Author Notes:
So, good news, I have managed to output a good RM chapter.
Bad news, my Mom and I really got a notice of eviction from our rental house, right out of the blue. Now, those of you who have been following my Patreon must have known of this sudden news by now, but long story short for those who don't.
Mom refused a perverted advance from a married neighbor. Said neighbor cozy up to the owner of my house. After 7 years of witstanding needless harrasment, things came to blow today and it's time Mom and I find another place to call home.
Of course, it will be confusing, it will be trying for Mom and I. We are going at it on a time crunch, and we are never well-off to begin with. I am trying to negotiate for a longer grace period to find both a suitable abode for the long terms and to save up money for the eventual moveover. I have called in every favor I can think of from my precious IRL friends, and now I am pleading to you, my readers and patrons, to continue to enjoy, comment, and support my stories. You all are my Mom's lifeline, that I will not lie.
So please, spread the words about my stories, help Mom and I in anyway you can. I can't offer much in return, only a ceaseless passion to bring words to life.
Thank you, everyone, for reading thus far. May Yggdra bless you all.
Monthly Income Goal 770/1500 USD (The bare minimum number I can think of to fund our search for a safe haven is 1500 USD a month)
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
Lu:
https://postimg.cc/fSc0ZRx5
https://postimg.cc/7J3TDZg9
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Riding out from FOB Northolt, the iron columns of the Reich Marshal's Iron Blood Division advance rapidly down the Western Avenue major road. It's a road that will ultimately lead them directly to Notting Hill, an area of London that can be said to border Kensington Palace, which in itself is a neighbor to Buckingham Palace. While both palaces are known to the public as royal residences, only Buckingham Palace acts as a true seat of political power. It's why, in times of war, the Erusean royal family primarily stays at Buckingham Palace, partly to simplify protection and partly to better steer the crumbling kingdom. For better or for worse, this decision would go on to help the Royal Guards build a simpler yet more robust defense line during the short-lived civil war, as there hadn't been a need to protect Kensington Palace as well.
Much of a help that was in the end...
It doesn't need to be said that Buckingham Palace is the ultimate prize for the 404th Division and the Belkan military command as a whole. Much like the Erusean Royal Guards, not much importance is placed by the Belkan High Command on the continued existence of the Kensington Palace. Instead, emphasis is placed on a multi-pronged attack, with Belkan Army, Marines, and ONI ground and VTOL-borne elements advancing in tandem from all cardinal directions, centering around Buckingham Palace. The 404th Division, representing the Belkan Army, is in charge of the Western approach, whereas the two Belkan Marine Brigades will tackle the Southern and Eastern angles. ONI, with its elite 141st Rapid Force Division and Raven Teams, is in charge of suppressing and sealing off the Northern escape passage for Buckingham Palace.
We now follow one of the 404th's spearhead units, Alpha Company, 7th Mechanized Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 404th Armored Division. Now, that is indeed a mouthful. It's why, more often than not, the name Bloody Seventh is used informally throughout the 404th's ranks and files when talking about this particular unit. The name "Bloody Seventh" is a nickname carried over from the time when the unit wasn't yet under the Reich Marshal's command. And, at the head of this Company, is Major Morrick, one of Yuki's most veteran and loyal officers.
"Whatcha looking at, boss?" Sergeant Jirou asks Major Morrick, who is fiddling with the military tablet in his hand.
"Drone footage, my friend. Been seeing sporadic refugee groups all around our ingress..." Major Morrick then speaks into the Company communication channel. "Have the column slow down when we reach Lakeside, I don't want any of those frightened refugees somehow finding their way beneath our treads."
The leading vehicles, Leopard MBTs, do in fact ease up on their throttles, and not a moment too soon at that. Upon reaching the slight curve in the highway that is flanked by rows of trees, the tankers come to see low-spirited Erusean civilians trying to get as far away from London as possible. Most are walking on foot with whatever they can carry from their homes. A luckier few are pushing bicycles loaded with everything they managed to get their hands on. Nearly all of them have indeed seen better days.
Upon hearing and seeing the approaching armored vehicles, these refugees immediately scatter and hide in the bushes, the tree lines, and the nearby factory complexes. Having just survived the bloody days in civil war London, these civilians don't have the mind to care about the affiliation of this new force. Their first instinct is to make themselves scarce; some even ditch their limited supplies just so they can run faster.
"Damn... Is it wrong of me to feel kinda bad for these guys?" Jirou questions, having seen how swiftly the Eruseans disappear from the road... Well, mostly.
"Hold up, what am I seeing here?" Aleph notices something strange.
The Major then operates the tablet, zooming in on what seems be an Erusean woman being pushed toward the ground by a coat-wearing man. As the woman falls, the coat-wearing man dashes away with the woman's luggage in his hand.
"The hell...?" Aleph comments.
"Bastard! That's daylight robbery!" Jirou curses, feeling his blood boiling.
"Calm down, we don't have the full picture yet..." Although Aleph says that with a calming gesture, the Major soon frowns when the woman reveals what she has been keeping safe in her bosom.
She has been holding a little baby, which is why she was so helpless against the coat-wearing man earlier.
"I don't know about you, sir, but I don't think a normal person would attack someone with a newborn..." Jirou clenches his fist in rage, while Aleph sighs.
The Major then slams the metallic wall of the IFV a couple of times.
"Driver, keep an eye out for a frail woman on the road. We'll make a pit stop near her." Aleph then speaks into the comm link. "Command, this is Major Morrick. We got a refugee woman and her baby on the MSR; we may need a MEDEVAC for the pair."
"Command received. We have been keeping an eye on the situation. A MEDEVAC Boxer has been alerted and is enroute. Major Morrick, take some of your men to secure both the refugees and the nearby factory complex. Bravo Company will take your place as the spearhead unit. Be advised, the supposed robber has run into the Northeastern factory compound, which is 200 meters away from the refugees. ONI has marked that particular area as suspicious, so be prepared for any potential surprise. Over."
"Wilco, Command." Having received new directives, Aleph then disseminated them to the rest of his Mechanized Company. "Listen up, boys and girls, this is your Major speaking! Command is asking us to take a sightseeing tour, some local factories need to be brought into order, and a pair of refugees needs to be recovered somewhere down this road. Standby for rapid dismount around the Command vehicle."
"Roger!" Almost all at once, the officers of the Bloody Seventh give their acknowledgement of the new orders.
Aleph then turns to Jirou. "Alright, you big softie. You know what to do next."
With a confident thump to his chest, the Oni nods seriously. "You can count on me to secure the pair safely, boss man."
"Five seconds!" Comes the warning of the Puma's commander.
"Show time, boys." On habit, the passengers of the Command Puma, all veteran Panzergrenadiers, pat themselves from top to bottom to check their gear.
With a lurch, the Command Puma comes to a halt on the dirt patch to the side of the road. A couple of moments later, more Pumas come to a stop around the command vehicle as well, but none stay on the paved road itself, lest they block the path of other units traversing to inner London.
With the opening of the rear ramps, one can hear the Panzergrenadiers of Aleph's A Company shout.
"Go! Go! Go!"
"Keep your heads on a swivel and watch where you're going!"
"I don't want to write an eulogy for some asshats that turned themselves into road kills!"
"Advance with the IFVs! Advance with the IFVs!"
It takes seconds for Aleph's mounted combatants to dismount, and it takes less than that to form up combined arms formations around the Puma IFVs. In the blink of an eye, the stopped armored vehicles, alongside their dismounted infantry escorts, march forward at a deliberate pace, flanking the scenic sides of Western Avenue as the rest of the 404th Division drives down on it to reach Buckingham Palace. One of the groups to drive past the dismounted and cautiously advancing Alpha Company is their peer, Bravo Company.
"Hey Aleph, thanks for passing the baton to brother." The Major of Bravo Company greets Aleph over the radio waves. "B-Coy owes you and the rest of A-Coy big time."
Charging Buckingham Palace is no doubt a great honor, one that is deserving of an honorary badge for the units involved. Now that A Company has taken B Company's original task, which is to clear the factory compounds, it will be grossly impolite and a disservice to A Company if B Company does not express its gratitude.
Aleph chuckles, hearing the sincerity in the voice of his closed peer. "You buy the next round for my Company, then we'll consider it even!"
"You can count on that, brother. Be safe out there. Schmidt, out."
Sticking close to the rear of his Puma IFV, Aleph shakes his head with a smile. Jirou, who has been flanking his side with an MG1 in hand, interjects.
"Boss, I see the woman."
Aleph takes a peek at the front, seeing the distraught and fearful woman, holding a newborn child that is wrapped in a piece of cloth. She sits unceremoniously on where she was pushed down by the side of the road. Some dozen meters behind her are the red brick walls that surround the Erusean civilian industry buildings.
"All units, continue advancing to clear out the factories. Command element will secure the civilian woman by the roadside." The Major instructs.
Complying with his request, the Panzergrenadiers and the Puma IFVs give the woman and the child a wide berth, going further off-road so that the frightened woman won't be spooked any further. Unironically, this move ensures both the refugees' and the Panzergrenadiers' safety, at least to a certain extent.
With the Command Puma approaching closer to the refugee woman, Major Morrick gives the IFV a few good slaps on the armor plate. "Stop the vehicle."
"Stopping!" The Command Puma halts approximately twenty meters away from the woman.
"Jirou." Aleph calls out.
"On it. Jon, with me."
"Right behind you, Sarge."
Two men, one Oni, one human, step beyond the protective circle of the stopped armored fighting vehicle. As Sergeant Jirou and Corporal Jon reach the halfway point between the Command Puma and the woman, the refugee finally takes notice. With little strength in her legs, the woman shimmied backward on her behind, holding the newborn close to her chest with a tearful expression.
"N-No... Please...!"
"Now, hold your horse, lady!" In a practiced manner, Jirou slings his MG1, raising both of his big hands in a calming gesture.
Both Jirou and Jon halt their steps, with Jon looking away from the woman to scan for any potential threat.
"Lady, we come in peace!" Jirou speaks slowly, clearly, in accented Erusean. "We will not hurt you. We see that you are hurt and that you are protecting a youngling. With your permission, we would like to render you aid."
"Here, how about we start with an introduction first. My name is Jirou." The Oni then gives the Private next to him a pat. "And this one here is Jon. Brave lady, can we learn your name?"
Perhaps sensing the sincerity coming from the strangely towering soldier, the woman slowly replies in a frazzled, small tone, barely audible to Jirou and Jon. "J-Justina... My name is Justina."
"Well then, Lady Justina. May we approach? This is no environment for you, or your baby."
Closing her eyes, probably in an attempt to stop her tears from falling, Justina nods rapidly.
"Understood... Jon, let's move. Nice and easy." Jirou says, and the two men slowly approach the sniffling woman.
Gently, Jirou goes down on one knee in front of Justina, with Jon standing protectively over the two of them. Up ahead, other elements of the Bloody Seventh are starting to approach the multiple factory compounds.
"Hello there, Justina," The Oni says with a disarming smile. "Are you hurt somewhere? Are you mobile?"
"My left leg... It hurts..." Justina replies with a grimace, still clinging to the child in her hands securely.
Jirou nods slowly before asking. "May I? I may be all big and brawny, but I do know some medical knowledge myself."
"You are so big... It's strange." Justina mutters.
"Haha, I get that a lot on these parts." Jirou doesn't mind the comment. It's not like he detected anything spiteful in it anyway.
The comment is just a way for Justina to cope with recent events.
Ultimately, the lady nods, allowing the Oni to examine her left leg with professional care. Near immediately, Jirou notices the swollen flesh around Justina's ankle. "Seems to me it's a sprained leg, probably from a hard fall. I can get you something to help with the pain..."
Upon hearing the word 'help' again, however, Justina reacts strongly. "No... Wait! We have to go! We have to run, now!"
The woman nearly jumps to her injured feet if not for Jirou to hold her down, the Oni saying with an alarmed voice. "Justina, calm down! You are injured, and your child is still in your hand! What's wrong!?"
Justina, panicking, shakes her head rapidly. "N-No! This is not my child! Not my child! T-This is Clara... I don't know her name, it's just something I call her with. I just know that someone left her in a trash bin... I-I can't help but pick her up... She doesn't deserve that fate...!"
"Ok! Ok! She is Clara... The baby is Clara." Jirou and Jon both share a complex look before the Oni continues. "Now, Justina, tell me why we need to run away?"
"You don't understand... There are some bad men around the factories. I saw them carrying guns and bombs, and they have been calling on people to fight, to kill! The men who refused to join them were beaten and... And... I heard gunshots and screams. That's why I ran here... That's why...!" Justina chokes.
"That's why you met that robber?" Jirou questions with a grim face.
"N-No, he wasn't a robber. He was my neighbor... He tried to rope me into that gang of dangerous people... B-But I refused because of Clara... I-!"
"Get down!" Jirou suddenly pulls Justina and Clara behind him protectively.
With an outstretched hand, Jirou casts a gleaming blue protective shield that obscures his towering body from top to bottom. The magic barrier appears not a moment too soon as multiple bullets start landing around their location. A couple of bullets even slammed on the projected shield, causing bluish ripples before shattering into multiple pieces. Jon, who has been on alert, manages to duck behind Jirou and settle cautiously to shield Justina and Clara behind him, but not before a bullet nicked him in the shoulder, causing it to bleed.
"You good!?" Jirou shouts the question now that bullets start coming out of the factory compounds, causing the advanced formations of the Bloody Seventh to open fire in retaliation.
"I'll live, Sarge!" Jon replies before peaking Jirou's shield to fire and suppress the windows of the tall factory buildings with his G1 rifle.
Justina, being shot at and hearing the bangs of 8 mm Mauser rifles, screams in fright while trying to protect Clara's ears.
"Damn it! Now of all time!" Jirou curses before screaming into the local battle net. "Shot fired! Shot fired! We got troops in contact with rogue Erusean elements at the industrial complex on Western Avenue, near Lakeside intersection! I got an injured woman and her kid here, requesting urgent MEDEVAC!"
"Jirou!" Comes the screaming Major Morrick, now riding on the Command Puma that comes to a skidding stop in front of Jirou and Jon, thus blocking them from the view of the enemies in the factory buildings.
As the HMG-14.5 on the Command Puma starts suppressing the buildings ahead with great prejudice, Aleph and the Panzergrenadiers, who have been running escort duty, form a protective encirclement, allowing Jirou and Jon to help Justina and Clara inside the Puma IFV.
"Come on, Justina! We can't have you stay out here! Jon, help her hold Clara!" Dispelling the barrier spell, Jirou hoists Justina up in a sudden princess carry, causing her to yelp in shock. Fortunately, with Jon around to prevent Justina's hands from slipping away from Clara, the baby remains perfectly secure in the Erusean woman's bosom.
As Jirou and Jon are stepping onto the ramp of the Puma, the Oni makes an angered comment. "Boss man, I don't think we'll need to be worried about collateral damage any time soon!"
Major Morrick nods seriously before giving the order. "Screw breaching the compounds, I want all vehicles to flatten the factories with everything you have! Fire at will!"
With the explicit order given, the Class-B Pumas, some equipped with 30 mm chainguns, others equipped with 57 mm autocannons, start using their main guns in earnest.
THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP
KA-DUNKKA-DUNKKA-DUNKKA-DUNKKA-DUNK
Red brick walls, cement or concrete structures... None can withstand the modern-day volume of fire from a pissed-off Mechanized Company. Explosions from both outside and inside the factory buildings soon eviscerate any and all semblance of foolish resistance. As whole structures collapse onto the heads of the stupid gang of dubious affiliation who, in their misplaced arrogance, messed with the wrong faction, it has to be noted that Clara, the newborn still in the safe embrace of Justina, remains strangely unaffected by the war around her.
It's a small miracle for Clara to remain peacefully asleep despite everything.