October 29, 1927. Choson Peninsula.
The Ruthenian Armed Forces have captured key cities in the northern part of the Choson Empire, continuing their assault from one city to another until the capital is in their hands.
The Yamato Forces stationed in the Choson Empire were desperate to turn the situation around and sent all of the troops garrisoned in the south to the north to stop the Ruthenian Advance.
There hasn't been a reinforcement since the invasion of the Ruthenian Empire started. The aircraft providing air cover was supposed to protect them from the deadly rains of Ruthenian firepower. But they kept getting intercepted. Even though the Ruthenians never targeted their airfields that would render them useless for strategic purposes.
Words from their commanding officer state that the Ruthenian Empire bombed the Port of Busan, which is their main point of entry to the Choson Peninsula, cutting them off from their motherland of supplies and additional troops. There is also a word going around the military saying that the First Imperial Yamato Fleet was sunk in the battle of the Yellow Sea.
The soldiers fighting on the frontlines couldn't believe that this was all happening so much to the point they are even doubting if they are fighting the same Ruthenians whom they have fought four years ago and defeated easily.
The morale of the Yamato Army was at an all-time low, they are losing ground on every front and kept being bombarded by Ruthenian artilleries and aircraft bombers from the air so impossible to shoot down due to it flying at a high altitude.
One of the aircraft that is bringing nightmares to the troops is the—
—On the outskirts of Kaesŏng, thousands of military troops of the Yamato Empire ran across the forest. The canopy of the trees above gave them cover from enemy aircraft from being targeted.
The Ruthenian Forces are only two kilometers away from the city and the Yamato desperately need to protect the city as it could be a staging ground for the Ruthenian Forces to resupply and prepare for the invasion of Hanseong.
If the Yamato loses the city, they lose the north. Worst of all, the grip of the Yamato Empire in the capital city of the Choson Empire will be gone. They will be forced to retreat all the way to the south without knowing whether their countryman will ferry them out of the peninsula or leave them there to fight until the end.
The Yamato Forces kept running until one of the soldiers heard a faint whirring sound in the air that sent chills down his spine.
"STOP!" He shouted. His comrades ground to a halt when they heard him.
"What is wrong?" Someone asked but he shushed him and listened carefully to the sound whispering in the sky.
The sound is familiar. He looked up to see what it was and his eyes widened, recognizing the aircraft silhouette in the sky.
"It's the Harbinger!" he exclaimed. "It's looking down on us!"
"Harbinger?!"
"Quick get to the ground! Stay low!"
"Is it really the Harbinger?! Please don't be! I don't want to die here!"
"Shut up! Just get down to the ground, they won't see us here under the trees!"
All of them get to the ground, keeping their heads low as possible. Their hands were shaking from fear and trepidation of the possible death. The Harbinger is a huge Ruthenian Plane that can fire from a greater height without having a chance to shoot it down.
It cruises in the sky at a slow speed, its body banking to the right. The man who saw it first was right. It was really looking down at them. But, can they see them? They don't know, but they wish it wasn't the case.
"Why…just why are we facing these monsters? They shouldn't be here…they shouldn't be here!" one of the Yamato soldiers whimpered. He knew what that plane did to his comrade.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up and keep your heads down?! You're going to expose our location to the Harbinger," the soldier next to him hissed at him.
Another voice chimed in. "Aren't you even worried about what's going to happen to us if the Harbinger found us?" he whispered, earning a glare from his companion.
"I know, that's why you have to be quiet! Just quiet!"
Despite putting up a strong front, he was terrified, just like everyone else. Just what is their Air Force doing? What happened to the times when they were in the war with the Ruthenians and for every assault, they had protection from the sky? Where are they? Why aren't they shooting the Harbinger down?
He vented inwardly. Well, he knew the answer to it but still, but it was still hard for him to believe.
A loud thud startled all of them as something exploded near them. Thunderous roar as rock and earth exploded outward. But no one was caught in the explosion.
"The Harbinger! It found us!" one of the soldiers frantically called and everyone panicked. Some of the soldiers gasped in terror while the others pissed on their pants.
"Stay calm! Don't move!" one of the officers shouted.
"Don't move my ass! I will not get killed here today!" The soldiers suddenly stood and tried to run but his officer tackled him on his back and pushed him to the ground.
"Get your shit together, if you panic here it'll spread to our ranks and when they do that, they'll run amok which will make it easier for the Harbinger to track us."
"But it...it fired on us! How can you be so sure that the Harbinger hasn't found us yet?" he demanded.
"Because if it did find us, we won't be talking right now."
He was partially convinced by his words. His shivering legs were gradually calming down as the officer let go of him and rolled to the side.
Then he nervously looked up to the sky again, watching as the Harbinger flew in an arcing path.
***
Meanwhile, ten thousand feet above the sky, the Ruthenian Gunship, Perun was on a mission to support ground troops to take over the city of Kaesong, the last major city in the north, fifty-three point seven kilometers from Hanseong.
The Ruthenian ground troops will be besieging the city in the next hour and the gunship's role in this siege is to cut off enemy reinforcement coming from Hanseong.
Luckily, they found them, hidden beneath the trees of the forest.
The combat system officer of the Perun, Major Leon was staring at his monitor screen in thermal imaging mode and noticed that the Yamatos on the ground panicked a little from his test fire of the forty-millimeter Bofor cannon.
"They have some balls huh?" Leon remarked. "Sir, we got hundreds of tangoes here eight hundred meters southwest of Kaesong city. Warning shots have been fired and I am now requesting permission to shoot."
"You got a bead on them?" The pilot of the gunship asked.
"Yes, right in the center of my one hundred five millimeter howitzer."
"Why are they lying on the ground?" one of the officers asked.
"They are hiding from us but it's useless as we have thermal imaging. Even if the trees are covering them, their body temperature will still give away their position. This is going to be a massacre but I don't feel guilty about it…"
"Maybe you are angry because they tried to kill our Grand Duchesses."
"Yeah, that's more than enough motivation for me to kill these Yamatos," Leon coldly replied. "These inferior scums should've stayed where they belong, to be conquered by us."
"Overlord said that we are cleared to shoot," the pilot informed.
"Shooter's discretion boss?" Leon asked.
"You are green, shoot anytime you like."
"In that case," Leon brushed a finger on his joystick that controls the three weapon systems of the Gunship Perun. Then, seconds later he pushed the button.
The Perun shook a little from the recoil of the 105 howitzers. An explosion erupted on the ground, killing 50 Yamato soldiers in an instant.
"That's one hell of a firework," the pilot commented.
"Good kill."
The Yamato soldiers scattered like ants and ran from all directions. With just one shot of a cannon, they routed like fools.
A predatory smile spread across his face as he prepared for another round. Good thing, the gunship can fire two weapons at the same time. Leon used the 25mm Gatling Gun and 40mm Bofor cannon and started shooting at them without mercy, giving them hell from the sky.
Some soldiers tried to shoot their rifles up into the sky, trying to hit them but that was a futile attempt. Leon switched into a 105mm howitzer and shot the guy who was at the center of his crosshair and snickered.
Just like their previous campaign, it was a massacre. The Gunship Perun decimated the Yamato reinforcements.
"Did we get it all?" the pilot asked.
"I'm not sure, there must be plenty of them who've escaped but a large majority of them were down. How far are we from bingo fuel?"
"Thirty minutes on station," the pilot replied.
Leon checked the ground again by moving the camera with his joystick, making sure that there are no significant forces present in the area.
"I've used a lot of ammunition, I think we should rearm and refuel."
"Let me ask…"
***
Back from the ground, the smell of gunpowder wafted in the air. Cratered ground from the explosive shell scattered all around the area, leaving dismembered bodies left there.
The soldier who miraculously attacked found himself in a daze.
He uttered. "Harbinger...monster."
