970 Hellfire

As the caravan approached the spilling horde of Nightmare Creatures, Sunny readied himself for battle and feverishly tried to come up with a way - any way - to save the lives of as many people as he could.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, there was just no solution. Many souls were going to be lost today, and the best he could accomplish was to make sure that those who were dying were the soldiers, and not the refugees.

He knew that the caravan would be able to break through the horde of abominations eventually, but he also knew that at least several vehicles, as well as scores of his soldiers, would perish in the process. Hundreds, if not thousands of humans were going to die today.

His gamble did not pay off.

Sunny felt a bit resentful about that.

With a sigh, he summoned the helmet of the Mantle of the Underworld and raised Morgan's Warbow...

It was at that moment that eerie crimson lights flashed through the haze of the blizzard, followed by a scattering of small sparks. He froze and looked to his left, at the dark expanse of the ocean that was obscured by the veil of snow.

Out there, something inconceivably gargantuan was hiding, its enormous shape only revealed by the hazy flashes of crimson light.

'What...'

In the next moment, a deafening roar assaulted his ears, and then, something that he had never expected happened.

Ahead of the convoy, the mass of Nightmare Creatures were suddenly torn apart by a series of earth-shattering explosions. Bits of concrete, flesh, and bone flew into the air, creating a cloud of red fog. A moment later, flowers of angry red flame bloomed on the slope of the mountain, obliterating even more abominations.

The whole world trembled.

Sunny's eyes widened as he swiftly looked back at the ocean. The wall of the blizzard had been unmade, as well. And although the breach in the snowstorm was already closing, he still managed to catch a glimpse of the source of all that carnage.

The gargantuan shape drifting on the waves... was a massive, battered battleship.

He thought he even recognized the lines of its mangled alloy hull.

The vessel was strangely slanted, one of its sides resting much lower than the other one, the deck railings almost touching the water. Its hull was marred by terrible scars and breached in many places, with some of the holes being large enough for the Rhino to drive through - and was just what remained above the surface. The bow of the ship seemed shattered and deformed.

It was a mystery how the vessel remained afloat.

...And yet, it was still capable of firing its armaments. The crimson lights Sunny had seen were the batteries of starboard cannons unleashing hell, and the scattering of sparks was the salvo of missiles being launched from their nests.

As Sunny watched, the ghostly battleship fired another barrage of heavy explosive rounds at the horde of Nightmare Creatures, this time aiming entirely at the slopes of the mountains.

He blinked.

...I'll be damned.

Did they really receive... reinforcements?

Sunny did not know where the wrecked vessel had come from, but he was not going to waste this opportunity.

The intention of the unknown captain was clear - the first salvo somewhat cleared the highway, and the second one overshot it by a good degree, slamming into the mountain slope and obliterating a large swath of advancing Nightmare Creatures.

Cutting off those who still remained on the road from the rest of the horde, for now, while simultaneously opening a path for the caravan.

That was his chance!

Silently thanking the daredevil who had used the sinking ship to come to their rescue, Sunny drew his bow and sent the Strike of Thunder flying forward. A moment later, it hit the mountain of white flesh, electrocuting scores of abominations that had been fighting to devour the giant jellyfish just a few moments before.

"All forward units, attack!"

The MWPs running beside the Rhino simultaneously raised their bulky hands and opened fire.

Their accuracy while on the move was not too great, but that was not important when massive Gatling guns were involved. Streams of heavy rounds whipped across the surviving Nightmare Creatures, ripping many to shreds. A moment later, two swarms of missiles shot from the shoulders of the lumbering machines, adding to the chaos.

From somewhere further behind, heavy-duty mass drivers joined the fray, with the turrets of the assault vehicles soon following. The front of the caravan had once again formed into a wedge to open lines of fire for more attackers.

Only this time, there were many more vehicles, Awakened, and war platforms shooting.

The already thinned front rows of the mass of Nightmare Creatures covering the highway were all but erased from existence by their onslaught. A moment later, the Rhino plowed into the remaining stragglers, painting itself with red.

Sunny sent several arrows flying, and then dismissed his bow, summoning the Cruel Sight instead. As soon as he saw the APC clear the stretch of the road obstructed by the horde, he stepped through the shadows and appeared in the thick of the enemies descending from the mountains.

Even though most of them were being destroyed by the continuous barrage from the mangled battleship, many were still getting through. The cacophony of bestial howls, thunderous explosions, and roaring artillery strikes was shaking the world, but he did not let it distract him.

Now that the head of the caravan had broken through the blockade, the battle was not over. On the contrary, it was just starting - they had to hold back the tide of monsters to let the whole column drive through the created corridor, and then stall the abominations to let it escape.

Moving with practiced grace, he butchered a lunging monstrosity that resembled a wingless bat, and then crushed another creature's skull with the butt of his spear. The Dying Wish weaved itself into existence, summoning the ire of the frenzied horde upon him.

But also inspiring his soldiers.

One after another, the cohorts of the Awakened joined Sunny in building a wall of sharp steel along the edge of the highway.

The MWPs stood behind them, drowning the mountain slopes with hellfire unleashed by their flamethrowers. Several personnel carriers stopped, releasing companies of mechanized infantry, each soldier clad in an exoskeleton suit of powered armor and carrying a heavy rifle.

In a matter of minutes, the safe corridor was secured. Now, all they had to do was hold the line and show the abominations what the First Army was really made of.

"Devil is with us!"

Show them hell!

"Burn in fire, you wretches!"

Sunny was rather surprised by the enthusiasm the soldiers who had just recently joined his caravan were showing. Well... he was not going to complain...

Maybe it was the effect of the Dying Wish, or maybe they just wanted to avenge Erebus Field and wash off the shame of defeat off their souls.

Thrusting the Cruel Sight into the open maw of a Fallen abomination, he suddenly felt a strange jolt run through the Mantle of the Underworld. Suddenly, the onyx armor felt slightly... lighter?

'...What is that about?'

Shaking off the weird feeling, he jerked the corpse of the Nightmare Creature off his spear's blade and looked around, searching another target.