Adolf woke up for once without a ringing from his ears or shouting of his men as an attack happened, something that had been too often for the last few weeks since this entire operation had begun from the city of Lowen. Adolf slowly sat up as he knew that while he may have slept well with some of the other soldiers and officers last night, those on guard duty may have not been as fortunate given trench raids were all too familiar to him and his men even now. So, with a hopeful heart, he stood up and swiftly put on his armor as he had slept in his uniform again, the padded armor that lay beneath his armor plates being just comfortable enough for him to sleep in. When he was done getting his armor on, he strapped to his side his two sabers and then he slung over his shoulder his ZM Kar and then headed outside to survey his camp.

It wasn't much to look at: several organized blocks of tents scattered around small, barely passible roads that cut through the woods and underbrush, surrounded by several foxholes and fighting positions that the cavalrymen had dug up in order to better defend their camp, and then in one part of the camp were the stables the cavalrymen's drake mounts were being kept. Even now, as Adolf slowly was walking towards the trenches that were the frontline at the edges of the wood, he could hear the Drakes cries and calls of morning as a few members of the Drake Cavalry were moving around the stables trying to help take care of the mounts before they became far too noisy.

Adolf made his way through the trees and brush as the twigs snapped under his armored boots with every few steps, scattering fallen leaves in his wake while he made it back to the frontlines. It wasn't long before he saw the network of trenches before him and as he walked to them and then hopped down into one, one of the Imperial Officers with the Infantry units saluted him and said, "My Lord Baron!"

"How goes the patrols and guard duty?" asked Adolf. "Have any of my company been killed?"

The red armored Imperial officer shook his head. "No sir. All quiet on this western front... It's nice, you know? You cavalry boys did fine work getting rid of the artillery guns... wish my commander was here to see it." 

"Are you a field promotion?" asked Adolf.

The officer solemnly nodded his head. "He died to a shell hitting his trench... nothing was left to be buried or given over... they just painted my armor red and called it a day."

Adolf bowed his head in solemn respect before he then said, "Well, continue your work then."

As Adolf slowly walked through the trenches, passing by soldiers currently napping against the walls or other still holding their watch, all being different soldier types from the different units. Eventually, Adolf got to the trenches held by his men and as he walked up to one of the younger officers, they saluted him and he saluted them back before they then told Adolf, "All quiet, my lord Baron."

"Seen anything at least?" asked Adolf as he slowly poked his head above the trench lip over the firing line to gaze out over the area. It wasn't too much to look at, mainly the remains of bodies, craters, barbed wire, some anti-tank hedgehog barriers, burnt out remains of tanks, but nothing too notable beyond all of this as he soon stepped back before any hidden sniper noticed him.

"No, my lord... It's been calm for the moment." said the officer.

"Good... Have your men pull off the line when the next shift comes and get some rest. Might be able to catch a few winks for once now we have that damned artillery dealt with." said Adolf.

"Yes, my lord!" said the officer as the red-armored man snapped off another salute before he moved down the trench line to tell his soldiers, crouching slightly so his armor's fake wings didn't poke up above the trenches.

Adolf nodded his head but when he poked his head against over the lip of the trench and looked around, he was more looking to see if this would be a good place to head off towards with his patrol. Given the situation of his black armor denoting his status and the outcome of every other patrol sent out, the word concerned wasn't even a candle to the fear he had doing this, but he knew that he had to see for himself what was going on out beyond the forest they were inhabiting. Having several patrols be either wiped out or be forced away was making his rather suspicious of the force they were dealing with, especially given that his men were always instructed on being scouts first in these patrols and combatants last.

He looked around one last time then ducked down and headed back towards his camp to get the patrols organized.

Lt.Col Rolf and Baron Adolf stood before 5 men of the 1st Drake 4th company, one of the reserve companies that Adolf had been keeping back for reserves by guarding the 7th Tank's motor pool towards the command center of the small house in the woods. The men before him he had not known personally, like many of the young men under Adolf's command, but as he looked at them standing before him, he committed their names to his memory for use on this patrols: Reiner, Sandro, Alfred, Joel, and Jannik.

They stood in immaculate order and in immaculate armor and weapons, likely having been informed and given time to clean themselves up before going on this patrol by their superior officer, surmised Adolf as he looked over them while Rolf spoke to them.

"Guten Morgen, men. Your mission today is to accompany our young lord Baron on a patrol nearby to the forest, in the hopes of obtaining intelligence and perhaps supplies if you are up for that challenge. It will be a swift and quick mission, should not take you days for this patrol but at most a few hours, there and back. You will be in charge of keeping the Baron safe as well as ensuring that you are out of any attack the enemy sends your way... I will not lie; many patrols have been sent out but few have come back. So, you will be deliberately avoiding all conflict. Am I understood, men?" Rolf's voice and tone was both formal and stern, the visages of an officer who has risen up from the ranks and distills no-nonsense in his attitude coming out plain as the day above them.

The men all saluted in unison and then Adolf cleared his through as he said, "Our mission is to leave the forest where our trenches lie and move a few kilometers away from there towards the direction some reports of our boys being forced away come from. After hopefully finding what is there and avoiding all forms of conflict, we will return with all manner of speed back to the base to report our findings. We will be taking our drakes and a full kit to this patrol in case, for whatever reason, we are forced to stay a little longer out on patrol for either safety or some other reason, so be prepared to travel not as light as my current orders stand. If you are to be found without certain equipment or at less than ordered amount of kit, I will mention it and your officer will deal with you in the appropriate manner."

The men looked at Adolf and said nothing, but he could see their eyes and they all spoke of how much they will avoid their company officer's wrath if possible. The commander of the 4th company, Baron remembered, was sometimes a ruthlessly brash and verbally abusive man that he wished he could have replaced but few suitable recruits during the war ever came to him to replace him, so he had been forced to take him along. But the man was still not only an imperial officer but also a good leader and tactician so trying to replace him as is was slim to none so Adolf simply counted his blessings that he had such men with him.

"Now, go to the armory we have managed to set up and then get your Drakes. You will meet me near the trenches, near a rock we will be using to mount up behind before going out. Am I understood?" said Adolf.

"Yes, Lord Baron!" said the men in unison with a last salute.

"Good! You have 30 minutes to get ready and then meet me. Anyone late and you will be both left behind as well as noted for your negligence of duty and therefore Lieutenant Colonel Rolf will tell your officer of the charge before punishment is meted out. Now, on your way!"

The men in unison swiftly headed towards the armory but Adolf did not join them as he had already gone there to gather his own equipment for this patrol, picking up his stuff as needed but admittedly doing without the standard lance for the more reusable straight saber that now swung from his belt opposite his standard curved cavalry saber. The straight saber was supposed to always be with the men when their lances broke in combat from use, but they had been kept in the armory for some time to lighten up the load of the soldiers and lessen the risk of their loss in combat. But now, they would be seen once again in combat and Adolf could not wait to use his two sabers again in unison as he had trained to do many a times in the past before the war.

Rolf sighed nearby all of a sudden and Adolf glanced over to his subordinate officer as Rolf then said, "This is extremely dangerous, you go out with a handful of men to scout out the area ahead as the biggest target the enemy could ever ask for. Why not have any other officer go out?"

"Because sometimes you need to do things by your own two hands." said Adolf. "I will not lie; I am afraid of what may happen, but we must find out what we are currently dealing with beyond the forest that the patrols haven't found thanks to this mysterious force that keeps destroying or chasing them off."

Rolf shook his head before he then said, "Be careful then, my lord... If you are lost, then we lose one of the most promising young lords the Empire has seen."

Adolf nodded and then swiftly headed out to get his personal Drake to ride out on for the patrol.

The rock that Adolf was behind with his Drake was already showing signs of the war, with cracks and pockmarks from bullets to even a section of it sheared off and now scattered nearby from a tank shell hitting it. But it was still a good place to hide from the Federation snipers for a short bit before either going into the trenches or dragging someone out, maybe dragging an anti-tank cannon over before putting it into an entrenchment.

Still, as Adolf stood with his drake, holding its armored body that was ready to fly with nothing more than its leather harness around its head and neck, he looked over his Drake as it was a tad bit different than the others. Namely, this came down to the markings and even color of the armor panels on it, namely black for his Imperial Guard status and the status of an Imperial noble while officers would have red and the normal drake riders with the same color as their plain own armor. The only other thing making it different was the marking on the side of the left flank armor facing Adolf, which was his family crest of a lance, a drake head, and olive branches around it for the Richthofen lineage.

Suddenly, the sound of several feet drawing near made him turn around to see all five soldiers being sent with him arriving with their full gear ad mounts, one hand on their drake's harness while the other holding lances at the ready. He looked at ever one of them and was thankful that they all seemed ready for what was planned ahead so he stood at attention and then saluted them before he said, "Mount up. On my command, we will be doing a quick charge across the field to the next set of trees and then our patrol begins. Do not fall behind and do not attack the enemy if you come into contact with them."

The men all saluted silently and swiftly mounted up on their mounts while Adolf then quickly did the same, holding his rifle soon in his other hand as he was about as ready for this patrol as anyone else was given the previous outcomes. As soon as the officer and his soldiers had mounted up, they slowly inched their way from behind the rock towards the trenches and as they moved, the wings on their backs gave a bit of a rattle from the feathers moving around but they all ignored this as they were used to it. Adolf came to the edge of the trenches as next to him was the rider, Sandro, as he was the one sort of acting as the battle-buddy to the young lord but the moment they were at the edge of the woods near some trenches, Adolf then told them, "Alright, go!"

He spurred the drake into a sudden motion, and it smoothly took off as he crouched over its armored bulk, making his profile on the animal smaller while also streamlining it to make it just a tad bit faster than if he was standing up. Adolf could hear the other soldiers behind him as their mounts followed him in a swift sprint across the open ground between them and the trees no more than 100 meters away from them that would be their jump off point for the start of the patrol.

The shade of the trees soon was above the squad as the drakes all were reigned in before they rushed into a tree or into an unseen ditch and for the moment, Adolf glanced around to the soldiers near him before he nodded his head to them and said, "Right... with that out of the way... patrol starts now. See anything, say it. If we are fired upon, we retreat either to the closest defendable position or we retreat back here to friendly territory. We don't split up unless I order it and we certainly don't abandon one another. Am I clear?"

All of the soldiers nodded as Adolf glanced around before he then said, "With all of that said... and let's move out."

He slowly moved his mount forward along the trees while the soldiers slowly followed along behind him as they had put their lances onto their mounts saddle packs and pulled out their rifles in prep for whatever maybe coming next. The patrol had begun and now the soldiers needed all of their wits and senses to alert themselves to trouble, their mounts helping move them along a little faster than they normally would.

The patrol sprinted again from the shade of one clump of trees to another before they once again slowed down to continue moving carefully and cautiously through the unknown territory that likely was crawling with Federation troops. Adolf was keeping an eye on their heading towards where the other scouts had made their way to last time with a compass that was within his belt, glancing at their heading that lay to the north-east. The only other thing he kept an eye on was his watch, currently worn backwards on his left wrist so he could more easily conceal the glass from sunlight when he glanced at it towards his chest. The other thing was a map he also had in his armor, packed within his right gauntlet as he occasionally pulled it out to mark known landmarks and mark new ones as they journeyed, though few new landmarks were really existing as they traveled a pre-planned route that Adolf had plotted after the most recent patrol group. He had two landmarks they had managed to jot down that he would be looking over before they headed to the location they were attacked at: an old farmhouse about 5 kilometers from their frontlines and 4 kilometers from that was an old, stone watchtower from sometime long before the Federation and Empire itself. He hoped they would be good places to stop off and survey the area around them for Federation signs before they headed towards the ambush point to find out who was creeping around there.

Then, he heard the voice of Jannik come from behind him as the soldier then asked the young Imperial lord, "Lord Baron... what have the previous patrols told us? About what happened?"

Adolf kept the group moving but he had been bugged about that information even more so than going on this patrol with only 5 soldiers of his rank and file. The patrols that came back from their missions had not exactly given the officers of the 1st Drake much hope for having a swift breakout from the Federation encirclement around them and in fact what they had found out they had done their best to keep quiet from even the other units. The Federation forces weren't too unusual at first, some Scouts and Shocktroopers trying to slow down the patrols from running away to quickly but then the patrols were then attacked by something new: vehicles with wheels and tracks that were proceeded by troops on either motorcycles or motorcycles with added machine gun sidecars. These vehicles, whether new or not, were able to maneuver and chase down most of the patrols and annihilate them or at least kill the officer/nco in charge of keeping the information but what Adolf was planning to do was find out if these new units were a direct counter to his Drake Cavalry unit or simply used as guards to something the Federation was preparing.

So, with the info withheld from many, it made sense the soldier was beginning to ask about what exactly they were doing and so the moment the group had managed to get within deep to the forest in one spot, he stopped his mount as he looked to the men following him as the group halted for but a moment.

"We... are scouting a specific bit of information the scouts have spoken that concerns myself and the other brass of the regiment, enough to keep it hush hush." said Adolf as he broke the silence on the why they were doing this to his men. "The patrols have spotted new vehicles that have seemingly been designed to counter us. I want to see if they are there to counter us or rather... if they are simply guarding a Federation secret."

The troops were quiet at first and Adolf was concerned about what they would say next but then suddenly Alfred sighed and said, "Permission to speak freely, my lord Baron?"

"Permission?" asked Adolf and then he sighed and remembered. He was so use to his officers speaking openly to him without the need to ask permission he had actually forgotten that his average soldier was not the same way.

So, with that, he then said, "Why don't you all speak openly then? Cat's out of the bag... and now you are all informed, might as well hear what you all have to say."

The soldiers glanced at one another before Alfred then said, "As... more or less the unofficial voice of this squad, I have one concerning question."

"Alright... I'll try and answer it." said Adolf.

"If this is trying to figure out what we are dealing with... then why only 6 men on patrol? Why not a whole platoon with support from the other units?" asked Alfred as they held their reigns of their drake in one hand. "Do the other regiments know of this?"

Adolf shook his head as he then said, "Already on thin ice with the Duke of the 78th... if he heard we were being whipped about by Federation soldiers,  he would turn us from frontline troops to just messengers like he probably wants us to be."

Alfred looked at the rest of the group before Reiner then said, "So... we go into where they last saw these Fed's, scope out what they are up to, then head back?"

"Exactly. I'm not here to get revenge, not yet. But to win the battle, we need intel on the enemy." said Adolf as he glanced around them all of a sudden, concerned they had been waiting for far too long in one spot.

The other soldiers did the same but then Jannik said, "Well, if we can avoid getting into a fight, fine... but I joined up with the Imperial Legions to fight the Feds for what they did to my brother in the War of Cowskins."

"Admirable. I know of some from the lands I call home who never came back... still miss them." said Baron Adolf before he then said, "Let's keep moving... we need to stay on the move."

And with that, the reigns of the beasts beneath the men were snapped before they headed out towards their first objective of the abandoned farmhouse.

It was around 1325 hours based upon the old watch of Adolf when the troops finally arrived at the remains of the farmhouse sitting on the edge of a large, largely untouched wild field of grass while sitting within the forest that was nearby to it. The drake riders swiftly reached its outskirts and then dismounted as Sandro held the reigns of the drakes with Joel while Jannik, Alfred, Reiner, and Adolf moved in with their ZM Kar 1's ready for combat if they met any sort of resistance but they didn't expect any of it. The farmstead was only a single house still standing, its windows long shattered and gone, the wood slowly being consumed by the wildness of nature that had parts of its roof coming down into the home itself. The soldiers stacked themselves upon the door side as they all gave a squeeze of being ready for the clearing of the farm before Jannik went in first and swiftly passed the already kicked down remains of the door that had been smashed some time ago. It was full of rotting furniture and splintered wood from the crumbling roof but as the soldiers swept the house completely clear of anything, they brought in Joel and Sandro with the mounts through a hole in one side of the building that was just big enough for the larger drakes to enter.

Adolf found a table and set it back up as the soldiers surrounded him while he pulled his compass out and the map out, setting them on the table as he looked at his watch for a quick moment. They were making some good progress, he expected by the end of the day he would be able to get the group of soldiers and himself back to the Imperial lines some ways off behind them either before or just at nightfall. It would be really good to say the least if they were able to pull this off but as he looked at the tamp and began plotting their next course of movement towards the stone watchtower before hearing Sandro say, "It's threatening to rain."

It immediately made Adolf look up to see Sandro standing at the window and Adolf saw that the sky above them that had been holding relatively clear was now starting to grey with clumps of clouds. Still, overcast didn't always mean that it was rain so he asked Sandro, "How can you tell?"

Sandro answered back, "I can smell it... been a farm boy all my life... can smell the wetness of the clouds before you feel or see it... Hopefully it'll rain later on after the mission is done."

"Agreed. We are maybe able to survive but the Drakes are still cold-blooded creatures and thus they will slow down to a crawl in the downpour if we are not lucky." said Adolf as he then said while finishing up the touches on his map, "Right... mount up again... lets continue out quickly if rain is coming."

The group quickly got onto their mounts as they prepared to head out but just as they did so, them mounting up just outside of the farm house remains to allow them room to fully extend their height, suddenly Reiner said, "Feds!"

Everyone got low on their mounts and the drakes themselves lowered themselves closer to the ground as everyone pulled out their ZM Kar's while they watched a small group of Federation Scouts poking their heads several hundred meters down the field near to the farmhouse but not looking in the direction of the imperial cavalryman as Adolf could see the Federation Scouts slowly walking towards the way he and his group had just come from.

"The moment they pass from sight, blitz into the woods for about a minute than continue the slowly trotting we've been doing." said Adolf as he kept his voice down and his body low with his mount.

And the moment the Federation Scouts were out of sight, the 6 Imperial Drake riders spurred their mount as they dashed into the nearby woods for a good minute of Drake sprinting through the underbrush of the Federation forest. The wind and tree branches snapped by them as the Drakes pushed themselves to rush forward but soon enough Adolf and the other riders reigned in their mounts desire to let loose. Adolf glanced around them as the group stopped but as they looked around, Adolf then said, "Now that we've seen the Federation... we must be on our guard."

The squad nodded and then they continued on, but more cautiously now.

By the time they came to the base of the stone watch tower, the rain began to slowly pour down onto the group and thus they swiftly entered the watchtower of stone, its walls turn shades of green from moss and vine, while they made sure to bring their mounts in before the creatures began to get too cold. Inside, the group either took up positions at the entrance of the stone tower, making sure to keep their exit open, or donned rain jackets and ponchos with Adolf and joined him at the top of the tower that was mostly intact, though not completely as part of the tower was crumbling into itself. Adolf came to the part of the stairs meant to go to a third level that now no longer existed and as he pulled out some binoculars, the wind and rain drops splashing against him and his poncho, he began to look around them with the binoculars. He was a bit aware of two landmarks that he saw immediately through his binoculars.

First was a noticeably large and winding river going through the forests and fields as he noticed that it was starting to slowly swell up from the rain that was coming down. He panned along its length that he could see in an attempt to see if he could find a crossing point, but it seemed that he could not find one at least from where he could see. He could hear Jannik, Sandro, and Joel moving around behind and beneath him, looking around at the surrounding landscapes themselves but nothing was really said by them as they were looking around the surroundings. The other thing he noted was something a bit more concerning was a bridge, but it was not he bridge itself but rather what was currently sitting on it as he did his best to focus his lenses on the bridge area in the slowly darkening skies. Sitting on the bridge that looked to be made of stone was a Federation light tank, slowly squatting on the bridge as it either was idling or parked there, while just behind it were two fortified areas with machine guns and what looks like bunker-like fortifications with them to help secure the bridge more. He couldn't see anyone at the bridge, but he knew they would be taking cover from the rain within the bunkers themselves but as he looked, he heard Sandro say, "Say... Baron... you said we don't have anyone else with us, right?"

Adolf glanced over and then walked down the stairs to join Sandro as Sandro pointed his finger in a spot and Adolf looked at it through his binoculars as Joel and Jannik continued to look around elsewhere. Adolf saw the figures of Imperial Scouts being marched around by a few Federation Shocktroopers that were escorting them, but he was more concerned with why they were managing to find prisoners and why they were taking them as all previous attempts for Imperials to surrender to the Federation had ended with the Imperials being executed on the spot. For there to be a new shift by the Feds to take prisoners from the Imperial units had Adolf extremely concerned as that meant anytime he and his men went on an operation in the Federation lines, they would need to ensure no one either surrendered or was put into a position to surrender.

He watched as the Imperial POW's were marching over the bridge soon enough as they were then out of sight from Adolf but he simply said to the others. "If anyone in this squad becomes at risk of being captured as a POW... you are to execute them. I don't want anyone here rotting away in some jail cell for the rest of their lives. Am I understood?"

While they had some very short-range radios, thanks to many of their long-range equipment either being captured, destroyed, or assigned to other units stuck with them in the forest currently, but it still was enough for him to speak with his squad without speaking to them face to face. As he said his words while watching the enemy checkpoint, he heard his soldiers give affirmatives, with Alfred saying, "Poor bastards going to be having a dirt nap soon, then."

They continued to watch in the rain as they watched the surroundings before Adolf finally headed down towards the bottom of the tower with Jannik, Sandro, and Joel following him back down, their cloaks and hoods dripping with rainwater while they soon came to the bottom where Reiner and Alfred were setting up some quick MRE's for them to munch on while they wait for the rain to go down a bit. As they all sat down and got ready for the evening to come with the rain, a short break before they headed towards the ambush point, Adolf pulled out the map and a small matchbox as he lit a match after a few attempts and went over their route towards the point, plotting a new course around the checkpoint and over the river with the hope it would avoid the majority of the Federation pickets. He soon was done as the MRE's were done at the same time and while everyone was beginning to eat, it was quiet for them all beyond them munching on their food and sipping from their water canteens, a quiet din of noise in the structure around them that the rain and wind easily could mask to anyone close.

And then Jannik looked to Adolf and asked, "So... Is this your first time on patrol?"

Adolf looked at Jannik and then shifted his gaze all around them seeing even with everyone eating their rations out of cans before he finally straightened up and swallowed his food before he put his can down and said, "Not exactly often that the one in charge of an entire unit leads a patrol himself. It's quite dangerous as you can imagine for someone with my title, rank, and all that to be walking around in sight of any sniper trying their luck that day."

"That being said, I'm one of those lords who don't like to just stay in the back and sit the war out. Let the pencil pushers do that but I am as many say still young and therefore, I love to lead my men from the front." said Adolf as he then said, "Besides, if there is one thing I was taught up as a Richtofen, is the art of riding a drake for war. And you can't do that sitting in the back quietly pushing models around."

The men stared at him for a bit of time before Reiner finally said, "Well, already like you a bit more than most lords I've met... nothing but a peasant to many of those no goods."

"Reiner, again, you cannot just disrespect the lords of the Empire." said Joel nearby. "If Adolf felt like it, he could have you severely punished or even put to death!"

Reiner grumbled some but then Adolf said, "I will not lie, I am aware of some not liking the various nobility in charge of them... but even you must be careful in case I decide to take offense to what you say. I may be one of the lower ranked lords but my position is still above most of the officers of the military."

Reiner looked down and away as Adolf quickly finished his food up before he then said, "But we have to worry about that later. We still have a mission to complete."

They all nodded their heads in respect as then Adolf said, "So... with that being said... get ready to move out even in this rain. Might as well risk it."

They all stood up, finishing up their rations before they went to get on their dragon-like mounts and then put over the mounts various rain covers to keep them from getting completely soaked.

The rain was still coming down on the group of cavalry scouts moving towards the river, but it wasn't as bad as it was before now, they had waited the worst of it out in theory, even seeing more sunlight out through the clouds but it all was cast into a dark gloom still. But while they were skulking around in the semi-gloom of the weather and forest, Adolf was more concerned about what was before him in the form of a slightly raging river before them and sadly the issue was there was not bridge it seemed beyond the one held by the Federation to go over it and this was even after they had explored the river banks for a few good minutes.

And the only good point for them to cross was before them now but it was a risky venture as the waters were fast and in the dark gloom, Adolf couldn't see how the path for this small fording point looked. This wasn't even bringing up how drakes were notoriously bad swimmers and didn't do well in water that often was just standing still or moving slowly, let alone the slight rapids before them that could threaten the drakes to be swept off their feet in a few seconds if allowed.

But if they wanted their intel, they had no choice and thus Adolf got off his drake and grabbed its reigns firmly as he looked at those with him and told them, "Alright... hold onto your mount and if it gets swept away, do not try and stop it... it'll just drag you down."

The men with him soon got off their drakes and held their drakes' reigns in firm grips like Adolf but did not move as they watched Adolf gingerly making his way down the muddy embankment of the riverside while he did his best to navigate his mount through the rough terrain. The mud made his boots slick, and he was extremely concerned for his health to say the least, but he also knew that if he began to panic or show panic it would lead to far more disastrous results than he wanted to deal with right now. So, he kept his motions slow and careful, placing his feet carefully as soon the water was rushing over his boots and then up to his knees as he could feel the pull of the river trying to sweep him far away downstream, but he kept his composure as he slowly began to cross the small river crossing, no more than a handful of meters wide but still treacherous if not careful thanks to the rainwater swelling it up more than usual.

He felt his boots want to slip a few times, but he kept himself from doing so by keeping a good foot locked into the gravel beneath his feet while he moved his other foot till it felt solid. He could feel the reigns growing tight and slack back and forth as his mount was skittish in the fast-moving water, but he made it keep its composure by slowly leading it forward where its head was forced to stay facing forward. He felt it once slip and he almost went to let go before it dragged him down, but the drake soon managed to regain itself and then continue with him before they finally were across and clambering up the slippery, muddy banks of the river. Adolf did not look back till he was at the top of the bank, letting his mount calm down and rest for a moment, before glancing back to his party. To his relief, they were making good progress, going one-by-one in going over the river and soon they were all over as they all remounted up and looked at Adolf before he then told them, "Alright... let's see what the ambushers are."

Everyone nodded and followed Adolf into the gloom of the forest as they continued through it towards their next and final location: the last known place the other Drake scouts went to before being ambushed by the Federation. But even then, it didn't take that long for Adolf as they just barely got to the edge of the forest they were in before he held his hand up for them to halt and then swiftly got off his mount as he ordered it to crouch while moving forward with his own rifle. The others in the group took notice and did the same, keeping their mounts low and having them stay while they moved forward in a crouch towards Adolf to see what all of the commotion was.

And that's when they saw them.

Adolf watched with the day was beginning to turn into an early evening darkness as a couple vehicles were slowly going along a road, he assumed from west to east, that were not full of soldiers but definitely a huge problem to say the least as 3 of the motorbikes he saw had attached sidecars with machine guns while a single, dominant halftrack had what looked like another two on it. They had lights on, searching the road before them but what Adolf needed to know was why they were here at all as the enemy didn't really field vehicles without a good reason if the bridge was any indicator to him. Something was here and they wanted to keep the Imperials in the dark from it before they realized what it was.

So, he looked back at everyone else and told them, "The moment I tell you all to, we bolt for the woods opposite of us and begin to do a comb of the surroundings... they are protecting something, and I want to know what."

The riders with him nodded their heads and they swiftly remounted up while carefully eyeing what so far looked to be their greatest enemy in this whole thing, watching the motorbikes and halftrack slowly make their way down the road and then out of sight. And the moment the Federation forces were past them enough for them to think they were safe, Adolf spurred his mount and it shot off across the field between the forests as the other mounts did the same, their speed eating up the distance within a few short seconds before they were once again in the shade of the trees of a forest. Adolf watched everyone formed up behind him as their mounts were slowly regaining their breath and stamina from the sprint but while Adolf looked at his men, he then said, "Who wants to bet something that we need to follow those transports?"

"Wouldn't be surprised." said Alfred. "Unless the halftrack has been filled up with gas cans, the motorbikes will have a short range to move around with compared to it."

"Yeah, and so does that little roadblock they have with the tank and men. They need supplies and those prisoners can't be kept their constantly, I'm certain." said Sandro.

"Alright. Let's ride!" said Adolf and spurred his mount after the enemy convoy while his men followed him.

The vehicles themselves were easy to follow and keep track off, their ragnite engines glowing from their rear ends or front with enough light to illuminate their nearby surroundings on top of their searchlights and normal engines that the riders were able to keep up with them quite easily. Adolf was concerned that if they were too long away, they would not be able to make it back in decent fashion but then again with their ways out of here limited thanks to the roadblock, they likely were going to be forced to take a long detour compared to what he planned for. But they were so close to their discovery he was ignoring his more level-headed nature to embrace the side that was daring and bold, seeking the enemy out in a way that unknowingly endangered him all but he did not seem to mind.

But that's when they finally came to a slight hill overlooking something and Adolf knew it was big because the lights alone were lighting up the surroundings and sky before them as their mounts slowly but surely climbed up the hill. And when they were at the very top, Sandro was the first to say something they all wanted to say. "Well fuck us, huh? It's a whole Valkyrur damned Fed base!"

The base beneath them was gigantic, able to hold what looked like either a whole battalion to a whole regiment worth of manpower in a single spot, with space for support and relief vehicles and forces as well it seemed like Adolf spied several different vehicles down below in a massive motor pool amongst tanks and other apc's, including more of those cursed halftracks.

Still, it explained why the enemy was not only able to deploy such large forces to attack them but also explained the presence of howitzers and these new enemy forces that now were moving into the base to perhaps resupply or have another patrol of their type be sent out. Adolf knew that with this knowledge now in their hands firmly, as he scribbled down details and more, they had a single vital mission to deliver this ever so vital information back to headquarters and the others.

Even Reiner knew this as he said, "Lets head back then... We know it's here and what it has... so let's hurry up before someone spots us."

Adolf looked at him as he finished up his rough sketching he made on his map before he then said, "You are right... our mission is not to attack the enemy in anyway but scout them and now we have it, we have to return with all haste!"

And with that, he turned his mount around and said, "Alright! Let's go!"