The dark sky was completely filled with thick, white snowflakes. The snow fell softly, covering the ruined city in a peaceful white blanket. But the city was not peaceful. It was a war zone.Landon Hale walked slowly down the middle of the icy street. His heavy black combat boots crunched loudly in the deep snow. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.He looked around at the incredible damage. The battle against the Iron Order had left terrible scars on the city. Huge craters were blown into the concrete roads. Burned-out cars sat smoking in the dark alleys. The massive, pitch-black metal Siege Towers that General Rauth had dropped from the sky were still standing, but they were completely dead. Their evil red lights were turned off. The heavy, suffocating gravity was finally gone.The people of Milwaukee were free.Landon walked past a ruined grocery store. The large glass windows were entirely shattered. Inside, he saw a group of local militia fighters. They were shivering in their winter coat

"He is right there," Jin whispered in absolute shock. "General Rauth is on the ground. He is hiding only ninety miles away from us."Jin clicked on the exact GPS coordinates. The computer screen brought up a highly detailed, 3D architectural blueprint of a massive building in Chicago.Kade stared at the 3D blueprints. His jaw dropped wide open."Oh my god," Kade breathed. "Is that... Soldier Field?""Yes," Jin nodded. "It used to be the giant, famous football stadium sitting right on the edge of the lake in Chicago. But the Iron Order completely took it over."The blueprints on the screen showed a terrifying, impenetrable fortress.General Rauth had covered the entire massive sports stadium with thick plates of black steel armor. Giant, automated anti-aircraft laser cannons sat on top of the stadium walls, ready to shoot down any flying ships. Massive, glowing null-field generators were planted all around the parking lots, creating a perfect, invisible bubble of anti-magic protection

Landon walked up to the table and stood beside her. Claire didn't look up at him. She just picked up a thick red marker and drew a massive, bold red X directly over the city of Milwaukee."We are done playing defense," Claire announced to the quiet room. Her voice was pure steel.Sera and Jin stopped typing on their computers. They turned their chairs around to listen. Kade put his rifle down and walked over to the table. Juno stood next to Landon."What do you mean, Claire?" Kade asked.Claire looked up and made eye contact with every single person in the room."For months, we have been hiding like scared mice," Claire said firmly. "We wait for the Iron Order to attack us, and then we try to survive. We try to block their punches. We try to save the civilians. But if we keep fighting like this, we will eventually lose. General Rauth has endless factories, endless soldiers, and endless money. We do not."Claire slammed her hand hard onto the wooden table. Smack!"General Rauth is the

The snowy highway from Milwaukee to Chicago was long, dark, and completely empty.Landon Hale sat in the back of the stolen, rusty van. He stared out the frosty window. Thick white snow was falling from the black night sky. The heater in the van was broken. Everyone was freezing, but nobody complained. They were driving straight into the mouth of the beast.They were going to Chicago. They were going to kill General Kade Rauth."How much longer?" Landon asked. His deep voice rumbled over the noisy, rattling engine of the van."We are entering the city limits right now," Jin answered from the front seat. She was sitting with her laptop glowing brightly in the dark van. "We are only ten minutes away from the Aether Dominion Headquarters."Claire Arden sat across from Landon. She held her silver pistol in her lap."Remind me again why we are going to the Aether Dominion," Kade grumbled. He wiped the cold sweat from his scarred forehead. "They are a bunch of weird magic users. They have

The civilians looked at the giant man fighting the monsters. They trusted him. A brave young woman grabbed a crying child's hand. "Follow him! Run to the subway!" she screamed.The massive crowd of two hundred people turned and sprinted through the deep snow, heading exactly where Landon told them to go."They are moving, Landon!" Jin reported happily over the radio. "The green dots are heading north! But you have to hold the intersection! If those soldiers follow them, it will be a bloodbath in the tunnels!""I will hold the line," Landon promised grimly.He dropped his empty rifle into the snow. He pulled a heavy, sharp combat knife from his belt.He was completely surrounded.Five purple-eyed soldiers and two silver exo-suit robots marched toward him.They swung their weapons. Landon fought like a wild lion. He ducked, he rolled, and he slashed with his knife. He used his massive muscles to throw the soldiers into the brick walls.But it was too much. The enemy was too strong, and