Dimensional Travels: Chapter 132: The Battle for Dresken (1)

Chapter 132: The Battle for Dresken (1)

Eric exhaled sharply as he hid in the treeline. His face was bleeding, the blood sotis trickling down and covering his eyes. Still, he held his rifle up. He felt for his radio.

"Fuck."

His radio had been hit. The remaining pieces of it lay mangled against his belt. He shook his head and took the broken equipnt, throwing it to the side.

Felicity landed next to him, changing into human form.

"They’re regrouping. Should we pursue?"

Eric looked forward and shook his head. "No. Lets watch and see what they do for now. While I don’t like that you went lone wolf, you did save the recon elent. Good job."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Eric then pushed her down, under a bush. "Get down so they don’t see you."

They watched as a group of Cartharic soldiers surveyed the scene.

"Sir, the otherworlders were able to retreat. They used smoke to cover their withdrawal, and the Demon sergeant was able to cover their retreat from the treeline. I told the n to regroup, as per your guidance."

The commander nodded, looking into the treeline.

"Good choice. You did well, Lieral. Have the n reposition in Dresken. We do not want to face their forces in the open."

Lieral nodded, but paused. "What of the dragons?"

The commander rubbed his beard. "Ensure the Sraiaz systems are manned permanently. Have a ssenger ride as to Brishan city and relay the news. He is to report that the Dragons are now working for the other worlders."

Lieral waved his hand in a circular motion and pointed toward Dresken. "Fall back!"

Eric slumped against the tree, wiping blood from his face. "That was close." He murmured.

Felicity stood up, helping Eric to his feet. Then, she noticed the blood.

"Eric, you’re bleeding really bad."

Eric shrugged, rubbing the blood from his face again. "It is only a scratch. Head wounds bleed a lot. Co on, we have to get back to the convoy."

The recon elent didn’t stop until Justin realized they were not being followed. He collapsed against a tree, wheezing while holding his side. "I haven’t run like that since OCS." He gasped. He looked around, and the rest of the soldiers were barely breathing hard. His eyes widened. "I’m supposed to be the hero, but these guys are all superhuman." He groaned.

A Sergeant that was nearby laughed and patted Justin on the back. "We were blessed by the Goddess when we first ca over, LT. We may not be able to do the magic bolt stuff you can, but we can sure as hell run faster and longer."

Justin sighed, feeling his breath even out.

"Get in contact with the rest of the convoy. Let Captain Stryer know that Master Sergeant Dryer is holding position, and we need them to et us here so that we can..."

His words were cut off as he looked into the clearing. A tall man wearing ripped OCP’s and blood on his face was walking up. Beside him, a young woman with skinny jeans and a white crop top walked with her arm supporting him. The soldiers from the recon elent stared in awe.

"What the?"

Eric looked up, a frown on his face. "What are you going slackjaw for? Pull security while you rest. Sergeant Leo, contact Captain Stryer. Do as Lieutenant Hewitt commanded."

The soldiers scrambled into position, and Felicity helped Eric sit down next to Justin.

"You did well, kid. The one thing you need to do when stopping is to pull security. In a forest area like this, you can easily be ambushed. Aside from that, I am pleased with how you handled the retreat."

Justin scratched his head. "Master Sergeant, how did you find us so quickly?"

Eric laughed. "There are only a few passes that lead to where the convoy is staged, and two of them are blocked off because of Cartharic. I chose the path that provided the most cover and concealnt. Also, a single soldier by themself can move faster than an elent can."

Sergeant Leo walked up. "Master Sergeant? Captain Stryer said he is tracking. The rest of the convoy will be here within the hour."

Eric sighed, leaning against the tree. "Good. Get accountability. I want to know who we lost and get an ammo count. If any of the soldiers are low on ammo, let

know."

Eric watched as the sergeant followed his orders. The grass crunched under his boots, and shrubs vibrated as the soldiers turned to answer. Eric shook his head. "We need to do more training in forests." He murmured.

Justin looked up.

"Why is that?"

"Think about if we were going up against a modern army. Modern systems can detect any sort of movent. For too long, the Army has been focused on counterinsurgency operations in deserts; we barely train in forests anymore. That is a big weakness here in Brishan, where most of the real combat will co in forest areas. Learning how to move while making as little noise as possible will be a focus of future training."

Sergeant Leo ca back. He crouched next to Eric and pulled out his notepad.

"Master Sergeant, most of the elent still maintains a seventy percent combat load or more. We are out of grenades, but ammo is green."

Eric scratched his chin after being bitten by a mosquito.

"Okay. We have reserves in the trucks. When the convoy gets here, have the soldiers replenish what they are missing. We’ll wait here for Captain Stryer."

"Roger."

The rest of the convoy arrived, and the recon elent left to rejoin their sectors.

Michael walked up, looking at Eric. "You look like hell."

"I’ve seen better days." Eric responded, putting a chew in his lip.

"Call the leaders for a eting. We are going to change the plan."

Michael sighed. "We always change the plan."

Eric smirked. "Every plan falls apart when the bullets fly."

After all the leaders gathered, Eric pulled out his phone, showing the pictures to them. "Dresken is more heavily fortified than originally thought. It seems the Empire has spent a lot of resources to make sure it is well defended. Due to that, we will change how we operate. Tanks and bradleys, you will use the crests of the hills to engage. Shoot, retreat, and shoot. Even the newest Llrathels don’t compare to our maneuver capabilities. Ground forces, we will be forward observers for artillery. Felicity, you will begin the assault. Don’t get too close to the Sraiaz systems. Destroy what you can, and then co back to man the up armored humvees."

Eric looked around, the leaders were staring at him with clenched jaws. Felicity stared off into the distant, her eyes narrowing. Jessica frowned at him, her eyes tracing the blood on his face.

After the eting dispersed, Jessica hugged him gently. "You’re always getting hurt." She murmured.

Eric sighed, stroking her hair. "It is the nature of the trade. If Felicity and I hadn’t held the soldiers of Cartharic off, the recon squad might have been wiped out."

She sighed, nuzzling his chest. "I know. I just worry. I always..."

Eric kissed her head. "We are about to go into a real battle, Jessica. I need you to focus on coming back alive. Don’t worry about . This ain’t my first rodeo."

Jessica looked up, her eyes searching his. "How do you do it?"

He stroked the tears from her eyes.

"Because I have you, your sister, and your mom to anchor

in place. When all else fails, when shit hits the fan, I just keep pushing. I want a world where you and your sister can live happy and free. But in order to do that, we have to keep moving forward. You always have to rember that we are doing this for the life we want to live one day."

Jessica nodded.

Engines turned on, and the acrid sll of burning fuel filled the air. Eric looked back to his truck. Justin, Erica, and Michael were waiting for him. "Now, go back to your section. It’s ti to show these Cartharic bastards who they are ssing with."

Jessica gave him one last hug before turning around and heading back to her team. Eric watched her leave and shook his head.

"Teenagers."

After confirming that all personnel had made it to their vehicles, Eric keyed the radio.

"Move out."

Lieral ran frantically from Sraiaz to the front lines. Scouts had reported seeing the enemy dragons in the air, so he frantically ran to check on each system. They had little ti to mobilize, and Lieral knew it.

The soldiers didn’t seem concerned, but Lieral knew better. He had read the reports from Esponia during the siege.

"Man your posts properly!" Lieral yelled at a male soldier who was trying to chat with a female soldier. "The enemy is almost at our doorstep. We need all systems to be operational, and yours is the last one."