New World Superpower (A Fanfic About Summoning Japan/Nihonkoku Shoukan)

Chapter 25: The Push

13/09/1637

Outskirt of Leifordia, 15 Km from the Glissante River

Located far behind the trench lines, several 6 Schins howitzer batteries were set up. The howitzer boasted a maximum range of 7.5 Selims (or around 12 Km), but the constant threat from both air raids and counter-battery from the Wälderian forces forced them to pull their batteries away. As such, the howitzer batteries were only able to reach one Selims in front of the frontline trenches.

Under the starry skies and two moons on both waxing gibbous and waning gibbous, two Leifordian soldiers patrolled near the treelines behind the Leifordian rear line. One of them seemingly enjoyed a cigarette in his mouth, while others constantly looked right and left, gripping his service rifle tightly. Noticing his patrol buddy was nervous, he took his cigarette from his mouth and reassured him.

"Hey calm down, buddy. The trench line already surrounds the city, so there's no way the enemy outflank and attack us from behind"

Just before he put back his cigarette in his mouth, a series of sounds followed by a flash of light came from the nearby bushes. The hail of lead took out two soldiers who were patrolling the rear line. Several mysterious figures emerged from the bushes, carefully pointing their weapons toward the enemy's position. They were the Wälderian Fallschirmjäger, clad in multi-dotted camouflage smocks beneath their protective vest. Their faces were covered with a sky mask and a pair of night vision goggles attached to their helmets.

With repeated gunfire in the background, they steadily moved deeper into the Leifordian defense line. Some Leifordian soldiers attempted to stop them, but their carbine version of the FML-30 semi-automatic rifle was outclassed when facing the fast-firing Stk-33. Some Wälderian Fallschirmjäger stopped at the entrance of a tunnel, while others pressed on to destroy both artillery emplacement and barracks.

One of them stood in front of a sign near the entrance, trying to comprehend the sign that was written in the Leifordian Language.

"Ammo dump,"

He then turned to others behind him, "Alright team, our target is behind that door,"

He glanced at one Wälderian Fallschirmjäger who inspected the corpse of a Leifordian soldier. He pulled out a key and tossed it, "Here boss, the key"

The leader of the group caught the key and used it to unlock the entrance of the Leifordian ammunition cache. Inside was dark due to no lighting system to prevent an accidental explosion, but that wasn't hindering the Wälderian Fallschirmjäger from completing their mission.

"Alright, it's open," said the leader. "Alates-2 and 3, follow me. The rest, secure the perimeter"

"Affirmative, Alates-1," replied them.

The three then entered the tunnel, leaving the other two outside to guard the ammunition cache. Inside, many artillery shells were neatly organized. The Alates-1 gave a hand signal to the other two, which both replied by slinging their rifles and taking a satchel charge that was carried behind them. Loaded with 5 Kg of moldable explosive and a timer fuse, they began to set the timer, enough to let them escape from the blast.

After setting up the timer, they tossed their satchel charges and began to run, leaving them near artillery shells. They regrouped with their squadmates and began to retreat into the woods with other Wälderian paratroopers, as the Leifordian launched a counterattack to regain the rearline. The Wälderian Fallschirmjäger managed to retreat safely, with some light casualties on their side.

Northern Trench Command Post

The report of what happened in the rear line reached into the room of commanding officers. Several high-ranking officers gathered around the table, bickering about the rearline. Many still believe that the incident was another armed mutiny, while others —who were either witnessing or hearing about the Wälderian Aerial Insertion during the battle of Leifordia— believed that it was a sabotage attempt by the enemy.