Army of the Damned

VOLUME 14 Chapter 5

Now standing on the podium, made to explain how a modern military would siege a city. Jackson was a bit jittery as he drew on the map of a long four lane highway that has one gas station on it while the vast area around it was just farmland and on the upper limits of his drawing, were the outskirts of the city.

Proceeding with his drawing, the chalk's screeching sound would intermittently make its presence known, keeping the attention of the class in check always. In the first row of the benches, Doctor Ugr looked to the student next to him and stared at the kid up and down. "You better take notes, young Lord. This could be a once in a lifetime experience." Though since the row was already full, half of his body was on the aisle. Making him stand out.

While Jackson had taken the ladder and drew a misshapen version of the city he attacked on that day. "The uhhhh... the objective we had was to push through Kayseri and reach Ankara before the Turkish Parliament could escape. We had air control, though not superiority." He then labels the vast flatland around the city as farmland. The city itself has a size that's formidable, but the Capital of Ankara would be twice its size.

"Now that's a city. Proceed." He'ruth scooched over to the front row even more. Pushing the Nobles aside as he drills his own place. Now he sat amongst the class as he obediently drew and listened to the Colonel.

"Our objective was to take it. Nothing else. No matter how much it costs. I was in charge of penetrating straight into their frontline as the last two Brigades that were sent over had staggering casualties."

Jackson pops out of the turret of his brand new Leopard 2A8+ Main Battle Tank. Unlike his previous T-Series tank. The German made armored vehicle was taller, wider, and sported more armor. But at the cost of weight and size as he could see even the top of the military transport trucks. But in his hatch, there was more than enough space to get around alongside his crew whose stature was small compared to that of an average European.

In Front of their tank, the vast farmland was cut in the middle with the highway. There was so much exhaust smoke that even the thermals of his commander's camera were cluttered with white paint. The endless sea of trucks were pulling to the sides a few hundred meters in front of him by the gas station as tracer fire flew into the skies. Reaching for the heavens just to explode and throw shrapnel at the drones swarming the begotten city.

With the slow moving traffic, he catches a glimpse of a machine gun position on one of the craters. The three soldiers on it were silent, their faces completely covered up by the balaclava and the thick combat goggles. Their neck down to their toes was covered in the fatigues and inside, was the metallic color of the exoskeleton suit that hides under the uniform. There was no skin shown, and they were poised like their feet and hands were cemented on the trigger.

Unmoving, untattered by the distant and near gunshots and explosions, the three men kept a stoic appearance. Jackson's eyes just looked at them as if they were a part of the heavy machine gun they were operating. Not a mere extension as rays of the Sun would intermittently appear from the darkened clouds above them that made it impossible to indicate if it was morning or afternoon as the stench of burnt diesel hugged everything. Not releasing the soldiers from its strong odor.

"Driver, park between the middle island." The 1,600Hp diesel engine roars as the tank accelerates past a slow moving trailer truck in front of them. "Damn! This thing really drives like a dream!" as one of the transport trucks was fully parked. Dumping ammo boxes and the soldiers opening them to reveal the boxed carton of 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds.

The gas station meant for small sedans and commercial vehicles going out of the city was now filled to the brim with armored tanks and IFVs as the army stopped its advance. With so little space for the camouflage vehicles, they took to the trimmed farmland. Taking up the barren land and turning it into a motor pool.