Attack on Galatae

[Kyubey]

Grey. Rocks. The crowing of huge black birds, circling over the seas. A creeping sense of unwelcome. These are a few of the things one approaching the dread island Galatae might first notice.

The island would have been visible from very far away, due to the size of its two tallest mountains, with peaks that jutted out of the forests like needles. The smaller of the two was thick and wide, only slightly smaller at the tip than at the base. The upper half of the mountain appeared to be totally barren, and from a distance only a few small trees could be seen approaching the top, the rest of it brown and without any visible signs of life. Though what would want to live on such a thing? Nothing about it seemed friendly, or inviting. This nameless mountain, compared to those of other islands, might have seemed to be rather large, but this one, to an outsider, would give the illusion of being rather dwarfish, compared to what was next to it. The other mountain, the one closest to the only entrance into the island, was far, far taller. Unlike the first mountain, that had the appearance of a great boulder, this one called to mind a mighty sword, surging up from the ground beneath it, rising high up to the skies far from the earth below and ending at a single, seemingly sharp peak, as if waiting to come swinging down to strike whoever threatened it. Even from far away, one could tell that no life could have survived at the pointed top of that mountain, nothing human could even come close to reaching it. The clouds, for there was always a cover of dark grey over Galatae, seemed to gather and circle around the edge of this Sword of the Island. Below these two frightful mountains, one could see the tips of a huge forest, consisting of great trees, far taller than the normal size, with pointed black leaves. Amongst these unnatural seeming treetops, if one looked carefully, they might be able to find the high towers of Galatae Castle blending in, as pointed and as ominous as what surrounded it. This was a land that had suffered through storms, earthquakes, attacks of all imaginable kinds, and, through all its history, had been doused in countless gallons of blood.

What the shores of Galatae looked like, however, or the base of the castle, could not be seen from far away. Surrounding the whole island were high sea cliffs, that treacherously loomed over any who would come close to it. These cliffs showed the scars of enduring harsh weather for years and years, with visible inward slants near the bottom that would make them virtually unscalable. There was only one real sea route through these cliffs, a narrow twisting road that, when viewed from the right angle, seemed to be placed right between the two mountains. At the edge of this opening, at the top of the cliff, was a lookout tower, with a single figure standing firmly in watch. Along the steep sides of the cliff were numerous outcroppings and indents, that held various weapons and assorted other things. Numerous ballistas lined the cliffsides, as well as more modern cannons, some of which showed signs of rust and age, and were of a model clearly from a much older time, while others seemed to have been freshly ripped from some pirate ship. The exact number of these weapons was unknown, even to those who used them, but it must have been in the hundreds. Still more indents seemed to give way to miniature caves and tunnels within the cliffs themselves, carved out by hand over the course of many years. And along the cliff face, one might see glimpses of the dwellers of these rocks, dirty, haggard figures, who scattered across the edges like bugs, watching for any who came near. And high above them, atop the watchtower, was a great flag, gazing upon all. The flag of the Acis Kingdom.

[Kuro]

The fleet came calmly and quietly, but it would have been noticed by anyone. It was a sight, after all; three large masses of metal coming towards the island through sea while two other, smaller masses of metal quite some distance behind them came through the sky. They made no attempt to hide themselves, no attempt to be a surprise. Why, after all, would they need such an advantage? The people inside saw no chance of failure.

When they were close enough to just begin to see the island as more than a blur on the horizon, when they just barely saw the most basic features such as the treeline, the distinction between the two mountains, and most important of all, the faintest outline of the watchtower's figure, the airships began to turn. Incapable of simply staying in one spot, they began to fly in small circles where they stopped so as to not progress forward. They were much too far away to see any sort of target, nevertheless shoot it; while they could not see any details or distinctions on the cliffsides, those on the opposite ends could easily see the two shapes floating in the sky a significant distance away.

The battleships had progressed some distance further before they too began to turn to the side. At this point, the battleships were only some distance farther away from as would be expected in naval combat or bombardment. Their guns were most definitely in range, as would be those of the Acis Kingdom; while the distance between the two might have been farther than expected, the ships were massive, unmoving targets and the command bridges on them were easy to see, as were the large cannons in front of them; the inactive tanks around the cannons would also have been visible, though whether or not those of the island knew what such things were was unknown to the invaders.

The battleships were maneuvering to show their sides to the island, their primary cannons, three on the deck of each ship, turning accordingly to point at the cliffs.

---

"ONE SEA ROUTE FOUND. NARROW AND TWISTING. IMPRACTICAL FOR BATTLESHIPS, DIFFICULT TO ENTER AND MANEUVER. RESISTANCE ON CLIFFS IS FIRST PRIORITY. DESTROY ALL CLIFF-BASED RESISTANCE. DESTROY FLAG LATER WHEN POSSIBLE.

FIRE ALL PRIMARY CANNONS AT CLIFFS IMMEDIATELY. SPARE NO ONE. HUMAN ASSETS WILL BE SEIZED AFTER EMBARKING ONTO THE ISLAND. OBJECTIVE REPEAT: DESTROY ALL CLIFF-BASED RESISTANCE. DESTROY. DESTROY."

---

If the Acis Kindgom chose to fire first, it would not be hard at all for it to do so. It took some time for the battleships to turn themselves and their weapons to one side. Regardless of who struck first and how hard they struck, at least some of the artillery cannons fired. Explosions appeared at the ends of the cannons and the giant rounds that shot out made their mark on the large cliff sides with the intention of destroying the savages within their own defenses, either from the large explosions they made against the cliffs or from any cave-ins from the destruction caused by such attacks.

[Kyubey]

As soon as the Arkadian ship came within view of the cliffdwellers, the rocky wall became alive with activity. The scurrying intensified, as the ragged men, women, and even children ran either to safety, or to man fighting positions. From the lookout tower, the deep sound of a horn blowing resounded through the cliffs, across the kingdom, and out to the sea, letting all know that invaders had come to the island. On the shores of Galatae, royals and peasants alike waited for the sounds of gunfire and war. On the cliffs surrounding it, cannons were already being readied, and those who manned them were rushing all about, swinging from outcropping to outcropping on ropes attached the the cliff face, chattering in chirping rasps, in a mad frenzy to be the first to strike.

---

"Klaus! Klaaaaaus!"

Deep within one of the man-made caves of the cliffs, a rather muscular woman with insane eyes that seemed to be both unfocused and intensely staring stood above the resting body of a gargantuan monster of a man, yelling and kicking for him to wake up. The man bolted awake, just as soon as he heard the warning signal resonate through the tunnels.

"Oy!" exclaimed the brutish man as he hoisted himself up to a standing position, his head just about grazing the top of the small cave. He was wearing nothing but a pair of ripped pants, exposing an impressively hairy body. His head was covered in a long thick knotted mane, and a handsome jaw was hidden away by messy stubble."Whatsit? Who's visitin'?" The leader of the cliff-dwellers hoisted up a humongous gun, that seemed to be a combination of old-fashioned rifle and field gun, and walked out to the edge of the cave.

"Arkadians," she said, in a way that could have been worry and could have been delight, only Klaus and herself really knew. "Some floatsies. Three. And some birdships, but the floatsies are closer. What do we do?"

"So that's it." He squinted out to the sea, to get a better look. "We make 'em sink, is what we do. That's what war's about." He inhaled deeply, getting a good breath of sea air, before barking out to the entire cliff tribe.

"Blast yer cannons!" He boomed. "Wreck the boats first! Aim fer the closest one and work back, y'know what to do!"

Before the Boss of the Wall could finish giving his orders, his fellow dwellers had already begun firing their cannons, eager to sink the ships before their opponent could even begin firing. They were not the type to wait for the enemy to be ready to fire before shooting themselves, and it would not be wrong to say that their concept of fairness was a bit different from anyone else. As per Klaus's instructions, the fire was mostly concentrated on the ship nearest to the wall, and if that ship sank, they would just move on to the next one, and so on. The shower of cannonfire was massive, as the cannonballs came flying at a constant and rapid pace. The guns were aimed at the base of the ship, with the intention of obliterating and sinking the vessels with their barrage, while the ballistas focused their fire at the decks of the ships, aimed to kill the crewmembers that operated it. While some may have called these people savages, one could not deny that in war, they were organized, with their trophies from past victories being used to fight the current one.

As the Arkadians returned fire, parts of the cliff exploded into a fine mist of rocks, sending both dweller and artillery toppling into the sea, where they would forever remain. Those who could not retreat into the tunnels or swing away from the oncoming shots were met with a gruesome end, their blood splattering against the rocks as their screams were drowned out by the remaining cannons resuming their assault. Even as the AI ships blasted at the wall, the battle was far from over. After each successful Arkady shot, Klaus grimaced with rage, infuriated at what was being done to his people. As the guns of the enemy left their scars in the cliff, he bellowed with righteous rage and fired powerful but futile shots from his own gun, aimed directly at whatever ship had committed the slight.

This was the Strand Watch, the eternal guardians of Galatae, who had lived on those cliffs for centuries. The descendants of the worst of their homeland, these barbaric warriors had the blood of Galatean criminals, outcasts, and political rivals of the monarchy within their veins. Cast out from the island they defended, they grew strong from surviving on the cliffs, and went their whole lives isolated in the caves they carved into the wall, rarely if ever setting foot on land themselves. They made their living by scavenging food, materials, and weapons from the remains those who came to Galatae with ill intent. And thus, over the many many years, they built a society, electing the strongest and most rational amongst them as leader, and went from day to day driven by that one mission passed down to them from their fathers: to keep wrongdoers from Galatae, regardless of who ruled it.

[Kuro]

A couple of cannonballs would have no effect on an Arkadian battleship, a vessel meant to conquer all in its path. However, having the near-entirety of the Strand Watch's armada fire upon one ship was devastating. While not effective immediately, it didn't take long for the hull to be be breached and eventually torn to shreds. As the lower decks of the ship turned into a watery grave, the deck and command bridge of the ship turned to chaos as those meant to control were suddenly impaled by giant arrows, practically large spears. Everywhere, the people panicked as pipes were ripped apart and valves cracked and monitors were destroyed. Hundreds of soldiers ran around like panicked chickens, some of them smart enough to try and secure lifeboats rather than try and fix the increasing number of problems with the ship. In the midst of all of this, the cannons on the ship had stopped firing due to their lack of controllers and not long after, the battleship nearest the cliffs began to tip, the back end sinking with the bottom of the ship reduced to holes and pieces from the concentrated fire. Hundreds died in the ship and most of those who didn't died in the ocean, unable to take off their heavy armor quick enough to not sink along with their ship. Some escape boats could be seen heading to the two other battleships, most of them heading towards the ship in the back.

While all of that had been happening though, the cannons of the other two battleships had fired relentlessly. Sometimes a ballistae shot had piercing through the shielding of the cannon and killed those operating it, but they were quickly replaced. They continued to obliterate the cliffs and everything inside, intending to completely destroy whatever group of savages within those rocks. If anything, the loss of their front battleship gave them more energy through shock and the fear of death. They had not been expecting anything of the sort; they had to kill the savages now, or else they could actually die!

The airships stayed in the back, doing little but housing the thing behind all of the metal and fire and smoke of the invasion.

---

"FRONTAL BATTLESHIP DESTROYED. 23 SURVIVORS SPOTTED. CLIFF RESISTANCE TAKING HEAVY DAMAGE, IMMINENT DESTRUCTION PREDICTED. 43% CHANCE OF LOSING SECOND BATTLESHIP BEFORE EXTERMINATION COMPLETES. SPREAD FIRE ACROSS ENTIRE CLIFF SIDE, DO NOT FOCUS FIRE. ATTACK EACH INCH OF RESISTANCE WITH ARTILLERY FIRE, DO NOT STOP UNTIL ALL RESISTANCE IS DESTROYED. AMMO OF NO CONCERN, ARTILLERY MOST LIKELY USELESS AFTERWARDS DUE TO GEOGRAPHY. DESTROY. DESTROY."

[Kyubey]

The assault from the Arkadian cannons did indeed show its marks. Parts of the cliff face began to crumble, many of the numerous tunnels caved in, crushing the life out of combatants and non-combatants alike, and cannonballs claimed still more lives. However, the Strand Watch was nowhere near close to being annihilated. Once the first battleship began to sink into the ocean, it only took a few moments for the cliff-dwelling savages to readjust the aim of their weapons and return fire right back. The Arkady battleships remaining stationary was of benefit to the Strand Watch, who had no problems with their projectiles finding their mark. It was unfortunate for them that the wall had similar problems, and several dwellers met their end through their inability to avoid cannons aimed right for them. It was a war of attrition that the Arkadians had begun, one that was devastating for both sides, but still the Strand Watch had no shortage of artillery, or people to operate them. The cliffs of Galatae were great, and they were strong, and those that lived in them were many. With nowhere to go, they did not run or cower at the ships, but instead met them with equal resilience, and a barbaric fury.

---

Klaus looked on at the destruction unfolding around and before him, not able to do much else than that. His helplessness made him angry. He was supposed to be the leader, and as still more of his people died, he hated himself for not being able to do more except bark orders that they were already following. What could he do, besides tell them to keep shooting? He knew that by pure numbers, his side was greater, and if he held out long enough the other two boats were sure to sink before the Watchmen were no more, but that did little to comfort him as the final yells of his friends reached his ears along with the cannonballs that shattered parts of his home. A shot from the Arkadians struck the cliff face beside the indent he was standing in, causing a cloud of dust to obscure his view of the enemy, and several small rocks from the ceiling above him came tumbling down. Bristling with rage, he struck the wall beside him, wishing he could strangle his unseen enemy with his own monstrous hands.

"Get closer, Arkadians!" he screamed, his voice lost amidst the storm of cannonshots surrounding him. "Get closer so I can fight you! Get closer or die!"

He hastily reloaded his gun, and shot it again at the Arkadian ship, more a symbol of resistance than an actual attack. "Keep blasting, watchers! It shouldn't be too long now! They can't sink our wall! We sure can sink them! Keep fighting!"

[Kuro]

The second battleship seemed as if it would soon share the same fate as the first. It was not going down as quickly as the first since a portion of the Strand Watch had been destroyed, but it was still taking heavy damage. However, despite all of the damage, at least some of its artillery cannons were still bombarding the cliff, which meant more and more casualties on the enemy's part. This did little to appease the one in charge, however.

"SECOND BATTLESHIP NEARING DESTRUCTION. PROGRESS AT CURRENT RATE WILL RESULT IN FAILURE. ATTRITION MUST BE STOPPED. WILL DEPLOY SOONER THAN DESIRED, RISK TO SELF ACKNOWLEDGED, ACCEPTED. DEPLOYING NOW IN THREE, TWO, ONE..."

---

From the cliffs of Galatae, anyone who happened to look at the airships in the distance would see something odd. Apparently, the bottoms of the airships could open up because something just fell out of one. It had no real shape or form, especially since it was so far away as to not be seen very well from the cliffs. All that could be told was that it was some sort of black blob in the distance, as if something was falling through the sky. It might have even gone largely unnoticed due to all of the attention and focus on the ships, especially since the second one had now fallen.

This would not last for long, though. In the middle of its descent, it stopped falling and floated in the air for a bit before coming towards the cliff. It was not as fast as a cannonball or bullet, but definitely faster than any man. As it sped towards the cliffs, it might have attracted more attention. More details could be seen now: it was made out of glossy, black-colored metal that looked incredibly shiny in the sunlight. It still seemed to be shapeless, looking like a blob of metal flying in the sky. The metal was segmented into many different parts and from the core of this tangled mess of metal were several pipes sticking out haphazardly, smoke coming out nonstop. Fire was coming out of the back end of the machine, propelling it through the air like a meteor, although its flight was not flawless; it dipped from time to time and erratically moved through the air as if it was barely chugging along. Along with all of the smoke coming out of the pipes, it looked as if it was a projectile on fire.

It acted differently from any such thing, however; any time a bullet or cannonball came its way, it jerked to one side, losing its general form for a moment as it avoided whatever came its way. Even when confronted with any number of projectiles, this thing avoided everything like a snake slithering through the air. By the time it was meters away from the cliff, one could see that it was big. Just big enough to crash into one of the cliff's outcroppings.

As wide as three average humans, it crushed whatever people or weapons it might have hit. Clouds of dust from the impact and smoke from the machine completely hid it from sight at first, although it could definitely be heard. In all of the confusion, gears turned and clicked loudly and there was the sound of something like skittering. Above all of this was a whir that started out quiet before progressively becoming louder and louder and louder, with more and more whirs joining in such a cacophonous symphony.

The dust dispersed immediately when multiple...things burst from it. They were like long tentacles of segmented metal, clicking as they moved and clanking against the rock of the walls, one meter tall and one meter wide. On the end of each tendril were three gleaming, steel, curved claws, resembling the talon of a bird. The loud whirring that filled the air came from the end segments of the tentacles, spinning at high velocities, turning the claws into drills. The heavy, choking, black smoke continued to come from the machine and enshrouded whatever was in the heart of all this madness. A single blue light slowly began to shine in the darkness. With it came a deep, booming voice that somehow sounded...mechanical.

"CLIFFS REACHED, DRILLS ACTIVATED. MINIMAL DAMAGE TO EXTERIOR. DESTROY ALL RESISTANCE. DESTROY. DESTROY."

It was when it began to speak that the tentacles, ten in total, shot out around it. It annihilated any person or weapon unlucky enough to be in it path and was able to drill through rock fairly quickly. They could extend for as long as eight meters, although it was doubtful that anyone bothered to measure that during the destruction. It attempted to fill up as much of the tunnels and caves as it could with its drills, intending to destroy the cliff resistance by using their own tunnels against them. The blue light and the smoke around it moved forwards as the machine progressed through the cliffs of Galatae. Along with the screaming of the whirring, there were the noises of the artillery of the final battleship, which was still firing but taking care not to hit anywhere near what had just infiltrated the cliffs. In all of that noise, one word was being repeated over and over in what was almost a monotone scream.

"DESTROY. DESTROY. DESTROY."

[Kyubey]

Klaus looked on at the continuing destruction, beginning to feel a little more confident than he was earlier, as it appeared that the wall's victory against the ships was beginning to seem a certainty. And then something shiny caught his eye. At first he didn't think too much of it, focusing more on the continued conflict between his forces and those of the enemy battleships, but as it drew closer, it became harder for him to ignore.

"Huh? They listened to me?"

At first the massive brute was more confused than anything else, wondering what this new, weird weapon was supposed to do, but as he began to see it a bit clearer, and saw it dodging the cannonballs firing at it, a sense of danger crept into his mind.

"Get away!" he shouted to his underlings that stood directly in the path of the weapon. "Dodge it, now!"

One of the simplest but most useful tools that the Strand Watch utilized in both their day-to-day activities and in times of combat was a multitude of ropes that were lodged into the cliff face, used to both climb to different points of the wall with ease, or to swing to some of the various outcroppings. There were perhaps thousands of these ropes decorating the cliffs, designed to be sturdy enough to withstand all sorts of weather. Indeed, these ropes were some of the only things the Strand Watch made for themselves, rather than stealing off of their enemies. When the unusual Arkady weapon flew at the wall, The cliff-dwellers standing right in its path only barely managed to swing out of the way, moments before it crashed into the side of the cliff.

Klaus, whose tunnel was only a few meters away from where the weapon crashed, tried to squint through the dust, to get a good look at whatever had landed.

"Look look look," said the woman beside him with the strange eyes. "The Arkadians gave us somethin' to do!" All was quiet for the time being, save for the sound of the machine's gears, and the loud constant noise of the remaining cannons shooting at what was left of the Arkadian battleships.

When the tentacles with the drills shot out, they did manage to kill a few members of the Strand Watch as they reached outward, and they would not have found any problems with lodging themselves into specific points of the hard Galatean rock. At first, Klaus and the others were confused about what the machine was trying to do, but as the tunnels within the wall began to rumble, and the voice boomed out its intention, it suddenly became all too clear.

"The scoundrels!"

Most of the combatants of the Strand Watch, the ones who were able to fight and operate weaponry, were on the outside of the island, standing on the outcroppings, clinging to the cliff face itself, or at the edge of the caves. The warriors who posed most of a threat to the invasion were not the ones most at risk from their longstanding homes collapsing behind them. No, the ones who would truly suffer were the non-combatants, the old, the weak, and the young, who sought shelter within the rock walls. Though this new assault had only just begun, and the walls of the island were too strong to break easily, already pieces of the tunnel ceilings would start to crack and fall, and innocent lives would be lost. Truly, for targeting the most helpless of the Strand Watch, the Arkadians had no goodness or morality within their hearts.

Now shaking with rage, Klaus stared down at the metallic beast, almost seeming as if he intended to tear it apart piece by piece. "Do somethin' about the tentacles," he ordered, looking directly at his mad-eyed friend, who had already picked up a pair of hand-axes.

"Mrrmph," she said, gripping a rope and placing one of the axes into her mouth.

With his free hand, Klaus grabbed a loose rope with a grappling hook on the end of it, swung it around a few times for speed, and threw it upwards, so that the long rope attached itself to the top of the cliff. After getting a sturdy grip, he swooped towards the robotic weapon, swinging his giant gun like a club, intending to smash his new foe into submission.

As the leader did this, the mad-eyed woman and a few other cliff-fighters that weren't manning cannons swung at the tentacles with axes, swords, and knives, intending to hack at the tendrils until they were no longer a threat.

[Kuro]

The tentacles were of stronger make than any ordinary armor. Thick layers and layers of steel upon steel protected the machine's limbs defended themselves well enough against the multitude of blows, with most of the repeated strikes only resulting in dents. One or two areas had been cut deeply enough for gears and wires to show through, but the machine took care not to let such areas be laid out for further destruction. The tentacles and their spinning drills focused their attention on the enemies, whipping about and crushing or mutilating any soldiers unfortunate enough to be caught in their way.

CLANG

The gun in Klaus's hand shook when it hit whatever was hiding in the smog. The force of the blow parted the thick smoke and some of the creature's center could be seen. Klaus had hit the top of whatever was in the smog, so the blue light was still hidden below. However, he could now see the round dome that he had struck. It was see-through, but it must have been harder than any glass, for there wasn't even a crack on the surface.

Through the glass, Klaus could see the corpse-like head of whatever was inside the machine. Dead skin was twisted and stretched across the emaciated thing's skull and instead of eyes or a tongue, tubes stuck out from its eye sockets and wide-open mouth, with smaller tubes around the top of the hairless scalp and connecting themselves to whatever mechanics were working below the dome. As the machine continued to chant its intention of destruction, the head could be seen twitching with every word. When Klaus struck it, the voice paused before speaking something else, the protected head bobbing up and down or jerking to the side with each vowel. At the same time, the blue light began to glow brighter.

"WITNESS THE FUTURE. LASER CHARGING."

After the violent response of Klaus, the mad-eyed woman and others, the machine looked to the open and thrust itself outwards like an octopus moving through the sea. Rather than flying through the sky once more, its tentacles, which had stopped drilling and were claws once more, gripped the rocky cliffs of the wall and pulled itself up, climbing up that which the Strand Watch called home. When it was a safe distance above most if not all of the outcroppings, the blue light was directed towards the far right, looking at one end or as near to it as possible of the outcroppings. The blue light seemed like a bright orb now, blinding in its intensity.

"LASER FIRING."

And just like that, the sound of the laser screamed through the air. A long line of light shot out, stretching into the ocean floor. Able to disintegrate all bodies, materials, and structures in its path, the laser was moved to the left in a clean, efficient sweep of destruction. It planned to move the laser through almost if not all of the defenses in order to destroy either the defenders, the weapons, or the things holding the first two assets up. The laser lasted as long as it needed to, not stopping until it had reached the far left end of the cliff. At that point, the laser stopped and huge discharges of steam and smoke shot out from the pipes coming out of the core mechanism of the creature. The blue light flickered as it and the thing in the dome watched to see if the Strand Watch was still capable of performing its duties.

All the meanwhile, the last remaining battleship continued to shoot at the cliffs. While the Strand Watch had not been decimated, they had been severely lessened in number at the very least. This ship would not go down as quickly or easily as the other ones, but as it waited for its commander to do its work, it continued to fire.

[Kyubey]

Upon striking the robotic weapon, Klaus looked to see what sort of effect it had, and, perhaps more importantly, what he was fighting to begin with. What he found was disappointing. Normally, his attacks, with that amount of force behind them, were able to leave dents in steel, but it seemed like his blow simply bounced off. The sides of his mouth curling in frustration, he readied himself to go at it again, but then the machine began to move upwards. Gripping his rope, Klaus looked on as the machine climbed out of its reach.

"No ya don't!" the mad-eyed woman shouted, using her axes to climb directly up the cliff face, chasing the machine as it neared the top. She stopped once she was on level with the machine, and began swinging at the pipes and wires that decorated its body. A great amount of power was placed in these swings, and they would not be anything it could brush off so easily.

As his friend did this, Klaus readied another attack. He didn't know what a laser was, but he didn't intend to let the machine use it, either. And as the beam was being charged, he did anything but stay idle. Placing the rope between his teeth, he dug his bare feet into the wall face itself, holding his body steady as he directly faced his target. He firmly held his gun right at the machine, and used his now-free hand to operate the trigger. Right as the machine was a firin' its laser, a bullet from the massive gun was fired. This bullet went faster and had more power behind it than even cannonballs, and could easily rip right through most metals. It was a desperate shot, and regardless of whether it was effective, the laser would have been able to fire at least a short burst, but the true outcome remained to be seen.

Meanwhile, the war of attrition between the wall and the ships continued, and though their numbers were lessened, even moreso by the laser, the remaining weapons still fought on, as though the men and women operating them knew no fear. If the war remained as it did, this battle would likely continue to the last standing man, or until the final ship sank.

[Kuro]

The attacks from the mad-eyed savage tore through the machinery, actually cutting through some of the armor and cutting a metallic tendril in half. Wires and gears and other machinery jutted out from the stub, the dismembered part falling away from the cliff and into the ocean with a huge splash. Yet, the machine did not stagger in the slightest. What good would it have been for such a technological marvel to be designed to feel pain? Any blows the woman did much damage, such as also cutting a pipe in half but did not distract it from it's attack, and neither did Klaus's gunshot.

The projectile flew towards the machine, but was disintegrated in the that shot out. If Klaus was not quick, he would suffer the same fate. Unfortunately for the Strand Watch, there were many that fell to such a death. The laser was unhindered in its attack and went from right to left in a swift motion, vaporizing any weapons or warriors on the numerous outcroppings of the Strand Watch. In a matter of moments, the damage was done and the laser disappeared. Huge clouds of steam flooded out from the pipes, and the fact that some of them were now shorter than before only made the bursts of steam less focused. Still, such a large amount of sudden, scalding heat could not possibly be good for anyone, much less any mad-eyed woman or other warrior near it. The machine stayed in place as it vented its steam for a few moments before activating the drill of one of it's tentacles and spinning around with the intention to slam one of the metallic limbs into the mad-eyed woman to throw her off of the cliff, the machine itself grabbing onto the cliff with some of its claws.

The battleship was still intact. It was unsure how much damage had been done to the Strand Watch, but the ship was still able to fire its massive artillery cannons at the cliff.