“Lower our… heads? What is that supposed to mean…! Captain Jaeger, have you lost your mind? You’re telling me to surrender?! No matter how unfavorable the situation, no matter how unreasonable the orders I’ve been given… I am a brigadier general of the Imperial Army…!”
Brigade Commander Dietrich poured out his words in an agitated voice.
“Whoa, whoa. Please calm down. Surrender? That’s not what I meant. I mean we should have the gun barrels lower their heads.”
“The gun barrels…?”
As I calmed him down, I pointed at the Rosenheim defensive deployment map hanging on the wall.
“I’m talking about the 88mm anti-aircraft battery placed in the corner of Rosenheim Station. Right now, it’s only looking up at the sky.”
“Anti-aircraft guns? Aren’t those things for shooting down planes!”
I explained calmly.
“Precisely. The 88mm anti-aircraft gun was made to shoot down bombers flying thousands of meters up in the air. With that absurd muzzle velocity and kinetic energy, tanks on the ground can be torn apart like sheets of paper.”
“Wh-what…! B-but that’s….”
Dietrich’s eyes went round. It must have been an idea beyond common sense. Shooting at the ground with something made to fire at the sky. But I was certain. After all, it was a tactic proven both in Earth’s history and in the game.
That was when a sharp shout burst out from one corner of the bunker.
“See here! What does some Army captain whelp know, running his mouth like that!”
An officer in a blue dress uniform came striding over. Unlike the Third Corps officers covered in dirt and dust, the man’s appearance was relatively intact.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Heinrich von Hermann]
[Affiliation: Imperial Air Force 5th Air Defense Battery Commander]
[Rank: Major]
[Status: Anger, elitism toward the Army, attachment to his own equipment.]
Ah, he has the same name as Quartermaster Sergeant Hermann. But his looks and personality were the complete opposite. A fastidious impression, like the eyes of a snake.
“…Major Hermann.”
Brigade Commander Dietrich called him with a troubled expression, but Major Hermann paid him no heed and came right up to my nose, pointing a finger at me.
“The 88mm anti-aircraft gun is the crystallization of precision engineering bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor! It is a precision machine designed to intercept high-altitude bombers! And you want to do what? Fire it at dusty tanks?”
He snorted as if dumbfounded.
“You may not know this, being some Army whelp, but anti-aircraft guns are far more delicate devices than you think. If we fire horizontally, we have to consider the recoil it produces, and even the lifespan of the barrel. What’s more, does it make any sense to pierce tank armor with timed-fuse ammunition?”
It wasn’t exactly wrong. If one went by the manual, that was.
I replied evenly.
“As I understand it, the air defense battery was supplied with armor-piercing shells for emergencies. The ones issued for eliminating concrete bunkers.”
“Th-there are some, yes…! But those are strictly for position defense, not something to be used as the main—!”
“Then isn’t that enough? We have the shells, we have the guns, and the targets are right in front of us. There’s no reason we can’t fire, is there?”
“You lunatic! You want to run my precious anti-aircraft guns like expendables on the front line!? Absolutely not! Air Force regulations—!”
Major Hermann’s face reddened as he sprayed spittle. A typical difference in perspective between the Army and the Air Force.
I ignored him and looked at the brigade commander. He was the one with the authority to decide.
‘Captivating Speech.’
[Skill ‘Captivating Speech (Lv.3)’ has been activated.]
“Brigade Commander. You must choose.”
I lowered my voice.
“Will you be defeated while clinging to regulations? Or… will you try an unconventional tactic?”
“Th-that’s….”
“We don’t have time. The bombing was just moments ago, and we don’t know when they’ll begin their attack.”
A light of resolve appeared in Dietrich’s wavering eyes.
[Skill ‘Captivating Speech’ is influencing ‘Karl von Dietrich.’]
[You have succeeded in encouraging ‘Karl von Dietrich.’]
“…Damn it, let it all go to hell! Very well, I’ll trust you! Major Hermann! Obey Captain Jaeger’s words at once! That is an order!”
Hermann’s expression crumpled at once. But with the brigade commander’s order given, he could no longer object.
He muttered something unpleasant to himself, then ran over to the signalman and began shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Damn it, my career’s finished because of these ground-pounders…! All batteries! Change targets! Cease anti-air fire! Prepare for ground attack! Load armor-piercing!”
I smiled in satisfaction as I watched.
“A wise decision, Brigade Commander.”
“Whew….”
Dietrich wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sank down heavily.
“I talked big and said I’d take responsibility, but… Captain Jaeger, we really can penetrate them like you said, can’t we? If this doesn’t work, we’re finished.”
“Do not worry.”
I answered in a voice filled with certainty.
“There is no way they won’t be penetrated.”
*
We seized the gap after the bombing stopped and rushed out of the bunker.
Outside was a complete mess. Collapsed buildings lined the city streets here and there, and black smoke rose from every direction. The number of wounded soldiers being evacuated while screaming had increased even further.
‘Damn it, inside the bunker they were talking about whether Sector 5 had been breached or not.’
It was an even worse hellscape than before.
“Aaaaargh! Move! I said move!”
The road near the entrance to the city was a pandemonium tangled with refugees and defeated soldiers.
Brigade Commander Dietrich saw it and bit his lip.
“The Third Corps defensive line… has already been pushed back this far? The report said they were still engaged at the outer fortress!”
What this scene meant was clear.
“The report was late. Their maneuvering speed is faster than the signalman’s legs.”
I checked the minimap in the corner of my vision.
Red dots.
From the edge of the minimap, red dots were rushing toward Rosenheim at terrifying speed.
‘Damn it, they’re already here?’
A typical blitzkrieg, ignoring the speed of infantry and artillery support and thrusting armored forces in first. It was a reckless war of speed that existed nowhere in the Imperial Army manuals.
The situation was far more serious than I had expected.
“Brigade Commander. That crowd will be broken through in an instant. At most, we have twenty minutes before they come into view.”
“Twenty minutes?! You expect us to move those heavy guns in that time?”
Major Hermann, who had been listening beside us, was aghast.
“That’s why I’m saying we have to run right now! Second Company, what are you doing! Help those Air Force bastards push the guns!”
I shouted and grabbed the wheels of the anti-aircraft gun myself.
“Aaaaargh! Push! Push it!”
“The barrel’s getting caught! Careful!”
Two 88mm anti-aircraft guns cut through the mud as they moved.
“This is madness!”
“Damn it, I came here to polish aircraft, not do shovel work like ground-pounders….”
The Air Force soldiers stumbled through the unfamiliar ground movement, while the men of Second Company cursed and forcibly shoved the guns along. It was, in every sense, a disastrous collaboration.
After ten minutes passed like that, we barely succeeded in shoving the battery behind a collapsed brick wall.
And after fifteen minutes. We covered them with camouflage netting and fixed the gun legs for horizontal fire. The sound of tank tracks that had been faint in the distance was now close enough to pound against our eardrums.
“Hah, hah… This is truly insane….”
Major Hermann, soaked in sweat, sank down.
That was precisely when it happened.
“E-enemy tanks sighted! Road at eleven o’clock!”
Along with the observer’s urgent cry, the wave of defeated soldiers filling the end of the road was suddenly cut off.
And onto the empty road, stirring up clouds of dust, enormous silhouettes of steel revealed themselves.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Target: Rene-IV Medium Tank]
[Affiliation: Republic 4th Armored Division]
[Status: High-speed maneuvering, morale soaring]
[Special Information: Broke through the defensive line in three hours and entered Rosenheim.]
Streamlined, smoothly sloped armor, and a long-barreled 75mm main gun. From the very look of them, they were different from our Imperial Army tanks wrapped in crude right-angled armor.
“Listen carefully, Captain Jaeger! I deployed the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion to the left and right respectively. And as you said, I left the center open!”
The brigade commander, who had finished command on-site while the anti-aircraft guns were being positioned, poured out his words to me.
“But if the tanks spill out to the flanks, we’re all dead!”
“Do not worry. Tank crews have narrow fields of vision, so they prefer wide-open roads. If we rake them with rifle fire from both sides, they’ll crawl into the center on their own.”
“Whew… Yes, that may be so, but…”
He still looked anxious, as if unease had not left him.
Soon, the Imperial Army’s response began. The brigade commander shouted into the radio.
“Anti-tank unit, open fire! Shoot those bastards!”
The first to fire was, as expected, the anti-tank unit.
Bang—!
The 37mm anti-tank gun let out a sharp report. It was a hit. The shell struck the Rene tank’s frontal armor dead on.
However.
Ting—!
With a crisp metallic sound and a spray of sparks, the shell bounced uselessly into the sky.
“I-it bounced off!”
“Insane, that didn’t penetrate? It was practically point-blank!”
The Rene tank continued moving without so much as a scratch. And then.
Creeeeak.
Its turret slowly turned toward the anti-tank gun position. The motion was as if it were trying to swat away an annoying fly.
Boom—!
The 75mm main gun spat fire.
“Aaaaargh!”
Sandbags burst apart, and the anti-tank gun and its gunner were scattered into the air as unrecognizable paste. A single shot. With a single shot in return, one defensive position was erased.
“Th-that monstrous…”
Brigade Commander Dietrich’s face turned deathly pale.
“Magic! Is there no magic support!”
This time, Dietrich spoke while looking toward the 1st Battalion.
In response, Major Seraphina leaned out from behind cover. A blue mana bullet condensed in her pistol, then shot out like an arrow and struck the tracks of the second tank.
Thud—!
A powerful chill exploded, trying to freeze the metal links, but the heated engine and the enemy’s absurd output shattered even the ice as it advanced.
“They even have mana-resistance coating….”
Seraphina bit her lip and sank back down. Infantry weapons, anti-tank guns, magic. Nothing worked.
“No… It’s coming this way! Run!”
“Retreat! We can’t stop them! We’re all going to die!”
At that overwhelming sight, our allies’ morale hit rock bottom, and someone’s scream became the signal flare for the front line to begin collapsing.
“Th-they’re coming! They’re entering range!”
“Don’t fire yet! Wait!”
Major Hermann shrieked. But his hands were trembling like aspen leaves.
Brigade Commander Dietrich was just as shaken. He looked at me and shouted.
“C-Captain Jaeger! Shouldn’t we fire now? If those things see us and shoot, we’re finished!”
“Calm yourself, Brigadier General. They haven’t seen us yet. Thanks to the camouflage netting, they’ll think we’re just part of the ruins.”
I calmly measured the distance.
1,500 meters. 1,200 meters. 1,000 meters.
Brigade Commander Dietrich gripped my arm tightly. His hand was drenched with cold sweat.
“C-Captain Jaeger…!”
“Wait.”
800 meters.
They did not slow down. And as we intended, they entered the central intersection. Because of the building debris we had collapsed in advance, the lead tank had no choice but to reduce speed.
600 meters.
At last, they were close enough that the seams in their armor plates were visible.
“Now.”
As I murmured, Major Hermann shouted with the veins standing out in his neck.
“All batteries! Fire!!”
Kuwaaaang—!!
With a roar that seemed to overturn the earth, the 88mm gun muzzles spat fire.