CHAPTER 28

Invasion

Three days have passed, yet Seiya is still creating golems all day and all night.

“According to my soldier’s report, there are currently over twenty thousand golems in total,” Jonde says with a smirk.

I look down at the sea of golems below and smirk as well. Jonde and I are surveying Termine from the top of a watchtower. It used to be the tower where the queen was held hostage, but now soldiers with good vision are stationed here to keep watch. The top of the tower also has a bird’s-eye view of the five stone walls that Seiya created around the city. He seems to have placed approximately two thousand golems around the outermost wall to reinforce Termine’s defense.

Straining his eyes at the outer wall, Jonde mutters:

“I thought he was overdoing it at first, but when I really think about it…this is probably an expression of how he feels.”

“‘How he feels’?”

“Not being able to save the world… The fall of Termine… He plans on saving the world this time, which is why he is being so careful.”

I’m kind of surprised to see Jonde rationally analyze Seiya like this, despite all the terrible things Seiya has done to him.

“Or maybe that’s just what I want to believe. I’d go mad otherwise.”

“Ha-ha-ha. I know what you mean.”

Jonde then wears a strained look.

“However…I’m sure I’ll never be able to truly forgive the man who failed to save Princess Tiana…”

Jonde is a loyal general. While I understand it’s only natural for him to care for the queen, I feel like he is particularly devoted to Princess Tiana.

“Hey, General Jonde? What was the relationship like between you and Princess Tiana?”

“I was her swordsmanship instructor ever since she was a child. She had no aptitude for it, but she trained very hard in spite of that. Just watching her warmed my heart.”

Hmm… So he really helped me out in my previous life… Not that I remember, though…

“She used to always ride on my shoulders when she was little. The princess was always so cheerful and bright, like a beautiful flower.”

Jonde continues reminiscing about his past with Princess Tiana. When I see the look on his face, it suddenly hits me.

“Jonde…did you…?”

He seems surprised for a second after realizing what I was getting at. He makes sure there’s nobody around before whispering:

“I cannot hide anything from you, Goddess.”

A hint of crimson illuminates his pale cheeks. He adds:

“Yes, I loved her…more than anyone else in this world.”

“…Jonde.”

I place a hand on his shoulder and say:

“Um… That’s disgusting, man. You’re, like…way older than she was. And sorry, but…you’re not really my type. Yikes… I mean, I appreciate the thought, but…”

“What did I do to deserve that?! And why are you turning me down?! I’m not even talking about you!”

Out of nowhere, a soldier comes frantically rushing over.

“General Jonde! General Jonde!!”

“Pipe down! What do you want?!”

Jonde’s reply betrays his foul mood.

“We have spotted signs of the enemy in the north!”

“…What?”

Our expressions instantly change, and we simultaneously look to the north. My eyesight greatly surpasses that of a human, and I see rows of humanoid Killing Machines marching this way. The sunlight glints off their hard, metallic bodies. They each have only one glowing red eye, and they walk bipedally like humans. Each robot is carrying a saber-like sword, and they’re coming right for us in great force.

“The machine corps…! They’ve finally made a move!”

Jonde lifts an arm into the air, signaling a soldier in the tower to loudly ring the bell.

“Tell the townspeople to go inside and not come out of their homes no matter what!”

Jonde gives orders to the soldier. In a fluster, I say to him:

“I—I have to go! I have to tell Seiya!”

But before I run down the staircase, I see Seiya walking up it.

“Ah! Seiya, good timing! The machine corps is coming!”

“I know. My earth serpents already told me, which is why I came. I can get a bird’s-eye view of the current situation from up here.”

Seiya calmly walks up to the top of the tower and squints as he looks at the machine corps closing in on the outermost wall. There are a lot fewer machines than I thought there’d be. There probably aren’t even a thousand. They’re not even trying to surround Termine. Instead, they’re simply marching toward the northern walls en masse. They probably aren’t sure if Grandleon is actually dead, so they sent an advance group to check.

Jonde suddenly offers a suggestion to Seiya.

“How about surrounding the Killing Machines with all the golems protecting the other walls?”

“No. The enemies in the north might just be a diversion, so the golems will remain on standby. I still plan on only using the golems I positioned nearby to handle the machine corps’s attack.”

“Mmmm…”

Jonde doesn’t say another word, likely thinking Seiya has a valid point. The machine corps continues marching uniformly toward the wall in perfect synchronization, and standing before the wall are the golems that Seiya created. There is absolutely no hesitation, since neither is human. They clash almost too abruptly, and the battle begins.

W-we’re going to be okay! I’m sure the golems will destroy those machines in no time!

The golems pull their arms far back to punch while the Killing Machines leap right for them with their sabers.

“What the…?!”

And what I see leaves me speechless. The Killing Machines swiftly dodge the golems’ attacks, then gang up on one golem in groups of three or more like hyenas tearing apart sluggish herbivores. While golems are strong, they won’t be able to withstand being simultaneously attacked from all directions. The Killing Machines slice a golem’s arms and legs—causing it to fall to its knees—before shattering its core. And just like that, the golem returns to dust.

“H-hey, your golems are being slaughtered!”

Both Jonde and I are stunned. The same thing is happening everywhere I look. While some golems’ punches are connecting and destroying the Killing Machines, most are being outnumbered and defeated. The situation only gets worse to the point that it’s hard to watch anymore. A roaring blast from afar then shakes the watchtower. A soldier yells:

“The Killing Machines broke through the northern wall!”

“Wh-what?! Already?!”

“The golems are being pushed back as well!”

I can’t believe they broke through the Great Iron Wall so easily!!

Jonde clenches his teeth.

“Unbelievable…! So this is the power of the machine corps!”

Th-they’re going to break through the second and third walls in a matter of minutes at this rate! And they’re going to slaughter the townspeople once they’re inside Termine!

I panic, but just as the Killing Machines try to rush into the second wall…

BOOM!!

A roaring thud echoes so powerfully that the ground shakes. As I look over in the direction of the noise, a cloud of dust rises into the air.

“Huh?!”

Jonde, all the soldiers in the watchtower, and I are baffled as to what just happened. In the midst of our confusion, Seiya mutters:

“I made a pitfall between the first and second walls.”

When I look back at Seiya, his arm is already stretched toward the north.

“Repair Iron Wall.”

And the hole in the outermost wall immediately repairs itself!

“Th-the repaired wall segregated the machine corps from the others!”

Just as the soldier stated, the few hundred Killing Machines that fell into the pit have been separated from the reinforcements now that the outermost wall has been repaired. Before I know what’s happening, the pitfall has also closed, leaving nothing more than a flat plain. Even though Seiya’s trap buried a third of the Killing Machines alive, Jonde’s stern expression doesn’t change.

“Repairing the wall is nothing more than a stopgap! The enemy is going to break through that wall just as quickly as before!”

Even as we speak, the Killing Machines are already trying to breach the outermost wall again…but this time, they’re not even leaving a scratch!

“Wh-what’s going on? They broke through it so easily a second ago…”

I turn to Seiya in utter confusion.

“I made the outermost wall easily breakable at first, but I returned it to its usual hardness when I repaired it.”

“What?! Why?!”

But Seiya doesn’t answer. He turns on his heel, then begins descending the tower staircase.

“Seiya?! Wait! Where are you going?!”

“That should be enough for today.”

“‘Enough’?! There are still Killing Machines on the other side of the wall! What are you going to do about them?!”

“It’s fine.”

Recognizing that it would be impossible to break through the wall, the Killing Machines begin piling on one another as if to create a hill to reach the top…but their attempt is in vain due to the outwardly curled top. Furthermore, they were so focused on building the foundation that the golems are able to attack them from the side.

“Huh?!”

I gasp in surprise at the sight. The golems, which seemed to be weaker overall than the Killing Machines, are now overwhelming them. The machines try to latch on to the golems’ arms but are easily tossed away, knocked to the ground, and crushed.

“That’s the golems’ true power. They’ll be finished up in another ten minutes.”

Jonde must be just as puzzled as I am. He grabs Seiya by the shoulder and stops him as he tries to leave the tower.

“W-wait! Explain yourself! This doesn’t make any sense!”

Not only did he hide the golems’ true power, but he purposefully made the wall weak so the Killing Machines would break through it and fall into a pit. I-it really doesn’t make much sense now that I think about it!

“What are you trying to accomplish with all that?”

Seiya, presumably tired of Jonde’s nagging, speaks up with irritation in his voice.

“I’m going to analyze and research the Killing Machines I trapped in the pitfall to assure victory.”