MEMELAND

Alarms echoed throughout Asphyxia.

Not the normal ones.

Not fire alarms.

Not emergency drills.

War alarms.

The kind nobody wanted to hear.

Citizens flooded the streets.

Guards redirected crowds.

Military units mobilized.

Mages gathered.

Supply wagons moved.

Messengers ran between districts.

The entire city shifted into motion.

And in the center of it all—

A giant machine continued walking.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Every step shook the district.

Windows shattered.

Walls cracked.

The GFR moved like an unstoppable fortress.

Inside the cockpit—

Udit sat comfortably.

One leg crossed over the other.

Several magical displays floated before him.

Most of them were green.

Which was good.

For him.

"Let's see what else this thing can do."

The giant machine raised its drill arm.

The spinning weapon roared to life.

Nearby warehouses immediately began collapsing from the vibration alone.

Udit whistled.

"Nice."

Meanwhile—

At the edge of the district—

Kai, Andre, and Noah had found temporary shelter behind a reinforced factory wall.

The wall was probably not going to survive much longer.

But for now—

It existed.

Noah was frantically flipping through blueprints.

Pages scattered around him.

Calculations.

Schematics.

Notes.

More notes.

Even more notes.

Andre leaned over.

"Any good news?"

"No."

Andre nodded.

"Expected."

Noah kept reading.

"More bad news."

"Also expected."

Kai stared toward the giant machine.

"What are you looking for?"

"A flaw."

"Did you find one?"

Noah paused.

Then slowly froze.

Kai noticed immediately.

"So?"

Noah looked up.

Then back down.

Then up again.

His eyes widened.

"Oh."

Andre pointed.

"That's either really good or really bad."

"It's good."

Andre and Kai immediately moved closer.

Noah spread several pages out.

Then pointed toward a section of the design.

"The shield."

Kai frowned.

"The shield?"

"The energy shield."

Noah nodded excitedly.

"The one protecting the armor."

"The reason artillery won't work."

"The reason most magic won't work."

Andre groaned.

"Get to the good part."

Noah pointed again.

"The shield isn't infinite."

That got their attention.

"It requires stabilizers."

Kai leaned closer.

"Meaning?"

"If the stabilizers fail..."

He tapped the blueprint.

"...the shield collapses."

Silence.

Andre blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Kai immediately asked:

"Where are they?"

Noah pointed toward the machine.

"Inside."

Andre's smile vanished.

"Of course they are."

Noah nodded.

"Unfortunately."

Then pointed at another section.

"There's another problem."

Nobody liked hearing that.

"The stabilizers are protected."

"By what?"

"The shield."

Silence.

Andre slowly turned around.

Then walked away.

Nobody stopped him.

A few seconds later he returned.

"What if I punch it really hard?"

Noah ignored him.

Which was probably wise.

At that moment—

A shadow passed overhead.

Several shadows.

The trio looked up.

Military air units.

Large floating platforms powered by magic crystals.

Archers stood ready.

Mages prepared spells.

Ballista crews adjusted their weapons.

Dozens of them moved toward the GFR.

Andre whistled.

"That's a lot."

Elsewhere—

Alice stood atop the largest command platform.

Her crimson hair danced in the wind.

Her eyepatch remained firmly in place.

Around her stood officers.

Messengers.

Mages.

Military commanders.

And Nish.

Nish looked toward the approaching machine.

"Evacuation is progressing."

Alice nodded.

"Good."

"Artillery?"

"Ready."

"Mages?"

"Ready."

"Emergency reserves?"

"Ready."

Alice crossed her arms.

Then stared directly at the GFR.

The giant machine looked almost small from this distance.

Almost.

Then the railgun arm shifted.

The command platform became very quiet.

Nish immediately shouted:

"Scatter formation!"

The military reacted instantly.

Platforms separated.

Mages repositioned.

Archers spread out.

A second later—

The railgun fired.

A beam of blue light ripped through the sky.

One platform disappeared instantly.

Gone.

Nothing remained.

The beam continued past it.

Destroying several rooftops before vanishing.

The surviving soldiers stared.

Nobody spoke.

They didn't need to.

The message was clear.

One hit.

One kill.

Alice looked completely unfazed.

Internally—

She was adding several new insults to her vocabulary.

Externally—

She remained calm.

"Continue the attack."

The order spread immediately.

Moments later—

The sky lit up.

Thousands of arrows.

Magic projectiles.

Ballista bolts.

Spells.

Cannons.

Everything fired at once.

The bombardment slammed into the GFR.

Explosions engulfed the machine.

Smoke filled the district.

The attack continued.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Then the smoke cleared.

The GFR emerged.

Completely unharmed.

A translucent barrier shimmered around its body.

The shield.

The stabilizers were working.

Inside the cockpit—

Udit slowly clapped.

"Impressive."

Then pressed another button.

The shield intensified.

The machine continued walking.

As if the city's strongest military force didn't exist.

Back near the factory—

Kai watched the bombardment fail.

Then looked at Noah.

Then at Andre.

Then back at Noah.

"So."

Noah already knew the question.

"Yes."

"We need to get inside."

Andre grinned.

Finally.

A plan involving poor decision-making.

His specialty.

Noah pointed toward the machine.

"There are maintenance access points."

Kai nodded.

"We climb it."

"Yes."

Andre nodded.

"Terrible plan."

Kai looked at him.

"You were smiling."

"I know."

Far above them—

The GFR continued advancing toward the heart of Asphyxia.

And every second it remained active—

The city's chances grew worse.