“Are you feeling fine, lad?” Firebeard asked Ajax who was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. “They didn’t get you with that poison did they, I think I have a spare antidote.”
“No, just my first fight at this level.” Ajax covered for the weakness period [Last Stand] forced on him after the Skill’s deactivation. “Shouldn’t we go after their army?”
“They already sounded their retreat despite sending three champions to kill .” Firebeard nodded towards Redfang who was not only restrained by enchanted bindings but had his arms and legs cut off as well. “If we give chase they’ll have us intercepted.”
Ajax didn’t like it but he could see the logic. He knew Firebeard and him were in no state to fight another champion. Despite the three on one advantage and the damage Redfang had taken he still put up one hell of a fight before they managed to actually capture him. Ajax cursed the beastkin silently when he thought back to the fight as the beastkin champion had clearly realized they were trying to take him alive and used that against them to put up a better fight.
“Will you be fine if I take our prisoner and return to headquarters then?” Ajax asked.
“You go ahead, lad.” Firebeard nodded.
Ajax wasted no ti getting back up on Auraxion who picked up the bound Redfang in one claw and took off. The army below them cheered their goodbye, Ajax was sure Aurexion or so variation of the na would beco rather common among the next generation of children in the Republic following this war from how initial reactions to his bond already looked like.
“Why are you worried?” Aurexion asked him once they were high in the sky, bound as he was, Redfang couldn’t hear them so there was no reason for secrecy.
“Because the fight was too easy and too hard at the sa ti.” Ajax’s answer didn’t do anything to clarify things for Aurexion so he explained. “My fight against the mage was too easy, even if she was about as weak as a champion can be and be called a champion it shouldn’t have been so easy for
to win. Their army saw that, word will spread and they’ll be more prepared for
next ti.”
“Then how was it too hard?” Aurexion asked.
“Because of how hard it was for us to catch their real champion.” Ajax motioned towards the cargo Aurexion was carrying. “That’s just one of them, and worse yet the longer this war goes on the closer to that the weaker ones will get. What they lack in experience they will gather here quickly or die trying.”
What really bothered Ajax was what he learned at the army headquarters. The beastkin were very much pushing all they could into this war counting on overwhelming the Republic and using it as a staging ground for their conquest. Every nation had thirteen to seventeen champions total, ten or so usually under the crown's command and the rest split up under the combat focused nobles Houses.
The sole exception to this was the Republic, they were too new of a nation to have built up their roster, without a royal family and a council instead power wasn’t as consolidated and all they had were ten champions, most of whom were wounded right now with half not able to take to the field.
The beastkin on the other hand were fielding fifteen of their original champions on top of the younger ones they had trained up, without the supporting ten champions that had joined the Republic from the other nations the war would have ended quickly. Their victory here would go a long way to help the imbalance but next ti Ajax should be prepared to fight a two versus two with only Aurexion to back him up against a fresh champion backed up by a younger one.
“Don’t worry so much, you’re fully recovered now.” Aurexion reassured his bond. “Even if you end up face to face with a stronger physically focused champion you should be fine. As long as they don’t kill you quickly the added pressure of the fight will be enough for you to form your Pseudo-Mythic Skill, after that you’d be in more danger of tearing yourself apart than soone like him killing you.”
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Ajax didn’t agree with Aurexion’s assessnt. Sure he didn’t know just how much stronger a Pseudo-Mythic Skill might make him but he was sure the beastkin also had soone on the sa level as Shadow or Aranor and he didn’t doubt either of them could pose a real threat to him even with a Pseudo-Mythic Skill. At least for now.
For the rest of the trip back Ajax stopped paying attention to their surroundings, he knew Aurexion would alert him about anything and they were so high up he doubted they would be spotted let alone attacked up here. This was why Ajax failed to realize they had arrived when they did.
“What happened?!” The shout quickly brought Ajax back to the present as Aurexion landed on the ground next to the tied up and covered package he just dropped. “Did you not make it in ti? Is Firebeard still alive?”
While Archduke Warborne looked tense he wasn’t the one asking the questions, the rest of his commanders however didn’t appear as calm as they thought that one of their champions was dead.
“He didn’t check in with you?” Ajax asked, surprised.
“You think that’s how I would treat an injured ally, or the body of one?” Aurexion took offense to their questions as well.
“My lord, its champion Redfang!” The closest commander who had quickly dashed over to the package Aurexion dropped, removed the headcover and realized who it was that the dragon dropped in front of their tent. “And he’s alive.”
“Start interrogating him.” Archduke Warborne finally gave the order but he didn’t even bother to hide the satisfied smile that split his face. “I want answers as soon as you have them.”
“Any word on any of the others?” Ajax asked.
“We don’t have enough of those fancy communications stones to give to every force we send out right now.” the archduke inford Ajax. “We do know however that Rex did make it in ti to save our elites from the ambush tactic he didn’t manage to save our champion level team.”
What followed was a thorough debrief that Ajax was glad Rex had joined him for. News that two more champion level fighters had been killed was well received as was the body of the mage, Ajax hadn’t bothered collecting the ashes that were left of the one Aurexion had fried. The issues ca when questions were asked about their capabilities, mainly because revealing those in detail would an Ajax would be explaining his own capabilities as well.
“We are still heavily outnumbered in terms of champions.” one of the generals tried to argue. “It's worse than a two to one disadvantage, we need as much information as we can get.”
“No two champions are alike.” Rex scoffed. “Your argunt might have so validity if either of the ones they faced had survived. He told everything that was important.”
“Oh really, like maybe why would the enemy not be sending mages after him?” The general looked at Ajax with suspicion. “They send mages even to fight Shadow and he’s an assassin.”
“Enough.” Archduke Warborne silenced his subordinate. “You’re here to help plan our movents, not question our allies.”
Unfortunately for the general he had already pushed Ajax too far. Even as he was reacting Ajax knew he was being manipulated, that his short temper was most likely a result of his recent bond with Aurexion and the attitude of a dragon influenced his own actions but a direct accusation after more than a few snide remarks over the hour long debrief was too much.
“Well the enemy already saw this so they will surely know about it.” Ajax said as he lifted the general with [Telekinesis], the man was lucky he was physically focused as while Ajax had gotten better with his control over the Legendary Skill it still wasn’t good enough to use on mages without harming them. “This is why they won’t be sending mages against .”
“[Telekinesis]...” Archduke Warborne murmured in awe as he processed the Skill. “I see it now, between that Skill alone as well as your bond you really will make a na for yourself as a mage killer during this war.”
Following his display the archduke apologised for his own people, slipping in the excuse that they were already pushed by the war and most hadn’t slept in days before urging Ajax to go to the camp Gryndor’s elites had set up and take his well earned rest.
“You can expect an apology and a delve slot as soon as Firebeard corroborates what happened.” Rex said as they made their way over to their side of the camp. “If you want to push it you can have the general publicly punished too.”
Ajax could hear the unsaid part that Rex was advising against doing the latter but Ajax appreciated the man left the decision up to him.
“Where do you think they’ll send
next?” Ajax asked.
“They’ll have you fly to swap out one of their champions guarding the path to a city.” Rex said with certainty. “There you’ll have access to a communication stone and unfortunately you are just so mobile that it would be a waste not to have you next to one.”
That gave Ajax a lot to think about. The armies that were keeping one another in check around on the way to cities weren’t elites. They were regular soldiers, if a fight between champions broke out they probably wouldn’t be able to even move out of the way before a number of them died to collateral damage. On the upside being close to a city like that would also put him close to a dungeon and that ant he might get another chance at a delve sooner than he expected if Gryndor joining the war had the intended effect.
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