Ship's guars P.O.V.

At the same time the countdown started the soldiers left near the sea, to guard the ships, were bored out of their minds, but that was going to change soon.

- Hey! Do you have some of those berries left? I need something to stay awake, geez why we had to be the one to be left here?

- No coffee beans left, deal with it. Let's go patrol the wharfs if you are so bored, at least here they're stones ones, do you remenber when we were in the marsh?

- Yeah, I still have nightmares about failing to blance my footing and falling inside that waters... Do you want to be the one to ask the academy's boat if their guars want to patrol?

- ... Are you mental? I'm not falling for you trick again, I've seen my fair share of conceited people, but to think even the guards of that man think they're a head over us...

- Well, they say you have to be proficent not only as a warrior but also as a magician to be accepted as an academy's guard... And sincerely I pity them for having to deal with the scholar during the trip.

- Can you imagine what was like to... Hey is the water bubbling?...

The two guars never ended their conversation, because in the same patch of sea, that the guard was pointing at, a huge geyser-like explosion of water happened. The force of the water moved the docked ships and even staggered the guards, it also drenched in sea water everything that was near the epicenter.

- What the @#$%?

The few sailors that were on the ships, and the academy's guard, were disembarking the ships and asking each other while looking at the sea when it appeared. In the same spot the pillar of water appeared before a grey stone-like construction started to appear, when it's flat and round roof was at the same level of the wharf it stopped growing out.

Easy to say all the people that were there didn't know what to do in that unprecedent situation. The column like stucture was pretty far from shore, but even like that they could tell it was massive, and when it started to glow they were near panicking state.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Then a literal bridge of light materialised connecting the round roof to the pier, also the sounf of clashing metal could be heard from the appeared building. Maybe the sound or maybe their training in magic was the switch that made the academy's guards the first to come out of their stupor. 

- Everybody stay away from the pier until we investigate this! Sailors, to the ships, check if there are any damages! Soldiers, one of you have to send a message to your commander, the rest with me!

- And who made him king of the hill?

While muttering their disapproving opinion about the patronizing attitude of the oldest of the guards, that suddenly started shouting orders, everybody started to move. The messenger didn't even had time to start running towards the main camp when the mayhem started.

From the top of the grey stone column lots and lots of metallic looking insect started to appear and at the same time started to move, crossing the bridge, towards the island. They were still far, and seemed slow, but all the soldier unsheated their weapons and started to question what was going to be worst, facing a swarm of monster or abandoning their post. But they were trained soldier, and even the unknow threat before them didn't make them falter more than few seconds.

- Shield-wall formation! Magician, battery line! Messenger, what the @#£$ are you waiting for? All the non fighting personnel go uphill and find shelter! Go! Go! Go!

Their training showed it's fruit because, apart from few sailors, everybody starte moving and taking position like awell oiled machine. In the mentime they were forming a line at the center of the wharf, the monster kept spawning from the roof, without a sign of slowing down. The light bridge was already full of the huge insect-like creatures.

When they finally took foot on the pier the soldier tensed even more, all the monster were practically identical. A metal cube with four insect-like legs coming out of it's sides, with the overall size of a grow man, made a pretty impressive adversary from the point of view of the soldiers. And considering the insane difference in number, a couple dozen soldiers against a growing swarm, everyone felt the grip of death approaching and the moral was abysmal low. That changed when a magician in the back shouted.

- Impossible! Impossible! They should be only a fairytail...

- Shut-up! Maintain the line! We will do our duty! 

- But... They're... They're...

- What? Care to end a sentence for once?

- They're the Guardians, made from god's metal to defend the temples...

While the magician seemed to lose all of it's strength after it's last shout, most of the soldiers gasped and started to look at the approaching monster with a new look on their faces.

- God's metal uh? Boys, we're rich!