CHAPTER 19
PORTAL BREAK
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“Pram, National Armed Forces Commander has appointed you as joint operation commander.”
“All branches?”
“Yes. The scale is above regiment. Regional is ready to deploy all troops from our province. I have contacted Major General.”
“Leave it to me, Commander!” The bullhead hung up the phone.
The worst-case scenario had occurred. When the tower could no longer hold the portal, it would be broken and spread out across the city. Millions of people would die. The bullhead didn't think twice about accepting the mandate.
“Indonesian Detachment Of Monster Eradication Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pramono Danuarta, I leave you in charge of all brach units under Regional Command V/Brawijaya.” Commander in chief of Regional Command called him.
“I accept the mandate, Major General!”
The red code had been replaced by the black one. All units in Surabaya had been engaged in all spots with high radioactivity concentrations. The night in Surabaya became hell. Bullhead called a major who previously led the red zone.
“I have bigger lake to swim. Make me proud!”
”Yes, commander!”
Soon, a flying object approached in the distance. It was an NAS 322 Super Puma, a mobile command vehicle equipped with various communication devices. Captain Nadine, a tactical communication specialist, had spread out dozens of drones across the city. She was the queen of multitasking. She could handle the entire communication on the battlefield and beyond it.
“Commander, a full-scale national operation has been announced.”
***
Abdul Saleh Airbase, Malang City.
A line of soldiers ran to the door of the C130 Hercules when the red code started sounding. Some of them looked busy escorting several medium-caliber artillery pieces to the air transport fuselage. Several heavy-duty helicopters towed bigger guns. One by one, the C130 Hercules took off. Several helicopters flew 80 kilometers to the north to mitigate thousands of monsters in the second-largest city in Indonesia, fighting under the command of a lieutenant colonel.
“Surabaya cannot wait! Move! Move! Move!”
Tonight was not an exercise for Para-Raider Infantry Battalion 502, 2nd Strategic Reserve, elite airborne troops who were ready to be deployed at any time. Some of the paratroopers had been part of the field artillery battalion. Some were combat reconnaissance, which was the most elite troop in the Strategic Reserve. Almost 3,000 troops had been deployed overnight. The rest traveled to the battleground with ground military assets.
Accepting the call of duty, no single soldier was allowed to enjoy their day off.
***
1st portal, Eastern Coast of Surabaya
It was one thing in Malang, another thing in Surabaya. The city also had a headquarters for the naval branch, especially the Marine Corps. They had moved long before the portal break occurred. The first stray portal had been activated. Bullhead had set the strategy and assigned all units to each zone of action.
“Command Center to all units. This is your boss. And I will give you ridiculous jobs with a nasty wage. Remember, boy, clean everything up. Report your status even if you die. Copy?”
Several amphibious military assets positioned themselves hundreds of meters away around a dozen-meter-wide black dome with glowing red edges. The coastal theater became the first ground battle outside the red zone. Monsters were crawling out. Right after they arrived on earth, the marine artillery battalion surprised them with a sweet welcome party.
Boom!
Boooomm!
Boooooooom!
“Contact! Monster in sight.”
“Kill them all!”
“Groowaaaaa!” The marines shouted their signature war cry.
Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!
After sending 81mm mortar and 105mm artillery salvos, a barrage of 30mm rounds launched sweetly from the Russian-made 2A42 BVP-2 cannon, a mechanized infantry fighting vehicle of the Marine Corps. Several ankylodrakes fell to the ground. The darkness of the night became so bright by a series of explosions and flared 81-mm mortars. They killed the monster from hundreds of meters away. The rest recognized the attacker and tried to retaliate.
“Velos in sight!”
“Fire!”
Marine troops welcomed them with 7.62x51mm NATO rounds from FN-FAL. Armor-piercing and tracer rounds in the same caliber also flew from the M60 “Rambo” machine gun. Several marines scattered from the IFV's door when bigger monsters joined the party. All were armed with 50-cal BMG anti-materials, while a few more carried “second-handed” rocket-propelled grenades. Assault rifles were less effective against the huge monsters they fought. Not to mention Magnaterra, whose body was covered in thick stone. C-ranked monsters were no joke. Fighting against them was like fighting armored vehicles.
Bam!
“Fuck! Our second hand war machine is dented!” cried the machine gun operator when an anky fought back with tail-wagging attacks.
”Grenades have no effect!”
“You get rid of the Anky-cutes! I'm going to hit the rock-cutes!”
No matter which country it was, the Marine Corps was the most barbaric unit. It was filled with crazy people, primarily their elite amphibious platoon. They ran around Magnaterra carrying explosives because throwing grenades was ineffective against the walking fortress. They attached some C-4 to the joints of the rock monsters, then detonated them while doing some parkour.
Boooom!
“Uuuuhhhuuy!”
“Let‘s do it again!”
Their tactics were simple. And all of them had been directed by the lieutenant colonel over the radio. Let's say we're dealing with ankylodrakes. They were quite agile. The swing of its tail could be fatal if it hits people. The skin was also quite thick. But it could be countered with a 30mm cannon or even finished off with an anti-material rifle. Magnaterra, meanwhile, was almost invulnerable. Some parts of its stone armor were more than two meters thick. At least it needed a 40mm cannon and above. And even then, it must be shot many times. Their only weakness was explosives or rocket-propelled grenades.
“Hit them with Cyka Bylat!”
Several marines screwed the booster on the RPG-7 warhead. They then aimed it at the magna's thinnest layer and pulled the trigger. The weapon darted quickly into the joints of the walking fortress. Although its explosive power was indeed less effective against MBT’s armor, for stone-bodied monsters, Monroe's effect was more than enough to end their movement.
“Hey! What the fuck are you doing!” shouted a commander to a member who tried to bite a monster.
“They said the meat was good? Hmm, better than crayon.”
***
The fighting was evenly distributed outside the zone. The Marine Corps played a major role in defending the coastal zone in Surabaya. They mobilized all mechanized vehicles. Including Marine Cavalry vehicles such as the BTR 80A, which is armed with 30 mm automatic cannons.
“Advance! Kill them all!”
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“Grooaawaaaaaaa!”
After fighting all night long, dozens of large carcasses were scattered around the portal, all of which were D- and C-ranked monsters. All Velos were dead after killing several marines. Coastal theater was getting heated. The unit was fighting tenaciously until the appearance of two monsters larger than four tour buses.
“Huwaaa! How can monsters as big as them move? Is it not affected by gravity?”
“I don't know! We're Marines, not professors! Advanceeee!”
Boooom!
A trail of smoke rose from the RPG-7 pods. Meganodrakes were really big bosses. Their bodies were almost as strong as MBT's. The monsters could move even after being hit by various explosive weapons. Fighting them was not an option. The Marine Corps chose to retreat rather than waste ammunition.
“Fight the small ones! Ammunition is expensive!”
“Huwaaa! There are countless!”
Their morale went down when sixteen meganodrakes came out of the dome.
“Better to fall in the line of duty than to run away from the battlefield!”
“Don't die yet! Your debt hasn't been paid yet!”
A dozen BVPs retreated in order while shooting their main armament. 30mm cannons nonetheless only tickled Meganodrake's thick skin. The Marine Corps was getting pushed back. Several personnel had been trampled to death. They abandoned the perimeter as the monsters became more numerous.
“Damnit! How to fight them? Arrgghh!”
“Gun bullets can't penetrate!”
“I told you it's useless to use a rifle!”
Dozens of Magnaterra stepped slowly when marines scattered around. Dozens of ankylodrakes started running after the soldiers. The situation was getting worse. The Meganodrake also began to move after a long time of adapting to the gravity of the earth.
From any perspective, the Marine Corps had no hope.
“We're dead! We're going to die! My house debt hasn't been paid off yet!”
Luckily, in the midst of that breakdown, the Marine Corps gained new hope.
“Make a way, Kids.” Someone radioed.
Feewwwww!
Booooommmm!
Meganodrake's head was slapped like a bitch. The attack knocked them off their feet. From the effect alone, it was clearly a missile explosion. Some C-rank monsters were also knocked away by the blast. The smoke trail remained visible in the aftermath. All the Marines simultaneously turned their heads towards the sea, the origin of the smoke trail that killed the giant monster.
“Cheer up, Kids! Let your parents finish the job.” The guy who radioed was a Navy officer.
The missile turned out to be from an anti-ship maritime launcher. The Marine Corps cheered at the sight of a sizable ship, 105 meters long, KRI I Ngurah Rai 332, the Indonesian Navy's most advanced frigate, deployed to assist in coastal warfare.
“Woraaaa! Our mom is arrived!”
Hope had returned. The Marine Corps formed another perimeter to keep the monsters at bay. This time, they didn't spread out. They formed a defensive wall instead to hold back the onslaught of monsters in one direction.
The rest, leave it to the adults.
Boooom!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
One by one, meganodrakes were killed by the Exocet missiles. Others were brought to their knees by the 76mm Oto Melara from miles away. The battle was getting brutal. Several other ships arrived from Surabaya's 2nd Fleet, followed by PT 76 and BMP 3F amphibious tanks. Dozens of them were seen swimming from the transport ships to the shore.
“Grooowwaaaa! Cavalry incoming! Time for retaliation!”
Entire IVFs marched forward. So did the personnel to flank the movement of the monsters. One by one, the tanks landed. They immediately bombarded the line of monsters with 76 and 100mm cannons. Every shot ended in death. The Marine Corps cheered even more as the monsters were driven back.
“The boss is out!”
Before the portal closed, a monster came out. It was an over-54-meter-tall iguana with a slender body. The monster dodged for a moment before fleeing towards the sea.
“Godzilla! It wants to swim!”
The amphibious creature understood that modern weapons were too dangerous. It was pretty smart. The marines could do nothing as the lizard was diving in an obvious swimming direction. The Zilla was smart enough to attack KRI Ngurah Rai in the distance.
Unfortunately, the frigate greeted the proposal with a torpedo kiss.
“Muaacch!”
Booom!
***
Somewhere near the highway
“Cakra Three, target confirmed. Papa Lima Romeo, 2435 0245, 2436 0255, Copy?
“Understood!”
Receiving a radio report, a commander forwarded it to a map operator. He taped a square ruler to the width of an intricately shaped map. Occasionally, he crossed it out and wrote some numbers, handing it over to all howitzer gunners.
“Shower ’em rain, boys!”
The muzzles of LG1 and MK11 turned toward the coordinate point. The gun was a 105 Howitzer operated by Howitzer Battalion 2/Marine. The target was locked. The roar of the cannon was deafening as the gunner pulled the lever.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The cannon salvos flew several 105-mm-high explosives through the air. With quite precise manual fire control, a series of explosions rained down on the dozens of monsters five kilometers from the gunner.
“Yeaaah!” Joint forces instantly cheered at the sight of the explosion on the highway.
Miles away from the coast, the highway theater was also heated. A dome had appeared in the middle of the road. Car wrecks littered the streets all over the place. Smoke was clearly visible from the burning car on the main route, which was completely paralyzed. The highway was guarded by joint forces from the Marines and Raider Infantry Battalion.
“Restrain their movement!”
Their zone of action was quite formidable to keep the monsters at bay. Combat vehicles had become more complete since the Marines joined in. The different IFVs of the two units were throwing their projectiles. There were also some amphibious versions of the AMX13, a Frech-made 13-ton light tank that fires 105mm cannons.
“It took many times to shoot it down!”
“Shoot at the same spot!”
Meganodrake was too strong. To make matters worse, the 105x528mmR round used was not the low-cost Monster-Eradication version. Rather, it was standard conventional war ammunition, one of which cost $600. The resistance definitely must be constrained by financial problems.
“Commander. AMX's ammo is running out!”
“Do not retreat. Use coaxial! Coastal support is on its way!”
“New portal appeared, Commander! Their hand are full!”
Hundreds of C-rank monsters were lying lifeless. Some had been killed by the combined forces, while others had been rained down by artillery. Six Meganodrakes had already died on the road. Five more were alive and trying to fight back.
“Spit! Spit!”
“Leave barricade!”
As usual, the lizard shot a fireball the size of a car. It looked harmless, but the blob was accompanied by slime that seemed to be fuel. The fire would be burning if it wasn't put out. Dozens of personnel tried to put out the fire in the armored vehicle.
“We'are almost cooked! Fuck!” cursed the tank operator.
***
7th Portal, Somewhere on the Hill
The battle was spread out at each spot on the portal's appearance. The total had reached eight spots, and each dome brought out hundreds of C-ranks and dozens of Meganodrakes. It was too difficult to handle. So far, only two spots have been cleared. The remaining six were struggling, even though Regional Command had mobilized all the troops in Surabaya and from surrounding areas. Hercules air transport went back and forth, showering the sky with paratroopers. Nearly 10,000 troops had arrived to face the thousands of beasts. One of them was a recon platoon of Infantry Battalion Raider 501 that fought in the hills. With only two groups of them, they were completely pinned down.
“Hold your position!”
All of the platoon’s squads were getting squeezed. Most of them had been horribly killed by the monsters. The weaponry was also outclassed. There was only a P6 ATAV tactical vehicle equipped with an M2 Browning, the only heavy armament they depended on in an isolated condition.
“Request artillery support for portal seventh!” Platoon leader radioed. “Damnit! Navy ships are busy elsewhere! Artillery is also tied up!”
“Attack helos are in Red Zone!”
“Arrghhh! Ammo is running low!”
Dat-dat-dat-dat-dat!
The troops retreated in order. They placed various explosives along the escape route. Sometimes firing anti-material rifles while waiting for reinforcements on the way.
“Hold them back! 502 Raider will arrive!” The commander pointed at a line of paratroopers.
“Uwoooo!”
Unfortunately, just as they were struggling, the portal pulsed again. The twitching was getting faster and could even be heard from hundreds of meters away. It was a sign that the boss monster was about to come out. The twitching was followed by a loud sound that more deeper than a wyvern's roar.
“Commander ....”
All soldiers gulped. The monster was indeed a wyvern, but it was bigger, and its forms were somewhat familiar. There were some eye-catching differences that were no way to be missed. If a Wyvern was the size of a small fighter plane, that thing was the size of a Hercules air transport.
“Aren’t wyvern's front limbs fused to the wings?”
“That's not a wyvern! Watch out!”
The winged creature had forearms. Its wings expanded wide as its head slightly looked up. All the soldiers turned pale. As soon as it flew, the creature scattered flames along the hills.
“Huwwaaaaaa!”
18 personnel were burned to crisps.