Despite hearing the command, Rob still spent a few seconds listening to the surroundings and especially paying attention to anything remotely similar to the falling shells. Fortunately, there was none, but it didn’t make him act immediately. The flashed thought about pretending to be wounded and to continue hiding inside the cover, was forcefully thrown away by Robert. The threat wouldn’t disappear by itself. It never worked that way. Therefore, he had to fight it directly and, if needed, kill it with his weapon without any hesitation.
Fuck! Where is my rifle?
Searching around with his eyes, Robert couldn’t find at all. The suddenness of the shelling together with his ability to conjure steel any moment he wanted made him forget that he actually needed one. Cursing his stupidity once again, Rob pushed himself out from the deepening, finally taking a look at his surroundings.
The trench appeared to be devastated. The wooden planks, which formed the walls, were partly destroyed. One of the shells seemed to directly hit the underground cover. Exploding near the entrance, it buried everyone inside. Currently, they were trying to get out with help from the outside. Turning his head on the opposite side, Robert noticed that another blindage, where he wanted to hide, appeared to be intact. Exhaling to calm himself, he rushed forward, not wishing to waste more time.
Pushing a few soldiers aside, Rob grabbed a log on the top before pulling it up. Using his strength, they quickly managed to free eight soldiers in different states. One had broken a leg. The open wound with protruding bone looked horrible, making the nearest soldier terrified almost to the level of uncontrollable panic. The injured man was unconscious by this moment and Robert wasn’t sure if he was going to regain it in current circumstances, where no medical treatment was possible. There had to be field medics, but at the very same moment, there was none nearby. Two more motionless bodies were left where they were because of the absence of time.
The lieutenant’s shouts started to be louder and more hysterical. In an attempt to see what was going on outside of their defense line, one of the soldiers leaned out from the trench. The single gunshot resounded instantly, throwing the already limp body back. The small hole directly in the front part of the helmet caught the attention of everyone near, stupefying them for a few seconds. However, another command brought them back to reality.
“FIRE!”
Multiple gunshots filled the surroundings. Soon a machine gun added his part. By this moment Robert had already taken the rifle of the killed and started to climb on the small ladder further in the trench. Stopping himself, he mentally reminded himself about additional protection. Because of his size, not only his uniform wasn’t covering his ankles and wrists, but also his helmet barely fit.
However, seeing that its protection ability was basically limited to fragments or tangent hits, Rob was inclined to strengthen it as much as possible to raise his chance of survival. Conjuring an additional steel layer over his head, he immediately felt a wave of pain as if someone was pulling his hair. Hastily taking off his helmet, Robert touched his now bald head with remnants of hair, falling down through his fingers.
Oh fuck… It summons on skin. Who would have guessed? Crap, it is not the time to joke, Rob!
Finishing an accident haircut to make him absolutely bald, and not monk-like with only an empty crown, he resolutely put the helmed back before tightening the grip on the rifle. Breathing in and out a few times to get in control of his adrenaline rush, Robert finally pushed himself up, simultaneously aiming the rifle. He had no experience with shooting, but the simplicity of the process wasn’t an obstacle. On the other hand, hitting the target might be. Fortunately or not, he had plenty of enemies to practice. The line of barbed wire didn’t obstruct anything making their running figures a perfect target.
The first one was thirty meters (100 ft) away. Halting to take a shoot, he was standing still, giving an opportunity to finally observe the beastmen. Similar uniforms, just in different colors. The similar action-bolt weapon. The similar multiple packs on the belt with additional ammunition. Even the helmet had almost the same form, slightly differing near the ears. The single difference was a tail. Fluffy in peak form, it was now drenched in mud and water. Breathing heavily after the run and under the influence of adrenaline, its owner was hastily moving a rifle’s barrel. It was exactly this moment when their eyes had met. The long pause while they were watching each other felt like an eternity. Then Rob shot.
His bullet scratched the shoulder of the beastman, triggering an immediate response. Moving his head by sheer instinct to the left, Robert barely avoided the death from the tiny projectile. Still, his mind was occupied by the hastily attempt to grab the bolt handle. It wasn’t difficult but the absence of practice led to delays. When the spent cartridge case finally fell to the ground, the enemy was already done with his own reload.
This gunshot was just one out of many, but for Rob, whose whole world had narrowed to this direct confrontation, it sounded like a thunderstorm. The instant strike in his head sent shivers across his back. That didn’t stop him from putting the figure behind the front sight and pulling the trigger. The recoil had hit his shoulder while trying to move the barrel upwards. However, Robert used his strength to keep it in place, already moving his palm in search of the bolt handle. The image of a falling beastman was still before his eyes when he found another target. Another pull of the trigger, the recoil, and one more motionless body.
Acting like in a trance, Rob shot two more times only to miss each time, before the rifle refused to continue. Bending down on the ladder, he tried to change the magazine quickly but failed. The adrenaline rush made his big fingers tremble, while the unknown mechanism, despite the simplicity, still demanded at least a basic knowledge. It took him around half a minute before he finally started to shoot again.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The rushing beastmen seemed to completely ignore the fire and danger, running blindly to the Kingdom’s defense position. There was no proper tactic, just pure frontal assault. Moreover, their physique and bravery differed by a lot between them, making the attack quite chaotic. While some were already dead in an attempt to jump inside the trench, others were still behind. However, that didn’t mean that Robert’s company was at the shooting range. On the contrary, the rain of bullets was constantly raining on top of them.
Periodically one of the defenders dropped down from the ladders. Often only wounded, but it still effectively crippled their force. The angry shouts, the painful screams, the gunshots, the primal roars – everything was mixed in the surroundings. Rob had lost track of time or the overall situation, as being inside the dugout, he just couldn’t see anything far from him. And he didn’t have an opportunity as the wave of enemies refused to end.
Shooting his last magazine, Robert ducked down hastily, while trying to fill them back. The metal box with ammunition had a lot of rounds, but once again his bigger size made even trivial things a problem. His fingers felt like huge sausages, when he pushed another round inside the magazine. Quite a few fell on the ground, and he didn’t have time to pick them up. Before he managed to finish, he noticed the strange absence any of movement from his neighbor. That only made him hurry up. Pushing the magazine inside the rifle, Rob finally took a look at the soldier.
The latter was lying motionlessly facing the ground with his weapon still in his hands. Leaning on the wall, he somehow managed to keep himself in an odd standing position on the ladder, despite the death. There were no visible wounds, except the bandaged one on his leg. However, it was exactly the reason as the bandage just slid down. The trouser leg was drenched in blood, but the soldier had completely missed it under the rush of adrenaline, simply bleeding out without even noticing it.
“Grenade!”
The shout made Rob turn around only to see how something had dropped into the trench fifteen meters (45 ft) away from him right near the sitting soldier, who was barely breathing because of the wound on the stomach. The warning came from another one, who was trying to jump down from the ladder. Feeling he wouldn’t make in it time, he screamed shrilly.
“Throw it away!”
Surprisingly, not only injured had heard it, but he also reacted in time, grabbing the grenade before swinging with his hand. Unfortunately, the strength behind the motion appeared to be too weak. The grenade had hit the wall of the trench right at the moment when its wick had burned out. Robert covered himself with a conjured shield from the explosion, only to grab the rifle a moment later before climbing on the ladder. Despite his wish, the image of horrible consequences was imprinted in his mind.
The first beastman, which he aimed at, was trying to overcome the barbered wire. The bullet pierced his cheek, killing him instantly. The next felt just a few seconds later. The third was taken by a machine gun, which was insanely effective against such a frontal rush and only stopped firing because of refilling ammunition and the need to cool down from constant shooting. The fourth had knocked down Robert from the ladder with a leg kick from the side.
Dropping down on the back and losing his rifle, Rob still managed to keep his balance, meeting the beastman on the fly. Conjuring a small shield to redirect the bayonet, he had caught the enemy’s body only to throw it down with all his force. Showing an unnatural agility, the beastman rolled to the side, before standing up and taking out a short knife. That was the moment when he managed to take a look at Robert’s huge figure. The latter immediately noticed a trace of fright.
Without the helmet, the beastman’s doggish ears were visible. Even with the addition of a similar changed nose, he still looked pretty like an average teenager, who tried to cosplay his favorite character from an anime. However, that didn’t stop him from making the first hit. Clumsy as it could be, it was aimed directly into Rob’s heart. There was no hesitation in making a killing strike, despite the overwhelming fear.
The war is a bitch!
Mentally sighing, Robert easily caught the hand with a knife, simultaneously pushing his own summoned dagger right inside the neck of a young beastman. Rob tried to be as fast as possible, but still, he saw the terror in the eyes of the dying youngster. It distorted the face to the point of creating an awful mask, forever stuck there. Still, Robert carefully put the body on the ground before taking his rifle. The battle didn’t stop. Climbing on the ladder, he continued to shoot, creating a pool of spent cartridges underneath his position.
Quite soon the assault seemed to come to a pause when Rob couldn’t see any movement across the field, which was filled with dozens of corpses. However, he still heard gunshots as if the battle was still ongoing inside the trench, where the beastmen managed to break through. It was far from his position, so he didn’t even bother to help.
Dropping on the ground where he was, Robert took off the helmet from his now bald head. The small hole from the direct hit was met oddly calm. Only his ability to conjure steel had saved him from the sure death. Putting it back, Rob spent the next few minutes just looking at the opposite wall. The thoughts inside his mind were slowly moving from one topic to another, not able to focus on one. Therefore he just sat there silently, observing the wooden planks. His reflection was interrupted by a soldier, who sat right near him. Turning his head, Rob saw the man, who had beaten that idiot with the “war of politicians” theory in the truck on the way here.
“Oh, you are alive. Good,” Robert commented with a nod before returning to observing the opposite wall.
“Likewise,” the man simply answered. They spent a whole minute in silence before it was broken.
“I can swear I saw you creating a metal shield from nothing.”
“That? Yeah, indeed. I am a direct descendant of a two-headed ogre shaman, the supreme leader of our tribe. The blood of natural elements is flowing through my veins and the metal is a gift from earth itself. Of course, I can do it. Watch this,” raising his palm, Robert clenched his fist before opening it again to show the small coin lying there. Another quick motion with his fingers made it disappear.
“I think that is completely bullshit. Especially about two-headed ogre… And the coin – magic trick? Like in the circus? Looking at you, it is easy to guess that you could be raised there to be a part of a show… Either super strength feats or about scary freaks…”
“Yeah, my whole life feels like a fucking circus… with freaks, blood and corpses.”
“Not only yours, not only yours…,” the man sighed, not wishing to continue. The silence once again took reign. However, it was soon interrupted by the lieutenant’s voice, who appeared to survive the assault. His voice was filled with exhaustion and seriousness, but, surprisingly, no fear. Just full concentration on the task.
“The next wave is coming, and they have tanks! Come here, take two grenades each, and use them wisely. Remember – try to push them inside the gaps of the armor. Especially spots, where machine guns are. Also inside tracks to immobilize it. We need to hold this one before the reinforcement will come! Quickly, move your asses if you want to live! And do not dare to try to run away – the deserters will be shot!”
“Well, stay alive, ogre!” the man nodded, before slowly raising up and taking his rifle.
“Likewise, human, likewise.”