Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

At this moment, the four people slowly approached and lowered their voices.

"I never expected this, hiccup," Taylor said. "Clark's method actually worked?"

"I didn't realize this guy's tricks were so effective."

“Now, tell me, Garcia.” Davis looked at the former paratrooper who was drinking. “What was wrong with your unusual behavior during the fight earlier?”

"Me? I'm just having some old problems that have flared up again. I'll just have to bear with it. But since this is happening, I might as well make the most of it."

"Really? So what did you and Clark discover when you went into their warehouse?"

"Ah, inside we found a timid-looking thug and a few workers dressed as laborers. Their room was piled with sacks and cardboard boxes, and a whole bunch of equipment."

"What are those things for?"

"Morphine, sir. Some of their sacks are filled with morphine, and others like heroin and cocaine. As for the machines and equipment, the thugs and workers say they're used to make drugs, a kind of drug they call 'Refrain' (roughly meaning 'old dreams')."

“My God…” Taylor almost cried out.

"So, what Clark said back then..."

……

Rewind to a few hours earlier, shortly after Major Lefel collapsed.

"What do you want to do, child?"

“Listen to me, sir,” Clark said earnestly to the other four soldiers. “This warehouse looks like the source of funds for these thugs to make their fortune and even buy guns. I think with my abilities, it wouldn’t be too difficult to establish a new black market empire here. At the same time, I can also freely learn about this world that has invaded us. In the future, this may become our intelligence station.”

"But are these thugs willing to work for you?"

As Davis spoke, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in the eyes of those thugs.

“Sir,” Clark stated calmly, “what do you think? A person who can only survive at the bottom of society by relying on his martial arts skills, facing the prospect of either starving to death on the streets or being arrested and imprisoned for robbery, wouldn’t try to find something to hide from and prolong his sentence? The principle of 'whoever feeds me is my mother,' I think…”

"Hey! You guys!" He suddenly clapped his hands and shouted at the thugs squatting together, "Your boss is finished. If I were to say that I'm willing to lead you guys to continue to struggle and make a living in this city, how many of you would be willing to follow me? Raise your hands and let me see!"

As he had predicted, one by one, the thugs slowly raised their hands.

“In that case, I won’t stop you.” Davis nodded in satisfaction. “Tell us what to do.”

“Here you go, sir.” He took off his clothes and handed them to the sergeant, then told the thugs to all stand up.

"I want to put on a big show! Brothers and sisters, I need you to move all the raw materials and finished products of drugs you have stored in the warehouse, as well as the complete set of production equipment, into the cars you parked downstairs. Take as much as you can. Now, I will lead you on a relocation. As for where to go, you know this place better than I do, so could one of you help me find a suitable hiding place?"

"That's the first point! Secondly, I need everyone to work together to move these bodies to your warehouse, and then evenly distribute fuel and other flammable and explosive materials in the warehouse. After we leave, set this place on fire. Sir, could you please throw my clothes and this piece of the outer shell I just broke off from my prosthetic leg into the fire? After that, sir, act however you think is plausible, as long as the four of you give completely consistent accounts. From this day forward, Private Allen Clark will have vanished from this city!"

“One last thing, sir,” Clark paused, “is that our rendezvous point from now on, the one with the hot dog icon above its head on our patrol route, you remember?”

"I understand, child. Shall we begin now?"

“Of course, now we need firefighters and police officers to be our witnesses.” Clark smiled slyly and picked up Major Leiffel’s communicator from the ground. “Oh, by the way, we mustn’t let this beautiful officer die, or I reckon that pretty boy will be so angry he’ll shoot you all.”

……

"So, everyone, let's raise a toast to the 'deceased' Clark! —"

"Roar!--"

……

In an unnamed alley in the Tokyo concession, a truck painted with hot dogs slowly drove in.

“It’s very safe here, sir. The police generally don’t want to come here. There are also quite a few nominal houses around here that we can stay in.”

In the passenger seat, the man whose face was wrapped in bandages jumped out and slowly tore off the deliberately concealed white strips of cloth, finally revealing Clark's sharp eyes.

"That was brilliant! Well then, let's see if this city trembles at our existence!"

Section 144, Chapter 91: Our Plan - Cutting Off the Supply Line

As night falls in the Tokyo Concession, the sun's rays have already gone down, and it's time for the brightly lit buildings to illuminate the land of Tokyo Bay.

In a coastal area, there was a brightly lit mansion, far from the city hall. Although it was not the governor's residence, it was still clear that the owner of this house was someone of considerable status.

That's right, this is the Duke of Sasler's property in the Tokyo concession. He is here now, preparing to participate in the expedition to District 45 soon.

So what is he doing right now? His Highness the Duke is in the banquet hall, gathering all his officers for a morale-boosting dinner—and that's not all.

The banquet had not yet begun. The Duke sat at the head table, while his subordinates sat around the banquet table, waiting for the moment to make their move—now, there was only one seat left that had not yet been filled.

Nearby, two guests were whispering among themselves—one looked older than the other, and the other was still quite young.

“Mr. Hayleyman,” the younger man asked, “who is late?”

“I’m not quite sure either, Farek. His Excellency the Duke didn’t show us the list of invitees.”

"I wonder if it's Caronville?"

"While it's possible, the probability is very low, kid. Wasn't that guy so unfortunate that he was reassigned to manage armed security, which had nothing to do with the interdimensional expedition? Today's banquet is for the mid- to high-ranking officers who will be participating in the expedition. He's an outsider, so it's hard to say..."

"But if you ask me, sir, if Caronville isn't here, I reckon we'll be a bit short-handed when it comes to things after the banquet. Ah, of course, I'm just guessing..."

Just then, the banquet hall doors were pushed open by a servant.

"Your Grace! The last guest has arrived!"

Before the words were finished, everyone looked in the direction of the footsteps that were entering the hall, and there appeared a young lieutenant colonel.

“Hey! I knew it!” Farek stood up happily, along with several young officers.

"Come here, Cardi!" they called out Caronville's nickname cheerfully. "We're just missing you!"

But what about Caronville? He stood there, bewildered, looking at the room full of familiar and unfamiliar faces.

“Come, child!” the Duke said. “Sit down. You are not an outsider to this banquet.”

"Oh, oh..." The lieutenant colonel then reluctantly took his seat.

"Very well, just in time! Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses! To the victory of our expedition! Cheers!"

"cheers!--"

……

The banquet was almost over, and the main courses had been mostly removed, replaced with desserts like ice cream and fruit. Caronville savored a segment of orange, watching the area behind the Duke's seat where servants were constructing an electronic map on a large screen on the high wall—they had been busy with this throughout the banquet.

"Alright, everyone!" The Duke stood up and faced the crowd who had eaten and drunk their fill. "Now, it's time for the important business of tonight."

“That’s right, you probably noticed what’s behind me while you were eating. This is a map of the area around Berlin with a radius of about 100 kilometers, which was obtained by the 41st Army, which is currently stationed in the 45th district of Berlin, during their night raid last night. Of course, the map is not a single complete map, but a composite of multiple maps, which I had my men work overtime to complete today.”

"Now, everyone, take a good look at this map and answer my next question: According to intelligence, it can be confirmed that almost every inch of land outside Berlin is guarded by the armed forces of this country known as the 'Soviet Union,' and their numbers are enormous. His Highness Schneizel has some doubts about the operational plan of our 45th Army, as well as the Black Prince's Army and Edward III's Army, on how to break out of the encirclement of Berlin. He needs me and several other generals to give His Highness a reasonable explanation tomorrow."

As they were speaking, the attendants handed out letters to each guest's table—letters containing various kinds of information provided by the 41st Army Group.

"Of course, I have another piece of good news. His Highness the Prince informed us that, through his efforts, His Majesty the Emperor has agreed to allow two Knights of the Round Table who happen to have other missions in District 11: the Third Knight Tristan and the Sixth Knight Mordred to participate in the breakout operation."

"So now, please start sharing your opinions."

Several people at the table were still discussing among themselves when Mr. Hayleyman stood up first.

"Your Excellency, I don't think it's that difficult. There are four army groups and corps in total. That's a lot of manpower for fighting for a city. As long as we quietly deploy these army groups to various districts of Berlin, the Soviet army won't be able to break through our defenses. Then we can just slowly wear down the enemy's army in Berlin, like watching waves crashing on a dam. At that time, we will have a chance to counterattack."

Everyone remained silent, but it was Farek, who was sitting next to them, who first expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Sir, your approach to warfare is too passive! The Soviet army is like a pair of pincers. Shouldn't we be dismantling those pincers? Simply hardening the shell only leads to being passively beaten! We must take the initiative and disrupt the enemy's siege offensive!"

“I agree with this young man’s point of view, Your Excellency!” A brigadier general sitting next to the Duke echoed. “Three corps-sized troops, concentrated on an area of ​​less than 500 square kilometers, should be enough to intimidate the enemy! I have an idea: the three corps can each split into three groups and advance along the northeast, east, and southeast directions. While annihilating the Soviet forces in the east, the enemy will surely rush to reinforce here. Then we can retreat back into Berlin. Repeat this several times, and the enemy will be exhausted, and the density of our siege forces will decrease! And then? I don’t need to say more…”

"Do you think this is gambling!" another veteran officer said angrily. "Don't you know that the Soviet army besieging the city may have ten or even dozens of army groups! Three army groups charging around in front of so many enemies, you're not a shark hunting among fish, you're walking among wolves, you're playing with your life, do you understand!"

"If we don't take a gamble, we have absolutely no hope of winning!" The brigadier general jumped up excitedly. "Victory in war doesn't come from sticking to the rules, it comes from surprise!"

The debate in the banquet hall grew increasingly heated, but the Duke remained calm, quietly taking everyone's thoughts and opinions to heart and trying to reconcile them.

Of course, he also noticed that Caronville didn't seem to care much about the verbal sparring; he was just quietly looking at the map, as if he had seen something or thought of something.

……

As the argument subsided, Caronville, as if sensing the opportune moment, uttered his first words since the end of the dinner.

"So, the general consensus is that we should confront the Soviet army head-on?"

Everyone looked at him, but the lieutenant colonel left his seat and slowly walked toward the brigadier general who had previously suggested "three legions charging left and right"—the duke did not stop him.

"Brigadier General, may I ask if I may play a game of strength with you?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the brigadier general, while laughing contemptuously, clenched his muscular fist.

"Kid, if you want to compete with me in solving problems and making plans, I might be more reliable. Comparing strength? Everyone here knows you're physically weak! Tell me, what do you want to compete in?"

"I'll stand, you sit. If I can get you to the ground, I win."

"Oh?" The brigadier general laughed even harder, patting his muscular chest. "You want to wrestle with me? Fine! I'll twist both your arms back with one hand, you believe me! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

“I never said I’d just push you over with my bare hands, sir.” Caronville’s lips curled into a slight smile. “I know I can’t possibly match your strength, but what about the chair you’re sitting on?”

The brigadier general was stunned.

"I admit that I'm a failure when it comes to physical fitness, but I don't think I'm so weak that I can't even break a chair leg with a few kicks."

"What...what exactly are you trying to say, kid!" The brigadier general was both doubtful and angry.

"As everyone just saw in the intelligence report, the Soviet army is vast in number and its strength is something we should take seriously. Three corps—based on my experience as commander of the vanguard expeditionary force not long ago—are not considered large in the face of the Soviet army. In other words, right now, the Soviet Union is like the brigadier general sitting in his chair, and I represent our unit. Ah, of course, I know this analogy might be a bit inappropriate. What I want to point out is, why must we confront the Soviet army head-on? Why don't we try to use a more subtle approach?"

"What are your thoughts, son?" Mr. Hayleyman began to ask with curiosity.

"I remember when I was fighting the Soviet army, they habitually unleashed massive amounts of ammunition. Intelligence from the 41st Army also indicated that the Soviets seemed to like dropping large quantities of artillery shells and bombs into enemy-occupied territory before launching a major offensive, followed by various air and artillery bombardments. In other words, the combined weight of all the soldiers in the entire Soviet Union might only be a fraction of the weight of the explosives they dropped on the 41st Army in the past few days. Don't you think that makes sense?"

"Do you want to trade our lives for their ammunition running out?" Farrek seemed to have misunderstood, making the atmosphere somewhat reminiscent of the Showa era.

“The Soviet army could not possibly run out of ammunition. If that were the case, they would not treat large-scale, high-density fire coverage as a routine matter.” Caronville shook his head. “But! Since they habitually do this, it means that they must have a large number of factories in the rear, which continuously transport these munitions to the front lines via transportation.”

"But how do we know where their factory is?"

"A factory? Whose factory is built so close to the front lines, especially for offensive operations? And does it have to be a factory? Aren't transportation lines also part of it?"

Caronville's words seemed to have awakened everyone.

“Look at this map, everyone.” He turned to look behind him. “I’ve been sitting here quietly for so long, but I never imagined that everyone would be so focused on fighting the enemy on the front lines. Look at this railway line leading to the east of Berlin. Follow it! Do you see? Both railway lines cross a river. Soviet supplies and any reinforcements that might arrive will have to cross this chasm via the railway bridge to reach the outskirts of Berlin.”

"Now that I've said this, I think you all understand what I mean." The lieutenant colonel paused. "That's right, my idea is to use a surprise attack to cut off the Soviet army's supply lines, thus striking at their very core!"

"But this river is 80 or 90 kilometers away from Berlin. We can't possibly run there, can we?"

"So, has everyone forgotten about the aerial portal that the Duke personally oversaw a few days ago?" Caronville picked up a long, thin stick and walked towards the map. "We can definitely try this method: at night, note that it's at night! The intelligence mentioned that the Soviet air power, offensive posture, and combat advantages are much weaker at night compared to during the day!"

"We can use this time to open an aerial portal over Berlin. Simultaneously, we'll load the KMF forces from Area 11 into a large transport plane swarm, placing them in the air on standby. We'll also use aircraft mechs and the Knights of the Round Table to protect the swarm and the portal's mechanism. When the portal opens, we'll launch a direct air assault, parachuting into Kostchen and Frankfurt am Oder, disrupting the essential river crossings of these two railway lines. This will severely impact Soviet ammunition supplies, making the collapse of the Berlin encirclement only a matter of time!"

Everyone suddenly realized that this imaginative plan was far more appealing than any dish at the dinner party.

"Of course, I'm not finished yet. My overall plan is as follows," Karonville continued. "Our 45th Army will be responsible for launching a feint attack on the western part of Berlin before the airborne operation begins, targeting a region the Soviets haven't been actively attacking. This will draw their attention to that area. Meanwhile, on the east side, a corps will be airdropped into the Soviet rear to sabotage railway and road bridges."

"Note that I said destruction! The Soviet army is powerful, and they will definitely try their best to take back the railway bridge! Once the railway bridge is structurally destroyed, it is impossible to rebuild it in a short time! Then another corps will be responsible for breaking out of Berlin from the ground to the east and joining the former in the east of Berlin as soon as possible, in order to prevent the former from being in a situation of lack of supplies and support!"

"If the aforementioned operation succeeds, I can guarantee that the iron chains of Berlin will be broken by our Britannian Empire!"

The atmosphere became much more relaxed, and everyone nodded to each other, agreeing that the method was quite feasible.

"So, does anyone have any objections to Lieutenant Colonel Caronville's battle plan?" the Duke asked with a smile. "If not, I will take him to discuss his views with the other generals."

“Nothing much, sir. I just have a question for Lieutenant Colonel Caronville,” Mr. Hayleyman asked. “How can you guarantee that the area east of the river is Soviet territory, if there isn’t the Soviet supply line you expect?”

“Haha, sir.” Karonville chuckled. “You’ve forgotten that the Soviet troops west of Berlin aren’t launching a large-scale offensive into the city right now, and countless battles have shown that supplies come from wherever the enemy attacks. The Soviet army’s massive offensive on the east side of the city already demonstrates this.”

"Besides, what does it matter if there are railway lines supplying the Soviet army in the south and north?" As he spoke, the lieutenant colonel picked up a sturdy chopstick, exerted some force, but did not break it.

“We have broken through one direction, or rather, one part, of the Soviet army.” He picked up a knife again and made several deep cuts in the center of the chopsticks.

“When something develops a crack,” he began slowly breaking the chopsticks, “our previous 'futile' efforts could very well become the death sentence!”

With a sharp crack, the chopsticks in the lieutenant colonel's hand broke in two and fell to the ground.

Chapter 92, Section 145: Good Luck! Pyrrhus

It was already the evening of the third day, after His Excellency the Duke's banquet had ended.

The clock struck 11 p.m., but was the Tokyo Concession still peaceful and serene? Not at all.