Colonel Uram walked through the screen, and immediately it became clear.
Earlier, when the last person stepped inside, the screen had turned opaque. We could see nothing but an opaque silhouette.
As he stepped inside, the healer immediately moved and cast a spell, before Azalia appeared in front of him.
"Report, Colonel," she ordered, her assistant ready with a notepad and ink. I turned to Zela, and she nodded.
Colonel Uram began reporting with military formality. From the beginning.
We are doing it with other officers as well, but he is the leader. He commanded the unit and was aware of the golem's abilities more than anyone else.
I listened keenly as he reported.
The words are clear and concise, without clutter. Informing us of the golem's abilities and tactics they have used, along with the strategy and attacks he used to deal with them.
The more I heard, the worse I began to feel.
He finished, and Azalia began to ask him questions. There are a lot of them, but he answered every one of them.
"Thank you, Colonel. Now rest, you will need to go back in a few hours," she said. He nodded and walked away, while I turned to Jon.
He disappeared.
He will monitor them. There are protocols in place, and warnings have been issued. The contracts were signed with skill and paper, but that's not enough.
I trust Jon; with him there, not a single word will leak out.
I sat down while the Generals, Mage Aldridge, and the soldier discussed and sorted the information we had received. I did not take part; it is those people's forte, not mine.
I will get a briefing once they are done.
"Any whispers from our enemies?" I asked. "No, everything is normal."
"There are curious eyes, but the city hall had termed it as another monster accident, the one that requires considerable strength to deal with," she replied.
"Good. Ask Hardt to keep the communications above-average, but don't take it high enough that others would think it more than a usual monster attack," I stated.
The enemy monitors communications. Try to decipher it.
Even if they couldn't decipher, they could tell a lot by the sheer number of communications. We have to keep them above average, but not too high.
"There had been inquiries from Owlspring, Inam, and others," she informed, and I smiled.
I am not surprised. We all keep an eye on everyone. My sudden arrival here and us sealing the mine definitely attracted attention.
Thankfully, such things had happened here multiple times, so I faked this as one of them and even prepared for it.
Tomorrow, the carcasses of monsters would be taken out of mine.
We knew we might find something, good or bad, and thus, with that on our minds, we prepared for it. We don't want others to know our business until we want them to.
It is especially important for me, since many people keep a very close eye on me.
If they come to discover that I have something special like this, they will attack. If I survive that, then even the imperials would send a powerhouse powerful enough that I would be defenseless against them.
I am really glad there is a war, and each of those powerhouses is busy elsewhere.
If not, those bastards would station one in my city or send them to subjugate me. Though the biggest reason they never did that is the imperial themselves.
I am quite valuable; you see. If one moves toward me, the other will act to stop them.
I was in my thoughts when I noticed General Azalia coming toward me.
"Lord Silver," she greeted, and I nodded.
"Have you sorted the information?" I asked. "Yes," she replied, before handing me the file and turning to the golems.
"There are seven types of them. The command golem is capable of both commanding and fighting. It is the most powerful of them as far as we could tell."
"The second golems are shield walls; they could defend against powerful attacks with their shields as well as form defensive energy constructs such as walls and spheres."
"The third are what we are calling: watchers. They are golems that send the visual data to the command golem and have powerful defensive abilities to protect themselves," she said, focusing her eyes on the golem with eyes like crystal encased in metal and with a ring around it.
Watcher, it's an apt name. If they do what she thinks, they do.
"Fourth are the birds; they attack with their claws and wings."
"The fifth are ariel golems with pylons; they are aerial artillery capable of close to mid-range energy attacks."
"The sixth are rhinos, the heavy offensive golems, with the ability to release energy attacks."
"And last one, rapters, they are highest in numbers and the real killing force among golems." "They are the ones that injured the most of our people, and we considered the most dangerous because of their speed and versatility."
She took a pause, and a soft breath released from her lips. I could see she wanted to fight them, but this battle had proved that the Colonel was the right choice.
We need a cohesive unit more than a single powerhouse.
"We also have to consider that they might have some more abilities than they have shown us," she added, and this time, it was my turn to sigh.
"Have you thought about strategy and changes in people?" I asked, and her expression turned hesitant.
"I am planning on letting the Colonel handle it. He fought the golem and was aware of the abilities of his men." He replied, her eyes looking askance.
I looked at two generals beside her, and they didn't seem to agree with it.
"It's a pretty big risk you are willing to take, General," I said.
She is putting her career on the line here. We need those golems; they could be said to be the weapons that will turn the tide in our favor against the enemies coming at us.
"I might have taken the lead in strategy, but we are dealing with a very powerful golem unit. Despite sending our best people, we were only able to break the energy layer on two golems."
"It's why I believe the colonel should have complete freedom," she replied, and I sighed.
"Tell me, General, what are our chances of defeating those golems?" I asked, she had already stated that in not so many words, but I want to hear it clearly.
"Less than 10%," she replied. I had predicted it wouldn't be more than 25%.
"Will it change if you or I lead it?" I asked, and she shook her head. "I think it will make our chances worse," she replied.
"We may have power, but golems could adjust according to it, nor could we use our artifacts, per the rules. So, there goes our advantages."
"Yes, the colonel is powerful; no one of the same level could stand a chance against him."
"He is also an amazing battle leader and has very well-trained men. He is our best chance to get those golems."
I said nothing and turned to the soldier. "What do you think?" I asked.
"I believe your General is right," they replied.
"Fine, but before he leaves for the second test, review his strategy and offer him guidance," I said. "I will," she replied.
Twenty minutes later, I walked out of the gate and entered one of the resting rooms that had been carved here.
I will be staying in the mine. Going out would have been better strategically. But right now, I could think of nothing but those golems.
I have to get them; it will make the whole dominion much safer and give a real chance against the assembled enemies.
Though when I thought that, her words rang in my mind. She might be right, but I will worry about it after I get my hands on those golems.
…
Aya Bandstone
"Ready?" asked Colonel Uram. "Yes!" we all replied in unison.
"Forward!" he ordered, and we moved toward the gate.
It's been thirteen hours since our first try, and now we are trying again. We healed our injuries, changed some men, replaced our gear, and discussed the strategy.
I had not thought that this was how my night was going to be spent.
The only thing I wanted to do was find out what the Colonel thinks about Ulo. She had liked him a lot, I could even say, she got smitten.
Ulo is a social butterfly and has dated a lot of people, but I have never seen her so smitten with a man as she is right now.
She had tried to hide it, but I could see it in my friend's eyes.
He seemed to like her, too, but there was a hesitancy in his eyes. I was planning to smooth that up. Instead, I am here with him, moving to fight the golems.
I couldn't help but shudder when I thought about it.
My heart shakes as I remember the force with which those rhinos slammed into my shield. They have immense power, not to mention those damn energy attacks from their horns.
Soon, we entered the gate and stopped in front of the screen where General Azalia and Lord Silver were waiting with the rest.
"Best of luck, Colonel," she wished. "Thank you, General," he replied and saluted before bowing to Lord Silver.
He said nothing other than nodding with a smile.
I am glad he didn't; there is already immense pressure on our shoulders. His words would have increased the pressure; on the other hand, the smile feels reassuring.
A few seconds later, the colonel stepped inside, with others following behind.
One by one, people began to enter, until only I was left. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. I hope we won't need to use the third chance to defeat the golems.