2. Chapter 2(2)

The older man took her hand and shook it vigorously.

He laughed, saying something she didn't understand as he turned to the young man who seemed unsure of something.

"W-what is he saying?" she asked him.

"He says it's a pleasure to meet you..." he mumbled, leaving out the part about "these cowards sent a child to negotiate?".

She stammered a very nervous "Pleasure to meet you as well" before an awkward silence fell over the group.

The older man finally spoke, and the boy translated.

"Well, what do you want?"

Pina winced.

"What I want?"

Pause, translate, pause, translate back.

"Yes, what exactly do you and your empire want?"

Pina simply said "We would like to discuss a possible peace. I saw our destroyed armies, and wish to avoid our whole empire suffering such a fate."

Pause, translate, pause, translate back.

"Not possible."

"W-what?"

"You attacked our people, you killed our people, tried to take them as slaves, no warning, no explanation, no attempt at negotiating, you try to kill us when we set foot on this world, and have only sent people to negotiate once one of your important cities is threatened? Why should we negotiate any form of peace?"

Pina froze at the sudden change in atmosphere.

The men had seemed oddly friendly, to the point that she had forgotten just how much destruction they had wrought in less than two weeks.

It was Hamilton who angrily said "Sir, with all due respect, she is a princess and deserves-"

Pina interrupted her, loudly saying "Please! If there is anything... I... I beg you... spare the people... please."

The young man eyed her terrified expression for a moment, turned to the officers, translated and waited an agonizing few seconds for a response.

He turned to her and translated.

"Miss, we have no intention of slaughtering the people. We are working right now to defend this city. But we are at war with your nation, and we don't understand why there has been a lack of communication... however... the defense of this city must come first. If you want to help us, we will accept it."

Pina winced as if the words had slapped her.

Help?

She quickly spoke "O-of course! I... I am willing to discuss the issue of peace further... if... if your officers agree to it. Until then, my knights and I are willing to work together with you to protect this city!"

The boy translated.

The men nodded.

Pina said "Right... now... the defense of the city?"

"Yes, elements of the armies that attacked us splintered off and are heading here. We estimate 10,000 to 15,000 men will attack us either later tonight or tomorrow."

Pina didn't react at first.

"W-what?"

The boy repeated, this time with some slight degree of irritation.

"Deserters, soldiers from your armies, they're heading here. They cut a man's family to pieces and sent him here to deliver this message of war against Italica. Our own reconnaissance discovered their location and we expect them to arrive either tonight or tomorrow. Lady Myui had no choice but to accept our help given their militia isn't prepared for such an attack, and most escapre routes are likely blocked already. It's going to be a hard fight, one we're not sure we're ready for."

Pina eyed the boy, quickly turning to the officers and demanding "But you destroyed the Allied Armies as well as the main force of the Imperial Army! How are you not prepared?"

The boy quickly translated, the older man replied, and the boy turned to speak to her.

"Our weapons need ammunition, same way you need arrows to fire your bow! Our scuffle with the Imperial and Allied Armies left us a bit short on supplies for our heavy... err... war machines. We hope that by dawn tomorrow our force will arrive and we can completely eliminate the brigands."

Pina asked "What about negotiating with them?"

Pause, translate, pause.

"If you want to try to negotiate with men who chopped women and children to pieces like that, go right ahead."

Pina paused, noticing the anger in the words of the men.

"Does... this not happen in your world?"

With a frustrated huff, the soldier said "If you want to assist us, we need to properly prepare the men in case one of the walls is breached."

Immediately the red-haired girl spoke with palpable determination.

"Leave it to me. Gray is a veteran of many sieges, and Hamilton and Norma are some of my best soldiers!"

The boy translated.

The oldest officer smiled, and motioned to the map of the city.

"Right... South and North walls are fairly secured. The east and west gates are probably where we're at our weakest simply due to the elevation on the walls and nearby forests."

Dennis translated.

Gray muttered "We could gather up some oil and heat it if they get too close. Set up archers."

The boy translated.

The older men glanced at each other and began discussing it.

Pina raised an eyebrow and turned to the young soldier.

"What are they...?"

"They're debating whether we should use boiling oil on the enemy or not. May violate our rules of war."

"Really?" she asked, genuinely surprised now.

"You'd be surprised at how many weapons we had to get rid of because they were too... ghastly." he stated in a neutral tone.

Pina shuddered.

In turn, the officers turned and spoke.

The boy translated.

"If you can get it set up, go for it. We were considering setting the farm fields on fire, but that's something we want to avoid."

Pina nodded, somewhat surprised at their concern for the locals.

"Gray, take Norma to the east wall. Hamilton and I will work with them in the western wall. We'll help lead the militia in those sections."

"Understood, be careful, your majesty." Gray said, rushing off alongside the blonde knight.

"I don't know how you... men fight... but I wish to help protect this city."

The older man asked the boy a question and the boy answered in something that sounded like her language.

"Welcome to the Army, ma'am." the oldest officer said.

"What army?"

"The United States Army."

She raised an eyebrow at the phrase.

"Is that the name of your nation?"

The boy translated.

The man chuckled and spoke.

The boy translated once again.

"Yes, yes, it is... call us Americans for short."

The girl nodded, mulling the words over in her head.

Americans... interesting...

Trading City of Italica

8:49 PM

West Gate

Dennis walked on the walls, following Captain Rhodes and PFC Alexander, the young ranger lugging the large Radios the Army used, the comically large antennae making the man look more like a robot than a GI.

The boy wasn't smiling, though.

The area was unsettlingly silent.

Feeling too excited to stay quiet, Dennis finally decided to speak.

"Captain..." he spoke.

"Yeah?"

"What do you make of this whole situation?"

"I think this is some very interesting combined arms."

Along the wall, soldiers of the 7th regiment of the 11th cavalry sat behind the large stone blocks that were designed to protect men from arrow fire. On some parts, an M60 machine gun was positioned with two men kneeling by it. On some other parts, large lights were turned on, aimed at the grassy fields beyond the walls.

And for every two GIs, there were militiamen with a sword or shield of some kind.

Above them, the squadron of Hueys flew off into the night yet again, returning to the main base to resupply.

Now all drops would be to bring in more supplies and carry away any wounded.

The defenses were set, and now it was just a question of lasting until the next morning.

"That said, we have a platoon per wall, at least three machine guns each, not counting the pair of .50s every section has... we're pretty undermanned, but I'd say we have a pretty solid chance. Walls are formidable, cover beyond them is all but nil... yeah, I'd say we'll do alright."

The radio crackled slightly, Alexander answering it.

The other 18-year-old turned to the captain and said "Sir, the Colonel is asking if the guy we left at the mansion is okay."

"Hastings?"

Alexander nodded.

Dennis smirked.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's probably kicking himself missing out on the big fight... Dennis, how exactly did that cat girl get latched on to him so quickly?"

"Don't know, captain. These aliens are kind of hard to figure out." he said, only half joking.

He glanced at the princess and her knight, the pair carefully inspecting a younger man's chainmail.

"I don't like it... she should be at the command center sending out orders." Dennis muttered.

"Yup, but it seems she's a natural born leader. She's on the frontline, same as us, same as her troops."

"Gotta say, captain, I'm with Den. Neither of these girls should be out here. Look at them, sir. They look like they're playing soldier."

The Captain sighed, saying "Boys, I agree. But right now, we need all the help we can get. You all saw the mass attack that met us that first day, you know how dangerous these armies can be, guns or not. If they can give us any help then we have to take it."

Dennis shook his head, saying "If she dies, whatever negotiations we could work out go out the window. Even if she directs things from a safer area... she... what the hell?"

The sound of distant footsteps became audible.

The red-haired princess quickly ran up to the men, her knight following, and whispered "That must be them... they're marching out of the forest."

Dennis translated, and the pair of guys with large lights on the walls nodded.

The battery powered lights were flipped on, illuminating the fields.

A distant *TWANG* sounded off and a slight explosion rocked the wall.

An inexperienced militiaman peered over the wall and screamed "Ballista! Ballista!" before one of his older comrades grabbed him and pulled him behind cover.

A second explosion rocked the wall.

Alex got on the radio.

"Contact, contact, we are taking ballista fire from the fields, no enemy visuals at this-"

An arrow suddenly hit one of the battery powered light, breaking it down immediately.

Captain Rhodes groaned before saying "Fire up a flare! Figures those lights were a waste."

Pina observed as the men spoke while a third ballista struck somewhere on the wall.

It was incredibly close to the main gate, but not quite there.

As she pondered the significance of this action, a brilliant light shone down over the area, illuminating the battlefield below.

And then all hell broke loose.

"Attack!" a loud voice yelled in the distance.

"On the right!" an American shouted.

"Fire at will! Give 'em hell, boys!"

Dennis didn't bother translating, flipping the safety off the M16 and peering carefully over the wall to open fire on the incoming mass of bodies.

Pina covered her ears as the American weapons began to spit death down the field.

The explosions were like multiple claps of thunder as lightning quick fireflies began to tear down the attackers. A particularly fat man was torn in two as he got too close to the wall, others simply dropping dead in a second, others slowing down, realizing they had been hit, and then dropping to the floor, screaming in agony, but still alive... until the others finished the job by trampling them.

Pina peered over the wall briefly, seeing several men carrying ladders, but that wasn't what wounded up spooking her.

These men are deranged!

She stared in horrified wonder as the men gleefully threw their weapons at the wall, perhaps trying to score a hit before they were cut down, smiling all the way.

She glanced at the boy who had translated for them, the frightening look in his eyes as he continued firing along everyone made her feel sick to her stomach.

On the one hand, there was no way the Empire could compete with such firepower in a fair fight.

On the other hand, it appeared that these brigands were not only able to do just that... they might win.

Dennis stopped firing, grabbed removed the empty magazine and inserted a fresh one, glancing at Alex.

The radio man screamed "It's along the south and west walls too! Ladders are too short to just knock down once they set them up, but it's enough for them to climb up! El-Tee says we cannot let them get to the wall!"

"Any get through?" Rhodes demanded, also reloading.

Alex shouted "South wall had three of them get to the top! If they put more pressure on them, we may have trouble!"

Dennis gripped the M16 and peered over the wall, firing again.

"What are they saying?!" Pina yelled then.

Not in the mood to talk as he fired three shots into a particularly dangerous looking tall man in armor, Dennis simply yelled "We might get overrun if we aren't careful! Stay down!"

As he said this, a wave of arrows flew overhead, landing on the rooftops of several homes, seemingly not causing any real damage.

What the hell?

…

"What the blazes?! Why weren't they on fire?!" the lieutenant demanded of the young wizard.

"I-" the young man stammered, before the man poked the tip of a rusty blade on his neck.

"Your kind managed to keep the arrows at Alnus ablaze as they flew, why did these ones go out?!"

The young man said "There were five of us then, and Myuut was able to-"

"Oh? Excuses? If that next volley of arrows doesn't light at least one house on fire, I will personally chop your index finger off... if the next volley of arrows fails to light anything on fire, I will chop off your thumb... and so on... and so forth... Archers!"

The men lit the tips of their bows on fire and readied them to fire.

The young wizard nervously took a deep breath and cast a protection spell over the flames.

They burned slightly brighter.

Then a little more... and then a little more.

He took a deep breath and nodded to the lieutenant.

The man grinned, and shouted "Let fly!"

The flaming arrows took to the skies, the protective magic ensuring the flame didn't become extinguished with the speed of the projectile as they flew. They angled downwards, and...

A small orange glow became visible from the location of the archers.

A direct hit.

The lieutenant laughed loudly.

"See that?! They can be hurt just like ordinary men! Take a breath, magician, and ready the next batch of-"

There was a brief buzz and the lieutenant fell to the ground, his head missing a chunk of its skull.

The wizard winced and began stepping back, as the archers realized what had happened, one grabbed the young wizard and said "Come on, we got our hits in... let's do another section before another one of them gets lucky."

The man nodded, and they retreated, preparing to hit another section of the city.

...

The roof of a nearby home was on fire, and several townsfolk were already running with water buckets from the nearby wells in a vain attempt at putting it out.

Dennis shook his head in disappointment.

He got up and fired in the direction those flaming arrows had come from, unsure if he was hitting anything.

Pina shouted over the gunfire, "Have they reached the wall?"

He ignored her, seeing two men lug a wooden ladder. He instinctively concentrated his fire on their general direction as did several other guys given how quickly they went down.

Pina shouted again.

"Translator, what is-?"

"Lady, shut up! God damn it..." as he muttered the last part, he noticed the men pulling back into the tall grass.

Pina noticed the decreasing rate of weapons being fired, and glanced over the wall, seeing the enemy retreating into the tall grass.

She ducked back down and angrily said "Probing attacks... they were testing our strength."

"Cease fire, cease fire..." the order came, though Dennis had already stopped and was now checking the ammo on his magazine.

"Probing attack." Captain Rhodes muttered.

"Princess figured out as much." Dennis called.

Rhodes said "Alex, what's the status on the other areas?"

The young soldier was already on the radio, quickly saying "Sounds like they're pulling back on all sides."

Rhodes groaned, asking "Anyone hurt?" as he began to move around the wall defenses, keeping his head down as he did so. Fire continued to burn on the nearby home.

"What did he say?" Pina asked.

Dennis sighed, saying "That this was probably a probing attack. They're falling back on all sides... Captain is going to check if anyone was wounded."

"Wounded? With those weapons you could wipe them out in a few hours!" Hamilton exclaimed, the young knight having been silent throughout the attack, keeping close to the princess.

Dennis didn't reply, examining his M16.

Pina said "Arrows can still hit them, and I don't see any armor on you or... any of you."

Using a fresh magazine, Dennis tapped his M1 helmet before placing the magazine into the M16.

"Come now, that barely protects you from arrows or sword thrusts."

The soldier only shrugged.

Pina frowned.

The fire on the home burning not too far away slowly fizzled out as a light rain began to fall much to the cheers of the owners.

"They're going to keep probing us. An estimated 15,000 men, means they have at least 5,000 attacking every wall..." Dennis muttered to no one in particular.

Alex, hearing him, said "Guys on the south are seeing the most action. I think they're focusing primarily there."

"Right, but not as much cover so-"

An arrow flew overhead.

"God damn it, contact!"

9:45 PM

"How are we doing on rounds?!" a call came as a couple of Rangers carried several boxes of ammunition as arrows flew just over their heads.

"What did he say?" Pina whispered.

Dennis shut his eyes in frustration, but respectfully replied a simple "They're asking if we need more munitions for our weapons."

An arrow slammed into the stone he was using as cover and fell harmlessly back into the corpse ridden field below as more men screamed and tried to reach the walls.

Let me do the fighting, lady!

He was still aiming the M16 into the darkness, firing a round here and there, as the arrows were nearly impossible to see in the dark, moonless night.

No one was really firing back much as they waited for the enemy to charge.

Instead, the assailants were gleefully firing from a distance, keeping just out of sight in the tall grass.

Dennis heard the slightly heavier sound of an M14 firing, a scream being heard in the distance.

Pina looked around, restless.

The distant gunfire from the south wall was far more intense, and the occasional explosion from the American artillery, "mortars" the called them, made her feel uneasy even if they were far away.

The past hour had just been a series of attacks that rarely resulted in anything. The Brigands would charge the wall, get mowed down, fire a few waves of arrows, and then retreat. The walls were well designed to keep the defenders protected from arrow fire, and the other worlders and their weapons were certainly far more up to the task than the best trained bowman. Where a bowman would have to stand and aim, exposing themselves, the American weapons allowed them to stay kneeling, sticking as close as possible to the stone wall, firing their weapons from a position that made it all but impossible for the arrows to actually score a mortal strike.

Pina felt a tinge of despair at how useless her skill was.

She was just sitting down on the frontline, waiting for the enemy to throw itself at the main line before being mowed down by the American soldiers.

Hamilton mumbled "Makes no sense... why continue this attack? It's futile."

Pina shook her head, saying "They don't see it that way... I can't help but imagine that the madman leading them has some kind of master plan just waiting to be sprung on us."

But the fact was that this was the way wars were fought.

Long sieges, desperate charges at walled fortifications that always needed more than one wave to succeed. Usually they faced arrows or other projectiles as they desperately charged, the Empire having made an effective combat doctrine using what ranged weapons were available, heavily prioritizing the shield and armor soldiers could use, but even then, it was much too difficult to succeed in a simple suicidal charge. But what choice did they have?

These men had no heavy cavalry, no heavy infantry that would push through the onslaught and force a bloody melee. And even if they did, the American weapons made such tactics useless.

All one could do was prove they were capable of being the most powerful person by showing how violent and deadly one could be before being cut down.

But they certainly weren't making the fight easy for these men from another world.

The wave of arrows stopped just as another American "Illumination round" flew into the air.

It didn't do much good as the tall grass hid any bodies that lay alive or dead in it and the men had run back into its precious concealment.

They stopped launching arrows at them then.

Dennis sat back down, clutching the M16 close.

"Were Armies like this in your world?" Pina asked, tired.

Dennis turned to the girl, and asked "How do you mean?"

"Throwing themselves into death like this... usually the fight is at least somewhat even out with both sides using blades, spears, arrows... not your... weapons."

Dennis huffed.

"Soldiers back home charged like that all the time, only difference is that we don't do it without some form of cover or support."

The M60 began chattering as one of the rangers said "By those trees..." in a detached voice muttered as men began to scream in the distance as the hot led tore them to pieces.

Hamilton asked "Do you think the fight will just continue like this all night? Surely the dead bodies will dissuade them from continuing?"

The eighteen-year-old's eyebrow furrowed.

Dennis wasn't a history student, but even he had heard of the suicidal fanatics in the Japanese Imperial Army and the madness of the last Nazi battalions in Berlin during the final days of the Second World War.

Hell, even in the more recent Korean War, he had heard stories of mad charges into lines held by the United Nations, British and American armor tearing the Reds to pieces... and the Reds just continuing to push ever forward.

Before Dennis could answer, the loudest, most blood curdling command was shouted loudly over even the single M60 firing.

"BRING ME THEIR HEADS!"

And then a chilling roar as another charge emerged from the grass.

Dennis whirled around and began firing at the assailants emerging from the tall grass, only to duck back down as another wave of arrows landed right on the edge of the wall.

Hamilton lifted a small shield, a single arrow bouncing off of it.

It was as if their intensity and ferocity was increasing with every attack, not decreasing, and Dennis felt a tinge of worry as he considered those implications.

"God damn it! They're going to reach the wall..." the American groaned, reloading his rifle.

As he lifted the rifle up to fire, a man landed right next to him after jumping over the top of wall.

He was shirtless, carrying two daggers, and a mad glint in his eyes.

Dennis winced as Alex shot the soldier in the back at point blank range, the man collapsing before he could strike.

"They got the ladders up! Don't let them get over the top!" Rhodes shouted, standing up and firing directly at the ladders that were too short to simply reach down and kick them down, but tall enough that the invaders could reach up and climb in.

One of the M60 machine guns shifted and began firing down into the advancing wall of men that were reaching the wall when another wave of arrows began to land.

The machine gunner screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Another guy from the 7th rushed over and started checking the injury while a third man grabbed the M60 and continued firing.

As the men ducked back down, Rhodes reached for an M26A1 fragmentation grenade. Unlike her older sisters, she didn't give any sparks, smoke, or other telltale signs of being live once the pin was pulled.

He pulled the pin and somewhat tossed it in the general direction of the ladders he had seen before the arrows began to fly again.

The subsequent explosion and following screams of agony made him feel some degree of relief.

"Come on, Rangers, don't give 'em an inch!" he shouted.

Dennis was already firing almost madly into the attacking army. Even though he was firing with some sense of conserving ammo, he was barely aiming, shooting in a strange mix of control and panic that maintained the deadly efficiency of the United States Army onto the oncoming bodies. He tried counting how many he had killed in his head.

Three, six, twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight... God, how many are they going to throw at us?!

He couldn't help but be aware of the mounting bodies under him.

His mind briefly went back to the opening attack and the time it took to clean that mess up with bulldozers and diggers.

He ducked back down to reload when another man jumped onto the wall, this time Dennis could tell the man was a deserting soldier as he still wore his Roman style armor along with the short sword, he had seen so many dead men still clutch as they were buried.

This time it was the princess who reacted fast enough.

He saw her jab the blade into the man's chest plate and actually push him off the wall.

"Thanks!" he breathed, quickly reloading and whirling around, firing into the crowd of attackers.

Pina sat down between Dennis and Alex, both soldiers now concentrated on shooting at the enemy, the ladders they had set up were effectively stuck as a problem until this wave ended.

She glanced at her blade, noting the small amount of glowing blood in the artificial light of the American flares.

She shuddered slightly as the fight continued.

…

"So, their forces are entrenched on the top of the walls, firing from a defensive position like the cowards they are."

"Yes, and they duck every time our arrows fly at them. It has allowed our men to reach the top and close the distance, but not in the numbers we need to push them back."

The leader of the army attacking Italica stared at the maelstrom of death that the main Italica line was becoming.

He stared calmly as the enemy weapons continued to scream in anger at his attacking army, their thunder killing men dozens at a time. As if these men had contained the powers of a god of death and blew it over the battlefield without mercy and without care. It was a butchery of war, and he knew it. One side was actively sitting pretty behind the protective walls, firing death at their leisure while his men did all the actual work in fighting back. And these men from another world simply killed them without discrimination.

Well, clearly some discrimination, as it appeared the injured didn't seem to make for particular targets and were able to get away, so give them points for some honor.

They had taken the city for themselves, after all, and odds were that they were using the Italica guard as human shields in case some of his men got through, and his men were getting through... little by little.

And then he smiled.

"They are entrenched. That's all that matters."

"Continue until an hour past midnight... then we strike in full force."

He felt his back freeze up as he began to faintly hear the sound of the flying chariots and their whipping wings.

"GET THE MEN BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" he shouted, almost running out of the forest to warn his officers.

"They're too far!" his subordinate shouted, grabbing him and dragging him back.

He didn't even see the projectiles slam into the men, only the explosive results.

The flying war machines began to obliterate the men charging the South wall with the explosive bolts and lightning flashes that left all to die in their wake.

He stayed down, eyeing his men begin to pull back, but the mistake had already been made.

Those that had managed to reach the wall had bunched up, some even trying to lift men up on their arms or climb on top of one another while the defenders desperately tried firing into the massive army of warriors. He had even been somewhat impressed at how panicked the enemy could get as they intensified their magic.

But now that the flying chariots had returned, he knew they would leave a far deadlier cost on his men. The groupings made it all the easier for the war machines to kill more at a time now than when they were rushing towards the wall as individual units.

As the smoke cleared, only the dead remained, and the men from another world mocked him by cheering the arrival of their reinforcements.

This wasn't the war he had enjoyed.

But it would be one he could win.

"Continue the assault. They will drown in their own blood soon enough!"

American command center, City of Italica

10:00 PM

Hastings' foot tapped steadily on the marble floors as the radios continued going off with more details of the battle.

He had managed to discover that the made still clinging to him was named "Persia", which was nice and all, but he couldn't sit still.

The only other Ranger not in combat kept eyeing him with what he figured was disgust.

Whether it was disgust because of the half human or disgust born of jealousy, he really didn't care.

"Next resupply is inbound, colonel. Five minutes." an operator said.

"Great, have the gunships give our attackers another going away present..."

"Already left them some gifts on the first fly-by."

"Good." the colonel said.

The United States had been developing new tactics for modern war, taking advantage of more recent technology like the helicopter to deliver troops and provide some degree of close air support, and in this scenario, the air support provided by the Hueys was invaluable.

Without jets like the F105s or F-4 Phantoms dropping bombs on the enemy, the helicopters were all the American force had left to mow down the enemy.

Hastings glanced at the girl still clutching him.

"H-hey, uh... thanks for... keeping me out of the battle, but I really don't get why you're all lovey-dobby with me when you barely know what I'm saying."

Another soldier walked over.

The man had dark skin, and a yellow patch that placed him in the cavalry forces from the Army.

"Hey, man, how'd you snag that gal?"

Hastings sighed, saying "My friend knows how to talk to them... told her something and now she won't let me go."

The dark-skinned man raised an eyebrow.

"Who was that?"

"Dennis Orville from Georgia."

The dark skin man winced, saying "No kidding? Lanky white kid, eighteen, right?"

"Yeah... you know him?"

"Yeah, we were in the reserve for a spell, decided to try to learn the local tongue before getting assigned to a unit. He got the 75th and I joined the Air Cav. Gimme a second... what's her name?"

"Persia."

"Nyan?"

"N-no."

"Hold on..."

The man spoke to her.

She spoke back.

The black man chuckled.

Hastings frowned and said "Hey, come on, don't-"

"Relax, man, she just marked you as her territory. You're pretty much betrothed to her and she doesn't want to risk you getting killed."

He didn't scream in shock.

He didn't really react at all, simply staying numb as the realization sunk in.

"Wait... what? I- uh..."

He turned and noted the dark-haired girl had a worried look in her eyes.

"I... I don't know if my mom will approve."

The man quickly translated before Hastings could say anything else.

Persia shook her head in determination, and squeezed him tighter.

"Unicum effugium meus es tu..." she muttered.

Hastings winced at the strange volition behind the words he didn't understand.

"Uh... what did she say?"

The dark man said "I think she wants you to take her home. Said you're her only way out."

"A-are they hurting you here?" he quickly asked the girl.

Persia stared at him blank eyed until the dark man translated.

She shook her head.

"Volo video vidi mundi." she said sheepishly.

"Says she wants to see the world."

Hastings sighed.

"Well how exactly am I supposed to say no to that? Damn it all... James Hastings, by the way... 75th Army Rangers."

"Shaun Robinson. 7th Cavalry."

"Huh... they the ones from Custer's Last Stand?"

"Yup."

"Huh... think it's going to be indicative of this fight?"

The helicopters landed nearby, one of the Hueys had an arrow stuck on one of the doors.

Shaun sighed, saying "I hope not."

11:43 PM

"Grenade!" Rhodes shouted again, this time throwing the explosive as far as he could into the tall grass.

Once again, an explosion was followed by agonized screams.

The Americans on the wall continued mowing down the enemy, cutting them down by the truckload, yet they still charged onwards. As another flare shot into the air, the amount of bodies on the ground made it impossible to see the dirt and grass under them.

Dennis' tongue clicked along the empty rifle letting him know he had to reload it.

As he did so another rain of arrows fell.

He cursed as he knew what was coming.

Another man jumped into the American defense, and tried stabbing another American.

This time he was followed by two more.

Rhodes shot the first one in the back while the Americans who had ducked down to avoid the arrows shot back at the other two as they tried lunging past their fallen comrade.

Dennis ignored the arrows and peeked over the wall in order to fire in the illuminated field of the flare.

It was all so tedious and yet it took all the energy he had.

All he was doing, at the end of the day, was looking at a guy, squeezing a trigger, and repeating the process after finding another guy.

He wasn't missing, hell, in this environment he COULDN'T miss!

"These wave attacks aren't accomplishing squat! When do they run out of men?!" Alexander asked as he fired a three-round burst, another man falling back into the grass, now dead.

Dennis said "I wonder when they'll learn they die when they try to kill us!"

Alex huffed a frustrated "I don't think they care much about that."

He had a point.

None of them had armor aside from maybe a helmet or some kind of shoulder guard.

They were trying to gain speed by losing their heavy armor and protection.

Looking at the bodies littering the floor, Dennis wondered if it was worth it.

Then the horn sounded and the soldiers quickly began pulling back, getting mowed down as they did so.

Dennis sighed, sitting back down.

"Christ, let it end..."

"Look alive, we all know they'll be back soon enough. Alex, what's the situation?"

The young radio man turned to the heavy box and began scanning.

"Captain, this can't be sustainable for them! How many have we killed?" Pina asked.

Dennis translated.

Rhodes said "Never underestimate mad men."

Dennis turned to the princess and translated.

Before she could say anything, Alex spoke up.

"Captain, aside from some damage to the Southern entrance, seems everyone is doing fine. We're the only ones that even have an actual casualty."

All eyes turned to the machine gunner who was sitting down with a patched-up shoulder, although Pina and Hamilton mostly just stared and studied the amount of dead men below.

"Hell are you all starin' at?!"

All eyes turned away.

No one was in the mood for arguing with their fellow soldiers.

Alex added "UH-1s are going to do a quick flyby over the woods before heading back. Maybe that'll give them enough incentive to turn tail and run."

Some slight cheers were heard as the word spread through the wall, although most of the militia men didn't understand the reason behind the small increase in morale.

Pina turned and asked "What did he say?"

"Our... flying chariots are going to fly by and kill as many of the enemy as they can before heading home."

As he finished this, the sound was heard, but aside from the signal lights, the machines were effectively invisible in the darkness.

Then the dual mounted UH-1 unleashed a barrage of bullets and rockets into the forest before flying away.

Some men cheered at the explosions they saw, but others simply observed the fire.

The pointlessness of it all had the men already tired after less than two hours of combat.

Above them the helicopters flew by once more, firing several rockets into the forest.

Pina winced at the explosions.

We... we never stood a chance.

Dennis noted the princess staring nervously at the hell being unleashed by the helicopters and wondered if he should remind her that they were entirely set on delivering that hell to the capital once the logistics were set up. Make a point about who was actually in charge...

Instead, he continued watching the gun run with a dispassionate look.

She can figure that out by herself...

A minute or so later, the helicopters flew off, and the soldier let out a sigh.

The forest was quiet and it seemed that the attackers had retreated for the time being.

He rubbed his eyes, checking the time.

"We're due for a relief force soon, right?"

"Let me check..." Alex said, grabbing the radio.

"God, I could go for a root beer." Dennis sighed.

His mind briefly went back to the little diner his mother had converted their home into, how his father had left to war, more than likely planning on retiring and working on the small business with them... not that it would ever happen.

"I could go for some ice cream... Don't anyone else find the weather here hotter?" another Ranger said.

"Yeah, a chocolate milkshake would be swell, too." Dennis replied quickly.

A guy from the 7th said "Burger. They make them big and greasy back in Queens, tastes like Heaven."

"Yeah..." the Americans on the wall almost all sighed in unison at the mention of home.

Pina observed the men and asked "Err... what are they saying, translator?"

"How much we miss home." the boy replied in a melancholy tone.

Pina winced at the statement, reminding herself the men that had likely just killed a thousand men were mostly just boys still.

The "Radio man" spoke and some of the men exclaimed in a tone that suggested "about time".

Dennis said "We're getting relieved in a few minutes."

"...I'm staying." the princess said solemnly.

Dennis didn't reply.

12:42 AM

The leader of the Brigands eyed the now relaxing soldiers from another world from the hills in the distance.

"If the allied armies were defeated, then there shouldn't be anything stopping their main force from arriving here tomorrow." one of his loyal lieutenants spoke.

The man huffed.

"We need to take Italica then... most arrows may have missed their targets, but I am certain we hit a few of them. Surely the men that made it over the wall killed a few of these invaders... surely."

"We don't have a count of the dead, sir."

"If it's anything like in Alnus, then it's likely a thousand already... Atticus, the eastern wall was hit the hardest. Take those men and head to the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow and await my instructions."

The lieutenant winced.

"Sir?"

"I have no plan on dying. Either we take Italica by sunrise, or we retreat and meet up with you. If we can just... take the city we can force the enemy to destroy it themselves, or we can force them to fight us on even grounds... it seems that they wish to preserve the trading city, so I think there is a likely chance we will be able to force a situation that will ultimately benefit the Empire and give us the war we want."

The Lieutenant named Atticus protested, "But we cannot just separate our forces!"

"It's at most a hundred men on the south wall... I believe nine thousand men will be more than capable of overrunning it... but we must do it before they get their flying chariots to attack us again... the western wall was hit pretty bad by those monsters."

"Sir..."

"Take the horses, too... we aren't going to need them. The men in that city have no armor, I'm sure of it, and their weapons can only fire for so long. Itallica will fall tonight."

His lieutenant nodded, glanced at the sky, and left without another word.

The leader of the Brigands grinned, speaking only to himself "Now... we strike at our full force now! Gather the men and kill them all!"

1:12 AM

Dennis and several other men had taken over an alleyway and were already falling asleep. No gunfire had been heard for a while now and after fighting... slaughtering... so many men for the last hour, killing so many enemies, Dennis actually thought the Brigands had given up and run off.

Then the gunfire started up again just as he felt like he could drift away.

He got up with a start.

Something about it sounded off, as if it were more intense somehow.

He shook his head briefly as it wasn't exactly his problem.

Then the red headed princess arrived with several other Americans, mostly machine gunners.

"Captain Rhodes!" She called, desperately.

Now his captain got up with a start.

"The-the south wall- it's- it's being breached!"

"Savages at the South Wall are tearing them a new one! They're overrunning our positions!" one of the men with her said before Dennis could translate.

"What?!"

"There's a thousand of them, and more comin'! East and west walls haven't had any attacks, so we're diverting some forces to back them up!"

By now Dennis was up, grabbing his helmet and M16.

"Can the other walls hold?" he asked as he did so.

"Well, it's all hands-on deck now. If they don't hold with all of us then they weren't ever goin' to hold."

Pina turned somewhat desperately to the other translator who simply said "Yes, princess, they're getting up to help."

She nodded, and sighed with some relief.

Dennis finished adjusting his helmet, and gripped his M16 tightly, almost in prayer.

The images of bodies dropping dead as bullets tore them to pieces not only fresh in his mind, it wasn't letting him think of anything else as he tried to rest, but now... now he could focus on his duty: Killing savages.

"Why haven't those dumb bastards quit yet?" he whispered angrily to himself.

Alex answered quickly.

"Ten thousand men is a lot. If this is their big assault all we have to do is break it."

"Yeah, at least all we have to do is shoot."

I'm tired...

They began to quickly make their way towards the wall, meeting up with other men from the west and north walls.

No words were said as a few wounded men were carried back towards the main command center. Mostly militiamen, adults in their 30s with some degree of experience with a blade or a bow, most had an arrow sticking out of their side or some form of gash on their head or arm. There were a pair of Americans, though, one had his head almost split open, blood gushing out as a medic kept pressure on the wound, and the other was sobbing, sputtering nonsense while clutching his arm, which was barely being held together by skin and muscle.

Dennis grit his teeth, his captain asking what he was already wondering.

"Alex, when can we expect our main force to arrive?"

"They should be here in four hours!"

Great...

The red headed princess quickly spoke.

"What did he-?"

"We have to wait until sunrise for our reinforcements! Looks like the decisive blow will be at the Southern gate!"

And as they began to approach, the telltale *THUMP* of an M2HB opening fire let the Americans know before Alex or any of the radiomen confirmed it.

"The South Gate has been breached!"

A/N: What? Italica already?

Yes.

One thing that kind of frustrates me with Gate and some of its fics is that the JSDF or any stand in force heading into Sadera kind of just... well, to quote President "Dirrel" from the Anime: "They move an entire division across the Gate and then box themselves in like baby turtles for crying out loud!"

While I can see modern day Japan taking some kind of approach a little similar to this at first, I doubt it would last for as long as it did in canon. It's a war, one they can win pretty quickly once they have a good idea of the land and air superiority. Good motivations or not, this is not the approach the US (or many other nations) would realistically take if you ask me.

So, here the US is pushing onwards regardless of resistance.

And yeah, this time around the Brigands are much, much larger.

And by advancing so much, the US stretched is forces a bit, so the main defense using men and the Air Cav is the only viable option as the main force resupplies and continues its advance.

Question is if it will work...

That said, thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated, and if you have any suggestions or if you thought something was off, feel free to let me know!