The Battle between both sides had gotten pretty heated. Bullets were flying left and right without the distinction of friend or foe. Both sides were doing their best to subdue the other side. As both sides were fighting for their lives.

From an overview, it might have looked like that the fight had reached a stalemate to others but with the passage of time, it was becoming apparent who was winning and who was losing. The terrorists were more in numbers than the soldiers. They had a lot of supplies and ammunition which was helping them tip the scales in their favor.

Shepherd couldn't help but feel anxious at the moment. They were losing the fight, men, by men and bullet by bullet, as time passed. They had fewer men than their enemies. Soldiers had been injured, tired, and were out of the fight for good.

The injured were being given first aid treatment but it was clearly not enough. These men were beyond simple bandages and first aid, they needed to be taken to a proper hospital and fast. Even the remaining men that were able to fight and were fighting, were now on their last legs. Their ammo was about to run out as they were running low.

'Is this ditch going to be our grave? Am I going to die here without knowing just who it was that betrayed us? If only I could get my hands on that bastard then there will be hell to pay. As long as I can avenge my soldiers I will die happy.'

Shepherd was fighting with an injured arm, shoulder, and a few cuts and bruises which might have halted his performance. But the anger and adrenaline that was boosting through his veins had made him numb to his pain right now. Which helped him fight even with an injured arm and shoulder.

The constant noise of bullets firing, grenades exploding near them, and moans of the injured dying men had become a constant on the battlefield. It was like these sounds were being played in a loop, over and over. The sound of nature in the forest had completely faded away in this noise.

The enemy had gotten quite close to them and had encircled them. They were pinning them down and had them surrounded on all sides. The ammo was almost over. Shepherd had only one magazine left. Now it was only a matter of time before they would be killed in action.

Then suddenly the rhythm of the sound changed as a new sound entered the fray. The whirring chopper blades could be heard from a long distance. At first, they could not hear it as the constant noise had made their ears ring nonstop.

They thought that their ears were maybe ringing again. They were filled with joy when the chopper finally appeared in their sights. A single shot came from the chopper and hit an insurgent that had gotten awfully close to them. Shepherd's comms produced a static as a smile appeared on his face.

"Help is here boys! Shepherd, round your men up It's time to go home."

"You are a sight for sore eyes Alpha. You kept us waiting long enough now get down here and let's get out of here." Shepherd yelled into his comms in delight. Help was here now he could take his men home safe and sound.

Shepherd was not the only one feeling happy at the moment. As the chopper got near them the wind from the blades produced felt like a blow of cold air from an AC, which helped lower the temperature of the area. The cold wind from the chopper felt like ice on the heated-up skin of the soldiers, as they felt invigorated.

They were filled with delight as morale was rising up like the sound of the chopper was getting closer and louder. They soon got up on their feet and pushed themselves beyond their limit. This was the last push and now they would be finally able to go home. They needed to give it their best effort.

As the chopper got near them they could see Alpha that had personally come to save them. He was standing at the door of the chopper with a machine gun in his hand providing cover fire for their retreat.

Shepherd ordered John to lead the evacuation and he would watch their back. John and James started helping the injured in the chopper first, followed by the rest of the squad.

A single insurgent was lying a few feet away from the ongoing evacuation. He was injured and could not move that well. He was seeing these people that had come out of nowhere and had killed so many of his friends.

He was furious that they would be able to leave here without paying back for his friend's blood. These men were about to leave and he was not having it. He wanted them to pay for what they had done even though it was them who lay a trap for them. But in his eyes he was right and these soldiers were in the wrong.

'We planned everything to a tee. You were supposed to die at our hands today but you want to escape after killing so many of our men. Well, think again.'

He mustered all his courage and with his one working hand picked up his gun and aimed at the few remaining soldiers. They were about to leave and he could not really take proper aim. He just held his gun in their direction and fired.

All the soldiers had been evacuated and only John, James, and Shepherd had been left. James got up the chopper and was waiting for them. John got up the chopper but when he turned around to face Shepherd all he saw was a splash of blood in front of his face as a bullet hit Shepherd's temple.

Shepherd was hit out of nowhere and went down almost immediately. The last sight he saw was Alpha and John running towards him shouting his name and then darkness took over him as he took his last breath on that ominous day.

***************

The king stood up from his throne and walked towards the place his subordinates had set up for him. This was an area in his throne room that had been set up for the summoning. This place was big enough to attempt summoning and was closed enough to be hidden from prying eyes. Now it was time to summon their Hero.

There were different types of symbols drawn on the floor right next to where the king stood. There were many different types of figures drawn on the floor, every symbol different from the other. On the edges of the symbols, there were eight stones placed on the floor.

These stones were of different shapes and were glowing in different colors. These stones were placed over the murals drawn on the floor and on the edges, making a circular design with the stones.

The king took off his knife from his waist and slit his finger making blood overflow. Then he went to each of the stones on the floor and with his blood started drawing symbols on them. These symbols were somewhat similar to the symbols on the floor. He started on one end and went to the other side drawing on each of the stones placed there, as he went around the circle.

These were mana stones of the highest quality. These stones were enriched with mana and were brought here to be used in the ceremony. The summoning magic required a lot of mana and from each element, which the king did not have.

So to make up for that insufficiency these mana stones were being used. The king drew symbols with blood on them to bind them to him and use this mana to perform the summoning magic.

After binding the mana stones to himself he began chanting the spell to summon the hero. The people that were present in this ceremony were watching the whole ordeal with great interest. They were witnessing ancient magic being cast for the first time. The magic that they would never live to see being used again in their lifetime.

As the king was chanting the mana stones started glowing brighter than they were before. The different colored lights in the stones soon turned from a glow to flickering until they stopped flashing and were lit up brightly.

Slowly the ground started to shake under their feet. The night sky darkened as the moon hid behind thick thunderous clouds. The sky rumbled with thunder and flashes of lightning could be seen.

The temperature of the room decreased and the air got chilly making them shudder in cold. The stones started to darken as the symbols on the floor began to fill up with light. The king was sweating his ears off but he did not stop chanting. They had expected something like this to happen after all they were casting ancient magic.

The lights were getting brighter and brighter by the second until one big blinding flash occurred making them unable to see when a body appeared out of nowhere on the ground. In the middle of the drawings, a body lay of a soldier, martyred in a mission trying to help his men.