Chapter Fourteen: Clash of Titans

The two commanders stared at each other as it time itself stopped.

Maho stared at the girl before her. Who is that, she looks familiar...Maho thought. Suddenly images of nightmares flooding into her mind. "You! Your from my nightmare!" She finally sputtered out.

The girl had a confused look on her face, then started laughing. "I finally get to meet you, Nishizumi Maho! Oh, what luck I have!" She exclaimed.

Maho stared at her in shock, not only because she knew who Maho was, but that she could speak Japanese quite fluently. "What? You know me?" She demanded.

The girl had a smug look on her face. "Of course. You're known in the international Senshadou community as a prodigy. You are the heir of the Nishizumi style after all,"

"Who are you?" Maho's voice quivered.

The girl sneered. "Ryuk Mi-jing, commander of the Korean Senshadou team," She introduced herself.

If Maho was anymore shocked, she didn't show it. "Oh," Was all she said.

Mi-jing jeered. "I had to endure nightmares for weeks, and now the source is in front of me! But now all that ends today!" She exclaimed.

Maho eyes widened. "Nightmares?" She said.

Mi-jing scowled. "You've been haunting me for a long time now. But now that's over!" She screamed. "Your time is over. Die, you bitch!"

The barrel imploded as the shell barreled towards Maho. As it flew past her, the wind whipped her hair back and she winced. She instinctively turned her head away, and when she turned forwards again, Mi-Jing's Pokpung-Ho V was in full reverse up the hill.

"Fire!" Maho ordered. Her Panzer X shot at the Pokpung-Ho V, but it missed and hit the dirt next to it.

The Pokpung-Ho V fired again, and the shot bounced off the Panzer X, making it shudder with a metallic grinding noise. Maho grabbed the sides of the cupola.

The Pokpung-Ho V stopped at the top of the hill, firing another shot. The shot fell wide, hitting several feet behind Maho. The Panzer X sputtered forwards as the it climbed the slope. The Pokpung-Ho V jerked to the right and began to descend the slope, its turret trained on the Panzer X.

"Reverse! She's aiming for the engine!" Maho shouted. The Panzer X sped down as the shell flew past Maho. "Go towards friendly lines in a serpentine," She ordered to the driver. "keep your aim on the enemy." She told the gunner.

The turret turned around, firing back at the Pokpung-Ho V, all the while running away. The Pokpung-Ho V gave chase, lobbying shells at the Panzer X. They landed within meters of the Panzer X, showering Maho with dirt and dust. The two tanks raced backwards, cutting through the battle. Bullets bounced off the armor with loud pings as soldiers jumped out of the way with surprised shouts.

They climbed over trenches and dipped as they slid down muddy and bloody ground.

"Hiroi, can you hear me?" Maho asked into her radio.

"Sure thing, Maho," Hiroi's confident voice reassured Maho.

"Good, I'm going back to the village. Set up an ambush at the second turn," She told him.

"You got it," Hiroi answered. Maho looked back at the Pokpung-Ho V. Mi-jing glared at her, relaying orders to her crew. Both tanks continued trading shells, though most missed. Maho fired a shell that grazed the Pokpung-Ho V, almost throwing Mi-jing out of the tank.

Mi-jing continued chasing the Panzer X. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Damn, if I could only get a solid hit...She thought. One shot and she would be gone… "Continue firing." She told her gunner. She looked to her left and saw a Japanese soldier with a rocket aiming at her. She swiveled the machine gun and fired off several shots; the man fell down, dead. Another shot bounced off the Pokpung-Ho V, and Mi-jing had to balance herself again.

The Pokpung-Ho V fired at the Panzer X, hitting the turret on the side. The Panzer X entered the village, and Mi-jing followed. The Panzer X made a sudden left turn, and Mi-jing almost missed it. The Pokpung-Ho V quickly backed up and turned left. It quickly caught up with the Panzer X. They went down a narrow road, until the Panzer X turned again.

This time Mi-jing turned, on the Panzer X's tail. Suddenly white smoke shot out from the tank, and covered Mi-jing's vision. The hell, she's using smoke screen! She thought. "Damn it," She muttered, "That bitch."

Maho smiled as the smoke enveloped the entire street. "Get ready," She ordered into the radio.

"Yes, ma'am," Hiroi replied. Maho looked back, hopeful she'll pursue. No, she will pursue. Maho was sure of it. She heard the rumbling of tank treads following her. She looked forwards and saw the trap; nearly a dozen men, armed with man portable rockets and grenades, stationed on the ground and in several buildings, trained on the smoke.

Maho ordered the Panzer X to stop behind the line of rockets, still trained on the now dissipating smoke. She smiled. She would defeat this unhinged girl. She saw the silhouette of a tank in the smoke. "Load APFSDS!" She ordered.

The smoke finally dispersed, and instead of the Pokpung-Ho V, it was a Chonma-Ho tank, with several M1992 APCs and BMP-1s.

"What?" Maho spat out right before the North Korean vehicles fired a volley. The shots fell into the defense line, throwing several men into the air.

"What the hell? You didn't tell me about this!" Hiroi shouted.

Maho gritted her teeth in frustration. That bitch led an armored spearhead while she was covered with the smoke-screen? "Fire!" She shouted, and her Panzer X blew a M1992 up, its turret bursting into flames. Hiroi fired his rocket launcher at the Chonma-Ho, destroying it.

Maho continued firing at the advancing APCs, destroying more than five when her tank lurched forwards, shaking violently. She had to grab the sides of the cupola to balance herself. She turned around, and saw the barrel of the Pokpung-Ho V aiming right at her. "Damn it!" She cursed as the Pokpung-Ho V fired another shot, hitting a building behind her. "Get us out of here!" She shouted down to her driver.

The Panzer X turned around and charged towards the Pokpung-Ho V. But a few meters away the Panzer X swung left and drifted away from the North Korean tank. The Panzer X gunned forward, and when Maho turns around the Pokpung-Ho V was turning to face her.

"Turn!" Maho ordered, and the Panzer X turned at the street corner. "Shoot the building on the left." She said. The turret turned and shot at the three story building by the street corner. With a deafening shot the building crashed down, covering the street with rubble. "Keep going forwards." She said.

As the Panzer X continued going down the street Maho glanced to her left. There, in between the cracks of the buildings she saw the Pokpung-Ho V driving alongside her. They began firing through the buildings, leaving behind a trail of rubble and debris behind them. They weaved and waved through the streets, constantly trying to outmanoeuvre each other. They both exited the village and ended back on the field.

A smile crept on Maho's face as she saw the rear of the Pokpung-Ho V in front of her. "Fire!" She roared. The shot rushed forwards, hitting the back. The Pokpung-Ho V shuddered to a stop, and started smoking. The cupola opened, and Mi-jing's upper body popped out, struggling to get out. Maho turned the machine gun and aimed it at Mi-jing. Mi-jing looked back at Maho, her eyes conveying a message of defiance and hatred. Maho's finger slowly moved to the trigger.

Several explosions rocked the Panzer X, and Maho covered her face with her arms. She peeked from her arms and saw a Pokpung-Ho IV tank, with four Chonma-Ho tanks behind it, covering fire for Mi-jing as she pulled the rest of the tank crew out of the tank. Several more shots threw clouds of dirt around the Panzer X. Maho grabbed the machine gun and began firing wildly at the North Koreans.

And then it was all over. The North Korean tanks retreated back to their lines, carrying Mi-jing and her crew with them. Maho stared as they disappeared, slumping down through the cupola.

Two hours later

Maho leaned against the Panzer X, staring at the sky. The field was littered with bodies and vehicles from both sides. Blood and mud soaked through her boots. She sighed in frustration. She failed to kill that girl. "I wish I had a smoke." She moaned. Hiroi walked next to her, holding a cup of tea.

Maho looked at it. "Where did you get that?" She asked.

Hiroi shrugged. "Earl Grey made some,"

"Thanks," Maho gladly took the cup of tea. She took a sip. "This stuff is good." She remarked.

Hiroi laughed. "I know, right?" He looked down. "So, you failed to get that tank?" He asked.

Maho nodded. "That commander was something else," She said. "I can't really explain it, but I think she had some sort of hatred for me."

"Really?" Hiroi asked in bewilderment.

Maho nodded. "She knew who I was already, and seemed bent on killing me,"

"Well, she is an enemy,"

"But she said something about a nightmare," Maho turned to look at Hiroi.

"Really?" Hiroi asked, perplexed.

"It's weird, because I saw her in a few nightmares myself," Maho said.

"Nightmares? Since when?" Hiroi leaned back on the Panzer X.

"I only had two, and those were way back. But both had her in it. And both times she ended up killing me," Maho explained. "The second one was even stranger than the first. It was pitch black except for a burning house. I was just a little kid, with Miho and mother with me. I looked over and saw her, also younger crying. She looked at me, and then the scene changed. I, I was laying on the ground, surrounded my dead friends. She stood over me, with a gun. She aimed it at my head and pulled the trigger. That was when I woke up."

Hiroi whistled. "That's some dream."

Maho nodded. "Yeah, it was. Those were pretty frightening. But I'm fine now," She smiled.

Hiroi smiled. "That's good,"

…...

Kaito sat on a hill, cleaning his guntō. Tanya sat down next to him.

"What a battle," Kaito said.

Tanya sighed. "Over 4,000 casualties, including 1,200 killed. We killed over 6,000 North Koreans, and captured 300 of them," She listed.

"300?" Kaito asked. Tanya nodded and pointed to a spot in the field, where Kaito saw a blob of people sitting down.

Kaito ran to the prisoners, followed by Tanya. He stopped in front of them, gasping for air.

Akaboshi Naoki look at him, bewildered. "What is it, commander?" He asked. Kaito pointed at the prisoners.

Naoki smiled. "Oh, those. We didn't think we would have prisoners, so we don't know what to do with these yet," He said.

Kaito nodded. "We should get them to the rear as fast as we can," He looked over to the prisoners. They ranged in age, from early twenties to late looked worried and scared, looking warily at the Japanese guards.

"Commander!" Kaito turned around and saw Lasagna and Nishi, leading a group of soldiers stomping towards him.

"What is it?" Kaito asked.

"Them!" Nishi shouted, pointing at the prisoners.

"It's those bastards. Why should we take them alive?" Lasagna said.

"Whoah, whoah. Calm down. What are you saying?" Kaito took a step back.

"Those bastards killed most of the civilians and tried to bury them in a ditch," Nishi exclaimed.

"But they were stopped when we attacked them," Kaito groaned. "Just because they did something doesn't mean we should do something to them."

"We're going to waste our time and supplies on them?" Nishi glared at Kaito.

"Oh, come on. Let's not get too hasty with this," Kaito mumbled.

Lasagna stormed past Kaito, waving his rifle around. "We should get rid of them!" He shouted. He fired off a couple of shots to the ground. "I can't take it anymore! We can't let them do as they please. They have to suffer the consequences!" He slammed the butt of his rifle against one of the prisoners, who fall on the ground, crying in pain.

"Stop it!" Kaito shouted, clutching the sheathe of his guntō.

"Why? All they've been doing is rape and murder civilians. They don't deserve our civility," Nishi yelled.

"We'll put them through international and military law," Kaito stuttered, now alarmed by his subordinates' hostility.

"So what? The worst that'll happen is that they'll lie behind bars for some time, wasting money that could be spent on something else," A soldier said.

"Look, I won't let any of you hurt or kill these prisoners," Kaito unsheathed his guntō. "If you do, I'll have to use force to stop you." He threatened.

"You value the lives of the enemy over your own subordinates?" Lasagna hissed. "What kind of a commander are you?"

Kaito scowled. "Don't misinterpret me. I don't want any of you to become criminals as well,"

"What are you all doing?" Hiroi and Maho ran down to Kaito. "Stop this!"

Lasagna spat. "Commander, what are we even fighting for when we have to protect the ones who want to kill us?" He and Nishi turned around and walked away. Kaito's shoulders slumped down, visibly disturbed.

Maho patted his back. "Don't worry. You do what you think is right," She assured him.

Kaito looked up and sighed. "I guess," He said slowly, "I can't alienate my comrades anymore." He looked at the prisoners. "I understand their anger, but I can't let them behave in such a manner they wanted to." He said. "Well, I guess we have to continue fighting, regardless." He sheathed his guntō, and started walked away. "Thanks for listening. Except for Tanya here, I feel pretty alone sometimes." He and Tanya left Maho and Hiroi alone, by the prisoners.