Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Charge

After the skirmish, the convoy bypassed the wreckage of the two Chimera troop carriers at the forefront and resumed its advance toward “Dinaenly.” Yet, the identities of those aboard had quietly transformed. The students, who had never seen battle before, had been forged into true warriors through the death of their classmates. Fueled by the fury of the fallen, they were ready to unleash righteous wrath upon those who desecrated the Emperor, bringing down the Emperor’s fury upon their enemies.

Following the ambush, the original five thousand strong had been reduced by two hundred seventy-three. A heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung over the convoy; grief for the fallen comrades and burning anger toward the heretics consumed their hearts.

After a journey of moderate length, the convoy finally arrived at the planetary defense force’s frontline base on Dinaenly. Though called a frontline base, it was little more than a defensive line composed of several crude trenches and dilapidated buildings.

“Colonel Budek, reinforcements have arrived. We were ambushed en route and suffered two hundred seventy-three casualties,” reported the planetary defense officer leading the child soldiers in support, saluting Colonel Budek who commanded the frontline on Dinaenly.

“Understood. Have them prepare. We will launch our assault on the heretics’ position in ten minutes,” Budek said, surveying the half-grown youths disembarking from various vehicles.

“Yes, sir,” the officer replied before moving to coordinate the child soldiers.

Budek observed the children who had survived the ambush. Though some still bore the traces of lingering fear, there was another, more unsettling aura about them—a fierce anger, perhaps even a thirst for vengeance. Budek had seen this once before in a planetary defense battalion that had desperately held Dinaenly. That battalion had been nearly wiped out, with only a dozen or so soldiers stubbornly defending their position against the heretics’ relentless assault. The death of comrades before their eyes and the impending fall of their city had ignited a fierce rage within them. Their resistance was so tenacious that it took the heretics five hours to finally overrun the position.

Budek cast a long, penetrating glance at the children before turning away to head toward the command post nestled within the trenches to prepare the attack plan.

He gazed up at the pitch-black sky. The assault would not begin until nightfall. Budek hoped that the darkness of Planet Bartko II’s night would grant them the advantage needed for a smoother offensive.

“It’s time,” he said, checking his pocket watch and addressing his adjutant.

The adjutant nodded and immediately relayed the order to the officers via radio.

With the command given, flares soared from the planetary defense lines, illuminating the dark sky. At the blast of a whistle, seven Chimeras and over four thousand child soldiers surged forward as the first wave, charging into the city’s interior where the heretics were entrenched.

The seven Chimeras and the child soldiers served as a diversion, drawing the enemy’s fire to create an opening for the regular planetary defense troops to launch a surprise attack from the rear.

“Rat-a-tat-tat...” The heretics’ saw rifles barked from their positions, each bullet felling a charging soldier. The soldiers’ bulletproof armor was no match for the saw rifles’ fire.

Yet the bullets could not pierce the Chimeras. The seven armored vehicles thundered toward the heretic lines, their turrets precisely targeting enemy firing points crackling with flame.

Despite the bullets flying past and the sight of comrades dropping around them, the soldiers felt no fear. Their eyes locked on the heretic stronghold ahead, grasping their automatic rifles tightly as they ran. They would storm the traitors’ lines and fire deadly shots into them.

The Chimeras and soldiers drew closer, the armored vehicles entering the heretic lines first, unleashing a storm of firepower that ripped through the enemy trenches.

Following the Chimeras’ lead, the soldiers charged in, immediately opening fire on the heretics being slaughtered by the armored vehicles. The sound of automatic gunfire echoed relentlessly through the trenches, mingling with the anguished screams of the dying.

“Bang!”

An explosion rocked the battlefield as one of the planetary defense Chimeras was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade and erupted in a fiery blast. Shrapnel scattered across the trenches, striking several soldiers and heretics alike; some unlucky souls were killed instantly.

In response, the soldiers quickly identified the source of the heavy fire and launched a furious counterattack. The heretic wielding the rocket launcher was soon riddled with bullets, his body turned into a shattered hive of wounds.

Within the trench, a soldier and a heretic locked eyes, automatic rifles aimed at each other. They pulled their triggers nearly simultaneously.

But both guns suddenly went silent. The heretic’s weapon jammed from poor maintenance; the soldier’s rifle was empty.

They stared at one another, then swiftly hurled their rifles at each other. The guns collided midair with a sharp clang.

The soldier was faster to draw his close-combat weapon—a standard-issue planetary defense military knife. Shouting a fierce battle cry, he charged at the heretic who was now hastily trying to draw an axe from his belt.

The heretic, growing more desperate, tugged frantically at his belt but the axe would not emerge easily. As the soldier closed in, the heretic finally yanked the axe free—but the belt snapped in the process.

His trousers immediately slipped down to his ankles, exposing his furry legs to the open air. The soldier’s charge faltered for a split second at the absurd sight.

Seizing the moment of hesitation, the heretic roared, “Blood sacrifice to the Blood God! Skull offered to the Skull Throne!” and lunged forward with his axe raised.

But he had forgotten his pants were caught on his ankles.

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