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Kairos 118: War of the Diadochi
🕑 Added 2022-03-29 09:00:46 +0000 UTCThe rain followed the sun.
As dawn rose on the grassy plain standing between Cassandra’s army and Pergamon’s stone walls in the south, so did black clouds. They thundered and darkened the skies with their numbers.
As a drizzle fell on Cassandra’s armor and skin, a feeling of tension ran down her spine. The shiver of the warrior marching to his death. The climax of a long adventure.
“This is it.” Cassandra could feel it deep inside her bones. Her fork and shield felt heavy in her hands. “Our final battle.”
It had been roughly a year since she and Kairos had earned [Legends] of their own. Today felt like the conclusion of a long journey.
“It is,” Dispater said as he walked at her side with Ultor following closely behind. “For Zama.”
Cassandra nodded as she observed the battlefield. Her army’s battle lines stretched at her back, with infantry at the center and cavalry on the wings; the left was composed of amazon mercenaries under general Petra’s command, the right of Lycean cavalrymen led by Labienus. ‘Kairos’ flew atop the army on Rook’s back alongside an escort of griffin riders and Aglaonice.
All the pieces were in place on her side. Would Zama fall for the trap?
A river split the plain in half and separated the Valian general’s troops from Cassandra’s. Three fords would allow each army to bring the fight to the other bank—the Valians had destroyed all the bridges—but Zama hadn’t made a move to seize them.
Instead, the general had split his army into four groups of roughly ten thousand soldiers each and positioned them all in key strategic locations. One troop mostly made of pegasus riders and magicians had taken position on a small hill in the south-east. A cavalry force that included the Valian elephants occupied the plain’s center and a tightly-packed infantry contingent guarded the rear in the southwest, right under the shadow of Pergamon’s walls. The last group, made of the Alexandrian reinforcements, awaited near the western ford.
Zama split his forces to counter Kairos’ hurricane magic, Cassandra thought. Orthia’s army was destroyed because it had fought in a tight formation. By splitting his forces into mobile units, Zama could avoid a fatal blow and reposition his men to encircle Cassandra’s.
Still, it was a risky move. If Cassandra’s army could use their numerical advantage to crush each contingent individually before Zama encircled them, the tide would turn decisively in their favor.
“They have taken a defensive position,” Dispater noted with a frown. His once dashing silver armor had become duller. Cassandra suddenly realized that her father-in-law had removed the ostentatious finery and decorations; perhaps as a statement that wealth was no substitute for skill. “If we cross the fords, the heavy cavalry will fall on us and the Alexandrians will flank our right wing.”
“I have faith in general Petra’s ability to counter the Alexandrians,” Cassandra replied. The amazon general had held the line against the Argonauts and their undead army in Achlys. She would die before she broke ranks. “It’s the mages on the hill I’m worried about.”
“If the drizzle turns into a downpour, the forts will become watery tombs,” Ultor noted. “We cannot wait too long.”
Cassandra looked up at the flying troops above. “Do you see Zama?!”
Aglaonice flew lower to answer her. “The manling general is leading the rear guard, in the southwest contingent,” the sphinx replied. Cassandra has tasked her with running divinations before the first clash. “His elite guard, the Sacred Band of Vali, surrounds him.”
Ultor raised his head with interest. “Even in Lyce their reputation precedes them.”
“Zama isn’t risking himself at the front this time,” Dispater pointed out with pursed lips. “He is not so confident with Kairos leading the charge.”
“If he isn’t risking himself, it means he intends to use [One for All] at the first opportunity,” Cassandra replied. Zama’s behavior accredited her theory that his Legendary Skill had a downside of some sort. “We’ve got to lure him into the fray.”
[One for All] had allowed Zama’s troops to prevail while heavily outnumbered. Now that the two armies were evenly matched, the Legendary Skill would prove a nearly insurmountable advantage.
“He will only risk himself for the sake of revenge,” Dispater said as he looked up at ‘Kairos.’ The clouds had grown darker, the drizzle slowly turning into rain. “We need to move before the river overflows, Cassandra.”
Cassandra exhaled. “What about Romulus?!” she asked Aglaonice. “Is he among them?”
“Even my unlimited genius cannot pierce through a [God]’s veil of secrecy,” the sphinx replied. “I cannot say. Maybe he’s at the rear, maybe he’s elsewhere.”
Cassandra’s fork did not burn in her hand. The flame of vengeance that had granted her strength in her last battle had not activated again.
Could he be fighting in the bay? Cassandra wondered as she glanced at the ocean beyond Pergamon. The Travian-Lycean fleet would soon confront the Thalassocrator for control of its waters. Cassandra could only pray her allies would win this battle on their own.
She had the feeling she wouldn’t avenge Tiberius today.
Her thoughts must have been easy to read, for Dispater immediately tried to reassure her. “We fight for more than revenge today, my good daughter. No harm will come to you…” His eyes moved to Cassandra’s belly. “Or them. This old man swears it.”
Cassandra took a heavy breath. “Do not die,” she asked her father-in-law. “I have buried enough people and your grandchild will need you.”
Dispater smiled sadly. “We shall see.”
Cassandra’s second-in-command Chloris approached her on horseback. “Milady, what are your orders?”
The time for doubts had passed.
“General Petra is to hold our right and prevent the Alexandrian from flanking us. Labienus will take the hill. Our infantry under Kairos’ command will rout the Valian cavalry and elephants before making a beeline to Zama himself.” Cassandra looked up at Aglaonice. “Can you best the spellcasters on the hill?”
The sphinx snorted with arrogance. “Please, manling. I have forgotten more about magic than you will ever learn.”
Cassandra hoped her bite was as good as her bark. “Ultor,” she said as she turned to their army’s strongest warrior. “If you would lead the charge.”
Ultor raised his sword to the skies as Chloris went away to translate the orders. “Lord Dispater, our contract will end today. Once the sun has set I will no longer fight for your coins, but for myself.”
His employer smiled without any bitterness. “We lack a crowd for your grand spectacle.”
The [Demigod] waved his sword at the Lycean army behind him. “This is my crowd!”
Ultor let out a fearsome roar that shook the land itself. The soldiers echoed it as lightning coursed through the skies.
[King of the Arena] Legendary Skill activated! Ultor’s physical stats will be greatly boosted so long as he inspires awe and fear in onlookers!
[Bane of Beasts and Men] Legendary Skill activated! Ultor’s attacks will be super-effective against humanoids and beasts alike.
Ultor rushed at the ford faster than the naked eye could follow. Only the rippling movements in the air allowed Cassandra to track him; the atmosphere itself seemed to step out of the [Demigod]’s way. As Ultor’s first step caused the ground to tremble, lightning fell down from the skies.
The battle for Pergamon began with shining thunder.
“Onward!” Cassandra rushed after Ultor as fast as her feet would carry her. Her fork and shield suddenly felt as light as feathers. “To glory!”
Her infantry followed alongside Dispater. Lines after lines of shields and spears advanced on the drenched grass. Their steps echoed with the roaring thunder above their heads. 'Kairos’ and the aerial forces soared across the skies towards the southern riverbank.
Zama’s flying riders immediately moved to intercept their counterparts. Though they lacked the automatons that had given them an edge in their last confrontation with Lyce, they were more than a match for Travian griffins in strength. ‘Kairos’ bombarded them with fireballs and explosions that illuminated the heavens.
Cassandra crossed the central ford after Ultor, whose sheer speed had caused the surface of the river to turn to steam in his wake. Her legs moved through shallow waters reaching up to her calves. Their level rose with the rain as the horizon caught fire. The Travian fleet had engaged Mithridates’ ships in battle with a fiery fury.
Only when Cassandra’s vanguard had succeeded in their crossing did the rest of Zama’s army spring into action. The central cavalry rode across the plain to welcome Ultor with sharp spears and arrows. Their ten elephants roared as they stepped forward, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
A blue screen appeared before Cassandra’s eyes.
General Zama’s [One for All] Legendary Skill activated! All troops under the general’s command will benefit from his personal buffs until the battle’s end!
[Regen], [Hasten], [Strength Up], [Lightning Amp], [Vitality Up], [Agility Up], [Fire Resistance]...
Ultor claimed the right of first blood anyway.
He leaped over a dozen meters with the agility of a grasshopper and landed on an elephant. The [Demigod] crashed through the fortified tower on the animal’s back, bringing it down and crushing the archers manning it with his weight alone. His fall snapped the elephant in half, the two parts collapsing in the drenched grass.
This did not deter the Valians. Cataphracts charged at Ultor with heavy magical spears as mounted archers pelted Cassandra’s vanguard with arrows. The Lady of Cinders, Dispater, and their allies raised their shields to protect themselves.
Cassandra quickly retaliated with fireballs from her fork. Her ghost flames incinerated horse archers trying to pull back to safety, roasting men and mounts alike. Dispater turned some of the enemy soldiers to gold with a mere glance while his men supported him with javelins. Most Valian horsemen moved too fast for missile throwers to hit them, but a few fell dead all the same.
As for Ultor, cataphract spears shattered against his skin as if he was made of steel. The [Demigod] sent half a dozen horses flying each time he struck back with his sword. To Cassandra’s shock, the weapon hadn’t even hit. Ultor’s mere swing carried so much power through the air that it created shockwaves.
Their blood drenched the [Demigod] until he turned redder than a grape. Another elephant tried to run him down and was punched to death for its troubles. Ultor’s fist caught fire as it ignited the air in spite of the rain; the elephant exploded on contact in a shower of blood and bowels.
As most of Cassandra’s troops continued their crossing, the Alexandrian forces moved to cross the western ford in an attempt to flank the Lyceans. General Petra’s amazon cavalry crashed into them before they could do so. The Alexandrians raised their shields as they were welcomed with arrows and javelins; the attack slowed down, but did not stop their advance.
Labienus’ cavalry wing started crossing the eastern ford as Cassandra’s troops did but failed to reach the hill. A familiar surge of magic erupted from the nest of enemy spellcasters and a mighty thunderbolt hit the river. The lightning raced through the waters and electrocuted all troops unlucky enough to be in contact with it. The current washed down their burning corpses.
Another thunderbolt hit Cassandra’s infantry behind her in a cataclysmic blast. Her vision briefly went white as the lightning vaporized a dozen men and created a crater where it had struck. Cassandra’s heart skipped a beat as she raised her shield to protect herself from the dust.
The [Thunder Hammer] spell.
The same dreadful magic that had slain Cassandra once. She had had the luck to come back from it when many of her crewmates stayed dead.
Casting this spell was tremendously difficult and demanded the coordination of multiple magicians. The fact Zama’s sorcerers could cast it multiple times in a row was a testament to their experience.
The next thunderbolt hit ‘Kairos’ and Rook.
The lightning illuminated the cloudy skies as it struck the Lycean aerial forces. Many of the griffin riders were instantly turned to ashes. Rook turned into a golden blur as he lost altitude and dived towards the plain’s center.
Like a frenzied shark aroused by fresh blood, Zama’s rear guard immediately sprung to action. The last contingent advanced on the plain to intercept ‘Kairos’ and hopefully decapitate the army’s leadership.
“Advance!” Cassandra shouted as loud as she could. The noise of the melee, of steel against steel, drowned out her words. “Maintain formation and move to the center!”
Dispater echoed her orders and rallied the troops. Their phalanx advanced to rescue ‘Kairos’ before the rearguard could reach him first.
“Stop them!” a Valian archer shouted from atop a war elephant. His beast and two others roared as they moved to intercept Cassandra. “Stop—”
Cassandra answered his words by turning her fork to the ground and launching herself in the air with a fire blast. She leaped over the archer nest above the elephant and then bombarded it with a rain of flames. The archer tower turned into a candle while the panicked elephant crushed allied horsemen as it tried to escape the inferno.
Another elephant turned to gold as Dispater activated his own Legendary Skill. The third crashed into Cassandra infantry, its tusk pushing through the first line. However, the Lyceans had already fought elephants before and swiftly split their formation into two halves. The pachyderm rushed into an empty space between them and was pelted from all sides with spears. The beast let out a fearsome roar as it collapsed from a javelin to the heel and fell on his left side, crushing a dozen men.
Meanwhile, Aglaonice had moved to attack the hill without support and answered the lightning bombardments with falling stars of light. It did not prevent Zama’s magicians from calling upon their magic, but slowed down their rate of attack; enough for Labienus’ remaining soldiers to cross the ford and rush to the hill.
We are taking heavy losses, Cassandra thought as she landed on the ground. The rain washed away the blood of the fallen and the wounded were left where they fell. But we’re holding our ground for now.
“Werewolves at the rear!” Someone suddenly shouted. “Werewolves at the rear!”
Cassandra looked over her shoulder. Although she was too far away and the heavy rain was too strong for her to see clearly, she noticed explosions beyond the northern bank. The remaining Beast Cult infiltrators had revealed their true allegiance and were attempting to strike the troops at the rear.
Cassandra, having anticipated such a move, had left Lycean [Heroes] behind to hold the line. To her surprise, few of them had protested. Cassandra had expected a few hotheads to bitterly resent being left away from the vanguard where the glory could be found. Yet none of the brash youth who had led Dispater into a disastrous rout manifested at the war council.
The glory hounds had died fighting Zama near Apollonia. Those that survived had learned wisdom and caution. The others were experienced veterans of multiple campaigns, disciplined warriors who understood that giving orders also meant taking them sometimes, or soldiers with absolute faith in King Kairos and his officers. All of them understood that [Heroes] or [Common], everyone had to play their part to win today.
Cassandra could only pray they would hold—
Another thunderbolt hit close to her location and swallowed the world in a white flash.
Lightning struck Ultor where he stood. The shining spell that had robbed Cassandra of her first life and nearly destroyed the Foresight failed to bring down the [Demigod]. In fact, he didn’t even flinch.
Ultor took some damage though. The blood covering him evaporated and branch-shaped burning lines spread across his skin. The [Demigod]’s helmet had turned searing white as he looked at his damaged sword, which he swiftly tossed aside among the steaming ashes surrounding him.
“Go!” Ultor shouted at Cassandra as the remaining Valian cavalry regrouped for another doomed charge. An elephant rushed at the unflinching [Demigod]. “I will warm up with the small fry and rejoin you later!”
Ultor grabbed the elephant’s tusks as it tried to impale him, stopped the beast dead in its tracks, and finally rotated on himself. The giant beast was flown back to the Valians at an arrow’s speed. The resulting impact sent horses and dirt alike flying.
Ultor roared and the very ground shook beneath his feet. The river’s surface rippled even though it was a hundred meters away. The [Demigod]’s voice diverted even the falling raindrops from their course.
For a moment, Cassandra thought she had witnessed Heracles reborn.
It mattered not that Zama empowered his troops. Buffs had been invented by men to narrow a gap in strength, but there were ravines too vast to cross.
Cassandra didn’t have time to admire Ultor’s strength though. The bulk of the Valian infantry was within sight and walking fast towards ‘Kairos’ and Rook.
It was a testament to the griffin’s resilience that he looked more stunned than harmed after taking on an attack that wounded Ultor himself. Still, he struggled to get back on his feet as he lay on the drenched grass. ‘Kairos’ had leaped off the mount’s back and hurled fireballs at the Valian infantry.
She might have had better luck striking a stone wall, Cassandra thought. The flames that had incinerated entire regiments licked the skin of armored soldiers without inflicting lethal damage. Their burns healed before Cassandra’s eyes. But at least it delayed them.
Thankfully, Cassandra’s forces reached their allies first. Cassandra and Dispater immediately moved in front of Kairos and Rook as battle lines stretched behind them. Shields rose in expectation of a deadly clash.
“Stop.”
The commanding voice stopped the Valians dead in their tracks. The enemy soldiers immediately let a passage through their ranks for their leader.
“Lady Cassandra, Lord Dispater, we meet again.” General Zama’s golden armor glowed with each lightning bolt in the skies. Though old with whitened hair and wrinkled skin, he seemed to have aged a decade further compared to the last time he and Cassandra crossed paths. His hands brushed against two curved swords around his belt while his glowing blue right eye gazed balefully at ‘Kairos.’ “Step aside from the path of my vengeance and I shall let you go.”
He looks feebler than last time we met in spite of his buffs, Cassandra thought with a scowl. When she wouldn’t answer, Zama’s troops lifted their javelins.
“Ouch…” Rook complained as he struggled to get back to his feet. His metal wing had melted from the lightning blast and could no longer support his weight. “Pain hurts!”
“I am truly sorry, songbird,” ‘Kairos’ replied with a female voice. “Rest. We will take care of this.”
Zama scowled and raised a hand to prevent his men from attacking.
He knew he had been had.
“I wondered why you didn’t clear the rain, but now I understand…” The general’s jaw clenched in cold rage. “The [Eye of Athena] can pierce through any illusion, so how can it be?”
The false ‘Kairos’ smirked as their disguise faded away. Her masculine body changed into the shape of a splendid woman with flowing hair and cunning eyes. The Dawnspear turned into a witch’s scepter, the armor into robes.
“Surprised, general?” Andromache asked mirthfully as she finished regaining her true form. “This is no illusion.”
“Shapeshifting. Of course. With the rain obscuring my vision I was too far away to use [Observer] on you.” Zama gritted his teeth. “I see you even brought the true griffin to trick me. Where is the real Kairos?”
“Out of your reach,” Cassandra replied. He didn’t see it coming, she thought. Our theory was correct. The [Eye] cannot see too far into the future and it only shows what he can physically see.
“With the fleet then.” Zama climbed down from his horse and unsheathed his two falcatas. “I let my feelings cloud my judgment. How careless of me. Alas for you, I can still retreat with my teleportation amulet.”
Andromache raised her scepter warily. “Why haven’t you then?”
“Because I can wash away my dishonor even without your husband’s blood on my swords.” Zama raised his weapons at the nymph’s head. “I will cut off your pretty head, gild the skull, and keep it as a trophy as I return to Vali. A lover’s life for another. It will be an even trade.”
Cassandra stood in front of Andromache with her shield raised. “Over my corpse.”
“And mine,” Dispater added with his sword raised. “I failed to bring you down last time, but I will rectify my mistake here!”
“I see your thoughts in your eyes. You believe that as a general, I need to hide behind soldiers to survive. That I am more competent in command of an army than on the frontlines.”
Zama crossed his swords and his soldiers adopted a fighting formation.
“You miscalculated.”
------------------------------------
The ocean burned.
From the deck of the floating Foresight, Kairos observed the firefight below under the cover of invisibility. The bay of Pergamon had turned into a chaotic melee of ships and sea monsters clashing amidst exploding fire rods. The plankton in the depths had turned orange like the fires of Tartarus as the raging waves battered hulls.
Agron’s Bridgeburner ship led the Travian fleet to battle, his monstrous ship backed up by poisonous hydralisks and automaton vessels. Their rams shattered hulls and sailed across the wreckage of defeated foes. Cetae pulled enemy vessels down into the abyss. Their jaws closed on sailors to drag them away.
Queen Euthenia’s flying troops had mastery of the skies and made good use of it. Her riders rained down spells from above. Even the rainfall couldn’t extinguish the flames.
In a straight fleet battle, the Travians would win handily. They had lived at sea all their life and survived many battles. Pergamon’s fleet was greener, less experienced.
But none of the small ships mattered. The Thalassocrator was worth more than all of them combined. Kairos had heard reports of Mithridates’ ultimate weapon, but he could hardly call that thing a ship. A floating city would have been a better term.
Compared to the Thalassacrator, the Foresight looked like a small boat floating next to a galley. Mithridates’ flagship was nearly five times the size of Kairos’ own and with more oars than a man had hair. Three towers of reinforced wood rose on each of its flanks, each of them filled to the brim with archers and deadly ballistae. A temple of stone stood high at its center with only a stair of bricks to access it. Mithridates probably commanded the ship from it.
It didn’t even need to activate its unique power to dominate the battlefield. The colossal ship skidded on water with grace in spite of its enormous size and crushed any smaller vessel unlucky enough to stand in its way. It couldn’t save Pergamon’s fleet from destruction, but it made the Travians pay dearly for their success.
A beast with oaken scales sailing a sea of poison…
The words of Prometheus’ prophecy echoed in Kairos’ mind as another monster challenged the Thalassocrator
Hybris had personally engaged the Thalassocrator in battle by ramming against its oars. No sooner did he break a dozen that twice more took their place. Archers on the towers pelted the cetae [Demigod] with arrows and spellcasters with lightning bolts. Whenever Hybris tried to ram the Thalassocrator’s hull from any side, a magical barrier flared into existence to drive him back to the sea. Attacking from below hadn’t yielded any results either.
Each minute the Thalassocrator was allowed to operate increased the risk of its destructive power going off.
Mithridates couldn’t activate his ultimate weapon yet because he risked massacring his own forces. The Poison Emperor might have had no qualms about sacrificing pawns, but he couldn’t hope to rule a graveyard.
What would happen once his army had been routed and Mithridates had nothing left to lose?
Kairos didn’t think for a moment that he would sit on the Thalassocrator without activating it. The battleship had to be destroyed before it had the chance to activate.
“Husband,” Julia whispered at his side. “We cannot break the shield.”
Thales manned the Foresight’s magical ballista but neither his projectiles nor the ship’s flames could break through the magical shield around the Thalassocrator.
Worse, the barrier only worked one way. The Foresight wailed as the Thalassocrator’s ballistae fired harpoons at its hull right as it passed over the larger ship without triggering the shield. Chains bound the two vessels together and Thessalan soldiers immediately started climbing them with swords.
The Foresight was about to get boarded by pirates.
The irony wasn’t lost on Kairos.
“Absyrtus,” Kairos whispered as he recognized Mithridates’ second-in-command leading the invaders. The Foresight incinerated a few soldiers as it vainly tried to free itself, but it didn’t deter them. Mithridates’ men fought with the determination of cornered rats.
“We will deal with him and keep Mithridates’ men busy.” Julia’s sword was already out of her hand, ready to cut out hearts. “Behead the snake and end this once and for all.”
“I will.” Kairos gathered his breath, his mother’s athame warm around his belt. “If I perish—”
“You will not,” his wife cut him with words and then a kiss. Her lips found their way to his own in spite of Kairos’ invisibility. Julia embraced him with ferocity and his hands pulled her closed to him. His desire rose with the smell of burning flesh and the cold rain on his skin.
If they hadn’t been in the middle of battle, he would have fucked her then and there.
“Come back to me alive,” Julia said as she broke the embrace, “and we will finish what we started now.”
“Quite the motivator,” Kairos whispered back. “How did you know where my lips were?”
“I am your wife.” She smiled. “I will always know.”
Kairos chuckled before embracing her again. Their lips brushed briefly and like all good things, the kiss ended way too soon. The Travian King sent one last look of longing to his wife before leaping overboard.
Using the Dawnspear to direct the winds, Kairos oriented his fall closer to the temple. His [Godslayer] Legendary Skill let him pass through the magical barrier as if it weren’t there. The rain no longer touched his skin. Not even the water could pass through the Thalassocrator’s magical shield.
Kairos finished his flight on the brick steps leading up to the temple. Nobody stopped him. None stood in his way.
None but a single swordsman standing at the top of the stairs.
The mere sight of the armored figure gave Kairos a headache.
[King of the Wild Hunt] negated by Julia’s [Wolf Matriarch].
“[Invisibility],” Romulus rasped with a deep, haunting voice. “Truly, Kairos? I smelled your approach before this battle even began.”
“It was worth a shot.” Kairos dropped the invisibility and examined his foe. He had seen the armored champion of Lycaon once in a vision, but never in the flesh. Every inch of his body radiated a dreadful aura of murderous glee… but Kairos knew that a man was buried somewhere beneath the rage and the fury. “Hello, Taulas.”
“That name means nothing to me.”
“How about brother then?”
Romulus did not flinch, but the fires in his eyes faltered a little. The twin flames glanced at the athame around Kairos’ belt.
Kairos grabbed the Fang of Aurelia with his left hand while wielding the Dawnspear with the right. Both weapons felt warm under his fingers; one like a beating heart and the other like the sun.
“Mother died to make this key for your cage,” Kairos declared. Brother, please remember… “It was meant to free you.”
“Ah…” Romulus’ rattle was as brief as a sigh. The evil force that possessed him had erased the thought before it could take hold. “I have no mother. Lycaon is my past, my present, and my future. He is the only pack I need.”
“You are wrong and you know it. We are your pack. Me, Julia, your nephews, and nieces.” Kairos locked eyes with his brother. “I know you still have memories of me.”
“And once you perish with your blood on my sword, they will vanish like the night swallows the twilight sun.”
“You want a duel?” Kairos observed the area. If Mithridates had any soldiers left, he kept them safely in the temple. “You are guarding this place alone.”
“No one else is needed.”
Of that Kairos had no doubt. “Mithridates is keeping his forces in reserve so he can kill both of us once we are weakened.”
“Perhaps,” Romulus conceded. “But your words will not save him nor your family. Once I slay you, your wife will come down to avenge you. She will die and I shall step over her corpse to strangle her son in the crib.”
“I know you do not want it,” Kairos replied. “You stayed your hand in Travia.”
“A moment of mercy that I have regretted ever since.”
“But you avoided meeting me each step of the way. You only confronted Julia when I was absent from Histria. You attacked the Lycean army I hadn’t joined.” Kairos delivered the coup de grâce. “Lycaon never let us meet because he was afraid; afraid that our meeting would give you the strength to resist him.”
Romulus’ sword lunged for Kairos’ head so fast that he barely had time to take a step back to avoid being beheaded.
The Legate of Lycaon growled like a feral beast, but Kairos didn’t care. The reaction was proof enough that his words had hit their mark.
“You can fight him!” Kairos shouted. “You are stronger than this monster! Stronger than anyone!”
“Enough talk,” Romulus said as he lifted his weapon once again. “Let us settle this with swords rather than words.”
“Have you forgotten, Taulas?” Kairos wielded his Dawnspear with his right hand and kept the Fang of Aurelia in the left. “The spear is community.”
“Yet you stand alone before me.” Romulus’ baleful glare reflected in his blade. “And alone you will die.”
Not before I bring you home, Taulas, Kairos thought as he prepared for the fight of his life. One way or another.
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A/N: chapter made possible by you, dear patrons.
As stated yesterday, I will be starting to remove content related to Kairos' first volume from RR and Patreon today as per KU's exclusivity rule. It's your last opportunity to download the patreon ebook.
