Chapter 2 Al Jisr (The Bridge)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ جَمْعِهِمْ إِذَا يَشَاءُ قَدِيرٌ

And of His portents is the creation of the heaven and the earth, and of whatever creature He hath dispersed therein. And He is Able to gather them when He will. (42. Asy Syuura: 29)

March 1, 2029

It was a sunny day in the city of Gaza, one of the great cities in Palestine province. Not even a month ago the entire Muslims in the world celebrated Eid al-Fitr. Cars were seen passing by on the Gaza highway. Most of them pulled over to the direction of the mosque to perform midday prayers since it was entering noon time. The streets were bustling with townspeople passing by. There are women with some of them wearing niqab while others just use ordinary scarfed clothes and there are workers who look busy. The highway which connects Gaza to Egypt province was also bustling with some transport vehicles such as trucks and buses.

A man wearing a black shirt and trousers of the same color sitting on one of the outdoor restaurant chairs enjoying a cup of tea in front of him. Ahmed was waiting for one of his squad members who was on vacation in Gaza during his leave. Ahmed is a Ghazi Officer with the rank of lieutenant. He and his team had just finished their mission in Myanmar to help evacuate Rohingya Muslims who were victims of extremists there amid military intervention by Daulah Islamiyah because the Myanmar government ignored the caliph's request to stop the extremists.

Currently, Daulah Islamiyah or the Islamic Union as the other country called it, has the largest military power in the world and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It has a total of 5 million active military personnel and 4 million reserve military personnel spread across its borders with the world's most advanced military equipment and technology followed by America, Russia and China.

The Islamic Union is also active in peacekeeping missions around the world such as during the incident where Neo-Nazis acted in Germany to carry out a coup in 2010, the Ghazi which acted as the military force of Islamic Union were deployed to protect civilians from neo-Nazi extremists. There were also some kind of rebellion that tried to bring the Soviet back in power from several countries in Eastern Europe which led the continent into a bloody regional war for some years in 2015.

Ahmed's thoughts about the events of the last few years were broken when he heard the sound of a chair being moved in front of him. Apparently the person he was waiting for had arrived. Karim, a Master Sergeant and Ahmed's second-in-command.

"Assalamualaikum" Karim greeted his superiors with greetings.

"Waalaikumsalam"

"So how was your holiday in Gaza? You've visited Al Quds, right?" Karim said, starting the conversation.

"Alhamdulillah, it feels very relieved after everything we've been through, especially after we saved our brothers and sisters in Myanmar. I am very grateful to Allah who has given us the opportunity to help our Rohingya brothers."

"Yes, Alhamdulillah. I can't imagine what would have happened to them if the caliph had not ordered a military intervention there to carry out the evacuation. I also didn't expect that all this time they were also using AK 47 weapons. Even though the western media reported as if they were only using bamboo or stones."

"Somehow they usually tell lies in broadcasting the news, you remember when their media also boasted about the American soldiers who defeated the Communists in Korea. Even though what they did was not much different from the Communists."

Their conversation continued for several minutes. Talking about the breakup of the Soviet Union and the unification of the Korean state after the Soviet Union broke up. Previously the Soviet Union had intervened in Afghanistan to support the nationalist secular Muslims who supported the communists there. The Sunni-leaning Afghan government asked the caliph to help them. Although the caliph at the time could not agree to direct military intervention for fear of direct fighting between the Ghazi forces and the Soviet army, the caliph agreed to send additional Ghazi troops and weapons secretly to train the Afghan troops.

The Soviet army, which was overwhelmed by the Afghan troops trained by the Ghazis, finally withdrew from Afghanistan. The Afghan government at that time was grateful to the caliph and was willing to take allegiance which then annexed the entire Afghanistan with the Islamic Union.

The Soviets, who suffered defeat in Afghanistan, experienced a prolonged crisis which eventually led to the dispersal of the Soviet Union into Russia and other small countries. Unfortunately, many remnants of Soviet sympathizers still remain today and often make several rebellious movements in the border of the Islamic Union such as what happened in Eastern Europe in 2015.

The Islamic Union itself has become a superpower country with abundant natural wealth and has many big cities as the Center of business operating under Islamic sharia law Such Doha, Riyadh, Dubai, and other Middle East Countries. Somehow most of the Arabian are really talented in business which led them to creating the biggest skyscraper building across the Arabian Peninsula.

Even though using paper money as a medium of exchange, the Islamic economy remains stable, since the Islamic Union finances are backed up by real gold, ignoring international finance and continuing to use gold for international transactions all this time. No matter how the US Dollar rises and falls, which should have affected the export and import product, the Islamic Union wouldn't be affected with the use of gold.

Since the Daulah's population has become denser, the caliph has decided to use paper money to replace gold, which is limited in quantity to meet the needs of the population for goods and services and is only used domestically. It's undeniable that paper money is much easier to carry and use than the gold coin or gold plate.

Ahmed and Karim who were still chatting suddenly stopped their conversation when suddenly the ground shook and caused panic around them.

"Ya Allah, it looks like there was an earthquake. Karim, help me direct the residents to an open area and away from tall buildings."

"Right away Lieutenant".

Ahmed started running and directed the panicked residents to an open area and around the main road. In the middle of the process, the wide highway near them suddenly tilted inward and seemed to form a tunnel downwards that was as wide as the highway that four trucks could even enter side by side and was up to 8 meters high. Ahmed immediately directed residents to move away from the main road to a park near the main road.

Not long after the highway collapsed, the earthquake stopped. Residents who were still around the main road and had not yet reached the park began to approach, forming a crowd near the collapsed main road to look inside. Ahmed, who was also curious, broke through the crowd of residents and took a look inside. At the end of the collapsed road there is an underground tunnel that leads inside. Since it was really dark in the tunnel, Ahmed and the other civilians were unable to see any further inside.

The sound of sirens was heard approaching, local police and ambulances began to arrive to secure the location of the earthquake. Civilians were also advised to stay away from the collapsed roads. Ahmed and Karim were asked to step down before they revealed their true identities and started helping the police. Fortunately, there were no collapsed buildings from the earthquake due to the strong architecture of the buildings, so there were no casualties. There were only a few people who were injured which were then treated by the Red Crescent officers who came.

"Masha Allah, how can there be a tunnel right under this city?" asked Ahmed, amazed by the tunnel underground.

"I thought the geologists had already excavated this area and found nothing lieutenant."

Ahmed looked at Karim with a surprised look, how could geologists have missed this tunnel? In the middle of their short conversation, suddenly from inside the tunnel they can hear sounds like marching footsteps. The sound was getting louder inside the tunnel, making Ahmed and Karim look and examine what was in the tunnel from afar. The police officers on duty also looked inside to follow Ahmed and Karim while aiming their guns.

From inside the dark tunnel, human silhouettes started to pop up, forming a line until they clearly revealed themselves. They look like medieval European soldiers with spears, shields, and uniformed in yellow armor. They also bring the yellow flags and pennants bearing the image of a lion's head with swords on either side. They marched out of the tunnel, climbing up the road which is sloped inward toward the surface.

Behind them, there is a man on horseback wearing an armor that looked different and fancy compared to the troops that were marching in front of him. The man on horseback suddenly raised his sword and shouted a word that Ahmed and those around him could not understand, though it sounded like French. Suddenly, the sound of a horn can be heard amid the troops that were marching in front of the tunnel.

Those troops which lined up in front of the tunnel immediately ran over and stormed the surface. The police who were aiming their pistols immediately fired their pistols after seeing the line of troops charging with swords and spears. Their shots managed to bring down several soldiers who stormed. But the unknown soldiers were too many and it was as if the number that was shot down was meaningless. Ahmed, Karim and the police immediately ran backwards while evacuating the civilians who were still around the area. The civilian spreads and runs in panic as they realize that they were under attack. Some of the civilians and the cops which are not fortunate enough are being killed by arrows, spears or swords from the attackers.

Aside from foot soldiers, cavalry also appeared from the tunnel, chasing and stabbing any people they could find, whether it's a police or a civilian. The horror didn't stop there, after a while other different units started to emerge from the tunnel. A small dragon or something similar to a Wyvern in European mythology with a human rider on top of it. They chased the civilians who were running away and shot arrows, speared, or even fired a magic that looked like a bolt of fire. The magic which some were hitting the ground resulted in a small explosion which is quite fatal if it was directly hit to a human. Karim and Ahmed ran while shooting down several horsemen with the pistols they got from the dead police, while saving as many civilians as they could.

"Karim, take your cell phone and call the 2nd Palestinian Division headquarters through the emergency number. We need military assistance now," said Ahmed while still running while firing his gun.

Karim immediately took his cell phone and called the nearest military headquarters. In the midst of commotion between the civilian and the invaders, suddenly there was a roar that was quite deafening. Ahmed, who was busy shooting as many enemies as he could, immediately turned his gaze to the source of the sound. His eyes widened to see where the roar was coming from.

SHRIEEKKK

A group of wyverns along with their riders chased and preyed on the civilians who were trying to save themselves. Regardless it's a woman or man and even children were becoming their target. The invaders didn't even consider anyone they killed, even if it was a child or a woman.

Ahmed who saw what happened could only gritted his teeth while trying to save himself and the civilians who were running around him.

"Lieutenant, the Army are mobilizing and deploying the entire Palestinian 2nd division which is currently scattered throughout the Palestinian territories. The nearest forces would arrive ETA 5 minutes, we must hold off the barbarians until our troops arrive." Karim said while still holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Alright, take as many bullets as you can from the syuhada here and protect the residents." Ahmed replied as he picked up some gun clips.

"General Ayyub said that before the main forces arrive, you are in charge here."

Ahmed nodded his head, then ran towards a group of policemen trying to protect the people behind them. Ahmed ordered the police to re-coordinate and set up barricades in the middle of the road to hinder the enemy.

The barbarian army seemed endless, most of the police had run out of bullets, so did Ahmed and Karim. Several police officers were prepared with whatever tools they could get to replace their small arms, such as pipes or broken metal on the road.

The ancient troops who were starting to be overwhelmed with police resistance began to show their other weapons which were very difficult for any modern human to believe, things that had been lost for thousands of years since the time of the Pharaohs, "MAGIC". Those who used magic were clad in fancy clothes and uniforms different from the rest of the warriors. They stepped to the front of their ranks and pointed a small staff. From the same stick, came a bolt of fire, rocks, and ice shards which flew towards the police defense and killed several policemen who were unlucky to be hit by the shot.

Ahmed and the others were almost desperate enough to attack the ancient troops using makeshift weapons other than pistols until suddenly the sound of a chopping in the air surprised and relieved them.

One of the radios used by the police near Ahmed rang.

"[bzzz] This is Qomar 1, looks like you guys need some help down there."

Ahmed, who was nearby, immediately took the radio to answer it.

"This is Mubarizun 1, it's about time you show up. We almost used wood and sticks to fight these guys."

"[bzzz] Roger that Mubarizun 1, we will focus on driving away the mosquitoes for you, just sit tight and watch until we wipe out all these bugs."

Not long after that, the sound of helicopter's dual minigun from either of their wings above them rang out and knocked down a large number of the wyverns in the enemy ranks.

BBRRRTTTTTTT

The enemy troops looked completely shocked. Even the wizard who had been bombarding Ahmed and the police stopped their attack to look at the wyverns that had fallen on top of them in a short time.

Then, not long after that, the ground shook with the sound of roaring engines behind the line of police and Ahmed distracted them. Ahmed and Karim's smiles grew wider when they saw the troops in a black camo uniforms accompanying the tanks with the Islamic Union flag on top of its turret. The loud bang of tank cannons firing at the barbarians was heard, followed by a series of gunfire from the Ghazi soldiers.

BOOM

TATATATATATA

The enemy who saw their soldiers falling quickly in a short time, began to flee in disarray. Their wizards started to create some kind of invisible shields to protect their troops. It seemed that to make the shields the magicians had to spend a lot of their energy. Unfortunately, these invincible shields were not strong enough to face a blast from modern tanks. The shields shattered like glass after a hit by a tank shot or a rocket launcher weapon that the Ghazi soldiers were carrying. The Ghazi soldiers began to push back the barbarian army while shouting takbir.

"Allahu Akbar … !"

"Allahu Akbar … !"

Thousands of these unknown soldiers fell on the streets. The sound of machine gun fire and explosions was heard everywhere. The enemy troops tried to protect themselves with their wooden shields which resulted in vain. The bullets fired by the Ghazis penetrated their thin wooden shields.

Transport helicopters and Saqr combat helicopters fly in the sky of Gaza. Some of the Saqr helicopter drop the troops on top of the building while the rest drop the troops on the streets. The troops that descended on the top of the building immediately opened fire on the scattered enemy troops from the top of the building.

Seeing that their situation is getting worse, some of the frightened enemy troops immediately dropped their weapons and crouched down, raising their hands, making a sign that they are surrendering. The police officers who joined in the fight immediately arrested and secured them. Some of the people who surrendered turned out to be the wizards who wore different fancy uniforms.

At this point all the wyverns that was freely attacking the citizens from the sky had been exterminated by the H-1 Saqr helicopters which were also assisted by the SU110, a 5th generation fighter jet which now rule the sky. The wyvern riders can't believe that their superior mounts could be overpowered by something barely visible to the eye.

The battle continued in the streets while the enemy archers and magicians still stubbornly put up a fight against the Ghazi army. Although their arrows and magic did not work against CV-8 Mahmud tank, several of their attacks managed to hit an infantry which is unfortunate enough. Some of the hit cause minor or medium wounds, while there were also those who were saved by their bullet proof vests. Only a few become a syuhada.

The enemy troops continued to be push back until they finally arrived at the starting point of their attack. They started to escape in disarray by entering the underground tunnel they came from. At this point all the wyverns had been taken down by the helicopters flying in the air. On the ground, the enemy wizard was getting desperate when their attack can only scratch the tank armor. They soon try to flee through the tunnel, leaving their troops behind while some of them fell after getting hit by a blast and their legs were shot or hit by the shrapnel.

In the midst of the battle, Ahmed could see from afar enemy soldiers dragging people who appeared to be in chains as their prisoners. Most of the people in chains were women. Their headscarves had disappeared somewhere, while their clothes were messed with a lot of teared parts. Without needing to think, Ahmed could already guess what they had experienced. Ahmed turned to the nearby soldiers around him.

"Sergeant, I want those prisoners saved as soon as possible. Don't let the barbarians lead them into the tunnels."

The sergeant in question looked where Ahmed was pointing, then immediately radioed his order. Without waiting long, several teams accompanied by Ahmed and Karim moved to save the residents. They shot all the enemies that tried to get in their way.

An enemy soldier who was pulling the end of the prisoner's chain and screaming in their language while showing an angry expression, suddenly fell down with a hole in his head. The other enemy soldiers who witnessed this were immediately frightened and cowered down dropping their weapons. Ahmed, Karim and other Ghazi soldiers who saw the enemy surrender immediately moved to secure them and freed the prisoners. Some of the prisoners immediately burst into tears, while others immediately ran towards the Ghazi army to find a safe place.

1 hour later, the battle was over. Ghazi soldiers began to take turns praying Asr after the battle was over, Ahmed and Karim were no exception. They laid out a large carpet and prayed together outside. The enemy prisoners who saw their worship ritual were amazed, because they saw nothing in the direction that they were prostrating. But even the Ghazi soldiers paid little heed to them.

Several tanks stand guard right in front of the underground dark tunnel. In his mind, Ahmed thought that this incident would make him miss his holiday and be declared on duty.

"Well, at least I don't have any important activities planned for my vacation this time."

###

At Yildiz palace

The caliph, who was sitting in his office currently observing the annual financial reports in each province. Suddenly one of his ministers entering the room.

"Pasha? What is it? You look in such a hurry."

"My Sultan, Gaza is under attack sir."

"WHAT? How could that be? Are the Europeans and Americans attacking us? And what is the status of the battle over there pasha?" said the caliph

"We encountered an unknown enemy coming from a mysterious tunnel that appeared in the middle of the city. Alhamdulillah, we won the battle, I brought a detailed report on the results of the war."

"Please, read aloud."

"From the Gaza battle, we managed to kill 40,000 enemy troops, while the rest fled inside the tunnels where they came from. The victims of our army amounted to 20 people died and 230 others were injured. We also have around 3000 civilian deaths and 100 civilians missing."

"what do you mean missing?"

"We couldn't find the bodies, but we couldn't find them in their families either."

"Gather the ministers and other staff, we will discuss this matter. We must immediately come up with countermeasures to respond to this attack from the unknown forces."

"Understood, my Sultan."

###

2 weeks later

March 15, 2029

Both domestic and international news are giving a non-stop news about the attack by mysterious forces in the middle of Gaza City. Gaza City is one of the tourism cities which besides being close to Al Quds is also close to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

The big nation such as US, China, Russia, and other NATO countries began to ask to be allowed to enter the mysterious tunnel on behalf of the UN forces. The tunnel it self is now officially called Al Jisr (The Bridge) because of its nature which bridges the two worlds. However, the caliph did not give permission and only accepted assistance in the form of supplies and equipment.

After 2 weeks, a wall and barricade were built around the tunnel. The top side of the tunnel were also covered in a hangar which recently built on top of it and made of concrete with a gate made of iron. Inside the hangar, there is a row of remote controlled machine guns pointed inside the tunnel, ready to shot anyone or anything that would come out of it.

The street near Al Jisr became one of the centers of military activity. In the nearby park, the park area has been turned into a military base similar to those in Vietnam. Hundreds of military tents stood there. Tanks and other combat vehicles are parked neatly on the outskirts of the park. Helicopters flew in and out.

The caliph decided to once again declare jihad and planned to gather troops from various parts of the Islamic territory. Various drones as well as reconnaissance teams will be sent over the next 2 weeks to study the areas such as oxygen content, gravity levels, and natural conditions behind Al Jisr. Apart from finding those who responsible for the attack, the purpose of the expedition from the Islamic army is also to save people who were kidnapped by troops from the kingdom which called themselves Leonia. If necessary, this expedition operation is also aimed at expanding Islamic da'wah to the world behind Al Jisr.

Activities and offices that previously operated in the area near Al Jisr were moved to other areas while all the buildings there were used for military purposes.

Military tents and helicopter landings were built in the park area near Al Jisr, the buildings around Al Jisr were converted into military buildings such as barracks and weapons stores. In one of the tents in the park, there is one of the J17 team led by Ahmed. Currently they are resting in the tent after completing routine training. The number of members of Ahmed's team is 20 people who come from various regions of the Islamic region such as Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, and the Indomalayan archipelago (Indonesia and Malaysia).

One of them is Faruq who is a member of Ahmed's team which originated from Palestine province. It's just that Faruq is not from Gaza, but from the city of Haifa. Faruq is a medic in Ahmed's team. On the left sleeve of his uniform is a white bandana with a red crescent moon on it.

At this time Faruq was sitting on his bed while reading one of the fantasy story books that came from Japan and had been translated into Arabic. Suddenly Ahmed sat beside Faruq looking at the book Faruq was carrying.

"How did you feel after learning about the attack in Gaza?" asked Ahmed starting the conversation.

"I can only be grateful that Leonia's troops did not came out in Haifa Lieutenant!" Faruq marked the book he was reading before closing it and placing it on his side table

"They have declared war on the Islamic Union by massacring civilians regardless of men, women or children."

"Yes, and the caliphs have announced the call of Jihad to their kingdom. What do you think will be behind that tunnel lieutenant?"

"I don't know Faruq, what is certain is that we have seen something we have only read about in fantasy books, such as magic and wyverns. It is likely that there will be even more creatures that we have always thought of as fantasy in their world."

"Do you think we can preach Islam to them?" Faruq asked.

"Even though there are many fantasy creatures in their world, they are still ordinary humans like us. And Islam is a Mercy for the entire universe, not just this earth. Then you can come to your own conclusions."

"It seems that our scholars will be more busy doing ijtihad in the future considering that there are many foreign things that we will encounter there."

They continued their conversation about the fantasy world and the book Faruq had read.

###

2 weeks later

28 days after the attack

March 29, 2029

Various investigations into the world behind Al Jisr have been carried out. The result is that the world behind Al Jisr has oxygen levels and an atmosphere that is 99% the same as the earth. From the information provided by the prisoners of war, the continent where their kingdom located is called Edela. Apart from Leonia, there were 5 other kingdoms on the continent, namely Byzantius, Galinea, Isylum, Greecia, and Scotia. The five kingdoms were neutral to each other before the kingdom of Leonia attacked Scotia for no apparent reason.

Leonia is the 3rd largest kingdom there. Their social order is almost the same as the social order of European nations in the dark ages. Namely Kings and Nobles is the highest group which all members have magical abilities. Then below that there are spiritual groups, scholars, philosophers, and commoners. Having the belief in worshiping gods like the ancient Romans, one of the most venerated gods, namely Solus.

Their weapons are also at the level of medieval weapons. It's just that they have wyverns and magic, but other than that the weapons they use are nothing more than bows, arrows, swords, and spears.

That morning, all of Ghazi's troops performed morning prayers together in a field near Al Jisr, thousands of people in black uniforms lined up neatly. The Imam will be none other than General Ayyub who will lead the counterattack via Al Jisr. After the prayer, the 3,000 Ghazi troops who would be going to pass through Al Jisr as the first wave immediately headed to their respective positions. The infantry immediately entered the "Jamal" Jeep or "Safir" light armor while CV-8 Mahmud tank would be positioned in the front row. The Ghazi Troop vehicles that would enter Al Jisr are forming four columns row.

Ahmed and his team who had the call code J17 are currently running into the Safir LAV provided for them, 20 members of Ahmed's team entered the 2 Safir vehicles. The code J17 itself means part of the 17th team's J company. Inside Safir, Ahmed heard the Safir's radio turn on, then from the radio came an unexpected voice, it was Caliph Osman. The one who lead the entire Islamic Union.

Assalamualaikum my brothers and sisters.

About 1 month ago, a group of foreign soldiers who were not from this world attacked Gaza city and killed many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, they killed people indiscriminately. Many of our Muslim brothers have lost both their property and their family members. They are waiting for justice to be upheld, there were even peoples who have gone missing during the war, and they also have families waiting for them to return home. It's our duty to uphold justice and also to propagate the religion of Islam and exalt the name of Allah out there. Fear Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and show them that Islam is above all. There is no victory that comes without Allah's help. May Allah be with us.

Then the voice on the radio changed to that of General Ayyub.

"For all unit which are going to enter Al Jisr, after this we will start crossing Al Jisr, in the name of Allah we will find and set free the kidnapped and captived our brothers and sisters. Even though maybe our weapons and equipment are far more advanced than theirs, remove pride from all of your hearts even if it's only a grain of zarrah, because there is no victory that does not come from the will and help of Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala. Laa Hawla wa Laa Quwwata illa Billah. Hear me my lions, my mujahideen, raise your guns and brave yourself to face our enemy, ALLAHU AKBAR!"

Then the sound of the radio died and was replaced by a machine that began to be heard from various vehicles. Mahmud's tank which was in the front row started to descend the road and entered Al Jisr. Then followed by the Osman Tank, then LAV Safir and also the Jamal jeep. When Ahmed's vehicle entered the Al Jisr tunnel, the light that entered the vehicle from outside began to dim until it completely disappeared, replaced by the lights in the vehicle that were turned on.

Ahmed tried to look out through the window gap in the vehicle. Inside the tunnel looks like an ordinary underground tunnel. The lights of the vehicles that were turned on outside illuminated the ground around them which colored in desert brown. Strangely, 5 minutes after the vehicle entered the tunnel, in an instant the color and texture of the soil suddenly changed, which was brown like a dessert soil in general, now turned dark like a European soil. The air temperature were also suddenly became colder, reminding Ahmed of eastern Europe. an abnormal change thought Ahmed, ahmed's hand tightly gripped the T-7 weapon he was holding, feeling the air of war that would not be long in coming.