Back in the West Sector, Ivan's team was fighting fiercely. "Leila, how's that monster?" Ivan asked through the intercom. Leila, still halfway out of the tank's hatch, looked at the Cerus they just shot. Its body was mutilated.
"It's already dead, Mister Ivan!" Leila reported back. She scribbled a quick note in her logbook, tallying the Cerus they had killed and noting the current situation. All of them sighed with relief. They had been in the West sector for only about 15 minutes but had already neutralized two Cerus. Three more remained in the sector. Sergeant Ivan Abrams also tallied the count.
"Good. Find us another Tango," Ivan said. Leila tilted her head again, puzzled by the unfamiliar term. Noticing the delayed response, Ivan knew the reason, and he sighed. "Tango means target. Find us another enemy."
"Ah! I got it, Mister." She immediately raised her magic staff and began the detection spell. A ray of her mana spread across the battlefield, searching for another monster. While she was searching, Leonard noticed Jusis. He was sweating, his eyes still wide, and his foot fidgeting, gripping the gun control tightly. Leonard spoke in his usual formal manner, "My brother, art thou well?"
"Ah! Y-yes! I'm alright. It's just, the power of this weapon. I still can't believe with a simple pull, we can kill those monsters instantly," Jusis responded, his voice still shaky.
"Then I guess that makes two of us."
Leila finally opened her eyes. "Cerus detected, two o'clock, distance 500 meters!" Leila paused and glanced up at the sky to her left. Up in the sky, she saw a light signal, Blue with Orange. "Mister! Eleven o'clock, distance 700 meters, they requesting anti-Cerus reinforcement!"
Ivan replied in his usual tone, "Copy that. Send out a signal flare, we are coming." As Ivan prepared to twist the throttle, he heard from the intercom, "I can't believe it…" Leila spoke softly. Everyone inside the tank heard it, including Leo and Jusis. "Sister, what is that?" Leo asked. Leila sat back down inside. "The East sector! They let out a green light! They eliminated a Cerus!" she happily reported.
Leo and Jusis glanced at each other, momentarily stunned.
"The East Sector eliminated one? Impossible, sister. They possess not the means to effect such a defeat," Leonard stated, his deep voice carrying a tone of strong disbelief.
"Yeah, Mister Ivan had to run me over the one we just fought, and it took a massive cannon shot to drop the first one. How did those knights manage it?" Jusis added, his usual curiosity replacing his earlier fear.
Ivan, too, was puzzled as to how they had eliminated a Cerus, but it was still a relief. However, the relief didn't last long because another light was sent from the East Sector, azure, which meant another Cerus. Leila immediately reported the new sighting.
Ivan returned to his previous seriousness as he heard that. He needed to go to the East immediately. "Alright, Leila, continue to provide cover to us. We're heading to those Cerus." At this point, Leila had the most important role. Her role was to keep smaller enemies away from the tank using her magic, helping Ivan navigate the chaotic battlefield and avoid hitting allies with the rushing 70-ton behemoth. Most importantly, she was also tasked with searching and detecting enemy Cerus. She was the eye of the tank now.
However, not only the Cerus was the problem, but also the huge number of Goblins and Orcs who were now trying to break through the Manilia defenders. They were smashing through Manilia's combatants, their shields getting overwhelmed. Leila watched the battlefield and saw wounded allies still trying to fight back. However, the enemy numbers were getting higher. Some defenders were screaming as goblins tore their bodies apart, and some were smashed to smithereens by Orcs' huge axes, causing high allied casualties. Leila knew that their priority was eliminating the Cerus. However, she couldn't stand seeing Manilia defenders getting killed just like that. She acknowledged that she couldn't repeat her earlier mistake of jumping out of the tank, leaving Jusis and Ivan on their own. So, she knew it might be impossible, but she decided to request Ivan's help.
With a shaky but still urgent voice, she spoke to Ivan through the intercom. "Mister Ivan, I implore you, look at the defenders! They are falling! We cannot simply leave them to be slaughtered like this, even if the Cerus is our primary target."
Ivan's voice was firm, prioritizing the overall mission. "Negative, Leila. We have an order. The Cerus are the priority. If we get bogged down fighting infantry, we lose time, and the other Cerus will reach the city center."
"But this is the vanguard of their army! If we thin them out now, the remaining defenders can hold the line until reinforcements arrive! Please, a minute of concentrated fire is all I ask! They are being overwhelmed!" Leila pleaded, her voice edged with desperation.
Leonard intervened. His deep voice resonated calmly. "My lord Ivan, I do perceive the sister's plea doth carry wisdom. Should the line of foot-soldiers be broken here, the demon horde shall funnel straightway into the city. A brief, devastating stroke against this multitude mayhap shall preserve the soundness of the defenses, which is a necessity of strategy."
Ivan sighed, acknowledging the logic of their desperate position. "Tsk. Fine. We dedicate five minutes to this, no more, before we roll to the Cerus. We need a saturation attack, both inside and out. Leonard, load a Canister round immediately. Leila, Leonard, prepare to disembark. You will engage on foot."
"On foot, my lord?" Leonard questioned, surprised by the abrupt change in plans.
"Yes. You and Leila will provide aggressive close-quarters support and cover the retreat of the wounded. Jusis," Ivan commanded, his tone sharp. "You are manning the .50 caliber from the commander's hatch and providing fire support. I am keeping this tank moving, and I will be using the main gun. We thin the numbers quickly and cover the retreat of the wounded. Five minutes. Then we bounce. Got it?"
Leila grabbed her staff, determination blazing in her eyes. "We are ready, Mister Ivan. We won't waste a second."
"I shall stand by my sister, as is my oath. Canister up," Leonard confirmed, his voice resolute as he prepared to exit the tank.
After inspecting his rifle for a moment, cocking it, Ivan spoke into his mic. "Alright, save as many as you can, commence attack now." Leo and Leila nodded to each other. "We'll be back, Mister Ivan, take care." Then they jumped out from their respective hatches.
Leonard spun mid-air, landing with a ground-shaking impact as he smashed his huge sword into the earth, sending a localized shockwave that instantly felled a tight knot of approaching Goblins. Leila landed with a graceful backflip near the defensive line, her staff already glowing. Sgt. Ivan spoke again through the external speaker. "Five minutes! Take care!"
The tank roared to life, churning up dirt as Ivan drove the immense machine into a covering position, its massive turret traversing. "Thank you, Mister," Leila murmured to herself.
Back to back with his brother, they scanned the battlefield fiercely. Everywhere lay blood, corpses, and screaming. Everything was chaos and disorganized. They didn't speak much; they already knew what to do. "Let's go, Leo!"
The Orcs were surging. A line of exhausted Shield Bearers crumpled under the repeated blows of Orc axes. Leonard roared, charging toward the breaking point. He smashed his shield into the closest Orc, channeling his mana to project a focused Thunder Strike, which sent the creature staggering back, its crystalline armor sparking. He followed through with a quick, brutal sweep of his greatsword, slicing open two more Orcs and instantly stemming the flow of the breach.
"Reform the line!" Leonard bellowed to the dazed Manilia captain.
Meanwhile, a flank of fast-moving Goblins and a hulking Ogre was veering around the carnage, heading straight for a cluster of Healers and Bowmen positioned further back. Leila stamped her staff, the azure crystal flaring. She chanted, summoning three dense Glacius Spiculum barriers—thick walls of ice and crystal—that shot up to intercept the Ogre's charge. The beast crashed into the barrier, momentarily stunned and enraged.
Leila didn't pause. She pivoted to a squad of pinned-down Swordsmen being pelted by enemy fire. "Focus your shields!" she yelled. She thrust her staff forward, unleashing a targeted blast of Crystallis Spherum Ignis which scattered the Goblins assaulting them.
From the tank, a blinding flash. BOOM! The M1 Abrams fired its main gun. The Canister Round unleashed a fan of tungsten death across the center field, mulching dozens of Orcs and Goblins in a sickening spray, carving a momentary pocket of safety for the defenders.
Immediately, Ivan repositioned the tank, backing it swiftly behind the ruins of a collapsed stone fountain. He opened his driver's hatch and ascended slightly, pulling out his FN SCAR rifle. He spoke sharply to his gunner, "Jusis! Listen to the weapon! Three-second bursts only! Keep the lead consistent, waste no round!"
"Understood! Three seconds, Mister Ivan!" Jusis replied, already tracking a new wave. BRRRTT! The GAU-21 roared, spitting a measured hail of lead that carved lanes of death through the dense enemy formations, maximizing coverage and accuracy.
Leonard, fighting deep in the fray, had pushed too far. He found himself surrounded by three massive, clawed Orc Brutes whose coordinated axes shattered his shield into useless debris. He stumbled, his sword arm trapped beneath the weight of one monster. Just as a second Orc raised its massive axe for a killing blow, Ivan's rifle barked once, sharp and precise.
CRACK!
The Orc Brute's head exploded in a crimson mist. Before the other two could react, Ivan put two more quick shots into their thick torsos. The rounds pierced the crystalline armor, dropping the beasts instantly.
"Leo! Pull back! You are exposed!" Ivan's voice was strained but clear over the comms.
Leonard, scrambling free, nodded grimly. "By my oath, Sire! Your timing is impeccable!"
Meanwhile, Leila, focusing all her mana on sustaining the ice barrier against the Ogre, was unaware that two small, unnervingly fast Stalker-Husks had skirted the commotion and were flanking her low to the ground. Their crimson eyes were fixed on her exposed back. Just as the first Husk leaped, its acid-laced claws extended, Ivan sighted them through his rifle scope.
CRACK! CRACK!
Two quick shots. The Stalker-Husks, mid-leap, were struck in their dense skeletal chests, their obsidian armor chipping as they collapsed into dust piles meters from Leila.
Leila whipped around, staff ready, only to see the smoking, defunct husks. She glanced up at the menacing bulk of the M1 Abrams. "Ivan! Thank you! I owe you two rescues now!"
"Keep fighting! Five minutes is ticking down!" Ivan barked back, his own adrenaline high as he chambered another round in the SCAR. He shifted his aim, targeting enemy formations that Jusis's heavy machine gun couldn't reach, ensuring the Manilia defenders had every chance to retreat or regroup.
Leonard, using the distraction provided by the tank's main gun, focused on the Ogre, which had just pulverized the last ice barrier. He sprinted, drawing the Ogre's massive club swing. As the club came down, Leonard executed a perfect parry with his glowing shield, momentarily stunning the Ogre with the sheer impact. "Now, sister!"
Leila surged forward, abandoning her staff. She leaped onto Leonard's shield and used it as a launch platform, spinning high toward the Ogre's neck. She pulled her dagger, channeling a pure dose of azure mana. Before the Ogre could react, she plunged the blade deep, severing the monster's thick spinal cord with a brilliant, focused burst of ice, dropping the beast instantly.
The tide was turning. The sight of their champion falling, combined with the relentless, unearthly fire from the tank, demoralized the demon horde. Wounded Manilia Archers, protected by the sudden, concentrated fire, managed to regroup and began raining arrows down on the fleeing enemies.
Leonard caught Leila as she dropped back down. He grabbed her arm. "The line is stabilized! We have covered their retreat, sister! We must return to the warmachine now!"
"Agreed. We bought them time!" Leila confirmed, scanning the battlefield one last time.
Ivan reached the brother and sister with the tank. He kept the immense machine moving, covering them as they approached. "Get in now! We are moving out!"