"What's happening?" I ask Terrence as soon as I arrive.

"It's hard to describe. Apparently, there's a large armed group that arrived near the area owned by the tribe. We didn't engage at first, and our spying spells showed that the leader of this tribe originally disagreed with the group. But then someone from the group, we assume she's their leader, showed a token to the village chief." The Commander explains. "That token made the village chief surprisingly compliant, and he went off to gather his men while the woman sent people to do an inventory of the treasury."

"I can guess what happened next," I say before turning towards the massive screen in the command room. "They encountered our men, and they attacked, right?"

"Correct," Terrence says. "Then shot us on sight, so we fired back. The first wave was easily dealt with, as well as the second one, but they keep coming, and our fortifications are not going to hold forever. According to initial reports, their leader is somewhat strong, an anomaly for this planet we thought was technologically backward."

I grit my teeth, abandoning the Starmetal isn't an option as well as teleporting the precious material home since our containment units are not constructed.

"Can't we clear the area with the Hammer?" I ask.

"I'm afraid not," Terrence says, "According to the Fabricators, the precarious state of the Starmetal made it absorb more ambient mana than normal. So using the Hammer in the same area as the Starmetal is likely to push it over the edge and make it explode, not to mention that the cavern is likely to collapse if we use any of our large-scale weaponry. We might even have to reconsider and get the Starmetal in smaller containers before teleporting it home since the power of our portals might be too much for the unstable material."

Great, fucking great. It's fucking incredible, we can't use any of our stuff to clear out the attackers easily, or we might explode the Starmetal, and we'll have to rush against the clock to have a chance to gather enough material in the first place.

"Of course, this is just speculation because we have no substantial amount of data on the Starmetal. But the Fabricators are cautious." Terrence adds.

I understand the sentiment. This vault is the only source of Starmetal we have so we can't be reckless.

At least I'm glad that our weapons aren't radiating mana as a spell would, or the situation would be even more complicated.

However, that stops us from deploying Mary; the half-dragon would turn the cave into a crater by merely existing.

"What should we do?" I ask Terrence.

"I have no ideas. To make it worse, those Legionaries are going to run out of supplies soon. They left before they were issued the new spatial magazines, so their ammo capacity is limited." The Commander says with a somber face.

Great, the good news keeps coming! To sum it up, we have a group of soldiers who are outnumbered and cannot retreat; they are cut-off from our supply line and are defending a ticking time bomb.

"Alright, did the Fabricators tell you how many portals we can use before the Starmetal goes critical?" I ask.

"If we teleport right next to the Starmetal, we would have one teleport left. It should go up to three if we land at the village's outskirts, but then we would be facing the entirety of the enemy army on open terrain. The spells showed that they have a lot of those Power Stone-based weapons, so they could be harmless or tough to deal with."

"Can you show me the feeds? Or is it already too dangerous for the mana levels?" I ask.

"You're correct. It would be too risky for our men to activate the spells again." Terrence says with a solemn face.

So we have no information on the state of the battlefield, and we are severely limited weapon-wise.

Great. That's fucking great.

"Alright, tell the Fabricators to make as many man-portable Starmetal containers as they can. This is an emergency, so stop the other production lines if it helps. Are the comms still open?"

The Commander nods, so I shout into the microphone. "Hold the line for a little longer. I'm coming to save you!"

I check my equipment. It hasn't changed a lot; the only real change is that all my magazines have been replaced by spatial ones. Even my shotgun has been replaced by a magazine-fed variant that allows the use of spatial mags for the MH Shells.

"Terrence, call a group of Legionaries and tell them to bring a few machine guns," I ask before teleporting in one of the large empty departure areas.

A few minutes later and thirty Legionaries join me. They salute me, and I glance over them. Some people are fresh out of training, but they should do.

"Alright, we don't have much time, so I'll be brief!" I shout, "Our brothers are in a bad spot, they are guarding a vital resource and are pinned down by an unknown enemy! We'll rescue them!"

The Legionaries shout in unison and salute even harder. "I want a line of ten, all tethered together at the front! They'll use the new liquid metal to deploy defenses for the machine-gunners! We'll arrive behind enemy lines and time is of the essence, so fire at will and be sure not to leave anyone alive!"

The soldiers nod and move in position as I continue my briefing. "The rest will provide covering fire and accompany me once we breach the enemy line. The main goal of our assault is to provide relief and supplies to the off-world group! And remember, the area is dangerous. I don't want anyone to use mana unless absolutely necessary!"

"Yes Sir!" the Legionaries answer.

"Alright, then follow me!" I say as I fire a portal and step through it.

We arrive on flat terrain, just behind enemy lines.

The Legionaries go into action while the assaulting army, which has been alerted by our portal, scramble to take a defensive formation. Rows upon rows of shields are raised while the tethered Legionaries kneel and aim their rifles at the beastmen. The silvery cable lights up and the liquid metal bursts from the boxes my soldiers are carrying. It quickly forms an impenetrable wall and the machine-gun carrying Legionaries set up their weapons on the dedicated emplacements in the wall. Making an effective control system for Krognar's liquid metal was a godsend for this operation.

"Pincer attack!" a voice shouts.

I raise my handgun and grin, those tightly packed lines of soldiers are a perfect test of the new spatial magazines. "Fire!" I shout as I unload into the crowd as fast as I can.

Shields shatter, and soldiers explode as the machine guns unleash their deadly payload. The bullets tear through multiple enemies at once, and the sheer amount of projectiles soon creates large gaps in the enemy ranks.

Even the voice doesn't say anything as I mow down the soldiers, this was the expected result considering that-

My thoughts are interrupted when an ethereal phoenix appears above the area. The sudden pressure makes my knees buckle, and I can hear surprised gasps from the Legionaries as well.

What is this power? It feels similar to a Spirit's, but there's no way that these people are able to-

"PROMETHEUS!" a voice shouts and the rank part to let a single person walk.

I would recognize that irritating voice anywhere, and I internally sigh.

That bitch really knows how to annoy me, doesn't she?

...Hisako's PoV...

I sensed it as soon as it arrived. That dreadful power that is always followed by the apparition of John Thomson, or Prometheus as he seems to be called these days.

It's not even surprising that he's somehow related to the thieves hiding in the vault of the tribe we just subjugated.

Maybe subjugated isn't the right word, I'm merely following the orders the king gave me on his deathbed. The country has been plunged into chaos after Prometheus pillaged the capital. Dozens of shopkeepers lost their livelihood, and the bastard stole a substantial amount of resources. Not to mention that he crippled our production capabilities at the worst moment.

The king revealed everything to me; I never realized how dire the situation was. I can remember the tale like it was yesterday, how he once went undercover and visited a kingdom outside of the United Clan's territory. He saw marvels of technology that rivaled what the Clans of old were capable of.

But, unlike our situation where the few remaining relics are jealously hoarded by the royal family or by a few powerful Clans, every factory is churning out hundreds of artifacts every day.

I would have never believed his stories in any other situation. But the king was dying, and I knew that he was honest.

The number of soldiers the outside kingdoms have is dwarfing the entire United Clans' population by orders of magnitude. Their cities are gigantic and full of people.

Back there, the Spirits are all but extinct since they have been hunted too much.

Meanwhile, sighting a Spirit here is a death sentence for our isolated villages. Even the Capital would not be unharmed if one of those dreaded beasts attacked us.

Prometheus' attack was a wake-up call for the general population. They demanded blood and the king redirected their hatred towards the outside kingdoms. The damage was so substantial that most of the noble families accepted the invocation of Directive One without making a fuss. The other nobles silenced the few that protested, and now an army that rivals the stories of old has been assembled.

But I don't know if it will be enough. The king, who was nicknamed the 'Uniter' by the common people, wanted to make the Clans truly united. But doing things diplomatically was slow and tedious.

However, Prometheus' arrival changed everything.

The 'Unification Army,' as we are called, is now heading towards each Clan. An official shows them the Royal Declaration Of Unification, and then the Clans have two options. The first one is to relinquish their sovereignty and become subservient to the crown. The second choice is to be wiped out.

Surprisingly, most of them accept once they see the ever-growing army of soldiers from the Unification Army.

It might seem drastic, but it's our only hope to put up a fight against the inevitable invasion from the other kingdoms.

The arrival of the teleporting bastard also bolstered my popularity. It's the reason why I've been put in command of the Army despite my rank being merely decorative.

But I'm not that naive; I know that the real reason that I'm in charge is because of what happened to the princess. Prometheus damaged her so severely that she no longer respond to anything. She spends her days staring out of the window, she' incapable of moving on her own and servants have to take care of her every need.

The people loved the princess, so her state puts them into a frenzy. The recruitment offices for the Unification Army were full for an entire week.

But, to think that the red-robed bastard would show up here. He already took so much from me, from my now defunct Clan... in all honesty, I couldn't care less about the grand plans of the king for a united nation or the troubles that the princess' current state is causing for the succession line.

I'm only motivated by revenge. My secret hope is to gain access to the outside kingdoms. They might have an artifact that would allow me to find where Prometheus is hiding, and I will hunt him for as long as I'm breathing.

I grit my teeth as the bastard raises his head. I've been given free access to all the Royal Armaments, and they synergize very well with my armor made of Spirit parts. I can now call upon the fragments of Spirit-soul trapped in my armor. My blade vibrates as I raise the light sword. At first, this weapon required a backpack full of Power Stones, but my enhanced armor allows me to use the formidable artifact without any fuel.

Nobody knows why it happens, but it doesn't matter to me. What matters is that my target is in front of me, I can finally reach him with my sword!

"You bastard!" I say before spitting on the ground. His very existence disgusts me, he only arrived a few moments ago, and hundreds of my men are already dead. He's a scourge on our species, and I see that he brought friends. It will not bring anyone back, but Prometheus has a blood debt to repay.

I aim my weapon towards the pitiful fortifications they raised. A tremendous beam of energy emerges from my sword and-

"STOP!" Prometheus roars and a tremendous amount of power suddenly surge from him, it's so strong that it makes my beam waver and I skid back for several feet.

"I'm sick of your shit! Stop interfering and get the FuCk OuT! " He says before aiming his weapon at my torso.

His voice is enough to make me shudder uncontrollably, but I grit my teeth and tighten my grip. I'm not going to die alone!

"This is for Riko!" I shout as I push my armor to the maximum. I don't even flinch as the leather forms tendrils that are slowly invading my body. I feel my very core being drained; I instinctively know that there's no coming back from that.

The manifestation above my head moves for the first time, and its terrifying shout shakes the very fabric of reality.

The two auras meld together, and I can't help but smirk as the Spirit eats through Prometheus' aura without any trouble.

The bastard flinches at the sudden retaliation, but I'm not going to stop now!

His weapon makes the sound of thunder as I dash towards him. The projectiles tear through my body with incredible efficiency, but it doesn't matter. The invasive pieces of metal are encased by the tendrils that then carry it out of my body. Of course, the sheer amount of projectiles makes it hard for the tendrils, and they can't remove everything in time.

But, even then, the progress of the deadly bullets seem to be significantly slowed down. So I have plenty of time for what I need to do.

My blade locks with his raised forearm, and the barrier around him creaks as a ton of metal casings are ejected from the metallic glove on his hand.

I glare at him, and I finally see his eyes through the visor.

The sight makes my heart skip a beat. Those dead and unmoving bloodshot eyes stare back, it feels like staring into a bottomless abyss.

"HoW iNtErEsTiNg." Prometheus says while sporting a massive grin.

"LeT's SeE hoW yOu HaNdLe ThAt!" he shouts, and the world goes black.