Chapter 417 – Found

    The eastern wastes of Markoth''s old territory were more rugged than the western and southern regions of the country. Hills, forests, and small mountains sneaked around that end of the world, home to mines and the previous industrial heart of the kingdom. But in the past decade, they have been abandoned altogether, and all of the cities and towns that once were the gathering point have been swallowed by monsters until what remained was utter silence.

    Until now.

    The roar of cannon fire echoed between the hillsides, and the flash of explosions lit up the early evening sky. Looking at it from a bird''s-eye view, three massive mechs marched in formation across the cracked valley, while above them, the Stormbringer floated gracefully, sometimes tilting its body so its cannons could fire in rapid succession, raining down bright flames. Behind the advancing group, riding in half-trucks or running beside them, Avalonian soldiers moved in squads, scanning the terrain and finishing off any possible surviving monsters.

    The battle had begun an hour ago, but it was already nearing its end.

    "Rook, on the left side! It’s coming around again!" Nathel''s steady and focused voice rang through the comms, warning him, but he also knew that Polo was already turning his mech''s torso to face the enemy tunneling underground, heading for them.

    They were in an old, open mining basin that had once yielded iron for Markoth and its army, judging by the rust-colored dust that clung to every stone. Yet, right now, it was producing monsters. They’d tunneled into it, creating a nest somewhere deeper, festering underground, showing that below all of the iron, there had to be something else that drew them here.

    When they found the place, the initial bombardment from the Stormbringer and the Rook shook the earth, and it was like hitting a wasp''s nest with a stick. The creatures had begun pouring out, dozens at a time, being misshapen crawlers with armored backs and glowing eyes. They were not bigger than a horse, but only because they were clearly young. When they were massacred, easily torn apart by the continuous shelling, the actual threat finally showed itself. Emerging from the soil, a nearly ten-meter-tall crustacean-like creature roared out in anger. It was not quite as tall as a mech, thanks to its hunched body, but massive enough to tower over the trucks and infantry behind them.

    Polo, piloting the Rook, turned smoothly on his chassis, seeing the earth being disturbed as the thing crawled underground like a mole heading his way. Without hesitation, the twin shoulder cannons barked once, twice, and then thrice, each of his shots sending up fountains of dirt and monster blood.

    The thing was already severely injured; its armored skin had broken multiple times, forcing it to try and attack from below. All of that was thanks to the Lion as its sword cracked its heavy shell.

    "It’s not down yet," Nathel warned, staying the furthest back and overlooking the fight. His Seeker was in a half-crouched position, in observation mode, its sensors flaring constantly, sending out invisible waves, easily penetrating the ground level, and keeping track of the beast''s movements. "Its blood is leaving a noticeable trait. I’ll mark the weak point where it is originating. If we can hit it, it should finally die already."

    The Lion didn’t need to be told twice under Kalash''s control. With a rumbling step, the mech surged forward, already heading towards the marks Nathel was projecting both to the mechs and to the Stormbringer above them. Sensing it had been discovered, the monster broke free from underground, trying to lunge at Kalash, but the Lion simply lifted its tower shield, ramming into its injured body. The thing that won that clash... was Avalonian steel. Dust and blood erupted as he slid beneath the strike, the moment it happened, driving the mech''s sword upward with enormous power.

    It was done. The blade cleaved the monster clean through, causing a spurt of bright red and glowing green fluid to burst out of its body before the creature dropped to the ground. Its last howl was quickly fading to a wheeze, and then it twitched a few more times before going limp.

    Around them, the remaining lesser monsters were already falling to coordinated attacks of the foot soldiers, their blazing or crackling weapons cutting them down as if they were nothing but pests. In the meantime, Polo''s flamethrower came to life as it hissed like a jet engine, aiming into the mine shafts, burning away those who were trying to hide or crawl back underground.

    It was not the first time they had done this. And so far, from all these new developments, back home, Merlin was already working out a basic guide, trying to create a manual on how the monsters grow, breed, and act. However, Kalash only wanted that guide to make sure the following generation would understand how to kill them better.

    Ignoring his thoughts, Kalash turned his mech toward the Seeker.

    "Report."

    "Area secure," Nathel answered, even as his sensors continued sweeping the landscape. "But... something’s odd. I’m getting ambient echoes from somewhere. Non-monster signatures... but it is something living. Which I picked up because, for the past months, not even animals have shown up!"

    "..." Kalash’s mech tilted its body slightly, just as his pilot''s head did inside the cockpit. "Coordinates."

    The Seeker shifted its focus eastward, standing up. The shoulder-mounted scanners whirled at maximum speed, producing a bright shimmer of their scanning formations as they lit up a colorful turquoise hue.

    "Approximately seven kilometers, towards the northeast. I''m picking up underground structures. And... A thermal variance. From what I can tell, Lord Kalash, these are... signs of... people."

    That got everyone’s attention.

    "Stormbringer," Kalash radioed, switching to the aerial command frequency. "Divert the ship to Grid Epsilon-3. We may have found survivors. Go ahead and scan the area!"

    The airship banked with a smooth growl, its formations modulating to compensate for the new heading, swiftly taking it forth. Behind them all, the half-trucks began to move as well, organizing into a convoy flanked by two of the mechs as the Seeker took point. There was no time to scavenge, not when there was a possibility they would find people.

    ...

    ....

    ......

    It didn’t take long to see the town. Or, what remained of it, at least.

    It was nestled in a sunken valley of sorts, probably the mining city that supplied the workers to the place they just cleared out, or maybe even to other places in the region. The stone buildings were cracked and overgrown with frostweed, their walls sporting massive holes at multiple points. But it was not only a city. There was another dig site right here, too, and the mine’s upper shafts were caved in, as the main road was half-swallowed by the rubble of the ruined city.

    As the sun was already down, soon to be night, the Stormbringer’s spotlights turned on, bathing the land in bright, white light. They flickered across the collapsed ghost town, not letting any shadow hide.

    "Looks like any other city we came across," Polo muttered as they arrived. "It’s been dead for a decade."

    "No, it hasn’t," Nathel said, sending over what his mech was seeing. "Look."

    From the Seeker’s shoulder module, a soft blue beam shot out down toward the town, scanning and producing a proper image they could all see at the same time. One with a faint outline appearing on the shared vision of the Knights and the Stormbringer''s Imaginary: A network of underground tunnels sneaking down below the city. A perfect shelter. Well, perfect in theory.

    "They’re not on the surface, by my readings, but instead, they’re below it. If this mine wasn''t on top of CC or anything tasty for these bastards, they could hide in the chambers... Make them into improvised shelters. There’s warmth down there in winter... And I can pick up on the heat signatures."

    Kalash leaned forward in his cockpit, eyes narrowing, and his mech mimicked his movement as they stood outside the city''s old limits.

    "How many?"

    "Hard to say. Dozens, at least. Maybe a hundred; they form one big globulous thing on my sensors."

    The Avalonian contingent soon caught up, and they paused at the edge of the ruined town while the half-trucks pulled up behind them, forming a semicircle as they prepared for battle. This was, like it or not, now the beast''s territory... So the soldiers disembarked quickly, fanning out to secure the area and keeping to their training.

    Above them, the Stormbringer dropped altitude, its central cargo ramp descending with a hiss of pressure, as a squad of scouts deployed from its underbelly, descending and jumping out into the town square, securing a forward base. In contrast, the others from the outside began their sweep, entering from the western edge. Then, just as the soldiers were about to meet, from within the town’s cracked chapel, something shifted, making an audible noise.

    "Contact," one of the foot soldiers said, raising his crossbow mounted on his right wrist but not firing yet. "We’ve got movement. Not a monster, I repeat, it is not a monster. Its... A civilian. Female, elderly... unarmed."

    "Everyone," Kalash’s voice came over the general channel. "Hold your position! Do not engage!"

    The woman emerged slowly, raising a lantern-like object in her hand, its flame dim and flickering. Her eyes squinted up at the mech towering at the edge of town, then looked at the skull-faced warriors walking the streets.

    "Are you finally taking us to the other side, oh Death?" he asked in a bewildered, raspy voice. Behind her, more figures followed, beginning to appear one by one.

    Most of them were children or the elderly. Or... They looked elderly but could easily be only people in their mid-twenties or thirties. All the men who appeared were cursed with sunken cheeks, discolored skin... sick and weak. They saw a young girl carrying a bundle of blankets as she stepped out with dull eyes, looking at the arrivals, her hair thinned out as if she was already balding, yet barely nine. Everyone who suddenly appeared blinked their eyes against the sudden brightness of the Stormbringer’s lights, looking as if they had not seen the sky in years...

    One of the officers finally stepped forward, lowering his helmet, showing his face, showing he was human and not a monster, not Death''s incarnate, at least not for humans, while also holding up both hands.

    "You’re safe. We’re here from Avalon."

    "..." The old woman stared at him, her hands trembling. "Is that the name of Heaven, oh Death? Are you finally forgiving us? Taking us to Heaven?"

    Suddenly, the officer didn''t know how to answer her. What should he say to the people filing out from the church, which seemed to have a route under it connecting to the mines below the city? Then, he heard a soft crackle in his helmet, its radio transmitting a message from Kalash. Hearing his words, he took a deep breath, a genuine smile forming on his face, before kneeling down to be at the same eye level as them.

    "Yes," he said, his voice traveling through the gathered group. "We came from the West, bringing death to the monsters and saving you all. To save you people, we will take you away, bringing you back to safety—all of you."

    For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, the old woman let the lantern fall from her hands while tears carved lines through the years of dirt on her cheeks. Before anybody could say anything, everyone began kneeling and, in a weird way, bowing towards the soldiers and the mechs and reaching their arms towards the Stormbringer. They were ready—ready to go to Heaven.