In DreadHaven, even though the war had yet to officially begin, everyone remained on high alert, just in case of any sneaky attack like the devastating one they had suffered last time.
But that was before. Right now, after discovering that the locations of the kingdoms had mysteriously switched, it became terrifyingly clear that attacks could happen much sooner than they had originally expected, catching them off guard when they least expected it.
The security around DreadHaven had been strengthened multiple times, with additional watchtowers hastily constructed and magical barriers reinforced.
The army was fully prepared for any unexpected situations, their weapons polished and their spirits ready for battle. Kroenen and his team were constantly patrolling around the borders of the demon realm, their eyes scanning for any sign of trouble.
Meanwhile, Li Feng, Lunatic, Arpeus, and lastly Xao Feng were stationed at the front side of the outskirts of DreadHaven, with their army of 3,000 behind them, either resting in makeshift camps or training with grim determination.
They stood at the top of one of the hills, looking down at the vast river created by Scarlett's punch, which traveled all the way up to kilometers away to the main great river that acted as a natural border between the human and demon realm, the water glistening ominously under the pale sky.
Another group of soldiers, roughly 2,500 strong, was stationed at the backside of DreadHaven, patrolling there with equal vigilance.
Cryptus was leading them, alongside Baron, Reiza, Irish, and irish's friends Ingrassia, Chiyoko and, Richard.
"That new kingdom, it's even closer than Gwarga was to us. I can clearly see the outer appearance from here," Li Feng said, slightly squinting his eyes as he tried to make out details in the distance.
He was right. Gwarga hadn't been so close to the great river. Actually, even after crossing the river and entering the human realm, one had to travel hundreds of kilometers to finally get to Gwarga. Yet by appearances, Armament looked just a few dozen kilometers away from the great river at best.
"Doesn't really matter. As long as they won't have any method to cross the river in a single leap, we'll take down most of them while they would be busy struggling to cross the huge river," Lunatic replied with a sneer.
At that moment, a whirlwind of black smoke suddenly appeared behind them, swirling ominously before dissipating to reveal Kroenen emerging from it, his expression urgent yet composed.
"Focus on there instead. Something is emerging," he said immediately, pointing toward a specific direction with a sense of urgency that made everyone's heart skip a beat.
None of them asked any questions about what he meant. They immediately looked in the direction he was pointing, their eyes straining to see what had caught his attention.
It wasn't outside of the great river, Not even the smaller river which was created by scarlett's punch nor it was too far inside.
In the very far right side, on this side of the river created by Scarlett's punch, something started to emerge from it, shimmering strangely in the air.
Li Feng's eyes widened slightly as he realized what it was. "It's a teleportation portal," he exclaimed.
The next moment, the teleportation portal emerged fully from thin air, glowing with an eerie light as hundreds, not thousands, of soldiers poured out of it at once, along with several horses and wyverns that shook their heads and roared as they appeared.
The moment they came out, none of them stopped even for a second. It was as if they were machines, working in fluid motion with perfect coordination that spoke of extensive training and discipline.
Some used magic to settle down the ground while others immediately started making multiple camps on it, their movements efficient and practiced.
Several royal-looking figures emerged as well, wearing fancy armor that gleamed in the light, although they appeared quite blurry because of the distance.
They didn't choose to come at the front or back. They decided to attack from the middle, although still a few kilometers away from DreadHaven. They still had some advantages.
First was that they were on the other side of the river, so the problem of crossing the great river and then the one created by Scarlett's punch had already been solved, giving them a significant strategic advantage.
The next thing was that they were still away from DreadHaven, so they wouldn't have to engage in battle the moment they arrived. It gave them some precious time to assess the situation and prepare their forces properly, and hold the area till rest of the army arrived by teleportation.
Although it had its disadvantages as well. The area was plain and exposed, so their location was clearly visible from the hills where the DreadHaven commanders stood watching. And being in the middle meant they could be attacked by both sides of DreadHaven's army—front and back—potentially trapping them between two forces if things went wrong.
Li Feng's lips couldn't help but twitch in irritation, "Of course they would have solutions for every problem, dammit," he muttered through clenched teeth, his frustration mounting as he watched the enemy forces establish themselves with frightening efficiency.
"They decided to act even earlier than expected," Arpeus gritted his teeth in anger, his red skin seeming to boil.
"Fuck it, let me just go and destroy everything already," Lunatic stepped forward, cracking her knuckles with a series of loud pops.
But before she could spread her wings to fly away, Xao stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be hasty, let's assess the full situation first—" Before she could complete her sentence, a huge trembling sent ripples through reality itself.
Almost catching them off guard, Arpeus barely held himself steady, stumbling dangerously close to the edge of the hill as the ground shifted violently beneath their feet.
Those newly arrived soldiers weren't spared either; they received the same backlash as well, with many falling to their knees as the earth shook. The huge teleportation gate flickered continuously, as if it was being disrupted by some powerful unseen force.
After a few seconds, when the sudden panic subsided, they looked up, and what they saw made their eyes widen in disbelief.
Near the border between the two kingdoms, Armament and Mystveil, a huge beacon of white light pierced through the clouds, reaching toward the heavens as if inviting the arrival of something far greater and more terrible than anything in existence.
It clearly meant that the ritual had started.
Li Feng then looked toward those newly arrived guests—the teleportation gate had turned quite small compared to before, its energy fluctuating uncertainly.
But in every few dozen seconds, dozens of new soldiers poured out of it, steadily joining the forces that were already establishing their position on the riverbank.
And then, the portal stabilized once again and something that they had never seen before started to come out.
"W-what are those things?" Xao's voice slightly trembled.
The humanoid figures were yet so far from human, fully made of metal from head to toe with glowing red lights instead of eyes, armed with weird-looking weapons that seemed to pulse with deadly energy.
"I read about them. They are called robots or auto machines," Lunatic replied.
Although she had a violent nature, she read quite a lot of books and was most likely the second most intellectual person in DreadHaven after Yumi Yamamoto, having gained knowledge of all kinds of things while she was learning magic and runes.
"They aren't humans, they're not alive either. You can say that they are metal golems, but they operate without magic, so killing the owner won't solve anything," Lunatic adds.
She rubbed her chin, thinking quietly, "But they weren't supposed to be capable of mass destruction, and they looked quite different from these ones as well. Is this what is called technological advancements?" she thought to herself, not saying it out loud as she watched with growing concern.
Meanwhile, several camps had already been set up in such a short amount of time, with tents being erected and defensive positions being established at a pace that was almost supernatural. It had already started to look like a small military town rather than a temporary encampment.
With the arrival of robots, their situation improved greatly, and the dangers to DreadHaven increased several fold, turning what had been a manageable threat into something potentially disastrous.
"Kroenen, inform Cryptus's side well. The more time we take, the better it'll be for them. We must attack as soon as possible and, more importantly, together," Li Feng said, his tone almost solemn as he realized the gravity of their situation and the need for immediate and coordinated action.
******
Meanwhile, a few minutes later, at the borders of the Armament Kingdom, Scarlett and Aoto finally arrived there.
But unexpectedly, instead of finding some huge army of robots or mechas, or maybe at least being welcomed by thousands of bullets, there was nothing—only an eerie silence.
At some distance, a man sat calmly on a boulder, watching them approach with an unnerving stillness.
He looked quite young, twenty-five or thirty at best, with striking white hair that contrasted sharply with his eyes, a sharp jawline that gave him an aristocratic appearance, wearing modest warrior clothes and a sword swathed at his waist, its hilt simple yet elegant.
Scarlett and Aoto slowed down their pace to normal and approached him cautiously, their senses alert for any sign of treachery.
"Is that you? Auren, king of Armament?" Scarlett asked, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her heart.