Chapter 147: DA : Chapter 147: The Storm II
And yet, Allen could see it whenever he glimpsed the gods among them such as Artemis, Zeus, and Hera. Those three were all almost foaming at the mouths to fight and tear apart the primordials, especially Jackson from what he could tell.
...
Thinking of Jackson, Allen's gaze drifted to the central command tent where several of the gods were now with his sister at the center of it. She had flashed to them just yesterday, while they were still in the air much to the alarm of those patroling the decks at the time.
Her disappearance had not been missed and only Allen had been aware of her intention, luckily he had only been asked in passing and not by Apollo, otherwise he would have been forced to tell about Annabeth's visit to the new mountain.
Luckily she had managed to get to him before she was pulled along to be questioned at her sudden departure and return. She hadn't spoken a word but simply left a note in his back pocket as she hugged him and moved on, her attention brought to some of the other worried demigods that had been around Allen at the time before a minor god appeared and took her to speak to Bellona, the major goddess in charge of the ship at the time. Landing had only brought the other Olympians together where they continued as the camp was set up.
He'd checked it when he got the chance to be alone and read the simple, yet so relieving message. 'Mother is safe. Offer is real.' He didn't need further explanation and with it, breathed easier before slowly spreading the news amongst his siblings within Athena's Vanguard.
Given the current tensions, trust was rare and with the disappearing act of dozens of demigods right after Ares' execution, most eyed each other with suspicion. Some wondering whether the very ally guarding their back wasn't in fact one to have turned on Olympus, or if they were actually loyal and would cut you down because you were hesitant in turn to fight for the Olympians.
At least his own siblings were of similar mind, not wanting to fight but more worried about their mother and now, reassured with the return of their sister. Now his only goal was to keep them together in the coming battle, and if given the chance, willingly surrender with them. Their safety was his real concern, to a lesser extent, the demigods in general. Still, at the moment he need to—
Crack!
Allen jumped as an earsplitting thunderclap boomed within the camp, followed by cries of shock and commanders barking orders. His heart raced as he followed suite, calling Athena's Vanguard to him even as he ran to their command tent. His vision sometimes blurred as lightning strikes came at random, seemingly hitting nothing even if at times the bolts landed close enough to almost graze tents or demigods near them.
With the strikes came hurricane winds, the very howl of it rumbling the entire camp and drowning out voices. Allen ignored it all as he finally arrived to the head tent for Athena's Vanguard, making quick work of donning his breastplate, helmet, and grabbing his weapons.
The sound of feet stomping and muttered curses clued him in to the arrival of several of his siblings along with other demigods of his squad hastily fastening their gear. With his own finished he turned his steely grey eyes on his peers and noting their armor formed of mixed bronze and leather, their weapons and shields sadly being the only implements of celestial bronze due to their sheer numbers, drawing their attention as they completed their assemble.
"Alright," he started, nearly shouting over the wind and pitching tent. "Form ranks of 1st through 4th in front lines and the rest a boxed formation. We don't know if there is a sole direction of attack or not and enough trees haven't been clear in the perimeter of the camp to allow for proper phalanx rows. We'll gather at the north end facing the mountain. Stay close and don't break rank or so help me, I'll hand feed you to the next bear I see. Clear!?"
His last shout was met with a 'yes sir!' as they stood at attention. He nodded in approval and immediately ran out, his nine captains breaking off slightly to assume command of any of their forces and bring them to the northern sect of the camp. Some panicking demigods saw them already in uniform and already moving with a directive allowing their training to kick in as they reigned themselves in and looked for their own commanding officers.
Allen took it all in, his mind racing with plans and strategies as some of the demigods under him joined up, some only partly dressed for battle given the signs of missing helmets or breastplates but at least everyone had a shield and sword or spear on hand.
'Okay, once gathered it will be best to keep the stronger lines facing the forests and our lighter back kept to the camp. Others should be gathering as well, let's just hope they do before whoever is attacking shows up,' he thought as he paused to grab one fallen demigod and hoist him up before promptly shoving him in the direction of the nearest weapons tent.
'As long as no one does something stupid and tries to be a hero thinking they can make a name for themselves. Not like they stand a chance on single combat anyways,' he thought morbidly before his eye caught one demigod having jumped onto a pile of crates. He was a large dude, dressed in thick armor and hoisting a golden war hammer proudly in the air even as some lightning stroke around him and the wind thrashed about making quite the imposing image.
"Is that all you got!?" he roared to the heavens. "Your time is over you so called heroes and soon you'll fall to our blades! My name is Darius Mc'Olgen, son of Mars and I will—"
Crack!
Whatever was going to be said was cut short as another bolt came and stroke the demigod right at the chest. In a grizzly show of gore he popped like a water balloon, splattering his charred inside around him while leaving his smoking pelvis and legs upright where he had been.
Thunk.
Allen almost robotically tilted his head to the side and down, eyes staring at the smoking hammer that had landed beside him, his reflection shining for a moment as another strike of lightning came from somewhere behind him. Now he knew there was blood splatter on his helmet as well, soon joined by the smell of charred flesh. The sound of throwing up came off somewhere to his side and he was pretty sure someone was screaming in hysterics but at the moment he just felt numb.
He'd already fought monsters on extermination runs and retrievals, seen the aftermath when they arrived too late, and consoled other for their loses. Yet none of it compared to seeing the moment another human, not monster, was killed. It was quick and simple.
No fighting to your last breath, struggling and pushing forward in your efforts, perhaps consoled with the thought of having your actions remembered and name praised. No honor, no glory, and if Allen lived to see tomorrow, he knew he wouldn't even recall the name.
Shaking his head and swallowing the bile that rose up, he soldiered on and even with the winds, he could tell those following had gone quiet. As he ran he saw more groups form up, all sorts of unique emblems and manors of armor appearing as some of the gods started to show. He spotted Apollo for a moment, shining with golden light as his Rangers gathered around him.
"Duck!"
He looked up at the call, timing seeming to slow as he spotted a bolt heading right in their direction. His body moved on its own, hunkering down as he raised his shield and not a moment too soon.
The bolt landed less than a foot in front of him, the static of which struck his shield and numbed his arm as he barely braced himself while someone held his back.
His ears were ringing as he slowly stood up, looking at the small, smoking crater just a bit in front of him. Suddenly he couldn't help but picture himself going out the same way the roman demigod did earlier.
"Keep moving!" he ordered after a moment, slowly regaining feeling in his arm and glancing back.
Several of his captains were gathered again and now dozens of demigods followed along behind or in rows parallel to his own. They moved closer as a unit, almost jogging as they traveled through the camp with the great mountain in view beyond the forest canopy.
Sometimes they had to stop or outright jump out of the way as centaurs ran past, the rather disorganized Party Ponies falling into disarray with the sudden lightning storm. A thunderous boom and nearly white glow drew several of their eyes, Allen included as they looked to see Zeus floating a few meters above the camp, Master bolt in hand.
His eyes glowed with power as the very air hummed in response before small spheres of lightning formed around him. With a wave of his wrist they launched around, intercepting the fired bolts and lighting up the night in blinding displays. 'At least he's helping to protect the army,' Allen thought even if he wondered why more demigods hadn't been hit before remembering his sister's note.
'So if elimination isn't the goal, then what?' he wondered as they finally arrived at the northern edge, the only side to have had a good chunk of forest cleared.
"Form up!" Allen ordered over the wind.
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
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