Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace in the Capitol...
"My lord... I bring disturbing news! Our coastguards are reporting a sudden rise in the sea level, as if..." a soldier ran into the throne room.
"Was the island sinking..." imperator Naross said.
"Yes, my lord..."
"So that’s the reason for those ruins..." imperator Naross muttered.
"My lord...?"
"Initiate the invasion plan immediately!" imperator Naross ordered.
"But we have no report from the expedition yet..." the soldier objected.
"Then we'll surprise them. I can't risk destroying everything I've built! Send a messenger to every town, every village, have everyone pack food and essentials, and head for the Capitol's harbor. Send all ships there. Luckily the invasion plans are already finished. Summon the generals!" shouted imperator Naross.
"Uh... Eric... Eric!"
"What! Wha... Oh shit..." Eric woke up in a steel cage on wheels, riding down the road behind a group of horses. "What happened?!" he exclaimed.
"We were ambushed last night, there were too many... I... I'm sorry..." Torn said sadly.
"Where's Caden?" Eric asked.
"He went off to gather firewood," Torn replied.
"That bastard! He must have betrayed us. Why did you let him go alone!?" Leran shouted.
"Calm down, Leran. Caden has no reason to betray us," Eric argued.
"So they just put us in this cage. It's some kind of public transport, isn't it?" Ador laughed.
"Someone must have seen us in that village and contacted the nearest patrol. We haven't even checked the area! Oh, by all the Saints..." Eric complained.
"So someone got away, I guess we're dead, huh?" laughed Holf.
"Without Caden, yes, unless one of you can bend bars with the power of the mind," Ador replied.
"This didn't work, but don't worry. Your power should finally be awakening by now," Samir spoke up in Eric’s mind.
"The power of...?" Eric whispered.
"Soon they won't be able to kill you..."
"I have no idea what this means, but the main one who must not die is Ador," Goran spoke up too.
"Why Ador?" asked Samir.
"Ah... I was charged with his protection. I don't know why, but it was one of my personal tasks as a member of the expedition. And who are you anyway?" Goran wondered.
"That's not important, what's important is that we survive and complete the task!" Samir said.
"What are we going to do?" Leran exclaimed.
"Nothing. They will take us to the city, and there we will be executed. We can do nothing without Caden," said Holf.
"What is the matter with you, Holf?" Ador nudged him.
"You're right, I need to get it together. The expedition must not fail," Holf shook himself.
The group was brought in front of a large building in the city. The Dark Ones handcuffed them and led them inside.
"This doesn't look like an execution ground," Ador said.
They entered an oblong hall, at the end of which was a lectern, and behind it stood the Dark One in a strange purple and white robe. There were benches on either side of the aisle the group was walking down, with both humans and the Dark One sitting on them, the hall was nearly full.
"Your names?" the man in the robe asked.
"None of your business!" shouted Holf.
"Oh, when will you humans finally understand that this arrogance will destroy you one day?" replied the man in the robe. "You are accused of attacking and ruthlessly butchering the village of Hadar and killing its overseer, Haiden Ban of House Wrador," he continued. The entire hall gasped in horror.
"Really? And who told you that?" Ador exclaimed.
"Bring a witness!" commanded the man in the robe. The soldiers brought the man. "Tell us what you saw," said the man in the robe.
"I..." Before the man could say anything, Leran, who was standing closest to him, broke through the soldiers standing around him with his elbows, and began to choke the man with his handcuffs. The soldiers immediately pounced on him and started beating him. However, Leran still strangled the man.
"I wouldn't think he’s able to do such a thing," Holf laughed.
The soldiers finally managed to pull Leran away.
"Looks like he won't be able to say anything anymore. Too bad!" Ador laughed.
"You'll hang for this!" the man in the robe exclaimed.
"I'm the one who ordered him to do it. I'm responsible for it, as I am for this entire group!" Eric declared.
"Hahahaa... What? Are you serious? You think this is going to work? That you'll pay for everyone else's sins? That's not how justice works!" shouted the man in the robe.
"Then what will it be? You have no evidence!" Holf shouted.
"That's enough! You will all be executed for mass murder and for obstructing the investigation! Take them away!" shouted the man in the robe.
"Wait! Can we at least choose the style of execution?" Eric exclaimed.
"Very well then..." the man in the robe agreed.
"Burning."
"What?" the group was horrified.
"The fire will wash away our sins and the Saints will then burn you! You slavering monsters!" Eric shouted as the soldiers led the group into the square.
"What are you doing, Eric? Burning alive?" Ador whispered.
"This way we'll have more time to think of an escape plan," Eric replied.
"Do you have one yet?" Ador asked.
The soldiers built up the pire surprisingly quickly.
"Umm... Eric? A plan..?" The soldiers began to lead Leran to the pire. They were about to tie him to a column, but just before that, a man in a white cloak, holding a white staff, stepped out of the screaming crowd. "The servants of the Saints have heard your call!" shouted the man with the staff, and the white light almost blinded the whole group. When Eric opened his eyes, all the soldiers of the Dark Ones were writhing on the ground in pain.
"Eric!" Ador shouted at him, throwing the sword to him.
Then they stabbed every Dark One on the ground.
"Come with me!" shouted the man with the staff.
At Eric's nod of agreement, the group followed the man. He led them to a secret entrance to the underground passages. They all went inside.
"Thank you. May I ask who you are?" Eric asked.
"I expected you to know who I am. We are on the same side, after all. I am a member of the Order of Light," the man replied.
"Order of Light? What is that?" muttered Leran.
"I have no idea..." Eric whispered.
"You don't know? Where are you from that you don't know our order?" the man laughed.
"Is it significant in any way?" Ador asked.
"Haha... The Order of Light is the only remaining organized resistance against the Dark One's rule. You really haven't heard of us?" the man said in disappointment.
"We're from far away. It's a long history..." Ador replied.
"You must be from the desert. Those people are truly unbreakable," the man smiled, and they all continued on to the large room. Here stood a group of men in white cloaks. "These are the new members of the resistance. They killed the overseer," the man who had brought the group in said.
"And what overseer, Zaran?" one of the men asked.
"Hayden Ban," Zaran replied.
They were all astonished. "Congratulations. We've been after House Wrador for a long time. Now they're going to try to find you, they will finally come out of hiding. Thanks to you, we will finally be able to change the situation," another of the men said.
"Forgive my ignorance, but what kind of mages are you?" Holf asked.
"Light mages, of course. We are the glow in the midst of the darkness that protects those who are still faithful," the man said.
"Faithful to what?" Eric wondered.
"The Empire, obviously," the man laughed.
"This doesn't explain much..." Leran laughed ironically.
"Why was this particular 'overseer' such an important target for you?" Eric asked as they walked down the corridor.
"House Wrador was tasked with finding the Golden Chamber. That is the room beneath the Imperial City where all of the empire's most precious treasures are hidden. Our order has guarded this chamber since before the Alcritan Empire," the man explained.
"Why have we never heard of such a thing?" Ador couldn't understand.
"Because you should not have heard of it. But by risking your lives and killing one of the Wradors, you have earned our trust. These tunnels were built by emperor Emeric. They were originally intended as trade routes, but the expansion has claimed too many lives for Emeric to continue. We're using them now. Most of the entrances are sealed, and the ones we use we lock with spells. You can get almost anywhere in Gregorian and Green Grove from here. Where do you want to go?" the man asked.
"How about the Imperial Palace?" Ador smiled.
"Haha... I appreciate your courage and determination, but that's the last place you want to be. Besides, we're not going to risk opening the entrance to the tunnels in a place where the risk of being discovered is so high," the man replied.
"Then at least give us some information on the state of their defenses," Ador said.
"Have you come alone to defeat the entire Dark One‘s empire?" the man laughed.
"That's probably how it's going to be... So, do you have any information?" Ador insisted.
"Um... Well... We don't have any exact numbers. All we know is that Mor'lak himself is currently in the Imperial Palace," the man explained.
"Great! We can end all this madness right here!" Holf cheered.
"We must not be hasty. We have no chance of fighting our way into the Imperial City, much less the palace," Eric argued.
"That's not what I meant..." Holf whispered.
"Well? Where do you want to go?" the man asked again.
"As close to the harbor as possible," Eric replied.
"Do you want to... Leave?" Holf muttered.
"Our mission here is over. To continue on our own would be suicide. That's all we're going to find out," Eric said.
"What about Caden?" Leran wondered.
"If he hasn't betrayed us, he won't be looking for us anyway. He'll live out his days somewhere in the mountains or something," Holf stated.
"You really want to leave him here?" Torn didn't understand.
"We have no other choice. We need to steal a ship, but leaving undetected probably won't be the easiest thing to do..." Eric mused.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about, but taking the harbor would be the perfect start to our rise against the Dark Ones. We will help you," one of the members of the Order of Light stepped forward.
"Well... Why not? That's a good idea!" Eric replied.
Ador dragged the other members of the group away from the Order members. "What? We're supposed to be inconspicuous," he whispered.
"What’s a better way to launch an invasion than to take an enemy port, and thus provide an unobstructed arrival to our ships? Besides, with them it will almost certainly be a success," Eric countered.
"Eric is right, it sounds too tempting to waste such an opportunity," Holf joined in.
"Very well, then, let us take the harbor!" Eric declared as he turned back.
"Great! We can't do it right away though, we need time to gather our forces. We will lead you to our underground hideout where you can wait out the night in the meantime," a member of the Order of Light announced to them. The group followed the Order of Light members who led them into a large room.
"This is our residential center. Find a bed that doesn't have any backpacks or anything like that around it. It may take a few days to gather enough members of the order, but don't worry, there is plenty of food and water," a senior member of the order greeted them.
The group stayed there for three days until finally an elder member of the Order of Light came and gave the order to move.
In the late afternoon, Eric's group, along with about twenty members of the Order of Light, emerged from the tunnel near the main port of the original Old Empire.
"This won't be like killing villagers, the harbor is well guarded. Perhaps the incident in our court scared them off," Holf said.
"We'll just let the Order do its thing and we'll do ours," Eric said.
"And what's that supposed to be?" asked Leran.
"To ensure that at least one ship survives our attack," Ador replied.
Eric's group headed straight for the docked ships while the Order of Light members secured the area. Along the way they disarmed several Dark Ones, at this time of day the port traffic was reduced to a minimum, the number of Dark One‘s civilians matched it, but there were still more soldiers than on a standard guard duty.
Everything was going smoothly until the unwary group was spotted by a Dark One standing on the platform opposite them. At first he shouted, "Thieves!" but upon closer inspection of their equipment, he realized what was likely going on here. The Dark One ran across the platform with his torch. Leran pulled the bowstring of his bow, and released an arrow, which hit the Dark One, but too late. He managed to hurl the torch onto some sort of pedestal, which spewed a column of purple light high into the sky, illuminating the entire area.
"What in the name of the Saints is this!" exclaimed Ador.
"Fools! Why did you let him do that!" a senior member of the Order of Light ran out from around the corner. "We have to retreat!" he shouted, running away with his fellow members.
"No! You cowards!" Ador shouted.
"Damn you! What now?" Leran said in horror.
"We have to fight our way to that thing and put it out, let's go!" Eric ordered, and run up the stairs to the platform. All of a sudden, dozens of Dark One‘s soldiers began to appear in the harbor, and the group rushed into battle with them.
Eric, trying to remove the hot dust from the pedestal with his sword, set his sleeve on fire. In the ensuing confusion, he ran and jumped into the water between two piers. The other members of the group fought back against the Dark Ones' ever-increasing numbers. Eric managed to climb back onto the pier and join the fight.
As the darkness began to thicken, making the fight more difficult, the purple light faded. A dark hooded figure appeared behind the Dark Ones. All the Dark Ones began to choke and fall to the ground. Ador picked up a torch from the ground and illuminated the figure. It was Caden.
"You bastard! So you're back..." Holf exclaimed.
"No need to thank me. What were you planning?" Caden asked.
"We were going to sail away. But now we are discovered, our expedition has failed," Eric replied.
"Sail away without me? How insensitive..." Caden laughed.
"We thought you had betrayed us. Forgive me..." Holf said.
"Haha... If I had betrayed you, I wouldn't have spent the last almost five days searching for you like a hungry wolf for a wounded Thunderer," Caden stated.
"Why exactly...? Well, whatever, that glow must have reached far for you to come," Ador replied.
"Thunderers are said to be very tasty, at least to wildlife. But back to the important stuff! I wasn't very far away, but the glow was indeed visible. Especially because several others lit up heading all the way to the Imperial City," Caden explained.
"So it's some kind of alarm mechanism," Torn mused.
"What does the mechanism mean?" Leran wondered.
"Ah... Doesn’t matter. Now we have to decide what to do," Torn said.
"We must sail away and warn our people. If we don't attack now, we may never get the chance either," Eric decided.
"As you command. Shall I take the helm?" Holf suggested.
"Certainly. Pick an undamaged ship," Eric ordered.
"What about supplies?" Ador asked.
"We don't have time, hopefully there will be some right on the ship. We have to leave now!" Eric replied.
"Aye!" the group shouted, boarded, and sailed out of the harbor. As their ship pulled away, they saw several purple beams of light behind them.
As the sun slowly rose on the horizon, Ador shouted from the bow of the ship, "Enemy fleet!"
Eric ran after him and looked at the fast approaching cluster of ships in wedge formation.
"What ships are those? How could the Dark Ones overtake us like this?" shouted the approaching Leran.
"Those aren't Dark One‘s ships..." Eric muttered. "Does anyone here have a white shirt?" he asked.
"Me, why?" replied Leran.
"Give it to me," said Eric.
"What? Why?" said Leran, horrified.
"Just give me the damn shirt! That's an order!" shouted Eric from the deep of his lungs.
Leran promptly removed his mesh shirt, the only remaining piece of armor he wore on the ship, and then handed Eric his white shirt. Eric wrapped the shirt around his sword and began waving it at the bow of the ship.
"Imperator! My lord, there is a ship on the horizon!" a soldier ran into the imperator's quarters. The two then ran on deck. Imperator Naross looked at the ship through his telescope. "They're waving a white flag... That's our expedition! Hold your fire!" he shouted, right when the two ships at his sides fired a volley from their forward guns.
"It's not working! Away run!!!" Ador yanked Eric off the bow into the water as soon as he saw the flashes in the distance.
"You idiots! Raise the white flag now!" Imperator Naross ordered. After the flag flew for a moment, the other ships raised the white flag as well. The entire fleet slowly came to a halt.
"Now raise the blue flag. And send boats to the expedition now!" shouted imperator Naross.
The boats managed to rescue and ferry the entire expedition aboard the imperator's ship.
"Ah, our brave expedition! Forgive the unkind welcome..." imperator Naross greeted them.
"We thought you would wait for our return, my lord..." Eric replied in confusion.
"Oh, yes, unfortunately the situation has changed. For our islands have begun to... sink," imperator Naross explained.
"What?" Leran asked in horror.
"There's no time for that now, we have to lead an invasion!" imperator Naross stopped him.
"I'm afraid you're right, sir. I... I allowed us to be discovered. Their armies must be mobilizing by now," Eric said in frustration. An eerie moment of silence followed, the imperator looked at him thoughtfully, and then hugged him with a laugh. "Hahaa... Oh, Eric, you've made me happy! At least the invasion won't be so ridiculously easy and boring!" imperator Naross laughed, patted Eric on the shoulder, and left for his quarters.
"Now that's not what I expected..." Torn declared.
"None of us did... Well, it looks like we'll be on the front lines of the invasion," Eric replied, breathing out his worry.
"What happens now?" Leran asked.
"Now we wait. See that blue flag? The imperator has called a meeting," Holf explained.
The commanders of all the ships had taken to the imperator's ship in boats, no wonder his quarters were so spacious. Several dozen senior officers were gathered in the imperator‘s quarters.
"My dear commanders, our expedition has returned with valuable information! Unfortunately, their commander has fallen, but Eric here has valiantly fulfilled his role. Please, Eric..." imperator Naross introduced him.
"Thank you, sir. The Dark Ones should have several thousand soldiers at their disposal to defend the Old Empire. We managed to take the port, but we also triggered their alarm system. Their army is probably already preparing for a clash with us, but they don't know what to expect yet. No one survived our attack," Eric explained.
"Then how do you know you've been compromised?" one of the commanders asked.
"They have a strange system of some sort of light pillars, they were gradually triggered and continued all the way to the Imperial City," Ador replied.
"Do you think they reoccupied that port?" imperator Naross asked.
"Probably, sir. But they still don't know how many of us are there," Ador said.
"Well... General Milael Stormborn will make his way to that port with the mages and his guards. You will lead our civilians there, and then engage in battle. Our scouting party will lead you there, and everyone else will land on the beach and proceed according to the invasion plan," imperator Naross ordered.
"Sir... The Wardens are ready for the invasion..." general Milael argued.
"I understand your concerns, general. But we will leave this moment to our legions. Save your strength, your time is yet to come, that is when you will need them," smiled imperator Naross.
"As you wish, sir," general Milael bowed. "Then come with me," he added towards Eric's group.
They all made their way back to their ships. The Wardens and Eric‘s party headed northwest towards the harbor while the rest of the fleet diverted southeast.
At the next sunrise, all fleets headed for the shores of the Old Empire.
"That harbor looks deserted," general Milael said, browsing the harbor through his binoculars.
"Or we'll get ambushed," Eric replied.
"Hmm... You think? Fire the long range cannon!" shouted general Milael, and from amidships the crew pulled out a strange cannon by the platform and after a moment fired it at the harbor.
"Looks like there's no one there," general Milael continued to watch the harbor. "Let's get moving! Set sail, full speed ahead!" he shouted.
The Wardens disembarked in the harbor. "Secure the area! Kill everything and everyone you see! This is enemy territory!" general Milael ordered.
"What are we to do?" Eric asked.
"You? Your task is done, but you can continue with us," general Milael replied.
After about a quarter of an hour, the guards signaled to the other ships. The civilians and mages arrived at the port. They left the group of soldiers with the civilians and headed for the battlefront.
Two massive armies were arrayed against each other.
"Imperator! My lord! All our troops have landed. The artillery is ready," the soldier ran up the hill where imperator Naross stood with his bodyguards and several officers. The imperator waved his hand and one of the officers raised and waved the red flag three times. Special cannons with several barrels stacked in a circle began firing, their barrels while rotating them. The projectiles fell into the lined up ranks of the Dark Ones and exploded.
"Save some for our soldiers," imperator Naross chuckled. The officer waved a white flag. The firing stopped. "Release the Crows!" imperator Naross ordered.
The officer waved the red flag twice. From the ranks of the empire's legions, members of the Crows rode out on horsebacks. The Crows rushed headlong into the ranks of the confused Dark One’s soldiers. Most of them jumped off their horses and began the dance of death.
"Launch the attack!" ordered one of the legio-captains.
"My soldiers will not attack," the captain replied.
"What? You dare disobey an order!" shouted the legio-captain.
"According to the military code, a commander has the right to disobey an order that leads directly to the death of his soldiers," the captain replied.
"Are you afraid of enemy soldiers?!" exclaimed the legio-captain.
"Not the enemy....," laughed the captain.
"What do you..." The legio-captain did not finish, and was interrupted by an approaching general on horseback.
"Good choice, captain. I wouldn't go near the Crows, especially when they're in the heat of battle. Besides, the imperator hasn't given us a command."
"I... Forgive me, general..." the legio-captain apologized.
"It's alright, legio-captain. Wait for one wave of the red flag," the general replied as he galloped off on his horse.
The group of Dark Ones bypassed the line and attacked the hill where the imperator stood. He motioned with his hand for his guards to stand down, and walked out to meet the group of Dark Ones himself.
"Let the light of the Saints cleanse your sins!" the imperator raised his palm against the approaching Dark Ones, who began to burn from within. They all fell to the ground and turned to dust.
"Hm... They sinned too much," imperator Naross laughed.
The Crows cut through the Dark One's lines, ignoring the attacks of their enemies, they continued to advance.
"I'm bored of this waiting. Let's try those new rifle squads," imperator Naross ordered.
The officer waved the red flag three times. The imperial troops with rifles stepped in front of the legions and took formation.
"Aim!" shouted the captain.
"Sir, our troops are there!" shouted one of the riflemen.
"This won't hurt them at all, soldier. Fire!" ordered the captain.
The squads opened fire. They fired several volleys in quick succession. The rapid firing was made possible by a special magazine, which the gunners used by a loading lever that gradually moved ammunition and powder into the rifle chamber. Except for a few jams, the firing went smoothly.
Caden joined in with one of the generals with his group and the guards, and watched the attack from a distance.
"Hmm... I don't believe in the effectiveness of these weapons against armor. However, their effect on enemy morale cannot be denied," general Milael stated as he watched the soldiers firing their rifles.
"These weapons have undergone considerable improvement, general. They fire faster, farther and more accurately than their predecessors," Torn countered.
"I'm aware of that, soldier. Still, they are no match for crossbows," general Milael replied.
"If you think so, sir..." Torn muttered.
The firing ceased, the riflemen retreated behind the legions, who, after a single wave of the red flag, began to move.
The soldiers carried large rectangular shields before them, inspired by the shields of the desert people. The legions marched up to the partially scattered, disoriented Dark One‘s army. The legions of the imperium maintained tight formation, unlike the Dark Ones. Their attack was devastating. The first ranks of the Dark Ones fell within minutes. In a desperate attempt to rebuild the formation, large numbers of Dark Ones died. Moreover, this situation gave the imperial legions almost free rein, the imperial commanders had ample time to command their forces efficiently. The battle resembled a slaughter of confused cattle. The Crows had fought their way far behind the battle line, their targets were the commanders of the Dark Ones army.
"Where are the dark mages, sir? Did they just send foot soldiers after us?" imperator Naros‘s officer asked.
"Apparently they underestimated us, but prepare our armours just in case," imperator Naross ordered.
"As you wish, sir," one of the officers bowed, mounted his horse and rode off towards the ships.
Eric and his group were also taking part in the fight. Together with general Milael and his wardens, they made their way through the hordes of Dark Ones without much difficulty, but gradually separated from the rest of the imperial army. They advanced until an armoured giant as tall as three men appeared before them with a massive mace in his hands.
"Leave this one to me," Caden smiled, he run towards the giant, leaped up and was blasted away by the huge mace.
"You think that was part of the plan?" Leran laughed as he readied his bow to fire.
"I think this will take more..." Torn unbuckled some sort of orb from his belt and hurled it at the giant. The orb exploded near the giant's head, but only temporarily disoriented him. At that moment, Eric and Ador ran towards him. Eric tried to get to the giant's head from the front, while Ador preferred to climb on his back. They both stabbed him countless times, eventually the giant fell to the ground.
"That wasn't as effective as I expected," Leran laughed.
"It's not quite finished yet..." Torn defended himself.
"And is there anything you handymen have finished at all?" Leran asked.
"Shut up, Leran! It still did more work than you," Ador shouted at him.
"I just didn't mean to hit you..." Leran retorted.
"Stop it, you better find Caden!" Eric ordered.
"I'm fine..." Caden stepped in front of them.
"Great, we need to keep going, we've separated from the wardens..." Eric unfinished as Caden fell to his knees.
"C’mon, don’t overplay it..." Ador laughed.
"No... I can hear him... The dark mages, he's calling them..." Caden muttered.
"What, Ah, damn it! We need to find general Milael fast, he needs to know before... No way...." Eric ordered as three hooded figures appeared before them.
"Go! Warn the others! Leran, you go tell the imperator that the dark mages are already here," Eric shouted.
"You want to stay here and die? You don't stand a chance against the dark mages!" Ador objected.
"That remains to be seen..." Eric replied.
"Then I'll see too, I won't leave you here," Ador declared.
"Then at least Leran, Torn and Holf will go warn the others. Then go!" shouted Eric.
"Eric! Take this..." Torn handed Eric the exploding orb, then the three of them ran off.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Eric wondered.
"They're waiting..." Caden replied.
"For what?" asked Ador.
"For an order to attack, or for reinforcements," Caden mused.
"Then we'll have to launch the attack..." Eric sighed, and started to run towards the trio in the hoods.
As soon as he got close enough, one of the dark mages used his powers to lift him into the air and began to strangle him. Another of them tried the same thing on Caden, to no avail.
"Haha... surprised?" Caden rushed into battle with the remaining pair of dark mages.
Ador lunged at the mage holding Eric. The mage let go of Eric and threw Ador away with his power, at that moment Eric stabbed him in the chest with his sword. The mage began to strangle him again with his power, but Ador got up, ran and stabbed the mage in the back. Eric was once again released from the mage's power, pulled the sword from his chest and slit his throat. They both breathed out in relief.
"Well? Can you still continue?" Caden laughed.
"Very funny..." Ador laughed sarcastically.
"Imperator! My lord!" shouted Leran, as he ran up the hill towards imperator Naross. The imperator‘s guard drew their swords, but he stopped them.
"What is it, soldier? You're one of the scouts, aren't you?" asked imperator Naross.
"Yes, sir! I... Dark Ones... The mages are coming. They're already on the battlefield..." Leran said as he tried to catch his breath.
"So... Sound the retreat!" imperator Naross ordered.
"Sir? We have no other reports of their presence..." objected the officer.
"What chance does an ordinary infantryman have against a dark mage, legionnaire?" imperator Naross asked.
"Uh... None, sir."
"I'm not going to risk the lives of my soldiers in this manner. Call a retreat, now!" imperator Naross ordered.
One of the officers blew a large horn.
"What is it?" one of the soldiers asked in the heat of battle.
"That's the order to retreat. Retreat!" shouted the captain.
"We're winning!" the soldiers objected.
"Obey the order at once! Retreat!" shouted the commanders.
"What's going on?" Eric looked in confusion at the retreating imperial army.
"Looks like Leran has already relayed the message. Command has decided to call for a retreat," Ador replied.
"So we'll retreat too?" Caden asked.
"We should, soon we'll be the only ones left of our own," Eric said.
The three of them then started to retreat.
The legions of the Imperium were once again forming up. On the hill behind them, strange steel vehicles emerged from behind the perimeter, with the barrels of cannons protruding from between the plates of armour.
An officer, stationed with Imperator Naross, waved a black flag. Then the riflemen lined up again in front of the imperial legions. Ahead of them, the Dark Ones and their mages lined up.
"Burn those foul monsters!" imperator Naross commanded.
The officer waved the red flag three times. The artillery along with the steel chariots began firing, the chariots targeting the Dark Mages. The gunners with their rifles hadn't fired yet, they only started when the burning oil bursted from the cannonballs, as the dark mages tried to stop them mid-air.
"Now get it over with, I want to dine in the Imperial City," imperator Naross smiled.
The officer waved the red flag once. The imperial legions rushed into battle again. The Dark One‘s army was decimated, the survivors desperately tried to escape the bloodthirsty Crows who pursued them on their horses until they were slaughtered to the last man. The imperial army now had free passage into the Imperial City.
"Anyone who is not behind bars is an enemy. There will be a squad of riflemen in every square, and all residents of Imperial City will be taken there and executed," imperator Naross ordered.
"Sir... There are humans here..." the legion-general objected.
"These people are no longer ours, they are far more vile creatures than the Dark Ones themselves. They are traitors. Kill every last one of them, men, women and children. General Gorm, I believe I can trust you with this task," imperator Naross said.
"Of course, sir," general Gorm went to his officers and gave them their orders.
The imperial army marched into the Imperial City, and did as the imperator commanded.
"My lord..." Eric and his group reported to imperator Naross, near the gate to Imperial City.
"Ah, Eric... What brings you here?" imperator Naross asked.
"We have no orders, sir," Eric replied.
"You may join us. We are about to conquer the Imperial Palace," said imperator Naross.
"We would be honored, sir," Ador bowed.
The imperator made his way to the Imperial Palace with Eric's group, a group of Crows, and his personal guard. Along the way, they saw the imperial army massacring the remaining Dark One’s soldiers, as well as the militia and any civilian who raised a weapon against them.
Finally, they reached the front of the Imperial Palace, or at least a dark, corrupted version of it. The gold and white had been replaced with black and dark blue. The opulent architecture was replaced by some version of it with spikes and thorns.
"Here is a monster lounging unjustly on the imperial throne. Here our Empire has perished, and here it will be reborn. Attack, my loyal soldiers! Kill everything in your path!" imperator Naross smashed the palace gates with unusual force.
They all ran into the main hall and killed a group of Dark Ones with spears.
"The Crows will take the west wing, my guards will take the east wing, and Eric and his group will come with me to the throne room," imperator Naross ordered.
The imperator‘s guards glanced at him, confusion evident even through their opaque helmets.
"I know what I'm doing. Then go!" shouted imperator Naross. The groups dispersed.
"Leran, go find general Milael and bring him and his wardens here," imperator Naross said.
"But, sir..." Leran sighed.
"I'll go, sir. You cannot force Leran to miss such an important moment," Holf said.
Imperator Naross smiled and nodded his head in agreement, Holf left the palace.
The group broke through the gate to the throne room. On a large throne sat a massive, purple monster with horns resembling a crown. After a moment, it rose to its feet and looked at the group with disgust.
"So you are the ones who murdered your own kind and invaded my country?" the demon asked.
"This is not your country, monster! Surrender and your death will be swift!" imperator Naross declared.
"Hahahahaa!!! You miserable worm! You think you can defeat a god?" the demon laughed.
"There are no gods. And anyone who pretends to be a god will die by my hand!" imperator Naross laughed and drew his sword.
"You puny wretches, this is where you die!" the demon shouted.
"Oh, how many times have I heard that?" Caden groaned.
"You two remind me of someone, too bad there won't be a chance to find out who!" the demon exclaimed, summoning two portals on the sides of the room, through which more demons passed.
Eric's group charged towards the lesser demons, while imperator Naross rushed to fight the largest demon in the middle. After a moment of fighting, the largest demon hit the floor, and it crumbled. All that was left was a piece between the imperator and the demon. Eric, Caden, Leran and Torn fell into the abyss. Caden managed to cushion the fall with his power, then caught the others and laid them on the ground.
"Thank you, Caden... What was that?" Leran asked in horror.
"I don't know, but we need to get back up!" Eric declared.
"But first we'd have to know where we are, don't you think?" Ador laughed.
"It looks like a city..." Caden looked deeper into the ravine that held the strange buildings.
"We'll notify the others, but we need to find a way out," Eric ordered, the group began to search for the exit.
"I know which way to go, follow me!" Caden ran into the tunnel. The group took off after him Caden.
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