Chapter 826: Sabotage

Itami and her army soon found themselves at a village which they decided to occupy and use as a base of operations for their next push into the north. What was supposed to be a swift and easy conquest had now turned into a massive headache for the young Japanese Empress, who was deeply disturbed by the fact that her plans for expansion of her armed forces were met with a newfound difficulty.

At the moment, she was in a small bathtub, soaking off the dirt and grime that had accumulated from the previous battle. Her mind was blank as she desperately tried to wash away the fear that had taken control of her heart.

Itami had assumed that she would be fighting against a medieval army when she planned for this invasion, one who would not be able to touch her. However, now she realized that she would be fighting against an enemy armed with modern weapons, and that terrified her.

Though Itami had fought on the feudal battlefields of Japan, exchanging blows with men much larger than her, the threat of death was never truly present. After all, she had always been protected by capable warriors, and was armored so well that neither arquebus nor arrow could penetrate her vitals and claim her life.

However, in the face of modern weapons such as semiautomatic sniper rifles, battle rifles, and light machine guns, there was truly nothing she could create that would protect her against such advanced weapons, at least not at the moment.

Itami had unknowingly made herself the prime target for this new insurgency. By wearing such flashy medals and garish colors, she was a sitting duck on the battlefield, and yet she had personally led her army into the Joseon Kingdom. Had she known her rival, who lie a world away, would arm her enemies, she never would have come here herself.

Still, Itami did not know how this Kaiser in the west had learned of her activities. Clearly, this was retaliation for selling modern weapons to the Bengal Emperor, which meant that at the very least, Berengar's influence stretched to the Indian subcontinent. However, what she could not understand was how her rival had learned of her invasion of Korea.

Then again, her landing in Busan had also been leaked to the Joseon Army. It was clear that one of her ministers was conspiring against her, but the list of potential traitors was so large, she did not know where to begin in the process of identifying them. She supposed a more pressing concern was just how did this traitor manage to contact Germany? Itami could only sink back in the bathtub and sulk as she expressed her thoughts aloud.

"Berengar von Kufstein, just who are you?"

While Itami was soaking in the tub of the village chief's home. A small fireteam of Jagdkommandos had gathered in the nearby hills. Their jobs weren't only to train the insurgents, they were also instructed to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage operations.

These men's faces were painted in a woodland pattern, which, when combined with their camouflage uniforms and ghillie hoods, these German soldiers were practically invisible to the Japanese sentries during the twilight hours of the night.

Though the leader of the fireteam knew that his men understood the plan, he went over it one more time, specifically because one of his soldiers had deviated from their orders during the ambush earlier that day. He had a stern tone in his voice as he addressed the soldiers under his command.

"Normally, I would not do this, but I feel I need to clarify something after what happened earlier. Our objective is not to kill the Empress. That would only embolden the Japanese resolve to fight us. The orders we have been given are to bog down the Japanese forces in these mountains for as long as possible and force them to withdraw southward. So, to make this clear, you are not to harm the Empress, though her officers are fair game.

Now this operation is to be done with as few enemy casualties as possible. We are to infiltrate the camp and set fire to their supplies. That is it. Once we have succeeded in the task, we are to silently withdraw back to the closest cell. If you must eliminate someone, do it covertly, with your boot knife. Is that understood?"

The soldiers nodded their heads before responding to their NCO in the affirmative.

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing this, the Sergeant smiled before issuing the order to begin the operation.

"Alright, let's do this!"

The Jagdkommando fireteam silently made their way down the hill, as if they were stalking their prey. The Japanese sentries could not even see them as they slowly approached the makeshift defenses of the village. Itami had surrounded the village with her wagons, and in doing so built a primitive fortification. Though such a thing was easily breached, especially by the elite soldiers of the Reich.

After approaching the perimeter of the defenses, the Jagdkommandos split up into separate roles. The Sniper, accompanied by the light machine gunner, took an over watch position on the hill above, while the riflemen slung their weapons and unsheathed their boot knives. These men split up as they breached the defenses and silently took out the Japanese sentries by slicing their throats and covering their mouths.

The sniper watched from afar as he saw his comrades enter the village and make their way through the streets. All the while remaining unseen. Eventually, he lost sight of the men as they began entering into buildings, searching for the enemy's supplies. He could only say a silent prayer for his fellow soldiers, as he no longer had the ability to protect them from potential threats.

"Saint Berengar the Blessed, protect my brothers in arms so that they may carry out your will!"

As for the NCO, he had picked the lock to the door of a building and forced his way inside. It became abundantly clear that this was the enemy's food stockpile, or at least one of several locations. However, there was only one problem: there were two enemy soldiers guarding the supplies. Luckily for him, they did not notice his presence. Thus, he slithered through the halls like a sneaky snake, going entirely unnoticed.

One of the Japanese guards walked off from his post. For what reason, the NCO did not know, but he followed the sentry nonetheless. After stalking the man outside the building, he noticed that the Japanese guard was pissing on the wall of the building, taking the opportunity that was given to him, the Jagdkommando covered the man's mouth from behind, and repeatedly stabbed into his kidneys with the knife, silently ending the man's life. He proceeded to hide the corpse in a nearby cask before continuing his attack.

After taking care of one guard, the NCO covertly made his way back in side where he approached the other. The man was quite obviously bored out of his mind and was impatiently waiting for his friend to return. The veteran Jagdkommando saw this as an opportunity, and hid behind a wall which the enemy would have to pass by to get to the door that the other guard left through.

After a few minutes, the man began to shout in his local tongue. Though the NCO could not understand him, he knew the man was cursing out his friend for taking too long. The Japanese guard carelessly walked past the Jagdkommando, and the moment he did, a blade found its way buried in his neck, piercing through the carotid artery as if it were gelatin.

Once the last of the two sentries was eliminated, the german NCO proceeded down the halls and towards the food stockpile, where he stashed away his knife and took out an incendiary grenade from his load bearing equipment. After pulling the pin, he tossed it on the wooden crates which housed the Japanese Army's rations, and immediately bounced, not wanting to be in the building when the thermite caught fire.

Within seconds, the grenade exploded, causing flames to rapidly spread, consuming the entire building in its hunger. By then, the NCO had withdrawn and was already heading back to regroup with his unit. Bells rang throughout the village as three distinctive fires simultaneously occurred within the camp. However, by the time the Japanese Army could respond, the Jagdkommandos had already absconded into the night.

As Itami was enjoying her bath, the door swung open and revealed the panicked expression on General Shiba's face. Itami was both surprised and furious that her precious bath time had been intruded upon, and instantly covered her sensitive parts with her hands, while scolding the General for his actions.

"You dare disturb my bath. Why I ought to-"

Before she could finish reprimanded the man for his actions, he interrupted her with a single word.

"Sabotage!"

Itami's fury faded as she soon understood what was happening. The guerillas had struck again. She instantly gave out an order with a hint of rage in her blood-red eyes.

"Give me a moment..."

It was only now that General Shiba realized he was gazing upon something he shouldn't be, and quickly lowered his head before withdrawing. Once he was gone, Itami got out of her bath and sighed heavily before gazing out the window and seeing the flames rising within the village. She could only curse herself for stepping on the Eagle's tail feathers. She swore in her heart at that moment that she would get back at Germany for their intervention in Korea.