They returned to the village to a hero’s welcome. The villagers and soldiers were cheering their lungs out. He had to stop outside the town so he wouldn’t accidently step on someone. Gavin urged Ivy to wave to the crowd. She gave him a quizzical look but reluctantly started waving the undamaged arm, which caused more cheering.
He spotted Alexis, Margaret, and the cat girl Tara in the crowd and decided to exit the mech. Ivy stayed in her seat as usual. He met them on the ground as the soldiers cleared the area around the lift. Gavin got an unexpected hug from Alexis and Margaret seemed unsure what to do so ended up grabbing his arm while Tara grabbed his other arm. Alexis decided to show her superiority by kissing him on the cheek.
Chuck was flustered as Alexis and Margaret got on the lift. Tara looked sad that there wasn’t room for her and Chuck smiled apologetically at her. He was starting to get overwhelmed by all the attention. As they rode the lift up, both girls praised his victory over the airship. He reminded them it was a joint effort and Ivy did the actual fighting. Gavin really wanted the girls to get along and hoped Ivy would loosen up eventually. It seemed to work as both girls congratulated Ivy when they entered the cockpit. She just grunted in reply so he had his work cut out for him.
Alexis wanted to travel to a nearby town next. Her second in command was supposed to retreat through a valley that led to the town and Alexis would meet up with them there. It was hoped after taking the mine, the empire’s forces wouldn’t pursue them. Gavin wasn’t sure about that considering the effort to find the Talon and Alexis. Tara’s force would wait for a day to see if any enemies appeared before heading to the other town and meeting up with them.
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Gavin would have liked to stay in the village and rest some more but time was of the essence. Alexis directed him to the crossroads and then told him to follow the road that paralleled the forest. The mech was walking better so he was able to move faster. It took a few hours of uneventful travel but they finally crested a hill and saw the town in the distance. The problem was part of the town was on fire and a battle was raging around it.
Gavin looked at the trouble in the distance and asked Alexis what she wanted to do. She was the general after all. She decided the first thing to do was draw the enemies attention by hitting them in the flank. He turned toward the nearest enemy formation which consisted of soldiers riding dinosaur like creatures. Ivy fired the lasers which sowed destruction among the enemy ranks. That definitely got their attention.
The enemy soldiers turned in their direction. Some dragon riders also swooped toward the mech. Gavin had seen what mere soldiers had done to a metal golem so didn’t want to let them get close to the mech. He still wasn’t sure if they had used magical swords or some kind of magic ability. He would have to remember to ask Alexis later. They had handled the last dragon rider pretty easily so these didn’t worry him too much.
To prove him right, Ivy used the lasers to swat both dragon riders out of the sky. Gavin upped the mech’s speed to keep the dinosaur riders away from them. Ivy fired again, taking out more of them. A few mages started aiming at the mech and returning fire. So far the damaged arm didn’t seem to be causing Ivy too much trouble and she was able to compensate for it. Most of the magic bolts missed but a couple found their mark, causing the mech to shake. Alexis and Margaret were holding on to either side of his chair for dear life. Gavin wished he had time to put them somewhere safe but the enemy wasn’t going to give them that luxury. The quicker they dealt with the enemy the better. Maybe then he could finally rest properly.