The Iron Pillars

Chapter 21

A steady breeze brushed across Ace's face as he glided through the veil of darkness separating the two armies. With light-enhancing lenses over his eyes, he could make out the formation of the bustling Alcontean hordes. His breath caught in his throat at their numbers. Only with a concerted effort did he regain control of his shaky hand and prevent himself from dropping the jug prematurely. 

He gasped again when a bullet whizzed by underneath him. It ripped through one Alcontean's head and buried itself in the leg of his comrade behind him. The first man died too quickly to scream, and the other hesitated a few seconds in shock before filling the air with his cries. 

Ace blessed the winds for being calm this night. Being swept off course from an objective by elements beyond his control was a pet peeve of his. 

The frequency of bullets pelting the Alconteans below increased as Ace's soaring continued. When one of the projectiles bounced off its target, he squinted at it. That was the target. 

Ace guided the glider into a downward spiral, keeping Albatross always in the center of it. Once he floated about ten feet over the god's head, he yanked the cap off his jug and turned it upside down. Green acid flowed down onto his scalp. 

Albatross roared and wriggled as the burning liquid hit him. All his spiky black hair fell away in chunks, as did his upper garments. His reddish-brown skin wrinkled. Nonetheless, none of the damage went any farther than skin deep. 

The brawny man growled and reached up to Ace. He snatched him by his ankle and yanked him to the ground. He dropped with a thud and a gasp. 

Ace rolled to evade a heavy-handed punch. When it dented the dirt he had been laying on, he widened his eyes at the impact site. He hurled his dagger at Albatross' chest. It hit and harmlessly bounced away. 

He clutched his chin after Albatross kicked into it. Spitting a mouthful of blood, Ace ripped the glider from off his back and hurled it back at the toughened god. Naturally, it did no damage, but it obscured the god's vision long enough for Ace to scramble elsewhere. 

The Alconteans' marching formation parted temporarily to maneuver around a moss-covered boulder. Behind that very stone, Ace hid himself away. He snatched his machine gun from its resting place on his back and checked the ammo. Seeing it was full, he smirked. 

Ace pelted an oblivious Albatross with a stream of bullets. Most of them bounced right off after leaving only small dents, but a few penetrated his skin and caused blood to erupt from the mark. 

Albatross clanged his two gauntlets together. Two bladed projections shot out of either side of both wrists, forming a shield for each arm. He blocked the bullets and crept closer. 

Before the brawny man could come any closer, Ace hurled a smoke bomb down. As the blinding fumes spread out, he scuttled through the grass to get behind Albatross. He landed a few more shots before a sound of metal on metal alerted him that the god was using his shields again. 

He gasped when a large, blunt surface slapped across his face. Ace flew through the air and fell unconscious upon landing. 

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General Trackenkaken gulped. The Alcontean horde was almost in range. He planted a massive ballistic shield in the ground before all his men. He crouched behind it and peered through the rectangular sheet of glass near the top. Unholstering an uzi, he grabbed a small knob, slid the glass aside, and placed the gun through the hole. 

Track lifted a cylindrical communicator to his lips. "Formation B." 

Each of the four captains voiced affirmation, and behind him, the general both heard and saw the men shuffling into position. Each legion formed an impenetrable wall of shields, complete with barrels of guns peeking out through small holes in the protective devices.