"How close are we to Haven?" Blake asked.

"A day's march north. But with the storm slowly approaching from the east, it'll probably take us two more days to wait it out." Sun shielded his eyes from the glaring sun with his hands as he gazed eastward at the oncoming gray clouds before returning his head into the tent.

Its been two weeks since their victory in Hunter Hill. During their advance northward, Blake and her forces were able to defeat the Atlesians and take back three more key locations in the process. However, their victories did not come without a cost. Blake only had half of her original force remaining. Few deserted while many died including the commander. The unrest between faunus and people is at an all time high and they are on their own as non of the other forces have advanced as deep as them. Now Blake led the regiment to what could possibly their final battle that could turn the tide of the war. But Blake knew, without sacrifice, there can be no victory. She was afraid, not of the sacrifice, but of who's role it belonged to.

"So... do you have a plan for our next stronghold, Commander?" Sun asked. His laid back personality was still strong as always.

"Athereal's located deep within the Crimson Forest. Its also the only big city outside the main kingdom that's closest to the villages in the eastern peninsula. Once we capture Athereal, we'd have a supply line to our other forces in the front lines. Then, Haven's next." Blake said.

"That's the reason for taking it but... what's the plan?"

"Athereal's surrounded by a stone wall. Ilia says that Atlas has lined it with hundreds of Plasma Cannons that guard the city twenty-four, seven. Atlas has also dug a twenty meter wide and fifteen meter deep moat filled with a small amount of rain water around the city making the southern and eastern gates the only points of entrance into the city but even they are protected by a holographic bridge preventing anyone from leaving or entering without the proper clearance. Even with my father's regiment reinforcing us, its still an almost impossible task to take the city."

"What if we use the storm as cover? The rain and haze could hide us a we climb down the trench then scale up the wall. We then sneak into the place where the controls for the bridge and cannons are kept. Once the cannons are offline and the bridge is up, we can then get our troops into the city."

"But we don't know where the controls are kept. Atlas probably has both of them in different places so that if one is down the other one is kept safe."

"Then we split and look for them when we get inside. I know its a risk. But a risk that's needed in war."

Placing a hand on Blake's shoulder, Sun smiled which made Blake smile too. Feeling more comforted by his words, Blake took a deep breath before returning her gaze back to the map with more confidence this time. Sun's plan was better than what she could come up with. But the risk lingered in her mind. Waiting for her father was both a pain and a blessing. Being out in the open has made many in the regiment paranoid of a surprise attack while it also gave them much needed rest. With their camp being so close to Athereal, it was no surprise.

"Commander!" A soldier burst through the tent entrance. "The scouts report seeing Atlesian Cavalry charging out of the southern gate! They could be heading for the camp!"

"Get everyone ready for combat! We stand our ground off here until my father arrives!"

"Yes commander!"

Slamming her fist onto the table, Blake was filled with rage. How did Atlas know about their location? How much time before her father arrives? Blake then realized that she was stressed on the wrong thing. She instead should be focusing on the battle to come.

Emerging out of the tent, Blake and Sun were met by hundreds of faunus and people chaotically rushing around the camp. Many were grabbing their weapons while others were forming up. The skies were a gray hue with the wind picking up, blowing Blake's hair into her face.

"I'll take a few squads and flank the Atlesian Cavalry when they engage you." Sun plants a kiss onto Blake's head before running off. "Stay safe."

Blake watched as Sun joined his squad. He catches his staff with his tail and soon they disappeared into the green forest. Turning to face her soldiers, Blake commanded everyone to form a circle formation in the middle of the camp. She then ordered for a shield wall on the front line of the formation with spears poking out of the gaps between shields to create a forest of spears for the Atlesian cavalry to charge into.

When they were ready, an eerie silence was heard. Blake could hear her men's heavy breathing. Their shivering made their spears and shields clatter against each other like a ringing alarm clock. From that moment on, Blake knew that fear had sunken into the minds of her soldiers. When rustling was heard in the forest, she thought that they were Sun and his men. A second later, she was proven wrong.

Emerging out of the forest around them, were hundreds of white horses charging head first into the shield wall, smashing multiple shields which sent splinters and metal pieces flying. A few had cut Blake's shoulder and one was embedded deep into her flesh. The circle formation around her was now broken and everyone was in a state of panic. Blake would consider herself fortunate that there were no Grimm to sense and come for them, but Atlas was proving itself the bane of the entire war.

As the battle ensued, Blake was met with a charging Atlesian Cavalry. The rider held a blue, holographic shield on his left hand while his right had a long rifle with a long knife attached beneath it. He started firing shots at Blake which she deflected with ease. As he got closer, the gun transformed into a spear and the rider thrusted it toward Blake. Dodging the attack, Blake swung her sword at the horse but only heard a loud clank upon impact. This then proved what the reports say from battles against them, their iron horses were indestructible.

Deciding that the only way to take them down was to eliminate the rider, Blake leaped into the air and landed back down on the horse. Decapitating the rider and tossing him off the metal contraption, Blake saw that the horse had stopped moving entirely and dropped to the ground motionless. She then spotted a cable that was attached to the horse's neck. The man seemed to have a socket for it on his chest piece and when she gazed at his face, she saw that it was an Atlesian Knight. Putting two and two together, Blake found their weakness.

However, as the fighting progressed, Blake had received too many injuries and was starting to tire. Soon, she was taken by surprise and was restrained to the floor by four Atlesian Knights each clinging tightly on her limbs preventing any movement. From her view, Blake watched as her soldiers fell to the ground. Blood flowed like rivers from the mountains and into the sea. She then recalled Sun's words and wondered as to where he was. But her answer came as she watched Sun fight off two Atlesian Knights. As they backed away, they shot harpoons into Sun's limbs and neck. Blake watched in horror and wanted to fight, but she could not. As her tears rolled down her face and her eyes met his, she saw the look of apology on Sun's face.

Everything went silent. The guns that shot the harpoons were passed to the Atlesian Cavalry as they rid away from Sun. Blake cried as she watched Sun get ripped to pieces. Blood splattered everywhere and his limbs were scattered all across the ground.

As she cried in sadness, she could hear one of the Atlesian Knights beeping which was followed by its robotic voice.

"Huntress detected. Adhere to orders by General Ironwood. Obtain any and all Huntsmen and Huntress. Lethal force unauthorized."

In a blink of an eye, Blake was out cold by its punch.