Rewritten second/Esterrian part of 'And to Push Forward'

cord: https://discord.gg/UqgavrsYUd

...

Scharna, Esterria, 15/7/1702 Lieutenant Vincent van Kuik is walking down the streets of Scharna, just looking around after having inspected the Commonwealth troops garrisoned here to ensure they are still capable of defending the city and well-prepared for future operations, which are awaiting to be executed by Einskirka.

Vehicles go past the roads every now and then, and it's not just the civilian horse-drawn carriages that are cruising down the street, there are also military self-propelled vehicles, both wheeled and tracked, armed and unarmed. Soldiers in green with rifles on their hand or slung behind their back patrolling the streets would also become a normality amongst those present.

For this seasoned veteran ranking lieutenant, it did took awhile to get used with the sight of soldiers in green instead of the old sky blue with rifles in black in lieu of the wooden and metal musket, along with the fact that self-propelled carriages once thought impossible are now the ones cruising down the roads in the Royal Army.

He continued down the street with his cadres accompanying him in this inspection. As he continued down the roads of the city, he then smelled something strange yet somewhat familiar. He turned to the source of the smell and it turns out a soldier to his left were smoking a cigar but not really. This 'cigar' seems to be smaller and more simpler with rolled up paper which is the part burning while the light brown part is sandwiched between his lips.

Vincent had seen something like these before, and he sure is familiar with cigars. But cigars are often associated with nobility so seeing soldiers of civilian, peasant background smoking something similar was a jarring scenery for this noble lieutenant.

"Would you mind telling me what are you doing at this moment?" he inquired.

The soldier then looked at him, taking the smaller version of cigar out of his mouth.

"Oh, this?" he answered "This is a cigarette, they're basically small cigar if you know what I mean"

"Oh I see then..."

Flash import have made their way into the markets of Esterria for cheap, so it's no surprise that it would also end up in the hand of even the poorest. Some of these made the lives of normal people easier, while some are just for the sakes of leisure, including some that is reported to be a cheaper version of nobility products. And it seems cigarette is one of these cases.

"...Would you mind if I have one?" the Esterrian lieutenant asked again.

"Not at all, I got more in my pack anyways..." as the soldier takes out a small box, opening up and plucking out one of them and then hand it to the noble Lieutenant "Here"

The lieutenant then puts the light brown part on his mouth, mimicking what the soldier done to hold it in place while he'd pull out a small, slim silver box afterward, flip it open and lit a small flame which is then used to burn the paper at the end, and then shut it close, the small fire presumably extinguished. This particular metal box is another of those that intrigued Vincent.

"What about this one?"

"A merchant I got it from called it a lighter, very useful for lighting up logs and burning other stuff, or so I believe. Haven't tried doing so myself other than cigarettes..."

The lieutenant nodded, acknowledging what he said. With a lit cigarette on his mouth, Vincent inhales in, then takes the cigarette out and let out a white smoke.

"It certainly has the aroma that I expected, albeit a bit low quality..." the lieutenant commented "...Certainly been awhile since I got a taste for one"

"Awhile?"

"Ah well, you know... the Kingdoms Union don't really let much into the country..."

The soldier chuckled at his superior's answer.

"I'm aware, but now we have Flashia on our side, they got even more options that what those others have"

"You are correct, Flash products have exceeded our expectations in ways I wouldn't have imagined... Anyways what are we going to do again?"

"...You said you were going to report back to Supreme Command or something?"

"Ah right, then let's not waste any more time shall we?" as Vincent along with his companions continue to walk down the roads of the city.

...

Esterflaske Joint Airbase The Esterflaske Airbase had changed over the past few months. As cargo planes from Flashia came and went, supplies unloaded, the airbase was quickly transformed from a simple improvised runway to a full-on airbase operated by both the Esterrian Wyvern Corps and the Luftforsvar, something that's still crazy to think about.

In one of the buildings on the Esterrian side, wyvern riders gather around as they began briefing on their next missionz

"As you all know, the last offensive launched by our Royal Army proved to be very successful as we were able to revert a month progress of the rebels in just a couple hours" Captain Jan Noordink began "However, we did lose some valuable assets, such as 9 of the Pansartransporters and 4 of Rekon-os-cering's or whatever they're called. To prevent this, Supreme Command's order are to take off for a reconnaissance mission and mark them as targets to be destroyed by Luftforsvar jets joining us to minimize future losses. Anyone have any question?"

"How would we mark something as targets for our Flashian ally?" he asked.

"We would use something called a radio to communicate with them, which is miles more compact than our manacomms as well as this device" the captain bring up a boxy device "A laser designator used by our Navy counterparts' used for ranging and also marking certain targets"

"And how would they deal with said targets?"

"They use bombs, accurate ones mind you, I don't know how but they somehow made dropping bombs more accurate than anyone could have imagined..."

The accurate bombs Noordink is talking about here are actually laser-guided bombs which he was lucky enough to see what it could really do.

"...I forgot to mention, this could also guide their bombs"

While he is still not sure how it works, as he was told, one would only need to point a laser at something and the bomb would adjust itself to hit said target, provided it's stationary although he's not sure the Corps' designation is necessary as he heard that the aircrafts joining them would have their proprietary targeting pod.

"Anyone has anymore question?" and then the captain is met with silence "No one? Good, because we are to be taking to the skies immediately"

The wyvern riders in the room got up from their chairs and started leaving the building one by one. Next stop: the hangars where their partners are awaiting them.

...

Back at Scharna, the Esterrian Royal Army is now at their final preparation for the next offensive operation, all they have to do now, is wait for the signals from Einskirka. Vincent is once again mounted on an APC after the report.

The lieutenant looks around the scenery, it's nighttime, and the moon is shining amidst the passing clouds. He sees vehicles lining up, these range from the Pansartransporter like the one he's on and the recon vehicle that he can't remember the name well.

What caught his eyes the most though is the big vehicle with a significantly large head or turret as Flash calls them, sporting a bigger cannon with some sort of device placed at the end. The vehicle is more than 60-year-old at this point, but it will serve Esterria the same way as it did with Flashia. The Pansar 55 is well past its prime for the Federal Republic, but for Commonwealth, it is just right for them.



"I haven't seen those vehicles all week..." mumbled Vincent, and there's a good reason for why he didn't. Due to their weight and the track which they use to propel themselves, they weren't allowed to use the road of the city as it could damage the infrastructure, costing the Commonwealth money that could've been used for more pressing issues.

Nonetheless, the vehicle's benefit for the army outshines its shortcoming. The vehicle is supposedly heavily armored, having armor more than ten-times thick as the La Ferdinan armored self-propelled carriage. On top of that, it's got a cannon for when one doesn't want to see a particular something something, and that is not mentioning that it retains an impressively fast speed on average, even with the rough soils.

"Yo Vincent" the red armband on the gun of the Pansartransporter called out for his name "When do you think we're going to move out soon?"

"Any moment now, why would we be here otherwise?" replied the lieutenant.

"Right, although I would be disappointed if we didn't..."

The lieutenant chuckled at the gunner's comment, and after that, there was nothing other than the faint sound of engine from far away from their position.

"Just don't go overboard with the gun, is that fine with you? Because the other day, the Disciplinary Corps had quite a headache with your kind whilst trying to prevent some summary executions of infiltrators..."

"Were they're Sakats by any chance?"

"...How did you know?"

"Something like this is often the doing of those from Satkia since the 90s for... reasons, a twist of irony if you ask me really considering before, there was the other"

"I see then... Sakats mercenaries and atrocities..."

Just to be clear, he did find the red armband referring to his first name rude, it's just that their way of talking is completely out of his control as it isn't his people that he's working with but rather ones from a distant land just barely out of bounds of the 'world map', so he'd leave it as is.

...

Einskirka, Esterria "So everything is in place?" General Belink of the Royal Army asked.

"Yes sir, all of our units in the frontline are now in position and ready" reconfirmed an officer under Belink's command. The general looks down on the map of Havenklein, with things drawn and pieces placed on it in order to give a rough idea of the situation on the ground.

"Very well" Belink lifts his head up "Commence our second offensive, notify all units to move immediately"

"Yes sir" the officer leaves the room, thus tipping off the dominos of the second offensive, a large-scale operation to retake Pannerden and force the rebels to surrender to the new Esterrian Royal Army.

...

Terholt, EAS-controlled territory The city of Terholt has been under control of the rebelling Esterrian Association of Slavers for 5 months by now. It is relatively small city but were nevertheless strategically important as its roads are linked up to the regional capital of Pannerden.

The rebels at the city were previously quite laid off, having the rationale that it was unlikely that the Commonwealth would take back the city as they were very weak at that time. But then, Limmenstein and Scharna happened.

Fear for the future of an attack on their holding came back for them as two towns were taken in a mere hour. Many believed Flash equipment has very much to do about this, as if it wasn't the main reason why Marie III's army suddenly becoming a lot stronger in a split second, then nobody knows what does.

"I'm just scared" said an EAS fighter guarding the center of Terholt "The Commonwealth Army could take 2 of ours in one day, when both took us more than a month to liberate"

"Oh it's this again huh?"

"Yes, I fear that today or even the next days could be my last"

"By the gods, how many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Tell me... what?"

"That they won't be here anytime soon"

"But..."

"No buts, I have said it before. It has been a week so rest assured that the Commonwealth won't be coming-" and before the other EAS fighter could finish, an abrupt explosion is heard. Both of them turned to the source of that sound and sees smoke rising from the cities' outskirt.

"That was our air defense!" shouted another rebel fighter before a yellow light emerges at the left side of the smoke before the sound of another explosion reached them. Panic kicks in as their anti-air positions were being destroyed one by one extremely accurately in the middle of the night, and they don't seem to know what seems causing it.

The rebels ran back and forth to their defensive positions, one thing was clear from the time the first one was wiped out, it's an attack, and the Commonwealth had probably now gone on another offensive and it wouldn't take a long time before the Army arrives.

...

"We got a cannon on the street just behind a barrier, West of the second smoke" said Jan Noordink as he marks another target on the radio. The captain of the Wyvern Corps is out in the skies today, as he and others take on a reconnaissance mission as well as search and destroy alongside the Luftforsvar.

"Copy that, West of the second smoke?" replied a voice of a Flash pilot in Noordink's 'black box'.

"West of the second one, yes"

"Copy, acquiring target... and Paveway!"

From Noordink's experience and knowledge from working with the Flash Luftforsvar, they often use certain codewords for when they use a weapon from their fighter jet. In this case, 'Paveway' means that a precision guided bomb has been dropped.

"Good hit on the target" reported back Noordink over the radio upon witnessing the previous cannon position blown into smithereens. Indeed, it did not stand any chance to begin with

This recon with airstrikes mixed in would mark the start of what was inevitable up this point. Wyverns would continue to fly around, keeping their profile low in the dark skies whilst the F-15E Strike Eagles that joined the fray would drop more bombs of precision on anything they see on the ground that they find worth destroying.

Also, it should be noted that the reason why F-15's instead of Harriers is due to some concerns with how far they might have to reach to do their mission as tasked. They could've went with Gripens, but Strike Eagles could carry more bombs and as such, they were selected for the deployment.

Of course, they also bear the low-vis markings for the sake of being in Havenklein.

...

"All callsigns check in, the attack on Vosselberg is to take place at full-scale immediately, how copy?"

"Copy that, is there anything we should be wary of? Over"

"Recon units have reported a large presence of cannons looking our way, APC's are not to directly engage in close range, over"

"Acknowledged, we're moving in now, main battle tanks will lead the way, I repeat, main battle tanks will lead the assault"

Outside of Vosselberg Armed with a 105mm cannon with more ammunitons for the fight on top of a reported thick armor, many figured that so-called Centurions would be more suitable for direct fire support role than the recon vehicles that are supposed to be used for... recon, obviously. As such, this type of AFV would be the one to lead the charge.

"Fort Company, give me a sitrep"

Fort refers to the company which consists of 14 tanks, 2 in the command platoon alongside other assets and 3 in each of the rest.

"Fort Command here, we have visual on the town's buildings up ahead, however we don't see any movement at this time, over"

"Don't worry about it, we have it covered"

As the lines of armored vehicles continues to move onward, multiple 'little suns' emerged from the dark skies above, illuminating Vosselberg's outskirts and the surrounding area.

"As much as we appreciate this help, I'm sure this amount would be exhausting no?"

"Not at all actually, they're all the works of our howitzers, no mage here"

The concept of a completely mechanical artillery cannon can perform a similar task that is often the job of a mage... intriguing to say the least. One could wonder how such illumination is possible without magic, but it's clear that anything and anyone that was using the darkness as cover that now stands out like a sore thumb, seemingly catching all of them off-guard as there was no mana signature to warn them in advance.

Something that made them appreciate it more.

"Target, infantry in front, HESH!"

Realizing their cover has been blown, the rebels began firing upon the approaching tanks that they could barely see. The balls would merely bounce off, not surprising, but then, disaster struck for the EAS defenders.

A cannon would manage to score a hit and a joy amongst those who witnessed it. However, as the smokes cleared, that joy turned to terror as soon as they saw that the big self-propelled came out just fine as if it wasn't shot at all.

In panic, they shot more rounds at the tanks, but even their strongest magic cannon shots just kept bouncing off and absorbed by the armor no matter what proving just how strong their armor is.

"UP!"

"Gunner, switch target, cannon, right!

By firing at the new Pansars, they also have effectively revealed their exact position as they do leave tracer lines that will last a bit after a hit. The Pansars would then turn their guns on the magic cannon positions awaiting their charge to be completed.

"Identified!"

"Fire!"

"On the way!"

The spread out line that moved slowly opened fire each with a High Explosive Squash Head round comes spinning out of their barrel, only taking less than a second to get there and blew them up to kingdom come, some did miss though...

The Pansars would grind to a halt, switching to machine guns to finish off the job and take up another. Pansartransporters that were following the tanks would follow suit, before dropping the ramp to make way for their occupants to come out.

Infantry dismounted their respective vehicle two by two, going left and right. Vincent is among one of them as he would rush up in front of his APC, submachine gun in hand, stock then yanked outward from its folded position. He crouched down on the ground, adjusting himself, breathing in and gazed upon the city along with the rest of the squad.

Meanwhile explosions would occur near the coastal area of the town and smoke would arise afterward. Sound reports that follows the delayed explosions would indicate that it came from the sea, where no one else would be there except for the navy.

If they had magic cannons, anyone with an eye could see the ships from the port or houses. But those aren't magic cannons most were used to, but rather howitzers. Sporting incredible range compared to the normal ones allowing for a better indirect fire capability, with even a good eye, one could only barely see them from really far away, especially at night.

"I never thought I would be fighting here myself..." he mumbled to himself.

Vosselberg has been EAS for the past 5 months, and while the Commonwealth tried their best, they were not able to retake even the countryside adjacent to the city with the EAS propping up an annoyingly stiff resistance.

But now, as the vehicles along with the infantry starts moving into the city, the dream of retaking one of the towns leading into Pannerden, the regional capital couldn't be any closer.

"Come on let's go!" the lieutenant shouted "We cannot let this go to waste!" then he and his squad started sprinting across the field with the support of the steel beasts wearing the tri-color towards the town's proper.

...

Pannerden, EAS-held territory The messenger boy is once again rushing through the hallways of the administrative building as he makes his way to the room where the commanders of the entirety of EAS resides. He reaches to the wooden door and barged in, immediately getting the attention of those inside.

"The Commonwealth troops are now attacking again! They're already at Vosselberg and Terholt!" yelled the messenger in panic.

At this point, the commanders aren't even surprised anymore, it was inevitable anyway. Their faces once filled with confidence are now gloomy. Ever since the 'unprecedented tide', many of the commanders were not in great shape in terms of morale as before, all because of the supposedly 'weak' Royal Army's newfound ability to undo their months of progress with only a snap of the finger.

Valentijn Goggen, the one responsible for all operations within the EAS forces stood up from his seat and walked to the boy. The messenger became nervous as a figure of high authority is slowly approaches him. Goggen lowers himself to the boy, grabbing both of his shoulder.

"...Tell our fighters to prepare the defenses as soon as possible, we are to defend Pannerden at our cost..."

The boy nodded repeatedly and Goggen puts his hand off the messenger's shoulders.

"Now go... go tell our troops..."

The young messenger turns around, getting another message he has to deliver to Goggen's soldier, he starts running out of the room and into the hallways again.

"And so it begins..." he sighed, looking down, perhaps having an idea of how this would go for him.

...

Terholt A Pansar 55 of the Esterrian Royal Army's 88th Division is now rolling through the city of Vosselberg as the Commonwealth strikes again. This tank had taken a lot of hit from the magic cannons, but it is still going strong and intact thanks to its armor.

What the 55 also has is a searchlight, a modification specific to the Commonwealth which focuses light in one direction instead of illuminating the area around the vehicle. As like other light sources, it ends up causing the enemy to know exactly where it is whenever it is turned on, but make up for it by making finding enemies in the dark easier.

It should be noted that most of the tank crews are red armbands, and a majority doesn't really like it, but they would have to put up with it.

"Gunner, HESH, infantry in house, front!" ordered the commander as another crew to his left grabbed an High Explosive shell and slammed it into the cannon's breech.

"Identified!"

"UP!" as the loader flicks the safety lever up.

"FIRE!"

"ON THE WAY!"

The gunner sends yet another high explosive squash head towards the target on his sight. The hot yellow projectile would find its way into a house, which provided cover for the rebels before it exploded, basically clearing it in one shot.

The tank would then take a hit from a cannon, but as far as the crew concerned, it caused nothing but minor dents on the armor.

"Gunner, HESH, cannon, left!"

The gunner would move the turret to the direction given by the tank commander. His sight eventually shows something before zooming in, it was the cannon that took the shot from earlier.

"Identified!" he called out, as the gunner begins to compesating just by guessing the range and using elements of the reticle.

The loader then grabs another HESH shell, slamming it into the breech once again as the cannon operators in the gun's sight began to run away. He flicks the safety lever up.

"UP!"

"FIRE!"

"On the way!" as he once again fires off the squash head to the cannon position, reducing it into pieces as with many of the EAS's magic cannons that met the same fate.

"Target, driver traverse forward"

Afterward, the Pansar starts moving again, an infantry squad crowding up right behind it, firing some shots at EAS elements that the Centurion could not pick up beforehand.

...

"What an incredible sight..." commented a soldier as he observes the once feared ground magic cannons being blown away into smithereens.

"Oi, pay attention!" another yelled at him "The tank's moving again!"

The infantry squad had been following the tank from behind as they make their advance into the city. While the Pansar proved impossible to destroy even with the most powerful cannon, they were extremely lacking in situational awareness, extremely vulnerable without infantry support.

The infantry comes in many, wields different weapon according to their specialization and isn't as big as an armored vehicle, thus they're more versatile and maneuverable. The average infantryman does have a fatal flaw though, they're soft-skinned, meaning a small metal ball traveling at speeds could take one down in one go.

It's the main reason why infantry needs tanks in their eyes, so they could be used as a mobile cover. Not only that, they now also has a big cannon to support them as they go.

It's like a symbiotic mutual relationship, like a clown fish and anemones. The tank takes hit for the infantry, act as fire support for them, while the soldiers cover its blind spot, picking off rebels trying to be smart.

The infantry squad moves with the Pansar, firing at anything that moves, whether they be in houses or just behind an abandoned carriage. The tank would do them a favor in return, firing explosive rounds into places the infantry can't get their 7.62 through, usually resulting in at least some injuries from the flying fragments.

"Watch the houses!"

Infantry would continue to go gun blazing at every corner of the city with tanks blowing up pretty much anything that unfortunately went into their sight, contributing more to the audio chaos. The cycle continues with some occasional building clearing from the infantry.

They haven't realized it, but they already crossed a half of their planned pathway of attack.

...

A rebel commander in charge of the garrison in Terholt looks down in the chaotic frontlines of the city. On one hand, the Esterrian Association of Slaver forces is mounting up an admirable defense inside the urban areas in spite of how many casualties they had suffered. On the other hand, the Commonwealth forces are still making progress in a frightening speed, not possible even for La Ferdina.

The scenery is unbelievable to this commander's eye, from what he had seen, there was nothing like the kind of fighting he seen before. Their sturdy defensive position kept collapsing under explosions occuring in short succession, then the projectiles of light started to fly towards the rebels as their gunshots drown out every sound, along with the unusual volume of cannon fire and subsequent explosions.

Big smoke are rising over the city center, which only mean one thing: they have done it. Not even an hour into the battle, the opposing forces of Esterria had reached the heart of the city, effectively transferring more than half of the city's control to 'Her Majesty's Army'.

"Where did I go wrong...?" he murmured in a low tone, saddened how ineffective his force had suddenly become. He commander had tried to learn about and adapt to the new equipment of the Commonwealth forces ever since Limmenstein was reclaimed, but it still couldn't save him from seeing his troops falter in one corner to another. It was clear Queen Marie III now had an army way ahead than even the Gestraen superpower.

He looked away in shame, as the gunshots and explosions continue to envelop the warring city, South of the regional capital of Pannerden, as it drowns out all the other sound.

...

"Ready?"

"Ja"

Lieutenant Vincent van Kuik and his squad is once again sweeping through houses to houses in Vosselberg, armed with the by now iconic black mu- rifles and machine gun. After the whole squad had prepared themselves, they went into the house, going for the corners first.

Vincent aimed his gun to the right upon going past the doorway while his aide, Piet went left alongside some of their own. The trigger would be pulled again as the opposing occupants tried getting their guns up in vain, riddled with holes and blood flowing through them.

Clearly frightened, the intention of some others that has not been shot went to surrendering in a blink of an eye, without even hesitating, without thinking it through. They would show this by throwing away their guns, hands raised into the air, palms open, all the while uncontrollably trembling.

"Hey, get these treasonous bastards out of here!" Piet shouted to the rest of the squad, prompting the others to do as he said.

The lieutenant puts his weapon down as other Royal Army soldiers went into the room, grabbing those who gave themselves in as prisoner of wars, then out of the room. Vincent and Piet are now the last ones to be in the room, at least the ones that are alive.

"Good day isn't it, sir LT?" Piet approached. One thing Vincent has noticed among the Commonwealth soldiers is that 'Lieutenant' can also be called 'LT' for short, something probably originating from their Flash counterparts. And he... doesn't know how he should feel about this.

"Yes Piet, it's a good day indeed" replied back the noble lieutenant "It went as well as we expected"

Piet nodded at his superior's comment of how they performed today. While they faced stiffer resistance as the rebels tried to adapt to their new equipment, but it was all in vain. There were little casualties among the Commonwealth, most of them are wounded ones.

"But you know what I did not expect?" said the lieutenant, which made the sergeant raise his eyebrow.

"What?"

The noble then unloaded the magazine of his submachine gun, bringing up to head level.

"The fact we burned through ammo that quickly, I'm sure you are running a little short as well..."

Piet looked down on his individual equipments for some good seconds before then frantically checking the pouches for each of his magazine.

"Oh dear, it seems I hadn't been paying attention..."

"Well, we did full auto whenever we went into houses, so it's no surprise that we ran out so quickly. It took me quite awhile too"

"True..."

"Anyways, let's just go back to the trucks shall we? We cannot continue without anything to shoot with" the lieutenant would load his current mag back into his gun. Piet nodded and began to make his way back out, leading Vincent out the house, making a journey back to the rear lines with their squad.

...

In the skies above Terholt, wyverns could be seen in the night skies above the city. From the directions they came from, it's clear that they're the Wyvern Divisions of the EAS.

Normally such a threat is very feared among the infantrymen of Gestrae. Without wyverns, they basically had nothing to counter such a threat. But this isn't an army from the continent of Gestrae that the world got accustomed to.

"FIRE!"

The anti-air gun on the transport truck is now covering the skies with 40mm leads as they began firing upon the wyverns. This particular crew had their fun back at Limmenstein, when they picked off the reptiles when the counterattack was underway when they retook it.

"How many more of these bastards are we going to kill today?" shouted the gunner, allowing himself to give some time off the trigger.

"Depends" replied the commander "Don't forget why we got hired in the first place, keep shooting, and remember to keep it short!"

"Yeah, I know"

As the autocannon would be fired once more, commander looked up into the skies as more of the Royal Army's anti-air guns join in the fight, as the enemy steads start to fall out of the skies. It really reminds him of that time in Limmenstein, when they engaged many of the Wyvern Divisions as the tracers of red flew through the skies before burning out or hit the targeted wyverns.

These guns would often violently shake the truck they're on, many who operated this kind of vehicle could feel the power of the fast-firing 20mm's. Enemy wyverns after wyverns just keep on falling, raining down on the field below.

"Skybox 1 to all ground elements, remember to look up at the skies if you don't want to get crushed by falling wyverns, over" the commander said to his radio. Skybox 1 is the callsign they received after the battle of Limmenstein, received randomly as the Royal Army took up the callsign ideas from the Luftforsvar.

"Copy that, we will watch out for them, out" replied back the 'ground element' as the first one down becomes obscured by the building.

For the Commonwealth, it's a majestic scenery to see. Red projectiles flew out to the sky above the Southern city of Havenklein as it rains wyverns of the slavers. For the EAS, a horrifying sight indeed. Their supposed air support are being shot down en masse as many of these mysterious red projectiles littered the airspace.

Months ago, the Esterrian Association of Slavers expected that they would win the war, that they would be able to invade the rest of the country and replace the queen with someone more desirable. But now, from the looks of it, their hope to do so has been diminished to non-existent as time wasn't on their side all of the sudden.

...

Vincent's squad took cover behind the outer walls of the houses as the fighting in the coastal city is still far from ending. The lieutenant peeks around the wall, and in front of his eyes is what seems to be the remain of the fountain in a large roundabout up ahead.

The fountain is particularly well-known even before the war began, and considering it's right up ahead, it could only mean one thing... they reached the center of the city.

"By the gods, we're already this far?" mumbled Vincent as he could not believe it at first.

He then turns back to his comrades behind him.

"Piet, Konink, on me, rest provide cover fire"

And just like that, Vincent went out of cover with the 2 aforementioned subjects of his command as they head towards the roundabout. While running down the middle of the street, Vincent could see a flash from a gun in front of him, and although he had to act quickly, he couldn't help but notice that the muzzle flash seems bigger than it should.

"Contact front!"

The three then opened fire using 2 submachine guns and a rifle that kicks like a mule as they moved back to cover. The squad from the back would also return the favor in the form of 7.62x51mm sent from their battle rifles.

They couldn't see anything in front clearly as they're under adrenaline in the heat of combat, focus becoming a more challenging job. As far as they know however, the rebels might have the biggest shock that they ever experience from the painfully obvious overwhelming firepower.

"Cease fire!" shouted the lieutenant, the squad would then stop firing at the rebel position. Vincent looked out of his cover and waiting for a returning fire... Seconds would past, and they were met by silence from the other side, only the yellings of some fighters.

The trio would walk out their cover and rushed to the position that the rebels for the attempt on ambush against them. Several rebels would be found bloodied, lying on the ground while those tried to run away with guns still in their hand.

"Oh no you don't" Konink pulls the charging handle after quickly changing his magazine, lifts his rifle up and shoots at the running EAS rebel. Piet would also join in as he takes care of the rest running from behind Konink.

The rebels running from both sides fell down in short succession, not being able to escape the impeding doom that is the 7.62 and 9mm. Both aimed at their respective direction for a good while before putting it down, as additional troops poured into the area along with a Pansartransporter.

The three-man team stayed behind, as while Konink would go back and pick up the magazine he had threw our earlier, the lieutenant looked down at a certain spot on the ground behind a box, seemingly piquing his interest.

"Something's wrong sir?" Konink gets his attention as both approaches the lieutenant.

"Yes..." Vincent replied as he gets down to the ground to grab the object "Can anyone tell me what this is?" as he brings the thing up. The object was a gun, all black with a blown off handguard and an undeniable shape.

"That's our rifle!" exlaimed Piet. Indeed it was the RM58 that the Royal Army now uses as their standard firearm "But, how?"

"My guess is that they somehow stole them from our soldiers either here or from Scharna or Limmenstein" the lieutenant then looks at the blown up rifle "Looks like they didn't know that 58 isn't a musket by all means..."

Konink chuckled.

"Well, in their defense, Gestrae had been using muskets for many years, so it makes sense that they blew up the rifle..."

"Yes, I do see it too..." Vincent then dropped the broken rifle "Anyways, let's just move on shall we?"

Both Piet and Konink nodded as the trio went on with their squad. Having made it to the heart of the city, a milestone was made in an hour. However, they aren't done just yet.

...

"New target: Charcoal-Dud 102852, fire for effect!"

"Copy that, Charcoal-Dud 102852, recalibrating!"

Marie van den Ulsen returns to the coastline of the Havenklein frontline once more as she joins the other Royal Navy ships in providing artillery support for the boots on the ground on the frontline of Vosselberg.

"Starboard, you heard the man"

"Copy that, starboard guns calibrating"

Mendejerik's guns would be recalibrated to the designated coordinates, as they switch target to another one.

"Gun 7 recalibrated"

"Gun 10 is ready"

"Gun 11, good to go"

Captain Mendejerik then lift his radio up "Roger that, gun 7 fire a round"

"Gun 7 firing!"

A single cannon was fired from the starboard side, sending an shell out. As it does so, even without the other guns firing, the entire ship could feel the force of the howitzer firing alone. It was a power like none other cannons of Gestrae.

There is a reason why they're only firing a single gun as opposed to let out a salvo in an instant while radio periodically buzz on and off as they wait for the first impact.

"Gun 9 calibrated"

"Gun 12's ready"

"Gun 8 ready to fire"

And then the transmission they've been waiting for:

"105, off-target, 100 spheras to the South"

"Copy, 100 spheras to the South"

The Commonwealth's wyvern had been flying above to provide reconnaissance and act as forward observers for any artillery unit. Wyverns, as it turned out, have found themselves a new role, as with a further-reaching cannon must come a far-reaching eye.

With this, the accuracy of indirect fire could be retained like ever with only minor additional drawbacks.

"Gun 7, correction, 50 Spheras to South side"

"Roger"

So far for Mendejerik, the campaign in the blues of Havenklein has gone well with the EAS being surrounded and bombarded from both sides. Then, he realized he was missing something for a while.

"Can anyone get a status on enemy naval force? Over" the captain inquired over his radio, awaiting a response.

"Affirmative, the Luftforsvar and some of our ships are working hard and are already taking care of that so we don't have nothing to worry about, over"

"Right, thank you, out"

Relieved and satisfied with the news he heard through the radio communication, the captain would put away his radio for a but, knowing that they won't be dealing with the EAS navy anytime soon and could focus on their current task.

"Gun 7, verify your firing solution"

"Gun 7, Charcoal-Dud 102852, elevation [insert angle here]* to the South"

"Copy, all other starboard guns recalibrate accordingly"

Inside the hull of the ships, the howitzers are being recalibrated as sweats pour down the crews manning it. It was getting really hot after firing shells and reloading continuously. But their job aren't done until the captain says so, so they just kept going.

"All guns ready!" the radio screamed to life again.

"Salvo... FIRE!"

Almost in sync, the ear shattering sound of 6 guns firing at once emerges as yellow flashes illuminate the whole starboard side for a brief moment before returning to darkness. In the fogs of war, you might not know what you're firing at, one thing is for sure though, and that is that it won't be a good day for those on the receiving end, as if it isn't worse enough.

...

A vast majority of Terholt has now been overrun by the men in green and steel of the new Commonwealth's Army, but the battle isn't over just yet.

As long as the gunshots and explosions are still ringing out, the Esterrians on the Queen's side and the red armbands of mostly Kawagrzmotians still have a job to do. Speaking of which, the Esterrians pushed the recon vehicles to direct fire support yet again because... why not?

THUNK THUNK THUNK

This time however, it sports a different gun. Instead of the 76mm cannon used during the first day, it now has a 30mm gun on. While this might seem like a downgrade at first glance, it's actually the opposite given how it performed so far.

"Cease fire! They're finished!"

The 30mm gun is an autocannon, meaning it can fire a continuous flow of shells going downrange without having to reload after firing a single shot. Because of this, this variant is more suitable for infantry support than the 76mm while retaining the ability to punch through the self-propelled carriages' armor.

Only a few has been able to convert to 30mm autocannon though, with more soon to come, as changing out the armament of the vehicle with a turret is a challenge when compared to others, even the ships had it easy.

"New target, HE, infantry up in houses, right!"

All of those converted vehicles are focused in Terholt where they are right now as their counterparts in Vosselberg is already being supported by the navy.

"Identified!"

Now where were we? Oh, right...

"FIRE!"

"Firing!"

The gunner let hell loose on the poor, practically defenseless EAS infantrymen in the buildings. The houses erupt in multiple small explosions as limbs and bloods starting flying out. A gruesome scenery indeed for those unfortunately enough to witness and survive the ordeal.

The 'Scorpions'... or should we say by now, the 'Scimitars' went onward as the infantry follows the vehicle as they clear out the remaining rebel forces in the city.

...

After hours of tiring fights, hauling heavy equipment around as the soldiers moved street to street and the ear-ringing sound of constant gunfires, the battle for Vosselberg has come to an end.

With the whole battle concluding came the devastation that registers on the consciousness of the Esterrians in green, a devastation like no others. Blocks were leveled by artillery shells and explosives from the recon vehicles and the Pansar 55's teared down many of the buildings here, all in such a short time. It was a sad, horrific scene to see.

Most of them after the adrenaline has gone away could not gather themselves to look upon so many bodies left in the street as they walked past. They were enemies, but somehow they could not help but feel bad.

"So much for being a 'barbarian'..." commented Konink as he and others look over the war-torn city from a rooftop.

"I have seen months in the fronts of Havenklein, but never this until Scharna..." replied the Lieutenant "To think it could be a glimpse of how warfare looks like centuries later compared to now..."

"It truly is terrifying..." added Piet "But whatever it takes to defeat the enemy, I guess..."

With Vosselberg now theirs once again alongside the flag being raised in Terholt, the road to Pannerden from both sides had now been opened up for the Commonwealth.

Despite the great power support such as from La Ferdina and majority of Gestrae, things were looking grim for the slavers side as not even the best La Ferdinan equipment could not stop the completely new Commonwealth war machines. That said, there are some uncertainties and contempt in some soldiers of the Commonwealth themselves...

...

*I basically know nothing about M101's angle that would correspond to a certain distance