The jungle line held.
Barely.
Capt One Arm, Red Riot, Kairoth, and Dreadwake kept the defensive position alive while wave after wave of demons slammed into the mud, roots, and broken vehicles forming their frontline. The jungle had turned into a wall of smoke and gunfire. Trees burned. Artillery craters filled with rainwater and blood. Soldiers fired from behind armored wreckage while demons poured through the gaps, trying to crush the Empire before help could arrive.
Then the sky thundered.
At first, the demons looked up.
Then the bombs fell.
Starfall heavy bombers tore through the clouds and began dropping payloads across the largest demon formations. The jungle erupted in waves of fire, dirt, and shattered trees. Whole enemy clusters vanished beneath the blasts, and for the first time in hours, the demon advance staggered.
Behind the bombers came the Strike Wings, screaming low through the canopy and cutting down demon flyers before they could regroup.
Then the ground started shaking.
Ironmaw siege tanks rolled through the forest, crushing smaller trees beneath their treads as they pushed straight into the battle. Their cannons fired with earth-shaking force, punching holes through the demon line. Behind them, Skybreaker missile carriers deployed and launched missile after missile into the deeper enemy formations, lighting up the jungle with streaks of fire.
Mobile command centers arrived next, setting up behind the line with shield relays, medical stations, and coordination towers.
The desert army had arrived.
And they arrived like thunder.
Steel, Stark, and Voltron came with them, pushing through the smoke as their forces merged with the battered jungle army.
Capt One Arm lowered his sword for half a second and looked over.
"Finally. Took you guys long enough."
Steel wiped dust and sand from his armor. "Man, that desert fight was hot and dry. You should be grateful we even came."
Voltron walked past them without slowing. "You seemed to enjoy yourself out there."
Steel frowned. "I enjoyed winning. Not the sand."
Stark stepped beside Capt One Arm, scanning the battlefield. "Where's Razor? We heard about him."
Capt One Arm's expression hardened. "Gone. Either he vanished into the jungle, or he's moving the rest of his army toward the mountain battle."
That changed the mood immediately.
Stark looked toward the distant mountain ridge, barely visible beyond the canopy and smoke.
"That pass leads toward the capital."
Steel came jogging back from one of the mobile command centers.
"Stark. Ian needs you."
Stark and Capt One Arm moved quickly into the command post. Inside, the air was thick with overlapping comms, holo-maps, and officers calling out battlefield updates.
Ian's voice came through the main channel.
"Stark, I heard the jungle battle is nearly finished."
Stark stood in front of the display. "Yes, sir. Desert reinforcements arrived. Demon wave is being overwhelmed."
"Good," Ian said. "Then listen carefully. Move your forces to the mountain ridge battle immediately."
The holo-map shifted, showing the mountain front.
"We've pushed down from the upper slopes, but the demon army is trying to force its way through the mountain pass. If they break through, they get a direct route toward the capital."
Stark's eyes narrowed.
Ian continued, "Set up a defensive point at the bottom of the ridge. Hold the pass. We'll buy you time from our side. Once you're in position, signal me, and we'll regroup with full force."
Capt One Arm leaned over the table, studying the route. "So you want one final stand at the pass."
"Exactly," Ian replied. "We stop them there, or this battle gets a lot uglier."
Stark nodded once.
"Got it, sir. We move as soon as this call ends."
The comm cut.
For one second, Stark stared at the map.
Then he turned.
"All units, prepare to move. We're leaving the jungle and heading for the mountain ridge. Armor in front, command centers in the middle, artillery behind. I want the pass locked down before the enemy gets there."
Orders spread instantly.
The jungle army began shifting. Tanks turned toward the mountains. Missile carriers folded their launchers and rolled out. Infantry reloaded, regrouped, and boarded transports. Medical teams moved the wounded while engineers cleared a path through the jungle.
Outside, the last pockets of demons were being crushed under the combined force of the jungle and desert armies.
But no one celebrated.
Because the real fight was moving.
Far ahead, Ian and Optimus were holding the mountain line, buying time against the rest of the demon army.
And now Steel, Stark, Voltron, Capt One Arm, Red Riot, Kairoth, Dreadwake, and the combined forces of two battlefronts were racing toward the ridge.
The Empire was preparing to make its stand.
Not in the jungle.
Not in the desert.
But at the mountain pass,
the final gate before the road to Tenrihines.