Austronesian Empire, Imperial Majapahit, New Guinea, Military Building Near the Mining Complex
1st Year of the New Age, Thursday, 3rd Week, 3rd Month of Abraham
At the Mining Operations Station, Lieutenant Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono absentmindedly toyed with the Orc revolver, seeing its crude design contrasting starkly with the sophisticated military equipment scattered around the Command Center.
He dry-fired the heavy weapon, needing both hands to steady the awkward frame and squeeze the stiff trigger.
"Damn, this thing is hard to fire," he muttered, setting it down on the table with a thud. "I've gotten reports from the techs, apparently, the mechanism is so jacked up that even our best weapon engineers couldn't fully understand it. So, does anyone have any idea where these things came from?"
The room of officers exchanged uncertain glances. No one spoke up. Cahyono sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"Any prisoners? Someone we can interrogate?"
"No, sir," replied the officer in charge of the Gate. "All the Orcs were wiped out, no prisoners taken."
"So, we have no clue where these weapons are coming from, how they're getting them, or who's supplying them?" Cahyono said with frustration.
The officer shifted uncomfortably. "That's correct, sir... no intel so far."
Rubbing his face, Cahyono sighed deeply. "We'll dig into this later, but for now, I'm going to assume they either scavenged these from abandoned military bases, reverse-engineered the weapons, or came up with their own twisted version using whatever kind of Orc magic-engineering bullshit they have."
"Sounds about right."
"Damn, they're adapting faster than we thought, and they're a hell of a lot more dangerous than before."
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Austronesian Empire, Imperial Maharlika, Malacanang Palace, Conference Room
1st Year of the New Age, Thursday, 3rd Week, 3rd Month of Abraham
Emperor Maximo watched the impressive rocket barrage unfold on the screen from the UAV circling high above the mining complex, offering him a bird's-eye view of the battlefield.
"Damn Orcs," he muttered. "How come there are so many?"
One of the attending politicians responded, "As the elves explained, Orcs spread spore-like substances into the air following their deaths. After a few years, or even decades, those spores grow into either Goblins or full-grown Orcs. Normally, in areas with high mana density, a higher rate of spores die off quickly, but the Orcs have adapted over time. They've evolved, and can now interbreed with various races, producing as many as a hundred offspring per year."
Maximo's eyes narrowed. "And the conclusion?"
"Their reproductive method is pretty... grotesque, Your Majesty," the politician shrugged. "Their sperm acts almost like a DNA parasite, hijacking the host's embryo. It re-codes the female's DNA and replaces it with Orc DNA. The result? An Orc baby is made."
Maximo grimace in disgust. "That's some sick screwed-up shit. These Orcs are a lot tougher than we gave them credit for."
Another official chimed in. "This invasive DNA re-coding causes Orcs to inherit some traits from their host, though the process can fail. That's why some Orcs have higher intelligence, while others are, well, barely capable of basic reasoning. The DNA mismatch stunts their growth in some cases."
"They're like a mix of fungus and cockroaches," Maximo said, shaking his head. "If we don't stamp them out, they will be a blight to us all."
An officer nodded. "We've also identified larger, more evolved Orcs."
"From the Orc landing ships?" Maximo asked, raising an eyebrow.
A general staff member confirmed. "Yes, Your Majesty. Though we only found remains of those on the ships. The larger ones you've seen on the screen are what we call High Orcs, which are Level 8 to Level 10 creatures, much stronger than regular Orcs and are strong as a Battle Tank. The biggest one, however, is an Orc Warlord. These are smarter, faster, and far more dangerous than both regular Orcs and High Orcs."
"So, these Orc Warlords were Transcendent-class Entities."
The officer nodded, "Yeah."
"We estimate there are about a hundred High Orcs spread across their fleet, likely serving as lieutenants to control the horde," another general added with a serious expression. "We also suspect the commander of their forces is an Orc Warlord."
Maximo turned back to the screen, watching the soldiers push back the final waves of the Orc attack and seeing their numbers were thinning as the battle neared its end.
"Damn it," Maximo sighed deeply. "We are literally besieged from all sides by Sea Monsters, Hostile Nations, Orcs, and now even Demon Cults lurking within our borders. We need to solve every one of these problems if we're going to protect the citizens of Austronesia. A defense line, something to stop future Orc fleets, regardless if its an ordinary Orc or some damned Orc Warlord, bastards are trying to eat my people and fuck them, and we can't have that can we?"
The room fell silent at his words, until one politician, with a small smile at the Emperor's use of vulgarities, broke it.
"No, sir. We can't have that."
Maximo gave a grim nod. "No. We won't." and leaned back in his chair after reviewing the strange report. "So, what's the toll this time?" he asked the Army General.
"We managed to repel the Orc attack on the mining facilities," the general began, "but we've lost over 30 soldiers, with 280 wounded. And... 9 others got hexed."
"Hexed?" Maximo raised an eyebrow. "Like, hacked?"
"No, Sir. 'Hexed', not hacked," the General corrected. "All the doctors and nurses at the facility are investigating this matter seriously."
He passed his tablet to the Emperor, who scrolled through a series of images showing various creatures from Bird-like Wyverns, Frog-like Creatures, and Puffball-shaped Animals. But what caught Maximo's attention were the names and IDs of the soldiers listed next to these creatures.
"What the hell is this?" Maximo muttered, blinking his eyes rapidly in disbelief. "Molecular disassembly and reassembly?"
The Secretary of Defense chimed in. "Yes, Your Majesty. Apparently, it's some kind of curse spell. It transforms living matter, in this case, our soldiers, into animals or critters of some sort."
Maximo rubbed his temple, "Is this hex permanent, or is there a way to reverse it? What's the diagnosis?"
The General replied, "According to the elves, the severity of the hex determines whether it's temporary or permanent. Fortunately, in this case, they believe it's temporary. The affected troops should revert back to their human form in a day or two."
A politician leaned in, curious. "How can we be sure they're our men?"
The General chuckled. "Well, most of them still had their dog tags hanging over their necks. They were found mostly next or on top of their uniforms and gear. Plus, there were eyewitnesses who saw a bright green spell hit them before they transformed."
Maximo sighed deeply, barely having much sleep and rest since the attacks from the Orcs. "How is their health?"
"Our doctors are taking good care of them," the General grinned. "It's actually kind of funny. The hexed soldiers retain their intelligence and memories, but they can only communicate through quacking, chirping, or sign language."
"God. That place is turning into a zoo," Maximo shook his head, though a small smile played on his lips. "Bet you that the doctors are having a great time."
Everyone in the Conference room laughed while imagining the chaos of soldiers-turned-critters trying to communicate. But the laughter died down quickly when the door slid open, and Amelia from the IDAC entered the room.
"Your Majesty?"
The men quickly stifled their laughter and straightened their faces into serious and stern looks.
Maximo gave a brief cough to hide his amusement and invited the woman to take a seat.
"What's going on, Amelia? Is everything alright?" Maximo asked.
"Yes and no," she replied, waving off the formalities as she sat down into the chair offered by one of the officials. "Is this about the... zoo you all seem to be discussing?"
Maximo couldn't help but grin. "Well, yes, in part. It's not every day magic turns our troops into animals. It's oddly fascinating."
Amelia smiled slightly but then got straight to business. "Actually, I'm here for something else. The IDAC has new information."
Returning to her stern expression, Amelia placed a briefcase to the table and opened it, revealing a large clear crystal shard for all to see.
"Isn't that from the T-Rex boss?" one of the politicians asked as his eyes fixed on the crystal.
Amelia nodded. "Yes, it is. The researchers finished their analysis, and the results are in." She retrieved her tablet and, with a few taps, transferred the data to the display screen in the room. "This information will amaze you."
The screen flickered to life, revealing schematics of the crystal alongside colorful graphs and charts.
"This thing holds as much power as a micro-fusion core."
"Wait," a general staff member interrupted, "Isn't it just a mana stone?"
Amelia shook her head. "Not even close. It's nothing like a mana stone or Dragonite stone. This crystal is pure concentrated energy. It's neutral."
"Neutral?" Maximo's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What exactly does that mean? How is it different from a mana stone?"
"Mana stones carry elemental properties tied to specific magical elements," Amelia explained. "Dragonite stones, on the other hand, are like fossil fuels. But this crystal? It has no elemental affinity and isn't derived from fossilized magic. It's pure energy, condensed into a crystalline form."
She gestured to the screen. "This could power an entire city, Manila, for example, for a full month."
Maximo sat up straight and was visibly impressed. "Are you sure?"
Amelia nodded. "I've already passed the data and a sample to the Science Department. They're running additional tests, and we should have a full report within a week."
"Finally, some good news," Maximo said, exhaling with relief.
"You should probably take a break, Your Majesty," Amelia advised gently. "It's been a crazy 32 hours."
"Maybe. Anyway, I've heard Odysseus and Yoshiyuki Tomino are working on something big," Maximo remarked, shifting the conversation.
"They are," Amelia confirmed. "After two of his Golems were destroyed by the Silver Land Dragon in the Dungeon, and with the growing threat of the Orcs, Odysseus has been tirelessly creating more Earth Golems. With Tomino's expertise in AI and Odysseus's Earth Magic, along with more teams of researchers and engineers, they're developing something that could revolutionize our understanding of robotics and magical technology."
"Oh? Do they have a name?"
"Yes... they call them the Men of Stones."