The Reawakening Of the Clockwork Soverign

Snow still blanketed the edges of Harthvale's old trade road when the scouts returned, steam rising from their shoulders like smoke off a battlefield. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. All their data was being constantly fed to the sovereign protocol. Behind them, the rhythmic thuds of armoured feet heralded the arrival of something new.

The Kinetic-Reinforced Infantry had been deployed.

Rett met Leonhart at the northern gate, his armour crusted with frozen slush and a streak of red across his knuckle plates, remnants of the outer guards protecting the gates from the walls of Windmere Hill. Behind him, five of the new units marched in a V-formation, their frames gleaming with fresh arc-steel, pistons twitching beneath their ribbed armour.

"Windmere Hill is not defenceless anymore, lord", Rett said, his breath misting in the cold air. "The regular guards outside and on the walls have been taken care of. The chapel should hold the followers of Solvane. But they won't be much trouble for us."

Leonhart scanned the northern sky, his gaze settling on the horizon where a white chapel's silhouette stood alone against the overcast clouds. Windmere's shrine was a pillar of old faith. Its influence covered a wide radius, a constant pulse of divine resonance that interfered with the spread of the Sovereign's Network.

A thorn in his path.

"It needs to fall," Leonhart said.

Rett cracked his neck. "It will, lord. We shall make it happen."

Windmere was a settlement wrapped around a single sacred building: the Shrine of Solvane the Dawnfather. Carved from pale stone and reinforced with golden latticework, the temple sat atop a hill visible from miles away. Pilgrims still passed through, and within the pale halls, three clerics maintained a perpetual warding chant that prevented the Servitude Fields expansion that challenged their faith.

Until now.

Leonhart didn't bring an army for this expedition.

He brought only ten of his newly crafted mechanical infantry, two augmented Kinetic-Reinforced Shock Troopers, and a single Servo-Arcanist Nara the newly reborn, to manage node calibration. The presence of the two metal behemoths- kinetic Reinforced Shock Troopers alone, however, made the ground feel heavier.

The two newly crafted Kinetic-Reinforced Shock Troopers stood tall and still like overlords of the battlefield, giving off a solemn and intimidating aura clearly different from the rest of the mechanical infantry.

They were specifically made by Leonhart to disrupt enemy frontlines through sheer momentum and mechanical power. They were made to serve as first-strike units capable of breaking magical wards, scattering enemy formations, and securing chokepoints in the heat of battle.

Unlike standard infantry, each Shock Trooper is treated not just as a unit, but as a battlefield phenomenon-a display of terrifying force meant to instil both fear and awe.

Their march continued.

The approach was slow but purposeful.

Villagers gathered as the Sovereign's forces entered the perimeter- peeking from the windows and then crowding together in silence. Children were pulled back behind shawls by their mothers. Older men crossed themselves shielding their family behind them. Some held up charms etched with the image of a glowing sun.

Leonhart halted halfway up the temple steps. Behind him, Servo-Arcanist Nara raised her hand using her newly acquired ability, projecting a stabilising field guided by the sovereign protocol. The hum of the Dominion Relay Node's distant pulse synced with the frequency she emitted. The air grew still as the pulse radiated outwards.

And then the clerics emerged, startled by the unfamiliar energy in the air, the pulse generated by the Dominion Relay Node.

Three of them. Robes flowing like banners in the wind. One of them held a glowing staff tipped with light, another raised a protective ward, and the third-a woman with golden tattoos all across her forehead-began chanting.

[Divine Interference Detected: High.][Servitude Field: Contested – 0.7% Conversion per Hour.][Recommended Protocol: Tactical Elimination.]

Leonhart gave the order.

"Begin suppression."

The first strike came from the Servo-Arcanist. She unleashed a Mana Thread Uplink, linking to the mechanical soldiers ahead of her, infusing them with mana. The armour of the mechanical infantry units connected to her shimmered briefly, empowered by the redirected mana that strengthened their internal cores.

One of the clerics raised her hands into the air and called upon Solvane, her voice full of worship and piety.

"Light of the dawnfather, cast your light onto these defilers banishing them into the shadows!"

Following her chants, a beam of burning light like rays from the burning sun descended from the overcast sky giving off the feeling of oppression and might. The beam glaring like the sun as if it would swallow everything standing on its path.

A Kinetic-Reinforced Infantry unit stepped forward.

It didn't dodge the attack, charging headfirst into the beam.

But instead of the fated outcome hoped by the church instead it did something that horrified the three clerics; it absorbed the beam.

"What?" "How is that even possible?" "What are these monstrosities?" Their panicked voices rang out.

The beam struck the Kinetic-Reinforced Infantry armour dead-centre, barely melting through the first layer until the beam was fully absorbed. Then, in an instant, the trooper's legs buckled, internal pistons compressed, and then exploded upward. It launched itself off the ground, arcs of steam and fire spiralling behind.

"Save me lord dawnfath-" the cleric couldn't even finish off his chants.

From high in the air, it slammed into the cleric mid-chant carrying the momentum of its weight and gravity.

The sound was like thunder landing on a stone, shattering it into pieces. The impact hurled her twenty feet backwards, crashing through a nearby statue. Her body finally stopped coming to a rest as the rubble of the broken statue landed beside her. Her body still showing no signs of movement.

The Servo-Arcanist Nara immediately cast Kinetic Anchor, locking her to the earth and bracing for a counterattack from the clerics.

The second cleric witnessing what had unfurled tried to summon a barrier.

"Lord Dawnfather, grant your believers your protection" A golden barrier rose from the shrine, enveloping the cleric as well.

But it was too late.

The Second shock trooper Ram-Charged up the stairs, zigzagging between pillars before smashing into the base of the ward. The enchantment shattered like brittle glass. The mechanical infantry followed, opening suppressive fire-not with bullets, but with arc-suppressant pulses, each hit dimming the divine aura that clung to the shrine.

[Barrier Disruption: Complete.]

[Faithfield Suppression: Active.]

[Cleric Morale: Critical.]

[Servitude Spread: Increasing.]

Leonhart remained at the base of the stairs.

He did not need to fight personally.

He just let his machines do the rest of the work.

Within minutes, two of the clerics were knocked unconscious. The last, the tattooed one, dropped her staff and knelt, still not able to accept what she had just witnessed.

"This… isn't magic," she whispered. "This is a desecration of faith."

Leonhart stepped forward.

"No," he said. "This is something your corrupted mind wouldn't understand."

A quick chop landed at the back of her neck to knock her out cold.

The shrine did not burn.

Leonhart ordered it to be cleansed, not destroyed. The arcane panels depicting gods and myths were gently overridden with new Harmoniser conduits. Nara the Servo-Arcanist began to reconfigure the structure's leylines, aligning them to the Servitude Matrix.

The Loyalty Altar now placed in the chapel's heart, glowing blue instead of the previous gold.

Villagers watched from the sidelines, too shocked by the force of Leonhart to even think about resisting.

When the Emotional Harmoniser was finally activated, its pulses rippled outward like waves on still water rhythmically.

[Emotional Harmoniser Online.]

[Loyalty Adjustment: +12.4%]

[Divine Residue: Bleeding – Contained.]

[Sovereign Influence: Stabilising.]

One by one, villagers stepped inside the chapel, drawn by the pulses of the Emotional Harmoniser.

First, an elder who had lost her son to frost fever. Then a farmer who hadn't eaten well in weeks. Then a child who approached the altar with tears, touched it, and smiled.

No sermons. No miracles.

Just certainty.

The faith towards the gods already being changed form the hearts of the villagers, now replaced by the relief from the protection and promise of progress of their new lord Leonhart.

That night, as the snow picked up again, Leonhart stood at the chapel window overlooking the valley. The Relay Node blinked in the distance, steady and soft.

Rett joined him, standing by his side. 

"Still think the gods will stay quiet?"

Leonhart replied without turning. "No. They won't let this go. They will come."

"And what shall we do then, lord?"

"Then we'll show them what we've built. We will show them what we have achieved without their help."

Below, the two Kinetic-Reinforced units stood motionless, like sentinels.

Not divine.

But unshakable.

[Post-Combat Summary: Sovereign Protocol Internal Systems]

[Territory Acquired: Windmere Hill]

[Shrine Integrity: 84% (Repurposed)]

[Servitude Spread: +28% across the central valley]

[Local Loyalty: Stabilised]

[Enemy Casualties: 0 killed, 2 unconscious, 1 surrendered]

[Emotional Harmoniser Status: Functional]

[Kinetic Units: Performance Rating A]

"Faith may sway the heart temporarily. But precision secures it." - Leonhart, Sovereign of the New Era