Hey, I'm back with a new chapter!

NarveraG, I am leaning more on just Ryuu, but Syr/Freya is highly to be a side thing. So we'll see.

AnimeFan13579, yeah, the part with Finn was hilarious for me, and it'd make more sense for him to approach Bell than in canon considering Bell's considered a close friend of the Loki Familia now.

SilverCrow, unfortunately Kratos doesn't exist in the Throne of Heroes, sooooo...

nbjdawe2001, the Servants don't really possess a class or alignment. I guess they do have alignments in a way like how I had Bell inherit Taira no Kagekiyo and Yoshitsune. But here they are more akin to the full Heroic Spirits rather than a Servant, and my main criteria is that they have to be in the Throne of Heroes and not just because of being a vessel.

But you'll have to read on and find out.

So yeah, here it is.

XXX

With Bell and his party, the group of twenty were headed for the gates.

As they walked, Aisha asked, "So captain, how are we gonna get there? We're not gonna walk, are we?"

Bell paused, "Eh? Is it not okay for us to walk?"

"Eh?"

Everyone looked at him, and Welf palmed his face, "By the gods… Bell…"

Lili sighed, "Bell-sama… You want us to walk all the way to fight the Rakia army?"

Samira laughed in disbelief, "We're all gonna die!"

Lena looked at Haruhime, "Is this really the person who destroyed the Entertainment District?"

The renard smiled painfully, "He's usually a lot better?"

Mikoto looked at him, "Bell-dono, surely you'd have something with your heroes that can help, right?"

Bell scratched his head as he thought about it, "I mean… I have a chariot, but I'm not sure if it can fit all of us here…"

"Well, if all you need is something to fit all twenty of you, then I'm sure I can be of some help!"

Everyone turned to see Hermes approaching them, and Lili blinked in surprise, "Hermes-sama!"

The god smiled, "Hello everyone!"

Bell asked, "You said you could help?"

Hermes laughed, "Of course! Anything to help my third favorite adventurer in Orario!"

The boy blinked, "Third favorite?"

The god nodded, "Yep! My number one is without a doubt Asfi, then I'd say the Sword Princess, and then you."

Bell smiled awkwardly, "I…see…"

Hermes chuckled, "Anywayyy, I happen to have a spare large carriage that we use when my Familia goes outside of Orario. If you're willing to spare me a moment of your time, I'd be more than happy to lend it to you."

Soon, Bell found himself in an empty pub with Hermes.

The boy looked around the place, "What is this place?"

Hermes explained, "This is a pub owned by my Familia. We pretty much use this only for ourselves, no one else is allowed in here."

Bell hummed, "I see, that's neat."

The god chuckled as he went behind the counter and poured himself a glass of whiskey, "Drink?"

The boy shook his head, "No, I'm still underage, and I have a quest."

Hermes hummed, "Hmm, shame. I'm still having one though."

He pulled a stool and sat on it, taking a sip from the glass.

Bell asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Hermes smiled, "You're headed to the mountains to intercept the Rakia army, aren't you?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, why?"

The god chuckled, "Well, just wanted to catch up before you went on to war, that's all."

Bell raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Hermes raised his glass, "Oh of course."

The god sipped on his whiskey again, "Anyway, I've got something interesting you might wanna hear."

The white haired rabbit blinked, "Oh?"

Hermes smirked, "Ever heard of the Three Great Quests?"

Bell looked confused, "The Three Great Quests? Yeah, I have, actually, why?"

The god of messengers swirled the alcohol in his glass, "The Three Great Quests can be said to be a story about the world waiting for a hero."

He tilted the glass, as if cheering at the boy, "You've defeated Antares, and I'm not sure if you're aware, but the Guild has categorized it to be something close to the beasts from the Three Great Quests."

Bell nodded, "Yeah, Eina-san told me."

Hermes smiled, "Then that makes things easier to explain."

The god continued, "As you know, the Three Great Quests involve the duty of defeating three beasts, the Behemoth, the Leviathan and the Black Dragon."

Bell nodded, "Yeah, two of the three, the Behemoth and Leviathan were defeated by two legendary Familias, the Zeus and Hera Familia."

Hermes blinked in surprise, "Oh, so you knew that much already?"

The boy smiled, "Yeah, my grandfather told me a bit about how they defeated them."

He looked at the countertop sadly, "But it's unfortunate that they were wiped out when they tried to challenge the Black Dragon."

The god of messengers hummed, an unreadable expression on his face, before he settled for a smile, "Well, if you knew that much, then I guess I didn't need to get you here alone!"

Hermes laughed to himself, and Bell blinked, "Eh? Did you really get me here just to tell me about the Three Great Quests?"

The god controlled his laughter, "No, not exactly. If you knew that much, then I guess you'd have known that the Black Dragon is still alive then?"

The boy blinked, "So it's true? The Black Dragon is still alive? I thought it just vanished?"

Hermes chuckled, "Unfortunately, or well, fortunately, depending on how you look at it."

The god downed the last of his drink, "That means the world still seeks a hero. It's Last Hero."

Bell nodded, "I see…"

The boy asked, "And you're telling me this… Is it because I'm the Heir to the Throne of Heroes?"

Hermes smirked, "Well, considering you defeated Antares as a level 2, I'd say you have a pretty good chance at beating the Black Dragon, and I'm sure you'll have a Heroic Spirit who's known for slaying dragons in there somewhere."

As if on cue, Bell's back grew warm, but the boy ignored it.

The god dropped his smirk, "But no, I'm not telling you to go and become the hero to defeat the Black Dragon. That is a right every adventurer in Orario has, not just you."

Bell considered the thought, "I see…"

Hermes put his glass down, "But well, that's pretty much what I wanted to talk to you about. We honestly have no idea if the Black Dragon will even show itself or not, but just between you and me, I'm betting on you."

The god gave him a wink, and Bell smiled wryly, "Well, thanks I suppose."

Hermes laughed, "Anyway, I've taken enough of your time. Come, I'll show you that carriage so you can get on your way."

Bell and his group soon found themselves on the road.

Samira and the other Amazonesses were all having mixed feelings.

The reason?

All twenty, or rather, nineteen of them, were on a large carriage.

But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that the carriage was pulled by a chariot, which was in turn pulled by three horses.

Said three horses were Xanthos, Balius and Pedasos, and on the chariot was Bell himself.

Daphne asked, "Hey, aren't those horses like… legendary steeds of a legendary hero? And he's using them to like… do this?"

Welf shrugged, "No idea, I honestly don't even wanna know."

Aisha laughed, "Hey, if it works, it works!"

Mikoto, Haruhime, Lili and Cassandra just shared a smile, while the others were just conflicted.

The fact that the ride wasn't as bumpy as they thought despite the speed they were going at didn't help things.

Soon, the group neared a mountain area, as the trees started to become more concentrated.

The people on the carriage all looked around, and Mikoto asked loudly, "Bell-dono! Are you sure this is where we're supposed to go?!"

Bell glanced back, "Yeap! Eina-san told me the village we'll be going to will be in the forests! That's why it's a good place to use as a base!"

Soon, the forest became so concentrated that Bell had to slow the chariot down, and Lili looked around, "Bell-sama, this… doesn't look like the right place…"

Bell smiled, "Yeah, of course not. Honestly, Eina-san doesn't even know how they found this place. But apparently it's hidden away so well that if you don't know where to go, you wouldn't find it."

Samira asked, "Then how do you know where it is?"

The white haired adventurer glanced at the notes Eina had given him, "Because they reached out to the Guild, and they gave us a map to find them. Apparently they also have a route in case they need supplies from outside the forest."

They soon spotted a village ahead of them, and Bell led the three horses to a stop.

The boy got off the chariot, just as the other adventurers got off the carriage.

As soon as they did, Bell spotted an elderly man with a young woman approaching them.

The man greeted, "Hello, you wouldn't happen to be the adventurers from Orario, would you?"

Bell nodded, "Yes, my name is Bell Cranel. I suppose that would make you the mayor, Karm-san, yes?"

Karm nodded, "Indeed, and this is my daughter, Rina."

Rina looked at the group, "Is this all the people you have with you?"

The leader of the party nodded, "Yes, this is all we'll need."

The woman looked unsure, and she looked at her father, "Father, are you sure…"

Karm nodded, "These are adventurers who've received the blessings of a god, I'm sure they will be fine."

The mayor turned, "Come, we have prepared a place for you for your base. It's not a lot, but hopefully it will serve as a place for you to prepare."

The boy nodded, and they quickly followed Karm and his daughter through the village.

As they walked, the adventurers couldn't help but notice the stares they were receiving from the villagers.

Samira snorted, "I see our presence is quite welcome here, huh?"

Karm glanced at her, "Please excuse them. Some of them believe that the reason the army of Rakia is even trying to take over this place is because of Orario, and some think we have no reason to help you, much less plead for your help."

The others stayed silent, and they soon reached a small house at the far end of the village towards the direction of Rakia.

Karm explained, "This house has been abandoned for a while, the owner died a while back. But I've managed to have it cleaned up enough that it should be okay to use."

Lili looked at it, and then to the direction where the Rakia army would be coming, "I see, so we'll be engaging the Rakia forces from here then."

The mayor chuckled, "I'd appreciate it if you would keep them away from here."

Bell nodded, "Of course."

Karm pushed the door open, revealing a relatively empty house with just the bare minimum like chairs and tables.

The elderly man looked at them, "We have a map, and some of our men have scouted out where the army will be marching from."

Bell nodded as he walked forward, noting the map on the table, "Thank you. We'll get started as soon as we can."

Karm nodded, "I shall leave you to it then."

Rina spoke up, "If you need anything, please let me know."

The boy nodded, "Thank you."

With that said, the pair left the house, and Lena asked, "So, what's the plan?"

Bell noted the attention he was getting from his party, and the boy looked at the map, "Eina-san has told me the gist of where they might be coming from, including the terrain we'll be based on."

He spread the map out on the table, "Right now we're on the mountains, and the Rakia army will pretty much be coming from, well, flat plains."

Daphne asked, "So are you planning to rain arrows on them?"

Everyone quickly remembered the Noble Phantasm Bell had used on the Apollo Familia, and the boy shook his head, "No, not yet. I have something else I want to try, but it'll be similar… Probably even better."

Welf smiled dryly, "Do I want to know?"

Bell chuckled, "You'll find out anyway."

Samira asked, "So, what about us? Surely you didn't get us all here just so we could watch you wipe out an army?"

The white haired rabbit looked at her, and he answered, "No, you're all here for a reason. In the end I am but one person. In the case they survive my Noble Phantasms, you'll be there to keep them from advancing."

He pointed to the map, "Welf has brought us a lot of magic swords, so I want everyone to take at least three each."

Mikoto asked, "So we'll be doing the same thing like in the War Game?"

Bell nodded, "On a larger scale, but this time I won't need to use Zhuge Liang."

Lili asked, "Wait, why not?"

The others listened as the boy explained, "We pretty much know where the enemy is coming from, and they won't have any cover. If what Eina-san told me is correct, the god of war Ares is not that good of a tactician."

Welf smiled dryly, "Yeap, she's not wrong."

Bell smiled, "So if he's gonna march on like an idiot, then we'll just have to make use of that."

Aisha asked, "Then what are we gonna do?"

The boy gestured to the map, "Right now we have the high ground, and if they're dumb enough to try to take the village, I'll bombard them with a Noble Phantasm first."

Bell marked several points on the mountain, "Then I want everyone stationed at these five points on the mountain, they should give you a clear view of the field."

Daphne smiled, "I see, if they survive your magic, then we can pick them off one by one."

The boy nodded, "I'm sure you've all seen Welf's magic swords in action. They have a pretty good range and firepower, so-"

"Just magic swords? Is that all you great adventurers can do?"

Everyone turned to see a few men at the door, scowling at them.

Samira scowled, "What did you just say?"

One of the men scoffed, "If that's all you have, we might as well be dead already! I knew Karm was an idiot to rely on them!"

The white haired Amazoness scowled, before she smirked, "You talk big, eh?"

Samira started walking forward, until she found Bell standing in front of her, blocking her from going any further.

The Amazoness growled, "What are you doing?"

The boy looked at her and shook his head, "No, we're here to fight the Rakia army, not them."

The man scoffed, "See, just a look from a boy and-"

Bell turned to him, "And you, I know not everyone appreciates us being here, but we're here to fight. If you don't have anything to add or help, please let us do our work."

Before anyone could say anything, all of them suddenly found it hard to breathe, and the adventurers quickly remembered Bell still had Achilles' power flowing in his body.

The villagers glared at them, before eventually leaving.

Welf asked, "What's their problem?"

Bell reigned in Achilles' presence, before turning back to his group, "Take an hour to look around, I want everyone to be familiar with the area, then we'll set up our positions on the mountains."

No one objected, and soon, Bell was with Aisha and Samira.

The boy stared at the map, before glancing at the two Amazonesses, "What's wrong?"

Samira frowned at him, "Why did you stop me? They're the ones who need our help. We don't even need to be here to fight the Rakia army."

Bell let out a breath, "True, all of us combined will be more than enough even if we just went and met them head on."

The grey haired Amazoness glared at him, "Then-"

The boy cut her off, "But that's not what we're here for, are we? I asked all of you to trust me with your lives, and if there's a more efficient choice, we'll take it."

Aisha asked with a smirk, "Is it that tactician hero speaking, or is it Bell Cranel speaking?"

Bell chuckled, "Hey, if Zhuge Liang was actually here, it'd be much worse. I may have inherited his existence, but I'm still very much an amateur with it."

The boy turned to the door, "Anyway, I'll be looking around the village. Give me a shout if you need anything."

With that said, Bell left the house, and Samira snorted humorlessly, "A hero, huh?"

Aisha sighed, "Samira, I know our current arrangements aren't the best, but-"

Her fellow Amazoness scoffed, "Easy for you to say. He got his goddess to take you and Haruhime into their Familia."

Samira stormed off, leaving Aisha alone in the house, and the woman sighed, "Well, that went well…"

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Bell was walking aimlessly around the village, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Cranel-sama."

The boy turned to see Haruhime, and he asked, "Haruhime? Weren't you with the others?"

The renard smiled, "Lena-sama and the others went on ahead, and I didn't feel like joining Lili-sama and the rest."

Bell hummed, "Okay, wanna walk with me?"

The blonde nodded, "If you'll have me."

The boy gestured to her to follow him, and they walked around the village.

As they did, they noticed a few children playing around, and Haruhime commented, "It is very peaceful here, isn't it?"

Bell nodded, "And it won't be if we let the Rakia army reach this place."

The renard asked, "But umm, some of them don't seem to appreciate our presence?"

The boy nodded as they walked, noting the looks from some of the other villagers, mostly young men.

"Please excuse their behavior."

The pair turned to see Rina approaching them, and Bell greeted, "Rina-san."

The woman smiled apologetically, "Not everyone dislikes you being here, but there are a number of people who were against this."

Haruhime asked, "May I ask why?"

Rina turned, "Follow me, there's something I want to show you."

The two shared a look, before following the woman.

Soon, the three reached the far end of the village, and Bell quickly noticed what seemed like an altar.

Inside the altar was a huge black oval crystal, with food like fruits placed before it.

Bell asked, "What is this?"

Rina explained, "A scale from the Black Dragon."

Haruhime's eyes widened, "The Black Dragon?! As in the one from Dungeon Oratorio?"

The woman nodded, "The very same. It is said that the scales fell off of the dragon when it terrorized the world."

The white haired adventurer looked confused, "But it looks like you're… worshiping it?"

Rina nodded, "That's right. See, our village doesn't have a patron god, we don't have people blessed by gods."

She pointed to another altar at a distance, "These scales, monsters seem afraid of them, and they've kept us safe for decades."

Bell looked around, and he quickly noticed that the altars seemed to span around the village.

Haruhime asked, "Is that why some of the villagers didn't like us being here?"

Rina nodded, "Yes, to them, we've been living under the protection of the Black Dragon."

Bell understood, "And we adventurers from Orario are those who sought to kill it, of course it wouldn't sit well with them."

The woman nodded, "What protected our village all these years were these scales, not gods, nor adventurers."

Rina sighed, "But still, it doesn't mean that they can act that way. So I do apologize for their behavior."

Bell smiled, "You have nothing to apologize for, Rina-san."

Haruhime nodded, "Cranel-sama is right, you shouldn't apologize, and none of us were harmed."

The woman smiled, "Thank you."

Rina turned away, "I shall leave you to it then, I've taken enough of your time."

Bell nodded as she walked away, and he spared the scales one more look, before looking at Haruhime, "Since we're at the border, let's look at the places we'll be setting up our watch points."

The renard nodded, "Of course."

The two walked away from the village, and Bell scanned the area, "Haruhime, I heard you liked hero stories, right?"

The blonde was caught by surprise, "E-eh? I-I mean… Y-yes…"

Bell smiled as he studied the terrain, "So you know stories like Dungeon Oratorio?"

The renard nodded, "Y-yes, it's one of the few I read when I was… umm, a child."

The boy nodded, "Have you checked our library? I did get a number of hero stories when we moved in, but obviously I couldn't get everything from my old home."

Haruhime nodded quickly, "Y-yes! There were a lot of stories I had never read before! They're amazing!"

Bell chuckled, "They are."

The blonde asked, "But I did speak to Lili-sama and the others before, and I couldn't find any of the stories about the heroes you have. Is there a reason why?"

The boy smiled, "Yeah, they're not really well known in Orario."

Haruhime asked, "Is there anywhere I can read about their stories?"

Bell chuckled, "Yeah, I have a collection of them back in my old home. Maybe once we're done here, we can find some time to go get them."

The renard's eyes gleamed with interest, "Really?!"

The boy nodded with a smile, "Of course."

Bell turned, "Alright, let's go back. Once we gather everyone, we'll start setting up our positions."

Haruhime nodded, and they headed back for the village.

(Linebreak)

A while later, everyone from Bell's party were in position, and Lili was paired with Daphne.

Lili asked, "What do you think Bell-sama is gonna pull this time?"

The redhead shrugged, glancing at the six magic swords by their side, "Who knows? He said it was something new, so I'm sure it'll be something interesting to see."

The prum hummed as she looked out from their spot, overlooking a wide barren land as the forests slowly thinned out the further it went.

Until Lili spotted the sight of the army approaching, and her eyes widened in surprise, "Wait, they're here already?! I thought they were marching later! Like tomorrow later!"

Daphne quickly grabbed a magic sword, "Good thing we came prepared then!"

The prum looked around, "I hope everyone is seeing this…"

The redhead nodded, "We'll just have to wait for Bell's signal."

Lili nodded, "Yes, a red flare."

The two were about to continue when they spotted a familiar silver armored figure leaping out of the trees beneath them.

Daphne gaped, "Did he just-?"

Lili blinked, and she palmed her face, "Bell-sama…"

With Bell, the boy landed on the ground with a thud, and he stood up straight to face the Rakia army.

Bell took a deep breath, "Load: Gilgamesh."

The powers of the oldest king filled his body, and almost immediately Bell felt the overwhelming presence.

But this time, Bell didn't focus on the powers of Gilgamesh in his prime.

No, what Bell was after, was something Gilgamesh gained after he returned from his journey of immortality.

A stone slab appeared in his left hand, and Bell waved his right over it, "That which floods the earth shall be mine will."

In response, a semi-transparent illusion of large city walls appeared behind Bell, circling around the mountain.

"Set."

The soldiers at a distance watched in fear as multiple cannons angled at them.

One of the braver ones yelled, "IT'S AN ILLUSION! DON'T FALTER!"

Unfortunately for him, it wasn't merely an illusion.

"Melammu Dingir!"

The cannons all fired, and everyone behind the walls, including the villagers who came out to watch, watched in awe as a large rain of magical blasts struck the ground.

Ares wanted a war?

In the face of these adventurers, Rakia stood absolutely no chance.

The rain of fire continued for a good few minutes, and when it finally ended, everyone had their jaws dropped once again.

The next few days, the same thing happened again.

"Melammu Dingir."

And again.

"Phoebus Catastrophe."

And again.

"The Unreturning Formation: Stone Sentinel Maze."

And again.

"Troias Tragōidia."

Every day the Rakia army would try to advance, but Bell would always take them all out with a single Noble Phantasm, and they would retreat for the day.

Welf sighed in exasperation as he watched the Rakia army retreat once again, "I knew Bell was gonna stomp them, but this is just sad…"

Mikoto smiled awkwardly, "Well, considering what happened with the Apollo Familia, I'm not too surprised."

The blacksmith shook his head, "But seriously, those guys seriously can't take a hint huh? You'd have thought by the third time they'd have given up."

"Well, third time's the charm, as they say."

The pair turned to see Aisha and Samira walking to them, and Mikoto blinked, "Aisha-dono, Samira-dono! Aren't you supposed to be in your positions?"

Samira scoffed, "With that monster of a hero out there, do you think it'll make any difference?"

The swordswoman blinked, before she smiled awkwardly, "No, not really."

The Amazoness snorted, "There you have it."

Samira watched as the Rakia army retreated, "But seriously, I don't know whether to be impressed that Bell's keeping this up for so long, or laughing at the fact that the Rakia army is still coming at us."

Welf scoffed, "Yeah well, Ares isn't the brightest, I wouldn't be surprised if that god showed up himself."

Before the group could continue, Bell landed near them with an audible thud, and Mikoto greeted, "Nicely done, Bell-dono. How many days has it been since you've been holding the line?"

The white haired boy smiled dryly, "Very funny. Come on, let's get the others and go back to the village."

Aisha nodded, "I'll go round up the others. You go back first."

Bell nodded, "Thanks, Aisha-san."

The Amazoness waved it off as she walked to get the other members of their party, and Bell and the other three went back to the village.

Soon, the four of them reached the village, and many of the villagers greeted them.

Another thing that had changed after the few days they'd held the Rakia army back, was that many of the villagers quickly came to respect Bell and his group, even the ones who had shown dislike in the beginning.

Karm approached them, "Good afternoon, Bell. I hope today hasn't been tiring."

Bell smiled, "Not at all, the enemy forces have retreated for the day."

Welf chuckled in exasperation, "Pretty sure they'll come back tomorrow."

A random villager asked, "Why don't you just put them down for good? Surely you have the ability?"

The boy shook his head, "No, they may be at war, but all of them have friends and family waiting for them too. If I can avoid that, then I definitely will."

Samira snorted, "Normally I'd say that's arrogance speaking, but coming from you…"

Bell smiled awkwardly, "I mean…"

A few women approached him, "And Lord Bell, may we ask you to… hold your companions back, please?"

Another issue that had come up was that a few of the Amazonesses with them had started offering their services, which had in turn gained the ire of several women in the village.

Samira scoffed, "If you don't like it, then stop them yourself. Nothing is stopping them from accepting."

One of the women glared at her, "You-!"

Bell quickly got between them, "I'll make sure I have a word with them later, okay?"

The Amazoness snorted, while the women begrudgingly accepted his words.

As the women walked away, Karm gave Bell an apologetic look, "Sorry about that, you didn't have to deal with this when you're already doing so much."

Bell shook his head, "Don't be sorry, it's fine."

The mayor chuckled, "It still baffles me how you are humble despite the power you hold."

The boy chuckled as they walked, "I'm still just human, it's not like having these powers make me above everyone else."

Samira snorted as she said under her breath, "It kinda does."

Mikoto and Welf stayed silent, but the expressions on their faces said otherwise.

Obviously, that went unnoticed, and Karm asked, "Speaking of which, Bell, we have a festival to celebrate and pray for good harvests this weekend. Would you and your group be happy to at least stay for that even if the war is done and dealt with?"

Bell smiled, "Of course, I'm sure everyone'd be happy to, a few days shouldn't be too much of a problem."

The mayor smiled, "Excellent! I'll let the others know."

The elderly man walked off, and Welf asked, "A bit jumping the gun, isn't he? We don't even know if the Rakia army will give up so easily."

Mikoto nodded, "Well, look from their perspective. Bell-dono has held them off by himself for the past few days. I'm sure they see it as a definite win by this point."

Samira snorted, "I'd be surprised if they didn't."

Bell smiled tiredly, "Alright, let's go back. We'll help the villagers later, right now I need some rest."

(Linebreak)

Some days later, in the Rakia camp, Ares sat in his tent holding a report of their battles.

The god looked frustrated, "WHY?!"

Marius sighed as he read his own copy, "What do you mean why?"

Ares looked at him, "Why are our forces losing?! We've made ABSOLUTELY ZERO PROGRESS!"

Marius took a deep breath, but ultimately gave into his annoyance, "And WHY do you think we're losing?!"

The god was slightly taken aback, but the prince continued his rant, "IT'S BECAUSE YOU INSIST OUR FORCES MARCH ON HEAD ON!"

Ares sat down, shrinking with each word Marius yelled, "I TOLD YOU OUR FORCES ARE WEAK! WE ONLY HAVE NUMBERS! BUT NOOOOO! YOU INSISTED WE MARCH ON LIKE TRUE WARRIORS!"

The prince had his reports rolled into a stick, and the god prayed that the young man didn't start wacking him.

His prayers weren't answered.

WHACK!

Ares winced, "OW! Mari-OW!"

Marius continued, "THINK ARES THINK! WE ARE UP AGAINST THE LOKI FAMILIA!"

The prince smacked the god on the head again.

WHACK!

The god cried, "S-Staaaap!"

Marius didn't stop, "AND I TOLD YOU TO STOP CHARGING IN MINDLESSLY! DID YOU LISTEN?!"

For the next half hour, the god's cries reached the ears of the other soldiers, much to their amusement and confusion.

After a while, Marius calmed down, and Ares nursed his head.

The god would forever be traumatised by paper rolled up in a stick.

The prince sat in his own seat, massaging his temples, "What do we do now?"

Challenging Orario?

It was a fool's errand.

Three directions, their entire army split equally to march on to Orario.

Yet none of them had shown any success.

The two directions with the Loki Familia members were a given, but what surprised him was the one with but a single member of the Hestia Familia.

Marius sighed, "Hestia Familia… That's not a name I'm familiar with…"

His words caught Ares' attention, "Hestia Familia you say?!"

The god of war sat up with a grin, "I HAVE AN IDEA!"

Marius took a deep breath, and after considering his choices, against his better judgement he nodded, "... Let's hear it."

Ares' grin widened, "We'll go challenge them to a duel! Mano a mano!"

The prince took a deep breath, and rolled up the report paper tightly once more.

The god's grin dropped, "W-wait, Ma-Marius, hold up! We can talk! We can-!"

WHACK!

"OWW!"

WHACK!

WHACK!

WHACK!

"AHHHHHH!"

The same thing happened again, until Marius calmed down, "Now do you have a better plan?"

Ares shook his head painfully on his throne, "N-no…"

The blonde prince tightened his grip on the paper roll, and the god backed away in fear, "Then stay there and don't do anything until I come back!"

With that said, Marius stormed out of the tent for his own, the guards staring at him awkwardly as he did.

XXX

Done, that's the chapter.

I've been getting busier with work and life... So the next chapter might come a bit later.

But we'll see.

Read and review please. Until next time.