The highway stretched endlessly before them, a black scar or tarmac cutting through the wasteland of a dead civilization.
For days, the Legion had driven on.
For days, the survivors had travelled, their caravan winding like a massive snake through the ruins of the old world, stopping every so often in the small towns they passed to clear out the undead and secure a place to stay for the night before once more loading up and carrying on.
And now—
At the crest of the final hill, beneath the gray morning sky—
The new city came into view.
It was vast, its overall size was about 25% bigger overall than the previous one.
But even being larger hasn't helped since.
It was crumbling just like all other cities probably were.
And most importantly—
It was crawling with the undead.
Carter stood at the front of the convoy, his black Praetorian armour gleaming beneath the rising sun, his gladius strapped at his side, the rifle slung, hanging across his chest as his finger almost lovingly stroked the trigger, in anticipation of the carnage to come.
Behind him, thousands of Legionaries and survivors watched in silence as they all looked over at the cityscape before them.
This was their new home.
Or rather—
It would be, once they had done what needed to be done and reclaim that which was lost in the name of something new.
Carter's lips curled into a smirk.
"This city belongs to us now, it's about time we push the accursed undead from its streets and get back what we had to leave behind in XXX."
Then he raised his fist into the air, feeling as the air stood still as the thousands of eyes all focused on his raised limb instead of the city beyond.
"Advance."
This single word came as he dropped his fist, without hesitation, the Legion started marching quickly in columns down the hill towards the city, while Roman cavalry rode faster down the hill being the first of the forces to enter the city and encounter the undead.
~
Operation: Iron Dawn
Carter wasn't about to waste time.
They had learned too much from their first city.
The days of slow, careful expansion were over.
This time?
The Legion was hitting the ground hard.
🔺 Phase One: Establishing a Foothold
▶ The Legion would immediately begin combat operations as every last combatant was to enter the city, quickly carving out a safe zone in the first ten blocks of the city enough space for the arriving forces to live in, while perhaps not comfortably it would be good enough for the first few days while the legion continues to expunge the undead forces.
▶ Engineers would set up fortifications as soon as the area was cleared—securing it block by block.
🔺 Phase Two: Clearing the Undead
▶ The Legions would continue to spread outward, moving in squads, slaughtering the undead en masse not bothering to stay and hold positions to expand the safe zone but rather with the mission to efficiently kill the undead as quickly as possible.
▶ Every zombie killed would bring Carter more experience, more strength, more money, once this was done then they could worry about expanding the territory to pick up the tertiary reward for reclaiming city blocks.
▶ Survivors would be absorbed or eliminated. No second chances, the laws of the new colony would be even harsher than before, in a sense the autocratic rule was going to take even more power from the people but those who were okay with this would live a very comfortable life.
🔺 Phase Three: Rebuilding and Expansion
▶ Once the undead presence was sufficiently weakened, Carter's engineers would begin constructing walls, barracks, and key infrastructure.
▶ Roads would be cleared, supplies stockpiled, and livable zones established, while the legion itself if it still existed and had not been replaced would break up and move on working as an ever expanding force to exponentially increase Carter's system rewards and with it the growth of the system itself.
The goal?
Domination.
Unlike the first city, where they had played politics, recruited civilians, and fought for legitimacy—
This time?
The Legion was taking everything from the start.
And this wasn't just because he wanted to but because after leaving the previous city the system almost was upset at his abandonment, and put out what could be considered a grand quest.
The system was literally calling him to create his own nation, but not only that it had made it quite clear if he was ever to submit to another emerging national force the system would kill him as punishment...
~
The Legionariesdismounted from their transports, forming disciplined ranks on the cracked asphalt.
🔺 3,000 Iron-clad warriors, shields locked, pilum (javelins) raised.
🔺 1,000 Hastati, the vanguard, standing ready to absorb the first waves of undead.
🔺 1,000 Velites, moving into position, prepared for skirmishing.
🔺 500 Ballistarii, crossbows loaded, bolts primed.
His over five thousand men breaking into three smaller legions and advancing into the city.
And at the front—
Carter and his 100 Praetorians stood ready leading the charge from the center column.
Then—
The first of the undead hordes emerged from the ruins to meet them, drawn in by the noise of the approaching romans.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
Drawn by the sound of engines, by the presence of the living the sounds of combat as the cavalry had tore through the sparse undead, only to 'anger' them and cause the undead to seek out retribution—
A tide of rotting flesh surged forward, their hungry moans rising into a terrible, ear-piercing wail.
But even with their numbers Carter scanned the charging horde, relaxing just a little as he could see this horde contained nothing but Walkers, a horde of Tier I's.
Carter exhaled.
Then he raised his rifle.
"Legion! Forward!"
~
The Hastati were the first to meet the undead, their shields bracing as the horde crashed against them like a tidal wave but they held fast only being forced back a foot or two as they boots slid along the ground.
Spears stabbed forward, cutting down Walker after Walker—their bodies piling up against the iron wall of the Legion's first rank, while Carter had gained a slightly higher place to rest before targeting and loosing rounds into the undead horde taking out any trying to break away and circle round, but ultimately preserving ammunition overall since the legion and it's weapons were more than enough to deal with this force.
🔺 Pilum (Javelins) flew, impaling multiple zombies in one throw.
🔺 Crossbow bolts rained down, piercing skulls and severing spinal cords.
🔺 Gladii flashed, slicing through rotting flesh with brutal efficiency.
The undead kept coming.
But the Legion did not falter.
Step by step, they advanced leaving behind fields of slain undead.
The formation held.
The iron tide pushed forward.
And Carter, his Praetorians at his side, carved through the undead with ruthless precision—his blade rising and falling in a constant rhythm of death.
This wasn't just a battle.
This was a slaughter.
And the Legion was winning.
~
By nightfall, the battle was over completely, not just the first one but across the city outskirts, the newly arrived forces met with victory multiple times, and everywhere Carter went supplies were left behind to quickly help the soon to arrive engineers with the creation of walls to fortify the new position.
The first ten city blocks were secure.
Thousands of undead corpses littered the streets, forming blackened piles of rotting flesh, that were being collected into carts and hauled outside the city before being simply just left in piles almost as a sign to any who arrived on the same path that this city was not owned by the undead.
Survivors—hiding in basements, barricaded in apartments, trapped in ruined buildings—had been found and absorbed into the growing ranks of the Legion's controlled territory, they were not given any chances, the minute they were found they were pressed into service, anyone who resisted this was given one warning and one warning only which was enough to frighten them into submission.
The engineers wasted no time.
🔹 Walls went up.
🔹 Barricades were reinforced.
🔹 Watchtowers were being constructed.
And by morning, the Legion had their first official foothold in the new city, the survivors once more had places they could call home, while the survivors themselves were pleased to see that their supplies which had only dropped a little during the journey were once more greatly bolstered by the remaining supplies within the city itself.
~
The city was large.
quite a bit larger than their previous home.
And as Carter stood atop a newly built watchtower, looking out over the ruins, he knew—
This was it.
This was where the new Rome would rise at least until it was replaced.
This city would belong to the Legion, to their Ceasar.
And one day, when they had grown strong enough—
When they had gathered more power, more soldiers, more resources—
They would march back.
And they would take back everything they left behind.
This wasn't just a new beginning.