Border Fortress, Eastern Warfront — Day Two
The sun barely crested the frostbitten hills, casting pale light across the ruined fortress.
The soldiers of the 3rd Legion assembled with sluggish movements, many expecting their new commander to falter, to grovel like the last dozen exiles sent to die.
But Achilles Verentis was not another disposable aristocrat.
Standing before them—expression blank, eyes sharp as glass—he spoke with surgical precision:
> "You've been abandoned."
"Your officers betrayed you."
"Your walls rot, your blades dull, your morale shattered."
"I'm not here to inspire you. I'm here to change who you are."
---
🗡 Purging the Rotten Core
The first to fall was Commander Halric—dragged from the command tower by Captain Kael Verentis and the elite knights.
Kael declared, voice ringing with finality:
> "Cowardice is no longer tolerated."
"Dereliction earns exile—or death."
Halric sputtered as the soldiers stared, wide-eyed:
> "You… can't… I outrank you—"
Achilles silenced him with a glance, the System overlay glowing in his vision:
>>> Command Hierarchy: Overridden
>>> Authority Level: Supreme (Local)
His voice, cold as the eastern wind:
> "You don't outrank results."
"You failed. Not only you did nothing but you chose to be bribd by the enemy! I hereby declare your execution!"
"Wha- what do you mean by that! Who are you to execu---"
Before he could finish speaking , Achilles gave a clean cut to the neck. The head fell, rolled while blood began spurting.
—the soldiers' stunned silence was Achilles' first small victory.
---
⚔ Restructuring Begins
The next days were relentless:
Drill formations restored.
Supply chains audited.
Cowardly officers removed, replaced by those with spine and scars.
The Verentis knights trained new recruits personally—precision, discipline, endurance.
Kael reported quietly to Achilles at dusk:
> "The soldiers grumble… but they see the cracks closing."
"Ascendria spies watch from the tree line. They expected chaos. You're denying them that."
The System pulsed:
>>> Legion Morale: 37% (Rising)
>>> Fortress Integrity: Stabilizing
>>> External Enemy Activity: Heightened Surveillance
---
⚔ Traps for the Empire
In the nights, Achilles walked the outer defenses, eyes gleaming faintly with System overlays only he could perceive.
The ground spoke in variables: weak soil here, broken formations there, ideal chokepoints along the ridge.
His knowledge—part battlefield, part code—let him begin laying the first threads of the trap.
> "Let Ascendria come…"
"We'll collapse the battlefield beneath them."
The Legion wasn't ready for a full assault—yet. But the rewriting had begun.
---
🌑 Across the Border
Ascendrian scouts whispered into crystal relays:
> "The Verentis boy restructures the front."
"He's more dangerous than expected."
Marshal Kaedros' voice returned, amused:
> "Good. Let him rebuild. Let him believe he controls the board."
"When we strike… he'll choke on his own strategy."
But Kaedros didn't know:
Achilles wasn't playing their game.
He was rewriting it entirely.