Chapter 19: Chapter 18

Ilos: Guan-Tuan Plateau: Fort Able

(3rd Person Point of View)

Victoria, a human female saved by Lanrey, was at the fort's airfield along with other saved girls and some soldiers. Earlier in the day ground crews refueled and armed the planes with cluster munitions while some removed the snow in the runways. They watched 5 F-35s being piloted by Korean Pilots taxi themselves toward the runway from their respective hangars. Pilots made their final checks on the planes operating systems and after everything is in place they closed their cockpits

"This Dagger 1, All systems are functioning. No defects detected" the team leader said to his radio

"Dagger 2, Ready"

"Dagger 3, Ready"

"Dagger 4, Ready"

"Dagger 5, Ready"

The rest of the strike team responded

"This Dagger 1 to Mission Control, We're all prepped and ready"

"Copy that Daggers, Weather is nice except for light snow. All final checks are complete. You may take the skies"

The Pilots revved up their engines and spectators heard their howling roars. One by one the planes took off, slowly accelerating their speed and altitude.

Victoria watched in awe as she watched large constructs fly off the distance at terrifying speeds. 

The 5 planes flew in a tight V-Shaped Formation while snow made contact with their windshield. 3 of the planes were armed with the Chinese Cluster Munitions and the other 2 acted as escorts. There were also occasions where they detected radar contacts but disappear as soon as they were detected.

Hours later they spotted the recon drone circling the unsuspecting undead horde.

"This is Dagger 1 to Mission Control, We reached AO (Area of Objective). The Recon Drone is feeding us with the targeting data and we have locked on the target" the pilot informed

"Copy that, We are also watching the live footage by the Recon Drone. You are clear to engage" the woman on the radio replied

"Alright, you heard the lady. On my Mark" the lead pilot said placing his thumb on the fire button.

"MARK, MARK, MARK" 

The three pilots each launched 1 missile all of which were cluster munitions. The missile raced toward the undead all of whom doesn't know of the impending danger. The missiles closed the distance until it was visible to the naked eye. 

Still, in the air, the three missiles burst open revealing smaller but multiple explosives showering on the large group below. Uncountable numbers of undead were decimated and the still numerous survivors didn't know what hit them. They were stunned by the sudden attack allowing the 2nd volley to easily hit them. More were killed in the overwhelming firepower and more were neutralized with the mere shockwaves the explosives caused. A 3rd volley was launched toward the damned making sure they won't rise again.

The Undead didn't know their assailants were thousands of feet up in the air and are now diving down about to finish off the few hundred that were unlucky enough to survive the 3 Volleys of 9 total Cluster Missiles. Armed with a 25mm GAU-22/A Rotary Canon the F-35s fired upon the helpless targets. Minutes later after the F-35s killing spree they circled around the vicinity at a low altitude checking for any survivors.

They witnessed the missile-stricken ground where the large horde once stood. The once lush ground with white snow above it was now scorched from the barrage and turned into a smoking black wasteland.

"Welp sucks to be them," Dagger 3 said

"You can say that again" Dagger 1 replied looking down at the ground. Thanks to advanced technology he can see past through his cockpit with the help of his helmet.

"Wait hold up..." the team leader said after witnessing a group standing a good distance away from the target area and looking directly at them.

"...Sh*t, this is Dagger 1 to Mission Control, we are spotted by unknowns. Please Advice" the leader said

"Copy that, Daggers, Pay no mind to them, return to base. Besides Maxwell just called they need fire support" HQ replied

"Copy that, Returning to base"

 

Ilos: Los Magian Teritory: Otero

(Aqruila's POV)

Mistress Eliza has successfully opened the Guild's Vault and the 2 large stone doors slipped aside revealing the vast wealth and treasure the Serpents have collected. The vault has large and long pillars that support the ceiling so it won't cave right on us. We entered the large chamber lead by two of my elite knights then followed by us and we used torches to light up the way.

"General Aqruila, How much gold do you think this vault holds," Mistress Eliza said while we walked along between hills of gold and treasure

"I'm not sure, Mistress but I would guess a hundred million" I responded

I looked back and saw General Maxwell and two of his men following us and behind them were more of my knights. The three didn't have torches to illuminate their path but used a device they called a 'flashlight' which was more effective than torches. 

Sir Macador then spoke up "Indeed, but why do we have to bring the other-worlders with us in here?"

"I offered them, well more like ordered, as a sign of respect and they did a great help on taking the city besides if father was here he would do the same thing but I still do not trust them" Mistress Eliza explained while Mistress Emilia looked around and stole glances at Maxwell's group. 

"How about you Lady Aqruila? What is your opinion about them" Mistress Emilia suddenly asked

"Although I share a bit of some of your opinion on them but looking at their military might, tactics, and technology, they are certainly impressive but I am shocked to learn that they do not have magic or mana in their world. What is more shocking is that their world only consists of humans." I said giving my opinion.

While talking we reached a fork in the path.

"Should we split up?" the elite knight of mine asked

"If we want to find the artifacts the guild holds faster, then we should," Sir Macador said ready to take the trip

"Then it is decided," Mistress Eliza said about to take the left path

But before we could move Maxwell walked up to us and offered "I could have one of my men climb the pillars to have a bird's eye view"

"And how do you plan on doing that," Mistress Eliza asked Maxwell.

He looked at his men and one of them nodded. He took a running stance before speeding and jumping towards a large hill of gold. We were surprised that he managed to jump over 10 feet but I remembered Maxwell explaining to me one of their techs that each of their personnel has which was the 'Portable Jump Kit' or better known by their users as 'Mini Jet Packs' although I struggle to comprehend their engineering its uses is simple.

The man then proceeds to jump to the nearby pillar and attaches himself there. He looked around surveying the place.

"I see a large staircase leading to a building it looks important. If that is the destination take the right path" Anderson yelled to us.

Trusting his words I lead the group into the maze of gold. Anderson gave us the direction while jumping from pillar to pillar. We soon arrived at the destination and walked up the staircase. My knights surrounded the three royals protecting them if any danger arises while this time the 2 of Maxwell's men trekked the stairs ahead of us.

The two stopped at the peak of the stairs and surveys the area.

"Left Clear"

"Right Clear"

"AREA CLEAR"

The other-worlders lowered their weapons before Maxwell took a red long object, twisting the bottom off and red smoke and light emit from it illuminating a large area in a red hue. In front of us was a small building made from white marble with no windows.

Lanrey and Anderson slowly walked over to the entrance once again preparing their weapons. Lanrey slightly opened the door and Anderson tossed an object before an audible bang can be heard while a sudden flash of light can be seen in the cracks of the door.  

The soldiers then simultaneously burst thru and checked if there are any hostiles or traps located inside. A while after they came outside confirming it is safe. Entering the building we saw the only thing inside a long sword from ages past.

"So this relic of yours is this sword?" Anderson asked

"Yes, this sword came from the hero the Los Magian Empire summoned years ago" Mistress Eliza explained

"My father said that my grandfather encountered the hero when he was a young man," Mistress Emilia said

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"Is that so? What is the hero's name" Maxwell asked looking at the sword

Sir Macador took the ancient sword "His name was Sir Arthur and this sword he called Excalibur"

The three Americans looked at Sir Macador with shocked and confused faces, well only Maxwell since Anderson wore his helmet and Lanrey was wearing a visor in his eyes and a gas mask.

"Is there a problem Maxwell?" I asked

But before he could speak Elsa appeared from Maxwell's device "Maxwell reports from the SF on the surface above. Multiple corpses are somehow rising from the dead"

Sir Macador heard this and yelled out "We got to go now!" 

 

TIMESKIP:
I REMEMBERED I HAVE ONLINE CLASSES

(Eliza's POV)

After exiting the Vault we hastily made our way to the camp erected by the Knight Battalion outside the city. Our main mission is to capture Gautier and recover the ancient relic they hold but I am curious about why Maxwell acted surprised after learning about the sword's history. But I have bigger problems to face, The Knights are tired and many are badly injured. Thanks to the other-worlders' help we manage to lessen the casualties on our side. 

Arriving at the camp I taught any possible explanations of how the Undead made its way to Otero without passing Ennervae. It is easy to point the blame at them because the Undead is the only ones capable of turning corpses into mindless flesh-eating monsters but how did they get deep inside the territory without alerting the military?

"Mistress Eliza..." the second hand of Lady Aqruila spoke up "... Lady Aqruila is helping with the evacuation but is now suffering massive casualties. The other-worlders are also helping but the massive horde is unrelenting"

I slammed my fist on the table frustrated with how bad everything turned out. At first, we were winning but I hate to admit it was all thanks to Maxwell's group. 

"Speak of the Devil," I said to myself as I watched Maxwell enters the tent I am currently residing

"Princess Eliza, I might have a solution but I need your approval" Maxwell said catching everyone's attention

"I'm listening," I said before crossing my arms and rest myself on the table

"Currently our forces are being pushed back. The tight terrain favors the Undead and almost 3/4ths of the city is already infested. We have to raze the whole city if we don't want the infected to spread" 

"And how do we do that, We don't have siege weaponry, and our men are already severely exhausted and demoralized" Macador replied

"You don't have to worry about that. For now, we must focus on the evacuation besides it's almost finished. After the evac, we'll pull our forces out of the city. We'll just have to hold on for 3 hours"

He's right, I don't have any options and if I want to contain the dead here I'll have to destroy the city along with the undead. I can't afford to lose more men and resources here. I also can't request backup because it takes time for the message to arrive and the actual reinforcements much later. 

I stood up and walked around the table deep in thought "Okay fine, You have my permission but I want to know what you are planning"  

"Well let's just say we Americans love our unnecessary Overwhelming Firepower," he said with a smirk

Confused and scared, I slowly nodded as he turned his back and left. I looked at Macador and Emilia who were also confused.

Later on, we busy ourselves by saving and tending to the civilians while some were fighting the undead inside the city. 2 and a half hours passed by and Maxwell finally gave the order to fall back. Since the SFs destroyed the gate mages spent their remaining mana to create a wall in order to block off the Undead but it didn't stop them entirely. They slowly climb over the walls and our archers and the SFs desperately shoot them down. Our cavalry hunted the undead that managed to slip past our defenses but we managed to hold on.

"Maxwell where is the backup you speak of," I said before casting another fireball toward a clump of undead

I looked at him and he was looking at the sky as if he was searching for something. I also looked at the sky hoping to spot something but then I heard it. A loud continuous roar from afar. It was subtle but looking at Emilia she seems to also notice it.

"Do you hear that?" I asked my friend

"Better than you do" she replied resting on a tree stump with her bow on the ground

Suddenly we spotted 5 arrow-shaped figures flying at a low altitude but terrifying speeds. In a matter of seconds, the flying objects flew past our camp causing many tents to detach from the ground or just completely destroy them. I stumbled a bit from the mere shockwaves I experienced caused by the objects.

I then noticed flames were spouting behind the objects allowing them to propel forwards. 

I heard Maxwell's device suddenly turn on "This is Dagger 1 to Big Daddy, Ready for tasking"

"Holy Sh*t, You're a Sight for Sore eyes, Anyways your target is the whole city. Go crazy on it" Maxwell said without any hesitation

"Copy that, Tell the people down there to hold on to something. We're gonna make the ground shake" 

After their conversation, I watched the 5 objects gain altitude at speeds, not even the fastest wyvern or dragons could do before all of them drop something but due to the height, it is hard to discern what the falling object are.

Seconds later large explosions came inside the city then another and another, and this continued for some time but everyone just watched in awe and horror. I felt the ground shake and the reverberation in my body for every explosion that occurred. Maxwell was not kidding when he said 'Overwhelming Firepower' and they had plenty of it.

"By the Gods" Lady Aqruila said as we witness plumes of black smoke rising. One thought raced in my mind "Will they use these weapons against us?"

The SFs were cheering as the explosion continued as if it is a normal occurrence for them. The once-tall buildings of the city were now destroyed into oblivion. The walls that were caught in the blast were easily broken as if they were made with twigs.

Later the bombardment stopped but the flying objects flew in circles around the city as if they were vultures waiting for their prey to die before consuming it. We once again entered the city to inspect the damage but we didn't expect much after witnessing the destruction brought by those things.

 

Earth: United States of America: Washington D.C.

(3rd Persons Point of View)

It was days after the disappearance of Fort Able and the world knows about it. The size of the Fort makes it impossible to hide from the media and eventually the world. Many people blamed China for the disappearance due to bad blood after the war but were deemed innocent after further investigation. Now President Hathaway was in a press conference addressing people all around the world through the media.

"As all of you know Fort Able disappeared in the face of the Earth. Our last contact with them is on December 12 during a conference. Currently, we are working with Unified Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines on investigating the matter" Ron said talking to the mic and looking towards the camera and journalist in front of him.

After the conference journalist swarmed the president for questions but was blocked by security. He then proceeds to his office and in there awaits the Secretary of Defense and the head of the Secret Service.

"Mr. President," the two said as soon as Ron entered the room.

"Is this about Fort Able?"

"Yes sir, Apparently Scientists and Military Personnel from a private organization called the Foundation just rolled up on our men and took over the investigation on the disappearance of Fort Able"

"And no one stopped or questioned them?"

"Well sir they came up and gave some papers saying you approved them taking over"

Ron sat there dumbfounded "I never gave anyone permission"

Then suddenly a woman entered the room.

The head of the Secret Service then spoke "Also the head of the private organization is here"

Ron sighed "Please take a seat" he spoke while pointing to a chair ready which she took.

"Now then let's start our conversation with who you are and why your people are taking over with the investigations of the disappearance of Fort Able?" Ron spoke with a stern and authoritative voice

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Mr. President," the woman said as if she didn't hear Ron's questions

"I am commonly known as the Administrator" she spoke with an eerie aura seeping out of her

"Then by golly, I might be Goffy..." he said with the character's famous accent "... I mean what is your real name also after a quick internet search this 'Foundation' of yours doesn't seem to exist"

She smiled and Ron heard something he didn't expect from her "Mr. President do you ever believe in the 'Anomalous'? "

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