“As the war continues against the Other Worlders, the Ministry of Imperial Law and Order Praetor Gallus Postumus has placed a Bounty system on anyone from Earth, Earth being the name of the world across the Gate.

The Imperial Army has been authorized to payout anyone who kills or captures the Otherworlders. Payment will be in the form of coin, land, or slaves. All kills will have to be confirmed.

Besides that, the Imperial Senate passed seventy-four to twenty-six to militarize the Adventurer Guild. By law, the Adventurers are not allowed to engage in warfare. This was designed to maintain the Imperial Army's monopoly on war and security.

Senator Oras Das Dardanus stated this is to help put maximum pressure on the invaders, showing that they are not welcome to Falmart. The Adventurer Guild is considered one of the most respected institutions on Falmart and has well trained professional warriors. While the Army fights on the battlefield, Adventurers and other Mercenaries will harass the enemy.

Oras ended his speech by saying ‘Falmart for Falmartians’.

After the Senate approved of nationalizing all warriors to fight with the Imperial Army, the Ministry of Guilds Praetor Vibius Caracturus.” - The Ministry of Imperial News.

***

--- Dumas Mountains ---

Date: April 25th, 2026

Sharpe moves past his Rangers as they engage. Private Second-Class Sofia Everett and recently promoted Specialist Harvey Frost are on the JLTV .50 caliber turret. Everyone else is on the right side of the US vehicles, using them for cover.

Randy is moving behind everyone, making sure everyone engages within their field of fire. Ranging from being an older veteran than Sharpe knows what to do.

Sharpe looks through his Visors(1) and sees all the enemies marked in red by the IFF system. All of them are taking cover behind trees, boulders, and other coverings. The Visor is connected to the NW(2), allowing him to see who are allies and enemies, magical signatures, and a limited Blue Force Tracker database which will enable him to pull up maps, identify enemy units and what faction they hail from, and provide night and thermal vision when needed.

Sharpe Rangers tested the Visor during their assault on the Darlko facility. They became valuable in the team factory against the Darlko Lord. While there are still glitches and bugs, he sees this being a game-changer on Falmart.

All along the Sharpe line, his IFF tells him that he is fighting a Ticaret unit, all Humans. This is the first time he has faced them in battle, and he always can see the difference between them and the Imperial Army. While the Imperial Army has adopted, they are more disciplined and regimented. From what he can tell, the Ticaret is more fluid on how they attack. He can see the Ticaret moving around from cover. After firing an arrow, they relocate to a new position.

“Let me go at them!” Rory yells.

“No,” Sharpe replied. “We are outnumbered in a fixed position, so they will flank us, probably to the right. Go kill them.”

Rory gives an evil laugh and dashes off.

“You know, boss,” Frost said. “Most ladies twist their legs after seeing some flowers, and yet she is willing to go to second base for a fight.”

“Because it is the only excitement that a lady can get with this stick in the mud,” Alicia adds as she laughs.

“Stick in the mud?” Andrew asked, confused. “What are you, twelve? Who still says that?”

“Knock it off,” Randy orders.

Sharpe points to Tuka. “Focus fire on them. When they peak out, make them pay.”

“Yao,” Sharpe said. He sees her with an M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle. After seeing her marksmanship ability at the Darlko facility, he decided to give her a chance and let Andrew train her. Her elven eagle-like eyesight that can detect the slightest change in the environment and see further and more details than human, along with her proficiency in archery, enabled her to quickly adapt to the sniper rifle and score many highly accurate shots during the first few training sessions more than any sniper trainees in the US army. Based on this result, he wants to test her skill in a real combat situation. “Set up and take out primary targets.”

“Okay . . .” Yao said, trailing off. She looks at her rifle for a moment and then at him. “Those are?”

“Shoot everything Andrew says,” Sharpe replied.

As Yao leaves, Lelei looks at him as she adjusts her helmet. “What about me?”

“Stay down and only use deflecting spells against the arrows, bolts, and magic blasts,” Sharpe said. He saw Lelei wanting to protest as she can take down a large group of enemies. “Don’t worry. This attack is meant to show my hand that they know what they are facing, and I have no intent falling for that trick.”

Seeing Lelei pleased with her role, he moves and takes cover. Sharpe aims his M4 at an archer and kills the archer. He sees one of the .50 calibers lay waste to the surrounding area. A tree is torn apart and collapses down the slope. He then sees the other .50 calibers tear through boulders and another tree.

Sharpe sees the overwhelming firepower seems to overwhelm the Ticaret, but something seems off. At first, he thought this was just a hit and run attack; however, the Ticaret seemed more committed than he thought.

Sharpe flips his NW to see how Rory is doing, but he gets static from the local jamming. He turns and his head and spots her. Rory is humming the song “Ready to Die” by Andrew WK as she cuts a man's head off. "Creepy," he mutters to himself.

Underneath everyone, the ground shakes. A large bolder lifts from the. Around the bolder looks like a claw. Then a large scorpion comes out with a rider on it. Another one appears farther back within the Ticaret lines.

That is when Sharpe realizes this was not a probing force but a significant ambush. However, he wonders if this force was meant for him, being overkill for just a few Rangers. His HUD locks on the scorpion; however, the NW database gives him no information on the creature – meaning either that this is the first time NATO has encountered these animals before or no one has updated the database yet. While he can see it is a massive scorpion, he wishes he has more information on it.

Frost moves his .50 caliber to the closer scorpion and fires. The bullets go right through the armored claw, which surprises the rider. However, Frost is forced to stop and jump out as the scorpion’s stinger rams into the JLTV.

The stinger attack did little damage to the JLTV, being more armored than the standard HUMVEE. Seeing this, the scorpion just pushes the vehicle over and walks over to Frost. It raises its claw before swinging it down at Frost.

Lelei forms a barrier around Frost right before the claw hits. Tuka fires a flame arrow at the scorpion, hitting it in the eyes while Scott and Alicia grab Frost and pull him back.

"Colonel, can I immobilize it with my gravity well spell so Sofia can finish it easier?" Lelei asked.

"Negative, that takes too much mana, and you will need it more later on, so go for the legs," Sharpe orders.

Sharpe had to learn about mana that mages has – that some spells cost more mana than others. How Lelei explained, it is that mana is like a gas tank. The more mana the mage uses, the less powerful and effective the magic is, or that some spells cannot be used at all. Some spells cost more mana than others. However, this is rarely an issue. After fighting the Flame Dragon and at the Darlko facility, he has learned that these new spells she is developing are mana heavy. After using her Earth spells, she is usually man drained and exhausted. He does not want her to be that drain this early in the mission.

As Lelei fires an extremely powerful compressed air current spell that she dubbed “Air Bullet” which can punch through rocks and manages to sever one of the scorpion’s legs from its body, Sharpe kills the rider with a well-placed bullet.

Alicia and Randy are firing at the scorpion, but the 5.56 caliber bullets are having little effect against the insect’s hard carapace. He hears Sofia still firing the other .50 caliber at the remaining Ticaret, making sure the enemy does not storm the distracted Rangers.

The scorpion attacks with its stinger again, hitting the ground. Rory bursts from the slope and cuts deep into the tail. The carapace prevented her Halbert from cutting all the way through.

Seeing that mistake, he gets on NW TEAMCOM, "Sergeant Major, get everyone to suppressive fire on the slope. Do not let the Ticaret storm us. Specialist Everett, refocus .50 Cal on that bastard and let him have it."

Sharpe sees Randy gather his Rangers and reprioritize the Ranger's focus so they can attack the enemies they can kill. At the same time, Sofia redirects the .50 caliber – which can easily punch through the scorpion armor.

The scorpion is cut down in moments as Rory and Lelei block both claws, using their Halbert and magic. Sofie fires in short and controlled bursts.

Sharpe sees the scorpion getting shredded, so he focuses on the next urgent issue, that being the other scorpion. He sees it crawl up to the edge of the road. He begins to order Yao Haa Dushi and Tuka Luna Marceau to use their flame spirit magic and burns the stump of two trees. The trees collapse right in front of the scorpion blocking its approach. He sees it shortly contemplate its next action before, rather suddenly, the scorpion explodes.

Sharpe and everyone else look at the second scorpion’s burning corpse, or at least what remains of a corpse, wondering what just happened. He notices his IFF pointing to his southeast. He looks and sees a French Leclerc main battle tank. Around it is French soldiers getting into skirmishes.

The Leclerc fires again, killing a few entrenched Ticaret archers. Sharpe sees the remaining Ticaret see the tank and start to flee.

"Rangers!" Sharpe yells. "Let them have it!"

All the Rangers open fire at the fleeing. Ticaret soldiers die while the rest disappear into the forest.

Sharpe takes a deep breath as everyone cheers and celebrates.

"Good job, everyone," Randy said as he walks along the line. "Frost, Scott, Rory, see if you can flip the JLTV back over. Andrew, Alicia, Sofia, Tuka, police those dead bodies. Yao, stay on alert."

Satisfied with how Randy is handling the situation, Sharpe singles to Lelei to follow him. He looks over and sees four French soldiers walking up to him. His NW tried to uplink with the French FÉLIN, but it failed. His Visors identify what unit the French soldiers are from, 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade of 1st Division.

When they meet, the French soldier salutes, to which he returns the greeting. Sharpe’s IFF says it is Captain Jean-Marc Hébras.

“What are you Rangers doing here?” Hébras asked. “I saw you on the BFT(3) so we came to check out the situation.”

“Thank you for the assist, Captain,” Sharpe said. “The Empire has deployed a magical jamming tower in the sector. Our mission is to destroy it so our air forces can come in and lay waste to the enemy.”

“The 27th is currently assaulting an enemy position five kilometers south from here, sir,” Hébras said. “My order is to take my company and flank the enemy. However, we lost comms once we came over here. I assume it is related to that tower.”

“I assume so too, Captain,” Sharpe replied. He watches as the Leclerc drives past them, and French soldiers walk past. “Taking out the tower is a priority; otherwise, they will be disrupted throughout the engagement zone. Mind providing support?”

“I can provide support, sir,” Hébras said. “What is the game plan?”

As Sharpe starts to explain the situation, he notices the French soldiers looking past him. He looms back and sees Rory.

Rory gets to the side of the JLTV and places her hands under it. She slowly lifts the JLTV until it is above her, “Jackson! Like what you see?”

Sharpe looks and smirks. “I like the view. Especially that your skirt is riding up.”

Rory smirks; but, she nearly drops the JLTV on herself. She rebalances and glares at him. “You did that on purpose!”

“Set it down,” Sharpe orders. He looks at the French soldiers and sees this fantastic blank look on their faces. They probably heard the rumors about Rory. However, this is the first time they have seen her.

“Sir,” Hébras said. “Are you two a thing?”

“That is inappropriate, Captain,” Sharpe replied, putting to rest any negative thoughts Hebras might imply. “That the answer is no, I am not dating a nine hundred- and sixty-two-year-old woman, understand.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel,” Hébras said.

Sharpe understands how strange it looks for a fully grown man like himself with Rory. Unless people have context, it is easy to think he is a creep. Seeing Rory lift up that vehicle helps cement that Rory is not the average Human.

“And legally speaking, she is older than all of us combined; if anything did happen, the FBI would go after her,” Sharpe said in a sarcastic tone, trying to normalize the situation impressively. He sees that he got the reaction that he wanted

“Roger that, sir. We all heard the rumors of Apostles, and none of us want to be on their bad side,” Hébras said. “But I must say, that was impressive. “What is the game plan?”

---

Specialist Alicia Moore walks up to a Ticaretan dead body. She instantly could tell that this man was from here, having more than skin color and wearing desert-style armor like ancient Arabian warriors. She was informed that the Ticarets are desert people but is still surprised to see them.

Alicia finds the uniforms attractive, being far different than the Imperial ones. The Imperial Army wears either heavy armor or cloaks. The Ticaret soldier is wearing rob cloth with leather armor around it. It looks like the clothes are designed to sleep, flexible, and disappear into desert mountain terrain. However, it does not blend in well with the forest terrain.

Alicia feels a little bit pity that these people come all the way to fight against the assumed threats coming from NATO on the Ticaret and the misguided prospect of riches and slaves if they managed to push back NATO to the other side of the Gate and invade Earth.

As ordered, Alicia begins policing the body, making sure the soldier is dead and sees if he has anything of value. She pulls out some papers and looks at them. While she cannot read it due to the language barrier and the words almost like Arabic, it seems like a letter to someone. She then sees a pouch. She grabs it and empties some crystal-clear marbles.

"Hey," Alicia said as she looks closely at the marbles. "Check these out. These marbles are very pretty."

Alicia then hears a gunshot. She turns around, hands on her rifle. She sees Sofia standing there with her rifle aimed at a body. It looks like Sofia shot someone. "What are you doing?"

"Survivor," Sofia said. "He was going for his knife, so I removed the threat."

Alicia is not sure she believed that. While she has no sympathy for the Legion or the Ticaret and would kill anyone if they tried to kill her, some lines should not be crossed. Sofia's home was destroyed, and she lost her uncle horrifically, so everything is personal for her.

"If you say so," Alicia replied.

"What does that mean?" Sofia asked. "Every single one of these bastards deserves a bullet in the head."

“And that is how you got demoted,” Alicia replied. “I want to kill these people too, and if the Ticaret wants a fight, we should give them one; however, there are red lines.”

After Sofia assaulted Pina and talked back to Sharpe on the matter it was decided Sofia had to be demoted for her actions.

Sofia glares at her and then starts policing another body.

Alicia looks at the giant scorpion, “Andrew. Is this normal in your books? People riding scorpions into battle?”

Sergeant Andrew Steele lowers some coins he found. “It is normal of course. Scorpion riders are famous in Arabic fantasy and evil fantasy factions.”

“Interesting,” Alicia said as she kicked the claw. “New enemies, new wonders. New asses to kick. What are you looking for?”

“No idea,” Andrew said. “Just looking for anything of worth. Maybe something Hamilton might like. She has not really adapted to our stuff, so I am trying to find familiar things. If not, maybe sell it so I can afford a good ring.”

Alicia knows what Andrew is saying. The current policy allows for limited war profiteering; seeing no way to stop soldiers from looting from dead enemy soldiers will enable soldiers to keep most basic valuables from dead enemy soldiers, with restrictions. Under no circumstance’s soldiers can raid people’s homes, villages and steal goods from civilians, only dead warriors after the battle. The idea is that if a soldier finds coins, toys, games, and other small items. The belief is that most front-line soldiers of the League are too poor to have anything of value.

A list of items that are considered essential to the State that soldiers must turn over anything scientific, magical, militarily, and politically crucial like amulets, noble and royal jewelry, magical weapons like mage staffs; artworks, anything from mid-rank to royalties’ goods must be handed over to the military. Basic ancient weapons of Imperial force like swords and arrows are not considered as important to hand over so NATO troops can keep it.

This might sound like the government is being friendly, but the intentions where the policy was not. To help stop a growing black market, the government made a program with companies AMAZON and eBay to allow soldiers to sell what they found. Regulated, simple, legal, and, most importantly, taxable.

Alicia has made at least three thousand dollars on a few items, especially ancient weapons she has picked up over the months by selling to collectors on Ebay several gladius swords and repeating crossbows.

“How was Captain Rose meeting?” Andrew asked.

Because Delilah and Hamilton got pregnant, both Sharpe and Sarah ordered all the female soldiers under Sharpe’s command within Vanguard Rapid Task Force 2 (VRTF-2). Sarah conducted a meeting with all the female soldiers about contraception to help prevent more pregnancies. While Delilah is a part time warrior that only helps when needed and Hamilton is more of a servant than a warrior, combat effectiveness was not impacted much, however they want to prevent the problem from getting worse.

Most of the conversation was towards the native soldiers within Sharpe’s command but Sarah felt it would be a good refresher for everyone. VRTF-2 is the spearhead unit in dealing with enemy supernationals like Taylin, Dark Mages, monsters, and so on. They have been the primary unit in dealing with local leadership like Pina, Myui, Zorzal, Krysist, and so on. They also are the primary unit that deals with integration of NATO troops and native forces like the Rose Knights and Alnus Militia.

“It was boring, lots of vagina, titty, and dick jokes,” Alicia said. “A waste of two hours but I have to say, the best part was seeing the Captain getting pissed, many times. Damn, I never saw her get that mad. The madder she got, the more jokes that came out. According to her though, we have a very stressful job, stress equals tension, tension equals bonding, bonding equals sex, and sex equals babies.”

“Did Sarah really say that?” Andrew said.

“Was in a powerpoint and all,” Alicia said with a chuckle. “She said that she doesn't want the unit to suffer fifty percent casualties through being knocked up. To be honest, that isn’t the worst way to become a casualty. Probably more expensive down the road though.”

While the US Army has strict rules on that manner, most soldiers are professionals. No one wants to be the one who lets the unit down, however they are human and technically the natives are not official US troops. That makes the lines blurry over time.

Because of Apostle Karlin, the US military reestablished the old Courting regulations to help provide guidance and rules for romantic relationships with natives. This is to help soldiers from making a mistake in meginaling with natives. Sarah used the meeting as an opportunity to remind everyone about the rules.

Alicia could tell this was Sarah who was pushing this topic, being considered the Mamabear of the unit. She was impressed that Sarah took the middle path, recommending against soldiers hooking up however showed there is wiggle room. Taught the native about protection and showed everyone where the redlines are.

Alicia found this hysterical because she and everyone else knows that Sharpe and Sarah are a thing. The Girls made sure everyone knew it. Not like it was a secret, she knew Sarah liked Sharpe even before the war started. While they kept their relationship away from their work and maintained a professional public stance, she still sees the hypocrisy.

“I do see the hypocrisy in all this,” Alicia said. “Our Lieutenant Colonel and Captain fucking behind the scenes. But for some reason I don’t care.

“Why is that?” Andrew asked. “Out of everyone I figured you to have the biggest issue with it.”

Alicia stops and looks at Andrew with a smile. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that - Martin Luther King.” She then looks to Sofia. “I am just happy our commanding officer has found something worth living for. All of us.”

Alicia thinks for a moment on what she said. She never has been much of a philosopher or a scholar, however it felt right.

“But yeah, the meeting sucked,” Alicia said. “Didn’t the guys get one to?”

“Yeah, it lasted sixty seconds,” Andrew said. “Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe came out and said, his words, ‘you are all adults and proefessionals, use protection if you decide to fuck. Remember the Courting regulations. If you do something where I have to get involved, trust me, I will make your life a living hell. Don’t do anything dumb and we won’t have a problem. Understand?’ And then Colonel Sharpe left the room. He didn’t even sit down at the table.”

Alicia was shocked. She had to suffer two hours and the boys got a quick talk. “Fuck, I wish I was there.”

Andrew laughs, “Why? I can’t see you getting pregnant so you got nothing to fear.”

Alicia glares at him and holds up her bag of marbles, “I was going to give these to you to celebrate your new baby. You lost out now sucker.”

“Hey!” Sofia yells.

Alicia looks and sees Sofia kick a hand. Sofia then aims her rifle at the wounded soldier.

“Hold fire,” Randy orders as he marches up. “We need prisoners, not bodies.”

“He was going for me,” Sofia said.

“Maybe he was trying to ask you out on a date,” Andrew said with a chuckle, aiming his rifle at the wounded soldier.

“She probably could use a fuck,” Alicia mumbles.

“What was that?” Sofia asked, annoyed.

Alicia walks up and starts zip-tie the wounded prisoner. “You heard me. A good fuck might loosen you up and stop being a bitch all the time.”

“Knock it off you three,” Randy said. “Andrew, take this man to the French for prisoner transport. You two keep on policing the bodies.”

***

--- Dumans Mountains ---

Date: April 25th, 2026

Dordimur Gumus stands there. He pulls out his sword and aims it at the enemy. “No retreat, no surrender. We are the Ticaret Conglomerate, warriors of the House of Gumus! You fight for my father, for the glory of our House to be dominant!”

“We finally get to see the enemy in battle,” Aligora Gumus said.

Dordimur looks at his older half-brother. Their father, Mortimer Gummus, the head of the Gummus House of Ticaret, is a powerful man with grand ambitions; that is why he has many wives and slave-wives. Mortimer has so many sons and daughters he cannot know all of them; the key to gaining his favor is by proving himself to the House.

Their father is using the war to gain favor with the Empire. The goal is to become the most powerful House by expanding their business Empire throughout Falmart. Once the war is over, Mortimer intends to use his new wealth and influence and stage a coup in the Ticaret and become the sole ruler, starting with the Altin house, which he deems full of weaklings.

In this new Ticaret, Dordimur has plans to gain favor with his father. While his father and Tozuko Family formed a surprising alliance, he wants to remove the Tozuko Family and take over their business empire for himself. He has not forgotten being banished from the High Moon(4).

Unlike the Legion, who prefers fighting in large line formations, the Ticaret fight like animals. Scattered, in the shadows, baiting at a larger enemy and then striking. They never head the heavy metal for armor or the heavy equipment like the large ballista. The Ticaret must fight like beasts.

Dordimur sees the NATO enemy approaching. His picket archers fall from the invisible arrows that NATO soldiers use.

“Fire,” Aligora ordered. “Do not let them close to the tower.”

The line of archers fire at the incoming NATO soldiers.

Seeing the NATO soldiers advance halted and look for cover, he orders the ground forces to storm their position. He calls the remaining two scorpions to also attack. The plan is to push the NATO soldiers back now and fall back on themselves, trapping them between their forces and their own.

As they start to attack, one of the scorpions explodes into pieces.

“What was that?” Aligora asks.

Dordimur looks around and sees this large bulky machine drives up the path. He had never seen before; however, he heard stories from Legionaries who have faced them. They call them. “Tanks,” and they are supposed to be unstoppable.

The other scorpion moves around and sprays the poison from its stinger at the tank, covering it.

Dordimur sees many strange objects all over the tank destroyed, making him think he has blinded the tank. However, he sees the top part of the tank move and aims for the scorpion, killing the scorpion with a loud blast.

Dordimur wonders how the tanks could see but notice soldiers around the tank pointing and talking. He wonders if they are building the tank. “Fire! Everyone, Fire at that beast!”

Arrows rain through the air and hit the tank, all bouncing harmlessly off it. A stone from a light catapult hits the tank and bounces off with no damage. With that, the tank opens Fire at the Ticaret lines. The NATO soldiers rally around it, and they now start to advance.

Dordimur always thought the Empire was exaggerating the information about the Other Worlders’ war machine. The Empire is prideful and would blame anything before themselves. It never crossed his mind that they were telling the truth about such an enemy.

Dordimur looks and sees his brother lying dead on the ground, shot in the head and in the chest. “Warriors, fall back to the tower and rally there!”

---

In the distance Sharpe hears a loud battle. It sounds like the Ticaret has engaged the Leclerc tank. His only fear is that the French attack will go too well and force the Ticaret back. Either way his team needs to hurry.

Most of Vanguard-7 is inside the Ticaret camp, engaging the guards.

Next to Sharpe is Frost and Sofia, both suppressing fire “Frost, grenade.”

“Sir,” Frost said. He lowers his M4 and pulls out his M320 grenade launcher and fires it at a line of wagons. They explode, killing or pushing a few Ticaret that were using it for cover.

Seeing that their small perimeter is defended he looks at the tower. The tower is larger than he expected, about ten feet.

“Lelei, can you just shoot it with your magic?” Sharpe asked.

“I could however see those crystals and pylons, they are designed to absorb magic,” Lelei said. “The tower looks like a mana enhancer. Rondel designed them decades ago to help mages on the battlefield. They proved to be too limiting for large scale combat. I guess they found a way to adopt them to counter your singles. I wonder if they learned about radio waves-.”

“Enough with the speculation Lelei, this isn’t the time,” Sharpe said. “Can you use one of your spells against it, yes or no?”

“As I was saying before being interrupted,” Lelei said, annoyed. “The tower is designed to be fed mana. That means any magical spell I use might just feed it, making its jamming and transfer abilities stronger. That probably means there is a mage nearby.”

Sharpe takes an annoyed breath, “For a backward world, how do they make this more complicated. Alright, hard way. Scott, prepare Rory with C4. Lelei, if you see that mage, kill it.”

Sharpe looks around and engages in the battle. With the Ticaret is a small Imperial force, guarding the tower. They tried to charge their position. “Lelei, stop their advance.”

“I will handle this, Fire Wave,” Tuka raises her hands and conjures a moving wall of flame that rushes at the Imperial formation and burns dozens of them, breaking their formation and enabling the rest of the Rangers pick off the rest, stopping the attack.

“How can you do that?” Lelei asks.

“You are not the only one here that can enhance one’s magic. I may not be booksmart like you, but video games are enough to give me a lot of ideas to enhance Spirit Magic. I have been playing Outriders,” Tuka boasts.

“Good job Tuka,” Sharpe praises Tuka.

Sharpe then looks at Private First-Class Marvin Scott and Rory Mercury. “Are you ready Rory?”

Rory waves Sharpe off, “Yeah, yeah. I got this.”

“All you have to do is place this two C4 on the base and place this detonator on it,” Scott explained. “This part is the most important. If you don’t connect them then the C4 is just plastic.”

“I get it,” Rory said.

“Andrew report.”

Sharpe looks at his HUD and sees Andrew point of view. Andrew, Yao, and Alicia are on a nearby cliff watching over the battlefield. Andrew acted as spotter while Yao acted as sniper. Alicia's job is to call in air support once the tower is down.

“Three tangos,” Andrew said. “Wait, make that two. Nice shot. Rory should be clear.”

Sharpe acknowledges and looks at everyone. “Team one face left, everyone faces right. Keep the enemy pinned on both sides, leaving a path for Rory to come back.”

This large energy bolt comes right at them but is blocked by Lelei’s barrier spell. A large explosion happens above them as the two spells connect. Lelei then fires a quick magical attack back, blowing up a tent.

“Colonel,” Andrew said. “I have detected the mage, far right of the tower. We cannot get a shot.”

“And the French forces are advancing,” Alicia said. “They are coming this way. About half of the Ticaret forces and retreating to your position. You have three minutes to get out.”

“Got that Lelei? Get him,” Sharpe said. “Rory go.”

Rory rushes past everyone and heads to the tower. Sharpe wanted Rory to do this because she is fast enough to quickly get the job done.

“Roger that Andrew and Alicia,” Sharpe said. He then points to Scott. “Set up on the right. They will be coming from that path.”

“Roger boss,” Scott said and then set up his LMGs. He then starts providing suppressive fire.

Sharpe aims his rifle and attacks the attackers. All his rangers engage, maintaining a firing line.

“Tuka,” Lelei said. The mage forms a fireball and then fires it at Tuka.

Tuka uses her spirit fire magic to catch the fire ball and redirects the fire ball towards the mage position. The fireball explodes before hitting its target but Lelei was prepared.

Sharpe sees the orbs on the tower glow and a flow of energy goes to the enemy mage staff.

“That is what I was talking about,” Lelei said. “The mage is absorbing more mana from the tower.”

“Interesting,” Sharpe said. “Lelei, fire your hypersonic shot.”

“But-”

“Trust me.”

Lelei concentrates as she channels all her mana into her staff. She then fires her hypersonic bolt spell at the mage. She then drops to her knees from exhaustion.

The enemy mage was able to deflect the shot, using the mana boost from the tower. The energy around the hypersonic shot also feeds into the tower orbs, increasing its power.

However, all the tents, wagons, and other objects between either shatters or blows away.

Sharpe stands there and watches the mage standing there. He sees the mage collecting the extra energy and mana from the tower flowing at him. He has seen enough mages to know that this mage has just become powerful.

“Andrew, Yao,” Sharpe said.

“Roger,” Andrew replied.

Sharpe hears the sniper shot right as the enemy mage’s head explodes. His plan was to use the intense energy wave from Lelei hypersonic bolt to remove the cover the mage was using.

Randy walks up. “Nice idea sir.”

“What is that saying?” Sharpe replied. “There is more than one way to skin a sheep? Just needed a clear shot.”

“As I said, nice idea,” Randy said with a chuckle. “Looks like the enemy is backing away after that. But that won’t last long. They will regroup and launch another assault.”

Sharpe then waves to Specialist Jerry William to help Lelei. He knows Lelei will be fine, just tied from using her most powerful spells. Still, his protective side is getting the better of him.

Rory rushes back to the Rangers. Her hair is all messed up and statically. “I hate you all. My hair is a mess.”

Sharpe takes a picture of Rory to use as blackmail for later. “Did you complete your mission?”

“Of course,” Rory said. “And no pictures!”

Randy rallies everyone. “Alright, let's move like you're getting hazard paid Rangers.”

“Scott, blow the tower.”

Scott grabs the trigger and blows the tower.

---

Alicia looks down at the Ticaret camp with her through her digital binoculars. She watches as the tower explodes. With that she checks the comms and sees that she can connect to the outside world.

“Colonel, I have comms again.”

“Roger that. We are leaving the camp, bring in the strike mission.”

Hearing Sharpe orders, she contacts Vanguard Command at Fort Minick.

“Actual, requesting close air support,” Alicia said.

“This is Actual,” Sarah said. “Airstrike approved. I was starting to get worried.”

“Roger that,” Alicia replies. She then gives Sarah the coordinates.

“They are gone,” Yao said.

Alicia looks at Yao and Andrew. Yao is laying there, sniper in her hands. Andrew is laying there next to her with the spotter equipment. US snipers are always in pairs, on a spotter while the other is the sniper. She must admit, Yao has a natural skill for being a marksman and sniper.

“Good,” Alicia said. “Would suck I called in a blue-on-blue.”

Alicia sees two Brazilian A-29 Super Tucano turboprop airplanes. Unlike the A-10, the Super Tucano is a propeller designed for cheap but effective close air support. They were waiting for Vanguard-7 to call them.

The two A-29 flies over the camp and drop their bombs, destroying most of the camp. The planes then attack the Ticaret force that is fighting the French force.

“Colonel,” Alicia said. “Mission complete.”

***

--- Havcristen, Elies Region ---

Date: April 25th, 2026

"When everyone is in position, we will bust them all," Bailey said to the rest of Vanguard-5. They are in the dark alley near the back entrance of a palace of Havcristen.

Bailey wishes he could forget this city, the regional capital of Elies. All around, there are still destroyed buildings, leveled street blocks, the smell of smoke from the assault six months ago(5). There is a rebuilding effort. However, it will take years to bring the city to its former glory.

The Battle of Havcristen saw some of the most deadly and intense battles throughout the war; only the Battle of Legrath and Invasion of Philadelphia were worse. While the city has been taken, it is still considered dangerous. The National Guard 34th Infantry Division, Wisconsin 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (BCT), and 2nd Armored Division, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team are patrolling the city. While most of the population has accepted US rule, there is still a pro-Empire insurgency.

Duke Mettius Fla Agonix has not helped the situation. While in public, he has supported the US, even keeping the recent Falmart trade agreement. Though, many suspects that he is doing shady business and supporting the insurgents.

"My instinct was right from the beginning! A bastard like Agonix cannot be trusted," Tyuule states as she plays with her balisong knife she got for Christmas.

Tyuule told the President that Agonix could not be trusted(6). While she did not have any proof, her feelings told her something was wrong with him. She spent three years in the herd of Imperial politics, and while she had no role in it, she heard and saw many things. She knows how to spot a rat.

"There they are," Bailey said. "The timing is right; they will gather at the baron palace every two weeks for a meeting." He alerts his team. He points to James to be ready to breach.

"Since when did the adventurers become Imperial hounds?" Delilah asks, surprised by this fact. "Of course, they are bastards. They hunted my kind for generations. When I fled our homeland there were five of us. I saw two of them be taken by the Adventurers because they considered us as savages." She aims her compound crossbow at a group of the hooded adventurers sneakily marching toward the back entrance. “I would love to make them pay.”

Bailey comforts Delilah. He understands she has had a hard time moving past what the Empire has done to her people. He knows he cannot understand or relate to being treated like dogs, hunted down, everyday scared that you would be caught, enslaved, and then raped every day.

"Oh right, they are in the place. Rangers, storm," Bailey orders.

Vanguard-5 breaks the doors and then storms the room. Rifles at the ready to kill anyone who resists. There are two Adventurers, all who refused to lower their weapons, so the Rangers gunned them down.

"Check the other side of the entrance," Bailey orders Adam to bring in the snake camera to spook the other side.

"Three armed guards on the other side," Adam replies after finishing checking.

Bailey orders to breach the door. James walks up and uses the M26-MASS module shotgun. While not popular with the troops as an attachment to their rifles, it is great for breaching into houses.

After James destroys the locks and hinges on the door, Daisy tosses a M84 stun grenade.

Once everyone is blinded, the Rangers storm the room and incapacitate three guards After James destroys the locks and hinges on the door, Daisy tosses a M84 stun grenade.

Once everyone is blinded, the Rangers storm the room and incapacitate three guards. Trenton and James force them to their knees while everyone else begins looking for any information of value in the room.

Bailey and Tyuule walk up to the three men. It was far easier than he expected for them to tell him what room Agonix in. He assumes they are terrified of what Tyuule said to them, about cutting their balls off and feeding them back to them.

“Alright everyone, we move smooth and quiet,” Bailey said. “Bunnies, you two take point. We have to move fast. Remember, if we get pinned down press the panic button.”

The panic button for US soldiers is a lifeline in urban warfare. If Bailey feels like they are on the verge of being overrun, a Quick Reaction Force from the 34th BCT will be sent in to save the Rangers.

Bailey knows that they cannot take prisoners right now and these are Imperial soldiers. However, they could be valuable prisoners for Army Intelligence. He orders his men to knock them out and bound the Imperials so the Army can collect them for later.

After that everyone moves through the palace. On his HUD he looks at satellite blueprints of the palace to help navigate through the building. While not perfect, he likes that he has an idea where he is going, unlike when he saved Tyuule in Sadera. He left like a rat in a maze, no idea where he was going.

After the Bunnies took care of the guards quietly, he got his Rangers into position. He got Adam to do another snake camera to see what is past the door.

Bailey sees through his HUD a few Adventurers, Imperials and the Duke himself, “We got them. Record.” He then starts to listen to the meeting.

"The movement of our troops is smoothly so far, my lord. Legate Fabius and the Ticaret Houses have established their position throughout the Elies Region," a centurion said.

"Our group will be ready to harass NATO forces as much as we can, and they will not know what hit them," a silver-ranked adventurer stated. “I hope the money will be worth this, we are not accustomed to fighting wars.”

“You are employed by the Empire,” the centurion replied in a harsh tone. “My Legionaries have fought and died in countless wars so your kind can play warrior. By law you are warriors now and you will do as commanded. Then you will get your reward.”

“Calm gentleman,” Agonix said. “We are on the same side. As soon as we remove the NATO forces out of the region things can go back to the way things are. Now let us continue with the meeting.”

“Fabius has been able to maintain a defense line north of the Agaront Stream,” the centurion said. “As long as we can keep NATO focused on their occupied territory, they won’t be able to capture the rest of Elies. Keeping them on this side of the stream is the key for victory in Elies.”

"Excellent!” Agonix said laughing. “Our harassment campaign has been successful so far. They do not expect my people are supply the guerrillas. I just need you Adventurers to go around these areas and take the fight to them.”

"Proceed as planned, and we call for the day of the meeting," Agonix states.

“Now.”

Vanguard-5 and the two Bunnies storm the room. Delilah knocks the centurion to the ground. ONe of the Imperial guards dies from Tyuule machet.

"Leaving so soon?" Delilah asks sacastly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Agonix asks in a shocked tone.

"Let just say I was right that you were up to something no good during the meeting in Alnus with the President(7). We know what you are up to Agonix; you have been coordinating insurgency in the Elies region under NATO noise," Tyuule points her machete at Agonix.

“You white hair savage,” the centurion said as he gets up. “You will get no information of us. I am not stupid enough to bring written information here.”

Tyuule looks at the centurion with careful eyes. She then takes a step back, pointing her machet towards him. “I know you! You were there with Zorzal, when he invaded us. You put my fellow Bunnies against each other to fight for the death and the winner got to watch their daughter get raped.”

The centurion stands there with no shame, “you’re the queen of the savages. Everything we did was justified. Last time I checked your kind kidnapped males and raped them to populate your numbers.” He then looks to the Rangers. “Heed this warning Americans. There is a reason we call them savages and no other race. I regret nothing, I would do it again and again and all of you would do the same if the roles were reversed.”

Tyuule then slashes the centurion head off.

Bailey knows about this history. It is easy to see one side is good and the other side is bad however the sad truth of like is that like is nuance. There are always two sides of a story and if the roles were reversed and the Warrior Bunnies were kidnapping his people, he definitely would put a bullet in them. However, that has not been the experience to date with US-Bunnies relations and as General Stanford said, they are not here to fix past sins. Everyone has blood on their hands and the only thing NATO can do is build a bridge forward.

"I think we already proved we wouldn’t. You are all under arrest," Bailey states, threatening Agonix and his men.

"Not a chance! Your kind has been destroying the Adventurers way of life. You will put us all to death if we let you have your way!”" The adventurer said. He then tries to use the smoke bomb to escape, but Tyuule throws her machete through his chest before he has a chance of using it.

The other men then suicidally raise their swords to attack, only to be put down instantly by a few gunshots.

Tyuule rushes at Agonix and violently pins his face to the table.

"All right, you son of bitch!” Bailey yells. “You are gonna tell us what you know. No more games!”

"Look, Look! This is a misunderstanding! Those people are just my business partners for a new business…” Agonix screams after Deliah stabs his hand.

Bailey could not believe that Agonix tried to trick him like that. While he hates the Imperials, he knows where they stand. That centurion stood there on his two feet with honor and pride, accepting his fate as a warrior, regardless of the politics of past deeds. This man, Agonix is a coward. The moment his life is threatened he tries to play tricks and lies.

"You better tell us now or else, the next one will be your whole hand to go off!" Bailey threats. “Once the Army is done with you, we are going to drag your ass through the streets of this city and everyone will see what you have done to them.”

Agonix looks at Bailey with fear. “No!” He yells and grabs a plate and bashes it over Bailey's helmet.

Agonix gets free and starts running to the door. Delilah cuts the man down, killing him.

“Shit,” Bailey said. “No, we have nothing.”

“Doubt that sir,” Daisy said. “Take a look.”

Bailey and Tyuule look at Daisy and walk over. They see Daisy smash through the wall and they see a box behind it.

“My dad owns a small insurance company,” Daisy said. “He always kept a record of everything everyone said, just in case.”

“And a Duke corruptible Duke would do the same,” Delilah said. “He probably was planning on blackmailing the Empire for more money or power.”

Bailey walks over and opens the chest. Daisy's guess is correct, Agonix recorded everything in impressive detail. Not just with the Empire but with the other Counts, generals, business owners, everything.”

“James, Kiowa, secure the chest,” Bailey orders. “Adam, call command and tell them to secure the palace. And tell Colonel Yang that the Adventurers are now the enemies, working with the Empire.”

"Look like that fucking hateful Wood Elf was telling the truth the whole time," Donate states.