A vast sea of soldiers marched forward, halting a measured distance from Orario's northern gate.
Cavalry soldiers with long weapons like spears, halberds and sabres were at their forefront. Followed by foot soldiers, mostly at Level 1.
The foot soldiers were further grouped into different divisions. Each division consisted of approximately a hundred soldiers alongside a single captain at Level 2.
Further back hovered captain-commanders, coordinating everything and surveying the battlefield to make split-second decisions. Every single one of these officers was Level 3.
Finally, encircling Ares's tent, stood Rakia's most veteran commanders. These were men who had waged war against nations, watched kingdoms crumble, and walked unscathed through the ruins of dynasties.
Weakest among them sat at the peak of Level 3, while others had broken through to Level 4.
Rakia moved as a well-oiled machine of carnage. Every soldier was a veteran; every soldier knew their role.
Historically, Orario had crushed them countless times simply because its top Familias boasted too many Level 5 and Level 6 adventurers, suppressing their army through sheer brute force.
Meanwhile...
Now, adventurers of Orario stood opposite them. There was no discipline, no formation within their ranks. Instead, every adventurer kept a wary eye on their flanks, anticipating a sneak attack from their supposed allies.
Years of dungeon diving had taught them never to trust another adventurer, breeding a paranoia that had become second nature. Now, that deeply ingrained distrust was working against them.
Their combat experience was another liability. While they were extensively trained in hunting monsters and non-human threats, pitted against humans, they fell short.
They were veterans of the Dungeon, but that paled in comparison to Rakia's soldiers, who lived and breathed warfare against their own kind.
Without the backing of Loki and the Freya Familia, Orario was at a massive disadvantage.
However, they retained one crucial edge; their leader was Cyclops, a Level 5 smith from the Hephaestus Familia.
Rakia, conversely, possessed no Level 5s of their own.
Deep within the Adventurer ranks stood three trembling Level 1s.
Arnold, Derrick, and Silas.
"H-how did we get ourselves involved in this?" Derrick asked, his teeth chattering as he stared at the battle-hardened Rakia soldiers.
"Do you even need to ask? Our families live in Orario. If we don't protect them, what else will we do?" Silas replied, adjusting his glasses—though a closer look revealed his fingers trembling ever so slightly.
Arnold wore a solemn expression, tightening his grip on Typhon in his arms.
"Arnold, you're from a village outside Orario. Your family isn't even here, so why insist on following us?" Derrick asked. His gaze darted toward the Rakian lines, only to snap back in sheer fear.
Arnold looked at his friends, his solemn expression slowly melting into a gentle smile.
"If I don't help my friends, wouldn't that make me a terrible friend?"
Derrick and Silas froze.
A smirk broke across Derrick's face, though his knuckles were still white on his sword hilt.
"You're an idiot."Derrick muttered, ruffling Arnold's hair.
"But you're our idiot."He continued.
Silas pushed his glasses up, his hand steadier than before.
"He's right. We're with you. Just..." He paused, glancing at the army.
"Maybe tone down the 'hero' talk until we survive this?"
"Agreed." Derrick nodded. "We still don't believe that story about Argonaut, though."
"Not one bit." Silas added.
Arnold looked at them with a wronged expression.
"You guys..."
"Alright, enough chatter, kids. Things are getting serious." A nearby adventurer snapped, yanking their focus back to the present.
Rakian soldiers were already moving. Their formations shifted, evolving into complex, impenetrable structures.
At the very forefront sat a commander with a metallic hand atop a jet-black warhorse.
He stared straight ahead, his eyes carrying a mixture of vigilance, caution, and carefully concealed hatred as they locked onto Tsubaki.
Tsubaki gazed back with a smirk.
"Commander Troy. How have you been? Good, I presume?" Her voice carried easily across the expanse.
"I don't have time for your nonsense, Tsubaki. Where is the Loki Familia? Too scared to face us this time?" Troy's gaze swept over. There were no famous Loki elites in sight—no Braver, no Elgram, no Nine Hells.
"Why so eager? No greetings? Are you still sore about that hand of yours?" Tsubaki taunted, eyeing his metallic arm.
Troy's grip tightened on his reins, though he refused to let his anger show.
Instead, he issued a silent gesture to the troops behind him.
Every soldier understood. They began to smash their weapons against their shields, the ground, or their own armour.
Shield met sword. Spear met ground. Hammer met armour.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Clangs of weapons escalated from a whisper to a cascading avalanche of steel, drowning out all other sound.
Farther back in the Rakian ranks, a soldier gripped a massive wooden hammer with both hands and struck a war drum.
"Glory to Rakia!"
Commander Troy roared.
A synchronized roar of over a hundred thousand soldiers answered him.
"Glory to Rakia!"
That cry swept across the battlefield, echoing through the streets and reverberating against every corner of Orario.
"Glory to Ares!"
Commander Troy drew his blade, pointing it squarely at the adventurers.
"Glory to Ares!"
Earth trembled. Clouds overhead seemed to part. 'Glory to Ares' overpowered every other sound.
Somewhere in Orario's ranks, a man gulped. Fingers slackened around weapon hilts; the adventurers will to fight began to evaporate.
"Fight for Glory!"
Commander Troy kicked his horse into a charge. Army of Rakia surged forward.
A hundred thousand soldiers charging in unison was an image that would be seared into the minds of every adventurer present for years to come.
Tsubaki roared in response, spurring her own horse into a gallop toward the advancing wall of soldiers.
In a desperate bid to regain morale, she brought her arm up and swung her katana with all her might.
The earth cleaved in two. A violent shockwave rushed toward Commander Troy, obliterating everything in its path.
"Defend!" Troy roared to the infantry behind him, even as he pushed his horse forward without slowing.
Five flaming arrows screeched from Rakia's backlines, colliding with Tsubaki's shockwave and disintegrating.
More followed—hundreds, decreasing her attacks intensity by a huge amount by the time it reached Troy.
Troy swung his sword, his war horse being pushed back as he neutralised her attack.
Tsubaki didn't care. She had achieved her objective.
The adventurers of Orario watched their Level 5 halt an entire army with a single strike, and their plummeting morale instantly skyrocketed.
"Glory to Orario!"
Adventurers chanted, surging forward to meet the Rakian army of their own volition.
Commander Troy was not about to be outdone.
"Attack!" He roared.
"Glory to Rakia!"
"Glory to Orario!"
Two different forces finally collided
...
..
.
Unknown location.
An abyss of darkness stretched infinitely. At its very center sat an elevated platform, and upon it rested an elaborate throne.
Ouranos leaned back against the throne's spine, his expression neutral, his arms resting limply at his sides.
His eyes slowly opened, two pools of sky-blue light peering into the world above.
He tilted his head back, gazing far beyond his dark confines.
His lips moved, barely perceptible.
"So... It begins."
...
..
.
Home.
Rooftop.
Platinum armor caught sunlight, radiating a blinding glare. Long white hair spilled down his back.
Bell sat upon a throne forged entirely of flame—one side crimson red, the other demonic black.
His eyes were closed. One elbow rested on the armrest, his cheek propped against his fist, while one leg crossed casually over the other.
At some unseen moment, an abyss of eternal darkness had torn open directly beneath his throne.
Sanguine red eyes blinked open from within that abyss. One. Two. Ten. Dozens of eyes materialized with every passing second.
Finally, Bell opened his own eyes. Two ruby-red irises, reflective and smooth as glass, shimmered against the sky.
"It has... begun."
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
Another chapter. I was in the mood to write some danmachi and wrote it.
Heya everyone! Take care.
...
I know what you guys are thinking. Why are you showing some unknown OC's again and again?
The answer is that it's important. You'll understand in a bit.
Trust me.
...
Honestly... war officially kicks off in 4 to 5 more chapters. I know its stretching a bit but... When I look back at those chapters of the war... I feel happy and proud as an author.
Hold on for a bit...