Chapter 26 – War Crimes
Machine guns from the tanks can be heard as they start to get within range. The remaining formations of infantrymen of the 151st Infantry Regiment that had returned fire melted as they either got torn apart or started fleeing. The tanks mercilessly crash into a group of stragglers and crush them under their tracks.
Ara looks out of the viewports of her commander’s hatch. The enemy is in complete chaos while her tanks maintain formation charging. Her tank had just run over an inferior who was idiotic enough to try to destroy her tank with a mere bolt action rifle. Blood now definitely covers the front tracks and hull of her tank.
“Driver, turn right, I see a group of humans. Run them over!”
At this point, Ara didn’t even bother shooting at them seeing that it is a waste of ammunition. Her tank speeds up to the right with the intent of crushing the fleeing and clearly unarmed civilians. Women and children among them. They crunch under the tracks of her tank.
0250 March 22nd, 2020 CE
0425 Start 52nd, 196 AE
Town of Cirpi
A battalion from the 50th Elven Infantry Division of the 16th Elven Army Corp enters their first human town. Many things had been dropped on the ground as the humans fled to their homes when the elvens entered. The battalion surveys the town and orders his subordinates to order their men to begin "cleaning up".
The platoon commanders order their men as the battalion spreads out throughout the town.
“Round up all the humans!”
The soldiers kick down or smash the doors to the houses and force the occupants out at either gunpoint or dragging them out.
“Quickly. Quickly! Round them up in that area. Don’t let any escape.”
The battalion commander had designated an area where they will all be placed first.
The humans complain as they are being pushed around by the soldiers. Some of the human children are crying.
“Hey! What are you doing!?
“Watch it!”
One of the humans notices the ears of the soldiers.
“They’re elvens!”
A few of the humans look up to see the pointy, long ears that symbolize an elf.
Some humans try to resist using magic but are gunned down before they could do much. Some also try to form barriers to protect themselves but are blown up with grenades and shot to pieces.
Less than ten minutes later
After clearing all the houses and thoroughly combing the town for anyone who was hiding, the battalion commander issues new orders to his subordinates after taking an estimate of the number of humans.
“Put them all into those four houses over there. You know what we were ordered to do.”
He points to a group of houses next to each other in the outer parts of town.
Regardless of age and gender, humans are all shoved into the houses. The doors are closed and secured. A couple of platoon commanders were in charge of the next stops.
“Get the flamethrower team and the machine gunners.”
“Yes sir!”
Before long, the flamethrower teams are in front of the houses and the machine gunners have set up their machine guns behind them. The machine guns are loaded with magibullets.
“Light the houses on fire. Machine guns, don’t open fire until ordered so.”
The flamethrowers douse the house in fire by using their mana to conjure up flames and step back behind the machine gunners. Many screams can be heard from the houses as their occupants roast alive.
“There’s a fire!”
“Open the door!”
“Let us out! Let us out!”
The humans in the house pound the door.
“Wait for it… wait for it…”
Ä couple of seconds later, a few flaming and screaming figures burst out of the house. One seems to be as small as a child.
“Fire!”
The machine gunners opened up on the people outside before spreading out their machine-gun fire on the house. Before long, the screaming dies down.
“Check around the houses! Make sure none of the filth survived.”
A few soldiers circle the house to see if any humans were able to get out. The fires of the houses still burn brightly as smoke rises into the air
An officer kicks one of the bodies of those who ran out. It is charred black and blood is running out of where the human was shot.
Some humans are not charred like the others but had blood all over them. They were the few who had survived the fire by using water magic to protect themselves only to get gunned down in the end.
A few minutes later
The car of the regimental commander comes into town. The battalion commander salutes as a person exits the car.
"At ease. I see you have finished here Lieutenant Colonel."
“Major General, did we really have to kill them all? Weren’t there orders to keep some of them as slaves?”
“Lieutenant Colonel Vulmar, these are orders from the division commander. Leave none alive for now. We are still following the orders of the Leader by taking slaves later. And besides, there are enough of these vermin running around to make slaves. We can kill as many as we like.”
Vulmar gets closer to the Major General and lowers his voice a bit.
“I know but… you know... one of the women looked quite nice if you know what I mean.”
The Major General smirks.
“You can get a couple of slaves in the future but there's another way for you to have 'fun'. Pick one next town and have a go at it then. You can kill them after the 'fun'. There weren't orders not to do this so its fine.”
Across the western Mach Imperium, humans living in towns experience a similar fate.
0510 March 22nd, 2020 CE
0535 Start 52nd, 196 AE
Elfarion, Elven Nation, Elven Continent
Tarron walks into a room where all his senior military staff are. The staff all stand at attention and salute by slapping their fists to their hearts when they notice him.
“Hail Venharice!”
Tarron didn’t really like the salute and greeting but it was something that his late father liked so he decided to keep it.
“How is the invasion going?”
His top Army general, Conall Leona, responds
“Exceedingly well, my leader. Although the Empire is a bit better armed and developed than expected, we have crushed their weak coastal defenses, we have air superiority, and the 1st Blitzpanzer Corps will be converging on the main human city of this area in about three or four days. Our main force will arrive in the city within a week. So far our units have only found and engaged with disorganized retreating human units. We are expecting the humans to retreat behind this river. The 1st Blitzpanzer Corps will take the city before quickly continuing on to secure the bridge.”
“Won’t the humans blow up the bridge?”
“That's why the 1st Blitzpanzer Corp will take it before they can.”
“What if they blow it up before we can?”
“We have engineers that can quickly build a pontoon bridge if needed.”
“Good. Our further plans haven’t changed, correct?”
“Yes, my leader. Our main forces, the Central Army made up of two infantry corps, one magipanzer corps, and one blitzpanzer corps will be centered at the city. Western Army and Eastern Army will each be made up of two infantry corps and one magipanzer divison. The Central Army will be the main push. The Western and Eastern armies are to make the humans spread their forces thin.”
“Good. How about the one against the kingdoms?”
“The kingdoms are a joke. They have developed nothing and our forces are easily crushing any opposition. The Siburg Kingdom will be defeated in a couple of days. There wasn’t even any need to deploy one of our aircraft carriers there.”
The Kingdoms that the elves are referring to are the kingdoms on the Soane continent. The elves have placed top priority at defeating the Empire and sent most of their forces there because they suspected the Empire would be much more advanced than the Kingdoms. They are right. Even with their measly force at the Kingdoms, they are crushing them.
1023 March 22nd, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
President Haye is in the Oval Office discussing the recent continent rising out of the ocean.
“So they are Elvens?”
“Well if the legends are true then they are.”
“Well, they did just rise out of the ocean out of nowhere.”
“We are also getting reports of a massive Elven invasion underway against the Magus Imperium.”
“Did the Magus Imperium provoke them?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. The Elvens attacked less than one day after they rose out of the ocean. Might be past hate or something.”
“Hm. How is their invasion going?”
“From what we could get, the Elvens seem to be successful and are pushing back the Magus.”
“Then we will have to evacuate any Americans currently in the Magus then. Better send that warning out soon.”
“That's for certain.”
“So what do we know about the Elvens anyway?”
“Well they disappeared around 50 AE, 150 years ago, and were a bit more advanced than humans of this world were at that time.”
“Do we know their current technological capabilities?”
“Our recon satellites have taken some images and we currently classify them as a World War Two nation. Seeing that they seem to have World War Two technological capabilities, we fear they might have already developed a nuclear bomb. However, we still need to study the images more in order for us to form a more solid conclusion on their actual level of technology. ”
“I think we should try to establish diplomatic contact and figure out why they are at war with the Magus… wait wouldn’t this also implicate us if it was past hate? When did the original empire break apart into the Magus and Mach?”
“Around 80 AE.”
“Oh great… won’t that mean the Elvens might attack the Mach?”
“If they still think that the old empire is still an entity, then most likely yes.”
“We must establish diplomatic contact as soon as possible.”
1020 March 22nd, 2020 CE
0810 Start 52nd, 196 AE
Near the town of Aemona
The sky behind them is black with smoke from the fire spreading across the town they had just exited. Elven soldiers of the 16th Infantry Division march down the road towards their next target. Looking down the road towards the Elves and the burning town behind them makes the elven infantry division seem like an army from hell.
1032 March 22nd, 2020 CE
0816 Start 52nd, 196 AE
Northern Part of the Magus Imperium
Leonid guides his battalion through the forest. With the surviving members of his battalion are other survivors, both military and civilian, of the tank attack on the 151st infantry regiment. He has with him about 323 soldiers which in a unit size perspective is around two companies of men. 300 soldiers were from the four companies in his battalion. Less than half of his original battalion’s 800. Both Leonid’s battalion sergeant major and executive officer, who is a major, did not survive. The other 23 were from either the First Battalion or the Third. The amount of survivors is a dismal number. The 151st Infantry Regiment had at least 3,000 men.
Leonid’s heart felt heavy because he had lost one of his company commanders, Captain Lars Curio. Lars was a very close friend to him and the other company commanders. Leonid’s feelings are obvious and Aulus sighs before looking at him.
“We will avenge him, Leonid. Don’t you worry about that.”
Leonid looks down at the soil of the forest.
“That bastard… how could he just die on us...”
They are now making haste towards the city of Abellinum. With their shortcut through the forest, they should arrive within two days. Hopefully, the enemy tanks won’t get there by then.
March 26th, 2020 CE
Start 56th, 196 AE
Near Abellinum
Out of the three Elven Blitzpanzer Divisions in the 1st Elven Blitzpanzer Corps, hers, the 11th Elven Blitzpanzer Division, is the closest to the human city. Ara is currently looking at the human city from miles away.