BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Marcus fired a relentless hail of heavy steel slugs at the invisible snipers. The heavy bullets smashed into the rocks around the snipers. The Ghost Eyes panicked. Their invisible camouflage suits flickered and sparked as the bullets hit the stone near them. I see them flickering! Navarro yelled. The veteran fighter raised his pistol and fired with deadly precision. Bang. Bang. One of the snipers screamed and fell from the high cliff, crashing dead into the snow below. “My turn!” Kade thought. Kade aimed his heavy green rocket launcher at the top of the right cliff. He pulled the trigger. FWOOSH! KABOOOOOM! The heavy rocket slammed into the rocky ledge where the remaining two snipers were hiding. The explosion completely destroyed the cliff edge. The invisible snipers were blown to pieces in a shower of fire and broken stone. The right side of the canyon was completely clear. Three left on the left cliff! Jin warned them. They are aiming at you, Landon! “

Landon stared at Claire's beautiful, determined face. He felt a sudden, powerful rush of warm hope fill his tired chest. "You are right," Landon smiled a small, brave smile. "General Rauth is fighting alone because he thinks everyone else is weak. But we fight together. That is our true power." "Exactly," Claire smiled back. "Now let's go steal that spaceship." They continued walking for another twenty minutes. The canyon walls grew narrower and steeper. Finally, the captive captain pointed a shaking finger toward a large, dark opening in the rock wall. "There," the captain whispered. "The ship is parked inside that old mining cave." Landon raised his hand, signaling the team to stop. "Kade, Marcus," Landon ordered quietly. "Go check it out. Be careful. There might be more guards inside." Kade and Marcus nodded. They raised their weapons and moved silently through the snow toward the dark cave entrance. Landon watched them go. He kept his rifle pointed at the captain's back.

The sleek, black Iron Order transport ship tore through the dark, snowy night sky. Landon Hale sat in the pilot’s seat. His large, muscular hands held the glowing blue steering controls. He stared out the thick glass windshield. The freezing winter wind of Wisconsin howled around the metal ship. Thick, white snowflakes whipped past the glass like tiny, flying stars. But Landon was not looking at the snow. He was looking at the terrible, glowing nightmare on the horizon. Fifty miles ahead of them, the massive city of Chicago was waiting. But it did not look like a normal city anymore. The dark night sky above Chicago was glowing with a sickly, blinding, toxic purple light. Massive, unnatural storm clouds swirled in a violent circle over the city. Jagged bolts of dark magic lightning lashed out from the clouds, striking the earth below. The evil magic was tearing the very sky apart. General Kade Rauth was inside that city. He was using dead-god magic to turn himself into an immort

The lieutenant's body finally reached its breaking point. KABOOOOOOOOOM! The magical explosion was absolutely devastating. It was like a miniature nuclear bomb going off inside the dark cargo hold. A massive, blinding ball of toxic purple fire erupted outward. But the purple fire did not touch the metal walls of the ship. The explosion slammed violently into Landon's invisible white magic box. CRASH! The incredible force of the explosion pushed fiercely against Landon's magic. Landon dropped heavily onto his knees. Blood poured rapidly from his nose and his ears. The physical strain was unimaginable. His broad shoulders shook violently. His muscles felt like they were ripping off his bones. The heat radiating from the purple fire was blistering hot. But Landon held the magic box together. He squeezed his hands into tight fists. He pushed back against the explosion with all of his massive, superhuman strength. He compressed the magical box, making it smaller and smaller, for

Landon frowned deeply. "What does that mean, Jin?" "It means we cannot attack them one at a time," Jin explained. "We have to blow up both generators at the exact same millisecond. If the explosions are not perfectly synchronized, the magic will rebuild the bases, and the shield in Chicago will stay up forever." The entire Vanguard team fell perfectly, deathly silent. The hot Nigerian wind howled softly around them. Landon understood what Jin was saying. It was the hardest, most terrible choice a leader ever had to make. "We have to split the team up," Landon said softly. His deep voice trembled slightly. Claire looked up at him. She saw the deep, crushing pain in his dark eyes. Landon hated splitting up. He had almost lost Claire too many times today. Every single time she was out of his sight, his heart stopped beating. His struggle was trying to protect the people he loved, while also trying to save the world. Splitting the team meant he could not stand in front of Claire to