[AUGUST 18 2035] [11:12 PM PST] [Razor Command Center]

The command center was barely illuminated by the emergency lights on the wall. The men operating the various terminals are doing their best to reboot various important systems while their hushed, panicked voices echo throughout the room. Major General Collins is watching the chaos unfold before his very eyes. “Major! What’s the situation at checkpoint alpha?” He asked the gray haired man near him. “They’re under attack by something sir, I’m still trying to make sense of their contact reports!” Hanlon replied as Collins looked at one of the large monitors at the very front of the room that was displaying the camera feed of checkpoint alpha.

The camera feed shows a bunch of military policemen firing their weapons towards the forest while the medics were dragging 3 bodies behind the main entrance; one of them was a poor MP who has chest and face burned by the fireball, the other one was man wearing some kind of medieval armor with fresh blood leaking out a hole in the chestplate, and the last one was a woman with very long and pointy ears wearing a some kind of robe.

Collins stood still for a moment as he tried to make sense of what was happening. This is definitely a CSAT attack, but where are the CSAT soldiers? He didn’t see any return fire from the attackers since that weird fireball had hit the checkpoint. Was the attack on the checkpoint just a diversion while a CSAT Viper squad flanks them from the rear and reclaim their East Wind Device from the CTRG? He thought to himself before a voice behind him had snapped him back into his senses.

“Colonel Armstrong reporting in, sir!” Collins turned around and saw the colonel wearing combat gear and a MXC slung over his shoulder. “At ease Colonel.” he replied before calling Hanlon towards them.

“What the hell is going on sir?” Armstrong asked.

“We don’t have a clear picture colonel but we are under attack by some unknown contacts. I want your battalion to assist the MPs with dealing with these hostiles” Collins explained as he laid down a map of the base on the table. “Right now, my men are holding the line but they’ll be overrun if they are left unsupported.” Hanlon interjected.

“What the hell are we fighting with in the first place?” Armstrong asked as he examined the map of the MOB. “My men had reported that a large horde of “monsters” are running towards them. I don’t have solid confirmation on these claims.” Hanlon replied. “You gotta be shitting me, major” the colonel retorted but before Hanlon could reply, a frantic voice called out for them.

“Major Hanlon! Checkpoint alpha reports a man down while checkpoint bravo and charlie are reporting multiple contacts on their end, they’re requesting reinforcements sir!” An officer shouted as they looked towards a zoomed in feed from checkpoint alpha and saw the MPs slowly backing off from the jersey barriers at the very front of the checkpoint as one of them dragged an unmoving body of their comrade. They could see multiple bodies of disgusting and horribly disfigured creatures littering the front of the checkpoint that nearly made him vomit from the sight of it, “What in god’s green earth are those things?” Armstrong muttered.

It took a couple of seconds before Collins came up with a plan as he watched the combat footage of checkpoint alpha. “Colonel! I want your men to start reinforcing all checkpoints and establish fallback positions here, here, here and here” Collins ordered as he pointed to multiple good defensible choke points behind each checkpoints on the map, “Major, I want all MP reserves to evacuate all non-combatant personnel to the rear. Let’s move it people!” he shouted.

“On it sir!” Armstrong acknowledged before leaving the room, “I’ll get into it sir” Hanlon also replied before disappearing into the security monitoring station inside the command center. Collins grabbed his lukewarm coffee mug and downed it in one go, he’s gonna need it for a long night ahead of him.

------------

[11:32 PM PST] [Barracks A-21]

When Kerry heard the faint gunfire in the distance, he immediately went and got his squad out of their bunks and into the battalion armory. He wasn’t gonna let his guard down again, “Grab a few star shells for your 40 mike mike, Corporal” Kerry ordered his right hand man. “Yes sir” Gilbert replied as he began to swap some of his HE shells for the flare rounds. “It’s sarge or sergeant, corporal. I already told you I work for a living.”

“Hehe I told he has a crush on you sarge” Sarah chuckled as she stuffed FAK’s inside her assault pack while a couple of the guys snickered in the back. “Cut it out Sarah. All of you, grab some extra ammo. I got a bad feeling on this one” Kerry interjected. “You have an intuition for such things, sarge?” Sarah asked as she slung over her pack. “Yeah, you could say that” Kerry replied as he inserted a new mag on his MX and chambers a round. “So, is everyone good to go?” he asked.

“Yes sarge!”

“Let’s stack some bodies, sarge!”

“Good to go, sarge!”

“Then let's move it Nomad!” Kerry shouted as he and his squad grabbed their gear and left the armory just as another squad rushed over there to grab their gear. When they got outside, a loud blaring alarm could be heard as soldiers and non-essential personnel ran outside to either mobilise or to evacuate to safety. The careful choreographed chaos taking place in front of them is almost mesmerizing that Kerry can’t help but admire it, but the increasing sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance snapped him out of it and he reached for his radio.

“Crossroads, this is Nomad. We’re ready to receive orders, sir”

“Nomad, I need you to head for Checkpoint Alpha and assist Doghouse 1 on holding that position. They should be holed up at the main entrance of the MOB, if you need to retreat then fallback to Point Alamo which is at the parking lot on the Administration section. We’ll be setting up a secondary defense line there, Crossroads out”

“Affirmative Crossroads, we’re proceeding to the objective, over”

“Okay guys, we’re heading to checkpoint Alpha to assist Doghouse 1. So mount up!” Kerry relayed as he pointed at a nearby empty HEMTT. “Corporal, you’re driving” Kerry said as he climbed on the passenger seat “Yes sergeant!” Colbert replied he hopped on the driver’s side of the cabin and drove off.

The road was busy as Hunters, HEMTTs and even civilian vehicles made up the bulk of the traffic that was driving past them. Kerry pulled out a map, compass and pencil and began marking key positions on it. While the ride was bumpy Colbert couldn’t help but notice his sergeant’s left hand shaking intensely. “You okay sarge?” Colbert asked as a blaring ambulance drove past them on the opposite lane. “It never gets easy, corporal” Kerry replied as he laid down his map and instruments to massage his shaking hands. “It never gets easy”

------------

This has to be a CSAT raid he thought to himself, taking out the power while during a thunderstorm then taking down the disoriented defenders, it reeks of special forces playbook for him. “I strongly advise that you stay in bed, Captain Miller” A small woman standing by the door said while she was examining a clipboard.

“Sorry doc, but if you haven’t noticed this base is currently under attack by hostile forces and I’m needed at my post” He replied as he wore his compression shirt, winching a bit as he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder where he was shot at.

“Yes, I have noticed that from the obvious alarms and announcements to evacuate and I don’t want them reeling you in with more gunshot wounds because you decide to fight instead of resting like any normal sane human being, sir.” The small doctor said before sighing in defeat and turning off the medical instruments beside his bed. “Could you at least try to avoid any strenuous movements? unless you want to rip your stitches and get an infection.”

“I’ll try doc, but I can’t make promises” Miller replied with a slight grin on his face before the doctor left his room. He looked outside and noticed that the raging storm had disappeared, his shoulder tensed again as the thought of another unknown CSAT WMD had been used against them. He heard someone enter his room, “Captain, we have a situation going on sir.” a friendly voice spoke behind him. “I’m well aware that we’re under attack by CSAT, Lieutenant. Are the men keeping the device secured?” Miller asked as they walked outside his room. “Yes sir. They’re on high alert and ready to respond to threats but the base is under attack by something. Take a look at this, cap” James replied as he handed Miller a UAV Terminal while walking the quiet and dim hallway of the hospital.

“Bloody hell” Miller muttered as he looked at the darter’s camera watching MPs hold their ground while hundreds of disfigured monstrosities were charging towards their position with little to no self preservation in mind, “What the hell are those things?” he asked. “We don’t exactly know sir, but we are sure that they’re hostile and very nasty at CQC.” James replied as he opened the double doors leading to the main lobby of the hospital, they could see the flashing red lights shining through the glass doors of the main entrance.

“Okay, get Raider 1 to establish overwatch on high grounds near the checkpoints that are currently under attack, meanwhile. Raider 2 will provide overwatch on the ATC tower near our hang-” Miller said before their attention was caught by EMTs and MPs bursting through the doors and quickly wheeling in 4 stretchers; one was occupied by an MP with severe burns on his face and chest, the second stretcher was occupied by someone wearing what looks like an ornate metal armor with its chest plate removed as paramedics are trying to stop the bleeding from what he assume is a gunshot wound, the third stretcher was occupied by a woman with abnormally long and pointy ears and was wearing what looks like old azure robe, the last stretcher had only a black body bag on it.

James grabbed one of the trailing MPs, “Who the hell are they?” he asked. “I-I don’t know sir, they came out from the woods and just approached us, we had detained them but the-they tried to escape sir, then this happened” The private who was still in shock stuttered. “Just keep a close eye on them, private.” James replied as he dismissed the scared MP. “Let’s go lieutenant!” Miller called out for him, “No rest for the wicked eh captain?”

------------

[AUGUST 19 2035] [12:09 AM PST] [Checkpoint Alpha]

The chatter of the Mk. 30 roared above them as it’s 50 cal. rounds tore through the forest and the flesh of the approaching eldritch horrors, tracers lit up the dark woods as the defenders of checkpoint alpha did their best to hold off the unrelenting waves of monsters. Colbert fired another flare into the sky, bathing the forest with a blood red hue. “Shit, they’re digging from underground again! 2 o’clock 20 meters!” Sgt. Sherry shouted from the opposite sandbag position. “Corporal! Send a 40 mike mike on that area, Perez! Timothy! handle the stragglers on that one!” Kerry ordered as he fired his weapon.

“Copy that sarge!” Colbert replied as he readjust his rifle and loaded an HE round on the underbarrel grenade launcher. He zeroed in his sights towards the area where dust and dirt was being kicked off and took a deep breath waiting in anticipation for anything to pop out of that area.

THUMP!

He fired his launcher the moment he saw multiple dark silhouettes rising underneath the ground. The explosion kicked up more dust and dirt on the ground while sending fragments all over the place. The blast killed one of the creatures, sending its body five meters where it stood from, another one had its leg torn off and it's now dragging itself towards their position while 3 more staggered out from the cloud dust disoriented but was quickly put down by his squadmates.

“Christ almighty! Don’t they ever stop coming?!” Sarah shouted as she changed the magazine of her rifle.

“I don’t know doc, they probably got a clown car out there where they keep coming from!” Martinez chuckled as he fired another burst of 6.5mm towards the treeline.

“A what?” Sarah shot Martinez a confused look.

“Goddamnit cut the chatter and focus on hitting your shots! Especially you Martinez!” Kerry interjected as he reloaded his MX, he realized that he only had 2 more magazines on him before running dry. He flipped the switch to single fire then rose up behind his cover to fire again when he noticed that the creatures were starting to pull back. “Pick your targets!” He shouted as fired single accurate shots on the backs of the fleeing abominations, managing to bring down two of them before disappearing on the dark treeline.

“Nomads, sound off! How's your ammo holding?” He asked on his comms as he checked his current magazine, 28 rounds left.

“Two mags left, sarge!”

“One mag and three 40 mike mikes left, sarge!”

“Three mags left, sarge!

“I only got about a hundred and fifty rounds left, sergeant!”

“Down to my last mag sarge!”

Kerry cursed himself for not bringing an ammo crate when they left the armory, he switched frequency and asked the MP’s on their situation. “Doghouse 1-1, how’s your ammo doing?”

“Not good, Nomad. Most of my men are down to their last mags and Tower 4 has about 200 rounds left on their 50.” Sherry replied, “Should we fall back to the Alamo?”

“Not yet Doghouse 1-1, let me request a resupply first” Kerry replied before switching frequency again. “Crossroads, this is Nomad. The enemy had pulled back but we’re running low on our ammunition, requesting sup-” Kerry said before he heard a loud crashing sound behind him which made him turn around, a large boulder had crashed on a nearby building. “Incoming!” One of the MPs shouted as a massive fireball flew overhead. “Take cover!” Kerry screamed as he ducked behind the jersey barrier. “Fuck, they got artillery now?!” Martinez screamed at the squad’s frequency as another boulder had hit and obliterated the guardhouse in the middle of the checkpoint.

“Multiple contacts! 12 o'clock!” Private Timothy shouted. “Goddamn, they’re back already?!” Kerry cursed as peered out from his cover and saw another horde of those things with humanoid figures approaching them.

“Nomad! Prioritize your fire on those human figures, they can throw fireballs at us!” Sherry shouted at them as Colbert fired another flare round in the sky. He was puzzled at first but when he saw one of those humanoid things doing something weird with its hands and somehow creating a large fireball above its head, he immediately shot it dead and disseminated the information on the rest of his squad.

The corpses outside the checkpoint had started to pile up inadvertently creating a wall of dead flesh that provided some additional cover for the monsters, Kerry knew they couldn’t hold them any longer and waiting for additional reinforcements is gonna be suicide.

“Crossroads this is Nomad. We’re getting overrun here! We’re falling back to Point Alamo, I repeat we are falling back to Alamo!”

“Copy that Nomad, we’ll provide mortar fire to cover your retreat just paint your targets with IR strobes over”

“Roger that, Crossroads. Nomad out” Kerry replied just before a boulder had hit Tower 4 so hard that he heard the loud groan as its metal foundation had bent slightly from the hit. “Doghouse 1! Get your men off that tower we’re falling back to Point Alamo!” Kerry shouted towards the MP squad. “Copy that, Nomad!” Sherry replied as she immediately signalled for his men to fallback.

Kerry tapped on Colbert’s shoulder. “Corporal, take 2 guys and assist Doghouse with their wounded and fallback to the HEMTT, the rest of us will be doing a tactical withdrawal!” he ordered as the familiar chatter of the Mk. 30 had died down.

“Copy that sarge! Sarah, Nick! You’re with me!” Colbert replied before he and two of his men had disengaged from the fight.

Kerry grabbed an IR strobe from one of his pockets. “We’ll withdraw on my command!” he shouted at his men before throwing the strobe outside the checkpoint. “Nomad, we see your mark, splash down in 45 seconds over.”

“Withdraw!” Kerry shouted as he stood up and began slowly walking backwards while continuing to fire his rifle on the approaching hostiles. His squad followed suit but the creatures are now gaining more ground towards them due to the silence of the Mk. 30 on the tower and the reduced firepower from the remaining defenders trying to prolong their ammunition supply.

“Sergeant, we’ve secured Doghouse 1’s wounded on the HEMTT”

“Copy that Corporal, just be ready to gun it when we get there, out” Kerry replied before a mortar round landed 20 meters in front of them, turning a group of those creatures into red mist. “Fallback to the HEMTT! Arty’s gonna provide cover for us!” he shouted as he and his squad began to run back to their transport truck.

“Shit contact behind us!” Martinez shouted. Kerry turned around and saw two of those things running towards them, they managed to bring one down before it got near however the last one managed to tackle and slashed one of his rookies before being peppered by retaliatory gunfire from the rest of the squad.

“Fucker got Timothy!” Martinez shouted as the rest rushed towards to assist their fellow squadmate.

His screams were muffled by the mortar barrage and gunfire but it was loud enough for Kerry to hear as he got close to the injured greenhorn. The poor private was heavily bleeding from 2 deep slashes on the upper left of his chest, the combat vest had managed to shield the vital parts on his torso from the creature’s attack but that doesn’t mean that the injury he sustained right now isn’t fatal. Martinez had brought out his IFAK and grabbed a gauze to stop the bleeding while another squad member held him down as he continued to thrash around while screaming in pain.

“It’s okay man, you’re gonna make it but you have to stay still!” The soldier holding him down said as Kerry rummaged through the open IFAK and brought out a small morphine syringe then jabbed it on the poor private. “Morphine’s gonna kick any second now private. Don’t worry you’re gonna be fine” He assured the teary-eyed private.

“The gauze won’t hold forever, sarge. We need to get him to an aid station fast!” Martinez shouted as he made sure the gauze pad didn’t fall off should they need to move.

“Sarah, one of the privates got clipped hard and is bleeding heavily. Make sure the back of the HEMTT is clear and be prepared to stabilize him over.”

“Copy that sarge!”

“Martinez! Help me carry him. The rest of you, provide cover for us!”

------------

She ran fast as she could towards her assigned hanger when the sirens began to blare and her colonel gave out the order to mobilize and assist with the defense of the MOB. She can see a couple of Pawnees taking off and ground crews running around coordinating with each other.

“Took your time, Lieutenant” Her WSO shouted as she arrived inside her hanger, he was already dressed in his flight coveralls and tactical vest. He threw her a spare vest as she got near him.

“Sorry Madrazo, I had to snooze when I finished our paperwork.” She said as she caught the vest and began to wear it, “Where are the other pilots?”

“We’re the only flight-capable among the blackfoot squadron, ma’am” WSO Madrazo said as he lit up a cigarette while watching the ground crew pull their magnificent beast out of the hangar.

“What?! Please tell me you’re joking” Perez said as she made sure the straps on her vest were secured. “No, Ma’am. I’ve been doing this job for 5 years and no one’s ever laughed at my jokes.” Madrazo nervously chuckled as he took a long drag on his cigarette, “Ground crew had barely finished doing their maintenance work on our Blackfoot, the rest of the squadron’s helos had been stripped open and requires an hour to put back again to working condition, not factoring the refuel and rearming process” he explained.

“Shit” she muttered as she put on her helmet before contacting the colonel, “Helios, this Assassin 1-1. We have only 1 combat ready Blackfoot at the moment, sir. It’ll take an hour and half for the others before they get in the air.”

“Copy that Assassin 1-1. Proceed with your current objectives, we can’t afford to wait for them. Helios out.”

“You heard the man, let's get on with it” Perez said as she picked up her Vermin PDW on the table. Their Blackfoot was now outside and was being refueled and re-armed by the ground crews wearing hi-vis vests. “After you Lieutenant” Madrazo replied as he tossed his cigarette away and grabbed his helmet.

They jog towards their blackfoot as ground crews do a final check on everything before they clear the helipad. As they’re getting on the helo, Perez noticed a commotion in the middle of the runway. “What the hell?” she muttered before dirt shot up in the air and three disgusting creatures had emerged and charged towards them.

“Fuck! We got contacts 12 o’clock!” She shouted as she raised her weapon and began firing in bursts. “Shit! Get inside the hanger!” Madrazo shouted at the ground crew before joining his lieutenant and letting off a few rounds on the approaching monsters.

Perez kept firing four round bursts towards the creatures, multiple 45. ACP rounds struck the body of the abominations slowing it down as it let out a loud grunt whenever a burst found its mark. Her WSO had managed to take down another of those disgusting creatures before reloading when suddenly two of the remaining creatures fell down and a loud crack echoed through the runway.

“Hot damn! Looks like we got angels on our shoulders” Madrazo cheered as he looked towards where the shot came from and raised a thumbs up. “Looks like it.” Perez smiled before returning back to the blackfoot, “Come on Madrazo, let’s get a move on!”

Madrazo picked up his helmet that he dropped and jogged towards the attack helicopter as more of those creatures came out from the hole in the ground but was immediately downed by the accurate sniper fire from ATC tower. He got inside the gunner seat and immediately began starting his instruments.

“Starting rotors” Perez said as the engine begins whining and main rotors started to spin

“Hydraulics control, on” he said as he flipped on one of the switches on the panel, he could still hear the echo of a high caliber rifle firing even as the rotors RPM started to pick up every second.

“50 RPM, are we all good on weapons?”

“Yes, ma’am. Cannon’s green and payload is full. ”

“Then let’s get this show on the road.”

------------

[12:35 AM PST] [ATC]

“Falcon, This Watchtower 2. We’ve established an overwatch on the ATC tower and we got contacts coming from underneath ground in the middle of the runway over.” Raider 2 actual reported just as his marksmen fired his M320 LRR.

“Copy that Watchtower 2. I’ll relay it to Guardian, hold them back till

“Affirmative Falcon, Watchtower 2 out.” Raider 2 actual replied just as a nearby Blackfoot took off and began climbing altitude.

“Magpie! What’s the status of the darter drones?” He asked as another shot from the high caliber sniper rang out. “All up in the air and linked to the Razor’s command center sir!” Magpie replied as two of his squadmates had set up their SPAR-17’s on the roof and began firing at the creatures in the runway. “Let me see” Raider 2 approached him. “Here ya go, sir” Magpie said as he handed his UAV terminal to him.

Raider 2 actual switched the camera feed to the darter drone hovering high above checkpoint alpha. He can see mortar shells landing around a blinking IR strobe about 15 meters away from the checkpoint, the 111th are probably piggybacking on the drone to guide their shells to prevent friendly fire or damage to the fences or buildings near the checkpoint. He handed the terminal back to Magpie before saying “Get comfortable ladies! We’re gonna be here for a while.”

------------

They finally arrived at the secondary defense line where barricades were hastily set-up; he could see snipers lurking in the rooftops of the administration buildings all around them while the men below ground were setting up MG emplacements and adhoc firing positions. They were flagged down by Colonel Armstrong who was standing beside a Hunter GMG near the road as they got past the defense line.

“Nomad! Get your wounded to the field hospital down the road then rearm and report back here. We’re gonna need all the hands when those things reach this line.”

“Yes sir!” Kerry acknowledged before signalling Colbert to continue driving.

“Just hold on private, we’re almost there!” Sarah assured her injured comrade before catching a glimpse of a passing AMV-7 Marshall on the opposite side of the road.

----------

Barklem opened his hatch and turned out, he could see infantrymen huddling behind makeshift barricades. “We’re here Pariah, stay safe out there!” he informed the men inside his Marshall. “Thanks for the ride, Sierra 1-1!” Sgt. Sturrock replied before he and his squad had disembarked from Barklem’s vehicle.

“November, this is Sierra 1. Where do you need us?” Barklem asked the man that was approaching his IFV

“Position your Marshall there Sierra 1 and prepare for contacts” 1st Lieutenant Collins pointed on the side of the road

“Copy that November” He replied just as his driver and gunner peered out from their own hatches “Driver, reverse and park her right beside the road”

“On it sarge!” His driver replied as shots coming from the rooftops of the nearby buildings began to ramp up.

“Gunner, switch to HE. use the coaxial for single targets and the cannon for groups and those hooded figures” Barklem ordered as he ducked back inside the vehicle and slammed the hatch shut.

“To all callsigns, this is November. We got hostiles approaching, prepare to engage”

“Here they come boys” Barklem said as he switched his sights to thermal and saw multiple heat signatures closing in fast

His gunner started firing the coaxial gun, the infantry around them followed suit as the number of contacts he was picking up increased.

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK

The Marshall’s autocannon fired, tearing groups of the creatures into shreds. For him, the sound of the shells being expended and cycled never gets old.

“Good hits gunner! Keep it up!” Barklem cheered as he watched the massacre through his sight when his eyes caught something

“November, this is Sierra 1! I’m seeing multiple artillery pieces bearing 270 to 300 over!

“Copy that Sierra 1! Assassin 1 will take care of them, out.”

“Gunner, maintain target priority. Air support will take care of those pieces for us” Barklem said as he zoomed his sights on the line of what looked like makeshift catapults. He can see figures that are clearly humanoid moving and loading those catapults while more of those creatures just went past them. He was puzzled by it, are those figures controlling the creatures or something? But before he could ponder over it, the figures were suddenly covered by a blinding light which made him recoil back from his screen. That should be the air support that November mentioned, he took a moment to clear his eyes before looking back at the monitor which displays the bright burning remains of those catapults. He zoomed out and saw that the gunship had started raining death from above with its 20mm minigun, it’s explosive rounds pounded the poor creatures that was still charging towards them leaving only a few stragglers for him and the infantry to put down.

BRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTT

“Are we still needed here sir? Looks like the flyboys can handle them easy peasy” The gunner laughed as he change the box magazine of the coaxial gun

“Pack it up boys we’re going home!” Barklem joked as he switched off his thermals, “Gunner! How are we holding up?”

“We got about 200 GPR-T rounds and 6 boxes for the coaxial sir! AP rounds are still untouched”

“Good, that should last us for awhile”

“Sierra 1, this is November. Be advised, Guardian had spotted multiple large hostiles approaching your sector. They seemed to be wearing armor and wielding weapons. Prioritize them should they appear, out”

“Copy that November” Barklem replied, “Gunner, switch to AP we got more large targets approaching us, prioritize them over the small ones”

“Yes sir!” His gunner replied as he heard the loading mechanism switch belts.

“Goddamn I should’ve brought my phone out here” his driver said as he could hear him yawn from the inside of the IFV.

“Hahahahaha, just sit back and enjoy the fireworks Gomez!”

------------

[?????][?????]

He stood there looking at his dead minions littering the surrounding area of this wretched human settlement, the time and effort it took him to convert them to worthy warriors for his army to overthrow his coward of a brother on his throne was now wasted on those pesky humans.

"My lord, most of your royal guards are now in place." A devout follower approached him, "and the siege weapons you requested will arrive shortly, my liege"

"Inform me when they arrive, I'll personally lead the attack myself" He replied before the hooded figure scurried away.

He was hoping that he can turn the mages of this settlement to do his bidding and to gain insight on their powerful spells that can decimate groups in a matter of seconds, that alone should offset the losses they've suffered while assaulting this place. He can already see his brother's pathetic army being decimated while he cuts his brother's little vampire whore in front of him while he is unable to do anything to stop it. It was perfect he thought to himself when suddenly a large explosion had enveloped a group of his guards nearby.