Chapter 142: Battle of Tenar (1)

Riker fumbled his hands as he tried to pour the pellets into the canister from an ammo box, some of the pellets spilling out onto the floor. The small metallic pellets pinged off the rusted metallic sides of the machine gun, rolling towards a few cowering soldiers who held their helmets tightly.

A series of distant booms could be heard, causing them to flinch on instinct, knowing that it was another round of artillery fire from the Versian Military. The sergeant in charge of the platoon spotted the dropped pellets, slapping Riker on the back and roaring into his ears under the heavy din of gunfire. “PRIVATE! WE MIGHT HAVE SUPPLIES NOW, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN FUCKING WASTE THEM, YOU HEAR ME?”

“Sir yes sir!” Riker nodded, focusing on reloading the machine gun. The current Riker was a far cry from the Red Lion thug in the past – having been kicked out of the gang when he was transferred back from being a prisoner under Kyle.

He did not mind it either, the torture and beatings he had experienced under Kyle scarring him. However, he had failed to find any other suitable job, and his anger always got the better of him. Even the various mercenary and adventurer guild did not want to take him in either. He

The sergeant walked to the side of the machine gun emplacement, where two engineers were desperately trying to fix a portable point defence system. They held a piece of syringe-like equipment, aiming the nozzle at the gaps of the engraving and filling them up with a temporary conductive material, before using an etcher to redraw the traces.

“What’s the holdup? We have orders to push in five minutes!” The sergeant questioned the engineers as he squatted down into the mud as well.

“This one has been hit badly,” An engineer motioned to one of the portable devices. “It would only last a few seconds once an enemy machine gun has its focus on us.”

“And the other?”

“Completely fried, sarge.”

“Goddamnit.” The sergeant scratched a rash on the back of his neck, contemplating. It would be a death wish to try and push the frontline without a point defence system blocking at least a few of the shots.

“Sir! Loaded!” Riker yelled out, readying the machine gun and aiming it at the enemy frontline.

“Men! Ready yourselves! You’re all professional soldiers – you knew what you were signing up for!” The sergeant hollered as he walked down the trench, where the soldiers were desperately checking their equipment. The nerves got to a few of them, their hands shaking and trembling as they peeped over the trench, seeing a no man’s land of a few hundred meters.

With the fresh supplies provided by Kyle, Count Leon’s forces were now about to break the stalemate that had been occurring for over a moment, ready to push forward.

The soldiers in the trenches were well aware that they were just numbers in a wargame. One of the soldiers clutched his proposal ring tightly, mumbling to himself in a chant to steel his own heart. “I’m going to propose if I survive, I’m going to propose if I survive.”

[All platoons, prepare to charge on next artillery barrage.]

The soldiers got ready, with some donning on their arctech knight armour, preparing themselves for the first push while the platoon sergeant walked briskly through the trench, his once shiny boots already covered in blood and mud.

“Yual himself today is with us, gentleman. Do you see Tenar in the distance? There it is, just waiting for our final call of victory and triumph. Do you want to return a hero?! Or return a coward!?” The platoon sergeant roared as soon as he heard the command on his arctech radio. He needed the morale of the soldiers to be high to prevent a rout once they were in no man’s land.

“A HERO!” The soldiers chanted back in reply, the peer pressure beginning to seep into the forces, lifting their spirits.

“When your wife or fiancée asks you what you did in battle, would you say you ran with your tail between your legs?”

“NO!”

“What would you tell your children when they ask you about the glorious battle? That you fled like a coward, unwilling to push against the enemy?!”

“NO!” Even Riker was shouting along, easily influenced.

“Then steel your hearts and souls! For today, we return to Raktor as heroes of a new age!”Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

The two Versian military divisions were dispersed even more, as every soldier tried to live for themselves, unwilling to be killed. The Versian generals desperately tried to control their men, but it was far too late, as the chaos had already taken over. The originally orderly retreat had now turned into a full ruckus.

Wagons, people and baggage were moving in nearly every other direction than towards Tenar, with many soldiers hoping to get out of the battle. “Tenar is lost! We can’t hope to stop them now!”

The despair spread rapidly, with the lack of cohesion making it even easier for Count Leon to catch them, earning him even more equipment and supplies.

Soon, Count Leon’s forces came to a stop, the towering stone walls of Tenar clearly visible from five kilometres away. The soldiers immediately came under artillery fire from the city walls, forcing them to stop and begin the entrenchment again.

Finally, the grand prize. “Any word from our supplier?”

“No sir, radio silence so far.”

Count Leon waited for a few more hours, but soon, the lack of communication began to worry him. What’s going on inside the city? “Is the infiltration force ready?”

“Yes sir. I’ve selected the best of the best.” The infiltration force was made up of Count Leon’s personal retinue of knights, having decades of training under their belt, including experience from the previous Versian war.

“Once entering Tenar, link up with the local rebellion. Quote Goddess Nona and the Ghost of Tenar to the locals, and create a forward beachfront for our forces to begin moving into Tenar.

He immediately ordered the infiltration force to begin moving under cover of night, masking every form of light as they snuck towards a pre-determined catacomb entrance agreed upon.

However, as they neared the entrance, they soon spotted a platoon of Nest soldiers covering the entrance, patrolling the area. The infiltration force moved even closer, before launching a surprise attack on them. The Nest soldiers were not as well trained as Count Leon’s knights, who easily massacred all of them in a swift manner.

“Gas masks!” The knights prepared their equipment, ready to enter the catacombs. They dropped down the shaft with a loud thud, the catacombs completely empty. They followed the sewage, tracing it towards the edge of Tenar’s underground.

Count Leon waited patiently as artillery fire continued to resound through the night, with both sides testing each other. Soon, a new observer report came in, causing Count Leon to worry slightly. “The Versian military is retreating on the other warfronts?” This means that they are going to try and surround me. “How long till they arrive?”

“In about a week, sir. Three days if they move fast.”

“Quickly tell the other Counts to give chase.”

“Yes, sir, right away!”

Count Leon furrowed his brows as he rested his arms on the table with the map of Versia. He knew that the Counts would not give chase and would instead be happy to let the Versian military flank him. This made the capture of Tenar even more imperative. I must capture the city in a week!

M.G.Driver

Again, you don't have to click if it doesn't interest you - here's the blurb:

Imagine a Xianxia MC. Imagined? Good.

You might think he fights other young masters, face slaps them, gets the jade beauties that aren't actually green, and becomes an immortal. If you have imagined that, congratulations, but that's not who I am.

I'm apparently Demonic Sect Elder, Type A. Crippled, and in severe need of disciples. Help.

A bit of a twist on the usual wuxia trope, and I quite like it. Not exactly the best, but a fun read nonetheless. Give a try if you're interested in such a genre.