Chapter 161: Eighteenth Episode: Chapter 7 (1/2)
Chapter 161: Eighteenth Episode: Chapter 7
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the mountain ridge to the right of Boudesdorf's Center Highland, at the Highland Defense Center about 1.7km away from O'Neil Andrew Morisette, the Third Battalion under the Military Intelligence Special Combat Brigade's Commando Group initiated a defensive front against the freedom fighters that poured out of the mountain ridge like a wave.
Church's year 799, the 20th day of the 5th month, 12:53. It was actually the time when the Commander of the Third Battalion of the Commando Group breathed his last. The military campaign at Boudesdorf's Center Highland had broken out.
The platoon under the leadership of Second Lieutenant Massimi was positioned at the core of the Third Battalion. He and his fifty soldiers formed a small square front at the edge of the pine forest. The soldiers covered their bodies with their shields and confronted the freedom fighters who were charging towards them from the mountain ridge. These bandits hurled all sorts of peculiar objects. Second Lieutenant Massimi finally had an opportunity to catch his breath after blocking an iron cooking pot and an ax without a handle.
”Acshin! Return to the highland and report to our commander on the situation here!”
The young communications officer gazed over the enemies that stretched out as far as the eye could see, then glanced towards his commander whose face was grim. Hesitantly, he asked, ”Sir, what should I tell the Marshal?”
Massimi let out a mischievous laugh and unsheathed his sword, ”Just tell him… Congratulations sir, we have found the main force of the bandits!”
Sergeant Acshin promptly saluted and then disappeared into the mountainous forest behind him.
At the same time, at the right riverbed of the Center Highland, once the cavalry scout group had received the initial warning of the encounter with the enemies, they galloped at breakneck speed back to the highland defense core behind the riverbed. The scouts switched to strong, long-ranged crossbows, gathered inside the vehicle front and carefully surveyed the situation.
Soon, shouts from the freedom fighters echoed out from the mountain ridge behind the dry riverbed. Commander Mitchen, who was positioned at the left wing of the defensive front, shouted an order to his soldiers to draw their bows.
”Open your eyes wide! Take aim at the riverbed! Leave none of them alive!” Mitchen took the lead and released his bowstring. The powerful feathered arrow flew into the underbrush. A freedom fighter was sent crashing down with a shout.
Oscar looked at his left flank before shifting his gaze towards the right flank which was connected to Boudes Mountain. The Marshal scratched his head in disbelief, ”Luke, have I fallen into a trap? Or got caught in a snare?”
Brigadier General Luke Citel unsheathed his sword, ”Sir, you're not wrong there!”
”Ola… then there's nothing to grumble about!” Oscar heaved a sigh, ”I command all men to… face the enemies!”
The leader of the Special Combat Brigade saluted the commander before he led a crowd of officers and men to their respective positions.
The right flank of the mountain ridge had just undergone baptism via a rain of arrows. After a ceaseless attack that was disorganized and uncoordinated, the Third Battalion of the Commandos still maintained their dense and compact defensive formation.
Their leader had fallen and this reality was more or less terrifying. However, the soldiers of the Commandos' Third Battalion remained unafraid as they still had the Platoon Commander, whose quick-wittedness surpassed all others', and the serious and diligent Company Commander. They had experts in single soldier combat and a tenaciously cohesive team spirit. When the officer's commands reached the ears of the soldiers, each of them was clear on their individual roles.
”Keep your spirits up! Fight to the end!”
Second Lieutenant Massimi gazed at the Company Commander who was as excited as a bull and shook his head slowly. It shouldn't be like this! The three battalions were halfway up the mountain that was a short distance from the mountain ridge, and the pine forest behind cut off the soldiers' line of sight. The incline before him had also severed any opportunities for an attack from the top. Second Lieutenant Massimi clearly understood that if they didn't retreat immediately to the Center Highland, it was highly likely that the Third Battalion would fall in this unknown mountain ridge.
”But d*mn it! I'm merely a Platoon Commander!” Massimi glanced again at the high level commissioned officer who was continuously rushing about among the ranks.
The colony of freedom fighters finally erupted with a bellow that they had never had before. They had assembled in the jungle of the mountain ridge. The various shouts of commands proved that they were undergoing a restructuring. The rebel fighters that had laid low in the tunnels for several months finally obtained their precious opportunity for war.
***************
The 20th day of the 5th month, 13:13, at the main peak of Boudes Mountain. The freedom fighters had built a hideout for their leaders. Through the fence on which branches and leaves crept, Bagheeda Narov watched the composition of the Guards on the Center Highland attentively.
The leader, after muttering incomprehensibly to himself for a protracted amount of time, finally withdrew his gaze and pointed at a map on the wooden table.
”The dry riverbed is crucial for the left flank. Regardless of the cost, break through here!”
A thickset man dressed like a hunter promptly accepted the order. He led a group of freedom fighters to enter the tunnel, supposedly hurrying to the war zone.
”As for the left flank's mountain ridge…” Bagheeda frowned. He didn't expect the Guards to only have one battalion enter the mountain forest. According to his calculations, O'Neil Andrew Morisette would send out a group to seize control of the mountain ridge right after making it to the top of the highland.
”Don't bother about the Center Highland first. We want to cut off the retreat route of this battalion. The Guards will definitely ascend the mountain to assist and at that moment…”
One of the warriors beat him to the answer, ”at that moment we will let them never return!”
***************
”Excellent, just like this!” the Marshal of the Guards, His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette stood on a tall point of the Center Highland and assessed the deployment all around him.
”The bandits are sure to launch the most powerful assault from the dry riverbed because there is a vast open space close to it that is easy for a compact formation to charge! So…” Oscar's gaze bored into Mitchen and Tove Van Sukhoi who were beside him. ”Both of you must guarantee that the arrows and artillery barrage cover the entire riverbed area. I don't have excess infantries to invest there.”
Torry didn't reply and merely called his Firepower Demonstration Officer over, ”Modify the firepower demonstration diagram. All the artillery shells are to be released at the riverbed. Don't waste even a single one of them!”
The Demonstration Officer complied and carried it out. He simply squatted on the grass and started making amends to the diagram directly.
***************
”Blasky! The Marshal bid me to ask you, why the hell are you still here? Why haven't you withdrawn the Third Battalion that's on the mountain ridge?”
Big Worm glanced at the infuriated Special Combat Commander and pointed towards the Commandos who were rushing to build a fortification.
”The Third Battalion can gain a half an hour or even an hour for the entire team…”
”I don't want to hear any of these!” Brigadier General Luke Citel turned his head away in annoyance. ”I only want to know whether you've given up on your own battalion?”
Blasky pursed his lips; he knew that the surrounding soldiers were watching him. ”This can't be helped… you know that! I will not send someone up the mountain and take the risk. Moreover, even if the Third Battalion retreats at this moment… it is already too late!” the leader of the Commandos said while gesturing towards the silhouettes that kept flashing into and out of view on the right flank of the mountain ridge. That was the bandit group that had flanked them from the rear.
***************
When Second Lieutenant Massimi's shoulder was run through by an arrow shot from behind him, he already knew the fate of the Third Battalion. The bandits had actually launched an attack from their rear, which was not within the predictions by the three Company Commanders.
”It must be those tunnels!” the First Company's Commander said while helping Massimi snap off the arrowhead. Massimi gritted his teeth. The pain was so excruciating that he almost lost consciousness.
”Leave it to me!” Massimi gazed at his Company Commander. Without waiting for a reply, he ordered his members to charge towards the rear of the battlefield.
The yelling and killing in the mountain forest finally reached its peak. The frontlines of the Third Battalion were covered with shields. Although the arrows that flew from the rear caused a few of the soldiers' silhouettes to fall, they still shouted the slogan of ”Guards, advance!” at the top of their lungs and firmly repelled the rebel soldiers that charged towards them incessantly.
After several years of baptism by weapons, the freedom fighters were quite adept in dealing with the Guard's defensive formation. However, they had an abnormally arduous time when they encountered the Special Combat Commandos. The shields of these soldiers were exceptionally thick, as the outer slab was inlaid with galvanized iron sheets. Hacking with their axes would only cause the blades of their weapons to bend out of shape and stabbing with their pikes and bills would more often than not cause the weapons to be gone forever. What's more were the precious arrows; the price of the wooden bows and iron arrows were painstakingly costly. The freedom fighters basically didn't have many arrows on hand. These limited sharp weapons that took lives were in the hands of a few snipers. However, the sinister arrows shot by the snipers would often be repelled by the closely packed shields of the formation.
”This won't do!” one of the freedom fighters muttered softly.
Not long after that, when the Third Battalion had cleared away most of the enemies before them, a rolling log that was burning finally tumbled down directly towards them from the mountain ridge at their rear.
***************
”Crouch low! Crouch low! Press down on your shields!” the Company Commanders of the Third Battalion shouted loudly. The rolling log pulverized the mountain rocks, set the forest on fire and let out a terrifying, earth-shaking roar as it rushed downward inexorably. The first to come into contact with the rolling log was one of the platoons of the Third Battalion's Second Company. Regrettably, they couldn't hold against the rolling log offensive. This massive burning log had a dozen or more growth rings. It shot upwards at one of the huge boulders, and as the soldiers were pressing against their shields unwaveringly, it suddenly fell from the heavens and smashed into the midst of the compact crowd.
Following the miserable wails, the soldiers of the Guards whose hands and feet were fractured were routed and hid into the formation beside them. A breach then started to appear on the defensive line. This breach was widening as the soldiers who were already in the inferno made their last struggles. Their faces were soon charred and their armor also started burning up. There were men who continued to put out the fire on them, only to fall victim to the main attack of the snipers.
Massimi's platoon charged straight down the mountain. He couldn't see the enemy and only knew that the members following him continued to fall under the sinister arrows. Blood stained the Second Lieutenant's uniform rust red. His face twisted sinisterly and he searched ceaselessly in the surrounding mountain forest. At last, one of the rebel soldiers stood up at a spot not far off from him.
Massimi widened his eyes. He saw that his opponent's longbow was twinkling with the dazzling splendor of a star.
The longsword of the platoon commander flew out and it's point pierced straight into the body. The freedom fighter who fell face first onto the ground released a feathered arrow high up into the air. Massimi leaped into the pit where the deceased hid and retrieved his longsword from the body. It was at this moment that countless rebel soldiers that were poised and ready sprang up from the mountain forest.
”Kill them all!” Massimi pointed the tip of his knight's sword into the air and his soldiers all saw the clear surface forged of steel. Forty over team members shouted as they confronted their enemies, completely engrossed in the selfless tearing and killing. The points of their swords were stained with blood, torn flesh hung between their teeth, and their armor became shattered metal fragments, but all these couldn't stop them from snatching away the lives of their foes and ridding them of their willpower.
The comrade-in-arms by their side had fallen, but it was okay! The foes didn't even have time to brandish their axes and so it was the best time to cut off their heads. Blood spurted out from a bloody groove on his body, but it didn't matter! The tip of the enemy's pike was wedged between his bones but this was the best opportunity to counterattack with a slash of his blade. Someone's arm had detached from the armor, but the question was, was it serious? However, no one cared. This rascal still had on military boots with spurs and after falling to the ground, he could still inflict worse harm on the bandits! It was the commander who helped the soldier whose arm was amputated. Massimi placed his sword in the soldier's only hand!
The soldier was bawling loudly. He turned around and embraced his commander fiercely. A pike immediately ran through his chest. Massimi's eyes were bloodshot. He picked up a mountain rock that was as large as a watermelon and charged towards the enemy, pounding viciously at his face! Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! Massimi had smashed open the enemy's head, shattered his skull and scattered the viscous brain! Following closely, he lifted this huge rock that was an alternating red and white high above, about to pound another foe!
”Sir! Sir!”
A familiar shout finally made the Special Combat Second Lieutenant return to his senses. Massimi slowly laid down the rock, and only then did he distinguish that the ”enemy” before him was actually one of his men.
”We... we have killed our way out!”
Massimi assessed the mountain forest that had resumed its silence and slowly collapsed onto the ground. The soldiers of the Second Platoon under the First Company of the Commando's Third Battalion had just gone through a desperate fight for their lives. They were only left with twenty men. Blood was dripping everywhere on the bodies of the twenty soldiers. Their weapons had all chipped and broken, revealing appalling defects, but they still crowded around their commander happily.
”Look, our Center front!” a soldier pointed towards the highland not far off. Their commander and comrade-in-arms had already used hardwood and wired fence to seal off the open space between the mountain ridge and the Center Highland.
Second Lieutenant Massimi panted while shaking his head, ”Regrettably, that isn't our destination! Our brothers are still giving it their all on the mountain! We have to go...”
Perhaps... the twenty lucky surviving soldiers of the Second Platoon under the First Company's of the Commando's Third Battalion held a grudge against their commander's orders, but when they returned to the front lines, there were still twenty men and not one of them had fallen behind nor grumbled in dissatisfaction.
The frontlines of the Third Battalion were gone! Just a moment ago, the rolling log had broken the formation of the ranks and snatched the lives of many soldiers. And just a while ago, the bandits launched the most ferocious charge since the start of the war. The soldiers lost three company commanders and also four platoon commanders. When Massimi and his members returned to the array, the soldiers erupted in ear-splitting cheers and even the wounded soldiers lying on the ground crawled up to them.
”You're the boss now, Massimi!”
”When you realize that you're the sole officer in the ranks, what you should do is not to lead the soldiers to grapple on desperately with the enemies but try your best to let your soldiers live on!” Massimi suddenly recalled the words that Marshal O'Neil had said to him not long ago. The Second Lieutenant evaluated his comrade-in-arms who were in an awful state. He really had no idea how to ensure that his soldiers lived on.
”On my way up I passed a woodland that was tucked away. We will build a casualty assembly point and then chop some wood to reconstruct a defensive front!”
”We... we're not returning?” a soldier that was blood-soaked pointed at the Center Highland below the mountain.
Massimi patted the soldier on the shoulder, ”This is our battlefield, enjoy it well!”
The soldier gave a bitter laugh. He turned to face his comrades who were crestfallen, ”Hey, what are you still doing standing there! Our new commander has given his orders. Hurry and move. The bandits will return soon!”
***************
The 20th day of the 5th month, 13:48. When the cries of war had died down at the right flank of the mountain ridge, O'Neil Andrew Morisette finally lost his patience and called for the Leader of the Commandos into his man camp.
”Could it be… we couldn't do anything at all for our comrades on the mountain?”
Blasky shook his head, ”Sir, you've seen that the bandits are making a mistake. They're sending their men group after group into the battlefield in an attempt to make us continuously expend our energy. Only if we maintain a powerful military strength of an army group can we defend the Center Highland. If we divide soldiers for the rescue on the mountain ridge… We aren't familiar with the state of the mountain, we…”
”Sir, a person from the Third Battalion is back!” Kirk Dexton used his double-handed great sword to raise the curtain of the tent. He tugged at a disheveled soldier and barged in.
Blasky's interest was instantly roused. He recognized the little soldier, ”Acshin, am I right?”
Acshin nodded, on the verge of tears, ”Sir, I actually could have returned sooner, but one of the bandits knocked me out somewhere and I was tied up. I have escaped from their tunnel. I…”
”Don't bring these up! How's it on the mountain?” Blasky grabbed the little soldier who was still traumatized.
”The mountain… the mountain is full of bandits. I… I came out from a tunnel about a hundred over meters from the right flank's frontlines. I think the bandit's tunnels possibly connect all the way to the highland.”
Oscar regarded the little soldier sternly, ”You're saying that… the bandits are beneath our feet!”
Acshin nodded promptly, ”I saw that there were still passageways ahead of the tunnel entrance, but at that time, a bandit was shouting and I quickly crawled out of their tunnel!”
Oscar whipped around to face Sandinand who was beside him, ”Is there any way to deal with these rats?”
Devil Sandy nodded and turned around to exit the huge doors to organize manpower.
The communications officer looked at his leader and then at his commander and it suddenly dawned on him.
”You... you don't intend to rescue the Third Battalion?”
Oscar didn't utter a word and only Blasky nodded, ”The Third Battalion has already missed the opportunity to retreat. Now the bandits are all over the mountain. They are done for.”
”Sir!” Acshin suddenly saluted Oscar whose face was downcast. ”I request to return to my unit. I am a communications officer. I want to be with my field commander and comrades. I officially request for your orders!”
Oscar sized up the communications officer who had a resolute determination and slowly returned the salute, ”Order the Third Battalion to be on standby.”
”Yes, the Third Battalion is to be on standby! I will pass it on without fail!” Acshin again saluted and turned to leave without a backward glance.
”Perhaps… they are only cut from their retreat route!” Oscar forced a smile towards his Leader of the Commandos.
Blasky shook his head gently, ”No, sir. Being cut from their retreat route signifies that they are done for!”
***************
The 20th day of the 5th month, 14:16. The four forts of the First Artilleryman Division of the Guards positioned on the Center Highland of Boudesdorf had finally started to roar with rage.
On the mountain ridge west of the riverbed, the bandit battalion started to launch a clan assault. These people of the mountain wielding worn out blades and carrying strong wooden shields leaped out from the mountain forest like madmen and charged out of the valley courageously. With their agile skills and at the speed of mercury flowing onto the ground, they charged into the dry riverbed. The archer group which was looking down from a high point of the Center Highland immediately started locking onto their targets. Commander Mitchen, enlightened by the artillery barrage demonstration diagram, established each platoon's attack scope. Prioritising the precision of the efforts of the strike, Mitchen firmly abandoned sending a volley of attacks. He instructed the Special Archers that were comparable to the snipers to ensure they obey the rule of taking a life with every arrow.
Amidst the sunlight, mist formed from the dust of the earth which rose from the cracked riverbed. The artillery barrage of the Guards once again plowed the riverbed dirt. Under the blaze that spewed from the sky and the earthshaking rumble, bodies flew in every direction like birds. Blood spurted out from the tattered limbs that flew into the air. The viscous blood was transformed into droplets that filled the air under the explosions of the artillery barrage. The momentum of the artillery shells stirred up a mountain breeze which, in a moment, had blown the bloody mist into the mountain forest. The freedom fighters that were waiting to attack were immediately affected by the intense stench.
As opposed to the left flank that had rumbles of explosions and blazes rocketing into the air, it was dead silent at the right flank of the mountain ridge. Pure white snow had accumulated at the main peak of Boudes Mountain, appearing as tempting as white bread.
The sound of falling logs echoed within the peaceful mountain forest. The survivors of the Third Battalion placed the wounded at the core of the front. Their commander, Second Lieutenant Massimi had finally obtained a brief moment of rest. Massimi sat beside the roots of a massive tree that towered into the skies and used his dagger to dig out a small hole in the bulky tree roots. He then placed a soldier who was so severely injured he had lost consciousness into it.