85 First Salvo

...??? PoV...

"Our orders are clear," I say to my lieutenant with a barely hidden grin. The red Dragonewt nods and teleports out of the room to relay the orders to the rest of the section. I lean back in my chair and sigh. There has been a lot of changes lately.

First of all, the emergence of the Stonecrusher Empire and their radical ideas. I won't lie, at first I was skeptical of the whole thing. Removing the Families, which has been in place for as far as anyone can remember was a bold statement. I don't know how the bastard did it, but the leader of the Empire successfully absorbed a lot of Families without any resistance, and he applied what is now known as 'Reforms For The Centralization and Modernization Of Military Power'.

At least that's what I think the pamphlet we were given was saying. I only skimmed it so I can't remember a lot.

To me, it sounded like a bunch of hogwash. I first thought it was just another fancy way of saying 'You work for us now', but I couldn't have been more wrong. The procedure was quick but very precise and calculated. First of all, the people of the Empire who were overseeing the integration of the Family I belonged to rounded up all the people who were considered qualified officers, and we had to pass a bunch of tests.

I came out of top along with a few of my ex-colleagues, and we were immediately assigned the role of 'section leader'. A uniform was then issued to me and was ordered to train a rather large group of men according to the manual I was given.

My doubts increased when I arrived at the area where the men where stationed, there where people from a lot of different species, there where even ones I had never seen before. I recognized a few faces, and these people were from rival Families!

I turned around and asked my supervisor about this situation; there must have been an error somewhere. Putting two mortal enemies into the same unit is bound to cause problems, but the Dwarf who was supervising me said that it will be fine and that I should read the manual.

So I did as I was told after introducing myself to the men, who didn't really acknowledge my presence. The manual had a lot of pages focused on tactics, almost half of it, and it's a thick book. But what struck me as innovative was the chapters on unit cohesion and building loyalty. It was very detailed and felt obvious once I finished reading, why didn't anyone think about that before.

The manual removed some of my initial doubts, but I would need to see what happens in reality before I make my final judgment.

To my astonishment, it worked.

The men of my section started to mingle, to exchange small talk and to work together as a cohesive unit. Of course, there were a few problems at the start, but it was nothing that wasn't covered by the manual and my years of experience. I saw a sight I thought I would never see in my life, where mortal enemies worked together for a common goal and, once the exercises were over, acted like they were childhood friends.

Most of what is called 'Team-Building' is based on instilling a sort of worship for the current Emperor. It's obvious that it's propaganda, but I can't argue with the results. In just a few weeks we went from a bunch of disorganized soldiers away from home to a well-oiled war machine capable of executing even the most complicated maneuvers.

Our first real deployment order arrived a couple of days ago. I was told by my superior that the orders came from very high in the hierarchy, so fucking up was not an option if I wanted to keep my job, and my head attached to my body.

The order, described as 'border management', targets a small insignificant zone near what was once Wolfheart territory. I heard rumors that the large Family was taken out by a group of rebels, but I don't know if it's true.

But what killed the Wolfheart isn't my problem, I only need to worry about my orders. Of course, I wanted to question why our unit, which is composed of very heavy-hitters equipped with what is supposed to be the best the Empire can offer regarding armor and weapons, are sent to this tiny zone. The area is barely visible on the map, and it's strategically worthless and almost impossible to defend.

The only thing that marks its existence is a small red circle, which corresponds to something called an 'exclusion zone' on the map.

It's the only one of its kind on the map.

So I asked my superiors about this area, and why it was so important. The look they gave me once I finished my sentence was enough of an answer, but they still said something.

"Don't ask too many questions, just do what you're told. It should be easy for an elite unit like yours." They told me before teleporting away.

My years of experience taught me that when a leader acts like that, it's better to keep your head down and follow orders without questions. So I did just that and gave the deployment order to my lieutenant, who should be done relaying the orders by now.

A flash of light materializes a few moments later; the Dragonewt teleported in my office.

"Sir, the men have been informed," he says while standing straight.

"Good job soldier! Get ready to deploy!" I say before standing up and dusting myself off. This mission shouldn't be too difficult, so we should be back by the end of the day if everything goes well.

I take a deep breath and teleport to the middle of the camp. The teleportation technique that the Empire taught us is different from what I'm used to, and I can't help but feel a bit nauseous every time I use it. But it is its only real downside. The spell is way faster and more efficient than what I was taught back when I was still part of a Family.

A quick survey of the main base fills me with pride. The men are organized and efficient, and they help each other to equip their sometimes bulky armor, especially the larger and weirdly shaped species like the few Centaurs in our unit. The production capability of the Empire is impressive, and I've heard that before becoming an Empire the Family that rules us was reputed for their craftsmanship.

I'm inclined to believe that story. The equipment worn by the centaurs are covered in impossibly small engravings that are pulsing with power. Even my own armor looks the part, and it doesn't hinder my movements in the slightest. An impressive feat considering that certain elements are rather bulky.

*There's nothing short of a Strategic Spell that can harm us with these, and it's not counting the help of our mages.*

I turn my head towards the support squad, mostly composed of thin dryads. But their frail appearance is deceiving, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of their magical attacks. Our mages are so strong that they can launch a low-tier Strategic Spell without any ritual or reagents as long as they have time to prepare. But the time it takes is prohibitive for most operations, protecting the more physical hitters is where they excel at.

Their barriers are, for all intents and purposes, impenetrable. The spells are so strong that they are used as training dummies for our strongest warriors so they can train safely without destroying everything around them.

"Men of the Third Special Section!" I enhance my voice with a spell once the preparations are ready. "Today is the day we deploy for real! This is a real operation, and anything can happen! Be ready and remember your training, make the Stonecrusher Empire proud!"

An enthusiastic roar echoes, and I grin. It's good to lead men who want to prove their worth, a nice change of pace compared to what I was used to when I was working in a Family. However, I could understand their point of view: What's the point in giving your all when you have no hope of promotion, and the territory you gave so much blood and sweat to earn is traded away for a fancy trinket?

The Empire is different, it doesn't bother with Council politics and does what needs to be done. We ensure that the Empire can expand by being strong and well-trained, and we will be rewarded for our accomplishments.

"All right, on my command! Deploy!" I shout, and a flash of light erupts as all the section teleports at once.

...John's PoV...

"Prometheus, take a look at this!" a shouting Legionary points towards the main screen. "We detected a large number of sudden magical signatures!"

I look at the screen showing a somewhat nostalgic scenery, the outskirts of my old home on Earth. But what isn't so nostalgic is the massive army marching towards my house.

"What do we know about them?" I ask one of the operators. "Are they mercenaries?"

It wouldn't be good if a mercenary company of this size came after me. Their equipment is standardized and looks to be high-quality so we can expect a fierce battle ahead of us. I'm somewhat glad that we emptied the Earth base beforehand, or the poor Legionaries that would have been stationed there would be slaughtered.

"No Sir! According to the information we collected, the uniform and armor correspond to the Stonecrusher Empire!"

Images of what Sarah's unit has collected over the past few days appears on another screen, and I click my tongue. I didn't recognize the uniform under the armor, but it's obvious now that I look at it.

"Do we know anything else about them?" I say. They don't look like the ones we killed for the Magicite pillars, so they must be some kind of special unit.

"Not a lot, from the reports we can infer that they are an elite section!" another operator replies.

No shit, every single one of them looks like it could rip me in half without effort.

"Let me attack them; I'll give you a good show!" Mary says while licking her lips.

I sigh and tap her on the back of the head, "Stop, don't be ridiculous for a second. They are too numerous, and we don't know their strength. Attacking them alone would be suicide."

Most of the leaders of the Order are in the large commanding room, so I turn towards Sarah, "Any luck with reading their minds through the spell?"

She shakes her head, "Nope, I still can't connect reliably."

"Got it, it was worth a try." My head turns towards Terrence, "Any idea comes to mind?"

The Commander shrugs, "I'm afraid not. The composition of this unit is fearsome. And, if they are led correctly, then their power will be devastating. For instance, the dryad mages could empower the Centaurs and Minotaurs to the point where they could smash barriers with their bare hands."

Holy shit, this is bad. We already established that the barrier around my property wasn't up to the standards, so they could easily break through. And I don't even want to know what horror they can conjure, with my luck they'll be able to summon another Beelzebub.

"Are we sure that we are undetected?" I ask the one manning the machine responsible for the observation spell.

"Yes Sir!" he responds, "We recently upgraded it, so we should remain undetected."

Good, now what should I do? I didn't plan for the Stonecrusher Empire to move so early, and the force they sent is beyond what I expected. I thought that the Enforcers didn't take me seriously, so I was banking on that, but it looks like someone has seen through my deceit.

"What's the estimated time of arrival, and do we know if anyone else is observing the area?" I ask.

"It's likely that they are regrouping before teleporting for an assault so I would say between ten to fifteen minutes. And we don't detect any other observation spell, but it looks like they are interfering with communications so we can't be one hundred percent certain." The operator answers.

I nod. We don't know if anyone else is observing, so we don't know if the attackers have reinforcements coming or if they are alone. We also don't know anything about their capabilities and their strength, so we are pretty much in the dark about everything.

What a great way to wage war, knowing absolutely fuck all about your enemy is guaranteed to not bite you in the ass later.

A glance towards the monitor tells me that I have to take a decision, the women with pale greenish skin and vines for hair are waving their arms around while light accumulates over the body of the large Minotaurs placed in a line at the front of the group.

*They are going to attack soon; I can almost feel it.*

I need to take a decision, and it's obvious what I need to do.

A Rewind brings me back to the moment when the attacking army appeared, and I activate my robes while holding my hands behind my back for the cool factor.

"This is a golden opportunity to test our new weapon on a live target! Legionaries, show the might of Prometheus to those bastards!"

"Yes Sir!" everyone shouts in unison and type at an incredible pace on their keyboards. Soon another monitor comes to life, and it shows three M777 Howitzers hooked to complex machinery.

"Target acquired!" a Legionary shouts.

Mechanical arms grab the frightening ammunition from a sizeable nearby rack and load the artillery pieces.

"Connection established!" a Fabricator shouts.

I raise my hand in the air and grin, "All right! On my command! FiRe!"

...??? PoV...

"No enemy activity detected!" a mage shouts, and tension leaves my body. We teleported to a somewhat safe distance from the operation's target, but we didn't encounter any countermeasures. There are not even any observation spells.

*I wonder why the brass sent us against such an incompetent enemy, but it's not my job to question orders.*

"Got it! Deploy in the usual formation and prepare the troops!" I shout, and the organized section immediately starts to put their well-practiced drills into motion.

The big heavy-hitters such as the Minotaurs and the Centaurs rush to the front while the core infantry is just behind them. The last line is composed of dryads, whose first job is to cast as much enhancement spells on our troops as possible before preparing for offensive strikes.

Those practiced movements are very efficient, and giving our section any time to prepare was a grave mistake on our opponent's part. Once the dryads are done, we'll be invincible, and we'll crush anything they can throw at us!

I clench my fist and look over the moving troops, only a minute left before we start the enhancing process, then we'll teleport and-

"A large magical signature is-"

I don't listen to the warning of the dryad as I see what she was warning me about. A large blue circle of energy, which looks like a rip in the fabric of reality, just appeared above our troops. The power coming from this unknown spell is fearsome, only my years on the battlefield allows me to react quickly.

I raise a hasty barrier around me, but it's already too late. A large mass comes flying out of the portal before I can even say anything, and what follows is pure chaos.

The initial shockwave is so quick that I barely register what happens, but I come back to my senses when I feel the heat.

It's unlike anything I've felt before, it melts my skin and fuses it to my armor despite all the enchantment and the spell protecting me. My retinas are almost burned off by the bright flash, and what I see when the flash subsides is enough to make me vomit.

Charred remains. That's what's left of almost the entirety of our forces.

And these are the lucky ones.

The other soldiers in the back are clutching their bleeding eyes, while others are crawling away, not realizing that half of their bodies are missing. Some dryads outright caught on fire, and their horrid screams as they convulse on the ground while burning will forever stay engraved in my memory. I can barely recover before another mass drop on us, almost as soon as the flash of the first one disappeared.

This time, I feel nothing. I saw my limbs get ripped off by the shockwave, and my left eye melted in its socket. But I don't feel anything, whatever is attacking us probably fried my pain receptors.

And I thank everything I can think of for this opportunity.

What remains of my soldiers are writhing on the ground, others are gurgling on their own shattered organs while the armor that was supposed to protect them instead tore their insides apart when the explosion happened.

I cough up a blue mass, from what I can see from the corner of my half-melted eye, it's something that looks a lot like one of my lungs.

*At least I'm going to be free from this hell in a few moments.*

Everything replays in my head. I remember when I first became a simple soldier in my Family, all the sacrifices I made to climb the ranks. I also reminisce about how I found new purpose in the Empire, all the training we did, the camaraderie we built and the stories we shared...

All of this was for nothing.

No matter the amount of training, we can't do anything against such a weapon. The equipment I was so proud of? It served no purpose, that terrifying weapon destroys everything in its path, it only leaves behind death and destruction.

Another portal appears, and everything goes dark when another explosion blasts everything away.