I'M BACK. FINALLY. Sigh, if only I didn't have to work so much, heh. It's been a while, but this story is finally gathering steam. There should be another chapter by the end of this week. Cheers!
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"How is this possible?" Frank wondered out loud.
"I don't know," Annabeth ran her hands through her hair. "I'm as clueless as you are."
"You're sure it was her." Reyna said.
"Yes." Annabeth said flatly. "There was no one else in the room. Your legionnaires obviously aren't capable of slowing time."
"And you're sure that's what she was doing? Slowing time?"
Percy nodded. "Kronos did the same thing every time I fought him. It's like trying to move through syrup."
"A child of Saturn." Reyna said quietly. "I've never heard of any Titan having children with mortals."
"Me neither." Annabeth agreed.
"But how…" Frank looked like his thoughts were moving through syrup. "Saturn returned for like, two years. That was two years ago. How was he able to father a seventeen-year-old girl?"
"Well he is the lord of time," Percy scratched his head. "Maybe he could somehow make her age faster?"
"This isn't The Avengers," Reyna told him.
Percy spread his hands. "You have a better explanation?"
"Regardless of how she came about," Annabeth interjected before Percy and Reyna could start a debate about time travel. "What are we going to do with her?"
"She doesn't know, obviously." Percy said. "Why not let her carry on training her? Her parentage doesn't matter. Not in the Legion."
Reyna and Frank shared a look.
"What is it?" Annabeth noticed the small movement.
"There was a message from Olympus last night," Frank began. "Something was stolen from Olympus. Two things, actually."
"What are they?" Percy asked.
"One of them was the entrails of a creature called the Ophiotaurus."
"No way." Annabeth's eyes widened.
"Someone's killed Bessie?!" Percy was horrified.
"Wait, you know about this creature?" Reyna asked. "I thought its existance was top secret."
"He rescued the Ophiotaurus when he was younger," Annabeth explained. "In fact, he was the one who brought it to Olympus."
"That explains it." Frank muttered. "The great Percy Jackson."
"Of course it was you." Reyna gave a short laugh.
"You don't seriously think Jean killed the Ophiotaurus." Annabeth said.
"I for one do not think it likely," Reyna's frown deepened. "But the second item that was stolen was the Sword of Kronos."
Time seemed to stop at the mention of the Titan King.
"No." Percy said.
"And we now know that Jean is a child of Saturn." Reyna said.
"You can't arrest her," Annabeth said. "she's innocent."
"We'll find out." Reyna decided. "Ask Hazel to bring her to the Principia. I want to hear from her myself."
"I hear you defeated three legionnaires single-handedly at the war games earlier." Reyna said. "Well done."
"Um, yeah, I did." Jean said awkwardly. "Thanks."
Both Praetors were there, seated in their chairs, along with Percy, Annabeth and centurion Hazel. The presence of so many important people reminded Jean of a headmaster's office, and the thought made her uneasy. You only went to see the headmaster if you did something wrong.
"Can you tell me how you did it?" Reyna asked.
"Not really," Jean tapped her fingers on her thigh nervously. "I don't know what happened. It was like they suddenly slowed down."
Reyna glanced to the side of her desk where her metal dogs, Aurum and Argentum, sat. Both of them had their eyes trained on Jean. They didn't move.
"I see." Reyna leaned back in her chair. "Well, let me try to explain it to you." Fast as lightning, a dagger flew out of her hand, striking Jean in the face.
"Reyna!" Frank jumped out of his chair. Percy and Annabeth rushed to Jean's side as she stumbled backwards.
The Senior Praetor remained seated. Jean straightened, one hand clamped over her left eye.
"Owww." She groaned.
Annabeth bent and picked up the dagger. It was made of rubber.
"Nothing personal." Reyna held up a hand. She motioned Percy and Annabeth aside. "Now, let's try that again."
Jean's good eye widened as Reyna dramatically drew back her arm, another rubber dagger in her hand.
"No!" Jean threw up a hand as Reyna flicked it at her.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop fifty degrees. The dagger's speed slowed to a snail's pace in midair, flipping end-over-end towards her in slow motion.
Hazel rubbed her arms. "Feels like a meat locker in here."
Annabeth shuddered. "Brings back bad memories."
Percy strode forward and plucked the dagger out of the air. "Well, now you've seen it." he told Reyna.
They everyone realised that Reyna, too, was stuck in slow motion. The Praetor's eyes were wide open. She seemed to be trying to speak.
"You can stop now," Frank told Jean.
"Huh?" Jean turned to Frank, startled by the sound of his voice, and the freezing sensation lifted. Reyna straightened in her chair with a jolt.
"Sorry!" Jean gasped.
Reyna took a deep breath, suddenly winded. She swallowed hard. "If the Olympians find out who you are, they will kill you."
"What? Why?"
"You are a child of Saturn, Titan of time, enemy of the Olympians." Reyna decided not to tell her about the stolen items. The less she knew, the better. "No one can know who you are."
"This stays between us," Frank agreed. "All of us." He looked around the room, meeting Hazel's eye.
"Understood." Hazel nodded.
"She'll remain in the legion, then?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes." Reyna nodded. "Removing her so abruptly will only draw attention. Tell everyone she is a child of Hecate. That should be enough to explain what happened in the games. Also," she turned to Jean. "I want you to practice with Centurion Levesque, in secret. Learn to control your powers. They could be useful."
"Word might still spread." Hazel warned. "Not everyone will buy the story. There are children of Hecate in the Legion. If, somehow, the truth gets out…"
"It won't." Frank said firmly.
"Happened with me," Hazel pointed out. "It can happen again."
"She could come to Camp Half-Blood," Percy offered. "We're more than happy to train her there."
"That will not keep her from the reach of the Olympians." Reyna buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe I'm saying this…" she groaned. "Get me Jordan van Staal."
Alabaster groaned as he pushed himself off the freezing stone floor of the cell, wincing as pain flared in his broken ribs. Blood had collected in his mouth, a gummy, half-coagulated mass that he spat out on the third try. There was more blood on the floor, messy brownish smears that had probably come from the cut on his head and broken nose. He clenched his jaw against the pain, scowling at the bare wall in front of him.
His whole body hurt from his fight with the boy. There was a deep cut across his left forearm where he'd blocked a sword blow. His shoulder was stiff and sore, dislocated when he'd been thrown against a wall. He popped it back into place and flexed his shoulder, testing it.
Movement caught his eye. He looked up to see two dracanae armed with spears and shields observing him through the bars of his cell.
"He'sss awake," one hissed to the other. "I shall inform the massster." She slithered off.
"What master?" Alabaster rasped. He coughed and tried again. "Who is your master? The sword thief?"
"Oh, he'sss not a thief," the remaining dracana told him. "The sssword is hisss birthright."
"I guessed as much." Alabaster came to the door, gripping the bars to support himself. The dracana took a step back, levelling her spear at him.
"I'm not trying to escape," Alabaster held up a hand. "I just want to see your master." Things were starting to make sense now. He shook his head as his thoughts started to clear. The sword, the fight, the speed with which the boy had moved.
"I'll be damned," he murmured.
The sound of footsteps echoed on the stone floor. Alabaster looked up as the first dracana slithered down the corridor, coming to a stop outside his cell. The tall boy walked beside her, the Sword of Kronos hanging in a sheath at his side.
Alabaster knelt, made clumsy by his numerous injuries. "My lord. You have returned."
The boy raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a sudden change of heart."
"Forgive me," Alabaster kept his head down. "I did not recognise you at first."
"Well," I don't recognise you," the boy looked amused. "How about you tell me who you are and why you're here."
Alabaster looked up, confused. "I am Alabaster Torrington, my lord. Son of Hecate. I served under you in the battle of Manhattan. Do you not remember?"
"I've never been to Manhattan," the boy frowned, then snapped his fingers. "Oh! You must be referring to my father."
"Father?" Alabaster asked, baffled.
"Lord Alaric isss the ssson of Kronosss," one dracana said.
Alabaster's eyes grew to the size of ping-pong balls.
"No way."
"Yes way," the boy smiled. "I'm the son of the lord of time. The one and only demititan in existence."
"I—" Alabaster was stunned. "I never knew he had a son."
"Hisss exissstance was kept a sssecret," the dracanae hissed.
"Until now," Alabaster observed. "Why now?"
"Because I finally have the power to finish what my father started!" Alaric spread his hands. "I have slain the Ophiotaurus with my father's own sword and sacrificed its entrails in Greek fire. I have the power to destroy Olympus, once and for all!"
Alabaster recoiled at the sheer amount of power he felt radiating off Alaric. It was like trying to look into the sun. He stumbled a step backwards, momentarily overwhelmed.
"Ah, I see you're perceptive." Alaric lowered his arms to his sides.
"Sorry. You don't look so good. Perhaps I should have given you some warning."
"It's ok," Alabaster shut his eyes momentarily. "Just a little banged up from the beating you gave me yesterday."
"I apologise for that too," Alaric laughed. "You showed up demanding I hand over my sword. I had no idea you were a former demigod in Kronos's army. What are you doing working for the Olympians?"
"I don't," Alabaster muttered. "Some of my friends do. I help them because I've nothing better to do."
"Well, now you do." Alaric took the keys from a dracana and unlocked the cell. "Let's get you some medical attention. Then I'll show you around. I have a feeling you'll like this place."
"No way," Alabaster's mouth dropped as he emerged into the courtyard.
"I take it you recognise this place." Alaric grinned.
"No wonder it felt so familiar!" Alabaster turned in a circle, taking in the black stone walls and ancient architecture. "This is Othrys!"
"Indeed," Alaric spread his hands. "The great fortress of the Titans, raised to challenge Olympus once more." He led Alabaster up one of the walls.
"It's in terrible shape." Alabaster noted.
"Progress has been slow," Alaric was rueful. "The Romans did a good job levelling it two years ago. Even after six months of work, we've only managed to rebuild one wall."
From his vantage point on the wall, Alabaster saw that most of the fortress lay in ruins. The wall he was standing on was the western outermost rampart, a fifteen-metre-tall barrier of solid stone marking the border of the once great fortress. The other three walls were practically non-existent. Everything that lay within them was rubble. Cyclops teams worked on the ruins, carrying stone and laying bricks. The sound of hammers and chisels filtered up from below.
"Our position is weak," Alaric admitted. "If Othrys were to be attacked now, we would all be destroyed."
"Do we have no fortifications at all?" Alabaster asked.
"We do," Alaric pointed down the mountain slope, where a line of defensive trenches and stakes ran around the ruins, protecting the cyclopes work teams. Dracanae warriors and telkhines armed with assault rifles patrolled behind a low earthern wall, while beyond them hellhounds roamed the hill slope and forest beyond. Every few metres along the wall there was a small bastion with a fifty-calibre machine gun.
"We have teams patrolling the forest too, but we're focusing all our effort on restoring the walls. Once they're up we can pull everyone back and rebuild the inner citadel in safety."
"Good thinking," Alabaster observed the cyclopes work teams. "I can help with that."
"You can?" Alaric asked.
"My magic can speed up the rebuilding progress. Make it easier and faster." Alabaster nodded to the cyclopes teams. "Your walls will be up within days."
At the edge of the forest, hidden in a tree, another man was observing the rebuilding.
Nico di Angelo had been using the magic tracker he'd picked up in the alley to track Alabaster across the country, finally arriving at Mount Tam late in the afternoon. Instinctive wariness made him circle around his destination, approaching from the west, and there, in the setting sun, he had seen the great eastern wall silhouetted against the horizon and his blood ran cold as he realised what he was looking at.
Like any Greek demigod, his first instinct was to scout the area. With his natural stealth and invisibility provided by the Helm of Darkness, he effortlessly slipped through the patrolling monsters, stopping at the edge of the forest to observe the World War Two-esque line of trenches and sandbags.
"I thought Camp Jupiter was supposed to be keeping an eye on this place," he muttered. "Lazy bastards."
He crept around the perimeter of the massive fortress, using nightfall to his advantage. Initially he'd feared the worst when he saw the towering eastern wall, but he soon realised that the fortress was in much worse shape that he'd first assumed. The other three walls were little higher than sidewalks. The enemy army looked formidable with their assault rifles and machine guns, but their advanced weaponry masked a glaring lack of numbers. A few thousand at most, nothing like the vast armies he'd seen in the wars against Kronos and Gaia.
"First the sword, now this." Nico lowered his binoculars, shaking his head. He turned away from the fortress, starting to make his way downhill. Camp Jupiter was less than a day's march away. The monsters' paltry defences would be no match for the Twelfth Legion. It wouldn't take them long to retake Mount Othrys and blow it to kingdom come all over again.
"There goes my weekend." he muttered.
"You're joking," Frank stared at Nico like he'd just grown a pair of antennae. The hotdog he'd been eating lay forgotten on his plate, oozing ketchup and mustard like hellhound drool.
"I'm not!" Tiredness made Nico indignant. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Because that's not possible." Frank paced up and down, hitching up his toga every few steps. "Othrys was destroyed at the end of the Second Titan War."
"Is that what your war manuals said?" Nico said sarcastically. "Strongholds can rise just as suddenly as they fall. How do you think the Second Titan War started in the first place?"
"What did the fortress look like?" Reyna interrupted. "Did you manage to get inside?"
"Shambles," Nico scoffed. "The walls are like gymnastics props. A puppy could jump over them."
"Then they're as good as dead." Reyna declared. "Assemble the Legion. Call in every camper we have. We move on Othrys tomorrow."
"That's too soon." Frank pointed out. "It takes two days at least to assemble the Legion. We won't be at full strength."
"What is your full strength?" Nico asked.
"Three hundred, including the veterans living in the city," Frank answered. "But only half of that are currently on our roster."
"So how many can you have by tomorrow?"
"Maybe two hundred if we call up the veterans."
"That's a difference of one hundred legionnaires." Nico noted. "One hundred legionnaires makes a lot of difference."
"Every day we delay, those walls rise higher." Reyna slammed her fist into her palm. "We destroyed Othrys once with two hundred when it was fully fortified. Let the rest of the Legion catch up to us when they can. We need to strike as quickly as possible."
"I'll send word to Camp Half-Blood." Annabeth pulled out her phone. "Gather as many warriors as we can. Our Pegasi can reach Camp Jupiter within a few hours."
"I assume we'll have your skeletons?" Reyna asked Nico.
"Of course," Nico nodded.
"Then tomorrow, we're at war."
"So, we've been discovered." Alaric glared at the holographic screen that showed a live spy feed of the war meeting in Camp Jupiter. His eyes were focused on Nico di Angelo.
"I'll deal with you myself." He stabbed a finger at the son of Hades.
Alabaster turned away from the screen, deep in thought. His tracker had led Nico straight to Alaric, and now Camp Jupiter was about to march on them, at a time when they couldn't be more defenseless.
Nico would march with them, he knew. He imagined the black-clad warrior storming through their half-finished walls, carving through their defences like they weren't there. With the Helm of Darkness and the Sword of Hades, he was probably the most powerful demigod on the field, apart from perhaps Percy Jackson. Could Alabaster face his friend in battle? He did not know. He didn't have many friends left.
"Can we hold them?" he asked.
"Yes." Alaric sounded confident. "Track the Legion's progress. I want to know where they're coming from. We'll prepare a good welcome for the Romans."
He pointed at one of the dracanae guards in the room. "Tell our allies to move on Camp Jupiter once the legion moves out. We'll destroy their precious city just like they levelled Othrys."
"What allies?" Alabaster asked curiously.
Alaric smiled wickedly. "You didn't think I would attempt to challenge Olympus on my own, did you?"
"I haven't seen anyone else in charge here apart from yourself."
"I command the army here at Othrys." Alaric explained. "The Titan Koios is away, gathering strength in the north."
"Koios!" Alabaster was astonished. "He didn't even make it out of Tartarus for the first war with Kronos. How did you manage to get him out?"
Alaric grinned. "Selene was able to raise a great deal of allies when she wielded the Sword of Hades, even if only for a few minutes."
Alabaster's eyes widened at the mention of the moon goddess, whom he'd fought a few weeks ago in Alaska.
"In addition to him, The General has been out in the field, planning an attack on Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. I think he'll be quite pleased with the opening we've given him."
"The General?"
"We found someone to carry the sky for him," Alaric answered the question on Alabaster's lips.
"Please tell me it's one of the Olympians."
"Unfortunately, we haven't managed to capture any of them yet." Alaric smiled. "They'll get their turn soon enough." He turned toward a diagram of Mount Othrys hanging on the wall. "What progress on the walls?"
"The southern wall will be ready by the time they get here," Alabaster told him. "The rest will take some time."
Alaric stared hard at the map. "No. I want you to redirect all effort into rebuilding the courtyard."
"The courtyard?" Alabaster was puzzled. "What good is that?"
"One more wall won't make a difference," Alaric declared. "The Romans are experts in siege warfare. They'll just attack from a different direction. Nico di Angelo has seen all our strengths and weaknesses. It's made them confident enough to leave half their forces behind. I'll let them come. Let them think they have the advantage."
"What do you intend doing?" Alabaster asked, intrigued.
"Mount Othrys was built at this location for a reason." Alaric pointed to the bottom of the diagram. "That's where they'll come from. And that is exactly where I want them."
A slow smile spread across Alabaster's face. "We're going to annihilate them."
At dawn, two hundred legionnaires assembled on the Field of Mars for the assault on Othrys, five full cohorts of the best foot soldiers in the world. Reyna had decided to leave the Third Cohort behind to make up the second wave, bolstering the strike force instead with veterans from the city.
"Once the fighting starts it'll be bloody chaos," she explained to Centurion Larry, senior commander of the Third Cohort. "I need some experienced heads with me. You stay and take charge of the second wave. Advance in support once the remainder of the legionnaires have come in."
Centurion Larry saluted, looking thoroughly unhappy that he and his Cohort had effectively been put on sentry duty. The battle would likely be over by the time he arrived with the second wave; Reyna had a reputation for steamrolling over enemies at first sight.
Fifty Greek demigods had arrived in the night to strengthen the attacking force, most of them summer campers who'd been living close to the California area with their families. They assembled to the right of the Romans' perfect ranks. Percy and Annabeth took charge of the mixed group, checking their weapons and armour as the ten centurions gathered with Frank for a final briefing.
The sun was just beginning to peek over the Berkeley Hills, the first rays of light slanting across the Field of Mars to turn the legionnaires' armour a brilliant shade of gold. It was a glorious sight, the might of Rome arrayed in full battle order. Families had come out of the city to see off the Legion. Young children watched their older siblings and parents as they prepared to march off to war. Grandparents waved goodbye to their sons and daughters, heavy with the knowledge that some of them might not return.
Nico di Angelo scowled at the sight of the Third Cohort still manning the walls of Camp Jupiter.
"You're leaving them behind?" he asked Reyna.
"Yes," On horseback, Reyna wheeled her pegasus Scipio around to face him. "I need them to organise the second wave."
"Because they don't know where Mount Othrys is?" Nico asked sarcastically. "Or you're afraid they'll get lost along the way?"
"Because," Reyna sighed, fighting the urge to trample him with her pegasus. "We should never put all our eggs in one basket."
"'He who attempts to defend everything defends nothing.' You're making a mistake."
"Don't quote Frederick the Great to me, di Angelo." Anger flashed across Reyna's face. "And don't tell me how to run my Legion. It was difficult enough convincing the Senate to activate the Legion." She touched her heels to Scipio's side, riding away without another word.
Nico's scowl deepened as he turned away, heading toward his position at the front of the demigod force. He pulled the Helm of Darkness onto his head as he walked down the Roman ranks, feeling a sadistic tinge of superiority as he saw them tremble slightly as he walked past them. Legion or not, no one was immune to the Helm's disconcerting effects, save perhaps Thalia Grace and her Aegis. That girl was a whole different type of demigod, he thought as he took his place at the head of the column. He wished she were here with the attack instead of watching over Jason in Camp Half-Blood's infirmary. For all the firepower she possessed, the Master Bolt was as good as useless as long as it remained strapped to her back.
"Forward march!" Reyna shouted.
"Wait," Nico said irritably, holding up a hand.
Roman Legions had a long-standing history of marching over anyone in their way, trampling them to death in an endless tide of iron-shod sandals, but not one of them wanted to be anywhere nearer to the son of Hades than they already were. The front two ranks remained in place to avoid marching into him. The rest of the Legion backed up behind him as the ones in the front held their ground, the entire column quivering as two hundred legs lifted off the ground and returned to the same spot.
"What are you playing at?" Reyna yelled.
"You'd march off even if half your army was missing," Nico grumbled. He drew the Sword of Hades and stabbed it into the ground. "Serve me."
The ground rumbled. A patch of grass in front of him collapsed inward, revealing a small tunnel wide enough to fit five abreast. Skeletons dressed in US Army fatigues came marching out, a hundred undead soldiers in perfect ranks and files, armed with M16 assault rifles. They took up position in front of the Roman legionnaires, a chilling sight in broad daylight. Nico's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"Now we can march." He started forward with his soldiers, the sun lengthening his shadow as it inched higher over the hills. Behind him the Legion and the Greeks followed, two hundred and fifty-four demigods headed straight toward their death.
The plan was simple. Nico and his skeletons would attack the half-built northern wall to draw the enemy's attention. Once the enemy rushed to defend against the threat, the demigod army would emerge from an underground tunnel created by Hazel, right into the middle of Othrys itself, and proceed to destroy it from the inside out.
"Are we close?" Reyna asked Hazel.
"Yes." The daughter of Pluto paused to feel the walls of the tunnel they were walking through. Behind them marched the Twelfth Legion and Greek demigods. "Another few minutes and we'll reach Othrys."
"You seem to know exactly where to go." Reyna noted.
"Othrys was built on iron foundations that go down to bedrock," Hazel explained. "Most of the ground below it is too hard for me to shift. But this tunnel that we're walking through is a seam of soft rock that leads all the way up to the centre of the fortress."
"Fortuna is with us then." Reyna turned to the first rank of marching legionnaires behind her. "Pass the word down. Two minutes to the surface. Be ready."
The tunnel started to get steeper as Hazel angled it upward. The daughter of Pluto now used only one hand to push through the earth, holding her long Spatha sword in the other. Reyna cracked her neck, hefting her javelin in her grip. She slowed her pace, letting the vanguard First and Second Cohorts march past her before slotting into the ranks of the next Cohort, the Fifth. She would let the vanguard fight their way through before emerging to take charge of the battle. The First and Second needed no guidance here; they would kill all before them. She checked her watch, nodded to herself. Nico should be locked in combat with the defenders by now. With Othrys undermanned, the rest of the fortress would be empty save a skeleton guard. Most of the stronghold was still in ruins anyway.
The tunnel was loud with the dull crash of two hundred pairs of iron-shod sandals. Reyna emptied her mind, feeling a surge of pre-battle anticipation as they neared the surface. She summoned her will, feeling the confidence of the legionnaires all around her. They were soldiers of Rome. They did not know defeat.
"Thirty seconds!" Hazel yelled. In the distance, the end of the tunnel broke and crumbled apart, revealing a rough circle of daylight.
"Charge!" Reyna's bellowed.
The First and Second Cohorts roared enough to fill the world and broke into a run, racing the last few metres out into the ruins of Mount Othrys.
Nico swore and ducked as a stray fifty-calibre round flashed past his head, bringing his shield up as he dropped to a crouch. After half a second he rose to his feet, peering over the edge of his shield at the line of trenches. Another stray bullet pinged off the top of his helmet and he growled in annoyance.
"Take those machine guns out!" he shouted at his skeletons. "Your rifles aren't toys, you know!"
A barrage of gunfire rattled the enemy machine gun post in response, most of them striking the wall of sandbags in front of the big gun.
Nico and his skeleton force had fought their way up the slope of Mount Tam, encountering stiff resistance from hellhounds, dracanae and assault rifle-toting telkhines. How those idiots could even pull triggers with their flipper-like hands, Nico didn't know. His skeletons, immune to bullets, had advanced easily through the enemy-held forest, succeeding in pushing the enemy altogether out of the trees, before their advance was halted at the edge of the woods by the weight of the defenders' fire. Nico, knowing his job was merely to draw their attention, had decided against charging the line of sandbags and trenches, ordering his troops to dig in along the treeline and pick the enemy off. Even skeletons could be blasted to pieces by the heavy fifty-calibre machine guns, and he had no intention of exposing his forces without first disabling those heavy weapons.
More skeletons came forward, these ones armed with RPG launchers. The powerful RPGs blasted the machine guns to scrap metal, tossing sandbags into the air. Nico hefted his sword. "Charge!"
His skeletons raced out of the treeline, bayonets bright on the edges of their long rifles. All along the trench line the enemy was being taken apart, shot from point-blank range or bayoneted as they tried to scramble out of the trenches. A few defiant monsters attacked the skeletons, tackling them to the ground or dragging them into the trenches, and a number of fistfights broke out in the cramped, earthern confines before the skeletons' firepower broke the monsters' desperate resistance. The skeletons had the dual advantage of being immune to both enemy and friendly fire. Wherever a scuffle broke out the skeletons simply shot the enemy through their own undead comrades and moved on.
But something was wrong, Nico thought as he watched the last of the enemy shot down on the half-finished walls. The enemy had been too feeble, too eager to run away, their numbers too few to possibly stand a chance against a concerted assault. A terrible feeling started in his chest as he stared up at the fortress. It was too silent. The Legion should have been hunting monsters through the ruins by now. There was no smoke in the air, no sound of battle. His senses were tingling with the number of deaths coming from within the fortress, so many that it almost felt like a defeat. Nico's eyes narrowed.
Something had gone horribly wrong.
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As always, thanks for the views! If you made it to the end of the trenches with Nico, leave a review. I love to hear from you guys.
Cheers!