--- January 09, 2030, second day of the counterattack beyond the portal ---
Tiago is in his trench watching an android perform first aid on a soldier who was hit by an arrow in his shoulder.
Then something else catches his attention. Several more dozens of engineering vehicles cross the portal, trucks and excavators are among the vehicles.
The army's engineering corps is working non-stop on the defenses around the portal.
The enemy still tries to regain ground and recurrently sends thousands of soldiers and creatures against these positions.
A new wave of enemy artillery is fired towards the army's positions. But this time they try to hit the engineering vehicles. It seems the enemy is adapting quickly and updating its priority targets.
In this new attack, about 4 trucks were damaged, 1 was destroyed, 3 excavators were damaged. There were also 7 military casualties and one damaged Panther tank.
Tiago is impressed that the enemies, even cornered, can still carry out these attacks. He realizes that the assaults are diminishing as the hours pass. Which means a lack of enemy troops or it could be a strategy to spare soldiers.
--- Hurdian Perspective of the Counterattack ---
Another cold night descended upon the soldiers surrounding the portal. Occasionally, small metal creatures with things that looked like wheels crossed the portal. They were easily destroyed by the soldiers. Some wondered why such a powerful enemy would send these strange little things.
A group of archers was stationed on a hill, which provided a privileged view of the portal below. "We've been stuck here for weeks. I don't think anything will happen," said one of the archers.
Another replied, "We'll rotate troops soon. Maybe we can trick the officers and get out of this place."
The other archer agreed but changed the subject, "Have you heard the rumors about what happened on the other side of the portal?"
"Who hasn't?" the man says, "If that's true, then it's a real waste of time for us to be here just to be killed by powerful enemy wizards."
The archer agrees.
"They're coming through!" shouts a man mounted on his horse, riding among the archers as he shouts this.
It was difficult to visualize the enemy itself in that darkness. The portal emitted a natural light, and all the archers looked out to the plain and armed their bows. They see these huge monsters with wheels crossing the portal. Dozens of them.
"FIRE!" shouts an officer.
Everyone then fires at the enemy position, but it seems to have no effect. Shortly after, hundreds of light arrows fly at high speed towards the archers. Most miss the target due to the elevation and because the enemy doesn't know exactly the archers' position. This made everyone feel a slight sense of security, as to not be hit, all they had to do was stay down. But that feeling quickly faded as explosions hit their defensive lines. Screams and torn men filled the area, gradually those who got up faced a quick death by the enemy's strange magical weapon.
---
Tiago and his platoon are no longer in the trenches; they are now preparing to advance another 1km. Today was a very productive day; the expectation was to secure a perimeter of 5km, but the army managed to secure 9km in just a few hours. Now Tiago's mission is to secure another 1km so they can maintain a safe and definitive distance from the enemy, but to do that, they must identify and neutralize the enemy artillery.
30 self-propelled howitzers positioned themselves 1km from the portal. They are opening fire against enemy positions 15km away with the assistance of reconnaissance drones. This way, several enemy formations have been destroyed before they could get too close. Drones also identified a medium-sized city approximately 35km from the portal. The city appears to have been well fortified.
Tiago is inside an LMV-BR transport vehicle in a convoy of 7 vehicles, including 2 MBTs, 2 LMV-BR, and 3 VBTP-MR GUARANI. His mission is to locate this mysterious enemy artillery and eliminate it.
To ensure success, it was planned that a row of old trucks would be used as bait; they were parked 7km from the portal, very close to the front line. Tiago's convoy took cover in a long field of tall grass. This way, the enemy won't be able to see their vehicles. To visualize the enemy, the convoy is using reconnaissance drones transmitting images to the operators. The reconnaissance group also includes 7 androids.
A few minutes passed, but one of the drones spotted something precisely 2km from the convoy's position and 5km from the truck bait; many hooded men with staffs appeared. Some of them levitated large chunks of earth, while another group seemed to set fire to these same chunks of earth. Finally, a last group created a kind of whirlwind towards the earth spheres and launched them towards the bait.
"You guys seeing this, over?" one of the operators said over the radio. "I'm watching, over," said Tiago, "tell one of the androids to calculate the exact coordinates of those guys and immediately relay them to our artillery, over and out."
"Stand by, over," said the operator, "coordinates marked and sent, over."
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In less than a minute, 2 ASTROS 2020 batteries that had arrived on the battlefield a few hours ago opened fire, launching dozens of thermobaric rockets at the enemy coordinates. The drones continued recording all the time, and everyone in the convoy saw when the enemy responsible for the artillery was obliterated by the gigantic explosions. "This is Sergeant Tiago, enemy artillery neutralized, over and out."
The sound could certainly be heard for kilometers. With that, it seems that the problem of enemy artillery has been resolved.
---
Gram Master Colt stands atop one of the walls surrounding the city of Matique, with General Thalgrim by his side. They are both looking out at the horizon where the battles are unfolding, unable to see anything but clearly hearing the sounds of loud explosions in the distance.
"These demons...!" Thalgrim exclaimed with a voice full of anger. "How is it possible that we can't even approach without our troops being immediately destroyed?" he grumbled.
Colt leaned on his staff. "Well, we underestimated them, indeed."
"Is that all you have to say?" Thalgrim retorted. He had never been a supporter of Colt; in fact, he hated magic. For a moment, he considered cutting off Colt's head then and there for putting the empire in this situation. But for now, he wanted to follow the emperor's orders. "I don't understand how you and the emperor could have thought that opening a portal without knowing what's on the other side could be a good idea." Thalgrim might be an unscrupulous slaver, but he is extremely intelligent and cautious, and if the emperor had asked for his opinion before initiating this military incursion, he would have advised the emperor to reconsider this plan.
Colt could sense the indignation and tension in Thalgrim's words, and he was right; it was a terrible idea... and above all, it was he who had presented this idea to the emperor.
A Wyvern knight approached in low flight towards the city, noticing Colt and Thalgrim's presence and changing his flight direction to meet them. He landed a few short meters away, dismounted, and approached the two.
As the knight approached, Thalgrim promptly asked, "How's the situation on the battlefield, knight?"
"My lords," he began, "the battle is not in our favor; the enemy is relentless. In fact, the strategy that the Gram Master devised, which aims to use mages as artillery support, was working very well." Thalgrim interrupted, "What do you mean by 'was'? Isn't it working anymore?"
"Unfortunately, the enemy seems to have discovered the mages' position and launched their own explosive magic against them. No one survived; reports indicate that 50% of the 20 thousand troops we launched against the enemy since they crossed the portal fled or were killed."
"10 thousand soldiers lost in just a few days... this is madness," said Colt, trying to think of a way out of this situation.
"So far, what's the estimate of enemies who have crossed the portal?" Thalgrim asked.
“We estimate that only 15,000 enemy combatants have crossed the portal.” The knight paused briefly and continued, “and they also have these iron chariots that are nearly indestructible and fire destructive spells that even a great Minotaur cannot withstand. This combination also means they suffer almost no casualties.”
Colt and Thalgrim were silent for a few seconds. “You are dismissed,” said Colt to the knight. “Return to your unit and then send this report to the field officer. I am ordering a withdrawal within the walls of the city of Matique.”
“Why did you give that order?” asked Thalgrim indignantly, “we still have over 80,000 soldiers who can fight.”
“And what good does that do? We will never get close enough to the enemy to inflict damage and casualties on their attacking force,” said Colt.
“So you suggest we hide inside a city?”
“We will not hide. The city will give us time for the empire's reinforcements to arrive. If we can withstand the enemy's siege, we might have a chance to win. Moreover, it is almost impossible to house 80,000 soldiers in a city the size of Matique, so only 50,000 will withdraw to the city. The rest will be distributed among the hills to the south of the city, in some neighboring towns, and in the sacred forest. Their mission will be to create defenses to try to halt the enemy’s advance if the city falls.”
Thalgrim found Colt's plan very interesting. He still had his doubts about whether it could work, but he would trust the mage.
“And how do you plan to convince the king to send more troops?”
“I am not going to convince him,” Colt looked directly at Thalgrim and said, “you are. I will send you back to the capital. Ride the fastest Wyvern we still have, and with luck, you will reach the capital in three days and be able to tell the king personally what is happening here.”
Thalgrim was surprised by what he had just heard from the mage. He wanted to disagree, but Colt was right. If nothing was done, these invaders could spread chaos throughout the empire.
--- January 15, 2030, one week after the counteroffensive beyond the portal ---
A week has passed since the Brazilian army crossed the portal. A large defensive perimeter of 20km and a makeshift base named NewLand have been constructed around the portal. An improvised heliport has been built, along with small accommodations and vehicle maintenance counters.
The enemy has ceased their attacks since retreating into that city 15km away; occasionally, groups of Wyverns approach the base, possibly for reconnaissance.
In the coming weeks, it is estimated that up to 30,000 soldiers from the armed forces have crossed the portal. For now, the objective is to rescue the kidnapped hostages, establish diplomatic channels with the local nations, and punish the terrorists responsible for the cowardly attack on the city of Campinas.
Twenty reconnaissance groups formed by experienced soldiers, known as 'Scouts,' will venture into unknown territory controlled by the enemy to search for and rescue surviving hostages, and if possible, bring back the bodies of those who did not survive in this new world.
Sergeant Tiago leads one of the special exploration groups, with his unit named Scout 9. Each group consists of 5 to 10 active members for field missions, including 5 androids for support. They will have armored and aerial support during exploration and rescue missions.
---
Tiago was in his quarters cleaning his rifle when he was interrupted by a soldier requesting permission to enter.
"Come in," Tiago said as he placed his rifle on the table.
"Sir, the commander requests your presence at Headquarters."
Tiago gave a slight smile to himself and thought, "Well, it seems like I'm finally going to see some action again." Before leaving the quarters, Tiago adjusted his cap and uniform and put on sunglasses.