The golden wheat fields surrounding the village during the afternoon gently swayed as the occasional breeze blew through. The villagers were still conducting their daily lives as US soldiers could observe them working in the fields. They used knives or sickle to cut down the wheat in the fields as they made them into bundles under the hot clear day.

The villagers were smoldering in the sun while US soldiers sought cover under shade whether it was under a tree or even some nicer villagers who let them into their homes. The fact that everyone spoke English in the village was remarkable and convenient for the US soldiers who were sweltering under the intense sunny day. Although some accents or words are different from American English, it did not prove to be much of a problem.

In the temporary headquarters tent set up in the courtyard of the village, the first lieutenant was with the captain of Eagle company. They were going to contact their battalion leader.

"First lieutenant, Get me the lieutenant colonel on the line." Exclaimed the captain.

The first lieutenant got out a phone line from one of the operators. He handed it to the captain.

"Lieutenant colonel, this is captain Elias of Eagle company. We have encountered and repelled a force estimated around 400 men over the past couple of days. I wanted an update on those ground reinforcements."

"Captain this is lieutenant colonel, Division is dealing with more problems than usual and has encountered delays in the advance. We are expected to hold onto our positions till tomorrow. However, good job in holding your position skipper. I will look forward to hearing from you."

"Thank you, lieutenant colonel." The captain sighed as he gave back the phone to his first lieutenant.

"I assume we are not moving from our positions yet?" The first lieutenant spoke in a despondent tone.

"Division is expected to send our reinforcements tomorrow. We just have to hold out till then." The captain looked outside to see the men relaxing up after staying here for a couple days already. The battles proved to be within their expectations so far. However, what Dianna said to them the other day was worrying.

"Captain, do you believe we'll run into a magician today?" He had a hint of worry in his voice.

"If we do, we just have to put some holes into him. From what she said yesterday, magicians will have to at least be able to see their enemy. So even if they appear, we should be able to eliminate them." The captain said it confidently, however even he is a bit worried about this unknown force which they haven't seen before.

"Captain this is lieutenant Aaron of 2nd platoon, we have spotted a force from a distance. Permission to engage."

"2nd platoon you may engage the enemy."

"Copy that captain." The platoon leader looked at the force again. It had much fewer men this time.

"lieutenant, you think we gonna get more kills this time?" He said cheekily.

"Can it Basher. Captain briefed us today that there might be some sort of wizard coming out the works so keep sharp." He said sternly.

"Sure sure, and that wizard is gonna wipe us all out then? Poncho here got the best aim in the platoon." He confidently patted the back of Poncho."

"Well, if that wizard or magician guy comes out, I'll be sure to take him out. Don't want him killing us." Poncho replied half jokingly.

The three men were one of three squads that were on the northern side of the village. They were hunkering down under some tree cover from the sun, just barely letting in some sunlight through the leaves. The occasional breeze swept through the area and rustled the leaves.

"There they are. What are they doing though?" Poncho observed their force of around a hundred. Some were mounted, however most were men holding spears or bows. Most were wearing leather while some had full metal plates.

The lieutenant spoke into his com. "Everyone be on the lookout for their wizard."

"Oh, I think I see him lieutenant." Basher replied.

"Where?" He questioned.

"He is in the center of their formation. He is wearing some long dark robes without wearing any headgear. Probably sweltering under all of that clothing though." He said jokingly.

"Junkman two, get out your rifle and snipe that robed man in the center of that formation."

"On it lieutenant." From a distance, the lieutenant could see the robed man doing something. He didn't know why, but he began to hold his hands into the air as if he was some crazy person.

Soon, something was conjured up in front of him out of thin air. It was blue in light and was formed into a blue sphere. It gave out a feeling as if he wielded lightning itself. The platoon leader was anxiously waiting for the Junkman two team to take their shot. He was not getting a good feeling from this man who made lightning appear.

Then, the lieutenant felt that someone was running up behind me. It was princess Dianna and her guard.

"Take out that man! Quick!"

"Princess, what are you doing here?" The platoon leader asked.

"Don't mind me, you have to take that man out. He will obliterate this village if we don't do something!" She spoke with urgency. The lieutenant nodded.

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"Junkman two, take your shot as soon as possible." The lieutenant gave them the go ahead. It wasn't long until the shot could be heard.

The lieutenant looked through his scope and saw that the man was still standing. "Junkman two, was that a miss?"

"No lieutenant, that was a clear hit to the head. He is still standing though."

"Give it another shot."

The lieutenant waited a few seconds before another shot was fired. He looked through his scope again and saw that the man finally fell after the first shot. He sighed a bit.

"Good work Junkman two. Set back up to your positions."

"Yes Lieutenant."

The lieutenant turned around to see princess Dianna standing there dumbfounded. "How were you able to get him?" She said with a tone of disbelief.

"We have our M24 sniper rifle that has an effective firing range of around 1,500 meters. We always have a squad on hand that can operate one." The lieutenant stated plainly.

Dianna just stood there for a while before she came out of her daze. "If that's the case, then that's good. I was afraid that this village was going to be destroyed."

"What!?" The lieutenant was shocked.

"That Mana user was adept at long range magic which can have devastating affects if they were to succeed. From just looking at it, I could tell that it was a very deadly spell that would pretty much kill everyone here. Even more so after feeling it."

"You can feel it?"

"Anyone with the innate ability to gather Mana can sense Mana gathering. Although it differs from person to person. People who rely on Mana stones or Macana wood won't be able to do that. At least not without extra effort."

"Do you feel anyone else gathering Mana then?" The lieutenant asked.

"No, I think that was their only Mana user. Although the western region has many Mana users, its unlikely they would be able to have more than one with each small detachment like this. Although if they break into cultivation city, they could force more to join their ranks."

"I see, well, thank you for that. Although I think you should inform the captain in the next briefing. I am sure the army would love to hear this."

"I'll do that. Well, I'll let you do your thing then." Dianna and her guard Sean left the soldiers. The first lieutenant looked through his scope again.

The western regions forces began to route completely after losing their magician. It seemed like they didn't want to be next.

"Captain, this is lieutenant of 2nd platoon. We have repelled the enemy."

"Good work."

The lieutenant laid back and sighed. "Hope that's the last of those fuckers." He said internally.

Soon, the day passed uneventfully as the soldiers prepared for the next morning. Finally, the captain had good news for Eagle company in their daily briefing.

"Platoon leaders and squad leaders, we got some good news, we are finally moving today. At approximately eleven hundred hours, a company from the army will relieve us of our position. We are then to head south of the town of cultivation. To meet up with our airborne battalion while also meeting up with a US marine battalion. From there, we will launch our attack on the besieging western forces. Any questions?"

They stood there for a moment. "Then your dismissed. Prepare to move out by eleven hundred hours."

Soon, Eagle company prepared to move out. However, it didn't take much to see their relief force. Nearly 27 Humvee's and trucks came towards the village. Enough to hold an entire company of soldiers. They arrived and handed off their vehicles to Eagle company to make their journey towards the southern area near cultivation town.

They had some trouble with Princess Dianna and her guard Sean when they had to sit in separate vehicles since traditionally, Humvee's only had three occupants while the fourth manned the turret. They kept one seat open for emergencies. Princess Dianna, wanting to continue to observe their company, insisted on riding along, so she sat in the second Humvee while her guard Sean sat in the first Humvee.

At first, she was stunned to see such a large convoy of self-moving artifacts that at first, she was hesitant to even sit in one. However, she knew that she would regret not going with them in the future. She summed up the courage to enter the metal artifact.

Soon the convoy set off towards their meeting point south of cultivation town.

A convoy that was sufficient for transporting a company of soldiers was massive. A mere platoon led to a mixed force of mainly seven Humvee's and two supply trucks for supplies. An entire company's worth of vehicles led to nearly six supply trucks and 21 Humvee's.

Unfortunately, it is obvious that the military did not have enough time to prepare these vehicles, evident by their tan camouflage paint. This convoy contrasted heavily with such a green environment.

It was nearly noon before they reached their meeting point. They saw a camp with some Abram M1A2 tanks and some M3 Bradley's set aside while marines and airborne soldiers were lazing about. The tanks were easy to spot due to their tan paint job.

It was apparent that two battalions were gathered here, just due to the immense amount of vehicles present. Nearly two hundred vehicles were gathered here along with some tanks.

The captain of Eagle company thought about how overkill this entire operation was, considering the enemy we were facing didn't even have any guns. Princess Dianna at the same time saw the huge camp and tanks and thought quietly to herself. She knew just this company was enough to wipe out a couple hundred knights and mercenaries, along with a Mana user.

If there were eight of these companies along with their metal artifacts, just how many could they kill she wondered. The discovery of such firepower got her more excited and shocked before she could even care about the western region's forces. At this point, she could only hope that they surrender before the massacre.

Soon, they met up with their main battalion and a meeting involving the higher ups occurred. It involved the company leaders, the two battalion leaders, and finally the one leading the briefing, the colonel leading the two battalions. Princess Dianna and her guard attended as observers.

The briefing took place in a makeshift tent with a map laid out on a board. "Men, today we are dealing with a force the size of nearly 10,000 men. They are equipped with crossbows, bows, swords and shields. They don't have any conventional weapons which can take out our armored vehicles. However, they may have unconventional weapons.

That weapon is magic. Over the past couple of days, we have compiled intelligence on its capabilities and deemed it very likely to be able to damage our vehicles.

From what we can tell, they could be anything from lighting to fire. Our best bet is to just blast them to hell as quickly as possible. Our battle plan is simple. First, we will set up mortars to the south of the enemy. Then once we soften them up, we send in the tanks followed by our Humvee's. We will do a sweep away from the town, allowing the enemy to flee if they want to. Once the enemy is in full retreat, we can begin collecting prisoners.

The M1A2 and M3 Bradley's will be spread out along the frontal assault while the Humvee's will fill in the gaps and give fire support. Once they see their comrades dying, they should start retreating.

However, once they retreat, we must take over their camp to collect their food supplies. It is vital to prevent the enemy from recovering and gain provisions for potential prisoners. Any questions?"

No one protested. "Good, be ready by O eight hundred tomorrow."