Standing on the top one of the only concrete building inside the Central Schontic Depot, Jackson looked at the skeleton general next to him, pointing out the current speed of the demining operation the enemy is doing as the photos from the satellites showed Goblins in there Red Bipedal Reptilian mounts creating magic circles and portals opening mid picture. “And this is just ten miles behind us?” the officer from the Men of the Woods nods. “Yes sir and then fifteen miles in front of the Depot.”

  “Geez, we really underestimated just how much prepared they are. No wonder, we drove the entire night to the second line of defense and it felt like they were just a few kilometers behind us all the time.” One of the Mages from the collapsed frontlines receives a message from his staff and walks towards the table and points at the map of the region. Specifically, the edge of the marked minefield they put days before Jackson’s army came.

  “One of my scouts got news. Giant Knights are in the fray, they have begun to use three headed flails to smash the soil and trigger the mines. They’ve been going at it since you came here and we expect them to finish by tomorrow evening.” With a sigh of relief, Jackson sat on the office chair and swung it around to look at the mountainous valley formation, now a mere far sight in the horizon. “How did your lines fall?”

  He stayed silent for a bit before removing his hand from the map and looking at the Supreme General. “It was quick. We actually thought we would be able to hold for months will these ten foot tall super demons in black armor came in. They shrugged off the tank and magic fire like nothing." He then leans his staff on the window of the headquarters and taps on it. “Our lines grumbled so quickly.”

  “Did you atleast kill one of these things?” the Mage in his white wizard robes with vestments shrugs. His white cowl was still on and it hid his hair and most of his facial features. “Though, General Ohmshruggsker did kill one, it cost him his life multiple times spamming Ancient Spells.” Jackson then walks towards him and stops by the man's side. Watching as the end of the train is moved up with the shunters attaching more cars to the already long locomotive. “What level is this General?”

  “Level Two Hundred, sir.” he leans his head down and sighs. “Of course… I can’t even fully use my Rapier’s powers since I am not a King and my armor is damaged already.” Below his sight, Bahamut and Mars were observing the frozen players as the small area was contained with hazmat soldiers and only skeletons were allowed to get near them while a shunting train had begun to attach the final cars on the locomotive. Elizabeth and Alana were with Treala, busy helping with the logistics of the place as everything that could be taken were being loaded up into the flatcars.

  His eyes were focused on the train that’s moving so slowly and with a sigh, looks up to the horizon. “Me and Thomas will return to the Third Line of defense. I have a feeling those mines won’t be enough to hold them till tomorrow evening.” As he stands up and Yamaoka, taking his rifle from the table, John, who was holding a Firing Device, holds Jackson’s arm. “Don’t play hero too much. Bahamut’s eyes look like she is on the verge of crying at times." The man just gently takes his hand off of his arm and pats his friend's shoulder. “I know… but what can we do? We’re fighting for our lives here. If no one would, who will?”

  Walking down to the exit, Thomas opens the door for him as they both board an open top Humvee. “Take us to the defense line will you?” The skeleton driver turns on the vehicle and they cross into the shunting grounds. Driving over twelve sets of tracks, the bumpy ride was soon over as they crisscrossed into the main ammo dump, there were so many crates that it seemed like they were city blocks and the two players only sighs at sight. “We’ll have them scatter crates of ammo and grenades. After this, Thomas. Alert the Port and get us to transport ships to Dragovh." The man then got silent almost immediately, half his hand covering his mouth as the man was breathing in and out with his eyes focused on random things.

  “I know you have a lot on your shoulders right now, but what do you plan to do when we reach Dragovh?” With a long hard silence, Jackson turned to him and shrugged his arms. “I guess… help out in the defense of the shores… if we can’t, we’ll head to City 01 and help with the evacuation.” Yamaoka began to think as his colleague's droopy face inside the Knight helmet could be seen through the slits. “I believe we should take the chance to rearm and rest. Let the Native Kingdoms take the brunt off our shoulders while we prepare once again for a fight.”

  “I don’t know… seeing how strong they are and how apparent that they’ve been planning this since the day we came here, testing us by these major incidents, I… wait…” he tilts his head and looks at the Shine Guards General. “You might be onto something…”

  Reaching the exit of the Military Depot, a bunch of players were running back inside, flailing their arms and screaming for their lives. The suspension of the Humvee began to shake violently as Yamaoka and Jackson both stood up and even in the red skies, the sight of the visibly shaken birds taking off from afar sent their spines to overdrive. “H…How?!”

  A bunch of helicopters from the many Guilds began to engage the enemy as their winged compatriots covered for their ground troops. The massive Giant Knights were in full sprint, their hotel sized tower shields up and covering their front as tanks with their turrets turned around were shooting at them whilst mines exploded in the hundreds in every step the wall was taking.

  As they got sight of the Military Depot, one of the Giants peeking from its shield was fired at with a huge shell and flung it onto the ground, this made two of them stop and look at a dug in position of a howitzer gun that they were about to pass by. The skeletons operating it had already begun to load in another high explosive shell before they were relentlessly kicked by gargantuan sabatons.

  Assassins of Elizabeth quickly got into action, appearing out of thin air in their shadow forms to put fuses into the howitzer shells a little bit behind the gun itself and one of them, wielding a staff shot out a blast of bluish flames, causing a big explosion, sending the Giants who were ganging up on the howitzer down onto the ground. With the chance as Demon Army’s air support was just about to arrive, helicopters and jets laid down everything they had on the fallen Giants.

  There missiles, although doing little damage, it was the Bunker Busters on the high flying Tu-22s of Rostock that did the job. Killing three and exposing a huge section of the oncoming army. The Self Propelled Guns and Howitzers around the Depot had to get the lowest amount of charge on there breeches as the shells they were firing had to drop quickly from how near there targets here, there muzzles pointing nearly directly vertical and into the clouds upon the heavens touch as there high explosive shells would arc downward into the rear of the Giants.

  It caused massive casualties on the cannon fodder of the Demon Army, having been tasked in detonating any secondary mines or leftovers that the Giants with their Towering Shields weren't able to remove. The incessant explosions were nonstop as sorties took full advantage of the Demon Army’s overwhelming air power still not fully present.

  One of the fallen Giants, with a large hole on its Helm looks up. Its armored head was met with a Red Dragon landing right ontop of it. Mars then began to gnaw at its skull, the sheer biting force of the Dragon cracking the unknown metal it made out of as she began to wiggle violently and then started a death roll. It began to panic as the other Giants tried to help it, just to get a Black Dragon crashing upon them like a bowling ball into pins.

  It was a completely trashing for the moment, the Tower Shields falling just as fast as it came with Bahamut’s sideswipe landing which caused a massive billow of smoke to appear as the fallen Giant began to visibly panic, its legs and arms violently shaking and trying to grab into its sheath which Mars’ hand and leg has trampled on, preventing it to grab the pommel as it let out a screeching scream and the Red Dragon, completely tearing its head off.

  Like a person removing a fishes’ spine, Mars ruthlessly pulled its head off, the vertebral column fully exposed to the world as she then spat it out. Rising from the bloody mess that is her mouth, the Demon Knights far behind the cannon fodders of the Cosmic Army stood and watched in silence as she spread her wings in full, letting out a horrific roar that shocked the trees to its very roots and the Dark Wyverns, instinctively retreating for a moment as there senses were overrun with a natural need to escape.

  One of the Giants then began to stand up, they were recovering as Bahamut was trying to kill two of them, pinning them down. Its huge gauntlets then proceeds to grab its hotel sized sword as Mars landed on a Giant Knight front plate. Her talons are strong enough to pierce through it and with a crushing grip, turn it into a tin can, leaving a gnashing hole. “Mars! Urg’ govah!” The Red Dragon skids into the forest, wiping out thousands of tall trees as it spreads its wings in full and begins to flap. It sent mines that’s dug into the soil right towards the Abominations and Undead behind the Giants, turning them into miniature cannonballs as she took flight, breathing fire into the humongous Knights and proceeded to turn her attention to the incoming air units of the Demons.

  With the Giants so close to the Depot, Mages had to use their magic to quickly deploy howitzers into the very front fence. The high explosive shells of the 155mm and 152mm guns sent them into the ground though not enough to kill or maim as they continued to protect Bahamut who was busy tearing apart the two Giants that she’s set her sight on.

  Train horns blared inside as the rumbling of the ground became untenable with more Giants coming in from the flanks of the Depot, with driving even becoming impossible with just how much the ground was shaking. Though Jackson and Yamaoka, both now in their Knight Armors were able to stand straight up and look at the Giants, those standing up just to be shot at again by the howitzers as others tried to go around the Depot just to meet with two angry Vampires. “Dammit! Their armies have already united and organized this fast?!”

  “Jackson-sama! We need to go now!” He looks at Thomas and nods. “Yeah, tomorrow evening my ass. Are we really the last Level Two Hundreds in this place?! Have everyone tucked their tails and run already?!”

  Treala though had taken things into her own hands, as the Engineers and Sappers were latching onto the ground, their hands and vision shaking so hard that the wiring of the explosives had become a true challenge to fuse into the detonators, she had to take the reins but the amount of explosives that had to be placed was monumental and with so much of players being too low level to catch there footing, she quickly breathes in and began to do their task. “Y-Yeah! Just twist the wires and into each other!”

  Feeling numerous presence approaching her, that of her own kin. Treala quickly stopped, standing up and turning around with her short sword ready and to her surprise, it was Vampire Assassins, taking the wires and explosives as the others of the Black Knife’s fought off Dark Elves who were infiltrating from the South. “Take one Engineer with you each! Let them guide you into planting the charges!” as John rushes out of the central command building, ordering his helicopters to take off, leaving one Blackhawk on the helipad as he starts helping in the moving of medical crates into the train.

  On Top of the mountains of crates, his eyes laid upon a flurry of hand to hand combat, with the Black Knife’s of Elizabeth with the help of Eldwood’s Rangers and some players who were free were able to keep the Dark Elves in bay. To his surprise, they were ignoring the train itself, opting for the core of the Depot where the Thermobaric munitions used by Rostock’s MRLS was stored.

  Violent fighting was also happening on the gates as Jackson, who was weaving through the trenches that leads into the treeline, fetched some anti tank launchers and dashed towards the nearest Giant who was down on the ground. The rumbling was so bad that no one except those who were in a higher enough level was able to stand up and catch their ground whilst Abominations and Undead threw themselves at them without regard.

  As he was in his armor, the man got up to his heel and fired the rocket. Causing a small hole to be opened from the tandem warhead. With this, he unsheathed his sword and drove its tip into it. The Rapier then powered up as it sucked the blood of the Giants. “Huh?” It glowed a golden color and he felt his strength go up tenfold.

  He proceeds to iron himself, his eyes as solid as the rocks on the valleys as his sabatons planted on the ground as if he weighed more than that of a tank, the man drove it into the hole even deeper, causing it to enlarge more and more as the Vampiric Blade gleefully drank the oddly perfect red blood of the Giants, not rotten nor dull like the ones he had been killing so far. “COME ON! COME ON!” pushing his body as the shadows of the two Dragons flew over him, Dark Wyverns annoying the two as they tried to kill the Giants, Jackson’s fury only became bolder as the Rapier on his hands lit up into a blinding light for a moment.

  With that instantaneous drive of Mana coming from within him and the blade, the glass sword rips straight into the flesh of the giant, going through its thick socks and straight to its bones and blood starts gushing out of the slit he had created and a monstrous yelp comes out of the massive humanoid.

  Senses tingling, he dashes out of the treeline as the Giants armored gauntlets cover the bleeding hole. Crushing hundreds of trees. “WINGS OF A PEGASUS!” looking up, Yamaoka in his shining armor had translucent pegasus wings on it and a golden spear on his hand. With a special spell he whispers. “Saint Garlound’s Fury.” The spear then had magic circles, ten of them formed in front of its tip and the man then aimed.

  He proceeds to throw it, the spear going through all ten and into the other Giant that was down on the ground, shooting it into the helmet slits, causing a fountain of blood and flesh to explode out of the Giant’s head. “SIR!” Jackson turns around to see a soldier pointing at the Eastern flank, the trees there were rustling heavily as in his horror, Towering Shields appear and the guns of the trenches there had become ineffective, the two Dragon Gods focusing there fully efforts in stopping the Demon Army’s airpower, he just lets out a sigh. “Form a squad of tanks and have them flank around from our side! The mines here are all nearly cleansed!”

  On it were another wall of Giants marching forward with their Tower Shields and a cloud of smoke billows as a squad of M1A2 Abrams and T-90s rolled across the front gate and through the detonated mines, with the Giants there now only a handful, they managed to perform a wide berth around them, forcing the wall of Giants to turn their attention, downsizing the size of there moving wall and going to a crawling speed as the tanks sped up through the forest. Racing to reach their rear as they drove over the initial wave of cannon fodder.

  The heavy forty and seventy ton tanks squished and bulldozed their way through the sea of Abominations and Undeads, their threads churning rotten flesh and blood like a meat grinder with their tracks.

  More and more Daryk Wyverns and Terrordactyls were flying atop of them and speeding straight into the helicopters. What jets were present was unable to do much as the volume of the enemy had become so much that not even a hundred fighter planes could change the tide. “E-Eh?! How did they get here so fast?!” Fireballs the size of buses were then fired from far behind the Giant Knights and even the Demon Knight Army, making Jackson rush to his radio. “CAST AN ADDITIONAL MAGICAL BARRIER RIGHT NOW!”

  By the nick of time, the Mages on standby were able to stand up, with their backs against the a wall, casted a unified magic spell and erected a secondary barrier that intercepted the oncoming balls of fiery energy as the first one completely shatters from the volume of attacks that came. But at the same time, this half halved their magic support with those focusing on buffing friendly units left to focus on the mages who were stressing themselves as the heavy spell proved too much even for the hundreds of magicians present.

  It was a rain of flames, the very skies itself with its red color, crying tears of hellish fireballs whose painful sounds crash upon the translucent barrier of the players, with it holding though flickering constantly

  A shattering sound then soon followed, the physical barrier wasn’t able to withstand the barrage as another wave came in, this time the magic used were of blackish color mixed with ones of a poisonous purple. Bahamut had to take her attention away from pinning down the enemy air power who were already overrunning the two Dragon Gods. Their AoE spell that could wipe out thousands in seconds seemingly felt like a drop in an ocean as the clouds were painted black from the number of enemy units flying at them. Its sheer number was uncountable with the players themselves having to pray Mars and Bahamut could keep up.

  Bahamut then began to fly higher and higher and just before the clouds spotted the Hell Priests working alongside Dark Elven Mages and those from the Kingdom of Vitas just a handful of kilometers behind the Giant Knights that were slowly marching forward. They had not only made magic circles to fire off massive fireballs, but also erected more larger Dark Portals, quickly deploying the troops of the Underworld at such a fast rate while Orcs and Goblins were nowhere to be found.

  It was all proper units, well equipped, trained, and organized from the Cosmic Gods themselves that was launching the relentless assault and as she breathed in, a massive laser was emitted out of her mouth and a small circular shield was thrown into its path causing an ear shattering clang as the laser bounces off into space.

  Mars eyes then began to dot around as to where it came from as another problem came up. It was the same Giant Knight Commander they met at the edge of the borders of Vitas and it came back wielding a monstrous Greatsword. Its magnificent cape flapped vividly in the cold afternoon as it had bought upon its own squad of Elite Giant Knights. Their armors were donned in a strange red and yellow dye with talismans full of Vile Sigils planted on their front plates.

  Mars though had brazenly flew just above the treetops, ramming into the Giant Commander and his squad. She was going so fast they weren’t able to unsheath their swords and as the Commander had swung its blade, she was already long gone and in time as the Red Dragon reaches their backline and unleashes a violet coloured flame into the camp of the Hell Priests.

  It quickly melted right through there own magic barriers as the violet flame turned into a concentrated laser but she was cut off with the Elite Giant Knight Squad already on her, forcing Mars to gain altitude and dodge the massive swords that gleamed an odd and terrifying color and aura.

  “Jackson! Treala has told me she with the Assassins has set all of the charges!” Upon hearing this, the General’s eyes lit up, charging into the nearest radio and ordering for a full blown retreat. “Elizabeth! Alana! Let’s get out of here!” he then changes his station and into the command yet. “John! You should’ve told me! You’re here to see this thing get blown sky high?!”

  A reply then quickly came to him. “No, I was here to deliver a special package. One that was given to us a year and a half ago. You should remember this Jackson, you were the one who handed it to me.” his eyes squinted as he then shrugged his head and walked out. He removes his helmet and breathes in like an athlete who was about to embark upon a marathon. “Bahamut! Mars! Retreat now! Downsize the area of battle and concentrate on defending the Depot itself!” He then sprints straight out of the tent as it was blasted by enemy long range magic.

  Soon after, the Fleshed Machinations of stolen military equipment came to reinforce the badly damaged formation of Demonic Mages. Firing howitzers and rocket launchers at them, giving the players a taste of their own medicine. Jackson himself sprinted at the right time as high explosive shells landed on the front gate of the Depot.

  On the railyard, a massive train consist was made over the few hours of fighting they’ve been doing, pulled by over fifteen locomotives. Its tail end was nowhere to be seen as some of the Guilds had already begun to rush into the freight cars, not caring at the condition of their ride out of the hellish battlefield as Demons in lighter sets of plate armor had joined the Dark Elves in the infiltration of the Depot.

  Rushing into the seemingly endless walls of ammo crates, the Supreme General could see the lines and lines of wired up explosives. Yamaoka then pops out of his flanks, the General also running for his life as both jogging for their very lives as Giants rose up and the wall was now in sight of the Depot. Though enemy artillery had stopped firing, the Dark Wyverns above were causing a ruckus inside. The two had to weave and dodge their attacks as players and skeletons tried to shoot them down.

  Flying in from the sides were Alana and Elizabeth, with their bat wings in full spread, they grabbed the two Generals off of the ground and gently landed them in front of the passenger cars. “Thank you!” Jackson quickly got to work helping people move crates of munitions and rations into the train cars as Yamaoka quickly bowed, facing towards the two Vampires who had begun to observe the fighting on top of the piles of crates. “ARIGATOU!” and rushed to the platforms, moving packed bedrolls into the freight wagons.

  Train horns once again sounded from deep within the forest where the head of the train was, they could hear the brakes locking off of the bogies and the towering exhaust smoke of the diesel-electric locomotives could be seen from afar became visible.

  On his radio, Jackson stopped by the door to the train. “John! Do you hear me?” The fighting had grown so close to the gates and the rumbling of the ground became more and more bad that it was throwing players off of their feet. “Yea! Go, Paul! Me and Treala are boarding a helicopter as we speak. I’ll meet you at the aircraft carrier! Safe travels bro!” hearing his voice made the General nod and sigh in relief. “Alright. Good job…! And next time, tell me what you were actually planning to do!”

  Seeing Bahamut and Mars flying back towards the depot, the Dark Wyverns and Terrordactyls were hopeless as they rammed them out of the skies and the Assassins jumped from one ammo dump to another to them as the Dark Elves and Demon Scouts were in their tail. “Engineers! Do you hear me?! Start moving!” Due to its extreme length, its tail end is at the forest and Jackson and Yamaoka stood on the platform, taking rocket launchers and firing them into the Giants who had crushed the front fence of the depot.

  Helicopters had to stop shooting missiles at them as they reached the ammo crates and the enemy’s airpower had now invaded the Depot’s main airspace, forcing them to gain altitude and avoid the insufferable amount of flying enemies. The Giant’s sabatons crushed the wooden boxes as the long train was already moving at highway speed and still, there seemingly was no end to it.

  Abominations then began to pop, inside, the core of their jointed bodies was that of a brain with tentacles coming from underneath. They’d open the crates and eat up the guns and ammo, turning into demonic balls of guns and cannons as they even ate up the armored vehicles that were left parked on the lots and stockpiles. Players who were still near the frontgate couldn’t believe their eyes as their own vehicles were now walking on two feets and were shooting back at them with bullets and grenade launchers.

  “Come on you bastards! We’ll keep throwing lead at you!” Screamed the Sergeant who was taking one disposable launcher after the other, firing them into the Giants. Their small arms were unable to really do much but annoy them enough as Alana and Elizabeth were busy stopping the flanking Giants from reaching both ends of the railyard and cutting the train in half.

  Even the Skeleton Generals had to get into the action, using guns, they were just shooting like any other person which made Jackson shake his head as one of Elizabeth’s Black Knife’s handed him another launcher. “Thank you, ma’am.” As he aimed it, the shaking suddenly stopped.

  The wall of Giant Knights with their tower shields had stood in their place just by the edge of the front gate line of defense and the two at the main road lifted their shields to reveal the Legion of Merit leading the charge as behind it was the Elite Giant Knight Squad, the Commander though just watching in steadily behind as the shields then close.

  In their red painted armor, they had their cleavers out already as they rushed into the depot. Going past the Flesh Terminals that was still busy shedding there useless form of bodies and into new and finely made ones of composite armor and modern guns.

  “Jackson! Do you copy?”

  “Yeah! I hear you John!”

  “Do you want me to say anything to the Heroes? I have word from Command that one of them has come out of the Burial Grounds for the Ancient Elves in Mount Harelm.”

  “Oh fuck yeah I do, tell them to HURRY THE FUCK UP!”

  “Straight and lace, copy.”

  “CONTACT FRONT!” Jackson, whose muzzle has been pointed upwards since the Dark Wyverns and Elves were already on the central platforms, had to look straight down to see Demon Knights in Red armor charging right towards them.

  With his assault rifle, he shoots at one in the head, dumping thirty rounds straight at it but the Demon keeps coming, prompting him to grab a rocket launcher. “BACK BLAST!” and upon the reply of “CLEAR!” He pulls the trigger just for the Red Knight to slice it clean with its cleaving blade. “Wha-” grabbing his Rapier, he charges out of the sandbags on the platform and straight into them with a bunch of Black Knife’s behind. Some of the players had to peek out in absolute confusion as there highest ranking officer charged towards the enemy

  Yamaoka had a smile inside his helmet as he finally uses his Holy Sword for its true purpose, meeting with the Demon, it immediately parries his Greatsword but he also was able to dodge its blade and as he came back for another attack, multiple other Demons came right for him. Ignoring the pings of the bullets hitting their armor.

  As he was about to retreat, Elizabeth’s Knives came in, using their various types of weapons to stop their butcher cleavers as he focused on the one in front of him. “Hah!” He tightens his grip on his sword and pushes it into the neck of the Demon, forcing it to dodge and take a few steps back.

  But more were coming and some had already rushed past them and into the platform where the players were screaming at the top of their heads as their guns even at point blank weren't able to do anything and those who opted for their swords were far to low and mid leveled to even scratch the Legion of Merit.

  This prompts him and the Assassins to retreat back as the soldiers now on the platform were only a handful, the rest throwing their guns into the train cars and hopping on it as it began to pick up even more speed. Using it as a moving platform as they shoot and scoot out of the fight.

  Jackson was fighting tooth and nail on the cargo platform, the players and assassins all too busy with their own problems to help him as his armor started taking hits from the Demon swords. “Damnit! Everyone! Ack!” a blade then slides into his neck, the Black Steel collar sliding it into his spiked pauldrons, making the sword stuck on his right arm.

  With this chance, he uses the glass rapier to slice clean through the Demons neck, killing it and giving him the opportunity to charge at another Red Knight who was on a killing spree, cleaning a good portion of the platform of players.

  It quickly hears him, turning around to meet his blade but one of the assassins has led another Demon Knight to it, dodging its sword just for the Red armored warrior to slice his own colleague on the shoulder. The Black Knife then finished one off with a dagger to the neck and a quick limb removal with its dual shortswords as Jackson took to the other one, driving the sword into the front of its neck and exiting out to the back. Within a few seconds, two of the Red Knights were dead.

  He gave the Black Knife a nod of approval who in reply, performs a royal curtsy and the two then continue to fight on.

  Eldwood’s Rangers were in a constant state of teleportation, annoying the Legion with there non stop use of their powers, appearing everywhere and nowhere as they used their guns to keep their heads on a swivel, giving the players some chance to fight back, driving there guns and swords right up to the slits of there armors and causing major injuries or even death.

  As more and more of the Legion of Merit poured into the platforms, the tail end of the train was finally in sight, with this, Jackson and Yamaoka with the Skeleton Generals and the Assassins had begun to fight even more vigorously as Flesh Terminals who had taken the forms of there weapons had appeared, one of the, firing TOW Anti tank missiles into the train, forcing Alana to disengage and get her back sliced open as she opened her wings and sliced the missiles clean.

  Tooth and nail, Thomas had to even ditch his sword as the Demon he was trying to kill had grabbed his waist, lifting him up and throwing him into the platform. But he in turn had a knife stored on the back of his belt, hugging the Demon as the two pushed each other like vapid animals into the ground trying to overpower each other. But the Level 200 player wasn’t an easy kill and with the buffs of his Shine Guard Armor, it was a brutal moshpit of two creatures trying to murder each other.

  He was nearly overtaken but as an Eligos came in, rudely shooting the Demon on the hand, Thomas got his knife out and dug it into the neck of the Demon. At first, the dagger slid into its neck guard but trying again, he managed to pierce through the chainmail underneath and kill the Legion of Merit Knight.

  Jackson though on the other hand was fighting two Knights at the same time, and to his demise, the smoldering chrome armor of the Demon Knights’ field army had begun to spill out of the zig zagging ammo dump as players used there anti tank launchers to kill the Flesh Terminals. Even the Black Knives were left in disbelief, just looking at the visibly burnt enemy pouring more and more into their already busy areas as Bahamut and Mars kept the train clear of anyone trying to derail it.

  Breathing in, the Knight General just screams from the top of his voice. “GAAAHHH!” swinging his sword like a madman and activating its blood powers, the two Demon Knights were caught off guard by his sudden animation and the intense sharpness and heat of the Vampire blade, taking a step back as he rushed to a sandbag, opening a crate and firing a rocket launcher at one of them who was flung into the tracks as he parries the other’s blade who came at him at the moment of opening he showed.

  Seeing the incoming cleaver, he swirls around it, jumping from the platform and with the glass sword pointing down, rams it straight into the neck of the Demon who was flung, beheading it on the tracks as the other one dives into his back. He quickly takes the corpse and uses it as a buffer between them.

  With the tracks now on his back and the Demon Knight in his badly painted red armor ditching its oversized butcher’s cleaver for its knife, he reaches around his back just to find his knife is crushed by his body and the railway. His eyes widened as the Knight of Merit raised its arm up, the dagger, with its swirling shape falling out of its hand.

  Its entire hand then soon follows, the Demon just curiously looking at the extremely clean slice that was delivered to him. “Doth try to touch mineth, Lord?” looking to its right, Elizabeth was toying with its hands, throwing it up and down as she then performed a flying kick, sending the Knight flying and Jackson getting up.

  “My Lord! I suggest everyone gets on now!” He looked up and the tail end of the train was now about to pass them as it was going 128 kilometers per hour. “EVERYONE! RUN!” Elizabeth then materializes her Royal Crown and upon donning it, her emerald eyes turn gold once again and she charges into the Demon Knights.

  With the blood of the dead ones moving on its own, it forms into tentacles that grab the Knights, holding them in place as the Black Knifes, Rangers, Players, and Thomas with the Skeleton Generals dashes for the railcars. One by one, the more agile and powerful Knife’s helped the players get into the train first as they and the Rangers were the last to hop on.

  Paul though was busy protecting Elizabeth’s back just as he realized the end was coming. He taps her shoulder. “Go My Lord, I’ll have a bit of fun here.” he nods and the man violently dashes for the central mainline track, hopping over six sets of railway before jumping into a well car. Grabbing into its ladder as he gets grabbed, his cape glides over the gravel bed of the railway as the Queen in the back closes her palms, crushing the Knights with the Blood Tentacles.

  She then turns into a Vampire Bat, flying into the well car and helping him up.

  He just collapses completely into the shaking train as Alana and Bahamut soon follow, the sight before him leaving the mountains of ammo crates and into the bountiful forests of Schon. “M’Lord, can you stand up?” He was breathing heavily as he rested on the grill platform of the car. “Ba-Bahamut… can I remove my armor, please?”

  She then burns his armor, cleansing it first and proceeds to nod. Without even a second to waste, he removes his helmet and makes a long hard breath. “H-ho-holy shit…”

  Flying a thousand feet above the air, John and Treala watch as the tail end of the train quickly reaches a kilometer out of the Depot’s area. It was now slithering with Demon activity as Abominations would drop their more inferior form and take in the more modern and sleek look of the Outworlder’s weaponry and Dark Wyverns were now in charge of the Depot’s air space fully.

  Opening the helicopter door, Treala with her wooden Elven Bow pulls the cord as far back as possible, with the glossy tip arrowhead, aiming it straight down. “Looks like we have no need to Plan B. Do it.” and she releases her grip and lets loose.

  On the back of the train as Jackson leaned back on a container van, his still active eye caught the falling glimmer of something small as the red sky became engulfed with a blindingly powerful light and as it settled, there was a mushroom cloud from the detonation of the entire Depot.

  Its shockwave hits them first and soon, the sound of the explosion. Trees were sent bending over the other direction as he just breathed heavily. John could see the Elite Giant Squad had survived the explosion, though hundreds upon hundreds of their colleagues were instantly vaporized and others, the atomization destroying and melting their armors, burning their entire bodies up.

  Yet the Elite Giant Knights were untouched, though their armor was smoldering hot, they stood as if it merely perturbed them. One of the soldiers with him opens a briefcase and twisting the key, it opens the red button which he promptly presses.

  Deep inside the Elven Empire’s edge, inside a Rostock Headquarters, alarms blared as their Strategic Rocket Force was brought into action. Dashing through the bunker halls, a pair of soldiers enter into a sectioned part of the HQ and they could see an authorization code was sent.

  Cracking open a safe and abiding by the initials of the code, they get the red cookie. Cracking it open, the code was then confirmed and they swiftly removed the keys from their necks and inserted it into the console. “Три, два, один. ПОВОРОТ!” twisting the keys, the large multifunctional screen turns on and shows the prototype ICBM, the first ever of its kind in Dark World gets loaded with rocket fuel as final checks are made. “ЗАПРАВКА ЗАВЕРШЕНА!”

  “МАНА-НЮК СТАБИЛЕН!” The Commander and Deputy Commander both stand in silence as words in English come to them on the radio. One of the soldiers writes it down alongside the Commander, both cross checking their documents and confirming the approval from Iron Mountain itself.

  This prompted the soldiers to put in the code for the butterfly valve and lights turned on. “ОКСИДАЙЗЕР ВКЛЮЧЕН!” circuit breakers were then flipped upward, and more lights turned on, indicating one color, green. “ОКОНЧАТЕЛЬНОЕ ПОДТВЕРЖДЕНИЕ ЦЕЛИ! CENTRAL SCHONTIC DEPOT!” The Commander cried out and the Deputy, looking at the map, gave a thumbs up.

  With all lights indicating green and the final confirmation given, they twist the keys one last time and the batteries activate, the silo doors open and as the screen shows, the boosters ignite and the rocket takes off.

  Reaching the exosphere of the foreign planet, the missile then points towards the second largest continent on the world as its secondary boosters turn on and as it was about to enter, the warhead detaches from the main body and enters into the atmosphere, cutting through the clouds as the players bought its own kind of hell against the ones coming from another and far more insane world.

  A second atomic explosion followed, this one being an ICBM that completely flattened the entire area and the tired and battered General fell asleep completely. His eyes unable to keep awake as the more powerful Mana Core atomization caused the Elite Giant Knights to be vaporized and along with it, kilometers and kilometers of trees alongside a large bulk of the Demon Army, turned into a mere ashen land where only the most damned can live.

  Jackson laid inside the luxury passenger cars VIP compartment, with the Woodstock Railways still plastered on its side and the bronze lining around the panel windows with its expensive baroque styling. Waking up, he looks out of the glass to see the speeding train passing through the endless forest of Schon. Yawning he stretches his arms and his back. Hearing an audible crack which made his eyes widen for a second. “... How long has it been?” A calm elegant reply by a teenage girl’s voice then followed. “It’s been a day, M’Lord. It’s late in the afternoon now. You’ve been asleep for at least twenty hours.”

  He fully opens his wet eyes, looking at the carpeted ceiling and the soft bed he finds himself in. “Man, the evacuees who didn’t reach the teleportation circles had it good. Imagine being put into this. Ahhhh…” with his armor finally removed, the man just felt his muscles all ease up and his body melting into the soft silk bed meant for the most important passengers of Woodstock’s Luxury Express Train.

  There was bronze and polished copper running along the corners of the compartment as old style paintings of the past heroics of the Men of the Woods sat behind the King sized bed.

  Riding on the car, the three axle bogies gave it an extremely smooth ride, Jackson finally could rest in a proper bed as he looked at Alana who was changing her clothes inside the small room. “Well, it's not like the ones Menyon Railway uses but we’re all here and are riding an Art Deco train.” the Countess chuckled as she changed into a comfy pair of shorts and a thin shirt as she sat next to him, her lace panties visible through the holes of her shorts. “M’Lord, I’d like to have these carriages. I want to make a personal train for the Minuit family.”

  Stretching her arms, the girl was brazen and tactless as she rested on the bed and laid beside him. “I’ve been walking around the train the entire day, M’Lord. There’s been news coming out that all airports and teleportations have been suspended due to a potential pandemic. Doesn’t matter if the Demon Army has reached it or not.” turning her body to look at him, the man’s eyes were wide open but a bit droopy still. “I can’t believe they’d do something like this… haaaah… none of my plans really work out, don’t they?”

  Alana gave him a warm smile as her long boney finger traces the side of his face. “I believe most of my plans also have the same results. It’s the matter of how you’ll recover and make it work, M’Lord. Do not look into the ire of failures but how to make it a success.” smiling back at her, he nods and his torso rises from the bed where he then notices Bahamut was also there, sitting in a chair as her body seemed weak.

  Bahamut’s head lay on the glass window, just silently watching as the train continued to roll through the vast wilderness, the endless bountiful green painted red by the cursed skies and the abandoned foxholes, tank ditches, checkpoints and many more littering the road beside the railway. “Master, this infection. Whatever it is, it's something far more than a normal thing. The Chosen Ones, they live still. Not coming back alive to the Altars… It’s not meant for the people of this world, it's meant for you.” his eyes squinted at her. “What do you mean? Did one of them die?”

  She slowly nods. “One of them had their icey prison become damaged during the loading process. He is not coming back but at the same time, his soul still lives. It’s stuck inside a rotting body.” wiggling her legs hidden underneath her gothic gown, the Dragon drops her high heels and raises her feet into the chair, hugging her legs as she covers herself with his formal military jacket.

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  His eyes just squinted closely to her, with his jacket over his body as she silently watched the dirt road. “I felt true fear when I saw those Demon Knights charge at you, Master. Watching you from above as you fought for your life. You head mere inches from the moving train.” with a long sigh, the man just rests his body from the ordeal as the miles long train cuts through the bushes. The long metal snake heading southwards through the many now empty defenses.

  Alana then became animated, crawling on all fours, she slowly made her way behind him. Resting her sharp chin on his broad shoulder. “M’Lord, may I?” blinking multiple times, he turns his head to her, baffled by her. “Wha-what?” The Countess’ face was flushed, with heavy breathing her long slender fingers crawled to his chest, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling his collar away. “I apologize, M’Lord. But Her Majesty has expended much of her strength in the last battle, she’s been hogging the Chalice since last night.”

  Baring her sharp predatory fangs, the teenage beauty sinks her teeth into his shoulder. “Ow!” and began to drink his blood. He sighs as he slowly shrugs his head. “Well, at least we lived through that ordeal… I still couldn’t believe it.” Bahamut yawns as she looks at him with dreary eyes. “Oh, Bahamut. I am telling you, don’t worry about me. As if I’d just bend over and die suddenly. You know me, I’ll fight till the very end to survive.” the Dragon just breathed a long sigh.

  “Master, just be careful, please. The infection ravaging the lands, it's a devious concoction that only the Heroes could find a solution to.” Hearing this, Jackson couldn’t believe it. Tilting his head as Alana kept on drinking his blood. “How? I’m sure you can find a cure to it if given the time.” the Dragon shakes her head as she raises her hand, resting it into the glass. “I’ve heard the Chosen Ones on the radio call it the White Rider Plague. Those white robed people of the Association had made the same conclusion as us after their investigation.”

  She then turns her head to him. Her golden eyes are steely and stoic. “A Demonic Virus caused by a combination of an Otherworldly Viral Plague and a Curse meant to stop regeneration of a soul paired with a Natural Virus. A combination of the Natural and Supernatural.” Alana then raises her head from his shoulders, resting her chin on it as she leaned her face into his cheek. “The Queen already had made a theory. That this is originally meant for the Ancient Elves as they could also return from death aside from their divine powers granted to them by the Goddess.”

  Hearing all these gave Jackson a cold shoulder, a shiver into his spine that invaded his head with a level of fright he had not felt for a long time. “So… they're using something meant for Ancient Super Elves on us?!” Bahamut nods as she turns to look out at a passing convoy of buses. “It’s not perfect, Master. There’s probably a reason why it was never deployed back then. I believe it was not strong enough as the True Elves had bodies not made from this world… yours though… your feeble bodies are perfect.”

  Raising both his hands into his forehead, Jackson just breathed slowly as his head slowly shrugged. “This is insane. Just… insane…” he looked out the window, his eyes squinted and his hands clenched. “I just hope the Heroes have received our message. We won’t last long with this war… no, this extermination…” sighing, the man stands up and fixes his combat uniform. Buttoning it up once again as he pats Bahamut and pushes her head into his chest. “We’ll win this Bahamut. You know it.” He then pats Alana on the head as she licks her fangs of his blood clean. “Imma go and find something to eat. Both of you, rest as much as you can.”

  Walking out of their room, the tight hallway was just enough for a person and a half. With more ornate carpeting below him and a stainless gold guardrail below the window, the man looked around for any signs and on the front wall of the car was an arrow that points to the diner car.

  As he began his trek, the man’s ears were finally hearing the ambient music playing on the train car's PA system. Though he could sometimes hear sounds of artillery shells landing and exploding. He just ignores this as he walks through two VIP cars and arrives at the Diner.

  With a glass sunroof and big wide windows, it had heavy wooden tables and leather armchairs. To his surprise, the Queen with her Assassins was on the corner, on the sofas with a long table meant for Guild Leaders or high ranking group officials. “Ah! My Lord! How was thy slumber? The wine here is quite exquisite I must say, or that might be just my tire.” he sighs as he walks up to them, ignoring the sleeping officers completely dozed on the chairs. “Why do you still have the Chalice? Come on, Alana needs it just as much as you do.”

  She looked at his eyes and for a moment, her expression quickly changed and the blonde woman elegantly bowed her head. “I apologize, My Lord. But fighting those Giants has taken a toll on me. I will hand this over to her after I am done with my drink.” he shakes his head, grabbing the Chalice from the table and looking at it filled with the clone of his blood. “Elizabeth.” she once again bows her head. “Of course, My Lord.” handing it over to one of her assassins, he merely gestures by his head and the woman disappears.

  Behind the Queen, a large painting lay which caught his attention. Turning her head around, the Vampire lifts her finger and points at the glowing Knight in front of a shield wall of Elite Knights. “My Lord, may I ask for the history of this artwork?” He looks around and aside from the soldier behind the bar counter serving drinks like a trained barista to tired players, he walks across her to get a better view of it. “This is… I think the first moment players entered Hell and the introduction of the Saint Class.” he turns around, the Corporal shaking drinks nods to him.

  “That is Meticulous I believe, the first Saint.” the man in his white gleaming armor with golden etchings had long flowing grey hair, with a chiseled chin and a heroic expression on his footing, the endless armies of Hell seemed as if a hugging darkness swiping into the Light of Man as the Knights behind the Saint cowered behind there tall shields yet the lone man in front faced the Demons with a stoic expression on him. “Sad that he wasn’t online when we got teleported to your world… he probably could've done better than any of us have.” lowering his eyes to Elizabeth, he crosses his arms and smiles.

  “So, what did I miss?” sitting down on the now empty seat. He lays his elbows on the table, resting his head on his palm. “I am a bit tired still, but I need a quick update. Where is Yamaoka and Mars? How’s the skeleton generals and the army overall?” Elizabeth then brushed her thighs as she sat straight up. Holding the wine glass elegantly as she took a small sip. “In honest words, My Lord. They are tired and Sir Yamaoka has said that we’re below fifty percent combat effectiveness. The past few days have taken a big toll on not only the equipment but on the army overall.”

  She then lowers her wine glass, one of the Knife’s quickly pouring her and stopping just before it was half filled. “Though Sir Yamaoka and Goddess Mars are doing alright, the skeleton generals last night did a numbers check and we’ve lost a good portion of our assault squads. A good number of our vehicles are also in need of heavy maintenance.” with his head on his forehead without him being even aware, the Knight General wipes his face with his hands.

  “What time do we arrive at the Port of Good Faith?” She turns to her assassin and the darkened faceless cowl looks at him. “Tomorrow morning, Lord Jackson.” raising his hands over the back of his head, the man stretches his body once again. “Ahhhhhh… Well, I better go and talk to Thomas. Where is he anyways?”

  Walking back to the VIP cars, he knocks on the third and last door on the hallway. “Thomas! Are you there?” The door quickly opens, showing Mars wearing see through lingerie. “He has been sleeping since yesterday. What do you want?” Jackson coughs as he looks away from her. “Wha- do you have the same brain damage as Bahamut or something?” She then pushes her body right up to the General. “HAAAH? Did you come here to fight or something?!”

  With her large breasts pressing on Jackson’s chin. He just raises his hands in surrender. “No. I wanted to talk about what the plan is going to be when we reach the Port… and can’t you wear something more decent? Like his jacket or something?” putting her hand on her hip, Mars just gave him a blank stare as she breathed in. “You do know that I am a Dragon and we are naturally naked, right?”

  “... I do. But not when you know, you're in this super sexy form? Like, Humans wear clothes for a reason.” She then takes a step back and opens her mouth, showing her tongue as she leans forward. “Bleeeehhh! Stupid Chosen One. I know you are extremely aroused right now. I’ll go and tell him when he wakes up. Shoo. I need to continue resting myself.”

  “Did you just mock me…?” Jackson's eyes squint and then goes back to its usual bored expression. “I don’t know what to feel about this since you are very hot.” Mars just shakes her head as she closes the door on him. “Well, where are those two boneheads?”

  “Yes, General Jackson?” coming out of the air vents and forming into a skeleton in uniform, Barbatos appears in front of him. “Where’s Eligos?” raising his boney fingers, the former Demon Lord points at the back of the train. “He is currently doing some final head counts. We lost a lot of skeleton soldiers within the past few days, far more than projected. I do say, being with Humans. I often wished your kind would never give me Human Empathy as this is extremely stressing.”

  “None of us expected we’d have to constantly perform fighting retreats. How many did we lose? Fifty?” the skeleton lightly shakes his head. “About that level. We should still be tethering just above combat effectiveness.” with a sigh, Jackson nods and the skeleton general returns into a plume of smoke and enters the vents. “And hey! You better not do anything with that Human Empathy you have! Don’t mistake your Demon self and your Human self and do anything stupid!” with no reply, he just shrugs his head. Lifting it away from the vent.

  Since everyone was resting, Jackson walked back to their room and upon returning, Alana was fast asleep as she held the chalice close to her chest. Bahamut though was still on her chair, watching outside as the train passed by another convoy of buses and the sun was slowly sinking in the horizon.

  “Looks like we caught up with some civilians. There must be an airport nearby or something.” He gently rests his hand on her small shoulder. The Dragon just looked out of the forest as the train kept its high speed through the railway with nothing else on the line, the long freight and passengers Train Consist got through the line unfettered. “Can you turn back into a Dragon for me?”

  Doing as ordered, she returns to her small form which Jackson cradles as he sits on the leather chair. “I know you're worried, but… don’t let it scare you.” Lifting his arms up, he hugs the small Dragon tightly as he kisses the top of her head multiple times, making Bahamut blink slowly as she rests her head on his biceps. “We’ll go back home, you know it. We’ll return to our usual dungeon crawling and ghost hunting. I’ll scream like a baby and you’ll tease me for it.” Looking down, the small creature in its black scaly armor was silent, breathing slowly too with its eyes closed.

  Scratching her belly, Jackson had a smile to his face as he continued to cradle her. “You know how much I love you, Bahamut. You never stopped believing in me, even in my lowest and hardest of moments, you never stopped looking at me with hope, much like Alana and Elizabeth.” he then swivels it to the window and before long, goes back to sleep while sitting on the chair.

  As the sounds of the crack of the bogies hitting the tiny bumps on the tracks became louder and louder, he opened his eyes to a sleeping Bahamut on his shoulders. “My Lord, you must don your armor immediately.” looking up, Elizabeth held his helmet tightly as Yamaoka was standing on the doorway putting up a shield. “E-Eh?” he slowly stands up, making sure the Dragon on his arms wasn’t disturbed.

  “The air near the ocean, it’s rotting.” He then notices the red color was no longer there, but instead replaced by a depressive grayish color with a hint of brown and green. Taking his helmet, he turned around to the window as the train began to slow down. There was a visible fog that looked vile to his eyes. Its color and the odor he hasn’t even smelled yet already violate his senses as he could feel a putrid acidic tone coming out of the vents.

  Setting Bahamut down on the seat, he takes his helmet as the Black Knives help him put his armor on and Alana returns to their room. “Sir Yamaoka, I’ve done all I could but there are far too many vents for me to block. Your Majesty, the engineer, has said that we are only ten kilometers from the Port City of Urgan Kulash.” as Jackson tightens the last straps of his plate armor, he turns around and looks at her. “How bad is it? And is that the original name of the Port of Good Faith?”

  Walking through the passenger cars with the party awake, the vast majority of the players were all pale and dead on their seats, with Bahamut having to begin icing them up almost immediately and their piling numbers having to be taken to whatever spare space there was. “It’s more than half, M’Lord. Seventy to eighty percent are all infected. Only those who were panicked enough at the moment and donned their suits survived.”

  “Jesus… and the skeleton army? Without players, their efficiency will be greatly reduced.” She nodded and appeared from the vents as Barbatos. “Sir Jackson, the damage this will do is immense to what remains of our army. I suggest an immediate replacement of the NCOs at the very least.” He shrugs his head as he looks out of the large windows of the dining car. “We don’t have anything else though. Maybe when we reach the Port I can transfer people but… this is all we have. I want those with experience to be promoted to Team and Squad Leaders and to organize their skeletons immediately.”

  He just shrugged his head and looked out of the window as the surviving soldiers with picks began to pull the iced up players into the most forward cars. “I detect a troop of undead moving close to our left. The Demon Army is nowhere to be found, Master.” he turns to the window and running on all fours were the Rogues, the familiar Werewolves are rotted, with bits and pieces of there fur missing and many of them having been filled with bullet holes or entire sections of their bodies torn off by explosions.

  Yet even at their sorry state, they were moving as if nothing had happened to them and the empty eyes on them made the Knight General shiver in his place. “Get me a shotgun and pouches for twelve gauge… also tell the engineers to speed up!”

  Pulling out the Vampiric Glass Rapier from its scabbard, with the belt attached too now filled with pouches for shotgun shells, he takes the Benelli M4 and opens the door to the car. With one hand, he raises it up and pulls the trigger. The green plastic shell ejecting as a slug wrecks the face of an oncoming zombie Rogue.

  It smashes right through its nose and exits out the back and into the dirt road. The surviving players then opened the windows and began firing out, Elizabeth with her AutoMag Vs was a menace to them, being able to track the ones about jump into the train as Alana took to patrolling the rear of the train with the Black Knives whilst Yamaoka and Mars guarded the locomotives itself.

  With the main number of players trickling down from thousands with each commanding eight skeletons to now, almost only a thousand and a half at most, Jackson had concentrated them in the center, where their assault rifles and heavy weaponry could bring fire to both the front and back of the train.

  “Knight, Centurion here, what’s your plan when we reach the Port of Good Faith? It’s already half overrun. The Vile Fog came out of nowhere, it seems that we were almost surrounded by happenstance back there.”

  “I need all of the Eldwood players still in good shape to don their Knight Armors and summon your horses on the baggage cars. Centurion, your job will be to push to the ships and bring all of the iced up players to safety first. Men of the Woods, and Zavaldians will be tasked with moving equipment to the ships. Protect the train at all costs!”

  “Copy that, Mars and I will prioritize that then.”

  “Altar and Sanctum, with our command structure fully collapsed, your objective will be to turn this train into a defense line. It will half the city into two and your job will be to make sure to bring the hurt to them and trickle their numbers down before reaching the port.”

  “We welcome this decision. The Pride of a Demon Lord shall not be tarnished with this dastardly tactics.”

  Closing the door, Jackson begins to walk to the front of the train. “Queen and Rose, guard my flanks. I’ll be the forward unit with my boys from Eldwood. You hear that Knight Commanders? Let’s meet at the baggage cars. I hope we’re still at a thousand strength at least. Everyone else, keep shooting at anything trying to get close to us. We’re near the Port.”

  Walking to the edge of the section of the train where its just passenger cars, he soon reaches the baggage ones and there, it was filled with the Knights of Eldwood, the Commanders with there horned helmets and black capes stood at parade as the lone light bulb hanged above them, Jackson with Bahamut behind him walking through the center. Crossing into the second baggage car, it was all filled with the surviving Knight Commanders and there, Senior Knight Commander Isaiah saluted him.

  Returning the gesture, he turns around and the players congregate around him. “How many are we?” The Senior Commander was silent but a bit before he breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re about six hundred strong still, sir. Above Combat Effectiveness.” inside his helmet, Jackson had a grin to him. “Good. Commanders, listen closely as to what we’re about to do.”

  Arriving into the town, the streets were all but abandoned, wrecked wagons and carts litter them alongside the rotting corpses of the Demi-Humanoid inhabitants of Schon, there already badly maintained clay houses looking far worse off as now its long faded colors were splattered with the blood of its former owners. The horns of the locomotive seemed as if the sound of a civilization stumbling upon a long abandoned and sealed graveyard, with the vile fog that covered the town made visibility low and the sounds of feet stalking the darkened alleys became stronger as the ground rumbled with the arrival of the steel beast, the iron horse with its soil shaking entrance as its lights cuts through the shade of the fog.

  With the set of tracks now starting to multiply from two to three and even four at some places, with leftover wagons and locomotives at the sidelines, the last train in Schon weaves into the town, like a snake cutting its preys exit in half with its long body, it began to slow down to a crawl as it arrives a Switch Yard that’s guarded by a handful of players in hazmat suits. They quickly let the train enter the railway towards the ocean where Landing Ships were still docked, loading in the last remaining equipment they could salvage from the disastrous campaign.

  But then, the person at the Control room gets a radio call and changes the tracks back to the mainline and the train continuing onwards till it crosses into the other side of the town where the locomotive continued for a few kilometers before stopping and the train engineers and conductors leaving with the trains completely shut off.

  At the port, a shunting train comes to a grinding halt at the town made of mostly light materials. With the rotting smell coming from every direction, Knights of Shine Guards in their shiny silver Knight armor quickly got to unloading the devastated iced players. Those lucky enough to be in their MOPP suits got into the perimeters and began shooting at the Undead Rogues that were now criss-crossing into the alleys and rooftops.

  Much of their body had already rotted, but their extremely strong bone structure was still as effective as ever, tanking twenty or more rounds before falling into the ground.

  Doors on the baggage cars then slide open and a ramp drops. Walking out of it was a blackened horse in armor and riding it was a man in gothic plate armor. “Men of Eldwood! Let’s get to work! Come Junior! Just as we do!” He charged ahead as more horses followed afterwards, and on the lead of the formation was the flag of the Eldwood and of its Dragon Legion, the flag of the Death Knight Skull and the Black Dragon.

  Knights of Eldwood would dash forward, jumping up at the last minute and summoning their horses and soon, a cavalry formation comes into being, the spearhead of Knights rushing into the maze of clay buildings. “Remember your horde training! Just like many times in the Dark Continent! Keep the formation closed and tight and slash anything that you can! Run Over the rest!”

  Riding with him was Bahamut. Donning her elegant and darkish gown as she sat sideways hugging him from the back, the Dragon looked forward into the street that leads into a dead end and coming out of it were the rotting bodies of the Rogues, standing on their hind legs, wielding their curved swords and kukri’s still.

  Jackson unsheathes his Rapier, and on his extra hand, Bahamut hands to him the Benelli M4 shotgun. “BAHAMUT! NOW!” She stands up behind him, hands on his shoulders as she leans forward and jumps out into his way as she changes into a Dragon and with a single burst of her fire breath, the forest was lit up into a blaze, the Rogues not reacting to the flames as it removed the Rotting Vile Fog and its immense bright color fending off the Red Sky.

  Jackson’s horse was the first to crash into the Rogues, swinging his sword and pulling the trigger, he instantly kills two as the rest of the formation rams into the line of zombified Werewolves and dozens were instantly killed as the rest were overrun by the powerful horses of the Knights of Eldwood.

  Back on the train, the soldiers from the Zavalda National Guard, still way above Combat Effectiveness, have begun to unload the frozen players, transferring them into a boxcar that leads straight to the port as Barbatos walks near the rear of the train where double stacked 53ft container vans were. “I feel sadness without a nose, I can no longer smell the rigor mortis of my enemies.” the former Demon Lord extends his hand outward, with a flame on top of its skeletal palm, Barbatos crushes it.

  One by one, the locks on the container vans crack and break open, the doors swaying outward to an avalanche of skeletons all packed tightly inside. They then begin to assemble into soldiers once again, this time with a burning body as the Skeleton General disappears from sight and an army rises once again out of the bodies of the old.

  Mars on the other hand was busy with Thomas, the two of them fighting against the Undead Rogues trying to go across the front of the long train.

  As the formation of horses clashed with the undead, heavy machines began to work with moving whatever equipment was left on the train that could still be recovered, skeleton crews boarded tanks on flatcars as armor once again started to patrol around, helping out the Knights of Eldwood.

  As the fire raged on and a sense of normalcy could be seen within the flames of Bahamut, the Undead Werewolves kept on attacking, though they weren’t as smart as before, they still showed a level of shrewdness that gave the Knights a harder time.

  Jackson kept on going around on a loop, going through the main road of the town and then into a fiery dirt path in the forest as one of the Undead Rogue Leaders with much of its critical thinking still intact has grabbed the entrails of its dead colleagues, with its bare teeth gripping the end, it loops around a burning tree and upon the arrival of Jackson, Junior quickly jumps over it.

  But the flag bearer behind wasn’t able to anticipate it and a rotting Werewolf spears the player straight through his neck guard and collar, bludgeoning its enchanted iron tip through the Black Metal armor and into his spine. The Knights of Eldwood quickly grabbed the flag, stopping it from falling into the ground as Jackson came jumping out of the fire, stabbing the Werewolf with his Rapier.

  Looking up, he grabs the pole and with one hand, runs back to his horse as Bahamut flies above them. The long banner that he held dearly with his life was the logo of his Legion, the Black Dragon wielding two swords with lavish detailing on the corners and sides with the armored Knights of Eldwood below it with their skulls for heads. “COME! COME AND DIE WITH GLORY! LIVE WITH LOVE AND DIE WITH A VALIANT HEART!”

  Junior screams from the top of its voice, the Demon Horse rushing forward again as they begin another loop. The train has had most of its freight that was around the vicinity of the town cleared, with many being deemed too heavy and was left to be abandoned and most of the Men of the Woods’ players retreating back into the Landing Ships. Left on the town were the National Guard of Zavalda and the Shine Guards, still with their guns and tanks, fighting tooth and nail for what has increasingly become difficult with the increase of the Vile Fog and the effects of Bahamut’s flames getting limited.

  Alana then returns to Jackson who was about to return back to the town once again, her face covered with a hard stare. “M’Lord, you must retreat now. A despicable creature has risen from the sewers.” His eyes open wide as the stone road collapses and crawling out of it is a creature made out of bones, its head, an enlarged skull of a wolf with long hair and its seven legs were of sharpened femurs.

  Elizabeth came out from below it, wielding Hellraiser, the fire it bursts out makes the creature’s many bones explode into the sky as it skitters into the alleys, its body able to change and fit as more came from behind the Queen, Jackson and his Knights coming in to intercept them. “Elizabeth! Stop the chase! Protect the Switch Yard with Alana and have Thomas to quickly prepare for our retreat!”

  “My Lord, below this town, there are survivors, still. We can have them to-” he shrugs, jumping down from Junior as he walks into the tunnel below. “Boys! Half of you continue with another loop! The rest will follow me!” as he starts to walk, the water splashing below him. His eyes were locked on what’s in front of him. “My Lord, I know that you wish to do something good. But you must know what’s at stake here. Your safety is paramount compared to some lowly Demi-Humanoids. Your position says that you must accept needless deaths.”

  “Elizabeth, all I’ve done in my life is follow the orders of people far stronger and smarter than me.” He stops, turning around to face her. “I can do things now, I can save people, not as a soldier, an officer, or a leader. But as a person.” The Queen just stood there for a moment, staring at him with teary eyes as she could see a familiar image in the man in front of her. “... You have the same look as him now…”

  He just smirked at her as he turned around, walking into the deeper parts of the tunnel. “Where are they?” Getting ahead of the group of Knights, she leads them into a hidden duct. It was a perfect squeeze for the Knights as on the other end, with a lone vent above was a door. The rot of the fog was nowhere to be found and Jackson removed his helmet. The sound of the straps breaking free echo as Elizabeth forcibly breaks the metal rod locking the thick wooden door.

  Running at them which made the Knights of Eldwood jump, only to be stopped by Jackson raising his hand was a Humanoid. With furry ears and a long tail of a cheetah, the wrinkly spear was unable to even dent nor scratch the Black Metal armor of Jackson as he grabs it and breaks it in half with his gauntlets. “How many?”

  Hearing him speak, the little boy’s eyes perk up. “You know our language?!” he shrugs as he kneels. “How many are you? We will help you get out of here.” Elizabeth though covered her nose as Jackson was led inside the chamber where his eyes sank at the sight before him.

  They were all elderly humanoids and children, the majority being female while the handful of males were wounded and could no longer fight. “The Rogues… they dragged so many into the forest a few days ago. Sir Knight, are you of the stories from the civilized lands? Where they judge you on your merit and give justice to those who deserve it?” He shrugs as Jackson goes for his belt, opening the gas mask pouch and handing it to the kid.

  “I do not come from here, nor am I in a position to judge anyone based on anything on this planet. But if you want to get to safety, we will get you there.” The kid looks around, the once flourishing port town above them has now but been decimated to a handful of people. Taking the gas mask, Jackson shows him how the straps work as his Knights then push past him, the healers doing what they could while they give out masks.

  “Do we have enough?” one of the Head Knights turns around. “No sir, we are missing a few. I’ll go back topside and get some from my horse.” he nods as the Knight General goes to his radio. “Centurion, do you copy? This is Knight. I need transport on the other side of the railway. About uhhh… two trucks.” Elizabeth then comes and shrugs. “My Lord, I know of a way that will lead to the other side of the train.” he nods as he walks outside of the chamber. “Scratch that, I need transports, about three trucks if you can with extra filters and gas masks.”

  “Knight. Is this for players? The last batch got away last night via helicopters.” with a breath, he looks up to the lone vent above them that’s covered by something heavy. “Negative, we got civilians from the town here that need to be brought to safety.”

  After a brief silence, a reply came. “Copy on all. Where do you want the trucks to be?” Elizabeth then butts in the radio, leaning down in front of Jackson for her face to be close to the mic. “In Front of the town bakery, Sir Yamaoka. A few blocks away from the Switchyard. I saw it when I was patrolling around with my Knifes.” He then looks at her and the two nod at each other as the Knight came back bringing more gas masks. “Everyone will form a straight line! Those who can’t walk will be carried by the Support Knights!”

  Jogging through the tunnels, the Knight General had his Rapier and Shotgun on two hands as his Knights guarded the perimeters. Elizabeth was as graceful as she ever was, even with the sound of battle above them, the shaking of the skeletal creatures could be heard inside the tunnel. The thousands of bones rattling and hitting each other was striking fear to the hardest of people and the sounds of gunshots soon came.

  Shell casings from rifles were piling certain sections of the tunnel, the sounds of boots rushing above them, rattling the metal vents as countless bullets were fired moment by moment and before they knew it, they had passed them and had reached into the otherside just for the roar of Bahamut to shake the entire town.

  When Elizabeth stops, she lifts her hand up and mere inches from her, the sewer tunnel was crushed by a gigantic bone and upon her magic, a wall of blood was created from flames that was coming from the top. The shaking became extremely violent, making the Knights shield the civilians as small pieces of cobblestone fell from the ceiling.

  The Queen then releases her blood magic, showing on the other side a massive foot mark. “Hm. That makes it easier.” She then gestures for them to follow, with the pathway being literal crushed clay buildings, the road where the rendezvous is reached before long. Jackson though couldn’t help his eyes from what was inside the fog.

  As it got thicker and thicker, all he could hear was its giant feet, flattening trees and soil from afar and the distant sound of the flapping wings of Bahamut.

  With the Knights getting everyone on the sidewalk, they whistle for their horses who diligently came out of the fog, ready to serve them. “My Lord!” Elizabeth quickly got in front of Jackson as a monstrous head came out of the fog. Its empty eye sockets were the size of buildings as it loomed below. “M-Mother- i-it h-hurts-” it spoke in a low and horrid tone as the Knights of Eldwood pointed their guns at the head. “What in the…”

  An ear blistering sound then came and a shell the size of a sedan landed straight at its head, causing a massive explosion that sent shrapnel in all directions. Though with the Knights covering the civilians, the shards of metal merely pinged off their armor. “Jackson-dono! We are of the Greater Japan Guild’s Imperial Navy! We thank you for letting us have the metal to finish our beloved ship!”

  Thomas just had his hands to his side as he bowed as a reflection of a ship far larger than anything on the shores arrived, its size only beaten by the Aircraft Carrier docked far off the shores. “Fukada Keiji, Ship Number 1, A-150 design Super Yamato reporting for duty! Rear Admiral Hirotoshi of his Emperor’s First Armada has personally come to aid your efforts, Jackson-dono of Eldwood!” The sleek bow of the battleship peers through the fog, its massive guns swiveling as one of its Spotters, using magic to control a bird, corrects their shots.

  With the shells now flying over the ocean and into the shores and to the massive creature whose statue was so large it could be visibly seen above the fog and even on the water, a raspy radio transmission from the Port Town came back. “Thank you.” up on the captain's deck of the gigantic battleship, the Rear Admiral just looked in amazement of the two Dragon Gods picking bits and pieces of the giant walking corpse of bones.

  Their claws and flames were melting through its back and with the help of their guns, the massive creature was given no chance to recoup or escape as it began to flail wildly with its massive limbs thrashing the town completely. Railway tracks and cars were being thrown about like plastic toys whilst the locomotives that were thrown a few hundred feet above the air lands and explodes upon contact on the ground.

  With the landing ship on the port raising its anchors, it speeds out of the area. Rushing past Fukada Keiji and into the arms of the blockade of Arleigh Burke Class destroyers who were all just watching the lone battleship bring upon its massive guns in aid of the Dragon Gods. Like a pair of hammers being brought down from space and an axe coming from the ocean, the massive vile creature of bones and flesh began to deteriorate, the Battleship spending its guns barrels to be worn as it fired every shot that’d be loaded into the breech as its secondaries got into range and lets out a full broadside.

  Jackson, though who was panting on the deck of the landing ships, looks at the destroyers from the Men of the Wood all silent. “Why… why aren’t they firing anything?” he grabs onto the side of the ship, Elizabeth and Alana coming to help him as he walks to the bridge. On the other side of the glass was the Supercarrier. “Captain, care to explain to me why the Men of the Woods Navy is not helping?!”

  He salutes at the General and lowers his binoculars. “I’m sorry sir. With the Munitions Depot being blown up and the current turmoil on the mainland, we’ve been ordered to hold off any usage of weapons.” Jacksons eyes opened so wide it was as if he wanted them to pop out. “HAH?! Do you not see that massive fucking scary thing?!”

  “Yes sir, but Grand Admiral Antonius has decided the battleship could save us the ammo since the sail to Dragovh will be-” he walks to the Captain, grabbing him by the collar. “Get me a goddamn radio.”

  One by one, the cruise missile silos on the Destroyers popped open and launches began. The Tomahawks and Harpoons and Naval Fighter Jets bring in the last knife needed to put the beast to sleep and soon, the mongering creature of corpses disappears into the fog as the fire of Bahamut was all that remains.

  The fleet began to sail from the main shorelines and into international waters where Jackson and his highest ranking people were transferred to the Nimitz Supercarrier named “The Ringed City”.

  As the VIP helicopter lands on deck, Jackson quickly walks into the main tower and up to the bridge where a player donning an extremely white navy uniform stood with his binoculars up, ignoring the fact that a Supreme General was in the same room as him.

  “I know you are angry Jackson, but this is the last aircraft carrier we have and I need every bullet I can to protect this thing.”

  “We? You mean your project baby that you don’t want to lose.”

  “Are we still going to debate this like a few years ago?”

  “Antonius, are you insane to not want to blow that thing sky high?! Did you really have to wait for me to curse you out on the Command Net?!”

  “I believed the twenty inch guns of that Jap bathtub could clear that thing after some salvos. No need to waste ammo like that.”

  He just pinches the middle of his nose as he sat down on one of the empty chairs, still in his Knight armor. “What's the news from the mainland?” the Grand Admiral kept on looking forward at the sea as the sight of the foggy port town leaves them. “Not good, not bad. There’s already fighting here and there and most of the mainland are mobilized and ready to fight. So far, things are under control unlike in Schon. The project to destroy the entrances of Labyrinths and Dungeons worked extremely well.”

  “They already made it to the mainland?” the Grand Admiral then points his hand at the shoreline on the sinking horizon. “Yeah, the Druisvikings had thousands of ships ready to ferry them to the mainland from Angea and your frontline was the last to collapse, Jackson. The other ones fell days ago. The surviving Generals and other top level players are on this ship.” Antonius then lowered his binoculars and turned around, the well built middle aged player with white hair smiled at Jackson. “I have a room prepared for you guys inside though it only has three beds.” Immediately, they hear a poof and Bahamut has returned to her Dragon form. “Sailor, take the Supreme General here below the Flight Deck and into Officer Country.”

  Wearing the blue multicam uniform of the Men of the Woods Navy, a sailor steps forward and salutes. “Since many of our people died on the shores, we have plenty of room for you. Thank you for fighting well. We’ll take it from here and deliver you to Dragovh.”

  Thomas then raises his hand. “If you may excuse me, Grand Admiral. Where will you be afterwards? We might still need your ships and where is General John with the Coalition Air Forces?” Antonius then sat down on the Admirals chair, swiveling it around to look at him. “John was ordered to immediately return to Geraldia under the directive of the Guild Council. After re-arming and refueling in Dragovh, we are also ordered to go there immediately to form a blockade around Woodstock." This made Jackson and Yamaoka to instinctively look at each other then back to him.

  “That doesn’t… What is Iron Mountain hiding?” Antonius turned his chair to face Jackson, with multiple consoles blocking most of their views of each other, the Grand Admiral merely shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll uhhh… sail down to Meilurous first since they have the largest port in that continent and get rearmed, then sail eastward to James where we’ll unload you, Jackson then set sail to Geraldia and to the Naval docks in Woodstock.”

  He nods. “Alright. How many days will it take for us though?” Antonius then swivels his chair to look forward out of the bridge. “Four to five days, it's a good thing you guys didn’t decide to fight to the edge, that could’ve easily made this a twenty day ride.” Jackson then salutes which the Grand Admiral returns as he swiftly turns around and walks out.

  Being led down below the flight deck, the Super Hornets and Tomcats of the Men of the Woods Navy Air Force were all loaded with weapons even when stored. The elevators had planes ready on them if needed and ammo was littered in the corners and sides.

  Everyone was busy with their tasks, bringing in equipment from left and right as night dawns on the ship and the fleet enters the Ocean of Lord Loch where they meet a blockade of Eastern ships from the Rostock and Greater Japan Guilds. Their navies sat idly by as the massive Supercarrier slipped past the small opening and the naval ships exchanged pleasantries with each other via signal lamps.

  “Hello SuperCarrier Ringed City of Men of the Woods! Message from Marina Mikhaylovna, the second of her class and her sister ship Krasnaya Ugroza! The Kirov Battlecruisers of Rostock low bows to you!”

  “Konichiwa to The Ringed City from Narushio and Ishitzumo of the Maya Class Destroyers!”

  “Good evening to Ringed City from Nobunaga and Odakyu! Atago Classes of his Emperor’s Destroyer flotilla!”

  Steaming from behind the Nimitz was Keiji, the battleship slowly peeling away from its close distance to the carrier as the guns of the Greater Japan Guild lifted up and its sailors all removing their hats as they performed a bow to the massive armored vessel as it continued to escort the fleet into the open ocean.

  Arriving inside their quarters, Jackson slouches at the sight of the navy racks. “I now remember why I debated my commanding officer to just fly me to Syria.” The small room was nothing special, with one desk and four locker rooms. Its ceiling was low with one LED light strip on it and three beds where Elizabeth had to remove her shoes just to perfectly fit into.

  Jackson began to undo his Knight armor, the two Vampires helping as Bahamut in her Dragon form was immediately sleeping inside a sea of blankets whilst the General just scooped her up and gently placed the Dragon within his arms. “Elizabeth, Alana, if anything happens. Don’t be afraid to wake me up.” The Countess and Queen walked up to him, kneeling as their soft and smooth hands touched his hands and they gave him a smile and a nod.

  After a long hard sleep, Elizabeth, who was just tall enough to perfectly fit in the bed, had to raise her legs just to pull them out. Opening the trunk, she picks one of her green frilly gowns as she could hear Alana snore for the first time. To her surprise, Jackson and Bahamut were gone, with the two of the Vampires being left in the room.

  Giving the Countess a light pat on her head, she walks out of the Officers room and into the hallway where sniffs the air and looks from left to right. It was mostly empty, with distant sounds of boots walking echoing to her from all manners of direction but getting the scent, she began her stroll around the Supercarrier where the dull metal colors was everywhere,

  Walking up to the staircase. The main hangar deck was in full action, with Seahawks being loaded with torpedoes and Anti Submarine Warfare equipment were pushed into the aircraft elevators which she hops into with the flight crew.

  They then took some photos with her, the Queen posing elegantly with a radiant smile as not even the red tint was able to outshine her golden beauty. The Pilots and Aircrew alongside the Mechanics taking turns in the makeshift photoshoot as the moment they arrive on the flight deck, the Rotor Wing Commander just had his hands on his hips till one of the Navy Mechanics also told him to join in.

  Ending it with one large photoshoot with a handful of the Men of the Woods Navy personnel, they began to pull the covers on the engine intakes. Performing flight checks as the helicopter pilots hopped in, clicking buttons and checking their equipment. She waves at them, with the players having dumb smiles on their faces and with a pull of a lever, the first engine of the Seahawk ignites.

  The second engine then followed and the rotors of the helicopter began to spin slowly with the Mechanics telling her to back off a few more feet as they pulled the wheel chocks off and gave the pilots a thumbs up.

  Twisting the edge of the collective stick, the rotors angle into a degree and the Queen performs a curtsy as the chopper takes off.

  She continued her stroll on the main deck of the Supercarrier. On the edge of the runway were her assassins being given further Firearms Training. With multiple Marine Instructors and deployable tables that have all manners of weapons laid out for them to touch and feel.

  Though there was a bit of a language barrier, the Black Knives were easily learning through copying the Instructors visually and the players just correcting what small mistakes they were making. “Bahamut! Stop squirming! Why can’t you be like Mars? Look at her sitting so neatly and quietly.” with a brief moment of silence, a reply then came with the Dragon using her most motherly and deep womanly voice. “Ahn~ Master, you really like my rear don’t you? You must be more gentle with me.”

  “SHUSH! Can you get new material please?!” Hearing their voices, a smile flies over to her face as she turns around to see a tub behind some planes. “Master, you could’ve let me sleep today and yet, you brazenly dragged me out here to wash my delicate body so sensually.” Elizabeth turns behind an F-14D Tomcat and there, Bahamut was getting a bath by Jackson who was donning his gambeson. “As if! You smelled so bad I woke from my sleep! Even right now you smell like a rotting corpse!”

  Right next to Jackson was Yamaoka who was with Mars, the small red dragon was sitting down, diligently letting Thomas to wash her down and long before Paul could even get halfway through the process, he was done. “See?! If you stopped acting and messing up, we both could have gone back to sleep already!”

  The sailors though, were all just smiling as they’d past by the small tub, originally meant to wash ball bearings and wheel assemblies, its now being used for Dragon care and Jackson couldn’t be anymore tired as the ornate scabbard of Chevalier De La Nuit glistened even under the red sky.

  “My Lord, would you wish for me to offer you help?” he nods, grabbing Elizabeth by the arm and dragging her down with him. “Hold her wings, stop it from opening and throw foam to everyone and my eyes.” She and Bahamut both exchanged stares and to the Dragons surprise, the Queen beat her to it and managed to grasp both of her wing tips together. “Finally! Now let me finish this.”

  “Jackson, you really need to train Bahamut better.” He looks to the right and then up to see Yamaoka already cradling Mars who was resting in a blanket. “She’s already trained. The little thing is just in the mood to annoy me since I woke her up from her beauty sleep.” he then gave the Black Dragon a sneedering stare which she replied with a mere tongue.

  Though it took a bit of a while, they soon finished and with the help of Elizabeth. Bahamut was unable to do much that time and after shaking the water off herself immediately flew back below deck to rest.

  Jackson though had to take the tub in which Yamaoka runs to help him and the two throw the foamy water off the side of the ship. “Thank you. You and Mars can rest now. We got a few days of just shut eye so enjoy it as much as you can.” he pats Thomas on the shoulder and the man gives a quick reply with an informal salute as he takes his Dragon with him below deck.

  Now left with the Queen, he smiles at her and steps aside, gesturing for her to walk past him. Lifting the sides of her gown, the Vampire gave him a seductive smirk as she stylishly struts to the walkway on the side of the ship where he soon tails her.

  “What is it? I still have some sword practice to do.” he mumbled to her gently as he put his hands to his back and with a chin up to the golden blonde. “Nothing. I am merely curious about life on this quite dull but well armed ship.” he chuckles as she stops and leans into the metal railing overlooking the blood soaked ocean. “Pretty cool, right? This is Antonius' baby. Eldwood actually helped in building one, that’s why we have our own Supercarrier though it's not as fully equipped and furnished as this. Ours is run by skeletons, theirs, by actual players.”

  He then leans down next to her, both of their shoulders touching as he gazed upon the red ocean. “You know, I do wonder. Will I be able to activate this sword? I still feel like it's a bit wasted on me.”

  She turns to him and immediately shrugs her head.

  "My Lord, you should not worry yourself so much about that sword. I gave it to you as I foresaw in you what it takes to be a Leader, it need not be a King as you are no Vampire, nor will our God give Man blessings meant for its creation.” The Queen then laid her head on his shoulder. Rubbing her smooth silky hair on his gambeson.

  “That glass sword you wield is eternal, for it is the doom of men that they forget so much. Though we also forget, it is but a miniscule trife compared to your kind. So My Lord, wield that sword as you please as when the Gods favor you one day, they might take over it and give it their blessing. Maybe even Deus Vrax would." He turned his head to her which made the Queen lift her head up to look him straight in the eyes. "But Elizabeth, don't they only do that to Kings and rightful heirs?"

  "I believe you are very much a King, My Lord. If not a nation, you are My King. Me, Bahamut, and Alana are your eternal servants, your loyal serfs." he laughs as he raises his hand and gently pats her head. “You're no serf. You all rightful ladies of my castle, that’s for sure.” coupled with a wink, Elizabeth suddenly blushed out of nowhere. Raising both of her hands up covers her beet red cheeks. “Awww! You look so cute!”

  Burying her face on her palms, the Vampire shrugs her head. “Huuuuuu… this is far more embarrassing than I expected.” she opens a pair of her fingers to see Jackson still looking at her with the biggest grin on his face. “Hoo. Is it just me or is it getting hot?” the Queen immediately started fanning with her hands as she walked past him. “I shall return to our quarters and continue to rest.”

  “Elizabeth.” She stops and turns around. “Yes, My Lord?” and Jackson gave her a flying kiss which once again made her beet red, this time catching the attention of the Flight Deck Crew in their color coded uniforms. Her lips just clasp as Elizabeth promptly gestured, catching his kiss and bowing. “Heh.”

  Jackson then returned to the flight deck to spar with some of the officers.

  On the island, sitting six stories above the flight deck. The Air Boss receives a call from one of the Seahawks. “Lion One to Ring, our sonar is detecting what seems to be a submarine larger than a Typhoon Class. Requesting further investigation, it is currently over Sector Bravo Two Eight November.”

  Pinpointing the location, the Mini Boss then comes and shrugs his shoulders. “This thing is larger than a Typhoon Submarine and yet Rostock hasn’t even finished their Typhoon Class Submarines… Lion, can you check again?” This made the Air Boss scratch his head in confusion. “Can you confirm, Lion? Ever since everyone pulled their resources together, they surely wouldn’t have finished it without our knowledge.”

  “Lion to Ring! We are detecting multiple other underwater vessels! These ones are easily three hundred feet long!” checking the long range sonar, the Air Boss quickly called for the Grand Admiral who had to see it with his own eyes and he couldn’t believe what it was showing. “When was the last time the Sonar was maintained?”

  “Before we left port a few weeks ago, sir. It’s been regularly checked and tested.” The blips on the sonar showed one gigantic object heading straight towards them that’s escorted by numerous other ones that’s roughly half its size. “What’s its speed? Depth? And has this been this constant heading?”

  “No sir. Lion One was doing ASW patrol when it stumbled upon it. It’s not on a path right towards us. It’s currently going at a pace of twenty five knots, a depth of two hundred meters.” Antonius shrugs. “No. Because that thing wants to stalk. Continue the current speed. No flank speed or emergency. I want sea mines ready and prepped. Put the entire Wing to maximum preparedness." The Air and Mini Boss quickly got to work as the Grand Admiral squinted at the blips.

  Though the lines coming from there direction was not in contact with the fleet, it was still on a path behind it which made the Grand Admiral’s eyes squint. “Alright, let’s play.” he then returns to the bridge which is situated right below the Primary Flight Control floor. “Helmsman, be ready for any drastic movement. Lee Helmsman, I want final checks to be done on the bulkheads of the engine room. Quartermaster, keep watch on that underwater fleet and report to me even the slightest change of speed, direction, and depth.”

  Taking a radio, he sits down on his chair as he admires the view of the flight deck. “CATCC, I want aircraft with ASW to change course and tail whatever this is but keep distance. Combat Directions Officer, I also want you to keep me updated as my Quartermaster. I want all Antisubmarine specialists to be on top of their game.” putting the mic back down, his fingers interlaced as he turned to the open ocean.

  “Let’s see what you got, Demons.”