Chapter 28:
Operation Normandy (Part 1)
Red lights turned green. The signal to drop was a go. The platoon leader pointed at the side doors of the aircraft, leading the men to the dark abyss. The men jumped out, feeling the rush of adrenaline in them. The Digital night sky was filled with hundreds of olive drab parachutes. Suddenly, the sky lit up with bright striking and blasting flashes launched by the ground forces. The sounds of war began, echoing in the distant sea and countrysides. The local inhabitants were awaken by surprise. Fear and panic spread out as they quickly evacuated their village and town as far away from the ongoing conflict as possible. It was the night when the digital sky was set ablazed.
Planes were being shot, wings clipped or a direct hit from flak rounds, setting the metal birds into a ball of flames and steel. Others plunged themselves to their dooms, leaving a trail of black smoke before crashing into the fields and disfiguring the landscape. Men had their chute cut to pieces by shrapnel, falling helplessly to their deaths while some were peppered by the anti-air rounds, dead bodies still in the air as they slowly hit the ground. It rained blood and fire that night.
Once boots hit the ground, another challenge came up for the paratroopers of the coalition: capture and hold key locations. Told many times and true to their words, capturing was easy, a small squad can simply hold a small part of a town, fight for a few minutes before the whole company was present and push further deep. However holding it will be hard, especially for a long period of time. Anything can happen in sixty minutes. A squad can hold itself pretty well against Champion level digimon but against a Mega level, even one, it was suicide. By experience, it is impossible for a single rifleman or a squad to defeat such digimon, no matter how smart, trained or equipped for the fight. A platoon was the bare minimum, air or artillery support is highly recommended.
Hitting the grass with a soft grunt, Leading Private Eiji Marawti took off his chute and quickly folded the cloth and tucked it back on the parachute's rucksack. Picking his FN Minimi light machine gun, he ran across the field towards his objective, silent in the chaotic night. The Japanese paratroopers of 4th Company, 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Airborne Brigade gathered themselves in the forest, South of the small town of Bing.
"Who uses Bing in 2019?" Thought Eiji, finding the name ridiculous to him.
His platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Taiki Sasagawi, was getting a brief sitrep from their Captain. The paratroopers all lined up at the edge of the woodland, hiding below the trees and behind the bushes, completely invisible thanks to the thick shadows casted by the pine trees.
Bing was a small town of 1,000 digimon, 200 imperials are currently defending it from their potential invaders. The settlement was surrounded by flimsy wooden fences. A vast cereal field was located to the West of the town. Brief flashes of lights came from the town followed by striking green strobes shooting upwards. These were the anti-air units the paratroopers need to destroy.
A minute later, the platoon commanders came back to their respective units and began the assault. Simultaneously, the men got up and ran across the lone silent paved road to the wooden fence wall. Once it was deemed safe to get over it, the paratroopers jumped over the wooden structure and ran a couple of meters before hitting their backs against the nearby houses. The houses at the edge of the town were being searched, the soldiers bust the doors open and went in. If proven empty then the house will be occupied, if it has civilian presences, they would leave as fast as they went in.
A quarter of an hour passed and a quarter of the town is under JSDF control. Cautiously walking through the main road leading to the town center, Eiji's platoon came across a crossroad. Taiki lifted his hand up, the troops instantly went for cover against the nearby civilian structures. Then a loud crack broke the tense silence followed by a sickening splash noise. A heavy thud echoed on the street. The lieutenant has been hit, head blown off by enemy sniper.
"Contact front!" Shouted First Sergeant Katsumoto while the men opened fired at the general direction.
Under suppressive fire, a combat medic and another soldier ran to the lieutenant's body, retrieving him and pulling his body back into friendly line.
"Sniper on the second house across the crossroad!" Informed a sergeant, "Upper left window-"
Another shot snapped, this time piercing the NCO's throat, erupting a small rain of blood onto the street. He spasmed uncontrollably as his body tried to stay alive, a thick river of the crimson liquid flooded out of his neck and decorated the road, shined by the moonlight. Suddenly, gunfire spurred out of nowhere, the enemy ambushed them, pinning them with superior firepower with their artillery batteries zeroing on their position. Two more soldiers fell to the enemy sniper in under a minute.
"Marawti! Suppress that window!" Ordered the senior NCO.
Shouldering his LMG, Eiji fired small bursts of 5.56mm rounds at the small window. The streets were filled with multiple tracers flying in every direction, firefights erupted within the town. A round barely missed his head. By instinct he ducked and fired at the direction from where the bullet came. More rounds snapped near him, he dropped on the ground and crawled his way to safety inside a house.
Catching his breath, he took a peek at the house at the otherside of the street. One soldier was shouldering an AT-4 rocket launcher while two of his buddies provided some suppressive fire on the sniper's location. He decided to join them and risked a step outside. Ignoring a bullet that zipped his helmet, he opened fired at the general direction, covering fire for the rocket launcher wielding trooper.
"Backblast clear!" He shouted as he crounched down, "Firing!"
The area around them shook heavily as the rocket sailed out of the tube. A violent explosion echoed throughout the crossroad as the building where the sniper was residing crumbled on itself, the entire second floor caved in, releasing a cloud of dust. The three men team cheered before they got interrupted by a louder explosion. Bursting through the destroyed building and out of the dust cloud was a tall mechanical digimon, the heavy cannons on its back lifted up and faced the humans' direction. A slow mechanical whir emanated from the two cannons, the digimon ignored the bullets that bounced harmlessly off of its thick metal hide.
"MugenDramon! Everyone get the fuck out of here!" Shouted Eiji' squad leader, Sergeant Hideo Ackerman.
Without a second to waste, the platoon fell back hurriedly, carrying the wounded and the dead while others provided cover fire. Eiji spread fire until he ran out of ammo. Swearing, he crouched and reloaded his machine gun. A gasp was heard behind him. He turned around and spotted a private on the ground, holding onto his right leg. His knee shattered in pieces caused by a large bullet. The trooper shakingly tried to apply bandage around the wound. Eiji abandonned his primary weapon and offered a hand to the wounded trooper. He took the roll of bandage and wrapped the wound. He then picked the man's right arm and heaved him up, lifting him onto his shoulders and carrying him. Focusing on getting the soldier to safety, Eiji kept running, barely dodging enemy fire as they fly by their heads.
Suddenly, Eiji felt a powerful shockwave throwing him away like paper. Everything went black for two solid minutes. He slowly regained consciousness and observed his surroundings. The street was filled with craters, bullet casings and bodies of his fellow comrades, rivers of blood filled the street. At the other end of the road, he could hear enemy soldiers approaching his position. Drawing out his sidearm, he prepped a frag grenade after he quickly crawled in a broken building.
The ground shook as he noted that the MugenDramon was on the move. Several hostile troopers ran pass him, unaware of his presence. Steeling himself to make a final stand, he pulled the grenade's safety pin, counting down to three and tossed it out through a shattered window.
"Grenade!" An unknown digimon soldier yelled in panic before cries of pain came after the blast.
Peeking out of the window, Eiji drew his pistol out and aimed at the first digimon. It was an Exveemon, he fired two shots to the chest, the bipedal dragon went down but not dead. He shifted to the right, two Troopmon just noticed the downed Exveemon. Four shots were fired, two Troopmon lied down on the ground while their data slowly flying away. A Commandramon jumped through the other window in the room ahead of him. He turned the pistol just in time to put a stop to the digimon's bayonet charge. The body fell with a loud thud. An enemy trooper lobbed a grenade in the house, the fragmentation explosive landed on his lap. He immediately threw it back outside.
He then heard frantic footsteps on the upper floor. Nervous, he constantly watched the other room and the staircase. His hand holding the Minebea P9 trembled in fear. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed three shadows on top of the staircase. He quickly snapped his pistol to the staircase but before he could pull the trigger, he took a dozen rounds to the chest and head. The imperial troopers went down and observed cautiously his lifeless body. One of them kicked it and spat on it in disgust.
Inside GigaSeadramon "0-6", the Marines were all sat inside their designated AAV, waiting anxiously to land on "Juliet" beach. There were no idle chat, no smoking, no random laughter, just silence except for the low whir of machines of the digimon's insides. Every Marine had a stoic, blank expression on their face, focusing on the mission than anything else. Two years they have been through in the Digital World and now they are going in the most dangerous operation in their lives. They know for a fact that the Imperium will throw their best at them. Six battle-hardened and well-trained Legions await them at their doors. This is their home turf, after all, and they will make sure to destroy the humans to the very last breath, like a cornered animal, if that animal was a digital being that can be twice or more times stronger than a professional human soldier. This will get ugly.
The dim lights that were displayed along Gigadramon's spine turned red as the alarms blared at the Marines below, signaling them to prepare for landing. AAV ramps were closed shut, LAVs closed their rear doors, their engines turned on, weapons at the ready, rifles and machine guns lock and loaded, charging handles were pulled before releasing a mechanical snap, rounds chambered and ready to fire. Marines bid their friends good luck while others prayed one last time. The alarms still went on, muffled inside the armoured personel carrier.
The sea was surprisingly quiet. The sounds of war was in mainland, most of the imperial troops were sent back to retake the towns and villages now under IDDF control. Not to mention that their supply lines were cut off by other digimon militaries such as the Royal Knights and the Jungle Troopers to name a few. However war will soon reach the bored and anxious soldiers of the Imperium garrisoned in their bunkers built along the coastline.
Private Andromon was one of those soldiers. Sitting on a crate, observing the waves and sand as he stood guard. He envied those who were sent to fight the enemy head-on but alas he knew that his role was as important as theirs. If only the enemy could be here now, he thought. He doesn't need to wait long as his wish will soon come true, one that he'll immediately regret.
Plumes of smoke suddenly shot up, straight out of the sea. Surprised, Andromon's mouth hung open, not believing his eyes. More smokes appear out of the water as they slowly cover the entire beach, impossible to notice the gigantic sea dragons that were slowly emerging out of the water.
GigaSeadramon 0-6's side ramps opened, filling his body with water until it half submerged the human vehicles inside him.
"Disembark!" He ordered them with his deep voice.
The vehicles steered to either sides, sailing out of his body and directing themselves towards the coast. Meanwhile, the giant sea serpent launched a series of energy torpedoes at the enemy coastal defenses, destroying heavily dug trenches and fortified bunkers to pieces and rumbles. Then like the others, he fired a wave of H.E shells at the enemy to further break their defenses.
"Good luck!" He said to the Marines as they reach for the beach.
The passenger compartment in the AAV shook roughly as it made contact with land. It stopped and slowly opened the rear ramp. The turret gunner on the MK-19 provided suppressive fire for the Marines to disembark. Once it was fully open, the Marines rushed out and dived on the sand, crawling their way through the "dragon's teeth" fortifications installed by the imperials.
The imperials got barely the time to respond or even breathe due to the devastating attacks launched by the GigaSeadramon. Their first line of defense over the sand dunes followed by three trench lines, now crawling with Marines as they clear the trenches swiftly and effectively. In the trenches, close quarters firefights and hand-to-hand combat ensued in a chaotic and claustrophobic environment. Men stabbed, shot, bashed and slashed their digimon opponents. It took ten minutes for the machine guns in the remaining bunkers to retaliate, covering fire for the retreating troops to the second line of defense.
Jumping down on the trench, Flamedramon spun to his right and opened fire at three legionaires, the bullets piercing through armour and tearing flesh apart. All three bodies fell, thick rivers of blood leaking out of their bullet riddled body before disappearing into data particles. His squad were close behind him, clearing the left side of the trench.
"Right side clear!" He shouted at them.
"Left side clear!" They shouted back.
"Third Squad on me to the right, we're clearing the bunker!"
On cue, the Marines followed him through the narrow trench, short firefights erupted along the line. Once arriving upon the bunker, the Marines stacked up on each side of the metal door, Guilmon being the only one facing it, ready to kick the door down.
A Marine prepped a frag grenade and awaited Flamedramon's signal. He nodded firmly.
The red saurian violently shoved the door open, the Marine tossed the hand grenade the second after the door went down with a resounding 'thump'. The small explosive blew up the interior, but for added assurance, Guilmon launched his "Pyro Sphere" attack, erupting the interior with another fiery explosion. Followed by three more Marines, the red Digimon went in head first to clear the bunker.
"Bunker clear!" He hollered.
The first hour of the landing has passed and there was more ground to go. The Marines piled in their trenches, firing hot lead and grenades in retaliation.
Too focused on stalling the Marines in the trenches, the imperials were letting more troops and armour to pour on the beach. Battle tanks and LAVs arrived in support, pounding the enemy bunkers with H.E shells and heavy machine gun rounds. Adding to their firepower and manpower, digimon foot soldiers from the coalition landed on the beach eventually outnumbering and outgunning the imperials.
Progress on the beaches became faster. Half an hour later, the second defensive line fell. Other beaches were completely under friendly coalition control. The imperial troops were being encircled and their reinforcements cut off.
Raymond led his Marines over the small hill of ruined bunkers and destroyed trenches. Setting foot to mainland, an artillery field was left for them to capture or destroy. Aided with the digimon and their armour, he rallied up his Marines. Their faces were covered in grime, sweat, sand and blood but in their eyes they still had the will to fight once more. And into the fray, they go, charging the enemy as angry Marines, weapons at the ready and bayonets fixed at the end of the barrel; they charged like they were taught to, drilled and trained in harsh conditions to become what they truly are: Jarheads, LeatherNecks, Devil Dogs, Marines. Few and Proud.
Dawn came up, basking the DigiWorld in its warm glow. The trails of black smoke dotted the once peacefully landscape. A calm silence filled the air. The wind gently swayed the grassy hills, pine and oak forest, and cereal fields. Big waves washed over the shores, slowing cleaning the beach from the war. Dead bodies, vehicle wrecks, bullet casings and other military equipments littered the sand. The waves pushed and pulled them back into the sea.
Heavy footsteps splashed near the water as men pulled the dead bodies back to land and lined them a few meters away. As the men gathered the dead, a medic and a chaplain identified the deceased and gave them a prayer, respectively. More amphibious vehicles rolled out of the water and onto the sand, dropping off supplies or men to the makeshift Forward Operating Base. Further deep in land, gun fire echoed in the background but the fight was almost over.
The paratroopers of the IDDF were gunning down the imperial scouts, holding the town for their reinforcements to come.
At the head of the Marine line was the Firefly Squadron, the three M1A3 Abrams battle tanks trudged across the grassy and flowering fields that surrounded the small town. Crushing fence and beautiful velvet flowers under its tread, Firefly 3 scanned the surroundings, the main turret spinning on its own while the infantry jogged behind its armoured hide.
Not too far from the squadron was Ironhorse Squadron, tasked as an overwatch squadron for the Marines.
"Alright, Joseph, keep it at a steady pace." Instructed Second Lieutenant Baker while he updates his radio.
"All Firefly, this is Firefly 1, checking in."
"Affirmative, Firefly 2, checking in."
"Affirmative, Firefly 3, checking in."
"Firefly to Ironhorse, all Firefly checking in, how copy, over."
"Copy, Firefly, all Ironhorse checking in, over."
"Copy that, Ironhorse."
"Now that we've done that, let's keep our eyes open for any hostiles."
"Copy that!" Answered the tank driver, Corporal Joseph.
"My eyes are wide open, chief." Chimed the tank gunner, Sergeant Miller.
"To all Fireflies, halt position." Blared the radio inside the compartment.
The tank took a sudden halt on the dirt road, the infantry kept moving forward a few meters ahead before stopping in their tracks, taking defensive firing stances on the field.
"Alright gents," Began the squadron leader, "We just got intel that the Japs have encountered a MugenDramon. For those who don't know what that is; it's basically one tall and huge robot motherfucker packing with a lot of guns. Be extremely careful if you see one."
"With that said, break formation and spread out, encircle the town and destroy any hostiles on sight. The infantry will storm the town. Rendez-vous at the other side with the paras. Good luck, Firefly 1, over and out."
"You heard the man, Joseph!" Miller said, eyes focused on the main gun.
"Yup, breaking formation." The driver replied.
Just as the Marine formation was about to move out, gunshots erupted around them, the foot soldiers hit the deck and returned fire blindly.
High pitched 'pings' hit the tank but did little to no damage to their superior armour. Baker got on his computer and controlled the M2 Browning machine gun, suppressing possible enemy positions with 12.7mm rounds.
"Hey, gunner!" He called out loudly, "Enemy MG position on the far left, behind those tree lines, hundred fifty meters!"
"On it!" Miller shouted back, turning the turret to the designated area.
Barely covered by thick foliages, machine gun muzzle flashes could be seen through the bushes with faint silhouettes of more enemy foot mobiles.
"I've got eyes on them, spotted couple more foot mobiles." He reported, "I'm gonna need H.E for this!"
"Copy, load H.E!" On cue, the crew's tank loader, Sergeant Finley, quickly placed an H.E shell in the main gun. "H.E, up!" He yelled back.
"On the way!" Miller screamed and stomped on the foot activated trigger.
A violent 'whump' rocked the tank backwards. The high explosive shell soared across the field and landed just in front of the treelines with a resounding 'boom', shooting up a large plume of dirt and blowing apart the trees.
"That's a hit!" Confirmed Baker with a smile. "Joseph, move forward a hundred meters, off the road!"
"Yes sir!"
As ordered, the tank veered at little bit to the side, off the road and onto the field of flowers while the infantry pushed towards the town. Gunshots could be heard faintly in the tank, the tank commander and gunner spun their turrets around to spot any enemy positions.
"I've got eyes on enemy infantry, half a dozen, straight ahead at three hundred meters." Reported Miller.
"Waste them." Baker simply ordered.
"Engaging." Switching to the secondary gun, the co-axial M240 machine gun, Miller aimed the weapon at the proned enemy squad, slowly crawling their way behind a small fox hole.
Pressing on the trigger, he let out short bursts of bullets at them, pinning them down. Baker joined in and disposed of them with the more powerful and lethal rounds.
"Infantry down." Miller reported.
"Roger, driver, move forward two hundred meters more."
Continuing on their advance, the tank mowed down several enemy squads and machine gun positions but have yet to encounter a real danger. Going over a small hill, the crew had a clear sight on one side of the town, spotting friendly troops battling in the streets.
"Okay, Joseph, let's close in with the others, turn right and move up two hundred meters, we should be at the edge of the town."
"Moving!"
The crew felt the tank swirved to the right, the main turret still had its main gun pointed at the opposite direction. The massive mechanical beast jerked forward and trudged on the field, crushing the flowers and dirt with its treads before coming back on the road.
A dozen or so meters ahead was Firefly 2, assisting the infantry against a barricaded enemy position. Suddenly a bright streak of light soared at them, scraping the side armour of the turret. The bullet bounced up into the air upon impact.
"Holy shit!" Joseph exclaimed in disbelief upon witnessing the scene.
"Firefly 2, this is Firefly 3, are you alright there?" Baker asked them through his headset.
"Firefly 3, Firefly 2, we're fine, the crew's a little bit shaken but well. That must've been a 20mm."
"Any idead where that came from?"
"Affirmative, it's on the field behind the church but I can't have sight on it. You should be able to see it from your angle."
"Roger that. Be careful, Firefly 2, I don't want you go down in a blaze of glory... not yet." Baker added with a dark grin.
"Will do, Firefly 3, just don't go ahead and destroy everything and end the mission in five minutes." The tank commander shot back jokingly.
"Can't make that promise." He ended the small talk and returned his sight on the machine gun, "Joseph, I want you to drive slowly on the stone road, Miller, peek right." He instructed.
On command, the M1A3 Abrams moved slowly forwards, the turret spun around while barely dodging a house to the side.
"Okay, now move up close to that orange house to the right, give us line of sight on the hill."
Once in position behind the civilian house, Baker observed the hill for the enemy.
"Enemy tank spotted!" Miller shouted, "Over the hill, flanked by two dozen foot mobiles, more or less!"
"Firefly 2, this is Firefly 3, be advised, we have an enemy tank along with two dozen foot mobiles just over the hill, we're engaging them now!" Baker informed before checking his machine gun.
"Load Sabot!" In less than twenty seconds, the requested shell was armed.
"Sabot up!"
"Engaging enemy tank... on the way!"
A resounding 'whump' jerked the tank. The Sabot shell shot across the hill and hit its target on the arm, blowing it apart.
"That's a hit!" Miller shouted.
"Enemy tank down!" Baker confirmed, "Nice job!"
"Engaging enemy troops."
The combined firepower of both the M240 and M2 Browning quickly disposed of the rest of the enemy infantry.
Firefly 2 and 3 took their position on the Northern border of the town alongside the JSDF paratroopers. A small church was to their side, still standing despite the beating it took from both friendly and enemy forces.
The Marines received intel from the JSDF that an enemy counter-attack was inbound soon, but so far nothing happened. The men took over the fox holes and sandbag formations displayed around the church and waited for the eventual attack.
Both Baker and Finley opened their top hatches and inspected their heavy machine gun and M240, respectively. Miller had his eyes glued on the gunner sight while Joseph was idly eating a bag of chocolate biscuits.
"MG's up, sir." Finley reported after racking the charching handle.
"Mine's also locked and loaded." Baker told him, using both strenght and speed to rack the Browning up, a satisfying mechanical 'snap' rang through his ears.
While checking around him, Finley toyed around with his stress ball, squeezing it constantly to calm his nerves. His eyes merely glanced the bell tower on the church before immediately staring back at it in surprise. He could faintly spot a dark shadow on the bell tower, cautiously leaning down.
"wait- uh sir... is that friendly or hosti-"
A muzzle flash appeared at the tower, followed by a deafening and distinct 'crack' in the air. A streak of light shot out of the barrel and hit a paratrooper on the shoulder. The wounded man dropped on the ground before his squadmates opened fire relentlessly at the tower.
"Fuck sniper!" The Sergeant yelled before both of them ducked their heads under the hatch.
The infantry kept on suppressing the tower until Firefly 2 aimed its main gun at it. A thunder clap rocked the air, the high explosive shell annihilated the erected structure, collapsing on the church's roof.
The Japanese soldiers cheered at the destruction while a combat medic took care of the wounded. Baker and Finley perked their head out in hesitation before laughing for no reason, probably glad that their head didn't took a bullet.
The paratroopers ceased their cheering when they noticed that the ground trembled lightly. They soon realised that the counter-attack was about to come. They ran into their positions and waited for the enemy. Everyone in Firefly 3 prepared themselves for the enemy. Focusing on the hill, they could see several dozen enemy troops advancing on their position. They were greatly outnumbered, but not outgunned. The JSDF lit up the hill, hails of lead gunned down the line of imperials. Firefly 2 pounded the hill while Firefly 3 continued on firing with their machine guns.
A menacing silhouette behind the hill caught their attention and it got bigger. Once over the hill, a massive cyborg creature stood intimidatingly over the imperial troopers. The MugenDramon calmly scanned the battlefield. It readied its two massive cannons and aimed at Firefly 2.
The paratroopers quickly scattered around while Firefly 2 tried to fire back at the colossal metallic digimon.
"Mugen Cannon!" The digimon bellowed as it fired two energy blasts.
The energy projectiles envelopped the tank, ending the crew with it in a large explosion. Several paratroopers were caught in the powerful blasts, completely gone from sight.
"Fuck, Joseph back away now!"
The remaining tank suddenly jerked backwards as Baker and Finly struggled to get back in the vehicle.
"Finley, load Sabot!" Miller urged him.
"On it!" Finley quickly loaded a Sabot shell in the chamber then armed it, "Sabot up!"
"Send it!" Miller yelled and stomped the trigger.
After the first shot, Finley immediately loaded another Sabot shell. "Sabot up!"
"That's a hit but target' still up!" Miller informed them dreadfully.
MugenDramon's sights were now on them, tasked and fueled with anger to destroy the tank.
"Ah shit! It's pissed at us!" Joseph said in panic.
"Ironhorse, this is Firefly 3, requesting immediate support here!"
"Copy, Firefly 3, we're on the way, hold tight!"
"Firefly 1, this is Firefly 3, Firefly 2 is down and we're taking heavy enemy fire!" Baker informed quickly.
"On the way!" Miller screamed as he fired the main gun. The Sabot shell hit MugenDramon but did light damage.
"Driver, get us on the field!" Baker ordered.
"And get us in the open?!" Finley asked with surprise in his voice.
"We need Ironhorse to have visual on it" The tank commander explained loudly.
"We are so going to die here..." Corporal Joseph grumbled.
The tank sped out of the road and onto the destroyed grass field under heavy enemy attack. MugenDramon took the bait and followed the tank, blasting away large chunks of the landscape into smoking craters. Firefly 3 fired back, managing only to deal light damage or glacing hits.
Just as MugenDramon zeroed in on them, three Sabot shells hit it straight on the head and chest. Dazed, it spun its massive head sideways and spotted the three tanks, unleashing barrages of shells and rounds at the imperials.
Distracted, Firefly 3 took this advantage to circle around the massive metal beast, main gun targetting its back and cannons.
"Sabot up!"
"On the way!"
"Eat it!" Joseph cried in determination.
The tank jerked backwards, a thunderous 'crack' pierced the air. The shell penetrated the digimon's weakened back, hitting the ammunation depot and ending the beast's life in a fiery and resounding explosion while Ironhorse squadron pounded it with additional firepower.
"Wooo! Fuck yeah!" Miller screamed joyfully.
"Take that you motherfucker!" Finley added.
"Firefly 3, this is Ironhorse, good fucking job on that, we almost got our asses roasted."
With the main threat taken care of, the Marines and JSDF paratroopers were able to push back the enemy counter-attack, once again reclaiming control over the town "Bing".
As morning went on, more men and supplies arrived, eventually helicopters and jets regularly fly pass above the newly established military base. As of right now, the base is comprised of only tents and trenches and sandbags for fortifications. Firing positions dotted the grass fields, lined up with kilometers of barbed wires along the defensive line. Roads that connected with the beach were now blocked by heavily guarded checkpoints. Battle tanks were lined up along the firing positions to provided heavy support for the infantry along with the mortar teams. Thus the IDDF secures a foothold in the country.
The human forces decided to take a break on the assault, building the military bases while their digimon allies moved up to further stall enemy resistance and acted as the IDDF's vanguards. Special forces and reconnaince units were deployed to scout out the area or to destroy certain imperial supply lines to cripple the enemy.
A convoy of light armoured vehicles slowly trudged the silent street of Bing, flanked by a line of Marines as they wave their weapons around, scanning meticulously their surroundings. They were informed that the town was under IDDF control, however they have just encountered small resistance by a small squad of imperial survivors.
Ahead of his squad, Sergeant Flamedramon peeked into a broken window of a half destroyed building. He presumed it to be a kitchen and hopped in, two of his Marines followed suit. The kitchen was a mess and ruined, a pool of blood stained the ceramic tiles, he assumed to be a fallen digimon. He opened the burnt door that leads to the main corridor. He was disgusted by the sight that greeted him next to the staircase. One of the Marines gasped in shock and covered his nose and mouth. There was a human body next to the stair case that leads to the second floor, it was a Japanese paratrooper. His cold right hand held firmly his sidearm, his face was disfigured by numerous bullet holes, his torso was filled gaping blood wounds, profusely flooding out rivers of blood that tainted the corpse's uniform.
"Son of a bitch..." The blue digimon muttered nauseously, the air smelled of decay and gun powder. Flamedramon knelt before the dead paratrooper and took his dogtags.
"What are you doing, sergeant?" Asked one of his Marines curiously.
"I figure his relatives will want to know what happened to him. At least he won't be forgotten in the list of MIAs" He explained sincerely.
"1-3, this is 1-Actual, what's the status on your end?"
"1-Actual, "Giga" Street is clear so far. How copy?" Reported through his radio dutifully.
"Solid copy, 1-3. Meet up with the rest of the platoon at "Tango" Square, we have a new mission update." Instructed Second Lieutenant Nick Sparks.
"Roger that, we're Oscar-Mike, over." He shut his radio and turned to his Marines, "Mission update, we're moving back to Tango Square, let's hope it's something interesting."
With the squad leaders gathered around him, Second Lieutenant Sparks gave them the current sitrep for their next mission:
"Alright gents, the situation has taken quite a twist, if I can even call it like that;" He then points at the map displayed on the wooden table in the middle of the group. "At 0800 hours, Command received reports of refugees arriving at Checkpoint Charlie, they were originally a few dozen but right now we're counting a few hundreds across our first defensive line," He looked back at the squad leaders, "The Battalion Commander wants us to control the influx of refugees, check them and add them to a list, the Deep Savers will handle the rest from here."
Flamedramon raised his hand to which he accords with a nod, "Are we going to establish refugee camps, sir?"
"They will, not us," He clarified bluntly, "Any other questions?"
"Who should we let in?" Asked another sergeant concernly, "If we're talking about hundreds of civilians, the enemy can slip by us and it will be like the Middle East all over again." The others expressed their concerns, not wanting to deal with another insurgency.
"We do not know, Command doesn't want them but our allies have expressed their disagreement and want them in. The profiles we should look out for is still unspecified." Sparks answered regretfully, also not liking their current situation.
After a small moment of silence, he concluded the mission brief and instructed them to their specific tasks. Flamedramon's squad was assigned to Checkpoint Hotel, just a few klicks West of the town.
The heat became unbearable once again when noon strikes. Under the intense summer heat, Flamedramon's squad was checking and directing a small line of civilians to the medical site built a hundred meters further back in friendly lines.
The day was uneventful but tiresome. Food and water was distributed to those in need. The Marines calmly instructed the refugees to follow their commands. Fortunately for everyone, the fight was now farther away from the beachhead, the digimon coalition decided to push back the enemy.
Guilmon, now manning the fifty caliber on the L-ATV, drank the last drop of his water bottle before wiping the sweat away from his forehead. Huffing out of annoyance, he glanced at the civilians and occasionally gave them a friendly wave or smile. The digimon would usually greet the humans with a grateful bow or praise. This was no exception to Flamedramon and Guilmon, admired by many as they became quite popular in the DigiWorld, praised as the digimon's champions. Ironic that they stole that title from the Royal Knights.
Flamedramon sat in the vehicle, listening carefully to the communication's traffic on the radio. With the door open, he had one leg out with his tail to get some of the gentle breeze. He finished up his third bottle before waving in a friendly manner at a local digimon.
"We're pretty famous here..." Guilmon pointed out with a small smile.
"Yep... don't know if it is for a good reason though." Flamedramon remarked pessimistically. "Woah, sorry about that," He apologised sheepishly after a quick reflection on what he stated previously, "I have no idea where that came from."
"I think you've spent too much time with us, Sergeant!" Lance Corporal Andrian Curtis said jokingly. The digimon NCO laughed before the radio blared at him.
"Alpha 1-3, this is Alpha 1-Actual, what's the sitrep?"
"1-Actual, this is 1-3, we have just gotten through, uh, four dozen civilians. A couple more are on the way, sir." Flamedramon reported dutifully.
"Alright, 1-3, I've got new orders. A squad of the Dramon Republic has been ambushed and need a quick evac for a wounded. They are located just one klick ahead, in the forest to the left of the intersection. The wounded is stabilised and the imps held off. How copy?"
"Solid copy, 1-Actual. 1-3 Oscar-Mike to the objective point. We'll extract the wounded and exfil back to the checkpoint."
"Good luck and safe travel."
Ending the comms, he tapped the top of the L-ATV loudly. "Third Squad! We're moving out!" His Marines got in their vehicles and waited further orders, "We have a simple medical extract and exfil mission. We're heading to the forest one klick ahead of the town."
"Medical Extract? That doesn't sound like us, Sergeant." The driver, Corporal Will Anderson, remarked with humour.
"Well someone has to do it." Flamedramon replied sarcastically before the convoy of three vehicles moved out, leaving the task of managing the civilians to Second squad.
Barely three minutes have passed that the convoy reached the forest, from there, it took a lone dirt road leading deeper in the forest. Moving at a slower pace, the Marines kept their eyes open and weapons ready, prepared to fight off an ambush. Guilmon naturally sniffed the air for any presence in the woods, friendly or hostile. He picked up a scent and recognised the digimon, on the specie basis, not personal basis.
"ExVeemon up ahead, a hundred meters." He informed the others, shifting the Browning turret to the general direction.
Later on, an ExVeemon was in the middle of the road, waving his arms at the convoy with relief. "Oi, mates! Over here!" He shouted at them.
"How come he's Australian?" Asked Corporal Anderson, half-joking, half-serious.
"Just stop here." Flamedramon instructed straightly, preferring dodging a stupid conversation with the driver.
The convoy stopped near him and the Marines got out, a fire team followed Flamedramon and the ExVeemon, adorning a breastplate made from a special alloy of steel digizoid, created and distributed by a world-known weapons and equipment manufacturer.
They've made into a small clearing deeper in the woods where other digimon formed a defensive perimeter around the wounded.
"She's hurt pretty badly," Explained Sergeant Chief ExVeemon, "Imp blokes took us by surprise. She got hit on the left leg and abdomen, hopefully the bullet didn't hit any vital organs."
Flamedramon glanced at the wounded and felt a faint familiar connection with her. She was a regular WereGarurumon; "She", indicated by the digimon's slightly smaller height and frame to the male counterpart. The WereGarurumon had bandages rolled around her wounded leg and torso but she also had a dirtied, tan and brown coloured scarf around her neck. "It can't be, right?", he thought to himself, denying it at first but one clue confirmed his theory: the BlackRenamon who was helping her stand up and walk.
"Hey, Sergeant, isn't that the Night Rose squad we've met at Dawnstar?" Asked Lance Corporal Curtis, instantly recognising the scout duo.
"Yes, Curt, that's them..." Flamedramon confirmed after an irritated sigh.
BlackRenamon gazed forward and immediately beamed happily at Flamedramon, waving joyfully at him before nudging WereGarurumon. "Hey, isn't that your boyfriend?"
"RENA!" WereGarurumon exclaimed in frustration and blushing madly in embarrassement.
Flamedramon felt his cheeks heat up but dismissed it by looking elsewhere in the woods. "Go help her out, Curtis."
"Yes, Sergeant..." The Marine responded while stiffling his laughter.
After escorting WereGarurumon back to the convoy, Flamedramon was being called back by ExVeemon. "Is something wrong?" He asked curtly and politely.
"Nah, mate. Just wondering if you could do me a favor?" ExVeemon stated innocently, implying it more as a request.
"Alright, what can I do?" Flamedramon replied plainly.
"Can you bring BlackRenamon back to base, she'd earned her rest and she needs to deliver a letter to my mother." The winged dragon told him sheepishly.
"Why can't you just send the letter yourself?" Flamedramon retorted, a bit taken aback by the ridiculous request, "I mean, you've done enough here, the imperials are falling back, what else needs to be done here?"
"Look, mate, I have my orders and you have yours. Now can you please do it?" ExVeemon looked at him with pleading eyes, which only distrubed him even more. Might aswell accept the request and be done with it.
"Fine, call her and we're leaving in thirty seconds." Flamedramon then turned and walked back to his L-ATV.
"Thanks, mate!" The Sergeant Chief responded gratefully and joyfully, "Here, Rena, you've earned it, girl!" He handed her the letter and gave her a quick pat behind her shoulder.
BlackRenamon quickly got in the lead vehicle, sitting right behind Flamedramon. Contrary to a regular Renamon, BlackRenamon were rarer, almost extinct (less than a hundred so far) and they are (or "she is" in this case) much more expressive and socialable but still kept the fighting capabilities that was the prowess and fierce reputation of the Renamon-specie. Respected, known and feared by many, an expressive and friendly BlackRenamon is as dangerous and deadly as a cold and stoic Renamon.
The ride back to the checkpoint had been silent. Firefights were over, the coalition had successfully pushed off the Imperial Legion away from the beaches and the IDDF is now building its bases.
The convoy stopped near one of the medical tents. The Marines helped WereGarurumon out of the transport and walked her to the medics awaiting her.
"Take care!" BlackRenamon waved at her friend who responded with a thumbs up.
The digimon then found herself alone on the dirt road, in the middle of the crowdy and busy medical station where medics and troopers carried supplies or helped the severely wounded soldiers and civilians. Flamedramon's squad has already gone off to the nearby mess hall to grab something to eat and drink. A bit lost, she surveyed her surroundings for a mail post or something of the human equivalent, she knew what it looked like. She decided to follow her guts and her luck, and walked at a random direction.
Military land vehicles, large and small, drove pass her every second. Soldiers shouted orders, urging the others to pick up their pace. On the road there was a constant cloud of dust caused by the passing vehicles.
As she turned around a corner on a dirt intersection, she clumsily bumped into another soldier.
"Crap... sorry-" Having a clear look on who she bumped into, her eyes widened with surprise and mouth hung open.
Facing her was a Renamon, in human combat gear. She wore a scalable plate carrier and a special made radio headset. She had a human sniper rifle hanging behind her back by its straps. BlackRenamon knew her, there could only be one Renamon in the human forces and she was the one. Behind the Renamon were four other soldiers with different combat gear compared to the regular Marines she met.
"Can I help you?" Renamon spoke up curiously. BlackRenamon shook her head back to reality and her eyes shined with admiration.
"Y-You are Renamon!"
"Uh, yeah? Do we know each other?"
"Yes! I mean no! But I know you! Oh by the Gods, I can't believe it!" The BlackRenamon was starting to quiver with excitement as she gets all giddy, "Can I have your autograph?" She asked hopefully.
Renamon was surprised at the request and looked at her teammates for some help. "I think you're a celebrity..." Roach whispered to her. She nodded in confusion and faced the other digimon, "Uh, why do you want my autograph?"
BlackRenamon gasped, as if she said something blasphamous, "You mean, you don't know that you're famous? Digimon talk about your epic tales everywhere!"
"Epic tales, huh?" Renamon was now intrigued and a little bit flattered by her words.
"Yes! I heard you've fended off a hundred of imperials on your own in the Mesozoic Kingdom! Your longest confirmed kill was at 1 300 meters. There was also the report of where you and a small team held off waves of imps behind enemy line and..." BlackRenamon continued to list all of Renamon's exploits as a Force Recon Marine. It disturbed but also flattered her.
"Okay calm down," She cut her off, noticing her darker counterpart was getting a lot more cheery, "Look, I don't do autographs and most of these "tales" are false or misinterpreted." BlackRenamon's ears drooped behind her head in disappointement, "How about I treat you to a meal? You can join us if you want." Renamon offered with a friendly smile.
BlackRenamon yelped with joy and hugged her idol by surprise. "Thank you! Thank you!"
After the initial and unexpected greeting, BlackRenamon followed the team of Force Recon Marines to the mess hall. She made sure to walk beside her admired hero, unable to contain her excitement. ExVeemon is surely going to be jealous of her, she thought happily.
A week has passed since the beach landings. Things had been relatively quiet for Camp "Sparta", enemy forces have yet to send a massive counter-attack to reclaim their lost territory. Civilian refugees are still present in numerous IDDF bases, the camp was no exception. Villages and towns still laid in ruins, IDDF stated firmly to its allies it will reconstruct civilian infastructures until their bases were fully built, operational and safe from enemy attack.
Since then, supplies were delivered and air dropped on the beaches frequently. The camps expanded rapidly, growing in size little by little. Kilometers upon kilometers of trench networks, firing positions, fox holes, barriers, checkpoints and barbed wires laid across the coastline. In addition to supplies, more troops arrived in the camps, increasing their manpower but also their need in electricity and ressources.
In the joint HQ of Alpha Company and JGSDF' 4th Company, Raymond waited tiredly for the loud coffee machine to finish pouring in his small styrofoam cup. Once done, he added a small cube of sugar and mixed the content with a platic tablespoon. Taking a small careful sip, he cringed immediately after the hot liquid made contact with his tongue, forgetting that digimon coffee tasted somehow worse than the ones he was used too. He added four more cubes to compensate and hide the strong, bitter taste.
"Beggars can't be choosers..." He muttered bitterly as he made his way back to his office, where more paperwork awaits him, for some Goddamn reason.
Walking and sipping his coffee mindlessly, his reflexes were still on edge as he steps half a second back, barely running into someone.
"Sorry, man, didn't- Kuribayashi?"
The brunette's head perked up and her eyes widened with surprise, "Uh? Raymond-san?" She smiled warmly and let a nervous chuckle escape her mouth.
"Hah, long time no see," Raymond started with a friendly smile of his own.
"Yes, a long time." The two of them stood silently, staring at each other before the petite woman coughed to break the ice, "Um, I want to thank you for saving me back in the Metal Empire."
"Oh? Oh! Right... You don't have to. But I'm glad to see you well and fine." He said happily, seemingly forgetting his coffee as he feels much more energetic. Another awkward silence crept between the two before Raymond coughed at his turn.
"Well, um, I need to go, paper work and stuff..."
"Eh? Yeah... Me too. Need to meet Sergeant-Major..." She informed him shyly.
"See you later..."
"Y-You too..."
They awkwardly walked the opposite direction before a question popped in Raymond's mind. He called her and she turned back with a curious raised brow. "You speak English a lot better now, d-did you learn on your own?"
"Eh? Ah no, you should thank Mari for this, she helped me a lot." She explained with another warm smile before waving him goodbye.
As she disappears around the corner at the end of the hallway, Raymond resumed his trek back to his office, throwing ungracefully his cup of coffee in a nearby plastic bin.
A knock on the door interrupted Sergeant-Major Kuwahara from his work. Eyes off the laptop screen, he shifted his gaze to the side and onto the door.
"Come in!" He responded loud enough.
Opening the door, a familiar face beamed at him happily, "Morning, Sergeant-Major!"
"Ah, Kuribayashi, please come in," The older man insisted with a fatherly smile, "How are you feeling?" He asked kindly.
"Ribcages hurt a little but I'm still kicking." She answered truthfully and confidently.
"Glad to hear it. It has been almost a year now."
She sat in front of his desk, relaxing and enjoying its comfort. The Sergeant-Major offered her a small cup of tea, which she gladly took it and thanked him politely. Kurawara sat back behind the laptop with his own cup. After a quick sip, he placed the small cup down on the desk and cleared his throat.
"Have you got any news from my family?" He asked hopefully. Family mails are getting harder to get where they were, the further the main force advances in the Digital World. Before they were in Imperial territory, letters and packages, delivered from Camp Dawnstar, reached them in a few weeks or days. But now, most of the mail delivery services had been closed off for the mean time now, the voyage from the first base to other bases in the world had been quite difficult, dangerous and increasingly too long to receive one. This was largely due to the Digital World's immense size compared to Earth and its ever natural expanse, meaning it was growing little by little every day, possibly already creating a whole new region.
Fortunately for him, however, Kuribayashi got her hands on some of them, legally of course. She took out a small pack of letters, gathered together by a simple rubber band.
"Yes, sir! These are from your children and grandchildren. Don't not worry, I haven't read them." She assured him playfully. She handed the letters to him. He thanked her graciously and stood up from his seat, giving her a friendly warm hug.
"Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it, sir, just happy to help you out." She replied with a sharp salute before leaving his office, letting him alone to read the various letters from his precious family.
The day went on uneventfully. Kuribayashi reunited with her long time teammates and spent her time with them, catching up. As dusk settles in this part of the Digital World, she found herself wandering mindlessly along the dunes at the rear of the camp. Sandbag formations were laid along the coast, some soldiers stood guard, marching dutifully but with boredom along the line. The beach was still filled with unpacked and untouched military equipment and brand new armoured vehicles. There was little activity on the beach, engineers and soldiers on patrol appeared here and there, but nothing much.
Looking left and right, she made sure her surroundings were clear and stopped in her tracks, facing the gentle waves and beautiful sun set, colouring the skies with different nuances of yellow, orange and red. She simply stared at the scenery, taking the time to admire it. She felt, for the first time in months, at ease, despite the fact the enemy could strike them at any time soon. She hopped over the waist high sandbag wall and sat back on it casually, wanting to stay here a little bit longer.
Eventually, someone was bound to come and interrupt her moment of tranquility.
Hearing soft footsteps, she turned her head to the right, where the sound came from. The footsteps stopped as the figure looks back at her with a surprised gasp.
"Kuribayashi?" Raymond asked with surprise, "Never thought I'll see you here."
"I never thought I'll see you wandering off." She responded back.
He offered her a friendly smile and pointed at the spot next to her, "May I?"
She shrugged in response, "You're an officer, you shouldn't ask me." She stated stoically and gazed back at the sun set.
"That might be true, but that doesn't stop me from asking politely." He shot back with a grin before sitting on the sandbags, "Besides, we shouldn't be sitting here. The guards on duty will be pissed off." He informed her with a light chuckle.
"Taking risks, huh." She retorted teasingly.
"Yeah... We might be kicked out if someone finds us."
Silence fell between the two. The soft breeze caressed their smooth skins and blew gently their hair, relaxing them as they stare at the sun set. The gentle splashes of waves impacting the fine sand of the beach echoed calmly in the air. It truly put soldiers in a calm and peaceful environment accompanied by the blissful silence.
"...I missed you..." Kuribayashi blurted out suddenly.
Raymond turned to her with a raised eyebrow, he was too entranced with the scenery that he didn't actually heard her. "Did you say something?"
Blushing a deep scarlet, she hesitated to either stay silent or truly confess to him. She felt sweat pouring down her forehead and her hands trembled nervously on her knees.
"Hey, are you alright?" Stephen asked, a little concerned for her.
She gulped and decided to speak out her heart, it was now or never... or she could wait for the enemy to attack them to save her from embarrassement. She wished for the latter to happen for a split second. She fully faced him and gazed deeply in his dark brown eyes.
"...I-I-I m-missed...y-you..." Her face got redder as she spoke out. The same could be said for the Marine as a streak of light pink blush appeared across his cheeks.
"Heh... I, uh, missed you too, Kuribayashi..." He finally said but in a confused but friendly tone.
Disappointed by his response and a little bit hurt that he was now avoiding her gaze, she didn't want her heart to shatter and decided for a next course of action. If words didn't work, brute force will have to do. She was, after all, a person who preffered action over words.
Steeling herself, she swiftly grabbed the Marine by his blouse collar and moved in for a kiss. Her lips connected with his in a second. She tightly held onto his collar, not wanting him to back away.
Raymond was in utter shock, evident by his widened eyes. He was being kissed by a Japanese soldier, a woman and a NCO, in the camp and on the job, with the risk of being caught by the patrol guards. Though on the other hand, he was being kissed by the woman he fell in love with. Screw it, he thought.
Slowly closing his eyes, he leaned a bit forward, accepting her soft, gentle lips against his. He softly held her arms, not wanting to let go of her. Pressing their lips together passionately, Stephen eventually opened his lips apart, letting Shino's eager tongue in. Their heart beat simultaneously, in harmony.
Sixty seconds, that felt like sixty minutes, passed and they parted away, panting heavily by the sudden rush of blood pumping in their heart and face. It was a good feeling. However now Raymond found himself in a dilemna. Was this for real? They are still in warzone, deep in enemy territory and everyone was on the edge as the threat of being sieged was high. Was this out of desperation or will this be a serious thing between them? Will they ever be together once this war was over? Will they be a couple and stay together and so on? Questions ran through his mind like a speeding train.
Sadly these questions will be answered at another time.
All of the sudden, the base's alarms blared loudly, soldiers rushed to get their gears and regroup with their unit. The Imperials are here and this time they are on the offensive as half of the remaining Legion, accompanied by the Reserves, led the counter-offensive the IDDF have awaited.
It is going to be their longest night.
The battle has started two hours ago and there were no signs of an end in the near future. The main Legion attacked relentlessly the Digimon forces of the IDDF coalition, distracting them while the reserves of 10 000 troops marched safely towards the human base in the chaotic night. Intense battles were fought in the nearby towns and villages, the humans have sent reinforcements to help their allies. Traitorous digimon, they were. Turning their backs against the glorious Emperor.
These were the thoughts shared by the many new imperial troopers of the 6th Reserve Regiment. Leading the regiment was Grademon's Company. The Reserve Captain was fresh out of the prestigious Imperial Officer Academy, now leading for the first time his troops into battle. Walking beside them with pride and duty, Grademon's velvet eyes observed the landscape ahead of the company.
Beyond the treelines and grass field laid the enemy camp, indicated by the distant warm and cold lights emanated by the camp's light poles. At the full moon, the regiment marched easily in the night, eager to attack their foes, catching them off guard at this perfect opportunity. The ground rumbled loudly eventhough the troops moved as silently as possible.
"Easy on the steps, lads." Instructed his subordinate officers in a stern whisper.
Grademon's magenta mantle -a sign of alligence to the Imperium and of his military rank- flowed hazily to the calm wind as he marches forward with his troops. Once close the treelines, he took out one of his "Golden Meteor" swords and raised it high, pointing the blade towards the enemy base. It was his moment to prove the veterans of his leadership and loyalty.
"For our glorious Emperor and to the Imperium! Onwards and strike down our foes!" He bellowed proudly as he gazes highly at his troops.
The imperial troopers roared confidently and charged forwards. This was their first battle, their rite of passage. Proving themselves as capable soldiers of the Imperium through baptism by fire. They will be the heroes who fought and won the great battle of Regidice.
Seconds into the charge and chaos ensued. First, they were pounded by enemy heavy artilleries, then their air forces rained storm of powerful bullets and rockets on them. Those who passed through that horror met a quick death as hails of hot lead flew straight at them. The first and second line of imperials fell in a matter of minutes. The troops were torn apart and into pieces of gore and blood. Limbs and guts were thrown away of their bodies by artillery shells and rocket fire. Mists of blood showered them as the infantry gets cut down by enemy machine guns and mowed down by their armour. Morale dropped significantly and their pride was replaced by pure shock and utter fear.
"Fucking hell! Run!"
"This is madness! We need to get out of- ARGH!"
"H-help me! A-anyone!"
"Sir Grademon! We're getting cut to pieces!" One of his lieutenants reported frantically, pleading for a full retreat.
"Nothing to do but to endure, Lieutenant LighDramon!" He stated sternly and coldly, "Courage, lads! For the Emperor!" He charged into the fray, his sword raised proudly high.
In the thick of battle, Grademon shouted and barked orders at his soldiers, ignoring the flying bullets and falling shells. Showing his unshakelable will and courage, his troopers were inspired and mustered enough willpower to brave through enemy fire. Filled with rejuvinated determination, the reserve legionaires regrouped and charged at their enemy. There was a two hundred meter run between them. They were close to meet face-to-face their enemy, the ones who dared to defy the might of the Imperium, who provoked a rebellion of traitorous digimon across their once great empire. They were responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands loyal soldiers of the Emperor. May He put their souls at ease and their data cleansed with His holy powers.
As Grademon leads head on his company towards the enemy, he glared at their direction with a fiery passion, ready to bring death upon them.
Suddenly, the ground erupted below him violently, his armour heating up intensely and crushing his lower body, he let out an agonizing scream. He felt his body being thrown into the air before everything went black.
Author's Note: This is probably the longest chapter I've written so far but I also had a lot of fun writting it and I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter should be up in a few weeks, yeah sorry for these long waits but I'm doing my best to improve these chapters. Anyways as always, à la prochaine! :D