“This is Anvil 6 to all Anvil and Raindancer elements; Be advised, all Vanguard units have taken off from the FOB. The mission is a go. I say again, the mission is a go. All tanks and artillery proceed to Objective Alter and rendezvous with Hunter. Immediately provide support for them when we get there. Remember, we must cause the mother of a ruckus to lure as many Imps away from the castle. Advance and engage any enemies you see. We are weapons free, Over.”

“Anvil 6, this is Anvil 2-1. Roger that. Interrogative, what’s our ROE in the AO? Over.”

“Anvil 6 to 2-1, ISTAR has triple-checked that our AO all the way to the castle is devoid of any civvies. It was practically empty before, and all it took for the stubbornness to finally get out of dodge was the news of our tanks on the horizon with a couple of surgical airstrikes, so any civilians left are currently huddled at the other side of Sadera trying to flee. So, any infantry you see not bearing any allied units’ markings is fair game. Over.”

“Hell yeah! Finally, I get to drop some ‘Steel Rain’ on Sadera!”

“That’s affirmative, Raindancer 1-3. Now shut your chatter and get your head in the game! And that goes for all of you! We do this right, and we end this war. Right here, right now. Lock and load, it’s game time!”

***

--- Final approach to Sadera, Alcatraz Region ---

Date: August 7th, 2026

With a sudden strong wind impacting the Blackhawk, Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe had to grab the handle to balance himself from the turbulence. This gave him a good view of the helicopter window. All around were the 160th Night Stalkers transporting other Vanguard Rangers into battle; ready to storm the enemy capital city of Sadera. As part of the first wave, their goal was to establish a beachhead and secure strategic points at the Royal District for the second wave to arrive. After, Empress Pina Co Lada and the second wave, would launch a full-scale assault against the throne room to either capture or eliminate the leadership of the League.

With the completion of the highway through the Dumas Mountains and the total annihilation of the last remaining League force in the mountain range, along with the death of General Hasulo, there was nothing left the Falmart League could do to stop NATO armor and mechanized forces. Securing the other side of the mountain range was swift. The issue before was not that NATO couldn’t attack the cities east of Dumas but hold them. Without a land route to supply and provide armored support, any assault force would struggle to hold long-term from any counterattack and insurgencies. Early in the war, the US gained full control of the terms of engagement as it was deemed not willing to put itself in a disadvantageous position when they could be far more aggressive and inflict more damage against the Empire elsewhere. Not until the full weight could be brought onto the city.

After taking the city of Daduale, an Air Assault focused FOB was quickly established to allow the 101st and 75th Rangers to strike the attacks against the city without needing an inflight refuel like was needed the previous times. Twelve helicopters headed directly for the Royal District.

"I wonder what will happen after this?" Rory mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Sharpe asked.

"I mean…, I am going to miss going on all these adventures," Rory said. "Meeting you guys at that forest was the best thing that has happened to me in centuries, it has been so much fun."

“Say for yourself,” Alicia said. “Since we met Rory, we have all been in more near-death situations, even a cat would lose all their nine lives.” Hearing her joke, her fellow Rangers chuckled throughout the Blackhawk.

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Sharpe asked again.

"I do not know," Rory said, poking her index fingers together. "I guess it just hit me. I knew this day would come. It’s just weird that it's finally happening."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Sharpe said. "All wars do end, but history tells us that the work rarely ends there. I talked with Colonel Yang, and he said the Vanguard program is going to be split off from the rest of the 75th into its unit with the intent of assisting in the post-war peacekeeping and stabilization effort. That means there are plenty more adventures to come."

This topic wasn’t recently brought up. It had been brought up at the onset of the war, maybe even when the war was declared. The Iraq War gave a valuable lesson to American leaders and military leaders in NATO that post-war is as important as the war itself. It didn’t take a year for the Coalition Forces to capture Baghdad and capture Saddam Hussein, but the real struggle was the insurgency that happened after. And this time, the President, her cabinet, and the military leaders had planned. Supporting Pina’s regime was merely one of them, and the Vanguard program would not be the last. For they were not naive enough to think that those alone would be enough to bring stabilization back in the region.

After explaining, Sharpe saw Rory’s face glows up in excitement. Satisfied with bringing back her mood, Sharpe heard an announcement from the Black Hawk’s crew chief on his radio. “All Vanguard teams, be advised. We are rapidly approaching Sadera and are five mikes out from the LZ Juneau. I say again, we are five mikes away from the LZ. Everybody check your gear, and prepare to dismount!”

Hearing the announcement, all the Rangers prepared their weapons, doing final checks of their equipment in near sync.

“Hey! Do you guys see that?” Scott asked, leaning out the window.

“No, what?” Andrew asked.

“Wait, I see it,” Alicia said. “Those flashes over there just outside the city. They are very colorful.”

“Those must be magic attacks from Imperial mages,” Lelei explained. “They must be trying to stop your ground assault before reaching the city wall knowing it could easily breach it. But… I do not know what those white flashes are.”

Specialist Daniel Chapman laughed and then said, “I am no magical expert like sweetheart here but if I was a betting man, I would assume that is 120mm and 155mm fire.”

The unit laughed as they realized the joke.

Sharpe glanced toward Lelei, noticing the confused look on her face. “He means tanks and artillery are blowing up enemy positions.”

“Oh…, why did he not just say that then?” Lelei asked with confusion.

Sharpe then looked toward Rory and the two shook their heads from Lelei's lack of understanding humor. But he was mainly thrilled that everyone was in high spirits and ready. They all should be. Unlike the other times, they came to this city, this time they are here for the kill.

“Whoa!” Scott suddenly exclaimed as Sharpe and the rest of the Rangers immediately turned to see the cause of the commotion. Everyone onboard the Black Hawk looked outside and saw a series of explosions going off at around the same place where they saw the artillery hit before.

“What was that one?” Scott asked again.

“‘Steel Rain’,” Sharpe said. “HIMARS dropping cluster munitions and GMLRS. You just can’t mistake that view for anything else.”

“The Battlefield Buckshot.” Alicia blurted out. “If there are any Imps not afraid of seeing that raining down on them and still live, I’d say they deserve some beers.” Alicia joked again. Shifting his view, Sharpe saw their escort Apache attack an unknown target. Probably some type of ballistic weapon. While no match against a moving target like the Apache, it still posed a serious threat to a stationary target like a Blackhawk offloading.

As the Blackhawk moved into position, the rope dropped. One by one the Rangers slid down and secured the area. There was rubble and debris scattered across the intersection with destroyed buildings all around that provided excellent cover for the Rangers. Unfortunately, it served to hide enemy archers and mages as each other engaged one another. To stop the incoming arrows and magic blasts, Lelei cast a protection spell, providing a mana barrier over the group.

The enemy attacks so far had been disorganized. Without knowing where the Rangers were going to land, the Empire wouldn’t be able to set up a proper defense so only a few trickled at a time up to this point.

As they began to clear the landing zone, they noticed that the ones coming forward wore nothing but drags. They looked like slaves, tightly clutching onto the meager and rusted weapons they were given. Fear had shrouded their faces, but they were still determined.

“Stop, drop your weapons and move to the side,” Andrew ordered. “Move, and you won’t be harmed.”

The slaves ignored the warnings, they moved forward, some shaking violently, knowing what fate awaited them. ‘It was a sickening sight,’ Sharpe thought. Forcing their own slaves to fight in this pointless war was barbaric. Not knowing what they were promised or offered, he knew they had to be taken care of. Sharpe knew that they wouldn’t pose much of a threat, but it was only a matter of time before a more organized counterattack would come so he needed to get going now. He gave his final warning before, with a heavy heart, gave his order to cut them down.

“Sir,” Alicia said, breaking Sharpe’s gaze from the horrific sight. “I got word from the other Vanguard teams that have touched down. All sections had met little resistance, mostly slaves it looks like, but areas have been secured and Rose Knights are inbound.”

Sharpe shuddered but was slightly confused on that piece of information but pushing the thought behind, he acknowledged the update, he responded, “Good. Tell all teams to proceed. Sergeant Major, prepare the men to move out. Lelei, maintain the protection field and attack only if necessary to reserve your mana reserve when we deal with Famulis and Apostles. Rory will take point.”

Once the team formed, they followed behind Rory and headed to the Royal Palace Plaza.

This was the team's fourth time being in the city. However, this time felt different. Usually, the city was buzzing with life, even at night. This time, it felt lifeless. While moving through the broken stone and marble streets felt like deja vu for the Rangers. There was a soulless fear in the air, and no one knew if it was from their attack or something else.

According to the after-action reports for the past few months, most civilians had fled the city from the military and economic attacks from both Army and Air Force missile bombardments. Something everyone could see. The damage was so immense that the once proud buildings were now in rubble, littering the streets.

“Vanguard-7, this is Vanguard-Actual,” Sarah said. “All teams are engaged. IRS showed that Airborne had successfully blocked Imperial reinforcements from entering the Royal District. Vanguard-5 and Blitzing Death have already broken into the east side and are about to capture or eliminate the military and Oprichnina leadership. You will also regroup with Vanguard-2 in about five mikes. Break, Imperialists are forming a large shield wall ahead of you.”

“As expected, Actual,” Sharpe said. “Thank you and out.”

As Vanguard-7 approached their destination, Sharpe saw the shield wall of enemy infantry that Sarah mentioned. The Rangers that were on point stopped to engage the enemy force. Scott with his M250 machine gun tore through the shields like butter while Frost, Sofia, and Andrew picked everyone who remained off.

“Standby,” Sarah said. “The shield wall you are engaging in was a delaying force. IRS shows that the enemy is gathering behind the royal gate. It seems like they are ready for you.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Sharpe said. “Rory, move ahead and secure the plaza. Secure that landing zone but don’t overextend.”

“Roger that, tiger,” Rory said with a satanic giggle. She then leaped over the Rangers, landing on a roof, and then jumped onto the wall, heading over.

According to history, around this time is when an Apostle would appear to cause trouble. There was always some trick that threw everything off. Sharpe requested an update on all teams, asking if anyone noticed any Apostles, which all teams reported negative. He found this confusing but welcomed the news. However, the Rangers were still cautious since Taylin or Mabel might pop up somewhere.

The rest of the Rangers continued their advancement. The sound of weapon fire from the other teams echoed in the surrounding area can be heard with all the support assist like close air support.

Sharpe noticed Andrew had stopped, gazing toward the city. He also stopped and saw the battle raging below. According to his VISOR, it must be the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cav with one of the Pepreos 8th and 14th Reformed Legion. While the Airborne mission was to secure key points, those forces assaulted the front door. It seems like NATO forces were making strong gains in the city, dividing the enemy.

"That should keep the Imperialists busy," Randy said.

"Agreed," Sharpe replied. "But we cannot slow down now. I don't want to miss our objective because of some random secret passage, ambushes, or any other surprise."

Hearing Vanguard-2 battling the enemy, the Rangers quickly moved forward, neutralizing any resistance that stood in their way. Like before, there was much building rubble scattered throughout the streets that they had to climb over. Some seem recent while others seem to have collapsed long ago.

Once reaching the end of the road, Sharpe saw that the other Vanguard team had already secured the outer perimeter of the royal gate. Among them was Rory Mercury, standing above a half dozen corpses.

“Report,” Sharpe asked the approaching Johnson.

“We arrived a few minutes ago,” Johnson said. “Their defenses seem to be all over the place.”

“Not like the first time we came here,” Sharpe added.

Being over a year ago, the first time the Rangers assaulted the city the battle was intense. Enemies were everywhere, nearly losing all their air support from a mage. A few of the Rangers died and many more were wounded all in the name of saving six people. He, himself, nearly lost his life to Taylin. The only thing that got them through that night was their professional training and being the best warriors of the two worlds.

“Anything else?” Sharpe asked.

“We already tried to break down the gate,” Johnson added. “It seems that they reinforced it with both steel and magic.”

“Rory.” Sharpe shouted as he looked toward the Gate that had been heavily reinforced and imbued with tons of protective runes. “Here is the plan. Prepare the recoilless rifle and blow the door. When the knights arrive. They storm in and I want the Rangers to provide cover. Then both groups will leapfrog until we reach the throne room. I do not want anyone to stop until we get there. Number one priority is to reach the leadership.”

The Rangers took cover by some rubble and buildings while the Rangers took cover by buildings in the rear. Archers took position on the wall, trying to pick off anyone they could so they became a priority target.

Specialist Daniel Chapman grabbed the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and once everyone was clear, he fired. The rocket blew the door wide open.

As the Gate fell to the ground, a cannonball cut through the smoke. The cannonball crashed through a pillar on the plaza and impacted a building, exploding into an inferno. The side of the building was engulfed in flames, slowly consuming the entire building.

As Randy worked on getting their Rangers out of the burning building, Sharpe remembered of the recent stories during the Dumas Mountain Campaign and during the raid on Outpost Romesha (1) about magically enchanted artillery weapons developed by Dwarves and Rondel mages, and later, Darlko. Lelei assumed the cannonball was enchanted with a fire rune, however, she had no idea how the Empire developed it, being a new level of enchanted development.

"Johnson, secure the gate," Sharpe ordered. "Jerry, casualties?"

"All alive," Jerry said. "Some are just dusty and hearing ringing."

"Good," Sharpe said before pointing toward Lelei. "Lelei, return fire with fire. Alicia, call in air support and take out that cannon. Everyone, cover her!"

“On it!”, Lelei said as she leaped toward the gate.

Rifle sounds echoed from both teams as they attempted to secure the royal gate. The Royal Guard launched a counterattack, trying to recapture the plaza. With Tuka’s flame wave spell, it stopped them in their tracks before another mage countered her flames with water.

Standing in front of the gate, Lelei generated a powerful magnetic field, which when the cannon fired its second shot, the cannonball was redirected away from the plaza. This allowed an Apache attack helicopter to swoop in and take out the cannon with a hellfire missile.

“Cannon down, tell the second wave to land,” Sharpe ordered.

With the plaza and gate secure, Sharpe gave the order for Pina force to land.

---

Watching the battle below from the back of the Chinook, Pina watched NATO aggressors and the League defender’s clash.

While she couldn't see the flow of the battle, it was clear the enemy was using the destruction of the once glorious city as cover to lure NATO closer. Even though the League was entrenched, Pina was impressed with how much progress NATO and General Pepreos had made.

Noticing her best friend, Bozes, approaching, Pina said, "We are finally home. It feels like forever since we have been here, but we are finally home."

"Yes, we are my Empress," Bozes replied. "And this time, we will not be fleeing. We will reclaim our home and build a better future. But I will say, I do not enjoy watching our beautiful city crumble like this."

Unable to respond, Pina looked out at her once-beautiful home. Even though she is at war with the city, in her heart she had never stopped loving it. She could only hope that she could rebuild the city to its new glory once the war ends. She even dreamed that she could build the capital to one day rival that of Washington D.C. or London.

As she dreams, she sees a familiar face approaching her and looks at the city.

“Good to have you join us, Fraira,” Pina said to her former knight, whom she had wronged long ago.

“I don’t do it for you, Empress,” Fraira replied. “I joined this operation because it is my duty, it is where they want me. As I said a dozen times before, I will not rejoin your Rose Knights. The Legrath Knights gave me a home and I am not betraying that.”

“I know,” Pina said. “I should not have kicked you out of the Knights and I can not fix the past. There is a lot I would fix if I could. But I am just happy that we can do this together and I hope after this is over that we can start over.”

“We will see,” Fraira said. “But…, once everything is over maybe, we could find a way to restart. New era, new start.”

Hearing the pilot say that they were on their final approach, the Chinook slowly swung around.

Below, Pina saw both Vanguard-2 and Vanguard-7 engage with the Royal Guard. Above them was an Apache that was destroying an unknown target. As the Apache flew away, the Chinook began lowering to land on the plaza. The other two Chinooks were preparing to follow them in.

While taking a deep breath, Pina felt a nervous chill rush down her spine. She turned to face her fellow warriors. A mix of Rose Knights, Legarth Knights, and handpicked elite Legionaries from Fabius’ legion for this assault; all of them stared at her.

“My fellow Republicans,” Pina said. “There was a time when all races and vassals looked upon us with respect and honor. For six hundred years, our kind stood tall and made our place throughout Falmart. We were the ones who ended the Dark Ages. We pushed back the Dark Races from the heartland.

Today, we are facing a new enemy. Unlike all our enemies of the past, this enemy is deep within us. The corruption, the dishonorable, the self-interests. As you all know, many of our leaders, leaders whom you swore an oath to fight and protect, betrayed the Empire. Betrayed our people, our families, and our original way of life and philosophies of nobility. Today… we will storm the throne and capture the ones who betrayed us! We will bring honor and glory back to our people. For the Republic!”

The warriors all cheered, chanting For the Republic.

Once the Chinook landed and the rear ramp lowered, Pina pulled out her sword and pointed to the palace. "Charge!"

Running off the ramp and stepping onto the stone plaza, she could feel the tremble from all of her warriors charging. A hundred and fifty warriors charged past the engaged Rangers, passed the shattered remains of the Royal Gate, and clashed with the Royal Guards and Talis Knights.

"Keep pushing forward," Pina ordered. "Beefeater, keep pressure on the right. Panache, get your team and secure those barracks. Bozes, on me."

Looking forward, Pina saw the Senate door. She knew it would take everything they had to take that chamber. The only thing between her and the Senators were the few defenders in between.

A guard raised his sword and swung down hard. Pina blocked the strike with her sword, being forced to step backward, she blocked two more strikes before retaking the initiative and landing a few jabs in the open sections. Utilizing her speed against his strength, she dodged the guard’s strike and slashed his unprotected leg. With the man wounded, she then quickly decapitated him. Looking up, she saw an enemy mage on the roof, which she recognized as none other than Senator and Archmage Godasen.

“You shall not go any further Pina!” Godasen shouted. “I will kill you for the Empire.”

Godasen formed a large ice ball that was hovering above the battlefield. It then cracked into smaller ice shrouds that rained over everyone, regardless of if they were friend or foe.

Seeing a few of the shrouds heading toward her, out of pure reaction she raised her shield to protect her head. Darkness suddenly blinded her as two of her Legionaries placed their large shields around her. The tips of the shrouds partly penetrated the shield, inches away.

"Thank you," Pina said. While she was saved by her men, she noticed not everyone was so lucky. Some of her Legionaries lay dead or wounded from the attack.

The Rangers provided suppressive fire against Godasen, trying to pin him down but his protection barrier deflected all the bullets.

Lelei shot a magic blast at the roof part where he stood, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Godasen tried to use a spell to cushion his fall, but he was shot dead mid-air by Yao, his lifeless corpse merely fell onto the floor.

"This is it," Pina yelled. "To the door!"

As Beefeater’s and Panache’s teams secured the flanks, Pina and Bozes led their teams forward. The few remaining Royal Guards who regrouped at the doorsteps did not last long with seven surrendering after watching Godasen’s death.

Once reaching the top of the stairs and securing the prisoners, everyone formed into a shield wall formation toward the entrance. The Empress got behind a shield, ready to storm inside.

Bozes and her Knights reached the door and placed charges. Once they cleared the thick and massive door, eight small explosions knocked out the locks and joints, causing it to fall.

"Push forward!" Pina yelled.

The Legionaries marched into the Senate chamber. A hail of arrows impacted the shields as they marched into the first line of Royal Guard defenders, which were then quickly dispatched by the long-range support by the Rangers.

Looking through a gap between the shields, Pina saw a large number of Imperial soldiers, Royal Guards, Talis Knights, Oprichnina agents, Ticaret soldiers, and other groups. Behind them, were many of the remaining Senators, Guild leaders, and some of her brother's henchmen. However, she noticed that Zorzal was missing.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I have most of the objectives besides the Emperor Zorzal and Empress Famulis," Pina reported. “I do not know where they are, however, one of them should know.”

Sharpe appeared behind Pina, within the shield wall. “Then let’s make this quick and find out.”

Seeing that enough Legionaries and Knights had entered the chamber to turn the tide in her favor, Pina gave the order. The rear troops flanked out and charged forward, engulfing the enemy.

Swordsmen from both sides clashed; the carnage of steel colliding with steel echoed throughout the chamber. Yelling and screaming were heard from the warriors who were either fighting or dying as they let out one last gasp of hope to survive.

As the Empress gave directions, she saw General Calasta Helvius and General Herm Fule Maio ganging up on Bozes so she quickly rushed over to help her friend.

As Herm swung his sword to strike Bozes from the rear, Pina blocked it with her blade. She then goes for the strike but finds her blade unable to cut through Herm’s armor.

“We have come prepared, Pina! Your blade will not penetrate our magic armor,” Herm boasted as he swung his sword.

“It is not the weapon, Herm, it is the person behind the weapon,” Pina said. “Always too busy to scream your way through the social hierarchy besides building your status with merit. That is why you will lose.”

"You are such a foolish girl, but thank you for bringing everyone in here," Herm replied with an arrogant tone. A loud roar suddenly echoed throughout the chamber. "If it is our time then we are taking you all with us."

The marble floor shook with pieces of brick from the ceiling started to fall.

Before Pina could react, a second roar echoed throughout the chamber. Then a large steel sword pierced the floor as a large beast emerged.

To her shock, Zorzal was on the back of a massive minotaur, riding and commanding the monster. What organization that the Rangers and Legionaries had went out the window as everyone took cover, dodging the giant battle ax.

The Rangers quickly reacted to the new threat. The bullets struggled to take down the massive beast as the sheer size of the monster made any damage less than a rocket launcher pointless.

“Soldiers of the Empire,” Zorzal yelled with a sadistic laugh. “Kill them all. Leave none alive.”

Pina heard Sharpe barking orders as he tried to reform both the Legionaries, Knights, and Rangers near him to counter the new threat.

Taking advantage that Sharpe would never abandon a fellow comrade, Zorzal had the minotaur stampede through anyone that was in the way, breaking the formation. The minotaur then reached down into the crowd and grabbed Sharpe.

While Pina could not hear what Zorzal told Sharpe, she could easily assume. From the first time they met, they hated each other. They had faced off before in battle with only a third-party intervening that prevented either of their deaths.

A loud painful roar soon followed as Rory bashed her halberd as hard as she could against the minotaur, pushing the beast through the weakened wall and the four fell out of the throne room and down to the lower levels.

Pina started to rush to see if her friend was still alive, but she was forced to stop as she felt the building starting to shake. After looking up toward the ceiling, she noticed it was going to collapse,

“Lelei, stop that ceiling from coming down on us, now!” Pina ordered.

Annoyed by the fact that Pina was trying to give Lelei an order, the blue-haired mage then noticed the ceiling and realized the danger, so she quickly told her elf sisters to assist her. The three cast a thick ice layer to stop the ceiling from crumbling. A stream of freezing beams impacted the collapsing ceiling, freezing it and creating a thick ice layer that acted as a temporary support structure.

Sergeant Major Randy Dodson rushed over and said, “We need to head out and find the Colonel.”

“No,” Pina boldly ordered after suppressing her feelings. “We must focus on the objective right now. Get everyone out, even the wounded. Once we secure ourselves then we can go find out.” Noticing that Randy wanted to protest, she continued, “Look, it is what he would want. The mission comes first. Besides, Rory is there with him. If we split up now then-.”

To Pina's surprise, she saw Randy's eyes grow larger, assuming he was about to protest her order anyway. Out of all the Rangers, she has worked with, he always seemed the most understanding and experienced. To her shock, he grabbed her and tossed her to the ground.

“Sergeant Major!?” Pina yelled before watching a pillar drop where she was standing. “Oh, thank-.” As she spoke, she saw General Herm's blade go through Randy's vest.

Anger flowed through her blood as she grabbed her sword. “Enough Herm.”

Herm pulled the sword out of Randy's vest and noticed that the vest's ceramic ballistic blasting blocked most of the blade, so the general took a stance against her. He then ran toward her, screaming with anger.

With the incoming strike from above, Pina quickly blocked. She then moved low until she got behind Herm. With one quick strike, she slashed her blade into the exposed part of his leg; Herm let out a loud, painful scream.

Seeing an opportunity to end the fight, Pina gripped her hands together and with all her might knocked Herm onto the ground.

Keeping the blade in the Herm general leg, Hamilton placed her blade against the formal general neck. Just in case he decided to try anything funny.

Pina pulled her blade out of his leg and put it away after deciding to keep him alive to face trial, she noticed that the battle was coming to an end. Due to the stubbornness of the Imperial senators and generals, most of them were killed with only very few captured. Among the dead bodies, she also saw Guild leaders but most of all prominent figures of Zorzal’s regime like Clayton, Podawan, Tortulis.

As everyone evacuated, Jerry helped Randy back to his feet, with only a little blood coming from his chest. With the rest, the healthy soldiers were struggling in gathering the wounded and getting them out of the chamber quickly.

“Now Herm, where is Famulis?” Pina asked.

“Pina,” Lelei said. “That ice layer cannot hold for long!”

Looking up, Pina saw pillars breaking the ice. One marble ceiling piece fell but was caught halfway in the air. Then an orange glow appeared around the ceiling, reinforcing everything.

Confused, Pina looked and saw Empress Altoria Famulis lowering herself to the ground with her wings. Her hands were in the air as she assisted Lelei for some reason.

With no time to ask questions, Pina gave the order to take the prisoners and get everyone out of the building. Rangers and Legionaries grabbed Senators and the few remaining Royal and Oprichnina Guards are being escorted out. Scott, Frost, and Chapman each picked up the girls and rushed them out of the room to prevent the ceiling from falling on them.

The thought of Famulis assisting baffled, Pina. The only thing she could think of was that this was some trick. As she prepared to ask Herm what the plan was, his eyes showed the same shock and confusion as hers, making her believe something else was afoot.

Once outside, the Rangers put the prisoners onto their knees. The last to get out were Lelei and Famulis. Moments after they exited the Senate chamber, the roof of the once proud governance of the Empire collapsed.

But Pina and the rest were baffled at the actions of Famulis in saving their lives, several leading figures of the League ranging from Count Virven, Mortimus Gummus, the Moon Elf Elders, as well as some of the leaders of Imperial vassal kingdoms appeared alongside Famulis.

Lelei, Tuka, Yao, the knights, and the soldiers formed around the Dark Empress and the League leadership while aiming their weapons and magic at them, Famulis then raised her hands. “We wish to speak with Empress Pina Co Lada.”

Confused by the strange manner of the Dark Empress, Pina asked, “Why? What is your game?”

“My game is that we wish to surrender to the new ruler of the Empire,” Famulis said. “That being you.”

Surprised by what was said, Pina glanced over to her friends for a sign on how to make sense of what just happened. Everyone was expecting a fight to the death, not a sudden surrender. They all shrugged their shoulders with confusion and signed to press further.

Pina then looked back toward the Dark Queen and said, “If you wished to surrender, why did you not aid us back there?”

“I did save you from a collapsing building, did I not?” Famulis quickly responded. “And we refuse to surrender to the Other Worlders. We will only surrender to the new Empress of the Empire.”

“It is not the Empire anymore,” Hamilton corrected. “It is the Republic.”

“And why is that?” O'iloiat asked.

“Yeah, you could have prevented Zorzal from taking our commander with him,” Randy said as he was held up by Andrew and Frost.

“We will not place my people's faith in your kind’s hands,” Famulis said. “Regardless of what you will call your new country, you and my people have a long history. Unlike the Other Worlders, they were the reason why I joined the war in the first place. Can we find peace once again?”

“Queen Famulis, I will accept your surrender and no harm will go against any of you.” She looked around, making sure everyone understood her order. She then looked back to the Dark Queen. “But it was a bad move not to stop my brother when you could have. Lelei, Tuka, and Yao watch her and them. If they do anything, kill her. Randy, O'iloiat, and Bozes take charge here. Andrew, let us go find Sharpe and Rory.”

Hamilton took a record of all the prisoners and commented, “By the way, if all the remaining League leadership are here, where is Svenhard Moon?”

“We have no idea where he went,” Famulis said. “He and the Haryo Tribe abandoned us weeks ago. Like they knew what was about to happen.”

As the team left to go find Rory and Sharpe, Pina noticed Hamilton was distracted. “Hamilton, stop staring at the sky. We must hurry.”

“I know,” Hamilton said, keeping her gaze upward. “But… something seems off. I see dark clouds appearing in a strange way.”

Confused by the strange statement, Pina looked up and noticed a few gray clouds scattered throughout the sky. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, not blowing away like normal clouds do but remaining over the city. “Strange indeed but these are just clouds. We need to go now.”

---

Slowly waking up, Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe noticed everything was bright around him. Looking around, he saw stone and marble pillars holding up a dungeon hallway. They all seemed extremely old.

Feeling the pain all over his body from the fall, Sharpe slowly got back onto his feet, realizing he was still in a combat zone and had no idea where Zorzal or that minotaur was. After trying to use his radio and getting nothing, he headed down the hallway, searching for them and Rory.

As he ventures down, he hears and finds nothing. A tight path like this should amplify any sound, so he expected to hear something. Not just that, but it baffled him how far he fell into the capitol building. Complex dungeons are standard in this world. However, there was no logical way he could have fallen from this deep. “Rory, do you hear me?”

Hearing nothing again, Sharpe prepared his knife and kept searching.

As he keeps moving further down the path, torches started to ignite as he approached a new opening. Before he reached it, a blinding light emerged from opposite the hallway, forcing him to cover his eyes.

Sharpe's eyes were forced to adjust to the new light. Once the blinding light faded, he noticed a humanoid figure emerge from the light. As the dark figure formed, he realized it was a man.

Assuming it was Zorzal, Sharpe prepared for battle. However, the strange man held out his hand, chuckling.

"Oh, dear Sharpe. You always assume the worst."

Realizing it was not Zorzal, Sharpe still stood his ground. "In my line of work, the worst usually happens. Now, who are you?"

"I should feel ashamed that you still do not know," the strange shadowy man said. "Maybe I have been too hidden. Anyway, it means nothing. We have been engaging in conversation for years now. All the conversations we have had since you arrived in this world."

"Conversations?" Sharpe asked. "I think I would have remembered someone like you."

"No one ever wants to see what is right in front of them," the strange man said. "It is a sad state of mortal life, but all I will say is that I have been there during your darkest hours."

"Darkest?" Sharpe said, confused by the situation. "I hate to say it, but I had a few. I do not recall you, so what do you want? Where is Zorzal?"

"My, my," the strange man replied. "I was there when you first assaulted Sadera. When your people were about to leave without that little girl. I was there when you rescued your wife. I was there when you took Legrath. I was there when Darlko summed a Balrog in Rondel. So, you see, we go back a long way."

The first reaction Sharpe wanted to do was tell this man to screw off and that he wouldn’t fall for this trick. However, his gut was telling him to trust this strange man for some reason. Thinking back on those events, he recalled a few moments of hearing voices and talking to someone. Sometimes, people told him he was talking to himself, and they thought it was his problem-solving.

However, when the Balrog appeared and seemed unstoppable in Rondel, he remembered talking with his wife about how to stop the beast. That she gave him a pep talk that he would find a way. Later, Sarah said she didn't recall that conversation, and he boiled it up to high stress.

"What do you want?" Sharpe asked again. "Why are you saying this?"

"An age is ending, and a new age is about to begin," the strange man said. "What has once come will now arrive again. Once again, you will have stopped them, or the end times shall rain over this world forever. Once you are done with your current task, find this place." The strange man then turned around and started walking back into the light.

Sharpe stood there confused by what the strange man said, finding that it made no sense. Taking a quick look around this hallway, he saw nothing noteworthy, so he asked, "who are you?"

The man turned around and had a big smile. "You know me as Michael." Before leaving, he added, "Jackson. You might want to wake up."

---

Feeling a massive headache and pain all around his body, Sharpe quickly opened his eyes after hearing an intense scream. Even though his eyes were fuzzy, he saw a sword above his head coming down for him.

Realizing what was happening, Sharpe moved his head just in time, barely dodging the sword's tip. The body went into automatic mode from a decade of military experience, kicking the attacker back and rolling right onto his feet.

As Sharpe rose from the ground, he felt light-headed. Soon enough, his situational awareness readjusted, and he saw Zorzal, having one hand on his head from the kick and the other holding the sword.

The two stood their ground for what felt like forever. Each refused to get distracted by anything else, as the two knew this would be their last fight. No words needed to be said as the two already knew what the other was thinking, that only one will stand and the other will fall.

Zorzal then smirked as he walked to the left. "This time, no one will come and save you at the last minute. Especially your cute whore of an Apostle."

Sharpe decided to follow Zorzal's lead, pulling out his knife. Noticing that his primary weapon was missing somewhere in the rubble of this collapsed building. Before he responded, he heard a roar from the minotaur from before and clashing sounds. He decided to smirk, flinging his knife between his fingers as a show of confidence.

"I think my cute little Apostle is busy cleaning up your mess," Sharpe said. "I find it interesting that you thought you could only take me on if you brought a minotaur with you."

Zorzal's smirk switched to a hateful glare. He then charged toward the Ranger, taking the offensive.

Sharpe was forced into the defensive, dodging each strike without a ranged weapon and stuck with a knife.

Sharpe moved around the remaining pillars and jumped over any debris to add some distance between his opponents. With the sword, Zorzal had the extra range, making a quick stab in the open sections of the armor harder to exploit.

Seeing a sword among the rubble, Sharpe feigned a mistake to get Zorzal to strike. Taking the bait, he ducked and rolled behind Zorzal, grabbing the sword. After grabbing the handle, he quickly turned around and blocked the incoming strike from the emperor.

As the swords clashed, the two found themselves in a struggle match of strength. Both stared at each other as a test of will, refusing to give an inch. Sharpe could see the confusion on Zorzal's face regarding Sharpe holding a sword. The emperor did not know that Sharpe had trained with Grey on swordsmanship to help fight battles against Taylin and Krysist. All under the belief of 'know your enemy. An investment that paid off more than he wanted to admit.

The ceiling shook as rubble fell all around them. Sharpe had no idea what was happening above them but had complete confidence in Pina's command ability. She has grown into a great warrior and leader, so whatever the situation is, she could handle it.

The fight continued as another pillar fell next to them and their blades disconnected. Not wanting to lose the initiative, Sharpe continued to engage with Zorzal. As more pillars and stones collapsed around them, he noticed fear creeping onto Zorzal's face, worried about the deteriorating environment surrounding them.

Maintaining the pressure to prevent Zorzal from escaping, he saw the fear growing so Sharpe refused to give any ground. Showing that he refused to back down.

As another ceiling stone fell between them, Zorzal broke the engagement and backed away. Seeing an opening, he stormed off to save himself. Sharpe chased after and got in front of the emperor to block his escape.

Sharpe took a step back, allowing more debris to fall between them. Once clear, he wasted no time and lunged forward, swinging his sword at Zorzal’s armor. While not penetrating, it forced the emperor to go on the defenses, blocking every one of Sharpe's strikes.

"Is that fear I sense?" Sharpe asked. Seeing a path to a balcony, he continued to press forward as he tried to prevent Zorzal from escaping.

However, the entire ceiling began to entirely collapse. The two stopped their fight and rushed to the balcony because there was no more time and staying any longer would mean their death. Once outside, he caught his breath as a small ash cloud blew past them, covering the area in a light gray haze.

As Sharpe regained his senses, he carefully paid attention to any detail that might give him a hint as to where Zorzal might have gone, rainfall began dampening the balcony and removing the smoke.

Unable to see far, Sharpe prepared a defensive stance and carefully looked around. Hearing slashes of charging footsteps, he turned around and deflected the attack with his sword.

With the rain strangely coming down harder, Sharpe found it hard to maintain balance with the slippery marble ground and keep pace with the swordsman's attack. The only luck was that Zorzal struggled to maintain speed with his metal boots on the now slick balcony.

With the next strike, Sharpe's grip loosened as the sword broke. Seeing only one chance to end the fight, he moved in and grabbed Zorzal's right arm, preventing him from using his sword.

Twisting the arm, Sharpe wrapped himself around Zorzal's body and used the weight of his armor against him. Taking him and swinging the emperor onto the ground. Moving on top of the emperor, he placed his leg on the side to keep Zorzal pinned while grabbing the arm.

Emperor Zorzal El Caesar let out a painful scream, and he tried to desperately break free. His metal plating couldn't gain traction, slipping on the wet floor, and his other arm could not gain leverage. Sharpe, using all his strength, pulled onto the arm until it cracked, breaking it.

Sharpe quickly rolled back onto his feet. He noticed the emperor slowly standing up as he held his arm. His body was shaking, not used to suffering from pain. He wondered if this was the first time a bone was ever broken.

Right then, Sharpe noticed something strange. The puddle under Zorzal's feet was red. The rain of Uros is no different than the rain on Earth; it is clear blue. At first, he assumed the puddle was filled with blood; however, Zorzal's arm was broken, not bleeding out.

With the battle momentary over, Sharpe glanced around the balcony to investigate the strange rain. He noticed all the puddles being red. Checking his wet clothing, it had a hint of red. Even the water flowing down Zorzal's armor was the color red.

Looking into the sky, he noticed gray clouds emerging. From what he understood from the Space Force weather reports, it was supposed to be clear skies.

Deciding not to worry about the weather for the moment, Sharpe looked back toward the struggling Emperor. Pain, fear, and exhaustion all spread throughout his, realizing that it was all coming to an end.

Zorzal pulled out a knife with his left hand and charged.

Sharpe easily dodged the desperate attack. He took the knife from Zorzal's hands and stabbed him in the armor's gap.

Quickly turning around, Sharpe kicked Zorzal in the back of the armor into a pillar. As the body returned from the impact of the pillar, Sharpe grabbed the rim of the armor plating and tossed Zorzal onto the ground. Zorzal quickly stood up and threw a punch before being blocked and receiving a left hook, causing him to fall to the ground, incapacitated.

Taking a deep breath as Sharpe placed his hand on his wound as he looked down at the defeated formal Emperor.

Hearing footsteps coming from behind, Sharpe turned and saw Rory Mercury approaching. Her clothing was torn apart. Cuts throughout her body as blood flowed down her legs, dripping from the tips of her gothic dress. However, she walked confidently, smiling, humming, with her eyes glowing with a sense of victory.

“I see you've been busy,” Sharpe commented.

Without a word, she stopped by Sharpe's side and tossed a minotaur's head onto the ground.

Seeing the minotaur's head, Zorzal could only laugh as he sat down against the balcony railing. “It is over then.”

Confused by the sudden words of defeat, Sharpe responded, "I did not expect your ego to allow you to admit defeat." He then heard more footsteps and saw Pina, Andrew, Delilah, and others appear.

"All I ever wanted was to be Emperor," Zorzal said. "It was my birthright. But my damn father had to ruin everything."

"In the end, it is still only about you," Sharpe said.

"Here you go, Jackson." Rory handed him his Colt .45. "I found it while battling the minotaur among the rubble. It assisted in blinding that monster so I could finally kill it."

Taking the pistol, Sharpe stared at it. A simple weapon but has such a history. Being with him for most of his special forces career. Given to him by his mentor Major Harper after his death from their North Korea operation. The pistol has seen so much, and it was always there when the going got tough. One way or another.

"What is so funny?" Sharpe then aimed the pistol directly at Zorzal's head. However, what he saw wasn't fear but joy.

"The end," Zorzal said as he coughed up blood and looked at Sharpe and the others. "I will die. Everything I ever wished for will not come to pass. But… I will die knowing that the end for all of you will soon arrive. You all will come with me toward Hardy's Pit."

"What are you hiding, brother? As far as I know, you never have the guts to accept death like this", Pina asks, only for Zorzal to spit blood on the floor to mock her.

Carefully listening to every word, Sharpe could tell that they were not an empty threat whatever the meaning of those words. That the formal Emperor sincerely believed that the end was coming for them soon.

“Do it!!” Zorzal spat. “Is it not what you came here to do?”

Taking aim. Sharpe hesitated to pull the trigger. Something didn’t feel right. For someone like Zorzal, who struggled so much to finally accept the end bothered him. The threat he just made sounded serious as well. He knew he couldn’t just end it here as he wished. If the threat was real, we needed to know what it was.

Seeing the hesitation, Zorzal lunged at him, refusing to be taken as a prisoner. Out of pure reaction, Sharpe refocused, aiming once more, and placed a bullet through Zorzal's neck. He stood for a moment before the light in his eyes completely vanished.

Letting the moment, Sharpe lowered his pistol as he watched the lifeless body collapse to the ground. ‘Dammit,’ he thought to himself.

"Vanguard-7, this is Vanguard Actual. Do you read? Over." Sharpe heard Sarah's voice from his radio. He was still catching his breath before the radio received Sarah's transmission again. "I say again. Vanguard Actual to 7 Actual, what's your sitrep? Over."

Sharpe wanted to catch more breath before he replied. Still, with Sarah trying to contact him with an increasingly worried tone, he took a deep breath before reaching for his radio.

"Actual, this is Vanguard 7 Actual. Over."

"Oh, thank god, Sharpe," Sarah replied with a relieved tone. "Are you okay? What's your sitrep?"

Sharpe glanced at Zorzal's body again before going for his radio. "Vanguard 7 Actual to Vanguard Actual. Message to Overlord and all friendly callsigns. For God and Country, Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!"

There was some pause before Sarah responded. If Sharpe had to guess, it's probably that the operators from the other Vanguard teams in Sarah's room heard his message. Probably throwing some congratulations and celebrations around before resuming their duty and passing the message to their respective teams. After a while, Sarah finally responded. "Vanguard Actual to Vanguard-7, 'Liberty' confirmed. I'm passing the message along. Great work, Sharpe. I knew you could do it. Finally, it's over."

"Yeah." Sharpe simply replied before taking another breath and basking himself in satisfaction with what he had done. Ending the war.

"You did it," Rory said. "It is finally over."

“Almost. We still have to take his body with us.”

Pina walked over to her brother. “I honestly thought I would be pleased to see him dead. But now seeing it, I do not know how I feel.”

“He was a bastard, Pina,” Sharpe said. “There was nothing good about him. I know that he was your brother but after everything that he’d done.”

“Either way, it is done,” Rory said. “Now, we can move forward and put this war behind us. Starting with explaining why it is raining blood?”

Sharpe looked toward Rory and asked, “Is it blood?”

“Yes,” Rory replied. “I was hoping you would know why. I have never seen this before.”

Pina pointed toward the sky. “And I thought Sarah said we were supposed to have perfect skies today? We saw the clouds form into a ring as we searched for you.”

Looking toward the sky, Sharpe saw what Pina described. He realized he should have focused on this manner earlier but wanted to finish off Zorzal. Everyone seemed just as confused as him about this crazy weather storm.

“All the clouds are acting differently,” Sharpe said. “See, they are going against the wind. Some of the clouds are just hovering in place.”

“Look!” Hamilton yelled. “There is that green spark on the tower.”

“We better regroup,” Sharpe said.

With Rory helping Sharpe walk, the group quickly moved through the ruins of the Royal District.

Once they reached the royal plaza where the main group took shelter, Sharpe saw the prisoners from the throne room. To his surprise, he saw the Dark Queen Famulis helping the wounded while chained underground. Still, assisting her enemies surprised him. The other surviving Imperial leadership was all bound, waiting to be shipped back to Alnus and sent to Washington D.C. to face war crimes or negotiate with the US government.

Delilah came to Famulis and demanded the release of Alonbula from her brainwashing, to which Famulis complied. Alonbula was confused about everything after being released from her predicament. Still, Deliah comforted her and slowly told her everything.

Jerry quickly raced over and told Sharpe to gently lay down.

"Colonel, I'm starting to think that I'm your personal physician," Jerry sarcastically remarked while tending Sharpe's wounds.

"Funny," Sharpe replied with a sarcastic tone. "I almost thought you really were my personal physician."

"Petition to hire Selina to be my permanent assistant, Colonel? With all of these injuries, she can heal you better than I could," Jerry jokingly replied.

"Sergeant Major, how many POWs do we got?" Sharpe asked.

“Almost all of our objectives have been acquired,” Randy said. “Still a few missing. Captain Bailey reported that they captured General Woody and some of his staff and Senators.”

"Almost?" Sharpe asked. "Who is left?"

"The King of Hearts. Svenhard Lupus Moon, the Oprichnina leader," Randy replied back. "He's not here, and nobody among the prisoners knows where he is either."

"Damn," Sharpe cursed. He remembered the last time he ran into Svenhard Moon, being forced to kill the wife of a senator's daughter. "I hope he won't give us too much trouble after this."

"All the more reason to find him fast," Randy replied. "With Zorzal dead and Famulis captured, he's basically the next in command for the Imperial forces. And he's the leader of Oprichnina too, the masters of spying and subterfuge. Of all the Wanteds we could miss, he's the worst one in my book."

As Sharpe was being treated, he felt pain from the Med-gel that was injected to stop any internal bleeding. “Pina, how is the battle in the city?”

"All engaged units are wrapping up their objectives," Pina said. "Holdouts here and there but hearing that their leadership has fallen broke their will to fight."

"Good, tell Command to bring over the Chinooks to pick up the prisoners," Sharpe said. Once Jerry was finished, he walked over to Lelei and Rory, both staring at the green thing on the tower. "Have you two figured it out yet?"

"No," Rory replied. "It is nothing we have ever seen or heard of."

"Wait," Lelei said. "It is doing something. Something is forming."

Looking at the tower, Sharpe saw a figure emerging from the green glow. Something was off, and he felt like someone was trying to warn him before. For some reason, he thought about his dream during his fight with Zorzal.

"By the gods," Lelei mumbled. "It is a person emerging. And…, it looks like… Lord Valker."

"What?" Sharpe forced himself to get up despite still being treated by Jerry and zoomed in on his VISOR for a closer look. He remembered the encounter when his team raided a Dalko facility(2) and faced him in battle. Only through the intervention of Frayen and Lelei working together could they defeat him.

The green light morphed into Valker, standing on top of the tallest tower that overlooked the city. Then, the phantom leader reached into a bag and pulled out ahead.

"Is that… is that a demon head?" Rory asked. "It looks like something we fought in Rondel. How would he get something like that?"

A loud voice echoed throughout the city, saying, "I am Zufmuut, and I am here to bring new light and order. All who oppose shall be swept aside and cleansed in the fiery pits of hell."

Sharped looked around and saw the same confused expression on everyone's faces. Everyone was looking toward the tower, never seeing a god before.

Above, two Apache’s encircled Valker, who declared himself as Zufmuut. The helicopters engaged the phantom lord; however, that green field from before absorbed everything thrown at him. In return, Valker raised his hand toward the Apache’s, and a large energy wave pulsed out, destroying both helicopters.

Valker then placed his hand on the demon's head, engulfing it in green fire. The head’s eyes glowed bright red and it was engulfed in green flames.

The head started to float as Valker placed his hands around the demon's head. Hands glowing green, hue pressed against the head until a strong green energy wave ripped throughout the city.

Sharpe looked around to see what had just happened. A dry moan could be heard nearby, just slightly to get everyone’s attention before it became more prominent. The corpse that was once Zorzal slowly stood up, head hanging toward one side, eyes fixed right at Sharpe.

Pina let out a slight yelp, watching the state of her deceased brother, blood continuing to ooze out of his mouth and nose. His deranged, bloodshot eyes refocused on her but before he could lunge, Sharpe shot one last time, this time it hit its head, bringing down the emperor for good.

“Sharpe!” Lelei shouted with panic as she pointed. He looked where she was pointing, toward the capital. To his horror, he saw hundreds of previously dead soldiers that were killed before had begun assaulting them. In comparison, he had seen necromancy magic before, never to this scale. Assuming it was necromancy magic at all.

"Rangers, get into defensive position and-," Sharpe said before Rory interrupted. She pointed to the destroyed capital, where more ghouls kept emerging. However, Rory was pointing toward not the fresh undead attacking them but a summoning portal. A monster the size of a minotaur emerged from the summoning portal. Soon after, dozens of other summoning portals appear as more monsters emerged from them.

“Vanguard-7, this is Actual,” Sarah quickly said. “IRS is showing that everyone who was killed inside the city is rising up. Reports of these monsters of these things emerging across the city. Everywhere.”

“These are not just monsters!” Rory said. “They are the demons of the past that once ravaged this world!”

“It is Rondel all over again,” Lelei said. “Not just the undead but demons as well. But how could he summon so many? I have never heard of an entire city population being turned into ghouls at this scale and speed like this. There are too many.”

“He just turned them all at once,” Tuka said. “Lelei, how is that even possible?”

“I have no idea, but it might have something to do with that demon’s head,” Lelei replied, unable to look away while unfolding.

“Do you know about this Famulis?” Hamilton asked

“Valker came to us after what happened in Rondel and threatened to kill us if we surrendered,” Famulis answered. “We knew he had a plan, but we didn't know what it was. I didn't even expect that he would do something like this.”

“We underestimated Darlko,” Pina said. “They were not just going to hit Rondel; my city is next.”

Sharpe carefully analyzed the situation; while he couldn’t admit it, his heart was pounding. While they have been through many horrible situations that seem impossible, he couldn’t have the worst moment. Valker is more potent than before and clearly made some form of alliance with the God Zufmuut. Unable to run and surrounded, the only thing he could think of was to defend this ground until reinforcements arrived.