Coming to a halt the three individuals stood still. The leader, based of his position at the head of the triangle raised their right hand towards the window.
"Shit." Mike tapped repeatedly on the goggles he had over his eyes. His night optical vison was dead, all he had was eye protection.
After receiving no response, the leader of the three conjured a small flame in his hands, allowing it to illuminate the surrounding area. Mike stared with wide eyes. Black helmets with darkened visors, blackened armor with a dark green cloak concealing most of their bodies. Like him they were professionals, professional soldiers.
"Star!" Mike called out with a scratchy voice. His finger slid over the trigger of his rifle.
The three individuals looked at each other, then back to Mike who was now sweating out of nervousness.
"Star!" He roared. "Answer or I will shoot!"
Before he could get another word out, a loud crack emanated from the leader of the three, the bullet landing square in the side of the building three inches away from the window. Jumping from his seat, and ignoring the searing pain in his chest, Mike tackled Lecca to the ground as a hail of bullets broke the half-opened window. Several glass shards fell on the floor with one etching a fresh mark on the princess's face just below her left ear.
"Get away from the fucking windows!" Mike said loudly in Lecca's ear as he practically dragged her behind the kitchen area.
"Holy Knight Randall! Give up the Princess of Yondel! This is your one and only chance to comply!" A man with a thick, muffled accent called out to the two within the building. Mike breathed heavily as he checked the magazine in his carbine, twenty bullets.
"You have ten seconds to comply!" The man shouted as he raised his weapon.
"What the hell!?" Mike responded, "Who are you people!?" Lecca looked at him confused as he reached for an item on the floor beside him.
"That is none of your concern! Hand over the princess now!" The man said pulling the trigger on his weapon sending a bullet straight into a collection of alcohol bottles sitting above the two in a nearby cabinet. A flood of liquid, glass shards, and wooden shrapnel fell to the ground in an instant.
Peering over the small wooden island she and Mike hid behind; Lecca spotted the three individuals waiting at the door she once guarded with their weapons aimed directly at her. Lowering her head, she crawled over to Mike as he ripped off a part of the bandage that covered his chest.
"There's three of them by the door we came through. Whatever you're going to do has to be fast." She whispered.
"They would've killed us by now if they knew where we both sat." Mike responded. "The bullets they're firing has enough penetrative power to kill me through the wood, but they don't want to risk killing you." He explained as he brought a small carton out of a small pouch. "I need three seconds."
"Done." Lecca said placing down the pistol and holding her sword like a spear. "On my move." She ordered firmly.
Moving to the backside of the kitchen alongside several wooden counters, Lecca prepped her arm alongside Mike. "Now!" She shouted throwing the sword.
The three tangoes reacted at the sword first, with the two behind the leader discharging their weapons at the sword that suddenly dematerialized midair. Their reaction times were stunted due to the sudden confusion, and they failed to react to the Molotov cocktail that was thrown at the exact same time. Landing directly at the three's feet, glass shattered, and a bright light escaped from the now destroyed bottle lighting the three alight.
Picking up the pistol on the ground, Mike snapped out of cover and aiming down the sights with a single hand, in a similar fashion, Lecca materialized a similar blocky handgun in her own hand. The two emerged from cover with Mike shooting three bullets into the left tango killing them instantly, and Lecca firing four into the right target, her mana bullets completely desecrating the chest of the man she fired at.
With the final man putting up a visible blue barrier that was over twenty inches thick, Lecca stepped from behind the counter wielding her handgun. "Who are you, and who do you answer to?" Her orders were direct as she kept her finger snaked around the trigger of the handgun.
"Trust me Lecca, he's not going to answer!" Mike warned as he picked up his carbine from the floor. "Just kill the bastard!"
"The sergeant is right." The man said as he held his rifle firmly. "Nothing you can do will make me talk."
Squeezing the trigger, a bullet of pure mana collided against the center of the shield shaving off ten inches making the man stumble back due to the impact of the round. "What the hell!" He shouted as Lecca remained where she stood.
"Randall, Thompson. We've reached Stragea with the remaining Volunteers and have linked up with Malkovich. What is your location, over?"
"Currently engaged with hostile contacts…. Break…" Mike quickly took out his compass. "Location: south of city center."
"Copy, moving double time to your location, out."
Moving from the island, Mike kept his weapon trained on the man as he stood next to Lecca. "Alright bud, drop the weapon and interlock you fingers behind your head before I put a bullet through your head!"
Still holding the shield up, the man reached for his helmet.
"Don't you fucking do it!" Mike shouted.
"Recall." The man said, and in the blink of an eye, he was absorbed in a bright light.
"What!" Lecca said as she covered her eyes with her free hand. She fired a second round, yet it hit nothing.
"Mike, blue forces are moving north to south! Watch your fire!"
"What the fuck?" Mike said to himself as he stared at the two dead bodies on the ground.
--
Publicly Available Information: Settlement of Stragea:
At the edge of the frontier and unknown territories, the settlement of Stragea was founded by farmers and scientists but was soon taken over by a known international crime syndicate with no known name.
Reports say that the settlement will be the first to encounter the Demon Lord's armies and will fall in a matter of days.