85 Hurricane (1/2)

Late at night. The Harmony soldiers were resting in their temporary quarters within Fort Myers. Ray had received basic medical treatment and was completely knocked out. The moonlight shone in from a window, casting light over Ray's bed. Dupe stood within the shadows. His arm reached into the light, revealing a sharp object in his hands. Ever so slowly, he pushed the object towards Ray's head.

”Hmm?” Ray's eyes fluttered open. In front of him was a pale arm reaching from the shadows. It held a pointy stick that was currently pressing into his cheek, leaving a slight indent in it. He stared for several seconds before sighing. ”What the hell are you doing Nick?”

”Oh, good. You're up.” Dupe replied with a smile. ”We've got an emergency,” He pressed the stick forward a bit harder.

”What the hell is wrong with you?!” Ray snapped as he slapped Dupe's hand away. ”What's the emergency?”

”One of my clones just died. Enemy forces are moving towards Orlando. Our new orders are to make our way towards Orlando, defeat the Tampa forces along the way, and reunite with Forge and the eastern forces.”

”Are you serious?!” Ray replied in shock as he jumped out of bed. He hurried to get dressed in his dark green and black Harmony attire. He turned towards Dupe. ”Go sound the city alarms.”

”What? Why?” He questioned in confusion.

”We don't have time to wake everybody up. This'll be easier. Go!” Ray commanded.

Dupe nodded and left to sound the alarm. Soon, blaring sirens rang out throughout the entire city. The many soldiers of Harmony groggily climbed out of their beds, heading outside to see what the commotion was about. Ray had already started passing out orders, causing word to spread quickly. It was only 15 minutes before their large army was completely prepared to move. They left through the northern gates of the city and started heading northwest towards Orlando.

Mud splashed everywhere as the army marched. A light drizzle started as the sun began rising in the sky, much to the misfortune of the marching soldiers. Things were not looking up for Harmony today.

”This isn't good.” Ray frowned deeply. ”It's over a two-day march to Orlando from here. The Tampa forces will reach Orlando a full day ahead of us. Forge and the others should abandon Orlando and move the defensive line further back.”

”It's too late for that.” Dupe shook his head. ”I've been in contact with Ed via mana-radio. He's already setup all of his trump cards for the war within Orlando. He wouldn't be able to transport some of those trump cards if we forfeited the city. At that point, we would have already lost. He's insistent on these trump cards being our only chance of winning the entire war.”

”Damn!” Ray ground his teeth in frustration.

”Well, at least the fighting probably won't begin before we get there.” Dupe said nonchalantly while folding his hands behind his head. ”It'll take a lot longer for the rest of Florida's forces to reach the city. It's unlikely Tampa will press the assault alone.”

”That's true.” Ray agreed. ”But time is still going to be tight. Even worse, our soldiers will be completely exhausted by the time we get there. This isn't going to go well for us.”

”All we can do is try.” He sighed.

The soldiers continued to march. Nearly two days passed. The wind and rain continued growing heavier. It was now to the point that the rain pelted the soldiers from the side, as if rain was being shot at them from a horde of rifles. ”Do you think it's a hurricane?” Dupe questioned.

”I don't know.” Ray frowned while looking at the weather. ”It'll be an advantage for Forge if a hurricane sweeps through while he's on defense, but it won't be good for us.” He looked over his men, many of whom were growing tired from the long march in the awful conditions. He rose an arm in the air. ”Four-hour rest! Get as much sleep as you can. There will be no more breaks after this.”

The men struggled against the howling wind as the attempted setting up their tents. They eventually succeeded, but several tents were lost to the wind as a result. The four hours dragged on slowly. Fortunately, most soldiers were able to sleep well, though that was mostly due to their exhaustion. The men cleaned up camp and prepared to continue the march. It was late at night, and they'd likely reach Orlando by noon. The wind pushed against them as they pushed forward, as if trying to warn them to turn back.

Hours passed. The sun rose in the sky but was completely blocked by dark storm clouds. The only source of light was the occasional flashes of lightning. The thunder boomed in their ears. The mud had covered their bodies and soaked into their boots, causing much discomfort for the soldiers.

”We're almost there!” Ray encouraged them against the roaring winds. Only a few nearby soldiers could hear it. Even the higher-ups that carried mana-radios barely understood a word of the transmission. The sound of the wind was simply too loud. Soon, a city came into view. It was Orlando! There were several armies camped outside, one of which was the Tampa military.

Dupe leaned close to Ray, practically yelling in his year. ”Do we attack them? Or head inside the city?”

Ray eyed the enemy forces a distance away. They were outnumbered, as the opponents had the combined strength of several cities. However, they had not currently been discovered, giving them a chance to setup a sneak attack. He pondered for several moments before deciding. ”We'll attack them and do as much damage as we can, then we'll retreat into the city.”

Their forces marched towards the nearby army. The storm was so fierce that it even covered the sound of their steam tanks and mechs. Otherwise, an ambush like this would be impossible. The Hell Bulls were with them for this attack. They moved to the front, acting as a moving defensive wall. The steam tanks lined up their aim. Boom, boom, boom!” They fired a volley of shells towards the enemy.

The Tampa troops didn't know what hit them. One moment they were taking temporary shelter from the rain, and the next they were being bombarded from the skies. Blood exploded everywhere as hell from the sky kept falling. The soldiers desperately looked for the source of the fire but failed to spot it due to poor visibility. Another volley hit them before a solider using binoculars finally spotted the Harmony forces.

The Tampa army prepared to counter attack. Many espers stepped forward to participate. There was no hiding from this battle. Not unless they chose to abandon the fight all together.

Ray's body was covered in a silver glow as he took to the skies. He was like a glowing beacon within the dark stormy skies.

”Torch!” A random soldier in the Harmony army yelled.