Building a Conglomerate in Another World

Chapter 164: Snapped

Time seemed to freeze as the first shot rang out, echoing through the jungle. Then, chaos erupted.

Amerathian soldiers dove for cover, their rifles snapping into action as they responded to the threat. Ramirez shouted orders to his men, his voice drowned out by the cacophony of gunfire. Workers scattered, scrambling to escape the crossfire, while Matthew grabbed Amber and pulled her behind a thick tree for protection.

"Stay down!" Matthew shouted over the din, his heart pounding in his chest.

Amber clutched his arm, her face pale but determined. "Matthew, what do we do?"

"We wait it out!" Matthew yelled, peering around the tree to assess the situation. "Hayes will try to contain this before it spirals out of control!"

The clearing had devolved into chaos. Gran Colombian soldiers, emboldened by the initial shot, fired sporadically at the Amerathians, while Hayes’s troops returned fire with disciplined precision. Several workers and engineers who had been too slow to escape lay flat on the ground, covering their heads and praying for the gunfire to stop.

Ramirez, furious, grabbed the young soldier who had fired the first shot and yanked him backward. "You fool! Do you realize what you’ve done?" he bellowed.

The young soldier stammered an incoherent reply, his face a mask of terror as he realized the magnitude of his actions. Ramirez shoved him aside and tried to rally his men, shouting for them to fall back, but the momentum of the skirmish was too strong. His orders were drowned out by the chaos.

Hayes, crouched behind a fallen log, barked commands to his troops. "Hold your fire unless they advance! Do not escalate! Keep the workers safe!"@@@@

One of the Amerathian sergeants crawled over to Hayes, his face grim. "Captain, we’re holding them off, but they’re not retreating. If this continues, we’ll have casualties."

Hayes’s jaw clenched as he considered his options. "We need to break their momentum. Fire a warning shot above their heads—something loud enough to remind them what they’re up against."

Hayes nodded grimly at the sergeant, his voice sharp as he barked out the order, "Grenadiers, launch a flare above their position. Let’s remind them of our capabilities."

Matthew shook his head, his face pale but resolute. "There’s nothing we can do right now, Amber. We’d only make things worse."

Back on the Gran Colombian side, Ramirez snarled as he surveyed the battlefield. His initial strategy was failing, and the Amerathians’ disciplined response was keeping his forces pinned down. He turned to one of his lieutenants. "Bring up the mortars! If they want to play this game, we’ll make them regret it."

The lieutenant hesitated. "Captain, the cannons? That could escalate this into—"

"Do it!" Ramirez snapped. "We’re past diplomacy now. If they want to hold this land, they’ll pay for it."

Moments later, two soldiers lugging portable mortars appeared on the field. They quickly set up their equipment under Ramirez’s direction, aiming toward the Amerathian positions. Hayes noticed the movement and his blood ran cold.

"Cannons," he muttered. "They’re about to shell us."

"Captain, what’s the call?" one of his officers asked, panic flickering in his eyes.

Hayes gritted his teeth, his mind racing. "Snipers, take out those cannon teams! Everyone else, hold steady! We need to neutralize them before they can fire!"

The crack of sniper rifles split the air, and one of the Gran Colombian mortar operators collapsed, clutching his chest. The other quickly ducked for cover, but Ramirez barked an order for his men to provide suppressing fire, forcing the Amerathian snipers to pull back temporarily.

The surviving cannon operator adjusted his aim and fired a shell. It arced high into the air before crashing down near the Amerathian positions, sending a plume of dirt and shrapnel skyward. The explosion rattled the ground, and the soldiers closest to it were thrown off their feet.

"Get those civilians out of here!" Hayes yelled, his voice hoarse. "We can’t hold this position if they keep shelling us!"

The gunfire reached a deafening crescendo as both sides dug in, neither willing to cede ground. Ramirez, emboldened by the mortar strike, ordered his men to press forward, even as the Amerathians pushed back with equal determination. The clearing became a chaotic dance of smoke, blood, and fury.

Matthew, still huddled with Amber behind the tree, clenched his fists. "This is expected, there will now be a war between Amerathia and Gran Colombia Republic."