Dyvona lugged her gear around as she navigated through the forest, guided by the map given to her by the drones. She had studied the map earlier and had quickly picked up on understanding the strange markings and drawings made by the drones. She had to admit, Varangian cartography was beyond her imagination.

In the distance, she could see something tall sticking out of the trees. After days of trekking, she finally found it!

Just as she was about to make a beeline for it, she stopped midway. Several twigs snapped from the distance, and several foliages were being moved. Due to the amount of gear she was carrying, she had to be careful and wary about even the slightest sign of danger. As she trekked, she concentrated almost half her effort in honing her hearing.

‘There’s something following me. Those footsteps are too loud to be a wild animal,’ Dyvona thought to herself.

Dyvona hastened her steps, going through sparse foliage and dirt paths. She felt that the footsteps were getting closer until she went through a thick bush and bumped into a hard, solid object.

Before she could recover her senses, the red-headed woman immediately heard what seemed like broken glass crashing against a bell. Several drones surrounded her with weapons out.

“Identify,” the drone she bumped into demanded in monotonous Vyssian.

Dyvona quickly pulled out a metal card with lines cut into it. The drone looked at it blankly for a few seconds before greeting her, “Welcome, Dyvona fal Seax’feared.”

The woman knitted her brows and looked at the card, though she felt that it might be useless to muse about Varangian crafts. “I’m here to check the tower.”

“Authorization level above minimum. You are free to use it for: OBSERVATION purposes.”

Dyvona couldn’t understand half of what the drone said, but she assumed she was given permission when the drone squad started walking towards the tower. The tall dull structure was surrounded by a metal fence filled with metallic thorns, but it didn’t look like it was there to keep animals out. A stench of blood and rot could be smelled, making Dyvona wonder how the drones who were guarding the area stand the smell. No, in fact, Dyvona wasn’t even sure if the guards were actual Varangians or just statues.

As soon as she reached the tower, the entrance opened by itself, revealing an empty room with a circular platform.

“What?” Dyvona asked in disbelief. Was the tower just a massive hollow stone cylinder?

“Step on the-” the drone ended his sentence with some classic Varangian word (bells and ear-gouging noises) before pushing Dyvona to the middle of the platform.

Before Dyvona could react, the platform started moving upwards. In a panic, she tried to hug the floor. After a few ‘what’s happening?!’ and ‘what’s going on?!’, she was at the top of the tower. Dyvona slowly inched towards the edge and gasped when she looked down on everything.

“It’s even taller than the castles…” Dyvona said to herself loudly. After satisfying her curiosity, she pulled out her map and started making mental notes on notable landmarks. As she examined the vast cold forest, she noticed movement in the distance.

Meanwhile, at the forest down below, two hunters gathered themselves as they tried to circle around the Varangian tower. One of them clicked their tongue and said, “We’ll have to wait until she leaves.”

“It’s still quite a big tower, ain’t it?” the other hunter commented as she stared at the tower. “You think the northmen will let us in?”

“Probably not,” the first hunter replied. “Wait, the northmen are moving.”

“They’re going this way! Did they find us?”

The two hunters started running the opposite direction to throw off the drones, but the northern warriors steadily closed the gap.

“Crap! Why are they chasing us-” The hunters stopped in their tracks as a massive humanoid tree-man armed with a blade blocked their paths.

Before they could say anything, one of them was cut down. Blood spilled everywhere, the now-dead hunter couldn’t even scream.

‘Organics are engaging the kojans,’ a drone, one of the supposed ‘pursuers’, noted in hivespeak.

In reality, the drones were coming for the kojans. It was just by coincidence that the two humans were in the way.

‘It’s inexplicable that the humans are so happy to help us, but I’m not complaining,’ Custodian noted.

While Custodian was minding its own business doing normal factory super-A.I. things like figuring out how to stack boxes of anti-mana, the kojans suddenly launched an attack. Human hunters from across Varangia were attacked, making quick work of them. Once done with the humans, they started gathering to launch a bigger assault. Strangely enough, the kojans ignored the towers stationed all over the region.

‘What are they up to now? Why attack now?’ Custodian pondered. The A.I. had been preparing for a brawl with the kojans, but it was still worried that its preparations were still not enough. Then again, if things turn for the worse, Custodian could always just hide back to its dungeon complex and wait out the apocalypse. After all, it had full confidence in its dungeon defenses.

‘Analysing general situation. Ding! Ding! Analysis completed! They’re heading towards the railway connecting Vyssium and Mount Varangia,’ Niner announced in hivespeak. ‘Do we fight them now or wait?’

After studying the map in its mind, Custodian concluded nonchalantly, ‘The humans can buy us time. The kojans are quite adamant about terminating the humans, so we can have the humans soften the kojans.’

‘If that’s the case, why don’t we warn the human nations? Surely, the human nations would be willing to send hordes of meatbags at the kojans infesting our region.’

‘Humans swarming the entirety of Varangia will complicate control over the region and acquiring kojan corpses.’

‘Oh! That’s true! Pesky little organics! Should we move to eliminate the humans then? If the kojans fail to terminate all the humans, the survivors will warn the human nations.’

‘Analyse risk factors,’ Custodian commanded.

‘Completed. Risk number one: A human might escape termination.’

‘Improbable. Disregard.’

‘Affirmative. Risk number two: Large groups of humans entering Varangia and never returning will rouse suspicion.’

Custodian went silent for a while before replying, ‘Acceptable risk. Varangia is already considered extremely hostile. Moreover, not all humans are being attacked by the kojans. Perhaps we should ensure their safety for our benefit. If all the hunters disappeared, it might… rouse suspicions.’

‘Affirmative, master! Major risk assessment completed! We can initiate the plan!’

‘Do it. Destroy the kojans, terminate the targeted humans, and ensure the safety of the other humans.’

Niner nodded his head and turned towards the army of troglodytes already assembled at the troglodyte village. These were mostly the homegrown troglodytes rather than the vassal troglodytes. Through experimentation and by luck, several troglodytes had grown faster than expected. Custodian was still unsure why this happened, but it couldn’t care enough to find out the reason. Accompanying the troglodytes were some anti-kojan specialist drones.

‘Master, I doubt we’ll be able to defeat the kojans with the forces we have!’ Niner warned.

‘We only need to delay the kojans until we set up defenses along the railway.’ Custodian knew that while its forces would be not enough, the number of cannon fodder does not determine strength! ‘Logistics and Construction, begin operations! I need a fortified line up within two hours!’

Niner raised his hand and announced to his army of troglodytes and drones. “Today, we shall trample over the organics who think they own this land! Ours is the fury of a thousand cogs! Ours is the rage of… whatever rage is!”

Smith, on the side, remarked, “What is the purpose of this?”

“I saw many humans doing this,” Niner shrugged and replied. “Now then, let’s begin operations!”

Several kojans sped through the forest in a diamond formation. Their chest plates were dirtied with blood, and killing intent burned strongly through their eyes. They were all armed with blades, axes, and hammers made of hard steel and vine which almost blended into their arms.

One of the kojans raised their head as the kojans marched through and said, “War leader, we are being followed just-”

Tens of spider drones launched themselves into the air. The kojans almost had no reaction time as they swung their weapons to counter the surprise attacks. Dozens of drones were cut into pieces, while the drones who found their mark had almost no effect due to the thick barks and armors of the kojans.

The drones weren’t alone. From the bushes, several troglodytes emerged. They screeched loudly as they charged in, their weapons drawn and their horns aimed at the kojan hearts. The kojan warriors responded with a counter-charge, inflicting heavy losses against the troglodytes. While the troglodytes bore the brunt of the kojan counter-attack, drones used their crossbows to launch precise hits.

“Cut down the horned beasts! We must destroy the warmachines!” the kojan war leader shouted.

The slaughter picked up pace. Limbs and blood flew in every direction as kojans cut down troglodytes and drones as if they were harvesting bountiful wheat. When the troglodytes started routing, the drones made a tactical retreat to the next fortified position - spikes and walls entrenched across the forest. Swathes of trees were cut down to make makeshift barricades, and moats were built here and there.

Custodian made sure that if the kojans wanted to get any closer to its territory, the kojans would have to pay heavily. The drones dug deep into their defenses and fresh reserves of troglodytes were called in. This new batch of troops were noticeably bigger and better armed; their color of their skin resembled more of iron gray than ash gray.

The kojans did not flinch at the sight of the Varangian defense. In fact, their steps only hastened in anticipation of the inevitable destruction of the evil machines.

The first contact was brutal. Within a split of a second, almost half of the troglodytes were slaughtered and more than a dozen kojans had their lives extinguished short. The fighting raged on for a few more minutes before the drone forces fell back once more.

As the drones ran, they burnt down the forest behind them. Spider drones launched strikes from seemingly everywhere while the kojans pushed on. Smoke and blood permeated throughout the forest.

The kojan leader pushed his men forward, but noticed something was amiss. “Where’s the Fourth Squad?”

The kojans near him slowed down and searched the forest. “They were with us a while ago!” a kojan responded.

“Wait! Something is lurking in the smoke!”

A gray silhouette was seen moving from one kojan to another. Each exchange only lasted three blows before the death call of a kojan was heard.

“Regroup! Cease your chase! We must reform!” the war leader yelled. “Sound the beckon call!”

A kojan lifted her head and made a hand gesture as if she was shouting, yet no sound came out—they used a frequency only the kojans could feel. Suddenly all of the kojans stopped and slowly formed up into one giant group.

A strong wind blew the smoke away temporarily, revealing a massive horned drone - Minos.

Wielding two axes designed to destroy the thick bark and armor of the kojans, the Daedelus-type drone stared at the kojans with his uncaring eyes before falling back.

“Coward!” a kojan shouted.

“Calm yourself! We must proceed cautiously!” the war leader reminded. Upon the return of the smoke, the kojans proceeded in a diamond formation until they reached the next line of defense.

There weren’t any structures to speak of. Only lines and lines of warrior drones with their shields and weapons ready. The drones locked their shields, readied their spears, and marched towards the kojans.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” the war leader shouted.

“Save the world against the menace!”

“Uphold the peace given by Mother!”

Just as the two sides were about to clash, the ground underneath exploded. The kojans were quick to react and many shielded themselves, but some were thrown off their footing. One or two even lost their lives immediately!

Taking advantage of the disorientation, the drones launched their attack in earnest. Javelins were thrown first before a wave of spears slammed into the frontline kojan warriors. Unexpectedly, this time it was the kojans who fell back.

“We cannot let the war machines take charge of the flow of battle! Retreat!” the war leader commanded.

Seeing the tree-people warriors fall back, Custodian thought to itself, ‘Are they retreating? I’m reaching the limit of my budget for this battle…’

‘Master Custodian, the organics are retreating. Should we pursue them?’ Niner asked in hivespeak.

‘Yes.’

‘Affirmative. Activating hunt protocol.’

The drone lines suddenly started opening gaps in their lines. From the gaps, Custodian’s hunter drones made their move. Moving in groups of five, they perfectly mimicked each other’s movements. The only difference was that their heads were all fixated on the same target.

It would be better to say that the five drones are just one entity with five different bodies!

With the support of the warrior drones, the hunter drones attacked. The kojans were very good at defending themselves as they retreated. Each warrior helped each other and protected their weak spots.

Even in retreat, the kojans were hard to squash unlike the humans or troglodytes.

‘If I have to compare them, it would be like fighting the undead… but worse.’ Custodian remarked. ‘I will have to adjust my strategy involving the kojans…’

‘Alert! Master Custodian! The kojans suddenly stood their ground!’ Niner shouted.

Custodian made a beeping noise as if it was trying to mimic a confused human’s ‘Ah?’.

The drones who were chasing the retreating kojans were now being destroyed en-masse once more. The normally cohesive drone lines which protected the fragile machines melted once Custodian’s forces attempted to chase them down, giving the kojans an opportunity to strike them back.

‘Stop your chase! Regroup!’ Custodian ordered.

The constant battering and slashing of metal-against-wood and wood-against-metal decreased until it slowly dwindled out. The two sides faced each other in their own lines, their weapons still drawn out.

“What should we do, war leader?” a kojan asked.

“Look over there! It must be their war leader!” a kojan pointed at the oversized Minos standing behind the drone army. “We should ask to duel their commander!”

“Warrior-brother, have they cut your brain? Machines do not have emotion, reason, or honor!”

The standstill continued until the kojans attempted to take a step back, however, the drones took one step forward.

“War leader, if we spread out and retreat, we can make it out. We’ve lost this battle. The warmachines’ defenses are tougher than anything we’ve faced before.”

“No! If we spread, the demon-machine will hunt us down!” a kojan argued.

The kojans had to admit that Minos was an actual threat to them unlike the humans, troglodytes, or warrior drones. Other than the fact that the ‘demon-machine’ could exchange blades against several warriors at once, he also had the support of the ever-present drone army.

The war leader thought hard for a minute then ordered with a firm voice, “As chosen by First, I order you all to retreat. My squad will remain behind to hold them off.”

The war leader’s warriors bashed the handles of their weapons against their steel chest plates. “We are honored to sacrifice ourselves!”

“We shall return and avenge you,” the kojans in the back prepared to retreat while the ones at the front prepared for one final fight. The drones were the first one to strike; several boulders hurled towards the kojan lines. Defying the expectation of Custodian, the kojan warriors used sheer brute force to destroy the boulders with their weapons. Fortunately for the super-A.I., the kojans were not unstoppable - three kojans failed to defend themselves and were crushed immediately.

‘Stop them!’ Custodian ordered. Despite the drones’ best efforts, the kojans at the front were unrelenting. Custodian could only watch on as the remaining kojans fled in every direction.

With Minos dealing most of the killing blow, the remaining kojan warriors crumbled and the battle ended. Niner, surrounded by several huscarl drones, inspected the battlefield gleefully.

‘We’ve got quite a harvest!’ Niner exclaimed in hivespeak as he rolled a cart full of kojan limbs.

‘I can see we might have slightly profited from this incident, but it doesn’t change the fact that the kojans will return with greater strength…’ Custodian thought for a bit then added, ‘or perhaps not. Regardless, we need to focus our resources to consolidating the territories we have.’

As it calculated its losses, Custodian suddenly got a notification that it was under attack. It zoomed in towards the supposed ‘threat’ and saw Dyvona bashing against the tower’s door. ‘And someone escort that thing out of my mountain!’