Chapter 413: Julius Arrives at the Front

Inside the Valley castle, Magnus arrogantly strolled through with Cassius and Ash at his side. Kneeling on the floor were numerous soldiers, their hands behind their backs. In the centre of the group was Calvus.

Around the castle, Magnus’ soldiers scavenged the corpses, pulling whatever riches they could find on the corpses as well as weapons, armour, their boots and gloves. "Commander Calvus." Cassius said with a cold voice as he knelt in front of the man. Magnus looked at the rest of the soldiers, and whilst some were common soldiers, some were nobility.

"Traitor," Calvus said with a hateful voice, and spat at Cassius’s feet.

"No..." Magnus finally walked forward before Calvus, "I’m no traitor, Commander. Sure, I betrayed Theodosius and now am fighting Julius, but I have not betrayed the Empire. I seek to restore it to its former glory." Calvus chuckled and spat at Magnus. His spit mixed with blood rolled down Magnus’ armour, disgusting him. With a quick movement, Magnus slapped Calvus across the face, sending him to the ground. "Tell me. What are Octavius’ plans? How large are your forces? Your supply lines?"

Calvus smirked and pushed him back to his knees. Lifting his neck, he smiled, "Kill me." Calvus arrogantly spoke as he closed his eyes. His words made Magnus squint as he launched a swift kick into his unarmoured gut. All the air left Calvus’ body as he hunched over, throwing up from the strike.

"I am a gentleman Commander." Mangus spoke coldly, "But I am not above using unsavoury means to get what I want." Magnus leaned over and grabbed Calvus by the hair. Lifting him up, he pulled his face close to his. "Tell me what I want?"

Magnus watched as Calvus was preparing to spit at him once again. Just before he could, he threw the man to the ground and drew his sword. Placing it against his throat, he applied pressure. It wasn’t enough to pierce his throat but just enough to cause him pain and draw a small amount of blood. "Last chance, commander." Magnus teased with a rare tone he hardly showed as he applied more pressure to his sword.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through Calvus’s mind. Death loomed over him as the desire to live surfaced. But it was fleeting, replaced by hate at the mocking, arrogant glare being directed his way. He wanted to live, but he didn’t want to live if it satisfied the man before him. He knew he couldn’t lie either. Cassius was just as knowledgeable about military affairs as he was. Whilst he may not have known the exact truth of Octavius’ forces, he would easily see through a lie about them.

Calvus closed his eyes and bitterly chuckled, To live or die. It should have been an easy choice, but right now it was the greatest dilemma he faced. Taking a deep breath, his Adam’s apple hit the bottom of the sword. "Fucking traitor. Glory to the Cosmatos dynasty. Glory to Severia."

Magnus sighed and put all his weight into his sword. The blade pierced through Calvus’s throat. Magnus watched as the commander’s eyes went wide, and all he could do was sigh. Turning to those of noble descent, he smiled again, "I’m sure none of you wish to end up like the poor Calvus here." Pulling his blade out, he swung it, flicking the blood off, "Tell me what I want to know."

The other men kneeling gulped in fear as they looked at the commander, whose body fell, his blood seeping into the ground and spreading out. "We... we don’t know." One of the youngest men said, "We were not privy to any information."

"Wrong." Magnus said as he placed his sword on the man’s throat, "Again." His voice carried a strange power behind it. Every noble knew of Magnus Maximus and his reputation. He was the cold Arch Duke of the Empire, the man who was judge, jury and executioner of his lands. The head of the Maximus family. The family which had waited for over a century patiently for a chance to take the most supreme place in the Empire.

The young noble lowered his head, "I swear fealty to Magnus Maximus, Arch Duke of Severia. My family and its resources are yours." A tense silence followed, lasting for minutes. After feeling like he was being judged, the pressure of Magnus’ sword finally vanished.

"Acceptable." Magnus walked down the line of soldiers, "My house shall reward any man who can provide me with anything on Octavius’ plans. I swear on my name. Yet if you dare lie, I also swear, I will bring about ruin to your family." He paused and turned to face them again, "Is there anyone who wishes to speak?"

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Julius arrived at the front line. Within small city, Octavius and his forces prepared the a defence as they hurriedly cleared out the citizen who were willingly staying behind. Trumpets blasted through the city’s walls announcing his arrival as every nearby soldier lowered their heads towards his direction.

"Octavius." Julius happily called out to the general as he rode over, "How is the situation?"

Octavius planted his fist on his chest and lowered his head. "The valley has fallen. Yet it must have cost Magnus double what it cost us." Octavius raised his head and stared deep into Julius’ eyes, "My men have created trenches around the city, and we have enough food to last a three-week-long siege."

Julius got off his horse and walked over. "I doubt he will keep us here for three weeks. He knows he can’t risk delaying himself for that long."

"Yes, I realised that from the Valley. He’s acting quickly. Why else would he attack at night?" Octavius smiled, thinking about it, "But it’s good he feels rushed. His men will hardly have time to recover."

Julius closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "But he is giving us no time to set up a proper defence. Just looking at the trench, I can tell it was built last night. You prepared in advance. How many times can you do this?"

"Not a lot. The valley couldn’t hold a lot, so I had the liberty of preparing here in advance. But moving on, we won’t have the same luxury." Octavius frowned, "He’s striking hard and fast, Julius. We need to hand him a heavy defeat in one move. That is the only way to truly delay him." Looking at the city around him, he thinly smiled, "It may be best we meet him on the field. Our cavalry is our best weapon and is useless in this environment."

"Are you confident in defeating Magnus and Cassius on the field?" Although Julius trusted Octavius’ abilities, he knew his enemy wasn’t to be underestimated.

"Yes, but I’m sure those two have the same confidence. I can plan as many strategies as I want, but the reality is, once the battle starts, the men will be lost in the bloodshed. I’ve seen it too many times." Octavius let out a long sigh. "And Cassius knows every strategy the military has."

"Then think outside the box." Julius grabbed his mask and removed it. "If I remember correctly, you told my father that the military was stagnant, stuck in its old ways. This is your chance to redefine how we fight. I know it’s hard to break out of that mindset, but sometimes you have to." Julius bitterly chuckled at himself. He was just like that. All it took was his father trying to kill him to realise his mistakes.

"For now, we must focus on the coming siege. I can’t have my focus split." Julius nodded and put his mask back on, having let his face have a breath of fresh air.

"Do what you must. Currently, I am under your command. Place me where you need me." Even though Julius had the authority to take control of the war, he didn’t risk it. He wasn’t like Octavius, who lived on the battlefield. He knew where his strengths lay, and warfare wasn’t one of them.

"For now, let the men see you. Inspire morale. It may be rude to say, but sometimes it helps to come down to their level, Your Majesty. Drink with them, ask meaningless questions that will get answers you will forget. Make them feel like they matter, and in return, they will gladly give their lives for you. After all, they do it for me."

Julius thought about it. The idea of drinking with common soldiers slightly repulsed him. He would have much rather drunk alone, but Julius knew there was truth in Octavius’ words. It was easier to fight for a man when you believed he cared for you.

"I understand."

"Another thing. Do not take your mask off before them." Octavius seriously said, "I’m not afraid they will be disgusted by your scar, they are hardened bastards who have seen war. However, you can’t be their complete equal. The mask provides an air of mystery and prestige around you. I’m sure you chose it for that very reason."

Julius nodded, "I had no intentions of showing them underneath it anyway." Octavius thinly smiled and nodded. Seeing that there was nothing more to say, Julius strolled past him with his guards flanking his side.