A small town on the Persian frontier.
A suffocating sense of unease hung over everything. Every household had its doors tightly shut, the streets lay in disarray and desolation, and many residents had already slipped away under the cover of night, fleeing inland. Panic spread everywhere.
Just a few days earlier, the army that was meant to sweep forward, carving out new territory for Persia with sword and fire, had collapsed in retreat, bringing back news that stunned the world.
The Persian army had been defeated.
Emperor Darius III had fallen in battle. General Memnon had died. The great hero Arash had lost an arm.
Out of 300,000 troops, only around 30,000 escaped.
Even the usually aloof spellcasters, along with the mysterious and formidable Undead Army, had been nearly wiped out. Fewer than one in a hundred survived, with only scattered remnants managing to break free.
The most direct cause, it was said, was the intervention of Divine Spirits, who unleashed catastrophic natural disasters upon the battlefield.
For days on end, the wasteland was ravaged by violent Ether turbulence. Explosions and thunderous roars echoed across vast distances, while blazing auroras turned night into day.
The sheer scale of the devastation, as if the world itself were cracking apart, left even the residents of distant frontier towns trembling like startled birds, terrified that the disasters born of that divine war would spread and fall upon them.
As for the true outcome of the battle, outsiders had no way of knowing.
Several groups of scouts sent out afterward to investigate were almost entirely wiped out. The few survivors returned wounded, dazed, and incoherent, muttering phrases like "man-eating ghosts" as if they had witnessed something unspeakable. The Persian army kept the matter strictly suppressed.
Even so, descriptions of the battlefield quickly spread within days.
The [Land of Nothingness], where all life had vanished and everything had been reduced to oblivion.
The [Wasteland of Death], where dust storms raged and man-eating fiends wandered.
And more.
At the same time, Persia and Rome, as if by unspoken agreement, both stationed heavy forces along their borders, sealing the routes and forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.
...
Meanwhile, out in the wilderness, the one responsible leaned against a charred, withered tree and slowly came to his senses.
"How long was I out?"
"Only half a day. Everything's normal."
Under the cold moonlight, Hippolyta stirred the fire as she spoke. She lifted a piece of warmed flatbread from her short blade and handed it over along with a waterskin to the man before her, who seemed both familiar and strangely distant.
Samael glanced at the woman's cloak draped over his body, accepted the food and water, and leaned lazily against the scorched tree stump as he ate.
"How's the legion?"
"They've withdrawn to the Ninth Legion's station and are holding their ground. The fortress wasn't heavily damaged. Repairs to the defenses are already complete, and all entry and exit points are under strict lockdown. Pompey is currently in charge of military affairs within the city. To be safe, I left three of my sisters and two thousand Amazon warriors there under his command. It shouldn't be an issue.
Besides, this dead zone now separates us. There's no telling when the massive sandstorm will end, and it's not suitable for marching anyway. After this battle, Persia has suffered heavy losses. They won't be starting another war anytime soon."
"And the City of Seven Hills?"
"My remaining five sisters, led by Penthesilea, set out with another two thousand Amazon warriors following your orders. Based on the timeline, they should have already reached the royal capital by now. They'll ensure the safety of Rome's Rose Emperor."
Hippolyta paused briefly, then calmly laid out the recent situation.
Samael nodded slightly, the tension in his body easing at last.
The Nine Amazon Sisters were all divine-blooded heroes bearing the blood of Ares. And Penthesilea was being groomed as the next Amazon Queen.
With five divine-blooded heroes and two thousand Amazon warriors of divine blood guarding Nero's side, along with Brynhildr and the Celtic princess providing support, their security was, in theory, more than sufficient unless a Divine Spirit personally intervened.
And besides...
The Ancient Serpent turned to Hippolyta, casually summoned the Spear of Nation Building, and tossed it to the Amazon Queen.
"By bloodline, you are the daughter of Ares, the God of War, and the elder sister of Romulus, the Divine Ancestor. Now that the Amazons have arrived, the responsibility of protecting Rome is yours."
This had been Samael's intention from the moment he fired the war arrow that night to summon the Amazons.
He was never meant to remain in Rome for long. Rather than watch this defensive line collapse, it was better to make proper arrangements early and find someone suitable to take over.
After weighing his options, the only one who fit all the requirements, someone he had a connection with, could reach, and possessed the right status and strength, was this old acquaintance, the Amazon Queen.
Yet Hippolyta did not immediately accept the sacred artifact symbolizing the continuation of Rome's divine authority and royal power. Instead, she lifted her gaze and looked quietly at Samael.
"If this is your command, I will follow it..."
The Ancient Serpent paused, thoughtful, then let out a wry smile.
"So during the Trojan War back then, it wasn't that the Amazons didn't receive the signal from the war arrow. You simply refused to take part? Have you really thrown your lot in with the Areopagus?"
"We were always a tribe that worshipped the Moon Goddess Artemis. We've only reclaimed that faith."
"Impressive. So Artemis is an insider within the Areopagus? And if the Moon Goddess is involved, then Apollo must be too?"
Hippolyta's tense expression eased as memories surfaced, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"More than that. Before the war began, over half of the Olympian main gods already had ties to the Areopagus. That's why even after the war, their faith continued to flourish throughout Greece."
Samael finally understood, a trace of sympathy flickering in his eyes.
No wonder the conflict between the Areopagus and Olympus turned into a contest, using the Trojan War as the wager to decide which side would remain. Olympus had been riddled with insiders all along. If it had come to a real fight, Zeus likely wouldn't have been able to command them at all.
And Athena, that cunning schemer, had stirred conflict, forged secret alliances, and offered generous incentives. She had played her hand flawlessly. It would have been strange if the opposing side hadn't fallen apart.
After all, only the authority of the King of Gods is absolute and unique.
As for the other main gods, not only could they maintain their faith within Greece, but even if they expanded outward, they could cultivate new followers. No matter how one looked at it, they stood to gain.
That also explained why Rome and Greece had formed a Pan-Hellenic alliance, jointly resisting the combined assaults of Persia, Egypt, and the Huns.
The interests of the Areopagus and the Pantheon had long since been bound together. The division between them was far less pronounced than it appeared.
It also explained why the Pantheon's war arrow, once in his hands, had worked, successfully summoning the Amazons.
So you really did turn in a perfect answer to the task I left you back then.
Realizing he had, in a sense, become the rightful figure behind the Amazons, Samael couldn't help but admire his capable adopted daughter.
Pulling his thoughts back, the Ancient Serpent looked at Hippolyta with curiosity.
"When did the Amazons become this fierce?"
The answer left Samael with a helpless smile.
Because, in the end, it really was his doing.
...
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