Tyrant of the Ruined Sun - Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Terrible Resolution and the Beasts of Despair

Like the thrashing tides of a whirlpool, our armies clashed in a vortex of mayhem, where lives, horses, arrows, magic and steel were exchanged with reckless abandon.

With the Diomedes Knights and Dragonborn turning the most savage of all, as they danced with such blatant revelry upon a field so overflowing with carnage they seemed to turn into true fiends.

While the Chimera Knights once again proved their sanguine reputation with unmatched ability, as they lunged upon their backline like predators upon prey, hurling fire and spitting venom with spiteful ferocity, rendering them incapable of fully joining and aiding their comrades currently weathering the iron hail and magical barrages pelting them from above until they became formless sieves of gore on the ground.

Only the artillery corps under Orhan retained some semblance of their regular discipline, as they accurately began lobbing cannon balls above the front lines, bombarding the enemy with the accurate and nimble Epirus cannons, meanwhile the Hydra cannons were pulled back as fast as possible, due to the sheer chaos of the frontlines, which would have rendered them all but ineffective in the tightknit melee.

Yet the skill and equipment of this army was a magnitude above that of previous Murathicus forces we faced, as they stood resolute before our onslaught with a unflinching tenacity, and for a moment their superior numbers seemed enough to level the scales, and force us into a delicate stalemate, if not for the final factor; my champions and generals.

For every man we slew another readily took his place, but what could they possibly do when they were being felled several dozen at a time, as the inner circle of friends and loyal subordinates I had so carefully founded and nurtured over the years began to show it’s ridiculous effectiveness.

Horus was a spectre of death, a wraith of ruin; Leonid was a harbinger of annihilation, Hasdrubal an unshackled beast, Avestan and Archon were two goring horns, while Tessiphina was a whirlwind of slaughter, and Abraham as usual was the steady hand of murder that stood stalwart next to me as I prowled the blood-soaked lines, butchering all who stood in my way, as I ravenously sought the scent of the far-off divinity, hunting for my escaped prey.

Even my brothers and Bellerophon were not to be easily outdone this day, as all three joined the fray with a far more sure-footed gait this time around, having already tasted the trials of war, they fought with more ruthless efficiency and less of the pompous posturing they inevitably carried after a lifetime in the comfort of the imperial palace.

Nizam was more cruel in his cunning designs, twisting barbed vines of water like water serpents around his foes’ shields and armour as he tore into their flesh with little care for anything other than efficiency.

Cyrus was less restrained by the innocence of youth and his own kind nature, as he tore through men with haunting ease, dying his once pristine golden armour a turbid sort of red within seconds, as he dove relentlessly into the thickest of the fighting.

And Bellerophon was simply freer, for his natural instincts that have been for so long blunted in the luxurious halls of the palace, were now fully without barrier to hamper it’s rise, and even seemed to be a long awaited whetstone to his reclaimed true nature.

And all the while, Hamilcar faced off against Argus in a brutal duel around us, keeping each other far enough away to not harm the clashing armies, but close enough to keep an eye on the roiling battle, as they enveloped us in an ever expanding circle of devastation.

Yet I had little time and mind for them right now, as I had finally managed to find the object of my quarry.

I did not shout his name, nor did I announce my presence in any meaningful way at all, for it was unnecessary at all, since he was already glaring right at me, and I instantly understood that just as I had been tracking him with the feel of his divine power, he too had been doing the same.

There was no need for words, as I simply rushed at him with swirling killing intent flooding my mad eyes, creating a truly frightening sight, particularly with Fallen Nemesis’ skeletal form began beaming with a ghostly light and Dark Majesty erupted in silver threaded abyssal flames.

But before we could clash once more, his guards were upon me, most of whom were in the third rank, while a select few, who were undoubtedly their officers, were a mix of fourth and fifth rank. A mighty force to be sure, but they remained inadequate before my own, who only accepted the cream of the crop of my vast empire, and who’s barest requirement demanded they be in the fourth rank.

Yet their numbers alone would have made up for their slight inadequacy, hampering me and the rest of guard down with their very lives, if not for the two crowning jewels of my Palace Guard, Horus and Abraham; who ravaged through them like a pair of wolves through a flock of sheep.

That teasing, devious enchantress known as victory was once more within reach, as I could again almost feel the brush of her breath upon my ear, singing her triumphant song that I so longed to hear by now, when yet again it was snatched away from me.

But this time it was not by a blinding force of silver mixed with a roaring crimson flame, but by a single, ornate looking whistle Eviduir pulled from the inside of his armour; and for a one terrible moment I felt a terrifying sinking sensation as I realized what it was.

His ancestor’s gift!

And though I did not know what terrible resolution the son of the God of prosperity has just sentenced us to, I was certain it was one of horrific consequences, as evident by the part mad, part horrified and part guilt stricken gleam in his eyes.

The earth shook, and pungent odour, one that made the nose reel and burn, like death and sulphur mixed together, blew through the air like a foul storm. And then, enormous beings came barrelling from the horizon.

With the form of enormous lizards, layered in pale green and deep purplish blue scales that jutted out like small carving knives from it’s body that stood at the gargantuan hight of a full grown elephant and double it’s length from it’s snarling snout to it’s enormous swaying tail, I knew another inconsistency from my past life was once again before me.

“Loithiriomos.” I whispered disbelievingly. “The Beasts of Despair.”

“What in the…”

“In the name of all the Gods…?!”

“What manner of abomination is this?”

I heard the horror struck mutterings of all those around me, even those belonging to the Murathicus men, who were just as petrified as everyone else.

Yet I knew that inaction in this crucial moment was the same as a death sentence for all of us, as I turned one more time to look upon Eviduir, only to see him already disappeared, ordering his men to scatter in all directions at once.

‘The bastard!’

“Form lines!” I roared out with my aura utilized to the extreme to empower my voice. “Everyone below the seventh rank, run!” I commanded as I rushed forth against the arrived beats.

Many tried to fight, many more tried to flee, but the acrid beasts cared for neither friend nor foe, they simply writhed genially across the field, devouring all they could to sate their endless hunger.

“Aim for their abdomen, eyes, and mouth! Their protection is weakest there!” I commanded, as I noticed the arrival of my other generals, while I hurled Fallen Nemesis into the exposed eye of the one closest to me, instantly impaling it’s brain through it.

My action awoke the other four to my threat, as they all swivelled their wrathful yellow eyes at me, but before they could even charge to avenge their fallen and be rid of the new danger to their fabulous feast, Abraham and Horus struck together, yet they did not do so from a far like me, but from close quarters.

“No!” I roared trying to stop them, but it was too late, they were doused in the beast’s acidic blood.

The two howled in pain, as the lumbering monster collapsed half-dead behind them, yet even then, it remained resolute in it’s want to consume them, lunging at them despite the deep wounds flaying it’s sides.

Luckily, Leonid and Hasdrubal were faster, grabbing the fallen two and escaping before the creature could accomplish it’s dying struggle, though they too did not leave unharmed, as they suffered similar poisoned burned on their hands, cheeks and upper necks, where they touched the two.

Rage coursed through me, and I struck again, but not with my weapon, but with my bear hands.

Now this would’ve undoubtedly seemed as the hight of foolishness to all who just witnessed the deplorable states that befell my two most trusted and competent guards, yet I had a reason for the madness.

I desired to subdue the rampaging beasts and take them for my own designs, something I had always intended to do, with my only failing being that I did not expect the Ober-Rath clan to beat me to it, as I delivered another blow to the beasts jaw, careful not to break it’s scales and skin, but merely rattle it’s brain in it’s bony cage.

“Leave them to me!” I roared. “Hunt down those bastards!” I ordered, pointing at the escaping enemy.

Hasdrubal and Leonid were already burned and poisoned by the same thing that inflicted the two they carried, as they rushed to a healer, but Tessiphina was more than happy to heed my command, as she rushed at the hordes of back facing foes.

And so it went, until the sun once again took it’s leave on the opposite side of the celestial sphere, and the sky was strewn with stars.