GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 2

V18 - Chapter 219 Balrog

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--- Rondel ---

Date: June 16th, 2026

The Balrog moved through the city of Rondel, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. The surrounding buildings were engulfed in flames as the citizens screamed while they fled. Sharpe and the others could only stand by and watch as the horrific creature ravaged the city.

Vanguard-7 called in a missile strike from the Forward Operating Base Kalsu from the Dumas Mountains. An MGM-140 ATACMS flew in but rather than killing the Balrog, it missed the target, destroying a nearby building. The second missile strike ended with the same result. Somehow, a magical barrier encasing the monster seemed to counter precision weapons.

Sarah reported from Vanguard-Actual that the missiles couldn't lock on during their final approach. When they got close, the missiles could not make final adjustments to hit the target, turning them into dumb bombs - that was before the radio went dead. Lelei and Cato theorized that the magical field around the Demon acts like some advanced jammer, like the Empire jamming towers.

"That Demon is going to kill everyone," Mimoza struggled to say with a panicked tone.

Ambassador Henson walked up to Sharpe and said, "We should leave while we can. The city is lost."

"No!" Lelei shouts desperately at them. Sharpe could see the despair in her eyes.

"We are not leaving this city!" Masulk yelled.

"Masulk is correct," Cato added. "This city has stood for three thousand years, faced hundreds of wars. It cannot fall now."

Henson pointed to the Balrog, burning a few mages who tried to resist. "What on earth do you want to do? Your magic is useless, and we can't kill it; this isn't about a failed mission but survival. If we stay, we are dead, all of us."

"Why don't you use more missiles?" Yao asked. "That is how we killed the Flame Dragon and they seem to be the same size. If one missile won't work, use multiple ones. You do that against the Empire all the time."

"We do that in the open field, not in high population cities Yao," Alicia pointed out. "If we conduct a rocket artillery bombardment, we might hit it but we would also kill hundreds if not thousands of civilians in the process."

"Forget missile strikes then," Lelei said. "We can use the harbor and direct the river against the Balrog. Being a fire Demon, which should be its counter."

"I don't think so, Lelei," Soredin said as she scanned the demon. "Based on the mana energy output, it must be emitting one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius based on its flames. That's about three hundred degrees Fahrenheit for you Americans.

"Don't get too focused on that, Darlko allies are still out there so we shouldn't be fighting a three-front war," Randy said. "We don't have the tools to fight that thing, Kagash's Guild allies, and the Empire."

Lelei's eyes glowed with anger. "But we cannot let all these people die. I refuse." She then looked to Sharpe, hoping that he would side with her.

Sharpe played the same debate in his head as he watched the Balrog. Normally, he figured out a solution to defeat his enemy or adapt to the current situation quickly. That is what he was trained to do while in Delta. Always been able to do this because he is always prepared, knowing the answers against new threats.

This time, Sharpe had no idea what to do. He realized how behind he was to Kagash's master plan, underestimating Darlko's abilities. The only answer he could conclude was withdrawing as far as possible and waiting for help.