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B3 Chapter 35: Cleaning House

B3 Chapter 35: Cleaning House

Tiberius resisted the urge to shift on his throne. It was astonishingly uncomfortable. Not for lack of trying—the regal seat was positively piled with padding and elaborately stitched cushions that made him feel as though he were sinking into a cloud.

But the sheer amount of the stuff was so excessive that it wrapped right back around to being problematic. It made him worry that he wouldn't be able to navigate to his feet when he needed t...

B3 Chapter 34: Everyone Loves a Good Execution

B3 Chapter 34: Everyone Loves a Good Execution

The rocky expanse of Grund's home came into view as the orcs barreled down the pass like an avalanche. Their numbers were smaller than when they'd set out—significantly so. But that was no problem. If anything, it just made his current task a modicum easier. 

“For honor!”

“Death to the Tulok Clan!”

“Kill them and take their shinies!”

Grund just sighed. He ran alongside the rest of his considerabl...

B3 Chapter 33: In a Flash

B3 Chapter 33: In a Flash

Marcus was, but usually one to take cheap shots. Of course, he'd sung his share of crude and bawdy drinking songs with lyrics simple enough that a borderline catatonic man could follow along. But when it came to original compositions? He preferred subtlety and a layering of meaning that demanded conscious dissection to be fully appreciated.

But Tiberius had asked him to be provocative, and, well… perhaps he wasn't feeling particularly charitable after...

B3 Chapter 32: God Save the King

B3 Chapter 32: God Save the King

It took astonishingly little time for the siege to take its toll on the castle’s defenders.

In the first few hours, there had been a definite air of vigilance about the place. The castle guards marched along the walls with zeal, and while the assorted adventurers and mercenaries clearly lacked the same sort of organized discipline, they also kept a keen eye on the soldiers that surrounded the castle.

Now, though? The number and enthusiasm...

B3 Chapter 31: No Strings Attached

B3 Chapter 31: No Strings Attached

Quintus was on his way back from his meeting with Gaius when he felt it. A strange compulsion, as though someone were tugging on his very soul. Not entirely dissimilar to the feeling when one of his brothers died, though this lacked the sting of cold dread.

He could have ignored it. But that similarity and the urgency of the sensation drew him forward with haste.

On one hand, having a good fight to test out his new abilities was a clear b...

B3 Chapter 30: The Executioner’s Axe

/// supper rare double post! Make sure you read 29 that was posted a few minutes ago first. With this to finally push us to 20 chapters ahead! It's only taken about 10 months to do so.... don't expect us to get to 25 ahead any time soon...

B3 Chapter 30: The Executioner’s Axe

Marcus darted between the tall buildings as his mind worked furiously. Attempting to sing a tune revealed that he was still silenced, meaning that his options were limited. His grimoire of spells would be...

B3 Chapter 29: Mythchaser

B3 Chapter 29: Mythchaser

Marcus was an impressive bard. That, few would dispute. With a single song, he could transform a room full of scowling adventurers on the verge of coming to blows into a site of bawdy merriment usually reserved for festivals and holidays. He could talk his way into any establishment worth visiting, and out of most where he'd overstayed his welcome.

He was a professional. And here, on his home turf? He was absolutely a force to be reckoned with.  2025-12-07 01:54:58 +0000 UTC View Post

B3 Chapter 28: Growth Spurts

B3 Chapter 28: Growth Spurts

During his pursuit of the orcs, Quintus and his men had neither the time nor the opportunity to visit a class stone—an oversight that he was eager to remedy upon his return. Tiberius’s promise that they’d soon strike at the castle only made it more pressing. Given the amount of resistance they were sure to face, making sure that he was up-to-date on his skills, stat allocations, and everything else would be paramount.

Of course, he hadn’t mis...

B3 Chapter 27: Hail the Conquering Heroes

B3 Chapter 27: Hail the Conquering Heroes

Quintus rode into Novara’s capital on the back of a borrowed horse. He would have much preferred to march, of course. But his mangled foot made that prospect even less appealing than the current situation.

The fresh reinforcements had allowed them to relieve his men, but Quintus himself had insisted on continuing to lead from the front. Which made the fact that he’d even allowed himself to become injured to this extent… embarrassin...

B3 Chapter 26: Turtling Up

B3 Chapter 26: Turtling Up

One of the Legion’s specialist units consisted of an entire century dedicated to one goal—defense.

They were the largest group of specialists that Tiberius had approved to date, and for good reason. Their greater numbers ensured that the formation benefitted from the natural scaling of [Coordinated Bulwark] alongside a dozen or more other defensively-based skills. All of them layered atop each other to form as ironclad a defense as...

B3 Chapter 25: The Bigger Picture

B3 Chapter 25: The Bigger Picture

"Father! What are you doing?"

A young boy from the House Aridus crowd wriggled away from the group and darted toward the priests of Arashim. He grabbed at the robes of the eldest one, a bearded man who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Out of the way, child," the priest's voice was stern yet not overly cruel as he brushed the boy aside. His hands began to glow as the other priests began to mutter soft prayers. Another column of divine...

B3 Chapter 24: Heroism and Heresy

B3 Chapter 24: Heroism and Heresy

The ominous chords of Marcus’s voice floated out over the city, drawing attention despite himself. The telltale twitching of curtains and signs of movement in windows revealed the hiding civilians within, curiosity at the situation momentarily winning against their fear.

He put them to the back of his mind. They were not his audience. At least, not the one he was currently interested in. 

He landed on a high and sustained note, a dr...

B3 Chapter 23: One Last Charge

B3 Chapter 23: One Last Charge

The orcs' newfound ability to “strategize” had rather clear limitations. Rather than acting and adapting like men, this foe could be more accurately likened to horses with blinders on. Once they chose a target and began running it down, there was no changing their course. Nor was there any consideration made for feints or repositioning or retreat. The orcs just barreled forward.

Why they were suddenly so determined when they'd been easier to le...

B3 Chapter 22: Paratroopers

B3 Chapter 22: Paratroopers

Thak howled with glee as he sailed through the air, flying down toward the city below. He braced as his feet smashed through a thatched roof and a wooden table. He heard his knees crack at the impact. But he hardly cared. They'd probably be fine.

Stretching, Thak grinned broadly and stood. The house was small and disappointingly dull. There was no shiny loot for him to collect. But it wasn't a complete loss. After all, he wasn't alone.

Hardly a ...

B3 Chapter 21: Door-to-Door Salesman of the End Times

B3 Chapter 21: Door-to-Door Salesman of the End Times

Unfortunately for Marcus, the front gate of Count Rollo’s estate was locked. But unfortunately for Rollo, Marcus had learned quite a few tricks during his exile.

He flicked through his spell book to find one of the many unlocking spells stashed away in the middle. Whispering the incantation aloud, Marcus heard the lock click as the gate slowly swung open.

The noble would surely object to someone breaking into...

B3 Chapter 20: A Lite Drink

B3 Chapter 20: A Lite Drink

Marcus had never in his life seen the streets of the capital so empty. Not in all his years. Even when there were major events taking place elsewhere, there always remained a steady stream of those who opted not to attend in favor of getting ahead on their work. But now? The city was practically a ghost town. If not for the lack of carnage, he would have thought that the orcs had already come through and slaughtered everyone.

Despite being physically ...

B3 Chapter 19: Send in the Cavalry

B3 Chapter 19: Send in the Cavalry

Despite being designated as the ostensible leader of the Redcliffe cavalry, Quintus quickly realized there was a problem. He didn’t actually have a horse. Nor did any of the Legionnaires, for that matter.

Luckily, he apparently didn’t need one.

The thunder of hoofbeats cantered next to Quintus as marched alongside them, his feet blurring with supernatural speed. The century he’d brought as backup followed close behind. Most of the L...

B3 Chapter 18: Into the Breach

B3 Chapter 18: Into the Breach

The commanders of the Roman forces gathered to watch the ongoing assault, keeping close tabs on the orcs' progress. The officers of both legions waited with anticipation, ready to act on their Legatus’ orders and begin their own attack. The few former Novarans with them wore tight expressions as their own anticipation built for different reasons. 

Soon enough, Tiberius saw it. An orc reached the top of the wall, then another. Slowly, the def...

B3 Chapter 17: The Waiting Game

B3 Chapter 17: The Waiting Game

Marcus had developed a bad habit. At least, he was starting to. He'd begun to nibble at the corner of his nails. 

It was unsightly—both the act itself and its results. In fact, he'd always experienced the slightest revulsion when someone else did it. As such, he'd never been particularly prone to the vice, which he counted as quite the positive. A performer such as himself had to take great care of their appearance, after all. Especially hi...

B3 Chapter 16: A Rock and a Hard Place

B3 Chapter 16: A Rock and a Hard Place

Marcus blinked in surprise at Tiberius's words. “Come again?”

Tiberius gestured to the scene before them, the orcish tide continuing to rise against the humans’ wall. “My two enemies are fighting. They weaken each other as we speak. Why would I interrupt that?”

Marcus was silent for a moment—a reaction more telling to Tiberius than if he had sputtered with indignation. "Well… what if they get into the city? Would such an...

B3 Chapter 15: Eye on the Prize

I made a slight update to the end of chapter 14. Just to make the orc plan make a little more sense in context (or maybe less? its hard to tell with orcs)

B3 Chapter 15: Eye on the Prize

It wasn't long before Rome's forces were on the move once more. The very next day after their battle with Marquis Morozov’s forces, their newly reinforced army crossed the invisible threshold into the center of Novara. The day after, its capital came into view.

Tiberius stood on a hill...

B3 Chapter 14: Thak’ugund of Clan Gormash

B3 Chapter 14: Thak’ugund of Clan Gormash

Thak’ugund—Thak to his kinsmen—stared out over the pitiful human city. It's shiny towers stood tall, taller than the tallest trees of his homeland. The humans spent so much time making pretty things. Pretty things that Thak would take for himself.

He and his brothers had made a few stops on their way here. Small ones, snacks on the way to the true meal. It was the best way they knew to celebrate. They had finally beaten the pesky...

B3 Chapter 13: Getting Ahead of the Problem

B3 Chapter 13: Getting Ahead of the Problem

Marcus was on his way back to the command post when Marquis Morozov lost his head. Literally.

The resulting flurry of activity saw the surrounding Legionnaires spring into action like a nest of hornets had been kicked. Duke Redcliffe was surrounded by several Legionnaires and pulled away from the headless corpse before it had even slumped to the ground. No one tried to heal the wound. Not even the Legion and their impressive abilities ...

B3 Chapter 12: Plan B

B3 Chapter 12: Plan B

When Quintus finally made it through the lines and back towards the command post, he managed to find Gaius relatively quickly. But it seemed he wasn’t the only one aiming to have words with the young leader.

Tiberius stood beside the new Legatus, his bearing as regal and confident as Gaius was tense. Despite being a similar height to Quintus, the emperor seemed almost taller than before as his stony gaze fell upon the centurion. Though perhaps Quintus was...

B3 Chapter 11: Battering Ram

B3 Chapter 11: Battering Ram

Quintus frowned as the vanguard began to retreat, their rear harried by the duke’s cavalry. Though they’d managed to weaken the enemy significantly, he still didn’t feel satisfied with how the battle had gone.

A quick survey of the battlefield showed that they would have a moment’s reprieve before the next wave of the assault came. The men were already busy fortifying their position and regrouping in preparation. In that time, he needed to fi...

B3 Chapter 10: Performance Review

B3 Chapter 10: Performance Review

Tiberius watched the approach of the enemy’s main force on horizon, his expression stony and implacable. They'd known to expect them, of course. But their arrival was ill-timed nonetheless.

The dark cloud hanging above began to disperse. Blue skies above appeared once more as the hailstorm slowed, then ceased entirely, the last of its daggers falling upon the retreating vanguard.

Focusing only confirmed Tiberius's suspicions. Tapping int...

B3 Chapter 9: Assault and Battery

B3 Chapter 9: Assault and Battery

From atop the hill, Marcus had quite a decent vantage point as the battle unfolded. The marquis’s forces battered against the Legion neither their physical or magical assault able to make much discernable headway. But that didn't stop them from continuing the pressure.

He watched the mages continue to hurl spells toward the line of shields. Arcs of lightning rippled up and down the line while the ground before them alternately...

B3 Chapter 8: The Welcoming Party

B3 Chapter 8: The Welcoming Party

Quintus watched the incoming charge from behind the Legion’s newly erected fortifications. They were relatively simple work, not much beyond the standard defenses they had come to adopt whenever they made camp. There had been only a little time to alter the terrain before the attackers got here. If they didn’t want to have to use the camp defenses.

That would have put a lot of things at risk that didn’t need to be. While t...

B3 Chapter 7: Shots Fired

B3 Chapter 7: Shots Fired

Quintus ran through the camp toward the command tent. All around him, the sounds of shouted orders and clattering armor filled the air as the Legion prepared for battle. Already some of the cohorts were beginning to form up—a rather impressive response time, he had to admit.

He noted those who were quickest to prepare in the corner of his mind for commendations later. For now, however, he needed to find Gaius.

Amidst the rush of activity, he not...

B3 Chapter 6: Under New Management

B3 Chapter 6: Under New Management

At Tiberius’s words, the duke grimaced slightly. It was the briefest of expressions, a mere flash across the serious man’s face. Yet it spoke volumes.

To some extent, it was understandable. Considering the treatment he’d received at the hands of his last liege, Tiberius rather doubted the man was eager to come under the yoke of another so quickly. Yet as he’d already said, the man had little choice in the matter. Not if he wanted a chan...