Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 166. The Hidden Headcount II

At the midsection of the mountain lay a frozen swamp atop a plateau. Its native big-leaf trees, a mix of oaks and maples, were scattered around the tight-knit community.

The small village situated here appeared undamaged by the war campaign under the black banner of Dunkelheit.

The villagers and migrated survivors had gathered in the town square, their concerned faces showing palpable anxiety. A small squadron of Armatus mobile suits, finished in sleek black paint, stood on each side of a platform. It appeared they were rallying people, separating them into groups, and preparing them to board a small shuttle on the far side of the square.

“Oi! Lempi Gin! Any Lempi here?!” a Silver Knight bellowed names from his datapad. When no one answered, he yanked a praying monk who was kneeling beside him. “Oi, monk! Stop playing games. The sooner we finish this, the better! I know that bloke lives here!”

“Please, Sir Knight, I haven’t seen him among the people here!” the monk pleaded, his hands trembling.

The Knight shook his head in annoyance, toggled his cannon arm, and forcefully pinned the monk against the platform.

“Stop lying, you cunning bald man! Or else!” the Knight threatened, his words as cold as ice. A whirring sound signalled the cannon was revving up.

“Please, please! Don’t kill me!” the monk begged for his life, both hands stretched forward in surrender.

Fully concealed behind the balcony fence of a hotel, Lupus, Ziyue, and Jovian ducked together, observing from a safe distance.

“Tch! We need to stop them!” Ziyue started to rise, but was pulled back by Lupus.

The bunny Wildren hushed her. “Do not interfere. They are not our people. These are all Dunkelheit citizens,” she stated bluntly.

Ziyue brushed Lupus’s arm away, grunting in exasperation. So what? People are people, she thought to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut.

“The pattern repeats here. They are taking specific prisoners, but not all of them,” Jovian chimed in, analytical as ever.

“Maybe they want the high-born as negotiating pieces? The surrender summit is being held soon,” Lupus grumbled, poking her head over the railing. She couldn’t hear properly through her thick hood, so she slipped one of her long ears out.

Down on the platform, the Knight yelled through his helmet, “Then you are worthless to us, baldy!” The barrel of his cannon glowed red hot.

The monk, in his dark brown robe, began to mumble prayers frantically with his eyes forced shut.

“Lempi is going to college in the capital city!” a big man in the crowd bellowed, stopping the Knight in his tracks.

The Silver Knight lifted his hand cannon, pointing it skyward. “Really?! Oi, you! What’s your name?!”

“Pekka!” the fearless man replied, crossing his arms.

The Silver Knight skimmed through his datapad before nodding to another Bronze Knight. “Alright! You’ll have to do. Get over here!” he commanded in a crisp, military tone.

The man stepped forward but was pulled back by a girl. “No! Pekka!” the brunette screamed, her brown eyes filled with terror. Judging from the reaction, she was likely his girlfriend.

The Silver Knight yelled, “Oi! Not again! We haven't got all day!”

His squabbling was interrupted by a loud ruckus from one of the Armatus units tipping over. “You bronze idiots! You just scratched the new paint!” he shouted angrily, without turning around.

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Another clash erupted. This time, the Silver Knight spun around, “You retar—”

The man was stunned, his jaw frozen open. The crowd exclaimed collectively as the ten-metre war titans buckled and crumbled to the ground.

A dark, hazy figure zeroed in on the Knight at full speed. Another male assassin drifted through his guards, swinging his blades with perfect choreography.

Men dropped like flies.

The Silver Knight snapped out of his shock, his hands reaching for the comms panel on his gauntlet.

A kunai whizzed through the air and struck true, penetrating his gauntlet and the skin beneath. “AHHH! BASTARD!” the Silver Knight cried out as pain shot up his arm.

Another second passed. Ziyue dashed forward, and her dark boot flew, connecting squarely with his helmet.

The knight crashed onto the platform, his vision blacking out almost instantly.

All this happened in only a matter of minutes.

Ziyue loomed over the praying monk. “You good, old man?” The monk forced his eyes open, still shell-shocked and now utterly confused.

Behind her, Lupus stomped on the Bronze Knight with a satisfying crunch, and the man went limp.

Jovian tossed the bronze he had just captured from the awaiting aircraft to land beside Ziyue and the monk. “Time to talk, knight.”

The knight rolled around, his breath ragged. “Wha~Who are you?!” The crowd watched them with wide, amazed eyes, none daring to speak a word.

“I’m Jovian, the lord of the Shadowbringers,” Jovian declared, his boot pressed against the knight’s sternum. The two women joined him, eyeing the knight with a mixture of disdain and malice.

“Now tell us everything, starting with why the Umbral is taking prisoners,” Ziyue demanded as she swept her eyes around cautiously.

“I~I don’t know. I’m not telling you bloody anything!” the knight snarled. “AHH!” A muffled grunt escaped him after Jovian increased the pressure.

“Speak! You only have one chance left,” Jovian threatened, his darkened expression exuding an air of solemn finality.

His metal armour began to strain and deform from the crushing force. “Fine!” the Bronze Knight burst out, scared for his life. “The bronzes only got the mission details to gather the people from the list! I swear I didn’t know anything else!”

Beside Jovian, Lupus flicked through the datapad. “This list has names in it, along with their registered households,” she shared, then frowned. “It doesn’t seem to be listed alphabetically or in any particular order. Why?”

“I don’t know! It came like that!” the knight pleaded. “Please, I’m just a bronze. I~I have a fami—”

Suddenly, Lupus grabbed his helmet and forced him to look her in the eyes, which burned with ingrained hatred. “Answer the question! Where did you plan to take them?!”

The bronze quivered and swallowed hard. “The abandoned prison, called Quagmire. It~it is in the datapad!” he answered, his words clipped.

After confirming the information, Lupus gave a satisfying nod to her party. Jovian involuntarily lifted his foot from the poor bronze, who gasped for air with relief.

As the party of assassins strode away, Lupus turned to the crowd, seeing a mixture of anxiety and confusion in their faces.

“He’s all yours.” She uttered.

With that, they disappeared just as the villagers erupted into chaotic roars.

***

Somewhere around Quagmire prison.

Jovian, Lupus, and Ziyue drifted low through the dense treelines. Eventually, a large, almost-circular compound came into view. It was built to integrate one side of a rocky cliff as its wall. Its grey, raw exterior stood tall and imposing, carrying a sense of melancholy. This was not a place for redemption. It was a place to be forgotten and to rot away.

“We’re here,” Lupus confirmed, checking the location on the stolen datapad while ducking behind some shrubs.

From their vantage point, they had a clear view of the scene below. “Gaia, look!” Ziyue exclaimed, pointing. Transport craft, along with Armatus mobile suits, flew in and landed on the west side of the compound. After a few minutes, a group of people disembarked, their once vibrant clothes now dirty and tattered.

“This is more than just bargaining chips. Look at all those people,” Jovian interjected, gently turning Ziyue’s head to face the east side. That was where the majority of people were being held captive in open cells, jammed into the small spaces they were forced to share. It was pure cruelty.

“That’s… over a thousand people,” Ziyue mumbled, her voice faltering. Her face became even paler than it usually was.

Something utterly malignant was at play here.

Lupus bit on the nail of her thumb to calm her nerves. “They aren’t all from this place. Some have been captured from the north. I remember their clothes,” Lupus muttered in a hushed tone.

The evening sun receded over the horizon, painting the sky a dark purple. The trio watched in complete silence as they contemplated their next move.