บท 155: Oliver’s Crossroads
"This doesn't align well with what I have in plan for that rat. I just started playing with that rat. If you keep pestering me, I will also kill you, lad." responded Nius coldly while increasing the force Gram was releasing.
While wearing his glasses, Oliver looked calmly at Nius while he started being forced to take some steps.
"Old man, do you really want to do this? While I can't be sure I will kill you, taking that useless incompetent would be easy." replied Olver while his sword started giving off a metallic gloss, sparkling like it had reached a pinnacle of sharpness.
Nius felt his hand being pushed a little, and he sent a kick to Oliver with a cold expression.
Doing the kick while being covered in armament, he felt the attack stopping without impacting on Oliver's body, and along the way sensing sharp needles beginning to piece into his armour. However, he sent a Conqueror's wave blasting at Oliver before the kick sent the assassin leader flying.
Oliver, whose mid-section body hair spiked, giving off a razor-sharp lustre, dashed quickly toward Nius, and with his sword covered in haki and his devil power, he clashed with Nius's sword.
Reaching another stalemate, Nius looked closely at Oliver and said, as if remembering something about him.
"The calm kid from back then didn't even want to harm my soldiers. You have the devil powers to sharpen your body? What you did to block my kick was use your body hair and devil power to wound me."
"Sir, do you even need my confirmation?" commented Oliver, while his shoulder-length hair was flying around because of the winds created by their sword clash.
Nius shook his head and increased the strike's power while also unleashing his Conqueror's haki, pressuring Oliver to step back.
"No, not really. I planned this fight for 18 years. I trained myself and reached my limit with the sword while also learning to control the power of my ancestors' heirloom. I will remind you again, kid, if you wish to go to your home, I will not chase you. I only want that rat, Allestar."
Ended Nius saying, while looking at Wincester, who was standing there, collapsed on the floor, pinned by the crater his body formed.
"Save me, Oliver! I promise you, I will have grandfather well you and also convince the other elders to not get in your way against the Celestial House." said Wincester, with a weak voice from where he was, while his eyes were frigid cold, full of madness.
Nius, who heard this phrase for the second time, looked at Oliver, whose face turned colder, someone he viewed as emotionless, who could be deemed a perfect assassin.
"Kid, I will only tell you this. My patience has a limit, but if you want support against the Celestials, you might be in luck." added Nius while pushing Oliver away from him.
After being pushed, Oliver had his mind run a thousand thoughts, contemplating what Nius just added and what Wincester proposed. He gazed at Wincester with cold eyes and thought calmly.
'I am at a crossroad. If I help Wincester, I will have to fight against this old monster. If I don't help him and choose to abandon him, I will most likely be excommunicated by the Union since one of the Seven Elders is this useless idiot grandfather. Hah, but what the old man just said is intriguing. I need to find more.' (A/N: Feels like wuxia, but not really. I mean, this theme is used often by the shitty chinese writers, but it depends on how you expand upon)
Nius gazed at Oliver's face as it began changing, looking at him with different intensity. He then saw him move fastly at him with his sword armoured in armament and imbued with his devil powers.
'It is unfortunate, kid, I gave you a chance and even offered you help.' shook Nius his head while thinking that.
As he was prepared to block this attack, he felt it going with a passable strength, and as Oliver got in his face, Nius heard him ask quietly like he was talking to himself softly.
"Sir, can you give me more details. What is your grudge with the celestials, or better said, the Vermilion House?"
Moving along with Oliver, he distanced himself a bit from Wincester, who seemed to only hope Oliver would succeed in taking him away.
"Did I get you interested, kid?" asked Nius, while clashing his sword with decent strength enough for their fight to seem "real".
Oliver gazed sharply at Wincester lying on the floor and confirmed to Nius. "Sir Galleot, I would look stupid if I would believe the Union elders and master would keep me here for 18 years without a certain reason. They keep ordering me to get them an heirloom of the Vermilion House, but it should be just a pretext to keep me away from Valois House."
"Indeed, someone of your strength and talent was wasted here. I would also find it strange. So what is your grudge with the Celestials? Blood grudge?" asked Nius softly, barely understandable by Oliver's keen hearing.
With a frigid cold in his voice and with his glasses barely containing his abyssal eyes, he told Nius. "Yes, sir. Otherwise, why would I do the bidding of the Union for so many years? I know I need strength to fight against the World Government and a Celestial House. I am not a fool to believe in beautiful stories since that event."
"I see. Boy, I can't talk on behalf of my Prince, for this you should meet him in person and talk about the details, but I can tell you this. Vermilion House would for sure be interested in acquiring your talent and fully supporting you in your quest of vengeance against the Celestials."
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As they kept fighting, seeming to move away from Wincester, the white-haired man who had his legs cleaved by Gram, being frozen, began moving his hands and quickly bringing himself up with a push of his arms.
"Good Oliver, you sure are the perfect pawn. Thanks for giving me this chance to escape from that cursed old man. I will not forget your effort in helping me escape."
Saying that he got on his hands and started moving using his arms. However, once he began distancing himself from the crater he made, he felt a strong wind coming in his direction, with the presence of two people next by, blocking his path.
"See, lad, even in death, this dirty rat can betray you. If you had chosen to fight me, I might have killed you, and this rat could escape my grasp, something I don't wish for to happen."
"Sir Galleot, we should keep him alive. It will give your kingdom more time to prepare for a possible counterattack of Elder Allestar."
When Wincester heard Oliver's voice and mentioning that, he stopped his advance and turned his head at Nius and Oliver.
"YOU! ARE YOU BETRAYING THE UNION?! AFTER EVERYTHING WE HAVE DONE FOR YOU, TRAINING YOU IN THE SHAPE YOU ARE!"
Not wanting to waste more time with Wincester and his barking, Nius sent a powerful kick right in his face that sent him unconscious. After grabbing him by the hair, he picked him up and said to Oliver.
"Follow me, lad. We will go directly to the Wisdom Palace and see the Prince."
"I understand."
Nius and Oliver began moving toward the bridge connecting Dawn District to the Royal District, but along the way, they encountered assassins fighting the Black Army soldiers gathered in teams.
They slowed down a bit to see the Black Army soldiers fighting in a team of 10 members, assaulting the poor 3 assassins from their sides, causing multiple wounds on them with each attack sequence they had to go.
"Not bad. It seems that crazy kid trained his guys to a good stage. They will for sure be the backbone of the Kaysang force." commented Nius watching the fight, holding Wincester by his hair.
"I heard some information from the citizens of Sol when I went out to look around. They are disciplined to the extent it feels like they are elites of the World Government, the Cipher Pol soldiers."
"They still have a long way to go." added Nius, shaking his head, moving past the soldiers, creating a strong wind that had them ponder what happened.
They looked around themselves and took a defensive formation while the dead bodies of the assassins laid on the floor.
"What was that strong wind? Did we get someone hiding, trying to escape?" asked one soldier wearing black army clothes.
"Lieutenant, there's no escaping assassins in the surrounding area. Colonel Prim scouted this area and told the location of the assassins." reported a soldier wearing the green military uniform.
"I see. Let's move to the next location. We have just a bit more, and the entire Dawn will be in our control. MOVE!" ordered the officer, leading the team, while moving to another location close to the bridge that Nius and Oliver were moving.
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Nius, after getting to the bridge, saw that it was fully sealed, and a lot of people were gathering from the noble guards and assassins.
They looked to be preparing for their last stand, yet got surprised by the old man's arrival holding in his grasp, dragging a man with white hair, while next to him was a middle-aged man with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a pair of glasses that seemed to have an effect of transforming his eyes, turning them sharper.
When they recognized Oliver and Wincester in Nius grasps, the assassins backed away, having the noble guards skeptical.
"Lord Cranfon, what is the meaning of this? Did you choose to betray the union and ally with the enemy? After everything the union did for you and us?"
When Oliver heard that, his eyes turned cold, and without even taking his sword in hand, he appeared in front of those assassins and cleaved them apart using his bare hands.
"After all the years I wasted serving the union? All the years I stagnated without growing? Don't be ridiculous, you fools. I only choose the best option I have to serve my purpose."
As he said that, he began killing all the assassins in a matter of seconds, yet leaving the noble guards alive, only speaking to Nius after he returned to him.
"Those are your citizens. You shall decide if they should die or not."
"Bah, I will not spill unnecessary blood, especially of the citizens I protected for almost all my life." replied Nius, with a long sigh, before he frowned at the noble guards, unleashing his Conqueror's Haki and dropping them unconscious.
Climbing the bridge gate, the two heard the big explosion of cannons, along with the appearance of 9 ships, where one large, heavy ship kept the lead toward the other part of the bridge.
Seeing the old man at the forecastle of the biggest ship roaring something he couldn't hear to the people of his ships, he chuckled a bit and said to Oliver, as if reminiscent about the past.
"Lad, if I would tell you that stupid old sea dog almost caused a coalition to fire on Kaysang because he killed like some pirate thug the Prince of Briss Kingdom, would you believe?"
Oliver, who used his Observation haki to gaze far deeper in the distance, saw Patrick, who he was unfamiliar with, but then hearing about the killing of Briss Kingdom Prince, he nodded his head.
"I've read about it in some journals I stumbled upon from some noble houses. Also, from what my underworld informants told me, that person really destroyed a union almost perfectly executed. Both Briss and Sorbet suffer from harsh geographical conditions. Briss fares better since it has a gentle winter season than Sorbet, who always requests their Heavenly Tribute to be extended because of harsh weather conditions."
"Indeed. You say you have connections with the Underworld?" asked Nius to confirm some things about Oliver.
"You could say so, but not 100% truthful people."
"No problem, the Prince will surely be interested in you, Cranfon. Let's get going, the war should be over soon with Patrick's arrival."
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On another part of Sagletius, on the primary gate of the Royal Fortress, Bolt was fighting against the leader of the Lacilet's knights, Brutolnus, who was one of the knights that managed to deny him access inside the fortress.
A wielder of the Lizard Zoan fruit that granted him the ability to turn into a lizard.
Bolt kept fighting with this knight, and while both of them wounded each other, they kept fighting man to a lizard.
The momentum that changed the soldiers' fight was when Patrick arrived with his fleet and started showering the fortress gate while the old man shouted toward Bolt with an arrogant voice.
"I COME TO SAVE YOU, DAMSEL! COME START SCALING THE WALLS AND OPEN THE GATE BECAUSE WHOEVER MADE THIS FORTRESS REALLY HAD SOME PROBLEMS IN THEIR HEAD!"
The morale of Black Army soldiers felt another boost in themselves fighting harder with the support of the Navy.
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Bolt turned to look at the lizardman, and with one of Vlad's sword techniques, fast switching of stances that confused Brutolnus, he started his assault, starting to deal more nasty wounds on the knight's body.
"YOU BASTARD! I WILL NOT LET YOU GET INSIDE THE FORTRESS! FIGHT MY VALIANT KNIGHTS!"
Using the abilities of the lizard, he shoots from his eyes a stream of blood that entered Bolt's right eye while he too cried in pain.
"Hah, hah" breather hard the knight while cleaning his lizard eye of blood, after that saying to Bolt, who was touching his eyes trying to clean them.
"I GOT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" said the knight, after he blinded one of Bolt's eyes, reaching next to him using his fast speed and striking him with a couple of jabs.
"Damned lizard, you hold that ability all this time?" asked Bolt, entering a defensive stance, beginning to block the jabs.
"Tsk, this is my secret attack that I use to finish my enemies. You are lucky you still have vision in one eye." remarked the knight, changed his tactic to also incorporate his long tail into his attack.
Brutolnus kept his fight with Bolt to a drawn until he heard his people cry out for no reason, and from inside the fortress, the sound of some familiar people appearing.
"Move out, I bare the orders of His Grace Lacilet. I am Baron Yanosh von Arkem here to assist you in the defense!"
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Inside the fortress, Argash and Yanosh's group of knights was led out by Aslak using the escaping tunnels of the Vermilion House, leading them to another storage location close to the garrison and fortress walls that the fight commenced.
"Phew, I thought we got lost in those long tunnels. Where are we exactly?" asked Argash after he exited from the tunnels, finding himself surrounded by supply caches and a dark room.
"Quiet, you dog. Let me check before we go out like fools." added Aslak coldly, getting some of his men and walking out, but before he even walked, Argash told him with a severe voice.
"Wait, we are close to the walls. I can hear them fighting, and also the cannons."
Yanosh, who opened one supply cache, found it was filled with bullets and remarked to those two guys arguing. "We should be in one of the buildings close to the garrison used to stash the ammunition for the guns and other weapons."
"(Sniff) That is right, Lord Yanosh, there a lot of gunpowder here." said Argash, after he sniffed with his coyote nose around the room.
Yanosh, who walked forward accompanied by the knights, looked at Aslak and told him calmly, with a noble-like attitude.
"Aslak, we should get out of here and move for the gate, open it while we still have the advantage on us. I know the leader of the knights stationed to guard the gate, so it shouldn't be a problem to get in the front lines."
Aslak looked at his men and the two women in Argash furry arms and chest, sleeping soundly in his arms, only covered by some clothes they could get from the dead guys they stumbled.
"Dog, leave Paula and Monic here. They should be safe here."
The young knight looked at the two girls in his arms, then later turned to look coldly at Aslak. He was like a protective alpha looking after his mates, but finding sense in what he said, he moved to a closed part of the building and getting off his upper clothes and also taking some of Yanosh knights clothes, he placed the two young women on a blanked of warm clothes.
"Just wait a bit. I will come to get you back. I will let you meet, grandfather and grandmother, after this war is over." added Argash, stroking the faces of the two women while at his back, the knights stared weirdly at him.
Quickly turning his face at them and growling a bit, he asked. "You got a problem? They will be my partners after this war."
Yanosh, who was gazing calmly at the young knight, coughed a bit, asking him. "Is this some tradition from your village, young man?"
"That is right, Lord. If a man saves a woman from an unfortunate event in my village, he shall take responsibility for them and take care of them until death would split them."
"Ahem, and what if they don't like you, young Argash?" asked the Baron, with a slight smile on his face?
"No way. This … I never thought of that. But I will think of something. I will court them until they like me."
Hearing the young knight said that, the other knights tried not to laugh, especially knowing Argash could beat them easily if they would fight.
"If all is settled, let's move. Also, dog, if Monic and Paula really don't want to stay with you, we will have some problems."
"Piss off, you let them die, be at the mercy of Lacilet. If it wasn't for His Highness taking them from harm's way, they would be dead by now." added the young knight with a cold tone as he moved past Aslak and got next to Yanosh, who patted his shoulder, saying.
"Calm young man, we need to work as a team."
"I know, Lord Yanosh. If this person wasn't working for the Prince, I would have eaten his heart."
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No longer arguing with each other and settling their divergences, they got outside of the building, finding themselves in a sea of noble guards climbing on the fortress walls and fighting from a distance with the Black Army soldiers trying to scale the large walls.
"Damn, there's for sure many of them." commented Argash with a quiet voice.
"Let's go, follow me, guys. I am the one with the most authority around here." said Yanosh, starting to move for the gate.
Getting closer to the gate, they found that the noble guards were void of morale when they heard the blasting sound of cannonballs smashing into the stone gate.
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Pushing ahead, moving past the demoralized knights, Yanosh shouted with a loud voice that had gathered the guards' attention.
"Move out. I bear the orders of His Grace Lacilet. I am Baron Yanosh von Arkem here to assist you in the defense!"
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When the leader knight fighting Bolt heard that, he roared toward the guards defending the fortress.
"MAKE WAY FOR LORD YANOSH! FIGHT ALONGSIDE HIM!"
However, about one minute later, Brutolnus heard the guards panicking and crying out.
"Wait, Lord Yanosh, what are you doing?! STOP IT, DON'T DO THAT! GUYS, FIRE AT THE LORD YANOSH. HE IS A TRAITOR! KILL THEM!"
Yanosh, who got safely to the gates mechanism, looked left and right at the surrounding guards fighting to protect the fortress and began to unlock the mechanism.
When those guards started firing at him and the rest of the knights beside him, he spread out an outward pressuring field that stopped the advance of all bullets or any person trying to get at him.
After 30 seconds that the guards were desperately trying to stop Yanosh, the gates finally give off a resounding click sound, and as an old clock mechanism, the levers began turning, opening the gates for the Black Army.
"NOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS BARON ARKEM?!" cried out the loyalists, who slowly felt a thorn in their throats when they began seeing the Black Army soldiers, from the green-clad ones and to the fearsome black ones, starting making their way with skyrocketing morale.
"FIGHT MY MEN! MAKE OUR DEAR MONARCH PROUD! SPARE ONLY THE ONES SURRENDERING! ANYONE RESISTING OUR ADVANCE SHALL BE SENT TO HELL! ALSO, DON'T FORGET OUR FRIEND, BARON YANOSH VON ARKEM FOR HIS SUPPORT AGAINST THE TRAITORS" shouted Bolt from the top of his lungs to the Black Army soldiers who began to storm the fortress, following the charge of the officers.
Recovering his breath, Bolt looked at Brutolnus, whose face was deadly pale, only asked him.
"Surrender or die. Most likely, your Duke also got defeated by His Highness."
"Will I live if I surrender?" asked the knight who lost most of his morale to fight.
"It is not up to me. Right now, no, but I don't know after the war is settled. I myself don't hold a grudge against you since I don't even know you personally. But I see you are someone strong. My Prince, Vermilion Vlad, is not someone to give judgment blindly."
Brutolnus, whose lizard eyes began flickering a bit, and while his teeth were gnashing, wounding himself in the process, stared at Bolt's deep blue eyes and asked him a simple question.
"The same is for the rest of the guards and knights."
Taking a bit more to think, while the cries of being culled down continued to rain as more officers began advancing inside the fortress and the marksmen also advanced forward to snipe at the fighting guards while also countering the marksmen on the noble side.
"You won. I surrender."
"You better tell this to your men." remarked Bolt, after hearing of Brutolnus surrender.
Taking a deep breath, Brutolnus roared toward the fortress. "MY KNIGHTS! WE LOST, SURRENDER AND KEEP WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS TO US, OUR LIVES! IF YOU SURRENDER, THEY WILL SPARE YOU!"
The knights and noble guards, loyalists to Duke Lacilet, heard the knight captain's orders, and only a small part of them dropped their weapons, getting on their knees with hands above their heads, while the rest choose to fight.
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The massacre began at that moment, with the noble soldiers of the nobles allied with Vlad also contributing a lot in this part.
Meanwhile, 20 officers surrounded Yanosh, Argash, Aslak and the others while being in an offensive formation, ready to strike them down at the slightest suspicious movement.
"You are the person who opened the gate, Baron Yanosh von Arkem?" asked one officer that had the stripes of captain on his soldiers.
"That would be me." responded Yanosh, moving forward to meet the Black Army captain.
"Good. Your deeds will not be unrepaid. Lower your devil powers because we will not strike you. If you don't wish to be dragged into the last push, go to our Colonel, Bolt, he is the only blonde guy around and also has fancy military armour."
"No need, I will support your people. I have already met His Royal Highness and received his grace." confirmed Yanosh while showing them the blood eagle Vlad gave him before leaving to fight Lacilet.
"Ohh, this is even better. Come brother, let's see what those rabid dogs still have in them."
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A/N: One more chapter (or two - don't know?? Should I also add an aftermath of the war placing inside Volume 2 or do it for Volume 3?)
This shall be the ending of this heavy, detailed, beautiful and complex Volume.
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Hope you enjoyed it this chapter and the ending of the volume in general. Also, don't be upset that you couldn't see more of the other characters, such as Nius or Patrick. His future opponents should be the ones that you guys are familiar.
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