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 looked 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 a part 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.