The wind had changed carrying with it a faint bloody scent.
Where once there was silence, now the village of Harthvale whispered. Not in fear but in curiosity. Curiosity towards their saviour who appeared suddenly to save them during their moment of peril.
Rumours of the mechanical knight who tore through bandits spread throughout the village. Children who witnessed the Iron Saint began to re-enact the moment in dirt alleys with wooden sticks.
Farmers while clearing the bodies of the bandits stared from time to time at the tree line, half-hoping to catch a glimpse of the saviour of the village, the cold giant statue that hummed and whistled of gears and steam that took the lives of bandits, disappearing and reappearing like a phantom.
Leonhart, however, was silent. His expression never changing.
He stood within the abandoned barn situated towards the edge of the village that Arel Thorne had granted him after the bandit issue had been resolved-an old grain hall now converted into a makeshift command chamber.
At its centre, a glowing terminal pulsed faintly looking out of place inside the ancient rundown barn. The Iron Saint stood still in the corner, arms crossed, like a statue awaiting command, patient and ever ready should any threat appear.
Beside them now knelt Rett Corven.
"From the bottom of my heart I thank you lord saviour, for saving this village and the people within it."
"The gods we pray to didn't answer our calls but you showed benevolence towards us even though you had no obligation to do so."
Rett looked up facing Leonhart, on his face the same resolution and determination that he showed while protecting the children. "If you would take in this broken soul, I would like to serve you with all my heart and faith."
Leonhart remembered this guard specifically because of his resolution and determination he showed while protecting the children behind him, never letting go of his broken shield while injured, even in the face of death. His act of bravery and devotion etched into his memory reminding him of some of his closest people from his past.
"I have witnessed you resolve guard. I want to ask though, was me saving the village the only reason you want to follow me?" Leonhart asked curious how the guard will answer.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you lord." he lowered his head. "I wish to grow stronger, strong enough that I can prevent what happened today. Strong enough that I don't have to pray to these false gods to save me and my people."
"Do you believe my words as truth?" Leonhart asked.
"The words you spoke of before, I choose to believe in them. With my injured and broken body I cannot protect those who believe in me. Those false gods cannot help me. The only one I can believe in is you lord."
"Please", Rett continued "grant me the strength to protect those I hold dear, and I shall promise you my eternal and unwavering loyalty."
"Then rise guard. I will help you be reborn. Reborn with the strength you desire for your purpose." Leonhart answered. "Your rebirth starts now."
Leonhart brought him and connected Rett to the glowing terminal. Rett never questioned Leonhart and his process now that he had decided to devote his being to him. He believed that Leonhart would not harm him.
"Place your injured arm here," Leonhart said, the guard swiftly following his commands.
The former guard stared at his wounded arm with amazement, now wrapped in strange silver mesh, its constant movement mesmerising to look at, already knitting tissue with mechanical precision.
"It doesn't hurt," he muttered, surprised at his lord's powers. The ability to regrow flesh and heal the body he had long heard of but different to the ability used by the churches that were granted the power by the Gods.
"It won't," Leonhart replied. "You've begun the transformation. You will be stronger, faster, immune to pain, and loyal to your purpose."
Rett looked up and said, "I want to serve. I'm just… not sure what I've become," looking towards his changing flesh.
"You've become what this world fears," Leonhart said, turning to the Iron Saint. "An answer to its false gods, gods who rule through fear, gods who raise you like livestock, gods who twisted the truth to stay at the top."
[Unit Integration: Initiated]
[Subject: Rett Corven
Designation: Half-Steel Vanguard
Type: Human-Mechanical Infantry (Adaptive Core)
Loyalty: 100%
Result: Success]
The system's voice spoke.
The light in Rett's eyes changed. Not dimmer—but clearer.
He stood.
[New Unit Created: Half-Steel Vanguard]
[Servitude Matrix: 2%]
[Combat Synchronisation: Stable]
Leonhart stepped back and opened the village map on the terminal.
Five new nodes blinked nearby-villages, border shrines and minor temples.
[New Target Zones: Faith Testing Grounds]
Capture or Observe for Faith [Deconstruction Units Available: 2 (Iron Saint, Half-Steel Vanguard)]
Leonhart traced a finger across the screen.
"Iron Saint," he said.
The prototype turned. "My King?"
"You're not the last of your kind anymore. You shall be the first in my conquest."
He turned to Rett.
"You'll build the second. The rest will follow."
That night, the Iron Saint stood watch at the edge of the village like a statue, its blade buried in the soil like a gravestone. Rett knelt in the barn, cables and wires pulsing blue connecting him with the terminal, still syncing his thoughts with the Sovereign Protocol's neural network. The terminal constantly imbuing his mind with knowledge and directives.
And Leonhart?
He stood under the stars shimmering above, looking at a sky once free for all to admire, now ruled by false, scheming gods that didn't deserve their glory. Gods that feared the potential of his theories and ideologies.
His mind constantly calculating like a super computer, calculating his path towards reforging his Iron Empire once again. To make the world remember what the Gods once tried to hide.
They had taken everything from him: his people, his empire, his history.
And now he would take everything back—piece by piece, gear by gear.