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The answer to a life of questions... the son will be the nemesis of the father

Chapter 13: The darkest hour of Kesteven - The revelations

No one had ever said that it would be easy. Riaku had been a Predator and he was a son of Kesteven and he was well aware of the experience and valor of the warriors of the north. He knew the determination of his rival and that a surrender of Kesteven without a bloody battle was absolutely unthinkable. But the difficulties were largely overcoming his forecasts...

He had prepared plans with rigor and total attention to every detail for years, waiting the right moment for launch his offensive on large scale. He had conquered Glacial, the only Kesteven's frontier apart from the one with Kendrew that was pacific and calm and then shown his military power there with continuous exercitations and maneuvers for force the Pearl of the North to strengthen its positions along that border that for centuries had been peaceful and friendly and send up there entire divisions for ensure the security. Then he had patiently waited... waited to see Kesteven once more busy in new battles on the others frontiers with the nearby kingdoms and when the moment had come, the moment when most of their army was finally far from their capital, he had launched his so well projected missile-strike.

The heavy attack had done its work as planned, cutting the lines of communication of Kesteven and erasing the ways needed by their soldiers for return towards the capital from the far frontiers of the kingdom. His short range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and the land attack cruise missiles (LACM) launched from his fighters and bombers had hit the major part of the targets, saturating the capability of defense of the kingdom with the strength of the number. Rail lines, highways and major roads had been hit with accuracy and destroyed for long tracts, actually cutting off the divisions of the army from the capital, destroying tunnels, bridges and opening huge craters for kilometers of roads and tracks. He had spared the highway Kesteven-Kendrew, well knowing that Killer had little forces ready to be moved... and also that he would have run into the battle in any case, as he wanted.

With a real blitzkrieg, Riaku had carpet-bombed the band of defenses of Kesteven at the border with Mottram and then launched forwards his armored forces, supported continuously by mobile artillery and attack helicopters, using his numerous tanks as a ram for break the enemy lines as his powerful air force granted the security of the troops on the ground and continued to torment the rival forces with missiles and bombs.

But even from the first moments, the resistance of Kesteven had been fierce, smart and always superior to the previsions. The kingdom had launched his first salvos of Surface to Air Missiles "Harrow" within the very first minutes of the attack, destroying a dozen of his precious bombers in 15 minutes. Scrambles of the Kesteven Air Force had badly damaged his own aerial forces with their deadly missiles Meteor, that had a range almost double than the R27 Alamo of his fighters; an advantage that allowed them to fight successfully even against the much bigger Mottram Air Force.

On the ground, the Kesteven forces had maneuvered immediately to break the contact and retreat rapidly towards the capital, fighting only short battles of rearguard to slow down the enemies meanwhile specialized team placed explosives to destroying tunnels and bridges after their passage during the retreat. Riaku needed that highway intact to march on his target and the demolitions had been a serious problem, forcing him to lengthen the travel and build bridges of boats, losing time and the chance to destroy definitively that part of the enemy army. He had tried to surround them, but they had been smart enough to immediately break the contact and simply continue to arrear and destroy bridges along the deep valleys and on the large, cold rivers of the southern Kesteven.

And now he was paying the price of that failure, facing once more the resistance of those same soldiers, now barricaded into the town that had exploited every minute of the time gained to prepare new positions of resistance and to place mines and traps. In any case, he had surrounded Kesteven with a solid ring of metal and fire, launching two divisions of parachutists in the country around the big town with the order to prepare a solid line of defense on two sides. Huge convoys of cargo planes full of soldiers had flown under the control of the huge An124 Flying Command Post and with an heavy escort of fighters, all the formation almost scraping the tips of the trees for escape as much as possible from the radars of the enemy and then, one after the other, they had climbed to 300 meters and launched hundreds of parachutists. Within two hours, on the ground there were up to 10000 parachutists fully equipped and the officers gathered the companies with rapidity and efficiency beginning the march immediately for reach the principal crossroads and conquer them. One hour later, every road was in their hands and they immediately begun to dig trenches and prepare fortified lines of defense, placing machine guns and anti-tank guns in a double circle; one facing Kesteven against eventual counteroffensives and sorties and the other, stronger, towards the external, forming the first line that possible reinforces had to face for reach the capital.

Finally Riaku and his army, tanks first, had reached the zone after the exhausting march and the tanks had been refueled and prepared rapidly for the assault. The plan was to point immediately on The Ring and concentrate the armored forces into a direct assault at the airport with a simultaneous airborne attack for conquer the fuel reserves... the tanks of Kesteven and Kendrew, much less numerous, were supposed to be easily destroyed or forced to a retreat. And instead, again the defenders didn't granted nothing, fighting fiercely for all the night and managing to evacuate part of the fuel reserves and destroy the remaining. The loses were frightening, especially between the parachutists launched on the runways, in the middle of the battle. The number of wounded, horrible. The mood of the survivors of the airborne division was really low and even the air force was frustrated by the high level of planes lost or severely damaged. Also the armored forces had suffered loses extremely high, and a lot of his tanks Tiran were still burning on the fields around town...

But at least, with the conquest of the airport Riaku had managed a deep penetration inside the town, conquering a third of the quarter Angel's Wing in six hours and establishing an advanced base into the airport. Before the dawn, as his troops rested and prepared weapons and vehicles for the new assault, he ordered the preparation of a series of advanced bases for his air force just outside town, for ensure to his troops a continuous aerial support. In the same time, he had ordered a new full scale missile-strike, this time aimed over the already hit bases of the enemy aviation to try to erase the stubborn Typhoons from the sky and launched other missiles over the highway with Kendrew. He had reached his aim... Killer was in Kesteven and now the highway and the roads had to be destroyed for stop every attempt to send new reinforces. But only very few missiles had hit, there. Wyvern had rapidly lined up a full plan of defense with strong patrols of jeeps WMKRV and wheeled armored vehicles infantry fighting vehicles Centurion and wheeled armored gun system Dart and wheeled armored radar vehicles Horus and especially several mobile systems of missile-air-defense Shield, that had destroyed most of his bombers and SRBMs during their flights towards the target, keeping intact that vital line of communication for bring supplies and reinforces to Kesteven. This wasn't still a problem... Kendrew hadn't so many troops ready for the battle, still. But he knew that soon an army would have used that road for charge against him and try to break his siege around Kesteven, and that was another reason for call new troops to the battle and try to force the times.

But for five days little or no progresses had been made. His troops had gained very little terrain and with an extremely high price in terms of blood. The Kesteven's defenders were strong, well trained and fiercely determinate and they were trying to resist into tens of buildings that had been changed into fortress with fortified positions, hiding places for snipers, positions of machine guns, anti-tank barriers, trenches and underground passages that linked every blockhouse, allowing them to move ammo, soldiers and supplies from place to place and face his numeric advantage.

Riaku had so prepared also his force of attack helicopters for help his troops in the hard battle in town... and he had already set his new targets. The order was to launch a new, violent offensive from the airport along the Boulton Street and Spadeam Avenue, pointing towards Soldiers's Square and avoiding absolutely the smaller roads and the narrow lanes were the defenders had easy game against the Mottram soldiers and where the tanks couldn't help. Another offensive, always from the airport, was aimed to the conquest of the Northolt quarter with the huge hospital of Kesteven, by now indispensable in front of the always increasing amount of soldiers wounded. The major part of the armored forces had to charge along the Leuchars Avenue and overwhelm the resistance in Soldiers's Square to point directly towards the royal palace on the hill. Three divisions of infantry and two full units of tanks were gonna attack on a front of only three scarce kilometers, with full support from the air and with the help of artillery fire from the first to the last minute. Mountains of shells had been prepared outside town for his thousands of guns.

The situation was delicate, but not compromised. The superiority of the Mottram forces was still total and Riaku was still trusting in a rapid victory with the new offensive. But the major problems were the Typhoons. They were by now an obsession... they seemed to be everywhere, consider their so low number. They were regularly attacking his tanks and chasing his planes and especially they were bombing his vulnerable, vital lines of supply. The air bases of Kesteven had been destroyed, but the planes had been decentralized and hidden into forests and caves, taking off for their missions from makeshift runways or from straight tracts of roads, exploiting the fuel that they had evacuated from the airport.

The fuel that he missed. He had a great need of fuel for keep moving his huge forces and he had planned and hoped of conquer the immense reserves of the international airport, saving so a lot of work to his logistic units. The need of munitions, food and various supplies were in fact already more than enough to put his logistic system under a huge stress, seen the great distance between his bases and the battlefield. But now, missed that opportunity, he was facing the problem. Enormous columns of trucks and continuous flights of cargo planes were an impressive show along all the routes between Mottram and Kesteven... and he had had to increase still more the number and size of the convoys to face the need of fuel that was pushing his logistic system to collapse. He had had to requisite all the civil tankers and trucks in all his empire for integrate the overloaded fleet of his army and still, also due to the high toll of loses imposed by the stubborn enemy, he had problem to fulfill the questions from the troops on the ground. His new plan was to place an oil pipeline between the bunkerized reserves that he had near the border in Mottram, the conquered airport of Kesteven and several other places of the front line for facilitate the refueling of his immense fleet of aircrafts and vehicles. The work was already proceeding and several tens of kilometers were ready... he only hoped that the enemy didn't find out what was going on, because despite all his efforts, the air forces of Kesteven and Kendrew were still threatening and fierce.

In fact, the Typhoons were continuing to bomber the tankers and the trucks with audacious missions, challenging his air force and forcing him to put always more of his fighters to escort missions, reducing the power of his attacks on the town's defenders. Besides, small teams of Predators and soldiers of Kesteven continued to emerge seeming from the darkness into the zone of town that he had conquered, attacking with impressive ferocity his magazines of supplies, the fuel reserves, the convoys of trucks and tankers and the soldiers and vehicles camped there. They used machine guns, grenades and single-use rocket launchers for cause the highest damages possible and then escape rapidly, leaving no clue about how they had sneaked their way up there and rarely leaving survivors. The officers on the field were furious and frustrated... and the mood of all the Mottram's forces on the ground was beginning to seriously feel the effects of that situation. Voices about the legend of the presumed invincibility of the Predators and ridiculous affirmation about mysterious powers of the Kesteven soldiers were beginning to attack the confidence of the Riaku's army. And the last, but really not least problem was the threat of the IEDs. Improvised Explosive Devices... Kesteven was full of mines, traps and bombs placed almost everywhere. More than a soldier was died when he had used a WC into a conquered flat and that was simply exploded. Invisible strings were pulled between poles and doors, tied to the rings of simple HE-frag grenades L2 well hidden, ready to kill the unfortunate and the others around him. Claymores were hidden everywhere, grenades of artillery were buried a few centimeters under the ground or ruins and soldiers triggered them with their weight on the detonating fuses, cars were often bombs ready to explode at the passage of his troops, other shells of artillery were hidden into the curb of the sidewalks or in other diabolic hiding places and changed into explosive traps... and he had ordered to seal or to make explode every manhole covers because already several times soldiers of Kesteven had sneaked out from them, emerging under the vulnerable belly of tanks and vehicles for place explosive charges or emerging suddenly behind patrols of Mottram's soldier throwing grenades and shooting with machine guns with terrible effects.

Despite all the difficulties, in any case, was still Kesteven the one that was trembling in terror, fearing the day when the conquest would have been complete. Rarely in history had a town so big experienced such a panic of mass... and fortunately Seth had had the wise decision to evacuate all the civilians and prepare for them a camp in the park of the castle. The idea of fight a war in a town still full of civilians' crazy with fear was terrible for every soldier and Riaku was well aware of that.

And now it was finally time to launch the new offensive and try to end that expensive game rapidly meanwhile the situation was still under control. At 7.00 in the morning, the forces of Mottram advanced again for what was the sixth day of the assault to Kesteven.

Killer watched nervously out from the opened window towards the airport in that dark dawn. The sky was covered of threatening black clouds loaded of rain and already the thunders were rumbling in distance as lightning lightened up the darkness. Six days of battle... always with that gloomy track of sounds and of cloudy sky, with heavy rain every few hours. But now forecasts had announced snow... That gloomy sound, in any case, only added to the continuous rumble of the artillery that from the castle was shooting continuously towards the country and the outskirts, raging especially against the airport as the enemy answered, trying to make proper counter-battery. Again, fortunately, Riaku was using his artillery with attention, avoiding carpet-bombing over the town and instead firing only against known positions of resistance, often using laser-guided shells for avoid collateral damages. He was glad for that attention... but he knew that sadly it was all part of a tactic for force him to surrender, and by now, things were going to change surely...

We play good and respectfully and you put your weapons down and pull up a white flag rapidly. He could feel the voice of Riaku in his mind, tease him with a sly, fake soft voice... and he was well aware that, not coming a surrender from his part and being so fierce and unshakeable the resistance of the town, soon the Black Lighting would have ordered a full scale bombing for try to break their defenses. Otherwise, we'll erase Kesteven from the map with carpet bombing.

He filled his eyes a last time with the beautiful sight of Kesteven, so nice even with the outskirts in ruins and the arsons as background and released a sad sigh, praying every moment that Riaku exposed himself, hoping to receive a message with his position... He was still decided to drag him into a duel with the aim of contain loses of life and the further destruction of the town. But he had no chances to if is rival remained always hidden somewhere in a safe place behind the lines of his huge armor. He had to know where find him...

Alexis slowly reached him, slipping silently behind his broad back and wrapping her arms around his waist, rocking him slowly and gently from side to side as she leaned hers head against his muscular form. "He will come out sometimes... he's an asshole, but not a coward. He will fight... and when we will know where he is, you will kick his ass so badly that he will never again walk properly." She said gently as she hugged him tightly.

Killer released an amused snort at that, reaching back with his arms to hug her back, releasing a low murr of quiet relief and pleasure at hers affection and devotion. She really was his life, by now... and even if the worries and the fear about her conditions when on the battlefield were a limit to his value of warrior, distracting his mind, he knew a few things. That he couldn't keep her far from the battlefields... as for him, they were hers natural place to stay. She was a proud, fierce warrior that could be deadly for everyone with swords as with fire arms. And she was, on that side, hers own. He knew that all she wanted was to follow him, help him and be there for him in every moment and condition... and she was the best help that a warrior can dream, with hers capabilities and total independence. She was more than able to handle herself and make hers way even in the worst battle and come out victorious. He knew also that he couldn't think to a life without her, by now... and even if the doubt that she could be his "weak" point still often stung him in his mind, he knew that he simply hadn't alternatives. He wasn't anymore the one without feelings, the icy general-playboy of the north and he had to admit that... now he had his love for her as fuel of his life.

"He isn't that scarce, darling... and I'm sure he is improved from the last time I fought him. He was faster than me and almost as strong, already. So I hope you are right. Who know, he could also be the one to come out victorious, this time." He answered seriously as he remembered the last time he had crossed his sword with the Black Lightning.

Alexis looked insulted at this and turned him towards her with such determination to seem almost violent as he glared into his eyes. "Listen to me, you two-tons of gorgeous liger! I don't give a fuck to how Riaku fights. I don't suck the cock of a loser... and you aren't the one. You trained yourself with me in the last months and now you can stand against me even for rapidity with swords. You can pulverize a wall of reinforced concrete with a fist, and neither a strong punch at that. And if I overcome him as agility and fencing abilities, now you are able to do the same as well. You will beat him down to a pulp. Or you think I'm not a worthy rival for yours trainings?"

Gods, she is serious now. I think it's the first time I piss her off... Killer blinked a few times in surprise, then smiled gently down at her to try and calm her down. "I hadn't thought to that, darling... I was talking of my own limits. And of course you are the best rival I have ever had." He said softly before stroke slowly the back of his hands on hers muzzle.

And hers snarl turned to a laugh as she watched amusedly up at him. "Fear, huh...? But you still haven't seen the angry side of me, lover. I was joking." She said gently as she hugged him. "You will win."

He looked surprised as he suddenly understood that she had pulled his leg... and he smiled as he laced his fingers in hers golden hair, feeling much better now. And then a question rose to his lips as he realized that she hadn't all him lion as usual, but... "Liger?" He asked amusedly, tilting his head to the side and arching an eyebrow.

She blinked before a wide smile conquered hers muzzle and she kissed him warmly, biting playfully his lower lip with a teasing murr before drew back slowly. "Actually is the correct term for half tiger and half lion that I had learned in my studies of biology when I was a teen. You like it...? It's suddenly returned to my mind."

"Well, it gives the image at least, huh...? He said back amusedly. They shared a soft laugh before return to their positions, each at a different window, well ready to the fight. Alexis immediately grasped hers powerful telescope with laser range-finder and leaned out from the window, looking with it towards the airport, at the bottom of the long, straight Boulton Street.

"You'd better launch the alarm, Wyvern... they are moving again. Big thing this time, really big." She said flatly as she adjusted the values of the telescope, slowly moving hers glance over the enemies in distance as Killer adjusted the microphone and launched the alert for the new advancing of the enemy before walk towards her and reach hers side. "Here, lover. Take this and watch..." She added as she passed to him the telescope and grasped hers huge sniper rifle, working fast a bullet into the chamber.

Killer leaned out from the window and brought the scope to his eyes, understanding what she wanted from him as he traveled with his glance over a long, seeming endless column of tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers that was about to start a new assault from the airport, two abundant kilometers away from their position. He could see easily the crews climb into their tank, see the soldiers check their weapons and even see their faces with the 120 enlargements of image of the scope...

"Tank crew, on turret, first tank in line, nine hours, 2340 meters, wind 2 knots, from east." He listed clearly as she adjusted the rifle against her shoulder and tried to prepare the shot. But she couldn't lean out enough to aim with the rifle and so she agilely climbed over the wall and launched her wonderful leg over the window sill, sitting with a foot inside and one outside, the rifle in her hands and without a support where place the bipod. Killer placed gently a strong hand over hers left shoulder for keep her steady as she leaned again hers eye on the scope and adjusted the parameters for the attack. "Do you have a clean line of fire?" He asked.

"Affirmative." She answered flatly as her cold grin spread wide on hers muzzle and hers finger pulled the trigger. The massive X12 rifle kicked hers shoulder with the usual violence, its rumble softened drastically by the powerful suppressor as the target died with a big hole in his head, falling halfway into and halfway out from the hatch of his tank where he was trying to climb as all around the others men hurried up to enter into their armored vehicles or to find a cover.

Alexis rapidly slid inside the window as Killer gently helped her, knowing that who know many enemies were surely trying to find the sniper with their binoculars. The two lovers reached another window and started again their work from there, then changed again position after a few shots, firing always from new positions as the enemy advanced and several more snipers of the Kesteven army begun to torment the enemy from other buildings.

Alexis placed again the heavy rifle on hers shoulders after have put in place a new magazine of bullets, easily unhooking hers SMG9 submachine rifle from the belt as she watched cautiously with one eye over the window sill. The column of enemies was near now and she needed a weapon able of spray rapidly and easily of bullets a zone instead of a complex machine of death designed to kill up to 3.5 kilometers of distance. Killer returned to her the telescope and nodded silently as he prepared the Cobra, removing both safeties, from the assault rifle and from the under-barrel grenade launcher, peering cautiously out from his window.

The long column of enemies was advancing slowly and cautiously. The first vehicle of the long queue was a mine-resistant heavily armored six wheels truck with thick windows of bullet proof glass that he knew could resist to at least fifty kilos of dynamite that exploded within a very few meters of distance. Inside the vehicle there was an entire specialized team of explosive disposers that, watching out from the armored windows, had the task of use a series of smart devices of the vehicle to clean the road for troops.

Over the roof of the big truck, between two six-canister smoke-grenade launchers and some big aerials of a powerful system of radio interference against remote controls for bombs, there were several searching sensors and a multispectral video camera to watch the external world and find explosives and hidden traps and troops even across the walls. The camera, placed over a remote controlled mount, was buzzing lightly as it rotated slowly, several more normal cameras following the movements of a long, thick and strong mechanic arm on the muzzle of the vehicle, that the men inside where guiding in an operation of removal of a piece of the curb of the sidewalk on the side of the roar opposite to the position of Killer and Alexis.

The two watched as the mechanic arm rudely torn apart the curb and brought to open air a hidden shell of artillery changed in Improvised Explosive Device and fired a metallic dart into it, detonating the bomb in security as the vehicle only twitched a bit for the bump of the explosion.

Behind this truck followed a heavy battle tank for the support. It had a short and large turret with a long 120 mm cannon and a remote mount with a grenade machine gun that was buzzing quietly as its independent aiming sight searched targets. Behind, several more armored wheeled vehicles followed, with soldiers leaning out from their hatches with their hands ready on the heavy machine guns or grenade launchers. The infantry, instead, was advancing in two tactical columns, one on either side of the road, brushing the walls of the buildings for be a harder target and give support each to the other apart from defend the vehicles in the middle.

"Hit. Hit now!" Killer commanded into the microphone. And immediately, as he and Alexis fired out from their windows, the machine gun MSFW8 in position on the fifth floor fired with a long burst into the column of soldiers on the other side of the street as every soldier into the building added his own fire.

The first burst of the MSFW shattered the body of the first of the enemy column before dig a series of holes into the walls behind as the rounds made their way towards the others men and take down other two, the assault rifles adding at the burning rain as plaster and slivers ricocheted everywhere into the road.

The Cobra gave the usual, soft "pop" as a grenade leaved the thick barrel for explode into the building in front, destroying a good part of the wall and knocking down several nearby soldiers as the others gained better covers and begun to oppose heavy resistance with furious fire of rifles and machine guns in direction of the windows, helped immediately by the heavy weapons of the vehicles. The tank even turned its turret and fired a HE round that smashed to pieces and dust the entire façade of the first floor, shaking the entire building with violence.

Killer and Alexis curled themselves down under the height of the windows sills as rounds smashed into the walls throwing into the air dust, dirt and chunks of pricks as all the enemies in front of the building fired towards the windows, covering the other column, that had sneaked its way along the walls and now was cautiously entering in the ruined first floor.

"Ready to three!" Exclaimed the huge male as he grasped the Javelin and prepared himself. Alexis immediately grasped from her belt a cylindrical smoke grenade, a finger ready to tore away the ring and arm it and the other hand ready on the handle of hers SMG9 watching intently as Killer raised a finger, then another...

And a explosion destroyed the piece of wall between their two once separated windows as several more grenades of the full, long burst entered from the large hole and flied across the room, smashing into the other walls and exploding, obliterating most of the flat as the two rapidly drop down to their knees and then to their strong, chiseled abdomens... but they scrambled immediately again to their feet and turned back towards the shattered wall, Alexis firing accurately with hers submachine gun and throwing the smoke grenade down in the street, then adding an HE-Frag one just as the smoke began to raise. Meanwhile, Killer had rapidly pointed the Javelin and fired the missile directly into the side of the armored vehicle of the EOD team.

The missile pierced the armored truck from side to side with its power and set fire to several instruments and devices inside as the blow thrown four of the six wheels into the street like oversized, heavy Frisbees. Exploiting the smoke curtain, also the other defenders of the palace regained their positions of fire and they too fired a Javelin, this time into one of the Bison wheeled armored personal carrier of the enemy, blowing that apart with a large hole in the muzzle.

But the Riaku's infantry was entering the building, sneaking cautiously inside in the artificial fog and walking over the debris leaved by the cannon's blow of their tank. The first soldier sneaked inside and rapidly aimed his rifle to all the room, that was in any case desert as he rapidly walked towards the opposite corner and took position there, going down to a crouch and keeping under line of fire the room and the damaged stairs in front of him as a second soldier entered and reached the opposite corner, followed by other two who rapidly assaulted the stairs.

The first jumped on the steps and began to climb without problems, but the second walked directly into the well hidden trap of the Kesteven defenders, pulling the fine transparent string which removed the safety ring from a L2 Frag grenade. Without the ring to maintain it down, the lever of detonation on the side of the spherical bomb jumped free with a low click pushed by its spring and the grenade exploded, blowing the unfortunate down in a flash of fire and slivers and hurting badly the two nearer ones, who fell on the floor with horrible wounds, screaming in agony.

The remaining, in any case, climbed rapidly the stairs and put in security the first landing, trying immediately to begin the procedure for the new stair ramp and the new floor. A team of eight men began to cautiously explore the flats on the first floor as other eight began to climb the staircase.

The firsts of the column were about halfway of the ramp when a muscular giant appeared like a lightning from the nothing, holding with his strong hands the upper frame of the door on top of the stairs to launch himself in the air and slam viciously both his large clawed paws into the officer head of the queue, knocking him down backwards against the other men. They landed heavily on the landing on bottom of the staircase, watching up with fear as the huge white male landed easily on his feet, cracking slowly his neck and twisting slowly his long clawed fingers as a grin conquered his features.

Killer reached the soldiers sprawled on the floor as they tried to rapidly scramble on their feet and kicked the rifle out of the hands of the first of the pile as the men under him cried uselessly "Shoot him, shoot him!". The so easily disarmed soldier winced, his hands running to the holster at his side to try to draw out the ordnance pistol as he rose to his feet, but a huge-breasted beautiful blond femme appeared from behind the giant and kicked rapidly with a booted foot into the gut of the sergeant, sending him crashing into a window and then falling down towards the road as the glass giggled on the floor.

The other seven men scrambled rapidly up to crouch, trying to aim their long assault rifles in the narrow space, but Killer kicked immediately two of them into the wall under the window. The wall cracked as the two bodies sunk into it, and then, after a loud crack, bricks and soldiers fell down outside the building as the huge male agilely backstepped with a growl, exiting from the sight of the soldiers in the street, that had immediately begun to fire up at the hole.

He rapidly unsheathed one of his two twin swords, the blade cutting easily across an internal wall with the strength of his liquid movement as the deadly blade drew a precise curve into the air. And then the giant rapidly thrown a sink forwards, sinking the point of the weapon into the face of the nearer soldier before tore downwards and outwards, cutting easily in two the body of the enemy as his fingers twitched a few times in death over the rifle. The blade come free and Killer slashed it in the same liquid motion into the other nearby soldier, as Alexis grasped hers own long sword and faced the remaining.

Alexis sunk hers fine blade into the gut of the first soldier in line, grasping his shoulder and pushing him away as she rudely removed the weapon from the wound and turned towards a second man, who was rapidly charging towards her, unsheathing his own sword in the march. The femme's sword finally come free with a strong pull and she thrown the corpse into the other running soldier before slash a lightning sabre cut that cut an inch-deep wound directly into the throat of the soldier, who fell with a rapid, dying wince.

The blond female snorted as she felt a soldier try to catch her from behind and she simply jumped, gathering her legs under her with impressive elegance as the blade awkwardly whistled into the air in an oversized sabre cut, before she turned into the air and kicked the enemy in full face, knocking him down towards the other staircase and pushing him down all the steps with cries of pain as blood flied from his muzzle. Alexis rapidly grasped at the beams of the ceiling with hers free hand, powering with elegance hers body into a rapid twist on the spot, her legs stretched out as she kicked into the muzzle of the soldiers that were surrounding her before snort as she felt one trying to grasp her waist from behind.

Killer growled, smashing the face of his own rival with a fist into the muzzle and walked rapidly forwards, raising the sword... but the female lifted easily herself again with her only hand and exited from the reach of the enemy, turning suddenly with a roar and closing her muscular legs around the neck of the soldier, leaning easily on his shoulders with his head trapped between her inner thighs as she leaved the ceiling to easily cut with a claw the strap of his helmet and throw it away. Then the blond female grinned cruelly as she tightened a bit hers hold and grasped the hairs of the soldier, using them as rein to dominate hers new horse and force him to turn into the wanted direction with a shout of angry joy of fight.

"Here! Team under attack!" Come a voice from the broken door of the first flat of the floor as the other team, hearing the sounds of the battle, ran his way back towards the landing. Alexis growled, sheathing rapidly again hers sword as she twisted savagely towards the right the neck of hers victim, forcing him to turn towards the door of the flat staggering with a wince, rightly in time to see the other soldiers in dark green uniform appear in the doorway. The blond female grasped both hers twin handguns Type 91 and draw them out in a lightning fast, liquid motion before line both barrels to her eyes with a roar and begun to fire the big, heavy magnum rounds.

Four bullets smashed into the chest of the first enemy, crashing him backwards like a doll as meat and blood exploded from him as the second soldier got holed as well... and then Killer reached behind his back with his free hand and grasped the Cobra, aiming the grenade launcher in a single, perfect motion and pulling the trigger a single time. The grenade exploded rightly into the doorway and killed all the others remained as he shouldered a last enemy into a wall, crushing him to death with his massive, muscular form.

Alexis blew on both barrels before look playfully down into the terrified eyes of hers "horse", smiling a cruelly ironic smile before launch to him a fast kiss with hers fingers, winking playfully. "Sorry, you aren't my type..." She said in a fake sweet mistress voice as a grin crested hers muzzle. Then she twisted her mighty thighs a last time and his neck noisily shattered as she sustained herself at the ceiling for a moment meanwhile his body slumbered to a broken heap on the floor, before drop herself easily down on her booted feet and turn rapidly towards Killer, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if my love for you will be the end of my life." He said playfully as she slowly let him go and gained a covered position of defense from where she could see the stairs and shoot over anyhow who could try to climb from the road. She shrugged with a grin, ejecting both clip of hers pistols and putting the still not empty magazines in a pocket before rapidly change them with a rapid move, crossing her arms and pushing the magnum handguns into the clips tied on the frontal plate of hers tactical combat vest. "It's possible, if you piss me off. It's the price for marry me."

Riaku had slowly gained new terrain in the morning on both directions of his advancing, forcing the defenders to leave their positions with fierce fights. At around noon, the XII regiment Guards of Kesteven had almost ceased to exist due to the high friction of loses collected trying to defend the zone around the airport. But they had granted nothing, fighting for every meter and the Mottram forces were still out of the Hospital and the wounded were only increasing.

The warriors of Kesteven were demons. Masters of the art of build traps and IEDs, they had changed the town into a massive trap and now were fighting for every shelter, for every piece of wall. Their equipment was excellent and their logistic was still strong, able to supply much more easily the needed munitions since all the principal weapons of the army had the same caliber, differently from Mottram that had weapons often bought into different nations and in any case all developed around their own caliber. There was a caliber for pistols, one for assault rifles, two for sniper rifles and still other types of bullets needed for the other weapons.

Kesteven instead had in service a family of modular weapons developed together, with a commonality of up to over the eighty percent of general components and all designed around the same caliber, the .50, powerful, standard and common. From the magnum handgun Type 91 to the short, little submachine gun SMG9 to the modular assault rifle, the MASR8, to the FSR8, the standard sniper rifle derived from the ancient but deadly and accurate Enfield No4 to the MSFW8, the powerful belt-fed machine gun of support, all worked with that only type of bullet, hidden everywhere in reserves and houses in all Kesteven and in service even with the rival army, so that the Kesteven soldiers sometimes had the luck to find useful ammo also on the corpses. And they were at home, after all... fight at home is always an advantage of great help.

Kesteven was in chaos and every road and street was an image of Hell. Everywhere there were wrecks and ruins and the only sounds were the racket of the automatic weapons and the roars of the vehicles running everywhere. For the defenders was impossible try to travel from any point of town to any other, because the sky was crowded of helicopters and fighters of Riaku ready to attack and several enemy snipers were taking positions into the ruins, beginning a private war with their skilled counterparts. But the resistance was so fierce that the battle was beginning to be really, really expensive for the invader.

There were already several commanders in the Riaku's army more than convinced that the only way to conquer Kesteven was destroy it. They all knew that the Predators were fighting into town with their superior equipment and training and were inflicting terrible loses into their lines and they knew that the wounded were suffering terribly because still the hospital was in the hand of the enemy and that the situation of their huge fleet of vehicles was rapidly worsening due to the failing in the conquest of the airport's fuel reserve. The general co-ordination of the forces on the ground was terrible. The only thing that arrived with regularity were the orders. Riaku was tireless and was incredibly directing every single move and preparing every single plan and attempt for both army and air force, but no one had received regularly food and water. Most of the troops in the very first line, around the airport and along Leuchars Avenue, were almost cut out when talking of supplies, seen that every convoy of trucks was always systematically bombed or raided by the enemy in ambushes.

Almost all the logistical system was on the edge of a disaster, on the edge of the breaking point. Munitions, food, water, components, spare parts, lubricating oils and fuel couldn't be distributed to thousands of soldiers regularly into streets unsafe and crowded of ruins and most of the transport helicopters had to be used for that, challenging every time the Javelin missiles that were becoming rapidly another nightmare of Riaku. He had underestimated that smart portable missile system... and now, even if the fixed system of air defense of Kesteven was destroyed and most of its mobile batteries Harrow were out of the game, the Mottram Air Force still was facing terrible loses and huge difficulties.

The advancing was so becoming terribly slow and the mood of the soldiers was rapidly changing. The war fast, fresh and happy was becoming a Hell that had little comparisons in history, remembering from very near the cauldron of Stalingrad. And especially, the enemy was making heroes and gods of his commanders... and the Mottram soldiers by now had seen and heard enough to tremble at the simple mention of the name "Killer". And the Predators, that had understood that, were using the cruel tactic to shout towards the enemy things like... "The general Wyvern is coming. He'll kick your asses!" And with great, terrible rage of Riaku, it was beginning to work. The cases of desertion were rising continuously and especially the reports of cases of cowardly in front of the enemy; so numerous that he hadn't any more idea of how to punish them. Normally the punishment was execution... but the number was too high for think anymore to use it. He couldn't destroy his already weakening forces himself, after all... he was now trying the decimation, killing only a culprit every ten and sending the others, after the horrible show, again to the front.

News said that Killer and Alexis were chasing after him along every street, piercing across his lines crushing his soldiers like corn. When pushed in a corner, Killer was a complete engine of destruction, he knew well that for his own memories, sure... but Wyvern was really surprising him with the new enterprises that he was accomplishing against his army. He had forced an entire convoy of tanks and armored vehicles Bison to retreat and destroyed thirteen tanks in another battle in a small square before vanish again to go and defend a new position.

Sigmund and Alexander had been signaled into the International Hotel of Kesteven, a twelve floors tall building in the center of the green zone that was still resisting to every assault with surprisingly fierceness, and Seth was there too, probably. He had been wounded pretty badly in a bloody fight with swords between two patrols for the possession of an anonym four-floors building, at least, and probably forced to remain out from the battle.

But Riaku couldn't face a similar situation still for long time. He advanced new troops from his reserve of maneuver and launched forwards again also the tired parachutists, changing also the orders for his artillery. Full scale carpet bombing on every place from where the enemy fires or where he tries to resist was the new rule. The time for playing nice was definitely end... and if he wanted to conquer Kesteven, if he had to destroy it for have it... he was ready to.

The artillery was a company unwanted, but continue. Shells of 155 mm landed by now everywhere, one after the other, crushing walls, sending into the air fire, ruins and deadly slivers as thousands of cannons fired from outside town, immediately aiming on every point of resistance and erasing entire streets, reducing to chunks of concrete the wonderful palaces and forcing the defenders to reach solider positions and fight into cellars and sewers, where the rain of fire couldn't reach them. But no one ever staggered in his will.

Killer ejected the empty box from the Cobra and slammed in position a new one, forcing the extremity of the long belt of 180 rounds into the shutter of the weapon. He had the same caliber of the heavy sniper rifle of Alexis, firing rounds of 20 mm able to pierce easily the lighter armors and to reduce to mincemeat the enemies or to kill even behind thick walls. The Cobra, after all, was a modified heavy machine gun dismounted from the coaxial mount of a main battle tank and connected in a new body with a grenade launcher with a six-round clip and with a tactical aiming sight. Find ammo was a bit harder, recoil ad weight were absolutely impossible to anyone but him and maybe Alexis... but even his power of fire was without a comparison in the family of personal weapons. He hadn't rivals.

He had range, rhythm of fire and power much superior to any soldier and was a help incredible in every position of the battlefield. But he and Alexis were searching for Riaku, traveling from position to position in the hope of receive a message or cross him somewhere...

Alexis was at his side, leaning against a broken wall and firing with hers submachine gun towards a group of enemies that was trying to advance from the corner of a destroyed building. Several others soldiers of Kesteven were scattered between the wrecks and into a tract of sewer that a bomb had brought to the surface.

It was raining heavily from the gloomy, cloudy sky over the town on flames. Water was flowing into the holes and into the trenches, flowing down along their faces as Killer slowly wiped a hand dirty of blood and dust over his eyes, moving away tuft of soaked mane as he shot again and again, his eye sometimes wondering with weak hope to the low left corner of the visor in front of his eyes, full of red symbols... but finding it always empty, with growing frustration. At least the rain was keeping some restrains over the flames, stopping the fire from burn all the wonderful but fragile wooden buildings and facades so common in Kesteven.

Soldiers with dark green uniforms were advancing from the street, running from shelter to shelter as several huge tanks forced their way into the road... and Killer seen two of his soldiers vanish in a ball of dirty orange flames when one of the vehicles fired into their little position. He growled, exiting from behind the chunk of wall where he was, and fired a long, raging burst of big piercing rounds towards the shadows of enemies in the thick rain, firing also a grenade. Someone winced and screamed in agony, some of the shadows falling down behind the tanks, but the vehicle turned its turret and fired a new shell which destroyed easily the wall.

The explosion knocked him backwards again a pile of ruins as he grunted, caught in the middle of a jump by the colossal movement of air of the blow. He growled, forcing his strength against the tiredness and the violence of the enemy fire as he charged forwards again, firing another grenade and then slashing viciously the massive blade of the Wyvern into the first tank, cutting the long cannon like a bread stick and almost opening the body of the vehicle in two before pull savagely outwards and free the blade cutting across a track and stopping the enormous vehicle...

And in that moment, as if he had hit a jack point in some game, the visor beeped and a message begun to flash in front of his left eye... he jumped over the other tank, his hands reaching into the door of the hatch of the tank chief turret, and his heart thudded faster with hope. Killer pulled with all his strength, most of the turret coming free with screaming of metal as his muscles bulged with power in the effort, and Alexis reached him with an acrobatic jump into the air. She carried out a perfect flip on herself into the air, firing to the soldiers around them with hers magnums as she spin into the air and then she landed on top of the tank, dropping fast a l2 frag grenade into the destroyed hatch as the chief of the tank looked up at her with utter terror, disbelieving as he saw a huge male holding in his hands the bended plates of steel of the turret that had once protected him from everything...

"It's him...?" She asked as the two landed elegantly behind the tank, side to side with their swords ready and the grenade exploded with a gloomy thud inside the thick-armored vehicle, killing all the men inside as smoke flew lazily out from the hatch.

"Yes!" He growled with a furious joy. "I've the position! Follow me!" He added as he made his way rapidly across the battle towards one of the lateral streets, his fingers working over the small buttons of the visor as he projected the map of the town in front of his left eye. Now he had to be fast... he couldn't miss that chance.

The two tigers reached a building and Killer dived easily across a wall with his shoulder, launched himself over the stairs and climbed them jumping entire ramps as Alexis followed him easily until emerge on the roofs, running on the soaked tiles as the male opened the way.

Snipers fired against them from several hidden positions, but the two jumped from chimney pot to chimney pot, diving with long jumps as the shot whistled nearer, too fast for the enemy to take aim effectively. Alexis had in hers pocket a smart system that was part of the equipment of the Predators; a small acoustical device big as a packet of cigarettes that was able to detect from the sound of a single shot the position of the enemy that had fired it and signal the direction on a compass... but they had no time for answer. The contact with Riaku was too vulnerable and precious for lose time. Their observer had already broken the contact, following the orders... and Riaku could be already on another path. They had to be fast...

"They have seen him in a lateral street of Leuchars avenue... he's not fighting, but on an inspection of his commanders in first line." Killer explained as Alexis reached his side and watched up at him. The he grunted as they jumped all the way across a street and landed with a roll into a window in a badly damaged building that was still burning here and there, only an armor of burnt and damaged external walls still standing tall. "Not that it's really so important why he's there, sure..." He added idly.

Then they emerged over another roof, skidding a bit over the water that was flowing down the cracked tiles... and Killer jumped immediately behind a chimney as a big, long burst of heavy piercing rounds smashed into the building between his running feet, pulverizing the tiles and then followed him stubbornly behind his shelter, almost cutting the structure of old bricks into two half as he snorted, feeling into his back the powerful hits of the bullets into the chimney. How I can be so stupid? Killer peered over the edge of the badly damaged chimney... the racket was terrible as the huge attack helicopter flied low over the roofs, hovering in his searching of targets for recover the visual contact with him and Alexis. Noisily as it is, I should have heard and processed, Christ...!

The huge tank-hunter was a powerful Close Support Attack Helicopter of the class S24 Harpy, probably the better aircraft of its class in the entire world and one of the more deadly and modern weapons of the Mottram's arsenal. Armed with hyper-fast 20 mm cannons with piercing rounds, a big minigun in a remote controlled, swiveling turret and possible combinations almost infinite of rockets, missiles and gun-pods under his short, strong wings; able to transport, infiltrate and support a small team of six soldiers, it had huge possibilities on the battlefields. And it had the power to raze to ground a small town. It wasn't really a rival to underestimate.

The white-and-green camouflaged S24 Harpy descended a bit more, so near to the roofs that several tiles begun to fly around like the slivers of a grenade under the colossal movement of air of the large rotor. The helicopter had two cockpits placed one in front of the other in the narrow, long muzzle of the aircraft. The gunner was into the lower dome of armored glass, the pilot seated into the upper one just behind the first. On top of the square fuselage of the helicopter there were the two powerful turbo-engines, placed side to side just beneath the rotor. Two long and threatening 20 mm guns with piercing rounds were placed just under the muzzle, on the side as a remote controlled turret with a deadly minigun able of fire up to 5000 bullets for minute was just in the middle, beneath the gunner's position. The square fuselage could fit up to six fully equipped soldiers, but in that moment it was empty and had two both the doors, one on each side, opened and two men were moving other two miniguns on a mount, trying to see their target and open fire over it.

Killer peered cautiously from the side of the chimney. Alexis was hidden in a small balcony between two roofs of different height and she shown a thumb up to confirm that she was ok before reach for hers sniper rifle. The male felt a wide, cruel grin gain his muzzle as he turned to the other side. The helicopter was still standing stupidly, the turret with the minigun buzzing lowly in its research of targets and the two gunners in the doors aiming their weapons from side to side, two both watching around across night-vision goggles. But especially, six well equipped soldiers were making their way from chimney to chimney with their assault rifles ready, searching them cautiously. The helicopter wasn't empty, after all... but the special force loaded was jumped down before he could see.

Killer rapidly armed the Cobra, thinking with a strong wish for a moment to the smart X20CS Corner-Shot of the Predators, a particular rifle that could be used to shoot over the edge of a wall or over a corner without have to lean over, simply bending the swiveling weapon and using the optic of it to see and take aim. He took a deep breath and then leaned out rapidly, searching the first target. Shouts welcomed him and the soldiers rapidly searched a cover and fired towards him, but the general had already fired, killed the first in line and was already jumping towards a new shelter as the helicopter roared in the sky in a turn for aim better as bursts of minigun and piercing 20 mm rounds smashed the chimney to dust and spread crumbs the tiles all around.

Alexis leaned out a bit, hers X12 placed on its bipod over the edge of the roof and hers eye ready on the scope... and rapidly a evil grin conquered hers muzzle as two shots leaved the barrel. She had full vision on the side of the turning helicopter... and she never miss. The first gunner fell backwards into the fuselage and then rolled down and out of the door on the other side for the strength of the blow as the other bullet nailed the second gunner against the minigun in a burst of dark blood.

Immediately the special force of now five soldiers divided its members in two squads, trying to surround and kill the two defenders. Killer smiled a bit, going down to a crouch into a small shelter between two big chimneys, only waiting to be reached for charge the soldiers with the Wyvern and crush them. No one was going to stop him from reach Riaku. No one.

But the helicopter turned around the building in the air and the gunner spot him with the sensors on the muzzle of the aircraft, nailing the huge male in that position with the obsessive fire of the minigun in the turret, lowering and leveling the Harpy rightly in front of Killer.

The warrior in question understood immediately that the helicopter was gonna fire its other weapon: under two short, strong wings behind the doors on both sides, the S24 had a formidable arsenal of rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles. And Killer known that a burst of not-guided high speed rockets could easily destroy half of the building, not only his fragile shelter. And could kill him in a second.

He raised the Cobra and fired a furious burst of 20 mm rounds into the cockpit of the gunner... but it was heavily armored and the glass cracked but never shattered as the gunner laughed in front of him and his efforts, keeping him stuck in that den of sure death with the fire of the minigun. Killer could see his fangs opened in an ironic laughter... and he had always utterly hated see someone laugh of him. His finger pulled the second trigger as he gave voice to a frightening roar of fury of his own, his voice seeming to defeat even the racket of the rotor as a grenade flew its way until collide with the damaged cockpit and explode, shattering the glass and reducing the gunner to a bloody strainer of slivers as several more burning pieces of metal flied into the engines. From somewhere behind him, four bullets rumbled in the rain... and Alexis again showed hers prowess, inserting two big bullets into each engine and into the heads of two soldiers that had sneaked their way behind Killer, knocking down two both with meaty thuds.

The two turbo-engines of the helicopter gave high flames with a rumble as Killer emptied another clip of rounds and two grenades against the pilot's cockpit and the enemy fuselage as the S24 tried to turn around and flee... and then it begun to fall rapidly and collided with a tall façade, as the rotor cut across the wall like cutting butter before explode into mad pieces of metal. The pilot had surely been killed by some bullets, and the dangerous S24 vanished in a terrible explosion of fuel and rockets and ammo when it finally smashed into the palace, falling then on flames into the street twelve floors beneath followed by a rain of chunks of concrete.

Killer watched the huge arson with a snort for a second before he turned with a growl and jumped from his shelter on the cracked tiles, the colossal crimson blade of the Wyvern in his hands... but the three survivors of the special team were fleeing already on the roofs, apparently convinced that they had no chances of make their way against two warriors that had destroyed half team and a terrible flying-arsenal Harpy in a minute... But that wasn't day of merciless.

Alexis turned easily the rifle on the right direction and fired two rapid rounds that shattered armors, uniforms and bodies with spurts of blood that flied high into the air as two of the fleeting fell... and she was working hers hand on the lever to force another bullet in the long barrel when the last fell with a full three-rounds burst fired by Killer into his body.

She shouldered the huge rifle as she slowly walked towards him, patting slightly on his muscular shoulder as he smiled quietly an embarrassed smile, passing a hand into his mane and looking as if to apologize for his foolish charge that had brought two both rightly under a deadly attack helicopter. Alexis only laughed a bit, giving a fast glance around with hers powerful scope in order to control the presence of other threats on the roofs as the two begun to walk rapidly again towards the position signaled by a flashing red dot on the visor of the huge male.

They still reached the zone in a record time even if they walked with much more prudence and tactic, now... Killer leaded the way down a sleep roof and then around the still burning wreck of a double-barreled 20 mm anti-aircraft gun with the servant died still sprawled on the seat with a Type 91 magnum handgun still tightly held in his bloody hand, other corpses spread around as proof of the violence of the battle. The couple then walked down a narrow passage invaded by running water between two damaged roofs, emerging into a small balcony on the corner of a seven floors tall building, arriving rightly behind an enemy sniper with a full urban full-grey-with black-stripes camo uniform and a rifle with a long black scope ready in his hands. He was quietly smoking a cigarette as he watched around from his privileged position with far too little prudence and far too much confidence... and was totally unaware of the two deadly warriors coming behind his shoulders.

Killer slowed his step and slowly shouldered the Cobra, taking for prudence in his hand the black magnum Type 91 as he raised his left hand and signaled the enemy to Alexis with a silent gesture of their common military background. She peered from over his large shoulder with an evil grin of amusement and kill-hunger and touched lightly his back with a gentle gloved hand. She was the more light and silent of the two and offered hers rapid and clean work with that gesture... but Killer smiled and shook silently his head, mouthing silently the words "no dirt on your hands" to her before slowly walk towards the sniper.

Alexis chuckled silently at his attention and she crossed ironically her arms with a glance and a wave of her hand that was a clear "Let me see what you can do..." from behind hers long tufts of golden hairs. Killer grinned with playful insolence and begun his attack calmly.

She remained again surprised and impressed of his stealthness, absolutely incredible for his size and weight as she held under aim the enemy with one of hers magnums for major security... he slowly and calmly made his way on his large paws, keeping even his cruel talons slightly lifted to avoid any sound as he keep steady the golden bullet at his neck with two fingers... and then, lightning fast but still so silent, he forced a muscular arm around the neck, just under the chin of the unfortunate sniper, pulling upwards and backwards in the same strong but liquid motion. Killer lifted the smaller male with the ease of lift a doll, pressing the unfortunate against his broad chest and easily shattering his neck with a fast, clean gesture that leaved fine dust where a moment before had been a spine. Alexis grinned amusedly as she placed again the magnum into the holster and walked to him as he slowly put down the corpse. The sniper was died without a sound... and probably even without understand of being dying; she thought as she looked down at the cigarette slowly burning a bit of fur before slowly die to ash.

The two slowly got down to crouch and then immediately elegantly lain down on the wet floor of concrete, slowly crawling towards the edge as they caught sight of several more snipers on the roofs around. Killer cursed at low voice and then rapidly composed the corpse of his victim against the roof for make it look still alive and attentive, gathered in a sort of inelegant crouch and with the rifle in his lap before rapidly go down again. They had luck for a time... miraculously no one of the snipers seemed to have noticed anything. Alexis watched the corpse with an amused snort and then she turned to Killer, arching an eyebrow to him and smiled. "You always had the mania of be the artist..." She said gently in his ear as he grinned back amusedly with a little, ironic nod.

Down in the street, that was in reality a dead lane surrounded of tall walls of bricks faced on the large and bright Leuchars Avenue, where the tanks of both fronts were fighting furiously; a huge tank Tiran of Mottram was motionless and with engine at minimal regime. Soldiers with their dark green uniforms and the standard assault rifles ready in their hands were loitering slowly all around the vehicle meanwhile over it, tall on the turret, stand a massive throne of chiseled white ivory, where a clearly bored and irritated Riaku was listening to half a dozen of high officers that surrounded him standing on every possible spot of the armored monster.

"Asshole...!" Growled irritably Alexis as she cautiously and silently moved hers rifle from hers back to a position of fire with amazing speed, opening easily the legs of the bipod. "I can kill him in a second from here. Just give me the order." She added flatly as she watched into the scope with attention. But Killer immediately shook his head and lowered the barrel of hers X12 with a hand.

"What the fuck, lover! He's not playing honorable and-" She argued with a roll of hers eyes. But he stopped her with a hand and a decided glance. "No. I'll keep playing the old way in any case... and besides... watch there." He pointed with his finger to the vehicle... and especially to a belt of little metallic cubes that surrounded the entire tank, with four poles at the four corners of the MBT that rose into the air, overcoming even the height of Riaku with small aerials on the tips.

"EMP..." She whispered with a look up to him for ask a confirm that, as she knew, arrived immediately as he nodded. The tank was protected with sensors able to spot and track an incoming threat, programmable to react and generate a powerful field of electromagnetic pulses against them. It was enough to detonate ahead of time most missiles and act even over the trajectory of a kinetic shell from a cannon. Usually are needed threats of a certain level to trigger it... but it had been surely programmed to react even to bullets of normal rifles for protect Riaku. And if it could send away a 155 mm shell that flies at 1500 meters for second, it surely could erase any danger of bullets from any rifle or machine gun.

"Bastard. He's smarter than how he looks." She muttered irritably, moving hers rifle to aim on the nearer sniper; a lithe tiger in the same urban uniform of the former that was waiting calmly for a target in a small window on the roof of the building in front of them. Killer, in the same time, slowly set better the Cobra and the Wyvern on his shoulders, putting away also the huge Type 91 pistol and sheathing the bayonet before look again at her that was still keeping under control the enemy sniper.

"I'll go down and talk with him. I'm gonna challenge him again... but I don't want to necessarily crush all those soldiers. They are only unfortunate puppets. Give me cover just in case..." Killer paused a moment, giving a look of distaste probably for the first time over Riaku. "... just in case he doesn't collaborate."

Alexis answered with a simple, irritable snort at that last statement... but then she raised hers eyes from the scope for a moment and smiled to him warmly, reaching up with a hand to gently stroke his muzzle as he smiled back before stand up and jumped naturally down from the roof as if it was a normal thing to do.

Killer had just the time for watch down at the asphalt rapidly approaching and tense his legs for the landing before hit the ground and go down easily to a crouch as shouts filled his ears and three rumbles of thunder accompanied the lightning fast shots of Alexis as she eliminated the snipers that evidently were trying to take aim at him. He closed his eyes for a second as his mane slumped down on his shoulders again and he growled lowly as he slowly stood to his full height, turning towards the MBT Tiran and finally opening his eyes with a sapphire flash that seemed to frozen the terrified soldiers that had already formed a line in front of the tank.

Wyvern snorted before slowly stretch outside his muscled arms and turning completely towards Riaku in a crucifix position and a challenging but quiet smile on his muzzle as he faced fearlessly the line of rifles, bayonets and cannon without said a world.

Killer begun to walk forwards slowly, always with his hands stretched outside, completely disarmed and inoffensive... but still the soldiers in dark green uniform staggered uncertainly backwards, scared and without any idea of how try to stop the Legend. Killer moved his eyes on the twenty soldiers, and a grin conquered his muzzle as he seen only terrified faces and eyes that told that those men wanted only to be somewhere else as they squeezed up themselves for reassure each the other. Then his eyes traveled towards Riaku.

The Black Lighting was sat down on his ivory throne, his legs crossed heedlessly and his back comfortably leaned backwards into the velvet seat. He was sat down on a long black cloak that from his shoulders went down to puddle behind his large, bare paws on the muzzle of the huge armored vehicle. His legs had always been impressive, his absolute strong point and the fulcrum of his amazing agility; but now they literally rippled with untamed power under white uniform's pants that were tight on such muscles to the point of seem constantly on the edge of breaking to tatters, sign that he had increased again his already amazing trainings. Two plates of finely chiseled steel wrapped in ivory were tied on his lower legs as protection, almost reaching the knees as two more plates covered the front of his upper arts, almost brushing against a thick combat belt of dark leather with a silver clasp. He had three swords extremely similar to the Killer's ones, kept into sheaths of the same leather of the belt which they were tied to; the biggest one was fixed horizontally just over his tail, on his back, while two twins long swords were at both his sides, together with two leather holsters with two deadly, black Type 91 Magnum pistols. Also his torso looked much more toned and was simply much bigger than the last time. All his muscles had improved amazingly, reaching a level of definition that impressed even Wyvern, making him wonder on how hard he had trained himself in those months. His upper body was wrapped in an armor that followed precisely the shape of his body and that was extremely similar to the Killer's one. The differences were just the lack of a neck of fur and the color: when Wyvern's armor was of black steel decorated with flames of chiseled silver on his large chest, Riaku's one was completely wrapped in white ivory that had been sculptured with scenes of tigers fighting with long, traditional swords and sabre. His shoulder were uncovered, as well, just like Wyvern, and his bone-spikes had grown further, too, even if they were still a bit smaller than Killer's ones. And the arms that Riaku was keeping crossed calmly were powerful and huge with muscles that had grown impressively, reaching the same level of Wyvern if not even something more. Around the neck, Riaku had now a big, thick collar that covered entirely his throat, reaching up almost to his chin and looking to Killer uncomfortable... but as Riaku tilted his head a bit, he noticed that it wasn't and that his rival had still full freedom of movement. The ornament was densely sculptured with simple geometrical symbols that made up a nice decoration... but Killer thought more to the tactical side, noticing how it protected his jugular and spine from most threats.

But the physical improvements of his rival didn't impressed him as much as the change on his features. His face was the same of always, with his pure tiger's lines and the handsome features... but his grin wasn't only of arrogant challenge and self confidence. It was... almost crazed with cruelty, as his red eyes were. The flames of his pupils, that a time were handsome lights of the strongest will that Killer had ever seen, were now an untamed, treacherous arson that hurt Killer to the heart as memories of the old, gentle and always smiling Riaku crossed his mind...

And then the black male set himself better into the oversized seat and connected the tips of his long fingers in front of his muzzle, looking down at the walking Killer with a grin of amused interest as the generals and officers around him shifted uncomfortably before one of them, evidently terrified by the advancing of the legend, yelled with panic a single order. "Stop him!"

Killer growled as four soldiers charged at him with their bayonets, shouting incoherent war-screams for encourage themselves as three more raised their rifles to their shoulders as Riaku narrowed his eyes and observed with cruel attention.

Wyvern continued to walk calmly forwards without a twitch... but when the first soldier was about to sink his bayonets into his neck, Killer used his right arm for grasp the rifle with a move fast as a lightning, easily swinging outwards and upwards in the same liquid gesture, lifting into the air the disbelieving soldier like a doll until his hands gave up with their hold and the dark-green uniformed man flew against the wall of the second floor of the nearer building, smashing into it with such strength to crash the wall of brick and vanish inside the palace in a hail of smoke, blood and dust.

Almost in the same fleeting moment, a second soldier tried to jump against Killer, sabre-cutting madly with his bayonet towards the jugular of the huge warrior and screaming crazily. The giant male only copied with grace the move of Alexis, sidestepping neatly and grasping the arms of the smaller male, pulling him suddenly towards his deadly knee as he slashed it forwards with a growl. The unfortunate soldier had only the time for cough blood with a wince as Killer's spikes pierced across his body and his hands twitched, losing strength as the rifle fell to the ground.

And again, Killer had already grasped with the other hand the head of another enemy, his fingers crushing with frightening ease helmet and skull as he forced his new victim to fly into the air, throwing him backwards. The corpse with the shattered head landed a good eleven feet away, hitting face-first into the asphalt with such violence to dig a furrow into it as it continued to slip forwards for several more feet. The warrior white tiger, in the same time, had charged with a roar and shouldered his way between two more soldiers, slamming viciously his elbows down into their helmets as his spikes pierced until exit from their chins, killing two both immediately without never distract his eyes from Riaku as he continued to advance with his calm step.

Other three soldiers that had begun another foolish charge stopped their attack with expression of utter terror. One, completely lost the control, begun to run into the alley, pointing towards Leuchars street and one of the officers on the tank growled, extracted his pistol and fired a single shot, killing the fugitive with an expression of utter distaste. Then he fired another round, killing another soldier, that had begun to stagger backwards as Killer approached him in his straight, heedless walk without ever look down at him. The third soldier, in front of that show of violence and cruelty, stand in front of Killer with his sword unsheathed, but the huge warrior only kicked him in the side with a savage blow, knocking him down and launching his body like a bullet into other three soldiers.

The officer on the tank, still with the smoking pistol in his hands, begun to stagger backwards himself, shakily aiming the handgun towards Wyvern... and immediately several more soldiers did the same with their rifles as Killer continued to walk forwards resolutely, again in his crucifix position for signal that he hadn't bellicose intentions.

Eight shots filled the air with loud rumbles as powerful magnum bullets struck precisely in the foreheads of the officer and of the soldiers that had raised their firearms against Killer as Alexis calmly straightened from hers own jump down from the building, one of hers twin Type 91 firmly held in his stretched out hand as her narrowed, determined eyes frozen all the others men as she shook slowly hers head.

A soldier tried to draw out his pistol, but Alexis was much faster. In the same time, she had already drawn out her other magnum and fired three bullets. The first had knocked the pistol out from the enemy's hand and sent it flying into the air. The second had hit the pistol and reduced it to pieces and the third had neatly destroyed the hand of the unfortunate, sending him on the ground crying, rocking from side to side in agony as he grasped his bleeding, hand-less wrist.

"Save the effort, scum. I could blow all your heads off before anyone of you could even move a finger." She exclaimed coldly as she aimed both pistols to the scared soldiers remained. "Don't even try, or I'll directly kill you." She added with a growl.

The officers around Riaku shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a way for exit from the situation, but when one of them literally pushed a scared stiff soldier towards Killer, he took him down in a second before watch down with a sort of cruel pity as he agonized with his spine broken... and Wyvern simply used his foot for break the neck bone and kill him immediately without as much than a grunt. And when a general tried to draw his pistol out, Alexis roared with fury and placed lightning fast two bullets into him: one into heart and one in the forehead. "Satisfied...?" She growled irritably.

No one dared to move a single coat... and then Riaku chuckled, clapping idly his right hand over the back of his left one. "Stop, everyone. You can't deal with these two." He ordered coldly. And Killer wondered with horror on how he had found the stomach for let die uselessly so much of his own men in that way... only for... value him? No. He had no need... he knew from the first moment what was going to happen. It had been... a horrible game.

"I see you still are deadly as always, Wyvern." Riaku tilted his head on the side and grinned down at the rival from his throne as the officers and generals slipped silently behind the seat and the remained soldiers sidestepped rapidly out of the way of his sight, opening the road for Killer and going to a well distance from the bloodstained, mortal hands of the white tiger. "Better still... you are much improved from the old times." He added with fake sweetness.

"You are a monster." Killer said calmly but decidedly as he relaxed his arms to his sides, fixing his red eyes with cold, lucid fury. "I've never seen a similar behavior. Never. You knew they were going to die... monster."

"The fucked word is 'dirty asshole'!" Exclaimed irritably and disgusted Alexis from hers position as she slowly walked towards Killer, hers magnums ready in her hands even if she relaxed her arms along her sides.

"You killed them. And in a skilled, impressive way. But you, not me." Riaku observed calmly before turn his glance with a cruel, amused grin over Alexis and traveling eye-catchingly on all hers body as she stood tall and beautiful at Killer's side, watching up at him with icy sapphire eyes. "And Alexis... your beauty is equal only to your skills of warrior and to the dirt of your talking."

"I'm going to stuff a lot of dirt directly up your ass, fucktard!" She exclaimed irritably as Killer narrowed his eyes to him with a deadly glance that Riaku utterly ignored for laugh in front of Alexis.

"Just try. I'm gonna fuck you so hard, baby..." He hissed ironically at her. But she didn't reacted with fury now... but with an amused grin as she looked up at him.

"You?" She asked amusedly. "Go to sleep, kid. Your tiny balls aren't enough for take out from me a groan." She exclaimed ironically as she played a bit with hers magnums, without never distract hers eyes from his own as Riaku for the first time growled in true fury, his hands closing the armrests in a hold so tight that the ivory noisily cracked to pieces. Alexis laughed. Riaku, as likely every male into the universe, was extremely touchy about his malehood.

"You said it, bitch. Soon I'll have you all over me, screaming for how big I am and how hard I'll fuck you!" Riaku growled furiously to her, losing the control for a moment as she only continued to chuckle with an ironic grin before move away from her eyes a tuft of golden hair and heedlessly set hers red Predators beret on hers head. "Ok, kid..." She said with an ironic, 'let-the-children-do' voice. "Just tell him that, huh...? And explain him how 'big' you are, I want to laugh a bit. Or you drowned yourself with steroids from the last time you forced me to see you having sex with an unfortunate girl of yours?" She added as she pointed at Killer with a movement of hers head.

"I think it's enough, Alexis." Wyvern said simply, without ever move his glare from his rival, even if a pleased smile had crossed for a moment his muzzle and she hadn't missed it.

"You are here for negotiate the surrender, Wyvern?" Asked an again calm and cold Riaku. But Killer only snorted, halfway between furious and amused.

"I said that Kesteven is not going to pull up white flags. You know me. I'm a stubborn bastard... and if I give a word, that is." Killer paused for a moment, stepping forwards. "If you want to conquer Kesteven, you need to descend from that high-chair and stand in front of me. Challenge me, defeat me, and you win the jackpot. But stop putting in the middle of this rivalry the life of our old friends and of our men."

Riaku laughed, shaking his head, before look down with a sneer of cruel irony and roll his shoulders, showing his new, improved and grown muscles. "You don't think I'm afraid of you, do you...? What an error, Wyvern. If you still don't have understood, I'm much stronger now. Stronger than you, too..."

Killer only snorted, rolling his eyes. "I've heard that a lot of times, from a lot of people. You are nothing so divine... just the next in line. But maybe. Maybe you could even be right. The come on, come down here and fight, then. Show me what you learned."

"It's still not the right time for crush you. The advantages wouldn't be enough for justify it. My army would save a lot of life and energies... the same battle will end much faster without you two. But I'll not conquer the kingdom killing you. Your father and brothers would keep fighting and resisting until I manage to take them and crush them, too. And the Predators and the soldiers... see, Wyvern. I'm a son of Kesteven myself. I know that no one of them will surrender without fight until the last breath will leave their bodies. So your death wouldn't be decisive. I will crush and destroy every defender of this kingdom if will be necessary. Kill your family... and then, I'll crush you, but only at the end. The glory that you have... the fame. Your same, shinning legend that makes my soldiers tremble like leafs into the tempest. Your empire. Everything will be mine. And until that day, your glory will rise, rise and rise with your stubborn fighting for the freedom of your homeland, with your enterprises... and at the end, crushing you, much bigger will be my own glory! My legend, my reputation! And a new, blinding star will lead the world into a new age... your sunset will be my glorious dawn, Wyvern!" Riaku was almost shouting by now, looking down with that ironic expression of triumph and superiority... but Killer was changed enough for maintain his coldness and lucidity even in front of that challenge.

"You are crazy. Badly." Killer said calmly, shaking slowly his head. "The history is full of mad like you. So many times... It happens too often and too fast. Persons change for glory. And innocent people die for them. History is an endless waltz of wars, revolutions, illusive peaces and broken hopes, of promises and betrayals... and yours will only be the next folly, you'll be only the next dictator to hurt the world until fall into dust. Nothing so original, neither."

"World will find an endless age of peace, Wyvern... ironic that you, a man of war, take so much care of world's peace. But calm, legend... my reign will spread his protective wings over all the world and then I'll establish an endless peace in all my global empire, which will last to eternity." Riaku answered calmly.

"People have the right to say if a peace imposed with violence, weapons and millions of life destroyed can really be called peace!" Exclaimed Alexis with a disgusted glare to the black male sat down into the damaged throne.

"A strong leader, merciless and omnipotent, is the only working way for reach a stable peace. A god on heart, able of guide and repress. " Riaku answered coldly.

"Killer, I'm watching the show from the camera of your visor." A warm, even if weak voice suddenly reached Wyvern's ears from the headphones, distracting him from the unrecognizable, despotic dictator that once had been his friend.

"Dad..." Killer whispered in surprise into the microphone. "Tell me. What I should do? Put aside the honor and attack him here and now? It would be a... a betrayal, but it's the only way..."

"No. No, son. Honor is the spine and the hope of our dream of civilization... there's no salvation without it. And he's always your brother. Say him that... we want to negotiate. We need a family reunion for... try to understand what changed the wonderful boy that we known to this crazy monster of cruelty and darkness. I'm coming with your brothers with a helicopter... we will talk into the palace. And hopefully gain time at the very least... This new offensive threats of break your lines within today, otherwise." Killer listened attentively, worried by how weak the voice of Seth seemed... then nodded slowly.

"I'll bring him." He said simply into the microphone before look up to Riaku once more as the rhythmic 'twot twot twot' of the incoming helicopter begun to fill their ears together with the constant track of shots and artillery fire and explosions and screams.

"We need to talk, lance corporal Wales. A... a reunion of family, we could call it so. They are coming here for pick us up." Killer said flatly as his eyes locked again into Riaku's ones. For a long moment, it was silence... but then the Black Lightning closed his eyes and chuckled quietly a bit.

"Yeah. I agree... and it will be amusing see the old royal family." Riaku said as his eyes watched amusedly up to the white-green Kite helicopter that was flying towards them over the roofs as light weapons fired against it from the ground and its gunners answered with furious bursts of minigun from the windows. Also Killer looked up, deeply worried for how vulnerable and slow it seemed into that hell of blinding drawing rounds... and then turned immediately towards the rival.

"Then let's make a truce. I give my word of honor that no one of us will threat you or your troops in the time we'll spend negotiating." Wyvern exclaimed rapidly, scared for his family, which was over the already badly damaged helicopter in danger.

Riaku hesitated, pretending to think intensely as he watched upwards amusedly to the show, slowly scratching with his claws under his chin as the helicopter hovered over them and begun to descend, stubbornly followed by bursts of assault rifles and machine guns... Killer growled, and Alexis advanced resolutely, easily climbing on the muzzle of the tank... but finally Riaku nodded, and the fire suddenly ceased.

"You have my word, too." He said simply when he at the last granted again his attention to them.

Killer blinked, surprised and not aware of how his rival could have given the order, without a radio or a computer... even without talk... but then nodded simply back before give the order of cease fire into his microphone, busy in more urgent needs as they both watched the helicopter descend with grace until it hovered at just a meter or so over the ground, shaping a sort of mini tornado with its rotor into the narrow space of the alley.

It was the standard medium transport helicopter of Kesteven, able to move rapidly on the battlefield two fully equipped sections of soldiers with all their equipment or lift several tons of supplies and ammo and transport light vehicles and guns hang under its belly. It had three turbo-engines on top, just under the rotor; the external ones had their huge exhaust pipes pointed outwards and shielded by effective systems for the reduction of the thermal signature, while the other was just in the middle of the two, similarly protected but with the pipe pointed directly backwards, towards the tail. The large cockpit was rich of armored windows and with a perfect visibility, and the capacious fuselage had two windows with miniguns, one on each side of the aircraft, just behind the small doors of the cockpit. There were also two large sliding doors for enter in the load-zone and a large ramp in the tail was lowered, with another minigun on a swiveling mount over it and a gunner that was nervously pointing the weapon from side to side, aiming on the windows all around for react to the first sign of threat.

"You can bring with you an escort of... up to ten men, if you want." Killer said as he crossed his muscled arms on his chest and tilted his head a bit on the side, watching with contrasting feelings his rival stand up from the throne and roll heedlessly and provocatively his muscular shoulder. Wyvern snorted softly... under a point of view, the new, arrogant and vain Riaku seemed a ridiculous, amusing too grown kid, but under the other, he was now a cruel, merciless and much more powerful rival to deal with... and this other side was decidedly threatening and to not undervalue.

"I don't need an escort for deal with you anymore, Wyvern. Understand it and, possibly, remember it." Riaku answered idly, watching down at him with a glance of superiority that found only an ironic expression as answer, and so the black male simply jumped down from the tank and reached his rival and Alexis. "Besides, I've your word of honor. And I know I can trust you even more of how I trust myself."

Alexis snorted, looking halfway between amused and pissed off at that last statement as the three walked rapidly towards the hovering helicopter. "Yeah, nice thing to say... you can't trust yourself. Mostly because you are an asshole." She observed as they jumped easily over the lowered load ramp and walked into the fuselage as Killer talked gently a moment with the gunner at the minigun.

"He'll not be always at your side, bitch... you better watch your mouth." Riaku growled at low voice to her. "And you are burning your occasion... you could still be queen... mine queen, when I'll crush your lion-lover there. You'd be a perfect queen for the new world I'll shape; the right for the emperor of the world." He added with a voice that probably was thought seductive. But Alexis threw a swing to his muzzle with a growl as answer and he had to sidestep rapidly to avoid the malicious blow, which was all but playful.

"You watch your balls there, fucktard. He's worth ten times you... and I don't need the heavy cavalry for kick your ass. The last time I drew three scars over you. Give me a reason, and I'll finish the fucked work." She snarled to him with fury on hers beautiful features as her hand closed a vicious grip over the hilt of hers sword.

"I didn't wanted to scratch your beautiful body, bitch... and still I won. You don't have many chances, believe me." He said irritably back to the blond sniper as Killer walked towards them from the ramp and the helicopter begun to climb rapidly into the air with a rumble of thunder as the three engines worked at full power. Alexis growled furiously to Riaku, but didn't answered... and leaved hers sword, half drawn out by now, fall again into the sheath. Killer had other plans... and she couldn't ruin them as she walked inside with the two males and the ramp slowly raised a bit with a buzz, powered by electric engines.

The twenty seats of the helicopter, armored with bullet-proof Kevlar plates, were mostly empty... but Alexander was seated in the first place after the gunner's position, where a soldier was still moving the minigun, his eyes attentively searching possible threats all around the rapidly flying helicopter across his window. After him and his mate on the other side of the room, there was the passage that leaded into the cockpit, were they could take glimpses of tens of screens and buttons and the two pilots, seated side by side. Siegfried was seated in front of his brother, near Seth, that was instead laying down on several seats, his chest bare of the armor and largely covered with bloodstained bandages.

When Alexander watched up to them and smiled quietly, he was passing tiredly a hand into what remained of his incredibly cared mane. Now it looked just as rebel and uncared as the one of Killer, strengthening impressively the resemblance between the two. And two both, as Alexis and Siegfried and Seth, were bloodstained and covered of the dirt of days of hard battle. His black armor had the signs of the fights and his bare, muscular arms were covered of wounds and scratches, someone fresh and still bleeding. His other hand was still holding an assault rifle MASR8, and the great number of bullet cases and empty clips on the floor suggested that he had tried to help the gunner shooting from the window.

Siegfried was much in the same conditions, but still he was leaning back into the armored seat with impeccable bearing, as if he was seated to a table in a luxurious restaurant with a company of nobles. But he was a worth warrior, despite that strangeness... he too was loaded with the signs of the long battle, and also around his feet bullet cases rolled on the metallic floor as the helicopter moved fast into the air towards the royal palace. He was charging long bullets into the clip of his own MASR8, looking often to the father, that lain down on the other seats with his head resting on a folded bullet proof jacket near the leg of the son.

Killer rapidly embraced his brothers, without talk. There was no need to waste words... and then approached worriedly his father. Seth watched up at him and smiled reassuringly as he grasped his son's hand and squeezed it. Killer smiled back silently, with a great relief. Seth was weak, sure, but not so badly reduced as he had thought. His bare broad chest was bandaged up attentively, and the stains of blood talked of small wounds there... instead, the left shoulder was messed up badly. The bandage was red of blood.

"When you'll stop letting the first asshole that arrives free of use your ass as pin-cushion...?" Killer asked playfully, making Seth laugh softly a bit before look to the side and greet Alexis with a nod and a large smile that she reciprocated. And he removed his visor from his face, patted away the dirt and blow away all the dust that the battle had thrown on it and poured it to the female sniper with a smile. "It's yours, Alexis. I don't know what I'll can do, now... but you surely can use it better than me." He said gently as she simply smiled and nodded quietly, taking gently the system from his hand and wearing it on hers wonderful features, whispering a sincere thank you.

He shook his head with a soft laugh and then Seth's glance reached Riaku, sat down in a seat on the other side of the aircraft with his arms crossed and a fastidious glance of contempt on his muzzle as he watched the family gathered. But still Seth maintained a surprising calm and even smiled gently; a sincere smile that reached even his eyes. "Riaku..." He greeted with a wave of his head.

"I'm king, retarded. I'd like to be treated like that... especially from you that lost your kingdom and rank." The black male answered arrogantly.

Killer, Alexis, Alexander and Siegfried snarled to him, but Seth hissed them gently and shook his head with a soft laughter. "That's right, majesty. I apologize." He said with a small nod. Riaku looked taken aback and leaned backwards into the seat with something like embarrassment in front of the supreme calm and gentleness of the former king of Kesteven.

Wyvern and Alexis talked shortly also to the other two gunners and to the crew during the short travel, trading a few gentle words with the people that was fighting and betting their life for them and their reign. And he was reassured to see them look completely faithful, still all convinced that they all had to fight at every cost and that was right face the price and the loses instead of surrender to the monster that Riaku had become. Then Killer traded his role for a moment with a gunner, grasping the powerful minigun and aiming from side to side the bundle of the seven long, black barrels as they flew fast over the roofs, a large smile that make him seem a child on Christmas gaining his muzzle.

But he soon returned serious, reaching Riaku and watching out from the nearer window on the sad sight of the arsons and of the ruins of the town, finally free of the sound of gunfire after days of battle. And the image of the hall of the airport crowded of wounded and corpses suddenly returned to his mind... and with a growl of fury that he couldn't tame, he turned towards Riaku and grasped the neck of his armor, lifting him to his feet as he snarled and slamming his muzzle against the armored glass. "Look! This is the result of your behavior, Riaku... your homeland. Your town. And especially your friends and comrades...! You are killing them, Riaku, fucking killing them! Just... how you can do this?" He raged furiously as the black male struggled irritated against him, snarling.

"Killer! Let him go!" Seth ordered with surprising firmness and energy as both Siegfried and Alexander jumped to their feet and grasped Killer from his arms and shoulders, trying in vain to restrain him and pulling him back until Alexis simply stroked his cheek gently and he snorted irritably to Riaku, letting him free with a last violent jerk and a disgusted face.

The black male settled himself with a snarl and a glare to his rival before sat down again, without answer to the question. "I'm not going to tolerate another attack, Wyvern. I'm tempted to break the truce."

Killer snorted, his breath still harsh with rage as his chest raised rhythmically with it and the golden bullet giggled slightly against the black armor. He was going to answer something like "Just do it now", but it was saved as the helicopter suddenly begun to descend and a rapid glance out of the windows showed him the roofs of the castle and the large landing platform over one of the huge bulwarks.

The helicopter landed with a bounce on the concrete pavement and the load ramp went down all the way again as Riaku rapidly descended and Killer and Alexis followed closely, Siegfried and Alexander just behind as they helped their father to walk. The group then headed rapidly towards a large door or chiseled steel, that Killer opened easily as the helicopter immediately take off again for a new mission, probably for recover wounded soldiers from somewhere down in town...

Some minutes later, Seth guided them towards a room that Killer had never been into. It was the so called "Huxley room" of the castle, the room where stand the memories of centuries of reign of their family over Kesteven and where, as Killer remembered for what his father had told him, was a huge fresco with their family tree.

And in fact, when the double oak-doors opened, Killer found in front of him a large room with a pavement of marble lightened up by the sun across a huge arched window just in front of them. The middle of the room was occupied by a massive rectangular table of dark wood surrounded of luxurious chairs that could surely bear the comparison even with the ivory throne of Riaku. The wall on their left was covered by armors, swords and standards, with a huge flag of Kesteven in the middle, while the wall on their right was covered by an enormous fresco that represented a tree, with branches that ended with a portrait of the member of the family in question. Centuries of history of Kesteven...

"Sit down, please, sons." Seth said gently as he slowly and weakly set himself into a chair in front of the fresco. The others nodded, even Riaku don't daring to say nothing as Siegfried and Alexander took places near the father. The black male immediately gained the single seat at the nearer end of the table; while Killer walked towards the other extremity and sat there and Alexis moved a chair for remain at his side, placing gently a hand on his leg under the table for support him into whatever was coming.

Seth watched around on all of them, smiled gently and then opened the mouth for talk, but was immediately interrupted as the door opened again and Isis and Kaya ran inside, two both wrapped into white coats stained of blood. After all, the palace was now a hospital for the wounded and they were helping as they could. The former queen reached Seth and embraced him tightly, almost crying as she noticed how wounded he was... but the male embraced her back firmly and kissed her lightly on hers cheek before drain gently a tear with a finger from her face.

"I'm ok, Isis... it stings, but it's not the first time." He whispered softly to her as she calmed herself down a bit before look at him again with eyes still shinning but reassured. "Gods only know how many times, already, Seth..." She exclaimed at that point, almost with a laughter even if her voice was still broken by sorrow and fear. He nodded with a smile and took gently hers hand, guiding her down to another chair as Kaya silently kissed him and traced delicately a hand over his bandages before slowly walk for gain the seat nearer to Killer, smiling warmly and winking to him as she sat and he gave her a grin.

"Well, I apologize for this interruption. But the war gives problems to sweethearts like us..." Seth begun as he keep Isis's hand into his own ones and traded a rapid glance with her. "But I wanted just to say that... the way you are taking, Riaku, is a path of blood. Blood of your old and new friends, for begin... and then, as always happens, you'll pay with your own blood. I don't know when, where and how. But history teaches that no one can impose his will on the world without face his reaction. And even the weak, put with shoulders against a corner, will fight until give the last breath." Seth paused, watching with sorrow the disgusted expression of the black male that was heedlessly sitting into the chair with his legs crossed over the table and his arms crossed. "I don't know what pushed you into this bloody enterprise, but you really should think again over the path you are following."

"And you have to put down immediately those ugly paws from the table. This is my home, until an opposite proof will be shown, brother." Killer suddenly snarled, pulling towards himself the huge table with a scream of hardwood over marble as Riaku found himself falling forwards, growling back as he placed his feet on the floor and watched at the white tiger and at the chuckling Alexis with fury.

"I've heard correctly?" Riaku shouted back angrily. "Brother? Brother, Killer...?" He snarled as his hands grasped furiously the massive table. "Who I am, in your opinion?"

Killer looked taken aback as he leaned back into the chair with deep surprise and arched his eyebrows, rubbing his mane slowly. "You are the former lance corporal Riaku Wales, of the 1° Predators division, first Company, first section. Rifleman specialized into communications and my field-assistant, now king of Mottram and a complete asshole." He listed calmly.

Riaku leaned backwards with a horrible sneer of distaste on his features. "Wyvern, you are an idiot. Who you think are my parents...?"

Seth looked rapidly from Wyvern to Black Lightning, before intervene. "Your mother was Diana Wales... and I'm your father. And as all the illegitimate sons of a king into a pack, you got the surname of the mother..." He said with an unusual uncertainty into his warm, manly even if weak voice. Riaku shook his head slowly, fixing his red, fire-like eyes into the sapphires of Killer... until the latter closed them with a wince of surprise and disbelief, lowering his head...

"You got it, at the last, Wyvern? After only thirty years...?" Riaku asked with bitter irony as his rival looked up again, a strange, sad light in his eyes.

"Diana..." The white tiger whispered simply, in a sad voice. How he could forget...? She was almost a fixed company for him when he was general and at home, not running somewhere to stop an enemy offensive or crushing some other enemy in a far, rival nation. He had kissed her lips, caressed her strangely black fur and shared with her a bed too many times for don't remember perfectly hers handsome features, hers sweetness for him and hers red but beautiful eyes.

"Yeah. My mother, long died for a nasty illness. And your bitch. Do you remember hers voice...? Hers dark fur that I inherited and you touched so many times? Hers ruby eyes looking up at him like if she was watching a god? Do you remember hers lips, which so often you tasted and felt around your cock...?" Riaku paused for a moment, enough for his features to change into a mask of utter hate and distaste. "Do you remember, now, or not?" He shouted in fury.

"I do. She... she was in love with me, I think. She wasn't a female of my harem, no... she was one of the Forbidden Girls, the females of the king. But... I never respected so much that limit, father." Killer said with low, guilty voice as Alexis grasped tightly his arm, squeezing his muscles in support. She wasn't jealous of him... or, at least, not in a normal way. She was incredibly jealous of him, in fact... but in the same time, she was always happy and enticed of see and hear of all the females he had had and still were all around him. After all, he was king, so all was natural. He was hot, that made things worse. And so she was actually the first to push him into sex with other girls and she was the first to enjoy it.

"I suspected it more than a few times, son." Seth observed idly as he tapped casually his fingers on the table.

"I think she was in love with me...!" Riaku repeated with an ironic voice. "Of course she was, moron. Every night or afternoon or morning when you were available and she wasn't occupied with hers role into the court of the king, she was the first to run to you. I remember so well... I was a cub or little more, but I remember... how I always looked at her when she returned after hours of absence, trembling and exhaust, but visibly happy and satisfied. So often, still covered of your seed, even, because she loved it. The house was full of images of you... and when she couldn't get to fuck you, I remember I discovered she was used to satisfy herself with her fists and with a massive dildo that, now I know, was shaped on you. And I grew up in your legend, with my mother fucking you or a plastic version of you that was bigger than me, always screaming your fucked name and telling me of your victories and wars with shinning eyes. I grew up without a father, but that's normal in our civilization. She never said me nothing about my father... and then, when I was big enough to enter into our world, I understood I had to be son of the king, reason because I hadn't had a dad. I was evidently one of the hundreds of illegitimate sons... and now my choices for gain a nice life were leave and search for a pack all mine or remain and join the army. I had heard so much over you that I was by now obsessed with you almost like my mother was... and when she suggested me of join the army, I did it..." Riaku told with idle voice, drawing circles with his finger on the table and still looking coldly at the rival.

"I loved her, you know? I really loved her... she was a wonderful mother and she always treated me so nicely, so gently, so affectively. And I loved my mom back... even if she was your bitch and hers most-cared treasure after me was a scary dildo. In the army I got to see you... and that helped to make a hero of you to my eyes all the more. And I began my own career and my own trainings, massacring myself for change from a slender, weak guy to what I'm now. The day when I overcome the trainings and received the coat of arms of Predator I was the happiest man in the world, probably. And then we lived our life of soldiers, together... and finally I had... not a father, but something similar. And I loved and admired you. I looked up to you and understood why my mother cared so much of you..." His voice died as he closed his eyes for a moment, biting his lower lip as he remembered memories evidently painful.

"But then... you decided to leave. I couldn't blame you, no, but you didn't understood what was for me lose you. Besides, Diana was already sick in that period... and lose you hit her badly. She lost interest in life... she dreamed of you day and night and begun to... leave herself slip away instead of fight her illness. And soon she died in front of my eyes, leaving me alone. You never returned for her. Neither for me. And my feelings for you begun to change... and a doubt entered in me, too. If she was always fucking with the male that abandoned her to Death... maybe I could..."

Everyone around the table shifted uncomfortably into the chair as worried glances flew from face to face. Killer was thunderstruck, but fortunately Alexis was at his side, keeping her hand on him with love and then leaning against his side and placing her head over his muscular shoulder as she toyed idly with her golden round as she was used to. He smiled uncertainly at her, touching his own gold-bullet automatically, his eyes worried and she immediately caressed his face gently.

Riaku watched around over all of them, grinned coldly at the image of the two lovers and then talked again, with words sharp and deadly as knife of ice. "And so I found that, as probably a lot of other persons of this pack, I'm not really son of Seth Huxley... but of Killer Huxley, known as Wyvern."

"No... You are joking." Killer objected stupidly, not wanting to believe... but all was so clear and precise...

"But see you. You still try to deny your responsibility! You still are trying to flee from what you have done... still betraying me and Diana, again and again. No. I'm not joking. It's a really serious thing. I'm your son... and the DNA test already proved that."

Everyone fell silent all around the table as Alexis embraced a petrified Killer. The worst feeling, in fact, was really the one of betrayal towards his family and son. He was responsible for the death of Diana, that had always loved him more of hers same life. And he had stupidly closed his eyes in front of the obvious truth about the cub she had had. How he could be of Seth, when he was used to fill her day in and day out for fun...? She had sacrificed her dream of build a family with him and had sacrificed the happy life of the new born for protect him from a scandal. From the crime of have taken females Forbidden. And he had closed his eyes, stupidly ignoring the possibility that the black cub could be his own... and so he thought to himself and to no one else.

"So, most of the females of this pack are yours, not mine. From years. And most of my sons... are yours, instead. You really have a serious issue with pussies, Killer." Seth observed idly. He wasn't angry... he had imagined and after all, from his maturity, Wyvern had overcome him greatly under every point of view. It was even almost right. But surely he couldn't be pleased.

Killer coughed embarrassedly into a closed fist as Alexis kissed gently along his neck, giving him an incredible help to go across that difficult moment. He known she was... pleased and probably even enticed of that last statement. She even had traded a fast amused glance up at him... and he would have answered gladly in a normal moment, but now... he wasn't ready to that painful truth.

"But what I truly hate you for, is that you were a God on Earth and I was... nothing. You were strong enough for face a tank and make of it a toy for cubs. You were a frightening tower of muscles tall over everyone else. You were revered and adored everywhere. You had the power of life and death. You had a cock bigger than a baseball bat and every female was just drooling at the idea of just get to brush you. I was nothing more than weak, slender and short and everyone was stronger than me. No one had ever cared of me. You always lived into a paradise of gold, champagne and girls kneeled to your feet. And I, your son, inherited so little of you. Not the name. Not the rank. Not the power or the strength or the size. I just... get everything from that weak slut of my mother." Riaku growled irritated.

"That's not completely true." Killer observed as Alexis grinned at that description, despite the situation. "I spent all my childhood into hard schools, studying, studying and studying. Crap like "king's behavior" and etiquette, math and strategies, politic sciences and law and... everything. Spending the other hours getting my ass kicked by my father into the arena or pouring sweat over crazed war-routes that make ridiculous even the Predators trainings. I surely got luck and born with power and size much over the standard... but I had to go across my own hell for become what I am. Life's not easy, Riaku... and then, you know well that I spent most of my life over battlefields and into the same tents and barracks of you." He paused, leaving his words land over the black male, which only ignored them with an irritant expression of contempt and mistrust. "And if you really are my son, you surely need to get... educated to some things. Like respect for your mother!" Killer shouted angrily. He had already to deal with his own sense of guilt... he couldn't bear hear Riaku talk that way of Diana.

"She was a slut and you are the one that knows that better." He answered coldly. "And she was the reason that made of me a loser and forced me to build myself from the zero that I was. Running, training, sweating, day in and day out, day and night both, forcing myself forwards on the road for reach you and then overcome you. Crush the one that betrayed me under me and see him in the dust that I experienced so many times. And I'm gonna do it."

Killer sighed, leaning backwards into the chair and looking at his son without bother to hide his sorrow, likely for the first time in his life. "I know that apologize now is... almost offensive. But I feel the need to do it in any case. It's... my fault. I destroyed two life... and I can only ask your understanding and forgiveness." Killer said quietly. "I've not carried out my duties of father and lover with you and Diana. And it's... all my fault."

"Too easy apologize after a life destroyed and one ruined and betrayed. I'm not going to forgive you and run into your arms shouting 'I love you dad'. Fuck you. You should have taken your responsibility when was the time to." Riaku roared back with terrible fury. And for the first time, Killer trembled in front of it. It was all right. He was wrong... and Riaku the victim, even if crazed, cruel, full of hate for his own mother and embittered.

"I'll offer you the possibility of get the revenge your blood asks for. But please, you have to stop this massacre. No one of our friends is guilty for what I did. No one of your soldiers. No one of the Kesteven people. Fight me and me alone." Killer objected with sad but firm voice.

"No. That'd too simple and too light. You'll live fighting this war, seeing your friends die and feeling the responsibility for that, experiencing the consequences of your behavior. And then I'll have my final revenge, killing you and your family and taking Kesteven for him. This will be the first plug of my future global empire. I'll enstablish a climate of complete superiority of tigers over the weak races... because only the strong can lead the way for everyone. And I'll purify our race from the weak elements... the half breeds that weaken our dominance and allow to the weak of lead the world." Riaku explained foolishly. But this time was Seth the one who laughed, soon followed by everyone else around the table as the black male looked furious like never before.

"Moron. First, I'm a half breed myself, but I think you just explained that I'm... even a god on earth. Exaggerated, but likely I'm not a weak myself, since I kicked your and many other asses in my life. Second, being your father half lion, you are half breed yourself." Killer observed with bitter amusement and with the suspect in his head that this part wasn't a real project of Riaku. Rage and seek for revenge could have changed a lot the wonderful person he had known... but not so much. Riaku had always been tolerant and friendly with everyone. And after all... what was the aim of that foolish idea?

"Besides, Diana had likely genes of panther into her, seen the otherwise difficultly explainable color of hers fur. And you inherited that character, seems." Siegfried added with low voice as Riaku growled lowly with frustrated, growing rage.

"No one of us is a pure-blood. The Huxley dynasty has always been the more open to the other races... thing that attracted so many troubles over us and this kingdom over the centuries. The other royal families have very different ideas... and so your only friend was the Archer family of Glacial, a smart, cultured and tolerant dynasty." Seth interrupted for a moment his speech and watched with a smile towards Alexis, the last of the Archer Dynasty, trading with her a gentle nod of friendship.

"Actually, if you watch the family tree on the wall, you can have an idea of why exactly you are saying idiocies. The Third Era is the one that interest us... don't we go backwards of too many time." Seth observed playfully as he pointed with his fingers at a large zone of the family tree, which begun with the portrait of a muscular, huge tiger with a fierce expression, named Taurus, painted over a branch that braided its way into another branch, with the portrait of...

Killer himself remained dumbfounded at that revelation that he had never had or imagined before. Over the name Krystal, was the portrait of a blue scaled dragoness with even large, folded wings on hers back and wonderful, sweet green eyes and her inner body of a brighter, luminous sky blue.

"Taurus was the last pure-blood into our family. He fell in love with one of the last dragoness... and despite the scandals and the wars that he had to face, he married her. It was a time when tigers and dragons had severe battles almost daily, trying to enstablish their supremacy. Dragons are powerful and wonderful creatures... but a lot of them were definitely too hungry for power and domination. So, as us tigers, they had a lot of enemies. We survived better than them, trough... despite the fact that often dragons were much stronger than us. The reason is because our evolution was different... and they always had a problem with hands, because they had only three clawed fingers, without thumbs and without possibility of get a precise grip on anything smaller than a prey. And that means incapability of design, produce and use most weapons. So they have been slowly exterminated by the superiority of their enemy's weapons, even without the help of Kesteven that, with that wedding, had chosen another path. I think there are still some places were dragons live... but no one knows were and they are... very careful, now, with any relationship with the world." Seth explained quietly.

"And what about Drakkai? It's not so hard to see Dragokkarens and Drakkarens around the world." Killer asked as he arched an eyebrow, remembering with a smile of two Drakkaren that he and Alexis had met the last year during a short road trip in Ire. Zerrex and Cherry were still well present in his memory... after all, the two warriors had proved to be more than worthy of him and Alexis during a battle that they had faced together against a well equipped gang of wolves, the "Wolf Pack". And so he was rapidly become a great friend of the two lizards, both Zerrex, ex captain of a formidable, illicit special force known as Goth Legion and deadly in every type of fight and Cherry, a muscular female that had been into the same unit and that was a sniper more than worthy even of Alexis. And as her, she was a deadly rival even in close combat, with any type of weapon... and she had the useful power of precognition, as well. In war, see three seconds into future make the huge difference between win and live and lose and die. Alexis and Cherry, probably because very similar into some delicate sectors of their personalities like ego, pride and hunger for very strong males were... an always-bickering kind of friends, but Killer and her were fine with the two Drakkarens... and since they had shared also some hours of good, rough sex during the aftermath of the battle, he had a good memory of Cherry and Alexis had a nice memory of Zerrex. He hoped to see them soon again... maybe in Kendrew, where that bloody mess with Riaku would end.

"That's different. Drakkai and Dragons are... like two families with a few similar relatives. They share some obvious similarities, but also some differences. Drakkai, for example, can't spit fire but on the other side their evolution gave them hands perfectly evolved. Dragokkaren especially are powerful rivals, often physically even superior to us and are the more similar to dragons. They got an extremely strong, bulky body and they have wings, even if seen their physical shape those are made more for gliding that for anything else, when dragons are perfectly able to flight. Drakkarens are usually lither than and not as strong as Dragokkarens and they completely lack wings. Their nation is Hez'Ranna, a huge island very far from here and covered by hot jungle. They call it Cradle of Life... and since there was a war between Hez'Ranna and the "civilized world" leaded by Ire long time ago, they too are closed and extremely suspicious about the rest of the world, us included. But surely they are much more common to see around." Seth answered gently, watching his son with a smile.

"So you are saying that I could actually... spit fire?" Asked uncertainly Killer as he hugged back warmly Alexis, rocking her almost imperceptibly in the hold of his muscular arms, pulling her gently against his chest as she caressed him, following the talk with great attention. Riaku and the others, too, were all listening attentively, dumbfounded.

"No, no. Dragons can spit fire because they've got a particular organ inside their bodies, that produces and contains a gas colorless and savorless, but extremely inflammable that when used and spit out, reacts with a particular substance into their canines teeth and immediately makes the huge flame. But I can tell you that we don't have any of these two things. Instead, I'll say that probably our strange bone spikes are a consequence of some natural reaction of our genetic code of tigers and the different genes inherited from our dragon side." Seth answered with a nod and a smile. "Instead, I can't exclude the possibility that we got some preposition to learn and develop some strange other power, even if until now I think no one of us shown any interesting sign. But dragons had a singular capability of interact with elements and the world around them and use their energy for direct attacks. I can't exclude that something is entered in us with the ancient genes of Krystal."

"Oh, yeah. So I'm... a tiger-lion-dragon, father of Riaku. Something else I need to know today and that for thirty years has been hidden to me?" Killer asked with bitter irony. That was so awful... just like when they had promised him to Alexis without ever say nothing to him. He was really so untreatable...? Yes, he was irascible... more than a tad... but that was enough for make of him a soldier-for-all-life, the one that had to take the bullets into his body for save his homeland again and again?

Seth looked at him sadly at that statement, and Killer backed off immediately, even if still irritated. "Please, son. Try to understand me. This can be... the error of an old father that for all his life has seen how the rest of our race watch to us half breed with hate and suspect. How the nations around our own are in war with us every two weeks. If I keep this hidden to all of you, is because I wanted to... save you all from that same situation. It didn't work, neither, but I tried."

Killer lowered his head in shame. Good. Impulsive moron that always has to make some mess for make ends meet. "Sorry, dad... I didn't wanted to hurt you. It has been a long, hard day. Please don't mind what I said. It was stupid."

Seth smiled gently, and then talked again. "Taurus was killed by his older son, Krighen, which married a wonderful white lioness named Shiva. And there we got the genes of the leonine side... that, wanting it or not, are inside all of us, even in me and Riaku that don't show any visible sign, when you got your mane and tufted tail..."

"And your impressive stamina in bed." Alexis added with a playful, sweet whisper that only Killer heard, snorting amusedly despite himself.

"Again, the son killed the father for the throne. And Koumari, my father, begun his reign with a pure tiger at his side as queen, Alicia. And then is my turn... I killed my father in a duel in the arena and conquered the reign. And we are in the present. We broken a tradition, too... despite not being the king anymore, I've not been killed." Seth told calmly. "And this is a nice change, for my opinion." He added playfully immediately after. "Our genetic inheritance is extremely complex and has mutated many a time into the centuries... but we surely have something that increases the hate that the other families have against us. Numerous studies I made during the years confirmed that a part of our DNA changed on its own, developing a serious of genes that makes us resistant to any type of poison or toxic gas and even gives us some degrees of resistance to radiations. But especially, our physical developing is much stronger and easier than the one of anyone else... and it continues during the years. Analysis I made on Killer when he was still a cub are a proof that he has got the apex of our evolved genetic code and that he'll likely grow and get stronger further, even if his development is now fairly stable. And as always, trainings will have on him results much more impressive than on a normal person. Again, and most important, we got an incredible resistance to age. Our biologic clock is... screwed up in a good way and it ends its advancing at an age variable roughly from twenty-five to thirty-three years. Our DNA includes mutations and modifies enough to sustain our level of development for an unlimited cycle from that moment to... likely eternity, without die and without get older. I'm not saying we are immortal. We can be killed or die for wounds or nasty illness... even if the latter is unlikely seen the incredible development undergone by ours immune system. But otherwise, we can live forever. Good or bad that this can be." As Seth fell silent, the faces around the table were astonished. Siegfried and Alexander, with their eyebrows arched, were watching each the other with attention, as if for find signs of those genetic mutations, while Riaku was still sitting with his arms crossed on his chest, a pleased grin on his muzzle but also surprise and suspects into his eyes as he looked to Seth for try to understand if it was a bluff or not... Isis was leaning lightly on the healthy shoulder of Seth, caressing gently his back and looking up at him with surprise as Alexis continued to toy idly with her golden round, staring at Seth with obvious surprise.

"You are going to have that genetic sequence, Alexis. If I already didn't passed it to you with all our fucks, I'll ask to the genetic teams of Kesteven to make the work. I want you at my side... or live forever will never mean other than sufferance for me." Killer immediately whispered into the ear of the disbelieving female, who nodded uncertainly with a smile, neither noticing, strangely, the playful reference of his husband to their... active sexual life.

"Well, a good news, finally. Something nice that my father gave me, at least." Riaku growled irritably. "It pays for being a... puzzle of inferior races mixed together and not the pure warrior I wanted to be. But I'm not going to change my plans in any case."

"You'll stop this massacre immediately, instead." Killer roared back furiously. "The town is full of corpses of ours friends... and we both have hundreds of wounded on the ground. We need at least a truce, and you know it. I'm not going to let you go on with this idiotic revenge in a town on the edge of epidemics and with the track of the whimpers and screams of wounded abandoned to their desperation along the streets. We'll offer assistance to every wounded, of both the fronts, and we'll bury our fallen friends with the honors they gained."

Riaku growled irritably, looking away from the rival... and then he cursed under his breath and turned with a cold expression as the unmistakable noise of an incoming helicopter filled up their ears. Killer turned in surprise towards the window and his surprise doubled as he saw a rapidly advancing S24 Harpy of Mottram with the sliding doors on the sides opened. When and especially how Riaku could have called them, without nothing and, again, without even talk?

"Now are six and half after noon." Riaku said coldly as he stood up and Killer immediately verified on his visor. Accurate to the second. But how he can...? He doesn't have any visor and seems to lack any swatch. Besides, I'm sure he never watched anything. How he knows...?

"Tomorrow the dawn will be at 6 and 55 minutes. I'll give you time until... seven of tomorrow morning, since i'm good. We'll help also your men, but you will do the same with mine."

Killer nodded simply back. "Natural."

"I'm not going to tolerate any hostile act against me and my forces and I'm not going to permit you to use this time for prepare new positions of resistance or move troops along town. If I catch wind of maneuvers of your soldiers, I'll open fire immediately. These are the terms for the truce and they'll never change." Riaku listed idly as he walked towards the door and opened wide it wide, walking along the corridor towards the landing platform where the S24 was waiting for him.

"We have a little truce time to exploit." Killer said tiredly into the microphone of the visor after a deep sigh. "Help every man that needs help... and recover the corpses of the fallen. Be careful with the enemy... we can't trust him too much. And avoid any movement that can be considered hostile. No moves of armed forces along town. No build new positions."

"This truce is gonna give to Riaku the time needed to reorganize his forces and prepare the next attack..." Alexander observed bitterly.

"Obvious. And he knows that... it's the reason why he granted it to us. But we are not in the position to refuse or negotiate equivalent terms. We can at least save lives of our comrades and give a rest to our dead." Killer answered immediately, before turn towards Kaya. "There's something we can help at, here?"

"Blood. We need a lot of blood for the wounded guys." She answered flatly.

"Fine. I and Alexis can surely give something..." He said as she nodded firmly.