Chapter 12: Closing the Pocket
Personnel: Adrien Agusta
Weapons producer and dealer. Age 45. Born in Randgriz as the only son of Lorenz Agusta and Martha Burgstein. After completing his studies at the National School of Engineering, the first Europan War came and he promptly enlisted despite the wishes of his father. It was during the war that he met Erwin and Wilbur, starting their joint project to bring down the Empire once and for all.
He inherited the presidency of Agusta Weapons Factory in 1919, after his father suffered a stroke that debilitated him until the day of his death, a few years later. Thanks to Adrien's boldness and long-sighted choices, the company thrived and expanded in all of Europa, until it became Agusta-Northland by opening new factories even in the United States of Vinland.
He married Brenda Faubert in 1914 and they had a daughter, Bethany, one year later. Brenda died to an incurable disease in 1932. That episode reminded Adrien that money can't buy everything, for not even the best doctors in Vinland could save his wife. Not only it strengthened his resolve to invest most of his money in procuring new weapons to Gallia and the Federation, but he also started making monthly donations to a medical research fund.
July 20, 1935.
The bet had eventually paid off: despite someone in the population contesting the legitimacy of Cordelia because of her Darcsen half, it was a negligible minority, made up of a few ultra-conservative fanatics. With even House Gassenarl won over, there was no real force capable of organizing a form of dissent, meaning that Gallia had come out of the coronation ceremony stronger and more united than ever before.
And with that, it was time to finally push toward Fouzen. Erwin had proposed an attack plan, which DeWytt had approved and put him in charge of the Northern Army Front. Erwin was thus finding himself at the command of 6 Divisions of the Army, including his own, plus a dozen Militia regiments. He had also called up several GSS squads, but they were going to be used for the infiltration inside the city.
It was a strong force, double the size of the Imperial garrison inside Fouzen, but given the mountainous nature of the region, military statistics dictated that any attack should be at least four times the defenders. However, with Operation Eastern Wind in full swing, that was everything that the allies could afford.
Still, Erwin was determined to make sure it would be enough.
At this moment, the Northern front had stabilized along the banks of the Baimer and Tauri rivers, two tributaries of the Vasel that ran on the northern half of the country. They were at the south of the Fouzen mountain range, making it a natural barrier for whoever defended the city and whoever intended to stop any invasion from it.
While they were just tributaries, both of them were still quite large rivers, not that easy to cross. Erwin intended to launch his offensive from the Baimer, the river running from the coast up to the fork with the Vasel and the nearest to Fouzen.
Problem was, General Gregor knew that, and since the conquest of Fouzen, he had ordered the northern bank to be heavily fortified. The Imperials had already established a long series of trenches, pillboxes and even some sturdy bunkers along the few bridges and fords.
"Can't you just call your Valkyrias and open us a path?" Rowe asked with a certain tiredness at the reunion.
"I intend to use them, but remember that we can't stay transformed indefinitely." Erwin replied calmly. "And we know that the enemy has at least two. If we start using our Valkyrias without any restraint, the enemy ones can sweep in when they are exhausted and kill them."
It was a simple, yet compelling explanation. Depending on the amount of training and the age, every Valkyrur had a different limit of time before exhausting themselves. As males, Erwin and Aduin seemed able to keep their transformations generally longer than average, but even the General usually started getting exhausted after three hours in that status.
So until they confirmed the presence of enemy Valkyrias, it was too dangerous to use them if not for a brief support to the troops. With him, Erwin had brought a total of six Valkyrias: Alicia and Riela were waiting with their respective units, then Freya, Milia and Berthe...and Urma.
The only Elder of Reite who had any fighting training had decided to help her son anyway she could, and that included assisting on the battlefield.
"He's right." said the Elder, whom every soldier and even officer of noble birth had come to respectfully call 'the Matriarch' for her usual calm and austere demeanor. "Also, the more powerful the attack they unleash, the easier the girls will run out of their capacity."
"Just having you at the front greatly soars the morale of our soldiers, Lady Dross." Baldren said. "Besides, we have defeated the Imperials many times in the past, we can certainly do it again."
"I'm glad you think that, Lieutenant Colonel. Because I just came up with the battle plan." Erwin declared nonchalantly and the whole officer corp leaned in to listen as the General started moving his finger on the map. "Our objective is to quickly reach and surround Fouzen. To that end, we must recapture the Garle plain in front of us and the railway connecting the city to the rest of the country. We know that General Gregor is still overseeing the occupation of the city, so this is too much of an occasion to capture or even kill one of the Empire's best commanders. We will have to move rapidly, so here is the plan:
"The 12th, 13th, 15th and 20th Divisions will launch a diversionary attack on the fork of the Baimer and Tauri, to press the Imperials from two sides. Once they are distracted, the 10th Division and the 1st will launch an attack here, focusing on the town of Adeph to take the bridge there. Once the infantry secures a beachhead, our armored spearhead will get through and open a corridor toward Fouzen. That includes your Battalion, Lieutenant Gassenarl. Colonel Asso will lead your operation. In any case, you will stop at anything until you reach the base of the mountains. Any questions?"
"Is it true that the enemy is deploying defenses against our air support?" Lieutenant General Terfik asked.
"My scouts gave us clear pictures." Erwin said as he reached for a small pile of photos and spread them on the table. "It would appear the Imperials have remodeled some cannons to fire upward. We are not sure of their efficiency, but I have no intention of finding that out: before we call in the air support, the ground forces will have to clear at least a sector of those weapons. Once you confirm that, it will be possible to send in the airplanes."
"Crossing the rivers just like that will be quite costly. Can't we really bring no additional support to the men?" Borswood asked.
Erwin pondered briefly. "Actually, there is something."
July 21, 1935.
Standing in front of both the Hafen and the Edelweiss, Welkin and Claude were assessing the imperial defenses through their binoculars.
"Two fortified bunkers. Five pillboxes. A sturdy trench line and outposts to slow us down if we try to cross the bridge." Welkin commented. "Not to mention their artillery somewhere behind and the chance that one of their Valkyrias might jump upon us any moment."
They both lowered their binoculars. "Yeah. Honestly, that's the only thing that really worries me." Claude replied with his analyzing voice.
"Oh, the wall of machine-guns is nothing?" Welkin joked.
Claude made a somber smile. "We have seen worse. If we play our cards right, they will not be much of an issue. One thing's for sure: charging through that bridge would be way too costly. We need an alternative route."
"Command has already provided us a squad of locals. Apparently they know of a ford beneath a small fall of the river. We should even be able to get the Edelweiss across. Still, I think someone should attack the bridge and keep the Imperials distracted."
"We can take care of it." Claude reassured. "Hammer and anvil, just like we trained."
"Sure, but I'd feel a little guilty leaving you alone. I'll lend you Alicia and two more troopers. If things go bad, she can transform into a Valkyria and give you an edge."
"You can count us on that plan, as well."
Both officers turned around surprised and saw the three commanders of the 422 walking toward them past the edge of the hill.
"Captain Irving." Welkin saluted.
"Hello, Lieutenant. General Absenkirch ordered us to assist in this sector, and I believe it would be even better to have two Valkyrias." Kurt said lightheartedly.
"Can't argue with that." Welkin replied merrily.
Then Kurt turned toward Claude. "Lieutenant Wallace, nice to meet you. I'm Captain Kurt Irving. I would tell you my unit, but officially, we do not exist."
Claude mumbled a little confused while he saluted. "Uh. Okay."
"This is Sergeant Riela Marcellis. I can tell you that she's a Valkyria, as well." the Captain then added.
The woman smiled and made the salute. "Glad to meet you, Lieutenant. I hope we can work together just fine."
"Well, any help is welcomed." Claude replied gently. "Do you expect any significant threat?"
Riela assumed a more pensive tone. "I spoke with Alicia a moment ago and we agree on one thing: there's someone else with our blood, lurking around this area." she said a bit ominously.
That startled the Lieutenants. "Wait, are you serious?" Claude asked.
"Alicia said that?"
"We confronted just now and came to talk with you because of that reason." Kurt said. "Which is why I would like to add a new layer to your plan, gentleman: Riela will accompany Sergeant Melchiott, while the rest of my team joins the flanking maneuver. They should be able to defend the vanguard against any enemy Valkyria until we can hit them where they don't expect us."
Claude and Welkin briefly looked at each other, then nodded. "Ok. You're the superior officer here, Kurt. We'll follow your lead." Welkin replied.
"In any case," Imca commented with her serious voice. "This fight will be difficult even without the witches around. Do we have anything to hinder their machine-guns?"
"Actually…" Welkin said a bit proudly and invited everyone to follow him to the edge of the hill and look at the bottom of the other side.
Down there, a team of Gallian Army troops fresh out of the artillery school were laying a total of twelve mortars, gifted to Gallia by the Federation. Riley was there with them, for she was going to act as an advisor given that the soldiers only had been given those weapons literally the day before; Isara was explaining how to handle her new smoke grenades; Sheila was making sure that her firing grid coincided with that of the artillery officer before going into the fray.
"Isara just came up with her new smoke grenades. If they are fired directly on the heads of the Imperials, they will be blinded. You should have little problem taking their base on the other side of the bridge." Welkin said with confidence.
Kurt smirked. "You guys are really full of surprises. First a Valkyria among your ranks, and now this."
"Well, it's good they're on our side, then." Claude commented merrily. "Now, come on. The order to attack will arrive any moment." he then turned toward the mortar team. "Riley? Is everything in place?"
His squad member turned toward him and rose a finger with a confident smile. "Just tell us when you need us and we'll rain some of my specials on their heads."
"What about you, Is?" Welkin asked to his sister.
"I'm coming!" the girl replied, then gave one last tip to the soldiers and then ran up the hill. Sheila followed soon after.
"The firing grid has been set." said the radio-girl. "We can go whenever you want."
"Good. Then Squad 7 is marching toward the ford." Welkin declared.
Overlooking the Imperial side from another hill behind the defense line, Aduin found himself suddenly questioned by Walz.
"So what does it look like? Are they moving yet?"
"It would appear so." Aduin calmly replied. "How's Crymaria and the others?"
"Oh, the princess is right there, waiting with her knights around."
They both turned around and saw Crymaria standing atop a rock, waiting with her loyal white wolf Fenrir next to her, while three other Valkyrias armed with the usual shields and lances were forming somewhat of a line in front of her: Zorne, Karenia and Olizena.
"So, do you remember the plan?" Aduin asked.
"Yeah, yeah. If they manage to get past the bridge, the princess will blow it up and then we finish them." Walz replied with his cool attitude. "Though, I wonder, if you want to give a demonstration, wouldn't it be sufficient to just bombard the other side?" he asked curious.
"True, but I sense two Valkyrias over there. And their strength is not to be overlooked." the Valkyrur replied patiently. "If possible, I want to take them out now."
Walz hummed a positive. "Looks like you got it covered, my Lord. I'm starting to think like I'm playing third wheel, here." he joked.
Aduin chuckled lightly. "Don't be ridiculous, Lieutenant. There's a huge difference between playing cards and fighting on the battlefield. For the latter, I require your skill, and that of your men."
"Want me to show my moves? I don't usually hear men asking me that, but I guess I'll make an exception for you."
Aduin didn't reply immediately, for something caught his eye inside Adeph.
"They're moving." he eventually noted.
"Oh. So the dance begins. Do you think there will be good partners?"
"I know for sure that the Federation sent its Rangers in this sector. They're the elite of the Edinburgh Army. But there is also the same Gallian Militia Squad that defeated Jaeger at Kloden."
"Uh!" Walz said with an excited tingling running down his spine. "Now that's what I like to hear."
"Don't get too carried away: remember that our show of force serves mostly to allow Dahau to complete his task while everybody looks at us."
"That's why we have to be dashing!" Walz retorted. "Anyway, let's see how they deal with the first outposts."
Barely had he said that, that from the enemy lines came a salvo of mortar fire, but it was quickly followed by three shots that were leaving behind a strange trail of smoke. Aduin wondered if they were defective, but when they hit defenders' camp and a huge white smokescreen suddenly hid the outpost, the Valkyrur realized that they had worked exactly as intended.
"A smoke curtain. Interesting." he said.
"Woah, that's bad! Our men will be unable to exploit their position!" Walz replied a little concerned.
And just as he predicted, it didn't take more than five minutes before the Gallians and their allies took the outpost, with only three Imperial soldiers managing to run away.
"I see. They're good." Aduin mumbled with an anxious admiration.
"Woah, isn't this bad? Should I order my men to prepare?"
"Yes, but wait a second...I don't see the Edelweiss among them."
"The Edelweiss? Oh, you mean that Gallian tank."
"Yes. I was sure it would be part of the vanguard. But it doesn't matter, now: I sense the two Valkyrias have crossed the bridge. And they still sent some of their elites; it will be a good kill for our demonstration."
Aduin then turned around, toward the Valkyrias. "Crymaria, it's time for you to show your strength...destroy that bridge."
"Understood, Master." the Valkyria replied with a certain trepidation.
All of a sudden, her eyes started glowing of a bright crimson, the crystal on top of her staff also started emanating a light of that color.
But most importantly, the air was all of a sudden filled with an unnatural blue snow, united with a sudden wind that gusted around the baffled Imperial soldiers, Walz included. Soon enough, around Crymaria started forming a circle of what looked like purplish ice blocks, which were completely out of place in that hot summer of 1935, and yet there they stood. The ritual lasted around ten seconds before Crymaria leaned her staff forward and the blocks were shot forward with the sound and speed of a machine-gun. As soon as the ones around her had been sent flying, another salvo appeared and was launched without any interval and so she continued for five times.
The blocks whispered through the air, exactly like a salvo of artillery shells, except that these landed on the bridge or in the river's banks first and then created a small energy ball that exploded with untold force. The bridge was quickly vaporized, alongside the first troops that were trying to cross it. Some huge holes were created on the banks of the river, immediately enlarging the flow in an act of nature modeling that struck everyone deeply.
But while the allies were trying to understand what was happening, the only ones to react were Riela first and Alicia right after. They both grabbed their Valkyrur weapons and transformed, then they rose their lances and started creating what looked like a whirlpool of blue energy that created a defensive cupola around the outpost and suddenly blocked the last salvos from Crymaria. The Imperial Valkyria kept firing, maybe not realizing that she was only wasting her energies.
"Enough, Crymaria. Save your strength." Aduin eventually commanded.
Crymaria, however, did not stop. Her face had turned into something else, completely different from her collected attitude of a short while ago.
"No...I have to...prove myself." she said.
Suddenly, both Aduin and the three Valkyrias realized what was happening. Zorne, Karenia and Olizena rushed to grab their kin, but Crymaria unleashed a small wave of energy from her body that knocked back even them as she started to yell and kept firing.
"Crymaria!" Aduin said with a more imperative tone, but the woman didn't seem to listen, locked into a desperate rage.
Only Walz took the initiative and rushed to her. In a flash, he grabbed the staff and ripped it from her hands, suddenly severing her connection to her powers and thus stopping the bombardment.
"I think it's time for a break, honey." he said with a quip, even though he had been scared until a second ago.
"Do not...interfere!" the woman yelled, but a moment later her flame withered and she lost her balance.
"Woah, easy." Walz said as he helped her stand on her legs. "What happened?"
Aduin sighed exhausted. "Looks like she hasn't overcome it yet."
"What?" Walz asked.
"We'll discuss it later. Prepare your men. Zorne, Karenia, Olizena, you will assist the attack."
"Yes, Lord Aduin." Karenia replied.
The three Valkyrias quickly grabbed their weapons and soon they were transformed. On his part, Walz left Crymaria to a medic and rushed to his personal tank: the Vulcan. In less than 4 minutes, the entire Ausbruch unit was rushing toward the bridge, gathering also other reserve units to crush the Gallians that had been left stranded on the northern bank.
"What the hell was that?!" Raz yelled angry and out of patience.
"Was that...the power of the Valkyria?" Leena asked just as shocked.
"It was, but…" Alicia, still in her powered form, said with a reverb. "I haven't seen anything like that so far...Riela?"
But Riela was looking just as nervous as them. "I don't know. I didn't think any Valkyrur had such power. We need to move in and stop whoever is behind it."
"No, wait!" Juno protested. "If they have more of them, you'll be walking right into a trap."
"She's right." Claude added as he peeked from the top of his tank's turret. "Our priority is to reconnect with our forces."
"Already ahead of you." Sheila said as she still held the phone of her backpack radio. "I informed General Absenkirch, he says that they're sending in a mobile pontoon."
"Then we need to hold out. Welkin and his group will certainly come to help us." Claude replied with a resolute tone.
"Claude! Look over there!" Leena alerted.
Claude did just that, but Riela and Alicia also felt something through their blood. A small jolt, as if somebody was trying to make themselves manifest to them by pulling a thread that tied them together.
Soon enough, the isolated allies spotted three azure flames at the head of a massive Imperial force that had a giant black tank and the soldiers were also wearing colors much different from the standard rank and file of the Empire.
"Ugh...three Valkyrias, now?!" Zaiga of Squad E commented with unpleasantness.
"Lieutenant Wallace, me and Alicia will take care of them." Riela promptly declared.
"Got it, I'm counting on you." Claude replied firmly. "Everyone, spread out and be ready to push them back. Sheila, can you request an artillery barrage?"
"On it. Where?"
"Just in front of our position. I don't need them to be precise, I need them to simply fire non-stop."
Sheila promptly went to the phone and submitted the request, while Claude tried to contact his own fire support team. "Riley, do you copy?"
"Claude! What happened?! They say the bridge has been destroyed!"
"It Has. Listen, I need your help. Get your mortar team just a little bit closer and provide precision fire."
"Roger that. All right, everyone, pack your gear and let's get a better angle!"
"Call me when you're in position." Claude concluded.
"Don't you die out there."
Just a few moments later, the battle began. The Imperials charged down their position, with the Valkyrias running in front at high speed. While Riela and Alicia promptly moved to intercept them and engaged a furious melee with the occasional energy bullet, the military of both sides opened fire on each other.
Luckily for the trapped attackers, their howitzers had started a new symphony and a rain of high explosive shells started pouring down on the Imperial soldiers, significantly slowing them down as they tried to find a way to get past that mortal barrage. The only ones who seemed unfazed were the Valkyrias, who kept their dance of death going on in what looked like a scene from apocalyptic tales.
The real problem for the allied soldiers, however, were the black tank and at least five medium tanks that were coming down on them. The Hafen managed to knock one of the latter out, but a hit from the black one came dangerously close.
"Sir, I doubt our AP are gonna do anything against that thing!" Alfred noted with urgency.
"We're sitting ducks here, Claude!" Miles added.
"I hear ya. Miles, take evasive action, I've got a plan." then he grabbed his talker. "Riley, do you copy? We need you to shell the enemy tanks."
"We see them. Preparing firing solution, now."
As the Hafen maneuvered to confuse the fire of the enemy tanks, the mortar team fired a precise salvo on one of the medium ones. The bombs were not designed to penetrate the armors, but the upper side in general was thinner and they still damaged the engine and the turret, knocking the machine out.
The black tank had another peculiarity that made it extremely difficult to face: its ragnite radiator was placed on the upper side of the frontal hull, making it nearly impossible to hit for the Hafen without a decent angle of inclination.
Nonetheless, Claude managed to counter that thickness with a clever plan: while the Hafen and its crew distracted the black tank, Jimmy, Keigel and Jann, three Lancers of both Squads, managed to get themselves in a favorable position and fire a simultaneous valley that hit that mobile fortress.
It didn't destroy it, but the commander apparently decided that it was better to withdraw.
Especially because a heavy fire arrived from the East: Welkin and Kurt's flanking force had finally arrived.
It seemed like the allies had gotten the upper hand, but that day would show that the real balance-changer wouldn't be infantry and armored vehicles anymore.
Because Alicia was suddenly sent rolling on the ground, forced to break under the relentless attack of two enemy Valkyrias who managed to focus their attacks on her, the more inexperienced of the two. Riela tried to fall back and protect her kin, but being forced on the defensive, it seemed like nothing could impede the enemy Valkyrias to go on a rampage and destroy the attackers in one fell swoop.
To everyone's surprise, it was Juno who sprinted out of her foxhole and rushed to get Alicia, even as one of the enemy Valkyrias approached the two of them. Juno fired at her, a whole magazine of her carbine, but it made no effect.
That was until something landed on the battlefield with a huge force, raising a small cloud of dust and debris, only to reveal another azure flame and a tall woman wearing a raggedy armor, but moving with strict confidence.
"Madame Dross!" Claude said amazed from the turret.
"Lieutenant, take Alicia back to safety and gather your men." Urma said calmly while preparing to fight. "I'll deal with these three."
The allies immediately rallied around the tanks while Juno quickly put Alicia on her shoulders and carried her back.
The enemy Valkyrias seemed to hesitate, as if they could sense that Urma had much more power than them, other than being full of energies since she hadn't fought yet.
"Come on, it's just an old hag!" one of them suddenly roared to her two sisters and all three of them jumped toward Urma.
Yet, as the battlefield around had descended into a brief silence, everybody looked in awe as the Matriarch easily deflected and counterattacked each and every one of them, knocking them back with direct blows of the lance or even her shields, sending the foes flying back for a dozen meters.
Urma then stood there, as if warning them to not get any closer to her allies.
Seeing that they were clearly out of her league, the three Imperial Valkyrias told the soldiers to fall back as they covered the retreat, and the troopers were certainly not going to discuss.
Soon enough, the Empire was retreating from that sector, ensuring the bridgehead for the allies.
Urma then went to see how Alicia was. Juno had brought her next to a barrier of sandbags and was applying a bandage.
"Here. I know this is nothing for you, but better safe than sorry, right?" the Corporal said with a relieved smile.
"Yes. Thank you, Juno." Alicia replied in kind.
"Can you stand?" Urma asked.
The Sergeant had a scratch on her right arm, but she was already recovering. "Yes. Thank you, Urma. For a moment, I…"
"You did the best you could. Given the situation, it was still admirable." the Matriarch said with an understanding tone.
"Alicia! Juno!" the voice of Welkin suddenly reached them and so did the Lieutenant as he rushed in.
"Claude just told me what happened...are you two okay?" he asked worried.
"Just a scratch, don't worry." Alicia reassured. "You have to thank Juno for that."
"Don't even try to twist it, ma'am." the Corporal replied. "If you and Riela were not here, we would not have lasted a minute against those Valkyrias."
Just as they finished talking, they heard the sound of engines on the other end of the river and they quickly saw the mobile pontoon being deployed onto the remains of the destroyed bridge. The landscape was still astonishing in how the few blows of the unknown Valkyria had changed its shape so quickly.
The pontoon was set and soon the armored battalion of Gassenarl moved forward. The Lieutenant Colonel was on the first tank, coming out of the turret as he was listening to Erwin's orders and the General was standing on the back of the machine. Welkin and the other could hear him give a quite clear directive.
"Head North, Lieutenant. Chase the Imperials and don't stop at anything until you reach Melle."
"Consider it done, sir!" the officer replied promptly. Then he turned toward the troops of the Militia. Surprisingly, he made a respectful nod before returning inside the tank.
Erwin instead reached his godson, his mother and the rest of the strike force.
"Ladies and gentlemen, excellent work. Especially given what happened here. Now, would someone explain to me exactly what blew up the bridge? I felt a huge power coming from this side."
"Erwin…" Urma said hesitantly, but retaining her collected voice. "I believe we are facing a descendant of Koliara."
Erwin's blood froze, yet the destruction he saw around him and the reports of a strange blue snow appearing for a brief period of time before the attack suddenly made a lot of sense.
"Uh, I'm sorry…" Kurt, who was standing in front of the crowd behind them, asked. "who would this Koliara be?"
"One of the Valkyrias that led our ancestors to the conquest of Europa. She was also known as the Winter Witch. Her legend is mostly shrouded in mystery, but the description of her powers are pretty much identical to what your companions just witnessed. But what worries me the most is that we weren't aware that she had any lineage."
"What do you mean?" Claude asked. "That she had no kids?"
"Yes. She was known for be quite solitary, aside from the battlefield. And we have been keeping an eyes on the great noble families of Europa for centuries, because even if they might be all high and mighty, it's true that most of them mingled with our ancestors."
"But we never saw anything like this." Erwin concluded. "Maybe this one was raised in their lab since she was a child."
"It's still a huge problem." Juno commented. "At least the other Valkyrias had to show themselves before attacking. This one...it all came out of nowhere."
"For real." Raz intervened. "If it wasn't for these two...man, we would have been toasted."
"I understand." Erwin said with a thinking tone. "We will have to think of a countermeasure. For now, though, let's focus on the bright side: the Imperial front is breaking. Soon enough, Fouzen will be isolated."
That news indeed rose the morale of the soldiers a little bit before they gathered their units and took a moment of rest.
July 22, 1935.
Escaping from the chasing forces of the Community had not been easy, and it had actually come really close to Aduin being surrounded, but at last, the members of Task Force Asgard had regrouped and were now in an imperial base east of the pocket that had been created outside Fouzen.
"So, uh...am I allowed to know what happened to the Princess?" Walz asked during a moment of quiet.
Aduin was on the barricade of the base, looking westward, toward the mountains around Fouzen, and sighed as he started remembering.
"I presented myself to the Imperial Court nearly 18 years ago. Once they understood that I was a real Valkyrur, the Emperor and his Ministers at least had the good sense of letting me in on their project to awaken the potential of the Valkyrias. What I found in that laboratory...well...I don't want to ruin your sleep, tonight."
Walz hummed with both a cynical and comprehensive sound.
"Many young girls had died because of the barbaric nature of those experiments. When I got there, the only two who had survived to their teen years were Selvaria Bles and Crymaria Levin."
"Damn Hell." Walz whispered.
"Yet, while Selvaria found a way to stabilize her powers, with Crymaria I have been having a hard time for a while. It certainly doesn't help that her ability is extremely rare, and so is her power. Combined with the memory of every atrocity she suffered under the knives of the doctors, it becomes easy for her to lose her mind."
"And the others?"
"Obviously I came to the Empire with another method to safely awaken the Valkyrias. I have been taking care of their training ever since."
"I see. You sure keep yourself busy, Lord Aduin."
"What do you think about yesterday's fight?" Aduin then deviated gently.
A subtle smirk now appeared on Walz's face. "I figured the Gallians were quite ballsy, considering that they have held our army at bay for months, now. But I must say, whoever was inside that Federate tank was a real artist. I wouldn't mind at all meeting him again on the field."
"You said they had two Valkyrias?"
"Yeah. They gave some trouble to your girls, but they were actually pushing them in a corner before a third one arrived. A clearly adult woman, almost old I'd say."
"So it really was her. That was Urma Dross, mother of Erwin Absenkirch."
"Is she strong?"
"She certainly is not to be underestimated. Back in the day, she trained with the lance every day. Even if she never had a fight to the death, I'd say only Selvaria could take her head-on, at the moment."
Walz hummed in thought, then asked something else "So what do we do now? Gregor is still inside Fouzen."
"Yes. However, now that we made sure to show the world that we're not without our Valkyrias, we need to focus on other matters. Dahau, Nikola and Chiara should be here any moment now…"
Barely had he finished that a convoy of trucks and an APC were allowed inside the base. The two girls he had just nominated jumped down the first truck with a satisfied smirk on their faces.
"Objective completed, Lord Aduin." Nikola said proudly.
"Did the Gallians follow you?"
"They did, but they ended up attacking the decoy convoy. Those idiots never noticed where we actually went." Chiara replied with the same voice as her colleague.
"Good." Aduin replied before the rear door of the APC was opened. First came out two Calamity Ravens, then Dahau and finally the guest of honor: Cardinal Gennaro Borgia, who was wearing his clerical clothing.
"Greetings, Your Holiness." Aduin said with formal tone.
Borgia made a ceremonial bow, even extending his hands. "Great Lord. I heeded your call, as you asked."
"Come on, Your Holiness. You're smart enough to understand that it is not me you have to use your honeyed words with." the Valkyrur replied, talking with a quipping formality.
Borgia stood up and showed a confident smile. "Oh, but rest assured that my level of respect for you is genuine, Lord Aduin. I will be most glad to aid your cause."
"Well, this is an unexpected delivery." Walz commented.
"Cardinal Borgia has decided that Gallia has taken an unholy path." Dahau explained with his calm tone. "We simply facilitated his transfer to a country of his liking."
"Come on, then." Aduin concluded. "We will first present you to His Grace, then take you to Schwartzgrad before our next mission."
"I am at your service." Borgia declared somberly.
July 23, 1935.
Fouzen was now isolated. The Imperials had suffered heavy casualties under Gassenarl's relentless chase, so now it was the best moment possible to launch Operation Cartwheel. With the sun setting and the entirety of Gryphon squadron already rolling on the airstrip, Ramal, Kiril and the GSS team they had been assigned to were instead preparing their parachutes and what little gear they could bring with them on the plane.
"All right, everyone. Gather around!" Captain Aveld, the leader of this operation, ordered.
The team of 12 agents obeyed. Among them, the second-in-command was Lieutenant Coulson, the only other officer who had volunteered for what everyone saw as madness.
"As you know, the land troops are making a frontal assault on the mountains near Fouzen. Of course, they will try to gain a foothold, but they're mainly doing this so that we can slip past the enemy lines. We will be dropped 2 km north-east of the city and from there we will move in. We might only have pistols, right now, but a group of the local Resistance is waiting for us at a meeting point with some additional guns.
"There are a lot of people who are risking their lives to get us in. So I don't want any screwing up. Don't take useless risks and we will reach the city without the Imps noticing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" the agents replied in chorus.
Behind them there was Adrien's personal airplane, but the businessman was actually far away, reaching the first lines of the front as they spoke.
"Never thought I would end up jumping down from the sky." Kiril commented to his best friend.
"Me neither. But here we are." Ramal replied. "Let's make sure we get out of this alive. The girls are waiting for us." he then encouraged.
Kiril smiled. "Right."
It took a few minutes before all 30 of the Gallian fighters took off. Then it was time for the airborne troops to get on their plane. The departure had been planned so that the plane would arrive at the launch point when it was already quite dark, and with the Imperial forces completely focused on the land assault and the skies covered by the sound and figures of the fighters, they didn't notice the larger one taking a detour.
"All right, line up." Aveld ordered, being the first one to reach the rear door and opening it.
A gust of wind ran through the body of the airplane and the sudden difference in pressure made it shake for a moment, but soon enough the plane was steady and getting nearer and nearer to the drop point. Aveld made the final calculations then finally declared "Jump!"
He pushed himself out of the door and into the sky. Coulson was to be the last to launch as he gradually ordered all the agents to get out.
Ramal and Kiril were fourth and fifth respectively. Wearing their helmets and masks, at least they didn't feel much cold when they started to fall down. As during the exercise, each of them counted to three in their minds before opening their parachute, the adrenaline making it all look both terrifying and extremely exciting. As the devices all worked, a trail of 13 white cupolas started their neat descended toward the ground, and everybody knew that the moment they touched ground would be the most complex.
As Ramal and Kiril descended, they piloted the parachutes slightly, heading toward any point that was flat enough for them to land with relative safety, should they do the maneuvering correctly.
With tension at an all-time high, they finally got down. Ramal softened the muscles in his legs and immediately made a roll forward, to distribute the impact along his entire body and avoid any contusion. Kiril followed soon after and also landed without any major issue.
"Woo-hoo!" Ramal commented with a restrained tone and the two shared a chuckle.
"Come on, let's get moving." Kiril eventually exhorted.
Every single agent took a few seconds to ball up their parachutes back into the backpacks, as they couldn't risk that the Imperials would find them laying around the day after, then they gathered around Aveld and started marching into the mountains.
