Chapter 21

Traf looked at the village from behind the bushes, he was hiding in. There were several bonfires with girls from Pravda gathered around them. He cursed under his breath, when he noticed that Nonna was nowhere to be seen. Shit! he thought and turned, only to see the missing girl glaring at him from the top of her IS-2. He gulped and looked around for a possible escape route. "Found one of the enemy tankers."

Traf grabbed one of the smoke flares that he bought just in case of being surrounded by enemies and threw it at the IS-2. The resulting smoke blinded his enemies and he wasted no time to escape. Luckily for him, the smoke was also a signal for Takashi to start the engine and prepare to drive away as soon as he arrived back.

"What happened?" the driver asked him. "The IS-2 is scouting here!" he answered quickly. "Damn! Leopon team! Be prepared for battle!" George cut in and commanded the Tiger (P). "What is it?" came a question from the confused Leopon team. "Nonna is scouting here with her IS-2!" Traf nearly shouted in response.

"Initiate Plan B!" George added and both versions of the same and most fearsome German Cat quickly left the forest and sped towards the other side of the village and also dodged several shots from the IS-2.

Damn it! At this rate, I'll lose all ammo! Nonna realized as the Tiger I and Tiger (P) dodged another shot. While her IS-2 had a powerful cannon, it also had a drawback in only 28 shells that could be stored inside. And right now, she wasted at least six shots on those heavies of Oarai.

"Nonna! Have you finished them off?!" Katyusha's voice asked suddenly. "Нет. They dodged six shots in total." There were a few seconds of silence following that statement. "WHAT?! HOW?!" Katyusha screamed/asked her. "They were dodging in the last second. It was like someone knew the reloading time and the travelling speed of the shell and told the drivers to dodge at the right moment…" Nonna trailed off.

"Hmm… Interesting. I bet that it's the work of the boys. By the way… don't get immobilized or…" Katyusha warned her. "I know." If she or even Katyusha get their tanks immobilised… well, to say that a coup for their positions could happen would be an understatement. So, it would be better, if she retreats for now and lets them escape.

For the first time in her whole time in Sensha-Do, her prey managed to escape unscatched from her. And yet, she didn't feel anger towards them. She was… happy?! This battle is already interesting… she thought as her IS-2 parked back in its original position.

Viewing platform for VIP #1

Maho tried her best to keep her cold mask to avoid getting filmed by a lucky camera that she was able to smile. Miho wasn't the type to abandon her allies and also the one, who could get into a trap that easily. And yet, she got caught in one. She followed her teammates and led them into the church… I would not do that a year ago, but now? I think that I can do it.

But, she was more impressed by the escape from the IS-2 that the boys and the crew of the Tiger (P) pulled off. "Takashi! Count to six and very loudly! George, relay the order to the Leopon team!" And indeed, after the driver said six, a shell from the IS-2 just narrowly missed the tank. I have a feeling that he may have been a soldier in his previous life… Maho thought as she saw them do the same thing another five times, before the IS-2 broke off the pursuit.

Maho looked to her right and saw her dad grinning like a madman at the sight, while her mother had her cold mask, that no one could get past, on. Suddenly, she saw the Tiger I stop and its commander exiting it with a barrel that he attached to his back. "Path is clear!" he shouted and rushed towards the church. "That doesn't look like 'abandoning a tank' to be honest…" she heard someone mutter. "Yeah, it looks more like he is delivering something to his surrounded teammates!" another voice added.

He was prepared for this! Maho realized and watched as he disappeared from view in the building, hoping that she'll fight Miho at the Finals.

Miho looked at her depressed teammates. They have only about 30 minutes left until the ultimatum ends and the fact that it was cold and their enemy had warm food and fire made it only worse. "Hey! What's with that morale!?" Momo asked her with another one of her stares visible. She sighed and prepared herself to do the Ankou dance, but something interrupted her and saved her from doing it.

"Anyone want some stew?" a familiar voice came out of nowhere. She turned and saw Trafalgar with one of the canisters strapped to his back. She noticed that everyones' eyes lit up upon hearing that and soon, he had every girl lined up before him with a plate and a spoon of all things. And that was the only thing so far that today surprised her. "Oh yeah… we and the Leopon team also managed to shake off the IS-2…" she heard him say after a random question came from Yukari.

Miho blinked at that. "How did you do that?" Erwin asked him. "Just count very loudly to six, when you spot it and dodge, when you say six." I feel no flaw in that. It can prove useful to us, when we face your sister. Miho nodded slowly. "And with a Tiger I?" she asked the boy. "Count to four." Hmm… He is not lying. The standard reload time for a Tiger I is 4 seconds, so it makes sense. I see… Miho responded to her inner self and sighed in relief as the morale of her group was restored easily to the level at the beginning of the match against Anzio.

"We have a chance to win this. But, to succeed, you must break through the most heavily defended part of the cordon. The StuG will meet my Tiger and Leopon team at point G0120. The rest focus on defending the Type 89B I-Go!" Trafalgar said as he grabbed the empty barrel and saluted before running out from the church.

He is a good tactician. The StuG has one of the strongest guns and can take down the flag tank easily. Also, using only three tanks against the KV-2 and T-34/85 means that the rest would be a bait for the main force of Pravda. Miho didn't like the idea of being a bait, but if the plan counted on her being one, she would do it. "Prepare for attack!" she shouted and everyone rushed to their respective tanks. We'll end this and get to the Finals! she thought with determination in her eyes.

"Panzer vor!" she said and the tanks sped out from the church with still ten minutes left from the ultimatum.

"They're attacking!" Klara shouted at Katyusha's sleeping form as the entire Pravda team was scrambling to get into their tanks. She knew that waking up her commander would result in a punishment, but the situation required it. Of course, the loli looked with anger at her, but the sound of the six enemy tanks' cannons firing changed the expression into a mixture of surprise and cold fury.

"I'll make them pay!" she growled and rushed to her T-34/85. Klara did the same, but instead of choosing to help the main force, she commanded her driver to support the KV-2 and the flag tank. She had a feeling that those two 8,8 cm KwK 36 cannons would try to sneak to it and end the match.

"Klara! Go to the main force!" Katyusha's voice shouted at her. "Нет. I think that the flag tank should use the help of one another tank in defending it from enemy fire." There were a few moments of silence after that. "Alright. Have it your way, but if you get shot down, the punishment would be three times longer!" the loli responded and made Klara gulp. The last thing she wanted was 75 days of supplementary lessons in a dark and windowless room.

"I won't let them win!" Klara shouted and told her driver to hide a street before the flag tank and in the same manner to eliminate the odds of spotting it by 50%. Oarai will lose this battle! she thought and smiled. In her opinion, Pravda needs to win the Finals for the 2nd time in row and humiliate KMM again.

Yet, she forgot that the flag tank was already marked on the map and the boy crew had already pinpointed the exact street too.

Erwin smirked, when she arrived at the meeting point with the Tiger squad. She knew that the fight was slowly coming to an end. "Good to see that you arrived, Hippo team." That made Erwin's grin even wider. "Likewise, ChurchillI!" she answered George's greeting casually. "Knispel, Churchill and Patton… The circle is complete, huh?" asked Trafalgar's voice with a small hint of a smile in it.

"Indeed it is." Caesar looked at her with a raised eyebrow after hearing that. "Enough chit-chat. We have a flag tank to take down after all…" she said and trailed off. "What is it?" Erwin asked the girl. "I think that I saw the KV-2 repositioning itself." And indeed, the big turret of the infamous "King of Derp" moved a few meters to the left after a while. "The KV-2 is trying to enter a sniping position!" Trafalgar warned and a second later, the 8,8 cm KwK 36 L/56 fired at the side armor of the giant tank's hull.

"Pravda's KV-2 unable to continue!" the voice of Hibiki Inatomi announced a second later. And right after that, the heavies rode towards as one. "Follow them, Oryou!" she said and the StuG caught up to the two tanks soon afterwards.

Viewing platform for VIP #2, a few minutes ago

Darjeeling looked at the screen in great interest after the commander of the boy crew left the church with the barrel, but opened this time. The judges were curious enough about what the barrel contained and so, one drone flew closer to him and filmed the barrel. It seems that the delivery was food of some sort. Most likely a stew… she thought with a small smile. She never saw anyone, who risked detection just to deliver food in Sensha-Do.

"He was prepared for this." Orange Pekoe turned to her with her head turned slightly to the left. "Darjeeling-sama?" she asked. "The thing inside the barrel was a stew. And delivering the food, while slipping under enemy guards can be considered as an act of bravery." This time, the small girl's eyes showed a bit more confusion than anything else.

Suddenly, the viewing platforms erupted in cheers. "They are in for the underdog." That statement was true, due to the ragtag tanks of Oarai successfully catching Pravda off guard and breaking through the tightly defended spot in the encirclement. Yet at the same time, one T-34 moved towards its team's flag tank and hid a street before it.

Good luck, Miho Nishizumi. You'll need it now. And both girls from St. Gloriana sipped again from their mugs after Darjeeling's thought was finished.