We have now been working on the train line for the last two weeks, we have already reached the town of Wingston where the rail line has halted at the north bank of the river. Shining Armor had been able to hire some local workers to plan out the route along with beginning construction of a new bridge, the only problem was that they didn't exactly have an abundance of construction materials for the bridge. By the time we got to the river only one of the supports had been constructed with the second only partially erected.

I was able to convince the Captain to request additional resources for the construction of the bridge from Equestria, it was requested however unlike last time it wasn't considered a priority so we had nothing to do for a few days as we waited for the new supplies. By August 27th the new supplies had arrived, with a collection of building materials they also sent us a small team of architects who would work alongside the Griffins to design the bridge.

As we worked on the train line the Royalist forces had been successful in capturing the city of Sallagriffon, I would have preferred to be on the front line but I still wasn't cleared by the medical corps to return to front line combat. The Captain told me that on the first day of September they would begin to assault the area surrounding Skystead before pushing into the town itself, Skystead is the last Militarist stronghold before the capital itself.

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Lowering myself on the harness over the middle support I rappel to Georg as he finished his work on the bridge support, "Come on, we are finishing off for the day."

He waves me off, "Just give me a few more minutes," I lower myself to his level and wait as he checks over his work, "Never thought I'd build a bridge."

Chuckling I pat him on the back, "Well I never joined the engineers to become a construction worker either."

He continues to work in silence as I hang alongside him. I begin to scan through the old photos in my phone until he finally speaks up, "So I'm curious about something."

Pocketing my phone I look to him, "About what?"

"Your world and it's government," Oh boy, I've never been one for politics. "If we are to rebuild we need to determine a effective political system. What can you tell me about your system?"

Chuckling I look down at our reflections in the river, "There are many systems of government in my world, I don't know about all their details but I have a basic understanding. Democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and dictatorships are the main systems of government."

"I know about monarchies for obvious reasons, I also am aware of dictatorships in the sense of the military controlling the government. I will be honest I don't know about the other three you mentioned. What system does your country have?"

Running my hand over my regiment patch I look to him, "If the term 'royal engineer' gives anything away then you can guess that my country has a monarchy, though it isn't the same as Equestria where the two sisters rule. Our system is called a constitutional monarchy, it's a mixture of a monarchy and a democratic government."

Clipping one of the tools back onto his work belt he slowly starts to fly up, "A mixture of democracy and monarchy? How would that even work? Aren't they totally opposite?"

Grabbing the line I begin to hoist myself up alongside Georg, "Kinda, but we make it work. The Queen is the head of state and has limited powers set out by the constitution, in order to use her powers she must act on the advice of government ministers who are elected democratically, such as passing a law, declaring war or appointing a Prime Minister as head of the government. She actually only has three rights, the right to be consulted by the Prime Minister, to encourage certain courses of action and to warn against others."

Reaching the top Georg pulls me up onto the half-erected bridge, "Well that won't work here, we don't exactly have a monarch anymore."

Removing my harness I drop it to the floor. I admire our work as we begin to walk off, "Yeah... all thanks to a certain someone."

"The Major sure threw a spanner into the works there."

I steal a sideways glance to Georg which he fails to notice. I mutter under my breath, "And some others."

"So what can you tell me about democratic governments?" We spend the rest of the evening together as I tell him all about the governments back home, I may not have the greatest knowledge but I can at least give him some input. He only revealed his motive afterwards, apparently the Royalist high command respected me based on the success of my military operations. The Griffin culture overall seems to be based around the military in some way, those who are serving or ex forces are seen as the social elite in their society. The high command were currently trying to determine how best to rule without their Prince, Georg was assigned with trying to learn how the government operated back home in an attempt to pick the best way to rule over the divided nation.

They can rule how they see fit, as long as they don't oppress their people I don't particularly care what they do.

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The assault on Skystead had begun as planned on September 1st, the assault has been making good progress for the last five days. I'm still stuck in Wingston assisting with the bridge as I wait to be cleared for combat. The newest recruits are due to arrive today from Equestria, they will be immediately deployed to the front line to reinforce the attacking units, these would be the last units we would be sent so we have to ensure we keep them in good shape and don't take too many casualties.

Myself and Shining Armor are waiting at the makeshift train station waiting for the train to arrive. Lighting up a fag I watch as the train slowly approaches over the horizon. Shining steps up to me, "I have been able to allow the Captain of the Long Guard to provide you with one of his guards to assist you, It's very rare that they even cooperate with anypony outside of their Regiment so he must have a good opinion of you based on the news reports which have been published back home."

Cocking an eyebrow I look to him, "The Long Guard?"

Shining nods, "They are considered the most elite fighters in all of Equestria, only Imperial Pegasi can even join them."

"I've never even heard of any races within the three different types of Ponies."

"They only surfaced when the Crystal Empire returned, they're traditionally nomad and remained within the Frozen North. They slowly began to rejoin Equestrian society and now serve as the Pegasi guard for the Crystal Empire. They're a bit... different to traditional Pegasi," I watch as he shivers slightly.

"What's so different about them? It surely can't be anything bad."

"They're suited more for cold environments with denser coats," He looks up to me, raising my eyebrow at him he realises that I'm expecting the rest, "As I'm sure you could imagine food is very limited in the tundra of the Frozen North, so they regularly eat... meat."

I scoff as the train begins to slow, "Like that's going to bother me. I eat it as well, remember?"

As soon as the train stops a large number of units begin to disembark, a large majority are new recruits for the Royalists from the northern towns. My eyes are immediately drawn to the Pegasi as they emerge from the steam of the train, they stand taller them the average Pony and as the Captain said they all have denser coats along with thicker manes and tails. They all have tufted ears with shaggy looking fetlocks, the main thing that gains my attention though is their visibly larger wings which appear to have some sorts of blades contained within their thick plumage, other then that I don't notice any other weapons which stand out apart from the chrome finish on their swords and a set of steel horse shoes. Their armour however is different from any other Pony I've encountered, they have some sort of steel chest plate with a simpler design which doesn't contain the enchantment to conceal their identity, the gaps between the chest armour and joint protections are covered with a light chain mail with a chrome finish, come to mention it their chest plate also has chrome decor and trim. They sure do like their chrome.

As quickly as they gather at the station they move into their ranks and stand at attention, they however seem to be on alert as they're constantly scanning around the area with their eyes. I lean down to whisper into Shining's ear, "Well they're certainly different."

Ignoring me Shining advances on one of the Imperial Pegasi, I'm guessing this one is a Captain of sorts due to his chrome trim on the armour being replaced with gold. I wait as they quietly converse with one another, the Pegasus occasionally glances to me during the conversation. Scanning those in their ranks I find that a number of them are occasionally looking to me.

Deciding to act like an officer I approach them and begin to inspect over them as they remain in rank. All their armour and weapons seem to be well maintained, apart from them looking around they seem to be well disciplined. Stopping in front of one I wait till he looks up to me, "What's with you all looking around? Your all meant to be at attention, face forward."

Ignoring me he just glares before continuing to scan his surroundings. "Lieutenant!" -Shining calls from the front of the parade- "Come here a moment," Moving away from the crowd I step up to Shining and the Captain who's looking at me with intrigue, "The Captain here will provide you with one of his guards to fill the roll for those you..." He pauses as he see's the scowl I'm giving him causing him to rethink his wording, "Those who didn't make it."

The Captain pauses before pointing to one of his soldiers, with a whistle he brings his hoof down onto the floor. When I look to the crowd one of the soldiers steps forward and halts alongside me. He has a coat of burnt orange with a dark brown mane, his orange eyes deadpan on me with an unamused expression. His armour doesn't cover over his cutie mark allowing me to examine it, his mark is a cracked grey stone tablet superimposed on top of a downward facing sword. The Captain addresses me, "Corporal Sure Strike will accompany you, Lieutenant."

Nodding to him I turn to Sure Strike, "Come on then, Corporal. We will get you up to speed on upcoming plans and introduced with the rest of the team."

The Corporal doesn't even reply, he just follows alongside me without so much as a peep. As we walk through town towards the railway bridge I watch as his head swivels scanning every approach and route leading towards us, either he is really paranoid or he is taking his training to heart keeping on guard despite being in an area cleared of hostiles. Can I please just get one normal soldier?

"Lieutenant John Davies?" A deep voice from behind me causes me and Sure Strike to stop in our tracks, slowly I turn as Sure Strike places his hoof on his blade ready to draw it. My eyes widen when they come across the figure standing before me. The person calling my name is a fucking Minotaur. "A little birdie told me that you are after new soldiers."

"Yeah I am. Though what makes you think that you'll fit the role?" Looking up to him he must easily stand at seven foot and five inches, he clearly has a strong upper body with his abdominal muscles on show. His legs are a jet black with his upper body being a lighter grey, his hair is cut short along his head along with a thin goatee beard. His armour has a heavy steel plate with thin greaves protecting his thighs. Slung over his back is a halberd, the blade is a stainless steel with two smaller blades attached at the head of the blade on at the rear allowing the weapon to effectively strike in a back swing and to act as a spear when required.

With a smirk he leans against a nearby wall, "You can't go wrong with a Charger of the Minos army. I've seen more action then any of those Ponies that you call soldiers, I've likely been in more fights then you. I'm Staff Sergeant Haralt"

I glance to Sure Shot who seems to be irritated by the comments. Looking back up I can't help to smirk, "I can assure you I have seen a lot worse then you have in any of your wars. If you are a member of the 'Minos army' then why are you here? I haven't heard of your military being involved in this conflict."

Looking over the semi-constructed bridge he sighs, "I'm a veteran, I left a number of years ago after spending my entire life in the army. My good friend was killed here early in the war, I had always promised to help him so I'm not going to rest until I get the Griffin who's responsible for his death."

"I could always use another heavy," Running my hand through my hair I look to Sure Strike in an attempt to gauge his reaction, when his eyes meet mine he just shrugs leaving the decision to me, "Fuck it. You can join up, as long as you follow orders I give you we won't have any issues. Don't expect to boss around any of my unit without my say so, you may have been an NCO but you don't give orders to the Equestrian military."

Pushing away from the wall he moves past me towards the hotel where my Section is staying, "Lets get a move on them. The sooner we get out there the better," Grinning I shake my head as I begin to follow behind him.

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By September 12th I am finally cleared for active duty, being stuck off the front line was really infuriating me. I spent the week training my new initiates with various tactics surrounding the use of our rifles, as they couldn't operate them or refused to use them in the case of Haralt we worked on tactics where they would flank enemies as we engaged them or situations where they'd focus on defending us from approaching hostiles. I found out that the Imperial Pegasi weren't as strong flyers as their counterparts , their larger wingspan made it easier for them to glide but they lacked the speed and agility of traditional Pegasi and Griffins.

Another two soldiers were given to me by Shining Armor. The first was an Private Earth mare by the name of Crimson, conveniently her coat was a crimson red with a short cropped mane of various shades of red which only got darker the closer it got to the base. Her cutie mark is made up of black semiquaver musical note, Crimson primarily serves in the band of the Equestrian guard however this unit is still expected to serve in combat when required. The other new recruit was also a Private Earth Pony, a stallion by the name of Comet. He had a tan coat with a slicked back mane of chestnut brown, his cutie mark was made up of a comet amongst a star constellation. His primary role was to act as a navigator, transferring from the navy he is highly effective at navigating at night by using the star constellations as markers in the sky.

Myself and Chaser have been called to a briefing held by Shining Armor, all the other Platoon CO's are also in attendance. Standing at the front of the room Shining studies the board as he addresses us, "I have just received word that Skystead has now been cleared of all opposition, the last of their forces have surrendered to us cutting off additional forces falling back to reinforce Griffonstone. Second Battalion will hold Skystead and the surrounding area as the Royalists continue to advance on Griffonstone where they will hold until our Battalion arrive to assist in taking the capital. They will commence a continuous artillery barrage of the town until we move in to assault, we have already had a Pegasi unit from Second Battalion commence a flyby over the city dropping forms warning the civilian population to evacuate. The capital itself isn't a large settlement, the Militarist forces will most likely be holding in the mountain paths leading to the city to prevent our ground forces from advancing. I will be personally leading from the front, we will take this city and end this war so we can get home..."

I lean towards Chaser and whisper into his ear, "Typical fucking Rupert," As we are sat at the very back Shining is unable to hear us.

Chaser quickly glances to me with a confused expression, "Rupert?"

"Officer, but we usually use it for over entitled officers. We do all the fucking work then he takes the glory, thinks he's above the rest."

Chaser just shrugs, "Well he is a Prince."

"He's a Prince?" Chaser nods, "Since fucking when? This is the first I heard of it."

"He's married to Princess Cadence. He tends to prefer his duties as a Captain, Cadence carries out the majority of the royal duties within the Crystal Empire."

We look back up just in time to see Shining turn his attention to us, he doesn't to have noticed out little conversation, "Lieutenant Davies I want your Section to immediately depart for the Royalist front line and provide cover as we prepare the rest of the Battalion to move on your location. The Wonderbolts will assist you with transportation and will aid you on the front line until we arrive, understood?"

Standing up I give a quick salute, "Yes, Sir."

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It's now late into the evening as we are approaching the artillery line, we can hear the guns regularly firing despite being a good distance away. My section is split into two sky wagons which are being towed by members of the Wonderbolt's, numerous other members of their team are also flying alongside us in close formation including Spitfire and Soarin. I lean over the side of the wagon and watch as we pass over the ground, to my far left I can see small plumes of smoke rising from the silhouette of a town built into the mountain which I can only guess in Skystead.

Looking up I watch as the Pegasi fly alongside us, my eyes particularly focusing on Spitfire, without her I likely would have been killed on that field. Whistling to her she quickly looks to me where I signal for her to come closer. Moving from her position she glides alongside the cart, "I... I never got to thank you for that day. If you hadn't have come out to me I likely would have died out there. Thank you."

She smiles softly as she looks to me, "Well you were the one who watched my back on the bridge in Wingston, I'd say we are now even."

"I wouldn't go that far, I'll buy you a pint then we will be even."

Nodding with a slight grin she quickly scans the surroundings, "As long as you watch my back out there I'll keep an eye out for you."

Smirking I lean closer to her, "Is that an order Captain? You're a crab so I likely will listen to my own Captain."

Her head tilts with a confused expression forming on her face, "Crab?"

"Crappy Royal Air-Force Bastard. Your in the air force and I'm army, different bodies of the military. We never liked following orders from the RAF or navy back home."

Spitfire just rolls her eyes, "Well you're just a grunt-"

Raising my hand I cut her off "-Sapper."

"Same difference, John... In all seriousness though we need to watch out for each other, who knows how this fight will turn out."

"We'll be fine, don't worry" -I lightly push against her barrel making her move back into formation- "Just keep them off me in the air and I'll stop them from shooting up at you," As Spitfire rejoins her formation I look to the other sky cart to see Sunny looking towards us with what looks like a envious expression, as soon as she realises I'm looking her expression changes back to a neutral one before she moves to sit back down. Is she jealous? I thought she didn't have those kinds of feelings towards me.

When I look back to the others in my cart I find Balbean looking to me, signalling me over he moves to the back corner away from the rest. When I reach him he leans closer as he lowers his voice, "Remember our deal, I need the General dead."

"Why can't you just take him alive? Imprison him and interrogate him for any information on high ranking Militarists so they can face justice," I may not personally agree with that view but it's what would be expected of me if I had the opportunity to capture a high ranking member of the opposition.

"We can't risk him escaping. What if someone was to attack the transport or the prison where he is being held? We can't let the war continue, we need to take charge without his opposition-"

"-You mean so you can get your own position in the new government? How does this group your employed with even expect to gain power?"

A scowl forms on his face, "This isn't just to benefit me. Yes I will benefit from this, but that is my reward for bringing stability to the Griffin Empire. Georg was tasked by the high command to learn of your worlds political systems, wasn't he? Two of the members are with my employers. They will establish a provisional government for a year period, if everything has calmed down they intend to establish a democracy similar to what you told Georg, that should allow us to gain support with the general population. They will use that opportunity to gain influence to get into power... I can ensure you that it will be in Equestria's best interests to ensure they get power."

"What about my interests? Don't think for a second I'm going to bend over backwards for your shitty organisation," Glancing over my shoulder I find that nobody else seems to be paying attention to us .

"We will give you certain... incentives to keep you on good terms with us, and as a new Equestrian citizen it would be best if you help them where you can. You are an officer in their army after all."

"I was never sworn in to the military. My oath is still to the Queen back home, not the Princesses here or anyone else."

I watch as his unamused expression shifts slowly to a wicked sneer, "You're after a way home? Aren't you?" I just stare daggers at him which only seems to make his expression grow, "You help us where it's needed and I can assure you we will do everything we can to find you a way home, not to mention that information network I promised you," -He raises his hand out in front of me- "Deal?"

I want to get home more than anything, but this deal just feels wrong to me. The prospect of returning back to my life appeals greater to me than any concerns I have. I quickly grab his hand and pull him to me, through clenched teeth I whisper to him, "Fuck me over and you'll regret it."

Releasing my hand Balbean pushes past me, "Noted."

As he moves away to the front of the cart I sit down on the floor and lean back, out of the corner of my eye I think I catch Sure Strike looking to me but when I turn to him his attention seems to be shifting from place to place. With little to do until we land and assault the capital I disassemble my rifle and begin to thoroughly inspect it. Checking the barrel I clean it once again to ensure there are no blockages or fouling, my home made black powder for my ammo hasn't done my rifle any good, but if I stick to my training and clean it after every shooting session it shouldn't be too much of an issue. My next priority when I get back it to change the black powder for smokeless gunpowder, at the time it was easier to make black powder so after this war I hopefully will have plenty of time to improve my ammunition.

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Today's the day, soon we will commence our attack on the capital. Shining Armor and the rest of the Battalion arrived throughout the night and early morning, each Platoon had their own orders with regards to assaulting various districts of the captial. Shining insisted that he'd lead the charge, in doing so he took command of my Section along with requesting the Wonderbolt's joined us to bolster our numbers. I'm not happy with him taking charge, if he starts to compromise my Section then I'm throwing his ass back down that hill as I lead the offensive.

We are waiting along the artillery line as they continue to barrage the town. I watch as the shells impact with the mountain path and the capital itself. The assault would require an uphill climb as we push up the mountain, when we enter the market district we will have to secure the ground of any anti-air weaponry to allow aerial units to take us to the higher structures including the palace. We have units stationed around the capital with anti-air field guns to engage any retreating forces, we have them completely encircled with little chance of escape.

Loading a round into my rifles chamber I step to Shining, "You sure your up for leading from the front? You haven't seen any combat yet."

Levitating his helmet he secures it over his head, "I'm a royal guard, I am more then capable."

"Guarding a building is a lot different then attacking an enemy fortification-"

"Are you questioning my abilities?" He turns to face me, locking his eyes on mine he attempts to intimidate me. It's like a Jack Russell trying to be intimidating by yapping constantly, it doesn't exactly work.

"To guard the shitter? No. To assault an enemy city? Yes, I am," Shining is about to reply but the lack of artillery fire grabs our attention. Turning away from me his horn illuminates firing off a magenta flare into the air to signal the start of the attack.

The Royalist's charge first with us closely following at the rear, our Company will assault alongside them in the first wave where Bravo Company will join us after twenty minutes or when Shining sends off another magical flare. Reaching the bottom of the mountain we begin a rapid ascent up the path, we make it approximately three-hundred meters before we reach our first engagement.

BOOM

A crater erupts from the ground between the first group sending them into the air, as they impact with the ground a barrage of bullets rain down in our direction. We all dive towards the nearest available cover before the rounds make their way towards us. Resting my rifle on top of the rock I take aim but can't locate the enemies position. Scanning the path I clock a number of stones falling from the adjacent rock face, tilting my head up I see numerous figures back away out of view.

"They're above us!" Leaning back I take aim as soon as one positions himself to fire towards us.

PHAT PHAT

The rounds hit his torso sending him tumbling forwards down the rock face, his body impacts with the floor creating a loud resounding crack. Shining levitates the fallen rifle to him and quickly aims, I wait for him to fire but he doesn't seem to be able to fire. He starts to shake it slightly in his magic as he continues to aim towards the enemy above. I slap the back of his helmet, "Pull the trigger you tit!" He immediately furrows his brow in annoyance as his magic finally pulls on the trigger, once again his inexperience shows when he fails to hit his target.

"Useless weapon!" He throws it to the floor and focuses his magic to generate his shield around us as the Royalists slowly push forward as they are engaged, the rest of our company are held further down the path out of the firing arch.

"Your just not a front line soldier," -I turn to Colbalt as I unclip a grenade from my vest- "Any idea how many are above us?"

Colbalts horn illuminates as he closes his eyes to focus, tilting his head momentarily he reopens them to look to me, "Fourteen left."

I take out my zippo and position it near the fuse, "Reckon you can levitate this up once I light it?" As soon as he nods I move my thumb along the flint wheel and immediately light the fuse. Popping the grenade in the air Colbalt quickly wraps his magic around it and levitates it over the ledge above us, it is immediately followed by a succession of shouts before the inevitable...

BOOM

Small pieces of debris rain down from above as a succession of pained screams call out, as I take a step back a body falls landing on Shining's shield before bouncing off onto the floor. The soldier is surprisingly still alive and loosing a lot of blood, stepping up to him I draw my bayonet and clip it onto my rifle. Shining just stares at the injured form as he rolls around on the floor. Clenching his wounds he stops to look up to me with fear in his eyes, before he can react I plunge the blade into his sternum then immediately retract it, "We need to move quick before we get pinned down again."

Shining recovers from his frozen state and collapses his shield, "Lead on, John. We will stick with you."

We begin to jog at a stead pace keeping up with the advancing force, "So now I take lead? Realised you need a soldier to lead and not a guard?"

I can hear him growl under his breath, "No, you're more experienced in ranged combat. It makes sense that you lead up the path, I will use my magic to protect our ranged fighters whilst the rest stay back to cover our flank."

"Spitfire are you able to do low air strikes in these mountain passes?" I look to her as we near the top of the first path.

"Probably, if it's relatively clear and there's no cannon fi-"

PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT

A succession of rounds impact the ground near my feet as we reach the top of the mound. I immediately drop to my buckle and return automatic fire, the rest of my Section who are equipped with rifles join alongside me and begin to fire. Shining erects another shield which creates small openings at the ends of our rifles acting as a firing hole. Numerous rounds impact against our shield as the firefight continues, when I glance back to Shining I can see the strain of maintaining the shield is getting to him as he starts to sweat. I move back as the others continue to fire, moving to Sure Strike I grab hold of his armour, "Follow me, everyone else keep up covering fire!"

I move off to the rock face and find a small succession of rocks I can scale, slinging my rifle on my back I begin to climb the natural structure, "Sure Strike if anyone gets close cut them down!" He gives some sort of grunt in response as I near the top, grasping my sling I bring the rifle once again to my front and keep hold of it. With a deep breath I hoist my upper body onto the rocks and use them as a firing position, resting my rifle on the surface I begin to fire fully automatic into the enemy.

As I drain my first magazine I hear Shining shout an order to the rest of the Company, I watch as they rapidly push past our firing line to engage the enemy in melee combat. The first line is immediately mowed down by the enemy firing positions, as I push the last magazine into position I hear a commotion directly below me. Looking down I find a Griffin engaging with Sure Strike, the Griffin brings his blade down which Sure Strike easily dodges. I watch as he performs a succession of spins around the Griffin, each spin brings his wing blades into contact with the Griffin creating numerous cuts along his body. I can tell he's rapidly losing blood as his attack and reactions begin to slow, with one final turn Sure Strike bucks bringing the steel horse shoe against the Griffins head opening a large gushing wound as he collapses.

Jumping down from the rocks I pat him on the back as I pass, "Good work," Sure Strike just nods in response. I take a knee and continue placing single shots into the melee skirmish to ensure I don't hit any friendlies. The rest of my Section including the Captain have now pushed forward and are engaged in the skirmish. One particularly stands out on account of his stature, Haralt. A Griffins blade scraps along the rear of his armour as he engages with a different unit, as if it was nothing he just gives a quick glance over his shoulder and brings his weapon to his rear before continuing with his fight. In that one swing we was able to use enough force to nearly decapitate the Griffin, blood spraying out of his neck as he slowly tumbles to the side.

Crimson and Comet are both sticking side by side as they engage the one enemy. They work in unison as Comet uses his spear to block all incoming blows allowing Crimson to deliver strikes against their opponent. As soon as Comet blocks the next blow Crimson makes a quick swing against the Griffins legs dropping him to the floor. Before he can get up Comet swings his spear around and plunges it into the head of the downed Griffin.

A sudden bang gains my attention, looking up I can see the magical flare high in the sky signalling for reinforcements. When I look further past the enemy my eyes snap open, advancing on us must be at least two-hundred more enemies. Back peddling at a steady pace I fire off at the advancing crowd, my first few bursts drops a sizeable portion of the first line. Cupping my hand over my mouth I shout out over the battlefield, "Section, fall back!"

They all manage to hear me as they begin to immediately withdraw, the rest of our forces continue with their melee skirmishes as I attempt to find a new firing position. Behind me I notice a natural ditch alongside the road with a large collection of rocks on either side, with that acting as potential cover I dart into the ditch and take aim towards the advancing enemy and suppress them as my Section move alongside me using low walls along the path as cover.

Our reinforcements better get here quick. There's no telling how long we can hold them back for.