Chapter 78: RM Vol 2: National Development – Chapter 25: Crusaders

 

It's almost May of 1938. If countries elsewhere have been living in relative peace, then that sure isn't applied to Spain. After a period of relative calm and stability, all thanks to the Belkan Private Military Contractor Shadow Company, Spain ushered in another rush of Demons' assault. It's unknown exactly when it started happening but this upsurge in the Demonic population has been causing headaches left, right, and center for around two months now. Thankfully, the sudden increase in lesser mercenary groups from the Western world arrived just in time and at a reasonable price tag. Of course, they're nowhere as equipped as Shadow Company although they also sport a fair share of veterans. This prompted Lord Inquisitor Camati to station them at non-critical parts of Spain, i.e. villages, towns, or waystations between major trade hubs...

Nonetheless, they are still being stretched very thin as is. Hence, it's not an unusual sight for Shadow Company platoons to travel day and night in motorcades, one hotspot to another. Tonight is no different as a motorized convoy of seven vehicles is RTB-ing after cleaning up a pack of Demons.

Sitting in the third vehicle in the convoy, an Sd.Kfz.247, a group of three Shadows banter with each other to kill time. The road is long and they're wearied from the earlier engagement.

"What are we having for late dinner tonight, Graves?" The Shadow that was driving the 247, asked into the radio. Even with the armored car interior lights on, it's still somewhat hard to see.

Graves, commanding officer of Shadow Company, responds over the radio wave. "If I told ya, I'd have to kill ya, Erikson."

Vance, sitting on the co-driver seat, jests. "Betcha ass he would do it too."

Dipaolo, sitting in the back of the car, leans forward and asks. "No, seriously, what are we gonna have for dinner? Anything but the meal made by the locals."

"Unless you're willing to wait till breakfast for proper chows, not locally made, then you will be stuck with MREs." Graves replied with a smirk.

The group flinches, with Erikson saying in a tired tone. "Gazpachos and MREs, testing my steal."

Graves laughs, commenting. "This's nothing but a milk run boys, quite literally considering the villagers gifted you truckloads of fresh milk and cheese. Anyway, the delivery will be for us, the good guys, so don't shit on the crisp white sheet. Once back at HQ, you can eat whatever the hell you like and there'll be bonuses all around. Find me when you get back, gonna have a glass of warm milk tonight."

All three reply. "Yep, yep."

"The Marshal is on the line, not gonna leave her hanging. Graves out." With a small beep, the radio went inert, leaving the three in a moment of silence as the convoy rouse a corner.

The silence persists until the convoy resumes a straight path. Vance says. "Three trucks..."

"That's a lotta fucking milk." Dipaola finished the sentence as he turned to look at the two trucks in front and one truck behind the 247.

Erikson the driver chuckles. "Thirsty friends..." He's just about to say something else when the lead vic and the truck in front of them slowly stop.

Seeing there's a possible issue, Dipaolo moves to check the MG-34 mounted on the top of the 247 while Vance grabs his Mp-35. "What's this?"

Erikson shakes his head, not knowing what to say before touching his neckpiece. "3, this is Erikson, what's the holdup?"

A reply from the lead vehicle comes. "This is 3, we got a vic blocking the road. Possible civies ahead of us."

"Standby, coming to ya." Erikson said.

Vance then operates the long-range radio, connecting it back to Graves. "Graves, Vance. Be advised, we're held up by possible civs with a vic breakdown, sorting it out now."

"Handle it caution, you're in the middle of nowhere." Graves replied with a hint of seriousness.

"Roger that."

After a short drive from the middle of the convoy to its front, Erikson puts the 247 to a stop as they investigate the situation. Ahead of them are two other vehicles, a Kubel and another 247, the Kubel crew has disembarked and is communicating with the distressed civilians that crashed his truck into a lamp post.

After taking stock of the surrounding, Erikson comments with wariness laced in his voice. "I don't like this, we're being flanked by building with lots of darkness to hide something. Dipaolo, Vance, cover 3-1."

The pair reply. "On it."

Dipaolo turns out to man the MG-34 with a gunshield while Vance places his Mp-35 through the slit in the 247's armored front window. And as the Shadows ahead of them are patiently talking with the owner of the crashed truck, its tarp is pulled down and revealing multiple figures. They're all armed.

A burst of gunfire comes from the truck, catching the Shadows in front off-guarded. Not being able to react in time, the Shadows are cut down mercilessly.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Vance shouted as he gunned down the fake civ that pulled out a pistol.

"CONTACT!" Dipaolo, seeing the enemy on the truck, light'em up with his MG-34. As expected, it can't stop an 8mm Mauser hailstorm with the flimsy protection it has. The three enemies aboard the truck are cut down as revenge for the Shadows that died.

To be honest, they really should have taken a different ambush vector than staying aboard that truck.

"There's still more on the building! Keep lighting them up, Dipaolo!" Erikson said as he pulls out his C96E to shoot at a hostile that just peek a window.

"Who the fuck are these guys!?" Vance asked as he duck down to reload his SMG.

"Not just some agents!" Dipaolo, being the one to have a clearer view of the enemy, responded while not letting up the trigger.

Vance is about to reassume his firing position when he sees a glimpse of another truck speeding toward them. "Back up! Back up!"

Not wasting any time, Erikson steps hard on the reverse, saving them in the nick of time from being crushed by a truck loaded with enemy infantries. Erikson keeps the gas steady while reporting the situation to Graves.

"All stations, troops in contact! Taking effective fire. Multiple casualties!"

"Contact, rear!" Dipaolo warned as he heard clanking from bullets hitting the rear-plating of the 247. Swiveling his turret to the back, he let it loose against any muzzle flash he can see.

During the act, he can see that the convoy is being attacked on all sides with dismounted Shadows being killed swiftly. They're caught with their pants down and pinned at such a precarious location.

"Get out of there, Shadows!" Graves said the obvious in a grave tone. "We're scrambling air support for you now!"

It's at this moment that Lord Camati interjects. "We can't! Not when they're in the middle of a Spanish village!"

The pair of commanders then hastily discuss possible solutions, though the conversation falls on deaf ears as Erikson backs their car into a hot zone. The hot zone is a makeshift cover of a Kubel and an Opel Blitz where the remaining Shadows are hiding behind.

"Eyes high, watch those buildings!" Vance ducked to reload again while Dipaolo fires the last of his belt at the opened windows.

Popping up the cover of the MG-34, Dipaolo hastily removed the empty ammo box before placing a fresh one in. Pulling out the belt from the box and placing it into the feed tray, Dipaolo speedily checks the gun to see if it's combat-ready before unleashing another burst of 8mm Mauser on anything that's not wearing black.

"They're everywhere!" Vance cursed as he is running low on ammo, having been unable to refill after cleaning out the Demons earlier in the day. Vance then sees another enemy pops into view, only this time, the enemy's weapon is glowing. Trusting his instinct, Vance shouts." AT on the roof!"

The warning arrives just in time for Dipaolo to turn his attention to, well, any roof which may or may not has an AT emplacement. The split-second scan that Dipaolo makes reveals to him that the figure is conjuring a fireball spell with their handheld weapon. Though he is confused, Dipaolo wastes no time and shoots first, asks questions later.

Unfortunately, Dipaolo is still a tad too slow and the large fireball is sent barreling toward the makeshift covers of his fellow Shadows. Although the spellcaster is presumed dead after being strafed by the MG-34, the Shadows' Kubel and Opel Blitz are blasted to kingdom come, killing everybody near it.

"Fuck!" Erikson cursed. "We're moving! Hang tight!" Stepping on the gas, Erikson crashes the 247 against the burning carcass of the Kubel, pushing it away and clearing the road.

Being the one with the clearest view of the situation, Dipaolo warns. "We're fucking surrounded here!"

Vance feels the need to reiterate a question at that. "Who the fuck are these wankers?!"

"This is Graves to all Shadows, survive no matter what! QRF is on the way!" Shadow Company's commander announced over the radio.

"We will be dead by then!" Erikson said, ducking the shots that went through the viewing slit of the armored window.

"Damn it! Lord, they need air support! The 110s are already on station!"

"Negative! We fight with the boots we have! The possibility of civilian casualties is just too great!" Lord Camati instantly refused the notion of a bomb drop.

During the heated exchange, Erikson is forced to slam the brakes when their path forward is cut by two trucks carrying enemy soldiers. Before they all have to duck down, Vance is able to see a close-up view of the enemy equipment. He is just about to say something when a barrage of gunfire threatens to open another breathing hole for them. Ducking low while blindly suppressing the truck, Vance calls out to Erikson as the latter put their 247 on a hasty reverse.

"Brown uniform with blue stripes! They're fucking Sardegnian Army!"

"The fuck are they doing out here...?" Dipaolo questioned the reality that they were being ambushed by the Sardegnian on their home turf.

Erikson wastes no time at all to report this intel while they still can. "All stations! We are engaging with Sardegnian Army out here!"

"Repeat Sardegnian?" Graves asked back, half in disbelief, half in seriousness.

"Enemy troop is Sardegnian and is able to cast spells!!"

"Goddamn it, Ricardo! You said we have no breach!"

"Shit!" With a few clicks, Dipaolo dreads to break the news to his crew. "The MG-34 is out!" Though lacking, he can only hope the Kar98 will be enough to buy themselves more time.

Bracing the rifle next to the empty machine gun, Dipaolo tries his best to fire at the enemy under the heavy shaking of the car. Even though he keeps pulling the trigger, it's unknown to him just how effective each shot is.

"Fuck all! There are too many! Last mag!" Vance announced and if he runs out also, they won't have any suppressive fire left.

Erikson tries to put a few well-placed shots into the enemy near the car before saying.

"Graves, we need reinforcement since yesterday! The milk and cheese man! Milk and cheese!" Erikson shouted the latter part, hoping to stave away the hopelessness of the situation.

"Ricardo, they're being stitched up here!"

"We can't Graves and you already know why!"

"Fuck!" Even with the intense gunfire they were having, the guys could still hear Graves punch the table.

Though they all are wearing balaclavas, they know that each of them is sporting a despondent smile beneath the cloth. QRF is too far and no CAS in fear of collateral damage, it's the end of the line.

"FUCK! GET DOWN!" Vance warned as a fireball is launched from a two-story building.

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The last thing they can remember before darkness embraces them is the weightless feeling as the 247 is flying through the air with its front was torn up.

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Slowly, but painfully, rousing himself up, the first thing Dipaolo sees is the bleeding and charred bodies of Erikson and Vance. The 247 was struck by a powerful fireball, sending it tumbling on its side. Goddess knows just how many times did they roll before coming to a stop.

Trying to move his legs, Dipaolo lets out a muffled groan as his pain receptors are flooded instantly. His hands are also numb and sluggish, moving out of this spot is a no-go for now.

It looks like the poor guy has to keep looking at his dead friends for a while more. Poor bastards took the brunt of that fireball, hopefully dying instantly because Dipaolo sure as hell doesn't want to be burned alive.

"Erikson... Vance..."

"All Shadows, report... Any station on this net, this is Shadow Actual, what is your status?" The broken voice of Graves can be heard through the half-broken radio set on the 247's dashboard.

Ok, Dipaolo sure can't move, but he can at least crawl, right? May as well try and reach the radio for his neckpiece is busted. Yet, before he can do just that, footsteps can be heard, coming from his left.

"Fuck..." Cursing softly, Dipaolo leans his body slowly to see the Sardegnians checking out the convoy.

"Erikson, it's Graves, what's your location...?" This fact is unknown to Graves, however. And though the Shadow Actual failed to elicit any response, he keeps trying. "Fuck... Vance, Dipaolo, anyone copy...?"

*BANG* *BANG*

Blast them all! They're not checking the convoy, they're making sure the Shadows stay dead! At this rate, getting to that radio is impossible.

Knowing that he's in deep shit, Dipaolo tries to look for anything useful. If he's going to die anyway, he will be sending himself out with a bang. With his gaze darting around, he soon lay his eyes on Erikson's hand, specifically, his palm that is still holding the C96.

"Oh, what the hell..." That's the best Dipaolo can get his bruised hand on right now.

Having no better alternative, Dipaolo crawls his way toward Erikson with every five centimeters he moves causing a sharp pain to shoot through his spine. After crawling close enough, Dipaolo outstretches his right hand for the C96. Right at the moment he lays his hand on the pistol, however, a heel stabs into his hand, causing him to grunt. "Argh!"

Dipaolo follows the leg wearing that heel before he sees a young female wearing a Crusader's attire. The female Crusader eyes him with disdain and a cruel smile before twisting her heel, causing another flash of pain to assault Dipaolo.

Despite this though, Dipaolo can hear many footsteps draw closer to his location before surrounding him. It's at this moment that Dipaolo knows that they're all female Crusaders. As the first Crusader is having fun torturing poor Dipaolo, another then crouches down near Erikson's body, fiddling around with the 247's radio and turning up the volume.

"Ricardo, my men are in trouble. We need a bird's-eye view now!" Graves demanded.

Unfortunately, the Lord Inquisitor is having none of that. "I understand your pain but what can they do aside from a flyby? I am not authorizing a strike on our own people."

As expected, the discussion between the two commanders is heard by the Crusaders. Not willing to leave any more intel to fall into the Sardegnians' hands, Dipaolo risks his very being, hoping that the neckpieces on Erikson and Vance are still working.

"Graves! They have the radio!" Of course, his warning earned him a kick from the Crusader that was stomping his limp right hand.

Though Dipaolo is sent flying a few meters, the warning came across, thankfully.

"Damn it! Dipaolo, was that you!?" Graves asked for Dipaolo in concern.

"Tsk..." The female Crusader was annoyed, knowing that their gig was ruined by the Shadow she kicked. Pulling out her sidearm, a specially made one, the Crusader charges a fireball, fully intending to obliterate the bug in front of her.

She is, however, stops by a hand that forces her to lower her gun. "Wait!"

The interloper this time is her commanding officer, another enhanced Crusader like her but much, much stronger.

The tall girl, sporting silver hair and blue eyes, says. "We need a few of them alive for interrogation, and..." Sparing Dipaolo a glance before sighing, the girl moves to drag the Shadow slowly back to the 247. "Are you hearing me? I want to negotiate." She said to the radio.

"Commander Kallen Kaslana! We...!" The sadistic Crusader from before tried to protest but a stern look from Kaslana silenced her.

Seeing that her commanding officer has already made up her mind, the sadistic Crusader then moves to secure Dipaolo, forcing the man to lean on the 247 wrecks while another one joins to keep a close eye on the smirking Shadow.

After a moment of tense silence, Graves' voice is heard from the radio, clearly still spying on the development via audio feed. "What do you want, Sardegnian?"

Kallen Kaslana ignores the pointed address she received, opting to say.

"Spain has always been a close ally to Sardegna, sharing the same religious outlook. Yet, because of the problematic era we are living in, the two countries have drifted apart with us failing to uphold our responsibilities as the parent state. With us unable to provide the needed help for Spain during its trying time, Spain is forced to seek outside intervention to deal with Demons and misfits that roam her lands."

"Get to the point, lady! You attacked my men for what!?"

Not losing her mettle, Kallen explains. "For we thought you were the bandits that have terrorized the Spanish populace."

"...Are you for real?" It's not just Graves that asked that question, dumbfoundedly but also Dipaolo that look at Kallen like she grew a second head.

"We were tasked with uprooting any semblance of danger in Spain, your group just so happened to be misidentified as one in our intelligence reports. Though it was unfortunate, Sardegna is willing to compensate and negotiate for the mercenarie-"

"Private Military Contractor." Graves interjected, annoyed.

"... Negotiate for the Military Contractors to retreat from Spain. With us Crusaders here, order and peace will be restored for Spain." Gotta hand it to Kallen for not even twitching when Graves interrupted her.

"Seriously, are you for real?" Graves asked the question, again. Feeling that the opposite party is missing the bigger picture here.

Lord Camati chooses this moment to interject.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but Sardegna left us to rot! If it weren't for the sacrifice of the men and women you murdered in cold blood, Spain would have been burning to the ground! And please, you're acting like a damn savior even though we were bloody fine until you lot came along. Saviors my holy ass when all Sardegna ever wanted is to completely assimilate us and gain access to Africa and its bountiful resources!"

"Oof... I can feel that burn in my soul." If it weren't for Dipaolo chuckling, the surrounding would have been dead silent after Lord Camati's rant.

A noticeable frown appears on Kallen's face, she has a feeling that something is wrong but now is not the time to question it.

"I assure you, our presence here is for the betterment of Spain. Now, to compensate for the breach of contract, Sardegna is willing to pay Shadow Company and its allied mercenaries group three times the amount contracted. You need only go to Portugal to receive the compensation money. We will even return you the survivors from our misguided attack so long as you agree. Details can be hashed out if you want to discuss on a personal basis."

The offer put a disgusted frown on Dipaolo's face, he has a feeling that Graves is also doing the same on the other end. To a normal merc group, the offer would be hella lucrative, yet, Shadow Company is anything but normal.

First, Shadow Company is an extension of ONI, meaning, it's serving at the behest of the Reich Marshal. To betray this contract is to betray the Marshal and their motherland. After all, saving Spain IS their order.

Second, Shadow Company is made up of loyal and honorable individuals, unlike a standard merch group. The whole company mirrors the 404th Ironblood Division in the fact that the Company is one close-knitted family, Graves makes sure of that. He also leads by example so the guys and gals beneath him trust him with their lives. And if there's one thing Dipaolo likes the most about his commander...

It's the fact that the son of a bitch takes his job seriously.

"... You fucking spaghetti-lovers just waltzed right in, acting like you own the goddamn place. And now, you, a girl that sounded like no more than twenty of age, grew a pair of balls and tried to tempt me? Well, guess what, I refuse! Not just because you murdered my subordinates but also because Shadows never betray the person that cast them!"

"Well said, Graves!" Dipaolo laughed whole-heartedly. As expected, he earns a kick to the gut because of it but boy it was worth it.

Hearing Graves' crude declaration, Kallen sighs while looking at the battered Dipaolo.

"I can respect you for your codes of honor, Sardegna sure can use people like you. Sadly..." Standing up, Kallen shakes her head. "We're now destined to be enemies. God wills it and as the soldiers blessed by God, we will see it through."

"As a matter of fact girlie, God is with us!" Graves quipped back with a snicker, putting a frown on Kallen and the Crusaders' faces.

"Once everything is over and if you are still alive, I hope you will be enlightened on the correct path to Heaven." Kallen said wistfully.

However, it's not Graves or Lord Camati that answer, but someone else.

"This is Overlord Actual to all stations, I'm overriding command from here on out. The convoy is declared lost with all hands and protocol Base Delta Zero is now in effect. Geneva convention doesn't apply here and if there are any civies still left in the AO at this time, then that's their fault. Eliminate everything." The calm voice, belonging to a female teen, surprised Kallen and the Crusaders.

Dipaolo, however, knows this voice. After all, it's their Big Boss. He also knows what Base Delta Zero is, and boy, that's such a cruel order to the survivors or survivor in this case.

The voice, dubbed by Dipaolo as the Reich Marshal's voice, continues. "To the men and women that serve the Company, you've fought well. Godspeed."

And with that, the radio cut off, leaving the Crusaders confused and annoyed for being left in the dark. Of course, they don't understand what has been said, too cryptic for them.

Utilizing the moment when his prison guards are distracted, Dipaolo chuckles before pulling on the pins of something on his vest and belt. "Well, at least I will go out with a bang."

*BAM*

A large fiery explosion consumes Dipaolo as multiple incendiary grenades explode. Having been allowed to carry four of them, Dipaolo used them as a sent-off for himself and the fallen. The blast is almost instantaneous and powerful enough to consume the 247 and the unlucky few Crusaders around him. Being in close proximity to the white phosphorous cloud and caught off-guard, the supposed supersoldiers inhaled the cloud and are now rolling on the ground, dying with their inside burned out.

Kallen, being the most successful product of Sardegna's supersoldier program, leaped out of harm's way just in time. She is now standing witness to the painful deaths of her battle sisters just because she failed to warn them. This also serves as a major red flag to Kallen. Supersoldiers, low-tier as they may be, are killable by a normal human being.

The commotion and death wails of the unfortunate Supersoldiers Crusaders attract the others Crusaders and the Sardegnian regular army to their location. They all watch the proceeding with mixed expressions, most are in disbelief.

"Are you kidding...? They were B-ranks..." One Crusader muttered in a daze, unable to comprehend the sudden death of her sisters. They were supposed to be able to survive bullets!

Unfortunately for them, the night is far from over. With their enhanced hearing the Crusaders are soon shaken out of their stupor when the sounds of propellers are filled the night sky.

"Air raid! Run!" Kallen warned the Sardegnians into action. She too is unwilling to stay so she dashes for a gutter, jumping down for cover, not a moment too soon.

The destroyed Shadow convoy is now being strafed by a combination of 30mm shells and rockets from multiple Bf-110s. After the multitude of small-ordnance was deployed, ruining already a large section of the town, more Bf-110s arrive. This time, they are carrying enough bombs to level the town back to the Stone Age. And that they did... Or not, since the drop zone is near the convoy, not covering the entire town. Either way, that section of the town is considered deleted because the Bf-110s were carrying 1000 kg bombs. To say that casualties among the Sardegnians are high would be an understatement.

Almost none of the Sardegnian Army members survive while what's left of the Crusaders that participated in this raid can be counted on two hands. The female Crusaders lost half of their numbers in their first debut, two of them are even promising A-rank Crusaders too... Well, they couldn't survive a direct hit from a 1000 kg bomb, just bad luck all around.

Kallen, having been covered in dirt and grime from head to toe, surveys the location with a despondent gaze. Though she is proud to serve her God, she is by no mean a cruel or emotionless killer. For the first time in her life, she dreads the prospect of war after witnessing the total destruction of the area at the hands of mere humans. Even her sisters, enhanced as they maybe died without intact corpses.

"So... This is war..." A seed of doubt was planted by the culmination of the words and actions of the Shadow Company. How it will bloom is yet to be seen.

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