The 69th Armored Division’s scouts warning was accurate.
Shin and his group set up a defensive line away from the highway that served as the evacuation route, then watched as the routed infantrymen rushed through it in the same disorderly chaos one would expect of a swarm of mice or locusts. The highway was by no means narrow, but they filled it up like a black wave. They didn’t walk in organized ranks, nor did they match the speed of their march, pushing through people and groups ahead of them. They had no way of telling which division and regiment they were passing by, and with the chain of command collapsed, they were nothing more than a mob of people.
The groups pushed one another for a time, picking fights and suspecting the others of being one of those new self-propelled mines. Their fear of nonexistent enemies made their pace slower as they kept arguing. A group marching on foot wasn’t going to move fast to begin with, but their foolish behavior only served to further cut down their speed.
In the midst of their march, those who stayed behind in the trenches of the first defensive line just barely managed to hold on. They needed to recover as many infantry as possible while they held their ground, and yet.
“…They’re going slower than I expected.”
Shin held back the urge to click his tongue. Knowing the infantry wouldn’t stay away even if they told them to, the Strike Package deployed their defensive line in the Lyskiv Forest, hoping the rugged terrain of the virgin forest would deter them. The only ones passing through were those who had abandoned their allies and fled right away.
Even so, if they had acted quickly, the units holding on in the first defensive line may have been able to retreat before they got wiped out.
…Why?
Why weren’t the soldiers capable of keeping a cool head and maintaining basic judgment?
✦ ✦ ✦
The ones hanging on in the first defensive line were mostly Vargus units. Despite being abandoned by the fleeing infantrymen and the armored units and artillery that had retreated, and the fact that they would be isolated once the remaining trenches and fortifications fell, the Vargus saw death in combat as an honor. They would face the metallic surge with smiles on their faces, firing their machine guns until their barrels burned red-hot, swinging their axes and swords until they chipped into nothing.
A Para-RAID connected from a pillbox—one that was relatively nearby but overall far from them, where a Vargus unit was stationed.
“You, from the Zoto village. You still alive?”
“Oh, you’re the one from Gima Mima! You’re still hanging on, too?!”
They exchanged news, saying that an old distant relative or the youngest son from the house next door fell in battle. They leaned in excitedly, talking about how someone got hurt. As he laughed in satisfaction, his comrade from the village of Gima Mima spoke.
“The lord gave us the order to fall back, too. The scrap monsters’ main force will arrive soon, and it’s clear we won’t be able to stop them, so we should just retreat.”
“Finally, huh? Roger that. Except…”
That except was likely in reference to the scrap monsters’ main force: the large group deployed on the riverbanks. They had destroyed all the anti-tank impediments and were slowly crossing the river to where neither armored infantry nor armored weapon could stop them.
“I can’t see us giving them the slip. They’ve caught up to us now.”
The next bombardment hit his position, blowing away all the trenches.
✦ ✦ ✦
And so the main force of the Legion’s 1st Echelon crossed the river and finished clearing all the mines and anti-tank impediments. They formed an opening point, maintaining it as part of their forces encroached deeper into the Saentis-Historics line. They followed the scouting unit that had been sent ahead to secure their path, rushing into the defensive position. The only things standing in their way was the minimal rear guard who stood their ground, and mines and traps left behind.
The tidal wave surged forward, using its superior mass. The Legion’s 1st Echelon swallowed up the retreat path, which was full of people, with some of the Legion using their momentum to enter the Harutari reserve formation.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Strike Package, who were assisting the retreat to the Harutari reserve formation, ran into the tidal wave of the Legion’s 1st Echelon. They knew what was coming thanks to Shin’s ability, but there were just too many of them. They were able to withstand the attack thanks to the way the Federacy’s cities were structured, but the other units consolidating the Harutari strip’s defenses had to fall back—effectively leaving the Strike Package and the retreating units isolated in the midst of the enemy.
Watching the blips on the holo-screen, Grethe asked Shin a question. Their allies were falling back, but what of the enemy’s movements?
“Is this the last of them, Captain? Or are there more?”
“There’s more coming. The Legion are launching an offensive with a large unit at the back of the front. It’s corps…no, army-size in scale. It’s probably a second echelon.”
“Army-size…?!”
In this case, the word army was used to describe a group made up of several armored corps. A collection of several armies was called an army group, and in the Federacy’s case, they counted as a front army, with the western front’s army being made up of two armies of five corps each.
In other words, reinforcements equal in number to half the size of the western front’s army were about to reach the Harutari defensive line.
Grethe made her choice. The Strike Package wouldn’t last the coming battle on such level ground without reinforcements. And if she had to choose between fleeing infantrymen who wouldn’t necessarily be useful anymore and the Strike Package, which still maintained its order as a unit, the latter was more valuable.
“—The mission is over. We’re falling back, too, while offering cover for the units present.”
The survivors of the rear guard who had stayed behind until now, made up mostly of Vargus, spread out and began to retreat. They moved in small units to remain hidden from the enemy. This was why they were passing through inconspicuous roads. There were no infantry left for the Strike Package to wait for.
“In order to avoid getting in other units’ way, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Armored Divisions are to gather in Roitich City, where the Harutari line support unit is deployed. The 1st Armored Division is to gather in Nakiviki City, then head west and return to Rüstkammer base.”
Soon after, instructions arrived from the division HQ. The Strike Package was to conclude their current mission, fall back, and make way to defend the Rüstkammer theater.
Took you long enough, Grethe grumbled to herself.
“With the Legion having encroached on the Harutari defensive line, the surroundings of the Rüstkammer base will soon become a battlefield. We’ll be fighting to protect our homes next.”