+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

February 6, 1539 CE

It was already the third day of digging in. So far, absolutely nothing happened. It was starting to get tedious. Each day, he and Adelyn were relegated to the repetitive and boring task of simply patrolling the frontline, constantly. On the other hand, wave after wave of soldiers and supplies arrived from the rear.

Already, there were eight regiments active around Venido, with four more expected to arrive in a few hours. General Ercole was applying an on-the-book tactic of counter-circumvallation, creating wooden forts and trench lines around their opponents that besieged Venido.

In essence, they were starting to besiege the besieger.

It was a strange siege, however. Unlike the standard siege of grueling artillery duels, alongside assaults and counter-attacks, the frontline was silent, save for Venido incessantly sending fireworks at the sky almost every hour to signal their dire situation.

The Imperial Army seemed to sit and bide its time, not fighting and using its resources, and the demons surrounding Venido sat silent on the forests and towns that surrounded the city. It was a game of patience, of great proportions, almost reminding Hans of generals sitting their arse for days or weeks doing nothing but waiting, and waiting, and waiting, until their foe made a blunder.

By midday, Hans finished his patrols. Driving through lines of men continuously digging, Hans returned to the center of their frontline. Then, driving deeper into the tents and camps used by the troops at the rear, he reached their command post, where Adelyn's mech remained parked.

He quickly dismounted, jumping off his mech's hull. Over at the command post, it seemed that Adelyn and Alizée were eating their lunch. Hans stopped by to check, and seeing that they were eating bowls of beef stew, he quickly rushed to grab a bowl for himself, then took a serving from the pot that Adelyn must have used to cook it.

"Damn," Hans' eyes shone as he sat near them. "How'd you fix something like this in the middle of battle?"

"Some guys killed and butchered a cow that was wandering in the fields," Adelyn smiled. "So I bought some cuts. We luckily also had shipments of potatoes and other stuff. Unfortunately, it lacks onions, but…well, I did my best."

Hans took a smell from it, before digging in and savoring the stew. Alizée on the side finished her bowl, slurping all of the remnants in one go, while Hans took slice after slice of the well-cooked beef.

"It's so good Lady Adelyn!" Alizée praised. "I'm sure you two will be able to fight well because of this."

"Aww," Adelyn patted Alizée's white hair. "That's so nice of you. I'll make sure to cook something nice tomorrow too. Ah! Maybe a porkchop?"

"You better share if you make one," Hans said on the side as he took a slice of potato, munching and enjoying it. "Surprisingly, even with the lack of ingredients, you made this taste good."

"It's not as savory as I want it to be though," Adelyn said, her tone a bit down. "But I'm happy that the two of you like it."

"Being spoiled like this in war sure hits differently," Hans laughed. "So thanks!"

"S-spoil?" Adelyn's cheeks reddened. "It's not. It's just…when I can cook, and I have the ingredients available, I want it to be the best."

"Normally, the shit they fed us in the barracks back then was crap, outside of rations," Hans said, as he took another slice of beef. "Even now, I'm starting to get tired of gruel and crap."

"Hmm, that's exactly why I made this," Adelyn said, smiling. "Little Alizée here has a noble girl's taste. The food of the military simply won't fix her neatly. She needs more than simple rations of bread and stuff."

Hans looked at Alizée, who blissfully drank from a cup of water. Hans laughed softly.

"Right, I know," Hans said, as he continued eating. "Actually, on other matters…"

"Yeah?"

"I've been noticing," Hans placed his spoon on the bowl. "Close to the frontlines, the silence is deafening, but I think we are being watched during my last patrol."

"I've been suspecting that for a while," Adelyn shrugged. "And, well, we're conducting an effective siege against Injustice. Of course, he'll be watching. He'll be foolish if he doesn't."

"I'm trying to figure out whether he'll attack Venido or if he'll try to break out," Hans added. "We would have very different responses to those scenarios after all. Can our artillery even hold them on once they attack? I don't think so…we'll have a damned massive hole that we'll need to plug…"

Adelyn smiled faintly.

"Seems like you're worried sick again," Adelyn said. "Hah…did something happen to you?"

"Nothing?"

"That's good," Adelyn nodded. "It's just, I notice at times, that sometimes your mood swings out of nowhere. I remember earlier you were very confident, now you look like you've seen a ghost. It happens so many times already. Or you'll suddenly grin like you're bloodthirsty…"

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"Ahaha," Hans awkwardly laughed. "It's probably just stress getting into my brain. It happens, I suppose. It's fine though."

"Still doesn't hurt for me to ask," Adelyn said. "Remember, if you need something from me, just ask, okay?"

"I know," Hans said, watching as she stood up, cleaning up their side of the camp. "You're going to your patrol?"

"Yep. You can sleep in the tent if you want to take a nap," Adelyn said.

"I will keep watch and protect you, Sir Hans!" Alizée said from the side. "So you can sleep well and wipe those evil eye bags on your face."

Hans and Adelyn looked at each other briefly, before chuckling.

Alizée sure could be cute all the time.

+++

Hans slept soundly inside of his mech instead, at this point preferring to sleep on his seat whenever on the battlefield. That was when he heard someone banging on his mech's hatch.

Hans stirred awake, hearing someone shout at him.

"Hans!" Adelyn shouted from on top. "Wake up! We're under attack! We have to sortie now in order to plug the gap!"

"Attack?" Hans shouted back. "Oh goddess—get to your mech then. I'm booting mine up!"

He watched as Adelyn rushed back into her mech. It seemed that an hour and a half had already passed since he fell asleep, and as he suspected, the attack did come.

He waited for a few seconds for his mech's systems to finish their checks on the Peacemaker's subsystems until his mech's legs rose.

On the side, Adelyn's mech already moved forward, while Hans gave the engine and radiator final checks. By the time he was finished, his mech galloped forward through the rear of the frontline, following Adelyn hot from behind.

"Lieutenant," Adelyn spoke. "It seems like the enemy attacked with three demons. We're not yet sure who they are."

Hans finally the unmistakable sounds of artillery being fired at the direction their two mechs were running through. Already, cavalrymen rushed at the rear, both those who held muskets alongside the knights and mages who joined their ranks.

They were all riding into battle now.

Hans' and Adelyn's mechs were faster though, and in a few seconds, they were leading the pack. Explosions continued to escalate in the distance, and they could hear the sound of bugles and horns already that sounded the alarm.

"You think it's those two demons we met last time?" Hans asked.

"I don't know," Adelyn replied, her tone utterly worried. "We'll find. General Ercole, the Viceroy, everyone should already be on the move."

"They are," Hans said, eyeing the formation of horses that appeared from the woods behind them, rushing through the dirt road they were using. "Dragoon Squadron is behind us. I bet Ebert's going to send in the horse arty too."

"He is. That's the plan anyway."

"Good," Hans frowned. "I hope those reinforcing regiments are close by too. I suspect we'll need a lot of warm bodies to hold the line this time around."

In the distance, the sounds of musket fire cracked through the air. Entrenched troopers, supported by cannons mounted on hills that were equally dug-in, began opening fire at two figures scouring the forward trenches.

Bodies were cut in half, blood and limbs flying through all directions as the Virtus and Vanus demons, both now in full proper condition, lunged at the soldiers ahead of them.

The gunfire from the mundane human forces barely made a dent, and each time a hail of canister rounds streaked through the afternoon air, it left more dead bodies than injuries in the two demons.

"Seems like it's them," Hans said, pulling his mech to a brief stop to observe the attack. "But…you said there were three. Why are there only two?"

"I don't know," Adelyn said. "But we have to go in already and help them. I'm taking my targets now!"

"Copy that," Hans said, as he began aiming his gun at the Vanus demon, watching him attack and kill dozens of musketeers who fled their dug-outs in terror. "I'm taking aim too."

Even the small line of musketeers who tried to resist him by firing a concentrated volley failed. He was only stopped for a brief second by their bullets, which created the most minor gunshot wounds, closing in the span of seconds. Then, he swung his blade, and a dozen men were sliced in one go.

The reply from Hans and Adelyn came.

One by one, shots from their mechs reverberated from the position they had taken. Both of them fired MPAT after MPAT, creating explosions that rocked the paths the two demons were taking. Hans could see the annoyed response from their foes, as they zigzagged to avoid the attacks from the two mechs.

Hans however didn't allow that, aiming better. His third shot directly impacted the Vanus demon, causing him to stumble and disappear into one of the dug-outs as a result.

Behind them, four mages on horseback formed an impromptu line. With wands aimed, they joined in on the attack, firing spell after spell at the Virtus demon, who desperately tried to dodge the hail of firepower being thrown at her.

For a second, morale returned in the ranks of musketeers at the frontline. They began to stand up from their foxholes and trenches, the hodgepodge of muskets they held, both old and new versions, firing at the Virtus demon. Heinous wounds began to appear on her body, both from the gunnery, spells, and artillery.

Still, she pressed on, her sword cutting through any opposition that was in front of her. But everyone was realizing that these two were unable to truly fight—they didn't seem to have a proper ranged attack.

"Heh," Hans laughed, as he loaded another MPAT round. "Seems like these two fools bought only a sword for an artillery duel. They're going to retreat fast soon. Rally the cavalry with us, we'll drive them away—"

His words were however cut off when suddenly, a flash of light nearly grazed him. His mech jumped away at the last second, but the unfortunate mages behind him were struck by a powerful explosion.

"Goddess…" Adelyn's voice turned into horror in the comms. "What is that thing?"

In the distance, a four-legged automaton walked with purposeful steps. Its legs were thin, its hull and turret as black as the night sky. Worse of all, it was armed with a single cannon on its turret.

"Is that…a Wanderfalke I?" Hans asked, his eyes widening, as its hatch opened up. An old man holding a pistol emerged, his eyes bulging out in amusement. "That must be—"

"I see that the two of you are out here now," the old man bellowed. "At last, I can use my countrymen's machine for its true purpose, and show it to this world. Yes, it is I, Injustice! And those machines of yours will be destroyed by my superior mech!"

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