บท 63: Flames of war
**Present Time, Mid Noon, Vanguard Force Trench**
The knights of Hera and her faction's other knights were waiting for the signal, weapons drawn, fear evident in their eyes. There were no Draconian armored units supporting them, nothing to shield them. After five tense minutes, the sound of a whistle was heard, and they began moving out of their trench, marching towards the fortified positions.
The fortified positions had been shelled endlessly, day after day, and today it was silent. Corpses of both allied and Chronos soldiers littered the battlefield. The soldiers at the front raised their shields, increased their pace, and mana began circulating around their bodies. Their armor had glowing runes that boosted their overall abilities.
"Charge for Olympus!" the captain shouted, his mana-boosted voice echoing across the field. The Chronos soldiers saw them charging, alerted their comrades, and began firing projectiles, spears, and arrows.
Soon, the Chronos soldiers emerged from their fortified position and counterattacked. As they exchanged blows, the captain leaped high and cut down a tall titan, swinging his great sword at the next wave. The battle was already reaching its peak when the sound of whistling shells came from above.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Artillery rained down without accuracy, showing no mercy to allies and enemies alike. The shells fell like water droplets, and those who were focused on fighting disappeared, transformed into mist, blood, and organs splattered across the battlefield. Those soldiers who survived were far from their original location, unable to move, as no medic would treat them. Some had lost limbs, others were blinded.
That was just the first volley. Those who survived were far from their original location, but instead of stopping, the Chronos soldiers began attacking again, this time with no discipline—it was an all-out brawl.
"Maintain formation!!" shouted the commander, but his voice was drowned out by the war cries of the Chronos soldiers who received more reinforcements.
HISSSSSSS BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Soon, a hundred shells landed, but this time, instead of exploding, red gas came out. When the first row of soldiers inhaled it, their eyes turned red, and they began coughing and feeling severe pain. Both sides felt the pain and tried to circulate their mana but failed due to some fragments preventing them from doing so.
"Soldiers, retreat! Retreat back to the trenches!!" the commander shouted as the red smoke began to approach the rear. Before they could retreat, they felt the ground rumble and looked back.
Draconian infantrymen, equipped with bayonets, were crossing the vanguard trench and reaching the battlefield. They had gas masks and, seeing the Olympian soldiers who were speechless, began firing a torrent of bullets at the knights. Soon, tanks appeared, firing their mounted machine guns and turrets.
"Keep moving forward! Let's take this opportunity to take the point!!" the Draconian officer shouted, given orders to eliminate the knights and seize the fortified position.
As they cut down and shot anyone in their way, the Olympian soldiers unaffected by the gas and not engaged in the fight saw their morale break down.
Only 3,000 Olympian knights survived, with the majority injured, and they were sent to the Olympus field hospital, reserved for the Olympus gods and their retinue and not supplied by Draconia. Meanwhile, the Draconian field hospital was only for the followers of the god of balance and Draconian soldiers.
Soon, the Draconian attack force was joined by the 2nd Infantry Division of the First Army, making their way to the camp, killing off any stragglers and remnants. They encountered a last, strong resistance, so they called an artillery strike and threw a smoke grenade. This time, the artillery hit accurately on the ramparts, and after one minute of the volley, they began encountering holes, throwing grenades where they believed Chronos soldiers were hiding. After the grenades detonated, screams of pain and agony were heard, but their suffering was prolonged as any discovered holes with people were set aflame with a special flamethrower.
**Draconian HQ**
"Supreme Commander, we are winning the battle," reported an officer. Alex looked over the map where the small Chronos figures began collapsing like sticks.
"Alright, send an armor division and mechanized regiment to secure the city while the rest of the units create a perimeter. I never expected to take this goddamn city," Alex stated flatly. Alex looked at the map of the entirety of Pangea, where green marks indicated the frontlines. He wanted a report from the northern front.
**Northern Draconian Front**
The soldiers fighting in this front fought in a vast plain with no natural defenses, but Chronos had placed one million troops to defend his southern front.
"Keep going!" shouted a soldier who held his rifle and led his squad. Soon, a shadow loomed over them.
"Incoming, spread out!!" one of the squadmates shouted as a Draconian tank landed and crashed into their location. The squad approached the tank and saw the armor bent on the left side. When they knocked on the hatch, the crew opened up, coughing blood, feeling internal damage. They called for a medic, and a few medics brought stretchers.
"Focus on the battle! Advance!" shouted the officer.
A few seconds later, the flanks were supported by Forbidden Cavalry, charging down and cutting any enemies in their way. They knew the enemies were mercenaries, wearing expensive armor and employing better formation and tactics.
"Keep moving, surround them!" shouted the cavalry commander as he fired his SMG, killing nearby enemy forces. As the battle raged on, it became clear that the enemy was losing ground, with over 300,000 soldiers surging forward. At the very front, seasoned knights swung their swords diagonally, killing dozens of titans, their blood splattering over the black armor. One knight immediately blocked a strike coming from his right while another knight swung his axe.
"Die!" As he swung his great axe, it split the titan in half.
These knights were part of the Grand Magic Knight Order, close combat infantry working closely with the Draconian regular infantry.
Next, another knight beheaded a 7-foot titan with his flaming sword. Before he could react, someone shouted.
"Heinricks, enemy in front of you!" shouted a regular Draconian infantryman to his battle buddy as he fired a shot, killing the enemy soldier. The knight named Heinricks saw a large mace coming down on him, so he raised his shield, feeling a small shockwave as he blocked the attack, the vibration coursing through his body, making him cough saliva.
He increased his mana output, spreading it around his body, feeling the armor's support and the weight lessening. Below him, the earth cracked under the weight.
BOOM
A tank round landed on the head of the titan, exploding it like a watermelon.
"Haah," the man sighed, feeling the mace slide to the side. As he breathed to get more air into his system, he saw Draconian soldiers continuing their offensive, ignoring casualties on both sides. Tanks had their war flags on their turrets, and soldiers held their legion's flag.
Hundreds of knights were cutting down enemies left and right, while Draconian riflemen fired at distant foes. After arriving at the enemy's main camp, the squad leader halted his movements, and the soldiers behind him followed. He called an artillery strike, and soon, shells infused with a napalm mixture landed on the camp, causing a wildfire. The soldiers, their suits able to withstand high temperatures, advanced.
No mercy was shown. Anyone armed or not was shot at point-blank range. For information, there was no need; the special forces were already gathering it.
**Forward Operating Base**
"Marshal, they have taken the main objective, and the soldiers are securing and fortifying," said one of the officers, handing over a document with a highlighted map.
"I see. Begin making defensive fortifications, but not for the long term. Send out cavalry patrols and have engineers get to work and establish those supply lines. We have already entered deeper into the territory and will face a mountain wall," Marshal Schwaz spoke. It had only been seven months since his promotion, and Alex gave every marshal a little power.
Every marshal could command a legion and have a retinue of 500. Only the emperor could grant additional legions for the marshal to command. They were only to command with the resources needed for the mission to succeed, and when the task was finished, they would be relieved of their command of the legions and be stationed on a new front.
Alex knew the concept of civil wars often caused by officers or commanders leading a force for a long period, fostering loyalty to the commander rather than the state and the monarch. Therefore, an officer rotation policy was established. Every officer must not be stationed with the same legion for more than two years, rotating among different legions. Exceptions were made, but they required approval from the defense department and the emperor.
Currently, Marshal Schwaz commanded three legions to push north and secure the southern regional capital of Dinsteel, a region rich in natural resources.
"I see we have already entered 700 km into Chronos territory, and we are 300 km away from the city. We can already estimate that they will adopt a defense in-depth strategy and will pile their bodies to slow us down," he said, marking spots on the document.
"Send this to the air command. I want that city bombed for 24 hours, and we will renew our offensive in two weeks," he said, checking the large map on the table, which
showed other fronts.
**Cossack Front**
Axe led a cavalry charge, his formation slamming into the mercenary army, their large wolf pelts marking them. Swinging his spear, killing three at a time, he heard a shout.
"How does that ogre of a titan afford mercenaries!" yelled a cavalryman as he blocked three swords cutting down on him.
The battle was changing, and both sides were forced to retreat. The Draconian Empire called for air support, creating a kill zone.
A few minutes later, a pair of multi-role fighter jets carried four napalm bombs. When they dropped and landed on the target, it created a new purgatory on the unforgiving snow land. The cavalrymen who managed to retreat observed the melting corpses, hearing the wailing agony of those still alive.
"Well, that's what they get for choosing the wrong side," said the vice commander of Axe. Nearby explosions and gunfire were heard, as this was only one of the small battlefields. The terrain made it difficult to move a large force, so Zarina and Axe agreed to split their troops into smaller groups, dealing with freezing temperatures and enemy saboteurs. They opted for a slow advance, gaining more land painfully.
Currently, over 300 were injured, and the enemy tried to isolate their forces from communicating.
**To be continued**
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