Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Interlude: The Grim Reaper has arrived!

With two fingers tapping the communication headpiece on his helmet, Carter of Noble Team speaks up. "Noble Team has arrived in the sector, commencing ops." He then turns to Emile who is still in the middle of a staring contest with the group of Crusaders. "I will leave you to deal with ladies."

Emile chuckles grimly. "Didn't know you have it in you to make a joke, boss. Sure, go puts out the fire elsewhere."

Carter just nods before motioning the rest of the team to disperse to handle other Crusaders that are still running amok. Carter himself turns and runs toward an already awaiting special operations Humvee, with its driver turns to salute him. "Commander, sir, we've been told of your arrival."

Carter nods at the man before mounting the co-driver seat that is armed with an MG-35. "Emile can handle this area. Let's move, airbornes!"

The decision to leave Emile behind while other members of Noble Team and the mechanized convoy relocate elsewhere isn't made without any consideration. Carter, having served and sparred with Emile on many occasions, has full faith in the team's assault specialist. After all, the terrain of a confined alleyway with a single exit leading to the main street is just home-field advantage for a guy with a shotgun.

Uncaring of the fading rumbling of vehicles, Emile addresses the tensed Crusaders ahead of him. "So, before we get to the meat of the matter, care to answer a few questions?"

That raised a few eyebrows or two, though the majority of them gained the look of absolute focus. They are smart enough to infer that the individual is a cut higher than their prior enemy. It can explain his apparent ease right now and the fact that he fell from the sky and is still perfectly fine. Nonetheless, the apparent leader of this group of twelve Crusaders still replies. "Does it matter?"

Emile shrugs lightly. "No, it does not. Though the answers may or may not give me more validation."

"Validation to attack this haven unwarned?" The Crusader asked back pointedly.

"The majority of the people that were held captives beyond those walls would like to disagree that this place is a haven." Emile responded, dripping in audible sarcasm.

"The people beyond the walls...?"

"Believe me, you won't believe it if I tell you." Emile said offhandedly. "Enough talk, shall we get into business?"

"... Perhaps that would be for the best. We still have places to be." The Crusaders all level their guns at various parts of Emile's armor.

Emile just laughs at this. "Great! Though you may want to check your rear."

"What!?" At his words, most of the Crusaders reflexively turn back. The leader knows better than to do that, apparently, judging from her warning. "Wait!" Because there's no one behind them in the first place. The alley is a dead end with only a single side door from a cantina.

Emile uses the momentary distraction and pulls the trigger, once, sending an armor-piercing 8-gauge slug at the back of a Crusader armed with a Beretta Model 38. Even with the reinforced physical body that a B-rank Crusader possesses, it's nowhere near enough to stop a heavy slug of tremendous size. Suffice to say, the 8-gauge projectile punches a large hole in the back of the unfortunate Crusader, destroying her spinal column before bursting her chest open and continuing to fly till it hit the back end of the alley. A puff of bloody mist appears from the impact, splashing on those nearby before the B-rank Crusader collapses, dying almost immediately.

"Gia!" Shouted a Crusader. "Damn you, heathen...!"

Chaos descended due to the shocking start of hostility with the Crusaders appalled by the loss of one of their comrades. Emile is not one to sit around, he propels himself forward, using the momentary lapse in the Crusaders' judgment to close the distance. "Shouldn't have fallen for the oldest trick in the book, dumbasses!" Emile mocked them while chambering the next shell.

One by one, the Crusaders train their guns on the charging Emile and pull the triggers. However, Emile is too fast, his armored figure ducking and weaving in between the shots, letting the bullets fly harmlessly past him. He also uses the environment to his advantage. Approaching the large garbage storage outside the cantina, Emile kicks it, hard, and sends the whole thing flying at the group of Crusaders. The trashy content spills out, obscuring Emile's figure while the storage itself lands in the middle of the Crusaders' formation, forcing a few of them to dodge and lessening the firepower screen. With heavy footfalls, Emile continues the charge almost unimpeded.

With him getting too close and bullets can't seem to hit him effectively, the Crusader leader orders. "Get him into melee! Use our numbers to overwhelm him!"

"Roger!" Replied some of the Crusaders, with four of them moved to intercept the armored man. Two of them discarded their SMGs and pulled out knives while the other two had bayonets attached to their rifles.

Using their inhuman agility, these Crusaders zig-zag and even run up the side of the buildings for a few steps, dodging the line of fire from Emile's shotgun. That said, Emile can still easily track them and it would have been an easy hit with the shotgun at this distance of less than 100 meters. However, aside from the singular slug that he fired earlier, the rest of the eleven shells in his 8-gauge shotgun are of a different type. Knowing that he would be engaging Crusaders at close range, Emile has packed the literal hot stuff for his primary weapon, 8-gauge dragon's breath shells.

Unlike the debatable effectiveness of 12-gauge dragon's breath in terms of lethality, the larger .00 buck 8-gauge shell offers much more firepower, pun fully intended. The shell contains fifteen incendiary pellets and numerous smaller shards that use elements that burn much hotter than magnesium, standing at more than 3000 degrees Celsius.  This allows the shell to project lethality all the way to approximately 100 meters, though the sure-kill distance is a consistent 50 meters and lower. As such, Emile has to get close and personal with the Crusaders, especially when their bodies literally have built-in body armor.

Under the covering fire from the Crusaders at the back, the four women at the forefront soon shortened the distance to near knife-fighting range. Emile doesn't allow them to get the first swing though, choosing the moment when they have to stop dodging and rush straight at him for a stab, Emile slides forward in his armor. This not only forces the Crusaders to adjust their aim, wasting a precious one second but also allows Emile to pick a target and engage.

*BANG*

With a pull of the trigger, Emile's shotgun roars a blast of fiery projectiles, spatting out fire like a true dragon. The incendiary pellets cover the distance in no time at all and engulf a Crusader with a pair of military bayonets in her hands. The flaming pellets hit first, and the tightly packed grouping due to the close proximity of both sides ensured that the pellets hit squarely in the upper torso of the Crusader. While the incendiary pellets are based on buckshot pellets, making it so they may not fare well against an armored target. 15 pellets hitting almost at the exact same spot is more than enough to overwhelm the Crusader's natural protection.

Emile doesn't know the rank of the Crusader he just engaged. What he does know is that the shell is particularly effective at this distance. Together, the pellets cave in the Crusader's chest, clothing, and natural armor notwithstanding, before the fire starts catching on. The boiled meaty bits then explode into a gory fireball, while the smaller incendiary shards assault the Crusader's eyes, nose, and mouth, effectively crippling, if not killing her right off the bat. The Crusader barely let out a scream before falling to the ground, her body slowly consumed by flame internally and externally.

Not a good way to go to the afterlife and the stunning way she goes out cause a stumble in the steps of the other Crusaders. No one had ever borne witness to such a devastating effect on human flesh, not until now.

Emile quickly chambers another shell, breaking back into a sprint. The sound wakes up the Crusaders from their stupor. In a fit of rage, one of the Crusaders nearest to Emile throws one of their knives at him, aiming squarely at the skull visor. Trusting in his armor, Emile raises his left knuckle and bats away the spinning knife that was thrown at an inhuman speed. At the same time, he returns the favor, raising his shotgun with one hand and...

*BANG*

He sends another blast at the enraged Crusader, the fiery breath completely engulfs her head despite her raising an arm up to block some of it. The Crusader falls down, screaming a high one at her other intact arm is raised up to try and put out the patches of fire that are buried under her skin. The action won't do much for your need for dry chemical agents to suppress the fire.

Ignoring the Crusader that will soon pass on to the next life, Emile prepares the next shell. With his right hand, Emile flicks the shotgun upward while removing his hold from the pistol grip. Allowing the shotgun to fall down due to gravity at play, Emile clasps his hand around the pump. With a nudge, he chambers another round while also ducking down into a crouch, dodging an overhead swing from a bayonet-equipped Carcano rifle. One hand returns his shotgun to the firing position while the other pulls out the kukri attached to his right pauldron, Emile uses the kukri to deliver a deadly slash at the neck of the Crusader who took a swing at him. Barely a split second later, Emile fires another blast of dragon's breath, taking out the last Crusader in melee range by eviscerating her upper torso.

Not stopping there, Emile stabs the kukri into the chest of the Crusader who is trying to stem the blood flowing out from her neck. Chambering a new shell with one hand, Emile uses the kukri with the other to hoist the Crusader up as a living shield. He then rushes the remaining seven Crusaders with the dying lady on his knife acting as an obscurer for his terrifying visage.

Immediately, the surviving Crusaders are daunted and horrified by the ease with which Emile took out 1/3 of their number. Despite their training, their sisterly bond prevents them from firing at the living shield Emile is employing, even if she is already at Death's door. Having no other choices, they have to take cover and flank Emile, knowing that they have to besiege him in an all-out brawl.

Undeterred, Emlie braces his shotgun over the shoulder of the body shield in front of him, shouting. "Westside, motherfuckers!"

*BANG*

Another blast went off, this time, the blast hitting the lower half of a Crusader that was one step too slow. With two of her legs gone, the Crusader is effectively out of the fight due to serious trauma. And now, only six of them are left that can still fight, with Emile having seven shots to spare. Getting another shell in the chamber, Emile uses the now limp Crusaders, with her hands wrapped around the kukri weakly, to continue his approach.

Is this dishonorable, yes. Is this effective in blocking sharp blades and desperate retaliation fire, also yes. Emile does this because he knows that it could potentially break the enemy's will to fight, not necessarily because he enjoys it. A necessary evil, one may say. Over the top, but still necessary.

Whenever a Crusader gets in close to engage him, Emile can just turn the now mutilated carcass at her and that would cause her to back off, giving Emile the chance to engage another target.

*BANG*

Thus fell another Crusader, her right torso decimated.

*BANG*

Goes another one, foolish enough to try and block the blast with both of her arms. The result is as expected, she slumps down screaming while looking at the stumps that used to be her forearms.

*BANG*

And then there are only three left, with the ninth turned away, trying to run, only to be blasted with pellets puncturing her back. She's still alive, barely while trying to crawl away, marred with blood, tears, and grime.

Emile has been methodically dismantling them, one by one, with no shred of mercy or pity. They're the enemy, one that is deserving of the judgment that befalls them. The lives they've dedicated to fight for a lost, wrongful cause, were the lives that were given by countless sacrifices. With his bloody past as a constant reminder, Emile will not hesitate to deliver punishment to these sinners, ignorant or not.

With shells to spare, Emile is just about to continue his slaughter when the remaining Crusaders finally break under the onslaught of what can only be dubbed the Devil in their mind. Pulling the pins on her grenade belt, the Crusader leader threw the belt at the feet of Emile, stopping his charge. "Retreat! Back to the castle!"

Quickly picking up their crippled sister that are sprawled on the floor, the remaining four Crusaders use the cover from the exploding grenades to get into the cantina and disappear further into the building. There are ways they can take to get back to their last bastion. At this point, inner Auschwitz is effectively lost. They can only hope that the grenades, which no doubt would have decimated the remains of their battle sisters, can be enough to stop the Devil from chasing them.

Yet, despite making it close to a steel gate that fortunately remains under Sardegnian control, the tattered Crusaders can't help but feel a looming threat hanging over their head. Even when they get past the gate and finally step inside the castle itself, guarded with dozens of guns, they never feel safe. The dread only grows stronger and stronger as each second passes. Until...

*BOOM*

To their horror, as the Crusaders turn around, the thick reinforced steel gate that even an A-rank Crusader would have troubled clearing has been deformed, and the shape of an armored fist is clearly imprinted on it. Crusaders and soldiers alike can only stare at the imprinted fist dumbly before another appears.

*BOOM*

Then another one, prompting everybody to raise their weapons at the gate.

*BOOM*

One more appears before more and more boomings can beard at the punching pace is increased. Finally, unable to bear numerous fists barraging the same spot, a portion of the steel gate explodes, launching the metal slab that breaks under the strain and crushing an unfortunate Sardegnian soldier. Then, the Devil with a skull helmet pops his head in, the sight of which would scar them for life... That is if they survive the encounter.

With a dark chuckle, Emile says aloud. "Here's Grimmy!"