MTLNOVEL Chapter 3: Air Strike
Somewhere on the Eastern Front. November 29, 2026
The fighting has eased recently. Partly because both sides are still in the mobilisation period, recovering from significant losses. Partly because the weather is too unfavourable, with heavy snowstorms approaching. An attack is impossible at this time. It is wonderful that the Eurasian offensive has been broken and the plan to capture the capital Kritchtenberg has failed. But our losses are still heavier. Nearly 85 modern Abrams tanks have been destroyed, more than 150 are badly damaged. Along with 20,000 casualties. The other side must be huge.
At Outpost 127, which had been built just days earlier, broken glass from thousands of windows piled up around government buildings and palaces glinted amid the rubble. The outposts housed artillery positions, ammunition and weapons supplies.
The hands of the clock stopped at exactly 7:30 on a charred clock face; it had been so for days, when a Eurasian missile wiped out a thousand houses of all sizes in the city in a single November night. Less than 100 meters away, the world-famous Krichtenberg Zoo was a forest of rubble. The aquarium was completely destroyed. The reptile houses, hippos, kangaroos, tigers and elephants had also been severely damaged, along with similarly gaping holes in the buildings.
The famous Tiergyn Park, which is the size of ten football fields and surrounds it, is now a no-man's land, with only room-sized bomb craters, pools of rubble and a partially destroyed embassy left behind.
The park was once a natural forest full of exotic flowers and plants. Now those precious trees have been burned down, leaving only ugly stumps. The northeastern corner of Tiergyn Park is the most notable ruin outside Krichtenberg, destroyed by the Eastern Bloc air force.
The car quickly arrived at the front area. I got off the car and slowly walked deeper inside. Wow! Even though this place had been destroyed by bombs and bullets, it seemed like our brothers were still living peacefully. It must be because of the announcement from the higher-ups to stop the counterattack. There seemed to be countless trucks and armored vehicles running through the streets, honking their horns at regular intervals. Some of the vehicles were large weapons trucks, creating a deafening noise that never stopped.
We continued to build up our defenses and strengthen our forces in preparation for the next phase of the Oceanian-Eurasian conflict. Occasionally we were ordered to go to the battlefield to clear mines and assist refugees.
The camp had a total of 2,100 men and several thousand refugees. Of course, the number of soldiers and the population here increased and decreased constantly. Many died and left on the battlefield, the survivors came back happily, and then new volunteers were added to the army, including Ilaina and me. This was repeated throughout the months I was there.
And in less than a month since our arrival, this place has been transformed by the military commanders into a real stronghold. Outside, barbed wire is strung everywhere and barbed fences have been erected. And the digging of trenches and the building of ramparts are being accelerated to be able to defend against a large and dangerous enemy like the Eurasian bastards.
Because it was necessary, refugees and soldiers worked day and night to complete it. No one refused their work, which shows that in this dangerous situation, people must unite.
Safety is one thing, food and drink is another. It's been over a month since the Eurasian soldiers attacked us, and so much has changed in our lives. Routines, diet, bathing, everything. Before, I could go into the kitchen and whip up a packet of instant noodles for dinner before playing CoD or reading a novel, but now every bite, every packet, has to be saved. There's still plenty of water, but we're afraid that at some point, our clean water supply will run out, so no one dares to bathe, or has very little. Everyone is sharing little by little, no one dares to waste.
Although united, I found this terrifyingly hopeless. The atmosphere of the barracks was always filled with a heavy and gloomy atmosphere, no one knew how long this place could last, it was like I was clinging to a very small hope in this desperate era of war.
Like any other day, Ilaina and I passed through deserted towns, battlefields with a network of trenches. At a fork in the road, I put my gun in my backpack, took out my phone and took pictures of everything before my eyes. It was a hundred-meter-long convoy of Eurasian troop trucks, bombed by Warthog attack aircraft. Everything was burned to ashes. The only thing left were skeletons with burned organs, flesh boiled into a gruesome mixture. Blood also congealed into murky puddles.
Having completed that tedious task, I turned to Ilaina and said:
"Okay, let's go, Ilaina?"
"Yeah. We just need to scout a few more villages and we'll be done with the mission. Then we can relax and rest."
"Damn, the Eurasians are killing our troops even worse than I thought. In the blink of an eye, more than 1,219 soldiers are dead, equal to a battalion of ours."
"I don't understand why these idiots keep using this prehistoric weapon over and over again. And I haven't seen the Sukhoi air force in action lately, have I? Klaus?" – Ilaina sighed.
I said wearily:
"I think they've all fallen out. I'm probably just using the old ones to avoid wasting them."
…
And so it was, another victory. The two of us walked together towards the front line. We crossed fields crisscrossed with bomb craters and corpses. Halfway there, we unexpectedly came across a company of wounded soldiers being transferred to the rear after countless battles, big and small. Although they were all people with much more combat experience, they were severely injured, and that made Ilaina and I suspicious and worried. That was enough to show how fierce the battlefield was.
"Hey, what unit are you guys from? Why do you look so exhausted?" – I turned around and asked them.
One of them replied:
"We're the unit taking over Outpost 56. The others are attacking again, and there's quite a number of them this time. You guys better get back. The Flankers are probably still around. Be careful."
It turned out that the Eurasian forces had defied the adverse weather conditions and launched a massive assault on the Oceanian defenses. The massive, storm-like attacks wiped out the Brigades stationed there. The human losses were immeasurable on both sides.
Suddenly, while discussing the lack of ammunition with the wounded group, we unexpectedly encountered a squadron of Sukhoi Flanker fighters looming behind the blood-red clouds on the horizon. Immediately, the company commander shouted loudly, ordering the whole group to lie down, out of sight of the aircraft.
Seeing this, I pushed Ilaina down onto the lush fields on both sides of the road. Still not over the shock, several fighter jets swooped down, like ferocious beasts from hell. They rushed forward, creating a terrifying sound that seemed to tear the air apart, ringing out, making the listener's ears hurt.
Luckily, the fighter jets were targeting the wounded trucks behind us, not us. Three or four flames roared from behind us, lighting up the sky, and the entire convoy was roasted in an instant, leaving me unable to bear the thought of what would happen if we were the target. Ilaina and I did not dare to look up for half an hour. Although we knew our actions were despicable and cowardly, there was nothing we could do.
After the enemy disappeared, we crawled up to the surface with our clothes covered in human blood, giving off a strong stench. Their bodies looked like large pieces of overcooked meat, charred black. If there were a few Eurasian soldiers here, I think they would have dragged the charred bodies out, stomped on them, and taken pictures of them, mocking and mocking them. Some even cut out their internal organs and Put them in bags, intending to use them as trophies.
That's war, it clearly reveals the warlike and cunning nature of mankind. I stood up, already familiar with what had just happened. I wiped my face, wiping away the blood stains while Ilaina walked over to the fallen soldiers. She gently bent down, grabbed the name tag, put it in her pocket, and sighed in despair.
"If only those fat old men had used their brains, people wouldn't have died so painfully. Innocent Eurasians and Oceanians don't understand why they had to sacrifice their lives because of their stupid decisions."
I walked over, put my hand on my teammate's shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"That's war, there's no way to avoid casualties. I just want this war to end as soon as possible, prolonging it will only add to the pain. If Eurasian had withdrawn, maybe everything would have ended."
After that, Ilaina and I had no choice but to leave that place before being killed like those unfortunate wounded soldiers, and went to the battlefield. The corpses of soldiers from both sides were scattered everywhere, covering the entire ground. Blood coagulated into rivers and lakes flowing along every meter of land.
The stench of rotting corpses and the stench of blood rushed to our noses, making everyone feel uncomfortable, wanting to vomit. There were many dead, more casualties, everyone was crying in the pain of war. People cried out, ammunition and guns ran out, making the air filled with pain and suffocation. But for us, witnessing these things had become a habit, no longer scary or chilling.
Unexpectedly, after just a few minutes of wandering around the area, Ilaina and I came across an outpost, a huge barracks of the Eurasian army, enough to hold tens of thousands of soldiers inside. The two of us kept our composure and quickly found a place to hide in the bushes. Ilaina nervously and anxiously asked me in an excited voice:
"Looks like we've made a big discovery. Klaus, do you have a map?"
I rummaged through my bag, took out the binoculars and the map, and handed it to Ilaina. With the map, she quickly pinpointed the exact location of our hiding place and the enemy ammunition depot. This place was larger than I thought, probably several hundred acres, with close to 20,000 men inside.
"Look. We're here and the enemy is only a few dozen kilometers away from the artillery position. We can freely use artillery to fire at them without worry."
"Wait a minute, Ilaina. Something looks strange to me."
"What is it Klaus?"- Ilaina looked at me suspiciously.
I pointed to the gate of the Eurasian army camp. It was none other than the T-72-90SA tank model, famous for its durability and impenetrable armor. It could be considered the rarest type, almost only seen in propaganda books. We stared at it in amazement. The T-72 looked so alien, like a machine from another world.
"Great, it's the legendary T-72-90SA tank, Ilaina! This time we can have fun! It seems like there are twenty of them and a large number of enemy officers." – I couldn't hide my excitement and shouted.
"Okay, let's get out of here."
I took out my phone, took a few pictures as souvenirs, then left, disappearing into the thick grass. The two of us ran as fast as we could towards the base. Unfortunately, we were discovered.
Immediately, the Eurasian army sent soldiers to chase us. We ran away in a panic, behind us were the enemies trying to block our way. Ilaina and I could only hide in a nearby town house, then both hid under the bed, holding our breath and waiting. The Eurasian army quickly lost track of us, they frantically searched everywhere. Lying under the bed, next to Ilaina was panting. I panicked and helped her regulate her breathing. Suppose we were discovered, there would be no bodies left. Time passed very quickly, only a few minutes, but for all of us it felt like hours.
"Fuck! Those bastards ran away, go look in other villages! Hurry!"
I heard their angry curses and the sound of their footsteps getting farther and farther away, and my heart gradually calmed down. When the footsteps were completely gone, we didn't dare to delay any longer and immediately turned back, heading straight to the highest commander at the outpost, Major Archer.
Passing through countless relief areas filled with wounded soldiers, the unbearable smell of blood, and ammunition depots filled with heavy bombs powerful enough to wipe out an entire town, I met the major who was studying the enemy's position with his subordinates. I walked over and seriously reported the situation:
"Sir! We have detected a large Eurasian troop concentration about 54km outside the city. It is said that they are preparing to launch more counterattacks targeting the areas surrounding the capital. And we have found this."
I took out my phone and showed it to the commander, whose face was covered in mud and blood. He laughed and slapped me hard on the shoulder, and Ilaina said in a hoarse voice:
"Haha! You guys… Very good. I will propose a big reward to my superiors! This is exactly what we need to destroy right now. Very good, very good."
Immediately afterwards, dozens of supersonic fighter and attack aircraft were dispatched to bomb the area. And more specifically, newly developed hypersonic missiles were chosen to preemptively strike the area.
That night, while Ilaina and I were still tired and lying down, falling asleep in her room because I still didn't have a house, suddenly there was a terrifying, ear-piercing sound that seemed to be able to split the world in two. She and I woke up and ran out to see what it was.
"Oh my god… This is horrible…"
"It looks even bigger than I thought…"
A seemingly eternal flame flared up with a terrifying and terrifying sound. It lit up the night, almost obliterating the vast grassland. A thunderous explosion struck, causing the ground to shake violently. The shockwave instantly tossed everything in its path. It was a scene of indescribable horror.
The outcome was clear. All that remained was a huge crater, as big as a volcano. Almost all the enemy had disappeared into thin air, not even their bones could be found.
The Eurasian offensive has failed.
We…
Already
Win.