"Why not?" Sera asked nervously. "Look at the ships on the river," Claire pointed. On the decks of the three massive Iron Ships, hundreds of Iron Order soldiers were running around. They were aiming giant, glowing blue anti-aircraft laser cannons straight up into the sky. "They have locked down the entire airspace," Claire explained. "If we fly an airplane out of this bunker, those three ships will blast us out of the sky in five seconds. We will explode before we even cross the river." Landon gripped his heavy combat knife. He stared at the massive black warships. "Then we have to sink the ships," Landon declared deeply. Navarro, the tough, scarred veteran, shook his head slowly. "Landon, look at the thick steel armor on those boats. We only have rifles and one rocket launcher. We cannot sink three floating fortresses from the docks. If we stand here and shoot at them, they will fire their main relic cannons and blow this entire bunker, and us, into dust." "Navarro is right,"

Because they were perfectly synced through the magic web, they fought like a flawless, three-headed monster. A green trooper swung the heavy metal stock of his rifle at Kade's head. Kade did not even look. He simply ducked. Because Kade ducked, it perfectly exposed the soldier's chest to Marcus. Marcus raised his heavy automatic shotgun and fired point-blank. BOOM! The heavy steel slug knocked the soldier violently backward off the ship and into the toxic river. Landon charged forward. He grabbed a heavy, rusted metal pipe from the deck. He swung the pipe like a baseball bat. He smashed it brutally against the helmet of a green trooper, knocking him out completely cold. CRUNCH! In less than a minute, the ten elite soldiers were completely defeated. The Vanguard guerrilla tactics were absolutely perfect. "We own this boat!" Marcus cheered out loud, breathing heavily. Suddenly, a deafening, terrifying explosion shook the entire river. KABOOOOOOOM! The first block of C4 explos

The beautiful, sleek white stealth ship shot through the hot African sky like a bullet. Inside the small metal cabin, panic exploded. "I cannot stop the ship!" Jin screamed in pure terror. Her small fingers hit the computer keyboard as fast as lightning. "General Rauth has locked the steering wheel completely! We are flying on his autopilot!" Claire Arden grabbed the heavy metal steering wheel. She pulled it back with all her might. Her knuckles turned pure white. But the steering wheel did not move a single inch. It was locked as tight as solid stone. "Landon, we are trapped!" Claire cried out over the roaring jet engines. "Rauth is pulling us straight back to his fortress in Chicago! He is going to drop us right into a trap!" Landon Hale stood up in the shaking cabin. His broad shoulders almost touched the metal ceiling. His dark eyes burned with fierce, unbreakable anger. He looked at the glowing black relic crown sitting on the table. The toxic purple magic was humming loudl

Claire Arden walked slowly up to the desk. She placed her silver pistol flat on the dark wood. She stared at the crying man with cold, disgusted eyes. "We do not want your dirty money," Claire said firmly. Her voice was pure steel. "We want answers. You are the leader of the Aether Dominion in Africa. You know what General Rauth is planning." The Viceroy shook his head violently. "I know nothing! I swear!" Landon slammed his huge, heavy fist onto the wooden desk. The loud BANG made the Viceroy jump out of his skin. "Do not lie to us," Landon growled deeply. His dark eyes burned with intense anger. "Rafael was your man. He tried to steal the Black Crown for the Iron Order. Your corporation has been secretly working with General Rauth." "I had no choice!" the Viceroy sobbed loudly, tears ruining his fancy suit. "General Rauth is a monster! He threatened to destroy my entire city! He said if I did not help him dig up the ancient relics, he would kill my family! I was only trying to

"They are the deadliest sniper division in the world," Navarro explained grimly. "They wear special camouflage suits that completely bend the light. They are totally invisible in the snow. And they use Relic-Silenced Sniper Rifles. The guns use dead-god magic to completely erase the sound of the gunshot. You will never hear the bullet coming. You will just drop dead." Landon’s blood turned to pure, freezing ice. They were trapped at the bottom of a deep, narrow canyon. The enemy snipers were hiding high up on the dark, rocky cliffs. The snipers were invisible. Their guns were completely silent. It was the perfect, inescapable ambush. "How many are there?" Marcus asked, gripping his shotgun tightly. ZIIIP! CRACK! Another silent, invisible bullet smashed into the metal pipe right above Marcus’s head. Sparks rained down on his thick beard. "I don't know!" Navarro answered. "But they are using the whispering sound of the canyon wind to hide the tiny clicking noise of their weapons!