Chapter 7 Part 1 of 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 7: Vehpolis

Edmond was secured into his command chair, seer screens showed the outside as if they weren’t in the dead center of the ship.

He felt the thrum of the jet engines decrease as the fleet slowed down, closing in on Vehpolis.

The city had started on one side of the mountain, progressively turning the mountain into the city and the surrounding valley and dungeons below. Remote and quiet compared to the massive tiered mega-cities of the seventh realm, the idyllic city had turned into a nightmare.

“Local information has tears in every direction some Twenty Devourers estimated, Ravagers in the hundreds of thousands.” The Intelligence officer reported from her chair.

“Ground and air forces at Kircross report ready,” Esther said, at Emond’s side.

“Okay, time to target,” Edmond asked.

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Get the aerial wings out, and teleport up their replacements from Kircross. Just as we planned.”

The fleet had broken into three main units, named Main, Attack and Support.

Edmond commanded the Main Fleet directly, six corvettes, four frigates, two destroyers and two Cruisers. Back left of the leading Attack fleet, with Ten Corvettes and supporting Sparrow wings lining up off of them as they launched from the Destroyers and Cruisers.

The Support fleet hung out to the rear right, in-line with the Main Fleet. With Four corvettes, five frigates one Destroyer and one Cruiser.

“Attack fleet is moving to position,” Esther said.

The ships, sparrows and Kestrels accelerated as the Support and Main Fleet banked away from one another.

“Map updating!”

Edmond grimaced as buildings disppaeared, showing rubble and tears inside the city, a section of the mountain had collapsed, revealing the hollowed out interior, the city guards were doing their best to hold back the tide but they weren’t ready to deal with a force like this.

The Attacking fleet spread out and leveled off, passing over the city and heading to the north where the enemy was thickest. A sheet of bombs fell from their storage devices tumbling below.

The Support fleet came to a hove back from the fighting in the West. The Main fleet plowed forward, dumping bombs over the attackers below as they banked above Vehpolis, coming into a hover over the top of the city’s mountain.

Bombs detonated, wiping out tears and any Shattered or structures in their blast radius, craters were all that remained.

Kestrels dropped from the Main fleet as the Attacking fleet banked in a wide circle around the city, raining destruction down on the tears and shattered below, breaking their lines

“Do the support fleet have their targets?”

“I… yes they do sir.”

The support fleet had fanned out, Frigates missile doors opened, targeting grouped tears as rail cannons took on standalones.

The Main Fleet added their attacks into the mix.

“Devourer Seven o’clock.” The Flagship Resolute shifted, in the center of the main fleet’s formation it descended, accelerators charging.

The ship jolted as the first accelerator fired, the slug tore through the devourer, the detonation evaporating what little was left.

“Teleportation pads are down, Ground forces are advancing, Attack Fleet has split and they’re dropping their people,” Esther said.

The corvettes of the Attack fleet hovered above the city, opening their armored shutters as Alvan CPD units entered the city.

Sparrows and Kestrels gave over head cover as the Personal Defensive Weapons, PDC’s lit up the sky with heavy automatic flak rounds, cutting down Aerial Ravagers.

Every gun and missile port was ablaze, raining down hell upon the Shattered below.

***

Erik ran for the teleport pad, passing through and entering Vehpolis.

He and the four Special teams with him moved through the teleportation point.

The city had been torn up, tears inside the city walls and mountain.

Erik checked his map and bearings.

“Lets go!”

They left the defenses around the teleportation point, spreading out as they crossed through the city.

Ravagers appeared randomly, the Special teams barely paused, cutting down the creatures and moving on.

They were passing through a warehouse district, Erik ran up between buildings as elemental attacks filled the air between him and the group ahead.

Erik accelerated and fired in the direction of the attacks, he slammed through the wall the group were using for cover.

“Team six, team four, keep their asses pinned down, Team eight, go back and loop around around the left flank.”

Erik moved to a window, firing at the Ravagers that rushed towards the fighting, he opened fire, the Ravagers dropped by the dozen, more rushing up, pushing the advance before team Eight opened up with spell scrolls.

The wave of destruction rolled down the street.

“Calling in fire support, tear!” Yao Meng yelled.

“Hold firm, Team Two get over here, I want you along our right flank.” Erik ordered, he rolled to the side of the window and checked his map.

The rail cannon rounds cause the earth to jump and shift the rubble piles to shift.

Erik saw their next target updating in real-time as Glosil coordinate their advance to link up with the Vehpolis forces.

“Roska, your team has point, get us to objective Charlie!”

Erik stuffed his map away.

“Got it, moving!”

The teams shifted through the destruction, hearing the distant air support raining down, spells and rifles cracking off in the distance.

They passed through previous tear locations, picking up the pace where they could.

The sounds of furious spell casting came from the other side of what had been a manor. Erik pushed up with Tully, team Six’s leader using a short wall for cover, he glanced over the stone, Vehpolis guards were engaged in a wild melee with Shattered in the street.

Ravagers crashed through walls and jumped between buildings to reach their targets.

“Barriers up, advance down the street, get to that carriage, set up a base of fire there.” Erik said.

“Got it.”

“Roska you’re next, then Storbon, then Yao Meng.”

Erik checked his machine gun

==========

The MG4311

==========

Damage:

Unknown

Weight:

4.45 kg

Charge:

10,000/10,000

Durability:

135/135

Innate Effect:

Decreased thermal gain by 27%

Socket One:

Ammunition storage

Socket Two:

Empty

Integrated Enchantment

Heat Exchange - Remove heat from area

Dissipate - Expel Fire element

Range: Long range

Requires: 7.62 round

Requirements:

Agility 75

Strength 45

==========

“Ready,” Tully said.

“Lets go!”

Tully and her team jumped over the short wall and started running.

“Go!” Erik waved Roska’s team forward and jumped in behind the last man, Storbon and his team moved up next.

Tully and her people reached an overturned cart, thebeasts half-eaten and opened fire, cutting through Ravagers

Roska’s team moved to their left flank against a building and watching another street, using spells to create trenches.

The Ravagers turned towards the death, dying in the tens, the Vehpolis guards found new strength and pushed them back from the barricades as what looked like a crab with a blood covered maw crashed through a two story building.

Twin manipulators on either side of the mouth released a jet of water that tore through the cart and sent it flying backwards, downing two of Tully’s people, Storbon’s punched the cart with a spell, shattering it before it hit his people.

“Devourer!” Erik fired on the beast’s armored legs it whistle-chirped as its leg collapsed.

Team members armed with anti-material rifles based off of Rugrat’s beast fired. The rounds stumbled the beast and sparked off its carapiece.

“Need support, dealing with a devourer!” Erik contacted higher while he fired.

Ravagers were gathering as the weight of fire slackened on them.

“Focus on the mouth!”

The beast lashed out, cutting through the street and hitting a team member, Erik hit them with triage spells to stop the bleeding the beast lost its manipulators, rearing up.

The Ravagers turned from their attacks and charged the special team.

“Coming in low,” A voice said in Erik’s ear, he felt the rush of wind as the street filled with cannon fire as a sparrow wing flying in a line just above the houses.

Stree, Ravager and Devourer were torn apart in the fire.

“Cover me!” Storbon yelled, already running. He sprinted in the wake of their destruction the Devourer looked dazed but was getting back to its feet.

Storbon pulled a spear from the ground and jumped, shoving it in the beast’s mouth, he hung from it, opening it wide enough to toss the grenade in his hand in.

He dropped back down, the Devourer, stumbling backwards as Storbon kicked off the ground, diving into a nearby shell of a house.

The Devourer popped every joint and opening in its carapaiece expelling what was attached and the main shell dropping to the ground with a hollow thud.

“Maintain fire on the Ravagers!” Erik yelled.

“Friendlies moving up from the rear!” A unit of riflemen pushed up from where the Special teams had advanced, following the trail they’d broken.

“Yao Meng, link up with the Vehpolis people,” Roska, you take point, Tully support here, clear the four surrounding blocks and get us security.” Erik looked at the new arriving unit, one of them dropping down next to him.

“Who’s your officer?”

“Raddich, over there,” He pointed down the line to a woman.

Raddich? Erik moved over to the woman.

“Tully, Roska, the rifle unit will be your reserve, use them to plug gaps.”

“Hey, Raddich?” Erik patted the woman on the shoulder and crouched down next to her.

“Yes sir.”

“Get your people stuck in, you’ll be supporting the teams when they need you.”

“Yes sir.”