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Chapter 51: War of the Gods

Chapter 51: War of the Gods

The Legionnaires formed up at Servius's command, preparing to meet Jack and the handful of guards nearest their position. Though the Legion was outnumbered, they weren't lacking advantages—organization, for one, not to mention having swords against the guards' truncheons. And if Marcus was right about the guards lacking the resolve to kill… well, they were about to receive quite the lesson in ruthlessness.

The group of resting priests of Arashim rai...

EV B2 Chapter 45:

I didn't have time to consider it, though. As I watched Astrid spit at the man's feet and receive another backhand that left blood trickling her lip. I had to act without knowing what any of the three guards were capable of or what their leader could do. My incisive gaze had only triggered on the man who had just struck Astrid, and he was level 43, so a straight fight didn't seem like my best bet.

But I couldn't just sit here and watch Astrid be beaten, so I acted without thinking too m...

Chapter 50: Do you have a Warrant?

Chapter 50: Do You Have a Warrant?

The temple of Kona loomed before them, its sharp lines and fine craftsmanship a stark contrast to the buildings around it. Intricate lines of text detailing notable inventions and constructions lined the temple's trim, serving as both decorative ornamentation and a physical record of historical achievements. A crossed quill and hammer hung above the front entrance—the symbol of the god and his adherents.

This temple was one of the few that hadn...

EV B2 Chapter 44:

I was vaguely aware of Alana following me as I stormed out, my breakfast still untouched. I had just gotten a location and decided that it was going to have to be enough. As we broke out of the location, I felt Alana come to walk by my side and take my elbow gently.

"Miles," she said in a soft tone that made it really hard to hold on to my blind rage.

I growled in frustration before I looked down at her and felt some of the red haze fade from my mind. She gave me a tentative smile...

Chapter 49: Digging for Answers

Chapter 49: Digging for Answers

Despite the golden glow emanating from the dome, Marcus was all too aware that the night had dragged on for quite a long time. They were all exhausted, though the soldiers did quite an admirable job of hiding it. He only caught an occasional stifled yawn out of the corner of his eye.

Fortunately, it was agreed that any further progress would have to wait until morning at least. There was little chance that any exterior reinforcements would arrive fo...

Chapter 48: The Standard

Chapter 48: The Standard

Tiberius slung the ever-present shield off of his back. It fit comfortably in his arm, even though it had been years since it had last seen real combat. He still trained daily—though his responsibilities made securing even that time a difficult proposition. But unlike many senators or generals, he refused to grow complacent and soft by neglecting his physical fitness. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he had lasted far longer than many of his contemporaries. 2025-03-28 03:58:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 47: Divide and Conquer

Chapter 47: Divide and Conquer

It was less than an hour after the initial assault on Stonewake that another round of alarm bells sounded across the town. Cries of renewed dismay from the citizenry rang through the streets as Legionnaires once more scrambled into position, forcing Tiberius to shout his orders to be heard over the din.

Luckily, they weren't caught completely unawares. They'd already been sweeping the city for any last bits of resistance, meaning the men were well-pr...

Chapter 46: Snooping Around

Chapter 46: Snooping Around

Marcus hurriedly led Myra through the town, refining his plan as they dodged through alleys to avoid the patrolling bands of guards. The strange threads that bound him to the Legionnaires made it relatively simple to identify which direction he should head—generally, at least. Focusing on them, he could feel approximately thirty Legionnaire presences inside the dome. He could feel most of them moving quickly, likely rushing to address the sudden threat, but...

EV B2 Chapter 43:

As I started to approach the place where Alana and I had been training, I pulled out the token and contacted Jorg. After a quick greeting, I just told him, "It's done. As good as you're going to get, anyways."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, though he sounded neither excited nor disappointed.

"Well, he's dead. I did my best to pin it on another faction, but... well, I think it's as good as you'll get."

Jorg was silent for a second. "Very well. You'll find an extra bonu...

Chapter 45: Hell Breaks Loose

Chapter 45: Hell Breaks Loose

Tiberius frowned at the latest System message hanging before his eyes. A hostile entity? Did that mean there were still holdouts somewhere in the town? That seemed unlikely. If any significant resistance still persisted, then he doubted that the System would have declared the place—Stonewake, apparently—as "seized" in the first place. No, Tiberius suspected that something else was at play here. What exactly that "something else" was, though, was not imm...

Chapter 44: Divine Architecture

Chapter 44: Divine Architecture

It was with his head held high and pride for his men coursing through his veins that Tiberius strode into the mining town, clad in full armor that gleamed in the sun. All of his worries, contingencies, and tireless planning had proved superfluous—something which he took as a positive. The men had performed adequately in the assault. Even more, they had faced enough of a challenge that it had felt like a real battle.

Despite being only a hundred or...

Chapter 43: Resisting Arrest

Chapter 43: Resisting Arrest

Marcus hurried into Habersville, furtively ducking through the town gates. As he rushed by, one of the Legionnaires responsible for guarding it raised a hand in greeting. "Bard Marcus! Good day."

"Good day to you, Augustus," Marcus smiled and returned the gesture, but didn't slow.

"You're moving with unusual haste. Urgent business?"

"Urgent indeed," he wheeled and began walking backwards for a moment to finish speaking. "Apologies that I ca...

EV B2 Chapter 42:

"Fucking self-righteous pricks blocking the alley, walking so slow. And you people—watch where the fuck you're going!" I shouted at them.

"Hey!" The priest next to Brother Peter yelled. "A follower of Thor is as brainless as I expect. You're the one looking over your own goddamn shoulder!"

Brother Peter laid a hand on his arm. "Brother, it's okay. You can just apologize and move on. Our honor does not call for a fight here."

The man seemed to start to listen, but that wasn...

Chapter 42: This Land Was Your Land, This Land Is My Land.

Chapter 42: This Land Was Your Land, This Land Is My Land.

The Legion marched toward the mining town. Row upon row of Legionnaires moved in lockstep, their shields in a turtle formation—the front row vertical and each subsequent row holding the scutums above their heads. The arrangement provided protection against projectiles from above, covering both themselves and the person in front of them in a series of overlapping defenses like the scales of some great beast.

Chapter 41: The Idea is Simple

Chapter 41: The Idea is Simple

It was late evening when the Legion's forward scouts brought reports of their destination. The mines lay only a half mile ahead, set into the side of one of the land's rolling hills. Rather than advancing right away, Tiberius had ordered for their mobile command post to be set on a nearby hill, one where he could see all the way up to their walls and a little beyond in many directions. It was a bit further back than he might have liked, but there wasn't an...

EV B2 Chapter 41:

// Its been a little bit since I posted EV. Some life stuff happened and I had to step away for about 2 weeks. I had a backlog for legion due to its launch, but not for EV. It's unfortunate, but luckily now posting will continue as I am able.

A few seconds later, Jorg picked up the call—so to speak.

"Miles," he said, surprise in his voice. "I'm surprised I haven't heard from you sooner. How goes the mission?"

I was surprised at how fast he had gotten to the topic. But I su...

Chapter 40: Actions Have Consequences

Chapter 40: Actions Have Consequences

It took Marcus a little effort to get an audience with Gaius. Nothing too extensive, of course, but the recent march meant a bit of reshuffling compared to the command hierarchy he'd gotten used to. He just needed to know who to talk to.

The young officer—apparently called the tribunus laticlavius, or tribune for short—had always been a bit more positively disposed toward the bard than the Legatus. Even with all that Marcus's winn...

Chapter 39: Everyone's a Critic

Chapter 39: Everyone's a Critic

The musty smells of stale booze and old smoke hung in the air, the fumes long since suffused into the very fibers of the tavern's floorboards and walls. Clusters of patrons filled the wobbly benches and scarred tables as they chattered among themselves and nursed tankards of whatever drink was most recently on tap. The worst of the stains and scratches were difficult to distinguish beneath the flickering light of a few dim lamps hanging overhead.  2025-03-07 01:05:17 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 38: Reap What You Sow

Chapter 38: Reap What You Sow

The group before Quintus remained silent. His men had managed to root out around fifty people amongst the handful of houses and outbuildings, but not a single one of them spoke for a handful of heartbeats. The only thing audible was the sound of wind rustling the nearby crops and the light footfalls of the patrols spreading out to search the surrounding area.

The Primus Pilus counted to five in his head as he waited for a response to his question. The...

Chapter 37: Death and Taxes

Chapter 37: Death and Taxes

Quintus had always found himself rather ambivalent toward marching. It had simply been a fact of life, one of those inevitabilities that was neither good nor bad. He had long ago mastered the soldier's mindset of being able to think of nothing during the long treks, existing outside the pain his body felt as he put one foot in front of the other.

Now, though, it was different. With how high his [Marching] skill level had grown, the act ...

Chapter 36: Something Stupid This Way Comes

Chapter 36: Something Stupid This Way Comes

The town watched on from afar, gathered in the field as the thousands of soldiers marched away. Their bearings betrayed a mixture of emotions about their departure. Many of the children ran about, jubilantly laughing, cheering, and pointing as though the event were a particularly exciting attraction at a carnival—an attitude sharply contrasted by the looks of consternation adorning their parents' faces. In fact, the only ones who appeared ev...

Chapter 35: Numbers Go Brrr

Chapter 35: Numbers Go Brrr

The town of Habersville was quiet—much quieter than usual for this time of morning. Not that it was ever a particularly rowdy or loud place. Quite the opposite. Still, even the friendly calls of neighbors to one another or the bustle of shopkeepers hawking their wares seemed particularly subdued.

Quintus strode through the streets, his steps clattering against the newly paved roads as he made his way to the center of town. His gaze swept across the pa...

EV B2 Chapter 40:

We didn't have time to continue our conversation for very long as the next wave started. But Alana was having trouble doing any damage or holding the creatures for any period of time with the severe level disparity. She had leveled up all the way to level five, but it was still proving difficult.

She hadn't assigned her stats yet, but even then, it was only pulling her so far. And I really didn't want to just push her level up unless we absolutely had to. If we could figure out a way to...

Chapter 34: The Men Yearn for the Mines

//Thanks to Guessed for letting us know in the discord about a rather important typo in the last chapter! Also schedule will continue as normal on Tuesday. Nevirra was a bit busy yesterday with her new kid!

Chapter 34: The Men Yearn for the Mines

Fires dotted the camp in the early hours of the day as the men gathered together in celebration of their fallen brother. The mourning celebration had been going on for some time, though not everyone was able to partake in its entirety. M...

Chapter 33: Rite of Passage

Chapter 33: Rite of Passage

The first golden rays of dawn had just begun to stream through the trees by the time everything had settled down. The battle and ensuing manhunt for other threats had occupied much of the Legion's attention that night, followed by a redoubling of defenses around the camp and town.

Tiberius hadn't personally gone out to the battlefield until several hours after it was secured, despite his desire to be on the front lines with his men. The reports of the p...

Chapter 32: Death in the Family

Chapter 32: Death in the Family

The Legion reinforcements streamed forward like a hungry tide, moving quickly to join the fight. What had previously been a dim clearing now glowed as bright as if it were midday, the sheer number of torches banishing the shadows to its very edges.

Quintus didn't let his guard down, however. Not yet. He stepped forward and attempted to make another slash at the enemy that had been plaguing him for what felt like an eternity. The woman with daggers h...

EV B2 Chapter 39:

Even Loki leaned forward in interest as Alana did the status ritual directly onto the fancy, polished wood table. It was a modified ritual, something I had the ability to do, and I assumed most people did, as statuses could get ridiculously large. She only showed the updated trait, which had predictably changed from Savant to First Savant. The description, though, was a little more elaborate:

"You are the first savant recognized by the gods. And with this path that you have begun to for...

Chapter 31: A Mismatch of Skills

Chapter 31: A Mismatch of Skills

Holding the two attackers was proving to be far more difficult than Quintus could have ever believed. Even with three full patrols on top of them, they were struggling. The injury to the dagger-wielding one's leg had healed after she downed some kind of red elixir, and the speed at which she flashed around left everyone stunned and unprepared for attacks from unexpected angles.

The archer, though, was much less of an issue now that they had closed ...

EV B2 Chapter 38:

I let Alana talk to the crowd as she received our rewards. It was nothing special, and because we didn't hit the 20% mark—which appeared to have happened at wave 20—we didn't pass the challenge for the next month. That wasn't too unexpected, and I had no doubt I could pass this challenge by myself and advance to a significant level alone. If I was willing to let Alana fight until she died alongside Astrid, things should be even easier. Maybe. But we should have no problem reaching the 20%...

Chapter 30: A Call to Action

Chapter 30: A Call to Action

Gareth Irontongs was just settling down for the night, drifting away into a particularly pleasant dream, when a sudden noise jarred him into wakefulness.

One eye creaked open as he stifled a grumble of annoyance. Beside him, his wife slumbered on, her comparatively petite form motionless except for the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. As always, the sight of her peacefully lying there brought him comfort. Even if it was spoiled somewhat by...