Very Wrong Reincarnation: Isekai with Game Nation

The combat on the Dalvat continent had been raging for three consecutive months. However, the Yugoslav advances had noticeably slowed and were no longer aggressive, although they were still making progress, strangely enough heading toward a very specific region.

Acatia Plains — a place with a massive network of flumes spewing  oilfields — held deposits so large they could easily put Saudi Arabia’s output to shame. Currently, Yugoslav forces were about 350 km deep into enemy territory, roughly 550 km away from Acatia Plains, and still advancing.

Their speed was heavily hampered by dirt roads and a lack of logistics to support their push. Despite their deteriorating situation, they assessed the nation they were fighting as too inferior to pose a serious threat. Yet, fuel, ammunition, and manpower were all running low.

They were rationing their fuel reserves, which were expected to run out in less than three months. Efforts to develop alternate like synthetic fuel sources had not been enough. Faced with dwindling resources, they considered seeking peace negotiations — something they quickly dismissed after considering how massive and valuable Acatia Plains oilfields were, with an estimated 80 derricks and several huge fuel depots and refineries.

Capturing the Acatia Plains would grant them extended operational capacity, but a new problem loomed — logistics. Even if they took the fields, transporting the oil over a barren land with almost no proper roads was a daunting task.

Tito and his officials had already drafted plans to use a massive fleet of trucks to haul the fuel. However, the 900 km journey through dirt roads and hostile wilderness was neither safe nor practical. They had discovered another option: a straight route to the south, around 100 km in length, which might allow access to pipelines connected to the Acatia Plains. But holding two distant locations — the Acatia Plains and the southern straight, separated by 600 km — meant patrolling a massive, vulnerable pipeline network, an almost impossible task with their limited forces.

Faced with this reality, they chose the only path they saw feasible — force a land transportation system and press the offensive, abandoning any thoughts of negotiating peace.

20,000 feet over the sky

Over Dalvat, a flight of six Jastrebs flew their routine bombing mission, each armed with two 250 kg bombs. They weren't escorted, there was no need. Though inferior and slower compared to NATO's advanced jets, here in this new world, they were apex predators. Even the MiG-21s, the proud icons of air dominance, were seen as unnecessary when the Jastrebs could easily outmatch the local propeller aircrafts without much difficulty.

Below them, several biplanes and monoplanes buzzed at lower altitudes. They were slow and insignificant, posing no real threat. Sometimes they would try to bait the Jastrebs into dogfights, hoping to stop their bombing runs, but it was a fruitless effort. The Jastrebs simply ignored them, maintaining their course toward their objective: an airbase approximately 300 km beyond Yugoslav-occupied territory. This airbase, defended and constantly repaired by Sanctium forces, had become a persistent thorn. Though bombed repeatedly, it remained operational, patched up again and again, with visible scars of asphalt repairs littering its runways.

Despite their superiority, Yugoslav aircrafts operating at low altitudes during bombings and strafing runs were still vulnerable to the Sanctium monoplanes and anti-aircraft guns. The loss of over 30 aircraft already reflected the reality of the campaign — a significant price to pay even with a four-decade technological advantage. Meanwhile, Sanctium continued to churn out monoplanes and new war machines from their assembly lines like cupcakes to be expended without much of consequences.

Captain Miloš Vuković led the formation, his wingman, Lieutenant Vladimir Petrović, flying in tight formation beside him. The low roar of their jet engines blended with the crackle of radio chatter.