De Foedis et Imperiis (4)

The preparation time was over and it was now time to face the music.

I barely slept due to the intense planning sessions that came out of this entire ordeal, and I could only feel blessed by the fact Mya decided to take charge and bring me away from the table to enjoy some naps together. Something that was a bit unusual for her to take charge of this matter. Still, lap pillows were well-received as I took these chances to catch up the hours of rest that I couldn't get through the normal sleep. I was fairly tense, barely able to think about anything else but the situation at hand. War was upon us and… it wasn't going to be as simple as it had been before now.

When we were able to finally see the first lines of the approaching invaders, I felt my throat drying up at the fact that I recognized some of the soldiers spearheading the approach were Magi. The crystals tied to their robes, the runes carved in their weapons and dogs made of wood and leaves. While this wouldn't normally present a major trouble in a fight, the chances of those making the already scarce odds of success slimmer than planned definitely left us in a very awkward circumstance if we didn't handle those first.

The deployment of the defenders was simple in nature, but structured in the bigger picture as a mostly stable battle plan that presented a single strike force at the center, commanded by me, Ria, Gawain and Scathach, while the flanks, which were led by Lancelot, Marcus, Agravain and Galehaut were meant to remain in the defensive pattern we had established. The city guard, plus a reserve brigade created by those troops that weren't being deployed in the common front, were all set to hold the walls and protect the archers and the cannons. This last group was commanded by both Quintus and Tristan, with the redhead pledging his support for the battle considering the importance of being part of this right now. Everyone was prepared to face a battle like never before, the first skirmish with 'Romans' in a long time. It would be foolish to assume the invaders were proper Romans, their customs and their traditions changing to better fit with the local population they ruled and adapt the military system to the lack of certain luxuries that were no longer easier to find in Gallia.

Nobody was riding horses, not when the main purpose of this advance through the center was meant to be slow, but still one stable and flexible when it came to retreat and allow the flanks to intervene if the situation demanded it. I could sense some uneasiness from the bulk of the troops I was in charge off, with some of them seeing me the first time ever and having built their own perception and prejudice over what was known about my rule and about my war experience- at least the bits that were praised and sung in many taverns and inns. I was still a novelty, and they were a novelty to me. It was one of the elements I had worried about a lot when I realized the backbone of the defending force was going to be troops mobilized by Ria. The cannons could technically match in terms of importance despite the numbers, but it was also important that I could trust who I was putting in charge of tasks that would normally break simple men. We were going to face a real invasion after all.

Despite my dismay in this regard, I felt a degree of relief to wash some of the concerns away when the artillery started the planned 'concerto'. The tremendous roar of cannonades shook the quiet as the first few lines of the enemy army was suddenly embroiled in explosions and chaos itself. The group of Magi had moved away barely in time, with most of those getting destroyed in the process and letting their mutts try to recover as many useful things from the deceased corpses of their comrades as possible. A gritty plan, but one that I was grimacing about, especially when what survived of the spearhead created a stronger and bulkier construct to hold against the cannons. A futile effort, but it sponged away some of the blasts that would have been normally used to grind more into their approaching group. It was a good plan and it would have done incredible damage to the lines holding the first center if not for the fact we had ballistas to provide for precise and yet destructive support against those that tried to rush in by using the giant of mud and stone as the cover.

The iron arrows had runes engraved in their sides, each with an elemental effect that was used as efficiently and brutally as possible. Nature-driven terror rained over the unprepared assaulters, and this further sheared more of the trouble we had to deal. Their numbers were still beyond ours, but right now we were doing just enough to actually even that issue for good. This was but the beginning of the plans set in motion to dwindle their numbers, and the next step was a little more risky on us and required our utmost speed to deal through a limited amount of those fools that were rushing at us. With the giant falling, completely broken by the cannon shots, the small squads of disheveled but still well-armed troops ran up to us to start the melee. And the melee really started there… except by our own accord.

As soon as a large amount was inside the little clearing which we had mostly filled up with our troops, the Magi that were carefully waiting by the entrance of said clearing triggered one of the last traps we had set for the occasion. A 'lengthy' rune incantation burned red on the ground as a tall wall of fire appeared and divided the early lines from those that had yet to be influenced by the first moves of the battle. This way, we were dealing with a modest amount of troops that, albeit far from non-negligible, they were still particularly… frightened. They still fight, and they fought with half-the passion normal soldiers would. And it was there, as we started to engage the large group for good that I started to notice a very weird aspect of their attacking. They looked genuinely frightened… of running. Of leaving. Of surrendering. While this was based more on their body language, I could sense a strong degree of… running away from the battle. They… had been scared into the fight.

Which made zero sense with what I knew about the Romans. Soldiers were generally seen as great elements in their society, they were those that faced the greatest fear a man could be subjected to, for the sake of glory or even for the sake of protecting what they considered holy and precious. They were revered… and yet, right now, these troops were barely keeping a coherent formation while facing us. They perished with ease and I almost felt like something was immensely wrong with this. And I wasn't the only one realizing this. Ria hummed, her gaze narrowing in confusion as she smoothly cleaved through her own share of enemies. The line held and no one on our side fell under this early confrontation. But that was soon going to change when the wall of fire collapsed and allowed the rest of the warriors to pour in. Furious and terrified battlecries were thrown in as the rest of the army was finally slamming onto the line.

Things were more intense than before, yet the difficulty didn't change much as the skirmish just didn't elevate when it came to ability to the 'untouched' troops attacking us. Cannons resumed their barrages, tearing into the small area where the enemy was converging the most, and did the fine job of softening the reinforcements even more as we tore through those we were currently dealing with. The line changed a fair bit after just half-an-hour of fighting. Handling so many foes at once required space, so everyone distanced and started to handle multiple of those at once. It was a tense but doable fight, with just a few from the defenders falling at the strong assault. I was really invested into the fight, barely glancing at the others as they were doing their job and even more. I was quite sure Scathach had taken a different approach than the one she promised. 'I will just spare a slash or two', she said, 'nothing more beyond that'. And here she was, a small smile on her face as she viciously shredded through her current opponents. It was the best representation of the legitimacy behind her war stories and how she would, more than not, end up 'bathing in the blood of her enemies' during all the gruesome combats she experienced.

Gawain was coming close to matching her brutality, the blond having surely seen some scary shit in the Middle East for sure while making his pilgrimage in Palestine. I watched as he wrecked numerous foes at once and… Yet, this wasn't something that mattered as I soon found my attention stolen as I saw Ria suddenly rushing at me, I was confused by her sudden disengage and approach and even more when she started to rush a strike with Excalibur right at my head. Hypnotism? Illusion? My confusion broke when I felt something 'quiet' land right behind me.

"Duck!" The blonde exclaimed forcefully, but I was already crouching when I saw her take a swing with her sword at me. A loud clang-like noise echoed shortly after as I felt the whole ground shake at the incredibly powerful clash between Excalibur and… a sword that looked similar yet different to Aurea Mors. I was stunned for a moment, and then I reacted at the sneaky attacker by slamming… her stomach. A yelp, but one followed by a growl as I pushed her away just enough to stand up and take stance beside Ria. The warrior was… a woman. Long red hair barely cared for and all messy, her armor was similar to Ria's and mine but less plated and with leather replacing iron in some spots. Despite the painful retaliation, the girl sported a vicious grin on her face and her red eyes were just begging to have us murdered.

"Has anyone told you that it's rude to stab someone in their back?" I asked dryly, getting a snort from the pest and… realizing that the reason why we weren't getting any issue from the other soldiers was… because they were afraid of her. They were afraid of this woman, which, by all definitions and going through blatant anime logic was… the big boss. The one behind the assault.

…

But I just couldn't imagine Syagrus being confused for a woman, not when this one wasn't even bothering hiding away her appearance. History would have noticed something this clear, and so I was baffled by this very circumstance.

"Arthur Pendragon, the son of the traitorous Uther," The dangerous fighter muttered mirthfully. "And… Joseph the Pretender."

"So, Lady No-Name, how about you introduce yourself instead of musing over your own nicknames for us?"

A snarl, I could feel her body react dangerously with her temper. I could feel energy coming from her and… it felt malicious. Not outright foul, but it was driven by incredible rage that went beyond the human limits. Something was indeed wrong with this crazy lady.

"My name is Lucius Tiberius, Rex of Soissons and the true heir to the Roman Empire," She established with delight. "And here I shall put an end to the rebellion you two fools have created to stop my rise to power."

…

I turned to give a serious look at Ria. "Do you know her?"

"I don't recall ever meeting such… a unique individual."

"And I definitely didn't know you until now," I added with a certain tone, turning to look back at the redhead as I noticed just now how positively murderous she looked in that very moment. The banter was brief as our little conversation was ended by 'Lucius' as she swung her sword at us. I had to really think about this name since I had actually heard it from somewhere. It was a long while ago and it was tied to a brief lesson about the Arthurian Myths.

…

Oh no, I think I know who she is.

The 'opponent' to Arthur's predestined reign. The one that was picked by many story-writers as the example of how modern kings were several steps above old Roman rule. A vicious being driven by harshness and cruelty which hardly represented the figure of a proper monarch and yet she had the claim over Rome's legacy. All of it. The reason why it was never given much thought beyond the parts where the figure is portrayed or described it's tied to the very idea that the build-up just didn't match the execution of the action.

Lucius was slain as ultimate proof of Arthur's superiority and greater claim over Britannia. And right now I could tell that the 'execution' had been severely weakened if this was the monstrous woman we were meant to be fighting. I wasn't really that reluctant, but I could tell something was just off about the sword she was brandishing and the way she was being so insane about the fight itself. The planning for her army was, technically, a good kind of planning. Not too marvelous, but definitely well-thought and well-applied. Which meant that she was either playing with us by acting this 'stupid', something about the fact she was fighting us, or maybe something tied to the sword itself.

As the redhead launched herself forward and tried to pressure both Ria and I into a defensive stance, she soon realized that she wasn't fighting two simple 'lucky' individuals. Her early blitz was easily pushed away as she found herself having to fend off against twice the troublesome assault she delivered first. I would say that in the scale of power levels, we were almost equals, with Ria having the strict advantage if she just dropped being so chivalrous.

Still, calling her Lucius just feels so wrong… Lucy it is.

Simple, it was a unisex nickname and it was easy to pronounce. I nodded at myself as I managed to provide Ria with the chance of driving a powerful hit through the redhead's defenses. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she saw Excalibur getting so close to her chest and… then it was deflected away by the runes tied to her armor. I should have known that it wasn't that easy, and I learned it the 'hard way' so to speak when I was suddenly shoved away with a wind-enchanted punch from the 'Roman Heiress'.

My armor held quite well, but I felt the damage vibrate all over my body as I was sent flying for a while. Just as I landed, I noticed numerous soldiers getting in my way and rushing at me, trying to overwhelm me. Sadly for them, I wasn't in the mood for that kind of stunt and just swatted them away with a powerful blast with the Gamont Gauntlet by slamming my fist down on the ground. The effect was a sweeping spell that removed their footing and gave me an easy time slashing my way through this unplanned obstacle as I got back into that fight. After a while, I had my path back to the cackling redhead cleared and I was running back to Ria as I saw her actually struggle with the ferocious attacks she was trying to get through but couldn't. The advantage Lucy was abusing so much about in that moment was the fact she was slightly nimbler and more flexible compared to Ria. Due to her armor and stance, she was suffering a lot when it came to hold back the vicious warrior from getting too close and personal.

Still, I had to give credit when it's due. As I rushed Lucy from behind, I expected to be quiet enough to get a sneak attack successfully delivered at her but… just as I got close enough to face her and deliver that strike, she suddenly turned around and tried to smack me away like she did a little while earlier. Sadly for her, I matched her elemental-enchantment with my own, and the reinforced gauntlet not only matched, but trumped the girl's technique and forced her to take several steps back at the knockback. Surprise was painted on her face as she realized what just happened… and then she rushed back at me with a wild smile and started to focus on me.

Differently from Ria, I didn't give her an easy time and, in return, Lucy proved to be a tough nut to crack. She was experienced and knew how to fight without exposing herself too much with her attacks despite how aggressive her pattern was. I was no better when it came to fighting, but I had something that she lacked. And that was a grand interest to stop this entire mess and get through with this unplanned invasion. Aurea Mors clashed furiously against her own sword, and the powerful exchange eventually culminated with one last big one that started to draw onto the powers of the respective blades. The reforged weapon reacted at my opponent's sword, energy pouring into its edges and the impact and noise coming from the exchanges of hits started to grow more intense and louder.

Eventually, this stalemate was brought to an end when Ria was back to help me with this battle. She was a little dizzy, but she managed to hold her own ground as we finally approached the climax of this glorious mess. Lucy jumped away from us as she channeled more energy into her blade, turning the entire sword a full red.

"She is preparing something big," I muttered quietly, getting a nod from the blonde. "Time to put an end to this all."

Another nod and she started to muster energy to prepare her sword to clash against the incoming attack. I did the same, fueling about half of what I had left in myself and took a similar stance. We were pretty distant at this point from the main battle, so whatever happened, the destruction wouldn't influence or hurt the central line.

"This is it! This is my reclamation- Rome is mine to take!" Lucy yelled her proclamation as she finally released all the energy accumulated by her sword. "Stain the world red! Florent Blood Roma!"

"Ex-CALIBUR!"

"Bring forth the golden will before Death! Aurea Mors!"

Two golden beams erupted to match and overwhelm the red-colored one from… Florent? That was actually her sword's name? Still, the red beam was severely beaten from the very beginning as both opposing blades proved to have a stronger capacity than it. Lucy noticed, but at this point it was too late to do anything but brace for the blunt of the combined gold running right at her. The ending result was a glorious blast that blinded us for a little while. After we recovered from that brief blindness, we moved to check if we had actually killed her. It took a few seconds of walking up to the large crater crater where the blast ended to find quite the scene. The girl had lived through the onslaught, yet her armor and good part of her clothes hadn't. Pure shock was placed upon her gaze as she slowly got up through sheer confusion and adrenaline, her gaze aimed at us as she barely held her sword.

Lucy trembled, her eyes wide open as she barely looked able to stand up and hold the combined might we had both exerted once more. The fight was finally turned to its closure, and I could feel the strain building up as I started to advance on her. Out of instinct the woman tried to lash out to hold her ground, but the only thing she got was me slamming Aurea Mors onto her red blade and sending it flying off her hold. The impact was solid enough to get her to clumsily lose her footing and fall backward to the ground. Any chance of her getting up was cut short when I aimed the tip of my sword at her nose and glared at her.

"This is over, Lucius Tiberius. You have lost."

There was silence from her, but, much to my relief, a crest-fallen look appeared on her face as she lowered her gaze to the ground… pure defeat and submission visible through this reaction.

With that massive fight brought to an end… it was time to see how the rest of the brawl had gone through. That was going to be another thing to be really worried about.

The result of the skirmish wasn't negligible. People had died during the defense and, despite all efforts made to prevent big losses, roughly a fifth of the deployed center had been slaughtered and two dozens of soldiers had perished in both flanks' sections combined. Not the best news to be told about, but definitely one that gave me relief that we survived this fight and actually managed to subvert expectations and win that brutal melee.

Ria rallied forth her troops and gave her praises about their performance in combat. If there had been a hint of tiredness among the backbone of that combined army, now it was all gone for good due to her good work. Their king had spoken and she had spoken honestly about their hard work. That was going to get some good rep from the way she handled this matter while I took care of checking my own group. Scathach returned back and had to look away for a while to compose her face on her normal calm and neutral expression as she had been smiling for so long that the smirk just remained despite the fight having concluded. Lancelot was fine, stressing how he had yet to get his nerves settled properly when it came to handle the proper pace of delivering orders, getting a snort from both Marcus and Galehaut as the man took his merry time to tease the poor man. I was really getting some bromance vibes out of what I was looking at, but I didn't say any of that out loud knowing the kind of reaction I could have gotten out of these two.

The twins were… chatting with Gawain. Much to my surprise, both Gaheris and his older brother were sparring with wooden sticks while Gareth watched over the situation and seemed ready to intervene in case this little game ended up poorly. It was clear that they had gotten some burden out of their system through that fight and had talked things out. I was glad, but also curious to know how it had happened and made a plan to inquire more about this once we were back home. With that out of the way, it was now time for me to face the current trouble that came out as part of this battle's aftermath. Of all prisoners that were captured during the battle that were going to be interrogated to know how they managed to know when and where to strike, Lucy was the one that really got me tense and troubled the most.

Everyone was frightened, but they were experiencing the 'normal' kind of fright. The redhead was… just keeping quiet. Having experienced her 'mad dog' personality, which I knew was her normal self, it just felt terribly weird that she was being so… quiet. So unwilling to spare any interactions beyond staring with a dull and perplexed glance. Which was made worse by how bloody red her eyes were. I was immensely confused by that, and I could tell that something sinister was unfolding within her mind as I thought of the best way to approach her. Or rather, have someone that wasn't me approach her and get some answers straight out of her instead of letting her ponder about her current predicament.

Could it be that there was going to be more? I wasn't even sure if this version of Lucius Tiberius was even the Rex of Soissons, I didn't know if that was the case or not. Yet she claimed to be 'the next Roman Emperor' or something close to that kind of crap. I was interested, but not enough to get too embroiled about it. In the end, much to my surprise, it was Quintus that decided to go and personally check what was going on with that woman. I wasn't that confident his attachment to old Rome would have mattered much considering her insane words, but I allowed him to do as he pleased since the prisoner was within his own domain and he was just going to ask a couple of questions about it. I decided to just pass the time checking on Mya, making sure she hadn't been feeling too worried about what happened and… I actually talked a little more with Guinevere. The brunette was… ecstatic. Or rather, she had been so for a while now as, after that conversation with Ria, something interesting was added to their relationship.

At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as Ria returned for her own thinking stroll and went to greet her wife, she left a stunned lady with a bright red face trying to hold back her surprise and happiness after giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. Yes, she got that big of a reaction from just giving a peck on Guinevere's cheek. The novelty baffled her, and it left her a bit awkward as I gave her the standard 'I told you so' glance about it. It definitely burned her butt a little to admit it, but even now she had to see how this was going to be deadly useful to clean up some rumors about her 'sexuality'.

Still, the conversation with the Queen of Camelot centered mostly over the fact that she was a little surprised by the fact the commander of the attacking army had been a woman. Just surprised, not overly shocked considering that everyone knew about Boudica and her last stand against the Romans many centuries ago. But still, it was quite interesting to find out, the more I talked to her livelier self, that she wasn't against the idea of a 'strong woman having to take on a strong burden that just men seemed to want to take on their own'. That was definitely adding another pillow to the growing list that was needed to cushion Ria's fall when Guinevere would eventually discover her husband's secret.

After wasting roughly three to four hours to recover from the main fight, I was surprised to find Quintus having returned from his lengthy interrogation session and bringing up some news. Lucy hadn't spoken, remaining quiet as she listened to the old Roman making an effort to gain her interest and her reaction in some ways through what memories he could narrate of the old Urbs. In the end, something did happen that gained her interest. He brought up the fact that I was the 'closest of the two Kings that had a firm connection to Rome and a strong claim at it' in his simple opinion. And I could feel a degree of dread at the fact that, the way he put it, could have easily created a mess for me to solve since… Now she wanted to talk to me.

It took me a few tense minutes to get Quintus to guarantee me that the one I was checking on, the crazy redhead, didn't have anything that could have murdered me with. I was still nervous as I descended down to the dungeons where the few dozens of prisoners had been taken to. I was led through a long corridor before eventually ending right in front of the door that led to my destination.

I entered inside, quietly gaining all details about the room as I walked up to the center of it, so that I could see better the young woman as she had her arms and legs locked with chains connected to the wall. Her red eyes had gazed at me since I opened the door, ferocity partially back as curiosity seemed to take priority in that moment, as she intensely glanced at me, expecting something out of me.

"What do you seek, Lucius Tiberius?"

…

"Quintus told me… that you know of the Rome of Old. That you wish to try and bring it back to its former glory."

I blinked at her words. "Perhaps."

Her gaze gained confusion. "Per… Perhaps? Explain-"

"You're the prisoner, Lucy. I don't have to explain myself, especially considering the outcome of that fight we had," I pointed out flatly, gaining a snort from her but no protest regarding the situation she was in. "Still, I'll elaborate since I know you will not speak any further if I present myself this… rude. I want Rome back, but not fully back."

"Not… fully back. What do you mean?"

"Have you ever studied of Rome? Of the many times it came close to perishing against external threats?"

"Of course," Lucius scoffed. "The Samnites, the Etruscans, the Carthaginians, the Sassanid Empire-"

"And so on. Rome had seen and faced numerous opponents that for a time held advantages over them and… yet it couldn't handle a band of disorganized tribes coming from Germania," I interjected flatly. "Every single time, Rome stood against enemies, against threats of various kinds- and yet it faltered at that point. Do you know why?"

…

"I… I don't know. Nobody-"

"Knows? Really?" I interrupted once more, gaining a scowl from her. "The truth is that people know why Rome fell the way it was, but it would be cruel about its legacy to be honest about it. Rome fell for inability to change and adapt. It all went bad when the Emperors were no longer in charge, when people could bid to be the next 'ruler' of the nation, when there was a system of bribery by the Praetorian Guards to establish the next Imperator… and then, the split happened."

"A foolish move," The redhead judged and I sighed tiredly. "What? You think it saved anything?"

"Constantinople stands strong despite the fall of Rome. But the problem was that the split happened for good reasons. No man or woman could have handled such a massive empire with an absolute state of order. Something had to be lost for the sake of not losing everything," I replied dryly. "A single nation with such a length of territories wouldn't have withstood the challenge of time, regardless of it having a blessed ruler of not."

"So you plan to shatter it?"

I shook my head. "To reorganize it."

She frowned. "What?"

"Rome worked with the old Regional system that might have worked when they just owned a few colonies in Africa, Greece and Iberia. But it would be foolish to assume that such a system can work perfectly without making it a fundamental bit of the Empire itself," I answered eagerly. "A Roman Federation, one born from many states ruled by local leaders that all stand and follow the main points of Roman traditions, the Eagle and the SPQR."

"That wouldn't be an empire-"

"Not a full one. Not with the many lands that one man would have to handle on his own," I admitted. "But can you really see how a single individual- no, a whole dynasty can actually keep this many lands under control without rebellions, without issues among different locals and cultures and other messes of the kind?"

…

"Rome of Old learned many times to shed its skin when needed. It was a must, like how Aeneas was the one that shed his nationality as heir of Troy to become the founder of the Iulia Dynasty," I added with determination dripping from my words. "If Rome has to return, it will be through modernity and through a different thick skin to bare and use to hold against those that seek to destroy it once more. This is my goal."

...

After a moment of quiet, the woman smiled and nodded a strange expression on her face that combined amusement with… concession of self. I was baffled at first as she suddenly chuckled and exploded in a genuinely… cute giggle. I was shocked because I didn't expect this kind of human being having the natural means to exert that kind of personality, but even more by what she uttered next.

"Then, I suppose the old tradition of Rome should be followed since you define yourself part of its legacy," Lucy commented mirthfully, leaving me even more perplexed. "Which is why, I, Lucius Tiberius, former Heir of Rome and of the Kingdom of Soissons, declare myself the first slave of King Joseph of Britannia as per the rules of the Roman conduct regarding victors and losers of wars."

…

"You said what?!"