A/N: In case you are wondering, I began writing this almost right after posting the last chapter. But heck, I have too many homework, past paper for 3 different scientific subject. Heck, I have no time to write down as much as I should.
Luckily, This is Easter Holiday. Even though I was recommended to visit London, where I'm spending my holiday in, I still prefer sitting at my homestay family and write down my inspiration. So, an applause please?
And in this chapter, I will input more images about my country. Not just the food as I mentioned before but also people and culture, and gods of traditional Vietnamese culture. Probably.
And yes, this chapter will be very crazy and a little cross-over (I'll mention some gods, goddesses and deities from other cultures). If you guys don't want to see a crazy guy talking crap about god-knows-what, leaving a review telling me STOP doing so. I'd be very grateful and you'll get a shout-out (next chapter)
Quote of the chapter:
'Semper Fi'
(US Marines)
(Meaning: Always Loyal)
Let the story begin, with the disclaimer: I have no right on the series of Percy Jackson
Chapter 12
(Vuong's POV)
The monsters are moving in fast. On the defense wall, some guns have already started firing but they are badly aimed. Instead of hitting the horde of monsters, bullets just slam into the land beneath them, causing little effects. In fact, it seem that those monsters were pissed even more. And making a monster more angry is exactly what we should NOT do, and this is a horde. At least 100 of them. Where the hell do they come from, by the way? The last time I check, there were only, like, a Minotaur. Something, or someone, is opening a space portal for these f*(#ing monsters
The legionaries are still far from action. They are fast-reacted, but not fast enough. The guard and Mimi are running in front of me, the other guard are way behind us, and too close for the monsters. Damm, he'll be eaten unless someone acts fast, and now.
Unless you show them who you are, Champ.
Showing them? The monsters, clearly. I must show them that I'm a Champion of Mars. How?
Like what you did to protect that girl. You know how since you saw them. Don't pretend to be stupid. It'll ruin my reputation. As a champion of mine, I order you to attack those terrible monsters.
Roger. Bless me, will you?
Thou have been blessed.
Just asking.
Yes, Marsy is really annoyed to me. Force me to become one of his champions without asking me. Saying bullshit about finding love and peace. Damm, few hours and I'm in death-or-alive situation. Not once, but twice, and base on my luck, the third time will be here, soon. Damm. Gods really have a big sense of humor.
Those monsters are so close to the guard. I'm staying 25 meters ahead of him. And get cleat vision of him and his tails. Something snaps inside me, I turn around sharply, kneel one leg down and raise my hands up… A scoped-equipped, bolt-action Mosin Nagant rifle appears in my hand. Using 7.62mm*54mm rounds, original velocity 800m/s, good accuracy, old school but still ass-kicking, favorite weapon of USSR snipers in the 'Great Patriotic War'. And don't ask me why I know it, just a Champ of Marsy.
Looking through the scope, I got a telekhines armed with a short sword. Three more are shortly behind him. The closest threat first. Breath in slowly , breath out a half and hold back. Pull the trigger and breath out the rest in the same time.
The bullet hit directly between 2 eyes of the monster. It turns to dust instantly. Its friends look surprised, and something else appears on their face. Shock? Fear? Panic? May be all of them. Not time to waste. A semi-automatic rifle would do the job. Just that, a M14 semi-automatic gun replaces my Mosin. DANG! DANG! DANG! Three shots, three piles of dust. Old school but still kicking ass. Both of these guns have a proud history when serving in Great Patriotic War (the way Russian call the Eastern Front of World War Two) and Korean War.
Seriously, Mars. Can you stop installing such information in my head for a moment?
I can't, it's my blessing. Unless you want to return it and lost the chance to find the peace and love again
Hell. I'll stick with this. For a while longer
The monsters behind them slow down, looking worried. The guard now has caught up with me, he is panting and nod to me. I tell him, more or less, in ordering style:
'Get back in the camp and call reinforcement. Make sure the girl going with me is safe. And I need you to do it ASAP'
He looks surprised but quickly gives me a firm nod. With my back clear, I turn my attention back to the front. The horde has already stopped, each of them glances nervously to others. Clearly they are not used to be killed from a very far distance without seeing the threat coming. The Minotaur, somehow has become their leader, roars angrily. Oh, may be it is trying to give a speech like 'Let's kill that skinny piece of mortal and then burn him on a great big fire'. Good luck. I've been through hell and back, not literally, though. I've been being told about the great Jacksons – Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Survivor of Tatarus. No idea how they do it. And no idea about them, too. I gotta ask someone knows about it
Some Dragon Ladies, Dracaena, seem to be boosted up by the speech, lung forward. They only move for a few feet before being turned into dust, like their fellow sea monsters earlier. The Minotaur pointed its great big, Ω shape at me… and a bunch of flying monster fly fast to the sky. They'll dive down soon, I gotta move, and get something which has a high rate of fire. A Kalashnikov, AK12 equipped with red dot sight and a small grenade launcher GP25 is perfect. This gun, as far as I know, is the standard assault weapon of Spetnaz - Russian special force.
Before the fact comes to me, I've already stood up and on the move. The first shadow begins to enlarge. The sun is directly behind my back. So, it'd be suicide if I turned my head there and fire. No guarantee on accuracy. Luckily, my AK12 is being armed with drum magazine. A big drum with 95 rounds of hell. Hope those are enough to kill these flying b*%ches.
A swift arm points wildly at the flying birds, a long burst of firing is triggered. It lasts for nearly a minutes. All 95 rounds have been shot. And I hear a lot of 'THUMP' and 'POOP' behind me. May be those are the sound coming from the dead monsters. They are falling from the sky behind me after all. When I turn around, I see at least 3 monsters, the lucky ones who had survived my shooting. But they are hurt seriously. This is war, no mercy can be asked or given, especially when enemy hasn't surrendered. But, I can give them other kind of mercy. I'll let them have a quick and painless death.
Turning my heel back, I order a spear to appear in my head. However, as Marsy is a Roman god, a major one, so he has a really (terrible) bad sense of humor. My clothes disappear, not quite. It turns out that I'm wearing clothes of Roman: armor above a something close to a T-shirt, and I'm wearing a skirt. Luckily it is a man's skirt, otherwise… But it is still luckier than a Scottish skirt, men there wear no underwear so when there is a wind…
Yeah, life sucks.
But at least I'm being armed well. Full armor, light type, clearly Marsy remembers my style: speed and accuracy. Heavy armor will slow me down while light armor can provide both protection and speed, to a extent, at least. A sword is trapped on my belt, left-side. My right hand is holding a spear, a long one, a pithlum spear. With a spike on the top, it is deadly as both a throwing weapon and stabbing one. And at least, it can help those dying monsters have a quick death.
Well, I'm a peaceful man, but these monsters attack he,… I mean, they attacked me. Hence, they have to pay for their sin. A quick stab in each flying monster's heart is enough to turn them to dust, and send them to Tatarus. Hope the Pit doesn't piss because of this. I may have to send him something to cool him down, sometimes.
The third one has been executed. The ratio now on the field is like, me verse 70 or 80 monsters. The horde seems to lung forward when a rain of arrow was fired from behind me.
Roman reinforcement. They're slow. Too slow. If this is the real s*&%, they'll have already beaten and killed. Today is not the best day to die, though.
As quickly as the rain coming down, the monsters vanish quickly, there is only one left, the Bull Head. This one is mine, he dares to attack me on the Highway? Worst choice of yours. Throwing the spear away, yes, you may want to know the distance between me and that Bull Head. Well, the answer is roughly 80 meters.
Don't be so surprised. I'm a Champ of Marsy. Clearly I have more perks than pulling guns out of nowhere. The spear hits the sides of the monster causing the monster to roar. In panic, fear or anger? Don't ask me. Because I don't know, and I'm running toward him. You see, it's the basic trick in war, diversionf. You have to draw your enemy's attention to approach your target. The spear is simply one of that. If it kills the Bull Head, good, but if it doesn't, at least I'll still be able to injure him and distract him. For a few valuable seconds.
When the Minotaur jerks his head up, I've already been a few feet away from him, with the sword drawn. What next is unavoidable, my sword makes a wonderful curve aiming at the neck of the monster. On impact, it explodes, literally. Normally, a warrior would be glad once he slays down a monster, especially big ones, but all kind of dirt is blasted into my mouth, and I must say that it isn't a wonderful feeling. Try to purify your wee-wee water, pee water if you are making a dumb face, a few times and then drink it. You'll know what it feels like. And one more thing, consider yourself lucky, I had to drink my own pee water once to survive. Special Force UN Peacekeeper, remember? Bad tours at Sahara.
When I finish, I realized that I'm being surrounded by a bunch of surprised-looking Roman soldiers. Damm, I must be in big s*%$ now. Who the hell am I that I can arrive here, at their home, and then, rock 'n' roll, or hosting a warm welcome party for the monsters. Two fellas step up, judging by their clothes, my money is on the idea that they are praetor, commander of the camp. And as far as I can tell, they are good leaders. One has blond hair and blue eyes, seem to holding a feature of self-confidence. Straight standing figure, board shoulder, hard and emotionless eyes. Probably Chief Praetor. His appearance suggests that he might be a son, or a descendant of Apollo.
The other has darker skin, but not as dark as mine, a 100% Asian. With black hair, no, brown hair, and pale blue eyes… Hard to guess. But his eyes are scanning me, clearly he is trying to guess something about me, like who is my godly parent. Tough luck. I'm mortal. The aura I feel from him is a little different from the other. It seems quite familiar. Like when I was walking with Mimi in the tunnel. Is there a chance that he is somehow related to Athena, or Minerva as he is Roman? I have something to ask them, soon.
The blond guy speaks up:
- I, Jack 'Jimmy' Jon, Chief Praetor want to thank you for your bravery. We owe you this time. And, last but not least, welcome to Camp Jupiter, demigod. If you wish, you will be considered to become a centurion
I want to say something about 'no'. But, ADHD (coming as a result as a champion of Mars, again) makes me do a little different:
- Hang on, are you saying that your name is really like JJJ?
- Yes, that's his name. But we call him Jim, Jimmy or JJ. He has to speak like that as he is the Chief Praetor. Formality, not his best job by the way. And I'm Alex, Alexei Grovick Olze, quarter Russian, quarter American, quarter English and quarter Bacchus with 18 years of being the Amuser and Second-in-Command, or Co-Praetor of this Camp. At your service.
He finish his speech with a salute, army style, and in the funny way. I glance around, trying to compress the urge to roll my eyes. But others, some of them, don't. They roll their eyes at his childishness. Clearly, this is quite normal for them. Clearly, this is better than what I've been expecting. As I thought, there will be a 'welcome' party held specially for me. Well, apparently, I must be wrong, at least once. And I feel good when I got his wrong. Really. Who would like to battle from time to time?
Ares, Greek side of Marsy, but it's irrelevant here. Now, I want to enjoy my peaceful time. As I've completed the quest: Mimi, the champion of Minerva, has arrived in Camp Jupiter in one piece. She is a little shaken up by the chase with monsters, but in short, she's still good. Ready to do whatever Minerva wants her to do. That's not my concern, unless it relates to certain death of Mimi. Damm it. Those memories stil haunt me every time, and recently, they become stronger. Being alive for 20 years and this is clearly too much for me
- Hey, you punk. Who the hell are you? Why didn't you use sword or spear from the beginning? Where is your pride and manner?
With this, everyone's faces turn instantly. Look like they've just eaten something very sour. And I think I know why. A angry-looking kid steps out of the ranks. Judging on his appearance, he is a young child of Mars. But he is not too young as he must be 17 or 18. He can be 19 if he has something liked me, everyone still thinks I'm just a 18-year-old 'kid'. Heck, I have a tattoo of a rifle on my shoulder to disprove that. Back on topic, he may be an officer, but it's a low-rank one. A team leader of a small unit, no more than 12 soldiers, 8 to be exact - a tent unit. His armor is perfect, too perfect. I'm also able to see the mark on his left arm, SPQR, 4 lines under it, and the symbol of Mars: 2 spears crossing each other. He is currently in bad mood as he has the what-the-hell-are-you-doing look on his face. A bit of arrogant, seeing the reaction of the camp leads me to this conclusion. And he may be having a small, or a big, crush on a girl. He keep glancing a a girl just a few feet away from me. A daughter of Venus, being enlisted for 5 years.
In short, he is showing off. Dude, you pick the wrong choice. As I'm about to show off to.
Mimi is walking to me. Gotta speak up now to shut this guy down. Without using violent activities, I hope. If my luck betrays me (more frequently than I want to, I might add), well, be a man. At least I know some skills of sword and spear fighting when I received the bless from Mars. Nut up or shut the f&^k up
- Why do you care? I'm not your soldier, contubernium leader. You have no idea who am I, do you?
The entire camp seems to be hammered by this. The fact that I know he is at the lowest rank of commander, if a mere soldier doesn't count, just a few minutes after arriving, and less than 1 minutes after 'first encounter', it is also the way I speak it, full of sarcasms. Some campers are happy and they are not hesitate to show it by board smiles. Some snicker, other do nothing, but I can see the gleam of joy in their eyes. Only a handful of campers show their, er, how do I put it? Displeasure? Yeah, may be
- You're new, that's mean I'm outranked you. You must obey my orders, no matter what. Are you clear, dickhead?
- Wow, hot-head. Your dad taught you nothing? He is the freaking god of war, Mars. Mars Ultor. He knows how to wait for the right time to strike. By doing so, he can limit the bloodshed of his own people. That's why he is respected, or feared, or both. And you? Hot-head, impatient, you can't be his son. Not likely. And shut up. If you are showing off, I can understand, but base on everyone's behaviors, I'd say that it's normal for you to be a jock. Am I wrong, punk?
Now, everyone around is gasping for air. Heck, don't tell me that they don't know who his crush is. Isn't it obvious? He glances at her at least 3 times in the last 95 seconds. And the face of the Mars demigod is really hilarious. Wish I have a camera here, it'd be one hell of blackmail material. But as everyone is the same as him, it won't be very useful, unless I want to force Marsy to free me from the job as his champion, which is not likely to happen under any circumstances. But heck, I have to grab my chance and use it. Right?
And now, that demigod is outraged. He is launching directly toward me with the swords raising. Amateur. No wonder why he is just a low ranking officer. He'll be discharged before he has any chance to be promoted. Hey, it's likely that he'll be pushed to the legionnaire ranking - a normal soldier in a few years.
Focus. Focus. Focus. I mumble to myself with closing eyes, when I snap out, everything is moving in slow motion. Another perk of being the champion of Mars. With this guy, I have to act fast, and accurately. He has strength, but no brain in his tiny skull.
A step to the right, a grab at his right collar - which is holding his sword - and a combo of right uppercut, kick, rising knee, he fell to the ground, being disarmed. And with the look on his face, I know that he hasn't realized what has happened. Dude, are you serious?
Giving back his sword, I ask him jokingly:
- Again?
And this time, he lungs toward me with very high speed. Not bad, but not good enough. Memories from two years of combat take over me and when I resurface from the memories, he is being put down at least 3 meters from my place. A judo move. Grab enemy hand, roll over on your back and kick in your enemy's stomach with your leg. With the combination of all force, the enemy may experience a few seconds being airborne. It's not the best memory to remember, by the way.
May be that's enough, the Chief Praetor, JJ, raises his hand and order:
- Beck, that's enough. He has saved our camp, and you dare to attack him? Don't force me to discharge you right here, right now. Get back to your barrack. Don't ask, just comply
The demigod, Beck, seems to attack his supreme commander but now he is able to hold back. At least he can learn something. It's not too bad, after all. Less than 10 minutes and I've earned respect from other campers. They are now full of joy. Clearly, Beck is a jock, I may have to cut his ball and use it for breakfast with his liver if he does it again.
Alex pats on my shoulder:
- Wow, it's the first time I've seen him being humiliated like that. You must be a child of Mars or a child of Big Three. So, tell me, who is your godly parent?
Duh? A demigod? Really, they have no sense of humor. But that's exceptable, they have no clue about me. That'd be a right assumption to make. Shall I tell them, Marsy?
Yes, go ahead. I want to see my children's faces. It'd be fun after killing a bunch of threats in Antartica
What? When?... Nevermind. I'm on it now
- And who is that girl? Your half-sister, I hope
So, JJ. Are you planning to take on MY girl? Tough luck
- My name is Tran Minh Vuong, and heck, I have no godly blood in my vain. The girl over there is same as me. We are both champion of Olympians. The Big Ones, Major Gods in both Greek and Roman culture. And she is my comrade, not my half-sister JJ. But I swear, if you make a move on her, I'll cur your d*^k and shove it into your mouth
And now it's real fun. Everyone burst out laughing while JJ turn red like a tomato. Man, it's gonna be a real joke for the camp in at least 2 years, may be more.
- So, who is your, and her blesser?
- Mine? Marsy. Her? Minerva
- Hang on, have you just call the god of war Marsy? Sound like you're friends
- Heck, I spent 2 years of my life serving in a special unit. And I almost put a bullet in his head when we first met. So, yeah, we are friends, not best friends, but good friends. And if you are wondering why, he pulled me out of a battle just for fun, plus the fact that I din't know he was a GOD back then. Best joke I got at that time. And yeah, I once fought equally against him in human form. That's why we're, how can I put it, friends that like throwing bad words at each other's face. Any question?
And when I say that, I know that the camp is now both afraid and respect me.
-_-Time Skip-_-
After the little 'chat', I was led to the medic station, with a bulky guy. At first look, I suspect he is a tough guy. But after knowing that he is the head nurse of the camp, with 15 years being alive and 3 years being a nurse and staring at HIS teddy bears in the station,... I have to change my mind.
Luckily, I have no major injury, neither does Mimi. We are invited to stay in the HQ - Principia, as they call it for a few days before our accomodation inside New Rome is settled. We have our own rooms, which means we don't have to stay together. Alex seems to have an amuse glint in his eyes when he told me this. Dang, he is right, it'd be a goddamn hard to control my hormones, expecially when staying in the same room with her and after having a vodka, or whiskey as I'm in the States.
Apart from that, my room is really great, I have my own bathroom, which allow me to have a nice, long hot tub. Oh dear, it's good. This always helps me to calm down, especially after a rough afternoon like today. Hum... Hope tomorrow would be better. And I haven't found out why Mars and Merniva send me on this mission. It's just a simple quest. A team of 3 wolves sent by Lupa would be fine.
The only reasonable way to explain is that I have to go with her on a quest, which may be very dangerous and I may not come back alive. Way to go Marsy.
With that cheerful thought, I go out and visit the New Rome, planning to spend my next few hours to exploring the city. At the first coffee shop, I notice Mimi is talking to a bunch of people. At least two of them are high-ranking officers. When I'm still unclear, whether I should walk away or approach them, a guy wave me over. And I notice a faint sight of blush on Mimi's face.
It turns out that they are chatting about something happens out of the camp. And as I'm over 20 (a bit), they call me over to confirm a lot of stuff. What is the newst song released by Katy Perry? Dark Horse. What is the newest incident on the world? Mess and overthrowing, plus threat to a short-day conflict in Eastern Europe. Where is the nearest coffee shop, the one has just open? Five minuted of cycling, or 15 if you move on foot, to the north...
Things just go on and on. And I realized a lot, plus the fact that I've made myself one of their friends despite the difference in age. A son of Mars, John Matura, optio (second-in-command) of Second Cohort, he is also the guy who had waved me over earlier. Tina Rossaland, daughter of Vulcan, legionnaire of Second Cohort, believed to be John's crush (which I can confirm is true, base on his reaction, attitude and the way that his eyes move around). Timothy Riddle (yes, that's his name), descendant of Bacchus Centurion, Commander of Third Cohort, also main rival of John. And it's a friendly rival, I hope. Two other are siblings, more like twins as they are just 20 seconds from each other (but one was born 15 seconds before New Year's Eve, and the other was 5 seconds after... What a joke) Ross and Jack Zhang, descendants of Pluto and Mars (A/N: You know are their parents, right?). And the last one, a girl, Julia Grace, again, granddaughter of Venus and Jupiter. Base on what I've heard, Julia's brother, Jacob is even worse than Beck. Not to mention the fact that these two are good friends. look like I have to train with my CQC combat skill.
It is now 6:30, the time for dinner. Mimi and I are dragged to the Dining Hall. And for some strange reason, we are pushed together by our new friends. Ha-ha-ha, very funny you guys.
But what I don't know is that, the Dining Hall is even 'funnier'. Imagine nearly 500 teenagers, all suffer from ADHD in the same place. Yes, you got it. A big feeling of Chaos, not the first being Chaos in the universe but as in 'a big big mess'. They are yelling, swearing and some are even arm wrestling. Dude, right place to be. And it seems... normal to me, at least after 2 years as a soldier of Special Force. Well, how can I say? Home sweet home. As far as I can remember, only one difference from my military Dining Hall: there is no weapon inside the Hall. Clearly there is no threat at the moment. I was told by John that they used to have dinner, lunch and breakfast with weapon secured right on their sides. And it was a long time ago, during the Second Giant War. Gigtomachi, or something like that.
Everyone's chatter die out when 2 praetors steps up. After a 'short' speech from JJ, about what is wrong, what is right with the training, who should be punished and rewarded, blah blah blah. Only one detail caught in my ear: A new firing range will be open from tomorrow. That's mean I can practice my skill, both summoning guns and use them with flawless accuracy. I have to make myself busy. Or I can get out of the camp and back to my home. But it is not an option, really. Kids here are terrible with gun. Even with a rifle, attached scope, they can only hit the 7-point circle. So, how the heck they will do when a bunch of monster came like earlier today? Training, with proper teacher. I told JJ and Alex about this and they've agreed to 'hire' me as an instructor. And they told that from the beginning of their speech, making me earn some gasp, glare, and some bad words form Beck's clan.
When they finish with the quote 'Now, let's eat, Cuz I'm starving', everyone think that they'll have a nice time, hell breaks loose with the appearance of the (new) augur. A new prophecy is told to be happening. The news is confirmed in both Greek Camp and the Roman Camp. And as I believe, Nico - Pluto's ambassador - scowl at this news. Looks like he has already known about this. I may have to add a new stuff to do tomorrow: Interrogate, torture if really necessary, to have information from Mr. di Angelo
The world is in danger, again. What a good news, isn't it? Being transferred right before the dinner. It is really the best way to say 'Bonn appetite'. But these guys have to work on their definition of 'humor'
A/N: SO, over 5000 words. Can I have an applause please?
Next chapter will be about what happens at Greek Camp during campfire. Hope you guys will enjoy it
To the next time fellas. And remember, please, leave me a review please. It is nice to know that someone is actually caring about my work,