Chapitre 21: Army
Odysseus looked at the incoming swarm of Demons. They were weak, he thought, only scouts sent over to check out the situation. The Demons had a very interesting system. They would send scouts. If any came back, they would attack immediately. If not, after ten days, they'll attack anyways. As far as Odysseus was concerned, this system was useless. If, in the case that the scouted enemy was stronger, the Demons would die, and then the rest will invade. If the scouts came back, it was probably not a worthy target.
Anyhow, it was Odysseus' job to eliminate the Demons. Jason was tasked with protecting the palace, while Orpheus was saving his strength to unleash his fury on the main army, which will come very soon.
The scouts were coming in fast. They were mostly composed of Young Skystrikers, not fully grown, which meant that it would become one of the most dangerous enemies, but deadly if the opposition wasn't powerful enough.
The rest were Rifters, who would expand on the pre-existent rifts, enlarging them so that more Demons could arrive.
Odysseus targeted the Rifters first. If they could be killed fast enough, only small amounts of Demons could pass, and it would be significantly easier to hold the position.
He raised his bow. It was massive, made from Divine Yew. The draw weight was a whopping 150 kilograms. Odysseus had paid Hephaestus to craft it, and then strengthened himself to incredible extents to wield it. The range was 600 meters, and with specialized arrows, could pierce hundreds of Demons without stopping.
He now nocked one of them. The tip was made of Divine Steel. There was a special enchantment, for it to return to the owner.
He aimed, pulling the arrow to the tip on his nose. He held it, for stability, and then suddenly, let go.
With a whoosh, the arrow flew, slicing through the air. It penetrated tens of demons, until finally thudding to a stop on the earth. And then, without a cease in movement, it returned, like a boomerang, back to Odysseus.
Odysseus had already shot three more arrows by then. They tore through the demon ranks, wreaking havoc. The Rifters were already all eliminated. Odysseus, seeing his main objective complete, went to kill of the remainders. He fished out a small sphere from his pocket. He pressed down on it, and then without hesitation, threw it into the Demons. The sphere rolled on the ground ominously, and then exploded. Light burst in all directions. The Demons all disintegrated without a sound.
"Hey! Apollo! Your 'grenades' worked!" Odysseus shouted.
"I told you so," Apollo said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He was all smug, with oversized sunglasses.
"We should build some trap around it. You can make more 'grenades'. I'll see if anyone else is coming. If not, I'll probably have to use my Vorshmin ability."
"True. I've actually never heard anything about it. What's it about?"
"Apparently, arrows suddenly appear, and then fall on top of everyone. Not as bloody as Ares', but good enough."
"Good for you. Mine serenades the demons until they die."
"Really?"
"Nah… Some huge screeching noise appears and then everything dies… It even affects me."
"Nice."
"Anyhow, I'll never use it unless I must."
Odysseus chuckled. Everyone's Vorshmin ability was different, and there are some that are completely useless.
"I have to get going now. Ra is calling me to discuss our shifts in taking care of the sun."
"G'bye."
Apollo disappeared with a small pop.
**********
The main army had arrived. It comprised of thirty-thousand Demons, split into thirty legions. Fifteen were land-based, ten were sky-based, and the remaining five were magicians.
The God's army had also arrived. There were ten-thousand people. Although the ratio of Demons to humans was 3:1, the humans were the elite. They were trained by the greatest heroes, battled alongside gods, and slayed countless enemies. Of course, they had also been distributed the best equipment. Divine Steel was the norm, and the commanders had magical weapons, with powerful enchantments.
The Demons charged. Suddenly, earth erupted around them, and shards of obsidian flew out, killing hundreds. However, they didn't care, and kept going. The soldiers at the forefront fished out some light grenades and threw them at the Demons. Then, they turned away.
Light exploded. Demons screeched, but almost none were killed. These were far more powerful than the scouts and didn't take much damage. Even then, they were blinded and vulnerable for a few precious seconds.
One of the people at the front shouted, "Archers, plunging!"
He was holding a lyre. Orpheus.
The archers, hearing his order, aimed they bows high into the sky. Plunging volley was when the arrows are shot higher in the sky, and then, as its name suggests, plunge into the targets from on top.
A ceiling of earth floated on top of the Demon army. The Magicians have started to work. The arrows plunged in the instant the ceiling condensed and pierced the earth cleanly through.
They were bodkin arrows, designed to penetrate armor. Their heads were not broad, but instead, square, and longer.
Some arrows lost their momentum, and fell to the ground, easily evaded. However, others had better luck. Some of the arrows had killed some Demons.
"Already, in the first minute of the battle, a few hundred Demons were killed. None of the humans have yet to be touched," Jason mused to himself, in the palace.
Odysseus was watching with the same interest, "I don't think the Demons would get anywhere close. We should go and help out."
Jason weighed that idea silently. It was his responsibility to protect the palace, after all, "Fine."
Odysseus grinned, eager to join the fight. Jason unsheathed his sword.
"Beat you there!" Odysseus said, already sprinting out.
"You started first!" Jason complained. However, he had also started sprinting.
Back on the battlefield, the Demon ranks were finally approaching.
Orpheus commanded, "Shield wall! Magicians, Tortoise! Archers, fire at will!"
The soldiers in front closed their shields together. Some others took their spears, and through the gaps, pointed them out.
The Magicians were chanting a spell in unison. A thin, almost transparent material surrounded the humans in a dome. It was a shield comprised of air, light, and ice.
The archers shot at will. They would target a Demon, and then shoot whenever possible.
Orpheus started playing the lyre. He sang, his voice waltzing over the whole field. The earth shook, resonating with Orpheus' divine song. He sang about the gods, their victories, their conquests. Their glory, their honor, but also their shortcomings. He then sang about power and love, humility and greed.
Nature seemed to stop and listen to his bewitching song. And then, unexpectedly, Orpheus changed lyrics, "O nature great I now beseech; To the Demons who slay me seek; Upon their soldiers havoc wreak."
Nature responded with a small tremble. Immediately afterwards, clouds gathered over the Demons. Lightning fell at an incredible pace, every second incinerating tens of Demons. Vines grew out of the ground, enraptured Demons, and then squeezed them, just like how one would squeeze a lemon, until they exploded.
The clouds precipitated, but instead of rain, it was dropping huge chunks of magical ice the size of watermelons. The Demon ranks seemed to dissipate under the relentless assault.
"Huh, seems like you didn't need me after all," a drab female voice said, out of the blue.
"No, Demeter. We have it all under control."
"Good for you," Demeter was preparing to leave.
"Might as well stay here and kill them faster."
"Fine," she complained. Then she proceeded to wave her hands a little bit, "Done. Bye," She left.
Odysseus sighed. Demeter was always reluctant to do anything except for growing crops.
He turned his vision back to the battlefield. Some corn stood in solitude in the middle. Strange. Odysseus was sure it wasn't there before. He watched the corn attentively. It might be some Demons in disguise.
A Demon approached the corn carefully. It was curious, but the corn looked suspicious. It stood conflicted for a while, contemplating the choices. Then, like any other animal, curiosity took over.
The Demon crept towards it slowly, and then in a sudden leap, touched the corn.
Nothing happened.
Nothing.
The Demon shrugged, and then ran back towards the heated battle.
Odysseus sighed again. Demeter didn't do anything.
And then something caught his eye. It was another stalk of corn, this time independent from the others.
More and more corn appeared on the field. Odysseus observed for a while, and then smiled to himself wearily. Demeter had put enchanted corn on the field, with the enchantment going something like this: When a Demon touches the corn, it will turn into another stalk enchanted corn in ten seconds.
It worked sufficiently well, Odysseus thought. Might as well let it stay here. Humans don't seem to be affected, so nothing can go wrong. Odysseus' devious mind instantly thought of an ingenious plan. Cover the Rifts' entrance with the enchanted corn, and virtually no Demon would get past.
Might be something to implement next time, he thought.
"Damn it, Odysseus. You've been standing there for five years! What are you waiting for?" Jason shouted.
"Coming," Odysseus started running again. Although he was a small man, for a moment, under the setting sun, his shadow resembled one of a giant.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone