Eastern Border, Frostwood Valley — Five Days Later
The moon hung heavy over the valley, casting pale light across jagged ridges and frost-dusted pines.
The 3rd Legion's scouts returned breathless, urgency etched across their faces:
> "Commander Verentis—the enemies! They began moving!"
"Light cavalry probing west flank. Two hundred riders—fast, testing the perimeter."
Kael Verentis stepped beside Achilles, voice sharp:
> "A classic Ascendrian raid. A hit and run. If we break formation, they'll carve us apart."
The soldiers behind them shuffled nervously—many barely trained, their scars fresher than their steel.
But Achilles only observed the valley, eyes shimmering faintly with System data unseen by any other:
>>> Incoming Enemy Units: Confirmed
>>> Ascendrian Light Cavalry: High Mobility
>>> Terrain Analysis: Ridge Chokepoint Optimal
>>> Probability of Standard Defense Failing: 74%
>>> Override Opportunity: Available
---
🩸 Rewriting the Battlefield
Achilles spoke calmly, his voice cutting through the rising fear:
> "They expect panic."
"They expect disorder."
"Do not panic soldiers!"
His fingers traced lines through the dirt, marking positions invisible to the untrained eye—predictive paths, collapse points, ambush zones.
Kael frowned, studying the design:
> "Unorthodox… but mathematically sound."
"If your trap fails—"
Achilles didn't look away from the battlefield:
> "It won't."
---
⚔ The Raid Begins
The Ascendrian cavalry poured from the treeline—hooves pounding, lances gleaming, war banners snapping in the cold wind.
They thundered across the valley, laughing, expecting the same broken resistance they'd crushed countless times before.
But as they advanced—
The ridge collapsed.
Hidden supports weakened. Rockfall engineered. Soil loosened.
The cavalry's charge faltered as the earth betrayed them—horses stumbled, ranks fragmented.
From the shadows:
Verentis archers loosed volleys with brutal precision.
Infantry struck in coordinated waves, exploiting the chaos.
Kael's elite knights carved through the disoriented riders like silver lightning.
---
💀 The Price of Underestimation
In minutes, the raid turned into a slaughter.
Ascendrian survivors retreated, bloodied and humiliated, their formation shattered.
Achilles stood at the center of it all—calm, unreadable, as the System fed him real-time updates:
>>> Enemy Raid: Neutralized
>>> Legion Morale: 51% (Rising Rapidly)
>>> External Enemy Reaction: Escalation Expected
---
🌫 Aftermath: A Message Sent
The captured Ascendrian officer, bleeding and wide-eyed, spat at Achilles' feet:
> "You… you're supposed to be exiled. A liability."
"They sent you here to die!"
Achilles leaned in, voice low and cold as winter:
> "You're right. They sent me here to die."
"But that doesn't mean sparing you."
The officer paled as Verentis knights dragged him away at the top of the castle wall. And there, he was killed as if they were showing the Ascendrian enemies that conquering the border is not easy as they think.
---
🌑 Across the Frostwood
Ascendrian scouts watched, horror creeping into their reports:
> "The border holds…"
"They're showing us that not to be messed up."
"Marshal Kaedros must be informed—the boy isn't breaking."
In distant war tents, Kaedros listened, his smirk faltering for the first time:
> "Interesting…"
"Then we escalate."
The first real battle was over.
But the war was just beginning.
And Achilles had only started rewriting the rules.