Becker just heard that the Yevyagìt managed to breach the eastern gate and that monsters were rushing inside the city. To have a clearer picture of the situation, he called Colonel Tiwana, who urgently needed to assess the extent of the damage and devise a plan to defend the city.
"What do you think about the situation?" Becker asked.
"It's complicated; unfortunately, the 42nd corp has not been able to kill all the Yevyagìts, as you know… I asked them to redirect their firepower to the Blirdoth," Tiwana replied.
"Did you make progress with it?" General Becker asked his friend.
The general coordinated the various teams, squads, and soldiers in this endeavor, but it was clear that he had many other people doing the same for specific tasks, places, and units.
"Not yet. It is a slippery beast…" Tiwana replied. The beast was still outside, killing people with its jaws and eating their flesh to get energy for itself. They had lost many men and women in this battle so far… And it looked like they would not be able to take out that monster anytime soon!
"Why, what is it doing?" General Becker asked, as he couldn't focus only on the beast and was looking at the general situation from his office.
"It constantly keeps moving; it even used other thaids as shields. Sometimes, it disappears from the battlefield by hiding inside the forest, only to reappear kilometers away… It is a clever beast…" Tiwana replied.
"What about the breach? Did you send someone to close it?" Becker asked.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I've managed to assemble a small platoon to do the deed; they have been reinforced with members of the Montgomery family. This should speed things up…" Tiwana replied.
However, something lingered in the officer's mind. "Do I have permission to speak, sir?" he asked. It was weird to talk to Becker this way, but they had to act according to their ranks while on duty.
"You can."
"Sir, with all due respect, it is improbable that the 42nd corp will make anything significant below there." He was referring to the fact that it would be hard for them to kill the Blirdoth. However, a glacial silence ensued; everyone was looking at Tiwana as if he were a madman, but the truth was that he could talk to Becker that way and was not afraid of telling him what he thought.
"The aim of this 42nd corp should be to kill as many monsters as possible. We are losing a lot of precious men because we can't employ them to kill the bulk of the horde. To kill the Blirdoth, we need the fierce lioness." Tiwana added.
As much as he wanted the corp to redirect its firepower toward the horde, Becker couldn't allow it. He wanted to resort to the Fierce Lioness' powers only to keep the situation inside the city at bay, and he was actually going to ask for their help soon in that regard. However, the general looked worried; everything was complicated because of the sentient monster outside the city.
The army was able to kill all the Yevyagìts in the end, thanks to the quick-witted Colonel, but it was too late, and the monster rushed inside the city through the hole the enormous beasts made. The general hoped that as many people as possible would enter the shelters without problems, but even that wasn't probably going to end well.
"Keep doing what you are currently doing right now. I have a hunch that things will worsen soon. As for the fierce lioness, it is not her time yet. Also, provide more men to the squad that will handle the breach," Becker said, then explaining what he had in mind.
The plan was simple: use the Montgomerys to help close the hole. Place barricades strategically and use the mechas to do the heavy lifting. Becker knew there was a huge possibility that the eastern gate could have been breached, so he ordered the placement of some giant metal panels beside the door so that if something happened, they could close the hole as soon as possible.
The only problem was that thaids were rushing inside the city in droves and needed strong soldiers to protect the mechas. The Montgomery clan would be a fine addition to the team handling the gate.
The job, though, was not straightforward, as it needed the coordination of multiple groups within the group. Soon the whole platoon started moving in unison towards their objective, each member aware of their individual responsibilities and the vital role they played in the mission's success.
Communication was essential; each soldier knew they could count on their teammates to do their jobs perfectly. The soldiers going toward the breach could see countless monsters rushing in; they trembled at that view.
Their strange and deformed bodies and horrifying mouths full of teeth gave them goosebumps, but they were trained enough to keep their emotions in check. Besides, the thought that these creatures would kill their kids and parents gave them enough strength to carry on.
Despite the fear, the soldiers kept their focus and pushed forward, trusting their training and each other to overcome the daunting task ahead. They readied their weapons as they approached the breach and prepared for the intense battle that awaited them.
As soon as the soldiers reached the place, they started unleashing attacks on the creatures coming in. Summoners could call up all kinds of beasts. Some could even call up elemental creatures to help them in battle while the ranged soldiers pounded them from a safe distance with attacks. Among the platoon's soldiers, there were even melee soldiers armed with shields and pikes; gunners were also present.
The melee soldiers were responsible for fending off any creatures that got too close, while the gunners provided support with their medium-long-range attacks. Together, they made up a formidable force that could take on just about any enemy they encountered. The platoon's strategy was to use the summoners' beasts and elemental creatures to draw the enemy's attention while the ranged soldiers attacked from a safe distance. The melee ones would then move in to finish any remaining enemies, ensuring victory for the platoon.
The problem was the thaid number. However, from the other side of the breach, artillery, and mechas had been stationed in case something went wrong, so they had some support.
To avoid more casualties, the members of the Montgomery clan started creating earth-elevated platforms on which they got the high ground, giving their fellow soldiers an advantage against the creatures. They also placed walls and places where they could hide in case they got injured. The Montgomery clan's plan worked, and the soldiers were able to get rid of a lot of monsters in a short amount of time. However, they knew that they couldn't sustain this position forever and needed to come up with a plan to push back the enemy back. Brute force wasn't enough.
Countless explosions could be heard, be it from brain crystal power attacks or guns; grunts and groans often resounded, coupled with the weapons' clinks and clanks and splattering sounds due to the collision between the soldier's weapons and the creatures' bodies.
Beasts rushed in from the breach, and it proved hard for the platoon to thin the number of monsters.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmGeneral Becker watched the battle ensue from a monitor. He saw his men struggling against the beasts and their numbers.
"Redirect the artillery toward the door," he told Colonel Tiwana through the radio. "Stop any creature from approaching the breach," the general ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Tiwana gave the order promptly, and the artillery was redirected toward the door. The movement ended with a sonorous click, which made the men handling the weapons giggle at the carnage they would create. However, this significantly improved the pressure on the troops.
The weapons were pointed toward the rushing monsters, and with booming sounds, they started shooting.
Explosions blasted the ground; dust and debris scattered everywhere due to the force of the blasts. This eased the pressure on the soldiers behind the door as the number of thaids entering the city reduced, and they started pushing the creatures back.
"It is working!" a soldier shouted. Soon the platoon started advancing toward the door.
***
The Heniate, while controlling the Blirdoth, was surveying the situation. Its army successfully breached the massive human construction and finally got an access point to the city.
After activating his avatar's deadly gasses, the creature started dashing toward the eastern gate, killing anything in his path; the people on the walls saw this and made grim faces, especially the 42nd Corp, which was basically unable to kill the beast despite thousands of tries each second.
The monster dashed, evaded, and killed. Going past countless other thaids, it soon arrived at the foot of the walls. It then started climbing, and since the creature was swift, it reached the top of the short wall in a couple of seconds. Once on top of the wall, it jumped off, landing in front of a group of shield-bearers. The human defenders were startled by the sudden addition.
The monster's deadly gas started working its magic, but the humans did not die contrary to its expectations.
Having seen the creatures' deadly poison before, the army devised a strategy to neutralize it. This was thanks to a combination of shield-type brain crystal powers and wind-related ones, which protected them from the gas and, at the same time, spread it opposite the troops' direction, killing more thaids in the process.