Chapter 91: The Hussar's Sacrifice
The rebels hadn't expected a single, shallow trench to trap the steel beast that had been slaughtering them. Seeing the Chimera lurch and stall, a wave of feverish excitement swept through the trenches. They surged forward from both flanks, brandishing their primitive weapons, determined to dismantle the Imperial monster.
Inside the hull, the defensive systems roared to life. The Spire-born retainers huddled in the rear compartment opened the firing ports, sliding the muzzles of their Lasguns into the armored slits.
The Lasgun—the most common weapon in the armies of the Master of Mankind. A standard-pattern rifle equipped with a fresh power-pack could provide 200 shots on low-power mode. To the rebels, it was a weapon of terror. Each ruby-colored beam carried the thermal energy of a heavy kinetic round. When a bolt struck a man at 500 meters, it didn't just pierce; it caused a micro-explosion as the moisture in his flesh and bone flash-boiled.
A Lasgun strike to the chest meant a fist-sized crater of scorched meat. The internal organs would reach "medium-well" temperature in a fraction of a second. If you were hit by a sun-gun, you didn't get back up.
The six firing ports on the Chimera's sides became a wall of coherent light. The fire rate was blistering—over 800 pulses per minute. The rebels, lacking armor, were hit by a thermal storm. Men were torn apart, their bodies giving off the sickening smell of burnt ozone and cooked fat.
But the rebels were relentless. They used the trenches for cover, weaving through the "blind spots" created by the Chimera's limited firing angles. Slowly, they began to close the distance to the hull.
The crew inside felt the panic rising. "Grenades!" the turret gunner shrieked. "Stop them before they reach the treads!"
The retainers ceased firing long enough to hurl fragmentation grenades through the ports. The explosions raked the nearby trenches, turning dozens of rebels into red scrap, but for every man that fell, two more scrambled over his corpse to take his place. These were men who believed the PDF were the dogs of a leech-king; they were fighting for the very survival of their families.
At the edge of the forest, the PDF regulars finally realized their mobile bunker was in trouble. Driven by the fear of the whip and the lingering sting of the bad amasec, they began to lay down suppressive fire, throwing their own grenades to keep the rebels back.
It was a symphony of slaughter. Then, the ground began to vibrate with a new, rhythmic thunder.
One hundred and twenty Rebel Hussars—cavalry mounted on bio-modified cyber-steeds—erupted from the forest's side-flank. They formed a tight, wedge-shaped formation, charging directly toward the Chimera's damaged side.
Leading the charge, his grey-green straw hat flapping in the wind, was Elder Varick.
The old man was howling a battle-cry, one hand gripping the reins, the other firing a PDF autogun into the air. His mount, a massive beast with piston-driven legs, was galloping with a speed that defied nature.
Kian Voss, who had just finished his "Regen-Protocol" and relocated to Sniper Nest Beta, watched the charge through his optic. His heart tightened.
"You old fool," Kian hissed. "Don't you dare die before you pay me my grain."
Kian shifted his aim. He locked onto a PDF machine-gunner who was preparing to rake the cavalry line.
BOOM.
The gunner's head vanished. Kian cycled the bolt, tracking the next threat. He dropped a second machine-gunner and a sergeant.
But the Chimera's turret was already whirring around. The 40mm autocannon leveled its barrel at the incoming wall of meat and muscle.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!
High-explosive shells slammed into the cavalry line. Horses and men were vaporized in geysers of gore. Varick, being at the very front, was the first target. A 40mm shell detonated against the chest of his cyber-steed. The beast was shredded instantly.
Varick was launched from the saddle, his legs shattered by shrapnel as he hit the dirt with bone-breaking force. He lay in the mud,生死不知 (life or death unknown).
The charge didn't stop. The survivors rode through the blood of their brothers. When they were down to less than a quarter of their original number, a single young rider surged ahead of the pack. He carried a heavy rucksack bristling with industrial detonators.
The young Hussar leaned over his mount's neck, his eyes wide with a holy, suicidal light. He slammed the cyber-steed into the Chimera's right flank and mashed the remote trigger Kian had given Silas.
BOOM!!!!!!!!
A mountain-shaking explosion erupted from the side of the transport. The shockwave was so powerful it silenced the gunfire on both sides for a long, ringing second.
When the dust began to settle, the Chimera was still upright, but it was broken. The right-side armor was buckled inward, and the tread had been blown clean off its drive-sprockets. The firing ports went dark. The crew inside had likely been pulverized by the kinetic overpressure or rendered unconscious by the shock.
The rebels let out a roar of triumph. They vaulted from their trenches, a thousand men charging the PDF regulars who were now alone in the woods.
Kian's sniper rifle pulled back from the Chimera, re-locking onto a PDF soldier, and he pulled the trigger, gunning him down.
☆☆☆
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