Chapter Thirteen: Playing Dirty
Few miles away from Nago
Five aircraft flew overhead, heading towards the city of Nago, while dozens of helicopters followed behind.
"Wow, we're really giving it our all, huh," Maho whistled.
"Yeah, this is our first big counteroffensive," Hiroi said. He exhaled.
"Damn. Sucks Erika couldn't be here," Maho nodded, "I wonder what she's doing right now." She climbed into her Tiger X. "Best of luck to you." She said to Hiroi as she climbed down the hatch.
"Back at you," Hiroi winked.
….
"Oh boy, this is exciting," Kaito exclaimed as he sheathed his gunto while
Tanya looked on. "Please hurry up," She said. Kaito stood up and began to walk towards the column of APCs, IFVs and AFVs. The rest of the regiment filed behind him.
"Commander, this'll be one hell of a fight, won't it?" Lasagna asked.
Kaito grinned. "When we win, you'll get to make all the pasta you want," He said. Lasagna jumped up in joy. Several explosions from afar shakes the ground.
"We're giving them one hell of a pounding!" Kaito shouted. "We're not going to let the air force hog all the glory!" the regiment shouted and ran to their vehicles.
The convoy roared to life as hundreds of vehicles surged forwards.
"Panzer vor!" Maho shouted. The Panzers advanced through steep hills, forest paths and winding roads. Eventually the forests opened up and they ended up in the outskirts of a town. Explosions from afar shook the ground.
The air force is doing it's job well, Maho thought.
"There aren't any enemies here," Kaito noted through the radio.
"Maybe they've retreated," Maho said. Maho's Panzer X began to roll through the empty town.
"Where is everybody?" A Panzer commander asked.
Maho looked at every house she passed. Every house seems to be empty. No lights on and some doors are wide open. Did the North Koreans take all of them? She thought. "Stop." She ordered, and the Panzer X halted its engines. She jumped out of her Panzer and ran to the nearest house.
"Where are you going?" Kaito's armored car rolled up next to her.
"I need to check these houses out," Maho said.
Kaito opened the car door and stepped out. "It can be dangerous, so I'll go with you," He grabbed the sheathe of his guntō.
Tanya also stepped out, holding her Type 20. "I'll go too,"
"Thanks. The rest of you check the other houses out," Kaito ordered. Soldiers began exiting their vehicles and entering the houses throughout the town. Maho opened the door and entered, followed by Kaito and Tanya.
The powerful stench immediately took over. Maho instinctively covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Her eyes teared up and she almost vomited.
"What the hell…" Kaito muttered. The entire room was covered in blood; it smeared the walls and puddled on the floor.
Lying on the middle of the floor were the bodies of three people, which Maho assumed was a family. She almost vomited again when she realized one of the bodies was of a little girl. Her shirt was ripped open, and what was once her chest was a huge bloody gash, with organs spilling outside. Her face was covered with a horror-stricken face. The woman next to the girl also had her chest ripped open. Bullets riddled her entire body. Blood was also flowing from her skirt, with a long knife sticking out. The man's throat was cut, and his face was covered with dried up tears. Maho stumbled back, hyperventilating. She turned to Kaito, whose face was stone-cold.
"Those bastards," He stepped past Maho, and knelt down next to the bodies. "This is recent." He said.
Maho grabbed Kaito by the shoulder. "How could they…" She whispered.
Tanya sniffed the air. "There's something other than blood," She said.
Kaito turned around. "What? The smell is so strong I can't distinguish anything else…" Kaito started but Tanya stopped him. She tried to walk over but almost slipped. She threw her arms to the floor to pick herself up. She felt something slippery when she touched the floor. When she raised her hand to her nose and smelled it, she turned white.
"Gasoline…" She said.
"What?" Kaito asked.
Tanya looked at him. "Gasoline. This whole place is covered with gasoline!" She grabbed Kaito's arm. "We need to get out of here now!"
Suddenly flames shot out from the adjacent room. The fire quickly raced towards Maho and pulled the two of them out of the house, nearly throwing them out. Right as Tanya herself jumped out, the house erupted into flames. The houses adjacent caught fire, and the conflagration quickly spread across the town. Maho and Kaito looked in shock as Tanya wiped her hand.
"Watch out, the houses are covered with gasoline," She informed the other soldiers. She looked down at the pair, who are still on the ground. "Get up, you two are the commanders." She sternly told them. "Let's move out,"
It didn't take much longer to figure out the entire was rigged. From doors that explode when opened, to motion-activated lighters in a gasoline-soaked house. There were also no civilians, or at least any alive. Almost every house was littered with dead bodies, left by the North Koreans who retreated. The fire from the first house had consumed nearly half the town, and the soldiers had to put them out.
"They're really doing it this time," Lasagna said.
Nishi groaned. "So annoying…" She muttered.
They reached the town hall, which is in front of a field.
Kaito disembarked from his armored car. "Watch out for traps." He ordered. "Tanya, Maho, check the back." Kaito, Lasagna, Nishi and Earl Grey ran up to the front door of the town hall. Kaito placed explosives by the door. He motioned the rest to move back, as he moved back himself. He detonated the explosives, and with a bang, and the door swung open. They walked in, and scanned the room.
"My god…" Earl Grey whispered.
The entire building was ransacked; pictures were ripped from their frames, cabinets and drawers were empty, and all food was gone from the pantries.
"They stole everything. What kind of guests are they?" Kaito rolled his eyes, "At least they can't booby-trap stuff that aren't even here." He said.
Lasagna poked his head out from the basement. "No more pasta and wine, commander," He announced.
Kaito sighed. "That doesn't mean anythin,." The scream from the back shook Kaito, and he ran to the source, followed by the rest.
Maho stumbled back, almost falling down, while Tanya and Ritaiko stood in horror. In front of them was a ditch filled with hundreds of bodies, all with bullets in their heads. Blood flowed down the small trench, and the bodies piled on top of each other. Some bodies were of children, next to their parents. Ritaiko turned around and vomited.
"How could they?" Maho whispered.
"What the hell's going on?" Lasagna's voice made Tanya turn around. "Oh, God." He said when he saw the ditch. Kaito and Nishi quickly followed from behind.
"So that's how they want to go about this," Kaito said. "They really want look like the bad guys here. Damn it, I'll play by their rules."
"Damn savages," Nishi spat.
"We should at least bury them." Tanya said.
Kaito nodded in agreement. "You're right. It's the least we can do,"
They all continued to advance through the town, with no North Korean resistance. Maho continued to stare at the empty houses. Who knows how many dead people are in those houses, Maho thought somberly.
"Maho." Maho turned. "You alright?" Kaito called from his armored car.
Maho forced a smile. "Yeah. Sure," She replied.
Kaito looked at her concernedly. "Look, what just happened could rattle with anybody. I'm still shocked as well. Don't force yourself," He told her.
Maho looked down. "Thanks," She said.
"Enemy sighted!" A voice called. Maho spun forwards. A Panzer from the front fired a shot, the explosion echoing backwards.
"Platoon of infantry, ten o'clock!" Infantry dismounted from their vehicles and ran towards where the North Koreans were spotted.
Maho looked in her Panzer. "Alright, time to move forward!" She shouted.
The Panzer X began to lead the Panzer column down the street. The Panzers turned a corner and was within the guns of several North Korean guns.
"It's a trap!" Maho shouted. "Retreat!" The guns fired; two shells bounced off of Maho's Panzer X, and three others found their targets in two Panzers. One of them blew up immediately, shooting flames from the cupola, while the other one went silent; the crew was killed inside.
Maho's Panzer X trudged backwards, attempting to escape. An explosion rocked the Panzer X, forcing Maho to grab onto the sides. She fell down during the shaking, nearly hitting her head. "Did we take any damage?" She sputtered out.
Her driver looked behind. "No, commander. They just barely skimmed us," She answered.
Maho composed herself. "Thank God," She muttered, "Aim for the guns on the right." She ordered. The Panzer X turret turned and fired a shot, destroying the defensive position.
Maho smiled. "Good job. Enemy infantry, four o'clock," The machine gun rang out as half a dozen North Korean soldiers fell to the ground.
"We need to get out of here." She said. The Panzer X crashed through a house, firing its cannon and machine guns. Maho ended up at the opposite end of the block, behind the main North Korean defensive line. "Aim your sights…" She whispered, aiming at the backs of the North Korean soldiers who were kneeling by the sandbags. The Panzer X fired multiple times, killing many of the defenders and throwing the rest into a frenzied panic.
…...
Kaito sat impatiently in the armored car, tapping his foot in a fast pace. He took off his seatbelt and grabbed his guntō. "I'm going out." He announced.
Tanya grabbed his arm. "Kaito-sama, it's dangerous." She told him. "It's safer in here."
Kaito looked at her. "What? I'm a sitting duck in here," He yanked himself free and got out. Tanya looked at the driver and machine gunner. She groaned and got out herself. She quickly ran after Kaito, who was running up into a house.
…..
"Move up!" Rumi shouted from the machine gun. "We need to move forwards!"
Azumi looked up from the wheel. "What are we going to do, charge the enemy? We aren't Chi-ha-Tan!" She shouted back.
Megumi unloaded her Type 20 assault rifle. "How about concentrating on the enemy?" She suggested as she reloads. "Rumi, aim at that window." She said.
Rumi swiveled her machine gun and fired at the two-story house, suppressing the North Korean machine gun at the middle window.
"Gyah! Enemy troops advancing!" Azumi shouted. Both Megumi and Rumi trained their guns on the incoming charge. Within minutes fifteen North Korean infantrymen were dead.
"Woohoo! That is the Bermuda Trio for you!" Megumi exclaimed. Azumi and Rumi smiled. "Let's move up."
Kaito and Tanya crawled through the house, sneaking through what seemed like enemy territory.
Tanya looked at Kaito, who was trembling. "Are you alright?" Tanya asked.
Kaito smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine," He answered quickly.
Tanya signed. "Don't push yourself, Kaito-sama," She said dejectedly, "I'm worried for you."
Kaito glanced back. "Worry for me when we get back, will you? I'd rather not die today," He flashed a smile that irritated Tanya. They climbed up a flight of stairs and reached the first door on the second floor.
They slowly opened it and peered inside. By the edge of the room were two North Korean soldiers, one with a sniper rifle, peering down the window.
Tanya rolled a grenade into the room and slammed the door shut. The room shook with a deafening boom. She opened up the door and looked back inside; the entire room was covered in dust, and nothing remained of the two soldiers. Tanya and Kaito then ran down the hall, cutting down any soldier they came across. They broke down a door, only to be met with nearly half a dozen troops. They promptly cut them all down.
….
Maho led the charge down the main road, with ten tanks behind her. A Type 10 shot at a house, blowing the entire structure up. "Keep it up!" She encouraged. "But don't outrun the infantry! They'll protect us from the small fry!" She smiled. I wish Erika was here with me. She would definitely enjoy this.
They ended up in a field, up against the slope of a large hill. Maho looked around; several hundred troops from both sides in an enormous firefight across the field. Vehicles exploded everywhere. Body parts and metal pieces flew everywhere. The field was littered with bodies and became a lake of blood. Maho's panzer roared forwards, rattling its machine guns at the enemy positions.
"Enemy tanks, four o'clock!" Someone shouted, and Maho turned and saw a Chonma-ho tank lumbering towards her. She sighed in relief. This tank was obsolete, in use since the 80's. "Destroy that thing!" She ordered. The Panzer X fired a shot, and it tore through the Chonma-ho, exploding in a large explosion.
"Yippee!" The loader shouted in glee.
Maho smiled. "Great." She muttered.
Three more Panzers rolled up next to her. From one of the Panzers a commander popped up.
"Commander, what do we do now? It seems they're retreating." She asked.
Maho thought for a bit. "Maybe we should give chase, now's the chance to punch through their main defensive line-" The commander Maho was talking to disappeared as the Panzer erupted into flames. Maho just stared in shock as the other two commanders looked up in fear.
"Oh my god!" One shouted. Maho looked up, at the top of the hill. On it stood a lone tank, a Pokpung-Ho V, its barrel smoking. It fired again, and another Panzer burst as the shell penetrated it.
"Goddamn it!" The third commander screamed as the Panzer aimed at the North Korean tank. The Pokpung-Ho V simply moved to the left, and the shell sailed wide. The Pokpung-Ho V fired again, and Maho's vision was covered with clouds of dust and smoke.
…..
"Forwards!" Kaito waved his guntō in the air, as he ran forwards. Tanya followed behind, firing at whatever peeked over in the fields. Lasagna and Nishi burst from the left, pushing down a pair of North Korean soldiers down. Earl Grey fired off a salvo of shots at a North Korean sniper in a tree in the field. The sniper fell out, a single bullet in his brain. Akaboshi Naoki carefully aimed his sniper rifle, and placed his crosshairs on a North Korean officer, who was giving out orders. With one shot, the officer's head imploded with blood and brains splattering everywhere. He smiled as he pulled the bolt back.
"We got them on the run!" Kaito shouted. "Charge!" He sliced down a North Korean soldier down.
"You're just like my sister," Nishi muttered as she ran behind.
Maho covered her face as the dust swirled around her. As it settled Maho opened her eyes. She looked up in shock as the Pokpung-Ho V right in front of her. But what shook her to the core was the girl in the tank. A girl with long black hair, tied up with a hair tie. A long scar ran down her eye. The girl opposite of Maho also had a look of surprise plastered on her face. The two tanks blankly stared at each other, surprised by their encounter.