Battleships began to ascend into the hemisphere of the planet all around Moyo as he made his way back to the town his forces occupied, leaving the city behind. Opening a pathway just outside of the city walls, he appeared within the command hub of his town, his ten commanders and guard already waiting for him. Standing up from their chairs as he entered, he waved them back to their seats, feeding the schematics the masters had all been given at the end of the meeting to holographic display on the table in their middle. It brought up the image of the star abyssal core fortress, the guard wincing slightly,
“that’s right, we’re going into another of these things” he said,
“Do we get one this time?” Fern the commander of the steel guards asked,
Moyo chuckled,
“Hopefully not, this time it’ll be a combined effort of all the fleets in our armada to assault this fortress” he continued,
“The reason being that this particular fortress is said to be triple the size of the one we fought before, meaning more space to cover and more abyssal creatures that need to be wiped out of existence”
“I’m guessing we’ll be moving along with the other planetary forces in our fleet?” Idris asked,
“precisely, although I expect we’ll be separated at some point, it’ll be prudent to move in numbers, the fortress will be even more saturated in the energies of the abyss than the previous fortress, meaning we’ll be hard pressed for both aether and raw power, at least, those gold and below “Moyo answered,
“Meaning the banquet will be placed on hold till further notice?” Marcel asked,
Moyo paused, turning to Urne who sat straight at his gaze,
“Ship mistress, what are the preparatory level of our ships?” he asked,
“All vessels have been refitted and repaired with additional firepower thanks to commander Ahib and his artillery division, we’re in the process of loading every Ija and Ashas we have available to us on those vessels” she reported,
“Good, once every logistics is set and we can move at a moment’s notice, inform every single member of the legion to gather in this place” Moyo said as she saluted,
“Idris?, upgrade this town to a city, we’ll need the additional space for what I have planned” Moyo ordered,
“As you will it lord” Idris replied,
“The rest of you, officially choose your division commanders, inform Idris and have the list sent to me, a copy will be sent back to Gaia, the clan would have a copy in reserve that must be updated as time goes on” he said,
The guard bowed and began filtering out one by one, Moyo folding his arms behind him and staring out into the bustling world where ascenders ran up and down to attend to whatever needs they had. Idris stood next to him in silence,
“You seem grim” the Geb hand said,
Moyo gave a non-committed grunt, simply staring on,
“How large is the legion now?” Moyo asked,
“Approximately twenty thousand” Idris said as Moyo nodded,
“Diamonds?” Moyo asked,
“twenty” Idris replied as Moyo shook his head,
“golds are a thousand, we have over five thousand silvers and the rest are a mix of bronzes and below” Idris continued,
“we’ll not be facing simply categorized monsters Idris, we’ll be facing monsters deep within the mutators realm that nothing short of diamonds and maybe golds can go up against, and still, we’re expected to throw the rest of them into the jaw of death” Moyo said softly,
“The archailect has never been a place of sunshine and happiness, this, I am learning as time go by” Idris replied,
Moyo nodded, glancing at his champion,
“we move as one cohesive legion, no branching off, no hunts for personal glory and definitely no competition within the cohorts, I will not have lives senselessly thrown away, not when we do not know what horrors we would face on the planet below” Moyo ordered,
“I will drum it into the ears of the guard” Idris promised,
“Oh, and inform Ahib to obtain as much mithril as possible, the artillery division should start forging as much weapons of rare and uncommon ranks as possible, something to stab and cut specifically, I have a plan to bolster the strength of the legion” he said,
“thinking of infusing your aspects within the weapons?, would the weapons be able to hold them for long?” Idris asked,
“I doubt they would, but if it’ll give my men a fighting chance, then it is something I must do” Moyo replied,
“oh” Idris said, snapping his fingers,
“Pontiff Matthew has pleaded with those who venerate you to increase their venerations in preparation for you going to fight the denizens of the abyss” Idris said as he chuckled, Moyo rolling his eyes,
The pontiff was a very religious man, nothing Moyo could do at this point, although it made him pause for a second, an idea blossoming in his head,
“Maybe I can increase the strengths of the weapons without them shattering” Moyo murmured to himself,
“My lord?” Idris asked,
Turning to his champion, he smiled,
“I believe I have a solution to our problems” Moyo answered with a grin,
*******************************
“Well, it is surprising you decided to come to us instead of going straight to the war council, seeing the sort of circles you move in for a mere master” Ulric fang blade said, the master staring coldly at Moyo through the holographic call he made,
Moyo didn’t rise to the bait, simply giving a slight nod in deference before speaking. He had requested a meeting with the fleet masters of the armada, saying he had a proposition to make, seeing his status within the fleet that only an idiot would deny, he was granted. Clearing his throat, he spoke,
“Apologies for taking out of your time, but I wanted to pass along a…. ah…. suggestion” he said,
“Well?” Altair asked,
“Seeing as we’ll be going up against the creatures of the mutator, our forces, I mean the golds and below don’t really have any way to handle the sort of creatures that might come for them” he started,
“Regular intent, mana, aura and even pure aether attacks may not do much to them seeing as you said so yourself that they would be going against even creatures not categorized” Moyo continued,
Seeing as he had their full attention, he turned to Mardar who stood just behind the thousand blades, the jade raising one eyebrow, wondering just what point Moyo was trying to make,
“I propose we create as much weapons of different sorts as we can, then have the jade and arcane generals carve runes into them, imbuing the weapons with as much of their powers that are anathema to the creatures of the abyss as possible” he said,
“That way, we give those below diamond even a fighting chance” he finished,
Mardar sighed, Ulric growling,
“You would have us waste valuable runes on mere silvers and golds?” he asked,
“It is sacrilege to even consider we give the gift of Lotes to those she hasn’t deemed worthy” one of the arcane generals spoke from where they had been silent,
Altair had informed him of their arrival as soon as he made the request for a meeting and had included them as well. Their stone-cold looks and fiery eyes had dissuaded Moyo from making small talks with them, but most of all, it was the way they stared at those below them as nothing more than vermin that irritated Moyo the most.
Which was strange as Moyo had rarely seen them make a move in the war seriously, but he refrained from saying his mind, he was here to petition them, not point out their shortcomings, that would come later. He turned to the generals, swallowing the scathing words he had on his tongue before speaking,
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I know you have a serious responsibility to protect the archailect, but I’m not asking for the literal flames of the supreme being, just anything you could do to help protect those whose lives we’re taking into battle with us” Moyo pleaded,
“These ascenders knew what they were doing when they volunteered to join the war, if they will get stronger, it’ll be on their own strengths and nothing more, certainly not the way we see you cuddle your ‘legion’ arming them as you would arm a diamond, you waste valuable resources for a master” one the generals replied, a woman with literal burning eyes and smouldering hair,
Moyo took a deep breath before speaking, keeping his temper in check,
“I do so because I know what it feels like to be weak, I do so because any one of them with the right protection and zeal could come out stronger of these trials, so I beg you, please, we need to protect them” Moyo said,
He saw Altair shift as the eyes of the other rulers and generals glanced at him,
“perhaps we could infuse regular runes of power on these weapons?, nothing too serious, just to give them an edge in battle?” he asked,
“Not only would that take from our aspects, but have you considered the long term ramifications of these?” the ruler with the burning hair asked,
“Post war, we could see weapons with ruler runes flying around, causing havoc on countless worlds where they would be considered priceless artifacts, no, it is too risky” he said,
“True, but there must be something we could do, I for one agree with the master that it would be wasteful of us to simply throw so many ascenders to their inevitable deaths” the ruler with the green glowing gel-like body,
“It is as you said, inevitable” Ulric rumbled,
“Until they at least get to diamond, all they serve as are fodder for this war, we cannot waste resources on golds and below, should you choose to do so of your own volition, fine, but this council will not” the fang blade said grinning,
No doubt, the ruler was simply looking for anything to frustrate the titan blade, Moyo simply blinked at him before shutting his eyes tight and turning to Mardar, beseeching him. The jade shrugged,
“I answer only to the jade lord and lord Altair, nothing I can do personally” he replied with a sad smile,
“you would give away the secrets to the runes of the jades?, not even Lucirion would agree to such” Ulric said,
Mardar simply glanced at the fang blade,
“You speak for the aether blessed now, do you?” he asked coldly,
Ulric was lost for words as the cold gaze of the scourge rune descended on him, wondering where he had spoken wrong. Altair cleared his throats,
“We as rulers will do all in our power to ensure the protection of the armada, seeing as I doubt we’ll be getting any reinforcements till we somehow vanquish the lord mutator himself and sanctify the this system in its entirety” he said,
“That is indeed why we have come, to ensure the success of this endeavour, play your role master, and leave the rest to us” an arcane general said,
Moyo nodded in silence, not reacting as a message appeared in his HUD,
Seeing as it came from Mardar, he didn’t glance at the jade, no doubt he had been informed of his status as a pseudo primordial, Moyo was realizing the circle of those that knew who and what he was had begun to expand.
No reply came from the jade after that and Moyo gave his gratitude before cutting the call, staring at the wall,
“Ahib?” he called softly,
“yes, my lord?” a mechanical voice answered behind him as the commander of the artillery division walked into view,
“Is it done?” Moyo asked softly,
“Indeed lord, all the mithril we have currently have been forged into blades and knives, they await your sanctification” he replied,
“Good, lead the way” Moyo said,
************************
He entered the large factory house where the blades had been forged, watching as a large crater had been dug to dump the glowing silver blades, thousands upon thousands. Ahib and Idris stood next to him,
“We have been able to forge over ten thousand blades on such short notice, most of the mithril we have, have been used in the battle suits my lord, I’m afraid these are what we could do on such short notice” Ahib said,
“it’ll do for now” Moyo replied,
Stretching his hand over the pile of blades, Moyo extended his aura, infusing his intent and just a tiny bit of both his aspect and veneration. The swirl of powers along with aether he drew from the aur settle on the blades, a hissing and sizzling sound coming from the bundle as the powers settled on them. Taking care to use his aura to mask his aspect and veneration, he willed his aspect deep into the blades, making them an integral part of the weapons, ensuring they wouldn’t stand out.
It was a precaution just in case some of the ascenders died and the blades ended up in the hands of another ascender not within the legion, he paused at the thought. Using his authority, he willed the blades to bend to his wishes, not sure how he was doing it, but he could sense the veneration within him ring, his HUD lighting up,
Notice: you’re about to infuse mithril blades with your aspect and veneration, transform it into a miracle? (Only three miracles are allowed at a time) Y/N
Interesting he thought,
Whatever he was about to do, it counted as a miracle, and he could bestow three miracles at a time?, then all the better. Accepting, he felt his veneration pour out unto the weapons, the blades glowing brightly as he willed his will into being. The blades shone for a while longer before dimming, his power saturating the blades themselves before vanishing like it wasn’t there any longer.
Notice: you have employed miracle (1/3):
* edge of the titan: infused with the aspect, veneration, aura and intent of the titan blade, this blade carry the authority to give devastative damage to any creature infused with the aspect of the abyss!, +100% damage to abyssal creatures, +50% damage to regular creatures
Moyo nodded appreciatively, floating closer to the blades, he used his finger to begin drawing runes in the air, the same runes slowly etching themselves on each of the blades. His eyes glazing over, he whispered the name of the runes as they burned themselves into the blade,
Mu, the edges of the blade will never dull,
Agbara, the strength to preserve the structural integrity of the blade
Coming out of the trance, the glanced at the blades, watched them cool down from the heat that sizzled around them. Turning to Ahib and Idris, his champion picking one of the blades, whistling appreciatively,
“this’ll definitely do a number on them” he said,
“Indeed, just the worth of one of these” Ahib said, staring forlornly at the blades,
“Ahib” Moyo warned,
“Perfectly cleared on that my lord” Ahib said with a sigh,
“Although I must say that recovery of these blades would be taxing” the commander said,
Moyo turned back to the blades chuckling,
“Almost forgotten about that” he said,
Plucking the blade with Idris, he threw it back into the pile, his hand glowing again. He drew one last rune,
Pa da, the power to return at the calling of the titan blade,
“that’ll ensure the blades return back to us when we’re done, just in case any of the ascenders get the lofty idea to keep it to themselves or some ascender from another planetary force lays their hands upon them” he explained,
“Better that way, share them among the cohorts?” Idris asked?,
“Yes, two thousand per cohort, given to the frontline fighters, those without the battle-suits to protect them” he ordered,
Idris bowed,
“It will be done, what next lord?” he asked,
“Summon the entire legion, it’s time we get things underway” Moyo said with a smile,
**************************
Moyo floated over his entire legion, arms folded behind him as he felt the gazes of thousands upon him, and even the gazes of masters in the distance, wondering just what he was up to again. He smiled, took a deep breathe before speaking,
“a few weeks ago, the legion was born, now, look how far we’ve come” he started,
“We have gone from an ordinary planetary force of thousands with no ties to each other, to a true legion with brothers and sisters, fellow ascenders we can trust to have our backs in the chaos of war”
Raising one hand and pointing into the stars,
“there, in the distance, is the foe w e go to face, an existence that perverts the natural order of things, that threatens all we stand for” he continued,
“but we will crush this foe, we will do this not because we want the, myriad of loots and strength it’ll bring to us, no. we do this to protect those we call family, we do these to tell and show those who will come after us that we laid down our lives for the archailect, to cement our names in the sands of history” he said,
He drew dominion, seeing the steeled look in the eyes of his legion,
“We do it for those who have gone before us into the silent bliss of death, we do this to ensure more don’t have to go the same way as well. Lastly we do this to drive the enemy from our reality, we do this to send a message to those who would see this legion fall” he said as his dominion began to glow,
“From my Kaminaris, to my claws and lances!’ he shouted as each cohort being mentioned roared,
“Zhiyuans, brawlers, Aegis, diablos, revenants, Spadas and steel guards!”
Banners waved, ascenders roared,
“Remember what we have suffered, remember the promises we swore to our dead, we will return retribution to then hundredfold, for every one of us taken, we shall take a hundred of them!” he finished as the roar of the legion rang through the air,
Moyo, the titan blade, glowing above them all.
************************************************
The armada of system Molrik began its short journey towards the last barrier between them and the planet of Molrik, but even from this distance, they could feel it. There was a perversion in the air, despite the ship of the arcane generals leading the charge, their runes burning in the cold expanse of space, shielding the ships that came behind them from the worst of the ravaging powers.
Moyo sat within defiance, the ten battleships of his legion aligned behind him, following closely. There was a terse silence abord the defiance, both ascenders and A.I silently watching as they got closer to their destination, Moyo gripping the arm rest of his throne tightly, steadying his breath.
He had gotten in contact with Ashira, the princess and woman he loved smiling as she rolled her eyes,
“We are initiating this attack at approximately the same time you guys will as well” she said,
“don’t worry about me, worry about yourself, you’re the one that gets in more trouble than I do”
Moyo had chuckled at that, the eyes of the chimera ingrained into his mind,
“we’ll meet soon” she had said,
Moyo intended to make that happen, it felt like a probe at first as his eyes shot open, dominion glowing. Idris glanced at him, summoning his aspect of the titan as his champion of the titan activated,
“My lord?” he asked softly,
“We draw close” Moyo replied,
Idris nodded and sent messages to the ten ships, Moyo feeling his aspect blazing up around his vessel as he stood up from his throne,
“Instruct the legion to go to battle readiness, we’re about to enter into the thick of the storm” Moyo said,
Urne saluted, patching herself through to the other battleships as Moyo gripped dominion,
“The ship of the brigade is slowing down ship mistress!” one of the ascenders on the command deck said as Moyo glanced at the screen, seeing as space swelled like a big pus, glowing green.
Then it blew open like a balloon and the largest craft Moyo had ever seen tore out into space, all glowing and carrying the sickening aspect of mutation and decay.
Moyo turned to Idris who nodded,
“Fire all weapons on my command!” Urne shouted,
Moyo felt the defiance hum to life as all weapons were brought to bear on, Shola appearing next to him,
“Aspect crystal is at 95% lord primordial” she said,
“Good, then we go to war” Moyo replied