726 The Gauntle

\"Support Duke Vepar!\" One of the commanders shouted at the frontlines to rally the troops. To them, it was now or never as they climbed over the debris of the broken barricades. Some of them even picked up pieces of broken metal to serve as impromptu shields and to strengthen the armour that they had.

\"All Pandarens at the bridge, fall back!\" Qiu Yue relayed the orders before she quickly changed her channel to Lord Wolte's Company of Tanks. \"Wolte, it's time for your debut. Have two of your most competent tank squads fire at the gauntlet while the rest should focus on providing supportive fire to slow the horde down.\"

\"Gladly.\" Lord Wolte said as he forwarded the commands down to his Dark Templars subordinates.

\"I will go to the front. Shermie 2 and 3 follow me.\" Zieg, Leader of the Dark Templars, volunteered with pride as his tank zipped through the barricades with ease.

\"If that's the case, leave it to me to take care of that naughty little Vepar. S-4 and S-5 provide long distance support while the rest fire at will and defend Zieg.\" Wolte commanded, and the rest willingly obeyed his instructions.

The sky bridge was a gentle slope up to the first defensive platform, so most of the Sherman Tanks were not able to fire at a high angle due to the curvature of the sky bridge. Thus, defensive platforms had been erected just to allow them to handle their tasks. Even the watchtowers further back had an adjustable landing platform that could elevate itself, so the tanks were able to fire at a suitable angle.

But for Wolte, his tank was essentially his body. All he needed to do was a little bit of stretching, and he would be able to angle his barrel without the need for a levelled platform. And unlike the Dark Templars who needed to manually aim and shoot, Wolte could easily do that with a twitch of his barrel.

He was one with the tank. Everything a Sherman could do, he could do better.

\"Wyrstriker, retreat along with your Wyvern Goblin Knights. You are overexposing yourself and we don't want the enemy to realise that you are the only aerial force that we have.\" Qiu Yue warned, and Wyrstriker acknowledged those orders, calling back the others while also making sure Tomas returned.

\"Enough playing hero, Tomas! It's time to fall back. Don't force me to ban you from flying via the System if you refuse to comply.\" Wyrstriker threatened in their System Sub Channel.

\"Yeah, Tomas! Don't be stupid. You will have enough chances to be a hero, but only if you listen to Commander Wyrstriker.\" His comrades replied open, and Tomas reluctantly agreed since most of the Fallen Angels had disappeared.

\"You think I'll let you all go after destroying my regiment of Fallen Angels?!\" Duke Vepar looked more sullen than ever. He was not instructed in the ways of the gauntlet by his great-grandfather before the latter's passing and was instead forced to learn about it himself.

One of the first lessons he learned about the gauntlet was that it was going to take his life away bit by bit. After all, life force is seen as a cheap bargaining resource for extra power, and it was no surprise nearly every demon dealt or utilised their special skills with blood sacrifice.

Still, exchanging his life force to get revenge against these meddling dragonflies would be a worthy exchange for him. Thus, he brought his gauntlet up and started to offer up his lifeforce further to charge up the gauntlet for a tracking energy beam that would be able to hit each and every one of the Wyvern Goblin Knights.

\"Oh no, you don't, Little Vepar! Not until you taste my iron fist of fury...or erm iron bullet of fu- nevermind. FIREEEEE!\" Lord Wolte mumbled as he shot an explosive round out of his barrel and a couple of surface-to-air missiles from the sides of his tank. Smoke was seen at the back of the launchers and at the same time, the launchers were reloaded automatically from the belly of Lord Wolte, ready for the next barrage.

Separately, cultivators in the vicinity had to cover their ears in an attempt to block the noise from the loud screeching missiles, but it proved very much futile. Especially since the Half Mask they were wearing already had a module that would transmit a particular frequency to counter or mask the loud noise, making it not too painful for the cultivators in the area. A special Lost Tech technology yet again embedded for the convenience of the cultivators.

The sound of missiles being fired caught Duke Vepar's attention and he ordered the remnants of his Fallen Angels to protect him. There was no need for that. His guards had already prepared to lay their lives to allow him to unleash one of his mightiest attacks without the need of telling them to do so.

Despite the missiles being aimed at Duke Vepar, the Fallen Angels took the initiative to use their body and whatever magic they had to protect their Duke. One by one, the explosions ensued with a cloud of smoke as the Fallen Angels popped like balloons with their bodily contents raining down the sky bridge.

Their valiant self-sacrifice managed to buy enough time for Duke Vepar to charge his gauntlet.

\"Shit! It's not enough?! Quick someone do something, we can't allow him to use that attack!\" Wolte cursed as the smoke dissipated but suddenly they heard a sonic boom before Duke Vepar was able to release the energy in the gauntlet. While the Goblin Wyvern Knights had been retreating, Wyrstriker was the only one who had done a 180 degrees flip with Iwen and charged back.

Fortunately, the clouds of smoke had acted as the perfect distraction while Wyrstriker activated his secondary boosters, something which was unique to him as the commander of the Goblin Wyvern Knights. Ayse had emphasised many times that it was just a prototype and was only to be used in a true emergency.

\"Well, I bet even Ayse will count this as a type of emergency. Either I kill him now, or he potentially makes a giant hole in one of the floating platforms with that gauntlet of his.\" Wyrstriker thought to himself as his speed punctured through Duke Vepar's head when the One-Winged Fallen Angel attempted to move away from the Wyvern Goblin Knight Commander.

Moments later, Duke Vepar's pathetic head flew off from Wyrstriker's shield and into the sea while the Spear Goblin retreated back with the boosters in an orderly fashion with his unit. Tomas and the other knights knew this feat was not as easy as their leader made it look. Considering the speed those secondary boosters could achieve when it burst to top speed, it would be hard enough to keep their balance let alone strike accurately. They could only strive to become like their commander in the future.

Now, without its user, the colossal gauntlet dropped down to the ground and squashed the ongoing demon army as it deeply caved in the first quarter of the sky bridge. So much for bringing down the barricades. Now the gauntlet itself had become a major obstacle for the incoming invaders.