Before moving on, I decided that because the ending part was too short, I'll just put it together with the battle. After this, we can go straight to the fourth episode.

In the meantime, I'll be displaying some battle quote in the forums I conjure when writing this fic, much like how characters will have special quotes when fighting certain enemies in the SRW game. I'll be storing the lists of quotes for each character in each series on replied with respective threadmarks. I'll update them whenever I approve new quotes that people come up with, whether it be here on the forums or from reviews on .

There will be a list for each character, both good guys and bad guys, sorted by series. Each list will contain special quotes for confronting an opponent, receiving damage from an opponent (minimal/avoiding damage, major damage with high health, and major damage with low health), support from an ally (attacking and defending), and sometimes death. Therefore, that's seven lists in total.

I'll give a couple of examples later. For now, here's the chapter.


The fields of Coenenberg was never the type for a battlefield. And yet, it became one as Germanian forces advanced unopposed. Squads of infantry escorted columns of Panzer IIIs and IVs. The already crushed the Eylstadt's Renault tank columns, eliminating the entire armored division that stood at the vanguard. Now that was left standing in the way of conquering the city were the entrenched positions and whatever artillery batteries they had.

Unlike the tanks, the defensive positions proved to be more of a problem for the ground troops. Their cannons were useless in the trenches and machineguns had limited effectiveness. Without heavy weapons such as machine guns, the ground soldiers easily took care of them by throwing grenades into the trenches. However, there were still a lot of machinegun emplacements, which kept them advancing. They had to rely on their allies from above.

Up in the air were Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers, all of which carried bombs under their wings in addition to two forward MG17s and one rear mounted MG15 machinegun. Their main purpose was to bomb the trenches so the tanks could advance, but even that was a problem. There were no Eylstadt planes to intercept them, but they were attacked by another threat, which was why they were brought in instead of twin-engine He-111 bombers.

Shortly below the Stukas was a twin-tailed, brown-haired girl in her late teens. Her uniform looked much like that used by Germania, except her emblem had an "X" instead of a dagger-like Balkenkruz. However, she did not wear any legwear. Instead, she wore machines on her legs that resembled propeller-driven aircraft that gave her flight. Furthermore, if her leg-attached machine were a real fight, then it would resemble Germania's own Falk-Wulf 190D-6. She even carried a Germanian-based MG42 with had two drum magazines attached to it. The bright aura around her showed she used magic flowing within her to wield the heavy weapon, also shown by her ears and tail like that from a Wirehaired Pointer dog.

Gertrude Barkhorn remained in place as she opened fire on a squadron of Stukas. Her stream of bullets tore through the wing of the leading Stuka, forcing the others to break away. She engaged another plane breaking to the right before she pursued it. The two Stukas on the left returned from their defensive split maneuver to get behind her. Anticipating this maneuver, she ascended to a higher altitude. Right when the planes pass, she performed a partial wingover by swooping down to trail behind all four planes.

As the plane's rear-mounted gunner opened fire, Gertrude put up a circular barrier of light in front of her. This shield deflected the gunfire that would have torn through her body otherwise. In the middle of the gunfire, she engaged in a scissor-like maneuver, strafing to the left and right as she engaged the Stuka. She luckily got the middle by the tail and sent it plunging to the ground.

The closest Stuka continued to open fire. One bounced off Gertrude's Striker Unit that knocked her off balance in the middle of firing. The leading Stuka did a pitchback to the right and faced Gertrude head-on. The Witch stopped moving to regain balance as the Stuka aimed at her. She attempted to project a shield from the anticipating gunfire as another stream of MG42 fire came from above. The attacking Stuka turned to break off, but the hail of bullets damaged by the left wing and back section, sending it flying into the ground.

The stream of bullets came from a short blonde girl. Her Striker unit resembled one of Germania's ME-109s, and she had ears like that of a Dachshund dog. Her uniform was like Gertrude's, except more for an enlisted officer. She was pretty laid back for a subordinate, much to the officer's ire, but she had it where it counted.

"You seem to have trouble, Trude."

"Don't lose sight of the enemy! There are more planes inbound, take them out before they bomb our allies on the ground!"

Another girl in a Striker Unit came in after flipping two loops backward. She was fair-skinned with two short, black twin-tails and ears of a black panther. She only wore a white button jacket instead of the Germanian-like uniforms of her two comrades. Her Striker Unit resembled a Romagna Fiat G-55.

Francesca Lucchini struggled to hold onto her Liberion-made M1919A6 machinegun as she regained balance. She was already getting tired over the countless waves of Germanian aircraft.

"Aggh, they just keep coming! When is this ever going to end!?"

"If we don't hold them off here, they will strike deep into Eylstadt territory and overwhelm the capital! We need to shoot down as many as we can and hold them off until the city evacuates."

Gertrude did not show it but also cursed the entire situation. Aside from having to fight her own countrymen, this whole battle was never for the sake of victory. It was so the citizens could escape the duchy, which was a long and slow process altogether.

"Our men on the ground say that the Eylstadt forces will launch an artillery barrage soon. Keep the enemy at bay and make sure they do not bomb their positions, especially their observation post in the mountains."

Gertrude then descended as Erica and Francesca followed her. They swooped in and attacked a Stuka about to drop its bombs, but the plane crashed into the entrenched position after shooting it down. A few more Stuka dropped their bombs before ascending. The Witches fired their weapon at the enemy planes with Erica and Gertrude destroying two more planes. Another two that completed their run fired their rear machineguns, forcing them to project their shields as they pursued. They behind one of the Stukas as it fired back. Erica and Francesca used Gertrude's shield as they performed a scissors maneuver and shot down one of the Stukas. After clearing the other Stuka's line of fire, the Witches approached it by the side as Gertrude destroyed the propeller. They broke off from the downed Stuka as they continued heading back to the mountains.

They performed low yo-yo maneuver together to gain speed as they flew over the ruined trenches. The Germanian Panzer IIIs continued to advance below as they fired with their turret and chassis-mounted machineguns. The Eylstadt forces and Karsland agents continued to fire back with their own machineguns as several of them got shot by their helmets.

Gertrude tightened her grip on her weapons a glared at the ground vehicles.

If only my MG151/20 had ammo, I would have done something about those tanks by now.

A shadow from the next wave of Stukas pass over Gertrude, causing her and her squad mates to break off as they gained altitude. Using their speed to their advantage, they made a quick strike from below and fired their machine guns at once. While Francesca had trouble until the last minute, each Witch managed to shoot down a Stuka each. They stopped to observe the downed Stuka crashing into the Germanian troops while the last two Stukas broke away.

The Witches were interrupted as gunfire came from above. Another squadron of Stukas descended to attack the girls, forcing them to put up their shields and accelerated. The leading Stuka trialed girl and fired its forward machineguns at them. A few bullets got Francesca and Gertrude by their guns, and another grazed the latter's wing, causing her to spiral for the moment. Another bullet nearly got Erica by the arm shortly after lowering her shield, only to fire back within machinegun fire into the plane's engine.

Two accompanying planes started to fire back as well, but the Witches stopped and put their shields to block the attacks. They slowed down their speed until they were sandwiched on both sides. While this was naturally disadvantageous for normal planes, the more mobile Witches remained safe from the life of fire including the Stukas' rear guns. They gunned down both Stukas closest to them while Gertrude got another one further outward. Francesca missed the last one that broke off and returned fire with its rear turret. The Romagna Witch panicked as he put a shield as Gertrude and Erica pursued. They fired their MG42s at the strafing dive bomber and nabbed it on the right wing. The Stuka then crashed into the cliff edge, not too far from the observation post.

The Witches stopped as they found the observation post still intact. No planes approached the cliff side so that the artillery could fire at any time now. They heard the rapid on the other side of the mountain, coming from the forests as they flew below the Witches. They noticed the shots drop down and pound the advancing Germanian forces. A few tanks got destroyed, although they were all only Panzer IIIs, and a few more Germanian squads were obliterated.

Gertrude sighed for the moment. They had been fighting since the afternoon, and before then, they traveled from an airport to the east just to get to Coenenberg. The entire battle was draining, and even with all the hard work, it wasn't as rewarding as it sounded. It was a lost cause from the start, and all they were doing was salvaging what they could at the expense of so many men. Even then, time was short, for them, their allies, and the civilians below.


Back at the fortress, Fine observed the battle from afar. The artillery bombardment damaged some of the tanks and hit many of the advancing Germanian forces, but that was only the first wave. Several more tank columns still advanced from behind with more infantry support. In the air, she observed the Karsland Witches battling against the Stuka dive bombers in the area. Their efforts were minimal but effective to a degree.

A blonde-haired Major of the Eylstadt forces reported to Fine as she observed.

"The artillery did a decent job hitting the armored columns. As of now, it looks like a stalemate from out here."

Fine still had some worry. The first bombardment might have done well, but how long will it last.

"Is there any hope they can win?"

"If we're lucky enough, we'll be able to buy time for the civilians to evacuate."

Those words shocked Fine as if it were the gentle answer of saying "no."

"Are you saying that we're only able to buy time!? Don't our people and Karsland forces even know that!?"

"They do, and they're fighting anyway."

Fine clinched her fists as the situation further overwhelmed her. Whether the soldiers were fighting or not, lives were being lost by the minute. What the point of saving lives if people were dying as of now, especially when the time being bought is too short to be worth it.

Buying time? We're losing lives just to buy time? Isn't there anything I can do…for the lives being lost this very minute?

A group of soldiers came up behind them.

"Princess, may you allow us to go to Coenenberg?"

The major stepped in to protest.

"No way."

"Our fellow soldiers are dying out there! We can't just stand by and watch!"

"You can't cross anything in front of the river without any equipment."

"We can just kill as many as possible, whether it be our rifles, knives, bayonets, or whatever! We lost our comrades at the fortress. We can't let them all die!"

"NO!"

Fine's scream startled the soldiers as they all drew their eyes on her.

"There's nothing we can do now!"

"But…"

"That's enough! The situation is dire, I know, but those fighting at Coenenberg are fighting to buy us time. When the time comes to withdraw, we must. Have you forgotten our real mission here? What are we risking our lives for? This is neither revenge nor a reckless challenge! It's to protect our people, and our families, is it not!? You must endure for now."

Fine did her best to keep composure, but the madness was more than enough he can bear. They noticed her breaking down in tears as she lectured them.

"I'm sorry, but as I am now, I can't even let you choose where to lay down your lives. At some point, I shall call upon you sacrifice yourselves, but now is not the time. My job is to create a country that lets you keep your eyes fixed on the future. I'm supposed to tell you not how to die, but how to live. That is my duty, and yet…"

"Princess…"

"Now, excuse me."

Fine turned away from the stunned soldiers. She stood strong for too long and did not want to show any weakness. But even with her back turned, she could feel all the soldiers pitying her, having nothing but words to deal with the crisis.

Forgive me…Forgive me for not being strong enough.

During the entire speech, Izetta hid by the tree, watching the princess in agony. Even with Fine's protests, Izetta could only see pain in her eyes. After all the times Fine saved her from her pain and despair she endured, the princess was able to endure that pain herself. The princess's pain was the same as hers.

She slowly snuck away from the soldiers, walking slowly back to the fortress. She always felt pain coming from herself, but pain coming from someone else was something else. She had to do something, something that would make the princess feel better. Then that way, she herself would feel better.

In the middle of the depression, Izetta heard a loud clang that brought her back to her senses. She jerked to the soldiers alongside Fine, who seemingly did not hear the loud metallic noise. The Witch then returned to where the sound originated, another part of a mansion with a door to the outside.

Just then, Alice stepped outside the mansion with clattering medieval lances that looked like large jousting lances. Alice nearly tripped over them with fastened armored boots. Alice regained her balance and had Tipler assist her in fastening two metal gauntlets for her arms.

The Psionic girl noticed the miserable Witch return to a depressing state, and she was not having any of it.

"Hey, White Witch! Are you just going to stay there and weep or what!?"

Izetta snapped to her senses.

"Alice?"

"I saw your eyes back there. You wish to help your princess save her country, don't you? Well, I found the perfect weapons to do it!"

She put her boot on one of the jousting lances that rolled along with her feet. Izetta stared at the lance but got distracted when Tipler fastened the ties to the boots as well.

"And what about those?"

The Witch pointed at the armor that Alice wore.

"Oh, these? I found these gauntlets and boots in this old armory here. My arm may be bandaged, but it's not broken. I can still fight with ease. Plus, the extra armor will keep this kind of injury from happening again."

The Psionic girl generated a large flame from her hand. It somewhat reminded her of how she checked the area for mana, all the way down to pumping her fist.

"And that's not all; I found a whole bunch of stuff you can use as weapons. The soldiers are in the middle of transporting them, so you better get them now before they're all gone."

Izetta walked over near Alice, who pointed through the doorway. She nearly tripped on the lances herself as she stumbled into the old building. What stood before her was a large array of medieval equipment. Swords, lances, knights' armor, chainmail, maces, and a large arsenal of other weapons stood in the gallery. It was more than enough for the White Witch to carry herself.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Alice went beside Izetta and placed her hand on her shoulder. Izetta took a quick look at Alice's hot-blooded grin before looking away. She checked the area for mana one last time, which displayed a huge virtual stone of energy. That was also more than enough for her.

"We'll do this for the Princess."

Both brought their fists together. As Tipler got back in her pouch, Alice brought her hands together with overwhelming confidence.

"That's right! Let's go kick some Germanian ass!"


The Witches continued firing their weapons at the enemy planes as they descended, but they were getting close to their limit. As Gertrude noticed, she was down her last clips, and it looked like Francesca and Erica were close to running out of ammunition as well. Furthermore, the enemy started bringing another wave of Stuka. This time, they had squadrons of Me-109s escorting them, which likely scrambled to deal with their presence. Either way, they were not going to last much longer.

Gertrude fired another salvo at the leading Stuka in another squadron. While she took it by destroying the propeller, the planes already started dropping their bombs on their target. The observation post was obliterated in their bombing run, which meant that the Eylstadt artillery battery was blind. Without a clear sight of the enemy positions, Coenenberg's flank was vulnerable for a push.

"Lieutenant, we've…"

"I know…"

Gertrude silenced Francesca's report as she listed out their options. As she observed the ground below, the Germanians were already breaching the last few lines of defense. Some of the soldiers including their agents even started to pull out with them. It was time for a retreat.

"All Witches, fall back! We've done enough."

"Trude…"

"That is an order. Our men are pulling out it's time we did, too."

Erica and Francesca complied as they flew towards the city. But in their path, machinegun fire flew in their direction. A squadron of Me 109s pursued them as they opened fire with their machine guns. Gertrude turned to fire back, but a couple struck her by the weapon and the arm respectively. It didn't hit anything major, but she found herself plunging downward.

"Trude!"

The Flight Lieutenant could hear Erica's voice as she struggled to regain balance. The Me-109 descended as it aimed towards her. She was about to aim her gun at the fighter until it exploded.

Unaware of what just happened, Gertrude took the take to regain her balance held steady just above the ground. Erica and Francesca also shielded their eyes from the blast, which nearly left them vulnerable to another set of Me 109s. Right when they covered their eyes, they found another girl soaring in the air with what looked two streaks of flame coming from metal gauntlets.

Alice disengaged her rocket-based propulsion to manifests two flames as if they were blowtorches. She used each hand to cut through both fighter planes and send them crashing to the ground.

Erica and Francesca stood braindead over what happened. They immediately wondered who this girl was and how she uses powers similar to blowtorches as swords and rocket-based propulsion from her hands to keep herself up. By all means, she was no ordinary Witch…that is if she was a Witch.

The Psionic girl turned to the two Witches. Gertrude rejoined them soon after as she greeted them.

"Guess I came just in time, eh?"

Gertrude eyed on the sudden savior. She was never any information about this girl, who made an introduction by wiping out three Me 109s with little effort. She demanded to know more about this girl.

"Identify yourself. What is your affiliation?"

"Come on, that's how you greet someone who saved you?"

Alice shook her head and sighed in frustration. She gave her introduction once again, although it was pretty forced.

"The name's Alice, Alice Alcubierre. And I'm here to protect you girls from these Germanian bad guys!"

"You think you can do all of this alone?"

Alice only chuckled as she turned to someplace else on the ground.

"As if! I got some help on the way, someone whose company you'll pretty much enjoy."

"A Witch, but how…"

A dual of explosions caught their attention. It was the same direction that Alice was facing, causing them all to look down. A Stuka dive bomber was just about to bomb another trench with Eylstadt soldiers before they all exploded at once. In the middle of all the smoke, they swore they could see sparkles trail behind a swarm of tiny medieval weapons.

As the smoke cleared, they found something unusually bizarre besides finding many large lances and nearly a hundred swords. Leading this swarm of deadly weapons was a young red-haired girl in an Eylstadt uniform who apparently controlled them with magic. It was another Witch who did not use a Striker Unit to fly and had dozens of weapons to the same.

"Everyone, now!"

The red-haired girl called out to the weapons as if they were living objects. The lances proceeded to wipe out all the enemy planes at the same time. Some planes were impaled multiple times, and some retaliated with by firing their rear-mounted guns. A few luckily broke the magic surrounding the lances and destroyed them, but a few more came in struck back.

The Witches from 501st stood in awe as the vast destruction of the enemy air fleet. More specifically, the gawked at the lances homing in on their targets, something that was impossible even with their current rocket launchers. They cover their eyes as the strange Witch soared past two more 109s as the swords shredded their wings and fuselages.

Her real target was one last Stuka trying to finish off Eylstadt's artillery batteries. Other than the swords, Izetta had only one lance to use that was the one she rode on.

"Go!"

The Witch imbued her lance with magic again as she hopped off. The last of the lances pierced the final Stuka dive by the wing, causing to crash harmlessly away from the mountainside. Izetta panicked a little as she fell from the sky. Only the handle piece of the broken lance saved her.

Although the Witch held on, Gertrude and the other Witches found her descending rapidly. They dived downward and accelerated fast to their location. Alice trailed behind them as they caught to their new friend.

"Give us your hand!"

"Grab on already, will ya!?"

Gertrude and Francesca offered their hands on both sides to the Witch. She found herself confused for the moment, which was she to fall off. They quickly retrieved both hands as they decelerated. As the girls from the 501st approached the ground, they stopped by the nearest trench and let go.

Alice checked to see if Izetta was okay after the encounter. Again, not bad, she thought to herself. She then watched over the Eylstadt soldiers who were stunned by both her and the red-haired Witch, especially a young blonde boy who dropped what looked like a family photo.

"Looks like we're late for the party."

Alice commented as she landed by a few older Eylstadt soldiers.

"And who are you?"

"We are heroes saving the say, that's what!"

Izetta groans as she pushed herself upward. The fall was long, but she still landed on the soft ground with her feet, causing her to land on her knees. The young soldiers and the older ones turned to her as she regained her senses.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The young boy asked the girl as she jerked.

"Y-yes, I'm fine!"

Alice sighed with relief as she approached her.

"Glad to hear it. It's a good thing you're still alive."

Gertrude still had much to ask from these two guests.

"What is going here!? Please state your purpose of being here!"

Alice retorted as she faced the advancing Germanian tanks and burning wreckage.

"I don't think you're in a position to talk like that. Besides, the enemy is not going to wait for our introductions either. Right, Izetta?"

Izetta looked away from the devastation. It was already so much for her to bear, even when she just all the enemy planes. However, Alice was right; there was still mare work that had to be done.

A bunch of swords then flew around the ground. The Eylstadt soldiers and 501st Witches remained started as Francesca exclaimed.

"Swords? In the air?"

"Sorry, I just found all of these weapons and will use them for the moment."

Izetta went to an anti-tank rifle mounted in the trench. She asked the soldier nearby who mounted it.

"Also, would you mind if I borrowed this?"

"Uh, no?"

"Sorry, I'll make it up to you later!"

Ignoring the soldier, she grabbed the anti-tank rifle and enveloped it with her magic. The soldiers stared in shock as the rifle lifted into the air while she rode on. Green sparkles trailed behind her as she took flight along with the enchanted swords.

Alice also walked forward as fire lit from her right gauntlet. She patted her pouch with the other to check on Tipler.

"You okay in there?"

"I'm fine, and Izetta-san also sounds okay."

"Just wanted to make sure. Now hold on again, things are going to get a little hot."

As Alice snuck away, the Witches and soldiers remained distracted over Izetta facing the enemy directly. She launched her swords to pelt the Panzer III that attacked a neighboring emplacement. The turret turned to her direction. The swords surrounded the tank as Izetta what the witnesses found unthinkable. By concentrating so much magic as the Witches could tell, she lifted the tank into the air and flipped it over, sending it crashing onto the ground upside down.

Another Panzer III opened fire with its machine guns, prompting to call on her swords to deflect the bullets. She flew towards the next tank and flipped over again with ease by using her magic.

The next tank got a clear shot of Izetta fired a round from its cannon. Within the split second, she noticed the round aiming towards her.

"Everyone!"

All the swords came together and weaved into a thick tile of metal. They slanted at an angle as the round impacted them. Although of the swords ended up bent, the cannon shell deflected into the air that startled the crew inside. The White Witch then proceeded to flip over the other tank as well.

The Eylstadt soldiers gazed in awe over the Witch's battle with the tanks. The armored vehicles gave them such a hard time that it almost felt impossible to win. But this little girl charged in and began flipping them over like they are nothing.

The Witches were also startled over this revelation. Gertrud was the most influenced as she wondered if the Witch has strength magic that outstripped her own. For once in her career, she found a hint of jealousy among the other Witches.

On the other hand, Francesca was nearly scared out of her mind while Erica had a soft, smug grin.

"Who the hell is this girl? Is she insane!?"

"I don't care; she's not the enemy."

Something else bothered them shortly after that. The Eylstadt soldiers were the first to discover it.

"Look over there!"

The Witches faced the fountains where a bright light shone at them. It blinked repeatedly at three different intervals, something that Gertrude knew was not coincidental. Francesca looked away from the light and yawned.

"It's just a blinking light."

"No, it's Morse."

Among the three Witches, only Gertrude could understand Morse Code. She translated the signal as it shone to everyone is Coenenberg, including the three Witches in the air.

"I am…Ortfine?"

By saying the name, the Eylstadt jumped as they focused on the light.

On the other side of the mountains, the light being shone was the nearby soldiers improvising to get a message across. They shone a bright light towards the battlefield and covered it with a wooden board create a type of message. They were already stunned to find Alice and Izetta working alongside their allies in defeating the enemy force. Fine decided to intervene by calling upon those on the battlefield to fight for her.

"My fellow soldiers and agents of Karsland. The two girls you see fighting are two of my greatest friends. The one with the red hair is my dearest of them all, and the second coming of the White Witch who protects us. Fight with them and protect the freedom of our nation!"

After Gertrude mentally translated the message, her mouth remained open and let the air dry up the inner walls of her cheeks. Of the two girls, she eyed on the mentioned red-haired girl who attacked a Panzer IV. She fired several shells on its armor with her anti-tank rifle, only to find it ineffective. She then got in front of the tank and charged her another shell with her magic to pierce through the tank.

"It…it can't be…"

"Trude?"

Upon hearing Erica call her by her nickname, she snapped back to reality. She went back to her squad mates.

"Hartmann, Lucchini, we're reloading and heading back immediately!"

"Huh!?"

Gertrude ignored Lucchini's shock as she eyed on the girls out on the battlefield.

She eyed on the other gun emplacements along the trenches as she gave orders.

"We will move forward and defend those two girls from enemy air attacks. Tell this to our agents nearby and prepare for another sortie!"

The Witches complied as they flew over the trenches. Some of the Eylstadt soldiers were confused for the moment. But the more senior officers knew what to do as they unmounted their weapons and moved out of the trench.

"You heard the lady! Let's get out there and fight for our Witch!"

As the soldiers charged with heightened morale, they ran out to open fire on the remaining Germanian infantry squads that were now without tank support. More enemy infantry remained helpless as Izetta literally threw the tanks into each other.

At another defensive line, Alice test herself against the enemy tank. She propelled herself with her flames as she homed in on a Panzer III. She concentrated vast amounts heat into one hand as it focused into a ball of fire. When she set her foot on the ground, she hurled the spherical ball of flame at the tank. At first, it looked like the tank absorbed the fireball. Moments later, the vents burst with flames as the entire tank chassis and turret exploded all at once.

Another Panzer III opened fire with its machine guns, but Alice charged forward through the gunfire. She created another sword of hot flame with her right hand, and when she got close, she sliced the tank's chassis horizontally.

A squad of terrified Germanian soldiers opened fire on the Alice. She responded by rising into the air with her flame-based propulsion, using her wind power to blow their weapons into the air, then fired a wave of fire with her hands. Those who weren't immediately burnt to a crisp as their uniforms covered in fire. Alice then did the same thing to another squad of retreating soldiers.

One last tank, a Panzer IV from a neighboring tank platoon, fired a cannon shell near her position that nearly blew off her leg. Alice responded by cruising toward the tank again. But instead of a ball of flame, she concentrated all of the power into her right gauntlet. When she got to the front of the tank, she punched it with her empowered gauntlet.

Alice then returned to the trench where the Eylstadt forces watched. They wanted to call out to her as she nonchalantly returned to their position while the tank was still active. The Panzer IV aimed its cannon at her…just before the tank vented out sparks and exploded as well. The blast threw the tank's turret into the air and crashed onto the ground by her side, all while wearing a fearless smirk. She then turned around as she chased after the Germanian troops, causing the Eylstadt forces to follow up behind her.

Up in the air, the Witches from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing also launched their counterattack. They were busy dealing with the few remaining Germanian planes that still threatened the skies. Gertrud and Erica both got one more kill against a couple of Me 109s that engaged them. Both were gunned down through the propellers' engines and burst into flames. Francesca got another dive bomber that retreated, which crashed into a retreating Panzer III. They altogether intercepted the last three Me 109s that attacked them in three directions. They grouped together and spiraled into the air while deflecting the gunfire coming from their machine guns and reaching a far higher altitude. They then descended while performing a three-way helix. They all engaged the three remaining planes one at a time until all three were destroyed.

The skies were finally clear, and it was on the side of the Eylstadt forces, something that Witches never thought would happen. And they knew who to thank for assisting them in that, the red-haired Witch who continued throwing the below.

Of the three Witches from the 501st, Gertrude was the most influenced by the girl's actions, but not just by her magic. The message in Morse code flipped a switch somewhere in her brain. She always held a strong code of honor as a soldier of Karsland, but this was something far different. Rather than devotion to a country, it was that of a single person for someone who knew the legend of the White Witch, and she felt like she herself violated that code. If it's true, then she must respect that code, just like all Witches.

The battle started reaching to a close as the Eylstadt forces pressed on. Izetta and Alice continued to trash the tanks while the accompanying soldiers gunned down the enemy infantry. Izetta slammed another Panzer III deep onto the ground. Alice rammed into another and tore through its frame before incarnating another infantry squad. They together finished with an empowered anti-tank round and a fireball to take out the last Panzer III and Panzer IV each.

The two girls landed on the ground together as they observed their surroundings. The Germanian soldiers were on full retreat, and the Eylstadt soldiers had victory in their grasp. The two faced other as Alice commented.

"It looks like we did it."

"We did."

Izetta nodded as Alice turned back to the mountains.

"I think it's time you checked on the princess. I bet she's been worried while you were gone."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to stay around here and have a little more fun while were. You can relax while I continue giving this scum what they deserve!"

The unnerved Izetta nodded in agreement as she raised her rifle into the air and traveled back to the mountains. Alice, on the other hand, lit her flames again with glee as she took this battle elsewhere beyond.


The sun was already set as the battle concluded. At the start of the day, it looked hopeless for the Eylstadt troops and their Karsland allies. But that all changed in a matter of hours.

Dozens of scrapped tanks and aircraft covered the plains of Coenenberg. But most of these were not Renaults, but rather Germanian Panzers and Stuka dive bombers. Hundreds of corpses also laid on the ground, all of them wearing Germanian uniforms. Many were gunned down, but a large chunk of them were charred, boiled form inside, or even incinerated to the bone. And standing on top of those corpses and destroyed vehicles were Eylstadt troops.

Alice was among them all as she celebrated with the Eylstadt forces. A few moments before, the Germanian forces were either captured or in full retreat. She even heard rumors that the entire Germanian force, which occupied many towns on the other side of the river, started running away immediately after hearing the sudden defeat at the hand of two girls. Alice decided to kick them while they were down by burning several retreating Germanian soldiers and spend the next few hours destroying enemy tanks. She hoped that it wouldn't be long before the invading force hears about the sudden turn of events and start leaving the country altogether to avoid being wiped out. Her last act was incinerating a Germanian officer with her own hands who continued to fight, all in front of the Eylstadt troops. Although some found it unnerved over such a power, and the soldiers who were taken prisoner were scared out of their mind of such a power, it was drowned out by the many soldiers of the duchy that celebrated her efforts.

Alice currently leaned on a burning Panzer IV, surrounded by the Eylstadt troops who cheered for her efforts. In the middle of it all, she spoke to Tipler on the side, who remained hidden in her pouch.

"So, what do you say? You think I did a good job?"

"You are fearless for such a young girl, Alice-sama. Once again, I thought you would be dead for sure. But again, I was wrong."

"Oh, come on! I did good, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes, you did."

Alice returned to the soldiers as they went to her. They all asked her questions like how she managed to gain such powerful abilities, what was her home country, and how she managed to do it all without a Striker Unit. She got buried in so many questions and did have time to answer them all.

Alice got a glimpse of Izetta in the air. This time, Fine rode behind her just like last time. It was the perfect time for the Psionic to escape the barrage of questions aimed at her.

"Ah, here she comes!"

The soldiers heard her as they faced the Witch descending onto the top of the tank. Both girls got off the rifle to stand before the crowd. The soldiers saluted to the pair as they continued to cheer.

"To our heroes!"

"For our Witch!"

"Glory to Princess Ortfine!"

"To the freedom of Eylstadt!"

Alice took the time to get some space away from the men. She jumped up and got both hands on the tank's treads before pulling herself up. She rested on the edge as she congratulated the Witch.

"So, we finally did it! Didn't we, Izetta!?"

Izetta was happy, that was for sure. But at the same time, her eyes teared before the princess.

"I…I just couldn't stand it."

Fine wrapped her arms around the crying White Witch in comforting her.

"You're such a fool, Izetta…But, I'm glad that you're safe. Thank you…"

"Princess…"

Alice gave a smug look away from the two girls. Not that she pressured it, but they were awfully close for hugging each other after so long.

I swear there's more to those two girls than just a simple friendship.

Alice's train of thoughts broke as she heard someone barging through the soldiers. Izetta and Fine broke away from each other upon hearing chatter from the soldiers. They all heard a demanding voice coming through the crow.

"I must see this at once!"

Barkhorn carved a path through the Eylstadt soldiers to reach the tank. She was out of her Striker Unit and walked without legwear that made the soldier gaze on her. Erica followed on her right while Lucchini walked tirelessly on her right.

"Trude, what's going on here?"

"I was just about to relax for once. Why are we coming out here anyway!?"

Gertrud stopped just after reaching the center of the crowd. The soldiers did not know what was going on. They were a little cautious despite being Witches and part of a resistance movement. They were still from the nation that tried to conquer the duchy a few hours ago. The Flight Lieutenant called out to them.

"Is the Witch of Weisse Hexe here?"

The soldiers turned to Izetta. Even when they broke off and Izetta stepped forward, the princess remained close. The soldiers also had their weapons ready if she tried something funny.

What they did not expect afterward was Gertrude's next move. Rather than a challenge or drawing a gun, she went down on one knee and kneeled before Izetta. Even Erica, who idolized her, was surprised over her act. Francesca also let out a big "Eh?" over the officer's act.

"Trude, what are you…"

Gertrude silenced Erica by grabbing her arm. Her immense strength dragged her and Francesca down, each with only one hand. She pulled them both down until they landed on one knee and faced the ground like she was.

"Both of you, kneel! You are both standing in front of one who descends from the legendary Weisse Hexe!"

Francesca still did not understand what she meant, for she apparently never heard of such a clan until now. On the other hand, Erica nearly jumped over the name. Both she and Gertrude knew the legend. She gazed at the red-haired girl who blushed in shock and embarrassment. Francesca looked up, still oblivious to what happened, which share the same expression as Alice.

Fine stepped forward and called upon them to stand up.

"That is enough. You are at ease."

Gertrude was the first to rise, followed by her two subordinates.

"Forgive me, Princess of Eylstadt. Are you the one who watches over the White Witch?"

"I am. Please introduce yourself."

"Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorn, former officer of the Karsland Luftwaffe, agent of the Karsland resistance, and member of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing."

The Karsland officer turned her head. Erica and Francesca both shivered as they bowed and gave their own introductions.

"P-Pilot Officer Erica Hartmann, soldier of Karsland and member of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing!"

"P-P-Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini of Sovrana Aeronautica Romagniana and member of 501st, Y-Your…your…Your Majesty!"

Alice still had no idea over the Witches' sudden behavior. Until a few moments ago, they looked like rough and tough soldiers who fought against their own people. But now, they completely cast their military rank aside and started worshipping the pair in front of them.

"Sorry, but what's going on here?"

Gertrude answered Alice as she turned to Fine and Izetta.

"As Witches, we are here to serve the White Witch and her royal companion of whom she serves. We devout our lives to you, Princess Fine and…"

"Izetta."

"And Izetta, Witch among Witches and clan among clans, Weisse Hexe!"

The Psionic girl remained confused over the matter. The soldiers around her began chanting what sounded like the national anthem of Eylstadt. The trio of Witches stood firm in front of Fine and Izetta, even when they took their eyes away from them. None of it helped Alice and even Tipler, who remained hidden from plain sight, took a peek outside the pouch to see what happened. Perhaps they had a lot more to learn from this matter than what they anticipated.

Inside the Archduke's bedroom, Schneider and Muller both received news about the recent victory against the Germanians. Schneider was surprised more than ever while Muller had his concerns as he remained on the phone.

"What!? The entire Germanian force is retreating!? Annihilated by two girls! And one is the Witch of Weisse Hexe? With Princess Fine!?"

"We need to know everything immediately, including the testimonies of all the soldiers involved."

"Who cares about that! What matters is that we won, right?"

Schneider celebrated as Muller hung up the phone. They both heard the weak voice of the Archduke, now completely unable to move, who seemed to overhear the entire conversation.

"Fine and the White Witch, huh?"

The old man tilted his head to the painting of the legendary woman with remaining energy. At last, he felt unimaginable joy in his long life.

"I…see…"

With happiness flowing through his lifeless body, he closed his eyes to go into a sleep of which he would never wake up. Not even with the screams of his trusted General calling out his name.

"Your Excellency….Your Excellency!"


And that's the end of Episode 3.

Now, for a few examples regarding the lists metioned above.

One will be a list for Gertrud Barkhorn of Strike Witches:

Versus:

Preparing to engage Neuroi. (Vs Neuroi)

This is not the Empire I used to know… (vs Germania)

You dare dishonor the name of Karsland! (vs Germania)

I understand your obsession of taking down a Witch… (vs Bassler)

This dogfight will not belong to you, Captain Bassler (vs Bassler)

An unmanned machine can't stand against a human. (vs Unmanned Weapon)

Just treat it like a Neuroi and automated machines are nothing. (vs Unmanned Weapon)

Such a disrespectful way to conduct war… (vs Unmanned Weapon)

Damage:

Neuroi beams are nothing to me. (vs Neuroi, little/none)

To think they abandoned Witches for this (vs Germania, little/none)

The homeland has really fallen hard with this kind of attack (vs Germania, little/none)

Tsch…they sure know how to fight a Witch (vs Germania, major w/ high health)

What happened, how did they get this powerful? (vs Germania, major w/ high health)

Agh…you have become a powerful opponent, Bassler (vs Bassler, major w/ high health)

No…not with Chris still… (vs Neuroi, major w/ low health)

No, it can't end like this…Not with the homeland still… (vs Germania, major w/ low health)

Have they really surpassed us? Damnit! (vs Germania, major w/ low health)

Support:

Erica, fall back in line! (defend w/ Erica)

Stay behind, Weisse Hexe! (defend w/ Izetta)

Stand way and watch a real soldier of Karsland! (attack w/ Erica)

Weisse Hexe, let us fight with you! (attack w/ Izetta)

Death:

Wait…Chris, no! (vs Neuroi)


And another for Captain Bassler of Izetta.

Versus:

The only to defeat Witch will be me! (vs Izetta/501st)

Weisse Hexe or not, you are my enemy! (vs Izetta/501st)

Time to meet your end, White Witch! (vs Izetta)

I shall shoot a traitor like you from the sky! (vs Karsland Witches)

Gertrude Barkhorn, I challenge you to dogfight! (vs Gertrude)

That hat does not belong to you, Erica Hartmann! (vs Erica Hartmann)

Damage:

As expected from a Witch… (vs Izetta/501st, major w/ high health)

This isn't over yet, White Witch! (vs Izetta, major w/ low health)

Support:

Fall in line, soldier! (attack w/ Germania)

Death:

Err…My plane's taken too much damage!

I will not forget this! (vs Izetta/501st)

If you have other ideas, definitely share them.


Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.