I left the metal crate at the edge of the town square. There was a lot of fragile equipment contained within, and I wanted to make sure that none of it was damaged.
As Dendrite and I walked to the center of the town square, the various Deluvians surrounding us either recoiled in fear or stared at us in scowling defiance. None of them made any attempt to harm us, and my Danger Sense hadn’t activated yet, so I knew none of them were pointing their guns in our direction. At the center of the town square was a large concrete floor that was surrounded by grass. I knew the grass was real because much of it had been torn up by its frequent use by Deluvians.
The concrete slab was in the center of the town square, and an empty square indentation in the concrete suggested the recent presence of a statue in that location. I moved my eyes to scan the area near the center of the town square, and I saw the remnants of a stone statue that had been torn down from its central location and cast aside. I could tell that the statue was of some noble based on the clothing depicted in the art piece. The head had been torn off, so it would probably have been impossible to determine who the statue depicted even if I had elementary knowledge of Ferrum’s history.
In the part of the town square where the statue had once stood, there were about two dozen Deluvians. At least, I assumed they were Deluvians. I had never previously seen Deluvians like these ones.
About half of the Deluvians standing there stood at about fifteen feet tall. They must have weighed several tons, and they wore nothing but loincloths made from thick fabrics that had once been large drapes that had hung from windows. These large Deluvians were not fat, as one would usually expect from such creatures. Rather, some of them had average builds, while others had particularly muscular builds.
As we approached, I used Identify on one of the large Deluvians:
Name Giant Deluvian (XIII) Level 25 Blood Points 320/320 Mana Points 28/28 Race Deluvian Fortitude 32 Strength 28 Agility 12 Willpower 4
The creature only had 28 Strength? Why even bother making a creature that big just to make it so weak? Even the weakest Dark Apostle had ten more Strength than these creatures.
Five of the higher-order Deluvians were about the size of normal humans and had bone-white deer antlers sprouting from their heads. They must have been the “Cervids” that I had heard Melkior and one of the Goblins talking about. I could not see any of the Cervids’ faces, because they wore masks fashioned out of deer skulls. Three of the Cervids had bodies that closely resembled that of a human woman. When looking at these creatures, I thought of the mythical wendigo, a human who gained the features of an animal upon committing the sin of cannibalism.
A few of the Deluvians standing in the center of the town square were Orcs. Something was different about these Orcs, however. They wore fastidiously maintained armor and carried firearms in addition to melee weapons. On one hip, they carried longswords. On the other hip, they carried revolvers or early-20th-century handguns. These were not the berserk barbarians that I had come into contact with outside of the gates of Osiris.
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Wordlessly, Dendrite and I arrived at the center of the concrete stage. The higher-order Deluvians stared at the two of us with disdain. I was certain that the only reason they had not yet attacked us was that they knew of the power of a Dark Apostle.
“Who’s the leader?” I asked quietly.
There was a long moment of silence. The Deluvians were uncertain of how to respond to my question. Eventually, one of the Orcs stepped forward and spoke.
“I’m unsure of what you mean, my Lord,” the Orc said in a voice that suggested a higher level of intelligence than I would expect. “You are the leader of the 13th Legion, if that is what…”
“No,” I cut the Orc off. Venom dripped from my tongue. “Who was the interim commander of the 13th Legion in my absence?”
One of the large Deluvians stepped forward. The muscular fifteen-foot-tall Deluvian said, “That would be me.”
The Deluvian spoke with the confidence of a natural leader. If he was afraid of me, he didn’t show it. I used Identify on the leader.
Name Skarsgard Level 40 Blood Points 350/350 Mana Points 50/50 Race Deluvian Fortitude 35 Strength 35 Agility 18 Willpower 14
A Strength of 35, eh? Now, that was the Strength score that I was expecting from these big guys. It was still nowhere near my own, but it was something. Also, this one had a name: Skarsgard. The other Deluvian I had used Identify on didn’t have a name. Perhaps it was just the important Deluvians that were granted names.
“I see, Skarsgard,” I said icily. “So, you’ve been making military decisions for the 13th Legion in my absence. I have a question for you: why did you decide to massacre the Imperials in this area?”
Skarsgard didn’t react to the fact that I immediately knew his name. Either he knew I could use Identify, or he was really good at keeping a poker face.
“It’s a simple besiegement strategy, boss.” Skarsgard said the last word of this sentence with a strongly ironic tone. Such disrespect. “They can’t farm their lands if all their people are dead. It’s a good strategy, and it’s gonna help us win the war. When you really think about it, I’ve done far more for this legion than you.” As expected, Skarsgard took the first opportunity to start rabble-rousing. I didn’t stop him. “You should be thanking me, but I don’t think you appreciate my efforts. You’ve already killed two loyal soldiers. I think…”
“I don’t care what you think,” I cut Skarsgard off with a harsh rebuke. I didn’t project my voice, but it carried far more weight than Skarsgard’s pointless shouting. “If you’re not loyal to me, then just shut up, take your followers, and attack me.”
Rage appeared on Skarsgard’s large face. With much more speed than such a large creature should be capable of, Skarsgard raised his club high in the air and swung down at me with great force. The wooden club impacted hard, and dust rose up into the air, concealing Skarsgard and me.
I wrenched my hand free of Skarsgard’s chest cavity.