The Three Layered Trench

The elf fell to the ground, with his skull pouring blood around the wooden dirty floors of the trenches, leaving nothing but a dead body without a soul.

Adolph hurriedly dropped down to the enemy trenches, avoiding any chances of getting pierced by those long sharp bullets of enemy machine guns hidden in those cemented bunkers as they still pour heavy rain into no man's land.

However, no matter how well fortified those bunkers are, they would still crumble once a shells of artillery hits them.

He then crouched towards Kazuto in haste, gazing from left to right, with his vision and consciousness fully sharped to any elves coming to their position.

He later found an elf coming from the corner of the trench and behind Kazuto, with his rifle's aim already ready to be fired and his expression no denying that he won't be merciful.

The elf found Kazuto first and aimed his rifle toward the skull, but he later noticed Adolph crouching forward, which was more aware of him.

The elf quickly aimed his rifle towards Adolph instead. However, Adolph had fired the first shot between the two of them, with the bullet passing through Kazuto right sleeves, as Kazuto could feel the heat of the bullet passing through near his skin, hitting him in the chest and killing the elf.

Adolph gave a small sigh of relief and continued moving forward towards Kazuto, shaking his body as he tried to stop the petrified soldier who was just standing there not doing anything other than to be a meat shield.

"Hey!! Keep your mind straight and look at me!!" Adolph yelled, shaking him at blistering speed.

Kazuto gazed towards him, with his eyes still trembling in fear and his feet nearly cold as ice.

"How am I still alive?" Kazuto questioned himself.

He believed he would already be dead as soon as the clip fell down to the ground. However, he was still alive, with no wounds or scratches around his body. It felt unreal for him like he was just lied to by death itself, twice.

"It happens to the best of us... if you have luck," Adolph answered, gazing towards the corners of the trenches, waiting for enemy infantrymen to attack, but none came.

He soon crouched forward and leaned to the wall to his advantage of no one stopping him, trying to get a few glimpses in the corner of the trenches and firing few rounds to those who are willing enough to charge towards them or take at a peak.

"Here, have this. You don't want to get killed, do you?" Adolph asked, giving him a clip with a complete set of bullets, but he didn't let his eyes away from where he was looking, even for a second.

Kazuto waved both his hands, denying the offer, and instead, grabbing his own clip from his pockets and reloading his rifle.

However, he started to have a hard time putting the clip inside of the rifle as he couldn't calm himself to stop the shaking of his hand from the loud noises of machine-gun fire and artillery strikes still flooding the lands.

The front line of the enemy trenches Is now being sieged, with more of their allies crawling forward and stabbing the elves in the heart, neck, and abdomen using their bayonets.

It was bloody, as Kazuto just gazed towards Otto with his eyes widened, one of the people he knew of ripping apart the twisting his bayonet towards the abdomen of the elf who was trying to resist him, with the elf spitting his blood towards Otto's face, but it was no big deal for him.

No matter how brutal it was, they would still kill their enemies, as long as they could live another hour, they would do it.

They could now just push forward and take the supporting trench whenever they like it and win the battle with a few more decisive advances. However, the elves already mounted machine guns, denying any further advances.

The two sides exchanged bullets and lead, with each side gaining a casualty in every bullet they fired. It would seem that it was already a stalemate. However, Kazuto together with the rest of the infantry division were now in the losing spot.

They were stuck in a vulnerable position in the enemy trenches with no way to get out, while enemy machine-guns fire were daring them not to.

It would only be a matter of time until they would be pulverized unless they do something now.

As the allied infantrymen tried to defend their captured trench relentlessly. Hanz who was crawling forward, all of the sudden fell down to both Adolph and Kazuto's protected spot.

Kazuto was startled and aimed his gun towards him, while Adolph didn't even care one bit about who just fell, his concentration was focused on the elves foolish enough to lower their guard.

"Ahh!! My back hurts!! This is too heavy than I thought it would!!" Hanz muttered to himself in complain, with his expression filled with annoyance.

"Don't startle me like that!! I could have killed you!?" Kazuto yelled towards Hanz, leaning to the wall next to Adolph, as he slowly lowered his rifle, shaking.

Hanz slowly tried to get up even though his body felt exhausted, and glared towards Kazuto.

"Well, what do you want me to do!!? Just run straight to the fields surrounded with bullets and get my stomach filled with lead!!" Hanz responded, with his eyebrows furrowed down and his right hand clenching to the metal shaft connecting to the gas tank in his back.

As soon as he finished his sentence, an artillery shell dropped only a meter away from them, with dirt debris raining down from both of their helmets.

The other, glaring with an exhausted look, while the other, gazing with a horrified expression.

"Both of you shut the hell up if you have nothing else to say that is even helpful to the slightest!!" Adolph yelled to the both of them, but his eyes didn't even have the time to glare towards them, but instead, he kept on taking a few glimpses to the enemy.

Both Hanz and Kazuto exchanged glances and nodded, as they both agreed to stop. Hanz soon leaned to the wall, trying to shield himself away from any more debris falling down.

"About the prototype weapon!! What are you going to use it for!?" Adolph asked, aiming his rifle and pulling the trigger, killing an elf with the bullet piercing through the skull.

"We're ordered to use it to burn down the tunnels they are using to gain supplies and ammunition, and probably where most of their commanding officers are hiding and creating plans!!" Hanz informed him, while another rain of dirt and debris came falling down to the trenches.

Adolph started to ponder, as he aimed his rifle again towards another foolish elf, killing it. However, his attention was shifted to the iron door which was wide open, as more enemy infantrymen were coming out, complete with gear and ammunition.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted, as an elf started firing the machine gun towards the corner Adolph was hiding, forcing him not to fire back for a short duration unless he wants to get killed.

"Dammit!!" Adolph muttered as he clenched his hands tighter to his rifle. "Otto!! do you have any grenades carrying with you!!" Adolph yelled, asking, as he tried to slightly move an inch away from the corner of the trench.

"I don't have any, but Gunther has one!!" Otto immediately replied loudly.

"Good!! I'll signal you when you throw the grenade towards the machine gunner!!" Adolph informed them.

Otto and Gunther nodded, and soon Gunther gave the grenade to Otto as he was now ready to throw it whenever the signal is given.

Adolph gazed towards both Hanz and Kazuto after a desperate yell, with both having a confused look as they waited for what Adolph was about to say.

"Listen, Hanz!! I want both of us to rush towards the communication trench and burn down the tunnel, I'll cover you once he starts burning it!! You got that!!?" Adolph informed him.

Hanz nodded without hesitation and prepared himself to run together with Adolph, as the grip of his hands tightened to the metal shaft and his legs stretched.

But Kazuto was left gazing towards the both of them with more confusion than he ever felt since he started rushing towards the front lines just to reach this trench.

"What about me!? What will I do!?" Kazuto asked.

"Just cover us or something!!" Adolph replied feeling irritated, "You're not a yet person to be relied on with," He muttered, turning away from Kazuto's firmed expression and gazing forward towards where they would run.

"Throw it!!!"

An explosion of grenade soon can be heard in the communication trench, wounding and killing most of the elves stationed near it.

This was now their chance to attack, as both Hanz and Adolph rushed to the communication trench, while the soldiers from behind started aiding them, killing those who started to get up and fight back with no winning chance.

The two soon reached the exit of the tunnel, as Adolph killed those who saw them with great precision, killing them with fatal shots in the head or chest, with each pull of his bolt action rifle nearly as fast as a mere second.

While Hanz did not hesitate any further and pulled the trigger of the flamethrower, burning not only the entrance but also the approaching enemy soldiers inside.

Hanz could hear their screams like they were burning in the fires of hell, begging for help to stop the flames Hanz had delivered to them, with their skin slowly consumed by fire.

But it did not bother him, he just watched with the scarlet red color of the burning men reflecting in his constricted eyes, with his teeth grinding tightly and his expression fully firmed.

He didn't show any hints of any kind of merciful emotion, just like the rest of the people Kazuto saw ever since the morning twilight came. However, instead of gazing in shock, he accepted it and kept on covering them.

With the aid for the supply trench cut due to the flames, the enemy support trench fell into the favor of the humans, As Kazuto together with thousands of men rushed forward getting new places to cover.

However, as Hanz continued burning down the tunnel.

An elf leaning on the side, with wounds scattered almost all around his body, while his right leg severed from the explosion of the grenade thrown a while ago by Otto.

The elf soon raised his rifle, using only his left hand which was shaking, aiming towards the head of Adolph who didn't notice the danger.

Kazuto seemed to be the only one who noticed, as both Otto and Gunther and the rest of the division were too busy firing their rifles towards the resisting elves in front of them.

Kazuto felt responsible and aimed his rifle towards the elf, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The elf looked young like he was only about the age of a fourteen-year-old. The boy still has a lot to live up to, still has a lot to learn.

However, he had no choice. To protect his allies he had to do it.

He closed his eyes and gulped down the guilt and pulled the trigger, sparking the flame and releasing the single bullet that ended not only the boy's life; but also the battle.

The sun soon set up, glossing up the fields of dead men and blood, with the dark smoke left by the artillery bombardment plaguing the surroundings.

The elves had raised white rags attached on sticks, as they dropped down their rifles and raised their hands above their heads with a look of defeat and shame on their faces.

The battle had ended around 4:30 in the morning with a human victory. For a long time, their efforts were finally served.