An entire town was incinerated right in front of them. Even though the town was a distance away, they could still feel the heat prick their wounded skin. They had just witnessed the actual prowess of the Destro’ver and its specially designed Demolition Missile.

From the ivory tower, Overlord Slandarma’an licked his thin upper lips as he gave a twisted grin. Surprisingly, he was not fuming that the Destro’ver missed its target. Instead, his bloodshot eyes widened with sadistic pleasure. The Destro’ver was built for this purpose solely. In a matter of moments, the persistent pests would meet the same fate.

Slandarma’an gestured for a cardinal and whispered into his ear.

“Now go.”

“Yes, my lord,” the cardinal acknowledged as he nodded and retreated away.

“Zero-two, new orders from our lord,” the radio cackled in the stuffy Destro’ver.

“We copy, base,” the command pilot said.

“Overlord Slandarma’an has stated that if this city is successfully taken over, the three pilots in the Destro’ver will be promoted to cardinals and rewarded with six wives for each.”

The pilots could not contain their glee.

“ROGER THAT, BASE!” they chorused with enthusiasm.

Winning this battle was easy. The Destro’ver was a killing machine, built to destroy anything in its path. Half the battle was already won. They simply had to graciously accept their lord’s rewards.

The command pilot turned to his co-pilot and asked, “how long is the cool-down?”

The co-pilot replied, “hundred and twenty seconds.”

They grinned to themselves. The only thing standing between them and eternal glory was the miserable hundred and twenty seconds cool-down period. The Destro’ver had one more Demolition Missile to spare. After which, the metal barrel would corrode and melt due to the immense heat upon launch.

“Load demolition missile,” the command pilot announced with determination.

(Just a hundred and twenty seconds more…)

“Status!” Footes yelled.

“Colonel Urbs reports full destruction of the town of Oakem,” his second-in-command reported.

Husker gazed fearfully at the wasteland. The smoke still had not dissipate. His eyes squinted, as if he was disgusted by the ramifications the Destro’ver brought about.

“All hands! Full assault on target! We cannot allow that thing to fire again!” Footes ordered.

His elite infantry took their positions once again. They were unyielding in spite of their low chance of victory.

The Hustlers followed suit, even though they were not of much help. Their genius commanding officer knew perfectly well that the odds of blasting off that piece of dreaded metal was going to take more firepower. It was just not scientifically possible. Husker believed in statistics, not miracles. The human spirit and unyielding desire to survive did not mean much to him.

The Destro’ver’s engines roared once more. Its turret turned, aiming the barrel at the City of Odina.

Sixty more seconds. The longest ever.

Husker looked to the sky. It was almost morning. How did they even survive these few hours?

Every soldier’s attention was on the turning turret. A bead of sweat trickled down Footes’ forehead. He was not trained for this type of fights.

Fifty seconds to go.

Footes gripped his gun tighter. He exclaimed, “screw this shit!”

He reloaded his minigun and continued to send his shots into the middle barrel of the Destro’ver. Footes was not someone who gave up easily. It was precisely because of this mentality which made him a well-respected, bad-ass Lieutenant Colonel of the commandos.

SCREEEEEECH!

Two large bombers glided at a dangerously low altitude, just about two stories above the four-storey tall Destro’ver. They shadowed the plains and dropped bombs as they soared over the Destro’ver.

The indestructible machine burned with searing flames. It stopped moving. So did every other machine requiring electricity to function. These bombs were not ordinary ones. They were charged with a powerful Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and a clever leak of fuel upon activation.

The next wave of bombs was released, dealing heavy damage to the killer tank as these bombs exploded right on it.

The last two were transport aircrafts which glided in the dawn sky. As the aircraft ramp lowered, a company of soldiers parachuted down each aircraft. Parachuting down with these unknown soldiers were a number of multi-purpose vehicles.

A voice blared through the entire city and the battlefield from the skies.

“Bogey splashed. Kingdom’s Tian’e¹ engaged!” The bomber pilot announced.

As the unknown troops landed, several of them mounted the vehicles. These vehicles had no shelter above them. Each vehicle could seat four soldiers. One will take the front to manoeuvre the vehicle and man the main cannon while the other three will take control of a machine gun each, two by the sides and one at the rear. The other soldiers immediately formed ranks and charged at Phantasm.

Oclia’s soldiers were as confused as the enemy. Reinforcement troops? There were no orders for reinforcements. But the symbol on the planes and uniforms were so familiar. A golden chinese dragon with red trimmings. It was the crest of the Kingdom.

Oclia’s soldiers fought back with renewed energy. But what really frightened Phantasm were the warriors of the Kingdom.

The megaphone was used again. This time round it projected a feminine but firm voice, “dawn is breaking, warriors. Let us end this quickly. Radiance discharged, Morning Glory.”

Though it was dawn, the sun seemed to rise faster and brighter. The Kingdom warriors soaked in the sunlight, as if blossoming like morning glories in the morning. They became more alert and stronger. Even their vehicles appeared to be moving faster and dealing more damage. After all, they were mainly powered by solar enegy. They swept through the enemy lines without much effort.

Urbs, observing from the city through the same pair of binoculars, smirked. Being a berserker himself, it was easy to identify people from the same ‘breed’ and the invoking of radiance. This commanding officer was one of them.

Husker was intrigued by this new radiance. “Yooohoooo~” he exclaimed as he propped his spectacles up by the right frame.

The Kingdom warriors burst into a rage, glowing in a shade of merigold orange.

Against three commanding officers from Oclia and reinforcements from the powerful Kingdom, Phantasm did not stand a chance. The Phantasm soldiers, mainly comprising of rushmen and bloodbaths – the two lowest ranking soldiers in the caste – lost all hope for battle. They would rather die here then return to their Overlord reporting failure. The consequence would be a lot worse.

Phantasm’s officer-in-command, Cardinal Kolv’ka gave the signal flare order. It was the sign of surrender.

The red flare shot up into the sky and exploded, brightening up the dawn sky.

Footes gave a meaningful look at Husker. They were saved by the Kingdom.

Footes muttered, “shit’s gonna get interesting.”

Urbs glanced into the horizon as he gave the command to open the east gates. The first ray of morning sunlight streamed through the skies.

“This is where it begins. This is why the WAR treaty was signed. This is the power of the Kingdom, the land of gold.”

The four great nations had signed this treaty, where they pledge to cooperate in the best interest for Upper Gaia. The World Allied Resistance treaty would go down in history, with the most powerful individuals of each nation uniting to form one impenetrable force.

Husker beckoned his soldiers to retreat back to the city.

“Time to meet the Kingdom, boys!”

On the parade square in Odina zone four, battalions of soldiers stood at attention. Each battalion was easily identified by the uniform they donned.

The Hustlers were in their standard-issue military green uniform. The City Hunters were in their grey urban operations attire and Footes’ battalion, the Rangers, was wearing their pine green military uniform, topped up with the red beret on each soldier. They would have been in their famous boonie hats for jungle warfare, but this was an official ceremony. Stitched on their right sleeves was the tab ‘RANGER’. Specialising in guerilla tactics, Fernando Footes commanded the Rangers, the elite infantry, commandos and rangers of Oclia. Each battalion was led by their second-in-command. Master Sergeant Pike’s face was flushed, as if he was about to vomit any moment. Captain Steele stood at attention with his ceremonial sword in his right hand. Footes’ lieutenant was a bulky individual with beefy arms and rough, tanned skin. His nametag read ‘Roel Rambo’.

Standing opposite the army were another three battalion of soldiers in traditional Chinese ding jia² armour for ceremonial purposes. Though the authentic Chinese armour was made from iron plates to protect the wearer against swords and arrows, the modern armour was weaved from a combination of silk and reinforced aluminium. It was lightweight and durable, a perfect bulletproof vest for combat.

Standing between the two formations were the commanding officers. Husker nudged Urbs awkwardly, indicating him to take the lead.

Urbs, who had spent his entire thirty-six years of his life in the corporate world, stretched his hand out in a reflex motion.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Colonel Arnold Urbs, member of the Heaven’s Command, CO of the City Hunters. Oclia welcomes you to the city of Odina,” Urbs introduced himself politely to the three foreigners.

The smallest out of them all fidgeted nervously as he stepped out to return the handshake.

“Good morning! I am Wang Xia³, Prince of the Kingdom, heir to the throne, commander of the Tianlong⁴. Pleasure to meet you!” The apparent prince replied with fluster.

He was no older than a boy in his early teens. The fifteen year-old, 1.60m tall boy was in a yellow traditional Chinese robe usually worn by the royal family, with the picture of a magnificent dragon on the front of the dress robe.

Husker was next in line to speak up, since he held the highest rank with Urbs. He slouched forward and waved his right hand awkwardly.

“Colonel Harrold Husker. Nice to meet you. Member of Heaven’s Command, CO of the Hustlers.”

The young lady standing behind the prince gave a disapproving sulk at Husker’s attitude.

“Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Footes of the Rangers. Member of Heaven’s Command,” Footes said with a neat salute.

The Kingdom’s army and their three commanders were baffled by this information.

The young lady behind the prince stepped forward as well and said, “thank you for having us. I am Wang Xin⁵, princess of the Kingdom, elder sister to Xia. Commander of the Tian’e.”

Princess Wang Xin was in her late teens. The red qi pao⁶ on her accentuated her beauty. Her eyes were like polished black pearls which sparkled. The morning breeze ran through her black silky long hair, messing her fringe up. She glamoured under the morning sun. Others who did not know better would wonder why the most beautiful lady in the Kingdom, most of all, the beloved princess, would enter the battlefield. She had her reasons and it seemed as though her eyes were like steel bars which prevented strangers from knowing her intentions.

She glanced at the three Oclia commanders and made eye-contact with each of them before continuing, “we’ve heard of the famous Fernando Footes and his elite soldiers but we never knew you were a member of the Heaven’s Command… we had the impression that Heaven’s Command only comprises of green colonels.”

“There’s a lot more you don’t know about our command,” Urbs said, “but moving on, that must be your command just now which saved us. We appreciate your help.”

Urbs glanced at the last officer who had yet to introduce himself. The ding jia he wore was designed to detail, tailor-made to his lean body. Clearly, he was a very important and high-ranking official in the Kingdom. His stare was hard and emotionless, as cold as his ceremonial sabre he held in his right hand. With the sword pointing downwards, he stretched both arms out and brought his hands together, his left palm covering his right fist. It was the gesture of an ancient Chinese greeting or a salute.

“General Xue Wu⁷, acting commander of the Third Legion. Strategist by training. Escort to the crown prince and the princess, the heavenly dragon and the heavenly swan. I am at your service,” he politely introduced himself with a slight bow.

Now that the Kingdom has joined Oclia’s ranks, it was Phantasm’s turn to feel the burn. The WAR soldiers were busy with the regrouping in Odina. Now, with the Kingdom lending their strengths and insider information from the prisoners-of-war, it was time for a counter-attack…