+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Both the Virtus and Vanus demons seemed utterly shocked by the powerful shot from Adelyn's main gun. Half-frozen, they could only stare at the horizon desperately as they tried to break out. On the other hand, Hans had already prepared his next blow.

With a quick pull of his trigger, a 90mm MPAT round careened out of his main gun.

At the last moment, cracks appeared on their frozen forms, allowing the two demons to break free, their skin and body covered in brutal wounds from the freezing attack. Hans round naturally missed, but it wasn't over yet.

"Get as many rounds downrange as you can!" Hans ordered on the comms as he loaded another MPAT round. "Let's do this!"

"I'm on it!"

As the two demons charged into their position, their speeds turning inhuman rapidly, Hans and Adelyn began opening fire. Their main guns sang alternatively, leaving explosions in the wake of the two demons, as they tried to dodge and duck the incoming attacks.

When they crossed the one-kilometer range, Hans gave his next orders.

"Pull back, then support me from the rear," Hans said, as he readied himself. "I'll handle these bastards."

"Be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry about me, just back off now."

Adelyn's mech began pulling into a hard retreat, as she kept her guns firing, while Hans finally began opening fire with his heavy machine guns. The two demons tried to speed up further, as they were hit by a hail of incendiary rounds from the Peacemaker's coaxials.

He watched as the Vanus demon's smirk grew, his confidence growing as he managed to get closer and closer to Hans' mech. But that smirk was broken when suddenly, the metal beast charged forward.

The demon swung his sword rapidly through the air, sending a wave of wind that sliced even the MPAT round that Adelyn had fired, causing a premature explosion—but Hans dodged it narrowly. Suddenly, with a hail of his machine gun rounds, the two men met in the middle, closing closely.

He watched as the demon began showing off his swordsmanship, his movement rapid, and his slices nearly untraceable, the rapidity of it making it nigh impossible for Hans to dodge it in close quarters.

Worse, beside him, the Virtus demon seemed to have locked on him too, only being kept away by Adelyn's incessant support fire. Regardless, Hans remained calm, pushing hard on his reverse pedal as his hands played an equally dazzling display of piloting.

His hands moved on the control sticks with practiced dexterity—he had been used to dancing with demons already. Every little adjustment, every little pull and change in his speed, he knew all of it, ensuring that his mech moved with the fluidity of a true four-legged monster.

Keep trying hard. Hans thought as he reloaded another set of belts for his double coaxials. We'll see where this goes!

In a surprising reversal, Hans suddenly pushed with full power on his gas pedal, his mech swerving forward and catching the Vanus demon off balance. The demon's sword sliced meters above Hans' mech, harmlessly missing the Peacemaker.

Then, Hans' mech accelerated at full, completely dodging the two demons as they struggled to turn with their full momentum. In a flash, Hans' turret had already turned itself to the two demons. A rain of lead, burning bullets to be specific, struck the two unfortunate souls.

Their bodies were peppered with holes, fires igniting that burned their clothes and skin to the bone. Even the Virtus woman finally screamed in pain, the amount of bullets she received on her chest overwhelming her frame.

"You damned foreign dog!" the Vanus demon shouted as he swung his sword again. "Die!"

With maximum gas in his engines, however, Hans managed to flee the effect of his magical sword attack. In the far distance, Adelyn began ramping up her shots. Explosions tore through the battlefield, her powerful standard 120mm rounds striking close to the two creatures.

Realizing the futility of the battle, they began to flee.

Hans wouldn't allow them off the hook so easily though. He turned around, his guns still hot and active—until he received an order.

"Lieutenant, break off!" Adelyn suddenly ordered. "We only came here to scout ahead of the pack. They're already retreating."

Hans watched as the two demons did their best to flee with their tails tucked behind them. He even saw the Vanus demon look back briefly, his humiliated face red in rage—his intent of enacting retribution clear. Hans wanted to chase them further until he looked at his munitions supply.

I ate through eight rounds for that. Hans frowned. They seem seriously injured at least, but this isn't sustainable, especially if there's more.

His double coaxials stopped firing, as his mech stood down, not moving forward or backward.

"Alright," Hans replied on the comms. "Let's replenish what we've lost—"

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His mech faltered a bit briefly when he attempted to move it forward. Multiple components on his alert screen were in red, possibly pushed to their limits during the engagement, like his overheated radiator.

"I guess I'll have to do some minor repairs too and replenish my ammo," Hans said. "Is the same true on your end?"

"Yeah. I fired two of those cryofreeze rounds too, and only one of them struck the target," she seemed disappointed in herself. "I guess I should not use these special, expensive rounds unless I'm sure that the shot will hit."

"Indeed," Hans breathed in deeply. "Alright, let's wait for the rest of the army and recover. Then, we'll recalibrate our plans."

I guess I won't die just yet then…

+++

General Ercole didn't seem amused by the results.

"So you two engaged those demons ahead of the force?" he asked, as the two stood stiffly inside the tent in full attention.

"Yes, sir," Adelyn replied, her voice firm. "Lieutenant Hoffman and I encountered the demons in a compromised position. We assessed that we might have a chance for an easy kill and thus speed up our advance. That led to the previous incident."

"Hmm…" General Ercole turned to Hans. "And you went with her plan?"

"It was my plan, sir," Hans responded. "I saw an easy kill, and gave her the idea to take the initiative."

"You two work quite smoothly with each other…but the problem with that is this situation. You work too fast, that you might endanger yourselves, and the rest of the army," General Ercole stood up. "I will make this clear—I do not appreciate it when those under me, especially you two who possess a valuable piece in my order of battle, take risky initiatives."

"Sir!" Adelyn spoke up, gaining his attention. "In our homeland, lower officers and even non-commissioned officers are encouraged to take initiative in combat when need be. It ensures that lower-level units can function at their best—"

"This is not your homeland, Captain Wittenstein," General Ercole said. "I understand differences in command are true in different places. But you must consider that, unlike your machines, we do not have instant communication for our troops."

Adelyn's eyes widened, and she kept her mouth shut.

"In this army, every course of action must be choreographed and planned ahead of time. Of course, there is flexibility available, and of course, have you two been directly attacked, you must fight back.

"But you must not at any moment, break the directives I've given you. Had something gone wrong, I wouldn't have known it. I would not be able to dispatch folks to support you, or you would be gone, and my troops would be marching into a trap unknowingly because you hadn't reported to me."

He stopped. It did make sense to Hans, he supposed. They had been acting, ever since the start, as if they were still in Terra. Where all units had radios. Where the battlespace was closely monitored and watched by drones and so many other scouting units.

"Do you understand my point?" General Ercole asked.

"Yes," Adelyn replied.

"We do understand it," Hans straightened his back.

General Ercole crossed his arms, staring at the two blankly until he sighed.

"Regardless, good work," the general said. "You two went back regardless and heavily wounded the enemy, at least, according to your report. This will of course only benefit us, most likely."

Ah, like all officers, he first chews us before giving us his compliments.

"Regardless," he continued. "I expect better next time. This war, again, isn't your fight alone. Don't squander yourselves foolishly."

"Sir," Adelyn bowed her head. "I apologize."

"No need to apologize. I merely wanted to clarify this part of our operating procedure," General Ercole said. "Now get going. You told me you both need to tend to your mechs?"

Hans and Adelyn both nodded.

"Then get on with it," he pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "Alright, daylight's already burned anyway. We'll settle for defensive positions tonight. I want the two of you to do a thirty-minute patrol at every two-hour intervals after 16:00 hours. That'll be your task till morning."

"Do we have to do the patrols as a duo too?" Hans asked.

The general shook his head.

"You can switch posts if you'd like," he shrugged. "I need both of you to sleep and recover for tomorrow's battle anyway."

"Acknowledged, sir," Hans said.

"I swear, we won't disappoint you again," Adelyn added.

"You two never disappoint," General Ercole went back to his seat. "As I've said, carry on. Don't mind this old man when he grumbles from time to time. You're both good soldiers."

+++

"Well, getting chewed kinda sucks, I guess," Hans said, as he finished working on checking and repairing their mechs. Wiping his sweat, he placed back his tools on his toolbox.

"I'll do that one," Adelyn took the toolbox from him with a smile, before stowing it away inside her mech. "You did enough already."

Hans stood up and stretched a bit, before taking his canteen to rehydrate himself. He looked briefly at the horizon as more lines of soldiers passed by them, even with the night sky already fully dark, save for the stars twinkling. He stowed his canteen away after he was done drinking.

It looks so beautiful sometimes.

Adelyn emerged out of her hatch again, before tossing something to Hans. Hans caught it quickly, before checking its contents. It was inside a paper wrapper, and inside…

"Chocolates?"

"Yep!" Adelyn beamed a bit. "Bought it earlier from other officers. They seem to have special chocolates with them that they receive from our supply shipments. So, there you go."

Hans took a sniff of the sweet bar on his hand, before taking a bite from it.

"Damn…damn it's good," he melted a bit. "Real chocolate…"

"Hehe, I knew you would like it," Adelyn jumped down her mech's hull. "I gave most to Alizée, and she certainly enjoyed it a lot."

"That's right!" Alizée's head popped out of Adelyn's hatch. "Thank you, Lady Adelyn!"

"You're welcome," Adelyn replied with a smile. Hans on the other hand finished his bar, before giving Adelyn a thumbs up.

"That was very cool of you. Thanks," Hans said with a laugh.

"I just thought you deserved something after that fight and…the ass chewing…"

"Eh, don't mind it," Hans said. "Anyhow, it's my turn first to patrol no?"

"I thought it was me first—"

"Nah, go rest," Hans walked to his mech, before turning back to Adelyn. "Trust me, if shit happens anyway, I'll be fast to call you."

With that, he climbed back into his mech. Hans knew this battle wasn't over yet, and he would finish it soon.

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