Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Beta, Thres---

A caravan of battered trucks and carriages was creeping along the steaming mountain ridges. Claw marks and other signs of battle covered the vehicles that were barely running at walking speed, but they kept slowly drawing closer to Thres.

Mike lamented Adam's preparations. The rescue team from Thres had put everything in place in a short amount of time. Not only had they infiltrated Emerald City and gathered information, they had also procured ample space for the people they saved and an escape route through the old mines that secretly passed the city's main barrier.

Everything seemed perfect and meticulous, so why...why did they send them off in these old ass junk trucks?! Mike felt relieved when he finally managed to leave Emerald City with a communication orb and contact Minas Mar, to specify his report. He was glad when Adam reassured him, that the escape route had even stronger safety measures than the main barrier, which meant that it wouldn't become the weakness of the worms to enter.

But it was all before he knew how much this part of his journey would stress him! Part of their caravan was the convoy Tano and his people had stolen together with Mike, but those had been far from enough. Many of the vehicles were old mining equipment. Old as in really, OLD. They actually had to take gasoline and diesel along for some of them, and they constantly kept breaking down, if it wasn't during the attacks of a monster.

At the beginning of this stretch, he could not have imagined the relief he felt, seeing Thres in the distance. Although Adam had given him 20 of the fishmen drones and Beth to lead the, he was the only high-level player in the caravan and fighting almost non-stop.

Mike's journey to Emerald City had been incredibly calm, because of Ceres' and the questing beast's presence. It had given him a false image of the danger in these mountains. Even though he tried, he couldn't replicate that deterrence even when he turned into a lion. Quite a few beasts they encountered were above lv.90 or groups of lv.80+ elites, meaning he was just about able to match them.

The only saving grace of this disaster was their travel speed. Despite the vehicles needing constant repairs and refueling, they arrived in under a week. All thanks to the path Adam and his group prepared for their escape. Mostly because they had cut a deep trench through the densely wooded mountain forests.

Thres in the distance now had an additional Tree covering the city in addition to a glowing city barrier and walls guarding it against the changing cityscape filled with monsters surrounding it. It gave him hope that he would be able to use the teleport in Thres to return to Delta. Soon after Mike spotted it, there were also cries and shouts from the caravan.

“What's with that giant tree? Is this the tree route?” “ Are we entering Minas Mar?” “If only Dad could see this...”

“Look, people! That's the city of Thres. Although it is affiliated with the Muir Empire, it is protected by Minas Mar's Guardian tree,” Beth announced loud enough for it to echo from the adjacent mountains.

“This is the place Governor Adam talked about?” “It looks a lot better than expected...!”

“So this is Thres.”

There were various murmurs among the crowd. There were the people who had stayed a while longer at Adam's hideout and had been briefed about Adam's goals in Beta. The newbies had only heard it from the others on the caravan, some had only known their destination by name up until now.

Entering the Beta's city boundaries, Mike's focus sharpened again. Although Thres seemed close, it was just an illusion caused by the size of the Hangingtree. There were not yet in safety, on the contrary. If the surrounding mountains had an average level of 85, then the city where the abnormal creatures of Urth occurred more often may be the most dangerous part of their journey.

The ruins of the city were eerily silent when the caravan of trucks and wagons entered the empty streets. Only the rattling of their vehicles and the sound of their engines sounded in the dead city. Except, Mike's sensitive hearing was able to pick up a different rattling. A quick, rhythmic clatter of metal. At first one, two, three...this wasn't good.

“Increase the speed, something is coming,” he instinctively decided that running was better than trying to turtle up here. The number kept growing until the distant clattering became an indistinguishable rustling. The rustling was so quick before Mike could think of a countermeasure it had already overtaken them.

“Look out!” he heard Beth cry out, warning the whole caravan. Boulder and rocks had appeared in the sky. They were debris of the adjacent ruins, ranging from the size of a human head to the size of an adult human.

The fishmen under Beth and a few people among the rescued lifted their arms in unison and deployed a bunch of shoddy barriers. They were nothing in the face of beasts, but they were barely able to block the falling projectiles from severely damaging the caravan. However, the street ahead was now covered in obstacles, and they had to inevitably slow down.

Thinking of the speed of the rustling, there was no running away from this fight. When he already decided to stay back and buy time, the thing that shouldn't have happened happened, as several of their vehicles broke down under the stress of evading and hitting the rocks on the road.

What to do? Leave the stragglers behind, or fight? Who guaranteed that not anymore vehicles would break down as they move on? They didn't get the chance to make a decision, it was already too late. Red glowing eyes filled the darkness of the surrounding ruins and their opponents finally stepped out into the light of the evening sun.

Small men, resembling goblins with desiccated, leather-like skin, stepped onto the street surrounding the caravan. Wielding crude pole weapons such as rusty pikes and halberds, each of their steps made a clatter as all of them wore boots covered in thick iron plates. Their glaring red eyes trailed over the people, a malicious smile revealing crooked sharp teeth. There were differences in weaponry and armor, but all of them wore a crimson cap that spread the smell of iron and dried blood.

If they were somewhere else they could have arranged the caravan into a formation to make defense easier, but they were stuck on a road with four lanes that led into Beta. But this is not necessarily only a disadvantage.

“Form a line!” the lion's roar erupted, as Mike transformed into an almost three meters tall anthropomorphic lion. At his command, the drivers did their best to form a straight line in the middle of the road.

It was not like urban warfare came as a surprise to them. They had talked about all kinds of strategies, hinging on Mike who was the strongest among them without question. The little men eyed the roaring lion with suspicion, as sharp winds started billowing through the street of the ruined city.

Dry and cutting, they blew through the canyon of buildings, parting in front of the caravan only to grow in strength to its left and right.

“This is...!” “Is this diving power?” “How can a mortal control such power!” the crowd of goblin creatures cried out as more and more inexplicable cuts appeared on every inch of exposed skin. Better yet, the cuts did not bleed, but they were like terrible burns, directly forming gashes of ashes.

“Desert Winds!” Mike cried and the wind grew in intensity. Dust and sand started blurring everyone's vision and cries of pain could be heard from the little men, who hurriedly retreated to the ruins, seeking shelter from the winds filled with divine power.

When the storm finally subsided, the ruins surrounding them were polished as if going through a decade of wear. Some remnants of the creatures that died were blazing in flames. Afterward, all they could find of their opponents were small, sharp teeth, glinting in the sand and ashes.

---Emerald City---

Above the dome covering Emerald City below, appeared a figure. It carried a staff and a shield and was clad in a dull gray armor. In the darkness of the night, a purple shine could be seen behind the visor of the helmet. The golem had traveled at top speed to reach Emerald City in just four days.

Wolfram stabbed the staff against the barrier, causing a tremendous jingle like that of a humongous bell. The sound easily propagated throughout the whole city under the cloche, breaking some of the neon signs and windows on the way. Wolfram hit the bell three time, before his voice broke through the night.

“Hear ye, hear ye! My Lord, the Tower Master of Minas Mar has a message of caution for the citizens and leaders of Emerald City,” the golem's voice boomed, so nobody could miss or ignore it.

“A danger is drawing close from the northwest of the Unclaimed Mountains, originating from beyond the Border Storm. Body-snatching Parasites born from an obscure mix of technology and magic are spreading, rapidly destroying settlements across the mountains.

They take over the bodies of people and slowly turn them into a mix of meat and machine. You are advised to completely close your barrier and not travel outside. Do not let anyone enter, as anyone could be infected by this ailment.

Special ore detectors for mining may be able to identify the infected, but there is no guarantee. You may ignore this advice at your own digression, but any consequences will be your own responsibility.”

With another dong that shook the city, Wolfram ended his speech and got on the way to return to Minas Mar.