Hannah and I saluted and left the command barracks. The moment we stepped outside, Hannah halted abruptly, as if her suppressed emotions were bursting forth. She covered her face with both hands and began to sob quietly.
"Lieutenant... thank you. Really... truly, thank you. It's all... thanks to you, Lieutenant."
Her shoulders heaved as she wept—a completely different figure from the confident woman inside the barracks just moments ago. Without a word, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
And that night, my barracks bed had not a moment's rest from creaking.
"Hng, huff... Ah♡ Lieutenant... let me repay you with my body...♡"
Her sweat-slicked naked form writhed her hips fiercely atop me. She, who had just pinned on her sergeant's rank, moved desperately as if trying to return all the reward money and honor she'd received today to me. Her pert breasts swayed dizzyingly right before my eyes.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Hannah Meyer]
[Status: Extreme arousal due to intense sexual intercourse]
[Emotions: Devoted love toward the Lieutenant, joy and satisfaction at repaying with her body]
"I-I think I'm going to cum! Lieutenant... Haaahng♡!"
With her scream, her hot pussy clamped down on my cock as if convulsing. In that moment, I also poured a thick load of hot semen into the condom. Her vaginal walls spasmed greedily, sucking my cock as if trying to wring out every last drop.
My exhausted body collapsed onto Hannah. Her soft, yielding body caught me just as I was, and I savored that addictive plushness as I spoke to her.
"Hah, hah, Hannah... I'm out of condoms now."
"Then... bare, of course...♡"
"That... we can't. Last time I couldn't hold back, but still, carelessly..."
"Then I'll make you happy with my mouth instead...♡"
Hannah raised herself from my arms, then turned her body the other way. She bent her upper body down and took my cock into her mouth, then aimed her buttocks toward my face. Her sticky, heat-filled pussy hovered right above my face.
That night, Hannah took my cock until she fell asleep.
*
A few days later, the day the operation began. In the early dawn, the ashen forest was still shrouded in predawn darkness and damp morning mist.
But the whole earth was trembling. The sound of thousands of combat boots trampling the soil, the faint clashing of metal equipment, and the low rumble of vehicle engines all mingled together. The entire 7th Regiment began to move.
"1st Battalion, begin bypass maneuver east as planned!"
"Artillery, prepare screening smoke shells at coordinates OOO-XXX!"
Orders spread through the communication channels in the darkness. Our 2nd Company was also forming up. Among them, at the very front, facing the deepest darkness, was my 3rd Platoon.
"Platoon Leader, all personnel are ready."
Sergeant Gunther reported in a tense voice. Behind him, the platoon members were already aiming their guns toward the forest and crouching low. It was an incomparable sight from their ragtag days a few months ago.
I nodded and turned to Captain Seraphina standing beside me. She was observing the dark forest through binoculars. The cold dawn air brushed her pale cheeks and stirred a few strands of her silver hair.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: Extreme tension from commanding a large-scale operation, suppressed fatigue]
[Emotion: Strong will for the success of the operation]
[Hidden Trait: Mana Overload – Chronic internal injury. Suppressing it with strong mental strength.]
"Graaaaaaah!"
At last, they revealed themselves. With a roar that shook the earth, a dark green wave began pouring out from the darkness of the ashen forest. The thunderous sound of horn blasts tore the dawn silence, and hundreds of crude tribal banners advanced, cutting through the fog.
"Finally crawled out," Seraphina said quietly.
I focused on the minimap that appeared in a corner of my vision. The forest border, which had been empty moments before, was starting to fill with bright red dots. Their number was easily in the thousands. A massive force matching the entire regiment's strength.
From then on, communications began pouring in frantically from the rear command post. The signalmen shouted, repeating the regimental commander's orders with handsets pressed to their ears.
"Regimental Commander's orders! All units, engage Combat Posture 1!"
"Artillery, commence bombardment on Target Point 1! Coordinates Anton-7! I repeat, coordinates Anton-7!"
As soon as the order was given, the sound of air being torn apart erupted from beyond the ridge behind us.
Fwoooosh-! Boom-boom-boom!
Dozens of shells traced arcs, sending up massive pillars of earth along the forest border. The orc vanguard was swept away by the bombardment and torn apart like paper, but their momentum didn't break. Instead, they charged through the shelling, shouting and increasing their advance speed.
"2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion! Advance! Lure the enemy's main force to the center!"
Once again, orders were relayed. Sharp whistle sounds echoed in unison from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, which were positioned on the left and right flanks of the battlefield. On the minimap, many green dots, except for us, began surging fiercely forward.
It was a diversionary operation. The 1st Battalion, to which our 2nd Company belonged, was still on standby. They merely watched the sight of two massive forces clashing from atop the ridge.
"......"
The soldiers around me swallowed dryly or adjusted their grips on their rifles with stiff faces. Overwhelmed by the battlefield's crushing bloodlust, no one could easily open their mouths.
Gunfire shook the forest. Orc roars and human screams mingled into a horrific sound. On the minimap, red and green dots began to violently intermingle. Battles big and small were erupting simultaneously along the entire front.
I quietly used [Status Analysis] on Seraphina beside me.
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: Calmly analyzing the battle situation. Suppressing signs of mana reflux.]
[Emotions: Extreme tension about the outcome of the operation]
She was staring at the battlefield without the slightest movement. Seeing her like that, it seemed as if she was completely indifferent to the hellscape before her. But I knew that even now, she was fighting invisible pain.
I turned my gaze back to the battlefield. Under the fierce resistance of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, the orcs' main force was gradually concentrating in the center. Soon, it would be our turn.
At that very moment, the promised signal arrived from the regimental command. A green flare shot up from the rear and streaked across the dawn sky.
"It's the regimental commander's signal!"
The voice of the 1st Battalion commander was the signal. A cheer erupted from the unit behind us. From that point, the air surrounding us shifted.
"2nd Company, follow me!"
Seraphina's voice rang out clearly. She drew the officer's pistol at her waist and first threw herself down the ridge. Our 3rd Platoon closely followed behind.
We leaped over corpses and shell craters, plunging into the heart of the battlefield. The smell of gunpowder and blood mixed, stinging our noses, and the constant sound of gunfire, screams, and clashing metal filled our ears.
Our target was the orc bastards' flank. Even in the chaotic battlefield, Seraphina found the shortest path without hesitation and led the unit. At last, we reached the most vulnerable flank of the enemy's defensive line.
"Sergeant Hannah!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Where's the most threatening one?"
"Ten o'clock, behind the shield soldiers! I sense a strong shamanic reaction!"
No sooner had Hannah's report finished than a cold chill began condensing on Seraphina's left palm. A silver-white bullet formed from freezing moisture in the air. She pushed it into her pistol's chamber and without hesitation pulled the trigger toward beyond the shield wall.
Fwooosh-! Bang!
The mana bullet flew drawing a blue trajectory, pierced right through the shield soldier's thick iron shield, and burst the chest of the orc shaman behind it.
"Kraaah!"
With the shaman's dying scream, the faint shamanic barrier spread around him shattered like glass.
"Now! 3rd Platoon, open a breach!"
I gave the order without missing the opportunity. The platoon members all spat fire.
'Status Analysis.'
Information windows of enemies flashed by like a storm in one corner of my vision. The orcs, having lost their barrier, were in confusion. But among them, some were the first to regain their senses and re-grip their axes.
[Name: Urgash]
[Rank: Axe Thrower]
[Status: Shock from the shaman's death, reflexively preparing a counterattack]
"Machine gun, nine o'clock! Scrape away those axe-throwing bastards behind the shields!"
Thanks to [Status Analysis] and the [Minimap], my commands were more precise than anyone's vision. The machine gunner turned the barrel without hesitation, and a violent hail of bullets shredded the upper bodies of the axe throwers.
"1st and 2nd Squads, prepare grenades! Throw them behind those shield soldiers! The enemy reinforcements are clustered there!"
On the minimap, right behind the red dots representing the shield soldiers, follow-up troops were densely packed. The platoon members who received my order pulled the safety pins without hesitation.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Boom!
The orcs hiding behind the shield wall were helplessly mowed down.
"The Captain and 3rd Platoon have opened the way! 1st Platoon charges in too!"
Lieutenant Walter seized the opportunity and gave the order. Like the veteran he was, he commanded 1st Platoon with seasoned skill and began expanding the breach the 3rd Platoon had created.
"2nd Platoon, we're going too!"
"4th Platoon will cover the flank!"
Lieutenants Erika and Franz shouted. Their two platoons concentrated on mopping up the remaining orcs.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Eventually, the entire 2nd Company entered the battle. We poured out bullets without pause. Among them, the most outstanding performance was undoubtedly Seraphina's.
"Hannah!"
"Two o'clock! A big guy with an axe!"
Fwooosh-! Bang!
She kept Hannah, who had the [Mana Sense] ability, right by her side to find important targets. And then, her pistol would emit a silver-white light, and the target would be obliterated.
Soon, the gunfire ceased. The battle entered a lull.
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: On the verge of a mana reflux seizure. Suppressing extreme pain.]
[Emotions: Extreme tension about the outcome of the operation]
She was staring at the battlefield without moving. To anyone seeing her, she seemed completely indifferent to the hellscape before her. But I knew she was fighting invisible pain even now.