The dull thumps from frag grenades echoed through the bunker complex, followed by the incessant bark of gunfire as soldiers cleared another section of a bunker complex.

  They might have come up with a solid plan to smoke these bastards out with CS gas, but it turned out that getting your hands on the stuff wasn’t possible while in the middle of a frontline operation. DuPont and his platoon were just going to have to do it the good old-fashioned way and toss grenades into every room.

  "Clear!" The call came from inside, followed by boots shifting on wooden planks. "Room's empty, just more construction shit."

  DuPont watched as one team stacked up on yet another doorway while another pushed ahead, their weapons oriented toward every shadow. These boys were learning quickly—they weren't taking any chances with corners or rooms anymore. Each potential threat was met with either a wall of lead or the business end of a frag grenade—usually both.

  The reason was simple enough: clearing rooms sucked. Hollywood liked to show soldiers dramatically bursting through doors and taking down the bad guy before they had any time to react, but that was a fantastic way to catch a bullet in the face. However, in this case, it would be a knife to the throat or a bolt of whatever magical bullshit these interdimensional assholes were going to fling. The solution? Make extensive and very liberal use of grenades, followed by shooting every goddamn thing before you even round the corner. If there was one thing the US Military had in abundance, it was ammunition and explosives. Better to waste them than get wasted.

  A lot of veterans called it ‘clearing by fire,’ but that was just a fancy way of saying, ‘blow shit up until nothing moves, then shoot it anyway just to be sure.’

  Thankfully, it seemed like all this firepower was overkill. Every room they'd cleared showed signs of a hasty evacuation - half-eaten meals, personal belongings scattered about, and tools dropped mid-use. But DuPont wasn't about to let his men get complacent. Lessons from the East taught him that subterranean or trench warfare was way too dicey to cut corners just because it seemed safe. It was far too easy for someone to catch rounds from "empty" rooms.

  "2-1, sitrep," DuPont called over the platoon net while watching another team prep a doorway with grenades.

  "Western sector's cleared," Takashi responded. "Currently holding security and linking up with the fireteam Evan’s left behind. Over."

  DuPont looked as one fireteam cautiously moved up before keying his push to talk. “2 actual copies. hold your position. 2 actual out.” He responded as he noticed his soldiers disappear around a corner.

  With that out of the way, DuPont refocused on the complex he was in. It wasn’t particularly large or impressive, but it was starting to get longer than he anticipated. He started to realize that this wasn't just another fighting position — this was an escape route.

  "Bravo 6, this is 2," DuPont keyed his company frequency. He found what looks like a tunnel network running deep, possibly leading off the hill, over."

  "2, this is 6," Ward responded immediately. "Be advised, Bravo 4 has already encountered tunnel entrance at phase line echo, heading north. They're beginning clearing operations now." There was a pause before Ward continued. "High possibility these networks connect. Watch your fire, over."

  A difficult look spread across DuPont’s face, as the blue on blue was really potential due to their aggressive clearing methods. "Solid copy, 6," the platoon leader responded before turning to Private Rodriguez. "Pass the word—we've got friendlies clearing from the other end."

  Rodriguez nodded and took off down the tunnel at a sprint, his voice soon echoing off the walls along with the sporadic gunfire. "Hey! Watch your fire! We got our own dudes coming down from the other side!"

  As Rodriguez made his rounds, DuPont's mind wandered back to the problem of clearing these death traps. If there was more than one dedicated magic user with a grudge, they could turn these tunnels into a meat grinder. It’d take a literal ton of grenades to clear them out, especially if they’d have a commitment of infantry with them and the platoon would burn through their supply real quick.

  That suggestion about CS gas wasn't half bad — a very enlisted-as-hell thing to suggest, but smart. Of course, there was that slight problem of it being a war crime... or at least adjacent to one. But didn't hurling acid count as chemical warfare, too? These interdimensional fucks weren't exactly playing by the Geneva Convention rules themselves.

  Regardless, the question was way above his pay grade, but DuPont was already thinking about how to frame it to his superiors. The casualty projections for clearing these tunnel networks without some kind of force multiplier would be astronomical. There had to be a better way than throwing bodies at the problem.

  But it wasn’t long before the sound of laughter and good-natured shit-talking echoing down the tunnel snapped DuPont from his thoughts. It looked like his boys had linked up with their sister platoon, which meant this hill was more or less wrapped up.

  Getting to his feet, DuPont jogged down the tunnel toward the voices until he eventually found 2nd Lieutenant Jordan Smith already walking his way. The man was as fresh as they came, but he seemed to fit in well with the rest of the company as he held that same shit-eating grin on his face that he always had.

  "Well, if it isn't the hero of New Philidelphia himself," Smith called out, extending his fist. “Looks like you got everything handled down here.”

  DuPont rolled his eyes and bumped Smithis fist with his own. "Oh, shut the fuck up… How's it looking topside?"

  Smith smirked in amusement and shrugged. "Nothing but smoking craters and body parts. Drones and IDF didn't leave much for us, to be honest."

  If Indirect Fire (IDF) had caught these bastards in the open like Smith said, they must have been completely unprepared. The evidence was mounting that these weren't soldiers — they were construction crews caught with their pants down and their dick in their hands. They probably dropped their tools and bolted through these tunnels the moment shells started slamming into the hill.

  The theory made sense, too. These poor bastards were probably just doing their job and milling about while fortifying this hill before the push happened. Unfortunately for them, the US Military had other plans.

  "Clear!" DuPont’s men called out from behind him as they walked out of the different passageways.

  "Our side’s clear!" This time, Smith’s men shouted as they started making their way to their platoon leader.

  "All clear!"

  DuPont looked at Smith, jerking his head toward the exit. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

  Smith nodded, keying his radio. "Bravo 6, this is 4. Main bunker’s been cleared and secured. No resistance encountered. Over."

  "Copy that," Ward's voice crackled back. "Good work. Grab whatever intel you can and meet me at the peak, over."

  "Alright, boys. Grab anything that looks important," DuPont called out to his men. "If you can't carry it, mark it for intel. Let's move!"

  Almost immediately, the sound of controlled chaos erupted behind them as soldiers giddily tore through the bunker complex like kids in a candy store. Everything that wasn't nailed down was getting stuffed into assault packs, cargo pockets or hauled out. Whether it be papers covered in strange symbols, crystalline rods that seemed to hum when touched, or bottles filled with liquids full of liquids that looked too strange to be any conventional chemical, it was getting grabbed.

  "Yo dude, check this shit out," one Corporal Kowalski called out, holding up what looked like a stone tablet. "Think the nerds would want this?"

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Fuck yeah they would," his squad leader replied. "Bag that shit!"

  The systematic ransacking continued as the platoons made their way out. Drawers were emptied, footlockers upended, and anything that looked even remotely interesting was either pocketed or marked for the intelligence teams to investigate later.

  It wasn’t much longer before both platoons filtered out through the tunnel entrance with arms full of loot as if they had a productive evening rioting in a mall. As they emerged into the morning light, DuPont's eyes fell on a line of vehicles already staged at the base of the hill. A convoy of up-armored Humvees towing massive 120mm mortar tubes sat idling, ready to be deployed. Just behind them were a whole host of fuel trucks, ammo carriers, even the batteries command and control vehicle. The Army wasn't wasting any time in putting this captured position to use.

  Smith let out a low whistle at the display of firepower below. "Damn, that was fast."

  DuPont followed Smith’s gaze and also saw that combat engineers were already rigging trees with demo charges. They seemed to clear a path wide enough for the vehicles to climb. The hill itself was little more than a gentle slope with a soft, rolling elevation, seemingly perfect for placing a rather sizable firebase. The fact that the enemy hadn't fortified this position better was almost criminal from a tactical standpoint.

  Shaking his head to dispel the stupefaction, DuPont turned around and marched uphill through the dense thicket. The sheer speed of this operation seemed mind-boggling, with assets being put into play the moment they secured their objective. But DuPont also had to admit that he shouldn’t be too surprised as he climbed higher. Large-scale combat operations required quick and decisive action to dictate the battle's tempo and ultimately win the day.

  As DuPont marched towards where his company commander was set up, he keyed his platoon wide radio to organize the two squads left behind. "2 actual to all elements," he spoke, while flipping down his EUD. "Rally on me at the peak."

  "2-1 copies, moving to you now."

  "2-2, solid copy."

  With that out of the way, DuPont continued uphill with Smiths as the dense vegetation started giving way to open ground. The plateau was dotted with just a few scattered trees and patches of brush - temporary decorations that would disappear as soon as the Engineers started prepping proper artillery positions.

  "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

  The warning barely registered before an explosion rocked the hillside. The shockwave slapped against DuPont and the rest of the soldiers backs as if a giant hand had slapped then. However, none of them even flinched. The battle for the rift was still raging with the sound of blasts and gunfire ringing out at nearly every decibel level, so a few demo charges didn’t change a thing.

  With massive trees coming down and slamming into the ground, Dupont crested the summit and spotted Ward's command element. Oriented in a defensive circle, it was a cluster of armored vehicles with two M1068 Command Track variants serving as mobile headquarters at its center. Ward, the company commander, was seen pacing at the very core of the cluster of vehicles, gesturing emphatically as he directed the organization of their new defensive position.

  "Third platoon's got the western approach locked down," Ward was saying as 1st Lieutenant DuPont and 2nd Lieutenant Smith approached. "I want overlapping fields of fire with-" He cut himself off, spotting DuPont and Smith. "Smith, DuPont! Get over here!"

  Ward closed the distance in a few quick strides. "Got word from battalion — this hill's too important to leave exposed. We're setting up hunkering down here while IDF starts setting up shop." The Major said while jogging the opening of his command vehicle and pulling out a thick, reinforced tablet before opening up a map. "I want your platoon covering the southeastern slope.” Work with Bravo 4’s positions to establish interlocking sectors. Those batteries are gonna need time to dig in, and I don't want any surprises while they're vulnerable."

  Zooming in on their position, Ward's fingers danced across the tablet's screen as he traced potential avenues of approach. "Smith, I want your boys here and here," he indicated two positions with quick taps. "Set up your weapons squads to cover these draws. Anyone tries pushing up those valleys. I want them walking into a wall of lead."

  The Major's fingers kept moving, sketching out fields of fire. "Your machine guns need to overlap with Bravo 3’s positions — I don't want any dead space between you." he traced a gentle elevation. "We’ll have a veritable shit-ton of mortars available to drop rounds to cover the ascent along that eastern approach."

  Smith nodded, studying the map intently as Ward continued laying out the defensive plan. "We’ll have MK-19s and Javelins in position to provide support by fire," he marked two more positions. "If anything reinforced or armored shows up, we’ll have multiple angles on it."

  Suddenly, Ward's head snapped up, looking at DuPont before pointing over his shoulder. "DuPont, They're setting up the CCP over there." He pointed toward a flurry of activity where soldiers were erecting large tents near a cluster of armored ambulances and support vehicles. "Take your wounded there. Battalion's designated this hill as the AO's primary casualty collection point. Get your man over there and—"

  Another explosion cut him off as engineers continued clearing the hilltop. Ward barely paused, used to the constant demolition by now. "Once your wounded is sorted, get your platoon into position. I want full defensive positions established before IDF gets into place."

  "Yes sir," DuPont acknowledged but didn't move. "There is one thing though — these bunker systems… We got lucky this time, but if we keep running into more of them." He let the implications hang in the air.

  Ward's eyes narrowed as he looked up from his tablet. "It's already a major fucking problem, Lieutenant," he said, marching into his command track. "Let me show you what I mean."

  The Major reached in and spoke to his Radio Telephone Operator. The RTO quickly nodded and fussed with the communication equipment as Ward returned to his two subordinate platoon leaders. With a purposeful yank, Ward freed his headset from his radio, allowing the communications to blast through the device's speakers. Almost immediately, the air was filled with overlapping voices of units in contact.

  "BREAK BREAK BREAK! Nine-line MEDEVAC to follow, over!"

  "Negative! Your AO is too hot! We've already lost one bird! Stand by-"

  "CHAOS 2-1, contact front! Walker at grid 247698!"

  "All Predator elements, this is 6! Multiple walkers behind our lines at grid 248-"

  "NET CALL!! MASS CASS, MASS CASS! This is Thunder 3-2! We've got two squads down! Requesting immediate air support!"

  "All stations, this is Goliath. Thunder 3-2's position is being overrun. Break. Be advised, enemy forces have tunnels leading behind your lines."

  Ward plugged his headset back in, silencing the chaos. "We’re running into complete networks packed with mages, dug-in infantry, and goddamn monsters." He switched screens on his tablet, pulling up a map of the broader area before showing it to the Lieutenants. "First infantry took the brunt of it, but we’ve discovered most of these tunnels aren't connected, but enough of them are. We've got enemy elements popping up behind our lines, hitting entire companies before disappearing back into their holes."

  "It's why this hill became priority one.” Ward gestured towards the heavy mortar systems that were finally in position and setting up. “Command needs fires to support the entire corps' push inland. We're currently in a lowland valley, but ISR shows dense forest ahead." The company commander’s jaw clenched. "Once we make a push, we’re going to need immediate fire support. These tunnel networks are bad enough in open ground — in dense forest, they'll be a nightmare. Every time we think we've cleared a sector, these bastards come crawling out of some hole we missed. That's why we need every gun, every tube, and every rocket system we can fit on this hill."

  "Jesus," Smith interjected, a difficult expression crossing his face. "If this is what we're initially running into..." He glanced around hesitantly before continuing. "What the hell do their actual fortified positions look like? Do we even have enough ordinance to drop on every complex we stumble across?"

  The truth of those words hit hard. Even with the full might of the US Air Force, there was no way they’d even have enough precision munitions in the inventory to crack every bunker they'd encounter. And at the end of the day, someone would still have to go down into those holes and clear them out room by room.

  "We'll have to break a few rules if we don't want to send home piles of bodies in bags,"

  DuPont added with a cringe.

  The implications hung heavy in the air. They might have been far from the Pentagon's decision-makers, but they all knew this conversation would hit the brass sooner rather than later, probably right after the casualty reports started flooding in.

  "One of my men suggested CS gas," DuPont said carefully. "Could flush them out of these tunnels before we send guys in." He hesitated before adding, "White phosphorus was another suggestion."

  Ward's face soured as he looked back down at his tablet, scrolling through reports from units engaged with the enemy. The fighting had been brutal - entire platoons burning through their combat loads in minutes. They were going through grenades like water, and for what? To clear maybe a hundred meters of tunnels at a time?

  "CS gas..." Ward muttered, his jaw working as he thought it over. "Might happen that a few MP units lose track of some CS grenades after we get a breather." He looked up at DuPont meaningfully. "White phosphorus, though — that's not something I can just overlook. These bastards might be using acid and whatever else, but willy pete? That's a whole different conversation with command."

  The distant sound of combat seemed to intensify as if emphasizing the urgency of their situation. More reports were coming in - units bogged down, supplies running critical, casualties mounting.

  "Get your defensive positions established," Ward finally said, closing his tablet. "I'll consider bringing this up to battalion. But for now—" He was cut off by another explosion as the engineers continued their work. "For now, we need this hill locked down tight. Smith, get your boys in position. DuPont, get your wounded sorted and your men dug in. We'll figure out how to handle these tunnels later."

  As DuPont and Smith turned to leave, Ward called after them. "And gentlemen? This conversation never happened."