Steel and Mana

Chapter 158 – Burning Valley

"Should we be worried?" Merlin asked, raising a hand while we were having a meeting in the throneroom, accompanied by all the ministers of Avalon.

"If the intensity of the attacks remains the same throughout the winter, no." I answered, tapping on my armrest, looking concerned. "For now, the army, our cannons, and the Lion are holding the wall, but this is a beast tide, no questions about it. Minister Paxon!"

"Yes, My Sovereign!" He answered, standing up, already knowing the question I was going to ask. "We pivoted in the factory from constructing the second mech and are now wholly focused on solely producing new platings for the Lion, replacing any damaged parts, including its arms."

"We are also ready with two new main weapons if the Lion's previous ones give out." Kraus added, standing up.

"Very good." I nodded, looking at my wife, who smiled at me before speaking.

"Lady Elena has made multiple shipments already; we are well within parameters. Our CC reserves can supply the frontline without issues, even if the cannons are going to roar from dusk till dawn."

"As we are right now, we are able to hold the wall." I nodded, reinforcing my first assessment.

"We are lucky that we have our Sovereign." Zita, my agricultural minister, whispered, making the others nod their heads repeatedly. I won't lie; it made me proud to hear them say it.

Even though it is probably me who made the beasts this aggressive, going at us year after year... I had no other explanation. When I was just a kid, not every winter was like this, but they began doing the same since we began pushing back. When their big bastards don't work, they are trying to drown us with numbers. I wonder what will be next...

Since the two boneheaded beasts had been slain, every three to five days, there were more coming through. They are not as big as those were, but they are still rhino-sized, horned monsters that resemble a mix between a goat and a bear. I think the only one among my ministers was Marca, my chief chemist, who was having a field day because of all the corpses she got to study, categorize, and play around with.

"For now, that will be all!" I clapped, silencing their murmurs while smiling at them. "Until further notice, we will keep ourselves on high alert, and we will meet again next week to review the situation. Anything happening? You come to me immediately, understood?"

"Yes!" They saluted and began leaving one by one, except Merlin.

"What is it?" I asked, barely able to hold a straight face while Sasha turned around, hiding her laughter.

"N-nothing..."

"Afraid to go back home?"

"..."

"Your girlfriend is still angry?" I chortled, finally unable to hold it.

"It isn't funny!" He pouted, "And she is not my girlfriend; I'm just keeping an eye on her while she is here! It's just... she's still a bit worried I'm overextending myself."

"She is a good girl." Sasha murmured, fixing her clothes and speaking with a half-laughter.

"I'm not saying she isn't; it is just... weird! She wanted to bathe me yesterday, ugh!"

"Oooh? She is making the first move because lil' Merly can't?" I switched from laughing to pure teasing at the first possible opportunity.

"Wha-?! It.. I told you it isn't like that! Hmph!"

"It seems to us that it is." We countered him in tandem.

"Bullies! You, too, are bullies!"

"Okay, okay!" I sighed, walking forward and patting his shoulders. I know a trick to make her switch topics while she was here."

"W-what?" He asked, feeling hopeful while looking up at me, expecting some wisdom from having multiple wives... which, honestly speaking, I did not have at all. I'm just going along with life here.

"Go, take her and her bodyguard to the walls. Show them the state we are in, the mech, and what we are fighting against."

"Leon... Are... are you sure?" He stuttered, placing Avalon first before everything else.

"I am sure. Go, make it count, and don't forget!"

"Yes?"

"Shock & Awe. Hm... maybe I should write a book with that title." I mumbled after he began twitching his eyes, hearing my first sentence.

...

....

.....

"To the wall?" Borbossa asked, feeling a bit nervous, standing next to his Lady. "That is dangerous; we are not stupid. We know what is going on there, as sometimes, we hear thunder from a distance, and everyone says it is the sign of another battle breaking out. That would be too dangerous!"

"It is dangerous, but just as much as being here. Do you think the monsters would not reach Avalon if the wall fell?" Merlin asked, sitting at the dinner table in his home with Borbossa and Elena.

"He is right." Elena exclaimed before Borbossa could open his mouth. "We are in our allies' territory, and if they invite us to see it, we oblige."

"You're just curious about it..." Her bodyguard grumbled, already feeling vulnerable because he was the only one allowed to accompany her on this trip.

"That too. Are you not?"

"..."

"Then it is settled!" Merlin interjected happily, maybe even more excited than the two guests. "We will go tomorrow after breakfast. Is that good?"

"Good for me!" Elena smiled, not knowing what was truly waiting for them.

She had a guess; they had some kind of machine, causing those thunderous booms that sometimes could be heard, coming from the distance on the back of the strong wind. What she was thinking was they were using those machines she saw, the ones that shoveled the snow away from the roads but were outfitted with a destructive, magical weapon instead of a simple tool.

When they began traveling the next day, getting close to the castle and birthplace of Leon, they could hear the loud roars that could only be described as lightning strikes going off, one after another.

"A battle... it is rare for them to attack so early, which means there has to be a lot of them!" Merlin mumbled, hastening his steps, making Elena feel a bit frightened yet also excited.

"My Lady, always stay close!" Borbossa whispered, much more composed, especially because he was allowed to have his sword with him.

"Fire the cannons in variation three, sequence two!" Echoed a deep, mechanic voice, this time scaring Borbossa too, yet they were only at the front gates of the castle.

"What was that...?!" Elena gawked, but before Merlin could answer, there it was, the thundering boom that could be heard even in Avalon.

"You'll see." Merlin chuckled, "I forgot to say. Here, put these on."

"It is colder out here, I get it, but..." She answered, her hands shaking, taking away the puffy ear protectors, thinking it was against the cold wind.

What they were not expecting was what awaited their eyes after reaching the top of the massive walls. For a moment, all noise and the sound of cannons firing were drawn away, unable to reach their ears. Then, it was followed by sharp ringing noises inside their heads when the massive Lion fired its main cannons, letting arching fireballs streak through the air, hitting a horde of beasts more than a kilometer away.

"What... is this..." Borbossa asked, his voice weak while he dropped his sword, unable to process what he was seeing.

The walls were filled with tubes, spewing fire and explosions at a tide of monsters heading towards them. Yet, before those abominations...whatever they were, could reach them, they got blown up as the ground under them exploded from out of nowhere. That kind of power, within the hands of normal people, would already be... incredible. The only other thing that could spew magic like that, something that Elena knew about, were the flying ships of the Empire. But, then again, there was something else, even more frightening, that made the cannons look trivial.

"Is... is that a monster?" Borbossa asked, walking to the edge of the wall, no longer bothered by the noise, the roar of the cannons around him, or by the incoming beast tide. His whole focus was on the two-legged giant, standing firm, two giant cannons on its shoulders firing at the most distant enemies, while smaller ones, attached to it as hands, were constantly spewing flames, igniting the whole valley, melting snow and monsters alike.

"Take this, ya bastards!"

The resonating, frightening roar of the machine, followed by the human-like laugh, made Elena shudder, stepping close to the grinning Merlin and grabbing onto his shoulders. Looking around, she was unsure if she had ever seen an army like this, but she knew that it was something that would surprise the Empire itself if it went up against it.

Merlin didn't explain anything, letting them witness the battle that only lasted for twenty minutes before the tide died down, leaving nothing behind but only smoking craters, carcasses, and a cheering army. Elena was about to speak when her words were forced down her throat by the machine's loud, blaring horn, signaling their total victory.

"It feels like my insides are vibrating..." She moaned after finally relative peace returned, and she could hear her own thoughts without interruptions.

"Cool, isn't it?" Merlin grinned, proudly puffing out his chest, "My Sovereign, Queen Sasha, and I designed most of it! Okay... I was mostly responsible for the magic part of the job; the basic design was our Sovereign's job. Oh, it is called the Lion and is currently piloted by Lord Kalash, Leon's father!"

"There is... a human in there?" Borbossa asked, finally finding his voice and pushing his jaw back up to its place.

"There is! I'll meet you, kids, in the castle; give me a moment!" Boomed the giant machine as its torso swiveled around, beginning to walk backward to its place, the multiple weapons on its body glowing from heat, letting out smoke like a chimney. "Merlin, these new versions of the cannons are great! What did you name them?"

"Dragon Breath!" He answered, pointing his thumbs up towards Kalash, who answered with a laugh. "Leon said that the term for them is flamethrowers."

"How can he hear us?" Elena asked, whispering, making Merlin chuckle.

"Even if you whisper, he hears it." He replied calmly, "Inside that machine, there are many secrets I can't tell you about. Just know that it is something that is unique for you, yet it isn't for us."

"Huh?" Borbossa faltered, almost dropping his sword again, but he just managed to pick it up.

"What you are seeing is what it means to be Knight in Avalon. Lord Kalash is the first of many to come."

"Of... many? How many?" Elena asked, gulping, still holding his shoulders to support herself.

"How many knights are in the Empire?"

"You are joking!" Borbossa shouted, his chest heaving, "There are thousands there! I am one of them!"

"Yes, that is a bit too much." Merling giggled, shaking his head, "Let's narrow the list then! Named knights? Those who are known? Well... Avalon's named knights will have the rank of Pilot."

"Pilot..." They both whispered, watching as the machine stood back in its original space, turning back towards the Pass once again, like an otherworldy guardian, leaving a deep impression on both of them.

...

....

......

"You can not speak about this to anyone." Elena ordered, telling Borbossa straight and clear the moment they were back in Avalon, sitting in Merlin's living room, speechless for a long time.

"Y-yes, My Lady." He nodded, still holding a cup that had tea in it, which had already gone cold. "What... what about your Father? What about the Duke?"

"We will say nothing." She whispered, raising hers, sipping on the cold drink, noticing how long they had been there, sitting and doing nothing but battling with their thoughts. "If the Sovereign decides to tell it to him, then all is good. If he doesn't, we can't do it for him. Don't forget that the capital city is a totally different beast altogether! They would be killed if this news gets leaked, even if it sounds like something out of a bad joke. Or worse..."

"I understand. I will say nothing about it; I swear on not just my life but my future children's lives, too!

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