Ch. 31: Zero's Last Stand
Black Army HQ
The Black Army, while trying to keep their defenses up, were loosing organization and morale due to the bombing from the Japanese planes. The various bombings had either destroyed or damaged a fraction of the Black Army's artillery guns and machine guns. With holes being punched in the Black Army's line of defenses, it was just a matter of time before the Japanese were encouraged to charge once more.
"Zero! Our lines are being battered all over! What should we do?!" asked one of the Black Army generals.
"Maintain our lines at all costs! Divert some of our rear lines to aim at those planes!" commanded Zero. The general saluted Zero before heading back to the front lines.
"Dietrich! You and the rest of communications use whatever resource you have to call in every last regiment we have in the surrounding region!"
"As you wish Zero!" said Dietrich before he headed back to the communications office.
Zero suddenly ducked when he heard several explosions from several bombs dropped by the planes above.
"If the bombings puncture my lines and I don't have reinforcements, then this operation will fail for sure. The tactics employed by the Japanese are different than before. Normally they would fight us head on. Instead they spread out, fighting us before we have a chance to reorganize. The planes themselves don't make any sense either. If the Japanese colonial forces had them, why choose now to use them? Something or someone else has to be pulling some strings." thought Zero as he got back up.
Eastern Trenches
"BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!" echoed through the air as a bomb impacted the ground. Black Army soldiers were scrambling all over in order to avoid planes above them. Some soldiers manning a machine gun decided to flee their posts due to the bombing raids. As they were running down one of the trenches looking for cover, the sound of a spinning propeller started to become louder.
The soldiers quickly turned around and saw a Japanese plane descending closer to the ground. Once the pilot in the plane had the soldiers in his sight, he pressed a trigger, which caused the machine gun turrets on the plane to spit out a dozen or so bullets. The bullets instantly punched holes into the group of soldiers, causing blood to be sprayed all over. The plane immediately ascended once it managed to gun down the soldiers.
Nearby, some surviving artillery guns were being re-positioned so their aim could be adjusted. Myo, who oversaw the guns, had the artillery crews load the guns with a shell and all of them waited until a target was spotted.
"NOW! FIRE!" yelled Myo. A repetition of explosions could be heard as multiple shells were shot upward into the air. Though some of them missed and simply exploded midair, others managed to make direct hits on the Japanese planes causing them to be blown into many pieces. Some shells managed to simply tear off a wing or the rudder of the planes, which caused them to loose control and crash into the ground below them.
"LOAD ANOTHER ROUND! KEEP IT UP!" yelled Myo as the now inspired soldiers quickly reloaded the guns and prepared to shoot them once more.
As the artillery guns were preparing to load another round, Myo could suddenly hear a humming sound behind him. He immediately looked back and saw a Japanese plane about to pass over him. When the plane was directly overhead, a small bomb could be seen being thrown out of the rear cockpit.
"Dear god..." thought Myo before the bomb hit the ground, causing a large fireball to engulf Myo and other nearby soldiers. Nearby boxes of ammunition also detonated, resulting in multiple explosions afterwards.
Jeong and Seo continued leading their divisions at the front most trenches. Half of them were now aiming their machine guns and rifles towards the sky.
"Damn Japanese toys! Always have to be the crafty ones!" yelled Seo as he tried shooting at some airplanes up above.
"Take this you son of a bitch!" yelled Jeong as he aimed a machine gun upwards and shot a stream of rounds into the air.
One of the many bullets coming out of the machine gun's barrel managed to hit the head of one of the many Japanese pilots in the air. As the pilot's deceased, bloodied body slumped over, the plane started loosing altitude rapidly. As it was about to crash into the Black Army's lines, soldiers immediately ran for cover as the plane crashed and exploded.
"Maintain organization men! We must not show any signs of weakness!" bellowed General Jo as he was commanding the front lines. "Show them not only our strength, but the strength of those who have already fallen throughout our long history!"
Southern Trenches
Roh and Park shot recklessly into the air, hoping that they would shoot down one of the multiple planes swarming the skies above them. Other soldiers were shooting into the air, also hoping to shoot down a plane. Since the sky was filled with so many bullets whizzing all over, various planes could be seen with multiple holes or smoking engines. Other planes that were hit simply continued crashing in the trenches or the battlefield that separated the Japanese and the Black Army.
Kae, armed with her loaded sniper rifle, carefully looked into the air and aimed towards the pilot's head in the distance. Calculating the timing in her head within a millisecond, she carefully timed her shot so that the bullet pierced the pilot's temple, causing blood to be splattered all over the plane's frame. With the pilot dead, the plane started moving all over the place until it crashed into another nearby plane.
"Direct hit!" thought Kae as she reloaded another round.
"Kae! Several enemy planes coming from the North!" yelled Roh as he turned around and shot towards the sky.
"Got it!" yelled Kae as she too turned around and looked through her scope. Scanning the sky, she looked for any potential targets. Within a second she spotted a bombardier holding a bomb in his hand. She immediately aimed her rifle before taking a shot. The bullet lodged itself into the bombardier's hand, causing him to drop the mini explosive onto the plane's floor.
The sudden impact the bomb made with the plane's floor was strong enough to prematurely detonate. The sudden explosion blew off the whole tail of the plane while the pilot was immediately knocked out. The front half of the plane could be seen shooting through the air, leaving behind a thick trail of smoke behind it. It then eventually crashed into the forests in the South, causing several regiments of Japanese soldiers to be killed instantly.
"Nice one!" yelled Roh as he continued shooting at several planes passing overhead. Several large explosions could be felt and heard as the bomb continued dropping on the various trenches.
"Incoming!" yelled a nearby colonel at the top of his lungs.
A Japanese plane could be seen flying towards them. Quickly noticing the gun turrets on its front, Kae immediately realized what the plane was about to do.
"TAKE COVER!" yelled Kae as she ducked to the ground and covered her head. Roh, Park, and the other soldiers immediately scrambled for anyplace for cover. Then, without warning, the Japanese fired their mounted machine guns. "DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH!" was repeatedly heard along with the sound of soldiers screaming with pain as their flesh was being riddled by bullets.
Kae slowly rose her head upwards once the sound of the plane died down.
"Is everyone ok!" she yelled. It was then she saw dozens of soldiers who were dead or in desperate need of medical assistance.
"PARK! HOW BAD ARE YOU HIT?!" yelled Roh.
Kae immediately ran towards the two once she heard Roh yelling. Running past and over various blood stained bodies, she saw Roh trying to aid a wounded Park. Park's left shoulder and part of his back was drenched in so much blood, that it partially dyed his uniform.
"Park! You alright?!" asked a concerned Kae.
"Don't...worry...about me." he said as he coughed a few times. "There are many more...you should be caring for."
Park then closed his eyes as he lost his consciousness due to the trauma inflicted by the gunshots he had received.
"He's loosing blood fast. We'll loose him if we don't get any aid for him. Roh! Get a medic for all the men here!" Kae commanded.
Roh then nodded as he ran off to find the medical team. Kae wiped some dirt off her sweaty face before resuming shooting down more Japanese planes.
Black Army HQ
Zero observed the battlefield through his binoculars and saw the devastation caused by the planes. Charred corpses and pools of blood could be seen all over. In the distance, Zero saw several planes making quick swoops over the mine-rigged battlefield. The planes shot several rounds into the ground, causing the mines to detonate and cause large geysers of earth to be shot upward.
"They're using the planes to wipe out the mines we have hidden underground. It won't be a matter of time until the field will be clear for another advancement." Zero thought.
Suddenly a building next to the headquarters was bombed, causing the headquarter's foundation to shake. Smoke then immediately started to seep into the room.
"FIRE!" yelled a Black Army officer.
"Put that fire out now!" yelled Zero. Nearby soldiers went to the emergency water pump and tried to hose down the flames. "Dietrich! Status!"
"Not good! That last explosion practically cut off all our lines of communication." Dietrich responded.
"DAMN IT!" yelled Zero as he threw his binoculars to the ground.
"Sir, your orders?" asked Dietrich while the other soldiers in the room stared at Zero.
Zero stood there silently as he thought of any possible solution.
"Prepare all the torpedo and transport ships we have docked here. Load them with the injured and as much equipment we can carry. Transfer Kae and three divisions to the Eastern lines! If the Japanese are going to make a charge, they're best chances of succeeding is from the East." ordered Zero.
"Sir do you mean we're..." asked a soldier.
"Yes. We are retreating. We must save whatever we can before everything is lost." Zero responded. "Is that clear?!"
"Sir!" everyone yelled as they saluted. Everyone in the room immediately started scrambling all over while collecting whatever important documents, equipment, and weapons they could find.
"They've put my king in check in multiple spots. All I can do now is to use whatever pieces I have to block my king. Hopefully that will allow me some extra space to use as an escape." Zero thought as he looked at the battlefield.
Eastern Forest Clearing
"Lt. General! Reports from the front lines have been good!" said a Japanese colonel has he saluted. "The Gekkas have severely crippled the enemy's defensives."
"Thank you colonel." said Ikeda. "With the artillery guns mostly out of commission and the minefields wiped out, we can proceed with the second phase of our plan."
"Sir! Enemy movement has been detected!" yelled a young Japanese officer. "Forces from the South are being transferred to the East! Shall I send out an order to divert our forces to the South instead?!"
"Negative! That's what Zero wants us to do!" answered Ikeda. The determined Lt. General then put on his cap, made sure his katana was secured to his belt, and proceeded to walk away from the map table.
"Sir! Where are you going?!" asked the colonel.
"The front lines of course. Where else?" responded Ikeda.
Eastern Trenches
Kae, along with three other divisions, immediately positioned themselves in the East. As the soldiers continued shooting at the enemy planes, Kae approached Jo, Seo, and Jeong.
"How are you boys doing?" asked Kae.
"Doing good and bad." responded Seo. "Managed to take down some planes while loosing some of our artillery units."
"What about Myo? Wasn't he stationed here with you guys?" asked Kae.
"Nobody has heard from Myo since the battle began." responded Jeong. "How were things on your end in the South?"
"Similar results there too. An airplane swooped down at us. Me and Roh were unharmed, but Park, along with many other soldiers, were severely wounded." Kae answered.
"Park was injured?" asked a stunned Jo. "Where is he now?"
"General, the last thing I said to Roh was to get a medical team. I can only presume Park is with the medical team." answered Kae.
"LOOK!" yelled Seo as he was pointing upwards. "The planes! It looks like they leaving the area!"
Jo, Kae, and Jeong immediately looked up and saw the remaining Japanese planes flying away from the battlefield.
"I guess we showed them we aren't to be messed around with!" yelled a jubilant Seo.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that Seo." Jo replied. "Why would the Japanese planes just leave the area after they were pummeling us like crazy?"
A loud bugle sound suddenly echoed through the air. All the Black Army soldiers suddenly froze and looked around, wondering where the source of the sound was. Within a second of hearing the bugle, another wave of Japanese soldiers could be seen charging out of the forest.
"I FIGURED THAT WAS IT!" said Jo.
"WHAT IS IT!?" asked a confused Seo.
"The planes were recalled because they've crippled enough of our defenses to allow a second charge to go through!" answered Jo.
"And I guess they wouldn't want to fire on their own forces." added Kae.
"ALRIGHT SOLDIERS! ATTACK PATTERN 4-A!" ordered Jo.
The soldiers in the front lines then took out their rifles, pulled out their bayonets, and screwed them onto their muzzles. The Black Army stoically waited in the trenches until they were given their next command.
"CHARGE!" yelled Jo at the top of his lungs.
The Black Army soldiers simultaneously rose out of the trenches and proceeded to run towards the approaching Japanese. Both sides yelled as the two giant waves of bayonet rifle-wielding armies charged. The Black Army soldiers, however, stopped their advance momentarily, pulled out handheld grenades, and threw them towards the Japanese.
Dozens of small balls could be seen being hurled into the air. Within a few seconds of landing, the grenades blew up, causing the front most line of the Japanese wave were wiped out. However, the still large Japanese force continued their charge. The Black Army immediately followed suit.
The battle became a one-on-one brawl when the two armies collided at the halfway point of the battlefield. Black Army and Japanese soldiers could be seen either shooting or stabbing the other. Others were simply using their rifles as clubs or resorted to using their bare fists. Japanese soldiers drew out their sabers and attempted to slice the Black Army soldiers. However, the well-trained Black Army soldiers quickly positioned their rifles so that they could parry the potential deadly blow.
Jo, wielding his own saber, dodged and stabbed multiple Japanese soldiers trying to take him down. A Japanese soldier even tried charging at him, hoping to bayonet him to death. Jo swiftly jumped out of the way, kicked the soldier's shins, pushed him to the ground, and stabbed him through the back. Another soldier even tried to jump at him from behind. But Jo, being very aware of his surroundings, immediately turned around, took out his pistol, and shot the Japanese soldier between the eyes.
Western Ports
Black Army soldiers ran back and forth as they were loading various boxes of supplies and arms to several small torpedo and transport ships at the docks. Another ship was being loaded with various wounded soldiers laying on stretchers. Overseeing the loading was Zero, who was carefully reviewing several sea charts of the waters.
"Zero! Torpedo boat #3 is fully loaded! We are prepared to depart!" said a Black Army captain.
"Good. Proceed to the rendezvous point immediately!" ordered Zero.
The Black Army captain saluted Zero before boarding one of the torpedo boats. Within a few minutes, soldiers nearby and in the boat managed to untie it, pull up the anchor, and fired up the boilers. Black smoke suddenly started being ejected in the air as the torpedo boat slowly departed from the docks. Another torpedo boat nearby also started ejecting black smoke as it followed the first boat.
Suddenly Dietrich walked up to Zero and tapped his shoulder.
"Ah Dietrich! Have you finished loading the first set of documents?" asked Zero.
"Yes sir." replied Dietrich. "However, I am here to relay info to you. Our front line forces are currently brawling it out with a wave of Japanese soldiers as we speak. Shall I relay a retreat to our forces?"
"Hmm. Not yet." replied Zero. "Tell the front to keep countering the charge. We must protect the retreat."
"As you wish sir." said Dietrich before he left.
The chaotic one-on-one brawl between the Black Army and the Japanese continued. One soldier after another were added onto the already long list of casualties.
Seo rammed his bayonet-tipped rifle into the stomach of a Japanese solider. The Japanese soldier grabbed his abdomen due to the sheer pain while large amounts of blood started staining his upper uniform. Once the Japanese soldier fell down dead, Seo yanked the blood-soaked bayonet out of the soldier and charged at another one.
Another Japanese soldier was swiping his sword repeatedly at a Black Army soldier. Despite being able to avoid being directly hit, the Black Army soldier's uniform had lots of cuts in it.
"STAY STILL YOU DIRTY..." yelled the sword-wielding Japanese soldier before he blacked out. Once the Japanese soldier's body unconscious body fell down, the Black Army soldier saw Jeong holding his rifle standing right there.
"Thanks!" said the soldier.
"No problem. The ends of these rifles make great clubs!" yelled Jeong as he swung his rifle into the head of another nearby Japanese soldier.
Meanwhile Kae was using her fast reflexes and fists to dodge and eat up Japanese soldiers. When she saw a Japanese soldier attempting to slice her with his sword, she ducked as he swooped his blade, kicked him in the leg, quickly moved behind him, and grabbed his head.
"Sorry! I hope your life was worth living." said Kae as she twisted the Japanese soldier's head with enough force to crack his neck, immediately killing him. Two more Japanese soldiers tried attacking her, but Kae quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out two small knives. Within a blink of an eye, she threw them into the chests of the two soldiers, causing them to instantly stop.
"So the Black Army has a young lady in their ranks. That red scarf you're wearing will surely match the pool you will lay in." said a nearby voice. Kae turned around and saw General Ikeda, who was in the process of pulling his sword out of the back of a Black Army soldier.
"We finally meet eye to eye Ikeda." said Kae.
"Well you better enjoy what your eyes saw, because they will be the last thing you ever see!" yelled Ikeda as he raised his sword.
"I think that sentence applies to you more than it does me!" yelled Kae as pulled out her sniper rifle and used it to block Ikeda's blade lunging through the air. Kae and Ikeda started sweating profusely as their eyes stared at each other with fiery rage and determination.
Ikeda kept pushing trying to break through the stalemate. Suddenly Kae felt she was loosing the struggle against Ikeda's blade. As the metal sword started getting closer to her body, she came up with a clever idea. Using her exceptionally dextrous hands, she managed to reach and pull the rifle's trigger. A loud "BANG!" echoed as the rifle shot its bullet randomly into the air.
The sudden sound of the rifle going off right in front of him distracted Ikeda for about a millisecond, which was for Kae enough time to push him away. She then rammed the butt of her rifle into Ikeda's foot.
"YEOOW!" yelled Ikeda as his foot was partially crushed by the impact. Quickly swallowing the pain, Ikeda attempted to swipe at Kae once more, but she managed to evade the blow. However, a part of the blade managed to cut through her sleeve, causing her arm to slowly bleed.
"Had enough yet?" asked Ikeda.
"I'm only getting started!" yelled Kae. Using her rifle like a javelin, she thew it butt-first into Ikeda's head, thereby surprising him. With his vision blurred for the moment due to the impact to his head, Kae ran up to Ikeda and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to drop his sword.
"I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED!" yelled Ikeda as he punched Kae's face multiple times. Kae retaliated by sticking one of the knives she was carrying into Ikeda's upper left forearm. Ikeda's anger and determination to win helped him to overcome the pain in his arm.
Both Kae and Ikeda then started to block punches from the other like two boxers in an arena. Kae kept her arms up while leaning all over in order to avoid Ikeda's strong fists. Once an opening occurred, Kae immediately started lobbing numerous punches at the Japanese general, but Ikeda kept his arms up and blocked each blow as if it was nothing.
"This isn't working. Have to improvise once more..." thought Kae as she started dodging Ikeda's retaliatory punches once more. As she ducked towards the ground, she noticed some piles of loose dirt. She quickly grabbed some of the dirt and held it in the palm of her hand.
"You fight exceptionally well. Perhaps you could use your skills to help us achieve the glory that is over the horizon." said Ikeda.
"Thanks, but I vehemently reject your deal!" yelled Kae as she threw the dirt at Ikeda. The loose, grainy dirt directly hit Ikeda's eyes, causing him to be blinded for about a second. Kae then quickly ran around Ikeda so she could immobilize him. Once she was behind him, Kae grabbed Ikeda's head, pulled out another knife, and placed it right next to Ikeda's neck.
"Why you...!" yelled Ikeda as he tried to wrestle his head out of Kae's grip.
"If you want your neck intact, I suggest you calm down." replied Kae. Ikeda then stopped resisting as Kae held the knife towards his neck.
"Impressive. Using your environment to distract me so you could bring me to the edge of death is proof of your fighting skills." said Ikeda.
"Now that you're life is in my hands now, I want you to recall your forces..." said Kae.
"However young lady, you forgot one aspect in the art of fighting your opponent." replied Ikeda.
"Yeah, and that's what?" asked Kae sarcastically.
"TO NEVER CONFRONT YOUR ENEMY AT CLOSE RANGE!" yelled Ikeda as he quickly jabbed his elbow into Kae's stomach, causing her to drop her knife. Ikeda turned around and repeatedly punched Kae's bruised and bloodied face. He then kicked her with enough force to cause her body to fly backwards.
As Kae felt her already beaten up body hit the floor, she noticed one of her leftover grenades from before rolling out of her left pocket. She also saw a dead Japanese soldier still holding his pistol laying right by her right hand.
Ikeda walked over to where Kae laid on the ground and lifted her up in the air by the collar. Kae suddenly felt it was difficult to breathe due to being lifted up by her collar.
"You have any last words before I break every bone in your damn body?!" yelled Ikeda as he pulled Kae's face closer to his.
"Yes!", Kae said in a hoarse tone. "Never confront an enemy at close range, especially one who is about to kill you!"
Pulling out the pistol she found before, Kae aimed it downward and shot a round into Ikeda's foot. Ikda screamed with pain once more as he let go of Kae, who was gasping for air. Kae then got up while Ikeda managed to refocus.
"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT CHON?!" yelled Ikeda.
"No, not exactly." said Kae.
It was then Ikeda looked down at his belt and saw a grenade clipped on it. The grenade also was missing it's pin.
"No! No! It's not possible!" said a panicked Ikeda as he tried to unclip the grenade off his belt, which was difficult since he couldn't focus on the task on hand. "IF I DIE HERE, I'LL JUST TAKE YOU ALONG WITH ME!"
Ikeda charged at Kae, hoping to grab her when the grenade went off. Kae, however, picked up her sniper rifle, rammed it into Ikeda's forehead, and kicked him in the stomach. Like Kae's body before, Ikeda's flew backwards. Then the grenade connected to Ikeda's went off, causing a large fiery explosion to appear around Ikeda. The force was strong enough to knock Kae and some other nearby soldiers to the ground. Once the smoke cleared, all that was left was a blackened crater. No traces of Ikeda's body were left.
Western Ports
The last of the large transport ships was being loaded with casualties and medicinal supplies. The only other remaining boats were two patrol boats equipped with a few torpedoes.
"Dietrich, how's it looking?" asked Zero.
"All the casualties that have treatable wounds have been loaded sir. As for the ones with more serious injuries and higher chances of dying, we've only managed to load 2/3 of them." replied Dietrich. "We can't fit the other 1/3."
"Then we must leave them behind." said Zero. "Our objective is to salvage and escape with the most and best resources we have, including soldiers. Their death will not be forgotten."
"ZERO! ZERO!" yelled a panicked Black Army cadet.
"What is it?" asked Zero.
"Sir...spotted...Northern hills...Shinigami..." said the young cadet as he panted.
"WHAT! HE'S HERE ALREADY? I THOUGHT THE OTHER UPRISINGS WAS KEEPING HIM BUSY!" said a surprised Zero. He then excused himself and climbed up one of the few remaining watchtowers. Once up on the top, Zero took out his binoculars and looked Northward towards the hils. In the distance he could faintly see Tōdō sitting on top of his horse, preparing to make a move.
Then about a hundred Japanese on horseback started lining themselves one next to another on top of the hill. Tōdō slight rode forward so the line of cavalrymen were aligned behind him.
"CHARGE FORWARD! CRUSH THE BLACK ARMY! SERVE HIS MAJESTY WITH HONOR!" yelled Tōdō as he valiantly pulled out his steel katana, which shined in the air due to the sunlight reflecting off it. Instantly the line of cavalry simultaneously pulled out their sabers before kicking their horses on the side. The horses as a resulted immediately started charging down the hill and across the battlefield.
Through his binoculars, Zero saw a mass of fresh, saber-wielding cavalrymen charging towards him, ready to kill anything in their path. Zero instantly grabbed a nearby megaphone and used it to address his forces below the watchtower.
"General!" yelled Zero. A Black Army general running past the watchtower immediately stopped and looked upward. "WE MUST EVACUATE NOW! INITIATE RETREAT PLAN #11!".
The General immediately nodded and headed off to issue the order to other nearby Black Army officers.
"Zero, what exactly is going on?" asked the Black Army cadet.
"Tōdō came here sooner than expected. With the bulk of our remaining forces concentrate in the East, our Northern lines won't be able to stand up against a force the size of the one we're facing right now." answered Zero. "The retreat must be activated now if we want to live another day."
Meanwhile a group of soldiers on the ground received their new orders from Zero. Prying open a nearby box, the soldiers took out several red cylindrical shells. Once they were carefully positioned, the soldiers lit them up, causing them to ignite and emit thick red smoke into the air. Other nearby soldiers started untying the ropes holding the boats to the dock and making last minute checks.
As the fist fights, brawls, and bayoneting continued in the East, the Black Army soldiers fighting suddenly looked behind themselves noticed the thick red smoke rising in the distance.
"So that's the plan now..." said Jo as he pulled his sword out of the stomach of a Japanese soldier. Jo then pulled out his whistle and blew on it until his lungs ran out of air. "INITIATE RETREAT PLAN #11!"
Suddenly half the Black Army soldiers started to retreat back to the remnants of the Black Army's base. The other half kept fighting the Japanese so the first half could make their retreat. Kae and Jeong were still preoccupied with fighting off the Japanese while Seo managed to get away from the front lines.
Immediately after the first half of Black Army soldiers retreated, the other half still fighting activated all the emergency smoke bombs they were given beforehand and threw them all over in random directions. The simultaneous activation caused thick, gray smoke to be emitted, enough to slightly halt the Japanese. The remaining soldiers used this as an opportunity to retreat also.
The same order was also issued in the Northern lines. The Black Army retreated after creating a large smoke cloud so the cavalry would have a hard time seeing them. Though a good amount of soldiers were able to successfully retreat, some unlucky Black Army soldiers were slain by Japanese cavalrymen who happened to charge past them.
Zero was on one of the transport boats, which was prepared to leave as soon as possible. Large gray smoke could be seen rising behind some of the remaining buildings.
"Good, massive smokescreen has been implemented with success." thought a satisfied Zero.
Meanwhile a wave of retreating Black Army soldiers appeared running past the flaming buildings and towards the docked boats. Soldiers already prepared to leave helped the weary, retreating soldiers board the boats. However, due to the massive amount of soldiers all competing to get on a boat as soon as possible, some were pushed into the water while other resorted to jumping onto the boats.
"C'MON! ONE AT A TIME! HURRY! HELP! QUICKLY!" could be heard from the various fleeing soldiers desperately trying to board the multiple boats.
As he was trying to pass through the crowd of soldiers, Zero bumped into both Jo and Kae.
"I'm glad to see you made it." said Zero.
"Same to you." said Jo.
"Where's Seo and Jeong?" asked Zero.
"We're not sure, but someone passing by told me he saw them board one of the other boats." responded Kae. "Anyway, I heard the Shinigami is attacking from the North."
"Sadly yes." said Zero. "I had to prematurely start the evacuation. Without any reinforcements, our forces were insufficient to deal with the Japanese. I have to admit, but we have lost this round."
Both Jo and Kae both lowered there heads silently to express their disbelief of the events that had recently unfolded.
"Zero, the retreat is ready to go. All you need to do is to give the final word." said Dietrich, who approached Zero from behind.
"Very well. Initiate the evacuation. Set course to Shanghai, where we'll meet up with the others and formulate a new plan." ordered Zero. Dietrich nodded and immediately ran off into the crowd.
"Zero, what of the soldiers that haven't boarded?" asked Kae.
"We must leave now. Their lives will not be in vain." responded Zero. Zero then walked away and disappeared into the crowd occupying the deck of the ship.
"What do you think about this plan?" asked Kae.
"Sadly Zero is right. We must recover as much resources we have for another day. As for today, it is fact, we have lost." said a semi-depressed Jo.
The smokestacks of the remaining boats all emitted black smoke, which rose into the air. Once the anchors were all lifted up, the boats started propelling themselves forward through the water. As the boats reached deeper waters, Zero looked back at the flaming town formerly used as their back-up base.
In the distance he could see left-over Black Army soldiers running towards the docks, waving at them in hope that they would come back and get them. Zero immediately turned around and focused on his next move.
"The loss of some pawns is necessary for overall victory. I've may have been checkmated this round, but the second one will be much different, for I will figure out your next move before you even make it." thought Zero as the defeated Black Army entered the Yellow Sea and far enough away from the Japanese forces.
Author's Note: The Black Army has experienced its first defeat. Now heading towards a new base in Shanghai, China, Zero must now reorganize everything he has left and uncover the people who managed to assist the Japanese colonial forces in achieving victory. However, due with having presence in China, the Black Army can easily be dragged into China's political problems (does anyone see any resemblance here?). Also, I would like to say I will be introducing a new member to the Black Army soon since the Black Army lacks an R&D department.