Smoke rose high into the air as Eric looked down from the crest of the mountain. The radio chatter from approaching Dresken units buzzed in the background, but Eric ignored it. He focused on the smoke and dust. "Does anyone have visual?" He said into the radio, his eyes scanning the flames for any sign that the air strike did its job. He heard a buzzing sound coming from above him, and looked up. A drone was flying overhead.

Eric finally paid attention to the radio. His frown grew as the report from ISR came over the radio. It felt like he was punched in the gut.

"Helios one, be advised, convoy still stands. Target was not neutralized."

Eric narrowed his eyes, looking over at Benitez. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." He growled, fighting the temptation to kick at the dirt. "Two AC-130's and those assholes are still standing?"

He hopped back on the radio. "ISR. Confirm presence of Brios/Llrathel prototype."

A few moments later, the radio buzzed again. "Confirmed, Helios one. Prototype still stands. Original convoy is still estimated to be at eighty percent strength."

"Great." Eric muttered. "That is just what we need."

Benitez walked over. "Plan B?"

Eric sighed. "Plan B."

Eric looked at the radio. "I'm not touching a goddamn radio again until I've had at least a fucking week with my family. It feels like my entire life lately is radio calls."

He called Milano. "Hood actual, Helios one."

"Helios one, Hood actual. Go ahead."

"Strike package didn't work. Proposed course of action is Operation Persais", Eric responded, his eyes scanning the valley down below. He could see movement now, and panicked shouts reached up from the valley. "And sir, I would authorize it quickly. They found us."

Mana rounds began erupting on the other side of the crest where Eric was. He stood there, his face darkening as he unslung his weapon and clicked the safety off. "Helios units, prepare to engage. Enemy has discovered our locations. Get in the trucks and use the deuces to defend your crests. Dresken units will be here soon to reinforce."

After the rest of the team acknowledged, he looked over at Benitez. "Let's take the gloves off, for once."

Benitez nodded grimly as the soldiers loaded into the trucks. Eric ran to the crest of the mountain and began laying suppressive fire down. The smoke rose high above his head, and the acrid smell of burning metal reached his nostrils. He kept firing, noticing none of the Cartharic soldiers were approaching.

Suddenly, the ground began erupting in large chunks as he looked up. A large plane was diving down, four large guns on each of its sides cut huge swathes of dirt and debris in the air. Smoke dispersed when the plane flew by, showing the convoy personnel scrambling to their weapons.

A second plane flew the same flight path as the first. Its guns rang out with dozens of deep resounding roars per second. Patches of dirt and debris slammed upwards as the rounds punched their way through anything that was still standing. Eric stood up, slinging his weapon.

"Well then. Guess they're pissed the first time didn't work." He muttered, watching as one of the trucks was riddled with bullet holes. The sound of metal punching metal reached all the way up the mountains, echoing off the valley and causing the very air to seem like it was roaring.

Eric grabbed the radio. "Strike team Persais. ETA?"

A calm voice responded a few minutes later. "You should be seeing us now, Helios one."

He watched as the planes flew away. As the droning of their engines grew distant, Eric heard the rumble of different vehicles. The burning of jet fuel filled the air, and the ground began to shake slightly. "Shit. We might be too close." He muttered. "All Helios units, all Helios units, fall back behind the crests of your mountains!"

The thunderous roar of a cannon being fired filled the valley next, then another, and more joined them. Eric felt the very air leave his chest as an explosion ripped across the air. Targets were being called out over the radio as he sat against a ridgeline, looking down at the first victim of the volley. What had once been a Llrathel was now a pile of scrap. Benitez ran up and grabbed Eric by the back of the vest, pulling him behind the crest of their mountain.

"Are you crazy?" The Staff Sergeant yelled. "You could get hit by shrapnel!"

Eric sighed. "I know, but we need to keep watch so that if something changes we can report it."

Benitez paused and crossed his arms over his chest. "I hate how much that makes sense." He muttered. Both men paused as a second volley echoed over the valley. Roars that shattered the air marked more destruction, and they watched as debris flew into the sky.

"Hey, the mana cores won't go nuclear if they are destroyed, right?" Benitez muttered as another volley was launched. Neither of the men blinked.

"God, I hope not."

Suddenly, the battlefield went silent. A large shadow blocked out half the sunlight that reached the valley, and the two soldiers looked at each other before looking up.

"Huh. Guess they wanted in on the fun too." Eric said with a sigh, leaning against his truck.

Benitez pivoted towards Eric, his eyes narrowed. "You call this fun?!"

Eric pulled out his pack of cigarettes, offering one to Benitez. "To them?"

He lit the cigarette, and handed Benitez a lighter.

"It is."

Sariam gasped in pain as he came to. His friend stood over him, yellow mana glowing around Sariam. "Good. You're alive. How do you feel?" A voice he recognized asked him. He opened his eyes, and noticed the smoke rising high into the air. "Thank you for healing me." Sariam said quietly. He could tell that he would need weeks to recover fully, but for now he could do small things like walk and fire his weapon. "And I feel like I just got ran over by a Llrathel." He groaned, leaning against the mountain behind him. "How did we fare?"

The other man sighed. "We lost one Llrathel, and all of the trieche trucks. We only have about eighty-five men left."

Sariam then felt mana resonate in the mountain in front of them. "There!" He shouted, pointing at the mountain. "Commander! The otherworlders are in the mountains!"

All hell broke loose next.

After engaging in a brief fire fight, Sariam watched as furious explosions ripped through the convoy. The same devil that ripped through them before wasted no time in coming back for more. Another Llrathel went down, and more men were ripped apart by the furios wind the monstrous machines bore on them. Sariam watched in horror as large explosions followed. Each one destroying at least one of the Llrathels. When all of the Llrathels were destroyed, the air stilled. The battlefield went quiet as the remainder of the men tried to take stock of the situation. Sariam couldn't move. His legs wouldn't cooperate as he stayed in the small outcropping that he had landed in.

A shadow fell over the mountains.

Sariam didn't have to look up to know what it was.

"Mortals of Cartharic! A booming voice rang out in the valley. It carried weight and power, each mana propelled word sounded louder than any canon he head ever heard.

"Your God failed you. Your God is a weak coward. If you lay down your weapons and surrender, I will let you live." The voice growled out, its form still blocking the sun. "If you do not, then you only await the fury of hell."

None of the Cartharic soldiers dared to move.

A tense silence rang over the valley, until finally…

"PANG!"

A soldier had fired at the form flying over them, the ricochet of the round bouncing off like metal had hit metal.

"Very well then. You seal your own fates."

A massive black dragon appeared. It's form hundreds of feet long, and dozens of feet tall. Following behind it were two other dragons of equal size, and a red dragon roughly three quarters the size of the other three. Their scales glistened in the sun as they hovered over the convoy. Cartharic soldiers stared at the dragons for a brief moment…

Before the commander yelled out. "What are you fools doing! Fire!"

A chorus of mana bullets erupted as the Cartharic soldiers opened fire. Each man aimed at the hearts, the eyes, and anything else they could target.

Tryasche chuckled. "Impudence. Die."

He opened his maw, and the other three dragons did the same. Balls of fire larger than the tallest buildings in Cartharic began coalescing in front of the Dragons bodies. From where Sariam stood, hundreds of feet away, it felt as if his very skin was peeling off. His body gave out.

"Some God we worshiped, eh?" He said, turning towards his friend. The man shook his head.

The dragons released their breath.

The entire mountain seemed to erupt in light.