Atlas Carriers

Soldiers walked along with them, but they had barely any armor, only wielding a rusted sword and a cracked shield in their hands. They looked tired, hungry, near-death even. Most of all, there was a metal collar on their necks connected with chains to their hands and feet.

"Those are... slave soldiers."

Prisoner-turned soldiers, no doubt these were citizens from the kingdoms the Toran-Kar had conquered. It didn't take anyone more than a seconds to understand that they were being used as cannon fodder and these soldiers accepted their fate. With these collars, they could do nothing but march onwards to their death.

"The Toran-Kar...to what lengths would you go to conquer?"

Upon their appearance, Sigurd felt rage well up within him. This may be war but there were lines that should not be touched. Such action was cruel, unjust, and evil. He grit his teeth and made the order, waving the torch in his hands.

"Aim for the Audra, either the cannons or the wheels, disable them!"

From the mountain walls came steel arrows that came down like gunfire, piercing into the Audra's body. But these were not just any ordinary arrows for they carried a payload filled with acid. Suddenly, the Audra's began to slow and break down, melting into a puddle as the drivers within screamed in pain and agony.

For now, it seemed like victory was attainable but it was only the beginning for this was the just the vanguard. Waves of Audra and Talos tredged along with their chained soldiers, enduring the onslaught of thunder, steel, and fire.

In the towers of the gate, lookouts watched through their telescopes, seeing what would come next. Shock came to their faces as they quickly sent someone down to inform Sigurd of what would come next.

The messenger, fully dressed in leather armor, rushed down, getting on one knee before delivering the message.

"General Commander, the main force is coming soon and it is the Prime Chancellor leading them."

Sigurd looked at him in surprise.

"What? The Prime Chancellor?"

It was not some ordinary army but the full force of the Toran-Kar!

"Yes, the lookouts spotted the Prime Chancellor within their ranks."

"Then that means... Atlas Carriers... Prepare the Hearth Cannons! Mages, when I ride out, remember the enchantment."

Sigurd descended the gate walls and got on his horse. He stood behind the gates, followed by five hundred-man cavalry battalions. Behind them were the infantry organized into two very dense rows. All in all, there were five hundred cavalry, four thousand infantry, a hundred mages, and four hundred archers. Including engineers, siege personel, scouts and all of that, there were six thousand men within his army. A relatively small force but one filled with nothing but elites.

He looked behind him, staring at the men before him. He held his axes tightly in his hands.

"On my signal, we open the gates."

He spoke and waited. Having sent the messenger back to the towers with orders, he would be notified upon the destruction of the first Atlas Carrier. The Hearth Cannons that lined the walls slowly hummed with power as each one was manned by three men. The magic circles drawn on them glowed and slowly gathered its energy.

Then they appeared.

Atlas Carriers, massive iron ships that road on land, each one held at least a hundred men and contained a bevy of cannons and other weapons. Just two was enough to cover the canyon from one side to the other and there were four of them.

However, this was the true force of the Toran-Kar and within this true force, was a very special Atlas Carrier. It was the Prime Chancellor's personal ship, Sigra.

"That's...massive..."

Sigurd's forces could not help but falter for a moment.

Behind four Atlas Carriers was one made from steel, covered in etchings of magic. It towered amongst the other ships and was much more luxurious at that, sporting weapons adorned with precious gems and polished metals. At the deck was a cannon whose exterior was made of obsidian and covered in over ten magical circles.

"Do not falter!" he shouted, "Open the gates! Mages, prepare yourselves! Fight to your last breath!"

His voice boomed across the canyon, it was so loud that those on the Atlas Carriers heard his shouts of inspiration.

"Is that Sigurd Thalarsen? Oh, how nice, I cannot wait to incorporate him into our army."

Standing at the top of the steel Atlas Carrier was a man in red and purple robes. He sat down and watched the battle leisurely, sipping a cup of tea. He was quite young, someone in his twenties or thirties. He had a full of head of hair, black and well kept. There was a monocle on his right eye and a sly grin on his face. Other than his smile was a long and thin nose with a pair of haughty eyes.

His face exuded nothing but arrogance and disdain for the foes in front of him. This was the Prime Chancellor, Irastus.

The Atlas Carriers in front of him bore the front of the attack as Sigurd and his men charged forward. A rain of arrows and explosive shells rained down, battering at the exterior of them. The Hearth Cannons roared as fiery red beams of light arced through the air. But they were unpeturbed and continued their march, a magical shield protected them from such attacks. Even as they began to wear down, it was unlikely that they would break before the ships broke past the gates.

What could the commander do against this? Their current strength was not enough against them.

The gates opened and Sigurd charged forward on his black horse, the cavalry force followed after him as they flooded past the gates. Then the infantry followed, running towards these land ships.

"The spell, begin it!"

They began to chant, all one hundred of them spoke together.

{Guardian of thy body, blessings of the earth!}

{Bring out thy wrath, smite thine enemies!}

{With a thunderous roar, comes the rage of our hearts!}

{We call on thee, guardian of thy soul!}

From their bodies, white mana emerged and gathered before feeding themselves into Sigurd. As the strength within him grew, he shouted his last orders.

"I will take the vanguard! Until our dying breath, we will push them back!"

His gravelly voice took on a more guttoral tone. He leaped forward, jumping off of his horse and charging with his axes out, which glowed as well. The mages at the gate all fell to their knees, tired and empty of mana.

With each step, his size grew and his appearance took on a more beastly form. He could feel his senses sharpen and his strength grow. The armor on his body and his axes followed, growing in size and adapting to the changes. In just five steps, his transformation was complete.

A great roar shook the ground, shocking everyone on the Atlas Carriers.

Irastus who had been sipping his tea found himself shaking as he stared at this great beast in it eyes.

"What is that thing?"

He could not help but ask, nothing he read told him of this spell. No one in the High Council spoke of such a weapon! There was no battle that recalled something like this, no book in any archive spoke even a word of this.

In front of him, charging at his forces, was a massive white-furred bear, complete with armor and grand axes. It had blood-red eyes, covered in heavy armor on a scale he had never seen before. In its grip, the bear carried two massive axes, big enough to rip chunks out of the Atlas Carriers.

Irastus felt a tinge of fear rise from his arrogant heart and began barking orders.

"Ready the cannons! Kill that thing now!"

This great beast was none other than Sigurd. In this form, he was gigantic and as tall as the gate, towering over the Atlas Carriers. Running on his hind legs, he charged, thrashing the first two ships in front of him. He swung his axes at the ship only for them to be stopped by a magical barrier. However, he could not be stopped and continued to smash the axes into the ships in front of him.

With each second, the Leader of the Toran-Kar grew frantic. He was not expecting the commander of this measly army to transform into a massive beast, especially something so powerful.

"Did they recently develop this? No, that can't be! It must have been some ancient technique! Something as powerful as this, the Siegfall Kingdom must have hidden it."

He racked his mind, thinking of a strategy to deal with this. Irastus took in a deep breath, agitation and fear would cloud his judgment. He slowly regained his composure as he cleared his mind and thought carefully. He was the Prime Chancellor, a figure of high authority and status. He had been given the duty of taking the Siegfall Kingdom and this will not shake him.

"A spell like this must be costly. For it to be so powerful, it would surely be useful to have."

The more this man thought the more he wanted to take the Siegfall Kingdom. He stood up and placed his tea down, walking into the ship's cabin, where his men manned the Sigra.

"Hurry with the cannons! Aim at the beast and fire on my order!"

As he spoke, The armored bear smashed his axes into the sides of Atlas Carriers once more. The barriers could no longer hold under the constant attack and shattered. Sigurd grunted and swung once more, stabbing his axes into the hull of each ship and they caved in, surrendering to the strength of these swings.

He lifted them both slowly, using all his strength for these ships were of steel and iron. He roared at the sky and flipped the two Atlas Carriers over, throwing them at the ships behind. On impact, the ships Sigurd threw bent and broke, the barriers on the other ships cracked as they were met by the weight of their brethren. Upturned and breaking, these flipped ships continued to wear down the barriers.

He pressed on, throwing himself onto the four ships, destroying while his army followed behind him and dealt with the rest. Smashing them until they no longer resemble anything, Sigurd turned his attention to the last and largest Atlas Carrier.

This one was at the same height as him and the cannon at the front was aimed straight at his heart.