Wolfran the Knight Avenger

In

The Last Crusade of Altraumzen

Episode 8: Purging the Winged Demons

Wolfran began charging his zweihanderkrieger lightning sword, and was gratified to see on his sensors his knights doing the same without the need for orders. They knew their business. So like an aged farmer on the scythe they prepared for their grisly harvest.

“Zweihanderkrieger Knights prepare your mounts for boost maneuvers, aim for the controllers, lancers take targets of opportunities,” Wolfran yelled into his intercom over the ruckus of fire, and screeching metal. Even inside the armored golem the cacophony of the drone assault couldn’t be fully suppressed.

A few more pounding seconds passed with the fervent blasting and occasional drones fighting through the carnage to be crushed by a swift punch of a massive metallic fist when the expected click and red warning lights in his mount informed Wolfran that he had indeed burned through his plasma ordinance. He would need more metallic material, and excess energy for the mech to prepare more shots. In quick succession each mech’s proximity defenses were spent or destroyed by the ragging mass of metal and flesh. In a rush the controllers sent the swarm in full tilt which was what the knights were waiting for.

Wolfran lifted his above his mech releasing the pent up energy with the massive blade that staggered even wondrous machines as their mounts. A bubble of lighting shot above the crusaders soon joined by every zweihanderkrieger mech still operational enough to expend energy. Wolfran winced as out of the corner of his eye he spied one of Obenrittenbruden Cunradus knight’s mount explode in a flash of plasma and pent up energy sending two more mechs sprawling, and incinerating several infantrymen who were hiding behind its legs for cover. His mount had overloaded doubtlessly a leak caused by a burrowing drone. The damned would pay for that.

Still, most of the lightning barrage proceeded as intended each bubble of electricity and plasma merging with the next until a final massive burst exploded into the air above their heads. A chest rattling explosion rocked the world, and rained hot plasma, fried drone, and crisped controller flesh upon the courtyard. The chard flesh had scarcely begun its descent before Wolfran engaged his thrusters, and flew into the air rocketing like an arrow shot from the bow of the almighty right into the heart of the mass of exposed controllers. Some half of the swarm remained. None of the possessed cyborgs had time to shield themselves before the strike.

The Captain’s knights with still functional zweihanderkrieger mechs were hot on their officer's heels forming a burning display in the red sky. Ahead of them blasts from the mortars, and shots from the lancers melted the ranks above their heads. Entire waves of drones rained from the sky with their twisted puppeteers broken bodies close behind. Then came the flashing lightning swords in the hands of the skilled knights.

The wave of mechs slammed into the mass of still living metallic monstrosities. As they came close their wretched forms came into horrid detail for a pregnant moment. The Knight Captain beheld a flash of pale maidens with eyes sewed shut and bodies grafted into metal machinations, their torsos bloodied from the battle and their human wailing and the scream of the metallic engines struggling to keep their damaged husks aloft grating on the ears.

There was one lion headed torso with the stomach and shoulders shaped as a man, but hairy as a cat welded into a massive metal machine trimmed with gold and blue great cats edged into its sides. Another had the body of a praying mantis with the head of man, yet where its face should be there was just a swirling blackness with speckled stars in the void.

Wolfran ignored all of their decrepit forms. Nightmares could be dealt with in the calm of night once one had lived through the peril. What had passed to turn these wretches into their current atrocity? The knight dare not imagine, but he could end the suffering of the bodies and purge the unclean spirits from their husks.

The knights came as avenging angels into the tight ranks. None could miss their cuts so thick was the press, and many of the knights used left over ordinance to blow more controllers from the sky. Soon they all came flying back to the ground. The knights used their jets to cushion their landing, and avoid crushing allies in the courtyard.

The sickening splat of raining gore and metal scrap landed ahead of their descent. Looking at his readings Wolfran was pleased to see some seventy five to eighty percent of the swarm was purged. Pity they still had some hundred thousand flying horrors to fall upon them.

Wolfran cursed as he slapped the emergency energy release button, sending a bolt flying at random into a cliff face outside the walls of the fortress. His mech had taken damage in that last foray.

Searching his outer hull on his cameras and sensors the knight soon found the culprit. The drone slid dead from his back with it’s controller now torn asunder, but the damage was already done. The plasma cutters had managed to melt through his back plate and damage one of his capacitors. He could not charge bolts without overloading his mech. That was not a pleasant development.

His mech slammed into the ground with the swarm a mere hundred lances behind the surviving knights. Wolfran prepared a desperate order to gather into turtle formation more suited for the heavy mechs. A death knell for any of the skyfall unites. If they were in such a position, with no ability to maneuver, it meant their commander was only buying time not saving his troopers.

Worse of all, Wolfran knew it to be true. He was out of ideas. Not only did they have no time to charge another burst there was no telling how many of the zweihanderkrieger wielding mechs had sustained damage to their capacitors.

These controllers knew well the weaknesses of their enemy though they seemed to have underestimated the ferocity of the knights. Still, drone swarms were cheap, and no servant came to the demon whore Ishtar’s attention. She would sacrifice all for her pride and lusts, but most of all to save her own pathetic soul from her eternal reward of damnation.

Before Wolfran could give the hated order a burst of laser fire filled the courtyard, and then raised into the air. Konrad had kept his promise to the last. The automatic drone defenses burned through the mass like sharks through a school of fish. Soon only a few thousand limping drones and less than five controllers were seen limping their way back to whatever hole they’d been conjured out of.

Wolfran sighed as he surveyed the carnage. That had been close. A razor edge. Yet, it would seem his beloved knights of the Skyfall brigade had outlasted their enemies for another few hours.

The Story Will Continue Every Friday.

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