What a loathsome mess did things turn out to be...
The 2 useless henchmen that he and his fellow lords had sent to infiltrate the world of these fleshbags; that upstart elf who had the potential to become one of his kin, as well as that weakling of a dragon who had now disappeared without a trace...
The Ocher Lord of Gluttony, the Lord of the Flies... the dragon lord known as Beelzebub, a draconian so powerful that his own existence proved incredibly unique when compared to the rest of his kin- his body was not bound by flesh and scales like his brethren, but rather, its vessel consisted of a sickening matrix made from chitin and other insectile proteins.
"Well, in any case... At least that false-blood is dead... Better yet, I still have this pathetic empire under my control..."
Unbeknownst to the Neugomians who unwittingly served his very whims, their own royal bloodline had made a pact with such a disgusting being hundreds of years ago- from the moment the first emperor of the Empire became wounded by that cursed sword, the entire family had been both cursed and blessed with a power that would last for so long as there was a ruler that reigned the Empire's lands...
With every emperor that died, a descendant from his bloodline would take their place as the empire's figurehead. Unfortunately however, with every emperor that would come and enact his reign, the familial curse would quickly render them into tyrants with a gluttonous desire for power and strength, and not a single emperor within the empire's history had ever been exempted from this deadly curse of sin.
"My main puppet appears to be quite angry this time, however... Well, the situation he is in right now is quite dire in the first place..."
The concealed presence of the dragon lord could easily sense the great anger that lurked within the heart of Titus, the draconian's current meat puppet that served his desires: the Neugomian Empire had been suffering loss after loss for the past few years after all, and even Titus couldn't help but become incredibly exasperated with these devastated failures...
Not only that however, but there was also the problem of the terrible risk he was currently being warned about by one of his subordinates...
"ARGHHHH!!!" in his madness, the emperor would throw the chalice of fine wine on his hand onto the ground before him, spilling its fine contents onto the floor as he slammed his left hand on the arm rest of his throne in frustration. " Priestess Delphina... Are you telling me that these interlopers will actually dare to attack and usurp ME?! Even though we are the ones who are supposed to be attacking THEM right now?!"
The mage with a large, blue crystalline sphere floating beside her would kneel before the emperor's raging presence. "... Y-yes, Your Grace... It is what my prophecy magick foretells..."
How interesting... The Glutton Dragon thought to itself as it silently listened to their conversation: of course, Beelzebub was well aware of this soothesayer's credibility, as this woman was one of his dedicated apostles, a fervent worshipper that allowed him to corrupt more humans for him to manipulate. Not only that however, but Delphina had also been blessed with the powerful magick of being able to see the definite, unchangeable future, which thus made her an important asset even to the likes of the Dragon of Gluttony.
The prophecy primarily foretold of one, terrible event that would happen right inside the very heart of the empire- in 2 days, an enemy force, led by the very same ones who had stolen Polonia away from them, will launch a precise strike into Neugomia's capital and usurp the emperor from his throne and take the empire of themselves. It was such a ridiculous, rage-inducing prophecy, that even though it fully contained nothing but the truth, even the emperor himself still remained unable to fully believe in its contents.
These new foes that the empire was currently dealing with... It would seem that they were causing one problem after another, and they may as well be able to pose even more threats to the dragon lord's future plans should he not choose to put an end to their schemes.
"Hmm, I shall deal with these miscreants later... Though for now, I want to listen to what these 2 fleshbags are talking about..."
________________________________________
It had only been a few hours since that first explosion that appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden, and already, the imperial forces were swept into a terrible disaster of cataclysmic proportions.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! "What the hell?! Where are those explosions coming from in the first place?!" "ARRGHHH! I've lost my legs! IT HURTS! IT HURTS LIKE HELL!!!" Powerful discharges of energy would rock their rank-and-file formations as they made their march, as the well-concealed traps hidden within the snow-enveloped ground they trod on instantly activated themselves the moment one of the soldiers made the unfortunate act of stepping on their delicate pressure sensors. The army would continue its march despite the destruction being unleashed upon them however, and of course, the earth-shaking detonations would claim the lives of scores of imperial soldiers in a flash, as not even the most heavily armored among them could hope to withstand such powerful explosions.
"Keep marching, you damn cowards!"
"We're getting blown to pieces here! What do you mean 'cowards' you dumbass?!"
"That'll all be solved in due time! Now keep walking!"
Fortunately for them though, the 3 Hundred Seat members who remained with their forces to support them immediately came to their aid... [Injury and death, begone oh unwanted concepts from the toiling bodies of these dutiful warriors.] It was a wide spell that encapsulated a massive area, an arcane spell that had enough power to rejuvenate all among the 150 thousand strong army who had been blown apart: Anatoly, the 6th rank amongst the Hundred Seats, would raise her staff as soon as the explosions ceased to exist, and simultaneously, lights of bright, green streaks began enveloping what remained of the fallen soldiers from nearly every direction. Almost instantly, even the dead and fallen soldiers would come back to life, with their bodies fully restored back to their prime condition, as if they hadn't been recently blown to bits in the first place.
Anatoly had, in fact, actually been doing this for a while, and it was seemingly taking not too much effort for the likes of Anatoly at all: such was the arcane might that this mage, that casting several, large-radius spells on multiple people wasn't even straining her at all.
"Continue your march, soldiers of Neugomia! We shall do what we can to keep your ranks alive and well as much as possible! We'll leave the fighting to all of you in return!"
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
"FUCK! There are more of them being hurled at us!" "Just what sort of enemy are we facing?!"
"Emperor save us from this hell! We are getting slaughtered without merc-"
More devastating eruptions would be hurled against them, though this time, these explosions would seemingly originate from the sky- it was another form of attack from their cowardly enemy that was striking at them from afar, and they were unable to do anything to shield themselves from such a disaster at the moment.
[Barrier of Protecting Light.]
Another one of the 3 members of the Hundred Seats that stayed with them, the Barrier-master known as Mentes, began casting a spell using his vast mana reserves, and simultaneously, a permeable, see through, dome-shaped construct of blue light formed and surrounded the imperial army with its grand protection, forming another protective measure that would allow them to endure whatever form of attack would be unleashed against them once more.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
The soldiers were quickly freed from the cataclysm that instantly claimed hundreds of their own warriors, as in of the explosions hitting them and tearing their ranks asunder in a ceaseless bombardment, the destructive energies would instead collide with the shield and fail to kill a single man in the process.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
Still though, even though they had already neutralized most of the attacks being hurled at them, there was still the threat of those sudden ground detonations the moment one of the soldiers made a wrong step upon the ground they trod on: as such, the 2 mages would quickly attempt to devise a plan in order to get rid of this problem for good...
"Mentes! I understand now! Those ground explosions... They're magickless traps set by the enemy deep within the earth! Which means..."
By now, Anatoly understood how the ground discharges were occurring in the first place- using her detection magick, the talented mage could eventually tell that there were multitudes of these metal devices placed within the earth they walked upon... They were cowardly magickless trickeries that were meant to unleash devastation upon them all, and had Anatoly not been such a talent in the arcane arts, she would have never been able to see these concealed terrors that remained hidden to her at first due to their magicklessness.
The Barrier-master replied to her with a shout amidst the chaos they were all in- as he too used his observation magick to see just what exactly was causing these explosive phenomena on their ranks, he quickly understood the nature of these transpirations at a cognitive speed that matched his companion's.
"If we combine our magick, we'll be able to detect all of them and neutralize them at once, right?!"
"Yes! We'll both cast a spell that will trigger these devices all at once! It'll greatly alter the terrain the moment we neutralize them all, but at least it will make it safer for the soldiers to walk through!"
"Very well then! Let us do so at once!"
Faint lights would begin emerging from the crystals of their staves, as magic circles full of arcane runes formed in front of their bodies, signifying that the spell they were casting was already beginning to materialize according to their commands.
[Oh, concealed metal traps of the enemy, destroy yourselves prematurely so that we may be able to walk safely.]
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
The surface shook slightly as all the mines were triggered at once- deafeningly loud, powerful explosions that materialized deep beneath the ground would all occur in unison, with most of them being faraway from the positions of the soldiers who were observing everything that was transpiring with surprised looks on their faces.
Eventually, everything would fade back into a temporary peace as the explosions ceased to be. The ground had become destroyed and peppered with craters and gaping holes, but now it was vastly safer to march through its space than what it had previously been before.
Now, all the imperial army had to do left was to maneuver through the obstacles that had replaced the deadly traps that once claimed many of its soldiers' lives.
Fortunately however, Anatoly was capable of many more supportive spells due to her massive mana reserves, and the mage would then begin to cast another spell that would serve to assist the soldiers in their strenuous plights.
[Remove the shackles of stamina and fatigue, and may our bodies be blessed with greater speed, strength, and vigor.]
As soon as the spell was casted, the imperial soldiers immediately felt a surging power within their bodies, one that made their senses even sharper than before, as their strength and agility were amplified to levels they could have never reached before in their lives.
"I feel so strong all of a sudden! What is this feeling?!"
"We've been blessed with such a great power! We could practically march for days with this!"
Their previously dwindling spirits had been tampered with and bolstered by the 2 arcane adepts, and now, the loud, mad shuffling of boots echoed throughout the air as the Neugomian soldiers began marching faster in still-orderly, rank and file formations towards the location of the enemy stronghold they were ordered to siege.
It would only take a few more hours however, before their long-awaited battle would finally happen in earnest, and it would take several, grueling hours before victory could finally be declared by either side...
...
...
"... They not only removed the mines... But they're also shrugging off the artillery using their magick..."
"I was expecting this, but... This is still quite troublesome indeed..."
Both Speranza and Thurien continued to observe the massive tide of soldiers that were slowly approaching their location through the holographic display: it was a scary sight, as the arcane dome-shaped shield their mages had casted prevented the long-ranged cannons from wiping them out, all while the explosive mines had all been quickly neutralized by the mages that supplemented the enemy forces.
Not only that, however, but their march had somehow become notably faster- the imperial soldiers, for some reason, were now all marching at incredibly fast speeds with their line-formations still in place, as the distance between them and the walls of the stronghold the 2 were currently in steadily started to become narrow...
"... Hmm... Should I...?" The combat maid pondered as she said her thoughts out loud, to which her companion would immediately respond to in a few seconds.
"Yes, Speranza... I think it's time..." Thurien said. "... Deploy into battle. I'll cease the bombardment for a while, and within that short time frame, your only objective is to neutralize the mages who are casting those problematic spells."
Thurien had quickly surmised the one true threat they had to deal with in order to win against the enemy forces- the ones behind the shields and the healing magick, the moment they were taken out of the equation, the imperial army would immediately be annihilated by the attacks they were unleashing at them from far away.
The only problem laid in the fact that there was but a single method to this surgical procedure they have to perform upon their enemy, and the only way they could achieve this was to send Speranza, the more experienced and combat-capable of the 2, into the thick of battle itself immediately.
Of course, there was the issue that the imperials held a massive advantage when it came to close-quarters combat: they had both the strength and numbers for such a method of fighting after all, and to stoop down to their level of warfare would be an incredibly foolish thing for them to do.
Which was why Speranza had to do this operation quickly: she was going to get in quick, swiftly eliminate the mages responsible for their troubles, and get out of there just as quickly with no intention of prolonging her appearance.
"Very well then, Miss Thurien..." The white-haired combat maid said with a smile as she made a polite curtsy. "Although... Besides terminating those troublesome mages... Are there any other objectives I have to fulfill?"
"Ah, yes... I did gave you those recent augments I made on your combat-capabilities, right?"
"Of course~ I have to thank you for these, by the way. My creator rarely ever does it for me anymore... Though, then again, I think I should be doing it myself in the first place..."
Like Thurien, Speranza was now equipped with the same, monstrous device that allowed the medicae to mass-transport entire streets of people into that special realm of hers: a crowd-control weapon that could unleash blinding, rays of light-auroras, banishing its targets into a different place that was not that of reality.
Even more so, was the fact that the combat-maid had also been augmented with the nearly-same device that her master used against the crimson dragon he previously fought- an inferior version of the anti-magick device on Novus' Valkyrie Armor, a technological tool that could neutralize all forms of magick, though it could only do so within a 50 meter radius for a measly 5 minutes...
While it was unfit for long, prolonged battles against enemies who were capable of magick, the inferior device was perfect for the surgical strike that Speranza was required to perform in earnest...
"Well, I just have one more objective I want you to fulfill... If you don't mind, that is~"
"Of course I don't mind, so please, Miss Thurien, tell me what's this other goal you have in mind?"
A light grin formed on Thurien's face as she presented the other objective she was going to make Speranza fulfill.
"... Please 'save' as many of them as you can as much as possible." Thurien requested. "Try not to blow most of them up with your other... Brutish arsenals, alright?"
"... Well, I'll try at least."
________________________________________
Vernalius had been one of the few fortunate ones who hadn't been blown to pieces by the random explosions that was plaguing the march of their boots. In the end though, such a status of well-defined luck would be meaningless, because even if he were to get suddenly torn apart by an explosion that occurred within his vicinity, the powerful healing spells that the Hand of Arslan mage was constantly casting would immediately bring him back to life.
Still though, the thought of an explosion rapidly disassembling and burning through his body with ease wasn't something that Vernalius would dream upon himself- while it would only occur in a fraction of a second, the pain he could have possibly felt belonged to a level of extremity that he wouldn't be able to endure, and as such, the soldier simply shut off such negative thoughts, all while only paying heed to the one task he was supposed to fulfill right now with his comrades.
Luckily, those explosive traps had all been triggered in advance by the mages accompanying them: they all prematurely exploded in unison before they could deal more damages unto their ranks, and although the ground in front of them had been rendered into a crater-ridden hellscape, it was at least safer than what it had once been before.
"We can see the walls! We're nearly there!"
"It's just beyond the horizon! Just a few more minutes!"
As Vernalius looked towards the massive, open space in front of him, he could see the faint, faraway visage of a fortress of massive proportions that stood dauntlessly from the horizon- it was the garrison that had been destroyed and rebuilt by their enemies, and now it was about to serve as one of the many great hurdles they had to overcome to achieve victory.
"Cease your marching men! We shall begin deploying the weapon His Majesty had bestowed upon us!"
The Imperial General came out of his carriage, accompanied by several of his own guard retinue, as well as multiple robed figures carrying long silver staves with them. In truth, they were about to unleash the ultimate weapon that the emperor had allowed them to bring to this battle, and now they were finally about to witness how terrifyingly monstrous this weapon was.
"Unleash the weapon!"
A silver, sphere-shaped metal device, one that was engraved with multiple arcane ruins, began hovering into the air unperturbed by the forces of gravity, as several magick circles formed on its metal skin while the mages continued to chant their spells: it would take approximately a single minute before everything would finish, and by then the device would finally have displayed its full potential.
"W-what's happening?!"
"It's sucking up the ground beneath!"
Invisible, yet powerful forces hailing from the small, metal sphere began pulling entire chunks of the earth towards it, forming an impressive mass of dirt and rock that slowly began surrounding the device as they clumped together in a compacted structure.
Slowly but surely, the earthly materials would eventually coalesce into an irregularly-shaped being that vaguely resembled that of a humanoid, a vastly tall figure that stood even higher than the height of the enemy stronghold's highest point.
Golems were mostly constructs that only mages could utilize, and despite the many advantages they could bring to the ones who created them, they were often utilized quite sparingly due to their continuous need of mana, as well as the fact that they completely lacked a will of their own and often had to be ordered directly by their makers.
However, the research made by the imperial magick academy ultimately made the special automata in front of them right now as a different type of golem entirely: it was an experimental magick golem that could last indefinitely as long as its spherical core remained active, no longer needing a constant supply of mana from its makers.
Not only that, however, but its impressively monstrous size made it so that its lack of sentience ultimately didn't matter that much, as its impossible strength and power heavily outweighed the cons of its own existence- after all, its only goal as of this day was to destroy the enemies in front of it right now, and not too much thought was required to execute such a simple task.
THUD... THUD... THUD... THUD...
"Rejoice! This weapon that the Emperor has given us shall tear through the mighty fortress that our enemy has built!" the Imperial General proclaimed to his men, to which they would immediately respond with triumphant shouts and cheers. "After the monster has finished with the stronghold's destruction, we shall march through the ruins and slay whatever enemy manages to survive its onslaught!"
It was over for them, Vernalius said to himself in silence: there was no way for their enemy to take down such a massive, durable giant made from the very same material as the earth itself. There was no surefire method or strategy for that golem to be defeated, he thought to himself, and as the monstrosity slowly trudged towards the enemy stronghold within their sights, only one thought remained clear within his mind.
It was their win, he thought... And now, all they had to do was to wait for the golem to finish its grisly task...
...
...
A gateway wasn't necessary for the white-haired combat maid's descent into battle, as the enemy was already within the stronghold's direct line of sight, all while the magicks protecting the imperials kept rendering them nigh-invulnerable to the artillery cannons that had temporarily ceased their bombardment.
Her primary directive had immediately been changed the moment this monster appeared in the battlefield: its annihilation immediately held a much greater priority than the mages that were causing them difficulties, and so Speranza had been brought within its vicinity so she could complete her new task.
"Oh my... It's a... Primitive, ugly version of me. How revolting..."
The trudging construct of stone and dirt roused a sense of disgust within Speranza as she stared at the approaching, massive figure with a bit of revulsion: to her, it was a completely flawed imitation of her technological origin, a magick-born, inferior mimicry of what constructs were truly meant to be, and what she was seeing right now made Speranza feel as if she was staring at a hideous, oversized version of herself.
"... Urgh... How sickening... Let's make this quick, you ugly beast..."
The nanomachines stored in her body quickly did their duties, as entire matrixes of steel began forming behind her back in a synchronized unison of construction: it only took a few seconds, and almost instantly, a deadly array of turret-shaped mechanisms hovered behind the combat-maid, as their cannons fixated themselves towards the direction of the hideous entity in front of her.
To Speranza, it was now more than a surgical strike to eliminate the mages that were causing them troubles. No, rather, it was now a mission for her to destroy this wretched thing that was supposed to be something like her: it was nothing more than a clumped pile of dirt and rock that had even dared to become a construct like herself.
She wad going to destroy this disgusting automation first, and then annihilate the encroaching army that was steadily marching behind it: surely, that would be enough to draw out those troublesome mages that were becoming a problematic mess to their plans?
"Meet your end, you vile imitation of my magnificence."
[Synchronisierte Zerstörung Angriffe.]
The turrets began firing in a synchronized manner, unleashing devastating beams of intense, searing energies that struck the monster repeatedly without a single ounce of mercy...
________________________________________
It was a shocking sight for the soldier known as Vernalius: it was, in fact, so much so, that his jaw couldn't help but remain agape as he witnessed the impossible situation transpiring before his very eyes.
A rain of crimson light barraged the magickal golem's body in a ceaseless torrent of energies, turning entire sections of its body into molten slag and lava that dripped pathetically towards the ground beneath.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Not only that however, but there were also several arrows of light, whose rears emitted deathly smokes, as each of them speeded thunderously towards the construct's massive frame, piercing through its earthly skin with their sharp-edged nose-heads as they produced deafening explosions that tore its framework apart with ease.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"... I-it's failing... No way..."
"How can this be... This is... I-impossible..."
While the golem kept regenerating from the attacks by continuously sucking up the ground beneath it as the main source of its own bodily material, it was obvious that the rate of its destruction was greatly exceeding the speeds it could heal itself from its injuries- as such, even the champions of Arslan's Hand found themselves bewildered by such an impossible display of firepower, as the magickal automata slowly found its structural integrity being eroded in a slow, yet unstoppable manner of deconstruction.
KABOOMMMM!!!!
And just like that, the pinnacle of imperial magickal research and engineering had ultimately failed its one purpose: another torrent of light hit its chest, though this time, it was far larger and more powerful than the smaller ones that came before it. The beam's chaotic energies easily pierced through its stone and rock, disintegrating the spherical core into raw, plasmaic substances within an instant, which quickly led to the complete collapse of the golem's hastily-formed body.
THUD... THUD... THUD... THUD... THUD...
"... I-it's dead... How can this be...?"
"But... His Majesty was the one who gave us this weapon... H-how could it fail so miserably?"
"Our enemies... T-they're all monsters..."
It was indeed over... For the golem's existence at least- what was once a towering monstrosity of magick that would have secured them their complete victory over their enemy, had now been reduced into collapsing piles of rubble, whose broken pieces of debris were now slowly raining down towards the ground in a hazardous hail of stone and rock.
"... W-who is that woman? Why is she floating in the air over there?"
"Is she the one who... Destroyed the golem?"
"N-no... She looks so frail though... It couldn't have been her... Right?"
Just within the vicinity where the golem once stood before it perished, there was the visible figure of a white-haired beauty in a strange armor, a strange woman who was levitating in the air as her glowing, crimson eyes carefully observed the ranks of the imperial army in front of her: meanwhile, there were several metal structures that hovered behind her seemingly delicate frame, with bright, radiant lights emanating from their pointed tips that were facing towards their direction.
"... It was a short, but very entertaining meeting, but now it's time to end this..." the combat-maid uttered, unable to be audibly heard by the imperials due to her position being faraway. "Farewell, fools of Neugomia..."
... However, before the weapons arsenal of Speranza's might could fully unleash their combined firepower, a sudden, unexpected attack from a powerful enemy would put a temporary halt to her finishing assault...
"I'm not letting you blow up our men again, you monster in human skin!"
His warrior's instincts proved to be as sharp as ever, and he could immediately tell that this woman was about to unleash a deadly assault upon the soldiers: because of this, Regulus had leapt into the air with an incredible display of strength as he burst into the air. He then held a firm grip on the jet-black greatsword that served as his main weapon, as he quickly prepared to swerve its impressively mass to cut down the flying enemy that was about to unleash devastation upon them.
CLANG!
Unfortunately, his massive blade was unable to cut through his enemy's body in one strike, as its razored edge was instantly counteracted by a thin, blue, see-through barrier of light that shielded the witch from his killing blow.
"What a fool. You're still going to meet your end, just like all the rest of them."
A series of brilliant radiances would come forth from his enemy's metal armor, and multiple torrents of scorching light would be hurled against the Sornian warrior, each of which was more than capable of tearing through his durable battle armor and vaporizing his internal organs.
"!!!"
Alas, such a powerful attack that came at the speed of light would have killed the sword-bearing warrior instantly the moment he had been hit, though fortunately for him, his 2 other allies would instantly come to his assistance and wouldn't let him die so quickly against this incredible foe of theirs.
"... S-shit, I nearly died there..."
A shield-shaped construct of mana formed in front of the vulnerable swordmaster, and as the searing beams of light rapidly approached Regulus' direction, they would instead harmlessly collide with the mana construct's durable structure, quickly rendering the attack into a useless assault that had failed to kill its target.
"Don't worry, Regulus, we'll support you from behind! Keep her busy while we cast our spells!"
The 2 other Arslan's Hand mages, Mentes and Anatoly, had managed to reach the area where the 2 were fighting thanks to the flight spells they casted upon themselves- while it was certainly a positive advantage for Regulus, it was definitely a crippling disadvantage for Speranza, as she wasn't truly meant to fight at such close ranges like this.
[Wings of Flight.]
Mentes casted a spell directed towards Regulus, and almost immediately, the sword-bearing warrior found himself no longer bound by the constrictions of gravity like his 2 companions: he had been casted with the same flight spell by Anatoly and Mentes, and now he was going to have more ease with fighting this aerial opponent of theirs who was hovering in the skies above.
"... Alright then." Regulus responded as he readied his great sword for another strike. "Let's bring her down together!"
"Let's go!"
"Charge at her, Regulus!"
[Greater Strength Boost.]
[Greater Protection.]
[Greater Agility.]
[Oh great enemy, may your senses of weaken so that we may fight you on equal terms.]
A myriad of untold spells would be unleashed by both Mentes and Anatoly at once, as Regulus then began charging against his enemy once more with his great sword in hand.
"Heehee... I have to admit, this is becoming quite exciting~"
A short-lived battle would then ensue among them, as the conflict raged for only a few moments, though as it would finally come to a grinding halt, the true victor of their entire conflict would immediately become clear...