The battle began in earnest the moment that Battalion fires could actualize targets through ISR feeds. Drones flew in the air, spotting formations of soldiers marching together. Round after round of paladin fire echoed out across the valley, the battalion holding nothing back. Before the enemy could see them, the battalion had already begun their attack.
"Alright, get to the treeline! I want the .50 cal and crew served weapons covering the west ridge, while I want the Snipers on those hill tops. If anyone gets close, mow them down!" Eric rattled orders one after the other while Mia took her soldiers out to the adjacent tree-line. He spotted her from his position, and she smiled at him. A hopeful but sad smile. "If we make it out of here, I am gonna make it official. That smile is worth risking everything for." Eric says to himself as he continued barking orders. He smiles back at Mia before getting back to work. He knew this was not going to be like the first battle.
Then, the call he had not been looking forward to came. "Dragons!" over the net. "Apaches, in the air now!" Milano screamed his radio. This attack couldn't have come at a worse time. The battalion as a whole had been running drills near nonstop since the first alliance meeting, and when the alliance had shared information about the enemy approaching their space, they were less than a day out. There was no doctrine or tactic he could use to snuff out 30,000 men and dragons. Milano began shouting out orders in quick succession. "Drop those dragons into the killboxes we set up. If it flies, it dies! Paladins, shift fire into that area. If you can lock on, destroy what you can!
As the apaches flew into the air, they began hunting the dragons one after the other. They would chase the dragons to under the tree-line, where Stinger missiles awaited them. The battle in the air had been won before it ever started. After a few dragons fell, they began retreating, realizing that they were outmatched. 10 more fell as they retreated. The battalion The battalion had cleared the skies of the threat.
"General, they have these infernal beasts that can overtake our dragons!" A captain came up to the Empire commander and screamed in his ear. "I know you moron! I can see!" This was supposed to be an easy rout for his promotion into parliament. The God Mithrael had even promised him his own personal island in paradise for this mission, but it had all gone wrong in the explosions. Hezel had warned him about the tanned demons on the hill, but Nozrath had ignored him. What could a mere colonel tell a general? Nozrath regretted that attitude immediately. He had ordered the dragons to attack the tan demons on the hill, but as soon as he did so, they started to fall out of the sky like flies. Monstrosities made in devils name started chasing the dragons down. Thus far, the empire forces had felled two of the monstrosities, six remained.
A world-shattering roar echoed out as Nozrath looked up. One more of the dragons thathad been killed fell directly towards him. "SCATTER." Nozrath called out. He then retreated behind the cannons, and a loud "SPLAT" followed as the dragon's corpse crushed his men. He looked around at the scene, and knew he was losing. The dragons already began to retreat. "Well, good luck lads." He muttered before taking a talisman out and disappearing.
A single moment stopped the battlefield. A hush fell over the clang of steel and explosions with that one name. A scream echoed across the field as Eric saw Mia get hit directly in the stomach by a magic arrow.
"No!" Eric growls angrily. Memories flashed in his head as he began running towards Mia. Her smile as they talked, when she would lean over him while they pored over documents, and the night they had fallen asleep together. Her weight had felt perfect in his arms. He flashed through the battle field, not thinking as he ran to her side like a bullet. The empire troops were surrounding her as blood pooled around her. "I can't lose you too." He whispered as he charged into the fray. He had long since lost his rifle, but that didn't matter. He arrived just in time to stop a man from slashing into her.
"Mia, hang in there!" Men surrounded him, but that didn't matter to Eric. His body felt right for the first time in his life. He moved how he wanted to move. His punches or kicks landed when he wanted them to. Instead of his movements acting like the very world was holding him back, it was guiding him forward as if a voice was saying "save her". He drew his pistol out, firing out one round after the other. Every shot mattered.
Snapping out of it after realizing what he had done, he looked at the corpses piled all around him. Each soldier that had tried to land a hand on Mia was now dead or dying as he picked her up, stroking her hair. He cradled her in his arms while sprinting towards the medics. He once more ignored everything and everyone standing in his way.
While Mia was being treated, Eric looked up to see the dragons retreating. Two wrecked apaches lay on the ground. Their hulls on fire, while the other six circled the skies. It was as if they were daring the creatures to come back. The valley beneath hood hill was silent, marking the graveyard of 10, 000 men and a few dragons, now husks of what had once been the strongest race in Brishan. A ceasefire was called as vehicles powered down, officers and senior NCO's began taking accountability and collecting ammo counts. Eric's platoon all sat on their rucks and along the bases of trees, smoking cigarettes. The battalion had won, but no one talked. It was as if the air stopped moving. Eric looked down to the retreating valley, he sighed in relief as he listened to Mia's labored breathing. They were alive, that is all that mattered.