Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age - Chapter 117

William’s line of sight went dark. He didn’t know where he was but he felt a sharp pain on his back.

As the trauma from the fall began to fade, he began to hear the muffled cries of the people around him and the rumble of rocks and footsteps.

“William!” A familiar voice called out to him.

William then managed to open his eyes. The voice was his friend Jorn who was shoving him awake.

William slowly looked around to see where he was, he was surrounded by piles of rubble, mainly parts of the wall. He saw the crushed remains of many of the soldiers that were caught in the energy beam that swept through the Eastern section and devastated the wall therein.

“William! The gate has been destroyed, we need to form a defense now!” Jorn pleaded.

William, although dazed and hurting, forced his body up. He staggered to his feet with help from Jorn. They unsheathed their swords and headed to the main site of destruction, the now ruined gate.

The peasants were scrambling for their lives, the cries of children filled the air as either their parents laid dead on the floor, buried beneath the rubble of their homes or have lost some of their limbs.

Mothers wept as they carried the motionless bodies of their children while fathers tried to grab whatever weapon they had.

The remaining garrison troops were utterly terrified. They shuddered at the intense aura that was approaching them as they stood in it’s way.

“Men!” A voice cried out, snapping them out of their fearful trance.

It was the voice of their commander, William. They all looked at him but instead of feeling a glimmer of hope shine within their hearts, they were devastated to see William already bloodied with the fight not had even started.

But still, they had no choice but to stand their ground and William was the only person they could count on.

The total number of knights that were left numbered around two hundred and they formed a shield wall around the ruined gate with William taking charge of the left flank and Jorn taking charge of the right flank.

In the distance in front of them stood the figure that single handedly obliterated the wall and most of the knights.

“Where are the mages?” William shouted to Jorn.

“Most of them were over the towers!” Jorn shouted back.

William then glanced at the towers where they once stood. Their top half were completely blown off.

“Tsk, we don’t have any mages to back us up!” William said.

“Wait!’ A voice came from behind him.

William turned around and behind him was a young man wearing a blue mage uniform.

“What magic do you specialize in?” William asked.

“Ice magic, sir,” The young man said.

“Your name?” William asked.

“Toby,”

“Alright, Toby, I know this will be too sudden but I order you to take the frontline along with these knights,” William said.

‘Y-yes! I’m prepared!” Toby said.

He walked in the middle of the knights and stood there, directly in front of the approaching man.

All of them sweated buckets as the sky around them darkened. There was another storm coming, literally and figuratively.

The knights all held their shields and swords tight. William and Jorn looked at each other before reverting their attention back to the man in black who now stood a few meters in front of him.

Upon closer look, he was a tall man with pale skin that had blue lines and he had blue eyes that glowed. The man’s jet black hair ran down his face, his eyes seemingly frowning at them for eternity.

The suit the man was wearing was weird for them to say the least, a black suit unlike anything they had ever seen before.

“Is that a dark mage?” One of the knights murmured.

The knights heard him, glanced at him, and then glanced back at the man in black.

“You!” William cried out while pointing his sword at the man in black.

“State your name and purpose!” William shouted.

William’s bravery seemed to be had the intended effect of boosting the knight’s morale.  He showed no fear despite the presence of someone powerful enough to blow them away.

But William was not all that fearful, in fact, he was about to shit his pants. The atmosphere around the man was enough to make anyone wet him or herself if taken by surprise or lacked enough discipline.

Yet..

“I sense no magic from the man,” Toby told William.

“W-what?! No magic!? Impossible,” William refused to believe it.

“Sir, even if a magician were to dampen his magic power, I would still sense the slightest traces but this man.. there isn’t a single trace!” Toby confirmed.

William had to believe the mage. He himself did not know much about magic and so, needed a mage to explain thing related to magic to him.

“I only going to visit your lord,” The man spoke suddenly, spooking the knights and prompting them to raise their shields further in unison and walk back a few steps.

“Yet, you attacked me,” The man said.

The man then looked at William directly in the eye. William then saw what appeared to be visions of mass death at hands of creatures that resembled humans but were made of metal.

It was a warning.

William was overrun with immense guilt.

Seeing no other choice to make. He threw his sword away and walked out of the shield wall.

“Commander! Come back!” The knights pleaded.

“William!” Jorn shouted.

William only raised his hands at them, it was a sign for them to keep quiet.

The man, seeing William’s bravery, raised his chin and walked towards him as well.

The two were standing at each other’s throats.

“What do you want?” The man in black asked.

William then knelt on the ground and begged.

“Please, have mercy on my men, take my head and leave the rest, please,”