Chapter 975: Run Through the Jungle

The combined forces of the German and Anangpur Armies did not stop its onslaught after surrounding and eliminating the remainder of the Bengal troops who stayed within the confines of the ruined city. Instead, they quickly marched forward, with the Anangpur Infantry hopping back on top of the panthers and marders, before riding them towards the fleeing enemy.

Unfortunately for the Bengal Army, most of them were on foot, and against the overwhelming speed of the panther tank, modified with a superior suspension and a modern engine, they could not outrun the pursuing enemy. The Jungles were thick with the scent of blood as the German Armored division rode down and opened fire upon tens of thousands of fleeing men.

It was as if the apocalypse had descended upon the earth, and the Bengal Army was facing the wrath of the heavens. Hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles plowed through the trees, and rained hellfire upon the enemy who desperately fled for their lives.

Against such war criminals, there was no reprieve. Many of the men screamed for their lives as the forty-five tonne steel tanks ran them over and squashed them like bugs. The slaughter continued until the sun fell, where the Germans holed up in their tanks in a defensive formation and refueled before preparing their next attack on the following morning.

As for what little remained of the Bengal Army, they continued to run for their lives. This included Emperor Asha. He wanted to get as far away from the enemy as possible, however after so many hours of flight, his horse was exhausted, and he knew it would no longer carry him forward without rest. Thus, he had hid in a barn within the countryside of the Yadava Dynasty, hoping that the enemy, which was not far behind him, would overlook his location.

What Asha did not know was that in the sky above, a reconnaissance aircraft had tracked his every move since he abandoned his army behind in the city of Devagiri. At this very moment, a transport aircraft was flying in the air above the barn where the Bengal Emperor hid.

Colonel Andreas Ritter von Jaeger was standing in the cargo bay, with a Stg 32 in hand. This weapon was modelled after the Stg 44 from Berengar's past life, but was equipped with a new prototype device. A scope was mounted on this rifle. However, this was no ordinary optic and was instead a primitive night vision device.

The night vision scope was attached to a battery pack, which Andreas and his Jagdkommandos wore on their backs. This imaging system was based upon the WWII era Vampir, which saw service in the German Army at the end of the war during Berengar's past life.

There was a stoic expression on the battle-hardened veteran's face as he relayed his orders to the squad of special operators beneath his command.

"Men, our orders are to capture the Bengal Emperor alive, and bring him back to the city of Anangpur where he will undergo trial. Lethal force is only authorized in the event of clear and present danger to one's life. Otherwise, shoot to maim!"

The soldiers beneath Andreas' command saluted their officer before responding to his words with the battle cry that the German Armed Forces were all too well known for.

"Hail victory!"

Immediately after, the green light appeared within the cargo bay, and the hatch opened, allowing Andreas to jump before any of his soldiers. The rest of the men followed him shortly thereafter. Where the unit of elite commandos fell from the sky without the slightest bit of emotion on their chiseled faces.

After deploying their chutes at an extremely low altitude, the Jagdkommandos landed in the jungle below. Utter darkness prevailed in the region, as dark storm clouds covered the light of the moon and stars. Despite this, the German commandos simply activated their night vision scopes, and looked through them, giving them a clear sight of their immediate surroundings.

Once they regrouped on the ground below, Colonel Andreas led his soldiers towards the location that the Luftwaffe had marked as Emperor Asha's hiding place, where they proceeded to surround the building.

Emperor Asha held onto his revolver while his hands shook with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. He had found this location only after his horse had nearly run itself to death. In fact, the only reason he dared to stop and hide within this barn, which was filled with farm animals, was because he heard the screams of his soldiers die down.

Despite this, there was no sense of ease within the Bengal Emperor's heart. In fact, he struggled to remain calm, as he constantly searched through the darkness, in fear that at any moment the enemy would reveal themselves.

It was at this moment that Asha heard a slight creak near the barn's gates, causing the man to raise his revolver and fire all six shots towards the entryway. Though his ears were ringing from firing a weapon in an enclosed space, he did not see any movement, and thus sighed in relief.

However, in the next moment, he felt a fist collide with his face, knocking him down to the ground. A bonus to this attack was that the empty revolver fell from his hands and onto the floor, where another man secured the weapon.

Asha screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was nobody nearby who would aid him, and even if a soldier of his army had heard his cries for help, he would not answer. After all, Asha had abandoned his army to their fate, and those few who survived the German onslaught would not easily forgive their leader for such a cowardly move.

"Help! Help! I'm being attacked!"

Despite his words, no aid appeared. Instead, this merely prompted the Jagdkommandos to behave viciously, striking their captive with their fists in order to beat the man into submission. Andreas merely sneered in disdain as he gave his captive a command with a stern tone in his voice.

"Shut the fuck up before I cut your vocal chords!"

As a result, Asha remained quiet and submitted to the German commandos, who quickly finished their task. Once the Bengal Emperor had been secured, and was no longer able to make a noise, he was thrust over a soldier's shoulder and dragged out of the barn.

The first part of the Jagdkommandos mission was complete. However, unfortunately for them, this was also the easiest part. Now they needed to haul ass through the jungle, which was filled with anxiety stricken Bengal troops seeking to flee the German advance. If they were to encounter any of these men, they would be in for a firefight.

Thus, the German Jagdkommandos began their journey to the extraction point, which was located at the Tapi river. It only took them a half a click before they made contact with a hostile company. Deep within the jungles of India, a company of Bengal soldiers were trekking through the night. Though they could not see much, they managed to find their way through the darkness with a series of improvised torches.

Naturally, the Germans spotted the enemy long before they could see them. Thus, they hid behind the cover of trees and bushes, while waiting for the bengal soldiers to pass. If not for their camouflaged uniforms, it was highly likely that the enemy would have spotted them, however under the cover of darkness the Bengal soldiers merely marched by, completely unaware that a squad of Germany's elite soldiers were nearby, with their Emperor as a captive.

Asha tried to make some noise to alert his soldiers to his position, but was quickly knocked out by the Jagdkommando, who carried him. As a result, Andreas glared at the man, who made a simple gesture which conveyed his thoughts.

'What? We were ordered not to kill the guy, but we were never told not to harm him!'

As if communicating telepathically, Andreas merely nodded his head in silence, while clutched his rifle to his shoulder, continuing to aim down his sights at the passing Bengal troops in case their situation was to turn hot.

Luckily for the Jagdkommandos, the enemies simply passed them by without notice, and only after they were out of earshot did Andreas give the order to continue moving. Before long, Andreas and his men reached the river Tapi, where a river patrol boat was waiting for them.

The squad of soldiers tossed the Bengal Emperor on board before hopping in themselves, where the boat's crew activated the engines, and sent them down the river and to the Bay of Khambhat. The entire time they coasted through the jungle, a soldier in Andreas's squad sang the lyrics to Run Through the Jungle, which was a classic rock song used by US GIs during the Vietnam War of Berengar's past life.

Under Berengar's influence, the song made its way into the German Army, specifically in use by the troops under Arnwald's command, who had spent the last year training in the art of Jungle Warfare within the German colonies of Adelheim.

The German commando continued to sing the song until he and his unit had reached the safety of the German Fleet, who would provide the means to transport Asha back to the Anangpur Capital. With Asha in the custody of Dharya, and the Bengal Army completely collapsed. The war in India had come to a swift and brutal end. All that was left was to capture the remaining regions of the Indian Subcontinent under the banner of the Anangpur Empire and make one final push into the heartland of the Bengal Empire.

When Empress Itami Riyo finally learned of her proxy's stunning defeat, and the implementation of tanks among the ranks of the German Army, she would feel compelled to make her own machines of war, in whatever limited capacity she could manage.