Chapter 18: The First Blow
The Exposition had barely ended when Cipher Corps confirmed the inevitable:
The so-called "Mutual Defense Agreement" between Britain, Austria, and the Ottomans had evolved into Project Icehammer—a coordinated plan to invade Russia on three fronts by the next spring.
Mikhail did not wait.
He would strike first.
[Strategic Directive Issued: Preemptive Assault – Operation Winter Fang]
The first target: Ottoman Eastern Command, stationed in Kars, a fortress city nestled in the Armenian Highlands.
Using a combination of Cipher infiltration, espionage, and rapid-deployment mechanized forces, Mikhail’s armies launched a midnight offensive.
Steam-powered climber units scaled the snow-capped ridges under cover of darkness.
Thunderstriders marched through blizzards, their massive steps shaking the earth.