--- Brasília, Federal District, Capital ---

The president's aide rushes through the corridors of the presidential palace. Everything is bustling and busy; the surroundings of the capital are crowded with military personnel and hundreds of combat vehicles.

He enters the president's office, where he finds the president surrounded by men in suits and generals, all engaged in discussion. As he opens the door, all eyes turn to him, and silence falls upon the room. President Joaquim Barbosa nods for him to approach with the paperwork.

"Mr. President, I bring news about the situation in Campinas and our regional allies," said Advisor Kim as he placed the paperwork on the table.

"I'm not sure I can read all of this," the president said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry, sir. All this paperwork needs is your signature; everything here has been thoroughly reviewed."

"Then, tell me first about the situation in the city of Campinas." The president leans forward and rests his arms on the table.

"The situation is dire, sir. We estimate that the enemy has deployed an invasion force of between 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers."

Everyone in the room looks stunned.

"Please continue," the president urged.

"Our local police forces managed to hold off the enemy forces as much as they could, but they had already advanced significantly. Unfortunately, the mayor is missing and presumed dead. Due to it being a densely populated area, the number of civilian casualties could exceed 10,000 and easily reach 50,000 dead."

"Jesus Christ..." murmured one of the generals in the room.

"Quiet, please. Go on," the president nodded.

"Our ground forces are advancing slowly; they are not suffering heavy casualties like the police forces initially did, but progress is slow due to the unknown power of the enemy. The Brazilian Air Force is combating what appear to be dragons in the skies above the city. We have lost some aircraft, but they are succeeding in preventing these monsters from advancing further or providing aerial support to their ground units. And one last thing, the enemy uses some kind of magic; there are reports of enemy soldiers dressed in long cloaks casting spells. They successfully shot down an A29 Super Tucano; fortunately, the pilot survived, but this means we cannot conduct many missions so close to the ground."

"Thank you very much, Kim." Everyone remained silent for a few seconds, just thinking that Brazil would be attacked is madness, but when it happened, it was by monsters and mages with armored knights. "Now tell me about our allies, please."

"The United States of America has volunteered to provide all humanitarian, financial, and military support to help us resolve this situation," said Kim.

"I imagine they don't do that for free," one of the generals said in the background.

"For now, they haven't demanded anything in return, especially since they are bogged down in the war against Iran," Kim replied.

"And the other allies?"

"They have all offered the same assistance as the USA."

"For now, accept all financial and humanitarian aid only," the president said.

As Advisor Kim finally leaves the room, the once-muted discussion resumes, and everyone present begins to debate how to handle this unprecedented crisis.

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--- Mission, Retake the Hospital ---

Pedro was reloading his remaining ammunition after yet another encounter with a small horde of goblins and armored knights. He doesn't understand what they are or why they are attacking this city, but what intrigues him is knowing that they came out of that huge portal in the city center.

He looks at Gabriel, who is tending to a wounded soldier, who took an arrow in the shoulder. As he looks at the weapon the archer used, he realizes it's not a bow, but some kind of crossbow. It was a bit different from those found in our world; the one this enemy soldier was using before being shot down seems a bit more complex. It can fire up to 5 darts before needing to reload.

"How intriguing," Pedro thought as he held the crossbow.

"So, they also have some sort of semi-automatic weapon, it seems, huh?" Sergeant Tiago approaches Pedro.

Pedro looks at the sergeant and salutes. "Sir!"

"At ease, cadet," said the sergeant. "So, trying to figure out how that thing works?"

"I believe I've understood how the mechanism of this crossbow works, but for them, it seems to be an expensive weapon to manufacture. Not all archers were using this weapon; most of those who ambushed us were using bows instead."

"So, that means we still have a significant advantage over them. Even though these darts and arrows rarely penetrate our vests, with a lucky shot, they can still hit unprotected parts of our bodies. But anyway, stay alert; we'll continue advancing in 10 minutes. We need to clear this neighborhood before 1:00 pm," the sergeant said, walking away to talk to the crew of the Centauro 2.

Pedro looked at the weapon for a few more moments before stowing the strange enemy weapon in the LMV-BR.

--- 10 minutes later ---

"OK, people, we have new orders!" the sergeant approached the group of cadets.

"The reinforcements have arrived, and the city is surrounded by our troops. The enemy is divided into various pockets of resistance, and we are gradually regaining control. Our goal is to drive out the enemy in one of these pockets." He takes out a map of the city and covers the hood of the LMV-BR. "The enemy is blocking the passage of our troops right here at this hospital."

Gabriel looks at the map and asks, "Why don't we just bomb the hospital?"

"They have taken over the building, and from the information we have, they are holding several patients and staff hostage. In this case, we'll have to take the building so we can advance. We'll have support from the convoy and the Centauro. A heavy armored vehicle will also accompany us."

Pedro looks at the map and feels a slight unease. Seeing many of his comrades being killed or injured, he knows he can't afford distractions.

"We depart now, understood?"

"YES, SIR!"

--- Meanwhile, in a neighborhood a few meters from the Cadets ---

Another convoy of the Brazilian army is advancing against the enemy columns. Antônio is the commander of a newly acquired KF51-Panther battle tank. He commanded an old Leopard 1 A5BR for many years, but with the recent partnership with the German government in exchange for food aid to the European country, the powerful and modern KF51-PANTHER armored vehicle was offered with the full transfer of technology to Brazil.

He leads the convoy but receives an order over the radio.

"Antônio, do you copy?" asked the officer on Antônio's radio.

"Copy," replied Antônio.

"Your new orders are for your vehicle to support the 11th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. The location is being sent to your vehicle right now."

"Copy that," replied Antônio.

He informed the rest of the convoy via radio that he would separate from the column to support the 11th Brigade.

"So, they need us, sir. I thought the MBTs were all obsolete, as they keep saying out there," one of the crew members said, laughing.

"Let's show these infantry amateurs that mechanized cavalry is more alive than ever," Antônio said, laughing along with his companions.

As his Panther headed toward the hospital's location, they spotted, a few meters ahead, a group of enemy soldiers accompanied by 2 heavily armored ogres. They prepared to fire as the two ogres roared and ran toward the armored vehicle.

"First target in sight."

"FIRE!" ordered Antônio.

The first shot hit one of the ogre's arms, causing it to fall to the ground groaning in pain. The enemy soldiers who stayed behind the ogres looked perplexed. They could hardly believe it when the second ogre fell dead to the ground after a huge hole opened in its chest.

The first ogre to be hit tried to get up to run from the metal carriage, but it too was hit again, killing it once and for all. The soldiers, not knowing what to do, tried to build a shield wall.

Antônio saw what those enemy soldiers were trying to do and ordered them to fire at the center of the formation. The thunderous sound of the shot was soon replaced by the sight of shields and body parts flying through the air. Those who survived ran to escape from the monstrous metal beast that continued to fire, but this time with its machine gun. Few managed to escape.

"Cease fire!" ordered Antônio. His MBT started moving again toward the mission it had been assigned.