"I'm back, you Allied Kingdom fuckers."
The Jaeger Brigade's vanguard trampled the wet sand as they charged out first.
"All hands, disembark! Disperse and secure the beach!"
Ratatatat—!
A hail of bullets slammed into the seawater, sending white spray flying.
"Move! Move! If you stop, you're dead!"
The landing craft ramp dropped and hellfire poured out, but my vision was as clear as ever.
In one corner of my sight, a three-dimensional [Minimap] unfolded.
The coastal contours and the structure of the enemy defenses were being grasped in detail.
'Status Analysis, Status Analysis, Status Analysis……'
I stood on the command vessel at sea, alternating between the beach beyond the bridge windows and the [Minimap].
The first place I examined was the left flank, eleven o'clock.
[Target: Coastal Trench Line]
[Special Notes: Multiple machine gun emplacements]
Beyond the sand dunes, machine gun emplacements lined the trenches. The infantry couldn't advance because of that place spewing fire without rest.
I immediately grabbed the radio.
"Seraphina! Eleven o'clock trench line. Flank around to the blind spot and hit them from the side!"
[Ratatat! Understood, Brigade Commander! 1st Battalion, flanking maneuver!]
I heard Seraphina's voice mixed with gunfire and explosions. As instructed, she immediately advanced into the blind spot beneath the sand dune.
While Seraphina circled to the flank, I turned my attention to the next target.
This time, to the right, one o'clock.
[Target: Ruined Building Debris]
[Special Notes: Concealed 50mm Anti-Tank Gun]
On the surface it was just a collapsed stone building, but if you looked closely, a 50mm anti-tank gun was hidden behind the debris. Those sneaky bastards were only waiting for Frederica's tank battalion.
'I just need to deal with that before the tanks arrive.'
If so.
'Next…… is here.'
My gaze fixed on the center of the beach—a massive lump of concrete.
'Status Analysis.'
[Target: Central Concrete Pillbox]
[Special Notes: Core bunker with layered coastal artillery and heavy machine guns]
'Layered coastal artillery and heavy machine guns.'
This was the core. If I couldn't neutralize that monstrous firepower, my brigade's infantry would keep getting ground into chunks of meat.
'At that position, the coordinates are……'
I calculated the coordinates from the [Minimap].
'Sector 4-Bravo.'
This wasn't exactly a cheat skill. I'd been using the [Minimap] ever since I acquired it, so I could estimate coordinates with just a glance. A skill I had naturally internalized.
I immediately picked up the radio.
"Eagle Five! This is Thunder! Requesting close air support! Enemy coordinates Sector 4-Bravo, do you copy! Front entrance of the bunker!"
I sent the message through a dedicated line I had prepared in advance.
[Static—! This is Eagle Five, coordinates acquired! Commencing attack run immediately!]
An immediate response came from the aircraft circling overhead.
Cab Rank. It was one of the air force doctrines that had risen to prominence in recent wars.
Overhead, a squadron of dive bombers was already circling round and round. The name Cab Rank was given because the sight resembled a taxi stand where cabs waited for customers.
No sooner had my call gone out than a spine-chilling roar detonated overhead.
Screeeech—!
The dive bomber plummeted vertically, dropped a massive 500-pound bomb, then jerked its nose sharply up.
KABOOOOM—!
An enormous fireball. The entire coastline heaved.
The thick concrete roof of the bunker split apart. The bomb caused a chain explosion deep inside the pillbox, and the concrete outer walls were torn away like cardboard.
BANG! KRAK-A-BOOM—!
Shrapnel shot into the air.
"Direct hit! Target clear!"
[This is Eagle Five. Now that's a fireworks show. Regaining altitude. Call in the next target when ready.]
"Next target, Sector 3-Alpha. Anti-tank gun position behind the ruined building debris. Clean it up so our tanks can come ashore!"
[…You already have the next coordinates?]
The pilot's surprise was brief.
[…Static. This is Eagle Five, target acquired. Re-entering attack run.]
Perhaps the bomber squadron was no ordinary one either; they reorganized their formation and readied for another dive. The moment I confirmed that, I switched channels.
"Seraphina, now! Hit the enemy eleven o'clock trench as soon as the bombing run ends!"
[At once!]
"And Gunther! Same for the Direct Command unit. The moment Seraphina breaks through, you charge immediately!"
[Understood, Colonel!]
Gunther's reply was brief.
Screeeech— KRAK-A-BOOM!!
Once again the bomber squadron decorated the enemy camp. The anti-tank gun hidden in the ruined building was smashed to pieces.
"Now!"
"Strike the flank!"
Seraphina Battalion's troops burst from the flank.
[Stand down. Unless you want to burn to death!]
Seraphina stepped forward, controlling the situation over the radio.
"C-Commander! Take cov—!"
"Forget that and just get down!"
Seraphina pushed aside the soldiers trying to stop her and aimed her pistol at the machine gun emplacement.
Screech—
A chilling resonant sound. For a moment, blue-white mana condensed at her muzzle.
KRAK-A-BOOM!
A blue-white trajectory pierced the enemy trench line.
Sandbags, machine guns, and gunners evaporated entirely as if struck by a tank cannon. The underground passage beside it, where reserves had been coming up, simultaneously collapsed.
The soldiers shouted:
"The C-Commander has opened the way!"
"Into the trenches! Prime your grenades!"
The troops' morale visibly soared at the monstrous battalion commander's exploits. The soldiers of Seraphina Battalion began charging fiercely without regard for their own safety.
Of course, from my perspective watching that, it was nothing but anxiety.
'Who did she learn such dangerous habits from?'
The battalion commander not only takes the vanguard but kicks aside cover to fire magic rounds? What if she gets sniped, pulling a stunt like that? I need to educate her properly later.
Of course, even as I thought that, I couldn't help but acknowledge the power of the breakthrough Seraphina had opened. Having such mobile, high-firepower artillery mixed into infantry combat was an enormous advantage in itself.
BANG! BOOM—!
With Seraphina's firepower paralyzing the machine gun emplacement, the prone soldiers grabbed grenades and leaped into the trenches. Close-quarters combat began in mud not even two meters wide.
And that meant the time to finish this had come.
"Gunther, now! Move!"
Gunther let out a roar instead of a reply.
"You maggots! That's the Brigade Commander's order! Everyone up!"
The infantry rose as one, shouting war cries as they charged.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Run! Anyone who stops, I'll kill you myself!"
"Long live the Empire! Long live Jaeger!"
And the enemy trench line that was supposed to stop them—
"Kuaaack!"
"F-Flank! The enemy is on the flank…, kuk!"
—was already reeling from Seraphina Battalion's surprise attack.
CHUNK, STAB!
"Kuaaaack!"
One soldier plunged his bayonet into an attacking enemy's chest and twisted. The moment he kicked away the screaming bastard with his guts spilling out, an enemy soldier leaped from the side and swung his rifle butt.
Whooosh—!
But the brigade's Direct Command troops were cooperating organically. Before the enemy soldier could land his blow—
BLAM—!
He collapsed, a bullet through his forehead.
[Cover complete.]
It was Corporal Klaus's sniper shot.
The soldier who had just had his life saved with a blank expression now drew his entrenching tool in place of his broken rifle and set out to find the enemy.
The Jaeger Brigade's exploits continued.
"Eat this!"
Kurt brilliantly infiltrated the communication trench and tossed grenades behind the enemy. Now the Direct Command unit and Seraphina Battalion had completely linked up to form a united front.
[Target: Coastal Trench Line (Destroyed)]
[Target: Ruined Building Debris (Destroyed)]
[Target: Central Concrete Pillbox (Destroyed)]
As a result, the enemy's defensive line was completely breached.
Having confirmed through [Status Analysis] and the [Minimap] the green dots defending the trench line and pushing out the red dots, I switched the radio channel with relief.
"Frederica! Beach's clear. Get your asses down here!"
Static—
[We've been waiting, Brigade Commander! Armored battalion, disembark! Tanks, forward!]
RUMBLE—!
The finishing touch.
The true hammer had finally descended upon the front line.
The bows of the waiting tank landing ships split open to the sides. Their massive ramps crashed down roughly onto the water.
[Move out! Stop and you'll bog down in the sand! Floor it!]
Tanks equipped with fording gear descended upon the beach all at once. Their wide treads churned and surged forward in an instant.
BOOM!
The lead tank's 88mm main gun spat fire. Even the last pillbox that had remained in the rear, sporadically spitting bullets, was smashed apart.
And the obstacles that had blocked the infantry's advance were flattened under the tank treads.
"Advance! Stick behind the tanks!"
The infantry that had completely occupied the trenches now reorganized and began advancing, using the tanks as mobile cover.
From then on, nothing could stop them.
RUMBLE—!
The armored battalion led by Frederica raced down the beach at high speed.
Where tanks crushed shallow trench lines, the following infantry primed grenades and leaped inside.
BANG!
A repetitive process of cutting down the remaining bastards with bayonets and submachine guns.
Of course, even when a stout defensive position appeared and the way forward seemed blocked:
"Eagle Five, coordinates are Anton!"
[Confirmed. Commencing bombardment.]
KABOOOOM—!
Explosions rang out in succession, and mud and blood sprayed in all directions.
"Clear! Move to the next objective!"
"S-Spare us…! We surrender!"
"Hands on your heads, you commie bastards!"
Now the battle had completely shifted to a mop-up operation. The enemy soldiers who had lost their will to fight crawled out and were taken prisoner.
"Status Analysis."
[Target: People's Allied Republic POWs]
[Status: Extreme terror, concussion symptoms, loss of fighting will]
[Emotion: Please save us… We were only following headquarters' orders…!]
And so, the Jaeger Brigade completely smashed through the enemy's first defensive line and secured a complete bridgehead.
"Brigade Commander!"
At this point, Major Helga approached me on the command vessel. Relief was evident on her face.
"The vanguard infantry battalion and the armored battalion have broken through the first defensive line! All units have advanced sufficiently and are currently constructing temporary trench lines after securing the bridgehead. The gains are far greater and faster than initially expected."
She quickly flipped through the papers in her hand.
"Casualties."
"Twelve dead, twenty-eight severely wounded."
Helga put emphasis into her voice.
"That is not even one-tenth of the initial estimates from headquarters. …These miraculous figures are the result of the Brigade Commander's precise command."
"Has the medical unit already moved in?"
"Yes, Major Elise has already set up in the rear. The medical unit deployed immediately, and there are no issues with field facility setup or supply distribution."
"Good. Chief of Staff, please continue monitoring the situation on the ground. I will report to higher command."
After sending Helga off, I picked up the long-range radio and tuned the frequency.
Static.
"This is the 207th Brigade. As of this hour, we have crushed the enemy defensive line and secured a bridgehead up to Point Anton. Total losses are less than two percent."
[Wait, did you just say Anton? ……And two percent?]
A stream of curses came through the radio.