Advance Down the Street

By 8:00 AM, the lead resocialized battalion had pushed several miles toward the city center, losing contact with the rest of the units behind them. Warfield's 1st Company, having entered the urban area, chose to link up with several brother companies in the rear before spearheading the advance.

Augustus's squad followed an Arclite Siege Tank along a four-lane, east-west highway designated as Route 30. They had entered the city from the Dunlin District in the northeast of Pride of Boke, then pushed westward, heading straight for the command center and orbital satellite communication base at the heart of the Kel-Morian-controlled zone.

A fine drizzle fell across the northern hemisphere of Turaxis II. A layer of white steam shrouded the cooling towers on the back of Augustus's Power Armor, and rainwater slid down the upper edge of his visor, blurring the devastated streets.

Thanks to the resocialized soldiers, Warfield's troops encountered no resistance from the Kel-Morians while advancing along the highway. Only the destroyed barricades and the corpses of resocialized soldiers and Kel-Morians revealed the brutal battles that had taken place there.

For every mile they pushed forward, the number of corpses on the road increased. Rainwater mixed with blood flowed into the sewers that had not yet been clogged, and rodent-like creatures crawled into shattered helmet visors to gnaw on human remains without a care for the living.

By noting the number of resocialized soldier corpses, Augustus knew that this battalion, still charging forward, had already suffered heavy losses.

Augustus's squad had not encountered any organized Kel-Morian units along the way, and the tanks provided cover for them while in open terrain.

Only a few Kel-Morian Labor Auxiliary, hiding in houses, sewers, and trash cans, would suddenly rush out from their cover, their bodies strapped with explosives and Electromagnetic Grenades, attempting to take the Confederacy tanks down with them.

The highway offered a wide field of view, and these Kel-Morian soldiers, lacking any armor protection, were shot down by the Confederate soldiers the moment they showed their heads.

Among them, Rick Kidd, the sniper in Augustus's squad, consistently had the highest kill count. His shots were precise and lethal, always finding the head. The terrifying power of his sniper rifle meant that even a shot grazing the enemy's scalp was enough to peel away their skull.

Their good luck ended when they were only about 3 miles from the city center. Because the urban area of Pride of Boke was crisscrossed with man-made canals, the various districts were separated by rivers. To leave the Dunlin District and enter the main city, the Confederate forces had to cross dozens of different bridges.

Most of the bridges had already collapsed, with clear signs of intentional destruction, and only the giant Goliath Combat Robots could wade through the flooded man-made canals. The options left for the Confederate forces were dwindling.

Disaster struck as they crossed the last bridge in the Dunlin District. At that moment, a full platoon of Confederate Marines and an Arclite Siege Tank were moving across this un-scouted white bridge, heading toward the distance. Augustus's squad was only eight hundred yards away; at their pace, they would have stepped onto the bridge within a minute.

Suddenly, with a deafening boom, the earth seemed to shift five inches, and the thunderous explosion could be heard miles away.

Augustus's first sensation was as if someone had slapped him across the ears. Amidst the ringing, the wreckage of the bridge's midsection flew into the air before his eyes, accompanied by twisted human bodies, steel, and blood raining down onto the water.

The shockwave kicked up a wall of dirt. The squad closest to the bridge slammed directly into a dense, shifting wall of air. Even their Power Armor twisted like a crushed soda can, and over twenty men were sent flying like swatted flies.

The bridge, with its white jade railings carved with gods, had once been a masterpiece of architecture and art, but now it had become a tomb of death.

"You idiots, why didn't you wait for the demolition team!" The shout came from the 5th Battalion commander. He didn't use the comms channel but instead flipped up his visor to roar at the Marines who were about to step onto the bridge.

Augustus didn't know which unit was on the bridge, but it wasn't necessarily from the 1st Company. Warfield's buzzing orders over the command channel indicated that he and the 2nd Platoon were among the first to board the bridge and cross safely. The explosive device had clearly used a timer rather than a trigger mechanism.

Because Augustus had to lead his squad to protect the tank, he had naturally fallen behind, never expecting that this would save his life.

"Well, that's great. We're going to be stuck here for a good while," Josephine said with a sense of schadenfreude. He had no passion for war; unlike Warfield, who insisted on being on the front lines and deep in the most dangerous areas, Josephine's philosophy was to survive by any means necessary and never be the first to stick his neck out.

"This isn't good news," Augustus said, his ear ringing having subsided slightly. He was far less optimistic than Josephine. "I checked before—this isn't the only way across the river."

"Of course, this is the shortest straight-line distance to the Kel-Morian command center marked on the satellite map, and it's the only road capable of supporting the convoy and tanks. We can take a detour, but we'll have to take side streets, cutting through residential and commercial areas to get to the other side. Trust me, Josephine, that's much more dangerous than the wide highway."

"Augustus is right. On the highway, at least we have tanks with us, and there won't be any Kel-Morian bastards popping out of nowhere." Ward spoke more than the others during combat; from the moment he saw the Kel-Morians, he entered a state of excitement like an avenging angel.

"This is just terrible," Omo lamented.

"The real trouble is coming," Augustus warned his soldiers. "Just like I said before the battle, if anyone gets knocked down, we are bringing them back no matter what."

So far, Augustus's squad had not suffered any casualties. But now, Augustus would likely have to lead his soldiers deep into danger.

Just as Augustus had guessed, in Warfield's absence, the 5th Battalion commander, a hook-nosed lieutenant colonel, took over command of the platoon Augustus was in. He ordered them to move north as a platoon, bypassing the area through a deserted commercial district to find another bridge.

3rd Platoon leader Reagan had already crossed the river with Warfield, so the command of the 1st Squad fell to the 4th Company commander.

The tanks could no longer penetrate the narrow, weight-restricted streets of the residential area, so Augustus had to grit his teeth and lead his squad to follow the 4th Company into a commercial street that was much narrower than the highway.

This street lay between the three attack routes of the 4th Brigade, and no troops had ventured deep into it yet, which meant that Kel-Morian soldiers who had retreated here were likely hiding within.

Since there were two more battalions following behind the 5th, thousands of Marines couldn't just slowly wander through a single commercial street. Therefore, most of them moved in platoons, each choosing a street to detour according to the battalion commander's orders.

Augustus followed two squads from the 5th Battalion's 4th Company into a commercial street designated A-220. Benjamin, the heavy machine gunner of the 1st Fire Team, and his assistant Omo, who carried the ammo crates, followed most closely, followed by Raynor and Harnack's 2nd Fire Team.

Thanks to Star Ring for the tip, and thanks to Glory to the Firstborn, Star Wish Star Source, zerostart, and Miao Sha Pao for the monthly tickets.

UNN Evening News: The Rak'Shir Ritual has failed, and the dove has been pushed into the Ascension Pit.