The times went by. Soon it was time for the first mission of Erika's Wehrmacht To start. She had her soldiers train in the garden which was like a small forest in itself. They went through the forest over and over again. Erika constantly reminded them to keep an eye on the trees and make sure to stay together as a group. Some of the newly trained soldiers were formally adventurers so they had entered the dark forest before and knew about its dangers. The only thing they had to do was to fire their weapons while facing the enemy. Six months of training has turned them into loyal soldiers. They went through drills, weapons training, survival practices and theoretical classes on warfare and weapons. The troops were ready. The final preparations were ended by distributing 3 Eihandgranate 39 or the egg hand grenade a simple friction grenade used in large number by the Wehrmacht during world war 2. Since the German stipulated this type of grenade to be used in forested areas, she went with it instead of the more famous potato masher grenade. The grenade training was also given to the troops. She knew that if they were swarmed by the monsters then without having machineguns it would be a great trouble. Submachine guns won't subdue everyone and that's the reason she went forward with the hand grenade.
A week before the operation Erika spoke to Emil. "Listen Emil, I want your rest of the friends to go with us." Emil was surprised. He inquired into it, "Is there something you require from them milady?" "Yes," Replied Erika. She continued, "I want you to bring four trusted friends. They will bring two carts with them." "Do you want them to carry something?" Emil asked. "Yes one cart will carry extra weapons for just in case while the other one will be empty." Emil was surprised. "Why do you need the empty cart milady?" Erika looked at Emil with wide open eyes as if mocking this silly question. "Oh... is it to carry the loots from the forest?" "Yes exactly." Replied Erika. "I will arrange for it milady." Emil replied. He put his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly. Erika frowned, it was not to her satisfaction. She warned Emil, "We are members of the Wehrmacht now. There is no need to bow you must do the military salute for every senior officer." This was another thing she promoted in her Wehrmacht. The traditional salute and addressing seniors with Herr and followed by their rank along with replying "Ja wohl" for any command. "Jawohl." Emil shouted placing his right hand in parallel to his forehead and standing straight. It was the traditional military style. Emil left the room. He went to find his friends who he can trust to take part in the mission.
Soon the day of the mission came. 18 people gathered at the edge of the dark forest. Emil's friends were carrying two carts. They weren't wearing a uniform and were there as civilians helping with taking the loot back and providing extra ammunitions for the team. Emil, Bauer, Erika and the soldiers were wearing the standard Wehrmacht military uniform. The field gray tunic and trousers black long boots a little below the knees, the famous Stahlhelm the fusiliers had a six black munition pouches on both side of the belt a gas mask along with its carrier behind them hung the sachet holding an axe and canteens the standard kits for wehrmacht troops. The belt was black with a silver belt buckle which read "GOTT MIT UNS" the soldiers however didn't notice it. Erika went to great lengths to make their uniform authentic looking without the slightest change even the insignias were the same. She knew it would have offended many in her previous world but no one here knows about that. So she was quite okay with the style. The submachine gunners had six long poches on both sides of their waist. Meanwhile Emil and Bauer were both the submachine gunners, they also wore the rank badge of Uber Leutnant. The panzerjagers had an extra bag carrying three projectiles for their panzerfausts in addition to a Walther P38 pistol for self-defence. Eugen who was a little short on training was also present as the sanitater for the group. He was wearing the field gray but had a white apron with bright red cross on it. His helmet also had one. He was carrying two bags of medicinal herbs with him. He was surprised to be wearing such a bright colored uniform in the dark forest but Erika insisted on it saying that it was the rules of war. He was also carrying a Walther P38 with him but was forbidden to use it except for self-defence or protecting his patients. The cart carriers and the guide were surprised with the level of discipline and weird clothings and weapons the troops were carrying. They were friends with most of them except for the two and were worried that the young lady was sending them to death on a whim. But they noticed no expression of fear from any of them. "Milady, there is no way you are coming inside the forest. This is as far as you go." The frozen conflict was brought back up by Bauer. She frowned on Erika carrying a weapon and wearing the military outfit but entertained the thought of her just coming to see them off. But by no means will she ever entertain the idea of her going in. Emil nodded his head in agreement with Bauer. "But I am already here and it'll be a hassle to go back now." Erika said. She widened her eyes and looked at them as if they were bullying a 10 years old girl. "I have a cute face so why not take advantage of it." She thought. She again pressed for her joining, "There are unarmed civilians among us going inside, I can't just leave them in such a dangerous place. If they can be safe then I will be as well." Emil wouldn't have any of it. He maintained a straight face and looked directly into Erika's large blue eyes, "No means no milady. My friends are also adventurers and they know how to protect themselves." Erika pouted "I know too." She set on the empty cart and said, "There is no way I am leaving. Don't delay the mission anymore." Finally Emil and Bauer gave in to her demands. The group moved inside the forest.
Erika was giving them instructions on how to move inside the forest. She was wearing the rank badge of a Hauptmann. She only had three pouches on the left side and a walther P38 on the right side of the waist. Two scouts and the guide were leading the team from a little ahead of the main group. Erika herself was with the carts in the middle with Bauer while Emil was in the lead. Following behind him were two fusiliers while two fusiliers were behind the carts and the panzerjagers were one in the front and other in the rear. Eugen was also in the center. They advanced very silently and slowly through a narrow game trail. The dark forest really lived up to its name. The terrain was uneven causing troubles for the carts, there were massive undergrowths and dense forest all around. What was especially concerning was the darkness. Even though it was morning may be eleven AM, still everywhere was dark. Erika could now understand why it got the name of dark forest. It seemed as if sunlight has never entered in this part of the world. huge trees covered their heads. The only way to make sure that they were not losing the trail was to leave subtle marks on the road. The soldiers were all excited. Many of them had entered this forest before but this time they had a weird sense of security and pride. They trusted their new weapons to protect them. These weapons could take out any monster that may appear before them. Plus they had a professional 'sani' as they would call him in case they got injured. The troops in the center kept eyes over head while the two scouts were looking for any potential danger ahead of the main group. The darkness was suffocating. They couldn't see anything beyond a 20 to 50 yards ahead of them. They could only rely on the scouts ahead for signal. Occasionally a guttural, echoing cry would stop them dead in their tracks. Especially the two soldiers who are recruited by Emil outside of his friend circle were particularly nervous. They were sweating but six months of tight discipline had kept them together. Eugen was also very nervous. He was shaking. Even more so then the others because his trainings were behind them. Erika had a weird feeling of being watched by something. "Listen everyone, please be extra careful, especially you guys at the back. Remember attacks take place mostly at the rear of the group." She said it to her troops as silently as possible and then told a soldier to convey this message to everyone. She sent another runner to the scouts ahead with orders to be extra cautious and return back to the main group if encountered an enemy. Everyone was weary but also excited at the same time. Adrenaline was rushing through their heads.