And here I'm, with another chapter of The Will of Resistance. We continue our venture into the world of Falmart with the Resistance, as they are trying to find out, who is their new enemy. This is why numerous missions are sent beyond. And this chapter is gonna be in majority an Imperial perspective.

To Guest: Well, fine that you like it. And don't worry, I will do some foreshadowing of what happened before Gate appeared. The situation with North Korea will be explained too.

Anyway, let's start this here.

Chapter 2

,,The Ghosts"

June 7, 2150

21:33

Alnus Province

Everything started simple enough. Soldiers were talking about the strange shadows, wandering through the forests. Strange flashes could be seen between trees. Metallic sounds coming from the forest. And numerous other strange phenomena.

And it all started, once the 60,000 strong army crossed the Gate and just a handful of men returned, speaking of 'metal dragons' and 'metal ogres'. The soldiers fighting with strange staffs, not using anything for hand to hand combat. Many of these men were shaken, while others were satisfied with new slaves they got.

But this didn't satisfied the Emperor. After receiving news of the defeat and the terrifying force behind the Gate, he ordered to immediately send more troops to Alnus. As fast as they could, they set up ring of seven forts around the Holy Hill, ready to repel anything, that comes from the other side.

In command of the 150,000 strong Alnus garrison, was the one general Anexus Lo Morgis, one of the most experienced officers the Empire had to offer. He had led numerous campaigns, which made Empire borders grow. Now, he had to be the one, who protects the Empire from whatever was on the second side of the Gate.

However, he didn't knew, that tonight, something what he didn't expect will happen.

"Colonel Richards, we're in position."one of Nashini Marines said through the radio.

"Understood. Wait for my signal."Jessica said to the Marines."Let's move, people."

Squad of four Resistance Marines was moving forward, with their optical camouflage activated, meaning, that they were actually invisible. Adding the night without moonlight, they could move completely unnoticed.

"Two guards. Third in the guard tower."Chakdrik Marine said, once they stood in front of the gate leading inside the camp.

"Take them out."Jessica said.

Three Marines in her squad aimed their weapons. They pulled triggers and soon, all three guards were laying dead.

"Sweet."Jessica said."Move forward. To the biggest tent."

Marines nodded and started walking from tent to tent, evading enemy soldiers on a guard duty.

At the same time, one of Anexus' lieutenants was preparing for another night of 'fun' with his Warrior Bunny slave. He once more gave the terrifying grin, what made the girl shake from fear. Ever since he bought her on that slave market, she was his toy almost every night. She was thinking, that at least lieutenant's wife would be more nice to him, but she turned out to be even more terrifying than the lieutenant.

"Don't be scared, we do it every night, right?"lieutenant said.

"Please…no…I can't anymore…"the Warrior Bunny pleaded.

But lieutenant just grabbed her and started turning around. Girl looked behind with her terrified gaze.

And then, noticed something falling into the tent. A small cylindrical object. It rolled on the floor, before it stopped. Lieutenant also looked at the object.

"Wha…?"he wanted to ask, before object exploded with blinding light.

By few short seconds, Warrior Bunny was blinded by the light, before her sight was returning to normal. When this happened, she saw the lieutenant shaking his head and looking around, still blinded.

"Who did this?!"he exclaimed.

And then, happened something, what terrified Warrior Bunny even more. Lieutenant was grabbed from behind by invisible force and then, his throat was slipped open. Next, he simply fell on the floor, with blood stain forming around him.

Suddenly, girl heard footsteps, but she saw no one. Before she orientated, four figures started materializing from the air in front of her and looking at the dead lieutenant. They all had different body shapes, as one resembled human and one looked like a giant, two-legged ant. Others, she didn't recognized.

One of figures turned to her and showed the glowing green eyes. It put it's finger to the mouth and said:

"Shhhh."

Next, the figures started to look around the tent and collect every scroll and document they could. Warrior Bunny had nothing more to do, than just watch. Who were the figures? And why did they let her live, if they killed the lieutenant.

When figures ended with collecting documents, one of them, the human-looking one, knelt next to her and gave it's hand.

"Come with us."it said in strange language, but with female voice.

Warrior Bunny looked at the hand and thought. They wanted to take her somewhere. She didn't knew where, but one thing was certain: if she stays here, she will be accused of murdering the lieutenant.

She grabbed the hand and followed the figures. They left the tent and started running between the tents.

But this didn't lasted long, as they heard scream:

"Intruders! Kill them!"

Marines turned around and saw enemy soldiers leaving the tents.

"Well, here goes our stealthy approach."Jessica stated."Fire!"

Soon, the Warrior Bunny watched mysterious figures use their staffs to keep the Imperial soldiers away from them. She was truly impressed by the power of their magic.

"Norris, show them our surprise!"one of figures said.

Next, a powerful explosion was heard. Soldiers turned around to see enormous ball of fire over the camp. They stood there, while intruders left the camp.

Once outside, Marines rendezvous with the rest of their scouting team and turned towards the Alnus Hill. They approached the Gate and stopped, to get some rest.

Jessica looked at the Warrior Bunny she was holding all this time. She waved the hand, showing behind her.

Warrior Bunny didn't had to think long, to know, what this meant. They were letting her free! She could go wherever she wanted and do whatever she wanted! Finally free from that rapist lieutenant!

She started thanking them in her language and quickly ran away.

Jessica looked at her fellow Marines.

"What?"she asked."We couldn't just leave her behind, right?"

"You have too good heart, colonel."Chakdrik Marine stated.

Jessica just threw up her arms.

"This is how I am."she stated."You left our little surprise for tomorrow?"

"As always, sir."Kir'Arlan said."Except that biggest fort."

"Great. Let's go back on the other side, then."Jessica replied.

With these words, Resistance Marines went through the Gate.

The next day…

General Anexus was informed about what happened previous night in one of the forts. As it turned out, similar attacks took place in other forts, taking lives of around ten thousand of his troops. But he actually didn't care. He still had 140,000 at his disposal. And this what happened, was nothing more.

Today, general held a special meeting with his commanders. He noticed, that some of them are nervous.

"Keep it tight, men."Anexus ordered."This what happened last night means nothing."

"But general."another lieutenant said."Survivors from Fort Roado tell, that there were just four intruders. And yet, they killed ten thousand men with powerful magic."
"They have any evidence? No."general stated."But one this is for certain. It was the enemy from beyond the Gate."

In mind, he added:

"Just what did we woke up out there?"

"Whoever did this, we lost ten thousand men. Fort Roado is actually out of use and we can't rebuild it."one another lieutenant said.

"This is what I know."Anexus stated."But we still have six more forts, with 140,000 men. This is the force, that will easily stop any advancing enemy."

However, right then, one of privates ran into the room and started breathing heavily. He looked at his superiors.

"What happened, private?"his lieutenant asked.

"You Grace! We found a strange object in our camp!"private replied.

"What kind of object?"Anexus asked.

"It have a cylindrical shape and is about this size."He showed the length of his own torso."It's in our armory tent."

Commanders looked at each other.

"Lead us there. We're gonna see this object."Anexus ordered.
"Of course, my lord!"private replied and left.

Soon, commanders exited the tent and approached their horses. They quickly sat on them and were ready to leave the camp, when…

"Sir!"one of guards called.

Commanders looked towards the fort they were going to, right when there was a flash of purple light. When the flash disappeared, commanders saw a purple energy dome over the fort. Much to their horror, such domes appeared over the remaining ones.

"What kind of magic is this?"one of lieutenants asked.

"I have no idea."Anexus replied."You! Send someone to these forts!"

"Yes, my lord!"one of soldiers replied.

Soon, the purple domes disappeared and soldiers departed for the forts. When they returned, they had grim expressions, showing both shock and disbelief.

"And?"Anexus asked."What have you found?"

The commander of soldiers looked at his general. His eyes were empty and emotionless.

"General…The men in the forts…"he started.

"Just spit it out!"another lieutenant ordered.

Soldier looked at him and said:

"They are all dead."

Silence hung in the air. Both commanders and soldiers couldn't say anything.

"Dead? All?"Anexus added.

"Yes."soldier confirmed.

"How?!"one of lieutenants asked with fury in his eyes.

"We don't know. They all looked like they just…died where they stood. They had no wounds or weapons marks."soldier explained.

Commanders looked at each other. They didn't showed it, but it was seen in their eyes. They were overtook by fear.

Meanwhile…

In the nearby forest, team of Marines was watching all of this.

"Dave, you Humans are sometimes wonderful."Shakayan Marine said."These new short-range neutron bombs are amazing!"

"Well, thank you, Jefriks."Dave replied."Fortunately, they don't release the fallout anymore."

"I will pay every Kligar to see their faces!"Jefriks said and two Marines laughed.

Later that day…

General Anexus was sitting in his tent. He still couldn't believe in what happened. Just few hours ago, the six remaining forts around Alnus Hill hosted the garrison of 140,00 men. Now, five forts were wiped out just like that, by a power he never seen before. Now, he had just 60,000 men in his own fort.

"The same number as the army that went on the other side…"general whispered.

To it, the morale of his soldiers started diving down faster than he ever saw. Wherever he looked, he could see hatred soldiers were sending to him. And everywhere, soldiers were talking about the Ghosts of Alnus.

"Are ghosts going to be the end of my career?"he thought.

But he had to do something. He knew, that these Ghosts of Alnus might now target his fort, as it was the last one standing. He needed something, to boost the morale.

Finally, he made a decision.

"Call the messenger!"general ordered and started writing.

Soon, the called one entered the tent and bowed in front of the general.

"What do you need, my lord?"messenger asked.

"I want you to take this"Anexus said, giving him a piece of paper."and go to Sadera, requesting immediate reinforcements in form of 90,000 troops."

"Yes, my lord!"messenger said, grabbing the piece of paper.

Soon, he was on his horse, speeding down the road.

"I see a single rider."Jefriks said.

"Probably he's going to request reinforcements."Dave guessed.

Shakayan grabbed his sniper riffle and locked onto the rider.

"Take him out?"he asked.

But Dave shook his head.

"No. I think I know, how to finally break their morale."he said and started explaining.

Four days later…

09:33

Imperial Capital City of Sadera

Emperor Molt was sitting on his throne in his palace. He was still concerned about these 'Ghosts of Alnus' he was hearing about lately. Since the army sent beyond the Gate didn't returned, strange phenomena started occurring around Alnus Hill and forts set up around it. He didn't believed in such stories, but after a while, they became concerning.

And now, he was looking at the messenger from Alnus, requesting reinforcements in form of additional 90,000 troops.

"And what happened to the forces around Alnus?"Emperor asked.

Messenger gulped and looked at him.

"From 150,000 troops we sent to the province, only 60,000 left, Your Highness."Messenger replied, kneeling in front of his ruler.

Molt narrowed his eyes.

"How could this happen? Did Anexus tried to cross the Gate?"he asked.

Messenger shook his head.

"No, Your Highness. It seems like something from beyond the Gate crossed to the Empire."

As messenger expected, he saw quick flash of anger in Emperor's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. Crown Prince Zorzal, which was standing next to his father, didn't tried to cover his fury.

"What?! Did these barbarians really think they can follow us just like that?!"He turned to Molt."Father, let's send these reinforcements. We shall show our power to the barbarians from the second side of the Gate!"

Emperor raised his hand to silence his son.

"Of course we're gonna send these reinforcements. No one can attack Empire just like that."Molt said."And additionally, we can show our people, that we're still the dominant force."

"As you wish, father."Zolzal said, looking at the messenger."Take the 9th Legion. They will reinforce you."

"It will be done, Your Highness."messenger said and left the throne room.

Once the room was empty, Zorzal looked at his father.

"90,000 isn't enough in my opinion."Crown Prince stated.

"But it should be enough for now."Molt replied."If situation won't turn out ideal for us, then we call in our vassals."

Zorzal didn't said anything and left the throne room.

Another four days later…

15:33

Alnus Province

Jefriks and Dave were still sitting in the forest near the last of the forts around Alnus, playing poker to kill time. By last week, they were really busy with their job at the road leading to the fort. They prepared another surprise for the approaching enemy reinforcements.

"You sure the plan will work?"Jefriks asked.

"These guys won't know, what hit them."Dave replied, pulling another card.

He showed his cards to Jefriks.

"I win again."Dave stated with smile.

Shakayan just threw his cards on the ground.

"This whole poker is really hard for me."he said.

"Easy, my dear Shakayan friend. I can give you private lessons, once we get back to Task Force 03."

"Guessing. Lessons aren't gonna be free?"Jefriks asked.

Dave smiled, at the same time rubbing hands.

"Business."he stated.

Jefriks just sighed. He liked Dave, but sometimes, this Human Marine was annoying. Especially with his money liking.

But soon, their attention was turned somewhere else, as they heard footsteps. And not any footsteps. They heard thousands of them. They were coming from the direction the messenger left eight days ago.

"You think…?"Jefriks asked.

"Yes."Dave replied.

Marine leaned from his cover and looked down the road. And then, his eyes widened, seeing the columns of soldiers approaching the Alnus Hill. But well. Messenger was sent to get reinforcements, so so much troops shouldn't surprise him.

"Well. That's a lot of enemy forces."Jefriks stated, leaning from the cover too.

"But not for long."Dave stated, taking a detonator.

Meanwhile…

General Anexus had a victorious smile on his face, watching the thousands of soldiers approaching his position. Except of Imperial standard, he also could see standards of various noble houses.

"My prayers were listened."he thought.

All around him, soldiers were climbing on the wall, wanting to see the incoming saviors. They started cheering and exclaiming their relief and happiness. And this only grew, when their reinforcements turned out to be the 9th Legion, a veteran unit which took part in conquest of Warrior Bunnies, invasion of desert Kingdom of Al-Hafra and breaking the resistance of mountain clans, which were harassing the merchants going through the mountains for centuries.

Anexus had no other option, but to join the celebration, listening to the sound of boots hitting the ground in front of him. They were truly saved!

Or at least, that what they were thinking.

Without a single warning, road on which the 9th Legion was traveling started to erupt with fire and earth, throwing soldiers in the air and tearing them all apart. Parts of armor, bodies and weapons were thrown in every direction, as all 90,000 soldiers were engulfed by fire and earth. All of this was decorated with deafening sounds of explosions.

And then, as suddenly as it started, it all stopped. Soldiers of 9th Legion were simply decimated by the unknown power. Majority of them was dead, while the remains were dying. Their sounds of pain could be heard even in fort.

In the fort, Anexus and his men were watching this with fear and disbelief. One of Empire's most experienced units was destroyed in matter of seconds. This finally broke his soldiers, which started loosing it.

"Gods have abandoned us!"one of them shouted.

"We're gonna die!"another exclaimed.

"We are doomed!"someone else yelled.

Anexus just didn't payed attention for these words. Instead, he just started laughing maniacally, watching the shambles, which was earlier the 9th Legion. He didn't even noticed as his soldiers grabbed him and thrown into the bunch of spears under the wall.

At the same time, Jefriks and Dave were really happy with what they have just done. Additionally, soldiers in the last remaining fort started rioting and already smoke was coming from the fort. Dave hid the detonator and looked at his companion.

"I think our job here is done, my Shakayan friend."Dave stated.

"I think the same, my Human friend."Jefriks stated.

"Let's go. We need to inform the Higher Ups on the other side."

Jefriks nodded and two Marines waited until the night, when they returned to the Gate and crossed back on Angier Prime.

XXX

And here is chapter two. A bit shorter than the previous one, but it was supposed to be something like bridge between the Battle of Terhis and the crossing of Resistance forces through the Gate. So in short, the real action will start in the next chapter, so stay turned, as we enter the Allied Kingdoms arc now.

So, see you soon!