{Zashrend kingdom, palace research center.}
"You can't summon those monsters yet!?" The king walked furiously into a large room. His wrinkled face was already red. "What are you all doing!!?? Celestenia already has rods that can kill in an instant, and we can't copy them!!! You guys have to make this work!!!"
The scientists in that place bowed before the king, an almost sixty-year-old man with long white hair, wearing a black robe adorned with gold laces.
"Forgive us, your highness." One scientist answered with trembling lips. "We have tried our best. We still need time."
The king snorted as he observed the witches and wizards opening a black vortex portal. "If you all have tried, why haven't I seen the monster from the underground realm!?"
No one dared to respond. They knew their words wouldn't reach the highest leader of the Zashrend kingdom. And if they say the wrong thing, they will face severe consequences.
"Arrrggghhh!!!" The king kicked one scientist in the head until he fell.
"You idiots!" The king of stomping that scientist. "I've already paid a lot of money for you guys! Why can't you carry out my orders properly!? Do you want..."
He stopped his words when he heard the roar from the six-meter-high portal. The wizards and witches who opened it chose to retreat.
Shiny, dark hands and feet materialized from the portal, followed by a large horn.
"Finally…." Chuckling, the king stepped forward.
"Please, don't go near the portal, your height." One guard intervened. "We don't know what dangers we will encounter."
Soon after, a figure emerged from the portal. Everyone gasped at the appearance of the four-meter-tall humanoid, beetle-like creature. It has a muscular body and a human-like face with big, round, black eyes.
Magic users cast spells to control the monster. But it roars and punches one of them, sending him flying far away.
The king glanced at the victim, who was now lying unconscious after hitting the wall hard.
The monster rampaged. It kicked and punched the surrounding humans. People ran around screaming. Blood splattered everywhere.
And the monster chased and finished them.
The king tripped over his own feet while running away. He fell to his knees and the beetle monster was already nearby, banging someone's head against the wall.
Shortly after, the monster focused on the king. It approached the supreme leader of Zashrend with a tilt of its head.
"Please, we have to escape from here, your highness!" A guard pulled the king to his feet.
But the beetle monster flew, and suddenly he was very close to the guard. The monster's fist threw the guard across the room.
The king fell to his knees again. Shaking his head, he cried.
"Please, don't kill me. If I die, I will be a servant of that god forever. I don't want that to happen..."
The monster grabbed the king's neck and lifted him high. The king's legs swayed like crazy. Despite gasping for breath and feeling his neck strain, he was helpless.
But the monster knocked the king to the floor. The king coughed, then found several magic users holding up glowing magic staffs.
"Y-you guys controlled it?" With wide eyes, the king rose to his feet.
The monster kneeled down and bowed to the king.
The king went from silent to giggling, and then he erupted into laughter.
"Finally, I will defeat Celestenia with this!!!" That old man spread his hands. "Before I die and become God's slave, I will rule this entire world!!! I will find the recipe for immortality!!!"
Despite the nonsense, no one dared to respond. They all don't understand. What is the correlation between the recipe for immortality and ruling the entire world? Did he want to search for recipes from the countries he colonized? Instead of invading other countries, why not simply send people to look for the recipe?
Despite his madness, he still ruled as the king of Zashrend Kingdom. Anyone can only agree with everything the king says.
"Come on." The king stretched out his hand. And like a dog, the monster placed its hand on the supreme leader's palm. "Good boy."
He laughed again, not paying attention to the corpses lying around and the blood pooling on the floor.
"Prepare lots of monsters for us to attack Celestenia's kingdom!" the king ordered. "We're going to teach them a lesson! We are the greatest!"
***
The air was filled with the sound of hammers clashing against metal. Cecil walked around an area full of armor-making workers. She watched them carry out various activities. Occasionally, she gives advice or answers questions.
"Did everything go well?" Lance, having just entered the area, greeted his childhood friend.
Cecil sat on a stool, taking a deep breath. "It feels strange not working with them. They have more experience than me. But I'm their supervisor. It's ridiculous."
"I know how you feel. You love blacksmithing, after all." Lance smiled. "But you must ensure this all goes smoothly, Cecil. If you work like them, I doubt you can do it. You will focus on making armor."
"I know." The blacksmith rubbed her face. "I'm happy to do this because it's still related to smithy. It's just that my hands are itching to join in. I want to hold a hammer and hit some metal."
"You will get used to it. You're the only one fit for this job, Cecil. Apart from me and Eve, you are the one who understands my blueprints best. You are also the best blacksmith I have ever met." Lance looked around. "Is that done?"
Cecil stood up and smiled back. "Just a little more. Let's go."
The blacksmith took her friend to the farthest location of the area. People in that place don't work on armors, but instead manufacture metal parts to be assembled later.
"I can't believe we made this." Cecil shook her head in disbelief. "It's just…. How do I say it? Over-the-top?"
Lance crouched in front of a part nearly adult-sized. "With this, Celestenia's army will be invincible."