Getting down from Bahamut’s body, Jackson stares into a dark forest. Chucking down a flare, he is met with a platoon of skeletons. Donning their modern combat uniform and kevlar vest, assault rifle in parade position as there surrounded by bushes and trees. Standing stiff and still, he looks down and a small magic circle is burned into the soil and popping out of it was a skeleton general wearing a dirty uniform.

  Bahamut’s eyes quickly locked onto the undead, her eyes were then met with this creature and upon a strike of lightning, she saw the large demonic horns hiding in plain sight as Jackson inspected the unit and nodded. “Where is the other one?” popping out of the opposite treeline was another general. One odd thing the Knight General noticed was their dark empty eye sockets that had no light in it.

  “General Eligos of the Seventh Field Army, dear Supreme General.” Thomas looks at it, the voice of the undead was uppity with a tinge of superiority and donned a cleaner general uniform. “Huh. Jackson, did you also know the Men of the Woods has Great Dukes under its army?” the 5-Stars on his shoulders shone as he turned around. “I do, but I wasn’t expecting them to be actual talkies. Bahamut, what do you think?”

  “Barbatos… we meet once again.” The skeleton general with the dirty uniform looks up and bows like a noble. “Black Dragon Bahamut. It has been long… I see you're also under the servitude of Man.” The voice of the creature spoke with that of a monster and man. “Do not even think for a moment that we are equals. I can see your horns even by now, it has not gotten smaller. Master, be careful of this thing.”

  Jackson salutes at Barbatos who replies to the gesture. “I need you to lead the main assault. We’re invading Vitas proper to stem the enemy tide in a choke point inside the valley.” lifting its skeletal hands, the boney general awakens the undead army. It began with ten pairs of red eyes but then slowly, it became a thousand, and then tens of thousands as engines were turned on. “It shall be done. The birds speak to me of an enemy army amassing in numbers even I cannot count properly.”

  He then turns around as the ground begins to shake and the sound of marching feet takes over the sounds of the forest as the entirety of the shrubbery and trees begin to move, rattled by the immense movement underneath them. “We’ll meet at the river Belbe where I’ll be assigning tasks. Eligos, you are under Thomas. Listen to him well.”

  “Barbatos, do not dare run away as you did back then when we demolished your Legions and Kings. I will personally finish what Morgdau and Bu’ne was not able to do. Your triple immortality means nothing to me.” Jackson though just hops back on top of Bahamut. “Let’s return to the city square, and both of you, set up radio towers and repair any that you come across.” As Thomas steps back into the Dragon, the two skeleton generals look up to the skies as the red tail of another Dragon hides into the red clouds.

  Returning back to the Three Rivers Fortress City, Elizabeth and Alana were both on the main square as they waved for the Dragon to land and Mars soon dived from the clouds to join her Human down in the ground.

  “My Lord, we must move quickly if we wish to stop them.”

  “What did you spot or see?”

  “The Kingdom of Vitas has sent a forward army consisting of a few thousand troops.”

  “Looks like they plan to soften us.” He turns his head to the warehouse and an officer carrying a long range radio in the uniform of the Zavalda National Guard holds it up to him. “Sir, comms are back!” This gave him a smile as he took the phone. “All units and callsigns, meet at River Belbe. I’ll be assigning everyone’s task as we go and someone, bring me a Main Battle Tank!”

  It was only an hour later when the column was on the move. All of the three small dirt roads were full of military vehicles all heading to one direction which was the lone Belbe river bridge and the valley just upon their horizon.

  They were rolling down the roads like a cannonball on fire, crushing through everything that dared come across their path as Jackson was on the radio inside the Command Abrams. “I’ll call up more Engineering Companies to go ahead and build three additional bridges and maybe place some pontoons. Cloz, is the Zavalda National Guard right behind the units of Barbatos?” while on the skies, Bahamut and Mars kept to an extremely high altitude, keeping a constant watch.

  Approaching the main cobblestone bridge, with supports put in place on its sides and underneath which were still buckling under the immense weight of the armored vehicles, the lane was only barely enough to fit one Main Battle Tanks, with the transporters with the lowbeds having an overwidth forced to take on the deployed bridges which led to a the forest line that had no paths to it. The traffic is unbearable, aside from the red tint invading everyone’s eyes, the sound of the engines and the tracks and wheels did not help the General who chose to keep the hatch closed.

  Crossing the main bridge, a voice came to him. “Master! I have spotted Vitas Army Scouts riding behind bipedal creatures.” he then pushes the headset closer into him. “What? What’s the composition?”

  “Two parties, each having ten scouts coming from East and West, are all Goblins and it seems that Orcs are leading from behind on proper horses. Master, Barbatos’ unit is a kilometer away from them.” He opens the map and with his hand to his forehead, he takes the radio. “Earl, have your-” a reply immediately came to him. “Knight, the enemy meets with Duke. I request permission to fire.”

  “Granted. Open fire with all your might, have your helicopters to continue to the valley though. Leave only a handful to protect the main column as the main force is trailing closely behind you with the Zavalda National Guard.” he then pops out of the hatch and looks up to the sky. “Bahamut, refrain from using any of your abilities alongside with Mars. Thomas should be beginning to set up defenses now.”

  The Black Dragon then began to use a different pattern, zig zagging instead of orbiting around them whilst Mars stops just a bit beyond the river where the remaining section of the Army starts to dig and place mines on certain areas, only leaving one road empty but in return, fills it up with guns and ambush points. Jackson just stares behind him as the bridge leaves his sight, the view eaten up by the dense forest. “Rose, what’s the status of the tip of the spear?” Alana then replies quickly. “Nothing to see here M’Knight.” With a nod, he takes out his binoculars, his boots tapping the floor of the turret as his legs start to move on their own and his grip tightens.

  “CONTACT!” gunfire erupts a few miles infront of him, tracer fire bouncing off the forest and into the red skies, giving him a perfect view of where they are. “Hawkeye to Knight! The skelly’s made contact with a bunch of Goblins riding some sort of Raptors! They tore them apart with the fifties!”

  “Copy, Hawkeye. Keep watch. That’s only a fraction of Barbatos forces since the rest is behind the river. Keep an eye out for anyone trying to go around.”

  “Roger that, Knight. Hawkeye out.”

  “Queen to Knight, My Lord. The valley entrance approaches and I detect a magic barrier.”

  “Altar to Knight, Queen is correct in her assessment. Impressive. The magical barrier is ancient in its design, I can smell the primordial essence from it.”

  “Copy that, Altar. Will artillery work?”

  “Negative, unless you are willing to waste what handful of Anti Mana tipped warheads we have available.”

  “Suggestions?”

  “Drive into it.”

  “Say that again, Altar.”

  “We drive into it. The barrier does not stop those who physically just wants to pass.”

  “H-How do you know that? Do you have evidence to back that up? We are a ten kilometer long column in a single dirt road. Turning back is not an option.”

  “General, I was a Great Demon Earl and Duke. Do you think I earned that title for doing as Satanael does? Nay, I am a gifted Sorcerer and Magician. Something like this is kinder.”

  “C-Copy. Queen, can you try it?” Elizabeth then walks towards the cockpit of her Blackhawk and points towards the valley. The two players flying it does as their ordered and down below, she could clearly see a lot of movement on the bushes. “Altar, the Forward Army of Vitas is only three kilometers in front of you.”

  “Hm. I can sense them, Purebred. Knight, do I have permission to fire freely?” After a brief silence, Jackson replies. “Granted.” Elizabeth’s Strike Package though consisting of Blackhawks carrying her Assassins and a pair Chinooks loaded with Eldwood’s 75th Ranger Detachment escorted by Apaches and Littlebirds heads into the heart of the valley fortress.

  The stone walls looked dilapidated, with vanes already taking up much of the olden structure. On top of a battlement, a cannon is lifted up from an elevator and a bunch of grunts load a cannon ball that has cracks on its skin. Pointing it at the formation of helicopters, they fire it and flak explodes a few meters from them. “Woah! Ninja Two, yaw right! Yaw right! Hydraulics are damaged!” The Blackhawk in front of Elizabeth’s has its engine stutter as it slowly falls out of the sky. She opens the passenger door and whistles. “Girls! Clean up the wall. Our Lord mustn’t be slowed by such unsightly reprobates.”

  With the passenger door opening on the falling Blackhawk, multiple black figures jump out of it midair, landing directly on top of the battlement where the grunts were quickly dispatched as they divided their group, with one heading down with the elevator and the other two going East and West. “Knight, Altar is correct. This is an advanced barrier. I am quite surprised by this. Its source must be somewhere in the center. Something this big and ancient cannot be powered underground by mere Demons." She then turned around and gave a second batch of her assassins a nod and they jumped out of the helicopter.

  “Good copy, Queen. Locate and await further orders.” She then removes the headset, brushing her long golden hair with her hands as she watches the Apaches and Littlebirds fly inside the invisible bubble. “Hayni angraka!” a shockwave flies from the approaching convoy and the barrier becomes translucent.

  In the center of it all was a trail coming down to an old Trading Center. “Ah, as I suspected, Knight. Queen, I suggest you take action now and unlock the front gate.”

  “Elizabeth, I am giving you full control of my personal Ranger Unit. They're all yours. Use them as you see fit, those are skeletons trained and leveled up by us. They won’t fail you.”

  “My. My Lord, has given me troops. This is a monumental day. I shall ink this when time comes.”

  “Congratulations, Your Majesty. For our Lord to gift you such.”

  “Clear comms. Alana, you have control of an entire Motorized Company, what do you mean?”

  “M’Lord, these troops are of the Men of the Woods. They do not count.”

  “Well, if I get access to more Rangers, I’ll hand some over to you but for now, what’s it's looking inside, Queen? What RoE do we have to abide by here? Is the South Gate opened?”

  “Altar to Knight, South Gate is open. My skeletons reported the assassins did a perfect job.”

  Walking down on the center of the cobblestone street, Elizabeth has her hand stylishly on her hip as she walks nonchalantly in front center of thousands and thousands of the cities’ citizens all kneeling on the sidewalks, hands joined together as they massed in silence. “Mass, so it may seem.”

  “Mass? Errrr…” He then changes frequency. “I guess hold fire to all units. Do not do anything brash. Does all callsigns copy?” a cascade of replies then came as he switched back to the Officer’s net.

  As Barbatos’ first vehicles arrive through the opened gate, the armored wheeled and tracked vehicles are completely ignored by the citizens of the city as they drive past them with a noise that echoes through the valley.

  It was soon Jackson’s column who slowly lowered his head down to the hatch, to where only his eyes were peeking above it. Beyond the walls, he could see a massive statue of a King holding a Rapier, but before he could observe it more, the buildings got in the way and the sight of the citizens all in red robes, knelt facing towards the road, hands together as the shadows of their cowls hid there faces.

  Rolling through the Gate City Fortress, Jackson pops out of his hatch, eerily scanning the lonely perimeter as the people seemed to have turned completely into statues, eternal in their prayer. The city seemed as if it was from a far ancient time, the houses were built of rocks and clay and not one shard of glass could be seen anywhere.

  With a small canal halving the road in the middle and on the curbs, the place was a mixture of many things, though his eyes started darting from alleyway to alleyway as the deeper they got, the more complex the roads became and the blocks of the city had a more scary tone to them with the completely empty buildings and opened windows.

  His hand instinctively moved towards his holster, flipping the safety off his revolver and his eyes started to squint and then open wide. Not blinking at all.

  Turning on the street that heads to the North Gate, a shiny crystal rock was thrown at one of the Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Completely blowing it up as in one of the lead Bradley IFV, a player opens up at a random house, the mounted .50 Caliber heavy machine gun completely rips through its walls, exiting on the street at the otherside as it begins a cascade of violence.

  The units of the Zavalda National Guard opened their hatches to look at the fresh recruits lighting up a third of the city as a loud irritating crackle came from their radios. "KNIGHT TO ALL CALLSIGNS, HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FUCKING FIRE! ROE! ROE!" This prompted the shooting to die down as players screaming in pain hopped out of the burning M3A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle. One of them chose to grab his sidearm and shoot himself in the head.

  The General just had a twitch to his face as he stood up and dropped down from the batch. Approaching the Bradley commander in front of the burned out one. "S-sir!" He climbs on top and drags the man down to the street. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? DIDN'T I SAY TO HOLD FIRE NO MATTER WHAT?" He grabs the player by the vest as he pushes him to the window where inside were a bunch of dead Demons and Humans.

  "You son of a bitch..."

  "S-sir! They blew up Harvey and a squad!"

  "They already hate us! You could have at least proved them wrong and not justify the anger in them! This isn't the first fucking time this happened to me! Do you know how this will go down?!"

  "S-sir! How the hell are we supposed to operate when every window seems to be against us?! My nerves are all shot!"

  He then drags the player back to the Bradley. "Get the fuck back in your vehicle and drive!" With a nod, the player gets back into his IFV. Everyone watched the General silently as he hops back into his Main Battle Tank with a collected expression on his face. "All callsigns, for the last time, respect ROE! We are not barbarians who shoot at everything! This is the price of invasion so pray the civies won't hit your vehicle. Column, Advance! Rose, if you spot anything, you have permission to leave your column and detain them before any of these jumpy kids shoot up an orphanage or hospital out of fear."

  “As you wish, Knight.” Being on the column just behind Barbatos, the large convoy crosses the Gate City and to the otherside, formally entering the Nation of Vitas, armed to the teeth and ready for a full blown war. Jackson kept his attention forward to the empty plains that arched down slowly. “Queen, stay inside the Gate City and make sure our avenue of retreat is not blocked.”

  Immediately, he sees massive Knights rising from the hilly plains. Even from afar, the General couldn’t believe his eyes as these full plated warriors raised sharpened metal Spears that could easily be the height of a tower. “H-H-Holy shit… SPREAD! SPREAD OUT!” The convoy then broke apart, mere moments as three giant spears landed on top of them, the only casualties were a handful of humvees as Alana intercepted two midair.

  The five Knight Giants quickly got new spears as the helicopters fired Hellfires at them from a good eight kilometer range and Barbatos’ skeleton units fired back already being well in range of their tanks. “Gunner! Weapons free! Loader! APFSDS now!” The skeleton does as they are told and removes the high explosive already in the breech and switches it. The tungsten rods were like tiny needles being shot at the giant's armor from extreme ranges. Leaving behind tiny scratches and holes as spears were thrown once again.

  These ones started to glow midway through the flight and upon landing caused massive explosions as if five hundred pound bombs were being dropped at them. The Hellfire rockets only nudged them at certain angles but this didn’t stop the invading army from keeping a constant barrage of fire till cracks started to show and the closer they got, the more accurate the shots became.

  Being broken up into multiple advancing lines, Jackson quickly made the units to separate even further, with Barbatos tanks and IFVs taking up the center formation while his and Alana’s took to the flanks.

  The helicopters then began to tilt forward, creeping just behind the advancing army, firing off small barrages of unguided missiles at the giants as they saved up the remaining Hellfires they had. Though the fighting was already massive, Jackson kept a constant judge to the surroundings, there was not a single Orc or Goblin in sight, nor was the enemy avians even active. “General Jackson, General Jackson, this is Iron Mountain speaking. Do you copy?”

  “Yes sir, what seems to be the problem?”

  “We’ve detected one of the Defense Towers looking right at you. It’s ignoring army units right outside of its valley cover.”

  “Sir? It’s fifty kilometers away from us!”

  “That never stopped it from zapping people or even high flying aircraft. I suggest you hold your advance before your invasion becomes a suicide pact. We’re trying to get radar active again for the GPS cruise missile barrage.”

  “Copy, copy. All callsigns, retreat and hold and form a combat line a click away from the gates! Iron Mountain, if radar and communications does not return to the Navy, we can relay the coordinates to you then to the Navy.” The armored vehicles then quickly made a U-turn as the Giant Knights once again picked up a spear. “Jackson! We’ve detected an enormous spike in energy!”

  In the nick of the moment, a giant arching laser beam from afar almost razed Barbatos and his entire formation. It left in its wake a straight line of burnt grass and hills as small fires had started. “Crap… we won’t be able to go deeper. Alright, I want all Callsigns to disembark infantry and start making trenches and covers. Mortars are our primary goal so make that the first to be set up behind cover!”

  With the new orders, everything suddenly changed course as the Giant Knights seemingly stopped. Just staring at them as Jackson helped in setting up mortar pits and making a shift defensive line with whatever armored vehicles they had. The tailing Engineering brigade pops out of the gate to aid in the efforts as the red sky becomes even more dim and to his terror, one of his players grabs his shoulders and points out to the Giants.

  Terrordactyls have appeared alongside blackened Wyverns donning plates of armor on their belly, neck, and head. “Bahamut! Do your thing!” The clouds on top lit up as if the sun had appeared just above and a beam landed right on top of the Giants, skimming past from left to right. It directly targeted the flying targets, the units caught up with them varying from the thousands of Goblins and Orcs to the Giants themselves.

  It was so bright Jackson had to keep himself tucked underneath as the players had to go and lower their heads down to the soil.

  He slowly irks his head out of the hatch, burnt soil falling down to his head as to his surprise, ten trebuchets were being assembled by the remaining Giants as more flying units appeared. The helicopters above them fired another salvo of guided and unguided missiles which was intercepted by the Terrordactyls, eating up the Hellfires whilst the unguided rockets fell a bit short of there targets, hitting the small hill in front of the enemy instead.

  This then made most of them return back to the Fortress City whilst the great flames were fanned by the line of Orcish Mages towards the Valley Gate City. Blinding Jackson whose own Mages countered the incoming wave of blackness with wind. Making it go straight upward and a massive pillar of smoke could be seen for tens of kilometers. The trebuchets are already loaded and ready to fire. “There’s no way those could actually hit us.”

  Firing, the molden ammo used on the catapults flew higher than he expected. “INTERCEPT!” The players with all their might pointed their guns upward, even stopping in the process of preparing the larger mortars as the sky was lit up by the tracers. Jackson was on his fifty, pushing it down as much as he could as he pressed down on the trigger.

  They shoot down all four of them as Alana just gazed on the hills. Her long black hair flowing wildly to the side by the wind. As her eyes squinted and a charge began to boil over the hills. Thousands upon thousands of undead sprinting forward right at them supported by Terrors. Their width could reach the entire ends of their peripherals and more as the tanks opened fire instantly.

  Gunfire followed suit, no one was aiming, just spraying at a high angle as they could see their numbers getting gutted.

  But there was no stopping, more and more were pouring over the hills, the dead Giants reanimating and rushing towards their lines, making the tanks and IFVs to focus there fire on it instead as APCs delivered as much ammo they could fit inside there compartments, having to put the mortar ammo crates on top of there vehicles and just recklessly dumping it before driving back into the city.

  General Barbatos though had begun to order some of his skeletons who were on the very frontlines to spread out, leaving an opening in between them that heads straight into machine guns as the sprinting undead weren’t stopping one bit as Terrors and a handful of Wyverns dropped from the skies and more oncoming trebuchet molten shots were intercepted, the enemy didn’t well up.

  Before they knew it, the dead only had three kilometers left before making contact with Barbatos, making it possible for medium mortars to start landing hits as more and more Terrors started to take flight to the point that they were taking up so much of the sky.

  The longer it was, the more it became like Zavalda, with their numbers becoming so encompassing that no amount of firepower could even level the playing field. Jackson though showed no expression on his face, just a blank slate as he continued to give out orders in a calm manner.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Though the lines were holding and there bringing casualties to the enemy, slowing them down, it was another beam from Bahamut that cut the undead horde in the middle, wiping out hundreds of thousands within mere seconds and giving Jackson some breathing time. “Centurion! What’s the status of the defensive line?!”

  “Just a few more minutes now! We’re getting things all sorted up and placing explosives on the bridge and pontoons!” The ground then shakes as another Giant, this one standing easily at 80 ft tall rumbles from the horizon, bringing with him more Giants and an uncountable number of undead. “Knight, our M109 Paladins and MSTA have just gotten some Rocket-Assisted Projectiles! Callsigns Omsk and Lancer, over!”

  As he transmits the news to the officers, shooting is then heard inside the Gate City itself. “Rose! What’s with that?!” a reply then quickly came. “My Lord, Knight, the enemy has arrived through the sewers. The local population had begun to assault us too.”

  “Okay! To all lower callsgins! When they assault once again, call out grids and I want everyone to prepare to run into the city. Retreat in an orderly fashion! Altar, do you copy this?” The Skeleton General who was just observing the unbelievably massive army marching towards them nods. “It shall be done.” There numbers were far beyond even he, a former Demon Lord could imagine, swiping his attention to the left, the zombies and abominations were creeping up on them and as he shifts to the right, another section of the Kingdom of Vitas’ army was marching alongside undead that’s overtaking them. “Humans sure know how to overwork the dead.”

  Their numbers were once again reconsolidating and Jackson looked down at the map. “Elizabeth, if the fighting becomes unbearable, alert me immediately and we’ll exfil out through the Gate City.” a reply quickly came but he could clearly hear her fighting and slashing and shooting her way through enemies. “Of course, My Lord! But worry not! I can do this all year long!”

  Looking back forward, the towering Giant Lord in full plate armor was far more imposing than he thought as it got closer and closer. Dwarfing the previous Giants as it pulls out its ridiculously long sword and points it right at them. It made him swallow his saliva as it roared and a full frontal assault began.

  Once again, even ten kilometers away, there were already trickling down their numbers. Though this time, with the combination of the far more armored and fleshy abominations, with their many mangled human hands and feet, the horde was able to reach a kilometer from Barbatos forward lines. It made Alana jump into the action, hopping from one roof of a tank to another till she reached the Skeleton General’s lines and with her sword, starting to slash and hack through those still strong enough.

  “Grid 148-1032-” The numbers started coming in and so were the replies. “Rounds out!” Players with divine magic were moved up to Barbatos’ line, stemming the tide as they came four hundred meters from Barbatos as fire was drawn to the skies by the Terrors and Wyverns who had already reached Jackson’s line.

  They’d dive and try to grab players, those tank commanders who were looking out of their hatches were cut in half by the sharp claws of the Wyverns as they breathed fire into the mortars, making some of them explode.

  A thang was then heard from the cosmos and a refracted laser beam punctured through the dark clouds, hitting straight down towards half of Barbatos lines. Looking up, Bahamut’s scale on her right was burning as she turned her head to the nearest Dark Tower.

  She breathes her laser breath but it also fires once again, both of their beams meeting midair causing a nuclear explosion that pushes away all of the clouds, revealing the hovering giant Black Dragon God in full as the sky combusts further and further till all that is left is the barren red tint. “Centurion to Knight, Defensive line is comple-” as he was saying this, Jackson held up his radio. “RETREAT! EVERYONE! RETREAT! Alana! Stop fighting and come back!”

  Some of the players began to run to their IFVs, disregarding the order of retreat which caused a massive panic amongst Jackson’s line. Though the National Guard of Zavalda kept a calm nerve, taking one by one whilst those of the Men of the Woods were already leaving behind equipment like mortars and boxes of ammo and rocket launchers while the Countess merely hops into one of the retreating IFVs and towards Jackson’s tank.

  The General though had no time for the mistakes as his tanks pushed forward into Barbatos line, meeting the horde as they were fifty meters from the former Demon Lord’s line and upon firing, he notices there wasn’t the usual plume of smoke making him drop down to his skeleton crew and the ammo compartment were empty of high explosive rounds. All that was left were HEAT and APFSDS. “What?! We’re red already?! Callsigns, give me an ammo check!”

  One by one, most reported there were already on orange, some on red and could only use their coaxial and top mounted machine guns. “Goddammit! Report to me if you are low on ammo! Barbatos, most of the second line of defense has collapsed, it's our turn!” The Main Battle Tanks then fired their smoke launchers and put their gears into reverse right up to the thick 40 ft tall walls of the Gate City as they continued to fire sporadically into the smoke.

  Coming out of the gate itself was Elizabeth with Eldwood’s Rangers and her Assassins. There MH-60DAP helicopters loaded with hellfires and unguided missiles swooping in to fire into the horde that’s creeping out of the smoke as the tanks pushed their pedals to the floor and drove out of the territory of Vitas.

  Jackson though stops his tank, with Alana jumping out and aiding Elizabeth as the Rangers and the two Vampires fought off the gigantic horde that was now dashing out of the smoke while Engineers planted packs of C4s into the gate itself.

  Bahamut who was still steaming from the laser beam she tanked had to change her attention to her Master and comrades, the scene before her was surreal, with the lone Main Battle Tank and a half moon formation of Rangers shooting out as the Vampires and Assassins kept lunging from one part of the horde to the other, making sure none of the healthier and stronger ones was able to reach the specialized Ranger squad and the helicopters laid down as much fire as they could while Rocket Assisted Artillery shells hammered the area.

  She once again felt a massive surge of energy, prompting her to tuck her wings in and dive head down, going for the Giant Lord that was walking towards the Gate. With her head in line with her body, the Black Dragon became an arrow as it dodged another beam from the Tower and crashed straight into the Giant Lord who tried to grab her head but the sheer weight of a thousand ton creature diving from the height pushed the Giant Lord a few hundred meters back. Crushing thousands of undead as Bahamut opened her mouth and breathed plasma onto its face.

  “NAY! NAY! Dragon of the End! You shant not stop the Gigant’s march for vengeance! Know thy place Divine Creature, thou’west chosen side is one of defeat!” She ignores the words of the Giant Lord, pushing her head closer into his helmet that was becoming red from the flames as the other Giants with their Greatswords swung their massive weapons as the equally gigantic opponent.

  As one of the blades were about to make contact with her sharp spine, a Vikhirs ATGM shoots it out of the giant's hand. Looking towards the gate, the bunch of Ka-52s and Mi-28s in a line formation started to unload their munitions on the giants. “By the nick of time, Centurion! Holy shit!”

  “Copy, Knight, those helicopters should give you guys a good chance to escape, most of your units have already gotten to the other side.”

  With this, Elizabeth and her Assassins jumped towards the MH-60 Blackhawks that was orbiting them as the Rangers simply disappeared into a plume of black smoke and Jackson with Alana reverses into the city with the gate blown up, causing the only entrance to be unusable.

  Rolling out of the City Gate on the other side, the helicopters were still firing as everyone drove in one direction, back towards Fortress City. Though everything seemed orderly, no one was actually in line with what their orders were, the unifying thought of getting away from the horde was the only thing in everyone’s mind.

  Jackson couldn’t help but deflate on his commander's seat, looking up to the red skies as Alana loomed over him. “M’Lord, I suggest for you to stay in a tent rather than being on the frontlines. Let Sir Thomas handle things for now.” he just nods as he reaches a hand out which makes Alana drop to her knees and take it. Wrapping both her hands on his as he breathes out a long sigh and the man melts into the hatch as behind him, a large line of fire arches out of the valley as the helicopters begin to return after spending all of their munitions.

  He could feel the cold breeze of the air conditioner. “Attention passengers, we are now passing a scenic view on the left side of the train.” The calm announcement made him open his eyes as he found himself alone in the first class of a high speed train going through the countryside.

  The laptop in front of him showed the earnings and calculated spending on new branches and personnel as his smartphone was ringing. Looking down on himself, he was donning his expensive business suit with a greatcoat over it.

  Taking the phone, he sees the person on the other side is named “CEO 2 - Wilmer” and answering the call, a familiar voice comes over to his ears. “Paul! We did! We secured a deal with South Korea! We’re expanding our branches into the countryside finally!” He couldn't believe how real it was as the high speed train passed by a small quaint town surrounded by rice fields, the greenery, the bountiful colors as if on the horizon was a mountain. He couldn’t help but lift his hand up his mouth and shed a tear.

  “Paul? Are you there? Dude?” He sets down his smartphone as he pushes his head up the window, admiring the beautiful countryside as the train passed by a major highway and then it was open plains with a small two lane road. “If you're sleepy, just know that we might secure a hundred million dollar deal soon too with the United States. The dollar might not be how it is in our days but it's still good money.” he drops the call and instead swipes to his contacts and calls his Mom who answers almost immediately. “Son? What’s happening? Aren’t you in Japan?”

  Hearing her voice, he began to cry almost nonstop but gathered himself. “Is Dad there? How’s my brother? And Loh? Or Lah?” it took her a moment to reply but her soothing voice felt like the embrace of a million cotton to him. “What do you mean? Everything is fine. Your brother is still at that big Microsoft building. I told him he should find a woman than work so much! What about you? Have you got me a nephew yet?!”

  He couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he depresses on the tan leather sofa. “You wouldn’t know Mom. I found three absolutely wonderful women. I am sure you’ll love each and every one of them…” he couldn’t stop speaking, as if the words were just pouring out. “You always said Western women are so pretty and beautiful right? Mom? Well, the three of them look very Western, one is even blonde with green eyes! Another has a beautiful long flowing hair and golden eyes and one is a bit brooding in her gown choices but she’s an absolute blast to be with!”

  The woman on the other side just stutters hearing all of this. “Wh-what?! Three?! Doesn’t the Catholic Church only allow one wife?” His hair is an absolute mess as the smile on his face couldn’t escape. “I know… I know… but they do things differently here, Momma. I’ll be sure to show them to you, I know you’ll love every one of them. One even cooks, you always said a good wife needs to know how to cook and she does, and another can manage things so well and the other is just a bag of fun.”

  The high speed train then began to slow down as it approached an empty platform. Looking out, he could see the small village, making him stand up. “I-I’ll contact you later, Mom. I love you, and everyone else. Tell Dad I love him too, to Loh and Lah too. I’ll be back home as soon as I can.” Upon hearing the jingle and announcement, he rushes out and knelt down on the concrete, the warm rural air embracing him as he hugs the surroundings, the metal pole, the wooden benches, and even the vending machines with familiar brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi.

  Not even the odd looks of the Station Master bothered him as he approached a woman pushing a cart, selling Spanish food. “Good afternoon sir! We have a Veteran’s Day Special and Discount! Just present a picture or proof of your service and-” he hands over a buck and asks for the bread which the lady complies and hands it to him all well wrapped up.

  Turning around, he stops and sees that the warm interior light of the train had turned into a bloody red. Freezing in his place, his hand crushes the bread as he begins to tremble intensely. “Sir? Do you need help?” he shrugs and looks at her. “Thank you for the bread.” and walks inside the train as violent shaking begins and he wakes up inside a tent.

  Bahamut was licking his cheeks in her Dragon form. So much so that the pillow under the back of his head was half wet and the smell of alcohol was so intense. “PHWAH! BAHAMUT!” intense sounds of fighting were ringing to his left and the ground was rumbling nonstop from the amount of artillery that was firing alongside the tanks going back and to the front.

  With his eyes now open wide, all he saw was the bright aura of the Dragon, her divinity kept the single color away from her as not even the electric lamp dangling by the ceiling was able to do anything with her. He lifted his hand as she held it tightly.

  Alana and Elizabeth both walk in and see him all awake, running and holding his hand. “M’Lord!” “My Lord!” they cried as he breathed heavily. “What happened? Did I, did I pass out?” all three of them nodded as he turned his face up. Looking at the red color that invades all of his sight. “Haaaah…” he lays on the side, with a tired expression on his face. “Do you girls know how many times I wore my uniform when I got out of the military?”

  They stayed silent, just holding his hands as he breathed in and out slowly as he looked up to the tent’s ceiling, the dangling electric lantern waving endlessly by the rave of heavy metal on the move.

  “Once. It was for a friend of mine, he was so proud of me for my service that he demanded that I wear it at his wedding.” He chuckles as his grip on their hands tightens. “That uniform… it’s always sitting on the edge of my wardrobe. Everyday I’d wake up, it would be looking at me, with its medals and ribbons, the patch of my unit." With a sigh, he sits on the edge of the bed, his elbows on top of his thighs as he scratches his hair.

  “You still remember the reason I said that I joined up was because I wanted to find a girlfriend? Well… that’s only a small reason.” He tries to stand up but fails and when the three girls tried to get him up, he raised his hand, stopping their attempt.

  “Seeing those kids go to war, while I sat watching the news. It didn’t go well at the start you know?” He then fully stands up as the ground shakes with the sound of tracks rolling past them. “Our leaders told us that the West was weak, all we needed to do was kick it and we’ll topple their decades long dominance and become the ones on top, the ones with hundreds of bases outside of our borders, the ones who can print all the money and not be at fault.”

  He turns to look at them, with a dejected expression. Sitting down on the portable chair. “Yet when we reached the Middle East, we saw what the Germans did. The unshakable will of a people whose purpose they long lost was given back. I was afraid, fearful of what will happen to my parents, my brother, grandmother, and father. They were ferocious, angry after decades of economic downturn and societal collapse, and finally, we gave them a way to release it… On us.”

  As he looked at the multicam jacket, Bahamut quickly stood up and took it off the hangar. “My Lord, you surely do not plan on going out there. You mustn’t! You need to rest!” as he zips it up and buttons it, he looks at the Queen, one of the most angelic and the prettiest things he had ever seen in person. “Commanding behind the lines was never my thing. When I saw what was happening there, on the frontlines, I saw men with nothing but their rifles and body armor climb up sand walls to fortifications, charging it like we were still in the nineteen hundreds.” Taking his belt and revolver, the man nodded and smiled.

  “How can I ever call myself a man when those below me are doing things I never thought I’d do?” Alana takes the Vampiric Rapier that was slinging on the table. Placing it on top of her hands as she knelt with one leg, Elizabeth did the same and both of them lowered their heads. Jackson, taking the sword and strapping it to his belt. “Let’s go, we have a job to do.”

  As he walks out, one of Elizabeth’s assassins, using the Wyvern mount Bahamut, gives them lands in front of them and bows. “Your Highness! The enemy assembles! We have counted over eight hundred thousand proper units and over a million undead and those freakish abominations!” Elizabeth quickly lifted her fingers up her chin whilst Alana looked at the map on the table.

  Black flakes then began to fall from the skies, Jackson, looking towards the burning valley. “Eh? What the hell is this?” He takes a look at his hand where the flakes were falling as Bahamut shakes her head violently. “Master, this is Demon and Human bits.” His eyes immediately widen as he just flips his hand to the side and lets it fall down on the muddy soil.

  “We’ll… where is my tank?” running towards him was an officer with a radio backpack. Throwing his hands up like a wild monkey. “Sir! General! Eligos has done his job and communications with the mainland are back online. I am here to report that the missile barrage is ready alongside Rostocks remaining Mana Core bombs." This made Jackson slap his thigh violently.

  “Fucking finally! Tell Thomas we’ll hold off on the bombs, I want Cruise missiles to be flying by the hour. What direction will they be coming from?” he points right behind them. “From the South-East sir.”

  Jackson gave the soldier a salute which the player gladly returned. “Alright. Return to your post.” He then touched Bahamut, spawning in his horse. “Ah, Junior.” He hops in as he points at a radioman’s backpack. “Do you have a spare?” seeing the officer, he just unstraps his radio pack and gives it to the General. “Thank you.” he went into the command net and already, Thomas was talking.

  “I want two more tanks on the West flank immediately! Eldwood and Shine Guard Troops are to form the main foremost line!”

  “Thomas! This is Jackson, what’s happening?”

  “Ah! Knight! I need you here right now, they are about to cross the river!”

  “Copy. Contacting any available Command Abrams, I need you here.” He looks at the three girls and nods as they run towards the frontlines, Bahamut turning into her Dragon form once again and joining the skies with Mars and the helicopters.

  Looking forward into the valley, the massive trees were rustling wildly, throwing countless leaves up to the skies as an Abrams Main Battle Tank with multiple extra sets of antennas rolled up behind him. The skeleton crew silently watched him as he climbed to the commander seat and pointed forward. “To the front!”

  Kicking up a hail of mud, the M1A2 Abrams rolled towards the trees as it followed a trail of badly maintained dirt roads and the muzzle flashes amongst the bushes became more and more bright and when the curve straightens out, the first thing he noticed was the river of blood, its surface coated by the corpses of hundreds of thousands of undead and abominations. “Hold fire and join Centurion’s formation.”

  Whirling up a storm, the turbine engine spools up even more as it took the right into a widened road where in between the trees were prepared mortar dug holes and on the other side were the spent boxes, each hole was piling so much that it could be used for extra cover. Players with radios kept themselves busy with the endless callouts for barrages and trucks arriving by the minute, many just haphazardly dumping ammo for the skeleton mortar crews to take.

  It was an assembly line of firing cannons, an endless abyss of shells being thrown into the other side as cusses of long range magic would land around them, but displaced by the trees and many, a hundred or so meters away from them whilst trucks continued onto the dirt road, parking behind the tanks and the skeletons delivering ammo as Jackson stands out of the commander hatch and walks towards the large dug hole.

  Hopping over a puddle of spent shell casings, he jumps up to the side and climbs into the right side, spooking Thomas. “Woah! The hell I didn’t hear you at all!” Jackson gestures for his headset, making him remove it. “What’s the plan with the missiles?! Are you fine with my plan?!” the player just nodded and gave him a thumbs up. “Nice! I’ll prepare the first barrage then, I want you to keep firing till the barrels explode on these things!”

  Popping out, he returns to his tank as the foreign sun slowly creeps below the treetops, the area around him becoming oddly darker than normal as he reaches a communications outpost on the road that sat next to a fuel bladder.

  Walking in, he immediately goes for an empty ultra long range radio which he turned on and switches the frequency into the Theater commanders net.

  Instantly, a non stop barrage of calls was coming from other Generals on the field, all of them already spending the cruise missiles allotted to them. He switched to point one up and it was already busy. Having to go through more points, he finally finds one that’s at least not as active. “This is General Jackson, requesting our first wave of barrages. Sending in coordinates for an expedite of strikes.”

  On the riverfront, Alana had taken to the leftmost flank, covering the edges of the defensive line as the armies of Vitas had begun to spill over. Launching multiple arrowhead formations to cross the river using deployable bridges that’s carried and then tipped over by Giants, the fighting there had gotten to the same intensity as the center.

  With the Countess having to forcibly use grenades and explosives to destroy the bridges, but even then, more was coming and the ones behind were using iron and steel whilst the tanks and whatever cannon was available was far too busy picking off larger targets that could rapidly cross the river.

  Bahamut though with her giant form had begun using her fire breath, glazing the valley sides and turning everything into ash, leaving massive trails of burnt wood and flesh as she continued flying westward, her massive body disappearing into the horizon, the only thing left in her wake as devastation to the highest of degrees, far worse than any forest fire could do.

  Elizabeth though had been jumping back from the otherside of the river, preferring to be with her Black Knives who had been using the treetops to jump enemy commanders, Orcs and Ogres with there higher intelligence and the ability to lead and have some level of sentience were there top picks, with the Queen going for lower ranking commanders.

  Though she tried to go into the very rear of the army, there were just far too many of them to the point that not even she could withstand the damage she’s taking from the absurd amount of weapons and magic being used on her. Having to instead use the moment Bahamut gave to murder a Giant Knight leading another team of bridgelayers to the Eastern edge of the defensive line.

  As the fight went on and on, with Bahamut doing another pass, the sinking light had gotten so bad that even though it should only be an hour after six, the darkness had basically encapsulated the entire area. With Alana and Elizabeth’s natural night vision not even working, making them hyper focus on the muzzle fire to return to their lines.

  A sound of a turbine engine powering up echoes through the battlefield, making the two look up to see Bahamut with her burning mouth strikes directly below her, setting alight to the entire valley forest, ruthlessly culling the entire army and whatever animal was still there.

  The fire itself was so bright many of the tanks and night vision equipment had become basically useless, with the screens of the vehicles being filled with nothing but pure white.

  Still, with the fire burning in front of them, the darkness was fighting back. Engulfing the edges of where light could be as sounds of the undead and the mangled flesh throwing themselves into the water to extinguish their melting bodies filled the sky as steam billows downstream.

  But yet, they were still coming and coming. The two Vampires breathing visibly from the nonstop fighting just collapses as water magic starts being used by the armies of Vitas. Their location, in the farthest of the rear. Protected by magical barriers and Elite Orcish troops. “Knight to all callsigns, we are retreating. Collect what you could and start an orderly column heading South.” as the two Vampires turned around, an ear blistering screech came from above them and struck the already burning forest.

  It was one and then two, and then a crescendo of gigantic explosions followed but everyone was far too busy running away to even turn around to look as they packed whatever they could. “Knight to Centurion, the second mobile defense line is only hastily built. When you reach it, shore it up as much as you can.”

  “Copy Knight, Centurion also would like to report that my Goddess and Sanctum have both reported that the Three Rivers Fortress City has been set ablaze. The Grand Mages have left for the mainlands.”

  =

  Jackson’s silence was all that was replied as sappers left behind anti personnel mines and on the convoy back home. There was nothing they could see except the tiny blackout convoy lights on the back of every military vehicle, big or small.

  In his hatch, he could not see anything and Bahamut’s solution was to set alight to the trees around the dirt road, a fiery path leading them South bound as they pass through the Fortress city where its walls were intact except one slit where the armies of Schon had passed through, flooding in the city as the gunfire slowed till none where firing anymore and the tracers that flew into the darkness forever silent.

  Mars soon joined Bahamut, the both of them flying in absolute darkness, using nothing but their spatial senses to track where they headed as behind the Dragons, the massive valley fire they’ve started is suddenly extinguished with a blink of an eye, making the two Dragon Gods look to their back in confusion.

  In the absolute darkness, they both felt an endearing force, one that is magnanimous in its formless self. As if it was sucking them in. “We won’t stop for the night. We’ll drive on till the next day and recollect what we have. If you're tired, make your skeleton soldier drive for you. Do not push yourself as this column cannot stop.”

  Jackson edges his hand away from his headset as he looks to the burning path there on, the only thing giving him vision at the endless encroaching darkness. “Because if we do, we’re dead.”

  Looking from above, through the Dragons eye. The column below them is put an ant colony zig zagging through the soil as it escapes through the unseen fire from behind as on a neighboring valley, lights would pop in and out, the tips of explosions just enough to peer over the valley tops as below, Jackson and most of the players turned to there southeast.

  With tired eyes, the lights of the battle made their bodies shiver as the lights of helicopters far away disappeared into an unseen cloud. Removing his headset, the General could hear the rumble of artillery shells landing and cannonfire travel through the many mountains. “What unit is that?”

  Mars just stayed silent on the entire flight and when morning came, the convoy reached a small opening in the forest. The plains contained within the forestry were barely large enough to house the amount of vehicles Jackson had under his command as players soaked in the sunlight that was piercing through the redness, even in its filtered form.

  Walking around with the sea of vehicles, minute in his form at the countless others wearing the same camouflage as him, the General with his already battered and dirty face went to Thomas and both of them met on the road, map in hand, none of them showed exhaustion as the chart is laid before them by the lower ranking officers.

  “We’re just fifty kilometers from it. That should be a two or three hour drive.”

  “Paul, we need to think of a plan for night battles. Fire is not the way.”

  “I know. Later, we will. Right now, I want a count of our fuel. With Three Rivers gone, so is the gas.”

  “HEY! STOP! STOP!” The four Generals quickly turn to the road as the player was waving off a M1A2 Abrams fully loaded with skeletons and players, in its form, the main battle tank looked like an abused elephant, with armor piercing spears on its frontal armor, its side skirts burnt and mostly hanging by a single screw, the crew did not care for the makeshift roadblock. Ramming straight through it as it passes by the high ranking officers, throwing mud into their pants.

  The T-72B behind it was in no better shape, looking more like an older variant with all of its ERA blocks blown completely off. They continued to drive southward, passing by Jackson’s army as the haggle of armor was gone and mostly left were trucks. “Thomas, is this some transport battalion?” The Shine Guard’s Knightly Commander sees the symbol of the army.

  A mighty three headed cerberus on tracks eating a poppy. “That’s the Thirteen Army Corps.” Jackson though was silent in his place, standing completely still as the trucks driving by were full of players, none of them were skeletons. “What happened to their three hundred main battle tanks?” and driving behind some heavily damaged self propelled artillery guns is an up armored humvee.

  With broken windows and all of its tires completely punctured, it slowly veers off from the main convoy and hits the rear of one of Jackson’s tanks. The doors open to reveal three lieutenants and a Captain nearly fall off face first into the mud if it weren’t for the door handles.

  Quickly rushing to the high ranking officers, they stood at ease and saluted. Jackson quickly asked “Where is your General?” as an eyebrow raised on his face, seeing their battered and tired faces “He’s dead sir. No respawn at all. Sadler’s dead.” He looks at Thomas who ditched the map as Jackson just scratched his head. “I don’t know who that is.”

  “Wait what. Jackson, that's from my Guild. I’ve known that guy for years.” Thomas looks at the two players. “Are you from the Shine Guards?” They both shrugged their heads. “The Shine Guards detachment in our field army is MIA sir.” Thomas’ eyes widen as Jackson facepalms from what he is hearing. “And your overall strength?” the line of trucks and heavily damaged armored vehicles didn’t stop, the officers ignoring the mud being kicked up into there legs as they awaited for an answer.

  The four lower ranking officers turned to one another and put up their fingers to calculate on spot and after some murmuring at each other, the Captain stood in front and saluted. “Sir! We’re currently sitting at around twenty percent strength.”

  “What?! You're annihilated! Your army is dead! If Seventy Five is already Combat Ineffective by UN rules, yours is basically a zombified fighting force! What the hell happened to all of your tanks and vehicles?!”

  “Uh… there was this floating thing that had the shape of a pyramid, sir. It started sucking up our vehicles, turning them into a part of its shape.”

  “What the fuck?” Sounds then came from the valley tops, the bending of the trees made everyone turn to its direction and in horror, there was a line of Armored Giants. They didn’t continue walking, merely standing atop the valley peaks, looking down from above.

  The four lower ranking officers didn’t stand around, running back to their Humvees, they rejoined the retreating column. “HEY!” Jackson just grabs Thomas’ shoulder, shrugging his head. “We have to deal with two fronts now.” he turns to the General, face to face. “We might not even make it to the sandy section of Schon if lines keep falling. Rush back to the second defensive line. Its around a bunch of ancient ruins right?”

  “Jackson, you can’t be planning on making a stand here. Tanks and thick forests don’t mix well.”

  “I know.” he turns around and touches Elizabeth’s exposed shoulders and teleports in his Eldwood Death Knight armor. “Leave the lightly mechanized troops to me and Rose. Queen will keep her Assassins and Rangers, you and Sanctum will continue on. Altar, with me. I need your skills.” The Demon General gave him a nod as he followed Jackson to the map.

  “I need you to guard the left flank. Rose will guard the right, me and Queen will take on the enemy main force with Bahamut.”

  “And what about those shapes?”

  “I’ll have Bahamut do her thing.” Thomas suddenly butts into their conversation. “Take Mars with you. She’ll be far more useful here than in the back as reserve.” Jackson didn’t sway his head, merely returning back to the map. “Centurion, Sanctum. Be sure to lay as many mines as you could. Use magic, shovels, diggers, whatever. The mines we placed should be slowing them down nicely right now but it's not enough. Put more.”

  Everyone stays silent, not objecting to anything as Jackson slaps his hands onto the hood of the Humvee. “Let’s get to work.” As everyone goes away to brief their men, Elizabeth and Alana rests their hands on his shoulders as he sighs. “It’s only been two days. I hope those Heroes are making the best of the time we’re giving them.”

  “M’Lord, may you remove your gloves and raise your hand up.” with a confused face, he does as she instructs and Alana intertwines her hand with his and to his surprise, she was trembling more than he was. “Thank you, M’Lord.” She smiles and slowly calms down as Elizabeth just turns to the peaks of the valleys, the Giants in their mesmerizing size, silhouette by the red rising sun made them look like moving statues of old, out to get them in full.

  “I hope the Kingdom is doing alright.”