Ire of Mankind (A 40k and halo fanfic)

Chapter 27

An: 

Hey.... so... it has been a while isn't it? Would explain later why it came so late, but for now, enjoy a 2.6k chapter!

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Southern Front, Kardrien mountains.

"Hold!" Rike pulled the trigger of his rifle as the cries of war filled the air. Arid smoke, broken bodies and screaming masses corrupted the once pristine blue orb. They came in masses like the rolling tides of a mad ocean.

Three hours. Three damned hours barely passed, yet the front was already buckling. And the weather was not getting better as it became more and more foggy. Unlike the other fronts where they received the aid from the other humans, as unbelievable as that may sound, they received nothing because of their already bolstered numbers.

All the supposed mythical reinforcements were sent to the under-manned and lacking fronts. It was a sick joke that fate had decided to play with. Though he did not know how the other fronts fared, Rike could not help but feel a tinge of envy from the others as his mag run dry.

Even with their former numbers and relatively strong fortifications, it was not nearly enough to hold the line. They were simply too many of them, too little of them. Still, Rike refuses to run as he quickly ejected the dry mag with a fresh new one.

This was his home. Not just any planet, but his. He and many others from the regiment had grown up and lived through the planet's warm embrace. And he would be damned if he abandoned it all. His home was here. His parents are here... his wife is here. The mere thought of these covenant bastards defiling his home was enough to slam the knife down to a grunt who got too close.

Their defiant scream and the shattering roar of their arsenals held the tide back again and again, but there was only so much they could do before even that fire flickers. Rike fell to the ground with a grunt as a nearby plasma grenade detonated.

The heat made his eyes burn, his skin sting as he struggled to regain his balance. "Captain, we have to fall back! There are too many of them!" Rike felt a hand dragging him away from the front as he shouted back.

"No! We cannot abandon this position! We must-"

"Incoming!" Moving in instinct, Rike pushed the man who was dragging him into the ground as he followed suit and braces. The earth shook a second later.

"Status!" Rike shouted before a cry of dismay shouted back.

"T-the bunker is gone, sir! E-everyone is dead!" Panic slowly infects the ranks as Rike felt his blood ran cold. Every single commanding officer of the area was dead. "C-captain, w-what are our orders?" Save from him and a few unlucky bastards who weren't there when it happened. "S-sir?" And no one was taking the lead. So, he had to.

"Regroup at the mainline!" And he had to do what he dreaded the most. "This area is lost! Alert the others of our retreat!" The men and women nodded back grimly as they began shouting and relaying his orders. Not a moment later, the familiar and damnable heat of the covies plasma waft the air once more as they chant their deaths.

" Lieutenant Walker!" Rike yelled as he opened fire once more from the relentless tide of grunts.

"Yes sir!" Walker shouted as he joined Rike and several others, preventing the grunts to push further as they took cover.

"I need you to coordinate our retreat! You are to leave this position and ensure this order would succeed." Walker's eyes widened as he injected a fresh mag.