Chapter 4:
The Battle of Iarica (part 2)
As time passed by, the battle grew fiercer and marines were taking wounded rapidly. The Resistance managed to get in the city but were immediately cut off by imperial forces. Eventhough the marines have superior firepower thanks to Examon's help, it wasn't enough to halt the enemy advancement.
"Jesus Christ! These guys don't know how to quit!" Groaned Dukeman.
"Either they have the numbers or they're incredibly stupid. Let's hope the latter." Raymond said with humour.
"How long until our reinforcement arrives?" Asked Cyberdramon as he lay down a storm of lead, taking down multiple Commandramon.
"Soon, eventually..." He replied.
What was once a peaceful city turned into an intense urban warfare. Tracers and shells filled the streets. Parts of Iarica were filled with pockets of melee combat from law enforcements and local mercenaries, fighting off the imperial soldiers either to protect the city or out of hatred for the Imperium.
"FRAG OUT!" Yelled Bradley before she threw out a grenade.
"Let's go marines! Let them eat lead!" Shouted Dukeman to encourage the platoon.
The west gate's garrison is probably the most destroyed building during the entire battle.
Marines and Imperials clash with one another, both determined to annihilate the other. While the marines held their grounds, the imperials charged towards them in disregard of their own losses and little by little, they got closer and closer, those who had fallen in battle were soon replaced by another and in the end, outnumbering and outgunning the marines. Recon team 4, the two scout operatives, Examon and only a small handful of the law enforcements had to retreat inside the garrison, behind the almost destroyed walls. Even the vehicles barely made it in, losing in the process one MRAP and two of its passengers.
"They've breached through our perimeters!" Shouted a marine as Commandramon climbed over the battlements.
The marines opened fire from their position on the courtyard, only a few meters away from the battlements. Stephen charged towards a Commandramon and stabbed it straight through its heart with his bayonet. Once it dissolved into data, he immediately shot two others before using his bayonet to kill a fourth one. He took a fragmentation grenade and threw over the other side of the wall, an explosion could be heard shortly after with a cloud of data dispersing in the air and the screams of those wounded by the explosive. Other marines began to throw grenades at the imperials, taking out dozens of them and injuring even more, but it wasn't enough to stop the assault.
Examon's rain of death with his H.E shells did devastating damage to the hostiles, taking out mostly their leaders and heavy support to demoralize them. The digimon fought in melee, easily deleting the already tired and damaged imperials while the humans shoot down the rest who managed to avoid melee combat, ending them with a swift death.
All of the sudden, in the disorienting chaos in the garrison's courtyard, the digimon heard something unusual to them. Dust and wind started to kick up as the sounds came closer and louder.
"The devil dogs are here to kick some ass." Told the pilot of a Bell AH-1Z Viper to Raymond through the radio.
It was at that moment that multiple rains of bullets and missiles plummeted the imperial forces outside of the garrison, wiping out the last remaining others in a minute, cutting off the ones in the courtyard from getting any support. The marines cheered as they charged towards the remaining legionnaires who were beginning to fall back, none of them managed to escape their inevitable doom.
Soon after, marines started to pour down from Bell UH-1 Venoms, scattered all over the city. Outside Iarica, near the forest, a battle waged with the weakened and helpless imperial soldiers against powerful and mighty squadrons of M1 Abrams tanks, unleashing H.E shells and storms of .50 caliber rounds at the enemy and later their camp was destroyed.
Meanwhile near the town hall, Darkdramon and the remaining of his soldiers were fighting off the mercenaries and law enforcements, trying to retreat before the humans could cut them off. As the Commander looked around through the chaotic battle, he could see helicopters dropping marines around them, the main force now on the ground and little time for the legionnaires to fall back. The cyborg digimon swore under his breath and ordered loudly at his soldiers:
"Fall back! For the Emperor's sake, fall back!"
The remains of the 33rd Legion were scattered all over Iarica, either fleeing desperately or fighting to the last. The marines of Recon team 4 took a break shortly after their reinforcements arrived, relieved that they could live to fight another day. The marines chased down the imperials and 10 minutes later they surrendered, others died fighting.
Alas, the battle of Iarica was over, lasting 4 hours. As a result:
23 marines were killed and 37 were wounded
At least 98 imperials were killed, only 10 were captured
And there's an estimate of 45 civilians or law enforcements killed.
Raymond sat down and laid his back on one of the stone columns of the town hall and took off his helmet. The rest of his platoon were resting infront on the town hall's marble stairs, sleeping or smoking, letting the time pass by.
Suddenly, they heard a helicopter land near them and they saw two marines coming out of it. The Colonel and their company commander, Captain Roland Richards, marched up the stairs, saluting the marines of Recon team 4 and headed towards Lieutenant Raymond. The lieutenant stood up and saluted his two superior officers.
"At ease, Lieutenant." The captain told him and Stephen relaxed.
"Hell of a fight you put up last night, Lieutenant." The Colonel told him, noticing his combat uniform covered in ash and dirt. "And I'm quite impress that your platoon is still intact after all this, although I'm sorry for the loss of four of your marines." He added.
"Thank you sir." Raymond just said.
Eversman coughed before continuing:
"As you may know, we're canceling all recon missions and you're all reported back to your company. I also want to tell you the news that the JSDF and the 3rd Infantry Division have finally arrived along with the rest of our marines. I've also heard that you've made contact with a resistance group and a member of the... Royal Knights, who wanted to negociate with us, am I correct?"
"Correct, sir. There's also the fact that two more Imperial legions are coming this way in two days." Raymond added.
"That's where we come in. Echo company and Bravo company will take defensive positions in this town with the tanks from the 2nd Armored division. Meanwhile, the Royal Knights and the leaders of the resistance group will take the negociations in our FOB." Informed Captain Richards.
"What about the civilians ?" Asked Raymond.
"The local law enforcements will evacuate them futher deep in Iarica, away from the fighting."
"Alright gents', I'll leave you two to the defense of this city. I want you to defend this city at all cost." The lieutenant and the captain saluted before the colonel walked back to his helicopter.
Once the colonel was gone, Richards punched lightly Raymond's left shoulder.
"Jesus Christ! I thought you died back there!" Raymond chuckled before Richards put his arm around him and guided him downstairs.
"Good to see you too, Roland."
"Two hours against an entire legion with only 40 men, you guys must have the biggest balls in the whole company." He added before they were greeted by the officer of Bravo company for a combat briefing.
Night came once again in Iarica, most of its townspeople were evacuated due to the previous fighting. There were some lit houses on some parts of the city but one thing remains a fact: the western district is completely abandonned. No lights, no digimon wandering around, no life, only darkness and eerie silence filled the empty streets of the western district.
Master Sergeant Wolfmon observed through his binoculars the heavily damaged western gate and its walls practically destroyed. At least they have an easy access. With no moonlight, the 41st Legion and the small reserve of the 33rd Legion have the element of surprise and their combined numbers was enough to take an entire city. Wolfmon's company was at the head of the assault, most of the soldiers were laying down on the grassy plains, the tall foliage covering most of their features. As he continues to scan the area, Corporal Yaksamon crawled next to his NCO.
"Any signs of the enemy, sir?" He whispered.
"Nope... seems like the town is empty..."
"All units! Prepare for the assault! We'll go on my signal!" Ordered quietly Captain Pajiramon behind them.
"Yes ma'am!" They both replied in a low voice.
"Shit... I don't like the looks of this." Grumbled Wolfmon.
"What do you mean, sir?" Asked the corporal.
"Something doesn't seems right... How can the 33rd Legion be destroyed in only a few hours and then these humans just left the town abandonned." He replied with skepticism in his voice.
"So?"
"My point corporal is: why didn't we received any reports on civilian casualties? Either they were killed by the humans or... they were evacuated."
"You think they're in the town?"
"... I don't know, I just feel like something's wrong..."
"Keep it together, sir. Maybe it's the adredaline of the upcoming battle, I know I'm thrilled and nervous at the same time. It's been a long time since we get some real action." Yaksamon told him, trying to encourage his sergeant or else he'll be executed for cowardice.
"I guess you're right." Agreed Wolfmon. "It's been a while since we're finally fighting a worthy opponent that is not a rebel group." He added while smiling at his subordinate, feeling a little better but not quite convinced.
"That's the spirit, sir." Yaksamon cheered up quietly before he looked back at the western gate, preparing himself for the assault.
The imperials waited nervously for the attack order, each second passing felt like an hour.
The eerie silence making them even more impatient as the wind breezes lazily on the grassy plains.
Pajiramon stood up and was about to give out the assault order when all of the sudden they heard loud noises coming from the western gate. They then looked up the sky once they heard deafening whistles coming from above and, in an instant, the ground erupted in multiple fiery explosions, deleting dozens amongst their ranks. Shortly after, they heard the same noises as it increases in speed.
"CHARGE!" Yelled a digimon officer before being deleted by an explosion.
The soldiers stood up and sprinted towards the western gates with an epic and roaring warcry. Eventhough they were losing troops left and right, they continued their charge fearlessly. However, soon after they began the charge, Wolfmon saw small flashes light up in the western gates from the darkness, followed by hails of bullets and shells coming straight at them.
Taken off guard, Wolfmon instinctly dived on the ground, avoiding tracers above his head.
He looked behind as he watches in horror his soldiers deleted or dropping down and crying out in pain. He didn't know that the humans' weapons could be this devastating. Either that or they're extremely accurate with their weapons. Wolfmon didn't have time to ponder as the companies were pinned down, halting the assault.
Wolfmon swore under his breath for his sudden cowardice while his soldiers were getting deleted rapidly. A few seconds later, he recovered from his fears and got back up to charge at their enemy.
"COME ON! MOVE FORWARD! LET'S GO! GO! GO!" He barked loudly as he passes by the soldiers on the ground.
His sudden move was enough to muster the strenght for the imperials and followed him.
The sergeant continued valiantly towards his objective, ignoring the bullets whizzing by or the explosions near him. He ran and ran, dodging everything on his path and when he was close to the walls, he saw a small round object that landed infront of him. He looked at it curiously, he picked it up. Suddenly his vision was filled with darkness while hearing deafening bells ringing in his ears.
"AH SHIT! INCOMING HOSTILE CAVALRY!" Yelled Captain Richards as a large group of KnightChessmon charges towards them at a rapid pace. "Take those knights out!"
The marines concentrated all their firepower on the incoming cavalry, only managing to take out a small number of them. In retaliation, the KnightChessmon threw their gigantic darts in unison, showering the marines.
"Take cover!" Shouted a marine before been strucked by a dart.
Marines and vehicles were been hit by the massive rain of darts, destroying LAVs and tanks and killing multiple soldiers. Raymond barely avoided a dart as it planted violently on the stone street. In the aftermath of the devastating attack, officers and non-commissioned officers barked orders at the grunts, trying to regroup and rally up the defenses.
"QUEEN STAMP!" Shouted a feminine voice on the other side of the battlefield.
Raymond looked pass the battlements to see the once retreating infantry charge back at them, all in a roaring warcry. Ahead of them were multiple black and white pyramid formations consisting only of small knight-like digimon, bucklers held up and spears pointed at them. Bullets, shells and missiles flew towards the advancing formations only to be easily deflected, harming not a single digimon.
"Get those mortars fire behind their ranks! Marines, kill anyone behind those formations! We need artillery and air support to bomb those fuckers to hell!" Barked Raymond as if he was the commander of the entire company.
Suprisingly, the whole company complied to his orders without question. Radio operators started to communicate with JSDF artillery units and Marine Vipers, giving them coordinates to where to strike. Regaining their flow of firepower, the advancing formations slowed down their paces, having a hard time to deflect the showers and rains of projectiles. The attack helicopters spew out 20mm rounds and 70mm rockets then followed by 155mm shells coming from the JSDF artillery located a few kilometers away from the city, effectively decimating the Imperials' advance and breaking their morale.
"Damn these humans to the Dark Area!" Said angrily the 41st Legion Commander, QueenChessmon. "Send out the meatshields!" She barked at her subordinates.
"Um... who, your majesty?" Asked a Knightmon, unsure of what she meant by 'meatshield'.
"The bloody Troopmon units, you tin can for brains!" She replied violently and gave the knight a death glare.
The officer saluted her shakingly, problably paling under his armour, and gave out the order.
"Tau company! Move out and strike down our enemy relentlessly!"
Soon after the order was given, rows upon rows of Troopmon emerged from the forest and charged through the battlefield. Bayonets fixed on their assault rifles, the undead digimon charged silently. No warcry could be heard from them, only the sound of steam releasing from their skull face gas masks filled their silence. They dropped one by one, taking the full brunt of the marines' firepower. Not a single cry of agony came from their fallen as the humans pour everything at the somewhat endless waves of Troopmon. Following behind the mass of fearless troopers was Knightmon as their commanding officer. He draws out his greatsword and raises his left hand, signaling the entire death company to a halt.
"1st and 2nd platoon in line!" He ordered loudly, completely ignoring the shells exploding around him and the small arms rounds bouncing off of his heavyweight Chrome Digizoid armour. The Troopmon in question formed a long line, the first platoon taking a knee while the second platoon stood behind them.
"Take aim!" Ordered their officer before they all calmly took aim at their targets.
"First rank, FIRE!" The Troopmon platoon opened fire, releasing multiple hails of projectiles at the marines until their magazines were empty. "Second rank, FIRE!" The second rank soon opened fire, leaving the marines no room to fight back and taking in more casualties. "Onwards lads! CHARGE!" Yelled Knightmon as the death company charged at their enemies with their bayonets facing them.
"Someone take out that Knightmon!" Ordered Richards as he opened fire at the incoming wave of digimon.
"Fix bayonets, gentlemen! Prepare to defend yourselves!" Yelled Raymond at his platoon as he fixes his bayonet at the end of his rifle. "Don't let those bastards pass us, oorah?".
"OORAH!" Shouted the company in unison.
Meanwhile on the battlements, Cyberdramon continuously fires at the incoming Troopmon with his trusty M240B. Cases and ammo boxes littered around him, meaning that he had been firing his machine gun non-stop, until he heard the dreadful sound.
*click, click*
He swore under his breath and looked around him hurriedly for any spare ammo boxes.
"How the fuck did I managed to waste 2 months supply of ammo?" He thought to himself angrily while still searching, by any chance, an ammo box.
Unbeknownst to him, a Troopmon managed to climb over the battlements and started to bayonet charge towards the cyborg digimon.
"LOOK OUT!" Warned a marine before firing two rounds at the undead trooper.
When Cyberdramon turned around, he saw the Troopmon fall down dead and burst into data. He was about to thank his savior until he saw another Troopmon making a run towards the marine. Cyberdramon was about to vault over the marine and pushed him aside of harm's way but he didn't have enough time to react as the blade struck the marine in the back. The digimon pulled out the blade and bashed the young marine violently at the back of his head with its rifle's buttstock. Once the body dropped, the undead digimon had its throat cut in a blink of an eye by Cyberdramon's claws. It held its throat as it bled black liquid profusely before dropping dead and turning into a cloud of data. The cyborg was about to pick up a M16A4 rifle on the ground until he noticed that five more Troopmon climb over the battlements and were now facing him. He smiled at them smugly before taking a combat stance.
Raymond emptied his mag at the pouring Imperials before stabbing a Troopmon and wiped out his sidearm to take out two others. Another Troopmon jumped on him, taking him off guard and was about to strike its combat knife straight into his skull when Raymond barely grab hold of the knife and two soldiers were struggling to get control on the weapon. The blade inches slowly towards the lieutenant's right eye. He was using all of his strenght to push back.
Suddenly, the digimon took a shot through its head, its lifeless body and the knife dropping next to Raymond. The marine let out a relief sigh and looked at the person who saved him, rather it was a digimon. It was a bipedal fox-like digimon that looked like BlackRenamon but its fur was yellow instead of black. It lend out a paw while the other was holding its M40A5 sniper rifle. He grabbed its paw as it pulled him off the ground.
"Thanks for saving me, I owe you one, Re-"
"Save your breath, Stephen." Interrupted the feminine digimon hurriedly.
Although a little offended by the way she talked back, he simply nodded and putted another magazine in his rifle while Renamon calmly picked off imperial soldiers with her sniper rifle. He spotted a small group of Troopmon trying to sneak up behind the vixen. He shot two of them before charging at a third one. Her attention now at the four others, the imperials hurriedly charged at her. She deflected one bayonet with her rifle then bashed with extreme force at the second's head with the buttstock, after she uses her rifle like a baseball bat and swung at the third one effectively destroying its gas mask and kicked at the fourth one, who immediately died by the sheer force of the kick. She then turned around to see the last one aiming its rifle at her before being shot three times to the chest by lieutenant Raymond.
"Now we're even, corporal." Commented the officer.
She simply chuckled before responding at him: "It seems so."
"Fall back! For God's sake, fall back!" Ordered Captain Richards as the marines started to retreat futher in the town with the APCs and tanks laying cover fire for them.
Snipers and marksmen were nested in some of the abandonned buildings while the rest of the marines took cover behind the sandbangs installed a couple hundred meters away from the ramparts, giving them good cover and an 180° firing line.
"Sir, Airstrike's inbound 10 mikes!" Yelled a radio operator to Richards.
"Roger that! Come on boys, keep the fire flowing!" Shouted the captain. "Allen! I want the JSDF to blast them to hell!"
"Yes sir!" Responded Corporal James Allen as he gives coordinates to their newly arrived air support, the JASDF.
F.O.B. Ginza.
"Hunter 1, ready!"
"Hunter 2, ready!"
"Hunter 3, ready!" replied 2nd Lieutenant Yuki Inaho, pilot of the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, callsign Hunter 3.
Inaho, like any JSDF soldier, was impatient to prove himself in combat, 5 years in the military and it took an "alien" invasion force to finally give the JSDF a reason to go in combat. He waited all his life to show his american counterparts that the JSDF can take care of themselves without their help. Although he still appreciates that U.S. Forces are coming with them.
"All hunters are ready, mission is a go. I repeat, mission is go. Good luck and happy hunting."