Advance Chapter

There was no time for laying about. The Vestrisians had a job to do. It was obvious to all that they needed to beat the Nazdar back. Wasting no time Chiecra got ready to advance through the tunnel. Kouthra even urged them all to be ready to advance.

"Everyone stock up on ammo, we should have plenty. You know what to do from here, right?" Kouthra asked the party of Vanguards.

"Yes sir!" The vanguards answered.

Chiecra needed just a few more clips of ammo. As he placed a clip in one pocket his hand came across the ring. He almost forgot it was even there. Taking it out Chiecra attached it to his dog tag around his neck.

"Are you ready cadet?" viktorov asked.

"Ready to kill more of those Nazdar." Chiecra chuckled. He advanced down the tunnel alongside Viktorov and Aibeth. The rest came in behind them following the trio. Chiecra's boots as well as his comrades stepped on the scorched bodies of the Nazdar, and the Corpses recently shot down. The burnt bodies crumbled to ashes as they walked all over them. The tunnel itself was black from the flames. Multiple unscathed bodies laid about the tunnel; fresh blood trickled down the tunnel. The corpses laid on one another forming a few body piles. As though the corpses were not there the Vestrisians walked over them just passing them. The Vestrisians silently advanced down the tunnel with caution. For they expected any attack whether it be an ambush or all-out assault. Chiecra and the others came across more dead Nazdar at the bottom of a big slope. They were recent kills they recently shot in the little shoot out. It was easy to tell because of the single holes in their skulls.

"Psst, hey cadet." Aibeth whispered to Chiecra.

"Yeah." Chiecra replied.

"What was the deal with you shooting that Gampo person?" Aibeth asked him as they started down the tunnel.

"It's a long but short story." Chiecra said trekking down the tunnel. "Almost three years ago I used to live in Vrec Ren Vieth, which is where I was born and raised until that thug Gampo ran me out. I lived in a mansion with my large family of brothers and sisters along with my mother and father. One day this girl moved in town, she was a gorgeous sight. She was sweet as a sugar cake with a golden heart. We happened to give our love for each other. Sadly the Nazdar pushed the Vestrisian forces out of the Balkmel regions. I guess you can say she and I were separated from each other."

"The ring that you took off his neck, did you give it to her?" Aibeth asked the cadet. Chiecra nodded, not wanting to answer any more about his past.

"Sorry about your loss kid, things like that are common experiences in this war. Forced away from the ones you love and care about most. Makes you wish this whole piece of crap would just end already." Aibeth nudged Chiecra in the shoulder. Viktorov mashed his helmet into his head shaking it lightly.

"We know our orders, kill every Nazdar along with anything else aroused by those bastards." a soldier exclaimed. Chuckles went all around. It was clear the inhabitants of the underworld would fight the Vanguard.

"You don't suppose the Nazdar have already been eaten by the arachnids do you?" asked Chiecra, looking at both Aibeth and Viktorov. He knew neither of them knew what was happening down there.

"I can tell you this cadet. The Nazdar certainly had too much time to set up down here." replied viktorov looking up at the lights on the tunnels' ceiling.

"Hope we don't run into any..." Chiecra tried to speak but he was cut off.

Viktorov silenced one of the soldiers. He held out a hand for them to stop. Chiecra heard nothing else from the other vanguards. They all stopped and fell silent. No further questions needed to be answered. Not a word had to be said, nor anything explained. It was perfectly clear to what was occurring. All ears could hear faint voices in the distance down the tunnel. Chiecra did hear voices down the tunnel. The only question remains were who were they? Were they enemies, allies, prisoners or people in the wrong place? Someone tapped him twice on the shoulder. First tap was with two fingers the second one finger. He recognized this to be the signal for advancing ahead. It was known as the Buevere signal. It was widely used among the Vestrisian army, particularly for covert operations. Slowly he crept forward, taking cautious steps. Each step he made was as quiet as possible. Chiecra placed a finger on the trigger knowing the chances of it being the enemy were high. He advanced farther down the tunnel, which turned into a winding tunnel. Coming to a corner, which led to the tunnel Chiecra was getting closer. As he got closer to the corner, which would turn left Chiecra could barely make out what was said despite the very long corner.

"...and another thing Vals you've been taking our prisoners!" One of the voices accused another.

"Why should we listen to you slaver? This is our world! No one commands us!" another voice replied in a rougher tone.

"Because you disgusting lizards are inferior to the Nazdar race. You and your tribes swore a pact with the Nazdar. So you are-" The third voice was cut off by growls followed by weapons being cocked.

A standoff must be stirring up from what Chiecra was hearing. He continued creeping around the corner down the tunnel. Around this corner he saw an opening from which he could see a figure aiming its weapon in the direction where Chiecra assumed where the Troglodytes stood. The cadet stopped in his tracks The thought of attracting attention spurned in his mind. To him it did not seem very wise despite the advantage the tunnel provided. Footsteps came from behind him as he backed away retreating behind the corner. Chiecra mistook them to be one of his own fellow vanguards. For a few seconds he thought the rest had come down to lend a hand. Chiecra turned to see who it was. The footsteps did not turn out to be anyone he was expecting, before him stood a Nazdar trooper. Both soldiers surprised the other, since they mistook the other for an ally. They blocked each others path to their comrades. The Nazdar went for a concealed weapon. Responding Chiecra grabbed his arm preventing him from using his weapon. A struggle began as Chiecra wrestled with the Nazdar. He had both hands holding one arm while the other was free to beat him off. After several blows to the side Chiecra was forced off by the free arm. The free arm shoved Chiecra against the wall. Taking advantage the Nazdar unsheathed a pistol. Chiecra responded to stop him again. The cadet also unsheathed his own weapon, which was the bayonet. Unsheathing the blade the cadet threw the bayonet into the Nazdar. It hit him in the left side of the chest. This fatal blow gave Chiecra another kill. Quietly Chiecra yanked his blade from the corpse wiping the blood off with the uniform. Sheathing the blade again he slumps down next to his E-7 rifle, which he had dropped during the confrontation.

He only had a few moments to rest. Several sets of steps came rushing in his direction. The pounding of their boots made it obvious Chiecra, that it was the enemy. From the sound of the running they were being chased. Chiecra could hear them coming. What he didn't understand was why the enemy wasn't responding very quickly. Were they too frightened to fight back? Are they just that oblivious to the attack.

Shooting came after this thought, it came from the direction of the running. Chiecra looked this direction seeing several shadows coming his way. Taking his eyes away from the shadows his eyes focus on the pistol in the dead man's grasp. The group of shadows became clear figures as they rushed in the light, the four Nazdar approached him. The cadet dove for the pistol. He picked it up firing every round in the magazine. The blazing bullets sprayed all over the Nazdar. Each one was hit in vital parts including some random parts like the arms, shoulders and legs. All four collapsed to the ground no longer alive.

Laying on top of the dead Nazdar, Chiecra felt ready for another shoot out. He felt alive with adrenaline. From this sudden attack Chiecra's breathing grew heavy. Each breathe made him feel like he ran two miles nonstop. Not a bead of sweat dripped down his face. There was not a single second given to him. Voices and feet came in from both directions. This time he was sure one of the groups were his comrades and the other group the enemy. His comrades came rushing in the same time the enemy did. Led by Ilkez the Vestrisians exchanged fire with the enemy. They spread out using the tunnel's wideness and a few deep crevices in the walls for cover to avoid heavy casualties. The enemy however with a mix of both Troglodyte and Nazdar, came in tight formation making them easy targets. In the middle of the skirmish, Chiecra kept his head down. among the gunfight Chiecra heard Ilkez holler.

"Chiecra crawl over to us!" He ordered the Cadet.

"Covering fire!" a voice yelled out. Chiecra crawled on his belly as fast as he could leaving his E-7 behind for the time being. He could tell the enemy were suffering heavy casualties, just from hearing bodies collapsing with thuds. Bullets flew over his head, but not one bullet hit him. Two Vestrisian soldiers grabbed Chiecra pulling him in behind the gunners in the safety of a deep crevice. Hot cartridges fell on his head. One burned his ear, causing him to suck his teeth in pain. A Sergeant who was watching him picked at Chiecra.

"Ha ha see what happens when you go alone with no support. You get covered in the cartridges of your own mates!" The Sergeant laughed, showing that he was only joking. Chiecra smiled slightly finding some amusement in what he said.

A medic rushed to his side. "Are you hurt? Any scratches, or bullet wounds?" he asked the cadet checking his face and arms.

Chiecra shook his head no. "I think you'd know if I was hurt or not. Since you are a medic, right?" The medic was flabbergasted; he had nothing else to say. Silently he checked Chiecra's body for any injuries and left him alone.

"Looks like we were almost ambushed." said Chiecra.

"You guessed right cadet." Viktorov nodded at Chiecra before shooting another round into the belly of a charging Troglodyte.

"I'm out!" viktorov yelled before diving into the crevice beside Chiecra. Two Vestrisians took his place. The two gwynors talked as they watched the battle.

"What happened?" they asked the other. Chiecra insisted that viktorov go first, but he urged the cadet to go first. Viktorov spoke first despite the noise of the gunfight.

"While you went down further in the tunnel, we saw a single soldier come out from the side of the wall." Viktorov told Chiecra as he reloaded his weapon.

"What happened afterwards?" Chiecra asked him.

"We tried to follow him but a large team streamed out of what must've been a large crevice in the wall." Viktorov said preparing his rifle to fire the new clip of ammo.

"I assume you hunted them down and shot them?" Chiecra asked him guessing they had secured the tunnel while he was scouting the end of it.

"Yep, did you come across the straggler?" Viktorov asked the Cadet looking over Chiecra’s shoulder hoping to see the corpse. Chiecra pointed down the corner.

"Over there just beyond this corner, and those four." Chiecra pointed at the four bodies piled over each other.

"I believe the coast is clear boys you can get up, now." bellowed the laughing Sergeant. The two gwynors stood up before the jolly Sergeant Vikitorov introduced Chiecra to the sergeant.

"Cadet Chiecra Gwynor meet Master-Sergeant Almerc Mckaw. Master-Sergeant this is Cadet Chiecra Gwynor Captain Gwynor's brother." Chiecra shook the sergeant's hand. Master-Sergeant Mckaw had big hands with a strong and tight grip. Upon his brow were red bushy eyebrows. He had a buff, and stocky body. Side burns of red went down his jaw line from his helmet. His smile made him trustworthy and comfortable to be around.

"I'll introduce you to some of the new Vanguards sent to help you lads." The Sergeant said to the first group that was organized.

Chiecra saw several cadets he recognized. Four cadets looked at him and grinned. They looked at each other and then back at him. One cadet spoke with a familiar voice but a face he barely recognized.

"Well, if it isn't Chiecra Gwynor from the Balkmel Mountains. I have not seen you since that smuggling infiltration we made in the Orive region. You gave one of them slavers a mouth full of your fist." The cadet showed the others how Chiecra brought down a slaver with a single punch. Chiecra remembered that little operation he and his Barracks mates performed a month ago. This cadet's name was Allen Firulk. Chiecra was glad to see a bunkmate from the barracks at the Eaglehorn Academy Boot camp.

"It has been a while, glad to see you again Allen." Chiecra said happy to see an old face from the training academy.

"Cut the chatter you two the enemy can still hear us!" Sergeant Mckaw ordered the cadets to quiet down.

Chiecra fell silent as did the others. The Vestrisian Vanguards readied themselves for another advance. There was no stopping to rest this time. They had to seize the caverns beyond this tunnel system. The Vestrisian soldiers advanced forward through the tunnels.