Chapter 215: Southward March and Prologue of a Bloody Play
Following our very eventful breakfast, we each took our leave as though nothing was out of the ordinary and joined up with my now rested brothers, a very excited Bellerophon, a still creepily cackling Orhan, a silent Archon and all the others, as we all then quickly headed off to take up our posts in the departing armies.
Signalling the start of yet another long and arduous trek to the soon to be war torn lands of our newest foes. A journey made all the more easier by the company of a particular few, as well as the newly refurbished roads, that were constructed the year before last on the strong insistence of Hamilcar and my own endorsement in the council, as we diverted large sweeps of last year’s budget to this single street; all for this exact moment in time.
Yet despite the seeming calmness of our demeanour, that almost bordered on negligent defencelessness to those who perceived us from a far throughout the voyage south, we were in fact the exact opposite, remaining in a constant state of caution and readiness, as we maintained that same perfectly pedicured image of haughty arrogance that would lead to our downfall, silently inviting any fool to in turn loosen some of their own prudence, allowing my lovely Eve to better identify them, while we continued to prepare methodically for the time we would turn their ploy against them.
Yet surprisingly enough, the one most effected by all this was not Abraham and Horus, my ever loyal guards, nor was it Hasdrubal and Leonid, my friends and most stalwart champions, it wasn’t even my brothers, who came to know of the situation somewhere throughout the last two week march; no, the one most aggrieved by the current state of events was none other than my Eve.
Whose mood grew more frigid yet at the same time more volatilely irritable by the day, becoming more and more wary, as she restlessly awaited for that time to arrive, while taking it upon herself to personally investigate every last lead she came across, despite them already being in the competent hands of Yara and the others; with her insistently heading out nightly to tear the answers she wanted from an new unfortunate traitor she’d marked days before, all the while making sure to keep her actions as innocuous as possible, to not prematurely disturb the hornet’s nest, thus by bring our whole operation to ruin.
Thankfully though, this horrendous wait finally came to end in the twilight hours of the fourteenth day, when the army was just beginning to stir from their slumber, and I was in the middle of my morning exercises.
"My liege! An urgent report!" An older man with a silver streaks threading his hair and beard, while looking dirty and tired from the long road came to a crashing halt before me, shrieking through the discomfort of his hoarse voice, as his head almost met the soil if not for the quick reflexes of Abraham and my guards, who were close by.
And hearing his words, my arms stop mid-motion, while Eve, who always accompanied me at such times, also rose from her nearby seat with a frown marring her fair face and a glint of suspicion floating in the amethyst seas of her eyes; she never bothered to hide her eyes when it was just the two of us.
Then, and without any delay, I soundlessly stepped forth and took the envelope he had clutched protectively to his chest, and quickly read it’s contents, before I calmly summarized it’s words for those around me "The border guard have spotted a Murathicus army of nearly ten thousand men, marching north under the banner of at least half a dozen flags."
"How far away?" Eve asked, as she came to my side.
"They claim it’s a mere day or so’s march from here, near the mouth of the Iontas river; a tributary of the Thoir in the east." I replied, as I looked to the exhausted man with a look of distrust, before I meaningfully looked to my side, upon which Eve instantly nodded her head in understanding.
"You there, are you a member of the border garrison that first found this enemy force?" I asked.
"...Yes, sire." The man tiredly answered, and seeing my Eve not react, I continued.
"Protocol dictates that at least a five man team must be deployed for such a critical report, so why are you the sole rider delivering this to me?"
"We were originally a ten man squad, my liege..." He spoke with a depressive tone, as though reliving a memory he’d preferred not to "But they’re all dead now... Slaughtered for the crime of what our eyes had seen, and what our tongues might say." He finished through barely choked tears.
I remained silent for a moment, quietly archiving his words and their slightly alarming implications, before I then coldly questioned "What did the men you saw wear and use?"
"Sire?" He looked up at me with confusion in his tear stricken eyes.
"What weapons, armaments, gear and ranks of martial or magical power did you see the men who you saw have?" I quickly clarified.
"...Light armour..." He began, his head hung low in thought "Padded linen or cloth, some wore leather too. They mainly used javelins or short spears, though when we noticed the army in the beginning I caught other groups among them, who were carrying short swords, bucklers and other similar bladed weapons; and as for magical capacity, I saw no such sight from them. As for their ranks, forgive me lord, for I am but a mere ordinary man, so I have no way to know, but my commanding officer, who was a second rank martial artist, was no match for them during our fighting retreat."
"Final question." I declared, my eyes growing exponentially more grim as I voiced my last query "Where does your loyalty lie?"
"My son was originally the one tasked with carrying this missive to you, sire." He whisperingly said, as a pitiful sob momentarily escaped him, forcing him to pause, before he then raised his head and declared with maddening hate and painfully red eyes "As long as I am allowed to seek vengeance, then it is with you, my emperor!"
Looking to my Eve, I only saw her nod, confirming each word this man has said, which prompted me to order my guards to take him to the infirmary.
Yet once gone, I smilingly said "Seems like their plan wasn’t so mundane after all."
"No such elite force of several united clans could be deployed without the explicit permission of the four dominant, Great Clans of the Middle Lands." Eve confidently said to my side, as she meaningfully looked at me with furrowed brows.
"I thought as much." I chucklingly replied, before I looked back at her, saying "It seems a minor change of plans is in order my love."
Eve did not reply with words, but merely disappeared from my side, sinking into the nearby shadows, eliciting another chuckle from my lips, before my expression abruptly took on an utterly glacial expression mid laugh, as I called out "Abraham."
"Sire?" He asked, though he already had a feeling what sort of Machiavellian maelstrom was on the horizon.
"Call the others, we have a far larger massacre to conduct tonight." I calmly ordered, as I restarted my interrupted training, with the sort of detached, mechanical efficiency of the inhuman.
"As you say, sire." He replied, trying to ignore the goosebumps that had suddenly appeared all across his body, as his instincts that had been trained across multiple centuries suddenly began to blare with screeching sirens.
And so the day progressed, all the way till sundown, when the army once again prepared for the night, yet unlike them, my most trusted and highest ranking commanders were within my tent, armed and armoured, and encased in the lethal disposition that only veteran men of war could ever embody.
"Is everything for tonight clear?" I asked, as I made one final sweeping look across them.
"The Chimera Knights have already reported no new movements from the enemy’s hiding spot, and are laying in wait nearby awaiting further coomand, along with the Demon Born, Diomedes Knights and Artillery Corps." Leonid declared, as both Archon and Orhan noddingly affirmed.
"The Guards are all in position." Abraham announced. "And your brothers have both been taken to safe locations as per your orders, sire."
"General Tessiphina will be made occupied the entire time." Hamilcar calmly stated.
"Barrafin and Amhain are on their way as we speak. And I will be joining Hasdrubal and her imperial majesty immediately after." Horus swiftly reported.
And even Bellerophon, who stubbornly refused to listen to my command to go with my indignant brothers, who didn’t wish to be made to wait like children in a distant location, lightly growled as he lay his enormous head on my lap, as he lightly unsheathed his crimson claws, while his horned snake tail released a threatening hiss, as though to show his own readiness as well.
"Excellent." I chillingly praised, as I lightly petted his ashen mane. "Then let the play begin."
