15 Slaughterhouse

A huge cloud of dust is rising in the distance.

I zoomed in with my lenses.

Tanks.

Tens of thousands of tanks.

Holy crap. Are we really gonna be stuck in the greatest battle of the year?

Behind the speeding tanks there are even more APCs. Above them flew dozens of zeppelins the size of the one in the sky already above us.

All of that army belong to only one faction.

The Hidry family.

Ground shook as distant thunder rolled over it.

Tanks started scattering at a high speed. Not too long after a series of undescribable explosions hit them, instantly destroying hundreds of them and leaving craters in the ground.

Another wave of thunderous cannon fire echoed from the distance. This time, it was the Hidry's turn to fire. The shells fell far to the southwest.

These are the good old heavy cannons from behind the front. Their range is totally absurd. They can hit a target from more than five thousand kilometers away.

The name of the class, Continental Artillery.

And we are standing between two armies both of which have more than two hundred million soldiers.

"Anna?" I called.

"Yeah, Max?"

"Are you ready for the dance?" I asked with a smirk.

"Hahahaha. Of course, darling." She laughed.

Achilles passed out from shock long ago. I grabbed him and placed him over my back.

"Let's move. We need to get away or we'll get runned over by machinery from both sides." I said.

We started walking to the north, the only side without armies.

'If Pangras is sending an army this size it means only one thing. The Emperor Sebastian is in charge of it personally. Those Hidras are gonna regret being born in the first place. Hehe.' I thought.

After two hours of running we got to a cave on a hillside. It faced away from the battlefield so we should be ok here.

Or so we thought.

From the battlefield came sounds of gunfire and explosions. Screams could be faintly heard as well.

Type of war Gronosians like to wage is a direct one. Line up your armies and clash 'em.

Cannons were firing rarely during these kinds of battles. They did preparation salvos but afterwards they could harm their own troops so they didn't fire too much.

Three hours later.

I climbed the hill in order to see how the battle is going.

The thing is, they won't stop until one of them is left without troops to fight. Or until one of them yields, which is rather rare when it comes to Hidras and Gargoyles.

They are sworn enemies since the medieval times. The Hidry family was next in line for the throne of the Argosian Tsardom, but they never got the throne because the Garghonovs successfully pulled out a coup d'etat and killed dozens of noblemen from the royal families of those times.

Later on, the Hidry and the Garghonovs married each other. Due to that a Hidry guy should've gained the throne. But the Garghonovs exiled the Hidry family in order to keep the chair. The Hidry still hold that old grudge and believe that the throne is rightfully theirs.

Thus we have this war. One of many that happened and that will happen.

What I saw in the field were craters, tank and APCs wrecks, thousands of dead people and hundreds of thousands dying.

The ground is red from all the blood spilled in the last three hours.

'Holy crap. This is a slaughterhouse 101. I wonder how many will survive the day.' I whistled.

The Pangrasians had a clear advantage over the battlefield, since their artillery is more developed. Their men are also better trained and are more numerous. The Pangrasian tanks have more varieties. There are heavy, light and medium sized tanks. All of which are extremely robust and effective.

Suddenly, an aeroplane flew low over the battlefield at a high speed.

'Where did this shit come from?' I thought as I looked behind me.

'Again? Really?'

Landyg likes showing up when you don't need them the least bit. Like now, for example.

'Well, at least they didn't come in huge numbers. Only a couple thousand men and a few hundred tanks. With air support. Nice. One should always add spices to the stew.

The battlefield calmed down all of a sudden. The two forces pulled back to their respective trenches dug probably three hours ago. From the Pangrasian side an APC drove to the center of the battlefield. Hidry sent two guys on foot, followed by fifty men. As for third party, well, Landygian chopper landed in the center.

It's all nice and good, but where is this diplomatic gesture supposed to take three factions? Of which Pangras has grudges with each of the other two.

"Hmpf. This ain't gonna do." I said to myself. Then I called:

"Anna, come here!"

"What's up?" She asked as she climbed up the hill.

"I'm gonna go to those guys down there." I said.

"Why? It's quite comfy down in the cave.

"I need to see what will happen next. The Landygians joined the party."

"Ok. Take care."

I put on my mask, pulled my hood up and walked down the hill towards the meeting place. After fifteen minutes I was down there. As I waited to get noticed I sighed and took out a cigar box out of my pocket.

'Empty. Fuck.' I thought.

I walked up to the Hidry guys.

"Oy there, lads! Do any of ya have a cigar?" I called out as I stood next to them.

"Who are you, pal? Identify yourself." One of them took out asked me while he prompted tge others t lift up their guns.

'Fifty, eh?'

"Lads, will I have to search your cold dead bodies in order to find a cigar, or will you answer my question?" I said patiently. They looked at each other curiously as to say who the fuck is this idiot. Then, the man from the back laughed.

Dorian Hidry.

The head of the second greatest Pangrasian family. A man of many glorious deeds behind him, yet little years. He is around twenty eight years old, although he looks like he's younger than twenty five. He's quite skinny for a noble and rather tall. As all Hidras he has blonde hair, blue eyes and believes that the Pangrasian throne s his. All in all, he is the youngest Hidry to take up such a force to attack the Imperium.

Usually because of their infimecy, the Hidry family headsmen need to spend most of their lives building a name for themselves in order to launch one major assault on the throne. But Dorian did it in just ten years. He might even launch another attack within a decade. If he survives this day of course.

"So what brings you here, Exile of Kin?" He asked while shining a smile. A toxic smile.

"I'm in need of a cigar. So if any of you have any, could I borrow from you. I will repay. Pinky promise." I joked.

"Heh. Lec, give him a cigar, and do not forget that mask. You'll need to run away from it soon." Dorian ordered to one of his men. A middle aged man closed in to me and took out a pack, offering me a cigar. I took it and took out a lighter to light it. I took a few smokes before Dorian talked again.

"What brings you here to this place at this moment, Exile?"

"First of all, my name is Maximilian, not Exile. And to this place at this moment I am brought by boredom and curiosity. I want to see what do Landygians need. When will the meeting start?"

"When the fourth party arrives. I mean we are still not within Pangrasian borders. Thus the Almidhsfead Empire has a word in this matter." He explained.

"Oh, my! If it isn't the quick-to-run assassin! Whatcha doin', Shorty?" A voice boomed behind me. I turned around and looked at Sebastian. He came here without his escort. So, he came to joke around. Let's entertain the Emperor.

"I came here to forge a pact with Hidras to do what I promised to you a while back." I smirked.

"Is that so? But I thought that your father was an Exile of Kin from the Victor family. That makes you an Exile too. And it is well known by everyone that the Victors are a branch family of the Hidry family. That makes you their enemy as well as mine. That makes me superior to you yet again. Heh." He mocked.

"I see that you are aquatinted with Sebastian already, Exile. What do you need from us or from him? As you can see, there ain't nothing you can get." Dorian said.

"Oh, but there is something I can get. I can get your lives. I can get your families' lives. For you Dorian I have a personal grudge. And for you Sebastian, it's nothing personal, just business." I replied.

"So, you are the one Lucifer told me about. He praised you to the highest heavens, cousin." A voice came from the Hidry group. I turned around to see who is talking. On his chest, a Victor's coat of arms. Average man in everything but his eyes. 'Heh. Another Victor. Let's see what's his story.' I thought and then said:

"And who would you be?"

"I am Elisior Victor Hidry. The head of the Victor family. My father is the one that had exiled your father. And I am the one that ordered Lucifer to send an attack on your town." He said proudly.

"And now you expect me to overreact? No can do. There is a way to get you all. And it is closing in." I grinned as I noticed the Landygian emissary closing in from the side. Since he is the only one in the current meeting group who doesn't have anything to do with me, he could be the only one that would help me.

And yes, Landygians and Pangrasians are fighting for supremacy over Gronos for more than people remember. Thus they don't easily cooperate with Pangras. As for Hidry-Landyg relations, well, when they're attacking Pangras then it's ok but Landyg would never send direct help. But the thing every Empire on Gronos hated the most is the Infinity organization. And the Hidry is a major part of it.

"Good day to you, representatives of Garghonov, Hidry and Victor families. I am Lazarus Eskil. I am here to speak in the name of the Landygian Emperor. What is the cause of this ruckus? For what cause have you both risen such great armies?" The emissary spoke respectfully.

I turned to Elisior and asked him:

"Is this guy dumb or what?" I then turned to speak to Lazarus.

"As you can..."

"I'll need to cut your mocking short young man. I'm being polite here you know. And I would like to know your name and allegiance, please." Lazarus stopped me from talking and said.

"I am Maximilian Victor, the Harbinger of Emptiness. Nice to meet you, Lazarus." I answered. There isn't much reason in mocking his behavior, since he is nothing but an ordinary man in front of three big heads of powerful families.

"So your allegiance lays with the Hidry. Goo..." He started talking but I jumped in in the middle of his word.

"I am not affiliated with any of these people except for the fact that all of them want to kill me. I work alone as a professional freelance assassin."

Sebastian started laughing.

"Professional? You? Hahahaha. Don't make me laugh. You came to me and announced that you are gonna kill my family. And to put your statement down even more, you are illegally doing business." He said.

Just after he finished talking a man approached us from outside the group and said:

"Well gentleman. I think that you have chatted long enough on my territory. Please leave before this place turns into a slaughterhouse."