Chapter 10: Chapter 8.5: White Rock Fortress part 2

Witnessing the sight of begrudging Ustians forming a line, marching towards the Belkan backline. Brigadier Alexa shakes her head at the stubbornness of man when she saw some of them look at her with hatred. Why must they fight for a lost cause? Why must they defend their obsoleted prejudice? Is the thought of coexistent that disgusting to humankind? Surely not as Belka host many human beings in her fold. Then why is the rest so... different?

For all her forte in guessing the minds of human beings, something like that still eludes her. 

" At least, some of them have given up resisting." 

The line of defeated Ustians before her are those that are either too injured to fight, or they're civilians. The enemy General would rather go down in a blaze, but not to the extent that forcing everyone to go down with him.

At the very least, he seems to treasure the younglings more than himself. 

Biting back another sigh, Brigadier Alexa orders. " Commence the operation as soon as the last Ustian clears the neutral zone."

The soldiers around her salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

She nods before going behind a half-track. Grabbing a Kar98k that a member of her guard retinue handover, she operates the bolt to load a fresh clip inside. She mutters as she slams the bolt forward. " I guess I will need to go a bit dirty today."

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Inside a tunnel complex, lit only by flickering yellow light bulbs every five meters, dozens of grey-coat soldiers navigate the area till one of them holds up a fist. The group stops and checks their surrounding, they are standing before a fork that leads to two different objectives. The group leader signals for the soldiers behind him to split up. Half of them take the left tunnel while the rest head for the right tunnel. Cautiously, they advance in the dimly lit tunnels until one group is stalled by Ustian soldiers. 

Standing in between them and the ladders leading upward to their objective is a group of four soldiers. The Ustian soldiers are busied carrying ammunition crates up the ladder for their allies. With the light shining down from above the hatches, they can see that the Ustians are armed with bolt-action rifles. Ill-equipped for tunnel combat.

The Belkan group leader gives the hand signal to silently take them out. Utilizing the low-lighting condition, a few soldiers sneak up in between the ammo crates with daggers in their hands. Very quickly, when the Ustians are distracted, they clamp the Ustians' mouths shut, pulling them into the darkness, and slit their throats. 

With blood gushing out of their dying bodies, they watch in horror as the Belkans carefully climb up the ladders with C96s at the ready. Before they pass away, they can hear a firefight ensue above. From the look of it, they are losing their position due to the surprise attack.

In the confined space of the bunker above the tunnel, the full-automatic C96 proves itself to be a deadly weapon. The combination of firepower and ease of use provide the Belkans with absurd close-range combat effectiveness against rifle-wielding Ustians. Clearing the machine gun bunker takes no time at all before they ready their submachine guns, standing before the door leading outside. 

Outside the bunker is a trench system that leads toward an anti-air position. On their way, they will encounter alerted Ustians so all of them are equipped with SMGs, C96s, and a lot of grenades. To ensure their longevity, most of them are well-versed in protection and recovery magics. This group of a dozen is what you call Shocktroopers, and they're about to tear shit up.

Right before the group leader gives the order to head out, he can hear sounds of distant combat. It seems like the other group is already engaging the enemy on the surface. Their timing is impeccable.

" Open, bang, clear. We will destroy everything on the way to the objective." The leader gives his order while readjusting his neck collar, the ranks on it signifying his status as a Staff Sergeant.

Doing per his order, the troopers stacking next to the door swiftly open it and toss a couple of potato smashers outside. If the earlier scuffle inside the bunker didn't alarm the enemy, then the explosions from the grenades and screams of Ustian soldiers sure did. 

With the coast cleared, the troopers, headed by the Sergeant, rush outside, zipping across the trench system. The Ustians that are unfortunate enough to stand in their way are greeted with a hail of bullets. While fighting positions such as bunkers or AT emplacement are swiftly cleared with grenades. The Ustians, for sure, did not expect an attack from behind, especially right after the lull on the battlefield. Confusing reports arrive at the Ustian HQ, all the more so when the Belkan main force resumes their attack from the front. This leads to a situation where the Ustian General mistakenly thought that the frontline has already been breached. He gives the order for the soldiers below him to pull back toward the third and last defense line, a line that is severely lacking in anti-air armament. Such action also lessens the defenses surrounding the main AA sites, the objectives of the Shocktroopers. An unintentional boon for the Belkan side.

By the time they arrive at their objective, an AA site that is lowered down into the ground with three quad 13.2 mm Hotchkiss HMG turrets. Only a skeleton crew is left to man the area. However, the Ustians have two Chauchat machine guns on their side. With those gun suppressing their access way, the Sergeant orders.

" Everbody, grab your grenade! Ready..." He uncorks his M24 grenade. " Throw!" With a flurry of hands, a dozen M24 grenades were unleashed on the Ustian position.

Growing frantic at the absurd sight, the Ustian Captain tries to make a break for it, albeit not in time there's a grenade every two meters. And, like a church organ of doom, a dozen explosions redecorate the landscape. The Ustian echelon that was left behind is obliterated in seconds with those unlucky enough to survive being left with crippling wounds. After that, the Shocktroopers move in to secure the sight, taking out those that are still resisting or providing a merciful relief to the ones that are too far gone. As a side effect of the tactic that would later be called Grenade Assault, two of the AA emplacements are disabled. The Sergeant is about to give the order to destroy the last one when an Ustian armored car surprises him.

The stray AMD was retreating from the losing front when they come across the attack, it rears its cannon and engages the troopers, forcing them to duck beneath the trench. Finding themselves ill-equipped to engage the armored threat, the Sergeant thought up a daring plan. He will have his soldiers use smoke grenades to block their line of sight while a few of them commandeer the last Hotchkiss. The Ustian armored car will not expect their AA gun to fire at them.

Quickly putting his plan into action, he and some troopers uncork their smoke grenades and throw them in the general direction of the car. A few seconds later, the entire trench is covered in smoke, this makes the Ustian vehicle reposition themselves to get a clearer angle. Unknown to them, they drove straight into the line of fire of the quad 13.2mm HMG. Imagine their surprise when the smoke clears up and they come face to face with the blazing Hotchkiss. The fiery piano quickly shred the flimsy armored plating of the AMD, killing its occupant and leaving no survivor. This impromptu tactic marks one of the first usages of anti-air guns on ground vehicles. 

With the coast clear, the Sergeant checks for any injuries among his group before telling them to pack up. They need to keep moving to avoid being surrounded by retreating Ustians. Not to mention they still have a few more locations to hit before regrouping with the other group. And with any bit of luck, they can pull through this without incurring casualties.

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" Princess!" The soldiers at the forward observation post salute me. I return their salute before telling them to be at ease. Requesting two sets of binoculars, I give one of them to Bryn who is next to me and we gaze at the smoking fortress.

Billowing in black smokes in every section, the once stalwart fortress painted dominantly in white is now a husk of its former self. By now, reports have come in about our favorable situation inside the fortress. Scouts have observed most of the enemy air defenses are now out of the picture, it will not be long till the sky is safe enough for CAS bombers to fulfill their duty. 

Keeping a close eye on the fortress, I soon notice two sets of flares being shot upward, slowly falling in between pillars of black smoke.

" I see green flares! Contact the Air Force, have them on stand by for rapid air support!" Quickly giving the order to a nearby radio operator, I then share a look with Bryn. We both know that this battle is soon to be over now. 

With no news of reinforcement being sent to White Rock, it's safe to say that the Ustian defenders are on their last legs. By the end of the day, there will not be any more resistance.

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The battlefield situation progressed faster than expected. With renewed vigor from the short ceasefire period, a misstep in the enemy chain of command, and the now available CAS, the Belkan Grenadiers steamrolled the Ustian defenders. 

Any position that is too heavily guarded is marked with red smoke before relaying to the awaiting Ju-87s via aerial observers. Moments later, the screaming sirens of the Stukas promise the Ustian death and destruction in the form of 250 and 500-kilogram bombs. There is, however, a notable situation behind the enemy line. A purple smoke cloud is spotted, prompting an urgent response from the observers as they report their findings to High Command.

The two Shocktrooper groups, splendidly completing their assigned tasks, found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place after they reconvene at a building. The retreating Ustians have them bogged down while the Ustian General sent in his reserve force, determined to get rid of the troopers that had been sowing chaos.

Noticing the dire situation as they cannot retreat nor are capable of receiving reinforcement. The Staff Sergeant orders them to hunker down in what used to be Ustian bunkers with purple smoke grenades that are popped around their location. This is a Broken Arrow situation just like their Princess described during their briefing. If they're going down, may as well take a few more Ustians with them.

Princess Yuki is soon notified of the situation, she gives the order to provide uninterrupted air support to the troopers and at the same time, form a mechanized rescue force to punch through the enemy line. Their task is to rescue the brave troopers and bring them home, dead or alive.

Major Aleph Morrick volunteered himself and his company for the task which the Princess quickly agreed. This is not the first time the Major picks up a job like this so she trusts him to pull through. By the time Aleph has organized a rescue company, the sky above the stranded troopers is filled with Bf-109s strafing or dropping their 50 kg bombs.

Spearheaded by a Panzer III from the 27th Armored Platoon, the rescue company sped through the Ustian line with impunity. Grenadiers atop their half-tracks fire upon the scampering Ustians with either their machine guns or submachine guns, some discard their Kar98k in favor of their C96 to perform drive-by on their enemy.

Such a mad dash dumbfounded the Ustians, letting them no room to maneuver against a tide of armored vehicles. Any and all opposition is flattened to the ground under the mighty treads of Belkan engineering.  In a moment of zealot zeal, the lead tank ram away a blocking Ustian armored car before blasting it to bits with the 75mm main gun. This temporarily disabled the Panzer III but paved the way forward for the company. They're in the final stretch of the road when they witness a Bf-109 swooping down from above with all its guns blazing.

A few thought the aircraft will crash when diving at breakneck speed but who would have known that the pilot pull up at the last moment? Leaving behind four 50 kg bombs for the Ustians as care packages, they explode mere 50 meters away from the rescue company. While the Bf-109 flies away, dangerously close to the ground and above their armored convoy. The stun maneuver forces a curse out of the mouth of Major Aleph.

" Fucking crazy-ass flyboy! That's danger fucking close!" He bites back more complaints when they finally reach the troopers' location. Bodies of unrecognizable origin are strewn everywhere. He can see that there's an ongoing firefight between multiple buildings so he quickly identifies which building is friendly, and which one isn't. The progress is made faster when the enemy garrisons fire upon his half-track.

" Well, that fucking does it. Hey, I want the Hellhounds up front! Burn the red bricks building off the face of the Earth!" Under the covering fire of the rest of the convoy, two half-tracks move forward of the formation.

They are specially modified for close-quarter, urban combat, and situations like this one. Trading the ability to ferry passengers and instead, mounted themselves with more armor and side-mounted flame projectors. These half-tracks are aptly named Hellhounds for their ability to swiftly cover a large swath of land in flame.

It's a given that the two half-tracks, armed with two flame projectors each, can scorch all the enemy buildings in record time. Thus saving the trapped troopers.

Under the attack of the flame of Hell, the Ustians are forced to retreat. This allows the Grenadiers to dismount and proceed to aid the Shocktroopers. Of the 55-man platoon, they've lost a dozen men and women with half of the rest incurring a variety of injuries. Dreadfully low on ammo, they risked being wiped out if not for the timely arrival of Major Aleph and his company.

Aleph orders the company to form a perimeter and throws a few green smoke grenades. The impromptu rescue operation was a success and they're now waiting for the main force to arrive. The Shocktroopers are being taken care of by the company medic while Aleph is going to have a chat with the Staff Sergeant leading the troopers.

" Major!" The Staff Sergeant, with a bandaged left arm, saluted.

Seeing the brave soldier trying to hide his discomfort, Aleph quickly says. " At ease, trooper. You and those under you fought well. I'll make sure to commend your effort in my report. Now then," Taking a seat on a dusty chair and motioning for the Sergeant to do so, Aleph continues. " can you explain to me how is it that you got yourself in such dire circumstance?"

" Reporting to Major, after we split into two groups to complete our mission, we fought our ways to accomplish the tasks. According to instruction, we used green flares to signal the all-clear for the observers. With our mission completed, we were supposed to regroup and fight our way back to friendly territory. However, the sudden fallback of Ustian soldiers blocked our road forward, and by that time the enemy also sent out a kill team to take us out. Knowing that breaking through is a death sentence for all of us, we used the former Ustian fighting positions as cover. I decided to call a Broken Arrow on our position, seeing that we're heavily outgunned and outnumbered. After that, you, Major, arrived with a relief force... Major, it's my incompetence that resulted in the loss of good men and women. I take full responsibility for failing to uphold my duty, sir!" The Sergeant failed to compose himself at the last part. Manly tears threatened to make themselves known as of those that died, all were his close friends. 

" I will have none of that, Sergeant! No plan survives first contact with the enemy. And for what it's worth, you have led your troops through hell and back. Those that sadly passed away did so knowing full well of their potential demise. They embraced their deaths valiantly so that their brothers and sisters in arms can live on to finish what they started. They died as heroes, Sergeant. And I doubt they would like to see their leader moping here like a sorry sack of crap so toughen up, soldier! The battle you and your troops, so bravely fought here, will be featured in history books for years to come. With your sacrifices, the fortress is soon to be ours and you should feel proud of that!" Aleph encouraged the Sergeant. He is no man with flowery words, that's for sure. But he at least can make a good enough pep talk for the man before him. " Now if you want to make up for the ones that died. Live well, and fight well for the Motherland. That's all I, and they can ask of you."

From the look of it, it works. " Thank you, Major!" The Sergeant salutes. Aleph waves him off before resuming their impromptu meeting. They need to scrunch up a plan to evac the troopers back to friendly territory.

By now, the Ustians should have formed a loose encirclement around them. Aleph is informed of small-scale engagements around their perimeter but he is not that worried. Unless they bring some heavy artillery, which he doubts they would have any left at this stage, he should have enough time to evac the wounded.

Those that are incapable of fighting will be mounting the half-tracks, tucked safely behind their platings. The others will be moving alongside the Grenadiers as they follow the armored convoy, they've picked the shortest path so not much resistance is to be expected. Before they leave, a set of green flares will be launched.

Having finalized the plan, they both stand up and head out to address their subordinates. It's time to mount up and drive the Ustians down.

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" Princess!" A soldier, who was manning a radio station, interrupted a conversation between Yuki and Bryn. " Our rescue company has successfully made its way out of the combat zone. They have retrieved the survivors and casualties from the two trooper squads, and are making their way back to base camp as we speak."

" Good! Have them deposit their escortees at the triage center, and tell them to grab a hot meal at the cantina. They all deserve a break after a well-done job like this one." Yuki nods to the radio operator before waving him off. The soldier salutes before vacating the observation post.

" By the time the rescue company makes themselves comfortable, I reckon it will also be the time this battle gonna end." Turning to look at Bryn, Yuki says. " Your Witches, even though they took on auxiliary roles today, performed spectacularly well. I think it's a given that I ought to send my regards to them."

Bryn gives an affirmative nod. " I will make sure they all receive your kind words."

" And not just the Witches, I think the troopers should receive a special commendation. Fighting against overwhelming odds like that... Their valiancy needs to be rewarded handsomely." Stroking her chin, Yuki adds. " I will draft a plan, it's about awarding the appropriate contribution to the men and women who fought today. Once I'm done with it, you can help me review and revise it."

" Sure, I think this will only serve to further enhance our already fiery morale, though." Bryn has a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. " Victories after victories have bolstered the Division's spirit to an unprecedented level, and with the upcoming award ceremony... Are you sure you're not trying to make zealots out of the troops? Who will scream their Princess's name as they charge a trench line."

Taken by surprise by the sudden image of such action, Yuki almost drops the teacup she's about to take a drink from. Quickly stabilizing herself in time, she heaves a sigh. " Your teasing is sometimes so sudden that I really have no idea how to react. And no, I'm not trying to make zealots when my title already guarantees that I have such people in the thousands."

" True, I must say, however, that your mothers would be proud to see that you treat your subordinates well." The silver-hair Valkyrie smiles and pats Yuki's grey hair.

" That I know, Bryn. That I know." With eyes squinting happily, Yuki resumes drinking her tea. Occasionally, Bryn feeds Yuki some biscuits that were procured from a Ustian town.

The observation post turned into a small tea party for two beautiful ladies, a sight that is sure to be very picturesque. If you ignore the military topics that kept being thrown about and the sounds from the distant battlefield, that is.

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Ready.

Aim.

Fire!

Confirm kill.

Kill confirmed.

Chamber another round.

Repeat the previous action...

...

...

...

...-ir.

...sir.

"...GENERAL, SIR!" A shout shocked the General out of his reverie. With that, he realizes that he has been pulling the trigger on an empty rifle, all along.

" General..." The Captain before him, crouching beneath a firing hole, passes him a fresh clip. " This is my last clip, sir. We need to make every shot count until the scavengers return." Without waiting for a reply, the Captain stands up and takes a position to engage the Belkans.

While loading the clip into his rifle, or is this a rifle that belonged to a dead Private...? He didn't know. He also has no idea how long has he been fighting the Belkans. And while he is not the best shooter out there, he can say he has killed a dozen Belkans already. Yet, there's still more approaching their now surrounded HQ. 

Maybe a bit later, heavily armored vehicles will start rounding the corner and blast them to oblivion.

Heaving a soundless sigh, the General slams the bolt of the scavenged rifle back home. He looks up from his rifle only to see the previous Captain, now sporting another breathing hole, lays across him in a puddle of blood and brain matters. He then realizes that some of the stuff got sprayed on his face too. Wiping his face with his now disheveled coat, he looks at his bloodied clothes and thinks. " Is it time?"

Without another word, he vacates his fighting position and makes his way across the hectic HQ. Soldiers, or what is left of them, manned their positions with staunch looks. The General sees as a soldier is shot through his chest and dies, only for his weapon to be picked up by another one with a missing left arm. The heavily injured man then reassumes his friend's cover, still stalwartly fighting against the enemy. Internally, he applauds the man's fighting will.

He then approaches a set of stairs, by its side lay soldiers that received fatal injuries, some are already dead with their equipment stripped bare. He takes a clear look at the soulless eyes of one of them before heading down to the ground level. Suddenly, the building shakes, and a part of the stair exploded, sending him tumbling the last few steps.

The Belkan armored force has arrived to clear out the last of the resistance.

Struggling to his feet with the help of a nearby Corporal, he waves the boy off despite his shouting something. The General drags himself to a crumbling lobby, he can see a squad armed with a Chauchat desperately trying to hold down the fort. Next to them lay the remains of an anti-tank crew. Scanning the surrounding, the General finds the objects he has been looking for. He crouches down, an action that suddenly seems very hard to do for the current him, and picks up a white table cloth. Wrapping it around his rifle, he then removes the Ustian flag from a broken flag pole inside the lobby. It's a bit of tough work but he finally gets the damn flag to drape over his body. And now, he can leave.

His previous actions mostly went unnoticed by soldiers due to the chaotic situation at hand. So, they are stunned into silence when their General moves past the lobby, and finally, he arrives outside the crumbling wall of the Headquarters. They watch in shock as their General, whose back seems larger with their national flag drapes over him, uncaringly braves the hail of bullets before slamming the butt of his rifle down to the round. Some try to spring forward and pull him back to safety but the Belkans intensify their suppressive fire, pinning them down.

Unfortunately, due to the fog of war, the Belkans failed to notice the flying white cloth the General is sporting. A stray bullet went through the knee of the General, forcing him down on one leg. The Ustians behind curse in frustration at their inability to do anything.

Still, with his hands clutching the rifle for support, the General stands up again. His spirit, doused in bitter defeat earlier, now burns brighter than ever. With strength he never thought he has in his lungs, he let out a shout that completely disrupt the tempo of the battlefield.

" STOP!!!"

Were this a cultivation novel, his shout would likely have resulted in a shockwave that pierced the Heaven. 

Anyway, the Ustians stop their trigger fingers first, then comes the sudden decrease in the volume of fire from the Belkan side until there's not a single hot muzzle on the battlefield. The fog of war clears up and both sides, finally, come face to face with each other. 

The General, down to one knee with a white flag representing the Ustio, and a Panzer 389(t), belonging to Belka. Biting back the more colorful words, the General yells.

" Just how many more good men have to die to satisfy you freaks, huh!? Just how many families that you must bereave of their fathers and sons, till you can quench your bloodthirst, huh!? Can you count how many have died protecting our God-given land from the hands of your thieves!?" With the last of his words, he vented the frustration he has. After witnessing the consequences of war, and more importantly, the consequences of his action today... A few words like those are not surprising.

" ...Ha. Take me to your leader, the one who heads this shitshow." Only bitterness and unwillingness are left in his old bones.

" That will not be needed, General." A half-track arrives from behind the Panzer. On top of it is the Belkan Brigadier General. " I'm Brigadier General Alexa Lilianna, commanding the 82nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade. Your second-in-command should've told you good words about me." With a rifle slung over her back, the Brigadier is escorted by two squads of veteran Grenadiers.

" ... Were he still live, he would have spit at your face, you snake." Gritting his teeth, the General forces himself to stay calm.

To this, Alexa just shrugs her shoulders while the Grenadiers tense up with their fingers on the triggers. " You can't please everyone, it seems. Anyway, I assume you have a good reason to do... You know, this." She exaggeratedly motions her hands to the surrounding.

" ... I've come to discuss the terms of our surrender. You lot have killed too many today."

" Pfft... Hahahaha!" After hearing what the grizzled General had to say. Alexa failed to contain her laughter, full of ridicule towards her peer of the opposite flag. " Human! Oh how low you have fallen! I'm actually feeling pity for your soldiers now."

" Cease your needless chatter, wench! I don't have all the day to listen to your admonishing. We only need to talk about the terms, and nothing else!"

Alexa smirks. " Heh..." She crouches to the same level as the crippled General. " And why should we?"

" What...?" Unable to follow, the General can only utter a single word.

" Why should we discuss your surrender when you are on your last leg, quite literally at that. You! In your infinite wisdom, have disregarded our offer of surrender a mere four hours ago. Is now willing to rediscuss it? Isn't it by your order that your second-in-command tore the paper? And now what, you're blaming us for sending your soldiers to Hell and still want us to accept your surrender?" Each word is laced with such a heavy amount of ridicule that the General finds himself at a loss for words.

It takes him a few seconds to reboot his brain. " My subordinate tore what?"

Alexa stumbles in the middle of her tirade. " Wait... You truly did not know that he tore the agreement paper?" Seeing the incomprehensible look on his face, Alexa facepalms.

" Are you fucking kidding me now...? Fine, listen up you sorry excuse of a General. Your underling, when he read the paper stating the terms we offered to you lot, directly tore it into pieces and say that they will fight to the bitter end. A complete disregard for etiquette if you ask me, but after that, his aides convince him to let go of the non-combatants... From the look on your face, I doubt he told you everything that happened in the meeting, probably not being truthful about the terms is also included. Am I right, General?"

" ... He said that the terms you offered are outlandish, you wanted to enslave us like the barbarians you are. Our children will be forced to servitude while those more able will be sent to the mines. "

" ...Seriously?"

" ..."

" Wow... just wow. And you didn't bother checking the authenticity of such an important matter? General, lives are at stake here."

" I was not in the right state of mind at that time, your foray into the fortress at night did not help in maintaining my sanity. I felt nothing but rage."

" Excuses! You, as a General, clearly failed in managing your officers. You put the wrong person to be in charge of the negotiation and here we are, standing on piles of bodies due to your incompetence." Alexa lost all the respect she has for General.

Were he truly fighting to the end, he would have earned his due respect. But now, knowing that his mismanagement has resulted in needless fighting, Alexa sweats at the thought that she has to report this back to the Princess. She really wants to chew this guy alive for causing her such a loss.

" Before, we offered you the treatment that is better than those denoted by the Geneva Convention. Seeing that nobody wants to fight at this point..." She looks around, taking in the unwillingness to resume the battle amongst the Grenadiers, and the Ustians poking their heads through the windows. " The offer still stands. General, all of this could have been prevented, life wouldn't have been lost needlessly due to a person's bias."

Alexa pulls out a parchment from a satchel attached to her hip. " This is the paper from the previous meeting, read it up. That's the best we can give you after everything that has happened."

The General, with a shaking hand, takes the paper from Alexa. 

By surrendering, they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war. Their treatment really is better than what is required according to the Convention. Those with crippling injuries/non-combatants will be treated and/or put on the waiting list for the prisoner exchange program. The more able-bodied will be put to work on the war recovery effort in the war-torn regions under the Belkan Military supervision. They will have proper work hours, three meals a day, a small wage, and medical guarantees... The list goes on and on but that's the gist of it.

Frankly, this is a far cry from what he heard from the mouth of his officer. A mistake that he is now truly regretting.

" You know... I did want to put up a fight. A proper fight that if possible, will beat you crawling back to your Motherland." Sighing, the General put his thumb into his bleeding wound.

" ... That you did, General. The odds were against you. We only get this far through unconventional means."

" Yeah, I must admit, I admired you people for the way you fought... I should have stopped and ended this charade when I got the chance. But I blew it and my troops had to pay a price too steep." He uses the Blood on his thumb to write his name on the parchment, leaving behind a bloody trail at the end of his signature. " Once I'm six feet under, I will apologize to yours and my men."

Accepting the paper, Alexa nods. " I think they would like to hear that. Not sure if this help but there exists Valhalla and its bar, I think you will find many of them there."

With a toothy grin, the General replies. " I'll make sure to visit that place." Then he takes a deep breath. " MEN! Lower your weapons and step out! We surrender! You all have heard everything we said so don't make this any harder than it already has! The consequence is my to take, alone! You all have fought well..." At the end of his words, the General's body crumbles backward.

Laying on his back, he ignores the bleeding wounds on his stomach and leg as he gazes up at the blue sky. For the first time in a long while, he truly appreciates the color of the azure and bountiful sky.

Then, he closes his eyes. With his muddled hearing, he can barely make out the words of his soldiers around him. It seems they still care and trust the old General even after he fails in leading them. Some are begging for the Belkans to treat him. The action brought a last smile to the General before his consciousness is cut short.

And finally, after a battle that lasted almost a day, White Rock has fallen.

 

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