"តើគាត់បាននិយាយអ្វី? | What did he say?"
"ខ្ញុំមិនដឹងទេ។ | I don't know."
The twins spoke in unison so much so it seemed their minds were but one powerful entity, albeit a narrow one. Their sights were so set on their current goals that their reason for them was abated. Why were they fighting? They could not remember if they tried, for their power was so immense it overwhelmed them. They had to use them, flaunt them, and project them.
The beast could crawl out and fight its way out of its mysterious shield no problem but instead the monster rolled in place, digging itself down and tunneling itself back to the temple under Thy's command. Slowly but surely an incredibly long and wide underground road led to the heart of the monument which was otherwise impregnable. Cody's decision here should be to make his way inside, and walk to the temple. The ground rumbled violently as the monster dug and dug.
Back on the ship, Gershwin and Caits watched as Cody stopped the giant monster its tracks, unsure if to be impressed by Cody's strength or the monster's - and perhaps the twins' - obvious lack of even trying. Tracking the soldier production in the temples, there was not much activity. Everything was settled and ready for an attack, that it was picturesque and gut-wrenching but nothing was happening. Now was their time to attack. Cody on the ground, Gershwin and Caits from the top. They motioned to move forward. A motification sounded on the aircraft's board and Caits pressed to initiate the call - it was Viccar: "Agent Caits! Make your way to the capital now!"
The country was ruined and devastated, but not all hope was lost yet. The capital of Cambodia stood far south from the the "epicentre" Siem Reap. Phnom Penh was the political centre and therefore the area utmost, most protected, and most valuable. Initial combat was a failure but defenses proved possible when there was strategy and enough firepower from neighbouring countries. Vietnam is just nearby and is likely the next target if Phnom Penh was to fall. Then again, Thailand and Laos to the north are just as vulnerable for the next round of attack but with the way things are playing out, to strike the capital of Cambodia is to strike the hearts of its people.
The sight was impressive. Helicopters flew in and out to cover the perimeter and provide air support to ground military and escort refugees out to Vietnam. The ground was absolutely not safe, and only few soldiers were deployed outside of vehicular coverage. They hit what would reach outside of range for the heavy, slow-moving artillery. It was a miracle that they could even draw breath, knowing that the earth beneath them could just swallow them completely at any time. In the anger and murderous capacity of the twins, there was hubris and ignorance. The humans counted on that.
A heavy rumble started from north of the capital. Everyone moved to ad hoc positions, forming a perimeter at the perfect distance from the political building which stood the Cambodia government and its sacred royal family. The King and Queen stood side by side with its mightiest, bravest, most intelligent and intuitive military generals to fight in the last stand, their most solemn hour: the survival of their people, and their very soul.
Reference; must watch the whole thing.The beast that Cody had put to a standstill outside of the terraformed Angkor Wat was not the only one of its kind.
Hundreds started unburrowing from under the ground, they having tunneled out from a long ways' away. They provided the initial shock and attack absorption as Stone Golems and Stone Soldiers numbered in the *millions* started pouring out of the holes and running towards the centre. Some of the UN's secret projects included mechanized, pilotable robots that would have the manuverability of a man but the firepower of a tank were effectively in thinning out the front, incoming wave, but the problem was
there was no wave ; it was an endless stream. The rock beings marched forward without rhyme or reason, all but the overwhelm and devouring everything in their path all the way to the capital.
Any soldiers caught by Stone Soldiers were dragged down into the earth and grounded into a paste. Vehicles too slow to react were either grappled and thrown aside by Stone Golems or crushed by the unstoppable rolling of the Stone Goliaths. Helicopters were getting pelted with incoming debris, and their explosive rockets were just as effective at clearing the march as pouring a glass of water in a forest fire.
The defensive line was loose and its perimeters could be tightened to formed a smaller, more durable circle around the capital, but as expected communication was not getting through some of the destroyed units and the last line was broken. No matter where you looked, they were around you, and no matter how far away you looked beyond them, there was just always more. The army in Angkor Wat was already mind-boggling, but this was realms of impossible numbers. The very Earth was the twins' resource, and they have an infinite supply of it. There was no hubris, no hindsight into their attack. This was meant to shock them into despair and misery.
How could they possibly stop the twins?
