The Battle Part 3

January 26, 1898

Busan – Eastern Hills

The forest crackled with musket fire.

Lieutenant Markos Ellery's lungs burned as he ducked behind a mound of dirt and tangled roots, reloading his rifle with shaking hands. Around him, the Amerathian and Korean troops fired in coordinated bursts, trying to push back the wave of Russian soldiers coming down the ridgeline like a tide of gray.

Smoke hung in the cold air, thick and choking. Branches snapped overhead as bullets cracked through the trees.

"Reload! Left flank, hold tight!" Ellery shouted, voice hoarse.

A Korean sergeant beside him nodded and barked the command to his men. The two units—once strangers—now fought side by side like veterans of the same banner. They shared trenches, rifles, and blood.