Chapter 14: Capital in ruins

Flashback:

The explosion caused by that Imperial Valkyrur in Ghirlandaio Fortress almost annihilating the militia and army battalions stationed there. To top it all off, command gathered intel on the Imperial's plan to attack Randgriz. Worried, command had almost every surviving militia and army squad to return to Randgriz and protect the capital.

Early October 1935, a huge dreadnought plowed through the walls of Randgriz. It was huge and the behemoth reached the castle in no time flat. Imperial forces unloaded from the dreadnought and began occupying the city.

Back in the present:

"We immediately heard the invasion alarm and scrambled as fast as we could… We didn't expect the Imperials to have a behemoth like that in their arsenal…"

"The Marmota… It was Maximilian's prized dreadnought… The assault on Randgriz was supposed to be his last ditch effort to force Gallia to surrender…"

"Yep… It was supposed to be his endgame but we weren't about to let that happen…"

Flashback:

Squad 9, along with other surviving squads from the militia, arrived at the broken walls of Randgriz. We quickly entered the city and almost immediately heavy fighting ensued. The Imperials were everywhere. They were really hell-bent on keeping us at bay… We were pinned down just within the residential area, not too far from where the walls once stood.

"What do we do?" I asked "They got us pinned down!"

Elena couldn't provide proper cover fire because of the numerous lancers and tanks in the area. They would have chewed her up if she ever breaks cover.

We then received a radio transmission from Capt. Varrot.

"Attention all forces!" she said "Crown Prince Maximilian has been spotted entering Castle Randgriz, Princess Cordelia is in danger! All forces intercept the Imperial forces at the castle and ensure the safety of the monarchy!"

"Damn it!" Cooper said "We need to move now!"

"With that heavy concentration of enemies" I said "We can't break cover without being shot!"

Just then, we saw the Imperial squad was attacked from their left. We took this opportunity to open fire on the Imperials and quickly eliminated the threat. We proceeded to meet with the Gallian squad that saved us. And it was Squad 7.

"Squad 7!" Croix said "Thanks for saving our asses!"

"No problem" Welkin Gunther replied

We then felt the Earth shake and we saw the giant behemoth leaving Randgriz. But there was something attached on the top of that dreadnought.

"What's that thing attached on top of it?" I asked

"I don't know…" Welkin replied

"That doesn't look good…" Croix said "What's your plan Welkin?"

"We'll be going after it!" He replied "You want to come with us?"

"No…" Croix replied "Princess Cordelia is still in danger. Someone's gotta make sure she's safe right?"

"Right!" Welkin replied "We'll leave her to you guys… Good luck Squad 9!"

"You too!" Croix said as he shakes hands with Welkin

Back in the present:

"After shaking hands, we went our separate ways…"

"Were you able to reach the castle in time?"

"Stepping on the castle grounds proved to be a really hard task… Turns out Lt. Tulius was left in charge of the Imperial forces in Randgriz…"

"Oh no…"

"…'Oh no' indeed…"

Flashback:

We were at the market district. The Castle was just a few blocks away… But we were pinned down inside a destroyed boutique…

"Damn it!" Cooper said "We won't be able to reach the castle at this rate!"

A Gallian army squad then arrived from the alley on the opposite side of our location. We tried to warn them about danger in the area but they were too preoccupied with the Imperials to even notice us and we saw the Imperials gun down the friendly squad, all except one man who was bleeding out in the open.

"We have to save him!" I said

"It's too risky Aster!" Paul replied "He's too far away for us to safely carry him!"

"We're just going to leave him to die?" I said

"I know it's hard…" Paul said "…But sometimes it's too late to save some people…"

"I'm not accepting this!" I said "He's still alive, so he still has a chance!"

"Don't be stubborn Aster!" Paul said "It's too-"

Croix then tapped Paul's shoulder and said "We'll cover you"

"You sure about this Aster?" Cooper said "That's a pretty long route you're gonna have to take…"

"I'm sure…" I replied

Croix and the others then proceeded to provide cover for me as I ran towards the injured soldier. On the count of 3, I was gonna move. I quickly put my rifle and some of my equipment down. basically, I was only equipped with a pistol and a first aid kit.

1…2….

"3!" Croix shouted as he raised his rifle and the squad began opening fire on the Imperials

As everyone else was busy shooting at the Imperials, I made a mad dash towards the injured soldier. I could hear the bullets whistle past me.

It was a miracle but I reached the injured soldier without being shot. I then proceeded to bandage his wound. At the same time, Paul noticed something shining from the 3rd floor window on a building right in front of me.

"Sniper!" He shouted

I looked behind me and saw Emilia shoot at the 3rd floor window. the Imperial sniper then dropped to the ground in front of me

"That was close…" I thought

After I finished bandaging the soldier's wounds, I was pinned down… I couldn't carry him without the risk of being shot… Croix and the others tried to cover me but there were too many enemy soldiers…

Luckily, we were once again saved when a Gallian Army squad arrived with tanks! With their support, we managed to break through the Market district. I quickly handed the injured soldier to them and told them to provide medical attention to the man.

With the reinforcements, we began the final push towards Castle Randgriz. The fighting just kept becoming more and more intense as we got closer to the castle…

Unfortunately, the Gallian Army squad was decimated by the enemy forces and once again, we were left to fend for ourselves...

Back in the present:

"Nonetheless, we reached the vicinity of the castle gates but again, we were pinned down by heavy enemy fire."

"You guys were really pinned down a lot of times during that battle…"

"I know… If I had 1 Ducat for every minute my squad gets pinned down in that battle, I'd be able to afford a noble's house in Randgriz at war's end!"

"Wow… I never knew that the Imperial Forces in Randgriz were well-coordinated enough to be able to keep the Militia and the Army at bay"

"Tulius was a crafty one… He managed to think of great positions to place his soldiers, especially his snipers to deter most of the Gallian army… He was ruthless but cunning…"

Flashback:

While we were pinned down just close to the castle, we saw another giant tank arrive in the middle of the city.

"Another one!?" Cooper said

"They're really going all out on us!" Croix said

"With this much firepower being used…" Emilia said "… Prince Maximilian must be getting desperate to defeat Gallia…"

"No Shit…" Paul replied

Just then, we saw fire coming from a building on our west. The Imperials diverted their attention towards the building which gave us an opportunity to strike ourselves. We finished off the last few Imperials defending the castle gates. The squad that helped us then revealed themselves to be Squad 422.

"You guys…" Croix said "…Thanks for the rescue…"

Their squad commander, I think he was called No. 7, then walked up and said "no problem…"

"So…" Croix said "…You're here to help in liberating Castle Randgriz?"

"No…" He replied "We have our own mission…"

Looking behind him, Croix stared at the giant tank for a few seconds before saying:

"…ok… Well then, commander… Good luck… to all of us…"

No. 7 nodded as he shook hands with Croix

After shaking hands, we went our separate ways and set out on our objectives.

Reaching the castle doors, we tried to force them open but they wouldn't budge… Looks like they were barricaded… Good thing, I was carrying satchel charges and began to set them by the doors.

While I was at it, Shadow emerged from the Castle walls with a sniper rifle. He aimed his sights on Emilia. And with one pull on the trigger, he made his shot…

Upon hearing the gunshot, I looked behind me and saw Cooper protected Emilia. Paul acted quickly and shot at Shadow. Paul's shot managed to hit him but Shadow somehow survived the shot and retreated back into the castle. I hastily put down the satchel charges and we all gathered around Cooper as he collapsed into the floor. He had been shot in the chest.

"Hang in there!" I said "Rick, patch him up!"

"I-I got it!" he replied as he readied his medical equipment

"Damn it!" Croix shouted

"D-don't w-worry…" Cooper said "F-f-finish the mission… D-don't c-c-concern yourselves w-with m-me…"

Cooper was struggling to breath but he still cracked a smile…

"You're gonna make it man!" Croix said "We'll go back to Riverwood once we finish up this mission… This is the Empire's endgame… Once we win this battle, we can go home… So… Don't die on me!"

Cooper gave a pained chuckle and said "I-It's fine… I was able to liberate R-Riverwood… Just seeing the town free… I-It's enough…"

He then coughed up blood.

Emilia was shocked and could only utter the word "Why…?"

"W-Why?" Cooper replied "You're a member of this squad right? W-Why shouldn't I p-protect a f-fellow member?"

I could see everyone welling up in tears as Cooper slowly died…

"End this…" Cooper said "… End this war… Bring back peace to Gallia…"

"We will!" Croix said "And you're gonna be alive to see that!"

"Thanks guys…" Cooper said as he looks at the sky "…Flunky? ….Morris? Is that you…?"

Cooper reached his hand towards the sky, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and entered an eternal slumber. He was smiling… which meant that he died without any regrets… We all wanted to cry but we had no time… We still had to rescue Princess Cordelia… We placed his body in the middle of a flower patch located just on our right. I then continued to set the charges and after a while, I detonated them. Thus, opening the path into the castle…

We lost another good friend in this war… But we had no time to mourn… With that, we set foot into the castle. The final battle was upon us…