Arthur swung Excalibur cleaving through the trunk of a tree grabbing it and pushing it to the side as branches snapped crashed as he cleared a path. They’d been at this for another week and were almost at the heart of the Cursed Forest. They’d lost around ten-thousand soldiers and six champions to Mordred’s attacks.
It was odd to have such a large number be such a small fraction of their force but those lives weighed heavily on him.
“Arthur,” Vone said stepping up in her white and silver Atlas armor. “What are your plans for dealing with the non-combatants?”
“I will spare all the women and children once this is over,” Arthur said. “They will be free of the Warlord and allowed to return their clans and tribes within the forest.”
“What about the men?” she asked.
“They will die,” Arthur answered.
“Not everyone chose to serve the Warlord,” Vone protested.
“But they all chose to continue serving him,” Arthur said. “The Warlord’s domination is not mind control it just causes pain.”
“And what beyond semantics is the real difference there?” Vone asked. “You can’t put people in that situation, ask them to endure unimaginable pain and claim they have free will.”
“They have each murdered hundreds in Camelot and Dracon,” Arthur argued. “It doesn’t’ matter if you have a whip to your back you are still responsible for your actions.”
“If you think someone with a knife to their throat still has autonomy then you lack all compassion,” Vone said.
“People are responsible for the actions they consciously take,” Arthur stated flatly. “No matter the circumstances, they will stand in judgement for them.”
“Then when will you be judged for yours?” Vone challenged him the gauntlets of her Atlas armor flexing. “It was you and your father’s treatment of Guinevere and breaking your own rules that led to the massacre in Camelot.”
“Your going to blame me for that slaughter!” Arthur snarled whirling around on her.
“Mordred is guilty for the slaughter but he told you and everyone else what would happen if you took down those barriers.” Vone said not backing down. “Your father and Merlin decided your life was worth those hundreds of thousands of people being sacrificed to save you. Were their lives worth it?”
“No,” Arthur said his shoulders sagging. “and if I could go back and change it I would.”
The conversation died then both of them realizing neither side would give into the other and compromise on their convictions. They continued to march along the heavy clang of their Atlas armor and the clang and thud of hundreds of thousands of feet trampling the earth as they pressed through the forest.
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It had been another week of hit and run attacks but I’d only gained one other ability during that time.
Shield Wall: (Rank 1); You create an invisible wall going ten feet on either side of you and gain the Immovable* status. This effect will last for ten seconds or until ended by you.
*Immovable: You cannot be moved from their location by physical force or spells.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range of your shield wall and its duration. Each upgrade increases your Toughness by 1.
Cost:
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20 stamina
Casting Time:
Instantaneous
The ability could have its uses but not at Rank one and there was still no time to sit down and work on my rank ups. I could hand that over to my spirit collective but that was something I’d done in a moment of anger and desperation. If I had the time I preferred to look over my options and make the choices myself.
I hovered in the air looking down on the glossy black walls of Castle Dragonbreaker. It had only been a few weeks since Guinevere and I had briefly honeymooned here, but this wasn’t a pleasant return to reminisce. The castle and the town was too small to hold all my vassals now and the walls looked pitiful in comparison to the fort we had just fled from.
“We can’t hold this,” Jeriah said dejectedly.
I stared at the pitiful defenses the muscles in my jaw clenching. The weeks of sleepless nights had all been for nothing. Just like a fox I’d returned to my den only to get trapped inside it by the pursuing hounds.
“Everyone’s exhausted,” I said. “We can’t keep running through the woods either people are already starting to collapse even with enhanced attributes.”
“We can flee to the under lands,” Guinevere said.
“What?” Tobias asked, turning to her.
“Mordred can create a passage down below ground to the under lands,” Guinevere said.
“That place is swarming with shadow beasts,” Tobias protested.
“You will easily be able to take them,” Guinevere said. “Mordred and I did so when we were much weaker and cut off from our abilities. Arthur won’t be able to use the might of his army down there. It will be tunnel fighting one man against one man.”
“I do like those odds better,” Jeriah admitted. “What do you think our chances are down there Mordred?”
I didn’t answer right away my mind going through my memories of the twisting tunnels and connected caverns. It would be tight confines, but I could get all my vassals down there. Once there they could also split up into different groups for ease of defense and split Arthurs own forces. Each of my vassals was powerful and equal to four of Arthur’s soldiers in straight up fight.
“We can do it,” I said. “It will take some time to get everyone down there and food will be tight, but we can survive. Hell-Dragon’s Armory.”
I started opening up a tunnel as Jeriah and Tobias began organizing everyone into groups and preparing our new exodus.
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Arthur knelt in prayer.
“Viviane if you’re listening, please answer me,” he said.
At first, he thought his prayer would go unanswered then he felt a touch on his shoulder.
“I cannot help you in this battle, my champion,” Viviane’s soft voice said.
“I know my goddess,” Arthur said. “But I need your guidance, am I doing the right thing? I’ve done so many things to keep my people safe but looking back I feel stained by what I’ve done.”
“I know you feel guilty for what you did to Guinevere,” Viviane said. “Much of that guilt is deserved but it is not my right to dictate your actions only guide you. I see though that everything you have ever done has only been for the good of your people.”
“Did you know Guinevere was my sister?” Arthur asked.
Viviane was silent for a moment. “Yes,” she finally answered. “I would have told you but that kind of interference and sharing of secrets…”
“Is forbidden by the System,” Arthur finished sagging down leaning his back against the bed in the tent. “Why did you limit yourselves so much? How can we serve as your instruments if we’re blind to the world as everyone else.”
The goddess sat on the bed beside him laying a hand on his back. “I did not create these restrictions; they were created by the first gods when they wrote the Accords and created the system long before I ascended. While there are things in those Accords, I do not agree with they do serve to balance our powers.”
“What does that even matter?” Arthur asked. “If your bound by rules that let someone like Mordred rise to power how can those rules be justified?”
“Those rules also let someone like me, or you ascend just the same,” Viviane said. “Look how many gods of Law there are in comparison to gods of chaos. Though people like Mordred rose to power thanks to their selfishness, in the end it unites everyone against them. Even the Assassin sided with you.”
Arthur flinched remembering watching Ammerila die before his eyes as he had been helpless to stop Guinevere.
“Her name was Ammerila, not the Assassin,” Arthur said.
“I’m sorry,” Viviane said. “I know the two of you were close.”
“She wasn’t evil, she just lacked choices in her past life,” Arthur said. “I wanted to give her a chance to change and make amends, but she’ll never get that chance now. Why did you choose me why was she chosen?”
“I chose you as my champion not just because of the debt I owed your ancestor but because you are a righteous man. You may fail but you always get back up and strive for the greater good even if it puts your own soul in danger.”
“Is this fight against Mordred justified?” Arthur asked. “Or is it just my own desire for vengeance?”
“What do you believe will happen if you leave Mordred be?” Viviane asked.
“He will win,” Arthur said. “He’s already proven he can grow faster in strength than almost anyone I’ve ever heard of; he’ll beat everyone to god rank and ascend.”
“And does that justify your actions?” Viviane asked.
Arthur’s face hardened. “Yes, the world doesn’t deserve to suffer a god such as him.”