Eodem: A Rifle And Sword Adventure 13 Chapter 13: Mana Storm

Kayin's Drone soared above Stryder group as it surveyed the hilly plains where Doctor Mahelona gave an approximate location for a detected cache of Unbinilium crystals. The squad had taken the scenic route of exploring the western side of the Princ.i.p.ality which was painted and sculpted in the forms of wide plains that slowly become more arid as they continued to move further west. They had pa.s.sed by several fortresses manned by not of Prince Clovich's men but by the Slaegian Empire. Iris had warned them that is best to keep their distance from the forts because they tend to get skittish with those coming from in and out of the Eastern Borders of the Empire. This is in no thanks to the numerous Nomadic Orcs that plague the Eastern Plains with their mad quest to despoil any hapless caravan that they prey upon.

Hopefully the Airstrikes from the Aurora that Corporal Clay can call in should be able to scare any attempts of an ambush in such an open field.

"The doctor is right. There is a whole cache of Unbinilium right below us." Kayin declared.

"How many are we talking about?" Samantha asked.

"Uh… according to the drone. I would say about one ton of them." Kayin answered.

"That's quite a lot to be placed in one spot." Iris commented.

"Is it unusual for it to be like that?" Samantha inquired.

"Unusual in the sense that normally, Mana Crystals tend to be not in Deserts but near mountains in more cooler climates like deeper into the Empire's Territory or by the Dwarven Clans' Holds. To find such an amount in these sunny gra.s.slands is normally unusual, naturally speaking."

"So are you implying that maybe, just maybe by your logic that someone may have deposited these crystals here?" the Lieutenant twitched her eyebrows.

"Most likely."

"I think she is right Rose. The scanner has also brought up that the Crsytal cache is being held in some sort of hollowed out cavern of sorts beneath us. It looks like we are gonna need some heavy machinery to dig up all this dirt." Kayin said.

"Very well, Clay! Contact Command and tell him to move in with the rest of the stuff. Plus call him to bring some dozers over. The Good Doctor is going to get his new samples this week or I will be d.a.m.ned if he doesn't!" Samantha ordered.

---------------------------------(About six hours later) --------------------------------

The machines of heavy mining industry ploughed through the dirt ground as their exhaust pipes belched the refuse of their fuels. The UFE soldiers patrolled the 50 X 50-meter perimeter with their arms firmly on their hands in a vigilant watch for any intruders who may wish to harm them.

For Aliathra Larethor, the machines seemed like monsters made by some twisted necromancer who bundled up pieces of metal and would dare call it a living being. They were more like a parody of life than anything else. She has followed the loud roars of the 'Demonic' creatures from New Albany to this place, an initially unnoticeable piece of flat land with now other features but the short dry gra.s.s and mounds of hills. She was about to dismiss that perhaps the 'Demons' were just expanding there reach away from where she knows they originated from, until her body and soul began to feel something.

They screamed to her like hunger panging her stomach. But instead of food, she could sense the presence of Mana Crystals. Being an Elf who are more finely attuned to the winds of magic that emit from the crystals. They called to her from beneath the earth like babies crying out for their mother.

Did these demons know where they can find these crystals? If that's the case then the Human Kingdoms will be in deep peril.

The Demons, as said in legend can also use the Mana crystals for their own ends. However, like the law of physics dictate, not all energy can be retained in 100% efficiency. Humans, Dwarves and most lesser races can only efficiently utilize a third or half of the attainable energy of Mana Crystal. Elves in the other hand, as if created for such a purpose, can utilized 66% to 80% of the stored energy from the crystals. In the old storybooks she read in her library in her palace, Demons are said to be able to harness 90% or in some exaggerated cases, all of the power the crystal stored without any miniscule loss.

If the 'Demons' get their hands on such a large pile of Mana Crystals in such a short an unguarded area away from the secured mining facilities of the Empire and the Dwarves would be beyond devastating to the chances of the survival of the world. She must warn them!

Running away from the 'Demon' gathering until she was about a mile between her and them, she knelt down and conjured her magics to summon the energy needed to send out a distress call for her Human allies.

"Emperor Uldin, this is Aliathra. I spotted a group of Demons collecting Mana Crystals in the middle of the Eastern Border of Tyr Rian. You have to stop them before they become too powerful." She communicated her message to her Tweeter Bird.

Additionally, the Elf also embedded additional magic to her spell by programming the conjuration to also relay the location of the dig site so that the Slaegian's can know where to strike. Knowing the Humans, they will quickly dispatch the Border Guards stationed in the Eastern Tyr Rian Border to take them down. Hopefully as the Princess the Garrisons, with their experience in desert warfare, familiarity of terrain and their superior man power should be enough to stop the 'Demon's' plans of acquiring the crystals which to her own curiosity is seemingly placed randomly in the middle of the frontier wilderness of the Slaegian Empire.

Quickly turning her head around for any eavesdroppers, Aliathra cloaked herself with an invisibility spell to quietly leave the scene. She still has a cover to maintain as one of her world's most valuable intelligence a.s.sets due to her close proximity to the 'Demon's' Nerve Center called 'New Albany'. She has also remembered that she was given the invaluable opportunity to walk inside freely into the hearth of the 'Demon's' so called 'Wall-less Fortress' with the help of an unaware individual named 'Obediah Root'. She will have to prepare for the dangerous mission. She will need to cast Holy Wards against the possible evil influences that the 'Demon's' could throw at her. She even also takes into account this 'Vincent' person. He had the look and feel of a normal human compared to everyone she has observed from a far in New Albany. But something is rather off with that one. Behind his cavalier stature, she could feel something roguish underneath him.

Are the Demon's Human disguises slowly failing? Were their forms just a ploy to fool the Human Kingdoms so that they would treat them like their own kin? Such deceit will not go unpunished!

------------------(Back at the Dig Site in a make s.h.i.+ft targeting range) -------------

Iris had a nervous but to the UFE an ambrosial excitement face etched into her as she stared at the MGL revolver type grenade launcher. The very same one she took from the hands of an incapacitated Kayin in the Battle for Devico's Mansion. She could recognize the weapon through the distinct etchings on the launcher's receiver. It was presented to her in all of its finery by one of the military crates that stored the UFE's weapons and gear.

"Go on. Take it." Kayin told her.

"I… I… don't know… I just grabbed that wand of yours out of anger for those Bandits. It's… eh… how do you say… 'heat of the moment' kind of moment." Iris hesitated. She was nervous about wielding the MGL again but the display she had shown enchanting the weapon with a variety of magical elements was of noteworthy status among the UFE. The vampire could remember all the pestering she had endured when scientists, soldiers and normal resident alike asked her how she managed to create a 'Frost Bomb'.

For person of her advanced age, she had lots of practice honing her skills in enchanting the magical energies into objects as a job for Lutheor when he needed to sell specialized weaponry to his huge clientele of questing warriors and high paying n.o.blemen. Sometimes, the order was a brilliant flaming sword, other times a bow that can shoot icicles and in some outlandish requests a breastplate that allows the user to breathe underwater. With the advent of these new UFE technologies being present right in front of her, there were more possibilities for even more enchantment combinations.

Iris picked up the MGL from its container and held her left hand to its foregrip and the trigger grip with her right. She took a long look at the weapon's scope which gave her an enhanced zoom of the makes.h.i.+ft targets in front of her. Then it dawned on her that MGL needs ammunition to be able to fire its explosive magics. She opened the revolving container of the device and picked inserted the ammunition into each slot.

"Remember, those are training rounds. Not the real thing. But if Doctor Mahelona's theory is correct, it won't matter." Kayin reminded her.

After she finished loading the ammo into the cartridge, Iris closed the lid and took aim. Channeling her magic, she enchanted Kayin's MGL with jolts of lightning emitting from her body and attaching themselves into the metal body of the weapon until it became fully embedded with electric magic like a lightning rod. Squeezing the trigger, Iris let loose a (training) grenade shot at the nearest target. The grenade exploded in a cloud of lightning infused smoke cloud in its wake.

"AAAHHH f.u.c.k!!!" Yelled a voice behind Iris startling her.

She turned around to see that Clay was scratching the side of his head as he cringed in pain. He was right next to his radio which is on top of a table. The headset he wears with him was rather not in its usual cranial position but at lay alone below him at the tawny surface of the plains.

"What just happened!" Kayin rushed to his Clay concernedly.

"I was just talking with command on my radio when suddenly my audio went static that… talk to me!" Clay said. He began to gesture his hand to point to his right ear.

"What?" Kayin asked in confusion.

"Just say anything on my right." Clay demanded.

"Uhm… h.e.l.lo…Food… Clay… Chicken… Alpha…Omega…Blue…" Kayin muttered randomly.

"s.h.i.+t, I think I a bit deaf on my right ear. Where did that Electro Magnetic Pulse came from?"

Kayin left Clay to run to the doctor to get his ear check. The Engineer turned to Iris who still held the Electric Infused MGL at her hands.

"What happened? Can we continue?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, but let's do less of that Lightning Bolt grenades for now?" Kayin suggested.

The Vampire Witch disenchanted the MGL off of its Electrical Influences and reenchanted the weapon with the crimson waves of Fire. She took aim again with the MGL and opened fire.

As he observed her brilliant display of magical prowess with Modern Earth Weaponry. Kayin could not help but evaluate what just happened to their new Radioman. Can the 'Magic' of this planet have any negative effects on their technology. If Unbinilium infused lightning can disrupt a radio. What would happen if such energy was multiplied? The possibilities of such an unknown force when applying theoretical chemistry and physics caused his black skin to go white with fear. If Magic can affect electronics, then these Unbinilium crystals maybe more potent than what the Good Doctor has initially theorized. Looks like he is going to have to tell that Fat Hawaiian in the lab coat about this and see what he thinks about it.

---------------------------------(A few hours later, a breakthrough happened….) ---------------------

The Engineer's struck something hard. Or at least that's what the reports said as Samantha rushed to the location of the discovery. She saw a gathering of the dig site's laborers hurriedly uncovering the discovery. As she gently pushed them aside. Samantha soon found what had caused the workers to get all excited about.

It was a stone carving of an artificial design. It had ornate tribal markings inscribed permanently on the gray surface of the rock which glowed with magic.

"Iris do you know anything about this?" Samantha asked the Vampire who just recently walked behind her as she marveled at the excavated sight.

"No wonder there is a whole cache of Mana Crystals in the middle of nowhere. This is a Cenhill Tomb!" Iris answered.

"Care to elaborate?"

"The Cenhill are the ancestors of the people of Tyr Rian. Before the Princ.i.p.ality got absorbed into the Slaegian Empire, the Cenhill had a thriving culture distinct to the other human tribes a few hundred years ago. For the n.o.bility, they believe that when they die they will need to be entertained in their afterlife. So they are buried with many of their possessions, like their furniture, wealth, servants, faithful warriors and most importantly, Mana Crystals." Iris answered.

"Like the Egyptians. An old Earth Civilization long ago in our history. Get buried with all of their stuff after they died. Tell me, what kind of n.o.ble is this man if you can judge by the entrance of the tomb?"

"A King."

"Oh, d.a.m.n we just hit the Jackpot!" Diaz exclaimed enthusiastically "So… wait… oh s.h.i.+t… is that mean we are going to… uhm… Rob a dead guy? Yeah count me out on the scouting team for this one. I maybe a robber but I have standards." His optimism turned to reluctance and then outright refusal.

"Well I won't force you in this one for now. Okay Kayin, Crocker, Iris you're with me. We are going in and I want that door opened yesterday. Diaz, Root and Clay, stay outside and contact Command of what we find."

"Yes sir!" Stryrder group yelled in unison.

------------------------------(Deep inside the Tomb) -----------------------

The Burial Chambers were decorated with a wide variety of possessions ranging from mirrors, statuettes, gilded war gear and jewelry. The first few rooms looked undisturbed by any other person for centuries due to the lack of any disorderly disturbances if the same logic fo Egyptian Tombs apply to Cenhillian ones. Yet Samantha had to practice restraint less she gives into her own avarice. She has seen those Mummy Movies and fears flooding the room with flesh eating scarabs or worse.

"All this stuff, d.a.m.n! This king is most be loaded." Crocker commented. Leaning for a closer look at a small gathering of gold with eyes filled with l.u.s.t.

"Don't even try Sergeant. It could be b.o.o.by trapped." Samantha warned.

"Oh, yeah alright. s.h.i.+t, can't concentrate for s.h.i.+t in a place like this." He backed off from the treasures.

They continued to move slowly deeper into the tomb where additional items rest on their way ranging from scrolls sealed with decorated handles and inscribed with seals of runic symbols. Then they begin to walk to where the dead were laid to rest in stone carved sarcophaguses. Each cover of every tomb had a distinct pile of items resting a top of them which signifies what kind of person was buried there. Weapons and Armors belonged to soldiers and bodyguards, rods and miters to advisors and religious figures, plates and plain cloth garments with a few pieces of jewelry signified servants etc.

They all formed a large circle around a pedestal where another sarcophagus laid in the middle of it. The coffin's exterior, unlike the plain stone ones that surrounded it, were made of some sort of refined bone decorated with traces of gold and jewelry in intricate patterns. It was big enough to fit a fully-grown man inside it. To the El-Tee's deduction, this must be the king who's final rest is this very tomb they now roam.

In an adjacent room, Samantha spotted a bright bluish glow that was being dimly emitted from the door. With the help of Crocker opening the stubbornly locked door with a swift kick from his Exo-Suit, the Lieutenant and her second in command and entered the sealed chamber.

"Jackpot!" Samantha smiled. The room was filled to the brim with Unbinilium Crystals as if all h.o.a.rded into a single tile of s.p.a.ce.

"d.a.m.n, my eyes hurt a bit." Crocker commented about the irritation of his eyes.

"I know, me too. This, this is more than what Dr. Mahelona needs." Samantha said.

The Crystal Storage room had Unbinilium that averages around the same size of Crocker's torso. They were too heavy to be hauled off by hand however and would need much more stronger means of moving these Crystals out. By the walls of the room, Samantha noticed that the walls behind the crystals were showing signs of wearing off due to the decay and dilapidation of their structural integrity. There was a faint green coloring behind the walls that s.h.i.+mmered upon the contact of light.

"Those walls are made of Gyhranite. A mineral that is known to block siphoning of Mana Crystals when placed between the user and the Crystals." Iris pointed.

"Scanners says that this mineral are similar to the materials we used to make containers for Nuclear Materials. And this stuff is already way past its Half-Life." Kayin a.n.a.lyzed. "Well no wonder I have never seen any spikes on my scanner on the initial readings."

"I'll tell the lads back up to get the gear out. Let's go. This place gives me the creeps." Kayin s.h.i.+vered.

"Hold on, I want to take a look at the Tombs before we go." Samantha objected.

They walked to the elevated pedestal of the decorated tomb to investigate further. Picking up her Camera, Samantha aimed the device at the coffin to marvel at its golden splendor. Iris walked in front of her and leaned closer to the sarcophagus. She waved her index figure to the right as she read the inscriptions.

"Do you know the language?" Kayin asked her.

"Yes… this is… King Martainn the Necromancer's tomb…" Iris answered.

"I am sorry… but what did you say he is… the what?" Crocker questioned.

"The Necromancer, I have read about him. He was considered the last of the Necromancer Kings of the Cenhilli when it was still independent from the Empire." Iris explained.

"Oh great, first fantasy creatures now we got f.u.c.king zombies and spooky scary skeletons. What next? Flying Pigs?" Crocker joked.

Undeterred by her subordinates attempts at humor to lighten the shocking discovery, Samantha took a quick snap of King Martainn's sarcophagus with her camera. But as the device made it's clicking noise, the ground began to shake. Alarmed, Stryder group unholstered their weapons and screened the barrels of their guns on all directions. Being surrounded without any cover by a Necromancer's main means of offense which are dead corpses is an unfavorable position to be in for the squad. Then the lid popped open from the inside which then followed the stench of a spice preserved corpse filled the chamber with its odor. A soft moan came from the gilded coffin as the reanimated corpse of King Martainn 'the Necromancer' stood proudly as a shambling corpse can be in front of them.

"Who…. Dares!" He said.

The ancient king was dressed in what Samantha can describe as something of a traditional Gaelic attire with a green colored kilt that he wore over his mail armor that became stained with brownish rust despite the best abilities of the coffin to seal away the oxygen from his corpse to the outside world. His bones, in contrast to the physical traces of his clothes, were a mix of bone and a ghostly ethereal glow that is slightly transparent in several portions of his exposed body. From view of King Martainn's Exterior, his right forearm bones were completely of a ghostly form in addition to his left ring finger of the same intangible material. Underneath the Necromancer's mail armor and robes through several holes from years of neglect, Samantha noticed that there were a faint glow coming from within Martainn's ribcage that emitted light in a flickering rhythm similar to a heartbeat.

The UFE slowly aimed guns at the Undead King ready to fight their way out of an army of corpses. Yet Samantha had a bad feeling that not all of the will be able to get out of this tomb alive if this will all go down hostility.

"My… Lord, Uhm… King Martainn." Samantha lowered her rifle down to the floor slowly.

"What are you doing?" Kayin asked her.

"Trying to get you guys out of this alive. Shush." Samantha quieted the Engineer before she turned again to King Martainn. "King Martainn, this is surely a mistake. My men did not know that…"

"Silence Slave!" Martainn interrupted. "You have woken me up from my slumber! Now I must… hey… why does… that… woman share my… blood?" Martainn pointed to Iris.

The UFE soldiers turned their eyes to the Vampire who stood behind them stoically from the arraignment.

"You know her?" Samantha asked King Martainn.

"You know him?" Kayin asked.

"Yes, for the Cadohagan line can be traced back to the Priest Kings of the Cenhilli." Iris answered. "Long before the coming of the Empire, the Cenhilli practiced in what we now call Necromancy. The Priest Kings of Ancient Tyr Rian were obsessed in attaining immortality. They hated dying and fading into dust so they experimented with Magic until they found a makes.h.i.+ft solution. They have found a means to prolong their lives well above their mortal life span whilst also enhancing their abilities to Siphon Magic from the earth. However, it came at a cost of their physical bodies. Their bodies began to fail and their forms slowly withered to dust and in place, an ethereal form that is corporeal to the touch." Iris explained.

"So, they are slowly becoming ghosts but they also are more in tapped with Magic." Kayin summarized the information.

"That is correct Night Skinned One." King Martainn confirmed.

"Oh, come on! Even your Grandpa even calls me that name too!" Kayin commented on the Necromancer's appropriation of his ident.i.ty.

"I though I just called you 'Nightman' Kayin." Iris corrected the Nigerian.

"Just call me Kayin from now on okay?"

"Fine but let me continue, so the Necro-Kings were one of the first people in Gliesia to pioneer the art of Necromancy. At first, it was originally used to make an expendable labor force for the Cenhilli to build their civilizations but overtime the Priest Kings found more applications to their Skeleton Work Force as soldiers. If you recall the Jubilation Day play you remember about Alboen the Steel Butcher?"

The UFE nodded yes.

"Well after discovering this brand-new means of manipulating Magic. Alboen himself went to Tyr Rian and demanded to know the secrets of Necromancy by the Necro-Kings. King Martainn, the king at the time was not willing to share his knowledge." Iris said.

"And not even my h.o.a.rd of Unbinillium too." King Martainn crossed his arms.

"In his anger, Alboen murdered a large number of the Cenhilli populace and enslaved the rest." Iris continued.

"But still I refuse to give up my secrets. In order to not allow him to know the secrets of Necromancy, I committed suicide but not before giving a few of my notes to my five Hagans, children. I believe you Iris can trace your lineage to my son Cado. I recall the notes were of a Serum that allows the user to both live for extended periods of time and be very proficient in siphoning the magic from the Mana Crystals, at the cost however that he must drink Blood of a living being. Were you sired or born a Cadohagan?" Martainn asked Iris.

"I was born one. And I am considered the last of my line grandfather." She replied sadly.

"By the G.o.ds! Cado was the eldest and my most prodigious. What happened?" the Skeletal King questioned in shock to the news that a portion of his descendants are dying out.

"He…they… My father… he…" Iris stuttered. She feared the next words she has to say in front of her Grandfather.

"He 'f.u.c.ked up' somehow basically?" Kayin interrupted.

"I do not want you to speak Nightman!" Martainn roared.

"Yes, my father Terryn, he 'f.u.c.ked up' with the rest of the other Vampires. And now I am all that is left of the blood of your eldest child. And please, forgive me for him. let's stop calling this one 'Nightman' right now. It's making him angry." Iris apologized for Kayin's upset outburst.

It did little to lessen the tension of the room. The Ghastly King could wake up his entire legion and surround them with a snap of his fingers if he wanted to. He stood menacingly with a capricious gaze at the intruders. He didn't care if one of them was one of his children. He wanted all of them out before they could steal even a single one of his valuable possessions and he wanted them out a minute ago.

"Please King Martainn, we beg you to spare our lives. We did not know we are disturbing your tomb. We will not take a single coin from your treasury if you promised to let us go. We are only just a small band of fifty people, the rest of whom are outside." Samantha stepped in front of Iris to parley. She knows that returning to New Albany empty handed or worse in a body bag would be devastating. She cares about the mission but she equally cares for the lives of her men, even the sc.u.mmy Diaz and his antagonistic ways.

"Liar! You say you are a just another hapless band of Tomb Robbers! I hear the hooves of a thousand horses just walking along outside ready to spring out of here with all of my treasure!" the Priest King shot her down.

"Horses? We didn't bring any horses…" Samantha twitched her eyebrows dumbfoundedly.

"Then… if those aren't your horses I hear… then who's steeds, are they?" King Martainn questioned.

"By the G.o.ds! The camp is under attack!" Iris exclaimed.

-------------------------(Meanwhile back at surface level) ------------------

"HQ! HQ! HQ! We are under heavy fire we need support now!" Edward Clay yelled to his radio in a desperate bid to call High Command. Yet all that answered to him was the static nothingness of a disconnected line. "d.a.m.nit!" He cursed as he ducked his head low from a grazing magic shot. It scorched the surface of the rock that he hid behind leaving a dark burn mark where it landed.

"How's the radio! We gonna get overrun at this point!" Obediah cried as he reloaded his sniper rifle.

"I can't get a d.a.m.n answer Private. Something is blocking the signal." Clay replied.

"What? We are being jammed or something? By what?" Diaz said.

"How am I supposed to know?" Clay replied.

It was previously quiet back at the surface level of the Tomb with the Engineers quietly resting after a long day's work. Clay, Diaz and Obed had initially thought that since they will just lazily sit down on some chairs just to stare at the approaching sunset quietly while breaking the ice with each other with the new guy. However, they heard a faint horn noise that slowly grew closer every second. Then a volley of arrows rained down on several of the engineers and soldiers injuring and killing a dozen of them.

The three remaining members of Stryder group scrambled to get their weapons out to fight back their attackers. It was the aforementioned Orcish Nomads who stormed the camp through the thunder of their hooves and whistling of their arrows. Their mounts were a variety of beasts and animals. Some were the familiar Horses that many medieval armies would ride into battle, others were Bear-sized Wolves whose backbones can support the weight of their masters, and most likely the worst were the ones who rode Giant Spiders on top of the arachnid's head while they leaned over its body for not only does the Spiders move along the earth effortlessly without tiring, it also can spit out venom from its mouth and extremely adhesive webbings from its a.n.u.s.

They encircled around the perimeter of the dig site constantly firing arrows and other projectiles at the UFE. Some of the mounted hostiles wore distinctive robes and held magical staffs that shot b.a.l.l.s of energy at them.

"Keep Firing! Keep Firing!" one of the UFE soldiers ordered.

Yet communication between the soldier are a mess. Their Radios weren't working due to static receiving and were forced to yell out to each other. The suppressive fire of the Mounted Archers kept the UFE pinned down to what little cover they could managed to hid from.

"Were getting f.u.c.ked in the a.s.s right now. We need a plan where's Lieutenant Rose?" Obediah yelled.

"Still down there in the Tomb." Clay replied.

"She would have known what to do. What now? We're cut off from command and these Orcs are kick our b.u.t.ts." Diaz said.

"I got a plan… Diaz you said you can drive right?" Clay asked the Penal Soldier.

"Yeah."

"Alright we make a run for it for the Land Stryder. Root, I need you to mount MG. We'll draw as much of the heat of our guys with a horse of our own." Clay took command.

"Aight, let's see if these Orcs like a taste of .50 Cal." Root smiled.

"Hey you! Cover Fire!" Clay turned to another group of pinned down Soldiers adjacent to their position.

"You got it!" one of them said. He and four other soldiers stood up from their cover and opened fire at the encircling Orcs.

The Three Stryder Group members leaped out of their cover and made a break line speeds to the Squad's Land Cruiser which was parked in the middle of the dig site where the rest of the Vehicles from Military to Construction were parked. They dodged arrows and magical missiles narrowly as they stumbled their way through the heart of the base. The Nomads and their Wizards were all focus firing at their three but thanks to the covering fire of the rest of the UFE, they managed to reach the armored safety of their Land Cruiser unharmed.

Diaz took the Driver's seat, Clay rode shotgun and Obediah climbed on to the back of the vehicle and manned the mounted .50 Cal Machine Gun. Vincent ignited the engine reviving the car back to its diesel fueled life.

"Floor it!" Clay yelled.

Diaz punched his foot on the pedal and the Land Cruiser sprang away from the Vehicle Bay like a wild animal set loose from its cage. The Ex-Thief didn't bother trying to avoid the minor obstructions of Construction Signs and tables as he ran them over with the heavy weight of the Land Cruiser. The car soon managed to break out of the perimeter and out of the encircling Orcs who dodged out of the way. Obediah c.o.c.ked the MG and opened fire at the Orc Hors.e.m.e.n, spraying them in a rain storm of .50 Caliber bullets. Yet the repet.i.tive recoil of the Machine Gun was almost uncontrollable for his weary arms. Unlike the muscular Sergeant Crocker who can tame the high caliber automatic kicking movement of the MG, Obediah couldn't seem to manage the beast that is a .50 Caliber Machine Gun. His gunfire was of a chaotic mess the wildly flew everywhere from out to the sky, a horse, or landing on the plain's soil causing a huge splash of dirt to kick up from the Earth. Diaz extremely violent handling of the Land Cruiser's wheels also didn't help too.

However there hastily thought of plan threw a wrench in the plans of the Orc Nomads. The Marauder's initial plans were to surround them in an encircled position similar to how they would control their herds then shot every single one of them down with their arrows. But having a 'Metal Beast' suddenly burst out of their formation in a panic like state whilst firing wildly invisible arrows that struck several of them down demanded their immediate attention. Over 80 of the hors.e.m.e.n broke formation and pursued the Land Cruiser under Heavy Machinegun fire.

"We gotta tail V!" Obediah cried.

Diaz s.h.i.+fted to lower gears as he pushed the Land Cruiser over a hill. It leaped up the natural ramp sending a several feet up into the air before landing back on the ground in a heavy stomp. He turned a hard left immediately after the wheels touched down giving Obediah the stability he needs to fire the .50 Cal. He gunned down over two dozen of the Orcish Nomads. As soon as the Nomads and their beasts of war got close enough, Diaz would speed off again.

"What f.u.c.king Roller Coaster amirite?" Diaz commented.

"Nice Driving. Let's go." Clay smiled optimistically over their chances of survival.

Meanwhile back at the Dig site, Samantha, Kayin, Crocker, Iris alongside King Martainn emerged from the Tomb to be greeted by a fireworks display of Magic and Bullets. Elemental b.a.l.l.s of Energy flew across the scorched marked breadth of the Dig site like city lights with the flickering of muzzle flashes from the UFE complementing the luminary display. Men struggling to survive every barrage of arrow and magic with a return fire of their own, polluting the battlefield in the sounds of war. The noise pollution, in stark contrast to the homely and quiet tomb below further angered King Martainn from his rude awakening by these intruders.

"I will stand idle while these marauders taint my land with their disgusting feet!" Martainn shouted as he pulled out his enchanted staff and sword and began to cast a magic fire ball and hurled it straight to a cl.u.s.ter of 6 Orcs who were approaching danger close to a group of pinned down UFE soldiers.

The Fireball narrowly missed the UFE soldiers and impacted Orc Marauders in a brilliant outburst of fire killing them all.

"Hey! That was too close!" Samantha reprimanded Martainn.

"After I deal with these Orcs I will deal with all of you Metal People next." Martainn raised his voice.

"Okay how about this. You help us deal with these Orcs and I promise my Men will leave. If we don't you can do whatever you want with us." Samantha promised.

"By your own words?"

"By my words." Samantha swore.

Just then a lone runner dashed towards Samantha. His face was weary with sweat from the heat of the battle.

"El-tee! Your okay… Oh s.h.i.+t!" the runner cursed as he opened fire a burst of his rifle to King Martainn.

Being an Undead, he was not affected by it by the slightest but the gusty force of the bullets that barely grazed his skeletal frame left him aghast.

"Woah Soldier! The Zombie is a Skelton." Samantha informed him.

"Oh sorry. f.u.c.k C.O. we're surrounded." The runner apologized.

"I see that! Tell me something we don't know." Samantha demanded.

"We counted 250 plus foot mobiles surrounding us right now." He cut to the chase and informed her the balance of the battle.

"That's around 5 to 1 and they are uphill s.h.i.+t this is bad. Where's the rest of my squad?" Samantha asked.

"I saw Diaz, Root and Clay make run for your Land Cruiser. They managed to draw some of the Tangoes away by driving off. They should comeback soon." He replied. "f.u.c.k! Our West Side! West Side!" he shouted pointing at the direction they are behind from.

Stryder group turned around to see that the Orcish Nomads have rallied the remains of their raiding party into one giant blob formation. They were preparing to charge through the West Side of the Dig Site and breakthrough the defensive perimeter by the sheer weights of their numbers.

"WAAAGGGHHHRRRRR!!!! CCCHHAAARRRGGGEEE!!!!!" the Orc Leader cried. He rode atop of him a giant Spider Mount that was over 2 stories tall.

"d.a.m.nit! Defend the Western Perimeter at all cost!" Samantha ordered.

Stryder group double timed their sprints as they rushed headlong into the embattled grounds as the defenders struggled to prevent a breakthrough.

Crocker opened fire his LMG unleas.h.i.+ng a 750 RPM barrage of suppressive fire taking down three dozen Orcs riddling their green skinned bodies to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp of ballistic entry and exit holes. After his belt dried, Crocker knelt down to under go the long (by Battlefield standards) reloading of his weapon.

"Iron Man! Watch out!" King Martainn warned him.

One of the more monstrous mounts of the Orcish Nomads, a Giant Lupine creature commonly called a 'Battle Wolf' managed to survive Crocker's LMG Fire and made a bee line straight for the murderer of its mounted owner.

The Lupine leaped at Crocker with its teeth aimed for the Brit's throat. Lewis managed to hold the Wolf's mouth away from his vital organs for a good arm's length of distance. With the added strength of his Exo-Suit, Crocker snapped the neck of the Monstrous Canine with his bare hands before tossing the corpse aside.

"You are strong Iron Man." King Martainn apostatized.

Meanwhile next to Crocker, Iris was starting to sweat heavily through the heavy expenditure of her Magical Energies. She had used a great amount of her power to enchant her MGL with several magically enhanced explosive ordinances of Fire, Ice and Lightning directed at the Orc Marauders, but now she is slowly on the verge of exhaustive collapse, and there are still over a dozen more to go.

"Iris we need more Fire Power!" Samantha yelled.

"I…I … can't… I …." She answered woozily.

The Vampire Witch fell down on the ground and then slowly crawled to her friend Kayin who sat down in low cover reloading his Carbine.

"Iris!" Kayin yelled as he grabbed Iris and dragged her into his cover which barely concealed them from the hail of arrow fire.

"I am so… ti…yered…" She softly said.

"d.a.m.nit! You need some of that Mana." Kayin worriedly replied.

The Vampire tried to muster up the Mana from beneath the Earth in King Martainn's Tomb but a sudden shock stopped her.

"They are my Crystals!" King Martainn roared selfishly.

"Now? At a time like this?" Samantha argued.

Feeling her body slowly failing from Mana Exhaustion, Iris became desperate to retain her consciousness. If her Ancestral Grandfather won't allow her to use his h.o.a.rd of Unbinillium, then there is only one way to obtain the energy she needs.

"I need… blood…" Iris muttered.

"What?" Kayin asked confusedly.

"Your blood. I need power… your ess…sence… please…" Iris begged.

"No way! I'm not your blood bag." Kayin protested.

"That is a direct order! We need that Fire Power now!" Samantha yelled.

With great reluctance, Kayin gave in. He leaned his head to the right exposing the left side of his neck.

"I will make this hurt as little as possible. I am sorry if it has to come to this." Iris apologized.

She moved on top of the Nigerian above his waist and gently caressed his neck. She smiled softly at her Nightman, knowing full well that unlike the last time she bit him, it will be for everyone's own good.

"Hold still." She whispered.

She unleashed the fangs in her mouth and plunged her teeth at Kayin's neck. The Nigerian cringed in pain at the sharp incision of Iris' canines but the Vampire comforted him placing her hand lovingly on Kayin's cheek.

After a brief ten seconds that seemed to last forever, Iris let go her dental grip from Kayin now reinvigorated with the power of blood. Her eyes turned bloodshot as she mustered the power within her onto to the MGL Grenade Launcher and opened fire. Each 40×46mm shot from the Magically Enhanced UFE weapon let loose a barrage of mystical energy that seared the flesh of the Orcs and their monstrous cavalry.

She felt G.o.dlike with her powers. Every time she bit another living thing, Iris can feel an addicting surge of power that exponentially empowered the potency of her magic. Human Blood was by far the most effective on giving her this albeit temporary hour of power. Thanks to her super powered junkie rampage against the Orcs, the UFE got more time to reload and retreat deeper into the dig site.

Meanwhile about a kilometer away from the action, the Stryder Group members inside the Land Cruiser were already about to finish off the last of their pursuers. Diaz managed to get some distance away from a significant amount of Orc Nomads from the Dig Site to lift off some of the heat away from the defenders. Additionally, the static from Clay's radio began to fade much to the Radioman's relief.

"HQ! HQ! This is Stryder Group." Clay said.

"This is HQ. We have been trying to call your team for about thirty minutes. Were there weather problems?" the voice of one of the HQ Command's Radiomen answered.

"Thank G.o.d it worked. Listen, the Dig Site for Mahelona's Unbinilium Crystals is under attack. About Three Hundy plus Hors.e.m.e.n are attacking us. I repeat the Dig Site is under attack. We need support over!" Clay told HQ.

"Why didn't you contact us earlier?" the voice in the radio asked.

"I-I don't know. Some sort of Jamming or something. We need Air Support and we needed it ten minutes ago." Clay asked.

"Roger that we're calling in a Strike Package and Marines at your position now." The radio said.

Clay happily dropped the radio relieved that help is on the way. He banged the top of the Land Cruiser's ceiling to get Obediah's attention, who the Redneck has just finished off the last few Orc Nomads who chased them. His hands let go of the Mounted MG and began to shake violently to the same rhythm it produced with its recoil.

"My G.o.d, I am gonna let Crocker do all the super shooting for now on. I can't believe he does this for over fifteen years. I'm s.h.i.+vering like a bad winter day." Obediah said.

"Yea I feel ya. But good shooting back there Old Man. I buy you two rounds of beer when we get back 'kay?" Diaz said.

"Sure thang. Hey look over at the horizon! 10 'o clock." Obediah pointed.
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Diaz and Clay turned their heads to the Redneck's direction and see that there's black dots slowy approaching at their position. Diaz, wanting to get a better look on what he is looking at grabbed a pair of binoculars, a spare one that Samantha keeps at the glove box of the Land Cruiser and placed his eyes on it.

"Those are Slaegian Legionnaires." Diaz exclaimed. He recognizes the black and gold armor that the Slaegian Empire, the liege lords of Tyr Rian wore. There Heraldry which depicted a golden Dragon figure head wielding on one hand a sword and the other hand a weighing scale which best signifies their dominion over most of the Human cities and settlements in the Ysanigrad.

Diaz spotted a wide variety of units ranging from your standard infantry carrying a sword or s.h.i.+eld, pikes or range weapon such as crossbows and Bow and Arrows. Then came the Cavalry from lightly armored Yeomen to the heavily armored Knights. But what struck Diaz's eye the most was a half dozen of a particular creature that flew haughtily above the Slaegians with their radiant wings

It was a squadron of Hippogryphs and their Knights. They had the head of an Eagle, the forequarters of a vicious predatory cat and the Hinds of a Horse. They were adorned in armor that are tailor made for their bodies from their heads, frontal b.r.e.a.s.t.s, backbone and hind legs. It was a relieving sight for Clay to see the local security forces responding quickly to the Orc incursion.

"They must be responding to the Orc Nomads back at the Dig." Clay said.

"Well there sssooo slow!" Obediah complained.

"Cut them some slack Obed. Besides, they probably have yet to invent the flus.h.i.+ng toilet." Diaz chuckled at the UFE and Slaegian's huge technological gap.

"Man, I can't imagine having to smell my s.h.i.+t every day. The thought of it makes me wish I was never born you know. I get sick having to smell poo all day especially the fertilizer my wife buys all the time, them expensive 'Organic' s.h.i.+t. f.u.c.k man, I had to use my daughter's perfume just to get rid of the stench. Then the woman says 'That's what you get for marrying the Farmer's Daughter Obed!'." Obediah said.

"Man, I hate to be in the middle of a Redneck argument. Heard there's a fifty-fifty chance someone's gonna draw a gun." Diaz said.

"That's a f.u.c.king stereotype you know that?" Obediah snapped.

"Says that man who named his guns after his wife and kid." Diaz shot back.

"d.a.m.n really Root? After your family?" Clay asked.

"f.u.c.k you, f.u.c.k both of you all." The Redneck snarked.

Obediah leaned back from the MG Port so he could get a once and a lifetime view of the Slaegian Hippogryphs. From what Iris has told them about them, Hippogryphs are mounts of high ranking Knights from the Slaegian Empire. It is said that the monstrous mounts were bred near the Mountains at the North Eastern section of the Empire alongside the Dwarf Clans. Hippogryph Knights are a.s.signed to roles of Light Cavalry either as Scouts, hunting down Enemy Skirmishers or hara.s.sing their more equine counter parts. It was considered one of the most decorated type of soldier in the Legion and a significant number of the Empire's reserves are stationed in Border Fortresses at the South Eastern end of their dominion where Tyr Rian is situated in.

The Redneck was about to doze himself off to a quick moment of shut eye when he noticed that the shadow that the Hippogryphs produce with their wings slowly enveloped him in ebony.

"Die Demon!" yelled the Hippogryph Knight. His mount descended from the sky claws out and ready to strike down on Obediah.

The Marksman roughly ducked down to the MG Port below to the safety of the squad's armored car barely escaping the razor talons of the Hippogryph which only met the sun kissed skin of the Land Cruiser's steel frame. The force of the monster's failed strike managed to slightly tilt the car sideways for a brief second. Obediah felt was caught in a daze by the sheer surprise and ferocity of the Hippogryph attack. His rough touchdown to the Land Cruiser's pa.s.senger cabin was enough to plum his elbows and his cheeks slightly with bruises.

"What th---" Diaz tried to make sense of Obediah's falling down thinking he might have accidentally slipped from the MG port when suddenly the Land Cruiser began to violently be shaken back and forth in a sudden turbulence of force.

"GGGGGAAAAWWWKKKK!!!!" shrieked the Hippogryphs as they try to rip the 'armored bone' from the Land Cruiser, but their feline claws only made insignificant cosmetic damage to the 'Metal Beast'.

From their right, left and front sides, the Hippogryphs, after realizing that their claws will not dent the sides of the vehicle proceeded to try and slash open the gla.s.s windows from each side.

"f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k! Drive! Drive! Drive!" Clay shouted.

s.h.i.+fting the gears out of 'Parking' and putting the pedal to the metal. The Land Cruiser let out its own mighty roar that shook the courage of the Hippogryph Knights. With a proud acceleration, the vehicle leaped from its stationary position causing the Hippogryph that tried to claw it from the front to lose its balance and fall down in front of the b.u.mper where it was immediately ran over by the Land Cruiser, killing the rider and the mount under considerable tons of steel.

"HQ! HQ! Mission Update! The Slaegians are Hostile I repeat the Slaegians are hostile!" Clay cried to the radio.

"Say again?" HQ asked.

"Slaegian Bird Monsters and their Knights are attacking us. There's a whole army of them chasing us too! 800 hundred-foot mobiles bearing the Slaegian Empire heraldry over! I need an ETA on that Air Support and reinforcements." Clay said.

"ETA Five Minutes." HQ Said.

"Roger on last transmission." Clay dropped the Radio. "You hear that? The heats coming." He rea.s.sured everyone.

"They better be! I ain't wanna die here." Obediah swore.

"Me too!" Diaz added in whilst he sped along the Plains making a bee line for the Dig Site.

The Land Cruiser covered the distance between them and the approaching Slaegians at such an inhuman speed that even the Hippogryph Knights, who by their standards were the elite soldiers specializing in the tactics of Blitzkrieg were impressed by the deceptively uncanny speed of the 'Metal Demons'. Yet instead of being discouraged by their otherworldly foe, it only steeled their determination to wipe out the 'Demons' off the face of Gliesia. For if they fail to hold the line for their civilization here, then surely the world will burn in an endless tide of chaos and destruction. Based on the UFE's estimates, the third party will arrive by the Dig Site's doorstep at about four to five minutes.

"Charge!" the leader of the Slaegian Army yelled.

After making their way past the Orc Nomad's corpses and the ruined Dig Site, Diaz spotted Samantha who was breathing heavily from the fatigue of intensive battle alongside the rest of their squad. He parked close to his Commanding Officer before he and his two companions disembarked from the Land Cruiser.

"Sam! Your alright." Diaz said.

"It's Lieutenant Rose Private! Formalities please!" Samantha castigated.

"That's besides the point El-Tee but we got… Zombie!" Clay was about to inform her but he spotted King Martainn who in his skeletal body moved behind her.

The three previously separated UFE soldiers opened fire at the Ghostly King which the Martainn twitched in reflex to the attack. But ultimately, he was unharmed by the attack.

"What is up with you? Do you people always shoot at the first sign of a Skeletal Zombie?" King Martainn irked.

"Uhm, yeah we do… honestly." Samantha confessed. "But that's besides the point Martainn. Diaz, Clay, Obediah. This is King Martainn He is a frie---" Samantha tried to inform her squad but she was interrupted by another burst of rifle fire from Diaz.

"Sorry but years of Zombie Movies and Video Games has caused us to evolve to shoot at any… wait 'frie--' what?" Diaz inquired.

"King Martainn is friendly Zombie… Mummy… King… whatever it is. For now. Plus, d.a.m.nit Diaz! Trigger Discipline!" Samantha snapped.

"How long have I slept Iris? Did the people of Ysanigrad fear the us after I have long pa.s.sed?" King Martainn asked his granddaughter.

"You can blame the Witch Hunters. It's a long story. I need to rest now… so much energy used… after I bit Kayin." Iris woozily replied.

"Wait you bit Kayin?" Obediah asked.

"Yes, and he is okay now. Thankfully it's all over. The Orcs are either dead or fleeing." Iris answered.

"Yeah about that, uhm there's another army trying to kill us." Clay informed everyone.

"What?" Samantha, Crocker and Martainn yelled in unison.

"Slaegians miss. Tried to attack us. And by the looks of it they wanted us dead really bad. You see the marks on our Land Cruiser? Yeah, all made by some Hippogryphs. Plus, I think one of them called us 'Demons' or something." The Radioman pointed.

"Hippogryphs, by the G.o.ds they are going to finish us off!" Martainn gloomed. "They most likely have a full complement of their soldiers marching at us. How long before they descend upon us?" he asked.

"About five or four minutes at best. But I just managed to call HQ and their bringing reinforcements and Air Support as we speak at around the same time they get here." Clay said.

"You managed to contact Command? Alright but we just barely fended off the Orcs. I'm down to only two clips left." Samantha commented on her rifle.

"Just three grenades for the MGL." Iris added.

"Half a Belt for me." Crocker continued.

"and I can't feel my face." Kayin commented.

"Watch out! Their casting spells!" King Martainn pointed.

Several b.a.l.l.s of Magical energy made rainfall down on the Dig Site, impacting the ground in magical outbursts of the native Gliesian energies. Looking across the Horizon, Samantha grabbed her binoculars and spotted that several of the Slaegians who were mounted on Horseback were

"They brought Mages too. We need to buy ourselves time! Clay! Contact Command I need an update on the reinforcements." Rose ordered.

Clay picked up his radio again and began to dial up the device but all that was emitted from his device was more static.

"d.a.m.nit not now!" Clay cramped. "You stupid Radio." He cursed at his failing gadget.

"The Magic, it disrupts our comms." Kayin said.

"Huh?" Clay turned to the Nigerian.

"It was just a hunch I made after Iris used those practice rounds earlier. You getting loud static on your radio. I bet it's the Magical Energies s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g our comms." Kayin said.

"So it's the Mages Fault I have been trying to contact HQ forever? d.a.m.n what kind of cruel world is this?" Kayin lamented.

"Focus soldier. Right now, we need to buy ourselves time. We got like about uhm 3 or more minutes before help arrives?" Samantha asked.

"Indeed miss." Clay said.

"Okay, Clay keep trying to make contact with Command. Diaz, you can drive right? Take Crocker with you to the Land Cruiser and try to slow down the Slaegian's. Take some more Land Cruisers too by the way. Priority target the Mages. And speaking of Mages, Obediah grab your rifle. I'll spot targets. Defensive Formations go!" Samantha ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" the UFE said before dispersing.

Crocker rallied several of the UFE soldiers to board the other three Land Cruisers and man the mounted Machine Gun. Diaz followed suit with the Brit with his 'combative' driving skill. The Stryder group's armored car took lead of the four Land Cruisers. Spreading themselves out evenly and opened fire at the Slaegian Legion forcing them to raise their s.h.i.+elds to block the barrage of bullets to no avail as the armor piercing .50 caliber took down several dozens of Legionnaires before their ammo reserves exhausted. Yet they have done their duty and managed to slow down

Obediah in the other hand, unholstered 'Leah'. He then went down to a p.r.o.ne position and flipped down his Sniper Rifle's Bipod and took aim by placing his weary eyes through 'Leah's' scope. Samantha knelt down beside him with her binoculars at hand. She began to call out Obed's shots who with pinpoint accuracy. It wasn't that hard to find the Mages as they wielded Magical Staffs wore distinctively colorful robes that stick out like a sore thumb at the approaching Slaegian army which in contrast wore uniforms of armor and dark colored robes underneath. Every shot from Obed's rifle met its park with the sudden and gradual demise of the Slaegian's combative magical capabilities plus lessen the interference for Clay's Radio.

"That's it! Keep at em! I can hear HQ again. Command!" Clay said.

"This is Major Holyfield. What the h.e.l.l is going on out there?" Benjamin said on the radio.

"Some sort of Magical s.h.i.+t is jamming our radios or something. I need the Callsign for our Air Strike." Clay said.

"Pegasus 3-5." Holyfield said.

"You mean Captain Kaprelian? Good to see her out now." Clay said.

"You know her?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah, we share Tables together in the Mess Hall back up at the Aurora. Great Pilot she is. Whenever I call in an Airstrike its always her. Pegasus 3-5, again and again." Clay answered. "You have my word she will bring the goods." He added rea.s.suringly.

"Okay call it in." Samantha said.

"Pegasus 3-5 this is Stryder group. We are a forty-man pinned down at by the IR Beacon. I authorize CBU strike on hostiles 400 hundred feet west from our position." Clay said. He reached into one of his pockets for an IR Signal beacon and turned it on before placing it firmly on the ground.

"Affirmative Stryder Group. Making an Attack Run." Captain Kaprelian, designation Pegasus 3-5 replied.

"Lased Targets! Give them a Beam everyone!" Samantha dropped her Binoculars and turned on her rifle's laser designation.

She and her wingman lined up vertically on the enma.s.sed battle formation of the Slaegian Legion. Her hands inched slowly to the Bomb Release b.u.t.ton as she slowed her descent to about 300 feet in alt.i.tude. The some of the Slaegians curiously turned their heads at the two strange Metal Bird in grey coloring as it approached them menacingly.

"Tucktail!" their general said.

"Bomb's Away!" Kaprelian said.

"Fox-4! Gun, Gun, Gun!" her wingman said.

"Hey Iris!" Clay grabbed the Vampire Witch's attention. "I call this 'Miracle', 'Airstrike'!" Clay raised his arms in an acted display of 'Magical' prowess as the Pilots commenced their run.

They unleashed their payload at the Slaegian Legionnaires, erupting the battlefield in a hail of bomb and heavy Gatling gun fire, easily decimating them.

"The End Times have truly come!" a wounded Slaegian Legionnaire despaired before succ.u.mbing to his devastating injuries.

"Let's take as many of them with us then! For the Emperor! For the Nation! Charge!" one of the surviving Sargeants of the remaining survivors rallied.

In their religious fervor the natives prayed to the heavens to their heathen G.o.ds before, arms raised with their weapons gave out one last charge in an unbreakable display of their faith and hatred for those who would harm their civilization with their corruptive influences.

"No way they still are at it." Samantha said.

"This is Valkyrie 1-1. Reinforcements has arrived." Clay's radio spoke.

Over a half dozen of Canary VTOL aircraft flew past Samantha blowing the wind behind her as they hovered above the battle weary UFE. The VTOL's doors opened to reveal fresh faced UFE soldiers roping down from the Canaries and Door Gunners laying down machine gun fire to finish off the remnants of the Slaegian Legionnaires.

"Cures you… Demon Sc.u.m!" the last Slaegian bedeviled before he choked on his own blood and fell down to the flat dirt ground. He was merely only four meters away from Samantha before he was gunned down to swiss cheese by the reinforcing UFE.

Those Earthlings who were hunkered down at the Dig Site cheered 'Porro Terra' for their victory against overwhelming odds.

"We did it!" Samantha cheered. She hugged Obediah and Clay together who gladly received her embrace.

The reinforcements, after fully descending to the ground began to either administer First Aid to the wounded or secured the perimeter for any stragglers with others to capture anyone surviving Slaegian alive for questioning. The both Major Holyfield and Colonel Polonsky would love to egg questions on why the Border Fortresses of the Slaegian Empire unprovokingly attacked the UFE despite rea.s.surances from Prince Clovich that they will not be hostile to Earthlings.

"Lieutenant." A Radioman from one of the Reinforcing soldiers approached Samantha.

"Yes?" Samantha turned to him.

"Major Holyfield and Colonel Polonsky would like to have a word with you." He answered.

The radioman reaches from the pockets of his combat rigged and pulled out two ball shaped curiosities from him. He then activated the anti-gravity projectors from the b.a.l.l.s and throw them into the air where they floated above the ground a 160 cm's from the Plain's soil.

"Lieutenant Rose…" the voice of Colonel Polonsky emitted from one of the b.a.l.l.s.

The floating orbs immediately projected the holographic images of both Colonel Polonsky and Major Holyfield.

"Colonel, Major." Samantha saluted.

"Battle Report!" Polonsky said.

"We were ambushed by hostile forces, first by these Orcs and then by the Slaegian Border Garrison Armies." She summarized.

"Corporal Clay has been trying to radio us early but the line keeps breaking. Do you have an explanation about this poor communication?" Holyfield asked.

"It's just a theory from Mudwin sir but he believes that extensive outburst of Magical Energy can disrupt our electronic communications."

"That's sounds preposterous. Those radios are state of the art. Can this 'Magic' really jam them?" the Major pressed.

Polonsky sighed whilst he placed his arm on his forehead.

"Trust me in this Major. But you'll get used to this we have seen so many things only the likes of Fantasy Writers can dream of." Polonsky said.

"Well okay, perhaps I do need to open my mind more. So, you were able to hold the line against how many? First I got four hundred then an additional seven hundred tangoes if that's correct with you." Holyfield inquired.

"Indeed." Samantha nodded.

"Impressive. Your just like your father Lieutenant Rose. If he was still alive right now I would have been the first call him about you getting recommended for the Silver Star." Polonsky softly smiled.

"Really? I am honored." Samantha light up her face in joy.

"Good to hear from that. But don't get your hopes up yet, I still need to consult with the other survivors for witnesses and the Awarding Committee before anything can be official." Holyfield said.

"Now, Gallantry aside, have you secured Doctor Mahelona's Unbinilium crystals?" Polonsky asked the most important question that mattered the most to him above Stryder group's survival.

"Well about that, we came upon a complication where…" Samantha was about to explain until her left shoulder felt the cold and bony touch of Death.

"Who are these other ghosts?" King Martainn asked mistaking the ethereal images of Polonsky and Holyfield of being other undead spirits like him.

"Oh my G.o.d!" Holyfield recoiled.

"Zombie!" the radioman exclaimed, he pulled out his pistol from its holster and fired several shots at King Martainn. Yet still like previously, the Skeletal Monarch was unharmed.

"I am starting to think you hate Zombie and Reanimated Skeletons now. Tell me again why I agreed to let you live?" Martainn asked, his hands began to conjure Necromantic magic.

"Relax please, let me do the talking." Samantha told him. "This pretty fellow is King Martainn. He is the owner of the Cache of Unbinilium crystals which so happens to be his tomb." She explained.

"Greetings your Majesty I am Colonel Polonsky and this is Major Holyfield. We are Lieutenant Rose's Superiors. We're Generals basically." Polonsky greeted.

"Ah, it is good to see fellow men of arms. But let's get straight to why I am here at your presence and its about my Mana Crystals… or these… Unbinilium you call them." King Martainn spoke to them diplomatically.

"Well he said 'No' we---" Samantha was about to break out the bad news before she was interrupted by the Skeletal Monarch.

"I changed my mind. I will allow your people to have a small share of my Mana Crystal Horde for you to do what you please with. And to make my proposal better. I can even give you some of my old Sage's notes on their studies about the Mana Crystals to you." King Martainn said.

"Well better than nothing. Thank you, your Highness." Polonsky bowed. "But what made you change your mind?"

"It's Samantha… Rose who stands beside me. She reminds me of… me." King Martainn answered.

"She was like me when I fought against the hordes of Alboen the Steel Butcher. I knew I was not likely to win, but I fought for my people's right to live free and Samantha, I can see it in her. I am a.s.sured that whatever she plans to do with the Mana Crystals I give her, I know its for the best reasons." Martainn said.

"Well that is good to hear from… I can't believe this is going to my resume but I agree with the Zombie." Polonsky said.

"We accept your offer. Thank you for your contribution." Holyfield said. The Blackman then turned to the radioman. "Send out strike teams on all of Tyr Rian's Border Garrisons. Eliminate ALL of them." Holyfield said.

"Wait what? You can't be serious!" Polonsky snapped.

"We need to cover this up!" He turned to his co-leader. "How do we explain to Prince Clovich that an entire Garrison of Border guards just vanished near one of our positions. We can kiss that peace treaty good bye." He tried to reason.

"I must protest sir, is wiping the Border Forts out really our only option?" Samantha said.

"Well does any of you have any better ideas when Prince Clovich inevitably finds out what just happened?" Holyfield crossed his arms.

No one dared say a word nor proposed an alternative solution.

"My plan still stands. My men will go out and eliminate the Forts across the western border. Absolutely no survivors. Then when we have to talk to Prince Clovich about his defenseless borders saying it was the Orcs who began to step up their attacks on the Princ.i.p.ality. We then can offer him our a.s.sistance in containing these Orc Raiders. With some luck this will strengthen our alliance with the Natives or at least keep them from getting angry at us." Holyfield said, sneaking a glance on one of the Orc Nomad corpses that littered alongside the Slaegian Legionnaires.

"You know you're a Political Animal, right?" Polonsky said.

"Being stuck on your desk as a Militia Commander has gotten you soft Polonsky. You don't know what its like being in the REAL army. I will hear no more from you about this subject. We are going to wipe them out whether you like it or not." Holyfield stepped his foot on the ground.

"At least take some of the soldier's prisoners? Get maybe some information out of them about the attack they tried." Polonsky begged.

"Well, you do have a point their Colonel. Very Well we will spare some of them for questioning. But I doubt UNCAT (United Nations Convention against Torture) will apply to them. Remember our duty. The 'General Protection of the people of the UFE' above all else. Don't tell me that you grow sympathies with these… Aliens." Holyfield said.

"No Major. Please… Proceed with your operations." Polonsky lowered his head.

"Command Out." Holyfield ended the transmission. Their holographic images disappeared leaving Samantha alone in distraught.

Her initial joy over the possibility of her getting a Medal was dashed aside by Holyfield's Machiavellian political move to keep the incident of what has transpired today under the rug. She was not someone interested in politics but she could feel, deep down inside, her instincts say that Holyfield's failsafe plan is will have the opposite effect for 'the General Protection of the people of the UFE'.