GATE: the clash of the titans

by Qun Nguyn1

Mostly AUs. A Gate has opened in Tokyo by a Roman-esque Empire, familiar scenario with familiar faces but the people marched through the Gate is from a vastly more powerful magic world. The stage is set. Earth Alliance vs The Holy Empire. Science vs Magic. The power of the thousand sun vs The Beast of the Apocalypse. Let the clash of Titans begin. Let the worlds have War.

12. Chapter 12: Rory's Proposal

Chapter 12 : Itami's New Friends and Rory's Proposal

Note : I have to remind everyone one more time, the Gate first opened in 2019. The current events are in 2030, the Holy Empire have over 10 years to modernize using stolen knowledge from Earth by Count Colt Formal. If you ask how can he do it, then the answer is by using dream omen magic to inform the Holy Empire.

Before the Gate first opened the Empire technology level was around 1778. By now the Empire is around 1918 level of technology. But thanks to magic some of their weapon design are look like 1948. To be clear, the Empire CAN NOT create jets engine, yet. They have to use wind magic to simulate the effects of a real jets engine.

To remind everyone, my Falmart is 5 times the area of Earth that 2550 millions km2, which is very big, and Falmartian can survive (albeit very miserable but survive nevertheless) without air or water or food that mean they can hide anywhere. I explained their ability in chapter 3. The planet population is 10 billion. You may think that is too high but it not. The planet land area is 4 time bigger than Earth mean the population density is equal to Earth in 1950 or when our planet have 2,5 billion people. One thing you have to remember, Falmartian can live in any environment including underwater that make the population density even lower.

If you ask how can the Holy Empire create so many weapons. The answer is simple: Titan hardening and magic. This ability is similar to War Hammer Titan in Attack on Titan. The War Hammer Titan possesses the ability to create structures out of hardened Titan flesh. The War Hammer Titan can produce and manipulate structures that are made of hardened Titan flesh. These structures can be weaponized—for example, forming pikes large enough to impale and lift a Titan, flooding areas with protrusions such as spikes, and manifesting the Titan's signature war hammer. This ability can also create flexible weaponry components, such as the string of a crossbow or the whips of a cat-o'-nine-tails, making this a particularly unique brand of hardening.

This ability combine with modern magic using advance Earth science allowed the Empire to mass produce weapons like warships, rockets, artillery, bombers, reinforced concrete bunker. But they have LIMITS, while it seem like they can summon anything from thin air, They CAN'T, they mold them out of sand in the Path Dimension so they can't create complex objects. They can mold them piece by piece and then assemble them though.

If you ask how can the Empire create mega-structures so big. Simple, because they are TITANS. Do you realized how big are those Titan shape shifter, once they turn into Titan they are between 10 to 120 meters tall, they have big shovels, they can dig deep.

And one more thing, they can die, for God sake, they aren't Gods and the real Gods in the story won't interfere with mortal affairs. They just harder to kill, you can kill them in their normal form with a 20mm caliber. In their Titan form a well- place shot right through the nape from a 130 mm is enough or 45 kg (99 lb) of shaped charge explosive just to be sure.

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The Crystal Palace, Italica, Lemuria, Falmart, 52030 IC

Population: 800 thousand (Immanity), 200 thousand (Demi-Humans), 1 million troops, 2 million homunculus slave.

Type: Fortress City, Imperial Province Capital

Allegiance: Holy Darwinian Empire

The Crystal Palace, the symbol of Formal noble family and the practical embodiment of the clan itself. A giant complex made of white walls, spires that reached the heavens, and a massive dome over the center of the building that was embedded with various different Jewels that gave it a sky-blue color and sparkled in the embrace of the suns rays. It housed a university, government administration building that handled taxes and the running of the providence, a prestigious hospital, one of the largest libraries on the sub-continent and an observatory. This was a center of learning, and the seat of government power.

Numerous inventions like the telescope, advent of gunpowder (Which had limited use in this Renaissance-like world), and sextant were either made here or got their name after it was promoted here. But beyond all of that, it had a primary function. It was the home of the Formal Family, Army Group Kama and the Italica Bunker Complex. The seat of the Count, and the symbol of a more extensive empire.

In front of the building was a giant nearly 100-acre plaza, decked with trees, sculptures of various figures, fountains, and a giant crystal ball that sat in the middle of a pond right in the middle lining perfectly with the entrance to the Palace. The Crystal, combined with the dome on the Palace proper, gave the Crystal Palace its name. It was the tallest building in the entire city of Italica, a sprawling metropolis home to well over a million. It was an entrepot of global trade, located right at the junction of the River Avalon and the River Danube. The Avalon river continuing to the West bringing trade-in from the numerous kingdoms and fiefdoms there, and the Danube river going North-East towards the Bastenlands. An old rival of the Formals.

The Palace was busy, the 5th Imperial Princess Pina Co Lala decided to call court into session and people from all over the land came. Well the rich aristocratic elites and military leaders did, the working class and the slaves of the Empire did not.

The sound of a crowd chatting away seemed to wash over the atmosphere like a wave about to crash on a beach. Slow, rhythmic, yet indiscernible, and loud. It was the official meeting of the Royal Defense Council. All the continent richest nobles and aristocrats, merchants, the clergy, and other elites of Lemuria met here. There was a dominant issue amongst the elite today, as they talked nervously. Exchanging rumors and gossip, some of it was factual and based on solid ground. Others were just myths and conspiracies formed in the recesses of the imagination.

The Otherworlders had caused fear, humans with beasts of iron and magical lights were building up a railway system. The Imperial army down the Alnus Region had raised concern about them, sending reconnaissance units to study them from afar.

"Is it really a railway project?" Asked one of the Lemurian noblewomen talking to her other countrymen.

"The Terran army might be trying to establish a navy presence on the Lemurian Coast!" Said a rich Aristocrat.

"Nonsense, we beat those heretics in the Great Alnus Air Raid! They wouldn't dare try to build a naval base ton the coast of this continent!" Said a third.

"Order! The Fifth and Fifteenth Princess of Darwinian, Your Imperial Highness, Lord Protector of the Realm, Princess Pina Co Lala and Katerina Tsaristla Volga La Romanoff have arrived!" A royal knight dressed in flamboyant armor and colors shouted, calling the attention of the people and silencing them.

Two figures entered the room, the crowd parting to make way for them. They walked slowly through the court hall and sat upon the thrones at the front. The windows letting in beams of light that shone down upon them. Pina and Katerina sat upon the two thrones at the front of the Royal Court looking out at their subjects with authority. They commanded respect, at least some kind.

"What is the meaning of this commotion?" Princess Pina bellowed, looking out at her subjects, "All this morning I'm assaulted by letters and demands that I call a court to session! Now somebody explain to me at once!"

A small pause, and then one brave soul spoke, "Your Highness …" Pina turned to look at the person who addressed her, "Under your order we started to evacuate civilians population back to the mainland but our subjects in the Alnus Region report about a railway system is being built to transport the enemy naval assets here, this might lead to a naval blockade around Lemuria. The people worry that they might get stuck behind the enemy line and the advancing demons."

It was a wolf demi-human who had addressed her, a timber wolf knight, dressed in his black armor. The depiction of the Darwinian Twin Dragons, a golden sword amongst a scarlet shield, lay upon his breastplate. His name was Sir Tyrone, a wealthy and affluent Generalissimus in the Holy Empire who held a lot of prestige.

"So the enemy wants to trap us here," Pina commented "And what are our possible courses of action?" The Princess asked.

Tyrone raised his eyebrows, and shrugged a little, "Good question, my lady. The enemy are focusing on building up their navy to blockade Lemuria and launch a maritime invasion on the mainland. But I assure you that our supply lines won't be affected thanks to the new Hardy portal system we just installed in the Italica Bunker Complex. With this new magic portal system we can ensure Your Highness safety in case of emergency, and about the evacuation of civilian population, I already contacted with the naval task force 36 and 45 to assist the evacuation effort."

"I'm not asking how to escape, Lord Tyrone, I'm asking you what should we do about the enemy?" Princess Pina asked angrily.

"Your Highness, our air force has suffered a great casualties in the last air raid on Alnus base, we don't have enough forces to support a large land attack. I suggest we should wait for a month until we can amassed enough V1, V2 magic missiles to launch a massive rocket Blitz on to the enemy naval base."

"To let the enemy live in peace for a month to build up their navy and possibly gain an advantage over us is not something I think would be in the best of our interests," Count Woody interrupted. Woody was a Draconian, a descendant of an old Dragon Warrior tribe in the heartlands that the Empire had annexed. And like his predecessors, he was a keen tactician. Absolutely merciless on the battlefield. He was a blind nationalist, letting his love of the Empire sometimes get in the way of making good decision. And he hated Tyrone and Tyrone likewise.

Pina looked at him with a smile, "Count Woody. Do you have a solution?"

Woody smiled, "Of course I do Your Highness. We ought to march into the Talifa plain and stomp the Humans out while they are still recovering from the Air Raid. We need to seize the initiative, the enemy air force also suffered greatly in the last battle, this is our chance to launch an attack."

Princess Katerina interrupted, "Lord Woody, don't you think that is a little bit rash? The Majesty order was to hold this place, I think we should focus on-"

"I think it's a magnificent idea, Woody," The Fifth Princess said dismissing her sister's claim.

"Pina, you have to think about things before you rush headfirst into them!" Katerina warned, "Think of the consequences-"

"I know about the consequences, Kate," Pina called her by her nickname "But, think about the consequences if we wait, we will be surrounded all sides by the enemy. This is a gamble we must take."

"But father said-"

"That we need to defend this continent," Pina interrupted "And I'm doing exactly that. This is war, little sister, you need to be more flexible, not doing everything exactly by the books."

She continued, "My little Sister, you don't understand what it means to be at war just yet. Not quite knowledgeable enough to understand what it means to take advantage of a situation while it is presenting itself in the face, this is a high risk high reward situation. You are too soft Katerina," Pina said.

A berated Katerina resigned, a little red in the face. Even though she was a Princess, she wasn't in power. She knew her older sister probably wouldn't harm her just for challenging her ideas, but the last thing she needed was to get on her bad side.

"Woody, you are a brilliant tactician. Tyrone, you are older and more worn out," Tyrone cringed a little at the statement while Woody beamed, "Perhaps you aren't as sharp as you once were under my fathers reign. This operation is extremely important to our Empire, and my father had always wanted to strike first. So I am going to send you, Count Woody, to command the 58th Praetorian Guards Army Group to attack the enemy railway. Your force will be supported by the 3rd Elbe Army Group and the Alguna Iron Army Group. Understood?" The Princess said to Woody. The dragonfork smirked and nodded his head.

"Of course my Princess, I won't fail."

"Count Podawan."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness"

"You are the best Dragon Knight we have, you shall lead the Imperial Night Fury Corps to support Count Woody in his attack."

"Yes your Highness. It will be my honor."

"I trust you will bring us great victory, Lord Podawan. Court, dismissed."

The audience in the court stood up and began to mill about. Some of the merchants and aristocrats stood around chatting with each other to secure private deals, clergymen hurriedly rushed off to lead church services, civil servants counted numbers on sheets of paper and scrutinized over each and every last decimal. It was a hub of learning and communication. It was the court where people came to get any real work done, and was one of the largest public gathering halls.

It was used when the Lord Governor of the Land called it into session or not. It didn't matter, it was as open as a park. The only times when the Lord Governor called it into session was if the people who attended had a unified concern they wanted the Lord Governor to make a decision on, which wasn't too often.

---

Talifa Plain, Lemuria, Falmart, 2030

For a long time the UEADF had realized the important of building up a massive naval presence in Falmart to dominate this alien oceans and support the ground invasion of the mainland. But the Gate connected to Alnus hill, an area over 600km inland, the cost of transporting and reassembling the global naval fleet piece by piece was enormous. So they built : the Suez Ship Railway system (a 400 miles-long, 12-track ship-railway).

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Suez Ship Railway : the Suez Ship Railway project a 12-track ship-railway was first proposed in 2025 by notable civil engineer James B. Eads III as a means to transport warships across the Lemuria sub-continent from the Gate to the Indyjski ocean, shortening the time of waiting for naval deployment by avoiding the necessity of ship-reassemble. At first a canal had been proposed but financing was proving difficult to secure. James B. Eads the Third submitted his proposal to the Global Security Council in 2026.

The length of the whole line will be about 400 miles from Alnus Base to Indyjski Ocean. Beginning on the Earthside, the route will start from the Bay of Tokyo, the ships sailing up the Gate to Alnus Base, a distance of about 5 miles. From Alnus Base there extends for about 140 miles an alluvial plain having an underlying stratum of heavy, tenacious clay. In the elevation and ridges clay loam and sand are found. Next comes an undulating table land, and then irregular mountain spurs of the main Cordilleras, that run through the entire continent, making at this point one of the most marked depressions to be found in its whole length. From this basin the line passes through a valley formed by a small stream to the plains of Talifa, where is situated the summit of the line. This is 700 feet above low tide. After traversing these plains, the Pass of Talifa is reached. This is the most accessible of the many passes in this depression in the mountain chain. From here the line gradually sinks to the Indyjski Ocean, reaching the plains on this side 400 miles distant from Alnus Base.

In the case of a ship weighing 50,000 tons, each of the 50 lines of rams would, of course, be called to sustain a burden of exactly 1000 tons and these lines being placed at equal distances the one from the other, it will readily be seen that the ship's weight is equally distributed. The weight and displacement of the vessel is learned from the pressure gauge on the hydraulic pump.

The atomic locomotives for hauling the ship carriage over the Suez railway will not differ from those in ordinary use, except that they will have about twice the traction power of the most powerful atomic locomotives that run on ordinary railroads. The big freight engines of the day have no difficulty, as we know, in drawing freight trains of a total of 16,000 tons; and as they ship carriage moves along three tracks it would be easy, if such a course were necessary, to place three locomotives in front of it and three behind. The time estimated for crossing from Earth to Falmart's ocean is only 18 hours.

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Understanding the important of the Ship Railway for the invasion plan, Allied Ground commander Guy Simonds ordered that the effort to protect the Suez Ship Railway would be taken over by the U.S. 3rd Army under Lieutenant General Tommy Kennedy. Built out of the U.S III Armored Corps, the 1st Canadian Mobile Heavy Infantry Division, the 7th British Armored Division, and the 6th Australian Armored Division. The 3rd Army was the first full Army Group that the Americans had organized on the Sub-Continent. Allied air commander Rehman Singh Krishnan also ordered that Allied air forces make the Suez Ship Railway a tactical priority.

As the Allies moved forces into position to protect the Suez Ship Railway system, the Imperial command also began to move forces into the Talifa Plain region, The last two fully undamaged National Army formations, including the Elbe Army Group assigned to the Tanska region, an Alguna Iron Army Group, and the 58th Praetorian Guards Army Group were all ordered into the Talifa Plain region. Imperial records clearly indicate that the entire Imperial leadership, all the way up to Princess Pina, believed that Talifa was the anvil where the Allied naval effort would be pounded to bits.

The U.S. 3rd Army under Lieutenant General Tommy Kennedy formed two long columns of combat and supply vehicles, and they advanced along the gravel road.

The coarse tires of the heavy trucks filled the air with dust, drawing a veil over Talifa Plain.

Said dust blackened the skin where it mixed with the sweat beading it, and it was hard just to keep their eyes open.

However, the men were in high spirits.

They held their rifles and faced forward, their backs held ramrod straight. Their combat steel boots pounded with broad strides, and the servicemen were filled with energy.

Everyone present understood that these Ship Railway would be very important in the fight against the Holy Empire.

"After this, this world ocean will be our."

"After it's done, we can encircle this entire continent."

"We'll stop the Imperial reinforcement to this continent once and for all."

Everyone had their own thoughts on the matter, and their own reasons to fight. It fuelled their fighting spirit, and it seemed as though Talifa was on fire from the heat steaming off them.

Tommy watched from afar the giant train carrying some of the most powerful battleships on the planet to the Poseidon Naval Base. Poseidon Naval Base, the largest naval base in both worlds, was built in a record time of 4 months.

Poseidon Naval Base was the United Earth Alliance Maritime Defense Force headquarters and home port of the UEAMDF Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation covered an area of approximately 340 km2. With the massive concentration of Terran Navy forces through 1750 ships alongside with 13,400 aircraft, this was truly a formidable base, but this was nothing compared to the future naval concentration, at full capacity, Poseidon would operate more than 100,000 ships of the "Earth Alliance Great Fleet".

"The Super Yamato-class Guided-Missile Battleship." Tommy said with admiration."95,000 tones of steel, nine 51 cm Type 3 Advanced Gun System (AGS) canon with nuclear shells, 60 MK 57 Peripheral Vertical Launching System, 6 Mark 32 triple nuclear torpedo tubes, twelve 203 mm precision guided artillery. Those metal beasts have enough firepower to leveled an entire country."

The U.S. 3rd Army today mission was to escort 500 warships including 50 of these guided missiles battleships to the Poseidon Naval Base all in one piece. Tommy needed to make sure those ships were safe and sound or he would clear toilet for the rest of his military career.

"Recheck all the surrounding areas, make sure there won't be any surprise ahead of us, I don't want even a paint scratch on those Beast before they launch." He commanded.

"Commander, report enemy activities on the East . They are moving this way just. Waiting for your order, Sir."

"So, they finally came, take them long enough !" Tommy said amusingly.

"Commence operations!"

Lieutenant General Tommy Kennedy's commands were carried to the various battle groups of the U.S. 3rd Army.

"Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo,Tango, Uniform, Victor!"

After receiving the coded signal to begin operations, the combat groups started moving.

"Good. Advance!"

Dirt and dust curled up into the air, and columns of armored vehicles blanketed the land even as helicopter squadrons blotted out the sky, each heading toward their respective objectives to conduct their assaults.

First, the UEAADF's Boeing C-177 ULTRAs penetrated deep into the territory controlled by pro-Empire force.

Boeing C-177 ULTRA design was based on the Lockheed CL-1201, a design study by Lockheed for a giant nuclear-powered transport aircraft in the late 1960s, with a wing span of 1,120 feet (340 m) it had the largest wing span of any aircraft to date until the commission of the P-1118 Aigaion aerial warships with wingspans of 1,100 meters (3,600 ft).

Their high-explosive bombs shattered their underground fortress' defenses and destroyed all bridges save the ones which would be used for the advance, while napalm bombs consumed field camps in roaring flames.

Boeing C-177 ULTRAs with the maximum takeoff weight of 7,765 tones and the cargo compartment could carry up to 5,265 tones of bombs or 740 Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power bombs, nicknamed "Father of All Bombs", were truly nightmare to the Imperial Army with their "Devil's Rain".

Although six Boeing C-177 ULTRAs alone were not enough, they unloaded all their firepower with the benefit of intricately plotted bombing courses, severing communications and transport lines while ensuring aerial supremacy with the help of 300 J-86 air superiority fighters.

The troops in their barracks were still going about their daily lives. Thus, before they even knew the attack had begun, they were killed by falling rocks and logs or engulfed in an ultrasonic shockwave and an incredibly high temperature from the sky, while the survivors were cut off from supplies and completely isolated.

The next wave of attack was heralded by the sky-shattering thunder of nuclear artillery shells.

The earth shook violently and dust flew into the air. Walls were breached and the soldiers scurried around, looking for safe places to hide.

Anyone who had witnessed this and was unlucky enough to remain alive then gazed upon the shapes of a horde of iron war elephants.

"Here they came !"

The vanguard of the U.S. 3rd Army was composed of Type-92 Chamberlain main battle tanks. The thunderous roar of their advance ignited the already-fire up fighting spirit of the beleaguered troops before them. The words "You Fucking Bastards" shone brightly in their minds.

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The 1st armored brigade set off at first light when they encountered a carefully sited ambush consisting of a 60 Lindwurm in trenched in position and fourty of the fearsome 12,8 inches DP guns that the Allies had previously only encountered in fixed fortifications and Praetorian Bunker Complexes in a wooded area near Riqueband.

The Imperial Army lack of advance anti-tank weapons like Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) or even HEAT shells instead they used giant naval 12,8-inch (325 mm) capped armor-piercing shell with ballistic cap (APCBC) to fight Earth's heavy tanks.

Showing considerable discipline the Imperial forces waited until the tank vanguard had closed to 300 meters of the wood line before opening fire. In minutes the brigade had lost 40 Type-92 Chamberlain as well as 33 Type-47 Sheridan and 80 T-15 Armatas Heavy IFV (The Russian T-15 is based on the T-14 tank hull, with its engine relocated to the front to accommodate a passenger compartment in the rear, which adds the engine as a type of shield against frontal hits; passenger capacity is estimated at between seven and nine troops. At 48 tons, the vehicle is slightly heavier than the T-90 main battle tank. It has several features, including a built-in entrenching blade and the T-14's numerous cameras and sensors) to Imperial Land Dragons (Land Dragon, also known as Lindwurm, is a terrestrial wingless dragon used by the Empire as living flame tanks.), 12,8 inches anti-armored guns and 480mm rockets.

Simply put the 1st armored brigade ceased to exist, taking over 85% casualties, with the 6th Australian Armored advance stopped dead in its tracks. The balance of the day was spent combing out Imperial troopers from spider holes and out of underground bunkers, a costly task mainly assigned to the Royal Hussars who suffered some 120 KIA and 250 WIA before the small woods was declared secured. The eventual destruction of the fourty 12,8 inches guns, their prime movers and 40 of the 60 Lintwurm land dragons (30 killed by RAF J-100 fighter-bombers as the beasts attempted to withdraw) was a poor payment on account.

This ambush was only the first of a series of similar costly fights between carefully hidden Imperial rear guard units and Allied forces across the entire Allied line of advance. Units would make huge gains, then suddenly, seemingly at random, find themselves in fights for their lives at the edge of a wooded area, on the main road leading through a village, or at a river ford. Allied losses multiplied, while losses to Praetorian Guards and National units were far smaller, despite the fanatical nature of the fighting by these rear guard units.

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The angered Imperial commanders watched as the enemy advanced toward them as if they were heading into unclaimed territory. Looks of contempt grew on their faces.

"Send out the Titan armored Ogres! Night Fury units, take aim from above!"

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Night Fury is the strongest version of Dragons that created by the Holy Empire to counter Earth's aircraft. They are far larger and stronger than Wind Dragon .The wingspan of the Night Fury is more than 27 meters (90–100 ft.). It can even exceed 33 meters. Its wings are composed of individual finned members that can separate to act as a slotted airfoil, or overlap and seal to form a solid surface. When separated, they can rotate individually to induce or retard vortex formation. These finned members are not unlike the primary feathers of many Terran birds. The Night Fury is the fastest known dragons. It is said to reach speeds that 3 times the speed of sound . The Night Fury's streamlined sleek-shaped body and massive powerful magic wings help it obtain a speed limit rivaling a real-life Lockheed YF-12 .Its maximum speed is 4300 km / h by surfing on super-sonic wind created by its extremely powerful wind magic.

The fiber composite bones help the animal to achieve flight through the dense Falmart atmosphere. Unlike its smaller cousins, the Wind Dragon, it has six limbs, with its middle pair of legs serving as the "stabs" and its rearmost pair have taloned feet which are used for grabbing prey while diving or to provide a stronger kick while taking off. The Night Fury has four large golden eyes with black pupils.

Two of its main eyes are in the front of the skull, and the two others are located near the rectangular antenna bases. It also has what appear to be two rather short tails. These may simply be extensions of the rear fins.

The Night Fury can shoot bursts of purple-colored flames, composed of ionized oxyacetylene. Plasma blasts explode directly upon impact, sometimes exploding in midair at higher altitudes because of the cut off oxygen supply. The Night Fury can fire at different levels of power: For example, it can fire concussive blasts that can knock people off their feet, while at the same time being able to destroy entire battlements with more powerful blasts. These blasts can be fired with pinpoint accuracy.

The Night Furies' favorite type of attack is dive-bombing. Night Furies fold their wings to create a streamlined, aerodynamic shape while they dive from the sky, helping them to achieve greater speed while they accelerate downwards. Night Furies are incredibly agile dragons that can dodge many blasts from other dragons, magic arrows, and missiles. They also have a very quick reaction to an opposing threat. On land, they can outrun and outmaneuver most other dragons and even being able to jump to and leap from various objects like trees or walls.

The Night Fury's jet black color and magical radar absorbed scales make it nearly impossible to spot in the night sky. The only warnings that it gives is the sound of the dive-bombing with a loaded blast, right before it attacks with a powerful plasma blast, as well as the stars disappearing behind it. Night Furies are capable of cloaking. This allows them to blend into their surroundings. They do this by summoning lightning from the sky to turn their scales reflective and become temporarily invisible, although it has been shown to use up a lot of their energy. As a Night Fury enters its 'cloaked form', it causes a massive wave of electrical energy that electrocutes everything within a close radius

Night Furies have an uncannily great sense of hearing and they can hear long distances. They also have a good sense of smell and excellent night vision as they are adapted to fly at night. They cannot see well in complete darkness, thus they will use echolocation, such as in a cave, or when their vision is restricted. Night Furies are extremely intelligent, surpassing nearly all known dragon species. Like all other Empire's bioweapon Night Furies have an uncannily fast healing factor due to Titan serum.

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The Gigantic Titan Ogres, sheathed in heavy armor and bearing massive shields, lumbered forward at tremendous speed.

Every step they took radiated an ankle-swallowing weight. Their massive forms looked quite reassuring to the troopers.

As the Imperial soldiers looked at the wall-like shields carried by the 60 meters tall Giant Titan Ogres and saw that they could deflect the enemies' tank shells, they felt grateful to their giant allies. The Titan soldiers hid behind the Giant Ogres as they advanced, from a solid block the Imperial soldiers formed a column of three long lines.

In addition, the effects of the distant Plasma blasts fire from the Night Fury units was immediately obvious.

The UEADF soldiers fled back into their metal boxes after the rain of ionized oxyacetylene.

"Good, that's it! Encircle them and they'll be rats in a trap!

"Flip them over!"

"Concentrate mana! Launch super telekinetic shockwave !"

"Charge! Charge!"

In response to the Imperial soldiers' hopes, the Armored Titan Ogres emit a psionic blast that rocked the clouds and shook the dust in the cracks of the rocks.

The tanks and APC couldn't take the shock. The psionic blast crushed its structure as thoroughly as any mechanical scrapping equipment could have done.

"Ohhhhh!"

"It's working! We might win this!"

"Good! Now, swamp the enemy! Anti-tank gun teams, advance!"

The anti-tank guns emerged from the rear as they were pushed forward.

But before they could fire any shells the anti-tank gun teams engulfed in gigantic fire balls rained down from the sky. That were the TOS-1D 320mm MLRS battery. Just under 25 kilometers away from Imperial anti-tank gun teams were 58 TOS-1D 320mm MLRS rocket launchers. Each had 30 thermobaric rockets. Each rocket had 270 kg 9M66S thermobaric cluster warhead. A full salvo from just one TOS-1D will cover a rectangle 400 by 800 m. and there were 58 of them.

"Kuh! ...We're not done yet! Titan Armored Ogres, form vanguard!"

The Imperial troopers brought the Giant Titan Ogres to the forefront, in preparation for an advance. If they could close the gap to the reach of bow and magic, thus bogging them down in close combat, they had a chance of victory.

Or so they thought.

"Testudo!"

The Titan Armored Ogres clustered up to defend against the thermobaric rockets raining down on them. Their shields faced forward, above and on both sides. The monster drovers and the Imperial troops hunkered down within that formation. However, that instead allowed them to see the horrible sight of hole after hole being punched in those heavy shields.

Within that darkened space, they saw light streaming in through each little hole, like the stars coming out at night.

Anyone but the Giant Titan Ogres would have a hard time lifting those 3 meter-thick steel-plate shields. Even they could not stop the holes made by the rockets from 320mm MLRS rocket launchers.

Even so, the Giant Ogres were covered in armor of comparable thickness, and their morale was still good. That was because they could still count on their armor even after their shields were breached. However, the Imperial Titan soldiers were lightly armored in comparison, and it was much harder on them.

High-explosive incendiary fragment ricocheted inside the darkened space, and the Titan soldiers collapsed to the ground, moaning as white phosphorus burned through their bone, covering their faces as they died in droves.

After taking roughly 15 percent casualties during their advance, they finally reached the enemy.

The whistle signalling the charge blew, and the Titan Armored Ogres broke their testudo formation. The Imperial Titan soldiers swarmed forth to engage the armored formations in close combat. The Titan Armored Ogres lifted their clubs behind them, preparing to throw a powerful lightning spell at the armored formations.

However —

Flames spat from the snouts of the iron elephant statues, all lined up in a row.

The tank guns fired 152 mm pure fusion projectile ZBV5 with the yield of 0,01 kiloton, 10 tonnes of TNT.

Even the armored Ogres could not withstand a direct hit from those rounds at point blank range. The 60 meters tall Titan Ogres fell one after the other, with gaping holes blown in their bodies.

The thunderous impact threw the infantry back, and then followed a silence so profound it seemed unreal.

The Type-92 Chamberlain tanks reloaded.

"Fire!"

It was all the Imperial soldiers could do to throw themselves on the ground to avoid being blown away by the ear-shattering noise and the ferocious impact of 10 tones TNT nuclear explosions from pure fusion shells battering their entire bodies.

The great shields that had taken direct hits from the tank atomic cannon were blasted into the air like scattered leaves and then they fell, drawn down by gravity. The Imperial Titan soldiers, unable to flee in time, were crushed under the metal slabs.

This was the moment when organized resistance by the Imperial Army started to disintegrate.

Contorted in pain, the Titan Armored Ogres fell onto their backs, dragging down the Imperial soldiers behind them.

The Titan Ogres' arms and shields were blown away in one fell swoop, and they rolled around in agony. Thus, the Imperial troops did not even have time to flee; they were smashed away one after the other by their wild flailings.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the air, the Night Furies resorted to their favored tactics of dive-bombing with bursts of purple-colored flames, composed of ionized oxyacetylene. Plasma blasts explode directly upon impact. At the same time, they tried to toss bombs and Wildfire flasks from high altitudes onto the enemy.

These attacks proved to be quite effective for a short time. These blasts can be fired with pinpoint accuracy had destroyed hundred of armored fighting vehicles.

Of course, this didn't last long until the Night Furies themselves were blew away by nuclear armed SAM systems, so they did not affect the battle in a significant way.

XXXXXXXXXX

The great U.S. 3rd Army under Lieutenant General Tommy Kennedy advanced swiftly down the road leading to the Imperial army main forces.

Underground Fortress Marin stood in their way. Without any hesitation, they assaulted it from the air by a 1,2 megaton fusion bomb.

After throwing the defenders around the Underground Fortress into confusion with rocket attacks, the combat helicopters swooped in over their heads, bypassing the fortress perimeter fortifications and bunkers then they suddenly dropped Deep Impact Tactical Penetrator (DITP) nuclear bunker busters onto them.

From the point of view of Imperial troops, they had been caught in a pincer attack. Their most heavily-fortified strongholds were suddenly exposed to attack, and their chain of command was severed.

In addition, the "Iron Dragonflies" flitted around, drowning the fleeing troops of Imperial forces in rains of missile, while Boeing C-177 ULTRAs dropping napalm on them.

It was all they could do to fight the foe in front of them and tried to find the gaps in the enemy formation for attack or feigned retreats to lure them into advantageous terrain.

XXXXXXXXXX

Marais was a land of precipitous peaks and foreboding forests.

The 7th British Armored Division led by Major General Richard Hull was progressing well, but they had encountered stiff resistance from the enemy in the forest.

Amidst the sounds of distant gunfire and earth-shaking artillery, Hull emerged from his Ground Combat Command Vehicle , looking through his binoculars at the source of the noise.

"So, they blocked it off, huh."

"Yes. While we were trying to clear the obstacles, five 'Fenrir' came at us," the frontline commander said over the wireless.

"Fenrir" was the nickname for Volralden Warriors Titan among the UEADF. They resembled monstrous wolf in Norse mythology with the total length of 50 m and total height of 20 m. It had 2 small wings incapable of flight and covered with hair as hard as steel. It possesed tremendous amount of magic, being able to shoot explosive magic from its mouth and its horns. It had super strength and also had super regenerative magic. It has two types of explosive magic: a low-power lightning shockwave fired from its horns and a single high-powered explosive magic.

"So, how's it going?"

"Just as we were about to sweep them with the heavy MLRS guns, the enemy turned back to normal form and fled back into the forest."

"You should know, right? Don't let your men pursue them."

The feigned retreat to lure enemies into a waiting ambush was an age-old tactic but very effective. In addition, during this contact with the enemy, the main force was advancing to bypass Bezari. The objective of this battle was to destroy 58th Praetorian Guards Army Group. Fighting and annihilating the National Army was only a step in achieving that aim.

Still, they could not leave hidden enemies in the forest unattended. In order to remove their ability to mount any organized resistance, they had to reveal and destroy the ambushers.

"The enemy's coming. Wake up your bloody ideas!"

Until now, the 7th British Armored Division's columns had been led by super heavy tanks, which destroyed the enemy's scattered resistance as they advanced. However, it was hard for them to continue doing so in the poor visibility and unstable terrain of mountainous and forested regions. If they decided to employ monster wave tactics in terrain like this which hampered movement, even the UEADF would have a hard time.

In addition, the Fenrirs were covered with fur as hard as steel.

Nothing short of 210mm (fired from the L71 super SP assault gun by the Type-92 Chamberlain main battle tanks) tank rounds could bring them down. They were quite dangerous to the Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle, who only carried a 57mm canon. Then, what could they do? The best option was to tear apart their cover and reveal them. To achieve that aim, they conducted reconnaissance in force.

The sounds of mortars firing and mortar bombs exploding echoed from everywhere. The impact points changed constantly, guided by the telemetry from a DeltaQuad VTOL fixed wing surveillance UAV.

"General Hull . All units have been contacted by the enemy. We're in a combat situation."

"Umu. Make sure you keep the lines of communications clear."

Men could only see what was ahead of them. The most dangerous situation for them would be if they were engaged by the enemy from the sides and behind. Thus, they could not let the enemy through. Even so, it was hard to deal with guerillas, regardless of how advanced one's technology and weapons were.

They would fight off the enemy's attacks, run them down as they fled and root them out of their hiding places, then rain down artillery fire and destroy their ability to function as a coordinated group before mopping up the survivors. This was broadly comparable to "de-lousing", and it was the only way to be assured of victory against guerillas and special forces.

The mobile heavy infantry advanced slowly through the forest, 20mm rifles and shoulder mounted auto-cannon /missile launcher rocket lat the ready.

"The Fenrir have come out to play. Call in airstrike!"

With a whoosh, a magic arrow flew out at a trooper who was distracted by pulling out a grenade in response to his squad commander's orders.

The man went down, and his friends proceeded to return fire. After that, an Imperial trooper leapt down from a tree.

As if on cue, the Imperial troopers who were lying prone on the ground while covered with leaves leapt up as one, savage, murderous looks on their faces.

This was close combat, fought at ranges measured in yards.

The UEADF armored troopers stood firm, firing away into the enemy which charged them without regard to their losses at superhuman speed.

When the 20mm machine gun swept across the enemy line, the effect was like a chainsaw ripping away at a tree's bark and sending the chunks flying away.

The giant wolves revealed themselves, sheathed from head to toe in steel-hard fur. Several huge Titan soldiers wielding equally huge weapons approached the troopers

"The Fenrir aren't fast in the densely forested regions! Don't panic, fall back quickly and call in airstrike !"

The troopers fell back as one. On the command of "Fire!" J-86 air superiority fighters launched their AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles.

Not all of them hit. However, the armored wolves were still drowned in a wave of explosions and went down.

Of course, not every engagement went that smoothly.

There were companies who entered the enemy's kill zone, and ended up being flanked and destroyed by Fenrir high explosive magic. However, the overall encirclement was solid and slowly shrinking, and the Empire's organized counterattacks began faltering.

General Hull turned to ask his executive officer, who was studying a map, "Have we verified the enemy's position?"

"Yes. The enemy isn't scattering, but advancing to a single location, somewhere between the closest and next closest peaks on the forward left front. They seem to be planning to lure us in there."

After drawing the axes of the enemy's retreat on the map, they formed an intersection in the valley between what was designated Peak One and Peak Two. After considering their movement speed...

"Hit them with arty in five to six minutes' time," Hull said as he tapped at the map.

"It'll be more effective if we can narrow the bombardment radius. We'll have a drone confirm."

The DeltaQuad orbited overhead. The artillery gunners recomputed their impact points based on the information it supplied.

"Commence bombardment!"

The 180mm M1299 self-propelled howitzers opened fire, and every atomic round they sent downrange was packed with the equivalent of 7 kiloton of TNT. Said rounds rained down on the valley. The bombardment set the forest ablaze, and the shockwaves threw up chunks of earth and stone like someone was stirring up the very land. Most of the Imperial soldiers caught in this lost their lives, while the ones who had miraculously survived began an actual retreat. This was not an organized movement to draw the enemies into a trap, but a flight for their lives.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Count Woody, the enemy has come," Baron Clayton panted as he and his scouts surmounted a hill near Beza.

"Ahh, the iron dragonflies are flying too."

They looked up, and saw that the attack helicopter was looking down upon them from a height that only magic bows and cannons could reach.

Only the count and some of his men were on the top of the hill.

Count Woody thought, How does this place look from the air? Can they see me? If they can see me, then how do I look in their eyes?

"Many of the enemy are riding in magic-less metal carriages."

The land here was nothing but boulders and the weeds which grew between them. A path had been cut through the terrain, as though to split open the wilderness, and the enemy was travelling along it.

"Umu. I see them now."

Indeed, Count Woody had a direct view of the enemy as they drew close.

After verifying the reports from his scouts, Woody ordered, "Just as expected. Commence the operation!"

Beza was south of Marais, roughly a day's travel by horse.

It was an important travel passage If the enemy wanted to bypass the strongpoint of Marais.

Woody gave orders to the soldier beside him.

"Listen up. Haste makes waste. Repeat and emphasize to the soldiers that they must wait for orders."

The clattering of armor trailed the man as he ran down the slope. Each step threw up pebbles and dust as he broke into a sprint. Then, he suddenly fell flat to the ground and shouted, "Don't be hasty! Wait for orders!"

Then, he stood up, and ran somewhere else.

At a closer look, the earth was cracked there. And if one looked into that dark space, they would find several pairs of eyes shining back.

"Wait for orders!"

This was not like Marais where there was a forest for them to hide. However, there were huge boulders everywhere and the terrain was uneven. Woody planned to use them as weapons.

With the aid of magic and golems, they had excavated enormous trenches in the ground and piled vast quantities of dirt and mud on top of them to deceive the eyes in the sky. He had then ordered his men to hide within. Once the enemy was fully engaged, they would ambush them.

Naturally, this was not limited to just one or two locations. Giant trenches like these covered Beza, and roughly 1,000,000 men and monsters were hidden in them.

Their plan was to lure the enemy into overextending themselves deep into their formation before falling on them at once and turning it into a chaotic melee.

However, something took place that Woody had not expected.

What the Imperial soldiers called "giant metal bird ", Boeing C-177 ULTRA, flew straight at the trenches and dropped 740 "Father of All Bombs" at them and engulfed them in enormous fire balls. UEAADF were equipped with Ground-penetrating radar, so this trick were useless.

Count Woody gnashed his teeth from his perch atop the hill as he watched half of his troops burned to death.

"Gods dammit!"

"What should we do, Count?"

"What else can we do?! Fight! Fight hard!"

In accordance with Count Woody's orders, the ambushing Imperial troops rushed out at once. They had failed to completely encircle the enemy, but the plan of forcing them into hand-to-hand combat had not yet failed.

"Forward! Forward!"

As the bullets began raining down, the heavy anti-tank artillery disguised as rocks were rolled out.

"Oscillation Mine" Screamed 1000 Imperial grand magicians.

Oscillation Mine was an Oscillation-Type Magic that was designed to capture temporarily the adversaries moving into its area of effect. First it liquefied the ground with oscillation magic to make the adversary sink into it, next it solidified the ground by evaporating the moisture with moisture Oscillation-Type Magic.

In seconds, the entire Beza region's ground was liquefied trapping the 7th British Armored Division and the 6th Australian Armored Division. Catch by surprise, the 2 vanguard armored divisions were now immobilized.

Bozes multiple rocket launchers started to rain down tons of high explosives over the 2 armored divisions in unison. Monsters that looked like war 6-legs elephants and dragon-rhinos emerged from the trenches, pounding the ground underfoot with mighty thumps, and they exuded a fearsome presence as they pushed forward.

Land Dragons, Sentinel battle golems, and then hordes and hordes of monsters surged forward.

Both Units were making huge gains, then suddenly, seemingly at random, find themselves in fights for their lives , trapped in a massive swamp appeared from no where and as the soil solidified their tanks were now stuck in 5 feet of dirt.

Giant Titan Goblins and Trolls swarmed to the Type 92 MBTs like a tsunami swept everything on their path. With their giant 30 meters-long clubs they hacked the Chamberlain's sturdy armor plating that was designed to repel anti-tank rounds, making a shrill, screeching noise. The Titans destroyed everything they could with their enormous strength, giant 141- tones tanks were thrown through the air like tin cans.

"Enemies everywhere!"

"R-Requesting support! We can't fight back!"

Wails of panic came over the wireless from the tanks, who were defenseless once their enemies got close. Some of them were pressed the gas at full speed, in an attempt to shake off mud jamming their tanks tracks.

While some of the mud clinging on to the tracks were shaken off, it brought them out of formation, and they were swallowed up by the enemy troops.

The US 3rd Army were shocked at the massive amount of enemies who had appeared before their eyes all of a sudden, and all they could do was fire wildly at the foes before them.

"Don't panic. Stay calm. Don't break away from the formation. Let the Air Force kill them!"

After hearing their commander's calm voice, the troopers swiftly regained their composure.

However, the densely-packed waves of Titan troops, Sentinel battle golems, war beasts and artillery shells did not let up. They crashed into the armored vehicles with earth-shattering force from all directions, crushed their internal structure as thoroughly as any mechanical scrapping equipment could have done. Armor plates were torn apart like scrap paper and the troopers within were tossed out. The men hastily reorganized into fighting squares to gun down the enemies which rushed in to take advantage.

Type 69 Self-propelled 240 mm Recoilless Gun fired, and the battle beasts hit by them collapsed like they had been winded and breathed their last.

The Type 92 Chamberlain main guns roared, and the hordes of beast clinging to them were blasted several meters away.

Even so, the Imperial Army continued to leverage on their superior numbers and enveloped the Third Army forces.

"Good! Forward, forward, march the men forward! We must hold the line for the Holy Empire !"

XXXXXXXXXX

Countless Night Furies waited within the caves dug into the Thundering Rocks, floating mountains that circulated slowly in the magnetic currents like icebergs at sea.

All of them were fitted with saddles and magic armor, their riders lying flat on top of them, holding their breath as they awaited their commanders' order.

Commander Podawan mopped at the sweat which kept beading on his wavy brown hair, and kept an eye in the direction of the horizon from his place near the cave entrance.

The enemy's' scouts had very sharp eyes. He had learned about radar and infrared sensor so he knew, if they revealed themselves, even if just a little, they would be found and attacked. Thus, Podawan had ordered his men and their Night Furies to be covered in mud. The Night Fury riders naturally resented this, given that they were a proud lot and they were literally painting their faces with mud. However, they had to bear with it for the sake of victory.

Aerial reconnaissance birds flocks from "Heaven Eyes Project" orbited high in the sky.

XXXXXXX

Heaven Eyes: The Holy Empire doesn't have mechanical radar to detect UEAADF's aircrafts so to compensate this weakness they use a network of Wargs, people with the ability to enter the minds of animals and perceive the world through their senses and even control their actions, to spy on UEADF. Instead of thousands of radar the Holy Empire have billion of eyes and ears in the sky, on the ground and underwater to watch Earth Army every moves. Compare to Radar, Heaven Eyes gives much clearer images but a lot less accuracy in speed and height. That is why Imperial Heaven Eyes guided SAM are very inaccurate.

XXXXXXX

After being spotted by the enemy's scouts, they gyrated wildly in the air and frantically flew up and down.

"Looks like they have been spotted."

The birds fell. However, in the fleeting moment before they hit the ground, they already sent all the necessary information using Mental Link with their Wargs. This was a telepathic spying method they had developed from their experience in defending the Imperial airspace.

"Count Podawan. Four enemy fighter Groups (around 10 squadrons each), then four enemy fighter Groups again and 2 bomber groups."

"Umu so about 2400 enemy planes approaching, then. Listen up, everyone. This may be the site of our last battle. If they break through here, we're done. May that stiffen your resolve! Move out now!"

The Night Furies spread their wings as one.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Commander, we'll be able to see US 3rd Army soon," the co-pilot told Air-Fleet Commander Major General Adam West.

The Tu-688 heavy bombers of the Fourth Air Fleet transited from the plains into the highlands that were ringed by floating mountains like in the James Cameron's movie Avatar. They flew between the steep peaks. The US 3rd Army would be located somewhere ahead, need to be rescued.

The troopers stuck their bodies out, looking at the floating mountains that circulated slowly in the magnetic currents like icebergs at sea. The floating mountains were overgrown with foliage at the top and straggly beards of vines hang down beneath the mountains like the roots of air-ferns. Their sides were sheer cliffs. Waterfalls, originating on the mesa-like tops, streamed down the sides and dispersed into spray at the bottoms, like upside-down geysers. The mist then condensed on other floating mountains and flowed over the side and dispersed, renewing the process.

"Amazing," they breathed, marvelling at the spectacular sight. "Just like that old movie Avatar, isn't it !"

Even Major General Adam West found it hard to control the swelling in his chest as he beheld that magnificent sight.

"All right, we'll show those Imperials our might!"

He could not help but clutch the grip of his rifle tightly.

"Mm? What's wrong?"

However, swarms of Night Furies boiled out of the narrow caves in the floating mountains to either side of them.

"Watch out!"

Bursts of purple-colored flames, composed of ionized oxyacetylene fell from the sky. Plasma blasts explode directly upon impact, although not all of them hit their mark, hundreds of them managed to find their target. These planes were blasted into thousands of pieces.

"What happened!?"

It was all the troopers could do to hang on to something within the wildly shaking cabin in order not to be thrown out. One of them glimpsed the enemy and shouted:

"It's Imperial Night Fury riders!"

Shots came from all around them, and the bombers swerved back and forth to avoid being hit.

"Commander, Commander West! Is, is, is this really all right?!" shouted a soldier as he clung to his seat to avoid being thrown off.

"The hell should I know?! Don't talk, you'll bite your tongue!"

That was all West could say. After all, this was not just a matter of turbulence.

XXXXXXXXXX

"All right, the ambush worked! Bring them all down at once!"

As Podawan gave his order, the Night Fury riders pounced on the Fourth Air Fleet.

The lead Imperial Night Fury rider launched several concussive blasts at a descending Tu-688 bomber, as though to demonstrate, before couching his magic lance and plunging into a charge at frightening speeds.

He shouted "With me! With me!" and countless Night Furies followed in his wake.

He took aim at the cockpit at the front of a bomber with his dragonlance prepared for a concussive plasma blasts .

"Yeeeeeaaart!"

However, the enemy suddenly fired 57mm auto-cannon from its 2 frontal defensive turrets. The Dragon rider's leader and his beloved Night Fury had been blasted with hundred of anti-armor shells. Each bullet contains a shaped charge that can add 150 mm of penetration into tank armor with every hit. It was like he had physically exploded, his blood spraying into the air like foam.

After seeing the hideous fate of their commander, who had led the charge, the Night Fury riders behind him realized the danger of rapidly descending and the pulled up on their reins. They orbited several times before launching plasma attacks from the comparatively safer flanks.

"We can't hit the bombers from front ! Attack from the sides or above! Bring them down!"

After hearing the words of the experienced Count Podawon, they attacked from all sides. But then they were attacked by the bomber's escort jet fighters.

And so, the Night Furies dueled with the escort jet fighters in a furious dogfight.

Dogfights involving hypersonic jet fighters were more like motocross races.

In order to keep up with the rapid direction changes of the J88/101 hypersonic jet fighters, whose aerial mobility permitted them a rapid mix of ascent and descent, the night furies were forced to fly complicated patterns in their mad quest to track them.

While J88/101s might lack the agile and maneuver to pull off the stunts that Night Furies could perform in aerial combat, on the other hand, they had ability to attack a target from beyond visual range with air-to-air missile.

Flying up and down, suddenly accelerating to hypersonic speed and then showering the enemy trying to catch up with air-to-air missiles was something which only J88/101s could perform. The high-perform jets engines roared as they slashed through the air, then forcefully pulled away from the Night Furies and intercepted their attack with missiles.

However, the Imperial Night Fury Corps were not beaten by that.

They hovered in mid-air as their riders eased off on their reins, or they flapped their wings to rise and fall. Night Furies were capable of cloaking by summoning lightning from the sky to turn their scales reflective and become temporarily invisible to break radar and heat-seeker lock.

They made skillful use of their flexible bodies and tails, changing their angle of attack from unexpected angles and neatly evaded the 40mm machinegun fire from the Tu-688 heavy bombers defensive turrets.

One of the Night Fury rider leaned out from behind their saddles, turning through a hail of bullets like a circus performer and then fire powerful plasma blasts as he passed below the giant bomber and blew it to pieces.

"Got him!"

The battle for air-supremacy had last for more than 2 hours, by now 85% of the Fourth Air Fleet and 95 % the Imperial Night Fury Corps had been shot down.

But the remaining Night Furies were still encircling the embattled Fourth Air Fleet.

However, a stream of air-to-air missiles tore the Night Furies to shreds, striking them from the air.

"What, what was that!?"

"This is Major General Keima and friends from the Fifth Air Fleet! We're here to help."

The Fifth Air Fleet's jets swooped down into the battlefield like eagles taking aim at their prey.

The savage roar of the fighters froze the Dragon riders' hearts in their chests, and the UEAADF servicemen cheered as their morale soared.

"They're allies! They're fighters of the Fifth Air Fleet !"

Thanks to the intervention of 2000 J-4 Phantom III fighters from the Fifth Air Fleet, the whirling dance of death which they thought would last forever came to an end.

The sheer, overwhelming presence of 2000 J-4 Phantom III fighters conquered the skies of Falmart. Twice the size of the F-4 Phantom II and as big as a B-17 Flying Fortress, the J-4 Phantom III was a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range hypersonic jet interceptor. It was designed around the 60 mm GAU-12 Dragon Hunter rotary cannon with 4,029 rounds. Its airframe was designed for durability, with measures such as 5400 kg of hyperalloy armor to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems, enabling it to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying.

They closed with tremendous force, spewed hails of 60mm heavy auto-cannon fire, then peeled away faster than the eye could follow ー they were beings the dragons could not hope to resist.

The Night Furies were immediately plunged into a situation where they were harried all over the place. They took shells from the 60mm anti-tank heavy auto-cannon all over their bodies, snapping their wings off, and they fell from the sky like piles of minced meat.

"Whew~ we're saved. You came just in time," Major General Adam West said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked out the window.

Two pairs of two J-4 fighters traced a large, lazy arc through the sky as they orbited them.

Looking back, it would seem West and his men were in terrible shape with casualty rate of 85 %.

The bomber had flown up and down and left and right, bouncing them around inside the cabin, and they looked like they had been through a blender.

Still, it was better than being flung outside. Everyone clung to the floor or a seat, looking like they were about to die. Eventually, they managed to stand up, and they began checking that nobody had fallen out and that no gear had been dropped.

"Keima here. All enemy resistance has been smashed. Are you alright?"

"We're alive somehow. I need to thank you guys."

"No need for that. But if you insist… well, invite us to the next drink party of yours."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I have to hand it to the Anglo-American. they are tough nut to crack. I didn't expect them to fight this hard…"

As 58th Praetorian Guards Army Group's commander, Count Woody felt that the US 3rd Army's formation was very solid. He was not so much awed as speechless. He admitted that the Anglo-American was not simply a bunch classless commoners , but a formidable foe that he ought to have accorded the appropriate respect.

Woody had taken various measures to shake the opposition.

He had led the charge with those Titan Armored Ogres that had ferocious pushing power to punch small holes in the battle line, then pretended to send his main forces into the gap to make his foe waver, and he had also conducted fake retreats to cause havoc in the enemy formation.

Even so, US 3rd Army's defenses were still sturdy and immovable, perhaps even a little sluggish.

In order to lighten the mood, Legatus Karasta said:

"We've had a hard time all this while. Nobody can match us in combat experience!"

Legatus Mutra added

"We have the advantage in numbers too. No need for petty tricks; if we keep fighting like this, we're sure to win."

Just as Legatus Karasta and Mutra had said, 3rd Army's losses would accumulate over time, and if they continued fighting, their fighting strength would reach zero first. That was why they had the luxury of complementing enemy strength.

However, Woody could not calm down after listening to the these words. He bit his nails and said:

"We'll be in trouble if we're too optimistic. After all, time is our enemy."

The two Legatus bowed courteously to Woody , indicating that he need not worry.

Woody raised his sword to order an advance.

"All forces!"

But the other half of his command did not reach anyone's ears.

There was a sudden roar as 2000 J-4 Phantom fighters and 400 heavy bombers slashed through the sky from above Woody's head.

The napalm bombs they dropped devastated Woody's forces from the frontline onwards.

In their close formation, Woody's troops had no chance to avoid the fires of heaven raining down on them. Until the moment they noticed the hungry flames filling the sky, they had not yet noticed what had happened, and so they died.

"Sorry for the long wait, my friends! " said Keima

The shockwave that the heavy bombers left in its wake seemed like it would soar into the sky, and it pounded the eardrums of the ground-bound troops.

"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "

"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "

"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "

And then, the sneers of the Valkyries came from far into the east, accompanied by the beating of helicopter rotors. Things had happened so quickly that everyone was frozen in place, but Tommy still retained his senses.

"Right now! All forces charge! Do not let the enemy escape!"

Tommy's order resounded through his forces. Under his command, the US Third Army charged at Woody's dumbfounded army in unison.

"Ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!"

"Ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!"

4 Groups of 1000 AT-99 "Scorpion" Gunships directed their weapons at Woody's army and raked them with a barrage of 190 TK-411 WAFAR (Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket) each. A total of 190,000 rockets ravaged the Imperial army.

XXXXXXX

The AT-99 "Scorpion" Gunship is a VTOL ducted fan rotor, Mosquito-class targeting and missile launch platform. Outfitted close air fire support for military operations, the Scorpion is the gunship of choice for the UEAADF on Falmart.

The Scorpion has two forward-mounted stub pylons that are armed with four gimbal-mounted 20mm caliber guns with 700 rounds per minute cyclic rate of fire as close-range primary weapons. It carries two dual 25mm auto-cannon. Machine Guns and two triple-barrel 30mm Gatling Guns. The Scorpion has two pairs of huge stub-wing pylons to carry its armament of 190 TK-411 WAFAR (Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket) in ten 19-tube rocket launchers. The use of the rocket varies according to the warhead that can range from tactical applications to impact-based sensor systems. Eight Hawkeye HELLFIRE (Helicopter Launched Fire-and-Forget), are used to engage air-to-air targets in conjunction with the nose-mounted sensor suite.

Weapons fire is constrained by an Identifiction Friend or Foe (IFF) Lockout system, which prevents friendly fire incidents in complex engagements with multiple aircraft and targets. Essentially, any of the weapons refuses to fire if the projected probability cone of a friendly vehicle's flight path will put it in the trajectory of the bullet downrange. All air vehicles in UEAADF service can track each other in a battle theater in real time, using IFF beacons, and this data is integrated into the weapons systems via the IFF Lockout System.

The Scorpion is a proven design which functions well in the harsh Falmart's environment. Its ceramic bladed turbines are easily retuned to run in the denser Falmart's atmosphere. Its climb and hover performance are of course higher in the thicker air of Falmart, but its top speed is reduced significantly because of greater drag. There is no ejection seat, as inertial auto-rotation is the preferred method of surviving a power-out scenario. These aircraft, as with all early 21st century rotorcraft, have one serious flaw. If the rotor system is damaged enough to cause eccentric failure at the rotor hub, or blade ejection, the aircraft will have serious structural damage as a result of centrifugal forces sending debris into the airframe. This is followed instantly by asymmetric lift which induces an uncontrolled axial roll, followed by total loss of the vehicle.

This tendency is mitigated by the use of ballistic ceramics and carbon-nanotube composites in the rotor duct-rings that protect the rotors. These ducts are quite robust, and can withstand significant impacts. They also prevent the rotor blade tips from contacting obstacles when the aircraft is operating in complex environments. This makes the aircraft ideal for flight ops amongst the dangling vines of the Falmartian rainforest and amongst the floating mountains. Special "vine-strike" cutters have been added to the leading edges of the airframe and the rotor ducts. These guide any impacting vines into a cutting notch, much like the wire-strike kits which have been employed on rotorcraft on Earth for half a century.

From an interview with Colonel James Ardmore, UEAADF SecOps, formerly Captain in USN, conducted by Freemedia Officer Marcia De Los Santos, January 4, 2030:

"Flying gunship sorties on Falmart , you've gotta have eyes in the back of your head. Those mass-produce Fire Birds are big bastards and they're batshit squirrelly. They can hit speeds over 340 knots in full delta attack dive, which is usually coming out of the sun or overhead cloud cover. And they don't know what a rotor system is, so they'll get their damn wings sucked right through your blades if they get on top of you, then you lose the rotor and you're going in. Of course the Fire Birds doesn't do too well in that deal either, but it's cold comfort to the pilot. You've got to keep your head on a swivel if you want to live out your tour. Also, whoever spec'ed this Fang-7 gun system should be taken out and horsewhipped. They're a close-air-support weapon, not an air-to-air weapon, so they're set up for shooting at the ground. They're the wrong tool for the job. They angle down and traverse great, but they only elevate about fifteen degrees. When you're turning in on an aerial target, it's hard to get the angle if you're steeply banked. The Fire Birds can turn inside us, which makes them hard to hit in a close fight.

Obviously we've got the speed over them, except in a dive, because our VNE (Velocity Not-to Exceed) in this soup they call air here is only about 330 knots (and this can only be achieved in a dive). We'll pull our rotors off if we try to match them in a dive. Also… never, ever, take on a Night Fury. Those big sons of bitches come out of the sun, and I've seen them tear apart a Scorpion and burn the crew like a mashmallow .

Best choice is to outrun them straight and level. They can't catch us at full boost, but they'll sure catch you in a dive. Usually they hit from above, out of the sun, like those old German Stukas. If you feel that shadow on you, you've got about two seconds to react or you're lunch. And there's no warning screech. They screech after they've hit you, and it's the last sound you're gonna hear."

Colonel Ardmore was killed in action on the Great Air Raid on Alnus. His remains were never recovered.

XXXXXXX

The UEAADF J-4 Phantom III fighters fired their own 60mm auto-cannon for close air support as well.

Although Woody's troops had clearly had it, Keima and his men alighted from the landed choppers and spread out to wipe out the stragglers from Woody's army.

The iron dragonflies dancing overhead disgorged enemies one after the other.

He had to take control of the entire army and withdraw in good order. After returning to his lines, Woody castigated his panicking men and ordered them to immediately take charge of the shaken men and calm them down.

"We're going to retreat. We'll fall back to Padbarcalei and regroup there."

Under Woody's command the remaining Imperial army started to withdraw in good order, but even then they were still losing over a fifth of their force due to fire bombing from the UAEADF.

---

Headquarters, Human Expeditionary Army, Camp Alpha, Alnus Base, Falmart.

General Nuttall sighed quietly to himself. He was now commanding not just the largest but also the most powerful army humanity had even put together. A force that was growing all the time as more and more units joined the ranks. Nine Army Fronts, each with five to seven Army Groups, each with five Field Armies. None of them were complete yet of course, the units reflected nationalities, equipment standards, operational doctrine rather than actual numbers. But, one day, they would represent numbers as well. Over six thousand divisions, more than 75 million men. All in armored units, fully mechanized, fully outfitted with tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and salvo rocket launchers. Supported by air forces to match. The factories were humming, the production lines churning out equipment at a rate not seen even in the Second World War. Already the museum-pieces were leaving the ranks, sent back to the retirement they had earned yet again.

Nuttall smiled at that, on his desk was a brief note. A unit that had been flying J-100s had just finished converting to J-4s and its aircraft, those that had survived, were going back to their bases. It was a good thing, the losses of the J-100s compare to all the other aircraft had been high. Not many had been shot down but they were tricky to fly by modern standards and their structures had been fragile and easy to tired. The number of crashes due to structural failure and pilot error had also been far too high.

"Sir, a letter for you." A letter thought Nuttall, now that was unusual. The reason why an American General was commanding this Army was that only the United States Army had the communications and command-control facilities needed to run a force this size. Everything was done by email and datalinks, nobody wrote letters any more. He picked up the envelope, noting the script on it. It was beautiful, clear, precise, easily legible yet also beautiful and a pleasure to see. Nuttall was aware, rather guiltily, that his own handwriting was an almost indecipherable scrawl. The art of penmanship and calligraphy were long lost, and this beautiful copperplate showed him just how tragic that loss had been.

The letter inside was equally beautifully written and Nuttall read it with pleasure. Then he re-read it with shock although it was something he should have anticipated. Now this, he thought was a problem, and he started to re-read the elegant letter for a third time.

To General of the Earth Army Liam Nuttall, U. S,

In the name of the Holy Order, Please accept my deepest condolences for the victims of the Rumbling.

I regret that both of our worlds have to wage this War and that has delayed my communication with you but I have an important message to send to your government, the fate of both world is depended on this.

Very respectfully, Rory Mercury

---

Conference Room, Alnus Base, Lemuria , Falmart, 2030

Japanese General Kōichirō Hazama and American General Liam Nuttall, the most senior commanders of the Allied forces received Grandmaster of The Holy Order of Eden: Her Holiness Rory Mercury .

Rory Mercury : "Generals..."

Liam Nuttall : "Your Holiness..."

Kōichirō Hazama : "Your Holiness..."

Rory Mercury : "I am listening."

What an awkward way to start a conversation.

Kōichirō Hazama: "I will let General Nuttall talk because he is the Supreme Allied Commander of the Earth Expeditionary Force. I am here only because you have specifically requested my presence."

"You are Rory Mercury." That was a nice, stupid way to start the conversation Nuttall thought, years in the military and politics had proved to him that being underestimated was a valuable attribute.

"To what do we owe the honor of this visit?"

"There may soon be some great danger threating this world. I wish to discuss a way of ending this crisis with you." Rory's voice was deep and seductive.

"We can do that. Your Empire unconditional surrender should do the trick."

Rory barely managed to conceal her laugh. "General, wars always ended in compromise and with terms, never demand for a complete surrender unless you are certainly about your victory, and from what I have seen, I'm not sure the Great Army of your have the strenght to conquer the Holy Empire and I may even presume that the Holy Empire have the better chance to achieve ... But I would better stop here. Beside I'm not representing the Holy Darwinian Empire, at least not now."

"So who are you representing, Your Holiness ?" asked Nuttall.

"The will of the Gods." Rory smiled "Abaddon the Despoiler and the Army of Chaos have returned, more powerful than ever before thanks to the death, misery and suffering caused by this War. The tens of million of souls lost in this war has reopened the Eye of Terror and with it the largest Black Crusade this world have ever seen."

"So what, we are at war , so one more enemy won't make any different. We have defeated them before, we will do it again."

Nuttall tried to bluff, he knew the UEADF had no way to destroy the immortal demons, at least for now, but he couldn't show any signs of weakness in front of Rory.

"You mean, I have defeated them before and I can do it again, right, General ?" Rory smirked. She knew without high-level exorcism magic the demons were impossible to completely destroyed, but she must not over play her hand, UEADF could still nuked the entire planet and retreated back to Earth, Abaddon was getting stronger with every passing day, she needed the UEADF help and she need them Fast.

Liam Nuttall : "I understand. The presence of this... Abaddon and the Demons Army had turned the War into a stalemate. While, under these circumstances, we cannot win this War and hold the conquested territories, the 75 million men under our command are still a formidable force and could inflict horrendous casualties..."

Rory Mercury : "This is exactly the reason why the Holy Order will cease all attack againsts your force. We don't want to increase Abaddon and his Demon Army strength, do we !? Your huge armies will not conduct any offensive activities for the time being. If you decide to attack, you will run out of fuel and bullets before overwhelmed by Abaddon and his Demons Army, if you choose to simply hold your ground, we will offer you assistance."

Liam Nuttall : "Your Holiness, your situation is even more severe than ours..."

Rory Mercury : "Thank you for your concern but we are gathered here to discuss the situation of your armies, not of mine. After all, your world economy will begin to crumble in less than a year if you cant mine anythings useful here, not mine."

Liam Nuttall unwilling to give in "Maybe. Although we could retreat back to Earth and wait for you to defeat Abaddon and invade again."

Rory Mercury : "Oh, please, General, I am not stupid. We all know this war can last for decades and your world economy can't wait that long !"

Liam Nuttall : "I see. The situation is clear then . We would like to propose a bargain..."

Rory Mercury: "As I said, I am listening."

Liam Nuttall : "We shall cease all military offensive if you convine the Empire to surrender this continent and pay an equivalent of 100 trillion USD in gold, commodities, gems, raw material or other forms in reparations to cover civilian damage caused during the Rumbling..."

Rory Mercury: "This would be quite harsh of a conditions, but I am afraid, that I alone cannot dictate the course of the Holy Empire, but I have a proposal. I will request the Holy Empire cease all hostile activities on this continent for 200 days (100 Earth's days) and your army will simply hold your ground. While giving me an army to hunt down Abaddon before he became too strong, of course the Holy Order will pay you 500 million Suwani (30,000 tons of gold) and a map showing where all the natural resources lie as war fee, the Holy Order will also provide all necessary war materials and fuel for this operation. After defeating Abaddon, Earth and the Holy Empire can returned to killing each other for justice or resources like usual."

Liam Nuttall: "So, you expected us to do everything for you even sacrifice our own men to kill Abaddon ?"

Rory Mercury : "Yes, unless you want me to command an Imperial Army Group going pass the areas under your control or not wanting this world's nature resources anymore. And, if your Governments drop that absurd unconditional surrender condition, we can on behalf of the Holy Darwinian Empire negotiate an Armistice or even a Peace Treaty with the nations of Earth. In that case, we will all go home, obviously. Oh, I also need your permission to deploy our special unit."

Liam Nuttall: "I understand. We will have to discuss this with our Governments... Are you really sure that the Emperor allows this? Otherwise, all this talk would have been useless..."

Rory Mercury : "I would not have dared to make you lose precious time. The Gods had instructed me to stop the needless bloodshed and I will do whatever is necessary to achieve this."

Liam Nuttall: "Very good, You Holiness. We shall talk again soon enough."

Rory Mercury : "I am in no hurry, Generals. I will wait patiently for your response. Good day."

Kōichirō Hazama: "Good day."

Liam Nuttall: "Good day."

---

Port of Yokohama , Tokyo Bay, Japan, Earth , 2030

As his car rolled out of the black oval, Major General Nguyen Duc Chung looked out the window in awe. The long columns of tanks and other armored vehicles, which had stretched out toward the horizon under the blue Japan sky, continued here as though there were no break between dimensions. As the highway to Falamart continued, suddenly the rows of tanks were flanked by buildings, and he was aware of the car slowing down. Ahead was a squat, nondescript building with a thicket of antennas sticking out the top. On the other side was a veritable forest of flagpoles; each had a different flag flying in what looked to be a stiff breeze. The colors looked positively gaudy against the dull, orange sky.

The driver noticed what he was staring at, and commented,"That's the headquarters building, and them's the flags of all the nations that've signed on in the war against the Holy Empire."

"That's a lot of them," he said, half to himself. "Where's the Human Resouces Department building?"

"Over this way," said the driver, and he turned the car to the right as the road they were on fed into another maze of streets in front of the headquarters building. Barracks and other buildings slid by them as they drove, weaving through heavy traffic. People were everywhere – surveyors, construction crews, military types – and the place was buzzing with activity.

They passed an airstrip after a few minutes, the car shaking as some sort of gigantic plane climbed over them and thundered off into the sky, it is so enormous that its wings tore the clouds apart.

"What the hell is that?! They're launching fighters off that huge ship!" Chung asked in amazement

As his driver Quan edged over into the left lane, he remarked

"Thien Khong Phao Ham, P-1118 Aigaion. That beast rains guided missiles. That's some serious overpowered shit. The enginers at Boeing and Chengdu Aerospace Corporation have been working right hard."

XXXXXXX

The P-1118 Aigaion, also known as the "Great Shadow", are massive, aerial warships with wingspans of 1,100 meters (3,600 ft).They can carry up to 800 MQ-105s at once. As a heavy command carrier, the P-1118 was designed to act as a mobile base and long-range attack asset. Physically resembling a giant manta ray, the girth of the Aigaion forces it to operate as a seaplane, as conventional take-off would be impossible. The aircraft houses an internal hangar bay with CATOBAR systems accommodated for carrier aircraft operations.

The main weapons of the Aigaion, the Nimbus hypersonic cruise missiles, allow it to engage aerial and ground targets at near-continental ranges, and is armed with an array of anti-air cannons, AAM launchers and flak guns dotted across the lower, upper and rear fuselage. It is powered by a nuclear fuel core built beneath the main canopy, above its "mouth", which propel twenty-four engines arranged in rows of six on its trailing edges, allowing it to operate for thirty day periods before refueling.

The P-1118 Aigaion are additionally equipped with a Microwave Powered Dome that has a large rectenna to receive microwave energy from the Lighthouse via wireless transmission as their main source of electrical power. The dome also doubles as a central component of its main defensive mechanism, called the Active Protection System (APS). This defense system first projects a large halo of energy before generating a large shield of electric energy to destroy incoming projectiles and aircraft that are caught in the field. It can stop attacks from all directions, even from powerful weapons like cruise missiles. The APS, however has limits. It cannot stop large projectiles at an extremely high speed, such as a Mach 18 projectile from railgun.

The command carrier's specifications are as follows:

Beam: 1100 m

Length: 500 m

Height: 125 m

Weight: 100,000 tones

XXXXXXX

Major General Nguyen Duc Chung nodded, preoccupied. A heavy command carrier with enough firepower to level a nation . Very interesting.

The drive pulled off the road into a parking lot and stopped in front of another squat building. It looked exactly the same as the headquarters, except without the flags in front of it.

"Thanks," said MG Nguyen Duc Chung. He hopped out of the car, grabbed his briefcase, and quickly strode into the building, noting the double airlock doors that excluded the possible nerve gas attacks by the Holy Empire.

In the building, before the receptionist could say anything, he removed his breathing filter and asked, "Where's the 11th meeting?"

"Your name Sir?" she asked.

"Major General Nguyen Duc Chung command of the 4th Vo Nguyen Giap Mechanized Division," he said.

"Ah, welcome to Falmart !" She smiled. "The East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army meeting is down the hall on the left, third door. Room 108, your brother Major General Nguyen Duc Duy of the 1st Ho Chi Minh Armored Division is waiting."

Major General Nguyen Duc Chung and his brother Nguyen Duc Duy had graduated from the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM, Vietnamese: Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) one of the two largest national research universities in Vietnam with flying colours, and under normal circumstances they would have been considered the rising stars in Logistics & Supply Chain Management. However, The horrific event The Rumbling and the subsequent chaos followed it had changed everything. They volunteered to joint the army and climbed the ranks until they became major generals they was now.

XXXXXXXX

0600 hours, Itami Room, Alnus Base

Newly promoted General Itami Youji looked over at himself in the mirror once more before sighing. His sleep-deprived eyes looking over the intricate details of his uniform over and over.

Running his hand through his messy brown hair, he made his way into the living room. He had a long day ahead of him.

East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army, it just had to be a Field Army.

Itami didn't want to have anything to do with them and he had his own reasons for this.

The simple fact was, he was lazy, and with a new comic convention on the way he wanted to finish all of his current manga before going off to start getting new ones. His current exhaustion had been a result of yet another up all night binge reading session.

Such was the life of an otaku, especially one in the defense force. Itami always was one of the more odd ones. A fact not lost on his superiors and fellows.

The motto he lived by was that his job was nothing more than a means to continue his hobby. This didn't mean he was a bad soldier. In fact, he had gone through many special training schools during his time.

That didn't mean he wasn't any less lazy, however.

Itami straightened his uniform once more before grabbing his soft cover and making his way out of his apartment and onto the warm street. Outside a white GCCV sat parked on the opposite side of the building .

They had been waiting for him.

As Itami slid the door open he noticed the familiar faces of some of his fellow Japanese 3rd Recon Task Forces. Some were asleep, but most sat looking out the windows with stern faces. One had caught his eye however, a chestnut brown haired woman sat up front in the passenger seat her face brimming with excitement, Colonel Kuribayashi, still as lively as ever.

As she saw Itami take his seat she looked back at him, she began to ramble off, her excitement barely contained.

"Sir, can you believe this? You will command a Field Army! An actual Field Army with the Korean and Vietnamese armored !", she held up a photo as she squeaked. On it was a picture of a tank division firing their main cannons at a range exercise.

"One of my friends got to visit 1st Ho Chi Minh Armored Division in Indochina. during a military show, these guys are top notch! They charge right into the action, up close and violent, the way its meant to be done!"

Itami rubbed his temple and looked out the window with a sigh, it was going to be a long drive to Military District IX. Or rather it was supposed to be, Itami's nap quickly came to an end upon arriving at the main gate.

Itami stepped out of the GCCV and into the humid air of the base. As the rest of his fellow soldiers and officers exited, he took a look around the base.

It was if all eyes had fallen upon him and the rest of the van's former occupants; everywhere he looked, he saw Vietnamese and Koreans. Truly a mixed bunch, if he ever saw one.

"General Itami. Welcome to the 11th Expeditionary Army. We have various stations set up around the equipment."

The voice had came from one of a Korean officers that had driven them there, with a look of enthusiasm on his face he continued. "Everything you see here is the latest in what we utilize during our operations at home and abroad, and a lot of it will also be utilized during our operations in the South."

Itami looked around at the various armored vehicles and placed weapon systems. As the two approached the tanks another Korean officer walked up with his hand outstretched, with a warm smile he extended a hand and greeted them in rather broken Japanese.

"Welcome to the 11th Army, General Itami, am I Major General Eun-Sung Lee, CO of 5th Joseon Armored Division and she is Major General Ji-Eun Seong CO of 6th Goryeo Mechanized Division "Eun-Sung Lee pointed at his female colleague.

It took all the bearing Itami had in his core to stop himself from laughing, even the Korean general female colleague looked about ready to bust out laughing.

Eun-Sung Lee looked like a generally nice guy, certainly younger than Itami though. Unlike his subordinates, he looked relatively clean and upbeat, most of his hair concealed under the camouflage beret he wore on his head.

Not wanting to make the poor man struggle any further, Itami extended his arm out and said in perfect Korean .

"I am Army General Itami Youji and this is my team the Third Japanese Special Task Force and on behalf of the Japanese Self Defense Force, its an honor to work with all of you, Major General Eun-Sung Lee."

The look on Eun-Sung Lee's face was nothing short of embarrassed and several of the other officers who had heard the exchange snickered in the back. The noises quickly stopped when Eun-Sung Lee turned around, glaring at them. Eun-Sung Lee proceeded to compose himself before continuing his warm smile.

"Well, you certainly surprised me, Sir. I had taken those classes wanting to make things smooth between your men and mine, but it, uh, seems like you beat me to it."

Colonel Kuribayashi decided now was her chance to take the center stage. "So just 500 tanks in your division ? I thought there'd be more."

She looked at each of the rugged war machines, taking special note of the names on each gun tube. Eun-Sung Lee looked back at his division before beginning his lesson. "Well, typically, there are. In this case, however, most of our tanks unit back home is already tasked with different missions.

Now it was time for his favorite part: talking about the tank. "As you can see we operate the Type-92D Chamberlain Main Battle Tank. Our tank is armed with a 210mm smoothbore L71 super SP assault gun, two M61 Vulcan 20mm machine guns, and a commander's remotely controlled GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm caliber machine gun."

Eun-Sung Lee began to get into the breakup of how the armored division operate, the two Japanese officials merely nodding all the while.

"By 2028, the South Korean armored and mechanized divisions were almost identical in their composition and equipment except in the mix of their tank and mechanized battalions. Each now contained 10 battalions. The only difference was that the armored division had 6 tank battalions and 4 mechanized battalions, whereas the mechanized division had 5 tank battalions and 5 mechanized battalions.

The armored division now had 19,530 men and contained, among other units, 522 tanks; 474 armored personnel carriers; and 1182 anti-tank missile launchers (including 543 TOW launchers); 98 120mm mortars; and 5760 power armors.

The mechanized division now had 20,300 men and contained, among other units, 324 tanks; 550 armored personnel carriers; and 1284 anti-tank missile launchers (including 555 TOW launchers);103 120mm mortars; and 6912 power armors.

Artillery for each division was now 108 180mm guns , 18 8" guns [203mm] and 15 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System). (The 320mm guns had been assigned to the armored corps.)

The aviation unit now had 190 helicopters, including 66 attack helicopters. (The armored corps had a larger helicopter force: 654 helicopters, including 177 attack helicopters.)

The air defense unit now had 36 40mm guns; 36 Chaparral missile launchers; and 117 Stinger [hand-held] missiles. (The corps had a larger air defense unit: 54 40mm guns; 174 Chaparral launchers; 12 Hawk launchers; and 150 Stingers.)

The Korean major general continued to talk about the composition of a tank unit until the three were almost right up at the last tank.