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Chapter 56: Light at the End of the Tunnel
🕑 Added 2025-04-16 02:52:06 +0000 UTCChapter 56: Light at the End of the Tunnel
Quintus's arms felt like lead. His feet hurt, and his jaw ached from gritting his teeth through the long slog of battle. He still felt stronger and more capable than when they'd started, but at some point, those temporary buffs from the deaths of his brothers had worn off. That, combined with the sheer exhaustion of the day, hit both him and his men like an elephant.
Despite the mounting exhaustion though, they'd accomplished their goal. Even better, they'd managed to block off a few more tunnels that led deeper into the mines as they fought their way up toward the surface. It would hopefully keep any residual ghouls from making their way down those paths and causing trouble later, especially considering how many of the things had reversed their courses to skitter into the depths once more.
"Sir! I see the exit!"
Quintus peered up the tunnel. Sure enough, he saw a glimmer of light at the end of it, different from the hanging lights that lined the walls around them. Sunlight. Although… it seemed a bit dimmer than he'd expected.
"Stay together," he ordered. "We don't know the situation outside. Assume that there are still hostiles lurking about."
The Legionnaires nodded and tightened their formation. He was proud to see their discipline even in the face of exhaustion.
After felling a few more groups of ghouls, they finally stepped out of the mines and into fresh air. Quintus took a deep breath—
—Only to choke on a lungful of smoke.
He coughed out the acrid fumes as he took in the scene around him. What had once been a town was now a smoldering ruin. The air was thick with black plumes of smoke from fires both active and spent, the ground littered with charred corpses that were mostly unrecognizable.
Quintus and his men stepped into the bleak remnants of the battlefield carefully, the soles of their caligae leaving imprints in the ash coating the ground. The air was still uncomfortably warm. In the distance, he could see tongues of fresh flame reach toward the sky from elsewhere in the town.
"Er… sir?" One of the Legionnaires prodded. As Quintus glanced over, he continued. "What happened?"
The Primus Pilus considered the question. "I believe that our brothers found a way to deal with these creatures. A rather… indiscriminate one. I have not felt so many deaths to assume that they've been routed."
The men nodded, accepting the explanation. Another chimed in. "What now, then? Do we try and reunite with them?"
Quintus shook his head. "We remain here. Best to ensure that the mines remain sealed. And the flames will make it difficult to leave—best to wait and hold our position…"
As he finished speaking, Quintus saw something twitch out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped toward it just in tie to catch another soot-streaked ghoul skittering their way.
"Form up! Enemy inbound!"
The exhausted Legionnaires grouped together once more, positioning themselves to face the incoming threat. Fortunately, their task was considerably easier this time around. Between the boost in power that Quintus suspected was from increased stats and the havoc wreaked by the fire, the few remaining ghouls gave them little trouble. It even gave him time to appreciate another facet of the power-up—an increased efficacy of his skills.
According to the bard, an increase in stats also tended to increase the effectiveness of one's skills. And given what he was seeing, that certainly appeared to be the case here. Their shield wall was even more impenetrable than before and his [Swordsmastery] made his movements feel even more elegant and brutal as he mowed through the remaining creatures. Between the ones they felled and the corpses that already littered the ground, they had to pile the bodies of the beasts off to the side to keep the mine clear and ensure they didn't trip.
As the coast cleared and the wind shifted, Quintus climbed to the top of the pile to get a better view of the ruined town. It was a less treacherous perch than the flame-eaten buildings around him. As he reached the top, he plunged his sword into a dead ghoul's skull and used it for balance as he sat. His hands overlapped on the pommel as he surveyed the still burning settlement.
It seemed that most of the ghouls on the surface had gotten pushed out toward the periphery by the fire, aside from the stragglers they'd felled. It was a blessing that had saved them from havint to fight their way through even more of the things. Though out here in the open, they were not nearly the threat they had been in tight tunnels with low light.
Quintus allowed himself to relax slightly as he watched the city smolder around him. It was not the first time he had watched a city burn. It wasn't even the first time a city had burned down around him. But it was the first time where he actually got to sit and watch any part of the event.
He likened it to staring into a campfire, watching as the flames slowly ate through the logs. Eventually, something would give and send up a plume of ashes and sparks. Then the flames would discover a new patch of unburned wood to slowly eat away at. There was a certain macabre beauty to it, knowing that each burning piece of wood had once been a home or a business.
Building after building went up in smoke before becoming rubble. Each collapse spread the fire to its neighboring buildings—if they weren't already burning themselves. In a few hours, every building would be reduced to little more than ash. All that would remain were the walls ringing the town and an occasional stone structure within.
Quintus heaved a sigh and looked around. His men were keeping a wary watch around their surroundings even as they lounged on their own makeshift seats. A few had found rocks that were mostly clean of blood, but others just sat on monster corpses like he did.
He left them to it. They were all tired, and as long as they were watching the surroundings, he wasn't about to begrudge his men some rest. No, they had done him proud. In fact, most of them deserved some sort of commendation for their work. He'd have to look into that once this was all over.
As they looked over the silent hellscape of the still-burning battlefield, Quintus reflected on the events of the day—specifically, how they'd faced the threats in this world. There was a lot to be said for the Legion's fighting style. It was tried and true, reliable, and had brought the Romans victory many times over. The fact that they could teach even a weak, useless young man to become a warrior who was at least semi-competent on the field in just a few months only further solidified its superiority—especially against numbers such as these.
Yet it was a stark contrast to how people seemed to fight in this world. So far, they'd seen most of their enemies utilize fighting styles tailored toward individuals and small groups, more akin to those of a gladiator. Obviously, Quintus wouldn't put many Roman soldiers one-on-one versus a gladiator, much less one of these barbarians. But why would he? Legionnaires were not duelists, and duelists did not win wars.
And yet… perhaps there was something to be learned there. As well as their own tactics had worked so far, Quintus held no illusions that they were perfect. Quite the opposite. In fact, without the use of skills like Cassius's [Inspirational Song], this battle would almost certainly ended in the death of him and his men. That was despite their formation being practically tailored toward this style of engagement.
That wasn't to say that he sought an overhaul of their entire battle strategy. Quite the opposite. The Legion was at its best fighting as a unit, shoulder to shoulder with shields locked. That kind of tight cooperation was exactly how Rome rose to dominance—the very basis of their civilization. That wouldn't change.
But they had options now. Options that could make them stronger, better, even more able to dominate their foes. If only they would take advantage of them.
Already, ideas for the compositions of specialist units were forming in his mind. Taunts and improved shield walls were only just the beginning. Their communications and ranged weapon capabilities had already improved by leaps and bounds with skill use as well. But why stop there? Why should they focus on improving only what they could already do when they could also gain new capabilities?
Thoughts of the [Healer]'s abilities came to mind. Those alone would be a boon without equal in any army. But if there were other magic they could learn…
Quintus rested his chin on the backs of his hands, still gripping the pommel of his sword as he stared out toward the horizon. Such changes were no small matter. He'd need to speak with Tiberius and the officers about them. But if he could convince them… well, he suspected the Legion would never be the same.
/// that's the end of book 1! I got two post of epilogues then we go straight into book 2
Comments
SilverbladeTE
Awesome!! :) Hope to see this on Kindle, so far you've produced a damn good tale!
