CH 10
Through the UN, the American President learned of demons assisting the Iranians. Seeing how their ships were being attacked and sunk, he agreed they needed more protection. The closest in the area they were in was Italy. It was a strange sight to see a mass of holy figures waiting to board a ship to bless it. Thankfully, they did. Crosses and holy symbols were added to the bridge and various parts of each ship as well as some Frank-inspired bottles of exploding water.
Akasha also noted that while Iranians were in Israel, and those people didn't want any kind of Yokai help, Lebanon was wide open. She had Tsukune send their forces there and move along the border.
Only a couple miles behind the border in a quiet area behind the fighting, Tsukune had Mariko open portals for the armored orcs, dragons, sirens and vampires to go through.
The massive army headed into Israel was slammed into by the yokai. Hellions joined the fight against the massive yokai forces and found that though the did kill some, their numbers were removed as well when they found vampires in the mix. Orcs flipped tanks, smashed artillery and charged men trying to shoot them. Sirens screamed their destructive scream on men trying to 'take back' the area behind their lines. Dragons breathed fire down on entrenched men, and flew behind the lines to destroy supplies.
Cruella gathered her demons to attack the yokai. With teleportation to attack from behind, and their own hellfire, they did stop some, but the mass was too great to stop them all. The huge army that was headed for Megiddo was broken apart and scattered.
Cruella also found out personally that Orcs carried Frank's water bottles. When burning some of the large creatures, two others threw bottles at her. It was amusing until the bottles exploded, splashing her with holy water. Burning and screaming, she teleported out to what should have been a safe base. The place was smoking ruin, some fires and corpses still burning from the dragon attack.
With the yokai behind the enemy, the fresh American troops bracing the Israelis counterattacked. The enemy war planes were shot down from US aircraft and from stinger missiles on the ground. The Iranian army broke apart and found an escape route into Palestine. The lines in Israel were solid now, at least in the north. Meanwhile, as over a million died on the battlefields, cruise ships were commandeered to get more people our of Israel.
In one of the busiest ports, A demon named Nilifi teleported onto the main terminal dock where throngs of people with a 4 megaton bomb. She set the bomb down and activated the 30 second timer.
"Halt, arms in the air or we'll shoot!" One guard yelled. The four on the roof all had their guns pointed at her.
She raised her arms up and waved. "Bye bye!" she said and teleported out.
Their last vision was that of an incredibly bright flash that disintegrated them.
The powerful ground burst wiped out all the ships, vaporized the building and the people and laid waste to Tel Aviv. Ships out in the harbor were weakened by the bright light burning their sides, then collapsed from the concussion wave. No one within a mile and a half survived.
Fingers quickly pointed out the source of the nuclear detonation as Iran being at fault. Israel launched their nukes at Iran in retaliation. Two more were shot to destroy Damascus and port city. One headed for the port city was shot down by a Russian cruiser. The one aimed for Damascus hit right outside the Presidential palace, wiping out the leadership.
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Not knowing where the one bomb came from, other countries in the area did know Israel has shot nukes. Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq had enough of this war. They came out and said stop it, or else. Russia also was demanding a cease-fire and gave a strong warning to stop or else. They led the UN to agree to sanction all countries involved with total isolation unless the war stopped now.
Due to protests and congressional pressure the US agreed to stop fighting so long as they were not attacked.
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Cruella wasn't about to stop. She had three demons left, and another 120 hellions to attack with. The Syrians and many Iranian soldiers had been ran off by the yokai. Down to only 100,000 men, their attack force was a pittance from what they had. Instead of sending her hellspawn straight out, she collected them as they came out of the portal to mass up numbers so she could defeat those damn yokai. She needed more hellspawn. Instead of a hundred, she needed fifty thousand to wipe those mutants off the map! She had to convince the devil she needed more.
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The Devil watched his animated contour map of the area around Israel. Sitting and idly stirring a finger in the guts of a chained soul that was moaning out wonderful cries of agony, he thought hard about that damn dome. Around him, lost souls were falling like rain and wailing out. Such a lovely chorus! It was bothersome to have such a perplexing problem now.
His realm was one of spirits and energy. Being bound together with spirit energy and magic, that dome over his gate was as solid as if it were made of steel in the material world. Nothing could get through it.
"Master!" Cruella called as she appeared in front of him in her full demon form. "The portal isn't big enough, I need More hellspawn to destroy that Yokai army that appeared."
The devil watched the action on the ground. "It appears so," he said calmly. Holding up a finger he said, "A demon you are. A general you are not. You must keep in mind only the born inhabitants of the material world need to be fighting. Otherwise unwanted attention may be brought to us."
"I know we can defeat them if I have the power," she said firmly.
Eyeing her he said, "Be careful. You are not thinking clearly. Do you attack a person to corrupt them? No, You corrupt from the inside. Not that I am unhappy about all the souls falling to me, it is really quite nice. What you have failed to do is break that stupid little country apart. Even with the big bomb you wiped out that city with, you have yet to do them and real spiritual damage. For all the souls coming my way, many more are going the other way. Find a good target, and do what you do best. Seduce, corrupt, bend him to your will."
Casting her a sad look he said, "Come on Cruella, don't tell me you've forgotten how."
Cruella nodded stiffly. "As you wish Master. What about being the White Horeseman?"
"They say behind every successful man, there is a good woman. You don't need to be so good. A few men kneeling to you should let you rule half the world. Now go and do it."
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Tsukune was now the unofficial ruler of Lebanon. When the yokai army came in and drove the Iranians out, people screamed and fled. A few of the terrorists tried to fight back and got splattered. The rest cowered in fear wherever they could. Buildings, caves, wherever they could find a place to hide.
Lebanon was a wreck from the years of terrorist activity and counter strikes it had endured. Very few places were intact. Some of the homes had been made from the rubble of larger structures. To rebuild a building, they needed to get the scared people out. Tsukune got his people together and explained those here were refugees. They needed help. Set on rebuilding, they started with AnNaquah, close to Israel. Kurumu, Kaiyo and Kumiko were the best at coaxing people out of their hiding holes. Azami and Akemi were fairly good at it too.
The reinforced hall Yukari made was filled with tables and food was brought from the Sotoba valley. When Kaiyo bought in a ragged, frightened family to the dinning room, she explained to them, "We need to rebuild that apartment building, so to get some good food while you wait. There are boys and girls' baths in the back, and there is even ice cream down on the end."
"This wasn't here before," the young man said as he eyed the grand structure.
"No. We made it," Kaiyo explained.
"You don't serve pork, do you?" The woman holding her baby asked.
Kaiyo looked along the line and said, "I don't think so. We mostly have beef and fish, chicken too. I don't think pork is really good for you."
She let them go on their way and went to retrieve more people.
Adnon was nervous of these people. When the big ugly creatures came, they hid. There was much roaring and screaming, he was sure they were going to die. After the confusion, this strange blue haired girl had found them and coaxed them out to bring them to a grand hall. He didn't want to go, but felt compelled to do so. On the street, he saw impossible things. Giant ugly men, in the air dragons flew. Large wolves and things he didn't know what they were passed by here and there. None of the beasts bothered them though. There were normal, well almost normal people here too that walked with these creatures.
The food was good, and the bath was warm but not too hot. A man he knew even told of a mosque that had been built off to the side. Whoever these creatures were, they knew what the basics of life were for Muslims. At least they weren't Israelis.
Done with his bath, Adnon found his clothes in the locker looked new. No wear, no frayed cuffs. He went out to see his wife was the same. Her Burka looked brand new, as did her skirts. Thinking they had better go back and find a place, they stopped short at the door. Across the street, their apartment building looked new. Tall, and intact, it was grand. A woman in black was looking at it as if scrutinizing. She waved a wand and a canopy extended out over the sidewalk. Someone called her, she went over to the next building.
This building had all the windows blown out, a corner was missing from a bomb blast. The woman waver her wand and the building glowed. When the glow faded that building was intact, it even had windows.
"Witchcraft?" Adnon's wife asked fearfully.
"It appears so. This is very disturbing," Adnon said. "We should go home."
Walking into the apartment building, he noticed the floors were polished and the walls and ceilings were done in the classic Arab style. There were even mailboxes for each apartment. Adnon could not believe that a dark power was used to restore things and make them better. There had to be something wrong with all of this.
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One thing Tsukune noted that was lacking was fresh water. Lebanon had no irrigation, and no plants to make water. As long as the dome in Meggido was there, he'd have to leave the army here to guard it. He also got word that the Israeli army was on their border, facing this way. There wasn't even anyone to fight, the Iranians had backed off. That was odd.
Focusing on getting water for these people and his, Tsukune got Tommy to take on the current primary task with his family. One thing they had plenty of was sand. Tommy found a generator but no motor to run it. He found an abandoned truck and dragged it over by the ocean. Curious people congregated as Tommy led his family in building a water distillation plant. Using a dragon to melt the sand into glass, he made U shaped pipes while Azami tossed stone blocks up to Uzume build the towers. Haihane took the glass pipe and laid them out towards the street.
Thankfully, real pipe came from Witch Hill, along with a water tower they had to construct and some real pumps. Yukari made a cold section to condense the water, and for now, an oil burner heated the sea water that was being pumped in. Another thing Yukari did was to cast understanding and speaking these people's languages onto Tommy and his family.
In the group of watchers, Adnon watched the amazing feats of strength and the ingenuity of the women tossing stone blocks and making what looked like a castle tower. He also noted one woman completely wrapped in white cloths walk over to the crowd. Many moved back as she approached.
The woman held up her hands and said, "Please listen. We are trying to repair the damage to your town and make utilities you desperately need! We do need your help. Anyone who had a trade or wants to learn, please go onto the main street to the employment center. We have hundreds of positions open."
Adnon found he was near the front of the group now. He stepped forward and asked, "What about our government? What about Hammas? Where are they?"
"They fled," the woman stated. "They are not going to help rebuild your city, ask yourself what they have done for you. Ever! This place was ruins when we came here. If they cared for you at all, would they not have tried to make your lives better? We do not know how long we will be here, but while we are, we see the conditions you are living in as intolerable! We want to rebuild your city into something you can be proud of. Bring water to your fields. Food to your tables. Jobs and prosperity to your households and education for your children as well hospitals and a safe place for all of you to be. To do that, we must have your help."
Adnon threw a hand to the south. "What about Israel that rains the bombs down on us? Who invade our land?" he asked in a yell.
"If they attack, they will be dealt with. Did you not see us clear out those others who brought war here? The more of us who are working on the city, the fewer of us who can be standing on the line to keep them out. Think about what is good for your families." She said, then turned and went back to the group working on the tower.
Adnon turned to the people who were now behind him. Many faces held fear. Some held a blank stare. Others disbelief. He looked at the few rebuild buildings he could see, then at the wrecks along the edge of town that were no more than shattered remnants of what they had been. Loudly, he said, "I have seen monsters on the street. I have seen witchcraft and feats of strength that should not be possible. I am a devout man and seeing these things, makes me wonder how these things can be here. Why would Allah allow it? I also remember that Allah works in mysterious ways. That he does help his devout followers. The only explanation I can conceive is that Allah has sent these beings to help us."
"What are you going to do?" an old man asked.
"I am going to go get a job to support my family and help restore our city. Allah does help those who help themselves," Adnon stated. He turned and walked off to go find the employment center.
A large part of the crowd followed him.
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Tsukune walked up to the line of Orcs who stood with their shields planted on the ground. A hundred yards beyond them were a long line of Israeli and American soldiers putting up barbed wire and digging defensive entrenchments. He tapped an orc on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me."
The orc moved for him.
Tsukune walked on towards the line of soldiers. Seeing several guns come up, he raised his hands and walked towards them. Coming to the first wire barrier, he stopped and called out, "I an Aono Tsukune. I need to speak with your commander."
An Israeli Officer in battle gear came up to stand a dozen yards from him on the other side. "We do not want any trouble," the Officer said.
"Neither do I," Tsukune replied. "The fact is, you are five miles inside Lebanon. Israel is behind you. Please return to your border."
"This is our buffer zone. I ask you return to your own affairs. We do not want trouble," The Officer said firmly.
"Then do not try my patience," Tsukune stated. "We removed that army that was fighting you. If pressed, we will remove you also. I would prefer you willing return to your borders. Before you say no, you should contact your superiors. We do not want to fight you unless we are forced to."
"I have my orders." the man stated.
Tsukune added fear into his voice. "And I have mine. We are to watch over Meggido to ensure evil forces do not take the area over. That hill behind you is where we need to set up a watching post. Tomorrow, we will be going there to set that post up, whether or not you are in the way. Choose wisely." Tsukune then turned and walked back the way he came. By the look on the man's face, he'd gotten his point across.
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Tsukune no more than got back to town, when a runner arrived. The werewolf changed back into human form and said, "Lord Aono, there are a vehicle full of Officers just beyond the Orc line that wishes to speak with you."
Tsukune pointed to the dinning hall. "I need a drink, have them come to the dinning hall. We'll sit and talk there."
Tsukune went into the dinning hall and told the guard which table he was going to be at. He then went over to get a tall glass of blood and settled down to wait for them. The eight person table near the door was empty until he sat down.
Kurumu came in for a break and sat beside him. Right after her, Yukari came in sweating and thirsty. She sat down on his other side. Having been flying, Kurumu was in her yokai form and Yukari was in full witch garb.
"Hey, Tsukune, how much work do we have to do?" Kurumu asked in a whine.
Yukari took her hat off and frowned at Kurumu. "These people need help, Boob monster," she admonished.
"Did I ask you, flat chest?" Kurumu shot back.
Yukari scowled at her, "I'M NOT FLAT!" she yelled.
"Stop!" Tsukune yelled. "Enough with the boob battle already. Are you two ever going to grow up?"
"I am grown up, see?" Kurumu said and stuck her chest out.
"So am I," Yukari said, and opened her cape up to stick her chest out. "And mine are perky too!"
Tsukune let out a sigh. He knew when they were old and gray, even if the world did fall into total chaos, the boob battle would go on.
"Mr. Aono?'
Tsukune looked up to see three officers. One was American, two were Israeli. "Yes, that's me. Please get some refreshment and have a seat. There is a problem we must discuss."
The men sat down across from him. The hard looking Israeli general said, "I am General Goldfarb, this is General Stuart with the American forces, and Major Stiles. We understand you mean to attack our line tomorrow."
"You understand wrong," Tsukune said flatly. "I need to put up a watch post on the hill behind where your men are. That hill is in Lebanon, not Israel. Make no mistake, gentlemen, I will be putting that post up and be manning it. That post, and keeping a watch on the dome at Meggido is my sole concern. I'm only asking you to cooperate."
"Our concern is keeping you out of Israel," General Goldfarb stated. "We already beat off a major attack, we prefer peace to more conflict."
Tsukune clasped his hands on the table and shook his head. "No, general, you did not. We hit them from behind and destroyed a large part of that army that was attacking you. That army was after the dome. We cannot allow them to gain possession of it, for within that dome is a gate straight to the abyss. That dome must stay intact. We are here to ensure it does. AS I told your front line officer, I don't care about countries. I care about that dome remaining intact. Since we have the ability to stop evil from getting to it and you don't, we need to keep an eye on it. To do that, we need to set up a watch where we can see it. That hill behind where you've set up your buffer, which isn't needed by the way, is the most non invasive place where we can do that."
General Stuart asked, "May we also watch from that hill?"
"If you want," Tsukune told him. "Just know we will be watching. This is not one religion against another, this is our world fighting to keep the devil's minions out of our world. The stakes are high, Gentlemen. We cannot afford to loose."
"Any incursion into Israel means war," General Goldfarb stated.
Tsukune eyed him and retorted, "If we head for Meggido, then we will be the least of your concerns, for that means the dome has failed, and a hoard of hellspawn are flooding into your country."
Watching Tsukune closely, General Stuart said, "You're talking biblical Armageddon."
"Yes, I am," Tsukune told him. "That dome is stopping it for the moment. I am hoping to prevent it, but some … sources tell me it's coming anyway."
"Where did that dome come from?" General Goldfarb asked.
"A very brave woman gave up her life to contain the gate within. I mean to ensure her sacrifice was not in vain," Tsukune said firmly.
"Our friend died to ensure you stayed safe," Kurumu snapped. "Perhaps you should not oppose us!"
"She was a great woman and gave up everything, even her very soul!" Yukari added.
"Girls, enough," Tsukune admonished. To the generals, he said, "We will be going to that hill tomorrow. I am asking you not oppose us. If you fight us, we will fight back. What are your intentions?"
"Generals?" Kurumu asked in a soft voice. When they looked at her, she Charmed them. "We need to all work together so please, move your soldiers back out of our way."
"Yes, Ma'am," General Stuart said immediately.
"We will not move," General Goldfarb stated.
"He's been Charmed by a demon," Kurumu whispered to Tsukune.
General Stuart stood up and said, "All American forces will withdrawal, and take all our support back to the Israeli border."
General Godfarb shot him a dirty look. "You would abandon us?" he asked.
"For this, yes!" General Stuart stated. "These are not our enemies, Lord Aono has been working to help stop the invasion of Israel. We have satellite proof of it. There is no reason to treat him like an enemy."
General Goldfarb shot to his feet. "I shall inform your superiors of this!"
"Inform them! I plan to. Don't you already have enough enemies?" General Stuart retorted.
"Gentlemen!" Tsukune said in a hard tone as he stood up, which got their attention. "I can appreciate disagreement, but not here. You know where I stand and what my intentions are. Please take your argument elsewhere."
The men turned and marched out. Tsukune sat back down.
"Tsukune, there is a demon in Israel," Kurumu said.
He nodded. "We need to find them," he agreed vacantly. The devils minions were getting even closer. If they took over Israel, then he had a feeling this fight was going to take a nasty turn.
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General Stuart got on the line to his superior, Admiral Haskel. The Admiral agreed they should not hinder Aono, and ordered all American troops back to the border. While the Admiral contacted the President to inform him of the situation, General Stuart called a withdrawal of his men.
General Goldfarb also called his superiors stating they were going to be attacked from Lebanon, and requested reinforcements. He was told there were none. They were still fighting hard in the south and being slowly pushed back, and holding onto Jerusalem by their fingers. General Goldfarb was authorized to impress civilians into his forces to keep the enemy out.
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At midnight, in the tunnels they booted militants out of and were using for temporary quarters, Yukari scryed out the hill they needed to be on. There was a surveillance unit with a large building and a few vehicles, a radar installation and tents for the few troops.
"Tsukune, we can drive them away easy enough," she said.
Tsukune looked at the small force. "We can. If they are not moving by noon tomorrow, we will. Let's hope they are reasonable."
"We may have to get rid of that General," Moka said.
"Maybe. Let's hope we don't," Tsukune replied. "In case we to have to be aggressive, Yukari, scry out the locations of their big guns. Artillery, rocket launchers, tanks, anything bigger then a rifle. If we do have to force out way through, I want to hit them all at once."
Moka put a hand on Tsukune's shoulder and said, "Let me plan the attack'
Tsukune nodded. He knew Moka knew war. "All right. We want them to move back willingly. If they don't then push them back into their own borders."
"Tsukune," Kurumu whined. Leaning against him she rubbed his chest and asked, "Can't we do something else besides talk about fighting?"
"I'm too key up to think about anything else right now. Sorry."
Kuurmu frowned an said, "Then let's get this over with quick!"
.
In the morning, Tsukune good some good news from Yukari. Some troops were gone, others were packing up their heavier equipment and leaving. The path between them and the hill they wanted to use was all but empty. A few Israeli troops were coming in, but not many. Moka had Yukari scry down their whole line. Looking closely, she noted all the American troops were pulling back, leaving holes in the Israeli line. The Israelis were moving to fill those gaps, stretching themselves our so far, in places there were only small fixed positions of a few men to cover the front line before them.
Moka still pulled most of their troops up and had dragons ready to take to the air.
By ten, the Americans were all but gone. The remainder of the line was the thickest right in front of them. That only lasted for a mile in width. Were they really that dumb? At eleven, Moka had spell casters preparing spells and hidden troops ready to move on the line to the east and west of the thickest part if the Israeli troops.
By noon, every American was gone. It was apparent the Israelis were not going to move. Tsukune gave Moka a sad nod.
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General Goldfarb was back on their observation post on the hill those monster wanted. He'd filed a complaint that the Americans had abandoned them. His request for reinforcements turned up old men and young boys and girls. Facing them were what had to be ten thousand big ugly creatures kneeling behind their shields. He still had much of his artillery, and had them zeroed in. If those things moved, they would be decimated.
At one artillery position the Captain was waiting for the word to fire. His crew was ready, ammunition was by the gun, ready to fire one shot after another. A flash ran behind the gun crew. All he saw was a blur of color. Half his crew fell, screaming and holding their legs. Blood poured out from the backs of their ankles. Another flash of color and three of the four left cried out and fell. He pulled his pistol and a hot pain exploded in his Achilles tendons. He fell screaming. He looked for his pistol and it was gone.
He reached for his radio and a form appeared to grab and crush it. It had just registered in his mind that there was a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair in front of him holding a Katana, and then she was gone.
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Liz had gotten the first of her targets. She had four more to disable before meeting back with Frank to report her task was complete.
When the 25 artillery positions were disabled, Moke sent in the dragons to fly high and breathe down, pouring fire over, not on the Israeli troops. Right after they began their work, she had the hill group leave, and commanded the legions of Orcs to advance, chanting.
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David Levison was 13 years old. He and his friends were sitting in their bunkered position looking out at nothing but landscape when they first saw the fire billowing out above them. They all screamed and hit the first, hoping to not be burned to death.
"What was that?" a girl cried.
"Holy hell, there's dragons up there!" a boy cried and pointed.
They all looked up as the dragon turned and came back at them. They did their best to bury themselves in the bottom of their defense trench.
Tight to the ground, David felt the light tremors and heard a cadence call.
"Or-e-o, yor-o! Or-e-o, yor-o! ! Or-e-o, yor-o! "
David saw the dragon banking away and peek up over the edge of the berm. His jaw dropped. As far as he could see in both directions, a dual line of big ugly things were marching towards them, shield up to cover them. As they approached, their deep cadence became louder.
"What? We're supposed to fight THAT!" a boy cried.
The officer, a second year military cadet said, "We MUST hold! Use your rifles and FIRE!"
"Or-e-o, yor-o! Or-e-o, yor-o! ! Or-e-o, yor-o!"
The ground was trembling with the heavy footsteps and the dragon was coming back. Sally wailed out a scream, dropped her rifle and climbed out to run away crying.
"Get back here!" the young officer cried. He pulled his pistol on her.
Sally was one of David's friends. David used his rifle. He shot the officer in the knee then crawled out and ran after Sally. His other friends were not far behind.
The ones who did shoot at the orcs soon found their rifles did nothing. With the orcs closing, dragons over head, and the terrifying sound of the orcs approaching, most of the defense line evaporated, many leaving their guns behind. Orcs marched past the now undefended positions. The second line turned to march towards the hill.
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General Goldfarb got a couple reports of breakthroughs and one officer in a jeep arrived to yell, "They're coming!"
"Where's my artillery barrage?" Goldfarb demanded.
"All our pieces are captured or the crews are all wounded. We can't fire a single shot! We need to with draw, now!" the officer insisted.
"We must stand to the last!" Goldfarb stated.
Screams and random gun fire sounded out around the hill. "Repel the attack!"' Goldfarb yelled. He left his command post to go see what was happening. A flash of color went by. He saw the world spin, then he saw no more.
Seeing the General's head roll back into the Command post, his second, said, "Pass the word, we surrender," and threw up his hands.
Of the hundred men on the hill, six were killed, 58 were wounded and 36 surrendered. Once the 36, all staff, were relieved of their weapons, they were marched to the flat where the wounded were being taken to help start bandaging and setting splints. Frank Yeager took position of the hill with his team. His second Liz, wtched the approaching Orcs and the fleeing remnants of Israelis.
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By nightfall, Moka's army made it to the Israeli border and stopped. The hill was being transformed into a yokai stronghold with tall tower and wards, and the 2100 prisoners, mostly terrified and wounded, were being taken to the border and given to Israel to deal with.
Israel did not try to counter attack.