Carter stood inside his war room, his fingers tracing over the city map, eyes locked onto the location of the Black Hounds' stronghold—the abandoned Westgate Mall.
Three of my men dead.
Not by the undead.
Not by the Devourers.
But by humans.
That was enough reason to act.
If they would not join us willingly, then they would need to be eliminated before their own strength tries to make us bow to their wishes.
~
Carter's top officers gathered around the map table—Centurions Aulus, Lucius, and Felix of the Legions, along with Sam, Marcus, and a few trusted survivors from the militia who had some form of military training or experience in law enforcement.
The room was silent except for the occasional crackling of a torch.
Everyone already knew why they were here.
Another survivor group had made their move, and some of their precious warriors were slain shot dead in the streets like a dog.
And now?
It was Carter's turn his anger practically visible.
Carter tapped his finger on the map.
"They killed three of our men. The weight of their sin is great."
The words were simple, direct, and heavy.
Aulus, the most experienced of his centurions, nodded grimly.
"They must pay in blood."
Lucius clenched his jaw.
"A declaration of war, they are like barbarians."
Felix folded his arms.
"They wouldn't have done this unless they thought they could challenge us, our territory and numbers far surpass their own."
Marcus, the leader of the militia, leaned forward.
"Carter… you know what this means, right? We're about to spill human blood. This isn't like clearing out Walkers or Stalkers. I mean I know what you did back at the university but this is going to be different, what will be done about the non-combatants, could we ever trust them once they've been conquered?"
"I know," Carter said.
Marcus hesitated.
"There's no going back from this. Even if we win, at best we'll have to imprison them until we can ensure their loyalty to the new order, and at worst we'd have to cleanse them all to prevent an insurrection growing from within."
Carter locked eyes with him.
"They've already chosen war, Marcus. We have a duty to protect those under us, not to protect everyone, as sad as it is they chose a side and now they have to live with that choice, or leave before we get the chance to retaliate, where they could be picked up as regular survivors."
A long silence followed.
Then Sam spoke.
"What's the plan?"
~
The Black Hounds controlled the mall—a massive, multi-story complex filled with scavenged supplies, barricades, and fortified positions.
It was a natural fortress once the zombies had been cleared out from it's interior.
"We'll split the attack into two phases."
Phase One: Legion Assault
▶ Three Legions (450 men) will march toward the mall entrance, forcing them to fight out in the open, while getting them to expend as much ammunition as we can hopefully exhausting their supply.
▶ Ballistarii (Crossbowmen) will fire on any enemy gunners, keeping them pinned down, and if possible eliminating their defensive fighters as much as we can.
▶ Velites (Javelin skirmishers) will attack from a distance, keeping pressure on their forces making them have to take cover while the main legion will stack their shields to create iron age bullet proofing.
▶ The Legion will push like a battering ram toward the mall's main floor, cutting off their escape as their forces will be forced to retreat up to the higher levels.
Phase Two: Praetorian Infiltration
▶ While the Black Hounds are distracted by the frontal assault, Carter and his 100 Praetorians along with some other legionarie support will infiltrate the mall via the sewer system.
▶ Their objective? Strike the leadership directly.
▶ Cut off the head, the rest will fall as they are attacked from both inside and out.
Lucius grinned.
"A bold move, Sir."
Carter smirked.
"It's not bold if it works, then it becomes a great move."
~
At dawn the next day, the Legion formed ranks before setting out as a full military force unlike their previous expansions.
🔺 750 Legionaries in perfect formation, shields raised, gladii at their sides.
🔺 2,000 Hastatii in Lead of the formation, their shields banded together creating a layered wall of them which caused them to move at slower pace due to the weight but a natural defense against firearms.
🔺 200 Ballistarii, crossbows ready, standing behind the infantry.
🔺 100 Velites, lightly armored, their javelins gleaming in the morning sun.
The survivors watched in stunned silence as the Roman war machine marched toward battle with the largest assembled army that outnumbered the total survivor count within their current walls.
This wasn't some ragtag survivor raid.
This was an army going out on a military campaign.
And at the head of it all—
Carter, clad in his Praetorian armour, gladius at his hip, while a rifle with a suppressor lay in his hands with tactical netting loaded up with a good number of magazines slung across his chest, leading his elite warriors into the underground tunnels.
The smell of which was capable of causing ones eyes to water as the modern facilities had stopped working which caused the plumbing to fall a little to the wayside, as regular water pressure was a thing of the past for now.
As the main Legion began its advance toward the mall, Carter and his Praetorian Guard force descended deeper into the darkness only the handheld flashlights being able to navigate their way.
~
The stench was unbearable.
The tunnels beneath the city were dark, damp, and crawling with filth, luckily the system had not backed up after the loss of power.
But this was the only way in unnoticed into the camp of the enemy.
The Black Hounds had barricaded the mall's entrances, but no one guards a sewer, after all unless there was a need to know about it the sewers were almost a mythical creation that did not really exist in the minds of many.
Carter's Praetorians moved in absolute silence, the only sounds being dripping water and the soft clink of armour.
Then—
A metal grate blocked their way forward.
Carter raised a fist.
His men halted.
He motioned to two Praetorians, who carefully pried it open with only a few creaking groans of sound as they jammed iron pry bars into the grate.
Beyond it—
A ladder leading up, up to a manhole cover above.
Carter turned to his second-in-command, Praetorian Prefect Varus.
"We go up. Quietly."
Varian nodded.
They climbed.
One by one.
Until—
~
Carter emerged in a dark room, probably a utility or service room given it's direct maintenance access to the sewer system.
thank fully the room was not locked, as the infiltrating legion was able to pass beyond.
Just moments later they began to hear commotion and the ringing out of gunfire as the main legion had begun their frontal assault.
The hounds forces attention was completely drawn to the attacking side, which allowed the infiltration force to move with almost ethereal movements.
Quickly scouring the building they came upon.
Rows of shelves stacked with stolen supplies filled the space.
Weapons.
Food.
Medical kits, and supplies.
All stolen from the survivors of the city or looten in mass from the abandoned buildings.
But that wasn't what caught Carter's attention the most, as some of his men broke off to remove the weapons and ammo from the storage room to 'hide' it within the service room or down in the sewers.
It was the voices coming from the next room.
There were a good number of them, which meant they were probably in for a fight.
He motioned for silence.
Then, carefully, he and his Praetorians moved forward, slipping through the area—
Until they reached a makeshift war room.
A group of men stood around a table, weapons slung over their shoulders.
Their leader sat at the head of the table, a scarred man with a strongman build, smoking a cigar a coying smirk on his face.
Carter's eyes narrowed.
That must be their commander.
The time for stealth was over.
Carter raised his rifle—
And stepped into the room, with his praetorian force having also stack mounted their shields.
"Good morning, gentlemen."
The Black Hounds spun around, guns snapping up at this sudden intrusion—
But they were too slow.
Carter's trigger finger was already unleashing a hailstorm of devastation upon them, as bullets tore through flesh, and bone.
The Praetorians behind him charged past his personal defense and into the room, cutting through the remaining enemies with brutal efficiency ensuring that none survived.
Iron met flesh.
Blood splattered the walls.
Within seconds, more than half of the room lay dead or dying in their chairs or upon the floor.
The Black Hound leader, his cigar falling from his lips, stumbled back.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"
he shouted to the man still firing from outside the room.
But it was too late, as the praetorians moved around the walls, Carter kept reloading and firing at anything that moved in the center.
~
At the front of the mall, the Black Hounds scrambled as the Legion arrived.
The crossbows, bows, and javelineers had already started to rain fire down upon the armed defenders, only for them to look up after taking cover to find a covered legion moving like a tank towards them, taking the risk to expose themselves to fire upon the advancing force.
Only to be greeted with an arrow or bolt to the face.
Unable to stop the advance the legion proceeded before they reached the mall's front door.
The Black Hounds' barricades were shredded to pieces in minutes.
Allowing the Legion to advance in like an iron tidal wave, cutting through their desperate resistance and swarming over every square inch of the mall interior.
For the first time—
The Black Hounds understood.
This wasn't a gang war.
This wasn't even a gunfight.
This was an army erasing them from history, to them it had finally settled in that this was a battle for survival itself.
And inside?
Carter was already eliminating their leadership causing the frontline situation to worsen even more as they failed to adapt to the ever changing situation.
~
The Black Hound leader, bleeding from a gunshot wound to his arm, and torso, glared at Carter who'd entered the room after everyone within had been supressed.
"You're making a mistake."
Carter pressed the tip of his gun against the man's chest.
"No."
"You kill me, and others will come, what you have isn't yours, and they will take it all from you just you wait."
Carter smirked.
"I'm counting on it."
And with a swift pull of the trigger, he ended the Black Hounds.
By nightfall, the battle was over entirely.
The mall was secured.
The Legion had its first victory against humans.
And Carter?
He had just sent a message to every other survivor faction in the city.
Rome had risen.
And it would not accept to be challenged.