On the trenchline defending the empty concrete river, the Captain rises from his cover. Dirt all over his helmet cover as the ground rumbled and above them, a lone Broomstick flew into the red metropolis as an overwhelming sound of rotors and jet engines were slowly approaching them. The skies were now burning as the city was seemingly being boiled, the mist gone and the Legions revealed. Looking over to the canal, it was filled with the corpses of the zombies and skeletons that were thrown at them nonstop for the last few days.
Ash then started to rain down, the Gargoyles and Flying Swords all burnt to crisp to the point that before they could hit the ground, only cinders fell on the men on the ground. Looking up, all that remained was the slow fall of the feathers. Their swords and armors burnt alongside their bodies.
"That's the power of the Dragon Gods huh..."
"Captain! Sir!"
"Hm?"
"Look up!"
With the skies clear, the two Dragon Gods suspended midair with their armored wings hiding their entire body, the fighter planes approached from below as the magnificent creatures made sure they could be given a moment to shine. The Captain down below turned around to look at what was approaching them.
The Broom was the first to reveal itself as arrow formations of fighter jets and choppers took to the skies and into the city where the Legions of the Outer Realm were taken aback by the sheer amount of firepower coming at them from the skies. With death from above, it lets the players retake entire sections of the city that they lost half a day ago and the Giants shields rendered useless as hundred pound bombs were dropped right into their heads and the fight was once again shifted to the sides of the defenders. Giving glory to the fighters and boosting morale. "Well, well. Looks like they got this covered. Sergeant! Call for immediate airstrikes on that intersection."
"Sir yes sir!"
"And give me news on the Militiamen! Are they still defending the main bridge?"
"Yes sir, they're still there with Delta."
"Are they still not gonna follow our orders?"
"Negative sir, we tried telling them it's better to move to Downtown but they said they'll stay here."
"Tsk, this is why militias are so hard to deal with. Grrrrr, okay. We'll leave them be then."
Streaks of lead and fire were emitted from the rotorcrafts, as thousands of rounds were unleashed into the city streets. With joyous and momentous sounds of soldiers celebrating the sight of their enemies getting cut down by players high above the skies, merely as images on the screen of the warbirds. Continuously and devastatingly spitting fire onto the Legion without care.
Tinted and drowned with red, the city that was once so prosperous even with its problems was now a mere corpse of its former glory. A decapitated body, raped, pillaged, and removed of its clothes as the buildings that once stood to show the beauty of mankinds intellect, the will of man to reach the skies and create a world for it to linger without danger, now a mere garbage pit of weapons as the dead piled high onto every crevice of it.
Death from above, speaks the soldiers as they jumped and smiled and retake territory lost from their enemies. Wearing their dirtied uniform with great pride and ego, they attacked over and over again. Like the very Legion they are fighting against, the Players showed the same amount of useless regard to life. Knowing of their ability to respawn at Altars and the moment given to them by the Dragon Gods and their Generals with this massive air attack, they threw themselves over, and over, and over again without regard into the frey.
With the skies doust by the metal birds, sleek, wonderful, magnificent with its technological marvel that was being shown in its full force against the Legions of Hell, the areas they left were but pits of concrete and asbestos. Shattered glass like the shattered dream of the city, now resolute in its death, the players that once built it now the harbingers of its demise. The Pilots watched in glee as they cut down the Orcs without much resistance as the Helicopters took on the burden of multi-tasking, using their chain guns to kill as many Gargoyles, Troglodytes and Flying Swords that were lingering inside the alleyways, hiding and waiting for a chance to strike.
The birds of Hell unable to stop the fierce rains of lead and copper being spat at them at rates they never could imagine, for a moment, the skies weren't mutually shared, but one sided. For the moment, the players, Aliens, and visitors from another world have full superiority over the foreign skies. Taking it with amusement.
In the moment, the thousands of players taking part in the mutilation of the city were absorbed into a strange shared euphoria, a bliss only seen by soldiers who witness there country saving them from utter defeat with a return of sheer magnanimous firepower that not even their opponents could grasp the amount of reckless, chaotic, and unmitigated violence they were about to unleash from the clouds. The merciless tide of rockets, bullets, steel, and machines covered everyone as the ashfall only gotten worse, coloring even the wonderfully painted mansions in Uptown with a light shade of black over the tint
Alana was in the thick of it, at the frontlines where the tanks were clashing with the larger Orc Commanders and Giants and the skeletons and players were fighting toe to toe against armored Zombies, Skeletons, and Orcs. Her swiftness with the blade made it possible for them to continually move through the four lane road retaking lost land. Not stopping one bit as she danced around the corpses of her enemies and the players' morale boosted even more by her mere presence as choppers and jets zoom past above them. The Countess was ruthless in her attacks, taking off to use her Vampiric blade to decapitate Giants in one slash and then flying to the rear of the enemy lines and taking out their annoying Mages and Archers while subsequently making sure not to get hit by anything. Her gown stayed pure and untainted in the sea of red and gore.
Blood Roses then filled a section of the city and the players and skeleton soldiers felt even more invigorated and started fighting even more fiercely and their shots landing more pinpoint and their responses being faster than before. She then lands on top of an M1A2 Abrams rolling through the street, using its Mine Plow to ram its way through the obstacles put up in front of it from the destruction occurring within their midst. Her hands on her hips, she points her sword to the left. To the road leading right underneath the Central Portal where she then stared at the Orcs manning the defenses there. With a quick blade, she changes her posture. Her chest now facing forward and her blade swiftly cutting an ATGM fired at them from the TOW-2B located at the Central Checkpoint. The zombies quickly drop the spent casing and load another missile into the tube.
Before they could do anything. The machine guns around them opened fire for a bit before being silenced and the last thing they saw was their vision rolling to the ground as a beautiful teenage ballerina in a red gown fought even when surrounded by the Legions of Hell. The players used their tanks as cover. The captured KPVTs and M2 Brownings on the checkpoint constantly firing upon them. No matter the effort of Alana, more and more spawns would appear. Replacing the ones she killed. But the armor held up and they soon reached the Central Checkpoint and took positions.
With air cover back and the mist gone, the forces of the players quickly retook everything that was lost and inside the Downtown Police Station, the two Generals deflated upon hearing the news. With Jackson having to dunk a bottle of water on his face.
"PHEW! H-Holy shit... it worked.!"
"It was either that or we'd be retreating right now. Good work Jackson, you keep living up to the stars on your shoulders."
General Jackson then laid his body on a dusty office chair. He didn't care if he had his combat helmet and kevlar vest on. He rested and let out a long sigh of relief.
"You too Yamaoka. That was executed perfectly. But I can't help imagine myself being the same person I'd hate forever."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just the decision making Generals have to make. If I was in a board room somewhere, this city would've been leveled long ago."
A Captain then walks into the room, saluting briefly and standing next to the General as he watches the city get burned by their planes.
"Sir!"
"Hm? What is it Captain? Colonel Henry is at the Center Section."
"I come here to personally report that we've taken over ninety percent of the lost territory in half an hour time."
"Good. Retake all of it so that we can end this. Fix our positions once again, mine everything and send the planes back."
"Sir! Permission to adject to that!"
"Hm? Why?"
"Sir, if we can continually do this, the Demons will break. I am sure of it. Right now, they are panicking for the first time and are unable to regroup."
"That was the plan. But I cannot let the city get destroyed like this. The moment I gave you, it's meant to clear the skies somewhat just enough for the planes to fly for a moment of time. This is a heavy burden on Mars and Bahamut, I won't let them do this again. No."
"But sir, we can win this."
"What? If we bring more and more weapons? Meet violence with violence? Captain, we won't. I am telling you now, our objective right now is the delay, and delay. We aren't the center point of the story here, we're the trash the Gods sent to slow them down and Hell is sending their trash too slow us down. So it's either we try to play Hero on an enemy we can't fathom or do our part for as long as it takes."
"Sir, me and my men are tired! We can't be rotated out, we've been dying for almost three fucking days now! We miss the Sun, we miss the Moon! It breaks my brain knowing its twelve at night and all I see is a red tint!"
"Do you think I also don't share the same attitude? I am also tired, I miss the night, the night is peaceful, it's beautiful. But all we have now is the red tint as you said and the only semblance of color we know of gone. Don't you see? They did this to get into your head, into everyone's head."
"Then sir how will this end? Will we continue to defend the city till nothing remains?!"
"YES CAPTAIN. YES. I'd rather have that than us nuking it with a Mana Core Missile. Do you really want us to become the thing we're fighting? To stoop as low as them?"
"Sir, aren't you a General?"
Hearing this, Jackson's mouth which was already open and ready for a reply stops. His breathing becomes slow and his filthy face relaxes. His eyes widened upon hearing the words of the equally befouled Captain. Yamaoka then sees his hands clench into a fist and steps in.
"Captain, you are stepping beyond your line here. Do you expect us to listen to you when you talk to a five star general like that? If we-"
"We were back in Iron Mountain? I'd get court martialed? Respectfully sir, I think we should just lay waste to this city. We can rebuild it, I am a member of Ervtes National Guard and I am saying this as someone who lives here, we have to be more dangerous. Everyone will help one another and will build this city again, brick by brick."
"Captain, what do you see us as?"
"Generals, sir. Leaders who are willing to do what is right to make us win."
"Wrong. We're humans. Just as you are. To destroy is easy, but to rebuild? Can you really rebuild all of the things in this city?" Thomas makes a deep sigh as he walks to the window, looking over the suffering and pain both sides were bringing upon one another without stoppage. "What difference do we have from the Demons who want to destroy everything if we also do the same? Are we truly going to become Demons also? For what? After we lay waste to this city, what would be there for us? What was this all for?"
"That's enough Thomas. Look, Captain. We will do that if the moment requires it, but for now. I'd rather not become the Generals I loathed so much for sending so many innocents to die. What you want us to do, we can do. Fire bomb the city, even drop a Mana Core at it and send it into critical mass and have it delete everything. But as long as I am in charge, I refuse to become like the others. I'll push the defense of the city by steel and the lives of men as long as possible. You're a soldier now, Captain. A Warrior. Better pucker up because it's only going to get worse."
"Sir, if it was General Ripper here, he would've done what was needed long ago."
"Sadly he is dead. Permanently. You're stuck with me and I know how hard you have it right now. I was in the same position as you back then. On the frontlines, being told by some officer in a suit miles behind the lines on where we should go and what we should do. But I've also experienced what it's like to be firebombed. I won't let the players here, who are mere ordinary people on Earth, see and experience firsthand what it's like."
"Jackson, you've been firebombed?!"
"I was. My unit was stationed on the border of Syria. When we rolled into Turkey and occupied a town, NATO forces firebombed us. What's worse is that we weren't even stationed inside the town itself. We only go there to buy civilian food. They ended up killing more innocents than soldiers. Do you know what we did in return?"
"You targeted their artillery in vengeance?"
"No, HAH. That was good, that could make me laugh. But no, we firebombed Antep to the ground as revenge. Though we never passed through the city itself, far away all you could see was the foundations of the buildings, all razed to the ground. No one lived. Do you see what I want to change here Captain?"
"Well sir, as someone who lived through World War Three, saw my Mother get crushed by a section of a building on an airstrike, I'd rather have the entirety of Zavalda get nuked than to let those disgusting horrid Evil Legions of Hell to touch this once beautiful city further."
"Then how are you any different from them then? What you're looking at right now, this good versus bad, if you want to make that reality, then stand against the human nature of using ordinary reasons, reasons you know are true to reply with weapons that are far more horrific than you can imagine. We're both victims of war, but you can say I am also a perpetrator of it for being a soldier. But I want to make things different, something that won't end with this city destroyed."
"Hah, as if sir. You'll do it later, when you see them rolling through our lines. Killing everyone without care. I hope you won't fly those stars on your shoulders when that happens. We have a golden moment here, if we can keep it, we can win. If only Ripper was here, Ripper wasn't a pussy like you."
"I'll make that choice when it's plastered to my face. But so far, enjoy the moment of respite. Reclaim the areas and fix your positions."
With a quick salute, the Captain walks out. Slowly closing the door as loud thuds of his heavy steps disappear.
"Good to know we're on the same page Jackson."
"For now. But I think the moment will come where I will become the very person I never wanted to become, a General who sees the map, and plays it like a game of numbers and statistics."
"At least you will be able to remember this moment of humanity in you, when you went against what was normal, what would be an acceptable response to our enemies."
"They're adapting fast and it's only gonna get worse from here I feel like."
"Yeah... well at least Downtown held up."
"Uh huh. Freaking city council. They let me put defenses up here way too late. Good thing we were able to make do."
"One thing is for sure, they are focused on the Central Portal... but why?"
"I believe that's due to it being located inside our two defense sectors. If they get the Center, they can attack North and South at the same time. Squeezing us outward till they take the entire city."
"If that's true, then they're way smarter than I thought. If that's their plan, then I'm sure they realized that Central has become far more formidable too. They'll surely probe North and South. Downtown particularly, I am sure they are aware of the lack of defenses here."
"Yeah... you see what they pulled off with the mist? That almost made things go south fully. Uptown and Downtown are both hard to take over as long as the mutual defenses are able to work fully. The buildings in Downtown are better since its mostly heavily concrete buildings and brick ones, but Uptown is full of fancy walled mansions and suburbs. Makes it ideal for Mortar pits and even maybe an Anti Air site."
"I'll send two Mechanized Brigades Uptown then alongside frontline double and triple AA." Another officer then knocks and comes into their room "SIR! Central Checkpoint has been reached." with another salute, he lightly closes the door, leaving the alone once again.
"That seems to be it. We did it."
"Now it's all about holding it."
"Yamaoka, will you allow me?"
"To what?"
"Use artillery, limited artillery in the areas that's already been destroyed beyond belief."
"... ..."
Silence filled the room. Jackson fiddled with a casing he had taken from the table.
"Artillery... heh. I'm sure the soldiers down there are just asking why we aren't doing it more."
"Hm. We might as well allow it, but in limited numbers and in certain areas. Let me have this Thomas. I need a bit more room to work with."
"A man who's ready to make decisions is a leader. I guess this is why you have one more star than me in the UN's unified ranking system."
"I'd rather go back to being a Death Knight who works part time as a Knight General for Eldwood. This won't be good for my brain when I return back to Earth."
"Hm. Return back to Earth. I am surprised so many want to go home. I thought the majority would rather stay in a fantasy world than our war torn Earth."
"It's not as easy as that, Thomas. This world... It has slaves, literal species wide disputes, archaic views and people with values that are not suited for our modern senses. Maybe for you and me, we can change and fit in. But I don't think the majority will be willing to leave the comfort of modernity for this hard life that demands you to work harder and get better."
"Ah, that might finally answer the question of why so many are fighting. Even when they're trembling and scared, they don't want to get stuck here and never be able to live in a room with a robot doing all the cleaning for you while you rest in your bed and get transported into a VR game."
"I still don't get why so many became slaves. Just how bad were the first five months here?"
Jackson then spins the dusty chair he sat upon. Looking at the outline of the city as ash limited the view they had on the large window.
"Oh! You were frozen right? Ahhhh, such bad luck. The Grand Wizards must've really hated you guys for them to go out and freeze you like that."
"They had to. If not, they would have a proper modern army ready for combat. I can understand why they had to do that. We would be taken aback and panicked, no one would know what we'd decide with the weapons we have at hand."
"Well... the first five months was an absolute mess for many. Those who tried to put our morals and cultures into this planet were the ones mostly captured and enslaved."
"What?!"
"Hai. I was with the Shine Guards at the time, many players were protesting how things were working and would use there powers to change things. How do you think the Kingdom of James and many others banded together to fight you? They were already dealing with the ones far weaker and was causing quite a havoc."
"But the Elves were also present, and the Elves hated the humans. Just what did we players do?!"
"Some banded into a large association to free slaves. The Shine Guards were one of those." Yamaoka then rested his hands on the frame of the window. Making a long sigh. "Why do you think we limited the freeing of slaves to players?"
"When I was still in the Vampire Kingdom, the papers mostly told because of the lack of men and vehicles."
"No, that's the cover up. The truth is because in the third month in, everyone set their differences aside to kill and capture every player that stood against slavery. That's why so many became slaves, we couldn't do anything when the UN was formed and put a halt to it."
"Jesus... What a mess. So that's why the Elves were even there. So everyone banded together for something like that?"
"Hm. So of course many would choose to go back home instead. Even today, I still can't sleep properly knowing those slave ships are going back and forth the continents. I might be able to live with it, but being unable to do anything..."
"I don't know... more like we shouldn't have messed with them to begin with. This is their world, their values and morals are different from ours. Maybe if you guys didn't start shit, I wouldn't have had to call in a bombing run on their tent city... killing untold thousands. I didn't know they had civilian contractors alongside their armies. I didn't know... I couldn't step outside the tank when we were rolling through it. What I've done... I'll atone for that till the end of my days. Because you guys pushed them with all this moralistic bullshit."
"I apologize, I did not know it would all lead to you guys taking the brunt of it. But you have to know, we did it out of the good of our hearts. We might've not known better, the few months in, we were all livid with the new world, we wanted to explore, change things, and improve things. We only realized later on that we are merely visitors to a foreigner's house. We had no right to do anything."
Having a long hard sigh, Jackson spins the dusty chair and he stands up. Next to Thomas, his hands inside his pockets.
"Yeah... all that pent up anger was sent to us... defending City Zero One was... man... how one sided that was... the needless death and suffering me and the boys caused that day. I couldn't celebrate, who would celebrate? I instead went out again, trying to do something good, stop a Vampire just to find out I was getting in the middle of a love that's beyond species. Haaaaaa..."
"But hey, you're here now. The UN still owes you alot for making the Vampire Kingdom side with us and sign a neutrality. If the Vampires were to join with the Kingdom of Vitas, our offensive in Schon would've long withered out."
"It's still not enough. I need to make sure this city stands, I won't make it fall. I won't be the cause of another destruction, another needless waste of hardwork of thousands of men and women. Give me artillery Thomas, I will make sure at least one building stands when this is all over."
"Idealistic people like us don't really belong in positions of power..."
The two then look over to the city where the planes are buzzing over it. Destroying both the buildings and their enemies. The soldiers down below march in formation as they prepare to board trucks and get transported into the most heated areas of the city.
Above them, with the three portals. Every flying creature that'd try to get out of it would instantly burn into ash as the mist has been regulated to certain alleyways. With almost the entire city once again freed from its clutches and the soldiers able to see properly and fight with a full blown air superiority behind them.
"You know Thomas, before war. Planes used to carry mail?"
"Peaceful times, those were then."
"Yeah. But it's not like it was going to last. World War One was around the corner and they got a new role. Amazing isn't it? These machines, products of mankind's wish to make life easier and faster, to connect us more, ended up being one of the most powerful tools in war. Hundreds of Aviators died before the Wright Brothers. If only they could see it now."
"Machines used to greatness, now used for war... isn't that how most of humanity is?"
"Heh, you got me there."
Thomas stares into the horrific battle outside the window he was standing before, the countless helicopters and planes circling above like a pack of vultures taking turns in biting parts of a corpse that's being mangled by a bigger predator. Sharing the flesh to nourish itself. The beautiful machines of flight, bringing the fight from above to below.
"Haaaaaa... I guess in the end, we are indeed no different from the Generals back on Earth."
"Eh? You're gonna allow it?"
"Only on certain sections."
He then kicks the table. Pushing his office chair to the desk near the wall where he fetches a large chart and checks the locations of the artillery. Night came and the fighting didn't die down and kept a constant amount on all parts of the city as a back and forth once again started after some parts of the city was reclaimed.
In some areas, the fighting was so fierce the amount of gunfire and magic made it seem it was in the middle of the day and from above, jets and choppers didn't take a break. Being on a constant rotation, the airpower never died down and the skies was full of particles of black as the red tint continued to shower everyone, as if a Volcano erupted nearby and spewing its ash to constantly rain down on everyone while the two Dragon Gods ancient magic, burning up any flying creature within city limits.
A player on the shorelines with his longwave radio out. Guarding the seemingly quiet section of the city gets a sudden transmission.
"This is High Admiral Racoon of the First Naval Armada. Does anyone copy us from the Zavalda Defense Force?"
He quickly takes it and swallows his saliva.
"This is Zavalda Defense! We're reading you loud and clear!"
"Good Heavens! We arrived in time! We were in transit to Schon when we got rerouted here. We didn't stop day and night and came here in record time. Patch me through the two Generals in command of the Theater."
"Sir yes sir!"
Jackson, who was getting his gear on as a knock comes to the door. "Come in!" His radioman then hands the phone to him and he takes it while prepping his assault rifle for combat. Putting a mag in and performing some last checks.
"Yellow? General Jackson here."
"High Admiral FootmanSixty-Four of the First Armada. How do you do?"
"Fucking great. Can you send some Tomahawks and Kalibr cruise missiles here? I thought you guys wouldn't answer my call."
"We sure can! I'll be patching the Destroyers of the fleet over to your units. Call them in. Our fleet has four supply ships here. We were supposed to fight Vitas head on so you can imagine how long we can sustain a long drawn fight."
"Good shit! But be advised! I repeat! Be advised! Cruise Missiles and stand off weapons are restricted to the River and the outskirts of the city unless a building is specified to be condemned!"
"Copy, you guys are planning on preserving the city huh? Good on you. I'll be giving frequencies immediately, requesting JTACs for our Hornets and Flankers."
"Doing that now! Yamaoka! You hear that?"
"Hm! We have to be sure the buildings they'll strike are very small and confined. Cruise missiles can still miss and the tall buildings in Central would render them useless."
"Don't worry, there far enough, the Cruise Missiles shouldn't fly straight into the buildings, it would be in a high enough altitude to strike from above."
"If you say so, but keep it as limited as possible. We have a city to save."
"You got that right. Let's go."
The two go outside the room fully kitted up, and one of the chairs, amongst the sea of resting soldiers, Jackson could see the man start shaking and without even wasting a second, takes his assault rifle as he lashes out. His hands pressed onto his helmet side as he started breathing intensely. "Let me out... let me go home..." As he stood straight up, the General then unholsters the soldier's side arm, taking it away and placing it in another room.
Yamaoka with another soldier then held the man down. Though he was silent, just murmuring something to himself, the battle hardened soldier just stared into the ceiling with an intense gaze.
"Yamaoka, leave him. We have to get to the frontlines now and get everything sorted."
"Hm."
Leaving the traumatized soldier, the two part ways as they entered the frontlines. With Jackson going in Downtown and fighting alongside his men as he checked their charts and started spreading news on the limited artillery allowed to the contested units deep within the fight. Behind a sandbag cover, he pops out and quickly lays down fire on some Zombie grunts a hundred meters away as he points his muzzle upwards to shoot down some incoming Spears. He then dropped his spent mag and put in another one. Jumping from the cover, he reveals himself and charges into the horde of enemies.
He immediately threw a grenade to a wall of skeletons with tower shields, prompting them to dodge it. In the moment they revealed small parts of their rotting fleshy bodies, he took quick potshots at them, collapsing a large section of their frontal squad, this forced the ones behind to charge out only to get gunned down by the General and the soldiers hiding behind cover. Jackson took on the remaining ones in close quarter combat, promptly switching between his assault rifle and sidearm.
The players are left in awe of the high level officer doing the job of twenty. "Keep up!" They snapped back and also shot back at the oncoming enemies. Helping him thin their numbers quickly. With his presence, the Horde broke their formation and started to slowly retreat. Jackson didn't let them, chasing them down instead. This made even the Infantry Fighting Vehicles hiding behind a wall of sandbags to reverse and chase after him. Using its autocannons to help the General fend off an entire army of thousands.
"Ho-holy shit... what was that?!"
"That's a level two hundred for you."
"Jesus, I need to grind when we get back to Earth. I wanna become that strong."
"Just buy a premium account, you get twice the Experience points and triple the Gold earnings."
"Yeah... that was gnarly."
"Well, let's advance! Squad One, Two! Alongside General Jackson and guard his perimeters! Squad Three, Four! On me now! We're retaking Downtown Main Outpost! GO! GO! GO!"
Yamaoka who was in the Uptown watches as fifty transport trucks filled the well paved and maintained streets, the large front yards and backyards of the Mansions there now filled with Anti air missiles and Vulcan cannons. "Mars! Tell Bahamut to stop using your True Magic! We got this!" The two Dragons that were suspended midair with their large wings shielding their main bodies started to animate once again. The Red Dragon high above the skies nods even though the area between them is a few kilometers. She soon arrives inside a fancy suburban house that has been turned into a bunker. The Shine Guard General was sitting on the comfy white sofa with his legs crossed as he drank an entire bottle of water in one go.
The marble table in front of him full of radios as the living room lights up like a disco room, missiles immediately started firing as they intercepted the flying creatures coming out of the portals. Though they were being thinned, many were able to get away.
"Yeah, I read all of that Jackson. Good job on retaking the main outpost, I've already told everyone in Central and Uptown about the Cruise missiles and Artillery. We're busy setting up additional Radio Masts. That Apache really did a good damage on our comms still."
"Alright, keep up the good job. If you can, help in the frontlines. Alana and Elizabeth will also need to rest soon, they can't keep fighting in Central. What's your status?"
"Drained of magic... Phew. I can hardly breathe. Those two Vampires were wrecking up Central, their sword fighting is crazy. That blonde one was also ripping zombies apart with her bare hands. I couldn't believe someone so beautiful could be that brutal."
"This is why you should rely more on your guns. Don't use your Mana too much in buffing yourself. You have body armor for that. As for the Vampires, if you can, replace them will you?"
"Ah, I have Mars with me here. We'll be able to replace them there."
"Good, and is Uptown still safe?"
"Hm. Since artillery is fully allowed in Uptown, they weren't able to gain any meaningful ground. They keep appearing under the Portal but they just keep getting blown to bits."
"That won't be the same thing soon as we allow artillery to focus inside the city too. The concentration there will be lessened, I'll leave it up to you Thomas if you see it fit that you should focus your attention more up there or in Central."
"Hm. I'll focus on Central, Jackson. That place is the most contested part and those two Vampires need their rest."
"Alright, I'll keep things grounded here in Downtown."
Mars with a popsicle on her mouth dives into the sofa. The woman in her latex bodysuit immediately stretched out. Her crimson hair stands out in the sea of red tint.
"Haaaaaaaa... Thom, when are we gonna end this?"
"When those Portals close."
"Ah, long then."
Yamaoka then takes another mic.
"High Admiral, I'll be calling multiple strikes in Uptown. The buildings here are far apart from one another and are all protected by thick walls. It's all mansions so I'll be leaving the brunt of the cruise missiles here. This is the only area I'll be allowing the full unmitigated usage of stand off weapons. How do you read?"
"Go ahead. I'll start patching you through the ships. Naval Jets and helicopters are being prepped for a long combat mission, Flight Ops to begin in an hour."
Riding its armored warhorse, the Demonic Armored Knight stops in the Central Portal. On Top of the highrise buildings as it watches the large amount of firepower being laid on everything they try to drop and spawn on the ground. Though the two Vampires have disappeared from the fight, they've been replaced by a strong Outworlder with a Red Dragon aiding him. The crimson flames were brutal to the Demon Legion as they burnt to a crisp whilst the iridescent sword of the Dragon God cut through virtually anything that was put in front of it.
Their forces now only controlled small sections of the city from what was almost the entirety of Central and had almost reached the entrances to the South and North. It then faces the ocean and the blazing trails of the Cruise Missiles reflected on his shiny black armor as it flies over him and hits Uptown. A small grunt was emitted by the strange Knight as another wave of aircraft came from the sea, painted in gray and some in black. With varying designs and types.
It once again turns his attention to Uptown where the Cruise missiles were about to drop. With great accuracy, the rockets destroyed a formation of Armored Giants and Orcs. Though some missed, the explosion was more than enough to make up for it. With their momentum lost, the Legion there retreats to its original ground slowly.
It then turns to look at a nearby street, while another formation keeps Mars busy. Yamaoka with his glistening Holy Sword, its radiant light enough to blind even the harshest Demons was unable to cope with their advance. "Hmph." It looks up to the massive Portal, Bahamut orbiting around it like a vulture waiting for fresh snacks to burn. It points its sword at it once again. It then disappears as an Apache flies by laying waste on a build up of forces near it.
With Naval and Air Support now fully applied into the battle, the Combined Arms Trifecta being fully met. The Legions of Hell were no longer able to do much against the forces of the players. Able to fully turn the tide with nothing but sheer overwhelming firepower. Though their numbers were never able to keep up with the amount the Portals of the Underworld was sending. The weapon advantage made the quantity problem merely disappear.
Alana returns to the Downtown Station. Panting heavily as she walked up to the second floor and saw that Yamaoka and Jackson weren't there and only their Colonels and Captains being busybodies having to constantly shift firepower to concentrate on certain areas. She then walks to the main office of the Downtown Police Chief and opens a hiking pack and takes a Golden Chalice from it. She holds it and blood starts materializing and the woman starts downing it like an alcoholic who hadn't had a pint for a while. She didn't stop for the next twenty minutes, drinking so much blood that it was spilling on the carpet.
The youthful teenage woman didn't seem elegant at all nor presentable as she violently chugged down the blood like a hyena, a deadly creature, one who shouldn't be respected and revered. A wild creation of a Gods wish to make something better than man, one that is eternally youthful and everlasting, feasting on the blood of men like it was the water of life.
She finishes and sits down on the leather sofa that was hastily put there. The door opened and it was Elizabeth. She also takes the Chalice and starts downing as much blood as she could.
"They won't put up with this."
Elizabeth kept drinking, ignoring Alana as the Queen threw her Greatsword at the ground and continued to drink. If the Countess was like a dependent alcoholic, the blonde one seemed as if she was on the end stage, a severe disorder. Chugging it down and down, not one cell of it was able to get away from her mouth.
"Your Majesty, I have that uneasy feeling."
She continued to jolt down on the Chalice, even going as far as pointing it up the ceiling.
"I believe we're only gaining ground now because the Legions of Hell are now able to see what our full strength is and are preparing for something worse. So far, they've shown great restraint in their tactics, pulling back and taking their time to gain ground. This isn't how I expected them to be, Your Majesty."
"PHWAAAH! Ah, thy blood of a man, such is the futility of us Vampires. Forever encased by our insatiable desire for this."
Setting down the Chalice, the Queen sat next to the Countess, the two magnificent women seemingly emanating an aura of absolute beauty as their prettiness conjoined in the makeshift command room in what was the Downtown Police Department's Chief office, being so near one another. The beauty they held gave a bit of light in the red stricken world they are in right now. But there was no one to see it, as in the hall just behind them, soldiers ruined and destroyed once again got up and walked to the battle.
With their heads down low, and with tired eyes, they march back to the fight.
"Ah, I do see it. We've been attacking nothing but trash so far. Needless reprobates the Underworld could freely throw at us. It is a good tactic. But even I do not know as much about the composition of the Legion of the Underworld, merely an idea."
"And what is that, Your Majesty?"
"Whatever will come, it will truly put the Outworlders to the test, including Our Lord."
She once again takes the Chalice and starts drinking it once again, leaving the Countess to ponder all by herself.
On the Downtown Portal, Jackson's eyes widened at the sight before him. His ears ringing by the sounds of bullets being flung off armor as roars of a Dragon could be heard coming from somewhere yet not near nor far. It made everything silent for a moment.
He pops out of cover and could see the skeletons and zombies running back to the area right underneath the portal. Being inside a comfy large checkpoint near it, he takes a pair of binoculars from a Squad Leader and sees that they are gathering around once again.
"What is it sir? Are they regrouping once again for another attack?"
The armored Giants then formed a line, blocking sight of whatever was happening. Jackson's senses immediately started to tingle and he chaotically got up from his cover fully and looked towards the soldier next to him.
"Call in artillery on the main area below the Downtown Portal. As many fire missions as we could possibly get. NOW!"
"DOWNTOWN CHECKPOINT REQUESTING FIRE MISSION! AWAIT FOR EIGHT DIGITS!"
"You! Call in CAS, have them loiter and orbit around here! YOU! and YOU! Get your entire squad together and with me now!"
He takes two Squads of soldiers with him as they run through the alley around the main street. With the marching feet coming closer and closer. A Hind then flies into the sector but is shot down by a single silvery arrow with black shadows trailing behind it. Artillery started to rain down, but all would detonate hundreds of meters above the sky even before touching the ground. An Apache then comes blazing it just to also get shot down but this time by fiery black spectral swords. Running to the area right below the Downtown Portal, the General leads his men into the heart of it.
With a heavy feeling overcrowding him and the soldiers, he turns around to face the players that came with him. Their finger on the trigger as solid as the steel that withstood the rain of mankind's firepower and of Hell's, with eyes focused, not weavering nor showing a hint of fright, he lightly nods and they cross the street. The army of skeletons ignoring them as they marched back to the origin pointed underneath the portal.
His eyes immediately went bleak as they crossed onto the alleyway and led to the area right below it. With zombified faces, Priests in blood red robes raise their hands. Letting out a non stop barrage of Demon Magic as an invisible barrier was seemingly erected, preventing artillery and rockets from hitting them from afar. They'd even target fighter jets zooming past, though their magical projectiles never reach.
The cloth they wore had the color of blood and gold on it, tattered, rugged, they were unlike the troops back then, wearing the uniforms of various Kingdoms that felled long ago, it was a unified system as the Priests got together in a circle, wearing matching clothing, only differing in the rings they had on there hands and ears.
Black spectral swords start to fire out the middle of the circle, the flying blades could track the fast moving aircraft and even shoot down additional aircraft that was trying to fulfill the request given by the General. Jackson could then hear heavy steps approaching their tight alley.
Facing them were a platoon of strange Knights in spiky black armor. The armored men seemed curious of the surroundings, checking the dumpsters and trash bins, some opening the doors to the back of the restaurants and shops. The General looks around and sees an emergency staircase and some windows. He quickly gestures to his men and they all take positions. With him being behind a trash can as the marching got closer and closer. "On my trigger."
Peeping out from the corner, the first Knight appears. With a horned helmet akin to that of a Demon and a bulky plate armor with a chainmail loincloth. They were proper and well polished, far apart from the trash they've shown so far. These warriors were methodical and slow, their swords were out and each and every one of them equipped with bows and arrows.
Jackson pops out of cover and shoots at them. His rounds flinging off as an angry growl was emitted from the helmet. An M249 SAW hiding in between trash bags then follows. Slowing down the single Knight but his back up takes the front, with their Heater shields up. They were able to march forward without any hindrance, the barrage of bullets not even slowing them down as arrows were flinged at them, two of the players on the staircases immediately got killed, with the metallic tipped arrows punching through there front and back plate, exiting out behind there bodies.
"Now!" emerging from the doors from the emergency staircase adjacent to the Knights, a player with an RPG-7 loaded with an HE rocket fires down into the alleyway. Sending the Knights to the ground and throwing them around like toys. Jackson then got up to one and in point blank, laid down his entire magazine. Below him, a Demonic Knight with bullet holes on its black cape that bore a strange sigil that'd only show when a light was above it.
It then groans and he looks at the attack and sees that they were all still alive. "AGAIN! THIS TIME WITH THE TANDEM!" The player with the RPG quickly reaches for this carrier and pulls out a tandem PG warhead. He once again points it down and fires it at the first one that got up. Blasting the Demon Knight open like a tin can and killing it. Organs and bits of its skeleton planted on the walls. "Fucking Hell..." the other Knights looked at their colleague who was now dead and then stared at the players in Multicam ACU. "Crap, time to run! Everyone!" The players on the windows then lay cover fire and others that carried disposable launchers, fired them on the Knights, killing two more. But the marching didn't stop and more Demon Knights appeared. Prompting them all to retreat.
Returning to their original positions. The Demon Knights were already there. The only thing keeping them at bay was the higher caliber weapons placed around the roofs and windows. But unlike before, they weren't being cut down, but only slowed. Infantry caliber bullets were basically peashooters against the better armored opponents who'd then use cover after seeing the enemy positions and their shields strong enough to witsand even the higher calibers used on heavy machine guns as their arrows pierced through body armor like it was nothing.
Flanking around into the houses and locating the paths to the machine gun nests and storming it. Shields first. Undead Priests on the other hand started lighting up entire buildings and setting entire blocks ablaze in the Downtown area as skeletal armored Dragons being ridden by Demon Knights started to climb into the roofs of shops and restaurants to take off.
General Paul Jackson was quick on his feet. Sending his men around to defend the nests and the sandbagged heavy armor they had on the ground. Having the advantage still in airpower, jets from far away would fire air to air missiles. Shooting down the boney undead Dragons being sent in the risk of their own fighter jets being shot down.
Down below on the sewers, Father Hendrix looks down at a Demon Knight he had killed. He removes its helmet and his face shows disgust at what's before him. He then fires multiple shotgun blasts into its chest and it all doesn't affect the armor, not even denting it. The only thing he managed to to hurt was the polish but even then, the Demonic Knightly armor with large spikes on its pauldrons wasn't even showing an inkling of rust.
"Charges set!"
He turns around and takes the black horned shiny helmet as they blow up certain sections of it. Collapsing the roads above but completely nullifying their ability to pop up at strange locations around Central. The Priest then hands over the M4A1 and AK-101 he got from the long drawn battle underground to the players there. They didn't exchange words but the head of the soldier bowed as he passed by. He then climbs up to the surface and looks on the city streets and scoffs at the sight happening in Downtown. With Bahamut breathing fire and shooting fiery arrows at the skeleton dragons appearing from there.
Hendrix then walks to a lone Humvee parked on the side of the road. The player inside is busy on the radio, ignoring the man getting in. "Copy! My Squad will transit there shortly! What do you mean there invincible?! We were doing so great!" The passenger door then opens and a Priest boards his vehicle. Making the player leave a baffled expression.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Follow my instructions."
"Huh?"
"Do you want to save this city or not?"
Seeing the tall muscled man underneath a ton of black cloth with guns and ammo over his chest. The player follows as ordered and brings him to the battered highway leading to outside the city. The players on the checkpoints there didn't question him after being ordered about the presence of the man long before. For the next four hours, they didn't stop and they soon reached a relatively large settlement in the middle of a small forest, far from the city and its troubles. The skies were normal and the red tint was gone. The driver couldn't help but cry along the way to see the colors return to his sight.
The people living there are baffled by the strange boxy machine that has arrived in their territory. The Priest then exits out. "Wait here." he looks around to see Peasants and Commoners who were awoken by their arrival. He walks through the muddy road and to the Village Inn where a person was sitting all alone drinking from a tankard. Hendrix places his hand on his shoulder and the man quickly animates.
"W-Woah! Where is he?!"
"Plans changed."
"What?! Do you know the crimes of that man in Avaria?!"
"You have a locket with you right?"
"Uhm... yeah."
"I need a favor."
"Who do you think you are? Because of you I am left in this useless village when I should be back in my family estate! I hired you to do a job and you told me it would be done in a few days!"
He takes a revolver from his waist and clocks it as he throws the Demon Knight helmet into the table.
"You know what this does and what it can do. I suggest you do as I tell you because if not, you'll be seeing more of these silvery black armor now, within your own homes and streets."
"Okay, okay. Let's calm down." The man then looks at the helmet that was thrown onto the table, though it was night and only a few people were present, they all looked in awe of the horned piece of armor. With strange unknown etchings behind it, its quality was unparalleled. Tapping it, the metal was something they've never seen before and it's polish and its manufacturing was unequivocally performed with extreme care and love. "Wha... what is this?"
"Call the Avarian Government and have your Nobles summon the Heroes. I know you've read about this type of armor before. In your art and books, the stories passed down from your ancestors. Their back but on a smaller scale... so far."
"W-wa... wait what?!"
"The Heroes are hunting the forces of Heavens against the chaos of Hell right? Well, they're here now. Not so far from here."
"WHAT?! I HAVE TO RUNAWAY!"
Before he could reach the exit, the Priest grabs him by his shirt and pulls him back to his seat.
"Do it. I am playing my part, the Gods could at least not make me deal with morons like you."
"I just can't go and report that there's Underworld Demons! Do you think we'd use our precious long range teleportation and magic mirrors for some lowly Noble?!"
"Your Father is not some lowly Noble though. I'm sure he'll understand when you say this is a chance for his Son to fight the Demons and prove himself worthy to become a part of the Parliament. Take the helmet, show it off to your women. Tout it as yours and begone."
"W-Well... hmmmmm... I'll make your pay twice as high then if you can give me a full set of this."
"I'm a man of my word. I'll bring him to your Kingdom as tasked and a full set of Demon Armor. But before that, we have to deal with this."
"Do you even know where he is? If there's Demons then where could he be? Could you even recover that man in the midst of this very much catastrophic event?"
"He's with StateSec right now. I know their base inside the city. It's a safehouse."
"Excuse my English as I am still very new to your language... but StateSec?"
"State Security. The Internal Bureau. Anything that happens from within, they deal with it. Now, call Papa and make sure you convince him. If not, you can kiss Avaria goodbye alongside all your wealth and the land you're supposed to inherit."
He then turns around for the exit, walking back to the Humvee.
"And oh! Don't forget to bring me a full set! Oh! And more helmets! I'll turn some into trophies to make as my family heirloom!"
With business done, the Priest exits out of the Inn and looks up to the Moon and its Satellite. The tiny planet orbiting the large one seemingly closer than before. The man breathes in. Closing his eyes and letting the cold night breeze hit his cheeks as the normal atmosphere, devoid of the crushing feeling back in Zavalda overcame him. His eyes watered at the calmness and the colors of life back to his sight. "Red skies huh... I guess the stories of the End Times are true." Turning to face the direction of the city, the man notices that the skies are still normal. He gets back inside the Humvee and leads it once again. Driving for another two hours with the Sun slowly rising on the horizon as the fourth day comes fully into view.
Stopping inside a large town. The player exits out the Humvee as the driver slumps down on the driver seat. Snoring loudly as the man walks into the cold morning crowd of the large settlement. Elves and Humans were already in their stalls selling food and goods as he walked into an alleyway and into a sewer. He then nonchalantly makes multiple turns and ends up at a hardened wooden door which he knocks thrice on and says the words "Kaska Treum Bahnta." The slit on the door slides open and an eye stares him up and down and it then opens.
"Watch yourself Outlander."
The Dwarf steps aside as he walks into the place and is greeted with a large atrium where all canals lead to. He faces to the left where a makeshift Bar was set up. On the opposite side was people sniffing and drinking some strange liquid from green vials and going absolutely wild in their beds as a Lizard carefully made sure they were all strapped as they laughed and cried and their body seizures from the concoction they've been given.
Sitting down on the bar, he turns to face a Rogue hiding his face completely behind a cloak and face mask.
"I have a favor to ask. I know you're the fastest around here and I'll need you to ferry someone into an Outworlder city as quickly as you can."
"Hmph."
"Don't do that. I know you're the one who's been smuggling people into that city to give to Bedlam Pharma. Not even the choppers and large birds of the United Nations were able to keep up with you even when carrying a lot of knocked out bodies."
"Haaaaaaa..."
The Priest then climbs out of the sewer and back in the main street. His ears were left with a deafening sound of silence from the lively morning crowd. He then could hear threads and engines coming from afar.
Even though he was a bulky body, the man grabs onto a window frame and starts climbing to the top of a two storey house. Upon reaching its roof he walks towards another higher point that was next to the road, his eyes widened at the sight of a dust cloud as far the eye could see. Its trail goes into the barely visible peaks of mountains far into the horizon with helicopters orbiting the source of the hurricane of dust being thrown. He then starts running into the main street that passes through the heart of town and leading the convoy was a desert camouflage open top Humvee with a hotshot General riding it with gold tinted Aviators and a well groomed beret. Saluting the Peasants and Commoners sitting by the sidewalks as his vehicle crosses through the town. Behind him were hundreds upon hundreds of transport trucks carrying armored vehicles and main battle tanks. "Those fuckers are really gonna turn the city into a hellscape... they'd really go this far just to not loose huh? I might've underestimated the suits. To commit this far. Jackson may have to accept the leveling of that city."
No one really knew what was happening inside the medieval fantasy town as the ground continually rumbled and their windows filled by a nonstop train of vehicles passing through their settlement. Every type of army vehicle one could imagine was in transit through the place.
"Hardcrop One, what's the status of our fuel?"
*Crrk* "We're good sir, we should be able to reach Zavalda without stopping now."
"Good, I don't want to stop anymore. Jackson is probably tearing his hair out with our delays. Ahahahahaha!"
In the midst of the sea of vehicles in a long column, the lone officer stood on the stone sidewalk of the town. His men immediately laid onto the hood of the Humvee a map and a long range radio.
"Patch me through Rostock."
"Yes sir." The man then turned some dials, changing the frequency.
"Vlad, you there?"
"Da, we are approaching city outskirts within the next two hours. The sky is red! I repeat! The sky is red!"
"What?!"
"Ask Hossam, he should also be on the net."
"This is some haram shit man! Allah will strike me down if I stay here any longer! Everything is painted with a blood red color! The Sun has disappeared!"
"Okay, stop your convoys. We will charge in together, just give me an hour or two."
"Vrag ubit! We'll stop our column and wait for you, Williams!"
"Inshallah brother, I shouldn't even be here. Full Dive is banned in Arab countries, if I only listened to the law."
"Alright thank you everyone. Just sit tight and prepare, ready yourselves for the unexpected. We're just a bit late thanks to a weakass bridge and its Wilkins, Vlad! Wilkins!"
"Da, da, da. Must return to my men."
He sets down the mic and he checks the map. A large circle spanning 10Km in all directions with its centerpoint being Zavalda.
"Sir, High Admiral Footman has actually arrived to reinforce the Zavalda Defense Force, he is currently helping General's Jackson and Yamaoka in their defense."
"Well shit, I didn't expect him to actually take the time off to send so many ships. Then how come we're still needed? Had Jackson replied about not needing us? Eh, its too late anyways. We're so close."
He then goes into his vest and draws an aircraft carrier far onto the sea and then looks down on the three axis they'll be coming from. He looks to another map that's more zoomed out and it shows the cluster of territories there currently inside, with a large cross over it. "FORMER COUNTRY OF ASHERA - DISSOLVED AND NOW CLUSTERS" was labeled on the cross, with the border to Gareth, 5 territories above Zavalda being divided with a bolded red line and a warning to never cross.
Iron Mountain being only 1 territory below it.
"We traveled so far already... get me my CVC."
"Sir yes sir."
The soldier then walks to the tailgate of the Humvee and takes out a Combat Vehicle Crewman helmet. Handing it over to his superior. "Thank you Everlone. Now call for my Abrams. We'll unload everything in the field just over the town and we'll set up a Depot right by the Refugee camp and we'll use the train station a few kilometers from Airbase Shadilay as the Joint Command Center."
"No changes to the plan sir?"
"None. So far, it's been a smooth ride. I can only hope whatever is waiting for us in that city won't be what my gut feeling is telling me."
A small rock falls behind the General, small enough to not even get noticed by the others except him. He turns behind and sees nothing. The vehicles on the street were not enough to throw something like that to a strange location, looking up, only the edge of a dark cloth was all he noticed disappearing into the roof.
Walking back to the Ervtes Guild Humvee, the Priest sees the driver chatting with the soldiers from The Men of the Woods, the small crowd of players visibly amazed and horrified by what they hear from him.
"And-and like one huge giant ass portal appeared over the skies, a huge black hole with the color of the rainbow bordering it and spanning over the color violet was an endless freaking sea of red. Like pure fucking red, the Sun and the Moon was blocked out, we've been fighting for a good four? Five? Days now and I miss seeing the night sky. You couldn't tell what time of day it was except for clocks."
Tapping the roof of the Humvee, Hendrix gets the attention of the player. "Boy, that's enough. Let's head back."
"Eh? Already?"
"Yes, I've finished everything."
"Woah wait, who're you?"
The well uniformed soldier in his combat kit, devoid of any dust and grime, in total opposite of the Humvee driver whose entire ensemble looks as if he had been through a tornado and back.
"Just a messenger."
Hopping in the passenger seat, the driver nodded to the soldiers as he went back in and started the vehicle.
"Are you sure you don't want to drive back there alone?"
"What? Are you planning on betraying your own Guild?"
"No. It's just that..."
"That? Man up, this is your chance to show your true character. Is yours that of a coward?"
"Ah geez, you didn't have to word it like that. Dammit, it's not like there's going to be a city for me to return to."
"Would you rather have the hordes of Hell spread out till it reaches the refugee camp? What do you think?"
"Okay okay, but don't call it a refugee camp. Its Evacuation Site."
"Pfft. Enough with the lying to ourselves. We're only here now because we want to preserve what's left, not because of what's still standing. That city of yours is as good as dead."
The crowd of players outside then looked to the main road. Players were chanting "SIR ERVTES HAS ARRIVED!" as they ran to the road alongside the people, wanting to see an Outworlder Guild Leader for themselves.
"Looks like your big man has arrived."
The Humvee driver immediately floored it as they drove out of town.
"What's with this sudden spike of morale?"
"Sir Ervtes is here, that means he is after the city, he wants to save it!"
"You guys really like that man huh?"
"We'd follow Sir Ervtes to Hell if he deems it."
"Alrighty. Be sure to take us home in one piece though."