Chapter 407: The Start of the Civil War

"Do you feel this is enough, Magnus?" Cassius said softly, looking out at the large army that marched toward the capital. Alongside the soldiers of Severia that followed Cassius, many of the nobles who supported provided their own private forces aswell as the mercenaries of the Ashed Brotherhood.

"If this isn’t enough, Cassius, then we never stood a chance." Patting his horse, he calmed himself down. No matter how confident he was, it would be stupid if he didn’t feel nervous. He was in open rebellion.

"What’s the plan then?" Cassius asked with interest. He knew most of the plan, but Magnus always made sure to keep things to himself at the last second.

"I don’t know what happened to that brat, but Julius has suddenly become a competent enemy. At the banquet he hosted, he likely got the support of the northern and eastern nobles. The South will soon follow if Theodosius doesn’t surface." Manguns sighed, "Take a quarter of the army and cut off any support the north may provide."

"Cousin. You need me for the siege of the capital." Cassius quickly countered, but Magnus shook his head. Bringing his horse closer to Cassius, he reached out and grabbed the man’s cheeks, forcing his forehead to touch his.

"Blood is all I can trust. You’re the only man who can defend the rear. The only one who I know won’t betray me." To his sincere words, Cassius had nothing to say and only sighed.

"I understand," Cassius said deeply, and hearing that, Magnus smiled.

"If the northern lords show no sign of marching, flank around the east and strike that old barstard when he is away," Magnus said with hate, talking about Duke Elias. Cassius shook his head. The feud between Magnus and Elias was well-known within the Empire after Elias had stolen the marriage Magnus had arranged for his son. It had led to the two men increasingly sabotaging each other, but not breaking out into a full-blown war due to Theodosius keeping them in check.

"Alright." Cassius nodded. If he stormed Elias’ lands, he could easily use the position to encircle the capital. Magnus smiled once again and looked ahead. His marching army reached far into the distance. Seeing the army, he could only sigh that his plans could only be enacted in this way. He didn’t like war. It was a terrible waste of resources that only weakened the family. But even he could tell that the coming battles would be recorded in history as a mythical moment.

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Bardas let himself into a run-down bar in the middle of Antila. Letting himself in, he scanned the room and saw Horace sitting with Halfdan. Both men dressed differently. Horace wore an outfit fit for a commoner, unlike his suits, and Halfdan in similar clothes instead of his deep, thick, hooded coat.

"I see you made it out alive." Bardas generally praised Halfdan.

"It was easy. The security of the palace really is lacking." Halfdan casually said, making Bardas chuckle.

"Why did you want to meet?" Horace asked, taking a sip of his beer.

"Julius is marching aswell as the church. We need to act soon."

"What do you need me to do?" Horace stared deep into his eyes, making Bardas smile.

"Battle will start in the Midlands soon when Mangus and Julius meet. Whilst Julius has called himself regent, he must lead the war. If he ever wants to be Emperor, he must prove he can lead the war. In his place, the council will rule for him, something I am a part of." Bardas pulled out a sheet of paper and slid it over to Horace.

Looking at it, a list of names appeared: "Get rid of them. I’ll help with this obviously. Slowly, I can replace them with my loyalist."

Looking at the list of names, Horace clicked his tongue and pocketed the paper. "It won’t be easy. If they reside in the Palace, it will be impossible."

Bardas smiled, knowing that would have been the case. "I’ll deal with those in the palace. In the meantime, deal with anyone outside. As time passes, I can disrupt the lives of the people and nobility who reside in the capital, blaming it on the ongoing war. As chaos erupts within the city, that will give you enough cover."

"And it will all be blamed on Magnus?" Horace said as a matter of fact, getting Bardas to smile.

"It is good working with someone who thinks like me." Bardas happily said. Grabbing Horace’s mug of beer, he took a large sip. "It’s well known that Magnus has many spies within Antila. Suspicion won’t be cast towards me or anyone else for a while."

Horace thought for a second and nodded, "I need more information on those whom I can feasibly get to. You know where to find me. Get it to me within the week." Bardas nodded and stood up. Leaving the bar, he took a final glance at Horace and Halfdan before leaving. Stepping out of the bar, he scanned the surroundings and frowned, seeing someone sitting on a bench in the distance.

The man tried to hide it, but he would occasionally look up at the bar and watch for a few seconds before pretending to be lost in thought. Bardas pretended not to notice and walked past him.

Turning a few corners, he stopped at a random stall pretending it was one of his men and watched. Seeing the man tailing him, he knew Julius had caught onto his actions and frowned.

’If I kill now, it will arouse more suspicions than anything. Luckily, Horace is dressed as a commoner at the moment. Checking the bar won’t provide anything worthwhile.’Knowing who he was working with, Bardas didn’t worry about being caught yet and carried on, making his way back to his manor.

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Julius patiently waited in his office. His mask rested on the table before him as he tapped it with his finger. He would leave the palace soon and follow Octavius’ army, but before he left, there was one matter he had to deal with.

Patiently waiting, he felt the cold silver beneath his fingertips and smiled. The sound of someone knocking on his door broke him out of his thoughts, and carefully fitting the mask back on, he called them in.

Colchis let himself in and bowed toward Julius. "He has arrived, Your Majesty." Julius was full of smiles, hearing that, and jumped up from his chair. Following behind Colchis. Being led to the throne room, he took the side entrance in and saw many guards surrounding a kneeling man with a hood on.

Scaling the steps up to the throne, he sat down on it for the first time and sank into its soft cushions. Leaning back, he crossed his right leg over his left and leaned on his hand. "Hello. Cato."

The hooded figure groaned under his hood as a guard pulled it off. Looking up at the throne, Cato bitterly chuckled, realising he had finally lost. His moment of hope after being freed was crushed, knowing such a blessing wouldn’t happen twice. "A boy has finally become Emperor." Looking toward Colchis to Julius’ side, he chuckled even louder, before looking back at the throne, "Are you sure you want to trust this man, Julius. He has no loyalties."

"You’re right," Julius said and looked at Colchis. The duke didn’t try to argue, knowing that anything he said would easily be seen through. "But right now, I’m the best bet he has at keeping power. I’ll trust his greed."

Coat thinly smiled and shrugged, "Shall we get it over with then. I doubt you want to hear anything I have to say." There was no fear in Cato’s voice. Julius expected such a thing to annoy him, but instead he found it amusing.

"In time. To be honest, I hope you could advise me once before your death." His words surprised Cato. The enuch burst into full-blown laughter before realising Julius was being serious.

Closing his eyes, he wondered what he should say. Thoughts of lying and causing internal strife within Julius’ ranks came, but a desire for revenge quickly replaced them. Sure, he couldn’t kill Julius himself, but he could make him seek his death.

"Do you still have that dog working for you?"

"Yes, Bardas is under my command for now."

"Good. You see, in that moment of freedom, I was able to reestablish my old network briefly. Some of those men were loyal, but I believe they are dead now. Anyway, I learnt something quite amusing. Bardas is meeting with someone frequently. Outside of subordinates, he took from me."

Julius squinted. He had his own reports from his men about Bardas’s strange movements. Taking his mask, he frowned. With Cato’s word, it all but confirmed his own suspicions.’He is already planning to remove me.’

Julius smiled and stood up. "Well, thank you." Stepping down from the throne, he stood before Cato. Thought about treating him the same way he was treating his father surfaced, but he held back. Unlike Theodoisus, he was scared that Cato would find a way to escape again.

Grabbing a sword from a nearby soldier, he looked at himself in the reflection before plunging it into Cato’s chest. A pool of blood slowly formed in the ancient throne room as Cato made pained noises as he slowly bled to death.

Watching with a cold eye, Julius felt sad that he couldn’t prolong the eunuchs’ suffering. He knew that the man deserved it for what he had done to him. "Clean this up." Julius gave the order and returned to his throne. Sitting down, he watched with empty eyes.’Bardas...’