"London Police has reported to Parliament that they have recorded three thousand, six hundred and sixty-nine people have arrived at the London King's Cross railway station over the past month. Since the world discovered that magic is real on Earth people have been coming to this station and running to the walls. According to transportation records, people worldwide have been arriving at this station, organizing on social media.

There are hundreds of videos posting on social media of people running into brick walls. Many who rammed themselves into these walls had to go to the hospital for serious injuries.

These people believe that the Harry Potter fantasy world is real, that if they go to the railway station, they will be able to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts. There have been repeating attacks, riots, and assaults. Public property has been damaged, and mass delays in the train schedule because of people's volume.

K. Rowling has publicly stated she met some mages, including Mrs. Southiel from the New Forest Coven, and from them, she gained inspiration. The Coven goal was to test and see the world's reaction to magic and how warming it would be. It is believed Harry Potter's success is an early motivator to go public.

Both J. K. Rowling and Mr. Youdan publicly stated that Hogwarts is just a story and there is no hidden door at the London King's Cross railway station. Those people do not want to travel to London and see for themselves.

Simultaneously, Mrs. Rowling also stated that she will endorse the upcoming opening sale of flying brooms and carpets by the New Forest Coven. Many fans can't wait to ride the flying brooms themselves and even suggest organizing a quidditch match in the future. However, the authority is concerned about the safety application of such unsafe transportation." - Lotus Eaters.

***

--- Sadera, Throne Room ---

Date: May 15th, 2025

Famulis sits on her throne, watching the men talk. Her husband is pacing back and forth, ranting about how much he hates the enemy and how his plan almost worked. Moon is sitting at a table. The leader of the Talis Knights, a Minotaur called Torturis, The Dwarf King Halmas Darkchin of the Golrash Kingdom, and others are also in the throne room. The fat man from the Ticaret Conglomerate is taking up three seats, Mortimer Gummus.

Famulis can see the hate in Moon's eyes. Pina murdered his wife during the battle, and he nearly lost his son. Half of his face is horribly scarred from burns from the explosion in Akusho as he protected his daughter, in which he has to wear a mask to hide his half disfigured face. His attack, overall, was a success, killing many enemies and purging the enemy spy network from Sadera. His plot to feed misinformation through Diabo has been a significant success, but, despite that, NATO still was able to extract over half of the pro-peace faction, and Diabo, not to mention killing more than half of his men, leading to human resource shortage within Oprichnina.

Moon had severely underestimated Diabo, his CIA and MI6 buddies as they were one step ahead of him and his Oprichinia as they had already planned their escape long before that and tricked him and his men into that forsaken warehouse to die. Famulis admitted that she also mistakenly underestimated Diabo as she should have known that he is far smarter than Zorzal, and he inherited Molt's intelligence, not to mention his reclusive nature made it perfect for him to plan things before people back.

Mortimer Gummus joined the war for business opportunities with the Empire. He wants to spread throughout the Imperial economy to become wealthier. While he never said it out loud, she quickly figured out his long-term plans. He wants to use that wealth and glory to overthrow the Ticaret House system and become a dictator.

Regardless of Gummus motives, he has brought a large portion of his army to the Dumas Mountains, and they have significantly helped. The Ticaret specialize in defensive warfare, and the goal of the Dumas line is to prevent NATO from striking Sadera. As long as the enemy cannot take the city, there is hope.

Famulis convinces herself that she should be happy about this. Her army from the east is arriving; another eighteen kingdoms, city-states, and vassals are fighting. The Elies theater is surprisingly holding the line, and the Dumas theater is putting up a good fight. The Imperial Army is not the same one from last year, they learned. However, despite all of that, she is now just not as hopeful she was before as the war progresses.

"I cannot believe this," Zorzal angrily mumbles. "That plan was perfect. How were we defeated?"

"How could you let my wife die?" Moon said, anger seeping into his voice.

"Calm down, Moon," Famulis said. "The Emperor did not let your wife die. She wanted to be there. It was Pina who killed her."

Moon takes a deep breath. "I want them dead. I want all of them dead! That bastard Diabo dared outsmart me, and that whore Pina dared taking away my Polita!"

“At least you took his hand,” Darkchin said.

Zorzal stops and places both his hands on Moon's shoulders. "Trust me brother. If it is the last thing I do, we will burn Sharpe, Pina, and Diabo alive. Trust me, they will pay for this. Your wife will be avenged."

Hearing her husband say that frustrated her. She cannot get what that blue hair girl called Lelei said. She thought she had a good understanding of the enemy's capabilities, but she assumed wrong. While still a rookie, Lelei has taken magic to a new level, and if it ever becomes normalized, it will change the balance of power when it comes to magic.

However, the realization that Earth has mages too. If correct, then why haven't they employed them in the war? Did Lelei mean they were using mages from Rondel to NATO's side like her? If that were true, she would have heard about it by now.

"You think they will pay?" Famulis said. "We are mustering all of Falmart might, and yet they can raid our capital at will."

"Your Highness," General of the Imperial Army Woody La Caerellius said. "These raids have proven one thing; their capabilities are not limitless. If they could have taken the city, they would've had by now. They are still subject to the terrain."

"That is true," Torturis added. "We are no longer suffering the losses we did early in the war. "

"High Knight Torturis is correct," Woody continues and then points to the war table. "We have successfully contained the east and west. We have successfully changed our doctrine and we have seen better results."

The Imperial Army Doctrine, Famulis always feared those in the Thirty Year War. The Imperial Army is known to adopt. If they lost a battle, they always came back as a changed army, defeating their opponents. It has always been a strength of theirs however, NATO has proven to be just as adoptive. This war has become less about killing each other and more about out-adopting each other. Whoever wins this will win the war and NATO has the resources, technology, and reserve strength to last.

"And?" Famulis asked, confusing everyone.

"And why?" Zorzal said. "Speak plainly, woman."

Famulis is frustrated. "The city hasn't been invaded because they are not at their full strength. They have mages on their world and have yet to employ them. Remember what your sister said: NATO is holding back the entire time by stating that full strength they can destroy this world with ease. We thought we had time on our site, but we might be able to hold them off now but how much longer can we keep this up. For every one we kill, we lose over a hundred. What would happen when NATO is finally able to mobilize their full strength? Please tell everyone Moon."

Moon takes an angry breath, pushing aside his emotions. “As you all know the Gate has been a blessing and curse for our enemies. Our spies have reported that because the size of the Gate is large, it still limits how much troops and supplies they can bring over at one time. With all their power even they still have to feed and shelter their troops.”

General Calasta Helvius lifts up the Alnus Gate model. “Logistics wins wars. As you can see time is on our side. We do not have to worry about their full strength because they cannot bring it here.”

"Your highness, do you honestly believe Pina was telling the truth! She and her women knights are just playthings who only try to act like men. So she and her knights are not something to be taken seriously. Besides, it is ridiculous for NATO to possess godlike power to turn Falmart into oblivion and if they have that kind of power, why do they still not use it now?. Like I said, she just a weakling who bluffs to intimidate people from taking her down," Tortuous said

"And yet she and her knights are tough enough to kill dozens of your elite knights. I am starting to wonder who are the playthings now," Famulis mocks.

Torturis lets out a roar and takes a few steps forward, angry at what his Empress said. The Minataur gets angry quickly. Famulis’ mind-slave bodyguard, Alonbula, pulls out her knife and steps in front of Famulis.

Before Torturis made his move, Zorzal stops him. “You are a wise Succubus. It is why I married you. Speak your mind.”

“Yes, we contained the enemy on all fronts, but I am beginning to wonder if that will be enough?” Famulis said. “I had our Minister of economics do a study. With so much crucial territory lost, the government does not have the tax revenue to support this war for long. Maybe only six more months? What about food? Textiles? We are drafting so many men to fight there’s nobody left to farm. Even if we win the war, there won’t be enough men to make future babies with. We have seen a drastic dip in slave labor.”

Famulis can see what she said affected Zorzal. He stands there and thinks.

“I understand your concerns,” Zorzal said. “There are going to be great sacrifices for us to have any chance to win. All we must do is wait a little longer, and we can finish this. The main force of your army will be arriving. The Ticaret has arrived. I know they are powerful, but if they can bleed, we can kill it.”

“And relating the population problem, we can just force the peasants to have more babies,” Moon proposed. “Emperor Quintis Trupo did that four hundred years ago after a great plague. It saved the Empire.”

“That would work if we have twelve years for those babies to reach fighting age,” Calasta points out.

“It will be a start,” Zorzal said.

Famulis sees her point was not made. “We might be able to bleed them, but how many bodies will it take to do it? Furthermore, all guerilla attacks and tactics are becoming less effective as the enemy is becoming better at countering them. Thick forests and Tunnels can no longer be effective if the enemy just keeps burning our troops, hiding in there with their flaming guns and bombs, or raiding the tunnels. Last time, I heard that they deployed some kinds of metal dog that swept through the trenches and tunnels and killed our troops with ease.”

Gummus gets up from his seat. Three of his wives follow him. “Your Highness, I think you are simply scared. I mean no disrespect, but my people are used to fighting stronger opponents. Everyone in this room represents the three most powerful land Empires on Falmart. Even with their advanced weapons, they cannot be everywhere at once.”

“Now with the economy, allowing our two people to trade together has already brought a much-needed economic stimulus. My House is willing to help in every manner.”

“Gummus is correct,” Woody added. “I share your concern with our losses, but not everything is dark. As long as we believe that we can win, then we can find solutions.”

“Let’s not forget about the armor,” Torturis said. “It proved to be effective against their bullets.”

“That is true,” Darkchin said. “I am happy that armor worked as well as it did. My Dwarves right now are analyzing it at your forge now to see what the damage is, but even deflecting a few shots should be enough.”

“Then we can equip our Legions with this new armor,” Woody said.

"That armor was not easy to forge, and it is expensive. I had to place my best dwarves into making it. Our best ore, our best amulets, and enchantments. There is no way we can mass produce these for the entire Legion."

"Then we give it to our elite warriors," Zorzal said. "Let's remember that trap worked; we just did not realize how far they were willing to go for victory. Now we understand. Torturis, your knights will get the armor."

"I recommend the Moon Elves get the armor if they wish," Woody proposed.

As Famulis listens to the talks, she realizes that these men are still primarily deluded about the dire situation they are in, which starts to frustrate her.

"I think you men put too much hope into the armors of yours,” Famulis States. “They might stop bullets from their guns-.” She stops for a moment, making sure she used the new terms correctly. “-but what about their weapons that cause explosions? As far as I know, their guns can fire some kind of explosive bullets that can kill dozens of legionnaires with ease. How can this new armor help against that? They will adopt."

“Empress,” Calasta said. “The new armor is only one of many projects I have been working on with King Darkchin. According to General Briteon Hasulo his plan to capture some of the enemy pilots was a success. We are making breakthroughs every day.”

“General Calasta is correct,” Darkchin said. “We just need time for prototypes to be made. My forges are working day and night to develop new weapons and protection.”

Famulis takes a deep breath. She knows she has been negative today, wondering if it is just her. But her gut feeling is telling her things are not as good as they are making it to be. While Calasta reports on reverse-engineering the Other Worlders technology has bred some fruits, there are other issues they are ignoring.

"You men keep focusing on the enemy's advanced weaponry, but what about those from this world that fight with them? The Bunnies, Elves, and even Pina and her knights. There are rumors even the demi-humans are considering siding with them."

"Pina and those that sided with NATO can easily point out the flaws in our tactics and the knowledge of the terrains of this world since they know it better than NATO so NATO can counter it,” Famulis states. “Furthermore, based on my bodyguard Alonbula, my generals, and some of my observations, those that side with NATO are far stronger than before. I saw that the Rose Knights are armed with some kinds of swords that are so high quality that they can bifurcate a heavily armored man in half along with his shield in one swing. It seems that NATO is compensating for their short-coming of melee combats by incorporating Rose Knights and the demi-human on their ranks to cover their range attacks.”

"My queen has a point,” Alonbula states. “I did encounter some of my fellow bunnies, including Queen Tyuule herself, during the raid; I have to say that they are no longer the bunnies I knew. They fight harder, stronger and their movements are unheard of. My skill used to equal but now I have to admit, I am below her. Their weapons are also far more powerful as their swords can easily cut through my armors with ease. Furthermore, the elves who side with NATO exhibit exotic magic spells similar to the blue hair mage Lelei. I am afraid that NATO is using the very nature of this world against us much like we use it against them only for them to make it stronger with their power and knowledge",

Moon stands up and walks between everyone. "I also agree with the Empress. This armor is useful but not enough. Famulis' army that is coming will bring death and destruction to our enemies, but the enemy will counter it sooner or later. They react faster than our spies can report to us, and they are adapting too fast to our countermeasure against them."

"What are you saying, Svenhard?" Zorzal asked.

Moon looks at his Emperor. “We need to unleash everything this world has to offer. Both man and beast.”

“We already are doing that, fool,” Woody spat.

Famulis looks at the Moon. She never considered him a dumb man, cleverer than most of the Imperial leadership. He could have done anything in the Empire but chose to be the leader of the Oprichnina instead. She knows he wouldn’t make a silly comment like that unless he meant Something more.

Her eyes raise. “You mean the Flame Dragon?”

There is a silence in the room.

“But didn’t the Other Worlders kill the Flame Dragons a few months ago?” Darkchin asked.

“Our spies told us that NATO killed three babies and the mother Flame Dragon,” Famulis answered. “But that leaves the male still out there.”

“Correct,” Moon said and began walking around. “We have positioned ourselves to do real harm, isn’t that right, General Woody?”

“Our containment policy has proven effective in slowing the enemy down, at least on 5 fronts with an additional two on the way,” Woody said. “At least until we can build enough forces for a massive assault from all sides.”

Moon nods. “And my people are destabilizing Toumaren and preparing the main Swestuals invasion. As you said, even they cannot fight on every battlefront, so we hope. We need to balance the favor to us even more.”

“By taming the Flame Dragon?” Torturis said, stunned by the idea. “The dragon is more likely to kill us.”

“Legendary beasts are not as dumb as your monster kind,” Moon replied. “I figure the male dragon will not be pleased that they killed his mate and children. And let us not rule out the Great Manticore from the Swestual Kingdom and maybe the Ticaret Abyssal Worm.”

“That is my thoughts exactly,” Moon said. “In addition, we need to focus more on assassination against thier leadership. As our Empress has stated many of our subjects are siding with the enemy. That is because of Pina, Tyuule, Beleetie, and others. They are figureheads for others to rally to.”

“I see,” Woody said. “Normal assassination attempts will not work against them. We will have to be more creative.”

As the men argue, Famulis hears her slave comment.

“He is full of hate,” Alonbula said. “He just wants vengeance. Going after these beasts just for his rage will get us killed.”

“I agree, but this is a male’s heart we’re talking about,” Famulis said. “Something your kind never bothered to understand. You fear monsters. However, the true monsters are males who are in love, but his love has been taken from him. You should fear them most of all.”

She thinks about the Moon idea. She realizes she was emotional earlier, although with good reason. The enemy is more potent than expected and has more mystery than she realized. Their plan to overwhelm the enemy from as many fronts as possible is the best plan right now. She is no longer convinced it will be enough.

“Moon is correct. In your speech at the summit of Zorzal, you said we needed to unite because this is our world(1). We have seen what these Other Worlders will do. They are purging all the hordes, your Guilds, and much more. They are reshaping this world into their image. The question is, do these Legendary beasts have a place in it? I assume no. That might be enough to help tame them for the war effort. It is worth the risk.”

“What about the economic issue?” Darkchin asked. “To continue producing your weapons, we need more resources and coin. We are hard at work in trying to learn the enemy’s technology, but, again, we need more resources. We need the economy to be stable.”

Famulis admits she is stuck on that point. The Empire has been giving Rondel, the loyal dwarf kingdoms, Darklo, and any other institution and groups that could hopefully learn and apply the enemy technology. While it will take decades or even centuries to understand the core secrets, any insight would help tip the side of the war against NATO. The problem with this war, everything has become an urgent priority and there is not enough coin and resources to address them all.

“Someone is coming, someone new,” Alonbula whispers.

Famulis looks at the direction Alonbula is glancing at. Then everyone else.

An escort let a lovely-looking young lady into the room. She is well dressed with lots of jewelry around her neck and fingers.

Zorzal looks at the woman, shocked. “What brings you here, cousin Lady?”

“Your uncle sent me in advance to see how things are now. I believe we have the solution to many of your problems gentlemen.”

***

--- Fort Minick ---

Date: Date: May 15th, 2025

"Are we good to go?"

"Yes, Captain," Second Lieutenant Jenny Green.

Green only arrived at Falmart four days ago. She was part of a new batch of replacements and reinforcements. Sarah has been expanding her department in VRTF-2 and Green part of that.

"Yes… I think so, Ma'am," Green said.

Sarah made Green be her assistant until she is ready to oversee the Vanguard-7 logistics team. As a Lieutenant, Sarah was in charge of just one Vanguard team, but she managed all of the VRTF-2 logistical needs as a Captain.

Plus, Sarah is trying to remove as many conflicts of interest as she can after learning she is pregnant. Colonel Yang chewed both her and Sharpe out hard and banned her from any combat operations. She is limited to on-base duties only, which is fine with her. After her experience with Krysist and being an Imperial POW(2), she has not wanted to go out and fight.

Sarah is sitting at the front desk inside a conference room. In front of her are the three Vanguard logistical team heads plus the Rose-Order of Knight and Alnus Knights.

In VRTF-2, there are six teams. Vanguard-2 led by First Lieutenant Charles Johnson, Vanguard-5 led by Captain Bailey Robinson, Vanguard-7 is led by Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe, Rose Knights by Princess/Captain Pina Alnus Militia ruled by Captain Rory Mercury and Captain Wolf.

The combat teams make up around ten to fifteen Rangers. Each is led by a high-ranking officer. Each unit has a logistical squad at the base providing support. Like a racing team, the driver and its pit team. Each logistical team has six to ten Rangers, each led by a Lieutenant.

The Army's idea is this: small teams of highly trained soldiers can act Independently if needed moving around through enemy territory. Their missions are vast, going from recon, intelligence gathering, Rapid mobilization, making contact with villages, track and engage high priority objectives, and so on.

The logistical team's responsibility is to do the research, equipment, and hardware preparations, gather mapping details, arrange for outside support like armor or air, such as anything the combat team needs for the mission.

The Vanguard Program structure is vastly different from the rest of the Army. While the Army follows the standard Brigade Combat Teams and Divisional structure, Vanguard is a radical redesign, lessons learned from the War on Terror. The key idea behind this program was to provide the Army with flexibility in an unknown battlespace. The program became vital in the war against the Empire.

Units from the 75th Ranger Regiment were chosen because they already fit into the new doctrine and had the numbers to support it. There are so many high-ranking officers commanding so few men to maximize the independence of these teams. A mid to high-ranking officer would have the foresight, experience, and ability to make independent judgment decisions on the spot without consulting with Command, as long as the findings fit with military doctrine and framework.

While Sharpe is in full Command of VRTF-2, he prefers to lead from the frontlines. Too many situations and crises have appeared for him to lead from a desk.

The Vanguard structure reminds her of the science fiction show Stargate. She watched all of it last year for research. Both programs from the front and real life are very similar, showing the Army took notice.

In front of Sarah are the heads of their logistical teams. First Lieutenant April Elliott of Vanguard-2, Second Lieutenant Keira Hill of Vanguard-5 team, Green and herself representing Vanguard-7, Warrant Officer-1 Shandy Gaff Marea with Private First-Class Hamilton Uno Ror of Rose Knight, and the High Elf Warrant Officer-1 Lathai Doreen of Alnus Militia. Queen Tyuule is here, representing her Blitzing Death assassins and skirmishers. There is the head of her research team, Warrant Officer-4 Johnny Kent.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Sarah said. "You all got the memo; we will be talking about the current stage of the war and upcoming operations. Plus, any questions you have. Once done, you will be giving a detailed report to your team leader." She nods to Green and begins the presentation.

Once the map appears, Sarah gets up and points. "As you know, NATO forces are engaged on five fronts. The Dumas Mountains, North of the Elies Forest, west and east flank of the Elies Region, and down here on the border with the Elbe. I will be going through every front."

The slide moves to the Dumas Mountains Campaign.

"The brass is still following the same plan. Army Engineers are building two different highways through the Dumas Mountains at these points. One starting from Alnus, another starting from the Coan Forest. The original plan was for three highways however it was decided to focus on the first two for logistical needs."

"August of last year the 10th Mountain conducted Operation Roundball. The operation's objective was to move south, around the Dumas Mountains, and outflank Sadera. The operation failed for a combination of factors ranging from an unexpected rainstorm that turned the valley into a mud lake. Our armor was not able to move through the highway, and off-road was worse. Up to that point in the war, we lost more vehicles to the mud than enemy action. Even right now, more Abrams have been lost to this mud than from enemy action. While we took the objective city of Marais, the Empire won one of their few battles at Podet Lake which resulted in the Empire retaking Marais."

"That is why the brass wants to punch through the Dumas Mountains. Besides going thousands of kilometers around the mountains, it would be faster now and, in the future, just to go through it, so the brass believes."

"Ma'am, what about Operation Uppercut?" April asked.

Operation Uppercut is the same as Operation Roundball, just this time more prepared. The goal is to move south, around the mountains, and move up along the Blue Sea coast. The goal is to threaten Sadera, forcing the Imperial Army and League forces to divert resources away from the mountain range to protect Sadera. From there, NATO will be able to divide and conquer.

Green flips to the Mealud Valley around Marais.

Sarah points to three spots in the valley. "Australian, Elbe, and Japanese forces have been fighting all along here, supported by the US 2nd Armored Division. Because the Imperial forces in this region had a year to prepare, they are dug in deep. However, this does not matter because we are not looking to quickly occupy them. If they stay in their trenches, we can drive past them and threaten Sadera."

"A major problem NATO is facing with this theater is that it is outside our air cover, except for the two B-52 bombers we have on Falmart. We have not built any air bases in this region because of the bad terrain and how much it is contested. Plus priorities on other fronts. 2nd Armored is constructing a helicopter base there to fix this situation. Construction of an airbase inside the Elbe Fiefdom has already begun, and we hope it will help turn the tide in this region."

Shandy raises her hand. "I have a question; I don't understand how you lost with all your power."

Hill looks at Shandy. "Simple. We underestimated the land, and we did not have the forces to properly operate the operation. When we learned of the deteriorating situation, most of our forces were in Elies or fighting the Kingdom of Alguna. We just didn't have enough resources early on."

"Remember Shandy, might does not always equal victory. That is a faulty Imperial belief," Dorlen said. "If you have three soldiers, you cannot be in five places at once."

Lathai Dorlen is one of the newest Sarah staff. Because VRTF-2 has many native soldiers as part of an integration program, she has brought on much native staff.

This elf was part of the Imperial Army early in the war. Unlike Tuka and her more free-spirited people, Dorlen reminds Sarah of the Riverdale elves from Lord of the Ring, very regimental. He fought against NATO in three early battles. Fighting at Keelbury Woodland, Trophy Hills, and a last stand at Naiktai. He made a name for himself during the Trophy Hills Campaign, leading ambushes against NATO forces. After he surrendered and was taken to a prison camp, Wolf and Rory recruited him after hearing his accomplishments.

Dorlen came from a very well-established house to the east by Telta, his family holding the highest rank a non-human can have, Baron. He asked himself why he hated NATO so much and realized they were not the enemy and refused to fight. Just like the Rose Knights, he was disowned by his clan for that.

He helped the British for a few months in search and destroy missions beforel Sarah recruited him. Rory visited him while he was at the NATO prison camp and convinced him to switch sides. While he switched sides, he refused to fight, not wanting to kill his countrymen.

"I understand,' Shandy said. "It is easy to forget because they are so powerful."

Sarah, not liking the conversation bearing off, snaps her fingers. "Bringing it back, both operations are working together; however, pushing through the mountains is the priority. NATO ground forces are clearing out the Empire, so the engineers are safe to build their highways. This requires setting up FOBs and firebases all over the mountain range to strike the enemy and maintain control of the surface. Because the bulk of the Imperial Army is using the dwarven underground tunnels and cities, we have to have to go down there."

"Why don't we just let them rot down below?" Hill asked. "If they want to be down below, why risk sending soldiers down there? Just build the road."

"That won't work Lieutenant," Kent said.

Kent asked in a cocky tone. To help the Vanguard team succeed, Sarah created a group with the sole purpose is to go through all fantasy and related science fiction stories and learn as much as they can. Anything that could be vital to the Vanguard teams.

"The reason the Imperial Army went underground was to protect themselves from our artillery and airpower," Kent explained. "Because these are Dwarven tunnels, they can dig tunnels and pop out anywhere. Plus, they have tamed mole beasts that can dig and move through dirt and mud. This means the enemy could appear right underneath our engineers or flank our forces. The only way to prevent that is to keep the pressure on them or do the old-fashioned tunnel rat."

"Warrant Officer Kent is correct," Sarah said. "We have to do this the hard way. That is why the President and NATO forces are increasing our forces to two hundred and fifty-thousand. There are talks to increase to three hundred thousand however the logistics behind that are still being debated." She looks to Green and nods. "As Lieutenant Green switches to the next front, a side note. Congress has passed the formation of a new elf country, the Koda Woodline State. This new country belongs to Tuka people as their official home. With this, they agreed to help out in the war effort."

"Speaking underground and thanks to the Rose Knight intelligence, we now know we are facing the Dwarf Kingdom of Golrash," Sarah added. "According to Princess Pina and Queen Tyuule, the Empire in this region gets most of its weapons and other metalworks from here. That is why they are putting up a fight. Losing Golrash would cripple the Empire's ability to arm their armies."

"The plan is to continue looking for Dwarf tunnels and clear out the underground chambers. IF we cannot find them or it is discovered to be too hostile, we drop MOP. The General has already approved the use of MOPs to create openings to outflank the underground chambers. While this tactic is costly of limited resources, it has proven effective."

The slide switches.

"This is the Mealud Valley, northern border of the Elbe Fiefdom," Sarah said. "Most of the border is the Beza Mountains. This mountain range has prevented the Elbe from being fully annexed throughout the centuries. However, it has also hurt our efforts to properly secure a land route. There are only two land routes anyone can take, the west and east. The Empire has full access to the east, so that leaves the west."

Sarah then pales to the western pass, where the Tube Mountains and Beza Mountains meet and the Rorish Forest. "Because this area right here is vital, the Empire and Elbe Resistance fighters have been hiding out here waging a guerrilla war. Using the town of Wuthrod as a base, the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division has been conducting search and destroy with the Elbe Knights in this area. The campaign has been going for seven months, and Brigade leader Colonel Henry Camble has said enemy activity has been reduced to an all-time low." She nods to Green.

Green nervously looks through the notes. "However, Elbe Resistance leader, Prince Astile Elbe is still at large. The Prince is at large with a large bounty on his head. While the force here has mainly been defeated and are cut off from a supply line, they have been raiding the region for supplies and kidding people as conscripts. Vanguard-7 discovered this at the Old Ruins Fortress of Bregrath(5)"

"Which means, even though we are deep behind our lines, always assume the enemy is around the corner," Sarah said. "You all know about the Wood Elves. They are operating within our lines. Same with Imperial resistance. They only got smarter, so they are harder to track down."

"Why hasn't the Empire flanked from the east?" Hill asked. "This has been bothering me for a while."

"There have been some small battles, sir," Dorlen answered. "I knew some elves who fought down there. The Empire sees you as the bigger threat, and you have been wrecking their large armies. They might not have the manpower to open another front."

"You are assuming that," Hill replied. "All we have is a Marine garrison there as a defense force. If they attack the Trilams Fortress in force, they cannot hold."

"And that is why Operation Uppercut and the Dumas Campaign is so important," Sarah said. "We are not going to wait and see why the Empire is not attacking our weak spot. The brass does think the Empire is focusing their manpower against us as we are the bigger threat."

"What are your people doing differently?" Tyuule asked. "You wouldn't want to be humiliated a second time at the same spot."

"The 2nd Armored Division is taking the lead on this," Sarah said. "What they are going to do is set up a small outpost along the highway with Engineer teams. And they are going to build a semi-paved highway from Deabis to Marais. I am not an engineer, so I don't know how but they developed a pave on the mud. In the memo, they are building a land bridge of some kind. I don't know how."

"To prevent our tanks, APCs, and supply trucks from getting stuck in the mud again, they will pave their way through it. It will be a slow process. Soldiers by helicopter will be scattered all around the region to fight any Imperial forces. By that point, the helipad should be up and running so they have dedicated air support."

The slides move to the rest of the region around Alguna, Kingdom of Mudwan, and League Principality.

"As you know, Elbe has vassalized Alguna, and we are helping with the occupation," Sarah said. "Vanguard teams from VRFT-3 have been sending teams with the other kingdoms to negotiate with them. As you know, after the Second Battle of Alnus Hill, these kingdoms remained neutral and stuck with a policy of isolationism. However, Canadian Security Intelligence Service has learned that shapeshifters are lurking on the outskirts of NATO-occupied cities. The brass is worried of a plot to take over these kingdoms and start a war against us, just like what happened with Alguna."

Alguna started a fast and brutal war against Elbe. This forced NATO to get involved in protecting Elbe. While the war ended quickly, it was discovered an Oprichnina shapeshifter replaced an influential member of the government and tricked the princess into declaring war. This was met to drive NATO forces away from Elies and other fronts and by time.

The slide goes to the north, right above Valtris.

"This is the Italian front," Green said. "Because of the lack of manpower and logistics and seeing no strategic value in pushing north of Orgo Highway, the Italians NATO Rapid Deployable Corps has dug in and protected our northern flank. With them are the Estonians, Czech Republic, and German forces."

"With the arrival of elements from the newly activated 9th Infantry Division, General Stanford wants to extend the front lines to Populis," Sarah said. "After what the Empire did to the bridge, the brass wants more breathing room."

"Question," Dorlen asked. "You people know of Rondel from Lelei. You understand the value of that city for you and the Empire. Why haven't you taken it yet? When I was with the Empire, there were times we were confused why you didn't attack this city but attack that city."

"We knew of Rondel, but we had to wait for the right opportunities to take it and right now we are still stretching thin in all fronts," Hill answered.

"Pretty much," Sarah said. "The truth was Rondel was out of our reach at the time. Same logically to why we have not taken Sadera yet."

"Why not just airlift your forces to Sadera like during both raids?" Shandy asks. "You could take the city with a few hundred soldiers."

Sarah has heard this complaint in the news all the time. "Shandy, when it comes to the modern military, you always must remember being able to do something and is it practical. Right now, we can send two hundred Rangers or a thousand Airborne and take the city. It might be costly because they have the numbers, but we will take the city. My question is this, then what?"

Sarah waits, letting the room go quiet. Shandy and a few others struggle to answer the question. She wanted to let it rattle in their head, to force them to think. "Sadera is almost a thousand kilometers away. Outside the range of our combat aircraft without mid-air refueling. Artillery and most of our surface-to-surface missiles are out of range. We could have a thousand soldiers occupying a city of two to three million hostile citizens with little hope of getting reinforcements, getting armored support, air, artillery, food, water, and more. Yes, we could do more para drops and air assault, but these types of operations are not designed to last forever. Sooner or later, you need a land route."

"The Empire and its League allies will be able to launch a counterattack before we could properly reinforce our Sadera occupied force. They would be cut off, and there is a good chance we couldn't get all of them out in time. They would be slaughtered for what? Just saying we took the city for a week? This is the Army; we are going to use all of the combat power that we can muster."

“What about killing Zorzal?” Shandy asked. “I know Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe tried but was stopped. I know you guys could arrange one of your planes to drop a JDAM bomb on him.”

“The girl has a point,” Hill said. “It could end the war.”

“Or expand it,” Sarah replied. “My source within the brass said this has been a hot debate at the Pentagon and the White House. The problem is we are not convinced killing the Imperial leadership at this time would fix anything. Over the past twenty-five years the US has killed many terrorist leaders only to have someone more hardcore and extreme take over.”

“Or the Empire fully collapses like what happened with Iraq,” Sarah added. “Except this time the collapse would happen on a continent the size of Eurasia rather than a country. The brass believe civil war, ethnic cleansing, rivals, genocide wars will begin all over Falmart. We believe this is the most likely outcome and we are in no position to deal with that. The White House wants Princess Pina to take the throne but if the continent ends up turning into a sea of blood, then there's no Empire for Pina to occupy.”

“In short Shandy, no business opportunities,” April said. “It is hard to expand our influence and commerce if everything is busy killing each other for what their uncle did a thousand years ago. Welcome to politics.”

Sarah admires and hates her friend April directness, it is correct. “While I wouldn’t state it like that it is true. Assuming there even will be an Empire at the end of this war it will be far weaker with key territory lost to us. There will be opportunists who will try and take advantage of the power vacuum and NATO cannot occupy or protect the entire continent. Regardless how this war ends, there will be civil wars and bloodshed. The question is, to what degree will the bloodshed be. Right now the brass believes we have to take Sadera and Rondel and defeat the Imperial Army on the field to show that we are replacing the Empire and have a clean end to the war.”

"I understand," Shandy said. "I am sorry for asking a dumb question."

Sarah chuckles. Shandy has come a long way, learning many of the military terminologies. But she is still young and has a lot of growing up to do. "No such thing as a dumb question. If you leave this room confused or have a question, or need something cleared up, you are not doing your job. The only dumb question is the one not asked."

Sarah sees Kent raise his hand and gives him permission to speak.

Kent gets up and walks to the front. He points to zoom in the shot of Rondel. The picture is not the best quality. "Let's remember this, Rondel is not a normal city. I spent much time with Lelei, asking her questions about the city. Even with the news about Earth magic, we need Rondel because they have the institutional power; we need to learn how to use magic. The city itself is older than the Roman Empire itself, designed by the ancient elves. We expect there is knowledge hidden deep within the vital city. Plus, we need the manufacturing facilities Rondel has for orbs, amulets, etc. Soredin Wiccan Coven Institution does not have these devices. The knowledge and means of enchanting items or manufacturing magical weapons and artifacts have been largely lost during the Witch Hunt as the Inquisition largely destroyed all of them. So far, mages on Earth can only make some mundane magical stuff like flying brooms or small wards, not weapons or armors or powerful magical amulets and artifacts. The last thing we want to do is destroy something we cannot replace ourselves."

"Thank you, Warrant Officer, dismiss," Sarah said. Once Kent sits back down, she continues. "Besides the research value of Rondel, there is no way the Empire would surrender the city. We believe it would be a city they would fight to the death."

"The Captain is correct," Tyuule said. "When I was with Zorzal, I was in many meetings. With the mountain range on the east, north, and west of that region, the Empire can wage a war of attrition. They could wage an all-out war against your forces. They will not let you take it without a fight. Rondel is too important to just abandon it."

"The brass came to the same conclusion," Sarah said. "Unless we were willing to commit thirty thousand troops to the region to fight, an assault that far north is out of the question. Plus, Lelei has convinced the brass that diplomacy might be a better option for Rondel."

"Diplomacy?" Dorlen asked. "I know Lelei and the few mages here have been welcoming to your ways, but Rondel is an Imperial Jewel city. I have been to the city; the nobility there won't abandon the Empire. Unless you have something planned?"

"I have no idea what the brass plan is," Sarah replied. "The brass is keeping a tight lip with their plans with Rondel. So, I have no information right now."

That is partly true. Sarah knows some plans for Rondel. Lelei has been writing to Cato for a year now about her experiences and adventurers with Vanguard-7, all with permission. She always loved how sweet and innocent Lelei is. It was Agent Branson Castillo who convinced General Stanford and the Pentagon to let Lelei send letters to her friend to Rondel, with the hope to influence the leadership in Rondel to be open to siding with NATO. According to Lelei and Jaleoa, some influential mages and nobility are siding with Lelei. However, that is all she knows. The brass is planning something, and she is waiting to see what it is.

"What are you planning to do with the Dwarf Kingdom there?" Hamilton asked.

"That is the Italians job," Sarah replied. "Either taking that Kingdom or them surrendering is a key to advancing north. This should prevent the enemy from cutting our forces into two. The operation will start once the logistical burden has been lifted when the bridge is rebuilt. Until then, our northern forces will remain in a defensive position."

"What about the Valtris bridge?" Shandy asked. "I cannot believe they were able to destroy the bridge(4)."

"This information is classified," Sarah said. "The group that destroyed the bridge are the Moon Elves." She can see the native reaction. They clearly know who the Moon Elves are, and the response did not look good. "The brass think they are equal to our Special Forces. It is also believed the Frumentarii Corps was there and studying the bridge for a long time."

"Let's not forget the bridge was not our design," Hill points out. "The bridge is ancient elvish design. We just use the foundation to refabricate into a steel bridge."

"That is correct," Sarah said. "It was considered that we would build a new bridge, but that would have taken months, and the war effort can’t wait months. Last reports from the Army Engineers said they are sixty percent finished with the bridge."

Losing the bridge at Valtris was a crippling blow to NATO operations. Besides the two tanks that were lost, with eleven dead from drowning and four wounded, plus the three killed and five wounded Romanian soldiers and Valtris Knights from a firefight with those Moon Elves. The entire western advance was put on hold because of a lack of supplies, as that bridge was the only bridge across the Row Stream.

Since then, combat operations have picked back up as supplies are now going through the improved ribbon bridge now used as the temporary replacement for the destroyed bridge.

The slide goes to the west of Elies Region, on the Agaront Stream.

"Outside of the Dumas Mountain Campaign, Elies is still an active warzone," Sarah said as she points to recent battles. "We are occupying about seventy-five percent of the region, and the only dividing line is this stream here, the Agaront Stream. It is slightly smaller than the Row Stream, and the Empire destroyed all the bridges our armor could have used."

"We have been forced to deploy two National Guard Brigades to Elies as an occupying force just to maintain order. While the Battle of Havcristen only took fifteen days a month, if you include the outskirts skirmishes(3), the battle to win the occupation never ended. After we took Legrath, the Legion in the region switched tactics again and sponsored terrorists and revolts. His objective was to keep most of our manpower occupying what we conquered rather than going on the offensive."

"Are you sure General Krysist is dead?" April asked. "This looks like something he would do."

"No, it is clear to us that Krysist wanted the Empire to be destroyed the entire time so it was never him. We have identified the enemy leader who is leading League forces, Legatus Fabius Aulus," Sarah said. "His tactics seem to be defensive in nature. We know the Ticaret have reinforced his depleted army. The plan was to drop forces on the other side of the stream and construct two bridges at two different points, back by air and artillery support, but when we lost the Valtris bridge, those plans were placed on hold. Since then, we have just been conducting air missions and bombardment missions with Air Assault raids."

"What about the revolts?" April asked.

Sarah nods to Tyuule. "Tyuule led a mission on that. She can explain."

Tyuule looks around. "I was on a mission with Vanguard-5 in Havcristen. We discovered Duke Mettius Fla Agonix secretly sponsored Imperial terrorist cells throughout the region, helping Fabius with logistics. Also, we found high-ranking Adventurers helping. Ironically, we knew this information thanks to no other than from Lashin himself. He tipped off us as part of his plan to lay low from the recent raid of NATO on his people''

"After our raid, we discovered a list of locations and names of people throughout the region. We passed that knowledge to the regional command, and since then, they have been destroying these terrorist cells. So far, ten cells have been dismantled. It looks like we are getting a handle on these die-hard loyalists."

"We have taken all the major population centers in the region except for one, Thaluilas," Green said and points. "It is one of the few Elvish cities, ruled by an Elf Count. We have been bombing targets of interest, hoping they would just surrender however the city has proven harder to break. It seems Fabius has convinced them that it is worth staying in the fight."

"That makes sense," Shandy said. "Thaluilas was once the capital of elf kingdom long ago. Four hundred years ago, they agreed to join the Empire if they can maintain their nobility. Because of your people, hostility to nobility and royalty, the Count and its nobility might be worried about losing their power. Very few elves have been able to move up the Imperial Ranks, but those who do are highly respected. They might not like what to give that up without a fight."

The point Shandy made surprised Sarah by that it made clear sense. It is human nature to pass up better opportunities to keep what they currently have. For example, that is why you see people who stay at the same job they hate. They rather keep the job as they live in a lousy home because they know they have it, so there is no risk. Getting a new job or finding a new place to live can be risky, so people might not want to risk that.

For the elves in Thaluilas, they had a right place in the world; switching sides might be too much of a risk, so they think. However, if NATO takes the city, then they could lose everything. Catch-22 for them. For Sarah, she doesn't care. That is their problem. The fact that they are still fighting will mean they might be replaced with a friendly puppet elf but only the future knows.

"That is a good point Shandy," Sarah said. "But they made their choice. We made deals with many kingdoms and City-States to allow them to keep the current power struggle. If they want to change, that is fine, but we are not interested in regime change with anyone who wants to help us."

"One last thing, rumors have it that the head commander of the Elies theater, Lieutenant General Adam Young, has a big operation planned," Sarah added. "I will provide information when I get more."

The slide then moves to the Ligas Mountain Range.

"As you know, the key reason why we did not just level Legrath was that we wanted its strategic location," Sarah said, pointing to the fortress. "After taking it, NATO has been reconstructing the fortress to allow our forces to use it. Outside of the terrorist threat, taking the fortress has prevented the enemy from conducting incursions into our territory and has allowed us a springboard to attack."

"Two months ago, we began pushing south. The Turkish Army has been moving down the west coast while the US and Japanese are moving down the east. We cleared out the nearby mountains."

"Unlike the other territories we have invaded, this region is different," Green said. "We are invading the Western Swestuals Kingdoms. They are a loose confederation of demi-humans and Darklings that the Empire forces together who are led by Empress Famulis. So far, we have been fighting goblins, orcs, trolls, all sorts of beasts."

"Thanks to Ambassador Nater Da Akilu, we have made big inroads with the local population in Elies," Sarah said. "Part of the treaties we signed recently, we agreed to continue protecting them from the horde. As Part of the agreement, we have to start to push the demi-humans farther away. If we can show we can protect them, the Counts agree to end hostility."

"The catch is, we are not trying to create more enemies," Sarah said. "We learned that not all demi-humans are evil. For example, Mentiv, the batgirl. That is why we created the group Darklings. Our objective is to purge the demi-humans like goblins and trolls and create safe zones for the common races and Darklings."

Kent raises his hand. "So, the US is still continuing the extermination policy against goblins? I just want to be clear."

"Has your research found any way of coexistence?"

"My research shows no," Kent said. "Most of them are just monsters, living off pure instincts like animals. Some can talk, can do tribal governance, but that is it. That doesn't mean they are interested in coexistence. It seems in most fantasy goblins are just rapist bastards, ogres want to eat us, and it gets worse from there."

"It took the full might of the Empire and multiple wars to put down the demi-human threat," Shandy said. "The most well-known war was the thirty-year war. It is one of the reasons why the Empire is too militaristic, because of them."

"As of now, our goal is to continue purging these races until they are far enough from our lands," Sarah said. "We won't tolerate these types of attacks against our people. We need people to manage the land, which is why we want to make inroads with the Darklings in the region. If we can convince the civilized Darklings to join us, like Mentiv, then we believe we could end this threat once and for all."

"Oh yea, there is something I need to mention. Based on several intel my group stole during the raid, it seems that the League is having trouble figuring out how your weapons work, and they start to show signs of giving up," Tyuule said as she explained her report with Stanford and CIA before that.

During the Second Raid of Sadera, Tyuule and some of her team members were asked by agent James Gracia to take advantage of the fighting to sneak into the Royal Palace to steal some vital intel, which is out of CIA and MI6 reach. After retrieving the intel, Tyuule freed the catgirl, the personal slave of Zorzal, to spike him.

The intel retrieved by Tyuule reveals necessary military plans, including significant locations and movements of imperial force in all regions, essential figures in the Falmart League, and intelligence activities of the Oprichnina and the League's allies. However, the most intriguing fact is the imperial's attempt to replicate captured NATO guns from dead patrol troops killed by Taylin and his ambushed force or dead NATO soldiers in other battlefields.

"Even with the best Imperial and Dwarven engineers, craftsmen, and mages, it's gonna take them decades to even figure out how to make a matchlock gun. Besides, I highly doubt that they even figure out the materials to make up the guns or the guns' deep mechanism since our weapons are far more complex than any swords, bow, or crossbows! Heck, even if they read the whole book of Physics 101, it is still not enough," Sarah states

“Becare with wishful thinking like that sirs,” Kent said. “The ancient Greeks had the first computer and the Romans had the first steam engine. Not saying the enemy will catch up tech wise but don’t let hubris consume you.”

“Kent is correct,” Sarah said. “Always keep your team safe and always find the most up to date information you can. You never know what this world will throw at us.”

"Besides, they don't even have tools or infrastructure to make guns and bullets. So before they want to make guns, they need to figure out the appropriate tools and means to manufacture guns and bullets in the first place. Finally, having guns doesn't mean game-changing since we have bigger guns, tactics, training, and so on," Hill adds.

"Furthermore, I bet that a lot of Imperial engineers and craftsmen are gonna get crippling injuries or killing themselves since firearms, if not handled carefully, will backfire horribly on users. Those poor fools don't realize that to study those firearms, they need to learn the safety manual first," April states.

"By the way, has DARPA tackled the problem of thick bulletproof Parabacel armor that Zorzal wore and potentially being equipped by Imperial force in the future?" Hill asks

"Well, it has only been a few days, so research will take time," April answered. "But the helmet that Pina collected has proven useful. 5.56mm only dents the armor, and by the time it finally punches through, it is too late. 6.8m or 7.62mm should do it.

"Then we should start equipping the Rangers with the new Assault Rifle," Sarah said. "M5 6.8mm SIG rifle. We also have been fighting tougher enemies, so the increased firepower should help our boys on the field."

---Alnus airbase---

"The performance testing was a success, gentlemen! I think we can negotiate for a production plan now," Dennis Muilenburg, executive of Boeing.

"Excellent! We can finally start to retire the Blackhawk now!!" Stanford states as he looks at the new helicopter in the landing bay.

"Hope this baby can resist some lightning bolt from sky magic; we don't want another Black Hawk Down," Sharpe states as he looks at the aircraft.

The aircraft everyone is looking at is no other than the Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant X.