Tale of The Broken Sword

Chapter Eleven : Battle of Esmerelda - Fight to Their Capital

27th June, AD 1656

Southern Cordon, Esmerelda

A burst of gunfire sounded, and despite himself Krom closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them and saw the grenadier no longer standing above him but lying on the ground over his legs. Krom stared up at the man in disbelief, then at the unfired gun in his hand. He turned around and saw Everent standing there, lowering his rifle as he looked upon the fallen soldier whom he’d pumped several shots into the man.

Still woozy, the lieutenant raised his AP5 pistol at Everent. The sergeant dived forward, out of Krom’s line of fire, revealing a well-armed grenadier standing behind him, ready to have a shot at Everent with his rifle. Krom squeezed the trigger and filled the grenadier with three sharp shots. The last one entered into his head and obliterated the man’s face.

“Fuck,” Everent said as he got back to his feet. “For a second back there, I thought you’re going to shoot me.”

“For a second, I was...” Krom looked Everent in the eye.

That had been too close. The lieutenant felt fear crawling inside his stomach, trying to gouge its way out. “If I don’t make it out of here, you’re taking charge.”

Everent flinched at that. He knew his mentor and respected CO wouldn’t die so easily in a battle. But the risk is there, and the sergeant wouldn’t want to see his CO’s death right in front of him.

“Can’t I just buy you a drink?” Everent reached down and hauled the lieutenant back to his feet.

As they stalked through the trench, looking for other grenadiers in sight, Everent heard the too-familiar muffled sounds of exploding grenades in another trench. Those things could blast the entire squad if it landed in the right place. He hoped that they would clear away before the grenades landed.

Then, he heard the shell of a G70 artillery gun roar overhead. He snapped back his head and glanced at the gloomy sky.

The flash from the gun froze the shell in the air, leaving it hanging there for an instant. A heart beat later, it smacked down in the other side of the battlefield, tearing the second wave of the ATC’s which stood guard, watching over as their first wave counterparts make the move.

The blast from the muzzle deafened Krom for a moment, making his ears ring with pain. The explosion on the other side threw up a tidal wave of rocks and mud that splashed all the way around its vicinity. Krom saw and would’ve expected. He struggled to breath for a moment and wondered if his ears had started to bleed again.

And then, time started rolling again.

Most of the Shock Troopers had followed the lieutenant’s orders and fallen back. That left Krom, Everent and the newly arrived Heimman and Guthren.

“Looks like we’re trapped in here. Both exit trenches were cut off.” Heimman frowned.

That meant that the Grenadiers had overwhelmed the first two lines of the trench and were flanking the group from behind and the front. Krom stopped and glanced around. The tracer fire and the artillery shells had seemed to stop for now, but the sound of small arms fire seemed to come from every direction but down. They had to figure out a way to escape from the Grenadiers and link up with the main central command.

“Use the auxiliary trenches. Head out along in the north-eastern lines across the bunkers.” Krom made the decision.

The rest of them nodded. The circuitry pathway would take them across the auxiliary lines, bypassing the two main trenches from below them. With a little luck, they might’ve able to get back to the CC in one piece, hopefully.