Chapter 189
"General, it's the Third Princess of Britannia; she's personally gone to the front lines."
In other words, Vera's Imperial Guard are about to arrive...
Despite defeating the new 'Alexander' mechs of the Order of Saint Raphael Knights, it was still no match for the Knights of the Round in close combat.
Even in a multi-against-one situation, facing the custom-designed mechs of the Knights of the Round, along with the MVS Vibration Sword that could cut through iron like mud and the indestructible energy shield, both offensively and defensively, all of the EU's mechs, regardless of whether they were new or old, were destroyed in as few as one or three rounds, with none escaping unscathed.
The situation was even more dire when facing that silver-gray Knightmare.
This is not only a difference in machine performance, but also a difference in pilot competence.
Does this mean that people from District 11 can only use Kamikaze Special Attack?
It was Foch.
Suddenly, he clenched his fist and slammed it heavily onto the tactical sand table, growling, "Destroy it!"
"At any cost!!"
He clenched his lips tightly, his teeth chattering.
"Even if we can't destroy it, do our best to find out its performance limits and weaknesses! Notify the follow-up troops... halt the advance, they don't need to follow, retreat immediately..."
After saying this, Foch seemed to have all his strength drained away. He leaned forward and slammed his hands heavily on the instrument display to support his swaying body.
Because it meant he was admitting that the counterattack had failed.
"You should all leave too."
He looked around wearily.
"General, and what about you?"
"Me? I'll do my part for the alliance and cover the rear. Having ideals in mind and a sharp sword in hand is the key to France's victory; its essence lies in a desperate attack. But it doesn't mean suicide. Let this old fellow fight for the young people's hope of survival."
Boom! Boom!
The fireball fell.
Just as Vera was manipulating the [Excalibur] as a mobile floating turret, firing the Hadron Cannon time and time again, specifically targeting the tightly grouped EU coalition forces, breaking up their organization, and coordinating with her own troops to quickly counterattack, a song began to play on the battlefield.
At first, his voice was very rough.
Gradually, more and more people joined in the singing; it might not have been perfectly synchronized, but it was powerful and resonant.
"Forward! Citizens of Europe, rise up! The glorious day has come."
"Look, the tyrannical despot is facing us, raising a blood-stained flag, raising a blood-stained flag! Arm yourselves, citizens!"
"Use the enemy's filthy blood to make manure for fertilizing the fields!"
"The Gauls are going to fight to the death."
Vera said.
"I can tell."
Nonette replied.
"Your Highness, what should we do?"
The arriving commander of the Imperial Guard Knights inquired.
Vera smiled charmingly at this, saying, "Such a warm invitation is not something I can refuse."
Press down on the headset, beep beep, commander-in-chief takes over local radio access.
"The flag flies high, the oath is made!"
The princess began to lead the singing, and the voices of the Britannian Army converged, growing louder and louder, and their morale soared.
"We Britannia are advancing one after another!"
"No one in the world can take away our victory! Long live Britannia! Long live Britannia!"
That's how war is.
It has both the tedious aspect of deliberation and weighing of options, and the generous and tragic aspect.
You have "La Marseillaise", I have "The Britannia's March of Glory", I have more people, denser loudspeakers, and better sound quality, what do you have to compare with me?
Do you want to die a heroic death?
I will also crush you with fervor and dignity!
Now that this war has begun, let's take this opportunity to clearly tell the French to reminisce about the glory of the Napoleon Wars. Do you really think you can win again? No, it's Europe, your monarch has returned!
Vera knew very well that a large part of the EU Lithuanian war zone Army was here, which meant that if they were eliminated, Königsberg, one of her ancestral homes, would lie exposed before her.
An unexpected delight.
If you don't take what Heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences.
When the war song stopped, Vera opened her indigo eyes, which were filled with cruelty and ferocity.
"Kill them."
Königsberg is Kaliningrad.
Regarding the name of the Ninth Knights of the Round's private jet, the original work doesn't mention it, but the spin-off game does, calling it Lancelot with just the "Club" suffix. That's too perfunctory, so I changed it to "Bedivere" as an influence from the protagonist, which is perfectly fine.
One more chapter.
183
Chapter 183 The so-called W-ZERO unit.
"General Foch died in battle."
"How could this be?!"
In Paris, inside the heavily guarded isosceles-shaped fortress building at the headquarters of the United European Army, in General Smilas's office, stood a blonde girl with delicate features, wearing an EU blue and red uniform, and holding the rank of lieutenant colonel at a young age. Commander of the WZERO Unit, Lelouch Malcar, was taken aback upon hearing this.
Was the news I heard as soon as I entered the office really this bad?
The situation on the Eastern Europe front is not optimistic...
After Narva's successful retreat, which severely damaged the Order of Saint Raphael Knights, she had the good fortune to meet that ambitious, brave, fierce, and tenacious soldier when she retreated with the army to Warsaw.
Because of the WZERO Unit's desperate attack, General Foch learned that this unit was proposed and established by Layla, and he greatly admired Layla.
During the conversation, although his attitude toward the people of District 11 was overly contemptuous, his heartfelt love for his country and his unique perspective on Napoleon did leave a deep impression on Layla.
I never imagined we'd part ways in Warsaw...
In an instant, her heart felt like lead, pressing down on Layla's chest.
The tall, imposing General Smilas, with his brown-green hair, brown eyes, thick beard, and majestic mustache, sighed deeply. Looking at the blonde girl in front of his desk, who wore an expression of astonishment and sorrow, he slowly said, "Confirmed."
"We have no choice but to announce the abandonment of the Baltic theater. Just now, the Committee of Forty officially confirmed this news and passed a resolution to posthumously award General Foch the Medal of Honor and hold a state funeral for him."
In stark contrast to the centralized Britannia Empire, the EU Union is extremely decentralized, operating with three presidents at its core and a forty-member committee elected democratically.
The latter has both legislative and administrative functions.
After a pause, Smilas sighed, "The body was returned by the Third Princess of the Britannia Empire. The Lithuanian front has lost the initiative, and its mobile field forces have been almost completely wiped out."
"The Third Princess?"
Upon hearing this title, Layla's cyan eyes widened instantly.
She thought of her own parents. Not her adoptive parents from the Malcar family.
That's her maiden name, von Bleisgau.
Britannia exile, a former German noblewoman, Third Princess, Vera vo Britannia Hohenzollern family, now a traitorous family.
Based on her intermittent investigations over the years, there are rumors that her biological parents were not killed by enemies of nobles from the Old World of Europe, but were assassinated by people sent by the Hohenzollern family.
Layla didn't really have much of a sense of reality regarding the so-called Third Princess.
Let's not dwell on the old refrain of being one of the three most victorious heirs to the throne, or the labels like "great nobleman."
If Layla had to pinpoint the most memorable aspect of it recently, it would be—
In response to the EU's move to form a special attack force composed of former Japanese boy soldiers, she retaliated by massively drawing honorary Britannia from District 11 to form the Area 11 Special Task Force, whose numbers were already several times those of the WZERO Unit and were still increasing.
It is said that even Suzaku Kururugi, the only son of the Prime Minister of the fallen Japan, was conscripted to Eastern Europe...
Whenever she thought of this, the girl couldn't help but clench her fists, purse her lips, and bite them, her cherry lips turning bright red as if they were about to bleed.
Guilt filled her heart.
Using the promise of legal citizenship to Japanese citizens of a conquered nation as bait to lure them into a death trap is wrong.
That's terrible.
And she was the one who first proposed the WZERO Unit formation plan, and then had to execute this operational plan—a truly terrible person.
Even though her original proposal was to select elites for the European regular army, politicians in Paris clearly had different opinions. In order to reduce casualties among the soldiers of the United European Army, they stuffed her with a bunch of refugees from the District 11 of Europe.
After finally completing the training, when it came time to carry out the operation, they encountered a foolish superior who insisted on installing a heavy self-destruct system on the mech.
Then, by chance, the Kamikaze Special Attack were born.
The element of surprise was undeniable; caught off guard, the Order of Saint Raphael Knights suffered greatly.
The results achieved were naturally attributed to the Kamikaze Special Attack.
In the eyes of the media, the WZERO Unit seems to have become synonymous with a suicide bombing unit, and even Britannia is promoting it this way. Princess Vera took this opportunity to massively transfer troops from District 11, showing a strong momentum of a Japanese-American 'mutual bombing war' with the EU alliance.
Regardless of her initial intentions, Layla was very clear about them.
She was an accomplice.
The people of District 11, who had already suffered greatly, suffered again because of her.
However, it can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Vera's increasingly aggressive attitude and European Britannia have made the Committee of Forty unusually efficient.
Layla's application for the expansion of the WZERO Unit and the allocation of funds have been approved. The new model [Alexander], developed and manufactured by White Wolf City and specially designed for testing by the WZERO Unit, has entered the mass production testing phase.
Although the higher-ups still filled the vacancies by sending a bunch of Japanese boy soldiers to fill the gaps as "difficult-to-assign troops," at least the organization was expanded.
After all, for people from District 11, it doesn't matter how many die.
This statement still holds considerable sway within the EU military.
Fortunately, Layla had connections outside the entertainment industry. After losing her biological parents, she was adopted by the wealthy Malcar family in Europe.
Commander Arnold, who clamored to put bombs on the backs of all Japanese refugees in Europe and never surrender until the blood of the people of District 11 in Europe was shed, was kicked by her to retire to the logistics department.
It was an unexpected bonus that regular soldiers volunteered.
"Based on the known battle reports, Foch was right."
General Smilas was unaware of his friend's daughter's current thoughts and inner turmoil. As a friend of Layla's father, he continued in a kind tone, "His timely counterattack did indeed strike at the Achilles' heel of the Britannian Army at that time."
"If his troops successfully reach the Riga encirclement, or severely damage and repel the enemy field command, Latvia might be able to save itself."
"Unfortunately, he ran into the strategic reserve of Northern Army Group, personally led by Vera. The Knights of the Round were also among them. After a bitter battle, Foch, realizing that the hope of victory was slim, ordered the rear guard to retreat, while he himself chose to lead the vanguard and the central army, which had suffered heavy losses, to cover the rear."
At this point, Smilas rested his elbow on the table and looked intently at Layla, who seemed a little distracted, across the desk. "What's wrong? You look preoccupied."
"So, General, about my 145-A attack plan."
Layla's purple eyes gleamed with an eager anticipation for an answer as she asked, "Will the higher-ups send out the WZERO Unit?"
This impatience is different from that impatience. Unlike the WZERO Unit's initial demand for personnel, funding, and combat, this time she hopes to delay and give herself more time to integrate her subordinates.
In short, the so-called attack plan aims to send Knightmare forces to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's rear using special means of transport, and Decapitation Strike.