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Chapter 620 - Overthrowing the Tyrants XIII
🕑 Added 2025-01-08 15:00:07 +0000 UTCBathor held his hands up in triumph as they paraded through Ithil.
Victory was theirs! The demons, the only real challenge to their rule, had been defeated. The [Demon King’s] head was attached to the front of his chariot, the various arms and armaments paraded behind him, each one raised up on a cloth for everyone to see. He wore golden laurels, and had dispensed with part of the tradition.
Who needed a slave whispering in his ears that he was only mortal? Bah!
The crowds cheered at the victors, the surviving members of the 512 joining him in his Triumph. The gaps would need to be replaced and filled, and it was infuriating how much in-fighting was already going on. All they needed to do was cooperate, and everything would be great! Was it asking so much for everyone to put their egos aside for the common good?
The New Remus Empire was going to stand for ten thousand years under his benevolent dictatorship.
To start.
===============
After Auri had left my first career in smoking ruins - quite literally - I decided it was as good of a time as any to quit. Most of the paperwork had been ‘saved’, and by that I meant I’d liberally [Teleported] almost all of it to the pickup point, but everything else was in ashes. I’d been a [Spy] for a good time, had worked at being a [Scribe] and [Bureaucrat], and the whole thing had been unpleasant enough that a good excuse to leave was welcome.
I hung out with Auri and Fenrir at first, but the two were a little more bloodthirsty than I was currently comfortable with. Carefully making sure the fields they were burning didn’t have people in it, and robbing caravans was all well and good from a people-harm standpoint, but I couldn’t bring myself to join in.
“Love you Auri, stay safe.” I told my phoenix friend.
“Brrrpt!”
“Fenrir, can’t wait to have a good smoke with you again. Don’t let Auri talk you into bad ideas.”
“BRPT!” Auri was hopping from foot to foot in protest. I grinned at her.
“Am I wroooong?” I asked.
“BRPT!”
“You sure?”
“BRRPT!”
I patted Fenrir’s side.
“As I said… don’t let her talk you into bad ideas.”
I smiled as the two flew off, and I found myself adrift once again.
Who was I? What did I want to do? What new challenges could I get to entertain myself?
The question was simple, the answer easy.
“How many people can I heal in a day?” I wondered. “Can I circle the world? How many large population centers are there?”
I got out a large sheet of paper and a quill.
I was done being a [Spy]. Why not try being a [Cartographer-Healer] mix?
I flew up high into the air, and sketched out what I could see of the area on my map, then marked a small x where Edhallon used to be. I flew north to find the coastline, and got to work.
Healing as many people as I could was all very well and good, but the first step was knowing where people were!
===============================
A howling blizzard concealed Fenrir. The [Lord of the Frozen Skies] glided on storm’s wings, Auri cupped delicately in his jaws. The pair of them soared, Fenrir guiding the storm’s direction. He could see through the ferocious blizzard like it wasn’t there, perfect for hunting prey.
Most of the elves had hunkered down in the face of the unnatural storm, but that didn’t mean too much to Fenrir and Auri. The pair silently dropped on a fortress, the sentries not managing to raise the alarm in time.
Hundreds died in Fire and Lightning, Lava and Ice.
There were a few survivors, but the pair wasn’t going to linger, vanishing up into the stormclouds before a response could be mounted.
The New Remus Empire was hunting them, but [Dragonslayers] were legendary for a reason.
===============
Nina was practically cackling with her latest operation. There was an innate joy to being a [Trickster], a mischievous streak common to nearly all kitsune. Iona and Elaine had ruthlessly stamped it out of her when it came to being an effective combatant. Wearing disguises and sneaking into places was good for scratching the itch, but Nina had gotten a taste of just how absurd she could go when she didn’t have quite so many self-imposed restrictions.
It was hilarious to see how elaborate the pranks could get, how wildly outrageous and outlandish, and people still fell for them. Nina was slowly escalating, and to her disbelieving eyes, people were falling for her latest trick, hook, line, and sinker.
Seriously, if people were this easy to manipulate, what was the point in murdering anyone!? Just declare a [Farmgirl] the new [Queen] and be done with it!
The newest [Farmboy] she’d picked as a likely candidate was as gullible as a newborn babe. She’d need to train it out of him, but for now, it suited her purposes well. Hopefully he’d be mature enough to accept her explanation when he figured it out or she came clean.
But honestly. Who believed stuff like this!?
Nina had been inspired by her adventures in the Han with Iona, and had planted a sword in the stone, along with a description.
Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king, born of all Rolland.
Because, you know, it was just that easy. Yank a sword up, get a free crown to go with it! It was roughly as reasonable as ‘you were born to this person, therefore, you’re the next [Queen]!’
Nina had various complaints about how Exterreri was run, but at least electing people made more sense than what Rolland was doing. Then again, she was using the gullibility and absurdity of the practice to replace it with her own, so how much complaining could she really do?
The [Farmboy] was looking around nervously, starting to roll up his sleeve. Nina had all sorts of theatrics planned. Lights. A choir of angels. A dozen doves flying out of a bush.
“Ahh, I remember the time of creative boredom well.” Night said as he stepped out of the shadows. Nina jumped in surprise, cracking her head on a low branch.
“Ow! Fuck! Night!” She hissed at him as she rubbed the top of her head. “What are you doing here!?”
His lips quirked in amusement.
“Besides entertaining myself by watching your antics? We have determined a time to strike.” Night handed Nina a wax-sealed scroll. “Before you ask, yes, it will be staggered. It is intentional. Some of the relationships you have made will be at larger risk than others, and many will choose to stay their hands entirely. I do not blame them, but for every blow struck, the chances of us shattering the blade that the New Remus Empire is attempting to forge increases. Now. I do believe you have one confused boy you must see to.”
Nina twisted her neck around to see the [Farmboy] standing there with the sword, looking confused.
“Fuck!” She swore again. She’d entirely missed her timing with the doves! She started to hobble out, taking on her persona. A glance over her shoulder showed nothing but dark forest, Night nowhere to be seen.
Well, the show must go on! Old lady with most of her marbles… ready, go!
Nina emerged from the undergrowth, muttering to herself and pretending to check a timepiece, before glancing up at the boy.
“You’re late, you know?”
=============================
Iona’s rule of Sahel hadn’t been going swimmingly, and she had dramatically more respect for [Rulers] than when she’d started. Not that she’d started out thinking particularly poorly about them, but the sheer amount of work and wrangling was impressive.
She knew exactly why there was an army camped outside the city walls, but Iona was less than thrilled about it. Ruling the city was like trying to herd a thousand wet, angry cats, and the Valkyrie was coming round to the idea that drugging everyone very well might have been the lesser evil, and she’d made a terrible mistake.
At the same time, Iona firmly believed that the people of Sahel could be more. They didn’t need to be like this. They could strive and rise above their petty feuds and disputes. She thought of them like wet cats, but ten thousand crabs in a bucket was more accurate. One crab alone couldn’t crawl out without the rest pulling him back in, but a fisherman could simply pick up the entire bucket. Iona wanted to be that fisherman, but wasn’t too prideful to admit when she simply didn’t have the strength to do it herself.
She came in without a strong plan, and it showed. Ruling multiple cities - only one city now - wasn’t something that could be done on a whim, no matter how many letters Skye sent.
When a letter appeared on a desk in her locked office, Iona was cautious before opening it.
To Iona, Paragon of the Valkyries, Paladin of the Moons, Dragonslayer extraordinaire, Master of Sahel, etc.
It is with utmost respect and deference that I, Arachne, take the liberty of writing to you on this matter. I would like to extend my most sincere congratulations at your choice to expand your horizons, and attempt to fix problems from the highest chapel down to the lowest sewers.
I don’t believe I am overstepping when I say that your attempts have not borne fruit. I have a number of suggestions that will steer you closer to your goal while keeping you on track for your greater goals, all the while not compromising the ethics you hold so dear.
To sate your curiosity, and to prevent you from skipping ahead too far on the letter, your wife and companion are alive and well. Elaine has gotten dozens of levels and is happily healing, while Fenrir is acquiring a dozen nicknames, most of which involve building up his legend to a terrifying height. Nina is directly under the mentorship of Night. There is a second letter with full details coming your way, but I believe you won’t be separated from them for too much longer.
First and foremost though, I would ask that you slay the elven observer on the 13th. More precisely, given the rest of the letter, that you arrange his demise to occur at roughly that date. This is the moment we are striking, and the greater chaos that can be sown, the better our chances of success.
Now, you’ll want to conditionally surrender to the army outside your gates. I will start with the core points you must not yield on, and will continue onto a dozen more points that will provide you with solid leverage and give, such that the invaders are more likely to give you the elements you request. First…
…
All the best,
Arachne
Iona memorized the letter, then carefully burned it in the fireplace.
She felt a bit of guilt over the sheer amount of relief she felt, the letter offering her a way out.
=========
Artemis wanted to shake her head at the Rangers. Had they ever been this… green and stupid back in the day?
Unbidden, a thousand memories paraded behind Artemis’s eyes. Yes… yes they had. Usually only the most junior members. The ones that didn’t shape up didn’t live long enough to become senior members. They just required more seasoning, more experience. They’d get there.
A quick flash of Darkness annihilated a piece of parchment. Artemis was thoroughly spooked at how it had ended up in her pocket without her noticing.
Artemis clapped her hands, all seven Rangers of Orthus paying attention to their team leader.
“Alright everyone! Good training today. Tonight we’ve got one more lesson.”
She waited for the question, the question she’d trained them all to ask.
“What’s the lesson?” Nix asked. New recruit, good kid.
“I’m glad you asked!” Artemis said with a beaming smile. “How to hold your beer! To The Stout Woodcutter’s! I’m buying!”
There were flashes of disbelief among the Rangers, followed by cheers. Artemis frowned at them.
“But wait! What are you all doing? We don’t go drinking in armor. Go! Get changed!”
The Rangers scattered and Artemis strode to the tavern, opening the door with a bang. The Ranger strutted in like she owned the place.
It wasn’t a particularly nice inn, but it was the only one Orthus had for travelers. The floor was dirt, but all the furniture was new. Simple, sturdy pieces. There hadn’t been the time for the bar to gather a collection of dents, burns, and marks that otherwise gave a place character.
It wasn’t terribly crowded. Two regulars - the hour was too early for more - a trio of travelers, and a pair of elves, representatives from the New Remus Empire.
“Bera! I’ll have a Ranger Special, please!”
Bera raised her eyebrow, but poured Artemis her drink. The Ranger grabbed one of the stools at the bar, lifting her mug to everyone.
“And I’ve had a great day, so the next round’s on me!”
There was a cheer from everyone except one of the elves. The elf got an elbow in the ribs from her partner over her lack of enthusiasm - but it didn’t stop her accepting the free drink when Bera brought it round.
Artemis downed drink after drink, steadily becoming more generous as time went by. One of the travelers started up a song, and half the inn joined in, Artemis eventually ending up dancing on the table. She collapsed between the two elves, smelling as drunk as a skunk. She threw her arms around her two new best friends. She looked at one with a soppy smile on her face, then the other.
“Hey…” she asked.
“Yes?” One of the elves said.
Artemis responded with overwhelming violence. Lightning burst out of her hands, [Chain Lightning] bouncing the electricity between both elves. Artemis coated her hands in Darkness and sliced through both of their heads, killing both elves.
[*ding!* Target Eliminated]
[*ding!* Target Eliminated]
The Rangers jumped to their feet as the charred and smoking bodies hit the floor. Artemis jumped onto the table, all traces of her intoxication gone.
“Constant fucking vigilance!” She roared at the Rangers. “This is why you never let down your guard! This is why you never let your enemy get close! A mage gets their hand on you? You’re fucking dead! These two had a higher level than me. Higher stats! They were older, and more experienced! And now they’re fucking dead because they didn’t bother keeping their guard up! The same fucking thing will happen to all of you if you don’t pay attention!”
There was a stunned silence throughout the tavern.
“Nix.” Artemis pointed out the newest Ranger, one who was rapidly sobering up at the situation. “How many drinks have you had, how many drinks have I had?”
Nix squinted, the question seemingly causing him pain.
“… fewer than you?” He asked.
“Fucking WRONG! I’ve been drinking watered down beer all night! You know why?” Artemis pointed at the charred bodies. “Because our FUCKING enemies are right here! Get out, all of you, we’re running drills. Let’s see how you lot handle yourselves while pissed!”
Bera coughed, pointedly looking at the bodies. Artemis rolled her eyes. With a gesture the dirt floor opened up, the bodies vanishing eight feet deep before getting reburied.
“What are you all still doing here? Move!”
Comments
Harry Hirsch
Slicing through their neck with darkness? Is there not the vitality armor that prevents something like this being so easy?
Harry Hirsch
The kill notification just straight to the point who needs to know what class the dead target had when it's already eliminated, it's so Artemis
SwitchBlaze
Delightful Chappie. Thank you.
NDF 07
When Elaine flew over the walls of Sanguino for one reason or another a guard was about to try to stop her but she pulled out her sentinel badge and the guard apologized saying that he would stab his eye with a needle 1024 times, that statement obviously being a pre canned big apology, and Elaine mentioned in her thoughts that it annoyed her that 1024 wasn't a round number but then she added that is in base 8 what people use in this world and it's just her old world memories making act that way
Selkie
Another part of it is mindset. Artemis was able to slip into a new, different mindset. A growth and nurturing one. Now she needs to be back in the Ranger mindset. It's a tricky, delicate, violent one. Mages are particularly squishy. It's also a good way to show 'punching up'. It's not cultivation where a single level means everything. A kid with a knife can kill a high level Classer in their sleep
Khal Lee
Of course she was drunk!!! Just like the old days of ancient Remus!!! Just as you implied! Drunken lightning form!!! Bzzzaaap!!! Elf now Glows in the dark!!!
Aoinfinity
Technically the firing was all Auri's doing.
Sengachi
Maybe even worse. It struck me while I was reading this, we got to see Elaine and Iona both try new things and decide they didn't fit. But not Artemis. Because Artemis already tried her new thing. And she buried that gentler life on a floating island, where it was ended with no warning by a sudden moment of incredible violence.
Sengachi
Yeah this was such a good detail.
Sengachi
To be fair, the sharpest ones probably were.
Sengachi
It was kind of funny, while I was reading Elaine and Iona's sections I was thinking about how it was really interesting to get to see these old characters we're very familiar with try new things and fail. It really tells us something about their characters, and in a way it's just as interesting as if they'd established new aspects of themselves. And then I got to Artemis not changing a single goddamn thing and being exactly the same person she always has been, right down to the language of her "responding" to a benign query with overwhelming lethal force, and I laughed my ass off. And then I thought about it a bit more. Because why doesn't Artemis even try to change? Because she already did. She tried being a new person before the last Immortal War. And then an instant of violence took her peace and her husband away from her. She learned her lesson the hard way, and frankly the Immortal War was just the last in a long line of hard lessons. Oof. Artemis can be a funny as hell character, right up until you scratch the surface and then it's screams and violence and pain.
Yehudah Paster
Selfie has mentioned in the discord that she wanted to, but it was to complicated so she just skipped it…
Benjamin Olson
Can almost guarantee that Artemis was not at all drunk and was playing everything up to lower the guard of the elves that the document she destroyed likely outlined for her to eliminate. Night already knows how twitchy she is and how she has always been shoot first, ask forgiveness later. Perfect for eliminating two pesky elves that reported to the 512.
Ervin Ughy
While never outright stated, it was implied a few times. Like the rocket launch countdown starting from 10, and everyone was confused until they got to 8. Or when Elaine got her special phoenix clone skill at lv 1000. She mentioned that the system recognized that 1000 is an important milestone for her, even though no one else cared about the number.
Bryce
Tftc
Cormac
Apropos nothing in this chapter, if Iona ever meets The Genie, I think she will wish that all the immortal species have their innate immortality removed.
Kaylakaze -
Yeah, but in her case it was her brother being a smartass.
Nait02
Artemis is very intense still xD
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
Anonymous
Come on at least give us the level of the eliminated targets
Tatiana Saturno
And this is why I mentioned the Shadow Sentinel not working, Elaine got bored and the job literally burned 🤣 Artemis is still on top of her game! Nina found the *worst* teacher ever. Poor world.
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
AntiClimax she her
I just pretend they do use base 8 (or 2, or 16) to count, it's just translated to base 10 for us readers. It would have been nice for Elaine to mention if that's the case, though.... Of course, having 10 digits makes base 10 for counting purposes convenient, even if the system uses a different base.
extantCadence
Eight feet deep... Of course eight, but do they use feet? Also, I'm reminded again that it seems ridiculous for any society with a system of literally divine origin showing them the importance of the number 8 to arbitrarily decide to count 2 extra and use that as their number base instead. I often think about this.
extantCadence
The rest of Osmopondia...
extantCadence
I just started rereading the series and oh, Artemis.... She's doing just as bad now as she was at the beginning of the story.... Fuck.
Robert Nolan
Constant Vigilance! Damn straight, paranoid badasses with PTSD make the best trainer.
Roombot
I love that Fenrir gets to go on a rampage with his ‘old flame’ 😍
Roombot
Whose army is camped outside Sahel?!
Kurosov
Says a lot about this batch of recruits that they didn’t pick up on the lesson. Elaine would be shitting bricks if during training Artemis suddenly turned all nice and offered to pay for drinks.
Kurosov
There’s a reason when it was obvious an immortal war was imminent we saw one of the sentinels sacrifice himself to kill as many elves as possible just so there will be less of them around when it’s time to rebuild. Their brand of curse is terrible during post apocalyptic rebuilding, rather than pitying the lesser folk while they live isolated in their perfect aura maintained communities they start getting idea’s about how everything would be better if every other race just did what the elves tell them. It’s made worse as all the older, wiser elves who have lived though the cycle before will either be dead, in hiding or ascended. The surviving elves are the younger ones who were already levelled enough to survive at the start and are now at the top of the level ranks because of the war.
ElPontife
Daaaaaaaym Artemis is still badass AF. Poor recruits are going to remember this lesson forever.
TeaGeek
I love how Artemis has modified her notifications to simply say Target Eliminated with no details and no flourish. So fitting and it does a great job reinforcing how she’s dealt with life.
ben
Ah Artemis being Artemis. From zero to Lethal.
Silverwolf
Once Elaine is done remapping the world can we get a look please ?🥺
NDF 07
Can I just say that Artemis's kill notifications being just 'target eliminated' while being pretty dam cool is pretty dark as well
bcdp
I love how she even turned an assassination into a teaching moment. Best teacher ever :-)
Khal Lee
WTF!!! Elaine was the architect of her own firing???!?!?? LoL And Auri got to flaming meteor shower a town! Go Auri! BRPT!!! And a drunk Artemis *sigh* it's been a long time since we've seen Artemis in a drunken brawl in a bar. Poor new recruits. Thanks for the chapter full of fire and alcohol. Brings peace to the Eagle Scout in me. Brrrpt!!!
Inv7ctus
I will always approve of insane Ranger training. You want to be the best of the best in a world ruled by stats? You better be more intense than every other motherfucker out there, Also gotta love Artemis, straightforward as a lightning bolt and can still trick two arrogant elves to their death with a bit of merryment. Love it Love it Love it.
Sébastien Kingsbury
I think the elves hereditary curse is probably responsible for more deaths over time than any other immortality curse. Which might just be white dove way to compensate for having a race that has natural immortality but still seems to naturally create large populations
Hauke Sattler
There is a special kind of arrogance in convincing yourself that you don't need anyone to remind you of your own arrogance.
Ronny Cook
Killing people who needed killing for twenty thousand years. Plus occasional collateral damage; raise any complaints to Ranger Command, forget the name, starts with 'A'...
Kennyevilmonkey
Artemis is such a gem.
Arkeus
It's a Roman thing. If you recall, the same happened when Elaine had her parade before the time skip.
Jason Hardman
To the downfall of an empire! Cheers 🍻! TYFTC.
Andrew
Thank you!
CringeWorthyStudios
Nice. Glad to see Night’s finally making a move. I love that the elves tried—and the key word is tried—to curb their arrogance by having someone to tell them that they are only mortal and it failed because he was too arrogant to think he needed it. 😅 Thanks for the chapter!
Tilen Praprotnik
Thanks for the chapter
TheHornedOne
I love Artemis.
