Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

A week has passed since the negotiations have failed with Predo and the kingdom of Irigia. Alaric constantly sent scouts to observe the enemy, waiting for any offensive movement. Still, for now, it seems that they are only mobilizing and getting ready for an ȧssault.

"I don't like this feeling of waiting," Sarah said as she lifted her head from the map laid out over the table.

"I know, but we're as prepared as we're going to be," Alaric responded. He drew all his forces that he could from the Reark Kingdom, leaving only skeleton crews on the rest of his borders. Barry returned from the North while Eli remained in the city. Tens of thousands of automatons were charging, waiting for the moment and call to battle.

Alaric told himself time and time again that this was what was needed. That they needed to go to war and that there was no other choice. His people were at risk of dying or being annexed into Irigia or the Empire, and after all they've gone through, freedom with a chance of death was the best option.

He had been creating automatons and gathering monsters for the whole week they've been waiting, and he felt the same anxiousness that Sarah was feeling.

"I have a delivery for King Alaric," said a man walking through the tent entrance. Nobody could even get close to the command tent unless they were cleared several times, so there was no worry of a bomb going off or something similar.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's your special outfit from Eli, your majesty; he requested that you wear it before the fighting starts for morale." He handed the container to Alaric and bowed on his way out.

Alaric grabbed the container and opened it up; inside was a gorgeous outfit of black, red, and purple. His mouth dropped from the royalty of the outfit.

"So that's the outfit he's been working on then?" Sarah asked. Her eyes gleamed with admiration.

The outfit was flowing and didn't hug Alaric's body as he put it on. Instead, it was loose yet strong.

"I'm going out, I've got a feeling that the enemy is almost done with their preparation, and I need to raise the morale out there."

"Hey, just in case I don't see you again when the fighting starts...good luck."

Alaric nodded and left the tent. Monsters could be seen roaming the camp as well, he had gathered the creatures he could in the short amount of time, and although this would be great in a fight, the human troops cast wary glances their way and were constantly on edge.

Alaric flew up into the sky, his outfit billowing around him as he flew towards the back of his lines, where the human troops stood. He had organized their lines in a way that would minimize human losses. The automatons and mechs as well as their airships, would be in the front, with the monsters behind them. The human troops would be the last line of defense if it came to that.

Alaric flying over his soldiers boosted their mood considerably, to be able to see their King, with great wings and a powerful and colorful outfit; he was the image of their freedom and pride.

Alaric projected his voice with a positivity that he did not feel, "Be brave! This is the last step in ensuring our new kingdom will last for ages to come! The freedom and joy of your families and for yourselves begins or ends here! I say that it begins here! No more will our people be under great threats of monsters or crippling nations! You are here to protect that bastion of hope, don't forget that, and give everything you have to the Reark Kingdom!"

The men and women that had been waiting for war to break out felt the tension leave their bodies. The anxiety they felt turned into courage, and slowly they began to cry out. Before, they were waiting to hear whether they would live or die, but now they felt like it didn't matter. They were willing and ready to give everything, even their lives to protect what's been given to them, and nothing was going to stop that.

Alaric continued to encourage the lines of soldiers, moving the entire length. Suddenly there was a whirring of machines as the automatons woke up from their charging. Alaric looked over and saw the flares and explosions going off as their warning system was triggered.

His heart raced as the quiet waiting burst into a full-blown battle. Hundreds of mechas and airships colored with the enemies' banner flew towards their waiting lines; even a behemoth level airship was a part of it.

Alaric narrowed his eyes, this was only the first wave, and the enemy hadn't even committed half their forces. Are they testing their lines? Or is there a trick involved? Alaric didn't have a chance to think as a massive burst of fire came from the enemies' behemoth ship. .

The shot continued through thousands of automatons, and the machines burst into action. They flew towards the enemies and swarmed their ships. Guns were blazing, and the explosions rocked the ground beneath them. Every ship, mecha, machine, and monster charged into action. The only ones to stay back were the humans as the last line of defense.

Alaric flew as fast as he could towards the behemoth level ship. He needed to take it out before their behemoth ship was destroyed. He guessed that was the one thing the enemy would be focused on targeting would be to destroy their greatest weapon.

He dodged large cannon shots and bullets flying around. Soldiers in exosuits flew in his way, attempting to stop him, but Alaric destroyed them all without stopping. His will and power were much stronger than when they last saw him, and nothing stood in his way. Bullets bounced off his body, and the only thing that caused damage to him was the larger cannons, another reason to take out the behemoth airship.

He burst through the hull of the ship to crew members looking at him in shock. They moved swiftly, pulling out whatever weapons they had to attack Alaric.

Alaric raised his hand, shooting lightning that forked between them all, killing them instantly, then he moved towards the core of the ship.

On his way, he saw another large burst of fire from the behemoth ship, and it clipped his own behemoth ship, causing fires to start up on the outside.

Luckily it didn't hit a core, but he needed to move fast.

He burst into the core room, where some of the strongest Predo soldiers were waiting in exosuits. They moved into action without hesitation, pulling blades by their hɨps, and swiftly closed in on Alaric. Alaric dodged a sword swipe and punched out with his fist, landing it squarely in the ċhėst of one of the guards. The suit crumpled and the guard fell back, unmoving. The remaining soldiers remained a unit and continued pressuring Alaric. Their speed and power were impressive, but nothing compared to Alaric's power. He shot more lightning from his fingers, killing the rest of them.

He then put all his power into his hands and crushed the core with telekinesis. He felt the ship tilt underneath him as it started going down. He burst through the walls to get completely out of the ship and unfurled his wings again. He watched as the ship came crashing down, destroying dozens of enemy mechas.

Alaric smiled until he noticed his own losses. A quarter of all his automatons were already destroyed, and many monsters lay dead on the ground. The smaller mechas and airships were destroying his forces despite their lower numbers, and that wasn't even the worst of it.

The rest of the enemies' forces were charging in.