Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty-Nine

Pai was waiting for Kanya when she rushed into the office. "Where are our people?" she gasped. "I was in the dormitory before," he shrugged, "I heard that things have changed, so we withdrew from that village..." "Are you still in the dormitory?" "Maybe some are still there. I heard that Akarat and Pracha are preparing to negotiate." "No!" She shook her head. "Gather them right away." She walked up and down the office, collecting all the pistol ammunition kept here. "Tell them to assemble and get their weapons ready. We don't have much time."

A Pai stared blankly at Hiroko, "Is this the clockwork man?" "Leave her alone. Do you know where General Pratzer is?" He shrugged, "I heard that he went to inspect the sea wall, and then talked to the members of the Mammoth Union about the protest..." Her face darkened even more. "Gather our men. We can't wait any longer." "Are you crazy……" An explosion shook the ground, and the trees outside broke and fell to the ground.A Pai jumped up, shocked.He ran to the window and looked out.A high-pitched siren sounded. "It's the Ministry of Trade," Kanya said. "Here they come." She grabbed the wind-up pistol.Hiroko seemed uncharacteristically calm at this moment, standing there with her head slightly tilted to one side, like a dog listening to a small sound.She turned around slightly, leaned forward slightly, concentrated, as if waiting for something.Another series of explosions sounded, shaking the compound of the Ministry of Environment.The whole building began to shake, and chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling.

Kanya rushed out of the office, and the other white shirts rushed out with her.Some of these people are preparing to work the night shift, and some have not yet been assigned to patrol the docks and takeoff and landing fields to maintain order.She ran down the hallway, Hiroko and Pai following closely behind her. She rushed out of the corridor.The night air was filled with the strong aroma of jasmine, and Kanya could smell gunpowder smoke, but there was another, stronger smell besides that.She hadn't smelled it since army vehicles drove troops across the Mekong to put down riots in Vietnam...

A tank smashed through the outer wall of the compound. It was a monster made entirely of steel, taller than two people, painted with camouflage, and the furnace inside the car was belching thick smoke.Its main guns fired.A strong light flashed from the muzzle, and the powerful recoil made the tank's tracks take a step back.The gear mechanism inside the tank rattled, and the turret turned, aiming at other targets.Shards of brick and marble rained down on Kanya.She quickly bent down, jumped to a shelter and hid. War elephants loomed large behind the tanks, swarming through the gap in the wall.The ivory shimmered in the gloom, and the riders on the backs of the elephants were all dressed in black.In the dim light, the few white shirts who stood up to defend the compound were very conspicuous and became the best targets.The high-energy springs on the giant elephant's back let out a sharp whistling sound, and the flying blades splashed around Kanya's body.A chunk of concrete fell from the wall, slashing Kanya's cheek.Suddenly, Hiroko leaped out, pinning her to the ground, as more knives were fired from the spring-loaded pistol, streaking through the air and hitting the wall behind her.

There was another explosion, and the loud noise shook her head dizzily.She realized she was sobbing, and everything sounded like it was coming from far away.Fear made her tremble. The rumbling tank drove into the center of the courtyard and began to turn on the spot.More mammoths charged into the compound, followed by a shock force, which also charged in through the breach in the wall.It was so far away that Kanya couldn't even tell which general had betrayed Pracha.From the upper floors of every building there was haphazard fire with small arms, screams echoed through the air, and people from the Ministry of Environment were dying.Kanya pulled out his pistol and began aiming.Beside her, a clerk working in the records office was struck by a flying blade and fell.Kanya carefully gripped the pistol and fired.Unable to determine if she had hit the target, she fired again, seeing the man she aimed at fall.But the army rushing in this direction continued, like a tsunami, unstoppable.

Jaidy appeared on her shoulder. "What are you going to do with your people?" he asked. "Are you going to betray the lads who trusted you?" Kanya pulled the trigger again.She was crying and could barely see anything.The soldiers in the courtyard dispersed and marched alternately in small groups under the cover of fire. "Please, Captain Kanya," Hiroko begged, "we have to escape." "Go!" Zaidi urged, "It's too late to fight now." Kanya takes his finger off the trigger.Many flying blades splash around her.She rolled over, ran towards the building, jumped into the relatively safe building, then hurriedly got up, and ran to the exit in the other direction of the building.Another shell hit and the whole building shook.Don't know if it will collapse before she runs away.

She ran forward behind Hiroko and A Pai, jumping over the bloody corpse.Memories of her childhood flooded her, memories of destruction and fear.Coal-fueled tanks roared through the villages, lining up in long lines, roaring down the remaining roads, before rolling into rice fields, their tracks pulverizing the soil.The same tanks had charged unstoppably toward the Mekong to fend off a sudden Vietnamese onslaught, leaving a thick cloud of black smoke in their wake.And now, these behemoths are here. She rushed out from the other side of the Ministry of Environment building, only to run into yet another firestorm.The trees were burning, and the other party probably used some kind of incendiary bomb.Smoke billowed around her.Another tank charged through a distant gate, faster than either of the giant elephants.Her mind struggled to comprehend the speed, they were like tigers, covering great distances in a few steps.White Shirt's pistol kept firing, but there was nothing he could do with the steel hull of the tank.A pistol is no match for a real war.The sound of various guns firing could not stop roaring, and flashes of light continued to streak across the dark battlefield.The silvery disc splattered everywhere, cutting through everything soft in its path.The White Shirts ran around, hoping to find a place to hide, but there was nowhere for them to escape.Red blood splotches appeared on the white uniforms, and people were torn apart in the explosion.More tanks rushed in.

"Who are these people?" Pai screamed. Kanya shook her head dumbfounded.Armored troops wreak havoc on the Environment Ministry compound through burning trees.More soldiers rushed in. "Must be from the Northeast. Akarat is on the move. Pracha has been betrayed." She tugged on A Pai, and pointed to a slightly raised high ground, where the trees had not been ignited, standing in shadows.Over there is the shrine of Phra Sevub, perhaps still safe.A Pai looked over there blankly, but did not move.Kanya yanked him hard again, and the group ran across the yard.Palm trees fell in all directions, making a crackling sound, and gradually ignited the flames.Shrapnel exploded all around them, men and women screamed as their bodies were ripped apart by military machines with enough fuel.

"Where are you going now?" Pai yelled. Kanya himself doesn't know.She ducked over large pieces of wood and took cover under a burning palm tree. Jaidi jumped down from the tree and jumped to her side, grinning, not a sweat on his body.He glanced over the fallen tree, then at Kanya. "Well, which side are you fighting for now, Captain?"