RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 14: Case Yellow (Day 3 – Circle the Wagons)

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 14: Case Yellow (Day 3 – Circle the Wagons)

"-repeat! We're under attack by Demonic force! Most of our vehicles were knocked out by enemy fliers and that bitch of a Zombie! We're holding them off using the town's walls but it's only a matter of time before those White Freaks break through! We have no way to counter that Lich and her flying minions! Jesus Christ that thing is fucking huge!" The broadcast puts a damper on Rosa's parade. Having pushed Army Group C and her Vichya Libre on a front-wide attack, Rosa is honestly troubled by the sudden onset of a Demonic horde that spawned out of nowhere.

The battlefield is a breeding ground for negative feelings, miasma, and corpses, which are the prime components for the spawning of Demons and Zombies. Understandably, there are contingencies for this very issue. Yet, Rosa, her staff, and the Belkan advisors truly didn't expect a horde to appear right after the bulk of their forces departed for the attack. Thus far, only minor Demonic incursions happened, easily taken care of by dispatching kill teams whenever an incursion is detected or expected to happen. However, right now, one of their recently captured towns is besieged by a horde that spawns much too soon and fast, so much so that they overwhelm the initial kill teams sent their way.

"Dispatch a QRF, pronto. Airdrop them if you have to!" Rosa gives a command.

One of the Belkan military advisors nods. "We can airlift your force by using our Ospreys, however, we also need proper air support to defeat their fliers."

"We must coordinate with the Belkan Air Force on this one." A Reformist officer adds.

"Is there any force nearby that can render aid immediately?" Rosa asks. "It's imperative that we relieve some pressure off the town until the QRF arrives."

"The Belkans can deliver an airstrike using a nearby air asset. However, they have limited munitions and are only suitable for large groups of enemies or a big valuable target." An advisor replies.

"Good enough in my book." Rosa nods before her attention is grabbed by an announcement.

"Princess, we may have a way!" A comms officer interjects before turning up the volume of radio communication so everyone can hear.

"Volmunster, Volmunster. This is the Armored Supply Train Thomas, inbound from East. We're armed and are ready to assist. I repeat. This is the Armored Supply Train Thomas, we're ready to help. If you can hear us, we need you to link the tracks around Volmunster so that we can get to you ASAP."

"Thomas, this is Volmunster. Fucking glad to hear from you! I will be sending someone to unlock the railroads for your arrival. Be advised, the railways only circle Volmunster which will put you right in the middle of the horde. Proceed with caution."

"Understood, Volmunster. Thomas will circle the wagons around the village. We'll be there in visual in ten minutes, watch your fire."

"Godspeed, Thomas. Volmunster out."

Rosa looks at the Belkan advisors. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

The Belkans all sport wry smiles.

Rosa raises an eyebrow, feeling intrigued. "Heh, can we view the battle zone?"

"I think we can arrange that, Princess."

"Range 800!"

"On the way!"

BOOM

The front compartments of Thomas shake as an 88 mm SAP shell is fired from the big gun at the front. The shell, leaving behind a glimpse of red trace, slams into the upper body of the Ganesha. Owing to its more explosive nature when compared to its armor-piercing counterpart, the 89 mm Semi-armor piercing shell explodes with much more force than normal after penetrating the hide of the Demon. The Demon is literally busted open from the inside as the rest of its silicon body skid along the length of the tracks. Ultimately, Thomas pushes over the remains withou as much as a shake for the crew.

"Good kill! Good kill!" Adam compliments the cannon crew. It's exciting to see the big gun in action every once in a while.

Captain Surbella interjects with a command to the weapon crews. "3 o'clock! Archangels! Blast them!"

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The Gepard unleashes another burst of tracer, once again cutting down a major flier swarm. Surbella adds. "We're getting into the thick of it. All stations, fire at will!"

Approaching the swaths of ground Demons and Zombies, Surbella gives the gunners free reign to kill whatever monstrosity of nature they see. Even Adam has taken the opportunity to bring an MG-35 to bear using one of Thomas' many firing ports. As Thomas drives a wedge in the middle of the horde, thus beginning its circles around Volmunster, the guns aboard the train start opening up. The Gepard turret focuses on anti-air duty while the 88 mm gun fires away at distant groups of enemies. The buzzing and booming of these two weapon platforms nearly drown out the sounds of other weapons on Thomas. However, it doesn't mean that the rest of Thomas' armaments aren't making much waves. In fact, the sheer visual spectacle they make raised the morale of Volmunster defenders over the roof. The Reformists raise their fists and rifles up in cheer when Thomas carves a path of carnage and death through the white horde.

In the dense pack Demonic formation, Thomas straight up rams anything in its way while the multiple 30 mm autocannon turrets work to cull the herd. Using the same MK 103 autocannon on the Puma IFV, the gunners can just swing their turrets sideways and let their shells take care of the rest. Anything hit by a 30 mm shell is pretty much a goner with bits and body parts flying everywhere. The turrets, spatting fire relentlessly, also constantly dump spent casings. The sounds they made are no different from a Christmas fiesta coming into town.

Not willing to be outdone, the side-mounting remote-controlled gun turrets also chime in. Packing nothing but explosives, the 40 mm GMG turrets send heavy grenades raining down on both sides of the train. The grenade carves shallow trenches from the explosions running parallel to Thomas. Anything unlucky enough to have a 40 mm grenade landing next to or on top of them is decimated instantly. Not even a perfectly fine Chariot-class Demon can withstand a singular 40 mm grenade, much less dozens of them. Some of the Zombies closer to the train tracks try to rush forward and board Thomas, yet they're immediately deterred by a withering hail of 14.5 mm bullets. The large-caliber rounds easily tear multiple Zombies in half, no matter what classes they are. Nothing short of a heavily armored vehicle will survive a shot from an HMG-14.5. The Zombies have truly met their maker today.

To complement the MG turrets that are hammering the Demonic horde, the firing ports on Thomas also open up. Adam needs only hold down the trigger of his MG-35 and let it rip. He needs not aiming for the enemy is too densely packed, they're literally everywhere around the train. The only things that stop Adam and the rest of his crew from constantly flinging red tracers are either ammo or barrel change. Seeing as how much trouble Thomas tends to dive headfirst in, they have the spares in abundance all around.

By the time Thomas makes a complete donut around the town of Volmunster, 1/3rd of the Demonic horde is destroyed. Their leader, the Lich tries to intervene and bombard the nuisance land dragon with her coffins. Yet, right before she can charge up her lasers, two missiles impact her location, killing the Lich and her guards immediately. Up above, a Barracuda drone can be seen closing its weapon bay. Having arrived moments earlier, it has quickly picked up on the Lich's location. Determine it was a threat to Thomas' integrity, the drone operator immediately painted the Lich for termination.

Now that their leader is gone, the Demons and Zombies turn more feral and less coordinated. They've defaulted back to their mindless behavior, seeking only destruction and death. Well, they're welcome to try, but Thomas ain't something a pack of beasts will be able to take down. The battle wagon will keep chugging along and crush any opposition in its path. However, there's one downside to going all guns blazing and paddle to the metal.

"We will have to do the exterior all over again..." Adam sighs while replacing the melted barrel of his MG-35.

Outside, the paint job on the Thomas is either scratched or covered in gun residues, with its armor plating dented everywhere by ramming the Demons. If these aren't the telltale signs of a war train, I don't know what is.