Selene called out to the rest of the unit. “Are the charges set?”
“We're set,” Ryan said. “We need to get to a safe distance-”
His statement was suddenly cut off as Ragnarok poured on more bullets, killing several and forcing the rest of them to the ground. One bullet nicked her across the thigh, causing a lance of pain to shoot up her leg.
She looked across at the enemy force closing in on them, then back at the forest behind them. They'd never make it back in time, not without seriously risking their chances of setting off the charges.
It only took a second for her to make her decision. “Engineers, we're not getting a second chance at this. Set off the charges now.”
A second later a series of explosions rippled around her, and then her vision went black.
You are KIA.
She was fine with it, though. They had finally won.
25
The Tipping Point
“Well, you pulled it off,” David said. “That's the kind of victory we were looking for.”
“Thanks,” Zach nodded, though it didn't feel like a dramatic victory to him.
Ghost Battalion had accomplished their missions, but at a frightful cost. Since the start of the campaign in the Shorewood District they had lost half their equipment. Transport planes, river craft, helicopters, small arms, all of that would need to be replaced, and until then their battalion was severely hamstrung.
And perhaps just as stinging had been the dramatic losses of troops they had suffered during the fight. Anna estimated that Ghost lost almost 200% of its original strength when respawns were counted. As a result, Ghost Battalion had been completely pulled off the front lines to lick their wounds.
He looked over the military council, still feeling a bit of frustration in his chest. For all their efforts and success, Ghost Battalion had only managed to win by the slimmest of margins. Zach felt like shouting at them, but his head thought better of it. There was no point in making enemies now that they had won.
“What are your plans for now?” Gina asked.
“We're going to try to refit the battalion and retrain our troops,” Zach told her. “While we're away from the front line we're also going to try to get more recruits to increase our numbers. At least, that's what Black Wolf will be doing.”
“You do have first pick,” Anna nodded.
He felt a little better now. His company could finally get some well-deserved time away from the front lines, and new recruits could finally join up without having to be immediately thrust into the front lines.
Zach could take some pride in their accomplishment as well. Finally, after months of hard fighting, the Hydra Alliance had the upper hand.
And they would take full advantage of that.
Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7) Page 26