“One, two, three, fire!!”
BOOM! As the flare in front of his eyes dimmed, smoke rose from the ground not far away.
“Load immediately and don’t stop!”
It was entirely Roxanna’s job to repel the remnants of Azoff hiding in the barracks of the patrol force with intact small towers and defensive facilities in the western part of Maniopol.
Among the three Diaboluses, the firepower support ship equipped with its own armament was her ship, the third ship ‘Enok’.
BOOM! KABOOM!! RRR–
BOOM! RRR–
While the gunfire below never ceased, inside the third ship Enok, the roar of the 57mm howitzer didn’t stop, akin to a bear’s roar.
The sound of the safety mechanism moving inside the cannon called the main g*n.
Indeed, the name ‘Grizzly’ was terrifyingly fitting.
“Captain Roxanna, it looks like we’re almost done here?”
“Is that so?”
Roxanna slightly poked her head out the window. Her pink hair fluttered in the wind, but it was clear that the enemies who had been entrenched outside the fortress had been repelled.
“Is this okay?”
This was a sudden doubt. The Enok Fire Support Ship was simply morale-boosting. Although the enemy couldn’t attack her, she could freely fire cannons with dozens of times the firepower of a simple rifle.
Whether they had constructed a defense line at a distance,
or whether they had barricaded themselves in the fortress,
or whether they were fleeing,
with just an order to fire, they were all wiped clean from her sight.
Now, Roxanna finally understood why Captain Enok Revandel had earnestly told her that she was the key to this operation.
“Roxanna will lead this battle to victory.”
That statement was true. If she had blindly thrown soldiers into such a situation, they would have had to endure significant casualties.
How many comrades did this single airship save today? Roxanna couldn’t even begin to guess.
From now on, only those who control the skies will decide the outcome of wars.
“Captain! The guys from the fourth platoon are waving their hands!”
“Looks like they’re saying thank you. Haha!!”
“If needed, call us anytime!!”
Excited gunners waved down below, and Roxanna waved back. It was time for the ground cleanup to be fully handed over to them.
Of course, Roxanna’s role wasn’t over yet.
“Roxanna, there’s a request for fire support from the first platoon. About 300 meters northeast from your position. Please annihilate the enemy holed up in the mansion.”
“Understood!”
Roxanna expertly took hold of the controls and advanced the airship.
Three hours after the 8th Aerial Mage Infantry Combat Unit conducted the landing operation in Maniopol.
The enemy’s main forces successfully formed a primary defense line to the northwest. Even though it was a combat unit, it was only slightly larger than a single infantry battalion in terms of scale.
Breaking through before the defense line was formed was nearly impossible.
However, the fact that they set up a defense line in the northwest and that a considerable number of Azoff troops had disintegrated was clear evidence that they were preparing to abandon the city and retreat.
Captain Claude Rain’s third platoon intensified their offensive.
They were the elite among the elites, forming the ‘vanguard platoon’ within the 8th Aerial Mage Infantry Combat Unit, which boasted considerable combat power.
Their muzzles continuously spewed smoke, and some soldiers had used so many bullets that their muzzles melted, forcing them to use captured enemy weapons.
They were truly a spear that could pierce anything.
And among them, the sharpest tip of the spear was undoubtedly Lieutenant Hilton Callia. She unleashed a flashing purple lightning instead of bullets and began to relentlessly break through the front lines.
“k*ll them all—these bastards!!”
“Captain’s on fire!! Let’s go too!!”
“Yeehaw!!!”
Even though the third platoon was already destructive and fast at crushing the enemy, they couldn’t keep up with the frenzy of the first platoon.
As the saying goes, children are mirrors of their parents.
The soldiers under Lieutenant Hilton Callia’s command were practically berserkers. Instead of restraining their rampaging captain, they joined in the chaos.
“Where’s Azoff? Where is Azoff?!”
“Aaaah!! Save me!”
“Grrr, there’s no Azoff here!!”
Hilton Callia, usually gentle as a lamb, transformed into a giant combat goat with horns on her forehead the moment she jumped out of the airship.
Her fierce spirit, which had fought bare-handed against Yetis, once again dominated her body.
Already filled with great vengeance against Azoff, she forgot to load her g*n and started swinging her broadsword.
SZZT!
Smaller than a gunshot but sharper than one, an electric shock grazed an unlucky soldier’s face.
She aimed her g*n at a woman breaking through the door but had her wrist severed before she could pull the trigger.
“Gaaaah—, gack, ggggrrrr.”
Rest. Before pain reached her brain, her breath was cut off.
“The Lightning Butcher?!”
“She’s a woman!! Not Claude Rain!!”
“But anyone can see that she’s the Butcher…”
“Instead of saying that, run, you little brat!!”
When the third platoon led by Captain Claude Rain completely broke through Azoff’s first defense line,
the soldiers of Lieutenant Hilton Callia’s platoon had reached the second defense line.
The second Lightning Butcher.
Just like every member of the 8th Aerial Mage Infantry Combat Unit was writing new history,
this was the moment young war hero Hilton Callia made her name known to the world.
Thirty hours after the massive invasion of the Quernen Province by Azoff, the port city of Maniopol, which had been the first victim of the initial invasion, was recaptured.
The counterattack by the second regiment of Azoff, which had intended to fortify itself after reorganizing its forces at City Hall, was thwarted by Second Lieutenant Joseph Lebandovsky’s order to launch preemptive mobile defense by the second platoon, resulting in a devastating defeat where a whole battalion was effectively split apart.
Amidst this, the defense lines scattered around the city, boasting of their fortifications, crumbled helplessly under the aerial bombardment of the third ship, the Enok Fire Support Ship, one of the Diaboluses, specifically the third ship, Enok.
The defense line along the eastern axis failed not only to block the sharp infiltration of the third platoon but also lost control over its troops, turning into a tattered rag with holes everywhere.
Cornered, the second regiment of Azoff, as expected by me and Joseph, attempted to advance toward the Fort Morok direction, where the encirclement seemed thinner.
However, the combination of cavalry’s aggressive disruption, artillery’s timely shelling, and subsequent infantry’s overwhelming assault struck a critical blow on the second regiment of Azoff, completely cutting off their air supply.
Now, those left in Maniopol were essentially the remaining troops. They amounted to barely more than a platoon, hardly enough to make a battalion.
They either surrendered to the civilians they had brutally tortured, ending up almost crippled, or declared their surrender to my troops while crying.
Although they claimed there were no prisoners, it felt inappropriate to k*ll those who had expressed surrender.
I managed to secure about twenty Azoff soldiers. Although the reported number seems higher…
Whether these soldiers lay dead on the streets or were imprisoned underground, I don’t know.
Not all Azoff soldiers surrendered so peacefully.
Some used civilians as hostages or barricaded themselves in sturdy locations to fight a guerrilla war.
For cowards like them, Lieutenant Roxanna Elrim rained justice from the sky.
Or perhaps they were torn apart by a small-scale battle unit specialized in such skirmishes, led by Lieutenant Nikolai.
Thankfully, machine guns hadn’t been developed yet; otherwise, who knows how many more sacrifices we would have had to endure.
Indeed, technology is paramount.
In a war of unlimited troop buildup and land grabbing, Ukraine’s sole method of survival was better technology and stronger firepower.
Anyway.
“Report from the platoon clearing out the remnants! We’ve eliminated what we believe to be the last of the enemy forces. We’ve also rescued the civilians held hostage.”
“Good news indeed.”
I let out a deep sigh and picked up the communication device to connect with Joseph Lebandovsky aboard the first ship Chepelin.
“HQ, reporting in.”
“This is HQ.”
I exchanged glances with Lumina, who nodded.
“As of 20:00 today, the recapture of Maniopol is complete. I repeat, the recapture of Maniopol is complete. Over.”
I announced the victory.
