Rise of the 13th Zodiac

Nine years later…

On this particular morning, the vast Latanis Plain that was usually dull and lifeless was exuding vigor, for thousands of soldiers had filled the grassland.

The numerous soldiers were separated into two sides, all lined up and facing each other. Each side consisted of a legio of approximately five thousand soldiers, of which most were infantries.

On one side, the soldiers were clad in golden armor and they either wielded spears, axes, or greatswords. On their war banners was a majestic golden lion with a royal blue background.

Meanwhile, the soldiers on the other side were clad in bronze colored armor. Unlike their opposition, these soldiers mostly wielded halberds, maces, or great hammers. Their war banners sported a bronze bull with a pine green background.

Lev was seated on his white war horse at the forefront of his legio, Legio Fortis of Leo Empire. He was gazing at the distant Taurus Empire legio, simulating the imminent clash in his head.

Not long after, the appointed time had arrived.

On Lev's command, his horse trotted forward, stopping after a dozen or so yards.

On the Taurus Empire's side, their commander did the same. This was part of the war customs between the empires of Terra, and so was the limited fielding of a single legio.

Lev eyed the enemy commander. He was a huge man, almost twice Lev's size. His black horse was also massive, with bulging muscles that were glistening under the morning sun.

Most interestingly, the black horse had two large horns, which indicated that it was a Cornusian Bull Horse, the best horse breed in Taurus Empire.

The enemy commander looked at Lev with a fierce gaze. Despite their size difference, the enemy commander had not underestimated his opponent. This was because his empire's countless losses at multiple battlefronts in the last decade was mainly due to the man before him—the Harbinger of Blood.

"For the last time, cease your advance, Legatus1 Awlin! Haven't you taken enough from us!?"

Listening to the enemy commander's words, Lev sighed. He gazed at the blue sky above them, feeling melancholic.

"Forgive me, Legatus Durmon, for that is impossible."

"How is it impossible!? How much more land must you take to please your Lord!? How much more blood must you spill to quench your thirst!? How many more widows must you torment to end this madness!? Tell me, Legatus Awlin!!!"

Lev lowered his gaze and looked at Heffen Durmon. Staring into the commander's old eyes, Lev sensed a pleading look hidden behind the fierce gaze. Upon realizing this, Lev suspected that Durmon might have chosen to surrender in order to avoid more bloodshed had he not been obliged by his Lord to defend his empire's lands.

"Once again, forgive me. This is a path I must trek, an oath made in despair."

Having said those words, Lev turned around and returned to his initial position. His mood was somber, but his prowess and willpower were unchanged.

Heffen Durmon stared at Lev's back from afar, feeling a mix of emotions.

'Lev Awlin… What oath did you even make to leave you with such an expression? I thought you were a bloodthirsty lunatic, but it turns out you're just like everyone else—a powerless pawn of the Zodiacs.'

Shaking his head in resignation, Durmon finally turned around and returned to his army. His gaze soon returned to its usual sharpness. He might have somewhat pitied Lev, but he would still defend his homeland with all his might.

After both legati1 had returned to their commanding positions, war horns immediately resounded throughout the battlefield.

Lev raised his hand high, summoning the Holy Axe. His golden aura soared, shining brighter than ever.

"Soldiers! Today is the day we bask in the glory of Our Lord's might! Fear not, for I shall crush our foes' bones and spirits!

"Slay with conviction! Die with honor! Drench the land with heathen blood, and claim your rightful place in Elysium! Brave soldiers of Our Lord, follow my lead!"

Frenzy brewed throughout the legio as the soldiers readied themselves for a gruesome battle. Their eyes were fearless, for the Harbinger of Blood was their vanguard.

Lev then lowered his hand, pointing the Holy Axe at the enemy.

"GLORY TO LEO EMPIRE! CHAAAAARGE!!!"

Upon hearing their commander's signal, the five thousand soldiers of Legio Fortis charged forward fearlessly.

Soon, the two armies clashed, turning the frontmost soldiers from both sides into pulp by the sheer force behind their charges.

Meanwhile, with his lone charge, Lev butchered dozens of soldiers in one swing, cleaving his way into the heart of the opposing army while leaving a trail of limbs and innards behind.

Chaos ensued as the clanging of weapons and cries of soldiers filled the entire grassland. Whether it was a holy knight or a regular legionnaire, all of them were torn asunder the same.

As Lev was wrecking havoc in the middle of Taurus Empire's army, Durmon suddenly came leaping with his horse and swung his great mace at Lev.

Lev quickly parried the attack, his horse gruffed as its knees slightly buckled from the impact.

'Strong!' Durmon silently exclaimed as he repositioned himself. Not many people could win against him in a frontal clash of strength, particularly so when he attacked from his warhorse. But Lev had actually parried his attack with relative ease despite being in a rather disadvantagous position.

"Cut the head, and the rest will crumble. Are you that desperate to end the battle quickly, Legatus Durmon?" Lev asked as he ceased his slaughter. By now, the soldiers had moved away from the two commanders, leaving them in the middle of a large clearing amidst the battlefield.

"I can't win in a prolonged battle with the rate at which you're killing my soldiers. What else can I do besides confronting you?" Durmon replied.

"A wise choice, but a wrong one nonetheless."

Lev's horse suddenly dashed forward. Lev spun the Holy Axe around before swinging it at the huge commander.

Durmon tried to block the attack, but he soon found out that he lacked the strength. His great mace shattered and he was sent flying from his horse.

Before Durmon could prop himself back up, a gruesome sound was heard. Durmon raised his head and saw that his beloved warhorse had been beheaded by Lev.

"Fluffy!" Durmon frantically shouted as he watched his partner slump lifelessly onto the ground.

"What a waste of a good breed…" Lev remarked as he looked at the magnificent horse that was now headless, lying dead before him.

Seconds later, Durmon slowly stood up and gazed at Lev with trembling fists, suppressing the urge to launch himself at the enemy commander.

"Just from this short clash, I already know that you're by far the stronger warrior between us. But before I die, tell me, Legatus Awlin... What's the right choice?"

"Huh?" Lev raised an eyebrow, confused by the question.

"You told me that I made a wrong choice. So what's the right one? What could I have done better in this battle!?" Durmon desperately asked.

"Oh that… Well, unfortunately for you, with me as your opponent, there's actually no right choice at all after you've decided to battle it out."

After saying this, Lev leaped from his horse high into the air. His aura surged as he mustered a fathomless force, creating a golden vortex above the clearing.

On the ground below, Durmon watched this spectacle solemnly. And as the frightening vortex began to accelerate toward him, Durmon had only one thought in mind.

'Lord Taurus, have mercy on us all…'

Although the duel between the commanders was concluding, most of the battlefield didn't seem to care nor notice.

Row by row, file by file, bodies kept falling and blood kept splattering, forming small streams that flowed between the countless dismembered bodies that were scattered around, eventually seeping into the ground and returning to Mother Terra.

On this day, Latanis Plain was dyed crimson.

***

Six years later…

Inside the commander's tent, Lev was lying on his bed, reading a book. Compared to his appearance during the Battle of Latanis, he looked slightly older and was sporting a short beard.

"May I enter, Legatus Awlin?" a woman's gentle voice sounded from the entrance.

"Come in," Lev replied from his bed, still glued to his book.

"Thank you," the voice said, and a youthful and fair lady soon entered. She was a brunette with dark brown eyes who was wearing modest clothes that seemed lacking in comparison to her graceful bearing.

As soon as the lady entered, she began tidying up the place. Silence momentarily filled the room, for the two were preoccupied with their own matters.

"I see you're skipping your meal again, Legatus," the young lady commented after seeing the untouched meal that had already gone cold on the bedside table.

"Hm? Oh… I guess I was just so immersed in reading that I forgot about dinner."

"Looks like I'll have to throw this away then," the young lady said as she walked to the table.

"Just leave it, Floresca. I'll eat it later," Lev said while holding Floresca's hand, stopping her from picking up the plate.

"But how can I let our great commander eat cold dinner? Father will scold me if he finds out," said Floresca with a concerned look.

"Casmir doesn't have to be that strict with such trivial matters, but that's why he's the camp prefect."

Floresca stared blankly at the meal, contemplating whether she should acquiesce to Lev's orders or save herself from a probable scolding session.

Glancing at Floresca, Lev shook his head amusedly and put down his book. He then gently pulled Floresca by her hand, twirling her onto the bed and straight into his embrace.

"Ah, Legatus…" Floresca mumbled, her fair cheeks reddened.

"Didn't I tell you to refer to me casually when we're alone?" Lev said while caressing her long and slightly wavy hair.

"It's not that I don't want to…"

"But?"

"But you're the legendary Legatus Alwin! It feels disrespectful calling you by your first name!" Floresca complained as she softly pounded Lev's chest with her fist.

"And as the legendary Legatus Alwin, I hereby proclaim that I will never feel disrespected when Floresca refers to me by my first name!" Lev declared teasingly.

Floresca immediately pounded Lev's chest again, but this time a lot harder since she was trying to suppress her laughter.

"You know, Lev… You're a lot different than what I had expected before I got to know you," Floresca said as she laid her head on Lev's chest.

"What did you expect?" Lev curiously asked.

"You know what they call you… The Harbinger of Blood, the Lord's Proxy, the Legendary Legatus, the Painter of Latanis…"

"The Painter of Latanis? That's a new one," Lev remarked, slightly intrigued by the moniker.

"I think a rather famous bard in the western kingdoms popularized that one. But continuing on my point, those monikers are rather intimidating, so imagine my surprise when you're all smiles and so gentle. No wonder Father praises you all the time."

Upon hearing this, Lev briefly fell silent, which in turn silenced Floresca, who wondered what the man before her was thinking about.

"You just met me during my better years," Lev finally said, his eyes suddenly looked tired.

Seeing the change in Lev's expression, Floresca realized that the topic was making his mood somber, so she quickly steered the conversation away.

"But are you really fine with cold food, Lev? I've heard plenty stories about officers who threw huge tantrums just because their meals went cold."

Hearing Floresca's words, Lev couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm not that petty, Floresca. You know... I used to be homeless when I was young. During that time, I mostly lived on scraps—although the kind old priest and some villagers occasionally fed me proper food. That's why I can even handle food that has gone slightly bad, let alone cold delicious food."

"You were homeless?!" Floresca asked, lifting her head off Lev's chest and looking at the commander in surprise.

"Yes. You can say that it was partially forced onto me but also my own choice."

"Huh? How could that be? I don't understand," Floresca remarked, tilting her head slightly.

Lev promptly closed his eyes, recalling his childhood days.

"I was forced to be homeless because I was an orphan. My parents had died due to a certain dog feed bastard, and I was left in a rural village. I neither had a home there nor any relatives…"

Floresca listened attentively, staring up close at Lev's reminiscing face.

"But the villagers were nice. Some of them offered to adopt or house me. The old priest even said that I could sleep in the church if I really didn't want to sleep with other people. But I refused all their offers and slept on the streets instead."

"So this was what you meant by being forced into homelessness but it was still your choice… But why didn't you just accept their offers?" asked Floresca, looking quite baffled.

"Because I wanted revenge…" Lev said.

"Revenge for your parents?" Floresca echoed the old priest's question years ago.

"For my parents, for myself, for all the wrongdoings that dog feed had committed. In retrospect, maybe it was just an excuse for me to live on, or maybe I really did want to avenge my parents' deaths, but at that time I thought that I would risk losing my hatred, anger, motivation, or even grievance if I chose to embrace the warmth of a new family.

"I wanted to remain pitiful and miserable, lonely and grieving, so that my thirst for vengeance never subsided. In fact, that's the reason why I received my blessing in the first place. It led me to making a promise to my late mother and an oath to the Lord."

Lev didn't remember if he had ever told his story to anyone else, but at this moment, he felt that a considerable weight had been lifted off his heart.

"And that's the not-so-great childhood of the Legendary Legatus as told by an unknown bard. Did you enjoy it?" Lev asked jokingly as he opened his eyes. Yet, to his surprise, Floresca was tearing up instead of laughing.

"Why are you crying?" Lev worriedly asked, gently wiping off Floresca's tears with his thumb.

Instead of replying, Floresca promptly hugged Lev by his neck.

"I didn't know you were such a pitiful child…" she whispered.

"Well, I did try my best to keep it that way. But in the end, I got my revenge. Now I just have to fulfill my oath."

"What's your oath?" Floresca asked as she retracted herself from Lev's neck, wiping the rest of her tears.

"To give the Lord the world…"

Hearing this, Floresca couldn't help but stare at the man with her mouth slightly agape.

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Like I once said, it was an oath made in despair," Lev said as he scratched his head helplessly.

"So that's why you've been trying so hard all these years? Not because you're a warmonger, but because of such an absurd oath?"

Hearing these words, Lev smiled ruefully as he looked downward.

"Like I've said, you met me during my better years. Back then when I just started walking down this road, I was zealous. But as the years went by, the path slowly became more tedious until I eventually got sick of it. Sometimes, I even wanted to plead for the enemy to surrender, but I know their Lord and pride wouldn't let them."

Lev lifted his hand and looked at his weathered palm.

"I sometimes wonder, had I not made that oath, what would I be doing right now? But without my blessing, would I have gotten my revenge, or would I even be alive now?

"Throughout these years, I've seen countless soldiers die young. Would I have been one of them—a nameless warrior dying in some random field?"

Floresca clasped Lev's hand between her own. Only now did she realize the meaning behind all these calluses and scars: an endless undertaking.

"And that's why I've really been enjoying reading books recently," Lev raised his head and smiled, putting aside his mortal burden as he grabbed the book which he had been reading earlier.

"This one is titled 'The Empires of Terra'. The author had supposedly visited all twelve empires during his lifetime. You can say that this is the culmination of his journey—his life.

"I was reading the Pisces Empire chapter when you came in. It says that their empire is an archipelago consisting of tens of thousands of islands. And the most baffling thing is that since their Lords' manifestations are two fish, they prohibit their people from eating fish.

"Can you imagine that? These people live in small islands but can't eat fish! Do they grow sea pigs or something? Anyway, what the book says about our own empire are quite ridiculous too, for example…"

As Lev kept babbling about the book's contents, Floresca simply smiled and nodded, for she was too distracted by her sudden yearning to accompany this poor and lonely man throughout the rest of his life.

***