After losing its 30 [V2 Combat Golems] to the three massive beasts, or [Force beasts] as Iteration[1] now called them, since the only method of attack they showed so far was turning unattributed [Mana] or [Pure Mana] into [Force Mana], which they used to defend, attack, and sometimes even move.
The [Force beasts] hardly moved much since the [V2 Combat Golems] attacked, and the last time they moved, Iteration[1] observed something very interesting happening to the [Force Mana] inside them. The small amount of movement shifted all the other types of [Mana] inside it, causing them to crash into the [Force Mana] and disrupt the barrier of force momentarily. It would seem that they couldn't utilize [Mana] while moving.
Iteration[1] took note of this. If it could capitalize on this somehow, then taking care of the [Force beasts] would be trivial. Fifty new [V2 Combat Golems] marched out of the fortified tunnel. As soon as the [Force Beasts] saw this, they stopped instantly, and the air shimmered around them as a [Force barrier] went up and covered their form. Iteration[1] contemplated sending massive amounts of [V2 Combat Golems] at the [Force Beasts] until they ran out of [Mana] but decided against it. Though it was getting a steady supply of [Iron ore] and had a good amount in storage, it still wasn't worth it.
[Iron ore] was a precious strategic resource Iteration[1] couldn't afford to spend lavishly right now. Its mining operations in the [Portal world] were barely secured, and even though it hadn't been attacked yet, Iteration[1] knew it was only a matter of time before those [Iron ore beasts] showed up. It didn't discount the possibility of other forms of hostile metallic life, though; the massive constructs it saw in the distance were evidence of that. Intelligent life existed in the [Portal world], or existed at one point.
The war reached a standstill as neither party moved. Iteration[1] stopped because it knew it had no way of winning when the [Force barrier] was up. It marveled at the intelligence of the [Force beasts], or at least whoever was controlling them. Initially, Iteration[1] didn't pick up on it, but there was a network of strings that ran from the head of the [Force beasts] and into the storm of unknown [Mana] outside its range. The only reason it even saw it now was that the beasts had moved forward slightly, where the storm of unknown [Mana] wasn't as chaotic and violent.
But it was clearly there, likely transmitting whatever it saw back to their controller, drawing from what it knew about [Goblin] society, this was likely a [Noble]. As forming such a link and maintaining it through the storm of [Mana] was very hard and complicated, the only reason it wasn't facing an issue like that with its [V2 Combat Golems] was because Iteration[2] and Iteration[3] worked tirelessly on the [Blueprint].
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Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to travel as far as they had; the storm of unknown [Mana] would've ripped the link apart in an instant. Iteration[1] used all this information to come to one unsettling conclusion: The [Noble Goblin] behind the [Force beasts] was very strong and very skilled at [Mana manipulation]. From what Iteration[1] understood, the [Mana storm] wasn't inherently hostile to other forms of [Mana]. The [Mana storm] was simply all the [Mana] from the environment bundled together in a chaotic mess, with some form of order that Iteration[1] couldn't recognize or plot out.
All [Mana] in the [Mana storm] was messy and mixed up. Because the amount of disorder was so high, when order was introduced, it was immediately opposed and crushed. If one's [Mana] and willpower weren't strong enough, they'd be canceled out, and their [Mana] would be claimed by the [Mana storm], further growing its power, even if it was by a little.
It was by using this deep understanding of the chaotic [Mana storm] that Iteration[2] and Iteration[3] were able to reforge the link-forming procedure. Instead of stretching the ambient [Automation mana] into a rope and then fusing it with the [Central core], Iteration[2] opted to have the [V2 Combat Golems] take in the ambient [Automation mana] and weave it into a complex but stretchy and robust shape that could withstand a lot of [Mana stress] and not snap instantly.
Suddenly, the [Force beasts], with a burst of speed, flew back into the [Mana storm], disappearing from its sight. Seconds later, hundreds, possibly thousands of glaring forms full of green-colored [Mana], [Goblin Mana], charged from the [Mana storm] and began running towards its fifty [V2 Combat Golems]. The sight left Iteration[1] questioning reality as the odds stacked against it. Iteration[1] quickly pulled 50 more [V2 Combat Golems] from the [Portal world] and sent them toward the incoming army of [Gog rider] [Goblins], along with 25 of its [Guardians].
Iteration[1] had its [Guardians] go at the absolute front and ordered them to block off the busted open entrance to the [Production room], forming a straight line before kneeling down and slamming their [Great shields] into the ground, firmly anchoring themselves in place. Not a second later, the army of [Gog riders] slammed into them with the force of a hammer, crashing into them like the waves of an angry sea. However, the [Guardians] stood firm, only pushed away slightly by the impact. With their [Rotating poles], they bore holes into any who got near, both [Gog] and [Goblin]. One jab was enough to kill them instantly, as the [Guardians] only aimed for weak spots like the head and the heart, and they never missed.
[Mana] and [Souls] poured into both them and their tools, catapulting their strength to new heights every hour. The more they killed, the more defined the crown of rusty gears on their heads became, seemingly boosting them in other unknown ways. The assault continued for an entire day before Iteration[1] sensed a new presence on the battlefield. The [Gog riders] and the [Goblin] army parted as a massive beast, covered in heavy armor with a sword made out of what seemed to be glowing ice, stepped onto the battlefield. The very earth shook when it moved.