ARC II chapter 31

Traf looked at his squad and their new addition - Dragon team - and nodded at them to enter their tanks right after the good luck wish was given and the 100 students of KMM left for their own starting position. For this match, his Tiger I Ausf E was chosen as the flag, which also restricted him, Takashi and George from doing and/or trying new stunts in their tank.

And then, the flare went off, signaling the start of the match and he grinned after checking the map of the area that he stuck to the cupola for faster checks of the area and enemy movement, quickly choosing a point that would be the best suited for holing up, his smirk only growing wider.

"Tiger squad, we're moving to Grid F451. Dragon and Москва will scout the perimeter, while Leopon will go hole up in Grid E461. Hippo, go to the sniping position at Grid G420. Panzer vor!" he said to George, who relayed the orders word by word to everyone and then, the quintet of tanks moved away from the rest of the team.

Erika nodded to her escort, a single Tiger II (H) and a Panzer III Ausf M as she reached her chosen hiding spot, the two tanks soon reversing to two nearest side alleys. Only then she relaxed a bit and opened the radio channel to listen in to her team's conversations and issue orders, when needed.

"Do you see the enemy flag?" she asked and soon after, all 17 commanders replied in negative. A sudden feeling of dread then filled her as she heard the answer to her next question. This must be what the Allied nations felt, when they heard that they'll have to face an elite tank crew in a Tiger I, she thought and gulped.

"Do you see their Tiger I or its escort?" This time, the feeling of dread grew stronger and Erika almost panicked then and there, but she quickly caught herself just in time to hear the response to her question.

"Negative. The Tiger I, T-34/85 and Porsche are missing," Koume's voice replied and Erika frantically grabbed the map, looking for all possible places for the possible flag to hide, her eyes scanning the forest on Oarai's left flank, until she found what she was looking for.

"Panzers 2, 4 and 9, go to the forest. They are hiding anywhere from Grid E400 to Grid G500. Smoke them out and if possible, take down Jameson and their flag tank," she ordered, her eyes never leaving the map as her mind went into overdrive.

Two Panthers and a Panzer IV J should be enough to win against Jameson, she thought and marked down the hill that Miho and the rest of her team took refuge on and holed up in there with no sign of intending to leave anytime soon.

"The rest, except my guards, try to smoke out the rest of Oarai's team from their high ground advantage by encircling the hill and hit them mainly from the sides and rear. Do it sneakily, so they won't notice. And if they do, make sure that they call in Jameson for help," she added and focused on the map once again.

Viewing platform for VIP #2

Darjeeling looked at the screen with interest. Itsumi certainly knew what she was doing, but she also unknowingly sent her 2 of her best tanks, along with a downgraded Panzer IV, into a death trap, while 14 others were sent to cut off the possible escape routes for the main force of Oarai's team.

"They are too evenly matched for this match to have a clear winner," Assam muttered next to her and Darjeeling smiled softly as her friend's deduction skills showed themselves once again,reminding her of why she had chosen her as the head of St. Gloriana's spy network.

"All we can do now is only guess the outcome. But… 'What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog,'" Darjeeling added as she kept her eyes on the screen.

"Ah, Dwight D. Eisenhower, isn't it?" Pekoe quickly caught up on the quote, making Darjeeling crack a small smile at her successor's knowledge in this area.

"Indeed," Darjeeling replied and refocused on watching the screen, interested, if only a few months old event would repeat today. But soon, she found her attention shifting towards the forested area, finding the events there somehow more interesting than the encirclement of Oarai's main force.

"We're finished with preparations here!" Yukari reported and Miho nodded at hearing that and looked at their surroundings with her new binoculars - a gift from her dad - to search for enemy tanks, but saw nothing so far. It was certainly strange and worrying.

But then, a bright flash of light came from the bushes and the Mark IV started smoking, the white flag popping soon after, surprising everyone.

"What was that?! Who shot and from where?!" the voice of Momo shouted the thoughts of everyone, just when several other flashes of light appeared and the M3 Lee and B1 Bis were taken out next, while the Type 89B I-Go, her Panzer IV H and both Panthers were saved by the sandbags.

"We're surrounded! Miporin, what should we do?!" Saori shouted/asked and Miho thought for a moment, before deciding on the next course of action.

"Everyone, enter the forest to sneak around them and enter the city!" she commanded, but only her Panzer IV H, VK 16.02 Leopard, Hetzer, and M24 Chaffee made it out, both Panthers and the Type 3 Chi-Nu sacrificing themselves in order for them to escape.

Koume knew that something was wrong. The forest simply had way too many good hiding spots that could've been used by Jameson and his crew. And then there was the fact that the Porsche, T-34/85, StuG III and even the Cromwell were missing. This could mean that they're nearby, she thought and looked around, feeling as if something - or rather, someone - was watching her.

"Be on your guard. They must be hiding somewhere here," she said and squinted her eyes as she saw something moving in parallel with them. It was olive green, which definitely wasn't a natural color of this forest. And she would've dismissed it as her mind playing tricks on her, if it wasn't for what happened next.

The trio of tanks entered a small clearing with a small rock formation in the middle of it, part of which was covered by a bush… Or rather, a bunch of branches that turned the rock formation into a perfect spot for a Tiger I to hole up in. But, unbeknownst to her, it was the wrong Tiger they stumbled upon.

And when Koume recognized the threat, a T-34/85 and a Cromwell drove out from the forest, effectively surrounding her group. "Grid E499 is a trap!" shouted Mauko who was commanding the Panzer IV J and tried to turn her tank's turret…. only to be taken out almost immediately by the T-34/85, but it also gave Koume enough time to think up a way to escape.

"Pop the smoke! We'll use it to escape!" she shouted, quickly slid inside the turret, closed the hatch, and before the tanks from Oarai could react, a smokescreen had already formed around the two escaping tanks, obscuring the Panthers from their view.

A/n:

Hey guys! The next chapter will end ARC II of this story and the next (and possibly last) ARC will start after a few Interlude chapters.

See ya later!