Chapter 601: Battle At the Gate.

The first gunshot tore through the air before the soldiers guarding the gate could even understand what was happening.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The convoy opened fire.

The guards stationed around the massive gate were caught completely off guard as advanced thermal weapons mounted on the military vehicles erupted at once.

Their concentrated blasts tearing across the entrance and scattering soldiers in every direction.

"Take cover!"

"Get down!"

Shouts rang out as explosions bloomed around them.

The first thermal blast struck the defensive wall beside the gate, throwing several soldiers off balance from the shockwave alone.

Pieces of concrete and metal flying through the air as smoke swallowed the entrance.

Bang!

A guard near the control mechanism was struck before he could even raise his rifle, thrown backward with blood splattering across the wall behind him.

"Ahhh!"

Another soldier screamed as a blast tore through his armor and sent him crashing to the ground.

The remaining guards were consumed by shock.

They’d been ordered to close the gate, expecting maybe a few argument from the convoy. But they had never expected them to open fire without even bothering to question them.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Stop firing!"

"We’re your own people!"

The shouts vanished beneath another wave of gunfire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The convoy’s weaponry kept firing without hesitation as the guards scrambled for cover, some dropping behind the defensive wall, others crawling along its narrow edge, trying to stay as low as possible.

"Damn it!"

"Move!"

"Get down!"

One soldier pressed himself flat against the wall as a blast passed directly overhead, the heat scorching the side of his face.

"Fuck!"

He cursed through gritted teeth as he crawled forward, hands trembling against the rough concrete.

Another explosion struck the wall behind.

Boom!

The whole structure shook, throwing him forward until he rolled to a stop and grabbed the wall’s edge. He looked back and saw smoke rose from the section that had just been hit.

Two soldiers lay motionless nearby.

"Help me!" a wounded guard cried, his leg badly injured, blood pooling beneath him.

Another soldier tried crawling toward him.

"Hold on!"

Before he could reach him, another blast struck the ground.

Boom!

The shockwave threw both of them apart. The wounded soldier’s scream swallowed almost instantly by the continuous roar of gunfire.

Against the convoy’s heavy, advanced firepower, the guards fell one after another.

They had weapons of their own, thermal rifles, defensive positions, but nothing had prepared them to face several military convoys armed with weapons meant for the deadliest battlefields.

Their return fire was scattered and weak.

"Fire!"

"Don’t let them come any closer!" The Captain shouted, firing repeatedly.

Bang! Bang!

The shots struck one of the vehicles, but its armor barely registered the impact, and the mounted thermal weapon swung immediately toward the source.

The Captain’s eyes went wide.

"No..."

Bang!

His position exploded, throwing several soldiers backward.

One hit the ground hard, blood pouring from his shoulder and another screamed, clutching his stomach.

"Medic!"

"Someone get a medic!"

Unfortunately, no medics were coming. The soldiers at the gate were fighting for their lives.

Across the Muster Ground, more soldiers rushed toward the entrance at the sound of the explosions and for them to stop dead at what they saw.

Their faces filled with shock and confusion.

None of it made sense.

Military convoys attacking their own gate guards.

Generals firing on soldiers under their own command and the guards firing back.

"What is happening?"

"Why are they fighting each other?"

"Are they trying to break out?"

The confusion spread fast. Some soldiers edged closer, only to stop when they saw the intensity of the fighting.

They’d been trained to obey the chain of command, and now that chain seemed to be tearing itself apart right in front of them.

Another convoy arrived, racing down the road before screeching to a halt near the gate. The moment its soldiers took in the scene, their general gave the order.

"Open fire now!"

The mounted weapons roared to life.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gate absorbed another wave of explosions, the defensive wall shaking violently as the concentrated firepower tore apart what remained of the guards’ positions, forcing several to retreat.

More convoys arrived.

Within minutes, the road leading to the gate was packed with vehicles, each one carrying senior officers and heavily armed soldiers, all of them chasing the same goal.

Escape.

The massive gate stood between them and freedom, and they were willing to destroy it to get through.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The sound rolled across the entire base as the gate, built to withstand beast attacks and military-grade weapons alike, began to fail.

Cracks spread across its reinforced surface, pieces of metal tearing loose, the control mechanism already ruined, smoke thick across the entrance.

As for the few guards alive, their return fire grew thinner by the second. One soldier managed a single shot before falling silent and another raising his rifle only to be driven back by incoming fire.

A group of soldiers farther off watched in disbelief. One tightened his grip on his rifle.

"Should we help them?"

His squad leader didn’t answer right away. "We haven’t received any order."

"But they’re our soldiers."

"I know." He looked toward the gate as another explosion shook the ground. "But I don’t know who we’re supposed to fight."

The soldier fell silent as no one wanted to be the one who made the wrong call.

Inside the convoy, the generals patience were wearing thin. The gate was nearly blasted apart, but it still held.

"What are you doing?" One general shouted from inside his vehicle. "Go and open the goddamned gate!"

His men moved at once, rushing toward the damaged gate while the convoy kept up suppressive fire on the remaining guards.

The three other generals exchanged a look.

"Send your men," The first ordered.

The others nodded. "Let them join in and force the gate open."

Instantly, their men surged forward, some carrying heavy tools while others moving toward the ruined control mechanism as they were prepared to open it by force if they had to.

"Don’t let them through!" The wounded captain shouted, several soldiers raising their rifle in response.

But before they could fire, the convoy unleashed another barrage.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The guards were driven back, one falling behind the wall, another dropping his rifle entirely.

The generals’s men pressed closer and slowly they reached the gate. Quickly, they began to work as fast as their hand could move.

"Move!"

"Break this section!"

"Get the hydraulic system!"

One soldier raised a heavy tool, ready to strike a particular part of the gate mechanism.

Just then a deafening sound rolled across the Muster Ground.

Boom. Boom.

The ground shook.

Every soldier near the gate froze, the generals inside their vehicles turning toward the distance as a deep mechanical roar spread through the base.

Then another sound followed.

Boom...

Heavy treads crushed the road as they rushed toward the gate.

Military tanks appeared in the distance, several of them, their massive armored bodies rolling forward as soldiers advanced alongside them with their weapons already raised.

Safety lock gone.

The men at the gate slowly turned around with their eyes widened. The generals stared, disbelief written across their faces as the tanks kept coming.