"People of Germany." Hierd raised his hand to the skies. "You are leaders of a world I will pave for all of you. But; in my conquest for the skies; the moon comes to admonish and destroy that path I pave. In this case; that moon is a country; and that country lies east. Hesia."
A murmur filled the whole two thousand? Four thousand? There were just so many people; the exact count would just be asking for the impossibility; from his manor balcony; he could see the sailors gawk at each other.
The adults talked politics with each and each; and the soldiers stood stern; serious yet internally they were excited. Then; to the people out looking the windows, the countless, countless windows. They looked at him, at Hierd; with curiosity for their future.
"What transpired the day before." He recollected, "That day when our warships encountered invading Hesian vessels far out to but inside of our waters, Unchean's waters. They attacked us, and the navy simply replied with a brutal retaliation! -
However, we don't claim the fact that we were the harbingers of a war. They had started it! They were the monsters in this situation, and," -a smile formed on Hierd's face- "fortunately; we'll be front and center to the downfall of a country!"
Seeing the smile; his overly confident posture. The crowd invigorated their excitement, war may be bad, but to them, with him at their top? They will undoubtedly win the war as did they with their war with Krimvald.
"My citizens! Hide yourselves not in your houses, don't scramble to the deep forests. Show yourselves, play in the streets, swim in the oceans, go to Easel city; fend off the thieves and barbarians adventurers. And deliver your goods, merchants. We function as a country, for the betterment of all. -
This I say absolute." -A deep breath, the little pause had the crowd on it's edge on what'll be his next words- "No family will be famished by starvation or of dehydration. No man, woman, child will die needless deaths. This, our war in the east; Hesia will feel our might, and every single soldier of ours who comes to the east, will be judges slamming gavels to people who dare disturb our peace."
He took in the sight of the people once more; the green horizon of the Tria forest. He slammed his open palm onto the cobble balustrades, his voice rose!."Germany! We will not falter! We will not back down! And most importantly, we will stand victorious over all!"
The city erupts in applause! Left to right, Hierd saw from his balcony his people cheering for him with shouts like; 'Glory to the lord!' And; 'long live Germany!'
---
"Long live Germany." It rang in his head, repeating in his mind. Right at that moment, he was aboard the mighty IJN Atago. Well, in this case; the SMS Atago.
He sat in the bridge, it; being mantled by several officers. Including Captain Jack. Whom was minding his business behind the wheel. It was at dead of night, the Atago, and two K-3s were heading straight for the port city of Geo.
"Hitting Geo, is kicking them in the jugular. They'll lose a valuable contact with the Latessian continent. And, because of the mountain range separating the city with the rest of the country, their reinforcements'll arrive days late."
"Aye, indeed me lord." Jack calmly stood away from the wheel. The bridge was devoid of light, a sailor's eyes were to be better at night with their eyes accustomed to it, so to speak.
Hierd was no sailor, but he found his way around it by having only a small candle light up the large map for his plotting. The officers of the bridge were pleased with just the candle.
"Because of the recent Betelion thing, the operation's been canceled there. Now, we'll have a six hundred of the army going to Hesia whilst a thousand stays in Unchean, and here there is a thousand five hundred of the navy."
Hierd looked at the map intently. "Naturvege will handle anything that'd go wrong. And Adelheid'll handle the barrage of questions by the Betelionic messengers about what happened at Fermont, better than worse?"
In his head, he saw the faint image of Adelheid cursing him to the heavens, crying fountains handling the accursed Betelions. From a recent telegraph, it seemed that though there were a lot of concerns, ultimately Adelheid boiled it down to; "There was a threat in your country that would threaten ours too, consider this our way of a gift."
The Atago at that very moment ferried two hundred soldiers of the army, making the already overbearingly crowded seven-hundred crewmen of the Atago to an upwards of nine-hundred.
The two hundred army men housed themselves in every crevice of the ship that they could fit, mainly any room that didn't have occupying crewmen.
And as the light of the moon still shone onto the dark waters of the Ferris sea; the resting sailors and the soldiers hung outside, stern to bow, admiring the brilliance and the coldness.
To the land; Hierd prepared ten tanks, of seemingly a hundred trucks, and a thousand soldiers. Steaming ahead into the night; as fast as they could, and by that time; they should already be at Unchean, whence Atago's passed that already two hours ago.
To voyage by sea is fast, not easy, the Eastern Ocean; Feriss, was not a gentle lady. The K-3s and the Atago witnessed brief yet big waves, settling into calmer waters just a minute about. but the night sky was completely calm. Poetically calm.
It would take about three-four hours for the ground troops to get to the port city, but about two-three hours for the Atago to arrive to it's destination. And, by the time they would arrive, the first rays of sunlight would have already darted the sky.
"Friedrick's operations are mighty smooth." Commented Hierd. "They have built their bases in the port city of Geo, and some other towns. And by their latest radioed-in information, the Hesian navy's planning another attack. And we won't be letting another slide."
"Aye, sir. But let us not desmiss! That they got dem's dragoons. I've heards from Adelheid last night from ma'am Jeane's capture that dem darn Betelions were up der'in experimentin' on dem's dragoons. Gave me der chills, lord."
"No need to worry, Jack." Hierd smiled. "The Atago is the world's most powerful warship at this very moment. No other ship from Hesia, or of Latessia could have the ability to sink her. And with her anti-aerial capabilities, no dragoon will ever shoot her down."
A delighted nod. "No dragoon will ever shoot her down." He repeated. "Now that'll get me blood pumpin lord, knowin me ship'll survive tat! But say'e hear, once we reach that city, what'll we be doin even? Don't see that we'll be shootin already, innocent people's and all, and our supply deeper'in!"
"No, we'll be shooting." Hierd looked at the hidden, not yet drawn part of the eastern country, where there should be Geo, there laid but a single point alluding to it's existence. "We'll be getting rid of an already nonexistant thing."
( * )
Creeping.
Ocean splitting.
Dark smoke puffing out of it's two smokestacks, making it's already huge silhouette bigger than it was. A titan of the sea.
"W-what is that!?" Screamed the Rear Admiral. A hunk of metal moves steadfast towards their beloved city; with the red gaze of the sun, the ocean waters reflecting it. The ship; menacingly; danced in red glares.
Then this horn blared from it; was it the end days!? The trumpet that signals the destruction of land!? Whatever it was, the citizens cowered to the streets, with every bag, with every belonging, with every loved one. And they headed east.
"Lord!" A captain opened the door of the rear admiral's quarters. "What do we do!?"
The rear admiral turned to him; and with a serious yet terrified face. "Ready every warship docked on Geo, a-and have every cannon available in the city facing the sea!"
The captain ran without a second word. The admiral turned towards the sea once more. "This is the creature that downed our greatest galleons, this is the creature that destroyed our dragoons. This. This is war against monsters of the sea!"
The people were in a frenzy!
Sailors and knights rushed for the shoreline where their warships were docked; un-docking then up! Releasing the wooden galleons and sloops from their anchors; away came out the ropes and rigor iron. And then down went the canvas sails.
Multiple a floush in the wind!
Almost as if nature; almost as if the mountains were aiding them. The sails lifted high up capturing the wind, the cold gusts of wind that came tumbling down swiftly the steep cold mountain range.
Hierd and the other officers of the bridge watched with smug smiles on their faces. The sheer presence of the Atago depressed a veil of oppression; and it seemed thus the ship had finally roared itself into the people's minds.
A surge of black besting the white metal that brandished the knights. The people of the port city were running for the mountains; in their escape, their trance of panic. They hindered the knights that rushed out from every barrack; bars; the houses. As they were answering the call of duty of the rear admiral.
Rushing forth from out the city's garrisons were cannons in carriages, pushed by horses frothing from the mouth by the sheer weight of two cannons, crushing over people as they ran downward the road as swiftly as could possibly be.
Of what little journalists stationed at the city, they stayed watching what unfolded, writing everything that transpired at every second. With every letter wrote; came every action done; every move that could be done, and what that monster was doing.
---
"Have we connected with Friedrick?" Questioned Hierd to one of the officers of the bridge.
"The radiomen say so, sir." He bowed a little.
"Tell them to evacuate underground, just in case."
"I will tell them, lord." The officer ran for the radio room.
He stood, gazing the shore and the buildings rising gradually as the mountain range steepened. It was like a seeing a horde of ants run for a crumb on the ground, with a pair of binoculars; he could see many black dots running due east.
At the docks; he could see the wooden warships being primed and the cannons being prepped. With every twenty steps, there was a cannon and a knight. "Bout' three galleons board dee seas!" Commented Captain Jack. "Most Geo musters em dem's sloops. But that'd be shredded by awr guns, right me lord?"
"Yes, indeed." Hierd put down his binoculars and looked at him; "Turn her starboard."
"Aye, lord." Swiftly, he leapt for the wheel; "Everyone we're turnin' starboard!" Not a second after; he ran his hand all the way right.
All the men in the ship were flung the other way, almost as if they flew.
The Atago, turning, had looked to have molded the sea, to have pushed the sea with she, the sea, making way for the behemoth of metal. "Now we wait for them to come closer."
The latest move of the Atago; the rear admiral had deafened anyone around him with his personal interpretation of the turning. "They'll bombard us with their cannons! We must do the same before they really do!"
"S-sir," came butting in an officer. "Though the move stiffens that they will bombard Geo, we must not take the offensive!"
"What'll you propose officer!? We're sacrificing every second not acting accordingly!
"From the most recent news we have gotten in Latessia. I believe they're a new, well…" He chuckled nervously; "their technology far surpasses our own. But, wasting it all for target practice won't be something they want. Sir; take my bet. They want to entertain an audience."
---
Hierd stepped away from the bridge. "Do your captaining, Jack. I will be back."
"Aye me lord!"
Hierd opened the door leading downwards to the radio room. Passing crewmen and sailors, they bowed making way for him. Hierd replied with a gentle smile. He opened the door of the radio room.
Like machines, they stood all at the same time; "Lord!" They bowed.
"At ease." They sat down. "Get me in contact with the captains of the two K-3s."
"Yes, lord."
Hierd stared at their arms, connecting with signals and turning knobs. It was all really complex, the sheer fact they understood it in a matter of what? Two days? Is ungodly. "We're connected, lord."
"Alright;" he put his mouth right next to the microphone. "Go in front of the ship, the one staring the docks. Blow your horns when they get too close and negotiate for surrender."
"..." It took a second.
"They said; 'Aye, lord,' Lord."
"Good." He sighed. "Now we wait for the military."
( * )
"Sir!" A knight blasted through the wooden door.
"What!? For the sake of the lord; what'll you say that requires you destroying my door!"
"Sir." He cleared his throat. "There are advancing smoke trails at the west! We believe they come from the German army!"
"What…?"
The rear admiral pushed the knight at the side, going outside with a pained, panicked pace. Seeing a sailor some steps away from him, he called out; "Hey you! Give me your telescope!"
From out the western coast, some kilometers away the port city; there indeed was gusts of smoke, dirt in nature. Putting the eyepiece to his right eye, he could not discern what ever he was looking at but whatever it was; it certainly was not technology of his country.
"Iron horses are pulling iron boxes." A sailor put grimly. "Sir, whatever it is. I doubt we'll be able to fend it off."
The rear admiral turned to him; with a scorned look and eyes as sharp as a blade. Even without saying a single word, every word could be said by his gaze.
"Sir. You can't possibly…"
"They know that this city's important for two ways too many. We will fight, blade, teeth, and nail until our reinforcements from the other side come. This, Captain. Is an order you cannot supersede."
"Yes, sir."
---
Off the shore, there was a brief yet important encounter happening about. One of the K-3s were nearing one of the galleons approaching the Atago. In the mind of sea-diseased man, A gigantic wave wooshed forth to them, that wave was God and we were simply it's pawns.
The iron sloop's captain, adhering to his orders jumped out the bridge and shouted forth; "Parley! We are not here to bring about death. A simple surrender would be most greater for the two of us!"
"Captain of this yer' ship! We'd love to… Arrange us two an agreement of sorts." The Hesian captain was, for every other word, was thinking of a hundred different paths where his words'd lead to. As, in his mind, he was the most important figure in the whole of Hesian's history.
The German captain froze for a second thinking of something to say, when then; an officer of the bridge tapped his shoulder. "Sir, the lord has seen and wants to confirm if there are still civilians inside the city."
The captain's heart flickered, he looked back at the Hesian captain, nervously awaiting a response.
"This will be a request!" He yelled.
"A request captain!?" The Hesian asked, confused.
"Go back to the shore, tell your superiors that the lord asks whether there still lives on your city any civilians. If there are still people inside your dwelling… Expect."
Expect?
That word sent this weird shiver down the Hesian captain's spine, 'expect?' Exactly what was he going to expect, what is the meaning of this request?
He did not know, but whatever request was sent by the 'lord' of Germany, he ought to take it to the highest of orders; surpassing that even his country's chancellor and his own oath as a captain.
"Aye, comrade!"
( * )
Dashing forth every alley, every crevice where someone would and could live in; knights were apprehending every single person in the city and sending them in carriages that'll work it's way up to the mountain range.
Even without a single gun or even a single blade crossing paths; there were already issues arising. In the rear admiral's war rooms. The officers bickered and fought with each and each.
"What stupidity did you do!" The officer yelled at the rear admiral, his stern face objecting the admiral's pride. "Your evacuating the citizens has loosened our leverage two-fold!"
"You stubborn man! You value your intellect more than the lives of innocent people. For Germany's lord to give us this chance is as good a chance than we'll ever hope for."
"We'll be losing more important men doing so!" He raised his voice higher than the rear admiral's objection. "You, sir; will be what the future Hesians will fawn hate over for multiple generations to come!"
"What did you say!?" The two rose from their seats, pushing the wooden seats far back.
"I said that you? Sir. Are an idio-"
BOOM!
Moments came down to seconds, this blast of heat, shrapnel, and wood dotted about the whole room. Opened eyes turned closed with wood darted in them. And exposed necks were decapitated with the metal shrapnel of the big-explosive round.
"Hit!" Captain Jack yelled out in custom.
Hierd pulled down his binoculars. "With their leadership gone, things will throw down to chaos. But now that the main hurdle of it all has gone away, the military can now advanced. As of this moment. Jack?"
"Aye, lord?" Jack looked at him with curious eyes.
"As of… Now. You may start shooting. "
---
"Are you sure we're okay in here?" Questioned the soldier next to Friedrick.
"This basement is very deep. I doubt the Atago's shells can penetrate that deep into solid ground." Friedrick sighed. "They've started bombarding Geo's shoreline, as far as I know, they're shooting only at the docks and pier and not the buildings, that job'll be in the hands of the military. Which, is already at the city's doorstep. Our job is to escort them here. But… When?"
Friedrick awaited anything to come out of the radio. Two soldiers tended it out of the hundred soldiers that was currently inside the 'bunker.' Yet, radio-silence.
Even if the whole of the bar, the building, was some streets away from the docks, the shells that bombarded the city's shore was so extreme that it had sent rumbles across all the buildings, and in the radius; they heard their bar's windows break.
Up above, with the Hesian brass technically dead; the rest of the captains still alive after the firsts barrage of gun fire fired all the field cannons that were on the shore.
With how close the Atago was; some cannonballs had hit her hull and superstructure, but ultimately, there was no damage deemed bad enough to repair. Jack smiled at the fact, now adding the Anti-Air guns to fire at the shore.
All cannon fire ended just a minute after.
Wood splattered against every surface; the beach was turned dessert with how Atago's rounds blasted the rocks, bricks, and wood away from their hammered-in places.
Sailors and knights were sent flying through every single direction, dying from the shrapnel or from their bodies being exploded all at once, to perish the same time as would someone'd blink.
To the sea adjacent the shore; only wood, barrels, and parts of sails were left standing.
Unrelenting,
Cruel, and daunting.
The Atago's HE shells exploded the wooden warships in flames, engulfing every galleon, every sloop, in inferno. Looking out from the bridge, the officers saw mass leaps of men jumping off their sinking, burning, wooden warships with their clothes and skin burning with it.
Cries of help, screams of profanities, and praying. As soon as their burnt skin and clothes touched the salt-ridden sea, there was a second of euphoria then a minute of hell. The sea's saltiness combed through every wound the sailors were inflicted by, creeping into every slit she could get in.
When burning in land was bad enough, they were then now burning in the sea. Yet, the sailors suffered too many to keep on, ultimately dying in the same sea they sailed years on.
"A brutal sight." Commented one of the officers of the Atago.
"They've brought'et upon dem'selfs!" Laughed Captain Jack. "But seein' how we's ready reduced the port to pieces, I doubt the military'll hav' much problem bout the clean-up. And, call me Friedrick; tell em to escort dem now."
"Aye, captain!"
---
A ring!
This swell of excitement boomed within the room as they heard it yell it's ringing across it's every corner.
In a rush; Friedrick threw himself to the radio and immediately lifted it towards his ear. "Yes!?"
"Captain Jack has given authorization for you to start escorting the military towards the supply base, sir."
"Ah, finally. Thank you." He hung the phone, then stared to his soldiers awaiting for his words to come out. "Men, prepare; we'll be going out!"
The crowd of soldiers erupted in joy at the assignment, for the stagnant gray of the basement was getting dull and boring by the minute. Rushing in droves, with Friedrick front and center, they ran out the basement and into their bar.
The glass was indeed shattered, and the indoors was littered with it's many shards. Through the glass, on the streets, there was no-one any where where there once was many roaming the streets. A despaired sight.
Soon they made their way into those very streets, because of the close-quarteredness of it all; they used pistols. They cleared every corner before making their way forward. Any surprise attack now would not be in their favors.
In their march forward the city's gates, there were many knights running for the mountains. Seeing as they were not holding any weapons, they chose to spare them and detain them.
For every knight, they sent two soldiers back to the bar. Ultimately, of the one hundred, there was now only eighty.
"It's clear, sir." Said the soldier peeking over the corner of the building. "No knights at the gate."
"Let's go." With a rush, they ran towards the still-opened gate. The tanks and the trucks were practically there. And they stopped when they saw Friedrick and his men come towards them.
Knocking on the glass, Gelmund opened the window. "Been awhile Friedrick."
"To you too," He said with a smile. "You're clear to go, we'll escort you slowly through the road, since there's still some straglers along the way."
"Gotcha. Hopping in?"
"No, I'm heading to the docks… What's left of it anyway, to help dock the Atago."
"Alright, good luck out there." Noticing he only carried a luger, he questioned; "Need a rifle? Lord Hierd gave me this cool little thing called an MP40, wanna try it?"
"Let me haggle."
Gelmund unbuckled the MP40 off of the strap on his waist, then handed it over to him along with an extra mag. "It's thirty-two rounds a magazine, and! I filled that one with 9mm Pomlik rounds. So it's extra the power."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Friedrick looked and admired the gun's mix of metal and wood. Coasting it on his shoulder, It was comfortable enough. Clicking on the big magazine release button, he examined the action, and then rocked it.
"Smooth, right?"
"Yes, indeed." Friedrick smiled before going away.
Friedrick ran to his soldiers at the gate. "I want sixty soldiers to escort them towards our supply base, and I'll need twenty soldiers with me, going to the port to dock the Atago."
They split themselves up to two without a single word being said, comfortably, twenty-sixty. "Lets go." Friedrick and his group of soldiers went for an alley that went down. With their pistols, they cleared any direction a knight would find themselves walking in.
The ground was grumbling, rumbling with the heavy and powerful gait of the Tiger making it's way through the pavement like it were some powerful all defying deity of destruction.
Making their way round a corner, they were face-to-face with destruction and it's aftermath. The port was destroyed beyond recognition, the market that once stood there was just a ruin filled with hints of it's past usage, and the wooden posts were supporting no dock, only itself.
"Great." Friedrick said with a sigh. He took one step forward, then another. With each step he was seemingly risking his life as there were many sharp wooden ends and pits that seemed shallow because of the water that covers it.
The Atago was coming closer and closer to the port, because of that, Friedrick ran a little bit faster than before to spot some opening that they could dock the Atago into. When then, one spot of the dock was not as much destroyed as the others.
Friedrick waved his hands over his head, signaling to Jack at the bridge to dock there. Jack replied with a very resounding horn. "Tommorow'll be more hectic than now, hopefully not like this. Hopefully." Friedrick sat on the wooden dock, and sighed defeated.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
