185 Battle For Rome

Entry 160:

Nero Claudius POV:

As we stand upon the eastern gate wall, I see a large force assembled before me, numbering in the hundreds. Such forces do give me pause, but as if noticing my troubled mind, Ozias says, "Empress, do these forces intimidate you?" I solemnly nod as he continues, "Well, it is not as if we lack numbers as well."

This confuses me because while I hold a decent number here, the enemy's forces seem endless, but as I look in the direction Ozias is pointing, I see something impossible. 

Hundreds of large humanoid men in suits of armor look as if they weigh hundreds of pounds. The armor is a clean white and red with piercing red eyes and a silver eagle on the chest plate.

Each of them carries a large blade and spear with heavy bows strapped to their backs, and as my men notice them, they seem welcoming to them. I simply ask, "How is that possible?" Ozias simply smiles and says, "Who said we were all that arrived? Worry not, as while my Blood Angels may look real, they are merely walking armor, and while they can converse, they are not truly alive."

I look at them and see what he means while they move. It seems too fluid for an average human, and the way they speak while fluent is also robotic in a way. 

But any help is appreciated, especially from ones such as those Blood Angels. Viceroy Ritsuka looks starry-eyed as she asks, "Oz, where did they come from?" He simply says, "I created them and had them on standby in my storage should we have need of an army."

I smile and say, "The surprises never truly end, Viceroy Ozias. With these men under us, the United Roman Empire is finished, umu." Ozias nods and says, "Do with them as you will, Empress, as they are under your command, and fear not unless all of their armor is destroyed, they will simply rise again."

This day cannot get any better umu! I then walk up to the gate wall and address the soldiers, and as they see me, they look at me and cheer as the Blood Angels salute with their blades.

"Do you hear that? The marching of our enemies right at our gates?! They seek to destroy all that we have built for the whims of dead men and pretenders to the throne! I stand here amongst you all, ready to fight not just for glory but for the future of Rome! They would have us bow to the past and lock ourselves in militaristic dogma, unable to express our culture! Our beauty! And our achievements! I stand here today in defiance of these false men, and I ask you, will you bow your heads and allow your lives to be determined by long-dead men?"

"We fight for Rome! We fight for the future!"

"For the Empress!"

"For Rome!"

"Today will be the day we deny these pretender's whims and show them all our might! Our strength! And our glory! Let all those who live through today be honored forever! For the glory of Rome! For the future of our great empire!"

As Nero finishes, the men cheer and ready themselves, with the Blood Angels acting as shock troopers while some remain in the back lines with their bows and arrows. Nero takes out her sword and says, "Fire at will!"

The arrows fly as hundreds of bows notch and release at the same time, and as the enemy sees this, they attempt to place shields above them, but what they do not expect is for the arrows from the Blood Angels to go right through them. 

With this confusion, the swordsmen rush in, screaming with a war cry so loud it nearly deafens the enemy, and Romans with the angels cut through them as Ozias places Ritsuka on the wall.

"Ritsuka, I am leaving you here and giving you this. He then pulls out what looks to be a large rifle and shows her how to reload it and switch what he calls "elements." 

Ritsuka takes it and mounts it onto the wall as she says, "It's time to put my COD experience to the test." Ozias simply shakes his head and asks the similarly looking woman, "Artoria, can you stay here and defend Ritsuka and the Empress?"

The woman nods, takes out her sword, and says, "No enemy shall harm my master or the Empress. You have my word as a knight." He nods and looks at the others. "Karna, Nobu, and Mash, we will head down there to help them. Are you all ready?"

They nod as Ozias looks at them and says, "Well, I'm pretty sure you wish to see what we can do. It's best we give you a demonstration." He then forms his own armor similar to his blood angels(He is smaller than them as he is in his human disguise.).

He then jumps off the wall as the others follow him. As the pink-haired girl gives me a swift bow and jumps after them. I smile, happy at my good fortune, as I watch them tear their way through the enemy, with Ozias in particular seemingly dancing through them. He is an extension of himself while he directs both his servants and the Blood Angels.

It is rather odd that he seems to be having fun in such a serious battle, but I assume it's due to his innate power that such normal men pose no threat to him, as I wonder what his story is. It must be a grand one, and I hope to learn of it before the time we spend together is over umu.

Karna POV:

I have seen much during my time as a warrior, and I have been beholden to many. I have been known as a friend, an enemy, and a hero of charity, yet none of it mattered. All I sought was to help my family and my master. Yet, as I see my current master fighting along with us, I sense he is, while not enjoying the battle, enjoying his own improvement, which, while I have seen this before, is different with him.

In the amount of time I have been with him, he has told no lies as I would have been able to tell due to my discernment of the poor ability, and when he showed me his proper form, I believed I was in the presence of the deities that once watched over my combat. It was a present similar to Vishnu and even Shiva.

Yet he is different as I cannot truly get a read on him as he appears kind and humble yet is also prideful in his creations and fervent defender of those he deems as special to him. 

On the other hand, it appears as if he is distant from others and refuses to tell them anything about himself beyond his name. As if he expects to never see them again but while also knowing everything about them.

This dichotomy is truly fascinating, but from my time alongside him, he has been nothing but honorable, even coming to the aid of the young Empress when she was showing signs of madness. But I could not tell if it was due to genuine concern or simply as a means to get within her good graces.

Maybe it was both. I was never one for complex thinking, as I left the political talk to the politicians. This is also another part of what my master represents: a multi-layered person. 

He does not seem to enjoy politics or anything he deems as inconvenient; he is willing to deal with it. The patience he shows is rather enlightening in a way, as it seems similar to myself.

But what truly confuses me the most is how he feels similar to my father, Surya, the god of the sun. Being near him feels like being next to an actual Sun, both warm and comforting while simultaneously powerful and over-encompassing. And as we fight, I see him improving rapidly, not in strength, mind you, but in how to deal with multiple enemies at once while surrounded by allies.

What truly impressed me was the fact that he's able to hold back his power so perfectly, and it looks so easy for him as, in my case, it's truly difficult to hold all of the power I wield back. 

I then notice a group of enemies approaching, and as I activate my man burst, it sets fire to them all, with my master giving me a thumbs up, which I return. The gesture is foreign yet familiar in a way, like memories I had long forgotten.

I shall continue to watch and see what becomes of all of this, but so far, I see something truly bright. 

Linus Ozias POV:

"The waves seem endless, my friends." I say to Nobu and Karna, but Nobu just laughs and says, "Yes, but they should have brought more as it would have truly been a challenge." I snort at this as Karna shakes his head. One soldier attempts to slash at me, but I simply use reinforcement to grab the sword, stab him with it, and throw him into a group of enemies. 

As I do this, I hear Ritsuka in my comms saying, "Oz, what is this rifle? It has no bullet drop!" I smirk as I say, "You're not exactly firing bullets, though, Ritsuka. You're firing concentrated beams of elemental energy. Try the other fire modes."

She then does so and goes from solar to arc, and as she fires, electricity arcs from one corpse to another, and when she switches to void, she fires another shot, sending the target into a miniature black hole that lasts only for not even a nanosecond before it collapses in on itself. I can hear the girl laughing from here as it seems she is enjoying herself and her new toy.

The fighting lasted for around an hour as the once thousands of enemy Romans had decreased rapidly to only a couple hundred as our army lost barely anyone, which may have been because I had shielded all of them with my magic. I did not want the Empress to have to deal with losses in this fight. Although I do question if this is what God mode feels like on an easy mode.

But as I ruminate in my thoughts, one soldier lends a hit on my armor, but the short itself shatters on it, and I simply turn around and give him a look as I grab him by the head and slam him into the ground and soon enough I hear the enemy commander say "Retreat! Live to fight again!"

I lift up my sword and say, "The battle is over. We have won!" The others cheer as my Blood Angels fade back into my reality marble, and as I scale the wall in one leap, I see Artoria pull Excalibur out of a soldier. 

She then proceeds to throw the soldier over the wall into the other heaps of enemies. Ritsuka then takes the rifle and gives it back to me.

But in the response, I just said, "Keep it. It's yours, as I meant to give it to you before we arrived, but I was a bit distracted, and Artoria, good work on keeping them safe." The king of knights gives a slight bow and says, "Such a task is simple for a knight such as myself, and I do not need praise for it."

I chuckle as Nero says, "Umu! I disagree, as your work should be rewarded, but for now, all I can say is. That was incredible! I have never been in a battle where I lost no one. Thank you. All of you for your service to Rome." 

We nod as Mash says, "We should all go and rest as there may be a possible raid during the night, and we need some rest after that."

Nero nods and says, "Yes, one cannot fight while hungry or tired, and I have already sent word to give you all a feast in your honor. I hope you all do enjoy it." Ritsuka then says, "Thank you, Empress! But you have got to try Oz's cooking, as it will leave you begging for more."

Okay, seriously, what is with the hentai talk in relation to my cooking? I know it is good, but why does it have to be taken in such a context? I give Ritsuka a deadpan look as she simply gives the "ehe "pose.

Nero then says, "Well then, Viceroy Ozias, it seems your companions believe your cooking to be in high regard, and as the Empress, I ask that you make me a meal umu."

I sigh and say, "My apologies, Empress, but I'm going to need time and ingredients to make something like that, and I should be available to make one for you tomorrow as we are all tired."

The Empress nods and returns to her palace as I hear Romani and Olga [(RA) Yes, please go to bed as I want to watch the Magical Mari streams. (OA) Focus Roman! We are here to end the singularity and not watch magical girl streams. (RA) *Sigh* Yes, director, but I will watch those streams, and no one can stop me!]

We then proceed to hear on the comms Roman being dragged out of the room as Da Vinci and Paracelsus say [(DV) Well, it seems like the doctor and the director will be unavailable for a time. Still, I do agree with Roman as you all deserve your rest after such long battles today. (PH) Yes, especially you, Ritsuka, as you have yet to truly have been in combat until now, and do let me know if you desire any help. As I have been in such a situation before.]

The girl nods as we head to the villa loaned to us by Nero, and as we all find a room, Fou pops out of my hood and asks for food, to which I give it a cooked steak made by yours truly, and as it eats it in a few bites, he falls asleep. 

I chuckle as this is supposed to be a beast of humanity. For now, though, I spend time in my room tinkering with new inventions for later use.