Board & Conquest 131: Boneless God of War

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The one silver lining about this disaster was that Epona’s group had fought tooth and nail to the bitter end, so they had seen most of Kronos’ deck and identified his core strategy. 

His chosen Animism for the battle, Timecrash Rift, allowed him to randomly summon a powerful creature taken from one out of twelve different eras at the cost of them being sent back into the rift after a set amount of turns. He supplemented this with a series of mass-produced Artifact-creatures, particularly three powerful ships that let him transport his Idol around, fusion Miracles to create stronger machines, buffs, and discard recovery to keep the pressure going alongside the occasional trap.  

And most dangerous of all… he could cast the Divine Avatar. The battle ended when he had it smash Epona’s Idol in the final stage of the fight after laying waste to Valentine’s capital. 

All in all, Kronos was a relatively straightforward and well-rounded player without a particular strategy beyond beating down the enemy in the field, but that meant he had no fragile hyper-specific gimmick like Hastur, no risk of running out of cards like Whiro had, and no overreliance on numbers like Tiamat. Timecrash Rift also covered the main weakness of the Titans’ decks in that they relied on Miracles to summon creatures. Having access to twelve monsters with a single Animism meant Kronos could dedicate more of his deck to powerful support cards. 

“My take is that Kronos will cast Three Ship Alliance as soon as he has gathered enough mana to do so,” Epona said upon concluding her team’s post-battle presentation. “That’s what he did against us. It let him hide and transport his Idol in one of his three ships, so we couldn’t focus on one at once.”

“He has Miracles that can bring artifacts from his deck to his hand, so he could theoretically do it on the first turn even if he doesn’t draw it with his opening hand,” Wepwawet noted as he reviewed his deck. “A few of his monsters count as Commanders too, so he’ll be able to contest Altar locations as well.”

“Some cards are unaccounted for, though,” Ganesha observed warily. “We can expect a few curveballs.”

“And since he can age up anybody within his Influence, not all of our Champions can even safely approach his Idol.” Wepwawet crossed his arms. “Slimes, golems, and dragons should be alright. Some trolls and giants, too.”

“My Kaiju live for millennia, so they’ll survive too,” Artemis said, her fist clenching. “I say we hit him hard from the start before he can gather steam!”

“That may not be possible, depending on what kind of monsters his rift will spawn or if he manages to cast Three Ship Alliance to hide and move his Idol,” Wepwawet replied. “My Providence should let me find it, but defeating three animated warships will be difficult. If the board state does not favor us, then we should focus on claiming as many Altars as we can. Kronos doesn’t have a Providence that can let him quickly build up mana like Whiro did. If we can starve him of it, then he won’t have enough juice to fuel his more powerful Miracles or cast the Divine Avatar.” 

“Speaking of Altars, ours are now ripe for the taking,” Epona noted darkly as she glanced at her allies. Hel had calmed down a little, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief, while Anansi moped around in bitter annoyance at his defeat. “We’ll provide you with a list of them along with their locations. Claiming them will let you complete Quests, gain new Miracles, and re-establish order in our territories.”

Ganesha shook his head. “We have less than twenty-four hours to prepare before taking the field. We won’t have the time to dispatch our Commanders across such distances.”

“We should bring all forces available to our capitals and Idols, then fortify them for battle,” Wepwawet decided. “The format will let us field more troops than Kronos in the battle’s initial stage. We must press that advantage to seize as many Altars as we can early.”

“Ishtar, Sun Wukong, and I can take care of the lunarians in your absence,” Horus said on behalf of his team. “You should gather all your forces back to your Idols, complete your Champions' Rank-Ups, and prepare for battle.”

Wepwawet nodded in agreement, then prepared to return to Elphion when a voice called out to him. 

“Wait.” Anansi cleared his throat. “There’s… there’s something you should know. Two of our Champions missed out on the Incursion. They’re probably still on Lune as we speak.”  

“What?” Wepwawet choked in surprise and disbelief. “Why?! Why would you leave Champions out of a Titan Incursion?!”

“Because, how to say this…” Anansi sounded embarrassed. “I kept Shifty on Lune so he could continue a highly sensible, completely confidential technology transfer mission…”

“Confidential? I thought we agreed to share all secret operations as part of our alliance?” Wepwawet’s jaw clenched. “Don’t tell me–”

“You had that spider steal lunarian tech for yourself?!” Artemis snapped in outrage. “You cheat!”

“Okay, okay, I admit it, I wanted to ensure my civ could grab a technical edge and ensure none of you would use the Incursion to loot Lune,” Anansi said. “Shifty doesn’t have much combat ability, so I thought he wouldn’t be a big loss for the battle.”

“That one Champion might have made all the difference,” Epona replied icily, her fist clenched. She seemed ready to slap Anansi, and Wepwawet would have supported her in doing it. The horse-goddess had proved to be an excellent team player, ready to wager her own survival to spare Sun Wukong. That one of her own allies held back for his own selfish benefit cut deep. 

“I know.” Anansi looked away with all of his eight eyes. For perhaps the first time in his immortal existence, he sounded genuinely ashamed of himself. “I messed up. I won’t deny it.” 

“And what’s your excuse?” Artemis asked Hel with a glare. “You left a thief behind, too?” 

“Margrave Boltro was animating undead lunarians and creatures for my army,” Hel admitted, looking down. “I tried to have him raise more of them at the last second, but I couldn’t recall him to my Idol in time.” 

“Oh,” Artemis said, the half-dead goddess’ response taking the wind out of her sails. 

“That’s more excusable,” Wepwawet said. “You suggest that we recruit those two?” 

“Yes,” Anansi confirmed. “I also set up hidden safehouses with some artifacts in Shadazar, should we have failed to stop the whole meteorite rain attack. They’re yours to use as you see fit once I give you their locations.”

Horus squinted with suspicion. He hadn’t forgotten the way the spider had blackmailed him in the past. “What’s in it for you?”

“An assuaged conscience.” Anansi shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got no skin in the competition anymore, falcon-man. Yes, Shadazar is full of mean-spirited slavers and chronic backstabbers, but even they don’t deserve to have their souls eaten by Titans. And there’s good people among them, too. I would rather give Shifty and those who believed in me the best possible chances to survive. I owe them that much.” 

Too bad he didn’t behave like that from the start, Wepwawet thought before glancing at Ganesha and Artemis. “Who should take those two in?”

“Isn’t Shifty that spider spy?” Artemis scratched the back of her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love bugs, but I’m more at home leading the big giant kind.”

“Your Champions also fought Margrave Boltro during the Lavaland crisis,” Ganesha said. “You’re the most familiar with him and his tactics.”

Then it was settled. Wepwawet would add those two to his army and hope for the best. 

It might not mean much, but Epona had a point: every Champion could make a difference. 

—---

They left Lune in a hurry. 

Most Champions used their Citystep ability to teleport back to Narc when Lord Wepwawet sounded a full retreat, but common troops like golems and slimes lacked that power. A few traveled back on the mimicship fleet, but most had to be evacuated to Castle Neigebleue. The living Dungeon had slowly repaired itself over the course of the last day in spite of retaining some structural damage, so it could house the rest of their army and ferry it home.

“Hurry up, we don’t have time!” Victoire shouted as their last golems and slimes crawled past the castle’s threshold. “We’re already late for takeoff!” 

“Milady!” She turned upon seeing Filou leading a large group of undead to their location. Almost all of them were animated flies, but she spotted the occasional lunarian skeleton among them. “I found them!”

“Thank you, Filou.” Victoire quickly spotted Margraves Boltro and Shifty among them. “Margrave, it has been a while.”

“Is that disdain I hear in your voice, Lady Victoire?” the undead archmage asked with a grim chuckle coming out of his polished skull. “And here I thought we had put the past behind us…”

“Do not think I forgot how you tried to slay my former squire in Lavaland,” Victoire replied sternly. “We might fight as comrades, but I do not consider you a friend.”

“I would have raised him from the dead anyway!” Boltro complained, his empty gaze focusing on Filou. “You understand that was war, my young furry friend?”

“I hold no grudge towards you, Lord Boltro,” Filou replied, his posture the very picture of a courteous knight. “The goddess you served is no more, and so are the people we used to be. Let us move forward and let go.

You’ve grown wise, Filou, Victoire noted with pride. Perhaps even wiser than me.

“I can’t believe the big boss is gone,” Shifty muttered under his mandibles. “I felt it through all of my hairs and legs… he just poofed out.”

“Lady Hel’s defeat was a most unpleasant feeling,” Boltro admitted. “I still have the shivers running down my spine, which says a lot since I don’t have flesh anymore.”

“We are still gathering information on your own nations,” Victoire said. “Lord Wepwawet told us only the capitals and the local countryside were destroyed during the Incursion, but it will take time before we can reestablish the Altar network.”

Margrave Boltro let out a rattle. “I suppose no necromancy spell could bring Lady Hel back?” 

“She’s not dead, just banished from this plane of existence,” Victoire replied. 

“Isn’t that the same thing? Oh wait, I see the issue, we need a conjuration spell.” The undead stroked his skeletal chin. “I suppose we don’t have a master summoner capable of calling gods to Elphion on retainer?”

“I’m afraid not,” Lord Wepwawet said, his voice echoing inside Victoire’s mind. “Time is of the essence, so get into the castle. I will teleport you to Narc’s front door as soon as you walk inside.”

“We’ll discuss more back on the surface,” Victoire said as she invited her fellow Champions and the undead inside the castle. They walked in regimented order, and Victoire hoped their presence would help in the fight to come. 

It pained her to leave Lune unsupervised. She knew the rest of the peacekeeping force would do a good job keeping the lunarians in line, but the fewer soldiers keeping watch in their capital, the more likely they would be to try something stupid. 

Unfortunately, the threat ahead of them made Beelzebub and his thralls look like children, and it would threaten her homeland the same way Whiro had once besieged Narc.

“We’re better prepared this time,” Lord Wepwawet tried to reassure her. “We even have three dragons to throw at Kronos. With luck, he’ll have an aneurysm at the sight of them.”

“Was that a joke?” Victoire mused. She guessed they had to find relief in the current situation, however they could. “Or a fact?”

“Both.” Lord Wepwawet let out a telepathic sigh. “I won’t lie, Victoire, this will be a hard day. I had hoped defeating Beelzebub would cripple the Titans’ war effort and give us some peace, but it seems I was mistaken.”

“When is it not a hard day since you arrived?” Victoire clutched her spear. “Have faith in us, as much as we have faith in you. We’ll pull through.”

They always did. 

—---

Wepwawet studied his new Champion’s stats. 

Alright, Boltro was a powerful spellcaster in Gaspar’s league and a mighty necromancer. He would make a versatile and powerful addition to the army.

Shifty was otherwise a lot more limited. The spider’s entire build focused on infiltration only. He wasn’t the kind of Champion one sent into the thick of battle, but he made for a fantastic—if fragile—saboteur. Wepwawet would pair him up with Rapoleon and the sapper crews. 

Wepwawet turned his attention back on Narc. The city had been fully rebuilt and expanded since Whiro’s invasion, with three series of fortifications. Wepwawet immediately summoned Castle Neigebleue at its entrance alongside the troops within, and then proceeded to summon the Panopticon beneath his Idol. 

All Doctrines would be disabled when the Incursion began, but Artifacts and Animisms would remain where they were. Having the Panopticon in place on the first turn would grant him knowledge of every player’s starting hand, even though he was unlikely to earn enough mana to pay the maintenance cost once his turn arrived. Wepwawet hoped this intel would prove critical from the start.

Underworld Escape has renewed, too, so I can revive one more Champion, Wepwawet thought, and I already know which one. Sorry, Wintresse, sorry Bernie.

“Underworld Escape,” Wepwawet cast at his Idol’s feet. “Come back to us, Slimon.”

There was no better asset than an inventor when fighting golems and machines. The slime’s immunity to aging effects would be a nice bonus on top of it too.

His divine energies manifested Slimon back into the world of the living, the dead slime materializing from raw mana into a new body, safe and whole. He blinked and looked around as he suddenly realized he was no longer in a doomed mimicship’s cockpit. 

“I’m alive?” he asked in disbelief, his brief confusion immediately turning to relief and then pride. “Of course I’m alive, I planned it, I planned it all along! I sacrificed myself knowing I would be revived even fresher than before, because I was too important to stay dead! I’m now an unparalleled genius and breedable!!”

“I couldn’t leave a boneless demigod of war in limbo,” Wepwawet teased him kindly. “But the breeding will have to wait. I only have hours to rank you up before the–”

A notification popped up in front of Wepwawet, startling him. 

For his feat of defeating a Divine Avatar, Slimon, the First Ooze, has unlocked the Godslayer Class!

…

Huh?

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A/N: next chap, the fourth incursion ;) we're getting close to the endgame.