It was early morning when, at the southern edge of the main camp, Arthur had climbed aboard the Excalibur, watching the ramp close behind him before sitting down with the troops being transported inside its belly. Looking at the faces, he couldn't help but smile, noting the nervousness on the Khulmani troops present. Especially when the mech began to move, and each step of its hydraulic limbs pressed deep into the earth as Galahad started to drive, pushing it into the deep forest to search for the missing Khan.

As for the people inside the six-legged machine, there were eight Avalonians, some of whose armor was a bit dented and visibly scarred from the fight against the bone-made horde. If they were once called veterans, Arthur was sure that a new word should be invented for them now, as they had surpassed the meaning of that term. Of course, among them was Pion, who came with him on this 'rescue' mission, although Arthur could tell and feel that he was mainly here to ensure that when they found the Khan... He would return without resisting. The disgust inside Pion was palpable as his view of that man plummeted to such depths that it was equaling his opinions on the monsters.

But he was not the only one whose feelings Arthur managed to capture.

It was the same for the Khulmani veterans, especially the now General Bakhi. He didn't know him as well as Lancelot did, but from what he knew, the man looked... worse for wear. He wasn't young from the beginning, but now he looked even older than ever before. His one eye was a bit duller than it should be, while most of his hair and beard were as gray as ash. He needed a long vacation, that was what Arthur thought the moment he saw him.

"We will head south," Arthur spoke up as the Excalibur left the campsite, marching onward, "We will follow General Bakhi's reports."

Just then, the walker lurched, then found its rhythm after getting over some tree stumps, causing Bakhi to hold back what he was about to say. With each step the machine took, it made the Khulmani try to hold onto their seats with all their strength, wondering how the Avalonians could sit so easily, seemingly unbothered by it.

"I..." Bakhi finally spoke up, finding his voice, "Noted the traitor's path and relayed it to Prince Galahad. My last observation was that he took a horse."

"That doesn't mean much." Pion answered, holding his helmet in his lap, "The forest is thick and wild. The speed he can do is significantly reduced, not to mention the dangers he may face. We can be sure of one thing... The beasts had to feel what was happening, and there could be ones that may try to come and see if they can munch on some Guardian corpse."

"And we have the Dawn already sailing ahead of us, scouting." Arthur added, "If he ever tried to cross the river, for whatever reason, or is following it, they will see him first."

"My guess would be that he is heading back to Khulman," Pion mumbled, but Bakhi shook his head.

"No... He wouldn't dare..."

Falling silent, the Khulmani troops focused more on sitting straight in their chairs as the terrain grew rougher. The Excalibur simply strode over everything in its way, crushing the thick brushes underfoot, tearing trees out as it passed through them, acting like a massive bulldozer. In the cockpit, Galahad was running the mech's sensors at full alert, while Princess Fila was helping him boost it beyond its usual range.

"Finding one man is like... finding a needle dropped into the ocean." She complained, pursing her lips as she wanted to finally rest and relax... not go on another mission. She wasn't even a soldier, but now everyone was looking at her like she was! It was Galahad's fault... And she made sure he was reminded of it at all times.

"It won't be that hard." He answered, missing the point that Fila was annoyed, "We know he can't cross the river; all the bridges had been destroyed. He headed down south, so we should be able to find him. How far could he have gotten?"

"And if he changed route?" She argued.

"That's why we are going to arc towards the west before we head back to Horringar."

"Not the river?" She asked, surprised.

"No," he shook his head, "Dad wants us to prepare. Now that the Guardian is dead, he wants to move ahead. We will join the secondary army with the Geth and Sar Emperor and coordinate the expansion of the railway towards the Third Pass. Don't forget... we must build a fortress there before winter. We have to plug it in."

"Great..." She muttered, feeling tired already. This whole war thing... was horrible. When it's over, she never wants to hear anyone stirring up trouble... for decades if not more! "And you think we can track him?"

"I don't know." Galahad answered nonchalantly, "But at least we can do it while we travel back to the headquarters. Then, Khulman can't say we are bad allies."

"I hate politics..."

"You do sound like you hate everything." He added, and by the time he finished speaking, he knew he shouldn't have said it.

"Hmph!" Fila scoffed loudly, "We should be home, not here! Stupid. It's all your fault, even the fact that I am annoyed! Hmph! Focus on finding that idiot... so we can leave faster... I want to sleep in a bed, not in a chair... I want to take a bath, lie on a couch, eat some cake, and read a good book! Arrgh! Why am I here?!"

"Sorry..."

"Hmph, better be!" She snorted again, mumbling to herself, but being loud enough for Galahad to hear her, "Making a Princess do all this nonsense... I am not that Jila girl... I'm not a barbarian! I'm not that cool..."

Stolen novel; please report.

... .... .....

Sadly, Fila's wishes didn't really come true, as they were spending days traveling, sleeping within the Excalibur, like actual nomads. Then, whenever the terrain forced them to halt, Arthur gave the order for scouts to dismount and take a look around.

While the Avalonians advanced, fanning out in pairs to set up a defensive perimeter, the Khulmani four dismounted much more cautiously. However, none questioned Bakhi's lead, no matter where he led them, even spreading out in the wilderness, crouching low, eyes narrowing as they examined prints in the earth, broken branches ahead of them, trails, everything to determine where to go next, where to continue their travels... But, so far, none of those moments brought them closer to anything.

"No horse... No man..." Bakhi muttered more than once, whenever they found nothing, "There are no traces of anything human-related here... Hadn't been for a very long time."

As they marched onwards, the hills rose higher, but at least the trees were thinning out a little. They even saw the ruins of a town, overgrown by the wilderness, swarming its old, stone walls and buildings with massive vines and thick shrubs. The only thing that remained standing tall within the village was their mill, somehow surviving until now, remaining upright with broken sails... Still, looking at it felt... otherworldly as it was a ghost town, once again. That afternoon, just as they were about to continue, Bakhi called for more time, examining the traces around the abandoned western gates of the town. Seeing them gather around, Arthur walked up to them, feeling that finally there was something.

"General Bakhi?" He asked.

"We can't be sure," he brushed a hand along the ground, showing it to him, "But here..."

As Arthur looked, he noticed faint depressions within the muddy earth. At first glance, they could have been from any beast, but the shape was wrong; it was narrower, with a more distinct heel.

"Human?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"Mhm..." Bakhi grunted, "Perhaps. The weight is lighter than the Khan's but... That can mean many things. In my opinion, this is the sign of a man traveling on foot, not on horseback. It entered the town... and then came out, right here, as this step is a mix of two, facing opposing directions... But the trail breaks after twenty steps... And we couldn't find where it picks up again." He rose slowly, shaking his head. "Nothing concrete."

"It is the first something," Arthur answered while he studied his face. Although Bakhi's tone was flat, there was ample tension in it, a frustration that was carefully masked... for now. The Khan had been his ruler for decades, and in all honesty, Arthur couldn't really fathom what he was feeling... yet he could sense it. But that was not the same as experiencing it. "We keep moving," he said in the end, "There are signs of an old roadway heading south-west from here. We are going to follow its line."

"That is our best bet." Bakhi agreed, nodding and signaling to his men that it was time to move on.

After leaving, the third day dawned just like the previous two, but by noon, something was pressing down on everybody. The soldiers and Arthur were sitting silently when the internal comms cracked online, and Galahad's voice alerted them.

"Signal! Bearing south-west. It isn't human!"

Arthur was on his feet at once, moving to the forward console at the inner station. With a flick, a small feed flickered, from the Imaginary, showing them how they were walking between two sides of the forest, following an overgrown but still visible trail, a stone 'highway' from the time when this land was still a functioning kingdom.

"Prepare for engagement," Pion said grimly to his soldiers.

"Going by the pings we get, it is around... Only ten meters in height," Galahad continued, "Fila says that it is circling something. We can't tell what."

"That we can deal with," Arthur considered quietly, "We intercept. Go for it!"

Without arguing, the Excalibur adjusted its course, its legs moving a bit faster as it climbed a ridge and descended into a forested hollow, deviating from its initial course. Trees cracked beneath the machine's weight as it headed directly towards the find... something that was within Pion's original exclusion zone. Which also meant... the surrounding beast indeed felt the demise of the Guardian to come within its territory.

When it came into view, the creature lumbered through the clearing they were heading towards, its hide a mottled gray, its body hunched like some grotesque ape. Bone ridges were coming out from its shoulders, and its maw dripped strands of viscous saliva that smoked where they struck the ground. Just as Fila noticed it on the feed, it was circling, pacing the same arc around a massive oak that towered above the others, snarling as though something taunted it from the branches. Just by that alone, it showed that this creature, even being at his height, was still holding onto some kind of intelligence... probably only on the verge of forming its own core, not yet dominated by it.

Still... it was not enough smarts to know when to run, as when it turned and spotted the Excalibur, it bellowed a challenge to it.

"Incoming!" Galahad yelled while Fila was already boosting the walker's main weaponry. She watched as the beast charged towards them, its claws tearing chunks out of the soil, propelling itself forward, noticing that the Excalibur didn't back away; instead, its hydraulic limbs shifted stance, bracing itself for an impact. The ape-like beast just didn't expect the kind of impact it would be...

"Fire," Fila murmured, just as Galahad thought about it.

The forward-facing main gun roared back at the approaching beast in the next moment. A burst of concentrated spell struck the creature fully in the chest... And it was enough, because the moment it hit, the bastardly thing exploded into dozens of bloody pieces.

"That was quick." Arthur radioed to the cockpit, prompting Fila to respond.

"I may have... overboosted the weapons."

"Better than a prolonged fight." Pion joined in, and even the Khulmani soldiers began to relax, seeing that beasts that are not made of only bones... can still be killed... and killed quickly.

"Let's get down and see what it was circling." Arthur continued, "It had to sense something."

After the Excalibur got a bit closer, walking over the now-smoking chunks of the dead monster, Bakhi dismounted first, ignoring the stench of burnt blood behind him. He moved toward the oak, his steps slowing the closer he came... Because everyone could see it now. There was something dangled from the highest branch, swaying in the wind.

His hand went to his beard as he stood under the tree, looking up at the pair of naked legs.

"Coward…" he whispered.

Arthur joined him, his gaze following upward, making him grimace. True enough... A body hung there, suspended by a rope of vines, twisted into a noose. The face was pale, slack, the features unmistakable even from below.

They had found the Khan...

For a long moment, no one spoke, not until Bakhi's shoulders sagged, shaking his head. Decades of service bent beneath the weight of a single sight, all of it coming down to this... to this disappointment.

"So ends the 99th Son of a God." Pion arrived, and although his words were venomous, Arthur could tell many of the Khulmani here were agreeing with him... However... There was still something that felt inappropriate.

"No..." Maybe Bakhi also agreed with Arthur, despite all that had happened, "Not like this. Not hanging like a toy for the beasts."

"Don't worry..." Arthur placed a hand on the general's shoulder. "We will cut him down. Whatever he was in life, he deserves to rest with dignity in the end."

Bakhi nodded once, sharply, as if clinging to the one piece of honor left in him... But he had no idea what would happen next, not just to him, but... to Khulman.

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