The commander found himself thrown to the ground, the breath knocked from his lungs. As he struggled to rise, he looked up—and froze. The Cerus towered above him, its fangs bared, its claws gouging the earth. Steam hissed from its maw, the stench of death thick in the air. Its glowing eyes bore into him, radiating a malice so profound it rendered him speechless.
To make matters worse, goblin and orcs already encircling them.
He knew it was over. His mind screamed for him to retreat, to call for reinforcements, but his body refused to obey. The Cerus leaned closer, its hot, fetid breath washing over him. His vision blurred, his world narrowing to the monster before him. "Have I already fulfilled my duty? Commander Tiger?" he asked himself.
The commander's lips trembled, but no words came. Only silence remained as the Cerus prepared to strike.
Inside the steel confines of the tank, Ivan's voice cut through the tension like a whip. "Jusis! Do you have visual on it?"
Ivan's heart pounded as he scanned the feed from the tank's external cameras, the Cerus now filling the center screen. Even through the grainy night vision, the creature looked colossal, grotesque, and impossibly alien. Its shimmering aura made the surrounding goblins seem insignificant.
Jusis stared through his scope, his blood running cold. The sight sent a primal chill to his core. His mouth went dry as he watched the Cerus exhale, its maw hissing with steam like a furnace of pure hatred. The air around it seemed to warp under its sheer presence. His mind screamed at him to flee, to abandon this mission and save himself. Yet his hands stayed on the controls, gripping them so tightly his knuckles whitened.
While his eyes on the sight, he gripped the gun control tightly, and reminded himself, "Just like earlier, just one pull and it'll be gone."
"I got it on my sight!" He replied to Ivan as the main gun crosshair lined up to the target. His eyes glued on the Cerus.
"Leo, check the gun if it's locked!" Hearing it, he instantly checks the gun breech and as Ivan instructed earlier, it's already locked and loaded. "Locked as it is, My lord." He replied.
Lastly, Ivan called for Leila. "Leila, observe the damage after we fire, check if its still alive." Compared earlier, the first time he saw such a hellish monster again, somehow, right now she is much more calm, probably because of the fact that this weapon, this monster she's in right now is capable of defeating such a powerful foe. A foe they ought to be invincible.
Leila only respond with a simple serious "Okay"
Scarface glanced at his screen again, they were a hundred meters away from Cerus. "Jusis, the gun?"
"It's still On the target"
"Everyone, stay out of the recoil area! Hold tight!" Ivan said
Leo, straightened up his body to make himself a little thinner so he could avoid the Ivan said 'recoil' Jusis finger is poised on the trigger and eyes on the target. Leila clutches her chest. And finally…
The most awaited order came from Ivan. "FIRE!" He orders.
Jusis gritted his teeth and just like what he did on the pistol, his finger pulled the trigger of the gun…
From the end of the breech, where the APFSDS round is inserted, a firing pin hits the primer of the round which ignites the propellant. The high chambered pressure build up and then, the projectile, sabot propelled through the smoothbore barrel. With a loud explosion, the Sabot streaks through the air in a velocity of 1740m/s or 5 times the speed of sound.
Then as it left the muzzle, the sabot petaled up and spread, leaving the tungsten arrow on the target at the target at supersonic speed.
The Cerus was already ready to stomp the petrified commander but suddenly, The commander heard a 'thung!" a sharp sound passed by and the Lizard-like monster paused midair, suddenly he heard a loud bang followed it.
Inside the tank, the crew felt the beastly power of their weapon. The 70-ton metal giant rocked violently with the force of the shot, its suspension groaning as if it, too, were alive and caught in the chaos. The sheer power of the gun's recoil reverberated through the hull, shaking the crew like leaves in a storm. Inside, the deafening BOOM of the shot erupted, momentarily muting all sound and leaving their ears ringing with a high-pitched whine that seemed to crawl into their skulls.
"Arrgh! What the hell just happened?!" Jusis shouted, his voice strained as he clutched at his seat for stability. His chest heaved, his pulse hammering in his throat. All he remembered was pulling the trigger, and then the gun recoiled with the force of a lightning strike. The air inside the cabin turned thick with the smell of burnt metal and propellant, a suffocating reminder of the weapon's raw might.
Leonard sat frozen, his face pale. "That...that's beyond powerful…" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. His words were laced with awe and fear, his trembling hands gripping his seat as if it was the only anchor in a storm.
Leila, meanwhile, blinked through the ringing in her ears. Despite the chaos, her mind fixated on one thought: amazement. "It doesn't use mana at all…" she murmured in disbelief, her fingers trembling as she brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.
Ivan remained steady, his stoic demeanor unshaken. His eyes were locked onto the monitor, watching as the round streaked toward its mark. A flicker of satisfaction crossed his face as he saw the Cerus stagger, its enormous frame collapsing to the ground in a plume of dirt and debris. But even as relief threatened to creep in, his instincts screamed otherwise. "Leila!" he barked, his voice sharp. "Check the damage!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Leila quickly cast a short-range mana detection spell. Her hands glowed faintly, her focus absolute. Then, with a gasp, she declared, "I don't detect any life essence!" Her voice was filled with an almost childlike glee as the impossible turned possible before her eyes.
Jusis immediately leaned back into his scope, his heartbeat pounding like a war drum. His breath hitched as he confirmed what she said—the Cerus lay still, its massive, monstrous form lifeless on the ground. A cold shiver ran down his spine. "With just a single pull…" he muttered, his eyes fixed on the fallen beast. His gaze drifted to his trembling index finger, the very one that had unleashed this unearthly power. "I wielded something no human should. Did I really… kill that thing?"
Leonard, seated to his side, glanced at his sister for reassurance. If not for Leila's unwavering confirmation, he might not have believed it himself. Yet, despite his awe, an overwhelming wave of relief washed over him. For the second time, the metal monster they operated had proven itself capable of slaying horrors that once seemed invincible.
The platoon leader, still slumped on the blood-soaked dirt, stared in frozen disbelief as the Cerus collapsed with a thunderous crash. His body refused to move, paralyzed by exhaustion and fear. His wide eyes slowly shifted to the new, unknown monster looming under the moonlight. Its metallic hull gleamed like silver armor, and its two bright white lamps pierced through the darkness like unblinking eyes. Trails of white smoke coiled from its barrel, as if exhaling the ghost of the shot it had just fired.
It was exactly as Commander Macthur described—a weapon of unimaginable power, a creation from another world, capable of killing the invincible. A weak smile broke across the leader's cracked lips.
Though his legs trembled and his strength seemed gone, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his bloodied sword. His knees wobbled, but he stood tall and proud. Turning toward the tank, he raised his sword in salute, its blade catching the moonlight. "There's hope for us now," he whispered.
He summoned what little mana remained in him, channeling it into the blade. A beacon of blue and white light burst forth from the sword, arcing into the night sky like a flare. It was the signal for all forces to see: The Cerus has fallen.
But the battle was far from over. From the shadows behind him, a creeping goblin lunged, its jagged blade aimed for the platoon leader's exposed back. His battle-honed instincts roared to life. He spun on his heel, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The blade hummed as it cleaved through the air, slashing through the group of goblins with a burst of mana-infused energy. The goblins crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Adrenaline surged through him, his morale reignited. He turned back toward the battlefield, his eyes narrowing as more malevolent crimson orbs lit up in the dark—a new wave of demons advancing. Then, to the southwest, another sinister azure light pierced the heavens. His heart sank. Another Cerus had appeared.