The Mechanical Era

Carson and Herrold both led the way while the private soldiers stayed behind them. They were all wielding their guns, pointing them toward the endless darkness. On the side of the walls, they notice that were are unlit torches, all just hanging around, waiting to be lit.

They walk over to examine them closely and see that they were all burned a bit, but not enough for them to diffuse. Carson and Herrold start lighting them up again, brightening the caves and increasing their visibility.

As the rooms got lighter, The soldiers were spooked upon seeing the rotting corpses of demonic monkeys, the singefurs, all over the place. The musketeers all observed them to be holding pickaxes, with broken gems on their foreheads. In the middle of the rooms, were cast iron rails, resting on wooden plank sleepers.

On the rails, themselves were minecarts, filled to the brim with metal ores and coal, just mixed up, ready to be carried away to the cave entrance.

"What do you think, Herrold? You think they were the miners?"

"Absolutely, and I think the knights had already taken care of them."

"Good grief. I didn't want to waste my bullets on these things. Let's go further in."

The men continued on until they stopped upon seeing tiny glowing mana stones of white and green, just hanging on the roof. Though it was a pretty sight to behold, the soldiers immediately knew what it was.

"You think what I am thinking, Herrold?"

"Yes. Demons. Thankfully just a few," Herrold replied. Carson turns his head back to the soldiers, maintaining eye contact with them.

"Everyone, get your guns ready. If one of them makes it past us, shoot it down, got it?" Carson instructed.

"Yes sir," they reply. With the soldiers covering them, Carson and Herrold aimed at the crystals, and start shooting them down. As they pull the trigger, a metal ball is fired straight it their heads, killing them instantly, and making them fall.

The gunshots echo throughout the cave, angering the beasts. They start to dash straight toward the soldiers, wanting to bite off their flesh. Thankfully, there were only a few of them currently present, allowing Carson and Herrold to pick them off.

Once the first wave was over, they start to reload their weapons. Just as they were done, more demonic bats start swooshing them in higher and higher numbers. It comes to the point that the soldiers at the back had to start firing.

The waves kept increasing and increasing until suddenly, they stopped. By this point, the ground was covered with the corpses of demonic bats, oozing off the disgusting smell of their rotting corpses.

"UH! That's disgusting! How many did we kill here?" Carson says.

"I got about 24 bats, while you about 23, I think. The rest of the 13 were killed by the guys with the muskets." Herrold replied.

"You counted while fighting?" Carson asked.

"I did. Although, I think we may need to head back. I am almost out of powder, caps, and bullets."

"You are right. Let's go."

Just as they were about to turn back, they heard the screams of knights for help, coming deeper into the cave. It was followed by a slight roar, most likely coming from a powerful beast. Knowing full well they might be injured, they stopped themselves for a minute to think about their next move.

"What do you think that is?" Carson ask.

"It sounds like the screams of some man. Most possibly a knight. I assume they might be fighting some powerful demon," Herrold replies.

"I guess we should go then. See if they are still alive."

"I do not recommend that my friend," Herrold argues.

"Why not?" Carson questions.

"We are low on ammo, remember? I think it is best if we go back and resupply. If we encounter more demons, then it would not end well for us," Herrold claims.

"But wasn't there a swarm of demonic bats there before? From what we know, we probably cleared out a lot of them. Besides, the demon might be weakened by them. This would be the perfect time to pounce!" Carson argues back.

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "That is certainly possible, but I don't think the risk is worth it. Besides, it will only take a few minutes. They survived for this long. What is another more minute to those skilled soldiers?" Herrold replies.

Before the two of them can argue any further, they heard footsteps making their way closer to them. They pointed their guns, fully loaded and ready to fire.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" he said. They didn't lower their weapons until the person came to the light, revealing himself to be a knight. However, there was something wrong with him. His runic armor was heavily damaged and scratched, almost as if it had sustained powerful blows.

"Thank go... goodness! Thank goodness you are all here! We need help, serious help!" he begged. He limped closer to the soldiers. Carson pointed at him while looking at his troops. They lowered their guns and helped the man.

They hand him a health potion, which they use to heal him back up to a better state.

"Thank you for clearing out those bats. I don't think I could have made it without your guy's help," he said.

"You are welcome. Anyways, can you tell us what is going on? What was that roar we heard?" Carson asked.

"It was a minotaur. We were ambushed by two minotaurs They both attacked our group while we were clearing out the mines of those filthy demons. We managed to get one of the minotaurs down, but the other is still going strong."

"How long have you been fighting that thing?"

"I don't know. It feels like it had been an eternity. We really need help from you all as quickly as we can get!" he begs the knight. Carson and Herrold both look at each other and then toward the knight.

"How long do you think you all can hold out?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few more minutes? I am not entirely sure," he replies.

"Alright then. Do you think that they should be able to hold on for at least 15 minutes at most?"

"I... I think so! Yes! We can! But it is not without any more deaths. We have already lost one..." he replies as a few drops of tears start dropping down his face. Carson and Herrold both look at each other, coming to a decision.

"I got 19 more rounds left in my pocket. How many do you all have?"

"About 43, sir."

"What about the powder."

"The can is still half-full sir. We should be fine for now," they reply. Carson then turns towards Herrold.

"Alright Herrold, I think I have a plan.

A bunch of my guys and I will go in and give support to the knights, while you and your team head back, resupply, and bring the health and strength potions over.

Once you have healed up the knights, we can all band together and take it down. Is that good with you?" Carson asks.

Herrold stands there, maintaining eye contact with Carsion, thinking about it for a minute. He knows he does not have enough time, and that he needs to act quickly.

"Although I do not approve of this plan, It does seem that it is the best option we may have right now." Herrold hands Carson over his bullets, gunpowder, percussion cap, and revolver.

"Use it well, my friend. I will meet back with you soon."