Saga of Tanya the Evil

Her assigned mission was important but boring. She just needed to carry the signal set and the full set of reconnaissance equipment to observe the bombardment.

The processing of the telemetry was handled by the artillery units. Command was issued by the controller in Norden control tower.

And this was a battle they will definitely win, so she just needed to admire the laudable skills of the Empire's artillery forces that rained down fragmentation and explosive shells repeatedly.

The Empire was a military power that rose to prominence amongst the great powers recently. Supporting its renowned army was its relatively new equipment, and its orthodox pursuit of firepower.

The belief of the Empire was that "bayonets don't lie, and neither do numbers." That was why artillery was the 'God of battle' in the Empire. Even for Tanya, compared to the suspicious entity claiming to be god, the god of battle was a more reliable and absolute existence.

Even though our forces were doubtful of conflict, we still dutifully made preparations for war. Which means not only air superiority, but even the anti-Mage surveillance net was set up perfectly.

Be it a spark of resistance or the flash of anti-air guns, you just need to tell on them to the god of battle, and it will incur a suppressing barrage from the artillery to pulverise them.

This job was safe and meaningful, and would earn good reviews. How she wished she could do this all the time.

After all, this was a VIP seat to watch the process of friendly forces gradually obtaining victory. Comparatively speaking, the Fuji Combined Firepower Exercise was like kids playing with cute steel beads.

Watching the scene of the enemy being defeated from the safe sky, there was no way I would feel unhappy about it.

Artillery till the land and then the infantry and armour push forth. The ones providing ground cover and direct air support are us, the Mages.

Flying at high altitude were the hybrid fighter jets and bombers unit led the way as the advance party. The entire battle was developing even more smoothly than a training exercise.

Cheers to headquarters for coming up with this beautiful battle plan. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to advance my career in such a safe and simple manner.

It is thoughtless of me, I have to apologize to General Lee who said, "it is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it," because I feel that war is so much fun.

"Fairy08, this is Norden Control. Artillery is beginning ranging shots. Please report."

"This is Fairy08, confirming shots are on target. Uploading data. Concluding that adjustment is not needed. I say again, no need to adjust. Fire for effect."

The most amazing thing was how well the artillery was working with the data. To score a hit with just the ranging shots showed how well trained they were.

Or rather, the Empire's reputation of being a military superpower wasn't just for show. Thanks to this, Tanya had an easy time working, which was great.

"Norden Control, acknowledged. Be careful of stray rounds. Bombardment will begin in two-zero-zero seconds. Over."

"Fairy08, acknowledged. Out."

Tanya increased her altitude slightly as she kept her distance and moved towards the west. She didn't think the artillery strike would be off target, but she would be hit if there were any mistakes, and it would be a tragedy if she was done in by friendly fire.

On top of that, a full bombardment attack had an amazing amount of shells. The artillery fired without hesitation, while Tanya watched with envy while biting her fingers.

In order to work happily together, she must not inconvenience the other party.

The artillery began their bombardment, raining down a cruel amount of iron shells, far exceeding the amount shown in any of the war movies Tanya had seen.

She looked down from the sky and saw black spots pouring onto the ground like stars of a galaxy, exploding into intense flames, and turning the objects known as humans into dust.

"Fairy08 to Norden Control. Confirmed shots on target, please continue firing."

"Norden Control, sending warzone updates. AO (area of operation) Alpha… Zone bzzz… bzzz—"

"Norden Control, this is Fairy08, you are breaking up, heavy interference. Over."

This might be electromagnetic interference or simply an equipment issue. This is a critical moment, spare me from that. When Tanya was about to contact the controller again to test the signal set on her back, she received an unexpected message.

"Cherub leader, emergency war zone alert! Saying again, emergency war zone alert! Confirmed a large number of bogeys approaching!"

A warning that was different from periodic radio checks, it was an alert about unidentified aircraft. The strange thing was that the Forward Air Control on the front line was issuing the warning to the war zone.

In an engagement with enemy units, such alerts wouldn't be given to the entire war zone unless the first defence line was broken. That was the hidden meaning behind the warning.

Was it powerful enemy reinforcements? But that's how war is; nothing goes according to plan.

"... Norden Control to all airborne security forces. Switch ROE from border patrol to anti-guerilla attacks. Saying again, switch ROE from border patrol to anti-guerilla attack."

When radio communications resumed, she received this sudden order to engage the enemy. This was obvious, since enemy aircraft was inbound, there was no choice but to engage.

To prevent such incident from happening, the Empire not only set up a strong defence line in their forward position, they had also scrambled reserve units as their security forces.

"Large number of heat signatures detected from bogeys! Spell interference detected! Targets identified to be Bandits (Mages)! The enemy is opening fire! Please neutralize targets immediately!"

The last message gave Tanya an ominous feeling. This might be the enemies' death throes, but the situation was rather dangerous.

"Norden Control to all stations. Saying again, Norden Control to all stations."

It wasn't obvious from the controller's tone, but he had a hint of anxiety in his voice. He could read out the loss of allied aircraft calmly like a news reporter, so if even this guy was feeling anxious, the situation must be beyond dire.

"We have confirmed Mages on the scale of a wing crossing the border. Saying again, confirmed a Mage wing is breaching our defence lines."

The Forward Air Controller read out the shocking situation update with a slightly troubled voice. Logically speaking, committing combat forces in batches was a taboo in military operations.

Ensuring the reserve forces were utilized effectively was a crucial point in planning, but at the same time, commanders have to ensure they have enough reserve forces for tactical usage. The dilemma between these two issues date back to ancient times, but was also the most difficult problem to solve.

Going by common sense, sending infantry across the border without support and only throwing in units to cover their forces was inconceivable.

Even Tanya didn't expect the Federation to send in their reserves when the Empire was about to switch to the offensive and pursue the enemy forces.

If they were going to commit units, by battle logic, they should have done so earlier. However, that was why the Empire didn't expect this move.

"All units engage the enemy on contact! I say again, engage immediately!"

After routing the enemy, while they were adjusting the position and movement of the artillery, they were met with the counterattack by a wing of enemy Mages.

The Empire army did think this might happen, but they had just concluded the enemy main forces had been destroyed.

Normally, if they wanted to support the withdrawal of their allies, they should have acted faster. The unexpected enemy reinforcement probably threw a wrench into the Empire's front line.

Tanya was just thinking she couldn't accumulate merits which would affect her career advancement in her position. However, right now she was glad to be assigned to the back.

If she was in the airborne security force, she would need to intercept immediately; but as an artillery observer, she didn't need to go over.

"... Bzzz… Bzzz—"