There was one feature of Madarhem that was widely known to almost everyone in the North; apart from being the main distributor of magical weapons and minerals in the Duchy.

And that was the Great Bridge of Cartus; a large structure over 300 years old, which only paled in comparison to the Great Wall in terms of scale. (Well, this last one was created by gods, so it can't be helped)

The Great Bridge of Cartus was built almost solely of foundation made from Arcane Water; giving it the ability to be enchanted with amazing resistance to physical and magical damage.

That same Great Bridge was also one of the 5 wonders of the Empire of Terra, due to its great length of at least 210 kilometers long and its incredible 190 meters high; being the largest bridge that exists today.

Along with its majestic scale, there were also the magnificent statues of a holy woman praying to the gods with a peaceful and devout expression, serving as the immortal pillars of the bridge.

Furthermore, this ancient and spectacular large structure was not only made with the incredible construction techniques of the Terarios, but it also had a huge transport machine capable of taking a large dozen vehicles and goods to Madarhem in less than 40 minutes; another demonstration of his power in magical engineering.

That ferry has an enormous size even compared to the carriage that Arisella used to reach Madarhem, and its design resembled the fusion of a hydrola and a train, whose enormous ether engines and other important parts of its machinery; which were on the lower part, could pass without problems on each round trip due to the concave surface of the bridge.

The tracks of this 'land shuttle' were on each side of the bridge, and they were made of a material designed with magic, being harder and more resistant than steel. These railways were capable of supporting the enormous weight of the 'land shuttle', and Arisella and her companions were amazed when they set it up with her large mobile home.

It was said to be an incredible and impressive sight when you looked down from a mountain at the land ferry passing by while carrying its valuable goods over that magnificent bridge; story that led an artist to gather a group of adventurers daring enough to agree to embark with him in the cold lands full of magical beasts of Madarhem just so the artist could paint him.

That painter, by surviving and using the bridge and his land ferry as a muse, made a famous painting that allowed the nobles to gaze in awe at one of the great wonders of the empire of humanity.

And the adventurers who fortunately survived the trip also went and told everyone they knew in a bar about the great existence that made their hearts tremble with its architectural beauty, spread its fame.

Fame that certain girls in a dungeon, disinterested in these topics, were completely unaware of...

But...why would Madarhem build such a large bridge and a machine that requires huge aether engines to operate? Apart from the fact that his homes are literally on a large distant mountain with difficult terrain to cross, of course.

Simple, actually.

To act majestically and show their wealth and the power of their professionals to the rest of the north...and of course, for more materialistic and practical reasons.

Well you see, for the sake of ensuring that Monte Cartus has another means of dissuading the northern powers from trying to control them beyond using him as a threat by intentionally collapsing its valuable mines...and also to be able to safely export and import any product Of interest in the north, the government of Madarhem ordered the creation of this great bridge; which would allow them easier access between their land and the outside world, which would be blocked only by a large wall and defended by powerful guards.

Thus, they openly neglected other more difficult and problematic paths, allowing the proliferation of magical beasts in those areas as great obstacles for any invader beyond the high wall that blocks the way to the bridge; which could also be destroyed at any time to prevent invaders from overcoming the high wall from reaching Madarhem.

This is something they could afford thanks to the fact that Mount Cartus and its satellite cities and villages are built on a mountain, and are very easy to defend from attacks by magical beasts that live near the mountain since most species capable of climbing mountains They were brutally annihilated in the past by their ancestors. As such, there were no concerns in that regard.

The only exception would be the bridge itself, of course, as it was already said that it could be destroyed if necessary. The Great Elder would only have to give the order comfortably on his throne, and the bridge and its shuttle would fall to pieces by releasing a measly wave of aether at a certain frequency…

However, the importance of this bridge to all of Madarhem grew significantly over the years, not only because of its popularity and the prestige it brought abroad, but also because of the efficiency in exporting Magical Artifacts created within the Great Forge of Monte Cartus sped up significantly in a short time thanks to him.

Additionally, in recent years, the appearance of a mysterious farm in the North that produces food only seen in the Southern Duchy has allowed Madarhem to create and consume new dishes that have the influential figures of Monte Cartus hooked.

These products were brought from time to time by small groups of the Caravan of the Silver Lions, who got them from who knows where that farm is (Taylan, of course).

It can be said that without this Great Bridge, merchants like them would not risk a trip to Monte Cartus using those deadly roads, not forgetting that even with that, climbing the mountain would be a total pain.

As such, the rich and powerful of the state of Madarhem would lose the ingredients for their valuable new foods that have completely enslaved their palates.

Especially Dorian Chicken….all the rich people of Madarhem loved the taste of Dorian Chicken, quite a bit. Enough so that a slightly influential foreman will act all obsequious to the Silver Leonese Caravan for the sake of not offending them the moment they arrived in Madarhem.

It can be said that the influence of the Silver Leonese caravan…. and consequently Arisella and Ershas, ​​was extremely enormous in Madarhem, in addition to the entire northern Duchy.

Although Arisella herself had no idea about that at the moment…

In any case, it should not be forgotten to mention that the easy access between its lands and the outside world also allowed Madarhem to take advantage of its unique festival to make large amounts of money from the rich and noble tourists from other cities, who were more than willing to go through problematic entry procedures; not wanting to go through those paths controlled by magical beasts at all.

Clearly, that would prevent anyone from destroying the Great Bridge, since at this point, it would be madness that would bring serious damage to their entire economy.

…And by the way, it is worth mentioning the enormous pillars that support it, which are also magnificent sculptures of the revered Saint Mother Cartus; They are very precious to almost all the religious citizens of Madarhem, and the Great Elder's government could be severely attacked by them if they destroy them like cowards just because foreign enemies give in to their greed.

Can't you defeat our enemies without smashing the image of our Holy Mother!? What sinners! Down with the sinners!

Down with the blasphemers who did evil to our Holy Mother! May divine judgment fall upon them!

One could easily imagine hundreds of riots by those who worship the Holy Mother almost as much as the gods who gave her their power so that they would be punished for heresy….and the leaders of Monte Cartus wanted none of that because It was too troublesome.

As such, they were seriously very reluctant to lose the bridge even in the event of an invasion, especially their current Grand Elder.

Of course, it doesn't end there. Even if there was a situation that truly required Madarhem to destroy it despite everything mentioned above...ignorance of the situation of the old roads to Madarhem allowed the nests of magical beasts to grow to such a level that it was too risky to fight against. them without incurring great losses in their army.

Especially with the existence of several King-class magical beasts that appeared who knows when among the population of those creatures… The only way they could use to get in and out now was that bridge, given the circumstances.

Anyway, as things stood, losing this bridge would be very painful for Madarhem to the point that it is unimaginable to destroy it?

Even with the strange situation where a purple dome covered his entire city, Kaiter had the slightest hope that he was safe inside, and that everything would return to normal with the Duke's intervention.

Who knows? Perhaps the Duke will end up resolving everything somehow at the cost of his life and thus his land will be saved from being converted into subordinates of the Aswort or punished by the Empire. 

That would be the most ideal result…

....But as if the gods would punish him for having such bad thoughts, Kaiter could only watch in horror at the images generated by a magical vision screen as a group of powerful humans and mechanical creatures had a battle of such scale, que como daño colateral, they were destroying that beautiful and magnificent three-century-old bridge with complete ease.

♦♦♦♦

There, on the Great Bridge of Cartus, were two men, standing as if they were going to have a battle at any moment as they watched each other's movements.

One of them, clad in jet black armor, made the first attack out of impatience towards the hooded foe blocking his path, paying attention to any invisible attacks that interrupted him at the same time with his powerful senses.

Unexpectedly for someone wearing metal armor, Astrian rushed at incredibly high speeds towards Prometheus with determination to tear the arrogant smiling automata into two halves.

The movement of his body faster than even that of a racing car, causing gusts of wind to spread across the area while making the ground shake and causing his hair to fly wildly, staring at his target with eyes as ferocious as of a lion

Astrian had used the Fifth Rank Knight's professional skill, [Divine Charge], to enhance his already high speed to almost sonic levels in an instant.

He wanted to quickly finish off his enemy!

When he finally had a Prometheus with a complacent attitude within reach, the Duke stopped running; Taking advantage of his overwhelming momentum to jump towards his enemy and slashed at him mercilessly, slashing at such a speed that normal humans would not even be able to see the movement of the sharp blade of his sword before seeing it high above, near his right foot, while A loud roar of wind caused by cutting through even the very air mass acted as proof of its ferocious attack, filled with deadly destructive power.

He stopped the force of his movement in the air with his feet, the armor rubbing against the cement floor as he looked in front of him.

Astrian immediately noticed that his object had disappeared from view at some point, while the only thing cutting besides the cold north wind was Prometheus's hooded cloak. 

The hooded cloak flew wildly broken into two halves while releasing weak electrical sparks.

Frowning, Astrian suddenly turned around and raised an arm, effectively blocking another aerial kick from Prometheus that was so powerful that a shockwave spread out with the two in the center, and the Duke sank into the concave ground on his two feet, causing large cracks to spread from that point.

A light blue aura enveloped Astrian's armored arm, significantly reducing the damage that Prometheus' kick could cause. Still, even a divine descendant like him felt the tremendous weight of that attack, and became more alert.

It's stronger than the previous attack...this bastard!

Astrian gritted his teeth, his high perception allowing him to see Prometheus' movements in the air in slow motion, and swung his sword, launching a horizontal attack of aura in his direction. Prometheus covered himself with both of his arms and Astrian sneered in his mind, only to open his eyes at the next scene.

–––Some strange bracelets with large “genas” on Prometheus's hands glowed red and released some type of energy, generating what seemed like a magical barrier that protected him from Aura's attack, releasing a powerful explosion of energy that made the world tremble. air itself while sending it flying.

Before Prometheus fell from the bridge, a strange surface that seemed to step between existence and nonexistence stood in his way, allowing him to use it as a surface, and thus return to the bridge as if nothing had happened.

Astrian did not perceive any aether flow from that action, making him confused about its origin.

What the hell is up with this thing!?

He was annoyed, he could vaguely see some flow of Aether from the atmosphere heading towards a strange core made of metal in his chest, but otherwise, his abilities did not seem to depend on magical energies like Aether or Qi.

It was very strange.

“What exactly are you!?”

“Do you really want to know?” Prometheus asked in a strangely cheerful tone, making Astrian snort.

"Hell no!"

“Then why are you asking, hmm?”

“….“

Astrian remained silent and stared at the obstacle before him.

Prometheus now displayed a dreamlike black battle suit that had a strangely muscular figure for a machine, whose design resembled the scaled skin of a dark snake.

Her clothes gleamed weakly in the little sunlight coming through the clouds, the wind blowing her synthetic black hair as she looked at the Duke with a calculating smile.

He just stood there, looking at him.

Through his divine eyes, Astrian was able to see the internal structure of Prometheus's avatar, which he normally should be able to use to understand his enemy...but he understood nothing. He certainly had human-like muscles and skin, but everything else was simply incomprehensible.

It couldn't be helped; the thing before him was an 'automaton' that was made with the best of the technology of ancient human civilization. It would be unexpected if the Duke could really understand what this technology, which for many scholars has been lost for thousands of years, is capable of.

Frustrated, Astrian summoned his divine power, making it glow slightly as he injected it into the cement floor and, with it, the Duke created several iron chains with golden divine runes that suddenly emerged beneath Prometheus in a circle of faint light, chaining his feet right there without giving him the chance to move.

Prometheus looked impassively at the divine chains that tied him, while Astrian ignored him and invoked his wings again to try to go to the dome.

I didn't want to waste my time with this automata!

Seeing that, Prometheus's eyes shone as he issued an order to his drones.

The drone in the distance, which was damaged due to colliding with the Duke in mid-flight, shook for a few seconds as it seemed to try to change its shape, before experiencing a small explosion and stopping as if it finally died…

Astrian, who was preparing to fly while you ignored such a strange thing, suddenly felt an attack from his side and shielded himself from a punch aimed at his face. He didn't end there, the new enemies launched a series of rapid attacks at him in which he had to defend himself using both his sword and his limbs.

The powerful shock waves from the fight practically overwhelmed the enchantments that prevented the bridge from being easily damaged, as one of them caused cracks to appear on its surface. Even the 'land shuttle' tracks were not saved, as they were being destroyed by the power of the fight.

Prometheus finally broke free of his chains, which dispersed into particles of holy light due to lack of power, and at that very moment, with a simple step, he rushed towards Astrian at a speed faster than the speed of sound while throwing a fist at him expressionlessly. on his beautiful but chilling face.

At that moment the enemies they faced retreated and Astrian could only take the blow with his arms crossed.

Unable to react any better, Astrian could only endure the attack as the force pushed him forward more than ten meters, his feet planted on the ground as the cement beneath him was shattered into pieces.

Astrian gritted his teeth in pain.

It is too strong! Who was it that created something like that!?

He couldn't help but wonder agitatedly as he looked at the Avatar of Prometheus.

And more of these…'Automata'?

He frowned tightly when he saw on the edges of the bridge 6 automatons standing with perfect balance. These were evidently made of some kind of shiny black metal, and they looked at Astrian with their strange circular heads and a single red eye reminiscent of a cyclops.

If Arisella were here, she would have said with a raised eyebrow that these 'heads' look like cameras or something.

The joints of his enemies shone just like that 'eye', a slightly red color, being completely still like soldiers waiting for orders from their superior.

Astrian was simply fed up with all this incomprehensible stuff. He just wanted to reunite with her wife and protect her from whatever danger he was involved in, but it was as if the world itself was preventing him from meeting her until her bitter end.

He doesn't even know if there were more of those things around, waiting for him to try to go to the dome to attack him again... Why was it so difficult to want to meet just one person?

Damn mechanical garbage!

“Atlas!” At that moment, a rude voice called out the name he had been forced to abandon when Ershas finally arrived along with Alica and Selena, who were staring blankly at the scene in front of them.

Upon the arrival of uninvited guests, Prometheus only smiled and conveyed new orders as his eyes glowed brighter for a few seconds.

Three of the automaton group jumped in their direction at that moment, and Ershas looked with a serious expression at the enemies who were attacking them at high speed without hesitation.

He left the two ladies on the ground of the bridge, as he prepared for a fight with Qi flowing from his body, causing their hair to flutter as a gust of wind surrounded them and forcibly drove the enemy away.

The battle against the Avatar of the Machine God was just beginning.