HK: Chapter 4

As I charged into battle, a thunderclap roared out from the Yavana Ranks, their Parahuman Leader launching a bolt of lightning toward the packed line of Romaka Legionaries. The Romaka locked their shields in front of them to try and mitigate the bolt, but an explosion of wood and leather alongside cries of pain revealed that the effort wasn't completely successful. Several of the Romaka Legionaries fell to the bolt just as the lines closed to javelin range. An exchange of thrown missiles occurred, more of the Romaka falling, alongside several Yavana Hoplites. Then the lines met in a clash of spears, shields, and swords. Here was where the Romaka seemed to be truly shining, their Leader tossing Yavana Hoplites about like they were nothing, clearly having super-strength. Another bolt of lightning surged forth from the Yavana Leader, only to be intercepted by the Ravana Leader stepping in front of it, tanking the bolt like a champ.

As the Yavana and Romaka Leaders duelled against each other, their subordinates clashed all around them. Spears punching through Iron Armor, swords hacking off limbs, shields blunting blows. It was quickly turning into a slog, and that was a fight the Romaka would win. They had slightly better discipline and larger numbers, while their formations were more flexible. That last bit mattered more than you might think. The terrain of the battlefield may have been leveled, so that might not be a factor, but when massive casualties cause a loss of unit cohesion, the more flexible formation tends to recover cohesion first. If this continued, it was likely that the Romaka would win, making my job a whole Hell of a lot more difficult. Something was going to have to change, and as my breathing shifted into the odd pattern, granting me extra power, I was resolved that something would be my intervention.

I hurled the bone and wood javelins as my legs ate up the ground between the shattered and burned-back treeline and the battling armies. Ordinarily, I would still be considered out of Javelin range, but with the power granted to me by my breathing method, I was able to hurl first one javelin, then pull out another from my expanded pack and hurl that one as well, both reaching far out into the left flank of the Romaka formation. Both Javelins punched through the Iron Lorica that two of the Romaka Legionaries were wearing, goring through their torsos and bowling them over. They rag-dolling corpses knocked over the Legionaries to their right, fouling up the formation and giving the Yavana Hoplites an opportunity to stab down with their spears and slay the knocked over Legionaries. A third Javelin was thrown to similar results before I switched tactics as I closed.

My breathing pattern shifted, and I placed a hand on the hilt of my blade as I gathered speed, sparks of electric power building up inside me as I closed to within fifteen yards of the Romaka Left Flank before letting my technique fly. I blurred forward, a lightning trail left behind me as I drew my blade and cut out in a single, Iaijutsu-style, draw-cut. My blade, bronze though it may be, carved through Iron Armor and Legionary Flesh alike, hacking one Romaka Legionary in twain from hip to shoulder in an arcing diagonal slash before biting into the neck of another holding the Vitus baton of a Centurion and hacking off his head. I leapt away, my God-Body allowing me a surprisingly large jump, just before the bolt of trailing lightning struck into a group of Romaka Legionaries who had been near the fallen Centurion, frying them in explosive arcs of electric power.

As I landed, I did so on top of a Legionary Signifier, dropping down onto his head with a double-footed Stomp that crushed his helmet and skull as if struck by a hammer. He went down in a spray of blood and brain matter, and I snatched up the Legionary Aquila, stealing the Standard of the Legion for myself. As I put the standard into my expanded pack, a nearby Legionary Cornicen dropped his trumpet and thrust his Gladius at me. I parried the blade in a textbook maneuver from the Sidesword Treatise of Joachim Meyer, displacing the Cornicen's thrust to the right before moving into a thrust of my own that punched through his face and into his brain. He sank to the ground as another Centurion tried to plunge a Pugio into my back from behind. My danger sense, fortunately, warned me in time, and I leaned out of the way before snapping a back elbow strike into the Centurion's face that broke his skull.

As he fell, I found myself beset on all sides by Romaka Legionaries, cutting and thrusting spears and gladii at me. Some of these, I managed to parry. Others I dodged, while some found their marks. I was mostly able to avoid taking damage, but one or two attacks made it through my defense. Most of these were scarcely more than a scratch, but those scratches would add up over time to drag me down. The ones that made it through to hit me and bit deeper seemed to be wearing much higher-quality armor than the rank and file, their Lorica accented with silver and brass fittings. These, then, had to be the Elites of the Romaka Legions, the ones who, with teamwork and training, could be expected to bring down a low-level Parahuman. They were the first targets of my counterattack.

Here, I hacked the arm off a Romaka Elite whose Gladius carved a gash into my left thigh, ensuring he would never attack anyone again. There, I lashed out with a kick that crumpled the armor of another Romaka Elite whose spear had punched into my right foot, breaking several of his ribs in the process. In another instant, a Romaka Elite who had broken my nose with a strike from the pommel of his gladius found himself being run through by my blade, and so on, and so forth. I was a whirlwind of death, and as I carved through the ranks of elites, picking up wounds of my own here and there, my breathing changed yet again. This time, my slashes were landing consecutively, one after another, trailing arcs of lightning as they did so, effectively allowing me to cleave through enemies like a deranged, electrified whirlwind of blades. Even the Elites who managed to parry or block with their shields found themselves struck by the electric arcs, opening themselves up to follow-on slashes.

Of course, I didn't have it all my own way. I picked up a number of wounds myself, to the point where I seemed to be covered in slashes and puncture wounds, bleeding badly enough that an ordinary man would have to be worried about bleeding out. However, thanks to my God-Body, I was able to slow my bleeding down to match the pace of my regeneration through force of will. This ensured that I wouldn't have to worry about a death of a thousand cuts from the dozens of small wounds that the Romaka Elites had dealt me, adding up over time. My Marsh Hunter Armor was shredded, however, and I was forced to use my mystical power to reforge items on both it and my blade multiple times during the fighting. However, as I cleaved my way through the Romaka Lines toward the duelling leaders, the Yavana Hoplites pressed forward, using the opening I had given them by dealing with a good chunk of the Legionaries to seize control of the battle.

Eventually, however, I made it to the space that had been marked out around the Duelling Leaders of the Yavana and Romaka Forces. Both looked to have been giving the fighting their all, and both seemed to have picked up a wound or two here and there in the course of the fighting. The Yavana Leader was bleeding from a deep gash in his side that had punched through his armor, but he was nonetheless still fighting. Meanwhile, the Romaka Leader's armor was singed over the right pectoral muscle, blackened and blasted through by a lightning bolt, showing scorched and burned flesh beneath. He, too, was still up and fighting. Both had to have some kind of Brute Rating for that to be the case, according to my Gabriel Ward memories. Both still seemed eager to fight. My arrival, however, changed something in the calculus of battle.

The Romaka Leader spat on the blood-soaked ground as I arrived, hawking up a bloody, phlegm-ridden loogie into the bloody mud that had been churned up over the course of the battle. He clearly wasn't happy about my arrival. The Yavana Leadwr just frowned as I stepped forth, cautious but not showing any outward signs of displeasure other than that.

"It seems this Stranger has interrupted our duel, Kerounos." Scowled the Romaka Leader in Latin.

"I'll take the interruption, Cestus." Huffed the Yavana Leader, also in Latin.

"Of course you would. He's slaughtered over a hundred of my men, including more than a score of Praetorians." Scoffed the Romaka Leader.

"You should withdraw, Cestus. Cede the field, abandon your fort, and return to Colonia Campus while you still can." Intoned The Yavana Leader.

"Alongside my property?" Questioned the Romaka Leader.

"No." I cut in, also in Latin.

"He speaks Latin, it seems." Smirked the Yavana Leader.

"What do you mean, no?" Queried the Romaka Leader.

"I mean what I said. I will not allow you to take Vedic Slaves back to your lands with you." I insisted.

"Nor can I allow you to do the same with Hellenic Slaves." Added the Yavana Leader.

"And the beasts of the Marsh?" Asked the Romaka Leader.

"I have no issue with you taking those you've already captured, but no more than that. You also have to pledge to stop burning back the trees and sending in beast-catchers in the future, too. It's causing problems for the Marsh-Dwelling Vedics." I intoned.

"I need something more in return." Insisted the Romaka Leader.

"My Men are about to mop up your Legions. Does it look like you're in a position to bargain here?" Questioned the Yavana Leader.

"I'm willing to offer a minor concession. What would you like?" I queried.

"You captured an Aquila. I need it back. If this agreement is to stick, the Senate in Nova Roma cannot see that I lost an Eagle. They will insist on revenge otherwise." Insisted the Romaka Leader.

"Done." I agreed, reaching into my expanded pack and withdrawing the Romaka Aquila standard I had captured from the Signifier.

"Do we have terms?" Asked the Yavana Leader.

"We have terms. Know that I, Legatus Marcus Claudius Cestus, will remember the terms of this peace." Agreed Cestus.

"Good, and I, Strategos Spartikos Kerounos, will hold to them for as long as Nova Roma does. You have twelve hours to evacuate your fort. If you don't, I won't hesitate to burn you out." Intoned Kerounos.

Then, I handed over the Aquila, the Golden eagle glinting in the fading light of the setting sun, and shortly afterward, horns echoed out from both formations, calling a halt to the fighting, though many lay dead on the field from each side. What followed next was a long and arduous process of consolidation and withdrawal. The Slaves, both Vedic Indian and Yavana Greek, that had been captured by the Romaka Legion, were released, and the Fort was carefully abandoned, the remaining Legionaries marching to the Northeast, accompanied by carts full of supplies and caged beasts of the Mrudutalam Marsh. I was invited to stay with the Yavanas as a guest of honor as the Romaka Legatus withdrew his Legions. It was here that I got to learn the situation from the Yavana Strategos.

Apparently, the war that the Romaka and Naards had been having had gone poorly enough for the Romaka to avoid expansion to their North and Northeast. Unfortunately, that left only a couple of different ways they could expand. To the East, the Ocean lay. To the southeast lay a wasteland presided over by ferocious beasts whose powers were comparable to some of the Demigods that were how the people here viewed Parahumans, along with a band of rebel Parahumans. To the South and Southwest, they could expand against the Vedics of the Mrudutalam Marsh and the Riverside City of Vipani, alongside the Yavana Hellenic League of Four Poleis in the Hills. To the West were Mountains, rich in ore, but dangerous, and to the Northwest lay the domain of the Boat People of Qart-Yatsad, with their Great Port City that would be difficult to besiege. Predictably, the Romaka had chosen to expand South and Southwest.

"Cestus' army was only one of two in the field. He had two Legions to raid and take Slaves to feed the ever-hungry appetites of the Romans. The Senate figured it would draw forces away from the main fighting near Pantikleon. They were right, but wrong about what forces we'd send." Informed the Strategos, whose full title was apparently that of Strategos of the Hellenic League of Four Poleis.

"You're not from the Hellenic League?" I questioned.

"We are, but we're not from Pantikleon. We're from Pelesthenes. It's on the other side of the League from Pantikleon." Explained Kerounos.

"So you're saying that your force is basically drawn from troops held in reserve, then?" I queried.

"Just so. The question is, where are you from, Trito? That isn't a Vedic name, and I would have heard of the Marsh Dwellers or Vipani having a new Demigod. Have you traveled far to come here?" Asked Kerounos.

"Farther than you could imagine." I nodded.

"Well, either way, the spoils of this victory are yours to distribute. There are many pieces of Roman equipment that have been left behind, along with a not inconsiderable amount of Wine, Olive Oil, and other such goods. Sadly, the Romans took their pay chests with them, but that shouldn't put a damper on your claims. What will you take?" Questioned Kerounos.

In the end, I wound up taking fifty suits of Lorica Armor, Fifty Spears, Fifty Shields, and One Hundred javelins, alongside six bottles of Romaka Wine. I planned to reforge the equipment into enchanted equipment and drill the Hunters of Apsadanam Village on its use. To make proper warriors of them all. Apparently, there was something in my Daniel Zamoyski Memories which should help transfer skills to other people, though it didn't work on powers. Once that was done, my plan was to head to Vipani to see what I could do about the ongoing war with the Romaka. The wine was just for my personal use. One for each day I had been gone, traipsing through the Mrudutalam Marsh and fighting Beasts and Romaka. After all, I hadn't had any booze since I'd started out on this trip.

Three days after the Battle with the Romaka Legions, I made my way back into Apsadanam Village and was almost immediately pulled into a debriefing session with Shastri Tripathi and his son, the nominal Chief of the Village, Chief Arjun. They wanted to know how things had gone and if they were safe. I also planned to pitch the Chief on dealing with Lord Kundalani, the massive Titanoboa that was holding the Mrudutalam Marsh's Bog Iron hostage with its presence, as well as pitch the Chief on Warrior Training. I thought that Apsadanam Village would be grateful for my assistance. In the end, however, I would find that I had no idea how grateful they would wind up being. The night after I returned, Amala would come to visit me in the room I had been given to stay in.

And she would show me just how grateful the people of Apsadanam Village were. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. Trito manages to force the Romaka to withdraw, effectively closing one front of a War he hadn't even known was raging. However, there are still battles being fought near the city of Pantikleon, one of the four Poleis of the Yavana Greek Hellenic League of Four Poleis. Right now, though, Trito will be focusing on getting Apsadanam Village's Hunters up to snuff with skills as Warriors so that something like this can be handled by them in the future, rather than needing a Superpowered Third Party to save them. Only when he figures that's done will he head to try and end the rest of the War with the Romaka.

I have tried to avoid overusing people's names outside dialogue in keeping with the feedback I had gotten, but I'm not sure how well it works. Let me know if you guys prefer this to what I had going on previously, or if you would like me to switch back to doing things the old way.

At any rate, the next chapter will not only include the debriefing with Shastri Tripathi and Chief Arjun, but it will also include the story's first NSFW Scene. Then there will be more aftermath regarding next steps, followed by an interlude in Brockton Bay with more SIs from Trito's Drawbacks. Then there will be an interlude showing stuff going on in the War between the Yavana and Romaka near Pantikleon. 

Stay tuned. . .