Chapter 6: Woodland Snare

Weaponry: GLS-30

Short for 'Gallian Long Shot', the GLS-30 is an experimental semi-automatic sniper rifle created by the Gallian National Arsenal, so far only available for the GSS. It manages to be slightly shorter than most sniper rifles while maintaining an insane amount of precision and range, but it is also heavier than other models since it carries a larger caliber.

This feature allows this rifle to penetrate any personal protection available on the market and even to pierce lightly armored vehicle. In theory, a trained shooter might kill the driver of an APC or an armored recon car to stop it in its tracks.

It is also quite expensive, which is the main reason why it is reserved to the Special Forces and it is granted only to those operatives who show a nearly flawless proficiency with this type of weapon.


April 23, 1935.

Marching through the desert again and through the edges of the forests had taken some time, especially because the Division never had suffered such an amount of wounded, meaning that several trucks had to be reserved to quickly evacuate the wounded.

As such, the regimental commanders had decided that Asso would escort the convoy ahead and back to safety. The trucks used meant that the Third Regiment and half of the Second were left without them, so they had to proceed on foot, alongside their squad tanks.

It was thus expected that they would reach the capital in five more days, and the main problem was that the slow march made them tasty targets.

Sure, the Imperials were not supposed to be in that area, but the troops were restless. Squad 7 in particular, since they were the ones closing the long column, felt like there was something odd in the air.

In the meantime, they had stopped in a relatively concealed area along the track, and they were taking a brief rest. And in doing so, Kiril and Sheila found themselves sitting under a tree, talking about the recent events. Sheila in particular had seemed quite with her heads in the clouds.

"What are you thinking?" Kiril asked gently.

Sheila sighed slightly and replied. "I was thinking about the General. The fact that he is a Valkyrur." she whispered.

"What about it?"

"You heard his story, right? His people are the reason why us Darcsen have to live the way we do. Or did I misinterpret?" she asked embittered.

"No." Kiril replied calmly.

"Right." Sheila added even angrier. "And there's also the fact that you knew and you didn't tell me."

This time, Kiril replied firmly. "Sheila, you know I love you and that I hate keeping secrets to you. So I beg you to understand that I simply couldn't tell you. I was under strict orders not to tell anybody. Only the General can disclose this."

Sheila didn't have any problem understanding. "You're right. Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything." she replied with a sincerely contrived tone.

In response, Kiril smiled, leaned in and kissed her.

Not far from there, there were Welkin, Alicia, Isara, Largo, Rosie and Ramal all gathered around the Edelweiss, discussing what their next move should be.

"You still think we should send out some scouts? We haven't seen any trace of Imperial presence around here." Welkin said to the GSS.

"I know, it's just...I feel it in my bones. We're not alone, here." Ramal said with a hushed urgency.

"You sure you simply didn't sleep well?" Rosie said in return.

"I'm serious, here." Ramal replied frustrated. "We have no intel on this area. If we don't…"

He stopped talking and turned around, full on guard as he took his Lansealer.

"Ram?" Welkin asked.

Ramal shushed and signaled them to spread out while he advanced in the opposite direction and took cover behind a tree. Welkin motioned Alicia to follow and they went to check the edge of the trail, below which there was another one where Welkin thought there could be enemies.

But then something whistled in the air.

"GET BACK!" Ramal yelled, but to no avail.

A sudden ragnite explosion occurred behind Welkin and Alicia, who both yelled before being slammed down the edge.

As the blue flame and the smoke dissipated, the rest of the team could only state with horror that the Lieutenant and the Sergeant had disappeared.

"Welks!" Isara exclaimed, trying to run forward, but she was promptly stopped by Largo, who grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Stop! Don't be an idiot. Who's gonna drive the tank if you get killed?"

Isara clenched her fist in frustration, but that argument simply couldn't be countered.

Then Kiril rushed to them.

"What's going on?" he said urgently.

"Contact!" Ramal said loudly as he aimed his weapon. "At least twelve. Behind us!"

It was a night of full moon, meaning that there was enough light for the two trained GSS to see nearly as if it was day, but also for the Imperials to feel confident enough to attack them.

"Largo, we gotta move our butts, now!" Rosie exhorted. With Alicia and Welkin out of the picture, command of Squad 7 fell on him.

"Just go. We'll get off your back!" Kiril added as he and Ramal took position and started firing, immediately gunning two Imperials down and forcing the others to scramble for cover.

"Damn it. Let's fall back! We need to find a better position!" Largo ordered to the rest of the unit that only now had finally gathered.

As the Squad retreated, with Isara jumping back inside the Edelweiss to take it away, the two GSS kept firing with surgical precision and either killing or wounding almost the entire enemy vanguard, but there were more Imperials that kept coming.

"Time to set our fireworks." Kiril quipped.

"You read my mind." Ramal replied.

Then they both fired at the same moment with their grenade launchers.

The explosive shells slammed into the ground in the midst of the Imperials and the explosion was intensified by the momentum of the shells. The explosions sent at least an Imperial flying as screams of the wounded filled the air.

Seeing that their enemies were starting to fire quite erratically, the GSS distanced themselves and fired another salvo of grenades from a larger angle, to give the impression that they were more than two.

Apparently it worked, for an Imperial NCO quickly called for a retreat while the GSS were basically invisible at night with their black uniform.

As soon as they saw the Imperials pulling back and dragging their wounded, the two GSS also disappeared to rejoin their friends.


Two cobalt flames were dancing in the deep forestry outside Randgriz, with only the Nameless spectating. Riela was wielding her lance and shield, constantly charging and on the offensive. On the other side, Erwin was wielding something much different: a two-handed sword.

A sword made of marmium just like the lances and shields that could be found in the museums, but this one was one of a kind. It was the only one left from ancient times and had long been preserved on Reite. But the elders had granted it to him since he was grown enough to wield it.

Now, that sword clashed with Riela's lance, stopping it and pushing it into the ground.

Riela jerked back and freed her weapon, only to see Erwin the moment later already placed on her side and then hitting her with the elbow right above the hips.

Riela gurgled in pain and fell on her knee. The next second, Erwin was hovering his blade over her neck.

"And...you're dead."

Riela sighed and seemed to let loose a little.

"No rest!" Erwin immediately scolded. "This is endurance training. You need to learn to keep the transformation for as long as you can."

Riela kept panting, but she powered through and stood up again, even if she wobbled a little.

"Good." Erwin said. "Come on. Throw some hits."

Riela grunted and swung a little, but she simply couldn't go any longer.

"All right." Erwin concluded, lowering his flame but not extinguishing it. "Let's do it this way: just focus on keeping your transformation. Nothing else is needed."

The young Valkyria focused and took some breaths before managing to stabilize and regaining control without shutting off her flame.

At that point, they reached the rest of the Unit, alongside three new recruits...recruits from Reite.

"Freya. Milia. Berthe." Erwin started. "I hope the demonstration was enough to make you understand what you're going up against. Still, do you want to take a shot?"

The three young Valkyrias looked at each other. They were respectively 18, 26 and 29 years old, and part of the few people that practiced fencing back on the island as a hobby. After Erwin's last visit to find volunteers for Cygnus, they had also asked to join the war.

And Erwin was going to need any Valkyria he could find, so he had little choice but to accept and start training them as hard as he could.

Milia was about to step forward, when a familiar voice interrupted them.

"My, my. Looks like we're stepping up in the Valkyria Department."

Erwin turned his head. At first he was surprised to hear and see Wilbur coming all the way there, but then he smirked. "Out for an evening walk, Your Excellency?"

"I can't let the desk be my mistress all day." Wilbur replied before he went and shook hands with his old friend. "Everyone. I would like to extend Gallia's gratitude for your efforts at Barious." he then said to Kurt and his unit.

The Captain made a stern salute. "It was just our duty, Your Excellency."

"Still. Without your help, our losses at Barious might have been disastrous. And most importantly, now we know that we can fight back against Maximilian's strongest pawn."

"We appreciate the words, Wilbur." Erwin said. "But I doubt you came all this way just to congratulate the boys."

"I do have new intel. Well...a hint is a better term. It's about those Darcsen troopers you met."

Both Erwin and the 422 went full ears.

"I found a piece of news in the archives. Nearly six years ago, the imperial security services managed to snuff out a terrorist plot to kill the Emperor. The terrorists belonged to an underground group called 'Darcsen Liberation Front'."

Erwin pondered on it. "I think I remember reading something like that. But why do you think it's relevant to this?"

"Officially, the plotters were all executed, but I can't help but wonder: what if Maximilian recruited some of them? Especially their leader, Dahau."

"Who is he?"

"The leader of the movement. And after reconstructing some of their previous attacks against the Empire, it's clear that this guy is no amateur to military tactics. Especially hit-and-run, like he did at Barious."

"Do we have any intel about him?" Kurt asked.

"The Darcsen Liberation Front was a movement that fought for the establishment of an independent Darcsen nation. Now, we know that Maximilian gained Jaeger's service by promising him to restore an independent Fhirald, which has been annexed by the Empire just a couple of years ago."

"So you think Dahau might have fallen for the same false promise?"

"I'm just saying the possibility is there, and we should find out sooner rather than too late." Wilbur concluded before turning toward the 422.

"Nameless. I have a special assignment for you." he declared and then whipped out a rolled paper in his right hand. "It is imperative that you find this mysterious Darcsen unit and confirm their identity and that of its commanders, alongside its objectives. Once you do that, report back to me and the General. Nobody else must know of your mission, for now." he then extended the paper. "Here is a letter with my seal and that of Her Highness that allows you to operate independently, outside the military structure."

The 422 looked all quite surprised at all that formality. They were used to having the General simply tell them an objective to be solved in a few hours. This much independence, corroborated by the Prime Minister and the Princess themselves was quite big.

"Of course, there will be a lofty bonus for all of you, should you succeed." Wilbur also added, and the mood of at least half the squad went up.

"It will be done, Your Excellency." Kurt replied firmly as he took the paper. "Do you happen to have any news about their whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately not. If they follow Maximilian, it's safe to assume they might be involved in some of the Empire's critical operations. Right now, it seems they are preparing an offensive up north, to push into Fouzen. I can only suggest you start there."

Kurt saluted and then turned around, gesturing his team to gather around so that they could decide a plan of action.

"They're preparing to attack Fouzen?" Erwin then asked.

"Intelligence reports that General Gregor is making a severe restructuring of the imperial forces in Central Gallia. And they still have a large numerical advantage, so it seems most likely."

"Who is defending it?"

"For now, General Tanberg and...well, Damon."

"Oh, goodness…" Erwin muttered.

"I know. But we need you elsewhere."


With the two GSS scattering the first wave, Squad 7 had managed to hide into a semi-hidden space in the forestry. Now all the remaining members of the platoon had gathered and Sheila was trying repeatedly to contact Captain Varrot.

"Nothing." she said after another failed attempt. "The Imps must be saturating the comms."

"Just keep trying." Kiril insisted. "But we can't just stay here indefinitely."

"So what do we do? The boss is still missing." Rosie replied.

Indeed, after the fact that Welkin had disappeared had sunken into the hearts of everybody, morale of the squad has taken a severe blow. Yet, sending out scouting parties was dangerous now that they knew that the Imperials probably had a large force in that area.

"I'll go look for them." Ramal suddenly declared with no hesitation.

The group turned toward him. The young Corporal had an incredibly confident attitude.

"Alone, in this dark?" Largo asked a little skeptical.

"You don't become a GSS if you let night stop you. Besides, there's enough moonlight for me to look for tracks. I saw where Welkin and Alicia fell: there was quite a dense vegetation below, and it wasn't that high. I know they're still alive."

There was a bit of a lull, as the Militia felt like accepting would be abusing Ramal's goodwill, and if something were to happen to him, it would have been quite hard to explain it to General Absenkirch.

"Well, you do are the best at following tracks." Kiril said with a calm tone. "But the Imperials will have sent patrols all around the area. You might need a distraction." he then turned toward one of the scouts. "Corporal Coren. Can you bring me that map, please?"

Juno didn't waste time and put the map on the ground, then illuminating with one of the small field lanterns available. With that, Kiril knelt and took a pen from the pocket near his left breast while Ramal also went and knelt down on the opposite side of the map.

"Welkin and Alicia were sent off here." Ramal said, quickly recalling where their previous position was. Then he traced with his finger until his mental calculations were done. "We're...here."

Kiril went and scribbled a point. "We went opposite to the Imps, but we don't know if they were flanking us in respect to their base." he said. "However, if they felt confident enough to attack us, they must have one, and pretty well-defended."

"They didn't try to stop the entire Regiment, though." Ramal commented. "They attacked us because we're the rearguard. Which means they are not that strong."

The Militias looked in awe as, for the next two minutes, the two GSS studied the area and determined where the imperial base would most likely be.

"Boy, am I glad you're on our side." Largo complimented at the end.

"But now it's your call, Sergeant." Kiril said. "What do we do? Do we lay low until Ram finds Welkin and Alicia, or do we provide a diversion?"

Largo stroke his chin lightly and mumbled. "I hate to sit around and do nothing, but the Edelweiss is without its gunner. It would only be a giant target."

"I can take care of it." Kiril replied calmly. "We are trained to at least drive and fire a tank until it breaks."

"Right. And we already have the best tank pilot in the world." Ramal said, looking at Isara.

The girl blushed a little, but replied firmly "Firing with a tank turret is arguably the easiest part to learn. I'll do my best to keep it steady for you."

"I appreciate it, but our priority is dodging bullets." Kiril reassured. "All right...Largo?"

"Ah, damn it. Let's do this. Ram, get prepared for your excursion. Juno, assemble the Scouts and go ahead."

"Yes, Sergeant." Juno replied with a quick salute.

As everyone scrambled to their posts, Ramal took another map of the area to take with him, refilled his canteen and magazines and prepared to move out.

"Ramal." he heard and turned around, finding Isara with her hands nervously crossed in front of her. "I…" she started timidly. "I want to thank you." she then said.

Ramal smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Isara made a timid smile, too, but she also looked worried. "Yes. I think that is. But please...come back alive. I don't want to lose another friend."

Ramal approached and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, making her look up to him. "You'll see. I'll be back with them by daylight. Then we will all return to base and Alicia will bake us something amazing."

Isara found the strength to chuckle and reply with a more serene voice. "Yes. I can't wait."

Ramal smiled one last time before putting on his mask and walk away, back to where they were previously attacked. At the same time, Squad 7 marched out into the other direction, seeking a confrontation with the Imperials.


On the other side of the ocean, the sun was just starting to settle. Adrien was finishing reading the last documents of the day and already savoring the moment he would return home. After finally compiling the last report, he secured what he had to in his safe, grabbed his coat and hat and finally left the office, closing the door behind him.

As he walked toward the stairs of the three-store building that was his office inside the perimeter of Project Cygnus, Adrien was intercepted by Andy.

"Mr. Agusta. Do you have a moment?" he said with a certain haste.

"Andy, you know you can just call me Adrien." the businessman replied merrily. "Now, what's the matter?"

"We might have a breakthrough, look here." Andy said as he took a sheet of paper from the file he had in his right hand. "Me and Bethany were talking with the Valkyrias this afternoon. At one point, Thereia said something about their technology that just gave me an idea: what if we create a portable reactor that can be refilled with their ragnite-based powers?"

"A reactor? Like a portable battery?"

"Pretty much. It's a smaller version of the reactors that we are supposed to produce for the Cygnus fleet, but get this: these one only require the Valkyria to transfer her energy inside of it, and then the battery will simply go on and do its job with the stored energy."

Adrien was honestly impressed, yet he was also trying to figure what the actual point of his future son-in-law was.

"Yeah, I guess we could make engines with this. Or even slap them inside an energy plant."

"Well, yes, but don't you see the point?" Andy asked all on fire. "With this project, we might be able to create a bomb that will only need to be loaded before detonating."

Adrien barred his eyes while Andy finished.

"It wouldn't require the Valkyrias to blow themselves up as the final phase of Cygnus plans. They only need to load one of these, set a timer and get away before it explodes."

"My God...are you saying…"

"That Hilde, Vurne and Thereia don't have to die to complete the mission."

Adrien took another moment to let that sink and then chuckled some stress out. He also put an arm around Andy's neck and pulled him in. "That's my boy for you! Excellent work."

Andy smiled, but also replied cautiously. "We need to build it, first. We're gonna need some additional funding."

"You know that's the last of our problems." Adrien reassured. "I want you to start working on this first thing tomorrow. Erwin will certainly love to hear this once I tell him."

Andy seemed a little worried. "Are you sure it's safe to transmit that intel?"

Adrien sighed and realized it was time to spill the beans. "Andy, I'm telling you this because I already trust you like a son."

"I became the man I am only thanks to you, sir. You know your secrets are safe with me."

"Good...then I'm telling you, right after you and Beth will put rings on each other, I'm going back to Gallia."

Now Andy's eyes buzzed out. "What?!"

"I can't bear the idea that I'm safe all the way here, while my friends are over there, risking their lives daily. I know I can leave the direction of this factory to you and Beth. I will return to Gallia and oversee the factory at Fouzen."

"But...Adrien...you might die."

"Still nothing compared to the soldiers on the frontline." Adrien replied calmly. "Besides, we know that the Imperials are always creating new weapons. If I go to Gallia, I can make a first-hand assessment of their strength and come up with better countermeasures."

"Beth won't take this lightly."

Adrien chuckled. "I'm sure she won't. She got her mother's strong-willingness. But after all, I may have left Gallia, but Gallia never left me. I simply can't stay right here when I can give a greater contribution over there. How would you feel if Vinland was invaded?"

To that, Andy had no answer, at least none that needed to be made explicit.


The trails were indeed there, and still relatively fresh since the attack had happened not even two hours before Ramal came back. He found the tracks of Gallian military boots, but he also noticed that the smaller ones were walking impaired: the left tracks were more marked, while the right foot seemed to have been barely put on the ground.

That could only mean that Alicia was wounded. Perhaps she just sprained an ankle, considering that the more they went forward, the more the right foot seemed to regain some footing.

Nonetheless, as the very first lights of the day started to break the night sky, Rama reached what was clearly a cottage deep down the forest. Probably belonging to someone rich who enjoyed hunting or hiking. He also noticed that there was third set of tracks...one made of Imperial boots.

Just to be sure, Ramal checked his carbine and then approached the door to peek inside.

Only to suddenly see Welkin and Alicia carrying out a dead body with imperial armor.

"Welkin. Alicia." he said in a hushed tone.

The other two were startled, but when they recognized their companion, relaxed a little.

"Hi, Ramal." said Welkin. "Did you come all the way to get us?" he added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Is there any other reason?" Ramal returned. "What happened?"

The two finished laying down the body on the ground, then Alicia replied. "He came in at one point, already dying. We did what we could but...it wasn't enough." she said grimly.

Ramal went and inspected the dead Imperial. He seemed quite young, maybe 22 years old. His dying expression was quite serene, considering the multiple shrapnel in his chest.

"Looks like the others already engaged." he stated coldly.

"What do you mean?" Welkin asked confused.

"While I came to look for you, Kiril and the others went on to attack the Imps to provide a diversion. I suppose this guy was caught up in the middle."

"They engaged? So they are still in combat?" Alicia asked worried.

"I don't know. I kept radio silence, but I haven't heard any echo of shooting for a while. Nonetheless, let's bury him and join the others."

"Right." Welkin said firmly, then the three of them all took the shovels they had in their gear and quickly dug a hole large enough to lay down the body of the soldier and then covered it with dirt and a few rocks to protect it from predatory animals.

"Welkin, I...I couldn't do anything for that poor man." Alicia said after they had finished burying and make a short prayer for the dead man.

"That's not true." Welkin replied quite confident in his statement. "His face when he died was peaceful. You did everything in your power."

"I guess you're right. Thank you, Welkin." Alicia replied a little heartened.

"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should really move." Ramal urged.

As if on cue, he suddenly heard the sound of sticks breaking behind him and he immediately clicked his Lansealer. Just a moment later, two imperial shocktroopers came out, aiming their own weapons.

"Lower your weapon!" one of them intimated.

"After you!" Ramal replied defiantly.

There was a stall as the two shocktroopers were then followed by an Imperial officer with his formal uniform and a scout. Then the officer seemed to notice the grave with the rifle planted on top of it and the helmet leaning on it. He signaled his troopers to lower their weapons and the scout to inspect.

To avoid any useless escalations, Ramal also lowered his carbine.

It took only a few seconds before the scout realized who that grave was for.

"Sir...these are Fritz's."

The officer stepped forward and spoke with his heavy highborn accent. "Are you the ones who laid him to rest?"

The Gallians nodded. Then one of the shocktroopers went to check inside the wooden hut.

"There are signs of medical treatment inside the house, sir." he noted, a little surprised and perhaps grateful.

"Tell me, then." the officer said. "Explain to me the reasons why you attempted to save his life."

"He was delirious." Welkin replied calmly and empathically. "He was calling for his mother. We might be enemies in this war, but we all have families waiting for us. As a human being, I couldn't just stand on the side and do nothing."

One of the troopers approached his officer. "We always called him a momma's boy, sir. And now…" he lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, Fritz. I'm sorry we couldn't be there, for you."

Despite everything, the young Gallians could not help but share the moment of grief.

"And you, son?" the officer asked Welkin. "Do you have a family, too?"

"Yes. I have a little sister." Welkin replied calmly, then he added "And I have another sort of family: the soldiers of my Squad."

The officer nodded. "I see. I have a wife and a daughter back home. But I feel the same as you: my men are like a second family, to me. Thank you, then. Thank you for honoring Fritz the way you did. I'm sure his mother will be grateful."

Then the conversation was broken by the distant rumble of a cannon. Everyone looked in that direction, then the officer pronounced his last words to the Gallians. "I suppose next time we will meet on the battlefield. I'm sorry for that: you all seem like good people. For now...so long." and then walked away with his patrol.

Left alone, the Gallians looked at each other and Ramal said "Come on. That cannon is probably for our friends." then he took a moment to look at the map and determine the direction they needed to take. As he led the way, he called on the radio.

"Squad 7, this is Othen, do you copy?"


Inside the Edelweiss, now parked with the rear adherent to the side of rock, Sheila finally received the transmission she was waiting.

"Squad 7, this is Othen, do you copy?"

"Kiril! Ram is on the radio!"

From the seat of the gunner, her boyfriend replied "Patch him through." as he looked into the scope and fired another round. The echo of the cannon mostly dampened by the sound of the cannon auto-reloading.

"Othen, this is Golim. What's your status, over?"

"Golim, I found Raptor. I repeat, I found Raptor. What's the situation over there?"

"In a tight spot. Literally! We just bumped into the main imperial base and we've been forced down a crevasse south of the river, and I we got artillery firing on us."

"Affirmative, we heard it, too. Just hold on, we'll take that out then come to you right away."

"Just hurry up, please. And hey, how's Raptor?"

"Both safe and sound."

"Good. Now get your butts over here!" Kiril concluded.

"Thank the Spirits." he heard Isara mutter.

"Don't get distracted, Is." he exhorted. "We need to hold on until the Lieutenant is back." he then pushed the earpiece to talk to the rest of the squad leaders. "Attention, everyone. Othen has recovered Raptor. They'll be here momentarily. Just hold on a little longer."

"Understood." Largo replied with determination as bullets and ragnite rounds from the enemy tanks flew all around them.

The Squad had managed to dig in at the end of the crevasse, which put them with their backs to the wall, but also forced the Imperials to attack from a single direction, and knowing that they had no way out but to fight, the Gallians fought ten times harder.

"Sheila! Any news from the Regiment?!"

"It's useless!" she yelled. "The Imps won't give us a single breach. We're on our own."

The Gallians fought on, for minutes on hand. Miraculously avoiding mortal wounds even from the mortar shells, which, on their part, ceased only ten minutes after that conversation.

Then, climbing up from the bed of the river, came out Alicia and Welkin.

"Hey, it's them!" Kiril exclaimed after seeing them with the commander's visor on the turret. He then exposed himself, as the Imperial assault was regressing, and greeted them.

"Sorry, we're late!" Welkin said happily.

"Welks! You made it!" Isara said on the verge of joy.

Kiril prepared to leave the turret, when he realized something with horrot.

"Hang on, where's Ram?!"

Right after he asked, a huge explosion came from the presumed position of the imperial camp, followed by a giant ball of fire that was visible from kilometers away.

"That's your answer." Welkin replied. "He wanted to take their camp from the rear, while we counterattack."

"That damn idiot!" Kiril grunted, then jumped down and rushed to the frontline, ready to go and save his idiotic friend.

"Why would he do that?!" Isara also asked shocked by the sheer recklessness of the Corporal.

"Calm down, Is. I'm sure he'll find a way out of that mess." Sheila replied with a certain confidence.

"Of course." Welkin exclaimed. "Because we'll provide him one. All right, 7's, our counterattack begins now. Rush the enemy camp."

With their commander back, the Gallians took some spirit and charged at the Imperials, who were both confused by the charge itself, but mostly because they didn't know what was happening at their base camp, therefore they hesitated, and hesitation is fatal in any battle.

As Squad 7 approached the main barricade of the camp, Welkin was surprised to see another explosion and a series of bullets coming from the south and into the Imperials.

"Welkin. Need a hand?"

"Faldio?!" Welkin asked both surprised and very glad. "What are you doing here?"

"Since you never radioed all night long, I asked Captain Varrot to come and see what you'd got yourself into."

"Not a minute too late." Welkin replied. "Corporal Valt has infiltrated the enemy camp. We need to get him out of there."

"Uh...that would explain why the Imperials are taking cover outside of their camp." Faldio replied surprised at what he was seeing.

"What?" Welkin replied with the same puzzled tone.

He proceeded to smash the barricade with the Edelweiss and indeed he found the survivors gathered just outside the perimeter of their camp, being targeted by a rain of bullets, likely from a machine-gun. But as soon as the Gallians surrounded them, the Imperials realized that they were done for and surrendered.

Welkin recognized the officer he had met back at the cottage and accepted his surrender, while Kiril rushed inside the camp.

"Ram! Ram, is that you?!" he yelled to the small bunker from which the bullets had been coming until a moment before.

Once the Edelweiss was parked, Isara and Sheila also jumped down and went to check.

"Hey, no need to yell." Ramal replied as he emerged from the bunker, his uniform full of scratches and rips, but even if he wobbled a little, he seemed alright. "I got a few holes, but I think that means I'm alive." he added before dropping on his knees.

"Ram!" Sheila called.

Isara turned around for a moment. "Welks, we need a medic!" she begged before reaching her friends.

Welkin didn't waste time to call one of the triplets who went to tend the Corporal. Meanwhile, Faldio and Welkin quickly realized what had happened inside the camp by the disposition of a dozen dead bodies and a building that was still burning.

"He must have shot one of his grenades in that depot, then in the confusion he seized the turret and started firing." Faldio commented.

"And the Imperials tried to retake the bunker, but then changed their minds." Welkin concluded.

"And he did all of this on his own?" Largo asked behind them.

"Remind me never to make that guy angry." a soldier of the 7 added.

Welkin then approached the guy in question, who was sitting on the ground while Gina was looking at his wounds, having him stripped of the upper clothing. Kiril was helping him standing seated while Sheila and Isara assisted in disinfecting the lighter wounds.

"Corporal Valt. Are you okay?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Yeah, I got worse." Ramal joked.

"You got extremely lucky, that's what." Gina reprimanded him, then turned toward the officer. "He got eight wounds, all scratches. Plus, two bullets to the chest were halted by the vest and one bounced off his helmet."

"No wonder the Imps preferred running." Faldio said to lighten the mood. "But still, that seems to have been quite reckless, even for a GSS."

"Hey, it worked, did it not?" Ramal replied with his usual carefree tone.

It was at that point that he hissed in pain and Welkin noticed Isara pushing the cotton way harder than she should've had. She also had quite the angry expression.

"You could have been killed! Thank the Spirits if you got out alive!" she scolded, as well, looking at him straight in the eyes with a severe gaze, something that surprised pretty much everyone given Isara's usual discreet attitude.

"What if you had died, then...were you going to break the promise you made?" she added. She was still angry, yet her eyes became teary as she kept disinfecting the wound.

After a moment of loss, Ramal chuckled and said gently "You're right. I'm sorry. But hey, aren't you going to say hi to him?"

Welkin couldn't help but smile at that scene, and when Isara effectively remembered that she had not yet greeted her brother properly since he returned.

She timidly stood in front of him. "Welcome back, Welks. I'm glad you're okay."

Welkin made a step forward and patted her on the head. "Me, too, Is."

Then he and Alicia turned around to reunite with the rest of the squad.

"Nice job, everyone. It's good to be back."

"We really missed you, boss." Largo said affectionately. "Lieutenant, that is." and then they shook hands. "But you should really thank the Corporals. Without them, we would have just been sitting ducks, out there."

"We only did our job, Largo." Kiril replied as he kept assisting his best friend. "You all conducted yourselves in the best way possible."

"All right, then." Faldio concluded. "We should report to the Captain so we can finally return to the capital."


April 25, 1935.

News of Squad 7's misadventure in the forest had quickly reached the capital, and Erwin was all too happy to see that they had still managed to get back in one piece, even taking prisoners with precious intel about the Empire's movements in the Kloden region.

But he certainly felt most proud as his pupils were standing proudly in front of him in the courtyard of Amatrian Base, with the rest of the Division spectating the ceremony.

"Corporal Valt. Corporal Kiril. Step forward." he said from his position that faced the entire crowd.

Ramal and Kiril complied with a stern step and keeping their upright position.

"In less than a month, you have been thrust from the relatively peaceful life of the GSS School to the raging fires of the battlefield, and yet you have already proven that the values of the Service are already an indivisible part of your souls. In this brief period of time, you have carried out the most dangerous tasks with the utmost devotion to Gallia's safety, and you have proven your dedication to the well-being of your companions, regardless of your personal safety.

"Gallia and the 1st Division could not be luckier to have you by their side. It is thus a great honor for me to bestow these upon you."

He turned toward an attendant that was holding a small cushioned case with two modest but well-decorated pins.

"The badge of a GSS operative." he proclaimed as he took both of them in his hands. "These are not just a symbol of your unit, it is a testament to all your hard work and accomplishments. May you carry these with renewed diligence and honor."

He then went in front of Kiril and quickly pinned the first badge on a small booklet resembling a wallet and gave it to him. The Corporal saluted with a face that couldn't hide his rightful satisfaction. The General returned the salute with a smile and then proceeded to do the same with Ramal.

Then he stepped back again. "Finally, while some think that a medal should be in order, I think there would be no better marking on your careers that give you what you really deserve. Now that you are full members of the Service, I hereby promote both of you to the rank of Sergeant."

The two young operatives were pleasantly surprised. They broke the rigid posture for a second to look at each other and chuckle while the attendant handed them the new tabs to weave on their arms later. Meanwhile, the crowd behind them started applauding,

Finally, Erwin made another salute, returned by the new Sergeants, and then he had to return to work while the two GSS were suddenly surrounded by their comrades and friends.

As he walked back to his office, Erwin spotted one of the new Edelweiss and his mind went to the next task. Because now that he had a squadron of them, he had to bring the fight to the enemy with renewed force.