Chapter 216: Sprung Trap and Climax of the Theatrical Assassination
With the proper positioning of all the actors and props for tonight’s bloody spectacle, I unfurled the curtain doors of my tent, announcing the commencement of the , just as the two unwitting participants, Amhain and Barrafin entered my tent with slightly rigid steps.
"We greet your imperial majesty." The two saluted simultaneously, with apprehension lining their every movement.
"Gentlemen," I smilingly replied, as I ushered them to the empty chairs "have a seat."
"Do you know why I called you here?" I asked once they were properly in place.
"I’m afraid not, sire." Barrafin shook his head.
"It’s for these." I revealed, as I calmly pulled out a stack of papers from the nearby drawer and lightly tossed it in front of them.
Quickly looking through the heavy binder of parchment, they both momentarily let pass a look through their defences that clearly conveyed the words ’As expected.’, before they then swiftly reined it in, and an expression of horror mixed with astonishment took it’s place, as the heir of Enkada then vocalized their shock.
"How did you uncover so much in so little time?!"
His alarmed sense of incredulity was not out of place, as they’d already spent the better part of a month trying in vain to hunt down the scurrying tails of these would-be dissidents, and yet here we were achieving what they found to be nearly impossible in half the time, with the added hinderance of us being on the march and of a different people than them, who for the most part, with the exception of the high ranking officers of course, spoke in an entirely different language than each other.
"Don’t underestimate the skill of my people in such matters." Though spoken cryptically to elicit a lasting sense of fear and awe, to discourage any potential thoughts of disloyalty in the future, inwardly I scoffed at their ignorance, for how could such a simple matter elude me nowadays with my precious Eve by my side.
Yet, as I was continuing this premeditated charade, that was specifically engineered to both buy time for the true show to begin, while simultaneously sowing the seeds for a far more impactful climax; after all, we needed our chosen impartial witness to be as affected by the event as possible; the signal we’ve hearing whispers about for days, but never managed to verify, echoed out from beyond the camp, and then carried forth on the excited lips of one imminently delusional corpse to the next.
And soon enough, a whole cohort of these mad martyrs, armed with blades and lit torches began to assemble outside their tents, much to the bewilderment of many of their unaware officers and fellow countrymen who looked at them half in horror, half in paralyzing loss of understanding, as these once trusted brothers and sisters in arms rushed at them, with their blades biting viciously into their flesh and their torches setting ablaze all that stood around them.
And much like how a great flood is only swollen in devastating potential by every insignificant drop of water from the heavens, so too did their own disaster in the making bloom ever greater; for with each crimson petal of fire that blossomed in torturous beauty, so too did the confusion and fear in the hearts and minds of every person in the army also surge forth with unstoppable momentum.
And yet, while these tongues of fire sadistically spread, devouring both timber, cloth and men alike, while the screams of the broken and dying saturated the surrounding air, the river reads to the east, near the opposing banks of the Iontis river began to come alive with the moving bodies of ten thousand rushing men, ready to pounce on the deceptively radiant camp, like a pack of opportunistic wolves, ready to finally feast upon the flesh of the old, now fallen bull, that had always stood stalwart in the way of their hunts.
All the while, silent shadows, dressed and armed in the colours and steal of my empire’s warriors, took advantage of the chaos and rushed past with a single purpose in mind.
Meanwhile, such a tremendous disturbance obviously also made it’s way to us as well, prompting Barrafin and Amhain, who were still busy being under the impression that I called them over to discuss the matter of the traitors, to stop their words for a moment, and look towards the clased curtain door and ask "What’s all that racket?"
But before anyone could answer them, five men rushed into my tent, screaming in between panting, heaving breathes "My emperor! Rebellion!"
"What?!" Barrafin and Amhain rose with a start as they rushed to the exit.
"Don’t move!" Yet before they could, I yelled out, freezing both men in their place, as they looked at me in bewilderment, as I slowly rose from my seat, clutching Fallen Nemesis in hand, as I then disappeared with a burst of movement that left the five men reeling, and before they could react, my bone white halberd became dyed in scarlet blood, as a pressurized vermillion geyser erupted from the neck of the leading man.
"You need to work on your acting." I lightly said, as I looked at them mockingly, with eerily, alabaster ethereal aura giving me a ghostly, revenant air.
"Damn you!" One of them yelled out, as he and the another of his ilk rushed at me, only for my Golden Guardian to already be upon them, as he casually reaped two more of their lives, cleaving them both at the hip, before he then sent a horizontal slash of radiant aura past the two frozen men, bisecting the fabric door behind them, that they were just about to pass a moment before, along with the two assassins standing silently there as well.
The sloshing sound of butchered meat mixed horrifically with the gentle swaying rustle of the crumpled clothe on the floor, along with the distant wails and screams muffled by the crackling echo of the roaring fire, drew a mesmerizingly morbid picture, as the remaining two would be assassins screamed at the top of their lungs through their trembling lips and paper white faces "Come out and help us already!"
For a fraction of a second nothing happened in response to the man’s desperate cry, yet then the walls of my tent were ripped apart as ten other assassins, blitzed towards me.
Abraham vanished from his position in a flash of golden light, as he then instantly appeared before the three hooded assassins, one woman and two men who radiated the might of eighth rank martial artists, instantly halting their advance with a simple swing of his glaive, which incidentally also destroyed the remainder of the tent, sending shredded fabric and crushed furniture flying across the surrounding area.
Barrafin, finally breaking free from his stupor, pulled his short sword from it’s scabbard and also joined the fray, his fifth rank aura coating his body like a armour as he attacked the nearest to him, who happened to be a fifth rank martial artist the same as him.
And though it took him longer to also awaken, as his painfully rational mind rioted when things spiralled out of control, Amhain also drew the weapon dangling from his hip, the signature armament of his clan, the whip, and began immediately showcasing why the Enkada were so feared in the northern Murathicus territories; by using his superior range, aggression and the unpredictability of his attacks to keep two more of the assailants occupied.
Meanwhile I, who had remained perfectly still this entire time, casually looked at the remaining six of the overall twelve attackers, and calmly rolled my shoulders as they all closed up on me, with their blades gleaming with their hungering auras.
And only once they were within striking distance, at the moment of their greatest success, when their senses already promised them victory, and their minds had already tricked themselves into feeling their skin bathe in my blood and untold glory, did my aura flare up with a with an explosive action, as I twirled my previously still halberd above my head in a wide, cleaving arch.
Four of the six, those who radiated fifth rank aura as well, barely managed to escape my sweeping edge, but the remaining two, the two who reeked of second and third rank martial arts, those of lesser breed than the others, the same ones who’d first arrived to my tent and then called for aid when they realized they’d been caught, were not so quick on their feet and were instead cleaved in twine by my sixth rank covered aura.
Over the last few years, I had very quickly regained some of my lost prowess with my two martial weapons, and now, for the first time, I could really put my restored abilities to the test.
The remaining four, who now saw me wreathed in sixth rank aura did not immediately resume their assault, wisely growing cautious of me, as they slowly began to circle me, acting like a pack of scared dogs before a beast they now realized was bigger than them; and as they continued to methodically circle me, I realized that they were most likely wishing to adopt the canine’s tactics as well, by carefully trying to bite at my heals as they slowly worked to tire me out.
Unfortunately for them though, I had no interest in this faux siege of theirs, as I directly targeted one of them. The other three tried to distract me, but I simply twisted and launched an aura slash towards them forcing them to scatter, before I then continued that motion and attacked the one I meant to from the beginning, with my halberd’s axe blade catching him on the throat, thus by decapitating him out right.
Seeing three of them die so fast one after another, with the exception of Abraham and who he was fighting, the other melees ground to a halt, as they all looked at me in mix of awe and terror; just as the advent of the distinct sound of cannon fire began to echo across the blackened sky, announcing the commencement of the riverside massacre as well, not that they knew about any of this.
Yet at that moment, as though finally glimpsing the opportunity of the lull in combat, an indistinct shadow shot through the wreckage of the surrounding tents and into the half stopped battleground, and instantly delivered two near-fatal blows to the heir of the Enkada Clan, both of whom etching themselves as bloody trenches across his back, as a spurt of blood retched out of his lips, before he unceremoniously crumpled to the floor; bringing further silence to the already frozen battleground.
