Edward stood on top of a tall hill, hidden in the shades of trees, he looked down upon the large valley below. Team Echo stayed behind him, their rifles loaded and ready to be used. They were currently about two kilometers away from the base. Several hundred soldiers were hidden in the thick vegetation, ready to ambush the enemy at any moment.

The attackers disappeared from the horizon not long after the silhouettes of their helicopters became visible in the open sky. Afraid to be shot down by the anti-air defence, which stayed camouflaged in the surrounding hills, they landed quite a distance away. As commander Alvis predicted, the enemy was trying to approach quietly on foot, under the cover of trees. That’s what they were waiting here for.

As Ed eyed the clear patches between the green carpet of leaves, looking for any movement, a voice suddenly sounded in his earpiece.

*the enemy is approaching, we see several squadrons, over a hundred combatants*

*wait until, they come closer, don’t engage* a deep masculine voice answered.

The young warrior subconsciously brought his hand onto the hilt of his sword, and brought up a shield slightly higher.

*line one and two, open fire!*

Orange and white lights started flickering in the gaps of the forest ceiling. The cracks of gunshots reached Edward’s ears. A moment later, the frequency of gunshots doubled. The enemy started firing back.

Edward’s fingers, covered by a dark leather glove, tightened around the handle. He slowly and quietly pulled out the glistening blade, staring intensely into the battlefield below. The moment the enemy Marked showed up, he was supposed to wait until Marcus and Layla engage, and then support one of them. If they manage to finish even one of them quickly, then the battle would be pretty much over.

The soldiers kept firing, and the noises kept hitting their eardrums, sometimes highlighted by the explosion of a hand grenade. But the Marked had yet to show themselves.

Ed started getting a bad premonition, but just when he was about to speak into his earpiece, he noticed a flash of light, and the ground below shook, as if an earthquake hit the area.

Some of the trees blew away, breaking at the base, revealing a small clearing, and a large figure standing in the center. The man was as tall as a road sign and had the stature of a boulder. His arm rested on the pole of a large greataxe embedded in the ground, and his long white beard reached his waist, waving slightly in the wind. The impact of his strike cracked the ground all around him, and made the soldiers lose their balance. The warrior jumped forward unexpectedly fast for his build, and laughed loudly, dragging the golden axe behind him.

His bulky muscles tensed up, almost ripping his tight shirt. He was about to cleave the whole squadron in half, when suddenly a brown haired youth jumped in front of the strike. He parried the strike into the ground with his left hand. Edward squinted his eyes, seeing something on his forearm. It looked like a very small shield, or maybe just a wide arm brace. Anyways it must’ve been incredibly durable to survive that strike, but it was the first time Edward has seen him wearing it.

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“Hahaha, I love myself a good fight!” The bearded man’s voice traveled throughout the entire valley.

The large warrior didn’t seem bothered by the interruption. He left the axe in the ground and punched Marcus with his free hand. Marcus managed to cross his sword and arm brace before the impact, but got pushed back several meters. The man was about to follow up, pulling out the axe from the ground once again, but squinted for a moment as a rain of powerful shots flew in from between the trees, making the golden aura flash on his body.

Team Bravo, Marcus’s group, lay down on the ground, covered by leaves, using their powerful shots to distract the enemy. Their leader made use of the opportunity, jumping at the large man with a downward slash.

Suddenly, a dagger flew in from the side, much faster than Marcus could respond to. It almost reached his cheek, when a long silver blade struck it down from the air. A beautiful black haired woman came out of nowhere.

“Be careful Marcus, there is the other one.”

“Thanks Layla, I’m counting on you.”

“Sure thing.” Layla jumped towards the direction the dagger flew in from, disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

Marcus continued his attack, but the enemy already covered himself with his wide axe, easily blocking the strike.

“Relying on some group of soldiers in a duel between Marked? You’re unfit for the title of Legend!” the man exclaimed loudly.

The two fought in the clearing, each time the golden axe flew through the air, it destroyed everything in its path, splitting the trees and throwing up the ground.

Most soldiers from both sides moved back, far away from the battle. Now that two warriors, guided by Valhalla were fighting, there was no place for regular infantrymen in the confrontation. That’s the grim reality of this world, mortals were just replaceable pawns in this war between powers that transcend human understanding.

Edward watched from the top, as his friend dodged the enemy strikes. The large Marked destroyed everything around him, but couldn’t catch the quick warrior with any of his attacks. Marcus on the other hand maneuvered back and forth, he ran in leaving a small cut on the opponent’s back, but had to jump back once again, when the greataxe came in with a wide arc. The warrior's reach made it difficult for Marcus to leave any deeper wounds.

As Ed observed the fight, he noticed it seemed fairly even, and started searching the valley for Layla. He thought he noticed her figure between the trees a couple of times, but couldn’t make out how she was doing.

Thinking for a moment, he decided to go for the simple solution, and help Marcus deal with the large warrior first. He made a signal to his team, by squeezing his hand into a fist, and was about to dash down the hill, when a female scream came from behind.

“Sir! Watch out!”

Ed bent his body to the side, quickly reacting to Julia’s voice. A thin blade brushed against his cheek, making a warm drop of blood run down his skin. Before the attacker managed to attack again, Edward covered his body with his shield, and used it to push back the opponent away from himself.

As the enemy straightened out, she revealed two long curved knives. A long blonde braid swung lightly behind her figure.

“Oh… how unlucky, I don’t like to get interrupted…” The woman looked at Julia for a bit, and then turned her head back to Edward.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty boy… maybe it’s actually better that we can play a bit longer together…”

She started approaching the young warrior slowly, her footsteps somehow made no sound on the forest floor, as her hips swung lightly from side to side.

“What’s your name, young warrior?” She smiled seductively, pointing one of her blades towards his face.

Before Edward managed to answer, she jumped forward ferociously.