Principality of Qua Toyne, Fortress City Ejei

September 3rd, 1639

"General Nou. The Useans have arrived. They are waiting in the castle."

"Mm. I'll go meet them."

Upon entering the waiting room, Nou saw two distinct men. They wore very plain uniforms, one a uniform dark green, the other one gray. Both held themselves with dignity and exuded authority. "Ah, if it isn't the generals of the nation whose small fleet defeated the entire Lourian navy. Welcome, good sirs, to Ejei."

The gray-uniformed man spoke stiffly. "Thank you for your hospitality, General Nou. I am Lieutenant General Semyon Pavlov of the 51st Air Group."

The green-uniformed man was more relaxed. "I'm Colonel General Matviy Zyma, 68th Field Army."

"So then generals, as you already know, the Lourians have taken Gim, and then will certainly come for Ejei next as they simply cannot ignore us. This city is extremely well fortified, so I would like to request that your army provide rear support. In fact, you need not leave your base at all."

Both generals frowned slightly. They knew that Nou was insinuating that they need not participate, though rear support from their base was quite easy.

Zyma spoke. "We understand, although we have a request. Please allow us to set up observation stations around Ejei to monitor enemy positions."

"That can be arranged."

The two generals then left without another word. Nou was surprised. He had effectively told the Usean generals to sit out of the battle; there was nothing they could do from 5 kilometers away. Yet the generals had hardly reacted. Didn't they have any pride?

Elven Refugee Caravan, somewhere east of Gim

Under the bright sun, refugees trudged on toward Ejei. They were from a small village, far off the roads, and were thus isolated from news about the fall of Gim. Having only heard of the Lourian invasion nearly a week later, they evacuated as quickly as they could; there was no way to know how close the Lourians were.

The refugees were mostly elderly, women, and children; the men had been conscripted months ago. 14-year-old Parun was among the oldest of the children but still too young to be conscripted. He was assigned as one of the watchmen in the back with other teenagers.

They were moving far too slowly. They still had 20 kilometers to go before they could reach Ejei.

"Lourian horsemen!"

Parun looked back. He could see about a hundred cavalry chasing after them, 5 kilometers away and gaining. The soldiers, with orders to slaughter all non-humans, were coming for them. The villagers began running faster, but there was no way they could outrun cavalry forces.

Red-eyed Jove, captain of the 15th cavalry regiment of the Hawk Knights, licked his lips at the sight of the elven caravan in front of him.

"Ahaha, look what we've got here…!"

Around 150 women and children were marching slowly eastwards across the flat grasslands. They were 5 kilometers away, but the land was clear of obstructions, so the cavalry could easily catch up. He had plenty of targets that he could torture, and he had the blessings of his superiors to do whatever he wanted with these demihumans. Gim had been a great experience; here, he could have a repeat.

The Hawk Knights were an elite group of soldiers. They were comprised of the best of the best, selected from eastern Lourian vassal states. The 15th regiment was considered a collection of "undesirables", former bandits and pirates who displayed remarkable skills when assisting Louria in conquering the other smaller nations that once existed on Rodenius. The captain of the regiment was known to be a particularly cruel man.

"Time to hunt! Massacre the demis! CHARGE!"

The 15th cavalry shouted out its rallying cry and charged out of the forest in pursuit of the elves.

Parun clutched his sister's hand as they ran.

Their village was being pursued by demons in human skin. Did they do something wrong? Would the gods turn a blind eye to their plight? There had to be something he could do. At the very least he had to protect his sister… These thoughts rose unbidden in Parun's mind.

Suddenly, he remembered a story that his mother had once told him.

Long ago, when "countries" did not exist, in the age of elves warring with demons, the demons tried to destroy the Sacred Forest where the elven god resided. The elves' warriors were killed, and their villages burned. The elven god begged the other gods to send help.

In answer, the supreme god sent the "Red Army of Heaven" into the world. They flew on strange crafts emblazoned with a red star, and fought with fearsome green land dragons, calling thunder from the heavens and flames from the earth, incinerating the demon army. With their strongest forces exterminated, the demon army retreated.

With the defeat of the demons, the Red Army returned to the heavens, but not before leaving behind one of their broken-down metal land dragons and a damaged flying craft. They were preserved with magic at a sacred shrine in Qua Toyne.

His mother had told him that these tales were true, that heaven had really saved the elves from the demons. So Parun began to pray as he ran.

…but nothing happened.

The cavalry caught up, and with nowhere to run, the boy fell to his knees in despair.

And above him, a light soared past.

The lowbreeds were less than 500 meters away. Their faces were stricken with fear as they ran for their lives. Jove pulled out his sword in anticipation of the slaughter, his face contorting into a disgusting grin. It was just like Gim.

The cavalry began letting a hysterical cry as they urged their horses to run faster, to begin the slaughterfest earlier.

Jove looked up, noticing a spot of light flying toward him. He instinctively felt danger. "SCATTER! HURRY!"

The entire 15th regiment fell into disarray.

Parun thought he was dreaming.

He had prayed to the gods, and the heavens had answered. A spear of light shot toward the enemy formation, bursting when it hit the ground.

Immediately, a thunderous explosion assaulted his ears.

Smoke and fire erupted from the ground, quickly engulfing the Lourian soldiers who were too slow to escape. Then another spear came down. And then another. A beam of red light appeared and a reverberating BRRRRR rang out, shredding the enemy horsemen.

It was then that Parun became aware of the flying ship (it was a Mi-35SV, but he did not know it) above him, making a sound like a hundred people chopping wood without stopping. More flying ships began appearing. And all of them carried a white-outlined red star.

"! The star! They carry the red star! It's the Red Army of Heaven!"

Eventually, the ships landed in the field and people wearing strange-patterned green clothing emerged.

"Is anyone injured?"

The leader of the group put a round object to his mouth and asked in a loud, inhuman voice.

The villagers were fearful. These were people capable of wiping out the Lourian cavalry effortlessly. Perhaps injured people that couldn't work were sacrificed for energy to power the destructive magic?

Parun stepped forward. "Thank you for saving us. Are you Heaven's Red Army?"

Heaven's Red Army? Our army was called the Red Army during the period of the Soviet Union…Well, I suppose we can play along. "Mhm, something like that I guess."

Immediately, the plain became filled with whispers. Then, the elves suddenly collectively bowed down on the ground.

"Ah, it's fine, please get up and get on our fliers. We will take you to Ejei."

The villagers protested. "But...but we aren't worthy of riding in your divine vehicles! To do so is unheard of!"

Oh for fuck's sake. "Elven subjects! It is the will of the Red Army that you board our flying ships and be escorted to Ejei! We are busy and cannot stay here for long!"

The elves, not willing to refuse a "divine" order, boarded the helicopters.