"Fix! Bayonets!" an officer yelled. Marco snapped out of his trance and pulled his bayonet out of its scabbard. With an audible click the bayonet was snapped into place near the muzzle of the barrel. The girl next to him seemed to fumble a little with the socket bayonet she was trying to fix. Eventually she got it secured.

"Artillery! Distance 300! Load Shrapnel Shells! Fire for effect!"

There was a brief silence as the artillery officer lowered his binoculars.

"FEUER!"

There was a deafening roar as the artillery guns opened up on the remaining Imperial troops. The Shrapnel shells burst right above the enemy formation, showering them with red hot metal fragments.

Marco jammed an en-bloc clip into the breech of his rifle before closing it.

The girl next to him just finished ramming some powder and shot into her musket.

A whistle shrieked into the air. Leo drew his sword and swung it above his head.

"CHARGE!"

The rag-tag army of trainees, regulars, gendarme, and civilians rushed out of the trenches, yelling at the top of their lungs. One of them was lugging a Maxim gun into battle, firing bursts into the enemy from the hip. Anyone that had a firearm sporadically fired into the disarrayed Imperial forces. Marco punched an 8mm bullet straight into the head of an enemy soldier. Leo was engaged in a swordfight with a number of enemies, all whom he ended with his pistol. The girl from earlier jammed her bayonet straight through the neck of another enemy. Some of the regulars were firing in scattered volleys. One of the trainees was cut down by a cavalryman, but he too was shot off his horse. The girl rushed over to the downed trainee and grabbed his rifle, ditching her musket. She then proceeded to punch three rounds or so into the enemy.

"Medic!" she exclaimed. A medical trooper arrived to drag the wounded trainee out of the fight.

Another trainee aimed his rifle at an enemy and pulled the trigger. There was a bang, and the trainee was on the ground, holding his face in pain.

"AAAGH! Fuck!" he yelled. His rifle lay next to him, the breech area bent in strange places. The poor trainee's rifle had a faulty barrel and the barrel had burst.

Marco jammed his bayonet into another infantryman.

"Leo!" he exclaimed. "Orders!?"

Leo wiped his face with his hand. He had sheathed his sword now and was gripping his TT-33 pistol in his hand.

"Kill 'em all," he said. Marco raised his eyebrows.

"... and capture anyone who doesn't resist," Leo added.

"Yessir," Marco replied sarcastically. He loaded another clip into his gun before emptying all six rounds into a group of enemy infantry.

A trainee finally arrived at where the G8N1s had finished bombing and stumbled a bit. The entire area was burnt to a crisp. There were craters everywhere. Dead bodies and limbs were flung about here and there. An arrow flew at him from the left and the trainee parried it with his bayonet. He fired in the direction the arrow came from and an Imperial archer fell out from a tree. The trainee looked around at his surroundings again.

"W-what have we done…"


"Grenade!"

A tent exploded as the grenade went off inside. There were a few soldiers trying to resist, but it was to no avail. Many were killed or wounded. Many of the survivors surrendered.

In total, over 100,000 Imperial troops and 235,098 Galladian troops were killed or captured. In contrast, only 5 soldiers and 4 civilians were treated for non-life threatening injuries (getting burnt by hot shell casings, exploding gun barrels, etc.)

Marco looked on as the prisoners were lined up outside the city walls. He was not sure what to make of the sight of these prisoners not being executed. He had heard they will be sent to some sort of camp, where they would stay for the duration of the war. There was a light tap on his shoulder.

"Nice shooting," said the girl. Her shirt's sleeve was torn slightly and she was now holding a rifle instead of a musket.

"Thanks," Marco replied. He returned his bayonet to its scabbard and pulled out a cleaning rod. He stuffed a sheet of cloth into the end of the rod and jammed it down the rifle's barrel. The girl looked on with curiosity.

"... what?" Marco asked, still concentrating on cleaning his rifle. The girl shook her head.

"It's just that we've been talking like this as if we've known each other for some time, yet I don't even know your name." The girl laughed awkwardly. Marco smiled at this innocent remark.

"You do have a point," he said. "I'm…" Before he could say anything more, however, Leo ran over to him in excitement.

"Yo guys!" he exclaimed. "Listen to what's on the radio!" He ran back to a table where a large number of people were gathering.

"What's a radio?" the girl asked.

"That thing," Marco replied, pointing to a rectangular box with a dial, what looked like a net, glowing lights (vacuum tubes), and a wire sticking out of the top. As the two got closer they heard a static-riddled voice.

"...ist der *static* vit der nues…"

"Wow!" the girl said. "It can talk!" Marco smiled at this.

"... Der Primo Minstre ist adrezen der nation duay rigute dist alarm du national… (The Prime Minister is addressing the nation today regarding this national emergency…)"

(Translating speech to english for ease of reading)

"Greetings everyone. As you all should know earli-*static*-ay we were attacked by Imperial forces whose aim was to eliminate our right to live as we please and die as we please. Here is the current situation. Imperial-Galladian forces invade through the northern border. Unfortunately, the villages up north were razed and defending garrisons destroyed. In the west, Slavasian forces have attempted an invasion but seem to have lost their momentum. On both fronts our brave and gallant forces have managed to stop these attacks, but there is still a growing threat from the Empire. But they think we are weak. Are we? Absolutely not! We are are strong people! But if we are to survive we cannot do so without the Empire. The Empire! Who have burned our homes, raped our children, enslaved our fathers, murdered our mothers! I tell you everyone this is war! It is time to rid ourselves from the plague of the Empire and bathe ourselves in the bright light of freedom! We the people of Munzo, hereby proclaim the Federal Republic of Munzo has the right to be a free and independent country—and in fact it is so already. And thus the entire people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty! 17th day of the Eighth month, year 0687. Prime Minister Dupolev Pacsha."

There was silence. Nobody even dared to speak. The Galladian prisoners were listening, too. Some in shock and disbelief. Others in complete awe.

"Oh man…" a trainee whispered to himself. "We've done it. We've went and done it…"

"What are you lot quibbling about!?" someone exclaimed. The man was one of the Regulars, as noted by having a proper rank. "We've got some shooting to do, fellas! We aren't some regional militia anymore, we're in an army! We've got a country to defend now so let's get on with it!" He thrusted his rifle into the air.

"Sieg Freiheit!"

The others did the same.

"Sieg Freiheit!"

"Sieg Freiheit!"

"Sieg Freiheit!"

"Sieg Freiheit!"

"Sieg Freiheit!"


Author's notes:

Hello people of the internet! It is I, Karl the Arty! And I have returned with more historical bullshit. Yes~. Now then, I am sorry to report that the nation submission thing is now closed. There are a number of countries that I have come up with to suit the needs of the later plot lines. Also, after reading most of the suggestions I am not sure where some of them would fit in the story. Maybe I'll post them on my Headcanon channel as alternate countries, but I don't really have time to be making Youtube videos either.

So yeah. That's it.

Munzo is independent! Whooo!

Keep up the support guys! Don't forget to sub to Headcanon and I'll see you in the next chapter!

(also please leave a review it motivates me to write plz plz plz :P )