Hurdio is seated on his throne, he is receiving terrible news about the military campaign against the northerners. His incompetent generals are taking longer than necessary to bring down those northern bastards. One of his generals reports that the northerners are using magical cannons; the empire also had plans to build similar weapons, but due to bureaucratic reasons, it was put aside. He never thought those bastards would develop something like that in such a short time.
"My lord," said one of the older, fatter-looking generals, "I must also inform you that the men from the duchy of Kitonia left the battlefield two days ago. They claimed that their lord was summoning them to face invaders from another world and that their presence would make no difference in the North."
The emperor became visibly irritated upon hearing this information. "What does that bastard think he's doing?" He didn't like the idea of one of his subordinates ordering troops off the field without his permission.
"My king, what shall we do?"
"For now, leave it," the emperor sighs and finishes, "I will deal with that bastard as soon as we defeat those cursed northerners. Send the fifth and ninth legions north; let's see how far those rats can hide behind their magical weapons."
The fifth and ninth legions together total 200,000 soldiers, including both humans and non-humans. They specialize in siege warfare and use special tactics to deal with mages and magical artifacts. They are under the command of a powerful Draconian general, one of the most loyal to the Hurdian empire.
He was considering sending them to face the invaders from the other world, but he believes Colt will be able to buy enough time for them to defeat the northerners. He knows that if they don't defeat those northern bastards now, they may incite rebellion in other provinces.
He looks at the letter he received from Matique; Colt is surrounded in the city, but he knows the enemy doesn't seem eager to advance without knowing the terrain, which is also buying him time. Therefore, he sees them as a secondary problem.
Suddenly, Princess Helena enters the throne room. She is wearing a red cloak and a golden breastplate with a skirt that covers her thighs. She is also wearing beautiful steel boots and a Spartan-style helmet with two hawk feathers sculpted on the side. She removes the helmet, revealing her beautiful blonde hair as she kneels.
"My lovely daughter, what brings you to my presence today?"
She stands up; all eyes are now on her. Surely she can feel those prejudiced and even malicious glances, but she always decides to ignore them.
"Father," she begins, "we have an invading force to the south; they are currently crossing through the gate that wizard opened. I ask for permission to go aid the troops in the fight against these invaders," she bows.
"My daughter, you don't need to risk yourself so much. Grandmaster Colt has the situation under control, and I will soon send a massive military force to assist him in driving out these invaders."
She stands up again, this time looking directly into her father's eyes. "I won't put myself in unnecessary danger, father, I promise."
"I said no, you will not go south. Your place is here in the capital."
"But father..." The emperor raises his hand, indicating for her to be silent. She stops speaking, bows, and leaves the throne room. Once again, all those stares are judging her.
Helena is Hurdio's fourth daughter; she has a red-haired twin sister in contrast to her own blonde hair. The older brother is Paladio Hurdio, the heir to the throne, and the second in line of succession is Julius Hurdio. She grew up with her siblings, but over time she hardly speaks to them anymore except for her twin sister, who is now a student of magic at the academy.
Helena has her own order of knights, predominantly for women, called the Storm Knights, but they don't ride horses; instead, they ride Griffins, creatures with eagle heads and lion bodies with wings and torsos covered in feathers. They have the size of a Wyvern in diameter and size, but they are more agile, faster, and more resistant. They are usually used as a means of urgent message transportation between cities and the imperial capital. They possess a powerful attack, being able to launch powerful electrical bursts; many say that when a lightning storm occurs, it's because Griffins are fighting each other. Helena's cavalry order is small, containing only a few hundred members, and they have never entered real combat, even though they possess powerful beasts.
Helena storms out of the throne room, furious. Her father is a stubborn man; he allowed her older brother to leave three days ago to fight in the North, but because she's a woman, she's not allowed to participate in any real battles, only ceremonies and parades.
In the corridor, her friend Luiza, a fellow member of the order, is waiting for her. "From your expression, the emperor didn't give us permission again, did he?" says Luiza.
"That old man thinks he can keep me locked up here in the capital forever."
"But what will we do now, princess?"
"You don't have to call me princess; we're friends."
"Sorry, force of habit."
"But to answer your question," Helena looks at her, "we'll go anyway."
Luiza looks confused. "But... your father won't like that at all."
"I know, but I'll prove my worth, and only then will that old man and his useless generals respect me, even if it's by force."
"And besides, I won't let our empire be disgraced by those demons from the other side of the gate," she concludes.
Helena had never disobeyed a direct order from her father before, but now she seems truly determined to help defend and expel these invaders from another world.
---
Colt and Kaus are currently in a warehouse beneath a building, which has been improvised as a war room. In the center, there's a large round table and a map of the city and its surroundings.
They were forced to establish themselves there as the enemy is bombarding the city, but they've noticed something: the enemy isn't destroying civilian buildings but only those with concentrations of troops.
"These filthy creatures," Kaus shouts after a cloud of dust falls over the map due to the bombing.
"Sir, we have to counterattack; staying idle here is just waiting for a slow death," one of the officers says to Colt.
Another explosion occurs outside the building, causing everything to shake.
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"I can't take this anymore!" Kaus yells. "We've been down here for several days, and it's only a matter of time before the city falls into the hands of these demons."
"There isn't much we can do," Colt says. "Their weapons are superior, and from what I've noticed, they don't use magic."
"Are we just going to do nothing?" Kaus asks.
Colt looks at Kaus and then at the other officers; he has something in mind but knows that many of the men present won't take it well. "Let's surrender and hand over the city."
Everyone falls silent upon hearing this; another strong explosion makes the place tremble.
"What are you suggesting, master? Are you out of your mind?"
"Surrender?"
Everyone becomes agitated.
"We don't have a choice," Colt says while looking at the map. "They've already surrounded us, and besides, all the villages and towns in the vicinity from here to the portal are already under enemy control. They're in no hurry, and they know we'll eventually abandon the city."
"We won't surrender," Kaus says. "We don't know how these barbarians will treat us."
Colt understands the fear of his officers and especially Kaus, but he has a slightly different perception, seeing how these humans from the other world are bombing the city.
"They're not barbarians; from what I've gathered, they're not attacking the civilians of this city, only military targets."
The atmosphere in the room becomes even more heated and divided; some are starting to agree with Colt, but others refuse to surrender under any circumstances.
An old man enters the room; he is the mayor of the city. "I see everyone's quite agitated here."
"Mr. Claudio, we're in the middle of an important discussion here, so could you come talk to us at another time?" Kaus says.
Claudio laughs and says, "I see how important it is, but you don't know this city, and your men have been looting our supplies since they arrived here."
"The soldiers need to eat," says an officer, dismissing the mayor.
"People do too," he looks at Colt and says, "but I'm not here to talk about that."
"Then for what?"
"This city, before being inhabited by us humans, was home to other races, and one of them was the dwarves."
"We don't need a history lesson right now, so if you'll excuse us," everyone turns their backs on Claudio and returns to look at the map.
"Well, I thought you would like to know that this city has a complex network of tunnels built many years ago by the dwarves."
Everyone turns their attention back to the old man.
"Tunnels?" Colt asks.
Claudio laughs again. "Exactly, and they lead up to the high mountains, a few hours' ride from here."
"An escape route," Colt says, stroking his beard.
"Escape..." Kaus says, contemplating the situation.
"Could these tunnels be used for our troops to withdraw from the city without the enemy noticing?"
"Yes, but it would take several days for everyone to leave the city," says Claudio. "Furthermore, this city will fall to the enemy. I can act as an informant for the empire while the city is occupied."
"Not a bad idea," Kaus says.
"We can use this opportunity to reorganize ourselves and counterattack these bastards at another time."
Colt remains silent as everyone seems to agree with this new plan.
"So it's settled. We're getting out of this city," Kaus says. "Gather up this map and instruct your respective troops to prepare." He looks at Claudio. "And you, show me where the entrances to these tunnels are."
But before they could leave the underground warehouse, the ceiling collapses. Kaus feels a strong pressure on his body.
The sound is muffled, his vision gradually returns to normal.
"Kaus!" a muffled voice calls to him.
"Kaus, you old stubborn fool, get up, it's not time to die yet!"
Even with the muffled sound, he recognizes the voice; it's Colt.
He's too weak to get up, but Colt helps him and begins to carry him out of the bunker. The screams of soldiers and civilians can be heard in the background. As they emerge from the rubble, a loud and unfamiliar sound fills the air. Kaus regains his vision completely, and the sound is no longer muffled.
"Damn it!" Colt says as he carries the General.
He looks up and sees several of those flying carriages hovering in the air, releasing ropes, and then these soldiers from another world begin to disembark.
A soldier appears and realizes that the general needs help; he runs towards them to assist, but is fatally struck in the head. Colt looks back and sees the steel Golem, which is now pointing its deadly staff at them.
Luckily, a knight charges with his horse, knocking it down before falling. The Golem gets up and engages in a physical fight with the knight. Colt takes advantage of this opportunity to escape with Kaus.
"We have to find the tunnels," Colt says, coughing.
"That bastard of a mayor disappeared before he could show us the tunnel entrances," Kaus grumbles.
Both continue to stagger through the city's alleys, with a fierce battle unfolding in the background. They hide upon seeing one of those steel beasts pass by before it fires its powerful explosive magic at a building, which promptly collapses.
---
Kaus partially regains his strength and begins to walk alongside Colt.
Both cannot find a way to escape; they see dozens of imperial soldiers being subdued and forced to the ground face down. They are being handcuffed and hooded by these Golems and soldiers.
Colt looks at Kaus and says, "Let's surrender."
"We still have a chance to escape!" Kaus says with an irritated but low tone.
"We don't. All entrances and exits of the city are blocked, and they will soon capture us. It's better to surrender now."
Colt stands up and looks at Kaus, but before he could say anything more, a dagger pierces his chest. He looks and sees that Kaus stabbed him.
"What are you doing..." Colt asks as blood starts to spill from his mouth; he staggers backward and falls to the ground, leaning against a wall.
"I won't surrender to these demons, Colt. You are weak, and we are only in this situation because of you," Kaus says with disdain as he looks at Colt.
Colt gradually loses consciousness.
Kaus sees enemy soldiers approaching, so he runs and hides in a house. Inside, he realizes it's abandoned. He decides to change his clothes for civilian attire and leave the city to facilitate his escape.