Chapter 277 Sector Alpha City First War-02
Despite the relentless bombardment from the artillery off the coast, the demonic horde proved to be an unyielding force, advancing relentlessly even as millions of their kind were sacrificed to cross half of the bridge. The holy flames from the earlier explosions had purged a significant portion of the horde, but the sheer numbers of the demonic entities seemed almost inexhaustible.
The continuing onslaught resembled an unrelenting tide, with the demonic entities surging forward, fueled by a malevolent determination to breach the city's defenses. The ground on the side of Tessia Kingdom, where the artillery had struck, was now a desolate wasteland, stained with the ashes of the sacrificed demonic entities.
Millions of demonic entities were reduced to just ten thousand survivors as they crossed the bridge. Since the artillery bombardment didn't target the bridge but waited until the demonic horde reached the halfway point...
"Fire at will!" Field Commander Sullivan shouted.
The surviving demons were met with a fierce hail of bullets. The defenders, determined and resolute, unleashed a torrent of gunfire upon the diminished horde.
The air trembled with the symphony of destruction as the defenders unleashed their arsenal upon the remaining demonic survivors. Gatling guns roared to life, spewing forth a relentless barrage of heavy-caliber rounds. The staccato rhythm of energy-based assault rifles blended seamlessly with the explosive bursts of plasma blasters, creating a cacophony of devastation.
Soldiers clad in hulking power armor, wielding heavy weapons with precision, added to the ferocity of the onslaught. The unmistakable whir of the gatling barrels and the explosive crackle of plasma projectiles filled the night air. Each blessed bullet from the mini autocannon carried divine retribution, cutting through the demonic horde with a potency that belied its size.
The bridge, once a path for escape for refugees, transformed into a grim canvas of annihilation. The demonic horde, reduced to mere thousands, faced a relentless onslaught that shredded them to pieces. Fierce hailstorms of bullets from heavy-caliber gatling guns, energy-based assault rifles, and plasma blasters painted the night with blood, splattering the bridge in grotesque patterns.
Mini autocannons fired blessed bullets that pierced through rows upon rows of demonic bodies, defying the toughness of their shells and hides. The air resonated with the thunderous percussion of destruction as each shot carried divine retribution, leaving trails of scorched corpses in its wake.
The acrid scent of gunpowder mingled with the scent of burning flesh as energy and plasma blasters turned the remaining demons to ash, leaving behind only the echoes of a brutal and determined defense.
"Haahahaha, die! Die!! Is that all you've got, you dog demon!?" One of the refugees, who lost his family to the demons but volunteered to aid the defenders, laughed in vengeful satisfaction. His eyes betrayed the sorrow within, yet the gratification of avenging his family fueled his resolve.
Similar scenes unfolded in various positions along the defense line, as many volunteers had suffered the loss of their families or loved ones to the demonic horde onslaught. The air echoed with a mix of laughter and lamentation, a testament to the personal battles being waged amidst the larger war.
On the rooftop of the tallest nearby high-rise building, a woman in a green suit observed the intense battle below, standing near the edge. Next to her, a commanding tent was set up with communication equipment, surrounded by communication officers and soldiers in hulking power armor serving as guards.
The woman in the green suit was none other than Penthesilea, overseeing the field command. Despite former Supreme General Sullivan's capabilities in both commanding and combat, there were still formidable adversaries, especially if high-ranking demons were to break through the barricade or appear on the battlefield. Penthesilea remained on standby, prepared to face any such threat.
"Can you tell me why you didn't blow up the bridge? Demons can't go into water, blowing up the bridge should stop the ground demons from coming over, and we only need to defend against the airborne demons," Penthesilea asked, receiving a response through the earpiece. It was Odysseus's voice.
"I consulted with Father Richard and the people at the Vatican outpost in this city. It's not that demons can't go into water, but they just don't like to go into water since it has the same effect as if we were swimming in the cold water in Antarctica. The difference is that humans can die of hypothermia, but demons don't.
Besides, the demonic horde is in a state of frenzy right now, and if I blow up the bridge, they will just not care about water and swim through here. We would lose a nice narrow killing corridor environment like this, as the targets would disperse when they swim over. Also, after we successfully hold them off, I plan on sending our forces over to close the hell gate, and blowing up the bridge will inconvenience us later," explained Odysseus.
"I see… you are very meticulous. It's a good thing that I leave the big picture to you," Penthesilea nodded, her eyes still overseeing the battle below.
The stalemate continued for about four hours, and the demons didn't seem to relent despite the extremely high casualties they had suffered. They continued relentlessly assaulting Sector Alpha City.
At this point, many Gatling guns and rapid-fire weapons needed to take turns to stop firing, allowing their barrels to cool down. Some even needed field repairs and part replacements as the barrels had become so hot that they had bent at strange angles and couldn't be used to fire anymore.
Several truckloads of bullets and ordnance were resupplied, and the bullet consumption was off the chart. If it weren't for the metal scarabs working 24/7 in Atlanteus Base to create an ample supply of bullets and ordnance before this day, the bullets might have run out in the first two hours.
Penthesilea continued overseeing the battle below, maintaining her vigilance. However, on the side of the Tessia Kingdom, dozens of demonic entities resembling tanks, each about 10 meters high, attempted to cross the bridge. They were accompanied by tens of thousands of larger demonic entities that appeared more formidable than the cannon fodder demons eradicated by the defenders for four hours straight.
The sound of artillery echoed—Boom Boom Boom Boom—as a rain of holy shells descended upon the battlefield, eliminating all the smaller and larger demons around the tank-like entities. However, after the smoke subsided, the tank demons appeared heavily damaged, with only those near the center of the explosion perishing.
"What was that thing!?" Penthesilea expressed surprise at the resilience of these tank-like demons.
It's crucial to note that these shells were specifically designed to eradicate unholy beings, especially demons. Most demons would have been incinerated to ash by the holy fire, but the tank-like demons proved tough enough to withstand the intense divine flames.
Now, the tank-like demons had crossed halfway across the bridge and faced intense gunfire from the defenders. However, their armor plates were thick enough to protect them from the blessed bullets fired by light auto cannons.
In response, Penthesilea quickly raised her binoculars to observe these tank-like demons. She noticed that, before the bullets hit the tank plates, there was a transparent shield with a slight trace of divinity that protected them. This shield greatly reduced the bullet penetration power, causing the bullets to deflect off the iron plates.
"Odysseus! Odysseus! Are you seeing this!? What was that thing!?" Penthesilea urgently contacted Odysseus, alarmed by the existence of divinity. The presence of divinity hinted at the worst nightmare for her and anyone living in an era of gods.
It suggested the possibility of a god's manifestation in the mortal world or, at the very least, a demigod?being with the ability to manifest divinity.
"Give me a sec! Let me check with the Vatican demonologist first!" Odysseus's voice disappeared for a few seconds before returning. "Damn those fanatics! They said that no demon could manifest divinity; only a god could do that. They didn't witness what we saw, so they don't understand what we're up against!" Odysseus cursed loudly through the earpiece, expressing his frustration with the Vatican demonologists who were collaborating with them.
Suddenly, Penthesilea threw her spear at the rooftop entrance, penetrating the steel door.
"Who's there!?" she coldly demanded at the direction of the rooftop entrance.
"Whoa! Lady, easy! We've come to help!" a carefree yet authoritative voice sounded from the entrance.
A figure of a priest with a long trench coat and a scar across his face walked out, showing his bare hand toward Penthesilea to indicate he was not hostile. Following him was a group of several serious-looking priests with the same attire.
"Vatican Secret Exterminator Unit, Grand Paladin Christopher Ward," Penthesilea stated the priest's identity and sarcastically asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the middle of the Tessia capital city, killing demons?"
"Come on, we are indeed brave, but not stupid. We can sacrifice our lives in the name of God, but it's not desperate to that point yet. Besides, fighting alongside all of you folks from Astral Tech gives us a better chance at winning this war," Christopher explained as he walked to stand beside Penthesilea.
"Do you know what those things are, Father Ward?" Penthesilea asked, pointing at the tank-like demons that were crossing the bridge without stopping, forming a massive shield for the demons behind them to push toward Sector Alpha City.
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