Max’s rifle barked, but the sound was drowned out by the deligue of noise that the constant barrage from the APC’s, the Blackhawks, and four platoons of Ranger infantry opening up on the enemy starting location. Their bunker didn’t look like a part of the city scape, instead it looked like an ancient medieval fort.

The Rangers, the second they had enough Victory Points to buy some descend hardware, wasted no time in bringing in the big buns. Motors, APCs, even an M1-Abrams tank fired sabot-rounds at an almost unbelievably fast rate. The enemy forces had been forced to retreat as reinforcements were summoned and thrown into the Rangers slowly advancing killing fields. Dragons, cavalry, blocks of infantry, even a few specialists who were brought in had been overwhelmed by the massed firepower and expert marksmanship of the rangers and the one Devil Dog who graced their ranks.

Once they got to the enemy fortress, the walls could withstand the massed medium and light artillery pieces. No doubt Max thought it was designed to protect against explosive spells on the same scale as the ordinance.

But once the Lieutenant had purchased access to the heavy artillery? That was when things had changed. Entire sections of the fortress were now gone. Caldwell wanted to force the enemy into a desperate attack. He wanted a clean win, wiping out the enemy force to a man, so he had wanted to just bomb the medieval magical fort into a pile of rubble. But the general had insisted on bleeding them. Forcing the enemy to spend as much as possible. To bring in as many reinforcements, specialists, and equipment as the ranger platoon could force them to bring in. Why, Max didn’t know. But front he way the General had given Caldwell his instructions, it sounded important. Like the general wanted to make a point. One that these lugheads would bring back with them through the portal whenever they got sent packing.

Max ducked down as bolts and arrows flew over the quickly crumbling stone walls of the enemy fortress, but they did little against the range and firepower of the US Army Rangers. Once the volley was spent, Max popped back up and took careful aim. Then waited for the archers' heads to come back up. When they did he squeezed the trigger and took out another of the enemy.

The magical defenses embedded in the stone light up, but the Bradley's main guns were taxing them to their limit, they didn't’ even so the rifle rounds as they breached the enemy's magical shield and impacted on the archers helmet. The first round was deflected by the strange metal, but the second and third bore right through.

Physics is a bitch, he thought as he smiled and moved on to another target.