Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

The defenders of the holy city retreated into the inner walls just as the magic barrier encompassed what was left of the inner city. The men and women made haste in setting up what little barricade they could install and resistance they could attempt.

The war was at its bleakest and defeat was already on the horizon. The sun was setting when the metal men began their artillery barrage. Shell upon shell bombarded the barrier making it tremble with the ground below it.

Many cried that day, not even the most seasoned of veterans could hold their despair as the sight of these unholy weapons and their munitions reducing what they loved into nothing but rubble continued into the night.

By the break of dawn, the shells had wiped out the entire outer city. The outer walls have been completely breached with thousands of metal men marching in. From last night's bombardment alone, the entire population left out of the barrier were killed.

Their bodies, churned, torn and burned. Through the city streets, the alleys and the wreckage of the outer city the metal men marched in formation. Batting not an eye nor gave a care to the sight of mass death and blood spewed allover. Fires engulfed whatever wooden structure was left as incinderary shells were employed.

That was the second day of the bombardment. The night befell them after the second day and the bombardment continued. The remaining magic councilmen looked on from the porches of their grand cathedral as in the distance, flashes of light erupted.

"Goddess.. save us.."

They pleaded for their goddess to come to the rescue but their pleas and calls met uncaring ears as she was no longer with them. They were all on their own with nothing but themselves to count on.

And so, when morale finally collapsed and their leadership questioned, they decided to sacrifice themselves. Not in battle, but by sacrificing their bodies to power the barrier longer.

They gathered inside the grand cathedral, every single one of them. They formed a circle around the grand lobby and focused all their magic.

They glowed the color blue, the color of their goddess who has abandoned them. And as the old men were s.u.c.k.e.d into the magic circle they had cast, most cursed themselves and renounced their beliefs.

That was their final act.

They left behind a magic circle that encompassed the entire lobby. It spread onto the walls and into the hallways. Whoever was inside the grand cathedral were caught in the spread and their magic and physical bodies s.u.c.k.e.d into it. The grand cathedral transformed into an unholy abomination that continued to power the barrier until this very day.

This was One's final problem. He only needed to strike one decisive blow to the barrier and the city would be theirs.

More and more war machines arrived as per the Overall's request and they positioned themselves around the city. Surrounded, the barrier was bombarded with even more power and force than ever befor

Hovercrafts streaked through the air and pounded the barrier from above with their missiles, bombs and heavy guns. On the ground, tanks and heavy drones pounded the barrier sides with continuous fire support from the infantry.

But the barrier held despite the 26 hour attempt to break it. The siege was far from over but defeat was still inevitable. The defenders knew they were only delaying their fates.

During the third day in the second week of the siege, the metal men lead by One launched a massive assault on all sides of the barrier. During the first week of the siege, the metal men were able to build small inefficient warsh.i.p.s but were warsh.i.p.s nonetheless. They went to the ports of the city and shelled it from a safe distance.

The port was where the main evacuations were being held. Small wooden sh.i.p.s, galleons and fishing boats were present that time and all of which were sunk in a matter of minutes.

A metal warship even rammed a galleon who made a break for it. The warship tore through the lower decks and the galleon broke in half, sinking to the bottom of the sea.

The port was reduced to rubble. Fires burned out of control and black smoke rose to the sky. There was really no escaping.

Back inside the barrier, the defenders have all abandoned the walls. Whatever ragtag leadership was present determined that once the barrier fell, the inner walls would be the first to be obliterated and thus they'd lose the garrisons.

The defenders then formed a plan. A noble plan, a plan that seemed their last hope.

They were to form a tight formation around the entrance of the grand cathedral with whatever men and women they had. They took whatever weapons were left and armed whoever could wield a sword. Old or young, sick or healthy, none were excused.

The first line of the formation consisted of the shield bearers. They were armed with a variety of shields, mostly wooden in material.

The second line consisted of the spears, the men and women at that line wielded spears of many lengths. They were to form a sort of spear-shield wall.

The third line consisted of whoever had a sword or a shield. The lines were tight, against a similar army they would be considered formidable. But against the metal men, they seemed helpless.

But the line wasn't to be formed until the barrier was breached and they could only hope that once the barrier collapsed, they'd be able to mount their defense.

After the port was destroyed, the metal men seized control. The entire inner city was indeed surrounded. The terrified survivors on the port were massacred. There was no turning back from the hostiles they initiated.

One explicitly ordered the entire inner city to be divided in half once the barrier was breached. There will be those who would be spared and forcefully integrated into One's empire and those who would be executed to instill fear.

The magic circle that spun out of control now covered the grand cathedral. Nobody dared come near it or they risk getting absorbed by the intense pool of magical energy.

With each bombardment and each assault, the magic pillar would dim as it expends more and more of its magic to maintain and strengthen the barrier. With the current rate of bombardment, the barrier would last for months or so.

But there was another problem. The men, women and children were going hungry. Supplies were dwindling and there was no escape. With the port destroyed, their warehouses depleted and the grand cathedrals bas.e.m.e.nt inaccessible, it was only a matter of time before starvation wipes them out.

There was also the problem with disease. The highly unsanitized surroundings and rotting corpses were perfect breeding grounds for all kinds of diseases from the simple flu to the damndest leprosy.

The survivors were experiencing the full consequences of war. If the metal men weren't going to kill them soon, diseases, starvation and even their own compatriots will. Desperation lead to the abandonment of human rights and led to atrocities within.

One watched from afar. Inside a hovercraft that hovered a kilometer from the barrier. He looked through his enhanced eyes and saw the chaos that erupted.

"Victory is upon us" he told Michael and John. These two drones were similar to that of humans, but were far from being one. Nonetheless, their AI somehow evolved form its usual programming and became self-aware but loyal to One.

One appointed Micheal as the general for the first army. The first army was the army deployed in this world. John, on the other hand, was tasked as One's bodyguard throughout. Their promotions weren't without reason.

Micheal became a brilliant strategist, able to understand his enemy and predict their moves and thinking. He correctly deduced the amount of time until the barrier were to ran out of power and put forward a plan.

John trained rapidly in hand-to-hand combat. Able to learn and study thousands of moves just by observing and learning to counter most of them. But to his folly, his counters won't be needed for the meantime as he was physically stronger than the common enemy, humans.

With this war between man and machine, magic and science, Micheal was about to end it.

The operation was codenamed "Heretic"

The operation in paper requires only a minimum of 5 thousand drones and few heavy armaments and forces. But he was blessed as surrounding the city were a force of 30 thousand drones, thousands of heavy armaments and forces. A well-functioning airforce with complete air superiority and most of all, One.

The operation was to begin in 3 days, the bombardments were to cease during the time period and they were to wait.

It would seem that they decided to rest for awhile.

The plan was total annihilation but not all of it would be achieved through bloodshed.

No.

Micheal wanted them to fight each other.