Darkar Chronicles: Empire's end

by godisme

Tatsumi and his friends left their village in search of fame and fortune, along their way they were separated, in a world with few good people they were fortunate to be taken in by one family that was exactly what they seemed but also something more: Welcome to a more sane world then canon and where love stands stronger over evil. Main Pairing:Tatsumi x Mass Harem, Good Aria, Seryu

62. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Unity and Heroism

Melitine two days later under the shield….

Ieyasu despite the responsibilities given to him by Tatsumi slept rather peacefully, and happily: it was early morning though when he was given an early awakening. "Ieyasu" Constantine shouted and Ieyasu woke up.

"What time is it?" Ieyasu asked groggily

"About 6 am, anyway tomorrow is a rather important day for a special person dear to both of our hearts" Constantine explained.

"Angela?" Ieyasu asked hazily.

"Her Birthday is tomorrow and she'll be 35, I wanted you to know this so that you can see to getting her a present; just make sure it comes from your heart; anyway I just wanted to let you know this before I go off work with the general assembly" Constantine informed then left, the General Assembly was a body Tatsumi had established before leaving as an interim government for the duration of the current crisis, the body was composed of Melitine's most respected and influential people (still living at this point) and was in charge of the duties that came with keeping the denizens inside the shield from panic and anarchy but also maintained a semblance of legitimacy to Tatsumi's rule; the word that Tatsumi was Emperor was common knowledge as Tatsumi had given orders and express permission to Constantine to disclose that information and left a number of documents behind to back that up.

Essentially at this point Melitine was under semi marshal law as well as an interim government, the soldiers of Esdeath's army were in charge of maintaining the peace and to that end Wave was made a General by Esdeath to keep them in line. Ieyasu's duties with regards to the current state of Melitine were to act as the Emperor's Enforcer, essentially he was in charge of keeping everything in line and of Night Raid's reserve forces left behind along with a unit of Royal Guard along with the interim government . It was a lot of pressure but fortunately he had Angela to help him with these responsibilities.

"I wish Tatsumi was here" Ieyasu thought to himself as he did every morning, the fact that his best friend who was an expert by experience in these matters wasn't here to help him was hard to swallow, of course Tatsumi was off saving the world but it really didn't reassure his confidence in his abilities.

All this was secondary to him at the moment for him the most important thing right now was what to get his beloved Angela a gift for her birthday; something that was difficult because he had so many ideas on what to get her but wasn't sure which gift, she'd like the most.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened again and in walked Angela, clad in simple bathrobe. "Good morning Ieyasu; Constantine told me he woke you up and- well are you up for a nice way to start your day" Angela greeted then teased him by loosening her bathrobe; which Ieyasu knew for fact she wore nothing underneath.

"You know I'm up for it" Ieyasu replied, this was how most of his mornings started and it was due to both of them having a mutual desire to do so every morning, the manner in which she appeared to him was left up to her; also stealth was required as their affair was nominally secret (Everyone knew about it in the Manor though) and would cause quite a scandal if public, their age gap alone was a factor but their ranking in society would be even more so.

That detail however was not enough to stop them from following their hearts and well it only took about 30 seconds for Ieyasu to have Angela's clothes off and carry her to the bed. "Ieyasu" Angela cooed and then kissed him, Ieyasu, who wore no clothes due to the manner in which he slept, entered her his length into her folds and two locked lips in a passionate kiss, one that lasted only a minute but to them felt like 40 minutes, Ieyasu then tended to her breasts and drank his full of 'Mommy's Milk' as Angela has called it. Their relationship had grown a lot since their first time together and each time it grew stronger.

Shortly… Constantine arrived at the General Assembly hall within about 20 minutes of having woken Ieyasu, the building that housed it was formerly a theater that had been given over to the local officials after it went bankrupt to settle debts. The building though was owned by the Grundels and by Constantine who bought it from the local officials for a sizeable sum. Now however about 50 men and women who were from influential families along with 30 former advisors to Makoto called it the meeting place for the General Assembly. Tatsumi had designed it as a mostly autonomous body however the Prime Minister Chouri had the final say on any manner and was the only one who could bring a measure to the floor for a vote.

"Minister Constantine good that you've arrived" Prime Minister Chouri greeted.

"Good indeed now we can get started" a stout brown haired and bearded man commented.

"Yes indeed Lord Calvectis, we can start; now for the matters as regards to public order enforcement: the current crisis of Melitine being under the control of demons outside the shield has led to much discontent, a number of groups are getting restless and while General Esdeath's soldiers keep them in line there's only so much they can do, there a millions of people inside this shield and of course we've got issues" Chouri explained.

"Of what kind?" Constantine inquired.

"First and foremost, the observers have reported they've seen demons trying actively to get thru the shield, now the shield's protection extends underground but there are some obvious threats inside. A number of local gangs have been gaining in strength and a number of malcontents have tried actively to sow descent, we're doing what we can to control both of these problems but the forces inside the city are stretched thin by the amount of ground to cover" Chouri explained.

"Well we certainly can't have them getting too over extended, they're enough to keep the usual troublemakers in line by their reputation alone but as you said their numbers while great aren't enough to patrol the entirety of the shielded zone" Lord Calvectis replied.

"In that event we've decided to establish a citizen watch, every armed citizen well henceforth be drafted into the city guard to better police the city" Chouri explained, Constantine nodded as did a large number of people this was indeed a good idea albeit a risky one as conscription was largely frowned upon in the Empire, the armies of it were usually trained professional volunteers or auxiliaries from the many provinces of it: conscription was only used in times of extreme crisis when the military was overwhelmed or in the event of a massive external invasion, the latter of which was rare and hadn't happened in centuries; well until now.

"That settles it we'll bring the measure for a floor vote during the business session, right now we should continue to discuss other matters" Chouri explained. "Now while there are large extensive food supplies there is another thing that we will run out of sooner, those being consumer goods both common and luxury, the biggest concern are any products with regards to sanitation; the biggest threat inside this shield is if there is a major pandemic also there are medical supplies that we me face a shortage of: in short anyone have any ideas to counter these deficiencies?" Chouri continued, there was a general look of worry around the delegates; this hadn't been something that had been prepared for.

"This is a tough one" someone remarked, they couldn't lower the shields under any circumstances; no shields meant that the demons could get in, not that there were any caravans actively heading to Melitine as those that were turned back after the Demons were sighted.

Speaking of an army led by an over ambitious commander attempted to confront the demons after the caravans reported the threat, what followed was a massacre of biblical proportions with the army being assailed from all sides by a tide of demons before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the supernatural strength and resilience of the creatures; since then no one else had attempted to liberate the city. The affair was covered up also to avoid public panic.

"Also, there is another threat; a couple of nights ago a number of bodies were found dismembered and killed in a savage manner and a message was written in blood on the wall along with a peculiar mark. The Message read 'You are all doomed, the only way to survive is to worship Valtor the true lord of Eden and his representative Volgoth Ugor' which means that there is a cult inside the shield" Chouri explained.

"That's a serious threat, we need to stop this problem before they try to disable the shield" Constantine remarked.

"It's a difficult prospect Minister Constantine, we have little knowledge to work with as regards this cult, but I agree this is a threat that we cannot allow to grow; to that end I suggest we send the Jaegers to investigate" a tall blonde haired woman with grey eyes commented in a silky voice.

"Minister Shira is correct on this matter; we will bring this measure to an emergency vote: this cult is a threat that must be stopped lest they doom us all to the demon tide" Chouri replied.

Meanwhile… "My power grows stronger, day by day; Valtor's strength gives me more power, and the torments of Eden's people strengthen me more" Volgoth said to himself, Socrathor approached the throne.

"Milord I must report that my team was successful in activating one of the nexi, the one nearest to the city; I'd also like to note that the range has been extended by another 40 miles" Socrathor replied, Volgoth stood up.

"40 miles? 40 MILES!? Is that all you can manage!?" Volgoth shouted irate.

"The nexus was heavily damaged I'm surprised we got it to work at all; also, I'd like to report that our forces neutralized another enemy expeditionary force" Socrathor.

"Fools, they have more guts then sense, well that is a weakness we must continue to exploit" Volgoth replied. "Now is there anything else you'd like to report?" Volgoth asked.

"Yes milord, while surveying the palace for anything of use to your plans we have found something that may interest you greatly" Socrathor explained.

"Indeed? Show me" Volgoth replied, Socrathor led Volgoth out of the throne room and thru a number of palace hallways to a portrait of the First Emperor, or rather an artist's depiction painted about 500 years after the Empire's founding as the true portrait of the Golden Emperor was lost at some point during the succession wars between Empress Merraid II the Redstone Empress, who was also known as the Widowmaker, and her siblings during which Melitine had been sacked by the army of the Empress and during which it was said she raped a thousand men for her own sick tastes it was an apocryphal story though and one made by historians who had disdain for her. "I've seen this painting a thousand times Socrathor, I trust you haven't brought me here to critique fine art" Volgoth remarked.

"It's behind the portrait" Socrathor replied and took the painting off the wall and pressed button that was disguised as part of the wall, a passageway opened up about 10 feet away, a large one which Socrathor led Volgoth down, at the end of the tunnel was a large open chamber and at the center of which Volgoth noticed a giant head. "The Primus Supremus" Volgoth said then smirked.

"The what?" Socrathor asked.

"The Ultimate Teigu, the conqueror of an Empire; this was what allowed the First Emperor to make an Empire" Volgoth explained then took a good smirk. "I must show my son Izel this, he may be able to get it working again; if we can manage that, the shield won't hold up against that behemoth" Volgoth replied then took a good look at the behemoth.

"It's a powerful Teigu and it will require a good deal of energy to get it working even if we do you may not be compatible" Izel replied.

"Analyze it; and if I'm unable to operate it we WILL find someone who can: this is your new priority my son all other projects you are responsible are unimportant compared to this: and I want you to dedicate your time to restoring this ultimate weapon to its full power" Volgoth ordered.

"Yes, Father it will be done" Izel replied then strode around on his spider legs to examine the new project.

An hour of examination revealed a good deal of the machine was intact, in fact the entire thing had no flaws in it despite centuries of not being used. "This was what the First Emperor used to create the Empire? I can see why many nations fell to this, kings and queens bent the knee to avoid the power of this Dwarven construct, some fools tried to resist but for this to have been in Melitine all this time when it was thought lost for centuries is- humbling" Izel stated, Volgoth overheard the observations of his son via seeing him thru Ephialties.

"Yes to be lost for centuries but for it to be rediscovered- this is a sign of my right to rule this world no- this galaxy and eventually this universe" Volgoth thought, he then turned his focus on the shield he had sent numerous probing attacks looking for any opening but to no avail; the shield was impregnable and impervious to any attack. "For now," Volgoth thought but he had one possible path to bypass the Shield altogether and- remove it from the equation, he doubted though that it would work and such was going to try it as he had other methods to fall back on should the plan fail. Volgoth then took a look at the Eastern Lands and his- rival's plans. "How amusing he fights against my enemy Boreth; well let the fools fight each other while I bide my time; that fight will weaken them for when my servants attack" Volgoth thought, he noted the rapid pace at which Tatsumi's forces moved, the Revolutionary Army's forces were on both the back foot and encircled from all sides. "Well the more bloodletting the better" Volgoth remarked to himself then took a look outside where an area of the city had been- removed- yes that was one way of putting the razing of about 2 miles worth of buildings along with some holdouts that still resisted his rule, those were still there but they now numbered but a few stubborn people that would soon be cleared out by more overwhelming demons; not just in numbers but in toughness: the Horned enforcers and Imps that he'd been sending out were just fodder, soon Hell's legions of true demonic warriors would pour forth from the newly constructed Rift Gate which when completed would tower over even the palace itself and from which legions of demons would pour forth.

The Ground shook again, Volgoth knew that another nexus was activated; this one in the Western provinces as he had dispatched Lorhish to deal with the matter a job which the kennel master had done well: and which accelerated the construction.

Back in the Shield at Jaeger HQ now the Main Military Government building of the Melitine branch of the Golden Dragon Army… Wave looked in a mirror at himself; a general's uniform was now his main attire an outfit he'd never expected to wear as he was a navy man: an admiral's uniform would have been more his thing but here he was in the gold and black of the new Golden Dragon Army; Syura had been sent as a messenger to inform him of the new changes and both that he was now under the domain of the Golden Dragon Empire and that a new military uniform has been issued along with heraldry and banners for that title; Wave had mixed feelings about the uniforms those being that a navy uniform was still on the drawing board and that these had been Tatsumi's idea which worried him as Tatsumi had limited military experience and- to his knowledge- was untested in actual battle but considering the message had been given to him before the Battle for Meekta Province he was unjustified in this concern. Still though he had to admit that the uniform was good looking; Tatsumi indeed had taste.

Wave's feelings on his best friend being Emperor were mixed too but he didn't doubt them; the documents, Esdeath's words on the matter and Makoto's own testimony in addition to being shown the Mirror of Time was enough to convince him that Tatsumi was the rightful Emperor, that and- well Tatsumi had the air of a leader about him from the day they met; a kindred spirit too. "Hello Wave" a woman's voice greeted, that woman was Sheera, his- girlfriend turned his fiancé, she had been a near victim of rape and had spent a month in Jaeger HQ intensive care for broken legs; during that time they'd- gotten close and developed a relationship: Wave was no virgin before he met Sheera, more than a few of his female comrades in the Army were interested in him and he had given into those affections rather frequently; a few of them were in Melitine with the rest of Esdeath's army and there were his forays into brothels both in camp with military commands he served in and in the many locations he'd gone across his career; he wagered he had a fair few bastards somewhere; but tracking them down would be a task for peace time. Sheera however was special while his previous relations had been either for sex purely or as friends with benefits Sheera was someone he genuinely loved, well apart from a couple of other girls but Sheera was above the rest as she was the kind of person he fought to protect.

"You look dashing in that uniform, I think it will look just as good on the floor" Sheera teased and Wave noticed that from the mirror she was naked, her e-cups pressed against his back.

"Well I don't have any other obligations at the moment so why not, but you have to help me get the uniform back on" Wave replied, that was his major gripe in that the uniform took a good three minutes putting on as armor was worn underneath it; something which Sheera was surprised was the case but still she undressed him eagerly and quickly removed his clothes, Wave loved her; her deep brown skin contrasted against his and her lovely sapphire eyes sparkled and her hair was exotic.

He shortly found himself naked as the day he was born and, on his bed,, laying on his back as Sheera pressed against him with his length sheathed inside her. Wave considered his phallus as a sword and a woman's vagina as the sheath for his sword, that came from the name of the Camp brothel that followed Esdeath's army, the Sword and the Sheath where the patron of it could have either one that suited his or her tastes, Wave had lost count on how much of his spending pay had gone to that brothel though he had only paid for sheaths for his sword never other swords.

"Oh Wave" Sheera moaned and kissed him chastely, Wave noted that her loving embrace was a stark contrast to anyone else he had been with- well that wasn't a paid sheath- no in all honesty she was unique.

Each kiss she gave him was soft gentle- even more relaxed, how she fell for him and not the far more impressive Tatsumi was beyond him though it may have been the fact that Tatsumi was letting the two have each other: that and Tatsumi generally had Esdeath with him when the two met and Esdeath was a deterrent that most woman didn't want to risk offending for fairly obvious reasons; so regardless of how handsome Tatsumi may have been Sheera was not going to attempt it besides she was more interested in Wave. Granted though he had been her first. "Wave" Sheera cooed as she bounced up and down on his length swaying her body as she did so in a semi lap dance, soon Wave found himself reaching his limits and grabbed her pushing her down with himself on top kissing her passionately as he orgasmed, filling her with his seed.

They then spent a good ten more minutes before a knock on the door interrupted them. "Who is it?" Wave asked.

"Me" Bols replied from behind the door.

"Just a sec" Wave replied, the two sepperated and redressed, Sheera hid in his closet not wanting to be seen as their relationship while common knowledge had a habit of interrupting other pressing matters; to which Sheera wanted nothing to do with.

Wave quickly redressed and opened the door. "What is it?" Wave asked.

"I'm here to report that the council has voted on a measure to establish a local militia separate from the city watch and has called for you to begin a recruitment drive" Bols replied.

"Me Specifically? I may be the highest-ranking officer in the city that's still living or onside but there are other people for this work" Wave replied.

"That's not the only thing: you've got a visitor, a- high ranked one" Bols added.

"Oh, great another politician more drama and more explaining to civilians the way the military runs things" Wave replied annoyed.

"He's important to Tatsumi" Bols replied.

"Constantine; you know I'm still surprised that Tatsumi's the rightful Emperor; who would have thought that he of all people was the lost son of Isshin the Lost: it's a small world right?" Wave replied, then stepped out of the room and was led by Bols to his- rather Esdeath's office. Constantine sat in the chair in front of the desk.

"Good you're here Wave" Constantine greeted.

"Deputy Prime Minister Grundel good to see you" Wave greeted and plopped himself in Esdeath's chair. "What business do you wish to see me about? I've gotten orders from that assembly that I'm supposed to supervise recruiting a militia?" Wave asked.

"I'm here to clarify the orders; you don't have to do the recruiting yourself just send out recruiters, what I and the rest of the Council want is for you and the Jaegers, limited as they are at the moment, to investigate the matter of Cultists that are inside the shield: they are our biggest threat" Constantine explained in short order.

"I understand; they indeed are if they figure out how the shield operates or how to sabotage it, they could take away our defense against the tides of death outside the shield" Wave replied. "Speaking of my pickets near the outskirts of the range have reported large masses of demons just waiting outside; hundreds of thousands of demons and they've been jeering and doing whatever they can to get us to fight them: I hate this fighting against enemies that outnumber us and aren't from the natural world: I've fought in many battles but none of them have been against this kind of enemy" Wave replied.

"I understand that; from one soldier to another I understand that; but let this old veteran give you some advice: Never give into despair especially when your enemy is determined to not just take your life but that of everyone you care for and everyone else: I learned this lesson fighting the Northerners and I don't doubt you haven't either; but remember that you shouldn't get let that fear ever overpower you" Constantine replied.

"You were a soldier?" Wave asked.

"Yes; I still have the scars to prove it, I served in the cavalry for 10 years when I was younger, I saved the woman I love during that time and after I found out she was with child I turned my service to retirement from the army and put my sword up on my mantle: I've never seen enemies like this before but you and I both know that we cannot let them win, this is more than our own lives at stake but the fate of our world rests on the Empire stopping this tide from Hell itself, if we fail the demons will consume us all" Constantine replied.

"We won't let them; now do you have any leads?" Wave asked.

"Not many; the cult operates as you might expect at night and leaves no survivors: the most we've found are the remnants of their 'rituals' and some other things left behind either intentionally or no; they don't leave bodies behind that aren't their victims and there is unrest brewing as a result of these events" Constantine replied.

"Any other things to know, I'd like to know if there are any other problems that should be dealt with; also, how are on supplies?" Wave asked.

"A number of Gangs and criminals have begun to cause trouble: a military crackdown is underway but there is only so much General Esdeath's soldiers can do, also there is word that some local criminal organizations are- consolidating. We aren't sure how extensive this is but there is fear that the Syndicate may reform, or another group may rise to fill that vacuum. As for the matter of supplies we are good on food, water and medical supplies however there is a concern on raw materials for consumer goods, a shortage of necessities like clothing and sanitary products could lead to rioting" Constantine explained.

"Ok now for a more pressing question how long will the shield last and how much does it cover; are we going to have to run sewer watches for demons coming in from underground?" Wave asked.

"It's power will last longer than our supplies: as for the radius it covers both above and below ground, this is the first time this shield has been used in 200 years since the War of Eight Emperors when Melitine passed back and forth but our ancestors remained safe" Constantine replied. "Though I'd recommend you sending some sewer watches; there have been other reports: people gone missing in the night with nothing left in their homes besides the symbol of a strange triangle painted into walls, but also some people have seen in passing open grates red eyes glaring out and watching them" Constantine replied.

"I'll definitely send those patrols: last thing we need are demons coming in from below the city" Wave replied.

"There are a lot of things beneath the city; a Dwarven holdfast is built under the city though they haven't been in the city for centuries not even in passing" Constantine replied.

"Yeah: it would be nice to have allies though I'm hoping though whatever is down there isn't too much trouble; also, any signs of the cult near these grates?" Wave asked.

"Yes; it's quite possible that they may have a base in the upper deeps of the Dwarf hold" Constantine replied.

"Well that's going to be a dangerous proposition, the tunnels underneath the city aren't exactly as maintained as the ones in the sewers, comes of there not being any dwarves to keep them up to snuff, and goodness knows what else is down there" Wave replied.

"But you are capable of doing it right? We cannot allow anyone that may threaten our lifeline against the demon tide outside to succeed in their schemes lest they doom us all" Constantine replied.

"Hey I didn't say I couldn't handle it, we'll do it but I'm just letting you know it's a risky mission, I want only the bravest volunteers and preferably them not to have family: I'd rather avoid breaking families considering what may be down in the deeps" Wave replied.

"I'll make sure of it: how long do you think it will take you to organize an expedition?" Constantine asked.

"About a few hours, I need to get the troops for it, allocate supplies and preform reconnaissance also do you know anyone who has extensive knowledge of the underground? Someone who's got extensive knowledge of the depths of our city?" Wave replied, Constantine half-frowned.

"I do know someone who may be able to help someone who has used the tunnels to- deal with some of the worst the city has to offer and used them to dispose of the worst inside" Constantine replied then frowned fully. "Angela" Constantine replied Wave smirked at that.

Meanwhile… Ieyasu had gone off shopping with a small group of guards from the manor and a large wagon; he had been given a sizeable amount of money by Constantine's steward who had been informed to allocate funds to him for the purposes of gift shopping. That in mind Ieyasu decided to buy anything and everything that Angela may like dresses, baking utensils, books on all manner of subjects that she enjoyed, a large collection of fine statuary, fine quilts, all manner of things for their unborn child, pottery, jewelry. But the most important purchases were things that she'd use: new surgical tools were a good focus of his, but by far his favorite purchase was-

Ieyasu walked into a blacksmith's store; the smith in question was one of the City's best and specialized in making high quality blades and armor. Immediately though when he walked in three things caught his eyes. The first of these was an ornate decorated sword made in the style but with the blade of a Kris with its tale-tale wavy forging: it was a flamberge rapier much like the one Aria used but this one was decorated with extremely fine cut gems and enameled with electrum the pink sapphires in the hilt were beautiful to see. The second of the things that caught his eyes was a fine set brigandine which was both ornate and- well forged in addition to having been made with a woman's figure in mind. The last thing to catch his eyes was set of butterfly knives: fine weapons in the style of the traditional bolo style of craftsmanship; they were about four inches in length with regard to the blade which as Ieyasu could tell were switchblades in their construction which made them suitable weapons for Angela's style of ambush killing.

"I see you are a connoisseur of fine arms" a man stated shaking Ieyasu out of his study of the weapons.

"I guess you could say that, look I'm here to buy gifts for my- lover, she's a bit of enthusiast for weapons" Ieyasu replied, the storekeeper smiled.

"You're a lucky and brave man, those who court fighting women are usually those who have to be of as firm and strong a character as the women they pursue, may I ask who the lovely woman is that you have become so smitten with that you are willing to put so much silver on the line?" the Shopkeeper asked.

"Not really it could- be a scandal if such news came out: I will say that she is the most beautiful woman in the world and I honestly wouldn't be able to live without her" Ieyasu replied, the storekeeper nodded.

"I see then, well which of my fine works catches your eyes" the Shopkeeper asked.

"That sword, that brigandine and those knives" Ieyasu explained.

"I see fine purchases all about 2000 gold pieces for the lot" he replied, Ieyasu smirked stepped outside and came back with a sizeable amount of money, the Shopkeeper was puzzled he'd not seen anyone pay this much before. "That will do it: take your purchases, do come again, I think I could forge you a better axe if you'd like?" the shopkeeper replied.

"No thanks, you'd not be able to make a weapon better then Belvaac, it's a Teigu and unless you can forge Imperial Arms you'd not be able to make one better" Ieyasu explained honestly.

"I see I'm glad to see that a Teigu user has purchased from my store; you know I've had a few notable customers, nobles looking for fine blades but there was one woman who always came back consistently when I was younger, she was a lovely blonde and such a caring and charitable soul: I've not seen her though in years I wonder where she is today?" the Shopkeeper replied.

"What was her name?" Ieyasu asked having a suspicion.

"She referred to herself as Angela, she never gave me her surname, but I assumed she's of a noble family with a good deal of prestige and wealth" the Shopkeeper replied.

"Thanks, and I think I know her: she's my love" Ieyasu replied.

"Then you sir are a lucky young man: I wish you luck in your affairs" the Shopkeeper replied, Ieyasu handed him the money and the shopkeeper handed him his purchases which he took to the wagon which was now full then he and his escort made their way back to the manor.

Shortly… Ieyasu was fortunate that everyone at the mansion was trained the secrecy needed to prepare presents for any occasion on which they were offered: to the point that there was an entire wrapping room with a number of servants both maids and butlers trained and paid to wrap presents in a professional manner when not doing other work around the mansion. Ieyasu himself though insisted on wrapping some of his gifts himself especially the armor and weapons the latter of which took some effort to do due to them being weapons.

With the packing done he went to see Angela and this took some effort, his first impulse was to check her study but he didn't find her there then he checked the library but no luck there either, he found her though on the third attempt in her medical room smiling and jumping for joy. "YES! I've done it!" Angela cheered, looking at a rather happy rat.

"Did what my beloved Angela?" Ieyasu asked.

"Better I show you; take a seat" Angela replied, and he took a seat in the nearby chair, then he winced as she brought over two syringes. "Now hold still, this is what my fifth test on a human so I know it works but I think you should experience it" Angela replied then took the first syringe and injected Ieyasu with it to a yelp.

"Ouch! What was that?" Ieyasu replied and started feeling woozy as he saw spots in his eyes and ones started appearing on his arms.

"Rubola's disease, that's a bad stuff but here's the good stuff" Angela replied and injected him with the other syringe, suddenly as rapidly as it had progressed it vanished, and his body returned to normal. "I've finally invited a cure for Rubola: and even better its fast acting and builds up an immunity" Angela explained.

"That's- wonderful" Ieyasu stammered. "Why the hell did you use that on me though?" Ieyasu asked.

"To vaccinate you against it: I've already done the same for myself and three others" Angela replied "Not counting this rat though" Angela explained.

"I'm- amazed but also shocked that you were willing to risk my life like that" Ieyasu replied.

"I'm not going to let you die to it, and the cure is permanent, your body now has an immunity to the disease" Angela explained the two hugged affectionately. "Now let me make it up to you" Angela replied sweetly and led him towards her room. They hadn't gone too far though before one of her maids stopped them.

"Milady you have guests at the front door, they want to see you specifically" the Maid explained, Ieyasu thought she was cute but between her and Angela there was no comparison, besides about half of the maids had the hots for Tatsumi, the other half had already gone and followed thru on them, and by the bump on her belly Ieyasu could tell the attractive brunette was one of the latter.

"Thank you Nemu, inform the rest of the housekeeping to be on call; if its business I want the place to be well cared for in my absence" Angela replied.

"Yes milady, and it is business, Field Marshal Wave wants to see you and he brought some Jaegers with him" Nemu explained.

"Thank you for that information, it must be serious if he's here" Angela replied and took a comfortable stride towards the front door with Ieyasu walking next to her protectively with Belvaac slung on his shoulder like a lumberjack. Angela opened the door and Wave was on the doorstep accompanied by Bols and the four sisters of Henrietta: Sophie, Ylana, Elizabeth and Keline who had taken up Teigus that Tatsumi had left behind to arm new Jaegers, about half of the ones he took from the vault had been left behind for this purpose. Alongside those five there were a couple of familiar faces, two of Ieyasu's lovers Renka and Misty, but the rest where just Imperial soldiers their faces obscured by their helmets and while they looked different there wasn't much to see. "What is it Wave?" Angela asked politely.

"I need your help, we need your help, there has been an outbreak of killings by Volgoth's Cultists and survivors reported they've gone underground: Constantine informed me you know your way around the tunnels" Wave explained.

"I do, and this is something that needs to be dealt with fortunately you've come to the right woman, in the absence of Aria I guess I can fill my Daughter's shoes for the time being I'll be back this dress isn't practical for fighting in and I'd rather not ruin it with bloodstains" Angela explained and went back inside leaving Ieyasu on the doorstep waiting and fidgeting.

"You alright Ieyasu?" Wave asked, he hadn't seen Ieyasu on an active mission since the incident that had relegated him to protecting Ieyasu.

"For Angela I'll go any distance, fight any foe, and do anything to keep her safe" Ieyasu replied honestly, he went back inside himself and went to equip himself in proper armor where he found Angela changing herself, in a process of putting on her armor. "Here let me help you with that" Ieyasu offered, Angela smiled and let him strap her breastplate on for her.

"Thank you my dear Ieyasu, I can handle the rest , you should get your equipment, for you I'm giving you access to our best, I'll help you open that storage just head there and wait there" Angela replied, Ieyasu left and went to the special armory outback, Angela arrived about five minutes later key in hand. "You'll enjoy what I've got in store for you" Angela replied and opened the door leading him inside the armory where only the best Grundel weapons were stored, then to his surprise went towards the back wall, moved aside a rack of heavy weaponry with ease and pressed concealed button: at this the back wall slid aside into four interlocking doors that were now retracted.

Behind that wall was a staircase that lead downward, Angela lead him down the stair and lit a match and lit a torch on the wall and then followed suit for every torch she down about fifty or so stairs to a- room unlike the rest of the house. The Architecture was clearly Dwarven the stonework was way too smooth for human hands and their runes could be seen. "Egvai Yathul" Angela replied and another wall opened revealing behind it an armory grander and far more ornate then the one above.

"Wow, is this a?" Ieyasu stammered out.

"Dwarven Armory, yes: Constantine's ancestors were given this secret vault by the Ironhammer Clan about 900 years ago during the reign of the Jade Emperor and the Age of Grand Friendship between humans and dwarves: they also taught his ancestors some of their smithing secrets allowing them to be the Empire's best weapon and armor crafters, leading to the company we have today: in here we store the finest of equipment, the arms and armor made by the dwarves for ancestors long since passed: many of which are infused with runes, for you I ask you take only the best" Angela explained, Ieyasu gapped taking in what Angela had revealed to him and- felt he didn't get her nearly enough gifts and resolved to buy about a hundred more things to make it up to her. It took Ieyasu little time to find the best armor for him, the suit provided complete protection and was covered in runes, along with being surprisingly lightweight, light as a feather.

"The Mithril Armor of Darius Grundel, one of the finest suits ever made by the Dwarves, that armor can withstand dragon fire let alone anything else: it will protect you well" Angela explained and Ieyasu began to take it of the stand, Angela stopped him and clad him in the armor, the only thing he didn't take was the Shield which given his fighting style would have been impractical. With her armor on Ieyasu firmly protected from any harm and he felt like a warrior from ancient past; Angela and him then returned to the front doorstep.

Wave took one look at the two and was shocked, Angela had traded her dress for a set of armor reminiscent of Aria's but it was far more ornate and designed in the Oarburgh fashion, she was armed to the teeth with all manner of weapons and her blonde hair was tied back in a series of buns underneath her helmet, she had a map on her right hip. At her side Ieyasu stood, clad in bright silver armor that was decorated with runes, the Corinthian style helmet was enclosed with a bearded war mask covering Ieyasu's face, the rest of armor was interlocked to a point where there were no gaps, and Ieyasu moved with fluidity as if it was second skin.

"You ready to go now?" Wave asked jokingly, both laughed.

"Yes, now is this everyone who's going with us and do you have a certain place in mind for entering the underground?" Angela replied.

"No this is only the welcome wagon, I've got about a battalion of Esdeath's finest ready to trudge down into the deeps: if you're ready to guide them, as for an entrance, well the nearest one to the most recent site of the cultist attacks" Wave explained.

Later… The massive entrance to the City's underground network of sewers, crypts, catacombs, storm drains and other more interesting places was one of many throughout Melitine and it loomed large over the expedition that Jaeger team stood at the head of. Ieyasu was now a Jaeger on Angela's recommendation, Angela was an honorary one too, he stood next to Wave and to Angela who stood at the front of the group, a number of Jaegers were ready for battle at the front; behind them were veteran soldiers of Esdeath conditioned by the icy General to fight in any environment and for any scenario as well as being armed to the teeth with the best equipment the Empire had to offer.

Angela pulled out her map. "Let's see here, and- Here. This is the spot, granted this will be the best entrance, this entrance leads to one of the city's siege tunnels, made for moving forces in and out of the city without an besieger seeing them, we'll have to go about a mile and a half before we'll reach the entry tunnel to the city sewers: expect close quarters movement, the Dwarven Under city tunnels are further down but in the city sewers there are access stairways; most of them were blocked off by the Dwarves when they left the city after the War of the Mad Emperor, the tunnels interconnect to the Dwarven Underway, a large underground road network they built to connect their sprawling Empire before humans even mastered fire: be on your guard there are no shortage of vile things in the deep places of the world and there are things that are best left to the stories: I've seen some of them during my hay day and its best to stand your ground and importantly don't expose your back at any point during fighting: now I hope you all understand this otherwise we are going to be in serious trouble" Angela explained.

"What things live down there?" Wave asked.

"Hopefully we don't have to run into them but if we do, you'll know when we see them, they tend to attack intruders first and eat them later" Angela explained, Wave winced. "Now follow my lead" Angela instructed, the troops while not used to letting a civilian boss them around did always differ to guides for their forces: Angela was in that category, also it wasn't as if she wasn't a person of authority having considerable influence in her own right.

So, it was they entered into Melitine's underground prepared for a long dark with lanterns, flashlights and torches as their only means of navigating in the long dark of the Deeps of Melitine. The first couple hours were safe though they moved with caution and few words beyond Angela explaining the path they should take, Angela's map was one of several ones, most made by her own hand but also city schematics that were 'borrowed' from dusty archives thanks to her Husband's influence and position in the government.

The Siege Tunnels were roomy and allowed for them to move in a wide line of march as they had been designed with army units in mind, though the tunnels were clogged with cobwebs that were burned aside with torches. It was however easy to track the trail of the cultists; dried blood marked the path and the areas were clear of cobwebs and other things that came with years of abandonment.

Down they went finding soon the entrance to the city's sewer network which was a dead giveaway by the smell which was rancid compared to the scentless siege tunnels. "When in doubt follow your nose" Angela replied then opened the locked doorway with a skeleton key, leading to a stairway as the city sewers were made by Dwarven engineers who believed ladders to be something that was reserved for sieges and reaching shelves rather than a means of getting in and out of places.

The stairs were spiral, and Angela and the others moved with weapons drawn, there was no telling if Cultists or other things weren't coming up the stairs so they were alert for any threats. The Sewers were less roomy and this they had to march groups of three at a time and sometimes single-file, fortunately this particular area of the sewers had been well maintained by the Sewer-watch who had the duty of maintaining and patrolling the sewers for clogs and criminals who often would use the tunnels to evade authorities and to ambush unwary people from unexpected exits at night. As such they encountered nothing dangerous or anything unpleasant apart from the stench, which at this point they had ceased using their noses as a guide and relied completely on Angela.

Soon they reached an older part of the sewers and- a part of wall where runes were engraved. "Ah a Dwarven door, pretty effective and easy to miss if you don't know what to look for, fortunately these kind are seldom locked and you just have to push on it and they'll open" Angela explained then did so, the wall opened like a normal door albeit slowly as it was made of granite it was there they able to move more freely until they reached yet another spiral staircases.

"What was with the Dwarves and their obsession with spiral staircases" a soldier remarked.

"They built stairs like these for defensive purposes, Dwarves build everything with tunnel fighting in mind, like I said there are many things in the deeps that are best left undisturbed, but the Dwarves in their never-ending quest for wealth face on a daily basis" Angela explained.

"How do you know all this?" Ieyasu asked.

"I read about it in Professor Dorothea's Histories of the World: Concerning Dwarven culture, holds and ways of life" Angela replied.

"How many books has Dorothea written?" Ieyasu asked.

"A lot, she autographed my copies and she's one of the Empire's most prestigious writers, I love her work" Angela replied.

"You'd never know it to look at her" Wave remarked.

"That's because she's rather reclusive mainly because she doesn't like to interact with people so she can devote time to her work: she writes plenty of books that are studies on practically every subject but doesn't do signings except on occasion: I'm amazed that Tatsumi got thru to her" Ieyasu replied.

"Anyway keep the chatter low, the Dwarven deeps are dangerous compared to the sewers and Siege Tunnels, and the danger varies based on the deep in question, each Dwarven holdfast and under city is divided into deeps with the higher numbers being further down and the lower being higher up, the first deep is what we'll be arriving in and usually would be where most people who weren't Dwarves would visit and where buildings for trading and businesses were established to tend to guests, the lower we go the higher we get in their societies dwellings, but also the more dangerous it gets along with the larger the deeps get, the deeps stop at the 10th deep though, further down are the underdeeps where the mines usually are and further then that- the unknown where the nameless dwell" Angela replied.

"Nameless?" Ieyasu asked puzzled.

"Like I said before there are dark things that dwell in deeps, things that are well left alone but seldom are by Dwarves and that very in their descriptions ranging from odd underground peoples to mighty forgotten Danger beasts from ancient times and other things too far worse" Angela replied. These warnings from her were ominous but not enough to deter them from going deeper into the dark and deeper underground.

When they arrived at the first deep, they turned off their lights as the halls were lit by shining lamps of crystal of type that gave off natural light and that were hewn and polished to fine workmanship as expected of the Dwarves. "Wow" Wave remarked amazed.

"I've not seen something like this before" Bols replied, followed up by more people voicing amazement.

"Impressive, makes you wonder what it was like when the Dwarves still dwelled here, perhaps one day they will again" Angela replied. "Now keep quiet we don't know what we may find" Angela added, and they went deeper into the dark.

Meanwhile… Volgoth was in communication with his chief cultist, a rich and proud noble named Hubert Howard Holmes, a man in his late 30s and with greying brown hair and dark blue eyes. "Milord our attacks have gone well, and we are hoping that you are pleased with our efforts" Hubert replied to a reflection of Volgoth that was appearing via a scrying pool.

"Excellent that should get the attention of Grundel and keep him distracted, until you find the entrance to his manor and find that old Dwarven shield, to think that Dwarves from centuries ago could stop me from total control of Melitine by a secret machine built with Demons in mind" Volgoth replied.

"Your orders?" Hubert asked.

"Continue your search by day, at night attack and sow dissent, if enough dissent is sown someone may incite a mob to storm his manor and disable the shield in that manner dooming them all: either way victory can be assured save your location being discovered, now have you gone far enough down?" Volgoth asked.

"As far down as we can go, levels below this deep the seventh are- overrun by deep dwellers" Hubert replied. "We've been using traps to hold them at bay and have secured the gates to that level but there is no teller if that will hold them" Hubert added.

"That's another thing that needs dealing with after I have full control of the city, I'll swarm the lower levels with my demons and soldiers to deal with those trouble-making creatures" Volgoth replied. A Loud grinding sound was heard from a nearby wall. "What is that?" Volgoth asked.

"I've no idea milord, I've never heard anything like it before" Hubert replied, and a loud crashing sound was heard as stone walls were broken. "Damn it they've broken thru!" Hubert yelled and the cultists around took up weapons, Volgoth took a good look thru the pool and saw out of sight thousands of red eyes and heard chittering and clamoring along with a bell clacking loudly.

"For Valtor we die! Kill as many as you can!" Hubert yelled and Volgoth vanished from the pool's surface, leaving the cultists to their fate in the deeps.

Back with the Jaeger expedition… "Did you here that?" Ieyasu asked, they were now in the fifth deep.

"I heard something, it sounded like a bell" Ylana replied, Angela winced.

"We need to leave!" Angela remarked alarmed.

"Why? We can't until we deal with the cult" Wave replied.

"I don't think we will not if that noise is what I think it is; look we'll head for the sixth deep and if that noise gets loud we have to leave, if it's what I think it is we need to leave and fast before they arrive" Angela replied.

"They?" Wave asked and shrugged dawning Grand Chariot just in case.

"The Skaven" Angela replied grimly, this brought up laughter.

"Skaven? The Ratmen? They don't exist, not anymore, the Dragon Emperor wiped them out if they ever did exist" a Soldier replied, Angela's face contorted into anger.

"They are not a myth, they are quite real, and they are not extinct, if they could ever be made so; they are of numbers beyond counting" Angela replied, as if to grant credence to her words a bell's faint sounds could be heard.

"We'll push on, but we'll be wary" Wave replied, Angela frowned and readied her weapons, the others followed suit and from then on they marched in such combat formations as the Dwarven underground allowed.

Shortly… They didn't have to go far to know something was wrong, the bell's tolling grew louder the deeper they went, and Angela has them rely on torchlight to conserve lamp oil and battery life: the halls became darker as they did so to give a lesser profile to hide their numbers so to speak not that would help them against creatures that could see in the dark. Ieyasu kept using Spectator's ability to perceive the future to avoid ambushes and his use of the Teigu taxed his fatigue, granted the long track in darkness was not helping matters either and the fact he kept Belvaac at the ready did take a deal of energy.

As they reached the entrance to seventh deep the bell's tolls had run their course and stopped: which meant that whatever had been ringing it had ceased doing so, which was caused them to be even more wary as either the unknown threat had ceased doing so intentionally or they were doing so to prepare for an attack.

The large rune-slapped door that guarded the approach downwards was wide open, blood of the human variety marked it with the symbol of Valtor, which meant their quarries had made a lair on that level. As such they advanced slowly and cautiously, taking extra caution to make sure they didn't make any noise.

Soon however they came upon the cult or rather what was left of them; bodies freshly slaughtered and- picked clean of any flesh along with bones being broken open for marrow and chewed to pieces, their robes were now torn scraps, but was most alarming were three things; the first being that some of the bones weren't human, they appeared to be from another race entirely, the second that all of this was fresh, but by far the most alarming thing were the shining red eyes looking at them from one side of the room and that were quickly surrounding them.

Ieyasu immediately rushed forward Belvaac at the ready, Spectator warned him to stay still was to invite attacks; Bols turned towards a set of eyes in a different direction from Ieyasu and opened up with Rubinceite: the flames burned bright and screams were heard, rodent screams as the fire revealed their new enemies. These creatures were rats, but rats that were the size of men, walked on two legs and had arms like unto those of men, they were mixture of different colored furs with armor made makeshiftly of anything and everything, but there were two things that were intimidating about these Ratmen, their crimson eyes the color of blood and their numbers: there were hundreds perhaps thousands of them. "Skaven" Angela said firmly knowing that she had been right.

"Man-things! Kill-Kill them! Kill-Kill them like other Man-things! Skaven eat them too!" a large armored rat yelled out from amongst the others, this one wore exceedingly fine armor of the kind that was not remotely makeshift it had been forged and taken care of with unusual skill, his weapons a Falchion and a Warhammer were also finely made and he was protected by a cadre of well-armored armed rats wielding halberds.

The battle began in earnest Imperial ranks were formed and the rats charged in via a swarm, first sent in were rats that wore little but rags and used extremely crude weapons, these tarpits were meant to do the bulk of the dying and when Bols opened up on them they tried to run but were forced to fight forward by the ranks behind them and then they began fighting amongst themselves. Two Imperial soldiers flung grenades into the blob the explosions shook the ranks but still they press on, to the side a loud buzzing sound was heard and out of the ranks of some of the better equipped rats came teams of two rats and they carried with them a large gun, with eight barrels being carried by one rat while the other carried a drum of ammunition. The soldiers tightening their ranks into a shield wall, with the ones behind them firing, the rat gunners opened up and loud "BURAAAGH! BURAGHH!" sound like power saw was heard as bullets poured out in a sea of ammo, Ieyasu sepperated from the group had gotten bogged down but slaughtered rats whenever they came close, he strove towards their leader.

The Rats cackled and more came in, other rat teams with other weapons moved up, a wall broke open and a few teams of rats carrying drills charged in as behind them rats with shield plopped them down in place while the other rat accompanying the shield rat plopped down a large oversized rifle and began to fire. About five soldiers dropped in the initial volley, grenades were thrown at the new attackers.

"Hold firm" Wave yelled and charged forward with Grand Chariot on, he let loose a barrage of rockets from the shoulder mounts and then jumped in slicing down rats left and center, other soldiers followed him in, Angela beheaded three rats in quick succession before having to duel with a rat assassin: this opponent fought a style similar to her own however it was not as experienced as her and she ruthlessly sliced him down. Ieyasu in the meantime had become surrounded slicing down rank after rank of rats, the others behind them broke cohesion to begin feeding on the fallen, Ieyasu kept killing until he had cut a path thru to the elite bodyguards of their warlord, these armored rats fought ferociously with reckless abandon and brutal skill to a point that Ieyasu was even with Spectator's ability to anticipate attacks and Belvaac's combat surges having trouble especially that for each one he slew three more appeared and they were even more outraged at the deaths, still though while did put up stronger fights then the ranks of Clanrats and Slaves thrown at him, he still had Teigus and those were enough combined with his skills to cut thru the guards like bamboo, cutting thru to the Warlord who while he had been leading from behind charged him as if to prove his fury, as Ieyasu now had to account for four weapons as the rat had attached a sword to his tail and was using it to wield another blade.

This bought was a flurry of strikes, the two matched each other blow for blow their weapons didn't harm the other, the Warlord's blades were made from alloy similar to that Belvaac was made from and this warlord used his weapons with skill as if he had been born using them. "You man-thing are strong-strong, I hate-hate you, I'm stronger, I'm Throt Skulltaker, I'll take your skull and drink from it and put it-it on my trophy rack, haven't fought man-things before, you seem-seem tougher then red-robed man-things they die-died rather quick-quick: I make you die-die, I eat-eat you-you!" the Warlord chammered in squeaky voice and to Ieyasu's surprise in a dialect similar to the Imperial language, his ladiels however were filled with doubled words and chitters.

"I'll take your head" Ieyasu shouted back and continued the onslaught of blows then divided Belvaac as his opponent used a series acrobatic strikes to nearly disarm him, the sudden change of weapons didn't deter the rat who lunged at him with further strikes: Ieyasu countered with powered blows hooking his opponent's hammer and delivering a sharp kick before striking swifter and swifter yet the rat struck back just as swift.

Unknown to either combatant who were so focused on each other the tide of battle had been shifting, the tunnel ambushers had been seen off by Bols who had unleashed flames onto the waves which had run back into their own lines, the fires soon caught the fur of other rats on fire and try as they might the flames wouldn't go out it was a matter made worse when a rat team carrying a flamethrower of their own ignited with fire that spread and set his fuel tank ablaze in green fire which further sowed terror as the rats barreled back thru the gaping hole igniting their snipers in the process. This single act of Bols allowed that flank to focus on reinforcing the weakening left flank, the surge of fresh troops caused more gaps in their formation one of which lead to the warlord and one which Angela sped thru killing any and every rat in her path.

Still the two fought on, still neither gave ground but Ieyasu smiled as his opponent yelled in a primordial shriek as Angela drove her Krises into his back, this hesitation was enough for Ieyasu to follow up with a decapitation severing Throt's head as his body swayed in twitches before dropping limp at this a cascade of panic shook the Skaven ranks, rat began eating and fighting rat to survive as the Imperial soldiers showed no quarter, the fighting devolved into a massacre with both sides killing the Skaven, the Rats fought each other to escape but bogged down those in front. Those in front gave one scream before they were killed, those behind fought those behind them to flee, those that tried to escape were cut down by Ieyasu and Angela with brutal speed not letting a single rat escape, Bols charged into an opening heading towards a gateway leading deeper into the depths and lit it up not allowing any escape for their enemies and hopefully buying time for their own forced retreat. Within ten more minutes the fighting was done, the rats were slaughtered to the last rat and lay in a pile that was then ignited by Bols, the remaining imperial forces collected what was worth salvaging from the bodies, Ieyasu took Throt's equipment: armor and weapons along with the rat's tail and head, the former being secured by Angela to his back and the later in his hands as trophies, the bodies of the fallen on their side were carried by the others as Bols sealed every passageway leading deeper into the depths with fire to block any pursuit parties: it was then after tending to the dead and wounded along with looting their fallen enemies they retreated.

Hours later… They had barred off the undercity's lower levels before leaving the undercity then made sure to secure the sewer entrances before returning to the surface, tired and covered with blood, the sun which had been in the morning sky was now low in the sky as evening was now upon them. People were shocked by the parade of blood covered soldiers and even more so by what they carried, making sure to secure an ample amount of rat heads as evidence of the Battle of the Deeps as the soldiers had dubbed it along with what rags of the Cultist remained along with some cultist possessions that had been taken by dead rats after their fight.

Constantine sat at his desk relaxed but wary knowing that at any moment news could walk in his door. His door opened and to his surprise in walked Ieyasu, along with Wave and Angela, Ieyasu had in his hand something that shocked Constantine and repulsed him.

"What kind of creature is that from also I take it the Cultist are dead?" Constantine asked.

"Yep, though not by our hands, instead we found- Rats of Unusual size: this head belonged to their leader, or at least the leader of that particular force" Ieyasu replied and dropped Throt's head on the desk the red eyes were still crimson even in depth. "These creatures were Skaven, I trust you've heard of them" Ieyasu replied.

"I've- heard stories but thought them merely legends though I'm not surprised that there was truth to them, this is not good we have enemies beneath our streets" Constantine replied.

"Something that needs to be dealt with" Wave replied. "I'll prepare units of our defenders to secure the upper deeps: we'll fortify and dig in to deal with any incursions, when the war is over perhaps resources can be brought in to stomp them out for good" Wave explained, Constantine nodded, Wave took his leave.

Constantine looked at Ieyasu and Angela, covered as the two were with blood. "I warned them about the Skaven, they didn't believe me" Angela replied.

"I did" Ieyasu replied.

"Of course, you did, now Constantine I think this matter needs to be dealt with: I don't want any secrets kept from the people of Melitine" Angela replied.

"That will cause panic" Constantine replied.

"Not if we go about it the right way: what we need to do is to have unity and what better way to unify our new militias and people then a common enemy: there may be great numbers of Skaven in the deeps but we have greater numbers still if we wipe out the rats we'd be secure against any attacks from below" Angela explained.

"I see, they are a threat that cannot be allowed to fester and it will allow us to better train these forces for when the time comes that Tatsumi returns and we fight the demons; no amount of training can make up for battle training and from what I've read of Skaven they make for endless battles: I'll inform the rest of the assembly, we'll take the next steps, whether your proposal or Wave's takes the foremost is up for debate but I'm inclined to deal with problem sooner rather than later especially considering that after this battle they'll want payback" Constantine replied. "Also, my dear I need you to do something important you know I'm not the best when it comes to words and- I need you to have a rally to explain the events of what happened" Constantine replied.

"I'll do that" Angela replied.

"I'll be taking this" Ieyasu replied picking up the head.

"What are you going to do with it?" Constantine asked.

"I'm going to find a Taxidermist, I intend to have this guy stuffed and mounted ASAP, I think he'll look good over the fireplace" Ieyasu replied all three of them left.

Later that evening… Ieyasu was true to his word and after paying a sizeable sum to a taxidermist to do the work and another to keep him quiet for a couple days he had the head mounted above the Fireplace in the Grundel's den which had been missing a trophy of any kind above it. "I think he looks way better this way" Ieyasu replied having changed into fresh clothes.

"I do agree, the only good Skaven is a dead one my dear Ieyasu tomorrow though we've got work that needs doing I'm going to be speaking at that rally and you'll be there with me" Angela explained.

"I'd love to be, I'm not leaving your side" Ieyasu replied, the two kissed, romantically and withdrew to his room, Angela dropped her dress to ground followed by her bra and panties she then removed Ieyasu's clothes for him then regarded him with loving attention. "Your chest, its- by far your best feature" Angela teased as she pushed Ieyasu onto the bed.

"What about my winning smile" Ieyasu replied.

"I love that too, now have some Mommy's Milk and I'll have my other favorite thing right where it belongs" Angela replied then straddled him his length pressed inside and she pressed against him as Ieyasu drank over-eagerly, the battle had made him very thirsty and Angela eagerly let him drink; moaning sweetly as she bounced up and down on his length and as he drank sweetly from her his hands fondled her rear while her own caressed his chest and she kissed him gently on the forehead repeatedly. Their passions went wild and they gave into their instincts doing whichever the other wanted to do, sometimes Angela was dominant and other times Ieyasu, but they both enjoyed every stage and position that was spent by them and even more so that they had all the time to do so.

The Next day… Angela stood at a podium in the central plaza in the shadow of the clock tower with the heads of Skaven decorating the area, dressed in a rather noble and fancy gown and wearing a headdress she took the microphone with one hand and Ieyasu stood next to her with vigilant eyes. "My fellow Citizens of Melitine, I speak for the Assembly and have been given the authority to speak also for the Jaeger corps and the city guard: following recent events it has been decided that a local army will be formed of willing volunteers to better help our city watch and soldiers of our military. This Citizen Watch will be made up of anyone capable of bearing arms and willing to learn to fight along with having a desire to protect their fellow citizens. For there are dangers: outside the protective shield an army of Demons ravages our once proud capital, a demon sits on the throne of our Emperor who has been driven forth from his city, in the name of his Imperial Majesty Emperor Tatsumi VII Gildenstrom and by the authority of the Assembly I announce the formation of the People's Watch; an armed militia to fight against any threats to fair city; for there are a great many, outside the shield demons pour forth from Hell itself, inside the shield criminals who have long hounded our streets grow bolder and beneath us: an enemy from the distant past and legend has returned to dwell below, plotting and scheming for war with our kind not seen in 600 years: I speak of the Skaven, thought legendary and extinct they have returned and plot beneath us, roused by the vile Cult of Valtor who's members inside the shield have been wiped out by the Ratmen in brutal fashion, the heads of some of their great numbers now stand around you: soon we will fight back, we must lest they steal our food, our city and our lives: they must and will be destroyed, expeditions will be made to secure the deeps and any who wish to see this scourge wiped out should sign up. Any threat to our city must be defeated in the name of our Emperor and our Empire, if we fail, we all die; every last one of us none will be spared and I don't think I need to tell you what may happen before we die or after it: we must stand, People of Melitine are you with us?" Angela spoke, a cheering roar went up from the crowd, Angela smiled and continued speaking.

Meanwhile in the Eastern Provinces… Tatsumi's forces advanced after leaving the battlefield of the Kalka Hills in the Province of Gallia, the Golden Dragon Emperor rode at the front accompanied by an honor guard and his guides, suddenly something was spotted on the road ahead, a small force of less than a hundred warriors flying the white flag of truce. "Halt!" Tatsumi ordered, the army stopped.

"Who are they?" Spear asked.

"I'm not sure but they are flying the white flag which either means they seek to surrender or to parlay" Tatsumi replied.

"Awahay speaks Tatsumi: this is a great boon, don't fight these warriors" Angulas replied from nearby. Tatsumi dismounted and his retinue began to slowly walk to meet the approaching force Spear flying his standard, the golden dragon to inform the force approaching them. When the parties closed a group marched forward and Tatsumi noticed by their attire and features that they were clearly Northerners, mostly women however and a fair few men: they were led by a tall woman with long blue-black hair, her eyes as green as his own and skin pale as snow, her attire was royal and similar to that of another northerner he'd met recently and she was clearly of royal blood, her attendant carried the white flag.

"Halt" Najenda ordered, the Northerners stopped on cue.

"Greetings we come to parlay" the woman who led them said.

"Come forward then I'll speak with you myself, though I fear we may come to blows if we cannot come to fair terms" Tatsumi replied.

"Emperor Tatsumi" the woman greeted and bowed curtly. "I'm Nora Saika, princess of the North and one of the few remaining Saikas left in the world: I come to work out a deal, I do not agree with my half-brothers in their beliefs: continuing to fight the Empire is foley much less when we'd be fighting for old ways that- are wrong, evil, I want to speak to you. The North will have an independent streak, regardless of the power Esdeath gave to the Yetis the men of the North are stubborn and only bow to one who respects their own, to that end I offer myself to you as wife: to merge the royal bloodline of the North to the Empire's own, to secure the North for the future and to enjoy all the benefits of being a province of the Empire but to also secure some more freedoms for my people and to deal away with the old ways that commanded our warriors to raid and reave the lands of the south" she explained.

"How do I know you can be trusted" Tatsumi replied.

"Because if I didn't believe this was the right thing to do then I and the others with wouldn't have approached you, we would have decided to die alongside our kin, but I refuse to let my people and myself die for old beliefs that brought the Empire down upon us, to die in memory of my evil half-brother Numa who was rapist, murderer and a man who was decadent to the extreme even going to far as to implement the right of the First Night which had been outlawed for generations: I have no desire to return to those days or to die fighting in the name of a murderer, so I want to bring change much like you do and those who come with me also wish to bring change, I have nothing to offer you but my hand or should you wish it my head" Nora explained, Tatsumi smiled.

"I'll accept your offer; I need any ally I can get" Tatsumi replied.

"Good you won't regret it" Nora explained, then her force fell in line with Tatsumi's