Blood Haze (4)

"Ten minutes ago, the 85th Division passed through here. They had less than half their men left, and all their heavy equipment was gone."

"And the First Division. They were still intact. They just passed by the northern side and have already turned south to defend the positions."

"Mountbatten? His division was fine?"

"Looks like it. The soldiers were orderly, and they retained most of their equipment."

"Strange..."

Lieutenant General Aikaxiya frowned, but quickly cast the doubt aside. This was not the time to dwell on such trivial matters.

"What other forces are arriving soon?"

"Parts of the 2nd and 4th Armies. There's a huge mass of Orks right on their tails. Their rearguard collapses after holding for ten minutes at a time. They're already exhausted from running for their lives."

"Damn it! Fuck! How the hell did it turn into this!"

Aikaxiya slammed his fist against the table. His question was also the question on everyone's mind.

Things had been fine just a day ago. How had the situation suddenly become so irretrievable? Were the Orks simply too powerful, or was there some other reason?

Even if the Gamel-Wali Line had been made of paper, it should not have been breached so easily.

Where exactly had the problem arisen?

"Sir!"

Suddenly, an utterly bedraggled officer burst into the command post. There was a hole in his shoulder, and his face was twisted by pain and terror. Blood had dyed half his body red.

He gasped for breath, then shouted:

"Sir! It... it's here!"

"What's here?!"

Several seconds later, a tremendous roar revealed the answer.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!

The earth trembled beneath its footsteps as this colossal monster of overwhelming power rose from the gloom like a prehistoric beast.

Thousands of tons of metal crashed down upon the hard highway, each step