Chapter 110 - Nishizumi Tigers
[Lavender Fields - Aix-en-Provence, France]"Erika, Kay, Darjeeling, Kaede, and Mika, will you accept me as your husband?"
"Please make us your brides!"
"I love you all so very much! I'll take care of you always and forever, my loves!"
"We love you too, so very much! Our one and only White Tiger!"
[JSS Hakugei - Autonomous Port of Paris]
(It was already night time when Gero and his fiancés arrived back on their carrier. When they boarded the boat they were suddenly surprised by everyone on the ship congratulating them of the engagement)
"CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!" everyone shouted
(Fireworks were suddenly fired up into the air to celebrate the engagement of Gero and his fiancés. They were really surprised and couldn't help but smile and cry again. They felt very blessed to have such amazing and caring comrades, friends, and family. The girls were showing the other girls and their families their rings while Gero was being interrogated by his own parents)
"We'll have a proper engagement party for you guys after the match so look forward to it!" Tsuneo said
"Congratulations, my son!" Shiho said
"Thank you, oka-chan, oto-chan!"
"So tell me son, how do you plan on making this harem of yours happen?"
"Hmm, do you know why Polygamy is illegal in Japan?"
"Ugh, because it's the law?" Tsuneo answered
"Exactly, so if you were in my shoes, what would you do?"
"Well first off, I would be killed by your mother for answering this, and second, I'd break the law!"
"Congratulations, you just got yourself arrested my dear father."
"Then tell me how you would do it then smartass!"
"Simple, ask for immunity."
"Are you saying that our government, which is known for being stubborn, will grant you immunity?" Shiho chuckled
"For free?"
"Nope, I made a deal with them back in Japan for the destruction of Pandora. I will be granted immunity from all laws when we return to Japan."
"WHAT?!" his parents reacted
"Shhh! You're the only ones that know this so please be quiet!"
"Not even your fiancés know?"
"Nope!"
"You and your crazy shenanigans again! This is certainly taking it up to another level!" Shiho said
"But I do like the idea of being immune from all the laws! Sounds fun and exciting! If I plan on doing something illegal I'll let you know!" Tsuneo said
"Sure! I'll write your name first on the police report!"
"You little shit!"
"Geez, you both are really father and son!"
"Yes we are!"
(Miho and Maho then approached Gero to congratulate him but he realized that Maho had a very sad expression on her face)
"Congratulations onii-chan! I wish you happiness with Errin and the others!" Miho said
"Thank you Miho-chan!"
"Come on onee-chan! Stop pouting already!"
"Maho..?"
"Onii-sama..congratulations..on your engagement!"
"Why do you look not happy for me?"
"I am! It's just that..I thought for a long time that it'd be just us as a family and it never crossed my mind of you getting married. It just felt so sudden that's all."
"I know it was sudden and I never really found the time to tell you until it happened. Forgive me."
"You don't need to apologize onii-sama! I should be the one apologizing for being this way when I should be smiling for you and your..fiancés. I'm just scared of losing you again and growing apart from you!"
(Gero then hugged Maho tightly and gave her pats on her head)
"Oh Maho, you know we would never grow apart! And you won't lose me! I will still be your brother until the very end."
"Onii-sama..I love you.."
"I love you too my little sister.."
"Can't you just marry me as well?" Maho suddenly said
"Onee-chan?!" Miho reacted
"Ehh..I..I don't think that could be possible.."
"Am I not good enough?"
"Of course not! You are an amazing person and an amazing woman! I just believe that there are lines that we shouldn't cross."
"Why?"
"Eeehhh.."
(Maho then continued teasing Gero about marrying her and she enjoyed seeing his brother get flustered and think of different excuses. The next day the team started practicing and training for their upcoming match and before they realized a week had already passed and it was already the day of the Quarter-Finals. They went to the tournament stadium of the French Team with their tanks and waited at their starting point. The crowd cheers and shouts when the JNST entered the battlefield. Their team has gained numerous fans from all over the world after witnessing them during the Elimination rounds. The French Team was the next to enter the battlefield and the cheers for their team was louder than the JNST since this is their home field and this much support was expected. Both teams parked their tanks at a standby area and all crew members were to go to the center of the field to greet their opponents. At the middle were fifteen official judges of the I.T.A that will be responsible for judging and watching the entire match)
"This is an official Quarter-Final Match of the 18th International Tankery Tournament! The participants are the French Tankery Team and Japanese National Senshado Team! The mode will be Annihilation Match! The team that destroys all the tanks of the other team wins! Both teams greet each other!"
"It's great to see you again, Commandant Kaede! I heard you got engaged! Congratulations!" greeted the French commander
"Thank you very much! It's great to see you too, Commander Amandine!"
"Who's the lucky man to be able to have a fine woman such as yourself?" Amandine asked
"It's the White Tiger Commander, and I think I'm the lucky one, not him!"
"I see, well then, let us have an amazing match of tankery to celebrate!"
"I agree! Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!" Kaede bowed
"ONEGAISHIMASU!" the whole J.N.S.T Team greeted and bowed
(Both shook each other's hands and both teams returned back to their tanks. After all tank crews were boarded and ready a large timer was seen in a big screen and counted down from 30 seconds)
[ 5 ]
[ 4 ]
[ 3 ]
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[ 1 ]
[ 0 ]
"Sensha Zenshin!" Kaede ordered
[Tanks forward!]
[JNST Tank Lineup]
Type 98 Ke-Ni B Light Tank [x8]
Type 4 Chi-To Medium Tank [x30]
Type 5 Ho-Ri II Tank Destroyer [x8]
Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E Heavy Tank [4]
(All tanks of the JNST now advanced in a spread out formation with their tanks making a single horizontal line towards the positions of the French Team. )
"Alright, you all know the plan! We only have one shot to execute it perfectly and if we fail then the chances of losing gets higher! Focus up!" Kaede said
"Hai!"
"Looks like Commander Kaede is fired up!" Hajime said
"Who wouldn't be fired up after becoming the fiancé of Matsu-kun?" Ken teased
"Right? Not just her but the other four also are fired up I'm sure!" Ono said
"Aniki, since you have five fiancés, do you also have five engagement rings?" Kin asked
"I do! I have one on each ring finger and the other three I'm wearing as a necklace!"
"How much were those?" Ono asked
"Why? Plan on giving one to somebody?"
"Maybe.."
"I'll tell you after the match!"
(All of a sudden the JNST team was bombarded with shells all across their formation. They arrived at the defensive position of the French Team and their tanks were waiting in an ambush as expected.)
"All tanks return fire!" Shiori ordered
"FIRE!"
(Both sides now began firing at each other non-stop with a variety of shells. Two long lines of tanks firing at each other resembling an 18th century musket firing line. The French team clearly had the advantage for they had solid cover while the JNST only had minimal. The Japanese team were the first one to take casualties with two of their tanks being white flagged.)
"Keep up the fire! We have the advantage!" Amandine ordered
"Don't stop firing! Whittle down their numbers as much as you can!" Kaede ordered
(The tank destroyers of the JNST were doing some work and picking off targets they could hit. After about fifteen minutes of non-stop firing the JNST lost fifteen tanks while the French team lost only five.)
"I think it's about time, all tanks pull back!" Kaede ordered
"Roger! Keep firing while retreating! Cover fire!" Shiori ordered
(The JNST tanks now started to reverse and slowly retreat away from the French team.)
"Commandant, they're retreating!" said one of the French tankers
"I can see that. They gave up way too easily compared to their match against Brazil."
"Losing fifteen tanks right away would make anyone retreat." Antoine said
"But it looked as if they planned on retreating after losing that specific number of their tanks."
"You think it's a trap?" Antoine asked
"We'll know soon enough, all tanks advance! Chase them toward the ends of the battlefield!"
"Oui commandant!"
(The tanks of the French team now advanced and started chasing the JNST as ordered by Amandine. Their tanks were SOMUA S35s, Renault AMC 35s, Char B1 Bis, and ARL-44 tanks. The moment their tanks emerged from their ambush positions the JNST stopped retreating and started advancing once again)
"All tanks forward and re-engage!" Kaede ordered
"FIRE!"
(A barrage of shells landed at the French tanks caught out in the open and white flagged a bunch of them right away. Amandine then saw four Tiger Is charging through the middle of the battlefield at full speed. It was the White Tiger along with Erika, Miho and Maho's Tiger tanks in a diamond formation of their own.)
"Let's go, Nishizumi Tigers!"
"I like the sound of that!" Miho smiled
"Right behind you, onii-sama!" Maho smiled
"I don't have the last name yet though.." Erika said
"You have my blood in your veins so you're already a Nishizumi by blood before by name!"
"Stop them! All tanks fire at those tiger tanks!" Antoine ordered
(This was the weakness of the French team's strategy was that their momentum could easily be stopped during the time they left their ambush positions and the moment they would advance to the next one. The Nishizumi Tigers didn't stop at nothing and dodged all the shells fired at them while returning fire as well. They were able to white flag a couple of tanks before penetrating the center of formation of the French Team.)
"Alright we're through!" Miho cheered
"What's next?" Erika asked
"Miho and Maho will go left while me and Erika will-"
(All of a sudden they heard loud bangs from afar and they instantly felt a chill as the intense killing intent was sent towards them)
"SCATTER!"
(The four tigers broke away from their diamond formation then large explosions erupted at their center. If they were a second too late they probably would've been white flagged based on how big the explosion was)
"From where?!" Sango reacted
"Five hundred meters in front of us! I see five silhouettes!" Kin reported
"What the hell are those!?" Sheska reacted
(They saw tanks advancing in front of them and they couldn't believe how big they were. The tanks were definitely taller and longer than the Tiger I tanks and had bigger guns. They were super-heavy French tanks called FCM F1s and were escorted by two tanks each at its flanks, a Char B1 Bis and an ARL-44 tank.)
"So those were the tanks they were hiding!" Ken said
"It's my first time seeing a tank with two turrets!" Kin said
"Incoming!"
(The super-heavy tanks opened fired with their 90mm and 47mm guns and shook the ground as the rounds impacted around the Tiger Is)
"I never thought we'd have to use these so early in the competition." Antoine said
"It was supposed to be our trump card against the stronger teams but I guess Japan was already one of them. Destroy them all!" Amandine ordered
"Oui commandant!"
(The original plan was for Gero's team to attack the main formation of the French team from behind after they broke through the middle with a pincer attack from the JNST main formation. But now Gero's team are the ones trapped in between the French tank formation and the super-heavy tanks)
"Change of plans! We take out the super-heavy tanks! Kaede and the others will deal with the other French tanks behind us!"
"Roger!"
"Miho and Maho will take the two on the left while Erika and our tank will take the two on the right!"
"What about the one in the middle?" Hajime asked
"I'll handle it! Get me as close as possible to it Ken!"
"Aye aye!"
(The three Tiger Is now accelerated towards their targets while the White Tiger went to the middle one. The super-heavy tank commanded by the vice commander of the French team and the tank escorts started firing at the White Tiger but were easily dodged by Ken's driving skills)
"FIRE!"
"On the way!" Kin shouted
(The 88mm shell from the White Tiger's main gun was fired and white flagged the Char B1 bis on its right flank. The White Tiger then drove past the super-heavy tank and drifted behind it then fired another shell at the rear armor of the ARL-44. The FCM F1 was indeed a formidable tank with its high caliber guns but all of that was useless the moment the White Tiger stuck beside it. It could not turn its turrets fast enough to aim at the nimble White Tiger)
"Damn you! Get away from me!" Antoine shouted
"Not gonna happen!"
"Machine guns fire!"
(The machine guns of the super-heavy tank started firing at the White Tiger and forced Gero to take cover inside their tank)
"He didn't have to get that angry.."
"That's a lot of bullets!" Kin said
"How many machine guns does that thing have anyways?" Ono asked
"I think there's six.." Hajime said
"Alright, take out the machine guns little bro!"
"Roger!"
(King then started firing at the machine guns of the FCM F1 and destroyed all six of them. When the hail of bullets stopped Gero was now able to get out of his cupola and grabbed his anti-tank rifle.)
"A little bit closer Ken!"
"How about this?"
"Perfect!"
(Gero then jumped on top of the super-heavy tank and shocked everyone watching the match. It was nothing short of madness for a person to casually climb on top of a tank as big as that like it was nothing)
"You guys go and help Erika out! I'll be fine here!"
"Roger!"
"Hey! What the heck are you doing! Get off this instant!" Antoine shouted
"Get away..get off..are you perhaps an introvert?"
"Shut up!"
(The turrets of the FCM F1 started rotating in every direction attempting to push Gero off the tank using the gun barrels. Gero started jumping and dodging to not get hit by the long iron pipes)
"Hey stop that! It's dangerous! This isn't Fall Guys you know!"
"Then get off already!"
"Nope!"
"Merde! All tanks ignore the Tigers! It'll be impossible to hit them the way they are moving so fast! Focus all firepower towards the enemy tank formation in front of us and support our Commandant!"
"Roger!"
(While Gero was playing some Fall Guys with Antoine the other FCM F1 super-heavy tanks were being decimated by Gero's team. )
"FIRE!" Maho ordered
"Firing!"
(Maho's Tiger I fired its 88mm shell and penetrated the thin side armor of the FCM F1. This destroyed its engine and a white flag emerged on top of it. Miho on the other hand lured one of the FCM F1s into a ditch and as it fell down it could no longer reverse out of it. Miho's gunner, Hana, took careful aim on the top armor of the super-heavy tank and fired. The shell penetrated the top armor with ease and white flagged it instantly)
"Commandant! Two of our FCM F1s have been white flagged!"
"Quoi!?" Amandine reacted
(Amandine grabbed her binoculars and looked at the wreckage of the two FCM F1s on their rear right flank. Miho and Maho then turned their attention to the main tank formation of the French team and started attacking them from behind)
"They destroyed those super-heavies by themselves?!"
"What do we do commandant?!"
"Don't falter! We still have three! Hold out until they catch up to us!"
(Amandine then heard loud explosions on the opposite side so she took a look with her binoculars and fear was instilled in her. The two other FCM F1s on their rear left flank were destroyed and white flags can be seen on top of them. Erika's tiger and the White Tiger were able to destroy their targets with ease as well.)
"T-This can't be happening.."
(The only FCM F1 remaining was the one in the middle that was being commanded by her vice commander. It was already smoking from all the anti-tank shots given to it by Gero and it was no longer moving but there was still no white flag)
"Oh! Looks like Erika and the others are done with their FCM F1s! Time to finish this I guess!"
(Gero then aimed his Type 97 Anti-Tank Rifle at the center of the FCM F1 and fired its last bullet down its engine, destroying it completely. A white flag popped on top of the tank and everyone saw Gero standing on top of the fallen steel beast holding his rifle with a smile on his face)
"How is this even possible..a single man took down a super-heavy tank on his own..with an anti-tank rifle.." Amandine said while watching at the madness in front of her
(As the commander of the French team was distracted by the shocking turn of events, her tank was already being targeted from afar by the Tank Ace of Japan. The 105mm shell from Jouko's high velocity gun was fired without hesitation and traveled 900 meters across the battlefield and landed perfectly on the side armor of Amandine's ARL-44. This accurate shot shook her entire tank and snapped her back to reality. She gazed upon her smoking tank and saw the white flag on it.)
"Their commander and vice commander have now been taken out! Finish up the rest of them!" Kaede ordered
"Roger!"
(With the French team's chain of command taken out, it didn't took long for the JNST to taken out the remainder of their team and win the match)
"ALL OF THE FRENCH TEAM'S TANKS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED! THE WINNER OF THIS QUARTER-FINALS MATCH IS THE JAPANESE NATIONAL SENSHADO TEAM WITH 20 TANKS REMAINING!"
(Loud cheers and shouts were heard and the JNST were celebrating their victory. At the same time the cries of disappointment and despair could be heard from the French team and from those that supported them. Kaede walked up towards Amandine and shook her hand)
"Thank you for the wonderful match!" Kaede smiled
"Merci beaucoup Commandant Kaede! Your future husband sure is something!"
"Right? I'm guessing this is the first time you've seen something like that happen in a match?"
"It definitely was, I'm glad to be able to witness something like that in my years of tankery!" Amandine smile
"Then I suggest you continue watching us! I can guarantee you that you'll be able to witness more things like that in the upcoming battles!"
"I guess I'll watch your team win against the Conquering Princess then. May the pride and honor of our team guide you all the way to the finals!"
"We shall pour all our heart and soul to exceed your expectations of us!" Kaede smiled
"Well then, Au revoir Commandant Kaede!"
"Sayonara, Commander Amandine!"
(Both commanders now parted ways and went back to their teams. With this win the JNST are now proceeding to the Semi-Finals)
Coming Up Next : Chapter 111 - Contract of Death
Author's Note :
Hi everyone! Here's the chapter! Japan has won against the French Team and is now proceeding to the Semi-Finals! The Nishizumi Tigers made a big impact on everyone and showed them how superior they are to others! Even though it looked like it was an easy match the French Team still managed to destroy 30 tanks of the JNST before they got wiped out! They were still very strong and were worthy of being one of the top teams in the tournament! The next chapters will become more and more intense so hold on to your seats! See you at the next chapter!