002: Confidence

Asterion's wounds were almost healed as they were sitting in the tavern while Laconia stood beside him as if she were his bodyguard.

-You don't have to stand all the time you know.

-You tell me that every time you sit down, it's not my fault you're lazy.

-I'm saving energy for the mission.

-Yes, walking and talking tire you out quite a bit it seems.

-I deserve it after the welcome I just received.

After waiting, the employee of the place finally returns, he observes the destruction attentively, but he doesn't seem very surprised, he raises his right hand and on his finger there is a ring exactly like the giant's that shines brightly while making small debris orbit, the man rebuilds the entire stone wall leaving it exactly the same as in its original state.

-You will have to pay for the broken kantharo, sir.

He informed Asterion, he stood up and proceeded to climb some stairs behind the bar with Laconia, he looked into the serpentine eyes of the warrior and with a mocking smile whispered to her.

-He didn't realize that I stole a few drinks of wine.

Laconia responded by lightly hitting Asterion's arm, making him stagger.

The employee left them in a room with only a few chairs and a center table with the map of the labyrinth in which a white space between two routes was crossed out with an X. In the room sat a tall, strong young man, equipped with a thracian helmet with a visor adorned with a feather that hid his face, greaves and arm guards, the latter made of a clean and polished bronze similar to those of the hoplites who guard the city. He carried a sica sword and a sling as weapons. The young man observed Laconia with great interest. He took off his helmet, revealing a thin, fine face with curly, golden hair that reached the nape of his neck, as well as large, orange eyes like honey. The soldier quickly rose from his seat to greet her cordially as he knelt down.

-Good morning, Miss Laconia, I am Niko, the new thracian of your squadron sent by the archon of light himself, my blessing comes from the favor of Zeus and I specialize in short combats, thank you very much for this opportunity, I promise not to disappoint you, my captain.

Asterion smiled slightly looking at the woman.

-Another fan of yours "Miss Laconia".

He mentioned that letting out a tiny laugh that he made sure Laconia heard, she made a grimace of tiredness from having to explain the situation who knows how many times.

-Greetings, soldier, I appreciate your words and enthusiasm, but I am not the captain of this mission, that is the task of the polemarch Asterion at my side.

Niko looked up and like a shower of skepticism he completely doubted those words when he saw both subjects next to each other, Laconia is one of the strongest warriors in the polis(1), a genius of armed combat and with a soul almost three times larger than that of an average heleny thanks to the hydra blood running through her body that gives her, this mythical appearance, four cubits tall and a body full of hard red scales that functioned as natural armor that complemented with armguards, greaves and a reddish bronze breastplate, even her face and neck have some scales to protect vulnerable areas, she also had a thick tail that worked not only to improve balance when swinging her black obsidian broadsword, but also as a catalyst for her blessing, along with torn black wings that despite serving nothing more than to glide a few meters, she used to hide feints or quickly get away from her enemies, in addition to large completely yellow eyes with vertical pupils that many believed allowed her to see in the dark, she is a killing machine with strength and intelligence far above average, so anyone would be surprised to see that she is in the service of a man like Asterion, a thin, weak man with a soul barely distinguishable from that of an animal, with long hair and an unkempt beard, more like a homeless vagabond than the captain of a squadron, he was not even armed or equipped with absolutely anything, he was indistinguishable from any civilian "Why does Miss Laconia follow this guy's orders?" Niko wondered as he watched them, but he did not question the woman's orders and as a good soldier he simply followed the orders of his superior.

-Understood, greetings polemarch, nice to meet you.

-Greetings Niko, I am Asterion the polemarch of this “half” phalanx, I see that you already know about Laconia our bestiary, the archon recommended you so I expect great things from you.

They both gave each other a weak handshake, Niko was still not convinced by this polemarch, but he had no choice but to trust Laconia's decision. Asterion proceeded to explain the plan on the map of the center.

-The route through the labyrinth to the island of Skiathos has been blocked by a nest of myrmekes that dug numerous tunnels in the area, the camp in the middle of the route is about to collapse so our objective is to protect the place and save the survivors while the archon located on the island goes to destroy the nest, we will also bring food to the place, in the next room are the supplies, you and Laconia will carry the sacks, that's all for now, let's go.

-Hey wait! Are there just the three of us? We don't even form a phalanx, don't you have two other companions? We will fight against hundreds of those things just us and perhaps the few soldiers left from the camp.

Niko exclaimed with an accurate opinion, normally the phalanxes are made up of five members who cover each other's weaknesses within the labyrinth and who knows how long they will have to defend the place. But Laconia simply looked him in the eyes and said in a commanding voice.

-Do not question the orders of the polemarch, thracian.

Niko had no choice but to trust the person he respects and together with the warrior they carried the two heavy sacks, one filled with bread, cheese, hams and water, the other carried piles of closed vessels.

-What are we carrying in this bag?

Niko asked bewildered, thinking that the inept Asterion forgot to inform his team.

-If I tell you, the plan won't work. I'm just telling you not to even think about bringing it near the fire.

Niko couldn't believe the situation, but when he saw that Laconia took the bag of food and walked out of the room with Asterion, the man simply took the bag and left with them. They went down to the entrance of the tavern and left the place.

They walked through the streets of the city, the sun beating down with all its force on the great polis of Helena, founded and named in honor of the first human being to be born with five fingers, the hands of a god. The queen with her strength destroyed the abusive centaurs who massacred and enslaved humans for almost five hundred years, raising men and women who would never again call themselves humans, but heleny, in honor of the greatest heroine in their history. The city was built on a huge plateau facing the sea and was surrounded by several watchtowers of stone and marble that rose up to one hundred and fifty-one cubits high. The polis was filled with temples that rose above the adobe houses, with wide streets full of markets. In the center is the acropolis where the archons and the descendants of Helena live, as well as the Parthenon, the largest temple of all, where the statues of the five Heleny gods are.

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The three-member phalanx walked to the foot of the acropolis plateau where there was a huge stone entrance, adorned with statues of the great explorers of the labyrinth.

-How did we build this without blessings? I can't imagine the amount of effort that was needed for this.

Niko was talking to Asterion as they descended the huge stairs into the labyrinth.

-Well, I suppose living beings go to any lengths to survive, although I can't imagine living underground like the myrmekes.

Along the way, several groups went together at the beginning, but slowly they took different routes, some were looking for abandoned minerals, others were on the lookout for myrmeke tunnels to destroy them and most were looking for the way to another island.

The labyrinth is a huge underground network of huge stone paths under the sea that connects each island in the territory. According to historians, it has existed for more than three thousand years and the humans lived mostly in wide spaces of these tunnels before being blessed by the gods. The walls are full of drawings that portray the life of all the species in the world. It is still unknown how it was built.

Finally, the group was completely alone, illuminated only by small spheres of fire created by Laconia. Asterion always remained lost observing the carvings on the walls, while Niko approached Laconia to speak in silence.

-Bestiary Laconia, I heard that you did not lose a single fight in the gymnastike(2), that in your first mission you decimated several minotaurs as if you were born on the battlefield, for this reason I wanted to ask you, why do you follow the orders of that man who does not even have a blessing? He was abandoned by the gods, he is a burden.

Laconia continued walking without even turning her face towards Niko, inside she felt some anger for these comments, but she perfectly understood the doubts of the rest towards Asterion.

-I do not deny my combat skills, nor my strategic ability, but that man is something special.

-What could be more special than an intelligent and talented warrior who shares blood with some of the strongest beings in the world?

Niko mentioned this while pointing at Asterion and together with Laconia they watched as he walked behind both of them looking at the walls sleepily and yawning without any concern.

-Niko, if there's one thing I've learned from that man, it's not to underestimate the weak. I served several polemarch at your age and none of them had a desire to win as great as Asterion's.

-What good are those desires without the ability to realize them?

-The ability to realize something is only strength, Niko. Asterion's desire is worth more than strength.

-I don't understand.

-You'll see, you also made a mistake in something, I did lose a fight.

Niko tilted his head wondering how, since he had never even heard of anyone equaling Laconia in the past other than the elites of the polis of Helena, however he did not have much time to think when hundreds of footsteps at high speed echoed through the labyrinth.

-Stop, myrmekes, I think about thirty.

Laconia said as she took her greatsword, the route was wide enough for five wagons to pass without problems, so Asterion walked to a wall next to the group so as not to have to cover their backs, Niko was nervous about the noise of so many legs on the dark stone, it was not his first mission and he did not doubt Laconia's abilities, but he knew about the nefarious Asterion, a heleny without any blessing, he was the equivalent of a child on the battlefield and it is much more comforting to fight with three companions than with just one while protecting cargo and a "burden".

-Calm down Niko, stay here protecting things, Laconia, can you handle them all?

-Are you really asking me that?

-I'm never totally sure.

Niko swallowed his nervousness with anger at the words he heard.

-Are you going to let her fight thirty of those things alone, do you even know what they are? They are living armors, with blessings you can kill several, but if you are outnumbered unless you prepare a huge divine favor in team or a trap you can't win alone, we have to fight together.

-Save your strength Niko, this is only the first battle and I need your blessings, these things are monsters, but for now trust in our bestiary, we will have to work hard later.

Niko thinks for a moment, but goes into battle anyway.

-I know you are a wretch without any blessings Asterion, if you want to be protected go back where you came from.

Niko abandoned the supplies with Asterion while his sword slowly filled with lightning, he walked next to Laconia, she hit him with all her strength in the stomach, knocking him out and throwing him back with Asterion who stopped his blow against the wall.

-I warned you to obey your polemarch boy, don't look down on me.

Laconia's greatsword heated up until it seemed like it was going to melt with just one more degree and the red ring on her right hand filled with embers that orbited the entire hand of the half-hydra woman until a horde of myrmekes appeared, creatures with humanoid torsos and ant legs, their crimson exoskeleton was tremendously resistant, with four-fingered claws full of red and blue blood indicating that they massacred animals and other colonies of myrmekes alike, they were only equipped with shields and spears made from the bones of their peers and their snouts with pincers communicated with sounds similar to the tip of a feather against wood, the moment their insectile eyes collided with Laconia's fierce gaze, everyone tried to form a concave around her, however, the moment they accumulated upon arriving, the warrior's ring lit up to its zenith.

- Σιδηρουργείο -

As if it were a miniature sun, the ring formed an intense sphere of fire that, with a horizontal cut of her sword, transformed into a crown of fire that charred the first row of myrmekes without much effort. The burst of fire continued its course, but the other ants ran along the ceiling and walls to avoid the wave. Even so, it was an impressive spectacle. Very few warriors are capable of eliminating ten myrmekes with a single favor.

-I EXPECTED A BIGGER FAVOR, HEPHESTUS!

As she said those words, flames came out from his wings and three myrmekes launched an attack from above and both sides. Laconia jumped to intercept the ants that launched itself from the ceiling, cutting it along with his spear. The two remaining myrmekes collided with each other and the bestiary launched a fireball at them, making them suffer a slow death from the flames.

-Seventeen.

While she is still in the air four myrmekes try to intercept her in her fall, but she propels herself with her wings backwards, while she falls on the abdomen of an ant that sought to attack Niko and Asterion, stabbing him mercilessly, the four myrmekes launched a barrage of stabs with their spears, but when Laconia defended herself with her greatsword she destroyed her primitive weapons and severed the torso of an ant, taking advantage of this momentum she mounted its corpse, cutting off the head of another myrmeke, the remaining two pounced trying to crush her with their shields, Laconia cut through one killing him instantly, but the other managed to hit her knocking her face down, three warriors immediately jumped to finish her off, but the warrior jumped towards one of them who managed to pierce the hand of the half-breed, she deflected the weapon from her face and with her pierced hand she destroyed the spear and while grabbing the head of the ant she summoned a flame from her palm, annihilating the creature.

-Twelve.

This time six myrmekes, three on the ground and three falling from the ceiling, sought to ambush Laconia, but the ring shone brightly again and the warrior just waited for them to get close enough.

- Σφυρί -

Upon saying those words, an explosion of fire arose, it went from Laconia's feet to the twenty-cubit-high ceiling of the labyrinth. Five of the myrmekes were charred, but one managed to stab the woman in her stomach through her armor and in an area without scales before perishing in the flames. Laconia felt intense pain, but she simply removed the spear, cauterized her own wound with it and then threw it at the head of an ant that was heading towards Asterion, destroying it completely.

-Five.

The five remaining myrmekes decided to throw their spears from all directions and then charged towards Laconia, who covered herself from three spears with her wings and one with her sword, however the remaining one hit in the union between her shoulder and her chest; another area without scales, leaving her without a left arm for the rest of the fight. Laconia launched a strong fire slash that did not have the power to penetrate the shields so she used it to destroy the legs of a myrmeke knocking him down, then she ran towards another ant and with a stab she destroyed the shield along with its user, she quickly removed the sword from the corpse and threw it towards the head of another warrior, killing him instantly, then from her mouth a flame came out that burned another ant, finally the last one hit with all its strength against the hybrid, who withstood the impact with her only functional arm and pushing herself with her tail she jumped and tore the neck of the last myrmeke in combat using her sharp teeth.

-Zero.

However, the legless myrmeke crawled quickly for the rest of the fight, Laconia had no strength left and when she was about to be cut down from behind, the ant received a stab in her neck by the sica sword belonging to Niko that Asterion borrowed while he was out of the fight, burying the sword in the insect's mouth.

-Are you okay my queen? You forgot one.

Asterion spoke to her with a sarcastic tone while he took the spear from her shoulder and brought her food.

-Better than ever and I could take care of the last one.

Laconia said it with a satisfied smile on her face, Asterion took her to Niko still knocked out and they prepared to eat some of their provisions while the warrior healed his wounds.

-Thanks Laconia, me and Niko will take care of the rest.

-Damn, it's about time. You're not going to tell me the plan today either, right?

Laconia spoke to him while hitting Asterion on the shoulder.

-Maybe.

…

Bestiary/a: The strong arm of the phalanxes and the fiercest and most destructive warriors of these groups, they specialize in fighting multiple enemies with weapons and favors with the greatest possible range, they are usually blessed by Hephaestus or Hercules.

Polis(1): City.

Gymnastike(2): Physical education for strength, endurance and preparation for war.