Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Frontline One.

Rocket artillery stood ready in a mountain range near the Elsos Ruins.

"Deploy the drones," Commander James ordered. He peered through his binoculars, watching the situation at the ruins rapidly deteriorate.

He knew they were dealing with a monster nest, so rushing in was not an option. Earlier drone recon showed that their scouts had already cleared the perimeter. Now, they had to send in the drone swarm to lure out the rest of the monsters and cover the infantry as they moved in.

"Launch the drones!" A shout rang out, followed by the high-pitched whine of machines taking flight.

Swarms of drones shot into the sky above the Elsos Ruins. The monsters below heard the loud, mosquito-like buzzing and immediately went wild, roaring up at the sky.

"First wave, blanket the area! Fire!"

Nearby, another commander watched as the drones did their job. Now it was time for the MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) trucks to get to work.

They avoided using mortars because the dense jungle made it too risky. Mortar shells could set the forest canopy on fire, blocking the infantry's path. Rockets were more precise and could hit the main target directly. Most importantly, the rockets were meant to draw the monsters out.

"Rockets, fire!"

A full salvo was launched.

The Elsos Ruins were subjected to a brutal, localized bombardment.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook as explosions tore it apart, leaving smoking craters behind. Only a few Magic Stones scattered in the dirt showed that anything had ever defended this place.

As if a radar had suddenly pinged, the surviving monsters snapped their attention outward.

"ROARRRRRRRR!"

The monsters that survived the blasts charged straight at the artillery. Furious over the sudden loss of their kin, they were desperate to find and destroy whoever attacked them.

"HERE THEY COME." Commander James heard the unnatural rustling in the forest. The monsters' brains weren't that simple after all.

"They actually pinpointed our position. They're heading straight for us."

"Just like the intel said. Even outside the Dungeon, these things are a massive pain in the ass."

"Don't let them get close. Wipe out the stragglers," James yelled into his radio.

"Tiger Spirit Squad, copy."

"Tiger Eye Squad, copy."

Two squads, about a hundred soldiers, formed a defensive line. They managed to draw the monsters' attention and pulled them away from the nest entrance.

The nest was left wide open.

At that exact moment, ten transport helicopters lifted off from the main camp.

The dense jungle canopy made it impossible to deploy tanks, so the troops had to fast-rope from helicopters. At the same time, another group of soldiers waiting on the edge moved in to join them. Working together, they quickly took control of the stronghold's surface.

Artemis dropped in right alongside the several hundred troops.

The airborne rangers acted quickly and efficiently. As soon as they landed, they secured the Elsos Ruins. A few monsters were still alive, but the rangers took them out right away.

"Thermal scans show zero hostiles remaining. Confirming the bulk of the horde went after the artillery teams." The airborne troops relayed the situation via comms.

A strange silence settled over the area, but the soldiers remained alert and guarded the huge gate leading into the heart of the temple.

Their intel said the main doors were right ahead, but no one knew what was waiting inside. To avoid a surprise attack, they held their ground and waited for the main assault team before going in.

As Artemis listened to the radio, she realized the strike team had moved the frontline right where it needed to be.

"Is the other side really going to be okay?" Artemis turned to Hestia, her voice laced with concern.

Were the decoy teams actually safe? With so many monsters drawn away, the danger was greater than ever.

"They can handle it," Hestia said, giving a confident thumbs-up. She trusted the modern military completely.

Even without Falna contracts, these soldiers had enough firepower to take down the horde.

"But now, we need you to open that door," Hestia said, her voice abruptly serious.

That temple had been built centuries ago by the original Artemis Familia. Back then, the Great Spirit hadn't been able to kill the beasts, so it had sealed them inside instead.

"But listen to me: once you open it, you are not allowed to step foot inside." Hestia knew that whatever lay dormant within was explicitly designed to devour Gods.

Not even they could afford to be reckless...

If Antares managed to absorb a Goddess, the military would face an unwinnable fight. They might have to sacrifice every soldier just to defeat the monster, and Hestia was determined not to let that happen.

"I understand," Artemis said, feeling the seriousness in Hestia's stare. She knew she couldn't act on impulse. If her actions got these soldiers killed, she would never forgive herself.

"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on Lady Artemis!" Lante said with a grin, patting her chest. She was determined not to let her Goddess do anything reckless.

The troops moved in rapidly to breach the interior.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

"As long as there aren't thousands of monsters inside, we'll be fine," Liliruca Arde said.

"But honestly, Antares has been locked up for who knows how long. If it's been awake and following surface rules, it's probably been breeding new monsters the whole time."

Lili knew the Dungeon's rules inside and out.

Except for the Xenos, normal monsters that reached the surface were driven to multiply. They would even use up their own Magic Stones to do it. Making new monsters used up the stone's energy, and when it ran out, the monster turned to ash. The offspring got whatever energy the parent gave up.

So what was Antares? It was a bio-weapon made thousands of years ago to kill Gods. A creature like that would have a huge Magic Stone, as big as a Floor Boss from the seventeenth floor or deeper. It was almost half-monster, half-crystal.

A monster with that much power would be extremely dangerous. For now, the best way Lili could help was by giving good tactical advice.

"Hey, Staff Officer," Hestia called into the comms. "Give your boys a heads-up. There's likely a massive swarm of newly bred monsters hiding inside. Tell them not to drop their guard."

"And nobody breaches until we get there," Hestia added strictly.

Sitting in the command tent back at the main camp, Staff Officer Thomas nodded.

"Understood."

He quickly passed the new orders down the chain of command. Their real target was a monster-spawning bio-weapon made to kill Gods. The monsters outside looked scary, but they were just cannon fodder. The real threat was still inside.

"Report!" Just as Thomas finished issuing his orders, a runner rushed into the command tent.

"Report! Advisor August has returned!"

The personnel parted to make way as August and another commander strode into the room.

"WAIT, THE OPERATION ALREADY STARTED??" Major Jay looked pissed off.

What the hell?

He was supposed to be on the front lines, but now he was being left out?

"What about me? I'm still standing right here!" Jay was absolutely livid.

"Alright, alright, pipe down and count your blessings," Thomas scoffed. He knew his friend just wanted more action.

Writing the after-action report would already earn him plenty of medals. He should let others have some of the glory too.

"Hmph," Jay grunted, knowing better than to throw a tantrum in the middle of a live operation.

"So, Jay, how'd the supply run go?" Thomas asked, turning to his long-time friend for a status update.

"We got it," Jay nodded.

August finished handling the logistics. The top officers approved the use of their strongest weapons for fire support. It was the right decision. Jay knew that without heavy firepower against a threat like this, they would be in serious trouble.

"What about your end??" Jay demanded.

"The airborne units have secured the perimeter and are holding position."

"The main assault force is advancing."

"James's artillery teams are likely engaging the diverted monster horde as we speak."

"Air support is fully loaded and on standby."

After hearing Thomas's report, August felt confident that the operation was going well.

The Artemis and Hermes Familias moved forward with the main force, heading straight for the temple. Whatever was inside that ruin was at least as strong as a [Level 5] Adventurer.

"Then I'm heading to the front," August declared. "Are the choppers back?"

He needed to be on that battlefield.

"They just touched down," Thomas confirmed with a nod.

As soon as Jay heard August was going out, his eyes brightened.

"You lot, go fetch my gear!" Jay barked at the nearby soldiers. "You're deploying with me as airborne infantry!"

Inside, Jay could barely contain his excitement. 'HELL YE!'

If August was going in, he was damn well going to hitch a ride.

The young soldiers nearby smiled with excitement when they learned they would be joining the drop. They had missed the initial lottery and were stuck on base duty. Now, just by helping out, they were getting sent to the front lines.

"SIR, YES, SIR!" The men snapped to attention and shouted, immediately rushing off to grab their parachutes. The camp had plenty of standard-issue rigs to spare.

Thomas stared at his friend in disbelief. 'Wait, you're actually going airborne? At your age? Are you trying to give yourself a heart attack on the way down?'

"You crazy old bastard, your blood pressure is practically through the roof! What the hell are you thinking?" Thomas was truly shocked. The last thing they needed was a senior officer acting recklessly in the middle of a war.

"Mind your own business," Jay retorted, a smug, arrogant grin plastered across his face.

"I'm going to the frontline, and that's final." Jay's tone was dead serious.

Even if he died out there, at least he would go out with honor. If the worst happened, he joked to himself, maybe he'd come back and do it all again.

"You…" Thomas just sighed, too exhausted to argue.

The other officers in the war room looked at each other with envy and regret.

'Dammit! Why didn't I think of that?' If they had known they could join August, they would have volunteered right away. Jumping out of a plane was nothing new for them. You either give it your all or you don't go at all.

Jay quickly got ready. He was heading straight into the action. The front lines were where he belonged.

August, Major Jay, and a group of eager young soldiers boarded the transport helicopter. It took off right away, flying quickly toward the combat zone.

"Listen up! Don't worry about covering my ass down there. You focus on killing the enemy!" Jay glared fiercely at the young troopers. "If you embarrass me out there, I'll reassign you to desk duty the second we get back!"

It was his way of saying: Follow orders and fight hard.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The young soldiers couldn't hide their grins, though they tried desperately to maintain a serious military bearing.

Glory was waiting for them. Just taking part would earn them at least a third-class merit. If they died in battle, they would receive a second-class honor. Either way, they would make their families proud.

Seeing their excitement, August noticed the commander was full of adrenaline.

The helicopter moved fast, but soon the heavy sound of artillery came from the jungle below.

Jay, a very experienced veteran, pinpointed the source of the explosions instantly. It was James's position.

"James is already engaging."

"Don't embarrass us out there, James," Jay muttered.

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James had several hundred men and controlled the heavy fire support, but his situation was undoubtedly rough. The monster horde was already threatening to break their lines.

It was bound to happen. Even with heavy suppressive fire, the young soldiers didn't have experience fighting monsters like these. The veteran snipers tried to help, but the beasts still broke through their defenses.

The Boar-type monsters were the biggest problem. They were huge, covered in thick armor, and had deadly tusks. They charged straight ahead, forcing the infantry to scatter and breaking the line.

Commander James watched his perimeter buckle.

"They're too inexperienced. I'll have to train them hard when we get back," he muttered through clenched teeth. They just didn't have enough experience fighting monsters.

After all, these things were the size of grown men—some were even hulking Orc-types.

As a seasoned tactician, James had deliberately left a buffer zone between the first defensive line and his command post. It was a kill box designed to give them a reaction window in case the frontline failed.

"Rocket launchers!"

"Aim and fire!"

Capitalizing on the buffer zone, James dropped his hand.

The secondary guard unit protecting the MLRS trucks hoisted their anti-tank rocket launchers, locked onto the charging monsters in the kill box, and opened fire.

The rockets hit the wave of monsters directly. The blasts tore the creatures apart, leaving only Magic Stones behind.

But ground troops were not their only problem. Suddenly, flying monsters swarmed out from the dense canopy.

SCREEEEECH!

With a piercing shriek, several giant bats dove toward their position.

"Flying monsters... No wonder the front line broke so fast. Did command miss these during the tactical sweep?"

The giant bats were just [Level 1] monsters. They couldn't fly high like normal birds, so they used the thick jungle canopy to launch low attacks. If they went too high, the helicopter blades would cut them down.

One of the bats swooped down, snapping its jaws directly at Commander James.

James reacted instantly, twisting his body to protect his vitals and letting the beast bite his side instead. He was wearing thick tactical gear reinforced with heavy bandaging, preventing the fangs from immediately piercing his flesh.

"Die, you bastard!"

Adrenaline flowing through his veins, James drew his trusty combat knife. With a brutal downward strike, he drove the blade straight into the monster's eye.

The blade went in deep. The bat screamed in pain but didn't die right away.

Seeing this, James's face grew cold. He pulled out the knife and stabbed the beast again and again, moving quickly.

Monster blood sprayed across his face.

Yet, James didn't look thrilled or manic. His eyes were empty, showing only the calm focus of a killer. He kept stabbing until the monster turned to ash, leaving just a Magic Stone.

"Dammit. Didn't expect these ugly bastards to have such good aim," James spat on the ground. The monsters' combat intelligence was frighteningly high—it had ignored the regular soldiers and gone straight for him.

"You boys alright?" James called out to check on the missile crew. A few of them had been ambushed as well, but they had grouped up and gunned the fliers down.

"We're good, sir!" The soldiers had sustained minor lacerations, but nothing critical.

James's composure stabilized.

He knew he couldn't show pain. He was the backbone of this unit. The moment he showed weakness, the troops' morale would plummet.

Wiping the blood from his cheek, James gazed toward the distant ruins. He knew the hardest part of this battle was only just beginning.

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