Deros was riding his way back to central rome when he noticed he was being followed, he then lured the follower to an advantage point where he can attack , when the follower got there the follower stopped his horse, looked back and forth and couldn't see deros
"liu?, LIUBASTRA!?, what the hell are you doing following me, are you nuts" deros said from behind a huge rock
"deros, I'm sorry but I have to go rome with you "
" what?, I don't understand, you're a criminal against rome and you want to go there?, what....didn't I tell you that I didn't want to see you again "
"well nobody knows I'm a criminal except you and those dead guys "
"what about the man you stole from?" "he's...uhh...dead, I...killed him"
" you made a big mistake following me liu, I won't repeat the same crime against my homeland twice, cerise isn't here to defend you this time , so I would have to arrest you, you'd go to rome, sure, but in chains" deros pledged and he came down his horse, drew out his sword
" give it up Liu, just come down and submit yourself " deros added , liubastra was somewhat surprised and disgusted,
" you really think so highly of yourself ?, are you saying I have no chance in a fight with you? "
" I need to bring you in alive, so it's better I don't kill you "
" man, I admired you as knight and I wouldn't want to destroy your legacy , so it's better if we don't fight but I'd never submit to anyone, never " liubastra affirmed
"my legacy ?, hmmmm, you know what?, I don't mind taking you in dead " deros replied angrily
"challenge accepted deros , I will try not to kill you , you're my key to rome" liubastra pointed out as she camevdown her horse and drew out her sword , deros was fuming at this point and threw his shield with force , and liu dodge it, deros charged at her , swinged his sword and she blocked it with her's, she kicked his knee, leaving him unbalanced as she tries to push him backwards but deros moved to the side, leaving her unbalanced too, they both quickly regained themselves as they switched side, they both starred hard at each other, thinking of their next move, liu swinged her sword aiming for his shoulder but deros moved to the side , he swinged his sword towards her stomach but she jumped back swiftly , they both started swinging as thier swords kept clashing, deros was mad because he thought she would be easy for him , liu was calm because this was what she was expecting but she was being careful not to make any mistake , as the kept swinging, deros then slides under her swing , swings his sword aiming for her leg , she quickly jumped and rolled on the floor to the opposite side, giving deros enough space to pick up his shield, he charged again ,this time jumping , twisting himself, both hands was aiming for liu (one after the other), the left hand had the shield , she bent one knee prepared her sword and her other hand to block the shield and blocked it, then deros' right hand was coming with a sword, she fell flat on the floor ,avoiding impact by a very small margin, eventually cutting some part of her freed hair, deros then landed on the floor with his shield and quickly stood up , before he knew it ,liu lifted snow with her sword aiming for his eyes, it was unexpected so he couldn't quickly cover with his shield, he could only moved his head to the side a little, and could avoid some, the others entered his eyes ,liu charged at him, body slammed him to the floor and aimed to stab him but she stopped and said "I can't kill you deros, I need you "
"I already lost, just finish it" deros replied in shame
" you're just going to give up like that?, you're pathetic ", she stated as she stood up and started walking away from him to her horse, deros quick stood and grab his sword and charged at her when they saw soldiers riding in thier direction
"oh no, they found us" deros said
"us?", liu asked
"we were on our way back from their town when you stole from us , we were scouting their village and was caught ,we left because we were outnumbered"
"how many are they?" liubastra questioned
"more than we can take on "
"we?" liubastra asked, confused at deros' words because he just tried to kill her
"look there's no way we can get out of this without working together " deros implied
" you switch that easily ?"
"to survive this ,yeahh, get on your horse and let's move they're closing up", they both got on thier horses and made a run for it , but the soldiers was getting close, two brought out arrows, and they started shooting, liu and deros were barely surviving the arrows thanks to the poor aim of the soldiers
"what are you doing , is that how you shoot" one of the soldier said
"what's wrong with how I shoot " the other soldier replied, he grabbed the arrow from him and was shooting, still wasn't good enough to hit them because they were moving
"liu"
"what?"
"the only way we get out of this is if we split up "
"split up?"
"yes I'll head for canyon and try to lose them, I'm guessing you know your way around ?" deros suggested
"of course I do, where do we meet ?"
"even though I hope we don't meet, the trench in the west of the canyon will do" deros said
" ok ,then, don't die deros" liubastra pleaded
"I don't mind if you do" deros said to himself as they splited to both side, halved the soldiers, so it was four soilders after deros , one had an arrow , shooting at deros, deros was ducking, at this point he knew he had no choice but to fight , the soldiers was getting close.
While his horse was riding forward, he turned backwards, sitting on the opposite side , he had to stop the arrows from coming, so he grabbed the shield and covered himself, waiting for a chance to strike, he then quickly threw his shield, aiming for the shooter horse's leg, and the shield hits the leg , causing them to crash , the other three was still chasing him , then he jumped from his horse and grabbed one of the soldiers, they both fell from the horse and the soldier was holding a knife, attempting to strike deros who was on top of him , deros quickly dodged, stood up and drew his sword, the other soldiers stopped, came down thier horse and deros was somewhat surrounded, the shooter who fell from the horse, was approaching ,he was badly injured, broken bones even, deros was prepared to fight and thought he had a small chance ,he has never known fear because he had pride and confidence that he could never be the defeated until the fight with liu , now he's in doubt if he can take on these soilders even though he has done more than this before, "deros" one of the soldiers called
"how did he know my name? " he said in his mind
"please spare us", deros was shocked and confused because he thought he was the one who needed sparing
"we are not even soldiers, our leader asked us to pursue you, but we really don't want to die, we've heard tales that you've killed every single soldier that you fight with"
" until today, yeah" deros replied
" please, don't kill us, we have families back in the village " another one of them pleaded
"what are you morons saying, let's fight him, we have the advantage,*coughs blood* he invaded...us, we have to-"
"shut up willus, you're good as dead, we have to take you back to the village and save your stupid life, if you want to stay and fight deros , be my guest but we're leaving " one of them brutally interrupted the injured one, meanwhile deros is just standing , to him he is experiencing a miracle " it's really good to be famous " deros said to himself
"alright I'll spare you, go home to families and save this halved life soilder " deros quickly took advantage of the opportunity, they then got on thier horse, carried willus, the injured soilder and started riding away, deros was hiding his excitement when one of them spoke "one more thing deros" "uhhhhh, what could that be ?"
"please don't come back to our village, just let us live in peace "
" I'm afraid, I can't promise you that , if the order is giving , I can't refuse, you understand right?", he sighed and said "yes , I see that's how it is "
"but don't worry, I'll talk to my superiors in your favor, that's the best I can do" deros offered
" thank you , deros, even though I don't hope we see again, it was nice seeing the man of the myth, you're really feared around here, you have no idea " the man praised
"I certainly don't, but don't worry, you won't see me again, and uhhhh... I didn't catch your name"
"I'm not worthy , may rome be with you deros" he declared as they rode away
"that worthy bull's arse again pffftt" he gets on his horse and rides along
"I hope liu didn't die, what ...no, no, I hope she's dead, why will I wish that , well it's also bad to wish she's dead too, *sighs *, let's just see".
An hour later he reaches the trench and saw liu there , "there you are, I thought you were dead" liu said
"that's my line but regardless, I hate to say it but I'm somehow not sad to see you " deros responded
"uh huh"
"how'd you survive those guys?" asked, deros
"it's easy, I lost them, used those many Rocks beside the canyon to my advantage" liubastra explained
"ohhhh" deros exclaimed
"you didn't think of that right?"
"uhhh....of course I did, just thought that'd be the easy way"
"so how did you escape " liubastra questioned
" I....killed them"
"hmmmmm..."
"what?, you don't believe me?"
"....I don't know about that "
"so...how did you kill the man you stole from " deros asked "don't change the subject" liubastra countered
"just answer"
"It was easy, he sent all his soldiers after me, leaving him open, so..." liu replied to deros
" what?, when did-"
"before we met "
"but you told me...hmmmmm"
"did I surprise you ?" liu asked
deros scoffed and said"no , not at all" then he said to himself "who is she really , I feel like she was sent to humble me, every one deserves to be humbled huh?, no that's just stupid "
"so are you taking me to rome?" liubastra asked
"it's not like I have a choice "deros answered
he then spoke in this mind "we'll see who gets humbled" and smiled.
Upon reaching forum of Rome, in front of the heavy red gate huge, more than a 100 feet tall, folk believed it was painted by the blood of Emperor Gladius slain enemies, the gate had a head of a sculptured dragon on top of it, Rome claimed it was owned by the first war Emperor , the walls of gate was full of sculptures of different soldiers and past emperors, stretch miles, almost completely separating the forum from the other parts of Rome like it was another kingdom, the gate was heavily guided by soldiers and dogs, the soldiers guiding the gates has a higher rank than most in the field, the gate was regarded as a national treasure.
Briefly, they were approached by solders at the gate
"who are you" the first soldier pressed "you must be an idiot, that's Lord Deros ,you filt" the second soldier said to the first, liu was surprised and impressed
"my apologies my lord, I thought you left with lord rami and his crew?"
the second soilder asked
"ohhh yes, well apparently, this is the remaining of us " deros replied
" who is she lord Deros?"
"she?...she's just but a criminal,SEIZE HER"
liu was shocked
"what ?, you bastard ", liu snapped
"you asked me to bring you to rome, this me fulfilling the my end of the bargain" deros said with a cold smirk worn on his face , she struggles with the two soldiers , "liubastra, it's better not to struggle, you're in central rome now, there's no getting out of this " deros warned
"you traitor " liu said as she spits on him,
deros paused look at himself, sighed and said "what did you expect ?, what else could I have done?, you whore" , she was apprehended by multiple soldiers at the gate and was taken away
"don't just take her to any prison , take her to the paletine heights, keep her in one those cells and wait for orders " deros told the soilders and he rode inside the gate.
Emperor Gladius was having a feast with his nobles and other acquaintance of the kingdom, discussing the future of the kingdom or so they were supposed, the energy was rough and chaotic, the air was filty ,everybody dancing and drinking , breaking things here and there, drunk to the core, they had maidens with them, naked girls drinking, and whores, most of the maidens obviously didn't want to be there but was forced, hard drugs, sex ,fighting , all sort of immorality was happening in the feast , they also had slaves tell jokes as a form of entertainment, if the joke is funny , they let the slave go, if it isn't funny , the slave was beheaded right in the same room, this shows how brutal rome was in the reign of emperor Gladius and how different and opposite rome was from greece, Gladius was the most feared ruler who claimed to bring peace to the world, even though greece was bigger and supposedly stronger, rome was more feared, gladius was rumored as mythical beast because of the amount of people he has killed , he became the emperor not by inheritance but by brutal violence, in rome at that time, the strongest soldier becomes the emperor.
Deros walks in and knelt before the emperor, everything suddenly became silent, "I have failed you emperor" deros began
"what do you mean deros, you never fail me " the emperor replied ,
"we were caught while scouting the new land, we were outnumbered, so we ran away to report back , when we got attacked, I'm a afraid I'm the only one who survived"
" whatt?, lord rami is dead?" Gladius asked " I'm afraid so" deros replied, the whole crowd was surprised, they all paused in their activities,
" hmmm, we should deploy a troop and wipe out the new land " the emperor suddenly declared,
"yes", "let's do it " the crowd concurred, "my lord, it wasn't the new land that attacked us" deros said that to save the new land from massacre because of the soldiers that spared him,
"huhhhhh, what do you mean ?, THEN WHO?!", emperor asked, angrily
"it's hard to say my lord but it was our own soldiers"
"DEROS!, are you sure of what you're saying ?, you know the weight of these words , right ?", the emperor warned with great anger
"yes my lord, it was orikus, and his crew" deros replied, the crowd was surprised and in disbelief, "orikus"
"yes my lord"
"why would he?"
"envy my lord, he wanted to prove to me that's he's stronger and deserves my reputation, he said I'm just your pet my lord and attacked us , the attack was unexpected and was hard to defend " "hmmmmm....what a shame, I had high hopes for that prick, at least you showed him you're stronger right ?" the Emperor pressed
"no my lord" Deros answered
"WHATTT?!" Emperor became furious, the whole crowd still in disbelief
"I don't deserve to be your strongest soldier my lord, I was saved by a woman " "NOOOOO!" the emperor yelled as he smashed all the drink and broke his table "HOW DARE YOU , DEROS!, you have brought shame to my house, as from today, you're no longer the next emperor after me" the crowd was shocked and in disagreement, Deros felt relieved as if this is what he wanted
"From today, ASLRON is now named the strongest man in the kingdom and will now be the next emperor" the emperor announced, the whole crowd was shocked, not happy at all, they all fear aslron as a psychopath who enjoyed killing , even though they all enjoyed torture and killing , to them aslron was the devil , he's scarred face and scary looking and the way he loved darkness, didn't sit right with then
"did someone say my name " aslron said as he walked in with a predatory laugh, this is what he always wanted, he would even kill deros to have it
"I have only one request my lord", Deros continue
"who said you still have right for requests ?, you disgust me you weakling " aslron countered deros
"need I remind you who always win our duels?, need I remind you of your scars?, you failed because of a woman, I wonder who the weakling is" deros replied, aslron was mad and drew out his axe
"STOP THIS NONSENSE !, before I rip your heads off " the emperor snapped
"sorry my lord, deros apologized , aslron only bowed
"what's your request deros" the emperor asked
"the woman who saved me is here, what shall you do to her ?" deros asked "well.....I'd like to see the WOMAN, who saved my soldier " the Emperor stated, deros then asked one of the soldiers to bring her in , she was already in the palatine, few minutes later, she was brought in chains
"how cruel of you deros, putting your savior in chains, what is your name woman, and who are you ? " the emperor asked
"my name is liubastra my lord, that's all there is to me " liu replied, the crowd surprised again
"are you jesting the emperor ?, we already have a joker here, perhaps you should join them" deros pressed
"relax deros, she's a soldier, she isn't scared ,especially not of someone she saved, you know we have female soldiers, they don't only cook and satisfy our taste, but they are never stronger than our men , but you, 'savior of the great deros " the emperor interjected
"I didn't say she's stronger -"
"SHUT UP!, you're shameless, you can't even accept being bested by a female, that's why you want me to kill her huh?, no deros, I might be brutal but I don't waste talents , she will assume the position of orikus by your side, you will watch her fight and forever live in your shame ,you disgrace" the emperor declared after brutally interrupting deros , "but my lord-"
"I HAVE MADE MY DECISION ,deros, I hope you know now that your reputation have been stained, you will no longer will respected as you once were, but people will sing of her praise even outside the kingdom, LIVE WITH YOUR SHAME " the emperor concluded, "yes my lord, I'm sorry-" " you're dismissed, EVERYBODY, reassemble 3 days later,I have an announcement to make ", the emperor said, everybody immediately left
Later that night , liu went to see deros , he was arranging his weapons in his room, the door was opened and she walked in "do you just leave your door opened like that ?", liu asked
"I just came in and about to walk out, walk with me?"
"yes, sure " they both walked out of the room and were walking around the Palatine together, "Palatine is really a sight, I've always wanted to live here since I was kid, I heard soldiers talked about it a lot " liubastra testified
"that's how I felt when I first got here, heard cerise blabbed about a lot, wanted to see for myself" deros added
"really ?" liubastra asked
"yup, as beautiful as it is, it's nothing compared to mycenae, in Greece "
deros claimed
" what?, no wayyy" liubastra exclaimed
"it's true, I mean I haven't been there, YET, but I've heard stories, but I'll go there, soon" deros said
"wow , I'd like to too, but aren't Rome and Greece sworn enemies " liubastra asked
"uhhh, yeah yeah, I, I uhmmmm, just not shutting the door of possibilities " deros replied
"hmmm, I see, why'd you do it" liu asked
"do what?"
"come on, I know how you twisted everything in my favor....your Emperor is surprisingly dumb "
"sheesh, if someone hears you, you will lose your head "
"sorry, but..."
"yeah the Emperor is not the smartest , I predicted everything he'd say and he said exactly ", deros said, liubastra chuckled and spoke "so this was your plan all along? to get me in?"
"yes, well at first I wanted you dead but I just changed my mind "
" when ? at the gate?"
" noo, when I saw you in the trench , I thought you'd be dead , because I almost died"
"really ?, you didn't say that "
"well.....they spared my life, I doubt I would've survived if they didn't so I thought there's no way they'd spare yours too"
"they spared your life ?, why?" liubastra asked
"because I'm famous, they were scared for thier life "
"wowww, that isn't spare , I've heard story about you fighting more than just four soldiers and surviving, why'd you think otherwise this time"
" I...truthfully don't know, I just felt like it "
"you're even the strongest soilder in rome-" "WAS", deros interrupted
"noo, I think you're still stronger than that scary guy"
"pffft, of course I am, he isn't the strongest, I'm way stronger than that mess, he's just crazy and scary to some people, not to me, I think he's just a scared little brat expressing pain with brutality "
" then who's the strongest ?"
"obviously, you Liu"
"me?"
"you won in our duel and you're now a Roman soilder, but I doubt you'd become emperor though" deros stated and laughed "ohhh yeahh, I guess , wait why are you happy?, I thought you'd be sad, almost like you wanted to lose your position, you could've easily lied, no it's not even a lie since you really killed orikus, why are you relieved " liubastra questioned, deros sighed and said "good question, I had to lie to get you up here, and anyways I'd do anything to not be emperor "
"really ?, why ?"
"I promised cerise"
"huhh, how?"
" cerise was tripped off his position by the emperor, betrayed even , and sent to die ,but he survived, for that I promised him two things before leaving for rome, I told you one already, the other will reveal itself soon enough , well he doesn't know about this, I said the promise to myself and besides, being an Emperor, doesn't align with my goal"
"hmmm..., does that mean i can't be emperor too?", " deros laughed and said "do your thing liu, you didn't promise celise anything and i doubt you'd become emperor anyways "
"thank you deros, i really thought you betrayed me, but you'd pay for calling me a whore"
"you're not ?" liu reaches for her sword "woah woah , relax, I had to make the act believable"
"you should apologize "
"I'm sorry I can't apologize"
"you just said 'sorry"
"yeah ,but that's not an apology "
"uhhh seems like it"
"yeah yeah whatever ",
"my lords " a soldier said as he bowed "who are you?" deros asked
"sorry my lord, I'm here for lord liubastra ", the soldier insisted , deros became a little mad
"ohh for me?, what's your name soilder?"liu asked
"I'm not worthy my lord" the soldier replied
"ohh cut the horseshit and just say your name " deros pressed , the soilder said nothing
"please, you can say your name soilder " liu said
"ok thank you my lord , my name is orostus" the soilder replied
"orustus?, brother to orikus?" deros asked With shock
"yes my lord, I served under him but now that he's gone and lord liubastra is now in his position, I now serve her " orustus said , "ohhhh" both liu and Deros exclaimed, "and lord deros, I'm sorry my stupid little brother challenged you , and thank you for not killing him, I never wanted my brother to die by the hands of the man I always despised, I'd feel I lost " Orustus claimed "what?, despise?" deros asked
"yes my lord, but I know since you didn't kill him then lord liubastra did, I'm happy he died in her hands instead of yours, for that I won't try to avenge his death, it's just the life of soldiers, I would've avenged if it was deros though but instead I'd give all my loyalty to his replacement" orustus stated you have my sword, lord liubastra " orustus declared , they were both shocked, deros then chuckled
"I uhmmm, accept your sword.....soilder" liu replied
"thank you my lord ", orustus said then walked away
" woah, that was.....something ", deros said , "hopefully, he doesn't try to kill me too" liu said sarcastically
"he's a bold one, I respect him" deros claimed
"didn't you kill his brother ?"
"removed his head , arrogantly piece of shit" deros replied
"let's wish he doesn't find out "
"I don't mind, his brother was an easy kill, I'm sure he is too"
"you never know deros, he might be plotting " liubastra warned
"I'm fully aware but I have no time to watch out for him, I have other important job to carry out , we have a very big occasion coming up, we might have to play a big role in it, make sure you're ready , rome's task are very brutal and almost impossible to accomplish" Deros implied
"I figured, I'll be ready" liu replied
"I have to get these weapons renewed for what's to come, I'll see you in 3 days liu " "alright deros, don't behead someone on your way "
"very funny "
"one more thing deros"
"ohh come on, what is it?", "uhmmm...what's with that 'not worthy of my name' thing "
"ohhh , it's a rome thing....I guess, servant or anybody you're superior to are not allowed to tell you their name ,unless given permission, for some reason, they feel they are not worthy for you to call or know thier name, it's like a tradition or what not, I for one think it's a drag, stupid, so don't go telling everybody your name, especially your superiors, like me"
"pfffftt, I think they already know, that'd be unnecessary " liu replied
" it's not even a day in and you are already clingy to ego, don't make me regret this liu "
" I only sense envy "
" yeah?, *sighs , see you in 3 days liu " they both walked in different directions