It’s been a couple of weeks since my fight with Magnus. We left the city of Ostia, which we used as a base, and marched further inland. As time passed, the summer heat faded more and more. In a month or two it will be autumn. We likely only have enough time for one battle before we must halt the campaign for winter.

Lucanus who marches beside me is looking pale. I can’t tell if he is depressed or scared. We have raided villages and had minor skirmishes, but this is our first battle against a real commander. Gneius Gracchus is the senator who will be leading the army of the republic in this battle.

I have heard things about him while in Amidonian territories. He was a poor and minor aristocrat who used alliance and genius political strategy to rise to the top of the populares party. The opposition party to the dominant conservative party.

Not only that, but he has a group of extremely fanatically loyal followers, each with a great deal of skill. Even his wife is a prodigy in the magical arts. The plebian class that he represents in the senate has a subsection that believes he is a demi-god, son of the progenitor of man.

I am certain that the next battle will be far more difficult than the mountain pass. Tomorrow we are expected to make first sight of the enemy. We are approaching the city of Carrhae.

The city of Carrhae was originally built as a fort. It lies in the plains area on the path to the capital. Carrhae is still a few marching months away from the Amidonian capital Ephesus, but it is definitely coming closer.

When I laid my head down to rest, I remembered the undeniable fact about war. You can die any time while out on the field. I see in the eyes of young recruits a constant anxiety. The human body has a natural fight or flight instinct, when in a warzone, that fight or flight will persist constantly, traumatizing you in the process.

I don’t feel this anxiety. Not only have I died once already, but I don’t hold any value to my life, Not even subconsciously. Despite this, I continued to think about my possible death. I think about Magnus too, the determination in his eyes to do good even despite his coming demise.

When he knew he would perish, he didn’t roll over and accept it. Instead, he drove himself to do one last bit of good for someone he wished to save. I wonder, would I be able to do such a thing?

In my old life no, but I have changed. I was pathetic then… no, I still am aren’t I? Gah, this is fucking annoying to think about. But, even though I am pushing my body, and I have a goal, am I still useless? Am I still flailing my arms around in a fit of futility?

Damn it, I need to stop thinking about this. I really do. But, he keeps forcing his way into my mind. Especially with that comment about me being like Marcus… could I actually be like him someday?

I am going to take a walk to clear my head. While I’m out I see Lucanus sitting by the pond I planned to go to. He is staring into the water with a grave look in his eyes. He turned around after hearing my footsteps.

“Ah Cassius, you went for a walk too?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Ahaha, I couldn’t sleep so I came to clear my mind.”

I didn’t respond to the pale-faced man. He was clearly forcing a smile for my sake, not that I needed it. He looked back at the water and then continued talking.

“You don’t look too good. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Don’t be gay Lucanus.”

“I’m sorry…”

For the first time, he apologized after I reprimanded him. He looked a little extra hurt after I said that.

“Hey Cassius, if I die… I’m sorry.”

“For what? And what’s brought this on?”

“It’s just… I fear that when I die, you will be truly alone.”

“I don’t need you around, you know? And besides, tomorrow you will be in my unit, there is no way you’ll be killed.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

We separated not too long after that. I returned to my tent and got about 3 and a half hours of sleep. This was about the same as normal.

…

The army of Amidonia came into sight. The groups were spread out with 9-10 people per unit. In warfare with magic involved, you need to be close enough together that your melee combatants can support one another. But if you are too close as a whole, a single mage could butcher hundreds of soldiers at once.

Due to the lack of density, soldiers were spread to our left as far as the eye could see. To our right was the ravine Carrhae was built next to. I entered the command tent alongside Ozias. The meeting started soon after.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Scouts reports and spy reports are consistent. They have more units on their right flank, as well as the rest of the guardsmen.” one officer told King Cleon.

“It’s the logical move.”

They likely intend to cut off our retreat by backing us into the ravine itself. Everyone understood this immediately, but simple strategies sometimes work the best.

“We will lighten our defenses on both the left flank and center” Cleon spoke. This decision left everyone speechless. It made sense to weaken our defenses on the right, but to do so on the left?

“My king! You will give room for the enemy to advance while our backs are to the ravine?”

“Yes. When one side stays put and another advances there becomes a pivot point in their line. That pivot point is a vulnerability, if you can push through behind it, encircling your enemy will be a task of ease.”

“But you can do the same encircling maneuver by stacking the left flank! My lord, please consider the implications of destroying the stronger army while encircling the weaker one. Versus leaving the weaker army standing while you encircle the stronger army. We must be safe.” A general spoke up.

“Being safe guarantees more casualties. I will take risks to ensure my victory is grand. Besides, who said I would be leaving the left flank weak? I merely said I would thin the number of troops.”

“You mean?”

“Cassius and Ozias. The two of you will lead a small fighting force to destroy the Temple Guardsmen.”

“My lord! A single soldier and a kid against a unit feared throughout the world? That is ridiculous! They will only be killed!”

When the general spoke up I got pretty pissed at this statement. The king stepped up before either Ozias or I could.

“They will win, it is guaranteed. Now cease your insolence, to imply that I can’t see the strength of my own soldiers.”

“I am sorry my lord…” the general replied.

This was good enough for me to let go of the disrespect. Ozias on the other hand didn’t care at all about what that guy said. Well, he was always the type of person to prove his strength rather than intimidate people.

We left the meeting once we finished receiving our orders. I thought Lucanus would be in our unit, but it was too dangerous for him to come with us. He ended up being assigned to stay with the camp. Well, it’s not like he would do much in a battle anyway. A good support makes a world of a difference, but he doesn’t have the mindset to fight in a war.

Ozias, Domitius, Appius, and myself alongside some other soldiers I didn’t know all set out to the front lines at the left flank. We slowly advanced toward the Amidonian troops, they set out to meet us in the middle.

The sun was to our back, and we were moving downhill. We ate a light meal before this battle, we should be in our prime condition.

The Temple Guardsmen stood out heavily. Their armor shined brightly and carried unique weapons. After I killed the first two, there were 12 members left. Upon realizing who we were challenging, the other members of our unit dispersed to other parts of the battlefield. It would be Ozias and me alone against one of the most elite units in the Republic.

My heart began to pound, I took in every minute detail around me. Just two of these guys gave me trouble, fighting 12 of them? My body begins to tremble, do I fear death more than I believed? I feel my face.

No, I don’t fear death. Perhaps I’ve lost my mind. I’m excited.

Why? Ah, I know why. I hate fighting, I truly do. But I can feel it drawing ever closer. The day I encountered the spider unit. Now I remember that once I get through this hell, there is something great waiting on the other side. Let’s get it over with.

I leap a few hundred meters and land in front of the first guardsman. He is wielding a club and a large shield. Normally you would go after the supports first, but I’ll leave that to Ozias.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see him throw a punch at a healer. The punch just grazed him, not enough even for someone as strong as him to kill you. Still, the healer rag-dolled and clearly died.

“Watch out! If he touches you it will kill you!”

Everyone in the vicinity of Ozias scrambled. Reasonably so, even I didn’t know he had a move like that. Ozias is truly a monster in every way. But, fearing him alone is a mistake.

I slam my left foot on the ground and cast a spell through it. Earth spear is its name. I build a large and sharp spearhead in the ground behind the shield wielder and launch it at fast speeds.

To my surprise, it is blocked by a magic barrier. Was it a mage in the area who put it up? No, I trace the mana from the barrier back to the shield which is glowing faintly. I see now, that shield protects its wielder from every angle.

The larger the barrier the weaker it is at an individual point. There are exceptions to this of course, but those are rarely applied in battle and need a mage on the level of Claudia to be used. I know for certain that this man isn’t at her level.

As much as I would like to overcome this barrier with raw strength, I don’t have enough time to prepare an attack right now. To my left, there is an archer letting magic arrows loose at me. The speed at which these arrows are coming is much greater than any archer I met before.

I dodge seven arrows with minimal movement, next comes a swing from the club of the shield wielder. I dodge it by a few centimeters and lunge back. A dagger user moves swiftly behind me. By launching myself forward with wind magic I could avoid his attack.

Three men huh? The abilities of the shield and bow users are fairly straightforward. An extremely fast bow that even I struggle to dodge, and a perfect shield that I’ll need a great deal of power to overcome. I don’t know the dagger ability yet, but I doubt it’s as troublesome as the spear was.

SHIT! Behind me!

I lunge forward and turn around at the same time, but I can’t avoid the axe being swung at me completely. The head of the axe slowly moved down my field of view until…

Crimson flooded from the very eye I was looking out of. The pain was horrendous, and the vision from my left eye faded completely. That axe wielder stole my eye.

“Well shit, I thought I could kill you before going after the strong one.”

“You bastard.”

Holding onto my left eye some questions entered my mind. How did I know he was attacking me from behind? I sensed nothing, the thought just came to me out of nowhere to dodge. And also, who was this guy?

He wasn’t wearing Temple Guardsmen armor, nor was he an ordinary soldier.

I see, he was one of those people I heard about. He is one of those fanatics that he keeps around due to skill. Emilianus the Axe.