Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Daital Plains, Qua-Toyne Principality
Sunrise came quickly for what seemed like an eternity for the FPDA troops at the Daital Plains. However, on this faithful day, Phase 1 of Operation: Storm of Steel will be commenced to recapture Gim. The soldiers all wear combat gear as they will be deployed immediately. Lock and loaded, they entered their respective transports.
The Challenger 2s, Boxer AFVs, FV 150 Warrior IFVs, several Alvis Stormers equipped with sixteen Starstreak missiles and nine SSPH Primus rumbled as their engines roared while the crews were adjusting themselves.
The chuffing noises of the CH-47D Chinooks of the 127 Squadron the RSAF can be heard as Singaporean soldiers attached the SLWH Pegasus underneath the aircraft to be transported into a newer position.
Meanwhile, at the airbase of the FPDA, a row of F-15SGs of the 142 Squadron can be seen lining up on the tarmac as they wait for their turn to take off. Lieutenant Colonel Shewan Goh himself led these F-15sf to conduct close air support onto the Lourians' positions in Gim.
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War room, Daital Plains, Qua-Toyne Principality
The lights inside the war room are dimmed as the situation maps of the Qua-Toyne Principality and the Louria Kingdom are projected on the screen. Non-commissioned officers make minor adjustments to the front lines and troops' dispositions. Several Singaporean and British staff were operating communication networks that kept the room alive with cold, automated sound.
At the same time, Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates and Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong communicate through their respective landlines. Speaking to them on the phone are the Prime Ministers of Britain and Singapore, Boris Johnson and Lee Hsien Loong.
Both commanders ended their conversation by saying, "Understood, Prime Minister," before putting down the landlines' receiver.
Clearing his throat, Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates raised his voice, "Attention people! The Prime Minister has permitted us to commence Phase 1 of Operation: Storm of Steel. The operation will begin at 0700 local time! All soldiers, to your positions!"
Everyone started to take their respective seat and paid attention to the screen. 10 seconds had passed, and the operation began.
"</We will now launch Phase 1 of Operation: Storm of Steel to liberate Gim! Commence operation!\>" yelled Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates on a microphone that sent the order to every British troop.
With the commands given, the operation begins. Two British Army personnel had gone to either side of the main gate with guiding sticks.
"</All callsigns! This is Anton Actual! Move out!\>" Cro's voice through the radio had given the orders as the leading armoured vehicles column moved out of the base followed by the rest, leaving their exhaust in their wake.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Lourian Eastern Subjugation Army Base, Captured Gim, Qua-Toyne Principality
"We can't contact the advance force?!" Adem yelled furiously at the manacom squad.
"Negative, sir! We've been sending out communications, but receiving no responses," a manacom officer answered.
"Shoot! This pisses me off," said Adem.
There had been no news from the advance force since yesterday. Despite just being an advanced force, they were an army of 40,000 soldiers, which was unusually large. There was no way he could imagine them being completely wiped out without being able to send out a single message.
"What about our dragon reconnaissance team?" asked Adem.
"They will be arriving momentarily, sir!" said the manacom officer.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
"</Control Tower, this is Muller of the 4th Lourian Dragon Scouting Squadron, I'm now approaching the Fortress City Ejei at a low altitude to avoid contact with the enemy together with the rest of my 11 comrades, do you read me, over?\>" a Lourian Dragon Knight, apparently named Muller spoke to the base in Gim through his helmet-mounted manacom.
Muller was assigned to the zone containing the last coordinates of the advance force together with 11 of his friends. It was a bit cooler today, sunny but also very cloudy. That made flying a bit trickier, but it was very comfortable.
"</Solid copy, Muller. Have you seen any sign of our troops?\>" the manacom officer asked.
"</Negative. But apparently... I can see the vanguard unit's camp!\>" said Muller.
Then, one of Muller's friends yelled at him, "</Hey, Muller! I think I could see our army's battle flag!\>"
Hearing that, Muller quickly informed the manacom.
"</Control Tower, one of my comrades could see our army's battle flag from afar! I repeat! One of my comrades could see our army's battle flag from afar!\>" said Muller.
"</Roger that, Muller\>," said the manacom officer before he informed General Adem.
"Sir, Muller said that he found our army's battle flag from afar,"
"Is it? How about our 40,000 mighty army?" asked Adem.
Before the manacom officer could answer his question, Muller suddenly yelled through the manacom.
"</Control Tower! We could sense the smell of charred Earth from far away and... Holy God! Fallen soldiers! They're all burnt to death! No doubt, this might be our vanguard unit's last position! They're all annihilated! >\"
Muller's panicking yell echoed through the manacom. Without wasting any time, Adem decided to talk to Muller.
"</Muller! This is General Adem speaking! What had just happened there!?\>" asked Adem.
"</General, I'm not sure but presently... the situations here looked like those craters on the moon all over the place. I could see the remains of our troops. Human and horse parts, all mixed\>" said Muller as he and his friends hovered above the now emptied but destroyed field.
Suddenly, he heard loud chuffing noises come from his back. When he turned around, he saw a single weirdly shaped flying object.
It was an Agusta Westland Apache of the British Army Air Corps, hovering straight into the path of Muller and his comrades. His dragon partner roared a warning. Faintly, they could hear the sound of something beating in the air. They strained his eyes, though dragon riders all had good vision.
"</What the? What kind of flying creature is that!? A new wyvern species bred by the Qua-Toynian?\>" one of Muller's companions asked.
"</Control Tower! We've spotted an unknown flying object in our sight! It doesn't have the same appearance as any wyvern owned by the Qua-Toynians. Are we clear to engage it?\>" asked Muller.
However, just before General Adem could answer Muller's question, there was a sound that he had never heard before that came from the AW Apache. When he looked up, a trail of smoke began to rise from the Apache helicopter, and a small flame travelling faster than the speed of sound came straight at him.
"</What the!? It's a guided fire blast!? Evade! Evade! Evade\>" one of Muller's comrades yelled in fear. Little did they know that the AW Apache had launched one of the eight Starstreak Air-To-Air missiles armed on its missiles' pylon.
After launch, the missile accelerated to more than Mach 4, and it scored a direct hit on one of the survey's members who was a bit far from them, instantly killing the dragon whereas its rider helplessly fell to the ground. Seeing this made the rest of the unit panic and start to escape for their lives.
"</General!!! The unknown flying object had killed one of us with its guided fire blast! Should we retreat or retaliate back!?!\>" Muller asked Adem, but his voice was cut down by a series of loud explosions.
Hearing that made everyone inside the manacom hut wild as the receiver started to fill with screams and cursings of the reconnaissance unit as they were killed one by one by the Apache with the rest of its Starstreak missiles coupled up with its M230 chain gun and CVR-7 rockets.
Then... everything went silent.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Lourian Eastern Subjugation Army Base, Captured Gim, Qua-Toyne Principality
"Someone please explain to me what the h*ll happened just now!?" General Adem asked as he started to become irritated while clenching his fist and glaring at others.
"S-Si-Sir... Muller's last word that I managed to hear was... 'guided fire blast'...," said the manacom officer. His answer, however, made Adem even more pissed than before.
"Officer! If you're talking nonsense, you'll be killed by now," said Adem while tilting his head in a very uneasy gesture.
"You're here stationed together with my superior, Brigadier General Pandour, who had been specially sent here to capture Ejei, and you're giving us a bullsh*t answer that doesn't even make sense!?!" Adem yelled outrageously.
Just before the Lourian General could throw more of his tantrums, Brigadier General Pandour decided to step in.
"Adem! Enough. Yelling at the manacom officer won't change this situation. Let's just focus on what we're able to do for now," said Pandour.
"Yes, sir... I'm just doing my job..." said Adem.
After a long sigh, Pandour decided to ask his chief of staff about the current situation.
"Chief of staff, how's our main forces' defence in Gim?" asked Pandour.
"Yes, Brigadier General. We have 50 dragons on a continuous patrol," said the chief of staff.
"50? That's too many," said Pandour.
"Not at all, sir. Since we don't know how the advancing force disappeared, we think the enemy army might have acquired some kind of supernatural power. After all, if our main army is defeated, our mission to conquer Qua-Toyne Principality will fail," explained him.
"Then, how about the rest of the 100 dragons?" asked Pandour.
"The rest were stationed back at Louria to replenish its aerial defence that was lost during the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius. Can you imagine it, Brigadier General? 4,400 of our ships from the Eastern Conquest Navy got reduced to 4,312 ships, the strength of the 17th Dragon Squadron that was guarding our city got reduced to 12 dragons only and even worse, Vice Admiral Sharkun was taken custody by the enemy after his ship got blown off," said the chief of staff.
"I see... I've heard about that news, too," said Pandour.
"Oh, General Adem. I almost forgot a thing to tell you," said the chief of staff.
"What is it?" asked Adem.
"His Majesty had requested from the Parpaldia Empire to borrow 57,000 soldiers from their forces as additional support for us to invade Qua-Toyne, and you are tasked by His Majesty to meet and greet their General," said the chief of staff.
"57,000 armies from the Parpaldia Empire? That amount seems too much for me, but since His Majesty had ordered me to meet them, then I should heed his call. When should I meet them?" asked Adem after giving an opinion about the number of the Parpaldian army.
"Ideally, I would recommend you light on with them now since they're already in Gim," said the chief of staff.
Snapping his finger, Adem later faced his commanding officer and said, "Brigadier General, I will go to the main town to meet the supporting Parpaldian forces and return here as soon as possible," said Adem.
"Alright, Adem. If that's what you're wishing to do, I'll leave it to you," said Pandour.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Captured Gim, Qua-Toyne Principality
At the nearly ruined city structures of Gim, 57,000 Parpaldian soldiers were under the command of Lieutenant General Stellhorn. These supporting troops were all equipped with Flintlock Muskets, at least 16 units of Magic Cannon, and 41 units of Gatling Guns. All of the Parpaldian soldiers who were there were braving the heat that emanated from the sun when it was already noon.
"Really? Where's the renowned General Adem of the Louria!? He's supposed to be here by now!" Stellhorn grumbled as he looked at his pocket watch.
Then, he heard the sound of horse footsteps in the distance of the place he was standing. He took his telescope and saw the Lourian General riding on his stallion while accompanied by two or three of his subordinates.
"Oh, look. He's here," a Parpaldian soldier said.
Panting, Adem got off his horse while wiping the sweat dripping from his head with a piece of cloth before meeting Parpaldian General. Seeing General Adem's arrival, all the soldiers there including General Stellhorn straightened their bodies and their faces turned serious, as did Adem and his subordinates.
"I put up ten fingers to apologize if my arrival is a bit late, General Stellhorn," said Adem before he saluted him.
"That does not matter now, General Adem. The most important thing right now is the strategy required by us to help your army in this invasion of those demi-human countries," said General Stellhorn after he saluted Adem.
Adem chuckled when he heard this as if he was trying to assure the Parpaldian commander without telling him that the whole advanced army near the Fortress city Ejei got annihilated.
"Don't worry about that, General Stellhorn. We can get rid of those filthy scums in just a swoosh," Adem joked.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, General Brigadier Pandour and his chief of staff can be seen gazing at the air above them that was currently filled with 50 Lourian dragons.
"With this number of aerial patrols, we can't be easily attacked by surprise," said Pandour.
"Chief of staff, should we head back to the HQ and entrust everything to Adem and the rest of the Parpaldian troops?" asked Pandour.
"Certainly, General," said the chief of staff.
The sight was so imposing that they could surely pulverize anything that challenged them. However, an uneasy feeling suddenly washed over Pandour despite this strength.
"Hmm... even though our aerial strengths in Gim are very sturdy. Just what exactly was the enemy responsible for the defeat of the Eastern Subjugation Navy and the total annihilation of our 40,000 personnel near the Fortress City Ejei?" Pandour thought.
On the spur of the moment, thirteen of the dragons flying above him were spontaneously shrouded in the smoke of explosions and shredded into pieces. Then twelve more! An invisible something just extinguished 25 dragons. The fallen dragon corpses hit several houses and these alarmed everyone within the town of Gim.
"What sound is that?" asked a Parpaldian soldier.
"Could there be an attack, General Adem?" asked Stellhorn.
"Oh, nothing. It might be a..."
Just before Adem could finish answering, a loud explosion was heard above them. When everyone looked up, they saw an already dead dragon, charred together with its rider, fall above the group. They quickly ran for shelter to avoid it.
"It's an attack!" a Parpaldian soldier yelled.
Unbeknownst to them, the dragons above them have been shot down one by one by several Alvis Stormers located 6 km away from Gim. The number of dragons has been reduced from 50 to 12, and the Stormers stopped firing, leaving the rest to the F-15SG to intercept the remaining aerial forces before conducting close air support.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Border of Captured Gim, Qua-Toyne Principality
The previous 57,000 Parpaldian troops were now dividing themselves into two large combat groups; 28,500 were tasked to defend the town under the command of Adem himself, while the rest 28,500 were under the command of Stellhorn.
Outside of the town, General Stellhorn ordered his men to form a huge firing line to defend Gim from falling back into the hands of what they possibly thought might be the Qua-Toynians. Their Flintlock Muskets were aimed forward together with their towed Magical Cannons. Some of the Parpaldian's Gatling Guns were raised pointing toward the sky. The remaining dragons had combined with the protection forces as aerial support.
"Whatever happens, never get yourselves cold feet," said General Stellhorn after making sure his troops were ready and able for combat.
Suddenly, a dragon that was flying, passing above them roared in panic, as if it was issuing a warning while its mouth prepared to fire a stream of flame.
"What is it, partner?" asked the dragon rider before he saw something black from a distance.
"What are those things?" the dragon rider asked as he tried to calm down his dragon, only for him not to realize that those 'things' were the F-15SG of the 142 Squadron.
"You hear that?" asked a Parpaldian soldier.
"The skies are clear today, but why am I hearing thunder crackers from a distance? Is it going to rain?" asked another soldier.
RSAF 142 Squadron "Gryphon"
"</Colonel, we've got contact with multiple tallies ahead\>," said Captain Chong Qiu Wei, the Weapon System Officer (WSO) of Goh's F-15SG after he took a look on the radar.
"</Roger, that, Wei. All callsigns! Prepare to engage enemies' aerial forces!\>," Goh addresses the rest of his comrades.
"</Willco, sir!\>,"
"</Solid copy\>,"
"Understood, rolling in!\>,"
Without wasting any time, Goh slid down the Head-Mounted Display (HMD) visor on his helmet and chose the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to intercept the Lourian dragons. The missile growled intensely as its sensor picked up the heat sources coming from the dragon's mouth and throat before producing an audible tone.
"</I got tone! Gryphon-01, Fox-2. Firing!\>" said Goh as he squeezed the trigger, launching a Sidewinder missile.
Simultaneously, other F-15SGs fired the same missile, with one of them firing an AIM-7 Sparrow. producing a group of vapour trails traced a serpentine path through the air and struck the Lourian dragons, and they were enveloped in explosions.
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The dragon riders shouted all over as they helplessly tried to evade the incoming missiles. The "things" flew over the army at an absurd speed after obliterating the dragons. They were shaped like eagles but with metal bodies and no legs. The flying objects are painted in grey and leave a trail of white smoke.
Everyone below the sky was hit by an enormous shockwave. They just experienced a flyby from the F-15SGs going at the top speed of 2,575 km/h.
"What the h*ll was that!?!"
"They're monsters! Not dragons, but monsters!"
"Th-those... things are ungodly fast!!!"
There was widespread panic...
Unfortunately, the disaster hadn't ended. The F-15SGs that had flown away now returned towards them. Seeing this, General Stellhorn ordered his men to operate their Magic Gatling Gun.
"Man those Gatling Guns! Let those beasts taste our lead!" said General Stellhorn.
At once, the previous Gatling Guns that were aiming toward the sky came alive as the Parpaldian troops manned them and fired thousands of bullets toward those Singaporean jets.
However, none of the shots fired from the Parpaldian's Gatling Guns managed to inflict any damage on the F-15SGs since the jets were located at a higher place, allowing them to fire another strike towards the remaining Lourian Dragons. This time, they launched a volley of AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
The remaining Lourian aerial forces were being one-sidedly slaughtered...
It was generally believed that an army's strength directly correlated with how many wyverns it had. The number of dragons in the service of the Lourian army would probably even be enough to defeat the Great Thunder Flame Dragon. But this almost felt like a game, with their dragons being killed off like pieces being flicked off a board.
In that instant, a strange noise was heard. It was a loud whistling noise that came closer and louder every second. Everyone looked upwards in confusion. Suddenly, massive explosions snow under the 28,500 men including General Stellhorn himself. Some, however, did survive the attack, with their bones broken and their skins.
It seems like the nine Singaporean SSPH Primus had charred them for good.
Seeing this, the rest of the 28,500 Parpaldian troops who were under the command of Adem were struck by fear, including Adem and Pandour themselves.
"Impossible..." said Adem.
"This... is not a mortal's deed! It's a power that lords over the world... This power is surely a sign that The Mythical Warriors have returned to avenge what we did in Gim!" thought Pandour.
As everyone was terrified at that moment, one of them screamed.
"Look! Over there!"
As everyone looked, they saw clouds of dust far away, caused by several Challenger 2s led by Lieutenant Cro Atonoishimo. Behind the tanks were the Boxer AFVs and FV 150 Warrior IFVs.
"What are those metal monsters!?" asked Pandour in terror.
"I don't know! But I think we better take them with our guns!" said a Parpaldian soldier.
With that, the Parpaldian soldiers set up their towed Magic Cannons that were hauled along for the march by the cavalry and aimed them at the tanks while they loaded the guns. However, just before they could even strike the tanks, the steel behemoths fired a volley of L31A7 HESH, decapitating them into nothing but massive clouds of explosions and flame.
Seeing the Parpaldian gunmen being consumed by the flames just like that, every remaining soldier in the town ran for their life. Some decided to cover fire for their fleeing friendlies by manning the Gatling Gun and firing their muskets towards those tanks while taking cover behind the ruins, only for them to get simply blown off by the HESH rounds fired from the Challenger 2 tanks.
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"</Eat Sh*t!\>," said Oscar as he switched for the tank's L37A2 coaxial machine gun and laid down a barrage of 7.62 mm bullets onto the fighting Parpaldian troops. After he finished firing, he switched back to the tank's gun mode.
"</One more HESH ready! UP!>," said Corporal James, who was Cro's tank gun's loader.
"</Gunner! Infantry, 1 o'clock on 200 meters!\>" yelled Cro.
"</ON!\>," said Oscar as he steered the tank's turret and aimed the L30A1 120 mm rifled tank gun towards a building where about five Parpaldian infantry took cover behind the walls while firing their useless muskets toward the armoured group.
"</FIRE!\>" said Cro.
"</FIRING!\>," said Oscar as he fired the main gun, launching the 120 mm HESH projectile that sent those poor Parpladians to their oblivion.
"</Target STOP!\>" said Oscar.
"</Nice job, Oscar\>" praised Cro.
In the spur of the moment, Cro received an order from the base, and he quickly announced it through the radio.
"</All callsigns! This is Anton Actual! Halt! Halt! Halt! Cease firing! Give some room for our Singaporean boys to commence artillery and aerial bombardment! I repeat! Give some room for our Singaporean boys to commence artillery and aerial bombardment\>" said Cro through the tank's communication system.
With that, all of the Challenger 2 tanks followed by the Boxer AFVs and FV 150 Warrior IFVs halted their advance.
With the tanks having stopped attacking, the surviving soldiers were relieved but rather than turning back, Adem who was now in charge of them simply chose to fight back despite suffering heavy losses.
"General! Enough! We had suffered heavy losses and you're now planning to fight those steel behemoths even though you've seen their strengths!?" Pandour asked his subordinate.
"What do I care!?! They have killed our men, now it's time..." Just before Adem could finish his words, another loud whistling noise that comes closer and louder every second. By the time they looked up, nothing happened, except explosions by explosions that killed everyone including Adem and Pandour as well followed by the thunderous sound of F-15SG dropping their bombs over the city.
The blistering heat of hellfire washed over the army. It was instantaneous.
The strike left 26 injured and exhausted Parpaldian soldiers including 3 medical officers surviving the incident without further harm.
After the assault ended, Cro radioed towards the base.
"</Heron, this is Anton Actual. Phase 1 of Operation: Storm of Steel is a success. I repeat, phase 1 of Operation: Storm of Steel is a success\>" said Cro before he cut off the communication.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. War room, Daital Plains, Qua-Toyne Principality
"</Roger, Anton Actual! Good job, folks!\>" said Lieutenant General Stuart Richard Skeates before he put down the receiver.
Everyone inside the war room erupted into cheers.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 11. Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
"They successfully recapture back Gim!?! Without even the need of our people!?!" General Nou's eyes widened after he received the message.
"It seems like, General. This is very surprising. In the papers given during the emergency meeting, the FPDA stated that they requested the deployment of our ground troops and attack the Lourian forces together. Turned out that this British man, Cro Atonoishimo from The Royal Tank Regiment insisted on letting us all join the assault. Even though his upper command was mad at his verdict, Prime Minister Kanata simply chose to respect his decision as it would minimise the number of causalities on our side," said his elven subordinate.
"Then, what should we do now?" asked Nou.
"Well... General, I suggest we deploy our troops to fend Gim since it has been retaken back from those bloody invaders," said the elven officer before he left General Nou's office.