Steel and Mana

It was already into the night, and my feeling of something lurking in the dark kept nagging me. Of course, it caused me to order every unit, every commander, every man to be on high alert, and this time around, I refused to allow Mikan to reapply the blood tattoo on my shoulder blade.

As for what was coming our way... I wasn't sure, but I knew it to be real. A gut feeling if you want... And it was the strongest I had ever felt.

"Anything?" I asked, walking up to Kustov as the Camelot hovered high above the army, its sensors, along with the other ships, going at full power.

"Nothing yet." He replied, eyes fixed on the cloudless, starry sky and the night that was less pitch black thanks to it. "But they could be camouflaged; we can't rule that part out anymore. It could also be the reason why, seemingly, the East is so empty."

It was something I also thought of. If we take the beasts and just logically think of their evolution, it stands to reason that some of their variants, especially the small ones, would develop a method that makes them invisible to magical sensors. The big ones have to have a skill to find CC underground, and if they do so via magical waves, the solution presents itself very nicely.

"We should have some upgraded 'sonars' soon." I muttered, "Merlin is working to integrate it into our systems. Let's see if it opens our eyes..."

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At the same time, Lancelot stood with his back to his machine's leg, watching the blackened distance. Unlike Leon, he had none of his warning feelings, not until the order came down to be on high alert. Since then? It was almost making him angry, because the waiting was the worst part before anything... be it a battle or waiting to see what he gets for his birthday.

"Prince~!"

"Don't call me that." He grunted, looking to his left, where Jila's mech was whirring as the cockpit opened and she descended to come to him. In just a minute, she was sliding up beside him, as she leaned her shoulder against the same steel leg that Lancelot was using, grinning at him.

"Why not? Mom Yuri pilots the Princess, you can be the Prince! Or did you finally come up with something else?"

"I already have a different callsign," He reminded her by flicking her forehead, "It's Blade. And you know it."

"But it is so boring..."

"Hmph!" He snorted, pursing his lips, "Because Juggernaut is better?"

"I like the word. Daddy Leon has some good ideas!"

"Ugh... Don't call him that..." Lancelot moaned, but Jila just giggled, unbothered by his reaction. "What made you climb out?"

"You're brooding again, that's what!" she exclaimed, her voice teasing, but serious enough to show she was indeed worried about him.

"I'm just thinking," he corrected her, his eyes moving back towards the horizon. "Sometimes even I can do that."

"Brooding," she repeated, with a faint smile, then she leaned closer. "It's quiet," she whispered. "Also... Romantic, don't you think? The stars are out. Don't you think it's worth enjoying the moment?"

"It is romantic, but also... dangerous. We were warned to be alert, so it is best if you get back to your machine. We only get fifteen minutes of rest."

"And mine is not yet up!" She leaned closer to Lancelot, but just as she did so, the horns of multiple airships split the night right down the middle.

Without saying anything more, Jila also jumped, sprinting back to her machine, while Lancelot also began climbing, hurrying back into the Blade's cockpit. Around the built encampments, the camp transformed in an instant the moment the warning signs woke up the whole region. Officers, mainly from the Ishillian army, shouted their orders into their given communicators, their voices going directly to the squad leaders who then pulled their men into formation. Behind the campsite, the artillery crews rushed to ready their cannons, while the lights on the Avalonian mechs turned on, bringing daylight back to the night.

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I was about to turn around and walk away from Kustov when a sudden surge that wasn't exactly mine came up from somewhere behind me. It wasn't... human, I could tell that much. It was primarily focused on hunger, with a tinge of excitement that its owner was feeling from the hunt...

"Kustov, focus on... Grid..." I said, furrowing my brows, looking over the Imaginary's projection, searching, "Focus on sector E–7 through H–9, thirty to sixty degrees off our nose! Put every eye we have there..."

"You heard the Sovereign!" Kustov didn't waste time with questions. "Imaginary, sweep E–7 to H–9, tight cone. All platforms, get to battle ready!"

The projected image rippled as the Camelot's sensors focused on the location I had ordered it to... But... Nothing... and the zoomed-in image was too blurry and too dark to make anything out of it. However, I was sure of my feelings.

"Negative returns," an operator said, a bit confused, but kept the focus without withdrawing our sensors, "No discrete signatures."

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"They're there," I said because I could taste copper on the tip of my tongue.

Just as I was thinking that we may just bombard it because of my paranoia, Merlin's voice came through the communicator.

"The sonar spell is not integrated yet, but I am ready with it!" he said, probably noticing that we were suddenly focusing on one spot, "I am heading to topside, will cast the spell myself!"

"Can you feel them?" I asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean they aren't there." He answered with a chuckle, "We barely met with monsters yet, where are all the people and animals? Everything was killed or chased away... Just a few monsters can't do something like that! They have to be everywhere, they simply avoid us because the signals of our ships and mechs are too dangerous."

"But there are always some who are too hungry to think..." I murmured.

"Exactly. I will summon a short but strong pulse to reveal if they are indeed there."

"Do it," I said without hesitation, and I knew that by then he was up on the Camelot's topside.

The moment he summoned his magic, for some reason, every hair on my arms stood up. I could feel how the pulse blasted out of the spell like a very deep bass note you feel more than hear, standing next to a massive speaker.

"We have a ping!" the officers yelled at once. "Contacts," the head operator breathed, continuing, "Many contacts! Count is... eighty-seven... ninety-two... one hundred and seven. They are low to the ground and are closing in on us slowly!"

With Merlin's spell, even the projection from the Imaginary managed to give them edges in the dark. They were sleek, muscular, four-limbed bodies with, from what I first thought of, having a jaguar's shape. As far as the distorted image showed, they had wedge-shaped heads with long muzzles and protruding teeth. As for their height, our estimation had put them around five to six meters in height. Not exactly small...

"Oh... I can feel them now!" Merlin murmured into the comms, "They flattened themselves to the ground, but... I think they know we found them. Still... If you hadn't pointed them out... Huh..."

"We will talk about that later," I interrupted him because the hunger in my chest flared up again, "They are not going to retreat. " Sound the alarms," I snapped at Kustov, "all horns to go off and turn on the lights! Artillery! Three-battery prep on my mark, focus pattern across E–7 to H–9. The elites hold the forward trenches while the Ishillian forces hold the second line. Mechs to prepare!"

"Already powering up," Kustov reported, " General Lucca had them in rotation, so they are already active."

"Connect me to the ground troops," I hit the all-call as I sat down on my chair, "This is the Sovereign. Do exactly what you've trained to do, and this camp will stand. It is time to take back what is ours!"

By then, the beasts stopped skulking, and as they began rushing, using their bodies and blood, they became visible to our regular sensors just the same. On the map, they rose out of the tall grass and from the trees, rushing at an incredible speed, faster than a cheetah would, their tails whipping for balance. With how quick they were... I was unsure if our artillery would hit them, even if they aimed perfectly, firing to where they should be by the time the spells arrived... but there was no time to theorize.

"Fire," I ordered.

Luckily, our artillery team was well prepared and trained. Although not all spells got to their marks, we still managed to light up their first line and kill at least a dozen of them while the rest expertly dodged and whizzed past our barrage. It was evident that they would not stop, no matter what.

"Elites," I said into the forward channel, "Hold the line, we don't need to rush it! Make them come to you."

By then, a line of black armor rose from their positions, their skull-faced helmets burning in red light within the eyeholes. Just when the beasts got close, they activated their weapons, and the first clash happened as expected. Most of them leapt, pouncing on my people, clearing the magical minefield before the trenches. Was it a coincidence? Maybe... or they could have extra sharp senses. Whichever it was, they met their match because their teeth could only throw sparks when biting down on the armor of my soldiers. Even if they brought them down to the ground by the sheer force behind their jump, others were there to cut into them, splitting their bodies and washing the trenches with blood.

"Juggernaut on my right," I heard over the separate, Knight channel, my Father's voice ordering my son and Jila, "Blade, on my left, we are moving out!"

"Copy," Lancelot answered as the mechs began to move.

The beasts were too small for them to properly handle, especially with their speed, but the mechs were to ensure they had no space to spread out and funneled them into our kill zone. This is why the Khan's cavalry will come in handy... at least, that was the thought that hit me then.

"Merlin," I asked, not taking my eyes off the projection. "How many more are there?"

"Working on it..." He swallowed, clearly feeling a bit exhausted, letting out another burst...

"A new ping!" my officer yelled, "Much bigger... and multiple of them!"

The overlay switched again to show their scale. True enough, ten similarly shaped forms were hanging back, much further away. The moment Merlin discovered them, just as the others, they uncoiled into sweeping strides as they rushed not at the main line, but heading towards our mechs, which were spreading out to contain the horde... Bastards... Shouldn't they be stupid? Especially at their height of almost twelve meters, rivaling our mechs...?

"Knights, intercept the beasts," I ordered at once, "Don't let them get to the frontlines and wreak havoc amongst the troops!"

"Eagle Squadron is ready to fly," Lazlow reported, but right now, especially in the dark... it wouldn't do much. Let the Knights handle them.

"Stay grounded," I said, "Keep your engines live. If they break the trenches or begin fleeing, I'll want you for mopping them up."

"Yes, My Sovereign."

Despite the sheer force we were showing them, they didn't slow down at all. They repeatedly hit the same spot on the trenches, trying to overwhelm my elites with numbers. I could see that three were trying to jump over the whole line... which meant they were about to come closer before pushing their body off the ground. Which also meant, they walked onto the mines... Finally... took them long enough! But at least it meant they didn't sense it; they were simply pouncing on my men.

When they stepped on the first min, in an instant, chilling frost cracked out under them, sticking their paws into place, before exploding and encasing them in ice, creating a massive ornament out of them. The reason was simple... I wanted samples in case of an attack, and now I will have them.

Seeing it happen, the rest suddenly became much more cautious, but still, we caught a few more in the mines before one managed to jump over the first line, heading straight to the Ishillian lines. To their credit, they were ready, holding spears of both metal and bone, skewering it as it rushed into their line.

"Keep your feet!" the forward sergeant yelled, keeping the regular troops in formation. "One step back, reset and rotate!"

Still, not every kill was so clean as sometimes a man went down screaming, leg gone at the knee, or another's whole body smashed, clawed apart before the sea of spears managed to kill the beast. But, from above, it was already clear that we would win this...

As for the big ones, I had trust in my Knights.