Burning just over the horizon, the late-afternoon sun beamed upon the ocean making it look like an oil painting; pink-orange hues painted both the salty waters and the small port that awaited nearby. On nearby beaches, birds broke free and flocked in the colored sky, white-black feathers occasionally broke free from their wings and descended towards the occupied grounds bellow.

Trampling over the dampened-muddy ground, and scattered sand dunes and divots, members of the 5th Garrison Guard comprising of 200 knights and 1000 soldiers rushed towards a defensive line established not twenty minutes ago. Knights rushed to organize the soldiers under their command, as support units moved to the rear with food and water.

Many of the soldiers that stood ready, and waiting were nothing more than conscripts and poorly trained volunteers. Due to the nature of the city, they occupied, members of the Royal Guard and the 12th Mountaineering Corps were tasked with the defense of Bishmark, yet due to recent sightings of monsters in the nearby forest, their response time would be delayed up to a day.

Over a vast clear field, flashes of light kept a steady tempo. What appeared to be mages repeatedly fired different types of ranged elemental attacks. The unrelenting fire prevented any noteworthy pushbacks from the 5th Garrison, with some even getting hit by direct fire and shrapnel causing a large number of casualties, numbering up to 45. Many of the poorly equipped soldiers were mutilated or laid dead as others scrambled to find cover within the formation they held.

“Fire to the left! Evade the left!”

In the middle of the defensive line, a small contingent of 50 soldiers huddled behind a small makeshift barricade that had been hastily set up under the constant fire of elemental spells. Similar barricades had been established all over the line stretching for a half kilometer in a semi-circle against the attacking force.

“Stay behind cover. Stay alive for the King!” One of the three knights apart of the group, Marco Politer shouted as he focused on the maimed man.

“Heal him and get back here!” The second knight Anne Rena screamed as another wave of bolts of fire slammed into a large collection of rocks she hid behind. The embers spread to the barren ground just behind her.

“Don’t move dammit!” Finally, the third and final knight, Eugene Fritz directed a group of bold soldiers under his command as they attempted to push forward under the constant fire.

Only one of the three, Marco Politer, had any combat experience and was considered ‘decorated’ among his peers. He had only participated in a single campaign against rouge elements through the kingdom during the last revolution, yet his powers alone unlike the others made him a valuable asset to the kingdom. His light magic granted him the ability to perform lifesaving healing on the battlefield, and it wasn’t long before he had gained seniority amongst his fellow knights.

As he healed his patient’s arm, he noticed a single boy laying against the ground. Though he laid motionless and far from any cover, the boy held firm as he made his body as small as a target as possible as the enemy spells zeroed on his position in the burning sunlight.

A large flash of light and fire pierced the ground just in front of the boy, and a mixture of sand and dirt flew all over the boy’s tunic. Snapping to reality the boy crawled against the ground as he closed the distance between himself and a small collection of crates no less than twelve meters ahead.

“Get your ass to the rear!” Marco bellowed as he reached out an arm towards the boy.

Another explosion came from the left side of the makeshift wall, leading it to rupture sending shards of wood and clouds of dirt in the air. Just behind the cover, three soldiers were impaled by shards of wood, or their skin was burnt by the high temperatures created by the accurate spells being used.

Reaching the boxes, Marco was bewildered how the boy had survived the constant fire with little to no caution. His survival was an enigma to the healer, yet he hadn’t received the proper time to theorize how the boy survived due to keeping his head down as another wave of fire hit the grounds less than two meters from his position of cover.

The smell of blood, iron, and burning wood clogged Marco’s nostrils.

“We need to push forward!” A soldier yelled out to the knights. “There fire is slowing! Now’s our chance for a counterattack!”

“No! Wait!” Eugene screeched as his soldiers moved forward under the light fire.

Several explosions emanated from the ground around the men. Marco couldn’t tell which explosion target who, but he knew a man had fallen due to a large cloud of blood and sand shooting into the air.

Tensing and snapping into readiness, Marco sharpened himself as he emerged from his cover ignoring the constant screams of the other two knights behind him. The nine seconds he ran in the open, it almost felt like an eternity as the fire intensified. A flush of wind brushed against his uniform and the cries of his brothers-in-arms echoed in his mind. His footsteps remained heavy, his heart pounded against his chest, and his head felt light as he pushed forward with all his might to the soldiers under his command no less than twenty meters ahead.

The salty air made his mouth water and his eyes sting. He pushed with all his might as another solider under his command collapsed to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his neck.

His eyes widened and his foot landed incorrectly on the ground. Launching face-first onto the ground, Marco quickly rubbed the dirt of his face as he watched a second group of men run forward under fire. Three of them were cut down under an enormous barrage of arrows. One of the men had a cavity in his head as an arrow passed through his scull spreading brain matter through the exit wound.

Crawling up to a small rock where a pile of bodies laid, Marco kept pace as his legs, arms, and chest burned, and his mind remained clouded. Like the boy he once observed, he was lucky. He saw the remaining members of the second group successfully push to a collection of rocks at the cost of one of the men being wounded.

Though that wouldn’t be a problem for long. Several large projectiles of red, black, and orange orbs flew straight into the rocks, with the black orb exploding above the men. A large dust cloud emanated from the contact point and in the clearing dust what remained was the mere body parts, torn-burnt clothing, and a puddle of red sludge covering the dirt and sand.

“Devil!”

Snapping his head up, Marco forced out a cough as he felt a sudden pressure on his abdomen. As laid on the ground his body began to shake as he saw a man with a pike about to pierce his stomach. Thousands of thoughts ran through his head. Why was he being attacked by a human? Why did the man call him ‘Devil’? Was he about to die?

Before the man could lunge forward, Eugene rushed forward and pierced his sword through the heart of the man killing him instantly.

“Marco!” Eugene shouted as he pulled him off the ground, “You okay!?”

“Y-yeah!” Marco said rubbing his blood-stained hands on his trousers.

“Urghaa!”

Before the knights could collect themselves, a man emerged around the collection of rocks and rushed towards them wielding a pike. Before he could reach the two, an arrow pierced the man’s neck.

“Marco, Eugene!” Knight Anne rushed forward with her bow in hand. Grabbing the two by the top of their tunics, she forced them to the ground as a rush of friendly soldiers rushed forward while several while magic spells were casted by mages back at the defensive line.

“What’s happening?” Eugene said as he looked towards the friendly forces pushing the hostile attackers near the opposite side of the battlefield.

“Reinforcements from the 12th Mountaineering Corps along with “specialists” from the Royal Guard have arrived!” Anne said as she pointed out a group of eight surrounded by Royal Guards moving up to the front lines. “Those eight alerted the nearby troops!” She said excitedly.

“They are our saviors?” Marco questioned as he stared at the collection of bodies right in front of him.

“It would’ve been worse if they didn’t come!” Eugene said trying to examine the “Specialists” in the distance. “They’re the professionals. After all, people running with the Royal Guard is something not to be trifled with.”

Marco looked over his shoulder and noticed the group of eight rapidly approaching them with two of the Royal Guardsmen pointing at them with surprised expressions. Both familiar and unfamiliar boots made tracks in the mud and sand as they ran swiftly to their location.

With the Guardsmen fanning out to secure the area, what looed to be the leader of the eight, a man wearing an unfamiliar helmet and vest, knelt down alongside the three.

“You guys okay!?” He said while motioning a man and woman behind him to the front, “Shell shocked. Sergeant, get your first-aid, one on the left has a cut on his arm!”

With the advent of night approaching rapidly, the man lowered an oddly colored satchel from his belt and pulled out what looked to be a pristine looking bandage.

“I need you!” The man said while pointing at Eugene. Applying the bandage to Eugene’s arm, Marco spoke up with a hesitant voice.

“Who are you people?”

Gaining the attention of the silver-haired woman, Marco found a hand on his shoulder as she spoke to him in a calm-reassuring voice, “We’re specialists from the capital city.” She said. “The Royal Guard and Mountaineering Corps will take care of the counter-attack, we’re just here to document the damage done by the attackers.”

“What do we do know?”

A flock of black colored birds flew in formation ahead of the storming soldiers. The screams of the enemies blew over the fields with the moonlight highlighting the piles of bodies spread across the lands just outside of the “Crown Jewel”.

Members of the Royal Guard came across mutilated-yet alive soldiers, and unrecognizable bodies. For those unfortunate, their lives were snuffed out, as several guardsmen were forced to euthanize their brothers to save them.

“Come with us.” The woman said reaching her hand out. “We need your held saving your fellow people.”

Publicly Available Information: Jacob Simon’s Journal Entry #13:

I don’t know who will read this, but it is important that these words get written down.

My name is Jonas Simon, I’m a Private First Class, and I am apart of the United States Army 75th Ranger Regiment. Well, perhaps I should retract that last statement. Though I am still a Ranger, I am no longer on Earth. The place I am in is known as the “Kingdom of Yondel” on an unknown planet. This place is unlike Earth. Everything seems to be flipped on its head; magic exists, science is a mere afterthought, the world is like a medieval show, and things I don’t know how to describe just, exist.

It was during our mission in Pakistan. The mission to eliminate a gunrunner in Peshawar went sideways. Not only did the strike team comprised of Delta operators and Pakistani SSG got killed in combat, but two of our own, Jackson and Ramirez were also killed in action. During our escape from the city, communications were subsequently eliminated, and a full spectrum blackout prevented us from contacting any friendly coalition forces. Not only did this prevent us from calling in a MEDIVAC or CASEVAC, but we couldn’t get a ride out.

I lied, we did get a ride, just not to a place I ever wanted to be.

Either way the current situation my and the others are in is not good. What looks to be a whole fucking army waiting to strike the city were in, Bishmark, is preventing us from leaving this fucking country. The only reason why I am writing is due to the Princess. (She seems to be fond of a certain someone, I wish him luck.) She’s coordinating a response team with two other units outside of the city, but I fear it won’t be enough to mitigate to damage to the city.

My hope is that I live long enough to burn this journal, but I would still be opened minded to someone reading it if I get killed in the future.

Well… I don’t have any more words for now.

I love you Cassidy, take care of dad for me, okay?

END OF VOLUME 2.