Khan was standing on air while bullets where flying all around him. The Dakian officers were shouting calling the mages cowards and wanted them to fight like men. Khan didn't care, he was busy testing the rifle. It special features were only active if he had a specific target in mind otherwise it worked just like any other gun. With a few exceptions, for example, it doesn't fire bullets but energy, like soul, mana, or life force.
If it wasn't for his Unlimited Energy perk, this gun could easily become a lethal double-edged sword. Another difference was the bullets didn't stop until it hit something, and they weren't affected by outside influences like wind or gravity.
He heard Tanya call her forces to assemble, it appears they were looking for the enemy field command. It took them less than an hour. The Dakians were completely overwhelmed by the mage battalion, it was very sad to watch. However, Khan felt no pity. It was their own faults, they brought it upon themselves for not changing with the times.
After picking they place clean, Tanya made the decision to attack the capital. It happened more or less the same as the anime. Including, Tanya altering her speech to sound very childish.
...
Time marched on, the campaign with the Entente Alliance went as expected. From stopping a bombing raid on the supply depot, to invading the Orse Fjord. It all happened as shown in the anime.
Which leaves us to right now. Khan was observing the carnage of the battlefield of the Rhine. The screams of the dying, the smell of blood and gunpowder, and the sight of earth meeting sky. The poetry of it all was helpful to relieve the boredom. Not so much for those in the thick of it.
Khan's enjoyment was interrupted by the news that the city of Arene had begun revolting. He knew what was to follow, so, Khan went ahead. As he arrived, Khan saw the plane drop the evacuation notice.
He decided this would be the best opportunity to both test out a skill and show Tanya what he was made of. Khan activated Meteor Storm, the first thing he noticed was that he couldn't move while casting, and another was it took thirty seconds to cast. Not a long time, but if the pressure was on then it could be fatal.
The payoff was worth it. At least three dozen meteors began to fall. They were roughly half the size of a Buick. The resulting explosions on impact were very noticeable. Khan found it amusing as the Republic mages were scrambling to figure out what was happening.
Once they realized it wasn't a artillery barrage, but a "natural" disaster, the non-combat civilians began to flee. The militia were fractured as it became apparent that the mages were intending to use them as human shields to prevent artillery attacks.
However, the meteor shower that just decimated their homes caused many of the citizens to flee. They didn't go far just outside the town. Far enough that if the empire started bombing the town, they wouldn't be caught up in it.
When Tanya's mage battalion arrived, the only people there were either combatants or prisoners.
...
Tanya saw the pillars of smoke and saw that there was no pattern. Off in the streets below, she noticed the local militia scrambling to set themselves up. It appears many of their original positions were either destroyed or were no longer accessible.
Thus, most of them were easy pickings, when they tried to shoot at them. The mages that had instigated everything were already hindered from their own injuries. After a brief skirmish, the enemy mages retreated to the center of town. The breakdown of communications became apparent when several of the local renegade militia soldiers were trying to use their prisoners as hostages.
They were shouting demands, Tanya was annoyed because if anything happens to the hostages, she would be held culpable. As if she had received help from above to solve the problem, the militia's weapons and torsos exploded.
She knew better than to think Being X had any help looked around. She spotted Khan, rifle in hand. Tanya realized that the surrounding destruction was probably caused all by him.
Then it dawned on her, since only a handful of individuals can see him, unless he allows it, then everyone else would either assume this was just a unfortunate natural disaster, or an act of divine retribution. Her battalion rescued the prisoners, then she gave the public announcement for the militia to lay down their arms.
Their response was as expected. They immediately began shooting at her, not willing to surrender. With the recording of their response, Tanya was covered as she gave the artillery at the outskirts of town permission to fire.
They began without delay, the mages decided to cut their losses and run. Leaving what was left of the militia to die. The civilians looked at the fleeing mages with contempt. They had convinced everyone that they would be protected, and those that chose to fight would be supported.
Many of the citizens realized that if they hadn't left, they would likely have been killed in the artillery fire. Those mages couldn't protect anyone.
...
Severin Bientot was severely angry. The operation was an absolute failure. That meteor shower had thrown everything out of balance. While he was relieved that no civilians were hurt, it meant that the empire didn't have to hold back once their imprisoned soldiers were rescued.
He lost half of his unit in the opening skirmish, and several more were cut down as they tried to escape the bombardment. Now, including himself, there were only five mages left. As he turned to the lieutenant to order him to call in a pick-up. Said lieutenant, exploded.
Panic began to rise as he yelled, "They must be pursuing us! Full throttle! Don't stop till we're back in our territory!" There was no sign of pursuit, at two kilometers they should have been clear.
Discipline breaks down as another one of his men turns into a ball of fire. He pushed himself to go faster. He sees the Rhine battle line, another explosion. He makes it behind friendly lines, he turns to see the last of his subordinates to fall.
Then he sees it, a magically enhanced bullet flying towards him. He dives into the trenches and is caught by some of the soldiers below. Once he was standing on his own, a soldier told him that they saw the bullet go another hundred yards before simply disappearing. It was at that moment it was clear for Bientot, he and his men had been used for target practice by someone who was still at Arene, as impossible as it seemed. He guessed they must have been experimenting on how effective the range was.
A chill ran down his spine as he calculated the distance between his current location and Arene City. He could only pray the empire had no way of mass producing this new weapon or the war would be lost in a matter of days.
...
Khan was getting dressed, sleeping soundly behind him wearing nothing but a blanket was Schubert and Serebryakov. Aisha had been a bed companion for Khan since she first joined the battalion, Viktoriya had become a fixture for his bed after the hellish training, and her abilities had improved to the point she could see him. She had proven to be disappointingly easy to take to bed.
The tent was designated for the battalion's female officers. He practically dragged them there after the fighting and clean-up was declared finished. He needed to vent after learning of a flaw in his rifle. In the beginning the speed of the bullet was like a normal bullet, but after a certain distance it slows down to a Hollywood action blockbuster bullet. While still technically fast, it can be seen and reacted to, by anyone.
As he left to search for Tanya. They would be sent to the front lines soon, which would soon be followed by operation Lock-pick. Then the series of events that would lead to the collapse of the Republic. Then there would be a month or two in the desert. Which will lead to some time on the eastern front. He has one more part of his past to tell Tanya, Khan was trying to decide the best time to tell it. When Tanya came by shouting that they would be transferring to the Rhine in a few hours and to prepare appropriately.
...
Back at the capital, a meeting was ongoing. The purpose; to discuss how to end the war with their absolute, unquestionable victory. The generals and every military strategist were going over their options. The biggest obstacle was the Allied Kingdom. Officially a neutral party in this conflict, but scout reports had spotted several agents observing the battlefield.
They've also been reported giving financial and strategic aid to the Republic. The top brass suspects the moment that the empire looks like it will fall they'll swoop in and claim credit. Making them seem more powerful than they actually are.
When a report of the new prototype was brought in, suddenly a plan began to form, and everything just fell into place. The first step would be to have the Pixie Battalion provide a distraction as they reorganize the front lines and start spreading some false propaganda through some "neutral" countries.
As the plan was completed, General Zettour noticed that the all-important first half of the operations, the most difficult and essential part, relied solely on Major Degurechaff and her mage battalion. Instead of voicing the potential flaws of over working an important asset, he kept quiet. Thinking that by relying upon the major that the entire operation couldn't possibly fail, despite what conventual wisdom would dictate.