GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 2

V15 - Chapter 187 Tourist Day

"Yesterday, a joint Australian-Elbe force ended a campaign in the Itemyui Forest, a three-week campaign to end the Imperial presence in the Gorge Valley, a farming region between the northern border of Elbe Fiefdom and the southern tip of the Dumas Mountains. The objective is to surround the city of Marais.

The casualties have been reported to be eleven Australians, two Japanese advisors, and thirty-nine Elbe Knights dead. Two helicopters were brought down in an Air Assault operation from the English 16th Air Assault Brigade. While we still don't know how many wounded per nation there were, we do know that the total number of injured is over three hundred. It is believed that the majority came from the Elbe Knights.

Marais, second only to the port city of Beutem in the Gorge, has become a priority again. This will be the second attempt by NATO forces to take the city.

In August 2025, Operation Roundball was in effect, but it ran into unexpected problems. While NATO forces conquered Deabis and got fifty miles to Marais on the Roma Highway, a massive rainstorm destroyed the highway. Tanks, APCs, and other equipment needed to take the city kept getting stuck in the thick mud. At the time, NATO Aviation was not at strength to launch a massive operation at such a long distance from Alnus, so the priority went to secure the Fillit Highway, the only ground route between Alnus and the Elbe Fiefdom - with the growing need for military resources in the Greater Elies Region, combined with the miniature war against the Alguna Kingdom, the Gorge became a secondary priority.

Last month, General Stanford approved Operation Uppercut, proposed by Brigadier General Royce Tomaski of the newly activated 2nd Armored Division, 3rd Armored Brigade. Currently, the Army Engineers have been building a paved highway from Alnus to Deabis to help speed up travel between Alnus and Elbe. He wants to make a road to Marais so his division can take the city. And then continue up to the twin cities of Daduale and Issilit, about one hundred miles south of Sadera.

The objective is to surround the Imperial Army in the mountains and isolate them. The current plan is to build three highways through the Dumas Mountains to create a path to Sadera for tanks.

With Operation Uppercut, the US Army is hoping to distract and divide the Imperial Army leader in the Dumas Mountains, General Briteon Hasulo. Little is known about this Imperial General; however, the Military has said that he is a highly decorated and respected General within the Empire and is a human-lion hybrid.

The operation will begin next week as military forces from five different nations begin the mobilization.

In other news, the repair of the destroyed bridge in Valtris will be completed by next month. Meanwhile all supplies to Elies Region are being transported through an improved ribbon bridge" - Free Alnus News

***

--- Ohio, Sandusky County, Fremont ---

Date: April 23rd, 2026

Pina stands there looking out at the crop field. Earth's Flare is beating hot, matching with the endless sea of small bush crops, "What are those?"

Pina is with Myui, Duran, Nater, and a few other delegates. The President wanted the delegation to see for their own eyes what the future of agriculture will look like, and now she can see why. Their guide today is Secretary of Agriculture Harry Hunt.

"Those are soybean bushes," Hunt answered. "It is a bean we use in many different foods and livestock. I assume you know about soil erosion?"

"Of course," Duran said. "It is a major concern of my Fiefdom. We always are forced to abandon fields to allow the lands to recover, and the amount of slave labor to maintain the land is expensive. This process sometimes takes years." He says and then rethinks what he said. "I should say labor."