A band of Mechsteels were walking through the dense ranks of trees filling the forest that surrounded Front-Edge City.
“You’re saying those bandits from the other day still haven’t given up? Talk about stubborn!”
Piloting the mechs were Steelrider hunters from Front-Edge City. Called to defend the city by Otto, the band of pilots had set out on reconnaissance duty to detect any incoming attacks. One of them had discovered something unusual in the forest.
“Wait! Something’s there! Look at the odd way those trees are swaying—it seems they’ve graced us with another visit!”
Immediately, the pilot blew the whistle equipped on his Mechsteel. Its sharp sound echoed throughout the forest, alerting those in the rear to the enemy’s presence.
“But still, I can’t believe they’d actually come out here. Looks like those prim-and-proper types in the Centre don’t know when to quit!”
“They got in the way of our work, so now it’s time to have ’em pay up...in full!”
The Steelriders awaited their foes, bursting with fighting spirit. The hunters were at their best when it came to open warfare in the forest, howling on about how they’d crush those bandits themselves for picking a fight with the city. But the moment the hunters caught sight of their foe, their expressions stiffened.
The Mechsteels appeared alongside the heavy thud of footsteps. It was only a few mechs at first, but their numbers immediately swelled to over ten. With their foe’s vast forces upon them like a tidal wave enveloping the forest, the hunters quickly made an about-face.
“This isn’t good! There’re more of the bastards than I can even count!”
“Hurry and fall back to the wall! If we fight outside, we’re as good as rag dolls for them to tear apart!”
It didn’t matter how much the land worked in their favor—their advantage was exactly what made it wise for them to flee from ill-considered battles. The hunters hurriedly pulled back to the walls that kept the city safe. They hadn’t made their retreat without a plan, however. Defensive encampments had been constructed just outside the walls, allowing them to form an iron barrier.
“The lot of ’em are comin’ our way! Let’s give ’em a real welcome!”
From the encampments, a group of Strike Hawks—Mechsteels bearing vivid plume adornments—stood up and notched arrows in their massive bows.
“Magi-skill, activate! Long-Range Bolt!”
Mechsteels that were Brute-class and higher were able to burn through the magicyte they used as fuel to unleash powerful attacks that reflected the characteristics of the monsters they were formed from. Magi-skills suited for long-range combat were particularly common in Mechsteels formed from bird monsters. Landing the first blow was the hunters’ go-to strategy when it came to combat.
“Awfully kind of you coming out all this way just to see us, you bandits! But it’s time for you to die now!”
The Mechsteels’ arrows went flying alongside a wave of insults. The magic energy imbuing the arrows amplified their might and stabilized their trajectory. It was a mighty attack, powerful enough to defeat even a Brute-class Mechsteel if it landed a direct hit on its target.
Their foe was not to be underestimated, however—no sooner had a line of Mechsteels bearing shields proceeded to the front of the ranks than they blocked all of the hunters’ arrows with their faintly glowing shields.
The hunters were shaken.
“Urgh! I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the Fortress Bisons’ Magi-skill: Interlocked Plate! Don’t tell me these bastards are planning a full-on siege!”
Due to their Magi-skills, Fortress Bisons were also known as “roving ramparts,” and sure enough, their specialty lay in siege warfare. They were mighty mechs that blocked long-range attacks while boosting the front lines.
“Those are official Mechsteels from the Royal Army! What’re we supposed to do against these?!”
“Save your groaning for later! They’ve closed the distance—it’s almost time to fight them head-on!”
Giving up on their attempts at long-range combat, a band of Raging Bears piloted by hunters leaped out instead, dauntlessly approaching the encroaching forces.
“Magi-skill, activate! Fang Slash!”
Fang Slash was the Raging Bears’ Magi-skill that saw them coat their weapons in magic energy for an explosive increase in power.
A Raging Bear’s glowing hammer pierced a Fortress Bison’s readied shield. While the shield was able to withstand the attack, the resulting impact was too much, destroying the Fortress Bison’s arm in the process. One after another, a number of the opposing Mechsteels dropped their shields.
“That’s right! Push ’em back!”
Without wasting a moment, the Fortress Bisons unsheathed their weapons in reply. The Mechsteels began to exchange attacks, the heavy impacts of their weapons colliding swaying the ground beneath them.
With each side advancing only to step back the next moment, one of the hunters that’d been watching the battlefield from the rear noticed their presence and shouted.
“There—the enemy’s reserves! Those... Those are the massive mechs from the other day! And there’s more than one of ’em too!”
Shaking the ground with each step, the massive Mechsteels made their appearance on the battlefield. Five Tyrant Rhinos, titans of atrocity, set off into a dash to slam Front-Edge City into the very depths of despair.