Erika's father was soon called back to the capital. He had no choice but to leave. Erika and her mother were both sad when he left. But Erika's mother didn't want him to leave. She felt that something bad may happen. But it was an order from the king so he had to leave.
Erika also had no way of resisting. She hugged her father and he also kissed her forehead before leaving. He reassured them that everything will be fine.
Erika kept herself busy with the formation of her army. After another six months her company of 124 men was now ready for action. "Well actually it's 122 men and 2 girls. Heheh" Erika thought.
It was reassuring for her to have the men ready for action. "If anything happens in the capital we can now take action." She thought. But she also knew that nothing is supposed to happen at least until she enrolled at the academy of magic. But still she prepared because this world was a bit different from the game world so preparing for any eventuality is the best choice.
The resources she had accumulated from her first operation inside the forest was already diminished. So she called on a meeting for the general staff.
At the camp the meeting began at the headquarters building. This time Along with Emil, Bauer and Eugen, the other three officers were present as well also this time Erika was not planning to join them. The meeting commenced.
"Milady, this time we have more troops and powerful weapons like the MG42. So this time we may not face a problem like last time." One of the officers said.
"No the machine guns might be useful once we go to that clearing where we previously found the heap of treasure but it will be unwieldy inside the forest. The mortars also won't help in anyways." Another officer refuted.
Erika was pleased to see that her new officers have learnt about the usage of their new equipments and also express their ideas in strategy meetings. "My hard work is paying of." She thought.
Emil gave his opinion, "Milady... I mean Kommandant, I think taking the entire company would be useless. Rather sending one platoon of thirty soldiers will suffice our necessity."
All the officers agreed with Emil on this point. Actually taking an entire company for a task like this would only waste resources. Not to mention large troop bodies can't move efficiently inside a forest especially if the forest is as big and dense as the dark forest.
"What if we face more powerful monsters this time." Bauer asked. "We all know what we faced last time. And the monsters have already shown that they have a command of their own issuing orders."
The facts that Bauer spoke made everyone think again. Last time they were incredibly lucky to have survived without any serious losses but that may not be the case this time. Everyone became silent to think about this point and what to do about it.
Noticing the silence and the worries in everyone's face Erika spoke, "Why are you worried about it?" Everyone in the room looked at her. They were curious as to what she would say. "Have you forgotten about the field telephones?" She said.
"Ah, yes." We almost forgot about it. Emil said. They all now seemed a little relieved. "We can use them to ask for reinforcements if we run into trouble." He added.
The basic structure of the formation going in the forest wasn't changed, only tripled. This time a platoon of three squads would enter. among the 32 men who would enter the forest, There shall be Emil and a Leutnant who will be the commanders of the force both experienced from the previous incursion. Emil will act as the overall commander of the entire group along with the cart bearers while the leutnant will command the platoon.
Erika stipulated, "This time instead of taking any civilians we will take the newly trained soldiers as the bearers. This will increase their experience. Take two carts per squad totaling 6 carts and 12 soldiers with you this time."
"That's a very good idea kommandant." Said one of the officers. "This decreases our worries and saves money from paying extra. While also giving them a live show of the power of this new army and future battles." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Another change made was the assigning of machine guns. The number of fusiliers per squad was decreased to accommodate this new weapon. It may have been less useful in the forest but the clearing from where they gathered the treasure last time could be secured effortlessly by employing them, so no one opposed the idea.
Lastly, another change made was that instead of just Eugen, this time the sanitaters he trained will also go with the troops. For Eugen, this will be the last mission he personally goes with the troops.
The D-day for this second incursion was set in two days. The troops Started getting busy with their preparations. The carts necessary were brought from the town. The soldiers polished their rifles, machine guns and panzerfausts. Sanitaters collected the herbs and bandages necessary for treating the soldiers, while the signal troops in charge of the telephones started to coil steel wires mixed with oil and tar and wrapped in thick clothes to protect them from being cut off midway. The craftsmen increased the production of bullets, barrels and HEAT shells for the guns and panzerfausts. Extra munitions were loaded in three carts for use by the troops.
Two days passed by in a jiff preparing everything for the mission. On the D-day morning the troops assembled at the gate of their camp. Erika came to see them off.
Once again, the troops were wearing their field gray uniforms with eagles and other Wehrmacht insignias. The famous Stahlhelm, the black long boots, black belt with silver buckle that reads, "Gott mit uns". The soldiers looked just like the soldiers from the original Wehrmacht. Even the gears like canteens, axe, gas mask carrier and ammo pouches for the fusiliers and submachine gunners were authentic looking. The officers also had a sidearm with them.
Erika was a bit sad for not being able to join the mission personally but she was more worried that if she was late this time her mother would eat her alive. Emil and Bauer both comforted her last night. Even the officers and NCOs going this time also comforted her.
"Please trust us Kommandant. We all remember how you personally lead us through the mission safely. We will follow your steps to ensure that this one also ends with success." The leutnant told her. She smiled a little.
She gave a departing speech to the soldiers to increase their morale and to reassure them. "Don't worry men, I may not be able to join you this time, but I assure you that you have nothing to be afraid of. Follow the orders of your superiors and never lose concentration. Always be on your guard and take care of each other. I hope that you will return safe and sound."
Emil and the platoon commander saluted her and finally the group departed for the forest.
The game trail they followed previously was gone. The forest was thicker than before with many shrubs and undergrowths. The carts especially the ones loaded with ammo and telephone reels were having extra trouble and were frequently getting stuck in the mud or tree roots.
The soldiers were keeping lookouts in every direction while 6 soldiers moved ahead of the group as forward scouts. They were using their bayonets to clear the way for the main group as much as they can. panzerjager and the sanitaters were helping to pull the carts whenever they got stuck.
Meanwhile in the camp, the rest of the troops and the craftsmen were busy with their daily trainings and weapons manufacturing. Erika sat in the kommandantur building by the other telephone along with its operator and Bauer. It was clear that she was anxious. She kept her eyes glued to the telephone in fear that she might miss a call or report from the group.
Soon the platoon started to encounter monsters. At first it was the scouts ahead of the main group who started to encounter the monsters. Shots were fired. But the monsters were fast and kept their distances. Emil left the main group to check with the scouts.
"Sir, the monsters seem to be probing us. They are not advancing or attacking us. Even the ones up in the tree are acting like this. They come down to the last branch of the trees slowly as if they are going to attack us, but as soon as we notice and fire at them they climb up to the highest branch." One scout reported.
Another one reported that the ones on the ground were also trying to throw them off. "Some smaller fox-like monsters would suddenly come out of the bushes close to us and run away. They are fast and even the MP40s have a hard time targeting them accurately. However they are not attacking us."
Emil frowned. He was worried. This time the monsters were showing even more intelligence than the last time. "What are they trying to achieve?" He thought.
"Alright, you stay on high alert. Try to kill as many of them as you can but don't pursue and above all stay safe." Emil told them and was about return back to the main group when he suddenly heard sounds of gunfire from the direction of the main group.