The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

The Invasion of Cherwoods (Part 1)

***The Saint's Tree, a few minutes before the long sleep ended...***

The azure skies of Cherwoods was interrupted by the shadows of what looked like several groups of eagles flying in formation above the ancient forest. Then, as they went past the Elf Saint's city, explosions followed, with the first and second waves of the flying beastmen dropping their bombs on their respective targets. After that, the subsequent waves of the eagles landed the elvish soldiers they carried on the canopy, along with their equipment.

Compared to the airborne drops of the Normandy Landings, the 'airborne' phase of Kuro's invasion of Cherwoods went well, since they met no resistance in the drop zones. Members of the patrols weren't separated, and were in their positions when the artillery barrage on the beaches began.

A few distances off the shores of Cherwoods was a flotilla of steam warships, with their broadsides presented against the enemy beaches.

"..."

The lead ship of that group, the Saint Madelaine, was where the senior commanders of the invasion force established their headquarters, including the Lord Kuro of Arles himself. As the last grains of sand emptied to the bottom part of their hourglasses, the Duke of Maverny raised his hand...

"!!!"

...and lowered it the moment the hour after the long sleep passed.

"Fire!" was the thunderous command that echoed throughout the Saint Madelaine. Their barrage was followed by the other ships' salvoes. Within minutes, hundreds of cannon balls crashed on the beaches, as well as the defenses of the enemy.

----------

**Kuro, on the upper deck of the steamship, Saint Madelaine, the lead ship of the invasion forces of Cherwoods...**

The artillery barrage had stopped. In the aftermath of that intense bombardment, I could see the port village of the Saint's Tree Palace Complex smoking from the tree-houses we hit by our shells. There were no movements that any of us—including the sharp-eyed elvish officers of our army—had observed. I'd like to think that we've obliterated our enemies in that artillery barrage and aerial bombardment, but I won't be overconfident.

"Fifty seconds!" was the shout that came from an officer that stood on one of the landing boats. It was followed by the shrill sound of a whistle, calling for the attention of every soldier disembarking as part of the first assaulting wave of our army. I think it was a good call for Salis to use the iron-mithril alloy in the construction of our tanks. Because of it, the vehicles were lighter, and easier to transport, compared to—let's say—a regular tank made from Earth.

"Sir," one of my commanders reminded me, "while your bravery is admirable, we plead to you to remain on the ship while we attack the enemy. Losing you would defeat the whole purpose of this expedition even if we won."

"R-Right..." I replied, though I avoided looking at him. Well, I guess it's also my fault for getting them worried, since I told them earlier that I preferred going with the first wave on the beaches. Not that I was looking for excitement or trying to be a show-off, but I was worried of the casualties in case something didn't go according to our plans.

I mean, this was an amphibious operation. And as I came from Earth, my best example to follow was the Normandy Landings of June 1944. But even if it was a success, there were parts of that operation that didn't go as planned, thus resulted in deaths and injuries. Like the landings on 'Omaha Beach'...

"..."

Any case, I could only watch the units and tanks assigned to the first wave go to the shore. Contrary to the still waters of Cherwind, the seas of Cherwoods was rough, though not enough to drastically affect the boats rowing towards the beaches. Well, I guess the mistakes of the Omaha landings (like delivering soldiers on the wrong sectors) won't happen to us, since the shores of the battle site was small compared to the one in Normandy. Besides, the ships laid down thick smokescreens to obscure the landings until the soldiers were already marching on the sands and the tanks rolling in ahead of them, so it should be alright.