Rumbling throughout the front, artillery shells screamed through the air with deadly precision, slamming en masse towards Northern Coalition positions in the northern regions of Southern Philades, which had been occupied for a brief 3 days. The first day of the invasion for Nurzaga felt like a walk in the park, but now they were faced with the harsh reality of war as countless explosive and napalm bombs torched their positions, fortifications, and encampments. ASEAN artillery bombardments continued day and night, with range and accuracy that left no room for mercy.
In the air, Nurzaga's air superiority immediately disappeared as countless ASEAN air defense systems blanketed the entire airspace into a deadly no-fly zone. Anyone attempting to fly higher than 50 meters would face a staggering number of surface-to-air missiles, grounding their aircraft or forcing them to fire ordnance outside the ASEAN's active air defense zone. Meanwhile, Southeast Asians themselves employed these tactics too by launching modified, converted, or newly produced glide bombs from any existing aircraft capable of carrying its weight, equipped with specialized bomb racks. The most numerous among these were the series of Standard Glide Bombs, culminated in their development and production prior to the end of the ASEAN-Parpaldia war, with the aim to mass-produce smaller 250-pound guided glide bombs as a cheaper alternative for standoff weapon systems.
However, with the arrival of open hostilities involving Annonrials and other powerful countries hostile to ASEAN, they developed more variants and much larger versions. The most numerous and cheapest among them is the SGB 250 (250-pound glide bomb), currently being produced at the same rate as other bombs of similar weight categories like the Western Mk. 81 or the Soviet-era FAB 250. Another variant, the SGB 2000, is a modified Mk. 84 2,000-pound bomb with a gliding mechanism. Each bomb has a range of about 8 to 20 kilometers, depending on the altitude and angle of the aircraft when launched, with an accuracy of around 40 to 100 meters CEP, aided by computer-assisted Fire Control Systems designed for launching these weapons.
This tactic allowed for mass volleys of standoff weapons to be deployed, solving the accuracy issue through sheer volume of fire. The cost of these weapons was only a fraction of that of fully guided weapon kits or missiles. They thoroughly pounded Nurzagan positions with firepower and range, serving multiple roles as anti-personnel, anti-tank, and anti-fortification weapons, surpassing rocket strikes in terms of effectiveness.
Thus, ASEAN's increasing presence with weapons familiar to Nurzaga yet terrifying, subjecting them to horrors they had not experienced before.
Constant bombardment throughout the front continued, with Nurzagan soldiers finding themselves under a merciless attacks from both air and ground - All angle and direction. Artillery shells screamed through the air, ripping through fortifications and encampments with deadly precision. Countless rockets and glide bombs soared overhead, their deafening explosions reverberating across the battlefield and sending shockwaves rippling across the horizon.
Amidst the intense aerial and ground campaign of ASEAN, the sky was filled with the constant buzzing of drones, their sleek forms glinting in the sunlight as they sent real-time feeds to the artillery command of SEADF. These drones acted as the eyes of the artillery gunners, guiding their shells to their targets with pinpoint accuracy, whether it was day or night, through smoke or fire, it's definitely gonna be highly accurate, something that Nurzagan couldn't hope to imagine nor counter. The bombardment was unrelenting, leaving no respite, not even a short sleep for their sleep deprived fighters for the war.
Shells continued to rain down upon Nurzaga's positions, reducing fortifications, anything semblance of civilization to rubble and sending soldiers scattering for cover.
The smell of the surrounding is strong with smoke and burning debris, mingling with the metallic tang of blood and sweat. The ground trembled beneath the force of the explosions, sending shockwaves rippling through the earth with each impact.
Over the chaos of battle, voices could be heard shouting orders and commands, mingling with the cries of anguish and desperation. "Keep your heads down!" shouted one Nurzagan soldier to another, barely audible over the drowning sound of war. "Find cover!" Soldiers scrambled to find shelter just to see majority of their trenches and fortifications barely standing, some ducked to craters for cover or simply demolished house and pray not to get hit by enemy fire, seeking refuge from the relentless barrage raining down upon them.
But even as they sought cover, the drones continued their privy surveillance, their cameras capturing every movement below. Furthermore, It was not just reconnaissance they were conducting; their cousins, kamikaze drones that are armed with deadly payloads, ready to strike at a moment's notice is roaming the sky, in vast quantities, mostly from civilian off the shelf stocks but being cheap and numerous, it's became increasingly staple since the end of ASEAN parpaldia war. The versatility of drones made them very valuable source of early warning and recon units for any potential ambush now used as offensive means as menacing kamikaze drones that can easily damage high value units or very dangerous potent anti-personnel platform, claiming countless lives in this war.
One Nurzagan soldier, caught in the sights of a drone, felt a surge of terror as he realized he was the target. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he broke into a sprint, desperately hoping to escape the inevitable. "I need someone to shot it, I'm being chased! Someone help me!" he shouted into his radio and around, his voice tinged with fear.
With target locked, a single flick of his finger, the drone operator guided the kamikaze drone on its location, tracking the fleeing soldier with chilling precision. The soldier's seeing it, at menacing speed - heart pounded in his chest as he raced against time, his breath coming in ragged. "Please, someone help me!" he pleaded, his voice barely audible over the chaos.
But there was no salvation for him, it's plain impossible to survive from this attack. As the drone zeroed in on its target, its payload ready to strike, the soldier's world narrowed to a single thought: survival. But in the chaos of war, survival was a luxury few could afford.
And with a sudden flash of light, and sudden pain that his brain can't process but fortunately or not, his world went dark sparing him from agony and pain.
The other soldiers, seeing this, immediately scrambled for safety, fleeing from the prying eyes in the buzzing skies dominated by ASEAN's small but deadly machines.
One of them immediately ran towards a bunker, entering it. Inside, was a dimly lit room where a small group of Nurzagan soldiers huddled together, their faces etched with despair and fear. Like outside, the constant bombardment from above had taken its toll on them, both physically and mentally.
"How's it outside?" one of them asked.
"Hell," the man replied, his words drowned out by another explosion that rocked the cramped, dim room.
One of the soldier with his hands trembling uncontrollably, let out a strange cry as another explosion rocked the bunker, showing symptoms of shell shock, which none of the people there understood, simply deeming it as cowardice. "Shut him up!" his comrades hurriedly tied and gagged him, desperate to silence his terrified screams.
"Fuck those aristocrats."
"Hey! Don't you..."
"We're dead anyway. There's little to no chance of surviving this hell, let alone returning to our country, so we don't have to worry about their tantrums."
Cursing their upper echelons for leading them into this nightmare, the soldiers spoke in hushed tones about their grim predicament. "Really, we're trapped like rats in this bunker," one whispered, his voice thick with resignation. "There's no way out. We're doomed."
Another soldier shook his head in disbelief. "I never thought it would come to this," he muttered, his eyes filled with anguish. "We were promised victory, but, but damn! All we've found is death and destruction."
The group fell into a silence, each lost in their own thoughts of hopelessness and despair. Surrender seemed like the only option, but in the midst of the relentless bombing campaign by ASEAN forces, even that seemed impossible. If they stepped out, there was a high chance a bomb would land directly on their heads.
"We can't stay here forever," one soldier finally spoke up, his voice tinged with desperation. "We have to make a run for it, take our chances out in the open."
"But what if they find us?" another soldier countered, his voice trembling with fear. "Those exploding insects are everywhere. We'll be sitting ducks out there," he said in concern, knowing how deadly kamikaze drones are, they're as deadly as raining artillery shells on them, but more deadly and accurate.
The soldiers looked at each other, their faces reflecting the same mixture of fear and anxiety. In the end, they were just humans, scared and desperate in the face of overwhelming odds.
As another explosion echoed overhead, they knew that their time was running out. Whether they stayed inside the bunker or made a run for it, their fate seemed inevitable. All they could do was cling to the fragile hope that somehow, somehow against all odds, they would survive this hellish nightmare.
The softening operation of ASEAN continues, with casualties running into tens of thousands for Nurzagan and its allies in just a few days.
City of Tecep, Nurzaga Empire
With the destruction of their city and the death of the regent and countless other high-ranking officials, the orders and political structure of Nurzaga became extremely slow and precarious due to the power vacuum that needed to be filled. The fact that they haven't disintegrated is fairly impressive. The emperor is missing too, adding insult to the wound. Many orders were given, either ignored or didn't reach the frontline units. Soldiers are being sent to meat grinders or to hold against ASEAN military and allied forces in their essentially kill zones, directly facing their artillery and military concentrations, just to be obliterated to oblivion. The casualties are rising at an exponential rate; everyone couldn't believe that the numbers of losses surpass daily ground battles in the ASEAN Parpaldian War.
"30,000 casualties in just 4 days?" With a trembling voice, it's basically 30% of their invasion force. Merely the fact that it's their best units and they invested a lot of time and resources made them shiver down to the spine.
Nurzagan official, Qazar, who thought the war would be won, even if it's hard-fought and very bloody, appears not to be the case here.
"The ASEAN appears to continue to fire artillery and airstrikes everything, we believe they're softening our position for a ground invasion," one of their officers replied. Their casualties are one thing, but the counteroffensive from ASEAN is a very grave concern. They should have similar numbers in ground combat, but even then, those thoughts began to disappear from this point. Some of the people began to plan behind the back to defect, negotiate, or runaway if the situation deteriorated beyond repair.
"We should withdraw and concentrate our forces at the mainland. We have terrain advantage and a manpower pool to continue replenishing men to fight them," Qazar uttered. Many agreed, but none expressed it as they waited for their guest to speak, a winged folk that stood before them, S'vam attache.
"No, that tactically doesn't sound helpful to us," he said to them as they internally groaned in response. Logically, losing ground-either by running away, opting for a tactical retreat, or perhaps negotiation-is their best option. Being heroic in this situation would only lead to being slaughtered for no reason or gain. Personnels and their assets are too valuable to be lost unless there's hope of winning, which in this case, none of the people see.
"Sir, but we're losing. There's no point in holding our occupied position without prospects of reinforcements and victory," Qazar replied with a firm tone to the Annonrial, who in return had a displeased face as he heard objections.
"By the holy light, we will win. I ensure us victory. Thus, hold the position, milord Qazar. All you need to do is hold the lines," sarcastic or not, his tone was very offensive to everyone, as if deeming their soldiers nothing but pawns in this war. Qazar, who wanted to retort, didn't say a thing and paused for a moment before opening his mouth.
"What guarantee do we have, sir?" He said in a short question.
"That's something you don't need to know, and we already have an army here. We could protect your backs. There's nothing to worry about, just face the enemy, and we'll do the rest," he said to him, which shut Qazar, who began to think something is wrong, perhaps feeling a tingling sensation of the ASEAN Parpaldian War he experienced, as if a bad thing is about to happen.
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