Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 14: Case Yellow (Day 3 – Circle the Wagons)

"-repeat! We're under attack by Demonic force! Most of our vehicles were knocked out by enemy fliers and that bitch of a Zombie! We're holding them off using the town's walls but it's only a matter of time before those White Freaks break through! We have no way to counter that Lich and her flying minions! Jesus Christ that thing is fucking huge!" The broadcast puts a damper on Rosa's parade. Having pushed Army Group C and her Vichya Libre on a front-wide attack, Rosa is honestly troubled by the sudden onset of a Demonic horde that spawned out of nowhere.

The battlefield is a breeding ground for negative feelings, miasma, and corpses, which are the prime components for the spawning of Demons and Zombies. Understandably, there are contingencies for this very issue. Yet, Rosa, her staff, and the Belkan advisors truly didn't expect a horde to appear right after the bulk of their forces departed for the attack. Thus far, only minor Demonic incursions happened, easily taken care of by dispatching kill teams whenever an incursion is detected or expected to happen. However, right now, one of their recently captured towns is besieged by a horde that spawns much too soon and fast, so much so that they overwhelm the initial kill teams sent their way.

"Dispatch a QRF, pronto. Airdrop them if you have to!" Rosa gives a command.

One of the Belkan military advisors nods. "We can airlift your force by using our Ospreys, however, we also need proper air support to defeat their fliers."

"We must coordinate with the Belkan Air Force on this one." A Reformist officer adds.

"Is there any force nearby that can render aid immediately?" Rosa asks. "It's imperative that we relieve some pressure off the town until the QRF arrives."

"The Belkans can deliver an airstrike using a nearby air asset. However, they have limited munitions and are only suitable for large groups of enemies or a big valuable target." An advisor replies.

"Good enough in my book." Rosa nods before her attention is grabbed by an announcement.

"Princess, we may have a way!" A comms officer interjects before turning up the volume of radio communication so everyone can hear.

"Volmunster, Volmunster. This is the Armored Supply Train Thomas, inbound from East. We're armed and are ready to assist. I repeat. This is the Armored Supply Train Thomas, we're ready to help. If you can hear us, we need you to link the tracks around Volmunster so that we can get to you ASAP."

"Thomas, this is Volmunster. Fucking glad to hear from you! I will be sending someone to unlock the railroads for your arrival. Be advised, the railways only circle Volmunster which will put you right in the middle of the horde. Proceed with caution."

"Understood, Volmunster. Thomas will circle the wagons around the village. We'll be there in visual in ten minutes, watch your fire."

"Godspeed, Thomas. Volmunster out."

Rosa looks at the Belkan advisors. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

The Belkans all sport wry smiles.

Rosa raises an eyebrow, feeling intrigued. "Heh, can we view the battle zone?"

"I think we can arrange that, Princess."

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"Battle Stations, everyone! Battle Stations!" Captain Surbella shouts as he walks down the aisle of the fighting compartments of Thomas the Train.

"88! GMG! 30 mike-mike! Missiles! Firing ports!" Surbella slams on the doorways of each weapon station. "Load them up and open up!"

The entire train comes alive as Belkan soldiers rush to gear up and deploy the train's weapon bays. The 88 mm gun in the front of the train is loaded with a Semi-armor piercing shell, and its housing turns in the general direction of their expected enemies. Along the length of Thomas the Train, hidden weapon bays swing open beneath the armor plating one by one, revealing HMG-14.5 remote-controlled turrets and even GMG-40 ones. On top of the train, there are spherical turrets that are equipped with dual 30mm autocannons. These turrets swivel around as the gunners of each one chamber shells with resounding clanks. Then comes the deadliest weapon system to ever be fitted on a train, an entire car dedicated to housing a Gepard Anti-air 30 mm Gatling system equipped with eight Land Iris missiles, with an additional eight for reloading. Deploying by opening up the upper armor platings of the weapon car, the Gepard is raised to an elevated position. The deadly turret swings around to scan for targets using its built-in radar fire control system. To ensure full operational capacity, the operator of the Gepard even controlled the barrels to spin for a few seconds. Last, but not least, firing ports are used by the Belkan soldiers for their G1 rifles and MG-35s for close protection. They're about to commit what's basically a drive-by with a train so the more guns they can bring to bear, the better.

All in all, when Thomas takes that decisive turn to Volmunster, the entire train is fully ready and armed to the teeth to break the Demonic encirclement around the village. Though some may call the action of Thomas' crew to be courageous and heroic, Adam and his subordinates truly think that this is just another Tuesday for them.

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"Incoming!" A large Demonic Templar dives down from the sky, its lance stabbing downward on an unfortunate Reformist Panzer II.

Penetrating the turret armor with relative ease due to its size and mass, the lance pulverized the crew of the light tank. Raising its tower shield, the Templar blocks a hail of 8mm bullets fired by a Reformist MG squad. As if throwing eggs against an impenetrable rock, the MG-34 fails to scratch the tower shield used by the white Demon. Pulling out its bloodied lance, the Demonic Templar is just about to jump over to crush the machine gun team when something hits and explodes against its flank, knocking it over into a building. That thing was a Panzerfaust warhead, launched from a disposable yellow tube. The soldier who fired the killing shot dropped the spent tube with a small clanking sound before hurrying to rejoin the frontline. The Panzer II was the only thing blocking the main gate leading into the town proper. Now that the tank is gone, they need all hands on deck to suppress the deadly horde that's about to come on top of them.

On top of Volmunster's walls, Reformist soldiers struggle to maintain their defensive position. The walls' height offers a tactical advantage over the rushing ground Demons and Zombies. This has been the only thing keeping this Reformist garrison from being overwhelmed. Beyond the confined walls lay a few destroyed Panzer III and half-tracks, with Chariot-class Demons and numerous Zombies marauding for a breach in their defense. These monsters rush through the mounds of silicon corpses and destroyed equipment, constantly probing, and toying with their prey. Knowing the fates of Volmunster's denizens rest solely upon their shoulders, the Reformists fight tooth and nail to hold their ground. It's a miracle that they have been holding on for so long against an enemy with both long-range bombardment and air superiority.

Having grown tired of the charade, the Lich controlling the horde uses her coffins to fire lasers that sweep along the top of the walls, killing or displacing the Reformist soldiers. Finally, she orders an all-out attack, using swarms of flying Archangels and Templars to bypass the defenders to wreak havoc in the backline while Chariots and Zombies rush in for the kill. Things look bleak for the surviving Reformists, but if there's one thing the Belkan training has taught them, then it's grit and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds. Surviving bands of Reformist soldiers and even civilians pick up whatever weapons they can and form groups to weather the Demonic horde. Just as the first groups of Archangel and Templars are about to crash down into the humans, streaks of smoke appear from nowhere before slamming into them, detonating in a burst of black smoke and fragments. The defenders watch in shock as silicon body parts fall every which way as the Demonic horde stalls in surprise.

A sound can be heard, the sound of a locomotive blasting its horn, spreading far and wide all over the town of Volmunster. Help has arrived in the form of Thomas the Train, and the chugging engine doesn't sound happy. More missiles are launched, targeting the flying Templars first due to its obvious threat levels. Even with their tower shields, the Templars aren't able to withstand the heavy blasts of Land Iris missiles. The Demonic heavy fliers find themselves either utterly obliterated or too critically damaged to even be capable of flying.

"Two o'clock high! Target those Archangels!" Captain Surbella shouts while viewing the battlefield from a panoramic camera. Up above, a swarm of those borderline suicidal Archangels divert to intercept the train. How? Well, they will be trying to ram into it.

Knowing just how annoying it is to fix the armor plates on Thomas, the Gepard turret on the train tracks, and engages the Archangels with a literal bullet hell.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Can't really go wrong with that sound around. The 30 mm Gatling cannon shreds through the Archangels, turning them into pieces of biteable sizes. Why put it that way? Because there were cases in the past of people trying to cook the Demons and the like.

"12 o'clock! We got a Ganesha charging down the track!" Adam, also viewing the scene, barks a warning through the train's internal comms.

A Ganesha is a big, boar-like Demon which may or may not have enough ass behind it to derail Thomas. Not willing to find out, Adam interjects. "88 crew, this is your time to shine!"

"Tracking!"

"Range 800!"

"On the way!"

BOOM

The front compartments of Thomas shake as an 88 mm SAP shell is fired from the big gun at the front. The shell, leaving behind a glimpse of red trace, slams into the upper body of the Ganesha. Owing to its more explosive nature when compared to its armor-piercing counterpart, the 89 mm Semi-armor piercing shell explodes with much more force than normal after penetrating the hide of the Demon. The Demon is literally busted open from the inside as the rest of its silicon body skid along the length of the tracks. Ultimately, Thomas pushes over the remains withou as much as a shake for the crew.

"Good kill! Good kill!" Adam compliments the cannon crew. It's exciting to see the big gun in action every once in a while.

Captain Surbella interjects with a command to the weapon crews. "3 o'clock! Archangels! Blast them!"

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The Gepard unleashes another burst of tracer, once again cutting down a major flier swarm. Surbella adds. "We're getting into the thick of it. All stations, fire at will!"

Approaching the swaths of ground Demons and Zombies, Surbella gives the gunners free reign to kill whatever monstrosity of nature they see. Even Adam has taken the opportunity to bring an MG-35 to bear using one of Thomas' many firing ports. As Thomas drives a wedge in the middle of the horde, thus beginning its circles around Volmunster, the guns aboard the train start opening up. The Gepard turret focuses on anti-air duty while the 88 mm gun fires away at distant groups of enemies. The buzzing and booming of these two weapon platforms nearly drown out the sounds of other weapons on Thomas. However, it doesn't mean that the rest of Thomas' armaments aren't making much waves. In fact, the sheer visual spectacle they make raised the morale of Volmunster defenders over the roof. The Reformists raise their fists and rifles up in cheer when Thomas carves a path of carnage and death through the white horde.

In the dense pack Demonic formation, Thomas straight up rams anything in its way while the multiple 30 mm autocannon turrets work to cull the herd. Using the same MK 103 autocannon on the Puma IFV, the gunners can just swing their turrets sideways and let their shells take care of the rest. Anything hit by a 30 mm shell is pretty much a goner with bits and body parts flying everywhere. The turrets, spatting fire relentlessly, also constantly dump spent casings. The sounds they made are no different from a Christmas fiesta coming into town.

Not willing to be outdone, the side-mounting remote-controlled gun turrets also chime in. Packing nothing but explosives, the 40 mm GMG turrets send heavy grenades raining down on both sides of the train. The grenade carves shallow trenches from the explosions running parallel to Thomas. Anything unlucky enough to have a 40 mm grenade landing next to or on top of them is decimated instantly. Not even a perfectly fine Chariot-class Demon can withstand a singular 40 mm grenade, much less dozens of them. Some of the Zombies closer to the train tracks try to rush forward and board Thomas, yet they're immediately deterred by a withering hail of 14.5 mm bullets. The large-caliber rounds easily tear multiple Zombies in half, no matter what classes they are. Nothing short of a heavily armored vehicle will survive a shot from an HMG-14.5. The Zombies have truly met their maker today.

To complement the MG turrets that are hammering the Demonic horde, the firing ports on Thomas also open up. Adam needs only hold down the trigger of his MG-35 and let it rip. He needs not aiming for the enemy is too densely packed, they're literally everywhere around the train. The only things that stop Adam and the rest of his crew from constantly flinging red tracers are either ammo or barrel change. Seeing as how much trouble Thomas tends to dive headfirst in, they have the spares in abundance all around.

By the time Thomas makes a complete donut around the town of Volmunster, 1/3rd of the Demonic horde is destroyed. Their leader, the Lich tries to intervene and bombard the nuisance land dragon with her coffins. Yet, right before she can charge up her lasers, two missiles impact her location, killing the Lich and her guards immediately. Up above, a Barracuda drone can be seen closing its weapon bay. Having arrived moments earlier, it has quickly picked up on the Lich's location. Determine it was a threat to Thomas' integrity, the drone operator immediately painted the Lich for termination.

Now that their leader is gone, the Demons and Zombies turn more feral and less coordinated. They've defaulted back to their mindless behavior, seeking only destruction and death. Well, they're welcome to try, but Thomas ain't something a pack of beasts will be able to take down. The battle wagon will keep chugging along and crush any opposition in its path. However, there's one downside to going all guns blazing and paddle to the metal.

"We will have to do the exterior all over again..." Adam sighs while replacing the melted barrel of his MG-35.

Outside, the paint job on the Thomas is either scratched or covered in gun residues, with its armor plating dented everywhere by ramming the Demons. If these aren't the telltale signs of a war train, I don't know what is.

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