Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 39: Battle for Hood Hill (2)

A cold voice echoed on the net as the enemy echelon came within half a click. "Engage."

Instantly, the battalion came alive. The charging empire troops reeled in shock as paladins began firing into set kill boxes. Concussive shock waves roared through the atmosphere as Abrams lit the dusk sky with fire and brimstone, and the pressure waves of .50 cal fire tearing soldiers apart began.

Chaos and destruction rained on the empire as combined fires ripped their coordination apart. Waves of human masses charged the hills, but nothing changed.

Milano calmly observed the battle field while coordinating movement between his companies. The enemy had made a mad dash at the last moment, and he had been unprepared for that. "What the fuck?" He grumbled as he watched the front line. He had expected them to stay back, using their mages to take out their armor capabilities. "Something isn’t right."

It was then that he felt it. "INCOMING!" A voice yelled, and Milano dropped to the ground. A pressure wave blasted out, destroying tents and damaging a bradley...

But that was it. Milano looked at the scene in shock. "Really?" He said, underwhelmed. "Echo, switch fire to the machines in front of the line. Show them why Uncle Sam doesn’t have free health care." He called calmly over the net. He decided to then get in his bradley. Even though the enemy vehicle had only slightly damaged the plating, he shuddered to imagine what that would do to his body.

Still, he felt like something was off. For a commander as intelligent as Heith had been so far, this was no different than the first two battles. The force wasn’t even as large as the last one, with maybe about one third of the enemy troops the last unit had. "All units, report ammo count."

Each company was still in the green. Did they think their vehicles were that much of a force multiplier?

"You heard him boys!" The echo commander said with a grin. "Let’s take out those cheap knock offs! Show em who’s the real boss here!" They were recieving damage from the vehicles, but compared to modern tank shells, the damage the enemy tanks could inflict was minimal. Four bursts of air rang out as the Abrams unleashed their rounds. The wind split itself apart as the rounds found their targets. The protective shells of magic imploded in on themselves as the enemy vehicles exploded. Bursts of air pushed out as secondary explosions lit up the night sky.

"Fuck yeah!" The echo company commander yelled, laughing as he gave his first sergeant a high five. "Lets reload boys! Keep em coming!"

Prince Heith smirked as he saw his unit being decimated. Bodies were being wiped out one after the other, but he paid no heed. Instead, he watched as a crew got the Brios ready. A timer stood next to him, counting down the minutes until the Brios was ready. They had successfully been able to move the cannon under the cover of the dense forestry. He had long since discovered that the metal birds flying in the sky had been the Battalions way of surveillance.

"Mm, so the Llrathels are no match for the armor carried on their machines." Heith remarked as he turned to his scribes. "Write that down. Make sure to include how many shots from their machines it takes to destroy the Llrathels."

"Yes sire." The scribes obeyed and responded in a monotonous manner. They knew that if they showed any emotion, they would be thrown into the fire as well. Their brethren were being sheared like sheep, but they knew there was nothing they could do to a demigod.

Eric and Mia stood by the radio as they listened to the report. They had retreated further from the wreakage of the beaver sign so that Mia could recover. She gasped for air, holding onto Eric as she leaned into him. "Man, I didn’t think you would be affected that badly." Eric grumbled as he held her tightly. "Those of us with humanoid descent have traits we share with our animalistic descendants." She groaned while dry heaving. "For us Nekomedia’s, we have enhanced smell, hearing, and eye sight."

She then stiffened as she stood up. It felt like the very atmosphere was being absorbed as she looked at Eric. She sniffed the air while Eric pulled out his rifle, un-slinging it and scanning the perimeter. "Something is wrong." She intoned while walking closer to the Buc-ees. "Mia. Come back here!" Eric whispered. He followed her, and the pair stopped in their tracks. There the behemoth cannon was, pointed in the direction of Hood Hill.

The weight of the atmosphere pressed down on her chest, holding her in place as she collapsed to her knees. "Eric, call Milano." She said before finally standing up. "They are charging the Brios here!" She shrieked, panicking as she looked into the distance. "We need to go!"

Eric immediately grabbed Mia and raced towards his vehicle. If they were charging the Brios at that location, he could only assume that there was likely a large unit nearby. No sane country would leave a nuke laying around unguarded. Suddenly, they heard voices. Cracks of branches and underbrush being moved aside as men laughing and joking reached their ears.

"Man, I hope we can find some of those cat eared chicks! A man said, his voice pushing through the clearing he was guarding. "I’ve heard from some of the-" A smack was heard as the man’s voice was cut off. "Shut the fuck up Jamie." Another man yelled. "We are on a mission to clear the area. Do you want to become Leviathan food for failing the empire?"

Jamie crooked in fear as he immediately shut his mouth. "No sir. Sorry sir. I will be as quiet as a mouse from here on out." Neither one of the men seemed to realize that mere feet away their worst fears were being confirmed.

Eric scanned the perimeter as the voices from the clearing moved further away. He came to a sobering realization as he met Mia’s eyes. His eyes glow a cold purple as he began to circulate mana. He remembered the feeling from when he had saved Mia before, and knew that he needed to achieve that state again. He turned to Mia, holding her forehead to his.

"It’s too late." He whispered. He felt the presences before he saw them. "Mia. Run." They had few precious minutes before being discovered. "You need to go tell Milano about the situation here." Mia shook her head in response. "I can’t! I can’t leave you here. You will die!" Tears fell down her face as she held onto him. "Mia... go. If that thing charges up, we all die. Not just you... not just me. Everyone. Your sister and her family, Kamer, Milano, Hammond... everyone we know, everyone we love. They will all die."

Mia grabbed onto him like he is her life-line. "Eric. I’m pregnant."

Time froze as Eric looked at Mia. He felt those words reverbrate in his soul, something unlocking inside of him as he looked around. The words he had always wanted to hear roaring through his heart. "Mia. I promise to make it back to you and our child. I will fight the whole fucking world if I have to. But right now... we have a mission. You have to get to milano. We are only 2 miles out. Run." He said gently, pushing her. "For our families future, you have to run."

Mia cried as she kissed him, tears streaming down her cheeks as she began running. "Come back to me." She said under her breath while sprinting at top speed. "I can’t do it alone."

Eric watched her run while channeling more mana. He stepped out into the clearing as the men noticed Mia and started to give chase. They stopped in their tracks before seeing Eric. A wordless exchange happened between the two sides before the Empire soldiers began laughing. More men came rushing into the clearing. "Its just one guy!" A voice yelled.

Knowing that Eric was fighting for their future, and to give them a chance, Mia ran faster than she ever had before. Her sides lit on fire, and breathing became painful, but she pushed on. If this were the Olympics, she would be breaking every record imaginable. Finally, she saw Hood Hill. She ran as fast as she could through the gates, ignoring everything as she looked for Milano. "MILANO!!!" She screamed.

A man suddenly pulled her off to the side, dragging her down behind a berm as he tackled her. "Whoa! Mia! Breathe. Breathe. It’s okay. Its me, Hammond. Where’s Eric?"

"The brios is at the gas station." Mia gasped out. Holding onto Hammond. "Please! You have to save him! He’s there alone and I left him! Please..." she reverted to sobbing, while Hammond got up, his face grim.

It had only been ten minutes since the battle began.