Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 1:00 AM.
Unlike the southern parts of the hellish zone, its northern region had remained mostly untouched by the vast number of marching specters. Cerberus’ units that garrisoned at headquarters were deployed to provide assistance by the owner himself Arwen Rhys, leaving HQ behind with minimal manpower and defenses.
Many aspects of the Deadlands were kept hidden from the outside world under Sovereign’s command, who’s possessiveness over the zone garnered ill fate from anyone not involved in Cerberus’ business, though the hasty decisions from Arwen had eased restrictions on the region, and returned the company to its old ways of operating through the aid of many outside backers. Among them was the republic of Kaldstein—which offered its aid after hearing recent news of the commotion, providing troops, supplies, and weaponry to their new allies.
With more favorable conditions compared to the south, the northern reinforcements saw a few short skirmishes along the way, but remained mostly interrupted in their push towards the center, with the Deadlands’ extreme and harsh climate proving the most challenging part of the combined armies advance—offering more resistance than the demons themselves.
“I’m freezing to death here…” Eric protested, hugging himself inside a blanket.
The young noble sat at the back of a white armored truck from Cerberus, which rode alongside the many other vehicles transporting the northern reinforcements. Next to him was Claire, who curled herself inside a blanket as well. Scott drove the transport at the front, sitting next to Tori in the passenger’s seat—huffing white smoke through their cold breaths.
“This is why we don’t operate at night too often…” the lieutenant replied to Eric’s words. “But we can’t just sit at headquarters and do nothing about this situation.”
“Hey, uh…”
“Speak,” Claire said. “I have no patience for dilly-dallying.”
“Of course,” nodded the noble. “I just wanted to offer my apologize for my hasty decision,” he told her with a gentle bow. “If I had not acted so soon, maybe our forces would’ve been able to assist in this matter.”
The lieutenant looked at the young man with a raised brow, as his apology felt somewhat out of place being directed at a mere second lieutenant from the company—the lowest officer rank within the hierarchy. Noticing the puzzled expression in Claire’s face, Eric returned the gesture by raising one eyebrow himself—meeting each other’s confused gazes for a short couple of seconds.
“What?”
“What?”
Claire let out a sigh of frustration, taking out one arm from the blanket to rub her forehead. “You don’t have to apologize to me…”
“Your father operates in the south, does he not? I’m sure you are concerned about his safety, and would rather have our support during this emergency.”
“He’s fine,” the lieutenant shook her head with a smile—having every bit of confidence in her own father. “I told you and the others how he saved me from the specters when I was a kid, didn’t I?”
The small glass pane of the window behind the pair suddenly opened, interrupting Claire and Eric’s conversation and immediately taking their attention. Scott’s shiny glasses emerged from inside the two seater vehicle to chime in the conversation, offering a smile just as bright as his lenses.
“You did,” the young man said. “Tori cried over how heroic it was.”
“I-I thought it was heartwarming!” the redhead claimed from inside the truck. “We know how much you love your family, lieutenant. I’m sure that’s why Eric feels bad about it.”
“Scott,” Claire addressed the man driving the truck.
“Yes, lieutenant.”
“Keep your damn eyes on the damn road!”
“Aye aye, ma’am!” the young sniper of Bloodhound slid the pane close, and moved back to the
Although the window had closed, the growling lieutenant maintained a firm glare on Scott as he drove the armored truck—staring daggers at the young man with such intensity that nearly melted the reinforced glass of the window. Scott’s body felt the intense heat of the lieutenant’s glare, and not even the Deadlands extreme cold could prevent the seat from rolling down his face.
“Haa…” Claire sighed once again as her expression softened, bringing her attention back to the noble. “Eric, I appreciate your concern, but none of this is your fault.” She told him. “I know how capable my father is, so I’m not really worried. Just don’t get distracted over it during our mission, or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Noted,” the noble replied with a nod.
Their exchange would be interrupted a second time by the glass pane of the window sliding open once again. Tori’s face is what emerged from the inside however, giving out every signal of conflict ahead with her furrowed brows and curved lips.
“Lieutenant, specters on the road.” She reported.
“Not that many this time,” Scott announced from the driver’s seat. “We might be able to avoid the group and leave it to the others behind us.”
“How many?” Claire asked.
“Less than a dozen I believe, just a small group of those gaunt looking ones.”
“I’ll deal with them.”
Bravely jumping off the truck in an instant, the lieutenant summoned her spectral bike and landed on its seat before hitting the ground—accelerating forward against the small group of approaching demons. The thunderous roars of her motorcycle served as a moral beacon for all units in the area, as her presence had become a staple of the company in a mere year of active duty. Rumors quickly spread about her implementation of the gear, and quickly became a talking point for many entities that attempted to either replicate it, or get their hands on such powerful equipment.
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“Well, there she goes…” Scott said.
“I wish I could do more than sit back here freezing…” Eric expressed through gritted teeth, shivering with the cold.
“I told you to wear the uniform, Eric.” Tori told the noble with a worried smile.
The young driver chuckled in his seat, and made sure to follow the sounds of the lieutenant’s roaring bike as he drove forward across the hellish zone. “You should get a gun or something… would be safer when fighting specters.”
“I will not damage the good name of my family with—”
“I get it man…” Scott interrupted. “I get it…”
At the empty battlefield ahead, Claire drove the small group of specters away from the reinforcements with her motorcycle, and one by one reduced their numbers with deadly accurate shots of her pistols. One of the demons refused to be intimidated by her spectral gear however, skillfully evading her shots with velocity that matched the lieutenant’s motorcycle.
The creature displayed a gaunt appearance just like the others, with hundreds of saw-like teeth covering the entirety of its face. Despite its feeble and fragile looks, its power and speed proved mighty enough to keep up with Claire’s spectral bike—managing to position itself next to the lieutenant as they both raced forward across the barren lands of the battlefield.
In order to deal with the annoying monster, Claire took both hands off the bike and rematerialized her pistols, grasping them firmly before attempting to fend off the specter with a barrage of crimson bullets. The beast demonstrated its power further by evading her projectiles once again, ducking and jumping over them with tremendous skill.
Frustration boiling inside her despite the deadly cold of the region, the lieutenant concealed her guns to get control of the bike one more time—hitting the brakes, and abruptly putting a halt to her advance. Unable to stop itself just as fast, the demon planted both feet on the ground and slid away through the dirt—lifting a trail of dust in the process, and unknowingly locking itself in position.
With her opponent now trapped in the friction caused by its own actions, Claire pointed one of her pistols directly at its head and pulled the trigger with every intention of ending the fight—emitting a loud bang that echoed throughout the region. Her bullet flew straight through the air, splitting the crimson fog of the Deadlands before piercing the face of the beast—forcing its head to fling backwards as the ignition of the spectral bullet opened its mouth like a flower.
Its core remained intact despite the violent burst that caused its head to split like a watermelon, but the crawling waves of crimson sparks held the beast still until its was shattered to pieces by the abnormal shocks of electricity left by Claire’s bullet—putting an end to its irritating assault as it vanished into embers.
“Eat that,” the lieutenant said before vanishing the gun from her hand.
The last remaining specter quickly caught up to her with an earsplitting screech, forcing Claire to shut her eyes and cover her eyes to its high pitch scream. The beast had no intentions in holding back on its assault, opening wide to reveal its hundreds of black teeth ready to shred its victim to pieces.
“Tch!” the lieutenant was able to open her eyes through the painful headache, and successfully transformed her gear into gleaming boots of obsidian armor and crimson glowing veins. “Get away!”
She reacted with a powerful kick that shattered the monster’s chest, forcing its body away with the sheer strength behind her attack. The demon hit the dirt on its back, but managed to bounce off the ground and back on its feet. To its uttermost shock however, the approaching lights of Claire’s spectral bike served as a sign of its approaching demise—met by the front wheel of her motorcycle.
It all happened in a mere second as Claire’s spectral gear remained unmatched by any demon within the Deadlands. Her glaring amber eyes were fixed on the restrained target, as the frontal wheel of her bike shredded the specter’s body without mercy. Its horrifying screams of anger became painful cries that echoed throughout the battlefield, ending with the victorious roars of the lieutenant’s gear as the beast was put to rest.
“Phew…” she sighed with a smile, patting her motorcycle like a pet. “Thanks again,” she told it.
The bike replied to her kind gesture with a happy roar of its engine, softer and quieter than usual. Leaving the ashes of the death specters behind, Claire followed her old tracks as she now headed back to her team and Cerberus’ units, keeping a close eye in the shadows of the Deadlands, and open ears to its whispering sounds.
Back with the advancing platoons of Cerberus and Kaldstein—burning fuel by the gallons during their unstoppable advance, the young sniper of Bloodhound continued to drive the armored truck of the team with his gaze fixed on the road ahead. Scott scanned every rock and fissure on the ground, making sure not a single detail of the terrain went unnoticed by his calculating eyes.
“It’s been a while actually, don’t you think?” he opened conversation with Tori, expressing his concern for the lieutenant.
“I know…” replied the young redhead. “She always does this, but I know a small group like that won’t be enough to beat her.” She claimed with a positive smile, but did not manage to quell the young man’s concerns. “Scott?”
“I mean… she went ahead, but I can’t hear her motorcycle anymore.” He told the girl.
“Scott!”
“H-hey… don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anything bad happened to her.” Scott said in an attempt to clear the misunderstanding—not moving his eyes from the path ahead. “Tori… I think—”
A knock on the window behind them interrupted the young man before he could finish his sentence, prompting him and Tori to look at Eric sitting outside from over their shoulders. The girl gently slid the glass pane open, and allowed the young noble to join their conversation.
“Where is she?” he asked immediately.
“Just give her time, she must be scouting ahead.” Tori said with furrowed frows. “Right, Scott?”
“I’m afraid she is…” said the man, pressing his lips together.
Though their advance continued smoothly through the region, a simple and miniscule detail revealed itself to the young sniper of Bloodhound alongside the road. Its presence drew a worried grunt from Scott, who did not hesitate in pressing the brakes of the truck once the situation became clear in his mind. The vehicle stopped abruptly, almost sending Eric flying inside the car through the window pane.
“Drive better!” the young noble roared.
“W-why did we stop?” Tori asked while clasping her hands together, scanning the region with her eyes in search of troubling demons.
All units that followed behind Bloodhound put a stop to their advance as well, uncertain of the group’s intentions as they all observed the situation with puzzled stares. Scott hopped out of the vehicle and slammed the door closed, walking in front of the car to inspect the nearby area with his own eyes. Tori and Eric met him outside, wrapping themselves in their own arms due to the cold weather.
“I’ve seen this rock before…” Scott said while grabbing the object the size of his hand from the ground.
“You what!” Eric retorted with a frown while crossing his arms. “You thought this would be a funny joke, Foley?”
Scott shook his head, and turned back to look at the units that stopped their advance alongside them. To his unpleasant surprise, not many Cerberus’ trucks halted their push against the Deadlands, with the vast majority of them remaining loyal to their original orders of marching ahead.
“We’ve been here before,” Scott told the group, bring his attention back to Tori and Eric. “I don’t know for how long… but we have not been making any progress into the Deadlands… we are just running in circles and wasting fuel.”
A loud gasp escaped Tori, who covered her mouth with one hand. Eric lowered his brows and kept both arms crossed together, looking at the young sniper through narrow eyes. Scott’s worried expression did not lie however, being more than enough to convince the noble on the dire situation they were thrown into.
“How much?” he asked—to which Scott raised a brow.
“How much what?”
“Fuel, how much do we have?”
“More than enough for the usual route,” Scott replied. “Though I’ve never heard reports on this before…”
“But if we continue moving without a clear path… then we might become stranded here.” Tori joined the conversation.
“You have to be kidding…” Eric growled before dropping his shoulders with a sigh. “We should inform as many people as we can about this… waiting might be our best option for now.”
END OF CHAPTER