As soon as the air squadrons finished their runs and fell back to re-arm and refuel, the warships began their bombardment. They locked on and began firing; although some shots missed, the surrounding damage caused greater disaster. The patrol fleet split from the main task force and began overlapping their flanks.
**3rd Wolfpack POV**
*DRS Nautilus*
Commodore Henry Oswald was using the periscope, moving around trying to locate the supply ships until he locked on to 10 large ships. The shapes were not the same as standard longships. Seeing the crates and some movement rather than participation in the fight, he decided these were the supply ships.
"Northwest of our sub's location, a dozen large ships that could be supply ships," he spoke as the officers in the bridge began sending the orders. In another room, sailors loaded torpedoes.
"Sir, all 10 submarines, including ours, are ready to fire," the officer said as he drew a circle, showing the circle of destruction where anything inside would be destroyed.
"Alright, fire," he said. As he felt the small vibration, he spoke his next command. "Take us to periscope depth," he said, and no one protested.
When the periscope came out of the water, a large explosion was heard as the 10 ships were engulfed in flames. The crew tried to jump off, but it was too late as the gunpowder stored in those ships reacted, causing them to explode.
**Nordic Empire Flagship**
*Wolverine*
The crown prince, who took overall command of the campaign, stood on the deck as he witnessed their supplies burning. He was very mad as he snapped the wooden railings.
"Damn it! The majority of our working slaves are in that thing!" he shouted, gripping his axe. His admiral spoke, choosing his words carefully.
"Your highness, we must retreat and think of another route. This one is already held by the Draconian Empire," he said, prepared to face the consequence. The general, who was also with the prince, also spoke, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Retreat! It's the last thing we will do. Any deserter is a deserter of our war god!" he yelled.
"If only those damn Tiamats gave us better ships and in more quantity, we could've won this battle," he muttered under his breath. Only 100 ships were modeled after the HMS Victory but without the cannons, leaving a large space. Ten of them were prepped to hold supplies while the rest were prepped to hold treasures and soldiers. While his father accepted the gift with a smile, the prince knew its purpose.
Their use was only to drain the arsenal of the Draconian Empire, and they needed more people while the Tiamat and her allies tried to catch up technologically.
The prince was torn between retreating and facing his father's ire or launching a full attack, causing the death of the entire fully rebuilt army.
"Have our men launch full speed, have them reach the beaches, let them know the rally point," he said. The general and admiral followed the order, and their seers and berserkers, or rather wizards and mages, joined the fray.
During that character growth moment, the prince heard a faint whistling sound. Looking up, he saw a battleship shell heading towards him. Before he could shout, the shell landed squarely in the middle of the ship, and flames erupted. Luckily, he jumped off the ship, but he suffered a major burn on his back as the napalm shell landed. When he landed in the water, he was fished out by one of the ships in his fleet. After catching his breath, he screamed in full craziness.
"Full retreat!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The soldiers were conflicted, trying to decide between the previous order and the current order from the crazed crown prince.
After deciding to follow the current order, the fast attack craft carrying the marines landed and began slaughtering or capturing anyone. Lastly, the prince was captured, sent to receive medical aid, and then sent back to Draconia for questioning and imprisonment.
Only 200 ships were able to retreat. The rest were either sunk in the sea or sent to Muscovy to be scrapped. The task force rejoined the 1st fleet.
**A Few Hours Later**
*POV Alex*
Alex was on his mount, rather than in an armored vehicle. The horse was a rare breed called the Vurdor, known for its great endurance and durability, capable of taking a dozen bullets except for tank rounds. Alex was able to clone them in numbers, making them standard for the forbidden cavalry. This was the secret of the Draconian armed forces. All horses were sterile to prevent them from spreading to enemy forces.
Alex rode on his horse, named Mardy, leading the center column at the forefront, ready to spot and order soldiers. Behind him were the Imperial Guard, the 'Sword of the Emperor.' He began the capture of the inner region capital. After capturing it, he would stand in garrison and consolidate while waiting for the other armies to complete their objectives, knowing he needed to address problems on the remaining two fronts.
**Cossack Front**
Soldiers dashed towards their objective under the hail of enemy fire. Some stayed back to protect the armored vehicles stuck in the mud and debris, but at least the turrets continued to fire upon enemy positions.
"Come on, soldiers, keep moving!" shouted a Muscovy officer as he pulled an injured fellow soldier struck by a crossbow bolt through the left shoulder.
"Medic!" he shouted until he saw hundreds of arrows about to rain down. He pulled up his shield and felt the weight of over 30 arrows hitting it. Sighing in relief, he turned to look at his fellow soldier, only to see him dead with hundreds of arrows sticking out of his body.
At the very rear, Zarina saw the struggle and felt pain in her heart. As she was about to move to intervene, Axe stopped her and spoke.
"Weiss, you must lead the flanking force as planned," he said, appearing next to her with a red nose and small strands of beard around his chin.
"Why are they having a hard time? It's just one defensive point that we could go around!"
"Fine, have the men call off the assault. We can't really go around it since they have tunnels networking around this region. That's why we need an artillery strike. Have our engineers and wizards pull out those trapped vehicles," he said.
Ten minutes later, all soldiers were able to pull out. Over 20 artillery pieces 5km away from the battlefield opened fire, destroying the defensive position. Axe called up the Shock Troops, known as the 'Storm Knights,' as they charged through the battlefield. These clones, who Alex allowed to participate, sincerely requested more so each legion has a division of them. Out of the 100,000 who wanted to join, only 5% succeeded.
As they smashed through the trenches, killing anyone who fought back or surrendered, they concentrated all resources on the east side of the nameless city in the heartlands. In a few minutes, with charges and artillery shells, they destroyed the iron doors and broke through. The war banners of the empire flew, this time with gold in the center, a black background, a sword and rifle at the sides, a dagger, and the Chaos Legion motto: 'Those who serve and put their lives on the line deserve a peaceful life and death. Those who try to take it will die by the Sword of Draconia.'
"Storm Knights, take the lead! Storm Troopers, support by the flanks!" An officer with a rifle equipped with a bayonet took cover, gave orders, and took out targets hidden in buildings. As he advanced, he knocked down a door, saw enemy soldiers moving arrows, and drew fire, killing the group before rejoining his comrades.
You may be questioning why there are Storm Troopers and Storm Knights. Officially, they are Storm Knights, but the idea of Storm Troopers persists. Storm Knights under Sean wore blue plated armor with a silver cross on the chest plate, while Storm Troopers, the clones, form two units under that name.
The Storm Knights under Sean have only 20 divisions available, combining cavalry and infantry. Only five are activated and sent to active war fronts. Before their official deployment, the emperor must accept it. The rest are stationed within the empire to protect and police POWs.
As resistance grew harder, Axe led the 3rd offensive while Zarina cut off the other three hostile defensive positions. Over 300,000 soldiers combined with air assaults and artillery. Zarina created a gap in the weather for multi-role fighters to get a clear view and start bombardment.
As they got closer, the fight intensified. Cutting down anyone, they also suffered casualties exceeding 10,000 soldiers of Draconian and Muscovy.
A Storm Knight, dodging while enduring wounds from a crossbow bolt with unknown metal, charged up his mana and yanked the throat of a titan, ripping his esophagus and cutting off his neck. He moved to the next target, tackling a titan who had knocked down a squad of Muscovy soldiers. After tackling the body towards the walls, he punched the titan's face hard, making it cave into the wall. Knowing it stopped moving, he wiped the dust off his visor.
In the inner corridor, the remaining Chronos soldiers were moving barrels of gunpowder to strategic locations.
"Hurry, prepare the charges and close the gates," ordered the officer, directing his battalion as they moved carefully but quickly. They hid the barrels using snow or barrels of wine or ale, thinking they could win by hiding them. Unfortunately, they were being observed by a recon plane
.
**Siege Camp Command Tent**
Officers and commanders looked at the diorama of the city, placing shades of color marking captured zones, enemy control areas, and contested areas where ongoing battles were happening.
"We could dig under, but they have likely thought of it. We can't easily blow holes since they cordoned off the entire wall. By estimation, we can't easily blow up those barrels since it can cause an avalanche combined," said the commander of the legion.
"Is there a way to take the city? I can muster the soldiers trained by the mountain corps," she turned to Axe, who was observing and thinking deeply. Knowing him well, she waited for an answer.
"There is a way, but it's a two-pronged attack needing 2 or 3 weeks of preparation," he said. When he was about to explain, Weiss spoke.
"Explain," she said, and everyone except Axe listened attentively.
"First, our troops will not dig in but find a sewer system, if possible, into the city. I will use my authority for the first time in military matters to mobilize the 1st Air Cavalry Division to support this operation. During this, they attack above, drawing attention while a battalion goes under, rejoins the division, takes the gates, and disarms them. This involves our soldiers taking control," he explained. The others looked at him like a student giving a correct answer. The teacher, Zarina, spoke.
"Let's do it. I like it," she said with some feeling in her eyes that only Axe knew. He sighed, resigning to his fate.
"But remember, casualties will be quite high on our side since the first offensive might have the element of surprise, but the enemy will swarm our soldiers within minutes before reinforcements arrive. We still have to deal with the enemy traps within the city."
"As long as I can have my share," she said with a slight smile.
"So you will be empress," he said jokingly, brushing his hand on her pale white cheek.
"Of course, I want to have equal footing with the Draconian Empire as an ally and the gods of Olympus," she said. She was already called the Goddess of Winter, and the gods of Muscovy didn't really exist, making her the god-king of a new pantheon slowly forming.
Although she looked at him with an affectionate gaze, their relationship was already established in the bedroom. Each time Axe and her were together, the room was frozen to ensure not a sound escaped. Axe was smug about it, but his mission was to prevent the Muscovy Kingdom from acquiring a technological level equal to theirs, and that's where he would put his foot down.
After patting her head, he spoke.
"Well, if we get married, you still need to know where my loyalties lie and yours as well," he said in a not stern voice, showing her reason. She nodded her head in understanding.
Over the next few days, orders were sent. At a military base near the city of Viltra, the 1st Air Assault Division mobilized upon receiving orders to be sent north to the Cossack front. The soldiers were excited to see action, fueling up and conducting an air march from their base to the Cossack front, which took two weeks.
To be continued