Chapter 23: Part (5): Besieged

But this was only the beginning.

Just as the first wave of fire from Aisenberg had to be drawn toward the refugees, the Purification Church, now within effective range, launched a full-scale assault.

In an instant, dozens of rockets, trailing long tails of flame, hurtled straight toward Aisenberg’s walls.

“Shit!” an old soldier on the ramparts yelled, eyes wide. “Get down! They’re all Katyushas!”

Boom—!!!

Massive fire rained down on the walls; several turrets were instantly reduced to scrap metal…

Shattered stones and twisted steel flew like petals in the wind, several defenders were torn apart in the explosions, and bloodstains on the broken walls were horrifying to behold.

The huge shockwaves made the entire wall tremble; many defenders were knocked unconscious to the ground.

“Turret Four destroyed! Signal lost!”

“Turrets Seven and Eleven heavily damaged! Rotation axes jammed!!”

“Casualties being counted!”

“Medics… medics—!!!!”

Under the night sky, Aisenberg’s illumination system began failing.

Many searchlights were damaged, cables severed, and large dark blind spots began appearing outside the walls…

Radar operators stared at their screens, drenched in sweat—signals were intermittent, and enemy jammers were working at full strength.

“General! We’re under heavy electromagnetic interference! Targeting is difficult!”

“All night vision and thermal imaging systems are affected!”

“Visibility is too poor! Strike accuracy insufficient! Coverage inadequate!”

“We must locate their jammer vehicles!”

Meanwhile, more missiles came flying from all directions…

Over the main communication channel, barely maintained through interference, static and cries competed for the speaker; nothing could be clearly heard…

Boom!

Boom—! Boom—!

Under the relentless bombardment, the walls began to shake; cracks appeared along sections of the fortifications.

Gunners were thrown by the shockwaves, slammed heavily against the walls, vomiting blood, trembling as they struggled to catch their breath, yet still clawing back to their posts…

“Assault teams, flank them with me!”

“Mobilize reserves! Tank units, assemble at the south wall! Smash those bastards!”

“Yes!”

“Counterattack! Counterattack!!” the old general roared in the command room, tears blurring his vision:

“Lock onto enemy missile vehicles!”

“Locate their interference sources!!”

“Broadcast all positions! Blow up their rear lines!!!”

The whirring of rotors echoed in the sky.

Two armed helicopters lifted off from within the city, their flares illuminating the southern battlefield.

“Air support has arrived!” the pilots’ voices came over the comms. “Searching for enemy targets!”

“Finally, the big birds are here!”

“Thanks, brothers…”

The helicopter’s thermal imaging quickly locked onto several key targets—missile launch vehicles hidden behind the refugee crowd.

The onboard Vulcan gun spun to life, spewing a torrent of orange-red fire toward the ground.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

Bullets rained like sheets of steel; several armored vehicles belonging to the Church were shredded instantly, screams rising in horror…

But the Church’s anti-air defenses were not to be underestimated.

—Several laser-guided surface-to-air missiles soared into the sky, trailing white smoke.

“Missiles incoming!”

“Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!”

“Countermeasures deployed! Adjusting course!”

The helicopters jinked and dropped chaff, but one was still hit in its tail rotor.

The pilot struggled to keep the controls steady as black smoke poured from the tail.

“Pull up! Pull up!” the co-pilot shouted.

“Bird Two damaged! Making an emergency landing!” the pilot’s voice trembled. “My damn helicopter…!”

“Stop whining!” the pilot of Bird One shouted over the comms:

“That piece of junk can still fly! Patch it up and keep fighting!”

“Bullshit! I’m going to cry over this thing!”

Aisenberg’s artillery responded even more fiercely, shells exploding in the enemy rear lines.

Under the cover of fire, main battle tanks rolled out from the city gates, barrels raised straight at the Church’s support lines.

Boom—Boom—Boom—!

For a moment, the southern battlefield became a true hell on earth.

Countless shells whistled across the night sky, explosions lighting up the night as if it were day…

Both the Church’s fanatical soldiers and innocent civilians caught in the fighting were reduced to scorched remains in the bloody carnage…

Yet the artillery did not stop the Church’s assault; it only seemed to fuel their fanaticism.

They raised their holy emblems and guns high, stepping over the bodies of their comrades, shouting hymns of purification at the top of their lungs.

“For the Great Purification!”

“Purify all filth!”

“The glory of the Lord endures forever!”

The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming, and…

—they didn’t care about casualties at all.

They didn’t care…

Even if one wave was wiped out, another would be pushed forward immediately…

An armored personnel carrier of the Purification Church was hit dead center, blown to pieces, its occupants consumed by fire…

Yet immediately, two more APCs filled the gap…

They had trained their soldiers to be true fanatics…

Death was not an end for them…

But a necessary passage to heaven.

“Sir! The west wall is under attack!”

“Enemy infiltration detected at the north gate! Thermal imaging shows exoskeleton infantry!”

“—Enemy infiltration at the north gate!!!”

“Is it… the Valkyries?!”

“General! Civilians in the east sector haven’t been fully evacuated!”

One piece of bad news after another reached the old general, veins bulging on his forehead.

“Mobilize all reserves!” he ordered. “We cannot let them break through!”

“Sir…”

“The reserves have already been fully deployed; they are all at the south wall…”

“Then mobilize the city patrol units!”

“The southern outer district is under artillery fire; patrols are busy rescuing civilians… we can’t spare men!”

“…” The general stared blankly at his deputy.

The battle was extraordinarily brutal.

Aisenberg’s firepower was indeed formidable; each volley could take dozens of enemy lives.

But the Church’s constant reinforcement and supply seemed endless…

Their momentum in the firefight showed no sign of diminishing; if anything, it escalated further…

Even worse, their infantry included a large number of civilians.

Each time Aisenberg’s soldiers fired, they inevitably killed even more innocents…

The massive psychological burden made many defenders hesitate.

“Bastards! These bastards!! They won’t stop until everyone dies!!”

“Sir! Ammunition running too fast!” the quartermaster reported anxiously:

“At this rate, we can only hold out for two hours at most!”

“Fire! Fired rounds are real ammo! Stockpiled ones are just scrap!”

But soon, he realized the enemy’s true intent—piling troops to exhaust Aisenberg’s ammunition, then launching a final assault when firepower weakened…

Though Aisenberg’s defenses were solid, this relentless human wave exposed the weakness in replenishing forces.

Even if citywide conscription were attempted now…

—forget the current state of the city itself.

The residents of Aisenberg couldn’t withstand such intense modern warfare…

Worse still, the Church knew Aisenberg’s defenses intimately…

Their attacks bypassed industrial zones and underground facilities, instead hitting the most heavily defended walls and main supply points…

This targeted strategy maximized casualties among the defenders while preventing Aisenberg from considering all-out retaliation…

They couldn’t risk the lives of 200,000 citizens just to lob missiles at the Church’s headquarters…

“Sir!” the communicator’s voice broke in sobs. “Ammo stockpile #3 is almost gone!”

“#4 depot is nearly empty too!”

“Contact the underground armory!” he ordered. “Bring up all supplies…”

“Sir! The elevators in the underground armory were destroyed, we have to carry everything manually…”

“Then do it by hand!” the old general roared:

“Even if we have to bite it, get that ammo up here!”

Before he finished, another officer rushed in:

“Sir! Turret Twelve on the south wall is completely destroyed! All operators dead!”

“Gun position Fifteen has also lost contact!”

Boom—!

Another rocket hit the walls.

This time, the explosion was even greater, blowing out a large section of the wall…

Flames lit up the night sky, thick smoke billowing upward.

“Southeast corner lost! Southeast corner lost!!! Enemy is forcing a breakthrough!”

“West gate also breached!”

“These lunatics are in the city!”

“The Purification Church has entered!!!”