Camp Luma vs Cult of the One Savior (4/4)

[DAY 17]

On a foggy morning, the soldiers of Camp Luma left towards the front line where they will encounter the cultist in a couple of minutes. Among them was Neo inside his tank. He was going through his available ammo for the tank.

'Mhm only 21 tank ammunition and only about 600 rounds of bullets for the heavy rifle. Every shot has to hit the target, otherwise my own plan won't work.' thought Neo.

Neo will adjust the plan he gave to commander John a little. Neo told commander John, that he would after clearing away the rubble on the street, offer his help killing the remaining cultist and the undead.

However, Neo decided to make a small adjustment with his plan. Instead of heading to the camp after clearing the streets of debris, he will head to the cult outpost. There he will kill the remaining guards and take out the Preacher and any high-level cultists. After that he will loot the supplies in the base and then go to the camp and reinforce them.

Neo knows that otherwise the camp will never really give Neo ammo for his tank. I mean, why would they want to make Neo, an independent person, even stronger than he already is? That would be completely stupid.

So Neo decided to get the supplies himself. By doing so, he accepts that more soldiers will die, which is only to his advantage.

He has a feeling that a conflict between the camp and himself is imminent in the near future and thus wants to weaken his future opponents.

...

As the soldiers move to the front lines, Neo in the tank makes his way into a ruined building away from the battlefield. Neo must wait until the soldiers withdraw from the camp, only then will he advance to the blocked street and destroy the debris on it. The Cultists will then be trapped. Behind them would be the undead and in front of them the defensive line of bunkers and trenches from the camp.

They will not stand a chance and serve as food for the undead, or die from bullets.

Neo, to whom both ends would be fair, was currently watching a video feed on the tank's holographic screen. He has borrowed three drones from the camp and is currently using them to show a broadcast from the battlefield.

Camp Luma hasn't slept for the past few hours. They have increased their defence at their headquarters and currently all civilians are being transferred to 6 school buildings. After that, some of the armored vehicles are used to secure the entrances. The windows have already been sealed and in the entrances there are a bunch of soldiers protecting the last defense.

Furthermore, the camp has already built a total of 8 bunkers, which are mainly made of light wood and metal and only protect against small caliber weapons. 5 of the bunkers are distributed around the headquaters and the school buildings. They are connected with earth ditches and in the ditches there are also some soldiers readying their weapons. Some of them even only carry a melee weapon.

However, most of the soldiers are further along the front lines. There also are the other three bunkers, which are also connected with ditches.

The soldiers of Camp Luma only number about 14,000 soldiers, who are now a little better equipped as in the battle before. They still have 8 operational armored vehicles and otherwise around 100 drones, some equipped with light explosives that will be used as suicide drones.

The morale is relatively low, everyone seems tense and rightly so. They know of the plan and they know of the sacrifice they will make. Nevertheless, some show a determined face and get ready for what is to come.

...

In the horizon one can hardly see the cultists marching in the direction of the camp because of the fog.

The mech seems to have been repaired in some places. However, the rocket launchers on his back still don't seem to work.

But the cultists' tank is nowhere to be found. Maybe they will use the tank for an ambush?

Furthermore, about 6,500 cultists marched towards the camp. The cultists are all equipped with firearms and some of the cultists wearing GB1 battle armor, carry a laser weapon that can even damage Neo with his armor.

The morale of the cultists is difficult to judge. But if Neo had to guess, he would say that their morale should be high. They believe that the soldiers are desperate and that they will surely win this battle.

Cultist armored vehicles can also be seen here and there. It should be around 12 of them.

...

The cultists are getting closer by the second and before you know it, the battle has already begun.

The mech fired into the bunkers and trenches with its heavy machine gun.

"TRATAATARATTATART" did it while screaming and crying could be heard from the soldiers in the bunkers.

The camp soldiers then returned fire, aiming primarily at the armored vehicles of the enemy. As they knew they couldn't penetrate the mech's armor, but they can now disable the fast vehicles so that when they retreat, they won't be caught by the enemy.

After some time, the cultists' infantry troops arrived at the scene and returned fire.

The mech then fired at one of the bunkers with its main gun.

"BOOOOOOM!" did when the bunker exploded, spreading ash and fire all around. Countless injured people who were missing a leg or other part of their body lay in the dirt and blood.

They cried out for help, but no one could offer them any of it, and one by one they all began to die.

This attack killed around 700 to 1,000 soldiers from the camp and morale has hit rock bottom, some soldiers just started running away in panic hoping to escape the battlefield.

But not everyone panicked and was still able to stay in control. They continue to fire at the armored vehicles and have already destroyed more than half of them, by now.

The mech trudged into the trenches with its huge mechanical legs, crushing hundreds of soldiers in the process, which were dying like insects on the dirt.

The mech's heavy machine gun fired incessantly, killing more and more enemies. When the main weapon was deployed again after a few minutes, the mech fired again and destroyed the last 3 armored vehicles in the camp.

Meanwhile, the cultists' infantry advanced into the contested trenches, killing many soldiers with GB 1 armor.

The first trenches were then taken by the cultists and they made their way to one of the bunkers.

Meanwhile, the mech reloaded and fired on the other bunker.

"BOOOOOOOOM!" did the bunker when it collapsed.

This attack saw the highest number of deaths at around 2,000 soldiers.

Morale dropped to a new low and by now all the camp's troops were in despair.

They ran out of their defence towards the headquarters. Some even threw away their weapons or armor to get faster. What followed was a slaughter.

The cultists began shooting at the fleeing soldiers from behind. The soldiers didn't stand a chance and one by one they fell.

Here it was now everyone for themselves, no one helped the other and everyone tried not to get shoot.

In this slaughter about 2,000 other soldiers died or were injured and left behind.

...

"They call themselves soldiers, but in reality they are all just cowards. When I fought against the separatists in the north, they lacked equipment, weapons and ammunition, however they never lacked the will to survive and fight. They always found new ways to defend themselves. In this way they won many battles against the better equipped military. They were soldiers. But these idiots here, clearly aren't." Neo said while slightly shaking his head.

"Host should I start driving, Emily thinks our chance is now" said Emily.

"Yes, the time has come, start the tank and move it towards the road at full speed." said Neo.

"Got it," Emily replied, and the tank suddenly took off and flew out of the destroyed building.

The tank floated past the cultists and they don't seem to have noticed the tank.

After a few minutes, Neo was getting closer and closer to his destination.

"Perhaps I should take a look at how many undead are behind the rubble now." said Neo.

But before Neo could get out of the tank, suddenly a shot came out of nowhere and hit the tank from the left side.

"BOOOM" went when the tank was hit.

Neo was rocked around a bit in the tank but otherwise suffered no injuries.

"Emily what was that? Did the mech spot us? Is the tank still operational?" asked Neo.

"The last tank of the cultists lies in wait 200 meters east of our position. Our tank has suffered severe damage, one more shot and it will be destroyed. But the weapons are still ready for use." replied Emily.

Neo meanwhile took control of the tank and quickly moved the tank to the side.

"BOOM" made an explosion right next to Neo's tank.

"F*ck I just got this thing fixed! The cultist tank has to be destroyed before I can clear the street. Emily, how much time do I have left?" asked Neo.

"Host there are six minutes left until the agreed time." Emily said with some concern in her voice.

"Ok understood. I want you to do calculations for some shots for the main gun, I'll do the driving and dodging." said Neo.

...

Neo kept dodging the enemy's shots and quickly began closing in on the enemy tank. Then when he finally saw the tank, he shot at immediately. At the same time, he dodged the shot coming from the cultist tank.

"boom"

"boom"

Both shots missed.

"This guy is good." Neo said with a smile on his lips.

"Host, there is less than a minute until the schedule." said Emily suddenly.

"Well, an idea just occurred to me. There is not enough time to explain, you do the driving and I do the shooting. Drive straight towards the debris on the road but swerve to the right at the last moment before you hit the debris." Neo said as he took control of the main weapon.

A building collapsed on the street making crossing impossible. The rubble was stacked more than 10 meters high and behind the rubble you could even see a few thousand undead stacked on top of each other, but just couldn't get over the rubble. Neo decided to shoot at some debris higher up.

Meanwhile, the cultist tank followed after Neo's tank and shot at him. The cultist tank was desperate to stop Neo from destroying the rubble.

But when Neo's tank suddenly dodged to the side, the cultist tank stopped and wanted to turn around to shoot Neo.

But at that moment.

"BOOOOM!" made an explosion far above the tank and debris fell downwards towards it.

"BOOM!" with a second explosion, the cultist tank was finally destroyed.

...

"Sigh" Neo sighed.

"It was an unexpectedly hard fight. But now is not the time for it. I need to clear the street from any debris." Neo said as he started shooting at the debris.

In the end it took 10 shots from Neo' tank which explosive force was enhanced with his telekines ability. But after the 10 Shot a huge horde of undead stretched out from behind the rubble before Neo's eyes. They screamed and ran onto the battlefield.

Almost all of the undead made their way to the battlefield between the cult and the camp. A small number ran towards the destroyed cultist tank and others ran towards the countless corpses that had been littering the battlefield since yesterday.

"Host, we are one minute over the agreed time." said Emily suddenly.

"Mhm... well, what the heck, that won't have such a big impact. We're going to the camp of the cultists in the south now. I'll meditate briefly on the roof of the tank with my armor extended, let me know when we get there." Neo said as he opened the hatch and his demonic armor appeared. After that, Neo jumped onto the roof of the tank and sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

...

***POV: Camp Luma defence

The retreat was a pure nightmare for the commanders at headquarters. Almost twice as many died as expected. Altogether only less than approx. 10,000 soldiers remain. So many have died so far and some of the soldiers were beginning to question their leadership and commander John's decisions.

Overall morale was at rock bottom.

The base's mortars kept firing their remaining shells, but their ammunition was running low and they would soon run out.

The camp also used their suicide drones to attack the mech. Because of that, they were able to buy some time for the fleeing soldiers.

This allowed the fleeing soldiers who survived the retreat to quickly join the troops in the bunkers and trenches of the last defensive line which fired at the approaching cultist.

It didn't take long for the mech to fire again at one of the bunkers with its main weapon.

"BOOOOM!" made the bunker when it exploded.

About 1,000 soldiers died in the explosion and countless others were injured everywhere. Some were missing an arm or leg and some were even missing their entire lower body. Blood and innards were everywhere and every soldier could already feel the unbelievably strong stench of iron and blood in their noses and on their tongues.

So far, five minutes have already passed after the agreed time in which Neo clears the street and the undead attack the cultists from behind.

The camp began to despair. Did the demon just want to play with there feelings? Did he want to see there finally despair?

When the soldiers asked themselves questions like that, it suddenly happened.

"ARAAAAAHHH!"

"WHAT where do the undead come from?"

"That can't be! We were about to win!"

"Ahhhhhhhh"

Screams could be heard everywhere, and eventually the cultists turned their backs on the soldiers of the camp and began firing at the insanely large horde of undead at the back of them.

The undead were around 55,000 in number and more than 800 Stage 1s were among them.

The cultists tried to defend themselves with everything they could. The soldiers kept firing, killing one undead after another, but eventually the undead were gaining ground.

Some Stage 1 type: Defence were able to shield the hail of bullets and advanced through the ranks of the cultists.

The undead bit and ripped off the cultists' arms and legs if they got close enough.

The cultists who then died rose after a few minutes and began to bite their former allies.

The Mech and armored vehicles attempted to push through the horde of undead, but the undead began to pile on top of each other, encasing the 'Mech's legs. The Mech quickly became unable to move. But that didn't stop it from constantly shooting at the undead.

The armored vehicles, on the other hand, didn't last long and were knocked over by the undead and the drivers were quickly turned into undead themselves.

...

When the soldiers of the camp saw their enemies and how they were being massacred, they were all happy for a short time. But then they remembered that the undead are not their allies and immediately began to retreat. They ran to the six barricaded school buildings and sought shelter there.

On the roofs and some windows, in which small holes for weapons were built, the soldiers spread out everywhere and started shooting at the cultists who were fleeing in their direction.

After a while, the main army of cultists was destroyed and the undead ran towards the camp's six buildings.

Some were riddled with bullets, but most piled up and tried to storm the buildings. Other undead ran to the armored vehicles in front of the entrances and tried to bite through the vehicles.

...

*** Back to Neo

Neo kept floating towards the cultist base with his tank.

"Host we'll be arriving at the base in 2 minutes." said Emily.

"Thanks Emily, hover towards the warehouse ahead. That's where most of the cultists are. That should be their headquarters and their preacher should be there." said Neo.

"Emily gets it, host." said Emily.

Neo then got up and got ready for a little fight against the remaining cultists.

He then jumped towards the warehouse with his sword in his right hand.

...

"slash"

"slash"

With two sword strokes, Neo killed two cultists standing guard in front of a door. Then he banged open the door with his leg.

"Boom" went the entrance. The cultists appear to have booby traps attached to their doors. For Neo, however, who wears his demonic armor, the explosion did no damage at all.

However, the explosion alerted all the cultists in the vicinity and they all prepared their weapons to fight the intruder.

But Neo didn't give them any time and slashes one cultist after the other. Each cultist lost their heads after Neo severed them from their shoulders with his broadsword.

Neo then made his way to the second floor and slashed a few more cultists there.

After that, Neo kicked open a door to a larger storage room and found the preacher there. Well at least he thinks so, especially as a cultist with a silver mask stood in front of him similar to the one he had seen before.

Neo decided to make short work of the cult and the preacher.

Neo was opposed by some black masked cultists, but one by one they were cut open by his sword.

Only the cultists with laser weapons could damage Neo. Neo just let their guns overheat when they fired after he was about 10 meters close.

The laser weapons exploded when the cultists fired them.

...

In the end, after less than 5 minutes, only Neo was alive ... well undead inside the building. The preacher also had a laser weapon but was quickly killed by Neo using his telekinesis ability.

'The fight against the preacher was a bit unsatisfactory, but I don't have time to play with the cultists here, I have to get supplies and ammunition quickly and then destroy the undead in the camp. Who knows if my mother is among them, as long as I don't know, I just have to help these idiots.' thought Neo as he quickly examined the buildings and stores of the cultists.

He didn't think much and stuffed whatever he considered important into the tank.

He didn't know why, but the cultists had a portable DNA synthesizer in one of the storerooms. Neo couldn't believe his luck. He now has half the equipment he needs to alter his DNA.

Neo also took some of the organs and brains from the cultists he killed. Furthermore, in one of the camps, Neo found a large number of prisoners apparently being held by the cultists as slave workers. They repaired the cultists' mech and tank, and were otherwise fed insects by the cultists.

When they first saw Neo's demonic form, they were all terrified of him and they thought he wanted to eat them.

Neo, on the other hand, looked around and his demonic helmet changed and formed Neo's head. He then looked for his mother in the room and asked any prisoners there if they had seen or heard of a woman named Annika.

None of the prisoners knew a woman named Annika and Neo was slightly disappointed.

After that, Neo made his way to his tank, which was now full of supplies, then he ordered Emily to hover towards he camp as quickly as possible. Otherwise he didn't care about the slaves, even if there were about 10,000 slaves, Neo didn't care about them.

...