In the grim darkness of the 22nd century, nations fight for domination of a planet that is near-traumatized by countless deaths and screams of agony.
They bleed for a world in which the strong rule with impunity.
They die for the fickle dream of a realm which is barren by the countless firestorms that ravaged Earth over these seemingly endless, dark years.
With the creation of Savior Pods that allow pilots to survive all sorts of hits without being incapacitated or killed, the definition of war is now defined by the economy as much as by the heroism that these common soldiers show.
In this war, there are no winners.
Such is the reality of the world in which they live.
There is only nothing but death and despair…in the 22nd century.
The remaining mechs under Bolognese’s command were far and few in between, as he realized in a quick count.
300 or so robots. How in the world are we going to do this?
Shrugging off the thought, he ordered all of his troops to divide themselves into two groups, with one of them striking the Residenziale and the other group going for the old city.
As they went out for their local counterattack, Bolognese received something from his communications operator.
“Commander, this is the 28th Mobile Armored Group, requesting permission to attack the Old City as we have done our objective of evacuating the civilians from the city.”
Without hesitation, Bolognese replied, “Guardian One Actual, this is Baseplate, permission granted Colonel.”
Colonel Leon Mandera looked at his tank group, composing of 100 Leopard X tanks.
Each tank is armed with two Nashorns, a Punisher cannon that can fire AP shells and a limited number of hard-hitting Aphid missiles. While the armor isn’t as good as that of mechs, Mandera knows that the tanks are twice as fast and thrice as maneuverable as that of the fastest mech in the Federation’s arsenal.
“Commander, go ahead and retake the city, we will take care of the civilians!”
“Guardian One, this is a task for us as much as it is for you. We go in together, take them to safety and march together to retake the old city.”
“Understood, Baseplate Actual. Roger and out.”
With that directive, Mandera called out to his troops.
“Today, we march for Rome. Victory or death!”
His soldiers shouted back, “For victory!!!”
Within minutes, 150 tanks of the 28th Mobile Armored Group rumbled from Capitoline Hill towards the old city, along with some 100 mechs from Bolognese’s command.
Mandera knows that Bolognese lead the bulk of his troops towards the Residenziale and he can see from the sky that the Italian Air Force has thrown their reserves into the fray, conducting sorties and pushing for air strikes all over the place.
Within minutes, the battle-scarred tanks of the Italians were entering a town reduced to ruins, its stones and steel scattered along the roads. Some buildings completely collapse, blocking the streets as if cutting the life from it. Fire and smoke still raged, as if expressing their grief for the lives lost and carnage endured by the city.
“Guardian Two, separate from the main street and turn right. Guardian Three, rush for the sewer plan quickly. We will engage as much of the enemy as we can.”
On the radar, he can see multiple enemy contacts.
“Engage, engage, engage, fire three AP salvos for each enemy contact, focus fire and move on!”
The tanks started unleashing their weaponry towards the patrolling Kumihos, catching a few of them unawares while forcing the rest to dash away.
“Gentlemen, watch out for your fields of fire. Maneuver, move, move!”
The sound of tracks and explosions dominated the landscape once again.
