"To Space Command, my Minutemen recon teams had discovered the enemy was trying to establish an eastern containment, splitting my teams from Salva. I relayed this information to Major General Taylor Webster (4th ID), who authorized the 1st LBCT to launch a counterattack against the enemy.
The operation launched at 1400 Zulu at three points. Three battalions (one 5th Rangers) confronted the Verliance Aristocracy Order (similar to the size of a Brigade), with one in reserve. Most of the fighting had been in northern sections of the forest, with the south seeing little resistance up to this point.
The 5th Rangers could dislodge the enemy forces from their riverfront fortifications. However, they could not force the enemy into a rout. They reformed their positions at their secondary lines, stopping our advance. The 5th Rangers and 2nd Battalion, 4th ID are coordinating against these fortifications, attempting to dislodge them; however, they have been resistant. The effectiveness of artillery has been limited so far. Without a proper method to coordinate close artillery support without Military Grid Reference Systems/Maps (MGRS) and limited networking range for digital marking, we have been forced to use unguided bombardment tactics before making a ground assault, giving the enemy time to recover in between.
We have been mitigating the MGRS issue with drones with limited success. However, the enemy figured out that tactic and began prioritizing neutralizing them. Our boots on the ground have reported removing two Seekers constructs (similar to our drones) that also provided artillery adjustments.
While the attack was a success, gaining much-needed breathing room around Salva and preventing the enemy counterattack on the City-State, it seemed we had exhausted our advance for the time being. The enemy Order that we faced had received a sizeable reinforcement. I spoke with Maj. Gen Webster on the matter, and we both agreed that our focus should switch from taking the Iriskia from the enemy to keeping the enemy at bay until our situation around Salva stabilizes – causing as much distraction and destruction as possible." – Colonel William Hackett, Minutemen
March, 12th, 2069 (Military Calendar)
The forgotten tunnel, Yuplenia Mountain Range Verliance Aristocracy
Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore
*****
Sergeant Benjamin Ford stared at the mountain tunnel entrance from a vantage point. From this angle, he could see that a landslide covered a third of the entrance, while the rest was obscured by overgrown foliage. What remained of stone pillars and eroded statues could barely be made out.
The overall point was that, if it were not for the Farian woman directing them, it would have been easy to miss the tunnel entrance without realizing it.
"Are we going into that?" Ford asked.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Higgins said.
Sergeant Bruno Barrios turned to the Airman and said, "What was your first impression? A dark, spooky tunnel that no one has been in for a thousand years?"
"I am pretty sure this is how every horror story starts," Wallace added.
"What?" Ar'lya sat on the hood, legs crossed and leaning back, confused by what the Americans said. "I showed you the tunnel, and there it is."
"Will our vehicles fit?" Ford asked.
"It should get wider as we go deeper," Ar'lya responded.
"Don't take it personally," Ford said. "I was not attacking you. It's just that our Spidey senses are tingling."
"I get it," Ar'lya said, waving her hand. "Everyone looks down at us rodents, but I promised a tunnel, and there it is. If you want your leader back, this is the path."
There was a short silence before Staff Sergeant Kurt Forest spoke. "I think the hang-up is, what is the catch? If this tunnel goes through the mountain, why doesn't everyone use it? Why is it abandoned? You don't abandon key infrastructure for no reason."
Ar'lya looked at Forest, dumbfounded, before turning to Natilite. "Are all Altaerrie this clueless?"
Natilite took a frustrated breath and crossed her arms. "I would not put it like that. They're new to our world, remember? They struggle to understand why things are the way they are. They don't have these problems as we do. Their world is tamed compared to ours."
"Tamed?" Ar'lya said before laughing. "How can a world be tamed?"
"Don't worry," Higgins said. "We do a good job entertaining ourselves."
"Let us stay focused," Barrett said. "Ar'lya, what will we encounter once inside, if you don't mind educating us? I am willing to remain open-minded about how things work here. What is the catch?"
The Farian smiled, showing respect toward the Sergeant First Class. "It is simple. The tunnel is infested with goblins."
Ford noticed everyone looking at one another in confusion. It wasn't because no one knew what goblins were; they had been in the mainstream media for over a century. The fear of such creatures didn't make sense to them. During Fraeya's interrogation during first contact, she stated that the Hispana Palatini quickly cleared the Temple of Indolass of goblins and that they had primitive weapons. The report indicated that the goblins were using bow-and-arrow technology, which was far less advanced than that of the regional powers on Alagore and the Americans.
"Why should we fear them?" Ford asked. "An arrow is never going to penetrate our armor."
"And I know you are going to say swarm tactics," Forest said. "Much of our doctrine is designed to be outnumbered."
Ar'lya slid off the hood of the AMTV and walked into the group's center. "Let me be clear about this, boys. Goblins are the scum of Alagore and should not be underestimated. There is no love or logic behind them, only the search for food and the means to breed. There is no constancy among them, as many shapes and sizes exist. I know the predator wing lady can explain."
Natilite brushed her cyan-tipped white hair with a frustrated look, as if recalling memories of dealing with the species. "What she said is correct. No one knows how many types of goblins there are because of their habits. We know their leadership comprises male chiefs, but they are led by a matriarch called a Shaman. They are the ones who rule over the horde. Then there is the horde itself. There are minions, all males. They come in all shapes and sizes, acting like cannon fodder. Then there are special types, like giant hobgoblins."
"The Academy teaches that it is not wise to base your assumptions on one horde," Fraeya said. "One horde could have bows and arrows like we faced taking Indolass. I also told your leaders this when I was your prisoner. I concluded that we encountered a weaker horde because this region was isolated. They are not innovators but master adapters, capable of adjusting to their surroundings. At least, that was what my professors said."
"Yup," Ar'lya said. "If you do not wipe out the horde entirely, they will return with twice the previous numbers and with weapons similar to what you used. They are master breeders. They can mate with any female and birth a goblin, sometimes inheriting the mother species' traits. That is how they replace their numbers so quickly."
"There is debate on that," Fraeya said. "The sages at the Academy said goblins are goblins and cannot inherit traits from other species."
The Farian turned toward the tanned wood elf and laughed. "How many of your professors have been out here?"
The Elf Girl was about to respond but hesitated. She lightly mumbled, "Not that often."
"They sound like an ant colony to me," Ford said. "A few are in charge, like a queen, while the rest are the workers and warriors."
"That is an interesting way of looking at it," Ar'lya said. "But do not let that confuse you. They might not be intelligent, but they are not dumb either. There are stories of them agreeing to deals with villages."
"Are you saying we can negotiate with them?" Barrett asked.
"If you wish to bash your skull into the wall, why not?" Ar'lya replied.
"In theory, yes," Natilite explained. "Negotiating with goblins is outlawed by every empire across Aldrida, and for good reason. Ar'lya is talking about when villages and clans agree to surrender a percentage of their population as tribute. In return, goblins do not raid their homes as long as the tribute continues."
"I see," Higgins said. "I see why they outlawed negotiating with them."
"But that only works if the State can protect them," Forest said.
"Forest is correct, and that has been a priority for the Guilds," Natilite said. "As Magitech became more complicated, goblin populations have been on the decline. Right now, they are kept toward the frontier regions or underground. Only when they gain large enough numbers can they assault the civilized world."
"Civilized world," Ar'lya said with a chuckle. "They might not bother you people, but they still wreak havoc out here. And this war has not helped matters."
"We Templars try our best to keep the numbers low, and we have been successful," Natilite said. "It has been decades since the last major war against the Goblins." She then turned toward the Airmen. "And that is the difference between slavery and motuia, Higgins. One is when you are treated as part of society; the other, you are passed around like trash."
"At least we can agree that the latter is evil," Higgins said.
"Let's not restart that debate," Ford said. "I think one morality debate a mission is enough."
"All I will say is that moments like this make me happy I am a dude," Wallace said. "That is just messed up."
Ar'lya glanced toward Wallace with a smirk and then nudged him with her shoulder. "Did you miss the part that they are a matriarch? You might be three times my size, but goblins do not care what sex you are." She slowly walked two fingers up his arm before the Sergeant brushed her hand away. The light-tanned Farian, covered in warm, medium-brown fur, walked around the bulky Sergeant as if she were studying the well-built Altaerrie man. "You might not be able to have babies, but that does not mean you are left out. If anything, that worsens things for you, as you have fewer long-term uses. Big boy."
Sergeant Ford watched, struggling to absorb the conversation. He had expected goblins to be something like the creatures in his fantasy manga, but hearing about them from people who had actually fought them made the world of Alagore feel even more unreal. That, or perhaps it was the fact that a Farian rodent woman was flirting with Wallace while discussing such dark matters.
"Ar'lya," Natilite said, nudging the female rodent to leave the muscle-bound Comanche soldier alone. The Farian frowned and slowly walked away, but her eyes remained fixed on the Caucasian American.
"Anyway," Natilite continued. "Many of my Templar comrades have fallen to these pests, so do not underestimate them. They are easy to kill, but that is not the issue. I would assume that no one has reclaimed this tunnel because they failed to do so. Over time, people forgot about it. That has happened more often than you think. Waging war against these barbarians only creates more of them."
Everything Ford heard terrified him, making him wonder how his people would handle them. He did not see a path forward in cooperation with this species, assuming everything Natilite and Ar'lya said was true; however, eradicating them would be challenging. The concept of committing genocide against other peoples was frowned upon on Earth, and for good reason. Many Americans might be hesitant to understand the difference because of their crusade to claim North America during the First Manifest Destiny. He turned toward the cave, understanding they were about to drive through that nest.
The plan was for Razorfist Team to remain on this side of the mountain range, remain in contact with Salva, and help maintain a route back home. The other three Combat Fire Teams—Ghost, Redcoat, and Comanche—were going to go through the passage, with Comanche taking the point. They were preparing for heavy resistance and any obstacles the enemy might have. Everyone understood that speed was the key. The slower they were, the easier it was for the goblins to trap them. The issue was that going full speed on the ruined tunnel path was not an option, as that was also too risky.
When the three teams were ready, they gathered and headed toward the entrance. Once they arrived, Comanche took point and entered the dark and spooky tunnel, keeping their lights off. The idea was to avoid attention and be less visible to potential hostiles, using their VISOR night vision and thermal gear to see.
Sergeant Benjamin Ford would usually drive the lead vehicle. However, Comanche's second-in-command took the seat this time. As Warrant Officer-1 of Comanche, he wanted to be ready to move if a quick decision was needed.
The British-American convoy drove through the entrance. The smell of death was insistent and was noticed by everyone. Fraeya held her nose in the back seat, as her elf nose was sensitive to smells, commenting that she thought the city slums were terrible.
The tunnel was more extensive than expected, so the design was intended for large armies to pass through during Orilla times. The three teams formed two columns, except for the lead. The plan was to get through quickly, so speed was the key.
Thanks to the tunnel's pitch-black darkness, seeing anything with the naked eye was nearly impossible. For Ford, he was able to get a basic layout of the internal structure—there was enough space for two lanes and an upper sidewalk area along the edges. However, almost everything looked old or destroyed. Some sections were broken apart, while others had what looked like stone. Rounded pillars held the ceiling, but it seemed like a quarter of them had collapsed onto the ground.
This place had not been used for its original purpose for decades.
As the convoy continued to move through the tunnel, Ford noticed a shadow ahead of them. Looking through his optics, he saw a Vampire corpse that had been crucified and hung from a poorly constructed cross. Based on the body's state of decay, it seemed the death was recent. Behind it were more corpses in a similar state, each at a different stage of decay, most of them skeletons. The sight did not soothe the Sergeant's fears, which he assumed was the point.
Staring at the rubble that littered the tunnel path, Ford noticed something moving behind a destroyed self-propelled wagon. It was hard to make out the details; however, he was confident it was a goblin's head. It was a broad face with long ears and traces of hair flowing down its body. Seeing that the monster was armed with an elecprobus, he fired, killing the goblins.
Suddenly, everyone from the other CFTs opened fire, with muzzle flashes and tracers lighting the darkness. Mk 70 auto heavy grenade launcher airburst rounds from each vehicle exploded against makeshift fortifications. In retaliation, the three teams came under heavy fire from a range of projectiles, including energy blasts, flechettes, and arrows.
Arrows harmlessly bounced off the heavy armor of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which was meant to transport troops on the front lines or through heavily mined zones. However, a powerful explosive projectile from a ballista impacted next to Ford's vehicle, removing any notion that these goblins were not a threat. The blast forced the driver to swerve left, then right. The radio was blazing as all three teams called out targets.
Hearing the acting CO of Comanche, Warrant Officer 1 Rommel King, give a warning, Ford looked forward and saw dozens of goblins preparing an ambush. He opened fire with his M31 before firing his underslung grenade launcher. The grenade exploded, killing the group as their vehicles drove past.
Ford saw what appeared to be a ballista, but it was less advanced than the Verliance Aristocracy's artillery pieces. While it was hard to see the details because of the night vision, the goblin ballista used springs instead of coils. The projectile was a ball instead of a traditional shell. When the ball was fired, it impacted two vehicles, exploding into green flames.
"Ballista, two o'clock," Ford said over TEAMCOM.
Barrios responded over the radio, adjusting the vehicle's M2 Browning heavy machine gun from the rear vehicle toward the goblin ballista. A stream of .50 caliber rounds laid waste to the general area, leaving half a dozen hostiles torn apart.
For the moment, Ford thought they were gaining the upper hand. However, he suddenly saw additional goblins flooding out of the many cracks within the walls, like water bursting from a broken pipe, implying a deeper network. The Sergeant began to understand what Ar'lya meant by the endless number of goblins and why they were called the horde.
The armored vehicle Ford was in suddenly stopped, making him lean forward from the momentum. He looked forward and saw a pillar blocking their path. Over the radio, Rommel King reported the situation to the rest of the convoy and ordered them to stand by. As planned, everyone in the first vehicle got out to cover Fraeya.
Ford quickly scanned the area around the pillar for hostiles. Behind it, a nine-foot hobgoblin appeared on his HUD. It had a big belly, thick gray skin with boils all over its body, and long brown hair, with a top robe around its chest. Under the robe was thick, rusty-gray metal plating, chained together and wrapped around the body.
He fired into the large goblin. The 6.8mm penetrated the plain iron easily. However, the creature did not go down as expected. The size and thickness of the fat hobgoblin seemed to reduce the Comanche weapon's effectiveness.
The hobgoblin rammed Ford against the hood of the AMTV, creating a small dent and breaking a small section of the front window. Natilite leaped off the roof of the vehicle and flew toward the hobgoblin. As the Valkyrie flew, she unsheathed her sword and sliced the hobgoblin's head clean off before landing on the other side of the broken pillar. She held her left arm at shoulder height. Her shield deflected an incoming spear, providing additional protection for Fraeya and King.
Sergeant Benjamin Ford rushed toward the Templar to protect the right. Seeing a dozen goblins charging, he fired at the closest hostiles, the little monsters, before focusing on the others. A spray of bullets came from the Ghost convoy in the rear, assisting Ford with the others.
Ford saw arrows and flechettes fired from the sides. Before the Sergeant could respond, he saw a dozen goblins flood out from a small opening.
"Warrant Officer," Ford said. "You might want to hurry."
"At this rate, we will run out of ammo," Higgins said over TEAMCOM.
"Twenty more," Forest said. "Eleven o'clock."
"Above us!" Barrios said.
Ford glanced at the ceiling and saw dozens of minion goblins crawling out of the multiple openings. This must have been their plan: block the road here so the goblins could ambush them from above. He started to understand why the tunnel was never recaptured. It would take a Brigade or two to wage a mini war to purge little demons from this one mountain.
Fraeya placed her hands on the left side of the pillar. After a blinding glow, half of the pillar was destroyed. With Rommel King and Natilite providing cover, the Elf Girl started focusing on the next section.
An explosion went off beside Ford, causing him to cover himself with his arm before retaking his firing position. The impact zone of the enemy projectile ignited with green flames, making him step sideways to avoid the fire. He didn't feel shrapnel, just the heat from the flames. The Sergeant then remembered what Fraeya had said about fire types; green meant poisonous. He then saw where the attacker had come from: a female goblin holding a glowing stick staff. Based on how the female was dressed, she looked like a Shaman, with bones around her neck. She was a foot taller than the little ones but wore more refined clothing compared to the other barely dressed goblins.
Additional goblins dropped from the ceiling and landed all around Sergeant Ford. One was a small, fat type, while another was taller but closer to skin and bones. These must be the cannon-fodder minions their rodent ally was talking about, as there were many different subtypes.
Ford fired at the two in front of him. The third goblin moved to flank the Sergeant's rear. When he turned, he saw the Farian jump off the roof of the rear Comanche vehicle and impale the small but scrawny goblin with her spear.
The Farian woman said something, but Ford couldn't understand her, as Fraeya's translation of the amulet was off. She was either bragging about saving his life or warning him to watch his back. A few more goblins dropped from the ceiling, and Ar'lya ensured they couldn't attack the Minutemen. She used the length of her spear to stay moving, never longer than a single kill, as she was a Farian who could move quickly in short bursts.
Ford saw a cluster of goblins protecting what appeared to be an ugly female goblin, whom he assumed was a Shaman. He grabbed a grenade and tossed it. The fragmentation grenade exploded, sending shrapnel at the defenders. This allowed the Sergeant to kill the Shaman while she was preparing another poisonous flame spell. The spell self-imploded, burning the nearby goblins. However, he noted that the poison didn't affect the goblins.
Feeling the ground rumble, Ford saw that Fraeya had destroyed the last section of the pillar.
"Comanche-Lead to all Minutemen and Redcoats," King said over TEAMCOM. "We are a go."
Ford covered his teammates as they got back into the vehicle. Goblins continued to drop from the ceiling in droves, intending to swarm the convoy and prevent them from fleeing. One dropped next to the Sergeant, requiring the soldier to pull out his tomahawk.
Seeing that the goblin only wore leather clothing, Ford thrust his melee weapon into the twig-like goblin, instantly killing it.
When Ford got into the passenger seat, he aimed his rifle through the window and kept firing. As the vehicles started to drive, the Sergeant saw a new target. This one had a long, fluffy tail, an eight-foot furry humanoid beast. The fur color was impossible to tell; however, it had a pointed mouth, large hands, and claws, like a wolf.
"What is that?" Ford asked. "It looks like a wolfman."
"Luperca," Fraeya said in a terrified voice.
Ford turned toward Fraeya and saw the fear in her eyes. The translation amulet was still off, so he didn't know if she was responding to his question or stating who they were fighting.
The Luperca directed the goblins, organizing the little ones so their swarm tactics were more coordinated.
When the goblins coordinated their attacks, the convoy had already driven deeper into the tunnel. However, the three Combat Fire Teams realized they were not out of trouble. Redcoat-3 reported over the radio that dozens of Luperca were in hot pursuit, keeping pace with the convoy. If this were outside in the open, that would be impossible; however, being inside the mountain, they were forced to operate more slowly so they would not ram into traps or obstacles.
Hearing multiple sudden thumps on the roof, Ford looked up from his window. He saw goblins sliced in half fall over the side, with black blood smearing the side of the vehicle.
"Ben," King said. "Get on the M2."
"But Natilite is up there," Ford replied.
"No choice," King said.
Setting his rifle down, Ford crawled into the back of the vehicle. That was when he saw Fraeya holding her arms, fear in her eyes. It seemed like the intensity of the situation was getting to her.
Ford gently grabbed the Elf Girl's arm and stared into her green eyes. The translation amulet was off, probably to help drown out the radio chatter of the other team's battles. "Fraeya. Everything is going to be okay. Think about what you need to do next, not what is happening now. That is our job."
Fraeya didn't respond but nodded. The Elf Girl seemed slightly more relaxed but barely held her emotions together. While she couldn't understand the American, Ford's tone and emotions conveyed enough to help put her at ease. Pleased by her reaction, Ford moved up to the top hatch and saw the Templar sitting on the roof, holding her arm.
Seeing blood over Natilite's armor, it was clear that the Templar was wounded. The Valkyrie spoke, but Ford couldn't understand her. He directed her to move behind him so he could man the machine gun.
The Valkyrie understood and moved toward the rear of the AMTV, using her small energy shield to protect the Sergeant's flank.
Finally able to man the M2 Browning, Benjamin Ford swung the heavy weapon to the left and opened fire, tearing apart a group of attacking Luperca. The wolf beasts ran on all fours with green goblins riding their backs, firing their elecprobus and bows at the convoy.
One of the wolf-like beasts rammed into the side of the vehicle but was quickly killed by Ar'lya's spear. Another jumped onto the hood and started climbing up. Before Ford could swing the Browning around, the Luperca grabbed the barrel, which was a big mistake for the wolf. The extreme heat from the barrel burned the beast's hand, making the wolf scream out loud in pain before being gunned down by Ford.
The Comanche Sergeant saw more goblins on the side of the tunnel, with more Luperca charging toward them. They intended to cut them off, so he fired the machine gun, but there were too many.
Suddenly, a small section of the ground underneath the approaching humanoid wolves broke apart, causing them to fall and stumble into each other, thanks to one of Fraeya's spells. King drove the armored vehicle over them as two wolves rolled before the AMTV. The other cars shot up the remains as they passed the enemy position.
Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Benjamin Ford cheered with excitement that they were almost at the finish line. Before he could do anything, he was suddenly pushed forward, slamming his head into the Browning. His helmet absorbed some of the impact; however, his lower chin impacted the metal base. Wanting to lift himself, he felt a powerful force holding him back.
It suddenly disappeared as quickly as the heavyweight landed on his back. Ford turned around to see what had happened and saw Natilite's blade through the Luperca's head before she pushed over the giant corpse.
The woman turned to him and said, "Gratias tibi." Ford understood the Latin phrase, meaning thank you. He nodded at the woman before manning the heavy machine gun.
Seeing the final line of goblins, Luperca, and three hobgoblins blocking the exit, Ford fired at the most prominent targets.
An explosion smothered the third Comanche vehicle with the same green flames near the lead. Wallace, manning the Mk 49 Stacker, slipped inside and closed the hatch to help prevent the fuss from entering the vehicle, leaving one of their heavy weapons down.
As the convoy advanced, Benjamin Ford was able to remove two of the three hobgoblins but failed to remove the third. The remaining hobgoblin positioned himself to block the vehicle. While he assumed the heavily armored vehicle could ram through the giant monster, it might slow it down long enough for the goblins to swarm it.
As they drew closer, Natilite flew past Ford and sliced the hobgoblin's arm right off, unbalancing the giant monster. This allowed the vehicle to ram right through the beast. This slowed the vehicle's momentum but gave the Sergeant the perfect kill shot, pumping the monster with .50 caliber rounds.
The other two Comanche vehicles passed by before Comanche-Lead regained enough momentum. Regardless, Comanche drove into the light and exited the mountain tunnel. Right behind, Ghost vehicles quickly followed suit, with Redcoat following behind.
The convoy kept driving, as no one wanted to stop this close to the tunnel. After what the two Minutemen and SAS teams went through, Ford couldn't blame anyone, as he also wanted to get as far away as he could. He turned around and saw the hostiles stopping in the tunnel. They grew more distant as the convoy gained distance.
There was chatter over the radio as the three teams celebrated having made it through. Now that they were through the mountain tunnel and on the right side of the Yuplenia Mountains, Comanche was one step closer to finding their leader.