Amazon Apocalypse 7: Chapter 13

With the Grand Sage giving out the call for surrender, the remaining officers followed suit and their units threw down their arms. Truthfully, I hadn't expected them to keep fighting as long as they had.

But perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised. I'd already peeled off the bulk of the Sages disloyal forces with my gifts and aid, so most of the lords of Camlaan hadn't even shown up for this fight. This was little more than the Sages personal retinue in the capital city.

The ease with which we'd won the final battle was a bit deceptive. Camlaan was well and truly a magical kingdom, and under most circumstances would have been able to field an army ten times the size of this. But thanks to that System training quest where I'd met Eowyn and her kingdom of medieval knights, I had a lot of experience wrangling lords and had done a decent job getting these to defect rather than attack Crownhill head on.

Now that the Sages of Camlaan had fallen, I would be leveraging this new degree of control into true power over them. With the Sages gone, I could call the individual feudal lords to Crownhill and force them to declare their loyalty to me, which would fully cement them as part of my faction.

With the battle firmly concluded, I turned my attention back to the woman who was probably the reason my front lawn was covered in blood.

"What do you know about who or what is targeting my son?" I pointed my sword at Grand Sage Balencia's throat.

She smiled slyly. From the look in her eyes she seemed increasingly certain she was back in her element.

"Now now, Lord Carter. Shouldn't we get out of the cold? I'll answer your questions better after I'm fed and comfortable." The Grand Sage stared me down with a smirk.

Then I stabbed her in the liver with my sword.

Grand Sage Balencia stared at me like I'd committed an unpardonable breach of etiquette, like farting in Church. But when I made to stab her again, she finally started talking.

"Wait! Your son is in grave danger!" she said, this time speaking much more hastily.

"I'm going to need more than that." I gave her a cold stare, and she flinched at the sight.

"Void dwellers! There's a faction of void dwellers that want him for some ancient grudge. He is a reincarnated soul, and in his past life he caused quite a few problems for them. They want to get rid of him early before he can return to full power," Balencia said.

"That's not telling me anything I couldn't already guess." Despite my frown, I lowered my sword a bit.

"That's not all I know. They never would have gained access to this world if not for someone opening the way. And that someone is the Chaos Wolf." Balencia must have sensed that she finally said something that could hold my attention. She watched my sword carefully lower.

"So you're in communication with the Chaos Wolf?"

Balencia nodded a bit faster than was sagely.

"Yes, and I can put you into contact with him, and through him, you could arrange a treaty with his void dweller allies. Working with them through me is likely the only way you can protect your son. Without me, they are certain to get to him eventually."

I put my sword away and came to a decision.

"Alright, Former Grand Sage Balencia. You wanted somewhere more comfortable, didn't you?"

***

A short while later, Balencia found herself in one of Crownhill's nicer prison cells. She didn't hide her disappointment well, and from her attitude I guessed she'd expected to be treated like an honored guest.

She was mistaken there. Helpful or not, I wasn't about to give an enemy royal treatment. Not long ago she'd been trying to destroy my city. I was happy to forgive old enemies who deserved it. But Balencia would backstab me the first chance she had. She could have a nice cell as long as she cooperated, but that was all she was getting out of me.

My guess was that she'd arrange to be an intermediary between me and the Chaos Wolf, then use that position to get off world and out of my clutches. Once she was safe, she'd work on gathering up a foreign army or something that could help her invade and reclaim her lost territory. I treated her with that in mind.

She tried to keep things hidden from me as I interrogated her, but I was insistent. She was smart enough that I didn't need to stab her in the liver again and eventually she revealed the answers to everything I thought to ask.

No doubt she was keeping more information hidden. And no doubt she was also pretending to know more about the situation than she actually did.

That was alright though. She was right to think that I'd keep her alive as long as she had even the slightest chance of helping me protect my son. Yes, there was a constant danger of rebellion as long as she was alive. But that kid was the whole reason I was so eager to put together an empire, so naturally he came first.

By the time I was done interrogating Balencia, the brief war with Camlaan had well and truly wrapped up. Their forces had surrendered, been disarmed, and were now standing around with worried expressions as they worried about what we planned to do with them.

Eventually, Cyra came to me to answer exactly that question.

"Carter, what are we going to do with these people?" she asked.

I frowned and stroked my chin in thought. Truthfully, I'd expected the soldiers of Camlaan to put up more of a fight. My plan was to chase them down in a lengthy fighting retreat while I picked off the Sages one by one. Instead, we'd slaughtered the lot of them and pinched their army between the walls and our forces, utterly crushing them in a single decisive battle.

The soldiers of Camlaan weren't like the oni. There was no organization we could use to ransom them for money, and even if we could they would be more likely to hold grudges than experienced mercenaries.

Eventually, I came to a decision.

"We'll create another Penal Legion, like the Chain Brigade. I suspect the next stage of the integration is coming soon. If the surviving soldiers of Camlaan serve us well, they'll return home eventually."

With that decision made, Cyra rounded up the surviving soldiers and explained their fate to them. With them disarmed, her Amazonian soldiers could handle things.

"Legate Asimi, what happened to those sorcerers you and the others went after?" I asked.

"We got two of them, the last one got away," Legate Asimi said.

"The last one?" I frowned. By my count, there had been five of them. I'd hunted one down when he attacked that village. Two more were dead here. What happened to the fifth one?

My instincts told me not to worry about it. I'd probably already killed him or her at some point, likely thanks to all my afflictions. It must have come at a time when I was already killing things so I didn't see the notification.

With that settled, it was time to secure the future of this shard, rip up the old vassal agreements, and create something more akin to the empire my son needed.

"If the last sorcerer is still alive, they'll get offworld the first chance they have. We've got bigger worries. Legate Asimi, gather the Nineteenth Legion. We have a rebellion to crush."

Legate Asimi turned and sent out the orders to form ranks. We were marching on Camlaan itself.

***

The Nineteenth Legion marched to war once again, but conquering two cities in a single day wasn't outside the norm for us. Camlaan was defenseless following our victory, and I hoped to secure a rapid end to the war with as few civilian casualties as I could manage.

Despite my hopes for a quick victory, even I was shocked to see my banner flying from the city's walls before I even arrived.

"Am I seeing things, Legate Asimi? Or is that my banner up ahead?" I pointed.

"The colors and symbols match your banner, my lord. It would appear you've already conquered the city. Or at least taken the walls," Asimi replied.

I turned to Cyra, who was marching with me and looked at her. Cyra nodded along.

"That's your golden scepter," Cyra said.

I was left scratching my head. At first I figured it had to be either Reluna or Mimiko's handiwork, but I called both and the two of them were accounted for.

Sakura had a desk full of paperwork to go through thanks to the conquest of New Kyoto, so she would have been far too busy to pull off something like this.

Bridget was off-world, and Cyra was standing beside me. Reluna was in our army too, and thanks to the suit she was wearing I could flick through her activity logs with hardly a thought.

"Maybe it's some sort of scam? Perhaps I have an impersonator claiming the city for themselves under my name?" I shrugged.

Cyra scoffed. "I've read about such tricks, but this would be a poor moment for it. Anyone could guess you'd be marching on the city with an army if you won the battle against the Sages of Camlaan."

It wasn't until I thought to call Frank that I finally got some news, sparse though it was.

"My guildmates in the city just mentioned something was up. I gave them a quest to protect civilians and the guildhall in the city. I won't know what happened until it's all over." Frank shrugged.

We marched toward the walls cautiously and suspiciously. I was prepared for a trap, but we were greeted warmly.

"Hail to the emperor! Open the gates!" shouted someone high up on the walls. At his order, the gates swung open.

I looked back at my army and shrugged as we walked right through, no fighting necessary.

Once on the other side, several unfamiliar armed men greeted me. Next to them were several standard bearers, each carrying two flags. At the top was my own banner, but beneath it were unfamiliar local ones.

The group of men were far from enough to oppose the Nineteenth Legion, and they looked more nervous than ready for a battle. When I approached, all of them fell to one knee.

"Your imperial majesty, we have captured the capital in your name!" said a young man in a helmet. He looked up at me with a combination of jitters and anxious pride. By his coat of arms, he looked like a knight. Though from how battered his armor was, he couldn't be a very wealthy one.

Despite the state of his arms, he had a good level and was probably stronger than most in these parts.

Knight of Camlaan (Level 145)

"Uh... good job?" I looked around, still waiting for some sort of trap to spring. But nothing happened. A mid C-Grade and a few of his friends were far from enough to ambush me and the Nineteenth Legion.

"We are your loyal servants, your imperial majesty! Your forces are still in the process of pacifying the city, especially the palace. Shall I take you to meet the marshal of your loyal forces here?" the young knight said.

"First, I want to ensure the city is secure. Nineteenth Legion, secure the city. Put a stop to any looting or crime and reassure the civilians that things will return to normal after a brief transition period."

Behind me, the Nineteenth Legion marched through the gates and spread throughout the city. There had been some fighting, so there were bodies to pick up. There might even be some fighting still, but the Nineteenth Legion would turn whatever battles were still going on decisively in our favor.

For my own part, I made my way straight for the palace and all its many steps. The bulk of the nobles of Camlaan would be there. These would be the people I needed to bring to heel.

I glanced at the nervous young knight beside me and realized I might have some unexpected help there. This would be a good test to see how far I could push these guys who claimed to fight under my banner.

"Walk with me. We're going to the palace."

"Uh, the marshal said to bring you to him," the young knight looked suddenly awkward.

"Do you obey your marshal, or your emperor?" I glanced at him over my shoulder, then began walking at normal speed. The young knight and his companions exchanged hushed whispers before breaking off. The young knight followed me, while his companions left, presumably to meet the general.

I shared a silent glance with Cyra, who was standing nearby. She seemed to get my message and swiftly departed to follow the young knight's companions. I expected this marshal fellow was going to have an Amazonian-sized problem on his hands if he had anything but honest intentions.

"Shouldn't we bring some of your soldiers? Last I heard, the nobles and their private guards are putting up a strong resistance in the palace," the young knight walking beside me said.

"I think you and I can handle it alone."

"Uh... alright, I guess. You're the emperor..." the young knight's voice trailed off uncertainly, but he followed me anyway.

On my previous visits, I ran or flew up the steps. But now that I was walking with guests I took the elevator inside. Along the way we were greeted by the sounds of fighting. Sure enough, this was one of the parts of the city where the battle for the control of the city had not truly ended.

Considering the natural defenses of the palace and the fact that all the highest-ranking lords were here, I suspected they'd be fighting for some time. At least, they would have if I never showed up. I planned to put an early end to things.

The main elevator was a precarious system of ropes, pulleys, levers, and hidden counterweights. I was surprised it worked at all, and was certain the Sages had something better tucked away somewhere. But I climbed aboard with just the young knight for company. There were no safeties, which meant anyone who spotted us riding upward on the lower levels of the palace could just jump aboard the elevator as we traveled. That's how we were ambushed the first time.

"There's one of the traitors! Get him!" a fat lord ordered. Behind him, two knights in shining armor rushed me and the young knight beside me. Both guards were only D-Grade.

I watched the young knight beside me fighting, and he did a good job parrying his enemy's attack, then using the speed and strength of a higher level he pried his enemy's sword away and skewered him through the throat. Then he turned back to me, presumably to help me with my enemy.

He needn't have bothered though. A gesture from me out of the corner of my eye was enough to tip my assailant off balance. When riding a medieval elevator, losing your balance was a dangerous thing.

"Hey, you. What are you lord of?" I asked the fat noble.

"I am Duke Bedwilev of Wachester! My family has ruled for time immemorial! I will not stand for..." he continued to drone on and on while I rummaged around in my pockets and eventually came up with a notebook. I wrote down his name and the lands he ostensibly held.

"Alright, the Wachester duchy is up for grabs. Thanks." I put my notebook away while Duke Bedwilev stared at me in incomprehension. Then I kicked him off the elevator and sent him hurtling to the ground far below.

"That was a duke..." the young knight beside me said, eyes full of fear.

"He was. He's more of a red smear on the ground now. Anyway, look out. There are a few more on the floor above us." I nodded to the next floor up where we could already hear the clashing of swords.

I pulled the lever as we approached the next floor, and we joined in the fighting.

"Percival! They've got us cornered!" a knight said when he spotted us. He and two others in armor as battered as the young knight beside me were fighting a group of nobles and their entourages.

The young knight beside me jumped up in recognition. From what his friends said, I guessed his name was Percival.

I stepped onto the floor first.

"Your emperor is here. Who wants to make their allegiance known?" I held my arms wide. Many heads turned to me, but none bowed, even among Percival's friends.

I waved my hand and conjured a dozen mana bolts. They shot forward, targeting some of the noblemen and their entourage. Windows shattered, swords broke, and shields splintered. A few spells and the battlefield was suddenly in ruins. Many of the noblemen and their entourage lay dead, but I left a few notable ones standing. These looked like the most important members of the crowd.

Percival's two friends stared at the scene blinking for a moment in shock. But they had good heads on their shoulders and immediately dropped to one knee.

"We live to serve the emperor!" they said in unison. The surviving nobles in the crowd remained standing.

"You two come with me, we're going to the throne room. And you, nobles. What are your names, lands, and titles?" I rummaged around for my pocket notebook again.

"The foreign emperor is in the city already. Curses and damnation! Where are the Sages?!" one of the nobles cursed.

"That's Lord Chamblin and Lord Gefory. They were formerly lords of lands to the south of us," one of Percival's friends said.

"Good." I made some notes, killed the two nobles with a burst of spellfire, then beckoned the friends of Percival beside me to follow me to the elevator.

I pulled the lever and we went up. With locals to help me I didn't need to question every rebel noble before I killed them. As long as my companions recognized the people I could write down their names and positions after they were dead.

By the time we reached the throne room we'd already carved through the bulk of Camlaan's nobility. Sure enough, the last of the nobles opposed to me were gathered there as they prepared to fight to their last breath. I wasn't about to do something so tedious.

"I'll make things simple. Drop your weapons and acknowledge me as your emperor. Those that do will get to live." I looked on with a plain and bored expression as the nobles braced themselves to fight to the death.

I merely felt mild distaste for what was going to be a messy and unpleasant job. I never liked senseless slaughter. It would be best to get it over with quickly and cleanly.

I surveyed the nobles, who glanced at one another uncertainly. I shook my head, waved my hand, and most of them exploded. Most of these guys had hardly fought at all during the integration and had relied on their high social status for safety.

Really, they should have seen a rebellion from the countryside lords coming as the integration progressed. Anywhere else and it would have happened already, but these guys had been able to hide beneath the skirt of the Grand Sage and her allies until now.

I could have gotten rid of all of them in one move then and there, but instead I opted to leave a few alive, at least for the time being. Kingdoms didn't run themselves, after all. Plus, I'd met some of these people during that party I attended with Frank, and not all of them seemed like bad folks. Anyone I recognized as decent got a second chance from me.

Thankfully, when half their number died in front of them, the rest of the nobles got the message and immediately dropped to their knees.

"I greet the emperor!"

"Hail the emperor!"

"Long life to the emperor!"

I surveyed them all, nodded in approval, then glanced back at Grand Sage Balencia's uncomfortable wooden throne. It was empty and waiting for me. It looked like the city really was mine. Now I just had to work on keeping it.

<Note>

Happy Halloween guys.

Try not to run over any kids. They can't see in their costumes and love jumping in front of cars.

I might have to skip tomorrow's chapter. Sorry guys. This one went long and I've only got a little done of the next one, and I've got a good 6 hours of driving to do. But I'll try my best.