Chapter 420: Cassius Attempt to Leave

Within the walls, the final confrontation was approaching. Cassius inched closer to Octavius’ position as the General ran to face him. On top of the wall, Magnus had long retreated as Octavius’ men began to encircle Magnus and Cassius’ forces. Atop the southern wall, the attacking forces nearly completed their battle for the gate controls. Bodies piled up high on top of the wall, falling off with a strong gust of wind.

Leading his men, Octavius came to the top and lifted his hand. He saw Cassius charging at him. The exhaustion he had felt after fighting through the city was gone after he had a small but necessary rest. Octavius smiled seeing him. He knew that Cassius had brought his best with him, much like he had brought the best he could at the time.

Playing with his sword, he lifted his shield. Once Cassius got close, Octavius opened his mouth, "CHARGE!" His voice boomed throughout the streets. Sprinting at Cassius, he held his shield up and met his eyes. Slamming into one another, they were both pushed back as those around either fell alongside them or were unfortunate enough to be killed before they could notice what happened.

Octavious found his footing and swung his sword down onto Cassius. Hitting against his shield, Octavius breathed deeply and smiled, "Cassius..." His words were like a growl that trailed. Cassius smiled, hearing Octavius’ unusual, demonic voice.

Without saying anything, he pushed Octavius away and stepped back. Looking at him, he lifted his shield to block a stray attack aimed at him. "I have Rameil, Octavius," Cassius said loud enough for the man opposite him to hear. "Surrender and I can guarantee your life aswell. After all, we fought together once. I don’t wish to kill a man I spilt blood with."

Waiting for Cassius to finish and focusing on defending, Octavius didn’t reply, simply swinging his sword at him. His actions were enough of an answer, and Cassius’s eyes hardened, no longer looking at Octavius as a potential ally. He was willing to let him surrender, but he had no reason to anymore. He wasn’t like Ramiel. He had no value as a hostage other than sentimental.

Cassius deflected the strike and threw his own counter out, being swiftly blocked by Octavius. With a barrage of strikes and blocks, the two exchanged tens of attacks with one another, blocking what they could and picking up small wounds in between. Quickly, the two got tired from the attacks, breathing heavily, but unlike Cassius, who slowed down, Octavius seemed to power through. His pupils were wide, and as Cassius looked at him, he could easily tell what the problem was.

’He’s drugged himself.’It was something Cassius never expected from Octavius. He had fought alongside him during the last Severian-Ammorian war and had never seen him take anything to allow himself to stay energised. The man claimed it dulled his mind when planning. Seeing Cassius’ shocked realisation, Octavius chuckled and broke away, taking a step back.

He wanted to gloat, but stopped himself, not wishing to let Cassius catch on to his plan. With a smile, he let someone take his place to catch his breath and tried to look up at the distant wall. Unable to see over the rooftop, he clicked his tongue and calculated in his mind how far his forces could have gotten with their encirclment.

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Magnus jogged through the city, peeking over his shoulder as he did. Clicking his tongue, he charged for the northern gate, where many of his men had hunkered down protecting the escape path they had. Standing by it, Ash watched as Magnus led his soldiers to escape.

"Why are you leaving?" Ash walked over to the approaching Magnus and asked. Although he expected to fight in the battle, Magnu had strictly ordered him to stay behind out of the main battle in case it led to his sudden death and ruining his plans.

Magnus caught his breath and licked his lips, "Octavius has counter-sieged us. y position wasn’t safe." Magnus calmly explained and looked into the distance. His men, whom he retreated with, had quickly formed a defensive position, waiting for their enemy to come once again.

"The battle is lost?" Ash asked coldly, but Magnus shook his head.

"For us, yes, but Cassius can still complete his mission. He can still crush Julius’ army and maybe kill the Emperor, but he must be quick." Magnus took a deep breath. "We must leave and meet with the reserve force marching. This battle will be my victory, but it won’t be without cost."

"And Cassius?" Ash carefully asked. He knew that he was the one leading the war, and the way Magnus spoke sounded as if he were planning on leaving him. Magnus sighed and shook his head.

"I have faith in his ability. He won’t die so easily," Magnus confidently said and looked at the gate. "But we must leave. If either of us stays, we risk ruining everything."

"I can leave alone. Why must you?" Ash said distafully. Looking down on Magnus, his cold eyes stared deep into his. "It’s cowardly."

"I am no coward." Magnus sharply snapped back, "Do you honestly believe you alone are to take the throne. Without me, you are nothing. You have no claim, no support. So listen to my orders and be prepared to leave."

The two stared at one another for a few seconds, with Ash breaking first. Closing his eyes, he turned around and looked at Asmond. "LIFT THE GATE!" Shouting to the top of the wall, the large gate slowly opened. Magnus watched Ash’s back and clicked his tongue.

’Cassius. You’d better return. Only blood can be trusted.’He hated leaving Cassius behind, but he knew his cousin would understand. He couldn’t risk leading an assault to free him and risk both of them dying. All he could do was make the preparations to buy Cassius time. Looking at the gate open, the Ashed Brotherhood, who protected their leader, followed him out.

Marching across the large field, they prepared to face any cavalry, but seeing it gone, they breathed a sigh of relief and allowed themselves to relax. The sound of the fighting within the city walls quieted down, and Magnus took a deep breath. Lowering his head, he clicked his tongue and got rid of the last bits of hesitation he had and casually strolled forward.

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Cassius felt something was wrong. He knew that Octavius had already begun to encircle him within the city after Magnus’ warning, but the way the man was acting confused him. He retreated even deeper into the city. Octavius must have known he had his best men with him and allowed them to come deeper.

"SHIT!" Cassius cried out.’Julius has already left. He doesn’t care about the risks.’With his heart racing, Cassius felt that at any moment Octavoius’ men would appear behind him. Wtahcxing his enemy, he wondered if he should even bother fighting him any longer or flee with what he had left.

Looking at Octavius, men who retreated further and further back, he shook his head. "HOLD!" Shouting out, his men didn’t listen the first time and continued charging, their minds already lost in battle. "I SAID HOLD YOUR PLACES!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, his stern voice finally snapped them back to reality.

"ALL MEN! RETREAT TO THE NORTHERN ENTRANCE!" Cassius made his call. Leaving would already be a blood bath, having to fight through each street, but there was too much to lose without much to gain. If he could kill Octavius, it would be a massive win, but if he died alongside him, then both sides would once again be stuck in the same situation, having lost the men leading the war. He knew Magnus wouldn’t trust anyone else to take his place if he died, whereas Julius could easily have someone from the church take over for Octavius.

His brother was Pope, and his forces were separate from the power struggle of the Empire. It was an easy replacement. Cassius turned around as a thin line of men held the rear. Leading his men out, it only took five minutes for him to encounter the defensive line Magnus had prepared for him.

They were stuck in a fierce stalemate with Octavius’ flanking force, desperately holding the line to buy him time. Cassius could tell how terrible the situation was. "SUPPORT THEM!" BREAK THROUGH!" Many would die in his escape, but it was all he could do. Maybe he would go to them, but he had no other choice.