Chapter 97: Lord of Lust and Sin [Part 2]
While night arrived in the Philippines, back in the US a great battle had erupted in the shadows of the world.
The entire population of the US and even those of the world who were eyeing the local situation in America has been swamped with information about crusaders, terrorist activities, witch hunts gone wrong and those that went right-
The situation in the eyes of many was chaos- yet it was controlled chaos. Regular citizens would immediately start to feel like the world is ending.
A single crazy cop being partial towards someone could start a rally, a single word from a politician could start a mob-
In such a world, something like magical beings being real, monsters existing in the forest and mass murders being done in secret-
Any one of those news headlines was enough to cause a massive scare.
Even when the actual events occurred miles away far from affecting someone who watched it while lying on their bed, the fear would still linger and take effect.
Because of this, the control of information was rather easy for the government.
While all the keyboard warriors and online experts were focusing on the madness started by a few hundred religious extremists, the real battle that was costing billions of dollars and thousands of lives was already underway.
– — —
Somewhere in Minnesota, atop a lake stood an island surrounded by a thick fog.
Far from said island on the shores of the lake was a large military installation.
From afar, it looked like a strong fort but getting closer would reveal its true form- a hastily made base of operations.
While it wasn’t the hundred year old fort that many would have wanted to be in, the large sand walls made using specialized equipment and large machinery were strong enough to stop even an RPG blast.
The base was constructed using the same methods that proved highly effective in battlefields all over the world.
It was a show off force, proof of American dominance in terms of military technology, weaponry and engineering.
The base looked a bit shabby when you entered it but if one ignores the sand castle like walls, the high tech equipment that had yet to even see the light of war was enough to show the power of the US military.
Yet, even with these advanced vehicles and weapons, the commanders inside the fortified office building were still hesitant to make a move.
It was early in the morning, the sun was up but the mist that enveloped not only the island but even the lake created a solemn mood.
The skies were weirdly cloudy only atop the lake creating a mysterious separation between the bright military base and the gloomy lake.
Within the main office building of the base where the commanders were, a group of senior officers composed of male and female soldiers had deep black circles under their eyes as they stared at a display before them.
Unlike the standard "sand table" which many people were familiar with as it is always used in military propaganda photos, what the officers were looking at was a futuristic version of it.
The type that would normally only be seen in a sci-fi movie.
Fortunately for these officers, technology was something that had to be used when facing opponents that necessitated their use.
Because they weren’t fighting insurgents in the desert, a poor private with a civil engineering degree wasn’t forced to stay up all night to build a sand table for operations planning.
Right now, their enemies were a bunch of mystical beings.
The officers and all the soldiers participating in the operation had already been briefed on their opponents abilities and limits.
Of course, special divisions that were responsible for handling this before the whole internet witch fiasco had also been assigned to this mission.
Still, personnel was limited and conducting an operation was not as simple as letting loose a few rabid navy seals into a lake and hope for the best as some movies would like people to believe.
Every operation necessitates careful planning, coordination and set-up.
The US had already suffered through various "gung-ho style tactics" and that was when they wer facing non-mystics.
Now, they were facing down an enemy that could create superhuman monsters that eat human flesh. They could control weather to an extent and even cause crazy phenomena when necessary.
If the officers were not careful, specially trained operators would be brainwashed and turned into their enemies.
Missiles would be made to change course and fly back at their launch pad.
Bullets could be deflected and other crazy things could happen.
There were too many considerations to be made and a simple sand table can’t deal with that many variables.
Fortunately, the holographic display before them was a true lifesaver, it used various technologies that had been previously been held back by the Pentagon as it was "unnecessary for the moment" but now?
The holographic display was proving very useful but even then...
"How the hell are we supposed to enter that fucking castle..."
One of the officers grumbled as he stared at the displayed castle.
In the center of the island hidden by fog, a single stone castle stood proudly at the absolute center of the island.
Situated atop a steep cliff that surrounded by thick coniferous forest-
The place should have been an easy place to infiltrate if they used the green berets or special forces operatives that specialize in such environments.
But they already had a few scouting parties test the waters and all of them were lost.
There were multiple problems that they had to consider for any action done-
-The lake is filled with monsters such as an actual lochness monster that could crush assault craft, flying fish monsters that could target low flying aircraft and whatever it was that coil shoot water jets from the lake.
-The forest was filled with monsters from fiction and urban legends such skinny long limbed and pale skinned maneating monsters that could reach a low flying aircraft with a jump, rabid dogs the size of cars roaming the forests and winged monsters that patrol the sky
-The fog which not only obscures vision but also disrupts electronics like an electromagnetic field from fiction.
Drones, even fiber optic ones were useless as the monsters were not simple minded enough to ignore anything unknown.
The monsters in the forest were not only a threat to low flying aircraft but paratroopers as well. Any high altitude drop would still subject the paratroopers to attacks from the monster of the forest.
Moreover, it was recently confirmed that the monsters had night vision as they seemed capable of finding targets even in absolute darkness.
Given all the information, the commanders had already proposed the use of larger ordinance weapons.
They knew that dropping a nuke in US territory was something that was possible but not something that would be signed off by any leader or politician.
That was why the military developed massive ordinance weapons that could have an output close to nuclear warheads but not classified as a "nuclear weapon".
But even dumb bombs were proven ineffective as their targets coil easily redirect them towards the base instead, a fact that was proven when they tried shelling the damned island a few days before.
While the air force could easily drop thousands of pounds of dumb bombs, such a run would be expensive for a simple test.
The commanders started with an artillery barrage that went badly as the shells all bounced back towards them.
Fortunately, the shells were not returned accurately, likely because even magic had to follow the laws of physics to an extent.
Their information stated that magic had limits and the more "unnatural" a phenomena caused by magic is, the greater power it consumes and that was the magic economy that the military was trying to quantify.
War was not only about killing targets, it was about ensuring a low number of losses for the gains that was obtained.
The economy of war is why many conflicts resolve in peace deals and not total destruction.
Total decimation was expensive to do and even more expensive to deal with after the conflict.
Nobody wants to deal with a ruined country and the US was not willing to spend billions just to take back a few acres of land that already had a near zero dollar value.
The only reason the government is even taking actions against the magical world is because of the threat they pose.
Because the fear of magic and witches had spread, the military had to show off results.
In the past, such things would be dealt with by the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and the FMC. But after the witch panic, the FMC was taken down and reorganized, mystical companies were also affected and personnel spread through all parts of the government.
But the spread was not in favor of the personnel dealing with mystics as they were separated from their groups and placed under constant surveillance by their new comrades.
Such a state made it so that the officers who had to deal with the island which was believed to be the main base of the secret magical organization of witches known as "Salem" were now in a constant tug of war to learn more and find cracks in their enemies.
While the US military can’t really go on a full offensive, due to the costs of doing so, the Salem witches were likely in a similar situation.
The witches were bunkering down as that was their best hope of survival-
Bunker down, tire the enemies and escape when they show weakness.
On the other hand, the US military were like a sieging army, they annoyed the fort before them, did their best to wear their enemies down and look for exploitable weaknesses to mount a full scale attack on.
It was a stalemate... though it wouldn’t be for long as-
"COMMANDER!"
A man rushed into the meeting room, his face pale as he called out to the commander of the operation but he wasn’t able to say a single word when-
*RUMBLE*
The ground shook and everyone rushed to look out the windows as a shadow covered the whole base.
"Jesus Christ..."
The commander could only let out that statement before the whole base was swallowed by a large wave.
