+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

  Nomosian Countryside

  January 9, 1538 CE

  “That’s quite a lot of them,” Adelyn muttered through the comms. Hans calmly watched the approaching horde. It was truly overwhelming, and he could hear from Adelyn’s voice how terrified she was. Hans already went through this nonsense many times, however, hence, he couldn’t care less about the dangers they faced.

  If he died, he’d be back. Again and again. It wouldn’t be the end of it all.

  Adelyn on the other hand wouldn’t be able to lean on that comfort. If it’s even something that gives me comfort. Well, maybe it does. This was going to be her first time, and she now had to watch multiple demons supported by a horde of monsters charge forward at them. It must have certainly given her the spooks.

  “Alright,” Hans said. “Here’s the plan. You’ll retreat and give the 1st Anti-Demon Unit a warning. I’ll only try to trim them a bit, but they’ll get to our lines as planned. So they’d have to hold on and try to stop this crowd.”

  “Right.”

  “Now, you’ll also drag the Viceroy with you. Then search for me. At some point, I’ll probably be fighting the Calamity of Recklessness. I need the support from the two of you quickly when that happens,” Hans laughed. “Got that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright. Now go. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Adelyn immediately peeled off while Hans readied himself, facing the horde ahead of him. Now, I just need to thin them down for a bit. His main gun opened fire again. He had taken a different hill compared to his last runs. This time around, he had the eastern flank of the horde open. He also had patches of trees on the base of the hill he took as a firing position acting as obstacles.

  His first shot nailed one of the war elephants, causing it to stumble hard on the ground, bleeding from the APFSDS round that Hans sent. The rest of the monster horde turned to him, only to receive a hail of machine gun fire from Hans’ mech. Fires broke out in the horde’s position, as night wolf after night wolf received an incendiary bullet.

  The two demons that led the horde, the same two war elephants that Hans was focused on, charged at him. He turned his turret to the uninjured one and promptly sent another APFSDS round at them. Afterward, he fired another sabot on the first one, further slowing it down. Then, he loaded an MPAT round.

  An explosion rocked the tight formation that the night wolves created while they charged, further causing disarray in their ranks.

  Hans wasn’t going to be caught up in another situation where he’d be overrun and cornered this time around. Thus, he turned tail and ran, taking a slightly different path from the routes Adelyn took, as he still intended to somewhat delay them.

  When their heads popped from the hill, his gun let off a few rounds to stem the tide. Three MPAT rounds detonated on the hill as the horde descended, trimming their numbers a bit more. Then, Hans pulled out of the area as the first demons appeared.

  He knew too well that the Calamity of Recklessness, the serpent, and perhaps even the armored demon were just nearby.

  That armored demon and the serpent will pose a lot of trouble for Ebert’s men. It was a disappointing reality. While they had trained and improved greatly, the truth of the matter was that they were facing odds beyond what they previously fought against. No matter how good the 1st Anti-Demon Unit was, they wouldn’t be able to stem the tide. But if they can just buy me a few dozen minutes…

  Hans smiled.

  I’ll eventually take out the Calamity of Recklessness and force the rest into a hard retreat.

  That was his main plan. He knew his allies wouldn’t have enough munitions or combat power to kill four demons at once. They could injure them severely, trim the horde, and force them to retreat, but that was the limit. Thus, Hans deduced that he should fully focus on forcing them to retreat.

  And to do that, he needed to kill their leader. A leaderless, wounded fighting force, no matter if they were human or demon, would be forced to retreat no matter what.

  He banked all of his plans on that hypothetical materializing.

  +++

  +++ Captain Ebert Strobel +++

  Ebert looked at his spyglass, watching as the incoming horde of monsters and demons appeared on the horizon. He lowered it with a frown. Hans’ prediction was right.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  His troops however were already well-prepared. They had interlocking fields of fire with elaborately designed foxholes and trench lines to delay the enemy. His defenses weren’t a single line, it was deep and layered. All of his artillery batteries were also dispersed in their respective ‘combat sectors’, as Hans had dictated.

  He trusted it for now. They should, no, they needed to hold.

  He pulled the reins of his trusty horse to turn it in the direction of two light guns from B Battery. Riding in their direction, Ebert gave the command.

  “Gentlemen!” Ebert shouted. “You will target those two elephants. Canister shots, at once!”

  “Aye, sire!” the gun crews shouted back. Ebert then looked back at the incoming horde and placed his spyglass back on his eyes, watching as Hans battled the demons in a valiant rearguard action. “The balls on that man…”

  He was dueling them, sending shot after shot at the elephants, which spooked even the most ardent soldier on the frontline. Their bodies seemed thick and dangerous, and there was a slight reddish glow on them, indicating that their bodies must be greatly enhanced by magic.

  Considering the nature of the Calamity of Recklessness, Ebert deduced that it must be her that was giving the monsters and demons under her command enhanced capabilities.

  Gods above, I pray that we triumph.

  He prayed a bit as he lowered his spyglass. Then, he turned back to his gun crews as they finished loading the two guns assigned to this position. He raised his saber in the direction of their enemies, and with a shout, he gave his orders.

  “Open fire, men!”

  The first two shots of the battle roared from the rest of B Battery afterward.

  +++

  Hans continued to weave through the battlefields as the first opening salvos from the 1st Anti-Demon Unit’s artillery opened up. Above him, glowing canister shells whizzed past, before exploding in midair, sending a grand welcome for their enemies in the form of enchanted iron balls.

  In seconds, dozens of the night wolves chasing him collapsed dead on the green fields, their bodies torn and lacerated by mankind’s firepower. Following that, the first volleys from the specialized combat mages came, their spells striking both demons that were on Hans’ tail, stopping them.

  That gave him enough time to completely peel off from the bastards he dragged behind him and finally turned to his real objective—Recklessness herself.

  On the other hand, the real battle for the 1st Anti-Demon Unit began. The rest of the horde flooded in, forcing the musketeer units to respond. Their guns began firing from their positions with professional accuracy, downing dozens more of the night wolves headed their way. Their bullets weren’t weak, mundane ones either. Each shot was an enchanted, incendiary cartridge, capable of both penetrating the monsters arrayed against them and setting them on fire.

  Hans held a small proud grin as he left them to their devices. Sure, they were going to be outmatched soon, but the 1st Anti-Demon Unit had come a long way. Even the elephant demons were overwhelmed by the sheer firepower they were facing, their bodies burning hard from the incendiary munitions being sent at them.

  As Hans charged eastwards, trying to scan the flanks of the battlefield to find Recklessness, behind him, two allies joined him—Adelyn and Emilia.

  “Hans!” Adelyn shouted over the comms. “We have your back now!”

  “Copy that,” Hans said, as they charged straight into the jaw of possibly a hundred-night wolves. “Alright, you two, what I need the most now is to have this path cleared. That’s all.”

  “We’ll be on it.”

  At once, Adelyn’s main gun and the Viceroy’s staff opened up. A blast of purplish pulses came from Emilia’s staff, efficiently cutting down the monsters with her spells. On the other hand, Adelyn’s machine guns raged, taking down or disabling the night wolves with every burst.

  Hans pushed hard on his pedals, his double coaxials carving a path through the mass of monsters, igniting them into fire with his bullets. Then, when a group of them almost blocked him, his mech jumped high above them—bypassing them.

  Ahead of him, the serpentine demon appeared. Hans dodged its first attack, which sent its acid straight at him. He responded by sending a sabot round straight to its neck, piercing it brutally, and sending gore and blood flying through the battlefields. However, it only further enraged the demonic snake.

  It rushed straight at him, its sharp fangs wide open to devour him. But with a few seconds saved by retreating a bit, Hans aimed straight at its open mouth. He pressed the trigger for his main gun, sending an MPAT round at the demon, causing an explosion that left it screaming for dear life.

  Since he still didn’t see Recklessness, Hans opted for a further brutal approach. He charged and pounced at the downed serpent, activating his mech’s forward leg razors. It sliced through the demon’s thick skin. When he jumped off it, all that was left was a demon bleeding in pain on the ground.

  But it was rapidly regenerating. Hans tried to return and attack it, but the night wolves turned on him, attempting to swarm him. It forced him into another retreat, his double coaxials trying their best to reduce their numbers. Behind him, Adelyn and the Viceroy jumped in to support him, clearing out the rest of the monsters.

  But more of them appeared, and the serpentine demon managed to finish its regeneration, sending a splash of acid in Adelyn’s direction. She managed to dodge it, but only at the last second.

  “Damn it!”

  “Close one, Captain,” Hans shouted. “Try to avoid getting hit by that acid. It will melt your armor and subsystems.”

  “Noted.”

  Hans tried to flank the demon, but it gave out a warning screech to the skies. Emilia seemed to be readying a spell of some sort, her staff aimed straight at the demon. Hans however turned his turret away from the serpent, as he saw something else catch his attention.

  A kilometer away, standing in front of another group of night wolves, was the Calamity of Recklessness herself.

  Hans was driven mad, his hands trembling a bit at the excitement.

  He wanted nothing more than another tango with her, all to see her bleed.

  Discord server here!