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B2 Chapter 45: Escort Quest

B2 Chapter 45: Escort Quest

Marcus walked quickly through the Legionnaires' camp as he followed the messenger towards the city. He had been on quite a lucky streak in dice, and he did mean lucky, he only sometimes cheated among these men, when he'd been interrupted by a summons. One from the Legatus himself.

It had been a while since Tiberius had called upon him like this. That wasn't to say they hadn't been in contact though. They still had regular meetings, albeit less frequen...

B2 Chapter 44: All Hail

B2 Chapter 44: All Hail

Conquering a city was always a worthwhile venture. Even in the simplest of assaults, the excitement and sense of accomplishment sent Tiberius's heart pounding. Pluto, it was practically the purpose of his life.

Subduing it afterwards was torture.

It was boring. It was tedious. It was usually far more difficult than it needed to be. And it practically never involved even the slightest bit of excitement. Even on the rare occasion that someone did resi...

B2 Chapter 43: A Call to Adventure

B2 Chapter 43: A Call to Adventure

The overall layout of Habersville’s new area remained similar to that of a Legionary camp. The parallels, combined with the neat gridlike streets made it incredibly simple for any of the men to navigate.

As Quintus left Habersville proper, he couldn't help but feel a bit of relief wash over him. As much as the Legion had renovated the little city, there were still clear vestiges of its foreign origins sprinkled throughout. A nonsensical clust...

B2 Chapter 42: Home, Sweet Home

B2 Chapter 42: Home, Sweet Home

The Legion barely had to narrow their column as they passed over the bridge to Habersville. What had once been a quick and temporary stopgap now had been replaced with a more permanent construction of quality stone, the materials courtesy of Stonester, allowing them to easily stride ten abreast. It was even wide enough to allow siege engines across, a nice bit of foresight that Tiberius had surely appreciated.

The men's steps clattered against the...

B2 Chapter 41: Taking Losses

B2 Chapter 41: Taking Losses

Gerald sat in his third favorite garden, reclining in a comfortable seat within as he sipped on his second favorite wine. It was before noon, after all. He couldn't let all the good pleasures of the day go to waste by indulging before he had a chance to actually do some work.

Besides, he was hosting a wine tasting event that evening. The upper crust of Novara's nobility would be in attendance as the finest winemakers from across the kingdom put forth...

B2 Chapter 40: Death from Above

B2 Chapter 40: Death from Above

Tiberius kept his head on a swivel as he walked through the remains of the besieged city. Aside from the now crumbling wall, most of it remained relatively intact, a consequence of their utter inability to fight back once the Legion was inside. Which was why he felt so confident in his contempt for its construction.

Again and again, the people of this world found ways to disappoint him. This was the largest city they'd been to by many orders of ma...

B2 Chapter 39: Ashes of a Noble Heart

B2 Chapter 39: Ashes of a Noble Heart

Marcus approached Tiberius’s tent only to be greeted with the sight of a snarling and writhing baroness being hauled off. Quite an auspicious start to the evening, if did say so himself. Especially when the woman spotted him and shot him a glare meant to kill.

He shook his head in dismay. Evidently, his efforts to calm the woman had fallen on deaf ears. It was no surprise, of course. Charisma and charisma-based skills weren't mind control....

B2 Chapter 38: It’s Raining Men

B2 Chapter 38: It’s Raining Men

Tiberius climbed the last hill with his entourage of guards, stopping at its apex to inspect the situation ahead. At the same time he cracked his neck, taking the opportunity to flex and stretch his legs and feet. His entire lower body felt sore. Hell, even his neck hurt.

All the marching he'd been doing recently had really been wearing on him, even with his skill levels and improved stats. It seemed as though the more capable he became, the har...

B2 Chapter 37: A Feast for the Crows

B2 Chapter 37: A Feast for the Crows

The clean-up operations had dragged on a little longer than expected. The six armored warriors were no match for the Legion and their numbers. However, the hail of arrows and seemingly magical attacks forced them to act with a bit more caution. They had to be extra diligent to always work under the cover of their shields as they dragged the bodies, horses, and equipment out of range.

As Quintus took stock of their own situation, he couldn't h...

B2 Chapter 36: No Mercy for the Brave 

B2 Chapter 36: No Mercy for the Brave

/// some minor changes were made to chapter 35. I wanted to get this out yesterday, but in the last minute check I realized a couple things didn't line up right and I had to figure out how to fix things. It ending up requiring minor edits in 35, only in the second half of the chapter. If anything doesn't seem right, I'm just going to blame that. haha. Really you shouldn't need to reread, just know that there is sometime before Quintus turns around ...

B2 Chapter 35: Truce or Dare

//There are few changes after the split. Also added the title. 36 should be posted in the hour

B2 Chapter 35: Truce or Dare

Tiberius took in the sight of the siege engines with pride. Their arsenal truly had become a sight to behold. On top of the scorpions, ballistae, and catapults, there were also trebuchets and massive siege towers tall enough to assault even the most impressive walls. He even saw several other prototype inventions that would have just been impractical in their...

B2 Chapter 34: To Fight, or Not to Fight

B2 Chapter 34: To Fight, or Not to Fight

Quintus looked over at the subdued noblewoman and her daughter. He'd taken them, their retainers, and the horses back to their camp and set a heavy guard about them before stepping away. He didn't particularly want them to privy to talks about what to do with them. Not unless it served a purpose.

Such decisions were usually above Quintus’s pay grade. Still, he obviously knew of a few common uses for foreign nobility once they were capture...

B2 Chapter 33: The Ninth Son

B2 Chapter 33: The Ninth Son

Marcus gulped down lungfuls of air as he finally reached the edge of the Legion encampment. By the time he arrived, the soldiers had already encircled Hausten, the seat of the barony, and begun their siege. They'd even begun to build around the city itself, bizarrely erecting fortifications and trenches that altered the very landscape.

He’d actually ended up pulling ahead of the auxiliaries. He’d managed to help them along quite a bit through judic...

B2 Chapter 32: We Have You Surrounded

B2 Chapter 32: We Have You Surrounded

The march to the barony’s seat was uneventful. Even as they made camp and set watches that night, Quintus couldn’t help but expect some previously unseen force to pop out of hiding and ambush them, or a group of adventurers to take them by surprise. Yet even as the distance between them and their destination shrank to only a few hours of marching, no such threat arose.

It made him feel a little paranoid, especially considering that he’d ...

B2 Chapter 31: Simply Offensive

B2 Chapter 31: Simply Offensive

A long line of defeated men marched under the careful watch of the  Legionnaires, their hands bound before them. Their faces showed that their resolve had been well and truly crushed. Nevertheless, the Legionnaires kept their hands on their swords just in case anyone decided to try something.

Tiberius kept his face impassive but inwardly was quite pleased. Their empire's population had grown significantly this day. If they’d known exactly how...

B2 Chapter 30: Family Man

B2 Chapter 30: Family Man

Marcus couldn’t help but stare in awe at the scene before him.

He had left behind the battle between the Legionnaires and the five adventures. It was quickly winding to a close and the outcome was obvious, anyway. 

He'd really, truly expected the army to have a more difficult time dealing with the party. And at the start, they had. But it hadn't taken long for them to wear the adventurers down. Especially not once their more experimental unit...

B2 Chapter 29: Boneless Wings

B2 Chapter 29: Boneless Wings

Quintus blinked. “No bones, you say?”

“Right.” Cassius gestured toward the “man” as he battered at another section of the line, forcing it to shift back and rotate even more Legionnaires in. “I don't exactly know what that means or how it's possible, but it's what I see.”

The Primus Pilus frowned at the black-armored figure. If that was the case, it might help to explain his inhuman endurance, even past the level gap. It also mea...

B2 Chapter 28: A Bone to Pick

B2 Chapter 28: A Bone to Pick

When Tiberius came to, everything hurt. His shoulders, side, and ribs were the worst, aching as though he’d been repeatedly smashed with a battering ram. But the rest of his body wasn't faring much better. 

As the initial haze of unconsciousness faded, Tiberius felt another sensation come to the forefront of his attention. A pair of soft hands, one on his forehead and another on his chest. Their warmth pulsed through him as twin bright spots am...

B2 Chapter 27: Ides of March

B2 Chapter 27: Ides of March

The first few levels of a common skill were usually fairly easy to get. All one had to do was use it a bit, maybe improve one’s form according to what the skill suggested if one was feeling particularly ambitious. Easy.

Which was why Marcus suspected he’d be coming home to quite a few levels in [Running] after all this.

He put one foot in front of the other, panting with exertion as he ran on and on. His pace...

B2 Chapter 26: Some Call It Bravery

B2 Chapter 26: Some Call It Bravery

Tiberius wasn’t sure whether to curse Quintus for his stupidity or praise him for his bravery.

It was the Primus Pilus’s job to serve as a proper example for the rest of the men, to be a beacon of valor and excellence. But this? Launching himself in such a suicidal assault? This was not exactly in the job description. This went beyond even the dangers of being the first man atop a wall. But then, he supposed he could never, ever accuse Quint...

B2 Chapter 25: Quality vs. Quantity

B2 Chapter 25: Quality vs. Quantity

The armored man let out a guttural scream that echoed across the hills. He began to emanate a sickly green glow as he charged toward the Legion's line. He leapt straight over their fortifications and aimed for the spot between two Legionnaires, ignoring the sharpened spear points and stakes that shattered on his breastplate. It hardly slowed his charge as he crashed through the first few ranks of the shield wall. 

But the Legion's lines wer...

B2 Chapter 24: The Fantastic Five

B2 Chapter 24: The Fantastic Five

The five figures moved slowly but steadily toward Quintus’s cohorts of Legionnaires. Their unhurried pace made them give off an oddly intimidating aura, as though their arrival was inevitable and didn’t need to be rushed. Fortunately, it also gave Quintus time to organize the men.

He called out a few quick orders, shaping them up for a quick march to the fallback point. They put some distance between themselves and the enemy, meeting up with t...

EV B2 Chapter 53:

I hauled it roughly into a secluded alcove off the main tunnel. Behind me, Astrid and Alana followed, each one dragging one of the unconscious clients. The alcove was narrow, its walls slick with mildew and moisture, but there was enough of a space that I didn’t feel like I was going to be snuck up on if someone was walking through the tunnels nearby.

I carefully set Garrett against the wall while Astrid and Alana began binding the other two. The dim torchlight flickered erratically, ...

B2 Chapter 23: Best Laid Plans

B2 Chapter 23: Best Laid Plans

Tiberius watched the ambush begin from afar, his [Keen Eye] skill allowing him to observe the action from several miles back. Getting the skill to this point had been… interesting, to say the least. Tiberius had never thought that looking at faraway things was something one could train in, but here he was. And he certainly wasn’t going to complain about the results.

The somewhat messy snake of the enemy column halted suddenly, th...

B2 Chapter 22: It’s a Wash

B2 Chapter 22: It’s a Wash

Habersville’s bathhouse was less of a house with baths and more of an art museum that had been erected around a large pool. Clear waters filled the center of the space and lapped against tall pillars set along its edges. Murals and carvings decorated every surface, their reflections rippling softly as bathers lounged and swam.

Of all the structures the Romans had built, this one was the most ornate and impressive—excluding the in-progress temple of...

B2 Chapter 21: What is Your Profession?

2/2

B2 Chapter 21: What is Your Profession?

Quintus led a long column of men as they snaked through the hills, keeping to the valleys and behind the elevated terrain as much as possible. They’d managed to evade notice so far, but he wasn’t sure that would last much longer. The hills themselves were not nearly as pronounced as they’d looked on the map. A mistake in their information, perhaps. Or maybe he just hadn’t accurately taken account of the scale.

Either way, t...

B2 Chapter 20: Running Away From Your Problems

1/2

B2 Chapter 20: Running Away From Your Problems

Despite being surrounded by water on all sides, neither Marcus or the Legionnaires that accompanied him deemed it bath-worthy. It had already been of questionable cleanliness before their fight, and now that it had been turned into kraken soup? No one wanted to touch it more than absolutely necessary. Especially not after smelling the men who had been pulled out.

As Marcus lay there, catching his breath, he stared up at the ...