Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 12

Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 12

…

Honestly, acting like a superhuman to take on the Academy involved a lot of subterfuge and exploration between bouts of extreme violence. With an eyepatch, some radio chatter, and a mixtape of '80s songs, the mood would be perfectly set. Honestly, I was tempted to dress down, put on some camouflage, and see how far I could get fucking with the Academy’s forces, but I decided against it.

Again, I needed to make sure that my appearance of invulnerability was kept.

So, instead of the greatest soldier alive, I was acting more like a precision bomb with a very, very large payload.

The Academy had a lot of mercenary Champions and warbands in their employ, and to their credit, they deployed them well against me and my forces. They went out from the Academy’s capital in force, across multiple regions, and fortified. Though some warbands encountered me and instantly got turned to paste, I couldn’t be in two places at once, and they pressed the advantage where I wasn’t. Since they had the manpower, money, and logistics, they were basically trying to tie me down while trying to rush my base.

If not for the fact that the Scholars had already found a fourth Citadel and gave me the ring, as per our agreement, they could’ve probably rushed my territories and done damage.

Instead, they got ambushed by Citadel Guardians, and now they’re just trying to retake their lands while looking for Citadels in other regions.

Anyway, since my regular forces couldn’t really match theirs, I went ahead and got creative by doing my best to blitz all the mercenary warbands as fast as possible.

Which basically amounted to three steps:

• Get dropped off at the neighboring region filled with mercenaries led by a mercenary Champion.

• Kill them.

• Leave for the next region.

The second step was more involved than I let on. I usually took two hours or so to gather information, get the lay of the land, and find supply depots. Once I had the perfect vantage point and the lay of the land, I’d hit all the supplies with magic, then storm the fortress where the Champion and leader of the warband resided. If there was an Ancient Dungeon there, I’d blitz it too and loot it for powerful artifacts and gear.

Then, I’d call my gryphon, hop on, and move on.

Though they had plenty of warbands and Champions, I was going through four of them a day, so even with all their resources, the Academy couldn’t keep up.

But I didn’t want the war to continue to the point where I’d have to throw my army into a defended city and get it shredded.

I wanted the people and the minds that the Academy had, along with all their knowledge and treasure.

So, I decided to change my plans.

It was time to roll the dice, until I had the materials I needed to go and kill the Headmaster and everyone else who could replace him.

…

Yeah.

I found out pretty quickly that my luck stat was also maxed out.

“Stay here.” I put the Ancient Administrator down, who still hasn’t stopped ogling me with dreamy eyes, and whistled for my gryphon. In ten minutes, it’ll be here to pick me up. Enough time to sort through the rest of the stuff I found over the course of the day in a large sack. “Actually, help me sort this.”

“Yes, master.” The Ancient Administrator wore a slip of cloth draped over its shoulders, and its form would make supermodels envious. Tall, slender, and thin, but also with ridiculous curves. Some perverse dev’s wet dream come to life. “Shall I focus on the combat artifacts?”

“No, I’ll sort those myself. Focus on what you can use first.” I should’ve gone plundering all the dungeons first, instead of wasting my time with the mercenary Champions. In just a day, I found the Ancient Administrator, as well as optical camouflage and a one-handed axe that had a superheated edge and returned after being thrown. Well, it was one-handed for me. Everyone else would probably struggle to lift the thing. It was probably meant for use by someone in power armor. “Now, tell me why you were sealed away for me to find.”

The Ancient Administrator was already calling me master.

Saying that it was sealed away for me to find was just playing into its own beliefs.

Anyway, it told me what I already knew. Logistical support and knowledge of how to build and maintain industry up to a foundational level. The Ancient Administrator was basically geared towards helping the people who found it manage their resources, so they had extra and could put that extra towards growth and research. If the Academy had found it a couple of centuries ago, the Citadels probably wouldn’t have been needed, or they’d have raised all eight at the same time and just wiped the rest of the planet out. Unfortunately, the Academy were a bunch of idiots, so I had to deal with the rest of the planet.

Once it finished its spiel, I addressed it.

“I see. I shall make use of you to your fullest ability and marshal a nation that will overtake the world in its entirety.” The golem practically shivered in delight and ecstasy at my words. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you told me that it was feeling its equivalent of bliss. “Cover yourself and hide your face. You will become part of my council, and you will help guide my will. Only the most trustworthy will know of you.”

“Yes, master, as you command.” If the Ancient Administrator could cry tears of joy, it probably already would. It looked at me like I was everything it dreamed of and more. It was probably right. Given all my boons and talent, I’m most likely an Ancient. An Ancient already halfway done conquering a continent and with four Citadels. By all metrics, in its eyes, I was living up to its ideal of masters. “I live to serve you and devote myself entirely to your will.”

A few minutes passed in silence, then the wingbeats of my gryphon arrived, and we both left to return to the backlines for a bit.

I needed to be at the top of my game before I went straight for the enemy leader and killed him.

…

Interlude: Khanrow

…

I followed the woman brought back by our lord for only a few minutes before I found myself held aloft by my neck by an impossibly strong grip.

Just as my bones were set to break, I heard my liege’s voice.

“Release him. He is loyal and skilled.” Clad only in a towel from the waist down, the Barbarian King sat on a seat in his tent. I hadn’t even noticed that I had been dragged into his tent. One moment, I was following the woman. The next, there was a blur, a vice around my neck, and then I was struggling to breathe while death awaited me. “Khanrow, your curiosity almost got the best of you.”

“Aye, my lord. It seems that it almost did.” The woman wore white robes walked to him and draped herself over him. He barely paid her any heed. I took note of how the chair he sat on sank an inch further into the ground. That woman was not flesh and bone. Of that I was sure. “This is a Golem from the Ancients, plucked from a ruin that I raided in search of powerful artifacts, in order to conduct the plan I informed you of.”

His words registered, but it took a moment to understand.

“You intend to keep the Golem a secret, then? A wise choice, your majesty, but perhaps some boldness would do us some good?”

He nodded.

“I considered it. With this Golem’s backing, we can gather many adherents to the legacy of the ancients. Make ourselves their successors in truth.” He looked every bit like the godlike beings we imagined our ancient ancestors were. He allowed the Golem on his lap like it were a woman of flesh and blood, when it must’ve been closer to a boulder in terms of weight. “But the Golem is not strong enough to defend itself against Champions. The destruction of the Academy must come first. How goes your preparations?”

“I’ve sent the message out already. We’re paving the way for you to join a refugee caravan inside a water carrier. It will insulate you enough that those scanning will magic will be unable to sense you, if you lower your magic to that of a normal mage.” At my words, the Ancient reborn gestured towards a cloak on an empty armor cloak. For a second, I was confused, until a light laugh left his lips. Then, something from the armor cloak flew towards me. I almost raised a blade at it, until it stopped, and I realized that it was some sort of fabric that allowed the user to meld with the surroundings. Not only that, but when I tried search it for magic, I found nothing in its place. I nodded. “That will work.”

A Champion amongst Champions clad in a cloak that bends light and obscures detection by magic.

I was tempted to make sure that he was assured of my loyalty.

“Make your preparations, Khanrow. You have one month. I will continue to plague the Mercenary Warbands of the Academy and seize the treasures that they have not.” I bowed my head as his words. His work on the battlefield was something of legend already. Region after region. Only handfuls of sentries killed in secrecy, destruction of patrols sent to find him, and the killing of Champions while sparing the rest and taking none of the treasury. The mercenaries that knew better, who did not fall to infighting and greed, took their money and surrendered. He was killing armies within a day and was seen as a god by the soldiers that he spared from conflict. “How goes your training of your duplicate?”

And, of course, he already knew of my apprentice.

“He is proving suitable for the task. Not skilled in assassination nor battle, but good at staying unseen and preparing for grander operations. It will take several years, before I can call him my equal.”

“When he spills blood in my name, present him to me, and I shall take his measure.” From another’s mouth, bereft of the actions and ability of the young man before me, I would’ve felt affronted. As arrogant and prideful the words were, stating that my student was only worth meeting after he has killed, I felt no ire towards the young man seated in front of me. Instead, I bowed my head in thanks. He was extending his trust towards me, believing in me, until he met my student when I believed him ready. “Go and rest, Khanrow. The coming month will be the end of the Academy, and it will be a bloody battle.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgement to do my duty.

No doubt, no fear.

Only assurance that if I did my duty, that all will be well.

Many would kill for the same assurance.

I know that I would.

With a deep breath, I ventured into the shadows of the camp to do as I was asked.

To lay the groundwork for the destruction of the Academy, once thought unassailable, by the killing of its Headmaster and all who follow him.

Once upon a time, I would’ve thought the task insane, but now I knew that the moment he decided that Headmaster Alistair would die… that his death would some come.

I looked about the camp, and sighted the nearest Conqueror, and when I raised my hand to him he led me to Crusher without a word.

“Khanrow.” I entered Smasher’s half-tent, half-lean to with a hand raised in greeting. He dipped his head and gestured for me to take a seat, while a servant of his came forward with milk and honey. I felt his gaze beneath his shadowed hood. “So, the rumors are true then. The King of Wisdom seeks to cut off the head of the snake, and further spare the lives of more meat.”

“Aye.” I sipped the honeyed milk and found it thickened with ground malt. It was a cool and thick drink that gave a taste of sweetness and filled bellies with ease. Dried milk, honey, and malt with water, and then mages provided magic for the final touch. Our lines of supply stretched from our first Citadel to just weeks of marching to the Academy’s center. Just a constant stream of hired contractors peddling one package after another on wheelcarts or wagons from supply depot to the next. Day and night, the supplies flowed, and an army more then twenty thousand strong wanted for nothing. Even those with the most piddling amount of magic could find a duty tending to frost rooms or providing water. “He can enter their capital without detection with my aid. They will come for him even after he slays the Headmaster, though. Much more blood will be spilled, if none declare themselves for him.”

“So, you would have us shame ourselves, hide our clan markings, and seem like mercenaries for hire, until the time comes to strike from within.” I nodded at his statement. Crusher was a wise one. The Deliverer even more so. None except an Ancient Reborn could’ve hoped to bring them into the fold with words alone. Not a single drop of blood had been spilled to include the greatest force of Conquerors ever seen in living history into our ranks. “You would have us debase ourselves for the chance at vengeance.”

His eyes were hard, and there was grumbling from his lieutenants, who all sat gathered around the fine carpet that was laid out on his tent.

There was a faint tension in the air, but I knew that this was all pageantry.

“You asked me to provide you a moment to prove your worth as more than warriors. This is the finest moment that I can muster.” I met Crusher’s gaze with my own, and placed my cup down to the rug. It was cool still in my hand. “Crusher, I ask of you, how will the Conquerors answer?”

His reply was instant and pre-determined.

“To destroy those who enslaved us, who hounded us for centuries, and who forced us to be nomads… there is no burden too great to carry. The Conquerors accept!”

Conquest roared and his voice was soon joined by the rest of the aged, elite group of Conquerors present.

A moment later a lavish feast was laid out onto the table, with a place of honor and the platter meant to be placed before empty.

On offering already on its way to our king.