Steel and Mana

Chapter 81 – Dragonfire

"Haaaaaaaah..."

"You have been sighing every five minutes." I chuckled, turning towards Sasha sitting next to me in our carriage.

"Sorry..."

"I know, I know. We will only stay a day; you don't need to endure my mother any longer than that!"

"It's not like that! It's just... you know..."

"Ahaha, I do!" With a hug, I made sure she wasn't feeling guilty; I perfectly knew what she meant, "But honestly, I think you will be surprised."

"Of what?"

"I have a theory, something I have been thinking of for a week now, but... I want my mother to confirm it first before anything."

"I don't get it."

"You will~! Believe me!" I added with a wink, kissing her cheeks while we pulled up to the castle where my father was already waiting for us.

Of course, his first words were about the Dragonfire Cannons, asking if we brought more or not... He was like a kid, wanting to get an early Christmas present. Well, I had to disappoint him, making him sulk, which was funny to see. What was also entertaining was the fact that Sasha suggested we head to the walls first and check on the cannons. She wanted to inspect if they were holding up as the official letter had stated. I didn't argue, but I knew full well that she just wanted to prolong the time before we met with my mother.

"My Lord!" Oleg saluted after we arrived, excitedly retelling everything that had happened since winter had fallen while my wife examined the weapons. "The beasts seem to be learning! Yesterday was calm and silent; we didn't have any attacks."

"That can mean good and bad things, so stay on high alert!" I warned him, "These bastards are clever and could easily plan something like before, chasing something towards us to clear the obstructions."

"We are aware of that, My Lord. You can rest assured that we are prepared!"

"All is well and good!" Sasha shouted, coming back to me, smiling happily, "Neither of the cannons suffered deformity or cracks, and they are holding up well. We can mark them as the 1.0 version, and if we get enough CC, we can begin producing them en mass!"

"I want to order a dozen. At the minimum!" My father declared, stating it before anyone else could speak.

"You mean I should install them on my wall? Which means you get them free?" I joked, looking at him with one eye, and he simply laughed, slapping my back, almost making me fall forward.

"Good boy! I knew you would take care of your Dad when he gets old!"

"Old? Please!" I rolled my eyes, looking towards the mountain pass leading to the other side. "But yeah, you will get them first. We need to defend our backs first and foremost."

I couldn't help but think about the saboteurs we sent on The Walk, who, in the end, never returned. I hoped it would happen, but of course, there was no sign of them even after three years. My luck is not omnipotent, which is both good and bad news.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Come, your mother is already waiting!"

He ushered us back into the castle with a laugh, making me look at my wife, who had no more excuses to avoid her. Lunch was already prepared, and for the first half an hour, Mom never brought up the topic of grandkids.

"Sometimes you should attend my meetings." After finishing the main course, I spoke up, looking at her, "You are still one of my ministers."

"I know, and if something important happens, I will be there. I read the weekly papers, so don't worry." She answered casually, wiping her mouth, her green eyes locking onto Sasha. Oh boy... here we go. I was prepared to answer whatever she brought up, but she remained silent for a few seconds. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Sasha flinched, looking at me first, but her question also baffled me just the same. "Y-yes, I am. Um... why?"

"Hmmm... Something felt... Wrong. Your complexion and posture are a bit off than usual; that's why I asked."

"Is it?" We asked as neither Sasha nor I noticed it at all. "I think I may have something lurking around, or, well, inside of me; I did feel a bit woozy this morning, too."

"Explain." The way Mom said that I knew she was already thinking of the same thing, so I just leaned back, smiling while Sasha began retelling all her symptoms, too afraid to say no. Halfway through it, Dad also glanced at me, realizing it and sending me a thumbs up. The way my mother's eyes began shining, and she barely could sit in place, told me enough. I was right. "Finally!" It was such a happy cry, bursting out from within that it made Sasha jump in place, drawing blanks when my mother walked over, hugging her between her breasts, not wanting to let go.

"W-w-w-what...?" She stuttered, looking towards me for an explanation before it finally dawned on her. "Am... am... am I? I... I am... My... We..."

"Calm down, too much excitement is not good! You ought to be in the early stages! We need to be extra careful with you! You shouldn't have even come in this weather and just stayed at home! Leon!"

"Woah, woah, Mom, relax! Don't look at me like that! I had to bring her because I was unsure of it! You are the expert..." I grumbled, feeling wronged by how she was accusing me now.

"You knew?!" Sasha cried, pointing at me, turning red, "Why didn't you say so?!"

"I suspected it. I did not know for sure..."

"You should have called me over instead! Don't make your wife trek along in this nasty weather!"

"Can you two-" I wanted to retort, but my Dad put his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head.

"Let it go, Son... You can't win these types of battles. Accept defeat, and it will pass. Fight it, and you will be in for a world of pain."

"Tsk... I call bullshit..." I mumbled, crossing my arms before my chest, looking away, grumbling a little more while my Mom and Sasha began chattering like teenage girls. While one was explaining everything she went through and how she made sure I was safe while being in her tummy, the other was bombarding her with questions about how to prepare for it.

"Come, boy!" Father grinned, pulling me up, "Let's go; we will drink to celebrate this! Let's leave the girls to talk it out; you won't be able to chime in with anything anyway."

"Yeah, I'm in. Haaah...That at least sounds nice!"

...
....
......

"Bully..."

"Because I didn't tell you?" I chuckled, lying in my old bed with her, caressing her head while she rested on my chest.

"Yes! You should have done so sooner!"

"I was unsure. Still, we will need to be careful. For now, we are focusing on keeping you stress-free, healthy, and relaxed, which also means no more rowdy nights."

"B-but..." She stiffened but then didn't argue, nodding her head, "O-okay..."

"It was hard to get to this stage, so we must ensure nothing bad happens! I will try my best to please you, but no wilding around, not even the girls. Do you understand me?"

"Yes... Hauh... when you say it like that...!"

"Ahaha~! This also means that you must refrain from using magic. The projects we were working on will take a backseat. We don't know its effects, and you being a fire-type poke- I mean, witch, we need to take it seriously!"

"Poke? Poke what?" She looked up, watching me with slanted eyes, "Bully! Bully! Bully!"

"Ahahaha, don't bite! It hurts!"

"Grrrr!"

"Wait... do you feel it?" I asked because I could swear I heard a thump and felt the bed shake.

"You are not tricking me!" She continued growling and biting me.

Finally, our little play was interrupted by the loud whistle and the bright, red light shining in from the window as a flare went up to the sky. This meant that the beasts had come. And I felt it again...

"Are you going?" She looked at me as I began climbing out of bed and dressing up.

"Yes. Don't worry, we are different this time!" I added before she could speak, and I was just putting on my shirt when my Mom burst into the room.

"Good." She nodded, seeing Sasha still sitting in bed, naked. "You go, I will keep her here safe and calm."

"Thanks!" I smiled, nodding at Mom, and I was sure nobody would slip past her this time.

...
....
.....

When I arrived, it was just in time to witness one of the cannons fire. By the bright light and sound of the spell whistling through the air, I could tell it was shot with two CCs loaded into the formation. Watching it strike through the air and hit... the... thing, coming towards us made me realize this was something else.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. That?!" I gulped, feeling terrified for a moment because what I was seeing coming towards us, emerging and barely fitting through the narrow pass, was a 20 or maybe even 30-meter-high creature. My soldiers were sending up flare after flare so we could see, and by looking at it, the thing reminded me of a mollusk. With six stumpy legs. What the hell?

I watched as the spell hit it on the shell on its back, resulting in an explosion, making it falter as pieces of it broke down, falling all over the ground and sending the snow into the air. It moaned in a deep, reverberating way, shaking up our organs, similar to how it felt standing beside a strong subwoofer.

"Nothing like that ever came this way..." Father murmured, just as shocked, while all of our ballistae and arrows were being loaded, dosed in animal fat, and lit up, getting ready for it to come into range. At the same time, we watched as it stepped into the proximity of our mines, triggering them all, resulting in chain explosions and injuring its weird, stumpy legs. Yet... it kept coming.

"Hurry!" I shouted, coming to my senses and rushing over to one of the cannons, "Fill it up to the maximum! Take aim and fire; don't bother waiting for it to cool down! If that monster reaches close enough, we are dead!"

While I was manning one of the two Dragonfires, Oleg took over the other as we loaded it up. It was mine that shot at first, turning the whole barrel bright red, while the 'rocket' this time was ear-piercingly loud and bright as the morning sun. It flew in an arc before striking the shell on its back, followed by a ground-shaking roar and explosion. We saw under the light of the flares that chunks of its insides and a sea of blood erupted from it, followed by Oleg's shot, hitting it again, repeating the same devasting effect. This time, the beast finally realized he would be too slow to come over and wanted to back off, but his humongous body failed to find space to turn around.

"Fire! Fire again!" I roared, not even thinking about stopping or considering the consequences.

This time, the second level four spell was too much, and the moment the cannon fired, the barrel was blown apart as if it was from some kind of cartoon, split into curly shards along the inlaced CC strands. Maybe it was what prevented it from spewing shrapnels everywhere, keeping it 'together.'

But it was no time to worry about that as I watched the spell hit the beast, this time on its head, where there was no 'armor.' We could see a splatter of... something, maybe blood or mucus or hell if I know, raining everywhere, painting the ground and the mountain walls, but the beast was still standing, moving and groaning. Then came the second shot with the destruction of Oleg's cannon. It hit its shell, blowing a hole into it, throwing more nasty innards everywhere.

We watched as the monster slowly kneeled over, collapsing under its weight, but we also knew it wasn't dead. Its deep groans and moans kept on going for hours, even though it could not stand up anymore. It was bleeding out while we watched its death struggle. It stopped making any noise only when the sun was finally up, and we could see the valley and how it was covered in a greenish, foul-smelling liquid that could be its blood or innards... Damn if I knew. It felt like we were standing close to a knacker's yard or something... it was stomach-turning.

"I sent a pigeon; we will wait until more soldiers arrive with Merlin. They will bring clothes and extra armor; nobody is to go out until I say so!" I ordered, and because I was the ruler of the Frontier, even my father listened and saluted, following my commands. He never once questioned me, and I was grateful for it. I knew he still held a more significant respect amongst his soldiers than my presence, which was understandable. Maybe... that's why he was so cooperative, no matter what.

"Is it dead?" He asked, leaning against the walls, watching the beast.

"I don't know. So we must be careful. Also, there is no touching the green sludge! It could be poisonous!"

"Roger. You will stay on the wall." Father said, and this time, I knew it was an order. I wanted to argue, but he only smiled at me, patting my shoulders. "We are not risking the Sovereign's life. Especially when my Son is about to become a Father."

"Be careful... Dad."

"I will. I want to hold my grandson or granddaughter, you know! It isn't just your Mom who is stoked by the news, ahahaha! MEN!" He turned around, shouting so loudly, the whole castle could hear him, "Begin preparations! When reinforcement arrives, we ride!"