59.

The powerful treads of the tank turned broken stone to gravel as the tank lurched down the street. Erak stood tall on the back, his shield protecting Del while the man shouted down into the tank as waves of demons broke upon the war machine. It was not only stone that was crushed under the treads, but demon flesh and bone, turned to mulch by the progress of the march.

It had taken only moments from them leaving the false safety of the broken walls of the Armory before the enemy had beset them. Hundreds of the lowest levels came swarming free of the ruins of the homes and businesses, burned down by caster fire as the tightly packed ranks of Imperial soldiers showed their worth.

The levels they had earned had been put into Essence abilities and the effect showed, the common grade weapons now pulsing rays of heat that turned the hellspawn to ash.

Erak thrust his spear at an Infernal Soldier that had managed to survive the gauntlet, spearing it through the throat and letting it slide back to the earth. The rumble of the engines and the crushing of stone so loud that the heavy fighting was nearly muted to Erak. He raised his shield and a pair of forearm length quills slammed into it, shattering into tiny pieces of shrapnel that scattered over the back of the tank.

Erak looked toward where the bonespitter was perched on a wall and pointed at it with his spear. A pair of soldiers crouched behind him peaked out and rained fire on it, some of the crimson bolts bouncing off the thick carapace before damage began to accumulate. A third soldier popped out and the additional fire sent the bonespitter plummeting to the ground. All three of them ducked back behind Erak, clinging to a bar at the back of the tank while Erak continued to protect Del.

Gressen forced his way out of the knot of bodyguards and leapt limberly up the side to lean into Erak’s ear. His shout was still hardly decipherable at the close range.

“This chaff is thinning, we should have a clear shot towards the Cathedral on the next turn!”

Erak nodded even as his eyes kept sweeping about looking for more threats. For the most part the colonel was right. It was chaff. Nothing above a ten, no Gnull riders, only a handful of commanders, no elites at all. It didn’t sit right with him that this was all that had been besieging the Armory.

He turned back to look at the slowly disappearing walls and worried about Nevia and the convoy. If there was another unit close by that was filled with the elites, then their convoy wasn’t going to get very far. Del leaned into the hatch and screamed something lost in the noise and the tank turned hard right, the action nearly tossing Erak off the back.

They turned onto a wide boulevard crammed with towering buildings that rose up like the sides of a canyon wall. The boulevard was packed with Gnull Riders, their pennants flying in the howling wind, their armor gleaming in the light of the flames. Behind them in tightly packed rows were scores of Infernal Soldiers all of them armored in the strange leather.

Erak activated his aura, the thirst of battle spreading in the hellish light and the blood drenched streets quickly. His back straightened by degrees as the tank kept plowing forth, the Imperials tucked into its shadow. A bolt of fire leapt from the main cannon and speared deep into the ranks of the gnull riders before they could react.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

A Flame Guardian tried to bring their hands up but the bolt raced too fast. The guardian burned away, the insect mount charred to a cinder underneath it. The knot of guards it had died as well as the cannon blast lost its momentum leaving nothing behind but a trail of scorched ruins.

Erak’s aura swelled further as the Gnull Riders were frozen for a moment as their guardian died. Caster fire raced into the gaps, most of the bolts deflected off the armor the riders wore, but the gleaming plate began to char. The lances lowered and a horn sounded out, the sound pressing against his aura. This time his aura refused to yield, staying firm as the bugs launched themselves forward.

His spear stabbed out as the bugs rose up and over the tank, their steel tipped legs grabbing hold and hauling themselves up and toward Erak. Erak shoved Del down the hatch and then kicked the hatch closed with his foot. The man yelled in surprise, but Erak heard the locking mechanism spin as it sealed up tight.

The gnull’s bulbous eye came over the top and Erak stabbed it, piercing the gelatinous mass and goring its brain. The gnull spasmed and went limp, legs sliding back, its rider tried to kick free, but the straps to its stirrup failed to release and the dead gnull and its rider slid under the tanks tread. The sound of the gnull and its rider being crushed echoed out and over the battlefield.

The sea of green bugs parted, none of them risking the wide treads, even as their riders tried to reach out and pluck Erak with their lances. He swatted them away with his spear and only blocked with the shield when he had no other choice. It was a veritable swarm of lance tips, each of them slamming into the tanks and dragging gouges through the armor. Erak’s spear wasn’t long enough to easily stab any of the lancers and he growled low in his throat in frustration.

The Imperial soldiers fared better, the gnull riders not having time to coalesce back into a firm block as the caster fire killed bug and rider. Soldiers were still dying in droves, lances piercing bodies like they were made of cloth, but just as many gnull lancers were falling.

The tight bricks of Infernal Infantry were suddenly there, staring down the rampaging tank and their nerve broke. Seeing the tightly packed infantry break and scatter eased some of his frustration and his aura swelled even further. He could feel it pressing on the demons, urging them to run and break even further, a veritable tide of wrath and blood hunger rising above them.

The tank fired again and a row of the soldiers disappeared.

They crashed into the scattering ranks, dragging more and more under the now black treads, their momentum growing as the remnant of the lancers didn’t regroup, just fled further down the boulevard and away from the fight.

The demon infantry died in droves, all their previous discipline shattering as Erak’s aura grew and grew like a foggy red gaze until the entire battlefield was consumed. It was like a weight on his shoulders, a heavy mantle of death and bloodshed. He stood on the top of the tank like a herald of war as the Iron Cathedral came into view, the guardian resting in the rift unconcerned from what was happening.

Hordes stood at the steps, resting lightly on their weapons as the tank continued forward, the weight of the charge behind Erak. Erak looked up at the unconcerned guardian who had yet to spare them a glance. It hovered there behind the single tower of the cathedral, dwarfing the place of worship as it surveyed the city as if it owned it. Rage bubbled forth as the tank continued on and forward.

Pomp crawled up his leg and then back and nestled on his shoulder. The heavy weight was reassuring as Erak looked upward at the monstrosity. Pomp leaned in, his muzzle only inches from Erak’s covered ear.

“You’re close enough.”