Defend

The tension hung thick in the air as Frainh and his 155 soldiers settled into their makeshift defenses, fortified amidst the chaos of the twisted forest. They had transformed the woods into a formidable barrier, using the fallen trees and deep trenches as a desperate shield against the advancing enemy.

Frainh crouched low next to Corporal Bende, a bright-eyed youth of just eighteen, whose dreams of becoming a doctor had been overshadowed by the stark realities of war. With a few pennies in his pocket, the army had become his only path. Bende's fingers danced over his bolt-action rifle, cleaning it as they shared whispered conversations amidst the impending storm.

But then, came a sudden crunching sound from the underbrush, like a bone snapping beneath a heavy boot. Bende looked up, confusion flickering in his eyes, just as a bullet struck him between the eyes. The impact was sickeningly sharp, the sound of the bullet tearing through flesh and bone. His head exploded. Frainh's heart plummeted as he watched Bende's body crumple to the ground, life extinguished in an instant.

Frainh shouted "Fire!"

The command shattered the air, igniting the fury within his men. They opened fire, rifles barking in unison. Each shot was a desperate cry for survival, the bullets tearing through the shadows, finding their mark in the dark silhouettes of the enemy lurking beyond the treeline.

Artillery shells rained down upon the city and the forest, explosions echoing like thunderclaps, ripping apart everything..

He leveled his rifle, breath steadying as he took aim at a distant figure silhouetted against the backdrop of flames and smoke. He pulled the trigger, feeling the recoil jolt through his arm. The enemy soldier dropped with a pained gasp, a burst of blood erupting from the wound, staining the ground beneath him.

"Stay low!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the din of battle as the trees around them shook violently. A nearby shell exploded with terrifying force, showering the trenches with shards of wood and earth, the noise deafening and overwhelming. Frainh ducked instinctively, the debris raining down. One of his men screamed, a harrowing sound that twisted in Frainh's gut, as a massive tree fell, crushing him beneath its trunk.

Frainh's breath came in sharp bursts, his heart pounding against his ribs like a war drum, urging him to action. He scanned the chaos, watching as one by one, his soldiers fell, caught in the relentless crossfire. Each body that hit the ground was a life extinguished, dreams shattered under the weight of a cruel reality.

"Hold the line!" he shouted, the urgency in his voice cutting through the chaos like a beacon of hope. The men around him rallied, desperation etched into their faces as they braced against the onslaught. Frainh felt the weight of their lives resting heavily on his shoulders, a burden he refused to let crush him. He would hold this ground, no matter the cost.

The darkness concealed the enemy's movements, but he could sense their advance, creeping ever closer. The forest, once a serene refuge, had transformed into a hellscape, where trees became tombstones and the earth drank deeply of their blood..

But the battle was merciless. Artillery fire intensified, shells exploding sending shockwaves through the air and ripping bodies. Frainh barely had time to react before a massive explosion erupted nearby, the force sending him tumbling backward, his rifle slipping from his hand.

The world became a blur of fire and smokey. Frainh scrambled to his feet, heart racing as he fought against the disorientation. 

"Get up! Get back in position!" Frainh shouted, desperation lacing his voice as he rallied what remained of his men. They were battered, weary, but he could not allow despair to take root. With every ounce of strength, he pushed forward, reloading his rifle and taking aim once more.

In the midst of the chaos, he saw a fellow soldier, a boy barely older than Bende, clutching a wound to his chest. Blood flowed freely from his fingers, staining the ground as he gasped for breath. 

"Stay with me!" Frainh shouted, rushing toward the boy, but a bullet whizzed past him, striking the ground. The boy's eyes widened in terror, and with a shuddering gasp, he fell silent, his body collapsing into the mud, life slipping away like water through fingers. 

Each soldier who fell was a part of him, a piece of his soul extinguished in the fire of battle. The weight of their deaths pressed heavily on him, the realization that he could not save them all a crushing blow to his heart. But he had to keep fighting. He had to survive, not just for himself but for them.

The darkness pressed in, the forest around him transforming into a living nightmare. Frainh steadied his breathing, reloading his rifle with trembling hands as he fought against the despair threatening to engulf him. He aimed once more, the shadows becoming his only companions, the flickering flames illuminating the faces of the fallen around him, each one a ghost haunting his every step.

"Hold the line!" He shouted again, forcing strength into his voice as he rallied his men.

The line was crumbling, the advance of the enemy pressing down upon Frainh and his mens. As bullets whizzed past, biting into the ground around them, Frainh could see the strain etched on the faces of his soldiers. 

"Use your bayonets!" Frainh shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. The order was met with a grim nod from his men as they prepared for the inevitable clash. Each soldier's face was a mask of determination, but fear flickered in their eyes.

The enemy was overwhelming, their numbers unfathomable. After what felt like an eternity of combat, Frainh glanced at his watch. Fifty minutes had passed since the onslaught began.

"Retreat!" He ordered, the word heavy with urgency and dread. "Ivan, radio for cover fire!"

Ivan, grimaced as he crouched down behind a fallen tree, reaching for the radio. "Cover fire! We're pulling back!" He shouted into the radio.

As they fell back, the machine guns sprayed the forest, trees splintered under the onslaught, sending wooden shrapnel flying as Frainh pushed Ivan ahead of him. "Keep moving! We need to get to the gates!"

They sprinted through the shattered remnants of the city gates, which had been reduced to rubble to prevent any enemies from breaching their last line of defense. 

As Fraihn stumbled inside the commanding center, his heart sank. To his shock, he found the three officers sprawled over a table, bottles of whiskey littering the ground around them. The scene was surreal while their men fought and died, these officers were lost in a drunken stupor, laughing and toasting as if they were celebrating a victory rather than a massacre.

"What the hell is this?" Frainh demanded, rage boiling inside him. 

The officers looked up at him, their faces flushed and eyes bleary. One of them waved a dismissive hand, slurring his words. "It's already lost! So why not enjoy a drink?"

They had lost so many men, and here they were, treating their lives like a joke. He could feel the weight of despair pressing in on him, and without thinking, he reached for his revolver.

In a swift motion, he pulled the trigger, the shots ringing out finding their marks in the officers' heads. Their bodies slumped forward, lifeless, blood pooling on the table, mingling with the spilled whiskey.

The Major, who had followed him inside, stood frozen in shock, his expression unreadable as he processed the scene before him.

Without a word, the Major stepped forward and covered the bodies with a blanket, saying nothing to Fraihn as he put away his weapon. 

As he went out leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, the weight of his actions settling like a stone in his stomach. He had crossed a line, but in that moment, it felt necessary. They were fighting for their survival, and he would do whatever it took to protect his men.

"We need to regroup." He said finally, breaking the silence. "We can't let this be the end."

The Major nodded, a flicker of respect passing between them, and together they began to make plan. 

As Frainh shouted, the ground shuddered violently beneath their feet. Incoming shells cut through the air, followed by explosions that lit up the sky like malevolent fireworks. The city was under siege.

Rifle rounds ricocheted off the crumbling walls, the bullets striking with a sharp, biting crack that sent shards of stone flying. The machine gunners, unleashed a torrent of fire, their weapons spitting death at anything that moved. 

Frainh sprinted toward his troops, adrenaline surging through his veins.

 "Just shoot everything until we come up with a plan!" He shouted, his voice barely rising above the chaos. The soldiers nodded, their faces pale but resolute, and began firing into the darkness.

Frainh darted back toward the Major, his mind racing as he navigated the chaos. 

"How much control do you have over your skills?" He yelled.

"Pretty well." The Major replied, brows furrowed, his eyes darting anxiously to the battlefield as bullets whizzed past them.

"We need to shoot a fireball into the forest!" he insisted, urgency palpable. "Concentrate and create a fireball! We'll load it into artillery and ignite the trees!"

The Major hesitated for a brief moment, his expression caught between disbelief and confusion as the chaos outside roared. "That's—"

"Now is not the time for doubts!" Frainh cut him off, urgency surging through him like wildfire. "If we ignite the forest, it will slow the enemy's advance and give us a chance to regroup!"

After a tense heartbeat, the Major nodded, determination etched on his face. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he focused on the energy swirling within him. Frainh watched, heart racing, as the air around the Major shimmered with heat, the temperature rising as flames flickered to life in his palm.

With a fierce shout, the Major thrust his hand forward, and a fireball exploded to life, a swirling sphere of orange and red that crackled with energy. The flames danced eagerly, a wild flicker of destruction ready to unleash chaos. Frainh gestured urgently toward that one artillery gun they had.

"Load it!" He shouted. Frainh could feel the heat radiating from the fireball. "Ready?" He looked at the Major.

"Fire!" One of the soldiers shouted, and Frainh braced himself.

The fireball rocketed through the air with blinding speed. Time seemed to slow as Frainh watched it soar, a comet of devastation destined to ignite the forest.

When it struck, a massive explosion illuminated the trees, flames roaring to life in a frenzy. The heat washed over Frainh, suffocating and powerful, as the inferno consumed the forest and the enemy, devouring everything in its path.

The fire spread rapidly, climbing the trunks and racing through the underbrush, an unstoppable tide of flame.

The Major loaded three more fireballs, each burst of magic surging from his fingertips, but soon he staggered back, his energy depleted.

The fire raged on, an eternal blaze illuminating the darkness and filling the night with its fierce glow. The forest was engulfed, a monstrous inferno but Fraihn knew they enemy would adapt, and they would need to act fast.

"Let's keep moving!" Frainh shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "We have to regroup and prepare for whatever comes next!" The urgency in his tone resonated with the men, igniting a spark of determination but then a massive shell striking just short of their position. The world seemed to slow for a moment, and then the shockwave hit.

The force was like a giant's fist, slamming into Fraihn and the others, hurling them through the air. Glass from the shattered windows exploded outward, jagged shards slicing into skin and armor alike. Fraihn felt his body slam into the hard stone wall behind him, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. Pain shot through his ribs, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Gasping, disoriented, he struggled to rise. His vision blurred, but as it cleared, the scene before him was a nightmare.

Major lay pinned beneath a massive slab of stone, his lower half utterly crushed. Bones jutted from mangled flesh, and his once-pristine uniform was soaked in dark blood. The Major's mouth was open, but no sound escaped, his eyes wide in shock, his lips twitching as his life drained away. Blood poured from his mouth, bubbling as it mixed with his final, ragged breaths.

The smell of burning flesh began to rise, thick and choking as the flames from the earlier bombardment spread. Screams filled the air, men engulfed in fire, their bodies thrashing as they tried to extinguish the flames. 

Just as the ground began to quake again with the approaching enemy, a pair of hands grabbed him under the arms, pulling him to his feet. It was Ivan, his face pale and streaked with soot and blood.

"Captain we need to move! You're in charge now." Ivan gasped, barely able to drag Fraihn upright. "The Major's dead! You're the commanding officer!"

Fraihn blinked through the pain and exhaustion, his vision blurring.The enemy was closing in. And the blood-drenched battlefield was his to command.