Knights & Magic
Chapter 18
The warm sun set behind Mount Aubigne and the scenery was enveloped in darkness with the chill of the autumn breeze. The wind made the guards on duty at Fort Casadesus shiver. His companions who had left to light up the torches everywhere had returned to the observation post.“Sigh, guard duties are going to get even more tiring in the coming season.”“You are right, I want to change shift and rest soon…”The two talking with each other heard the heavy footfalls of a large presence approaching and looked tense. They observed the situation on the road from above the city gate. In the dim light before the city fell completely into darkness, they identified the giant Knight wearing green armour.“Oh, that’s a Karrdator? The squad sent to Dallier Village?”“Hold on, let me confirm… Yes, that’s our crest.”Seeing the crest of the Red Rabbit Knights on the shoulders of the approaching Karrdator, a weird noise could be heard. It might be some damaged parts jamming, the Karrdator made clanking sounds every time it moved. The damage seemed rather severe. The guards saluted them and asked:“Thank you for your hard work. How’s the situation at Dallier Village?”“The village is badly damaged, but we took care of the Demon beasts.”The pilot in the Karrdator said that they were piloting the badly damaged machine in the Dallier Village expedition, and were sent back to bring news of their victory. Acknowledging the report, the guards opened the gates. The Karrdator on duty manipulated the control of the gate, and the entrance to the fort opened slowly with the grinding of wood against wood.The two returning Karrdator and the carriage following behind entered, showered by the praise and greetings of the guards. If you come home victorious, even wounds would be a glorious medal. No wonder the guards were so excited.“The damage is terrible, park the machine in the workshop before reporting in.”“Okay… I was planning to do that.”After saluting stiffly at the Karrdator stationed at the gate, the two damaged Karrdators moved slowly towards the workshop. There was a carriage following behind, but the guards a.s.sumed it was just carrying supplies, so, no one paid it any heed.Seeing the damaged machines enter the workshop, the craftsmen working on the other machines gathered in a hurry. As a precaution, the other machines had already been inspected, ready to be deployed. The Knights received orders to stand by, too and were gathered at the guard room near the workshop.The leading craftsmen barked out orders when he saw the Karrdator making weird noises and moving stiffly, and the maintenance team brought in spare parts in a hurry. The two Karrdators walked slowly towards the repair platform where the other machines were placed. That was normal, but the carriage was following them into the workshop, too, was puzzling. All the pilots were in the guard room, were the craftsmen accompanying the squad inside? But, with the operation still going on, they wouldn’t sent people back needlessly. When a craftsman thought about that and was about to question them about the carriage, something flew out from it.Several arrows flew through the air with a dull sound, hitting the craftsman right in the chest. As he fell to the ground puking blood, a few armed members burst out of the carriage at the same time. While, the Karrdators walking towards the repair platform revealed their true colours, pulling out their swords swiftly, their stiff actions moments ago was a ruse. They swung their blades at the entrance to the workshop, shattering the structure and blocking the way with debris. Cutting off reinforcements, the intruders fired their crossbows and wielded their swords, disposing of the remaining repair personnel in the workshop. The last person to dismount from the carriage was the Captain of the Copper Fang Knights— Kerhild.“You lot guard the front! How long do you need to deal with mere craftsmen!? Hurry up and steal that thing!”The Copper Fang Knights occupied the workshop in the blink of an eye, blocking the entrance to the workshop with the stolen Karrdator as they searched the workshop. Moments later, a member shouted for Kerhild’s attention. Looking over, Kerhild saw a plain colored machine that was different from the Karrdator. Seeing the new model that looked out of place, Kerhild was confident the plan was going to work.“Yeah, that’s it… Just as I thought. Alright boys, prepare to pack it up…!”The Copper Fang Knights were just spies after all. Individual combat prowess aside, there weren’t many skilled pilots among them. Due to the necessity of the raid, everyone gathered here had piloting skills. As Kerhild activated the target ‘toy’, the others boarded the Karrdator on scene. They could only take three Karrdator, the rest of the Karrdator couldn’t be activated.“The extras might get in the way, get rid of them. The guards are coming soon, no time to drag on, move!”Following her instructions, the Karrdator cut down the other machines seated on the repair platform. The unmanned machines were easily destroyed and reduced to sc.r.a.ps.The Red Rabbit Knights noticed something was wrong in the workshop. The Karrdator in charge of manning the gates rushed to the workshop because of the commotion, and was pounced on by another Karrdator.“d.a.m.n it! What are these guys doing? They are stealing our Karrdator!!”The Red Rabbit Knights couldn’t get ahold of the situation, they only knew the intruders had captured some of the Karrdators and occupied the workshop.Even though they lacked information, they still retaliated ferociously. That was natural, as the enemy stole their Karrdators and messed up their home base, how could they stay calm? They forgot about their confusion and attacked fiercely. But the high spirited Red Rabbit Knights fell into a panic once again when they saw the familiar machines behind the Karrdator.“That… could it be…!!”Their appearance weren’t standardise, a sign of a rushed job. The back weapons that the other machines had, gave off an intimidating aura. The new prototype Silhouette Knight ‘Tellestarle’ advanced with strong steps threatening to smash the floor of the workshop. All five machines sent by Laihiala Pilot Academy had fallen into the hands of the Copper Fang Knights.“What power… it’s more amazing than they said, like an untamed horse!”A weird sensation came from the control stick, making Kerhild, who was piloting one of the Karrdators curse. They knew the basics of the Tellestarle from the doc.u.ments they obtained in advance, but, it was unbelievably hard to actually pilot it. Even experienced veterans would need some time to get used to its uniqueness.“Who said these are second rate products made by students? Making me waste so much effort… Oh, so, this is the back weapon.”She followed the ‘instructions she learned beforehand’ to manipulate the unfamiliar control stick, and the Tellestarle faithfully moved in accordance to the pilot’s command. The auxiliary arms started moving, placing the Silhouette arms onto its shoulders. Kerhild felt a slight tremour from the pilot seat, squeezing the trigger after the weapons had been deployed.She didn’t even aim seriously, and the magic shot fired straight ahead into the Red Rabbit Knights’ formation. Explosion from the Overed spell spread further chaos, a signal of the coming nightmare.Knut Dixgard, who was inside the commander office of the fort stared at the ceiling unhappily as he listen to the explosion from the distance, and the tremour in the room. He turned his gaze towards the member of the Red Rabbits who had came to report.“Well then, how many intruders are there?”“Sir! They had two Silhouette Knights and ten soldiers on foot in the beginning. They have taken over the workshop, and stolen several of our Karrdators.”Knut might look calm before his subordinate, but he was actually fuming inside. The intruders targeted the Silhouette Knights of the Red Rabbit Knights. No, since they were occupying the workshop that must have been their plan all along. Knut might be furious, but he had to admit that this was an efficient method to attack the fort.At the same time, Knut was baffled by the objectives of the invaders. They didn’t seem to be much to gain from destroying the fort and stealing the Silhouette Knights. In this nation that was infested with Demon beasts, almost no one would benefit from the fall of a fort and its Knights. It was the same with the Silhouette Knights. The strongest weapon of humanity had the power of over a hundred men, but was costly to maintain with expendable parts. The ones who could ‘benefit’ would be the n.o.bles who used them to protect the citizens and the merchants escorting their cargo. Both would benefit from proper channels, so there was no need to risk such an attack.“Commander Molten is engaging with ‘Hymerwort’!”The report from a Knight rushing in, pulling Knut out of his thoughts, and he lift his head. The Commander of the Red Rabbit Knights, Molten was joining the fray.With him and Hymerwort, the Knights might wrest back the initiative.“... I’m counting on you, Molten.”Knut who saw a ray of hope mumbled softly as if in prayer. The next second, an exceptionally loud boom and tremour reverberated within the fort. Knut’s eyes darkened, the battle seemed to be getting more intense.The overed spell fired by the Silhouette arms blazed through the air, hitting the ground before the Red Rabbit Knight’s Karrdator. With the explosion of the spell, a large dust cloud was kicked up. The Karrdator who were fighting intensely with the enemy put up their shields and retreated in defence. The Tellestarles which were firing their back weapons moved stiffly, moving cautiously towards the courtyard of the fort.The Red Rabbit Knights opposing them felt a moment of unease. The tables had turned, the Red Rabbits Knights had six Karrdator; one machine on the intruder’s side was done, so there were four Karrdator and five Tellestarle, so they had the advantage in numbers. And, the power of the Tellestarle was clear for all to see. The Red Rabbit Knights knew about the stellar performance of the Tellestarles from the fight against the shaker worms, but they had never piloted it before and couldn’t judge the situation clearly, leaving them overly guarded.The Red Rabbit Knights hesitated on taking the offensive and the short stalemate made the Copper Fang Knight feel as if they were walking on thin ice. Kerhild couldn’t help complaining.“Isn’t the ease of control the strong point of the machines in this country!? Really, it’s hard to fight like this; the wise choice would be to run…”“The performance of the new models is better. We are lucky the equipment is in good shape.”Seeing her members moving the back weapon, Kerhild frowned.“Only that thing is useful. Let’s charge out while the enemies are still on their toes. Get ready.”The Red Rabbit Knights seemed to be hesitating because of their numbers, so this was a good chance. Even though Kerhild’s gang had more machines, they didn’t want to battle in machines that were so hard to handle. They used force to rob the machines; even with all five machines in hand, it was better for the damage to be minimal.Their plan was to retreat after getting the new models, so they had prepared a trap in advance. But, they needed to get away from the fort before activating it.Because of the difficulty in piloting the new model, the plan to break through with their numbers has changed. But, the advantage in numbers remained. They prepared to breakthrough before the Red Rabbit Knights realised the difficulties they are facing.“Karrdators to the front! The new models support from behind!”This became the mission of the Karrdators, which were good in melee combat and were not a target. There were only four, but that was enough to handle the current situation. With the support of the spell shots from the Tellestarle, the courtyard of Fort Casadesus was gradually turning into rubble. The Karrdators of the intruders advanced using this opportunity. The Red Rabbit Knights who were on the defensive kept blocking with their shields as they fell back.“Knights! Let me through!”Suddenly, a feral roar came from behind the Red Rabbit Knights, who were in a dire situation. The Knights’ formation split to the side on reflex, and a Silhouette Knight went in with powerful momentum.That Silhouette Knight raised its warhammer high and swung it down mightily, hitting a charging enemy Karrdator like a magnet drawn to steel. The inertia of the hammer was converted to a shockwave, bending the Karrdator into a ‘