HEX´S P.O.V.
I was sitting on a chair in front of the holo-table of the Turbo Tank. The tank had become our provisional command centre, as it was basically a mobile fortress, and it had all the equipment needed to be one. Not that it was of much use, though, as half of our equipment such as radars, sensors, and artificial intelligence systems did not work. It's not the first time that I have been in a situation like this, though, so I have little to worry, as the campaigns in the Infinite's Shroud Worlds have been much more difficult. What is a Shroud World? They are worlds with strong psionic presence all around, which means it's easier for psionic users to tap into the Shroud, the dimension from where they apparently draw their power. We don't understand much about psionics, though. Such science is a mystery to us, almost like magic. All we know is that it makes it a pain to fight against beings with such powers and that to wage battles in Shroud Worlds is any soldier's nightmare.
I stood up from my chair and walked to see through one of the windows the tank has. I noticed that small lights that shun in the pitch darkness of the night. I looked up at the sky, and what I saw amazed me. I could see the veil covering the planet, although it was mostly transparent, allowing me to see beyond it. I saw the eternal companions of the people travelling across the heavens, no matter what planet, what solar system, what galaxy or what universe, those fiery lights streaking across the skies in diffusing blue streaks will always be there, lighting up the sky, and calming the sense of loneliness that we may have.
I looked at the distance, mountains, and forests that seemed to extend for kilometres on end. So, Terra was once like this too? I had only seen what Terra used to look like, before the city sprawl covered it all, in photos. No matter how many worlds I have visited, none have the same beauty of the nature that once dominated Terra. That is why the universe is so great, no matter how many planets you visit, none will be like the last, there will always be a different adventure, a different experience, waiting for you.
I heard a commotion outside, bringing me back to this world. I turned around to look at the door. Did the recon team come back? Did they found something?
"I need to speak with the captain!" I heard a faint voice coming from the other side of the door. The door then opened, and the leader of the recon group entered, saluting me. "Captain, I bring urgent news!"
"What is it, sergeant?" I asked as I sat back down on my chair.
"The strikecraft team that accompanied us was destroyed," The sergeant said in an agitated voice. I widened my eyes the moment those words left his mouth, leaning forwards toward the table. "We retreated the moment it happened, following your orders,"
I nodded at the officer. "You did well, sergeant, but mind you telling me the details of the destruction of the strikecraft?" This was terrible. We are now confident we are not alone here, but it seems that this world's inhabitants are not exactly friendly. What's worse, they have enough firepower to bring down our strikecraft.
"Yes, sir. As we were carrying our duty, we were able to see the lights of what we believe was a settlement at a distance. As we made our way closer to it, our strikecraft were suddenly attacked by three laser beams which destroyed them on impact." The sergeant explained as he recalled seeing the strikecraft explode like fireworks in the sky.
I rested my back against the chair. "Thanks, sergeant, if that is all, you are dismissed," I told him as I closed my eyes.
"Understood, sir!" I heard as the sergeant turned around, opened the door and walked out of the tank.
I sighed. Looks like I am going to have to proceed with extreme caution right now. If we remain in the camp, we will just be waiting for the enemy to find us and obliterate us when we least expect. They say that sometimes a good defence is a good offence, but it was tricky right now. Our lack of instant communication due to the planetary interference puts us at a disadvantage. Still, we are soldiers of the Empire, something like this will not stop us, but I will have to be prepared. I gave another sigh. Soldiers' death is inevitable, I reminded myself, but that doesn't make it easier to carry with…
In the morning…
"Come on! Come on! Hurry!" I stepped out of the turbo tank and saw the officers commanding the soldiers around, getting them into formation and making sure everything is ready. The imposing voices of the officers guided the troopers around. As I observed the scene cautiously, I spotted 4 officers, all captains, coming toward me. They stood at the front and firmly saluted me.
"Sir!" They exclaimed firmly too. "Everything is proceeding as you instructed, sir, we will be ready to depart in 1 hour!" The officer, Captain Jaxon, stated confidently.
"Very well, carry on with your duties," I replied monotonously and then did a salute.
"Sir, yes, sir!" They replied in chorus. The officers turned around and walked away to their respective troops.
Fighting in this environment can prove challenging, but as troopers of the Empire, guardians of humanity, we will face any challenge head-on, and we will become even more potent for it. I took 3,000 soldiers from the 10,000 strong expeditionary force. 2,000 are part of the Excursor Militarum, the scout corps, while the remaining 1,000 are from the Militarum Imperialis, the trooper corps. I split the recon troopers into 4 groups of 500 each, placing them under the command of the 4 captains who spoke to me, while the remaining 1,000 would be under my control. My unit would be placed in the middle of the formation, and we will be surrounded by the other 4 teams, one in each cardinal direction, separated by a few hundred meters. The enemy may possess area damage weapons, so we can't just move in one single block. We will proceed with walkers tanks and regular walkers placed in the interior of the formation to safeguard them along with the self-propelled A.A. guns. We also carry mortars, grenades, and other heavy equipment. For once, I now thank that we came so overly prepared to what was supposed to have been some wildlife pacification mission in a recently discovered planet.
The air support part is much more tricky, though. Due to the interference on instant communication, we can't just call air support that easily. To counter this, every 1,000 meters, we will leave behind a group of 3 troopers with a flare gun. If the central unit is in trouble, we will fire the flare guns, which will alert the strikecraft back at the camp. In just a few minutes, the reinforcements will arrive.
After the Human Technocracy era, when humanity was first unified and achieved interstellar travel, a materialistic and atheistic philosophy was imposed on everyone, which still remains to this day. This means we don't believe in any deity; nevertheless, I pray that if there is any being really out there, please allow us to have the least amount of casualties possible.
A few minutes before the last preparations were made, I gathered the 3,000 men of the strike force to brief the mission. It's always important for the troops to know the plan to take the initiative in it, as dictated by the "Diveris Viribus" doctrine. I walked up to a small stage they had set up for me. I looked around the troops, they all had eager faces, and, well, after spending a few weeks just sitting around the Juggernaut, I can understand them wanting to stretch their legs for a while. Although, only by looking at their helmetless faces, I can see that many are still inexperienced. I used the in-built microphone function of my helmet, and I started my address.
"Imperial soldiers, yesterday, in a day that may live in infamy, three comrades of ours met a tragic end at the hands of an unknown enemy," I started my address. Some of the soldiers looked shocked at the news, and murmurs began to spread. "This foe can shoot down our strikecraft, so it is safe to believe that they possess heavy firepower, but be not afraid," I tried to reassure them. "For even in this distant stars, the Emperor's light shall cover us. Remember who we are, we are imperial warriors, we march for mankind. We have sworne to fight for our people, for Terra, against the Empire's enemies and mankind. We shall plant the banner of humanity in this unknown planet as no planet shall remain out of our grasp, for this all belongs to the common heritage of mankind!" I then closed my eyes, I felt a sense of familiarity engulf me. 'To the death, no surrender!' those words echoed in my head if only I have known what would happen in my last mission… "We shall bow to no Xeno overlord, or to any enemy of humanity," I opened my eyes to look back at my troops. "We are here to enforce the Emperor's will, and if so, by force, we shall fulfil. We are warriors imperial, and we have come to pacify, we have come to purify!"
The soldiers cheered on as I finished the speech. Any leader must boost the morale of the troops, especially when blindly marching into the unknown. This enemy is powerful, a simple scout regiment would be annihilated in an instant, we have a better chance this way, but I still can't help but feel unease. To think that there are soldiers who have marched into missions with less information than this. I don't know how some of the higher-ups can live with themselves, knowing what they have done. The greatest threats don't often come from the outside but from the inside.
I gave them the briefing of the plan, and after making the last checkups, making sure the logistics were all-sufficient one last time, we moved out. Before I stepped into the Turbo Tank, I was approached by Coltin, my second in command during this expedition. We saluted each other, and then we did a firm handshake, as there was always the possibility that this might as well be the last time we see each other. We are soldiers though, we are all ready for that moment, as the moment we put on the uniform, we know there is a chance we will die in it. That doesn't mean we want to die though. If I desired death, I would have died a long time ago, but I don't, not yet, and so, I will fight until there is no fight left in me. If I am to die today, I will die fighting for my chance at life.
"Everything's ready," Coltin said in a soft tone. "Good luck, sir,"
I nodded as I looked downwards. "Coltin," I croakily replied. "If we don't come back by the end of the week," I raised my head so our eyes would meet. "I want you to raise the defences, and for you to do everything to survive and get the hell out of here, understood?"
"Understood, sir," Coltin replied as he nodded. I slowly nodded back, as well. I pressed a button in my arm and my helmet covered up my face, it was time to go.
Our troops marched through the green valleys. Flora populated the ground all around, giving it an immense beauty as a rainbow of alien flowers adorned the sight for kilometres. We approached a valley, where the calm place as the hills took expansive breaths all about them. The hills were decadent with green foliage, and new spring buds and the valley was the most friendly place of them all, sunlit and serene. I have only seen such beauty in the Gaia Worlds, perfect planets for any organic life to develop, creating a rainbow of ecosystems that no other worlds have.
As we moved forwards, I noticed a chorus of greens dancing in the celebratory wind, each of them ever ignited by sunlight. The massive trees sent their green glow into the ether, their calming perfume, their oxygen-enriched air. Their roots spread into an embrace of the ground, and their branches, ever upwards, embraced the heavens. As we passed through this wonders of nature, I removed my helmet and stuck my head out of the Turbo Tank, taking a deep breath. The fresh air and the greenery born of the trees and shrubs come together in their own ballet dance. The sweet breeze giving air richer in carbon dioxide and the flora giving air richer in oxygen in return, and such is the cycle of respiration.
I sat back on my chair, but I kept looking out the window, from which came a refreshing flow of air, enlivening the senses and relaxing the breath, and, no matter the reinforced window frame, the sunlight is ever-warm.
"It is quite the sight, right, Captain?" I heard a voice coming from my side. I turned my head to see Ender, a soldier who came along with me in the Turbo Tank. Vlad and his men are also here, but they are at the back of the tank, resting in the bunk beds, probably. "I've never really seen anything like this." His bulging blue eyes watched loyally at nature outside.
"From where do you come, corporal?" I asked as I leaned back on my sit, while through the window frame came the vibrant glow of the day.
"Nova Antiochia, sir," Ender replied without taking off his sight from the site.
"Antiochia?" I closed my eyes while trying to remember. "Ah, an Oasis World, right?"
"Indeed sir, that is why I am so fascinated, you don't get to see something like this back there," Ender said. The hydrosphere only supports one large water body in oasis worlds, with a vegetation band around it. The rain barely ever reaches the inland desert that covers the majority of the planet. If it wasn't for our efficient use of arcologies, we wouldn't colonize this type of worlds. Still, we always have the option to terraform, although that is mostly reserved to the planets that would be way too difficult to colonize. One example is Martis, the 4th planet in the Solaris system and the neighbour of Terra. Occupying Martis was difficult, as, during the early ages of space travel in the Technocracy era, we still didn't have advanced colonization methods. We created a few bases, and when he had the technology, we terraformed it into a, still arid, but much more habitable world. Still, not like it matters anymore, Martis is on its final stages of becoming an Ecumenopolis, like Terra.
"Have you ever visited any other world outside Antiochia?" I asked, opening my golden eyes again.
"Only a few," Ender replied. "If I'm honest, I actually joined the Militarum so I could travel from world to world, and see the beauty of our Empire, while at the same time working to protect it. It is much easier to fight to defend something when you are aware of what you are going to lose, don't you think, sir?"
I hummed. "I guess it's true," I replied while sitting further back in my seat. The purpose of war, huh? That's something I'm still trying to figure out after all these years. "Still, make sure you survive so you can visit as many planets as your heart desires. Those are going to be one hell of a lot of stories to tell your future children, don't you think?"
"Yes, sir!" Ender cheerfully replied. "I will give my all so that I can experience all the wonders of nature." I smiled faintly, the cheerful youth.
I raised my head, and then I noticed a ribbon of living turquoise at a distance, boldly flowing amid the forest's green. The river flows with perfect consistency, an artery of blessed water. It feeds this place, quenches the thirst of the mighty beings rooted to the rich soil. Together, they are perfection, the water of life and the community of flora and fauna. The river has a strength that is reflected in the trees. It flows on with confidence, taking the form of the river bed. The sunlight filters through the leaves of the trunks standing beside it, making the essence of life glow like diamonds.
We left the community of trees, and as we did, a verdant landscape rose as if taking in might breaths of country-pure air. At long distance, I could see rocks rising from the ground as if they reached for the sky, their peaks sculpted by the raindrops of aeons. They were green at their base, the forests gather by nature's wand. In front of us, hills rose as if they were piano keys creating a sacred song. They were bright in the light, and calming upon the sight, ever-present, ever beautiful. If I only knew what was to come…
Third Person P.O.V.
The expeditionary force's frontal unit moved in sync as a block, ensuring the path was clear for the rest of the troops. The soldiers marched along with the armoured cars, while behind them, the walkers, walker tanks and self-propelled A.A.s moved. They only had a fraction of the armoured units, though, as the bulk of it remained with the main force behind them, along with the supply cars. A recon trooper stood on top of one of the Walker tanks, using the integrated binoculars of his helmet, he looked at the bounty of clover and sun-strengthed grass. The field was the most bonny of green blankets graced with clover.
At a distance, he managed to detect several things moving closer toward their direction. The soldier squinted his eyes and augmented the zoom of his visor. Suddenly, a bright light blinded him for a few seconds, and when he opened his eyes once again, he saw an energy ball coming toward him and his tank. With no time to react, the ball impacted the tank, killing him and the pilot.
"What the?!" Captain Jaxon, the frontal unit leader, shouted as the tank exploded just a few metres behind him. The explosion seared the air and earth that left devoid of life down to the microbes. Several soldiers that were near the tank when it was destroyed were impacted by the shockwave. The tank had been completely destroyed, so the nanites could not do anything about it since they can only regenerate vehicles up to a certain point. "Everyone down! Defensive positions! Ready your blasters and take out the heavy weapons!" Jaxon shouted, causing the soldiers to start mobilizing once again.
More white energy balls with a dark aura around them started to descend from the sky. The soldiers split up as to minimize casualties. Then, from the hill in front of them, mounted on massive, mutated, undead pigs, the Piglin Warriors began to descend, charging toward the Terrestrial lines.
"What the hell are those?!" One of the troopers shouted as he saw the Piglins descending from the mountain like a horde.
"Who cares!? They are not human, shoot!" The soldier standing next to him shouted back as he readied his rifle.
The Piglins carried a variety of weapons, halberds, broadswords, spears and others. Still, something set them apart from being conventional medieval weapons, as they were glowing white with a dark aura around them, just like the energy balls. A storm of plasma bolts descended upon the Piglins, but the charge leaders extended their hands, creating several energy shields in front of them that neutralized the blasts.
"Bring in the heavy firepower!" Jaxon shouted as hard as he could. The soldiers that heard relayed the message, and soon the tanks opened fire upon the Piglin horde. The tanks' blasts pierced through the shields, killing several Piglins. The tanks weren't shooting fast enough, thankfully, they had other aces up their sleeves.
A group of troopers made their way toward, they carried with them mortars and grenade launchers. The soldiers settled down the batteries, and after doing some quick manual calculations, they opened fire on the Piglin forces. The mortar impacts were enough to destroy the shields of the Piglins, and taking advantage of the chaos, the grenade launchers opened fire, causing even more havoc in between the Piglin lines. The barrage of explosions was a micro-hell, yet all the universe to those caught within. The remaining troopers took the opening and opened fire on the horde, and their bolts, coming from machine guns and rifles, pierced through the Piglins' lines, shattering them entirely.
As the Piglins continued with their hopeless charge, a voice came to them. "Stop!" The disembodied voice of their Bloodlord, Dunnach, shouted. "Turn back," the rough voice ordered. The Piglins halted their advanced and then turned back, quickly moving away from the battlefield.
Jaxon looked at the retreating Piglins suspiciously, he knew the battle was not over. Jaxon looked around the battlefield, where several dozen brave souls now rested, killed in the relentless storm of energy balls shot by the enemy. Jaxon remained alert, and then one of his lieutenants rushed toward him.
"Sir, what do we do now?" The lieutenant desperately asked as he looked around in case the Piglins reappeared.
Jaxon remained silent for a few seconds. "We will continue with the plan," Jaxon stated as he looked around. Jaxon spotted one of the many sweet caterpillars of the ground. "There," Jaxon said as he pointed toward the hill. "We will reposition there, so shoot the flare gun, the operation has begun," Jaxon firmly stated. The lieutenant nodded, it was time.
On the other side of the valley, the Piglins realigned their forces. Dunnach looked at his troops with his oppressive, glacial stare. His fierce, dead eyes, ignited with wrath as his attack was repealed. His hands clenched and shook as he failed to contain his anger.
"My lord…" One of his commanders approached Dunnach. Dunnach let out a loud growl and took out his broadsword, which lit up and in quick succession, he chopped off the head of his subordinate before he could as much let out another sound. None of the other Piglins even bat an eye at the event.
Another commander walked toward Dunnach, stepping over the last commander's already rotting corpse. The commander stood there, waiting for Dunnach to calm down. Dunnach slowly turned his head toward the commander, decayed bones creaking and cracking as his neck twisted. The commander met Dunnach's eyes, they were glazed over and lifeless, appearing to be nothing more than icy cold marbles. Glassy and dark, open wide in their final death throes. He let out a brassy grunt as he stared down at his commander.
"Urkoth, you better not fail," Dunnach gravelly stated to his commander.
"Yes, my lord," Urkoth replied as he bowed to his lord.
Then, at a distance, they saw the flare shot by the terrestrials. Dunnach and Urkoth stared at the ever-rising light that coursed through the sky.
"What is that?" Urkoth asked as he looked at the light in astonishment, his glass eyes lighting up.
Dunnach let out a low and feral growl at the sight of the flare. "They are calling for reinforcements," Dunnach stated as he trembled in anger once again, and then he let it all out in a frill and infernal yell. "Move! Now!" Dunnach shouted as he turned to his Urkoth. "Serve me their heads in a plate! Burn the heathens! Every last one of them!" Gravelly continued to shout at his troops. Dunnach looked back at the direction the flare had come, and he narrowed his eyes and then let out a smug, deep chuckle. "Time for you to reach the end of the cycle…"
Back on the central unit, Hex was still sitting on his chair, looking out the window. Suddenly, a soldier opened the door, coming from the cabin. The soldier saluted Hex, but he looked anxious. "Captain, the flare has been shot by the frontal unit!" The soldier wobbly stated to his commander.
Hex immediately perked up at the news, standing up from his chair. "Where are they heading right now?" Hex asked tightly.
"The frontal unit is moving toward a hill 800 metres to the west from our current position, sir!" The soldier quickly replied.
Hex turned toward Ender, who was on edge by the news. "Go and send the speeders toward the other units, spread the news, operation 'Imperium Dominatus' is a go!" Hex orotundly ordered the soldier.
Ender quickly saluted, putting his helmet back on and grabbing his rifle. "Sir, yes, sir!" Ender walked toward the door and opened it, to then jump off the Turbo Tank. Soon, the news spread throughout the Terrestrial ranks quickly. As the remains of the frontal unit moved toward the hill, the other 4 companies slowly followed them, as they tried to conceal their presence the best they could, using the terrain to their advantage, as there was a dense forest nearby.
On the Turbo Tank, Vlad and his team got readied themselves, as they would more than likely be aiding Hex personally.
"Aren't you excited?!" Natlee asked Eleini who was making sure she had all the necessary medical supplies.
"Not particularly," Eleini stated as she carefully observed her medical kit.
"What?" Natlee looked at her in disbelief. "Why? We are defending humanity! What greater privilege could there be?!" Natlee honeyed.
Eleini turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "It's easier for you to say that when you don't have to look after the wounded after the battle," Elini said keeping herself modulated and then she closed her medical kit.
"Right, field medic, I suppose that's a good point," Natlee replied as she grabbed her rifle and stood up. "Still, I believe there is no more incredible honour than to be entrusted with defending humanity from these monsters who want to defile our homes," Natlee said as she began to walk away.
Natlee stepped out of the bunk beds room and saw Ahlex standing in the middle of the hall, carrying his rifle. "How in the world are you so quick?" Natlee asked as he eyed Ahlex from top to bottom.
"We were taught that a soldier must prioritize maximum efficiency at everything they do," Ahlex stated matter-of-factly. "Put on your helmet, we are about to start," Ahlex ordered.
"Who died and put you in charge?" Natlee asked. She then looked down at her helmet, and she put it on. "For the record, I did it because I wanted to," Natlee huffed as she placed a hand on her hip and looked up toward Ahlex, who just turned around in response.
Back on the bunk beds' room, Eleini picked up her rifle and her medkit. She turned around and saw Zavis sitting on one of the beds. His breathing was hard, and he saw a bit of sweat running down his face.
"You can do it," Eleini soft-spoke. This caused Zavis to look up toward Eleini.
Zavis sighed and looked back down. "Is not a question that if I can, is that I must," Zavis replied tautly.
"Then come on, it's time," Eleini replied as she put her helmet on. Zavis hummed in agreement and stood up, putting on his helmet as well.
Back with the frontal unit, the troopers were moving as fast as possible to take defensive positions on the hill. They marched through a sea of white-dew-foam upon crests that rise freely toward the sunlight. The grass flattened under the wind in beautiful shimmering waves, each blade turned momentarily to reflect the sunlight. As they were just a few metres away from the hill, an energy ball landed on one of their remaining tanks, exploding it once again. The soldiers were startled when they heard a loud, animal battle cry from the side as an even larger Piglin force charged them. The Piglins mounted in their mutated pig beasts, set against the Terrestrials once again. A few Piglins extended their hands and a series of energy circles formed in front of their hands from behind the mounted troops' lines, and from them, they shot concentrated psionic projectiles. The projectiles pierced the Terrestrials' armour without issue, but they were not strong enough to damage the armoured vehicles, that was the job of the bigger shots.
"To the hill! Fast!" Jaxon shouted to his troops to continue moving forwards. It would only be a matter of time until the Piglin cavalry reached them.
The Terrestrials carrying out their mission continued to move, while still shooting at the Piglins behind them. The tanks continued to cause havoc as the projectiles annihilated several Piglins with just one shot. Some troopers took the initiative and used the mortars to rain fire on the Piglins, delaying the cavalry. Simultaneously, though, the Piglins' projectiles caused severe damage to the Terrestrials. Unlike the Piglins, they had a minimal number of men, but for every Terrestrial down, 20 Piglins were gunned down.
Suddenly, a roar coming from the skies alerted the Terrestrialsm, and suddenly the shadows of something enormous covered the Terrestrials' field. Skeletal dragons descended upon the Terrestrials and using their mighty psionic breath, they annihilated several parts of their lines before the A.A. artillery reacted. The self-propelled A.A. opened fire on the dozen of dragons that were causing havoc upon them. The projectiles made quick work of the undead dragons, whose already rotten corpses rained from the skies in pieces as they were mauled down.
Still, by the time the Terrestrials reached the hill, less than half of the frontal unit remained. From the 500 troopers in the frontal unit, only 220 remained, while they faced a total of 30,000 remaining Piglins.
"Hold the line!" Jaxon shouted as his soldiers placed their machine guns around the hill. The remaining tanks and armoured vehicles were placed behind. The Terrestrials used everything they had left, mortars, grenades, projectiles, machine guns, rifles, whatever they could use to keep the line from falling. The line held as the Piglins came in wave after wave, but it would only be a matter of time before they are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.
The Piglins had surrounded the entire hill with their massive army, as they disorganizedly continued the charge. While this allowed the Terrestrials to gun down an even more significant number of Piglins, their weapons were beginning to heat up.
"Remember, the Emperor's light still covers us!" Jaxon shouted. "We are doom! We are hope! We fight for the human race! Our duty shall end on our termination, and we shall only be terminated when our duty ends! Stand tall! Strike furious vengeance upon humanity's foes!"
As the minutes passed, more and more beings died on each side, soon though, the tide of battle was to change…
As the Piglins at the back of the line waited for their turn to storm the lines to come, they heard something behind them. Before they could even turn around, plasma bolts pierced through them, they had been outflanked, the reinforcements had arrived.
"Anyone who stands against humanity shall be cut and thrown down the abyss to mewl with the rest of humanity's foes!" Hex shouted as behind him the tanks shot their projectiles which sent the Piglins' lines flying threw the air. "We shall fulfil our duty! Fight!"
The Terrestrials opened fire upon the Piglins, who were still disoriented. Several hundred Piglins were shot down in just a minute. Some Piglins, using their psionic weapons, managed to deflect the bolts back to the Terrestrials. This gave enough time for the Piglins to reorganize their lines to mount an improvised defence against the sudden force. Some Piglins mounted a desperate charge against the Terrestrials trying to break out of their encirclement unsuccessfully.
As the Piglins charged, Hex charged back. Using his wrist blasters, he shot down several Piglins as he ran through their lines. A Piglin ran towards him and swung its broadsword at Hex, who blocked it using his wrist shields. From behind him, another Piglin swung his axe at him, causing Hex to dodge it. Hex shot the tow Piglins in their legs, causing them to reel back in pain. This caused an opening to appear, and Hex took the opportunity, shooting both Piglins on the face. Hex was then forced to dodge a projectile and quickly retaliated by attacking at the direction from where it came from. Many Piglins then grouped around him, trying to overwhelm him, but by using his jetpack, he flew up and then he threw a grenade at the group of Piglins, which exploded on combat sent the Piglins flying in pieces.
Hex then flew over the battlefield, dodging projectiles as he used his wrist flame flowers to set the site ablaze. Hex then landed on the back of one of the Piglins charging toward one of his troopers. Hex brought the Piglin to the ground, which turned its head and growled at Hex, who in turn, stepped on its head with force, completely shattering its rotten skull. A Piglin took the opportunity to charge toward Hex while he was giving it his back. The Piglin raised its axe and ran toward him. Hex without turning around, he activated the plasma blade which came out of his arm, and the swung towards his back, cutting through the Piglin's arm and neck. Hex saw a group of Piglin shooters pushing against his troopers, so he activated his jetpack's missile and sent the projectile toward them, completely shattering them.
His actions inspired his soldiers as they valiantly fought back against the numerically superior forces of the Piglins. Vlad shot down the Piglins from a distance with his rifle, every time he shot, a Piglin died. Ahlex maintained his distance as instructed by the manuals he learnt in the academy; he always aimed for the orthodox. Zavis was being cornered by two Piglins who were deflecting his blasts with their psionic broadswords. One of the swung its sword at Zavis, who ducked under it, he then brought his rifle up, and pressed it against the chin of the Piglin, when he shot, the Piglin's brains were splattered all over the place. He then brought his elbow back as the other Piglin approached him. This managed to unbalance the Piglin, and Zavis then kicked him back, and now, with enough distance, he raised his blaster and shot the Piglin dead.
A psionic projectile then passed next to Zavis' head, alerting him. Zavis turned around, raising his blaster, but it was knocked out by a shot. Zavis looked in front of him and saw a Piglin with his hand extended toward him. Zavis dodged another shot, and then he took out a grenade he was carrying, and he threw it at the Piglin. The grenade stuck to the Piglin's chest and began to beep. The Piglin didn't seem to mind and continued to shoot. Zavis dodged another blast, but then, one hit him through his shoulder, and then, the grenade exploded, killing the Piglin. Zavis breathed a sigh of relief, but he was panting hard. Zavis brushed off the pain and grabbed his rifle back, getting ready to continue the fight.
As this was happening, Eleini charged a Piglin, stepping to the side as it tried to chop her in two. Eleini raised her rifle and shot it through the head. She then stepped to the side ones again as a Piglin fired a projectile toward her. Returning fire, she killed the Piglin. A Piglin with an axe then ran toward her. Eleini fired, but the Piglin dodged. Shooting once again, she managed to hit off the Piglin's weapon, but it continued charging toward her. The Piglin dodged another shot, and then kicked off Eleini's rifle. The Piglin then took out a machete from it's back and swung it toward Eleini. Eleini caught the Piglin's arm mid-air, and she then punched the Piglin's elbow hard. It's rotten bone cracked with a satisfying crunch and then holding on to the Piglin's wrist, she twisted its arm back and killed the Piglin with his own weapon. She then kicked the Piglin back, grabbed her rifle and ran towards a soldier that laid on the ground, agonizing. Eleini removed his helmet, and then from her medkit, she took out a syringe which she injected on the soldier's neck. After that, she placed the needle back on the medkit and began to drag the soldier to a safe space.
While she did that, Natlee ran past her and with her rifle on automatic mode, she began to unleash a plasma hell on the Piglins as she covered Eleini. As her weapon overheated and she was forced to stop shooting, a Piglin charged toward Natlee. Natlee dodges the attack and then she hit the Piglin in the jaw, breaking it with her rifle. Natlee then shoved her rifle up the Piglin's mouth and punched the back of it. After a few punches, the rifle pierced the Piglin's head. She took her rifle out and then turned around just in time to kick a Piglin which was charging at her. Natlee noticed a Piglin aiming toward her with its hand, and so she quickly grabbed the Piglin which she had just kicked and used it as a shield. The psionic blast impacted the Piglin which Natlee then threw away and then shot back at the Piglin. A Piglin then charged at her from the side, and Natlee ducked under the attack, and she quickly took out a grenade, which she stuffed on the Piglin's mouth as it passed by. The Piglin stopped running and then, its head exploded. Natlee raised her blaster once again and continued to shoot.
Ender steadily pushed through the lines of Piglins as he followed Hex. Ender dodged an incoming projectile and returned fired. Ender then ducked a Piglin and let it run past him to shoot the Piglin on the back. Ender took out a grenade and threw it at a group of Piglins trying to attack Hex from the rear. The Piglins were blown to bits, but this caught the attention of several other Piglins, who then charged towards him. Ender shot at them, gunning down a few, but he was starting to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Piglins charging at him. Ender set his blaster to automatic mode, and he let loose, gunning down all the Piglins surrounding him, or almost all…
A Piglin caught Ender by surprise, and he stabbed him through the chest with its psionic broadsword. Ender let out a whimper of pain as the sword cut through his heart. Hex who had his plasma blade stuck through a Piglin's head heard the whimper even between the sounds of artillery, shots, shouts and cries. Hex removed his plasma blade from the Piglin's head and turned around to see the Piglin embed Ender further with his sword.
"NO!" Hex yelled at the top of his lungs with a heart-rending scream.
Hex ran towards the Piglin. The Piglin removed its blade and turned around to swing at Hex. Hex ducked under it, and using its plasma blade, he chopped off the Piglin's leg, and as the Piglin began to fall, he chopped the Piglin's head off while still in mid-air. Hex walked over the pieces of the Piglin and kneeled down next to Ender, removing the young trooper's helmet.
"Come on," Hex said as he looked down at Ender. "You still have a lot of planets you wanted to visit, right?" Hex wobbly asked the trooper.
"I'm sorry, sir… I let you down…" Ender replied in a quiet voice as he struggled to keep his eyes from closing.
"It's doesn't have to be your time just yet, I'll carry you," Hex said as he readied himself to pick Ender up.
"No sir, your duty is other…" Ender struggled to say, making Hex stop. "I'm sorry sir, but this is it for me… So please, continue to lead us right now…" Ender took a deep breathed and then gave a shaky smile and a weak salute. "Corporal Ender reports his death on the front lines…" And with that, Ender's eyes closed, to never open again.
Hex lowered his head and rested Ender back on the ground. There was no time to mourn, though, as war stops for no man.
"Hex! Behind you!" Vlad, who had come to push against the Piglins, but was currently busy dealing with his own situation quickly yelled before ducking under a Piglin's sword.
Hex quickly reacted and stood up, raising his wrist blasters and gunning down three Piglins charging towards him. From the other side, more Piglins were coming, and so, using his flamethrowers, he created a wall of fire. He flew over with his jetpack and then began to throw grenades down at the Piglins while dodging any incoming projectile.
Vlad continued to gun down the Piglins that charged at him, but then he saw one coming head-on towards him, but he felt something different about this one. It was Urkoth, the commander of the army. Vlad shot at Urkoth who dodged all the bolts. Vlad tried to jump back to gain more distance, but it was impossible, Urkoth was too fast. Urkoth swung his broadsword, but Vlad stepped back; still, Urkoth managed to cut Vlad's blaster in half. Vlad ducked under an attack from Urkoth. Vlad jumped back and threw a grenade at Urkoth, who chopped it up with his sword. This gave enough time for Vlad to take out his pistol and shoot at Urkoth. Urkoth deflected the blasts with his psionic weapon and even managed to hit off Vlad's gun.
Urkoth charged at Vlad, but he managed to catch Urkoth hand mid-air. Vlad then tried to throw a punch at Urkoth, but he caught it too. They both began to struggle to free out of each other's grasp, but they were almost equal. With time though, it seemed like Urkoth was going to be the one to win. Resulting in more desperate measures, Vlad raised his leg and kicked Urkoth in between his legs. Urkoth whimpered in pain, loosening his grip. This allowed Vlad to twist Urkoth's arm. Vlad took the sword, although when he did, it stopped glowing. Vlad spun around to free himself from Urkoth's grip and then using the momentum, he swung the sword and chopped off Urkoth's head. The head rolled to the ground, and the rotten body fell too. Vlad dropped the sword and picked up his pistol, readying himself to continue the fight.
Finally, the Piglins had almost been defeated. The troops at the hill had survived, and they were working to pin down the Piglins so they couldn't concentrate their full forces to breaking the line. Out of the once might Piglin army, only a small fraction remained, but much to the Terrestrial's despair, the battle was far from over…
The Terrestrials, with horror, saw as another Piglin force of several thousand coming towards them. Dunnach, who was mounting a Piglin beast, a hoglin, narrowed his eyes as he saw the fraction of his army that remained, surrounded by the heathens. "Looks like I have to do it all myself," Dunnach growled fiercely. "Burn the heathens!" Dunnach shouted bloodthirstily as he pointed his sword forwards.
The new Piglin army ferociously charged against the Terrestrials' lines, and now it was the Terrestrials' turn to fight in two fronts, but fortunately, it was all part of the plan…
Knowing that it would be impossible to defeat the new army on their own, as their heavy weapons are almost all entirely lost, and it will only be a matter of time for their lines to be overrun, Hex took out a flare gun from his back and shot it towards the heavens. A few kilometres away, a group of troopers on speeders saw the flare gun, and now it was their turn to shoot the flare for the next group to see. This chain went on until the flare was now visible from the base.
"Come on, that's the signal, go, go, go!" Coltin, who had been anxiously waiting for this moment, shouted to the pilots, who immediately stood up and ran towards the strikecraft. Time was of the essence, in just a few minutes, the strikecraft were up and running once again, heading towards the battlefield.
Moving at full speed, the strikecraft reached the battlefield in less than 3 minutes and slowing down, the descended upon the Piglins. The strikecraft unleashed their bombs and projectiles upon the Xenos, which were utterly annihilated by the airstrike. The Terrestrials cheered as the strikecraft wiped the Piglins out.
From another hill, Dunnach watched as the strikecraft rained hell upon his troops. "There they are…" Dunnach said with slight amusement. "The tales of old tell us that the sky people used something as metal dragons that came from the sky to destroy our troops… That's what we destroyed last night, and I was wondering when they were going to appear…" Dunnach snorted and he snapped his fingers. "Kill them," As Dunnach uttered those words, a group of Piglins stood to his side, and their ordinarily dead eyes began to glow. They extended their hands to their side, and a ball of light formed in front of them. They shot a beam from each side that united in each respective orb, which caused a more mighty beam to shoot from it. This was the spell they had used last time.
The beam cut through the strikecraft, and in just a few seconds, out of 21 strikecraft, half of them had been shot down. Following their instructions, the strikecraft retreated. It would be better for the strikecraft to serve a purpose in the last defence of the base, rather than to die in a hopeless battle…
The tanks that remained open fire on the hill, killing the Piglins that had destroyed their strikecraft. Still, the damage was done, thankfully they had almost destroyed the Piglin army at this point, as Urkoth's army was now gone and the new army had been vaporized, but…
"Just as planned…" Dunnach laughed as from behind him, the real Piglin army hiding by a nearby forest stepped out. "Those were just expendables to lure out the iron dragons, now, it's time to burn!"
The Piglin army, along with Dunnach charged toward the remains of the Terrestrial troops. The Terrestrials mounted a desperate defence around the hill, as they readied for the last stand…
Zavis previous shoulder injury had started to take a toll on him. Zavis fell to the ground and kneeled, grabbing on to his shoulder. Zavis looked up and saw a Piglin running toward him, he tried to reach for his gun, but before that happened, the Piglin was shot down. Zavis then felt a hand on his back, and he looked to his side to see Eleini next to him. Another Piglin charged toward them, but Eleini quickly reacted and shot it several times on the chest.
Natlee meanwhile was holding her position against the Piglins, desperately shooting them. A Piglin swung its axe against her, but she ducked and then kicked the Piglin, forcing it back and then she rose up and opened fire. Another Piglin snuck up behind her, but she caught the Piglin's arm mid-air and then she shot the Piglin with her blaster. Natlee then turned around and raised her blaster, only for it to be chopped off in half by a Piglin, who then swung its axe at her neck, but she stepped back. When she did, she lost her balance and fell to the ground, the Piglin raised its axe to hit her, but it was shot in the head. Natlee looked back and saw Ahlex with his rifle up. Ahlex walked toward her and signalled her with his head to stand up. Natlee quickly did, and she took out her pistol.
Ahlex and Natlee then noticed Eleini, who was desperately trying to hold back the Piglins on her own while also holding on to Zavis. Without hesitation, they both ran toward them and opened fire on the Piglins encircling their two friends. Eleini was surprised when she saw her two friends rush to her sides and gunned down the Xenos.
Much to their horror then though, a massive Piglin, three times the size of a normal one was walking through the field. They saw as the Piglin smashed a poor soldier with both of its hands, completely crushing it. The Piglin slowly turned its head and stared at them. The Piglin then began to walk toward them, with every step it gave the ground shook. Ahlex and Natlee raised their blasters and began to shoot the Piglin Giant, but the bolts didn't seem to be able to penetrate its skin. As the Piglin came closer, they grew more desperate as Natlee and Ahlex hopelessly shot while Eleini did her best to aid Zavis. To their surprise, though, the Piglin was brought down by a single well-placed shot threw the eye. They turned around and saw Vlad with his pistol raised. Vlad then walked to the front of them and began to shoot at the Piglin, signalling with his hands for Eleini to take Zavis back. Eleini understood and did as ordered, while Vlad, Ahlex and Natlee covered their retreat.
The energy balls rained down once again, but the remaining tanks managed to get a view from where they were being shot down, so they fired back. Still, the line had almost been broken on the other side, as only a few troopers remained. The soldiers did their best to hold them back, but it was only a matter of time.
"We are being overrun!" One of the soldiers said wobbly.
As he said that, Hex descended from the sky with his jetpack. Hex grabbed a machine gun on the ground and held it with one arm while he raised his other arm to use his wrist blasters and opened fire. Hex mauled through the Piglins lines, as he began to push them back. Hex dodged the projectiles shot at him and returned fire quickly. A Piglin managed to sneak up on him, but he avoided the attack and then unleashed so many bolts on the Piglin's chest that it exploded. As the machine gun heated up and started to run out of ammunition, Hex placed a grenade that stuck to the machine gun and threw it to a group of Piglins. The machine gun exploded, and the Piglins with it. Hex then had to duck under another sword, and he then rose up and punched the Piglin on the face with his metal hand and using his whole body to maximize the impact, causing the Piglin's skull to crack open. The Piglin then fell to the ground, and Hex unleashed several bolts on it.
Dunnach saw Hex from a distance, and his anger rose as he saw Hex kill so many of his men with such ease. Dunnach raised his sword and ran towards Hex, kicking his men away from his path whenever they got in between. Hex noticed Dunnach running towards him while swinging his sword around and killing several troopers as he passed, and he began to shoot at him. Dunnach deflected the blast with his psionic sword. As Dunnach got closer, Hex used his jetpack to fly back and at the same time used his flamethrower to set more distance. Hex took out two grenades and threw them at Dunnach, who avoided both explosions and jumped back. Dunnach extended his hand, and a black fireball formed on it, which he then threw at Hex. Hex dodged several of the fireballs as he flew around while shooting back at Dunnach. Dunnach then stopped throwing fireballs and extended his hand toward Hex. Hex suddenly stopped moving, and he was pinned in mid-air. Dunnach moved his hand down, and Hex was thrown to the ground.
Dunnach then began to run towards Hex. Hex managed to stand up, and using his wrist shields, he blocked all of Dunnach's attacks. Hex then ducked under one of Dunnach's attacks, and he shot him on the leg. Dunnach didn't even flinch, and he kicked Hex in the head with his leg. Hex was thrown back a few metres as the punch was strong enough to shatter part of his helmet, which the nanites then began to repair. Hex stood up quickly and only marginally managed to avoid a psionic projectile, but it still pierced him through his right hand, which was the metal one. Dunnach then threw a psionic energy ball at him, which Hex managed to dodge, but the shockwave still sent him back.
Hex quickly recomposed himself, and he shot toward Dunnach. Dunnach ran toward Hex, but Hex hit off Dunnach's sword, but this didn't deter the bloodlord from charging toward the gene warrior. Hex only shot a few more times, before his wrist blasters ran out of ammo. Hex then raised his arms to take guard, and Dunnach jumped toward Hex and threw a punch at him. Hex met Dunnach's punch with his own, but he used his metal hand. When their fists collided, Dunnach's hand cracked as several of his rotten bones broke. Dunnach let out a small grunt of pain. Hex then activated the plasma blade of his arm and got ready to chop Dunnach up. Dunnach, sensing danger, formed a psionic orb in his hand, which he threw at Hex point-blank. The explosion even sent Dunnach back, but he saw Hex still charging toward him as the smoke settled. A significant part of Hex's frontal armour had been exploded off, but it was beginning to regenerate thanks to the nanites. Still, he had noticeable burns all over his chest, but Hex pressed on. Dunnach threw a punch at Hex while screaming out of anger. Hex ducked under it and then rose up, pushing his plasma blade threw Dunnach's jaw, which then stuck out, threw his mouth. Hex removed the edge from Dunnach, and he then punched him on the face with full force, causing part of Dunnach's skull to crack. Before Dunnach fell to the ground, Hex grabbed Dunnach by the shoulders, brought him down, kneeling him on the abdomen, which caused a crunch to be heard and causing Dunnach to vomit a black liquid. Hex then grabbed Dunnach by the head and brought him down, kneeing him on the head as hard as possible, which caused Dunnach's head to explode when it hit Hex's knee. The body fell back, and now Dunnach could embrace the darkness, forever.
Hex looked down at the body and scoffed. "This was for all those troopers you killed," Hex then waited for his armour to finish regenerating, and flew away.
Even though the bloodlord was dead, the Piglin army continued to fight. The Terrestrials were barely managing to hold on, it would only be a matter of time. As the situation grew more hopeless by the second, something happened. At a distance, something shuns, and it only grew shinier. The sound of thousands of horses engulfed the area. The Piglins all stopped their attack and turned around to see knights, covered in shiny armour, and carrying the banner of the golden double-headed lion charging against them. The knight stormed the Piglins, cutting them down with their own shining swords. The Terrestrials watched in awe as this seemingly warriors from heaven descended with fury upon their enemies. The Terrestrials joined the battle too, shooting down the confused Piglins, and through their combined efforts, the Piglins were finally, utterly, annihilated.
The battlefield lay quiet, for it was now a graveyard of the unburied. Their corpses lay among the buttercups and forget-me-nots. The sun still shone, and the wind still blew, but somewhere, in a distant world, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, waited in vain. These men that were once boys who played in the yard with sticks and laughed at each other's silly tales were now meat for the birds. Their eyes were as immobile as their limbs. Their souls had long departed to the celestial planes to walk with their ancestors.
There was a deep silence, as both groups now walked around, eyeing each other, but not uttering a single sound. The air became brittle, so much that it could snap. Everyone held on to their weapons tightly. In this situation, it would be odd to not have anxiety, as both groups are currently facing against the unknown. Hex stepped to the front, his guard remained raised, just in case. Then, mounted on a horse, with shiny armour and an equally shiny sword, a knight stepped to the front. They looked at each other while remaining still. Everyone looked at them, ready for whatever happened. In the face of this standstill, who will make the first move?