The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Back long ago, in Ashen Grove, Oscar pounded metal on the anvil, creating the pieces needed to assemble a cannon according to Gol-4's instructions. He focused singlemindedly on hammering out each shape, turn, and indent. "Hey, Gol-4. What's the point of this cannon? We have cannons, ballistae, and other siege weaponry back home."

"Hah! You believe I, the remnant of the genius, Isaac Stonewell, will create such mediocre things." Gol-4 laughed as he floated along, inspecting the pieces Oscar forged. "Golems come in all shapes, sizes, and purposes. We use them to battle individually, as a group, be an obstacle for others, clean, and do other simple things. This cannon isn't a cannon. It's a golem."

"A golem that doesn't move but just fires with the help of someone aiming it. I'm quite sure that's not a golem." Oscar removed his helmet and wiped his face.

"You lack the imagination. Golems aren't just walking dolls. This is the specially-made golem of the Siege series, the Gatnon. Normally, at least in my time, sieges were conducted with Exalts hammering with their spells, large golems that pushed onto the walls, or the siege weaponry you mentioned. However, those take too many resources, especially crafting the proper materials for cannons and ballistae."

"And this solves that issue?" Oscar asked.

"Highly efficient and cheap. All it requires is a charge of Ein, and it will do its work. I wish I could see it in action, but your alchemy is awful. You can't even produce the core for this." Gol-4 sighed.

"When I'm out of here, we can find a good alchemist to test our ideas. I'll find a place for us to go wild with everything." Oscar assembled the pieces of the Gatnon together, an odd thing that resembled a cannon. There was an empty slot for the core to be placed. Feeling around in the empty space, Oscar wondered when he would see it in action.

…….

"Took a while. But I found a great alchemist to work with." Oscar smiled at Avril. "With the materials used, it's only effective to a Greater Elite Exalt level, a grade two golem. But the Gatnon will keep the barrier on its toes while your men start working."

Oscar fed more of his Ein into the Gatnon and aimed it for the barrier. He pressed the button on its end, and the spinning segments increased their speed as a red-hot glow emerged on its tip. It fired a single blast of Ein and powered down. Watching the blast reach the barrier, it suddenly expanded into a web of fire that latched onto the barrier and started to burn. The intersections along the webs contained a sharp tip of Ein that tried to stab into the barrier.

"A part of a spider's core along with the element of your choice combined with the core of a beast with piercing capabilities. It took quite a lot of work to get it working, but Avril did an amazing job with the cores." Oscar explained, a gratifying smile along his face. He never imagined the effects to be so good. "The hardest part is how it condenses everything into a singular blast before it spreads. That alone will stump many unless they use a powerful core or a more expensive, intricate golem, but the specially-made parts of the Gatnon do the work in its compact space."

"It took a long time for me to get those cores working! She feels so happy to see her hard work paying off." Avril whispered so her voice wouldn't reach the army behind them.

The spider web of fire and dagger started to melt away on the barrier until it dissipated into nothing. Oscar raised his fist for his entire army to see. All of the Gatnons along the line started to fire, fueled by the Ein of others. They didn't need to waste so much Ein into sieging the place, only one person's worth every round to deal as much annoyance as multiple manually hacking away at the barrier.

Brightburn City became covered in countless fiery and spiky webs. The barrier continued to pulse as it melted away every single web. Yet, more webs pounded on it, forcing it to keep working. Oscar sat on a chair and watched the fireworks of scattering webs sparking against the barrier.

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"They have to maintain the barrier with resources while your Gatnons are so inexpensive, they will keep working as long as there is someone to fuel the Ein. What an intriguing device." Adam went next to a Gatnon and poured his Ein to fire another shot.

"If it's a battle of attrition, we may outlast the barrier, but we don't want to waste so much time, right?" Oscar ordered his army to move forward with the continuous onslaught of the Gatnons. They didn't only have the Gatnons. They brought out ballistae with forged grade-three-metal-tipped javelins. Upon his orders, the javelins flew out alongside the Gatnons, aimed precisely to land on the center of the web, compounding the piercing.

"Now, these took too much effort to make. They're not armaments, per se, but forging the grade-three ores into these was exhausting. They use so much." Oscar noted how much grade-three ores he went through to make hundreds of these. "How long are we supposed to keep this up? Everyone is rotating for the Gatnons, but a good deadline would be nice."

"Give them time. They promised they would act before the end of the day. Though, there is barely a concept of a day under this red sky." Adam joked. "Rest assured. If they don't act, I have a backup plan."

Oscar leaned in his chair, watching the Gatnons and ballistae continue to assault the barrier. He wondered how Gol-4 would feel if the metal head could see this. It was one of the inventions that Isaac thought up near the end of his days without ever being used. Oscar wiped a tear from his eye, thinking about his dear friend.

He wished that Gol-4 was right beside him. No doubt, the head would be crying and praising the spectacle before him. Gazing from left to right, Oscar thanked Gol-4 for teaching him before their parting. To his dear friend, he would make sure to use these golems and contraptions to their fullest potential. He raised a nonexistent glass to honor Gol-4.

Hours later, there were no more javelins for the ballistae to shoot. Only the Gatnons continued to siege the barrier, never letting up. A problem arose when the Gatnons started overheating, a drawback of continuous firing. Oscar had prepared for this with a second batch of Gatnons to take over. They cycled between the two lines of Gatnons to prevent any mishaps.

"If only we could have made the cores with Knight Exalt Beast cores. That barrier should be fueled by, at most, grade-three Exalts and resources. A continuous bombardment from grade-three Gatnons could have done more damage." Oscar sighed while eating his lunch. He brought enough food for his army to stay fed for a week.

"I'm sorry. I'm too inept…." Avril was chewing on her dried fruit.

"To create these after becoming an alchemist seventeen months ago is already impressive. Don't think lesser of yourself for that. In the future, our battle will be easier with your alchemy." Oscar consoled Avril. "I was a fabricator for nearly twenty years."

Suddenly, a loud shout came from their right. Oscar turned to see a messenger arrive from the right.

"Report to Lord Demon!" The messenger bowed. "Scouts spotted a force coming from a nearby town, numbering a few hundred. They will reach our right flank soon. Your orders?"

"Novis of the Fourth division is the closest. Tell him to intercept the enemy and also bring Fenu to me." Oscar ordered and turned to Adam. "There might be Greater Knight Exalts among them. Can you handle them?"

"Alright. You're the commander of this army, and I have to abide. I'll be back soon." Adam didn't refuse. He didn't let out a single quip. Adam was completely serious at this moment.

"My lord," Fenu arrived shortly after Adam left. Oscar had stationed Fenu with the tenth division to overlook the general state of the army while he was at the front. With Adam out, he needed another Greater Knight Exalt by his side. Out of his entire army, only Fenu and Eveline of the seventh division were Greater Knight Exalts. Fenu only recently advanced with his help.

"Fenu, what do you think about the enemy? What purpose are they trying to achieve?" The situation was also odd, so he needed some insight. The slight attack to their right made him doubt what was happening.

"It was strange when we passed by the towns that nothing happened. They all looked empty after a search. I thought they all retreated at the sign of our coming and gathered inside the city." Fenu stroked his chin, wrinkles shaking. "But this sudden attack is suspicious. Perhaps we should have thoroughly searched longer."

"You're telling me this isn't the end…." Oscar noticed another messenger arrive, distraught and panicking.

"Urgent news from the left flank. Another small force is arriving, numbering a few hundred." The messenger spoke.

"Have the Seventh division meet the enemy. Fenu, go with them!" Oscar ordered.

"At once!" Fenu bowed and departed with the messenger.

Oscar couldn't catch a breath until another messenger came. "What is it now?"

"Attack from behind. A small force." The messenger spoke through his rushed breaths.

"What?" Oscar felt shivers along his back. He stood to see another force rushing in from the horizon, heading toward his army. Stumped, Oscar glanced over the left and right flanks, trying to make sense of the situation. These enemies came out of nowhere. How was that possible?

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