Egypt
March 2017 A.T.B.
The tactical map of the immediate area, displayed on one of the side monitors of the KPR-01/SC Stormcommander, was clear and presented a picture that was generally quite favorable to the forces of the 1st Corps of Knights of the Purple Rose. Initially, there was no serious resistance from EU troops along this stretch of road, but only weak lines of defense and occasional patrols, the elimination of which proved to be the baptism of fire for all newly deployed Scouttroopers. Offensive of these machines at long range, they turned out to be extremely useful and gave the opportunity to overwhelm the enemy almost instantly, through concentrated and intense. In particular, it was perfectly visible in the face of the complete helplessness of tanks or even Panzer-Hummels, which simply were not able to give any reasonable response to the shelling. A much greater threat turned out to be the large number of Panzer-Wespes used by the enemy, which managed to destroy several Stormtroopers and even heavily damaged one Stormcommanders. The artillery variant of the United Europia Panzers turned out to be an extremely effective tool and weapon on the battlefield, but only as support for the fighting units. Otherwise, these machines were as impractical as they were obsolete and cumbersome to operate Hummels.
However, apart from this fact, it should be clearly stated that the war in the desert, i.e. vast plains stretching for hundreds of kilometers, had something simple and pleasant for the combatants who have weapons with greater firepower and range. Otherwise, it was a deadly ordeal. There was more than enough evidence, mainly in the form of decimated armored battalions and many destroyed Knightmare Frames, the remains of which practically filled a large part of the area around. It was enough to turn on any camera in Stormcommander showing any place outside the cockpit of the machine to get proof of confirmation.
However, regardless of how the fighting was conducted in the desert, the 1st Corps was successful in advancing and destroying the machines of the enemy formation, which very quickly turned out to be an armored division, given the large accumulation of armored units and Panzer Infantry. After all, the classification of the enemy formation did not matter at this point, because in combination with the numerical and technological advantage on the side of the Knights of the Purple Rose. The last factor that definitely showed the superiority of the Britannian knights was Prince Lucius vi Britannia and his military genius.
"Zedlitz, let two companies from your battalion advance the broken part of the enemy armored division, and after breaking the enemy lines, start attacking the enemy rear!" The Purple Prince and Grand Master of the order gave another of the many orders in this battle without taking his eyes off the map and thus having perfect insight into the situation. By the way, he made a mental note to once again thank the person responsible for creating the IFF transponder, because this system was an amazing facilitation in managing multiple formations on a chaotic battlefield. "Sword Master Hexenhaus, you and the rest of the formation are to keep the enemy at bay and prevent them from retreating without the risk of completely losing the initiative in combat. In the meantime, I and my guard will make an attack from the right flank and attack the formations from this side and with the intention of infiltrating their ranks."
"Yes, Your Highness!" A chorus of men who had no intention of disobeying his decrees replied.
There was still one high-ranking officer in the 1st Corps, and that was Colonel Sir Ledo Offen, who had not been called up and so far only participated in the beginning of this engagement. Needless to say, so far the formations under his command have suffered the greatest losses of all those involved in these battles. For this reason, Lucius decided to send the Colonel and his forces to the rear to protect themselves from a potential flank attack. But it didn't look like he and his men would play much of a role in this battle.
Seeing on the screen that orders were being carried out almost immediately, Lucius decided not to waste any time and called the commander of his own royal guard.
"Ciaran, you heard my orders, order the guard pilot to follow me and follow the pace of my machine." Purple Prince gave the order, and although he received an affirmative answer, he did not pay the slightest attention to it.
Instead, Lucius focused on getting his machine ready, then almost immediately moved forward in the direction he intended to attack from. Meanwhile, the Prince's guard, equipped with the best machines available, and the formation leader followed closely behind their superior's machine. Although the regular Sutherlands and even the much better quality Gloucesters had clear problems with widening on the sand - and all because of the Landspinner Propulsion system not adapted to such conditions, in the case of the KPR-01/S, KPR-01/SCT and KPR -01/SC, such a threat simply did not exist and a seamless attack was possible. Here, Chief Engineer Carl Tallgeese showed that genius is often found in simplicity. Instead of making the effort to use or integrate Sand Panels, Carl decided to simplify the rather complicated and wheeled Landspinner system as much as possible, down to just two, powerful and off-road wheels, attached individually to each of the lower limbs of each of the latest Knightmare Frames. This simple, almost primitive solution turned out to be extremely effective in warm conditions and where there is mainly sand. Nevertheless, this solution had one and quite a big disadvantage. Possibility of getting stuck in adverse conditions, but nothing like this has ever happened before.
Quickly, almost like a flash of light, a formation of twenty-six machines advanced from the northeast to what was left of the EU Panzer Division. The guards preparing for the attack had an advantage over the enemy not only in terms of great command and technology, but above all in terms of having extensive experience in real combat, as a result of which they had no problems with reading the enemy's intentions or tactics that the enemy could use at a given moment apply. Of course, this rule applied primarily to conventional tactics that were predictable. In the case of unconventional and therefore inherently unpredictable things, it was not so easy. Even Lucius wasn't the kind of person to anticipate every hostile move under these circumstances. Regardless, however, no deeper analysis was needed to conclude that the enemy had not noticed the impending danger.
Purple Prince only glanced at the tactical map and easily determined that the enemy division was focused primarily on fighting the enemy in front of them and trying to break through the line, without even being able to pay attention to the enemy approaching from their right flank. Additionally, and even more importantly, the movements of enemy formations, in an attempt to adapt and adapt to the ever-changing conditions on the battlefield, became rapid and often with minimal coordination. This was important because it sent a clear message to any fairly astute observer: "our morale is on the verge of collapse, a few more pushes and we'll be in total chaos."
After a few minutes of movement, during which Lucius and his guard took up positions overlooking the enemy's left wing and the enemy artillery half a kilometer from the first line, consisting of armored guns and a dozen Panzer-Wespes. Given the exposure to gunfire and attack, there was no need to guess - it was no contest which formation Lucius would choose to attack first.
"Ciaran, get ready to infiltrate the enemy division immediately, our first target will be the artillery, which has so far managed to destroy quite a few of our machines and cause the deaths of about twenty-three of our boys," Lucius declared as he readied his machine for the attack and assumed a slightly crouched position .
It might seem idiotic or completely irrelevant, but in the conditions of battle and risky maneuvers, even something like this could save a pilot's life. It was hard to predict in the chaos and disorder what this one fatal blow might demand, so you can never be too careful.
"Yes, Your Highness." Sir Ciaran retorted indiscriminately and almost immediately before confirming the Prince's Order on the general guard channel. "To all, we cover our Price and proceed with him to destroy the enemy artillery that has inflicted heavy losses on our friends in the 1st Corps."
"Yes, my Lord." The Guard pilots fought back as one, determined to carry out the order and provide the necessary support for Lucius.
We didn't have to wait long for the effects, because a close formation of the guards and Prince leading it formed spikes, then hit the enemy with all its might, and the first to be destroyed were the armored guns, immediately and easily identified as having recently been put into use , Szturm Bison, a child of the cooperation between Bayern-Werke and Beandenmettal. Two of the most important manufacturers of United Europia, in terms of the production of combat vehicles and artillery.
Large assault rifles almost immediately went into motion and began to fire at the opponents. However, when the distance was significantly reduced, Maser Vibration Swords went into action almost immediately, cutting the enemy machines without any major obstacles. Only two pilots managed to control themselves in time and severely damaged two Stormtroopers to the point that their pilots had to be ejected, but both were still alive. Lucius was closest to the event, so he closed the distance with the enemy, then attacked and slashed at the enemy machines, whose crews were also catapulted. It was a surprise to see that the enemy machines finally had cockpit ejection systems fitted. However, it also meant that more enemies would be able to survive these encounters and potentially become dangerous opponents by gaining enough experience.
Regardless, the fact was that the enemy aircraft had been destroyed, and Lucius noticed a moment later on the map that almost thirty percent of the enemy artillery had already been destroyed, while the rest of the pilots and crews began a chaotic and uncoordinated retreat.
By looking at the battlefield through the camera and not just looking at the battlefield through the electronic map with the IFF system, it was possible to see a much more accurate picture of the situation. Specifically, reigning among the enemies, complete chaos. While until recently there were remnants of discipline and order among the enemies, at this moment the enemy was plunged into complete chaos and disorder. Only a few smaller formations of an armored division continued to fight to their doom. Also visible were multiple truck wrecks that previously contained liquid Sakuradite, Energy Filers, ammunition or spare parts for Knightmare Frames and other machines. The trucks that were not destroyed at the beginning of the battle were - as you can easily guess - far from the combat zone. For the moment, however, all of this ceased to matter now that the United Europia formation had suffered such great losses and was basically decaying, or at least that was what it looked like from the perspective of the soldiers of the empire.
Regardless of the exact reasons for this behavior, however, it was the perfect opportunity to end this unplanned skirmish and move forward. So Lucius quickly established a connection with the decision-makers in his formation, and a short conversation began between them.
"That's enough, the enemy is scattered and in total disarray. It's pointless to continue this fight at this point." Although he has only said the obvious so far, it has become more than obvious to the others what Purple Prince is really up to.
"So we let them disperse and move on to our target right after the necessary regrouping." Sword Master Hexenhaus finished for him, and in his usually full of pathos and serious tone of voice, you could easily hear the amusement, which also spread to the other listening officers and Prince Lucius himself, who did not mind this way of releasing emotions after battle.
"You know me quite well already, Sir Schnee." Lucius replied, then his tone became a little more serious and appropriately adapted to the current situation. "Jokes over. You are to maintain complete communication discipline from now on. Although we may have broken up this randomly encountered armored division, we still need to capture our main objective, Alexandria. Although we have already destroyed the enemy's air defenses, our commandos still have they will be defenseless without our support."
"Yes, Your Highness." All the officers before him responded and were more than willing to do the Purple Prince's will.
At the same time, Lucius placed his hands on his chin as he considered his and the 1st Corps' current situation. Basically, they had quite a bit of an unplanned delay at this point, something Lucius himself chided himself internally for. For how could he make such simple mistakes when he had acquired so much experience over the years? Someone of such intelligence should have been able to foresee all this, but in this case it was not as logical as it should have been. But the answer came naturally to him, and it happened very quickly; no one can predict the future, no matter how hard they try to prepare for what was or could be.
Awareness of his own limitations caused him to lean back after a short while and lay back comfortably in the cockpit seat. It also wasn't long before he deactivated the microphone so no one else could hear his next words.
"It is unfortunate that my limitations and inability to foresee my opponent's every move may ultimately prevent me from achieving the eternal glory that would make the memory of me, my mother and my siblings." Over the years, its original purpose has evolved and expanded. The former desire to teach the memory of the murdered mother and siblings turned into the desire to also ensure a place for oneself on the pages of history and memory.
"Memory and glory that will never fade." Lucius added after a short pause, then lifted the corners of his mouth upwards into a sly smile. Basically, the only person in his life who was beyond any doubt aware of his ultimate goal was Monica. Although the Knight of Twelve and at the same time his longtime friend was not delighted with such aspiration, she accepted it and was willing to support him, which Purple Prince himself was well aware of.
Once again, his eyes landed on the electronic tactical map. This time he did it for two reasons. The first was to make sure he was following orders, and he was. The operation to recover the surviving pilots, who were catapulted many hundreds of meters from the combat zone, was in full swing at the moment. Meanwhile, what was left of the enemy division was now in full retreat, and it was clear that reorganization would not be feasible, at least not for the next few hours. The enemy commander - if he was still alive, of course - would have a very big problem, the solution of which was simply impossible in the near future. Lucius was content with this turn of events, but he did not allow himself that luxury for long, for the operation's most important objective, Alexandria and its port, still remained to be achieved. It is absolutely crucial to force the remnants of the EU in this part of the world to retreat.
After a predetermined amount of time, the 1st Corps formed up again in its usual formation, ready to repel any hostile attack. Only then were they able to continue their journey, which, apart from a few skirmishes with enemy patrols, went virtually without complications, and Lucius saw no need to coordinate or give orders to his knights. After about two hours of travel, the formation finally made contact with the commandos, whose commander, faced with a slight delay of the main forces, decided to move towards the main objective and moved away a few kilometers from the drop zone with the rest of his subordinates. This caused some confusion at first, but it didn't last long. So it wasn't long before they finally arrived in the suburbs of the main objective of the Knights of the Purple Rose part of the operation.
In the meantime, Lucius also made contact with Garma, because he wanted to discuss with him some minor issues in the field of logistics, which included the duties of the purple-haired young man.
"Garma, how are things with the shipment of ammunition and the new Energy Filers?" Purple Prince asked this question right at the beginning of the conversation, because at this point there was no room for greetings or wasting time.
"There will be some delays, Luc." The purple-haired man replied with a stony face. He easily grasped the tense context and the drive to get as much information out as quickly as possible, and Garma set about getting to the bottom of the problem. "A large part of the enemy jet fighter squadrons, I can't say how many, were taken to the skies. This made it necessary to raise our own squadrons to clear the skies. Without this, we have no chance."
At the moment, it wasn't much of a secret and rather obvious that Garma, along with all his associates in the Order's logistics department, was arriving at their G-1 Base, which had been left behind the front lines, with a sufficient escort of one of the Knightmare Frames battalions which have been in reserve until now.
"I understand that perfectly well, but I must ask you for now to use this time to prepare as many additional VTOL transports as possible. Especially one that can carry Knightmare Frames."
"Has anything happened in the meantime that requires such drastic measures?"
"Yes, Garma. We came across a division or an armored brigade that had additional support from self-propelled artillery. As you can probably guess by now, there was quite a long fight between us, which cost us quite a lot of machines, destroyed or damaged. More than I anticipated and than we could afford it. So we absolutely need additions."
"It has to be done, Luc." Garma replied while remaining calm and showing no emotion in his tone of voice. "Give me some time and I'll arrange the transport. However, it could delay the whole operation even more, and the lost time could be absolutely crucial in this case."
"I'm aware of that, Garma. Regardless, I have to take that risk, and it's better to take it sooner rather than later, my friend." Lucius did not care about such remarks, and the main reason for this was the belief that the enemy would not have time to react in time and reinforcements would arrive faster than any Knightmare Frame United Europe. "For now, that's all I want, over."
Thus ended their exchange, which took place approximately fourteen minutes before the Knights of the Purple Rose entered the city, where they were greeted by an almost complete void. As it soon turned out, a large part of the inhabitants decided to stay at home, seeing any military formations approaching. Watching everything from his cockpit, Lucius wasn't surprised in the slightest. For the natives, for the inhabitants of Egypt, the only difference between the United Europia and the Holy Britannian Empire was the different design of the uniforms and the appearance of the machines used on the battlefield. Everything resulted from the simple fact that Egypt - like the rest of Africa - had the status of a colony, and the indigenous people were deprived of any political rights. Although their status in economic matters was often not so different from that of Europeans, the Africans had not the slightest reason to feel any connection with their 'masters'. On the one hand, it was extremely helpful, because the passivity of the local population towards the current occupier was more than decent and facilitated the entire process of maintaining the city. On the other hand, it could also have been a double-edged sword, for no form of cooperation could be expected from the natives, and in a few cases even resistance could be expected. However, the last of the aforementioned options was also the least likely, and all due to the fact that these people were simply used to being given and to the fact that no one counted on their opinion. In fact, one could expect gratitude from them in the absence of a brutal occupation policy.
However, apart from the issue of the natives, there is still the issue of the local structures of United Europia, which undoubtedly could be something that could be a certain and quite a big complication. However, as it turned out very quickly, this was not the case at all. Soldiers and officers from the local garrison, as well as military policemen or local officials who were European, simply disappeared from the city, as did their families. Simply put, the city was left to fend for itself, and as the Knights of the Purple Rose soon learned from the locals that the mere sight of the approaching formations of evidently Britannian Knightmare Frames, they panicked and fled the city via the highway to the west.
It looked like another gift from fate, so Lucius decided to make the most of it and ordered the process of fortifying the city to begin. Purple Prince predicted, as did the rest of the Order's officers, that sooner rather than later the EU command in that part of the world would find out about this turn of events and they would not be happy. To put it mildly.
Taking the opportunity, Lucius decided to start a conversation with his half-sister's staff, with the intention of finding out how the whole operation was going so far. It was no big secret that quite a number of military actors from the Holy Britannian Empire were involved.
"Lucius." Moments after attempting to make contact, the 12th Prince's gaze was greeted by the sight of his older half-sister on Stormcommander's main monitor. "I trust that the capture of the target went smoothly, despite some delay?"
Purple Prince did not react too strongly to her inquiry about the obvious delay, but instead remained calm and proceeded to explain the reasons for this.
"In the course of our march towards the objective, we encountered an unexpected delay, which was an enemy division or armored brigade."
"Brigade or Armored Division?" Cornelia was obviously surprised by his words and clearly did not assume that something like this could come up on the path of the corps of her younger brother. "I didn't think the enemy would have any serious reserves left, except Wyvern Zero. Were there any complications?"
"Not much, Cornelia. At the beginning of the battle, we were surprised by the presence of enemy armored forces, as were they. Nevertheless, it was my knights who first got used to this new situation, and despite some losses, we emerged victorious from this fight."
"That's good to hear, although I suspect you didn't connect with me solely because you wanted to let me know."
"You're right, sister." Lucius nodded and wasted no time. "I want to know how our situation at the front is at the moment and has there been any significant change?"
Cornelia only shook her head in response, making the answer predictable.
"So far everything is going according to plan, and the assault, which was intended to create a breach and open the way to key cities in the region, has so far been stopped. The enemy formations on the outskirts have been annihilated or forced to retreat towards the city, which is now besieged on three sides.
"They haven't made an attempt to retreat and regroup, or at least send some of their forces to the rear to counter the encirclement if necessary?" To say that Lucius was surprised by this turn of events is like not saying a single syllable on the subject. He did not fail to raise an eyebrow, but the response to his behavior came quite quickly and was another reason for surprise.
"No, and instead they have undertaken a slow process of retreat towards Cair, as evidenced by the columns of vehicles leaving towards this city." The Chief General's reply arrived, which did not conceal its satisfaction at the hostile retreat. "In fact, I am somewhat grateful to the enemy general for this, for I will not have to fight hard for this well-fortified city. You yourself know that something like this could end up costing you a lot of wasted time and resources, human or material."
"Indeed." Lucius nodded in response to her reasoning, but regardless, he wanted to ask one more question, at least for now. "How is it with the Order of Michael?"
Better in time than your knights." Cornelia replied, but she said it not with mockery, with derision, but with the stoic seriousness typical of a soldier of her caliber. "Sir Shin has already managed to take his order's assigned objective without much hindrance and without encountering resistance like you. Still, it's worrying how easy things are going for us so far."
"Only apparently, dear sister." Lucius remained calm, despite her remarks and evident willingness to moderately warn him of the potential dangers directly related to this seemingly one-sided situation. "While I understand that your fears stem directly from experience and repeated encounters with feigned retreat tactics, as I have experienced them many times, this will not be the case here. The reason is simple, too few remaining forces that could be engaged in the fight. If I'm being completely honest, at this point, we have a complete advantage in this theater of operations in every respect, and I sincerely doubt that anything could change that at this point, except for an extremely idiotic decision on our part."
"You're right, but I still can't help but feel a little uneasy, Luc." Cornelia was still not entirely convinced and remained skeptical, despite some of her character traits and not so distant past as it might seem at first glance. "Even though I was usually the one who spurred everyone around to keep marching forward and not stopping along the way, I still have some doubts. I don't want the total victory situation reversed by underestimating our opponent's capabilities, or underestimating something that could tip the scales of victory in this part of the world in favor of United Europe."
"I am well aware of this and that is why I have ordered a much larger stock to be sent to my position, plus spare Knightmare Frames." Purple Prince remained calm and it was hardly surprising. A man of his level of intelligence and preparation, he actually had a great many alternatives to his current plans and possibly counter-arguments to potential charges. Still, he wasn't blind to the potential flaws and weaknesses of his plans, but it was one thing to ignore flaws and quite another to be aware of imperfections and take them into account for potential contingency plans.
"Won't that cause the transport to be severely delayed?" Another question came from the Chief General's mouth, in response to what Cornelia herself considered quite risky for the operation. "In this type of action, it is necessary, at least in my humble opinion, to avoid something like a potential delay or burden. Dropping ammo and fuel is not the same as dropping extra Knightmare Frames which, as you no doubt know, and especially by air, will mean a lot of extra difficulty."
"I've taken that into account and I could tell you now how I'm going to counteract all of this." Lucius replied. "Nevertheless, we don't have time for that and at the moment, it's not advisable to waste time."
"If you say so." Cornelia seemed rather unconvinced about his words, but she didn't respond to them in any way and only narrowed her eyes slightly, but definitely noticeably, still staring straight into his purple orbs. "Nevertheless, I recommend you to be much more careful at this crucial moment. If that's all, good luck and see you next time, Luc."
The last words of the Britannian Goddess of Victory turned out to precede the end of communication between the two, and Lucius remained in the cockpit completely alone, with his own thoughts and quite a lot of thoughts, mainly about the next operation. Even so, what preoccupied his still quite calm mind the most was the organizational issue. Although quite recently - at least for a military formation - the Knights of the Purple Rose were organized, it was still not enough. During the last skirmish with the enemy, the problem that directly resulted from the new structure of the order became very clear. The problem was basically the coordination and command of so many battalions while concentrating them in too small an area. In fact, Lucius could admit at this point that if it wasn't for the stacking of Knightmare Frames, the relatively small losses suffered by the enemy artillery bombardment could have been much smaller. Initially, when Purple Prince was just starting his combat trail in South Africa, he was severely affected by a clear shortage of machines, which often required improvisation and risk, sometimes even very high, which often resulted in significant losses. Lucius sought to avoid these losses as much as rationally possible. In this case, however, in the pursuit of being able to protect the lives of as many often extremely experienced pilots as possible, Purple Prince went to the other, completely opposite extreme. In short, a shortage has replaced a surplus.
"I will have to do something about it and consider another reorganization as soon as this campaign ends, once Egypt is fully under our control." He muttered to himself, then closed his eyes and began to think seriously about the potential new shape of the Knights of the Purple Rose. "First of all, I will have to move away from the concept of a single and battalionized Corps, which would be simply impossible for the common man to manage sensibly without my interference."
He allowed himself to think about it for a while, then sighed and began to assist the 1st Corps' immediate commander, Sword Master Sir Schnee Hexenhaus, in managing, coordinating and preparing a defense that could potentially counter any hostile attack, even from three different directions at once. . It was quite a tedious job, but with Lucius's intellect, it wasn't much of a challenge for the two teenagers. However, other members of the Knights of the Purple Rose, many miles south of Alexandria, had much more dynamic and secure work to do.
Occupied Egypt
March 2017 A.T.B.
"Continue firing, the rest of our Squad should be on target soon and we need to buy them as much time as possible." On the general channel of the United Europia and Delta Squad machines, a calm and well-balanced order came from Colonel Leila Malcal. All this amid an intense firefight between the Alexander series machines and the latest advances in Britannian technology. The first and most numerous enemies that Delta had to face at the moment were the KPRs-01/S, also known as Stormtroopers. Basically, it was a machine built directly on the basis of the KPR-00 Tallgeese, but without the characteristic plume, which was supposed to refer to that worn by Roman centurions, although the general shape of the head, stylized as the helmet of Roman legionnaires, was definitely preserved. Aesthetically, the machine was also devoid of the yellow decorations, great cannon and shield that characterized the prototype. Instead, one assault rifle and the newly mass-produced Maser Vibration Sword, or simply MVS. In short, the Stormtrooper variant was significantly simplified compared to the prototype, but it was still an extremely dangerous and technologically advanced machine, perfectly adapted to the requirements of ordinary pilots. KPRs-01/SC, also known as Stormcommanders, technically much more advanced - at least compared to Stormtroopers - machines that differed from KPRs-01/S in many respects. First of all, the characteristic yellow painting has returned to this model, on some edges and edges of the machine. In addition, the shield, characteristic of the prototype, has been restored. As for the electronics, the ability to acquire data from the battlefield and general mobility, these machines were significantly improved and were ideally suited not only for assault or combat. An additional advantage resulting from such technological advancement was also the possibility of conducting precise reconnaissance and highly advanced coordination of the forces subordinated to the pilot-officer. However, as Leila herself was well aware, because it was contained in the report of a mysterious informant from the empire, the Stormcommanders variants were not dedicated only to field commanders, Captains, Lieutenants or Majors, but instead also to any pilot who showed skill above those considered average. However, during the battle, Leila noticed a completely new type of machine that she had never encountered before and that was not mentioned in the mysterious spy's report. It was a Knightmare Frame, similar in appearance more to the standard KPR-01/S, with one and quite subtle difference, which was slightly darker armor painting - keeping the purple theme as the main one - and equipped with a large sniper rifle. Although the young Colonel Malcal had no proof of this yet, the equipment and the rather subtle way of giving made it clear that in this case the Delta would be confronted with a machine prepared for sniper, reconnaissance and perhaps terror operations. It is easy to imagine a situation in which one pilot equipped with such a machine simply paralyzes the entire enemy formation due to the unexpected destruction of the commander's machine or any other, which could effectively put many other pilots on the defensive for at least a few or several minutes. On the battlefield and, above all, in tactical terms, getting even those few minutes could be absolutely crucial for the final result of a given skirmish or battle. But apart from that, it all started less than an hour ago, when the entire Delta Squad was released from the Land Cruiser a few minutes after noon, and Leila, with her center under her command, moved forward centrally, and as Captain Lev Titov reported to her, radars indicated that they were headed for a rendezvous with a full hostile battalion of Knightmare Frames. Drones released for reconnaissance made it clear that Knightmare was at the head of this formation, quickly identified as Tallgeese. It was an unmistakable sign that Char Anzable himself was also in the area, known among enemies and allies as Full Frontal, the unstoppable force of Prince Lucius. The young Colonel Malcal had read a great deal about this man's effectiveness, but most of all about his extremely aggressive and direct approach to combat. This manifested itself on many levels, the most glaring of which was the tactic on the occasion of this battle.
Full Frontal used tactics in this fight, exactly what most would expect from him. Instead of waiting for the enemy and setting a big ambush, he definitely preferred to lead the core of his own forces into the field, for direct confrontation. This came about when the two forces met together in the vicinity of the factory, about three or so kilometers to the west of the facility that was now the target of Squad of Wyvern Zero.
So far, both forces, roughly equal to fifty Knightmare Frames each, have been firing at each other intensely. After all, although the Stormtroopers and Alexander Masses were comparable to each other in terms of firepower, they could not conduct accurate and precise fire at a distance of over seven hundred meters. Meanwhile, any attempt to break through and storm the enemy positions would result in many casualties, and that was true for both sides. However, while the United Europia formation was a big problem with this, the Knights of the Purple Rose apparently had the latest machines at their disposal, ideally suited to the role of a long-distance marksman, the Mogel.
So far, enemy pilots have destroyed as many as seven machines, or rather only. Personally, Leila was surprised to see such a small number of Delta machines under her direct command destroyed, at least in her estimation. In addition, most of the pilots were catapulted, because the latest and improved Knightmare Frames from the Alexander series - like the rest of the EU machines - were finally equipped with Cockpit Ejection systems in recent weeks, for which the men and women piloting them were waiting with great impatience and literally fell into euphoria when the machines they piloted received this facility. Now, their chances of survival have increased many times over.
But aside from the subtle fact of pilot satisfaction and the new, all-important machine systems, it's worth noting that the enemy pilots in these new long-range machine pilots just don't seem to know how to shoot, or they've just been who are assigned to these machines and do not yet have the appropriate experience in piloting them. This was especially evident a moment ago when a quite large missile literally flew past the position where Leila was currently stationed. Basically, she and the pilots under her direct command managed to get into quite a position to conduct quite effective fire, but only the young Colonel Malcal was able to take full advantage of this and conduct quite effective fire at the enemy. So far, she has already destroyed six Stormtroopers, one Stormcommander and two sniper machines, but only four pilots have died along with their Knightmare Frames.
Despite being oddly satisfied and pleased with her results, she was also filled with a certain note that made her vomit and rejoice at the fate of those catapulted by the systems in their machines far from the battlefield. Although Leila had killed quite a few people in what was essentially a long career in the military, she still felt the same every time she did it. The best word for it would be emptiness, with a dash of slight self-loathing. The young Colonel was not someone who was able to kill industrially and sleep well with it. Basically, after her first kill, the reddened face of the dead man became a constant in her dreams until her psyche became immune to it.
Sitting in the cockpit, Leila couldn't help but grimace at the not-so-comfortable and tight-fitting female jumpsuit made entirely of latex, which was tight and flattering to all her remarkable curves. The outfit was not very comfortable, it had not yet had enough time to stretch and adapt to her rather lithe body. This wasn't much of a problem during the battle when she was completely focused on something else. But now that she was completely obscured by a sandbank and reloading her sniper rifle.
The Custom Alexander Commander piloted by her had the advantage that not only was it ideally adapted - in terms of systems, among other things - for long-range combat, but at the same time this machine had certain amenities. One of them was an algorithm that allowed the machine to command itself to reload a sniper rifle and change the magazine without having to do the whole process manually. At this point, it became child's play and allowed a quick return to the fight, several moments after the previous magazine was exhausted.
Despite everything, there was a stalemate here, in which neither side was able to gain an advantage over the enemy. This seemingly hopeless situation, basically a struggle of attrition, was about to come to an end. The first announcement of this was the destruction by enemy snipers of another Alexander Commander, whose pilot did not have the opportunity to be catapulted.
"We've lost Captain Günshe, he's taking over." One of the Lieutenants declared that after the death of the commander in one of the groups, he was to take over command. Naturally, the command now fell to him and was effectively taken away.
"If this continues, they'll shoot us like ducks." This time another officer spoke, and it was clear that he was directing his remarks directly to Colonel Malcal. "Their long-range machines have too much freedom, and in the current balance of forces, we are already suffering high casualties. Were it not for their inaccuracy, we would have been wiped out long ago."
Leila took this as a signal to act, although until now she had occasionally peeked out of cover and fired at the enemy, then repeated the firing procedure. Everything at such a fast pace that you can hide as soon as possible, having one or, at best, two destroyed machines on your account. This time, however, the situation began to make her tactics more and more effective, in the face of high own losses and obvious anxiety among the pilots. With all this in mind, the young Colonel made the final decision on the matter.
"To all pilots, reload your magazines and get ready!" She stated firmly on the general channel while remaining stoically calm, her tone of voice clearly indicating no tolerance for dissent, let alone insubordination. "I'm going to take out their snipers, but for that I need to know where they are and have massive fire support to distract them!"
Moments later, one of the officers, Second Lieutenant Jacob Rudnicky, picked up on her communications channel.
"Ma'am, I can do it." He declared, quite sloppy English and as befits a true Pole, he went to check the enemy positions.
Everything the Second Lieutenant was doing was happening without informing anyone or even asking for permission. Leila was naturally irritated by his arbitrariness, as were the surviving officers. Still, none of them allowed their emotions to overshadow their common sense at this crucial moment, so none of them interfered as this man tried to do the best possible reconnaissance with his machine's systems.
"Colonel, if my Knightmare Frames' scanners are in order and not showing bad readings, there are still seven enemy machines of the new type left. "He checked in obediently and as quickly as possible. Moments later, he started sending data to the tactical map used by the squad. "I'm sending data, it should be more than enough for…"
He didn't have a chance to finish his words, because his machine was hit by an enemy sniper, and the bullet pierced the armor and cockpit, then flew out and hit the nearby sand. The brave pilot did not even have the slightest chance of survival.
"I'll give it!" Leila growled, but quickly controlled her emotions and focused once again on the ongoing battle, and on giving orders to her subordinates. "As soon as I give you the signal, you will start firing immediately. I will need it to gain space and time to eliminate these machines."
No one spoke in response, but it was clear that no one was going to disobey her command. It was clear to everyone that either they would eliminate the enemy snipers or there would be no way forward.
The wait lasted a few more moments, which were intended to make the enemies uncertain, as well as their commander. Only after a few moments, the young blonde decided to act.
"Now!" She screamed, and her subordinates didn't need to be told twice.
All pilots, regardless of their rank or piloted machine, rose from behind the sandy cover and then began firing at the enemy. Their machines were tireless and despite working in difficult conditions, with ubiquitous dirt and sand, Knightmare Frames continued to work with the highest possible efficiency. The hard work of dozens of technicians, who did everything in their power to provide a suitable curtain, made itself felt. One of these undoubtedly brave men paid the price when an enemy sniper hit his machine, causing the cockpit to catapult far from the combat zone. The next few rounds turned out to be completely inaccurate and literally missed the original targets by meters.
Despite everything, Leila gained the necessary cover that allowed her to conduct accurate and effective fire. Custom Alexander Commander, was urged by a young blonde to take a position convenient enough to give accurate and effective fire. However, thanks to the coordinates obtained by the dead officer, she was able to successfully target the first machine from the left.
Colonel Malcal found the machine, and the process of preparing to fire took only a few moments. All this thanks to a dozen or so, quite intense simulations, which were carried out a few days before the battle, and whose aim was to try to adapt to the new machine by a young blonde. It had the intended effect, the best proof of which was the destruction of the enemy machine right after pressing the trigger, and the pilot had no chance to even be catapulted.
Although just a few moments ago, Leila reacted literally with a state of near vomiting to killing an enemy, but now - undoubtedly under the influence of emotions and adrenaline - she smoothly moved to aiming at another machine, identified as the sniper one. Then came the next, the next, the next, and the next, until the ammo in her magazine ran out. Of the five machines destroyed, three were catapulted far from the battlefield.
Then, Leila decided to take cover once more behind the great embankment while her men continued to fire. Although it took only moments to change the magazine, it was hard to say exactly how long or how long it took her to destroy enemy sniper machines beforehand. The intensity of the ongoing exchange of fire effectively prevented any meaningful determination of the passage of time. Everything was dominated and embraced by the desire to kill the enemy, to defeat, thus ensuring the possibility of survival.
Regardless, Leila pushed the machine she was sweating to get up and into firing position. This time, however, she was greeted by two and flying towards her. After all, the shots were completely off target and the only thing they hit was the sand nearby. Only one, in a minor and completely harmless way, grazed the armor of the right arm of the non-standard Alexander Commander. Apart from that, only a small wave of sand hit the metal plates covering the way to the more sensitive inner parts of the Knightmare Frame. It didn't make much difference at this point, because - in particular, the white and dominant paint - was largely covered by sand and dirt.
Without giving the opponents the time, let alone the opportunity, to fire anything more, Leila aimed at the positions where the next opponent was supposed to be and was located. The girl did not hesitate and pulled the trigger. The fired bullet traveled many hundreds of meters with a great bang to meet the target. The collision occurred after about three - or a little more - seconds, and the enemy machine's armor was pierced through, the cockpit was also destroyed, and the pilot did not even know what actually killed him. Moments later, the once functional machine exploded and turned into a burning wreck, while dozens of less well-attached elements were scattered around the Knightmare engulfed in flames.
As she shifted her position and prepared to fire another shot, Leila could tell almost instantly that her opponent had shifted her position. However, it didn't matter, because a moment later, the right arm of her machine was hit and detached from the rest of the metal body. Alexander Commander's Custom System very quickly registered the location from which these shots were fired, and although the aircraft was damaged, it was not a major problem for an experienced pilot like Leila Malcal.
In the meantime, three more shots were fired, but the decisive change of position prevented the sniper from firing accurately. Although the loss of the left arm prevented any sensible aiming and stabilization of the great sniper rifle, there was still a large embankment and sand that could easily be used as a support, quite good for accurate shooting. Before that could happen, however, the enemy sniper managed to fire the last round in his magazine, which successfully hit the head of a custom Knightmare Frame, destroying the most important long-range optical systems.
Leila, thanks to her undoubted intelligence and adaptability, very quickly analyzed her current situation, which was not the best at the moment, to put it mildly. The only thing that allowed the young blonde to have any meaningful visibility at that moment were the standard and torso-mounted cameras of the machine. It wasn't the best solution, but at the moment it was the only one and any that could give her even a small chance of destroying the last of the enemy snipers.
After activating the aforementioned camera, her blue eyes very quickly saw vast, sandy plains, which actually stretched for many tens of kilometers and clearly extended beyond the normal human vision. Maybe the sand, which looked really good in the sunlight. Although this landscape could be deadly for people wandering without the necessary preparation, it could not be denied beauty, grace and dignity. However, Leila herself did not have the time or opportunity to admire this view, and instead, the young commander was forced to fully focus and devote herself to the raging battlefield around her.
It didn't take long for a flash to be visible from a distance, for a fraction of a second. Leila wasted no time then. She immediately realized that it was an enemy projectile headed her way. With this in mind, the young Colonel, almost instinctively, pushed the control consoles, which resulted in her Knightmare Frame repositioning a few meters to the right, and that was more than enough as the missile missed. It became clear that if she did not react, the bullet fired would have hit the torso of her custom machine and, in the worst case, would have been fatal.
Regardless of what could have happened, Leila continued to dodge as her enemy tried to hit the custom Alexander Commander she was piloting. And when it was after the fifth shot, it became clear that at that moment the young Colonel was given a chance to take a shot and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy. She took a fairly comfortable position, then began to prepare to fire. Of all the activities, the most difficult was to calculate the right distance to shoot, all because of the destruction of the head of the Knightmare Frame, where the most advanced cameras equipped with targeting systems and components were mounted. After all, the possibility of using cameras was actually quite real, and all other and still operational computing or targeting systems should be more than operational. Without waiting for what might happen, Leila tapped into the systems' algorithms to rearrange and modify them in a way that was perfectly suited to the situation. It wasn't easy, but her great intellect and natural talent for electronics resulted very quickly in the appearance on the main monitor of measurements and a point showing roughly where the fired bullet would hit. However, this could not be taken for granted, because even these highly advanced systems had a certain tendency to present false information.
After spending a short time aiming, Leila decided to pull the trigger on the controls, and the projectile sped towards the enemy machine a moment later. Although it was the first shot in a new series, it turned out to be accurate. The missile traveled a few kilometers as if it was not even the slightest problem and to rendezvous with the target, which happened a few moments later. The steel embedded itself deep into the metal plates, followed by an explosion and the pilot being catapulted through the system far from the combat zone, as did some other Knightmare Frames sniper pilots who had the similar good fortune of being ejected far from the combat zone.
Basically, the mere fact of catapulting with the cockpit was another proof of the undoubted technological and technical advantage of the Holy Britannian Empire over United Europia. It was all due to the fact that the bullets in the large sniper rifle of the custom Alexander Commander were HEAT rounds that, after penetrating the frontal armor, could easily get inside the cockpit, at least in normal situations something like this would happen quite often. Meanwhile, when confronted with the armor of Masha's newest Britannians, this happened in a minority of cases and when the angle of the hit was extremely favorable. In comparison, Knightmare Frames of Europia United's armor, especially on the older models, offered pathetic protection against this type of shell, at least in the context of a modern battlefield.
"The last of the empire's sniper machines has been destroyed." She announced on the general channel, calmly and without obvious euphoria, although the other people directly reporting to her got carried away more or less emotionally. "So we have quite a lot of freedom..."
She didn't have a chance to finish it, and all because of a very fast beam of energy, which in the blink of an eye flew across the battlefield and hit the custom Alexander Commander. More specifically, the energy beam hit the machine's lower limbs while the system successfully catapulted the cockpit before anything else could happen.
"Colonel!" Shouted one of the Captains, commanding a smaller grouping within the squad.
Apart from the officer who reacted directly, the other soldiers were also concerned about the fate of their commander and for a moment there was quite a lot of chaos on the communication channel. Nevertheless, the panic was subdued after a while when the pilots saw the cockpit departing with their commander. Throughout the course of events, communication discipline was maintained and strictly enforced.
Although the cockpit, its systems and their functioning were strictly dependent on the core and level of the Energy Fillers, they still had their own dedicated energy reserves, allowing the systems and electronics inside to function for a few more minutes. Thus, Leila was able to communicate with Delta members for this short period of time.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it and focus on fighting the enemy." She announced on the general channel, then her eyes fell on the electronic tactical map that showed the nearest area. This covered roughly five kilometers, which was quite a lot by the terms of usually head-to-head combat between Knightmare Frames. "Where did that missile actually come from, and what enemy machine has something so powerful at such a great distance?"
The question was met with a moment of silence, as the pilots tried to make the best use of the systems of the piloted machines for this purpose. Finally, however, one of the pilots decided to speak and inform about the sighted enemy machine with a characteristic ornament reminiscent of the plume of Roman centurions.
"Colonel, the machine responsible for destroying the Knightmare you are piloting is the Tallgeese." He must be given great discipline in fairness, because very few people would be able to remain calm in the face of seeing an enemy of this caliber. "A machine piloted by Full Frontal, one of the empire's finest pilots."
Leila frowned at the information, because where exactly did this man come from? Did Prince Lucius have access to confidential EU information and possibly even spies at the highest levels of the United Europia hierarchy? Has the Republic really become that infiltrated? These thoughts, however, left her head very quickly, because it was simply impossible, at least from a logical point of view. How could Britannia, let alone one of the Dukes, infiltrate the army to such a great extent?
Moments later, all inquiry into the matter was effectively cut off when a land cruiser call came in.
"Colonel, we just received a message from Major Kowalsky." An image of Captain Titov appeared on the main monitor, as calm as ever. "He reports that his unit has managed to locate the factory. Currently, he has started infiltrating.
"Excellent." Leila replied, pleased with this fact. In the end, there was a very real chance to end the operation as soon as possible and retreat before the Knights of the Purple Rose officers stationed here could call for reinforcements. "If he has nothing more to say, let him continue and let the other group join him at his location. Give it to him immediately."
"Yes, ma'am." The officer nodded, then the connection between them was terminated and the tactical map returned to the main screen once again.
For a brief moment, there was a moment of calm, during which Leila could think it all over. First of all, the operation commissioned to her has so far proceeded practically without any obstacles and all the goals set were slowly and consistently implemented. What, however, could and genuinely worried the soldier's girlfriend was the uncertain situation at the front. For several weeks, what was left of the EU forces in this region of the world struggled not only with pressure from the empire, but also by the pressures of the High Command and politicians ruling the republic. In fact, Leila's brother and commander-in-chief in that part of the world had to be fighting on two fronts at this point, balancing the military challenge of stopping Britannia and pleasing the politicians and reassuring them that the front wouldn't collapse any time soon.
All these assurances as to the possibility of preserving the shape of the front were, at best, wishful thinking, and at worst, obvious daydreams, with no real basis in reality. Realistically, from the great collapse of the front in Egypt and the subsequent loss of tens of thousands of troops or equipment, stopping the Britannian onslaught was no longer possible. Even the best positions or places as well fortified as Cair could not affect the outcome of the war in this part of the world, but only delay the inevitable in the long run, the necessity to withdraw to El Alamein, where the engineers and sappers sent there by Franz Malcal Jr. they were to erect a fortress that could hold back the great onslaught of the empire's forces for a longer period of time.
Further consideration or silent contemplation on the subject was effectively interrupted by one of the Captains, who decided to contact the young Colonel and inform her of a rather significant change in the battle pool.
"Maam…!" A woman's voice spoke sharply, but it was far from panic. "The Forces of Knights of the Purple Rose are in retreat. They're probably going to link up with the factory defenders and eliminate the people under the command of Major Kowalsky!"
Leila wasted no time, so almost automatically, and had no intention of waiting for the latest news or confirmation of these words. Instead, she decided to act in the face of the threat that hung over her people in an instant.
"You are to immediately notify the Major and the Captain as soon as possible!" She commanded, and her mask of stoicism fell, but it was not destroyed at the same time, so a certain dignity was preserved. "I am not going to let all those experienced soldiers die who, by surprise, would not have the slightest chance of an organized fight!"
AN: And that's the end of this chapter, dear readers. In the next two chapters, there will be a climax to the Egypt Arc that will not be what you might expect. However, you will have to wait a little longer for details.
Now, however, it's time to respond to your reviews, especially since it wasn't the case before:
- Guest - Thanks man, I appreciate every review, which motivates me to continue work.
- Egregious Potato - Sooner or later, Lucius's serious character flaws will be revealed. It will be something coherent at the same time, which will not destroy his history and achievements.
About Shin: No, he isn't loyal to Lucius, even in the slightest degree. Shin treats Lucius and Britannia itself, only as a tool to achieve his own goals. Perfecting people and humankind, in some twisted way. I tried to emphasize that in all the scenes where he appeared.
I hope you are satisfied with the answers, I wish you all the best and goodbye to the next time.