A2 - 2
B1 - 8
B2 - 5
***
Chapter 6.12: Son of a Breach
"Iason, we are leaving!"
The bastards could climb. Akakios wouldn't have thought it possible, but he saw it with his own eyes; the hound forms, the kon, clawing their way up as if their feet were stuck to the wall.. All the Emperor's arrows wouldn't have stopped them - the Emperor didn't have that many arrows. The curly-haired young warrior under his charge continued hurling rocks down at the Terasphagos, ignoring his shouts.
"Iason!"
"Just a bit more, Akakios! The Emperor is still down there!"
"The Emperor is a god, you fool, and he is down there so that you can escape with your sorry hide intact. Now move it!"
As Akakios went to grab Iason by the shoulder, the skies suddenly turned dark. A large streak of lightning crashed down mere meters from there, where the Terasphagos had been gathering under the wall. The thick smell of charred flesh filled the air.
"Holy Emperor..."
As the smoke cleared, they saw a young man, holding one fist aloft. In it a three-pronged scepter glowed a bright blue, crackling with energy. An ornate cloak a colour of deepest purple that could only belong to royalty billowed behind him, stained with the dirt of battle. His eyes turned to meet Akakios's - those ageless orbs appeared to reflect his own soul, laying bare all his deeds and misdeeds to the world. Akakios involuntarily bowed his head, a nervous grin spreading over his lips. He had been one of the lucky few with the opportunity to see the Emperor in battle more than once, and despite that, every time it made his heart jump with a thrill. He could understand how Iason would be tempted to stay, but that would not be what the Emperor wanted. Looking at his eyes, Akakios knew. His fingers tightened on Iason's shoulder.
"Iason. We are leaving."
His charge could only nod wordlessly as he was pulled from the wall, his sight still fixed on that shining figure holding off the endless horde.
***
The Terasphagos had turned out to be more than your soldiers could handle. It was not a matter of armament, discipline, or the will to fight. Your men had plenty of that. The problem was much simpler - numbers. You just didn't have enough men. In the first week, a thousand men died. In the second, five thousand. By the end of the first month, ten thousand of your men had been lost along the walls, and the previous Terasphagos incursion had lasted for nearly six months. For every ten Terasphagos that fell to the coordination and tactics of your men, one of your own would be killed. For every Terasphagos that fell to the tenacity and strength of your men, a hundred more would appear. For every hundred Terasphagos that you personally slew, a thousand more showed up. You would normally not tire by merely chopping and dicing your way through the swarm, but even you would be overwhelmed by their sheer mass eventually if you did not do something more drastic.
The winds blew strongly, whipping your cloak around you. More Terasphagos appeared from the miasma, replacing those you had roasted.
Ean, duck.
You ignore the voice. A wave of fire ripples outwards from behind you, scorching the first row of the monsters. Despite the raging firestorm, you remain unsinged. Edem lands by your side, a wry look on his face.
"I told you to duck."
"Why?"
"Well... point taken. Time to leave, Emperor?"
"You know, I've been wondering. Is this a talent of the Gieloth? She does the same when she addresses me... it's annoying, even after some seventy years."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I always address you with the utmost respect, Emperor."
"Ha, well... there's no time for this argument. It's time to leave."
The storm you had called grew stronger. With Edem's help, you telekinetically boosted yourself over the wall. The Terasphagos had begun to swarm over the top of it. At the same time, your storm unleashed its full fury. Lightning began striking indiscriminately into the mass of Terasphagos. They shrieked as they fell, but there was always more to come.
Suddenly, you feel your knees buckle as your strength gives way for just a bit, the fatigue hitting you like a sack of bricks.
"The Vajra?" Edem looks at you, entirely unconcerned.
"Yeah. It's not something I can exert myself with. I can use all of its functions, but they take quite a bit out of me if I play with the more powerful bits."
Your storm would occupy the Terasphagos for a while, preventing them from passing this way. As the rain began to fall, you shake off the tiredness and will your leaden limbs back to life. The Terasphagos had amassed a number that no one ever had any reason to count to. At numerous points they had breached the fortifications and rampaged across the countryside in hordes tens of thousands strong - you could not defend every single part of the wall, and neither could your immortal and Gieloth allies. It would not be long before you were forced to retreat the army or risk having what was left of it entirely encircled by the Terasphagos.
Luckily, you had already evacuated the populace down south, past Korinthos. This saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. They would be safe there, and even now Athena was overseeing the construction of the strongest wall the empire had ever seen to secure the land route to the Peloponessus peninsula. Although you would have liked to have her fighting here, her presence was sorely needed amongst the Greek civilians. They now adore their goddess whole-heartedly, certainly more than they adored you, who they merely respect and trust. Athena would be busy showing herself and ensuring that they felt safe. After all, having panic rise up amongst the citizenry behind your lines would surely do wonders for troop morale and logistics, you thought acidly.
And Sekhenun had told you Fukayna was expecting a son. She seemed to enjoy telling you immediately instead of not letting you worry about it until you finished with the incursion.
"Sadistic bitch," you mutter.
"I know who you mean," Edem grins.
***
A. The imperial army will fight on, no matter how many enemies there are to kill. Never give up, never surrender! Besides, retreating now might inflict even more casualties on your men as they make their way down south.
B. The walls will not hold. It is time to give up the majority of Greece for lost and retreat the army back to Korinthos. The Terasphagos should not reach that far, given the spread of the miasma.
1. The rift really concerns you. You have no idea how long this incursion will last, or how many Terasphagos will appear, or if your assumptions about their operational distance will hold true. You need to get to that rift now and find a way to close it, with all the resources you have available to you.
2. You will not take the risk of wandering into the miasma at this point in time. Any exploration will be held off until the incursion blows over.
