First Light of a New Age

Chapter 15: Demonic Knight

Austronesian Empire, Majapahit, Lahad Datu, Isolated Military Base, Fifteen Kilometers in the Outskirts of Lahad Datu

2000, 1, 1st Week, January.

The dawn of the new millennium brought dark days for the people of the Austronesia Empire. On New Year's Day, a sudden surprise attack from mysterious creatures swept across the nation, striking every city without warning.

At a massive military base surrounded by grassfields several kilometers from the city Lahad Datu, numerous Air Defense Systems engaged in relentless combat against a swarm of winged creatures in the sky. Dozens upon dozens of bright streaks of light beautifully lit up the dark, stormy sky as they launched missiles to strike down any airborne threat.

With the base's abundant resources, running out of supply of anti-air missiles won't be a problem for now.

On the ground, hundreds of soldiers from the Liberation Army were actively engaged in fending off and shooting down the invading monsters.

"More hostiles are coming, 2 o' clock!" one soldier shouted, pointing towards a horde of monsters rapidly approaching from a distance.

A sudden commotion erupted as a humanoid monster with wings landed on top of an armored vehicle, startling the nearby soldiers.

"Enemy contact-!"

Before the soldier could finish, the winged creature hurled a basketball-sized fireball at him with bullet-like speed, sending him flying.

The soldier next to him fired at the monster, and while the bullets had effect, it's not enough. In a flash, the creature leaped at the second soldier and slashed him down with a swift strike, then turning to launch another fireball at a third unlucky soul with fast movement.

"Grenade!"

Preventing the monster from taking any more lives, another soldier swiftly tossed a grenade at the creature.

*Boom!*

A violent explosion erupted in the area where the creature was, killing it instantly.

"Captain Morgan, we've got more enemies appearing a hundred meters behind our lines!" a female soldier reported urgently to her superior.

"How many?" Captain Morgan demanded.

"At least a few dozen, sir. Most of them are usually these fireball shooting sons of bitches," she replied without hesitation.

"Call an escort from the rest of the scattered teams to help us push these bastards back!" the captain commanded it a tense voice.

The soldier immediately grabbed her radio to follow his orders.

"This is Sergeant Cassie Juliet from the 75th Infantry Regiment. We need backup immediately. Multiple hostile threats have appeared on the north side of Lahad Datu! Repeat, more hostiles on the north side of Lahad Datu!"

[Copy that, backup is on its way,] came the man's response over the radio.

After concluding the radio conversation, twenty troops moved swiftly toward the northern part of the city, joining forces with a contingent of thirty troops escorting a huge battle tank.

The tank, known as the PT-101M Pahlawan Mark V, was a cutting-edge main battle tank that formed the backbone of the Majahapit Liberation Army's armored corps. The tank began development in 1987, after years of development, it entered official service in 1994.

Unlike the previous generations, the Pahlawan Mark V's advanced armor was capable of withstanding even kilotons of TNT, while its exceptional firepower, five times that of a standard HEAT shell, allowed it to decimate multiple older tanks with a single shot.