Ivan reached the brother and sister with the tank. He kept the immense machine moving, covering them as they approached. "Get in now! We are moving out!"
Without wasting any seconds, they ran towards the tank. Leonard knelt, readying himself. Leila ran toward him, stepping onto his hands. Leo lifted Leila, giving her a powerful boost. Leila landed lightly on top of the turret, pulling herself up to the commander's hatch. Leo swiftly climbed the tank and followed her onto the hull.
"How are you two?" Ivan firmly asked through the intercom.
Leila paused to catch her breath, then offered thanks. "We are unscathed, thanks to you, Mister."
"Good. Now we are out. Cerus location?" Ivan inquired.
Leila immediately focused, channeling her magic detection once more. She reported, "Both Cerus locations changed. They are still at two o'clock, but they are together now!" Leila paused, glancing toward the west. "I also detected the fifth Cerus in the West Sector, 2000 meters away."
"Understood! Let's go." Ivan said, then he drove the tank. The path ahead was still chaotic, with allied soldiers scattered around. While driving, Ivan activated the tank's external speaker. "Get the hell away from our path!"
Hearing that, a field commander shouted, "Hey! All of you, provide a clear path for that Panzer!" Men immediately started to withdraw, scrambling to clear the path for the steel behemoth.
The M1 Abrams accelerated to full speed. Within a minute, they reached the firing position. They finally sighted their targets: two massive Chthonic Cerus standing side-by-side.
"Leo, load me a Sabot round. Jusis, eye on the scope, and Leila, keep the watch!" Ivan commanded.
"Yes, Sire." Leonard instantly dropped into the loader's hatch.
"I'm on it!" Jusis replied, his voice firm as he secured himself in the gunner's seat.
"Eye open, Mister." Leila responded, her staff already pointed outward.
Leonard grabbed the heavy, sharp Sabot round, his muscles straining with the effort before he smoothly slammed it into the gun breech. The mechanism clanged shut. Jusis, sweating but not blinking, kept his eyes glued to the gun scope, his finger poised on the trigger. Leila kept watch, ready to report any immediate changes in the battlefield.
They finally sighted the terrifying, glowing aura of the Cerus. Ivan slowed the tank, then he carefully traversed the machine, aligning the main gun precisely to face both Cerus targets.
"It's on!" Jusis reported, his voice tight. Everyone braced themselves for the imminent blast.
Then, Ivan gave the final order: "Fire!"
The M1 Abrams roared again. The Sabot round flew at supersonic speed. Before the monstrous Cerus could react, the tungsten arrow slammed into the crystalline armor of the lead Chthonic Cerus. The sheer velocity and density of the round meant it not only pierced the armor but over-penetrated the first beast entirely. The kinetic slug continued its path and struck the second Cerus standing beside it. The shot was a fatal blow to the neck of both monsters. Both Cerus fell down simultaneously, their massive forms hitting the ground with earth-shaking thuds. [DOUBLE STRIKE BADGE! HEHE WARTHUNGER REF.]
"IT'S A HIT! BOTH WERE KILLED!" Leila excitedly reported. "With just a single attack, two abomination erased. This is truly terrifying," Leonard remarked. "I didn't even see the other Cerus, and now it's also killed?!" Jusis said, his voice laced with shock.
Ivan didn't waste a second celebrating. "The fifth Target." He inquired of Leila immediately.
But when Leila was about to return her focus to the battle from the brief moment of celebration, her face changed instantly. Her wide eyes lost their celebratory shine, becoming stark and fixed, like she had seen a ghost rise from the earth. A cold sweat beaded on her brow as her voice turned sharp and thin with dread. "Something is coming! It's fast, and it's heading toward us! It's an attack from a Cerus!"
"WHAT?! AT THIS DISTANCE?!" Ivan exclaimed, his gaze snapping to his periscope. There was no time. The projectile would hit before the turbine engine could even shift the tank's immense weight. Leila scrambled frantically down into the turret. Leonard placed his massive hands flat against the cold steel hull, bowed his head, and closed his eyes, bracing himself.
The impact was immediate and deafening. The unseen projectile, a concentrated spike of demonic energy, slammed into the tank's turret cheek. The force was so powerful it felt as though the very earth had been punched. The 70-ton behemoth lurched violently sideways, its massive bulk sliding several meters across the rubble-strewn ground. Inside, the world became a blinding, painful shriek of sound and motion. Every internal fixture groaned, and the armor plates screamed in protest. The entire tank cabin was thrown into jarring darkness as if a giant hand had slapped it into oblivion.
Sparks showered from the damaged optical systems. Jusis screamed, thrown hard against the gunner's console, while Leonard felt his bones rattle violently through the hull.
Ivan immediately regained himself, even as a high, painful whine drowned out all other sound in his ears. His breathing hitched, shallow and ragged. The turret cheek... the same fatal spot. His mind instantly flashed back, the image of their T-90, stuck and helpless, the round hitting, the horrific silence that followed. Bowman. The memory tasted like ash and iron. He was terrified; he couldn't lose them again. He promised.
"Leo! Leila! Jusis! Respond! Now! Are you hit?!" Ivan yelled into the mic, his voice tight with raw panic.
A groan came first from the loader's station. "Sire… By my oath, I stand. Unharmed," Leonard replied, his voice deep but shaky, slowly pushing himself upright against the recoil shield.
Jusis's voice followed, strained but furious. "I'm alive, Mister Ivan! Just knocked the wind out of me! What in the damn hell was that?!"
Finally, Leila confirmed, a sharp intake of breath before speaking. "I am unscathed, Ivan. The projectile... it was powerful. We took a hit, but the armor held!"
Ivan sucked in a long, shuddering breath, forcing the panic down. The familiar reality of the M1 Abrams' superior protection, purchased with "sweat and steel," grounded him. The tank was dented and scarred, but it remained whole. He had lost no one.
"Thank the heavens," Ivan whispered, mostly to himself, before slamming the fear away and focusing on the threat. "Leila, status. Find that damned thing! Now!"
Leila looked at her brother, worry etched on her face. Leo noticed that and assured her, "I'm fine, my sister, go and find it." She set aside her worries for a while and focused herself to find that Cerus.
"Alright, I will find it now." Leila was resolute. She focused her mana again on her staff to find the Cerus. Her voice was low and taut with concentration. "I found it. It's ahead, 1800 meters. I advise that we should weave while heading toward there. I will report to you right away when it is charging an attack again."
"Understood, Leila. Keep an eye on that bastard." Ivan then twisted the throttle of the tank to full speed.
The tank surged forward. Leila kept her magic focused on that Cerus. "Mister! That Cerus is charging mana again! I advise you to change direction!" Leila's voice snapped through the intercom, strained with urgency.
Hearing that, Ivan felt something shift; the cheerful woman he heard later was terrifyingly focused, locked onto the threat.
"Understood, Leila, changing direction now." Ivan said, as if the tank's captain was now Leila.
Ivan turned the tank slowly to the left in a zigzag pattern, anticipating the next projectile. Then finally, Leila spoke again, her voice tight and precise, "It launched an attack, we need to evade now!" Ivan turned the tank into a sharp right. The projectile slammed into the ground, creating a strong shockwave and azure blast around it. It was a close call. So far, this might be the strongest Cerus they had yet to face.
They repeated that maneuver, and finally, only 500 meters ahead, they could already see the azure aura of the monster from the distance. "Ivan," Leila's voice was grim, "that is a Scorpus Cerus. It's built to destroy defenses from a distance." "Leo, load a Sabot!" Ivan ordered.
Although Leo had almost exhausted his mana shielding the tank, his immense physical strength was still present. He grabbed a shell and inserted it into the breach with his remaining strength, showing little struggle.
"The bolt is in place, Sire," Leo said.
"Jusis, report on the target's status! What are we facing?" Ivan demanded, his voice sharp with urgency.
Jusis swallowed hard, his face pale as he peered through the scope at the approaching monster. His voice was a tight, shaky whisper. "Mister Ivan, it's a scorpion. Huge, black, and red plates everywhere. Its tail is up, and the end is glowing blue. It looks... too heavy."
Through the scope, Ivan could see the true horror of the Scorpus Cerus. Its body is low and wide, covered in thick, dark-red and black armor plates, layered and built to withstand a siege. It moved with deliberate, terrifying intelligence, its huge front claws scraping the ground as it focused its segmented, high-arced tail. The complex, multi-channeled crystal structure on the tail's tip pulsed bright azure. This was the heaviest Cerus they had yet to encounter. The Sabot round loaded by Leonard was their only hope of piercing its thick, obsidian-plated bulk.