Chapter 12: Military Mobilization

Austronesian Empire, Imperial Tanah Melayu, Ipoh

2000, 1, 1st Week, January.

I remember hearing a thunderous roar made when the violent storm happened. It was so loud that I could hear it even from our home. At first I thought it was a rocket attack or something, and no sooner had it faded when I could already hear gunfire and explosions erupting from south of us. I immediately rushed back into our apartment and found my husband there. The TV had cut out and instead there was just a blue screen and an announcement that some kind of attack was going on. My husband and I both served in the military, that's where we met, and we remained with the reserve. So he brought out the radio tuned into our unit's special frequency, and we could hear the order was being made by the Colonel for all reservists to report to Ammunition Hill at once.

We arrived at the rally point maybe 20 minutes later, all kitted out in our gear and everything. It was past twelve in the early morning during this violent storm, but the entire area was lit up with floodlights. We saw many of our neighbors and others we had served with already there. There were also several M113s that were being loaded up. 

Not long after we arrived, I saw ten tanks come rumbling down the street, right past us. In addition to the men riding inside them, I also saw some of the men riding desant on the back of the tanks. I was so very confused. This was an awfully large show of force for what we thought until then was just another terrorist attack, or maybe another riot.

We were given orders as follows: several units, including my husband's, would lead the charge, aimed at putting this enemy down for good. The rest, including my unit and the other all-female squads, formed a reserve who would follow some ways behind the main push. Our job would be to provide support to the first line, and also to engage in search-and-rescue ops for wounded civilians. 

We were all still confused about what was going on. I didn't think it could be a simple riot because we had tanks and everything, but I also didn't think it could be another coordinated surprise attack, like ten years ago, because we would have known about it long before. Something was definitely wrong.

At 0040pm, not more than 40 minutes after the storm appeared, we were off. My husband and his unit were part of the first wave. We followed behind, maybe fifty, maybe sixty meters. As we approached downtown, on our right, we could hear the shouting and gunfire getting ever louder and louder, the sounds of the enemy, the police and reservist units in those neighborhoods already engaged. I could hear new orders coming over the radio all the time. 

They were being overwhelmed, shouting about superhuman giants in black armor that looked like knights, armed with what appeared to be... a sword. Yes, swords. One guy even claimed it was, like a wrathful Malaikah or something. I couldn't believe it, I thought that maybe they must have been delusional or something. 

Oh, how wrong I was.

Then, new orders came. It seemed that our initial push to put down the enemy was failing. Our new instructions were merely to herd them away from the downtown and out eastwards, it's mainly enemy territory out there, so we didn't think much of it at the time. The enemy, logically, would try to follow the path of least resistance, and so we would dig in and hold our ground. With these new orders received, we began hunkering down and taking up defensive positions. I took point in a storefront, along with two of my squaddies, Sarah and Miryam. Across the street, I saw a heavy weapons team digging inside a cafe front. 

They were setting up an M47 Dragon.

That's when the radio again alerted us that the situation had changed yet again. It seems these enemies did not "follow the path of least resistance" as we had expected, and instead were deliberately charging right towards where the fighting was heaviest. 

This whole time, I was thinking about some terrorist or rebels that will threaten the Empire. Instead, it was something else and it was somewhere ahead of us, but I wasn't in direct contact with it. But I could tell from the sounds of gunfire that it was probably already engaged.

I could see one of the Battle Tanks ahead of us. When we were in training, we were taught that a well-trained crew could probably manage about 4 or 5 rounds per minute under most battlefield situations, but this one must have been giving it their all, because they were frantically pumping out one shot every second. The soldiers who had been riding desant had already jumped off and I could see them firing at something. 

There was a strange noise, not gunfire, but more of a blade traveling through the air at high speed.

Two of the poor guys were hit and seemed to explode into chunks of flesh and tattered uniforms. Thankfully, I couldn't see too clearly the details from the distance behind them when I was stationed. Another man was caught by debris where one of the projectiles had hit the wall near him, he lay on the road, slowly bleeding out.

The Battle Tank continued firing away, and it began reversing too, backing up the street, towards us. It ran right over the man on the street. He cried out and there was a sickening crunch as the treads ran over him. 

Oh God, that sound. Still, the tank kept rolling, firing away, like the crew was focused entirely on whatever it was in front of them. That's when I saw the first of the attackers emerging from the cloud of smoke and dust.

I'd heard everything that was being said about the thing over the radio, but I still couldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Yes, it was dressed up almost like a knight for something, which made me wonder for a split second if this was like the Crusades that we were taught about in school. Its eyes were glowing red and were armed with... with a sword, glowing with ominous energy, like magic, but more sinister.

And he moved nimbly on two feet and he was so fast, like an Olympic runner.

The tank was still firing madly. The towering Black Knight was very fast and agile, it was like he could see where the gun was pointing and react before it could fire, because not one shot hit him. I wanted to give the order for my unit to open fire, but I knew we might hit our own men up there.

The Knight charged right up to the tank, the other soldiers there were shooting at him, but the bullets just glanced off the armor. Grenades detonated around him, even that didn't stop him. And he ran right up to the tank, climbed on top of it. He was so heavy, at least maybe a ton, that the whole tank shook. And he leapt down behind it, turned, and rammed his sword into the rear. 

It was insane. The rear of the tank was hissing and steaming, and the area around where the blade had gone in was glowing red hot and melting. There were sparks shooting everywhere, like lightning. 

Though he must not have known that the engine in the tank is at the front, not the rear, because the crew, God bless them, was still alive long enough to back up one more time. The tank accelerated right into him, knocking him back a couple steps. 

This attacker, whoever he was, held up his other hand to stop the tank and grabbed onto the rear trackguard, and dug his feet into the ground, digging up asphalt and everything.

But it was long enough that the heavy weapons team just across the street from us were able to get a clear line-of-sight, and they fired. The anti-tank rocket flew and hit the knight right in the head and I didn't see what happened after that, as there was an explosion and a cloud of smoke and dust that covered everything. There was another explosion seconds later, which must have been the ammunition on the tank detonating. 

I... I honestly don't know how I ever got out of there alive, it was like hell.

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Austronesian Empire, Imperial Tanah Melayu, Malacca, A Military Base In Malacca.

2000, 1, 1st Week, January.

Whiii—!

Alarms were blaring throughout the military base as ranks of soldiers were marching throughout the military base in orderly columns. With many parts of the Austronesian Empire falling into the monster's hands, thankfully, all the evacuation centers were safely guarded under military control.

Despite this, many routes to other military bases had been cut off by the monsters, prompting the army to establish a frontline and extend it from there, making incremental recoveries over time.

The Austronesians Liberation Army shall faithfully fight for the motherland through blood and sweat even if sacrifices are to be made.

Meanwhile, the Imperial General was making rapid movements throughout his office. His name was Awang Budiharto Ghazaar. Ghazaar was sweating profusely as he thought up a solution to his problem.

"Supplies are being depleted throughout Tanah Melayu. I must find a way to reconnect the military bases throughout Melaka first. Then from there we will form a front line from which we could slowly but surely reclaim the lands of the Tanah Melayu. The emperor is currently busy commanding each frontline that was recently formed. I cannot afford to falter in leading our forces," Ghazaar reflected, "If we are to stay in this union, I must first prove the competence of the Malay people. After all, only through this union can we prosper united as one with the entire Austronesian people. I sincerely believe that, as we Austronesians and being part of the Malay people, should be united as the people of Xinhua were united. Only through this unity can we overcome the societal differences in society."

Ghazaar stirred up his emotions and focused his mind on one thing, and that is to liberate the land of his people from the monstrous invaders. He couldn't explain why such monsters appeared on their homeland and to the entire Austronesia, however that doesn't extinguish the fire in his heart, instead in became even brighter and fiercer as the bells of duty were ringing throughout Austronesia, and that only means one thing and that is a call to duty. 

A duty to protect the motherland, to protect the empire.

After resolving his mind, he strode toward the communication devices and declared, "Now is the time to prove our worth as citizens of Austronesia and as being part of the Austronesian race and of Malay ethnicity! This is a call to duty, a duty for our people and a duty towards our nation! Let us march towards a brighter future for Austronesia! All hail the people's empire!"

"Hail the people's empire!" The soldiers all shouted in unison.

"Let's roll out!" Ghazar commanded, gesturing decisively to his side.

Spotlights all over outside of the military base were suddenly lit as the military door opened and columns of amphibious vehicles moved forward in different directions. The mobilization of the army was underway, marking the beginning of the liberation of Austronesia and Tanah Melayu.

[IMAGES]

"Driver, can you drive faster?" A female soldier in one of the vehicles called out from her position.

"This is as fast as I can go," the driver replied. "If we push harder, I am afraid we might hit something along the way. Plus, we can't move faster as there are more vehicles in front of us, so we need to maintain this pace."

"Understood. I'll man the tank gun in the meantime. Loader, are you locked and loaded?" she asked.

The loader gave a nod. "Affirmative, ma'am. Locked and loaded!"

"Good. Let's stay sharp."

The female soldier who was asking around was now positioned on the main armament of the advanced amphibious tank, keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding area. From time to time, she would open the hatch to scan for enemies, but so far, she hadn't spotted any signs of trouble.

Suddenly, the long convoy of heavily armored amphibious vehicles came to a sudden halt, and was followed by a thunderous explosion erupted at the front of the line, causing chaos.

[Enemy contact! It had taken down multiple of our amphibious tanks!] 

The radio crackled with the alarming message, and upon hearing that they've been attacked, the woman's pulse quickened as cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She quickly opened the hatch and looked outside to identify the source of the destruction.

Meanwhile, the driver of the amphibious tank quickly reversed the armored vehicle to be able to maneuver around on what had become a battlefield filled with the wreckage of flaming, destroyed amphibious vehicles. Several of them lay burnt out with crimson red flames, each seemingly taken down in a single, powerful attack.

Upon seeing the culprit in the destruction before them, the female soldier gasped in complete horror by what she saw. Towering at a hundred feet, a humongous monstrous creature loomed over the scene with its huge, serpentine horns, massive wings, and black scaly body dark as the night sky. The sight of it filled her with horror.

[IMAGES]

At first, her instinct was to scream at the top of her lungs, but she clamped a hand over her mouth just in time. The scene was too overwhelming to fully process, but she managed to regain her composure.

The battle had already begun as a battalion of amphibious tanks scattered and positioned themselves strategically along the streets, aiming their firepower at the beast. The soldier watched as her comrades advanced to confront the creature head-on.

Upon remembering her job, she immediately closed the hatch and took her position inside the tank. She rotated the tank gun toward the creature, but even as the tank shells impacted its scales, the beast remained unfazed.

With the monster in her sights, she hesitated to pull the trigger, her nervousness growing as she observed the battle outside. Other tanks relentlessly blasted their loads at the hundred-foot dragon, but their attacks had little effect. As a return, the dragon unleashed a torrent of crimson flames, incinerating tanks to ashes in seconds. It seems there is no use to beat it and feels this battle is hopeless for them.

As she fought to maintain her composure, she suddenly noticed the creature had its attention on them. It opened its massive jaws, preparing to unleash its fiery breath full of hellfire. Panic gripped her and her crew as they realized they were in the beast's crosshairs.

As they were about to be overcooked, the woman remembered her observations from the battle. The creature was pretty fast and very maneuverable, often dodging many tank shells, and its scales are so incredibly tough that it is able to withstand multiple tank shells without flinching.

But it wasn't invincible, though. She noted that the insides of its mouth appeared vulnerable as it lacked scales, and it seemed less agile while spewing flames.

This weakness presented the perfect opportunity to strike.

She steeled herself and focused her aim on the dragon's open mouth, just as it was about to release another torrent of fire. With a deep breath, she pulled the trigger.

The tank gun roared, the sound echoing through the battlefield as the shell shot forth toward its target.

Her keen understanding of physics allowed her to calculate the perfect timing for hitting the movable dragon's open mouth as it attacked. She drew on the precision required for shooting a flying target, and to her joy, her shot struck its mark. The tank shell exploded inside the dragon's mouth, which burnt half its face.

The creature, though gravely wounded, was not yet defeated and was about to return the favor. But her successful attack inspired the remaining troops from the amphibious tanks, who quickly learned its weakness and adjusted their aim before unleashing a barrage of fire toward the dragon's exposed mouth.

After several moments of relentless shelling, they finally slay it when one shell manages to bullseye inside the dragon's mouth, exploding the dragon's mouth inwardly and delivering the final blow.

With the death of the creature, the battle has ended, though at a heavy cost. Dozens of lives were lost. They lost a valuable military piece and precious lives of the motherland. 

Nevertheless, the troops' victory signified a critical step toward liberation!