Chapter 120: Explosive Machines

The machines raised their guns and began to fire, the laser bolts a mixture of red and violet. They slammed into Charon’s skeletons, bouncing off their armor with little effect. The skeletons simply shrugged their shoulders and remained stationary, unbothered by the small pinpricks. He smirked. ’They aren’t anything like Alastor’s men. Their guns could have destroyed all of us in a single volley, but these? These aren’t anything!’ As if to prove his point, one of the blasts hit Liam in his chest. He grabbed at his chest with his free hand before looking up, an incredulous expression on his face. He barked out at the mage. "That’s it? Seems we ain’t dyin’ today!" With a surge of energy, he launched himself at the closest machine, the metal splitting under his colossal waraxe. The machine’s chest split apart like paper under the strike, sparks spraying as the purple core inside sputtered. Liam didn’t hesitate, tearing it free with his bare hand and crushing it against the ground. The glass shattered, creating a small explosion, and Liam jerked his hand back as he waved it around to cool it off. The enemy collapsed instantly, the scrap metal body twitching before going still. Liam roared in glee, swinging his axe in a broad arc to smash the next one. "That’s more like it!" Charon’s skeletons advanced in tandem, shields raised as the Defenders pushed the volley back. The archers fired, their bone arrows whistling through the fog. One found its mark in a soldier’s core, the impact enough to pierce the casing and dim the light within. The machine stumbled, its clawed feet slipping in the muck before it collapsed. The infantry soon joined in the fray, moving faster than the Defenders at the price of less armor. Their swords hacked at the twisted metal bodies, cutting through weaker joints. The machines tried to retaliate, but their shots were scattered, their aim inconsistent. A few blasts struck the skeletons directly, boring black holes through their ribs, but they pressed forward regardless. ’Perfect! This is exactly the kind of enemy I need at this stage, something light and easy so I can train my magic and hone my skills!’ Still, his gut twisted. Something wasn’t right. Enemies this incompetent shouldn’t have had the confidence to march into the open, especially if they were behind a cult with the power to teleport people across a realm. Oblivious to his friend’s thoughts, Emerius dashed forward on the right flank, his twin blades flashing in the gloom. He ducked under a clumsy swing of one of the machine’s hands, the fingers ending in sharp claws, before slicing it off and spinning to ram both swords into its core. Darius was beside him instantly, his glowing sword cleaving another machine in two. A third machine tried to hit him while he was distracted, yet found his blow parried, Darius flicking his blade out to counter. It struck true, ending the undead being’s life. Emerius glanced around and rubbed the sweat off his forehead, collecting more from the dampness of the fog rather than excess exertion. He shouted out, his voice rising above the chaos. "Keep the pressure on them!" Charon clenched his dagger tighter and gave his archers a mental push. Their shots increased in pace, arrows striking cores and knees, hobbling the shambling constructs. The enemy mage at the center never moved. His arms spread wide, face still locked in that impossible grin. "Rejoice, children of the Fort! You will be remade!" He lifted his metallic arm high, fingers clicking open. A purple orb appeared in his hand, the color the same as the infantry around him. He crushed it with a single motion, allowing the dust to flow onto the mud. Charon’s stomach dropped as the ground began to shake. The dead machines began to glow a faint yellow before they slowly grew in intensity. After a few seconds, it was orange, then red, the group pausing to stare at the sudden shift. His brow furrowed as he stared at the closest corpse, barely ten feet away. ’What the-’ Charon’s eyes widened as a sudden possibility occurred to him, his jaw dropping as he tried to get a warning out. "Get away from them-" It was almost too late. Liam barely had enough time to turn his frame away, his back shielding him. Emerius was faster than everyone else, backflipping away the moment he sensed danger, placing a Skeleton Defender between himself and the magic. Darius raised his hands to cover his face, leaving the rest of his body wide open. When the explosions came, Charon felt the sting of three infantry dying, as well as most of his remaining summons being damaged. Liam was able to stay on his feet, his shirt full of burn holes to reveal scorch marks. Emerius was untouched, quickly exiting his cover to re-engage the horde. Darius was thrown back, his body skipping like a rock over the mud’s surface, with multiple char marks on his chest. Annie screamed out at the sight of the wounds, rushing to his side to do what she could. ’Is he..?’ Charon’s heart dropped as he considered the worst. ’No, we still have a battle to win. We can focus on him later; for now, we need to stay alive. Skeletons, advance!’ He gave the order for his summons to charge the rest of the machines. His plan was simple: kill them all fast, then get the hell away from their bodies. Emerius seemed to instantly understand, his pale skin being replaced with creeping shadows as his velocity tripled. Like a vengeful wraith, he flicked across the mud, his twin blades cutting a terrifying path through every machine he faced. ’That’s good, with my skeletons, his skill, and Liam’s strength-’ His thoughts were once more interrupted as the giant in question leaned back and roared into the foggy, overcast sky. It was full of emotions, raw and uncontrolled, like a tamed dog that realized he belonged in the wilderness. With an explosive amount of force, he charged at the brown-robed mage, his axe held high and ready to strike. With a snap of his mechanical fingers, the cultist summoned half a dozen machines to block him, their rusted bodies lumbering into his warpath. The first one was torn apart with ease, the second going much the same way. However, his strength was only that of a Novice, his third strike slowing as the iron and steel did its job to protect the core beneath. Liam’s blade went halfway through, stopping just outside the core’s compartment. With an unexpected level of speed, the creation grabbed his dominant arm with its metal talons, cutting into his flesh and causing his blood to seep out. He grimaced in pain before wrenching his arm free, causing a trail of damage across the limb. With a thought, Charon ordered two of his Defenders to aid him, one of them slamming their huge shield into the machine’s face before the other relieved it of its head. Another snap sounded, the fresh corpses beginning to light up once more. ’Fool me once...’ He ordered his skeletons to be more proactive in defending the others this time, the Defenders taking the brunt of the force as they hurried to protect Liam, Emerius, and the weaker summons. It worked, with only minor damage sustained by everyone. ’This is good. If that is the only trick the cultists have, this should be easily winnable!’ His two arches fanned out to the sides, firing more arrows at their enemies. Many struck true, shattering cores and causing micro-explosions everywhere, occasionally wounding more in the blast radius. Charon found an unparalleled satisfaction and taking all the machines apart, as if he was writing a wrong written into his very DNA. It was to the point he found himself moving closer and closer to the action with time, his black dagger shaking in his hand as he fought the temptation to take one out by himself. ’I have been training for this, even if it wasn’t with a knife. I have much better strength, stamina, and reaction times than before coming here. It wouldn’t be too risky...’ He took another step forward when he looked down at saw something strange sinking into the mud. ’One of the cores?’ It was the one Liam had first shattered on the ground, right where he had left it, except for the fact that it was now intact once more. ’How is that possible?’