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Historia Shoukan Chapter 8
Operation Trident Fall Part 2

Date: May 8th, HS 2069/CC 1639
Location: Jin-Hark, Louria Kingdom

Louria Kingdom is a nation on Rodenius Continent consisting only of humans. Not only it is the most prosperous in entirety of Rodenius, it's recognized as a nation which boasts a comparatively high level of civilization as a nation outside of the civilized areas and is known globally. The capital, Jin-Hark, enjoys the title of being the largest city on the continent. As of this moment, an operation on which the fate of the kingdom resides is about to take place.

The Capital Defense Knights, the kingdom's shield, is a group consisting of the select-few who are said to be the most powerful in Louria Kingdom. Mobilized in front of 8 gates along the capital's outer walls were infantrymen, mounted knights, and heavy infantry waiting for the order to sally out.

Finally, a briefing from General Patagene began to be heard from every battalion commander's manacomm.

"From this point forward, you will push on to commence an all-out attack on the enemy which has come to strike our capital. Some of you may already know that the enemy is powerful. Still, we will not yield! I want you to burn into your hearts the fact that just behind you lies your families and your children which still have a future! Fight so that the enemy will never trample your homes and so that we will have a future! All units, move out!"

"YEAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The roar and yells of the soldiers echoed throughout the capital.

The battalion of heavy infantrymen took to the vanguard, emerging out of the gate in close formation. If the heavy, iron shields could repel the enemy's bullets of light, the lighter regular infantrymen would take point from behind them and get closer to the enemy. In the event that they're wiped out, each unit will spread out and head for the enemy on its own.

From the front, the heavy infantry battalion slowly advanced in close formation. Clad in heavy armor and wielding a heavy shield and long spears, the soldiers pushed forward using the muscles they have built up from years of training as they sweated buckets inside their armor. The distance to the enemy was still 4km out. Had regular infantrymen been clad in such heavy armor, they'd probably collapse in exhaustion before they could reach their enemy. Still, they were the powerful heavy infantry. They have their pride and each man has a person they have to protect.

By the time they marched past the 2km mark, the enemy beasts let out their growls and were seen to be moving.

"Incoming!"

The battalion commander barked. Putting their faith on the strength of their shields, they put all of their strength into the arm which held it and the entire battalion got even tighter as they braced for impact.

The countless bullets of light launched by the enemy crashed into the heavy infantry battalion with intense force.

In a single minute, the Red Spear placements on the Scarlet Tanks each spit out 60 bullets. They landed one by one on the shields propped up by the Louria Kingdom's heavy infantry battalion. While the bullets were crushed by the force they applied on the shields, they nevertheless still punched through and even penetrated the iron armor worn by the soldiers.

The violent sound of metal clashing against metal resounded across the area as the men in front fell, opening up holes within their ranks.

Patagene, watching the heavy infantry fall one after the other from afar, fell into despondency.

"I knew it... Not even the heavy infantry could stand up to them... Are we really gonna put more lives on the line by spreading them out... Oh?"

Almost every heavy infantryman had been felled by the bullets of light except for one. However, this man held his ground as the bullets of light were deflected from his shield which he propped up diagonally. Their unit had already been annihilated. The sole surviving soldier advanced forward alone when the storm of light stopped and propped up his shield when it resumed, holding his ground as the bullets of light bounced off.

"Hey! Who's that guy?! How is it that he could stand up against their attacks?!"

Being somewhat excited, Patagene asked an aide near him.

"Uhh…"

The aide frantically flipped through the register of the heavy infantry battalion.

"I think it is likely that that person is this person who was the only one to request permission to use his own shield and not the one we issued to them."
"Ohhh. That's surprising. Still, a single person will be overwhelmed by the enemy once he reaches them. We will deem the heavy infantry battalion as wiped out and change to dispersed human-wave tactics. Have everyone sally out and destroy the enemy!"

The outer corners of Patagene's eyes flare up at the sight of a single man standing his ground against an impossibly powerful enemy. The sight of the single man standing up to the bullets of light encouraged the soldiers of Louria Kingdom as they simultaneously flooded out of the gates towards the enemy.

A regular soldier of the heavy infantry battalion, Schwal thanked his ancestors as he felt despair for the loss of his comrades.

His ancestor from 5 generations ago exhausted the entirety of his life savings on buying a legendary shield from an antiques collector. He has been told that when he bought it, his spouse flew into a range and beat him up till he couldn't stand. According to the antiques collector, the shield was made from a type of metal called an alloy which itself was made of various metals. Using various light and hard alloys and placing multiple sheets of them on top of one another, the shield was said to be the strongest built among those used by humans. The antique collector added that the shield came with an anecdote that it was created by a wealthy person of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire on a whim.

However, in contrast to the will of this ancestor which thought of the well-being of his descendants, his descendants doubted the shield's use since it was much lighter than the shields that were issued to them, arguing that a shield that light wouldn't be tough. Due to this, no one bothered to use the shield. It merely served as a lesson to them not to be deceived into giving away their life savings and was left to be forgotten in the heart of some warehouse. However, 5 years before this war, a slightly strong earthquake struck the kingdom, causing the old warehouse to collapse. When the shield was discovered unscathed even when it was buried under the rubble, people began to take its legend seriously. However, since the sum that was used to buy it was extremely large, he still didn't plan on taking it to the current war.

It was only this morning when he was summoned to the defense when his wife pushed onto him the shield. His wife reasoned that she felt something bad was going to happen and that him bringing the shield made her feel better.

He felt the violent force of the enemy's attack push against his entire body. Each shot was powerful, making him feel like he was going to get crushed. While his comrades' shields were easily broken through, his legendary shield, however, did not yield to the enemy's attack.

He deeply thanked his wife for convincing him to bring it and his ancestor for expending ridiculous amounts of money to procure it.

He was the only one left among the heavy infantry. The enemy must be focusing their attack on him.

'So this is how it's come to be… If I die, this shield will have just been in vain. Am I really going to leave my wife and child behind…?'

By the time Schwal was about to give up, he suddenly heard war cries rise up from behind him.

Looking behind, he feels the ground intermittently shake as clouds of dust emerge from the massive horde of soldiers coming out to sally.

"My allies...!"

The fight was still not over. Schwal felt hope that he might see his family again.

Scarlet Defense Army Leaders, Remilia and Flandre, were astonished at the sight of a single man bouncing their Red Spear rounds and advancing at them one step at a time.

"I didn't expect to see someone aside from Akihiko Kayaba (Heathcliff) using a shield like that. Judging from the look of it, it's safe to say that it's the only one of its kind, since I doubt that the Lourians have the technology to make that shield."
"Makes sense. I doubt that shields conjured from Spell Cards are counted. Still, I'm pretty sure that they will be interested in learning the materials of the shield that soldier bring with him."

By setting the metal plate diagonally, it can deflect the kinetic energy of projectiles elsewhere and bounce them off. Even if the armoring wasn't thick, its sloped nature can achieve a noticeable defensive effect. Still, a well armored shield that can be carried by a human while still being able to bounce machine gun rounds is unheard of.

Even when compared to the Legion Riot Shields that Allied Peacekeepers carry with them, it's clear that this particular shield is superior in every single way.

"If we're to get rid of him, we just need to fire a bigger caliber gun... What do you think, big sis?"
"Go ahead... Hm? Seems like there are more of them coming. Is that their main force?"
"They're... coming at us from multiple angles. They must have changed tactics to pick off our tanks one by one. Still... there's so many of them. Good thing I decided to bring a lot of Taboo Choppers this time. Permission to move them to support our forces?"
"Hm. Permission granted."

At Flandre's orders, all Taboo Choppers move to provide additional fire support and cover the land forces. In addition, Kirisame Elite Corps were also ordered to provide heavy fire support and are readying their Hakkero Drones.

Soldiers poured out from eight gates to defend the capital. Mounted knights, infantrymen, archers, and even mages all poured out of the gates and dispersed to meet their foes.

In the face of a powerful enemy, the officers of the Louria Kingdom deployed this desperate tactic, knowing that it will most likely prove useless: human-wave tactics. Using overwhelming numbers, their force leveraged the inherent advantage in outnumbering their foes. If they could emerge victorious here, they would have proven that they could work against any enemy. The wave of more than ten thousand people swallowed the grassy plains in a tremendous avalanche.

With no time to yell war cries, the highly motivated soldiers all rushed towards the unknown enemy vehicles that were parked around the capital.

One of the mounted knights, Sawken, readied his lance as he pushed forward with his horse.

When the 32nd Troop and the Heavy Infantry Battalion were eradicated, he stood frozen in fear. However, when he saw the single man defiantly stand against the enemy attack, he felt embarrassed of his cowardly self. Had he not come with this attack, he would have stained the name of Louria's knights.

Furthermore, there was simply no way that their outnumbered enemy could stand up against their gigantic horde. Even if they were to use their powerful breath once more, they'd likely run out of magic before they could eradicate them all. Their powerful army, already in the tens of thousands, was charging ahead. As far as the eye can see, he could only see a wave of soldiers running towards their enemy.

"What the hell is that?!"

Someone shouts. Sawken also felt that something was off up ahead.

Multiple things flew up in the sky releasing light.

When the meteor shower-like light hit the ground, a huge chunk of his comrades were swallowed by the earth that was thrown up, dispersing fragments of flesh and red splatter throughout the vicinity. Then there were arrows of light, raining down on them one after another at a more shallow angle. They all seemed to encapsulate an intense volume of explosion magic, landing within the extensive vicinity of Sawken and blowing up, erasing his comrades from existence.

Straining his eyes on the direction from where the arrows of light came from, he saw 10 insect-like objects hovering high in the sky. Those things, which unleashed powerful magic which burned the earth and let out thunderous roars, seemed to make flapping sounds as it slowly moved, further releasing more bullets of light. The places where the rain of light made its mark punched out deep holes into the earth, leaving behind red-hot craters. Launching even more arrows of light, they mercilessly wrought destruction upon them.

"They can attack from that far?!"

He was overcome by terror at the reality that no matter how much they struggled they cannot win. Adding insult to injury, the bullets of light which had mowed down the Heavy Infantry Battalion returned.

Anger. Screams. One's final moments. Countless emotions ran across the battlefield.

By the time he noticed there wasn't anyone else left, he lost consciousness due to bleeding and helplessly fell from his horse.

Location: Lourian Northern Port

Few hours earlier...

Vice-Admiral Hoyle had been rendered speechless.

The additional attacking enemy units quickly flew away after causing huge damage to the Port.

By the time the Kingdom of Louria's 1st Dragon Knights arrived at the port, there were no enemies remained.

Just when the Dragon Knights dancing above the Port tried to return to their base, suddenly several of them were engulfed by a white smoke as a thunderous explosion noise could be heard.

The soldiers at the port looked up at the sky, wondering just what has happened this time. As the chunks of the demolished Dragon Knights scattered, several more wyverns were disintegrated. At this time, the Dragon Knights realized that they were being attacked with by unknown arrow-shaped objects. The 'thing' that attacking them had a power that was really similar to a warship's bombardment. Even the veteran Hoyle had never seen something that could fly at such speed. With an unbelievable climbing power, it disappeared into the sky.

It was just several minutes. In just several minutes, the 1st Dragoon Knights that came rushing to support the Navy, had its entire unit annihilated.

Perhaps because of the feeling of his own powerlessness, or perhaps because of the grim fate of his subordinates and comrades, his anger towards Historia surged out.

The warships and the port facilities were burning. The air was filled with screams and rages. It was a scene of Hell.

"Since it comes to this..."

He pondered. From the look of it, 800 ships were still safe. The important port facilities also haven't been destroyed. The barracks were still fine.

In a naval battle, Historia will defeat them lopsidedly, so it was out of the option. However, Louria could pretend re-invading Qua-Toyne while actually moving towards Japan and make a night landing. In one strike, bringing the invasion to Historia's own shores.

They couldn't win on the air or the seas, but if it was land battle, where large armies are moving with a plethora of tactics then... If they received a direct attack, then Historia, which had sent their army away as reinforcement, would pull their army back home and the attacks on the Kingdom of Louria would be weakened.

Hoyle decided to propose attacking Historia mainland to King Louria.

"Th-... That's... Historia ships ──!"

Someone screamed and so Hoyle turned to look at the sea.

From behind a small island offshore of the port, a small island-like ship appeared.

"── It's that one!"

He could recognize that ship anywhere. He'd seen it in his nightmares many times over. A grayish ship that he could never forget. The figure of the dreaded ship that had sunk nearly 1,400 ships of his comrades in the Rodenius Sea with just several ships.

It was still about 8 km from the port. He knew from the last battle that even from this distance, his opponent's attack could still reach his position.

His mind raced. If it was closer then he could sail several warships and kept it away from the port, or he could even inflict damage on it. However, the ship's distance from the shore was 8 km. Before any of his warships reached that ship, they might get annihilated from its magic weapon attacks.

On the other hand, even if Hoyle and his men didn't do anything, that ships' magic weapon attacks will still reach the port.

Hoyle resolved his mind and gave out his order.

"Don't use the warships, you'll be crushed! Use the rowboats! Bring out all the rowboats, row the oars to your limit, spread out, and then attack the enemy ship at the same time! If there is any usable rowboat, use them all!"

After they received the order, the soldiers prepared for a sortie while fighting against their fear. They took out the rowboat, board it with a minimal crew so they wouldn't be slowed down, and started rowing the oars at full power. When about 100 rowboats had departed from the port, the ship unleashed its destruction and the next moment a violent explosion struck the port.

At an unbelievable rate of fire, the high-powered explosion magic-like attacks were continuously projected on the port. The remaining warships, port facilities, and logistics were disintegrated. Several other enemy ships joined, and together, the storm of destruction escalated even further. Not only clouds of smoke on the land, but on the seas, pillar of water sprouted over and over again.

Vice Admiral Hoyle, who was determined to fight back at Historia, together with a violent light, departed from the world.

With the shore bombardment from the 155mm cannons of the Horizon Destroyers, Louria's Northern Port facilities had turned into embers. After they had confirmed that all assets on the port and on the seas had been completely destroyed, the Horizon Destroyers moved to beyond the coast visual range.

In the current engagement, UNM Navy had sunk the remaining 1,600 enemy warships and completely destroyed the port facilities and logistics. Amongst the damaged facilities were the naval repair docks and the naval headquarter building.

Thus, Louria Kingdom's Navy had been completely eradicated.

Dragon Knight Thanakane was still desperately struggling to lead his trembling wyvern, that refused to move, back to the base. They were still on their landing spot near the walls, which was far away from the city.

"Bloody wyvern, the enemy is already gone! Don't you feel infuriated when your comrades get killed!? I don't care if you crawl, just move already‼"

The wyvern had been traumatized by the fear instilled by the death screams of its comrades.

The iron dragon back then deliberately only targeted its wyvern comrades. As proof for this, the iron dragon didn't attack the city where there were a lot of people. If the wyvern showed itself, it might be killed immediately.

── That iron dragon must've hated wyverns.

Or so what the wyvern thought.

"Bloody, shit‼ Move dammit! Move‼"

While Thanakane was struggling, the Capital Defense Knights personnel, who had been looking for survivors in the surrounding area, reached his location. With their help, he was finally able to move his wyvern back to the Dragon Roost.

"I'm deeply grateful for your help."

He expressed his gratefulness.

"Please, do not mind. You are an important surviving dragon knight after all."
"Even so, what an unbelievable enemy, right? Since my wyvern won't move, I ended up causing problems for others. My seniors will surely chew me out after this..."

Thanakane made a sorrowful face. It was his wyvern who was uncooperative and fled from the enemy, but as a soldier, he won't be able to excuse his own inexperience.

However, the Capital Defense Knight looked down and somberly addressed Thanakane.

"I think... you shouldn't worry about that anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Every member of the 2nd and 3rd Dragon Knights had been shot down, you are the lone survivor. The 1st Dragon Knights that were heading to support the port were also annihilated. A complete unit lost. You are just a single dragon knight, even if you went back then, the end result won't be different."
"Eh!?"

Thanakane, couldn't immediately understand the meaning of the Knight's words.

Slowly, the weight of the phrase 'Unit Lost' seeped and broke into his mind. At that moment, he impulsively grasped the Knight's shoulder and shouted furiously.

"Impossible‼ That's impossible‼ For the Dragon Knights to not just receive damage but completely destroyed, it's impossible‼ Under a human's control, the wyvern is the strongest creature in the world‼ They can't just be defeated that easily‼ There are 150 units, it's 150 units, you know!? Even if the opponent is a nation from a Civilization Area ── Even if the opponent is a Superpower nation, it's inconceivable for them to be completely annihilated‼! The enemy on the port must be numbered hundreds‼! Isn't it?!"
"... This is just their confirmed number, but the enemy's number was 40 units."
"Four... ty...?"
"The battle this time had been seen by the Capital's citizens so we can't hide the result. Among the Capital's citizens, there are talks that this is 'The Greatest Defeat in History' or 'The Ancient Sorcerous Empire is at war with the Kingdom of Louria'. ──You will soon find out about this, so there's no harm if you hear it right now. You know about the Naval HQ on the Capital's Northern Port, right?"
"Yes, I know..."
"It has been destroyed by naval and aerial attacks. The enemy air units projected a powerful explosion magics, while the sea demonic ships on the ocean magic-projected a god-like amount of mana, which pulverized the warships and the port facilities. The prospect of recovering these facilities will be... Impossible."

Thanakane was shaken. Just how much armaments does the enemy bring? Not only they had annihilated 150 wyverns, but they also completely destroyed the port facilities.

"Right now, there is a council meeting in the Castle, perhaps about how to defend against the impending Capital invasion, especially since there's a confirmed enemy presence in the south... The council will surely be in a mess, don't you agree?"

Just like the Capital Defense Knight had said ── or perhaps, just like what most people had expected, the war council was in a mess.

Place: Hark Castle

The General of the Kingdom's Defense Knights Orders, Patagene, was inside the King's Room. While holding back his cold sweat, he gave his report to the Lourian King, Hark Louria XXXIV.

In the room, there was no one except for Patagene and the King.

"── that is a summary of the damage caused by Japan's last attack, and the overview of the Capital defense plan."
"Are you really certain about this!? What will happen if we lose again... To think that the port even got destroyed..."

Hark Louria XXXIV was at a loss of words at the magnitude of the damage caused by Historia forces with just a single round of attack, even more, it happened over a short period of time.

"I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty... However, it is still not clear how strong Historia forces really is. What's really concerning is the fact that they managed to reach the Capital, completely bypassing the Craft City Beadsure. There is no doubt that they will attack the city. Using this chance, we will surely investigate their weakness."
"That is just wishful thinking. I now ask you, if its instead the Parpaldia Empire who invaded the Port and the Capital from the sky, do you think the damage will be as large as now?"
"With all due respect, Your Majesty. A Superpower nation like Parpaldia is extraordinary. The amount of fleets and Wyvern Lords that they could field greatly surpasses our country. If several hundred magic-armed ships and Wyvern Lords, that took off from the Dragon Mothership had attacked our country, then it will inflict heavy damages several times larger than the last attack. If that country is our current opponent, then perhaps the Dragon Knights' Dragon Roost, the runway, and then the Royal Castle would be engulfed in fire."
"... Give an honest answer as the one who commands the Capital's Defense Knights Order."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Parpaldia Empire's strength was on a level where even when the Knights Order's Strategy Office had enacted many combat simulations with them as the hypothetical enemy, we judged that it will be impossible to win due to the disparity in the military power, national power, and technological expertise aspects. As for Historia, it's not just 'wishful thinking' like what Your Majesty had stated before, but there is really too little information available."
"Do you have any idea why a country, that could cause such damage to the port, suddenly appeared? There are many who says that they are just groups of islanders assembled into one country, but what's your opinion?"
"I believe that it's impossible for an emerging nation made up from a group of islands to possess such power in such a short time period. On the other hand, when they first visited us, Historia delegation stated that they are a "transferred nation". For a mythical event like that to happen in reality is plainly inconceivable. I dare say that... There is a possibility that a certain nation had backed them for an unknown objective. Furthermore, their backer is a powerful nation..."
"I see... At any rate, the Capital must be defended at all cost."
"Yes, Your Majesty. You can put your trust in me."

General Patagene stood up and then bowed to the King, bowed once more in front of the door, and then left the room.

The King recalled the scene he saw today.

A sudden roar engulfed Jin-Hark as continuous echoes of explosions could be heard from the direction of the port.

Wondering what has happened, the King tried to watch from the top of Hark Castle. What he saw was the scene where the most elite Dragon Knights of his nation were engulfed by smoke and torn asunder into pieces as the thunderous blast roared.

Large smoke was rising over the direction of the port, and the people in the city and inside the Royal Castle were thrown into chaos.

He is the King. By no means could he let the people see him being afraid.

However, to be honest, the unknown is scary.

The King was anxious about the future for the Kingdom of Louria.

Present...

Being the only survivor of the Dragon Knights assigned to the capital's defense, Thanakane shook off his fears and decided to face the enemy raining death on his comrades. His partner wyvern too seemed to have shaken off its own fears. Actually, it may just be because they have concluded that they could win over their flying enemies this time, who were much slower than the ones they tried to fight earlier. Instinctively, the two felt that flying higher than their enemies was dangerous, so they decided to fly close to the ground, and upon entering range they'd steady their aim and fire a magic flame bullet.

"Let's go!"

Shaking off their reluctance, they took off to the sky.

Slipping into the clouds of dust enveloping the battlefield, they began their approach. From time to time, bullets of light would pass through their vicinity. Praying that they don't get hit, he and his wyvern glided through the sky above their comrades.

"Just a little bit more..."

In just mere moments, they'd soon be within range to fire. Their enemy may have probably noticed them but for now they showed no signs of movement. Giving his partner the sign to fire a magic flame bullet, it opened its mouth wide and a fireball began to form. They aimed for one of the enemy objects which was slightly farther from the rest of the formation.

"Now!"

Giving the order to climb, they immediately climbed to face their enemy in a straight line.

"Fire!"

He clung to his partner's head. Upon firing the fireball, Thanakane gave his partner the sign to ready a second shot.

A Taboo Chopper from Scarlet Air Force was focusing on strafing their enemies below them when a ball of fire flew into their sight. The back muscles of the pilot sitting in the rear froze as she yanked his control stick to the left.

"Urgghhhhh!"

The helicopter banked left and slid sideways. The scene unfolding in front of them was dominated by a fireball flying towards them. From their perspective, time passed agonizingly slow.

It was merely an instant. The fireball missed, simply leaving behind a "swoosh" sound as it passed to their right. The heat was so hot that the pilots inside the helicopter felt it on their skin. They successfully dodged it mere moments before it hit.

Looking at the direction from where the fireball came, they saw a single wyvern readying itself for a second shot.

"How did we not notice that before?!"

The pilot remembers glancing at the radar screen when an enemy reflected on it for a single moment.

"Questions later! Let's shoot it down!"

The gunner sitting in the front looked at the enemy that had fired a fireball on them. The eye link system matched the movement of her eyes, pointing the barrel of the Encage autocannon mounted in front towards the enemy. Using her index finger, she pulled the trigger.

The autocannon, boasting a rate of fire of over 1680 rpm, began to spit light balls. Within moments, the wyvern slid to the left, evading the burst of fire from the autocannon as tracers simply passed next to their right.

"Shit! It fired!"

The enemy once more unleashed a fireball, prompting them to try to avoid it.

Thanakane and his partner, believing that they'd score a hit with their surprise attack, were surprised that their enemy managed to avoid it.

"Damn! That monster!"

After their first shot, he anticipated that the enemy would unleash its breath once more, taking evasive maneuvers as bullets of light passed through where they used to be. Despite being extra vigilant, they were lucky they avoided the enemy's breath. Looking at the speed of the light bullets, his body shook knowing that they wouldn't be given another chance.

"Let's wrap this up quickly! The next one has to hit!"

Winds pummelled against his face. Upon reaching the limits of a wyvern's speed, the thunderous sound of the wind being cut clean could be heard. From where they were now, they could see their enemy clearly. Their enemy also clearly saw them, taking evasive maneuvers as it prepared to attack them.

Fixing their posture, they could no longer avoid their enemy's attack.

Deciding the moment to launch their second shot, Thanakane gave the order to his partner to fire the magic flame bullet it had already prepared.

"Now!"

The wyvern spit out its fireball. He strained his eyes with the anticipation of victory that this time, their trajectory was correct.

"H-huh?!"

At the same time, the enemy unleashed its breath. The bullets of light went right through the magic flame bullet unscathed and landed hits on his partner, opening up big holes in its hide and splattering blood all over. Thanakane was lucky that he didn't get directly hit but he understood that he could no longer save his partner.

"No! No!"

His wyvern's speed dropped. As they fell, he turned his head upwards to see their magic flame bullet land a direct hit on the enemy's nose.

"So we hit each other at the same time, huh..."

As they fell rapidly, the surface of the ground got closer. His partner exhausted a bit more strength one last time, extending its wings and flapping them to at least not let Thanakane die. However, it didn't have much strength left and it crashed bluntly and dramatically onto the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and Thanakane off the saddle.

"F-fuck... I can't move..."

The enemy, which the 1st and 2nd Dragon Knights Brigade together couldn't stand up to, was matched by only a single Dragon Knight even if it was a draw. It was a dramatically good result. Feeling relieved, he looked up at the sky, only to see something that made him doubt his own eyes.

"N-no way!"

The enemy, which he thought they had felled, hovered in the air as if nothing had happened. A white smoke trailed from its front which seemed to be the only effect their magic flame bullet had on it.

Looking at its features from below, it had long, slender, board-like things spinning at high speeds on top of it. Painted below and on the sides of its charcoal-colored torso were red circles with sixteen rays.

Thanakane was struck by despair.

"What the hell... Now it feels like we have no hope of winning..."

Before he can use his manacomm, Thanakane saw few of the enemy flying soldiers approaching him. Hearing about what happened to Eastern Subjugation Army and Southern Army, he realized what it means, and raises his hands.

Then, someone with a strange clothing approaches the dying wyvern, and to his shock, managed to stabilize the wyvern's life force.

"This should do it. But we only have three days at most before the spell dissipates."

They then looked around and sighs in relief since the site is far from the battlefield.

"This might be sudden, but I need you to calm down. Your partner can still be saved. But we need to bring him to an adequate base in order to help him heal his wounds. It's unfortunate that we have to meet like this, but such is the cost of war."

Thanakane wanted to ask who the person is, but he's shocked when he saw a certain Dragon Knight approaching the site.

"Muller..."

The Capital Defense Knights continued to close the distance towards the enemy despite being subject to the bullets of light unleashed from the front, the intense rain of meteors being pummeled on them, and the arrows of light that carried powerful explosive magic launched by the flying insect-like objects.

"Just a bit more…"

Looking over the battlefield, Patagene burned the sight of his men dying gallantly into the back of his head.

"At this rate, our blades would soon reach the enemy. I bet that those meteor shower-like attacks can't be used within range of their own allies."

Like Patagene, the tacticians were also watching over the situation while gnashing their teeth in vexation at the overwhelming number of casualties they suffered. However, within the next moment, whatever inkling of hope they had left suddenly changed to despair.

Without any warning, the battlefield was suddenly obscured by gigantic explosions as if a volcano hidden in the plains suddenly erupted, bathing an extensive area in raging fire. The soldiers which were within the area were mowed down. They didn't understand what was going on but once the dust settled, they understood what had become of their troops. The outcome of the battle west of Gim had once more taken place, this time in the plains outside the capital.

"N-no fucking way! S-shit! Have them fall back! Get everyone who's still standing out of there now! Tell them to reform their formations and fall back inside the walls immediately!"

Patagene barked.

The Scarlet Tanks belonged to Scarlet Defense Army fired their Gungnir main guns simultaneously. Together with the Taboo Choppers and fire support from Kirisame Elite Corps, they wiped out a massive chunk of the Louria Kingdom's Capital Defense Knights, pushing them to near total destruction.

The fire support from Kirisame Elite Corps in particular planted fear into their hearts since they never saw them coming.

Few minutes ago...

"All wyvern units have been annihilated. Furthermore, a huge chunk of Lourian army has taken the bait. Go!"

In the bright day, helicopters were flying over the skies of the capital.

3 helicopters, 2 Flusterer Hubschraubers and a Combat Chinook, carrying GUF Strike Group consisting of Outsiders and Resolvers (Flusterer Hubschraubers) and Allied Peacekeepers (Combat Chinook), entered the airspace above the royal castle in Jin-Hark. The 7th and 8th Royal Guards, upon seeing those things unleash their overpowering presence and gale from the down wash they created, shuddered in intimidation. The utter defeat of Eastern Subjugation Army and Southern Army was widely known, even among the royal guards, and they were confident that these were the unfamiliar flying objects from Historia forces that had trampled over their comrades.

The helicopters moved into the courtyard of the royal palace as planned beforehand as they hovered. As the gunners on the helicopter's side doors began to fire their machine guns on the surface below, the rounds, mixed in with tracers, rained down on the 7th and 8th Royal Guards watching in confusion.

After there were no longer any threats, the Outsiders and Resolvers jumped from the Flusterer Hubschraubers.

"Go! Go! Go!"

As the Flusterer Hubschraubers hovered over the air to provide fire support, GUF Strike Group lands on the ground one after another. After they landed, in the blink of an eye, they created a circular defensive parameter. In under 3 minutes, the Flusterer Hubschraubers quickly moved out of the way for the Combat Chinook to come in.

Soon afterwards, they secured the zone before the Peacekeepers dropped down swiftly.

The palace courtyard had been readily secured.

"Let's move!"

Following the layout of the royal palace they have seen and memorized countless times, they ran to the place where the king was likely to be.

Place: Hark Castle

Rand, commander of the royal guards, saw the enemy appear in the sky above the royal palace courtyard from the hallway next to the operations command room. Running into the operations command room, he gave orders to the 0th to 2nd Royal Guards through the comms officer to intercept their enemies. Considering the strength that the enemy showed today, it was extremely possible that they'd already secured the courtyard. However, since the attack that occurred south of the capital was most likely a diversion, that meant that the number of enemies that came here was few.

He immediately moved to contact Patagene to request extra troops from the north gate to return to the royal palace. From the emergency meeting room, Patagene also witnessed the dropping of several enemy soldiers into the royal castle.

"They sent their army through the air?!"

Wyverns couldn't lift heavy objects and the most that they could carry was only 2 people. Since they don't have deployment tactics which let their valued dragon knights interact with the regular infantrymen, they never imagined infantry deployment from the sky. Patagene looked at the scene with disbelief.

The tacticians, having received the report from Rand through the comms officer, reported to Patagene.

"The commander of the royal guards has requested reinforcements. He believes that the enemy is aiming directly for the king."
"Fuck! So the attack that destroyed our garrison was a diversion?! But... If this isn't an operation to capture the king and the attack on the royal castle is a diversion, sending men back to the castle would mean that the gates would fall easily…"
"But if we lose the king, there won't be anyone to keep the kingdom together! Since we have levied more taxes to fund the wars, there's only the possibility that the citizens and the lords will revolt! If we lose the king, it's all over!"
"Grr... I can't believe we've been cornered to this point...! Leave half of our men at the south gate while the other half are to head back to the castle! Kick them out of our capital!"

With a despairing face, Patagene barked out orders.

Rand, who was tasked with guarding the royal hall on the 4th floor, was receiving reports from the demon-like strength of the enemy infantry that had come. In his vicinity, the 0th Royal Guards and several mancomm officers lie in wait. At the corner of a room was a workbench where several manacomms were placed. The manacomm officers received reports at breakneck speed, reading them out loud before they could even understand their contents.

"They have taken the meeting room on the 1st floor. The enemy is currently advancing to the hall on the 2nd floor and are currently in contact with the 3rd Royal Guards stationed in the east courtyard."
"The 3rd Royal Guards have been wiped out. The enemies wield objects which resemble magic staves which spit out fire. It's believed that they are firing invisible arrows."
"It appears that armor cannot block against the enemy's magic attacks which are easily penetrating them. Furthermore, it seems that the silver armor worn by soldiers which are effective against magic attacks can't block them. The enemy also doesn't seem to be wearing armor."
"They have taken the hall on the 2nd floor. They are currently marching to the minister's conference hall on the 3rd floor. The 2nd Royal Guards are responding. They will attack them from the flank and are using iron shields fielded by the heavy infantry."

The frightening speed at which the enemy advanced gave Rand no time to issue orders as the royal guards were readily and swiftly mowed down. Given no choice but to listen to the depressing reports, Rand readied himself for the fight against Historia forces. He talks to the vice commander standing next to him.

"Just what the hell are they? There's only supposed to be a few of them and yet the speed at which they advance is unheard of!"
"Certainly... It's said that a soldier's strength comes from their skill but I wonder just how much training they do day by day... Since it's reported that they wear no armor, it appears that they've given importance to their speed. If we could get in range of swords, they may not be able to fight back but..."
"Indeed. They're using magic which cannot be blocked by silver armor. I hope that the iron shields will prove effective..."
"If they could run this fast even though they use magic, it seems they have sent elite magic swordsmen. If they're aiming for the king, they'd have to pass through here. I will hide in the pillars and take them by surprise."
"Good luck. Get 'em in one hit!"
"Will do."

While they were talking, the manacomm officers handed them a depressing report. The reports have started to decrease and it's getting apparent in their faces that they now understood the situation they were in.

"It seems that the 2nd Royal Guards... have also been wiped out. The surprise attacks from the side ended in failure. They also reported that the heavy infantry iron shields had no effect. The magic which pierced through the iron shield also pierced their armor..."
"The 1st Royal Guards are about to make contact with the enemy in front of the audience hall."

Once they break through the audience hall, the next one would be the royal hall and then the emergency antechamber where the king is evacuated to. Rand expected results from the 1st Royal Guards, who were as comparatively elite as the 0th Royal Guards.

Finally, they heard echoes of successive explosions next door.

"Reinforcements won't be in time at the rate they're advancing..."
"Yeah. We probably just bought only a sliver of time..."
"The 1st Royal Guards have been wiped out. The enemy has now taken control of the audience hall."

Even the elite 1st Royal Guards were easily mowed down. At this rate, Rand felt that he and the 0th Royal Guards he commanded would be easily wiped out and just like that, they'd lose the king.

He scrambled his head for ideas.

"Everyone, hide behind the pillars! Don't reveal yourselves till I say so! I will go and talk with the enemy!"

Rand has decided to talk to the enemy to buy time until Patagene's reinforcements, which he hoped he sent, come. The royal hall was big, with doors leading from the audience hall as the only entrance and massive stone pillars which could hide 3 people flanking the center.

"Hm… Just in case. Hey, you!"

Rand called out to two maids waiting in front of the king's antechamber and ordered them to stand next to each other about 5 meters from the doors leading to the audience hall. Unable to say no and overwhelmed by fear, the 2 maids followed Rand's orders.

After clearing their hindrances, both Yasei and Reimu headed the force that will take the king and ran for the 4th floor where their target should be in the emergency antechamber in the royal hall. According to their intel, upon opening the doors at the heart of the audience hall, lying in wait was a massive hallway at the end of which was the king's antechamber.

Lourian soldiers which had appeared up to that point didn't pose much of a threat and they were able to readily clear them. They considered the possibility of fighting a soldier who used magic but they never saw one. Maybe they didn't have the space needed or that magic was banned on castle grounds.

Still, the Peacekeepers were able to keep up with the fast advance, despite us being much lighter… Thank goodness.

Thinking that the Peacekeepers didn't have much stamina in comparison to the Fighters, they were surprised by their performance. This clearly shows the reason why Peacekeepers are considered Allied Forces' elite infantries.

Yasei returned his senses to the doors in front of him. With his rifle at the ready, he gave the signal to his comrades and the doors were opened.

"!"

Right in front of their muzzles were 2 maids shaking in fear. Their faces were painted in sorrowful expression as they wet the floor in shock at their forceful opening of the doors.

"Yooo. You have finally come! My name is Rand and I am the commander of the royal guards. Why don't you talk with me for a bit?"

They heard a voice from within the dark throes of the royal hall. As the dim torch light faintly shined on the darkness, they saw a man sporting grey hair and clad with silver armor.

'Something's fishy here. We better be careful.'

Taking the lead, John responded to Rand's question as he keeps his shotgun steady.

"There's no time for talk. If you don't wish to fight, throw your weapons away and surrender."

Showing no indication of yielding to John's order, Rand sheathed his sword back into his scabbard. The maids stood trembling.

"Surrender now! Otherwise, you are branded as enemies!"

John shouted.

However, Rand and the 2 maids didn't move a single inch.

"Kh...!"

With no time to spare, they should be clearing them as hindrances yet as a Peacekeeper and as a soldier of the Allied Forces, he couldn't bear to pull the trigger on the seemingly civilian maids who simply trembled in terror.

"I don't have my sword drawn and both my hands are raised. I have also ordered the maids not to move from where they are but it's up to you how you handle them."

Rand boldly smiled as if to provoke them.

Yasei, the overall leader of GUF Strike Group, steps forward in front of John.

"Sorry, but we have no time to talk. If you have no ill intents, throw your weapons and drop to the ground. If you don't, we'll consider you as an enemy. Also..."

He looks at the maids. Absurd amounts of tears flowed from their eyes and their breathing got more intense.

"I don't want to talk to someone who uses civilians as shields. Throw your weapons, raise your hands, and pin yourself to the floor!"

Judging from Yasei's tone and expression, Rand realized that he could no longer buy time.

"Okay. I will now drop my sword. You lot! Follow what they say!"

The maids got on their shaking knees and clutched their heads as they lay flat on the ground. Rand also got on his knees and took the sword from his hip and dropped it on the ground. He lay down on the ground but kept his face up to keep talking.

"So you are the soldiers of Historia? This is my first time seeing an army as powerful as yours. You're aiming for our king, right? What do you intend to do with him?"
"We'll arrest him for sanctioning the attack against our ally. Also, are there people behind those pillars?"
"Hahaha! Of course you lot are also sharp! Alpha Squad! Throw away your swords and slowly emerge from the pillars and do as they say! Yo, Historia force guys, I won't let my men resist so don't attack them."

12 men emerged from behind the pillars. They swiftly followed John's orders, threw away their weapons, and lay flat on the ground.

As Yasei approached Rand, the rest of GUF Strike Group vigilantly entered into the royal hall. Lucy and Sakuya follows him as they approached the maids.

"The king is just beyond this point, right?"

At Yasei's question, Rand's defeated face suddenly changed. His eyes got sharper. The former noticed this, and immediately warns Reimu via telepathy.

'Get ready, Reimu. This reeks of ambush.'
'On it, Yasei. I also feel the same thing.'

He then looks at the royal guard commander.

"Yes. However, the king is our light... I don't want you to proceed but it's useless to ask, yes?"
"Indeed."
"Then I am left with no choice."

Concealed in Rand's hands were magic pellets used for smokescreen and he deployed them. He was the Louria Kingdom's strongest magic swordsman, serving as the king's sword and shield. The white smoke swiftly spread across the royal hall.

Immediately, GUF Strike Group makes a formation to counter the ambush. Yasei quickly switches his rifle with a sword.

"Alpha Squad! Beta Squad! NOW!" (Rand)
"Outsiders! Brace for impact!" (Yasei)
"Resolvers! Ready the guns!" (Reimu)

Under the cover of the smokescreen, swordsmen rushed into the formation of GUF Strike Group and Allied Peacekeepers. Rand also quickly got on his feet, taking his sword and lunging it straight at Yasei.

"Hiyaaaaa!"

Together with his spirited shout, he swung his sword down.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the sound of metal clashing against metal was heard.

Deflecting the force of the sword downwards with his own sword, in one swift strike, Yasei struck Rand on the neck.

"Agh!"

The sword hit his armor, scraping its surface. Rand stepped back in astonishment at Yasei's sword handling. However, his wound was fatal. By the time he tried to swing his sword once more, the magic steel staff wielded by John breathed out fire, and he fell where he stood.

The sound of gun fire echoed throughout the royal hall. As the smoke finally cleared, they confirmed that their formation managed to annihilate the entirety of the 0th Royal Guards. The maids fainted on the floor from fear.

"All clear! The next room is the king's antechamber!"

At Yasei's orders, they opened the doors to the king's antechamber.

Just before the force enters the antechamber, Yasei and Reimu briefly discusses the current events. This also allows the Peacekeepers to take care of the maids with Lucy and Sakuya's help.

*sigh* "Guess we've became too powerful if our non-lethal attacks still managed to kill them..."
"I think it's the difference between our Home Dimension and this world..."
"True, that. Back at home, we've faced countless wars that impacted the entire universe, and I doubt that the inhabitants of this world experienced a conflict on the level of World War I."
"And there's the fact that Gensokyo has a hand in every single Third Wars acknowledged by the Alliance."
"Third Genso-Lunar War, Third World War, and Third Gensokyo Great War..."
"The sheer disparity between us and Lourians made the result obvious since the war started. Is your side fully accounted?"
"Yep. And so does the Peacekeepers. I take that your side is fully accounted as well."
"Indeed. We better finish this. Let's go."

With one last nod to each other, the two strongest GUF Guardians lead their respective group to the final room.

"The Trident has struck all of its targets. Louria's fall is imminent."

Introduced units

Taboo Chopper: Main Assault Helicopter of Scarlet Defense Army. Based from Russian Mi-24 Hind.
Users: Gensokyo Union Fighters, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Origin: Scarlet Fang Chopper from Fantasy Blitzkrieg Mission One

Peacekeeper: Elite Allied infantry specialized in urban warfare. Has superior defense compared to GI and Guardian GI.
Users: United Nations Military, Historia Shoukan Dominion
Origin: C&C Red Alert 3