Deep, deep below the ground, in the damp and rotting tunnels, a crackling sound erupted. We were separated by thick, colossal clouds of smoke that enveloped us like masks, making it impossible to see anything. We thrashed about like drowning men, living in a dark, stinging atmosphere, in a fragment of a grim and eerie night.
At times, the persistent smoke shifted and thinned, and we could clearly see a surging crowd of people on the offensive. Cut off from the dusty scene, in the hazy vapor, hand-to-hand combat figures were outlined on the edge of the trench, falling, and sinking away. A few weak cries of "Help!" came from a group of emaciated people in short gray jackets, who were cornered in a gaping section of the trench. Under the ink-black clouds, the powerful human storm shifted and turned back in the same direction, rising and swirling like a whirlwind along the length of the dark, shattered embankment.
And then, suddenly, everyone in the trench felt that it was all over. Everyone had seen, heard, and understood that the attack by the Logravic-Oceania alliance had successfully breached the front line without any equivalent resistance, and the enemy had retreated when reinforcements arrived.
The enemy's resistance had disintegrated before us. The thin line of struggle was shattered in the shell craters, and they were caught like rats and killed on the spot in a barbaric way. Not a single person survived the massacre. The trenches were a labyrinth, filled with corpses. The bodies were hacked and their limbs torn apart by bombs and bullets. Organs and entrails were splattered everywhere, like something out of a real horror movie that gave you goosebumps.
And here, the trench was devastated as if by an eternal flame. With its white walls toppled, it resembled the muddy remains of a dry river. The stone banks were broken, and in places, there were shallow, round holes of a dried-up pond. On the banks, on the ramparts, and at the bottom of the trench lay a long glacier of corpses. A new wave of our troops came crashing in, overwhelming everything.
I stumbled to my feet after burying my hatchet in the head of a Skirmish officer. Stepping out of the command bunker, I was stunned by the terrifying sight. After occupying the beach, we had to face the enemy's dense defensive system protecting the urban area. But no one would have thought that in just two days, this place would have become so barren and desolate. Suddenly, Ilaina ran to my side, her face a little confused and worried. She gently helped me to one side to wipe the dirt from my face.
I suddenly felt a strange emotion flowing through me. I unconsciously looked at Ilaina for a long time without saying anything, my mind feeling different from before. The fear of the battlefield was no longer visible on my face, a complete change from the past. If back then, Ilaina had seen me in this daze, she would have been so worried she would have cried, making me cry out of fear too. But now, I was no longer afraid. I walked around casually as if nothing had happened.
But no matter what, I could still feel that Ilaina was still the girl from back then, that she would never change, that she loved me so much, that she was the only one who truly cared about me besides my comrades. Perhaps this was what happened to me when I had to see Ilaina so unhappy because of me.
From a young age, Ilaina had been my close friend. We were neighbors but quite different. Of course, how could a failure like me be with a girl who was excellent in every way? We met and got to know each other. But at that time, I only considered her a friend. In high school, things seemed to become more positive. Since I knew what love was, I felt a little awkward when a girl like Ilaina showed interest in me.
But after everything, I was the one who lost her on that damn day. I was desperate and blamed myself for letting her be unhappy. For ten years, she was the one who took care of me and stayed by my side. Even though we often argued, we always reconciled after a few hours of sulking.
Lost in thought, I was pulled back to reality, to the place where Ilaina and I had reunited and officially become a couple. But I was too weak to protect her. And yet, betraying the girl who had followed me for so many years was something I couldn't do...
"Klaus! Are you okay? There's blood on your face!"
Hearing that, I used my hand to touch my calloused face. It turned out to be blood, but it wasn't mine. It seemed to be from that officer. Just now, he and I had wrestled for a long time. Plus, I had lost control and killed him a bit too brutally. I turned and said to Ilaina to calm her down.
"Don't worry, this isn't my blood."
"That's good. Maybe I was just overly worried. But hey, where are Mikhail and Augusta? I don't see them anywhere. I hope they're not badly hurt." Ilaina sighed in relief, putting the first aid supplies back in her pocket.
It was only then that I noticed the absence of my comrades. I wondered where they were in this earthly hell. Had they sacrificed themselves? No, surely not. Weren't trench wars like this already familiar to them? But it was possible. On this battlefield where people only knew how to kill each other, anything could happen. Just like the deaths of Viktor and Dimitri, who died painful and unexpected deaths.
Suddenly, I remembered the food boxes lying everywhere. Using her deductive skills, Ilaina quickly understood and said to me.
"Klaus. I think they're looking for Eurasian food. Do you remember when a few Logravic soldiers died from food poisoning? Since that day, no one has dared to touch the food boxes. Everyone has been starving. So it makes sense that they would rush to find food."
"I guessed the same. I'm the most knowledgeable about the Eurasian tunnel system anyway. Maybe I can lead you there. We also need some food after three consecutive days of fighting."
"Yes. Then please lead the way."
The two of us walked to trench number 45, which the enemy used to store food and ammunition. On the way there, I stumbled upon a group of men squatting like stones, wrapped around each other, covered in blood and groaning miserably. We could only vaguely see the two side walls of the trench, made of shredded white canvas sandbags that were as torn as paper. The ammo boxes discarded in the corners of the trench were chewed to bits by rats and giant insects.
Mikhail and the others must still be there, because after two days of fighting without putting anything in their stomachs, they must be exhausted. Although it's true that we were given rations in the trenches, it was absolutely terrible. It was all expired and spoiled food. The rookie soldiers had to endure vomiting when they saw that their rations were moldy and full of maggots. The Oceania soldiers in my unit also had to reluctantly swallow that disgusting food, and as a result, nearly 50 people died from food poisoning.
Not only that, on the field where we started digging the first meters of trenches, we couldn't see any shelter. Even when the flares shone down, all we saw was an empty field, a vast and wild desert. The shelters were probably not far away, because we had followed that trench when we arrived. But which direction should we go to find it?
The rain was now more intense. A few groups of soldiers were forced to stop for a moment, hesitating in pathetic disappointment as they were crammed into a strange, bombarded area, and then their ranks were thrown into chaos. Some ran to the right, some to the left, and some ran straight ahead. All of them were tiny and only survived for a short time in the thunderstorm, separated by the smoke and fire and the black, apocalyptic landscape.
The rain poured down harder and harder, like a flood at dusk. The darkness was so thick that the flares only lit up like clouds streaked with water. Behind the clouds, dark figures frantically moved back and forth, running in circles.
As expected, the Skirmish troops had left a lot of food here, which unintentionally created a riot to fight for it. Countless people were jostling and fighting each other just to get a tiny portion of food.
And then, in a miraculous way, Mikhail rushed forward with a pistol he stole from a Eurasian officer. He fired into the air and urgently told everyone to step back. The gunshot echoed loudly, making the thin and weak Oceania crowd tremble.
Petrov and Augusta immediately rushed in and took a large amount of canned goods. They left safely. Only when the three of them left did the struggle continue. Ilaina and I also trudged along behind, trying not to slip and get our clothes covered in mud. After all, she and I were also hungry. It was exhausting to fight against 30,000 Eurasian-Skirmish troops in this miserable state.
The five of us gathered in a quiet corner of the trench. We began to fill our stomachs with the terribly salty canned goods. Most of it was just salmon and herring. At least it was better than the moldy chicken. Mikhail, who seemed to hate seafood, was able to swallow all the difficult-to-eat herring and even praised it. This surprised the whole team.
"Hey Mikhail, I thought you hated seafood!"
"I know I hate it. But I'd rather eat this incredibly salty stuff than swallow that pile of rotten, expired food. If I used my dislike of seafood as an excuse, I'd probably starve to death tonight."
The group began to talk about the war, about love, and about the simplest things in life while resting. We even finished all the canned goods in a few short minutes, but it was so precious. It seemed like this was the only time the team could truly rest. The air was still pungent with the smell of corpses and smoke mixed with the smell of the earth. The rain poured down, gradually filling the meters of trench lined with corpses, making them float.
Augusta was huddled up, not wanting to get wet from the rain. At the same time, she turned to Ilaina and asked her how I and she had become a couple. Ilaina didn't hesitate and revealed their past.
To summarize, this is how it happened:
Ilaina and I had an invisible thread connecting us since birth. It was a coincidence that her parents and mine were close friends. Then we went to the same school, the same class, passed the entrance exams for the same university, and had the same aspirations and dreams.
We even had common interests. The two of us had a little crush on each other as soon as we met. But of course, I was less prominent than Ilaina. Because of that, Ilaina often had to tutor me in social sciences like Literature and Philosophy. Over time, my academic performance improved noticeably.
Mikhail was speechless after hearing the story.
"Wow. It seems like you two were engaged from an early age. It's impossible for it to be this coincidental. But why would Ilaina like this guy Klaus?"
Ilaina smiled.
"There are many reasons. To be honest, I had a little crush on him back when we were just classmates. Contrary to his nerdy appearance in class, Klaus was very different at home. He even saved me from some older bullies."
Petrov, in a corner, joined the conversation.
"These two were always inseparable. Klaus even used to brag that Ilaina made him lunch. They're just like a loving couple. So Mikhail, are you planning to get married after the war ends?"
"No. I think I need to get a job and make some money first. I can flirt with girls when I'm rich. Imagine being a high-ranking Eurasian official with a ridiculously high salary and being surrounded by girls all the time. Mansions and luxury cars, that's the life. You guys probably don't know this, but my family has embezzled nearly a few million dollars from Eurasian."
Augusta seemed surprised.
"So Mikhail is a son of an official? I'm surprised. Parents are corrupt officials, and the son is a reactionary traitor. How interesting. I still wonder why Eurasian is in this situation."
I picked up my AK, placed it in the corner of the trench, and said to the thoughtful Augusta.
"Corruption is everywhere. Oceania is full of it too. If it weren't for them, we probably wouldn't have to suffer like this. But we still have to admit that thanks to them, the enemy was wiped out of Russymark and Kritchenburg."
"I heard the war situation in Oceania is turning in our favor. Those bastards from the 208th Armored Division finally retreated after getting a hundred tons of white phosphorus bombs shoved down their throats. So it's basically over. Eurasian is officially in a crisis now that their tank production is having problems. Besides, they're also short on soldiers. You guys, the officials even passed a resolution for the elderly to join the war. It's hilarious." Ilaina took out her phone and said, with a sarcastic tone.
"All the students are dead, so they're using the old people. I don't understand what they're thinking. A 70-year-old man can't even be a bullet shield on the battlefield..."
"No, that's even better. The leaders will use that as an excuse to get more subsidies, and then they'll embezzle all of it. It's too good for us. Our side is all young, strong men. The only problem is their brains have been fed to dogs. Especially those guys in the Logravic unit. Every chance they get, they call us amateurs. They've cursed so much, now they're all dead! Their bodies are flying all over the place." Mikhail laughed gleefully.
The sky was a little clearer now. The Oceania army began to occupy the high ground left by the enemy. We climbed out of the trench and marched forward in Bradleyer armored vehicles. Thousands of them started rolling, passing through the strongholds without any problems. Occasionally, we'd encounter a few stragglers who were trying to escape. We easily took care of them with the fierce firepower from the Marleyont tanks. The operation had moved to phase 2: the advance.
"This is Team Delta. We have completely wiped out the 20,000-strong Skirmish army. You can rest assured and recuperate. I repeat, all enemy forces within a ten-kilometer radius have been cleared. Please recover quickly, over."
"Thank you for your service. We will take over the ground from here, over."
The multi-role stealth fighter squadron Raptor slowly left after nearly half a day of bombing the territory temporarily occupied by Eurasian forces.
We began to push deeper into the mainland with the support of heavy firepower from tanks and artillery. It was already past midnight. Everyone was exhausted and no longer had the strength to fight. The roaring sound of the tank engines completely drowned out the tired and weary breathing of the soldiers. The Logravic and Oceania soldiers were like zombies, marching slowly and stumbling in uniforms covered in mud and blood. Under the eerie, silent night, we had to rely on our eyes and the dim light from the armored vehicles to find our way.
I calmly led the group through the dense and overgrown forest to meet up with the air assault companies that were holding key strongholds. With my AK-74 rifle, which was stained with mud, in my hands, I could only sigh helplessly. We should have been resting in the green tents along the beach, but because of the boneheaded Logravic commanders' need for victory, the entire team was in this state.
"Damn them. Why do we have to march in the middle of the night like this? We're not doing anything clandestine or secret! We're just marching!"
Mikhail was still angry about being forced onto the battlefield. Throughout the walk, every chance he got, he would sarcastically complain and tell us a dozen negative, insulting things.
"You guys have it easy. My unit was forced to run through a minefield to clear the way for the armored vehicles. And the Eurasian guys even used anti-aircraft missiles to blow our skulls off. This is nothing!"
"Really? That sounds miserable. I heard your unit also tortured prisoners with barbaric methods like dunking their heads in boiling water and chopping off their limbs?"
"Of course. That's our main way of training new recruits. Only the most excellent ones dare to do it, so we can filter out the useless ones from the team."
Ilaina suddenly turned and said with a puzzled and slightly confused look.
"If you do that, the soldiers will easily get depressed. They might even commit suicide from the pressure. I think that's the worst way to train soldiers how to fight."
"You're right. Extreme nationalist education sounds more convincing and effective than this crap. I wonder when those Eurasian guys will finally leave? All they are is a bunch of herders..."
Suddenly, as the group was rambling about the stupidity of the senior officers, the rustling sound of leaves came from a distance. I was immediately on alert, raising my Mark-18 rifle forward. I tried to shine my green laser light on the bushes along the road but found nothing. Feeling that something was wrong, I ordered everyone to get ready to fight. Was the enemy planning an ambush here?
"This is Eurasian Freedom Team. We've detected an unknown object at 6 o'clock, over."
The Marleyont with the number 68 unexpectedly shot forward and fired a 120mm round into the dense forest. A large explosion echoed, and a flash of light illuminated the area. Ilaina and I immediately moved forward and started firing. The others also rushed forward, firing sharp rounds into the trees. Everything slowly became clear. Behind the fallen trees, there was nothing but a mass grave...
But what surprised me even more was that the corpses were Eurasian...
"This is amazing. Another damn hole. Mikhail, Petrov, should we get to work? The others, please wait a few minutes. It will be quick."
The other two and I calmly climbed down into the three-meter deep pit to investigate the situation. At this moment, even though we could only see the slowly rotting bodies chopped into pieces, it was enough to terrify them. None of these corpses were civilians. They were all soldiers, and they were Eurasian, the ones who had caused who knows how many of these incidents. It was strange. Had something serious happened, and the enemy had purged each other?
"Haha, this is interesting. You guys! Look! They're Eurasian soldiers! Haha! It seems like these guys are more united than I thought. Wow, Klaus, this must be over 100 bodies. If we sell them, we'll be richer than the political commissars!" Petrov said sarcastically.
With that, my friends and I began to rummage through the mess. In the darkness, we searched and found countless valuable items from the enemy corpses. There were passports, dog tags, and important intelligence information. Based on my experience, these corpses had probably been here for a few weeks. The smell of blood and decomposition was so strong that it was difficult for the three of us to continue. I turned and tried to check the corpse of an officer. When I touched it, the entire body turned soft and became a mushy mess full of wriggling maggots. I was a little scared, but I thought, what if I could find something valuable, and it could save my life?
"That's disgusting. It's a good thing the feast hasn't fully arrived yet."
I suddenly felt a strange object. I tried to touch it, but I didn't know what it was. My fingertips just felt soft and wet with blood and flesh. I took out my flashlight and shone it on my hand, and was shocked to realize that my hand was inside a throat that had been slit in two. I tried to pull the foreign object out. I almost vomited. Mikhail ran over and was just as stunned.
"What the hell. Who did this? Damn it. They shoved a rock into his throat so hard it split open. Did the Eurasian officers really have to kill each other like this, Petrov?"
"No way. They always invited each other to drink and become sworn brothers."
"Sworn brothers to the point of tearing out each other's voice boxes and shoving this metal thing in? Or is there something even worse?"
I ended the work early and used water to wash my hands. It was terrible to have both eyes. I would probably be haunted by this. However, what I was wondering about here was who had caused this. This was too abnormal. Although it was true that there were factional conflicts on the other side of the front, it would never lead to this. It could also be a trap from Eurasian, used to spread the propaganda that we were cold-blooded murderers, that the Eurasian people who fought for Oceania were nothing more than animals? If that's the case, I'm afraid they have succeeded, even without using this method to deceive the people.