As it turned out, when Jiak had literally tossed the tank into the air, Cahyono had been flown out as well. Fortunately, his fall had been cushioned by the forest undergrowth, allowing him to survive with only minor injuries. When he landed safely, he quickly rolled to keep his distance away from the warleader. However, he couldn't act cowardly and abandoned the Imam and the tank crew who were still trapped inside the wreckage.
Jiak's eyes narrowed as he sized up the human commander with his primal grin faded into a snarl.
"What would you do to get rid of all this humiliation?" Cahyono continued, goading the Orc.
In truth, Cahyono was terrified. He wasn't a superhuman warrior capable of tearing apart boulders or dodging bullets. He was just a man, an ordinary man facing a monster thousands of times stronger than him, evident of how he survived all those gunfire and literally battered the Empire's largest and strongest tanks like they were mere dogs.
This was suicide, plain and simple.
However, there are stories of one man who managed to face the impossible back in the New Year Tragedy, and it is none other than the infamous Catholic War Hero, General Francisco Dianopra Agraviador.
Despite being a controversial individual and a leader of a far-right military organization, had become a figure of both respect and fear within the Liberation Army. Cahyono had heard stories of him having faced down a powerful Archdemon with nothing but a weapon similar to the one he is holding right now and the sheer force of his will.
Against all odds, he had managed to wound an Archdemon, a feat that had earned him an almost mythic status.
And while Jiak the SkullKrusher was nowhere near as powerful as an Archdemon, he was still ridiculously powerful compared to a normal human like Cahyono.
The thought was absurd. How could he, an ordinary soldier, even stand a chance?
Yet, as he looked at the Orc Warlord, a strange calm settled over him. He wasn't fighting for glory or power. He was fighting to protect those trapped in the tank behind him.
Only a miracle could save him now. But Cahyono wasn't counting on miracles. He was counting on grit.
Raising his chainsword, Cahyono locked eyes with the Orc Warleader. If this was how he was going to die, he would face it head-on.
"I'll 'ave yer teef if 'dat iz 'da last fing I have to do!" Jiak roared with a thunderous voice.
With monstrous strength, the Orc Warlord threw his meatshield, not at Cahyono, but toward a group of approaching soldiers.
The body flew at such speed it nearly broke the sound barrier and slammed into nearly a dozen of troops with a sickening crunch, reducing them all to obliterated remains and preventing them from firing their weapons at him.
"This iz duel! No interference!"
BOOM! WHOOOOM!
With a loud boom, the very ground shattered into massive chunks as the Orc Warlord charged forward with his enormous frame crashing toward Cahyono like a freight train.
His eyes gleamed with primal fury and his saliva dripped from his snarling mouth as he swung his big choppa in a wide arc.
WHOOOOOMM!
The sheer force of the swing caused the air to vibrate, and the wind parted to make way for the massive axe as it descended on Cahyono, aiming for his head.
Seeing the giant metal ax coming for him, Cahyno drew his battle-hardened reflexes and quickly dodged to the side at the last second due to the significant difference in strength. He knew better than to try and block such raw power as he'd witnessed enough giant monsters to know that a direct hit would be fatal.
BOOM!
The choppa smashed into the ground, splitting the earth and sending debris flying in every direction. Had Cahyono hesitated even for a moment, he would have been reduced to little more than a bloody stain.
Without wasting a second, Cahyono retaliated by swinging his chainsword toward Jiak's head, hoping to end the fight in one decisive blow.
Fighting a monster that could shake mountains is suicide, yes. But that doesn't mean Cahyono is a full coward and an experienced fighter against both humans and the supernatural.
But just as Cahyono is an experienced fighter, Jiak wasn't just strong, he was an experienced fighter and a Tier-1 Transcendent.
The Warleader simply raised his armored arm and let the chainsword's teeth grind against his gauntlet. Sparks flew as the adamantium blade chewed into the Orc's own adamantine gauntlet, but Jiak didn't flinch. With a roar, he pushed Cahyono back with his monstrous strength, sending the human flying several meters into the air, but Cahyono twisted midair and focused on landing safely as Jiak prepared for another strike.
The Warleader raised his axe again and ready to deliver a killing blow, but before he could swing it, a deafening explosion rocked the battlefield.
BOOOM!
A shell from the Mobile Fortress slammed into Jiak's left side, engulfing him in flames. The explosion burned his entire left arm and the hand that held his massive choppa. Jiak gruntef in pain, even though his insane raw defense kept him alive, the kinetic force had crippled him and forced him to his knees.
Orcs were notoriously durable, able to shrug off pain and injuries that would kill an ordinary man as their biological makeup was designed to endure pain and lethal injuries since they were created.
But even Jiak, with all his strength, couldn't fully withstand the damage from a direct 183mm and 212Ib tank shell.
"Young man!" The voice of the Imam rang out from the damaged tank. Bloodied but alive, the old man had managed to fire one last shot from the tank's main cannon, saving Cahyono from certain death. The Fortress Tank, though barely operational, had still delivered one final life-saving blow.
Thanks to that, the Imam came to Cahyono's rescue and blasted the tank when he wasn't close to the Orc.
Cahyono smirked, breathing heavily but grateful. "Nice timing, old man," he called back as he gripped his chainsword tightly and activate it, causing the adamantine teeth of the blade roared to life like a fierce shark, spinning viciously as the roar from the engine gave intimating sounds that could scare war-hardened soldiers.
"Ahhhh!" Cahyono let out a battle cry as he brought the chainsword down with all his might, aiming directly for Jiak's head.
The Orc, now on his knees, growled in defiance with his eyes still filled with rage even as the chainsword descended.
Just as the chainsword was about to hit Jiak's head, the Orc Warlord blocked it with his armored hand against it and sparks flew. The Orc Warleader, still standing tall, raised his hand to eye level and effortlessly gripped the active chainsword. Cahyono strained to keep hold of his weapon and felt the raw strength of the Orc forcing him to his limit.
"WAAAGH!!!"
The Orc Warleader gave his race's signature warcry which echoed across the battlefield, and the ground trembled as he locked eyes with Cahyono, and their faces mere inches apart.
"AAAAH!!!"
Cahyono countered the Orc's roar with his own. Letting go of the chainsword with one hand, he swiftly drew his AF-1 rifle from its holster and aimed it directly at Jiak's open mouth.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A burst of Mithril rounds erupted from the rifle, each one tearing through the inside of the Orc's mouth and into his skull. Jiak's roar was abruptly silenced as the magic bullets cooked his brain from within. His grip on the chainsword weakened, and his once indomitable form began to falter. Slowly, his armored hand opened, and Cahyono wasted no time reclaiming his weapon and landed safely, which he proceeded to do what he previously meant to do.
With the Orc Warleader frozen for a moment, Cahyono leaped into the air and gripped the chainsword with both hands. With a determined battle cry, he brought the roaring blade horizontally on Jiak's head, and the adamantine teeth of the chainsword bit into the Orc's skull, grinding through bone and flesh as Cahyono applied all his weight to push down his weapon all the way down diagonally.
Jiak, the SkullKrusher, had no time to react. His mighty body stood frozen as the chainsword carved through his skull and split his head in half. Blood and gore sprayed across the area, painting the ground in the colors of his demise.
By the time Cahyono landed back on the ground, the Orc Warleader's headless body had fallen in two.
Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono, drenched in the blood of his enemy, holstered his chainsword and turned away from the bisected corpse. The battlefield fell silent for a moment as the realization of Jiak's death sank in.
With their leader dead, the remaining Orcs were thrown into chaos. Lacking direction, they became easy targets for the Liberation Army, who quickly unleashed volleys of gunfire. The tide of battle turned sharply as humanity's forces, reinvigorated by Cahyono's victory, pressed their advantage.
"Holy shit," Cahyono thought to himself, feeling adrenaline still coursing through his veins. "A normal man would've died a thousand times over. Maybe there's something to this 'divine intervention' they keep talking about."
Despite his exhaustion, Cahyono remained on his feet as his iron will keep him stay on his feet. Around him, the sounds of battle began to fade as the last of the greenskins were exterminated. Magic rifles fired in rapid succession, and flames cleansed the battlefield, purging every trace of the Orc invaders.
The Battle of New Guinea had ended in humanity's favor. Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono had slain the mighty Jiak the SkullKrusher, and with him, the Orc threat in the region was eradicated.
Victory was theirs.
As Cahyono watched the fires burn the remains of the enemy, he allowed himself a brief moment of relief.
The cost had been high, but humanity had prevailed once again.