One day before the operation, Asaka and the others are being given a chance to explore Orleans on their own. Maria gave them fake ID cards to avoid suspicion by the Black Cross military polices. Maria also tell them to still be on guard, despite having fun in Orleans
After a short briefing about the rules and regulations, Asaka and the others went to Orleans. Despite being under Black Cross' control, Orleans looks like the other city. The people lived their lives without any restrictions. The only thing that they must do is respect all the Black Cross members by doing the salute to them if they meet one. It shows that they admired the Fuhrer. Otherwise, they will be caught and will be tortured.
Their first destination would be saint Jeanne D'Arc's house. The house is still intact, despite being there for years. Then, they went to the nearest pastry house to try some of the local pastries. Kon knew that the local pastries have been mixed with German pastries. Therefore, she guides Asaka and the others through so they didn't get mixed with them.
After tasting some of the local pastries, they visited the big church that was very famous around the world. Asaka knew that France has surrendered to the Black Cross. But the reason is simple, they don't want any historical buildings to be destroyed because of war.
As they look around, a Black Cross officer suddenly calls Asaka and the others,
"Hey! you there!" said the officer.
Asaka looked at the officer. "Me?" while pointing his finger to himself.
"Yes, you! Come here!" Said that officer to Asaka.
The others were shocked and scared if the officer knows they have any relationship with the resistance. Surprisingly, the Black Cross officer pats Asaka on his shoulder.
"Can you help me taking a picture of me with this church in the background?" asked the officer.
"Sure! I will, officer," said Asaka while pretending to be happy.
The officer then gave Asaka the camera and took some photos of the officer with the church as the background. A few takes later, the officer looks at the pictures Asaka took, and he likes it.
"Wow! Nice photos! Are you a photographer or some sort? It's so beautiful!" said the officer while being impressed by the photos that Asaka take.
"It is true, officer. I was a photographer back in the day. And thank you for your thoughts on the pictures I took for you." said Asaka while smiling at the officer.
But suddenly, the officer begins to notice something.
"Wait, wait…your face is not that European at all..." said that officer to Asaka while looking at his face.
Asaka and the others realize that they have been compromised. But the officer raises his hand and begins to pat Asaka on the shoulder again.
"Are you from Japan or some sort? I can tell from your face. Worry not, my friend. We're not gonna capture you or something, because we are on tri pact with the Sakura Empire! I hope you enjoy your vacation in French! If you need anything, you can just contact me. Here is my card." said the officer while giving Asaka his business card.
"Gunther Schzult…Alright officer, thank you so much. I will call you if I need anything," said Asaka while looking at the info on the card.
"Wonderful! Alright, I have jobs to do. If my men arrest you, just said my name. I will back you up!" reply Gunther while winking at Asaka.
"Alright. Thank you!" said Asaka while making a straight face.
Gunther then walked away from Asaka and commanded his army to march around Orleans. Asaka then went back to the others with relief. The others were worried about him, especially Kon. Asaka then pats Kon on the head and tell them to not worry much about that.
After a few hours going around Orleans, they went back to the resistance hideout. Maria can be seen waiting for them at the entrance door.
"So, how's your field trip?" asked Maria while smiling at them
"It was fun! The city isn't like what we thought at all." Replied Kon with a cheerful smile on her face
"And we got something that may help us. Take a look!" said Asaka as he takes out the business card that he got from the general.
Maria took the business card and took a nice look at it. She smiles as she looked at the name on the business card.
"Gunther Schzult, huh? Interesting…" she said while giving back the card to Asaka.
"What's so interesting about him?" asked Asaka that was curious
"I'll tell you in the next briefing. Now, why don't you guys go to your room and take a rest? You guys look tired. We don't want any sleepyheads when briefing." Said Maria as she laughs
"Yeah, we will. See you in the briefing, Maria," said Asaka as they walked to their room
Maria looked at them as they enter their room and smiles,
"They won't expect him to come here…." Said Maria in her mind as she walks to her room
The time is now 8 P.M. Asaka and the others are gathered in the command room for a short briefing.
"As you guys know, we will move after this. The problem is, Normandy is full of Black Cross soldiers guarding around the howitzer. Therefore, we need help from the outside. From inside the Black Cross regiment, to be exact."
"And how are we gonna do that?" asked Asaka while confused
"Don't worry, we already have one. Alright, you can come in now!" said Maria while flicking her fingers
As the door opens, Asaka and the others were shocked,
"Ah, It's you guys again! I knew you all were the part of the resistance!" said the guy in a general suit.
"G-General Schzult???" Asaka looked at him for a few seconds in confusion
"Haha, I was expecting that kind of expression from all of you." Said Maria while laughing
"Yeah, I was also the part of the resistance. Since I found out that Black Cross is the bad guy here, I decided to join the resistance!" said Gunther while patting Asaka's head
"Well, hello, general! It was nice to see you here!" said Ayase as she looked at him
"Haha! Thanks for that! And now, I'm gonna tell you the secrets of the Black Cross," he said while began to get serious.
"You know that Black Cross is the bad guy here. They're killing too many innocents without reasons, too much that I lost my count."
"Then why you decided to join the Black Cross if you already knew that they are evil?" asked Kon.
"In a condition like this, peace is rare. And when the Fuhrer said that he will give peace to the earth, I was blinded by that promises, and when I join the Black Cross, things don't go like what I expected. This is not how peace was achieved. This is wrong. So that's why I decided to be a corrupt general. I released some of the innocents without them knowing, and I was lucky they didn't realize that." Said Gunther with a sad tone
"And luckily when I was got captured by the Black Cross, he helped me escaped. But my husband got caught in the middle of the run…." Said Maria as she looked down at the table
The atmosphere in that room changed into sad and gloomy. Asaka knows how they feel since he also loses someone close to him.
"Anyway, knowing that Maria is the leader of the resistance, I think that would be a better idea than the regiment, so I decided to join her. Unlike them, the resistance knew what are they doing. We then agreed to help each other since then!" said Gunther while trying to wipe out the sad expression from his face
"Then, you will help us destroying the howitzers?" asked Sammie
"Of course! Starting another war would be a bad idea, after all!" replied Gunther with an excited tone
Gunther then took out a map of the Normandy from his bag.
"This is the map of Normandy, and I already marked out the howitzers across the beach. As you can see, there's a lot of them." Said Gunther while pointing at the red marks
"Then how are we supposed to bypass the security?" asked Asaka
"No worries, my friend! I was appointed to replace the retired officer who previously commands them. And for all of you, I already prepare everything!" he replies as he took out some uniforms from the bag.
"Is this…the Black Cross soldier uniforms?" asked Kon as she grabs one and observes it
"It is. Now, get changed! We are going to Normandy!' command Gunther.
"Yes, general!" said Asaka and the others as they went to change into the uniform
After they left, Maria decided to have a small talk with Gunther.
"I bet you scare them off when you asked Asaka to help you take pictures," she said while giggling.
"Yeah, they are. Good thing that there's no soldier around, so I can let them go." He replies while looking at the map
"And I'm sorry that I can't help your husband in time…" said Gunther while trying to hide the sad expression
"Don't worry about that. You already tried your best. Now let's just focus on the current mission." She replies as she looks at the map
A few minutes later, Asaka and the others are back.
"Wow, you guys look cool in that uniform!" praises Gunther while looking at them
"Haha, thanks. Now, shall we go?" said Asaka impatiently.
"Yeah. The van is waiting outside. Now, let's go!" Gunther said as he rolled up the map back
"Let's go!" said Asaka and the others
They packed up their things and moved to the van. Then, they began to move to Normandy.
Along the way, Asaka was thinking whenever Gunther can he be trusted or not. He's been stabbed in the back several times in the past. And now, he's worried if the same thing will happen again to him and the others.
As he ponders, General Gunther sat down beside him and greeted him.
"Hey, Asaka! hey! " Said Gunther while tapping on his knee.
"Hah? Oh, hey..." reply Asaka.
"Nice weapon you got there, my friend. Is that some kind of rifle? It seems so out from the world!" said Gunther to Asaka while looking at his gun.
"Yeah, I made this rifle myself..." reply Asaka with angry like tone.
"Wow, looks like you didn't fully trust me yet. Let me tell you this. My brother has been shot in the head by another general while I was in front of him. The only thing I know that he's with the resistance. At first, I don't really care about that, but killing people just for that, isn't that sounds…awful?" asked Gunther
"Well, not really. But I agree with you, though…" reply Asaka while listening to his story.
"The worst thing is, they're killing innocent people without reasons. That's just…wrong…Why would they do that…Peace can't be achieved if they keep doing that…" said Gunther with a sad tone
As he listens to his story, Asaka knew that General Gunther has the same past as him. His trust issues began to fade away as he listens to Gunther's story and eventually fell asleep on his shoulder.
Two hours later, Asaka was awoken by Gunther.
"Hey, wake up. We're here…" said Gunther while waking him up
Asaka slowly woke up and looked out at the window as he realized that they have arrived in Normandy.
"Alright, Asaka. Listen to me. I know that you still have trust issues, but I don't care. I will do my best to help you and your friends." Said Gunther while getting prepared
At first, Asaka was kind of shock when hearing that but to prove that he's not going to get them killed, Asaka agrees. The truck hides in the forest. Asaka and the others began to move, while Maria and Eric disguise themselves as the high-rank officer and infiltrate the base.
It was raining and dark at 10 P.M. They're taking down some soldier who guards the howitzers and then plant the bombs around it.
At the same time, Maria and Eric successfully grabbed some files that contain Black Cross' plans in Normandy. They then retreated back to the field to catch up with Asaka and the others.
Gunther looks at Asaka while being amazed by his skills in handling the gun.
"Not gonna lie, Asaka. Your gun looks awesome! It doesn't even make any noise!." said Gunther to Asaka while he was shooting at the guards with his silenced gun
Asaka didn't reply as he was too focused on shooting and gave him a smile instead.
A couple of minutes later, Maria and Eric arrived at the forest to fetch up with Asaka and the others. At the same time, Asaka and the others are finished planting all the bombs on the howitzers.
Then Asaka and the others quietly retreated back to the truck in the forest. They gathered up with Maria and Eric at the van and prepared to get away from there.
As Maria and Eric prepare the truck, Asaka pressed the button on the remote. Seconds later, explosions were heard across the beach. The bombs explode and destroy all the howitzers, leaving only dust and metal scraps.
Maria heard the bomb being blown off and glad that they can make it. Then Asaka knocks on the door, giving a signal for Eric to drive off. Maria and Eric were surprised when Asaka knocks on the door since it was so quiet. Eric then smiles at Maria and drives back to the resistance hideout.
As they drive off, they saw planes flew through the skies.
"Hold up, this can't be real. The Alliance didn't say that they will launch the attack today.
W-what are they thinking?!" Eric madly states about the planes.
"And that's the paratroopers! But how? and why this fast?" said Maria to Eric.
"Okay, for now, let's get back to the hideout. Gunther, Asaka, I want you both to get some information regarding this tomorrow. Can you do this?" asked Eric while focusing on driving.
"Yes, we can!" reply Asaka with an excited tone.
"Heh, we know that we count on you." Said Eric while laughing
While Normandy descent into chaos, they went back safely to the hideout. They also hide the truck in the jungle. After cleaning up, they went for a short briefing, where Maria tells them about what she and Eric found about Black Cross' plans and secrets.
But suddenly, someone was knocking on the door…