The Longest Day (10)

BOOM~!

Ava once again heard the deep rumble of a city on the verge of collapse, like the tolling of bells from the depths of a volcano.

Soon, another sharper sound startled her.

A shockwave rushed toward her. Overhead, a formation of heavy Iron Kestrel rotorcraft bearing the Civic Temple insignia was attempting to deploy reinforcements here.

To maintain the crumbling defensive line, Dunwich had sent out nearly all its reserves. Ben Lier's order was to hold the eight fortress strongpoints at all costs.

One of the Iron Kestrel rotorcraft was hit by ground fire.

In the blink of an eye, it exploded into a tremendous mass of flames and wreckage.

The other craft in the formation immediately tried to evade the blast. Two of them accidentally scraped against each other and were forced off their landing approach, their overburdened engines howling in protest.

Another was struck by flying debris from the doomed transport craft, its side badly damaged.

It began to shudder, its end clearly near as thick black smoke poured from its port engine.

The rotorcraft struggled to raise its nose, trying to reach the landing zone and lower its ramp so the soldiers in the cabin could evacuate.

But it crashed headlong into a gun emplacement.

BOOM!

The underside of the fuselage was abruptly torn apart by the violent impact, peeling away as easily as a tin can lid.

As the main cabin broke apart completely, all four engines exploded, and the soldiers fell from the sky.

The Civic Temple infantry being carried in the cabin were flung out, tumbling helplessly toward the courtyard below.

Some were already dead. Others screamed without stopping until they hit the ground.

They smashed onto rooftops, terraces, gun emplacements, and broken walls.

Others bounced off slanted walls, only rolling to a