Army of the Damned

VOLUME 5 Chapter 1

"Base Station, Base Station to all Callsigns on this net! We are watching a massive NATO counterattack Northwest of the city! All available units are to-" hearing the sound of mangling metal crashing against the threads of a tank. Jackson forcibly opens his eyes to find himself inside the tight crewspace of the Black Eagle Main Battle Tank. Its 125mm smoothbore cannon pointing upwards as the camera in front of him showed them going through a pile up of cars.

"Multiple arrowheads of German Leopards, American Abrams and French Lerclercs are charging forward with Drone support! The Chinese and Indian Armies are already meeting them on the outskirts! Any other Coalition Force with spare units is to get to them immediately!" turning off the thermal of his commander camera. The skies are in complete redness as the air outside seemed to weigh a ton.

Soldiers in exoskeleton had to don their gas mask and biological warfare gear as their tank would climb up and down the piles of sedans, SUVs, and pick ups as the barrel of the tank lowers and enters the window of an abandoned bus. Its remaining windows shattering as the heavy armored vehicle pushes through it without care. "CONTACT! SECOND FLOOR WINDOW ON THE MUNICIPAL!" Even with his shaking fingers, his body automatically went to the Commander Independent Camera and swiveled it towards the flickers of light on the building.

"FIRE!" Blurting out the words without a second thought, the cannon breech charges backwards. Ejecting the spent casing as another round is loaded in from the bustle. "FIRE!" The building's second floor becomes a blaze as thuds from behind rocks his cupola. "Knight One! We're seeing more contacts on the street! We're turning to protect the flanks!" Main Battle Tanks tailing him rev their engines, the roar of the whirlwind came into a deafening sound as they covered the intersection.

Sounds of turbine engines filled the air as the tan and brown honeycomb camouflage tanks guarded the main road. "DRIVER! HALT!" Threads come to an instant stop as he looks down on the road in front of the municipal building. Covered with the corpses of friend and foe alike. "KNIGHT! WE NEED YOU HERE TO COVER US!" his controlled breath started to become chaotic. His fingers twitch as Coalition soldiers at the opposing buildings peek out to see the parked tank.

"KNIGHT! DO YOU COPY?!" Lifeless and unmoving, the mass grave in front of him made his eyes water as he closed it. "Driver. Forward and face the tank towards the building." he then gets jolted backwards as the turbine engine of the Russian made tank screams and its heavy threads begin crushing the mangled bodies of the dead men.

Soldiers around the tank didn't mind it. Their exoskeleton and face protectors were already covered in soot and ash as their combat boots sank into the marshy soil. Bones visibly and audibly cracking as the driving wheels of the war machine carelessly churned up the corpses. Bits and pieces of uniform stuck in the threads as limbs are further torn up.

Knight then began to open fire with its coaxial machine guns. Riddling the already half destroyed building with more bullet holes as its threads inversely moved off each other. Facing the front towards it.

Below the 60 ton beast. Blood and gore accumulated underneath it as Coalition soldiers dashed out of the windows and doors. Huddling up on top and behind the tank as a high ranking officer taps on his hatch. "Fire some more rounds into that shithole. We lost a hundred men on this street alone." Without hearing a reply, the cannon fires a round into the first floor window. Debris and furniture came flying out as dust filled the street.

Another one is then sent, and then another, and then another. "Good work Knight 1. We're storming it now." Hopping off the tank, the soldiers moved low and slow. Keeping to the destroyed cars as their legs sank into the marshy ground. The bits of pieces of asphalt kept them from going deeper as they reached the sidewalk and began throwing bundles of grenades and satchels of C4 into the windows.