Summoning America

Chapter 56: Calamique (3)

Note: Next week, we'll be returning to the main storyline, picking up where we left off earlier with the Gra Valkas Empire preparing to send a delegation to the United States.

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Waizer, Calamique

Commander Metzil observed the scene outside the city walls. Mages assigned to each square urged the hundreds of monsters under their command to march forward. A testament to their magical research, the monsters obeyed and moved in unison. His heart sank, wondering how Mauli had managed to get such beasts under his control. His mind wandered to thoughts of demonic alliances and dark magic as the enemy formations stirred to life.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the tough battle ahead. Suddenly, he was snapped out of his meditative state by rising commotion behind him. He turned around, ready to give them a motivational speech in order to quell their fears, but was then overcome by shock as he saw the trails of light above. "What in the heavens?" He muttered.

His eyes followed their trajectory as they blitzed over Waizer's walls before arcing down and slamming into the monsters, generating massive luminous explosions. The earth shook as more of these meteors culled Mauli's army. He braced himself onto cold stone and regained balance, raising a hand to his eyes to block the bright flashes occurring outside the walls.

Thunderous judgement bore down on the enemies, annihilating the commanding mages and sending the beasts into a frenzy. What few monsters remained were absorbed into the ranks of surviving mages and ordered to rush the walls. His shock subsided, recognizing that the battle was not yet over. "Ready oil, arrows and ballistae!" He called out to his men, yelling over the sounds of distant eruptions.

He allowed the monsters to approach the city walls, waiting until they were in effective range of his weapons. "Fire!"

Bolts from ballistae were launched at the twelve-horned beasts, more than half of the shots missing due to the insane reflexes of the monsters. Buckets of oil were dropped onto the monsters below, followed by a volley of flaming arrows. A raging inferno soon engulfed the screeching beasts as they clawed into the stone wall, desperately trying to survive the unforgiving fires.

While the defenders slowly whittled down the numbers of monsters below, another development caught Metzil's eye. About 5 miles into the distance, toward the direction of Mauli's camp, he saw dozens of firebirds flying in formation. "Shit!" He turned to his men, particularly the archers and ballistae operators. "Prepare for anti-air!"

Before he could issue any more orders, shrill whistles cut through the air. Overhead, six metallic birds soared past the city, matching the altitude of the firebirds ahead. The alien machines let loose streaks of light from their underbellies and wingtips before banking upward and retreating back toward the city. The streaks of light — miniature versions of the large explosive arrows that had wiped out most of Mauli's monsters — tracked the firebirds, homing into them. With little time to react, clusters of firebirds fell from the sky. Their tight formation resulted in numerous casualties per explosion, leaving less than 20 survivors.

Metzil felt his eyes watering at the glorious sight of falling monsters. Relief overcame him as he thanked the gods that he no longer had to fight what could have potentially been a disastrous massacre. This was the power of the Americans? He began to grin at the thought, noticing his men cheering.

He nearly began to start cheering himself, but was stopped by an inhumanly loud roar emanating from the forest to the city's left. Emerging from the trees, a large beast charged at the walls alongside 20 metallic contraptions below. With wide eyes, he felt his heart sink once more. "D— Diobehemoth!?!"
His mind raced; he knew of no way to defeat this legendary monster. The few mages under his command couldn't even make a dent in the monster's health, let alone defeat it.