The Slum Offensive IV

"Sir! What's our next step? How do we navigate through this disaster?" Victor inquired, urgency in his voice.

"Disregard those trapped under the debris! We can't afford to waste time on them!" Dialla barked back, eyes scanning the chaotic scene.

"But, Sir, there are nearly a hundred of our men in there..."

"Forget them! I have a thousand more waiting behind me. Listen up, everyone! Ignite this rubble and blast it until we can clear a path. Once through, concentrate your fire on the ridge. Eliminate them before they can attack us again with more gasoline toy truck!"

"Yes, Sir!" 

Amidst the orders, a soldier hesitantly raised his hand, "Sir, does this mean we're abandoning our comrades?"

"Once they fall to the enemy, they're as good as dead! Tell me, what's the difference between being dead and buried alive?!" Dialla challenged, his tone scathing.

"Hmm... I..."

"Answer me!!"

"I... I don't have an answer, Sir..." the soldier stammered.

"Exactly! Then, shut your mouth! Now, does anyone else has objections to their captain's orders?!" Dialla glared, his voice threatening.

Silence followed. No one dared speak.

"If not, what are you waiting for then?! Clear the path! Move!"

"Roger that!" the soldiers responded, turning away from the wreckage.

As they moved, a desperate hand emerged from the debris, grasping at the leg of a passing soldier. "Help me! Please, don't leave us!" the trapped soldier begged, his voice cracking with despair.

"I'm sorry, mate... This is an order... I wish I could help you," the soldier murmured, prying the hand off his leg with a heavy heart.

"Where are you going?! Wait! Please, come back and help us!" The cries of the trapped men echoed hopelessly as the soldiers reluctantly followed their orders, leaving their comrades behind in the rubble.

The trapped soldier's cries faded into a haunting echo as his comrades retreated under Dialla's stern commands. Their faces, painted with internal strife, reflected the harsh reality of the sacrifices demanded by war and the brutal heartlessness of Dialla.

The soldiers turned their backs on their trapped comrades, complying with Dialla's merciless command. They huddled behind the tanks, which rolled forward to unleash a barrage on the debris and rubble. The cries for help from the trapped soldiers, desperate and piercing, were drowned out by the relentless booms of explosions. When the bombardment ceased, the path was clear but stained deep with the blood of those sacrificed for nothing.

From their vantage point, Rosseaulyn witnessed the brutal scene unfold. Horror and anger etched deeply into Rosseaulyn's features, a stark contrast to her usual composure. The assassin witnessed the brutal scene, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Officer... even I wouldn't commit such acts. In all my years, I've never seen assassins betray their own like this." The assassin remarked.

"Dialla has lost all semblance of humanity... He massacres the innocent and now his own men. There's a special place in hell waiting for him!" Rosseaulyn spat, her voice thick with fury.

"Hahahahaha! Well, our job here is to expedite that journey for him!"

"Mr. Assassin, we can't stop this maniac any longer. Forget your plans—get everyone including your fellas out of the slum now!"

"Wait, what? Are you suggesting we surrender and lose this war?" It's not over yet, officer! Think again!"

"There's no point continuing this battle. It will only result in more senseless death on both sides. Stop it now!" Rosseaulyn insisted.

"Geez… Well, folks! It seems she's right—we can't stop them any longer. But this isn't the end. We'll retreat for now and reclaim this city in the future! We will be back!!" The assassin proclaimed resolutely.

"Leader… that means we have to leave our homes…" a voice lamented.

"Yes, unfortunately. But we will return and rebuild together—no worries at all about that!"

"Even without this war, we could have been eliminated by the government anytime, and all of us knew about it. It just came a little faster than we expected… It's kind of hard to accept the truth..." the assassin's follower said emotionally.

"Well, well... Hey officer, I admit we are defeated for this time! But I won't escape! I still have something personal to settle with Dialla!"

"I can't quite believe that you would give up so easily!"

"Because I believe in your wise decision and intelligence! I also sensed the hatred from you towards Dialla too. I could tell you really want to tear his head apart just like Ayukawa here. Hahahahaha!!"

"Nobody would like a maniac like him! Look at this chaos he created! Even if they are illegal immigrants or whatever… This is definitely not a valid reason to kill them! I will clean up all this mess! It's my duty as the officer in charge!"

"Well said! Fellas! You all have heard what the lieutenant has said. So run for your life right now! They are going to break our defense any time now!"

"Alright, leader… I guess we have no other choice…"

"Hahahahaha!! I truly like all of you! One last effort! Release the rest of the trucks and run for your life! We will meet again in the future!"

"Yes, leader! We will wait for the day we meet again and take this city back!"

"Hahahahaha!! Farewell, fellas!"

"Ms. Ayukawa and Mr. Assassin, here they come! We need to continue buying as much time as we can!"

Ayukawa got herself up and replied, "Got it!"

"Before we deal with Dialla, I want to extract some information directly from his mouth. So, Mr. Assassin and Ms. Ayukawa, allow me to bind your hands with this special rope. It's just for show—easily shaken off within a second," Rosseaulyn requested.

"It's rather uncomfortable…" the assassin complained.

"Just bear with it."

Breaking away from their followers, the assassin, Rosseaulyn, and Ayukawa stood alone against the approaching soldiers. The gasoline truck the assassin ordered to release destroyed instantly by Dialla's troops. As Dialla and his troops advanced, they soon came face to face with the trio blocking their path

"What's the holdup?! Why have we stopped?!" Dialla asked.

"Captain! It's Second Lieutenant Winton! And the wanted man and woman!" a soldier exclaimed.

"Winton?" Dialla mused.

"Yes, Sir!"

Dialla strolled forward, meeting Rosseaulyn's gaze. "Second Lieutenant Winton! We meet again! Didn't expect our paths to cross so soon."

"Nor did I. I was actually hoping to never see your face again after our last encounter at the campsite."

"You lack respect for your superior, don't you? Seems you've grown too comfortable in the throne of Luthernza, forgetting you're STILL! ONLY! A SECOND LIEUTENANT!! Know your rank and mind your tongue!"

"And what about you? You seem to have lost your seat altogether! At least I know where I stand!"

"Of course! I wouldn't know—I had to create my own. But I can see why you'd dare to speak to me like this! Hahahahaha! How intriguing!"

"Why is that? I'm quite curious to find out!"

"It's obvious, isn't it?! Look at what we have here! You managed to capture the two most wanted criminals by yourself! Let me see, the one on your left is the man who brought chaos to this city, and the one on your right is the mad woman... Both have killed countless innocent lives!" Dialla accused.

The assassin heard and grew visibly displeased. He retorted, "I don't know what you're talking about, Dialla! When did I kill innocent lives? Don't forget, you're the one who invited me here in the first place!"

"I believe I'm the one who truly has no idea what you're talking about… Today is the first time I've seen you! I don't know how you managed to know my name, but I'm not interested in finding out!" Dialla responded dismissively.

"Oh, my Mamma Mia! What an impressive acting skill I've ever seen in my entire life! Your acting is even better than the actors in the theater! Hey! You should remember that night! The night you lost your eye, and you killed a man with the guy beside you who lost his ear! I also remember the man you killed is called Ray–" The assassin began.

"Enough of your nonsense!! Second Lieutenant Winton, make sure you silence the dog you caught next time! It's very annoying to listen to its barking!" Dialla interrupted sharply.

"I wonder if he was really the one who blinded your eye? I'm quite curious about that too!" Rosseaulyn interjected intentionally.

"No, this was simply caused during the war!"

"I see… But I'm more curious about the murder part. He said you've killed someone…"

"Hahahahaha! I find there's nothing wrong at all if I've killed someone during a war! It's a war, Lieutenant Winton! Do you know what a war means?! My only job on the field is to kill, not to save or help people!"

"Captain Dialla, that's not what I intended to ask. What I mean is, could the person that you killed be Captain Raynolds?"

"You've gone too far and are being ridiculous, Lieutenant Winton! Besides, why would I kill him in the first place?!"

"Who knows? Perhaps you wanted to take credit for winning the war."

"Seems like you don't know what the consequence of false accusations is, Lieutenant! I warned you to watch your mouth earlier!" Dialla's voice grew stern.

"What is the consequence then? Death? I'm so curious!" Rosseaulyn taunted.

"You have so many childish curiosities, don't you?! I see, I got it now. You want the credit! But bear in mind! Just because you managed to take down these two maniacs, it doesn't mean you get the credit for this! I bet you must be curious what I mean!"

"Indeed!"

"You are not part of this military action! Even if you help us take them down, it won't be counted. I will just say thanks for your voluntary assist!"

"Well, I am not as nasty as you, full of dirty plans! By the way, I never asked for any credit!"

"Now you're really pissing me off! You are wasting my time to hunt the rest! Getting these two maniacs is still far from our goal!"

"I won't let any of you pass!" Rosseaulyn asserted.

"How dare you!?"

"What are you going to do? Kill me? Just like how you killed Captain Raynolds?!"

"If you insist! Then I will make your wish come true!" Dialla threatened, his eyes glinting with hostility.

"Then come on!" Rosseaulyn challenged, her grip tightening on her weapon.

"I will just take all three of you alive and make all of you suffer for the rest of your lives!! Victor! Bring the two maniacs over and the rest of you go take down Second Lieutenant Winton now!!" Dialla commanded, his tone laced with venom.

"Eh!? Take down Ma'am!?" The soldiers exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah! She's a traitor! She disregarded my order!"

Some soldiers hesitated, their loyalty torn between duty and doubt. "Erm… Captain, are we really out of choice?" One of them ventured to ask.

"Your only choice is to follow my order! Just do what I said! She's not one of us and not your superior anymore! Go get her! Get the traitor!" Dialla's voice boomed with authority, his gaze unwavering.

"Ye… Yes Sir…" The soldiers reluctantly acquiesced, torn between their allegiance and their conscience.

Rosseaulyn immediately took out her M79 Sawed Off and warned, "If any of you try to step closer, I will blast you all to hell!"

"Oh… No! Ma'am! Don't shoot at us!" The soldiers pleaded, their voices tinged with fear and uncertainty.

"Then, don't listen to Captain Dialla!"

"Shut up! You have no right to order my men! You got no match to stand against us at your own! You are alone, Lieutenant Winton!"

"I will still stop all of you!"

"What a stubborn woman! Get her NOW!"

"Erm…" The soldiers hesitated again.

"WHAT A BUNCH OF COWARDS AND IDIOTS! Tanks! Run over her!" Dialla ordered, his fury boiling over.

"Yes Sir!" The tanks unit obediently followed Dialla's order, rolling forward menacingly towards Rosseaulyn. But to everyone's surprise, a few tanks remained behind, their engines idling as they made no move to obey the command. Suddenly, those idle tanks opened fire on their fellow tanks, destroying them with precise shots. Dialla and Victor exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what was happening.

"What the hell are they doing?!! Hey! Stop them!" Dialla exclaimed, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"Geez! Friendly fire! Friendly fire!! Stop!" Victor shouted, frantically trying to regain control of the situation.

"Rebellion?!" Dialla's eyes widened in shock and fury as he watched his own forces turning against each other.

The rebel tanks continued to fire until their targets were incapacitated, prompting Victor to take decisive action. He grabbed some RPGs with his men and swiftly neutralized the rebel tanks, forcing the dissenting soldiers to retreat before they could face retribution.

Amidst the chaos, a man emerged from the ranks and shouted loudly, "The honourable soldiers of Second Lieutenant Winton, regroup! Don't let them get our Ma'am! Protect Ma'am now!!"

"Yeah!!" Some of the soldiers responded in unison, rallying to Rosseaulyn's defense.

Dialla's face twisted with rage as he watched his authority slipping away. "HOW DARE YOU! Are you guys trying to betray me?!"