“So that’s our current situation,” Venari said, summarizing the dire circumstances. Her voice echoed through rows of bookshelves, emphasizing the size of her vast collection.

I mulled over her words for a moment before responding. “Are you serious?”

She flinched slightly. “I apologize if this request is too much. Of course, I understand that you must prioritize your-”

“I’ll bring as many reinforcements as I can spare,” I interrupted her. “You can expect me within the day.”

“Truely?” Venari blurted. When my words finally registered with her she grabbed and shook my hand excitedly. “Thank you Evan, thank you!”

I carefully extricated myself from her grasp. “If your reports are accurate, then I don’t have a lot of time. I’ll start getting ready right now.”

“Of course,” she said, composing herself. “I really do appreciate this. Good luck, and I’ll see you soon.”

I smiled before closing my eyes. “Eve, take me back.”

The familiar sensation of moving my consciousness enveloped me. When I opened my eyes, I was back in my bunker, staring at the ceiling of my room.

“How many transportation trucks do we have available?”

“[There are five trucks currently available.]”

I frowned. “That’s it? We don’t have any more?”

“[The only other ones are the emergency evacuation vehicles, of which we have five. However, they are designated for emergency use only.]”

“This seems like an emergency.”

“[I believe we have different definitions of the word ‘emergency’. However, I will defer to your judgment here. How many evacuation vehicles should be reassigned?]

“Three.”

“[Understood. What mechanized units should I prioritize in bringing?]”

“Let me think…” I thought. “I want a large number of Dianmu Gunners, since they’ll be essential for stopping the enemy before they reach the walls. Bring a few Predators, they can help if the rebels make to the top or breach the walls. I want you to bring a bunch of Sentinels and R.O.A.R.s, they’ll be able to inflict a lot of damage from long range. Oh, and if you can, squeeze in some of those Arachnid robots.”

“[Understood. Calculating…]”

While Eve took care of the logistics, I quickly made my way to Mor’s room. While he still lived in his cabin, he enjoyed using the bunker rooms for studying, due to its quiet and peaceful environment.

“Hey Mors, you in there?” I asked, knocking on his door. I heard the sound of shuffling footsteps from inside, until the door swung open.

I was taken aback by his disheveled appearance. His hair, normally kept neat and tidy, was tangled and messy. Removing a monocle from one eye, he said, “Hello, my lord. Is something the matter?”

Looking behind him, I noticed a large book on his desk titled, ‘Fatalism: The Inevitability of Death’. Refocusing my thoughts, I gave him a quick rundown on what was going on. “Venari needs my help. A large army of rebels is approaching Ocaephis, and she doesn’t have nearly enough men to hold it. I’m leaving soon to bring reinforcements, and I was hoping you would like to come along.”

Mors straightened up immediately, the aura around him changing from that of an old scholar to an experienced warrior. “What an excellent suggestion, My Lord. I was looking for an opportunity to test some of my new understandings.”

“Cool. Grab your stuff. I want to leave in about 3 hours.”

“Lord, do you plan on having Aurea accompany us?”

I shook my head. “No, it's too dangerous. This isn’t going to be some minor skirmish, it’s going to be a full on battle. I don't want to risk her getting hurt.”

Mors fell silent for a moment before speaking. “I may be speaking out of turn here, but I think you are in the wrong here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You treat Aurea as though she was the same girl you first met. She is not. I’ve assisted her in her training, and I can see the eagerness in her eyes to prove to herself that she is no longer the defenseless child she once was.”

“I get that, but I still don’t feel comfortable turning her into some sort of soldier. She’s not coming, and that’s final.”

Mors sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, there was a hint of determination and pain deep inside. “Many years ago, I had a daughter. Like Aurea, she was headstrong and willful. She knew that I was a Deathwalker, and she idolized me for it. She used to follow me around, watching me lead my squadron, holding onto my robes all the while. When she got older, I forbade her from taking part in anything that had to do with the military. As a Deathwalker, I had seen the horrors of war. Every life that I took, every corpse I stepped over, I imagined my daughter being in their place. Of course, this angered her greatly. Her whole life, she had aspired to be a great warrior. We fought often over our clashing views, and nothing I did stopped her from practicing sword fighting with her friends or spying on the soldiers during drills. On her 17th birthday, she ran away, enlisting with the Pithan army in a neighboring city.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What happened?” I asked when Mors stopped talking.

“She died. Her battalion was slaughtered by a detachment of Thenian raiders during her first deployment,” he said, his jaw clenched tightly. I could see the slight sheen of tears forming, which he quickly blinked away. “I pulled every string and favor I had to find her. But when I followed the path her battalion took, all I saw was…” he whispered, his voice trailing off.

I remained silent with an empathetic look on my face.

Focusing himself, Mors smiled sadly, his age showing in his eyes. “Take an old man’s advice. You can’t stop someone like Aurea from doing what she wants. All you can do is give her the best tools, training, and support you can.”

“I’m…I’m sorry Mors,” I said quietly.

“Nothing to apologize for. However, I am sure you are busy, and I do have some preparations of my own to make. If you would excuse me,” he said with a small bow before closing the door. I stood there for a moment before turning around and walking away. However, as I did so, I heard a shout of rage and pain accompanied by the sound of something shattering against the wall, followed by muffled, jerky breaths from inside.

“...Eve?”

“[Yes?]”

“Let Aurea know she’s coming with us. Bring her exo-suit and weapons.”

“[Understood.]"

Three and a half hours later, we were finally ready to go. Our convoy of trucks was filled to the brim with robots, with the Arachnids even hanging on to the undercarriage. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to bring as many robots as I would have liked, since we were forced to bring Aurea’s exo-suit and several charging stations, along with ammunition, extra grenades, and medical supplies.

I was doing some final checks on the Dianmu Gunners when I heard two sets of familiar footsteps from behind me.

“Not planning on leaving without us, are you?” Someone asked.

Turning around, I took in the sight of Aurea prepared for war. Her dark brown hair was tied in a high ponytail, partially covering the handle of the claymore slung across her back. Her stiletto was sheathed on her hip, the metal pommel glinting in the sunlight. Excitement was etched on her face, and she was almost bouncing with nervous energy. Mors, on the other hand, only had his Iceiron sword, his black robes concealing most of the blade. The heavy garment covered his entire body down to his toes, and I briefly wondered how he still managed to move so gracefully.

By their sides were two robots that I had not seen in a while: Bran and Sceólang. Their jaws opened and closed in what I could've sworn was excitement, and I knew if they were real dogs their tails would’ve been wagging like crazy.

“Of course not,”I replied with a wry smile. “I know you’d kill me if I left you.”

Aurea snorted in amusement. “Damn right about that!”

“If you guys are all ready to go, then we should head out,” I said, hopping into the nearest truck. Aurea sat next to me, with Sceólang jumping on and settling down next to her, while Mors and Bran sat in the next available vehicle. The engine roared to life, and we lurched forward, accelerating to a high speed. Looking up, I spotted several drones flying in the sky above us, keeping a constant eye on our surroundings.

The first part of the journey was uneventful, and I was able to close my eyes and relax for a little while. However, as we began getting closer to the city, I received an alert from one of the drones.

[Warning: Large armed force detected.]

I groaned in annoyance. “There’s always something…”

Taking control of the drone, I focused on the threat that it had detected.

“Well…shit.”

Over a dozen kilometers away, I saw an enormous army consisting of several large battalions marching in sync. Flying higher for a better view, I zoomed in on their bannermen. Their emblem bore a striking resemblance to that of the Royal Army, but the traditional manticore had been replaced by a lion. It was depicted as being in mid-roar, with red fangs dripping blood.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that’s the rebels Venari told us about.”

“[That would be a reasonable assumption.]”

I was about to exit the drone and return to my body when I noticed something odd. Behind the army, the terrain looked…off. It was barely noticeable, but the air had a fuzzy, wavy quality to it that puzzled me.

“[Why are you still examining the rebels?]”

“I’m not too sure myself…something about the area behind them just isn’t right.”

I activated the lens cleaning feature to see if it was only a stain on the glass, but the fuzziness persisted. Switching to another drone, I looked at it from a different angle, but without luck. Suddenly, an idea sprung to mind.

“Eve, does this drone have infrared?”

“[Analyzing model…yes.]”

With a mental push, I activated the infrared vision mode, and what I saw would have made my jaw drop, if i had one.

“Ooooooooooh fuck…you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“[Unfortunately.]”

Behind the main force, giant catapults and what looked to be cannons were being dragged by large bovine creatures. In the center of the formation, three robed figures were holding their hands up high, and I could only assume that they were the ones concealing the siege machines.

“Venari didn’t say shit about any of those things!”

“[She is most likely unaware of their existence.]”

I grinned evilly, realizing I had an opportunity to deal a devastating blow to the enemy before the battle.

“Stop the convoy.”

The line of vehicles slowly ground to a halt, much to the confusion of Aurea and Mors.

“What's going on? Why are we stopping?” Aurea questioned confusedly. Hopping out, I ordered the for the R.O.A.R.s to be set up as quickly as possible. Once Mors had joined us, I explained my plan.

“The rebel army is a little ways over that way, “ I pointed. “I managed to find out they have some siege machines, so we’re going to bomb the shit out of them to neutralize that threat early.”

“You’re able to attack them from here?” Mors asked skeptically. “Only the gremlin’s weapons of war are so accurate.”

“[R.O.A.R.s have finished calibration. Ready to launch salvo.]”

“Yeah, well, you’re about to see the power of modern technology. Cover your ears!” I warned.

“[Firing…]”

Loud pops reverberated through the air as the artillery sent their payloads flying through the air. Taking control of one of the drones again, I eagerly followed the path of the shells, watching them arc through the air. But, just as they were about to strike their target, something unexpected happened.

Out of the blue, a billowing gray cloud of something consumed the shells, erasing them as though they never existed. The alien substance was baffling, acting like a liquid and a gas at the same time, swirling and flowing like ink in water . Even from such a distance, I heard a loud THWOMP only a few seconds after.

“The fuck?!?”