Chapter 45: Siege (5)

But this was only the beginning.

As Eisenburg’s first wave of firepower was forced to target the refugees, the Purification Church, now within optimal range, unleashed a full-scale assault—

Instantly, dozens of rockets streaked toward the city walls, trailing long fiery tails.

“Damn it!” an old soldier behind the wall’s edge shouted, eyes wide.

Debris and rebar scattered like petals, soldiers torn apart in the blasts, blood staining the ruins in a gruesome display…

The shockwave rattled the entire wall, knocking many defenders unconscious.

“Turret Four is gone! No signal!”

“Turrets Seven and Eleven heavily damaged! Rotors jammed!!”

“Casualties being tallied!”

“Medics… medics—!!!!”

In the darkness, Eisenburg’s lighting systems began to fail.

Spotlights were wrecked, cables severed, leaving vast blind spots outside the walls…

The radar operator stared at the flickering screen, drenched in sweat—enemy jammers worked overtime…

“General! We’re under heavy electromagnetic interference! Targeting’s near impossible!”

“Night vision and thermal imaging are all disrupted!”

“Visibility’s terrible! Strike precision and coverage are failing!”

“We need to find their jamming vehicles!”

More missiles followed, raining from all directions…

The main comms channel, barely holding against interference, was drowned in static and screams, unintelligible…

Boom!

Boom—! Boom—!

The walls trembled under the onslaught, cracks spiderwebbing across the fortifications.

A gunner was flung by a blast’s shockwave, slamming into a wall, spitting blood, trembling fingers gasping for breath, yet crawling back to his post…

“Assault team, flank with me!”

“Mobilize reserves! Tanks to the south wall! Crush those bastards!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Counterattack! Counterattack!!” The old general roared in the command room, tears blurring his vision:

“Lock onto their missile vehicles!”

“Find their jamming source!!”

“Broadcast all coordinates! Blast their rear to hell!!!”

Rotor blades thrummed overhead.

Two attack helicopters rose from the city, their flare launchers illuminating the southern battlefield.

“Air support on scene!” a pilot’s voice crackled through.

“Searching for enemy targets!”

“Thank God! The big birds are here!”

“Thanks, brothers…”

The helicopters’ thermal imaging locked onto key targets—missile launchers hidden behind the refugee tide.

Onboard Vulcan cannons spun up, orange tracer lines raining down.

Da-da-da-da-da—

Bullets fell like a storm, shredding several Church armored vehicles into sieves, screams echoing…

But the Church’s anti-air wasn’t just for show.

—Several laser-guided missiles streaked skyward, trailing white smoke.

“Missiles incoming!”

“Evade! Evade!”

“Flares deployed! Adjusting course!”

The helicopters jinked, releasing chaff, but one took a hit to its tail rotor.

The pilot wrestled the stick, black smoke billowing.

“Pull up! Pull up!” the co-pilot shouted.

“Chopper Two’s hit! Emergency landing!” the pilot’s voice shook. “My damn bird…!”

“Quit whining!” Chopper One’s pilot roared over the channel:

“Your junker can still fly! Patch it and keep going!”

“Screw you! I’m heartbroken!”

Eisenburg’s artillery roared back fiercer, shells blooming like fiery flowers in the enemy’s rear.

Under cover fire, main battle tanks rolled out from side gates, turrets aimed at the Church’s supply lines.

Boom—Boom—Boom—!

The south gate became a true hellscape.

Shells crisscrossed the night sky, explosions lighting it like day…

Church zealots and innocent civilians alike were reduced to charred remains in the bloodbath…

Yet the barrage didn’t halt the Church’s advance—it fueled their fanatical resolve…

Brandishing holy emblems and guns, they marched over comrades’ limbs, chanting purification hymns.

“For the Great Purification!”

“Cleanse all filth!”

“The Lord’s glory is eternal!”

The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming, and…

—They cared nothing for losses.

Nothing…

A squad wiped out was instantly replaced by another…

A Church armored transport was hit dead-center, exploding into fragments, its occupants consumed by flames…

But two more vehicles immediately filled the gap…

They’d trained their soldiers into true fanatics…

Death wasn’t an end…

It was their path to paradise.

“Sir! West wall under attack!”

“North gate reports enemy infiltration! Thermal detects exoskeleton infantry!”

“—North gate infiltration!!!”

“Is it… [Valkyrie]?!”

“General! East district civilians haven’t fully evacuated!”

Bad news piled up, the general’s forehead veins throbbing.

“Mobilize all reserves!” he ordered. “They must not breach the line!”

“Sir…”

“Reserves were already deployed to the south wall…”

“Then pull city patrols!”

“Outer south district’s hit by shelling, patrols are aiding rescue… no one to spare!”

“…” The general stared at his aide.

The battle was brutally intense.

Eisenburg’s firepower was formidable, each salvo claiming dozens of enemy lives.

But the Church’s manpower and gear seemed inexhaustible…

The bombardment showed no sign of slowing—only escalating…

Worse, their infantry was mixed with civilians.

Every shot from Eisenburg inevitably killed more innocents…

The crushing psychological toll made many defenders hesitate.

“Damn these bastards!! They’re fighting to the death!!”

“General! Ammo’s burning too fast!” the quartermaster reported urgently:

“At this rate, we’ve got two hours, tops!”

“Fire! Ammo’s only ammo when it’s shot! It’s scrap in storage!”

Moments later, he grasped the enemy’s true intent—

Throw bodies to deplete Eisenburg’s ammo, then launch a final assault when firepower waned…

Eisenburg’s defenses were ironclad, but this relentless human wave exposed its weakness: limited manpower replenishment.

Even conscripting civilians now…

Forget the city’s chaos.

—Eisenburg’s residents couldn’t handle this level of modern warfare…

Worse still, the Church knew Eisenburg’s defenses inside out…

Their strikes surgically avoided key facilities like the industrial zone and underground city, targeting heavily automated walls and supply points…

This precision tactic maximized defender casualties while preventing Eisenburg from considering mutual destruction…

They couldn’t risk 200,000 lives trading missiles with the Church’s stronghold…

“General!” a comms officer sobbed.

“Ammo depot three’s critical!”

“Depot four’s nearly dry!”

“Contact the underground armory!” he ordered.

“Get all stock up here…”

“General! The armory’s elevator is destroyed—manual transport only…”

“Then use hands!” the general bellowed:

“Bite the damn bullets up if you have to!”

Before his words settled, another officer burst in:

“General! South wall turret twelve is gone! All operators dead!”

“Machine gun post fifteen’s lost contact!”

Boom—!

Another rocket hit the wall.

This blast was stronger, collapsing a massive section…

Flames lit the night, thick smoke billowing.

“Southeast corner breached! Southeast corner breached!!! Enemy’s forcing through!”

“West gate’s got a gap!”

“These maniacs are in the city!”

“The [Church]’s inside!!!”