Steel and Mana
Chapter 419 – Eastern Trouble

When Kalash and the rest returned to Markoth, Sasha was immediately alerted and made to return from the Pass, where she was overseeing the construction.

At the moment, within the great hall of the castle, the old braziers glowed brightly as they burned with intense, orange fire. Outside, the refugees were being given a home, their numbers easily slotting into place, finding their own quarters inside the constantly rebuilding city. It was both a boon and a curse, giving more people to Markoth, but it was also something that would not be felt as a blessing for a while. They were still weak, sick, and unfit for work—or to do anything, really. First, the present Avalonian delegation was examining them one by one, not only registering them as they did with all the other Markothians but also seeing what type of medicine they should give them.

While that was happening beyond the castle, in its central tower, in the war room above the main hall, where a wide circular table dominated the space and tall windows overlooked the city outside, the leading figures had all gathered to make an important decision.

King Edric sat at the table's edge, his fingers steepled in front of him, his knuckles white, pressing them so hard that it almost began to hurt. The news was dire, and he once again felt... worry. He had always feared this possibility, even though it had avoided them so far. Yet, now, it turned out they were simply lucky, unlike the countries to the east.

To his right stood Kalash, wearing simple clothes, in the middle of his report, telling and showing at the same time. This was thanks to the little device put in the middle of the table, which displayed images that were way too real, still pictures of their encounter with the flying beasts.

Listening to him, Sasha stood opposite her father-in-law, her red hair bound into a tight braid, her arms crossed before her chest while she focused, looking exceptionally grim. Which further scared Edric, making him move his eyes towards the last person.

Unlike him or Sasha, Pion stood near the wall, his arms crossed, saying little while he listened. His gaze occasionally drifted toward the image displayed in the center of the table, and he studied the forms of the monsters that the mechs and the Stormbringer recorded.

With a tap from Kalash, the device once again flickered and then projected a now-rotating image: the strange, winged monster stretched wide in flight—its body long and thin, its head excessively angular, with two pairs of taloned limbs tucked close to its sides. A semi-transparent membrane was fitted onto its body, going from shoulder to tail on both sides, like a grotesque kite, making it look like a mix between a bat and a vulture.

Although no sounds were recorded with the image, Edric could hear its bone-chilling screech, which was probably thin and metallic, just like how death would sound. But his mind wasn't going to succumb to panic, and as if showing it was time to fight back, he could hear the sound of salvation: the distant thunder of cannon fire and the deeper growl of the Stormbringer’s cannons.

Noticing how white the king's face was, Kalash let the image rotate once more, then stilled it, sighing a little.

“That’s the clearest footage we managed to capture during the engagement,” he said, “This one was taken by the Stormbringer’s Imaginary.”

"It is hard to guess its dimensions from the image alone..." Pion finally spoke up while he squinted at the still frame. “How big is it?”

“Four meters from wingtip to wingtip. Maybe five,” Kalash replied after thinking back, closing his eyes for a brief moment, “About the size of a biplane, if I had to give a reference. But this was just one variant; we can't draw concrete conclusions just yet. What I can also note is that they were fast. And maneuverable."

"And fragile...” Pion muttered, knowing Polo's assessment as he shot down a group of them, telling him first about the experience.

"To physical damage," Sasha tapped her fingers against the table as she leaned forward while her other hand balled at her hip. “We didn’t want to see them here,” she murmured. "But Leon was sure they existed..."

"It was only logical." Kalash nodded. “Until last night, we had zero confirmed sightings of airborne beasts, but just by the sheer amount of variance we had seen so far, it was only a matter of time. What is important is the fact that these were real. Worse, from that whole fight, I can say they were intelligent enough to coordinate an ambush. They only showed themselves when Stormbringer began to ascend. They were targeting it; there is no mistake in that. Leon was right; the smaller ones are smarter than the dumb big ones. Which means they are also more dangerous.”

"And they are more numerous..." Pion muttered, doing calculations in his mind. "We would need more troops if they started mobilizing. The land around here is unlike back home. We can't funnel them to a natural chokepoint, and we could be caught with our pants down, out in the open! Avalon alone is not enough... Especially if they start adapting to our strengths and styles. With the injuries our troops had suffered, we have two squads worth of soldiers out of commission for now already. We can defend a passage; we can't defend an open field."

"If they come to the city..." Edric gulped, making Kalash look at Pion before speaking up.

"If the construction in the Pass is finished, it could be a refuge for everyone. There, they can't rely on their numbers, and we could dismantle them as we do in Avalon. But Pion is right... the city here, out in the open, is more vulnerable to a horde than to large aberrations."

“What about the mechs?” Edric asked, frowning and looking back and forth between all of them, his fear easily noticeable in his eyes. "They could deal with them, no?"

“Not necessarily,” Kalash shrugged. “As I keep saying, our machines are good against larger variants; they were made to battle and tear those down. These smaller ones, if there are enough of them, can and will outmaneuver us. To fight against them efficiently, we need the regular troops.”

"And right now," Sasha looked at Pion. “We’ve no countermeasures for flying beasts that small. If there is a battle where the mechs are bogged down... We haven't got anything to send to intercept them. Not in Markoth, at least.”

"That's right," Pion shook his head slowly. “The Lion and Rook aren’t really designed for anti-air combat. The Seeker managed to track and snipe a few down, and the Rook’s rotary gun chewed through the rest, but if there had been more…”

"They could have gotten to the Stormbringer," Kalash finished the thought for him. “They may even have overwhelmed the ship. Or worse—ripped into it midair. The armor could hold, but if one of them had slipped through the cargo bay before it sealed…”

The unspoken words of one of those getting into the place where all the weak refugees were... chilled the room. Dozens of rescued civilians had been aboard at that moment. It would have been a blood bath, to say the least.

There was a long silence as everyone organized their thoughts. In the end, Kalash returned to the projection, rotating it to show a second angle—one from the Seeker's recording, clearly closer to the ground from a view that was looking up instead of down.

“Not all of them were confirmed killed when I reviewed the incident. Three more were disabled midair beside the ones we saw blown apart by our weapons... But the rest scattered when we retaliated and forced the horde to abandon their instincts and retreat. Most of that horde is still out there, and there could be more to the east.”

"We can't wait," Pion stepped forward now, the stiff lines on his face making his voice sound grimmer than it actually was. “We’ll double the patrols around the construction site and the region as a whole,” he offered. “And I’ll start training the local teams for nocturnal attack scenarios.”

“Yes,” Sasha said, voice crisp and commanding, "But delegate it to Kalash because I have something else for you."

"Yes, My Lady?" Pion blinked, coming to full attention.

“You’re going back to Avalon.” Sasha decreed, pulling herself up to be straight as a ramrod.

“Pardon?” Pion blinked his eyes, surprised.

“I said,” Sasha repeated, “you’re returning to Avalon. Tonight, if possible. I’ll stay and oversee the pass construction myself, but I need you to bring the news back to Leon as soon as possible.”

“But—”

“This is too important,” she said, her voice tolerating no argument. “Leon needs to know. I want you to take that footage and every summary report we have to him. No messenger delays are allowed with this, and you will place it in his hands. Whatever he is doing back home, this will take priority.”

"I..." Pion's mouth opened and closed. “...Understood.”

"Mhm." Kalash crossed his arms, humming. “I agree with her. My son won’t rest easy hearing this secondhand anyway. The fact that the beasts are now flying, testing us with airborne variants, organizing in possible waves on the ground and air at the same time…”

“It could be the sign of another harsh winter coming,” Sasha said grimly, turning toward the window. “Maybe not right away, maybe not this year. But the signs are there, and these beasts can't be left unattended on our end of the mountains—they’re clearly adapting. The longer we wait, the more they can breed and change, then what? After this Pass is plugged in, we need to go to the third and do the same. We must protect this land...”

"That... I agree." Kalash nodded, shrugging, shaking his head.

“Also,” Sasha looked at Pion again, "When returning, make sure you bring all the airplanes we can spare. The pilots have been murmuring about not seeing enough action since we established our air force. Now, the time has come to test them."

"Understood!" Pion nodded, saluting.

While the room fell into a bit of silence, no one wanted to say out loud what they were all thinking about, how the long winter had devastated half the continent out here. The situation was worse than they ever imagined, and if they hadn't dealt with it, there would have been issues. Probably the kind that would get harder to deal with the longer it was allowed to fester.

“We’ll finish the fortress,” Edric said after the sudden silence. “Whatever it takes. We’ll hold this place so Avalon can cleanse the rest of the continent.”

“Don't worry, you won’t be alone,” Sasha promised, letting herself smile warmly. “If I need to, I’ll see to it personally! Kalash, you’ll remain stationed here with the Lion, along with Nathel. The Stormbringer will make the supply run after dropping Pion in Avalon and return loaded. Polo will stay in the Pass, guarding the construction site and me.”

"It will be done," Kalash inclined his head. “We’ll stand guard. I will also start instructing the locals how to handle our artillery pieces.”

Pion, still absorbing the command, straightened his back, looking at the others with new determination.

“I’ll leave within the hour.”

"Do that." Sasha nodded, and her eyes softened, just for a moment. “Tell Leon… everything. Show him what we found, and don’t spare the details.”

“I won’t,” Pion said quietly. “I promise.”

"Oh, one more thing!" Sasha glanced once more at the hovering projection. The flying creature seemed to shimmer in the torchlight, frozen in time. "Make sure the Khulman delegation that is visiting our Avalon also learns of this. If we are to bleed in the future... Don't let the other dominant Empire sit in the back and just watch."

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