This strange group was having difficulty moving through the moorlands due to the unevenness of the ground.
There were not many other alternatives, as they would either have to enter the Aquini kingdom via the river or o through the jungle surrounding the river. They would hit the jungle eventually, but they must have chosen the moorlands to make a fraction of their journey easier.
Loran wasn’t a genius in warfare but he wondered why they didn’t mass [Levitate] or teleport into the country they were invading.
The Moorland menace ran in and it caught the army by surprise.
Loran was content with this situation. There was no way the Moorland menace could win from an army. This was where he would get put to rest.
Loran’s arms lifted and countless [Spectral Fire Pillars] rose from within the army.
Men screamed and panic broke out on the frontline.
A machine moved and aimed for the Moorland Menace.
Loran’s body jerked and jumped backward, just to see an electrified purple flash pass in front of him.
His arms lifted again and [Spectral Fire Pillars] hit the machine from below and launched it into the air.
Loran followed the flight of the machine with his eyes as did the Moorland Menace who stopped attacking to watch the machine crash down.
The machine was intact, it only had gone sent flying.
‘Clang, plink, dum’ were the sounds the cursed armor produced as magic skills got flung at him.
The Moorland Menace took a step and another, wading undisturbed through the torrent of magic attacks getting flung at it.
L Oran had yet to find out what the conditions were for the armor to take damage, as it was enduring an army’s worth of magic skills and acting as if it were taking a stroll on a windy day.
Another machine aimed at him and the cursed armor reacted and jumped up to evade another concentrated blast of lightning magic.
‘Maybe high level magic or a concentrated bundle of mana?’ Loran thought, but the [Explosion] and [Thunderbolt] of that party did nothing. Was it the scale?
The Moorland menace leaped up and landed between all the soldiers and started clawing at anything nearby.
No attempt at evasion, as nothing the Moorland Menace got attacked by could dent it’s armor.
‘This is ridiculous! Am I to believe that even an army can’t defeat this thing?!”
Loran tried to keep up the hope that this army could end his misery, but the Moorland Menace was decimating the army and had yet to take damage.
A wave of soldiers flying away approached, and Loran got hit by this wave and got sent flying as well.
Earth and sky inverted periodically, and a ‘crunch’ and ‘thud’ marked his landing.
Loran compiled the attacks that appear to be somewhat effective; attacks that move it physically, which include heavy blunt attacks.
Was that all? Loran was sure he forgot something.
Another wave of soldiers getting launched to the side rushed at the Moorland Menace.
The armor planted its feet into the ground and held its claws forward.
An impact rattled the armor, but it stood it’s ground.
This allowed Loran to identify the nature of the attack. A machine was shooting pressurized [Wind Blast] without any regard to their soldiers, to blow the Moorland Menace away.
Another [Wind Blast] approached from the side, indicated by soldiers getting sent flying.
Everything disappeared in a flash, which caught Loran by surprise. All he could see was the sky.
The cursed armor looked down and Loran realized that it had just leaped up.
The arms of the Moorland Menace rose and countless [Spectral Fire Pillars] appeared on the battlefield and had the [Wind Blasts] feed theme, causing a spectral inferno.
The spectral inferno spread like wildfire and water magic got flung at the black and blue flames but it did nothing.
The Moorland menace landed and clapped its hands.
The inferno blazed and rushed outward at a blinding speed.
The immediate area around the cursed armor was devoid of life and screams in the distance suggested that this area would only grow.
‘Thud, thud.’
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
Loran got forced to run but he had no idea to where.
Something glistened in the inferno, and Loran jumped to the side to evade a concentrated purple [Lightning Stream].
‘Ah the machines…’ Loran thought, becoming disinterested in this army.
If an army couldn't beat him, what could? Was there any point on feeling terrible for an army ready for an invasion. Was there any point in rooting for this army to defeat him as they had to yet do any damage?
Here he was hoping they could take each other out but the moorland Menace was slaughtering this army with low effort.
Loran’s body got forced to move to the side again, but it was a direct hit.
‘Did I finally take damage?!’ turned into an’ Oh, the Moorland Menace just avoided it so it wouldn't get blasted away…’ as part of its advance had been nullified by getting sent flying backward.
It was at least clear that the Moorland Menace disliked getting moved around forcefully, but that dislike applied to almost anyone.
A raised arm sent the machine responsible flying. The Moorland menace cupped its hands so Loran could see the airborne machine between the 2 hands.
The hands closed and a massive [Spectral Explosion] went off, sending metal scraps flying everywhere.
The Moorland Menace then proceeded to raise its arms to send troublesome machines flying to then destroy them with [Spectral Explosions].
‘What madman created this armor…’ was the only thing Loran could think of.
The spectral firework got interrupted as something crashed into the Moorland Menace, sending it flying yet again.
A woman with a large pointy floated down on a staff near the landing zone. This woman was clearly a witch, known for their magical prowess. But would she be able to damage him though.
The witch yelled at the bystanders, which fled shortly after.
‘Is this the general of the army?’ was a question that Loran rejected immediately, as the Igrini Kingdom was the ‘country of humans’. Witches looked like humans with large hats, which was why this witch must be here, but it would certainly lock her out of important positions.
A mana wave erupted from the witch and her hear went from normal to assume the properties of wind.
The wind picked up and the visibility dropped.
The air spiraled as Loran had found himself within a large [Tornado].
His feet left the ground as the moorland Menace got lifted.
Loran’s arm raised but a [Wind Blast] knocked the arm back, canceling the attempt to use a [Spectral Fire Pillar].
Any movement the cursed armor made to use a skill got skillfully interrupted by well aimed [Wind Blasts].
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Loran was used to being helpless but now the moorland Menace was helpless as well.
[Wind Scythes], [Wind Lances], [Pressurize] and [Depressurize] got used to either cut open the armor or make it crack open, but the Moorland Menace remained unscathed.
This awoke a question in Loran; was he dead? The armor was one thing but he was still inside. The [Pressurize] and [Depressurized] should have killed him from within the armor but it didn’t. What was going on?
Had Loran turned into an undead?
He was unable to assess his own body as the cursed armor didn't allow him to so he couldn't tell. Eating, drinking and defecating were things he hadn’t done on almost a year. Breathing was instinct and automatic but… did he need to?
It was so automatic that he didn't realize that he had lost autonomy that and wasn’t breathing currently.
The world around him spun and tumbled but he didn’t care. There was nothing he could do after all.
Attack after attack hit the Moorland menace, changing its trajectory but still no damage.
This went on for hours and the tornado weakened.
Loran caught a glimpse of an exhausted witch, which flicked her wrist and sent the tornado away.
The world spun faster and faster, and Loran got catapulted out of the tornado, towards the southwest.
The Aquini river and the jungle behind it came at him at a blinding speed.
‘Just a bit more and I might be able to see my village’ was what he thought.
The armor crashed into something invisible right above the Aquini river.
The unknown structure repelled him after killing all the momentum, and he crashed down in the riverbank.
‘Zomp zomp’ sounds escaped from the mud and the cursed armor trashed and grabbed on large roots nearby to pull itself out.
Loran got reminded of another weakness; mud.
It wouldn't help him however, but it would immobilize the heavy armor.
The known weaknesses now were; anything that could move it forcefully, mud and… the green spectral hands of that ghost of months ago?
Loran was still unsure why a weak ghost could damage the armor and an army couldnt.
The Moorland Menace returned to the moorlands, and Loran spotted a familiar sight; a herd of cows.
Some soldiers had made it this far and were eying the cows.
‘Thud, thud’.
‘Ahh, here we go again…’ Loran thought.
The moorland menace ignored the cows and leaped toward the soldiers, who started flinging magic at it.
A [Flame Wave] got swatted aside, and the Moorland Menace closed in before the next magic circle could complete and grabbed the soldier’s head and flung him into another soldier, causing this one to also fail his magic circle.
The fight resulted in a win for the Moorland menace unsurprisingly, and 5 clueless corpses had been turned into fertilizer for the small field.
More distant explosions.
The ‘thuds’ started again, and the moorlands flashed by as the cursed armor ran toward the northeast.
A 4-hour run was all that was needed for the army to get into sight.
The Moorland Menace stopped and cupped both it’s hands to catch as many as he could between his hands and clapped them together.
A massive [Spectral Explosion] went off, and the moorland menace continued, setting off explosion after explosion.
A tired looking witch flew over and whipped up a [Tornado].
The Moorland Menace responded by planted its feet into the ground and caught the witch in the space between his cupped hands.
The [Spectral Explosion] went off and something fell out of the sky after the spectral fire cleared.
It was unrecognizable as the witch of earlier, and the [Tornado] dissipated, indicating her defeat.
‘Thud, thud.’
The army sent 2 giant mountain trolls at the incoming menace.
‘There is no point. If a witch can’t win, then mountain trolls stand no chance…’
A mountain troll came unscathed out of a [Spectral Fire Pillar] to Loran’s surprise and landed its giant club on the Moorland Menace.
Its flight got put to a stop as the other mountain troll had caught the armor and held it by the arms, while the first mountain troll ran in, readying for another smack with its club.
The moorland Menace’s most important weapons; it’s arms, had been immobilized.
Loran had always thought mountain trolls to be stupid, but this had to be the best idea yet.
A heavy impact traveled through Loran, but he felt nothing. The troll readied for another swing. A direct hit, and another and another.
A problem was arising. The Moorland Menace had yet to take damage.
‘This is your chance! Kill me!’ Loran cheered the troll on, who kept smashing its club into the cursed armor.
Its club broke an hour in and switched with the troll holding the cursed armor.
The sounds of metal being struck echoed through the moorlands as the army left the trolls behind and progressed.
The sun was setting, and the trolls were getting tired. The troll club had seen better days, and it only appeared to have one more swing in it.
A roar escaped from the troll as it fired itself up. It backed away and shook its shoulder.
‘Thud, thud, thud, thud.’ but the heavy variant indicated the approach of something heavy.
The club appeared and disappeared with a ‘crack’.
Loran got flung backwards, as did the troll holding him.
His world tumbled for minutes before he got to a standstill.
He got up and saw a mountain troll standing with its hands resting on his upper thighs, shoulders slightly slumped, and a weary expression on its face. The troll had shifted its weight forward, giving the impression of exhaustion, as if he were trying to gather the energy to continue.
The other troll laid on his back, chest heaving and wheezing as air rushed in and out of his lungs.
The ‘thud, thud’ started again, but these belonged to the Moorland Menace.
The troll lying on its back got caught in the space between the cupped hands. The moorland menace leapt up as the [Spectral Explosion] went off.
Black and blue fire engulfed Loran but his claws extended forward and gripped into something.
Dark red liquid oozed out of the punctures, and the Moorland Menace clawed itself upward.
The world moved as the surface he was clawing into tried to throw him off.
Loran kept clawing and clawing, drawing dark red liquid at every claw.
Visibility increased as the spectral fire subsided, and the moorland menace climbed on the shoulder of the giant mountain troll.
Loran pulled back his right arm and plunged it into a meat wall that was the troll’s neck.
Flashbacks came past of when he was a beast kin and made swift kills by going for the jugular.
Was this armor using his experiences?
A waterspout of red erupted from the meat wall, and a giant hand approached as the troll roared.
The Moorland menace picked up speed, jumped into the hair of the troll, and used it to swing toward the other shoulder.
The other troll was approaching rapidly, coming to help his kin.
The meat wall on the other side also got punctured and blood burst out.
The face of the other troll got caught in the space between the cupped hands, and another [Spectral Explosion] went off before the Moorland menace leaped off the collapsing troll.
Tremors akin to an [Earthquake] went off as both trolls fell to the ground. One dead due to rapid blood loss, and the other one still alive but had lost his balance due to taking a [Spectral Explosion] to the face.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The Moorland Menace didn’t board the floored troll but ran around it.
A mountain rose, casting a shadow on Loran.
A slight mistake, it wasn’t a mountain, the troll rolled over while grasping his face.
The Moorland menace sped up and didn't change course.
The meat mountain got closer and closer and Loran expected that they would get crushed.
The ground shook again.
‘Not crushed’?
Loran was however surrounded by a troll meat wall and was looking directly at a troll’s arm pit.
The Moorland Menace ran into it and started clawing.
Blood spurted out and the troll roared.
Loran’s feet left the ground as a giant hand had lifted him by the head.
The helm was creaking a bit, suggesting the troll was trying to squeeze the head, to no avail.
The head of the troll got caught between the space of the cupped hands again, and gravity did its job as the [Spectral Explosion] went off.
The armor bounced off the round belly of the troll and the Moorland Menace made its way to the face. Was what Loran thought, but the Moorland Menace stopped at the neck and started clawing.
The area turned red and the presence below the Moorland Menace disappeared.
No nearby presences meant that the giant mountain trolls had been slain. The Moorland menace directed its gaze at the countless presences heading southeast.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
A familiar sound by now.
Nobody saw it coming, but some heard it coming; the Moorland Menace.
It wasn’t the army that was being hit this time, it was the supply line trailing behind it.
The soldiers responsible for defending the supply line weren’t equipped for this incoming threat.
No spectral fire was needed. Only speed and the metal on the armor’s claws.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
One group down, another one was spotted no t too far.
Something glowed in the dark and the cursed armor jumped aside.
Another machine shooting [Lightning Streams].
A raised arm launched it into the air and cupped hands, clapping together, destroyed it.
The word ‘Menace’ often gets underestimated. Often referred to a risk or a troublesome being, but a menace also refers to a danger, a threat, an intimidating pretense, a force to be reckoned with.
Those that have heard about the Moorland Menace and encountered it had made a similar mistake. ‘It’s just an annoyance’ or ‘it’s a risk, but i’m sure things will work out’.
Had they referred to ‘a danger, a threat to my life and anyone besides me.’ or ‘attempt to mess with it at the cost of your life’ things might have ended up differently.
Those responsible for planning the route of this army fell in this same trap.
‘The Moorland Menace? Who cares?! What is a rusty old armor going to do to our army? We will march through the moorlands.’ was what their strategist said.
The result? 63% of their expensive machinery got destroyed. 2 out of their 9 expensive mountain troll slaves got annihilated, their relations to Witchaven, the city of the witches, worsened due to the death of a helping witch, but more importantly; 57% of the whole army got wiped out by just one entity.
The word ‘menace’ got taken more seriously after this event. Not only to ensure the ‘Moorland Menace Incident’ wouldn’t happen again, but also because the Igrini Kingdom had reason to believe that they had aggravated another entity that the witches called ‘the Silver Menace’
The higher ups were too embarrassed and failed to take responsibility for this incident and continued sending the weakened army into the Aquini Kingdom.