THEOS

“We are.” Clite nodded to the man, before taking off at a brisk pace towards the barrier that surrounded the town. Not even sparing a second glance at him.

“We’re saved!” He yelled, pumping his fist into the air, and twirling in a slow circle. The Olympic hopefuls squinted their eyes at his antics as they stepped off the platform, amused grins on their faces as they passed him.

“Don’t get your hopes up yet.” Rose mumbled under her breath, pouring water over his enthusiasm. Only to wilt when Clite turned back, and shot her the coldest stare Luke had ever seen.

“Is there anyone outside the walls that needs to be rescued?” She asked.

“No one, milady. The Emperor’s messenger came to us two days ago, and we were able to get everyone inside. I even ordered riders to go out, and collect all the travelers.”

“Good.” Clite nodded. “What do your rations look like?”

“Enough to last us three weeks.”

Her ring flashed, and a large wooden crate, littered with talismans, appeared behind them in the street.

“With that, you should have enough for five. I’ll make a note that you received the extra supplies, and someone will be here with more before they run out. If something unforeseen happens, you know how to signal us, right?”

“We will light the three-color fire from the tallest tower.” He said, thumping his chest.

“Good.”

Luke craned his neck as they marched after her, tracing the paths of the shattered remains of the near countless boulders rolling down the curve of the spherical barrier all the way to the walls jutting out from the horizon. Barely managing to see the bobbing, stone-like heads of the Gegenees peaking over it as they wailed at the barrier. Waves of light pulsed through the bubble with every impact, but for the moment at least, it held strong.

A red bird flew through the raining stone and flew unimpeded through the shimmering barrier and landed imperiously on a brick and mortar building.

That can’t be a normal bird. Thought Luke. And it seems like the barrier only stops the giants.

The townsfolk pointed at them and whispered as they walked down the cobblestone path. Some of them whooped and cheered, while others glared. A little girl, clutching a doll to her chest waved, and out of the corner of his eyes Luke saw Rose wave back. A streak of bright red flame, trailing her hand, made the girl's jaw drop to the floor… and quite suddenly reduced the number of hateful stares. Her mother came forwards and carried her off her feet, disappearing into the crowd.

“What’s with the mixed reactions?” Luke asked.

“Probably the stress.” Shrugged Rex. “I’d imagine if a bunch of giants showed up where you live, and started throwing stones, there would be some conflicting emotions. Most of them, probably not friendly.”

“Yeah, but we’re here to help right? Why are some of them mad at us?.” he whispered.

“I don’t know. People are weird.”

Can’t really argue with that logic, but still, why are they mad? He scanned the crowd, idly picking out the angry faces from the rest. There’s not a lot of them, but it can’t be because of the giants, can it?

“Do you have any idea how we normally fight giants? Like is there a certain formation we make, do we just go in swords swinging, will,” he inclined his head towards Clite, “she do something?”

“This is my first Tide too, you know? Just because I’m related to the Emperor, doesn’t mean I know everything.” He complained, before hesitating slightly. “From what I’ve heard, normally we’d go –”

Clite cleared her throat, her voice echoing sharply in their ears. “If you would wait a minute, I shall explain your roles to you.”

Rex looked at him helplessly.

There were more giants than Luke had anticipated. Hundreds of them, each one at least ten feet tall, and covered in earthen armor. They were much smaller than the one he had seen a month ago, and less intimidating too. Lacking the spark of intelligence and shrewd cunning that had made Warrior-tier one so menacing. Their bodies were bulkier, and lacked the sinewed muscles of their stronger cousin. Their skin was coarse and rocky, and their six eyes dull, lacking the menacing glow of that Luke was familiar with. Even their proportions felt wrong. The were torso’s too short making the arms look like they had been forced to fit.

As he watched a few more tore themselves free from the ground, before clumsily ambling toward the town. Digging their long limbs into the upturned earth along the way, they would pepper the barrier around the town with steaming boulders formed of coagulated mud and pebbles that they picked off the ground. A far cry from the obsidian cannon balls he had weathered before with the help of Nel’s talismans, but still lethal.

Clite assessed them impassively. Then stretching her hand out, she touched the barrier with a gray rune covered stone that appeared in her hand. It glowed a greenish yellow the second it crossed the boundary. Nodding slightly, she turned to face them.

“Six of you will circle around the town, three in each direction, and kill any and all strays. Those of you with bows will stand back and provide cover. All the giants assembled are at the Mortal-tier, and most of them will be easily dispatched by your arrows. The rest of you will split into two teams. One team will fight from the wall and slay the giants from the cover of the ward. The other team will be dropped behind the spawn point, and will be responsible for culling their numbers from within.” She commanded. Her ring flashed, and a set of talismans appeared in the air in front of them.

Sorting through them quickly, he slid them into his pockets. Thoughts churned in his head, as he poured over the battle plan.

It sounds… dumb. Most of us will have the barrier to retreat behind if or when they need to. I’m not a tactician, but sending a handful of us on the other side has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s hundreds of them and a dozen of us if we count Clite. Actually, if Clite attacks from the rear, it should be fine.

“What will you do?” Said Nikitas. Already pulling his bow free from its place on his back.

“I need to recharge the barrier. I expect that by the time I finish, all the giants will be dead. If you cannot do at least that much, then attending the Olympics would not be worth your time.”

What?

“How would that even work?” Luke wrapped his hand around the pommel of his sword. Glad to see that his wasn’t the only look of doubt among the crowd after hearing her plan. “First off, they’re still spawning. Secondly, doesn’t it make more sense if everyone attacks them from within? That way, we all have somewhere to retreat to, if things go bad.”

“At the current rate, the barrier will give out within the hour. I need to recharge it, else the collateral damage will be beyond what I’m willing to tolerate. Moreover, these are all Mortal-tier giants, and they are not cunning adversaries. Their advantage lies in their numbers and their stamina, not in their cleverness. They have a single minded determination to kill as many humans as possible, as such, they will target the town above all else. So long as you don’t wade too deep into their ranks, you won’t have to engage more than a handful at a time. If you retreat, it is unlikely for them to give chase, unless of course, you retreat towards the town.” She answered patiently.

“How long will they keep spawning for?”

“They will spawn until you kill the Prime.”

There should be a book on this. Luke thought to himself. She’s got to know that we don’t know anything about these things, and it couldn’t hurt to have some idea of what we’re doing here besides killing giants.

“The Prime?”

“The Prime is the first giant to be born. So long as it lives, the giants will come.”

“So which one is it then?

“There is no way to tell, beyond being present at the moment of its birth. Even then, at the start of an attack, more than a hundred emerge from the earth at the same time. If you kill all of them however, you won’t need to know which one is first.”

Sounds legit.

“I see.” If that’s the case then there’s only two spots to be in, and I know which one is better. “Can I be a part of the group that attacks from the back?” Luke asked, grinning slightly at the odd looks he received from the others

“I’d like to join him.” Rex said a moment later.

“Very well.” She nodded, and then turning towards the rest, assigned them into groups before they could decide their own.

“I’ll see you there.” Luke said to Rex, already channeling mana into his boots. Before the Emperor’s grandson could respond, Luke leapt into the air and ran through the sky at blistering speed. Clearing the distance from the wall to the end of the tide in mere seconds. Carefully dodging the boulders that were thrown his way with the aid of the Stances.

A grin split his face, as he realized just how many points he had ready to be harvested. Landing gently behind their ranks, he considered how to attack.

Range would be nice. He thought, as he pulled his spear free from the strap on his back, and planted it firmly into the ground. But, points are nicer. The shield will just get in the way. I shouldn’t need it with these giants anyhow. Which leaves me with these bad boys. He unsheathed both of his golden blades.

Bellerophon’s Xiphos in his right hand and the Emperor’s Gift in his left. He picked a target out of the horde, and ran towards it. His heart beat in anticipation as the wind ruffled his robes.

Climbing two steps into the air, he swung his blade in a wide arc on his unsuspecting target. Cutting with all his strength down the crook of his neck, and into its back, effortlessly slinking his blade a foot into its body.

+3 Stat Points

That’s it?

Kicking off its back, the creature landed face first on the ground. The heavy thump of its fall attracted the gaze of two more giants.

Less than I wanted but… there’s plenty. He narrowed his eyes.

Slipping into the First Stance of the Sword, he instantly became familiar with their movements. The Truth embedded in the motions guiding his actions, and for the first time, he let it run free. Uncaring as the Technique hungrily devoured his mana by the hundreds.

There were no rules getting in his way. There would be no stopping his blade at the last second. It was just him, and some things that needed to die.

He stepped to the side, and gracefully batted away a boulder with the flat of his blade, uncaring of the hot debris that splashed over him. He was a Paragon at the Peak of his realm, warm pebbles didn’t concern him or his Constitution. Sprinting forward, he charged his second blade with mana and slashed. An arc of blue light whooshed through the air.

Three of the giant's arms fell to the ground. Muddy red ichor oozed from its wounds as it tilted its head in confusion. Fractions of a second later, its head joined its amputated arms in the dirt. Its six eyes blinked slowly before they closed for the last time.

The whisper of the First Stance became a song in his head, as he inched closer and closer to the Truth buried within.

One by one, giants fell to his two blades.

Clite appeared a distance behind him. Holding Rex and Nikitas by their arms, she dropped them to the ground, and flew away. Her gaze lingering on Luke momentarily she dropped a handful of Mortal-tier explosive talismans in their midst. The explosion itself was ineffectual, but the chaos caused the creatures to trip over and trample themselves.

“Is he stupid?” Nkitas turned to Rex, pulling back the string on his bow, he loosed a single arrow into a giant barreling towards Luke. It sank straight into one of its six eyes, and killed it instantly.

Rex watched on with a frown. His jaw clenched, and a vein popping on his forehead as Luke unleashed death on the giants. Teasing three or four at a time from the crowd, and slaughtering them in seconds before returning to get more away.

“No. He’s strong.” Rex said eventually. “Stronger than us.”

“I can see that. Where did Lord Cyzicus find him anyway?”

“Gramps didn’t find him. Lukeus did.”

“Ahh. Well that explains it. Monsters attract monsters.”

“That they do.”