Having engaged the regiment of Federation Army soldiers in battle and thinned them down in short order to about the size of a battalion, I, as an imperial commander, now feel as low as I can get.
After all, while it is true that we have a division against what is merely a regiment of enemies, and we have managed to thin them out, progress is frustratingly slow. There are several reasons for this:
First of all, even I am finding it difficult to lead these troops, scraped together on the fly and showing almost no capacity for coordination. In particular, the stark difference in skill makes free maneuvering a challenge. Secondly, providing control for an entire division is turning out to be demanding. “Usually you would expect to have a dedicated controller, after all. To move a whole division, we could use a dedicated officer.”
Officers and soldiers on the front lines—fed up with being dictated to by some shirt-sitter in the rear—might not realize it, but there is a reason that specialists are so important.
I am still trying my hand at being an airborne controller when my adjutant drops yet another depressing piece of information into my lap.
“Colonel, we’ve got visitors,” First Lieutenant Serebryakov reports.
Shifting my attention to scouting and detection, I see that she is right. Multiple mana signatures are approaching at rapid speed. They seem to be regiment-sized and moving at combat speed.
For Federation mages, they look fairly agile.
“Hmph. The water is churning today.”
Just when we thought we had defeated one regiment, another appears. This is getting tedious.
I think for a moment. I wanted to take the bridge without damaging it, if only to give the enemy the illusion that they might retake it nearly unscathed. But at the moment, we have no choice but to prioritize suppression. Besides, focusing solely on blasting the base’s opposition wouldn’t be a bad use of a unit of largely new recruits. With defensive shells deployed and explosion formulas manifesting, mages can be used in a manner similar to human tanks when needed. Skill levels won’t come into question as severely if we utilize them in that semi-Federation style.
Whether new recruits or not, collateral damage is still collateral. It is better to land a regiment of them immediately. Having made up my mind, I begin barking orders.
“Third Regiment, land! Advance to capture the bridge! Everyone else, provide top cover with me. Salamander can take care of welcoming the approaching mages!”
“Shall we?” my adjutant says enthusiastically.
I grin and nod. “Let’s go, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Very good,” I say as I take the lead at the front.
“Gentlemen, time to cut into their ranks! Let’s teach those Feds how to dance!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Being positioned at the front of a formation means that one’s mana signature particularly stood out. After confirming the enemy commander’s signature—and almost out of habit, checking for a match—Sergei unintentionally burst into laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha.”
“Colonel?”
This was the last signature he wanted to encounter—a monster he had seen far too often. The Commissariat for Internal Affairs, frantic about hunting Imperial mages, had repeatedly urged to “report any sightings immediately.”
For Colonel Sergei and most of the mages in the Alliance, knowing that someone like that was lurking, ready to ambush as their army advanced, weighed heavily on their minds.
“Shit…,” whispered Colonel Sergei softly, his true feelings slipping free. He would have screamed if he could.
The Devil…?! The Devil of the Rhine?!
“I thought she was supposed to be in Ildoa? The Commissariat for Internal Affairs was certain…”
He had even guaranteed it.
If it had merely been a blunder on the secret police’s part, Colonel Sergei would have cursed them and moved on. But this is exactly why I hate the secret police! As far as Colonel Sergei knew, the Commissariat for Internal Affairs—those tasked with counter-mage intelligence—were gluttons for work. Their information on enemy mages was almost always accurate and up to date, and their analyses extremely objective.
To be blunt, even though they were secret police, they were thoroughly helpful and had a strong awareness of their supporting role.
“Would they really make a mistake when it comes to the devil?”
“Commander?”
“It’s the Devil of the Rhine,” Sergei said, pointing in the direction of the enemy signature. “It looks like these enemies are the Empire’s fire-breathing lizards.”
“That’s bad, isn’t it…? I guess we’ve been lucky not to run into them earlier.”
“Indeed,” Sergei agreed. But now they had to face them. As a regiment with inferior numbers against a waiting enemy, this was a nightmare.
“Damn it, this night is turning out to be the worst!”
“I can’t disagree there!”
They cursed and sucked their teeth. And, though it wasn’t truly allowed, since atheism was now orthodoxy in the Communist Party platform, they also prayed to God. Then, with steadfast resolve, the mages of the 153rd Regiment dared to attack the Imperial mages.
The 153rd were brave, knowing that the Baruch Bridge garrison was barely holding on and doing all it could to assist them. Imagining what would happen to the front line if this vital supply route were cut off spurred them to keep fighting, despite the enemy’s might and despite their own desire to flee.
But if willpower alone could win a battle, the world would be ruled by fanatics. Belief alone had yet to conquer a battlefield. Strategy still reigned.
The Federation Army’s 153rd Aerial Mage Regiment clashed violently with a division of Imperial mages. And the division—powerful, uncaring, and elite—absolutely clobbered them. There was no malice, no ill will, not even a scrap of hatred—just the terrifying precision of professionals calmly executing their work.
These good men and women, who loved their homeland, were simply confronted with an uncertain reality. On the Empire’s side, Tanya cried out triumphantly.
“Can a regiment defeat a division?! It’s simple arithmetic! My fellow mages, knock them out of the sky! And then we can raise a cheer!”
During the fierce fighting, the Imperial mages corralled the already engaged battalion like a living animal, and, as the battalion realized too late that they were too entangled to withdraw, the surrounding area was transformed into a hornet’s nest of overlapping fire. Either that or, by letting them believe they had broken through, they were lured even farther in.
When the Federation mages charged forward at full speed to take out their new recruits, they instead encountered optical formula decoys. While the enemy continued to fire into thin air, their flank got lit up.
Ultimately, it was the Empire’s mages who had the the advantage in the ridiculously close-range air battles that can only happen between mages, thanks to their experience and know-how.
Veteran mages flew in pairs, magic blades out as they cut into the enemy battalion’s ranks, even releasing explosion formulas at close range while the enemy hesitated to shoot. There was no need to break their defensive shells. Merely disturbing their balance was enough. If the Federation mages could be intimidated right as the magic blade lunged forward, the fight was as good as over.
The Imperial mages weren’t just operating as disparate pairs, either. They were sweeping through the Federation ranks with obvious coordination. The unit’s experience spoke volumes.
“Prepare for close combat! The enemy isn’t used to fighting at this distance!”
Moving in and out, swapping places, and providing constant mutual support… The Federation mages didn’t stand a chance.
The Imperial mages were able to overwhelm them without overexerting themselves, using just the right amount of effort. This was the privilege of superior numbers.
Although it may be localized, in this sky, at this moment, the Imperial Army was exercising that sweet privilege, and Tanya knew better than to neglect her claims as an aggressive enforcer of her rights.
“We are the aerial mages of the Empire! No one can stand against us!”
Magic bullets flew through the air, mages scattered, blood splattered on the accumulated white fields of snow, and fresh victims fell from the sky. For once, today, the sky belonged to the Empire.
For today, at least, as the Federation Army desperately attempted to defend, the scales dipped onto the Empire’s side. And thus, three Imperial aerial mage divisions descended upon three Federation Army chokepoints.
They had done it.
They had descended.
They were the people of the Empire.