Year 2035, April
11:00 A.M
Oulu, Finland
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[1st day of the Great Transcontinental War]
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The war finally began on Thursday, six o'clock in the morning. It all started when the C.U fired ballistic missiles from China, where it crashed into the Neo Africa's defensive Aegis dome.
Though, Finland, far away from the actual war zones, was fairly quiet on that day.
Lily, Maltyie, and Gray rushed to the lounge area of the Teria airship to watch the video projection displaying the different war zones. A Neo African satellite was recording the videos for us, and through it, we could observe what was happening in those places.
"They start attacking from the east, huh," said Freya who sat next to me.
A large screen monitor displayed what was happening on the eastern front in real-time. There, we saw Gheele standing far ahead of his ground forces. They were in a vast, rocky plain where the enemy forces had filled one side to the brim, and some of them had started to engage in combat with Gheele's forces. The orange Aegis dome encasing Neo Africa provided absolute protection against the enemy's missiles.
Gheele, in his military uniform, raised his hand slowly when five enemy fighter jets started to attack. A moment later, those aircraft were pierced with gigantic orange shards from all sides and then plummeted to the ground. Although it could be seen as a defensive maneuver, in actuality, it was a signal for Gheele's army.
Four Neo African Surface-To-Air Missile Launchers propelled its missiles towards the hovering enemy Teria airships. Seeing that, the foot soldiers started to move as well.
"Gheele has it under control," I said.
"Switch to the northern front," demanded Maltyie.
The video then displayed the scenery at the border of Bulgaria, where a dozen enemy jets cut across the sky. Sofeea, who was assisting the Neo African army there, pointed at a few jets that were about to launch their missiles. After that, the jets disappeared into thin air, as if it had ceased to exist.
It was Sofeea's Aegis specialty at work, Teleportation Warp.
"Those jets probably had crashed into the snowy mountains in Russia," said Agatha.
"Well . . . Sofeea's specialty, Teleportation Warp, allows her to teleport anything within a set amount of radius around her to any place marked by her Aegis crystals," said Klaus. "She had taken the initiative to place some of it in Russia. It is for this very purpose."
Maltyie nodded. "How about the western front?"
The monitor then displayed two opposite fleets of naval battleships trading blows with each other. Despite the calmness of the Atlantic Ocean, a raging battle had ensued on its surface. One of the Neo African battleships exploded from multiple high-speed projectiles that crashed into it. In the air, a dozen fighter jets flew across the sky, avoiding any incoming missiles.
"The C.U's naval fleet is almost two times larger than ours," I said, gritting my teeth.
"That is why I had proposed a plan for the admiral to follow. Caesar and Hope will make sure of that," said Maltyie smoothly. It was as if she wasn't worried a bit about the outcome.
"You did mention about how you will expose the weakness of that large fleet," I said.
"As the former General of the Army, I know everything about the C.U's military. How the enemies would surround our naval fleet and ignore any precaution . . . And how they will waste a lot of fuel by always deploying fighter jets and not thinking ahead of what their enemy fleet will handle things . . . I know how the C.U operates. Who was the one that led those pitiful bunch of men in the past to countless victories? I did. More often than not, a great number of soldiers isn't enough. It has been proven many times in history."
Everyone nodded in Maltyie's direction. After all, she was the one in charge of the whole army, as permitted by Gheele himself. No one in the military denied Maltyie's expertise in this kind of field. Making strategies while deducing the best course of actions from war reports was her forte.
To be honest, I was also one of those people who admired her. I didn't know when it happened, or why. And at that time, my eyes shone brilliantly as I looked at her.
"Hm?" While standing, she frowned at me. "That look of yours . . . It's the same as everyone else."
I shook my head quickly and stared at the monitor's screen.
"As for the military coup in Finland," said Maltyie. "They are fighting at Sweden's border. Though, it is just a skirmish, since I want to see what kind of defensive line those soldiers of C.U had set up. I am sure that Amathelia knows the importance of holding the frontline at that border. She should be highly aware of Lily's ability to singlehandedly destroy the ground troops."
"What do you think they will do, Maltyie?" I asked.
"Most likely, she will have Kian there, guarding the border. Though . . . There has been no sign of him anywhere, so they must be waiting for you to come out. I suggest that you take a back seat until he appears."
"Ava and Lily are our trump cards against him," said Klaus. "It is best to have you two in top condition when the time comes for him to show up."
The rest nodded in agreement, including me.
Half an hour later, the members of Enkhtuya moved out to set up a base somewhere close to Sweden's border. Lily, however, wanted to fight in the ongoing skirmish as a warm-up. Maltyie approved of it, but she had set a time limit for Lily, which was an hour.
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"Ava, don't let the cold distracts you!" said Agatha.
That evening, I was training with her in hand-to-hand combat. I didn't have any experience in martial arts or anything, so she suggested that I trained with her to improve on that aspect.
"Agatha. Don't hold back. Please." I raised my arms and held it close to my face. Agatha had her bare feet grinding against the cold snow underneath. Of course, I was doing the same as well.
Without warning, Agatha launched a roundhouse kick and hit me in the head. I fell face first on the snow, caressing the side of my head.
"That . . . Actually hurts. Ow," I said.
"Oh, sorry, I got too excited."
My cracked skull healed itself as I stood back up. "No, it's fine. I like it more this way. If I remember this pain, then my body will try its best to defend itself. Anyway, this is good practice. "
"Alright. Then, here I go again, Ava."
"Yes."