Krichtenberg Berlina, Oceania Federation. Early morning of February 24, 2026
In the northern regions, dawn came early. As soon as the bombers withdrew from the city, the warm rays of dawn gradually appeared in the east. In the stillness of the morning, a few columns of black smoke rose from the Pankortz district of Weissensezft. Above the low clouds, it was difficult to distinguish the dim morning light from the bright flames of a destroyed Krichtenberg Berlin. As the smoke slowly cleared over the ruins, the most bombed city in Oceania loomed grim and eerie. The entire city was black with ash, pockmarked with thousands of craters and dotted with twisted columns from collapsed buildings. The streets were littered with wooden boxes and body bags. Blood stained the sky.
Entire apartment blocks were wiped out, and in the centre of the capital, entire areas were completely wiped out. In the wasteland, what had once been avenues and streets were now rough tracks, winding through mountains of rubble and broken glass. Roofless, windowless buildings, their interiors completely destroyed, gaped at the sky. After the raid, a rain of ash fell, covering the ruins, and in the canyons of brick and steel, only dust was flying. Dust swirled along the A1 extension, the famous trees were now bare, the buds withered on the branches.
Only a handful of banks, libraries and luxury shops on this famous avenue were undamaged. But at the western end of the street, Krichtenberg's most famous landmark, the eight-story Branderkow Gate, still stands on its 12 giant Dorickz columns, despite being riddled with shrapnel. At the massive Reichstag, where the Parliament meets, on the ruined roof above the six-column entrance, overlooking the sea of rubble threatening to engulf the building, are the words in black: – For the people of Oceania!
Somewhere south of the city, the Bemeroth base, which was considered the command center for the counterattack, had been completely flattened. The train stations that transported soldiers to the battlefield had even been turned into ruins. Tens of thousands of new recruits had been wiped out before they could even see the battlefield, and the human losses were staggering. The hospital had to withstand the attacks while also receiving hundreds of mangled corpses. The refugee death situation was so widespread that it was impossible to handle it. The newly arrived reinforcements were immediately sent to the front, dying in large numbers. Food and ammunition were also running low. It seemed that all the despair and death were concentrated here.
"Everyone. Let's go, hurry up. There's not much time left. Those barbarians might be secretly attacking there." – A loud voice echoed throughout the shelter.
With the remaining light, I and many other comrades slowly walked out of the bomb shelter after the enemy's artillery attack had passed. All that remained were the ruins of a mighty empire. The dead lay scattered on the streets, blood flowing profusely. The alarm sirens blared loudly, drowning out the Desperate cries for help, the cries of pain and despair. Witnessing this scene that only appeared in apocalyptic movies, we rookies could only stand there in horror, our faces drained of color. A few screams began to screech.
"Oh my god. That looks terrible…"
"Blood… it's blood!"
Everyone looked terrified, bewildered and desperate as they watched their blood brothers being crushed and sacrificed by bombs. I stood there, like a lost soul. It was not until a fireman from afar called out that I came to my senses. He looked disgusting with his ragged clothes, covered in blood and mud. His skin was even calloused, with bruises that had long since rotted and turned black. In a hoarse voice, he tried to urge us:
"Hey! Guys! Come out here and give us a hand. I'm exhausted. Damn those Eurasians."
I and a few soldiers ran over. It was a 14-year-old refugee boy, the boy was crushed by a rock, bleeding profusely. I grabbed the rock and used all my strength to flip it over. My arm muscles were in so much pain that it felt like they were about to break. I gritted my teeth and screamed in pain. We had a hard time lifting it off the boy, but it was too late. He died before we could save him. His body gradually turned cold, covered with scratches and bruises, blood and flesh vague. I was shocked, sitting there in utter confusion. Everything was crazy and chaotic. War had made this place so desolate and deadly? How terrifying!
A haggard old officer stood up from the rubble, using all his strength to continue his unfinished propaganda speech. It seemed that no one was listening to that nonsense anymore. Because we were all fed up with being bombed day and night by the enemy.
"Fellow soldiers, the Eurasian barbarians are preparing to launch a new attack on the city. Currently, all supply lines have been cut off, with less than 50,000 men left to fight while the enemy has over 200,000 soldiers. Despite the huge difference, I hope each of us will do our best to hold on to this place. We need to kick them out of this place and win a decisive victory!"
After saying that, he slowly walked with his haggard appearance to a street corner and used the pistol in his pocket to blow his own skull, freeing himself from this hell. A gunshot rang out, ending a short life. Two guards quickly carried his body to burn it and walked towards me. They were very violent and vicious, directly grabbing me by the neck and throwing me straight into the marching army like an inanimate object. They even cursed and cursed me terribly.
"Get out of my sight! You snotty little brat! Go away!"
"Get in line quickly if you want to live! You're in unit 92, right? Oh, I forgot, they're all dead. Well, go back to company 96, kid!"
I was pushed into a soldier and then both of us fell flat on the ground. Mud and dirt just stuck to both of our clothes. Seeing that, I panicked and ran over, helped the other person up, a bit confused and asked:
"Excuse me! Are you okay? Let me help you up. Sorry for bumping into you."
I looked at the badge pinned to her chest. It turned out that she was a female marksman. She was quite short compared to us, only about 1m69. That girl had platinum hair, neatly tied behind her head. Her face was delicate, with deep blue eyes that seemed to contain an entire ocean, beautiful and mysterious, making me unconsciously drawn into those eyes.
The strange girl stood there, staring at me, as if she had recognized something. I also found her very familiar, as if we had met before. How strange. It seemed that after she had come to her senses, the girl replied to me:
"It's okay, I can take care of myself. Who are you? I just saw those policemen beating you up, it looked so brutal." She smiled and asked me.
I lowered my voice:
"I'm Klaus Polskarov, a member of the 92nd Platoon of the 7th Guards Corps. But they're all dead, I'm the only survivor left. Nice to meet you."
"Ilaina Ilytasivich Kilova. Nice to meet you."
Ilaina simply introduced herself and asked me:
"Are you Eurasian too?"
"Half. My father is Eurasian and my mother is Oceanian."
After a while of talking, Ilaina and I found that we had a lot in common and felt very familiar with each other like old friends. I learned that she was a Eurasian sniper who had defected to Oceania because she realized the futility of this war. While we were getting to know our new friend, a high-ranking officer, who seemed to be a platoon leader, suddenly came over and asked:
"What are you two doing? Hurry up, those Eurasian bastards have already crossed the outskirts, why are you still standing there!"- After saying that, he looked at us meaningfully, the corner of his mouth slightly curved up – "You're the new recruits, right? Welcome to hell on earth."
I helped Ilaina up and together we caught up with the new platoon. We passed by 73 Neistalyat Street, the beautiful little palace that had once been the official residence of the former Oceanian prime ministers, completely burned down inside. The palace had once been described as a miniature paradise. But now the elaborate architecture, the beautiful decorations, and the sea goddess statues in the magnificent fountain in the front yard had been violently destroyed, lying in ruins, the only thing that seemed to be saved were the twin statues of the Rhinert virgins on the chipped roof leaning towards the rubble-strewn courtyard, their heads missing.
A block away, building number 77 was relatively unscathed, just slightly dented. Bricks were piled up around the three-story U-shaped building. The brownish-yellow paint was chipped in several places, and the shiny gold eagles with crosses on their claws that were placed on the gates were badly scratched and chipped, seemingly taking away from its once majestic appearance.
The imposing balcony juts out above, where a frenzied speech was once delivered to the world. The Reichskanz, the office building of the Oceanian Prime Minister, still stands. Above Kurfurst, Krichtenberg's Fifth Avenue, the mangled skeletons of the once-magnificent Memorial Church lie scattered.
As we marched toward the deadly trenches that surrounded the capital, everyone's faces were filled with unconcealed anxiety. The desolate landscape gradually revealed itself With each step we took. The land was vast and watery under the long, gloomy scene of dawn. On the rough road were puddles of stagnant water, funnel-shaped depressions rippled in the early morning wind. The trails that the footsteps of the soldiers and the night convoy had just carved out, in the fields now barren, full of hidden bomb craters filled with stagnant water, shone like steel rails in the pale light.
Piles of mud, here and there a few broken poles stuck out, broken X-shaped supports, bundles of twisted wire, twisted into bushes, mud flats and puddles that made the ground look like a cloth, floating in some places, sinking in others. It wasn't raining, but everything was wet, dripping, soaked, and even the pale light seemed to be running away.
"So slimy and sticky…" – Ilaina furrowed her pretty eyebrows, her face filled with disgust and fear.
Well, she is a girl after all. I reached out my hand to her and said:
"Come on Ilaina, let me help you down."
I slowly jumped into the trench and then gently helped Ilaina down. Damn it! The sight below made my stomach churn, suppressing the feeling of nausea, I took a step forward. The stinking mud stuck to our leather boots, making it difficult to walk. In addition to the stench of corpses and blood, we were witnessing the most bloody and deadly clashes today. I gritted my teeth, trying to slap away the remaining water in my boots but it was useless, unwilling to let it soak into my skin.
Ilaina turned to me and said:
"Thanks. This place is as bad as everyone says."
Taking out her sniper rifle, Ilaina skillfully placed it on the gun rack, aiming straight ahead. I was not idle either, quickly taking out my Mark 18 to check it again. The same went for the others, some even took the opportunity to get to know each other because the original members were all dead, we were essentially just a bunch of random people thrown in for show.
"Ilaina, have you killed any Eurasian soldiers since you joined the army?"
"Not yet. This is my first time in real combat. Normally, I just stand far away and learn how to fire to support infantry, not shoot at close range like this. What about you?"
"We're the same. I haven't even learned the theory yet. All my skills come from games." – I shrugged and replied.
Ilaina's eyes stopped on me for a few seconds as if considering the truth of my words, then turned back to her half-prepared gun and asked me:
"So why did they push you out to this deadly place? Doesn't everyone who goes to the battlefield have to be thoroughly trained?"
"No, actually we just finished learning how to use guns, we haven't made much progress. All the elites are dead, now we're just burning the reserve volunteers-"
Before I could finish my sentence, the sound of a fighter jet engine suddenly echoed from afar. Just a few seconds later, a Su-27 Flanker with a red star painted on its fuselage flew over our heads. It was so huge that it seemed to block my vision, the plane disappeared at the speed of sound. I saw enemy fighters flying over our heads at breakneck speed, suddenly dropping tens of thousands of tons of deadly bombs. In just a moment of shock, the vehicle carrying reinforcements behind us suddenly exploded into hundreds of pieces. I panicked, without thinking much, I quickly hugged Ilaina and lay down on the ground, avoiding being hit by the bomb fragments.
The rocks and soil fell like rain, even with blood on them. A huge fire broke out, followed by a cloud of black smoke. I held Ilaina tightly and lay motionless, the enemy's bombs and bullets swept over our heads like a hurricane, drowning out the painful screams, cries, and groans of our comrades. They were hit by the hot bullets, their bodies were blown away or were hit by large broken rocks. In the chaos, someone shouted:
"GET HIDE EVERYONE! IT'S A FIGHTER PLANE!"
Then came another series of explosions. The air seemed to be sucked out, the smell of smoke and blood rushed straight into my nose. Ilaina, who was beside me, coughed continuously, and had to sit up to catch Her breath. At that moment, countless phosphorus bombs fell. She stood there, stunned, unable to react to the impending disaster. My heart stopped, my pupils constricted:
"ILAINA! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"
My body reflexively hugged Ilaina in fear, using two or three big steps to quickly bring the two of us to hide in a corner of the trench. Then the ground was immediately plowed up and roared, as if it wanted to tear the sky apart. The heat of death blew past me, it seemed like something had brushed past my arm, causing my arm to ache as if it was crippled, but it did nothing but hold onto Ilaina's small body, using my own body to shield her, preventing her from dying. I felt Ilaina's hand tighten on my shirt, she was also opening her mouth to breathe out with difficulty. The sound of bombs and artillery outside continued to ring out, my body was as tense as a bowstring, drops of sweat ran down my face, I closed my eyes tightly. I hugged Ilaina even tighter, I was very worried about her, I didn't know why, I realized my feelings for Ilaina were very strange but in this situation I didn't have the mood to think about it so I put this problem behind my mind. Pray to God above to keep us safe and sound. We just hugged each other like that during the entire time of the enemy's bombardment.
After the series of earth-shattering noises ended, the silence returned. After those near-death moments, I was exhausted and lay on the ground. I was panting, my breath was rapid, a little dazed from the events that had just happened. Fear enveloped me, I noticed that Ilaina was not moving. I gritted my teeth, trying to use some strength to shake her awake.
"Ilaina. Are you okay? Are you hurt?!"
Ilaina's lifeless eyes gradually condensed and looked at my face, her blue pupils seemed to flash with a trace of panic, as if regaining her composure, she said to me:
"Klaus! You look like a wreck, your skin is all burned. Come on, let's get out of here. This is chaos."
I covered my arm with my hand and mumbled a reply as blood continued to ooze out. She helped me through the trenches that had been torn open by artillery fire. Others were busy filling in the huge hole in the front line that was filled with stagnant water. Just then, the siren sounded, signaling a new artillery barrage.
"Hide! Enemy 155mm artillery."
A shell suddenly fell into the trench, exploding right before Ilaina and me. It sent everything around us flying high into the sky, tearing their bodies into hundreds of pieces, a few drops of blood splashed on my face but I didn't have the heart to wipe them away. We could only watch as their flesh and skin were covered in dust without being able to do anything, truly a death without a whole body.
Knowing that the battlefield is so fierce and terrifying, I still can't suppress the feeling of nausea in my stomach, my face turns pale and green, I just want to get used to this situation quickly, otherwise I will die on the battlefield not because of bullets or explosions but because of these kinds of scenes that make my heart stop or disgust me to death.
As soon as the dust cleared, on the ground where the two of us stood, there was a hole with flesh and blood splattered everywhere, leaving the ground a mess of mixed flesh and blood that people could no longer recognize that it was a human being. And the only thing left to distinguish them from the dirt and rocks was the hat they wore and the tattered military uniform.
Coming to a trench, Ilaina gently let me sit down to rest. She brushed my sweaty platinum hair back, I felt Ilaina's gaze soften like a calm blue lake with a gentle breeze, she looked at me and said:
"You stay here and rest for a bit, I'll go get the first aid kit."
Suddenly I found myself being a burden to Ilaina:
"Don't worry about me like that, just leave me here."
She looked at me disapprovingly and replied:
"No, I can't let you die here. Just wait."