In the grim darkness of the 22nd century, nations fight for domination of a planet that is near-traumatized by countless deaths and screams of agony.
They bleed for a world in which the strong rule with impunity.
They die for the fickle dream of a realm which is barren by the countless firestorms that ravaged Earth over these seemingly endless, dark years.
With the creation of Savior Pods that allow pilots to survive all sorts of hits without being incapacitated or killed, the definition of war is now defined by the economy as much as by the heroism that these common soldiers show.
In this war, there are no winners.
Such is the reality of the world in which they live.
There is only nothing but death and despair…in the 22nd century.
With the Spydras focusing on the long-range support Natashas, Bolognese focused on the Bulgasaris who were ripping them apart with plasma weapons.
First, he moved a bit and baited the Asian pilot to use up his dashes.
Wrong move, baby.
With the now-classic Griffin Jump activated, Bolognese was able to deliver a load of rockets right onto the enemy’s face.
The Asian pilot was still alive after the ordeal though and he unleashed his plasma cannons towards Bolognese’s Griffin.
All of a sudden, warning signs flashed on his battle screen.
But then, he was far from being in immediate danger as his command squad engaged the rest of the Bulgasaris who were keen to kill him right there.
Finding a building to hide, Bolognese rushed behind it and took a glance at his battle systems.
After a quick assessment of battlefield conditions, he immediately contacted his superiors in Geneva.
“Arena Actual, this is Vanguard One. Can we expect reinforcements?”
“That’s a negative for now, Vanguard One. We need a clear piece of airspace, over.”
“Okay then, we’ll try to clear one for you.”
“We hope so, Vanguard One. Good luck hunting. Out.”
He thought of the Italian forces trapped at the Residenziale. He knows that he can’t do anything about them at the moment.
Undeterred, he advanced carefully with his combat squad, trying to ignore the firepower that the enemy was throwing at them.
This is ridiculous, if we only had backup!
All around him, allied robots were falling down one by one like flies as all sorts of projectiles came their way.
The skies of Rome became dark due to the endless smokes billowing from the wake of the conflagrations that were engulfing the city.
Reds from lasers, yellows and oranges from rockets and the occasional blues and greens of tracers added to the grim scene that was unfolding.
Then, as the bullets and rockets reached his armor, he felt his mech shake badly as the entire control panel went red.
He knows that there is nothing else that he could do, unless he wanted to lose his Griffin for good.
“Gentlemen, we should find cover and hold our positions! We will advance and retake the old city and the Residenziale once our mechs get repaired!”
Thus, Bolognese and his forces were stuck in the old city, unable to go up against the withering fire of the Pan-Asian troops.
Inside the Residenziale, Leandro Sargoza and his team were waiting for a chance to exit. They knew very well that going out into the open was pure suicide.
However, they were also aware that staying inside the city was a recipe for disaster; after all, the Italian Armed Forces have almost lost control of the enclave.
Armed with guided rocket launchers, RPGs and automatic armor-piercing grenade launchers, Sargoza’s company were positioned inside a dilapidated red-brick building in the old city.
Their firepower can wipe out a Kumiho in one salvo, but they knew that they were not going to withstand whichever counterattack comes next.
With a signal of his hand, they went out to the next building.
So far, so good. The fools apparently didn’t have thermal imaging.
Unknown to them, one of the Carnages carried electronic warfare equipment and it was able to triangulate their positions to the Zenit and Noricum batteries on their side of the battlezone.
“Commander, did you hear that?”
“Holy crap, take cover! Arty incoming!!!”
They all quickly sprinted inside, huddling and crouching as they went through.
“They know we are here! Weapons ready!”
Indeed, after a few minutes of the initial barrage, a Kumiho came to the building.
Even though the Asian robot was huge, they did not lose discipline.
“Aim at that bastard! We will take down all of them!”
Within seconds, missiles, RPGs and AP shells rained upon the Kumiho, forcing its pilot to eject away.
A second Kumiho came in with a payload of Orkans, unloading it and killing a third of Sargoza’s company.
The Asian bot tied to dash away, but its reactive armor couldn’t withstand the gunfire and also was forced to use his Savior Pod.
Then, a Bulgasari came out of nowhere, as par for the course.
Clad in purple and armed with three Orkans as well as a physical shield made of titanium, Sargoza uttered a silent prayer.
“Oh, pizza is going to die now,” shouted the Bulgasari pilot over the speaker. “For Russia and the glory of the Union!!!”
Five seconds later, it was all over as the purple mech smashed the building with its powerful rockets, burying Sargoza and his company alive.
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