Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Former Gamma, Territory of Arget Nore---

A darkness had spread across the dry desolate wasteland and the crumbling streets of the former district. Only the center of the land of death, which was covered and protected by the magic charms of their God Emperor was not covered in the shadow.

Spreading like ink, the darkness glinted like tar and creatures pulled themselves out of the viscous shadow. Standing freed from the tar that held only them like a shackle, they roared in joy over their new freedom.

Forming lines on the ground were tall, jackal-headed warriors, their bodies sinewy and desiccated, looking like they were mummified and re-hydrated why the vicious black liquid. Climbing the abandoned ruins and remodeled spires of the undead empire, were similar creatures with tar-black wings and the skeletonized heads of birds of prey.

In a matter of less than an hour, Arget Nore had lost most of their territory and faced a siege at the heart of their feudal capital on Urth. Thousands of creatures of unidentified origin were raised at their doorstep and pushed against their doors.

Sparks flew through the air as fights broke out all over the city whose streets lay now in darkness.

Almost 100% of the low-ranking undead, mindless creatures in charge of menial labors, were lost in an instant, facing the surprise attack.

Skeleton Guard, Zombie Knight, Iron Golems, and servants of similar rank were locked in combat against the almost 3-meter-tall attackers, wielding black sabers and spears. The enemy had appeared behind their borders, where only a few combat troops were stationed.

Without the highest seat, who was at the Pythian Games, they had a hard time gaining control and organizing what little troops they had in the chaotic onslaught. Most undead, even the better ones were not much more than puppets to their necromancer. Low-ranking Necromancers fell even before their troops.

From what they could tell, only some of the spire master were able to react in time and defend their position. But they were unable to leave their position. With the controllers not present, or having a hard time themselves, only undead with a rudimentary ego were able to adapt to the situation on the streets.

At this point, it was the knight-shaped iron golems proving their worth. With the people of Arget Nore unable to give them clear commands, they automatically formed smaller squads among themselves fending off creatures rising from the ground.

But they were not in great condition. It was mostly thanks to their superior durability, that they resisted the initial sneak attacks, but it didn't mean they were undamaged. Even if an iron golem had a slight advantage in a 1v1 fight against a creature, they were vastly outnumbered and limited by their power source. Their demise was just a matter of time.

A creature looking like a black slime, pressed into a humanoid shape and wearing a gray robe, made a sound like it was clicking with its tongue.

“What is it with this world..?” a dried-out zombie beside it said pissed. they had rarely faced such problems on foreign worlds, however, the slime beside it shook its head.

“For once, this is not a phenomenon of this world. I can clearly feel a sort of divine power in these things. Someone is using the power of a god to mess with us. Judging by the appearance of the army, it might be the work of a Heliopolan artifact,” it gave an emotionless conclusion.

“Yeah, okay, whatever. What are we supposed to do?” the Zombie elder asked the other Council member. They were currently losing a lot of the foundation they had finally managed to build up on Urth. If this went on, they would have no face left to return to Arget Nore.

The empire had even sent them money and reinforcements to secure and widen their territory in this world. Something was jamming their communications, so they had no way of knowing the situation of the troops at the border, but they could observe the condition of the district, and it was far from good. Even the golems they had bought for a lot of money were being whittled away in front of their eyes.

“Unfortunately, all the commanders are at the border,” a skeleton in a robe said with a hollow voice. Of course, at no point did they consider going outside themselves. They were still high-ranking nobility of Arget Nore. Even if they lost honor and standing for this failure, they still had a comfortable life to return to.

“May I suggest, you let us handle this?” a hollow, slightly robotic voice mingled among the debating council members. The eyes of a room of undead turned to the guard at the door. It was one of the group of Golem Knights that arrived first during the previous crisis.

“What are you talking about, tin can?” the dry zombie asked, his voice oozing with hostility. Not everyone liked the idea of intelligent golems.

“As I said, let us handle it.”

...

Only a few of the expensive Golem Knights and cavalry were stationed in the city, however, when the troops that were supposed to protect the council suddenly made a sortie, the enemy troops were completely overwhelmed.

Like a textbook example of the power of heavy cavalry, the golem knight, riding the heavy, fire-breathing golem horses flooded into the streets and ruins of the mega-city, mowing down whatever dared to stand in their path.

As a united front, nothing among the attackers could stop them. Not even the birdmen diving down from the surrounding skyscrapers could touch the cavalry of Golem Knights. like this, the golems could have fled, leaving Arget Nore behind. But instead, the cavalry started to disperse in various directions.

Even individually, the jackal warriors could not stop the golem horses, despite their ride through the crowd of enemies looking like a boat with bow waves of sparks and fire. The directive of the golem Knights was not self-preservation, or protecting their current owners.

Minas Mar needed Arget Nore as a buffer, a small bump in the road, or at least a slight worry for Spatia, in case the enemy empire started invading. The golems' directive was to keep Arget Nore from falling and preserve their number.

The Golem Knights spread to gather and lead their brothers. The golem squads fending for themselves based on their default program instantly followed their more advanced brothers' commands. Having a leader made the squads instantly more effective and they started making their way, to find more brothers.

Around this time, the first explosions shook the city. These were not the enemy's doing, but the golems. Those who ran low on energy or those who had their cores damaged followed one last directive. They ran into the enemy, away from their comrades, and detonated themselves taking along as many of the shadow creatures as possible.

Prompted by these tragic sounds, the mounted golems quickened their pace. Followed by the troops of gathered iron golems they waltzed through the streets to collect as many allies as possible. Not just golems were among the combined crowd.

The undead with at least some brain or wit, had used the iron golem squads for survival and instinctively followed this wave of steel. Not just those scattered on the street, but also the handful of spire masters that had defended their positions, took the chance to follow the golems back to safety, bolstering their numbers and strength.

This way, the few mounted golems managed to assemble many of the scattered bubbles of resistance and led them back to the center where the original cavalry reassembled. The company of several hundred iron golems and about three times as many undead of similar or higher strength now joined the defense of the central regions, where the shadows could no reach.

...

---Delta---

An office in the renaissance style of Chrona, situated at the skyscraper known to be Chrona's Embassy, a long time ago, this had been Leana's office, he was now the third person to sit here after her. He had to admit, that the view over this exotic city was something hard to come by even in Chrona. It was really a shame...

“I'm glad you were able to meet with me,” a man in a dark suit greeted him after entering. Their face was cloaked by an item that inhibited recognition, but the Peddler of Ruin didn't mind. With a nod, he offered the man a seat opposite himself.

“So what brings you here?” Merkraut Sar asked him with a smile. of course, he knew why the messenger was here. It was just a matter of form.

“The Durnham Royal Family would like to make a deal with...”

Merkraut nodded. Everything slowly fell into place.

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