"What's happening?" Shouted Amira. While doing so, she turned away from the direction of the palace, and gazed towards the loud crashing sound of thunder and war.
"It's that bratty Roman Commander. I'll handle it. You continue on with the mission and locate the artifact." Whispered the shadow that disappeared from behind Amira.
Before resuming her dash over the rooftops, she stole one last glance in the direction of the battle from where the sound had originated.
"Whatever, I hope that brat gets you killed." She quietly cursed as she continued her stealthy progression.
But, just as she was suspended in the air, during a jump between two of the rooftops, a stooped figure at the entrance to one of the buildings caught her eye.
"Strom." Angrily muttered Amira as she landed and changed her direction yet again.
At the front of the smaller building where Marcus remained, a child's voice called out to him from the inside.
"Mister? Is that soldier really going to be alright?" Worriedly asked the young princess, who poked her small head out of the doorway to question the warrior.
"You don't need to worry about him. Although he doesn't look like it, he's almost as strong as me." Marcus proudly boasted to the little princess.
"And who's that?" Asked the princess, as she pointed to a woman slowly walking towards them before ducking back behind the doorway.
Marcus turned his head back to the street and was greeted by Amira.
"Marcus! Is Strom with you?" Urgently asked Amira, who seemed unusually distraught.
"No. He went off to negotiate with the Romans and then find Aaron. Why? Wait, where is Aaron?" Explained the warrior before asking in confusion.
"We got separated… The Romans are breaking through our line of defense, and last I saw, Aaron was being swarmed by the soldiers." Said Amira with a pain in her voice and then bit her lip.
"What? Where? I must go to him!" Roared Marcus as he stood up with his hand reaching towards one of his shortswords.
Amira rushed forward and tried calming the hotblooded warrior.
"Now is not the time for stupid gambles. Take me to Strom. I need to inform him of the situation." Urged Amira as she pulled the warrior's dark skinned arm.
"Okay- No, wait! I need to stay here like he and I agreed before." Said Marcus with confliction in his voice.
"What are you-"
"Mister? Are you going to leave us too?" Interrupted a small boy from the doorway of the guarded building.
Marcus scratched the back of his head in response to his dilemma.
"As you can see, I need to stay here and watch over the prince and princess until Strom returns." Explained Marcus.
A momentary light flashed in Amira's cunning eyes.
"Why don't I assist you then until he returns? I'm probably better with children than you are anyways, so I can watch over them." Suggested Amira with a persuasive voice as a scheme began to unfold in her head.
Marcus sighed and shrugged.
"Doesn't make a difference to me." He said.
Strom, the man in question, was currently racing through the streets a few blocks away. He carefully picked his course between the buildings while using the sounds of warfare to his left to determine the correct path.
According to his plan, while Marcus kept the kids safe, Strom would stealthily cross through the lines of mercenaries and Romans, and meet with his commander to report their situation. Hopefully, he could persuade his odd commander to help them, and bring the prince and princess away from the clutches of the black robed troop.
He was unsure what would happen if the Romans captured the children but it was probably better than those fake mercenaries. But, knowing his commander, Strom bet on his insight and would negotiate for their safety.
A loud crash from nearby shook the cobbled streets beneath his feet.
'What the hell was that?' He wondered while pausing his route.
The booming roar of thunder echoed above him, confirming the location of his target. There was only one man he knew that could be associated with such power or destruction.
'Axus!' Rejoiced Strom at the realization of his commander's close proximity.
Following the roars of carnage coming from a street up ahead, Strom raced off towards them.
However, his progress was halted when he caught sight of at least a dozen black robed ambushers.
They were rushing ahead of him in the same direction with weapons in-hand.
"Shit." Cursed Strom as he ducked into the doorway of a now half collapsed building next to him.
At the street Strom was desperately trying to get to, two figures clashed in a space created between the two factions in order to watch their superior's battle.
"Come here and die, you baby-faced mutt." Angrily shouted the man shrouded in a dark mist.
"I don't feel like it yet. I haven't had enough fun." Emotionlessly replied the small Roman commander as he deflected the crimson daggers that were aimed for his neck.
Axus expertly twirled his spear to block the continuous barrage of attacks, creating a metallic symphony that rang out between the two opponents.
The movements of the two men were extremely fast paced, which were easily missed with even a quick blink. The soldiers and black robed troops watched on in awe of the power the two displayed between them.
"Let's end this!" Shouted the shrouded man. His irritation grew after being unable to inflict any sort of damage on the small commander.
"Already? Well, if you say so." Replied Axus with the two opponents separating from each other a few paces.
The golden spear in Axus's hands was powerfully thrusted into the pavement, splitting it with practically zero resistance. Thunder ferociously boomed above them suddenly.
Likewise, the shrouded man seemed to disappear into the shadows casted by the buildings onto the street.
"Hahaha, you're finished now!" Chuckled the man from the cover of darkness.
Axus shrugged while forcefully lifting his spear from the cracked pavement.
"If I can't see you, I can just obliterate the entire street then." He said carelessly.
His men who heard his words shouted out amongst their ranks in panic.
"Everyone evacuate the area!" Shouted the Roman soldiers as they frantically escaped the street in fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
The dark crimson blade of a curved dagger stretched out towards Axus's neck, but it instantly disappeared in retreat as a blinding light momentarily illuminated the entire street.
A split second after the flash, an arcing white tendril of energy crackled through the air around the commander, with a threatening scream crying from the particles around him.
The smiting bolt of lightning incinerated the street and buildings lining it, with half of their structure practically ceasing to exist in a mere moment.
The line of dark robed troops, that had foolishly remained in position, were not even afforded the luxury of a shriek. Their incinerated bodies left nothing but ash after his attack dissipated.
Only a small circle of pavement, about a few inches in diameter around the commander's figure, remained untouched.
"Huh, looks like he managed to escape." Stated Axus without any surprise leaking from his monotone voice.
Strom tripped over the rubble from the barely standing stoop he had been hiding behind. He coughed as the smoke and ash from his commander's strike assaulted his nostrils.
"Was that really necessary?" He said while coughing.
"Huh? Ah, Strom. You've returned." Nonchalantly stated Axus.
His superfluous commander hadn't even given his past attack a second thought as he returned his spear to its mount on his small back.
"What's your status?" Questioned his commander as Strom slid down the banks of the newly formed crater.
"I have new intel on the council and the Zephyr royal family. Also… I made a small discovery…" Strom replied.
Axus nodded his head and slapped the side of his soldier's arm in acknowledgement.
"Commander! What the fuck happened to keeping damages to a minimum?" Whined Daren from a portion of the street that was still intact.
"I see you're still alive Daren." Said Strom with a wave to his previous instructor.
The older general sighed in reply as he waved back to the young soldier.
"I told you, you should have gone with me instead of this idiot!" Complained the stressed general.
"Save all your gossiping for later, Daren. Strom said he has some urgent intelligence." Interrupted Axus, who walked with Strom across the crater to the rest of the Roman force.
"Is it about those weird foreigners? Where did all of them even come from? We only faced a couple of them in the beginning, but now they're like gnats buzzing around everywhere." Questioned Daren.
"Somewhat, I know a little about them but that isn't all." Shrugged Strom as he pointed towards a building that was still untouched by the carnage around them.
"Let's set up a temporary base there, and we can further discuss it." He suggested as he offered a hand to his short commander that was struggling to get out of his self-created crater.
Inside the building, Strom explained all that he had experienced and seen during his infiltration of the Zephyr kingdom. He discussed the strange appearance and actions of the black robed mercenaries before recounting the story of the Zephyr royalty situation he had learned from the princess.
Axus remained straight-faced through the entire process, while Daren in contrast displayed a myriad of emotions. Especially during the prince's and princess's story.
"So what of the council now?" Questioned Axus.
"Nothing. They were completely wiped out by Amira and my brother, minus the old bastard I locked up in the dungeon." Explained Strom.
"We moved as soon as we received your letters before, but still… I can't believe that all happened in that short amount of time." Sympathized Daren.
"Where's your brother now?" Butted in Axus again.
Strom shrugged before relaying his brother's last known whereabouts, "We split when I went to find the king and that mercenary tried to kill me. According to Marcus, he should still be with Amira."
Axus and Daren glanced over to each other.
"Strom…"
"What does he look like?" Asked Axus before Daren could finish his statement.
"He's still pretty young, only a few years younger than myself. He's got blonde hair and is probably dressed in rags." Described Strom.
For a moment, a light flashed in Axus's usually expressionless eyes.
"I think I may have seen him…" Murmured Axus.
"If you run into him, please don't kill him. I know he is fighting against you right now, but he doesn't understand the whole situation yet." Pleaded Strom as he searched for reassurance from his superiors.
"I don't think we need-"
"No problem, Strom! I can't promise he'll be in one piece, but I'll relay the order to my men." Quickly interjected Daren, who shot a look of disapproval at Axus.
Axus shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Thank you, Daren. Oh, and about the prince and princess…" Continued Strom.
"I can guarantee their safety. But that is only until they are taken in for processing by the empire of course." Promised Axus with a nod.
"Now, what was this discovery you mentioned?" Curiously asked Daren.