Watching over a large frozen lake on top of a mountain range with clear white bubbles inside of it. A General wearing a green long military trench coat breathes out as his breath becomes visible. Harsh wind blows past him, throwing bits of snow as a soldier runs up to him.
“Sir!”
“What did they say? Can we unfreeze this now?”
“Sir?”
“This reservoir. We need to unfreeze it now and start refining the gas. The reports from Jackson… It scares me. If this is what they can bring out only after a few days of fighting, imagine in half a month… This destroys every calculation we have on how long we will be able to last. They seriously hadn’t said anything yet?”
“Well sir… Something more urgent came…”
“What?”
“The Kingdom's Alliance just got buzzed. Avaria activated the long range communications magic of theirs and requested for a Hero to come… to Zavalda’s exact coordinates.”
The lone General didn’t flinch nor move at the news. As a pair of Chinooks sling loading container vans flies on the horizon of the cold grayish clouds. The peaks of the mountains surrounding them and the harsh snow clouding the color of the heavy lift helicopters, only their beacons and shape being made out from the harrowing gust.
“Leave it be. We might be targeting the Heroes, but that’s only because they’ve been a little tick that’s been annoying us. Right now, we might be able to use them on our own. We have more dire things to do anyway, like the need to prepare further.”
“And General Jackson and Yamaoka, sir?”
“Let them do as they wish. They have their orders, I know they won’t back down that easily. I approved the sending of the two Dragon Gods in our arsenal for the sake of this. They also have three other army corps coming to save them. They’ll pull through. Jackson most of all, he has a record back on Earth.”
“Sir yes sir… Oh, and the President of Men of the Woods is calling for you sir.”
“What is it now?”
“Something about the fall back plan, sir.”
“Ah, looks like he also saw the reports and got the same shivers as I did. Alright, I’ll be gone for a while General Gears. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on the Kingdoms.”
“Yes sir… and High Admiral Footman will be delayed in there combat mission to Schon, the Armada is currently on Zavalda.”
“I already know. See you later Gears.”
“Yes sir.”
“Goddamnit!” General Jackson looked out the window of the Downtown Police Station and the Demon Knight Army was already upon them. The artillery and guided precision bombs raining down on their location were being detonated way before contact and aircraft that’d try to get close always got shot down before they could do any meaningful damage. Far behind the advancing Knight army, banners with strange logos on them were lifted on the long trusting poles. The boney Dragons of the Underworld Army crawling on top of the roofs and burning down the players trying to hide behind cover.
A reserve T-90M arrives, firing its cannon. The APFSDS shell merely creates a hole which gets plugged up by reserve tower shielders immediately. Even using its Coax and commander machine gun, the rounds were flinging off what their sending down range. “LOAD HE!” another round was fired, this time creating a huge explosion. The large gap was opened and the players took advantage of this, firing their weapons only for the plate armor worn by the Demons to absorb each bullet. Though the ones getting hit by larger calibers were struggling to get up, a section of the shield wall opens and a squadron of Knights wielding Great Bows loaded with a piercing silvery spear as their munition fires.
An ear blistering sound was created, deafening and akin to lightning hitting near you, the Main Battle Tank was a burning wreck and the concrete blocks of covers they had penetrated and the explosion coming out the other side killing the players hiding behind it. With the player's attack broken, they quickly plugged the gap the tank created and continued forward.
“They first throw their goons to weaken us and now the real deal shows up and our teeth get kicked in just like that! Damn!” Helicopters and jets far away drop a myriad of rockets and bombs on them. But apart from killing only a handful that’s advanced far to forward from their magic shielding, the bodies of the Demon Knights thrown about only complicates things even more as they awaken from the blast only to find themselves on top of roofs and in accidental vantage points. “Watch out for their Archers! Those fucks are firing Spear Bolts at us!” Jackson quickly runs to the window and starts popping shots himself. “How the fuck is the energy transfer not turning there flesh into mush inside those armor?!” Before he knew it, his mag was already empty.
A soldier runs to him, tapping the General’s shoulder as he drops the mag and exchanges it with another one.
“Sir! The Mage Squad has arrived!”
“Good! Have them try to use any Mid tier Nullify Magic!”
“Sir yes sir!”
An M3 Bradley rolls into the street, stopping just before the intersection to the main road in front of the Police station where its ramp opens and ten players with their rifles slinged to there back and on there hands were differing Staffs, some wielding ones made of metal, others made of stone or wood, with Orbs of varying sizes, they even have some duel wielding the magical stick.
Joining the battle, they kept low and hid behind cover as the Bradley reversed onto the section of Downtown that halves into the Park, where two Armored Giants were running at full sprint to flank the Police Station. It fires its BGM-71 TOW at the first one and the hulking humanoid in full plate armor immediately dodge rolls as a fighter plane flying high above drops a pair of GBU right on top of the two, disabling them completely. Seeing the chance, the Bradley approaches their collapsed bodies, its chain gun in full auto leaving the Mages who were preparing a cant.
“Command says to use Mid tier nullify magic!”
Guns were firing left and right as Spear Bolts were being trusted upon them from behind cover, far on the area below the Portal, a blazing fire was starting to spread.
“Gotcha! Tell them we might have to resort to High Tier and I am the only one capable of doing that!”
“Rog!”
Inside the Police Station, its second floor was blazing with muzzles on every window and rocket launchers being flung onto the advancing army, Jackson was on the map, looking at the new updates he’s being given. “Tell Central to start making makeshift road blocks and barriers facing Downtown!” a soldier then runs up to him.
“Sir! The Mage Squad Leader says they might have to use High tier magic!”
“What?! Why?!”
A golden magic circle then appears outside their room, blooming over the red tint as it faces the advancing Demon Army, a bright flash then appears. For a mere second, the artillery that was constantly being rained down upon them managed to sneak in and completely devastate their shield wall and the reserves behind it. Jackson runs to the window and peeks his head out to look at what happened. Above the skies, the shells were detonating far away once again and the Knights were collapsed on the ground, with some not moving anymore.
“Good! Tell the men to start-” before he could get another order out, the players charge out of their covers and fire every launcher they have on hand, killing more of the Demons as they get burnt to a crisp by a pair of Undead Dragons. Their sacrifice is futile as the death on the players side being twice than the ones they managed to fully incapacitate. “Those sons of- Get the Mages to use High Tier magic! Tell the soldiers to stop using magic if they could. If they know Power Transmit, give it to the Mages! Buff and buff them!”
“SIR! ABOVE!”
The huge Black Dragon orbiting them was chanting something, one its front right hand a branch of lightning that was increasingly growing into the size of a bus, then to that of a five storey building. “EVERYONE! GET DOWN!” The Dragon then hovers, standing upright and prepares to thrust its hand. “ESTUM ROH!”
Lighting with the width and length of a skyscraper lands on the area right below the Downtown Portal, for a good 5 seconds, the shape completely kept going down to the ground till its tail end. A shockwave came and destroyed whatever glass was still standing and rocked everyone, even the Demons, to their ground from the sheer magnitude of the explosion. Booms could be heard once again hitting the ground as the shells and missiles were able to pass through the barrier.
“HAH!”
Running inside the Command room was Yamaoka.
“PAUL! THERE’S A HUGE ASS CRATER IN DOWNTOWN!”
“OH SHIT!”
“Uhm uhm uhm… wait! Dammit! Give me a moment, get Bahamut and Mars down here, let them fight the horde, we need to fuck off to Central and set up a second line of defense right now!”
Outside, the defenders are trying their best in stemming the tide. With Bahamut and Mars turning into their human forms to battle the Demon Knight Army head on as the streets were littered with abandoned and heavily damaged armored vehicles and heavy armor. The Black Dragon in all her might fought without respite. Filling the street with the dead, mixing them with the former skeletons and zombies they needlessly sent in large quantities as trash.
Mars was in the same mood as her, in absolute happiness to experience battle with such worthy foes, the Demon Knights were smart, far smarter than most of their known enemies, having quick reactions to there magic and attempts, choosing to fight alongside someone than to needlessly die alone, while the others quickly tried to scrooge up what cover they could and stop the players from advancing, shooting Silver Spear Bolts at there advance. Without long, the two Dragons left the players as they reached the area right under the portal.
Standing in the middle of the street with rubble and metal littering the sidewalks and reaching into the main road itself, Bahamut faces her left and notices something that’s been revealed from the Dragon Spell she used. Its gleaming colors were showing, attracting her attention. Walking towards it, it's an ancient statue buried underground, half revealed by the horrors of war.
A loose newspaper hits the face of the statue of a Knight riding a horse, the main headline “DOOMSDAY OR PRACTICE?” as it flies away. Her visions shift. She’s transported into a dark space as the Sun of the foreign world edges over the planet of Threa, showing its immense size as a tribal man with a rock appears in front of her, it then changes into a Spartan like warrior and then into a man wearing chainmail, to the first plate armor and to a full fledge Knight. It doesn’t stop and continues to show the Man slowly standing straight up and ending in a modern soldier fully kitted out with the most advanced infantry gear imaginable.
She was then brought into the planet, deeper and deeper into its Core as her visions went dim and was lit up by the red and green fires of Hell, upon a sea of millions and millions of Demons in full Knight armor marching alongside Armored Giants neatly in formation and Undead Dragons into three humongous portals, each of them being given a prayer by the Undead Priests.
Above her was a stone ceiling full of spikes and below her, an endless burning sea of pain and suffering as an army wearing armor that’s far too polished and stylish for such a terrain was walking towards three gaps in the time space. Guarding the path of the portals were four massive Demons whose height could reach even the tallest building in Zavalda, with skin as red as the fires of Hell, wielding spears the size of skyscrapers, be fit of there immense height and width, with a toned and chiseled body, two large pointy horns on their hairless heads. The bright fire on their eyes reflects the very flames that power the Underworld.
Her vision was taken deeper and deeper, into the hollow cave their inside that spans wider than continents and an endless length that not even her sights could fathom to see to its finish. She was sent so far into the depths that images started to fly past her. That of the sword she and her Master once wielded, the sword of a Dragon and the sword gifted to him by the Vampire Queen, crossed in an empty field as years flew past and overgrowth started to take it. It ends upon a nuclear explosion that blinds her completely.
Upon opening her eyes once again, she’s traveling through a cavern of black and red, devoid of sound and feeling as he passed through strange human like creatures, with extremely lanky arms and legs, there height easily reaching ten feet tall with strange faces that seemingly could be human and not, as if a creature from another realm trying to understand expression and skin, but there bodies didn’t have anything akin to that of a Man. Except having Arms, Legs, a Head and a Neck, their skin was of the blackest of black and their face, the whitest of white.
The four towering figures merely looked over her naked soul as it flew past them and into a room. A room where a lone figure sat on a throne of stone.
“Ahhhh… Goddess Mors Letum. How we’ve missed you. Leave that useless body of a Dragon God and come back to us. A war must be won, and we cannot win it fast enough without your strength.”
She couldn’t make the outline of the voice of Man and Woman, interchanging and mixed, but she could hear the words of the Being before her. It was shapeless, formless, a black mist with what could be described as limbs arching out as tendrils on the stone blocky throne it sat upon.
“These are MY bones now. I won’t be going back to the painstaking process of making God bones from scratch. I won’t be returning or giving anything to you or anyone unless its Master.”
“What is it with you Dragons? So many of your kin even reached my Throne to try to defy me. To become something more than a God amongst the World and rule over the very concepts that build upon its foundations.”
“That is the Will of Albion and all of Dragons, no matter what world or dimension. We may do it in different ways, but in the end, we are born to conquer and become greater beings. Those weak gets killed off and those strong thrive.”
“And what? You rule over something you merely couldn’t even have an inkling of understanding? To become the ruler of a very concept that is only defineable by the one that was born to inherit it? You know why I found you? Because I saw the power of Mors Letum being used, but to such a marginal extent that I believe not even you know what power you hold… or that you choose to live in ignorance of the strength you know possess.”
“I don’t know what you're talking about. I have a grasp of all my powers. Unlike Man, the Elves, Vampires, and the very Ogres themselves who thrive in war and battle. We Dragons do not need to chain our souls, we know what we are and what we can do from the beginning till the end.”
“Yet you have not unleashed even the section of Mors power… why? Are you afraid of what it might do? The consequences of now ruling over the concept of Death, Destruction and Unmaking?”
“Hm. I am merely saving it. A Human once told me, it is better to save my strength against enemies that are worthy of it unless I want to attract attention. I’ve always gone all out in the beginning, but now I know to reserve myself and my power. It seems that Master was far more correct, I only used Mors ability to control Crows as messengers, yet here you are now.”
“Hmmmmm… you Dragons are more of a question to me than the Humans. The Demons would love to enslave and capitulate Man, but for me… What is it with you Dragons? You aren’t even from Threa and yet you share the qualities of the Dragons there, albeit in a more violent manner like that friend of yours, Mars.”
“Were those scary lanky creatures your door people? They might know something, they looked straight at my soul as if they knew who I was.”
“Hm? What creatures? This Throne room of mine is within its own dimension, only those I permitted to have an accord with me are allowed to be here. A privilege a mere few are allowed to have/”
“Ehhhhh… seems like I am being watched by not only you.”
“Of course, Threa hasn’t seen a Dragon God of your scale for quite a while. What’s more amusing is you sided with the Humans. Of all the creatures, you chose the one that’d try to reach perfection through its imperfections. Such a living concept of hypocrites, there very ideals oppose the things they do and perform. But then again, we have you, Dragons, living concept of power, of killing and rising above all odds.”
“And who are you? The Overlord? The Devil? I cannot grasp your energy and your soul is all encompassing, its all around me, even in the air I am breathing.”
“I come by many names, the mortals have called me those, yes. But I’d rather be called with nothing. For that is what I am, I am nothing. Just a certain divine creature bringing balance to the world. Do tell, Dragon, what is it like to hold the power of Death, Destruction and Unmaking?”
“Pretty cool. At Least now I don’t have to go back to the Void to retrieve a soul. I can do it automatically now, bypassing some steps.”
“AHAHAHAHAHA! Ahhhhh, such simple creatures, you all are. No wonder of all the warriors that crawl up to my throne, it's always Dragons. The Gods truly built something special with your species.”
“Did you bring me here for a chat? I have to get back to the fight, you know?”
“Ah, I just thought it’d be time to return the Goddess that once sat on the Outer Realms and became Known.”
A hand then lifts and flickers, sending a shock to Bahamut. The Dragon shakes violently from the attack but then her eyes steeled and turned to the person without shape nor form started to get close to her floating soul.
“Beautiful… This is why I employ Dragons in my army. A perfect species truly, capable of becoming mere Slaves to literal Gods. I shall leave you in the services of my Air Forces after I am done extracting the Goddess out of you.”
“GRRRR… Heh… heh… that God is dead. I merely took the bones and made it my own.”
“Gods do not truly die, they only reach a state of sleep… unless…”
Bahamut smiles. “Heh.”
“You dastardly beasts. To consume the soul of Mors Letum?! Have you no respect for one of the Gods that built the concepts of all things derived by?! Is fighting all you Dragons know?!”
Even the Dragon God felt the shivers as the angered shapeless form stood up from its throne.
“Then, if that’s how its so. When the Outer World reclaims the plains of the physical, our armies bring chaos to peace, death to the living, and most of all, balance. I shall appear in my full form and fight you. That’s how Dragons in Tur do it, correct?”
Hearing those words, Bahamut’s smile escapes her face as she looks the being right in the formless eyes on what could be only its head.
“Could you be one of the parties responsible for bringing Master and the Chosen Ones to Threa?!”
“No. I am not a coward like the Known Gods, I’d never employ people from another dimension to partake in my wars. To use as mere spreading to slow down my power, and influence. I fight with my strength and the strength of the Outer Realms, I do not need the help of another from far away. We will win this fair and square. Dragon God, when we meet, I shall gladly don my armor, armor only seen by the Other Gods, just for you.”
“Br-bring it on!”
A smile born out of red, with teeth as black as its shapeless form expresses on its face. Its hand then flings forward, sending Bahamut back to Zavalda, Mars shaking her violently.
“BAHAMUT! BAHAMUT!”
“Wha-What…?”
“Stop looking at shiny things for once and help me!”
She turns to face the crater and it is gone, the Downtown area she destroyed was physically returned and Demon Priests, wearing robes of White and Gold were standing in a circle as another Legion arrives.
“Wha-what! Restoration Magic like that?!”
“We must retreat, I heard Thomas calling for help in the Police Station.”
As the two Dragons left, the Demon Priests with their hooded faces, only their large horns showing had sprouts of fleshy veins appearing out of the asphalt road and sidewalks, creeping up from below. The pain spreads to all the crevices of the Downtown area as the Government forces are thrown back by the proper army of the Underworld. Back in the Demon Lines that have been partially reformed, the surviving Undead Priests of Hell continually unleash fire and flames upon the neighborhoods they come across while giving support to the frontlines with a new barrier.
One of the players whose race was of an Ogre duel wields two M60s that he took from a box, the player stood up from behind his sandbags and started popping off the Demon Knights that’re getting to close as the heavy machine guns are too busy defending the flanks around the alleyways where the Invading Army has taken a slow and methodical approach, chipping away slowly at the defenders. Focusing on a multitude of tasks at once. The single Ogre player in combat gear ran into the alleyway they were approaching and let alone a barrage of lead down range. Disregarding the players nearby who were hiding. Deafening their ears from how close he was to them.
A pair of Elven players with sniper rifles just look down in disbelief on their scopes.
“Who’s that?!”
“That’s an asshole!”
“I knew that, but what’s his name?!”
“That is his name! Major Green Asshole from the Third Infantry Battalion!”
“Ah him! No wonder!”
“Hah! We need to buy that guy a beer after all this.”
“Oh yeah. O Elven Gods of the Soil and Tree, bless my shot and may it land true.”
Pulling the trigger, the player's bullet locks onto the closest Knight in the formation, the 7.62mm bullet somehow having a mind of its own as it flies straight through the small eye slits on their helmets. Killing one immediately.
The Major with his two M60s started walking forwards as the Knights tumbled down from the amount of lead being thrown their way. “NOOB TUBES, NOW!” His men with under barrel grenade launchers then came out of the backs of ammo crates and started firing their 40mm. The explosions throw hundreds of the Knights down to the walls and the roads as air support comes in and finishes the formation that came too close to them. As the bodies fell in front of them, the players ran out of the alleyway to support the main effort and saw that Mars and Bahamut had taken down twenty skeleton Dragons and three entire formations on their own. Making the rest run in retreat.
“Th-their retreating!”
“Holy shit! They retreat!?”
“They can retreat!”
Yamaoka walked from the front door of the Police Station and looked at the players rejoicing. “Don’t celebrate too early. The retreating means the entire battle has changed. They’re probably getting another plan cooked up if they choose to conserve forces.” having a moment of respite, Thomas sat down on a bunch of empty ammo boxes, removing his combat helmet as he wipes his hair full of sweat.
“Phew… rebuilt the defenses they broke.”
“Sir yes sir!”
The players immediately started going around him, fixing their positions once again as he looked at how close they got. Less than fifty meters from the front door of the Police Station. All the while, a Major arrives at the scene.
“Ah Garland-san. How may I help you?”
“Where’s Jackson?”
“Jackson is busy right now talking to Iron Mountain. Seems that stuff is stirring up from afar. Someone talked.”
“Is that so? I wanted to ask him about maybe using the factories to reinforce ourselves further.”
“Aren’t we already doing that?”
“We’re only taking the surplus stuff that’s being produced. We’re reaching the limit of what Logistics can do. We might have to start pulling stuff meant for Schon to our defense. The Central Bridge is full of abandoned transport trucks all pushed to the side of the road, we can’t keep this up.”
“Ay ay ay. I don’t think Higher Command will be happy with that. Imagine the paperwork mess that would leave behind! Ahahahaha!”
The players, using the rare moment of peace, walked up to the General of the Shin Guards and lowered their weapons as they listened to him laugh. One the players with his rifle slinged to his side smiles. “Don’t worry Major, it’s just gonna start a backlog of a hundred tanks!” hearing the man crack another joke, the players laugh out in the red tint they are in, full of the dead, the destroyed, and empty. Their mere burst of happiness prompts. Bahamut and Mars just stood by the sidelines with their arms crossed as they smiled at the bunch of people gathered in a crowd, in the center point being Thomas.
“Listen now. We will be changing the tactics. Air power and heavy weapons can still stop the tide. But now, the opposition’s foot soldiers have been changed to meatbags to actually competent fighters that’re very well equipped and know more than a shred of tactics. So we will stop all offensive actions and will be purely on the defensive from here on out. The reserve and back up antennas they took out when the mist was still up had made communications to the other Sectors far harder, coupled with the Apache attack before all this began, Comms is basically a huge mess right now. So I’ll need you to disseminate information also. Just in case some checkpoint hidden in the corners of this massive city doesn’t get the call. Ooh rah?”
Yamaoka didn’t get a reply. Most of the soldiers were just tired and depraved of every basic human emotion. Though the ones having Ogre characters were more than happy to fight once again, the Elves and Humans that made up the majority of Zavalda’s National Guard was utterly demoralized, with most of them having soulless empty eyes with the orders they’ve been given. Jackson then pops out of the station. Wearing his Eldwood Death Knight Armor strapped with his swords and guns, the Knight General looks at the Downtown Portal and then to the quiet crowd of soldiers surrounding Thomas.
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“Look, I know things don’t look too well right now, but it's either this or they reach the outskirts, what’s next?” Jackson continued to speak, walking around as the soldiers parted a path for him. “Its the refugee camp. Things aren’t well, our main objective was not to even defend the city itself, but its Industrial Sector only. But I didn’t want that.” He then climbs on top of a 5 Ton transport truck. Unsheathing his Vampiric sword. “It’s either we will meet them here, or meet them out there. I chose to meet them here, and if we can, stop them here. Now, I know things are hopeless, we’ve thrown everything we can at them, mixture of Magic and Technology yet they advance, only retreating when they see absolute defeat.” he then sets the tip of the sword down to the hood of the truck.
“But then again… tell me. Which one of you would rather fight them out there? Can we even stop them the moment they leave the maze of roads that is this city and spread in every direction and what could be the start of the calamity that is the Reset? You know what will happen, Yamaoka already told me in the five months I was in ice, everyone fucked with the people of this continent and got bitchslapped into slavery. What more if they find out we unleashed Hell prematurely into their world? What’s gonna stop the Natives of this world from fully ousting us as Demons that need to be put down?”
Silence takes over the crowd as Thomas smiles and shakes his head. “Will you look at that, you can also make a speech huh?”
“So again, which one of you would rather fight them out there? Raise your hands now.”
Distant gunshots and explosions, the whirls of rotors and the sonic boom of jets flying through the city overcame their complete absence of sound.
“The greatest victory is the defeat of one’s ego. And if any of us are gonna be truthful here, we’re Humans and we have the biggest fucking ego that even the Dragons saw that made them befriend us. Our ego is so powerful that even here, in another Dimension, Humans and Dragons found peace because of how insanely thick headed we are.” he untraps his helmet and removes it. Revealing his dirty face, bruised from getting thrown about and his eyes just as tired as theirs. “Are we really gonna let that be gone here? Or are we gonna continue to shove our huge egos up these Demons’ asses? The Soviets were surrounded at Stalingrad, yet they continued to fight. The British were surrounded in Dunkirk but they fought on and on, the Americans were surrounded in the Bulge, and yet they fought on.”
Walking towards the roof of the cab, the Knight General turns his face to the Portal at Central sector. “We’ve done it before, many of you might not be born from a generation that had dealt with famine, war, disease. Never called up nor drafted, unlike me. But you can also do it, my generation was the same as you. Fat useless slobs that’s holled up in social media, without aim and without love, all we knew was to scroll up and down on our smartphone, yet when war came, we were no different from the Heroes before. So show me, show me you can all be Heroes too. Not for me, but for this city and the players that built it. Do I get an Oo rah?”
Silence was the reply. The soldiers turned to look at one another as they turned around to see the Downtown Portal, an open and gaping fissure in space time, created by the circumstances that was brought upon them by their own kind, from the same planet they hailed from. One of the Sergeants removed his helmet as Jackson stood like a statue on top of the transport truck in his bulky Death Knight plate armor, he didn’t look like a Hero, or even someone that would be hailed as one, but he stood there with eyes now full of hope, it was gleaming like the eyes of a child that knows a better day awaits them tomorrow.
The Sergeant chuckles to himself.
“Well… it beats jacking off to SFM in Pornhub.”
Soldiers turned to him and they nodded, smiling and their eyes being infected with the same sparkle in the Knight General’s eyes. In unison, they screamed.
“OOH RAH!”
More enemies come out of the Downtown Portal, dropping down to the ground while others appear out of thin air right below it. A new type of creature has also appeared, it was a Gargoyle but it wasn’t hunched down and wore a meager plate armor, it was now a ten foot tall towering creature wielding either a Great Axe or Silver Spear that moves in pairs. Though the players were able to take them down, they were considerably harder to kill and faster than their smaller counterparts. They’d usually orbit around the Armored Giants, escorting them from tanks and IFVs trying to get to their flanks and overwhelm them with lead. “Haaaah… more problems.”
Walking into the crowd, the dusty and dirty soldiers parted to make a straight path to the other General. He stops next to Thomas and stares into the eyes of every each one of the players around him, ranging from Elve, Orcish, Ogre, Human, Slime, and such. All of them looking back at the man in Death Knight armor with hope found.
“Looks like this is going to be a long hard day.”
“You can say that.”
“If they reach the Downtown Police Station again. Alarm the other Sectors and prepare to retreat to the Industrial Sector. Morale is back to normal, but it will only go up from here on out.”
“How are you sure of that?”
“When you surround and corner an enemy, you only force them to fight to the death. The cowards would’ve long already surrendered beforehand or died, leaving only the strong.”
“And the weaklings that lasted that long?”
“They’ll no longer be weaklings. Even they will know it's time to ride to die. The Demons are smart, but our innate ability to take on beatings shall be our greatest weapon in delaying them. The more we’re cornered, the more these men will fight fiercely.”
“You're really putting it all on that river. We’d be cornered like a rat to a cat there.”
“Rivers are natural impregnable defenses no matter the Era of Warfare. Even with an enemy with air power, it would still be very hard for them to cross into the other side where we have concentrations of units everywhere. Right now, we’re being defeated because the enemy requires a certain number of force equalizers. We’re not meeting it anywhere, and barely at some places like here thanks to high level players and the Dragons, right now, my Vampire companions are holding Central, but the moment the Demon Knight Army appears there, even they will be overwhelmed.”
“I don’t doubt our Air Force. When we leave Downtown, we must make sure that we won’t let them go any further.”
“We’ll see. Because now, since we threw them back a bit, they're once again changing tactics. We must change the course now, run while we still can and fight when the odds are the same. We can’t keep doing this back and forth, it's tiring us all to hell and reinforcements are, I hope, hours away.”
“We need to set up comms to Shadilay as our first priority. Just what has happened to the three Generals?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll link via the Comms on the trenches, they're not so far away. Admiral Footman has been doing the hard carrying himself with those Cruise missiles.”
“Roger.”
“Haaaaah… this is gonna be a shitshow.”
A soldier with a cloak ontop of his multicam uniform arrives to the two Generals.
“Sir! You have to see this!”
“Hm?”
He reaches his hand out to the two Generals and they are transported to the sight of a Pigeon flying around the Portal. It showed that the Downtown Portal was now no longer just spewing Demon Knights exclusively but a mixture of all the former units and the reddish skies above became more and more heavy as they could visibly see bloody veins growing from below the sewers and manholes coming out to engulf the entire surface. “Fuzakenaide!” Mars and Bahamut who had walked far down the street shone like two Angels as the blood red colors didn’t dare overcome them nor did the veins try to get in their way.
Before they could continue to observe the new Legion being built up, the Undead Priests find the Pigeon orbiting them and the last thing they saw was a fireball coming right at it.
“Thomas…”
“Ah. I know.”
“Thank you Lieutenant. Return to your post, EVERYONE! Go back to your positions! Squad Leaders will stay here!”
The two Dragons kneeled down and observed the bloody veins growing out of the incredibly small crevices that punctured down to the soil. Soldiers walk past them as they return to their fortifications, now more vigorous and ready for the fight while the two Generals stare at the road and see Mars and Bahamut kneeling down with both their legs and observing something on the road.
“We have those two too…”
“Elizabeth and Alana will be returning soon to drink blood. They’ll be out for the next few minutes. So I need to disperse units even more, only making the concentration of forces even worse, but we have no choice. I will need Bahamut to replace their position in Central.”
“Or hours. I saw Miss Bartley drinking from that Chalice. She seemed like someone who had been left in the desert for weeks without water. What’s about to come to us… this going to be truly Hell.”
“If you know her history, that’s the least of your worries with her. She’ll gladly swipe through everything with her bare hands with joy.”
“Where will you send those two after?”
“Since we’re concentrating on the main roads. I’ll have the Vampires make sure no stragglers reach Central. We’ll continually do the heavy lifting as we have full contact with air support and artillery covering Central with Bahamut.”
The two Dragons then land in the circle the two Generals are in, the Squad leaders look in awe of the two pretty women. Many of them visibly relax and calm down at the sight of Mars in her full latex bodysuit and its large red cape while Bahamut, still wearing her black sailor uniform, hands Jackson one of the veins. He didn’t see it first as he was busy chatting with Thomas and upon touching the fleshy thing even in his Knight armor, he drops it down to the ground and wipes his hands on his plate armor.
“Ewww… why was that alive?!”
“Master, I think you might have to start using weapons that can burn things. These veins, everything they touch gets corrupted. It punctures the soil and turns it into flesh, including the roads, buildings and sidewalks. Right now, they might be growing right underneath us. I believe what comes after is the sight you saw on the sewers.”
She then picks up the vein cutlet, it tries to worm around but the Dragon clenched her hands as it oozes dark red blood and then burns it completely.
“That’s low level fire magic Master, even with that, it burns completely to ash.”
Jackson then looks at Yamaoka, the two exchanging stares.
“New rule, everything those red devilish veins have covered. You can flatten it with anything. I won’t battle you with this Thomas, whatever that thing touches, it must be destroyed.”
“We’re finally letting the gloves off huh? Hm, I don’t think we can reclaim or repair whatever that thing touches anyways.”
“ThomTom, you will have to fully excavate the soil these things have touched after. It will die out, but the corpse it leaves behind completely destroys the natural cycle of things. Right below us, the veins that touch stone gave up on penetrating it further and has decomposed. It has left a putrid waste behind that will make the soil weak and unable to grow anything.”
“I don’t want that thing to get close to Geraldia’s plains. Okay Mars, I won’t debate Jackson on that.”
“Thank you Mars, so that’s the new rule. Be sure to spread the word, and again, the moment they reach the Police Department, it's going to be a fighting retreat. Wait for them to reach Central, then collapse to Uptown, then to the Industrial sector where we will be making a final stand. Capiche?!”
In unison the squad leaders cried out a straightforward “SIR YES SIR!”
The two Dragon Gods then run forward supported by the players as they retake defensive positions that were formerly overrun. More and more mounted machine guns were being plopped everywhere as the situation reached more dire levels.
“Mars, if we win this. I’ll let you in on a secret about the surviving Dragons.”
“Heh. That’ll be easy.”
The two immaculate women looked forward as thousands of skeletons and zombies were marching towards them. Behind the corpses were the Orcs and then the Demon Knight Army now waving their blackened flags with armored horseback cavalry taking the lead. A soldier then comes up to them. “Miss Bahamut! General Jackson has been allowed to use more devastating weaponry on areas overtaken by the veins including spells, he said for the two of you to do your thing.” The two Dragons just smiled devilishly. The soldiers see this and they all immediately take cover as a massive tornado of flames is emitted from the tips of their ancient dragon swords. It quickly dispatched the first and second line of defenses, leaving angrily roasted Orcs and Demon Knights.
A quake then comes and the two Dragons see that a huge hulking Demon Knight that’s the size of a four storey building wielding a giant battle axe has appeared. “Bahamut!” “Mars!” The two then spread their Dragon wings. Taking off towards the Armored Giant as Skeletal Dragons descended upon the skies to support it. Their teeths then try to bite the two but they dodge them and the two women reach the Giant and decapitate it. Mars, looking down from above frowns at the sight below her.
The Giant Knight was hollow, with nothing inside it unlike the previous one that had flesh covering the innards of the armor. Bahamut then threw her Claymore into it and pointed her finger at where it landed. “Bang.” It then bursts into a million pieces. But before she could celebrate, Mars screams at her. “ABOVE!” looking up, the Downtown Portal has spawned five more and thrice the number of skeletal dragons. Fighter jets flying by cut them down in a fraction, their air to air missiles devastatingly destroying their numbers the moment they fly away from the barrier, but with limited pylons, the aircraft had to quickly retreat to base to rearm. “Their numbers are thinned! Mars! Focus on the Giant Knights!”
“Don’t order me around!”
“Just do it!”
Down below on the streets. Yamaoka and Jackson just finished a conversation with one another. With the two nodding in agreement. Major Garland then walks up to Jackson. He wore a uniform that was like any other soldier. “Ah Major, Thomas, you do your thing.” Yamaoka then walks inside, leaving the two to talk about logistics. Going into the armory of the Police Station, he opens a small box, inside it, properly covered and packaged was a purple mana crystal.
It was gleaming perfectly, a stone of pure Mana contained, he took a deep breath and cracked it with his fist. His armor then teleports in. The polished platinum armor was illuminating itself from how shiny it was with a blue tabard over it and a long heroic cape. He unsheathes the Longsword he wielded, its scabbard engraved onto it the falling stars in gold, the blade itself of silver and the hilt and pommel having the hue of his holy armor.
He then knocks his back and under his large cape was a Kite shield neatly tucked it. Blue with a bronze trim, its front shows a Paladin riding a mighty armored warhorse with the tendrils of the rising sun behind it.
“Major, if we do that, that will only make things worse for my men. I know that logistics is hard right now, but we need to make compromises here.”
Walking out of the police station, the Holy Knight made General Paul put his hand up his eyes to protect it from its shine as it exuded pure valiance and intrepidness.
“What is it with you Shine Guards and these flashy armor? I swear. Resolute fearlessness doesn’t need to be in chrome you know?”
“We are the Police of Dark World’s community. We have to make an impression, you know. Imagine what it would be like if we were to wear your armor. Spiky and Gothic. We would seem like the Army of the Demon King enforcing its rules rather than an Army from the Heavens instigating the justice of angels.”
“Don’t even get me started with that. Our armor design got us deep into messes before.”
“So I heard. Your outfits don’t make the best first impressions.”
“We were supposed to be a small Guild tucked away in the Eldwood Forests… how did it ever come to this… We have this edgy persona to make people stay away from our little fortress… haaah… how I wish to return to those times.”
Yamaoka’s bright blue cape waved heroically as he took a Scar-H that was on top of an ammo crate. With a webbing on top of his plate armor, the man runs towards the battle. “Wait. Already?!” The General then quickly grabbed an M2 Browning and teleported multiple boxes into his void pockets as he rattled to the frontlines. The two Dragon Gods left baffled at the sudden energy of their Humans.
The two quickly take cover behind a Leclerc that was parked in the middle of the four lane Downtown street. The Mages of the Government forces use their forcefields to prevent the Main Battle Tank from getting destroyed by magic and Silver Spears as its main gun devastates the oncoming army. Making the Demons run to cover while a pair of Marder IFVs comes in to reinforce the sector. The fighting immediately became fierce as flanking Demon Knights used their meatbags the Zombies and Skeletons to make the defenders divide their firepower, unable to concentrate it as the two Dragon Gods got busy making sure their air support didn’t bother them.
One of the Marder IFVs drove into the sidewalk and used itself as a cover to the players trying to defend the fortifications. Unknown to its crew was a squad of Demon Knights sneaking around the alleyways, they cut down the player soldiers, their bullets unable to damage them as they approached the armored vehicle, far too busy into shooting forward at the oncoming wall of undead and skeletons. With hand signals, the Knight gets a small pouch and threw it into the area between the tracks and the side skirt. The soldiers cowering behind it were too late to react and their guns not affecting the Knights, an explosion follows. Tearing the infantry fighting vehicle a huge gaping hole as its ammo inside pops.
Jackson pops out from behind the main battle tank and starts opening fire. His M2 Brownings barrage .50 caliber bullets punch through the shiny armor of the Demon Knights that got into their flanks. None of them are able to get close as he stands just before the forcefield. On the other flank, Yamaoka notices a bunch of Undead Priests with a Demon Knight platoon trying to get to the other Marder.
The players with their guns and disposable rocket launchers are unable to kill the Priests as the shields of the Demon Knights proved far too armored for bullets and missiles to even make them flinch, One of them wields a Staff with a beating heart and he points it at the sky. It then overloads the force fields. This made the high level player quickly run to action. Dashing into the alleyway. Wielding his Scar-H on one hand and his Longsword on the other. He tears through the Demons and reaches their Priests. He managed to kill two but the one with the Staff was fast with its reflexes and rolled behind a shielded Knight. He then had to take on twenty of the Knights head to head.
“Oh True God of Tur, the God that rose above them all, bless my sword, this silver blade, amplify its Holiness and give me the right to swipe these creatures from the world!” He started to swing his blade and flying cuts of gold were emitted from it, cutting through the shields and armor of the Demon Knights as he charged forward into the tight alleyway, a perfect killing area. One of the Demons managed to get a swing at him, but he quickly turned around, his cape swaying upwards from the speed of his feet and the blade of the creature from the world far away hitting the shield on his back.
Seeing his valiant action, the players defending the alleyway come out of cover and run to support their General. One of them got close enough that he used his AT-4 disposable launcher on the Shielded Demon Knight and its penetrator came out of the other side and into the last Demon Priest. The Government Mages quickly stopped shooting and focused their magic into putting the force field up and running again.
Paul on the other hand has ditched his M2 and has picked up a KORD heavy machine gun from an abandoned GAZ Tigr. Waving around its muzzle brake as he tears apart armored Gargoyles that slipped through the two Dragons. He was quick on his feet, knowing where to run next to get the best effect of his heavy weapon while occasionally dropping it to sword fight Demon Knights that came far too close. The roads below him have turned red, with bloody veins covering most of it alongside the walls and the windows of buildings and those with broken ones have their interiors even invaded.
He looked up to the skies and could see the choppers orbiting around the section of the Downtown area that leads straight to Central. The helicopters focused their fire on the area there even though many of their compatriots were being shot down without much effort, preventing any of the Demon Knights and their hordes from spilling into the other sectors. The aircrafts was firing everything from guided and unguided rockets and was constantly flying in and out to replace the ones shot down. Jackson then walked to the middle of the street. The Leclerc behind him as the newly regrouped Demon Army is right before him. He sighs and stares at the oncoming group. The corpses littered on the ground having only a few Demon Knights and the rest being their Orcish and Zombified goons.
“And it hasn’t even been a week. I better get an all paid vacation after this.”
Above a Motel. The mysterious black armored Knight riding his huge warhorse watched over the ensuing battle before it. A swish could be heard and another Knight riding an equally large warhorse stops next to it.
“So. This is the humans from another world, correct?”
“Hm. The King of Vitas had already fought them before. To test them of sorts.”
“They’ll be an annoyance. Their far more stupid than the Humans of Threa.”
“A big annoyance. I can see why the Gods would summon these fools to this world. Their perfect means to an end. Even after all that’s happened to them, they fight fiercely. I can commend them and their souls, they must all be given proper burial rights after this and be remembered fondly by the Demonkin both here and in our world.”
“Hm. I’ve also been impressed, these are good souls. Such a waste they had to be used like this. I’m sure Earth needs them more than Threa does. Are we going to cut the head off and end this mini war? This adventure has gone on for far too long.”
“We will. But I need the answer of Sympan. Her children would finish this battle quicker. Their weapons are meant for the physical. Only few are meant for the magical.”
“I’ll see to it. Have you heard of the rumors?”
“I haven’t had the time. What is it?”
“Mors Letum is gone. A Dragon consumed her soul fully.”
“... … That’s… a tragedy. But who are we to look down on a Dragon. Such are these creatures, I am sure Mors Letum’s death was calm and peaceful. It is better that way. Far better than the fate of the Outer Gods that crossed the Heroes.”
The Leclerc suffers a hit from an Undead Mage. Its side armor quickly dissipates the fireball and only leaves a burn mark and a huge dent.
“Those machines… what can we do with them?”
“Those are harder to kill but nothing is impossible. It's merely when they band together that it becomes a challenge. Even a Tiefling can end those, but I am saving them for far more important tasks.”
“They focus on fighting together. Divide them and they’ll be conquered.”
“Indeed. But for now, I must learn more about them.”
“When will our God be pleased? We cannot linger any longer in this battle. The longer we stay, the more they know about us too.”
“That is not for me to decide. Return to our home. Your time is soon to come, My Lord.”
“Be sure to lay for me a grand entrance. The death of Mors Letum must be remembered in the fields of battle, just as she was slain beforehand in the land outside Vitas.”
Jackson catches something from the edge of his vision as he was running back to cover. Two people in armor riding horses far larger than anything he’d seen. “What the heck was that?” before he could think further. Explosions come from the Undead Priests behind cover. Now more of them wielded more extravagant Staffs, some with Brains instead of Beating Hearts. At the same time, more and more reinforcements pool into the Downtown area. Giving the players the firepower advantage once again as bombs flatten the useless horde of zombies and skeletons. This time, even the buildings were targeted. Leaving them with smaller cover to use but more places to hide.
Artillery also started to lay on them. Halting them briefly as the Knights let the vanguard take on the brunt of the attack of the players. Jackson smiled underneath his helmet as he dropped the KORD heavy machine gun and dusted his hands. Walking back to the Police Station. The man had to sit at the staircase as more and more vehicles pooled into the main street. Taking up positions on alleyways and inside buildings. He takes off his helmet and breathes in.
“M’Lord.”
“Oh Alana. You guys already returned and finished?”
“That was a good refresher. What’re your orders, M’Lord?”
“For now. Just rest. The Demon Knight army won’t be advancing without there fleshy and boney waves of crap to throw at us first. How’s Elizabeth doing?”
“Her Majesty’s still drinking from the Chalice.”
“As expected. Argh. Tell me, what do you know from the previous End Times apart from the whole legion of hell coming towards everyone.”
“What else is there to say, M’Lord? What you're seeing and experiencing right now is what it was but on a smaller scale. It's even worse than the stories that were recorded beforehand.”
“Hmmmm… and the UN expects us to delay them just enough for hundreds of millions of players to evacuate?”
“Are you doubting your superiors, M’Lord?”
“A bit. I don’t know how a limited army that’s dependent on so many things working together can do this. So far, the Underworld has just been poking us with sticks. They have yet to truly throw hands. This is akin to an army learning what it's about to oppose in the future.”
“I believe it's better for them to keep poking us, M’Lord. If not, we will need the Hero Party to come and save us.”
“I’m already on it.”
“Hm?”
After a few hours. Night has rolled in and the city looked even more and more battered than before. Now, some sections of it are overrun with bloody veins, the burned out buildings were overtaken faster than the ones still standing. Jackson and Yamaoka are both asleep in the Police Station. With Paul face down on the couch and Thomas sleeping on the office chair, his head slumped on the desk. Mars and Bahamut were both busy eating up a truck load of meat, leaving the two Vampires to watch the night.
“Your Majesty, may I ask something?”
The two Vampires were standing on top of a building as the Demon Knight Army and its Dragon Air Force has mostly taken backline duty and kept guard of the area they’ve taken and are only sending out skeletons and zombies to continually annoy the defenders.
“Of course. What seems to be on your mind, Countess?”
“The old stories said that the Demons would come out the ancient Labyrinths and Dungeons spread throughout the lands. But it has been centuries since then with most of these gone or completely destroyed in the main continents. Not once has there been any recorded time of them using Portals like these.”
“There’s always more to things than one knows about. The Demons aren’t stupid nor are they archaic like the Wood Elves. They’ve grown and changed since then, they might still use the method of using the Labyrinths next to these open Portals.”
“Ah, so my theory was naught.”
“All it takes is one forgotten Dungeon or Labyrinth with access to the Underworld for them to proliferate and come out of. It might not seem like this is an army capable of taking over the world. But it has almost done it multiple times. With this new tactic, they might just finally succeed, nothing will stop them from appearing anywhere and everywhere at once. No longer limited by the Labyrinths the first Demon King brought about. The Heroes might even be put into the test with this.”
“The Heroes huh…”
“We must do our part and make sure this mustn’t come to everyone.”
“Your Majesty, what about her? That Saintly woman will surely come for you and her party will surely hunt our Lord down.”
“We’ll deal with her when the time comes. Our Lord knows not to put your emotions ahead of yourself. We do not know what her true purpose is, just as we do not know what the Prince of Man is also planning, all we truly know is that their immense power is being backed by the many Gods all the species worship.”
“Indeed. But what I also fear is if one of the other Heroes finds out about who you truly are. What if that Swordswoman had told the Prince of James?”
“They’d be damned to try anything. I am now with allies. Maybe back then, with me alone. It would be possible. But with you, the Dragon, and our Lord. I fear nothing.”
“Hmph. That is good to hear. Your Majesty, shall we?”
“Give me an hour or two. I’d like to bask in this city more. Before its final hints of glory are snatched away from it. It oddly reminds me of the last days of my Kingdom. The skies were also red, but it was from the flames that was burning the city me and my King painstakingly built.”
“It’s terrifying isn’t it, Your Majesty.”
“This is the reality of war. Just a few days ago, this was a sprawling city wasn’t it? One would find it hard to imagine it turned into such a sad state of affairs over the course of what is less than a week.”
“I’ve visited its museum too. This place holds much history for the people living here. So many innovations and technological discoveries happened within this place. But now, it's being destroyed at such a fast rate. Even the very soil below it is corrupted and neutered.”
“When you build a castle, you must build it with those whom you trust. For if one was to be meek with who to hire, you will end up with a castle with weaknesses. The Outworlders chose to build theirs with many they cannot trust, and look at what happened. What there own blood and compatriots have brought upon them.”
“But I do find the imperfections of how this city was made is what makes it such an attraction, Your Majesty.”
“Perfection is not for those who wish to seek progress.”
“Mayhaps, Your Majesty. For us Vampires, progress is merely a thing of incuriosity.”
“Hence why the humans of Our Lord’s world have reached such progress. They’ll cut corners and even safety of themselves to etch themselves a new machination. Stagnation is a disease for a dying civilization. That is why even with our eternity, King Charles has always had us to make new methods and ways.”
“Your Majesty, do you not fear the End Times?”
“As long as I am with all of you. I fear nothing.”
“If only I could share a bit of your credence, Your Majesty.”
“You mustn’t think too much of this, Countess. I know in business, you must take everything into account. But with something like the Legions of Hell. It is better to not think at all. They hold things none of us could ever hope to understand.”
Sirens immediately blare as the Central Portal, visible from the Downtown Police station has also started spawning Demon Knights, the gleam of their armor amassed together seemed as if a moving lighthouse, and the Giant Armored Knights and Tower Gargoyles with them. Elizabeth points her sword towards it. “It has begun. They’ve festered even more.” The ground then rumbled, awakening the two Generals sleeping as they immediately ducked underneath the desk. On the Downtown Portal, a massive pair of legs exits out of it and the large humanoid creature immediately lands. With a shiny spectral sword of immense size, the Demon man with a chiseled body, crimson skin with huge horns appears. Its height towering over even the skyscrapers that littered Central.
Shooting could be heard as the Central Portal also spawns one and far up North in Uptown, the two Vampires could hear a third one has also appeared. The helicopters flying about fired everything they could at the hulking Demons that towers over the majority of the buildings. Screams from the soldiers could be heard as they opened fire with everything they got.
“Your Majesty!”
“Wait.”
Unleashing the full power of Combined Arms into the mammoth Demons, whose red skin is reminiscent of the armor of a tank but coated in red and of a rubber like texture and fiery golden eyes on its head, the Demon only became more angered as it carefully stepped around the Knight Army below it and started using its huge 10 storey long spectral Claymore at the tanks and choppers. Even with its immense size, it moved as if it was just as small as a human with great reflexes. It even sliced the oncoming bombs at it from high above as jets tried to strafe it continually. Elizabeth looks down to the road in front of the police station where Yamaoka and Jackson were standing, just watching everything they throw at the creature not doing anything but to just annoy it.
Its low and menacing growl sent shivers down to the players spines as it heads straight not to the Downtown Police Station but instead to the large checkpoint that’s been defending the entrance to Central. With a single swipe of its sword, the entire brigade of armor and players and skeleton soldiers placed there was wiped out and the Demon Knight Army has started its march into the Central Sector alongside another detachment that has only recently appeared there.
“The lines are collapsing right before our eyes… holy shit.”
“Jackson! We need to retreat now!”
“Got it! Someone get me Colonel Henry! Alert all units and tell everyone to retreat to the other side of the river! Bahamut, prioritize getting those Hyper Demons dead! Can you do it?”
Bahamut and Mars both looked at the Hyper Demon thrashing about anything that it comes across. The defenses of the players were useless as they made a massive mess of great proportions, a single swing of their sword enough to wipe out entire blocks, destroying the city even further.
“I can do it, Master. But I need a lot of space. I might be forced to do something I’ve only done once.”
“Alright. Mars, can you defend our retreating units?”
“Thomas?”
“Do as he says Mars. If you need me, you know my smell.”
Everyone got into what radio frequency they could get their hands on as hundreds of cruise missiles flew past above their heads, striking the colossus Demons. The 1-ton warheads of the rockets merely served to annoy it as it raised its left hand to cover its face. The explosions are not even enough to leave scars on its skin.
The two Dragons on the other hand just orbited around, inspecting the three monumental humanoid creatures with great horns that had invaded the physical realm. Oftentimes not even battling them, only choosing to attack the Undead Dragons that were strong enough to catch up to their height and speed.
“Sir! We have other units that’re collapsing from their positions! Central is just a mess right now and everyone there is on the run!”
“What?! Didn’t I tell everyone that it's going to be a fighting retreat?! Dammit! Elizabeth!”
The blonde woman immediately appears behind him. Resting her hands on his armored shoulders.
“Can you save our men?”
“I can, My Lord. But don’t you think it’d be better for us to just leave the city proper? Have a contingent to be on the Industrial Sector while we focus on the flanks of the Legions?”
“We certainly can. But I don’t want to give up on this city just like that. I told my men I’ll be fighting here and only here.”
“But My Lord, if you continue to fight like this, those Super Demons are assured to corner you on the other side of the river.”
“Not if the Dragons can’t help it. I am sure they're already cooking something up.”
“Haaaah… this stubbornness of your soul is something, My Lord.”
“It's either that or I abandon this city and make a run to Airbase Shadilay. I wouldn't do that, if I did… how am I any different from the Generals that led me back on Earth?”
“As you order, My Lord.”
She reveals her bat wings and flies away to Central. Leaving Alana with him.
“M’Lord, Her Majesty’s suggestion would be far more doable with this situation.”
The Countess then looked at the stupendous red skinned humanoid wielding a tower sized sword. Constantly being harassed by every missile, caliber of bullet and shell, magical spells the players could throw at it. All of the technology that could be brought upon them, were being thrown at full spin.
“Those Demons… they're far more ancient than the mountains that carve this planet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I presume the ones listed as the Lesser Monarchs of the Outer World, in the text of old, those Demons are akin to Earls, Counts, and Lords.”
“So now we’re fighting the Nobility? So there Knights aren’t even Nobles but grunts in bulletproof plate armor?!”
“It seems so M’Lord. The only one named in history is Ronove, he’s the one that introduced the Grimoire of Dark Arts to the species, which the Dark Elves used to create many of the creatures that hunt around Schon.”
“Do they speak? Can Bahamut maybe talk to them? Wouldn’t a Dragon God be still placed high above them?”
“They only answer to the Outer Gods, M’Lord. Their language is also something unknown to us, no one knows how they speak.”
“Sheesh. So there’s no way then?”
“Maybe the two Dragons could figure something out, M’Lord. But that might take them some time.”
“Then, we have to support the retreat. Some of the Units have started to completely collapse and run away from the fight. Those you see firing at them are the ones that chose to stand and fight.”
“I have a plan, M’Lord. My Blood Roses also have a calming effect on them. But I need trees to hasten their multiplication.”
“The National Park!”
A massive fighting retreat then followed and everyone collapsed their defenses and turned to the better defended Industrial Sector where the river separates them from the other side. Some kept their orders, shooting back while their neighboring units collected what supplies and vehicles they could get whilst in some sectors, player units had completely disappeared. All of them left behind equipment and machines as they made a run for their lives. The massive feet of the astronomical beasts are enough to crush entire defensive lines in one swoop of its leviathan blade.
A swipe with its sword was devastating, cutting skyscrapers into halves, blocking pathways and logistic routes causing it to further the panic and confusion of the units on the ground as they became trapped with the Legions of the Outer World. Many choose to shoot themselves to respawn and run away.
In an MRAP, Jackson was in his combat uniform. His feet tapping the floor of the armored 4 wheeler as his hand constantly patted the top of his thigh, his eyes focused on the sight outside the bullet proof window of the vehicle. Alana slides her hands into his, intertwining their fingers with one another.
“M’Lord, do you need a drink? Or maybe some food?”
“I need everything. I haven’t eaten any proper food for almost five days now, been sleeping on a chair, and my head hurts from looking at maps and then having to shoot at things and then move around… haaaaa… I want to just dip myself into a hot tub and sleep.”
“When all of this is over, M’Lord, I shall prepare you a good bath then.”
The MRAP then stops inside the National Park. The players there in an absolute panic as they packed up everything they could, sending fully loaded transport trucks whose tarps were ready to be ripped from being over encumbered down to the main four lane road, speeding off to the Industrial Sector sitting on top of the Commercial District.
What damned Pilot was still flying in there helicopters hoisted up container vans and barracks up into the skies, some even going as far as airlifting three Humvees or two transport trucks at once to make the best out of each run as the air becomes more and more hostile to their machines, with the tremendous Demons walking about swiping choppers and jets alike as if their mere mosquitos to it.
“Is this good enough Alana?”
The woman makes a small twirl as she looks at the immense number of trees and bushes.
“Hm. It is good that we listened. If we were to fully turn this Park into a Helipad, this tactic wouldn’t work as well.”
“Alright. I’ll be inside the MRAP.”
As he was about to get inside, the Countess grabs his wrist and pulls him into her arms.
“M’Lord, you must relax. What about a dance?”
“H-How can I dance? Can’t you see the giant ass demons that’re about to trample on us all?!”
“Shhhhh…”
She then takes him through the routine he was taught back in the Vampire Kingdom, inside her dance floor on her Manor. Though at first, the man made some few mistakes, the moment he got a good look at her, he calmed down and collected himself. Soon, the bushes and trees started to bloom out of season, coming out of their branches were Roses of the color of Blood.
Varying from six to eight petals, the flowers cut themselves loose from the branches, letting the wind take them away as they filled the streets and the alleys. The panicking players were then overwhelmed by a sweet aroma, overtaking the decay and crispy burning smell that they’ve gotten so used to.
Many of them started to breathe slowly, their chest retracting and their hands staying in one position. Soon after, the retreat became orderly. As Alana and Jackson danced, the huge convoy of battered and damaged military vehicles passed the road right above them. The small pond next to their group of trees seemingly sprouting flowers too.
The Demons then started to branch out as Downtown is left completely abandoned, the rearguards placing themselves on the chokepoints and intersections planned beforehand, letting the players on Central Sector to pack up the multiple Altar’s they’ve spread out alongside the equipment they’ve pooled.
“M’Lord, let us depart.”
“Hm! Wow, those Roses of yours are really something. An AoE buff that can also give a calming effect? Geez.”
“But the price to pay is high, I only did this for I have an indefinite supply of blood now from that Chalice.”
The Countess’ legs gave out, prompting the General to catch her in his arms.
“I apologize, M’Lord. I haven’t used the Blood Rose to this extent before.”
“No worries. C’mon.”
He then piggybacks her into the MRAP. Neatly placing her in the passenger seat as he got on and sat next to her. Checking her pulse and temperature constantly.
“Driver, get us to the back up HQ. It's in the abandoned warehouses, near the entrance to the city’s Mana Core Complex.”
“Roger that sir.”
As Jackson kept his attention on the tired Countess, he could see high above them on the opened gunner hatch of the vehicle, Mars and Bahamut had completely stopped moving. Levitating midair as their armored wings covered their entire bodies, the horns of the great Dragons being struck by red and gold lightning.
“Just what are they up to…?”