the tension reaches a boiling point. With only ten days left before the relief fleet from the Netherlands arrives, Julian and Adrian decide to launch a lightning strike on the outskirts of Batavia. This is no longer mere guerrilla warfare; it is the beginning of a major siege.
The western horizon was deep orange, choked by soot from Friedrich's gunpowder factories working overtime. Julian stood atop a small hill on the Tangerang border, staring at the defensive trenches dug by Friedrich's loyalist cavalry. Behind him, thousands of fighters in lurik shirts and scavenged uniforms prepared in silence.
"Tangerang is the key," Adrian said, checking the mechanism of his Snider-Enfield rifle. "If we seize the logistics warehouses here, Friedrich's forces inside the city will starve before the ships from The Hague can even drop anchor."
Kartika emerged from the darkness, her breath labored. She had just returned from smuggling information out of the enemy barracks. "Julian, Friedrich has ordered the destruction of the bridges leading to the city center. He wants to turn Batavia into an isolated fortress. He doesn't care if civilians are trapped inside."
Julian looked at the Van de Berg insignia now pinned to his leather belt, side-by-side with a sacred keris given by Ibu Siti. "He's gone mad. He's treating his own people like hostages."
"Then we give them hope," said Ibu Siti, appearing with calm authority. "Tonight, we don't just attack with bullets, but with the fire of truth. Anne, are you ready?"
Anne Marie nodded, holding a stack of leaflets printed in Singapore. The leaflets contained copies of the letter from Baroness van de Berg declaring Friedrich a traitor. "As soon as we break the front line, I will make sure every Dutch soldier there knows they are fighting for the wrong man."
Just as the distant church bells tolled twelve times, Julian drew his sword. The moonlight reflected off the steel blade.
"For our father! For the oppressed! Charge!" Julian shouted.
The cries of "Freedom!" and the roar of cannon fire shattered the silence of the night. Julian and Adrian's combined forces moved like an unstoppable tide, crashing into the Tangerang barricades. The battle for the heart of Batavia has officially begun.
Culture & Language Notes
Tangerang: Historically a strategic buffer zone and gateway to the west of Batavia.