Now, I was half bullshitting and half theorizing how the old world did defeat the Herrschers up to the Seventh. MANTIS only was ready until the sixth appeared, and it was Ice Kevin that killed the Herrscher of Flame. The Sixth Herrscher he executed cartel-style and I didn't know how all the Herrschers aside from those two were killed. Based on the destruction I remember from the manga, only nuclear weapons dropped in large quantities were enough to kill the Herrschers.

The 'orders' told the poor Major that if he couldn't stop the Herrscher from spreading her area of influence, 'HQ' would condemn the city and all survivors, including his remaining forces. That at least a Destroyer Group had their Nuclear payload aimed at this city. And to avoid the risk of the zombie outbreak getting out, none of us would get evac. My guess is that by this time, in the original timeline, they were already dead. And the higher ups simply decided to throw everything and the kitchen sink towards the Third Herrscher.

And that was the thing that begun the road to the end. People ready to use everything to win even if they wouldn't survive to see their victory.

Wait a second. If the EM cloud is still up and they don't know we are here... Fuck! They might just do that. Those that can only see the dead and monsters pouring out of this city will panic and ask to be nuked. Double fuck, we really might just get nuked cause someone watched the news and decided that they didn't want any of this on their cities, or that there was no one left alive in Nagazora...

The sound of distant thumping foretold that of a Chariot rush would be coming soon. I could even feel the vibrations through my boots. Shit, no time to panic.

We walked with a purpose, back to where we left the rest of Watchpoint-2, we found them getting shouted at by some sergeant but he calmed down when the Lt came close to him and handed a paper with the Major's signature on it. I couldn't' blame the guy as he skulked somewhere else: fresh team with plenty of ammo just standing around when everyone else looks like the end of a rave gone bad would raise anyone's blood pressure. The guys and girls simply stood up and stood at attention before us.

"All right listen up. Watchpoint-2 as of now is under my direct command for the duration of this mess therefore known as Operation Lightning Rod." My voice went full officer, wow. "Phase one: I will try to scavenge more Steel Locust gear for all of you while you assist Major Kanata's forces in defending this position. Once we have secured the area we find some way to tell HQ that we're alive in here, then we move into Phase 2: we conduct search operations for the target known as Tango-Hotel, who we have evidence has been coordinating the attacks made by the Honkai undead and monsters." I stopped to look at their faces, they looked surprised, resigned and determined. "Phase three is the Neutralization of objective Tango-Hotel and hopefully our evacuation. Let's go people, we have 6 hours."

"Sir! What happens in six hours?" one of the women asked me.

"We all die from the American DS15's nuclear bombardment, any more questions?" Silence. "Then, Lets go."

I ran back to the tank groups, as the rest of Watchpoint-2 followed me. Chariots at least 5 meters tall with Templars of similar height were coming at speed where even their corpses would be devastating. The spotter on top of one of the tanks saw me trying to get his attention, and I used the voice amplifier function of the suit to be heard above the 120mm cannon fire. "Hey, hold fire for 1 mike! Will clear the area!"

"What?"

"Hold fire! Will clear the area!" I saw him make signs to the other tanks' spotters so I readied my strongest attacks available.

"BULLET!"

"DASH!"

"PROGRISEKEY CONFIRMED: READY TO UTILIZE. SHOOTING WOLF'S ABILITY"

"PROGRISEKEY CONFIRMED: READY FOR QUICKDRAW"

"ROCKING THE END!"

[ARK Notification: Enemy forces incoming.]

[ZEA Notification: Ally radio frequencies decrypted. Ready for transmission]

Ok transmit this: "Leave these fuckers to me"

The world slowed down as I ran.

Past Pvt. Tyler kept nagging Present Pvt. Tyler with 'I told you so'

He knew that they'd get pulled into some spooky shit. He'd just missed how big a thing they'd be roped into. Operation Lightning Rod was so simple it betrayed how ridiculous the shit it was made from sounded. Secret super tech? Someone was guiding the monsters to attack them? There were people with superpowers? There was an imminent nuclear strike coming if they didn't kill that thing in the next six hours?

He kept firing the wonder-weapon that was given to him, a Lawgiver, in all but name (he was glad he got to see that olds movie, ages ago). The thing certainly lived up to that name as more dead and monsters got cases of explosive headache than his old and now not so trusty SCAR could dispense against them. Not that he would tell that to his quartermaster. Ever.

It gave him perspective, how much this gun made a difference. Where the tanks' secondaries and even their main gun took too long to drop the charging horde, his by comparison tiny gun left holes like 30 mike mikes could. It was almost intoxicating, the glares of envy the gunners atop the tanks looking at his gun. The feeling of power against things that would crush you without care.

Then he remembered that this gun was only the beginning.

The so-called Lieutenant Yinsen (only another spook would know his real name), clad in that armor that was certainly not an EMD, maybe a test type, but nothing near what any of what soldiers at Tyler's rank would ever get on their kit.

The man had stood between the tanks, holding an even more ridiculous revolver along with that sword of his. In a moment, only a red streak was left on his place.
Glowing balls landed monsters' charge, shooting lines of light that stuck to the monsters' front legs or heads. Their limbs suddenly turned into anchors as they flipped over, exposing their soft looking bellies for all to see. Glowing stakes in the shape of wolves suddenly nailed every limb the monsters had to the ground. And then the hammer dropped.

A blue blur leaving a red trail on its wake, using his sword as a more brutal version of that thing he'd seen some of the high-class ladies do with their heels on some unfortunate fucks. He certainly wouldn't be able to be turned on by high heels. Ever.

All of that happening in less that 5 seconds. Where a mockery of a calvary charge once ran, only stood one man. Smoking gun and sword in hand. The red glow on him ever so stronger.
Damn. Fucking spooks and their cool toys. Maybe he'd take him up in his offer to transfer to a weapons testing battalion?

The use of simultaneous finishers was not common in the Kamen Rider show, only a few did, and I suddenly felt like Shotaro did back in the day. My body hurts, using the Shooting Wolf's Kaban Strash turned it into a demented pogo stick that could impale and then bounce back, Rushing Cheetah's black hole-like ability still worked for some reason and Rocking the End was still as awesome as ever.

I didn't expect for the wolf head projections to still come out of the sword, but I certainly appreciated the opening they left for me to nail the monsters into to the ground. It was a shame these things didn't seem to have any lethal weak points other than their heads otherwise quite the macabre Halloween decorations would have been laid upon this Japanese street.
Alas, the things began dissolving back into free energy and I greedily collected it. "All right people, phase one begins now." I took off again, to bring a chance to win against the Third Herrscher on time.

I'd made my decision, no more holding back.

This city would have to become the birthplace of the Raider Corps.