32 - The main invasion army of Helga

Merlin looked down at the map he had spread out over a flat rock, the map had received several modifications since he had gotten it from the king, there were notes which stated things like probable terrain affordance, lines of sight, potential mud zones, and non-crossable bridges, Merlin nodded before he pointed to a spot on the map

"There, the main trade road from the former republic of Man territory… That's where the army will show up… Or at least that's the direction the scouts all fled so there's probably some sort of encampment there that if not holds the main command, relays reports to the main command further back"

Geo nodded, so did Jane, they had both heard of this road, it was called the trade vein of the Engir kingdom and had cemented a tight relationship between the Republic of Man and the Engir kingdom through trade, as for why the Engir kingdom had not helped the Republic of Man with its invaders was simple, Merlin looked blankly at Jane and Geo before he muttered

"What..? You're telling me that they conquered the Republic of Man in just 8 days?"

Geo nodded before he spoke

"Yes… there wasn't even time for me or anyone to get drafted, it was over before we could react"

Merlin thought it over before he shuddered slightly, then his eyes flashed with a fearsome light as he spoke

"In that case, we can't take it easy on them, we'll have to go at them with all that we got, we can't simply delay them… We'll have to face them head-on!"

Jane nodded before she spoke

"So instead of doing sporadic ambushes on this side, we'll enter the mountains?"

Merlin nodded before he pointed on a straight stretch of road that was at least 5 kilometers long, the road was carved into the side of a mountain and had a steep cliff on the one side of the road, it was marked that the road was about 10 meters wide too

"We need to make it here before Helga's forces… We're moving at once!"

Geo made his way back towards his tank while Jane walked over to Merlin and after hesitating for a bit she spoke

"...Never mind, it can wait until we're back in the capital"

Merlin showed a smile and spoke reassuringly

"Don't worry Jane, we'll shatter Helga's army and be back in the capital within a few weeks"

Jane nodded before she gazed downwards for a bit as she rolled her long red hair around her finger, then she seemed to have gathered some sort of resolve and looked up again before she asked

"Could you… Pat my head?"

"Pardon?"

Jane looked rather flustered before she lowered her head slightly, Merlin sighed before he reached up and patted her on the top of the head for a few seconds before he asked

"Is that fine?"

Jane nodded before she let out a happy laugh and quickly escaped back towards her King tiger tank as her face blushed deeply, she muttered

"I did it… I asked him..."

Merlin tilted his head slightly before he decided that it was nothing important and shifted gears as he climbed into Primus before he ducked down and closed the top hatch, then he spoke out through the radio

"Merlin group, ready to move"

"Geo group, ready to move"

"J-Jane group, ready to move"

Merlin nodded then he began issuing out commands

"Geo, I want Doorknocker in the font ready to break through anything we meet… Also under no circumstances will any of you open hatches, be wary, and report any potential ambushes once you spot them! Once we reach the trade road we'll move in a single file in the middle of the road"

"Roger!"

"Got it!"

"Alright move out!"

Merlin felt the tank begin to move as he thought

'I sure hope this feeling my stomach is wrong…''

Geo's voice sounded out over the radio

"Ambush left!"

Merlin quickly responded

"Roger, turret left, load canister"

"Canister loaded!"

"Fire when ready"

"Firing!"

With the roar of the cannon about a thousand small metal balls quickly shredded the light vegetation that the Helga soldiers had launched their ambush from, there were no cries of pain, the soldiers had all been killed instantly, Merlin gazed at the carnage once before he spoke

"Turret front, let's move people"

"Geo group, moving"

"Jane group, moving"

The tank battalion quickly began moving again, this was the 7th ambush they had met with since they began moving after eliminating the scouts, only a few hours had passed and the number of unprepared soldiers from Helga that they had shattered and sent fleeing or outright killed numbered in the hundreds already, compared to the number of ambushes they had suffered proved that the Helga army wasn't prepared for them to advance, though Merlin's face was still increasing sour, it was taking too long for them to reach the cutoff point which Merlin aptly had named that stretch of road the 'road to hell' so he came to a decision as he spoke through the radio

"Geo, can you advance and hold the cutoff point?"

After a few moments of listing to the rumble of the engine, Merlin received a response

"I can do that"

"...Good, remember to retreat if the resistance becomes too much"

"Got it, Geo group, advancing!"

Merlin confirmed that Geo's group were advancing rapidly along the road ahead through the cupola viewports before he nodded, then he spoke through the radio

"Remember to be alert Geo… Tanks aren't invincible"

"... Got it"

As Geo moved ahead he sighed before he showed a smile and spoke into the radio mouthpiece

"That's how it's supposed to be, the old must risk their lives for the youngsters!"

Merlin showed a smile, so did Jane as they kept up their steady pace while firing on each and every enemy soldier they encountered, soon Merlin spotted a couple of what appeared to be supply wagons and quickly spoke to Jane over the radio

"Get a crocodile to set fire to that convoy… Wait a moment though, I'll shell it first to be safe"

"Roger"

"Secundus, load a High-Explosive shell"

"Secundus here, High-Explosive loaded"

"Target the wagons ahead, fire when ready"

"Roger, firing!"

The shell whistled through the air and hit the convoy, the next moment bits of foodstuff and shrapnel sprayed all over the place, then when the tanks passed one of the Churchill's used its flamethrower to set fire to the convoy as it passed, soon Jane's voice sounded out over the radio

"The convoy is burning"

"Got it, keep moving"

"I never stopped moving"

Merlin showed a smile, over the next few hours the resistance from the Helga soldiers grew, the number of soldiers they encountered also increased, then finally 1 and a half hour after Geo's group left the main group his voice sounded out over the radio Amists some static

"Geo group, arrived at the 'road to hell'"

Merlin lit up and laughed before he spoke into the mouthpiece of the radio headset

"Merlin group here, is the Helga army present?"

A few seconds of silence later Geo's voice once again rang out through the headset

"Helga's army is not present, I repeat, not present"

Merlin nodded before he fell silent for a few moments, then he spoke

"Then what we've encountered must be an ahead battalion... This is good, Geo group, keep holding the 'road to hell' we'll arrive in approximately 4 hours, Just before sunset"

"Got it… I'll keep this stretch of road clear"

Merlin nodded before he showed a smile, he felt very relieved now that they had managed to take the 'road to hell' this meant that they would be able to bottleneck the Helga army from entering Engir territory, as for the ahead battalion? They were insignificant compared to the main army and they would probably be swiftly cleaned up once the main army of the Engir kingdom arrived in 20 days' time, still, Merlin had a strange feeling in his stomach…

"Metal carriages… They prove to be much more trouble than expected…"

General Kalia sighed before her gaze hardened, in front of her, laid out on a table was a map over the southern former Rebilic of Man and the Northern Engir kingdom, marked on the map was various roads, routes, and even a few smuggler routes passing through the Northern Engir mountain range, she muttered as she stroked her chin

"Assuming they are confident they'll set up ambushes on the other side of the mountain range…"

At that moment there was a call from outside the tent

"Reporting!"

"Come in"

The tent was opened and a scout walked in before he kneeled down and began speaking

"The metal carriages have spilled into two groups, the forwards one has stopped moving while the other seems to be catching up rapidly"

Kalia's eyes narrowed as she began to consider another scenario, then she suddenly realized something and spoke

"Show me where the forward group is located"

The scout got up and walked over to the map before he pointed at a long stretch of straight road, General Kelia frowned deeply before she spoke

"Leave me, I need to focus"

"Yes General!"

The scout quickly left the tent, leaving general Kelia alone. Speaking of the general, she was one of the youngest generals of Helga, but also one of the brightest. She stood about 1 meter and 70 centimeters tall and had long black hair and sharp blue eyes that seemed to gaze through everything, on her hip were twin shortswords which she always carried with her and the general's uniform she wore highlighted her refined look greatly, even as there was a frown on her face as she thought she was still an unmatched beauty, soon she began muttering.

"This is bad… I have underestimated the metal carriages… Since they blocked off the road they are confident that they can hold off or at least stall my army long enough for the Engir army to gather… In that case, I should consider alternate routes… But first I need to check if it's a bluff, it would be a great tarnish to my otherwise great career if I ran away from a paper tiger..."

The general nodded to herself, then she called out

"Lieutenant!"

A Lieutenant stepped into the tent before he kneeled down and spoke respectfully

"Yes, general?"

"Pass on my orders, from another ahead group to advance half a day in front of us, this group must look like a regular army and is to test the metal carriages might, as such they are to send a messenger every hour!"

"Yes General, I will lead them myself!"

"Good, then you are to set off at once, remember your orders!"

"Understood!"

The Lieutenant stood up and gave a salute before he turned and walked out of the tent again, General Kelia sighed before she went back to looking at the map as she began to go over every possibility once more, then after about 10 minutes of silence she sighed before she muttered

"I have to consider using every single one of my cards…"

Then she sighed again and walked out of the tent, two guards silently formed up behind her as she left the tent and quickly she made her way to the back of the camp where the supply train was located, soon she arrived at a rather large carriage that looked rather out of place, it looked more like a carriage designed to hold live beasts than a supply carriage and was exactly what it was for, hold a couple of beasts that were Helga's trump cards, the general stopped a few meters from the armored carriage before he called out

"Old man, are you still awake?"

Soon a tent next to the armored carriage opened up and an old mage walked out as he let out a yawn

"What is it General?"

Kalia's gaze hardened slightly before she pouted and spoke as if complaining

"Can't you call me by name, Grandfather?"

The old mage showed a smile before he broke out laughing as he exclaimed

"That's it, that expression right there, if you showed it to more men you would be married in no time"

General Kalia's face blushed slightly before she complained

"What's so good about men? I have a career to work on!"

The old mage showed a smile before his gaze suddenly turned serious

"What have you come for Kalia? I doubt this is a social visit?"

Kalia's expression also turned serious before she spoke

"I want you to prepare for a potential rapid unsealing"

The old mage's expression showed a flash of surprise before he muttered in understanding

"Is it those metal carriage that's giving you trouble?"

"Yeah… And I might need to borrow a beast to put them down since they have blocked the main trade road..."

The old mage nodded before he bowed his head slightly and spoke

"I'll make the preparations for a rapid unsealing then, is there anything else Kalia?"

General Kalia nodded before she walked forwards and hugged the old mage, the old mage showed a smile before he muttered

"There, there… It'll all be alright"

"Yes… Thank you grandfather"

Merlin's group linked up with Geo's in the evening and formed a defensive formation consisting of two straight firing lines, one facing the front while another, smaller faced back the way they had come from, Merlin stood on the edge of the road and gazed down at the raging river that was flowing about 30 meters down for a bit before he walked away from the edge of the road and back towards the campfire where he sat down, as he sat down Geo handed him a cup of tea which he received and began drinking in silence, then he gazed into the campfire as he thought about what would happen the next day…

"1st battery, fire!"

Roars of cannon fire sounded out as the tanks assigned to the first battery opened fire at the approaching army in the distance, it was the next day, and Merlin, Jane, and Geo had finally met with the main army of Helga, that is to say, the group of panicking soldiers in the distance, it was understandable, being fired upon from 2 kilometers away from where they had no chance of returning fire or attacking had quickly shattered their morale

"2nd battery, fire!"

The shells whistled through the air and impacted among the fleeing soldiers in the distance, still, Merlin was cold and spoke after exactly 10 seconds

"3rd battery, fire!"

"Merlin, we're just wasting shells at this point"

"...Yeah I know… Sorry about that, I've been having this weird stomach feeling all morning…"

Merlin popped open the cupola hatch and took his binoculars out from his inventory before he gazed through them at the fleeing soldiers further down the 'road to hell'

'What is this feeling..?'

"Merlin"

"...What is it, Jane?"

"Something on the main road, it looks like a lone person approaching!"

Merlin looked through his binoculars again and soon spotted the person that Jane, then he shuddered before he yelled

"1st, 2nd, and 3rd battery, Fire at the approaching person!"

As all the tanks opened fire the shells whistled through the air for approximately1 and a half seconds before they impacted around the person that was approaching, Geo's voice sounded out over the radio

"Isn't that overkill?"

Merlin ducked down and closed the top hatch before he spoke

"It's not, that's a fucking wanderer!"

"What!?"

"Load the next barrage double time, M41's load White phosphorus shells! Primus, Secundus, load canisters!"

As Merlin issued commands the person that had just been on the receiving end of the bombardment was revealed through the smoke, standing about 1 meter and 65 centimeters this youth wore black sneakers, a pair of blue jeans, and wore a N*ke T-shirt, in his hands was a sword so large that it would be categorized as a broadsword in one hand, his eyes were hollow and there was a metal collar around his neck embedded with various magic beast cores, he reached up with his left hand and placed it on his chin before he cracked his neck and kicked off the ground as time slowed down around him as he sped up he avoided the first few shells before he used his sword to reflect a shell upwards all the while he closed the distance to the tanks ahead, soon the White phosphorus shells impacted around him revealing a transparent barrier

"We have to hit him from a close distance, Geo group advancing!"

"Wait! Don't break formation!"

Despite Merlin's warning, Geo's tanks moved forwards, Merlin sighed before he yelled

"That idiot! I'll give him a good scolding later! Jane, have the King Tiger's load armor pricing! And hold for my command!"

"Roger!"

As the M41's charged forwards the wanderer closed within one kilometer of them and soon he let out a deep breath before his speed was raised even more, then heavy machine gun fire began impacting on the wander's transparent shield as he raised the broadsword in with one hand the edge began glowing as he slashed down at Doorknocker that was about to ram into him, the tank was cleanly cut into two pieces that slid over the ground a few meters before they exploded behind the wanderer, then he jumped into the air and slashed down toward Geo's tank, the broadsword stabbed into the top of the tank as a cry of pain came from over the radio

"Argh!"

"Geo!"

"Old man!"

Then the wander muttered

"Flame blade"

Then a few moments later the tank's ammunition rack was cooked and exploded stopping Geo's scream of pain over the radio abruptly

"Damn it! FIRE EVERYTHING!"

The tanks responded to Merlin's anger and fired their cannons and machine guns at the wanderer that still closed in rather quickly, one of the shells fired from the two King tigers managed to penetrate the transparent barrier around the wanderer but was deflected by his broadsword before it managed to explode, at the next moment the wanderer had reached the and cut cleanly through the tanks before he jumped into the air and delivered a kick to the side of Jane's King Tiger sending it sliding close to the edge of the road

"JANE!"

The next moment what Merlin feared happened, the ground under the King tiger seemed to give way as it collapsed and fell over the edge

"Merlin, I'll always---"

Merlin didn't hear what Jane said next as the wanderer cut the cupola hatch open and grabbed him by the neck before he ripped him from the tank, Merlin reacted at once by summoning his Colt M1911 and fired it at the wanderer, the wanderer blocked most of the slugs with the side of the broadsword before one round hit him in the arm which caused him to drop the broadsword, Merlin let go of the Colt M1911 and the next instance his Bayonet appeared in his hand which he stabbed into the hand that was clutching his neck, blood splattered from where he stabbed the wander but it proved to be futile as Merlin was hit in the stomach by the wanderer and passed out.

The wanderer confirmed that Merlin was passed out before he momentarily let go of him and pulled the bayonet out of his arm, then before the android crew could do anything about it he picked up Merlin, took out a magic beast core, and shattered it, then both he and Merlin disappeared from view

"Wake him up"

Merlin clicked his tongue before he opened his eyes and spoke

"No need"

In front of him was a woman in a general's uniform, she opened her mouth and began speaking

"I am---"

Merlin sneered

"I have no need to know your name, you killed my friends, that means you're dead"

The general narrowed her eyes before she nodded to a person that stood behind the tied up Merlin, then the next moment a metal collar was placed over his neck and locked with a click, then in the next moment Merlin's eyes went hollow, as they did the old mage that had put the collar on Merlin walked out in front of him and made his way over towards the general

[Ding! Slavery color detected, activating countermeasures…]

Merlin's eyes regained focus again before he took out his bayonet and quickly cut the ropes binding him then he stabbed the mage in the back of the neck

"ARGH!"

"Grandfather!"

Before Merlin could pull out the bayonet and make his way towards the general the wanderer appeared silently in front of him and reached out and grabbed his neck again and squeezed slightly, with an audible pop Merlin's limbs went limb as he dropped the bayonet down to the ground, then his eyes lost focus, the last thing he heard before he died was a notification from the system

[Ding! Achievement unlocked: Die once]