GATE: the clash of the titans V2

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.

17. Chapter 17: Deus Vult pt4

Chapter 19 Year One Finale - The Cataclysm of Ice and Fire P4

"The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ... Alnus is no longer a military base. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the river and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Alnus are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

---

Amphitrite Naval Complex, Tavros mountain, Balaklava, Southern Lemuria.

Tens of thousands of wyverns flew in circles all around Amphitrite Naval Complex, their uncountable number proving to be overwhelming to the humans. Thanks to the new magical air traffic control system, developed by the Holy Darwinian Empire after taking inspiration from the UEADF, they were able to easily utilize the great plains all across the continents as makeshift airfields where wyverns and their supplies could be based on, allowing this massed attack to take place.

The big task of giving the order to attack fell on the shoulders of Dall Llad, commander of the Holy Empire's 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet . He looked at the mass of dragons filling the sky, a sight he himself had never seen before. He felt his heartbeat getting heavier as he couldn't help but feel the historical weight of the task that had been given to him. Glaring at the UEADF'–the invader's mighty fortress, thoughts went around his head.

Dall stood atop of a Void Lantern, overlooking the Amphitrite Bunker Complex. The base was an imposing sight, built into the very heart of the Tavros mountain. It was clear that the enmey forces had gone to great lengths to fortify the complex with multiple layers of defenses.

Dall watched as his wyverns flew in circles around the Amphitrite Naval Complex. Despite their overwhelming numbers, he knew that the human forces were still a formidable opponent. The complex was well equipped with powerful weaponry, including tube artillery up to 210mm, mortars and the much-despised Nebelwerfe rocket launchers in various sizes up to 320mm. Additionally,the complex had been upgraded with substantial anti-aircraft defenses ranging all the way up to 128mm in size, and S-400 missiles. This was going to be a difficult battle, even for the powerful wyverns under Dall's command.

"I never thought we'd get the chance to lead this attack… We're finally going to end these bastards, Derka…"

Dall mentioned the name of his fallen subordinate. After taking a deep breath, he pressed the switch on his manacomms.

"All units, commence attack! I repeat: commence attack! Show them the power of the glorious dragon riders of this world and burn them to cinders!"

In response to his orders, the roar of thousands of wyverns enveloped the sky before resonating throughout all of Balaklava. Having surrounded the mountain, the wyverns simultaneously flew closer.

Despite the overwhelming firepower of the complex, Dall had a plan. His forces had spent weeks studying the layout of the base and had identified several weak spots in its defenses. Dall knew that the key to victory would be a surprise attack from above, with the wyverns striking fast and hard before the complex could mount a counterattack.

As the wyverns began their sweeping circular motion around the complex, Dall felt a sense of tension and apprehension building inside him. He had led many battles before but this one felt different, more significant. The fate of his empire and his people literally hung in the balance. Suddenly, a blinding light streaked across the sky, illuminating the wyverns and their riders with an eerie radiance. Dall knew it was one of the complex's powerful searchlights, designed to detect and track incoming aerial threats.

"Brace yourselves!" he shouted to his fellow riders. "Here we go!"

The wyverns surged forward, their wingspans blotting out the stars as they closed in on their targets. Dall could see the complex's defenses coming alive, firing a rain of projectiles at them. Dall watched from the safety of his command post asthe sky lit up with explosions, the acrid stench of smoke filling his nostrils. But the wyverns were not deterred, their powerful wings beating faster as they closed in on their targets. He knew that it was now or never, and took a deep breath before giving the order.

"All units, attack!" he bellowed into his communicator.

His heart pounded in his chest as he watched the aerial assault begin. Flames erupted from the wyverns' mouths as they unleashed a fiery barrage upon the complex's defenses but their attacks barely made a scratch on the well-protected surface. The Wyvern Air Fleet was not deterred, and they continued to press their attack.

The wizards of the 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet unleashed countless elementals magic spells, creating massive explosions and streaks of lightning that filled the sky. The wyverns swooped down, dodging enemy fire, and unleashing waves of blue fire onto the Amphitrite Naval Complex.

Operations command room.

"A forest fire had broken out!"

Thanks to wiredless communications with a camera stationed in the city of Balaklava, they were able to know in real time what was happening outside.

"What are they trying to do?"

"Burning the forest, huh? 'Tis but the outermost layer; Mt. Tavros will not fall from such a surface-level attack!"

After organizing the information coming in, the officers explained what was going on to everyone else.

"The enemy are attacking using their wyverns' magical flame bullet and in absurdly tremendous amounts. The highly viscous fireballs do indeed pose a threat to life but they should not be able to have any effect whatsoever on the fortress itself or its functions. The environment on the surface is too dangerous for life due to the forest fire they started with very high temperatures and low oxygen levels being reported but we should be safe; the fortress is built with double and triple layered fire doors. The guns are meanwhile currently being accommodated inside the fortress and nothing of value has been destroyed. At this point in time, we're assuming that the enemy's intention is to snuff us out by burning the mountain but fear not for there's currently no danger of asphyxiation. On top of it all, wyverns are living things–they will eventually reach a limit."

After taking a deep breath, the officer continued.

"In summary, despite the overwhelming number of enemy wyverns present, they should not pose much of a threat to us; the fortress remains unscathed."

"The loss of the forest would mean that our guns are now harder to camouflage though…"

・・・

The initial assault was met with heavy resistance, as the Amphitrite Naval Complex fired everything they had at the attacking forces. The sky was ablaze with layered defense fire, with hundreds of missiles and projectiles raining down from the complex.

The battle had been raging on for hours; the sound of bombs and rockets exploding echoed throughout the underground complex. The wyverns soared through the airwith their riders summoning spells, causing immense destruction to the complex's defenses. However, the UEADF forces had upgraded their air defenses, making it more challenging for the wyverns and their advanced abilities.

As the battle raged on, three leaders emerged from the ranks of the Wyvern Air Fleet - Commander Dall, General Rhiannon, and Captain Lucien. Each of them brought their unique skills and abilities to the conflict. Commander Dall's strategic brilliance kept the fleet organized and focused on their goal. General Rhiannon's fierce courage and determination inspired the troops to stay in the fight. And Captain Lucien's calm and level-headedness kept everyone grounded and motivated. The 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet was determined to break through the defenses of the Amphitrite Naval Complex, no matter what it took.

As the battle continued, the Wyvern Air Fleet struggled to gain the upper hand. The Amphitrite Complex's defenses were just too strong. The wizards and wyverns did their best to suppress the human's air defense missiles and gun fires, but they were outnumbered and outgunned.

The ground shook as the human forces fired a volley of missiles towards the incoming wyverns. Dall watched from the safety of his command post asthe sky lit up with explosions, the acrid stench of smoke filling his nostrils.

"You have to keep moving! Don't let them get a lock on you!" Dall shouted to his fellow riders as they were being chased by a swarm of missiles. The wyverns weaved through the complex's defenses, dodging projectiles and weaving between buildings. Dall knew that their only chance was to keep the air defense forces occupied while their wizards unleashed their heaviest spells onto the complex.

The sky was ablaze with explosions as the Wyvern Air Fleet battled the UEADF's air defense to reach the Amphitrite Naval Complex. As the massive Wyvern Air Fleet approached, the air defense launched a volley of missiles towards them. The wizards and wyverns fought valiantly, firing back with their own spells and flames. The sky echoed with the thundering sounds ofexplosions as missiles and wyverns clashed in midair, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Despite the intense battle, the effects of the Wyvern Air Fleet's efforts were minimal. The Amphitrite Naval Complex remained well-defended, and the Wyvern Air Fleet had taken significant losses.

Commander Dall, watched grimly as his fleet took heavy losses from the base air defense. He had expected some resistance, but the sheer ferocity of their counterattacks took him by surprise. But it wasn't just the magical forces that were at play. The 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet also had an impressive arsenal of conventional weapons at their disposal.

As Commander Dall ordered the Vimanas-225 heavy bombers to attack, the wizards and wyverns tried their best to suppress the human's air defense missiles and gun fires. The sky was filled with explosions as missiles, bombs, and gunfire collided in mid-air.

But it became increasingly clear that the Wyvern Air Fleet was outmatched by the enemy. The enemy's air defense was too strong, and the Vimanas-225 bombers were struggling to make any headway against Vimanas-225 bombers, which had been tasked with dropping ground penetrate bombs on the Amphitrite Naval Complex located deep inside the mountain, were under extremely heavy fire.

The magic bombers tried their best to flew in formation, dropping their ground penetrate bombs in a coordinated assault. The ground penetrate bombs were supposed to bore into the mountain and destroy the complex from within, but with the intense air defense, it seemed impossible to get the right angle so the pilots just dropped them blindly. Thus the ground penetrate bombs were now simply creating large explosions on the exterior of the mountain. And despite the intense explosions, that can be seen from mile away, the 12-ton bombs failed to penetrate the depths of the Amphitrite Naval Complex located inside the mountain.

The rain of fire crashed into the mountain, sending its vicinity into a raging forest fire and engulfing it in thick, black smoke. The flames that rose from the mountain were of epic proportions, managing to even dye the sky in red.

Still…

"Dammit! It's not working as intended!"

"We need to target their anti-aircraft defenses!" Dall called out to his wizards. "Take them out, and we'll have a clear path to the heart of the complex."

The wizards conjured up massivemagical energies, aiming their spells at the anti-aircraft batteries and the S-400 missiles. Explosions rocked the complex as the spells hit their targets, taking out the defenses and ensuring that the wyverns could continue their attack.

The battle raged on, with wyverns and humans engaged in a deadly dance of destruction. The wyverns unleashed their fiery breath onto the buildings, causing widespread destruction and panic among the UEADF forces. Meanwhile, the humans fired missiles and guns at the wyverns, trying to take them down. The sky was a mess of fire and smoke, with wyvern bodies crashing to the ground and bombs exploding everywhere. Dall watched in horror as his forces fell before his eyes.

"We can't keep this up forever!" one of the riders called out. "They have too many weapons to fight back against."

"We have to keep going!" Dall replied, feeling the strain of the battle wearing on him. "We can't let them win." The wyverns continued their attack, but the UN forces were relentless. Suddenly, a wave of explosions rocked the air, throwing Dall and his fellow riders off their mounts.

Dall groaned as he struggled to get up, feeling the pain in his body. He saw that many of his fellow riders were down, some of them injured or unconscious.

"We have to retreat!" he shouted to his remaining forces.

"Fall back to the rally point!"

They began to move back, taking fire from the human forces all the while. The wyverns soared above them, trying to provide cover as they made their way to safety. "This is insane!" one of the riders shouted in frustration. "We can't beat them!"

"We just have to keep trying!" Dall replied, gritting his teeth as he fought off the pain.

Dall stood atop the hill, watching in helpless horror as his troops were being annihilated by the human's defenses. His heart sank, forhe knew that this was going to be a humbling defeat for the Empire. Dall was a quiet and reserved leader who led with strategy and logic. He had risen through the ranks due to his intelligence and tactical prowess, but he had never faceda defeat of this magnitude before. He stood atop a nearby hill, gazing at the Amphitrite Bunker Complex with a heavy heart.

"I don't think we can breach those defenses," Dall muttered, turning to his second-in-command, General Rhiannon.

"I fear we may have underestimated the humans' power."

General Rhiannon, on the other hand, was a hot-headed and impulsive warrior who had made a name for himself on the battlefield. He had joined the Empire's army at a young age, eager to prove himself as a warrior. Despite his fierce reputation, he had a soft spot for Dall and respected his intellect.

"Nonsense, we can breach those defenses," Rhiannon replied, his voice filled with confidence. "We just need to try harder and come up with a new plan."

Dall shook his head, "It's too risky. I don't want to lose more lives. We need to retreat and regroup."

"Retreat? That's not the Empire's way," Rhiannon scoffed. "We cannot show weakness. We must fight until the end."

As they were discussing their next plan of action, Captain Lucien approached them. He was a calm and collected soldier who had fought alongside Dall for many years. He had a talent for diplomacy and acted as a mediator between Dall and Rhiannon, often grounding them with his calm demeanor.

"General, Commander," Lucien addressed them, bowing his head. "May I make a suggestion?"

Dall nodded, "Of course, Lucien. What is it?" Lucien produced a map, "We could launch a surprise attack from the south. There's a narrow pass that isn't heavily guarded. We could sneak in that way and launch a surprise attack from the inside."

Rhiannon's eyes widened, "That's a brilliant plan! I'll lead the charge." Dall looked at Lucien, a smile on his face, "Well done. Let's do it."

・・・

As the battle raged on, Rhiannon flew above on his wyvern, surveying the scene below him. He could see his forces struggling to break through the human's defenses, and he knew he had to do something.

Then he spotted something that caught his eye - a small opening in the mountain, just big enough for a wyvern to fly through.

"I have an idea," he said, pointing to the opening. "We can try to fly through that opening and attack the complex from the inside!"

The other wizards and wyvern riders looked at him skeptically, unsure if it was even possible. But with no other options left, they rallied behind Rhiannon and prepared for the risky maneuver.

They flew towards the opening, dodging bullets and missiles as they made their way inside the mountain. It was a tight squeeze, but they managed to make it through and emerge inside the complex's defenses. The UEADF troops were caught off guard, with no idea how the wyverns had breached their defenses. They scrambled to mount a defense, but it was too late. The wyverns and wizards poured through the opening, unleashing a torrent of magic and flame on the base's defenses.

The battle was brutal, with the wyverns and wizards wreaking havoc on the UEADF's soldiers and equipment. But the much feared Nebelwerfer rocket launchers soon unleased their deathly 320mm rockets and sealed the entrance with a massive explosion.

"We need to find another way in!" Rhiannon shouted to his fellow riders.

"Their defenses are too strong!" The wizards among them began to chant spells, trying to find adifferent approach to penetrate the mountain.

Meanwhile, the wyvems circled above, trying to distract the UEADF forces' attention. Suddenly, one of the wizards shouted out loud, "I have an idea! We can try to create a tunnel using our earth magic!"

Rhiannon's eyes lit up as he heard this. "That's it! Let's do it!" The wizards began to channel their magic through the ground, creating a tunnel that would lead them inside the complex. The wyverns kept flying over the complex, taking fire from the human forces as they tried to thwart the attack.

The tunnel was slowly getting deeper, but the human forces caught onto their plan. They began to fire missiles and guns towards the opening of the tunnel, trying to collapse it. "We need to get inside before they block the tunnel!" Rhiannon yelled to his fellow forces. They stepped up their efforts, speeding up the pace of the tunnel's excavation. The wyverns were weaving between missiles and gunfire, breathing fire onto the troops below to keep them from getting too close.

The battle was brutal and intense, with the wyverns and wizards pushing themselves beyond their limits to break through the UEADF's defenses. Explosions rocked the ground as missiles hit their targets, and the wyverns crashed down as anti-aircraft fire brought them down.

But Rhiannon and his forces pressed on, their belief in their mission and each other giving them the strength to continue.

"We're almost there!" one of the wizards called out. Rhiannon urged his wyvern forward, leading the charge into the tunnel. The other wyverns followed closely behind, their riders clinging to their backs as they raced into the complex. The UEADF forces tried to chase after them, but the wyverns were too fast.

They were now inside the complex, and they could see the tube artillery, mortars, and rocket launchers before them.

"Now, it's our tum to strike!" Rhiannon shouted, raising his staff high. The wizards unleashed a barrage of spells, striking the complex's heavily armed artillery and destroying them one by one. Flames erupted from the wyverns' mouths, searing through the air and carving a path of destruction through the base's defenses. Explosions rocked the underground structure as the human forces tried desperately to fight back.

The defending forces had never encountered such powerful magic before, but they were well preapared.

Stand infront of Rhiannon was a 4.5 meters high Mitsubishi MK-6 Amplified Mobility Platform. The 2.7-ton, human-operated, multi-purpose machine amplifies the strength and mobility of a soldier was armed with a hip-fired GAU-90 30mm autocannon, fed via an ammo belt at the back and a combat knife of self-sharpening diamond-hard ceramic, as well as an Bush Boss FD-11 heavy flamethrower.

Without hesitation, Grand Mage Rhiannon poised himself for the oncoming battle. The Mitsubishi MK-6 battle mech was an imposing presence, thrumming with technological power as the Grand Mage stood before it, his hands crackling with energy.

The mech's pilot, a grizzled veteran with a scowl etched into his face, sneered at the mage. "You're not going to get past me," the pilot growled, his hand hovering over the controls of his machine. "This is a military installation, and you're an intruder. And if you think magic is going to give you an edge, you're in for a rude awakening."

The Grand Mage didn't reply, merely focused his energy, his hands glowing with an ethereal light. The soldier watched in amazement as the air around the Grand Mage shimmered with energy.

Suddenly, the Grand Mage opened his eyes and shouted, "Lightning Lance!"

A bolt of lightning shot from the Grand Mage's hands, streaking towards the mech.

The soldier tried to react, but it was too late. The lightning strike hit the Mitsubishi MK-6 head-on, sparking and crackling with electricity. But to the Grand Mage's surprise, the machine seemed largely unaffected. The Mitsubishi MK-6 turned its head and aimed its GAU-90 30mm autocannon at the Grand Mage.

"The Army didn't spend billions of dollars on this machine for nothing," the soldier said with a smirk. "You think you can take down a mech with a lightning bolt? You're not as powerful as you think you are, mage."

The Grand Mage gritted his teeth, feeling a surge of frustration. He had never encountered a machine like this before, and it was proving to be a formidable opponent. But he refused to give up.

"Then let's see how it fares against a fireball!" he cried. He raised his hands and summoned a massive ball of flames, hurling it towards the machine. The Mitsubishi MK-6 tried to dodge, but the fireball exploded, sending bits of shrapnel and debris flying in every direction. The soldier emerged from the smoke and debris, his body armor and helmet scorched and dented. But he wasn't defeated yet. He lunged at the Grand Mage with his combat knife, driving it towards the mage's chest.

The Grand Mage sidestepped and raised his hands again, muttering a spell.

Suddenly, the Mitsubishi MK-6 began to shake, its machinery starting to malfunction.

The soldier stumbled, trying to regain control of the mech, but it was too late. The Mitsubishi MK-6 exploded in a shower of sparks and flames, leaving the soldier lying defeated on the ground. The Grand Mage stood over the fallensoldier, his eyes flashing with triumph.

"Magic may not be enough to take down a machine like that," he said with a smirk. "But it's enough to level the playing field."

Rhiannon was caught off-guard by the sight of four more towering battle mech.

"Well, well, well, I see we have quite the wizard here," a voice over the comms taunted. "Let's see how your magic holds up against our technology."

Grand Mage Rhiannon had never backed down from a fight, and this was no different. Despite being outnumbered, he was determined to face the challenge head-on. Rhiannon knew many powerful spells, but he was up against some of the most advanced technology in existence. Despite this, Rhiannon was confident in his abilities, knowing that he had faced more significant threats before.

Rhiannon desperately searched his mind for a powerful enough spell to counter the impressive firepower of the four mechs. He knew that one mistake could costhim his life. But he also knew that he couldn't back down now. He had to fight until the end.

As the mechs charged towards him, Rhiannon conjured a powerful shield of energy to protect himself from the intense firepower. The autocannons rattled and shook the ground with each impact, making it impossible for Rhiannon to maintain his composure. He was thrown back with every hit, and his shield was starting to weaken.

As the four Mitsubishi MK-6 battle mechs charged towards him, Rhiannon called upon the elements to aid him.

"Mountain Wind!"

He raised his hands, and a gust of wind swept through the battlefield, sending pebbles flying throughthe air. The mechs continued their advance, unperturbed by the mage's actions.

"Violent Gale!"

Desperate to defend himself, Rhiannon summoned a even more fierce wind to whip up a gust of debris and sand, hoping to disorient the mechs. But it was a futile effort, as their advanced targeting systems saw straight through his clever tricks.

Rhiannon whipped out his wand and chanted a spell, sending a burst of fire towards the mechs. But the flames were no match for their Bush Boss FD-11 flamethrowers, and they simply pushed through the flames unscathed.

As the mechs closed in on him, Rhiannon mustered up all the magic he had left, sending bolts of lightning to strike out at them relentlessly. The electricity surged and crackled, illuminating the chamber with electrifying shades of blue and purple.

But to his surprise, the mechs seemed immune to his magic. The sparks fizzled out against their reinforced metal armor, leaving Rhiannon exhausted and vulnerable.

The GAU-90 autocannons on the machines whirred to life as they opened fire, the bullets missing the mage by only inches.

The mage swiftly casta spell of protection, coating himself in a shimmering shield of energy that absorbed the impact of the bullets as they slammed against it. He knew that he couldn't keep up the spell forever, but it was enough to give him the time he needed to plan his next move.

With the opening created, Rhiannon acted quickly and charged towards one of the mech, summoning energy orbs to throw at it. The orbs exploded on impact, leading to further damage to the already weakened armor.

The other mechs, realizing their comrade was in trouble, began to converge on Rhiannon. Flames burst forth from the flamethrowers, causing the area to be engulfed in a sea of fire. Rhiannon attempted to put up a magical shield to protect himself, but the flames were too intense, causing him to hunker down and wait for the blaze to die down.

As the mechs continued their relentless assault, the mage summoned a gust of wind that sent the bolts of flame from the flamethrowers hurtling back at the machines, engulfing them in a fiery inferno. The pilots were momentarily disoriented, struggling to control the machines with their visibility obscured by the flames.

The mage used this moment to quickly dart between the mechs, leaving a trail of ice that froze them in place, briefly impeding their movements. He hacked at the frozen mechanisms with his powerful spells until the ice shattered and they were temporarily disabled.

But the mechs were not going to be taken down easily and they quickly recovered, their pilots eager for another round of attacks. As the battle continued, the mech's operator taunted him over the comms. "What's the matter, mage? Can't handle a little bit of modern technology?"

Rhiannon gritted his teeth, glaring at the comm system. "I'll show you what magic can do," he growled. Rhiannon chanted several incantations and cast a spell of fear, which caused the battle mechs to hesitate for a split second.

Despite this brief respite, Rhiannon realized that he could not hold out for long. The battle mechs were too well-armed and too persistent. The mechs closed in on him, their blades whirring into life as they prepared to strike.

Summoning all of his power, Rhiannon began to chant in a language so ancient that very few people in the world still knew it. The ground beneath the mech began to shake, and a gust of wind picked up, sending debris flying in all directions.

"Secret Technique: Demon Dragon Storm!"

Before the mechs could make their final move, Rhiannon unleashed a a wind dragon that exploded outwards, enveloping everything around him with a blinding white glow.

As the dust settled, Rhiannon surveyed the battlefield. The battle mechs were in shambles, scattered over the area in various states of disrepair. The MK-6 writhed and twisted, their armor plates now falling away to reveal the machines insides as if they had been rusted away. Sparks and smoke poured from its joints as it finally shuddered to a jolting halt, its systems failing and its weapons falling silent.

"You thought you could face me with brute force alone," he said, his voice eerily calm. "But magic is more than just raw power. It's precision, and finesse, and control. And I have all of those things, and more."

Rhiannon had emerged victorious, but he knew that there would be more battles to come.

Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, Rhiannon noticed more mechs closing in on him rapidly. He had to think on his feet, or he was sure to be caught and destroyed. As he ran, he called forth a powerful spell of invisibility, causing him to disappear from view.

As the mechs charged past him, unable to see him, Rhiannon let out a sigh of relief. But he knew that he couldn't stay hidden forever. He needed to find some way to defeat these mechs and escape the human base before more arrived.

After regaining his composure, Rhiannon peeked around the corner, and to his shock, he saw dozens of soldiers approaching. He knew that he wouldn't be able to last against them.

Rhiannon pulled out an orb that he had been keeping in his pocket and tossed it into the air. He focused all his energy and willpower into one single spell, a spell that would determine his fate. The orb suddenly began to glow, and a portal opened up beside Rhiannon. He quickly ran into the portal, and it closed up right behind him.

・・・

The battle between the 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet and Amphitrite Bunker Complex was nothing short of brutal. Dall knew that he wasup against one of the most heavily fortified bases in the entire continent. It was a foregone conclusion that there would be huge losses on both sides, however, he never imagined the scale of the bloodshed that was to follow.

"Commander, this is General Rhiannon. My men are taking heavy losses here, sir. We need to pull back before we lose any more troops." One of the General's wingmen was shot down and exploded in mid-air.

Commander Dall remained silent for a moment, surveying the battlefield. He knew that General Rhiannon was right. The Wyvern Air Fleet was taking heavy losses, and they were nowhere near defeating the Amphitrite Naval Complex.

"General Rhiannon, this is Commander Dall. Fall back to our base and regroup. We'll come up with another plan."

The Wyvern Air Fleet began to retreat, leaving behind the flaming wreckage of their fallen comrades. The wizards and wyverns continued to launch spells and breathe fire, trying to cover the retreat. The 40,000 wyvern air fleet fell one by one, crashing into the mountain base. The wizards and magic bombers could only watch in helpless horror, as the wave of destruction swept over them.

"We've lost too many!" cried Captain Lucien, watching in despair as another wyvern was shot out of the sky.

It was a humbling defeat for the Empire,as they retreated to lick their wounds. The loss of the 3rd Wyvern Air Fleet and their experienced riders left a void in the Empire's forces that would not be filled easily.

"We'll come up with a new plan," reassured Commander Dall. "We won't give up until we've defeated the Amphitrite Bunker Complex."

The Wyvern Air Fleet regrouped at their base, nursing their wounds and mouming their fallen comrades. Commander Dall gathered his top advisors for a strategy meeting, determined to come up with a new plan for defeating the Amphitrite Naval Complex.

"We need to get inside that mountain," said General Rhiannon. "We need to find the weakness in their defenses."

"We can't rely solely on magic and brute force," added Captain Lucien. "We need to be more strategic if we want to win this war." Commander Dall nodded in agreement.

"Heh! You lowlifes have done quite well! Now, move out of the way; it is our turn!"

"Wha–?!"

A telepathic message was transmitted to their heads. Before Dall could give orders to his fellow dragon riders, their wyverns suddenly got scared and dispersed from the scene.

"H-Hey! What's happening?!"

Their wyverns were taking flight at full speed as if they were desperately running away from something. They won't even respond to their inputs. Wondering what was going on, Dall looked up to the sky towards the east.

Up in the sky, he saw a colossal dragon flying at great speeds. Its size alone was enough to intimidate the bravest of soldiers - it was over a thousand meters long, towering above any structure in the area. Its body was a menacing mass of jagged, blackened rock that looked as if it had been sculpted from pure Dragon's eyes glowed with an intense orange light, and its teeth were jagged and razor-sharp. It had no wings, yet it floated effortlessly in the air using a powerful magnetic field. Its body was so massive that the ground shook with every movement, and the air around it shimmered with heat. If this dragon were to be a hawk, their wyverns would be nothing more than mosquitoes in comparison.

"Is that what I think it is?! I-Impossible! That cannot be the legendary Lightning Flame Dragon Emperor! Oh my gods… One of the Legendary Magma Dragons has come to our side!"

The Magma Dragon was a force to be reckoned with, a creature of legend that towered over mountains and shook the earth with every step. It was a silicon-based life form, which consumed magma for sustenance and was revered as a living embodiment of the destructive power of nature.

Its black rocks created an aura of fear and power that could be felt for miles around. Its eyes glowed like molten lava, giving off the impression of a divine being, ready to unleash destruction upon the world. The dragon's reputation was wellknown throughout the land, and it was called the Destroyer of Nations.

According to Rhiannon's book, the Magma Dragon was known to inhabit deep within the earth, where it feasted on volcanic rock and magma, growing stronger and stronger with each passing day. Some even believed that the dragon had the ability to control volcanic eruptions, bringing about destruction and chaos wherever it went.

Legends about the Magma Dragon-kind were shared across generations. Some said that they were divine creatures, sent by the gods to rid the world of evil. Others believed it was the embodiment of the forces of nature, beasts that could bring destruction upon anything that crossed its path.

Once more, they heard a telepathic message in their heads.

"I am Yvan Pukis, one of the Legendary Magma Dragons rider of Eimor and a member of the proud dragonfolk! I have been sent to this battle by the profound mercy of the dragon king Wagdran! You have fought well and fortune favors you; now, feast your eyes on a sliver of the power of Infidragoon!"

The dragon riders were moved to tears by the emergence of the legendary Lightning Flame Dragon with some even prostrating themselves in profound gratitude for just being able to see them.

The wyverns in front of Yvan heeded his command, flying off in all directions like the sea parting itself in the face of an advancing ship. Many of the wyverns were so scared of their presence that they stopped responding to their rider's attempts to wrestle control. Adding to their magnificent appearance, the Magma Dragon's arrival on the battlefield looked almost like the grand opening to a finale.

"Heheheh… So that there is the so-called 'mighty' fortress of the humans. How pitifully tiny. They're a… scientific civilization, no? Hmph! Such a pretentious attempt at glory will not allow them to truly get out of the inherent level of humanity! Ah… such are the stubborn, almost laughable ambitions of inferiors. Time to let these know-it-alls what true power actually is!"

The soldiers who witnessed the Magma Dragon could hardly believe their eyes. They had never seen anything like it before. Some of them murmured in disbelief, while others stared in utter horror at the massive, black rock-like creature hovering above them.

"Eeeek!"

Admiral Bruno, commander of Amphitrite Naval Complex, let out a shriek unbecoming of a man like himself. But he can't help it. He was really, for probably the first time in his life, frightened down to his soul.

Upon seeing the overwhelmingly powerful–exceptionally so for a living being–dragon flying in the sky, Bruno felt his entire body shake beyond control.

"N-No!"

Vice Admiral Cielia, who was also there with him, shouted.

It was so big. Just what the hell does it eat to get to this size?

RoooOOOAAAAAAARRRR!

The dragon let out a roar so loud, it shook the very earth itself. The cityfolk of Balaklava, upon hearing of its frightening cry, broke into panic with some locking themselves in their houses and shutting the windows and doors while some froze where they stood staring blankly at the colossal dragon up in the sky. Then there were those who watched with eyes of conviction, keeping their fear at bay as a battle of historical proportions was unfolding.

The soldiers at Amphitrite Naval Complex had never seen anything like the Magma Dragon before. They had fought against all manner of enemies, from enemy mage to mechanical war machines, but nothing had prepared them for this. No one knew where the monster had come from or what its intentions were.

Some soldiers scrambled towards their weapons, hopelessly trying to find a way to combat the creature. Others just stood there, rooted to the spot, too petrified to move or act. The Magma Dragon seemed to enjoy the spectacle of the soldiers' fear, as it let out a guttural roar that echoed through the complex. The sound of the monster's roar was enough to make some soldiers cower in fear, their hands shaking with dread.

The dragon's eyes glowed with an intense orange light, and its massive, rock-like body pulsated with an inner heat. The temperature around the creature's form was so intense that it was difficult to approach without being burned.

A low murmur started to spread through the soldiers as they looked up at the creature. "What are we going to do?" whispered one soldier, his voice trembling with fear.

"I don't know," replied another soldier, his voice equally shaky.

The dragon let out another roar, this time much louder than before. The sound of its voice was like a thunderclap, shaking the ground beneath the soldiers' feet. The roar was so loud that it caused some soldiers to clutch their ears in pain.

The Magma Dragon was a sight to behold as it charged towards them, its imposing size dwarfing the buildings and structures below. Its body was covered in black obsidian scales, and it moved with fluid grace sending tremors rippling through the ground. As it approached the Amphitrite Naval Complex, the soldiers stationed there were vigilant and ready to do everything in their power to protect the complex and its inhabitants.

Their weapons were already loaded and primed, ready for combat when the Magma Dragon appeared in the horizon. Thesoldiers sprang into action, taking their positions behind heavy artillery as the dragon charged towards them with a fierce determination.

The Amphitrite Naval Complex was well equipped with an array of powerful weapons, such as tube artillery up to 210mm, mortars, and the dreaded Nebelwerfer rocket launchers in various sizes up to 320mm. Additionally, the complex had been upgraded with Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) defenses ranging all the way up to 128mm in size. The soldiers were confident that they would be able to repel the Magma Dragon's attack, using the complex's impenetrable fortifications and their mighty weapons to hold it at bay.

As the Magma Dragon drew closer, the soldiers unleashed a torrent of shells and rockets, targeting every inch of the beast's massive body. The ground trembled with the force of their attacks, as the Magma Dragon charged forward relentlessly, its eyes blazing with fury.

Despite the ferocity of their attacks, however, the soldiers soon realized that the Magma Dragon was impervious to their weapons. Its body was made of solid black rocks, which seemed to absorb the impact of their artillery without even a scratch.

The soldiers' morale began to falter as they watched the Magma Dragon shrug off their attacks with ease. They knew that they would have to come up with another plan quickly if they were to survive the dragon's onslaught. In a desperate attempt to fend off the

Magma Dragon, the soldiers started to use their Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) defenses. They targeted the dragon with all that they had, their guns blazing as they attempted to bring down the beast from the sky.

The Magma Dragon, however, was not fazed. It continued to charge forward towards the Amphitrite Naval Complex with eerie calmness, shrugging off the barrage of fire that was being directed at it.

For what seemed like an eternity, the soldiers fought on, using every weapon at their disposal to stop the Magma Dragon. But no matter what they tried, their attacks seemed to have little effect on the beast. The dragon's body was simply too strong and too resilient for their artillery to penetrate. As the sun began to set, the soldiers realized that they were fighting a losing battle. They knew that they would need to do something drastic if they were to stand a chance of defeating the dragon.

In one final attempt to save their home, the soldiers used nuclear weapons in a last-ditch effort to bring down the Magma Dragon. The skies were filled with the deafening sound of 16-ich W19 nuclear shells and 320mm W-25 rockets flew towards the beast, seeking to end its onslaught once and for all.

Grand Mage Yvan Pukis felt the surge of mana from the dragon flow through him as he cast the emergency spell. He knew the possible outcome if he failed or if even a small mistake happened. It was risky, but he could not bear to see his beloved Magma Dragon get hurt.

As the nuclear weapon soared through the sky, Grand Mage Yvan Pukis and the Magma Dragon were directly in its path. Yvan Pukis cast the spell as quickly as he could, creating an area of near vacuum that surrounded the Magma Dragon and himself.

All the soldiers in Amphitrite watched in awe as the nuclear weapon detonated above the duo, but to their surprise, there was no blast that followed. There was nothing to explode or transfer shockwaves. Instead, the energy turned into gamma radiation, spreading evenly across the vacuum. As the radiation seeped into the vacuum zone, Yvan Pukis cast another spell, an invisible incantation. The spell bent all the light including the harmful radiation away from the dragon's body, leaving it unharmed.

The soldiers who had been expecting a devastating blast were dazed and confused. They had never seen such powerful magic in action before. They stood by in terror as Yvan Pukis and the Magma Dragon emerged unscathed from the vacuum.

Yvan glared at the fortress before him.

"Death is the only reward for the sin of looking down on mighty Empire."

The colossal dragon stopped midair as it opened its mouth. As the dragon breathed deeply, its chest swelled with an otherworldly energy, and the air around it began to crackle with an intense, dark energy. Inside, an immensely bright light started to shine almost like a miniature, second sun had appeared.

This was not a simple fire-breathing ability seen inother dragons, this was a technique that combined the power of hellfire and black lightning - a divine magic that had the ability to decimate entire city in seconds.

"Eat this! Atomic Breath of the Dragon God!"

The living incarnate of the old dragon gods has commenced it attack.

The beam that shot forth from its gaping maw was a thing of pure terror - a glowing column of pure pillar of darkness and flame that condensed and powerful enough to fuse atoms together and incinerated everything in its path. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been torn asunder, and the dragon itself was unleashing the fury of the underworld upon the world of the living.

KABLAM!

The immense energy contained within the pillar of darkness was unleashed upon the mountain, engulfing it in a powerful lightning storm. The extremely hot and pressurized plasma turned into a vortex as it escaped the containment, unraveling upwards in a spectacularly terrifying show of light. But it wasn't just the physical destruction that was overwhelming; the Dragon's Atomic Breath left behind a palpable aura of despair and hopelessness. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been shaken, and a veil of darkness now hung over the land.

Commander Dall watched from a safe distance, his face twisted with delight as he saw the chaos and destruction that the dragon was causing.

"Yes!" he shouted in triumph.

"Attack them! Destroy them all!"

The ground shook as the dragon's breath swept across the complex, obliterating everything in its path. The Nebelwerfer rocket launchers exploded in a shower of flames, and the tube artillery was knocked over like toys. The soldiers manning the AAA defenses were picked off one by one, their weapons no match for the dragon' immense power.

The soldiers of Amphitrite Naval Complex watched in horror as the beam of atomic breath slammed into their defenses, reducing buildings and concrete fortifications alike to nothing but ash and rubble. The ground shook violently, and soldiers were tossed about like rag dolls as the dragon continued to unleash its fearsome power upon them.

KABOOM!

A gigantic vortex of lightning emerged.

Thunderous rumbles echoed through the once tranquil night, as if the preceding blast had triggered a natural disaster of catastrophic proportions.

"A-A fire tornado!"

The mountain-swallowing tornado of flames instantaneously turned the trees on the mountain into nothingness as the immense heat turned stone, even those inside the fortress, into a glowing, liquified soup of lava.

"Yes!"

The flames burning bright and grotesque, slowly consuming everything in their path. After the flames passed, a thick cloud of smoke and vapor clouded the mountain. Some time later, this started to clear up, slowly revealing the earth behind it.

"What… the…"

Since the rock surrounding the fire doors of Amphitrite had melted away, the fire doors were made useless. The air inside the fortress was instantaneously forced out which facilitated a rapid change of atmospheric pressure inside. Unable to bear the change in pressure, the humans inside were killed with their lungs ripped out. If there was still someone who managed to survive this, they don't have long. The liquified rocks would then swallow them up, dooming them to a hot grave deep within the mountain.

As the smoke cleared, the Magma Dragon hovered above the ruins of the Amphitrite Naval Complex, its massive, black rock-like body still partly glowing from its atomic breath. It seemed to survey its work with satisfaction, as if it had accomplished some mighty feat.

But then, something unexpected happened.

"What-t!" Grand Mage Yvan Pukis couldn't even force his voice even if he wanted to.

Even with all its power, the Magma Dragon was not invincible. Its very nature made it vulnerable to water, a weakness that its, now decease, enemies could exploit.

Right beneath the Magma Dragon is the SMP-2 unmanned submarine. It had been designed to function as an underwater torpedo carrier with cutting-edge submarine was made of the toughest materials that could withstand the extreme pressure in the ocean's depths. Its chassis was equipped with high-performance cameras that could capture crystal clear images even in the darkest depths of the ocean.

As the submarine moved towards its target, it emitted a low humming sound that was barely audible above the sound of the waves. It was designed to be so stealthy that it could approach its target without being noticed. Everything about this submarine, from its sleek design to its sophisticated weaponry, was created to take down the formidable Empire.

The plan was to guide the submarine directly into the path of the Magma Dragon and detonate the warheads, unleashing a force that would cripple the beast and give humanity a chance to strike a lethal blow.

As the submarine dived deeper and deeper towards the ocean's floor, the autopilot activated its cameras. The images of the Magma Dragon flashed on their screens in high definition. The creature was gargantuan, and its scales glimmered in the light of its flames.

The detonation sequence triggered, and the warheads exploded with a force that shattered the underwater world. The explosion was felt miles away, sending shockwaves through the ocean and unleashing a tsunami of epic proportions.

Suddenly, the Magma Dragon - the beast that had just obliterated the Amphitrite Naval Complex with its Atomic Breath - was vulnerable to attack. The humans had found a weakness, and they were poised to exploit it.

The wave of the tsunami surged forward with a deadly speed, sweeping everything in its path. Roaring like an enraged beast, the tsunami slammed into the Magma Dragon, its force causing the massive creature to stagger for the first time. The Dragon's fiery scales crackled and hissed as they made contact with the ocean water.

The Magma Dragon roared in agony as the first wave of the tsunami washed over it, extinguishing some of its flames and causing it to stumble. The second wave hit the beast even harder, threatening to push it beneath the surface of the ocean. The Dragon thrashed and roared, trying to free itself from the water's grasp. But the humans were not done yet. As the third wave approached, the water began to glow with an eerie light. The water turned black as the explosion ripped through the Magma Dragon, tearing it apart from the inside out. Its fiery blood rained down upon the ocean, illuminated by the massive explosion that had all but obliterated it. The dragon let out a deafening roar of pain, but it was too late. The ground quaked and heaved as the explosion ripped through the ocean, tearing apart everything in its path.

The combination of the nuclear explosion and the wave had dealt a critical blow to the Magma Dragon, causing it to crumble into pieces.

The Magma Dragon's massive body was rent asunder, its fiery blood raining down upon the ocean. Its shattered remains were engulfed by the blackened water, leaving the ocean as a graveyard to humanity's victory.

The shockwave from the explosion radiated outward and upward, breaking through the surface of the ocean and unleashing a massive wave that towered over the surrounding landscape. It was like nothing humanity had ever seen before, a wall of water that swallowed everything in its path.

The people on land watched in horror as the tsunami approached. But then something strange began to happen. As the wall of water approached, it began to slow, losing its momentum until it stopped just short of the shoreline.

A moment passed, and then another, but nothing happened. The water retreated back to the ocean, leaving the survivors to wonder what had just happened.

Had the Magma Dragon's destruction somehow saved them from the full force of the tsunami?

As Commander Dall watched the destruction of the Magma Dragon unfold before his eyes, he knew that his world had just been turned upside down. The Empire had invested heavily in the creation of the Magma Dragon, and they had believed it to be invincible. The creature's destructive powers had been feared across the world, and it had been the Empire's secret weapon, their trump card inany conflict, a weapon capable of laying waste to entire cities and defeating even the most powerful enemy forces.

He stared at the ocean, hoping that there was some mistake, but there was no mistaking what he had just witnessed. His thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. He knew that the Magma Dragon was weak against water, but he had never seen it fall so easily.

He turned to Rhiannon, who was standing beside him, looking equally stunned. "What do we do now?" he asked the grand mage.

"We must report back to headquarters, sir," Rhiannon replied. "We can't stay here, and we need to let the Emperor know what happened."

Dall nodded, and they hurried back to their airship.

On the journey home, the commander's thoughts were plagued with doubt. Had they made a mistake? Had they relied too much on the power of the Magma Dragon?

As they flew over the crystal clear waters, they caught sight of the Amphitrite Naval Complex in the distance. Smoke still rose from the ruins, a painful reminder of the devastation the Magma Dragon had caused.

"We saved this continent, didn't we?" asked Rhiannon. "We took down the Amphitrite Naval Complex and destroyed all the nuclear submarines inside. That's a significant victory for us."

Commander Dall sighed. "Yes, you're right. We may have lost the Magma Dragon, but at least we accomplished our primary mission."

Commander Dall couldn't shake the feeling of loss that weighed heavily on his heart. The loss of the Magma Dragon was a severe blow to the Empire's arsenal, and it left them vulnerable to attack. He knew that they had to come up with a new plan, a new weapon to defend their nation. But for now, they would celebrate their small victory, as the Amphitrite Naval Complex lay in ruins and the enemy's submarines were buried beneath the ocean floor.

August 27th 2030, Western Europania, Falmart

The morning of the 27th, dawned clear and bright. The few high clouds promised a sunny day, perhaps the start of an early spring. As the people of the small Gloucesterdo village of Almondsbury Dukedom started on their daily tasks many worried about the worsening war situation in Lemuria. But even while armies prepared for war village life had to go on - children went to school, groceries were delivered, cattle were milked. No one noticed the small dark speck high above them in the morning sky.

That was a Trident III D5LE missile of the USS Wisconsin had taken off from Baltisch Sea two hours before. This was repeated once a minute until all three warheads are separated. The plan was to launch the missiles at the Imperial military bunker complex, which was located near Gloucesterdo village, in the hopes that they could cause significant damage to the enemy's ability to wage war.

Suddenly, a shroud was thrown off to expose three cone-shaped warheads, each 2 meters (6 feet) long and 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) wide at the base. The warheads are mounted on the payload bus, which fires small rockets to reorient itself before ejecting the first warhead.

The warhead descended at an alarming rate, the shockwaves of its descent reverberating across the entire region. As it drew closer and closer to its intended target, the warhead began to glow with a fierce intensity, casting an eerie orange hue across the sky. However, as fate would have it, the guidance systems malfunctioned, and the warhead missed its intended target, instead striking Gloucesterdo village. The village was far from being a military target, but this did not matter in the face of the carnage that the missile caused.

A short 45 seconds later the radio altimeter triggered the fusing mechanism and the bomb exploded with the force of 2 million tons of high explosive 5000 feet above the village church of St Mariane's.

Gloucesterdo village ceased to exist. The village and its people were vaporised. The blast was so powerful that it ruptured the planet crust, creating a massive crater over two miles wide and 250 feet deep.

People 5 miles away in Bristol XIII Bunker Complex, the missile's intended target, seeing the flash from the bomb hundreds of times brighter than the sun were blinded before they were struck by waves of searing heat and deafening noise from the blast. A minute later the blast wave arrived smashing the buildings above, throwing animals into the air and turning windows into blizzards of deadly glass that ripped though anything and anyone in its path.

The heat ignited everything within the vicinityof the blast, incinerating buildings, trees, and the few remaining villagers who had not evacuated in time. Shockwaves emanated from the epicenter, flattening everything in their path. The sound was deafening. sending a shockwave ofexplosion that rocked the entire region, sending a mushroom cloud of smoke and ash high into the sky. The full force of the blast was so powerful that it could be feit for miles around, rattling windows and shaking the ground beneath people's feet. The air was filled with a deafening roar that seemed to go on forever and the sky turned a sickly shade of orange as the smoke and flames slowly dissipated.

Even at this distance over 6000 fires were started in north of Bristol. Fed by broken gas mains, the fires overwhelmed the fire services and merged into a conflagration that turned into a firestorm. In a matter of hours most buildings were destroyed and 800 people were dead. Thousands of others were severely injured by burns, blast and flying glass or paralysed by shock.

The people of nearby Aten village, who had managed to make it to the Holy Empire's secret bunker complex, could feel the shockwaves reverberating through the walls of the underground structure. They huddled together, their ears ringing from the deafening sound, not quite believing what had just happened. For so long they had lived in fear of an attack like this and now that it had finally happened, they were left reeling, strugglingto come to terms with the scale of the destruction that had been unleashed upon their village.

The people who had once called Aten their home had been wiped out in an instant, their lives snuffed out in the blink of an eye. The few who had survived only did so by sheer luck, having managed to escape the village or seek refuge in the Holy Empire's bunker complex.

Those who had been caught in the blast had no chance of survival, their bodies reduced to nothing more than dust in the wind.

I can still remember the moment when the world around me exploded into a thousand shards of light and pain. It was as if every sun in the universehad suddenly converged on a single point, unleashing a raging inferno of destruction that consumed everything in its path. And I, Johnar Jarson, a simple farmer from the Aten village, was caught in the thick of it.

I had always known that the war between the humans and the Empire would have dire consequences for our village. But I never expected it to end like this,with a nuclear missile raining down on our homes and families.

As the sirens blared and the tremors rattled through the ground, I knew that there was no hope of survival. But I refused to leave. My beloved wife was buried in our farm, and I vowed to protect her grave at all costs.

So I stayed, even as my neighbors fled in panic and the village burned in a hellish inferno around me. I watched as the flames consumed everything in their path, swallowing up houses and fields and people without discrimination.

The ground shook beneath me, threatening to swallow me up along with everything else. And I knew that death was coming for me soon. But still, I held on, clinging to my resolve to stay with my wife's grave until the very end.

And then it came, a blinding flash of light that shone brighter than anything I had ever seen. For a moment, it almost felt like day had broken, except there was no warmth or comfort to be found in this light.

Instead, the heat came next, scorching my skin and searing my lungs. I felt the flames consume me, felt my flesh begin to melt away. And in that moment, I knew that I was dying.

But even as my life bled away and everything around me turned to ash, I held on. I held on to the memory of my wife, to the love that had sustained us both throughout our lives. And in that way, I found the strength to face my end with dignity and courage. For though the world may have been lost in flames, my love remained eternal and unbreakable, and that was all that mattered in the end.

The USS Wisconsin's retaliation had been swift and brutal, a devastating display of force that had left the Holy Darwinian Empire reeling. For those who had survived, the memory of that fateful day would haunt them forever, a constant reminder of the horrors of war and the true cost of the mortal's endless struggle for power and dominance.

Situation Room, Alnus Bridgehead, Lemuria, Falmart

As Nutall walked into the Situation Room, he felt the weight of the situation on his shoulders. The room was filled with tension, and the generals were gathered around a large conference table, their faces grave and the only sound was the soft humming of the AC. The curtains behind them were drawn shut, casting a somber, dim light throughout the room. Nuttall took a deep breath and walked to the head of the table, taking his seat.

As he sat down, he couldn't help but take in the details of the room. It was spacious, with high ceilings and tall windows that alloweda bit of natural light to filter through the heavy curtains. The walls were adorned with maps of the region and strategic outlines of the Empire's next possible moves. The lighting fixtures on the ceiling provided a soft glow, but it was clear that the moodin the room was not bright or upbeat.

"Let's begin this meeting."

Four-star generals, high-ranking officers, from the US, China, Russia, India, EU and others for the coming operation took their seats around an elongated, rounded rhomboid table while their subordinates sat behind them around an elliptical table. As Nuttall began to speak, the generals listened intently, their faces betraying worry and concern.

Supreme Commander Nuttall cleared his throat before addressing the generals from major nuclear powers. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice. As I'm sure you're all aware, the situation with the Empire has escalated to a critical point.

The generals all nodded their agreement, clearly eager to hear what was happening.

Nuttall continued, "We were planning to launch a series of nuclear strikes on their key military bases, but unfortunately, it seems they have beaten us to the punch. They launched a surprise attack, and at 1500 hours we received confirmation that they have destroyed all 81 of our ballistic nuclear submarines at sea."

There was a stunned silence in the room as the generals absorbed this information. "Does the Empire know about Operation Samson?" asked General Zhang of China.

Nuttall hesitated before answering. "There is a possibility that they might have gotten wind of it. We cannot confirm, but we're working around the clock to gather intel."

One of the generals spoke up, "But sir, how did they manage to destroy all our submarines? Were there intelligence lapses or operational failures?"

Supreme Commander Nuttall sighed heavily before responding, "We are still investigating the details, but it appears that the Empire used some kind of magic sea beasts that we were not prepared for. We know that they have been investing heavily in improving their anti-submarine warfare capabilities for some time now. They may have found a way to detect our submarines stealthily or even disrupt their communication systems. We were completely blindsided."

"What's the extent of the damage?"

"The loss of our entire submarine fleet is a significant blow, but not all of our missiles were on those subs when they sunk," Nuttall replied. "Some of our subs were able to launch their missiles before they were destroyed. We estimate that we were able to destroy hundreds of enemy cities in retaliation."

There was a small glimmer of hope in that news, but it was still a massive loss for their nuclear capabilities.

The generals exchanged worried glances, knowing the severity of the situation. "What does this mean for our nuclear capabilities?" asked General Johnathon Mitchell from the United States.

"The loss of the submarines and the submarine complex means that we have lost one part of our nuclear triad and without the submarine-based missiles, our second-strike capability is severely diminished," replied Supreme Commander Nuttall. "We still have land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and bomber aircraft, but our sea-based nuclear deterrence has been severely compromised."

"That's not the worst of it."

He reached out to a tablet on the table and tapped a few buttons before a video began playing on the large screen in the room. The video showed a massive dragon, at least a thousand meters in length, swooping down over a military facility. Its was larger than any Titan, and its scales looked nearly indestructible.

Gasps and murmurs filled the room as the generals watched the video feed, clearly shocked by the appearance of the giant dragon. How could something so powerful exist? They had never seen anything like it before, and they knew that their current weapons and defenses were no match for this new threat.

Nuttall paused the video and zoomed in on the dragon's body. Its body was made entirely of black rock, with glowing veins of molten magma flowing beneath its surface. Its eyes burned like fiery pits, a testament to the power it wielded. The dragon moved with a fluid grace, its massive form belied by the agility it possessed. As it reached thick, curved horns protruding from its skull. Its eyes gleamed with a fierce, fiery intensity, as if it were a living embodiment of the molten lava coursing through the earth's crust. It was a formidable and fearsome sight.

"Gentlemen, this is what we're up against," Nuttall said,his voice grim. "But we have also received some positive news. Our intelligence has revealed that this dragon is weak against water."

The generals exchanged hopeful glances, and General Petrov of Russia spoke up. "If that's the case, we can attack with our water-based weapons, and take down this dragon."

Nuttall nodded, pleased with the response. "Exactly. We need to capitalize on this information and use it to our advantage."

However, Nuttall's next statement wiped away any sense of comfort they had gained. He played another video that showed a massive Imperial Army moving towards Alnus.

The room fell silent as the gravity of the situation hit them all. It was clear that the situation was dire, and time was of the essence.

One of the generals spoke up. "Can we scramble our fighters to intercept them?"

Liam shook his head. "That won't be enough. They are moving a godly amount of ammunition to the front. We need to act quickly and decisively before they can launch an attack on us."

Another general spoke up. "What is our timeline here? How much time do we have before they reach Alnus?"

Liam consulted his notes. "Based on the speed of their advance, I estimate that we have approximately 108 hours before they reach our base. And the most concerning development is the unbelievable amount of magical artillery and rocket ammunition being moved towards the depots near the front. We have reliable intelligence that the amount of ammunition being produced by the Empire is almost 100,000 times that of the USA in World War II. Billions of tons of ammunition are arriving every day. We need to make a decision and act quickly."

There was a tense silence in the room as the gravity of the situation sunk in. Finally, one of the generals spoke up. "What are our options here, Supreme Commander?"

Liam took a deep breath. "We have two options. One, we launch a preemptive strike on the Empire, hoping to take them out before they can attack us. Or two, we wait and weather the storm, hoping that our defenses at Alnus will hold."

There was a flurry of whispered conversations as the generals conferred with each other. Finally, one spoke up. "Supreme Commander, we must take the fight to the Empire. If we wait, we could suffer massive losses."

General Kōichirō Hazama, cleared his throat and spoke up, "If I may interject, sirs. Our brilliant engineers at AMCA (Allied Magic Countermeasure Agency) have sucessfully created a magical remote detonator device called PD-5 Excalibur that can detonate enemy ammunition dumps and weapon depots from a safe distance. This device can be loaded on Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles on either Airbus-464 or B-700 hypersonic bombers. We can destroy their ammunition and hinder their logistics."

The roomfell silent for a moment as the generals processed this information. Then, General Williams of the United States spoke up with a grumble in his voice. "Magical devices? Are we really relying on wizardry from the nerds at AMCA to win this war?"

The Japanese general, General Nakamura, bristled at the comment. "It's not just magic, General Williams. It's advanced technology that we have been developing for years."

General Petrov of Russia added, his deep voice booming in the room, "We should use whatever means necessary to defeat our enemies. If this device can buy us more time and give us an advantage, then let's use it."

The evangelical American general, John Schmidt, raised an eyebrow. "Magic? Are we seriously considering using magic in our military strategy?"

The Japanese bristled at the comment. "My apologies, General Schmidt. It appears some people are short-sighted enough to ignore the power of magic."

Some 70 year old generals from Algérie snickered at the mention of magic, calling it nothing more than fairy tales. "You can't seriously be suggesting that we consider using magic to win this war," one of them scoffed. "That's ridiculous! We will use our weapons and our faith to win this war, not some silly magic tricks."

The Japanese representative shot back, "Only short-sighted morons like you would dismiss something without even considering its potential. You're all so set in your ways that you can't even fathom the possibility of something new and innovative. Your narrow-mindedness and refusal to embrace new technologies is baffling," the Japanese representative exclaimed. "This new magic detonator could change the tide of the war and save countless lives, but you all continue to cling to your outdated ways."

The other generals nodded in agreement, and Nuttall spoke up. "Let's not dismiss this option just because it involves magic. We need to consider all possibilities if we want to win this war."

The Angerian general grunted, clearly still skeptical, but he did not argue further. They all knew that desperate times called for desperate measures.

An American general asked, "Do we know how effective this magic detonator really is, General Nakamura?"

General Nakamura replied, "We have conducted some initial tests, and the results are very promising. The PD-5 Excalibur magic detonator is designed to generate powerful psion waves in the right activation sequences, that trigger a magical explosion that will destroy any PTXA compound within a 5-mile radius. We believe that it can be used effectively to take out enemy ammunition dumps or any other strategic targets that may hinder their logistics."

"Good. General Nakamura, do we have any of these devices readily available?" Nuttall asked.

Nakamura nodded, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Yes, we have a few already loaded on our air-launched cruise missiles. We can deploy them right away."

Liam nodded. "I agree. The question now is, where do we strike?"

Another general spoke up. "I recommend targeting their major military bases along the eastern front. If we can take those out, we severely limit their ability to wage war against us."

Liam considered this for a moment before nodding. "Very well. We will launch a coordinated strike on their eastern bases in 24 hours. I want our best bombers and missiles ready to go. This is a high-risk operation, and we cannot afford any mistakes."

Nuttall nodded, satisfied. "Excellent. Let's get them in the air and start taking out those ammunition dumps. We need to slow down the Empire as much as possible." He added, "If we can successfully use the magic detonator, it can potentially buy us more time to prepare for any incoming attacks. We need to make sure that we coordinate our efforts meticulously to ensure the success of the operation."

The group then began to discuss the logistics and potential risks of the operation, and they worked together to come up with a solid plan that would minimize any potential collateral damage. The room bustled with activity as the generals began to discuss strategies for deploying the magical remote detonator devices. While they were all still worried about the enemy's movements, they were also hopeful that this new technology could give them an edge in the battle.

77th runway, Bockcar Airfield, Alnus Bridgehead

Colonel Aleksander Wojcik was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but his roots ran deep in Poland.

Aleksander joined the military straight out of highschool, knowing that he wanted to become a pilot. After completing basic training, he began flight school and eventually graduated at the top of his class. He quickly built a reputation as a skilled and daring pilot, earning multiple commendations for his bravery. During his years of service, Aleksander flew numerous bombing missions across the globe, including in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. His years of experience in the military had taught him the importance of teamwork, precision, and discipline, and he demanded the same level of dedication from his officers and crew.

When the Holy Darwinian Empire open the GATE at Tokyo, Aleksander knew that he had to answer the call to defend his country. He was quickly promoted to the rank of colonel and put in charge of of the 11th Bombardment Wing of the US Strategic Air Command.

Along with his team, he has flown countless missions over the enemy lines, leading successful raids on their supply depots and infrastructure. Even though the odds have been stacked against them, Aleksander has never lost faith in his team's ability to succeed.

Colonel Wojcik and his co-pilot Lieutenant Mitchell continued to chat as they made their way to the hangar where the B-700 was parked. As they made their way to the B-700, Colonel Wojcik couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

The B-700 hypersonic bomber was an imposing aircraft, with a shape and size that commanded respect. Its massive wingspan, towering body, andsleek design made it clear that this was not an aircraft to be trifled with. The hypersonic bomber was the biggest and fastest in the world, dwarfing even the B-36 Peacekeepers and flying three times faster than the famed SR-71 Blackbird. He knew that flying such a plane was a privilege, and he was determined to make the most of it.

The B700 Valkyrie was 196 meters in length and its tail stood it to a height of 31 meters, the plane would weigh in at an estimate maximum gross weight of 1521 tonnes. Its delta wings spanned an impressive 105 meters with the wings swept to just over 65 degrees, this plane also had two large vertical tails. With its 6 engines it could push the plane out to a decent range of 42,880 kilometers at Mach 10. Its service ceiling was also especially attractive an incredible high altitude of 88,000 meters in Falmart which equated to 55 miles up in the air. Also noteworthy and downright impressive, were the planes breaking gears, which weighed more than sixty tons. The bomber have a crew of four namely a pilot co-pilot bombardier and defensive system operator.

To achieve this insane speed, ULTRON is developing a special hybrid jet and rocket engine. In layman's terms a typical military aircraft would use a turbojet engine to get an aircraft up to a speed of Mach 2.2, higher than that speed, it's more effective to use a ramjet, up to around about Mach 6. To get over the Mach 6 barrier, this requires a new engine design called a scramjet. The challenge is of course to create an engine that can perform well at all three speeds the B-700 fix this by having both a turbine engine for low speeds and then converting into a scramjet for higher speeds. To make this feat possible, both engines will have the same inlet and exhaust but different airflows inside of the aircraft.

But flying at this speed comes with plenty of challenges the aircraft would also need to be able to survive flying at such high speeds with aerodynamic heating causing massive gains in surface temperature

hot enough to melt conventional aircraft materials thus this plane will need to be built from a special fabrication of metal and ceramic composites much like those used in the space shuttle. But constructing this is also the other challenge much of this work will need to employ 3D printing allowing greater fabrication and technologies unrealizable before even as soon as five years ago. One such example of using this technology was 3D printing the cooling system directly inside of the engine.

Six turbine-based combined cycle engines were fed air through a sophisticated engines were optimized to run most efficiently at hypersonic speeds. And they were powerful enough so that even if one were to fail, the Valkyrie could maintain Mach 10 and still complete its mission. But clever aerodynamics were also key to performance, with compression lift giving the Valkyrie one of the highest lift-to-drag ratios of any manned aircraft. Variable geometry wings improved stability and enhanced compression lift. On takeoff and landings could be fully extended. At high supersonic speeds, angled downwards 25 degrees, and at multi-mach speeds, a full 65.

But flying at ten times the speed of sound, kinetic heating the airframe would be so intense, so engineers developed a revolutionary fuselage skin and circulated fuel throughout the airframe to cool the aircraft's interior. Even at an altitude of seventy-five thousand meter, the Valkyrie's cockpit was fully pressurized and featured an innovative encapsulated escape system. It meant that the bomber's crew of four wouldnt have to put on bulkly flight suites, allowing a Valkyrie crew to get airborne only 20 minutes.

Capable of delivering a nuclear payload to anywhere in the world in just haft an hour, the Valkyrie's performance was truly out of this world. And the bomber would embody America's strategy of deterrence through strength.

Once they were seated in the cockpit, Colonel Wojcik took in the view of the impressive aircraft. Its massive wingspan and sleek design made it a force to be reckoned with. As they waited for the slow ground crews to finish their preparations, the Colonel couldn't help but grumble about their attitude. "Can you believe these assholes?" grumbled Colonel Wojcik. "I swear to god, those damn Japaneses move slower than my grandmother trying to get up off the couch."

"Don't even get me started," Mitchell replied, rubbing his hands together to keep warm. "I swear to God, they're more concerned about their coffee breaks than getting this plane in the air."

Wojcik shook his head in frustration. "It's always the same goddamn story. They want to get home to their families, like we don't have anyone waiting for us."

Mitchell snorted in agreement. "You know what they say, Colonel. Slower is smoother, and smoother is faster." He let out a bitter laugh. "Except in their case, slower is just fucking slower."

Colonel Wojcik leaned back in his seat and let out a frustrated sigh. "This is the biggest and fastest goddamn bomber in the world. It should be treated with some goddamn respect."

Lieutenant Mitchell nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I heard they've been short-staffed lately. But that's no excuse. We've got a mission to complete." Both officers lit up cigarettes and continued to grumble about the ineptitude of the ground crews as they waited.

As they waited, the Lieutenant brought up the topic of their hypersonic bomber, the B-700.

"Have you taken her for a spin yet, sir?" he asked, excitement evident in his voice.

The Colonel chuckled. "Not yet, Lieutenant. But I can't wait to see what this baby can do. It is bigger than a goddamn B-36 but three times faster than a SR-71 Blackbird. We could bomb the shit out of any country on the planet with that thing." Wojcik said, admiration creeping into his voice." He was eager to test its limits.

"You know what they say," Mitchell said with a grin. "Bigger is better."

Wojcik laughed. "Yeah, but only if it's fast as hell."

"The enemy ain't gonna know what hit 'em," said Mitchell .

"Damn straight," agreed Wojcik. "This baby's gonna be the game changer."

As they talked, they could hear the distant sound of explosions and gunfire. The sky lit up with bright flashes of light as the Iron Dome air defense system shot down hundreds of Imperial A-6b missiles.

"Holy shit, did you see that?" exclaimed the Lieutenant as he stared out the cockpit window.

The Colonel nodded, his eyes wide with surprise. "Goddamn, the Iron Dome is a badass system."

The Iron Dome was designed to detect and intercept incoming enemy missiles with great accuracy, and it was currently putting up a tremendous fight. Wojcik and Mitchell were in awe of the power displayed by both sides. They watched with a mix of fear and admiration as the imperial missiles created massive explosions across the sky.

"Looks like we're in for a rough one," Colonel Wojcik remarked to Lt. Mitchell as they continued to watch the defense system in action.

"I've never seen so many missiles fired at once," replied Lt. Mitchell.

"The Iron Dome is not giving up that easily," Colonel Wojcik said to Lt. Mitchell, his co-pilot.

"They never do, sir," Lt. Mitchell nodded in agreement, his eyes glued to the horizon, "but it's still scary as hell seeing all those missiles heading our way."

The two men watched as flashing lights filled the sky, the sound of exploding missiles echoing in the distance.

"I can't imagine what it's like down there," Mitchell said, his voice filled with awe and respect.

"I've been there, son. Believe me, you don't want to be there. It's a warzone," Aleksander replied, his voice heavy with memories.

"Those Iron Dome operators sure know their stuff," commented Lt. Mitchell as he surveyed the scene from the cockpit.

The two men stood in silence for a few moments, watching the intense battle raging in the distance. The Iron Dome system was doing an impressive job of defending their position, but it was clear that the Imperial forces were determined to break through.

"You think they'll make it past the defense system?" Lt. Mitchell asked, breaking the silence.

"No way," Colonel Wojcik said, shaking his head. "We've got the best defense system in the world. They'll never make it past us."

As if to prove his point, another explosion sounded in the distance as the Iron Dome system took out yet another Imperial missile.

"Holy shit," Mitchell muttered. "Those Iron Dome batteries are amazing."

"Impressive, indeed," replied Colonel Wojcik. "But let's not get distracted from our mission. I trust the support crew will finish loading those cruise missiles soon?"

"Yes, sir," confirmed Mitchell. "They should be done in just a few more minutes."

The two continued to chat while they waited, discussing the latest developments in the ongoing war. However, their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise.

Startled, Colonel Wojcik looked around and saw that the source of the sound was one of the support crew's vehicles. It had crashed into another truck while they were transporting the cruise missiles.

"Dammit," he cursed under his breath. "We can't afford any delays. Mitchell, go check on the support crew and see if there's anything we can do to help. I'll stay here and monitor the situation."

"Yes, sir," replied Mitchell, before quickly exiting the cockpit and making his way towards the scene of the accident.

Meanwhile, Colonel Wojcik tried to stay calm and focused. He knew that any delay could mean the difference between success and failure, and he couldn't afford any mistakes. He monitored the situation, watching as the support crew desperately tried to clear the wreckage and continue with their mission.

After what felt like an eternity, Mitchell returned to the cockpit, out of breath but with good news.

"They're okay, sir. Only minor injuries. We managed to salvage most of the missiles, and the rest are being loaded on a backup vehicle right now."

Colonel Wojcik heaved a sigh of relief. "Good work, Mitchell. Let's get this bird in the air."

"Control room, this is 11th Bombardment Wing Maverick. We need immediate clearance to take off. There's a goddamn war going on out there," he barked into the microphone.

"Copy that, B-700 Maverick. You are clear for takeoff. Kick some ass, Colonel," came the response from the control officer.

Wojcik and Mitchell grinned at each other, feeling the rush of adrenaline and freedom that only flying could bring. "Yeah," Wojcik said, his voice steady and sure. "Let's show these Imperial scum what we're made of."

The engines roared to life, the B-700 rapidly accelerated and Colonel Wojcik could feel the immense power of the machine under him, and the B-700 bomber took to the skies. The Colonel gripped the controls tightly, his knuckles turning white. The G-forces were intense, and he could feel the blood rushing to his head, the sweat dripping down his face.

"Jesus fucking Christ, this thing is fast," he exclaimed.

As they climb higher and faster, Colonel Wojcik can feel his heart pounding in excitement. This is what he was born to do, to fly high above the battlegrounds, and to deliver devastating blows to the enemy.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached their cruising altitude and Wojcik was able to relax slightly. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath.

"Good god, that was hell," he muttered.

Lt. Mitchell nodded in agreement, still feeling a bit shaken.

111th Logistical Division, 777th depot, Eastern Lemuria

Rednaskela Kicjow was born into a family of prominent elven nobles in the Holy Darwinian Empire. Growing up, he was trained in thearts of magic, as was expected of all high-born elves. His magical abilities were esteemed from a young age, with his skills in battle magic and tactical planning being particularly impressive.

As he grew older, Rednaskela proved himself on the battlefield, leading successful campaigns against rivals of the Holy Darwinian Empire and effectively quelling uprisings among the elven communities. His courage and leadership were lauded by his superiors, and he carved out a reputation as one of the most esteemed commanders in the Empire.

It was for this reason that he was entrusted with the command of the 111th Logistical Division, a position of great significance in the military hierarchy. The division was responsible for managing the movement of supplies and troops across the Empire, and it held a vital role in the success of any military campaign.

Rednaskela took to the role with great determination, striving to ensure that the division was operating at maximum efficiency and that supplies were reaching the front lines in a timely manner. He worked tirelessly, often long into the night, poring over maps and reports, and devising new strategies to improve the functioning of his division.

And yet, despite his best efforts, there were always challenges to overcome. The unpredictable nature of magical warfare, coupled with the sheer scale of operations, meant that setbacks were frequent and plans often needed to be revised.

Legatus Rednaskela Kicjow paced back and forth, his pointed ears twitching with impatience. He leaned against one of the concrete pillars in the 777th depot, glaring at his quartermasterchief Batalla as he spoke. "What's the hold-up, Batalla? We're behind schedule as it is. If we don't load up those artillery shells soon, there's going to be hell to pay."

Batalla, a wizened old elf with a bushy gray beard, looked up at Rednaskela with a stern expression. "I understand your frustration, Legatus," he said in a calm, measured tone. "But we are doing the best we can with the resources that we have."

Rednaskela snorted. "It's not good enough," he spat. "We need those supplies now. The enemy won't wait for us to get our shit together. We need to get those shells to the depots before the humans have a chance to fortify their defenses. Our assault on the Alnus Bridgehead depends on it."

He turned to the nearby soldiers, who were milling around and chatting amongst themselves instead of working. "You useless maggots!" he bellowed. "Do you think this is some kind of picnic? Move your asses and get those supplies loaded!"

The soldiers jumped to attention, scrambling to pick up crates and barrels and move them to the underground warehouses. But Rednaskela could see that they were moving far too slowly for his liking.

Rednaskela heaved a deep sigh and leaned against a nearby crate. "This is a fucking disaster," he muttered. "We need thosesupplies as soon as possible. Our entire operation at Alnus Bridgehead hinges on them."

Batalla nodded gravely. "I understand the gravity of the situation," he said. "But you have to understand, Rednaskela,that we have limited resources and manpower at our disposal. Moving 4 million 420mm artillery shells and a million A-6 rockets is no simple feat."

"Well, we better find a way to make it happen," Rednaskela growled. "The humans won't wait around for us to get our act together."

Batalla sighed. "I know, I know," he said. "But we've already sent out a call for reinforcements. It will take time for them to arrive."

Rednaskela paced back and forth, his mind racing with frustration and worry. He had been assigned to this mission by the Darwinian Imperial Army, a prestigious honor for any elven officer. But if they failed to secure the supplies in time, it could mean a catastrophic defeat for their forces.

"What's our timeframe?" he asked sharply. "How long until we can expect the reinforcements to arrive?"

Batalla consulted his notes. "At our current pace, we should be able to move about 500,000 shells and 100,000 rockets per day," he said. "Assuming we don't run into any unexpected obstacles."

Rednaskela cursed under his breath. "We don't have that kind of time," he said. "We need to move faster."

"Well, I agree," Batalla said. "But as I said, we are doing the best we can with the resources we have at our disposal. We may need to adjust our strategy if we want to get this done in time."

Rednaskela glared at him. "And what do you suggest we do, Grandmage?" he snapped. "We don't have a magic wand to wave and make all these supplies appear out of thin air."

"Of course not," Batalla said calmly. "But we could try divesting some of our resources from other areas. Maybe we could halt some of our other operations temporarily and focus on moving these supplies instead."

Rednaskela considered this for a moment. It was a risky proposition - if they diverted too many resources towards the supply mission, they could be leaving themselves vulnerable to attack in other areas. But he realized that they didn't have many options left.

"All right," he said finally. "We'll give it a try. But we'll need to move faster than our current pace if we want to stand a chance of getting this done on time."

Batalla nodded. "I understand. I'll see what I can do to mobilize our forces and get them working more efficiently."

As they parted ways, Rednaskela couldn't help but feel a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. This mission was far more complex and challenging than he had initially anticipated. But he knew that he couldn't give up now - not when the stakes were so high. He would do whatever it took to ensure that his troops had the supplies they needed to carry out their assault on the humans at Alnus Bridgehead.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the support troops finished unloading the last of the supplies. The 111th Division sprang into action, loading the artillery ammunition into the underground warehouses as quickly as they could. Legatus Rednaskela watched with a mix of impatience and satisfaction, glad that they were finally making progress.

"That's more like it," he muttered to himself. "Now let's get this shit done and move on to the next objective."

"Legatus," Batalla called out, interrupting his thoughts. "We're almost there. Just a few more crates, and we'll be done."

Rednaskela nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. They were almost there, and he knew that they could finish the job in time.

"Alright," he said, smiling for the first time that day. "Let's finish strong, Grandmage. We've got a war to win."

・・・

As the 11th Bombardment Wing flew towards their target, they were struck with awe at the sight before them. Below them lay a massivethunderstorm, unlike anything they had ever seen before. The clouds were towering and ominous, with bolts of lightning illuminating their edges. The aircraft flew higher than the clouds, but they could still feel the turbulence and turbulence that rattled them withevery jolt. Despite the danger of the storm, Colonel Wojcik and Lt. Mitchell were focused on their mission, determined to strike the Empire's ammunition dumps with precision and efficiency.

As they approached their target, Colonel Wojcik ordered his crew to prepare for the missile launch. The aircraft's engines roared with power as they accelerated to Mach 10, the speed necessary to execute their mission. The crewman at the missile controls rapidly entered the coordinates for the target location, and the Colonel's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, "Prepare to launch the missiles!"

The atmosphere in the aircraft was tense as the crewmen awaited the order to launch. Suddenly, the aircraft was hit by an enormous gust of wind, sending it careening off course. The Colonel's voice crackled over the intercom, "We've been hit by the storm! Stay on course and keep the bird steady!"

Lt. Mitchell fought hard to steady the aircraft, and the crew worked fervently to keep the missiles locked on their target. They knew that any deviation from their course could result in a catastrophic failure of their mission, and possibly even a loss of life.

As they neared their target, Wojcik called in radio coordinates to the other planes in their squadron. "All planes, this is Colonel Wojcik. We're approaching the target. Everyone ready to fire on my mark."

There was a chorus of "Roger, that" from the other pilots, and Wojcik took a deep breath. He knew that they were about to engage in a high-risk, high-reward mission.

"Okay, everyone. On my mark… Three… Two… One… FIRE!"

The crewman at the missile controls pressed the launch button, and the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles rocketed out of their pods and streaked towards the enemy facility below.

・・・

Legatus Rednaskela and Grandmage Batalla were deep in thought, planning the next steps to ensure the success of their assault on the humandefense at Alnus Bridgehead when they suddenly heard a loud whistling sound. They looked up to see a human missile hurtling towards them. Without a second to spare, they both dived for cover, but it was too late.

Unknown to them, the missile had been designed specifically to generate powerful psion waves in the right activation sequences that would set off all the ammunition stored in the underground depots, causing a catastrophic explosion unlike anything they had ever seen.

As the missile collided with the ground, the resulting shockwave rippled through the earth. The ammunition stored in the underground depots began to shudder and shake as the psion wave triggered all of the explosives at once.

In a fraction of a second, the magic wave engulfed the entire depot, triggering the ignition of every single shell and rocket stored inside. The 4 million 420mm shells and million A-6 rockets exploded simultaneously.

At first, there was a low rumble. But then, as more and more ammunition detonated, the sound turned into an ear-splitting roar, deafening in intensity. The speed of the reaction was unfathomable. The explosion occurred with instant and unimaginable force, sending clouds of dust, debris, and metal shards into the sky. The rapidly expanding fireball soon engulfed the entire landscape, shrouding everything in its immediate vicinity in a cloud of smoke and ash. The detonation of the ammunition inside the depot continued for several miliseconds, finally culminating in a massive burst of energy that sent shockwaves through the atmosphere.

The ground shook violently for miles around, and a towering mushroom cloud rose into the air like a scene out of an apocalyptic nightmare. In milliseconds, the explosion engulfed the surrounding area in an overwhelming shockwave that flattened everything in its path. The blast was like a nuclear explosion, with a mushroom cloud tens of thousands of feet high.

It only took a few seconds for the explosion to create a towering mushroom cloud with multiple condensation rings, reaching 15 miles high into the atmosphere. As the cloud expanded, the shockwave created by the explosion moved outwards in concentric circles, flattening everything in its path. The heat generated by the chain reaction was so intense that it vaporized everything in its immediate vicinity. The pressure waves from the explosion were so intense that they shattered windows over 60 miles away. The explosion was felt as far as 100 miles away, and debris from the explosion rained down on the surrounding countryside.

The explosion was so intense that it created a vaccum that sucked in everything in, creating a massive crater that stretched for miles. The few soldiers who had been close to the depots were instantly vaporized by the blast. Their bodies and equipment reduced to ash and dust by the incredible force of the explosion. The ground shook for miles around, and the shockwave sent debris flying in every direction. Trees were uprooted, boulders were dislodged, and everything that stood in the path of the explosion was torn apart.

The aftermath of the explosion was unimaginably devastating. The surrounding landscape had been reduced to smoldering ruins, with virtually nothing left standing. The shockwaves had triggered landslides, collapsed buildings, and even caused mountains to crumble.

Everything in the immediate vicinity was instantly vaporized, leaving nothing but a smoldering, scorched area where the explosive force had hit. The sound of the explosion thundered through the woods and echoed across the entire region. The mushroom cloud created by the explosion enveloped the sky, blocking the sun and plunging the region into total darkness. The heat from the explosion could be felt for miles around.

The Colonel and his crew watched in awe as the missiles descended toward their target location, exploding in a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar. The blast was so intense that it dwarfed the storm below, creating a shockwave that reverberated for miles. The entire compound had been reduced to rubble and ash. The once lush forest was now barren, lifeless landscape covered in a layer of black soot and ash. The storm-ravaged terrain beneath them was now a wasteland of destruction, with enormous clouds of dust and debris rising up from the ground like towering infernos.

Amidst the chaos, Colonel Wojcik turned to Lt. Mitchell and said, "That was the most awe-inspiring sight I have ever seen! We've done our country proud today, and we've shown the Empire the true power of the United States Strategic Air Command."

As they flew away from the scene of the destruction, Colonel Wojcik was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. He knew that their mission had been successful, and that they had once again proven that the United States was a force to be reckoned with. The storm below may have been fierce, but it paled in comparison to the explosive power that he and his crew had just unleashed.

"I am proud of each and every one of you. We did it," he said, smiling.

The crew beamed back at him, knowing that they had given their all for their country and had succeeded. They had truly lived up to the unofficial motto of the Strategic Air Command - "Nuke'm Until they Glow."

Third Japanese Special Task Force, North of Coda

After hours of preparation and assistance, the people of Coda city were now finally ready to leave. Wagons were loaded and a long caravan of carts began to form.

It was decided that the 5th Combat Unit would lead the front of caravan meanwhile the 1st and 2nd heavy mechanized mixed corps would stay off the main roads in order to provide overwatch and have a better view of the general going of things. The 3rd Combat Unit would cover their track from behind to make sure no demons followed them and the 4th would be their eye in sky.

Itami watched through his sights as the long caravan of wagons and carts continued on, it was an impressive sight that extended for almost 5 miles. In a way it reminded him of the refugees caravan he had to provide overwatch for on his humanitarian mission in Lebanon, long convoys of wheeled vehicles.

The Elf who lived in Koan forest, Tuka, the eldest daughter of Hodor Ray Marceau, was having a nightmare. She was trembling like a puppy and desperately reached out a hand as if someone had taken a stuffed animal from her.

"Kuro-chan~, how's the girl doing?"

"Lieutenant General Itami… the poor girl is having a nightmare. I have given her a sedative . Her situation for now is stable but the trauma of losing her falmily is too much for her to bear. My advise is getting her to a talking therapy."

A highly skilled sculptor focused his strongest passion and moe spirit in order to create a beautiful girl with perfect skin. Right now, the girl was lying powerlessly on her side. Between her golden locks was her slightly opened blue eyes which were just like gems.

Itami looked at the Elven girl as he considered his problems.

"The trek of refugees is slow and not making progress, more and more problems keep occurring and the weather keep getting worse. This escape is slowly exhausting them."

He was just venting his complains. For Itami whose motto was 'Eat, sleep, play, repeat, life is everything in between', this seemingly unending trek was just suffering.

The refugees wore depressed expressions. They felt fatigue in their bones, hunger in their stomachs and thirst in their throats. The Falmartian, despite not needing food or water to survive still felt hungry and thirsty.

The piercing wails of babies abandoned by their escaping parents permeated the air. People injured from accidents on the road. The heavy rain poured heavily on their backs only adding to their struggle.

The worst part for the refugees, however, was all the mud, so much mud. Mud which coated the ground and caked their pants and shoes which they had no time to shake off. If only they had the magic carriages or some golems, this would be a lot easier. All of those were unfortunately requisitioned by the Imperial Army.

They could not turn into Titan or using magic fearing of being discovered by the Flame Demons horde. They were so afraid of being discovered, to the point that considerable effort was expended in moving decoy in other areas behind the caravan and scattering various farming implements on the opposite direction.

Dropping out from the caravan meant death. Even if not because of the Flame Demons, anyone dropped out would most likely fall victim to wild beasts and bandits. They needed to move faster.

Kurokawas asked Itami,"Can't we request additional transport?"

With the transport capability of the UEADF, they could easily move this amount of cargo.

But Itami just scratched his head with a troubled face.

"First, we are behind enemy lines here not just the Flame Demons horde but also the Imperial military. They might be ignoring us because of our numbers and direction, but the enemy will definitely react if we send a large unit deep into their territory. Accidental engagement, unplanned expansion of our front line, and committing our forces are exactly what we want to avoid. The sudden escalation of war could drag the refugees into all this... Just thinking about that makes my head itch. Beside I doubt that the higher up want us to spent more resource on enemy civilians."

Kurokawa smiled wryly in response to Itami's words.

"That's why, all we can do right now is give a helping hand."

Kurokawa had no choice but to nod in agreement.

When the refugees from Coda city reached this area, the sun was at its peak.

Leading the wagon train was the GCCV G-1 Base of the Third Japanese Special Task Force. However, it was moving at a cycling pace, even with their superhuman strength the muddy ground simply couldn't support the weight of the refugees, and since the refugees behind were on foot, along with groaths and farm animals pulling the wagons. Maybe sport cycling would be even faster than this.

"But… Can't we go any faster?"

Sergeant Takashi complained.

"I haven't driven this slowly since driving school."

If he pressed too long on the accelerator symbol, he would leave the wagon train behind. Takashi moved by using the driving app in his touch screen.

Itami studied the terrain map made from aerial photographs, watching the horizon with his HUD. He compared the terrain with his current position, calculating the distance they had travelled and how much further they had to go. He recorded road conditions and their steepness. These were not the only things he wrote down as the flow of rivers and vegetation were also important information.

"Commander, be advised due north of your position by about 25 kilometers we have eyes on the Fire Demons horde. They are coming your way fast. Permission to engage the enemy "

Silence.

"Commander Itami, Sir?"

More silence, the truth was Itami had heard Kuribayashi voice over the radio he were just too busy considering all his options to pay attention.

It was the third day of the exodus from Coda city, and the refugees thought they were out of the Fire Demon's hunting grounds. However, the horde suddenly appeared and immediately began attacking its prey.

Thanks to the prior knowledge of the Flame Demon horde appearance courtesy of the JSDF Special Task Force, Coda city and a few other nearby villages had all simultaneously fled from those demons. After the Flame Demons couldn't find any Immanities or Elves to prey on, it followed its nose to a place filled with Immanities.

Since the preparation for escaping had taken some time, and they were weighed down by their luggage, the slow speed of the Coda people had allowed the Flame Demon Army to catch them.

"Fighting with monsters is the JSDF's tradition! Who'd have thought that we would be doing it here!"

"Attention all units! This is Lieutenant General Itami, you are clear to engage."

First Armored ,1st Combat Unit

"Time to mount up." Tanker Toya finished the last of his coffee and shook his mug over the sand. His Type-92 Chamberlain tank was ready to move, one of the 102 tanks lined up along the main road.

It was still dark but the eastern horizon was glowing red as the sun approached it's first appearance. That's why the tanks were along this road, with the sun behind them the demons would be advancing with the glare of the dawn directly in their eyes. It was a small point perhaps but the officers were paid to think of things like that. He climbed up on to his tank and slid into the turret beside the 152mm gun, settling comfortably into the familiar seat. "Boiling vessel on?"

The loader nodded, the tank was going to seal down, they'd fight that way. Nobody knew what the demons would do when they found themselves under fire so orders were to expect the worst and make sure the coffee urn was ready to use. Toya felt his ears click as the positive-pressure system powered up.

The air inside the tank was at a higher pressure than that outside so that if there were any leaks in the tank, the flow would be out, not in. They had rations, everything they needed without depending on the outside world. They even had some empty cases from the artillery so they could relieve themselves without leaving their armored home.

"Sabre-One Actual." Lieutenant Masaki's voice was calm, studied. "All Sabre One units. Confirm sealed down."

Toya thumbed his transmitter button."Sabre One-two sealed down."

"Very good. Recon tells us the Demons are moving, straight at us." There was immense satisfaction in the Lieutenant's voice now.

"Straight at us" meant straight into the hornet hive and on to the killing range. We will be opening fire at 5,000 meters with HESH. Aimed shots only boys, we can't waste ammunition. Strike hard!"

The last words were Masaki's family motto, repeated with almost boyish enthusiasm. Young officers Toya thought, a little patronizingly, a little sadly. So keen, so likely to die. "You heard our Lieutenant. Load HESH."

"Up." The one word meant that the 152mm gun was loaded, ready to fire. Toya leaned forward slightly and peered through his commander's periscope.

Even in the brief time since they'd mounted up, the sun had risen enough to start lighting the battle area. Across the dunes, Toya saw a section of the horizon turn red. The Flame Demons crossing it in strength, a great square of them. He knew the numbers, 81 ranks, each of 81 Fire Demons. This was their advance guard.

As he watched the great square changed, splitting into three rectangles, the two at the rear moving up either side of the lead so they formed an extended line. Then the rectangles split again, into three sections, one behind the other. The numbers played in Toya's head, 729 in each sections, almost 2,200 in each of the three closely packed waves. This would be a bloody day, Toya though. So what color would their blood be?

"They're charging by battalion." Toya lased the formations that were approaching at steadily-increasing speed. "Range 7,500 meters. They're not holding formation very well. No discipline there at all." A critical point, a charge had to hit as a solid blow, a fist formed of every available asset. If the charging vanguard were ill-disciplined enough to allow their formation to break, the strength of the blow would be much reduced.

First Brigade, First Combat Unit , North of Coda .

"It's starting." Colonel Takeo Kurata looked at the electronic displays in his command center. He'd zoomed in on where the map was showing the first of the demons formations moving up.

They were leading with their vanguard down there, just like they were doing here. Kurata zoomed out, moved his point of display up to the enemy position then flipped the display mode from synthetic to raw video.

The pictures from the Global Hawk showed the fire demons vanguard shift from a solid block to a column of three long lines.

The 5th Combat Unit had placed their faith in T42D Black Arrow surface to air missiles to stop the initial push but Kurata was relying on his artillery. It wasn't as if he was short of it.

Command Colonel Takeo Kurata picked up the microphone." All Ready First units, now here this. The enemy is moving. These are the bastards who thought we'd just knuckle under to their wishes. Well, they're wrong and we're going to show them just how wrong. We're going to teach them what JSDF values stand for. We'll show them the talent of man and by the the talent of man I mean, of course, mindless indiscriminate violence." There was a chortle of laughter at the crack. "So show them just how much violence and destruction we can do when we put our minds to it."

He put the microphone down. "The 300mm M370 MLRS, 320mm PCL195 MLRS and 180mm M1299 self-propelled howitzer batteries are waiting Sir. Just give the word."

The mathematics were simple and deadly. Just under 25 kilometers away from the demons horde were 29 M370 MLRS rocket launchers. Each had 12 rockets. Each rocket had 2,576 shaped-charge multi-role sub-munitions. 12 x 29 x 2,576 = 896,448. Getting on for a nearly of a million sub-munitions were descending on the 6,000-strong horde that was charging across open terrain. The JSDF had a name for what was happening. They called it steel rain.

Right Flank of the Demon Army

Demon Lord Visharak kept his beast in hand, trying to keep lined up with the other members of his unit. It was hard, the great fire beasts wanted to surge ahead, their claws snapping in anticipation of biting into flesh, their tails arched up ready to strike, their noses exhaled fire ready to burn their foe.

Ahead of him the first rank was already breaking into a gallop, the beasts covering the ground with great loping strides. The second rank were into the trot, waiting for the order so they too could start their charge. Visharak's third rank was still at the pace, their turn had not come yet. Far ahead of him, he could see a strange shimmering cloud that seemed to stretch across the battlefield. Odd, but then this mortal army was full of surprises. It wasn't the way they'd expected it to be.

It was time, his beast broke into its trot as the lines in front shifted to the gallop. The waves had spaced out, the gaps between them lengthening as the beasts accelerated to full speed, their riders letting them have their head in the race to gain the honor of being the first to crash through the enemy lines. Then, the surge and the pounding in his rear end as his beast went into the gallop, its head stretching out as its muscles pushed it faster towards the enemy. Visharak sneered at the enemy in front, instead of forming up in the open where they could fly their banners and show their defiance like proper warriors, they were hiding behind the hill crests. Not that hiding would save the mortals. In front of him, the first wave was nearing the shimmering river. Then, the earth opened up and swallowed them.

Left Flank of the Demon Army

Demon Lord Zorankali jabbed his heels into the neck of his beast, urging it onwards, towards the enemy who was supposed to be trying to stop the Legions of Chaos. His beast responded gallantly, straining every muscle in its body to get ahead of his rivals and be the first to start the slaughter of the mortals. Dawn was well advanced, the sky turning from black to blue, only it wasn't? Zorankali took time to glance upwards, there was a weird white cloud rising from behind the mortals, a cloud tinged red from the rising sun. The appearance of a cloudy red sky for one second made Zorankali homesick but the clouds shot through with streaks of intense white fire. Suddenly, Zorankali saw the streaks of fire were curving through the air and the curve was going end with him.

Zorankali was staggering around amid the wreckage of the cavalry charge. His beast was down, threshing on the ground, screaming with the agony of holes blasted through its body. Great craters seared by the fury of the shaped-charges that had blasted raw copper plasma into its body, they were something that the beast had never experienced before. All around it, others of its kind were in the same condition, screaming, legs, claws, tails blasted off, their faces melted, their bodies ripped open and their organs hanging out. Some were dead, they were the ones who had been fortunate enough to be hit so hard that even the tough body and lust for war that was bread into the beasts could not allow them to survive. Between the bodies of the great beasts, their riders were strewn, some dead, some screaming from their wounds, all hurt in a way none had ever experienced before.

It really didn't register in time, the screams from overhead that drowned out even the shrieks and howls of the shattered cavalry charge. The explosions did catch his attention, they were large enough to attract anybody's. they rippled across the killing field, tearing apart the force pinned down there and finally bringing peace to the crippled beasts as they were blown apart.

Just over 12 kilometers away, the 18 M1299 howitzers had dropped into the steady firing rate of four rounds per minute, the rate that conserved ammunition and broke armies.

Their shells arched over the Type-92 Chamberlain tanks and other heavy armored vehicles of the First Brigade and slammed into the mass of struggling demons below. On the ridgeline above the tankers and mechanized infantry watched in slightly bored interest as the demons cavalry died. There was nothing to be really interesting here, they'd seen MLRS and artillery at work before. The artillery observers actually had something to do, they watched the patterns of shells landing and datalinked a stream of information back to the guns, directing fire onto any pockets of survivors.

In the middle of the mass of artillery fire, Zorankali was learning new lessons and learning them very fast indeed. He was learning that he was helpless, that there was no defense against the shells that were moving backwards and forwards across the killing ground. He was learning that artillery and the controllers who directed in had no mercy, no compassion for the creatures they were slaughtering. They were just targets, to be erased as quickly and conveniently as possible.

Zorankali had learned one other thing. He was a creature of hell but these seemingly puny mortals could create hell any time they wanted to. For the first time in his long life, Zorankali knew what sheer, unadulterated, panic-stricken terror felt like.

First Armored ,1st Combat Unit

"Now that is a sight." Tanker Toya swung the turret of his tank so he could watch the scene in the battlefields. The 300mm shells had been designed to knock out massive armored formations but they worked against the demon's fire salamander very effectively.

The first wave had been blown apart by the MLRS and howitzers, Toya had seen one fire salamander have both its left legs torn off by the shaped-charge multi-role sub-munitions, as it had collapsed to one side it had landed on another and been killed by it.

Quite a few of the fire salamanders had made it though the MLRS bombardment and then they'd hit the solofilament wire fields planted seconds ago. Using the 320mm MLRS and the a special cluster ammunition, the UEADF could create minefield or wirefield in an instant.

Solofilament was also known as "mollywire", "molly thread", "superwire", "microwire," and sometimes (erroneously) as "nanowire" or "nanothread." They were nasty stuff, touch a piece carelessly and it could remove a man's fingers. It was also very hard to damage, it was very thin, hard to hit, and if you tried to cut it, chances were whatever you tried to cut it with would just fall apart in two pieces during the process as the wire passed effortlessly through most substances, cleaving it apart on a molecular level.

There were dozens of interlocked coils down there and even as Toya watched he saw the fire salamanders tear into it and become entangled in the mass of razor-sharp edges. They screamed and threshed as the wire sliced ever-deeper into them and their efforts only got them more entangled and inflicted yet more damage. Some of the riders tried to help their mounts, grabbed the wire to lift in clear and these ones learned the terrible truth and the wire sliced their fingers to the bone.

Behind that second wave came the third and these had learned. Most of them followed the paths of the fire salamanders that had made it to the wire. They climbed over the creatures from the second wave, escaping the first entangling coils of wire but got bogged down in the rest. Others followed them and by simple weight and mass they crushed down the wire with the bodies of those in front of them. By sheer weight of numbers, the enemy cavalry had breached the wire and were through.

"Get ready Boys." Lieutenant Masaki's voice came over the radio.

"The artillery lads are opening fire. Get ready to pick off any of them monsters that get through the barrage."

Toya settled down into his tank commander's seat, then took a look through the scope. The blood in the battlefield was green.

"What the blazes was that?"

Toya shrugged. Something had hit his tank, it seemed like some sort of fire ball or something. It had come from the mass of infantry they were pounding."No idea. Any damage."

"No boss, computers overheated for a second but that's all. If I didn't know better, I'd say we got hit by a fire ball .

If we did, the heat-resistance nano-crytalline steel armor worked as advertised."

Toya looked across the line, it seemed like quite a few fire balls were coming in from the direction of the enemy.

"The old books said that demons could throw fire bolts didn't they?

Looks like we just got hit by one."

Ahead, down in the valley, a group of demons had penetrated the wire in his sector. "Load HESH."

"Up."

"Shoot."

"On the way."

The tank lurched as another 152mm HESH round went down range and Toya saw it plow into the group he'd selected, blowing one demons into fragments while those around it went down wounded.

The thought crossed Toya's mind that he was currently firing the biggest and most expensive sniper's rifle in history. It also crossed his mind that snipers couldn't possibly stop a massed attack like this. He had to give the demons credit, the ground in the battlefield and around the wire was carpeted with their dead yet they were still pushing forward. It took gutsy infantry to do that.

"Make that a definite on the ball plasma." Toya had seen another Type-92 Chamberlain getting hit by a ball of plasma and briefly lighting up the way a ship's mast sometimes did in an electrical storm. St Elmo's Fire it was called or something. He switched to the platoon net.

"Lieutenant, Sir, we're taking incoming fire here. Some sort of plasma bolt, like lightning or EMP. Does seem to be dangerous to us but not for the super tank."

"Roger that Toya. For your information, other tanks and the crunchies in their T-15 Armatas are also reporting the plasma bolts. Hold Fast."

Toya switched back to tank intercom and picked out another demon target. Once again, his 152mm gun crashed, sending the demons flying. Their casualty rate down there was appalling, the M1299s were still pounding them with their 180s while the tanks added precision fire to the execution yet they were barely making a dent in the mass of demons still moving forward. Toya got an uneasy feeling that the battle was not going well.

"They may not know what they're doing but my word, do they have guts."

Colonel Takeo Kurata watched the slaughter on his display. The Global Hawk was relaying real-time video of the battle as it developed, sending back pictures of the demons horde as they floundered under the lash of artillery fire.

The MLRS batteries were inflicting incredible losses on them, every time they fired, whole sections of the demons front just vanished under the Steel Rain. There were two problems with that, the batteries fired about once every eight or nine minutes and that just wasn't often enough. The other was that they had already dumped more than a million DPICM bomblets into the target area. With a 2 percent failure rate, that meant there were already 80,000 dud rounds scattering the battlefield. That would make it a hazard for years to come.

Still, the gap between the MLRS salvoes was being filled by the M1299s. All 54 guns in the Task Forces were now pouring fire into the enemy army. A mortal army would have broken by now, given up, known that getting through the artillery fire was impossible, and saved their lives by pulling back.

The demons weren't doing that. Not yet at any rate. Kurata know they would, sooner or later. They were fighting the JSDF on its terms, on its ground, giving it exactly the target the Army was supremely good at destroying.

The demons would either run or die. Even as he watched, a new element was added to the massacre, the Armata heavy IFVs of his mechanized infantry were firing Kornet-M anti-tank missile into the enemy formation, picking out the groups the artillery missed and cutting them down.

The tanks were silent, Kurata intended to hold fire with them until the enemy were 2,000 meters away. The 152 mm smoothbore didn't have the accurate range of the German 130mms rifled so the Armatas had to take over the long-range precision fire role.

Kurata looked at the mass of infantry threshing in the kill zone and shook his head. They had to stop. Didn't they?

Left Flank of the Demons Army

They were hunched up, backs bent, heads down, looking for all the world as if they were trying to walk through some ferocious storm. Same grim determination to find shelter. And that wasn't a bad comparison thought Zorankali, that's what they were. Facing a storm that slaughtered everything in its path. Ever since his Beast had been killed, Zorankali had been advancing with the infantry against the hideous magic of the mortals.

He caught his breath, suddenly the sky behind the mortals had turned white again, white shot with fire as their fire-lances sped towards the floundering demon advance. He watched the sight with fear in his heart, then sighed slightly as it descended on the flank of the line, far from his position.

It happened again, the same rippling cloud of explosions that left no demons standing when it cleared. Anything was better than the fire lances, even the magic bolts that screamed and caused the ground to erupt under their feet.

There was something new, from a position in front of them, more mortal chariots had appeared, barely visible with just a small box over the ridgeline. For all their skills, the mortals were cowards, Zorankali consoled himself with that thought, they didn't stand proud and fight, they hid in hollows and dips in the ground to kill. And kill, and kill, and kill thought Zorankali grimly. Oh yes, they were very good at that but it wasn't matter without Holy magic all of their victories were just temporary.

The boxes fired fire-lances at a group of demons on Zorankali's right. The targets scattered but it did them no good. They'd been lucky enough to escape the fire-lances and the bolts but these new weapons were different. As Zorankali watched appalled, the fire-lances changed course to follow their targets.

Even those who forget their honor and tookcover in dips like mortals could not save themselves, the fire lances were following them into the cover they had sought. It was more than flesh and blood, even demonic flesh and blood could stand. The leading demons started to edge backwards, even as the ones behind continued to push forward. The advance ground to a halt in the chaos.

First Armored ,1st Combat Unit

"Air Raid Warning Red! Red! Red!" The scream over the radio was just in time. A group of about 30 flying demons had managed to assemble themselves from the massacre in the skies over the battlefield and attacked the tanks sitting on the ridgeline with fire balls.

Toya could feel his tank lurch as a group of them landed on it, heard their claws scrabbling at the armor. His radio went dead, at a guess, he thought the antenna had probably been ripped off by the demons. Then he heard a ringing noise, the sound of machine gun fire bouncing of armor plate. The T-15 Armatas were machine-gunning the tanks in an effort todrive the demons off them.

Toya looked through his vision blocks, some were masked by clawed hands trying to rip them open but he could see Bravo-Three was also covered with harpies, the tracers from three T-15 Armatas converging on it as the infantry protected the tanks from the sudden assault. On a sudden thought, Toya looked up and made sure his hatch was firmly clamped shut. One demons was driven off the tank by the fire, it exploded in the air as the T-15 Armata fired a few rounds from its 57mm mm gun into it.

Others were dying as they were shot up by the T-15's coaxial chain guns. That was creating a new problem, Toya could see Bravo-Three was starting to smoke, the acid from the Demon's blood probably. The nano-crytalline steel armor on the 141 tons Type-92 Chamberlain would resist the acid but there were other things out there that could be vulnerable.

The tanks were backing up. Toya hadn't received any orders but with his radio down, it was a fair guess they were out so he joined in the movement. Like the other tanks, he popped his smoke launchers, the choking white fumes driving off the remaining harpies. By the time the demons swarmed over the positions he had once held, the Chamberlain were back behind the next ridgeline.

J-86 over the caravan , West of Coda city.

"Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two." Lieutenant Tomoki was one of 24 pilots making the ritual chant as the missiles streaked away from his air superiority fighter climbing up, high into the stratosphere as the started their deadly course. This was what the J-86 had been built for, taking on a massed formation of enemy aircraft and blasting them apart with long-range weapons. It was, after all, what their American counterpart had said, it was all very well to win a fight but much better to kill your enemy before he knew the fight had started.

The radio crackled again, the J88/101s were opening fire with their long-range missiles. They didn't have the multi-target capability of the J-86s, not quite, they could engage four targets at once instead of the J-86's six, but they were firing their AIM-125 AMRAAM in a stream at the mass of demons . As the first four hit, the radar would automatically switch to the next four, and then the next. Tomoki realized something else, the demons would be looking at the huge salvo of missiles aimed straight at them, not upwards to where the AIM-125s were already hurtling down. Off to the south, the third J-100 fighter formation was already closing to follow up the initial long-range pounding.

Over 15 kilometers away, Demon Lord Nosgorath saw the sky in the far distance turn into a white could, one that lengthened towards the flock of demon with incredible speed. This had to be the fire-spears thrown by the mortal sky-chariots, the demons had all heard of them and quietly discussed them. There was word that three of the great Heralds had been destroyed by the fire-spears, if so, what could the smaller fliers do against them? He watched the fire-spears approaching, then the whole world seemed to turn upside down.

His eyes blurred, de-focused from the shock, Nosgorath looked with horror at the chaos wrought upon the flying demons flock. One of his wing-mates had taken a direct hit from a fire spear and had been blown to fragments. Others around him had been caught by the blast and fragments and were fluttering down, crippled, wings torn apart, some already burning where their bodies were being seared by their blood. Even as he watched, the members of his flock were dying as more fire-spears tore into them, the explosions adding to the chaos in the flock. Hundreds were dead and dying as Nosgorath tried to absorb the havoc that was being wrought. In the chaos, he saw a fire-spear coming for him. Panic-stricken, he dived and turned away, trying to accelerate as fast as he could but the fire-spear obediently changed course and followed him. That just wasn't fair.

"I love it when a plan comes together." The voice in Tomoki's earphones was a mixture of professional satisfaction and awe. The sky where the demon had been was a mass of explosions and fireballs. "Lion Group, return to base, maximum speed. Reload and get back out here fast. Don't worry about fuel, we've got tankers up if anybody gets short. Tiger Group," That was the JASDF pilot Tomoki thought. "close on what's left of that demon formation and slaughter it as soon as the J-100s have finished. Don't hang around, don't get close, zoom and boom. Watch out, the J-100s will be there as well."

Tomoki thumbed his transmitter. "Eagle Eye, kill totals?"

There was a laugh in the controller's voice. "Bloody fighter pilots. Hard to say Tiger Leader. In that mess, its hard to work out who's killing what. We have Lion Group down for 121 kills, Tiger Group for 290. Panther Group is about to engage. Good luck Lion Leader, look forward to seeing you back here."

It made sense, Tomiki thought. The J-86s were long-range killers, they had no place getting mixed up in a wild furball, but the fighter pilot in his soul screamed in protest still. Because what a furball it was going to be. Behind him, the area of sky occupied by the flying demons redoubled in its fury as the salvoes of AIM-125Cs tore into it.

The rest of the airborne demons were torn to pieces by T42D Black Arrow SAMs and the 35mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 systems with each round of Rheinmetall's 35mm x 228 Oerlikon Ahead airburst ammunition contains a lethal payload of heavy metal spin-stabilized subprojectiles, unleashed in the path of an oncoming target at a programmable, predefined point in time. A short burst of Ahead ammunition produces a dense cloud of lethal subprojectiles. These penetrated the outer skin of the target, causing catastrophic damage to its interior.

---

Because he lack of nuclear weapons of his own, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus ordered the Imperial Air Forces to retaliate for the bombing of Elbe with the largest conventional air raid they had ever launched.

Around 100 million flying beasts were assembled for an attack on Alnus Base. Including 1 million dragon and titan wyverns, 9 million mass-produced wyvern, 20 million fire birds and 70 million scaven suicide bombers.

Many of those were Wind Dragon interceptor equipped with the lastest anti-radar magic armor that were to offset the swarms of missile interceptors that the Imperial Air Forces expected to encounter in the skies over and around Alnus Base.

For the first time, the Holy Empire also used other innovations that Princess Élodie had recently implemented such as radar jamming Skyship. In late February, 6000 prototype Clovis Class Magic Skyship Carriers retrofitted with the most advanced radar jamming magic device available had been delivered for trials.

Their original purpose had been to patrol the skies of the Holy Empire in the hopes of jamming incoming UEAADF air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). Now they were to patrol over the Lemuria Channel and effectively vector escort bio-fighters toward UEAADF fighters on course to intercept the incoming assault.

The battle commenced on February 26th 2030 and became the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind.

The Holy Darwinian Empire had launched their major counterattack on UAEDF forces in the early hours of the morning. Reconnaissance drones had spotted them from hundreds of miles far out, and arsenal bombers and interceptor aircraft were sent to wipe them out. But they failed. An army of over 1 million dragon, backed by 9 million wyverns and over 90 million suicide beasts, and numerous mages divisions marched forwards towards their position. But that wasn't the worst thing about the invading force coming their way. Something far more terrifying was accompanying them, and nothing they had was stopping it.

They saw 20,000 grand mages soaring to their position, then 8,000 grand mages stood in front chanting a spell creating 8 yellow shields arranged in a diamond pattern to cover the remaining 12,000 grand mages, the remaining 2,000 grand mages per group stood in a hexagonal star chanting behind it with Wizard King Solomon at the center of the formation. It took 3 waves of attacks using long range nuclear artillery for those 8 shields to be broken, but by that time it seemed like a nightmare just started, in the position of 12,000 grand mages behind formed a yellow hexagonal star-shaped matrix with characters puzzling, then half of the battlefield darkened, dark clouds came.

Before the air battle even began, Alnus Base and surrounding area had been struck by a massive Strategic-class magic:

"Tenpenchii."

By interfering with the natural energy using an immeasurable amount of mana, Tenpenchii was able to simultaneously create a variety of natural disasters that devastate the surrounding area, with Alnus Hill acting as their epicentre. The phenomena involved in this technique include: earthquakes, floods, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. These concurrent events resulted in a blast akin to a nuclear explosion, even forming a vast mushroom cloud.

Explosions shook the ground and lit up the sky as UEADF forces in Alnus were fighting for their lives. It had been barely 4 months since they had taken the Alnus Region, and had since established a powerful perimeter. Now they were under attack by a Falmartian air force that was by far more powerful than anything the armies of the UAE met on Falmart. Blue lightning shot up into the sky, creating a terrifyingly beautiful display of lights in the atmosphere. Every single AAA gun in the trenches was pouring fire onto the horde of flying abomination that was slowly flying its way towards the base perimeter. Tens of thousands of aircraft took to the sky loaded to the brim with everything they had, supporting the millions of marines and soldiers fighting desperately to hold the ground

The verocity of the Imperial attack was something never seen before by the UEADF. The attacking Wyverns, Fire Birds and Scaven would be relentlessly slaughtered like an ocean of blood and corpses. Exploding, disinterating and being vaporized by the unwavering but slowly weakening FACIDS system.

God dammit, we can't hold them back! There's to many of-Ahhhh!"

"The AAA guns are barely fucking slowing them down!"

"All units fall back, I say again, fall back to Phase Line Bravo, over!"

"This is Badger 1-1, we can no longer hold this position, I repeat we cannot hold our ground. Falling back to Phase Line Bravo, over!"

"This is Cobra 1-1, 1-4 and 1-7 are down, I say again, 1-4 and 1-7 are down. Enemy has unknown electronic countermeasures capabilities and we can't get through that damn jamming to lock on targets to wipe them out.

"Nothing we have is breaking that fucking jamming! Where the hell are the nukes!"

"Fury 1-8 reporting no effect on those targets! Repeat, SAM fire is ineffective, there are too many targets, over!"

"Mosin 2-5 here, were on the way to provide air support, standby!

The unrelenting weight and force of the Imperial air assault not be suppressed even with the power of the nuclear armed surface to air missiles defense system.

Thousands of Black Arrows surface to air missiles armed with command detonated tactical nuclear warheads carrying up to 5kt nominal yields were used against Wyvern formations. Flash upon flash of nuclear explosions illuminated the sky and swallowed hordes of wyverns but the hordes keep coming.

As Captain Antonio Valencia listened in over the radio, it seemed as if the world was ending. A cacophony of explosions filled his ears as the anti-aircraft artillery batteries fired nonstop, hoping to stop the enemy force closing in. He watched as multitude of tanks and armored vehicles drove northward, heading to join those on Phase Line Alpha and Bravo. Around him and his squad, dozens of men carrying guided anti aircraft rockets and anti air guns raced alongside the vehicles. Flak crews worked overtime sending round after round overhead, impacting into the formation that was moving ever so steadily closer to them.

"Massive Ground Target detected, distance 13,000 meters, at 10 O'clock!" An American Lieutenant screamed into his radio as another another marine next to him sent another anti tank rocket downrange towards its target. A spotter who was positioned up ahead ran back and reported the situation to the Lieutenant.

"No effect on target! No effect!" the lance Corporal reported with fear written across his face. The young officer on the radio could only nod in affirmation as he reported the situation to command.

"No effect, I say again, no effect on the ground target, over!" the Lieutenant screamed, before looking over at a nearby Captain. asking him for orders. "What the hell are we doing sir?"

"Our mission Lieutenant, assuming we can't break those fucking shields, is to delay their advance long enough for our train in the base to pull out with all the noncoms, now keep firing!" he screamed as another tank drove past him, its cannon roaring, sending another 152mm round downrange.

"Mosin 2-5 here, all units open fire!" He heard over the radio as a loud hovering sound broke in over the frantic screams and barks of orders. As Private Tyagi looked up, multiple squadrons of attack helicopters flew overhead in a tight, but spread out formation. All at once, they let rip with everything they had, flashes erupting from the rocket pods and thousands of pounds of ordinance screamed towards its intended target.

He then looked forward, towards the source of all the pandemonium occurring. The entirety of Phase Line Charlie was burning, the hill covered with flames, and from it, a massive shape tearing through it, exposing itself, and its gigantic size.

A Scarlet Dragon, far larger than any land dragon encountered before, with a bright blue aura around its body, was making its way closer and closer to UEADF defense lines. As each missile, artillery round, and tank shell hit the scarlet beast, only a white flash erupted as they made impact with the shield. Tyagi could only look on in horror as the best weapons in their arsenal, was doing nothing to the scarlet beast. UEADF forces that survived the destruction of Phase Line Charlie, made a disorganized retreat from the hill, both on foot, and from the vehicles. The subsequent sweep from the Scarlet Dragon energy blast took down a great many of them however.

"God fucking dammit, nothing we have can get through that shield!" he heard one of his countrymen yell as he reloaded his guided missile launcher.

"With how long we've been hammering them, if those shields don't go down soon, we're fucked!" a Malaysian infantryman said as he rushed forward with a Javelin launcher. Like the others, he took aim, locking onto the beast, and letting rip. The missile hit its mark, but did no damage to it. Looking up in the sky, they saw a glowing projectile hit an attack helicopter, sending it spiraling out of control, and slamming into the ground. "Hell, our fucking 180mm batteries overheated their barrels, and can't fire now!"

"Same thing with our pieces, and all of our fucking tanks were at Phase Line Charlie, so what's over here is what's left of us!" Tyagi screamed back in reply before he was blowed away by a suicide beast, a manta-ray looking creatures, a Scaven.

By now, the air battle became even more brutal and desperate with much of Alnus Base air defense forces now slaughtered.

One of the strongest if not strongest air defenses of Alnus Base was its CPAW system that fired high into sky obliterating the Fire Birds rainning down to the base.

(Each 12 ton displacement CPAW system was mounted on its own dedicated armored fire tower, capable of full traverse, elevation and deflection. Each fire tower was equipped with attendant capacitors for extended firing, 5000 liter deuterium fuel tanks to provide mass to the particle stream and heavy duty power links to draw energy directly from the underground reactors through power accumulation matrix arrays. Each accelerator cannon had an effective throughput of over a hundred mega joules (Mj) with a burst radius greater than 150 meters effective. Primary damage was from kinetic impact of particles traveling at nearly the speed of light. Casualty enhancement through follow-up high speed redundant particle collisions and the sympathetic burst of short lived lethal radiation that accompanied a direct physical hit also increased the effectiveness of the CPAW system dramatically.)

Unfortunately, The Imperial Air Forces is now being highly aware of this concentration of firepower proceeded to rain down tens of millions more Kamikaze manta-ray.

By the time the Imperial Air Forces under Princess Élodie and Knight of One, Sir Arthur Pendragon deployed their twelfth waves of attacks the CPAW system were now essentially overheated and annihilated so the IAF would even further intensify their assaults. Shells upon shells of AAA guns fell back to earth like a rain of molten metal. Many of the AAA gun barrels became overheated and melted away after hours of continuous shooting.

The Wyverns were spread out in their attempts to envelop Alnus Base and then launched a Strategic-class fire magic attacks into the Alnus Base.

"Inferno."

By using an immeasurable amount of mana, Inferno was able to simultaneously create a fire hurricane that devastate the surrounding area, with Alnus Hill acting as their epicentre.

The battlefield started to darken as as an ominous glowing cloud covered the entire sky, the the rain started falling down. It wasn't normal rain however, it was a rain of hell fire. The fire and the wind combined create fire tornados destroyed everything on their path.

By this time much of the military contractors and soldiers were evacuated out of the base and back to Japan, except for essential personnel. So when the final defense was finally breached the number of fatalities was below 400,000.

By the time the last Imperial dragons and flying beasts retreated behind the iron curtain along the Indisky coast almost nineteen hours had passed. The toll, both in damage and in aircraft and suicide beasts was enormous. Nuclear armed SAM and UEAADF fighters with nuclear armed AMRAAM claimed 22,8 million kills, while AAA crews claimed an additional 30,6 million flying beasts shot down (post war records indicate that the actual Imperial losses were between 25,6 million and 29,2 million flying beasts) while the UEAADF had lost 15,600 interceptor jet fighters along with 11,900 combat helicopter lost. A quarter of the overall allied air power designated for Lemuria campaign. Still, allied aircraft production was such that the air losses could be replaced fairly quickly, in mere weeks.

Much of Alnus was devastated in this battle, for as far as V-2 magic rockets and 150 mm shells from the V-3 super gun hadn't already done so. The battle also saw the first dogfights between jets and dragons armed with anti radar armor by the Hoy Empire, leading to heavy losses for the Allies. However, UEADF resolve remained unbroken and the air raid sirens made sure that there were fairly few casualties.

One the Empire side. The Air Raid on Alnus Base was, by all accounts, a tactical success, but a strategic failure or at best a Pyrrhic victory.

The destruction of Alnus Base while providing a morale boost for the Darwinian public, was hardly worth the better part of a Darwinian Grand Mages division in the failed assault on the Base perimeter or the loss of 1000 Scarlet Dragon and 50,000 Armor Ogre Titan, along with the crippling of 6000 Clovis Class Skyship Carrier in the air cover effort.

According to internal Ministry of Production documents found in Prime Minister Diabo's personal files post war, the raids caused losses that, in ideal circumstances, would take 4 months to make good. The report left unsaid the fact that ideal circumstances were very unlikely to be present post January 26th.

Worst of all, these enormous efforts inflicted limited damage to the UEADF ability to conduct nuclear attack, the total casualties even lower than the previous biological attacks while costing the Holy Empire highly trained men and much needed shipping.

The Chinese, Russian, Indian and European were eager, even demanding, to up the ante on the Holy Empire by deploying even more nuclear weapons against hundreds of Falmartian population centers, while none of the decision makers believed that the destruction of even a thousand Imperial cities would end the war, the Holy Empire was otherwise too structurally sound for them to crumble that quickly, and enough of the Imperial production was scattered across the rest of the world that to ensure crippling the Imperial economy would require deploying tens of thousands of nuclear weapons across the entire world, killing billions of innocent forced laborers in the Vassal Countries, and the rest of the "Holy Darwinian Empire".

Still, the Empire's actions had to be responded to quickly and in far greater power than the original attacks.

After 120 further atomic strikes on Leiaga Union, Dressen Dukedom, Biela Kingdom, Wilhelmkhaen Dukedom, Bremerh Kingdom, Olden Dukedom, Panderborn Dukedom, Kassel Dukedom, Cuxhaven Knightland and Celle Principality, Magdeburg Community and Jena Repuclic in February 28th to retaliate for the Alnus Hill Raid, raising the tally of cities destroyed by nuclear weapons to 342, The Allies decided to stop the nuclear strikes against Imperial cities because it just wasn't working.

For one, Molt was unimpressed and as far as the Allies were aware there was nobody who was able and willing to remove him.

Secondly, the attacks, though demoralizing, did not nearly have the crippling effect on their war machine that had been expected. Instead further bombs were to be saved up for tactical use against the fortifications in Lemuria.

Nothern Lemuria had been heavily reinforced with up to 2000 divisions by now and plenty of flying beast. Fortress Italica had become practically impregnable.

Leiaga had been targeted because it was a railroad intersection and the location of the Erela magicraft factory

Dressen was targeted because it was a major logistical hub for the Imperial Army

Biela was hit first because of the presence of many barracks and for its textile industry

Wilhelmkhaen had been targeted for its ports and also for its use as naval bases .

Bremerh had been targeted for its shipyards

Olden, Panderborn and Kassel (the first being railway hubs, the second mostly a symbolic target for its historical buildings, and the third the HQ of the 9th Military District as well as the site of weapons factories)

Cuxhaven and Celle (the first have port towns and the second had many important garrison)

Magdeburg and Jena (the location of many synthetic magic gems plant and of modern glass and optics industry respectively)

The lost in both men and materials inflicted by the Imperial counterattack on the UEADF on Bloody February were so horrible that it was remarkable that the will of the Earth's nations hadn't been broken.

From February 1st to 28th February, the UAEDF lost

3,25 million troops, 17,500 Tanks and SP Artillery, 11,250 Armored personnel carriers and half tracks: (this includes Amphibious Tractors), 7,500 Towed Artillery tubes* over 105mm, 5,500 Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft Artillery, 1250 medium-range SAM, 27,800 Jet Fighters, 16,000 helicopters, 280 ultra heavy bomber, 1500 heavy bomber, 3500 heavy gunship aircrafts.

Virtually every navy ships the UEAMDF had in Falmart at that moment: 850 Combat ships (excluding Submarines), 860 Amphibious ships (including rocket bombardment and "monitors" created from LCT), 975 Transports and support vessels, 2926 Landing craft (not including Amphibious Tractors or Amphibious Tanks).

The second month of 2030 had become the deadliest month since the beginning of the war with the Global Security Council's 342 nuclear attacks had caused up to 19+ million Falmartian deaths, 62 million if homunculus slave labours were introduced. The Holy Empire's retaliation strikes also added 3+ million Terrans to the final casualty number. In total, about 23 million people had died in the shortest month of the year.

---

6:00 AM CDT 5 August 1988: Soviet attacks begin against U.S. military satellites: two ground-based laser facilities are used to disable intelligence satellites in low Earth orbit and damage or harass sensors on those in higher orbits. "Killer" satellites are launched and will reach target satellites over the next few hours. Some of the Soviet civilian population is being moved to bomb shelters, subway tunnels, and out of cities. In West Germany invading Soviet forces launch some tactical nuclear weapons against NATO forces.

10:00 AM CDT 5 August 1988: NATO forces begin launching tactical nuclear weapons against Soviet forces in West Germany and bases in East Germany. North Korea invades South Korea while launching chemical weapon strikes against U.S. and South Korean forces.

12:00 noon CDT 5 August 1988: Nuclear hostilities on a global scale begin as the U.S.S.R. launches a preemptive strike. Over 1,000 Soviet missiles-carrying 5,400 warheads-are launched as a counterforce strike against the U.S. and its NATO allies.

Current population figures are: Rio Grande Valley-690,000; Travis County-550,000; Texas-16,800,000; the United States-245,000,000; the world-5,150,000,000.

12:05 PM CDT: Nuclear weapons are detonated aboard several Soviet satellites in low Earth orbit over the U.S. and other areas, generating electromagnetic pulses (EMP). This devastates electronics in these areas. Most unhardened computers and related equipment are rendered useless, destroying communication, information, and power supply networks on a nationwide scale. Transportation vehicles using electronics are inoperable. Many satellites are disabled. While few human casualties have occurred so far, much of the civilian elements of a continent-spanning society are devastated. For most American civilians this is the only warning of the coming attack they will receive: no effective civil defense program exists.

U.S. strategic bombers begin leaving their bases. This includes 25 B-52s and 5 B-1Bs in Texas, with four of these B-52s leaving Bergstrom AFB near Austin. These 30 bombers are carrying 400 nuclear bombs and missiles.

12:10 PM CDT: NATO missiles in Europe (U.S., British, and French weapons) are launched against Warsaw Pact targets. This includes U.S. Pershing II and Gryphon missiles, most of which were not yet retired under the INF treaty.

Soviet submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) warheads begin reaching targets in Texas and other parts of the U.S. Over the next 15 minutes 55 SLBM warheads succeed in reaching targets in Texas out of 74 launched (the rest were on missiles that malfunctioned early in flight). In Travis County, a 1.5-megaton (1 mt equals the explosive energy of 1,000,000 tons of TNT) warhead detonates 2.5 km (1.5 miles) over Bergstrom AFB. Over the next few minutes ten warheads, each between 200 kilotons and 500 kilotons (1,000 kt equals 1 mt) detonate over Bergstrom and in a pattern extending 100 km (60 miles) to the north, west, and east-this in an attempt to destroy the four escaping bombers.

Each explosion produces a fireball which radiates intense light (flash) for about 10 seconds: all exposed combustible material ignites up to ranges of 3 to 9 km (2 to 5.5 miles); second degree burns to exposed skin and fires are produced up to 6.5 to 18.5 km (4 to 11.5 miles) away. The atmospheric shock wave (blast) from each explosion causes partial or complete destruction of all buildings within 1.5 to 4.5 km (1 to 3 miles) and causes moderate damage and 50% injuries or deaths at 5.5 to 15 km (3.5 to 9.5 miles) in the 10 to 40 seconds following detonation. (These figures represent the variation among 200-kt to 1.5-mt warheads exploded in the air or on the ground.) Severe damage and fires result in much of Austin.

Immediate nuclear radiation from the weapons being used is generally absorbed by the atmosphere before it reaches people surviving the flash and blast. (This radiation is only important with small nuclear weapons such as the bombs dropped on Japan in World War II or the tactical nuclear weapons being used in Europe. Delayed radiation from fallout is a different matter, however.)

12:15 PM CDT: The U.S. launches intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) against the U.S.S.R. These are launched from underground silos in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Missouri. Some SLBMs are launched at this time as well.

12:25 PM CDT: The U.S.S.R. launches most remaining nuclear forces, attacking cities and other targets in the U.S. and Western Europe as well as mainland China.

Antiballistic missiles (ABMs) with nuclear warheads are being launched to defend Moscow from incoming warheads. Throughout the U.S.S.R. several types of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) are also being used against incoming nuclear warheads-occasionally with success.

12:30 PM CDT: Soviet ICBM warheads begin reaching U.S. targets. NORAD headquarters near Colorado Springs receives a few 20-mt warheads: the ground shock produced by each one attains 7.3 on the Richter scale. U.S. submarines begin launching SLBMs against the U.S.S.R. In Texas, 80,000 people have already died.

Altogether, over 1,000 tons of debris from Soviet ballistic missiles will fall over the U.S.; much will burn up in the atmosphere, but some larger objects will hit the ground with energy equivalent to their own weight in TNT.

12:35 PM CDT: Another wave of Soviet warheads arrives in Texas: 45 of the 53 ICBM warheads targeted in Texas actually detonate successfully. In Travis County, a 550-kt warhead detonates on the ground at the former site of Bergstrom AFB, adding to the devastation in Austin. In the Rio Grande Valley, a 550-kt warhead detonates on the ground at the Raymondville Coast Guard station and a second one two minutes later; Raymondville is destroyed.

With Soviet warheads minutes away, Israel launches nuclear missiles and nuclear-armed aircraft against capitals and military targets of most other Middle Eastern nations.

12:50 PM CDT: A massive barrage by U.S. SLBMs mostly overwhelms the Moscow ABM system; American, British, French, and Chinese nuclear warheads targeted within 100 km (60 miles) of Moscow total over 500. About 200 reach their targets (although only about 40 were lost to ABMs): while most Soviet leaders in underground shelters survive (the primary goal of the local ABM system), most civilians in the subway tunnels and other shelters will die over the next few hours.

The Moscow area ranks with the six ICBM fields in the U.S. as the hardest hit areas of the world. An average of 350 warheads detonate in each ICBM field, each producing a crater 350 m (400 yards) across; a total of 100,000 sq. km (40,000 sq. mi.) is devoid of life. Out of 1,000 ICBM silos, 100 still had ICBMs; now six are left usable.

The nuclear weapons that have reached Texas so far were directed against U.S. military forces and capabilities. Although this attack did not specifically target the civilian population, it has so far killed 800,000 and injured 3,000,000 people in Texas.

1:00 PM CDT 5 August: A third strike reaches Texas, with 146 warheads launched. Two 750-kt warheads detonate over Austin. In the Rio Grande Valley, a 1.1-mt warhead detonates over Brownsville, three 350-kt warheads detonate around McAllen, and 550-kt warheads are groundburst in Harlingen and at Cameron County Airport. Massive fires and severe blast damage occur throughout all of these metropolitan areas.

This concludes most of the nuclear war in Texas: 273 warheads were fired at 233 targets, and 215 detonated successfully, with a total yield of 128 megatons (about 40 times the explosive force of all conventional bombs and shells used in World War II). In addition, about 5 off-course warheads struck randomly in Texas. At this point 3,500,000 Texans have been killed.

2:00 PM CDT: About 5% of the land area in Texas is burning. In a few areas conditions permit firestorms to develop. In contrast to the World War II atomic bombings in Japan, continuous fire areas sometimes cover hundreds of square km (or sq. mi.), preventing survivors from escaping. Fires cover about 700,000 sq. km (270,000 sq. mi.) in the United States, 250,000 sq. km (100,000 sq. mi.) in the U.S.S.R. and 180,000 sq. km (70,000 sq. mi.) in Europe. Scattered or continuous fires rage across more than one-third of the area of several states, including North Dakota, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

3:00 PM CDT: Intense naval combat between U.S. and Soviet ships and submarines includes the use of tactical nuclear weapons. U.S. naval superiority has been offset by Soviet naval nuclear superiority: U.S. ships are being destroyed by nuclear cruise missiles and nuclear torpedoes. By the end of the day the superpowers will have lost over 100 vessels altogether.

Since most major dams in the U.S. have been destroyed by nuclear explosions, flooding is progressing downstream from these reservoirs. Some rivers particularly affected are the Missouri, Colorado, and Tennessee Rivers.

5:00 PM CDT: The mushroom clouds from nuclear explosions have drifted 100 to 300 km (60 to 180 mi.) downwind, frequently forming the leading edge of large smoke plumes. In the darkness beneath these plumes, temperatures have dropped noticeably.

Vaporized soil and other material, mixed with radioactive bomb residues, settles to the ground in areas where mushroom clouds pass overhead: this is fallout. Immediately downwind of groundbursts, radiation from fallout may be severe enough for exposed persons to already suffer ill effects. The black rain occurring beneath many clouds is radioactive-sometimes enough to burn the skin after prolonged contact.

Smoke downwind of urban fires is also hazardous. The blasts and fires have consumed 70% of the world's industrial capacity. Toxic chemicals have been released in large amounts.

7:00 PM CDT: Soviet bombers are delivering weapons against U.S. cities and other targets, including high-yield bombs and long-range cruise missiles. None of these targets are in Texas, however. The largest individual weapons used in the war are a couple of 50-mt Soviet bombs dropped in China: craters 2 km (1.3 mi.) across are produced, and severe or moderate damage is produced in an area up to 100 km (60 miles) across.

NATO and Warsaw Pact tactical nuclear weapons are being used by the hundreds along the front in West Germany. Missiles and aircraft have been launched against most cities and military targets in Europe, and nuclear combat has degenerated to disorganized use of short-range systems, especially missiles and nuclear artillery shells. U.S. Green Berets are crossing enemy lines carrying the smallest nuclear weapons to be used: these atomic demolition munitions are used to destroy bridges and similar targets and have explosive yields as low as 10 tons of TNT equivalent (somewhat more than the truck bomb that destroyed the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983).

9:00 PM CDT: Some bombers from Texas are delivering their weapons to Soviet soil, having survived Soviet air defense forces (many using nuclear-tipped anti-aircraft missiles). About half of the weapons carried by Texas bombers actually reach their targets (amounting to 200 warheads with a total yield of 40 mt). Nearly all of these weapons have selectable explosive yields, and usually a yield much lower than the maximum option is used. Only ten of these bombers manage to reach friendly territory afterwards, and they are generally forced to make emergency landings: the U.S., for instance, has less than 100 surviving runways capable of handling B-52s.

12:00 midnight CDT 5/6 August 1988: The nuclear exchange is generally over. In the U.S. 5,800 warheads detonated totaling 3,900 mt. Soviet and NATO weapons successfully used in Europe numbered 3,300 (1,200 mt) (excluding tactical weapons). About 6,100 warheads (most of them American, but some Chinese, British, and French) exploded in the U.S.S.R. with a total yield of 1,900 mt. Mainland China (P.R.C.) received 900 (detonating) warheads (1,300 mt) from its northern neighbor. Other areas receiving at least a dozen warheads include Canada, North and South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Greenland, Puerto Rico, India, Israel, Australia, Guam, Cuba, Syria, and Egypt. Hundreds of other nuclear weapons have been used in naval combat, in troop combat in West Germany and along the U.S.S.R./P.R.C. border, and in defending the Soviet Union from nuclear attack. About 50% of the global strategic and theater nuclear arsenal has been used. About 10% was launched but did not reach a target and 30% was destroyed on the ground. Altogether, World War III has involved the detonation of 18,000 warheads with a total yield of 8,500 mt. Including tactical weapons, there were 67,000 nuclear weapons in the world a day ago; now, there are 10,000 left.

In Texas 6,400,000 have been killed (38% of its original population). Of the 10,400,000 survivors, 3,000,000 have severe injuries and 2,000,000 have lesser injuries. In the Rio Grande Valley 340,000 have been killed (49%) and 90,000 injured (13%); in Travis County over 400,000 are dead (75%). In the U.S. about 110,000,000 people have died altogether, with the 135,000,000 survivors including 30,000,000 injured. In the U.S.S.R. about 40,000,000 have been killed out of a pre-war population of 285,000,000. Mainland China has had 100,000,000 killed out of a population of 1,090,000,000. Examples of other countries: United Kingdom, 20,000,000 killed (out of 57,000,000); Denmark, 2,700,000 killed (out of 5,100,000); Australia, 3,000,000 killed (out of 16,000,000). In Mexico over 3,000,000 have been killed, mostly in cities on the border with the U.S. Throughout the world about 400,000,000 have died.

This foul task completed. the Allies waited for the Empire to simply collapse.

Unfortunately, to the horror of many in the Allied command structure, the critics who had questioned if even ten thousand burned out cities and villages (most of which had already been evacuated) would be enough to force the Empire to surrender had been correct. A few hundred million bodies were not going to be sufficient to eliminate the Eternal Empire.

No one was more shocked by the Empire decision to continue to attack with even more ferocity on in the face of what, for 85 years, is considered to be the "ultimate weapon" than the same men who had, with great reluctance in many cases, had released the pale horse onto the world.

What the American and UEA political leadership had failed to understand was that, in many ways, all a nuclear weapon does is make a bigger boom than more conventional weapons. This was particularly true from the Falmartians perspective, who have experienced and delivered countless of horrors thanks to the powers of Titan.

Each of the cities destroyed in the attacks from September 16th to 23rd had been demolished hundreds of times by Titan army during Falmart's many, many wars. Seeing major cities immolated by enemy was nothing new.

Even more critically, the Empire leadership, from Emperor Molt down, had grown almost immune to shock at huge casualty figures.

These were the direct descendant of men who had, with ghastly efficiency, virtually obliterated the entire none titan-shifter population of Falmart, depopulated an entire Empire the size of Eurasia continent, routinely ethnic cleansing millions.

Even now, the 'Holy' Empire has no problem with working between 700,000 and 2,000,000 heretics, which defines as "everyone who is not devoted to the Holy Order of Eden and to our Orthodox holy Faith", to death annually.

There is no documentary evidence that any of the Empire or the Church leadership lost a moment's sleep over the killing of at least 50 billions people since the Unification War.

Furthermore, during its long history, the Empire has faced many nightmarish and genocidal enemies, some of which were literally demons from Hell, and many others were nightmarish being beyond comprehension that you wish to face the demons.

Considering these disturbing facts, the ability of the Empire leadership to remain unperturbed by two or three hundred million deaths from the Allied counter strikes is much less of surprise.

While the reaction of the Empire leadership to the overwhelming Allied response to Operation Darkstorm is, after analysis not especially shocking, the rather blasé acceptance of the situation by the average citizen is.

What is frankly incomprehensible by many on Earth is how little the support for the Imperial Family or the Empire was shaken in the first days after the Allied attacks.

This is, in part, thanks to the remarkably effective media campaign waged by Prince Diabo in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and to the ability of the security apparatus to stifle any sort of rumors, at least initially.

A stunning percentage of Falmartians seem to have accepted the attacks as just another part of fighting a war that they were certain the Empire would win.

This almost blind belief in the Emperor and his ability to save the Empire was not without its merit.

Most people on Earth often fail to realize the remarkably high standard of living enjoyed by the average citizens in the Empire, who have full employment, two months of paid vacation subsidized by the Government, and free medical and dental care. Even the average American family did not enjoy the leisure time, easy work life, and buying power that were common across the Empire.

The Empire have spent more than a decade to prepare for this very moment with centuries worth of food and medicines has been stored deep underground.

One of the Allies major errors was underestimating the speed that Prince Ainsworth could construct underground cities that can withstand a direct hit from a tactical nuclear weapons. Provided with over 350 million titan laborers, Ainsworth was able to improve/build nearly 20 underground cities each day, with additional bunkers and harden barracks appearing almost every second. Ainsworth's requisition army stripped nations of building materials, along with many skilled tradesmen, and funneled all of it into the prince vast construction project.

It is hard to determine who was more stunned by the Empire ability to, not just survive, but rapidly recovered from the remarkably wide-spread damage of a nuclear war, the Military leadership, the civilian leadership of the United Earth Alliance countries, or the people of Earth.

What is clear, however, is that in just six months, with the help of 500 million mindless Titans provided by the Titan God Darwin himself, fully rebuilt cities rising Phoenix-like from the ashes of the Allied bombings.

9:00 AM CDT 6 August: Survivors in urban areas are having little success at finding medical help. For the United States as a whole, hospital beds in surviving hospitals total 80,000, while severe injuries total 20,000,000. About 9,000,000 people in the U.S. have severe burns on much of their bodies, while only 200 beds in burn care facilities survive in the country. Many remaining hospitals lack even emergency power, due to the EMP attacks. The vast number of injuries force doctors and nurses to try to ignore patients that cannot be saved or have non-life threatening injuries. Many survivors in urban areas are in the process of fleeing to neighboring areas in search of medical care and to escape fires; this puts them in the open, often exposed to fallout.

Midnight CDT 6/7 August: Israel is being attacked by Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. About one-third of Israel's military forces survived the Soviet nuclear attack; they are now occasionally using nuclear artillery shells against attacking troops. Other Arab states are preparing to join the campaign.

The situation is tense between India and Pakistan: both nations have a handful of small atomic bombs, and India was attacked with Chinese nuclear weapons. Meanwhile civil war is developing in South Africa and various other nations.

Early 7 August: Deposition of fallout in Texas is generally over with, and 80% of the radiation that will result from this fallout has already been emitted. Fire-produced pollutants are noticeable throughout the state-including smoke, smog, and various hazardous chemicals-with urban areas still burning.

In those parts of Texas affected by fallout, radiation sickness is already evident in many survivors, including symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and skin burns. In a few small areas fallout has been severe enough to already have killed many of those exposed, by causing radiation damage to the central nervous system. Survivors are having difficulty dealing with injuries, lack of food and medical help, and emotional shock.

The U.S. government is essentially gone, as well as most state governments; only two state capital cities survive (the missiles targeted on them malfunctioned). The Rio Grande Valley is receiving refugees from Mexico-survivors of devastated areas seeking help.

10 August: The smoke clouds in the northern hemisphere are spreading to produce a band around the world covering the primary participating nations. Large amounts of particles in the atmosphere include 1,500 million tons of dust, 25 million tons of smoke from vegetation, and 80 million tons of smoke from cities and other manmade sources. This last type of smoke has the greatest impact: smoke from petroleum and petroleum products is particularly effective at absorbing sunlight. Altogether, about 0.4 cubic km (0.1 cu. mi.) of dust and smoke is in the stratosphere.

Typical sunlight levels in Texas are comparable to an overcast day; in some areas, smoke from large continuing fires reduces mid-day light levels to that of twilight. The average temperature in Texas is 22° C (72° F), compared to 29° C (85° F) a week ago.

12 August: About 90% of the radiation that will result from fallout in Texas has been emitted. The average radiation dose in Texas is about 500 rem; by comparison, a dose of 100 rem in less than a week causes radiation sickness in half of people exposed; 50% of people exposed to 450 rem in a short period will die within 30 days; and a dose of 1,500 rem will kill nearly all people exposed within 10 days. Persons who stayed indoors the whole week generally cut their dose by 70%; staying in designated areas of marked fallout shelters would reduce dosage by 99%.

For the entire U.S., the average dose in the open from fallout is 1,200 rem; by comparison the average for the Soviet Union is 150 rem. The difference comes from the larger average yield of Soviet weapons, the larger size of the Soviet Union, the frequently "dirtier" nature of Soviet weapons, and the fact that more Soviet warheads are exploded on the ground (increasing fallout). For Europe the average dose in the open is 500 rem. This fallout is of course unevenly distributed: in the U.S. the dose exceeds 1,800 rem in about 8% of the land area, and the dose exceeds 500 rem in about 1% of the U.S.S.R.

In most of the areas affected by fallout, radiation is diminished sufficiently to be of little concern to people there. However, areas downwind of nuclear strikes on nuclear power plants are still dangerous-in some locations 100 km (60 mi.) downwind of such strikes, radiation levels are high enough to kill in 2 days. Radiation levels are still high enough to cause sickness from 2-days' exposure in areas up to 500 km (300 mi) downwind of the ICBM fields.

Delayed fallout is being deposited throughout the northern hemisphere: this is from radioactive material launched into the stratosphere, falling over a larger area for months to come. The health effect from this, however, will not be noticeable against the background of other problems.

20 August: In the northern hemisphere, smoke in the lower atmosphere is subsiding (although smoke in the upper atmosphere still absorbs much sunlight). Unusual weather includes windy conditions in some coastal areas. Fog has developed over the oceans and smog envelops the interior of North America and Eurasia. Fallout from the northern hemisphere is now reaching the southern hemisphere. Radiation levels there will peak at ten times the natural background levels-this will not pose a health risk, but it produces fear in many countries.

Many persons suffering radiation sickness are now showing additional symptoms: hair loss and leukopenia. (Those that survive to the end of the year will regrow their hair.)

Combat continues in central Europe, mostly without tactical nuclear weapons. The position of the front is little changed, with forces on either side unable or unwilling to budge.

25 August: The ozone layer has been cut in half over the northern midlatitudes. In spite of this, nearly all of the Earth's surface is receiving less solar ultraviolet radiation than before the war: smoke in the northern hemisphere blocks most sunlight, and as this smoke was initially injected into the atmosphere much ozone was displaced into the southern hemisphere. This situation will change.

Disorganized forces from Iraq, Iran, and Libya are beginning to join the Arab battle against Israel. North Korean forces have overrun many remaining cities in South Korea. Civil war has developed throughout China: with much of the government and military wiped out by Soviet nuclear attack, surviving communist forces are under attack and ethnic conflicts are developing. Tibet has declared independence. Ethnic conflict is also breaking out among surviving populations in some parts of the Soviet Union and Europe.

Naval combat between NATO and Soviet vessels has slackened. Before the war the U.S. had fifteen aircraft carriers; three were destroyed in port on the first day and five more have been destroyed by Soviet naval nuclear weapons. A number of submarines survive with ballistic or cruise missiles.

Hardly any satellites in Earth orbit are functioning. EMP bursts disabled most civilian satellites. Debris from anti-satellite attacks is dispersing and striking more satellites, while particle radiation from nuclear explosions above the atmosphere is trapped in the Earth's magnetic field, making near-Earth space lethal to men and satellites for months or years to come.

1 September: Light levels and temperatures in the northern hemisphere have reached their lows. Temperatures in the lower stratosphere (an altitude of 10 km/6 mi., where most atmospheric smoke is) are around 15° C (50° F)-this is 40° C (70° F) warmer than normal. At the ground, temperatures vary little with altitude (mountains are sometimes warmer than adjacent lowlands), but they vary significantly with distance inland. The interiors of North America and Eurasia are on average 10° C (18° F) cooler than normal-corresponding to normal temperatures for October or November. In west and north Texas temperatures are around 17° C (62° F); near the coast it is nearer 22° C (72° F). In the midlatitudes of the northern hemisphere sunlight is 25% or less of normal-sometimes insufficient for net plant growth. This helps reduce the formation of hurricanes this season.

At this point 9,000,000 Texans and a total of 140,000,000 Americans have died.

Mid-September 1988: Epidemics are developing among surviving populations, particularly food poisoning, dysentery, and typhoid. Displaced populations, including many injured, are particularly affected; those with radiation sickness are particularly vulnerable, since radiation sickness involves damage to the immune system: susceptibility to disease for those is increased by a factor of 2 to 5. In some locations outbreaks of disease are a consequence of the use of biological weapons.

Early October 1988: Many crops are withering throughout the midlatitudes in the northern hemisphere. Sunlight, temperatures, and rainfall are all below normal; in many areas concentrations of ozone, smog, and other pollutants in the lower atmosphere are still high enough to afflict plants; and in restricted areas plants have suffered from fallout. This is particularly true in the American Midwest. About 200,000 se. km (80,000 sq. mi.) in the U.S. is still radioactive enough to cause radiation sickness after two weeks' exposure.

At this point about 580,000 have died in the Rio Grande Valley (84% of the original population) and 40,000 are injured (6%); of Travis County's pre-war population, only 50,000 survive (9%)-most of whom have fled to neighboring areas. About 2,000,000 have died from fallout in Texas now, bringing the death toll to 10,000,000. Of the 6,800,000 survivors, 2,000,000 are injured and 2,000,000 are suffering radiation sickness (these two groups overlap). A total of 160,000,000 Americans have died, or 65% of the pre-war population; in the Soviet Union 90,000,000 have died. The death toll in the United Kingdom is 30,000,000 and in Denmark is 3,300,000. World population is now 4,300,000,000.

Chapter 15 : Deus Vult pt2

All terrain Moto-Terminator are automated motorcycles, produced by Ultron in 2028, whose main purpose are to deliver quick strike and reconnoiter. The Moto-Terminator possesses a GE M134 Minigun on each side. It also possesses a pair of M1919 Browning machine guns on each side near the front tire. They can travel at incredibly fast speeds , with top speeds of 250 miles per hour. The Moto-Terminators are possess incredible agility, with the sensors calculating debris or obstacles ahead, even viewing them in slow motion. With this trait, they easily avoid any obstacle, such as a car wreckage.

Ground Combat Command Vehicle G-1 Base: a 25 metres (82 ft) long, 12.8 metres wide (42 ft), 8.25 metres (27.1 ft) high and weigh 1,500 ton land-cruiser commonly employed as a mobile command center and a field hospital. Since these mobile bases are almost always carrying someone of significant importance, they are always surrounded by motorcades of police, medical vehicles, and escorted by the regular military in the form of tanks, armored vehicles, and anti-aircraft guns. A GCCV G-1 Base also carries moto-terminators inside. It can carry up to ten moto-terminators and launch them from its two side catapults.

Iron Beam (Hebrew: קֶרֶן בַּרְזֶל , keren barzel) is an air defense system which is in development by Israel. Iron Beam will use a "directed high energy laser beam" to destroy hostile targets with ranges of up to 7 kilometres.

Deep Impact Tactical Penetrator (DITP): is a nuclear bunker buster, also known as an earth-penetrating weapon (EPW). In the light of Graboid suicide attack DITP was developed as a countermeasure. DITP bomb differs somewhat in concept from traditional bombs, which usually explode at or near the surface, and destroy their target directly by explosive force. In contrast, a DITP bomb is dropped from high altitude to attain very high speed as it falls and upon impact, penetrates and explodes deep underground, causing massive and intense shockwaves destroying any living being underground. DITP can penetrate up to 90 meter of solid rock before detonated a 1 kiloton warhead.

Super-Hardened Hollow Bunker: For a long time the Holy Empire was seriously concerned by the existence of thermobaric weapons or vacuum bomb due to the unprecedented destructive when used against field fortifications such as foxholes, tunnels, bunkers, and caves. But those weapons have a weakness: their reliance on atmospheric oxygen for detonation. Hollow Bunker was designed to take advantage of this weakness. Using Vacuum Magic the Imperial Army suck all the air in the bunker out, resulting a vacuum inside the bunker. Falmartian doesn't need air to survive so they are ok but this render most thermobaric and chemical weapons useless. One bonus point is without air there are nothing to transmit shock waves inside the bunker and destroy it. To prevent the bunker collapsed from air pressure due to the hollow interior a very powerful Reinforcement Magic was put on the bunker superstructure.

Hardy's Portals : are structures that can teleport soldiers or objects in large quantities. A portal was a two-dimensional, often up to 15 feet (4,6 meters) circle, but not limited to it both in size and shape, area that was both intangible and invisible. This Magic allows the user to cover very large distances in the blink of an eye. It makes for an extremely fast and effective means of transportation, and can also be used in combat when the situation requires fast actions. Due to being a very high-level magic, only a handful of extremely powerful mages can use this magic on a personal level.

Lightning Power Rotary-Type Magic Engine is a magic engine powered by lightning magic to operate the Empire high-speed trains. The lightning magic causes the magic metal to rotate the components, thereby causing it to run. The overall design is to be similar to electrically-powered rotary engines or electric motors. So far, the latest trains can reach the speed up to 480 kph. However, due to accidents that occurs in curves, the operators limited the speed up to 420 kph only.

Unobtanium is a highly valuable mineral found on Falmart. Unobtanium proved to be the most baffling of scientific discoveries in the area of superconductors as it had an extremely strong magnetic field, reversing prior knowledge that all superconductors repel magnetic fields. Furthermore, unlike the fragile crystals of human-created superconducting compounds, the substance found on Falmart was a stable quasi-crystal with its atoms arranged in a never-repeating but orderly pattern with fivefold symmetry. This matrix was not only structurally rugged but also housed microscopic voids in the quasicrystalline structure that contain the magnetic flux lines (see Type II superconductor). These unusual properties cause the mineral to levitate in magnetic fields, under the Meissner Effect.

The Thundering Rocks "Floating Mountains" are floating islands that circulate slowly in the magnetic currents like icebergs at sea, scraping against each other and the towering mesa-like mountains of the region. On Falmart, huge outcroppings of unobtanium rip loose from the surface and float in the magnetic vortices due to the Meissner Effect. These huge "islands", named the Avatar Mountains by Earth's explorers, are called Thundering Rocks by the Falmartian, who hold them sacred. The Thundering Rocks are overgrown with foliage at the top and straggly beards of vines hang down beneath the mountains like the roots of air-ferns. Their sides are sheer cliffs. Waterfalls, originating on the mesa-like tops, stream down the sides and disperse into spray at the bottoms, like upside-down geysers. The mist then condenses on other floating mountains and flows over the side and disperses, renewing the process.

Kármán line is an attempt to define a boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. World Air Sports Federation (FAI), an international standard-setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics, defines the Kármán line as the altitude of 100 kilometres (62 miles; 330,000 feet) above Earth's mean sea level. On Falmart, the atmosphere is 6 times denser and 3 time thicker so Falmart's Kármán line is at the altitude of 300 kilometres. A bonus point. Falmart's Geostationary orbit (GEO) is 28,659 kilometres above Falmart's equator, much smaller than earth because the planet have 7 times the mass, 4.6 times the rotational speed and 2.3 times the radius.

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Apocryph or "The Mist of Nothingness" is the deadly shadow-like mist of Dark Matters originated from the Void that sucks the life out of any being comes into contact with.

It is revealed that Apocryph actually occurs when two different dimensions being squished together, which generates a quantum dimensional pressure which, opening a leak to the void, letting the Black Mist of Nothingness in.

Any living things or even spirit being near the Apocryph will slowly having their life force sucked away as shown when UEADF soldiers observe that any flora and fauna near the mist are dying off. Coming into contact with mist directly will cause everything to be completely frozen up and becoming absolutely fragile like dipping an object into liquid nitrogen.

This is one of the Empire most powerful Weapons of Mass Destruction. Luckily they are limited in range, very expensive and will disappear in one hour.

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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Fire Birds were the first flying beasts used by the residents of planet Falmart as their air force prior to the introduction of the Wyvern and Titan transformation power: turning into Titan Wyvern Lord. It can fly the speeds from 500 to 540 kph with a maximum speed up to 840 kph. They can emit fire magic up to 800 m, hence its name. However, since it is slower and not agile compared to the natural wyvern, it cannot outlast a wyvern, Titan Wyvern Lord, Titan Wyvern Overlord. An easy to mass-produced genetic modification version of the Fire Birds is being produced. Equipped with the ability to sense radar waves, the fire birds would utilize the same tactics as a drone swarms to attack UEAADF radar. The UEADF call them Kamikaze bird.

Scaven are large manta-ray looking creatures that live in several different deserts around Falmart. They make hydrogen within their bodies that they store in large bladders, these are used to increase their mobility by allowing them to skim over the surface of the desert while they are active. When they rest the burrow under the surface of the desert, covering themselves with sand. It can fly the speeds from 400 to 440 kph with a maximum speed up to 550 kph. An easy to mass-produced genetic modification the Scaven is being produced. They are 7 meters in length have white and navy blue color. They also have powerful plasma beams they use to defend themselves. Equipped with the ability to sense infrared, the Scaven would utilize the same tactics as a suicide drone swarms to attack UEA ground vehicles. Each Scaven can self- explode with the force equal to 105kg of C4. The UEADF call them Kamikaze manta-ray.

Waspsters are bio-engineered bio-weapon units of the Empire. It has the length of 1 meter and weight 25 kilograms. Waspsters resemble a 8-leg mosquito/wasp with five pairs of thin wings adorned with digital-like veins. They can fly at speeds comparable to a helicopter. Hornets usually travel in swarms of three or five thousands. Waspsters have two weapons. Waspsters usually attack their targets with a energy blast from their tail, the blast can penetrate up to 12mm of steel. Waspsters also attack with a poisonous liquid sprayed from their massive proboscis. The poison can melt through metal indicates high acidity. The toxic liquid can also create puddles that release highly damaging smog.

Wyvern is the basic dragon variant of the so-called Flying Dragon. As wild animals, like other dragon species, lives in mountainous areas rich in magical elements emitted by veins in the underlying rock. Their color shades ranges from green, red and brown. Wyverns are omnivores, that they eat meat, fish, large insects, small monsters, plants, seaweed, grains, etc. It has a lifespan of about 30 years and breeding season is done on spring to fall and they lay up to 1-3 eggs. Eggs will hatch within a year and mature at the age of 3 years. If they are intended for military use, they must be trained for one year.

Mass-produced Wyvern are bio-engineered bio-weapon units. Due to the high cost in creating one perfect and high-quality Dragon unit, the Holy Empire created an inferior line of Wyvern in the cloning tanks with less magical power and durability in a that enable them to be mass-produced in the battle. Its maximum speed is 940 kph and has a ceiling height of 40,000 m on Falmart's thick atmosphere.

Scarlet Dragon is large red land dragon created and used by the Holy Empire as living flame walking battleships. Scarlet Dragon is about three time larger and much meaner than the normal Land Dragons (Lintwurm). It has red dragon scale skin with six horns around the back of its head. It has a total length of 656 foot (200 m) and a total height of 328 foot (100 m). Its maximum speed of 350 km / h or more. It has the ability to control gravity (repulsive force) and invalidates all missiles. It is far from throwing stones, even 46 cm cannons and bombs. They can fire extremely potent and sustained energy blasts from an energy orb above their horns, capable of burning or melting through anything, as well as strike a target with great amounts of kinetic energy, seemingly just as powerful as 51 cm naval gun.

It takes a lot of time to manufacture, and the parent dragon that breeds the Scarlet Dragon species must be carefully selected and its eggs cultivated until hatched on a newly developed enhanced magic circle. The necessity of using abundant gemstones requires three times the manufacturing cost of a Lintwurm. Since the reproductive organs have been completely deleted from the Scarlet Dragon species, they cannot be produced except by this method, and it production greatly influenced the internal affair of the Holy Empire to some extent. Moreover, their lifespan is shorter than that of normal species.

Cloning was the process of creating a genetically identical or—purposefully and specifically—modified copy of an original organism. Through the magic of cloning, a vast clone army of magical beast were created by the Kamino's magicans for the purpose of serving the Empire. Programmed with absolute loyalty to the Holy Empire the clones beasts proved to be an important instrumental in the Great Falmart-Terran War.

In order to create a clone, samples of genetic code had to be drawn from a subject's cells, duplicated and implanted into donor cells. These donor cells would then grow, divide and, eventually gestate in artificial wombs, filled with nutrients and organic catalysts. Altering the nutrients and catalyst solutions that the cells received could influence the physical attributes and maturation rates of the resulting clone. The most aggressive mixtures of nutrients and catalyst solutions produced fully formed full grown clones in several days.

Furthermore, genetic engineering could further modify the clone to specialize for every conceivable facet of warfare, which can be altered and re-grown to suit a battle's needs in a short span of time.

Pure Fusion Bomb or Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear Fusion Bomb is a weapon based upon the injection of antimatter into a mass of nuclear fuel. This technology could be used to make very small and "fission-free" weapons. The basic of this technology has been researched in a top secret program by the US military for nearly 20 years.

Pure fusion weapons offer the possibility of generating arbitrarily small nuclear yields because no critical mass of fissile fuel need be assembled for detonation, as with a conventional fission primary needed to spark a fusion explosion.

There is also the advantage of reduced collateral damage stemming from fallout because these weapons would not create the highly radioactive byproducts associated with fission-type weapons (very low nuclear fallout).

These weapons would be lethal not only because of their explosive force, which could be large compared to bombs based on chemical explosives, but also because of the neutrons they generate.

Antimatter-catalyzed weapons could be more discriminate and result in less long-term contamination than conventional nuclear weapons, and their use might therefore be more politically acceptable.

Final note: The Holy Empire technology level was around 1700s In 52019 I.C, after the rapid industrialization and militarization thanks to knowledge stolen from Earth, in 52030 I.C the Holy Darwinian Empire overall technology has reached around WW1 level. But due to magic some of their weapons design and tactics are more like in late WW2 early Cold War. Also just because Earth and Falmart are in total war doesn't mean UEA will act like barbarian, we won't bomb random civilian or full-blown genocide for fun.

One further reminder: Falmartian don't need food, water or even air to survive. It very uncomfortable without those things though. They can also summon most of their needed raw resources from Path dimension that is the reason why it is almost impossible to starve their war machine.

Magical Communication Device (Magicom or Manacom) is a device that uses magical power to transmit signals, information and images instead of radio ware or electronic signal.

Magical communication device can only be used by anyone with the ability to use simple magic. In other words, if you can't use magic, you can't use it. Its operational range depends on the type of equipment, but it usually about 1000 km.

There are two types of technology for transmitting long-distance communication through magical power: the Magic Voice Tubes (voice-only communications) and the Magic Crystal Tubes (Magic Communications with videos and images).

Magical Crystal Tubes are the improved version of the Magical Voice Tubes. It has now the ability to transmit and receive video since the output and bandwidth have increased using more magic gems.

Holy Darwinian Empire shows magically recorded then transmitted and displayed elsewhere, in color, using a flat crystalline lens receiver. The exact method differed, but this magic news program was available in both Holy Darwinian Empire and it protectorates, though only Holy Darwinian Empire could watch it in color. Once a day, news from around the world was projected via these crystalline lenses.

Magic Detection ELORP (Echo-Location by Radiant Psion ) is a device that detects the magic of living things. It was developed by Holy Darwinian Empire magicians.

As it name says, it is device that is used to detect magic in living things. On the other hand, their ability to detect scientifically powered aircraft is quite poor.

Comparison to Mechanical Radar.

The magic detection ELORP of the Holy Darwinian Empire's magic naval fleets can detects enemy fleet at a distance of about 60 km. This detection distance exceeds the radar line-of-sight range for large ships around 40 km on Earth. However, in this world, since the horizon is far from the earth, simple comparisons cannot be made and the magic is detected in the specifications, so it is different from the earth's radar.

It is unknown whether the magic detector can be used as shooting radar, but it will be practical enough as warning radar. Thus, night-thinning attacks with a magic power boat appear to be more difficult than on Earth.

Lemuria sub-continent is a north-south lying continent that look like a giant East Africa, surrounded by the ocean on the east and west, with a longitudinal length of about 3500 kilometers and a maximum latitudinal length of 8000 km, giving dimensions similar to that of the South America continent on earth. The area of the sub-continent is about 22,400,000 square kilometers (8,600,000 sq mi). Most land conquested by the UEADF is within 2,000 kilometers southern of the Alnus Base.

The Eye of Terror, called the Ocularis Terribus in Falmartian, is a massive dimesional rift nearly 2000 meters across in the ouside and much bigger in the inside, a nexus of psychic energy and physical space-time where the Immaterium co-exists with realspace. It is home to the largest concentration of the forces of Chaos in realspace, including the Dark Legions of Chaos that fled from Falmart after the end of the Arminius Heresy. It is basically a gigantic FOB base for the demons invading force.

February 5 -2030, Alnus Base, Falmart

The following months after initial contact with the enemy were nothing short of hell with never-ending small raid battles to harass the base construction. Many troops found themselves being terrorized by massive wave of super V-2 rockets once FOB construction began.

FOB was an understatement however, as what started off as some tents and makeshift motor pools began to take shape into something much greater. Day and night materials were brought in from Earth on flatbed trucks or massive tractors. Prefabs, concrete, HESCO barriers, building material of all sorts. Multiple series of massive trenches with heavy machine gun sites and mortar pits had been built. Heavy tanks, APC and IFV were put in strategic points to provide maximum mutual support. On the last line were the SPG, the MRLS, the towed artillery pieces and the anti-aircraft site that included AA guns and ground-to-air missiles.

These trenches were supplemented by bomb shelters, light pillboxes for machine guns, and heavier pillboxes for artillery varying from 37 mm anti-armor guns to 406 mm guns. The total number of combat engineers involved in the construction was more than 2 million. Even with that number it was almost frightening how fast the engineers had been working even under constant harassment and bombardment.

Over time a star shaped fortress Megacity of sorts began to take form. The logic was that such a shape provided equal protection on all fronts, something the UEADF needed in order to properly stave off future attacks.

It even equipped with it own broad-gauge railways with a width of three meters on which double-deck coaches haul vast amounts of cargo supplies for the military. The locomotives for the broad-gauge railways powered by miniaturized nuclear reactors. They far outperformed regular trains and they didn't need to refuel often as the fuel rods could last for a year, but the principle was similar: the heat generated by the reactor was used to produce steam in a boiler to move reciprocating pistons connected mechanically to the main wheels. They only needed to stop to have the boiler filled, and the designers managed to reduce the number of required stops by making the first car a streamlined tanker car that fed water into the rear of the locomotive through a pressure valve.

These bullet shaped streamlined 375 tonne and 60 metre (~ 197 foot) long locomotives the size of an apartment building could pull a 4 kilometre long 16.000 tonne train at a maximum speed of 390 km/h (~ 240 mph). From a standing start, a locomotive pulling such a massive train could accelerate to that speed in 15 minutes and 35 seconds. Higher speeds were attainable (up to 600 km/h or 375 mph without pulling a train), but the designers put heavy emphasis on their recommended not-to-exceed-speed of 420 km/h (~ 270 mph) for the long, heavy trains the nuclear locomotives usually pulled.

Though the UEADF brought with them a substantial supply of munitions - far more than would have been necessary to subdue the sword-swinging savages assumed to still rule Falmart - they are being expended across the planet at an unsustainable rate. Trading one computer-guided anti-missile for one of the primitive, magically guided rockets the Empire, and now the vassal states are lobbing at the Allies was far from an even exchange. Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force Liam Nuttall has ordered that missile battery officers refrain from launching against a Falmartian rocket unless it is clear that it is actually heading toward anything important to the UEADF.

By the end of December, 2029 the Allies has encounter with various new harassment tactics by the cursed Falmartian: Demon Scream and Midnight Sun.

Demon Scream : a magic which generated a large spherical extremely high-power sound waves can disrupt or destroy the eardrums from a selected point at a distance. This was usually sufficient to incapacitate a person.

Midnight Sun: a magic which emits an extremely bright, rapid, and well-focused series of 'differently-colored random pulses. Before the human eyes can focus in on one frequency, another frequency comes on, causing intracranial pressure, which results in headaches, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, irritability, and visual impairment to the target.

This magic was very easy to use in Falmart. Thank to the high concentration of noble gas such as Neon, Argon and Helium gases exist in Falmart's atmosphere like in the Gas-discharge lamps.

Those tactics have caused some serious demoralizing effects on the soldiers. Lieutenant generals of the UEADF down on the front lines like Yōji and Tommy were well aware of the difficulties in fighting the Imperial . Having lost too many aircrafts and troops in combat against the wily and deceitful Imperial armed forces, Tommy has become one of the most bitter, cynical general in the Earth Expeditionary Force.

This morning started with the same rant by Tommy about how sucks their life here in Falmart.

"This goddamn place is sucks, Yōji I told you. There isn't anything pleasant about this God abandoned world.

I haven't got any proper sleep since I came here, because the Damn sun rises after every 12 hours and there are only 5 hour of night in a day here.

I can't even having a steam bath to relax without boiling myself due to the fact that water in this hell hole boiled at 160 °C thank to the 6 times Earth's atmosphere pressure here.

I can't even have a good cup of coffee without overcook it. My beer doesn't even have foam because of this high air pressure.

My joints are hurt under this high gravity and I am having a mild case of nitrogen narcosis because this place has four times the nitrogen on Earth."

"Stop complaining Tommy " Itami sighed " And drink your damn anti-radiation pills. The new pure-fusion bombs maybe much cleaner than the old fission bombs but they still produce fallout. You don't want your balls glow at night , Tommy."

"Have you seen the aircraft casualty report yesterday Yōji ? " Tommy asked sarcastically. "4,900 escort fighter aircraft and 1240 bomber aircraft in three months. Three Months Yōji !. We lost over SIX THOUSAND planes and nearly 30,000 pilots."

"And the Empire and its Allies have lost nearly ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dragons. We are winning Tommy. Have a little bit of faith don't you ?"

Tommy frowned before shaking his head. " So what Yōji ? They will just keep sending a hundred thousand more dragons. We are fighting a war of attrition again an enemy with limitless industrial capacity, a bottomless pool of manpower and inexhaustible resources."

"Look man, if I continue to hear your pessimistic rant again I will report your defeatist ass to the High Command."

"Uncool man, uncool. I'll tell them you hide a Saber action figure under your bed."

"Kiss my ass, don't talk to me and my figures ever again."

The pair laughed before Itami turned his Neuralink connection on and scrolled through his iPhone 21 Pro Max workout playlist. Once he found a song he pressed play with his thought and slipped his iPhone back into his shorts' pocket and took off down the base's winding paths.

As he went to turn past some storage containers he saw a familiar figure running ahead, it was his father friend and Commander of all JSDF personal in Falmart General Kōichirō Hazama. Itami smiled as he went to catch up, Hazama's pace was slow and methodical, his bushy hair flew around as he jogged in his JSDF physical attire.

Finally catching up, Itami went to talk to the friend of his old man , who used to give him candy whenever he visited , between breathes. "Hey sir! Fancy seeing you here, wonderful alien world morning we're having huh?"

General Hazama didn't even bat an eye as he continued jogging. Itami deduced he must've not heard him and began to run backwards in circles around the old General .

"Heloooooo? Sir?"

Finally General Hazama noticed and slowed his pace down even more as he addressed his friend son between breathes. "Oh hey Itami , yeah I guess its wonderful. For now anyways."

"For now? Whadya mean? Sir."

Itami began to slow down to a fast walk, one of his bushy eyebrows slowly raising in question. Hazama stopped too and began to walk fast as he continued to deliver the news.

"Well, it looks like you youngsters have a mission today, Supreme Commander Nuttall and the higher ups were up last night drafting it up. Apparently Japanese Special Task Forces going to go recon the area and meet the local populace to prepare for our assault on Italic Fortress." As the two rounded a corner past some parked Oshkosh's L-ATV, Itami's expression changed to shock.

"Whoah, whoah. Wait, recon? With the entire Special Task Forces? What the hell, Sir ?" Itami was no stranger to sudden missions. A life of quick reaction force drills and missions in Lebanon taught him to be prepared for them, but the words coming out of General Hazama's mouth were as alien as the language spoken in this alien world.

Recon was one thing, but using heavy tanks, SP artillery, attack helicopters and jet fighters to do it? That was not in their M.O. Search and destroy missions? Sure. Overwatch missions? Sure, but Recon with winning hearts and minds thrown in? That was a big negative. A Combined Arms Task Force were hardly a friendly image after all .

As the General sighed and put his hands behind his head, he went into detail. "Look I'm no fan of it myself, but apparently our civilian political leaders don't want you guys leaving the wire without good fire support and until more of the ground assets start getting shipped in."

It was time for Itami's rebuttal however and he quickly tried to lay down the lack of logic in the plan. "Look sir, The Third Japanese Special Task Force are trained to bypass the enemy cities, encircling the defender then shelling them to dust, to spend as little of our troops blood as necessary when firepower could do the job with a lower butcher's bill. The fact is we aren't train to enter the enemy population center where there could be traps in every corner, if something happens who's gonna tow us out for God's sake?"

General Hazama shrugged as the pair stopped at an intersection, Itami pausing to turn around and wave before picking up his pace to head back to his platoon.

It was going to be a long day.

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XXXXXXXX

The effects of the Third Japanese Special Task Force attacks on the enemy were utterly devastating, but the Demon had one advantage.

They came from the Immaterium, an alternate dimension of purely psychic energy that echoes and underlies the familiar four dimensions of the material universe. Demons are created at the whim of one of the four major Chaos Gods from a fraction of the god's own power within the Immaterium and act as an extension of its will.

When manifested in the material universe, Demons had particular invulnerabilities and weaknesses, as well as many strange powers derived from their Immaterium-born nature as psychic beings. Slaying a Demon's physical projection did not kill it, but only severed its presence in reality; its true essence in the Immaterium remains unharmed. This mean they could simply "phase in" the material universe again.

"Commander Itami, the fire demons, they are respawning," The 3rd Task Force couldn't believe in their own eyes as they saw the previously deceased demons starting to reappear out of thin air, "Permission to use nuclear weapons, General Itami." Colonel Hayato Sasagawa requested through his radio.

Before Itami could give a response, an unexpected event happened.

On the sky above the Demons, three giant magic circles appeared on top of each other, the spell reaches up to about twenty kilometres in diameter. All the newly revived demons instantly bodies bound by their frozen minds could not even die. They could only collapse like a row of statues, forever captured in the postures before the frost came.

"Could, could this be the Cocytus?" Tuka muttered.

"Cocytus?!"

"Cocytus is a Mental Interference Type Magic of the Outer-Systematic Type unique to the Frost Giants. Unlike other Freezing Magics, this doesn't have a noticeable effect on the surface, such as frost or cold temperature. Rather than the targets physical bodies freezing, it is their consciousness or soul that is frozen. It can also be fathomed as a magic that froze the time of the realm of a target's the scale of this is unbelievable, this ultra-wide area effect cooling magicm which is on par with Strategic Class Magic can only performed by an apostle or demigod."

"Nobody asked you lot to come to this world, you lowly demons." Rory shouted as she casted an extremely powerful exorcism spell that only an apostle could perform.

"Sacred Highness Exorcism!" As Rory said this, she fell to her knees, as though she had been dealt a heavy blow. A spell on this scale wasn't easy even for an apostle.

Immediately a giant pillar of light appeared covering the entire area. After the pillar of light disappeared, all the fire demons also disappeared.

"Sacred Highness Exorcism" was an extremely powerful exorcism spell. Legend said that demons banished in this way couldn't return for a thousand Falmart years and a day, though it is of course impossible to prove such a belief through study, and the concept of time itself is meaningless within the sunless Immaterium.

XXXXXXX

"Commander, be advised due north of your position by about 100 meters we have eyes on what looks to be a small child. She's got a...pretty big axe too, how do we proceed?"

Silence.

"Commander Itami?"

More silence

Itami had heard his troop voice over the radio he was just too transfixed to pay attention. There was a Gothic Lolita in the middle of the road, and now she was headed right their way.

There was a very strange aura about this girl, maybe it was her jet black dress with red ties and bows, her scarlet eyes, or perhaps it was the giant halberd she carried effortlessly off the ground. Either way something didn't quite add up.

"A Goth Loli ?"

That's a costume he often saw during events and in areas such as Harajuku. There were many differing views on what was Goth, but Itami was certain the clothing fashion style of the girl was that of a Goth Loli.

She was between twelve to fourteen years old. She looked very attractive, a real beauty.

A girl like that was squatting at the side of an empty road, her black jewel like eyes staring this way without even blinking.

"Woah, a life size ball-jointed doll?"

Takashi commented after watching through the GCCV G-1 Base's camera system.

That girl was like an inorganic doll with no seams.

No matter how much he wanted, Itami couldn't just drive off to look at that girl. The wagon train from Coda was advancing as slowly as the entrance to a doujinshi convention, the second hand of the clock would turn five rounds before the GCCV reach that girl.

Itami decided to send Tsuneari and Takashi to go ahead on foot to check her out.

Judging from her dress, she looked like the person who could cast those gigantic spells just 10 minutes ago. They had to be extremely careful if they wanted to see tomorrow.

When Tsuneari and Takashi tried to converse with her, they seemed unable to communicate. The squatting girl looked like a runaway ignoring the questions of two rookie cops.

When the wagon train reached the girl, she stood up as if she had been kept waiting, dusting off the dirt on her dress, easily picking up her huge halberd and walking alongside the HMV.

The girl walked a circle around the HMV that was moving at walking pace

Before Tsuneari or Takashi could respond to Itami's transmissions, laughter erupted from some children riding in one of the other trucks.

"Your Holiness ! Your Holiness !"

"Hey, where did you come from, and where are you going?"

The girl was speaking the local language.

Itami and the others couldn't converse fluently with her. They could only squeeze out a few sentences after flipping through their book of phrases which took the place of a dictionary. Tsuneari and Takashi shrugged and kept walking.

The one filling in the gaps in their conversation was a boy about seven who was sitting in the tiny space between Tsuneari and Takashi.

"We are from Coda city, Your Holiness."

"Hmm~? What about these people in the strange outfits?

"I think they are the United Earth Alliance Army, but they are nice people helping us."

"So they are not forcing you to go along?"

"No, the Flame Demons came and they're helping us escape."

Itami's group simply listened with an uncertain expression, exhibiting typical Japanese behaviour.

Itami sent Tsuneari and Takashi to take care of the refuges at the back, deciding to question the girl himself. He checked his phrase book, and waited for the dialogue between the boy and the girl to stop before asking. As Itami listened in, he noticed a particular wisdom to the girl's words, like as if she was a lot older than what her appearance suggested.

"I wonder how this thing moves without magic ?"

"I'd like to know as well. But I don't understand what they are saying… But riding in it feels much better than a carriage!"

"So~ riding in it feels good?"

Then she was standing right outside Itami's GCCV, the last thing Itami heard before the door was opened was her giggle.

"I want to ride too."

Before he could even stop her, the Goth Loli boarded the GCCV from Itami's passenger side. She strode over Itami's knees. There were 4 big doors, so she entered the GCCV easily.

XXXXXXX

"Oh...oh my god."

"What, what's going on?"

The rest of crew of the GCCV G-1 Base sat there dumbfounded for a few moments unsure of what to say.

Something was was very wrong.

She wasn't mortal or normal Immanity. No mortal being acted the way she did or moved the way she just had.

For a few moments both groups sat silent as they stared at each other, suddenly the girl giggled as she looked directly at Itami. Her sensual voice felt unnatural as she introduced herself.

"I am Rory Mercury, Apostle of the god Emroy. The children told me of strange men in steel wagons that came here to fight the demons and keep them safe. Are you them?" Her eyes digging into his like drills.

"Please?...might I take a look inside?"

Risa reached for her 20mm M47 Assault rifle as she yelled out. "If you don't get the fuck out-"

The Major never got to finish her sentence, in a heartbeat Rory had picked her up by her collar and had thrown her off the side of the GCCV and into the grass. Risa with her Mk3 Combat Jacket easily weighed 260 kg, even more with her M47 Assault rifle. The fact that this girl was able to toss her like a ragdoll was anything but reassuring.

Rory looked at Itami with a smile as she began to lower herself into the Command and Control chamber. "Oh she's quite fine I assure you, now please...do let me have a look."

Itami just fought a massive demons army without fear. Yet this girl easily trumped all of that. There was something about this girl screamed " I can kill you all at anytime ".

"Hold it!"

Itami was dumbfounded at her next action.

He wanted to stop the black-clad Goth Loli, but if he touched somewhere dangerous, it could be painted as sexual harassment and trigger a huge incident, so he didn't. Because of the language barrier his protests and curses in Japanese like "Hey! Wait! Wait!", "Don't touch that", "Don't touch the pistol and fire extinguisher", "Get out first", "Wah, what the hell are you bringing along!" were ignored completely.

The place the girl sat down upon was his knees.

He had to shout "Hold it!" at this stage.

One side wanted to push the other away while the other side was fighting for a place to sit. The low class fighting thus began.

"●×△、□○○○！！！！！"

"△□×￥！○△□×××！！"

And so, the struggle between two parties who couldn't communicate verbally ended with Itami giving half his seat away.

---

Note : Well, please enjoy the exorcism battle.

Lemuria, Falmart, 52030 I.C

People who could defeat a demons army single handedly would only appear in the Highest rank of the Holy Order and legends.

Triumphing over Dragons or Arachnid horde barehanded was still possible if one trained hard enough in combat magic and Titan combat. But to fight an Demon Army was suicidal.

Even if an entire order of Titan knights, equipped with magic armor and weapons, magicians, priests, and Elven Titan archers and Spirit users were sent against a demons army, it would still be futile, not because of their combat ability but because their complete immortality. Unless hit with holy magic a demon would keep regenerating indefinitely. This was common sense in this world. As such, Demons Incursion meant disaster.

That one of the reason why an Apostle like Rory Mecury is extremely respected by all citizens of the Holy Empire. The Thirteen Apostles and the Incomparable Legion Of Light are the sword and the shield of Falmart. Only them can defeat the Chaos Demon's Black Crusade. During the 12th Black Crusade, Rory Mercury was the Supreme Commander of The Incomparable Legion Of Light. She herself had excommunicated Abaddon the Despoiler and banished the demons army back to the sunless realm of Chaos.

For now, let's change the scene.

---

Italica Fortress, Lemuria (Pina's Base)

The Imperial 5th Princess Piña Co Lada awoke after a long sleep. She immediately lighted up her study by the spell "Light of Dawn". As the 6 spheres of light appeared, their light shone on her face and made her squint, the artifitial suns light were strong, but the cool wind blowing down from her next spell "Northern Wind" made it comfortable instead.

The Italica Fortress was two days inland by horse from the shores of the Lemuria Sea.

The Imperial bunker chambers was located 5 kilometers underground at the 500 floors of the Italica Fortress. This is one of the safest location in the Holy Empire protected by kilometers of magic-reinforced concrete.

One of the chambers in east wing was hers office. The room that Piña used for her office was once her brother the Prime Minister Diabo El Caesar's study. The furniture was very high quality, featuring items like a heavy, polished mithril desk, a comfortable golden chair, and the room itself was filled with the fragrance of parchment and ink. It was well ventilated, and the censer brought the fragrant scent from the cypress trees in the eastern forest over to her. Piña loved the way it cleared her head when she breathed it in. She then listened to the daily morning broadcast of the Imperial National Anthem:

"All Hail Drawinian"

Truth and hope in our Fatherland!

And death to every foe!

Our soldiers shall not pause to rest

We vow our loyalty

Old traditions they will abide

Arise young heroes!

Our past inspires noble deeds

All Hail Drawinian !

Immortal beacon shows the way

Step forth and seek glory!

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Drawinian !

Our Emperor stands astride this world

He'll vanquish every foe!

His truth and justice shine so bright

All hail his brilliant light!

Never will he be overthrown

Like mountains and sea

His bloodline immortal and pure

All Hail Drawinian !

So let his wisdom guide our way

Go forth and seek glory

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Drawinian !

Being aware of morale issues caused by the continuous nuclear bombardment, the Holy Empire broadcasted its national anthem everyday to boost troops morale.

"Your Highness, you didn't sleep in your bed again," In the Imperial Courts, there were female knights who served as aides. One of them, Hamilton Uno Ro, asked her princess grumbled as she opened each of the windows to the study.

Piña was wearing a garment that people in this world called a "Tunic", and her upper body was sprawled over her desk as though she had jumped out over it.

The desk was covered with all manner of books, as well as letters from many places. Most of them were made of parchment, but recently, they had started using photocopy paper bought from the Rondel Magic Academy (RMA).

"Ah, I messed up…"

She hurriedly tried to smooth out the parchment she had crumpled in her sleep. It was a military report from Minister of Defense Zorzal. She must have fallen asleep while reading it.

A closer look at her fingers revealed ink stains there. While she managed not to get her clothes and face dirty, her clothes were crumpled and her body and face felt uncomfortable.

"Your Highness, why not have a bath before you have breakfast?"

"Sorry. We'll go with that," Piña said, throwing her hands up in surrender after hearing Hamilton.

"For today's schedule, the more important events are meeting with the Rose-Order of Knights and the Crimson Knights to discuss the situation of Lemuria and the dinner party with your sister Princess Katerina to celebrate the successful air attack on Alnus Base. Between metting and dinner, Shandy wishes to speak with you. I think she wants to recommend candidates for the next leader of the White Rose Knights."

"I think Panache and Shandy swore a vow of sisterhood, right? Doesn't that mean Shandy Cuff will be the next leader of the White Rose Knights?"

"Perhaps she does not wish to be the leader, but wants to go with Panache to Sadera instead?"

Piña wrinkled her immaculate forehead with a frown. If she wanted to repay the trust placed in her by her own sworn sister, wouldn't it be better for her to stay and manage the knights? What on earth was she thinking, suddenly saying that she was sick of the knight band's traditions and rules? If it was really like Hamilton said, she could not agree just like that. In any case, she would meet Shandy first and decide what to do about her later.

XXXXXXXX

"Sir Norma, what do you think?"

Hamilton Uno Ro, asked her sempai, who was also her colleague, about the new song promoting the war effort was being broadcasted in the bar.

Several knights and their followers sat in the corner of the rowdy tavern, filled with guests. The bar was big but crowed so it only had a little space between tables. The place was so noisy that one might not be able to hear what was being said at a nearby table, unless one shouted.

Amidst this noisy atmosphere, the knights and their followers sat side by side reaching out with their hands for food and holding their cups full of wine. Wine was very cheap due to government subsidies. It's a way to easy people's pain.

Knight Commander Norma, whose mustache was neatly trimmed, had an uncomfortable look on his face.

Norma raised his hand to signal the waitress for a refill. After he got his refill, Norma shrugged under the innocent gaze of Hamilton who was waiting for his reply.

"The lyrics is a little bit too cheesy for my taste, but I guess it good for the common people morale."

"I heard that many people are saying the same thing, but it wouldn't wise up said it out loud. It took his Highness Diabo three days to write that song after all." Hamilton replied.

XXXXXXXXX

"Your Highness, we have many report about demons intrusion in Southern Lemuria." said Knight of Eighth Grey Co Aldo, a veteran of the battlefield who rose through the ranks.

For his achievement in the subjungation of rebel army. He had been has been knighted and became a part of a unit of twelve most elite knights of the Holy Drawinian Empire: the Knights of the Round Table. Working under the direct command of the Emperor ,they were the strongest Knights of the Empire.

Each members of the Round Table was assigned into the group by royalty and under direct command of the Emperor. The Knights of the Round Table date back to at least the 12th Millennium, with the First Knight of One being Sir Richard Hector, they operate outside the standard Imperial military and are given special privileges and authority. All Knights of the Round Table were given a higher rank than many nobles, excluding members of the Imperial family. They were also given clearance to enter highly restricted areas. A Round Table couldn't be punished for his crimes by anyone other than the Emperor. They were the symbol of authority of the Empire's knights.

Grey was assigned by the Emperor to guard Piña due to her eccentrics behavior. Following Piña's wish, at the age of 340, he trained the Rose-Order of Knights. As Grey's name suggests, he has very short grey hair as well as grey colored eyes.

"Demons intrusion, are you sure?" Pina asked sceptically. "At a time like this !"

"Yes, Your Highness, those reports have been confirmed. Their vanguard attacked the city of Coda and was defeated by an army of UEADF. If Abaddon the Despoiler has returned then we can expect the 13th Black Crusade will soon follow. " Grey replied nervously.

"A Black Crusade, Now.

●×△、□○○○！！！！！ .

Those damn Demons, why can't they make an appointment, we are in a midle of a Great War, right now." Pina screamed furiously.

A Black Crusade was an incursion that is formed when the usually disparate forces of Chaos unite under a particularly strong Chaos Champion and go forth en masse to wage war against the Realm of the Living. They were one of the greatest threat to Falmart and unlike the Arachnid the Demons can't be destroyed.

The history of the Black Crusades could be traced back to the Arminius Heresy in the 14th millennium. Following the devastating events of the Arminius Heresy, the Holy Empire began the Great Scouring, a campaign to cast out all traitors who had sided with Chaos and drove them into the warp storm known as the Eye of Terror. There, the followers of Chaos began to fight among each other for domination and territory and their vast armies eventually fractured.

Even so, the threat the exiles posed was far from gone. To this day they seek to overthrow the Holy Empire, launching separate raids and invasions against it.

Once or twice within a millennium however, when an exceptional Chaos Champion rises who is strong enough to bring his fellow warlords and their hosts under his sway. When this happens ancient rivalries are set aside and uneasy alliances are forged, clearing the way for the Black Crusade.

Commanding one of these campaigns is often considered the greatest reward that can be bestowed upon a mortal servant of the Chaos Gods. Successfully achieving the stated objective of one of these lesser Black Crusades can result in the ultimate reward: ascension to the rank of Demon Prince.

The most devastating Black Crusades have been led by the Warmaster of Chaos and commander of the Black Legion, Abaddon the Despoiler, who has led multiple Black Crusades against the Holy Darwinian Empire.

When the crusade is launched, whole continent fall prey to the rampaging hordes and the Dark Gods themselves divert their attention to the material realm, delighting in the sacrifices made in their names. Still, the nature of Chaos is fickle and unless it is repelled by the defenders, the crusade is bound to splinter into separate hosts and warbands who pursue their own ambitions.

After Pina calmed down, she began to examine their current situation. They had two invading army at their doorstep, one was old and one was new, but both were powerful. The Holy Empire didn't have the strenght to defeat them both, the situation was truly dire.

"What shoud we so, what should we do?" the princess frowned thoughtfully as she rotated the pen.

Piña had to tried her best. The Holy Empire could not afford underestimated their opponents. Darwinian had many wars in the past, however, Piña felt that this new Enemies and this Great War were on completely different levels. She had the feeling that if the Holy Empire did not acting wisely, it would be completely destroyed.

As those thoughts ground in her head, the Imperial Princess stared straight at the picture hanged on the wall. It was a picture of a 3 heads chimera fighting a dragon.

A sinister idea suddenly flashed in the vermillion-haired princess head. What would happen if they let their two enemy fighting each other. This was a brilliant idea. They could I kill two birds with one stone simply by letting their enemy fight each other to death and then mopped the floor up with whoever the weakened winner.

"You said the demons vanguard has been defeated by an UEADF army. How can that be, do those demons completely immortal? UEADF don't have magician, do they ?" Pina asked puzzledly.

"Yes, Your Highness, after after questioning many witnesses, It seem that Her Holiness Rory Mecury helped them banishing the Demons after they had been defeated."

"Her Holiness !" Pina frowned "So the Gods have noticed, I wonder what will they do now? But why Her Holiness is with the enemy ?"

"Gods work in mysterious ways. Her Holiness is doing the work of Gods, us mortal shouldn't question her action." Sir Grey replied. "Now, what should we do, Your Highness?"

"Immediately recall all the fortress troops in the south to add the defending of the north and Italica Fortress. Give a general order to evacuate all civilian population in Lemuria back to the mainland. Creating fake track leading the demons army back to the UEADF bases."

Pina paused for a moment and then continued "Oh, and order a scout to inform Her Holiness the demons army activities, we don't want Her Holiness scold, do we?"

"Yes, Your Highness" Grey answered and left the room.

Pina put the piles of paperwork done on her desk, rubbing her temple at the while.

"Just another day in this damn War... Oh god I will have wrinkles at this rate."

Alnus base, March 5th 2030

There were three ways of evacuating the refugees. Two had already been touched on.

The method Itami and the others picked was the third. They chose this method of evacuation because there were only about 20 to 30 people they had to worry about.

Following an armed group of unknown affiliation was just as risky as jumping into a ravine for the people of this world. They might as well have been stripped naked and sold into slavery.

However, they had no choice. They were children who had lost their parents when the Flame Demons attacked, or elderly people who had lost their children, and some were even wounded by demons magic. Under normal circumstances, the outcome for them would be a long and slow death anyway.

Of course, some of them were different. For instance, there was the Grand Magician Cato and his noble pupil, who were very interested in the JSDF, as well as the priestess of Emroy.

However, many of the refugees were asked questions that could not be answered, such as "Where do you want to go after this? We'll take you to wherever you want to go."

Itami decided to ask the Lord Mayor about what to do with the remaining 20 to 30 people. The reply he got was "Leave it to God."

Itami tilted his head and asked again. After translation, the replies he got were along the lines of "Where nobody needs to take care of them", "Anywhere", "Wherever you want".

He sighed deeply.

The Lord Mayor got onto the wagon his family was riding, and spoke to Itami, "I fully understand that you are noble and compassionate folk, and that we must seem cruel and heartless in your eyes. However, it's already very hard for us just to take care of ourselves… forgive our selfishness in this matter."

The Lord Mayor left without looking back.

Itami and the others had been struck dumb by the sheer callousness of that statement. They knew that everyone left behind had been abandoned.

The Cybertruck was loaded with the orphaned children, the widow, the homeless… all their eyes were on Itami. They were very uneasy about the decision he was going to make here. Because they could not understand his language, they studied the minute changes on his face. Among them, the black-clad goth Loli (super scary and strong) looked at him with great interest in her eyes.

However, Itami did not feel the great weight of the responsibility everyone was placing on him.

"Well, who cares… Never mind, we'll take care of it."

His innocent smile removed the tension in the air.

Itami's duty was to investigate the inhabitants of this world. Communicating with them, building good relations with them, and collecting the knowledge of this world was a critical part of that mission. Wouldn't it be great if he could bring natives back of their own free will and improve their understanding of this world's language and culture? At least, that was what he thought. Besides that if what they were told about the black-clad goth Loli named Rory were true then she could be a valuable asset.

In truth, a civil servant who thought like this would be nearly impossible to find. Especially in the time of World War like this.

Anyone who didn't realize the problem with that sort of thinking would never have become a public servant. What public servants hated the most were people who increased their workload.

"You, you, you…"

Director for Defense Intelligence Higaki grabbed his head, in front of his subordinate who didn't know what he had done.

The officers from the other Advance Reconnaissance Task Forces remained silent, while the refugees who had been left outside the camp looked around in curiosity.

"Who, who said you could bring them here?!" Higaki shouted " Do you know we just under attack, we just barely removed the corpses and turned on the light ."

"Eh? Was that a bad thing?"

Itami idly scratched his head. Higaki paced around a little, before saying "Follow me" and walking out of his office.

XXXXXXXXX

"General… the reports from the recon task forces we dispatched have come in."

"Oh!"

The man who responded was General of the Army Hazama. Because the Gate was in Japan , the Japanese had bargained to let them control Alnus Base operation. So Hazama was also the commanding officer of Alnus Base.

He had been a student of philosophy in Tokyo University, a graduate of that school which only accepted the best of the best. However, the truly inspiring part of his life story was how he enlisted as a private with the JSDF and climbed the ranks until he became the mighty 5 Star General he was now. One could say that, although he could have taken the fast-track, he chose to go the long way instead. His catchphrase was "No pain, no gain".

Hazama took off his glasses, and looked from the pile of documents on his desk to Lieutenant General Yanagida.

Lieutenant General Yanagida had graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan (NDA) with flying colours, and under normal circumstances he would have been considered an elite thinker. However, in front of Hazama he never seemed to be able to raise his head. The reason for that was apparently because he failed to get into Tokyo University.

People compare themselves to others by many metrics; academic records, resumes, performance records, and, for members of the JSDF, their ability as warriors. They would always look for fields in which they could surpass others. Then what would happen if an individual who was excellent in all areas appeared before them? Most people would unconditionally accept their inferiority and think, "That guy's amazing", but Yanagida was far too proud for that. Perhaps he had an unfortunate encounter as a child, or his parents had raised him that way, but in the face of a superior individual, he did not feel respect, but rather resentment from the bottom of his heart.

"What's the matter, did you realize something?"

Hazama raised his crew-cut head and leaned back against his chair. The cheap office furniture creaked under his weight. He didn't think too much about Yanagida's resentment, though he did think, "I need to keep an eye on this fellow."

"Several reconnaissance reports have arrived, but I didn't think they were that important because they're just raw data…"

"That's true, make sure they do a good job."

Hazama did not feel that a simple reconnaissance would give him or the High Command a full picture of the situation. However, he was looking forward to understanding the inclinations of the locals.

Their relationship with the locals, the safety of the UEADF units, and the opinions about the Great War with respect to the United Earth Alliance and governmental influence were all closely interlinked. Ignoring the locals' feelings would breed contempt, or worse, active insurgency and that would outweigh any benefits of such callousness. As such, it was critical to understand what the locals meant by righteousness, evil and so on. For instance, Islamic cultures hated dogs and preferred men to have beards.

"The only common point between the task forces was that, despite the difficulty, they all made first contact. The locals, who superficially resemble fantasy beings, primarily make their living through manufacture, with agriculture being a close second. Their population is distributed into settlements and is generally high. The 6th Recon Task Forces has found many mercantile installations in towns and cities with populations between 5,000 to 50,000 people. They mainly sell clothes, magic potions, gemstones, jewellery, tools, farming equipment, magic lamps and other miscellaneous living essentials... This is the stock list and the price catalogue. Several photos are also enclosed."

Yanagida concluded his briefing by placing a sheet of photocopied A4 paper on Hazama's desk. He excelled in this field of work and rarely made mistakes.

Hazama went through the materials as if he were reading a table of figures. However, this information was critical for understanding the economic situation of the Holy Empire , so he had to send it back through the Gate for study by UEADF experts.

"At the present moment, we have been able to confirm there is a central authority for the Sub-continent Lemuria. Every town or city encountered has been led by a local Lord who looks after the commoners."

"How do they choose the lords ?"

By our understanding, this world was run by a mix of theocracy and aristocracy. All the land belong to the Imperial Family and the Holy Order of Eden and they would bestow the land to the aristocrats and bishops. They would govern the land in the Emperor's name under the blessing of the Gods and in return they would pay the tax and defend the Realm.

"I wonder if we can bribe them off ?"

Yanagida sighed with exaggerated loudness, hinting at how difficult that task would be.

"All we need is to invite a few lords or priests over for…"

"It would be troublesome if we brought them over without properly communicating with them, no? Having it phrased as kidnapping or forced transportation would be a headache…"

"About that…"

After laying the foundations, Yanagida was ready to make his main thrust. Carried by the flow of the conversation, Hazama now seemed ready to listen to his subordinate's words.

"Fortunately, Itami's team has brought back some very interesting refugees from Coda city. One of them is a Viscountess and the other is.." Yanagida paused for a moment "...a Grandmaster of the Holy Order of Eden."

"What, a Grandmaster of the Holy Order of Eden, are they like the Pope in our world." Hazama said in disbelieve." This is very big."

"Big, indeed."

"And, Coda city that would be the place where the Demons Army was sighted."

"Yes, Sir."

UEADF's high-ranking officials, including Hazama, could only equate the Demons Army in Falmart to dangerous militant group like ISIS, Taliban and the like. It was easy comprehend to them that people would abandon their city over such a threats. They just could not imagine such dangerous beings exited even in this alien world, so all they could say was "It can't be helped if something like that happened there, right?"

One of the reasons why it was so hard for them to believe in the danger posed by the Demons was because of the Titans which had they were fighting. While they were very hard to kill they weren't completely immortal. This had caused the high-ranking officials in UEADF very worried.

"Well, why don't we lodge these interesting refugees from Coda city here? We'll explain it as a necessary measure. The people concerned will be grateful, and nobody will think it's a kidnapping, right?"

Yanagida began his explanation.

The plan was to build a refugee camp near Arnus Hill and take them in. Since the evacuation of Coda city was caused by a demonic invasion, it would not be a temporary measure. While the refugees were there, it would be possible for the relevant research and investigation personnel to gain significant information from the refugees. Through extended daily interaction with the refugees, they could solve the language barrier problem, and gain a clear understanding of the Imperial economic situation and the social structure of this world.

In truth, the Global Security Council and the Prime Minister's Office had started making demands for detailed internal reports on the Holy Empire. Yanagida and his colleague were under a lot of pressure, so he wanted to show them results quickly.

Hazama tapped the table with his finger.

"What happens if another fight breaks out? The enemy's main armed force is seem to expand without limit with every passing day, this Base is still their target."

This was one of the most obvious questions to ask.

"We need to consider how enemy forces will deal with locals who have had contact with us."

He recalled an incident in the past, where Japanese citizens had been massacred because they were too close to a hated minority or religion.

"When the enemy approaches, we will take the refugees in and guarantee their safety. Although how the enemy treats the residents, be it torture or massacre, is not technically our concern, we cannot stand by and let such things happen."

Hazama furrowed his brow. He approved of the plan to take in the refugees. He had been thinking of something similar himself, so he had no opposition to it. What annoyed him was Yanagida's blunt way of speaking.

There was a limit to how much one person could think about by themselves, because there would be mistakes or omissions made. Even if they housed the refugees within the base itself, it could cause all sorts of problems. The enemy might have infiltrated the refugees and bringing them into the base would invite sabotage, for instance. But they could not locate the refugees far away just because they were afraid of taking risks.

In order to make the ones who had caused the Rumbling Incident surrender to them on the negotiation table, they would need to firmly grasp the situation on the planet Falmart. They would need to investigate and understand this land, this domain, as well as this world's government.

Just as Hazama was about to ask about the refugee center during combat operations, a voice came from outside.

"I'm coming in."

There was a sign outside Hazama's door which said, "No need to knock, just enter". As a result Director for Defense Intelligence Higaki entered after announcing himself.

"I have a report. 3rd Recon Task Forces has returned. Although they're back… actually… that Itami, he…"

And just like that, the matter of taking in the refugees was approved.

XXXXXXXXX

"Yo, Itami."

Itami halted in place as he heard his name being called.

While his superiors chewed him out for nearly an hour, Itami had put on a mask of carefully feigned ignorance and let the words flow in one ear and out the other. In the end, the meeting (which felt more like an interrogation) had ended with a "Since you brought them back, it can't be helped."

He had to report to the Supreme Combined Chiefs of Staff about how he had been protecting those refugees who were unable to care for themselves, such as the sick, injured elderly and the children. While the lecture was unavoidable, when Itami said that he had forced his way through for humanitarian reasons, the other side could only smile bitterly and acknowledge his efforts. Of course they appreciate that he brought the fricking Grandmaster of the Holy Order of Eden back.

"Although, you'll have to take care of them."

That didn't mean that Itami would have to pay for them out of his own pocket, but that Itami would be in charge of arranging the protection of the refugees. That was the condition placed on him.

Itami thought about feeding the refugees and sleeping arrangements for them, and left the black corridor for the staircase. If he put in a requisition with the ration team, he could probably solve the first problem. Granted, they would be eating combat rations, but they could hardly pick and choose. The real problem was arranging for beds for them. The barracks on the base were not completed yet, and the team members had to make do with the frames of the buildings. Tents were the only way out, it would seem. Preparing the documents, recording the required items, the chops… ahhh, what a pain, Itami thought as he stepped out into the corridor.

So when he heard the voice, he turned his head back very, very slowly.

After looking back, he saw someone sitting on a chair in the shadows, as well as a mote of light from a lit cigarette. The wisp of smoke which curled up to the ceiling came from a mouth that was curled up in a sly smile.

It was Lieutenant General Yanagida.

"Itami, You magnificent bastard, you did it on purpose, did't you?"

"Did what on purpose?"

Lieutenant General Yanagida was younger than him, but he had been a general longer than the freshly-promoted Itami. When ranks were the same, seniority took precedence. On the other hand, Itami didn't like Yanagida at all. His principle was to involve himself as little as possible with people he didn't like. That way would reduce friction and smooth over painful incidents in the other party's memory.

"Don't act dumb. Everyone knows it. You go through all this trouble to bring her back. After the demons were defeated, there is no reason to bring the refugees back to the base. You are just trying to win her sympathy with the little plays of your."

"Whose sympathy?"

"Rory Mecury! The Grandmaster of the Holy Order of Eden and the real reason why your task forces can defeat the immortal demons army. You Immediately realize her potential and make a plan to bring her back.

If an important religious figure with godlike power like her agree to help us or even stay neutral in this war, that will be a great victory for the Human race and of course you will be reward for it."

"What? Why do you think of me like some kind of career opportunist? What about the good old humanitarianism! I just want to help the ones in need, any benefit it bring is just a bonus."

Itami scratched his head while he laughed like an idiot. It felt bad, but he didn't particularly need to convince Yanagida. Even if no one believed him, the report still said, "Because these is still a posibility of another demonic invasion or wild beasts attack, I could not abandon these refugees, so I made a judgement call and brought the refugees back to the base."

"Hmph, you're really trying to deny wanting to be promoted, really…"

Yanagida took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled. Along with the smoke came a sigh.

"Eh, well, we had to deepen relations with the locals sooner or later if we want to avoid the Vietnam experience multiply by tens thousand time anyway, this was just ahead of schedule. Even Top thinks of it that way too. But to us… well, it's a pain in the ass. Our plans are all in a mess now, exspecially after the latest Imperial air raid. Those fuckers just killed 3 millions of our man last month.

Yanagida sounded kind of helpless and anger as he said that.

When he saw the state Yanagida was in, he couldn't help but feel condolence for those whose had fallen.

"You'll be spiritually rewarded for it, sooner or later."

Yanagida forcefully put out his cigarette in an ashtray and shrugged.

"That's not enough. It's nowhere near enough."

"Well, someone's being petty today… what do you want me to do to cheer you up?"

Yanagida smiled thinly, then rose.

"We'll talk about it elsewhere."

XXXXXXXXX

The sky was red orange due to the ash from the previous nuclear bombardment and to the west, the sun was slowly setting, signal where the day would end.

As they watched the ominous red sky, the two men at the clothes drying point of the West No. 2 Barracks (temporary) looked at each other.

Yanagida leaned against the fence and lit a cigarette before speaking.

"As you already know, after the Rumbling, we were mobilized for war. Our armed forces depend on armored vehicles for their mobility and for defense against enemy attacks. Those armored vehicles need fuel and the battles over the last few months have shown how much they require. We must give them priority for supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel. So, the top brass gave orders for fuel rationing to be instituted all over the world. Each licensed driver in a family was allowed to buy no more that 15 gallons of automobile fuel per month.

There was a crying need for more vehicles to carry the supplies needed to our troops. Therefore, most private automobile production in the world were converted to military use. Heavy truck plants were, of course, converted to produce military trucks. Car and SUV facilities were also converted to produce light armored cars or aircraft depending on their level of technology. The only exception to this are the factories producing electric cars or small commercial vehicles.

You see, we have talked much about replacing gasoline-powered automobiles in our society. Now, our hand has been forced.

Judging from the information we've collected earlier, this world is a goldmine. Mankind had stumbled upon a new world with limitless potential, the DNA sequences of the creatures here are very similar to ours. For all we know, we could even breed with them. The exact theory is still in the hands of the scholars, but what I can tell you is that we can live in this world. We're breathing this world's air now, and although our food is imported from the other side of the Gate, if the creatures here can eat it, then we should be able to eat theirs with no difficulty.

This world's environment has not been destroyed or polluted. There's a lot of land and its plants are lush and vibrant. And those elements which would be considered rare earths back in our world are abundant here. Investments in resource entrepreneurships are going through the roof in the New York, Shanghai and London Stock Exchanges. Oil and ore-related stocks are going down. This is either great good fortune or a disaster in the making.

After deciding to declare war on this whole world, United Earth Alliance directed the mass production of weapons to supply the Earth Expeditionary Forces. Even then, we still under-ammunitions due to the ammunition production was barely able to keep up with the weapons production capabilities, making the actual battle strength less than what it should be.

In the view of some of the politicians and weapons manufactures, war was seen as an opportunity to boost their country's economy and make a profit for itself, as in the case of Frank St John - an employee of Lockheed Martin - bribed US government to gain priority for new military contracts, or Mike Pompeo, known as a belligerent senator, constantly calling for war to profit from the arms industry.

However, these endeavors to promote war economy to earn great profit would be extremely short-term and highly detrimental in the long run if we keeps losing man and weapons or worst being subjected to counter attack by the Holy Empire in the future in which all assets of corporations like factories, research facilities or offices within those countries would be bombed to the ground and their profit would never be able to cover all damages.

Moreover, the world economic growth remains stagnant due to this wartime economy, the development of civil sectors was considerably slow as the governments mostly put their budget into military campaigns rather than economic development itself. Since the world spends primary in military sector plus their mindset of strictly military superiority, conquest and exploitation, they almost spend very little to nothing in non-military sector to sustain and growth the global economy.

Should the United Earth Alliance fail in the invasion of Falmart, the world could fall into the largest economic crisis since the Rumbling. The current invasion on Lemuria alone was worth around almost 12 Trillion US dollars, combining the price of Tanks, Combat Jackets, Artillery, IFV, APC, Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers, and Cruisers altogether alone excluding Aircraft in 2028 prices was around 37 Trillion US dollars. Should it was included in military operations, fuel, arsenals, etc., the cost of the military campaign on Falmart alone may rise up more than twice the total price of the Global Fleet warships.

So I'm telling you, Itami, this is what the people want to know. They want to know what this world has that is worth bankrupting half the world for."

"And if there is such a thing?"

"Obviously we need to resort to any means necessary to secure it. The world economy is depend on this, this war is a bottomless resources sunken pit we need to turn it into a net positive."

Itami shrugged.

"Yanagida, I know you're a patriot. But I don't get the point, what is the tie between the refugees I brought back and global economy ?"

"You got a relationship of trust going on with these guys."

"What ?"

"Didn't I tell you? They want to know what value this place has. No, that's not right, they want to know where the valuable things are. You do know that you're in the best position to gain this information, right? All the other recon task forces did was check out what the towns were selling and add a few new words to our vocabulary. What you did was gain the trust of the people here. As long as you're around, we can find out where they build things, where they hide things, how to communicate with them, and so on."

"Hang on, Yanagida. Do you expect me to ask the kids where gold, rare earths element and treasure is buried ? Where the oil fields are ? Do you think they'll tell me if I just ask them? I'm sorry to say this, but I suck at geography, even though I went through university. Do you think these uneducated children will do any better ? I can tell you right now that they won't know anything that doesn't concern their immediate daily lives."

"How about asking them for the people who know ?"

As he heard that, Itami thought about the silver-haired noble girl with a wagon full of books and the old man that was her master. It would probably be more productive to let the linguists go through their books.

"Finding people with information and obtaining that information is absolutely critical. We need to cover our lost soon or our economy will crumble. The fact that it had been 5 months without any substantial word or items of value from within the Gate didn't help either."

After hearing this, Itami could not go on.

"Itami, of late, you've been allowed a lot of freedom in your activities. Your next mission is not going to easy, congratualation, General Itami."

"What ?" Itami asked back in surprise.

"Oh! Have you known? Lieutenant General Itami. For your efforts in defeating the Demons army, The Supreme Combined Chiefs of Staff has promoted you to the rank general. You will command the newly created: The East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army."

"The 11th Army what ?"

"The East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army" Yanagida repeated.

"The 3rd Japanese Special Task Force will absorb the 13th Air Wing (JASDF), the 1st Ho Chi Minh Armored Division and the 4th Vo Nguyen Giap Mechanized Division from Indochina, the 5th Joseon Armored Division and 6th Goryeo Mechanized Division from Korea to build The East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army. The 11th Army is going to travel south to secure our southern flank in case of a demons incursion."

"..."

"Dammit, I'm tired of this shit."

Itami continued cursing bitterly.

"Hmph! Well, you were happily spending taxpayers' money up till now, so how can you say, 'Oooh, I don't like it, I don't want it'? Better work hard. Army General "

Yanagida tossed his cigarette butt away after he finished.

XXXXXXXXX

Although he could not see what the future would bring, practically speaking, he had to handle this carefully. Since the whole situation was a mess, proceeding without a plan would be counterproductive. Even so, the people who lived in these conditions were probably used to it.

In any case, he had to get them something to eat.

In any case, he had to start pitching tents for the refugees to sleep in.

In any case, he had to distribute clothing.

The elderly people or the older children could take care of the younger children.

After a few days of these "In any cases", he could probably relax a little. Living in tents was not going to be a long-term arrangement, especially since the people who would do so were children and old people. They would obviously want strong walls and a roof over their heads.

After listening to Kurokawa and Kuribayashi's suggestions, Itami was currently about 200 kilometers away from the south of Arnus Hill. They were building a campsite for the Coda city refugees in the patch of forest located there.

For convenience's sake, they should have built the camp closer to the hill, but that ran the risk of involving them in any fire fights that occurred, so after studying the local terrain and conditions, they picked this place.

Actually building the place was the job of the engineers, but it was up to Itami to provide resources, expendables, schematics, blueprints, and so on. MSGT Nishina was experienced with this sort of thing and had provided a lot of useful feedback. Though he got frustrated by Yanagida's nitpicky obsession with details (down to pointing out punctuation errors), in the end, he managed to obtain a computer from his superiors to help with his problems, and he spent the whole of the second day sleeping.

"If it were a government bureaucrat doing this, he'd have finished it with one hand."

After hearing MSG Nishina's words, Itami gave thanks that he had never entered civil service.

"Well, I'm a public servant too, but because of special duties, we're hardly related any more. Ah, I'm lucky to be a public servant on special duties!"

Sometimes he would mumble these words, and sometimes he would shout them.

XXXXXXXXX

Preparing for a task was very troublesome. But once a mission started, the UEADF worked fast.

In the blink of an eye, they clear-cut a stretch of trees, and after moving the ground with heavy equipment, they easily built a set of roofed houses.

Lelei could only watch this scene with her mouth open and her tongue tied.

"...Well, looks like the rumors are true the "Terran" army are rival the mighty Empire even without magic or Titan power. We can unload our luggage at last. I need my sleep."

Having resigned himself with these words, he vanished back into his tent. After watching her Master, Lelei could not help but agree with him.

Their carriages were not drawn by horses, but they ran faster than horses they look like the imperial magic carriages .

Their "sci-ence" weapons could force back a demons army.

Their sturdy, vast fortress city at Arnus Hill.

Their gigantic iron dragonflies soared through the sky while making terrible noises.

The way they could instantly turn huge trees into planks, rival an Imperial steel golem.

Their carriages with giant shovels that could do the work of a mindless Titan in a flash.

And then, there was the way they built houses in moments.

In truth, she was growing jaded to these surprises.

The children and elderly who knew nothing had been shocked into silence. They gave thanks in earnest and sincerely accepted these benefits. As for Lelei, who was wiser but still could not make sense of these unreal circumstances, her brain had long since overheated.

"...Big sis Arpeggio will be disappointed that she missed seeing something like this. I have to tell her later…"

Lelei was envious.

She couldn't bear to watch any more. All she wanted to do was curl up under her blankets. Well, she had already forgotten that she was supposed to be a Viscountess of the Empire, and watched in mute surprise.

However, since she had chosen the path of the sage, she could not leave these difficult-to-explain circumstances as they were. After all, a sage's ambition was to conquer the mysteries of the world with wisdom.

Lelei recalled the story she read when she was a child: The Adventure into Arachnid Homeworld by the famous astrologer Hong Bao Zheng. About 3000 years ago, Arachnid Empire launched an invasion into Falmart, their army were defeated by the Imperial army and ran back to their homeworld.

When they returned, they captured many prisoners, including famous astrologer. Most of the prisoners could not stand the extreme weather and died with only a few remain including Hong Bao Zheng. It took him many year to return home and when he did he wrote his famous memoir. She wanted to become the new Hong Bao Zheng.

After properly motivating herself, she set forth.

With that, the sage Lelei La Lelena, threw herself into the study of the Terran invading army and its secret.

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."

XXXXXXXX

In the Imperial Eternal Capital Sadera, within a room in the Foreign Affairs bureau building, two men were having a discussion.

"I can't believe it, Your Holiness Rory, why ! …... for us, the Holy Darwinian Empire, the sole hyperpower in this world, to actually ask for help… Not only that, but from an enemy outside of this world that we were at war with, some skinny magic-less humans from the Earth… I still can't believe it," the Secretary State of Foreign Affairs, the 5th Prince Bernard Duvauchelle said. "Our Zeroth Divison could easily blow away something on the level of a flame demons division. But, aside from that holy division, and considering the Chaos Demons' magical level, the local military garrison there might have trouble."

"Indeed! That's why, if you could, about this ceasefire proposal…"

"Cardinal Arneus, as the information director in the Office of Perception, I get that you like to go out and gather information, but we're the most powerful country in the history, you know?

For us to be the ones asking to negotiate and sending a delegation… And not only are they our enemy, they don't even have magic, how can they help us fight the 13rd Black Crusade!"

"Your Highness, for all intents and purposes, UEADF now is second most powerful military forces on this world, we can't fight them and Abaddon's army at the same time. Her Holiness Rory Mercury know that, so she offer them this ceasefire proposal so we can focus on one enemy at a time. We should send a delegation and just tack on preparations for opening diplomatic talks. How does that sound?"

"Hmm, if that's how we play it, the members of Royal Court shouldn't raise a stink. Let's run with this plan for now and start laying the groundwork for it, start with the war fee of 500 millions Suwani."

At a later date, the Holy Darwinian Empire approved of sending a diplomatic delegation to Alnus Base.

---

Holy Darwinian Empire, imperial capital Sadera

"All right, let us be off."

The Holy Darwinian Empire, said to be the strongest country in the world, and the largest superpower, was sending an advance delegation in order to deliver 30,000 tones of gold to the UEADF as well as begin preparations for diplomatic negotiations. They were heading west to the Lemuria subcontinent.

There were 300 representatives in the delegation, including:

Diplomat : Duke Phiam

Information Officer : Archbishop Rydorka from Office of Perception

Military Officer : Primus Yao Haa Dushi

Technical Officer : Bishop Baeluno from Office of Assessment

As a group, they headed to the airport parking apron. There was a passenger vehicle with white wings parked there. This skyship was called "The Floating Ship of the Heavens."

The Floating Ship of the Heavens

Type: 35

Cruising distance: 21,000 km

Cruising speed: 800 km/h

Main engine: magical light discharge-type compressed air engine

Fuel: high-purity red magic gems

The 30,000 tones of gold would be transported in 100 of the Type 35 Floating Ship of the Heavens.

If a Earth person were to look at the Floating Ship of the Heavens, they would probably think it looked very, very strange. There were strange shapes carved where the engine was housed, and there was no propeller, so at first glance it might resemble a Boeing 777 jet. However, those carvings were necessary for the plane to reach a speed of 620 km/h, they weren't retracted wings.

They would be receiving assistance from Princess Pina on this trip. There was a planned stop at Princess Pina's base, Italica military fortress, in the Lemuria subcontinent to refuel with magic gems, then they would continue their journey, ultimately landing in the UEADF Alnus Great Base. They would experience all Japan has to offer while sightseeing, steadily making their way to Japan's capital, Tokyo.

All the transportation within Japan would be handled by the Japanese government. During that time, Princess Pina would take custody of the Floating Ship of the Heavens, refueling it with high-purity magic gems they had prepared in advance. On their return trip, they would once again stop in Italica to refuel and resupply.

Information Officer Archbishop Rydorka boarded the plane and sat down in a large seat. Casually glancing to his right, he saw the diplomat Duke Phiam, who had boarded earlier, sporting a rather severe expression.

"Lord Phiam, is something the matter?" asked Archbishop Rydorka

"I know this was explained before, but… We are the most powerful empire not just in the entire planet, but in history , and here we are, going out of our way to travel all the way here to ask our enemy for help… This… sycophancy… does not sit well with me.

"I understand that, for all practical purposes, it is accepted that United Earth Alliance have the most powerful army that we have ever face , but I do not agree the conclusion that we need their help to defeat the 13rd Black Crusade. Earth is our enemy, they just as much as a danger to us as the demons. Their consumptive, hedonic and depraved lifestyle disgusted me.

Didn't their planet just unify recently ? In the first place, I'm not even fully convinced that the United Earth Alliance should even be considered a civilized world, just ten thousand years ago their ancestors live in cave, when mankind was still long millennia away from building the Egyptian pyramids, our sacred Empire already ruled a vast, unchallengeable global empire.

"The way I see it, the Earth is just a small planet populated by groups of primitive, developing countries. Just look at their cities : Earth cities are hideous ramshackle affairs tossed together in a fit of absentmindedness, from the POV of any Imperial urban designer.

Compare to that, Imperial cities are well-designed machines built for regular repairs and maintenance: such things as sewage, water, etc. are designed to be easily accessible for expansion if the city grows, and if it does not to last with minimal maintenance for centuries.

The Holy Empire has been living in cities for ten times as long as humankind, and we are adapted to urban life: Public transportation is always available, everything in conveniently located, everything works and is neat and Swiss-clean, and tends to slowly devour the soul of any ones of the bohemian disposition unfortunate enough to find themselves living there."

Duke Phiam proudly boasted, a typical arrogant assumption by the Imperial higher-up.

"I apologize for my office overstepping… Based on our information… No, whether I tell you or not, you'll understand. Once you see Alnus with your own eyes, I believe you'll come around." Archbishop Rydorka cautiously said.

Duke Phiam frowned, looking... annoyed, he said.

"That reminds me… I believe this delegation was originally suggested by your Office Of Perception. Shouldn't you just stick to gathering information? We of the Empire have our pride as a superpower. We can not show weakness in front of any enemy."

The Floating Ship of the Heavens began to emit a blue light from its engine and taxied down the runway. The ship rose up in the air and began its long flight to Alnus Base.

---

Lemuria, about 700 km southwest of the Alnus region, in the sky

In the cloudless blue sky, a white-painted aircraft flew through the air. The two engines on the plane glowed with a blue light and spewed out air, propelling it forward. This was the Floating Ship of the Heavens Type 35 from the Holy Darwinian Empire, transporting their diplomatic delegation towards Alnus at a speed of 800 km/h. This aircraft was the epitome of their technology, Falmart's strongest country, and it was a product of stolen knowledge from Earth. It was quite irony for the Empire to underestimate Earth while stealing their knowledge.

"We will be entering Alnus's airspace shortly. In addition, two of UEAADF's combat aircraft will soon be arriving as planned. When they do arrive, they will only be here to escort us, so please do not be alarmed."

The in-flight broadcast gave the passengers a flight update using magical crystal tubes.

"That was so long! Another hour or so and we'll finally be there," Information Officer Archbishop Rydorka commented to the diplomat Duke Phiam sitting next to him. "But man, this really was far. It hurts my head just to think of having to fight against the enemy all the way out on the other side of the world. And they're able to launch flying machines not dragons but combat aircrafts to attack anywhere in the world. I guess I should expect no less from the Holy Empire's strongest enemy. I can kind of understand why the Crown Prince so worry. I look forward to seeing what kind of aircraft they are."

"Lord Phiam, I think it would be better if you approached UEA without any preconceptions of a typical barbarian country from the other worlds."

"I shall take your advice under consideration."

"You know, I'm very excited to see what kind of aircraft UAADF is bringing," Technical Officer Bishop Baeluno interjected.

The three started to use a Sensory-Type Magic "Multi Scope" to look beyond the wall of the plane.

XXXXXXXX

Multi-Scope is a long-ranged Visual Perception Type Magic that is used to observe a physical object from multiple angles like a visual radar. It also enables the user to expand their vision to beyond obstructions like walls.

It's a magic that allows the user to monitor without blind spots from various angles, but it's made out to seem like a number of relay cameras in the air are searching. It is the same as being monitored simultaneously by multiple magicians, it doesn't mean though that there is no direction.

XXXXXXXX

Far below, they could see the ocean. Inside the plane, the only things they could hear were the high-pitched trill of the magic engines and the sound of the aircraft cutting through the sky.

All of a sudden, two other aircraft zoomed past them, followed by a delayed boom. Far behind them, the two planes changed course and quickly caught up to the Floating Ship of the Heavens. One plane took the lead to guide them, while the other came up along the side of the Heavens.

"Wh… What?! How are they so fast?!"

"Those are swept wings! They're for surpassing the speed of sound, reducing drag within supersonic flow!" Technical Officer Bishop Baeluno responded excitedly.

When an aircraft travels at supersonic speeds, a shockwave forms in the shape of a cone around the plane, originating from the tip of the nose and sweeping back around the body of plane. If the wings were to touch the boundary layer of this shockwave, swept wings were necessary to maintain stable flight. Baeluno knew all about the theory behind them.

Duke Phiam, trembling in fear, raised his voice. "But that speed! They even surpass the Night Furry, our ultimate dragon!"

"There no need to be worry, Lord Phiam. Our Holy Empire has the most advanced mass production system in the world, and we've inherited many bio-weapons research from the ancient sorcerous! We have an absolute advantage over every other enemy, the Empire will outlast everyone in the end !" Military Officer Yao Haa Dushi cut in.

Phiam watched the UAADF's new combat aircraft, the J-4 Phantom III, his expression clearly betraying his bafflement. "So this is the enemy's new aircraft that can spit a stream of fire-like bullets in the report."

The Floating Ship of the Heavens Type 35 arrived in the skies of Alnus, led by UAADF's combat aircraft. After some time, they could see an extremely advanced megafortress city spreading out before their eyes. The entire delegation had mix-felling about this monstrosity of a "military base".

This was their enemy headquarters and home base, covering an area of approximately 30,000 km2 with over 60 million troops all in armored units, fully mechanized, fully outfitted with tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and salvo rocket launchers. This was the mightiest forces that had ever in Earth history been deployed against a single foe.

"I heard that Earth was a world without magic, but… is it even possible to build a base this large without magic?" Baeluno asked, mystified.

Finally, the vehicle landed on an entirely too large runway, then was guided to the passenger plane area on the parking apron.

"…!"

Parked between a Boeing C-177 ULTRA and a Tu-688 super heavy bomber, the empire's plane seemed very, very small.

"So this is the infamous 'Devil Rain Maker' Phiam looked at the Boeing C-177 ULTRA next to his plane. With a wing span of 1,120 feet (340 m), that was almost four times longer than even the Vimanas magic heavy bomber under construction by the Imperial Air Force.

When the delegation members alighted from the aircraft, there were representatives from UEA waiting to receive them and exchange greetings. They had prepared a method of transportation, "cars" which were used to bring them to a hotel within the city of Tokyo.

The vehicles called "cars" were very similar to the empire's magic carriages, but their shapes were very sleek, and they were extremely fast and smooth. However, what was most surprising about the cars were their numbers; he heard from the spies on Earth that even the lowest class of citizen could easily purchase a car. As a group, they went straight to the hotel since everyone in the delegation was tired from the long journey.

---

Alnus Base, Lemuria , Falmart

Floating in the air, Rory Mercury was meditating. Floating in a bubble of her own magical energy, her telekinetic prowess could easily levitate both herself and large piles of stone into the air.

Her mana was remarkably dense and so strong that it could visibly affect her surroundings when it released as powerful vortex. Rory was too scary for anyone to do anything so they just let her there in the basketball yard.

She looked like she was just daydreaming.

Rory, herself, was not concentrating on anything.

Nonetheless, what she was doing the complete opposite of the usual meaning of 'daydreaming'.

She was not focusing her mind, her mind was diffusing.

Wider and wider, with Alnus and herself as the two focal points, she laid her perceptions over every nook and cranny in the area.

This was not looking down from a bird's eye view, she was looking at things from the point of view of the information dimension.

It was not an elliptical sphere around the double focal points, it had nothing to do with physical distance; Rory fixedly concentrated her 'eye' intensifying her contact with the law of cause and effect within link space.

So that she wouldn't miss even one thing that could harm this world.

Because she had this 'eye', she were a very effective guardian of the world.

To be correct, she did not normally use this 'observation field'. Normally, she operated this unconsciously, right now she was consciously using it and even intensifying it.

Suddenly invoking her vision of the relationship of cause and effect left her open to 'accidents'; namely leaving her body behind in the physical dimension by incessantly using it; when she was in link space, any wound she suffered wouldn't heal. Becoming engrossed in 'observation' was a situation that could indeed make her switch her mind to that side.

Even if she called it link space, the dimension did not really have that kind of meaning.

The ways you were able to see something formed part of framework of recognition.

Also, even if she called it links, it did not mean she saw red strings or black chains connecting people, she could read no more than the information related to cause and effect. Perhaps someone else would be able to see red strings or black chains if they used those symbols, the images Rory used pointed out the existence of what she realized were focal points jutting out behind the scene indicating the existence of cause and effect and events, etc.

In theory, the way she did things could be used to predict events, however, Rory still could only read information on the 'present' and 48 hours of the 'past'. As a result, it was extraordinarily effective at searching for enemies. It was probably equal to having an innate skill at remote viewing, though it was better than that because it had the potential to distinguish enemies with precision and range.

Within that observation field, the information about the looming adversaries was displayed.

Abaddon and his army were on the move, the first wave of attack was coming. So many of them..! No less than 50,000 legions.

"There isn't much time left, I need to gather the force now before they can spread over the whole continent." She thought.

Suddenly her train of thought was cut off by an emotionless voice.

"Your Holiness, the Global Security Council has passed the resolution approving Operation Trinity. General Itami of the 11th East Asian Army requests your presence to discuss our future cooperation." Said Lelei La Lalena, the viscountess turned priestess trainee, as she kneed in front of Rory in respected.

Lelei wanted to follow Rory to record the greatest war in the history of Falmart so she begged her to let she go along. This was one in ten- thousand years event, there was no way she could miss it, her dignity didn't not allow that.

After all, a sage's ambition was to conquer the mysteries of the world with wisdom.

"Finally! It took them long enough." Rory wondered what took those human so long to decide. Killing demons was no brainer.

"Now it time for WAR!" Rory grinned sadistically, this would be so fun. It had been centuries since she bathed in demon's blood.

"It's time to feed the beloved halberd of mine," Rory look back at the kneeling girl and said. "And Lelei, you contact the Zeroth Division for me. Telling them we will march to the gate of Hell and throw those damn demons back to the hole they crawl out."

"As your command, Your Holiness."

Rory disappeared with her supersonic-speed. She need to prepare for war, there wasn't any time to waste.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Zeroth Division: They are the most elite soldiers of the Falmartian Orthodox Church, great magical warrior monks protected by golden-colored armors, their armor is made of a material called vibranium that help intensifies the user's magical abilities and make them invulnerable to almost every attack including the magical ones.

It is difficult to imagine a time when the Zeroth Division was not a common household name spoken with awe, reverence, and even fear. They were the Empire's strongest soldiers, most talented exorcist, stealthiest assassins, and smartest commanders. Every enemy knows that to stand against the Zeroth Division was to taste crushing defeat. It is within this swirl of admiration and fear, that most forget the Zeroth Division's roots. It is easy to assume that the Emperor collected the best of the best to found this division, yet it is not so. The Zeroth Division was not made of the best of the best or even the best of the mediocre, but rather the one's the Empire wished to have forgotten.

Before they were the Zero Division, they were the 181st: a collection of undesirables, from the disgraced nobles to the political. Just like the Zero Division, they were sent on impossible missions. Unlike the Zeroth Division, they died as expected. Perhaps it was through that hostile environment, those who survived became the best of the best. Yet by assuming that the Zero Division rose because of exceptional men with great skills, we draw from our own superstitions regarding what the Zero Division is now. Back then, the 181st was a collection of nobodies and even the best of the best or demons of supernatural powers would have remained nobodies.

Time had warped our perspective, for the Holy Empire was actually a conglomeration of loosely aligned territories, technically under the governance of a viceroy and the Emperor. Due to the political structure, Darwinian was always embroiled in a civil war (or multiple), although it went by a different name: Game of Throne. Much of the Emperor's time was dedicated to easing tensions between the nobles and supervising peace treaties. Additionally, as the 28th millennium continued, the Empire struggled against rising terrorist/insurgency groups within its conquered territory. Darwinian was teetering at the edge of collapse only held together by nationalism and expansionary military policy.

During the early years of the Global Unification War, the 181st Imperial division was an extremely disreputable legion serving the Holy Empire, nicknamed the One-Eighty-Worst. Commanded by Baron Evir Derricote, who spent most of his time gardening, it was regarded as a unit where careers went to die. Discipline was sloppy and morale was low, with the men simply whiling away time until they expected to be sent to their deaths by the political enemies who had gotten them transferred into the division. Shirtsleeves were the normal dress, drunkenness was common, personnel left their barracks in a state of disarray, and military regulations were ignored. Troops did not even salute or rise for Derricote. Derricote provided extremely little in the way of leadership and was resigned to the divisions condition, preferring to attract as little notice as possible from his superiors and keep from drawing any missions.

In 27019 I.C, Duke Soontir Fel arrived in the unit to take command of the second brigade of the division. He had formerly been an accomplished dragon rider before becoming an instructor at Prefsbelt Fleet Camp. Two of his top students defected to the Federation after graduating, and Fel was disgraced. As a result, he received a punitive transfer to the 181st, where Derricote had received a promotion to Tribuni . A strict disciplinarian, Fel began reshaping the 2/181st into a brigade, drilled, high-performance unit with Derricote's permission.

Eventually, the 2/181st was given the assignment to retake Ord Biniir, which had fallen to the Federation with an entire division defending it. Fel led the brigade through the Second Battle of Ord Biniir, in which the brigade performed extremely well, driving three Federation's divisions off the city. As it so happened, that victory occurred on the same day as the Battle of Yavin, which saw the Empire handed its greatest loss yet with the lost of over a third of its soldiers.

Fel was promoted to Legatus and decorated in a ceremony on Sadera that propagandized the victory at Ord Biniir, attempting to play down the other events of the day. The unit was transferred to Sadera, where it was downsized to a group of three brigades and rebuilt as an elite unit. The 181st Imperial division became the Zeroth Division, and while Derricote retained command, it was Fel who was the real force behind the rebuilding process.

Fel oversaw the recruiting of new, elite troops. He accepted only those with skills that met his expectations and attitudes that would be conducive to building an elite unit. He wanted dedicated, hard-working soldiers, not glory-seekers. One of his recruits was baron Turr Phennir, who quickly became one of the unit's top assassins. Fel spent the next several years drilling the division, and their performance on the battlefield drew praise. They became renowned as an elite unit, feared by enemy troops and celebrated in the Imperial Army, and Fel served as a powerful recruiting symbol for the Rapid response corps. In time, the Zeroth came to be considered the very best unit in the entire Empire and now the Holy Order.

---

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.

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.

---

Well, that is about for this chapter

See you next time

Alnus Base, Camp Alpha, Meeting Room

"Gentlemen, I appreciate you coming here on such short notice. We had been trying to schedule this monthly progress report days ago, but well."

Liam Nuttall rubbed his head and gave a sigh. "World changes daily and with all the going ons it's been a busy couple weeks, hell a busy couple months for that matter. And gentlemen? It's only going to get worse from here no doubt."

In front of a mixed audience of officers seated around a large round table, Nuttall continued to pace back and forth in front of a large map of Falmart. Meanwhile Hazama stood off to the side as he let Nuttall take the lead during the brief. The map was mounted to a large whiteboard and was remarkably accurate considering it had all been done via ground and airborne assets. Back on Earth simple GPS would've mapped everything out quickly and efficiently. Of course, obviously it went without saying that such luxuries were a distant dream in Falmart. Especially when the Empire ramped up its orbital denial efforts with its massive space cannons.

The old general stopped pacing for a moment and began motioning to the board, his hand hovering towards the areas around the subcontinent and Alnus.

"Gentlemen, against all hurdles and technological drawbacks we've been able to successfully stabilize the corridor. Free and unrestricted travel of both our forces as well as that of military contractors has finally been achieved and it's all thanks to the efforts of everyone in this room. Let me start this meeting off by saying job well done."

Nuttall glanced at the Great Three's representatives towards the back of the table and nodded. "Especially to the outstanding ladies and gentlemen of the Great Three and who were able to take some of the load off our troops."

The Great Three

The three major trading companies that dominate most of the mercantile activity on Earth are known as the Great Three. These consist of:

Buy n Large Corporation : the corporation got its start as a maker of frozen yogurt. It was a small business called Buy Yogurt. Later on, the business eventually acquired Large Industries, a men's suit company. The combined entity became known as an internet marketing service corporation named Buy n' Large , Buy n' Large was a major economic and political power in the United Earth Alliance. It has interests in most areas of the economy, including significant parts of the commercial and retail markets in US and Europe. The company is not as powerful as the government but can significantly influence the government if it wishes to (which it sometimes does). It is a significant factor in the everyday lives of the average citizens of the United Earth Alliance, and also of the nations with which the company trades, which includes most of the nations of the world. The Board of Directors of the Buy n Large Corporation, based in London and Moscow , are often referred to as the 'Second Parliament ' due to their power and influence.

The Musk Industries . The consolidation of all Elon Musk's companies. By the year 2030, the conglomerate became a worldwide leader in the fields of aerospace, agriculture, construction, consumer goods, corporate grooming, earth transport, electronics, energy, engineering, finance, food services, fusion research, government, hydro-power, infrastructures, inventions, media, medical science, mortgage loans, pet care, pharmaceuticals, psychotherapies, ports and harbors, real estate, repairs, retail, robotics, science/health, space, storage, super centers, super grids, travel services, utilities, and watermills. Musk Industries had its headquarter in the Silicon Valley .

Masrani Global Corporation. A company largely devoted to trade within the Indo-Pacific region and the biggest household name in India. The company has concentrated efforts in the telecommunications, oil, and bioengineering sectors. Masrani Global Corporation has its headquarters in Mumbai in India.

The Great Three each even had their own police, military and intelligence services.

Hazama folded his arms and nodded in agreement. "Indeed, your efforts in helping our troops with the supply aspect of this mission has been invaluable. The soldiers who live in the Alnus Base as well as those in other military districts speak highly of your products ."

The Japanese general chuckled. "The commodities such as the coffee stores and Rec centers have also been great for troop morale too. I was able to catch a showing of Godzilla last night, the irony eh?"

All the officers gave some laughs before Nuttall put his hands up to quiet them down rolling his eyes as only a high ranking officer could. He was too old and dedicated to the Army to be able to busy himself with off duty activities.

Though a phone call to his grand kids over some coffee or a quiet evening reading Tom Clancy always brought him no small amount of joy. The luxuries of being at Alnus.

One of the company representative, an Australian man , nodded in response to this praise as he set his beret aside. "Anytime gentlemen. When I was told we'd get to work with our wonderful troops in another world I told the boys to pack their kit in a heartbeat. Shame we couldn't bring more to the party, we'll have to be sure to send more weed."

More laughter before Nuttall quieted everyone down once more before clearing his throat and pointing back at the board once more.

"Gentlemen, let's get back to business. While the corridor is indeed under our control, I'm sure you're no doubt familiar with the Global Security Council Resolution 666 .We are having an new and very troublesome enemy to deal with."

Nuttall pointed to another photo on the board, this one was the furthest from all the others and had the ugliest face that anyone have ever seen.

Abaddon the Despoiler.

"We know now exactly where the Beast and his army is and with some help from a new friend of ours we also have a chance to get our hands on a new area of influence as well as the potential for some great mines in the future."

The American general cleared his throat, no sooner had he done this the door to the meeting room opened with three new visitors walking in in short order.

The first one was Lelei La Lalena, a face everyone knew being that she was was Alnus' top translator and Rory Mercury's priestess trainee. It was the man who limped in after her and the woman came after him that caused everyone's head to turn.

The first one was an old man, the scars on his face, eye patch and demeanor had all the signs of a practiced warrior however. The simplistic yet no less fine crafted dark red armor he wore only further added to this education suspicion. Even with the walking stick he used to help support his golden metal leg he remained no less authoritative in the slightest. (He lost an eye and leg in the last Black Crusade in the hand of Abaddon himself, his black magic prevent the wound from healing.)

His remaining good eye looked over all of the officers present while he brought a hand up to stroke a grey goatee a small mumble of approval following in short order.

The second one seemed to be a Dark Elf female. She looked to be roughly 300 years old, but on the surface she resembled a human in her late twenties.

She wore a kind of turban used by the southern tribes when they travelled, and a mantle of some sort. The mantle superficially resembled a magician's robes, but it was simpler in design, so it looked like a piece of cloth worn on the body. In a way, it had been carefully made, but the way this woman wore a piece of tatty cloth on her body, with her curves visible through the rents in the fabric, made the people around her quite excited.

To begin with, she looked like the sort of woman any hot-blooded male would want. In addition, she wore the Dark Elves' unique "bondage armor".

"Bondage armor" was just the common name for it. Technically speaking, it would be a piece of protective gear. It was made of tough leather riveted to metal components, and its defensive properties were quite good. It would not interfere with the body's movements in battle and barely impeded the wearer's dexterity, but the armor's design would lewdly display the wearer's body.

The legends of the Dark Elf tribes to the south told of their swift and nimble battle arts. That was why they favored this sort of defensive gear.

"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Cardinal Augusta Henry Highland the Warmaster of the Zeroth Division and Miss Yao Haa Dushi from the Imperial special are our allies in the fight against devil."

The old Cardinal thumped an armored hand against his chest before speaking in the local tongue, Lelei immediately translating in short order for those who couldn't understand.

"Fellow warriors. It is an honor to finally get to meet you."

His mouth twisted into a smile.

"I have a feeling we'll be of great assistance to one another."

As the various personnel began to take notes Nuttall continued the brief pointing at the screen as he did so.

"Gentleman, ladies. Over here is the Immaterium, an alternate dimension of purely psychic energy that echoes and underlies the familiar four dimensions of the material universe.."

He pointed to a large image of never-ending tides of the psychic energy.

"This is where the Chaos Demons coming from. A Chaos Demon is an intelligent and usually malevolent entity of the Immaterium comprised of purely psychic energy. Demons are sentient embodiments of Chaos and collectively the greatest servants of the Chaos Gods and of Chaos itself as a universal force.

Demons are created at the whim of one of the four major Chaos Gods from a fraction of the god's own power within the Immaterium and act as an extension of its will. A Demon's appearance and intrinsic character reflect the god's own nature. These Demons may be reabsorbed into the god's psychic signature in the Immaterium at their whim.

Instead of possessing a true physical form, Demons project a form conjured from raw psychic energy that is essentially a lesser interpretation of their master's fundamental nature. Hence, the bizarre and inhuman appearances projected by Demons indicate their presence, status and allegiance to a Chaos God.

Though it may appear to be made of normal matter when it materialises in realspace, a Demon's form is no more physical than it is in the Realm of Chaos. In fact, they are beings of pure psychic energy given shape and depth.

When manifested in the material universe, Demons have particular invulnerabilities and weaknesses, as well as many strange powers derived from their nature as psychic beings. Slaying a Demon's physical projection does not kill it, but only severs its presence in reality; its true essence in the Immaterium remains unharmed.

That is why a demonic invasion is all but impossible to stop by conventional means, for the very act of warring against Demons feeds the psychic power keeping them in realspace with fear and hatred. Only the closing of the Eye of Terror can deprive the Demons of their power.

While it is impossible to completely destroy the demons, they can be banished from the realspace with high-level exorcism magic. That is when our friend the Holy Order come in, they have a special magic called Sunforge, basically a powerful holy enchantment magic. demons killed by sunforge enchanted mithirl weapons cannot return for a thousand years."

"So here is our plan. We will send the our strongest armored formations to meet them head on once they are fully supplied with holy ammunition," Nuttall stopped for a moment, looking hesitant for a moment but he continued. "They will be supported by the Holy Oder's Zeroth Division, a special legion comprising 24,000 powerful exorcists, and in order to be able to coordinate well with our main army, they will be trained how to operate the heavy equipment like tanks, self-propelled artillery and salvo rocket launchers."

Hearing this, a lot of officers were socked, handing heavy weaponry to foreign combatants. This plan was too risky.

Of course the troops were not thrilled with the ideal of give heavy weapons to their just yesterday enemy. Nuttall, even heard the voice of reason stepped forward to voice his concerns.

"Sir, with all due respect. I'm not against Zeroth Division supporting us, but why are we giving them heavy weapons, it's too risky ?" asked Tommy Kennedy of the US 3rd Army.

Many of the generals there nodded in response, the UEADF had more than enough firepower. Why risking the chance of imperial backstab us by giving them modern weapons? Before Nuttall could respond Hazama came forward and answered the lieutenant general's question.

"There are two main reasons, lieutenant general, the first is due to the difference in tactics, mechanized warfare emphasizes the smooth coordination of different military branches and attacks from long distance, not power of individuals like the Church.

The Zero Division's role in this campaign will be primarily for propaganda, to secure support from the Orthodox Church. They need to know how to use weapons so they don't get in our way.

The second reason is Cognitohazard, something that poses a danger to any subject that perceives it with any of our five physical senses, with enough number the demons collective psychic power can drive any human into madness, corrupt their souls and mind control them.

Our soldiers don't have experience or training for situations like that. We also lack powerful exorcists that the Zeroth division has.

Their experience in the last Black Crusade are essential and the High command has noticed that. Furthermore, their loyal is toward Her Holiness Rory Mercury not the imperial regime."

Accepting this as a reasonable answer Tommy went back into the crowd, as he did this Nuttall nodded at Hazama before continuing.

---

Headquarters, Human Expeditionary Army, Camp Alpha, Alnus Base

Lieutenant General Tommy Kennedy made his way to the CP he rubbing his head in anguish, the previous night's celebrations had left him with a mean hangover.

Opening the double doors and stepping inside, Tommy made his way through the busy hallways of the UEADF CP. Tommy did his best to avoid the hustle and bustle of other troops as he took a flight of stairs. Stopping at Supreme Allied Commander Nuttall's door he paused for a moment as he listened in on a heated argument.

"Sir! With all due respect, that "Girl" and her army are a threat!"

"Look, I understand your concerns but there is nothing we can do right now. Until they step out of line? We just have to trust that the Japanese know how to pick their friends."

"And when's that gonna be? When people start dieing? Maybe if the goddamn Japanese stopped trying to live out their fantasy adventures they'd see the lack of logic in what they're doing."

"General Smilas that's enough. I've been courteous enough to hear you out, but don't mistake my kindness for weakness. Remember we are having a demon army on our doorstep here. We need their help, at least for now! We are Not going to kill one of the most powerful and beloved religious figure in this world, provoking the wrath of the fanatics. We act out of line? We're done, and you know the world is just waiting for us to fuck up, not them."

"...If you say so."

Things were quiet for a few moments until Tommy heard the sound of boots approaching the door. As he stepped out of the way and tried to look inconspicuous Tommy got a good look at the man who had been arguing with General Nuttall.

The General wore a freshly pressed blue military uniform with an array of badges under his left collar,

Judging by his totally out of regulation facial hair, general swagger, and focused eyes, Tommy deduced he had to be the CO of the Avengers Special Task Forces, Earth mightiest army. He'd seen them enough times to know how they conducted themselves.

The General didn't even bat an eye as he quickly walked past him, he was definitely pissed off.

Composing himself Tommy entered Nuttall's office and stood at attention in front of the Commander's desk. "Sir, Lieutenant General Kennedy reporting as ordered."

Nuttall sighed as he motioned towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. "At ease general, please close the door behind you take a seat, and we can talk."

Closing the door Tommy made his way over to one of the chairs and took a seat as Nuttall began to talk.

"That was General Genes Smiles, good guy. He have been out there kicking ass and taking names since long before we came through the gate when he was a member of GIGN, which is why I didn't completely chew his ass out for his outburst."

Tommy sat there he'd respond when he was given the opportunity.

"It seems that Itami has brought a potentially dangerous individual onto our base. Tell me Kennedy, are you familiar with Rory Mercury?"

The sat there for a moment. He heard the rumors of some crazy Gothic girl, who apparently one of the most powerful and influential being on the planet, sticking her nose into everyone's business.

"I've heard rumors sir, didn't see them first-hand though. All I've heard is she is the Grand Master of the Holy Order, an eccentric as hell individual and likes hanging out around the troops and Itami."

Nuttall folded his hands.

"Tommy what I'm about to tell you might shock you a little bit. Our boys originally saw Miss Mercury during one of their recon sweeps, in their report they talk about her having supersonic speed and destroyed an entire demons army by herself. To be frank it sounds like a bad superhero film, but the scary thing is? More and more reports have been coming in about her exploits."

Tommy merely sat there and listened trying to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Even the refugees revere her, they say she's some sort of deity. Tommy, were this anywhere else I'd dismiss this as superstitious folk tales, but take a look around us. Absolutely everything about this place adheres to an overpower fantasy world and the appearance of a demon incursion didn't help neither. So you have to understand my suspension of disbelief when I say, I believe Smiles."

Tommy saw the logic in that, his men had seen its fair share of craziness during their missions into the heart of Lemuria.

"Which is why I called you here Tom. Smiles thinks we should put this girl and the Zeroth division down, if not nuked them as soon as possible. But I believe she could be a valuable asset if she were to fight by our side or at least neutral in this Great War. I can't call her our ally for sure yet, which is why I want your men to monitor her and the her division, she is close to Itami and you are close to him."

Tommy secretly disdained babysitting jobs, but this was coming from the the big boss himself. It didn't get anymore important than this, but it also didn't mean he had to like it.

"Currently she's with Itami's 11th Army to prepare for Operation Trinity. This mission will make or break our view of her depending on how she and her army act, that been said your mission is as follows. I want you to link up with the 11th Army under the pretense of you simply doing a supporting mission. Additional information will be sent down to you as we compile a mission brief."

Tommy nodded as he responded. "My boys will get it done sir, you can guarantee that. What if they turn hostile though?"

The general leaned forward as his face took a serious expression.

"You'll know what to do, call Smiles and his men for support, we believe General Youji may not pull the trigger if he has to. He's a good soldier, but he's a little soft."

Tommy nodded again as he took the information in. Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that, but orders were orders.

"Roger that sir."

Nuttall began shuffling papers as he took a pen out." Well then you have your orders, standby for additional information to come down to you and your men as the day progresses. Dismissed."

Tommy stood at attention once more and took his leave. Just as he made his way to the door Nuttall stopped him

"Oh and Tom, the Japanese don't know about this. Your mission is of the utmost secrecy, I'm not sure if you've been up to date with current events, but there's a real political shit storm going on back home. Something tells me its only a matter of time before the talks go down and more of our guys come through the gate. Until then, we need to play nice, once we get additional troops things are going to start changing around here. For better or for worse."

Tommy nodded and closed the door behind him. He then proceeded he made his way to the CP exit, throwing his cigarette to a trash can as he went outside. Once he was a fair distance away from the CP, he took out a roll of joint from his cargo pocket.

"Shits is about to go down. I need to get the boys ready...we've got work to do."

---

Eagle Flight, Over The Eastern Indyjski Ocean

"I, Ezekyle Abaddon, Lord of Hell, Commander of the Legions of the Damned do hereby declare my dominion over Falmart and all that it contains. Crawl to me, mortal beings, knowing the eternity of torment that awaits you."

"Balls." Said Lieutenant Michael Wong. The voice that had come over the radio link, booming in the cockpit of his J88/101, had distracted him from paying proper attention to the cockpit display of his APG-85 radar. The new AESA radar was a vast improvement over the older APG-79 but that was, as always, a slight problem all of its own. Until the pilots learned how to take full advantage of the improved data flow, they could be swamped with it. Wong was experiencing that problem now, the resolution of the new radar was phenomenal but it seemed to indicate that the wings on the targets 60 nautical miles out in front of him were flapping.

"Full of himself isn't he? Or should it be 'it'?" Lieutenant Anthony Squires was genuinely interested, he was renowned as being the Ronald Reagan air group's grammar geek.

"Try a 'that'." Wong wasn't really interested, the targets in front of him were behaving oddly. They were slow, 540 miles per hour at most, too slow for Imperial dragons, they had a strong radar image yet seemed to have no infra-red signature. That was an odd combination to put it mildly. The bombastic message that hadinterrupted his concentration was irritating, no more than that. So what were those contacts in front of him? Birds? They were too fast for that surely? The Fire Bird was the fastest bird known and that could, only, hit 540 mph in a steep dive. These were doing that in level flight. So they had to be some form of aircraft. That was assuming the AESA radar wasn't generating a completely false image of course. And who knew how the electronic systems were malfunctioning following the delivery of The Message three days ago? There was one way to find out.

"Buster, this is Eagle Flight, 200 miles out, bearing 353, we have an anomalous radar contact some 60 miles out in front of us. Please confirm."

There was a pause for a few seconds, electrostatic discharges in the atmosphere were playing havoc with radio communications but the systems filtering programs quickly cleared the white noise from the channel. "Confirm contact Eagle Flight. Bearing 358, range from Buster is 66.6 nautical miles. Target speed 552 knots, course one-three-fiver. For your information, Crown and Scepter are tracking also. They have locks." There was a pause, a series of crackles on the radio, then the message resumed. "If targets are hostile, you are cleared to engage."

Wong translated the message in his head. 'Buster' was BBGN-76 USS Ronald Reagan, 'Crown' was CGN -710 USS Obama, an AEGIS cruiser, while 'Scepter' was DDGN-935 USS Alabama, one of the Arleigh Burke class destroyers that now dominated the fleet's surface combatant force. Also AEGIS-equipped, that meant whatever the targets were, they were now being tracked by three of the most advanced radar systems in the UEA Navy. The 'lock' part of the message was really interesting, that suggested the order to open fire was already being passed out.

"All members, Eagle Flight, increase to fiver-six-zero knots, say again increase to fiver-six-zero knots. Intercept targets in front, range, five-eight nautical miles. Weapons are free, say again, weapons are free. Good hunting Eagle Flight."

The four J88/101Es accelerated out of cruise speed, building up to maximum subsonic. The E model had more range and fuel than the older As and Cs but fuel status was always a concern .Then , he glanced down at his radar scope again. There were four targets, apparently blissfully ignorant of the hypersonic fighters bearing down on them. That was neat, one each.

"Eagle Flight, we are swinging around behind them. I have radar paints on all four, no infra-red signature yet. Each Eagle aircraft, take target corresponding to your flight position, from the left. Use AIM-125 then close in for 20-mike-mike. Not sure AIM-9 will work unless we can get a heat signature off whatever is out there. We'll get a visual ID first."

At twelve nautical miles range, the J88/101Es fighters got their visual ID. The contacts were four giant creatures, jet black in color, looking like a hideous cross between a gorilla and a bird. Four limbs, two wings, flying in an unconcerned, oblivious line.

"Just what the hell are those?"

Wong wasn't sure which pilot had breathed the comment into the radio. Didn't matter, they all knew what to do. So did he come to that. "Buster, this is Eagle. Targets visually identified, large flying humanoids about the same size as a Super-Bug. Wingspan at least twice as great as ours, probably much larger. Engaging."

"Eagle, this is Buster. Acknowledged. Targets designated as demons. Prepare holy enchanted missiles .Good luck Eagle Flight may God go with you." .

Wong switched the annunciator on his special AIM-125s on. They were growling gently, a sustained continuous note that indicated their homing heads were logged on to his selected target, the demon second from the left. The J88/101s were closing fast, the range was dropping to the point where the hits would be almost instantaneous. "Eagle Flight, open fire."

Wong's pressure on the firing button was almost simultaneous with his order. A pair of AIM-125 missiles streaked ahead of his aircraft, curving after the demon he had picked out for his target. He'd been right, the gap was so short that the target couldn't have evaded even if it had wanted to. It never even tried.

Demon Shingroleth was actually aware of the approaching fighters, he'd seen them when they were still 15 miles out, far beyond the range of any human eye, so he had assumed their presence was coincidental. He had other problems to worry about, a few inconsequential humans were of no significant account one ay or the other. What concerned him was the way his skin was itching, it had started a few minutes before and was getting steadily worse. Maddening. He hadn't even worried when the four human machines had swung in behind his group and started to close the range on them. That had been when his skin itch had become really intolerable. Then, the humans had done something really strange; odd streaks of smoke coming out from under their flying machines. Surely they couldn't be resisting the all-powerful armies of the damned?

The holy enchanted AIM-125s worked as advertised. They were good missiles, well designed, well-tested, and they had a target that was proving co-operative to the point of suicide. No maneuvering, no electronic warfare, no interference, if the guidance had been capable of human thought it would have been vaguely offended at being asked to solve a task so undemanding. The first missile exploded between Shingroleth's legs, just underneath his tail. The 50 kilograms explosive warhead was wrapped with heavy-gauge pre-notched wire that disintegrated into an annular hail of pre-formed fragments when the missile's proximity fuse set off the explosive charge. Some of those razor-sharp fragments slashed through Shingroleth's tail, severing it at the root and sending it spinning off in a long arc. Others ripped into his legs and genitals, tearing open the great arteries, sending his fire-and acid blood spraying over his body, and mangling his reproductive organs beyond recognition. Shingroleth's scream of demented agony was heard even in the sound insulated-cockpits of the J88/101s.

The second missile did really serious damage. Its proximity fuse initiated it right underneath Shingroleth's belly. The holocaust of holy enchanted-mithril fragments ripped open his stomach and tore his abdominal cavity to shreds. Even in a mind crazed by the ghastly pain from the first hit, Shingroleth noticed the sudden drop in weight as his intestines dropped out of his body. Then his fire-and-acid blood,spraying from more wounds than could reasonably be counted, set fire to his flesh. Shingroleth tumbled downwards, all hope of control had gone when he had lost his stabilizing tail. By the time his remains hit sea level, all that was left of him was a fine carbon dust.

Immediately on firing, Wong had firewalled his throttles, cut in reheat and taken his J88/101 up into a steep climb. The last thing he had wanted to do was get too close to those things. As he rolled over at the top of the climb, he could see the havoc his attack had wrought on the demon formation below. His target had gone, its death marked by a black streak towards the sea far below. Another one of the formation had taken hits from four AIM-125s, for some reason two J88/101s had fired on the same aircraft, well, that sort of thing happened. It had meant that the demon had been quite literally torn apart by the storm of fragments and blast of the explosions. More than 200 kilos of best explosive American dollars could buy combine with the best exorcism the Empire had to offer had vented its wrath on the hideous creature and all that was left of it was a shower of burning fragments. A third demon was staggering away, it had been the last to get hit and had escaped the eviscerating body hits. Instead, one of its wings had been torn to tiny fragments and it was going down in a helpless spin. Even as Wong watched, two of his J88/101s were closing on it.

Prigrathrath was desperately trying to control his descent. One of his wings had gone, it was just a mass of torn flesh and spurting blood. The only thing that was saving him was that his flight path was keeping the blood-and-acid away from his body, the fate of Shingroleth and Caranaskatos had shown him what would happen when demon blood and body parts mixed. Two of the gray-painted human machines were coming after him, he could see them, but with his crippled wings there was little he could do about it. It was odd, there was a strange twinkling light coming from the front of the two flying machines. Then Prigrathrath's lights went out.

Squires had fired a much longer burst than was normal for the 30mm auto-cannon in the nose of his J88/101. He and his wingman had aimed very carefully, using the plane's on-board computer and continuously-computed impact point sights to place all 100 rounds of their bursts square into the demon's face. The effect was more than either pilot could have hoped. The great, hideously malformed head had just disintegrated as the armor-piercing incendiary shells ripped through the skin and shattered the bones underneath. The demon's eyes, in fact every feature of its face, had been destroyed in the hail of cannon shells tearing through its structure. Once again, fire-and-acid blood spraying from the ruptured veins and arteries finished the job of destructionthat fragments, explosions and blast had started. The demon erupted into flames and dropped like a stone towards the sea below.

That had left one demon, untouched, unharmed by the sudden, vicious attack. Quellarastis simply couldn't believe that the humans had dared to attack him and his colleagues, let alone that they had killed three of his flight-mates with such contemptuous ease. Filled with unrighteous wrath at the effrontery of the attack, he swerved to retaliate at the pair of human flying machines that were comingstraight at him. Now, they would learn what the wrath of a demon meant. He opened his mouth and gave a blast of terrifying hellfire straight at them.

In Eagle-One, Wong saw the fireball leave the demon's mouth and flipped the ailerons over, pulling the stick back in a barrel role around the jet of flame. It wasn't precisely a hard maneuver, the demon may have had powerful lungs but they could only drive a jet of flame so fast. Compared with the problems posed by trying to dodge a multi-mach missile, the flame was easy to avoid. Even better, the jet of fire was a perfect infra-red source for his AIM-9W Sidewinders. Both annunciators were screaming with the demand to be let loose and Wong obliged them both. They streaked from his wingtip mounts, heading straight for the inferno of heat that was the fire-breathing demon's mouth.

Quellarastis did the worst thing he could possibly do under the circumstances. He gulped in shock as the two missiles hurtled into his mouth. Once again, proximity fuses worked to perfection, preformed fragments slashed out, ripping through the slate-black flesh of the demon. Some went up into his brain, bouncing around inside his skull until all that laid within was reduced to a finely-ground slush. Others sawed down through the demon's chest, carving into his heart and lungs. More fragments, from the missile Quellarastis had accidentally swallowed tore the demons neck apart, severing his spinal column and paralyzing him. That was a mercy for Quellarastis, it meant that he did feel it when his blood set his flesh on fire and he vanished within a ball of fire.

"Buster, this is Eagle. All four demons engaged and destroyed. Inform all Buster elements, they blow up and burn if you hit them hard enough. No sign of resurrection, the holy enchanted weapons worked. We're on our way back, we're hitting bingo fuel out here."

"Eagle Flight, this is buster. Come on home, the party is just starting down here."

Wong relaxed in his seat. His Eagle-One had two confirmed kills, Eagle-Three and Eagle-Four had one each. Not ace status yet, but a good start.

HMS Arthur, Lemurian Sea, Falmart

"Any idea what it is?"

The Sonar Operator shook his head. The Type 2576 sonar system was the most advanced the Royal Navy had ever deployed, one Admiral had tried to describe its capability by saying a submarine in Winchester could use that sonar to track a bulldog going around Hyde Park Corner in London.

That comparison wasn't true, but the real capability of 2576 was a closely-guarded secret. Tracking bulldog at that range was child's play compared with what it could really do.

The waterfall display on the sonar panel was showing the target track, it was diverging from norm slightly, first one way and then the other, as if the unidentified contact was snaking in the water. It always came back to the same course though, one that took it to Posidon Naval Base.

Eventually. That was another problem, the target track indicated a speed of around 48 knots. Not the sort of speed that made much sense. Too fast for even the giant sea creatures of this alien world, but too slow for a Titan.

"I'm not getting any blade beat Sir. None at all. In fact I'm getting no machinery noise at all. No pompholugopaphlasmasin." The sonar operator got the odd word out without missing a beat.

He was referring to the odd selection of pops, hisses, squeaks and rattles made by machinery as it went about its daily tasks, an odd selection that was a clear signature to a passive sonar system. "I'm getting broad-band flow noise and that's about it."

"Biological?" Alien 6-eyes whales, clouds of lobster dragons, schools of giant 6-fin fish, all got give strange sonar readings. Pompholugopaphlasmasin was the sonar operator's best tool to distinguish man-made equipment from the natural sounds of the sea.

And there wasn't any.

That would normally point to a biological but the one thing these times were not was normal.

"Not at 48 knots Sir. A biological will either drift or move slowly at random directions. One holding 48 knots would be attacking something and this one isn't. Then, there's it's course. Straight for the Base, never changing. No Sir, this isn't a biological but that doesn't change the fact that we can't pick up anything on our narrow-band demodulated noise tracker."

"You don't suppose it could be…" Lieutenant-Commander Michael Murphy adopted an exaggerated expression of terror. "… the Red October." Across Astute's control room, the duty crew rolled their eyes in disgust, then shook their heads. That wretched author had caused so much trouble…

"No Sir. But respectfully Sir, we are on trials. FOSM may have slipped us a weirdness just to find out what we would do with it."

Murphy nodded. Flag Officer, Submarines was known for doing things like that. "Right, Atkins. We'll treat this like a hostile." His eyes flipped to the tactical display where a long oval marked the position of the anomalous contact. Passive sonar could give fine cuts on bearing but its range data was much less precise.

"We need to fine that up a bit. We'll establish a baseline. Make course one-eight zero, speed 54 knots, hold for 20 minutes. Anybody want to take a head-break, now's the time, we won't be tracking anything at that speed."

That was true enough, Arthur didn't have the phenomenal underwater speed of the American Seadragon class but then few other submarines did. Arthur was still fast enough for the flow noise over her hull to blank out her sonar.

Murphy checked the plot again and thumbed the intercom. "Captain to the bridge."

Captain Phillips materialized almost immediately. Captains tended to do that when trouble was brewing."Problems Number One?"

"Don't know sir, we have a highly anomalous contact. Behaves like a submarine but has the signature of a biological. It's maintaining 48 knots, course takes it to Home. I'm establishing a baseline for range now."

"Very good Number One." Phillips studied the tactical plot with great care. When a new submarine ran sea trials, it wasn't only the ship that was being tested. Her crew were under the microscope as well. "Very good Number One. I have the con. You take over the attack team. If this is FOSM playing games, we'll go along with it."

The crew felt the vibration from the submarine's machinery build up under their feet. One advantage, one of many, held by the nuclear-powered boats was that they never had to worry about fuel status or battery charge.

The Royal Navy nuke-drivers pitied their South America allies who were stuck in diesel-electrics and spent their lives with one eye glued to their battery charge meters. Arthur was barreling through the water, putting distance between herself and the scene of her first set of track readings. Once she got a second set, the cross-bearings would give her the range data she needed.

Twenty minutes later, Arthur dropped back down to her four knot observation speed. The sonar team dropped their relaxed air and immediately got down to work, trying to re-acquire the anomalous signature. That didn't take much effort, they knew where to look and the weird flow noise was distinctive enough.

"Got it Sir. Range 18,000 meters." On the tactical display, a second long oval appeared. The computers eliminated the time delay that had taken place and then superimposed the two sets of reading. What had once been long, thin ovals now crossed and gave a single precise point.

Then the screen blinked again as the computers applied the range data they had just calculated to the bearing figures already on file. A single green line now appeared on the tactical display, one that gave both range and bearing. All that was, in fact, needed for an attack.

Phillips thought quickly. "Stream towed array, sonar team check on passive for any emissions, anything at all. Every frequency band you can think of, whatever we're tracking doesn't have to be using what we are."

It took a few more minutes but the result was worth waiting for."Got him Sir. Active emission, very high frequency, much higher than ours." Atkins' voice was triumphant. "It's like a biological, well more like a bat really, but it isn't. Power too high. I'd guess it's a navigational or mine avoidance sonar but its nothing like anything we have on the books. That's why the computer didn't call it."

"Very good. Helm take us up to periscope deck, sensors prepare to extend radio mast. We'd better call this in." Phillips disappeared into the radio room for several minutes. When he came back, his face was a mixture of grimness and elation.

"Word direct from DOps." A stir went around the control room, when Directorate of Operations gave the orders, things were happening.

"The situation is breaking loose. The American shot down four Chaos Demons a few hours ago. Been a few other similar incidents around the Lemuria. There's nothing friendly out here so we can presume that any unidentifiable target we're tracking is hostile. Torpedo room, load two special Spearfish from the Order, tubes one and two. Load sub-Harpoon into three and four. Helm, take her down to two hundred feet, make speed 54 knots, course one-six-three."

Helm punched the figure into the computers. The tactical display flickered again, the green track turning to red and a blue line superimposed on it. That gave the relative position of Astute and the target. Phillips looked at the position. "Make that 55 knots and one-six-one." A tiny refinement that would put Arthur into a perfect position for a torpedo attack.

Phillips watched the display as the carat marking Arthur's position moved along the blue projected course line. Mentally, he was calculating angles and ranges, the computer could actually do that for him but he preferred to do his own check.

"Drop speed to four knots, say again, to four knots. Bring bows to oh-one-oh. Open bow doors, tubes one and two. Sonar, hit that thing with a low-frequency pulse to check range. One pulse." Phillips took his authorization card from around his neck and inserted it into a slot in the sonar control console.

By using active sonar, Arthur was announcing her presence and position to the world at large, That was why using active sonar required the Captain's explicit authorization. One the card was in place, the BA-WHOOM from the sonar array in the submarine's bows could be heard throughout the boat.

Ralaraspanathsis was swimming quietly through the ocean of this strange planet, his great tail swinging from side to side as it drove .

As one of the Corps of Diabolical Heralds, his job was quite simple, he had to go to the designated place where the mortals gathered and give them the message that informed them of their fate. Not that their fate was ever in any doubt but it seemed as if the powers higher up had got bored with playing their little games with this dimension and decided to wrap things up.

Ralaraspanathsis actually slightly regretted that, this wasn't the first time he'd been on this planet and he'd rather enjoyed the way the mortal had cowered before him on his first visit. Still, perhaps his master would allow him to play with some once they were all in his domain.

It was half way through that pleasurable thought that the pain hit Ralaraspanathsis. His head seemed to explode, his ears crushed by a terrible pressure that shattered the bones in his inner ears. His forearms moved, almost of their own accord, covering his eardrums, trying to shut out the dreadful crushing noise. Then, almost before he could think again, the terrible noise was gone.

"Wow, will you look at that." Atkin's voice was awed. The contact was spinning in circles, threshing in the water creating a maelstrom of flow noise emissions. "It didn't like that at all."

"Hit it again. Full power to the forward sonar transducers." The contact had been settling down when the second pulse hit it. If anything the threshing was even worse than with the first pulse.

"That's a Chaos Demon, no doubt. Weapons, fire tubes one and two. Target that thing."

Taking four tons off the extreme end of the moment arm caused Arthur's bow to dip. It didn't matter to the torpedoes, they were already out and climbing to the shallower water near the surface.

Once there, they kicked up to 81 knots and ran out to the estimated position of the target. At that point they dropped their guidance wires and dived vertically on the contact below them.

A holy enchanted shaped charge can penetrate nine times its diameter; that gave the pair of Spearfish torpedoes a theoretical penetration of 189 inches.

In fact, they did a bit better than that, blasting deep cavities in Ralaraspanathsis's back, severing his spinal column and burning deep into his vital organs.

His body tissues, vaporized by the blast, sprayed out and down, searing and cooking his internal organs and bursting open the swim bladder that kept him afloat.

Crippled and dying, he felt himself floating upwards towardsthe surface. Confusion filled his mind, he was a herald. How could they have done this?

"Well, there's no doubt about, we just scored a Chaos Demon." A cheer went up around the control room.

"Number One, take the boat to the surface, we need to collect samples."

Phillips looked through the periscope again."In fact, if we can tow that wreck in, so much the better. Environmental, keep a check on water conditions, the US said the ones they shot down had acid blood. We don't want our hull plating corroded, the taxpayers would get perturbed."

---

Human Expeditionary Army, Camp Alpha, Alnus Base

"Commander Nuttall, a message from the Ronald Reagan battle group out in the Indyjski Ocean. They've engaged four flying demons, killed all of them. No casualties on our side. The holy enchanted weapons worked." said General Asanee.

"Good job. Get word out to all our armed forces. Tell them to engage these, these things, at every opportunity. Shoot first, hit hard and keep hitting them." Nuttall ordered, then he asked. "How's the situation of the Zeroth division?'

"They are being trained to use modern weapons, they learn very quickly Sir, soon they'll be ready to fight." said General Michael Jackson.

"Nice of them. Well, people, it looks like the war has started. Let's try to do a better job this time round, right ?.This will be important, we won't just be learning how well our own exorcist units fight, we'll be learning how the Falmartian Orthodox Church Order Militant fights. Remember to observe them carefully ,that's going to be important, according to our intel the combat strength of the church militants are in excess of 60 million troops and up to 300 million magic beasts." Nuttall noted the sharp intakes of breath from Jackson and Asanee. "Food for thought isn't it. Our new temporary "Allies" are quite powerful on their own. We need to keep an eye on them."

Everyone remember the meeting yesterday , when they learned the true scale of the Falmartian Orthodox Church and their home city.

The official capital of the Holy Dawinian Empire was the city of Sadera. However, the spiritual capital of the Holy Empire was at the most important Falmartian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Falmartian Orthodox Church, the Ultimate Temple of St. Darwin in the Eternal City of the Holy Court located some 12,000 kilometres to the north-east of Sadera on the road to Olympus Mount near the arctic. Because of its importance to the Holy Dawinian Empire the Eternal City was a gigantic, if entirely industrial city, and very well served by transportation links.

The Eternal City, the sacred heart of the Most Holy Empire was a gleaming translucent rectangular pearl that dazed the eyes of newcomers with its rainbows of refracted light. The buildings were made of vast sheets of precious and semi-precious stone, the streets calcite alabaster, polished smooth first by trained crafts-priests uncounted millennia ago and then by the tread of millions of sandal-clad feet over the years. Together, buildings and streets glowed as heaven's pure white light reflected and refracted from structure to structure in a myriad of interlocking multihued spectra that constantly shifted and changed with every slight movement of the inhabitants therein.

That was within the sight of Darwin's great white throne, in the St. Darwin Ultimate Temple of the Eternal City. Beyond the glittering jasper walls of the inner city, which a discerning priest's eyes could see shimmering in the distance from the steps of the king of all titan's stronghold at the top of the temple mount (although the priest wouldn't look so far for so long, because it would strain his eyes and because lines did strange things far away), things were different. The wide main boulevards of the Eternal City and the palaces of the most powerful grand masters led to the twelve great gates that led out the Eternal City's to the great slums where the servants who served the priests lived.

The Eternal City was built on a smooth basalt plain around the temple mount, the stones of the city quarried from far away– other dimensions even – and beneath its foundations the basalt still stood. There were very deep tunnels in the hard rock, tunnels that were older than the first human settlements here, and though most had forgotten, some, like the 13 Apostles of Holy Court, still used them when there was a need. Generally, that need turned out to be when someone had to disappear quickly, quietly, and efficiently, and then, after disappearing, needed to answer questions.

XXXXXXX

"By the holy half-chewed cigar of Saint Curtis, will you look at the size of that place?" General Norton A. Schwartz looked down at the pictures of The Eternal City with something approaching awe. Large areas were obscured, partially at least, by the smoke clouds from the industrial cities nearby . Yet the rest was stunning in its sheer size. The Eternal City was a lot bigger than even the biggest city on Earth.

"At least 1,500 kilometers per side. Those walls are thick, fifty meters at least, and a hundred meters high. Major redoubt at each corner with even thicker and higher walls. Three gates along each wall. Each gate flanked with guard towers." The photographic analyst looked up ar his audience. "The factories where the worker work are outside the walls of course. They add another band around the city. Those Industrial Areas look pretty much like Rhine-Ruhr as far as density and configuration are concerned. People packed together, narrow twisting streets."

"Meaning we'll be in for a hell of a street fight before we even get to the city walls." Nuttall sounded gloomy. He could see himself being forced into a decision that he really did not want to take.

"At least." Marshal Dorokov sounded even gloomier. The days when the Russian Steamroller had infinite amounts of men at its disposal were long gone. "And punching holes in those walls will not be easy."

"It will." Nuttall disagreed politely. "We can nuke our way in. But, anything short of that and we'll be in a world of hurt."

There was a saddened sigh around the briefing room."Once we're through, Sirs, things might be easier. The city itself is thinly populated. Most of the buildings are these big palaces and the streets are very wide, very straight. We could just roll down them and shoot the buildings on either side to crap. With all these trees, the place is more like a national park than a city. As you can see here in the pictures , the main streets in the city are two kilometers wide."

"Two kilometers?" General Asanee spoke carefully. She'd measured the pictures taken by the Pseudo-satellites (HAPS) for herself and come to the same conclusion as the analysts. The main streets carving The Eternal City into sections were that wide.

"Two kilometers wide and dead straight. Three run north and south, three run east and west. They join the gates, or rather the flanking ones do. The one down the middle is blocked by Darwin's temple here in the middle. They cut the city into sixteen blocks with the palace area forming the seventeenth." The analyst sounded displeased; he didn't like having his work checked so carefully. The great model of The Eternal City was largely his work. He had a feeling it was the supreme achievement of his lifetime. After all, where could he go from making this?

"So each block is 375 kilometers on a side? And these are 20 kilometers wide?" General Nuttall tapped the corner redoubts on the outer walls of the city.

"That's right, Sir. The gatehouses are twenty kilometers wide as well. Each flanking tower is nine kilometers across. How they swing a gate a kilometer wide open and closed is beyond me. No matter how carefully counterbalanced they are, the inertia must be enormous."

"They probably don't open the whole gate. I bet you'll find there are small doors set in the face of the giant ones." Asanee smiled. "That's how we did it in our walled cities."

"Each of the city blocks duplicates the structure of the city as a whole. Cut into 16 sections, each a little under 95 kilometers square, by roads about a kilometer wide. Then each sub-block divided into 16 sub-sub-blocks by roads 500 meters wide. Each sub-sub-block is around 20 kilometers on each side. Populations seem to vary. Some just have four palaces, others have dozens. There are what appear to be temples all over the city. That's hardly surprising of course. We've done a rough estimate of the city population. We think there's around 200 million people living in the City itself."

"Two hundred million." Nutall seemed haunted by the number. "This has all the makings of a nightmare."

"We can chop the City up into isolated blocks using the roads and then take down each sub-sub block individually. It'll be one Hell of a street fight though." Asanee was measuring the likely cost of doing so while she spoke. The answer wasn't one she liked.

"We're better equipped for fighting the Church and Empire militants than the Chaos Demon. Our rifles can actually hurt them." Jackson looked depressed, he was calculating losses as well. His answer varied from Asanee's, reflecting the difference in their characters. "And Church militants don't have the the bloody-minded guts of the Imperial troopers as proven in recent battles."

"We don't know that Michael." Asanee had a warning note in her voice. "That's true in the fighting so far but it all took place away from their holy city. If we attack the Eternal City, it'll be on their home ground, in their sacred city. We can't be sure they'll fold. Where have they got to run to?"

"Doesn't matter anyway. Great victory are waiting for us. As soon as the they betray us, we are going to airlift three army groups in all around it. It's going to be a slaughterhouse." General Bannistre was as non-committal as everybody else.

"General, Sir, I must warn you. The Holy Order Militant is about three times more powerful than an Imperial Army with the same size." Baines cranked some numbers quickly in his head. It's likely to have more than sixty million soldiers in its combat formations."

General Bannistre grinned sympathetically. "Don't sweat it son. we blasted our way into Flamart and stormed Alnus with 30 divisions. If needed, we can land more than three hundred and eighty divisions by air around the Eternal City. We will only be outnumbered twelve to one. And there'll be no holding back, we'll be hitting them with nukes, gas, whatever floats our boat."

"The distance is the real problem." Sir Michael Jackson sounded seriously depressed. "We can't get to the center from outside, not without stopping and refuelling. This place has the same ground area as Algeria. It isn't a city, it's an urbanized country."

"Perhaps we ought to rename it Coruscant." The photo interpreter grinned at his own joke.

The grin slowly faded as Nuttall just stared at him. When the interpreter was feeling thoroughly miserable, Nuttall spoke carefully."That might not be a bad idea. Its present name is certainly inappropriate. We'll make that suggestion to our political masters."

Nuttall looked at the great model again. "Asanee has a good point. They've nowhere left to go. We can't assume they'll fold. Anyway, another point we have to think about. St. Darwin Ultimate Temple, here in the center of the city. Right in the middle. It's in what amounts to a park, 200 kilometers square with that lake beside it. We have to advance through 650 kilometers of urbanized terrain before getting there. That's more than the operating range of our tanks. We'll need every heavy truck we can get to keep the front line forces fighting. We can airlift of course, move the stuff directly in from Earth but it's still going to be a massive effort just to keep the troops supplied.

"Anyway, there's something else I wanted to discuss with you." Nuttall pressed the keypad on his desk and the electronic displays that dominated the wall behind his desk flickered into life.

The map showed the square of The Eternal City. "We've got all three Army Groups prepare, just in case. However ,so far, we haven't actually moved into sight of the city. Not officially anyway. Unofficially, we're picking up communications that suggest a number of countries have moved covert forces into observation points around the city."

At that point Nuttall became aware that Jackson and Asanee were both looking shifty. In fact, they looked downright evasive."Let me guess, you two as well?"

"We have a couple of reconnaissance units near the city walls." Asanee sounded apologetic. "My government insisted we move them up to check on the data we were getting."

"I can honestly say that Her Majesty's Armed Forces have no covert operations groups stationed outside The Eternal City." Sir Michael Jackson sounded positively righteous. Asanee's head snapped around to look at him and one of her eyebrows was raised.

Nuttall smiled."I see the SAS are living up to their reputations then. I suppose it was to be expected. A coalition this big doesn't exist without this kind of thing going on. Just make sure that these groups don't start stepping on each others' feet. Asanee, Michael, I don't care how you do it but set up some sort of system so we don't get mutual interference between these groups. By the way, somebody better talk to our friend General Genes Smiles about that as well. He's hired enough ex-special forces people to have something going. And he's not the kind of leader who'll miss a trick."

Tamanskoya Motor Rifle Division, Outskirts of District 4 ( Russian Base)

"Remember Bratishka. Rodina, chest, slava! Let the name of the Chertkovsky Tank Regiment chill the very fires of hell!"

The Americans had exorcized four of the demons, others had exorcized one each. Now it was time for the Rodina to strike its blow against these arrogant beasts who had dared to declare their dominion over the new soon to be dominion of Man. The demon had appeared an hour or so earlier and was walking across the countryside towards the Fourth District.

If the pattern from earlier encounters was holding true, it was making for Russia's Base. Well, it wouldn't get there, not if the Chertkovsky Tank Regiment had its way. Colonel Mikhail Suranov had worked on the presumption that the beast was heading for the base and set up a neat L-shaped ambush. The kill zone was covered by the 152mm guns on his tanks and, just to make sure, he had his special anti-demon Smerch multiple rocket artillery systems dialed in.

Berwaniklasnin had his message to deliver, as a herald that was his infernal duty and he was going to do it. The problem was, word had started to spread that the humans weren't cowering in fear the way they were supposed to, before it had only taken a single appearance to throw them into panic. Now, there was a whisper they were fighting back. Not just fighting back but showing uncanny skill in doing so. That was a troubling concept. Berwaniklasnin felt a sudden itchon his skin, there were ten or more brilliant green dots on his hide, points where his flesh was beginning to swell. One of his arms moved to cover them, as he did so, the dot vanished from his hide but appeared on the back of his hand. A beam of some sort? He never had a chance to work it out because a massive blow struck his chest and sent him staggering backwards.

The first shot had sent the APFSDS bolt screaming into the beast's chest, sending it reeling backwards. An instant later the nine other Type-92 Chamberlain tanks of the first company fired in salvo, their shots striking home as almost a single blow. The Russian tank gunners had been told that the EU had killed one of these beasts with their pathetic little Chariots, the Russian Type-92S could do better than that surely? There was an unspoken message, it had better. And it could. The beast was down, battered off its feet by the sunforged mithril bolts that had smashed into it. Even as the gunners watched, the beats tried to get back to its feet but Second Company were waiting. A brief interval as their laser rangefinders locked in, then another salvo of shots. These ones struck low, sheering the beast's legs from its body. It rolled to the ground, trying to pull itself upright.

What criminality was this? Berwaniklasnin couldn't believe what was taking place. He was a herald, one of those charged with carrying messages to the others. By all the laws and customs, he was granted immunity from attack for how could wars be fought if neither side could talk? Even the cursed Holy Order of this land respected that. But these Terran humans had opened up on him without warning. It was a hideous crime for which the wrath of the higher powers would be terrible. Berwaniklasnin shook his head, he was crippled, his legs gone, his green blood soaking into the earth. Even as he looked around another salvo of shells struck him, ripping his arms from his body. He crashed onto his back, helpless and dying.

Suranov looked up at the beast dying on the ground. It had taken 30 hits from 152mm guns to bring it down and it wasn't dead yet. If these things resistance to damage was as high as that, these beasts were going to be trouble.

"Tovarish Colonel. Please ask your men to help me. I need to sit on the beast's chest." It was one of the politicians from Moscow. It didn't take long to help him up, a Type-92 pulled alongside the beast and the political was unceremoniously hauled up into place. Somebody handed up a camp stool and he carefully selected a spot overlooking the beast's head, one clear of the bubbling craters where the armor piercing shots had torn through the beast.

"Beast. Before you should return to your shithole in Hell, I believe you should know whose prey it is that you are stealing from. I will therefore read you some of Supreme Chancellor Putin's speeches. Listen well and learn of your folly."

"I can almost feel sorry for the beast." An engineer sergeant placing the demolition charges around the great body spoke quietly but his team heard and laughed. The word spread amongst the tank crews and the chuckles spread there as well. The politician appeared not to have heard, his droning monotone carried on unaffected.

A few minutes later, the preparations were ready. Suranov looked up at the politician who was starting the third speech of his program."Tovarish. We are about to blow the beast. Please come down."

"But I must finish the Chancellor's Speech to the Iron Worker's Union."

There was a hideous racking groan from the beast, muted only by its failing strength. Suranov got a clear mental picture of it begging to be put out of its misery, anything other than to have to listen to another speech. The Colonel could see its point."Now, Tovarish, my orders are to destroy this thing then bring samples back for analysis.

The politician reluctantly agreed, and the charges were detonated. Looking around, something puzzled Suranov."Didn't the Americans say these beasts had acid blood? Because this one doesn't."

---

Throne Room, Infernal Palace of Dis, Eye of Terror

"They have done what?" The infernal voice boomed across the hall, making the thick red vapor boil and eddy as the banners of long-forgotten kingdoms twisted and furled in the smog.

"Your Eminence, I cower at your feet.

"I know. Do it some more. Then tell me what you meant."

Abigor cringed on the ground at Abbadon's feet, his tongue flicking over the great hooked claws. "Sire, forgive me"

"No. But continue."

"Sire, those human from other world killed your heralds."

"My gentlemen!" The scream of anger made the very foundations of hell shake. Across the fields of burning rock where the souls of the victims from previous Black Crusade were forever held in torment, the devils looked up from their work and shuddered in fear. "They killed my gentlemen. It is laid down by our immortal will that the heralds shall be forever immune from attack."

"Sire." Abigor whimpered and abased himself still further. If he had been human he would have lost control of his bowels several minutes ago. "We believe that one of the heralds may have lived long enough to say that."

"And what did those insignificant otherworld humans say to that? Do they cry for my forgiveness? Not that they'll get it."

"No Sire. It is reported they replied 'screw you and the horse you rode in on'. We don't quite understand that Sire."

"Then they must learn obedience. Otherworlder or not all mortal beings shall bow down before me. Abigor, you will rectify this. You command 60,000 of the 999,000 legions of mine. You will take them and wipe these upstarts out."

"Sire, may I beg your indulgence for one moment of your time."

"No."

"But Sire, the heralds are exorcized back to the Underrealm and we do not know how or why. The impossible, the impermissible, the unforgivable has been done and we know nothing of this. Sire, we should find out before we invade, then we can inflict yet greater suffering and despair upon them."

"Greater suffering and despair, I like the sound of that. What do you propose?"

"Sire, I suggest that I ask Deumos send the comeliest and most seductive of her Succubi to the Terran bases. Then seduce their generals into telling us what we need to know. Think, Sire, of their grief when they learns their commanders have betrayed all humanity."

---

New Coda City, 200 km from Alnus Hill, Lemuria

The small city of New Coda had become lively, and then it became even livelier.

Who would have thought that just a few months ago, this place was a refugee camp hosting less than thirty people? But now thanks to the influx of new refugees from the south due to the demon invasion, this place hosted more than thirty thousand people.

A wooden hammer striking a bell rang out noon, accompanied by the sound of disciples being scolded by their master.

The creaking of heavily laden traders' horsecarts coming to and fro, escorted by mercenaries whose equipment clanked as they moved, promising they would return… all these were now daily fare.

Nobody knew where it started, but travelling peddlers began setting up roadside stalls. They displayed tribal crafts, valuable gems, jewelry, potions and stones together, while the maids shouted to the uniformed UEADF personnel "Hey, want to take a look?"

When the sun set, the tavern came alive, a beacon of light in the darkness.

There were about twenty tables in the cafe, filled with stocky Dwarves, Harpies, Catgirls working in the PX, the maids working as waitresses and the UEADF troopers rubbing shoulders with them, holding mugs of frothy beer in one hand and heartily toasting each other.

There was a muscular old man with white hair inside the kitchen, who took orders with gusto.

Naturally, each table was getting noisier and noisier.

On several tables, there were people who looked like Iranian and Turkish soldiers. They removed their guns and sat on the chairs. One of the men sighed, and put his gun on the table.

"Oi, how was the deployment ?"

"Not bad. I got a job as a guard for the refugees going from the southern cities to the safe zone in the north ," said a man with a scar on his face as he leaned in to tell his counterpart, a man with a huge beard and holding a mug of beer, about the results of his deployment.

In order to wet his throat, one needed to order "Oi, one ale!" Shortly after that, the bunny-eared big sister of the tavern replied, "We don't have ale, do you want a sky beer?"

"What's a sky beer?"

"It tastes great. You can only get it here. They are made from a type of small algae living in the cloud of the planet. Just try it. In the worst case, just take it as though someone tricked you into drinking it."

Since that much had been said, all he could do was order a mug. After a mouthful of cold, frothy beer, he spoke again.

"This is good!"

"There's eight convoys running between here and the green zone , you can join me if you want."

"Well, if we end up together again, I'll be in your care," one of the men said as they shook hands. Then, he looked around and lowered his voice.

"What happened with those warrior priests from the Zeroth Division ?"

"It took me a long time to get used to their presence , don't talk about it. I have seen them fighting once, they fight like some sort of anime characters shit , they scared the shit out of me."

"And, The top brass are seriously giving them modern weapons ? This is crazy , man…"

"Wining the war against the Demons is the most important thing."

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever..."

Halfway through their conversation, a loud voice boomed, "What's this, big men like you whispering to each other! All right, you've waited long enough!"

The bunny-eared woman who carried herself like a big sister laid big plates of meat and vegetables before them and said, "All right, eat up!" The big-bearded man, filled with crude desire, reached out to squeeze the appealing buttocks before him and received a roundhouse kick that sent him flying out of the tavern.

After watching the man being bodily kicked out of the tavern, his comrade beside him laughed out loud. The bunny big sister clenched her fists.

Then, she shouted, "My ass isn't that cheap!"

Just then, a voice said, "Yo, Delilah. How much to touch?" The speaker of this vile sexual harassment was General Yōji Itami , accompanied by the black Goth priestess Rory Mercury, Lt. Colonel Mari Kurokawa and Major General Nguyen Duc Duy.

Delilah, who was originally puffed up with anger, flushed red. "B-Boss Itami, you're so mean~" before covering her face with both hands and darting into the kitchen. The white-haired head cook shouted, "Boss, the VIP tables inside is ready for you!" That was fortunate.

"Alright, this is good."

It was called a tavern, but it seemed more like a roofed and walled canteen. Or rather, this should have been a canteen from the beginning, but because of the huge increase in customers, they had to start seating them outside.

Now, the so-called VIP tables were the places used by the original residents, the diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the warrior priests of the Zeroth Division and the UEADF officers. They were basically a place for fine dining.

As a Four-Star General, Itami was allowed to use these VIP seats, but he personally preferred the noisier, livelier seats outside.

XXXXXX

"Then, you were saying…?"

After Itami took a seat, Kurokawa sat down opposite him, while Rory sat beside Itami and Nguyen took a place beside Kurokawa. They were here to discuss something concerning a members of their unit.

As usual, Rory ordered a round of fresh draft beer for everyone and insisted that everyone tried the local foods. The planet's extremely diverse biosphere and the longevity of the local resident mean that the local were very creative in their food and beverage, they had all the time in the world to try after all. In place of Delilah, who was hiding inside the shop and wouldn't come out, a Foxgirl called Dora came to take their order.

After the beer came, Kurokawa took a swift mouthful before speaking in low tones.

"It's about Tuka. How long are you going to leave her like that?"

The Elf in question, Tuka, was approaching from behind Kurokawa. She approached slowly, as though observing the inside of the tavern. She looked like she was looking for someone.

"Tuka! What are you doing?" Rory called out.

"Mm, mm. Just, something."

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Hmmm?"

"Like say, a man?"

Tuka waved her hands and said, "No, no," and left after smiling bitterly.

As Kurokawa watched her leave, she said, "That's what I mean. She comes looking for someone who isn't there around this time every day."

Once again, she looked at Itami, wondering what he would do.

Beside her, Major General Nguyen Duc Duy watched the Grand Master who looked like a black Goth girl downing a bottle of beer, and he could not help but sigh. Nguyen was a man of staunch morals, and the sight of someone who looked like a young girl heartily downing alcohol just felt wrong to him. However, when he tried to ask her about it, Rory called him a "brat" instead. After all, she was over 3000 years old, and even if he was 30 himself, he was probably nothing more than a toddler in her eyes. Even so, he felt somewhat insulted by it, but when he realised she must have felt insulted by his words as well, it gave birth to a complicated feeling in his heart.

"But, is there a need to force her to face reality?" Rory seemed to be saying that while drunk, and obviously Kurokawa the counsellor would agree.

"Of course there is."

"Isn't she desperately trying to imagine her father is still alive because she can't face that reality?"

"She's running away from reality."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"What's not wrong with that? People can face tomorrow because they can see reality and accept it. By denying reality, you cloud up the present, and tomorrow will never come. No, you can cloud it up, but your tomorrow will be that much crueler. Tuka's father is dead. He… probably died in that village that got burned down. If she can't accept that fact, she'll lose herself in her fantasies and spend her days in the prison of the now."

Rory rounded her shoulders and sighed as if she was exhausted. The mug in her hand was empty. Behind her, a child who was struggling with what she had just heard said, "That's not all there is to life."

Rory was thinking about the same thing Kurokawa was pondering. No, it would be more accurate to say she had always been thinking about it. However, it was merely "the truth".

The truth could not save anyone.

Kurokawa was now walking her own path. After that, she would not notice if anyone said anything. She would have to wait until she realized it by herself. Along with the painful memories… These are my personal experiences, but how should I explain them to her? What a pain...

Itami spoke.

"Then, Kurokawa. Let's say we corner Tuka and tell her 'Your father is dead', and we make her accept reality. How about that?"

"How about that? After the period of sadness called 'mourning' has passed, she'll be able to accept her father's death. Her lifespan will be far longer than ours. It might even be eternal, for all we know. An eternity spent in delusion about a dead person is just too sad."

"That… well, that may be true."

Rory meshed her fingers behind her head and looked to the stars in the sky. 3061 years. It was long… or short, a little voice in her head said. In those 3000 years, she had met and become close to people. Naturally, she bid them farewell. She had overcome these things by herself. So she could boldly say that trying to change someone else's thinking was sheer arrogance. At the same time, because they were mortals, they would not be able to realise that they were being arrogant. If they had not found the answer yet, they would probably never find it.

"Kurokawa, let's go with what you said. Tuka can't bear the pain, right? So now, while she's lost in the gap between reality and fantasy, if we suddenly force her to accept reality, can you confidently say she won't lose herself even deeper in the past to turn her eyes away from the truth?"

These words shocked Rory. She had not expected Itami to say something like that at all.

The truth was like a shot of strong medicine. Anyone could keep quiet, and because it was so effective, they could be trusted. That was why people might be driven to their ends. Rory thought, I can't imagine a man who was so detached from reality would know about these things, and then she grinned. She has always been interested in Itami, and now her interest deepened.

"That, that is…"

"Are you absolutely sure it will be fine? How much do you know about Tuka, anyway? Do we, no, do you have the power to help her? None of us are psychologists or social workers. We can't constantly keep coddling her. If we force her to accept reality today, what happens if we're ordered to withdraw tomorrow?"

"...That is to say, we should leave her like this?"

"Ahhh, I'll say something you won't like to hear. If you don't have the resolve to take responsibility for her until the very end, then don't do anything unnecessary," Itami said coldly to Kurokawa.

11th Army would be setting out for a mission tomorrow. They were to destroy a vanguard of the demon. Saying she had to prepare, Kurokawa left in a huff, an expression of anger on her face. Nguyen left shortly after, saying he had to escort her back to the barracks.

The only two left were Itami and Rory. They faced each other and drank.

"Well, go on and drink then, you big idiot."

Rory offered her mug to him so he could have more. Itami grinned, and clinked mugs with her.

"Did you really have to say it that way? It felt pretty cruel. I don't think Kurokawa can hate you any more than she does now."

"My heart's not so big that I can be that gentle to everyone. It can't be helped."

"Hmph~ you don't have a lot of people in your heart, then."

As she said this, Rory thought: liar.

Itami was faking his cruelty. If Kurokawa were allowed to do as she pleased, something terrible would have happened, and she would have concluded, "What a shame we couldn't do it right."

"It's hard enough trying to care for one or two people."

"Well, then decide on one, or think only of one."

"What?"

"The girls will like you that way."

"If I'm not nice, they won't like me, right?"

"That's wrong. To a girl, a man who's nice to everyone… hm, I suppose that works as an example, to a man, it would be like a woman who opens her legs to anyone."

"Hah?"

"People want companions so they can swiftly satisfy their need for love and affection. A woman wants a man who only shows his love to her."

"Hm~ Is that so…? Rory, you're pretty nice yourself, even though you worship Emroy, the god of death and judgement. I mean, you're one of his Apostles, and you're called 'The Reaper'."

"Ara~? That's a misconception. To rule death is also to rule life. The goal of all life is death, and the way one dies is also the way one lives. Therefore, one who welcomes death cannot help but respect life. The death that follows a person's life is the result of every day that he lived."

"Is that so…"

"It is," Rory smiled, and finished the beer in her mug.

"One more!"

"Oi oi, let's stop here for tonight, if you get drunk I'll leave you here…"

"Aw, come on, be nice to me~"

"If you're going to be like that, let's get you onto the bed first."

"Meanie~"

Rory kicked Itami in the calf.

"Aiee, that hurt…"

As Itami rubbed his calf, Rory laughed like the ringing of a bell. Then, a gravelly woman's voice cut in.

"Hi Sir, mind if a girl sits with you? Don't want to be on my own this late at night."

Itami glanced up. The woman waiting politely by his table had a mane of jet-black hair that fell in curls half way down her back. Great, luminous black eyes and a mouth that promised everything imaginable without saying a word.

"I'm Sheba, please I won't bother you, your such a big, strong man. I'm sure I'll be safe with you."

.Just hearing the woman speak filled her heart with anger.

She had been so happy spending time with Itami.

The mood was good, and so was the beer. She planned to continue teasing Itami, and then fake passing out in drunkenness and then hopefully he would carry her to the bed… no, he was practically about to do it...

...and then, Itami cradled Rory like a fragile doll as he brought her to the bed.

He laid her body gently on the bed, and then placed a soft pillow under her head.

Because he was worried about knots in her long black hair, he combed it gently with his fingers, and in order not to get her priestess' outfit wrinkled, he carefully tidied up her skirt and prepared to remove her boots.

He caressed her gently as he held her heel with his left hand and supported her knee with his right, carefully bending her legs into a slight curve. Naturally, this would flip up her skirt, and the base of her legs, where they joined her hip, would become visible.

However, Itami did not notice. Or perhaps he had, but kept quiet.

Grasping the end of a bootlace in his left hand, he undid the knot with all the ceremony of unwrapping a present.

After loosening the bootlace, a small gap between her calf and the inside of the boot appeared, and Itami worked his fingers into it to pry it off.

"...ah~n…"

The feeling was close to a foot massage, and the moan she made was very suggestive.

And so, now that there was enough space between Rory's skin and her boot, Itami grabbed the heel of the boot and said, "I'm taking it off, is that alright?"

Rory's face was red, and her eyes were closed. Then, she nodded gently, almost imperceptibly.

However, that was enough for Itami. No, in truth, even if she had not responded, Itami would not have gone on waiting. Having filled himself with determination, Itami would not look back. With a bit more force than necessary, he pulled off the boot on her left leg. And just like that, her legs, once hidden by the jet-black boots, were now exposed in all their glory, covered in white lace-edged socks.

"Owie… please… don't be so rough with me…" Rory pleaded in a soft voice. But the cruel Itami ignored Rory's voice, and went to work on her right boot.

After finishing up, Itami prepared to leave the room after neatly arranging her boots by the bed.

However, her hand grabbed Itami's sleeve and would not let go.

"What a hopeless fellow you are…"

As he thought of how to deal with Rory, Itami gently pried Rory's fingers off and left. Or rather, he tried to leave. While he was trying, Rory reached out both her hands to grab Itami before dragging him onto the bed and mounting him.

After that, they would do all sorts of mufufu things until dawn… or at least, they should have.

But now, that… all that… All that was ruined now.

Rory clenched her trembling hand into a fist and looked at the owner of the voice. Rory gazed at the woman with her Mystic Eyes and then she realized.

This whore was a Demon. Rory busted out laughting.

"Those demons really did it, they dare to ruin Rory Mercury's date, Unforgiveable."

If this demon wanted death this much, she should give it to her. Then, with her hand less than a foot from Sheba's stomach, she created a finger gun and said.

''Holy Enhancement : Water Bullet."

The long roaring burst drowned out her scream and the blasts of high speed water hurled her backwards across the floor, rolling her over as she started to fall apart.

Itami faces were expressions of utter horror at the scene, horror that was replaced by revulsion as the figure sprawled on the ground began to change, its flesh going black, horns growing from its head, a tail sprouting from under the absurdly-short skirt. The demon was dead, its bright yellow blood spreading across the sidewalk.

"It was a demon."

The whispers from the crowd grew as they recovered from the shock of the violent confrontation.

One man, obviously the worse for drink, staggered up and smacked Itami on the back.

"Lucky you, Sir. You don't want your gun in that bitch mouth with that kind of teeth. Here, have a drink."

Itami grabbed the bottle in its brown paper bag and took a swig.

"Stay away from the body please, we don't know what we're dealing with here." Itami said, then he turned to Rory. "Well done Rory, but, how did you know?"

Rory grinned, the smug, cunning grin that won her many wars.

"I used to married Hardy, the Goddess of the Underworld for 300 years. Believe me, after going through that, I have no trouble recognizing a whore from hell."

---

Headquarters, 11th Army , Western Lemuria.

It had been a week, a whole week and nothing was happening. Rory was a patient demi-goddess. However, this was too much even for her. She had come to test her strength, not sit around and listen to Itami or his subordinates while they speak. Rory was getting tired of it. She had come to the battle to test her strength, not converse. Itami was also pushing her, pushing her too far. Unless she got some action to release all the energy within, she would soon be on the edge.

Shee was not going to wait for something like to occur while she just stood. She did not care for what the Korean were thinking or if Itami 's forces were not ready for an all out war. She could cripple any army on her own without help from anyone.

Sighing, Rory walked toward Itami 's tent. She realized that she had been sighing a lot lately. Boredom could drive anyone do anything. She hated having to report to him of what she was going to do. It was like she was taking orders from him, and Rory hated taking orders from someone.

Rory did not bother to announce her presence before getting inside the tent. She knew he would be inside sitting on his chair. During day, he was always sitting there unless he was doing something that could not be done inside his tent.

Itami smiled brightly upon seeing Rory. He was not alone in the office. He had Lelei, Yao and 4 other generals under his command. They were probably discussing battle strategies.

''Bored already, Rory?'' Itami stated with a teasing smile.

Rory just shrugged and simply ignored the other occupants in the room. ''I'm going to force the demons out,'' Rory announced.

Itami raised a brow, ''What?''

''I'm going to force the demons to come out. I have grown tired of waiting.'' Rory replied turning away from Itami.

''You are speaking as if he can actually force the demons to fight us. We have tried that many times, when we were still at our full strength. No offence, Your Holiness, but even your presence in the battlefield could not force the demons to come out.'' Major General Lee Eun-Sung stated with a snicker at Rory.

''I agree with Lee. We cannot afford to go in an all out war with the demons now. We still need some time to get more supply of ammunition and to formulate our battle strategy.'' Seong said.

Itami frowned. She did not tell them that Rory stated that he could summon a Divine Dragon. She did not want to get their hopes up.

''Don't get involved if you are not strong enough. I did not even requests that you come to fight when those demons do show up. I was merely letting you know what I was going to do.'' Rory replied without even looking back to the man.

''Who do you think you are here? You are not the boss, Itami-sama is and nothings happens unless he says so!'' Major General Nguyen Duc Chung said his voice raised as he glared at Rory's back.

Rory continued on walking away without responding. It was not worth it to respond to Chung.

''Chung calm down,'' Itami said. ''Rory can I speak with you for a moment?'' He said his voice now being serious.

Rory stopped walking inviting her to come and say what she wishes. Itami walked up to Rory and looked at her with a rather serious look. ''I appreciate that you are trying to ''help'', but you can't come here and undermine my authority. I don't want you doing anything that will put my men at risk.'' he said.

''Oh?'' She said. ''They won't be at risk unless they get in my way. What I am doing works for you better. I can cripple the Demon's forces your men can come up and finish things.'' Rory stated and began to walk away.

Itami caught her by her hand. Rory turned around and looked at the man with a raised brow. Itami stared at Rory's eyes as if he was trying to decipher something. Slowly he let go of Rory's hand and sighed. Rory was going to do what she wanted, there was not stopping her. He deduced that much by just looking at his eyes.

''Lelei, Yao come with me!'' Itami called. Yao and Lelei came to him and they followed Rory.

They travelled for about an hour at a fair pace. In the place they were they could see Demon's base, the main tower.

Rory suddenly stopped, ''You may want to stop there.'' She said before walking further away from the group.

After she had made a good distance with the group, Rory went through a set of spell chants. She slammed her hands on the ground and a seal appeared on it. ''Come to me Enryū !''

Itami and his two companion just stared with wide eyes. The felt that Rory released huge amounts of mana to summon whatever that she was summing.

A large puff of smoke appeared and they felt the demonic presence, the foul mana the suffocated everyone beneath it. When the smoke cleared, Enryū, a giant dragon with a height of 100 meters, length of 300 meters and a wing span of 320 meters, stood in all its menacing glory in front of them with its two-tails waving slowly behind it.

Enryū was a giant bipedal dragon with three heads on long serpentine necks, two tails, and two large bat-like wings at his sides, which stands upright on his two hind legs. His body was covered in overlapping orange scales, which according to Rory actually contain trace amounts of magma. Enryū possessed an internal volcanic combustion system; causing him to radiate heat, the temperature of which could reach up to 1200°C.

Fear and awe crept within them as they stared at the beast that was said to be able to make tsunamis with a single swipe of its tail. Seeing the monster in front of them, they took a few steps back in fear of the beast.

Lelei had a single though in her mind, 'She can really summon it.' Rory had said she could, a part of her wanted to believe it, a part of her refused to believe unless she saw it. Now that she was seeing it, she believed. If anything he was to say he could do after this, she would believe her without a single cent of doubt in her mind.

''Rory, why have you brought me here?'' Enryū asked in its deep menacing voice that would send shivers down to anyone's spine. Its blood-red silted eyes stared at Rory waiting for a respond.

''I want you to do something for me.'' Rory replied his tone upped so Enryū could hear her as she was standing beside its paws. She had her hands crossed on her chest eyes not even looking at Enryū when she responded.

''Tell me so I can do it quickly, and go back to taking my nap,'' Enryū responded.

Yao and Lelei almost face faulted at Enryū's response. The almighty Dragon would only be concerned about taking a nap. It was supposed to be a beast of mass destruction, not a beast of taking naps. Yao quickly erased a thought in her head of Enryū sleeping with bubbles coming out of its 3 nose.

''Even given your freedom all you do is sleep,'' Rory stated shaking her head. ''I called you here because I want you to fire a Fireball of Destruction at the tallest building you can see from here.'' She said.

''Fine,'' The Dragon replied with a shrug and then brought its tails over its 3 heads in concentration. Mana began to form above it before mixing forming a large ball of mass energy. Enryū directed the energy ball towards its target. The attack travelled a rather fast speed for something its size. The attack left its mark on the earth as it peeled off chunks of earth. After travelling a considerable distance in finally hit the tower and blew it up.

''You can go,'' Rory said turning away from the explosion. Enryū disappeared in a puff of smoke without saying any further word.

Rory raised a brow seeing the shocked expressions on Itami, Yao, and Lelei had both shocked and fear in their face. Rory walked towards them calmly. Upon reaching them he spoke, ''Give it a few days and Demon's forces will be charging at your camps.'' Rory said walking past them.

Itami was first to get over her shock. He followed Rory, Lelei and Yao followed him from behind keeping their distance so to give him some space to speak with Rory. Without doubt, there were things that needed to be discussed.

From this day onward, Itami would never look at Rory the same as he had been.

''So you weren't kidding when you said you were given a Divine Dragon by Hardy as a wedding gift,'' Itami said having caught up to Rory.

Rory looked at him at the corner of her eye, ''What gave you the idea that I was kidding?''

---

Three days later

Rory had been waiting patiently for the demon to charge at the 11th Army camps. She had gone back to wearing her armour as she waited. She had no doubt in mind that those demon scum would run about to attack Itami and his men.

At the UEADF camps, things had been rather busy as they formulated their battle strategies. Rory never got involved with it. There was no need for a strategy if she was going to face an army of weak demon who could not make her sweat. She just needed them to be test dummies for her spell's.

''They are on their way?''

Rory looked to see a Lahmu, one of Giselle's favorite pets.

''When did you get here?''

''A day ago''

Rory nodded. She did need to know why he did not inform her that he had arrived at the base. She had no problems with it, as long as he was there when she was needed. Lahmu was someone she could count on. There was no need for her to question.

It was probably spying on the demons.

''Shall we?'' Rory said getting up from her position. She picked up her Halberd and strapped it on her back. Lahmu sank to the ground without saying anything.

Without warning or telling anyone, Rory began to move towards the direction in which the demons were matching. She was feeling a bit excited by the prospect of having to finally get a field where she could go wild, a field to perform a few tests and enjoy a good fight. It was definitely going to be good to fight against multiple opponents while she was just one demi-goddess.

It did not take long for Itami and his men to follow behind her. Itami rushed up to get to her leaving his men behind.

''You look rather happy,'' he commented upon seeing the look on her face.

''That is because I am happy,'' Rory replied.

''So are you going to summon your pet the Holy Dragon Enryū?! If you are tell me, I don't want to have my men caught up in its path.''

''No, but you can tell your men to stay back until the demons shows up.'' Rory stated.

''You are going to fight more than 100,000 demon alone without the Divine Dragon?''

''Yes,'' Rory replied as if it was not a big deal. She increased her pace leaving Itami behind her.

Itami frowned seeing her leave like that. He was worried about her. He did not know how powerful she was, but fighting against more than 100,000 demon on her own was being reckless.

He sighed and looked back at his men who had caught up to him. ''Let's go, but we will keep out distance. We will only observe. You will engage the enemy when I tell you to!'' Itami stated his orders.

His men did not question him. He was the leader and thus, knew what was best.

They began to move on towards their enemy. After a few minutes, they hid themselves a distance away from demon's army who were now standing still with one man standing in front of them.

''Is she thinking of fighting them alone?'' Major General Nguyen Duc Duy asked.

''She is crazy!'' Major General Eun-Sung Lee yelled out.

Major General Seong Ji-Eun who was near the front lines saw Rory and widened her eyes. She was about to run towards her, but was stopped by Itami.

''Don't!''

''You can't just let her go there alone!'' Seong said her voice raised showing just how much she disagreed with the situation.

Even though Itami wanted to send his men and engage demon's army as he was worried about Rory, he found himself saying a few simple words, ''Just watch.''

The demon's army stood still watching Rory. The once in the front lines could sense the Itami's army was already in position. They stood still watching Rory wondering what she might do. Surely she did not wish to engage an army by herself. If she did something it would be suicide, anyone who had things working properly in their heads could conclude that.

''What is this? Did the mortals army send you to try to stop us?'' A huge 6-hand demon said looking insulted by the fact that only a single ''little girl'' was standing in front of them.

''Let's just kill her and move on!'' Another said earning a resounding approval from the others.

Rory could not help but smile at the demon before her. ''Well then shall we?'' Rory as she charged at the army.

They stood still trying to think if she was serious about engaging them in a fight. She was just one little girl for Devil's sake

Rory did not care for what they were thinking. She simply charged at the army of hell. She jumped up and fell inside the sea of demons. It did not take a second long for one to charge at her with a sword raised. Rory ducked under the swipe and kicked the demon at his chest.

Faster than any could see she sped through a set of hand gestures to cast a spell .''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style: Majestic Flame Destroyer!'' a wave of unbelievably hot flames was expelled from her mouth. The spell spread out wide. The Chaos demon who were not expecting the spell to spread out wide and to be used were unfortunate. Because Rory was standing in the middle of them, they could not use their own spell's to attack.

The majestic flames burned more than 5000 demons alive that where close to Rory when she expelled the spell. Some were fortunate enough not to get caught in the spell. Rory had used the spell simply to create a space between her and the army. It would give her more breathing space to do what she wanted.

Rory charged at the disorientated demon. A demon was caught within her range by a kick to the temple that sent her flying towards the others. Rory began to deliver hits from demon to demon. No one was able to land a hit of her as she made her charge. she was only engaging them in martial arts battle as she wanted to see how her Mystic Eye of Premonition and martial arts faired against an overwhelming number of demons.

When she was satisfied with the results, she jumped away from demon's army. Four Doppelgängers appeared beside her. The Doppelgängers had their own assignment to do. Therefore, they disappeared from view off to begin their assignments.

Rory went through hand gestures to cast another spell before slamming her hands on the ground. ''Holy Enhancement Wareharun Release: Piercing Spikes!''

A large number of spikes shot out from the ground and flew towards the enemy. The wooden spikes were sharp and a single hit could pierce though flesh and leave a nasty wound. The spikes could also kill should they hit a vital point of the body. The spikes fell like rain at demon's army. Rory smiled slightly as she watched them dance around to the song his spikes were singing. The attack and her previous had managed to scatter the demon army, forcing them in groups creating distances around them.

A few where pierced by the spikes, some killed as the spikes hit vital points on the body, some were left bleeding heavily. Others were able to use earth spell 's as protective shields.

''Chaos Release: Water Dragon!'' A demon lord yelled expelling a large water dragon towards Rory looking to catch her off guard. Rory knew that water dragons could be controlled remotely. Therefore, trying to avoid it would be pointless.

She went through her own hand gestures to cast a counter spell. ''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style: Fire Dragon!'' she yelled as she released a fire dragon equally to the water dragon. The spell's met in between and tried to push each other for dominance. A smoke of steam was conceived because of the two elements pushing each other for dominance. In the end, there was no winner.

''Chaos Release : Water Bullet!'' a water bullet sped towards Rory in great speed. Rory was on alert she leaped into the air. Gravity did its duty in pulling her down.

As she landed down a large explosion occurred in the air. She looked up and saw a cloud of flames spreading across the battlefield covering a distance of around 300m. Rory smiled, her Doppelgängers had completed their jobs. Each Doppelgänger had disguised itself, and all four surrounded the army before firing the Holy Enhancement Majestic Fire Destruction, each into the air. After that, they would have to stand still in concentration to contain the flames together. The spell's colliding had caused the explosion.

Demon's army stood still with wide eyes as they stared at the cloud of flames. There was no mistake it was flames they could feel the intense heat of the flames. If the flames were to just drop on them, they would be killed. Many of the demons begun to run around trying to get away from the range of the flames.

''What the hell is that?'' a man from Itami's army yelled staring at the large cloud of flames hovering in the air. They were all shocked; they had never seen anything like it before.

''She is preparing for a massive combine spell,'' Lelei deduced staring at the flames. One thing was certain it had to take a lot of mana to make put those flames in the air. It also had to take almost perfect mana control to keep those flames in the air, as expected from the Demi-Goddess of War. Lelei was impressed.

''Whatever it is, it is not something I would like to go against. Imagine if those flames just dropped. How do you defend yourself against something like that falling off the sky?'' Major General Eun-Sung Lee stated repressing a shudder as he thought what would happen if the flames were to drop on top of them.

Itami simply stared wondering what Rory wanted to do. He could as well say that she was also not kidding when she said she wanted to test a few things. He was also glad that she was doing well. Regardless, it was just a matter of time before the army overwhelmed her. When that does happen, I will be ready to rescue you, be safe Rory. Itami thought to himself.

Rory quickly went through 35 hand gestures to cast a new spell as she took control of the flames. ''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style: Crying Heavens,'' she muttered.

A scene that many would never forget occurred. It began to rain. Raindrops fell from the sky as the flame cloud wept. The rain was not a normal rain instead of water it was raining blue fire. It started slowly before all hell broke loose as the flames began to rain heavily on the Demon's army. The flame drops heat was intense, pain and death awaited for those unlucky to be caught in the rain.

Those who knew earth spell's did them to hide under. The earth would protect them from the rain if it did not melt from the intense heat of the flames. Because the flames were raining heavily some who had buried themselves underground remained there. A few tried using water spell's shooting them to the sky. That only served as temporary protection because as soon as their spell 's died down, the rain fell on them. Others who were overwhelmed with fear just danced around as the flames fell on them. Others did the smart thing and ran away from the rain as it was not raining across the entire battlefield.

It rained for ten minutes without stopping.

When it finally stopped raining, demon's were scattered around the battlefield. Some lying down on the ground burned, dead. Some had their bodies breathing out steam as their bodies had suffered major burns.

A large number of Demon's army who were not within the range of the flames stood at the scene before them with wide eyes. This was not something that one expected to see. If they had been told that they were signing up for this, they probably would have never signed up for the invasion.

The horrors where not over yet as a thick fire cloud loomed over the sky above them. Many began to take a few steps back in fear of the rain falling again.

XXXXXXX

''Even though they are demons, I cannot wish for anyone to die like that.'' A young woman stated looking at the battlefield. Her words earned silent nods from her comrades.

''I'm just happy that she is not our enemy,'' another stated earning nods from his comrades.

Yao just watched with shock written all over her face. She had never thought that Rory would be able to cause so much death, a sense of dread within her enemies.

Itami just stared at Rory. His eyes were not focused on a Demon's army, no he had his eyes at Rory Mercury, the horny loli demi-goddess of destruction. He could now see why she did not even bother to summon the Enryū. Demon's army was now well below 50,000 and Rory had been doing all the destruction by herself.

XXXXXX

Rory smiled seeing the success of her spell. The spell was performed perfectly and the damage it caused was perfect. The training had been worth it.

''Now for some fireworks,'' Rory said to herself as she clasped her hands together.

She moved the flame cloud above a large group of demons. Upon realization of what was above them, they began to scream running around in an attempt to escape the shadow of the flames. Rory wasted no time, flame cloud began to descend down on the enemy.

The four Doppelgänger s jumped into midair and surrounded the flames. They all stretched out their hands, upon doing that, the cloud began to take a shape of a round swirling ball of flames. One of the Doppelgängers began to cast a spell.

The swirling ball of flames was now going to hit the ground in the battleground. The Doppelgänger which had been making a hand sign, fired a torrent of extremely powerful lighting towards the ball of flames. The ball became unstable with the two elements as they were not balanced to remain intact with each other. The Doppelgängers puffed away from existence when the unstable ball was just touching distance away from the ground.

''Holy Lightning Flame Explosion,'' Rory muttered as the flames sparkling with electricity hit the ground and exploded.

Boom!

The explosion was big it shook the entire battlefield. The explosion lifted large amounts of rocks and dust. It also created a large shockwave that rocked the entire battlefield. The shockwave was so powerful that if blew away every demon that was within the range of 3 km. The enemies that were caught in explosion screamed as lightning and fire tore through their bodies.

As soon as the debris cleared, all eyes widened. There was a large crater in the middle of the battlefield.

''It went better than I had expected since I had yet to try it out,'' Rory said to herself.

XXXXXXX

After getting over her shock, Itami looked at Lelei, ''What happened?''

''When you saw the Doppelgängers surrounding the fireball, they were not just changing its shape; they were adding more mana to it and compressing it.'' Lelei said emotionlessly.

''It was just a compressed ball of energy, and when it hit the ground, all the compressed energy with the lightning it all went...'' The large crater explained how it all went.

''But to be able to do something like that you need to have high level mana control and a high level of concentration.'' Lelei added.

'I bet she was able to focus on her spell by the thought that no one in the battlefield would be able to touch her, Her Holiness Rory Mercury is truly incredible.' Yao thought to herself.

XXXXXXX

If some demon in the demon's army thought Rory was done, they thought wrong. Rory began to charge towards a group of demon. They took notice of her and steeled themselves to get into fighting positions.

''Chaos Release: Water Gun!'' a demon lord yelled releasing a stream of jet water that sped towards Rory.

Rory seeing the attack held a single hand sign and gathered mana within her lungs. ''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style : Great Fireball,'' she muttered as a large fireball was expelled from her mouth towards the enemy. The two spell's met in between and began to push each other for dominance.

''Chaos Release: Water Gun!'' another demon lord yelled as he added to the strength of his comrades spell. The combined water gun pushed Rory's spell back forcing her to release her spell and leap away to avoid being hit by the two spell's.

As soon as she landed a few feet away, Rory was assaulted a by fireball. It was a lot weaker and smaller than her. Rory was surprised to see Chaos demon using Fire techniques given their reliance to use water spells. She jumped away from the fireball avoiding it.

She landed a few feet away to the ground and looked around the battlefield. Now that the demons were scattered across the battlefield, they could attack her easily with their spell 's without fear of catching their own men with their own spell's. Rory had not complaints over it; it made things a bit interesting for her to say the least.

Rory began to run towards another group of demons, she sped towards them with incredible speed. Without even a warning, she appeared in front of a demon in air and descended down towards the demon. She landed a two-foot kick on the demon's chest. Rory used the demon's body as ground to jump into another demon. The demon seemed to have been waiting for her as he swung his sword towards Rory's face.

Rory grabbed another demon close to her and used it as shield to defend herself against the sword swipe. she threw the beast she had used as a shield away and lunged at the demon who almost cut her. She landed a kick on the demon's horn sending him flying.

Forty demons surrounded her, all looking to attack her. They threw their explosive javelins towards her. Rory quickly deflected them back to the enemy and jumped away from them to avoid getting caught within what was to happen.

Boom!

Those explosive javelins exploded blowing all the forty demons away. Rory landed a distance away. She looked at her right to see a wave of arrows flying towards her.

Looking at them carefully with her Mystic Eyes, she could see that they had explosive magic. she casted a spell, ''Divine Wind: Wind Palm.''

Rory's wind spell deflected all the arrows that were thrown at her sending them away from her. Rory was not given more time to think about anything else, ''Chaos Release: Earth Spikes!'' the ground underneath Rory began to shake as the earth formed sharp spikes and sprout out from the ground.

Rory disappeared from her position in a burst of speed.

The moment she landed another spell came flying towards her, ''Chaos Release: Wind Dragon!'' this time Rory could not dodge as the spell hit her dead on.

It did not do any damage to her though. All it did was send her flying to which Rory flipped several times in midair and landed on the ground in a crouched position. She got up slowly and dusted herself. Her armour had several scratches because of the sharp blades caused by the wind dragon.

''They are working together with their attacks now,'' Rory stated as she observed the now gathered demon army. They realized that with them having scattered around the battlefield, it made things easy for her to attack them. It also made it easy for them, but so far, it was working for her better than them.

Rory looked up as she saw about 1000 demons throw spears towards her. There was no dodging them. Rory unstrapped her Holy Halberd for the first time since entering the battlefield. She held it firmly with her right hand before swinging. It released gusts of winds that peeled off chunks of earth as they headed towards the projectiles thrown towards Rory. As soon as the projectiles made contact with the gusts of winds released by Rory's Divine Halberd, they were deflected away from Rory.

Rory placed her Halberd back on her back and began to cast a spell. ''Divine Wind : Wind Tornado,'' she muttered as three wind tornados began to spin around her furiously. Rory clasped her hands together and the three tornados united forming one large roaring tornado. The tornado was picking up debris as it rotated around.

Rory looked at the tornado. Her eyes morphed into Mystic Eye of Direct Death. ''Hardy Flame,'' she muttered setting the tornado ablaze with the black flames of Hardy Eternal Flame. She had set the correct ratio of both elements or else they combination would blow up. The tornado became dark as it now became a fire tornado.

Rory allowed the tornado to rush towards the enemy. The spell was a large scale of her Blazing Tornado. This was made with a large number of enemies in mind. The attack neared the enemy who kept shooting water-based spell 's to try and extinguish the flames.

Unfortunately for them, the black flames were not ordinary flames. Therefore, regardless of their attempts to stop the spell it just passed through their own without much difficulty.

The tornado consumed more than 2500 demons within it chewing them. They let loose of some pained screams as the Blazing Tornado cooked them as they rotated in fast speeds within it. The spell finally died down leaving black fire around the battlefield still alive, burning brightly and slowly on the ground.

Rory went through hand gestures to cast a spell, ''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style : Majestic Flame Destroyer!'' Rory yelled as she released as wave of flames that spread out wide rushing towards Demon's army like a sea wave.

They saw the attack coming and knew how to survive, ''Chaos Release: Water Encampment Wall!'' multiple demon yelled creating a wall of water to block Rory's spell from getting to them. The several water walls formed one large water wall that spread out wide matching Rory's spell 's. The two spell 's came head on and pushed each other. In the end, there was no winner as the contest between the fire element and water element left only a cloud of steam between Rory and the Demon army.

Rory did not wait for the steam to die down. She charged towards the army. She had one demon yell, ''She is coming!''

She figured the beast must have been a sensor type to sense her with the cloud of steam.

Rory went through hand gestures to cast a spell as she jumped in air, ''Holy Enhancement Emroy Style : Majestic Fire Destruction!'' Rory expelled a stream of flames that sped toward the targets. The targets had not expected to see another attack flying toward them. The unlucky demon were unfortunate when the flames hit them before exploding into a sea of flames, thus burning everything within them to dust.

Rory was doing well in crippling Demon's army. The Demon army was taking heavy losses because of Rory's destructive spells. Most of them were hard for them to defend, to some it just seemed impossible to defend against some of the spells.

Two demon generals screamed as they charged towards Rory with their trident's at hand. They surrounded her and lunged themselves at her. One flanked her at her front, while the other charged at her on her back. Rory brought out her halberd to parry a trident that was coming towards her face. The demon general on her back was already onto her. He tried to stab her on her back while she was still parrying the attack from his comrade. With fluid movements, Rory pushed the other demon back causing him to lose his balance.

Rory spun around quickly to block the trident that was about to stab her on the back. Without even looking back, she raised up her foot and delivered a kick to the chest to the other demon who was trying to regain his footing.

She stared the demon general at his eyes before the demon froze with wide eyes. Rory wasted no time in driving her halberd through the demon's chest. She grabbed the beast by his left hand. Rory narrowed her eyes at her right.

More than 1000 different spells of different elements were coming towards her on different directions. Rory looked at the other demon. He had already recovered from her kick and was charging towards her, ''Decoys,'' Rory muttered concluding that the two demon generals were just decoys sent to keep her busy while the others prepared the spells that were being thrown at her.

All the spells neared her before hitting her dead on along with the other demons from the demon army. A large explosion rocked the battlefield again picking up debris. The enemy was starting to celebrate as their spells got a direct hit on their cursed enemy.

She could be counted as such now that they have seen what she is capable of, after seeing the deaths she inflicted on their comrades. And also the fact that she was fighting against them.

Their celebrations were cut shot when the debris cleared around Rory and revealed her to be in perfect health. There was not a single scratch on her, she did not look like she was hit by several spells.

She stood still with her Mystic Eye of Direct Death activated.

''Attack her again!'' another demons yelled. The others tried to cast another spell. They charged several spells at Rory Mercury again.

The spells came at different directions as they sped towards Rory. The way at which the attacks where coming at her, it gave her no place to hide if she wanted to. Rory remained still with the spells speeding towards her. She had her hands folded across her chest.

''We will get her this time! There is no way she can survive an attack of this magnitude!'' Another yelled with confidence. No mortal could survive the kind of attack they fired at Rory. Unfortunate for them Her Holiness Rory Mercury was no mortal.

They hopes of killing her crumbled down within seconds as Rory appeared standing without a scratch on her, glorious as ever. It was just impossible for someone to survive an attack like the one they threw at her. More than shocking as the fact that Rory did not even have a scratch on her like their attacks did not even touch her.

Rory eyed around the battlefield. There was still many demon on their feet. The others were either were dead or just rendered immobile. She went through hand gestures to cast a spell , gathering the needed mana for her spell. ''Wareharun Bless : Deep Forest Emergence!''

The ground began to shake as large roots sprout out from the ground and charged towards her opponents. They could only stare as the spell as the spell headed towards them. One thing was certain, if it reached them, they were going to die horribly.

''We cannot allow the spell to get to us!'' One demon yelled deciding to be brave for everyone so that they could survive.

''W-what do you suggest we do then?''

''We intercept it with our own spells ,'' he replied firmly.

They nodded and released Fire, Lightning, Earth and Wind based techniques towards Rory's spell. The spell collided creating a large explosion. When the explosion died down, there was no spell still active. The spells had cancelled each other.

''Ho?'' Rory smiled. ''They stopped my spell ,'' she said to herself. ''I shall reward them.''

An explosion of lightning and light illuminated the whole battlefield.

A 120-meter tall Asura Titan with 4 hands and a pair of wings behind it back flared up to life shocking her opponents and allies alike. They stared the monstrosity colossal Titan with eyes wide opened.

''W-what the h-hell is t-that?'' the voice of the demon who asked was clearly trembling in fear. He got no response though.

Rory did several hand gestures to cast a spell. Her Asura Titan did the same hand gestures as she did. She was preparing for her next spell that could only be performed by her Titan.

''W-what the hell do you think she is going to do now, General?'' asked Duy.

''I don't know. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about this.'' Itami answered.

Rory's Titan opened its mouth and began to charge mana. The mana became the shape of an orange ball. The orange ball came out of its mouth floated in the air. The Titan's eyes flashed red for a moment before the mana ball sped towards the enemy. It suddenly stopped in the middle of them, and they stared at it while taking a few steps away from it.

''Explode,'' Rory muttered.

Boom!

The orange mana ball exploded, the space itself became silenced, the intense light ignited all materials a microsecond before the shockwave came. The explosion created an enormous shockwave that threatened even the Earth's army who were watching not too far away from the battlefield. The explosion itself peeled off large chunks of earth like a small atomic bomb had been dropped on the battlefield. Large mushroom cloud with debris was formed where the explosion had been set off. Rory had her Asura Titan to protect herself from the explosion.

After a few minutes, the debris died down revealing a large crater in the battlefield. The crater was bigger than the one created by the Holy Lightning Flame Explosion.

The technique was created by studying the Holy Dragon. It required gathering large amounts of mana and compressing it to a small ball of plasma. It required high level of concentration to compress the plasma.

Without proper control or a mistake done while compressing, the mana would become unstable and detonate. It would end up nasty for the user upon the unstable mana setting off.

Rory was now inside the crater formed by her technique. she studied his surroundings with his eyes before dispersing her Titan and deactivating her Mystic Eye of Direct Death.

The Demon army and the Earth's army only ask themselves one single question, ''What is she?''

The latest attack had left less than 7000 demon standing and more than 4500 immobile. Those standing did not seem like they wanted to continue fighting. Rory walked over to one demon who was close to her. The beast seeing Rory began to take a few steps away from her. He was trembling with fear. His body was screaming for him to run away.

''S-stay b-back!'' The beast yelled out looking at Rory with an unfocussed vision.

Rory finally got close to the demon and gripped him by his neck before lifting him up into the air, ''You no longer wish to dance with me?'' Rory asked tightening her grip on the demon's neck.

"I can almost feel sorry those chaos demons." Itami said from a safe distance far away. He thought that he should do something but then realized that the best course of action was just lets Rory has her fun. He should buy her some beer after this though.

---

Martial Field of Dysprosium, Eye of Terror.

His troops were formed up on the field, awaiting his inspection. 60,000 legions, each with 9,999 demons, a total force of over 600,000,000 demons if Abigor's own command staff were included. By far the largest force that his master Abbadon had ever sent to another world yet it was only a small fraction of the army that Abbadon could deploy if he wished. There were 999,000 legions in Abbadon's army, a total of nearly 10 billion demons under arms, a mighty host that had never in its history been deployed against a single foe, and even that mighty army was just a tiny fraction of the Grand Army of the Chaos Gods, as Abbadon was just one of the 66,000 Champions of Chaos.

There had never been a single foe whose ability had demanded that level of force. Always, those lower down the scale of existence had cowered in fear when the demons had arrived, genuflecting at the appearance of the creatures from a greater dimension. Mostly, the Grand Army of the Chaos Gods had never been needed, the Heralds had been terrifying enough to put their victims into a state of catatonic terror.

Only, not this time. This time the creatures from the lower dimensions had the temerity to fight back, even more than that, they had exorcized the Heralds. That had disturbed Abigor more than he let on. If the Heralds could be exorcized, what did that mean for the demons in his ranks? The Heralds were deliberately created to be awe-inspiring, terrifying by virtue of their size and apparent invulnerability, yet the humans from Earh had fought back and exorcized them. Individually, the demons in the ranks of his legions were much less formidable than the great Heralds. They were formidable enough, that was true, their tough hides were impervious to arrows and the blows of swords yet would that be enough? What did the Terrans have that could kill so effectively?

The infantry in his legions were crashing the butts of their tridents against the ground as Abigor rode past on his beast. 56,000 of his 60,000 legions were his infantry, Abigor's host was one of the less mobile of its kind, he had only 3,000 mounted legions and 1,000 flying legion. The information he had was that the humans lived mostly in cities, that meant the war would be one of sieges, the cities fighting from behind their defensive walls in a series of last stands. That would put a premium on his infantry, his mounted and flying legions would only be of use in isolating each city before the infantry besieged and destroyed it. It had been done before, Abigor knew that mortal myths were full of stories of cities that had been besieged by hordes of monstrous, inhuman foes. Now they would find out where those myths had come from.

The horns sounded, their wailing drowning out the crashing cadence of the trident staffs. The legions did a right-face, towards a black dot that had suddenly appeared against the roiling red smoke of the sky. The dot expanded, opening a gate into the lower dimension that had dared to defy the will of higher beings. This was the critical stage, the energy gradient ran steeply from the lower dimensions to the higher, it was relatively easy for the higher dimension beings to gain access to the lower, much harder for the lower dimensions to ascend. Only opening a portal could ensure easy access between the dimensions. Yet that same energy gradient meant that once a portal between the levels was opened, it would be very hard to close. Size also was a factor and this was the largest portal that had ever been created. Just how hard would it be to close again? Abigor had an uneasy feeling that nobody had thought to ask that question.

The portal reached its full extent and the horns wailed again. Abigor lead his host forward, into the black circle of the portal and from it into the brilliant yellow light and the clear blue skies of Falmart.

---

Headquarters, 1st Armored Joint Task Force

"Have we got the MQ-90 Quox Feed set up?" General Wilkens snapped the order out. The situation was breaking loose at last and he didn't want to fall behind the loop.

"Sir, yes Sir. Direct feed to us, to Alnus Base and to the Eternal City ." The latter part was new, one of the hurried preparations that had been made over the last two weeks. There had been a frantic effort to link up this world's military headquarters so that the fight, if it started, when it started, would be properly coordinated.

1st Armored Joint Task Force also had a direct download from the Holy Order's Heaven Eyes System and other recon capabilities but it was the MQ-90 Quox that were the key asset. Nobody knew where the attack would come, on paper it could be anywhere but Acirfa Kingdom in the southernmost of Lemuria had been a leading bet. The association of old Falmart legends and the fertile triangle of the Odiha-Salta was too powerful to ignore.

High above the plain, the MQ-90 Quox turned lazily, its long wings biting at the thin air. Its stabilized cameras focused on a strange sight in the plain of Western Acirfa , a black oval that had suddenly appeared in the stony wastes, one that spread even though it had no apparent substance. It wasn't even a shadow, it was more of an absence of anything. The cameras zoomed in on the strange spreading stain that still grew beneath it.

"Well, that looks like it." US General Boothe looked at the image with horrified fascination. If the guesses were right he was looking at something humanity had discussed, described and occasionally cursed but never actually seen, the mouth of Hell itself. The black shadow had stopped spreading and seemed to be holding its breath. "Is that thing flat on the ground or perpendicular to it?"

"Can't tell." Wilkens spoke quietly, the tension in the room seeming to dull voices. "I think it's a different dimension entirely, we're not seeing it, we're seeing its shadow. I don't think it has dimensions or proportions as we understand them."

Something stirred in the shadow and a line of figures started to appear. "Zoom in on that." The order came from the commander of the UAV detachment that was operating the MQ-90 Quox. The image enlarged in a series of jerks as the operator clicked up through the zoom scales. The group of figures resolved, one huge figure surrounded by a group of others. Then, another smaller group appeared out of the shadow, followed by lines of others.

"What do you make of that?" Wilkens wanted other opinions, other eyes looking at this.

"First group, the command group. Now. We've got combat troops appearing." The analyst looked quickly at the emerging lines. "They're coming out in a parade formation. If we only had the assets within range."

"The alerts gone off to the fly-boys and the squids. We'll have jets here soon enough. And we've got the friends with their toy on scene."

On the screen the figures had continued to pour out of the portal, forming up into a huge square on the plain. The UAV operator dialed his cameras in again.

"OK, that formation seems to be complete. I make it 99 ranks, each of 99 demons. They're subdivided into 9 groups of 11 ranks with a command section between each. I guess that gives us 9,999 down there."

"Appropriate number. About a division-sized formation then? And that would make the smaller sub-divisions battalions." There were nods around the room, it seemed fair enough, 11 ranks of 99 meant 1089 demons in a battalion. This was translating raw numbers into a structure that could easily be understood – and to the people in this room, what could be understood could be destroyed. Once structure, form and numbers were evaluated and put into context, destruction was a matter of planning. "Each line is a company with 9 eleven-demon platoons?" More nods of agreement.

"If that's it, this is something we can cope with." Boothe spoke as if he was trying to convince himself. He needn't have bothered, the situation was changing even while he spoke.

"More coming out Sirs." On the television screen, a second square was forming beside the first, the stream of black figures emerging from the Hellgate coalescing into a second square to the right of the first. Even as it was completed, a third square started forming to the left of the first. Still the figures poured out, new squares forming until the line had 70 in all.

"Assuming the squares are all identical, there's almost 700,000 of them down there. The demons aren't playing games are they?"

Wilkens shook his head. Even as he did so, the line of seven squares started to move forward and another wave of black figures poured out, forming into squares exactly as their predecessors had done.

The command center was utterly silent as the imagery poured in from the cameras on the MQ-90 Quox. The second line of squares was finished, moved forward and a third row started, then a fourth. By the time the figures ceased to pour out, there were 800 rows in all, 56,000 of the black squares spread out on the Acrifa grassland.

"One row is an Army Group , the whole thing are about 100 Army Fronts." More nods of agreement, faced with the huge numbers assembling on the screens in front of them, naming units seemed trivial yet it was utterly important if the enemy was to be understood. "Span of command is very large. Seems to run in nines."

"Probably personal command, we're going to be looking at a slowly-reacting army here. It's very low-geared. Big but ponderous. Suits us just fine." More nods around the room. The United States Army was built to fight large, ponderous opponents. It was beginning to look like it had finally found one.

"What are those?" More figures were pouring out, larger ones. The UAV operator played with his camera controls, zooming in on the new arrivals. They were demons still but sitting on a beast, one that looked vaguely like a rhinoceros with a great horn on its nose, but with a scorpion's tail arched high over its back and claws like a lobster.

"I'd guess those are the cavalry. We don't know how fast those things can move, mark them down as priority targets."

"More coming." The figures pouring out of the Hellgate were flying, winged creatures, like the harpies show down by the squids a couple of weeks earlier but smaller. They landed and formed the last 1000 square. Seconds then minutes crept by but no more demons joined the awesome parade in front of the Hellgate. The MQ-90 Quox wasn't equipped to pick up sound but nobody watching was in any doubt that the grass plain was alive with the sounds of drumming and the hammering of feet.

---

Hellgate, East of Slava , Acrifa Plain

Unnoticed in the noise and confusion, a big insect-like structure danced in the dust and glare. It was an odd little thing by anybody's standards. Its name was T400 HK, also known as a Model A4 Predator.

The highly successful T400 HK was Ultron's version of a fully automated aerial close support and area suppression gunship. The A4 model provides Ultron with air superiority, close air support / escort of ground forces and installation defense capabilities.

Some UEADF units even referred to the A4 as a "fighter," though it was not a fighter in the Pre-Awareness definition of that term. The A4 was a semi-autonomous combat unit, self controlled by a battery of four redundant tactical microprocessors which share the load independently as well as collaterally.

A high capacity fiber optic relay network that rivals the human nervous system. it has no 'pilot' onboard, the Aerial being the ultimate advancement of a dedicated close air superiority and ground support UPV (Un-Piloted Vehicle).

The A4 is powered by a high capacity, high efficiency compact nuclear reactor and maneuvers on vectored thrust provided by two large variable output, high pressure turbofans as well as several body mounted swivel thrust dispersal nozzle ports. This setup allows the A4 to function as a full VTOL unit, switching from hover or VTOL mode into full flight at speeds.

Main directional thrust and sustained hovering capacity is provided by two huge reactor driven electric turbofans mounted in wing tip armored cowlings. The body of the A4 was streamlined to the point of being insect-like, gaining a psychological advantage against the Imperial units and generating such descriptive names as "Dragon-Fly", "Wasp", and "Mosquito" but Ultron never referred to the unit by any of these names or designations.

Such romantic nicknames for any of Ultron's units were strictly the realm of its human master and foes. Ultron had no need to name its units nor was it prone to doing so, they were simply weapons and referred to by a complicated system of data including type, model number, series, production run, allocation, serial number, and status.

A hyper-alloy airframe was constructed with honeycombed / blown enduralloy, similar in design to the skeleton of a bird. The airframe was connected to three separate engines. The first engine was an advanced design and provided primary VTOL and stationary/hover maneuvering using a series of twelve vectored, rotating nozzles mounted along the fuselage. The new engine, designated NED-VPR25A , was slimmer, lighter, and easily fit in an airframe that didn't have to worry about the G-force limits of a weak human being.

Electronics could be hardened against acceleration forces that would normally kill a human pilot and the A4 could maneuver with inhuman precision which resulted in such superior performance being recorded for this unit throughout the span of operation and production.

The two main engines are housed on servo powered body stub mounts. These servo mounts can rotate the engines through a full 90 degree forward or aft rotation, allowing superior maneuvering and massive acceleration or deceleration. The engines are protected by a armored cowling with not only keeps debris from entering the compressor assembly, but also protects from small arms fire up to 25mm HE, HEAP, KE and KEAP.

The whole air frame of the A4 is armored in a light layer of hyperalloy, able to withstand small arms fire and to survive large caliber hits up to 40mm including HEAP rounds. A retractable tripod configured claw landing gear assembly is installed as well as a upper docking clamp for gantry docking at advanced bases.

The A4 possesses a sophisticated navigation system, using TERCOM along with satellite GPS and a host of radar, ladar and NOE navionics. Target acquisition relies on visual target identification, and includes a larger, though not more powerful version of the same sensor and communication suite found in the 1200 Series Scout. Advanced optics and range systems allowed the A4s to isolate individual Imperium units on the ground and engage them with surgical precision. Advanced motion video was capable of picking out movement among the ruins and the liquid optics could identify anything that the motion sensors could track.

The main armament of the A4 series aerodyne consisted of a reactor fed, very rapid fire General Dynamics Model 25D3 phased plasma cannon mounted in a remote electric drive ventral mount turret. The M25D3 had a throughput range of 250 kilowatts with a practical rate of fire of 2000 pulses per minute.

Payload, feeding from the reactor waste, was for all tactical purposes, infinite, but required periodic refueling of its magazine cell, limiting the operating time of the unit. The remote electric drive mount rotated on frictionless bearings and was universal, allowing the A4 to engage targets not only to the front, sides, and rear, but also targets almost directly below the unit. Slew rate for the RED-T mount was +/- 180 degrees a second.

Secondary armament was in the form of a configurable, modular internal bay which could hold up to 1 metric ton of equipment, electronics, additional self contained plasma gun pods, or free fall ordinance in the form of chemical, biological, explosive, or even tactical thermonuclear devices on rotary launchers.

Some early production models of the A4 were equipped with modular sling rails on the underside for the addition of scatter pack rocket pods, smart bombs, NBC ordinance, and Air to Air (AAM) or Air to Ground (AGM) advanced precision guided missiles.

The performance of the A4 Aerial was exceptional; with a combined thrust output of 35,000 kilograms and an airframe weight of just 5000 kilograms (unloaded internal bay), the A4 could pull up to 20 Gs of sustained thrust with a top speed in excess of Mach 1.4 in level high altitude flight and a high subsonic NOE speed. Due to its advanced power plant and electric ducted fans, the A4 could also maintain indefinite VTOL and hover / loiter conditions.

The A4 could reach a service ceiling of 54 kilometers in Falmart and had a operational life of 3 months of constant operation, more with routine power conserving protocols enacted, before the mini-reactor required scheduled maintenance and periodic refueling.

The A4 Predator didn't have markings which was hardly surprising, it's operators, far back at 1st Armored Joint Task Force's command center weren't from the U.S. armed forces, they were Central Intelligence Agency. For almost five months , the CIA had been operating a large force of A4 Predators, using them for assassinations of Imperial military leaders and others considered undesirable.

That role had abruptly ended with The Truce. Now, the U.S. Army and CIA had the strange but not unfamiliar experience of working with people who only a few days before had been their blood-enemies.

The change had meant the A4 Predators had a new job, one which was of absolutely vital importance. It was essential to find out if human weapons, human technology could be sent into Eye of Terror and return.

More importantly, were those weapons could effect the demon. If the answer was yes, then humanity had a means of striking back at its potential foe, if not, then they would forever be depended on the Holy Order for magic weapons.

The Predators were the vanguard of this exploration, the information they gained within the next few minutes would mark the start of the investigation. It was, quite literally, reconnaissance by fire. It's orders received, the A4 obediently turned around and headed for the shadowy ellipse that marked the Hellgate.

---

Headquarters, 1st Armored Joint Task Force

Back in the command center, the CIA operative held his breath as the little drone approached the disk and became swallowed in it. Then, the whole section erupted into wild cheers for on the monitor screen, images had emerged. Pictures of a vast plain, bare rock under a swirling red-orange sky, dust clouds sweeping backwards and forwards over the desolate scene. The image brightened and sharpened as the computer-controlled adaptive optics compensated for the wildly unfamiliar light levels and spectra but the images were there.

The operator manipulated his controls, getting the vision head on the electro-optical pod to pivot around. The pictures swirled, grotesque and unfamiliar but still vaguely recognizable. The imagery was coming back, that had enormous consequences.

"Tell Alnus, and everybody else, Phase One is complete. We got the bird in and we're getting data out. There is something the other side of that gate and we can get at it." The agent's voice broke into a chuckle. "No huge letters of fire yet, now we'll try and change all that."

He played with the optical head again, looking for something important. He found it, at least it seemed important. Some sort of review stand at a far part of the field. The Predator was closing in on it, the trouble seemed to be that it was hard to judge ranges in the red-clouded murk. A quick flash with the laser rangefinder built into the Predator told him what he needed to know. The target was fourteen thousand yards away, easily within range of the two, 3 billion USD, Air to Ground (AGM) advanced precision guided missiles, equipped with advanced tachyon field generator, hanging under the Predator's wings. They were some of the most advanced and complex weapons in history, first of their kind and unfortunately impossible to mass produce, at least in the short term. He locked their homing heads onto the stand and fired them both.

Martial Field of Dysprosium, Eye of Terror.

The parade was over, the Army of Abigor had departed into the lower dimension, and the guests who had watched it leave were making their way off the stand. It had been quite an unusual sight, never before had such a force been sent to a lower dimension to enforce the will of those above it. Defiance was unprecedented, such a display had never been required. Now, with the mighty force appearing before them, they would be regretting their failure to submit. The demons who had watched the army leave never saw the two missiles streaking through the red murk towards them, or, if they did, they never realized the significance of what they were seeing.

The blue energy explosions destroyed the stand totally, sending fragments of wood and stone flying through the air, ripping into the hides of all around them. Tachyon blast seared their skin, flaying flesh from bones, shattering limbs, tearing at bodies. What had just a demonic second before been a decorated review stand was now a pile of shattered wreckage, splattered with the green, yellow, black, red and white body fluids of those who had been standing on it. Those outside the blast area looked on appalled at the catastrophe that had suddenly enveloped the senior guests. The more astute of them started running towards the disaster, hoping to gain status and rewards by being the first to aid the stricken. Above the chaos, still unnoticed by those below, the Predator turned around and flew back towards the Hellgate.

Headquarters, 1st Armored Joint Task Force

"Phase Two complete! Two solid hits, no sign of demon rematerialization. Our tachyonic weapons work." The tachyonic field prevente the demons materialization by blocking the pass between the Imaterium and realspace. "Look at that people, boy have we just kicked an anthill over."

The CIA Agent's voice was triumphant, the camera on the A4 Predator was showing a boiling mass of confusion where the target had been. He had no idea of who or what he had just killed, if indeed he had killed them, but there was no doubt of the destruction. The reviewing stand had gone, its position marked by a pyre of smoke and flame. There was just one thing to check and that was coming up soon. The A4 Predator approached the Hellgate and flew through it. It took a second for the optics to readjust but when they did they showed the blue sky and green grass of the Acrifa Plain.

"Phase Three complete. UAV recovered."

"Confirmed, we have a radar paint." The transponder in the A4 Predator marked the position of the drone as it set off on its long flight back to base. It had done its job better that anybody could have hoped and certainly far better than Ultron could have ever contemplated.

Oval Office, Rebuilt White House, Washington DC, 2019

"My fellow humans." President Trump looked into the camera and gave a careful, friendly smile. The truth was that he was actually feeling reasonably happy at this point, his approval rating had gone over 50 percent for the first time in his presidency.

"You have all been following the events in Japan where a portal to another world suddenly appeared and the great Tragedy followed it. Much of the information has been obscure due to the chaos of the Rumbling but now, I am able to give you some accurate information on what has taken place.

"January 1st, 2019 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America and the rest of the world were suddenly and deliberately attacked by the alien empire knew as the Holy Darwinian Empire...

***45 minutes later ***

"Now, however, we must look to the future. We have learned that the force that sent to Earth represents only a small portion of the forces that the enemy has available to him. Beyond that, we know that magic exist in their world and its full potential is unknown. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

"We must mobilize for war. Our armed forces depend on armored vehicles for their mobility and for defense against alien attacks. Those armored vehicles need fuel, a lot of them. We must give them priority for supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel.

"Accordingly, I have given orders for fuel rationing to be instituted here in the United States. Each licensed driver in a family will be allowed to buy no more that twenty gallons of automobile fuel per month.

"Government help will be provided for car pooling and other requirements. There is a crying need for more vehicles to carry the supplies needed to our troops.

"Therefore, most private automobile production in this country is to be converted to military use. Heavy truck plants will, of course, be converted to produce military trucks. Car and SUV facilities will be converted to produce light armored cars or aircraft depending on their level of technology.

"The only exception to this will be factories producing electric cars or small commercial vehicles. We have talked much about replacing gasoline-powered automobiles in our society. Now, our hand has been forced.

"In the last six months, 5 millions of our people and over 150 million people around the world have died. They died because the deliberate attack by the Empire. Now, we must revenge their death and bend every will, every nerve, every muscle in a great national crusade that will see our enemies driven into the dust and humbled. Thank you all, and good night."

President Trump turned off the microphones and stared at the office wall. He'd just told the American people that they couldn't drive around any more they way they used to. Ah well, it had been nice being popular again for a while.

---

Oval Office, Rebuilt White House, 21st, December, 2019

"Did it pass Mike?"

"It did indeed. 99 in favor, one against, you can guess who that was. Effective as of 1800 Washington Time, the United States of America has formally declared war on Holy Darwinian Empire and all its allies. Unconditional declaration, first time we've had one of those for decades. We've issued a conditional ultimatum to them as well. Unless they open the GATE and surrender who caused this disaster for trial within 72 hours, there will be no mercy. Civilian mobilization bill is through, reserves mobilization bill is through, first issue of war bonds will be released tomorrow.

"Next stage is to mobilize industry, we're making plans for that now. We've got the leaders of our major defense contractors up all night, working out what they need and how we can ramp up production. At the moment we're concentrating on getting ammunition supplies increased, we're expecting to use up our stocks of Hellfire and AMRAAM missiles pretty fast , as for aircraft we're hoping Davis-Monthan will bridge the gap until upped production rates start to fill the gap. Ships can wait for the time being, tanks and armored vehicles will be more important, at least in the short term.

"Mister President?" Stephanie Grisham was punctilious about using the President's formal title when other people were around.

"Stephanie ." President Trump turned around, taking quick note of the Press Secretary Grisham's headgear. "Nice hat."

---

Unknow location , USA, 2019

"Time is 1PM, April 25th, 2019," Dr. Surlethe said into the digital recorder. "We are performing an autopsy of a male Demi-human, aged 305. I, Dr. James Surlethe , am being assisted by Professor Urushibata of Kyushu University."

"His corpse smell dreadful. Couldn't we have chilled him ?" asked Urushibata

"We did Professor . Unfortunately dead Demi-human appear to rot very fast indeed. As far as we can tell, its daylight that causes them to decay, not temperature."

"Ultraviolet sensitive then? Would that tie in with reports of their sensitivity to lasers?" A doctor in the observation gallery sounded very thoughtful.

Doctor Surlethe nodded and looked at the Demi-human corpse stretched out on the dissection table in front of him. "This is a big one even by Falmart standards, nearly 3 meters tall, weight 200 kilograms?"

"Before your army shot large pieces off him, yes." Another ripple of laughter ran around the operating theater.

"Let's have a look at the X-rays." Surlethe had them set up on the overhead displays. "Is everybody seeing what I'm seeing?"

"He's very human." One of the watching doctors spoke hesitantly. "Human but not human, as if it was a human body seen through a nightmare."

"Exactly, the body is laid out almost identically to ours. The single upper arm and upper leg bones, the two bones in the lower arms and legs. The same number of ribs, of vertebrae. If we go by bone count and position, this being is human. But, of course, we know he isn't. The bones themselves are twisted and distorted, and there are things here that have no equivalent in our anatomy. Not just superficial things either, like the horns and tail. There's these things as well." Surlethe tapped the body where what appeared to be huge muscles ran down its back. They were so large they made the Demi-human's spine look as if it was in the middle of its body rather than its back. The Demi-humans stunted wings stuck out of them reminiscent of broken branches from a snow bank. "50 percent of his body mass would you say?"

There was a ripple of agreement. "I thought they were muscles that allowed him to fly but they're not. This being can't fly. Did histology come up with anything?"

"Doctor Surlethe, we find this hard to believe but we think they are electrocytes. The samples we took show them to be very similar to those in the electric eel but they are much larger and many times more numerous. The electric eel generates 500 volts at 1 amp, if these cells work the same way, the Demi-human should be able to generate 50,000 volts at 100 amps. Almost 10,000 times more power."

"That would explain much, especially their ability to fire bolts of lightning. Let's have a look inside shall we?"

Surlethe took an electric carving knife, he'd already found from bitter experience that surgical scalpels had a very short life when faced with Demi-human skin, and sliced into the dead Demi-human. The smell was far worse once the skin was opened up and inside, the internal organs were already decomposing into slush.

"From what we can see here, it's the same as with the bone structure. The internal organs are human in placement but wildly different from us in shape and appearance. We have no real idea of the fine detail of function of course. For example, this looks like a liver but is it? What else does it do? Thoughts people?"

"It is as if it was human but became corrupted." The nurse was speaking slowly. "Almost as if this was once human but some being got at it, corrupted its DNA."

"It's worth noting that the other bodies are very similar to this. If this is the result of DNA being corrupted, then the corruption was done systematically. The process has created a new species."

"Did this evolve from us? Or is it parallel evolution?" Another doctor watching the dissection spoke.

Surlethe thought carefully ."I'd say its parallel evolution, they started out as the next-level-up version of us and some being happened to them. Either they've been infected with some being that messed up their DNA or they've been engineered to look like this."

"Genetic engineering needs technology." Yet another doctor. "And we know they don't have it."

"We think they don't Doctor. Its very probable they don't and we certainly haven't seen it yet. But we can't rule out the possibility that there's pockets of technology somewhere. However, genetic engineering doesn't need that high technology, just patience and breeding experiments. Look at dogs, a Rottweiler and a Chihuahua were engineered from the same ancestor. These could be the same." I wish they'd let me dissect that succubus Surlethe thought. Then we'd have some being to compare this with. "Right, well, lets look a bit more before this one decays to nothingness."

---

Camp David Naval Support Facility Thurmont, USA,2019

The War of Justice was a truly multi-national enterprise. That was why sub-munitions made in South Africa were delivered to China for installation in 227mm rockets that were shipped in Greek freighters to Japan where they were issued to American MLRS batteries that gained their mobility from oil that had been drilled in Saudi Arabia and refined in Singapore before being carried by Norwegian tankers to Dutch-built storage facilities on the shores of Japan. Early in the war, at least three economists were reputed to have committed suicide after trying to work out how to pay for everything.

What had made the system possible was the revival of an old system called Lend-Lease. In effect, every nation in the Grand Coalition was supplying whatever it could and it had been agreed that the nations would settle up after the war was over. This was where the Principality of Monaco played its vital part in the war effort. Monaco didn't have tanks or jet fighters although it did have a well-armed and remarkably courteous police force. What it did have were armies of accountants who were furiously engaged in tracking who was building what and who was supplying which arms to which country. They knew what the balances were and who would owe what to whom. They also acted as a clearing house who matched operational requirements to suppliers.

And that was how a Russian-built MZKT-79221 truck painted U.S.A.F. blue was making its way up to Camp David.

XXXXXXXX

"Well, they're all human."

"You have got to be kidding us. There's no way all of them are human."

Dr Surlethe settled back in the conference room chair with every sign of comfort. That was one being the higher ranks of the Army had down to a fine art, their conference rooms were well-furnished, air conditioned and had all the luxuries one might wish combined with hi-tech presentation equipment. It would be years before civilian releases caught up with the Army version of Microsoft Powerpoint. The Marines, now they were different, their "conference room" was usually a tent somewhere with a bare wood trestle table and a few camp chairs. One Marine General had remarked on the Army's "excessive facility" only to be rather coldly told that 'any damned fool can be uncomfortable'.

"Nevertheless, they are human. Sort of." There was a stir of relaxation at the qualification.

"What do you mean Doctor?" General Nutall needed to know a lot about these demi-human, not least because he had almost a thousand of them in a Prisoner of War camp.

"General, we've looked at the DNA of the demi-human and its human." Surlethe thought for a second. "Look at it this way, the difference in DNA between a chimpanzee and a human is around two percent. The difference between Demi-human and human DNA is about one half of one percent. So Demi-human are much more closely related to us than we are to chimpanzees."

"They don't look it."

"No, they don't General." Again Surlethe thought for a moment. "Actually they do. If we ignore the way-out bits, the strange contortions and so on, they do look like us. We started off by thinking that they were a next-level up version of us that simply evolved differently but when the DNA comparisons came through we had to abandon that. There's no doubt about it in our minds, we and the Demi-humans had a common ancestor somewhere way back when. The really big question is did that common ancestor evolve here on earth or somewhere else?"

"I still find it hard to believe that some being that's so different from us could be related to us. DNA shifts and mutation rates can't explain that level of difference."

Protect us from intelligent, well-read generals Surlethe sighed quietly to himself, life had been much easier in the old days when Generals knew how to destroy armies and no being else. Then, they just accepted every being a scientist said. Put on a long white coat and they were as good as gold. This one had an annoying habit of arguing with scientists and, even more annoying, was very often right. He quickly realized that it was about to get worse.

"I've been reading up on the Human Genome Project. According to their findings, the useless repetitive sequences, the junk DNA make up at least 50% of the human genome. According to the people working on that program, the junk DNA doesn't have a direct function, but they reshape the genome byrearranging it, thereby creating entirely new genes or modifying and reshuffling existing genes. It also appears that some being quite drastic happened around 50 million years ago that caused all our junk DNA."

"That's correct General. Our working hypothesis is that somehow we and the Demi-human split away from each other way back then. We went our way, they went theirs. Perhaps we all came from somewhere else and the 'some being quite drastic' was that we stayed here and they went to the Falmart-place. We each used different parts of our junk DNA and activated different strings. The difference may be only one half of one percent but it's a very important one half of one percent. There's more to it than that of course; it looks to us like the Demi-human DNA itself has been corrupted, either by selective breeding, prion infection, both or some being else."

"So, how can you help me look after the prisoners we've acquired."

"Well, General, their metabolic pathways are almost identical to ours. normal foods should work on them just fine."

---

Muncie, Indiana, United States of America,2019

Muncie was a small town, typical of the American rust belt. Highly religious, conservative, with 65,000 people before the Rumbling and 60,000 after, the city had been ailing even before a tenth of the population died. The manufacturing industry had been slowly abandoning the city for decades, leaving it with rusting, overgrown factories, a 23 percent poverty rate, and a hospital and university as the largest employers. The Rumbling had hit the town relatively hard, too as it had most of the rural, conservative American Midwest, leaving the local economy in shambles and even further down the toilet.

Dan Ridenour, newly elected mayor, was sitting at his desk in the Town Hall wondering for the millionth time that day what she was going to do when the telephone rang. He picked it up. "Hello, the Mayor speaking."

"Mr. Ridenour?" The voice was male and unfamiliar.

"Yes? May I ask who this is?"

"This is Jim Schellinger, Secretary of Commerce for Indiana."

"Ah, Mr. Schellinger. How can I help you?"

"Mr. Ridenour, I was contacted not five hours ago by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. You know of United Earth Alliance ?"

"Of course."

"And of the rearmament programs ?"

"Of course. It's been all over the news." Truth was, he'd been doing little more than watch the news since The Rumbling . There had seemed so little she could do even to regain control over her small town.

"Secretary Ross has informed me that the United States is immediately shifting to a war economy. I don't know how things will work on the military side, but on the economic side, we're going to be ramping up production as fast as possible. I've already spoken with the mayors of Indianapolis, Gary-Hammond, Fort Wayne, Evansville, and Anderson. Do you have a list of production overcapacity and unused assets in Muncie?"

"Yes, we do." Unemployment was just the single most pressing problem in the city, and had been for forty years.

"We need to compare our list with yours, and then we'll send the updated version to the US Department of Commerce. They'll be asking corporations to buy them up and get working on military equipment. Given Indiana's central location, rail accessibility, and manufacturing history, we'll be up nearthe top."

Schellinger gave Ridenour the fax number for the Indiana Department of Commerce, and within twenty minutes, the substantial list of old factories, closed-up warehouses, abandoned rail yards, and defunct properties was on its way to Indianapolis. A half hour and two double-checks later, it was again winging its way through cyberspace to Washington, D.C., where an undersecretary of commerce opened it and copy-pasted its contents into a secure website, open only to the procurement officers of the vast national and international corporations which supplied the US military with its equipment.

The next day, Ridenour was in his office when the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Mayor Dan Ridenour?" Another unfamiliar voice.

"Speaking."

"This is John Walker, with Borg Warner Automotive. In light of the recent developments, we've decided not to close down the plant in Muncie. Instead, we're retooling it to provide transmissions for tanks."

"Well, that's certainly happy news. Thank you."

The man hung up, Ridenour got back to his paperwork, and within a half hour the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Mayor Dan Ridenour of Muncie?"

"Speaking."

"I'm James Torida of General Dynamics Land Systems. We have acquired an older factory in Muncie to build M1A2 parts, and we would like the cooperation of the local government in finding employees and in renovating and retooling the plant as quickly as possible."

"We'd love to help in any way we can."

They discussed the details of the deal for fifteen minutes, then hung up. Ridenour heaved a sigh– two in one day! Wow!

The phone rang again fifteen minutes later. It was General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, wanting again cooperation, tax breaks, etc., to get another old plant up and running, this time to manufacture AIM-125 missile casings. Ridenour was more than willing to cooperate.

Before business hours ended, three more corporations had called. One wanted to acquire land to build a fourth railroad track south through the city; apparently, it was working on a line south from Chicago to Cincinnati and the Ohio River to supply raw materials from the mines in Minnesota and Ontario down to barges on the Ohio. The second had bought two abandoned warehouses on the south side of Muncie and wanted to open up the old track yard to the warehouses to help supply the rejuvenated factories. The third was applying for a construction permit for the properties northwest of town that had so recently been slated for urban sprawl.

---

804 South Tillotson Ave., Muncie, Indiana, USA,2019

Jim Schenkel had been a tool machinist for forty years before being laid off from his long-time job in 2013. He'd elected to retire instead of pursuing another job, and for the past six years he'd followed the same schedule: up at six, drink his coffee, read the morning paper over toast, an egg, and a glass of orange juice, tend his gardens until lunch, eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, monitor his investments and piddle around in his workshop until dinner, eat a bowl of soup, then watch the news until 10.

It was 1:30 AM when the phone rang. Groggily, he rolled over, and picked up the receiver on the sixth ring. "Hello?"

"Jim? Jack Roberts here." Jack Roberts was his old supervisor at the ABB factory, before they'd all been fired and the place shut down.

"Jack? Why the hell are you calling me at -" he squinted at the clock

"1:30 in the morning?"

"Jim, you're re-hired. We need you in tomorrow morning at 6:30."

"What the hell's going on, Jack?"

"The factory's been started back up for the war effort. We need all the equipment repaired and retooled; the management wants the lines rolling in a week."

"… the hell? I'm retired, goddamnit."

"Like I said, we need you back. To be blunt, Jim, you don't have a choice. We'll send men out to get you if you can't make it on your own."

"I don't give -" he stared at the receiver, listening to the audible dial tone.

The next morning, at 6:30, he pulled into the parking lot of the ABB factory on the south side of town, and stared. It was packed with cars, and people were streaming toward the factory. The factory itself was brightly lit; the loading docks were packed with semis, and parts were already starting to form small piles waiting to be taken inside. He parked his car and joined the flow of humanity heading back to work.

That morning, The Star Press headlines read, "Look out, Aliens!

Here comes Muncie!" That day, the Mayor's office received eight more phone calls from corporations, and the first semis and trains started to roll into the city as construction equipment started to move away from the university – which had agreed to put its new dorm on hold for the time being to aid in the war effort – and toward the old, broken-down factories. Overnight, the city had been transformed.

And it wasn't alone. All across the eastern Midwest, the rust belt was being de-oxidized. Surveyors were entering old factories, cleaning companies entering and sweeping up dust, weeds being cleared and broken windows replaced. Lights that hadn't shone for decades were being turned on and replaced; cars were parking in lots that were more grass than gravel and hadn't been touched by tires for thirty years. More and more trains were rolling out of yards and thundering down the immense but ailing network of tracks connecting American cities to each other, and tractor-trailer semis were moving down the highways in huge fleets, carrying piping and wires and tools and other implements of the new war economy.

Local 3751, ATK Medium Caliber Systems, Mesa, Arizona, 2020

"Look, it's like this see. The plant is going to triple shift work whether we like it or not. We've talked with the bosses and this is what we've come up with. Morning shift from 6am to 2pm. Afternoon shift from 2pm until 10pm. Graveyard shift from 10pm until 6am. Graveyard pays double time. Shifts switch around monthly so everybody gets a crack at the double time."

"What about weekends?"

"Forget them. Everybody works four days on, one day off. That'll be staggered so there's a full shift working the plan all the time. 24/7."

"Four days on, one day off? That's not fair."

"Shadap Al, the boys on the front line don't get one in five off, why should we." A mutter of agreement ran around the room.

"What happens if we don't approve the deal?"

"Mexicans. Or the Army gets the sub-munitions from Israel. Or wherever. Anyway, I'll put it to the vote. All those for accepting the management offer?" Hands went up all over the room. "And against?" A scattering of hands, mostly those the organizer recognized as those who voted against everything. "It's carried. New arrangements start tomorrow. Management will tell you which shift you're starting on and your day off."

A few hundred yards away, another meeting was being held. One where the worker's spouses were being gathered. Once it would have been an all-women gathering, these days a few men were there as well.

"So that's the new arrangements. Look, the guys on the production lines are going to be working their asses off, they don't need to be worried about problems at home.

So if there is a problem, deal with it, don't go whining. If you can't deal with it, see us here at the Union. We can help. Above all that, help each other. You older women, you've been through this before. You know the problems the young mothers will face, be there for them. Even if its just baby-sitting so she can get out of the house and have some peace for an hour, do it. Watch out for the oldsters as well, nobody will be around as much as they were so we all have to look out for each other."

Across America and the world the same meetings were being held, the same messages given. Under them all was another simple, deeper message. The whole world was at

war.

---

Moscow, Greater Russia ,2020

And these changes were hardly unique to the US. In Greater Russia, Vladimir Putin had immediately accelerated the redevelopment of the military; old factories closed during the economic woes of the 1990s were being reopened, old mines and oil wells were being rechecked for viability. The storage depots and military installations were being searched for equipment, tanks, armored carriers, artillery that had been sitting in storage for a decade or more was being refurbished. New tracks were being laid, and the first of tens of thousands of new tanks were rolling off the final assembly lines even as he walked toward this meeting, flanked by security forces.

Putin entered the church, and crossed himself before the altar before he turned to the men gathered there, about ten in all: the heads of the Russian mob. He spoke first, taking charge, as always.

"Gentlemen. You are not stupid; you know why I've gathered you here today."

They all nodded with varying degrees of alacrity. Putin continued. "Now, the human species faces a threat greater than anything it has ever faced in its past. This is now our reality."

He paused to evaluate what he saw in their faces. Blank, hard, determined

They share the vision, he reminded himself, just like every live human now.

"Therefore, in return for amnesty from prosecution for any crimes which may have been committed prior to the Rumbling, I would like to request that all of you cease from any illegal activities in which you may now be engaged."

There was a small stir in the room. One, a fat man with an unlit cigar drooping from his lips, spoke. "Sir, with all due respect, why do you take us for criminals."

As he spoke, Putin fixed him with a lidless stare until the other man dropped his gaze.

"We are not stupid, you nor I. You know that I called you here today; you know that I am aware of who you all are in actuality and where you may be found. These things are not unknown to the government."

"Then why are we guaranteed amnesty?"

"Because the fabric of society must not buckle during this war. All of you are hard men; we need such men to help prepare our society for the terrors of a war on the very forces of Terror. And we will need such men to administer the territories of Falmart once it has been conquered. I am asking all of you to become respectable, but I am not asking you to lose profits."

That seemed to seal it for most of them. As he walked away, Putin allowed himself a thin smile. Russia would show the world what she was capable of, and Russia would play her part in the Great War ahead.

---

Office of the Secretary of Defense, The Pentagon, Washington DC,2020

James Mattis sighed and rubbed his eyes. The logic laid out by the charming but ice-cold Thai General was undeniable, especially with what they'd learned from that high elf General Schatten had brought into the White House. Grand wizards could teleport into any large group of people. So there had to be guards everywhere. That meant a militia, well, the Constitution provided for that, encouraged it even. And there were enough guns floating around in America to arm it. His pen sketched doodles on a pad. Of course the term militia was out, too many negative connotations these days. His eye rested on picture of the American Civil War and the letters USV. United States Volunteers. That wasn't right though, these people would be defending their homes. Local Defense Volunteers. That had a good ring to it and glossed over the fact that they were going to be drafted.

Every man and woman between the ages of 18 and 50 who wasn't already part of the armed forces, that was what the new draft would bring in. To be armed and sent as patrols to sports stadiums, schools, malls, anywhere people would be gathering. Average strength on any given day, 27 million. One more burden for a nation that was already working long hours with little rest.

Yet, the benefits were already showing, new rocket launchers, infantry fighting vehicles, heavy tanks were starting to flow from the production line. Aircraft were the problem, production would take a long time to ramp up and bring retired old aircraft back from the graveyard could only achieve so much.

His phone beeped. "Mister Secretary. A Ms O'Leary to see you. She's your eleven o'Clock."

Mattis sighed again. What did she want? "Miss O'Leary, How can I help you?"

"Secretary Mattis , I understand you'll be needing a lot of guns, needing them quickly and they have to be powerful enough to take down a Falmartian with a minimum number of shots."

"That is so." More than you can possibly realize he thought. "I own a small custom gun producing company. We make a derivative of the M1 Garand in. 458 Winchester. Our production isn't great but we can expand a bit and we know other companies that can do the same. There are quite a few others, including Springfield who make the M1A, a semi-automatic version of the M14, who can retool to make. 458 Winchester versions of that weapon. Between us we can make a lot of these rifles.

They're accurate at longer range than the. 50 M16s you're introducing and they don't use the same industry resources. We can use furniture makers for the wooden stocks etc, and the parts are milled, not stamped. There's lots of small engineering companies that are hurting right now, they aren't into the high-tech stuff our modern weaponry requires. But for something at World War Two levels, they're perfect. And they want in on the war effort."

And in on the profits Mattis thought. But she was right, and this would help arm the Local Defense Volunteers. And it did make use of small industrial capacity." An excellent idea Miss O'Leary. Let's talk money on this."

Cabinet Office, White House, Washington D.C.,2020

"We must anticipate that there might be attacks using dimensional portal. " Secretary Mattis was interrupted by a tangible shudder that ran around the room. This was something many people were worry about, a suprise attack using dimensional portal by the Empire. The existence of dimensional portal had opened up a frightening possibility of suprise attacks anywhere, nowhere was safe

"So, as a line of defense against such attacks, I propose the formation of a local defense force that will protect areas where there are largegatherings of people. Malls, sports meetings etc. The personnel will be drawn from all citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 who are not currently serving in the armed forces.

Obviously, we'll give priority to people whose industries are not needed for the war effort, they can serve one of theirwork days. We'll arm them with the new. 458 rifles we're putting into production. I propose the new force be called the Local Defense Volunteers."

"Local Defense Volunteers." Sarah Elizabeth Sanders's voice was thoughtful. "LDV. You know what they'll be called don't you? The Look, Duck and Vanish."

"Look, Duck and Vanish?" Mattis thought for a second. "I suppose so. How did you come up with that?"

"The British had a similar force back in World War Two. Originally they called it the Local Defense Volunteers but they changed it to 'Home Guard' because of the misinterpretation of the acronym."

"How did you get Local Defense Volunteers anyway Jim ?" President Trump's voice was curious.

"I was looking at a picture of the Civil War and it made me think of the U.S. Volunteers. The new group is for Local Defense so I put the two together."

"What's wrong with U.S. Volunteers?" Trump was curious. "Sounds good to me. We can revive all the names of the Civil War units for the local forces. We can even call on some of those re-enactor people to start them off. They'll have to use their own guns to start with of course."

"I'd love to see the effect of a minie ball on a Falmartian." Mike Pence's voice was droll.

"So, we'll get the bill written and pushed through. U.S. Volunteers it is. So decided?" Trump looked around. There was a unanimous nodding of heads. "So be it. Next issue?"

"Aircraft production Sir. We're getting the B-1 production line set up now. It'll be starting work in around three months time, expect to see the first aircraft off the line this time next year. It's good we kept the tooling. The first AT-45Cs are coming off the Boeing line now.

They're aminimum-change armed version of the T-45C, they'll keep the line running until the single-seat D model is ready. F-111s and B-52s are re-entering the fleet from Davis Monthan now. A lot of older aircraft as well, we've got some like the F-4 being assigned to wings, more as placeholders than anything else. The rest we're going to use for tests. To see what sort of aircraft can fly in Falmart-like conditions."

Chapter 16 : Deus Vult pt3

Current Situation In Falmart

With the return of the demon army and after many hellishly costing but markedly successful strikes by Imperial Air Command against the UEADF facilities, Sadera made a surprising offer to suspend air attacks against UEADF and to exchange prisoners to the Allies. There was no formal cease fire offered, the Allied "Unconditional Surrender" mantra was still in place and there was absolutely no sentiment in Allied capitals or in the Allied electorates for making peace with the Holy Empire, but the end of air attacks was very attractive to the Japanese, and the return of tens of thousands of Allied airmen from Imperial custody was too attractive to be ignored.

After extended negotiations brokered by the Falmartian Orthodox Church diplomats an agreement was reached that allowed any PoW who wished to remain in the country where they were being held to do so, and also provided for the release of any PoW still held in the Holy Empire custody, who wished to come to Earth to do so (with the offer to be made by Her Holiness Rory Mercury). Coupled with the release of PoWs was a one time deal that effectively paid UEA trillons of dollar to hire them to fight back the demon army, and an agreement to cease air attacks against population centers by both sides for a period of 100 earth days.

On April 12, 2030, the initial exchange of prisoners began; by the middle of April nearly 275,000 Allied prisoners and 194,000 Imperial and other Falmartian prisoners (virtually all of them airmen) had made the trip from Italica to Alnus or back. Nearly 2000 Allied prisoners, and close to 13,000 Falmartian prisoners (11,000+ of them from "National" militaries) chose to remain in the land of there former enemies.

This remarkable transfer of personnel was only possible due to the use of 2000, primarily UEAADF, V-45 Quadcopter Osprey that had been transferred from the US for the express purpose of making the exchange both possible and rapid. No one on Earth truly expected the Holy Empire to completely fulfill the agreement so speed was considered to be of the essence. Surprisingly, the de facto cease fire held, at least in the case of air operations.

In 2030, standard time, there were 3 major military forces in the planet of Falmart:

Numbers could be misleading, but in this case, provided insight into the relative strength of the belligerents in the run up to, and during the conflict.

Holy Darwinian Empire and its Suzerainty Allies

Population: 10 billion titanien and 10 billion homunculus slave labour.

GDP: 500 trillion Suwani.

In 52019 I.C, the Holy Darwinian Empire spent 9% of its GDP on defence, this rose drastically after the start of the Great War to around 40%. By the year 52031 I.C Imperial government military spending had peaked at 52% of the national GDP.

Before the opening of the GATE, Imperial government spending in 52018 represented 30% of GDP, or about 150 trillion Suwani . In 52030 at the beginning of the Great War, government spending had risen to over 400 trillion Suwani about 80% of the GDP.

Troops: 500 millions troops (this represents just Combat and directly combat related troops)

Total forces exceeded 3 billions when air force formations (including ground support), naval personnel, and logistical/support troops were included. This, of course, includes air defense units and fortress troops as well as Imperial forces deployed on the Lemuria Front and all along the Antarktyda-Andesen Line and Indyjski Wall as well as other paramilitaries

Vital materials : The statistics below illustrate the extent to which the Holy Darwinian Empire vastly outproduced the United Earth Alliance. Production of machine tools increased a thousand fold, and millions of ships were built in shipyards which did not exist before the war.

-Steel 7,8 trillion metric tons of steel each year.

This is compared to 87 billion tons for the United Earth Alliance. Falmart's 2030 steel production was equivalent to an average of 31,400 cubic meters of steel per second.

-Iceburst stone 5,5 trillion metric tons per year

-Titan crystal 1,5 trillion metric tons per year

-Titan oil 70 trillion barrels per day

-Enhanced ice : 25 trillion metric tons per year

-Concrete 24 trillion metric tons per year

-Aluminium 358 billion metric tons per year

-Orichalcum 55 billion metric tons per year

-Mithril 720 billion metric tons per year

-Adamant 302 billion metric tons per year

-Magic Gems 20 billion metric tons per year

According to Imperial Prime Minister, the 3rd Prince Diabo El Caesar, "We will win this Great War by smothering the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he has never seen, nor dream possible."

Access to limitless raw materials in Path dimension and large, controlled Homunculus slave labour pools and the ability to build arms in relative safe undergound factories were the main reasons for the unimaginably large industrial output of the Holy Darwinian Empire.

Minister of Defence, the 2nd Prince Zorzal El Caesar declared, "Here's proof that no nation in history can out-produce our most Holy Empire."

United Earth Alliance in 2030

Population: 8 billion

Troops: 80 millions (this represents just Combat and directly combat related troops like landing craft drivers and Combat engineers) Total forces exceeded 400 millions when local defense volunteers, air force formations (including ground support), naval personnel, and logistical/support troops were included.

Deployed to the Falmart only : 75 million ( about six thousand divisions). All in armored units, fully mechanized, fully outfitted with tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and salvo rocket launchers.

GDP : 110 trillion USD

In 2020, the UEA spent 15 % of its GDP on defence, this rose drastically after the start of the Great War to around 45%. By the year 2030 government defense spending had peaked at 55% of the national GDP. Debt and higher taxes led to GDP growth percentages over 17%. This trend continued throughout the war. For the UEA, government spending was used as a positive indicator of GDP growth. However the high rates of government only was beneficial for a short period of time, a trend that can be seen in most wars.

Price of war :

To pay for these wars, taxes were held at a very high rate. For example, at the beginning of the Great War tax rates went from 25% to 70%. Along with tax percentages reaching high amounts, spending on non-defense programs were cut in half during the period of the Great War.

The governments paid for this production using techniques of selling war bonds to financial institutions, rationing household items and creating more tax revenues. Some contribution to the UEA wartime manufacturing boom can be ascribed to the prior creation of the ArcelorMittal plant in the 2010s. The ArcelorMittal plant prepared million of tons of superharded steel used for the production of 600,000 aeroplanes during the Rearmament Period. The United Earth Alliance quickly adjusted to the levels of production required to equip its military with the billions of war products used during the Great War.

Employment :

During the Great War unemployment had fallen to 0.3% from 14.6% in 2019. 20% of the population during the war was employed within the armed forces.

The beginning years of the Rearmament shows a spike in employment. The employment spike was in relation to the tremendous amount of military production the UEA was making.

Examples of high numbers of employment could have been seen in at Gulf Shipbuilding which obtained 240 employees at the beginning of 2019 and increased to 116,000 employees in 2023. Alabama Dry dock also was an exemplary business in employment that raised number from 1,000 workers to 300,000 in the most productive years of the Rearmament Period.

Demographics of employment consisted of 400 million women, adding to the 1200 million that searched for defensive jobs outside of the war.

Rearmament:

During the Rearmament Period, UAE set ambitious production goals to fulfill. The early 2021 were set to have 60,000 new jet aircraft increasing to 125,000 in 2023. In addition, targets for the production of 120,000 heavy tanks and 55,000 helicopters were set during the same time period.

The Tesla Motor Company in Texas built one motor car (comprising 150,000 parts) on the assembly lines every 69 seconds. Tesla's production contributed to America's total production of vehicles totalling 30 million in 2023. Earth's production numbers caused the global employed workforce to increase massively.

Earth's manufacturers in the Great War were engaged in the greatest military industrial effort in history. Aircraft companies went from building a handful of planes at a time to building them by the tens of thousands on assembly lines.

In 2019, total aircraft production for the Earth's military was less than 3,000 planes. By the end of the Rearmament Period, Earth produced 600,000 planes. No war was more industrialized than the Great Earth-Falmart War. It was a war won as much by machine shops as by machine guns.

The United Earth Alliance Navy grew rapidly during the Rearmament Period from 2019–2029, and played a central role in the war against the Falmartian Empire. The UEAMDF grew tremendously as the United Earth Alliance was faced with a two-front war on the seas. By rearmament's end in 2029, the UEAMDF had added over 18,000 major combatant ships, including nearly 1500 aircraft carriers, 345 guided missile battleships, and over 5000 destroyer, with over 100,000 naval vessels of 1,000 tons or greater.

The Forces of Chaos:

Population: Uncountable ( tens of quadrillion )

Technology level : Bronze Age

Total forces exceeded 600 trillions when all 66,000 Great Armies of Chaos were assembled.

Troops would be deployed to Falmart: 999,000 legions in Abbadon's personal army ( nearly 10 billions )

Currently deployed to Falmart : Abigor's 60,000 legions, a total force of over 600 million demons if Abigor's own command staff were included.

---

Throne Room, Infernal Palace of Dis, Eye of Terror.

"And exactly how did they spontaneously explode?" Abbadon's voice had a silky, oily quality to it that was far more unnerving than any of his berserk rages.

"We don't know Sire. We found bits of metal in the wreckage so we think it was one of the human machines but we don't understand it."

"A machine? A human machine you say? They invaded my territory and killed four of my subjects not with holy magic but a machine?" The silky, oily quality was fading, replaced by the hysterical screams of rage. The audience found that immensely reassuring, it was business as usual. The unnatural calm had been horrifying from its unprecedented nature. A raving, screaming temper tantrum was much more familiar. "And nobody saw it?"

"None Sire. Although we do have a message that was transmitted by one of their warlords. It refers to a A4 Predator aircraft."

"And just what is a Predator?" Abbadon was struggling to keep his temper under control.

"A hunting bird." The voice came from a tiny minor demon on the floor. Abbadon glanced sideways and his glance mashed the speaker into a purple pulp that drained away through the stone floor.

"Does anybody else want to state the obvious?" There was a sudden shuffling of cloven feet and demons glancing sideways at each other. The more astute of them were already trying to work out the best place to take cover when their infernal overlord decided it would be necessary to stage a massacre.

"There is another problem with that message." Asmodeus spoke carefully. "The warlord spoke of 'major enemy leadership figure', we assume that means an important person here. Yet there was nobody on that stand of any importance, a few relatives of Abigor, that is all. None in the leadership and none of any importance. We do not understand this."

"Perhaps I can explain." Beelzebub was also speaking carefully. "The warlord also spoke of 'information received from reliable informants'. There can be only one explanation for that comment. There are those of your Infernal Majesty's subjects who are in contact with the Terran humans and are passing information to them."

A horrified gasp went around the hall. The whole concept was a nightmare to contemplate yet was also eerily plausible. Who here had not sold information on an ally to an enemy in order to bring about a tactical advantage?

"But Sire." Asmodeus was appalled, his voice terrified at even speaking of this idea. "Nobody important was killed."

"Nobody important perhaps." Beelzebub spoke almost as smoothly and calmly as Abbadon had done. "Not in our terms perhaps. But the traitor – or traitors – who sold the information to the humans may have been using them to settle a private score of his or her own. Who knows where treason might end?"

Even Abbadon was silenced by that thought. The hall was still, silent as the occupants absorbed the implications of what Beelzebub had said. Then, the glances that they were exchanging underwent a slow change from apprehension at what might Abbadon might do next to suspicion at what their neighbors might be saying to these upstart humans. No matter how intense those suspicious glances became, they couldn't match the ones Abbadon was casting at them.

---

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria

General Nuttall stood before the transmission screen and waited for it to light up with the link from New York. His briefing would be going direct to the command center in the New York and to as many of the growing list of allies as could be provided with the equipment.

"Mister President Sir. My situation report.

"We have identified the enemy force as 56 infantry Fronts, three cavalry Fronts and one airborne Front. The enemy main body consists of 28 infantry Fronts and is advancing towards Alnus.

It is preceded by one of the cavalry Fronts supported by 3 airborne Army Groups. The cavalry Front itself is split into three columns each containing three cavalry Army Groups supported by three airborne Armies. At the moment, we are falling back in front of that force, we have no wish to engage it at this time.

"To the West is a flanking force consisting of 14 infantry Fronts. They're moving close to the Kowan Kingdom border, again with a cavalry Front in front supported by harpies. We've been harassing that screening force overnight, I'm sorry to report that the 160th Aviation Brigade took significant losses, at least a dozen AT-99 and Apache helicopters were lost to Harpies.

We've learned from that, the Harpies make helicopter operations too dangerous, we're going to have to eliminate them before we can send helicopter-based forces in again. However, their sacrifice was not in vain, we're driving their reconnaissance elements in on the main body and we've severely hit their command and control structure. We believe we've eliminated a significant proportion of their battalion and brigade level command staff. An Army Group of the 1st Armored Joint Task Force is moving into position along the Qaim-Ali line. It's a perfect kill zone, with their recon element driven in, their heading into it blind.

"To the East is another screening force, identical to the one in the West7. We haven't done much about that one yet but the British are moving up an Army Group to handle it. We had word from the East Asian 11th Expeditionary Army a few minutes ago, Her Holiness Rory Mercury went solo an entire infantry Army with a combined of wide-ranging attacks. She claim to have killed more than 90,000 demons including a part of the command group. We can't confirm the numbers but a MQ-90 has confirmed the attack." Nuttall paused for a second. "Sir, I still can't get used to feeling pleased about the presence of Her Holiness.

"Overall, we're about to start the main phase of our defense. We're going to kick the western and eastern screening forces in and push them back on the main body. That will put them in a kill zone east of the Sula Lake. As we compress them in that area, we'll be hitting them with artillery and all the tactical air we can bring up. If we stop them, we can drive them back across the grassland, all the way back to the Hellgate. If we can't stop them there, the only way forward is through two narrow necks of land, north of the Baral Milhm and south of the Buhayra Thafar. Those are also perfect killing grounds and give us a another chance at them."

"They won't get through?" President Dirrel sounded concerned. The heavily populated Alnus Base was in the direct path of the advancing demons.

"No Sir, we'll stop them dead. After a while, all their added numbers means they'll be piling more bodies into the kill zone. The days when an army could be swamped by sheer weight of numbers are gone. The way we're mauling their command structure, once they've started advancing into the killing ground, they won't be able to stop, the sheer pressure of the forces at the rear will drive them forward."

"General." Secretary of state Susan Collins smiled an apology for the interruption. "Be advised, we've just heard from the Russians. They're sending down forces from their military region as your requested. An Army Groups, battle experienced from Northern Lemuria. They'll be with you in a few days, you can count on them for reinforcements."

"Thank you ma'am, that's good to know. If you're speaking to the Russians, could you ask them for all of their Smerch rocket launchers. We need all the salvo rocket artillery we can get here. Also, their Luna short-range ballistic missiles, we've got ATACMS here but we need something with a bit more reach."

"I'll do that. The Holy Order of Eden are promising to send help as well. Any requests?"

"Fuel and Feilong Elorp (Echo-Location by Radiant Psion) guided magic missiles. Those more than anything. We're going to need all the fuel and guided missiles we can get. We're expecting to use up our stocks of AGM and AMRAAM missiles pretty fast at the rate we're going and we can't cope with these demons in a slugging match, we have to maneuver them to death."

Wadi Town, Southern Lemuria

"Now hollow fires burn out to black, and lights are guttering low. Square your shoulders, lift your pack, and leave your friends and go. Oh, never fear, man, nought's to dread, look not to left nor right: In all the endless road you tread, there's nothing but the night."

"Sorry Sir?"

"Houseman, poem called 'A Shropshire Lad' about the kids who died fighting for Queen Victoria in far-off parts of the Empire. How they left home and died for thirteen pence a day. His theme was that they couldn't see what they were dying for or the point of it all. We're spared that, we know what we're fighting for here." General John Carlson glanced down at his watch.

"Today. When dawn comes, we will be fighting for everything there is to fight for. There's literally nothing we won't be fighting for."

"That's true Sir." Simon deVere Cole, Carlson's Aide-de-camp was speaking equally softly. "We're fighting for Queen and Country. For our people, for the whole of humanity and even for some otherworld people. At least this time the" gods " and their servants are on our side and apparently they pay us very well."

"That's good. I wish there were just a few more of those warrior priests." That was the truth. Carlson had the 12th British Army Groups here, The Victorian Guards, 3 Armies of Type-92 and Type-47 tanks, were dug in along the long defense lines, with the 1st Duke of Lancaster and 1st Mercian, two Armies of heavy mechanized infantry with their heavy infantry fighting vehicles, beside them.

From the front, all that could be seen of them was the tops of their turrets peeking over the ridge. From behind, the tanks were sitting in open-backed revetments so they could fall back from this position to the next. Carlson looked up at the stars overhead. It was a trite cliche that looking up at them made man and his works seem insignificant and now it was a false cliche as well.

For today, man's works made the heavens themselves insignificant. And Carlson had just 3 Armies of heavy tanks and two Armies of heavy mechanized infantry. Plus his artillery divisions of course and a lot of engineers. One advantage of a "colonial conquest" mission was that there were a lot of civilian development projects involved and they had needed engineers. Those engineers had been hard at work for the last few days.

Out in front, he could see the result of their labors. A shimmering river that stretched east and west as far as he could see, glistening gently in the moonlight. This place has 6 moons, what a beautiful sight to behold. It was a beautiful sight if one didn't know what the silver river was, to those who had seen what nano razor-wire could do, it glimmered with evil promise. Yet even worse was what nobody could see until it was too late, the tens of millions of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines sewn across the frontline.

Carlson's plan was quite simple, all good military plans were. He would break the enemy attack on the minefields and nano wire while his artillery and magicians poured fire into the mass of enemy hung up in front of him. As they broke through the mines and wire, as they surely would, his tanks would slaughter them while the infantry and wizards protected the tanks. The wire and the mines were his force multiplier, the thing that would allow him to stand against the force threatening him.

He ran those figures through his mind as well, 140 millions infantry, 10 millions cavalry, 3,3 millions harpies. Against them, he had just over 800,000 men and 1000 mages. The government in the UK had promised him more, but they were a long time coming.

The RAF had only 20 C-177 ULTRA transports and their first priority had been to fly anti- telepathy mithirl foil out from the Holy Order's underground factories to the theater. Every man in his force now had his helmet lined with anti-demon mithirl foil and the people in the rear were handing rolls of the stuff out to the civilians. In a strange way, this was already shaping up to be one of the great logistics achievements of the war. A concerted effort to give every human on Falmart his own mithirl foil hat. Carlson chuckled, he suddenly had a picture of mithirl haberdashery becoming a study topic at Sandhurst.

"Sir. General Qasem Soleimani to see you." deVere Cole interrupted the train of thought.

"General, Sir." Carlson snapped out the salute the Five-star General. The Iranian General returned it punctiliously.

"I think you will be pleased to see me General." The English was excellent. "I have brought with me the Shamshar Armored Joint Task Force. Six Armies of Chariot MBTs, 32,400 tanks, of my are moving into position along your left while we speak, supported by 2 Armies of heavy armored infantry, 16,200 T-15 Armata's. We have not the excellent position you have here but the MQ-90 Quox tell us the enemy will strike your position first. When they die on your wire, we think they will try and flank you. They cannot go to your right, the Sula Lake prevents that. They must go to the left, right into the guns of my tanks and artillery."

"We're more than pleased to see you General, you're a sight for sore eyes. We're expecting to get hit after dawn. That glow on the horizon? It's the Demon's campfires." A thought occurred to Carlson. "Have all your men had mithril foil for their helmets? We have plenty if you are in need."

"The Americans gave us enough, thank you, but I will spread word. If any of my units are short, we will come to you. If I may offer you some help in return? You are very light on anti-aircraft here. I have 10 extra anti-aircraft divisions, the Shamshar is a composite Task Force, made up from the best units in the Arab Union Ninth Army Front. I would be honored if you would accept the attachment of the divisions to your force. They have MANPADS and Pantsir-S2 missiles."

"Thank you, I am honored to accept. General, I was about to have some tea, a little fruit. It is poor refreshment to offer a comrade in arms, but perhaps you would deign to join us?"

"I would prefer a glass of the whisky for which your Scots are so famous." Carlson lifted an eyebrow and Soleimani smiled gently. "The pact is broken, the commandments do not apply. Now we have faith only in our tanks and guns."

Like any good ADC deVere Cole had anticipated his General's needs and a bottle of 18 year old Laphroig had appeared. He measured out glasses for the two officers.

"Oh come on Simon, pour one for yourself as well."

"Thank you Sir."

To the morrow and may the day be ours." Carlson's voice rang across the moonlit grassland.

"And to our arms. May we bring honor to our countries and those we fight beside." Soleimani's response echoed across the hills. Below them, the razor wire seemed to sway in response but it was just the wind rippling across the grass.

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria

General of the Armies, the highest possible rank in the United States Army, Liam Nuttall stood in front of the great screen that showed the disposition of forces in Southern Lemuria. Viewed one way, what he was about to do was committing an act of mass murder. The thought made him chuckle quietly to himself, a long time ago he'd held a press conference and the subject of night vision equipment had come up. The American officer behind the podium had explained how the U.S. Army had night vision equipment that enabled them to fight a 24-hour battle while their enemy didn't have anything approaching that capability. One journalist had been greatly angered by that and had launched a tirade about how the one-sided night-fighting capability "wasn't fair."

Well, what was happening now wasn't fair either. The screen showed the disposition and order of battle of the Hellish forces in great detail. The A4 Predators and MQ-90 Quox were doing sterling work, tracking every move the demons made. Zoom down far enough and the display could show how and where individual demons were deploying and spending their time. It was painfully obvious that the demons had no such capability.

They were charging head-first into a trap, unwavering, unconcerned with what the humans were doing. Nuttall was doing his best to help them, his aircraft had been carefully hitting the command structure of the enemy forces, slowly but surely breaking up their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

It was far worse even than that. The demons were moving slowly, as a professional, Nuttall recognized them for what they were, an infantry army that moved like one. Slowly, ponderously. They had their cavalry out as screens of course but it was a myth that cavalry forces could move much faster than leg infantry, they could in a tactical sense but the difference strategically was marginal at best. The harpies had been more of a worry, there had been an effort to use them as an advance guard but they'd been shot out of the sky by the J-86s based at Military District 3 and 6. The small detachments, usually 30 at a time hadn't stood a chance against the fast jets and after a while, their commander had stopped sending them out.

In contrast, the Allied forces were mobile almost to the point of insanity. They could slash at an enemy formation, disengage, regroup and slash again while their enemy was still wondering what to do about the first attack. Nuttall had moved the whole of his First Armored Joint Task Force against the western flanking force.

Nuttall grimaced, the western force was identical to that bearing down on the British 12th Army Groups but the British formation was the weakest of all of his combat groups. It was a calculated risk, nobody could be strong everywhere and the British position was the easiest to defend in depth. If the demons broke through there, Nuttall had two Army Groups from the European Fourth Army Front north of the battle area and the Chinese 82nd Fire Dragon Army Groups in Military District 5 ready to pinch off the breakthrough.

In the center, Nuttall had positioned his 25th Armored Joint Task Force, the 10th Mechanized Joint Task Force and the 15th Army Groups.

They were his stop line, intended to hold the main body of the demon force. Only, Nuttall didn't intend to stop them If the demon commander had anything like the command capabilities at Nuttall's disposal he could have seen what the American General actually had in mind. The main body of the demon force would indeed be pinned on the American force in front of Alnus but while they threshed there, the allied western and eastern forces would be closing in on their flanks and rear. By the time they realized what was happening, the racing tanks of the First Armored would be between them and the Hellgate. It had all the makings of a military catastrophe.

Nuttall knew that if he pulled this off, it would go down as one of the greatest envelopments of all time, comparable with those the Germans had pulled off at the start of their war with Russia.

That was one of the things that made Nuttall uneasy, for all the scale of those early victories, the Germans had lost the war with Russia and most skilled strategists knew that they had never really had a chance of doing otherwise. What was facing the demons was an unparalleled military disaster yet Nuttall knew in his heart that this was just the opening move. He had no idea of the military resources hell could throw at Falmart and until he had a handle on that data, he was fighting blind. All he could do was make sure the casualty rate was as lopsided as possible.

"Sir. Message just in. The Arabian Shamshar Armored Joint Task Force is arriving and taking up position to the east of the British. They'll be in defensive position by dawn. General Soleimani has ceded operational command of the defense to General Carlson as officer-in-position."

"Thank you Charles. Send my compliments to the General and my appreciation of an advance to contact well-executed." There was more to that message than met the eye and the recipient would know it. Ceding overall command to an officer of lesser rank had been a magnanimous gesture, one that spoke volumes about the character of the Iranian general. Privately, Nuttall promised himself that he would see Soleimani received full credit for his part in this operation. Then his mind went back to the battle that was about to unfold. What could go wrong? What hadn't he foreseen? What were his options when everything dropped in the pot?

He looked again at the huge display on the wall. Eight new symbols had just appeared, the Arabian army groups covering the eastern flank of the British Force. Everything was set up, the pieces were in position. Behind the allied lines, the truck convoys with their supplies of ammunition and fuel were waiting to support the lunge forward.

With them were his reserves, heavy tank divisions, more mechanized infantry. Again Nuttall reflected on just how unfair this battle was going to be. A human general would have known how and where the great ambush would be mounted, to a human, brought up on armored warfare and battles of maneuver, the Lemurian road network made the positions and deployments entirely predictable. The demons painfully obviously had no concept of those matters. Truly, this was a bronze age Army fighting a force from the 21st Century. That didn't change the fact that this was a – literally – hellishly big bronze age army.

"I'm going outside for a few minutes. Get some fresh air." Nuttall spoke to his deputy, settled his mithril-lined baseball cap on his head and left the command center, his bodyguards following.

Outside, it was still night, the stars shining brightly down. In front of the command building sat four of the hulking Type-92 Chamberlain tanks, silent shadows in the darkness. Nuttall walked over to them, absent-mindedly returning the salutes from their crews as he racked his brain trying to think of outcomes and eventualities that might have missed his attention. It was no good, as far as he could see, he'd done all he could, it was time to rest and let the battle unfold. Then he patted the massive sloping armor of the nearest tank. "Well, honey-bunny. It's all down to you and yours now."

Headquarters, Army of Abigor, Southern Lemuria

Abigor stood over the wooden table, looking down at the parchment scroll that was pinned to it. It was a map of the area, with thick lines drawn on it, representing his forces as they fanned out across the countryside. His plan was simple, three thrusts, each aimed at a major population center. His mounted troops would brush any enemy opposition out of the way and leave the cities isolated. Then, his infantry would besiege them, cut off their supplies and starve the defenders. When the cities collapsed, they would storm the walls and ravage the inhabitants amid scenes of horror that would panic the remaining residents. They would stream away from his advance amid utter terror and he would slaughter them while they did so. Mortals would die screaming for its defiance. As it should.

Where to go next? Once the fertile crescent of the the Odiha-Salta had been cleared, what to do? Keep heading into Kowan Kingdom or head towards Alnus Hill ? Ravaging the area the mortals called "The Holy Land" would be satisfying and it would give Abbadon an opportunity to goad The 13 Gods of Falmart over the fate of their "Sacred Hill". That made Abigor grin.

Abigor tapped the parchment with a claw, thoughts irritating the outer edges of his mind. Just why did his commanders keep exploding? Obviously the humans had something to do with it, putting things together it had become obvious that the commanders exploded when the human's flying chariots were around. Yet how? The chariots flew so high up they could hardly be seen. Sometimes the only clue they were there was the great white streak they left across the sky. How could they hit so precisely from so high? It was impossible.

Abigor's customary scowl deepened. Perhaps it wasn't the humans after all. Promotion by assassinating one's superiors was a well-known tactic in hell, smiles upon as long as it was successful. A commander who couldn't even protect himself was unfit to be in a position of authority. And yet, and yet… Some commanders had noted another pattern, it was always the leaders who rode ahead of their command, their banners flying proudly that died. Some had started to hide themselves in their units, keeping their banners furled and marching on foot like the rest. It showed lack of pride and hurt the morale of the units but those commanders lived.

Problems, more problems. The truth was that Abigor wasn't quite sure where his units were or how much resistance they were facing. The distance he and his kind could read minds was limited to line-of-sight and with so many dead commanders lost from his ranks, communications were spotty at best.

He'd tried sending out small groups of the flying demons to get information on the positions of his units but the human flying chariots had killed them.

Those flying chariots were a nuisance, they'd made the demonic fliers too vulnerable to use except in large groups. Just how did humans get them to fly so high or move so fast? Some of them were so quick they arrived before their noise could be heard.

Abigor stretched and walked outside his tent, his clawed feet clicking on the stones in the grass . Above him, the stars shone brightly, their light apparently amplified by the clear skies. That was a unique thing about this dimension, Abigor's home had no stars, no planets, not like these. It was a place that existed in and of itself, self-contained and alone. Bubbles in a formless void.

Abigor wondered what would happen to this planet once the mortals on it had been harvested. It would make a nice private retreat for his personal use, would Abbadon allow him to keep it? He had conquered it after all. In his heart, he knew that would not be the case, Abbadon wouldn't allow any of this realm to establish a presence outside it for to do so would be to give them the chance of establishing a power base independent of his reign.

This planet would be abandoned, left to develop without intelligent life. Perhaps to see another species of intelligent life develop and in its turn be harvested to serve the beings from the higher dimension. Abigor had heard that there were creatures living in the sea that were almost as intelligent as a human.

Another problem, another worry that flittered on the edge of his mind. He and his kind were used to being able to read human minds and control their thoughts, even across the dimensional rift. Once he and another demon had held a competition to see who could cause the most minor fatal accidents in one day; he'd won that, 106 to 102.

But now, it was becoming harder and harder to find humans who could be affected by the demons mind control. Something was getting in the way, something was stopping the demons possessing the minds of anybody they chose. Already, nearly all the important people, the leaders, their minds were closed off. Even the lesser people, the peasants, were becoming immune. It was so hard to find one who could be possessed now. This must be the work of those cursed Apostles.

Abigor shook himself. Why was he worrying, a few days and it would all be over. The population would be a panicked mass, fleeing for its survival and a few days beyond that it would be gone forever. There wasn't any point in worrying about details.

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Time to mount up." Guardsman Bass finished the last of his tea and shook his mug over the sand. His Type-47 Sheridan was ready to move, one of the 5,600 tanks lined up along the defense line. It was still dark but the eastern horizon was glowing red as the sun approached it's first appearance. That's why the tanks were along this ridge, with the sun behind them the demons would be advancing with the glare of the dawn directly in their eyes. It was a small point perhaps but the officers were paid to think of things like that. He climbed up on to his tank and slid into the turret beside the 130mm gun, settling comfortably into the familiar seat. "Boiling vessel on?"

The loader nodded, the tank was going to seal down, they'd fight that way. Nobody knew what the demons would do when they found themselves under fire so orders were to expect the worst and make sure the tea urn was ready to use. Bass felt his ears click as the positive-pressure system powered up. The air inside the tank was at a higher pressure than that outside so that if there were any leaks in the tank, the flow would be out, not in. They had rations, everything they needed without depending on the outside world. They even had some empty cases from the artillery so they could relieve themselves without leaving their armored home.

"Sabre-One Actual." Lieutenant McLeoud's voice was calm, studied. "All Sabre One units. Confirm sealed down."

Bass thumbed his transmitter button. "Sabre One-two sealed down."

"Very good. Recon tells us the demons are moving, straight at us." There was immense satisfaction in the Lieutenant's voice now. 'Straight at us' meant straight into the minefields and on to the razor wire. We will be opening fire at 10,000 meters with HEAD (High Explosive Anti-Demon). Aimed shots only boys, we can't waste ammunition. Hold Fast!"

The last words were McLeoud's family motto, repeated with almost boyish enthusiasm. Young officers bass thought, a little patronizingly, a little sadly. So keen, so likely to die. "You heard our Lieutenant. Load HEAD."

"Up." The one word meant that the 130mm gun was loaded, ready to fire. Bass leaned forward slightly and peered through his commander's periscope. Even in the brief time since they'd mounted up, the sun had risen enough to start lighting the battle area. Across the dunes, Bass saw a section of the horizon turn black. Demons crossing it in strength, a great rectangle of them. He knew the numbers, 1000 ranks, each of 9,999 demons, spreading 25 km long.

This was the cavalry, their advance guard. As he watched the great rectangle changed, splitting into three thinner rectangles, the two at the rear moving up either side of the lead so they formed an extended line. Then the rectangles split again, into three sections, one behind the other. The numbers played in Bass's head, 1,1 millions in each sections, almost 3,3 millions in each of the three closely packed waves. This would be a bloody day, Bass had read the intelligence on the demons and of their wild, primary color blood. So what color would the blood be?

"They're charging by division." Bass lased the formations that were approaching at steadily-increasing speed. "Range 19,500 meters. They're not holding formation very well. No discipline there at all." A critical point, a charge had to hit as a solid blow, a fist formed of every available asset. If the charging cavalry were ill-disciplined enough to allow their formation to break, the strength of the blow would be much reduced.

Daelmara's Force, Right Flank of the Army of Abigor

Utilizing the momentum gained from their cavalry charges, Abigor army's trump card, their long-range military force: the demon ogres archer forces and Daelmara's dark arts legions advanced to a position behind their cavalry camp.

The plan was to have the 100 thousand strong chaos ogre unit ready their massive crossbows in front and the dark arts users, also 100 thousand strong, chant their offensive magic behind. The one assuming overall command was an adept arts user close to Daelmara.

That arts user listened to the commands coming in from the rear and nodded once before shouting.

"Ogre unit, ready your crossbow! Arts unit, begin chanting for the «Chaos Release : Wide-area Incineration Projectiles» ceremony! Spotters, begin chanting the marking art for the enemy coordinates!"

Chaos Release : Wide-area Incineration Projectiles referred to a large-scale annihilation spell designed by demon lord Daelmara. for the sake of this plan. Converting all of the darkness energy filling the battlefield into thermal elements, they would then achieve firing it at long distances by affixing them onto the ogres' arrows. As they consumed darkness energy through transformation phrases like «bird shape» or «arrow shape», the output should far exceed their expectations. It was the mightiest offensive art in history.

In addition, Daelmara had prepared a careful plan to make use of dark arts users excelling in wind magic as spotters, creating «wind paths» for concentrated fire on the enemy army's main force. If all of the incineration arrows impacted upon a single point, it should result in an attack of extreme power that not even that an Apostle could guard against perfectly.

That was the exact situation that the Rory Mercury once feared, the strength of millions overwhelming the strength of one.

The 121st Wing of Dragon Knights , above the Victorian Guards.

The dragons let out yet another low growl.

However, this time was one to warn, with a sharp roar mixed in.

Knight Leader Alicia mustered her will, taking back her consciousness that had begun to fade, and stared hard towards the twilight far in front.

—They are here!

Fresh troops approached at the battlefield, steady pace from beyond the cavalry forces still charging at the Defense Army. She could see no metallic glint. They were likely the long ranged attack unit—the Dark Sorcerer Legions.

They were the ones Her Holiness Rory Mercury was most vigilant towards, those who held sufficient destructive power to sweep away an army in one strike.

However, the same could be said of the 240 knights in the 121st Wing of Dragon Knights of the Zeroth Division.

Alicia and her knights had been chanting for a large-scale holy magic. It was conceptualized after hearing of Cardinal Fanatino's battle against the demons in the 12th Black Crusade, what might be called a «reflected light amplification» magic.

With the mass of sacred energy, as a base, Alicia first changed the shape of crystal elements and created a gigantic glass ball measuring three meters across.

Next, she created a thick metal film with metallic elements and shielded the entire glass ball.

The product was a «sealed mirror». Placing that onto the fitting gap between dragon's wings on her back, she pushed both hands onto its smooth, curved surface, and sealed in luminous elements generated from the constantly produced space sacred energy.

Magic preservation.

That was a basic yet ultimate technique that many high ranking magic users racked their minds over since ancient times.

Without constantly fixing one's mind onto them, generated magic elements like thermal, cryogenic, and aerial elements would drift about the area on their own volition and eventually vanish, scattering as hot or cold air.

Hence, Alicia explored means to maintain the produced elements without the need to focus on them. What first came to mind was to set them into some vessel. That said, the standard elements for offensive arts, thermal and cryogenic, would instantly disappear upon coming into contact with some material, heating it up or cooling it down.

However, an idea came to Alicia when she heard about how Duncan: God of Blacksmithing had reflected the light from Flare: God of the Sun's divine weapon, the «Heaven Piercing Sword», with a magical mirror created from just metallic and crystal elements in a small spar between the gods.

If light did no more than rebound upon touching a magic mirror—she would only have to produce a fully sealed magic mirror.

And if she were to generate luminous elements within it. It could, theoretically, maintain an infinite number of luminous elements until the mirror's Life expired.

Daelmara's Force, Right Flank of the Army of Abigor

The crossbow, drawn to their limits, by the brawny ogre archers creaked as they were pointed towards the dim sky.

In order to ignite the innumerous arrowheads, gleaming dully, the 100 thousand dark arts users held their hands up high as they recited the opening phrase as one.

"""Chaos Release""""

The incantation consisting only of female voices could be called only a chorus of death. Intoxicated by the immense power it was to be, the arts users sang the next phrase.

"""Wide-area Incineration Projectiles !"""

Faint red particles flickered as they lit up on their lithe fingers—

Yet it was but an instant before they turned dull, extinguishing after letting out a modest puff of smoke.

The adept arts user commanding the unit could not immediately understand what had happened and recited the incantations once more. But the result remained the same.

Surprise overcame her while bewildered voices from her subordinates reached her ears.

"We cannot create the thermal elements!"

"We cannot initiate the «Wide-area Incineration Projectiles» ceremony at this rate!"

She scanned the surroundings in pursuit of the cause of the phenomenon and her close aide nearby timidly opened her mouth to speak.

"C-Commander… shouldn't it be due to some kind of Anti-magic Field…?"

"H-How could that possibly be?!" The commander shouted out in shock. Unknown to the demons, the Holy Order had secretly placed a massive anti-magic field beneath them.

No one had an answer to that question. The chaos ogre archers, too, grew irritated with the command to fire delay and could simply continue to keep their crossbows drawn.

The 121st Wing of Dragon Knights , 10,000 meters above the Victorian Guards.

The time had arrived.

Alicia shut her eyes for a moment and prayed to Flare: God of the Sun for his blessing.

The silver sphere with a diameter of three meters on the dragon's sturdy back had its pressure raised to its maximum. Pulling away the two hands in contact with it, she drew her sword from the left of her waist.

"—Bloom, flowers! Holy Enhanced Armament!"

Her sonorous shout divided the blade of her divine weapon, the «Holy Sword of Acacia », in countless small orbs. Maneuvering the golden yellow swarm, she instructed the knight dragon.

"Mayori, lower your head!"

Following her orders, the flying dragon inclined forward. The silver sphere quietly rolled and tumbled off the dragon's head into the air after one revolution. Carefully catching it with the small orbs, she adjusted it until a certain point on the silver sphere was directed diagonally downwards.

Alignment… set.

Drawing in a breath, she whispered.

"…Burst ."

An incantation far too short and plain for a spell holding such terrifying power.

The silver, reflective sphere was made with one spot thinner on purpose.

Focusing the immense light and heat from the countless exploding luminous elements onto that one point, the silver film and glass liquefied into a crimson red.

Letting them loose into the world outside with a shrill explosion.

240 pure white pillars , each measuring five meters wide, fell upon the earth from the skies with extreme speed and stabbed in between the ogres archer forces and dark arts legions . It then made its way farther into Daelmara's position as though nudged gently.

A roaring symphony of several thousand bells rang out as the waves of heat and light grew to encompass the entire battlefield. It became a towering pillar of fire immediately after, practically touching the clouds, and dyed the skies red. The unprecedently large-scale attack launched by the 121st Wing have ruthlessly wiped out ninety percent of the ogre archers, and over seventy percent of the dark arts users units.

Assailed by the recoil from firing that exceptionally powerful magic, Alicia returned the Holy Sword of Acacia to its scabbard immediately before collapsing onto Mayori's back.

The flying dragon gently accepted its master before tracing slow spirals as it descended onto the front most lines of the British 12th Army Groups.

The first one to rush in was the Warmaster of the Zeroth Division : Cardinal Augusta Henry Highland. Reaching out both arms, he caught Alicia who slipped off her dragon.

"…That spell and display of incarnation was magnificent, Alicia."

B-52M Bomber over the Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Lion-Leader, the enemy are moving. Engage airborne threats as detected."

Major General Hooshank Sedigh looked around at the other Bommbers making up his formation. The last weeks had been strange, after months of sour hostility, the airfields around Alnus had seen a constant stream of magic airships landing as the Falmartian Orthodox Church shipped in supplies of fuel and missiles for the UEAADF.

"Be advised, Indian Air Force B-36Zs are closing on your position from Omidiyeh."

What a weird mixture of types and technologies. It was lucky the American AWACS birds were up, keeping sense of it all. "Tu-688s approaching from the 6th Military District."

"We have first target group on scan now. They are stacked behind lead ground element, estimated number approximately 1,450,000. Lion Group will engage. Fire at will." Sedigh swelled with satisfaction, his 2400 B-52Ms were Lion Group. They would fire the first shots of the Battle of Acrifa Sky.

First Army, First Armored Joint Task Force, Tel Ash Sha, Southern Lemuria

"It's starting." Major General Sean MacFarland looked at the electronic displays in his command center. He'd zoomed in on Acrifa Plain where the map was showing the first of the Demon formations moving up. They were leading with their cavalry down there, just like they were doing here. MacFarland zoomed out, moved his point of display up to Tel Ash Sha then flipped the display mode from synthetic to raw video. The pictures from the MQ-90 Quox showed the demon cavalry shift from a solid block to a column of three long lines. The British had placed their faith in wire and minefields to stop the initial push but MacFarland was relying on his artillery. It wasn't as if he was short of it.

Command General Frank L. Graham picked up the microphone. "All Ready First units, now here this. The enemy is moving. These are the bastards who thought we'd just knuckle under to their wishes. Well, they're wrong and we're going to show them just how wrong. We're going to teach them what American values stand for. We'll show them the meaning of truth, justice and the American way, and by the last of those I mean, of course, mindless indiscriminate violence." There was a chortle of laughter at the crack. "So show them just how much violence Old Ironsides can do when we put our minds to it."

He put the microphone down. "The MLRS and M1299 batteries are waiting Sir. Just give the word."

Cavalry Force, Right Flank of the Army of Abigor, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

Visharakoramal kept his beast in hand, trying to keep lined up with the other members of his unit. It was hard, the great beasts wanted to surge ahead, their claws snapping in anticipation of biting into flesh, their tails arched up, ready to strike. Ahead of him the first rank was already breaking into a gallop, the beasts covering the ground with great loping strides. The second rank were into the trot, waiting for the order so they too could start their charge. Visharakoramal's third rank was still at the pace, their turn had not come yet. Far ahead of him, he could see a strange shimmering cloud that seemed to stretch across the battlefield. Odd, but then this human world was full of surprises. It wasn't the way they'd expected it to be.

It was time, his beast broke into its trot as the lines in front shifted to the gallop. The waves had spaced out, the gaps between them lengthening as the beasts accelerated to full speed, their riders letting them have their head in the race to gain the honor of being the first to crash through the enemy lines. Then, the surge and the pounding in his rear end as his beast went into the gallop, its head stretching out as its muscles pushed it faster towards the enemy. Visharakoramal sneered at the enemy in front, instead of forming up in the open where they could fly their banners and show their defiance like proper warriors, they were hiding behind the hill crests. Not that hiding would save the humans. In front of him, the first wave was nearing the shimmering river. Then, the earth opened up and swallowed them.

B-52M Bomber over the Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two, Fox-Two." Major General Hooshank Sedigh was one of 9,600 pilots making the ritual chant as the missiles streaked away from his bomber climbing up, high into the stratosphere as the started their deadly course.

This wasn't what the B-52M had been built for, taking on a massed formation of enemy aircraft and blasting them apart with long-range weapons.

But, it was, after all, what their American Tiger Teams had said, it was all very well to win a fight but much better to kill your enemy before he knew the fight had started

The radio crackled again, the B-36Zs were opening fire with their long-range missiles. They didn't have the multi-target capability of the B-52Ms, not quite, they could engage 60 targets at once instead of the B-52M's 90, but they were firing their Feilong magic guided missiles in a stream at the mass of harpies.

As the first 60 hit, the Elorp would automatically switch to the next 60, and then the next. Sedigh realized something else, the harpies would be looking at the huge salvo of missiles aimed straight at them, not upwards to where the Feilongs were already hurtling down. Off to the north, the American Tu-688 formation was already closing to follow up the initial long-range pounding.

Over a hundred kilometers away, Inkraskalitran saw the sky in the far distance turn into a white could, one that lengthened towards the flock of harpies with incredible speed. This had to be the fire-spears thrown by the human sky-chariots, the harpies had all heard of them and quietly discussed them. There was word that thirty of the great Heralds had been destroyed by the fire-spears, if so, what could the smaller fliers do against them? He watched the fire-spears approaching, then the whole world seemed to turn upside down.

His eyes blurred, de-focused from the shock, Inkraskalitran looked with horror at the chaos wrought upon the harpy flock. One of his wing-mates had taken a direct hit from a fire spear and had been blown to fragments. Others around him had been caught by the blast and fragments and were fluttering down, crippled, wings torn apart, some already burning where their bodies were being seared by their blood.

Even as he watched, the members of his flock were dying as more fire-spears tore into them, the explosions adding to the chaos in the flock. Hundreds of thousands were dead and dying as Inkraskalitran tried to absorb the havoc that was being wrought. In the chaos, he saw a fire-spear coming for him. Panic-stricken, he dived and turned away, trying to accelerate as fast as he could but the fire-spear obediently changed course and followed him. That just wasn't fair.

"I love it when a plan comes together." The voice in Sedigh's earphones was a mixture of professional satisfaction and awe. The sky where the harpies had been was a mass of explosions and fireballs. "Lion Group, return to base, maximum speed. Reload and get back out here fast. Don't worry about fuel, we've got tankers up if anybody gets short. Tiger Group," That was the Indians Sedigh thought. "close on what's left of that harpy formation and slaughter it as soon as the Tu-688s have finished. Don't hang around, don't get close, zoom and boom. Watch out, the Tu-688s will be there as well."

Sedigh thumbed his transmitter."Eagle Eye, kill totals?"

There was a laugh in the controller's voice. "Bloody fighter pilots. Hard to say Lion Leader. In that mess, its hard to work out who's killing what. We have Lion Group down for 182,000 kills, Tiger Group for 435,000. Panther Group is about to engage. Good luck Lion Leader, look forward to seeing you back here."

It made sense, Sedigh thought. The B-52Ms were long-range arsenal bomber, they had no place getting mixed up in a wild furball, but the fighter pilot in his soul screamed in protest still. Because what a furball it was going to be. Behind him, the area of sky occupied by the harpies redoubled in its fury as the salvoes of holy enhanced AIM-125s tore into it.

Cavalry Force, Left Flank of the Army of Abigor, Tel Ash Sha, Southern Lemuria

Zorankalirtagap jabbed his heels into the neck of his beast, urging it onwards, towards the enemy who was supposed to be trying to stop the Legions of Abigor. His beast responded gallantly, straining every muscle in its body to get ahead of his rivals and be the first to start the slaughter of the humans.

Dawn was well advanced, the sky turning from black to blue, only it wasn't? Zorankalirtagap took time to glance upwards, there was a weird white cloud rising from behind the humans, a cloud tinged red from the rising sun. The appearance of a cloudy red sky for one second made Zorankalirtagap homesick but the clouds shot through with streaks of intense white fire. Suddenly, Zorankalirtagap saw the streaks of fire were curving through the air and the curve was going end with him.

The mathematics were simple and deadly. Just under 50 kilometers away from Tel Ash Sha were 2900 M370 MLRS rocket launchers. Each had 12 rockets. Each rocket had 6440 mithirl anti-demon sub-munitions. 12 x 2900 x 6440 = 224,112,000. Getting on for a quarter of a billion sub-munitions were descending on the 1000 legions-strong cavalry force that was charging across open terrain. The United States Army had a name for what was happening. They called it steel rain.

Zorankalirtagap was staggering around amid the wreckage of the cavalry charge. His beast was down, threshing on the ground, screaming with the agony of holes blasted through its body. Great craters seared by the fury of the shaped-charges that had blasted raw mithirl plasma into its body, they were something that the beast had never experienced before. All around it, others of its kind were in the same condition, screaming, legs, claws, tails blasted off, their faces melted, their bodies ripped open and their organs hanging out.

Some were dead, they were the ones who had been fortunate enough to be hit so hard that even the tough body and lust for war that was bread into the beasts could not allow them to survive. Between the bodies of the great beasts, their riders were strewn, some dead, some screaming from their wounds, all hurt in a way none had ever experienced before.

It really didn't register in time, the screams from overhead that drowned out even the shrieks and howls of the shattered cavalry charge. The explosions did catch his attention, they were large enough to attract anybody's. they rippled across the killing field, tearing apart the force pinned down there and finally bringing peace to the crippled beasts as they were blown apart.

Just over 48 kilometers away, the 5400 M1299 howitzer had dropped into the steady firing rate of ten 180mm rounds per minute, the rate that conserved ammunition and broke armies. Their shells arched over the Type -92 tanks and Black Knight armored vehicles of the First Army and slammed into the mass of struggling demons below. On the ridgeline above the tankers and mechanized infantry watched in slightly bored interest as the demon cavalry died. There was nothing to be really interesting here, they'd seen MLRS and artillery at work before. The artillery observers actually had something to do, they watched the patterns of shells landing and data linked a stream of information back to the guns, directing fire onto any pockets of survivors.

In the middle of the mass of artillery fire, Zorankalirtagap was learning new lessons and learning them very fast indeed. He was learning that he was helpless, that there was no defense against the shells that were moving backwards and forwards across the killing ground. He was learning that artillery and the controllers who directed in had no mercy, no compassion for the creatures they were slaughtering. They were just targets, to be erased as quickly and conveniently as possible.

Zorankalirtagap had learned one other thing. He was a creature of hell but these seemingly puny humans from Earth could create hell any time they wanted to. For the first time in his long life, Zorankalirtagap knew what sheer, unadulterated, panic-stricken terror felt like.

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Now that is a sight." Guardsman Bass swung the turret of his tank so he could watch the scene in the minefields. The meter long bar mines , designed to knock out tanks, with sunforge shrapnel worked against the demon's rhinolobsters very effectively. The first wave had been blown apart by the mines, Bass had seen one rhinolobster have both its left legs torn off by the mines, as it had collapsed to one side it had landed on another and been killed by it. But the problem with minefields were that they were declining assets, every mine that claimed a victim thinned out the field. The second wave had done much better than the first, for a time at least. Quite a few of the rhinolobsters had made it though the minefield and then they'd hit the razor wire.

Solofilament wire was nasty stuff, if you tried to cut it, chances were whatever you tried to cut it with would just fall apart in two pieces during the process as the wire passed effortlessly through most substances, cleaving it apart on a molecular level. There were dozens of interlocked coils down there and even as Bass watched he saw the rhinolobsters tear into it and become entangled in the mass of razor-sharp edges. They screamed and threshed as the wire sliced ever-deeper into them and their efforts only got them more entangled and inflicted yet more damage. Some of the riders tried to help their mounts, grabbed the wire to lift in clear and these ones learned the terrible truth and the wire sliced their fingers to the bone.

Behind that second wave came the third and these had learned. Most of them followed the paths of the rhinolobsters that had made it to the wire. They climbed over the creatures from the second wave, escaping the first entangling coils of wire but got bogged down in the rest. Others followed them and by simple weight and mass they crushed down the wire with the bodies of those in front of them. By sheer weight of numbers, the enemy cavalry had breached the wire and were through.

"Get ready Boys." Lieutenant McLeoud's voice came over the radio. "The artillery lads are opening fire. Get ready to pick off any of them monsters that get through the barrage."

Bass settled down into his tank commander's seat, then took a look through the scope. The blood in the minefield and on the wire was green.

B-36Z Tiger Group Leader over the Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

The world rotated around Air Fleet Commander Gurka as his B-36 hit the top of its climb and he rolled smoothly over. The survivors of the massacre were far below him, their bodies barely visible. His radar could see them though, he'd lost them as he'd climbed out but now he'd re-acquired.

The devastating missile salvoes had destroyed hundreds of thousands the harpies, their bodies dissolving in fire as the missiles ripped into them. Once there had been so many that they'd swamped the memory on the radars but now, the situation was clearly defined.

There were barely two targets left for each of the allied fighters and Gurka had already killed one of his. He'd picked his target for the next pass already, one harpy flying west, its nerve broken, running for its life.

It didn't stand a chance. Gurka pushed his throttles over and went after it in a long, smooth dive. His gun-sight carat showed the predicted impact point of his cannon burst, it was sliding towards the harpy, the diamond embracing its back.

Then, it turned red and Gurka squeezed the trigger, blasting burst of 57mm armor-piercing incendiary ammunition into the harpy's body. For a second or so, nothing happened although Gurka could swear that he saw lumps of black flesh flying off the body. Then it flared into orange fire, burning and spinning for the desert floor.

"Tiger Group, time to go home. Call your boys off Tiger Leader, the squids want to play."

Gurka looked around. Already the American Tu-688s were heading north, their missile racks empty."Acknowledged."

"Head for Dingbat Tiger Group," Gurka mentally translated that. Dezful.

"Some Russian transports have landed with missile reloads for you. Good luck and don't mix with any naughty ladies."

"All Tiger aircraft, break off, head for dingbat." Gurka looked hard to the west. There was a black cloud approaching. "Eagle Eye, contacts to the west."

"We have the Tiger Group Leader. More harpies, covering the ground force main body. Sea Eagle Group will be handling them. Out."

The out had a definitive note to it. The B-36s were out of missiles and very low on cannon ammunition. Eagle Eye up there in his AWACS wasn't interested in them any more. His attention was steering the group of J-8s from the three carrier fleets offshore into the new harpy cloud.

Headquarters of Merafawlazes, Commander, Western Flank, Abigor's Army

"The cavalry force have gone!"

"They're through then. Order the flies to pursue the humans and cut them up on the way. The infantry will follow through. Advance on this place the humans call Kirata. Ravage it, Abigor will be pleased."

"No, Noble master." The messenger dropped to his knees and crawled across the floor to Merafawlazes hooves. "I must tell you, the cavalry have not broken the Earth humans. The cavalry are dead. All of them. The humans killed them all with their magic."

"What is this insanity? Earth Humans do not have magic." Merafawlazes's voice dropped to a menacing growl. "This is not a good time to jest."

It never was thought Falabrednowsa. Being a messenger was a very chancy and dangerous profession, especially where the recipient of the message was a Duke. They'd been known to eat messengers who brought bad news. "Sire, I fear to contradict you."

"Good." Merafawlazes interjected the comment with silky menace.

"But the terrans do have magic. They have used it against the cavalry. They can call down thunder from the sky and drown their enemies in fire. They have destroyed our cavalry. It is a horrible sight, our cavalrymen dead on the ground torn to pieces by the fire, the surviving beasts on the ground screaming with pain as they die."

Merafawlazes attention was drawn by a thunder in the skies overhead, a roll of thunder followed by a deafening, hideous scream.

"Sire, that is the war-cry of the humans in their sky chariots. A great battle is raging while we speak, the flies fight for their lives against the sky chariots. There is magic there too, the humans throw burning spears that never miss."

"Our flies do well against them?"

The answer had better be yes was the reply running through Falabrednowsa's mind. But he was a messenger and it was his duty to speak the truth.

"No Sire, they die as the cavalry died. The human sky chariots are so much faster than they are. Our enemies cannot hear them come for the cowards give their battle cry only after they have launched an attack. They travel faster than the wind, they climb faster than any of us have ever seen before. They afraid to fight us in honorable combat so they kill by the hundred with their fire spears without ever coming close. Then, they sit above our fliers and dive on them like hawks. Our flies are worse than helpless against them."

Merafawlazes grunted and turned his attention to the parchment map on the table before him. It wasn't much help, it just showed the positions of the cities and his best guess at the locations of his troops. Why had the humans chosen to fight here? There was nothing important to fight for here, the nearest great cities were far away. All there was here were these rolling hills with the strange black strips the humans built across them. As he stared at the map, Merafawlazes got the feeling he was missing something very important.

Twenty minutes later, Merafawlazes strode out of his tent, towards the commanders of his remaining legions. Overhead, the sky was covered with strange, crisscrossing white clouds, although he didn't know it, the contrails from the J-88/101 hypersonic jet of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group. The Lawn Dart pilots had, to put it mildly, been having a field day. Merafawlazes didn't know and didn't care, he had more important things to think about.

"Get the Legions moving forward, all of them. Two waves, seven thousand and seven thousand . Tell all the infantry, the suffering of those who hang back will be legendary even for hell." Merafawlazes picked a piece of Falabrednowsa's flesh from his teeth. He'd finally worked out what he had been missing. Breakfast..

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Isn't this what they call a target-rich environment?"

And that, Guardsman Bass thought, was the understatement of the century. The first wave of the enemy attack had been smashed, it had died on the mines and razor wire, the few survivors had been torn apart by the artillery. That had seemed like a victory until the whole horizon had turned black with enemy infantry.

The enemy line was almost 200 kilometers long, the rising sun glittering gold off their bronze tridents. It was a terrifying sight, one that told Bass just as surely as if he could look into the mind of the enemy commander himself that the demons had never seen wire and minefields before.

'Look into the mind of the commander'. Bass rolled the words over in his mind. It would come, it would come. The ability of the demons to enter people's minds and create illusions had been a nasty surprise but it had been discovered. Once something was discovered, it could be investigated and measured.

That meant it could be understood and one the scientists understood something they could duplicate it. Once the scientists had duplicated it, the engineers would take that work and turn it into practical tools. Once the engineers had created the practical tools, the armorers would turn those tools into weapons. And once the weapons were available, the soldiers would use them.

That was the way it had always been, that was the way it would be now.

Bass lased the enemy line, waited a carefully measured ten seconds then lased it again. The computer in the tank thought for a microscopic second, then translated the two readings into a speed readout, one that made Bass raise his eyebrows a second. "Right lads, they're advancing at 25 kay-pee-aitch.

The brass better know about that." Another guiding human principle, Bass had no doubt the same piece of data was being transmitted in by dozens of other tank commanders but it was better for an important piece of data to be transmitted a thousand times than never transmitted at all because everybody thought everybody else had done so. The fact that demons on foot could move five times faster than a human was very important.

.

306th Legion, Eastern Flank, Abigor's Army

Krykojanklawas jogged forward, most of his attention devoted to the enemy in front, the rest to the leader of his contubernium. Like most of his fellow demons in the ranks, he was holding his tripod underarm, the points angled upwards so he didn't stab the demon in front. There might be time for that later. He and his fellows were lucky, the ground in front of them was clear, they wouldn't have to pass through the hideous scene where the Terrans magic had destroyed the cavalry force.

Word that Earth's human had holy magic had spread through the ranks like wildfire, the stories growing with each retelling. They could make the ground rise up and swallow their enemies, the stones come alive and crush their victims. They could conjure up snakes from the ground that would wrap themselves around their prey and slice them apart. That story was true, Krykojanklawas decided, he could see the great circular holes in the ground where the snakes had come from.

He could see something else, the ground ahead of him was littered with strange-looking bars, painted gray-yellow so they were hard to see against the sand and rock. There were a lot of them though.

Curiously, Krykojanklawas glanced to one side, there were a lot fewer where the cavalry had ridden to its death. Even as he watched, a demon in the front rank stepped on one of the bars and the explosion threw him in the air, spraying yellow body fluid as his legs spiraled away from his body.

The bars were human magic, Krykojanklawas realized the truth as additional explosions added their noise to the death toll that was already far higher than the Greater Demons had expected. He didn't care much about the expectations of the Greater Demons though, what he did understand was that stepping on the bars was death.

He'd heard about human explosives, how they could blast even a Lesser Demon apart so that all that remained was stains and rags of flesh. If they could do that to a Lesser Demon, what could they do to a Minor Demon like him? Krykojanklawas had just seen the answer and it didn't please him.

So there were a lot fewer bars where the cavalry had died?

Krykojanklawas did the obvious and started to edge sideways, being careful not to step on the bars, heading for where the ground was just littered with the scraps of flesh and mutilated bodies of beasts and their riders. All along the ranks of the legions, the other demons were starting to do the same.

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Here they go…" Bass watched with interest. There had been a ripple of explosions as the advancing horde reached the outer edge of the minefield and the first victims stepped on the bar mines.

The mines had been intended for anti-tank work but their fuses had been adjusted so they'd be set off by much lesser pressures. That had worked, a handful of demons had died but the rest were starting to funnel in towards the area partially cleared by the cavalry charge. Bass lased them again, the advance had slowed right down as the demons tried to pick their way through the minefield.

Poor sods. Bass thought, he could almost feel it in his heart to be sorry for them. Almost, but not quite.

Watching through the high-powered optics of his Type-47, Bass could see the ranks of demons stretching, bucking and surging. He knew what would be happening in there, the NCOs and officers trying to prevent the lines drifting into the cleared zone, trying to force the demons to keep moving straight ahead, accepting the losses from the minefield. Idly, he wondered what the Arabian Joint Task Force was thinking, hidden far off to the left, but doubtless watching what was happening. He'd heard they'd cleared minefields by marching infantry through them. Looked like the demons were doing the same.

Overhead, Bass heard the scream of shells. "Outbound," the sound easily distinguishable from the ominous "Inbound". He wondered quickly how long it would be before the demons learned to tell the difference. He looked again through the optics, seeing the shells impact on the mass of demons hung up on the flanks of the cavalry graveyard. The artillery forward observers were doing their job, directing the artillery in on the flanks, trying to compress the advancing army into a huddled mass.

That was happening already in the graveyard, the demons lucky enough to be facing that area were moving in but the ones to either side were sliding in also and the resulting congestion was slowing their movement to a crawl. The spams called this "shaping the battlefield", a typically melodramatic term in Bass's opinion but descriptive enough.

Anti-Aircraft Battery, General Carlson's Headquarters, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

There are satans approaching. Raid count 3000." The Iranian Lieutenant rapped the report out in Farsi, then translated to English for the benefit of Sergeant Major Harper. "Prepare to engage."

"With respect, Lieutenant, might I suggest we wait for a short while and let the situation develop?"

The Iranian frowned slightly, more from curiosity than annoyance.

"Sergeant, we have modernized Pantsir-S2 missiles here. We have more than 20 kilometers of range."

Harper settled back slightly. He'd been expecting some of the harpies to leak through the fighter screen, no fighter cover in history had managed to eliminate the threat of just one or two survivors getting past. The sheer numbers of harpies had meant more than that would although this was a larger group that he'd expected. "Lieutenant," Harper's voice was very quiet so nobody else could overhear, "how long have you been in the Army."

"Three years Sergeant."

"I've been serving my Queen for twenty. Let me give you a little advice. We blast those harpies now, when they're 20 kilometers away and the brass will think our job is easy and move us somewhere dangerous. Now, we wait until they're five kilometers away and the brass is really sweating, then blast them, we get to be heroes, get a commendation and possibly even a three-day pass. And we get to keep this nice soft billet.

"Ahhh." The Lieutenant was impressed and a felt a little honored at receiving such a free gift of valuable expertise. Truly there was much a young officer could learn from a veteran such as this. "We will hold fire until… five kilometers?""

Harper nodded fractionally so the officer gave the orders to his men, adding the explanation he'd been given as if it was his own idea. He could see his men nodding as the logic appealed to them.

At five kilometers, the 400 Pantsir-S2 missile launchers opened fire, pushing 2400 57E6 missiles at the 3000 harpies now closing in on the base. One harpy made it past the missiles only to be sawn apart in mid-air as the 30mm 2A38M autocannons caught it in a crossfire.

Back in the battery command vehicle, the telephone rang. Carlson's voice was on the other end. "Well done Lieutenant, that was a getting us a little worried. I'll send a commendation to General Soleimani." He paused slightly. "You left it a bit late didn't you?"

"Needed to get a proper tactical picture Sir. We've only six ready rounds on each launcher and I didn't want to get caught reloading." Out of the corner of his eye, the Lieutenant saw Harper giving him a discrete sign of approval.

"Very wise." Carlson paused for a second. "We gave you Sergeant-Major Harper as liaison didn't we? Please tell him I would like a few words with him later."

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"How shall a man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his fathers and the future of his buds. It's show time boys".

Guardsman Bass put the tank intercom down. Like every good tank commander, he had anticipated the order, getting his Sheridan ready to move well before the word came down from Army HQ. It hadn't taken that much anticipation in fact, just a modicum of skill and experience. Skill and experience was something that the long-term professionals that made up the British ranks had in abundance. The spams may have the shiny toys, the British tankers said, but the Brits knew how to play with them.

In the valley below, the demon army was slowly extricating itself from the tangle caused by the minefields and wire. What had started as a serried mass of infantry was being distorted and funneled into a confused mass, made all the worse by the pounding of the AS-020Ds.

The 180mm guns were lobbing their shells into the mass of infantry still seething through the gap in the wire torn where the demon cavalry had died. They were concentrating on the mass targets but that meant the infantry was slowly penetrating the first line of defense, breaking through in a thin, steady stream. They were beginning to move across the valley floor, making their way towards where the Sheridans were sitting in wait behind the gravel dunes.

Even with the snarled mess down by the wire holding up the bulk of the demons, Bass was appalled by the sheer number of them coming towards his position. Intellectually, he had heard the number that was expected, nearly 140 millions, but he had never imagined what 140 millions infantry swarming towards him would look like. Now, he knew. It was a sight few had ever seen before even where human armies were concerned. The mass of demons were something that belonged out of human prehistory.

"Mark your targets as they come." The voice over the radio was calm and collected, the boyish pitch already well-controlled and only barely a reminder of how young their officer was. It didn't matter much, everybody knew a junior officer fresh out of Sandhurst was still being trained in his craft. This one was doing well, Bass thought. If he survived, he might go far. Even while he thought that, his hands were selecting a group of demons as his target.

"Lase them."

A brief pause."6,003 meters boss."

Another brief pause and then Lieutenant McLeoud's voice cut in again.

"On my word boys. Hold Fast and…. shoot!"

"On the way."

306th Legion, Eastern Flank, Abigor's Army

He had survived the snakes, he had seen their silver bodies stretched out on the ground, tape-like creatures that were threatening even in death. Those who had stepped on their bodies had screamed in agony as the snake teeth cut their feet apart. Demon skin was strong but the silver snakes were stronger.

He had avoided the yellow bars as well, taught by the fearful fate of those who had been careless enough to step on them. He had threaded his way through the maze on the ground, catching only minor injuries from the fragments as more careless, or less fortunate, as Krykojanklawas was quickly beginning to realize, on a battlefield they were the same thing, had stepped on the bars and been blown apart. Krykojanklawas corrected himself, the lucky ones were blown apart, the unlucky ones just had their legs ripped off and lay screaming on the ground.

The bars weren't the only magic in the ground here. Something else was hidden in the sand and gravel, something nobody saw until it was too late. Something that threw a metal ball up into the air so that it could explode and throw out a slashing rain of fragments. The humans had a touch of true evil in their magic, the balls always exploded at about waist height and the ones caught by them were the unluckiest of all for they were rarely killed, just disemboweled and castrated by the blasts. Their screams were truly dreadful.

That was the worst thing of all, the overwhelming noise, the sensation that the bath of sound they were immersed in was itself a weapon hammering them flat with repeated waves of blasting. The explosions of the mines, the flat crack of the balls as they were thrown into the air and exploded, worst of all, the howl as the human mages created thunderbolts and hurled them into the mass of troops advancing on them.

They mixed with the screams of the dying, and those who wished they were dying, in an all-embracing cacophony and the war-cry howls of the humans in their sky-chariots overhead, hunting down the surviving flies. Krykojanklawas had never heard anything like it before. If anything the sound was worse than the magic that was being thrown at him, its pressure on his head made it almost impossible to think straight.

He lifted his head slightly, the human mages were up to something new. A ripple of lightning flashed along the ridge crest ahead of him. His eyes focused on that ridge, there were strange boxes scattered along it and the lightning seemed to have come from them. Before that could really register, the bath of sound that enveloped him was punctuated by ear-splitting screams, more human battle cries Krykojanklawas presumed.

How could such puny creatures give out such cries? Off to his left, a tight knot of demons had penetrated the wire, using the body of a dead Beast as a bridge. As Krykojanklawas watched, one of their leaders seemed to be hurled backwards, disintegrating into a fine spray of mist and parts as he did so. Most of those around him fell, spurting yellow body fluid from wounds torn by fragments from the magic bolt. Along the line, Krykojanklawas could see forty or fifty more such explosions as the magic bolts tore into the demonic ranks.

For the first time, he sensed that moving forward was impossible, that he could not do it and survive. All along the line, the same idea was beginning to filter into the minds of his fellows, the advance was faltering. Although he had never experienced anything like this before, the simple instinct of self-preservation cut in and Krykojanklawas took cover in a convenient dip in the ground. He was just in time, another salvo of the screaming bolts slammed into the ranks where the demons had clustered, spreading more death and destruction.

At that point he noticed something, the human mages were hurling their bolts where the demons were most tightly packed, the area effect of their blasts ensured multiple kills for each bolt. Krykojanklawas began to wonder if his survival in this human-created hell, he used the phrase without any sense of irony, was due to the fact that he was in a thinly populated section where most of the demons were already down.

The human magic was being concentrated on a section of the line far away, even the terrible noise seemed to have slackened a bit. That gave Krykojanklawas an opportunity. He had already spotted another, better dip in the ground ahead of him, so he leapt up and sprinted across to it. On the way he discharged his psychic force into his trident and aimed a bolt at the ridgeline ahead. The blue bolt shot out, it would take time for him to recharge but at least he'd taken a shot at the mages. Then, he was in his new hiding place, trying to find another one that was both better and closer to the enemy.

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

''Chaos Release: Water Gun!'' a demon yelled releasing a stream of jet water that sped towards Bass's tank.

"What the blazes was that?"

Bass shrugged. Something had hit his tank, it seemed like some sort of water stream or something. It had come from the mass of infantry they were pounding. "No idea. Any damage."

"No boss, the tank shaked for a second but that's all. If I didn't know better, I'd say we got hit by a water cannon. If we did, the 'Maximum Defense Seal' from the Holy Order of Eden worked as advertised."

Bass looked across the line, it seemed like quite a few bolts were coming in from the direction of the enemy. "The guys in the Zeroth Division said that demons could throw elemental attacks didn't they? Looks like we just got hit by one." Ahead, down in the valley, a group of demons had penetrated the wire in his sector. "Load HEAD."

"Up."

"Shoot."

"On the way."

The tank lurched as another 130mm HEAD round went down range and Bass saw it plow into the group he'd selected, blowing one demon into fragments while those around it went down wounded. The thought crossed Bass's mind that he was currently firing the second biggest and most expensive sniper's rifle in history. It also crossed his mind that snipers couldn't possibly stop a massed attack like this. He had to give the demons credit, the ground in the minefield and around the wire was carpeted with their dead yet they were still pushing forward. It took gutsy infantry to do that.

"That definitely a fire ball and lightning bolt." Bass had seen other Sheridan getting hit by a ball of fire and briefly lighting up the way a ship's mast sometimes did in an electrical storm. St Elmo's Fire it was called or something. He switched to the platoon net.

"Lieutenant, Sir, we're taking incoming fire here. Some sort of element spells, like lightning, water and fire. Seem to be pretty dangerous."

"Roger that Bass. For your information, other tanks and the crunchies in their IFV are also reporting the attacks. Hold Tight."

Bass switched back to tank intercom and picked out another demon target. Once again, his 130mm gun crashed, sending the demons flying. Their casualty rate down there was appalling, the AS-020Ds were still pounding them with their 180s while the tanks added precision fire to the execution yet they were barely making a dent in the mass of demons still moving forward. Bass got an uneasy feeling that the battle was not going well. Bass looked at his right. More than 10 different spells of different elements were coming towards him from different directions. The explosion rocked the 94-tonnes tank but Bass was still alive, at least for now.

First Army, First Armored Joint Task Force, Tel Ash Sha, Southern Lemuria

"They may not know what they're doing but my word, do they have guts." Major General Sean MacFarland watched the slaughter on his display. The MQ-90 was relaying real-time video of the battle as it developed, sending back pictures of the demon horde as they floundered under the lash of artillery fire.

The MLRS batteries were inflicting incredible losses on them, every time they fired, whole sections of the demon front just vanished under the Steel Rain. There were two problems with that, the batteries fired about once every four or five minutes and that just wasn't often enough. The other was that they had already dumped more than a billion DPICM bomblets into the target area. With a 2 percent failure rate, that meant there were already 20 millions dud rounds scattering the battlefield. That would make it a hazard for years to come.

Still, the gap between the MLRS salvoes was being filled by the M1299s. All 10,800 guns in the First Armored Joint Task Force were now pouring fire into the enemy army. A human army would have broken by now, given up, known that getting through the artillery fire was impossible, and saved their lives by pulling back. The demons weren't doing that. Not yet at any rate. MacFarland know they would, sooner or later. They were fighting the United States Army on its terms, on its ground, giving it exactly the target the Army was supremely good at destroying. The demons would either run or die.

Even as he watched, a new element was added to the massacre, the Black Knights of his mechanized infantry were firing anti-tank missiles into the enemy formation, picking out the groups the artillery missed and cutting them down. The tanks were silent, MacFarland intended to hold fire with them until the enemy were 3,000 meters away. The 152mm smoothbore didn't have the accurate range of the British rifled 130mms so the Black Knights had to take over the long-range precision fire role.

MacFarland looked at the mass of infantry threshing in the kill zone and shook his head. They had to stop at some point.

Hadn't they?

Chapter 17 : Deus Vult pt4

With most of the world's shipyards, aircraft and car manufacturers were converted to military usage, long range transportation of people and goods became quite difficult. To solve this problem, the world government encouraged the use of public transport and built Trans- Global Highway.

Trans- Global Highway: A world-spanning rapid transit-system that link all six of the inhabited continents on Earth and allow entire population groups to conveniently commute hundreds or even thousands of miles to perform work where it was needed, without impinging on the cultural values of host populations.

The system took five years from 2022 to 2027 to build and cost about 10 trillions USD.

Several major railway projects link most of the world into a global rail network, making it possible to travel from Patagonia to London entirely by train. Cars could drive from Australia to California via Russia and Alaska. People from New York would also be able to drive to London via Greenland.

The Trans-Global Highway links London, New York and Beijing by a high-speed express line, taking in the EU and Russia en route. The extends east into the Trans-Arctic line which crosses the Bering Strait Bridge and links into the rail networks of the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia in the Trans-American Railway. South from the Trans-Asian line branch the railways which link to the Trans-Africa line which runs from the Middle East down to Cape Town, and further east branches run across Iran and the Himalayas into India, linking it too into the global rail network.

Major Components:

- Channel Tunnel

- AmerAsian Peace Tunnel

- Japan Korea Tunnel

- Hokkaidō Sakhalin Asia Tunnel

- Taiwan Strait Tunnel

- Gibraltar Tunnel

- Strait of Sicily Tunnel

- Sunda Strait Bridge

- Saudi-Egypt Causeway

- Bridge of the Horns

- Darién Railway

- Australia–Papua New Guinea Tunnel

- Transatlantic Tunnel

---

Recap: The fierce war between the United Earth Alliance and the Holy Darwinian Empire was suddenly interrupted by the incursion of Chaos Demon Army. Now a shaky alliance between the UEADF and the Holy Order Militant have to joint force to defeat this new enemy, for the Fate of the world.

Recon Team Tango One-Five, Wadina Town, Southern Lemuria ,12 hours ago.

"Control, we have Demons, column advancing along the Pipeline Route. Estimated battalion force with company-level harpy cover."

"Very good. Engage and harass."

Lieutenant Tran Thi Kim Ngan AKA "The Iron Bitch" acknowledged, the transferred her attention back to the mast-mounted sight on her AT-99 "Scorpion" helicopter. A deft touch on the controls and the aircraft rose slightly so that the ball of the sight just peaked over the ridge. The picture hadn't changed much, even though the column was mounted on the rhinolobsters, they were moving slowly.

Well, slowly by United Indochina Army standards, The Iron Bitch guessed that by medieval standards they were fairly galloping along. That was excruciatingly slow when compared with the way the First Armored Joint Task Force was moving up.

A long rectangle of rhinolobsters, each with its rider and a small group out in front. They'd have to be the command group. The primary subject of interest, the cream of the crop in this target-rich environment. Eliminate the command structure first, leave the combat elements floundering around without orders. It was a process the United Indochina Army called 'shaping the battlefield'. "Tango Leader to all Tango birds. Select Shǎndiàn Huǒ Shén magic missiles, target the command group in front, ripple fire 20 magic guided missiles."

Spaced out down the wadi, the three Little Birds gunner their engines slightly and lifted up still further. The column ahead was oblivious to their existence, even when the laser target designators locked into place. On her display, The Iron Bitch could even see the designated targets starting to shift and scratch as the lasers irritated their skins.

Then, a gentle squeeze on the firing button and the first salvo of the Shǎndiàn Huǒ Shén streaked off across the savanna. Off to her left, a split second later, Tango-one-five-Bravo fired its first salvo of magic missile with Tango-one-five-Charlie following an instant after that. The Iron Bitch had already selected her next target when she fired her second salvo of magic missile, as soon as she saw the explosions from the first strike she swung the laser to her selected victim and watched the Shǎndiàn Huǒ Shén missile obediently switch targets. The explosions four thousand yards away seemed an almost continuous rolling thunder as the 60 missiles devastated the command group.

"All Tango-One-Five elements, jobs done, let's get out of here."

"We got a problem Ninja."

The Iron Bitch looked across at the burning patch of rocks where the Demon command group had been. Above it the harpies were heading for the position of her three Little Birds, coming in very, very fast.

"Bug out, everybody bug out now. Max speed." She rammed the throttles forward, swinging her helicopter into its high-speed position, trying to get away from the cloud of harpies that was closing on her.

"No good Ninja. They're faster than us."

The Iron Bitch didn't acknowledge, she didn't have to. The T-99 could do about 360 miles per hour flat out and the harpies were closing the range. She pulled back and swung the nose round, flipping her armament selector switch to the pair of Fēi lóng magic missiles mounted on the side of her cockpit.

The annunciator tone was mixed, even in the cold of a winded savanna night, they were having difficulty locking on. It was no good, whatever lock they had would have to do. She fired into the mass of harpies, watching as one missile went through the formation without exploding, the other struck home and she saw a harpy briefly outlined in fire as the Fēi lóng magic missile tore into it.

There was another flare as well, but The Iron Bitch had no time to congratulate herself or anybody else. She was turning away, diving, obeying the old rule, no matter how little height you have, trade height for speed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Tango-one-five-Charlie had left it too late. The Little Bird was engulfed in jets of fire from the harpies, its fuel tanks exploded and the flaming wreckage fell out of the sky to earth.

She was back in the wadi, heading away from the cloud of harpies, grimly aware they were closing in on her."Control, engaged Demons, command group badly hit. We are under attack by company-strength harpies, Charlie is already down. Two harpies down. Issue is in doubt.

Tell others, don't close in on harpies."

Duty done, The Iron Bitch spun her helicopter again and went straight at the formation of harpies pursuing her, her two gatling guns blazing a long, long burst. It registered briefly that there were two piles of burning wreckage on the savanna floor now and that she was alone. Bravo had gone. So had at least 12 more harpies, torn apart by the stream of bullets from her 30mm gatling guns.

Then, there was a clank and silence, she'd run out of ammunition. The harpies were on her, clinging to the airframe, tearing at it with their claws, kicking at the skin with their hooves. One was clinging to the cockpit canopy, smashing at it with its claws, trying to tear its way in. She could see the demented, screaming hate on its face, she could smell the stink of jet fuel as the harpies tore their way into the Little Bird's structure. That was all she saw and smelt because that was when Tango-one-five-Alpha exploded.

Cavalry Force, Left Flank of the Army of Abigor, Tel Ash Sha, Southern Lemuria.

They were hunched up, backs bent, heads down, looking for all the world as if they were trying to walk through some ferocious storm. Same grim determination to find shelter. And that wasn't a bad comparison thought Zorankalirtagap, that's what they were. Facing a storm that slaughtered everything in its path. Ever since his Beast had been killed, Zorankalirtagap had been advancing with the infantry against the hideous magic of the Earth's humans.

He caught his breath, suddenly the sky behind the humans had turned white again, white shot with fire as their fire-lances sped towards the floundering demon advance. He watched the sight with fear in his heart, then sighed slightly as it descended on the flank of the line, far from his position. It happened again, the same rippling cloud of explosions that left no demons standing when it cleared. Anything was better than the fire lances, even the magic bolts that screamed and caused the ground to erupt under their feet.

There was something new, from a position in front of them, more human chariots had appeared, barely visible with just a small box over the ridgeline. For all their skills, the Terran Army were cowards, Zorankalirtagap consoled himself with that thought, they didn't stand proud and fight, they hid in hollows and dips in the ground to kill. And kill, and kill, and kill thought Zorankalirtagap grimly. Oh yes, they were very good at that.

The metal boxes fired fire-lances at a group of demons on Zorankalirtagap's right. The targets scattered but it did them no good. They'd been lucky enough to escape the fire-lances and the bolts but these new weapons were different. As Zorankalirtagap watched appalled, the fire-lances changed course to follow their targets.

Even those who forget their honor and tookcover in dips like humans could not save themselves, the fire lances were following them into the cover they had sought. It was more than flesh and blood, even demonic flesh and blood could stand. The leading demons started to edge backwards, even as the ones behind continued to push forward. The advance ground to a halt in the chaos.

The Victorian Guards, Acrifa Plain, Southern Lemuria

"Air Raid Warning Red! Red! Red!" The scream over the radio was just in time. A flock of about 45,000 harpies had managed to assemble themselves from the massacre in the skies over the battlefield and attacked the tanks sitting on the ridgeline. Bass could feel his tank lurch as a group of them landed on it, heard their claws scrabbling at the armor. His radio went dead, at a guess, he thought the antenna had probably been ripped off by the harpies. Then he heard a ringing noise, the sound of machine gun fire bouncing of armor plate. The Black Knights IFV were machine-gunning the tanks in an effort todrive the harpies off them.

Bass looked through his vision blocks, some were masked by clawed hands trying to rip them open but he could see Bravo-Three was also covered with harpies, the tracers from three Black Knights converging on it as the infantry protected the tanks from the sudden assault. On a sudden thought, Bass looked up and made sure his hatch was firmly clamped shut.

One harpy was driven off the tank by the fire, it exploded in the air as the Black Knight fired a few rounds from its 50mm Bushmaster gun into it. Others were dying as they were shot up by the Black Knight's coaxial chain guns. That was creating a new problem, Bass could see Bravo-Three was starting to smoke, the acid from the harpy's blood probably. The paint on the Type-47 Sheridan MBTs would resist the acid but there were other things out there that could be vulnerable.

The tanks were backing up. Bass hadn't received any orders but with his radio down, it was a fair guess they were out so he joined in the movement. Like the other tanks, he popped his smoke launchers, the choking white fumes driving off the remaining harpies. By the time the Demons swarmed over the positions he had once held, the Type-47 Sheridan MBTs were back behind the next ridgeline.

Headquarters, British 12th Army Groups, Wadi Town, Southern Lemuria

General John Carlson looked at his map, his front line had been driven in, the tanks and armored infantry pushed back to the next defense positions. That left the Demons spread out between the wire and the next defense line in a vast disorganized mass. He picked up his radio, it was already set to the right frequency.

"Now, General Soleimani, now's your time. Put every gun to them Sir, every gun."

"Getting a bit Wellingtonian aren't we?"

The Iranian General's voice was urbane and slightly amused. Then his division spoke for him. Outside the sky to Carlson's left turned white as the massed batteries of Arabian PHL-18 380mm multiple rocket launchers opened fire, pouring their rockets into the Demon's flank and rear. Under the white cloud was a black one as the Chariot MBTs gunned their engines and started their charge at the enemy.

306th Legion, Eastern Flank, Abigor's Army

The onslaught was totally unexpected, the enemy were in retreat, covered by the fog they had conjured up. Then, somehow, they had poured a new mass of fire into the right flank and rear of the demon forces. Krykojanklawas looked over to the left and saw the black cloud as something crossed the ridgeline. He focused his eyes and almost screamed in horror at what he saw.

"The Terrans have Iron Chariots!"

He wasn't the only one. Others saw the more than 32,000 Chariot II tanks pouring over the defense lines, moving terrifyingly fast through the grassland. They saw them spit fire, the blaze rippling along their front line as the shots went on their way to tear into the demonic ranks. Every demon sensed the new chariots andknew the truth. they were made of iron. Not just any iron but some sort of super iron. The demons recoiled from their old enemy, it was just too much. After the pounding, the rockets the mines, the wire, their nerve broke.

Headquarters of Merafawlazes, Commander, Western Flank, Abigor's Army

Merafawlazes had learned much about war in the last few hours. He had learned that cavalry could no longer charge an enemy. He learned that heavy artillery was the great killer no matter whether the targets were demons or humans. He had learned that his soldiers were helpless against super-heavy tanks. He had learned that the Terran Army were the supreme masters of mass killing and were only too keen to practice their art. Now he learned that the moment an Army disintegrates and changes from a defeated force to a panicked mob can be measured with exquisite precision.

The French Army at Waterloo disintegrated at precisely 8:15 pm, the Union Army at First Bull Run at precisely 4:20 pm. Merafawlazes saw his army disintegrate with exactly the same precision. As the great iron chariots of the humans emerged from their hiding places, his army dissolved into chaos, running for the rear. The Iron Chariots followed them and they could move much faster than even the panic-stricken demons. That was when he had his next lesson. An Army suffers heavier casualties when it breaks than it does when it stands.

Type-92 Chamberlains Charlie-Three, Tel Ash Sha, Southern Lemuria.

There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn't keep– No, there wasn't more than twenty when the front begun to go; But all along the line o' flight they cut us up like sheep, An' that was all we gained by doin' so.

The Type-92 crested the ground smoothly, the great barrel of its gun held in place by the stabilization system. There was hardly any need to use it, the Demons were running for the rear, the Chamberlains tanks spraying them with fire from their coaxial and turret-top machine guns. In the driver's seat, SPC Brungardt saw a wounded Demon fall to the ground in front of the racing tank. The 141 ton Chamberlain didn't even lurch as it drove over the body. Brungardt thumbed his intercom button. "Hey guys guess what. Demons go crunch too."

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria.

Once again, Supreme Commander Nuttall was standing before the great screen in his command center, only this time it was linked directly to the Pentagon, the White House and over 190 capitals around the world. The screen showed President Dirrel B Johnson, Defense Secretary David Petraeus and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo but he knew that many, many more people were watching than that.

"Sir, we have the initial reports from the battles on the flanks in. We have successfully routed both flanking forces. In the West, the First Armored is already outflanking the Demon main body and moving into positions to its west. In the East, the Arabian Shamshar Armored Joint Task Force under General Qasem Soleimani is also outflanking the enemy and we expect it will link up with the First Armored sometime tomorrow. At that point, the enemy main body will be completely encircled. Our casualties have been remarkably light. 1056 main battle tanks, 1031 armored fighting vehicles, 2031 HEMTT trucks and of all the soldiers involved in the fighting, only twenty five thousand have lost their lives. As far as we can tell at this time, all our losses were victims of harpy attacks."

"Enemy casualties?" Secretary Petraeus spoke urgently.

"We're not into body counts Sir, not after The Great Imperial Air Strike, and the enemy dead are so smashed up it's impossible to tell how many there are. Details of the pursuit through the night are also only just coming in and it appears the enemy believed that fighting would stop at dusk. We didn't oblige them of course, we kept going and made it a twenty-four hour battle. During the process, we overran a lot of Demons who had settled down for the night. So I cannot give you a figure I would be confident with."

"An estimate, a guess, anything?"

"At a conservative estimate, I would say the enemy cannot have lost less than 90 million dead, probably many more. What's left of the flanking forces is falling back on their main body. That main body is still advancing on the center of our line, we expect them to launch their attacks in a few hours. We'll be concentrating all of our airpower to sweep the sky clean of harpies. Once we've done that, the ground forces can repeat the punishment we handed out yesterday. If anything the balance of forces is more favorable to us in the center than it was on the flanks. Once the harpies are out of the way, we can start using our helicopters over the battlefield again."

"How are your munitions supplies holding up?" Petraeus's voice was concerned.

"Very well Sir, thanks to the Holy Order of Eden, we are well-supplied here, we built up an impressive stockpile in case the Falmartian Orthodox Church attacked us and they built up an equally massive stockpile in case the Chaos Demon invaded them.

Some, not much but some, of the stocks are interchangeable and the Empire are flying in more. There's a couple of Floating Ship of the Heavens here now, unloading rockets for the Arab artillery.

Secretary Petraeus Sir, may I ask how the production ramp-up is proceeding? We're OK for ground forces ammunition but we're running through air-to-air missiles at a terrifying rate even with the large supply of magic missiles from the Holy Empire. After tomorrow we're going to be real short."

"Not well General. The problem is that so much of the need is inter-related. The AIM-125 is a good example, we're accelerating production of the missile as fast as we can but we're short of guidance systems. We've got AIM-125 airframes backing up out of the door waiting for the guidance modules.

Raytheon have come up with a partial fix, they've designed a new weapon, the AIR-125. Essentially its an AIM-125 with a simple inertial stabilization system that keeps it flying straight and level. They've packed it with a warhead that's three times more powerful than the AIM-125 and given it a fast-burn motor for high speed. It can be carried on a standard triple ejector rack in place of a single AIM-125. Raytheon will build as many AIM-125s as they can get guidance modules for and the rest will be AIR-125s.

"It's the same across the board I fear. We'll get it straightened out but we're running off stocks until we do."

On the screen, Nuttall nodded. It was more or less what he has suspected."

White House Conference Room, Washington DC

"Thank you General Nuttall. Doctor Surlethe, what are the results from our investigations of the Demons."

"They're going to start flooding in fast now Sir. We've had only limited samples to work with to date but now, with all this in Lemuria, that's going to change. And we've got the demon lord Daelmara that defected. We could learn a lot simply by dissecting her."

"No way." Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe jumped straight on the idea. "She's the first live Demon we've got our hands on. We need to talk to her, she knows how the Eye of Terror is organized, what its chains of command are, what its social and political structures are like. We're not dealing with a different country here, or even a different world like Falmart. We're dealing with an entirely different dimension. We need to know how that dimension works, what its economy is like, if indeed it has an economy. We need to know what sort of enemy we are fighting and what his resources are like. We can't get any of that from her dissected corpse."

"And suppose she won't tell you?" Doctor Surlethe jumped straight back.

"We could always waterboard her?" said Secretary Petraeus

"How do you know she can't breath water?" Secretary Pompeo's voice was droll.

"Exactly my point." Surlethe was getting impassioned. "Military and political data is all very well, economic information too, but first we need to know much more about the Demons themselves. How do they work? Can we get some idea of what powers they take for granted but seem magical to us? I'm sorry Don, but investigation of the Demons themselves must come first. Which is rather unfortunate for her of course."

"Gentlemen." The room quieted as President Dirrel B Johnson spoke." You are forgetting that this Dark Sorcerer came over to us on a promise that she would not be ill-treated. We did not make that promise but it was made to her on our behalf by our allies. We cannot go back on our word. We must not."

"She didn't defect voluntarily, she had a ring of holy weapons from the Zeroth Division pointed at her."

"I know. If she'd fought, she'd still probably have killed some of those Knights. She chose not to."

"Sir." General Nuttall spoke from the screen. "There is a practical side to this as well. We have one defector who came over on a promise of good treatment. How we treat her may very well decide how many more Demons decide to surrender or, even better, defect. If they get the idea that surrendering is a way out from certain death facing our tanks and artillery, it might end this war more quickly. It may very well mean fewer of our people get killed. Treating surrendered enemy personnel with extreme brutality has never worked to the favor of those committing such acts."

"I agree." Secretary Petraeus added his emphasis. "We've danced on a thin line during the War on Terror and shot ourselves in the foot doing it. We should not repeat that mistake."

"General, Secretary Petraeus, your practical comments add weight to my instincts on this. Doctor Surlethe, you may investigate the witch using non-invasive methods provided they do not inflict harm upon her. You may, with her consent, take blood samples etc. But there will be no dissection, is that clear?" Surlethe nodded. Unhappily but still a nod.

"Mister Randi, how is your end of this going?" President Dirrel asked James Randi Director of Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

"Very well Sir, we made a breakthrough today. A young…." Randi hesitated and then decided to keep going. "… angel , prioress Mizari, came in, she can see in to the Eye of Terror. We have her trying to contact some of our deceased personnel now. We have another young lady, sister Tyuwaru, a blue feather headed serine, who can get into the mind of a demon and she's exploiting that right now. As soon as we can work out how to expand that from talking to one demon into talking to all of them at one, we'll launch Radio Free Underworld."

Andrews Air Force Base, Lemuria, Falmart.

Daelmara was utterly bewildered. She'd been on Falmart not so long ago, a mere couple of centuries, but she'd had nothing like these experiences then. How had all these machines suddenly appeared? She'd flown for hours in a huge sky chariot, one loaded down with crates of more things called supplies. The crew had been nice to her of course, that was inevitable, they'd offered her food and drink and she'd accepted it even though it wouldn't quench her appetite much. Her body craved raw meat, preferably torn from a still-living body and the thing she'd been given didn't even come close. Just what was a 'hot pocket' anyway?

She could have adapted more easily to the sights around her if there weren't so many of them. The military base she had been assigned to was bad enough, all those tiny chariots racing around, but this great field was full of the huge Sky Chariots. Even as she watched, a different one was coming in to land. To her incredulous eyes, it changed even while it did so, its swept-backwings suddenly swinging forward to reach straight out. Then it touched down on the long black strip and started to slow. Immediately a band started playing, making her jump.

"Yeah, bands do that." The Air Force policeman watching her was sympathetic. Of course. Her mind-mask didn't work any more but the miasma was still doing its job of creating sympathy with the humans around her. "It's the 32nd Tactical Fighter Wing standing up. That's the first Tu-688 to join the Italian Air Force."

None of that made much sense to Daelmara. She did note one thing though, the Sky Chariot that had brought her was painted light gray, the one that had just landed was a cloudy mix of gray and orange-red. It never occurred to her that its paint job was an exact match to the skies in the Eye of Terror.

A long black ground chariot had pulled up and she was escorted into the back seat. The driver looked at her with hate that quickly faded to mild affection. The door closed behind her and the chariot pulled away. Daelmara couldn't see where the horses were hidden. Still, it didn't matter. What did matter was that she was safe. She quickly recalled the split second of blind panic when she looked at the ring of divine weapons pointed at her and knew death was but a split second away.

Miasma had done its work, Daelmara didn't know it but the panic had kicked her glands into working overtime and secreting human pheromones that created sympathy for her with everybody around. That had bought her just enough time. She'd worked her situation out with speed and hedged her bets by surrendering. If the Demon Army won, she wouldhave fulfilled her mission and penetrated the enemy leadership, gaining vital information. She would have done her duty and be rewarded. If the Earth Alliance won, and looking around her Daelmara had an unpleasant feeling they might, she would be the first defector and would also be well-rewarded. No matter who won, she would be safe.

On the Shore of the Styx, Fifth Ring, Eye of Terror

The six newcomers followed the woman along the banks of the river Styx. She moved swiftly and surely, as though she'd been along this way a thousand times before. As they waded through the mud, she spoke back over her shoulder:"You're lucky they put you here in this part of the Styx. This ring is ten miles across; you could have been walking for several days to get to Dis."

"What's Dis?" Tran Thi Kim Ngan asked.

"Abbadon's home base. His palace is there, all the administration is run out of there as well. It surrounds the whole of this land like a wall."

"And you're taking us there?" Kim Ngan's voice was loaded with suspicion.

"Of course," said the woman. "That's where the resistance is headquartered."

"Tell us about the resistance."

The woman smiled."It's hard to know where to start. You see, the resistance has a long history; it's been around almost as long as I have."

"And how old are you? And, who are you?" Kim Ngan's growing suspicion and dislike for this woman made getting an answer very urgent."

"I've been dead for ten thousand years." The woman laughed at the expression on their faces. "Why are you so surprised? Once you're dead, you're effectively immortal; aging is slowed by orders of magnitude, and you're healthy and robust so the torment doesn't put you under. As for who I am, you may have heard of me. My name is Rahabyy. Commander of the 385th Division, 5th Corps, 12th Imperial Army in charged of protecting capital Sadera." The woman's voice was nostalgic. "I protected my country to in the 4th Black Crusade and the Chaos Demons tossed me down here after a fierce battle ."

"So, if there's been a resistance for all these years, why hasn't the Demon of Chaos been overthrown?"

"It can't be. This is it, there's nothing more. We can't overthrow the order here. All we can do is try to disappear, save ourselves from torment. That's not as hard as it sounds, Hell is a big place, and it takes a long time to move around in it or communicate. I've just finished a two-month walk from Dis down to Cocytus, up to the first ring, and back. The fact that there are constant patrols is a real problem, and though they don't really go out of their way to look, if they see anything untoward, they light on it immediately. And one demon is more than a match for four or five people."

"Then how did we manage to take down that Demon?"

"To be blunt, you got lucky. He came down for a spot of torture and fun, and you surprised him before he could react. If he'd seen you guys free before you were on him, he'd have called for some help and then zapped you with lightning from a distance."

Once again, the members of Tango-one-five exchanged glances. The picture they were getting was that the so-called resistance wasn't resisting at all. At best they were an escape group, an underground railway that tried to keep themselves away from the pits that made up the rings of hell. It seemed as if the people here had accepted the line that this was the ultimate end of things, that any effort to change it was doomed to futility.

Kim Ngan looked around. They were on the edge of the river, if it could be called that. It was more like a rippling strip of clear water through the mucky water surrounding it. Ahead of them, through the vile, thick mist, they saw a tall, stone tower looming. Rahaby turned and put a finger to her lips, then sank lower into the mist, crouching into the mud. She moved forward slowly.

Kim Ngan followed suit, but kept looking around. The tower moved closer and closer, and she looked up. At the top, suddenly, an flare burst into existence with a foomp. The light from the signal fire lit everything around them in a dull orange glow, making the mist look a bit like tomato soup. Abruptly, their guide ducked under the muck. Kim Ngan caught a glimpse of a towering silhouette looming through the mist before she followed suit– except, she didn't duck all the way. Instead, she sank down as far as she could go while keeping her face above the surface of the mud. Simultaneously, she shrank back toward a clump of stringy, greasy grass.

The Demon passed within five feet of her. It was mounted on what looked like an oversized rhinoceros with a scorpion-tail arched overhead– A rhinolobster, she recognized it an instant later from that last mission in Lemuria, which was wading through the swamp. Looking neither left nor right, the Demon reined his mount forward when it sniffed and started at something, and kept moving until the mist had swallowed it. The Demon itself had been huge, twice the height and probably four or five times the weight of the one they'd killed back there.

Rahaby surfaced from the mud as the rest of the Tango flight members came up for air.

"If you'd attacked him, you'd have had no chance," she said.

Though that was all, the words had clearly been aimed at Kim Ngan who had her own thoughts on the matter.

It was very easy to think of ten thousand reasons why something could not be done, it took a different mindset to think of the way it could be achieved. Kim Ngan had her own ideas there, she'd thought of two ways of taking the mounted patrol down already, although much depended on what could be found locally. She'd seen the black outcrops that spoke of coal and coal meant powdered carbon. This whole area was volcanic, and that meant sulfur. Now, if there was only some saltpeter around, they had the start of an IED.

"Keep a look out for yellow deposits." She whispered to her people.

"Ahead of you Ninja. Already been looking. There's some in the rocks. We're two for three so far. And there's some pretty crystals that might be good for fragments."

They moved on for a while before Rahaby broke silence and asked,"So, what are things like back topside?"

Thai Hung piped up."We were all pilots in the 160th SpecOps in Viet Nam when the Great War broke out. Lost a tenth of the regiment in the following battles, then didn't do much of anything until the hellgate opened in southern Lemuria and we got sent out to take a look at the Demon advance. Took down the command structure of a regiment, then got outrun by harpies and taken down."

The woman was smiling bemusedly."You lost me at 'Great War',"

Kim Ngan exchanged glances with Thai Hung."You don't know about the Great War ?"

"No, not about this Great War. It wouldn't have been the first Great War you know."

"Basically, the Empire opened a GATE to our homeworld Earth, a terrible tragedy happened, a lot of people died, the brass told everyone to go to war, and so we started to fight. Doing pretty good too , and on top of that the Demons started to appear so now we are fighting them too, with the help of the Holy Order of Eden. " Kim Ngan shruged.

There was a bridge coming up out of the thinning mist now, next to the road they'd been wading beside for some time.

Rahaby turned and said,"Stay low and follow me single-file."

She crouched and moved beside the road to the base of the bridge, then slipped underneath. The members of Tango flight followed suit. There, bolted to the base of the bridge, was a rope that stretched across the river beneath the arch of the roadway. The woman took hold of the rope and started pulling herself hand-over-hand across the river. Kim Ngan looked at Thai Hung, shrugged, and followed.

On the far side, Rahaby crouched and hissed, "Okay, this is the most dangerous part. The walls that separate the fourth and fifth circles of Terror are right up on the other side of this embankment, and they are constantly manned. The guards are vigilant and they will see you if you poke your head up, so you stay low and follow me as fast as you can."

Kim Ngan nodded. SERE– still in the "evade" part. Rahaby turned and, crouching, ran to a rock outcropping sticking up several dozen meters away. She looked around, then beckoned. Single-file, the escaped soldiers followed, making sure to stay crouched. They followed her from formation to formation, putting distance between them and the bridge as quickly as possible. At one large boulder, they stopped, and Rahaby pointed back.

Just at the edge of vision, the bridge stretched back into the mist covering the far shore of the Styx; across it snaked a long, black column of Demons. It was following the road up the embankment to the plain and across that to the city, whose high walls were visible even here. When they moved on after a short rest break, the column was still marching with no end in sight.

"They must have found that body you crucified. See how they react?" Rahaby's voice had a mixture of conceit and spite in it. Kim Ngan looked at her steadily, if she couldn't see the Demon column was marching out, not in….

At length, the woman led them up the incline and onto the plain, one that was littered with what looked to be bonfires, although from the distance it was hard to tell. She moved purposefully forward, and as they followed her, Kim Ngan got a chance to more closely examine the bonfires. They weren't bonfires; they were what looked like burning coffins, of all things. On some, the lids were half-off; she could hear groans and cries of pain drifting out of them.

Rahaby stopped at one coffin, which was glowing dully. "What sort of metal is it?" Thai Hung idly asked.

"Bronze. Everything here is bronze." said Rahaby as she bent down and casually lifted the lid off. The hissing sound as the metal seared her flesh was audible.

Kim Ngan gasped. "What the hell…?"

The woman shrugged. "It'll heal in no time." She gestured. "In you go."

Kim Ngan looked down. The coffin had no bottom; instead, it was a stairwell. The top two stairs were afire, but the rest looked cool enough. Hesitantly, Kim Ngan stepped in, and gingerly hopped down to the third stair before crouching and continuing down. There was certainly pain in her feet, but it wasn't unbearable, and the cool stone on them felt good.

The rest of her team followed, wincing and grunting as they crossed the fire. Then the woman jumped into the coffin, grabbed the lid, and swung it back on. It fell on with a dull clank, and what little light there was vanished, save that cast by the flickering flames above. There was a flare, and more light: the woman was holding a torch, one she'd obviously picked up from the stash Kim Ngan could see on the fourth step.

She descended and brushed by them, then took the lead. They followed her for what seemed like miles -before the tunnel opened into a room. As they stepped into the cave, Kim Ngan realized that her feet didn't hurt anymore. The room was well-lit by torches ensconced in the wall, and there were some chairs and a sleeping pad in the corner.

She sat down, and gestured to some chairs. "Please, sit."

For the first time, Kim Ngan began to relax, and felt the adrenaline slowly draining out of her. She recognized the signs, end-of-patrol-itis, something that had killed more soldiers than most other mistakes. Assuming that the danger was over because they were about to re-enter their base, the getting ambushed when their guard was down. Kim Ngan kicked herself hard, mentally, danger was never over down here, she could never let her guard down. Especially with this woman.

"Anyway," continued Rahaby, "you need to tell me about this 'Great War' and everything that's happened since."

And they did. They told her about the Rumbling, and the peoples' death, the declaration of war on the Holly Empire and its Allies– "Mmm, so the current Emperor is Emperor Molt Sol Augustus ? So it seems that House Augustus still rule the world. That Imperial succession law is really smart ( only the Crown Prince/Princess can inherit the Imperial last name Augustus, the rest of the princes and princesses will carry the Emperor's spouse last name), it help to reduce imperial infighting. " Rahaby thought out loud – and the opening of the Hellgate in the wastes of southern Lemuria. When they were done, the woman sat for a long time in silence.

Then she said, "If you will excuse me, I will be gone for a couple of days. I will be back to take youto our leader." Then Rahaby stood and exited the room.

"What do you think Ninja?"

Kim Ngan looked around at the room. "We're like rats in a trap here and I don't like it. And I don't trust that woman, her main priority appears to be keeping out of the way of the guards and not getting caught."

"I can understand that Ninja."

"So can I, but Uncle Ho doesn't pay us to sit around. He must guess that and knows we are set on stirring things up around here. That could easily mean things get pretty precarious for people who just want to keep their heads down. I'd say it's a fifty-fifty bet she's arranging to turn us in right now. If she isn't actually part of the security system."

There were nods. A fake "resistance movement" that drew in likely recruits so they could be quietly killed was a tactic as old as the hills. The Company had been running similar things Cambodia before The Great War had come through. And Abbadon was known as being the Prince of Lies, at least that is what the Holy Order said.

"Yeah, Ninja, and she's pretty bitter about staying down here for thirty thousand years. That could easily translate into her working with the Demons."

"So let's get the hell out of here." Thai Hung spoke decisively.

Kim Ngan agreed, it was against the grain to stay in one place under these circumstances. They made their way back up to the surface and out. Then, they moved as fast as they could to put as much ground between them and the hiding hole as possible. A few hours later, well concealed from any observers on the walls towering high above them, they came to a stop.

"What next Ninja?"

"First priority, find a way of attacking and killing one of those big Demons on a rhinolobster. An IED should do it. They're supposed to be so invulnerable, taking one down will be a real blow."

"That bridge. Now if we could blow it under a Demon column."

Kim Ngan laughed at that one. "We'll need something more than gunpowder and some holy magic to do that. What did you think of that column by the way?"

"They were marching out Ninja. Being pulled out of here, for something else. The only thing I can think of that would warrant that kind of movement is fighting us."

"Agreed. A sign our boys are doing well back there?" Then her face froze. There was a voice playing in her head.

"Hello, is this Lieutenant Tran Thi Kim Ngan? Hello, hello."

"What's the matter Ninja?"

"Got voices in my head. Sound like us, human. Hold one."

"This is Kim Ngan. Identify.

"I'm prioress Mizari. I'm in the BPRD Headquaters. I've been asked to try and find you."

"Authenticate two-eight-six" Kim Ngan snapped the numbers out.

There was a long pause and Kim Ngan was about to give up when the voice came back."Sorry, we took some time to find the security number from the night you were shot down. Authentication is two-oh-five.

Tran Thi Kim Ngan tried to stop herself cheering. "Guys, we're through. Somehow, the brass have found a way to get word through to us. I think we're back in the Army."

Headquarters, Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Arlington, VA

There was no restraint in the laboratory, the cheering could be heard outside the doors and all down the corridor. Randi stuck his head around the corner, beaming at the sight of his staff dancing up and down.

"I take it something worked?"

"Mizari got through to those helicopter pilots. They're on the line now."

"How solid is the contact?"

"Very Sir." Mizari spoke respectfully. "It's comfortable to hold and there's no fade."

"Ask her where she is and what her situation is." Mizari's eyes defocused while she "spoke" with Kim Ngan. "She says she's in the fifth circle of Terror, she and her unit have escaped from captivity.

They've started to set up a resistance, they've already killed a Demon. The resistance is called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Netherworld. She says they need supplies if we can get them to her."

"Is there a resistance already? Escaped prisoners and so on?"

Another long pause. "Yes, but Kim Ngan says she doesn't trust them. Their main priority is keeping their heads down and avoiding recapture. Her plan is to keep them at arms length until she and her unit have stirred things up enough so that they don't have any choice about joining the insurgency. She also says there are signs of major troop movements out of the Eye itself, suggesting more forces are being readied for the invasion of Falmart. She's asking how well the Army is doing up here."

"That's my girl." General Vo Quoc Trung had entered the room quietly.

"Tell her we're kicking ass and taking names, we've won the first two battles big-time. Then, Mizari, find out what Kim Ngan's supply priorities are please. Tell Kim Ngan we can't promise we'll get stuff through to her but if its possible, we will."

One again, Mizari's eyes defocused. "First priority is webbing so they can carry stuff. Then, she wants advanced binary stabilized liquid explosive - BINASLEX ( each kilo of BINASLEX, when properly mixed, is the equivalent of 5 kilos of C-4 plastique ) , or better if we can send it, M-36 claymores, AT-5 anti-tank rockets and radios. Detonators or as many types as possible. She says an M82B1. 20mm sniper's rifle would be nice as well."

Vo Quoc Trung finished writing the list on a pad."Can we get back through to her any time?"

"I think so, Sir. It should be easier to reopen the link than it was to find her."

"Very well, tell her we'll be back in touch. We don't want to keep this link open all the time, it's a security risk."

"Very good Sir." Mizari's eyes blanked out again, then returned to life.

"She's gone Sir. I wished her luck on your behalf."

"Thank you Mizari." Vo Quoc Trung's voice was kindly. "I just hope we can send her a bit more than good luck."

Headquarters, Army of Abigor, Southern Lemuria.

It had been dusk when the flier had arrived. Abigor had been standing outside his tent, basking in the last rays of the setting sun when the flier had staggered in. A very badly wounded flier, its body dreadfully burned along one side, its damaged wing causing it to fly unevenly. As it approached, Abigor saw that it had lost an eye from the same burns that affected the rest of its body.

"Your Excellency, I bring word from General Merafawlazes."

Abigor looked at the battered flier. Was this the best Merafawlazes could send to bring news of his victory? It was insult. Abigor paused for a second, a deliberate insult? Was this Merafawlazes's attempt at deposing him? "What word?" His voice was curt and irritable.

"Sire, terrible news. The Army of the West has been defeated by the Terran Army and the Dark Sorcerer Legions were annihilated in the hand of the Zeroth Division. It is in full retreat heading east. The enemy are pursuing it in their Iron Chariots. They move fast sire, faster than the swiftest Beast. As our infantry run, they are being crushed by the Chariots. It is a disaster, Merafawlazes says beware of the fire lances and the Iron Chariots for our forces are helpless against them.

"Defeated?" Abigor was stunned by the news. "How?"

"The Terrans have terrible magic sire. They cause the ground to erupt and swallow our infantry whole, their fire lances tear them apart. They can call up divine thunder at will and their breath leaves nothing but the dead where they breathed. In the sky, their holy fire lances seek us out no matter how much we twist and turn. One touch from them is death Sire. One passed close to me, did not even hit me and look what its fire did."

Abigor listened in shocked disbelief. There was no way this story could be faked, no Duke would admit to so crushing a defeat. No demonic army had been defeated, not since That defeat, the one before time had properly begun. Abigor had been at that battle and known defeat then. He remembered its taste and suddenly, after countless eons, his mouth was filled with it again.

"Come to my tent, tell me all that you know." He saw the flier hesitate.

"You have nothing to fear."

That's what they all say the flier thought, before they kill the bringer of bad news

An hour later, Abigor was trying to absorb the flier's description of the battle. He had his own battle plan market out on his map, in essentials it was simply a larger repeat of Merafawlazes's attack. Cavalry first to break up the enemy line, then the infantry in a thick mass to swarm over the wreckage and finish the enemy off. He had his 28 infantry Fronts in a huge block, seven Fronts wide, four deep, the ranks massed tight and deep. By all that was traditional it should have been invincible. Merafawlazes had thought that, now Merafawlazes Army was dead or running.

"They hid behind the hill you say?" Abigor's voice was thoughtful.

"Sire, they did. They were lined up behind the ridge where they could not be seen by our force. Only after our army had been almost destroyed by their magic and we fliers slaughtered by their Sky-Chariots did they venture over the crest and charge us. Even then they did not dare to fight in honorable hand-to-hand combat but let loose their fire-bolts at us from a distance. Only when our comrades lay wounded and helpless did they close on us and then they crushed the wounded under their chariots."

The wounded flier dropped back to his knees again, still not quite sure he could believe the fact he was alive and uneaten.

Abigor thought the information over. He had to change plans, his original was an open invitation to a massacre by the Terran mages. His mind mulled the information over. His original front was over a hundred mile long with the ranks extending almost 30 miles backwards.

If he lined his Fronts up in single row, they would form a front almost five hundred miles long. His mind chewed away, the human magic slaughtered by area, why stop at lining up his legions side by side.

There was no need for the Fronts to maintain their block, 1250 ranks deep. Suppose each Front formed three blocks 405 ranks deep? And those blocks were lines side by side? Why, that meant a front approaching 1500 miles wide! , that is the width of this entire sub-continent, Abigor stared at his map, with a front line like that, he could extend beyond the range of the human mages and their magic, envelop their flanks and roll them up.

It was brilliant. It was also, of course against every concept of demonic warfare. Battles were decided by massive blows aimed at the center of the enemy force, the two masses colliding and slugging it out. This idea of thinning his lines and enveloping the enemy was, wrong somehow. Yet the humans were wrong, they didn't fight like warriors, they lacked the spirit to close in to hand-to-hand combat range.

He wrote the new orders down on parchment and then added another thought. The enemy mages had to be on that ridgeline. If they could be prevented from casting their spells, that would be a major part of the enemy's defense gone. So he added another line, ordering all the infantry to keep firing their magics as rapidly as they could recharge their mana. It didn't matter if they hit anything, just to keep that ridge crest under continuous fire. Then, he turned his attention back to the flier still cowering in a corner.

"You, what is your name?"

"Tomovoninkranfat Sire."

"I need you to take these messages to the Fronts commanders. It must be done tonight." Abigor was about to issue the usual blood-curdling threats when he stopped himself. This one had flown in with the messages although terribly wounded. Hell ran on fear and terror but surely nothing could be worse than what this flier had already faced.

"Tomovoninkranfat, you have already served me well and I thank you for everything you have already done. I see your wounds and know how much this must cost you but these messages must get through."

To Abigor's astonishment, Tomovoninkranfat drew himself up. "Your wish is my will Sire." And he left clutching the parchments in his unburned hand.

Behind him, Abigor felt another wave of surprise. Could it be that it wasn't necessary to terrorize everybody in sight in order to get things done? That praise and trust could sometimes work as well?

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria.

"They're moving."

The great screen in General Nuttall's command center was showing a sudden surge of activity in the Demon Army that lay along the Wadi al Gudrhat. Formations were beginning to move shifting sideways, the deployment changing. Far over their heads, the Global Hawk was faithfully recording everything they did but what it could not do was tell General Nuttall why they were doing it. That, he had to work out for himself.

"A night attack Sir?" An aide spoke with unease. It was hard to make a guess based on intentions with so little to go on.

"Could be. They're moving sideways though, not forward. Extending their line. I'd guess this move started when word of what happened on their flanks started to trickle in."

"Perhaps they're trying to replace the flank cover we destroyed yesterday?" General David Tall was jumping in with both feet as usual.

"Could be." Nuttall repeated the same words absent-mindedly. "Any other suggestions?"

This was his "school for Generals", the time when his aides were invited to give their opinions on what the situation on the display actually meant and what should be done about it. Later they would compare their opinions with what had really happened and learn.

"I think they're scared." General Ellen Yarborough flushed slightly as the Supreme Commander looked straight at her.

"Why do you say that Ellen?"

"Because they don't know what hit them yesterday. They're still trying to piece it all together. Look what hit us over the last 24 hours. Cavalry, phalanxes of infantry, I mean real phalanxes General, only those harpies were anything even remotely modern. Now look what hit them. Tanks, Mick-vees, artillery, MLRS. Its completely outside their terms of reference. So they don't know what hit them.

"What they do know, Sir, is what we did to them. I bet the commander over there has reports coming in and he's trying to make sense of them. He's noted we kill wholesale, not retail. So, he's thinning his troops out, trying to reduce his casualties by giving us less to shoot at. He's also extending his front and might hope to outflank us but that's a secondary thing."

"Anybody any comments on that?" Nuttall looked around.

"It means he's pretty smart. They didn't fight smart yesterday." Tall looked around at the group gathered around the screen.

"Oh yes they did." Another officer, General Keith Renshaw cut in.

"They fought very smart in their own terms. Can you imagine trying to stop that attack with spears and bows? They'd have stomped straight through us. And they kept going even while we slaughtered them. Can you imagine a human army taking a battering like that and keeping up the advance? I can't."

"Important point that Keith." Nuttall spoke approvingly.

"They showed a lot of guts. They didn't change plans though, that tells us something about how fast their command structure can handle changes. Ellen, you make a good point as well. The commander over there is responding to what happened, doing so pretty fast.

" He paused and looked at the display again, it had updated to show the Demon positions moving further sideways. "Whether he's simply reducing the richness of the target environment or has thoughts about outflanking us doesn't matter. What he's doing gives him the option and we have to allow for it. Any suggestions. Ellen?"

"The critical point is here, at Hit. If Hit falls, and its right on our front line our extreme right flank, he can cross the Euphia and come down between the river and the Kingdom of Kowan. Cut us off from our supply lines. We have two Army Groups from the European Fourth Army Front in reserve, I suggest we order one of them to move to cover that area, position them east of Aqabani. With the divisional M370s in support. That way they can either block the Demon advance or, if they don't cross the river, swing and hit their left flank."

"Comments?" Nuttall looked around.

"Sounds good to me." There was a mutter of agreement.

"That's because it is good. Gives us plenty of options. One change, the MLRS launchers stay where they are. They have the range to support the 4th from their present positions and we might need that firepower. 25th Armor and 10th Mech can provide most of what we need but I want to keep one corps of M370s on a ready-to-shoot basis in case of unexpected developments. Thank you."

Nuttall turned back to his display. The Demon line was definitely extending and thinning. Yarborough had been right, they were learning fast. Not fast enough though.

DEPARTMENT OF INTELLIGENCE AND MILITARY OPERATIONS NETHERWORLD ( D.I.M.O.N ) Conference Room, Arlington, VA.

"Doughnuts and Coffee ladies and gentlemen and, errr, other lady."

There was a quick stir as people descended on the refreshments trying not to be seen as too keen to grab the iced donuts. Daelmara looked at the plates with a distaste and a certain element of despair. It had been a week since she had eaten and her body was screaming for raw meat. These balls of fried plants were of no use to her.

"You don't like donuts Debby?"

"I eat meat. Fresh meat. Not vegetables."

"Donuts aren't vegetables." One of the women present, a dedicated vegan didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"Donuts are made of flour yes? Flour is from plants. Plants are vegetables so donuts are vegetables."

"I must try that on my doctor." One of the men spoke quietly but the vegan lady still glared at him.

Robert O'Shea was speaking to the Pentagon kitchens on the telephone. They had some standing ribs down there and he asked for the largest to be sent up. "Beef all right Debby?"

"Human is better but any meat will be good." She noted the

expression on the faces of the rest of the people in the room.

"You do not eat your dead?"

"No." It was a short, clipped phrase.

"How strange. So you just waste them." Daelmara shrugged and then her eyes lit up as the raw meat arrived. She grabbed the joint and ripped at it with her teeth, tearing off large lumps and swallowing them. The vegan lady nearly fainted. There was a general agreement that they'd learned a first important thing about the Demons. Their table manners were appalling.

"If we might get started." Director of DIMON O'Shea looked at Daelmara who was still grunting, snorting and tearing at her meat. He couldn't help thinking it was a charming sight to see somebody enjoying their food so much.

"First item, communications. We can communicate back up to the Realm of Chaos on a one-to-one basis but that's all. Debby, how do we open a portal."

"You can talk to people back home? Then you can open a portal. Just add more power. Get more of your mages to add their power to the message. First you can get messages through then with more power the message opens a gate. It's easy. As long as you use a Psyker to contact."

"What's a Psyker ?" The vegan lady wanted to keep Daelmara talking in case she decided she wanted some more meat and created another display like the previous one. The stripped bones were still on the table to remind her of what that sight had been like. Idly, Daelmara picked one of the ribs up, cracked it open with her teeth and sucked out some marrow.

"Psyker are mortal with demonic ancestry. All psykers draw their powers from the extradimensional realm known as the Immaterium that underlies four-dimensional realspace and is the source of all psychic energy in the universe.

Long time ago, when we were here before, we mated with the humanoids. We Demons still do. Sometimes there are offspring from such matings that are both mortal and demon. Now, the demon ancestry in a Psyker is mostly very small but enough remains. We can contact them even from our dimension." Daelmara thought carefully, how could her information be valuable without giving away too much? "We can make you see what we want you to see but we must be able to see you for that. But with Psyker we can contact make messages without seeing."

"Is that how you come to other dimensions."

"Yes. We contact a Psyker and use our mind-mask to establish a message link. Then our leaders add more power and form a gate we can step through."

Daelmara looked around and saw the growing affection in the eyes of the people around her. And gratitude for her assistance. She was doing well, and her stomach was full at last. Only one person present didn't like her and that was the woman who had complained about eating meat. Daelmara eyed her and wondered, purely academically and without any intention of actually trying, what she would taste like.

Observation Room, DIMON, Arlington, VA

"What do you think of her Robert?" James Randi looked at O'Shea, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"Well, she's not the sort of girl I'd take home to meet my mother."

O'Shea thought for a second. "On the other hand, she eats humans so I might take her to meet my ex-wife. But in her way, I thought she was quite pleasant."

Randi smiled and shook his head. This was why the JREF always filmed their tests and trials, it was amazing what one could see when a situation was played back."Watch this Robert."

It was a film of Daelmara eating, her teeth ripping at the meat, blood spraying around her, running down her chin. She was looking around, half suspicious that somebody might take her food but it was obvious that her eyes were also assessing the chance of eating one of the other members of the meeting.

"Quite pleasant Robert?"

O'Shea looked appalled. "I don't remember it like that. Oh, I noted she was a bit gross when she was eating but nothing like that."

"That's why we record all of the tests we do. See things that get missed first time around. We've noticed how that witch seems to get on everybody's good side very quickly. Nobody had much bad to say about her. There's something we need to look at here."

"We all had our Sunforged mithril foil caps on." O'Shea sounded defensive.

"I know, anyway it seems like we need to investigate this a bit more. Robert, something your people can look at, I need to get go and get more power pumped into our links to Realm of Chaos."

Headquarters, Army of Abigor, Southern Lemuria.

The Great Beast saw Abigor approaching and clicked its claws in greeting. As befitted Abigor's status, his Great Beast towered over the lesser Beasts ridden by the cavalry brigade and its black skin swirled with iridescent colors that caught the rising sun and sparkled into a shimmering halo. Abigor returned the salutation of his Great Beast and swung up on to the animal's back. Over his head, he could see the viciously curved tail straighten and then fall back to its natural position. The Great Beast was ready to move, to attack the humans that dared to defy its master.

Ahead of him, Abigor saw his legions start to roll forward, the thinned ranks looking pitifully slender by the standards of demon warfare. The Front was designed to fight as a solid mass, its 1215 ranks adding mass and weight to the charge that would strike the enemy with the force of a battering ram. Abigor had knowingly sacrificed that weight, given up the power of his charge in favor of hitting the humans along a much broader front. Ahead of him, he could see the humans had done it again, they had formed up behind the ridgeline where they were shielded from the trident bolts of the demon infantry. They had to be up there though for this was the day of the great battle.

Overhead, Abigor could see the strange white clouds the human Sky Chariots left behind them as they searched out the remaining fliers. He could hear the sound of their battle-cry, a strange roaring scream punctuated by thunder-like explosions as their fire lances tracked their targets and blew them apart. There were more Sky Chariots here that Abigor had ever seen before, they filled the sky above the battlefield, dipping down to slash at the fliers who floundered helplessly below them.

Casualties up there must be terrible, Abigor thought. Even as he watched, three fliers fled westwards back to the hell gate. A Sky Chariot was in hot pursuit, closing the range on them with terrible speed. Oddly, this one was silent and if Abigor hadn't been watching, he wouldn't have known it was passing. Only after it had passed did Abigor hear the thundering crash and roar of its battle-cry. The Sky Chariot swerved after the fliers and it gave forth a rasping moan that filled the sky with bright lights. One flier exploded, there was a brief pause, then another rasp and a second flier died. The Sky Chariot zoomed skywards, rolled over and slashed down at the third. It too died as the lights engulfed it.

Still, it was the ground forces that were important. Fliers were important for terrorizing a fleeing enemy but in a real battle, it was the cavalry and infantry that counted. Abigor urged his Great Beast forward, keeping close to the infantry as they surged forward. He could sense the uneasiness in the ranks, the infantry felt exposed without the thick mass of the ranks that usually surrounded them. And the Cavalry were staying back, normally they led the charge, the shock of their weight and speed breaking through the enemy lines.

Now they were being held to wait on events. If the army started to fall apart, it would be their job to stem the breach and hold the line. Abigor suddenly stopped himself, he was thinking about what would happen if he lost? Something had changed in him the previous night when he had listened to Tomovoninkranfat's account of how Merafawlazes's Army had died. Defeat had ceased to be unthinkable, now it was all too real a possibility.

The sky to the east was changing, suddenly, the rising sun was shining through the streaks of the human fire lances suddenly emerging from far behind their lines. Their mages had to be at work already. The front like of the advancing infantry lowered their tripods to the horizontal and let fly with a withering barrage of lightning bolts. The ridge crest was at extreme range and man of the bolts had dissipated before they made it there but enough hit the line to disrupt the concentration of the human mages. Abigor was sure of that. Yet it did not seem to affect the Fire Lances as they arched over and raced down into his infantry. The rippling sea of explosions engulfed a whole section of his front line, devouring it, shredding those unfortunate enough to be caught in its hot breath.

That was how Abigor found himself thinking of it, it was the Humans breathing death over his infantry. They were faltering, looking around, seeing the wire ahead of them and realizing what was to happen. Abigor drove his Great Beast into the middle of their ranks, urging them forward, firing his tripod– and hearing the wailing screams as yet more human magic was added to the chaos.

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria.

"Pumpkin-One reports receiving heavy inbound fire Sir. The Demons are firing their magic on the ridgeline as they come in. Fire is ineffective Sir."

Nuttall nodded. The truth was, he wasn't that interested at this point.

His artillery was tearing huge gaps in the Demon attack although the reduced density of targets meant the death toll was lower than it had been yesterday. Standing in front of his screen, he could see the Demons surging forward, taking their losses from the deadly MLRS barrages and the minefields. They hadn't reached the wire yet. Not that it mattered to him, the division commanders along the front knew what they had to do and Nuttall had left them to get on with it.

They had enough on their plate without their commanding general peering over their shoulder and second-guessing them. Nuttall had enough to do as well, in addition to handling his Armies artillery, he had to keep supplied of ammunition and fuel flowing towards the corps. He had truck convoys scattered all the way between the front line and Alnus, keeping them flowing forward was a job in itself. He had staff handling that as well, his part of the battle was to stand here in front of this screen and spot things going wrong.

"There's a flight of Floating Ship of the Heavens coming in from Italica. Carrying reloads. Make sure our fighters screen them from any harpies surviving out there. And have the fighters report when the harpies are cleared out of the way. The Apache crews will want to get their licks in."

"Sir, Yes Sir." That had to be one of the Marines Nuttall thought. Still it was better than the Rangers, that constant Oooh-Agh got on his nerves after a while. Getting the AH-64s into action was going to be critical for more reasons than one.

The 25th Armored Joint Task Force, known on the radio as "Pumpkin" was already tearing the Demons apart, they had the firepower and mobility they needed. The Demons in front of them were going to die, it was simply a question of how many of them would do so before the rest broke and ran. Not that there was anywhere for them to run to. In the west, the Shamshar Armored Joint Task Force and the First Armored were rapidly closing the gap that was the Demon's only escape route.

No, 25th Armored were going to be all right. The problem lay to their west, where the 10th Mechanized Infantry Joint Task Force, call sign Mango, held the line. They were a heavy infantry joint task force, 120 divisions strong, they didn't have the heavy armor that had dominated the battlefield so far.

They did have four field armies rather than three and more artillery but their force structure was light. Nuttall had put them on his right for two reasons. One was that they covered a more inhabited and built-up sector of the front where the armor would be at a disadvantage. The other was a more ruthless one, Nuttall had to find out how human mobile infantry would fight against the Demons. All the reports so far said that the Demon infantry were larger and stronger than humans and they took a lot of killing. Could human mechanized infantry stand up to them? It was a question that had to be answered sooner or later and sooner was better than later.

Hence the importance of getting the Apaches back over the battlefield. They were an important part of 10th Mech's firepower.

"Sir, Mango reports the Demons are moving to attack them. Should we divert artillery support from Pumpkin?"

Nuttall thought for a second."Negative. Keep battering the troops attacking Pumpkin. We can destroy that attack fastest, then we can thin out Pumpkin's positions and shift forces to support Mango."

10th Mech had its artillery and that would have to do. The 25th Armored and 4th Army Front's artillery was concentrating on the Demons assaulting Nuttall's left, over 15,000 M1299 self-propelled 180s and 9000 MLRS launchers. The sheer volume of fire they were pouring into the advancing Demons was enough to stop even an Army from hell. Or so Nuttall hoped.

"Gee Sir, will you look at that!"

The Marine's voice had lost its dispassionate inflexion. In the middle of one surging mass of Demon infantry, pinned up against the wire, was a single jet black figure that towered above the rest, mounted on a rhinolobster that dwarfed the others.

"I guess he must be important." Nuttall raised his voice slightly and addressed the fire direction center. "Put an MLRS battery on to that location soonest."

Front Line, Army of Abigor, Southern Lemuria.

Abigor saw his infantry surging against the river of silver threads that strung across the battlefield. Some of his demons had tried to grab the threads with their hands, only to scream in anguish as the razor edges bit through their flesh to the bones. Others had tried to force their way in through the coils, only to become entangled and slowly sliced apart. The momentum of the attack was broken and all the time the shrieking howls of the enemy magic drowned out any attempt at thought. The infantry had to get through the threads, there was no other choice.

He saw the answer over his shoulder, on their way through to the threads, they had crossed a field covered with bars that exploded when a demon stepped on them. Many of them had been killed and their mutilated corpses littered the ground. Others writhed in pain from the traumatic amputations the bars had caused. Yet, Abigor thought, even the dead and the half-dead could still serve him.

"Get those bodies. Throw them on the threads and use them as a bridge."

The noise was too great for his words to carry far but some heard and started to collect bodies and throw them on top of the coils of threads. Others saw what was happening, understood and copied them. Soon the wire was sagging under the weight and the first of the demon infantry was running across, clear of the wire and into the open ground beyond.

"Sire, there are problems on our left!" One of the lesser demons, a legion commander by the look of him, carried the message but could barely make himself heard.

The left, Abigor thought, ten minutes fast ride away. He had better get there and find out what was happening.

"Take over here, keep driving them forward."

Then, he turned his Great Beast's head and started the ride up to his left flank. This was a problem he hadn't thought of, in the traditional formation he could see all of his forces, in this new style of attack, he could see only a small portion of the battle at any one time. He was spending all his time running from one crisis to the next, trying to solve each one before it became a major problem. Time he should have been spending in finding the enemy commander so Abigor could have the pleasure of killing him.

There was another shrieking howl and the terrifying ripple of explosions that were the trade-mark of the fire-lances. Abigor felt the blast and the sting as stray fragments at the end of their trajectory flicked at him. Behind him, the area where he had just been had vanished under a rolling cloud of dust and smoke. Abigor had already seen enough fire-lance breaths to know that nothing was left alive in the area he had been in just a few minutes before. Then it struck him, he might not have time to find the enemy commander, but the enemy commander had found him.

Operation Trinity Headquarters, Alnus, Lemuria.

"Missed him." The Marine sounded disappointed.

"Don't sweat it son, it was only a chance. He's heading west , guess on his way to Hit. Sitrep?"

"Mango-Four is in Hit sir, they've dug in. They're all south of the river and there's only three bridges out."

Nuttall knew what that meant. If Mango-Four tried to evacuate the city, there would be a massacre as they piled up before the bridge.

"Sir, Mango Four requests permission to blow the bridges. They say it won't do them any good and taking it intact might help the Demons."

"Tell them to do it. We can throw an assault bridge over easy enough. The Demons don't seem to have heard about combat engineering."

"Sir, with the bridge gone, Mango Four won't be able to…."

"I know, so did they when they suggested it. Order Cherry-One up on Hit. Tell them to form up to the north of Istar-Ramani."

Outskirts of Hit, Southern Lemuria.

"We'd just got this place quieted down as well." Corporal Tucker McElroy looked out at the advancing Demons with certain level of disgust. Three months earlier, Hit had been torn to pieces by a squadron of UEAADF's bommber whose attacks spared no one.

Then, the Marines had moved into the city as part of Task Force 7 and cleaned the city up. It had come back to life and its economy had been improving everyday, but everything changed when the Demons coming.

Not as many as there had been, that was for sure. At first their long ranks had been a terrifying sight but Mango-Four's artillery had got to work as the Demons had stalled in the minefields and on the razor wire.

By the time the Demons had swarmed through the artillery over the wire, their neat ranks and serried formation had gone. In its place was a stream of Demons in groups of varying size making their way towards the outskirts of the city.

McElroy heard the 180mm mortars coughing as they lobbed their first rounds at the larger of the groups, the corps 320s were still pounding the Demons hung up on the wire.

By now, the leading groups of demons had reached the great divided highway that swung around the outskirts of Hit. It was time to do some real soldiering.

A few yards away Charles Foss was scanning the nearest group of Demons through the powerful scope on his M82B3 sniper's rifle, well, it wasn't actually a sniper's rifle, officially it was an anti-material cannon rifle.

There was even an urban legend that it was illegal to use it against humans but that wasn't true. Anyway, the targets this time weren't human.

Foss checked his ammunition, the tips of the 25mm bullets were green on white. That meant they were Raufoss SLAP rounds, multi-role armor-piercing explosive incendiaries.

They'd been pouring in to Lemuria for days now, the joke was that they had still been warm from the production line in Norway when they'd been stuffed into a transport, then holy enchanted by the Holy Order and flown here. The infantry formations had been given priority for their issue, they needed the firepower.

Magazine in place, Foss squinted through the scope again. The Demons cleared ground fast, at least 4 times as quickly as a human. One figure in the nearest group seemed to be the driving force, urging the others forward. Foss put the cross hairs on his forehead, just between the horns and gently squeezed the trigger, just the way he'd taught his six-year old son to shoot. Never pull the trigger, squeeze it. The super-heavy Barrett rifle kicked and the Demon went down.

"Damn." Foss swore to himself. The Demon was down, his head mangled, but he was still moving. What did it take to kill these monsters?. A second shot was the answer, it fixed the leader for once and for all. Foss swung his scope to the second in the group and fired again. This one went down hard and finally with the first shot. The rest of the Demons went to ground, confused by the inexplicable outbreak of sudden death that had struck them.

That was a fatal mistake. The mortar teams saw the group stop moving and a pattern of 120mm mortar bombs blanketed their position. By that time, Foss and his fellow snipers were seeking fresh targets.

Inside the fortified house, McElroy looked over the sandbags that blocked the doors and windows to see the Demons rapidly closing in on the forward defense line. They were over the inner ring road, less than 300 yards away, running into an area of ploughed sand where a new city block had been planned.

Those plans had been abandoned and would probably never be revived now that half the city's population had been draft to the army as demanded by the Holy Emperor and the rest were refugees being sheltered further east. But the blocks either side of the cleared area had been built and then they'd been fortified.

Human heavy infantry would have seen the deadly danger of that open ground and avoided it. To the Demons, it was an alley into the city and forty or more piled into it. They'd been the first group through the wire and minefields, the first to cross the open ground and get close to the city, the city that was defenseless. To their astonishment, they could see the buildings in front of them, the Terrans hadn't built walls or moats to keep attackers out. Just the threads, the exploding bars and their horrible magic fire-lances.

McElroy gave a last check, the demons were in a three-cornered ambush with infantry squads on both flanks and another in front of them. Worse, from the enemy's point of view, McElroy had dismounted the 30mm auto-cannon from their Oshkosh IFV and had it on its tripod, firing through a narrow slit, its green-and-white tipped bullets waiting to bite. Fine, the demons were in a trap, time to spring it.

"Open fire. Let them have it!"

Defense Perimeter Charlie, Hit, Southern Lemuria.

"Just how many of these bastards are there?" McElroy was distinctly aggrieved. Despite the fight they were putting up, he and the rest of his squad were being pushed steadily back by the sheer weight of numbers that were being thrown against them. They'd bled the attackers badly on Perimeter Alfa, the demons seemed to have no idea of fire and maneuver, they'd just walked straight into the auto-cannon fire. Only the waves behind the first group had simply climbed over their dead and kept on coming.

"I heard over a hundred million." Private Gerry Links repeated the rumor with grim relish. "And it looks like most of them are here."

"If you mean right in front of us, right now, I'd say you're just about right. There's more of them than we've got bullets."

And that, McElroy thought, was the pure, unvarnished truth. Oh, the 30mm Gatling guns were cutting the demons down all right and the snipers were having a field day but there weren't enough of them and they were being swamped by the numbers coming through. More than just the numbers, the bastards were so damned difficult to kill.

The truth was that the M47s just weren't cutting it. McElroy had put a whole 15-round of 20mm in the magazine into one Demon and the damned thing had still torn Jim 'Cookie' Fields apart before it had gone down.

Explosives were doing most of the work, 40mm advanced binary stabilized liquid explosive grenades from the M29 shoulder automatic launchers and the MMP anti tank missiles. That and the Claymores, human or demon, the spray of fragments from a Claymore shredded them nicely.

"Here they come." There was a crescendo of firing from the block to their left, a mad minute as Baldwin's squad poured fire into the Demon assault teams before leaving via the back of their building. That would leave McElroy with an exposed flank and he'd have to fall back as well soon.

To his front, he saw black figures suddenly detach from the building in front and run out across the street. He took a careful bead on the leader and fired as fast as he could squeeze the trigger, watching shot after shot slam into the Demon's chest.

It was staggering but still coming forward, McElroy felt he would have better luck if he spat at it. Off to his left, the squad machine gun snarled out a burst and the Demon McElroy had wounded went down. There was a crash that shook dust from the walls and wrecked ceiling of the block, the last of the unit's claymores had gone off.

The front of the building caved in, the Demons were a lot stronger than humans and even the sturdy construction of Falmartian walls wasn't even close to being strong enough to hold them out. McElroy had lost some of his people first when the walls the Demons pushed down had trapped the men behind them but they'd learned that lesson. Now they were in hastily-prepared positions at the rear of the room, firing up and out at the Demons as they loomed over the wrecked structure.

Demons weren't actually that much taller than humans, McElroy guessed that they averaged between seven and eight feet tall but they seemed to be much bigger – especially when they were coming straight at you all teeth and claws.

He had a fresh magazine in his rifle, that was the good news. The bad news was that it was his last one, he'd run through his basic ammunition load in just a few minutes. He saw the green spurts as the bullets tore into the chest of the leading Demon but, as McElroy had expected, the damned thing just kept coming. "Everybody out!"

He heard the rest of his unit scramble out the hole they'd knocked in the back wall of their block. McElroy paused just for a second, launching a grenade at one of the Demons. The black monster caught it and looked curiously at the small metal egg. The sheer incongruity of the sight caused McElroy to delay for a second and that killed him.

The Demon he'd just shot slashed at him with his claws, ripping through his Mk3 Combat Jacket and tearing his chest open. McElroy screamed as the Demons fell on him, tearing him apart and stuffing meat from his body into their mouths. Then the grenade went off and he, along with the Demon who had been holding it, died.

"Down the alley fast, the grenadier will keep them back." They were being pushed back, certainly, but they were bleeding the Demons at every step. The time to fight it out, room to room would come later. And that, Links thought, would be a bloody day. Links fired another quick burst and saw a Demon flinch. The M47s might not be killing them but they could hurt. Off to his left, he heard screams, human screams, was it the grenadier who'd held on to give his squad cover?

Links didn't know and didn't have time to think about it. He and his men emerged from the semi-shadow of the alley and saw the most welcome sight of their lives. A Black Knight was sitting on the road, its turret trained on the alley they had just come from. They could guess what was coming and scattered to either side. There was a rasping burst from the chain gun and this time the screams were Demon. M47s may be ineffective but 57mm APHE was not.

"In the back fast." The Bradley commander snapped the order out. Links and his men piled into the back and the ramp closed behind them. They were safe at last, behind armor.

"Where we going?"

"Defense Perimeter Delta. The other side of the clearing. We're holding there. No more falling back."

"Just how the hell are we supposed to do that? These 47's ain't worth shit against a Demon."

"You'll get sacks of grenades and AT-5s issued when we get back to your position. And M72s. Once we're in Delta, we'll do it Stalingrad style. Room to room. Keep fighting."