Firstborn: Return of the heir

“I would kill to see the faces of the magistrate workers when they finally realize what is actually going on.”

Muttering those words to one of his civilian officers, Saulus didn’t bother to hide his cheerful mood. His wide smile contrasted with the reality that surrounded him. Burned down houses, and parts of the road buried under piles of rubble only proved how effective his people were at wreaking havoc. Contrary to the commander striding down the middle of the road, the civilians that occasionally appeared would skitter through the shadows on the side of the road. For them, the enormous smile on the legendary commander’s face only served as a reminder that despite walking on the same earth, their worlds were starkly different.

“We can arrange for the painters to record that scene.”

A bright, energetic voice echoed from behind Saulus. Clearly surprised, the general stopped his startled reaction with the utmost effort of his willpower. Rather than showing how the other party had caught him off-guard, Saulus instead placed his palm on top of the handle of his sword as he turned around to face the newcomer.

“Bloy…”

Recognizing the young man standing barely a few meters away from him, Saulus spoke his name through gnashed teeth. Those few civilians that were already praying for the gods’ mercy when they saw how someone dared to smile at a clearly furious general, changed the target of their prayers. They no longer wished for salvation. Now, they only dared to ask for a peaceful death in the days to come.

“It’s been a while, smartass.”

The young man had clearly crossed the line. Before the general himself could react, two of his officers that had escorted him through the city jumped forward. Their swords, aimed at the throat of the offender that dared to insult their general, would soon taste the blood of this arrogant bloke.

“Stop!”

Saulus shouted, knowing that there was no time for more detailed commands. This action forced him to pry open his jaws, refraining from uttering any more words from behind his gnashed teeth.

Only when the two subordinates, who temporarily worked as his personal guard, stopped their advance and backed off did Saulus speak again.

“I didn’t know that the Pleiades were actively interested in an ongoing situation. Not during its earliest stage at the very least.”

Stroking the handle of his sword as if it was the only way for him to calm his wrecked nerves, Saulus looked intensely at his unexpected guest.

“Oh, we are interested in everything you are doing, my friend.”

Keeping a wide smile on his face at all times, the man called Bloy finally took a few steps forward, allowing for a more private conversation with the general.

“Both of you, leave us alone for a moment. Stay within the eyesight, but not within the hearing range.”

As strange as it was for the general to be in the middle of the city that was nearing the border between mass riots and fully-fledged uprising, Saulus still decided to send them away. Thankfully, the general’s guards didn’t dare to protest. Not the officer from the legion, nor the man from the civilian organization. After all, even though the latter didn’t have the military drill, the general was still his chief commander. A sense of discipline was long instilled in anyone who wanted to be something more than just meat for the grinder of revolution.

“So, what the hell are you doing? From what I heard, your bunch of ragtags that you pridefully call a second legion should have the city in its firm grasp already. How the heck do you expect us to support your revolt if you can’t even achieve the very first step of your own damned plan?”

While his words were harsh, the tone that Bloy spoke with was low enough to prevent Saulus’s two guards from hearing anything. After all, no one needed to know what kind of sway Saulus had within the hidden corps of the most powerful neighbor of Retesia.

“If you have any doubts as to whether or not I can do it, keep your mouth shut and observe. If I were to use your methods, I would lose half of the only army I have before even setting off for Aldo. Also, I will say again: Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. If you can’t hold back from insulting me, then I can’t guarantee that my soldiers will bother to spare you. After all…”

Spreading his arms wide, Saulus made sure that both of his guards would focus all their attention on him. Now, the young general had no choice but to improvise some story that would explain their complicated relationship to his own people. After all, even being the highest commander wouldn’t empower him to prevent rumors from spreading.

“… you are no longer my superior. The times where you could trash me are long gone. You better watch your tongue or I will accidentally slip a suggestion to my people that you would be better off without it.”

Turning around as soon as he said that, Saulus forced himself to hide the grimace of fury on his face. Even here, even now, his past was haunting him. While he never dared to even think about the idea of betraying those who made his social jump possible, it didn’t mean he would do everything exactly the way they wanted!

Their cooperation flourished only because they had their goals aligned!

“Gabriel.”

Bloy had calculated the moment of his appearance perfectly. Just a minute’s walk from the place of their encounter, Saulus fell into the embrace with the second in command of the second legion. After uttering each other’s names and profusely kissing each other’s cheeks, neither of the commanders wasted any more time.

“Is everyone ready?”

There was no time to spare for welcomes. Even though the highest general himself just entered the main camp of the legion, instead of greeting him with passion, the soldiers refused to move an inch away from their positions.

“On your order, general.”

This was the only response that Saulus would accept at this point. Given how the organization in the magistrate worked, it was only a matter of time before someone rational would find out what was actually going on, but also shout loud enough for everyone else to listen.

“Then… Everyone!”

Stepping on a small stool that someone had smartly placed before him, Saulus looked over the massive army that stood in the mostly empty center of the military camp. With the first legion gone, the majority of the tents disappeared as well, leaving a perfect space to glimpse at the true numerical monstrosity of the legion.

Numbering only about forty hundred, it consisted almost solely of greenhorns with no combat experience. Saulus gazed at two rows of six companies standing for his order, each of the companies further split into eleven groups of thirty. His breath suddenly caught in his throat. Even when seeing the departure of the way larger first legion, Saulus could still only see a single company at a time, preventing him from gazing at this insane military might all at once.

“Everyone!”

Shouting for the second time, Saulus didn’t really care about how his vocal cords would be shot for the next few days. As long as he could fulfill this last self-imposed task for today, then the machine of the revolution would roll forth, even without his voice commanding it.

“The magistrate is down! As per the patriarch’s order… Oh, who the hell do I want to lie to? The patriarch is gone, the first legion is gone, but we and everyone’s families remain here. In our city of Istoa!”

Slowly, the enormous mass of soldiers in front of the general reacted to his words. At first, gently, with some murmurs spreading through the lines, but as Saulus continued to rile them up, those murmurs quickly turned into loudly spoken words and then shouts and cheers.

“That’s why, before the patriarch’s and magistrate’s mercenaries burn this place to cinders, it is our job to secure it! Your officers know which sectors are you responsible for. The only question that remains now is…”

Taking a quick pause to intensify the moment, Saulus openly smiled before shouting his last words for today.

“What are you waiting for?! ATTACK!”