming tiring. I can only pray to God that they will make a bit more haste with the remaining episodes. I am really interested to see where they will go with the next episode.
This is the last chapter that I'll be able to post for this year; I don't think it's going to be possible for me to get the next chapter finished up although I've already gotten a good amount of it written down. It simply has to do that with the upcoming Christmas period it is going to be pretty busy at work and I cannot say how much available time I will have left to work on the chapter.
With that all out of the way I wish you all already a good time ahead. See you all next time and take care.
