The two sides marched towards each other, the noble and his cavalrymen were oblivious of what was to come. The two sides were a mere 500 meters from each other, the cavalrymen began to feel the ground tremble and the trees on the horizon were shaking.
"What the" The noble had no idea what was coming, the shaking of the ground became even worse as the horses themselves felt the fear of an ominous force heading towards them.
"Easy boy!"
"The horses are panicking sire!"
The cavalrymen were in a state of confusion, animals from the forests came running pass them, seemingly frightened of what was behind them.
"Men! draw your swords!" The noble ordered. The cavalrymen quickly drew their swords and held their shields up. The tremble of the ground grew in ferocity, the trees began to fall a few meters from, shadows began appearing from the darkness of the treeline.
"There they are! charge!" The noble charged at the shadows full speed, his men followed suit. They held their shields up high and their swords pointed in-front of them. The battle had begun.
From the thick treeline, blasts of light suddenly emerged and struck the cavalrymen. Some of the cavalrymen fell from their horses as they were blasted from their mounts. The horses were caught in the crossfire and most of them fell. A barrage of concentrated energy obliterated the cavalrymen, the noble was thrown off his royal horse and ducked for cover.
"AH!" he screamed as the carnage continued, he watched as his men fell one after another as they are struck by the concentrated balls of energy. The carnage continued, the surviving cavalrymen turned tail and ran back, frightened and traumatized. The noble was left on his own, surrounded by the burnt vegetation and the motionless bodies of his proud me. Their eyes were open, indicating they died in an instant.
The shadows emerged from the treeline, they were marching in groups of ten, two lines each. They were people the noble had never seen before, the combat drones of the Machine Network. Following them were huge beasts of metal and giants made of metal, the noble was bamboozled, he wanted to make a run for it but it was already too late.
The drones surrounded him, pointing their blasters at his head. The noble raised his hands by pure reflex.
"Spare him" One emerged from the treeline, accompanied by his two elite drones. The noble looked at One in horror as a smile ran through One's face.
"Prince Avan, Prince of King Josen and Brother of an unnamed princess"
The prince was further confused, this man knew him well.
"Don't be too shocked, you would often brag how you were so handsome and great, but you're just a filthy, misogynistic prince. I'll be using you"
The prince was then dragged off by two drones, he thrashed about and screamed for help. One then turned and looked at the advancing machine army. Their goal was not the cavalrymen, but the Fortress City and the rich oil deposits underneath it. He had good confidence he would encounter little to no resistance, the information from the adventurers spiked up his confidence and he was more than ready to engage with the civilization in this world.
[Phase 1 - Setting a foothold.
Objectives: Secure Resources
Secure Forested Region
Interact with the Nation States for Official Recognition
Phase 2 - Unnamed]
-
The screaming remnants of the prestigious cavalry of the prince came running to the Eastern Gate that faced the forest.
"Where is the prince?!" The gate guards asked in a panic.
"They're coming! prepare the defenses!" The remnants warned they were trembling.
"Something is coming from the forest!" One of the spotters on the watchtowers shouted. The guards had little time to react. The Machine Army ran through the fields in full assault. The tanks blasted the walls, knocking them down and killing most of the archers.
Panic spread throughout the city as waves of drones poured in from the downed walls. The drones were under specific orders not to kill those who didn't fight back but they were allowed to kill those who did. The guards frantically charged at the drones with their swords drawn only to be gunned down almost instantly. The wooden houses began to burn as they were hit by energy blasts, screams of the civilians inside filled the air, the blood of mutilated corpses littered the pathways.
The drones easily broke through the hastily built barricades and massacred the defending guards. Archers who were on the other walls formed a defensive line at the center of the city where the city hall was located. The civilians quickly went inside the city hall as it became apparent that the entire city was surrounded.
"How did they move this fast!"
"We don't know, there was a blast on the east wall and then the next thing we knew these things came pouring in!"
"Stand at the ready!"
Smoke covered most of the city as buildings went down and fires raged across the wooden architecture of the city. The drones stopped a mere 50 meters from the archers and the remaining guards of the city.
One was standing just outside the downed walls, observing through the eyes of the other drones.
"Warning, unknown energy signature detected"
A sudden burst of energy was detected from the center of the defending troops, it was a mage.
"Lights of Heaven! Strike!" The female mage shouted, a ring formed on the sky and out came from it shards of unknown material. The shards fell and struck the drones, but the shards were shattered by the drones' defense shields.
"It is, as the adventurers' said. Magic is weak against technology. All drones, terminate hostiles but spare the girl"
"Affirmative"
The mage was confident in her magic, but what she saw shattered her hopes. The magic crystal strike proved useless as their enemies remained unscathed. The possessed a magic barrier, she thought. While she was lost in thought, the rest of the troops were gunned down, she was the only one left between them and the people.
"Eh"
She collapsed and fell to the ground, her magical barrier weakened and the nerve gas choked her to death.