Chapter 158: The fate of this dream
We were engaged in battle against a significantly powerful enemy, that being K-Sha in which I have to say, it was curious to see her there. Of all the nightmares that we've experienced, and yet that one would be the first in which we do see her. This I find odd since I thought the whole point of these nightmares is to torment us, to basically put us in challenge after challenge each time, having to clear them so that we can be awake and continue on with our fight against Neptune. That purpled haired moron Neptune must know of our views on K-Sha and her abilities as a soldier, and yet it's only this nightmare where she was seen?
Hmmm. Whatever the reason was, whether it's due to her being stupid, or her wanting to use her at what she believes to be an appropriate time, that mattered little at the time, for the issue at hand was being able to take K-Sha out.
It was quite the battle against her it had to be said. I needed to use my skills and knowledge of tactics to lead my forces against her, and it was a battle of wits in ensuring she and her forces get shot, without any of us getting shot by them in return. It even got to a battle of attrition at one stage, as we managed to pin her down while she's not protected by cover, while her soldiers tried to rescue her.
Eventually, it ended at a point where she was cornered by us, but even then a distraction from the enemy meant that we had to divert forces away leaving just myself, Noire and Uni. I used strategy in an attempt to take her out using every advantage I thought possible, though even then it was nerve wracking as to whether it would be a success or a failure, due to having to send one of us in, in which Noire volunteered.
When I heard gun shots followed by silence, thoughts of concern did run through my mind, as to whether the Lastation CPU was killed as opposed to the yandere K-Sha, but I immediately realised that checking would be better, and if Noire's dead then I can only prepare for the consequences to the best of my abilities as a result.
I called out for my companion Noire, and she responded in her caring voice which was also very soothing, and this response of hers pleased me and relieved me very much, in fact we breathed a huge sigh of relief as while we're still in the nightmare, we could still fight our way through, and everything we loved and fought for every day still stood.
It's also rather satisfying to have heard her voice, as this told me that my Lastation CPU defeated that insane yandere who had a crush on Miss Lastation, and wished for her, despite not having the consent required, and was willing to kill every obstacle that stood in the path of the member of the Gold Third, including our soldiers and us, even though that would not have helped her and if anything would have hindered her greatly, as like with anyone in a similar situation, the goddess of Lastation would put up even more of a fight, since she'd wish to avenge her fallen allies.
The thing was while Noire just defeated K-Sha then, we all had a go, and that was very satisfying, as she must have been humiliated that she failed to get even one of us, and yet we each got her. Nothing like taking out someone vile in a fight, and even if she was going to get up, it wouldn't matter at all as at last we would have had the means of disarming her and capturing her.
Oddly enough though, I then heard from Noire that the body of K-Sha has completely disappeared. Most likely she must have had several lives and lost every one of them because of us. Hopefully that will be the last we see of her in this nightmare, and I'm optimistic that it's the case going by what has been seen before.
In any case although it was rather satisfying for the three of us to have took at least a life from her, knowing how much it would upset her, since she had the advantage and was denied her desires of having Noire without resistance from her or the others, we cannot relax. We cannot relax because there'll still be challenges ahead between us and Neptune even now, with our success in defeating a powerful, deadly and challenging enemy, and in clearing out enemy troops in several rooms in this estate, as there's still plenty more where that came from.
There's still lots of enemies along with mutants and perhaps deadly monsters that are powerful enough to be bosses, but with the large number of troops of excellent quality that we have, and our strategies and tactics, I'm certain that we can retake this estate section by section, until that nasty nemesis of ours is all that remains.
We then rush to where the Britannian soldiers in our group are, currently holding back the enemy, so that we could deal with K-Sha without distraction. We inform them of the news regarding that yandere, and with relief and excitement they reassure that they're able to hold the ground, and if anything they get the sense that the enemy is trying to defend their area, as opposed to trying to take our forces out.
Hmmm, I get the sense that the enemy is losing morale, and perhaps they find themselves effectively surrounded on all sides. Maybe they've retreated to a floor above to assist their allies. in hopes of holding the highest floor in this section of the building, while using the advantage of elevation to keep us at bay. It won't work for them though, since along with positioning significant numbers of troops near the stairs, so they can't just rush down in hopes of ambushing our forces, we can just assist our allies by sending spare troops, in moping up the enemy groups on the other floors, and with our numbers and tactics, overwhelm the enemies at that highest floor.
The thing is, even though we are winning in this battle for the grand estate, the enemy still has time on their side to ensure they have powerful monsters ready that can turn the tide, and with the need to have lots of forces by the stairs leading to the highest floor, there aren't any spare groups of Britannian soldiers we can use to flank enemy positions apart from myself, Noire and Uni.
It's unfortunate that there's no way of knowing how much time remains before that Planeptune CPEwww is able to do something nefarious that could perhaps result in us no longer having any chance of succeeding, since at least we'd have a guide and can decide whether to change tactic or not.
We need to be able to effectively snowball against the enemy, if we are to have a chance of taking them all out quickly enough, so that there's time to stop Neptune's schemes and capture her. The trouble is how to do so, without losing too many troops or worse it backfiring?
It is then that I realise that the only way to do so, is to actually take that highest floor by going up the stairs, effectively in a pincer movement against the enemy at that floor. If we can push the enemy to a point where they make their last stand and defeat them all, this frees up a significant number of our troops, and allows them to assist in wiping out the enemy wherever they are currently which should hopefully not take too long to do.
While having to fight the enemy who are at a floor above us will be a significant challenge, this is something we have done before, and once we can safely get up the stairs, they'll be in a pincer movement then. Even if we try to attack from this floor, and can't get up the stairs, the enemy will have to devote troops to defending the stairs, which is less troops to deal with the Britannians on that floor, and perhaps they can push the enemy on their side.
Another thing that I take into consideration, that should help us regarding this battle, is that we know the layout of the building, and that from here to the stairs, is just a couple of corners, and while I get the sense that they may have decided to retreat, after not being able to break through our forces to assist K-Sha, it's best to be certain of this first, which shouldn't take long since there aren't many places for them to take cover from here to the stairs, and we are at a reasonable distance to that section.
With these things in mind, it isn't long at all before I come up with a plan for us to most likely force those enemies that are still there if any, to retreat back up the stairs, and the plan is for a smoke grenade to be thrown around the corner, to cover our movements. After this some of us will go prone to the middle of the section before turning to the corner with guns being aimed there, and after which the rest of us can cautiously approach past the smoke, and check around the corner with Noire's mirror for enemies there.
Though there is risk of being shot as soon as smoke is thrown, I am optimistic that with the numbers they have, they won't bother to shoot at us, due to not knowing exactly where we are, and even if they were to shoot the corner as soon as the smoke is formed, we can just retreat and wait until they run out.
I then tell my allies with me my plan and as soon as it's understood and agreed, it is carried out straight away, and just as I suspected there are no problems, in fact even when we approach the other corner that stands between us and the stairs, there's no one there. I wonder though if there were people there, but it's just that they have decided to retreat back and inform their allies in that floor as soon as we've advanced. At least even then that will ease pressure of our own allies up there, as troops will have to be diverted to deal with us.
Upon reaching this position, I inform my fellow Britannians via radio of the position we have taken, and what we intend to do, which is to wait for our allies in this area on the other side, to meet us at the stair case, while staying away from their line of fire, while we come up with a good way of attacking the enemy upstairs, in hopes of relieving our allies up there, and with luck, we can actually take that floor in this section of the estate, freeing up a significant number of Britannian troops to defeat enemies involved in gun fights with our forces.
After telling them this, the forces on the upper floor are very appreciative of this new development in our conflict here, considering they're pinned down by an enemy that outnumbers them significantly, and the forces on the other side on our floor respond by saying that they'll be with us at the stairs soon.
As I wait for reinforcements here, I get the sense that this engagement on the stairs and on the floor it leads to, along with the time it takes to happen, will be a significant factor as to which side wins the day here. While I doubt there'll be powerful monsters due to expected numbers and how big this grand estate is up there, not to mention I can't see how our allies however tough they are can survive against such a beast when they're pinned down, I'm certain the enemy up there will fight to the last stand and do their absolute best, for they must know that we're trying to rescue significant numbers of troops that are pinned down, and then afterwards we'll mop up all their forces by flanking the enemy, which will get easier for us to do over time.
They will do all they can with their numbers and elevation advantage to stall us, and so we'll need to take the stairs as quickly and as safely as we can, in which doing both will not be easy. At least even if there's no knowledge of the enemy numbers or exact location up there, I know the layout of the stairs, in that the stairs leads to a window, and that the staircase is surrounded by a bannister on 3 sides. I also know that most of that upper floor would be behind us if we're to just go up the stair case.
I just know that the enemy will be at those bannisters, with their guns pointing at the bottom of the stairs, ready to open fire the moment we go up those stairs, and that there'll be enemies at the top ready to fire at us as well. Knowing this, I struggle to think how we can deal with them without risk getting shot. I don't think even a smoke grenade would work since they'd know we're there and just keep firing on the stairs. With the ammunition they'd most likely have due to the numbers they have, they'll be better able to keep us at bay there, and they'll just be able to keep us pinned because their guns will be pointed at the bottom of the stairs...
It is then I realise something: they'll be pointing their guns at the bottom of the stairs because that's where they expect us to be at. While gravity means we'll have to be at the bottom of the stairs where they aim, our hands don't have to be when it comes to spraying and praying. In fact our soldiers could lift one of the soldiers up, and they can lift their guns up as high as possible while being able to use it effectively, and spray and pray at the bannisters once a smoke grenade has been thrown, only when they need to reload instead they swap a weapon with the other soldiers. This way we should be able to defeat them before they have a chance to react.
I quietly inform the soldiers of my plan to have a couple of soldiers having their weapons swapped after firing a magazine, to be carried by a group of Britannians and lifted as high as possible, with the intention being that they can fire their gun and spray and pray, knowing roughly where exactly to fire, but without the rest of their body being exposed to enemy fire, and this is to happen once smoke grenades are thrown to cover the bottom.
While there's still a risk that the guns the Britannians carried up by their friends use can be shot, it's a slim risk and I see no alternative apart from charging up the stairs trying to kill as many as possible, or even to spray and pray since that too, can result in us getting shot down, which we can ill afford at this crucial stage of the fight.
With the assurance from the soldiers doing the carrying, along with those being carried that they're alright after asking them, and them knowing and agreeing to the plan, I throw the smoke grenade at the bottom of the stairs, and the plan is put into motion in which all we can do is to just watch, as the two carried soldiers open fire, before swapping weapons and firing again.
This happens a few times, and during this time none of the Britannians have been shot anywhere pleasing me significantly. Hopefully this is an indication that the plan is working, in that even if most or perhaps, even if all the enemy soldiers that were there had retreated, they can only try and shoot at us from one side, which will make it considerably easier for us, and now their advantage of elevation is drifting away.
Even so, we need to make sure it's the case, and before checking with our eyes and removing the threat from the bannister that's nearest to us, after lowering the carried soldiers down gently, we spray and pray on each side for a bit aiming at the top of the stairs and the bannisters, before under cover of smoke we slowly go up a few stairs, before turning around and spraying and praying at the bannister. That way, we've ensured that the least number of steps has been travelled, before the bannister can be seen if one is to turn around and look up, due to wishing to conceal ourselves as much as possible from their view up there at the same time, in which I know how many to be, thanks to the use of a personal pocket sized mirror Noire has.
We fire at that bannister under the cover of smoke for a short while, confident that even if this doesn't kill many enemies, it will have forced them to retreat away from the area, and thus losing their elevation advantage which they relied on to buy them significant amounts of time. After which a few of us go up a few stairs past the smoke, to check for any remaining enemies there, only to find that they're either dead in which this applies to a few of them, or as suspected have retreated hoping that even without the advantage, they can still mow us down.
We will therefore need to carry on spraying and praying from the stairs, so that we can push them further away, so that we'll be able to get on the floor they're at, as opposed to being at a chokepoint in which even without casualties will buy them extra time.
Speaking of buying time, I cannot be sure even with our success whether the time we're taking to succeed is too long, or the time it'll take for Neptune to enact whatever plans she has is too long. I can only hope that we'll be able to stop them. At least however we're doing our best, and it's served us well all the way, and it's better to be optimistic for the sake of the morale of our forces.
It is then I realise though that the enemy can try and shoot the guns even if they're obscured through the smoke, as a result of them spraying and praying. The trouble is though is that if we were to go up the stairs to engage with them, there'll be little cover for us at best, and we'll most likely get mowed down by them, and yet as it is, because of the space, we are not able to use much of our firepower.
Hmmm what to do, I need to think and think quickly if we are to successfully take this floor in good time. How to defeat them hastily and safely though? Hmmmm. Wait, it is then I realise that with the smoke covering the stairs, and the stairs consisting of several steps, I could easily have several soldiers along the steps, spraying and praying over the one in front, adding more firepower while being under the cover of smoke. I could have that last for a short while before having a few troops go up all the stairs, before using the smoke as cover, and getting an assessment of the situation, and with them providing cover fire, send more soldiers up the stairs while doing the same spray and pray tactic as before.
I then give the order quietly for the troops to carry out this tactic of mine, and we can only wait and see if this plan of mine will ensure success, as the smoke obscures our ability to see the allied Britannian troops, and we can only hear the sounds of gunfire throughout the upper floor.
Thinking about this, and looking at the body language of my allies here, it is quite a tense situation to say the least, due to what's at stake, but even if it feels like a long time due to the tension, I'm eventually informed via a noise signal that only we would know what it means, that the enemy cannot be seen from the top of the stairs.
This is a significant relief as not only can when get up to this floor without being shot down, the layout of this floor being a T shaped corridor surrounded by rooms, and we're at the bottom of the "T" means that they'll either be in the rooms surrounding the corridors, or at the top part of the "T", and while the enemy could be at the corridor section at the top part of the "T", some of the rooms surrounding that top bit are occupied by the besieged Britannians.
Because of what has just happened, we can now effectively do a pincer movement against the enemy, and we have tactical grenades of sufficient quantity and quality to help us clear out the rooms, once we're able to secure the corridors completely. One thing that does concern me though is that if the Britannians in my group are no longer firing at the enemy, they'll know that we know that the section is clear, and that we're moving to secure the location, and they could potentially try to ambush us from their rooms, in which the lack of cover could potentially mean we lose significant numbers.
In response to that concern I order for the spraying and praying to continue while we get into position upstairs, to make them think that we're still on the stairs and that when we stop firing, they can come out and attack, believing us to have ran out of ammunition and we're still at the chokepoint, or at least believe that it's safe to enter the corridor again for them. Once we're in position we'll stop firing, and hopefully perhaps lure them to an ambush, as well as to discourage them from engaging us by the doors, since while they have cover, we'll have the numbers and our guns pointed to their location first.
During this time I inform the Britannians on the top floor we're securing that are pinned down, that we have managed to secure most of the corridor to the floor, and pretty soon we'll be securing the rooms here in which they respond in much appreciation, knowing that they'll be relieved soon.
It doesn't take long at all for us all to take positions near the staircase on the top floor of this section of this grand estate, in which even after all the fighting over this staircase, it still looks rather nice overall with it's red carpet, walls full of large paintings depicting different figures and landscapes with gold frames surrounding it, along with gold chairs with red cushions, busts of historic figures and gold ornate fireplaces, along with a ceiling that's split into squares with gold borders, and in each square a decoration resembling various ornate symbols made of gold. Surrounding the ceiling is a gold ornate border full of leafy patterns that I would associate with such a grand estate.
As nice as the place is to look at, enemy corpses aside, to marvel it and to think that this is an important reason to carry on the fight, as it's effectively a defence of prosperity, of civilization and hope, I know not to be distracted, and with us all ready and our guns pointed at the various rooms, I order the troops whose body language now show more confidence, to stop firing at the upper floor.
Just as I suspected, the enemy does indeed try to attack us afterwards, but because of our numbers and us seeing them coming, they fail to get any of us and yet they lose a significant number of them, and while we still have our guns aimed at the rooms and expect them to try again, we approach each of the rooms and I ask the Britannians that are pinned down to see if there are any enemies in the corridor where they are, only for them to reply a short while later that it's not the case. In response to this, I order them to carefully secure the outside of each room if they have the troops for it, and to breach it when they're ready, in which they do.
Knowing that they have good troop numbers for this is an immense relief to say the least, though I do wonder why the enemy didn't swarm in with their superior numbers, or is it because they wish to keep those numbers to deal with us that are on the floor below as back up, and perhaps worry that they'll lose too many, due to them only having fire arms and having to go through a choke point and an enemy expecting them?
In any case, our allies that have gone into the estate here via the roof, we'll be of great help to us, since with them having tactical grenades, and superior tactics, they should be able to assist us in clearing out this floor of enemies, and we can hopefully secure the other top floors in the other sections, and then provide assistance where we can in areas that need it most.
Pretty soon we reach the rooms we intend to breach, and I can't help but notice on the facial expressions of the Britannian soldiers, of the excitement that the battle for this floor will soon be over, though I know that we do our best in being careful not to be cocky, and to bear in mind the time, as well as the need to be prepared physically and mentally to carry on fighting to help others out in the coming firefights.
We also bear in mind what we need to do right now, to ensure we do not die, and eliminate every enemy in these rooms as quickly as possible. We carefully open the door such that we don't get seen by the enemy, before throwing several flashbangs in as many places as possible, considering the need for us to be in cover to avoid us getting shot. Once the flashbangs have detonated, we wait to see and hear if the enemy fire their weapons at the door only for them not to, and so we quickly head inside opening fire against the enemies, in which this is effortless due to them being stunned by the tactical grenades.
The thing is though, while they all appear to have been taken out, they could actually be hiding in the room somewhere, or even in the en-suite next to it, and so we carefully peek at various places they could be hiding, even firing through cover to be on the safe side.
Soon enough, it's all clear, in fact most of the enemies were killed as we entered the room, and at a similar time we learn via the radio that it's the case for all Britannian groups, who have breached a room on this floor in this section of the grand estate.
I praise them all for the good work here in which they thank me in turn, and I notice from the body language of the Britannians and the tone of their voices as well as those via the radio, that they're immensely relieved. Indeed it is an immense relief, to have fought through all of that, even if there were no bosses.
Unfortunately though, despite all that we have been through fighting those monsters, those mutants as well as their defences, and even against K-Sha, as valuable as this is in ensuring this estate is retaken, the battle is far from over, and they could still win this. There is a lot more fighting to be done, and our nefarious nemesis Neptune is still out there somewhere, along with her deadly monsters.
This is significantly concerning considering all the fighting that's going on all over the estate, and the fact that our side has even managed to take rooms and parts of corridors from the enemy all over this grand complex. Yet where exactly is she? No one has said via radio that they've seen her or significantly powerful forces, which I do indeed find odd considering how dangerous they are for us. Could her monster numbers originally have actually been that low?
While I could ask for what specific areas have our forces captured, to help narrow down where she could be, and therefore attempt to take those areas even if it's to only see any signs of her being there, it could take a while, and it could take even longer trying to determine whether Neptune is present in a place or not, when there's all those that places she can be.
All we can do is to just offer our allies assistance at the areas most needed, and rely on the strategy of defeating the enemy part by part, in which it'll take less time as time goes on, resulting in us gaining more ground and that purpled haired idiot having less and less places to hide. I can only hope that if assistance is needed, the people concerned are not in any immediate danger, since it'll take time to get there with all the stairs and rooms we'll potentially have to traverse, though at least with us having control of the outside, we should be able to navigate around enemy positions, unless they've been pinned down.
I do honestly wish right now, we had an idea as to how much time is remaining before Neptune can put her nefarious plan to turn the tide into action, as at least it would be something to work with, regarding capturing her. We'd have a significantly better idea since while we have the advantage in numbers, tactics and the momentum on our side, I can't be sure if this will be enough for us to be able to track down that CPEwww and capture her so we can leave this nightmare for good.
She has to be somewhere hidden, somewhere that's difficult to access, probably the basement, that can be accessed by a secret passage in a room on the ground floor. The trouble is we need to be absolutely certain of this, since she can just as easily be somewhere else, and the Britannian soldiers could potentially be taken out by monsters and we wouldn't be able to assist as is our intended new role, because of dealing with the enemies we would currently face.
With all this in mind I inform the Britannians fighting here in this estate via radio, that we have secured the upper floors of this section of the estate, as well as the entrance on the ground floor below, in which this is a tremendous boost to the morale of our forces, and they thank us and praise us for our performance. I then inform them that while we're here to assist, due to our numbers we can only help those that need it most, otherwise if there aren't any that stand out we will work our way around in securing nearby areas starting at the highest floor, allowing for more spare units that can help others out, as well as hopefully be able to deal with whatever Neptune has up her sleeve.
The Britannians thank me immensely for my offer of help, and reassure me that they're able to hold their positions for now, and will let us know if they need any help, knowing that depending on their location it could take a significant while. With this and the layout of the grand estate in mind, I give orders for the soldiers to go into the rooms that surround the bottom part of the "T" shaped corridor and look out the windows for enemy troops there to see if we can take them out, while a significant number of us including myself, guard the stairs so that we don't get ambushed by any enemies, since although this is secure, I am weary of the prospect of the enemy being able to launch a sneak attack from nowhere.
It doesn't take long before I hear gunshots coming from the rooms on this floor, only for them to stop. But then suddenly, gunshots can be heard again, in which this carries on for a while. This concerns me significantly due to how long it's taking, as while we are forcing the enemy to divert more troops to deal with us, rather than it being a quick annihilation, it is now becoming a stalemate due to both sides spraying and praying forcing the other side to take cover.
What makes this more frustrating is that while there are rooms in the sections that our rooms overlook, that have Britannian soldiers in them, shooting a rope launcher into them would be out of the question due to the risk of our soldiers using it being shot down by the enemy.
Hmmm. I then quickly realise that if the enemy are having to send in troops to specific rooms to deal with us, then there might be less to deal with the allies on the floor who are pinned down. In fact there might not even be any more enemy soldiers, keeping an eye on the rooms those Britannians are trapped in.
I therefore propose a suggestion to the Britannians pinned down in those rooms, that they try and gather information as best as they can, as to the enemy presence outside their rooms, but to be careful not to get shot, that way it may be possible to get them to breach the rooms while keeping an eye out for enemy reinforcements, and as a result of that, we can then cross to the rooms via rope and then fight our way through this floor and below it.
While they do agree to that idea, and carry it out as best they can, the unfortunate thing is though, is that this is a failure affecting both sections our rooms overlook at, which is due to the number of troops outside, keeping watch on those rooms the Britannians are in. On the positive side, none of the Britannian soldiers have died, and I do have an alternative idea to help secure the rooms. This is for the Britannians there to try and lure the enemy into the rooms so we can assist in taking them out.
The frustrating thing is, is that after giving orders to the Britainnians concerned after agreeing to the idea first, to engage with the enemy as best as possible without being killed in return due to the numbers there are, rather than taking the bait to prevent themselves from being attacked again and again, the enemy chooses not to. If anything I suspect they have retreated, so that as opposed to losing troops, we'd lose them instead because they'd get shot as soon as they make their presence known by looking or even spraying and praying.
This is not good, for as a result we have only taken out small numbers of the enemy engaging our forces, and while it is better than nothing, it needs to be more if we are to have a better chance in stopping that purple haired moron's plans. But how best to solve this issue, do we carry on here, in which case how can we provide better assistance to the fellow Britannians in those rooms, or do we head somewhere else and give aid to a different group of Britannians in which case which ones, and would we be of any better use there since it won't be from a higher floor, which would have allowed us to wipe out enemy soldiers more effectively at a floor below, not to mention it being less likely that we would be able to outflank an enemy?
Hmmm. It is then that I realise that maybe the issue of entering those rooms via rope, can be negated if the Britannian soldiers provide covering fire. We have multiple ropes for multiple rooms that can be accessed and so getting the troops across shouldn't take too long, and there should be the ammunition necessary to keep the enemy pinned down, especially with all the weapons and magazines lying around from all the dead enemies.
It's worth a try, especially since none of the other options are any better, and I can always just send a few at a time reducing casualties if this plan goes awry. I inform my allies with me of my plan, and ask to see if any of them have any concerns, and that they are free to back out if they don't feel comfortable doing it, since they'll be suspended on a rope several metres above the nearest ground which is made of strong building materials, and are at risk of enemy fire.
They agree to do so, and appreciate the concern I have for them, and I can sense from their tone and body language that they all have faith in my skills, since it has kept them alive for all this while, and we've all been able to achieve great success here, even if there's more to go, and we could easily lose, despite our optimism that we will succeed.
As we get ready in crossing to the appropriate rooms by rope, thoughts of concern run through my mind as to whether a group of Britannians will request our aid while we cross, in which it'll take significantly longer to get to them, and perhaps we'll have to go with fewer troops. Then again, perhaps knowing how many enemies are in the corridor, as well as in the rooms surrounding it, and the nearest batch in that section of the building, can help me to decide how many to send over, and hopefully only a fraction of my forces are all that's needed to take the corridor, allowing the Britannians in the rooms over there to fight the enemy as opposed to taking cover, thus diverting enemy troops away to deal with this, or better still being able to eliminate the enemy here, and effectively get more spare units that we desperately need if we are to win this.
Interestingly enough, my thoughts get interrupted as I hear a distress call from Britannian soldiers on the radio:
"Attention everyone, attention everyone! We are under attack by mutants and a large powerful monster, and they are forcing us to retreat. Please give assistance if you can. Over." The voice announces, his tone suggest severe concern and breathlessness, indicating he's been running.
I then immediately respond:
"From where did they come from?" I ask calmly.
"I think they came from the kitchen, a secret passage. I get the sense that Neptune personally sent them after us." The voice replies, sounding similar, but calmer after hearing me.
"OK, get yourself to cover and find a place that has a significiant number of allied soldiers, and defend as best as you can, if not then try and go outside, our vehicles can assist you if they come out. We'll be on our way to assist you as soon as we can, all units keep us updated of that monster's location if you see it." I respond to him reassuring him with my voice as best as I can.
Though I wish to calm him, I'm struggling to remain calm myself, as effectively I have to abandon trying to help the fellow Britannians in those rooms, only eliminating several enemies, and have to rush to the location where those mutants and monsters of theirs are wreaking havoc. I only hope that they can be stopped and quickly like before, since the enemy will use them to take control of the estate yet again, which could result in us being back to square 1 with regards recapturing the estate, and I can only hope that with them having less troops now, it'll be easier than before for us.
Despite those thoughts running through my mind along with the concern about how much of a difference our efforts have been, what I do know regarding this, is that there's no use being concerned of such matters, since that's just stress that will get in the way of being able to find a solution to this problem. If anything it should be seen as a relief, since they showed up just before we got on the ropes, which would have taken even longer to get to the outside area near the kitchen, not to mention this is something I've been waiting for Neptune to do, and now she's done it at a time after I've got to rescue some Britannian forces, that were pinned down by the enemy, in which the extra numbers could make all the difference between defeating the monster and it's mutants, and those monstrosities defeating us.
Another positive with regards this new development in this battle for the estate, is that we now know where Neptune could be, or at the very least where some of her or maybe even where most of her strength is, and perhaps where one of her closest friends is at, and if, no when we defeat this monster, we should head for that secret passage in the kitchen and fight our way through, to see if that's where she is, or if there's any clues to her location, or even at the very least is there anything we can do there to effectively sabotage their war effort.
In the meantime though, all we can do is to rush down all the stairs and out of the estate and head towards the area where the kitchen is, in such a way that's quick without us burning through too much energy, and try and establish where exactly they are, and then formulate a plan to deal with that monster and it's minions with all the resources we have available, in which I'm confident should be up to the task.