Riding in his personal Mobile Task Fortress, General Francisco Dianopra Agraviador shouted as he raised his saber high in the air. Instantly, a line of over 200 tanks raised their cannons and fired simultaneously, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew away the dust as hundreds of these war machines sent their shells into the demon army, killing hundreds in an instant.
As the battle raged on, with tanks continuing shooting their load and the Filipino Nationalist firing their rifle, the demon army finally reached the first trench line with the loss of thousands when going through all of the onslaught.
Now, with the enemy lines within reach, the demons charged, thirsty for blood and revenge. Even with their numbers heavily reduced, they aimed to trample everything in their path. Mortar shots were falling as a wall, but still couldn't destroy all of the demons.
Then, the Black Armor Army revealed a new weapon. Raging torrents of fire engulfed the closest demons, the flames hot enough to melt metal and reduce the creatures to ashes. Bombs filled with dangerous chemicals were unleashed, reducing hundreds of demons to streams of smoke.
Despite the demons' ferocity and strength powerful enough to tore steel and human bodies apart with ease, the technological might and strategic prowess of the Black Armor Army began to turn the tide.
"Fix bayonets!"
At the command of the ex-priest from the Vatican, thousands of soldiers charged. Such an action would have been considered utterly foolish and suicidal for any army of the Austronesian Empire. Instead, most would have run in fear, but these soldiers never did that. Even after witnessing their comrades die by being cleaved in half or viciously torn apart, they are still charged with zealous hatred and no hint of fear.
As soldiers fell, others swiftly took their place, exploiting openings left by fallen allies. Bayonets found their mark as soldiers stabbed Demonic Knights in the face, firing their rifles one, two, or three times and the demons were no more. Any soldiers that were killed by the demonic knights tried to rise now turned into Deadites, however, their companions didn't hesitate nor doubt to shoot their own comrades' heads.
Now, what was once regarded as a fearsome demon by the Austronesian Empire and the world, the Demonic Knights seemed like helpless animals as they were being slaughtered by the Black Armor Soldiers with minimal effort.
However, what everyone didn't know is that this is just the first wave of the attack from the demon army.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Accompanying fearsome tremors, a visible black torrent surged toward the dam.
More importantly, the demon leading the stampede charged forward with the ferocity of a train.
"ROARRRR!"
With an earth-shattering roar, a demon resembling a rhinoceros and seemed to be far stronger than any foe the soldiers had faced before, thundered toward them.
Judging by the enormous amount of demonic energy it radiated, this demonic beast was a Transcendent Tier 1.
As demonic energy surged, the Steel-Armored Demonic Rhino accelerated and kept going faster and faster, ultimately transforming into a black streak of light with unstoppable momentum.
Its tough, steel-like hide effectively blocked all attacks from bullets and tank shells against it.
At this moment, not to mention stopping the Armored Rhino, the mere sight of its charge caused the corners of many soldiers' eyes to involuntarily twitch.
"Why isn't that thing dying?!" shouted a Corporal as he manned the machine gun emplacement he recently set up, shooting madly at the demonic beast that was charging at them. The ammo belt strained and tugged, half pulling the attached ammo-box towards him, and the barrel was beginning to steam and hiss from overheating.
Five more men in the squad were with him, firing away with their MK Mark III rifles, but the entire squad's output of firepower did nothing at the demon as it kept going, running with a speed like a train across the battlefield and crushed any soldiers it came across.
Whenever its massive, heavy feet pounded down upon the ground, in some places, a landmine buried right there would explode but to absolutely no effect on the beast. And it was not alone.
A creature, which suddenly turned into a streak of lightning, traced a 'Z' shape across the battlefield. By the time others realized it, a lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket had already appeared before the battlefield.
"SHRIEEEK!"
With a fearsome shriek, a small but extremely fast demon appeared, its gaze grew colder as its claws stretched out from a crimson lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket.
Swoosh~!
One of the soldiers in the Corporal's squad, before he could even react, was sent flying, with an incredulous look on his face.
"What the hell?" A voice filled with disbelief echoed as the small demon's figure suddenly appeared behind the now flabbergasted Corporal.
Because he saw its appearance that made him perplexed.
"...Is that a mouse?"
BOOM!
Demonic Energy surged as the small demon's gleaming claws aimed for the Corporal's throat. However, after a moment, the demon's lips curled into a mocking smile as if it had discovered something.
In the blink of an eye, the demon turned blurry and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Where did it go?" Another soldier, who was preparing to ambush the mouse-like demon, cried out in astonishment with a bewildered look on his face.
The next moment, zapping sounds filled the air as silver-white electrical arcs sliced through the atmosphere.
"What is-"
Before any of the soldiers could react, the air within a radius of a hundred-meter trembled violently.
After a moment, much to the soldiers' disbelief, a brilliant silver glow blinded everyone's sight.
Boom!
With a deafening boom, the entire area within a hundred meters turned into a world of lightning, completely filled with electrical discharges.
What that little menace unleashed was a skill known as [Lightning Resonance]. Its deep mastery of lightning allowed it to manipulate electromagnetic forces in the air, transforming the battlefield into a sea of lightning.
It was an extremely horrifying technique that did not discriminate between friend and foe. However, this kind of move was simply perfect to be used right in the middle of the enemy's army.
The next moment, dozens of Black Armor Soldiers fell to the ground, charred.
At that moment...
"[Feather Firestorm]"
Immediately after, a powerful surge of demonic energy swiftly gathered in the vortex in the sky, and countless feathers of flame took form.
And in the next moment, much to the astonishment of countless soldiers of the Black Armored Division, the vast vortex in the sky spewed out countless flaming feathers like a torrential rain.
Swoosh-! Swoosh-! Swoosh-!
Each crimson feather was as fast as a shooting star, streaking across the sky in the blink of an eye, and were rushing against the defenders
Even more terrifying was that these red feathers seemed endless as they covered the entire sky in an instant.
These were the Dragon Commanders' most lethal skills known as [Feather Firestorm]. Compared to the previous attack they unleashed earlier, each of these feathers were the size of human heads. Even though they were a lot smaller, their power surpassed the imagination of ordinary people.
The temperature they generated was so terrifyingly high that even the atmosphere itself distorted. Each flame feather left a long trail of fire behind them, burning the very air.
"INCOMING!"
BOOM! BOOOM! BOOM!
In an instant, dozens of tanks were annihilated, several artillery emplacements and heavy weapons were destroyed by a volley of meteoric crimson feathers from the Dragon Commanders.
Within seconds, one-tenth of their tanks were obliterated, thousands of Black Armor soldiers lay dead, and hundreds more had been wounded by the conflagration.
But the defense could not yield. Rifles were still firing, mortar teams were still reloading, the autocannons still spitting death.
Even if they suffered tremendous loss, when the demons rushed up and entered through the breach wall of the dam, they were greeted by a barrage of heavy gunfire before they were even halfway there.
The knights, warriors, and the beast of Hell enjoyed a different and more equally effective medium.
The elderly Hell Priest imposed their apocryphal hands, singing their impure enchantments upon the wicked warriors.
These risen warriors scaled the breached walls in search of retribution. Many fell to HEAT rounds exploding their bodies mid-ascent, or to high-speed projectiles bursting them to pieces, but it would not be enough. Upon reaching the defenders' lines, their swords would descend upon their victims, basking in the death and brutality of their revenge on their fellowmen. Several fell under their blades and many others became their slaves bound in death, forced to fight against their former comrades in close combat where the risen warriors excelled.
But the warriors of Maharlika stand their ground
Tongues of burning fire caressed the demons with destruction. Waves of explosive rounds obliterated demon after demon and annihilated them for each shot.
The Black Armor soldiers refused to surrender
But it was not enough.
More demonic knights poured in. More slaves were added to their ranks. The flamethrowers burned, but reduced the points of defense where they were now overrun by demons armed with various melee weapons, sneaking in like the water escaping from a dam that has been broken. It was only a matter of time before the soldiers would break.
General Trese, having narrowly survived the collapse of part of the dam and the bombardment from these giant flying lizards, threw her sniper rifle as it was now useless. Gripping her combat knife tightly, she charged into the midst of the demons. With a swift slash, she separated the head of a Humanoid Horse Demon who had its back when it engaged in splitting one soldier in two who had been moments ago at her side.
Being the disciple trained by the infamous General Agraviador, she skillfully stabbed her knife into another foe's sternum and reduced hordes of Possessed soldiers who had been her comrades' moments ago to rotten pieces. Black blood and rotten fluids splashed her, from the living Evil Dead she cut.
She knew that they would soon be overwhelmed, the number was simply too big, but she fought on relentlessly. At that moment, she noticed a random female soldier in the distance was thrown to the ground, where egg-shaped demons lay in wait for victims. The unfortunate soldier screamed in pure agony as the demon disemboweled her in a gruesome display and Trese knew it was too late to save her.
If Trese was going to die on this day and in this place, she would not be intimidated. Instead, she would face it without fear. She had seen the example of courage in these men and women, in how it was their duty to resist against the horrors of war that would have driven anyone insane. In their bravery, she found honor, knowing they fought not only for glory but to defend against unspeakable evil.
Suddenly, the voice of the Major General crackled through Trese's comms, breaking the chaos of battle.
"[Dear mother of Christ, what happened over there?]"
"We beat the shit out of a number of these demonic cunts! But they're hitting back hard, and we've taken significant losses. As for that elf, I don't know, she just got hammered!"
"[Well, may God bless their souls.]"
"General, the entire dam is on the verge of collapse. What are your orders?" Trese asked urgently.
"[Keep fighting! I'll deploy Heaven's Punch and rally the remaining tanks to position them one kilometer from the dam. When the dam goes down, we'll send these demons straight back to hell!]"
"General, when can we expect reinforcements?" Trese inquired, hope flickering in her voice.
"[No men will come to aid us, my dear.]"
"What do you mean? Didn't you say earlier we'd get help from outside!" Trese pressed.
"[I did. And by that, I meant from above.]"
Trese glanced skyward and saw a plane approaching.
"A plane? Is that it?" she questioned.
"[No... it's the Angels.]"
With a raised eyebrow, Trese squinted into the sky once more. And she saw them, small white dots erupted from the bottom of the plane and were descending to the earth. In seconds, her heart swelled with hope as she watched them descend fast as lightning, like the punishment of a divine being on those who dare to harm the humanity he has worked so hard to protect.
Ten objects fell between the invaders, just a few meters from the collapsing dam. The precision of the dropping of their arrival was awe-inspiring, reminiscent of meteors crashing down with the wrath of a god.
And the invaders felt the impact firsthand.
It was as if a massive meteor had been sent to the earth.
Each drop pod opened, revealing a pair of red glowing eyes. As they stepped out, they were revealed to be humanoids clad in armor that nobody had ever seen in this world and wielded weapons capable of laying waste to entire armies.
These were members of the Austronesian Empire's secret task force.
The Archangels Unit.