Chapter 6: Rage Against the Dragon

The ground shook with every step James’ mech took. His bloodied feet stained the pavement while every civilian glared at him in horror. As distorted flesh and grime clung to his metal feet. There was too much blood.

Every civilian kept quiet, their hands covering their mouths to not alert the mechanical terror that marched through their streets. The only thing that could be heard was the light hum of the mech’s nuclear reactor. Even the birds and rats kept silent, not wanting to catch the ire of the machine.

From where he was, James figured he was in the city's industrial sector. The forges were still hot and abandoned since the skies above their homes tore open. There were matching trinkets and markings in some workshops, something resembling a community or group the smiths were a part of. Perhaps a clan, maybe even a well-established guild of smiths. It didn’t matter; instead, it meant there was evidence that the people of Luaria could be far more advanced socially than originally anticipated.

James checked his corners every time he entered a new street. Vulnerable without his front chassis, he had to take his time as he searched for the Sphere. Using his left mechanical hand as improvised cover, even if it blocked some of his vision. However, it was wise to take things slow and safe when deep in enemy territory.

Occasionally, disorganised militia forces would try to attack James. Launching their arrows at him or trying to get up close to spear his chest. But they all ended the same way. Hosed down by bullets and torn apart like how a gardener would use a weed whacker to cut down strains of grass.

At times, a young mage would act bravely and attack James. Only to meet the same fate as the militia. Channelling lightning and bolts of energy had its uses, but they couldn’t outperform bullets.

The only real issue James had to face in the long run was arrows. Not including his weapon systems, his mech’s armour is mostly made up of nanofiber-steel plates. Compared to regular armoured steel plates, nanofiber were lighter and didn’t put stress on the mech’s limbs every time it moved around. Making it perfect for drop assault operations and giving the pilot a great amount of flexibility. But nanofiber-steel acted like Kevlar. It absorbed the impact and struggled to distribute it effectively. Like Kevlar, the arrow could penetrate the nanofiber and stay there.

While a single arrow would not pose a risk to the mech or the pilot. Having hundreds and even thousands stuck to the rig could pose a new set of problems. For one, it would add additional weight to the mech, and that weight would be distributed unevenly. Which would cause mechanical stress on the machine. Additionally, depending on where the arrow struck, it could get in the way of the mech’s moving parts. Though it wouldn’t damage anything, as the IVO series was built to function with debris trapped in the limbs. It could still inhibit the movement of the limbs, which in turn could cause a sync-conflict if James was not careful.

James’ radio crackled as a voice of one of his platoon mates came through. “Contact, contact! Dragon rider bearing 183 and rapidly approaching!”

He turned around as a large two-legged red dragon soared through the sky. Letting out a thunderous roar as it circled the city. It was 20 feet tall and had a wingspan of 60 feet. From head to tail, the dragon was about 100 feet long. A large specimen, the largest James had ever seen during his time fighting in the realm.

“What a beauty.” James smiled as he anchored himself and readied his minigun. He fired a volley at the colossal creature. Firing round after round until the end of his minigun became red hot.

The dragon noticed James and spun in the air to turn its body. Every bullet bounced off its hard, scaly hide. Flames emanated from its mouth, its fangs glowed a bright orange as its metallic teeth readied to bite down on the mechanical walker. The rider guided her majestic beast for battle and to get revenge for the carnage they had brought upon the city.

“Come on! I am right here!” James smirked as the dragon descended to him. He knew his rounds wouldn’t harm the dragon. All he wanted was their attention and a second chance to kill a dragon. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have the same equipment or that his mech was damaged. He had a goal, and James would do anything to ensure that he would win. Even if it would cost him his life.

As the dragon swooped down, James grabbed his mech’s napalm grenade and chucked it at the dragon. A cloud of fire erupted in the air, coating the dragon rider as it ate through her armour and turned her bones to ash. Napalm then rained down all over the area, setting an entire city block ablaze as the fires ravaged through everything.

People screamed and panicked. Many tried to put the fires out with water, only to find it kept burning. Many died as the fire took hold of their flesh or the smoke strangled the air from their lungs. An unintended consequence, but one James would be happy to live with and not lose sleep over.

However, all the napalm did was slow the dragon down. Without any input from its dead rider, it soured down as it tried to get used to flying without its rider. James jumped out of the way as the flying beast crash-landed into a building.

Quickly, the red lizard slithered out of the wreckage and lunged at James to bite. Activating his thrusters, James darted out of the way while shooting with his minigun at the dragon to disorientate it.

“A shame a creature like you has to die like this!” James taunted as he launched himself forward to punch the dragon’s lower jaw with a loud bang. The ground cracked as its head slammed against the road. “To think that my ancestors slaughtered your kind with nothing but spears and swords!”

Before James could punch the lizard again. The dragon spun around and whacked James’ side with its tail. Sending him flying through multiple buildings and eventually crashing into a scrapyard.

James coughed blood, groaning as his mech’s chassis was dented on his left side and broke a few of his lower ribs. “Lucky fucker!” James hissed as he reached his hand into his chassis and popped it outwards.

Not giving James an opportunity to recover, the Dragon hopped up and perched itself on the building. Growling at its injured prey in a display of dominance. It then leapt towards him, its fangs at the ready. James raised his right arm and caught the dragon’s mouth. The dragon bit down, destroying the minigun while it pushed against James’ mech.

He tried to punch the dragon’s throat and forced it to let go, but the giant lizard shifted and turned its neck. Furious, the dragon lifted James in the air and slammed the back of his mech to the ground before it forced its body onto him to pin him down.

The dragon bellowed as its mouth became red hot, as fire slowly rose from its stomach and into its throat. Channelling magic into itself so it could safely breathe fire. The heat caused the minigun to warp while James groaned as his flesh started to sear. James tried to resist as much as possible, even trying to move his body independently. Yet due to the hit, and in his current situation, he was unable to do anything without risking a sync-conflict.

“Not today!” Hawk shouted as he leapt into the scrapyard and slammed his shoulder into the dragon’s liver. Knocking it off James and into a pile of logs.

Hawk’s mech glanced at James before returning his focus to the dragon. “My friend, your mech looks like utter shit! The Order would be ashamed of the state of your rig, sir!”

James laughed as he got his mech back onto its feet. Relieved that Hawk was alive, and beyond thankful that his friend saved his life. Even if Hawk would mock the state of his rig at his expense. “Glad you arrived.” He smiled before pointing to the dragon. “I am unable to handle the beast on my own. Do you need assistance?”

The dragon huffed, shaking its head as it got up. “No need, sir. I will handle it. Just stay alive while you find the Sphere. I’ll handle this freak myself. Can’t let you be the only one who can claim to have killed a dragon”

Happy to hear those words, James tapped the shoulder of Hawk’s mech before walking off. Leaving him to deal with the challenge alone. To Hawk, he was ecstatic to fight! “Once you kill the beast, order everyone to head to the gathering point near the palace. We will begin our assault there.”

“Alright, you flying bastard! Let’s see what you got!” Hawk shouted as he kicked a pile of steel bars to the dragon’s face before launching himself right at it. The dragon snapped back, but Hawk knocked its head away with a well-placed uppercut. Sparks and a localised concussive explosion rippled through the dragon’s skull. The dragon tried to charge up its fire breath, only for Hawk to counterattack with a punch to the throat. Distorted and annoyed, the dragon spun around to strike Hawk with its tail. Only for Hawk to backhand the tail away from him.

With every attack the dragon made was always met with a counter or a parry from the mech pilot. It was outmatched, and the creature knew it. Eventually, the dragon fell on its back to allow its hind legs to kick Hawk away so it could try to fly away. Hawk smiled, knowing well that the dragon tried to escape.

“We are not done here! This is over when I say it is!” Before it could fly out of the scrapyard, Hawk wrapped his arms around the chest of the dragon from behind and suplexed it back to the ground. With this move, combined with the hard impact along its lower neck. Hawk gave the dragon scoliosis as its entire spine bent out of shape. “Get up. I want you to keep fighting.”

The dragon wailed as it tried to shift its body. In triumph, Hawk stood over the injured beast to look it into the eyes. Panicked, the dragon charged up its breath so it could kill the mech pilot. As it got close to breathe fire, Hawk rammed his mech’s right fist into the dragon’s mouth.

“Let me give you a taste of your own medicine.” Hawk then activated his thermite flamethrower. The dragon flailed and shrieked, as flesh from its neck burned to cinders, muscles popped and cracked while its bones crackled like popcorn. Soon, the head disconnected from its spine, giving Hawk a perfect trophy for his hard work.

He lifted the head of the dragon up to examine it. “That would’ve been a good trophy.” He lightly commented before he chucked the head over his shoulder. Satisfied that he had slain a worthy beast. His pride turned sour as he remembered why he was in the city to begin with. There was no point in celebrating, not when he was sent to die. “Shame it would be my last mission.”

Meanwhile, James made his way to the Silenced Sphere. A large dome-like device, which crash-landed near what seemed like the remains of a playground. Near it was Jill’s torn-apart mech. Its front chassis was blown open.

Already, scavengers swarmed her broken body, tearing her rig apart for anything valuable. When they noticed James’ damaged mech, they all panicked and ran.

James wasn’t sure if she died from the descent or if she was killed by a mage. James wondered if it would be appropriate to pay his respects to a fallen comrade. However, that was deemed a waste of time. He knew that the enemy would be regrouping by now, which would limit his chances of breaching the palace and killing the king.

In the Order Militant, it was not just expected but encouraged in every member to not be too attached to the people who died. Every member, regardless of the role they are in, is a resource. At times, those resources needed to be spent for the benefit of all humanity. To them, everyone was going to die at some point. Should it matter if the Order decides for you when you should perish or not?

The pain from his broken ribs caused him to hiss. James turned the key to turn his mech from automatic to manual. Letting out a pained breath as he felt his injection ports become cold. Though uncomfortable, he was glad the mech’s manual functions were still operable. He went to the Sphere and used his mech’s hand to disengage the safety protocols to prepare for detonation. “Warning, warning,” James said into his intercom. “All must switch to manual. Detonation in five.”

With a loud internal clunk, James pulled the lever and activated the Silenced Sphere. There wasn’t a bang or a light show. Instead, the Sphere released a sharp hiss. Though it would seem like he had achieved nothing. James had deactivated magic throughout the entire city. Mages would now be unable to use their magic, and most importantly, the defences near the palace would be inoperable. It would be now or never, and James knew they had to strike now.

But before James could leave, he let out a pained sigh. He turned to Jill’s mech and walked towards it. “You were always a good soldier.” He whispered before resting his mechanical hand on her mech for a few seconds. While he did jeopardise the mission and put the entire operation at risk. However, even if he knew, it was the wrong thing to do. He wanted to pay some sort of respect to her, no matter how small.

To him, even if he was nothing more than a resource and a number the Order used to ensure the survival of humanity. Deep down, he was always human. And humans cared for each other.