A blood-drenched Akira appeared outside the ancient temple with a bright Flash!
Dolph, Vilkas, and Fluffball all peeked out from behind the large stone tree trying to see who had been spat out of the underground dungeon trial grounds.
They were unable to figure out who it was for a moment as the person was completely drenched in blood from head to toe.
“Akira?” asked Dolph unsure if it was his liege.
“Yap!” shouted Fluffball dashing out from behind the tree and running up to Akira.
“Are you hurt?” asked Vilkas as he jogged up to Akira with Dolph.
Akira put the Ancient crystal into his bag before looking at the three who had rushed over to him.
“I’m alive… I got all banged up but my wounds have already healed,” said Akira as he reverted to his human form and reached down to rub Fluffball’s head.
“Has there been any sign of the demigods that chased us into the temple?” asked Akira.
The three in front of Akira all shook their heads in the negative.
“There has been no sign of anyone being spat out other than us,” said Vilkas.
“We have been staking out this spot for the last few days but have not seen any other groups sneaking around here either,” said Dolph.
“Yap!”
“We need to hurry up and group back up with the others in the Thief City! They are probably all worried sick so we should calm them down and show them that we are still alive,” said Akira looking off into the distance in the direction that would lead them back to the allied forces.
***
When Akira passed through the city gates with his guards he made sure to not waste time and walked down the main road that led to the command post of the allied forces at the center of the city.
As he walked down the winding main street he greeted many of the civilians and city guards that he met. They were all hurrying about with grim faces and only paused a few seconds to reply to Akira before rushing off to work on whatever important tasks they were in charge of.
When Akira reached the Command post he waved the dozen or so guards to move aside so that he could enter the building. All but one stepped aside, the last guard smartly saluted Akira and opened the door for him.
With the door now open the muffled sound of a loud heated discussion could be heard coming from another room inside the building.
“You two can stay out here with the rest of the guards,” said Akira motioning for Dolph and Vilkas to wait in the small outer room where several other personal guards were waiting patiently.
“Yap?” asked Fluffball.
“You too,” said Akira.
With a few long strides, Akira stood in front of the door where the loud muffled voices were coming from. With his right hand, he reached out and pushed the door open.
The voices inside the large meeting room stopped their arguments as they looked to see Akira closing the door behind him.
“Finally you’re here! These guys would not listen to reason. They thought you had been killed and wanted to run away. I told them that a few demigods were not enough to kill you,” said Zundar in an exasperated voice. He huffed and puffed steam from his nostrils as he remembered the words of several of the other cowardly leaders.
Spearia, who was standing next to Zundar, was nodding her head fiercely agreeing with what he said.
She had also been trying to talk sense into the old blockheads but it was hard to get them to budge from their fear of the past wars.
“Why would my death cause so much trouble? Haven’t we been training all their warriors and shoring up the city’s defenses? With all we have done, shouldn’t the city be able to stand firm against both Demigod and Oni attacks?” asked Akira.
“We have… but this new problem that has just popped up is far too troublesome. Only a day ago our scouts inside the Oni territory sent out a warning of a large floating city that has moved into the no-man’s land between the Oni and Ancient Alliances territory. The scouts saw it land and watched as its inhabitants fortified the area,” said Zundar so fast that it was hard for Akira to take all the information in.
“What?” was all Akira could say as he tried to process the new information.
“The scouts sent a report back that a large force of fierce warriors are marching their way towards this city as we speak. We are the front line protecting the vulnerable villages and nomadic people of the Ancient alliance. We must not run away!” said a heated Zundar as he glared at several of the leaders in the room who seemed to have found great interest in looking at their hands or the swirling wood grain of the large meeting table they were all sitting around.
Spearia quickly translated his words causing them to fidget and feel even more uncomfortable.
“How big is the enemy force that is causing so much trouble and worry?” asked Akira.
“They are not a small raiding force, we have dealt with such raids before and have been easily beaten off. This is a full-fledged fighting force of at least a thousand warriors, probably more. The reports that are coming in say that this is only a small fraction of the newly arrived city’s forces. It seems their city is teaming with other warriors who are now manning the new fortifications around the city.”
“Then there is only one thing to do… We fight to protect the rest of the alliance!” said Akira.
“That’s what I have been telling them!” said Zundar.
Several more tense minutes passed as they all discussed what to do. Many of the hesitant leaders finally gave in to the persuasion of Akira, Zundar, and Spearia.
With a few sharp words aimed at the holdouts, everyone was able to agree on what to do around a half hour later. With the decision made they all sent their subordinates out as messengers to mobilize their forces so that the ancient alliance could deal with the new threat that was marching towards them.
“If the reports are correct then we may have the advantage in numbers with our combined forces but we are still far too inexperienced in battle and lack the resources to properly equip everyone due to the harsh environment we occupy…” said Akira.
“At least everyone has had basic training. We have managed to make enough weapons so that everyone is not going into battle unarmed. Even if they are primitive stone spears, clubs, and swords,” said Zundar.
“The… civilians… we need to … safe them away,” said Spearia, speaking in common. She paused several times to find the right words to convey her worry.
“We will make sure that every civilian has been escorted to the shelters before the approaching army arrives. They will all be properly guarded since the civilians are the lifeblood of the Ancient alliance!” said Akira.
“Hear, hear! That is the only manly thing to do! With their family and friends safe, the allied warriors will be able to fight with one less worry!” said Zundar.
“A week… Army come…,” said Spearia.
“Then we must hurry our preparations and rush the warriors to the city as fast as we can,” said Akira.
***
Over the next several days the City’s inner and outer defenses were further strengthened with the help of Akira and the [Full Moon] Guild members. They were well versed in such things due to the years-long siege they had endured while facing off against the combined Demigod guild forces.
As the days passed the ancient alliance’s warriors trickled into the city in both small and large groups after receiving the summons from the messengers.
The city had been completely evacuated of civilians causing it to have an empty feeling for several days. With the influx of warriors, the city was once again bursting with energy and growing even more lively as more and more warriors arrived.
To keep the chaos and troublemakers at a minimum, Akira and the other leaders made sure to keep everyone busy with patrolling, fortification work, and nonstop drilling of large groups of warriors.
They were forced to march in various formations before moving onto large-scale mock battles outside the city walls to help blow off steam and keep their minds off the coming battle.
On the 5th day, the scouts patrolling at least an hour out from the city used their war horns to alert the city. The large army was here and marching towards the city!
“They arrived sooner than I had hoped…” said Akira as he looked out towards the direction of the war horns from the top of the city walls.
“There are still several groups of warriors from villages and towns that have not arrived yet…” said Zundar as he looked into the city that was now in a full-blown frenzy as the officers, warriors, and city guards rushed to their battle stations.
They were not as prepared as Akira would like to be but the approaching army of the unknown foe was now in sight and was moving closer and closer with each step they took.
Just from what Akira could see of the distant approaching army made him sigh. It was not looking good for them.
“We will definitely take heavy losses in this battle… even if we survive, the Oni forces will seize on the opportunity to attack their weakened foe to take control of the entire island before the Ancient Alliance can recover,” said Akira.
Everyone else was quiet as they watched the approaching army for several minutes before it stopped some distance from the outer defenses of the city.
At the center of the stopped army, a sudden movement attracted Akira’s attention as a winged Demon race warrior rose into the air above the army. From the build of the warrior’s body, Akira could tell it was a man who was now using the large white wings on his back to fly closer to the city walls.
With a quick glance, Akira was able to see that the entire army standing outside the city was made up of similar warriors who all had Wings on their backs. There were also fierce winged beasts that stood next to them.
The white-winged warrior that was slowly floating over to them was wearing an archaic-looking set of scale-mail armor that looked out of place even when compared to the old armor that the Ancient alliance was using.
“I wish to speak to the Hero known as ‘Akira’!” shouted the flying warrior in a booming voice.
Zundar and everyone else on the city walls and inside the city looked to Akira confused at what was going on.
Akira had no idea either but still stepped up to the edge of the wall and shouted out in his broken ancient tongue, “I am Akira. But I am no Hero.”
The white-winged warrior along with the entire army behind him focused on Akira, staring at him with intense hawk-like gazes for some time.
After a long pause, the flying warrior swooped down from the sky and landed on the ground not far from Akira.
He did not pay attention to the alarmed guards nearby and knelt while bowing his armed head to Akira. The large army behind the winged warrior followed his actions and all knelt facing Akira.
“You have freed me and my kin from our long slumber after we were trapped by that ancient foe the Abominable Snowman. For this heroic deed, I Berdmun the governor of the Aeviun demon race, swear that your friends will be our friends and your enemies will be our enemies. Do not think of these words as flippantly spoken. We take oaths seriously!” shouted Berdmun.
Ding!
-
As a reward for your heroic deed of freeing the Aeviun’s you have gained their favor and loyalty.
“On our way here we have heard rumors that there has been an ongoing civil war for generations upon generations. But now a new faction has arrived to help clear up the situation and restore peace. Would that be your doing?” asked Berdmun as he took off his helmet and stared at Akira with his sharp birdlike eyes that went along with his feathered bird-like features which included a yellow beak.
“Yes, we are trying to end this pointless civil war between the demon races. Unfortunately, the Oni faction will not see to reason and continue in their headstrong ways of wanting to rule over everything they deem below them. There is only one way to solve this problem… force them to accept peace by using the sword,” said Akira.
“Even though we have only just returned from our long slumber after being trapped for so long, we will join you in your fight to bring peace to our ancient homeland!” shouted Berdmun.
With those words, the Aeviun warriors and flying beasts in the army behind him all let out battle cries and roars of approval.
“Akira!” shouted a worried Beater.
“What?” asked a confused Akira.
“I just got a message from one of the [Full Moon] members back at the coast fortifications! The Oni army has slipped past our scouts due to focusing entirely on the Aeviuns. It seems they want to wipe out our fortified position and our ships so that they can then turn around and take care of the rest of the Ancient Alliance!” blurted out Beater stunning everyone who could understand him.
