23 chapter 23 : A Path of Blood
The very next day, Orion had gathered all his men in the fort to speak to them. He decided to return with a number of his men to Capua to see the current state of affairs and kill Glaber personally.
Since he learned of the death of Marius and his family, Orion's mentality had radically changed, he had almost no humanity in his decisions and all he had as a plan now was to make Rome a bereaved and bruised people.
Even if his separation from Marius was not ideal, Orion never stopped carrying his friend and the his family in his heart.
Marius, for his part, had tried to contact Orion again but it was too difficult because he moved a lot and didn't stay put for long.
Standing in front of his men, Orion had a look of complete coldness and indifference, it didn't even look like he was grieving. With a clear but cold tone, he addressed his men.
"Celestials, if I have gathered you now it's to inform you of our future actions. Very recently, I learned that a friend who was like a brother to me was cowardly and unjustly tortured and then killed by Rome for having helped men like you and me who wanted to be free.
Not only him but also his wife and two young children suffered the same fate.
What kind of person would I be if I couldn't avenge my brother, his wife and my nephews?! What kind of person would I be if I let those who did this and their families go unpunished ?
Each of you is a celestial, a member of my family as was my friend Marius but by killing him, Rome has not only insulted me but has insulted the celestials entirely.
I don't plan to shed any tears for Marcus and his family, the only things that will flow will be the blood of the Romans and the tears of their widowed wives..."
As he spoke, his eight generals looked at him with combativeness and a certain determination in their eyes, especially those who had known Marius' family.
Thinking of Marco and Celia, their eyes were in tears thinking of the fate that had been destined for them. Glaber had crucified children and was going to pay for this madness.
…
"Big brother, I don't even recognize you anymore! Who are you really ? » Galatea whispered looking at Orion.
As soon as she also looked towards the other lieutenants she was shocked, each of them had an atrocious murderous aura.
She didn't recognize any of them and knew that right now the celestials were going in another direction, a path of blood and violence.
Each of the celestials had shivers running through their bodies. Every day, they were subjected to harsh training that turned each of them into a killing machine.
Yet, despite their great combat abilities, opportunities to let off steam and put their hard-earned skills to use were rare.
Now Rome has offered them a way to unleash themselves and show the entire world the full strength of their organization.
Orion: I will not force any of you to follow me in this vengeance, you are not my slaves or anyone's. What I'm asking you to do is help me avenge a friend, a brother.
To avenge his wife and innocent children who cruelly perished by the hand of Rome.
You don't have to do it out of gratitude either, you don't owe me anything. What I have come to ask is the help of my friends, my family, the celestials to avenge a brother.
Will you help me ? please, I'm begging you.
Listening to these words, several of the celestials clenched their fists with their eyes becoming watery.
Their leader, the one who had given them everything, came before them humbly asking for their help. There was a moment of silence as each of them actively showed their support for Orion.
Each of the lieutenants was moved as they observed the loyalty of their men, Apollos and Salma looked at each other before turning their faces away in embarrassment and each began to think of a way for each of them to regain Orion's trust.
Orion continued,
"I am grateful for your support, however, not all of us will be able to participate in the first phase of this operation.
Among us, the celestials, there are children who are too young and will not be able to participate in this war.
Also, I will let some of my lieutenants and some of you ensure their training, their safety but also the smooth running of our affairs on the island.
I will make a list of the 300 people who will come with me, we will leave for Bleed Rome in exactly three days. Get ready, prepare your equipment, the celestials will enter the scene.
Thank you all for your availability. »
The crowd: WOOOOOOOOOH!!
He finished and turned to leave to the galvanized shouts of his men, his lieutenants also followed him but everyone was worried about a few things, especially Apollos and Salma. Orion said that some of his lieutenants will not participate in the future event so each of them was afraid of being left behind.
Once at the villa, the eight lieutenants and Zena tried to talk to Orion to find out who among them would accompany him on his projects or leave to watch over the children but Orion just told them that he still needed to think about the question.
Later, Orion was sitting at the desk in his room to handle some things regarding his business when he heard someone knocking on his door.
" Come in ! "
He said calmly as he stared at the door to see Salma enter in a light see-through nightgown. She hadn't even taken two steps when Orion began questioning her.
"What do you want Salma?!" he asked indifferently.
Salma: You are in mourning Orion, we also knew Marius and his family! This pain that you feel, I also have deep down-(interrupted)
Orion: I wish you a good night Salma.
Salma:… Do you hate me ? Please don't hate me, what I did was-(interrupted)
Orion : I don't harbor any anger towards you, or even love. I don't feel anything from that side anymore so don't worry, I don't hate you. In a private relationship, I'll never trust you again but as a lieutenant, you remain trustworthy. You have nothing to fear from that side.
Salma looked at Orion without saying anything while tears flowed from her eyes, she discovered at that moment that the one she had known was no longer among them but that the man in front of her was an Orion much colder and darker than the old one.
His betrayal had already put a wedge between her and Orion but Marius' death as well as his family had changed Orion probably forever.
He had unconsciously sealed his emotions like never before, when he said he no longer felt anything for her it was purely real. He could still feel close to each other but it was more about trust than feelings or emotion now.
He was left thinking about how to carry out his plans; he would have to find more men. Certainly, he will have 300 monsters with him but that will not be enough against the legions of Rome.
His main alternative was to join forces with Spartacus and his men but his priority will be to offer Glaber a very slow and painful death.
During the night, Orion couldn't sleep so he went to practice spearing with a heavy spear made entirely of metal, a field in which he was already at the top but it still wasn't enough for him.
He trained for hours until his hands were bloody.
In the early morning in the backyard of the villa where Orion had trained, large bloodstains could be seen everywhere.
In one corner, Orion sat on a low wall, watching the sun rise with his metal spear stained with his own blood.
On his face, facing this magnificent sunrise, there was no wonder, no melancholy or any emotion, just total indifference.
He got up and went to take a bath because he had sweated a lot after which he went to sleep until the evening when he finally gathered his men to give them the list of lieutenants who were going to accompany him to Rome.
Orion: So, I have finally made a list of those of you who will come with me. However, I would like to remind those who will remain that their mission is crucial for the celestials and their affairs.
Theokoles, Ajax, Vayline, Stratos, Demiclas and finally Galatea will be on the trip, as for Apollos, Salma and Zena, they will stay to protect the young people and maintain our operations.
Apollos wanted to speak, he looked incredibly frustrated and upset but as he was about to speak, Orion interrupted him.
"You can be reassured of the reasons for my choice, I did not do this to punish you or put you aside. You and Salma are strong and experienced, experienced enough for me to leave more than half of the celestials here in your hands. You will assist Zena who will take care of the main management
However, you can take it however you want as long as you do things right here, the rest I don't care.You will assist Zena who will take care of the main management.
Questions ?! "
he said and asked calmly.
Galatea : No
Stratos:… no…
Vayline: No
Ajax: No boss
Demiclas: None
Zena: No my lord.
Salma: Orion-(interrupted)
*Shriiiiing*
Apollos drew his sword and pointed it at Orion who was looking at him indifferently.
Stratos: Apollos ?!!
Ajax: Can I know what you're playing my friend ? Point your sword to threaten our leader ?!
Apollos: Shut up! I know what I'm doing. I myself also knew Marius and his family, a family of which we were all part in some way. There's no way I'm going to stay behind instead of going to avenge them with you!!
Salma: Apollos, that's enough!! He gave us the reasons for his choice and it's right!
"Orion, I will challenge you here and now. If I manage to land any blow on you then I'll come with you. However, if I lose then I will do what you order without even discussing it."
Orion didn't say anything but just frowned slightly. Apollos and Theokoles were his two strongest men, each of them was a real monster in combat and it was really difficult to decide between them because their levels were so close.
He got into an attack position as Orion stood there beckoning him to approach.
Apollos with crazy speed sent a powerful and very sharp blow towards Orion but just as contact was about to be made, everyone saw Orion's body move like a blur before returning to his place while Apollos did not stop his charge only to fall completely unconscious under the shocked gazes of all the other lieutenants.
"When he wakes up, tell him that his task remains the same here. » Orion left, ignoring the horrified looks of the others who still didn't know what had just happened.
Orion had used his terrifying speed to deliver a blow to Apollos' temple and ear to shock his inner ear and knock him unconscious, it took demonic precision but nothing that was a problem for Orion.
He had gained enormously in speed during his two years and could easily face and eliminate his eight lieutenants with more than 100kg of load on him, without additional weight on him, Orion's speed was surreal, monstrous and above all completely insane even for him .
In the courtyard, the lieutenants were still there, shocked and lost.
Ajax: What... What exactly just happened ?!
Theokoles: I don't know, Apollos attacked the boss but collapsed before even touching him. Maybe he felt unwell.
Vayline: You forgot the moment when the boss moved slightly! In my opinion, this movement had something to do with it.
Zena: We can discuss it later, for now, let's take Apollos back to his chambers first.
Very quickly, two days passed very quickly during this short time, Apollos came to apologize on his knees for having been arrogant to the point of pointing his sword at Orion.
He accepted his mission to Crete and the responsibilities that would come with it and Orion was happy with it.
Now Orion was at the western pier of Crete where 12 of his ships were being loaded with supplies, weapons and many other things. He watched his 300 chosen men make their preparations.
Each of them was very properly equipped and all were in armor except Orion who wore a very elegant black tunic.
He watched as Galatea spoke to his men with Kenan at her side, this was his most valuable brigade to Orion as it was 99% archers except Kenan .
Of course, this particular brigade not only relied on archery but each of them was also strong with the sword.
None of the soldiers were afraid, they were ready and they were there.
Additionally, Orion had taught them all an ideal and simple way to survive a melee while slaughtering the enemy.
This tip was simply to find a pair with whom to fight side by side or back to back to cover as many blind spots as possible, so each of them will no longer have the misfortune of being surprised by a sneak attack.
However, individual skills were the most important to develop and Orion had forced them to become battle monsters thanks to his training but especially with the help of a special drug that he had developed.
The preparations were completed and they embarked while the men said goodbye to their brothers.
Orion himself was already on the deck of his own ship and gave the starting signal.
The small fleet of 12 ships left under the envious gazes of those who were unable to participate in the Orion campaign.
As they set sail, Orion on deck was thinking when Galatea came to find him.
Galatea : What are you thinking ?
Orion: Nothing very important. When my late brother and I separated, I played him a bit.
Galatea : Hm? Regrets ?
Orion: No It was also his own choices and reasons, I really had to leave at that time.
Galatea : I see, I would have liked to know him too. Were you close to his children ?
Orion: Yes but not only me, Apollos and the others also knew them. They were adorable and very intelligent children.
Galatea : It's really sad and unfair, evil really lives in some people.
Orion: Evil or not, we will shed blood, a lot of blood. Are you ready for this?!
Galatea : Absolutely!!
It took Orion and his men almost three days to reach Italy via coasts between Sinuessa and Capua.
Orion didn't want to disembark everyone now so he docked with about 50 men and his lieutenants, each lieutenant's captains stayed to handle things off shore in the meantime.
They attacked a small merchant caravane, killed and robbed everyone. After that, they disguised themselves as merchants, hid the bodies of their victims and headed towards their intended destination.
"On the way to Capua" Orion said with a cold look.
