“Sir, wake up. The attack will happen in thirty minutes.”

Aziz rubbed his bleary face, and then slapped himself thrice as the aide’s words entered his ears. “What did you say?”

“The attack will happen in thirty minutes, sir,” the aide replied. “Commander Hans and his subordinates are already awake and in the air.”

“And I was left here because?”

“No one dared to disturb you,” said the aide. “So they got me to do it.”

Aziz glanced at the aide, whose rank was not even that of a non-commissioned officer, and snorted. “My men sure are brave, eh? Thank you, boy.”

The captain felt around his body for the history books Marie had forced onto him, patted his shoulder, and floated off the hammock. “Look forward to a drink after this battle. You’ve earned it.”

Shaking his head, he began to ascend. The makeshift camp was now bustling with last minute activity. Men and women alike were organising their own troops, and as they began to form up into a mobile assault formation, the captain was suddenly struck by the sheer sense of scale. Before he had the Dynamo, it was hard to tell troop strength as a scout whose operating theatre was the ground.

But now that he had one, it was all too easy to appreciate the tens of thousands of troops. Granted, the body of troops beneath him was numerically inferior compared to that triangular formation, with forty thousand troops forming up below him, but the captain knew that all sides of the encirclement were equally strong.

A total of twelve divisions.

When did our forces grow that much, to the point that we already outnumber the size of the troops the South sent to us during the Second Extermination? What is going on? Captain Aziz shook his head, a pang of sorrow in his heart as he couldn’t help but remember the carnage that the human forces had carried out for ten years in a row, as they methodically swept through beastfolk cities one after another.

“Colonel Marie.” Aziz nodded his head in greeting, making a mental note about the bright expression on her face. “How are you so lively the whole time I will never know.”

He stifled a yawn.

“Well, the Human God didn’t make us all equal,” replied the colonel, “or else that formation of humans would have charged at us long ago, before the encirclement was fully tightened.”

She glanced at the horizon, where three large masses of troops could be seen. On of them was directly opposite Thunderbolt, while the other two were taking up positions to the left and right of the humans.

“So,” said the captain, “what’s the game plan? Do we crush them with overwhelming numbers?”

“The powers that be have decided on a more prudent approach. The conduct of battle has been sent out to all troop commanders. An infantry division will be supported by an aerial platoon to conduct harassment,” said the colonel. “After an hour, the dispatched troops are to fall back, while a new division and platoon takes over.”

“A grinding strategy, but one done in an accelerated fashion. I assume that if any of the divisions are under attack, they are to retreat immediately?”

“Orders are to conduct a fighting retreat, to lure the humans in our killing fields. As to how the killing field works, that’s not included for us.” The colonel paused as chatter came from her Radio artefact. She regarded it thoughtfully, and nodded to the ground at presumably the commander of the infantry division that was headed out.

“Lieutenant Hans.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Alpha Company is to send one platoon to escort the Third Infantry Division as they commence their attack, and then to join up with the platoons Beta, Charlie and Delta companies sent out too,” said Colonel Marie. “You lot should know the force multiplier when dealing with Knight-level individuals.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Hans saluted.

“I’ll be watching the performance of every platoon leader that was sent out,” said the colonel. “And they better be good. The other company commanders also know about this, so try not to lose to them.”

She smiled gently, and Lieutenant Hans nodded firmly. Flitting over to the hundred-plus men behind them, he issued his orders, and a platoon detached themselves immediately.

A few minutes passed in a pregnant silence, and then as one, the “walls” trapping the human forces visibly shrank as an infantry division jogged out of them in a neat formation. Above them were a platoon of fliers from Thunderbolt Battalion each, and at that sight, the human formation in the middle bristled.

Hundreds of light screens appeared, creating a translucent triangle around the formation as the humans began to move. The Straight Shots carried by every soldier in the Republican forces roared, sending tens of thousands of projectiles at the glimmering defences.

At the same time, the infantry divisions began to strafe, not coming any closer than the maximum range permitted. Under the sweltering fire of the Republic’s forces, the Palisades began to fail.

Hundreds of men turned to mush as the first light screen shattered. The division that had emerged from the eastern side of the encirclement cheered, their cries reaching even Captain Aziz. Fire from the other directions began to thicken, as their counterparts began to concentrate fire on a single light screen too.

We sent out four divisions, which means that the troops on the field are just slightly inferior in terms of numbers, to the human forces. But just by making some changes to our doctrines…The captain couldn’t help but lament. If only the beastfolk had come together and worked out such a doctrine ten years ago. Everything would have changed.

More and more light screens appeared around the human formation, and as the captain watched, they began to make a beeline towards the infantry division Hans was supporting.

It looked like a calculated manoeuvre, but to the captain, it was nothing short of a desperate move. Fire weakened from the Third Infantry Division as they began to beat a slow retreat, back into the killing fields.

Captain Aziz was reminded of a dog as he watched the humans pick up speed. These furry animals were rather rare in the South, but they had this tendency of chasing anyone who ran…much like the humans in front of him.

Of course, no one laid traps for dogs.

But no one would say the same for a hostile army.

Blinded by bloodthirst, or a desire to kill the enemy, the human formation had pursued the retreating division, even as the latter re-integrated into the firing lines, only to stop when someone sane inside them noticed the few hundred Limitless Shots, and countless soldiers pointing Straight Shots at them.

But it was too late by then. The last soldier slid into the defensive lines of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Infantry Divisions, and with that, Captain Aziz could see the end.