Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 2-2: Violence Escalation (Part 2)

"ENEMY ATTACK! ENEMY ATTACK!"

"GET ON YOUR FEET, FOOLS!"

"THE FUCK ARE YOU HOLDING A SHIT BUCKET FOR!? PICK UP YOUR RIFLE AND GET TO THE MAIN GATE!"

Such are the lines shouted by the Loyalist officers. Having seen and heard the explosions coming from the supposedly heavily defended gate, these Loyalists push through their shock to try and muster a proper defense.

"I can't raise Regional HQ! Hell, I can't even radio our tanks!"

"Then send a fucking runner! Send all of our fastest soldiers! We are under attack by an enemy force with unknown strength. We need the support since yesterday!"

Even the Loyalist command staff of the base is agitated, the utter chaos outside their bunker causes them no small trouble in formulating a response. Facts are blurred by the confusion. In the mind of the Loyalists, the Belkan are sending an entire company at least and are overwhelming their defenses. What they don't know is that the Belkans only infiltrate a Platoon-sized element, the real military company is not yet in play. Now that the Loyalist's radio network is jammed though, it will make this fact harder to ascertain for them. The jammed signal also means that the Loyalist command staff won't be able to immediately call for help or even coordinate a proper response to the Belkan Stormtroopers' daring assault. The only effective way to stabilize the front will be to go out into the field themselves. However, sparing the Belkan and its officers who lead by example, only a minority of field officers are brave enough to live up to the first word in their titles. The Loyalist Major and his retinue in charge of this small base aren't part of that minority. Ironically enough, it's the grassroots Captains and Lieutenants who are doing a better job at forming a counterattack than their leadership.

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CLIP LEFT! LOOT THE CORPSE NEXT TO YOU!"

"FIGHT! FIRE EVERYTHING! WE NEED TO RECAPTURE THE GATE BEFORE THEY CAN DRIVE AN ENTIRE ARMOR COLUMN THROUGH UNIMPEDED!"

"WHERE IS THAT TANK!? I REQUESTED FOR A TANK TEN MINUTES AGO!"

Despite the Stormtroopers' initial success in clearing out the defensive emplacements around the main gate, thus paving a clear path for the incoming 7th Company, they are facing stiff resistance from multiple Loyalist Platoons. Currently, the First and Second Squads of the Stormtroopers Platoon are the only ones actively fighting under the leadership of the Reich Marshal. Against the numerically superior enemy, these two squads put up a good fight so that the remaining half of their Platoon would be able to approach the Loyalist Command Bunker unimpeded.

"WHAT!? HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY DEAD IN THE WATER!?"

As if answering the Loyalist Captain's question, sporadic tracers come down from the dark sky. The tracers, which are rune bullets in actuality, land on top of a previously frozen Loyalist tank formation. After being flash-frozen by a previous salvo of these special bullets, the tanks are burst open by the fiery flame-element rune bullets. The armor bonding of the Loyalist tanks is unable to withstand the rapid temperature changes. When the Loyalist officers learn of this troubling development, they can only curse.

"Fine! Then we have to do this man-to-man!"

The sound of whistles being blown can be heard piercing through the cacophony of gunfire. Befitting of their archaic mindset, the Ustian Loyalists are setting up for a charge while deploying a thick smoke screen. With the pyres in the background, the smoke cloud appears to be dark orange instead of white. Knowing what's about to come, the Reich Marshal smirks before communicating.

"Overseer here, thanks for the assist with the tanks, Witch Actual." Yuki then changes the channel to the rest of her Stormtrooper Platoon. "Look alive, people! They'll be challenging our position soon, so let's give them a warm welcome, Belkan-style!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

Yuki's words are barely finished when battle cries can be heard beyond the smoke cloud.

"DIE, MOTHERFUCKER, DIE!!!" A series of gunshots pierce through the smoke. The report is distinctively that of a Chauchat LMG. Before any Loyalist bullets can reach the Belkan position, however, Yuki intervenes.

"No, you!" She jests in the heat of battle before pulling on her temporal power, thus freezing the bullets in midair. Using telekinesis, Yuki swiftly reverses and modifies the trajectories of the bullets before resuming their time flow. In the blink of an eye, the numerous 8mm Lebel rounds fire out in a fan formation, cutting and injuring many of the charging Ustian Loyalists.

To further add to the disarray, Yuki orders. "Light them up!"

The Stormtrooper Grenadier obliges before unleashing all six of his 40mm grenade rounds into the dissipating smoke cloud. Packed full of high-explosive, these 40mm shells cause immediate death and destruction, dealing an immense blow among the charging Loyalists. Death throes can be heard incessantly, with those that somehow manage to run past the explosions alive being met with lead by the Stormtroopers holding the main gate. In stark contrast to the loud, chaotic formations of the Loyalists, the Stormtroopers led by Yuki are silent killers, cool and collected with each squeeze of their triggers. Aside from a few bullets that grazed or ricochetted off their armor, these Stormtroopers are untouched, something that can't be said for their enemy.

Truly, having full-body armor is just a cheat.

"Witch Actual to Overseer. Squad 3 and 4 are making a push inside the enemy command bunker. They're making good progress with minimal resistance."

"Good to know, Witch Actual. What's the status on the 7th?"

"They're five minutes out. They should be arriving by the time the Loyalist is flushed out of the command bunker."

"Affirm, we'll keep the corridor clear for them." Yuki replies before adding. "Engage at will, Bryn. Over and out."

"Was hoping you would say that." Bryn replies before motioning to her Night Witches to fan out and engage targets of opportunity. With next to no searchlight available, the Loyalists are like hapless prey when up against the Witches of the sky.

Very soon, the muzzle of the SG-20 payload rifles the Witches use repeatedly unleash one rune bullet after another. As if they're divine punishments, the rune bullets unleash debilitating effects like flash freeze, electrocution net, and even thermobaric explosion on groups of Loyalists in defensive holdouts. In a way, the Night Witches are like biological CAS providing localized precision-guided munition strikes, albeit one that is much more colorful for sure. In small-scale operations like the raid being conducted right now, the Witches are a very powerful and cost-effective force multiplier.

Over on the other end of the base though, a smaller, similarly important battle is taking place. Squad 3 and 4 of the Stormtroopers are assaulting the now-weakened defense of the command bunker. Their objective is to capture the Major in charge if possible or eliminate if necessary. High-ranking officers like this particular Major are better off captured alive, however, for the many benefits ONI can gain from them. One may never know whether these people in power will have access to something the undercover Belkan agents miss.

Killing off the guards in a burst of gunfire, the Stormtroopers of Squad 3 and 4 toss a couple of flashbangs inside the bunker. After the deafening and blinding explosions, the Stormtroopers move inside in two columns flanking the bunker's corridors, killing anyone that are armed and stunned by the blast. Those that are incapable of fighting are then knocked out with a small detachment left behind to secure them. Kicking down doorways and tossing flashbangs and even grenades inside, the Stormtroopers swiftly cleanse the command bunker of any resistance. They then move to the central command room where the last of the Loyalists are inside. Before they can advise the Loyalist Major and his retinue to surrender, the Stormtroopers have to hide behind the concrete walls when the enemy opens fire. Knowing that they won't come out peacefully, the lead Stormtroopers toss a pair of flashbang and stinger grenades inside the room. Moments later, the flashbang disorients the Loyalists while the rubber balls from the stinger incapacitate them, preventing them from standing straight through pure nausea and pain.

As the Loyalist Major and his retinue are down on the ground, screaming hoarsely like slaughtered pigs, the Stormtroopers rush in and remove their weapons, before robbing them all of their consciousness. All of this happens in less than five seconds, with one of the Loyalists trying to raise his weapon blindly, only to be shot in the head by a G1 rifle.

Per Bryn's prediction, by the time Squad 3 and 4 are done with their clean-up, the 7th Company also arrives through the main gate left open by Yuki's people. Running out of the back of a Puma IFV, a Belkan Major runs up to Yuki's position, saluting her in his Flecktarn BDU.

"Major Muller, 7th Mechanized Company, reporting for duty!" The Major, a familiar face who has been serving under Yuki's command ever since the formation of the 404th, smiles confidently. "It's an honor to fight alongside you once again, Marshal."

Yuki stands alongside her bodyguards. Moving closer to the Major, she salutes. "Just like old times, eh Major?"

"Like old times, Marshal." The both of them smile before shaking hands with each other.

"Let's give the Allied forces an ass-spanking to remember."