Chronicles of Two Powers

Chapter 19 - The Fall at Eagle's Reach

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6th Hoshizawa Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF)

2nd Rifle Company

Eagle's Reach Airbase

ACTC Tower – 12:20 | 0020 Hours

The 1st and 3rd Rifle Companies opened fire from the north and west flanks, distracting the enemy like bait on a hook. Thunderous rifle volleys echoed across the devastated base as tracer rounds etched incandescent paths through the smoke. The 2nd Rifle Company waited patiently. Hidden among the tall, swaying grass along the southern approach, the troops remained still and silent, blending into the landscape like spectres.

The enemy was closing in rapidly. Troops from the Hindoe 26th Infantry Division's 1st and 6th Regiments pushed forward through the burnt-out fuel depot and the shattered wreckage of the barracks. The ground seethed with embers, walls crumbled, and the earth shook beneath their boots.

From the darkness, the Jylonian soldiers watched. Their hands tightened on their rifles, their eyes wide, their breaths slow. Sweat ran down their faces. The enemy advanced.

Through the dancing firelight and billowing smoke, the Hindoe soldiers came like beasts unleashed. Their bloodshot eyes burnt red, mouths frothing with rabid hunger. They growled, snarled, and held their bolt-action rifles like spears. Their movements were nervous, almost feral. A madness had taken hold of them.

The 2nd Rifle Company waited.

Then, one of their officers slowly drew a Guntō, the metal gleaming in the fading light. Standing upright, eyes sharp as a blade, he pointed it toward the shattered control tower.

He bellowed, his voice strong enough to cut through the devastation like a warhorn:

"CHARGE THE TOWER! KILL THEM ALL!"

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor."

(Tennō Heika Banzai!)

The cries and yells of a hundred beastmen erupted as they leapt from the tall grass, their faces twisted with rage. They charged toward the air traffic control tower, rifles clutched like spears, bayonets gleaming. As they advanced, the tower came into view; muzzle flashes lit up every crack and window.

The first troops through the entrance didn't stand a chance. Gunfire tore through them, blood spraying as they collapsed onto the floor. Lieutenant Kurosawa Gintarō darted forward, weaving toward the tower's first-floor wall, hugging it with his rifle raised. More troops from the 2nd Rifle Company surged behind him, pressing the assault.

Machine gun fire from Jylon's defenders continued to cut down their comrades. Lieutenant Gintarō glanced back at his men, still catching their breath after the charge. Nearby, a private first class rushed to one of the riflemen kneeling beside a crate.

「グレネードを一つ渡せ！」

"Hand me one of your grenades!"

The young private obliged, quickly reaching into his pouch for a Type 97 fragmentation grenade. With it in hand, the private first class steadied himself.

When the firing from a nearby window ceased, the opportunity came. He hurled the grenade through, then came the flash, the boom, and the screams.

「 行け行け行け行け！」