The Huntsman of Red V2

Chapter 74 War: 1

The sound of rebellion echoed through the air; a solemn cry of defiance that rallied together the remnants of civilization against inevitable extinction.

The atmosphere grew charged as heavy infantry trudged through the ground under the cover fire of overhead vehicles. The thrum of engines and the scent of fuel served as the backdrop to the advance of an entire brigade of armoured men and women. Their numbers, five-thousand strong, caused the reverberation of their steps to sound like the movement of a giant.

Each were heavily armed and emblazoned with an emblem of a regal snow flake.

Dirt crunching over their heels, the man at the center of the brigade issued orders from atop a tightly guarded platform that overlooked the area ahead.

Vale.

The outer walls of the former Kingdom were crowded densely with Grimm just as the reports had said.

A laugh escaped the man's lips, one that could neither be described as delighted or amused, rather, it was self-suffocating more than anything else- as if strangled for breath out of sheer of grief and fury.

"Form a line! Form a line!"The man yelled, issuing order while throwing out lien to those gathered around him. "You're not trained soldiers, just hired hands. But even hired hands have merit with enough coin and specialized weapons!"

No one answered as a steady wind began to blow. It mattered little.

Dignity and money were outside the consideration.

Instead, actions spoke louder than words.

"Schnee Dust Brigade, load incendiary rounds!"

From a company that manufactured and produced refined Dust at a world-wide scale, to a private army and brigade specialized in auxiliary and munitions handling, the Schnee had no choice but to open their coffers in the face of extinction to hire private soldiers. Most were untrained and hired only after proving the ability to aim and pull a trigger. The cost of veterans was too much anyway.

Cost.

Cost.

And more costs.

Was it karma? Truly this felt worse than suffering a stab wound.

Beyond the brigade, the Grimm had long since taken notice as the army approached the periphery of Vale.

Nevermores took flight, as packs of Beowulf howled and began to charge. At their backs, the lumbering form of Goliaths could be seen as the ground began to shake in their wake.

...And these Grimm were just those in the perimeter of Vale; the first line that needed to fall in order to reach the inner sanctum of the city.

"FIRE and ROTATE!"

The front of the Brigade fired their opening salvos, pelting the incoming horde of Grimm with a wave of artillery that depressed the ground, ignited the fire dust and created walls of flame. The heat and pressure created a plume cloud that obscured the vision of the Nevermore, but more importantly, the shockwave and wind destabilized their flight. In droves, the Nevermore began to plummet from above.

"Fire at will!"

Every shot, every advance bled money. And perhaps that was why the man issuing orders with blood shot eyes and hunched shoulders appeared particularly unhinged and vengeful at the fair skin and elderly appearance, ordinarily on point and without blemish was marred with stress lines. The grey suit he wore was covered in dirt and grime as the collapse of the other kingdoms threw apart logistic connections he'd worked years to build.