RTS System in the Apocalypse-Chapter 45: Spark of Conflict

Dawn emerged at Grefort City.

The dark streets echoed with groans of the undead, oblivious to the storm that has been brewing in the urban fringe.

Inside the fortress situated in the urban fringe, the civilians woke up from the chaos sputtering outside. Through their dilapidated houses, a few slid their windows open.

A small formation of warriors lined up, eyes cold as the morning breeze.

"The soldiers has been spotted near the bank," the Warlord paced, his muscles brimming with energy. "Now is the time to attack—claim what is rightfully ours, and take over this area."

"Yunera!" he shouted.

"Yes, boss!"

"I will lead the charge and surprise them," he spoke. "Follow, and don’t get left behind!"

"Yes boss!" Yunera nodded.

"Good," the warlord sniggered, encouraging his subordinates, "For every kill is a great reward from me. Don’t miss this opportunity."

The warriors stood upright, bearing the warlord’s words into their minds. Their hands twitched in excitement, waiting for their boss to charge out.

"No more dilly-dallying. Move out!"

The boss turned around, marching out of the fortress. Yunera, behind him, crept closer and whispered.

"Boss, what about George?"

"What about him?" The warlord snorted, "Once I’m done with the soldiers, he will be next."

Yunera gripped her blade, "But George warned us that the—"

"A bunch of soldiers killing superhumans?" the warlord spit on the ground. "Those were just lucky shots."

Yunera understood, backing away from him. She looked behind her, feeling uneasy all over.

Will he be there? she thought, a glimpse of hope kindling in her desperate eyes.

As the group marched into the bank—

"B1, be careful," a transmission played. "The warlord is on the move. Overlord, out."

"Roger that, Overlord," Dmitri linked in. "B1 and B2 approaching the bank entrance."

Boots struck onto the concrete as two squads crossed the street to the north—guns aimed forward. As they moved inside the lobby, everyone halted.

"Move into position." Dmitri ordered.

The soldiers didn’t proceed deep into the vault. They hid behind the counters or took cover on the walls.

"Breaching teams in position," Dmitri channeled. "Waiting for target visual confirmation, over."

His eyes peeked through the broken windows, scanning the silent street across him. The buildings were laden with corpses of zombies recently cleared out.

Underneath the carcasses laid a deliberate trap; one that the warlord was about to step into.

Far from the northern bank’s premise, inside a two-storey house’s basement—

Hans sat on a metal chair, focusing on the enlarged map radar.

From the eastern central part of the fringe blimped several red dots—one of them larger than the rest. Like a cannon, it dashed through the map, covering several meters in an instant. The rest of the reds lagged, not because they were slow, but the leading dot was too fast.

They’re closing in, fast!

He touched his comm beads and spoke.

"All troops, be advised. The target is approaching S1’s field of vision. Escorts converging on the net. Execute when ready."

"Copy that, Overlord," Zolyah replied. "S1 already on standby."

She zoomed in on her scope, her tongue sticking out while doing so. On the crosshairs centered a large, burly man leaping off into the distant rooftops.

"Target on visual. He’s leaping like a cheetah on the sky."

"Keep an eye on him... S1," Dmitri frowned as the tremors closed in. Through his eyes, the Warlord jumped from the rooftop and landed onto the street, stirring dust.

The Warlord glanced at the silent bank, furrowing his brows.

"You’re here. Step out."

No one replied.

The warlord’s right hand enlarged, plunging his fingers deep into the concrete. Before he could move, the air stirred with a soft whistle.

As his eyes snapped on his right shoulder, blood spurted out like a fountain.

The Barrett’s gun fire followed, but the sound reached his ears too late.

"Argh-!" he groained in pain, "You dare ambush me?!"

Metal suddenly clanked on his left side, grabbing his attention. The warlord’s eyes enlarged—the world paused for a moment. Then, the whiteness swallowed his vision as he helplessly stumbled backward.

The soldiers begun their salvo, dumping their magazines until the guns clicked. Just as the soldiers reloaded, crooked noise left the warlord’s mouth.

He fell to the ground, his vision fading into black.

The last thing he heard were the distant cries of his subordinates, falling into another trap.

"Ambush—ah!"

Many cried out, too late to respond—except one.

Yunera flicked the bullets and leapt off the killzone. As her slender legs landed on the rooftop, the air whistled, followed by a loud bang.

She quickly leapt backward, evading the projectile that struck the concrete into pieces. She took a breath but not for long. Her hairs stood on end—that dreading feeling returned again.

She somersaulted to the rooftop’s ledge, making an arc on the air as she entered the second floor of a building.

"One target got away!" a soldier shouted in the comms.

"Who is it?" Hans asked, observing an isolated red dot that moved through the buildings.

"Skinny girl, black-haired, brandishing a blade!" the response came.

"Yunera!" Hans gasped, recalling this elite superhuman. Zimmer said she’s a core member! It’s tricky to bring her in but...

Doubt crossed his mind, wondering if this ridiculous plan would even work.

No time to hesitate, just do it!

"Attention to all troops!" he spoke. "One superhuman escaped the net—Yunera. She’s heading east, using the buildings as cover. Do not use lethal force, we’re bringing her in!"

"Copy Overlord," Adrian replied, "A1, moving out!"

While the squads creeped closer to Yunera—

She gritted her teeth, clutching the hilt of her blade. Her lungs heaved deeply, calming down her stammering heart.

"Damn it, I’m surrounded!" she leaned on the wall, peeking through the windows. "They’re moving in. From all directions. I can’t win this fight."

For the second time, death has come knocking on her frail door. This was not what she had expected. As a superhuman, she was bound to something even greater.

Amidst her thoughts, the concrete wall beside her suddenly exploded.

"Wha—?!"

The shockwave shoved her to the floor head-first. The world became blurried, filling her ears with indistinct chimes.

As her countenance recovered, audible shoutings rang. Yunera couldn’t make a sense of it, until the hard texture of a rope clung into her skin.

Her limbs were dragged to her back, secured in place.

Is this... the end of me?

The last thing she saw was a hand chopping straight into her neck. And then—

"Package, secured," Adrian report. "She’s out cold, barely breathing."

"Copy that, A1." Hans responded. "Breaching teams, proceed with vault access. We take what we came for here."

Inside the bank, Dmitri coldly gazed at the warlord’s corpse outside.

"Roger that, Overlord." he raised his hand, signaling the team to move. "We have five minutes. Jenkins, what’s the hold up?"

"Charge in place," Jenkins replied through the radio. "If you’re worried about the alarm, Tomasz already took care of it. We’re waiting for your signal."

"Make it explode."

With a pull of the trigger, the fuse lit up. And came the explosion.

The vault door derailed from its latch, falling into the floor with a loud clank. The alarm no longer blared, but the threat of the incoming horde remained as is.

"Same old, same old."

Jenkins chuckled. His hands moved, quickly unlocking the safeboxes, one gemstone at a time.

Dmitri rushed to the corner and found eight shining brick-sized gold bars, two more from the southern bank before.

"Quite a haul, isn’t this?" Jenkins patted his pack.

"If you get to live, that is," Dmitri rebutted. "Quit the chatter. We have thirty seconds left."

Gemstones slowly flowed into their pouches until there was none to fill anymore. Content with their spoils, the breaching teams left the bank with no horde on sight.

"B1 and B2 on retreat," Dmitri transmissioned. "Bank valuables recovered. Going to rendezvous point."

"Copy, that, B1." Hans responded. "All troops, withdraw."

He exited the enlarged Radar map interface and sighed in relief. Thank goodness all of that went well.

Though he knew his soldiers would perform well, tackling against a group of superhumans unnerved him.

"Commander!"

The two Conscripts on the basement saluted before following him upstairs. Hans glanced around, finding everything else in place.

"Where’s Kimmy?"

"In the balcony, Commander." An army soldier reported.

"Hmm." Hans nodded, going up the second floor.

The wooden floor creaked as he pressed on with his boots. The house may have been built hastily, but Hans felt an unusual comfort from it.

"This house is nice," he muttered. "I wonder where its owners are now."

"They are dead."

A soft voice rippled in the air. Hans’s eyes shifted into the balcony.

There stood Kimmy.

Her floral dress shone as brightly as the sunlight breaking through the dawn. The holy scenery stumped Hans.

However, he quickly recovered, shaking his head while approaching her.

"You sound like you know them."

"I don’t, but the aura in the house is all deathly," she replied. "All dreading."

"Well, Miss Aura-sensor, what got you standing out there in the balcony?" Hans yawned, uninterested about her philosophical thoughts.

"Your soldiers are powerful, much powerful than anything I have sensed." she spoke, her slender hands trailing over the rails.

"Uhuh," Hans smiled. "You are not as blind as you think you are. Worried about your college group?"

"Yes," Kimmy said with no hesitation. "They are misled in the wrong path. George must be warned, and reasoned."

"His absence has spoken words cannot say," Hans waved his hands. "He is either selfish and waited for a non-existent opportunity, or he’s wetting on his bed right now."

Kimmy did not reply, her blindfolded head staring straight at the bright horizon. A cold breeze ran through her fluffy, blonde hair.

"So what will you do now?" she asked after a while.

"Take over the urban fringe," Hans stood beside her. "Integrate the civilians in the warlord’s base. Expand my territory. Explore the city. There’s a lot of things to do."

"How about George? What if he escapes?"

"Then I’ll let him be."

"And if he comes back?"

"What?" Hans raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Worried he’ll be stronger?"

"You should never underestimate a superhuman," Kimmy warned. "You may have killed the warlord, but his powers are still in its embryonic form. You know that."

"I do, but I am not worried." Hans chuckled, eyeing the virtual panel in front of him. "You should know... my powers are also in its embryonic form."

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"You are very confident. I will give you that." Kimmy’s voice dragged her back to reality.

Hans was unsure if that was a compliment, or a subtle criticism.

"Time will tell, Kimmy." he chuckled, fluttering his cape as he turned around. "I assure you that your loyalty is not unfounded—"

"And that logically, you were never blind."