Continued from here part 2
Luxor, Egypt 2187
The last of the Gods of Heliopolis, Horus stood before the last surviving Iron soldier after what at the time was the most vicious battle in the history of the Iron Army. The soldier was Colonel Alhassan Khalaf. Khalaf looked at the god through his one good eye as he wiped blood seeping from the empty socket of the other, "They will hunt you, the only path to salvation would be to bend a knee to the Supreme Commander. I assume that is no option for you."
Horus stepped to the soldier, "Then I suppose I should finish you before reinforcements arrive."
The god swung an adamantine scimitar at the soldier who dropped to the ground and rolled away as he grabbed a spear from one of the fallen gods. He jammed it into Horus' back and then drove his shoulder into his knee. Horus fell to his knees and dropped his sword. Khalaf lifted it and rested the blade on his shoulder. The god attempted to rise but his injuries from the long battle that day stopped him. He gritted his teeth as he spoke, "Are you proud of yourself soldier?"
Khalaf sighed, "There is no pride to be had on this field today, I did my duty but I will not revel in this."
Horus grabbed the blade and for a second considered yanking it away and killing the man but he looked on his dead mother not ten feet away and dropped his hand, "Do it now, I will not give the mad man the satisfaction of executing me."
Khalaf nodded and raised the blade, "For what its worth, I'm sorry."
He then swung the blade.
***
Yozgat, Turkey 2200
Khalaf rested a hand on the hilt of his adamantine scimitar at his side while he awaited the rush of Ares' men. The soldier beside him chuckled a bit, "What's the sword for?"
Khalaf gave the man a glare that sent a chill down his spine before putting on his helmet. The mutants of the DMZ crashed through the front line like a tsunami tearing into the ranks with bullets, blades and in some cases claws and teeth.
Achos shot through the ranks and grabbed the soldier who had just mocked Khalaf by the throat with his teeth. Khalaf heard the crunch of the man's spine as he turned to strike the animal. Before he could punch him Metus slammed into him. He punched the beast in the jaw and hurled him off. Soldiers rushed in to aid him but the dogs had turned and attacked them as the battle raged on.
Khalaf wasted no time yelling to his men, "Hold the line, if they gain so much as a yard I'll kill you myself."
He then slammed a fist into his nearest enemy and fired a repulser blast into his gut. He used his cybernetic eye to scan the field and saw Ares fighting along side his men and grinned a bit as he ordered several of his soldiers, "Clear a path for me."
His best men formed up on either side of him as they rushed into the enemy. Ares noted to himself that while the rest of the soldiers flailed about like angry children in his eyes, the men of the Istanbul Iron Hall fought as warriors. He saw Khalaf coming for him and decided to meet him half way.
The War god charged ahead of his men slashing down Iron soldiers three at a time with his ax.
Across the field Vadim led a group of the strongest mutants and took the attack to the Buster unit, most were shocked that not one of them had any fear or hesitation attacking the walking weapons of mass destruction they wore.
Vadim brought down one before their commander yelled, "Get your heads out of your asses and fight."
They opened fire taking down several of them but many laughed off the repulser fire. It was quickly reduced to a chaotic fist fight.
Sandman continued to attack through out the ranks before Lieutenant Aatif Abad got an idea. He ordered a few dozen soldiers into a tight crowd and waited for a moment for Sandman to attack. When he did the soldier took a belt full of high heat fire bombs into the mass of sand, as they exploded he was turned to glass.
This allowed the Iron soldiers a moment to regroup and they surged forward.
Ares and Khalaf stood amid the chaos of the battle looking each other over. Khalaf fired first but the repulser blast was deflected by Ares' ax. Ares then swung at him but he quickly raised his sword to block.
As Ares stood over the general he glanced at the blade, "So you're the Iron Bull, the mortal who killed Horus?"
Khalaf nodded as he held back the ax. Ares grinned, "I half expected you to have horns."
Khalaf pushed the ax back, "Sorry to disappoint."
Ares was impressed by his strength. He stepped back and readied his ax for another strike as Khalaf went to strike him. Ares caught his sword hand and punched him in the face hard enough to shatter the face plate on his helmet. Khalaf fell back a step and yanked off his helmet. As Ares moved forward Khalaf slammed his helmet into the war gods face and kicked him hard in the gut. He then moved to slice off Ares head but he rammed a shoulder into his gut before slamming him to the ground.
Khalaf looked to his men before he stood. Ares noted this and gave a look to his own. Both sides were worn out and casualties were mounting. Khalaf roared through his comm, "Fall back."
Ares did the same.
***
As night set in the two armies had set up camps. King Adder sat watch as one of the soldiers of Istanbul approached bearing a white flag, "You surrendering?"
Lieutenant Abad chuckled, "General Khalaf requests an audience with Ares, though if you'd like to surrender I'd be glad to deliver the message."
***
Ares stepped forward, he had snipers at the ready in case this was a trap. Khalaf sat patiently as Ares approached, "Lovely night."
Ares took a seat next to him on a fallen log, "A night's reprieve isn't the style of the Iron Army."
Khalaf nodded, "True, but I'm here to kill your men, not mine."
Ares chuckled at that, "You are strange for one of the Supreme Commander's men."
Khalaf nodded, "You understand we have you out numbered and out gunned."
Ares nodded, "I also understand that most of your soldiers would accidentally kill themselves if someone hadn't told them which direction to aim their weapons. Though it is nice to see a general who isn't afraid to fight with his men."
Khalaf sighed, "I could offer you the chance to surrender but we both know even if you took it we're under orders to make sure none of your men come out alive."
Ares nodded again, "So what was the point of this meeting?"
"Just wanted a chance to see my enemy outside of battle before one of us dies."
Ares grinned, "So, to the death then?"
Khalaf stood and gave a polite nod, "To the death, and make sure those snipers get fed, I'd hate to have my victory tarnished by hungry soldiers."
Ares laughed as Khalaf left, "See you in the morning."
***
The Supreme Commander looked into a monitor as an annoyed general from the Cairo Iron Hall called in, "He's ordered the men to stand down for the night, I'm told Ares has done the same. Sir, I believe he should push on."
The Supreme Commander glared, "Then perhaps you should have volunteered to lead in the field."
"If it were any of the rest of you I'd be concerned, but unlike the rest of you he's never failed me."
***
Pug was taking his shift on watch as Ares walked back. He looked to the small dog faced mutant that held a rifle more than half his size, "They intend to kill every last one of us."
Pug nodded, "Wouldn't have it any other way sir."
Ares chuckled as he walked on.
(To be continued)
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