Chapter 105: Hamilcar’s Expedition 18
When the gathered patriarchs heard her words, they grew senseless from frustration and spite. Who here among them did not have things they desperately needed to protect? Who here did not have aspirations they wished to achieve? Who here was any different than her?! Yet here she was, their supposed saviour, turning her fangs on them, her supposed allies.
’And what vicious fangs they were, striking them at their lowest and leaving them no avenue of retreat.’ They thought in heart wrenching self deprecation.
But while some were wallowing in woeful regret, already accepting their fate and simply awaiting the final verdict; whatever it may be, a few of the more crafty ones were already weighing their options and measuring their coming words to better survive the coming storm, not only here but in the wider Murathicus lands, that were undoubtedly going to forever change.
And the final faction among them were those brave fools who grew rabid with rage, their hate for Tessiphina instantly ballooning in their skulls until it all but pushed aside all other thoughts from their minds, leaving naught but the twisted images and scenarios of the unspeakable torture and pain they craved to do upon her.
So much so that you wouldn’t even need to hear it from their tongues to understand their despicable desires, as their eyes; already polluted by the intensity of their ideas, seemed to scream them in a way no words ever could.
And Tessiphina easily noticed this too, as they were not even trying to hide, so she was more than prepared when nine of them rushed at her from every angle. But she wasn’t prepared for the tenth, who unlike the rest, was not completely blinded by his hate and disguised himself among the suicidal few, only to strike at her Achilles heel, the one place this seemingly indomitable woman could be hurt; the unconscious Amhain.
Little did he know that Amhain was no Achilles heel, but a dragon’s reverse scale and he’d just inadvertently touched it.
Proving that even he, whose mind was not completely muddled by the agitation of his heart, still underestimated her in ways they would have never done before. As Tessiphina’s usually cold and inexpressive face, like that of an expertly carved marble statue, turned into a beautiful mask of volatile fury, her hands instantly clutching her matching whips and striking back at them, with a cracking sound so frequent and thunderous it resembled that of being in the eye of a howling lightning storm.
Whips were never weapons of war, as they were not designed as tools meant for murder but as instruments of pain and torture, intended to break one’s spirits before his body and cow his rebellious thoughts before they can ripen. But that all changed with the addition of aura.
Whips who would normally find it difficult to leave permanent damage, unless precisely struck at the eyes or some other vulnerable spot, now chewed through steal and bone alike, shredding those foolhardy few into scattered viscera on the wooden planks of the platform.
All suffered this bloody end, their bodies barely still preserved enough to be buried with honour beside their great ancestors, but the one who went after Amhain was not so fortunate.
His corpse could never be returned to his family again and buried with the full dignity befitting a patriarch, as his body was no longer recognizable as even human anymore! The protective tigress had left him a mangled lump of minced meat for all to see the consequence of trying to her harm her precious cub.
And they all clearly understood this, especially when her murderous eyes swept across them, while the horrific stench of death suffocated their noses so completely and the blood curdling screams of the no longer so distant battle resounded so deafeningly in their ears.
Seeing their new found timidness Tessiphina cracked her whips yet again, making them all flinch in their seats. But she had not struck at them but the sky, relieving but also confusing them, until an aura like burning blood shot to the heavens from where the Eclipse camp stood, a macabre scene that left them all quaking in their place, as this hellish looking spire instantly dominated the already gruesome land scape.
’Is that the gate of Hell?’ One patriarch absentmindedly thought, his mind trying to bring reason into this sight before him.
’Are those northerners truly demons who have mastered the heretical arts?’ Another thought remembering a rumour he heard a few days ago.
’Does the God of the Underworld these invaders worship and claim their emperor is descended from, truly hold for them such favour and love that he would even so willingly unlock the gates of his kingdom for in a battle they’ve already won?!’ Leighac, the recently healed patriarch of the Tamarthul clan thought half in disbelief, half in worship; since as a man who devoted himself to the priestly arts for so long, he viewed this as clearly an act of the gods.
But not one of them ever thought, for even a second, that the power before their eyes was a product of one man’s strength; for how could they? For these patriarchs of the weak and impoverished Northern Murathicus lands, who’d only ever hears but never seen a true tenth rank martial artist before, the thought that this scene before them was not a thing born of divinity was utterly outrageous.
They were due for a rude awakening.
Just as fast as it was born, this massive pillar vanished and in it’s place a scarlet meteor skidded across the plains at blinding speeds, before it suddenly leapt with the grace of a swan, before crashing upon the ranks of the Murathicus men like a true meteor, cratering the earth were it stood and reaping the lives of hundreds in mere seconds, finally breaking their lines and with it writing the final words of this battle, as the men fled for their lives, while the Eclipse men charged forth like water whose finally broke, killing or capturing their men were they stood.
Then the meteor resumed it’s path before stopping in the middle of them, only to reveal a black armoured giant, with a gleaming great axe and a twisted demon mask with a towering crown of blades decorating his helm. While the maelstrom winds that quickly followed him, that were almost enough to topple the wooden platform they still occupied, and so saturated with the stench of war it stung their throats when they breathed it in, only served to more firmly cement their belief that they were facing no mortal being.
His visage induced such unimaginable dread in their fragile hearts, that they all thought ’Is Hell’s executioner?!’
Tessiphina was the first to bow her head and offer her seat to him, as she respectfully said "Lord Hamilcar."
Hearing her words, the patriarchs felt another shock at this familiar name ’Hamilcar? Wasn’t that the name of the enemy’s commander?!’ They thought.
Hamilcar did not stand on ceremony and calmly strode forward completely unbothered by the nine corpses and one androgenous pile of meat around him. He then took Tissiphina’s seat, while she naturally stood behind, much like how her retainers did for her, while he took off his mask to reveal his face, which finally shattered the patriarchs beliefs that they were in the presence of a deity’s emissary, a demon of the realms of the God of the Underworld.
Hamilcar gave them a moment to collect themselves, before saying to the backdrop of thousands of routed men fleeing for their lives "I am Hamilcar Seth, Grand Martial of the Eclipse Empire and humble servant to the Bloody Emperor, Alexander the third master of the Scorching Desert, lord of the southern realms, holder of the black throne of the south, and Emperor of the Eclipse Empire."
The long and grand list of titles fully showcased the might of the Eclipse Empire and it’s ruler, and opposed to a few days ago, they all believed it now, as not only had they effortlessly defeated the greatest army they had ever formed in the Norther Murathicus lands, but how can one possess such arrogant sounding titles without the strength to back it up, especially in a world as bloody as the one these northern demons claimed to have come from.
But among the many words spoken the patriarchs focused on two phrases in particular, the first was ’Bloody Emperor’, which fully show cased the terror and ruthlessness of this northern despot. And the second is ’humble servant’; if their hearts had any more fear and confusion to give they would have at the sound of these words, for how could a man that they thought for a moment was a divine executioner, an emissary of a literal god, describe himself as something so lowly as a servant.
Hamilcar then continued "I have to again and for the final time offer you the emperor’s mercy. Surrender and prosper or cont..."
"WE SURRENDER!" They all roared out before he could even finish his words, with them literally tripping each other for space on the platform to bend their knees, with some even tossing their chairs off the platform to make space for themselves.
Seeing this left even the mighty Hamilcar reeling in surprise, but then a subtle grin graced his features, as he knew that this initial war is over, from this day forward the empire has officially conquered the northern lands of the Murathicus tribes, completely bringing the impregnable Hadrian mountains into the fold of the empire, the dream of so many emperors of the past finally achieved.
But this moment of glory was still not complete, as Hamilcar cast a weary gaze to the north, were he knew another battle of much greater difficulty and importance was being fought; one that would forever change the world they know, whether it ends in victory or defeat.