Chapter 4: In The Name of Humanity

New Delhi, Residency of Delhi, British Raj

March 28th, 1859

New Delhi Townsquare

{Author’s POV}

Sometimes, things that only exist in both fantasy books, works of fiction, and even religious scriptures are believed to not actually exist or at least, once exist in the real world even in the past. They were the products of human imaginations and beliefs in great power beyond the realm of humans. But eyes of humans, one of human’s senses that can see everything in front of them, could never deceive unless if the human  deceive themselves of everything that they see with their own eyes. It all depends on the sanity of the human, how they react and act to what they see

And that it is for General Sir Charleston Hulls who always believe in such rhetoric. But he didn’t that he’s not the only one who believes in proving the reality of something through one’s eyes. He would be surprised that there’s someone who has the same mindset and thinking is one of the men who stalled prevented the monsters from breaching into the city before his assembled relief force could arrive at the town center. He also have similar inkling that the Rifled Cavalry Sergeant and the leader of the beleaguered defenders might have the same beliefs as well. But other than that, the most important thing that he and these two men have is their undying resolve to defend not just the people of their glorious Empire, but also Humanity as a whole

He stood in a radio tower nearby overlooking the town center where he announced the arrival of his relief force to the beleaguered defenders accompanied by his subordinates from the Raj Army, Royal Army, and Royal Air Corps. Even those two arrogant officers who were appalled by the news beforehand, now were forced to accept the reality of the situation and probably some… let’s say ‘intimidating invitation’ from the lead representative of the Royal Army, Colonel Sir Albert Kingston. The Royal Broadcasting Company (RBC) India branch has temporarily transferred the ownership of its main radio station in Delhi and that includes one of its many radio towers in the Residency to the Military

The high ranking military officers of the military were there to observe the battle and coordinate the relief force in the battle. They used their range-adjustable binoculars to observe the battle while relaying and transmitting their orders and directives to the NCOs leading in the frontline and the artillery officers some 20 kilometers away from the battlefield. They watched as the relief forces rolled into the the town square as they began their attack on the monsters. The infantry composition is predominantly consisted of Royal Footmen with Assault Troopers and Royal Guardsmen alongside them in smaller but significant number. It’s still unbelievable for them to see these humanoid monsters in medieval, skeletal horses, abnormal sized beasts, and fire-breathing flying dragons roaming the town square. But it’s as the saying: eyes cannot be deceived

“Well, this is such… an interesting sight to see. Don’t you agree, Sir?” Colonel Kingston asked the Raj General while observing the battle through his binoculars

“Indeed. While unbelievable as it is… they’re really here at the town square, Colonel” General Hulls replied while also observing the battle through his binoculars “And to think that this new otherworldly enemy has the guts to attack innocent civilians while thinking that they won’t be unharmed”

Colonel Kingston chuckled and nodded in agreement ”Oh, I assure it will be the opposite. Their brutality won’t go unchallenged. We shall make them pay” He remarked. Then, suddenly his attention were drawn into a certain direction “Hmmm, no way! is that who I think it is?” He has a proud smile on his face

General Hulls, confused by what his subordinate from the Royal Army branch asked said Colonel “Huh? Who do you think what?” He asked while turning his eyes and binoculars to the direction Colonel Kingston was observing

And there was when he saw who it is, General Hulls understands who Colonel Kingston is referring to and he himself know who’s the person Colonel Kingston is referring to. There, he spotted a small group of British soldiers and Indian Policemen with their rifle’s bayonet retracted out being led by a young teen armed with a retractable Royal Army sabre alongside the relief force that were sent to relief them from the otherworldly onslaught and were now in the town square area. They were relieved by the combined Royal, Raj, and Air Corps relief forces only to rejoin the fight by launching a well coordinated yet independent counterattack against the otherworldly forces who have been pressuring these defenders, these brave souls

Despite the odds, these brave souls under the young teenager’s leadership and command managed to prevent the monsters from entering the city and into the residential areas and holding out against relentless enemy attack until the news of the disaster reached the Headquarters and the relief force’ arrival at the town square. And when the relief force, when they were offered to be escorted back to safety by the Raj Medical Corps only to refuse their offer and instead joined the counterattack alongside the relief force. Such bravery in the face of overwhelming odds and dedication to duty, the Empire, and humanity are some of the virtues of being members of the Empire’s military. And those kinds of people are impossible to find, not just in the Empire’s vast territory but also in the whole world

“Captain  Jonathan Davis Malbourough, Commander of the Royal Army 96th Rifles.  One of the youngest yet talented and capable Military Officers of the Royal Army” The Raj General stated

The Royal Colonel nodded “Indeed, also the son of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke Alfred Grant Malbourough and Duchess Josephine Rose Malbourough. He helped in settling the Sepoy Mutiny by defeating one of the Mutineers holdouts with only just ten of his men”

“I thought he went back to Britannia to receive new order from the higher-ups?” General Hulls asked the Colonel

“Well, he was about to. But then, remember about another potential confrontation with the Qing, especially with them threatening our holdings in Hong Kong and our Ally’s, the Portuguese holdings in Macau that we discussed earlier before we got here to witness all of this? He received his order three days before his departure back to Britannia in which he was told to remain at his current post as imminent threat might endanger our Empire’s interest in the Eastern hemisphere” Colonel Kingston explained to the General

“Then how I had not been told about this bloody information? I’m the bloody Commander-in-Chief this regional branch” The General asked his subordinate from the central branch again in disbelief

The Colonel let out a nervous laughter “Pardon me, I think it is a part of my fault that I didn’t tell you about it when I received the Captain’s report” He replied to the General

The General could only sigh at his subordinate and friend from the main branch “Well, all is well that ends well. I guess I should thank him and the men under his command later for holding out this long against an onslaught of darkness before we arrived after receiving his message” He stroked his chin, pondering “maybe I should award them too”

Colonel Kingston nodded and smiled, agreeing with what General Hulls had suggested “Perhaps that’s the  best thing to do for these young men to commend for their bravery and resilience in this… unique battle” He said as he looked into the distance of the resounding battle

(Meanwhile… back on the battlefield)

As the battle goes with the British armored ground forces pushing back the otherworldly knights and monsters back into the inner areas of the townsquare with the air forces providing support by bombing the enemy forces ahead and intercepting the dragons from attacking the ground forces and the rotorcraft. John and his already combat fatigued yet brave men had already joined the counterattack with them when a portion of the armored columns arrived at their position while the enemy are beiwng torn to pieces. They gave some ammunition to John and his men so that they can go on fighting the enemy without having to resort on melee combat after refusing the offer to retreat and recover

Without any hesitation and to some extend with the willingness from some of the relief troops on foot and in armored tractor, banded together under John’s command as they charged towards the now retreating otherworldly knights and monsters with guns blazing. The enemy were quickly overwhelmed by this show of unknown strength and sheer firepower. The irony of these vile monsters who suddenly appeared at the townsquare central area and made terror upon the innocent civilians, only for them to be frightened by a sudden comback from the humans. That’s what you get when you both don’t have a good enough intels on the enemy and underestimate your enemy

“Quid veremini, furiosi? Hi homines pusilli tantum infirmi sunt! Ne pertimescas justo pluribus egredientibus! Adhuc maior numerus est quam illorum!” The leader of the otherworldy monster forces, a dark knight with an abnormally huge body armed with a huge medieval gothic battleaxe and mounted on an equally humongous beast that looked a lot like an oversized rhinoceros roared to his underlings with his deafening inhumane, almost beast-like voice

“Dominus Imperator est! Quomodo nos Dominatores vocare possumus, qui hunc paucorum exercitum hominum superare non possumus?”

“audi! audi!, omnes occidamus! Avete summum daemonium Dominum!”

This caused the disorganized and scattered dark knights and monsters under his command to heed to his command as they stopped retreating from the attacking human army and went back to face them, only for several of them in the front to be smashed by human artillery barrages. But still, the otherworldly General’s commanding words is successful in stopping his army to retreat from ‘puny weak humans’ as they charged back to meet up and fight the humans once again. No matter how doomed their fates are, they still heeded to their General’s command despite being in disadvantage in almost everything, especially in terms of range and firepower

On the other side, as expected: the British-Indian relief forces are enjoying complete dominance both in ground despite still being overwhelmed by the superiorly larger yet medieval dark army and in the air, even against the humongous dragons they face. And in the thick of it, the armored column that had flocked to the Hero, Captain John and his men are leading the attack against the otherworldly army by being in the front of the battlefield, directly facing the enemy head on. They fired their rifles, machine guns, and armored tractor cannons at the retreating dark knights and beasts, killing several of them with overwhelming firepower

“Keep the pressure on the enemy! Don’t give them even a single edge for an opportunity to find our weakness!” John, who is accompanied by the men who he has been with him before the relief force arrival and leading his the frontal armored column shouted to the men from a part of the armored column who had flocked under his command while raising and pointing his retractable saber at the enemy direction. Eventhough he knew that he and his men have the complete advantage against their otherworldly foes, there’s still a chance that they might find a weakness in his forces and to exploit it for their gain

As they continued to press on their advantage on the enemy forces by charging into them and firing their guns from relative firing distance, a single Mk.2 Longsword medium armored tractor suddenly stopped near John as its hatch opened, revealing a soldier, a crew of the armored tractor who got out from the hatch as he turned to John while saluting him “Sir! I’m the Commander of the armored cavalry corps here, Second Lieutenant Isaac Berton. We received a report from one of the combat biplanes in the air that the enemy has stopped from pulling back and turned back to attack” The armored tractor crew informed John “what should we do, Sir? we shall follow your order, no question asked” he then asked John

“So… they’re really desperate now, huh? What an irony. This is what happened to us a few moments earlier before the arrival of our relief forces” John thinks to himself while a bitter smile is plastered on his face as he chuckled “You reap what you sow. And thank you, whoever you are, nameless rifled horsemen for delivering my message to the higher ups and helping realizing it. I hope that we can meet again when there is a chance so that I can thank you directly and know your name”

He then looked into the direction of the charging otherworldly dark knights and beasts. He noticed how they looked a lot more ferocious and bloodthirsty than before when John was only with few than a hundred men under his command. A bitter smile on his face as he continued to think to himself “The leader of those monsters sure know how to rile them up. But even with that, lack of knowledge about your enemy and stubbornness on not knowing when to stop will bring doom rather than victory”

“Is that so? Well then, we shall give them… let’s say our genuine ‘parting gift’” John told the armored tractor commander “Tell all Royal Footmen in our rank to form a widespread five ranks ten columns firing position and place the other infantry units and armored tractors between each columns. We are to conduct systematic and simultaneous volley firing to repel the enemy forces. The automatic weapons can open fire freely after I give the command to do so. Relay this order to all battalion commanders!"

The armored corps commander nodded and gave his salute to John “very well, Sir. It shall be done immediately in no time” The armored tractor commander went back inside his vehicle and closed the hatch

And just like what the armored cavalry Lieutenant had promised, the men of John's armored column quickly scrambled to form the firing line he wanted to assemble in just under five minutes to finally stop, repel, and defeat these barbaric and monstrous enemy from another unknown world. The troops formation that was formed is just like what John had instructed Second Lieutenant Berton before relaying it to all battalion commanders of the armored column

The infantry lines were formed in five rows or ranks and ten columns while the armored tractors and machine gunners were placed next to each rank. The front rank crouched down with their rifles ready and their bayonets brandished as did those of the second rank. The other back ranks would follow suit when the signal is given by John. And in doing so, a coordinate mass show of firepower and death range are established, ready to make the barbaric otherworldly monsters pay for invading the Raj and harming its citizen in the first place with their defiled blood

After the firing line formation is formed, comes the waiting and waiting is the hardest part. The soldiers were both anxious and galvanized at the same time, holding their index finger close to their weapons’ trigger and some even holding their breath while watching as the otherworldly army charged full speed into the British line of fire. The sight of this overwhelming otherworldly army charging at them is one dreadful yet momentous moment to remember for the soldier of an Empire of humanity

“Steady, Men! Wait for them to get closer and hold for my signal” John shouted to the men of the armored column under his command “rest assured that victory is as good as ours and it shall be a swift one”

The soldiers took John's command to their heart and believe that John's strategy will bring them quick easy victory just as he promised as they continued to wait for the enemy that were charging towards them to enter effective firing range. And what’s the effective range for modern weaponry brought by the British-Indian forces? 2000 meters is the minimal and 1000 is the maximum which will inflict a staggering impact on the enemy

5000 meters away. The otherworldly dark knights mounted on top of demonic horses and humongous beasts can be seen from the distance, but they could only be seen like a stampede or crowds with small yet slightly bigger dots from this distance

4000 meters away… The soldiers of the British-Indian Army tightened their grip on their arms and widen their eyes. Anxious about what will happen next when the unknown otherworldly enemy forces reached 2000 meters of range

3000 meters away… The otherworldly knights and humongous have become clearer and gradually visible to the British-Indian soldiers as another rain of artillery barrage came and struck several of them, blowing them to smithereens but they didn’t falter

2000 meters away… Even at this distance, it is way too close for comfort. Maybe 1000 meters of range perhaps might become unbearable, especially with the sight of these many otherworldly mounted dark knights and beasts. So John decided to pick at 1500 meters to get both maximum accuracy, devastation, and to play it a little bit safe

“Get ready, men! We shall soon commence rank-by-rank volley firing on the charging enemy forces” John shouted to his men as a smile formed on his face “Just like”

1900 meters… 1800 meters… 1700 meters… 1600 meters…

It’s now or never… 1500 meters.

John took a quick deep breath before letting it out as he shouted his order to his men with everything he has “First rank and Second Rank! Make Ready! Aim… Fire!!! Five volleys for each!”

*BANG!* *BANG!*

The entire front row of crouched down troops fired their rifles as volleys of gunfire erupted and a rain of sharp metallic projectiles flew in tremendous numbers and unimaginable speed into the otherworldly hordes. As expected, double-lined volley fires inflicted devastating impact on the enemy forces as the bullets didn’t just on whoever on the front of the hordes but they penetrated through them into their fellow comrades following before them, killing several dark knights, their demonic horses, and beasts. Not even the dark knights medieval armor and the thick skin of otherworldly beasts withstand man-made reinforced metallic high-velocity projectiles. When facing against this kind of formation and tactic, the otherworldly invaders are doomed and this is just the beginning of it

“First and Second ranks get down on the ground! Third rank! Make ready! Aim… Fire!!!

Another order is given by John as another volley of fire are fired by the line infantry while the soldiers of the first and second row crouched on the ground and let their comrades behind them to fire without worrying accidentally firing at friendly units. This time, they were fired by the third row of Royal footmen line infantry. And after that, the fourth and fifth rank simultaneously while also being assisted by the Assault Troopers, Royal Guardsmen, and armored tractors who fired their automatic firearms and explosive projectile launchers ever since the first order to open fire given by John to the first and second rows of infantry, adding chaos and devastation into the enemy hordes as more and more dark knights and beasts fell and annihilated

*BANG!*

“Third rank get down on the ground! Fourth rank! Make Ready! Aim… FIRE!!!”

*BANG!*

“Third rank get down on the ground! Fourth rank! Make Ready! Aim… FIRE!!!”

*BANG!*

While the last volley of fire was being shot by the fifth row of line infantry but the other units including the armored tractors continued releasing their projectiles at the enemy hordes, killing more several dark knights, their horses, and beasts as their bodies began to pile up in front of the British-Indian soldiers, John heard several familiar sounds from the sky and he knew what they are “Huh!? All units! Hold your fire and brace yourself! Our friends in the sky are about to once again drop their payloads into the enemy hordes”

As ordered by John, the soldiers immediately went prone on the ground while the horsemen dismounted their horses to go prone on the ground while holding their horses’ leash and the armored cavalry crew to wait and watch intently in the safety of their armored tractors as they braced themselves for the impact of destruction that will be dropped on the enemy forces, now about 1000 meters or less away from. And that’s a very close range for comfort with the bombing radius might reach beyond more than 1000 meters of area.

Fortunately, the wing commander of these combined squadrons of combat biplanes and rotorcrafts has a way to deal with the hordes while they were so close to their compatriots on the ground. Oh, also they managed to fend off and annihilate all of the enemy dragons and fliers. So now, the British now have the complete control of the sky and their dispatched Royal Air Corps squadron can now able to freely conduct air-to-ground attack with no worry of being intercepted by any hostilities

“Urgh! I hope they won’t end up catching us into the explosion!” Blake exclaimed jokingly

“That would not be great for our heart…” Madhav mumbled nervously while sticking his face on the ground

“Oh, you not need to worry about that, gentlemen. I’m sure that they have some way to prevent that and help us crushing these monsters into smithereens” John told them with a smile. He then looked up into the sky with a bigger smile on his face “Oh, and here they are and…. bombs away”

As soon as he said that, when the air squadron got in the range close to the otherworldly horde, they begun their attack run. The first to attack the enemy horde are the escorting Biplanes where they flew low towards the enemy horde as they fired or rather strafed their high velocity rapid firing machine guns, the same ones that the Infantry have but with slightly bigger caliber. The projectiles fired from the Biplanes tore through several mounted dark knights and monstrous beasts as many of their death body scattered in a perfect line. And because they used slightly bigger calibers, some dark knights were torn into pieces

But that’s just the least damage that these men and probably women in human-made flying war constructs of the sky can do. After the strike Biplanes flew away after strafing the otherworldly horde on the ground, came the rotorcrafts. As they slowly approached the  otherworldly horde, the rotorcrafts slowly opened their bomb bays which stored two 1000lb (453 kg) bombs each. When the signal is given to them by the the Wing Commander, they released their bombs into the enemy horde directly below them

Within just a minute or so of the dropped bombs falling from the sky and when the bombs finally reached the ground, they exploded and caused a catastrophic diminishing of enemy numbers. The damage and impact of this bombardment is ten times stronger than that inflicted by the Biplanes, almost the same as those fired the field artillery away from the battlefield. The bombardment killed several more otherworldly dark knights and beasts, tearing them apart while also burning them in the process. None can survive such attack if they don’t have anti-air protection or flying units to intercept them. And the otherworldly army doesn’t have any of them with the destruction of their dragon forces

Now, the invading otherworldly are once again disoriented by the human counterattack. To think that these terrifying looking dark knights with medieval armors and beasts could be overwhelmed by ‘weak’ humans with destructive weapons without even the need to approach them in close quarter combat. It is truly a disgrace to these warriors and beasts of the darkness. But then again, they had it coming when they first set their foots, hooves, and claws on this land

The General of the Otherworldly Great Army who stood in the front of his Great Army, gritted his teeth while gripping his humongous shield and battleaxe tightly in his beefy hands. Despite being in the front where it became the first target of the British air strike, He somehow managed to survive the attack from the RAC. Either because of his indestructible-looking shield or his sturdy-looking beefy body, no one knows,  not even his trusted subordinates

And speaking of his subordinate… when the Otherworldly General was about to order his men to keep charging forward into the British ground forces in front of them who by now had already got back to their previous formation, ready to unleash another volley fire on his Great Army. That is when one of his subordinates who seems to look like a human, a woman in full body dark armor with the same design and look as the other dark knights .mounted on a horse Different from the other dark knights, she looks more human than the other dark knights

She approached the General and pulled up her helmet’s visor, revealing her face to be a middle aged woman in her thirties with fair white skin, ruby red eyes, white hair, and pointy ears. At first glance, she looks like a human but with that kind of ears, there’s no doubt that she’s actually an elf “Domine mi! Praesent non tortor! Iam perimus nunc! Si nos incaute subsistere et pugnare his hominibus conemur, omnes exstinguamur, et Magnus Dominus, cum magnum conquestum inchoamus, ingentem copiarum partem amittat. Regrediamur dum possumus, Domine mi! Possumus reducere in hoc mundo stragem et naufragia polluere, cum in nostro mundo illos hypocritas vicerimus!”

The otherworldly General, feeling being offended by his subordinate cowardice, turned to her with a furious look on her face “Tch! tacet te servus! Iam sciebam, nec te mihi narras. Tuum unicum officium et propositum est sagittariis imperare et mihi satisfacere” He barked condescendingly at her without any mercy . She only responded with a flinch and dared not to utter more words from her mouth

He then turned back to the human army in front of them who continued to release another volleys at his forces after the previous human attack from the sky that annihilated several of his men “Etiam ... non sinam istos homines infirmos in me et ingentem exercitum conciliare modo utendo inertia et fallaciis fallaciis! Si opus fuerit, ibo ac opprimam me. Ego Imperator Valek, fidelis servi Domini Lupus Arbitri, carnifex hominum!”

“Vos, milites et fideles servi domini Lupi Arbitri! Qui adhuc credit in Domino Lupo magnam virtutem nobis gloriosam praebens victoriam… Sequere me dum aestus ad istas infirmitates convertimur! Qui decreverunt quod 'omnia perierunt' et ignavi facti sunt, hic manere potes nos vigilantes nos lavantes in sanguine humano vel etiam regredi in nostro mundo pro omni cur” He cried as he raised his humongous battleaxe high in the air and his humongous rhinoceros-like beast roared with all of its thunderous might. But before he was about to do what he intends to do, he turned to his elf subordinate and put his big beefy meaty hand under her chin. She could only rear back in disgust as his smelly breath blew into her face “Et post hoc… Poena dubitandi victoriae nostrae et Dominus Arbitri… *evil grin* iocum habebo apud te totis diebus et confirmo tibi quod non dimittam te donec conteras et semina mea in medio tui. in animo tuo insculpe!”

A tear trickled down from her eyes while her eyes are closed, clearly in disgust with what the General had said to her. And her only reply is a weak stifled sob “Ut vis, Domine mi” After that, the General released the petite elf woman from his hand and rode alone towards the human army

Eventhough most of the otherworldly dark knights knew that they’re losing ground here with some believing that they can still win against the ‘puny humans’, almost all of them with the exception of the horse archers under the command of the General’s elf subordinates and some small number of dark knight, still put their beliefs and devotion to their General and unknown Lord who will bring them glorious bloody victory against these ‘puny humans’ in front of them.

They set aside their newfound fear and desperation as they raised their weapons once again and followed behind their General on rhinoceros beast in his ‘glorious charge to break and crush the puny humans’. They charged towards the British-Indian forces like a raging bull seeking to slam through red cloth waved at them by a matador. This time though, the usual harmless ‘red cloth’ is now a collective harmful red cloths that are able to subdue the ‘bull’ or rather the ‘bulls’

Seeing this, John smiled in amusement. Despite being almost decimated by both the volley fire from the line infantry, the rapid continuous fire from the machine guns, barrages from armored tractor cannons, and devastating air attack, these monsters sure persistent. Especially because of that big boy of a leader who’s leading them ahead. But that doesn’t matter to both John and the men under his command  and definitely even the high command. These monsters attacked first and the British shall deliver their retribution to the Invaders

“What’s with these bloody wankers!? They won’t back down after we hit them really hard” Blake retorted in irritation while continuing to fire rounds after rounds of rifle bullets at the charging enemy

“Well, I think it’s hard to imagine that these freaky looking knights and beasts would ever surrender, brother. Heck, they probably don’t have ‘surrender’ or ‘retreat’ or anything related in their dictionary” Madhav remarked

“It’s unbelievable that these… can I even call those of them who look like humans as people? Nevermind that. What is important is how unbelievably persistent these enemies of ours are” John stated while firing his revolver at the approaching enemy forces “and their persistence is not just on gaining victory but also the pleasure of slaughter and massacre”

Blake chuckled at John’s statement “When you put it like that, it sounds so horrendously terrible, sir” He said

Madhav nodded in agreement “Indeed, but it’s all true. That describes our otherworldly enemy as a whole. Murderers who sought to quench their thirst of blood by spilling the blood of our people”

“And I shall not have it that way. That’s why-” I paused to reload my revolver with another rounds as I got up on my feet and raised my saber as I pointed it at the charging horde of our enemy “-to answer their persistence, we shall answer their suicide charge with our reckless yet strategic charge!”

“Woah! I didn’t expect that to come out from your mouth, Sir. You usually prefer the ‘play it safe’ strategy. For something like this you want to do is quite unusual for you, Sir” Blake remarked

“I’ve heard the stories and I agree that this kind of plan is not in your forte, Sir. But recently after knowing about you this whole time… I assume that you have some good reason in resorting such move?”

I chuckled “Simple: to show them that we ourselves are capable and brave enough to engage in close quarter combat and to crush their morale as they seem to be confident in their relentless frontal assaults. And so, their spirit shall break”

Oh and just right on time, the hatch of the armored tractor that belongs to the squad commander of the armored forces, Second Lieutenant Isaac Berton under my command opened as aforementioned officer pulled out from his armored tractor’s hatch “Sir! are you really serious about counter charging and meeting them directly in combat?” He asked

I turned to him and nodded “Yes, this will be the last hurdle and these monsters shall be either repelled or wiped out entirely” John told the armored corps commander

“If that is what your order, Sir… then I shall immediately relay it to the men of this armored corps and the others of the relief forces right now” Because the order and message need to be relayed immediately seeing that the enemy are closing in within just 500 meters away. Berton pulled out a wired communication device from inside his armored tractor and pulled it close to his mouth “all armored units, get ready to move out. Captain Malborough  has a new order: We will charge back against the enemy charge soon”

“Aye Aye, Sir!” came the collective responds from all armored tractor commanders that came from the communicator

“Alright, with all of us ready… we are ready to engage them in direct combat” then raised my saber high up in the sky as I shouted to the troops “CHARGE!!! FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY!!!”

Soon after, the troops under my command from the infantry, cavalry, and armored sections erupted in various war cries like ‘Hoorah!’ and some even using our national anthem ‘God Save the Queen!’ as we, with me and the men whom I fought alongside before the arrival of the relief forces spearheading the charge in the very front, ran and charged towards the charging enemy forces with our bayonets retracted out while also firing our guns at the enemy. The cavalry rode their horse with high speed while raising their sabres and lowering their lances while the armored tractors followed behind slowly while firing all of their guns at the enemy

It’s just less than 500 meters away and both the charging armies will clash in a great close quarter combat. British bayonets will clash with otherworldly blades but the British troops have the advantage of weaponry switch which will give them an edge against the enemy dark knights. As for the cavalry, the British horsemen were only protected by limited set of armor while the otherworldly dark knights are in full body armor. And not to mention about the otherworldly beasts that could tear any soldiers and horses into pieces. But then again, the British have their armored tractors which would be essential in countering the beasts and to prevent them from slaughtering the soldiers and horses

But that would still possess a huge threat to the soldiers especially when the otherworldly beasts pounce on them. It’s just less than 500 meters and probably just under two minutes or less, the British horsemen and the otherworldly beasts would be the  ones that clash first as they are the fastest ones of each side. Fighting against these beasts just with sabres and lances is impossible to imagine considering how thick the skin of the beasts are which needed to deal with dozens or more bullets

But what John has in his mind about his ‘charge’ is not actually just to collide and clash with the otherworldly monsters in a close quarter combat. But instead, he will employ one of his masterpiece, his state-of-the-art move you can say. And among the infantry units, there are some enough hidden specialize unit that would become key of success to his specialized tactic. And he will definitely execute it, not just to win this battle decisively but to not expose his men in danger

The opposing armies continued to run at each other with the British forces under John continuing to fire rounds after rounds of smaller bullets and explosive shells at the otherworldly army. The General of the otherworldly army managed to deflect everything even explosive shells. In contrast, his men and beasts aren’t faring well against British gunfires as they are taking numerous casualties. And as the distance between the British forces and the otherworldly got closer and closer about less than 200 meters away, the British held their charge

And that is also the time for John’s plan of counter charge came to action

John pulled out a communication device hidden in his coat pocket and brought it closer to his face “All infantry halt! Commence three rows running Spartan Formation! All cavalry break away from our  formation and form a pincer maneuver to flank the enemy from both flanks! Half of the armored tractors follow the cavalry and the rest position yourself between each column”

“roger that, sir!”

“aye aye, sir!”

“affirmative”

With that command, the cavalry forces of mounted swordsmen and lancers broke away from the large formation of combined units as they spread evenly to both the left and right flanks of the otherworldly army. The way that the cavalry forces spreading to both flanks is similar to that of a crab pincer, forging into besieging fences that kept the enemy’s room of movement to be contained. This caused the otherworldly dark knights to be caught off guard as the mounted dark knights, most of them on the backline to turn their attention to the flanking British cavalry. But they were also met with repeating gunfire and cannon fire from the armored tractors who followed their horse-mounted counterpart

“Come on! Follow me, men! Let’s prove ourselves to the rifleman hero and the armored corps that we’re still capable to fight in a new era and against these foes from another world!” The commander of John’s cavalry corps on the right shouted to his men while attacking the enemy from his flank

“Cut them down! Do not let them frighten you just because of their full body armor! We have the gallantry and assistance from the armored corps to fight these bloody buggers! This one came from John’s cavalry corps commander of the left flank as both cavalry of the two flanks smashed through the otherworldly middle and back lines, slashing their sharp blades and pointy lance at enemy they clashed with

As gallant blades of British nobility clashed with otherworldly tainted blades of the otherworldly barbary and blood spilled form the soldiers’ of each side. Fortunately for the horsemen of the British cavalry corps, there are almost no otherworldly beasts within the ranks of middle and back lines. And as a result with relatively devastating firepower support from the armored corps, the British noble cavalry gained their advantage with ease and low casualties. The mounted dark knights were overwhelmed by attacks from both flanks which makes them vulnerable. Their fate in this battle is already decided with this circumstance

The British cavalrymen continued to fight the mounted dark knights from the back and middle lines. They slashed, hacked, stabbed, and rammed their weapons against the mounted dark knights. The mounted dark knight put up a reckless and persistent yet doomed resistance against British cavalrymen and they have better protection than the British cavalrymen who were only protected by limited set of armor. But because of that too, it also became an advantage in agility for the British as they move more faster and agile than the heavily armored mounted dark knights. In the end, their protection became their doom as the British continued to fell several more mounted dark knights with relative ease attacks

With the back and middle lines being held back by the British cavalry and half of John’s armored corps, the front forces of mounted dark knights and several beasts led by the otherworldly General, was cut off from their comrades of the back and middle lines. Thus the number of those continuing to charge towards the British forces from their front and both flanks became reduced at a gradual pace as the British fired repetitive and simultaneous volleys after volleys at the charging enemy forces

After more several volleys, the changes in the otherworldly army number had become to take shape and then… none was left except for one, the General of the invading otherworldly army himself

Though his minions are being slaughtered for every step they took to reach the British lines, The General did not falter nor did he have any care for his men. As he continued his charge with his minion, or at least that’s what he thought. He took several hit from British volleys of fire and even explosive attacks that resulted in him gaining several visible bruises and wounds but those seemingly didn’t have any impact on the bulky otherworldly commander. But what he did not realize is that he’s the only one left rushing towards the British forces as all of his men had succumbed to the destruction brought by the British firepower and those who caught in flanking maneuver by British cavalry aren’t able to follow him

John was taken aback by this. He questioned on how is this bulky General of the otherworldly forces not realizing that he’s the only one coming for John’s line of long ranged infantry? This otherworldly ‘commander’ may look like he got the fighting capability to fight dozens or hundreds, but in terms of being an actual commander, he’s actually really bad as he doesn’t care for his men and as evidence had proven in front of him, all this otherworldly ‘commander’ is throwing his men away. And it seems that the battle is already finished, not just in John’s section but all the other sections too with the combined British-Indian-Air Corps forces succeeding in crushing the otherworldly forces that came to face them

And John, as a military officer and regular soldier himself, wouldn’t have let that slip by. Now, somehow this became a personal matter to him

“Halt! That’s enough! Don’t waste your ammunition on this tyrant!” He ordered the troops to stop firing. The troops obeyed his order but they have questioning look on their face “You have already seen it yourself! Even cannons and bombs cannot shake this bugger off”

“What should we do then, Sir?” Lieutenant Berton, from his armored tractor, asked John

“None, at least for all of you that is. This battle is already finished and we won” I told him. And after a short pause I continued “But not for me, as the one who leads this force. I shall confront the enemy general myself into a duel”

The soldiers all gasped, except for Blake

But instead, Blake only chuckled and remarked “Heh, thought you would say that, Sir”

“Well, you’ve known for me a considerable amount of time since we’re in the same in the unit” John said with a smile. Then I turned around to face the men who I have led

“Don’t worry, men. I’m not suicidal nor do I have any intention to die here while I still have many people who are waiting for me, especially my family and friend along with my dedication to this great Empire of ours and the world as a whole, and also I still wanted what’s it like to have someone who is close to me who is not a friend nor family. Yes, you guessed it: a lover!” John spoke to ensure the men under his command with a unwavering and fiery speech that lifted the men’s spirit and induced some laughters from them to his last bit of short speech. He assured them that he will win and come back alive

John walked outside the line of British and Indian infantry with both his officer sabre and revolver in each hand. He turned to give the men one last look before steeping into battle against the bulky humanoid but monster-like General of the otherworld army “Here I go. Wish me luck, men” as he went to meet his foe

The General of the otherworldly was stopped in his track as he was about to struck the British line when suddenly, John, who in the eye of this otherworldly General looks like a regular puny human in civilian clothing armed with a small curved sword and a strange looking small tool in his hands. He was as shocked as John to how brave John is to broke off from his line and went to confront the General and supposedly, his ‘army’. For once, he commanded the bravery of this one particular human

“Heh, estne hic iocus? quid faciat mihi unus homo pusillus et exercitus mag- huh?” He looked around and behind him that there aren’t any of his men left and he was all alone that left him shocked. He thought that there are still many of his men left even after being separated with half of them and being fired upon for many times. And he thinks that’s probably why this one particular human would dare to approach him “O audaciam! Invitant me ad deditionem. Nullo modo in nomine Domini magni facere volo”

“Pardon me for interrupting your thoughts, otherworldly General. You must be thinking that I want to demand your surrender” Said John, returning the otherworldly General back to reality “You probably also think on how dare for me, a small human with smaller weapons than yours to approach you without even a single shed of fear or hesitation” He chuckled before continuing, not caring that the otherworldly doesn’t understanding what John is talking about

“Well, neither I nor other people nowadays in this world were always one to recklessly engage in a one-on-one duel. But you, Sir have instilled me to take you down with my own hands  to pay for all what you’ve done to the people of the Empire and being a butcher General. And you have surely noticed it that we won this battle now that you have no more men or beasts left with you but it shan’t be over until I take you down one and for all!”

After John said that, he fired all six rounds from his revolver which were all both got deflected by the otherworldly General and bounced off his armor. But the last bullet somehow managed to struck the General’s rhino-like beast mount on its small unprotected spot in the head, killing the beast and forcing the General to stand on his feet. After that, John put his revolver back in its holster as he brandished his sabre at the enemy General before running towards his strong inhumane opponent

The otherworldly General was stunned by John’s action. Never in his have ever faced a human foe like this. No matter how lean and weak this human is, the General acknowledged that this human in particular have more bravado to face him directly than the others whom he had fought and slain before. This will be interesting. He knew that he lost his conquest of this world with all of the men and beasts that followed him were all that, this will entertain him, especially when he shred the young British officer

“Tu es an novus pusillus! Quod si ita est, perdam te!” The otherworldly General as he readied his huge battleaxe and ran to meet John in a duel and this duel will become one unforgottable in history and John’s first real show of unknown immense strength

{Jonathan's POV}

To tell you the truth, I’m actually terrified to face this General from the otherworld. Realistically speaking, I have zero chance in  evening the odds against him much less winning against. Just look at him! He’s ten times bigger than, protected in full body armor, and he even got big bloody battleaxe. Compared to me I only have a retractable sabre and a self-reloading revolver along with noble civilian clothing that covered my body

But, when you’re already committed to something, you need to see it till the end. Even if that means setting aside your sense of realism, doubt, and fear. Those would only make you hesitate to finish what you want to do. Only by being committed and daring will you be able to do so. But when it’s impossible to gain, you also need shrewdness to raise the odds And that’s what I’m doing right as I meet this otherworldly strong opponent in direct close quarter combat

At first contact with the otherworldly General, I’m not actually planning to fight him directly blade to blade. But instead, I will defeat the General by outsmarting and outpacing him with my strategy and agility. And if can, with a single stroke

The General swung his battleaxe hard at me with all his might while letting out a deafening roar. I dodged his attack by ducking and sliding off forward past between his legs as I got behind the General which resulted the General slamming the blade of his battleaxe against the ground

When I got behind the General, I quickly wasted no time waiting around for the General to pull his battleaxe back as I jumped onto his big head, big enough for me to get a hold of him and causing him to wobble around because of me on his head. And as a result, causing him to be in difficulties to get his battleaxe back

“Tu vermini! auferte a mihi!” The General yelled in his Latin while being strangled by me

He continued to try shaking me off of him but to no avail as I got a tight hold on his big head. As he continued to do so, I noticed that there’s a narrow grab between his helmet and his chestplate armor where some of his hair was that got swept away when he’s trying to get me off of him, revealing some of his dark red skin, specifically his back. And that’s where I found his weakness and my opportunity to defeat him in one stroke just like how I planned or hoped at least

“My apologies, O’ enemy General for giving you the wrong exception of melee combat. But there’s no way in bloody hell that I can win against you head on” I said, raising my sabre and ready to strike “That’s why I shall give you a disgraceful defeat of being killed so easily by a weak looking human in one stroke, for all those men, women, and children you killed”

And just like that I swiftly slashed my sharp edged sabre with all my might against the otherworldly General’s upper neck, cutting his head off as stream of black ink-like blood burst out from his neck. To avoid being splattered with the tainted blood of my fallen opponent, I quickly jumped away the moment his head detached from his neck and safely landed some foot away from the now dead General of the invading otherworldly army

The helmeted head of the otherworldly General fell to the ground as it rolled a few steps away from his body that is now on its knees and was about to entirely collapses itself on the ground “Magnus Dominus mi... efficias ut Actium subiuges.... et occidas omne genus humanum... Hic mundus…”

As I stood, panting and watching the otherworldly General bid his final words, his body followed with his upper body now touching the soil of the Raj. I can hear the sounds of horse cavalry and armored tractors from behind and when I looked behind me, the flanking forces that I have assigned to cut off the enemy forces have managed to crush the enemy that were trapped by them and are now chasing them off to the center of the town square. Heh, it seems they have managed to do their part

Then I turned back to the men in line and crews of armored tractors whom I lead who managed to wipe out the enemy forces that continued their frontal charge and leaving only the supposedly invincible General of their who now lay lifeless in front of me with decapitated head. And I’m the one who dealt that final stroke that finally ended this battle and making the enemy pay for killing those uninvolved

And that brings me sense of relief and contempt that I managed to protect the people I saved and making sure that those innocents who died in this town square weren’t in vain

I walked past the body of the leader of otherworldly vile horde and raised my sabre high up in the air “THE ENEMY GENERAL IS DEAD AND THE REST OF HIS ARMY ARE ROUTED. VICTORY IS OURS!!!”

“HURRAH!!!”

“GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!”

“GLORY TO THE HERO!!!”

{Author’s POV}

(Meanwhile… Somewhere near the Parallel World Mirror)

Most of those who followed the otherworldly General’s charge against the British and Indian forces were decimated, leaving only a few of them on rout trying to get back into their original world through the parallel world mirror that appeared at the site of the now former Conquest of India monument. And the British cavalry forces, those led by John tasked to cut of the charging otherworldly army along with the other corps are in pursuit to finish off the retreating remnants. Those who surrendered were unharmed and taken prisoners by the British and Indian soldiers.

And one of these groups who surrendered to the British were the otherworldly archers who stayed behind when their General launched his charge. This group of archers is the one led by the General’s elf subordinate. When the mounted British and Indian soldiers accompanied by their fellows from the armored corps in armored tractors, She herself was the one who convinced her archers to surrender.

There’s no way that she and her elven archers can win against this other world human force and why would they? They have been suffering at the hands of the demons who forced them to become playthings for the demon to satisfy their lust and to fight for the demons. The humans were once the comrades of these elven archers before they were captured after losing a battle. So giving up to this world humans would-no, will definitely set them free from their shackles

Thalia was also fascinated by how these soldiers in uniform without armor and armed with weapons of devastation have so much fighting vigor able to destroy the demon army invading their world. But the most important thing is that how these human soldiers fought to defend their citizens and that’s the thing that convinced Thalia completely. Their freedom is guaranteed as the British army continued routing the demon army

The archers were surrounded by a small number of the men under John’s command.  One of those British soldier, a particularly recognizable horse cavalry officer dismounted from his horse and approached them. He stopped midway a few steps away from them as he opened his mouth “before I state our demand, who’s the commander here?” He asked them in Latin, the same language that these otherworlders uses and they were shocked by this

Without any hesitation and with the chance of saving her comrades, the female elf commander approached the cavalry officer “It is I,  Captain Thalia Magnesia. With whom am I speaking to?” She greeted and then asked him

“My apologies, Lady Magnesia. I’m First Sergeant Edwin Lake” He greeted the elf commander of the otherworldly archers now known as Thalia Magnesia “I believe with the current conundrum, I believe you do know what comes next”

“Yes, we know. I hereby surrender myself and my archers to you, Sir Lake” She stated before dropping her bow on the ground, prompting her archers to do so. They also removed their helmets, revealing all of them to female elf with shackles around their necks

The British and Indians soldier were both captivated and horrified by the sudden reveal of these archers as gorgeous female elves that even caught the attention of Edwin who had his yes on Thalia and the shackles on their necks that even Thalia has on her neck which reminded them when slavery is a normal thing back in the day and how horrifying it is where people can be bought, used, and even disposed of like a property owned by other people. But that was all in the past so seeing such symbol slavery caused the soldiers to be in unease

But before Edwin could ask about that matter, Thalia got him beaten “By the way, Sir Lake…. is your familial name spelled as L-A-K-E, is it not?” Thalia asked him, ending it with a perfect Lake’s name spelling in English

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“Bloody Hell!?”

Perhaps… communication between two worlds can be done easier than speculated before without any language barrier

And it would become one of crucial things that would help the British Empire and the entire world in interacting with this another world beyond the parallel world in the near future, literally near future

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