Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

Inian had been flying around in his new exosuit over the past couple of days. He had been getting used to its energy weapons and defensive structure. Janae explained to him that the monster core used had a unique property, and it was that the core could regenerate its energy over time. That way, the core never had to be switched out.

Inian was currently flying high above Rye Fort, feeling the thrill exhilaration of moving so freely.

The suit weighed almost nothing but gave him immense strength and durability. He had punched a boulder earlier, shattering it to pieces with not even a scratch on the exosuit.

Inian couldn't believe that he had gotten something so valuable. But then again, he had saved the General's daughter and said he would fight for the Kingdom. So it's not the worst trade-off.

Inian could see far in every direction he looked; he could see mountains to the west and a forest to the east. He squinted in the direction of the woods and saw smoke billowing up over the horizon. He decided to fly over there.

He flew about a kilometer, where the source of the smoke was visible. Inian gritted his teeth as he saw the Empire's Titan-level mecha walking in the direction of Rye Fort. Many soldiers and low-tier mechas were walking down by its legs, like how it was at Galbury Castle.

He dashed back to the Fort. He flew over the wall and made his way quickly to the keep. There the General, Janae, and several other high-ranking officers were conversing.

"The Empire's here. The will be at the gate within an hour." Inian said immediately. He looked at Janae, "they are still using the Titan level mecha like back at Galbury Castle."

Janae's eyes furrowed together, as this was a huge issue. The Trostan Kingdom had never used mechas that much as they rarely had any monster problems or attacks. They were never attacked on a scale like this before either, so their armies were not prepared to take on a Titan level mecha.

The General issued the order, "ready all our forces. Tell the exosuit pilots to gear up, and make sure the Caro cannons on the walls are all set for use. Also, ready an escape plan. I don't believe our initial assaults will stop them, and I will not have my men sitting in this Fortress like pigs waiting for slaughter."

The General walked to a room to get ready, and so did all the other officers. Janae walked up to Inian who was close by, "ya know, that mask is pretty badass if I do say so myself."

Inian blushed, but it was unnoticeable behind the mask. Janae patted his shoulder, "Don't get yourself killed today.

Inian shook his head, "I promise I won't."

He walked outside to prepare for the assault, which didn't take long to show up. Within a half hour, the Titan level mecha was within range for its Hiro cannon. The General stood proud on top of the wall, standing firm in the face of the daunting mecha.

Inian was waiting for an order when General Reark called out, "Fire the cannons! Aim for the low-tier mechas and the legs!"

The cannons sitting on the wall opened fire in an impressive flash. Any low-tier mecha shot by the Caro cannon were obliterated. They became a pile of metal that would spark every once in a while.

The cannon rounds knocked into the Titan level mecha's legs as well, but it only made the metal beast stumble.

It corrected itself and after a moment, began gathering energy to fire its Hiro cannon.

General Reark waved his hand, and every soldier by the gate dispersed, including himself. With another wave of his hand, all exosuit soldiers jumped up into the air, including Inian.

There were maybe 30 exosuit soldiers on the Kingdom's side. They launched themselves towards the Titan level mecha, shooting at it with the guns on their arms.

Inian fired his weapon as well, but it barely scr.a.p.ed the side of the massive machine. The Titan mecha responded by sending out 100 exosuit soldiers with version 2 suits. They launched into the air and began pursuing the Kingdom's exosuit soldiers.

The Kingdom's forces were heavily outnumbered and outmatched, and Inian had maybe 10 trailing him. He flew up into the air, putting the sun into the enemy's eyes.

He then turned around, firing his weapon. In a blink of an eye, four soldiers were mowed down. The enemies pursuing him looked at their fallen comrades with shock. How could just one Kingdom soldier do this?

Inian then dashed towards the remaining enemy soldiers, pulling his swords out of their sheaths. He quickly sliced off the head of one soldier, then proceeded to the next.

He did this until there was only one left in the air. "Devil..." the Imperial soldier muttered before his head was cleanly separated from his body.

Inian moved to aid his allies, rescuing a dozen from their pursuers.

He moved in the sky like a madman, dashing from one imperial soldier to the next until he had slain 50.

One Imperial soldier saw Inian moving towards him and screamed in fear. The soldier dived down towards the Titan mecha. Inian caught up swiftly and stabbed his c.h.e.s.t before he could escape.

The Kingdom forces won the battle in the sky, but only had 10 exosuit soldiers left. Not enough to make a significant difference.

Inian began to look elsewhere when he felt a rumble in the air around him. The sound wave knocked him higher into the air as the Hiro cannon fired.

The gate and ground it was upon were annihilated. Regular Imperial soldiers began charging through the opening and clambered on the walls. Shots were ringing on the battlefield, and the two forces clashed with bayonets mounted. Inian dived towards the wall, ramming into a man fighting a Trostan soldier. The soldier nodded his thanks and went to fight more enemies.

Inian stood on the wall and saw one particular soldier giving the Trostan soldiers problems. The Imperial soldier stabbed and sliced multiple soldiers in the span of a few seconds. Inian ran at the man and backhanded him off the wall.

The soldier twisted in midair and expertly rolled on the ground to avoid getting too much damage. Inian jumped down to meet his opponent. The Imperial soldier shouted a war cry and charged at the black iron wolf.

Inian's heart stopped when he saw the soldier's face, "Marc?" He yelled.

Marc stopped his charge, "I...Inian?" Inian took off his mask, revealing his black hair and familiar features. "I thought you were dead Marc." He said as tears sprung to his eyes.

Tears streamed from Marc's eyes as well, "I thought you had died Inian. What are you doing here?"

Inian looked confused, "I could ask you the same question. Why are you here? Why would you fight for the Kotus Empire?!"

Shots continued to ring out, as the battle continued, so Inian grabbed Marc and flew low to the ground away from the fight.

He put him back on the ground and Marc began explaining, "After the accident against the high-tier monster. I woke up to find the whole crew dead, and you were missing. I was taken in by an Imperial trader and soon realized that Seyukha would be under attack. I thought you were dead, so instead of trying to find you, I joined the Empire to protect our family."

Inian shook his head, "oh Marc...our family is already dead. Whatever promise they made you, it was a lie. I went back to our home city, hoping to find you and our family, but they were killed and buried."

Marc's eyes widened, "no...they promised me though. They said they wouldn't harm any family in Seyukha! The Empire doesn't kill innocents."

Inian nodded, "they do Marc! I've seen it! The destruction they cause is real, and they lied to you! Our family is gone! You don't need to fight for the Empire anymore. We can go right now."

Marc was empty, but then a single-minded determination filled his eyes, "no...I have something I need to do now."

Marc walked back in the direction the Empire's forces came from. "Marc, I'm right here with you. What do you need to do so much that you need to leave?"

Marc looked back at him, "I'm going to kill the Emperor. Slowly, after I've taken everything away from him...don't follow me Inian. I don't want you to get hurt."

Marc walked away, and Inian reached out for him. But Inian couldn't get a single word out. He flew back to the battlefield to see the remaining Kingdom's forces cheering. They had infiltrated the Titan level mecha and had taken it over.

The victory was theirs, but Inian felt no joy, as his best friend...his brother is gone once again.