Chapter 286: Air and Ground Assault

At 4:30 AM, after everyone had boarded the train, Colonel Lucas stood at the entrance of the command carriage, personally picked up a flare gun, loaded a green signal flare, and raised it high toward the dark night sky.

“Whoosh—Pop!”

A green signal flare, marking the start of the general offensive, burst open in a brilliant flash of light.

This light was not only meant for the Armored Airship in the sky but also for all the Saxon soldiers struggling to hold the line outside the city.

“It’s the signal for the general offensive!”

“The Armored Train is moving out!”

The defense line, which had been on the verge of collapse, seemed to be infused with infinite strength at that moment, and the soldiers used their last reserves of energy to pour a rain of bullets onto the surging tide of undead.

“Woo—!!!”

The whistle of the ‘Odin’ emitted a loud and prolonged shriek, a sound that pierced the roar of guns and artillery, spreading across the entire battlefield.

The massive wheels began to turn slowly on the tracks, then faster and faster.

This steel behemoth, which had long been dormant, had finally awakened.

According to the predetermined plan, it first headed west, then began a high-speed circuit along the peripheral railway encircling Paris.

Half of the Instruction Assault Battalion Company 1 soldiers rode inside the troop transport carriages, while the other half rode trucks ahead, responsible for checking if the tracks were damaged and if the switch system was pointed toward the correct route.

Inside the carriage, Morin, the boarded soldiers, and the armed priests all tightly gripped nearby fixtures to steady themselves.

The train was moving very fast, and the carriages constantly jolted over the rail joints, making a clanging and rattling sound.

Morin looked through the carriage observation window, watching the scenery rapidly receding outside.

They could see the defensive line outside the city, formed by countless flashes of fire and explosions, and they could see countless Saxon soldiers fighting fiercely under the cover of night.

They could also see that beyond that defensive line lay a vast, deeper darkness.

Meanwhile, the two Armored Airships in the sky managed to establish radio communication after seeing the signal flare.

The two Airship Captains decided to have the L28 Armored Airship increase altitude for bombing and interference, while Armored Airship No. L29 continued to support the ground forces, waiting until the Armored Train was nearly in position before penetrating the city.

The last vestiges of darkness before dawn were enveloping Paris.

The train completed its track adjustment on the belt railway, plunging fiercely into the railway line leading to the urban area of Paris like an angry bull.

Shortly after the train adjusted its tracks, they crashed headlong into a sea of undead.

In the northwest direction of the city, which the First Army Group did not defend, a large number of undead creatures had surged outside the city, and the speeding Armored Train naturally attracted their attention.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Countless skeletons and ghouls rushed madly toward this high-speed steel behemoth.

They had no concept of fear; the only thought in their heads was to tear apart this “living thing” in front of them that was emitting a strong aura of vitality from within.

However, their bodies of flesh and blood were fragile and utterly vulnerable before this war machine forged of steel.

The huge, monstrous cowcatcher on the front of the Armored Train plunged mercilessly into the sea of undead like an unforgiving plow.

“Crunch! Bang! Crash!”

Countless skeletons were instantly smashed to pieces, bone fragments scattering everywhere.

The relatively tougher ghouls were also thrown into the air by the immense impact, twisting into strange shapes mid-flight before crashing heavily onto the ground, where they were crushed into pulp by the subsequent wheels.

The ‘Odin’ did not slow down at all; it continued to crush and ram its way forward, carving out a path paved with shattered bones and gore through the black sea of undead.

Inside the carriage, everyone was infected by this unstoppable momentum; their tension was greatly reduced, replaced instead by a boiling fighting spirit.

But Morin, who had been staring at the system map, frowned; his expression remained serious.

“Don’t celebrate too early…” he said in a deep voice, “This damn thing is just the appetizer.”

As the train continued to penetrate deeper into the urban area, the density of undead they encountered began to increase exponentially.

The tracks, the streets, and even the buildings on both sides were crawling with dense masses of undead.

They surged from all directions, fearlessly throwing themselves at the ‘Odin’.

Soon, the outer walls of the train were covered with ghouls and wights wriggling like maggots.

They used their sharp claws to frantically scratch the heavy armor plating, producing a series of grating sounds that set teeth on edge.

Some even tried to bite and chew, only managing to leave behind a mouth full of broken teeth.

These low-level undead indeed could not cause any substantial damage to the ‘Odin’.

But their numbers were simply overwhelming.

Through the system map, Morin could see that the blue dot representing their train was completely submerged by the endless red surrounding it.

“Thud!”

A heavy muffled sound came from the top of the carriage, and the entire carriage jolted violently.

“What’s going on?!” Colonel Lucas’s voice came through the carriage’s communicator.

“Reporting, Colonel! A big one jumped onto our roof!” A soldier inside an MG08 Machine Gun Turret shouted in response.

From his perspective, a gigantic flesh construct was clinging to the top of their carriage.

Its several thick arms were slamming repeatedly against the roof armor.

Every strike caused the carriage to shake violently, and the lights overhead flickered erratically.

“Damn it, these flies are annoying!” Colonel Lucas’s curses came through the communicator. “Machine Gunners on the roof! Shoot it down!”

“Dadadadada!”

The MG08 heavy machine gun deployed on the roof immediately opened fire, riddling the flesh construct’s body with a string of bloody splashes.

But the monster had thick skin and flesh and extremely tenacious vitality; although the MG08 heavy machine gun bullets could damage it, they couldn’t kill it outright.

It roared and attacked the roof even more frantically.

Lucas: “Captain Morin, please open the firing ports on the sides of the carriage! Clear out all those pests outside first!”

“Understood!”

Upon hearing this, Morin immediately turned and yelled into the communicator to the soldiers in the two troop transport carriages: “All Platoon Leaders assign firing directions yourselves! Fire at will! Kill all these damn things that have climbed up!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Instruction Assault Battalion soldiers immediately sprang into action, then somewhat awkwardly opened the heavy covers of the firing ports on both sides of the carriage.

A dense stench of decay instantly flooded in from outside.

Through the firing ports, countless twisted and hideous faces could be seen pressed against the outside of the carriage, their eyes—full of greed and malice—staring intently at the living people inside.

All automatic weapons simultaneously spat out tongues of flame.

The concentrated rain of bullets instantly riddled the undead outside the firing ports.

Those bullets “blessed” with Holy Oil possessed astonishing lethality against these undead.

When bullets struck their bodies, black smoke immediately rose from the wounds, as if corroded by strong acid, greatly inhibiting their self-healing abilities.

The armed priests also took out the Holy Oil they carried, continuously blessing the weapons held by the Saxon soldiers.

For a time, fire flashed from both sides of the carriage, and gunfire erupted loudly.

Undead creatures were constantly shot off the carriage body, but immediately more climbed up, following one after another.

Just as everyone inside the carriage struggled to clear out the “stowaway” passengers clinging to the outside, Master Eiffel, who floated like a phantom atop the Eiffel Tower, finally noticed the Armored Train that had brazenly intruded into his territory.

His face was no longer marked by the previous well-like indifference, but by a complex expression mixed with pain, struggle, and tyranny.

His skin had become paler, even showing a deathly gray hue, and his originally wise eyes had become clouded and frenzied.

His arm, which had become gaunt and withered overnight, slowly lifted and pointed in the direction of the ‘Odin’.

Following his movement, large numbers of undead creatures around the Tower, including the largest flesh constructs, seemed to receive a command, simultaneously turning their direction and charging toward the ‘Odin’.

At the same time, the electric light at the top of the Tower flashed violently once more.

A bolt of lightning, thicker than any before, was gathering at the spire; the terrifying magical fluctuations caused the surrounding air to begin warping.

However, just as the lightning bolt, capable of destroying everything, was about to strike, Master Eiffel’s movement suddenly paused.

He abruptly raised his head and looked at the sky overhead, which was faintly illuminated by the morning light, a sense of threat flashing in his clouded eyes.

The next second, in the clouds 6,400 meters high, the bomb bay doors of the L28 Armored Airship silently opened.

Radiant Crystal Reaction Shells began to freefall without a sound.

Inside the bridge of the L28 Armored Airship, Colonel Chloe, who had previously coordinated with Morin to air strike the Liège Fortress, was nervously awaiting the bombing results.

“Bombardier! Report status!”

“Reporting, Colonel! First batch, three Radiant Crystal Reaction Shells have been released!” an officer responded loudly.

“Excellent!” Chloe nodded, grabbing the communicator and broadcasting to the entire ship, “All personnel pay attention! Hold onto fixed objects! God knows how far the shockwave from these shells will spread!”

Below them, the three descending Radiant Crystal Reaction Shells accelerated due to gravity, turning into three barely visible black dots.

Atop the Eiffel Tower, Master Eiffel, sensing the threat from the sky, was forced to temporarily abandon his attack on the ‘Odin’ and redirect the gathering lightning toward the sky above.

“Sizzle—!”

Several thick bolts of lightning shot toward the sky, interweaving into a massive electrical net.

Just then, the three Radiant Crystal Reaction Shells finally entered the interception range.

They had only just approached within two or three hundred meters of the spire when they were captured by the violent electrical net.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Three incredibly massive fireballs erupted simultaneously in the air above the Eiffel Tower!

The light was so bright that it instantly overshadowed the morning glow just rising on the horizon.