"Jacques, we've only gained little ground over a few weeks. How long do we have to stay here?" Edward asked.
"Bear with it for now, Edward. I know we're all frustrated but we just have to wait till Roger's company returns." Jacques answered.
"Major, they're on their way now." Tristan butted in while out of breath.
Tristan took of his poncho and took off his wet helmet before sitting in front of the radio. Jacques wore his helmet and left Edward and Tristan in the radio post. Edward sat back down and played with the mouth of his cup.
"Tristan, we're out of tea again." Edward stated.
"Hold on, give me a moment." Tristan replied before getting up and making tea.
"Hey, how long do you think this will take?." Edward asked.
"Hmm...I'd say around five to ten minutes." Tristan answered as he opened the burner.
"Not the tea, idiot. I mean this war." Edward said before chuckling.
"I know you have a girl waiting back home so it's going to feel like a long time. Once we get our momentum rolling, it'll feel like each day passes like a second." Tristan added before humming a soft melody.
It was true, Edward had a girl waiting for him back home. His beloved Nalia, worried sick for his safety. He promised to marry her once he comes back, after this war is over. He never forgets to write her letters, Tristan helps him check the letter for grammatical errors. Ever since they were assigned to Jacques' unit, they've been an inseparable duo. They always had each other's back, they were the definition of the word brothers.
"And it's done. It's still very hot though so careful not to drink it too suddenly." Tristan said as he placed the canteen of tea on Edward's desk.
"Thanks for the tea. Don't forget to drink yours before it gets cold again." Edward stated before pouring some tea into his canteen.
"I will. If I don't, you can drink it when you get back." Tristan stated before smiling.
Edward chuckled and wore his poncho and helmet before heading out in the pouring rain. From the radio post, he ran towards the town hall where Richard and the others were. Phillip greeted him on the steps leading up and he saluted in response. He looked for Richard and found him in the lobby organizing the other soldiers.
"What's our situation here?" Edward asked.
"Hugo took Hilbert and the others to flank north while we reinforce here at the south." Richard replied.
"Major Issue and his company are heading back here. It seems like they were able to push the enemy units back." Tristan stated.
"That's smart, splitting up and going on a pincer maneuver. Now that we have the enemies surrounded, we just have to keep making their territory smaller." Richard added
"The enemies seem to be somewhere near the northeast corner of the city. Hugo and the rest are flanking north, do you think they won't need more men?" Edward asked once more.
"When the four of them are together, it's like an entire company. Jacques trusts them to finish the job, I will too." Richard replied.
Edward nodded and helped with the men setting up defenses along the southeast side of the city. A soldier with a radio pack approached him that Hugo's team began engaging the enemy forces. He told the radioman to alert the others and to prepare to cut off the retreating enemies. After a few minutes, more soldiers joined them to reinforce the area.
"Find a vantage point and get your men on it." Edward ordered.
"Captain! I heard the info on the radio. I thought you might need more arms up here." Tristan stated as he ran up to Edward.
"Actually, I do. I need you out there at the front calling the shots for the mortars." Edward replied.
"Keep your radio on and I'm gonna need at least five men with me." Tristan added.
"Just grab some, we have a lot of men here." Edward stated before helping set up the mortars.
Tristan gathered some soldiers and took them with him to a building by the main road. They climbed to the higher floors and took positions on the windows. Their fingers were itching to pull on the triggers but they were still waiting for the retreating enemies. Once again, it was just the roaring rain that could be heard with faint gun shots ringing off in the distance.
"They're near. Keep an eye out and wait for my signal to alert the captain." Tristan stated as he looks through his binoculars.
There it was, the enemy soldiers began running down the street. Tristan signaled the soldier manning the radio and Edward's group was alerted. They began firing their mortars while Tristan waited for them to fall down on the enemies. He calculated the delay and informed the mortar teams to subtract a hundred meters every shot. The enemies began spreading out and running frantically as mortar shells rained down over them.
"Wait for them to get closer! Hold your fire!" Tristan exclaimed as they locked their sights on the enemies below.
Tristan yelled to fire and the windows of the building bursted with bullets towards the enemies on the street. They mowed down everyone running in the open and stopped their retreat to a dead halt. The enemies couldn't respond fast enough so a majority of them were killed while the others ran for cover in the buildings. The others from Edward's group cleared the buildings with the help of Hugo and Hilbert.
"Corporal, we've spotted Major Issue and his company engaging the enemy vehicles on the outskirts of the city." A soldier stated.
"Relay the information to the captain. The steel giants are here." Tristan ordered before smirking.
On the outskirts, Roger's tanks fired on the enemy armored cars and half-tracks. Each shot found its target and obliterated it. The encore of the white devil has begun and it rattled the earth with it's melancholic symphony.