Nijia, combat zone.
Boom-
The light of the explosion lit up half the night sky.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A policeman with white bandages wrapped around his forehead, shoulder, waist, thigh... sat weakly against a wall. The house supported by that wall had already been shattered, and red blood splattered onto the smoke-blackened ground with his coughs.
The policeman slowly raised his head and looked toward the distant horizon, which had already begun to pale. The most brilliant smile of his life appeared on his lips, along with his final words:
"The sun is about to rise!"
National Liberation Alliance, frontline headquarters.
"Useless! You're all a bunch of goddamn useless trash!"
An angry roar came from a dark green military tent. Hearing it, the two militants standing at the entrance both trembled from head to toe.
Even they reacted like that, let alone the men being berated inside the tent.
They all stood cautiously in place, their heads deeply bowed, looking exactly like a group of elementary schoolchildren being scolded by their teacher for doing something wrong.
Facing the tent entrance, a burly, ferocious-looking militant berated them, spittle flying. "The original plan was to take Nijia in three hours. And what happened? Almost twenty-four hours have passed, and you still haven't occupied all of Nijia!?
"If we were up against the Vidal Brigade, against soldiers armed to the teeth, I wouldn't say anything. But they're just a bunch of cops! Cops who normally spend their days catching cats and dogs!
"And yet six thousand of you, with heavy weapons to boot, have been stopped by just over two thousand cops! Are you sure this isn't some April Fools' joke you're playing on me?
"I'm giving you four more hours, and that's final. At noon, I want to eat lunch in Nijia's city hall. If I don't get that lunch, none of you will ever need to eat again. Understood!"
"Understood, chief!"
Sweating buckets, the men immediately answered.
To be honest, no one had expected this.
Not only had the terrorists of the National Liberation Alliance not expected it, even the policemen themselves had never expected to hold out for so long.
Dugagu, presidential palace.
"Nijia has actually held out this long?"
Even Sankara could not help feeling surprised and curious when he learned that Nijia had yet to fall.
How could just over two thousand policemen lacking heavy weapons stop more than six thousand militants? Especially when those militants had heavy weapons!
Even if those heavy weapons consisted of only a few armored vehicles with thin skins and fat fillings, a dozen or so old large-caliber artillery pieces, several dozen small-caliber mortars, and around a hundred homemade cannons they had cobbled together themselves.
How had they done it?
Perhaps noticing Sankara's confusion, Katelai, who stood before the desk, opened a document in his hands and reported:
"According to our Ministry of Defense's analysis, it may be because the two sides have different levels of understanding of urban street fighting.
"The armed police, who have always lived in Nijia, are very familiar with the city's layout and have extensive experience in urban combat. The National Liberation Alliance, however, only has experience fighting in the field. They aren't familiar with Nijia's conditions-you could even say the place is completely foreign to them.
"There's also the fact that the two sides' will to fight is on entirely different levels!
"For the armed police, Nijia is their hometown. Their parents, loved ones, and children are there, so they're willing to give everything to defend it, including their lives!
"For the militants under the National Liberation Alliance, Nijia is merely a city their superiors have ordered them to capture. Once it falls, they can receive all kinds of rewards and give free rein to the beastly desires in their hearts. But if they die before the city falls, they get nothing.
"Finally, the National Liberation Alliance may have grown too accustomed to the peaceful life of the past twenty years. To put it simply, that original batch of terrorists willing to launch suicide attacks for their so-called God has now grown old.
"That's why Nijia's armed police have been able to hold out this long against the National Liberation Alliance's offensive!"
"..."
Hearing those reasons, Sankara was speechless. He could not help recalling something he had heard in his previous life-
On that miraculous land known as Africa, there was a bizarre matchmaking system all its own!
"Forget it. Whatever the reason, the fact is that Nijia has held out until now. Those two thousand-odd policemen have already done everything they can.
"Now it's our turn to act!
"Where are the reinforcements now? Especially the Aksang Brigade! Can they reach the outskirts of Nijia before noon? And how are the negotiations with the Soviet Union going? Have they still not agreed?" Sankara asked.
Katelai answered, "After we threw a huge sum of money at them, the Aksang Brigade started moving as though they'd been pumped full of stimulants. They're now only twenty kilometers from Nijia and can definitely arrive before noon.
"The other three brigades are also rushing toward Nijia at full speed. Even the Duojialong Brigade, which will arrive last, will reach the outskirts around six this evening and join the battle to relieve Nijia.
"Our four brigades have run into some trouble because they're carrying large amounts of heavy equipment and most of their men are new recruits, so they may need a little more time. But they'll reach Nijia in three days at the latest.
"As for the negotiations with the Soviet Union... there hasn't been any progress yet. They won't agree to let their personnel fly fighter jets to provide air cover for our troops. They say their people only came to train our pilots, not to fight for us."
"Keep negotiating. There's no such thing as terms that can't be agreed on, only a price that hasn't been agreed on!"
"Yes, Mr. President!"
11:30 a.m.
Nijia City, Nijia Public Hospital.
Combat zone.
Amid the black smoke that blotted out the sky and sun, the sun, already high overhead, struggled to cast its light through a few gaps onto ground that had been thoroughly dyed red with blood.
The armed police's resistance was indeed tenacious, but faced with the enormous disparity in strength.
As time passed, as casualties continued to mount.
They could only keep pulling back their defensive lines. The police headquarters, originally serving as their temporary command post, had already been occupied by the National Liberation Alliance an hour earlier.
Under Old William's leadership, the last remaining defenders used Nijia Public Hospital as their stronghold. They fought in every nearby building, in every living room, in every bedroom... they were making their final, desperate stand.
In a hospital corridor.
"You didn't have to come back. Now you'll probably end up dying here with these old bones of mine!" Old William, already wrapped in bandages and stained with blood, said to a young man beside him who was likewise bandaged but lying in a hospital bed.
What drew the attention of those around them was that the young man wore not a black police uniform, but a dark green military uniform, with second lieutenant's insignia on his shoulders.
Hadn't contact with the Vidal Brigade been lost? Why was there an officer in military uniform here?
Some who witnessed the scene but did not know the details thought to themselves.
This officer was Krov, who had resolutely returned to Nijia after dealing with his pursuers. Severely wounded, Krov smiled as he answered Old William:
"Protecting our homes and defending our country is our duty as soldiers! Besides, you and Mom are both here. As your son, where else could I go?"