Insert BATTLEFIELD DESTRUCTION GIFS/PICS here - Most likes wins š(A/N: Only TWO Entrees Per Person!) Winner(s) will be announced in the next chapter.
Previous Winner: YungMastuh
Prize: šĀ
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*3rd Person POV*
After disabling both Ajax and Valina's mechs, Aspen ordered for two of the Disciples of Life, whom he had come to call grunts, to keep watch over the two. Once that was over with, it was free reign. Aspen ordered for the rest of the mechs to run rampant through the FOB.
61 to 450 mechs were horrible odds, for the enemy, that is. Aspen wanted to show off in the beginning, using his mech's dual Katanas to slice through the enemy's ranks. But one he learned that they had outdated intel on the layout of the base and on its forces, he opted for eliminating the enemies as quickly as possible.
Rifle in hand, Aspen advanced into the enemy ranks, ignoring the fire that was coming his way. His two Autocannons on his mech's back extruded and they started opening fire on the enemy troops while he once again took up to the sky. He rained fire from above alongside his forces.
Their speeds made it difficult for the enemies to effectively fire on them, and when their shots did land, their shields would stop them mid-air 2 meters from the mech's frame. The enemies decided to focus fire on one of the Apostles of Life and after about a minute of receiving continuous enemy fire from almost 200 mechs, its shields started to wane.Ā
But while the enemy was distracted by a single mech, Aspen and the other 59 mechs were making quick work through the enemy ranks. That 1 minute of concentrated fire on a single mech opened the door for 30 of their mechs to be destroyed.
Not to mention, the concentrated fire on the Apostle of Life was a waste of time as it just retreated into cover to charge its shields before they could be fully breached.Ā
The battlefield had a maelstrom of destruction. The FOB that once stood proudly as a fortified base nestled into the valleys of its location, was now little more than a graveyard of twisted steel and burning wreckage. Aspen's forces moved like envoys of death itself as they cut down enemies. Every once in a while, a tier 3 mech would be seen and his forces would immediately concentrate fire on it and annihilate it.
His Tier 5 mech was one fine piece of art with the sole purpose of taking lives and winning wars. Hovering mid-air, its dual 120mm beam autocannons rained energy fire upon the enemy ranks, their shots searing through shields and armor the like as if they were paper. Below, the ground was littered with the ruined husks of Tier 2 and Tier 3 mechs, their pilots barely having time to react before being obliterated.
Takeshi moved with terrifying grace in his Crimson Red Apostle of Death. His mech weaved through enemy formations, an LMG in his left hand and a spear in his right, he blazed through the enemies that stood in his path.Ā
The enemy fired upon him, but the bullets just fell harmlessly to the ground after being stopped by his shields. With a single stab, he pierced through three enemy mechs before raising his LMG and opening fire on their cockpits.
Takara was causing up a storm as well, her Purple and Gold Apostle of Death weaved in and out of the enemy's sights. Every time she reappeared, it was only for an instant, just long enough to deliver a pinpoint shot from her high-powered railgun.Ā
Unlike her brother's Apostle of Death, she had opted to swap out her main weaponry with a powerful railgun that was perfect for long-range attacks. She sent a Tier 3 Parallax crumpling to the ground with a smoking hole through its cockpit. Before the enemy could even begin to react, she had vanished again, leaving only death in her wake.
Ghost was also doing his thing after having recently advanced to the Alpha tier as a pilot. He wasn't in tier 5 because there hadn't been time to prepare one for him since he quite literally reached Alpha tier just before they launched their attack on the Volkov FOB.
His mech had been tailor-made to specialize in long-range strikes. He was far back on a ridge keeping sniper cover over the rest of Aspen's forces with a powerful laser rifle. This rifle was something Aspen had developed just because he had been bored. It ignored armor but it was fed directly from the mech's reactors.Ā
Needless to say, it was a drinker. Ghost could only take a total of 30 consecutive shots before having to stop for 20 minutes to let his reactor fully charge up again, or he could continue taking shots. But the rifle was so powerful that after 35 consecutive shots without some time to cool down, the rifle's barrel would melt off. Every shot he took was a kill shot and he would swiftly scan for his next victim with his blood-red optics.
Aspen was in his element as he kept firing from above with his 350mm sniper rifle. He would took aim mid-air, his targeting systems locking onto an enemy Tier 3 mech that seemed to be in some position of power as it attempted to coordinate the defense.
A single, deafening shot rang out, and the Tier 3 enemy mech's entire torso detonated, leaving its legs standing momentarily before toppling over. The sheer force of the shot sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, kicking up dust and debris and pushing Aspen's mech back a good 5 meters.
The enemy was crumbling. Their Tier 2 mechs were little more than cannon fodder, their weapons ineffective against Aspen's forces. The Tier 3 units fared slightly better, managing to land a few blows but never enough to raise any alarm.Ā
The Apostles of Life moved in squads of 5 and were unrelenting as they moved together and acted as one with their tight formations. They would execute a mech and every other Apostle of life that would pass its corpse would shoot it 3 more times in the cockpit. Every couple of seconds that passed was another enemy unit reduced to scrap metal.
Desperation had started to set in amongst the enemy ranks. Their formations broke as many attempted to retreat, only to be cut down by the overwhelming firepower of Aspen's forces. A few mechs attempted to take cover behind the ruins of the armory, but they were quickly rooted out by precision strikes from Aspen.
They had destroyed over two-thirds of the enemy's forces within minutes, yet there was no sign of the semi-threats could be seen. The 4 Tier 4 mechs were nowhere to be found which caused slight concern. "Could the fuckers have escaped during all this fucking mayhem?"
As he landed atop the smoldering remains of a fallen enemy mech, his sensors picked up something underground. A maglev train. "FUCK! Takara, didn't I order you to destroy the three tunnels?"
"I did, sir," replied Takara over the comms.
"Then why the fuck am I detecting a maglev leaving this base?"
"I- I don't know," Takara said in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry, I should have assumed there would be a 4th tunnel."
Aspen's frustration simmered a bit as he regained clarity, "No, it's alright, you couldn't have predicted this from happening. It's just faulty intel."Ā
Aspen sighed, there wasn't anything they could do about escaping enemies. His troops may have been elite and equipped with unrivaled weaponry, but they couldn't be everywhere at once.
"Sir, this is my folly, I-" Nyx began to take responsibility for the lack of information on the base's structure but Aspen cut her off.
"No, I had given you clear instructions, this isn't your fault either. No one is to blame for information that wasn't privy to us," Aspen accepted the fact that not everything could be known ahead of time and therefore no one could really be blamed for this.Ā
"Focus on eliminating the remaining enemy troops. We'll be taking the Vanguard mechs back with us and scrapping them for reuse. If the enemy was dumb enough to retreat without their tier 4 mechs, then we'll take those too and use some connections to sell them in the black market."
Receiving the orders, Takara resumed her slaughter and within the hour, the Volkov FOB had fallen. The last 30 mech pilots that were left by the end of the hour surrendered. 29 of them were piloting Tier 2 mechs, and the last one was piloting a Tier 1 mech.Ā
It was a one-sided massacre that resembled the one that had caused the death of the previous Aspen. With Ajax and Valina as prisoners too, Aspen's revenge had almost been completed. Takara took charge of the aftermath, ensuring that none of the prisoners they would be taking had any trackers on them.
Once that was ensured, they were all handcuffed and sat guarded by 3 Apostles of Life. What followed was the further destruction of the base. The 4th tunnel was buried under millions of tons of dirt, the computer's data copied before being destroyed, and the mechs of the surrendering pilots destroyed as well.Ā
The Tier 4 mechs of the 4 Beta Tier pilots had not been found, signaling that they had escaped with them. In less than an hour, the prisoners were transported and Aspen's strike force took off to return to base. Aspen had stayed behind for a little longer and watched over the remains of the FOB below him.
The first light of dawn was just beginning to stretch across the horizon, casting a dim golden glow over the distant mountains. The rising sun painted the sky in streaks of orange and pink, contrasting the thick columns of smoke that billowed from the ruins below.Ā
Shadows stretched long over the battlefield, light and dark both dancing over the wreckage of twisted metal, destroyed mechs, and dead troops.
The once-proud Volkov FOB was now little more than a graveyard. The ground was scarred with deep craters, the earth had been torn apart by gunfire, explosions, and the steps of the massive mechs that once waged war on it.Ā
Scattered throughout the valley were the remnants of enemy mechs, some with singular holes in their cockpits, some riddled with holes throughout their frames, and some crackled with dying embers of purple and blue fire, their optics flickering as their system's functions began shutting down. A suffocating haze of dust and smoke hung in the air, carrying the acrid stench of burnt circuitry and scorched metal.
Aspen's mech hovered above the carnage, its towering frame silhouetted against the early morning light. His sensors picked up the flickering signals of emergency beaconsāfaint, desperate calls from mechs too damaged to function, yet not fully destroyed. Their pilots were likely trapped within, but he did not care. The battle was over, and he had shown enough mercy by taking on 30 prisoners, he wasn't going to put any effort into rescuing enemies.
The silence was unsettling. There was no more gunfire, the open comms were dead quiet, and only the occasional groan of collapsing steel wreckage could be heard every once in a while.
As the sun rose higher, its warmth did little to chase away the lingering cold in Aspen's chest. He had noticed himself becoming more and more detached from reality as of late. The battle had done little to shake him, taking lives didn't even bother him.Ā
He looked down at the ruins of the FOB, at the sheer scale of devastation left in his wake, and he felt nothing. No satisfaction and no regret. Only the quiet hum of his mech's systems and the distant howl of the wind moving through what had now become a valley of the dead.
He knew that what he was doing had to be done. He knew that this was just the beginning of his crusade. That being a top-tier pilot would do little when confronted with fighting space fleets.Ā
He stared at the rising sun on the horizon and opened his cockpit. His helmet retracted into his pilot's suit and his nose was immediately assaulted with tons of different smells, but he remained unfazed and just stared beyond the horizon. He reached out with his hand and Nyx mimicked his movements.
"Nature is so beautifulā¦" He whispered.
"Sir, I must say, your creator truly is an exceptional artistā¦" Nyx spoke, breaking the silence.
"Yes, He is," Aspen whispered. He informed Nyx about his purpose in this new universe, and the AI had surprisingly taken it in stride. She had claimed that it was only logical for there to be a higher being, which had surprised Aspen since he didn't expect the AI to believe in the Almighty.Ā
The two remained in silence for a while longer before the cockpit was closed and they both turned and flew back to base.
Word Count: 2152 Words š
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