"All brigade! Deploy firepower! Hit them in the back when they turn tail!"
Ratatatatat—!
Kwaa-boom!
The Empire's counterattack had begun.
Under the pouring barrage of the Imperial Army's fierce artillery, the enemy eventually couldn't hold out and began retreating to the rear.
Having successfully concluded the defensive battle, silence settled amid the thick gunpowder smoke blanketing the beach.
"Cease fire. Conserve ammunition. Repair the barbed wire and pull the wounded to the rear."
I poked my head halfway out of the trench and gave the orders.
"Colonel Yeager."
And it was Helga who approached.
"We have completely repelled the enemy's surprise second counterattack. Friendly casualties are light thanks to the established defensive line. Major Elise's medical corps responded immediately, so combat strength loss is being maintained at less than two percent."
"Good."
Only two percent casualties in a coastal landing clash involving tens of thousands. Even I found this absurd.
It was the result of utilizing cheat skills at the brigade level. With [Minimap], I grasped the enemy's blind spots, and with [Status Analysis], I skillfully exploited their weaknesses.
The army's inherent quality made a huge difference as well. The Empire had been waging war for a long time, and the Yeager Brigade was one of its truly elite units.
Supply was ample, equipment and firepower were excellent. It was a unit bristling with new weapons as well.
And above all, morale so close to blind faith that as long as I commanded, they would never die and would always win.
"Hey, did you see? The shells landed just a hand's breadth outside the spot the Colonel told us to dig!"
"Fuck, what did I tell you! If you just move according to the Colonel's orders, even the bullets those Red bastards fire will dodge you on their own!"
"If you run following the Brigade Commander's back, you'll come back alive even from hell! Long live the Empire! Long live Colonel Yeager!"
Honestly, it was almost creepy. No, we hadn't been hit by shells simply because we were lucky. Now even that was attributed to my merit. There was no such thing as forced praise this forced.
Kzzzt—
[Brigade Commander. Forward trench line clear. The enemy has completely withdrawn to the rear.]
This time, Serafina's voice came through.
"Good work, Major Serafina. Let the battalion rest and receive ammunition resupply."
[Understood.]
I took off my helmet and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
At sea, the navy had annihilated the enemy, and our brigade had secured a solid bridgehead.
A success too great to have achieved in a single day. If the follow-up transport fleet arrived and the landing force's advance resumed like this, we would seize complete victory in the war.
But things didn't flow as easily as I thought.
Bzzt— Kzzzt.
[...This is the Landing Force Command. Colonel Yeager?]
"Colonel Yeager, commander of the 207th Brigade. I just heard the news of the naval battle victory."
[...Congratulations will have to come later, Colonel. There are too many damned things to deal with to pop the champagne right now. The situation is terribly tangled.]
While maintaining the radio connection, I stared at the [Minimap]. Indeed, difficult situations were visible.
[Right now, all contact with the airborne troops has been lost, and support for the landing points is delayed beyond schedule. Intelligence has come in that even the enemy's armored reserve division has begun to move, so this is by no means an easy situation.]
Though we had won the naval battle, problems still abounded.
[But above all, the biggest problem is logistics, you see. Transport missions were continuously delayed while the naval battle was ongoing. According to plan, we should have captured the enemy's port city and begun unloading, but while the air force and navy were tied down, they significantly reinforced the port's defenses.]
It was a clever move.
Even though the enemy had lost the naval battle, they had succeeded in buying time itself.
The command operations staff continued.
[We threw in two regiments all day today and still couldn't capture it. In the end, Command had to choose a new commander to break open a path for this mission.]
"...So you're saying that's me."
[Of course, Colonel Yeager. Your capabilities shown thus far have been proven once again through today's landing operation results. A ninety-eight percent combat strength preservation rate, and your unit was also the one that advanced the furthest.]
"You overpraise me. It's all thanks to Command's excellent operational planning."
[Humility may be a virtue, but not right now. We must capture that 'Weymouth' as soon as possible. I hope you will demonstrate your competence without reserve in this operation as well.]
The port city, Weymouth.
It was one of the largest cities in southeastern Victoria.
[Details will be delivered shortly. You are to hand over the bridgehead to the follow-up forces arriving in the morning and immediately prepare to move to Weymouth.]
"I shall obey. Victory to the Empire."
[...Glory to His Imperial Majesty.]
Click.
The communication was cut.
*
The next morning.
Around the time the dawn broke and the sea mist lifted.
A transport fleet filling the sea appeared.
The soldiers of the Yeager Brigade all breathed sighs of relief without exception. The follow-up landing forces were beginning to come ashore one after another.
"...Colonel Yeager, is this truly a beach immediately after the defensive line was breached?"
The infantry regiment commander who had landed to relieve us stood agape.
The situation in other sectors he had been briefed on was truly a scene from hell. Corpses piled like mountains, blood staining the seawater, and news that surviving forces were buried in the sand trembling under shellfire.
But this sector controlled by my 207th Brigade.
"The communication trenches and weapons emplacements are... perfectly standardized. The corpses have all been cleared away as well."
The trench line was solid, the minefield had been safely cleared, and even the temporary field hospital and supply depot were neatly divided into sections.
I put on a relaxed smile outwardly, lightly mixing in [Charming Eloquence].
"That the landing went smoothly, and that the weather was clear, are all thanks to His Imperial Majesty's grace. I merely acted according to doctrine."
"...Usually, landing operations are precisely what don't go according to doctrine."
"..."
"In any case, this is truly excellent. The rumors that you are a hero of the Empire were indeed no exaggeration. Thanks to you, Colonel, we were able to land with ease, and I am nothing but grateful."
The regiment commander grasped my hand with admiring eyes. The regiment's officers and men also looked pleased upon seeing the perfectly intact appearance of the Yeager Brigade.
"Brigade Commander. I have finished signing the handover documents. All units are ready to move out."
Helga soon approached.
"Good work, Chief of Staff."
I nodded and picked up the radio.
"All brigade, listen. Command has assigned us a new mission."
Hup—
The Yeager Brigade's officers and men uniformly stopped moving and listened to my voice.
"Objective is the eastern port city, Weymouth. A place those other regiment bastards couldn't break through even after pounding against it all day. We're going to show them clearly how the Imperial Army fights. All units, begin movement!"
Waaaaah!
"Yeager Brigade, move out!"
Vroooom!
The tank battalion led by Frederica took the lead, belching black smoke. Behind it, armored cars and half-tracks, and transport trucks carrying infantry, stretched out in a long line like a snake and began a rapid advance.
A scene utterly unbelievable for a unit that had landed yesterday.
We left the beach behind and rushed toward Weymouth, the battlefield.
*
"Maintain advance speed!"
The impact of yesterday's naval battle must have been significant. There were minor skirmishes, but overall the Yeager Brigade's movement was unimpeded.
Speeding along the roads in that manner, we arrived at the outskirts assembly point for Weymouth designated by Command.
And what was waiting for us there.
"...This atmosphere is strange."
Another army camped on one side of the assembly point.
It was the army of the Government-in-Exile of the United Kingdom of Victoria.
They were the ones who had their mainland seized by those Red bastards and were driven to the New Continent. With the Empire's support, their equipment was more or less adequate, yet their atmosphere was somehow desperate and gloomy.
Rumble—!
The Yeager Brigade's armored units and transport trucks stopped amid clouds of dust. The Government-in-Exile's soldiers stepped aside as if intimidated by our equipment.
'Status Analysis.'
[Target: Government-in-Exile Infantry]
[Status: Cumulative fatigue, Inferiority complex toward the Imperial Army]
[Emotion: So that's the Empire's elite... When will we ever have firepower like that. Still, I must reclaim my hometown with my own hands.]
They were not a disorderly mob. They had a murderous spirit tightly bound by the single fury of having their mainland stolen. But they looked too precarious to be thrown into the meat grinder of regular warfare, and urban warfare at that.
"Brigade Commander. The Government-in-Exile side has requested a meeting."
At Helga's report, I kicked open the command vehicle's door and got out. Looking at the approaching party while readjusting my helmet, I slightly raised one corner of my mouth.
"...Well, this is an unexpected face."
Among the drab field uniforms, there was one woman in a sharply creased suit wearing black leather gloves.
Neat shoulder-length blond hair and lavender eyes. A cold, sharp impression without a hint of disarray.
It was Sydney Wellesley, Director of Intelligence of the United Kingdom of Victoria.
For the past few weeks of aerial warfare, she had been attending to the Queen in the New Victoria colony on the New Continent while passing on intelligence.
It seemed she had personally led agents and jumped out to the front lines the moment the landing began.
"It's been a while, Colonel Yeager. We benefited from you during the aerial warfare."
"No, rather it was thanks to you that we could reduce damage. More than that, I hadn't expected you to come to the war front personally like this."
Actually, I already knew. I had been keeping tabs on her from time to time via [Shared Vision].
"...There is no rear when it comes to reclaiming one's homeland. I simply judged it a situation where I must step forward myself."
Sydney put on a rather desperate expression. Her dark circles were still there too.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Sydney Wellesley]
[Status: Cumulative fatigue, Sense of responsibility, Strong will to rebuild intelligence network]
[Emotion: Inferiority complex toward Max's overwhelming ability. Pressure to prove the Government-in-Exile's usefulness in this operation.]
'An inferiority complex.'
Her emotional state was very clear.
And perhaps it was an emotion shared by most of the United Kingdom's forces as well. Because the Empire had led most of the operations until now.
Reclaiming their homeland? It was nothing more than a nice-sounding pretext; without the Empire, those island bastards couldn't do anything.
I maintained a deliberately polite attitude as I looked at her.
"If the Director of Intelligence has stepped forward personally, may I take it to mean you hold a certain card."
Sydney opened the leather briefcase she was holding and took out a map.
"These are the blueprints for Weymouth's underground sewers and port facilities."
The map was spread over the hood of the command vehicle.
"The two Imperial regiments deployed yesterday......."
Sydney stood before me and began her explanation.