November 9, 1639

Washington D.C.

“I’m Gary Aleut here with ABC News,” a blue-suited man spoke in front of the White House. “Following an unprovoked attack on corporate assets in the Kingdom of Altaras, the public demanded an immediate course of action against the Parpaldian Empire. Footage from American civilian contractors and corporate employees have been circulating the internet, exposing people to the horrors perpetrated by the Parpaldians. Although their actions so far barely compare to the atrocities performed by the Lourians, they are much more powerful. Because of this, Congress has convened in an emergency session to determine America’s response to this new threat. Back to you, Emily.”

A blonde news reporter responded from their studio. “Thanks, Gary. In just a few hours, we’ll be covering an announcement from President Lee. Until then, we have several interviews with Altaran citizens who can tell us more about the Parpaldian Empire. Johnathan, how’s it looking in San Diego?”

“It’s looking pretty busy here, Emily. You can see the Third Fleet right behind me, getting ready to deploy. I’m sure this sight is something that brings relief to many of those who find themselves oppressed under Parpaldian rule. In fact, I’ve got a few merchants from the Kingdom of Altaras here with me today. Mister Vaana, what can you tell us about the relationship between Altaras and Parpaldia?” He moved a microphone toward a wealthy-looking merchant with Arabic-like apparel.

The robed man shook his head in dismay as he spoke. “We have maintained a very unprofitable relationship with them. Their taxes and seizure of goods did the opposite of benefitting our economy. They were the only clear winner in the exchanges we’ve had with them, and I’m quite satisfied to see them finally paying for their sins.”

“And can you elaborate on the general policies that Parpaldia has in place for subjugated territories?”

Vaana scratched his head. “They usually strip all rights from citizens of conquered nations, allowing them to be murdered by Parpaldian citizens. Those arrogant conquerors don’t even need a reason to do this! Thankfully, us ‘barbarians’ are generally left alone — too pathetic to waste time on. Well, as long as we pay our dues. I suppose we Altarans have been lucky so far, as the Parpaldians have heretofore only asked for some magic gems as tribute. Of course, we disliked the nature of this trade, but it was better than what happened to other countries within the Parpaldian sphere of influence.”

“I see,” the reporter nodded. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell America?”

“Hmm…” he stood, thinking. “Oh, I heard your kind is quite disapproving of genocide, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then, you should know that the Parpaldian Empire is no stranger to genocide. The reason why most ‘barbarian’ countries don’t fight back is because of the genocide campaigns that the Parpaldians have enacted in order to strike fear in our hearts. They would prefer not to do this — due to the logistics of such an endeavor — although they will gladly sacrifice resources to accomplish their objectives if they deem that their hold on the Third Civilized Region is at stake. I hope this information is useful to your people.”

——

President Lee silently thanked the Altaran on the news for shedding light on Parpaldian practices. The revelation of genocidal history helped persuade the remaining doves in Congress to push for war, turning a majority decision into a unanimous decision. With a resounding declaration, the American war machine was granted a new target.

President Lee sighed as he finalized his speech for the teleprompter. He looked at the time on his computer, relieved that he was able to complete his work mere minutes before he was scheduled to go live. After adjusting his outfit, he stepped out of his office, out of the White House and into a sea of cameras and reporters.

A simple podium awaited him, waiting for the wrath that he was about to sentence the Parpaldian Empire to. He cleared his throat, “My fellow Americans,” he began. “Yesterday, our citizens received a shock to reality — one that reminds us that we are no longer on Earth. We are no longer surrounded by civility and the safety that Western civilization has given birth to. We found this out the hard way: the Parpaldian invasion force launched an unprovoked attack on not only our warehouses, but also the ships upon which our civilians attempted to flee. The casualties sustained by these barbaric aggressors are minimal thanks to the smart decision to pull out our employees. However, our casualties are not zero.

Our eyes have been opened to a new enemy on the doorstep of the free world: a force of evil that seeks to undermine the greatness that we have achieved. Because of the Parpaldian Empire’s reckless disregard for not just American, but general human life, your representatives in Congress have heard your calls. As of today, the United States of America is now at war with the Parpaldian Empire! May God bless America!”

——

Le Brias, Kingdom of Altaras

Cannonballs punched through the wooden foundation of the residential buildings as if they were paper, trapping garrisoned Altarans under rubble. Another volley of cannon fire shook the ground, pulverizing another street of buildings. Captain Rial grimaced as he watched his men die only for the sake of delaying the Parpaldian advance.

“Damnit… What sort of cruel nature would allow these men to die like this?! If they engage the Parpaldians, they die. If they stay in the buildings, they die!” Rial slammed his fist into a wall with such force that debris trickled down from the upper levels.

“Sir, we should vacate this structure immediately. I don’t think it’ll be able to hold much longer…”

Captain Rial nodded, speaking no words due to the anger building up in his chest. He exited the building silently as he thought of a strategy to help push back the Parpaldian forces. Although they had suffered massive casualties due to the guerrilla warfare that his men waged, the Parpaldians were quick learners. Abandoning their standard geometric formations, the Parpaldian infantry began moving tactically, using cover to their advantage. For a time, sending waves of swordsmen to take advantage of their broken formations worked, but new land dragons put a stop to this strategy. Every Parpaldian advance was accompanied by at least one land dragon, and without any more magic gem bombs, killing one was near impossible.

Wyvern support was an option, but General Laav decided against it due to the urban environment. Any wyvern air strikes would likely result in massive collateral damage and the potential loss of units from Parpaldian ambushes. Instead, he took a more conservative route by slowly sacrificing his men in order to buy time for reinforcements and supplies. Captain Rial disapproved of his orders, but realistically he couldn’t think of anything else that he could possibly do to fend off the Parpaldian invaders. The only thing he could do was pray, and pray he did.

“Attention all units,” General Laav’s voice came through his manacomm. “We have received word that the United States of America has finally declared war on the Parpaldian Empire. Hold your positions; a small unit of American troops from the embassy is currently on their way to Zone Four to help repel the invaders.”

As General Laav gave the announcement, explosions sounded off in the distance, toward the direction of the harbor. Captain Rial gave a glance, his eyes widening in relief and a smile growing on his face as he watched dozens of Parpaldian ships burn. Streaks of smoke lingered in the sky, like specters that had marked those ships for death. Soon enough, another volley of the famed American ‘guided light arrows’ impacted the Parpaldian fleet, sinking multiple ships with each shot due to their tightly packed formation.

A new order came through the manacomm. “The Parpaldian naval bombardment has ceased; their ships of the line are pulling away to engage the Americans. Battalions One to Four are to reinforce the harbor immediately. The Parpaldians will try to land their forces in order to avoid losing them to explosions! We must prevent them from encroaching on our soil further!”

Unfortunately, scouted information of hundreds of Altarans abandoning their positions gave the Parpaldians rekindled confidence. Emboldened by the Altaran retreat, several land dragons surged forward, pushing past the now-weakened Altaran defenses. Some of the Altarans landed shots on the dragons to no avail before they were swarmed by a mass of Parpaldian infantry.

“Shit,” Captain Rial muttered as he fell back, taking shots at enemy soldiers whenever he could. “Elite Guard, fall back to defensive position Goblin.”

Cutting through deserted streets and lifeless alleyways, Rial led his tired men back to safety. Once he reached defensive position Goblin, he saw an unusual fortification. Several bags and crates seemed to be the only thing that stood between the defenders and the incoming Parpaldian horde. Then, he noticed the defenders themselves: they were the reinforcing Americans. Brandishing weapons more sophisticated with the gun in his hands, the Americans moved with purpose. They set up their teams methodically, as expected from men who have trained with automatic weapons for far longer than a few weeks.

“Captain Rial?” Someone from behind the defenses called out.

“Yeah!”

“Quickly, get behind the perimeter!”

Captain Rial complied, running past a group of men who were mounted on a hastily erected wall of sandbags. One of the Americans pointed to an empty position, signaling for him to use the weapon mounted there. He readily manned the machine gun, suppressing his giddy excitement, which was soon replaced with nervousness as he noticed the eerie silence of the battlefield.

The silence was broken by the roars and heavy stomping of land dragons pushing through the streets. They rounded a corner several blocks away, followed by a swarming mass of infantry moving up behind them. As soon as the Parpaldian soldiers were spotted, he heard some peculiar popping sounds next to him.

“Thwunk!”

Almost immediately after he heard the sounds, explosions engulfed the land dragons. The smoke cleared relatively quickly, revealing bloodied, but still living land dragons who were now angered beyond reason.

“Backblast clear!” One of the Americans said before a flash of light ignited from the tube he carried on his shoulder.

A miniature guided light arrow emerged from the tube, speeding towards the land dragons and annihilating one with a spectacular display of bloody fireworks. More explosive light arrows followed suit, wiping out the rest of the biological tanks and sending the Parpaldian formations behind them into disarray.

Shaken by the destruction of their land dragons, the Parpaldians faltered in their charge forward. Despite losing their living shields; despite now being vulnerable to a hail of lead; the Parpaldians continued onward, pushed forward by the rear lines who knew nothing of the death to come. Thus, the reaper laid his scythe on these unwitting men, culling them to the tune of gunfire and the cries of the damned.

“Waste the motherfuckers!” A large dark-skinned American ordered, likely the leader of the group. In response, several ‘Oorahs’ surfaced from the other Americans.

Instinctively, Rial pulled on the trigger of the American machine gun, fighting to control the unfamiliar recoil as he sprayed bullet after bullet into the defenseless mass of Parpaldian bodies. Bloodlust overcame him as he thought of the men he lost during the bloody urban combat in Zone Four. More explosions erupted within the Parpaldian ranks while he and his men contributed to the American defense.

Clouds of smoke, originating from muskets, puffed up from the Parpaldian advance. However, they were severely outraged by the American rifles and the futile musket fire fell short, hitting nothing but the ground dozens of meters away from the defensive line of sandbags. Some of the Parpaldians tried to escape to the sides, running toward buildings and alleyways. A few of the early deserters managed to find refuge, but the rest became incapacitated by a burning gas that clouded over the Parpaldians. Disoriented, they stumbled around and over the bodies of their fallen comrades, proving to be easy targets for the combined American and Altaran devastation.

Eventually, no Parpaldians were left standing and an order from the Americans was shouted. “Cease fire!” The large black man said. He then laid his eyes on Captain Rial. “So, you must be Captain Rial. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Captain Johnson with the United States Marine Corps,” he said firmly.

Captain Rial offered a handshake while he responded, “I am honored to meet you, fellow captain. Thank you for your assistance here.”

“I’m grateful you think that way, but the job ain’t done just yet. We still need to clear out the stragglers and push these motherfuckers out of the city. Check in with General Laav, Captain. I’ve requested for your Elite Guard to join us in our next operation.”

Captain Rial blinked, the perfect reply forming in his mind. “Oorah, Captain.”

Johnson smirked. “Oorah.”