Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

The moment Ares gave his command, more than twelve-hundred cavalry charged forward with loud warcries while the remainder of his army began to fan out while advancing on the punitive force. With the other four armies creating a larger container, the situation was changing so that the smaller force would be surrounded doubly so, Ares' army acting as the inner group that would the one hundred soldiers representing Orario's first line of defense.There were many in Ares' army who were faster than the majestic and mighty looking white stallions owned by the cavalry and, not wanting to miss out on the fun, they ran ahead without fear. The elites making up Ares' army specialized in individual combat and, in order to increase their own standing, there were those who wanted to earn meritorious achievements for themselves. Even more, however, simply wanted to slaughter as many people as they could, reveling in the idea of cutting through what they believed to be weak enemies. With nearly half the punitive force was comprised of Pallum, it reinforced their misconception that the enemies before them were weak.Now, instead of targetting the outer armies, the punitive force switched their focus to Ares' army, shooting around sixty explosive bolts per second towards the oncoming cavalry. There were a few soldiers who were able to swipe away the bolts while others, even after getting hit, pressed forward without showing any signs of slowing down. The Endurance parameter increased a person's ability to resist shockwaves, to the point that 'normal' explosives were useless after a certain threshold was reached. Other than taking out most of the horses, which did slow down the momentum of Ares' army a bit, the large majority of soldiers were just incensed by the attacks, not taken out by them.Completely expecting this outcome, which is why they hadn't targetted Ares' forces at first, a series of quick commands were issued that caused the next rack of bolts to contain pure white projectiles. These were all carved from Dragon Fangs, each possessing a single Ability that would make them extremely lethal, 'Piercing:S'. Though some of Ares' forces realized the difference in the projectiles, there were others who had decided to simply take them head on like the previous bolts. This time, instead of simply slowing them down, the bolts continued forward, piercing straight through their targets and even injuring some other soldiers that had been behind those unfortunate enough to overestimate themselves...At this time, the two 'armies' had grown close enough for a physical clash, resulting in several Level 3 members of Ares' army to advance towards the punitive force with the intent to slaughter the whole lot. They numbered merely five individuals, believing themselves to be skilled Elites that would be like wolves released in a flock of sheep as they attempted to jump over the vanguard and target the interior of the punitive force's formation. Since they were ignored by the Archers and Vanguard, the few Level 3s that had breached forward believed themselves unstoppable, all the way up until the eight Spear-users trained by Arnya ran them through in an instant. Each of their members was Level 3 while their coordination was impeccable, making short work of three of the Level 3's without any difficulty at all. The sole survivor that had managed to touch down in the middle of the punitive force found himself surrounded, skewered by three different spears before he was able to attack anyone.The Technicians within the punitive force split into two groups, one that moved forward and began lobbing [Burst Oil] and [Smoke Grenades] into Ares' army while three members moved to dispose of the corpses that had landed within the force's interior. Unlike the explosions caused by the bolts, the [Burst Oil] was easily strong enough to overwhelm a Level 2 while even most Level 3 wouldn't be able to resist the viscous oil that possessed corrosive properties and couldn't be doused by normal means. This marked the moment when things became truly chaotic as the center of the battlefield quickly became suffused with plumes of smoke and flames as the advancing forces of Ares' army were mowed down rapidly. Because of the bodies of their own fallen comrades, the advance of other soldiers was slowed as few people were willing to move ahead into the 'kill zone' that had been established.Ares had been watching these events play out without his expression changing even a little, a small smile plastered across his immaculately sculpted face. He still believed that the small unit before them was entirely reliant on equipment and, so long as they were continually pressed, they would begin to run out of supplies while building fatigues. The existence of spatial artifacts was a very well-kept secret as of the present moment, making Ares completely unaware of the fact that the punitive force had enough supplies to repel more than ten waves of Fomoire, much less a few armies. His actions amounted to sending his men into a meat grinder that was harvesting the lives of his men much faster than they could even advance.After around fifteen minutes had passed, there was now an area of more than one-hundred meters around the punitive force, which many people could cover in an instant, now completely bereft of living soldiers. There were thousands of corpses littering the battlefield while the flames from the [Burst Oil] continued to burn, filling the air with a pungent smell of burnt flesh. This didn't reach any of the members of the punitive force, however, as Vahn was able to sweep away the smoke and pungent aroma by providing a constant stream of fresh air through his domain. Rakia's forces had no such luxury however as, even with their Generals urging them forward, there were people who would die from the fumes and flames alone, without the punitive force even needing to harvest their lives.Sobek was a little surprised with how things had gone thus far, as he had expected a few elites from Orario's side to simply throw themselves into their forces and sow chaos for a bit. This was the first time Orario had manned a standing defense, even if it was relatively small, so his expectations had been skewed by the five previous invasions. Now, he was passing orders to reform the lines, creating a perimeter around the punitive force as they tried to create a wall of shield bearers to try and box in the one hundred highly proficient killing machines. They didn't have the option of actually trying to attack Orario, where tens of thousands of people were watching atop the massive City walls. From the very beginning, this endeavor had only been to satiate Ares' desire to try and conquer Orario, a City known to simply be unconquerable through direct methods...Seeing that Sobek had begun to direct the army to back away and reform, Ares' expression changed for the first time, showing a frown as he cursed, "Sobek will always be a coward....haaaa..." From Ares' perspective, a direct battle, where both sides fought for dominance and tried to conquer the other, was 'real' War. He didn't care for things like strategy, believing that individual prowess, and battle itself, were the only things that mattered. The fact that Orario would usually only send out a few Level 5-6 Adventurers to rout his armies was a perfect example of this simple truth. He was a little surprised by the fact that the 'weaklings' that relied on equipment had managed to hold out for so long but, now that the other four armies were beginning to pull back, Ares knew it was his time to shine.The frown on Ares' face slowly faded away, replaced by a confident look and zeal that spread around him, causing the few elites that had formed around him to show battle-crazed expressions of their own. A short ways away, Ioke also pulled her massive battleax out of the ground, her mouth opening slightly to reveal sharpened teeth that were similar to Fenrir's when she got angry. The blood-red in her irises began to dance around like a liquid that was contained by the structure of her eyes, giving her a very strange and eerie appearance, almost as if there was actual blood contained within. This wasn't entirely incorrect either, as Ioke's Slaughter Divinity gave her access to actual Slaughter Laws, causing a bloody red aura to begin wrapping around her body and ax as she prepared to throw herself into battle...Seeing the gods were about to move, Vahn knew it was time for him to take action as well so he sent his commands to Haruhime who quickly relayed them to the punitive force. In an instant, the force broke apart into four different platoons that dispersed towards the four armies that had been boxing them in. They moved as one, advancing on the restructuring enemy lines and sowing even greater chaos in the battle as Haruhime stood alone before Ares' army. As nobody had expected the turtling force to suddenly fan out, even Ares was slightly taken aback before he began to laugh out loud. With the speed of the punitive force, he realized that each person was around the strength of his own Generals, not some weak prey that had been waiting for them to make a move.Jumping off his horse, Ares shouldered his golden claymore as he shouted, "This is starting to look like fun...!" Right now, Haruhime stood before his army alone, completely unflustered by the army that was moving to surround her, catcalling and taunting her as they prepared to jump on her like a pack of wolves. Even so, none of them actually moved forward as they had already identified her as the 'General' of the enemy forces. Nobody wanted to be the first to make a move as, without any doubt whatsoever, it would likely mean their death. It was Ares himself who took action first, pulling a small golden shortbow that had the motif of a lion carved into it.Instead of a physical arrow, Ares pulled back the string of his bow as the surrounding elemental energy converged together, forming what appeared to be an arrow of light. He unhesitantly loosed it toward Haruhime, causing it to trace an inviolable arc as it pierced through her chest a moment later. This caused Ares to raise one of his brows as the smile on his face became even more excited, undeterred by the fact that Haruhime had turned into a haze before reappearing outside of the arrow's original trajectory. From the beginning of the battle, her Innate had already been in effect, subtly altering the perception of Ares' forces while Haruhime herself appeared unmoving.Ares was preparing to loose another arrow to test the limits of Haruhime's abilities but his action was interrupted when, unexpectedly, a massive pillar of light appeared at the very back of the army. His head snapped around, genuine surprise and confusion on his face as in the distance, Sobek's body was breaking down as his Arcanum was burned in an attempt to kill Haruhime. She had used [Shundo] to appear at the god's side undetected, cutting him at the waist and bisecting his body. Sobek had been caught completely off-guard as his Arcanum disintegrated Haruhime's body, once again showing it had been a simple illusion, not the person herself.When the pillar of light had faded away, Haruhime's figure seemingly stepped out of the void as she brandished her [Sakura Blossom] with a cold smile on her face. The soldiers who had been at Sobek's side, who had been standing around in confusion as their god was slain, now faded away in a haze, revealing that they had already been killed by Haruhime. Her pale-gold eyes glimmered as her tails flickered around behind her, causing those who beheld her to take in sharp breaths while their hearts beat furiously in their chests.For some, they found themselves awash with a warm breeze like spring, filled with the scent of flowers, as sakura petals danced around them. In the next moment, however, this 'dream' faded as those very same petals cut through their body like a tempestuous wind, tearing them asunder as Haruhime, a Level 7, danced through enemy lines. She cut down hundreds as if the sounds of slaughter were an accompanying tune, an elegant smile on her face that made those within the effective area of her domain completely helpless to resist...Seeing Haruhime's capabilities, Ares didn't even care that Sobek had been killed as he ran forward with incredible momentum, charging straight into Haruhime's domain. When the pink petals swept towards him, Ares brandished his claymore, sweeping them away in an instant as a crazed smile spread across his face. Haruhime's brows moved slightly as she muttered in a soft voice, "You are my Master's prey..." while sweeping her katana towards Ares. An icy blue aura had shrouded her body for a moment, greatly increasing her physical parameters as her blade clashed with Ares'. From Ares' perspective, it felt like he had just been hit by a mountain as he was forced back several hundred meters, crashing through his own men and breaking their bodies apart with his momentum.Feeling his hands numbed by the strike, Ares was undaunted and instead felt greater anticipation as he began to laugh loudly. The next moment, his instincts caused his temples to tremble as he swept his sword to the side and blocked an invisible arrow that had been aimed toward his heart. With his golden eyes shining, Ares looked toward the sky where Vahn was standing with his [Khryselakatos] in hand. The two made eye contact as Ares' lion's mane like hair began to stand on ends, a war cry escaping his lips that caused all soldiers in the surroundings, from Vahn's perspective, to become covered in a golden aura. This was ultimately futile against Haruhime while Vahn's response was to begin loosing a literal rain of arrows upon Ares.Instead of retreating, Ares began laughing boisterously as his sword danced around like a golden tempest, cutting through each arrow with ease. It was only when one of the arrows triggered his instincts that the battle-crazed god moved to the side, sending waves of golden energy to clash with the dangerous arrows that seemed to home in on his vitals with ridiculous precision. Vahn, seeing Ares able to withstand his barrage, was slightly surprised but, considering his parameters had dropped by half after Ares blocked his [Call of the Reaper], it made a lot of sense. Now, to put more pressure on the golden god, Vahn began firing arrows 'randomly', many of which weren't even aimed at Ares at all...Without exception, these randomly fired arrows drew sharp arcs through the air as they all converged towards Ares from every conceivable angle. Amongst these arrows was a total of ten [Yi], each charged with the power of a single 'sun'. This time, Ares stopped swinging his sword and instead pointed it toward Vahn as he released a loud shout that resonated through the battlefield. The golden energy around his body more than doubled in size as a pillar of light passed through where Vahn had been located previously. Even if Ares could fight on par with a Level 7 for a short while, there was nothing in his millions of years of experience that could prepare him for a battle against Vahn.Having easily evaded Ares' attack with [Shundo], Vahn appeared right behind the golden god, undeterred by the golden energy that seemed to be trying to rip his body apart. Without any intention of causing any harm, Vahn reached out his hand and placed it against the top of Ares' golden mane of hair. Vahn had already identified that Ares was able to 'read' bloodlust and intent so, instead of trying to harm Ares, Vahn did the exact opposite. This caused the briefest of gaps in Ares' awareness as a confused look appeared in his golden eyes.In this momentary gap, the ten [Yi] arrows that Vahn had fired smashed into Ares' weakened aura and impacted his body. Now, Ares' eyes widened greatly as the golden aura around his body exploded outward in an attempt to resist the ten gravitational singularities threatening to tear him apart. Since he didn't use his Arcanum, this endeavor was ultimately unsuccessful as Vahn pulled his hand away, saying, "War will change in the future...your era is over, Ares..." As even his own body was being pulled apart by the powerful gravitational forces, Vahn quickly escaped the affected area. At the same time, Ares simply laughed in response before shouting, "War is eternal..!" as his body was torn apart and converted into particles of light.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Meat Grinder','Haruhime over here being more decisive than Vahn...','Ares is surprisingly not petty...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

With the fall of Sobek and Ares in such a short period of time, absolute chaos began to spread through the battlefield. Even with the Generals trying to keep order by cutting down those trying to flee, they were unable to stop their forces from dispersing rapidly. The punitive force had been mowing through their ranks with unstoppable momentum and now that their gods had fallen, everything they had believed in previously fell with them. After all, the Rakia Kingdom was just an extension of the Ares Familia, with the King of Rakia being the Captain of the Familia. With Ares dead, the Familia would cease to exist, meaning their very Kingdom would likely fall shortly after.Following Haruhime's original orders, the four platoons of the punitive force continued to give chase, completely routing the enemy forces that had outnumbered them one-thousand-to-one. With chaos now spreading through the entire battlefield, few even tried to fight back as everyone tried to be the quickest to flee. Many even abandoned their weapons and armor while others would attack their own allies to prevent them from escaping faster than they themselves. It was only in the center of the battlefield, where a group of ten people ignored the retreating tides as they looked towards Vahn, fear and inhibitions nowhere to be seen within their eyes.This group was entirely comprised of Amazoness women who were covered in red tribal markings while, at the very center of their small unit, Ioke stood with her massive battleax. Like the Amazoness surrounding her, she had a blood-crazed expression as she said, "You...strong..." in a cold monotone. With these two words leaving her lips, similar red markings to those that had been painted on the Amazoness' bodies began to appear on Ioke's pale skin. Vahn realized they had likely copied their markings after observing Ioke but he didn't have time to think about it since the latter had already moved toward him after kicking against the ground hard enough to cause corpses to lift into the air.Ioke's body tore through these corpses, turning them into a torrent of flesh and blood that followed along with her movement. Vahn was a little surprised by this but, at the most, Ioke's strength was only around the peak of Level 5 while her Amazoness troupe, each wielding massive weapons of their own, were only Level 3. He raised his hand while converging his domain in an instant, greatly increasing the pressure in the surroundings while the mana density in the air was so condensed that it had become both visible and tangible. All of this mana was under Vahn's control as well, allowing him to dictate its structure and manipulate it freely, this time converting it into pure Light Elemental energy.Though he didn't understand the principle behind it, Vahn felt that the Slaughter Laws around Ioke's body were 'cold' and 'dark', leading him to believe it was a form of negative energy. His [Yggdrasil's Champion] allowed him to use the vital energy granted by Yggy to greatly increase his ability to purify negative energies. As a result, the blood red shroud around Ioke dispersed as a red mist began erupting from her body, all while Vahn used his Xuanwu form to deflect her heavy battleax. Instead of 70kg, it was actually closer to 150kg, causing Vahn's bones to creak slightly as his feet fractured the ground below. Ioke's physical power had been much higher than he had expected, even though her speed hadn't been that impressive.As Ioke screamed and writhed about on the ground, bloody mist escaping her body with incredible momentum, Vahn used [Enkidu] to wrap her up while dispersing the Light Elemental energy that had caused his domain to become like a vibrant white sun. If not for his [Eyes of Truth] being unaffected, Vahn would have been blinded by his own attack, much like the nine Amazoness who hunched over on the ground, protecting their eyes with their hands. Their skin had turned tender from the high exposure to Light Elemental energy, but they would be fine after soaking in an Elixir bath for a short while. Vahn, however, couldn't exactly afford them the opportunity since they had some of the most vicious black auras he had ever seen...These nine Amazoness were women who had reveled in slaughter and murder for a long period of time, even though they weren't compelled by any kind of Divinity to do so. They happily butchered people for the thrill of it and, back in the Rakia Kingdom, they were notorious for murdering people in broad daylight without consequence. Vahn understood they were probably close to Ioke, likely her only Familia members, but having such 'toxic' existences would only make her life more difficult. For the time being, however, Vahn just put them into a deep comatose state since he didn't want Ioke's first experience with him and the Alliance, outside of combat, to be negative.Once the Amazoness had been dealt with, Vahn used telekinesis to levitate their bodies as he turned to the bound Ioke who, for the first time in her long existence, no longer felt the compulsion of her Divinity. She just stared blankly at Vahn, mouth slightly agape as both words and thoughts, at least for the moment, completely escaped her. Vahn felt a great deal of pity for an existence like Ioke and, knowing how much she had suffered in the past, his bad habit was acting up a bit. Without putting much thought into it, Vahn had found himself in front of Ioke, stroking her blood-red hair with a concerned look on his face as he said, "Hestia, Hephaestus, Artemis, and Demeter have been worried about you...nobody will use you as a weapon anymore, Ioke. It may take some time but there will be a lot of people who help you try and become happy in the future..."There was a great deal of confusion in Ioke's eyes as she looked up at Vahn, seeing the melancholy and empathy contained within his expression. This caused her brows to furrow as she asked, "You will...not bully...Ioke...?" Though she was nearly three-hundred million years old, Ioke very rarely spoke full sentences to people, often choosing to forgo conversations entirely. Her social skills had degraded a great deal, to the point that she sounded more like a child who was just learning how to speak for the first time. This made Vahn's heart feel like someone was twisting it as he nodded his head and said, "From now on, you will choose how you want to live. Though I can't just let you go around killing people, I will do my best to create an environment where you can be happy..."Ioke didn't need to kill people in order to pacify her Divinity so, as long as Vahn was able to provide an environment where she could cut loose whenever she wanted, that should be enough to allow her to live a relatively normal life. Since the underground network of tunnels was now connected with the Dungeon, Vahn could make a channel where monsters were able to spawn and proliferate. Though these would mostly be just Goblins and Kobolds, it shouldn't really matter from the perspective of Ioke's Divinity. So long as she was able to slaughter 'something', Ioke wouldn't have to worry about experiencing pain and suffering from trying to resist her Divinity's compulsion.Though she couldn't really imagine a world where she was 'happy', Ioke felt like Vahn wasn't trying to trick her by lying. Just the golde chains wrapping her body, which were strangely comfortable, combined with the warm energy flowing from his palm made her feel very relaxed and safe. Even if he was lying to her, Ioke felt it was better to be with someone that treated her kindly instead of someone that would bully her all the time. She had been severely scarred by Zeus in Heaven and, after coming to the Mortal World, she ended up being used as a weapon by Ares. The worst part was that, while Ares himself didn't do anything to her, he had allowed his men to do as they pleased, all while she was unable to kill them because of the vow she had made to not harm anyone in his Familia. There were many cruel people within the Ares Familia and, being able to do whatever they wanted to a goddess was a large boost to the ego of many in the upper echelons of the Familia...Vahn, unaware of the full extent of Ioke's suffering, continued to stroke her head gently until she had slowly lapsed into a deep slumber. Haruhime had already appeared at his side long ago, waiting for his orders since it would be easy for her to catch up with the retreating army. Vahn picked up Ioke's body in a bridal carry, feeling pained by how light she was in his arms. He turned to Haruhime, that same pain showing on his face as he said, "If they are just Level 1, give the punitive force the order to have those that surrender make a life-long vow to never commit criminal acts before letting them go. Those who are Level 2 and above, especially if they have the 'scent' of blood on them, make sure they are all killed. The Rakia Kingdom no longer exists...I will not let its legacy survive it..."The 'official' population of the Rakia Kingdom was around 600,000 citizens, not counting those in the lower rungs of society who were generally treated as slaves and laborers. Though there would be those amongst the 600,000 that are innocent, Vahn knew those that had risen through the ranks of society were just as corrupt as the Kingdom itself. Now that Ares had died, the worst amongst them would either try to seize power within the broken Kingdom while those with keen insight would start fleeing. They would lay their roots elsewhere, likely taking over a small village or township, if not outright migrating to other countries where their corruption would once again begin to spread. Vahn wanted to eliminate people like this, especially those that acted willingly as agents of the Empire, each like a cancerous cell that needed to be cut out in order to begin the recovery process...Haruhime gave an elegant bow, her usual smile nowhere to be seen as she understood this wasn't an easy decision for Vahn to make. In a way, most of the residents of Rakia Kingdom were 'victims' and, if given the opportunity to seek a better life for themselves, many would take the chance. Now, there would undoubtedly be innocents who would die as a result of the chaos that would permeate through the now defunct Kingdom. Each of these lives, even if Vahn didn't experience the deaths themselves, would weigh heavily on his heart. Understanding this, Haruhime shared Vahn's pain and, if possible, she wanted to take it unto herself so that he could have peace of mind...Even without seeing her aura, Vahn was sensitive to Haruhime's feelings because of their ever-growing bond with each other. His expression softened and, before she raised her head, Vahn had started to pet her glossy blonde hair as he said, "Soon, events like this will be a thing of the past. Don't worry, Haruhime...I will not break from something like this. With amazing women like you supporting me, I can bear the weight of Heaven itself if I need to..." The moment these words left his mouth, Vahn felt like each of his nerves was on fire as his instincts warned him of imminent danger.In an instant, the world lost almost all of its color as Vahn strained every muscle in his neck and torso to look skyward, all while 'pushing' Haruhime, Ioke, and the unconscious Amazoness away from him. Within this colorless world, there was a shining golden 'star' that had entered Vahn's perception, even though it had yet to enter into his domain. It felt like his body was being weighed down like a mountain that grew exponentially heavier with each passing moment. However, even though less than a thousandth of a second had passed in reality, even with Vahn's perception making it appear as if time itself had been brought to stop, the golden object had already pierced through his body before passing into the earth below...Vahn could feel the cells in his body being torn apart in slow motion as his senses were becoming obscure, almost as if he was no longer in his own body any longer. This resulted in time returning to normal as Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amazonesses were still caught in the large shockwave that had occurred after the golden object had pierced into the earth, traveling very near the speed of light. Haruhime and Ioke had been pushed away from the blastwave without any grievous injuries, but the unconscious Amazonesses, who were only Level 3, had been disintegrated by the strike. Vahn hadn't had enough time to try and protect them as the period between his instincts trigger and the attack hitting had been nigh-instantaneous.With the blastwave expanding outward, Vahn's body was also disintegrated alongside them but, long before the light had faded away, he had already regenerated. He then immediately launched himself into the sky with a vicious look in his eyes as sheer unadulterated rage had overtaken him for the time being. Though Haruhime would have been able to survive with the [Effigy of the Hero], that attack had been more than enough to sure-kill almost anything within its area of effect. The fact that this unknown enemy had struck forth with the intent to kill, not only himself, but Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amaonesses, had caused Vahn's rage to explode outward.Even without transforming into one of his [Magia Erebea] forms, Vahn had torn through the sky with enough force to create several shockwaves as a black trail followed behind him. He reached out with his hand, grasping towards a man with short black hair and a casual smile on his face. This same man held out his hand, causing a flash of brilliant golden light as an ornate spear, covering from tip to pommel in glowing runes, appeared. From Vahn's perspective, the world lost its color once again as the man kicked with enough physical force to fracture the void, leaping higher into the sky as he arched his back and prepared to strike down with his spear a second time.At the very same moment that the man's muscles contracted, fully prepared to throw his spear, Vahn had also torn through the void, shrinking the distance between him and the man in 'literally' no time. His claw found its way around the man's neck while he was still transitioning out of his wind-up motion, tearing through flesh and bone without any resistance. Vahn's other claw had pierced through the man's chest, completely crushing his heart and causing 'ripples' to spread from the contact point as, with time returning to normal, his neck and torso exploded into particles so fine that they seemed to vanish into the void. All that was left of the man was his still smiling face, his lower body, and a golden spear that was quickly losing its light...Vahn matched gazes with the man who finally seemed to realize his situation but was already too far gone to do anything to preserve his life. The light in his eyes faded away almost at the same instant that realization hit him, the smile on his face turning into an incredulous gap as his black eyes reflected an azure-blue light. There, within that reflection, the image of Vahn, shrouded in an azure radiance. Much of his body was covered in scales that emanated with azure blue and gold light as he stood like an indomitable tyrant while the very void around him was shattering from his presence. His eyes had become like blazing golden suns as golden antler-like horns protruded from the mane of electrified azure-blue hair framing his fierce visage. Behind his body, there was a golden bladed ring that seemed to vibrate with a frequency that caused space to retreat away from Vahn, almost as if the world itself feared his presence...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The End of Suffering...','Removing cancer from the source','The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it...all while the Azure Dragon watches silently from the void, its wrath waiting to be unleashed...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Sobek's group proceeded to the halfway point between the Rakia invasion force and the Southern Gate of Orario. As was customary, Sobek held an olive branch in his hand while his four companions set up a table and two chairs, used by both parties for the issuance of demands. In most situations, Vahn would bring a notary of his own to create an accounting of the 'negotiations' which would be exchanged with the opposing party for later review in the event of surrender. Vahn would also be given a document from their side, listing out the terms for Orario's surrender and the intentions of the Rakia Kingdom in occupying and controlling the City in the future.As much as he wanted to just deal with things in a more direct manner, Vahn wasn't going to break from convention and violate the agreed-upon regulations and traditions regarding war. It was very important rules of engagement to exist and, even though it was incredibly foolish of Ares to even try and 'conquer' a City with hundreds of gods, Vahn would at least give them an opportunity to negotiate terms. After all, without going through these procedures, there was nothing outlining how prisoners of war would be treated, nor how Orario would be compensated after their own victory.Since Haruhime would be commanding the punitive force, while Sobek would be commanding Rakia's forces, Vahn brought her along for the negotiations, even though she was just his notary. They had descended from the sky, startling the other four envoys while Sobek remained completely stoic as he said, "You must be Vahn Mason... your reputation precedes you. And this...I believe is the Vice-Captain of the Hestia Familia, Sanjouno Haruhime...? I must admit, the rumors regarding your beauty haven't prepared me for our meeting. Perhaps, when this matter is concluded, you would be willing to join me for a moonlit rendezvous...?"Sobek seemed genuinely surprised by Haruhime, his eyes widening subtly as his pupils dilated marginally. Vahn could also see his aura gravitate towards Haruhime slight, even as her own flared up in agitation, contrary to her calm and elegant disposition. She returned a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she said, "You'll have to forgive me, Sobek, as my heart belongs to Vahn. I've no desire to degrade myself by betraying the trust of the person I treasure more than life itself." As she spoke, Haruhime wrapped one of her tails around Vahn's arms while the latter stared directly at Sobek, adding, "You'd do well to remember that I'm rather protective when it comes to my loved ones, Sobek. Choose your words carefully, lest you invite a catastrophe upon yourself and your army..."Seemingly unflustered, Sobek just gave a small nod before gesturing to the negotiation table and asking, "Shall we get down to business? I'd rather the first engagement take place while the morning is still cool and refreshing. As much as I am partial to the weather in the Southern Sands, I'm sure neither of us wants the first skirmish to last the day..." In general, sieges would persist for several weeks as the forces of Rakia clashed against Orario's elites. It was very rare for large-scale battles to occur since it was 'inconvenient' for both sides, both in terms of resources and personnel. During the previous invasions, Rakia would typically bring along 100-150k men and, by the time they retreated, their numbers would have only fallen by around 15-20%. The reason for bringing so many people along was to serve as an occupational force, not actively engage in combat for extended periods of time.Vahn stood behind his chair, similar to Sobek, the two staring at each other as it was 'submissive' to be the first to take their seat. As a 'mortal', it would usually fall upon Vahn to sit first but, given his position and circumstances, Sobek would eventually have to sit down unless he wanted negotiations to break down. Vahn understood this after spending several long sessions with his War Council so his expression remained stoic as he said, "If you haven't come to negotiate, you should use this time to come up with an excuse to explain to Ares why his army was wiped out..." Right now, they were all playing by the 'rules' which protected both sides, at least in normal circumstances. Vahn, however, wasn't afraid of the gods on Ares' side using their Arcanum to gain an advantage. Even if things came to that point, he would be able to weather the storm and deal with the entire army on his own, if necessary...Sobek squinted his eyes with a contemplative look on his face before finally taking his seat before Vahn, even though there were strange of fiery red and sickly orange spreading through his aura. It was only after the god had sat down that Vahn also took his seat, gesturing to Haruhime to prepare the necessary documents while Sobek waited for his side to prepare theirs. When both sides were ready, Sobek brought his hands together, thumbs pressed against each other, as he said, "Our terms are the same as always. So long as Orario surrenders, you will be given the opportunity to become a vassal state of the Empire and a subsidiary of the Rakia Kingdom. There will be a forty percent tax on all goods flowing out of the Dungeon while a fifteen percent tax will be placed on all produce. All merchants with a permit to do business will be taxed thirty percent while independent organizations, such as Familia, will be taxed fifty percent unless they pledge themselves to serve under the Ares Familia...."For the better part of ten minutes, Sobek listed out all kinds of ridiculous demands that more or less guaranteed that the other party would refuse. Ares was a God of War and Conquest, not a god of peaceful negotiations, mercantilism, and trade. If his army did emerge victoriously, the demands would be even more heinous, making use of the fact that the opposing party hadn't acceded to his more 'reasonable' demands from the start. This time, however, there were changes in the demands as Sobek squinted his eyes slightly and stated, "Also, this organization called the Alliance will have to be disbanded while its Commander-in-Chief, Vahn Mason, will become the property of the Rakia Kingdom. You will be required to assist in the production of one-hundred children of godly descent or your family will be held accountable for your failure...lastly, I will add that Sanjouno Haruhime will be forced to undergo Conversion, becoming a servant within the Sobek Familia..."Out of spite for Vahn's behavior, and his general interest in Haruhime's beauty, Sobek decided to add an insult into the terms, completely disregarding the strange pressure accompanying Vahn's gaze. He was entirely unaware of the fact that, from the moment he had mentioned Vahn's family being held accountable, essentially making them hostages, the negotiations had already broken down. Presently, Vahn's mind had become exceptionally calm as thoughts of how he would deal with Rakia's forces were already passing through his mind. Many of the 'soldiers' were conscripts that were forced to fight so he didn't want to kill everyone. Sobek and Ares, however, had immediately earned a spot at the top of his list...When Sobek was done listing out his demands, a small smile spread across Vahn's lips as he said, "The Alliance hereby issues no terms or demands for the leadership of Rakia Kingdom. After this battle has concluded, Rakia Kingdom will lose its right to sovereignty and its residents will be given one week's time to evacuate the Captial City, Valua. Citizenship as a member of the Rakia Kingdom will no longer be treated as valid for the purpose of trade and migration. Henceforth, the existence of Rakia Kingdom will become nothing more than a footnote in History, an annotation depicting the inevitable outcome of errant tyrants who live by exploiting others..."With his words, finished, Vahn manipulated Fire Elemental energy to set fire to the olive branch before rising to his feet and ascending into the sky with Haruhime. The latter gave Sobek a look that could freeze over a volcano, her beautiful pale-gold eyes filled with contempt and unabashed scorn. From the moment Sobek made her out to be a prize that he could claim for himself, lowering her to be nothing more than a 'servant', Haruhime's elegant disposition had cracked slightly. Her tails flickered around behind her agitatedly and, though she hadn't intended to go all out in the battles to come, now she fully intended to claim Sobek's life with her own blade.Sobek looked toward the burning olive branch before setting his gaze upon the retreating figures of Vahn and Haruhime. He was fully aware that things probably wouldn't end well for them after the negotiations had broken down but he didn't really mind it too much. For him, he never expected a day would come where Ares actually managed to take down Orario. Even if they managed to take the City, there were too many independent gods that would seek trouble with them. There was no real benefit of trying to conquer Orario unless they planned to try and kill every other god that resided within its walls. This was an impossible feat so Sobek didn't really care for the negotiations from the very beginning. He was just regurgitating what Ares' muscle-brained mind had come up with while trying to spite Vahn for offending him, wholly unaware of the wrath he had just invited upon himself...After returning to the staging area of the punitive force, Vahn set down Haruhime who, upon landing, immediately turned to the one hundred 'soldiers' under her command and said, "Today, we will not be forcing the Rakia Kingdom to retreat, we will be destroying it entirely. We will push them back to their encampment before setting fire to their supplies and tents. If necessary, we will pursue their forces all the way to the borders of their now-defunct country. You have all been preparing for this day so, until our enemies have been scattered completely, we will not cease our pursuit...!" As there was a chance the scattered forces could try to attack the Plains region, Haruhime knew they would need to continue their pursuit to prevent the soldiers with more bandit-like tendencies from wreaking havoc.Vahn was a little surprised with how fired up Haruhime was but, remembering Sobek's words, he understood she was well within her rights to be angry. Since this punitive force had been trained to follow her command, Vahn would allow her to have the final say. Even so, he intended to have Fafnir act as a support while Chloe's Shadow Corps picked off any stray forces that tried to regroup. It was very common for defeated soldiers that were part of a military rout to form small groups of bandits after the fact. They would rob and harass merchant caravans while slowly building up supplies as they made their way back to their country of origin.Once the punitive force was ready, amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of Orario's residents, they exited the South Gate and prepared their small formation. Seeing the highly disciplined members of the HDF, each wearing matching uniforms, some people couldn't help but admire the sense of unity present just looking at the organized group. Many people had been thinking about trying to join the HDF themselves in recent months, as there had been no major requirements other than having a clean record and pledging loyalty to the organization and its leader, Vahn. Now that they had a better look at active members of the HDF, there were a number of youths who felt inspired to follow through with their previous intentions and become part of something 'bigger' than themselves...Unaware of the subtle shift in the mentality of some onlookers, Vahn hovered in the air above the punitive force as they closed the distance with Rakia's forces. There were five divisions within the Rakia Kingdom's forces, four of which were commanded by a General. These individuals were around the peak of Level 3 while their Captains and Lieutenants were around the Low-Mid Tier of Level 3. Every other Officer would be Level 2 while the majority of Rakia's forces, making up nearly 65,000 members, were simply Level 1. The only 'threat' was the central force, which was headed by Ares while Sobek commanded from the rear. Within Ares' army, comprising 22,000 members, the lowest Level among their ranks was Level 2. There were also several Level 3 Elites that made up a force that followed in Ioke's wake, causing as much havoc as possible within enemy forces.Now that the punitive force was moving forward, Rakia's forces began moving in an inverted wedge formation, obviously intending to try and surround the measly one hundred members of the HDF. Vahn could even see the bloodlust and ridicule in some of the Level 1 soldiers' eyes while only the veterans of past invasions showed any real wariness. Overall, they were highly disorganized, even though their equipment was standardized and appeared to match, However, with some people failing to wear the equipment properly, the entire army, sans Ares' forces, looked extremely sloppy as they shuffled to try and surrounded Haruhime's forces...After moving within 1km of Rakia's forces, Haruhime gave the order to create the normal convex formation, as the Pallum Archers and faux-Mages prepared. At this range, both armies had the capabilities of attacking each other and the only thing keeping order was the Commanders and Generals. Being far more organized that Rakia's forces, the HDF remained calm while each member kept their bearing without wavering in the slightest. Even when thousands of archers at the front of Rakia's army came to the front, loosing volleys of arrows towards them, they remained unflustered as the Pallum faux-Mages cast barriers that completely blocked the projectiles.With the first attacks issued, Haruhime gave partial control to the Squad Leaders while directing them through the small crystals located near their ears. Unlike the failed volley of Rakia's forces, the bolts fired by the Pallum Archers cut through the air, leaving scars in the void, before accurately hitting their targets. The moment these bolts made contact, the unfortunate souls the failed to defend themselves exploded into meat paste, injuring and disorienting those in the surroundings. As their crossbows were A-Rank weapons that had been purchased from the system shop, they had a mechanical component that allowed them to fire racks of six bolts in only three seconds. Changing racks was simple, requiring them to pop out the previous rack before the Pallum Archers, who now had incredibly high Dexterity, deftly reloaded with a secondary rack that had been provided by the Technicians. Each had upwards of 100 racks to make use of, allowing the unit to fire thousands of explosive bolts into the enemy lines every minute.Ares, who had been riding a muscular white horse at the head of his army, raised his brows after seeing the damage sustained by the other four armies. Thus far, the punitive force hadn't targeted the central army, allowing them to proceed unobstructed as their cavalry prepared to charge. Ares was intending to simply overrun the small force of one hundred people, unaware that nearly every member of the small unit was nearly, or above, Level 3. He believed they were just a throwaway force that had powerful weaponry, as they hadn't performed any great feats thus far. Thus, feeling 'bored' with how things were turning out, Ares raised his large golden claymore high before pointing it forward and shouting, "Crush them...!"(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sobek done fucked up','Pursue, until nothing remains...!','The ignorant are truly fearless')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 909: Dual Ascent