As the command was shouted, Sky poked his head up over the barrel in front of him to see who had shouted. What came into his view shocked and elated him.

Three lines of men in light green uniforms charged forward; the first line held towering shields that seemed to be made of wood; however, as the dogs fired bullets into them, it quickly became evident that they were no ordinary shields.

Behind the shieldman, the second rank wielded long-barreled rifles. As the bullets harmlessly broke on the shields, they returned fire. A hailstorm of lead quickly ripped into the dogs exposed to the door.

The third rank was strange. Instead of a conventional weapon, they carried what seemed to be crystal tree branches. The branches were all different shapes and sizes, with no two being the same.

The dogs quickly followed the viper's tactics, ducking into the shelves and hiding among the barrels and crates to avoid the gunfire. When they did, the third row stabbed their branches down, the sharpened ends piercing the stone floor, which split like butter.

Although nothing seemed to happen near them, cries went out from within the shelves. Then the shield wall broke, and the soldiers approached the crying voices.

Sky was confused about what had just happened until a root made of the same crystal as the branches thrust out from one of the shelves. At its end, tightly insnared, was one of the dogs.

The branch coiled around him like a serpent, constricting his limbs and crushing the bones. All around the warehouse, the scene played out as every remaining member of the dogs was quickly captured.

Seeing this, the vipers quickly threw their weapons into the centre of the room and stepped out from their hiding spots, hands raised. Sky promptly followed the others' example, knowing he stood no chance against the military.

An officer directed him and the others to sit against one of the shelving units, and a few soldiers were told to guard them.

He watched us as the shieldmen moved into the dogs tangled in the roots. Drawing blades of their own, they severed the roots, and the end sneaked back through the shelving. The ends trapping the dogs lost their shimmer but retained their strength as bindings.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Once the roots snaked back to the branches, the third rank pulled them up from the ground, leaving only a line of small holes in the stone floor.

The soldier continued to check the warehouse steadily, moving towards the back room. On opening it, two armed soldiers escorted Rook out while another went to report the findings to the commanding officer.

What returned were two stretchers and a group of higher-ranking strike force members. Once the stretchers reappeared, Sky let out a sigh of relief. On the front stretcher was Evan, not detained but being taken for what he assumed would be medical aid.

Sky, however, after some discussion between the officials and questioning a few members of the vipers, was led away along with the vipers to a nearby transport carriage. Three other such carriages lined the street nearby and had clearly been used to bring the troops here.

Sky watched as his brother and the other wounded man were loaded into one of these carriages and the dogs into another.

The carriage was extremely plain inside, with hard wooden seats bolted to the sides in long rows. Racks in the centre held the soldiers' weaponry.

After all the vipers were loaded in, along with Sky, two guards joined them and closed the door. Unlike what Sky would expect of soldiers sent to watch over a group of criminals, they seemed extremely relaxed, even putting their guns up on the rack in front of their seats.

The vipers, too, seemed far too calm at the idea of being captured by the military in the middle of a firefight. However, Sky shrugged it off, assuming that, like him, they were just glad to be alive.

Is the carriage rolling on? It waved and turned through a veritable maze of streets until it eventually straightened out and picked up speed. After a while, it stopped, and the sky heard the loud groaning of metal, and then it once again continued on its way.

This time, there was a short and quick ride until the carriage came to a halt, and soldiers opened the doors. After being directed by the soldiers, Sky stepped out of the carriage and took in the sights around him.

Unlike the maze of streets in the slums, the tall buildings of the residential sector, or the ocean visible from the port, this area was a sea of small one—or two-story buildings.

Behind him stretched the large 10-foot wall that divided the civilian and military districts. At the point directly behind the cathedral, a massive gate was set in its centre. In a semicircle in front, the great city wall stood an impressive 20 feet high.

Topped with watchtowers, it looked like the crown of a great ruler, sticking out in front to defend the city, which was periodically assailed by ruin beasts and enemy attacks, much like the wall behind it. This one also had a great gate set in the centre; however, smaller gates stood to either side.

On his left stood the only building larger than two stories in the area: a massive circular spire almost as tall as the city wall reaching up towards the sky. This building was the reason the city was positioned in this location.

Even the city's uneducated had heard its story from somewhere or another. An ancient spire extending both into the sky and under the ground had drawn the empire's attention over 300 years ago when they first started to explore the central continent.

The floors above ground had apparently been filled with numerous treasures, and after they were discovered and removed, the military took control of it as their headquarters. However, the underground section had been sealed off.

Rumours circulated about everything from an ancient tomb to a dungeon to an area filled with ruin beasts.

However, Sky didn’t have long to think about it. He was quickly led into one of the two-story buildings and then into a small holding cell to await his fate.