Level Up: Voidwalker

Chapter 60: The War

When crawling out of the tent after waking up, Atlas shook his head. Once outside, his eyes opened wide in shock when he noticed the area outside their protective Runes was covered in blood.

Following that, Atlas glanced around, thinking, 'Where is everyone? Why didn't we hear anything?'

Atlas stepped past the Runes and felt a sudden dread wash over his body, which caused him to look around. Lilith wandered out of the tent and joined him by making a chirping noise that put a smile on his face.

He guessed she wanted to be picked up. With a roll of his eyes, Atlas put the little monster on his shoulder while he explored the hilltop and saw the adventurer's tent, but most were covered in blood.

After that, Atlas looked around and noticed tracks similar to Dark Ones. 'Did the adventurers set up Runes? It makes no sense,' he mused while approaching the edge and saw something at the hill's edge on the opposite side of their camp.

Atlas approached one of the Runes and noticed a tiny slash through it; he remembered Grishna telling him they would fail if they were damaged. 'Someone inside the adventurer's camp was on the other side?'

The whole scene confused him. Atlas didn't know what to think and approached their tents just as Grishna exited her and Artemis's. The orc girl smiled when she spotted him, ''Morning, Grak'Thar. How long have you been awake?''

He looked at her before answering, ''Not long, but we have a problem. The Dark Ones wiped out the adventurer group.''

When Atlas finished speaking, Grishna's eyes widened, ''Show me.''

Following that, he showed the orc girl, who grew concerned as she confirmed his suspicion, ''There was a traitor in the camp. Someone is working with the creatures.''

Atlas was about to reply when the other three girls joined them. Each one stroked Lilith, who loved the attention. Estelle smiled at him, ''Morning, Le Messie Élu. I heard you explain it to the runt. Father suspected the Evergaldian Guild had been taken over by a group named the Cult of Eternal Night.''

''I've heard of them; they plague the Graecoria Empire, but the twin empresses have cracked down on them,'' Artemis revealed as she joined them at the hill's edge.

''Who are they?'' Atlas questioned.

Everyone shrugged, but Amethyst spoke while staring at the Runes, ''I believe they worship a being known as Pazuzu. It's said he will bring bloodshed and ruin to the world. They want to aid him during his Great War against the kings and empires of Valoria.''

He noticed the phoenix girl shivered when talking about this being, and the others looked concerned, but he wondered who it was. Without wasting any more time on it, the group went on to make breakfast.

Atlas walked to the edge that overlooked the road they had to take to Tavarovou City. Nothing caught his attention apart from specs out to sea miles away. When he noticed this, he called out to the brunette, ''Artemis, can you come here?''

Seconds later, the older girl appeared next to him with a smile. ''What do you need, Aetos?'' she said.

''Can you use your Eaglevision skill to check out what that is?'' he asked while pointing north.

Artemis narrowed her eyes before slapping his back, ''Wow, how did you spot that Little One? I can barely see it.''

Atlas shrugged, causing the brunette to mumble a chant before she went still, and a translucent blue eagle shot out of her and flew north. He lost sight of the bird and then had to wait a little while.

Ten minutes passed until Artemis came to and shook her head, ''It a Ravencrest Mercenary Fleet. I think they are invading the northern part of the kingdom. From the rumors I've heard, they serve one realm with extreme loyalty, which means the situation has worsened.''

''What have the Evergladians done to deserve this?'' Amethyst questioned with a concerned tone.

Atlas also wondered why before Estelle revealed the answer, ''They have been raiding the Achaemenidians' trade routes. It was a matter of time until they responded, but who knew it would be during their invasion of Astoria.''

Following that, the group started to eat. When Artemis and Estelle finished their breakfast, Atlas remembered he had space to learn four more spells. Excitedly, he declared, "Once we reach the city, I'm going to see if I can buy some new spells."

The four girls nodded, but Grishna spoke, ''We have to be careful on our way to the city as the Ravernians are ruthless and will try to enslave us or worse.''

Atlas noticed everyone looked concerned, but he suggested, ''Why not travel through the hills and avoid the road? We can stay one step ahead of the armies.''

They all gazed at him until Grishna agreed, ''That's a good idea, Little One. It may take us longer to reach Wildreach, but at least we'll be safe.''

With that suggestion, the party left the hilltop and traveled across the Everglade hills, where they witnessed the citizens fleeing to Greenglade in the south. They paid them no attention, but Grishna and Estelle were cautious.

Atlas and Amethyst took the middle while Artemis covered the rear with her sling. The group continued like this and only stopped when they saw a plume of black smoke reaching into the air.

The orc girl stopped walking while speaking, ''Mana Cannons! The mercenaries are besieging Taravorou City.''

After everyone heard that, they sprinted to a nearby hill where a dozen people stood at the top. When Atlas stopped climbing, he witnessed an army firing small cannons that lit up before sending a chaotic blast at the walls.''

When Estelle saw this, her eyes widened as she spoke, ''Argonians are with them! How can a Father be working with the Achaemenidians.''

While the group watched the siege, Artemis spoke, ''To be honest, I can't blame your father for surrendering. Emperor Cyrus offers good terms to any kingdom that submits and aids them in their conquests.''

The brunette stepped forward before continuing, ''I wouldn't be surprised if the invasion were due to the Argonians getting aid from the Achaemenidians. After all, their empire is the biggest in Valoria and stretches across several continents.''

''They must have trillions of subjects,'' Atlas muttered. ''How did they become so big?''

''Cyrus believes in letting the peoples of his conquered regions worship their gods. Honestly, life only gets better once the Achaemenidians take over; they stop the bandit raids, the non-stop wars that plagued Zarandar and Southern Astoria.''

''So they're the good guys?'' Amethyst questioned in an annoyed tone.

Artemis shrugged, ''Who truly knows? Let's take Aetos, for example; every realm has many names for him,'' she said while looking at Atlas. ''The Evergladians call him the Shaytan al-Kharab, while the Achaemenidians named him the Dahaka. Some people see things differently, Little Bird.''

''Shut up, Fish,'' the phoenix girl snapped back.

''Will the Immortals appear during the war?'' Atlas asked the group.

When he heard this, he noticed the four girls stiffen, which caused him to grow curious, but Grishna commented, ''No. They only appear wherever the emperor points. Otherwise, the normal Achaemenid army deals with the fighting.''

''Don't forget about the Nightowls. They give me the creeps,'' Artemis commented while the other people on the hill started leaving.

"Who are they?" Atlas inquired of the brunette as they journeyed eastward, leaving Tavarovou City behind.

Artemis explained that the Nightowls were Cyrus the Great's covert army. They served solely under his command and that of the imperial princess Darya Safavi; units of them were dispatched worldwide to assassinate or capture targets designated by the emperor.

Estelle added that they were adept at infiltrating most locations, with even their lowest-ranked members being at least at the Journeyman level. Upon hearing this, Atlas felt uneasy, but he soon found comfort in Amethyst's reassuring hand and Lilith's affectionate kisses.

They continued eastward for a few days while caring for themselves as they camped at night. Atlas and Lilith found several remains of refugee groups fleeing through the hills. Pools of blood and the occasional limbs told him that the Dark Ones hunted the people and dragged them off.

This routine continued for a week, during which they encountered only a few goblins and plains wolves, all swiftly dispatched by the group, when Atlas spotted a Wildreach City on the coast of the Stormwrath Sea.

Atlas halted at the final ridge overlooking the city gates. Lilith leaped off his shoulders and dashed downhill towards the forest as a barrier between the hills and the city. Grishna joined him, but he noticed she was tired.

Without thinking much, he suggested, ''Why don't we rest for the rest of today, then head into the city tomorrow? The Evergladians are too busy dealing with the invading armies to be looking for me.''

The orc girl agreed with a nod before Atlas turned to the others and asked the same question. They all nodded in agreement, and the group began setting up their tents while he started a fire to cook the last of the wild orc meat.

As Atlas started the fire, Estelle approached him with a smile and spoke in her French accent, which he had grown to love, "Le Messie Élu. I noticed you love to use a dagger. I was taught to use one when growing up; if you like, I could teach you a few things. "

''I can teach him to use a short sword. There's a training one in my storage ring,'' Artemis exclaimed.

He looked at the blonde knight and nodded, ''That would be good. Thank you.''