The thundering hooves of heavily armored horses tore through the night air along the kingdom’s eastern road. Though well-trodden and compacted from many a passing carriage, the earth still tore and sank under the weight of the galloping warhorses. Four distinct knights lead the formation, with nearly a dozen more following closely behind them.

  Lieutenant Septimus shared the center of the road with another heavily armored knight, as the gleam of his full-plate mail contrasted with the subdued dark-grey armor of the adjacent knight.

  Despite encountering them more than most due to the nature of his position, Septimus still had trouble accepting the extreme nature of the Templar Knights. The one next to him was the first case for his point. Even for someone in heavy armor, it appeared far heavier and thicker than normal, and seemed more akin to a golem than a living person. The armor itself offered almost no discernable gaps, with the only openings located on the helmet.

  She seemed almost like a golem, if not for the curves near her waist and chest. Adding in some pointless artistic flair like that would add far more complexity to the design and would be a waste of the sheer amount of resources needed to build and maintain one.

  Her weapons were just as fitting, with a pair of large, heavy orichalcum maces strapped to each side of the horse. The flayed, thick heads were crowned with a sharp spike. Behind her, strapped to the horse’s back, was a half-inch thick mythril tower shield that was taller than the average man.

  Although… considering the proclivities of some of the upper nobility… it might not be that far-fetched to build a less… functional golem.

  “The cardinal said your name was Evangelia, right? Since were coming up on Njord soon, we should make sure we are ready for anything. Evangelia is a little long to yell out in a fight, so would you be fine if we just called you Eva?” Septimus asked loudly, as he tried to make sure he was heard over the horses.

  In response to his query, the Templar turned her head to lock eyes with Septimus. From behind two small holes in the helmet, green eyes seemed to glow, while pinpoint perforations near the mouth puffed out a slight, irregular mist from her breath.

  Septimus tried to hold her gaze as he waited for a response, though the longer he did, the greater the urge to look away grew.

  “Well?” He asked one more time, before his willpower finally gave out and he turned forward again, followed by the immediate laughter of the other two Templars.

  “Ya really don’t listen, do ya pal? The holy half-dead get that nickname because they have a foot in the grave already. I’ve been workin’ on that cold fish for over three years, and she only ever said one word to me! So take my advice and don’t bother wasting your time.” The barrel-chested knight to her right could hardly be more of a contrast, from his booming, suave voice to the layers of cloth and leather-strapped sandals that adorned him.

  His bright white chiton was mostly hidden by the dark-brown chlamys overlaying it. Though he had an additional belt to help secure the Grecian cloak, it still flapped relentlessly in the wind, occasionally revealing the tip of the small short sword strapped to his waist.

  “Discussing strategy is never a waste of time, Cato.” Septimus countered, though he couldn’t face the knight as he still felt Evangelia’s gaze upon him. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he finally felt her look away.

  “Aye, I’ll bet it was that old man hair of yours. That’s why she told you to die already. At least I’m actually old!” The third knight jumped in, still cackling to himself.

  Cato’s hair further added to his own contrasts, as it was whiter than his chiton, yet his face seemed young and his sharp blue eyes were full of vigor.

  “Shut it, Tormund! She only said die, not die already. That’s more than she said to anyone else too, so I’d call that progress.” Cato sat up straighter, and made sure to flex a little. “Plus, when she see’s what I can do with this baby, I bet she won’t be able to stay away!”

  Cato lovingly pat the colossal, adamantium great-bow that was strapped onto his horse, much like the tower shield of the other knight, while a pair of quivers full of equally imposing arrows were strapped on either side of his armored warhorse.

  “What, like all the other women?” Tormund scoffed, his voice sounded especially rough and gravelly in comparison to Cato. “I’m damn sick of how much we all hafta pay to cover from yer’ legion’s bastards. Just imagine if you spent more time fightin’ instead of fuckin’! Hell, if y’all didn’t drag us outta Njord, this new demon lord would probably already be dead!”

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  The last knight, to the left of Septimus, seemed a fierce blend of the first two. Thick armor plates shielded his heavily muscled chest and vital points, while heavy spiked plates wrapped his forearms, shins and waist. The vambraces connected to fingerless gauntlets, while the greaves connected to the sabatons on his feet.

  Thick leather protruded out from under each piece of armor, while the brown fur than lined it contrasted with the voluminous greying beard of the knight.

  Septimus groaned, as Cato’s face turned red in anger.

  “You lot should just be grateful we even let you join the pantheon in the first place! If Ishtar hadn’t given Thor a seat as a great god, you’d all have been disbanded!” Cato spit in rage, and glowered at Tormund.

  “Pah, just be glad we were willin’ ta join at all! If Odin hadn’t fallen into the Odinsleep, the war would’ve ended differently, yer just afraid ta admit it!” Tormund growled, as his hand slowly inched towards his back.

  He carried only a single weapon, strapped to his back like Septimus’ claymore. On any other night, the glint of the moon or stars would reflect off the razor-sharp edge of the massive axe-head protruding over his shoulders. The cleaver-like blade was etched with small, wavy channels and had a nasty, curved pick pointing out from the other end, and, much like Tormund’s expression, was all-too-ready to spill more blood.

  Eva and Septimus reacted at nearly the same time.

  Septimus guided his horse quickly to get closer to Tormund, and he placed his hand firmly atop Tormund’s battle axe.

  “Don’t! It’s not worth it!” Septimus shouted, as he strained to keep the axe in place.

  “Get yer damned hands off, or I’ll gut ya first! I’ll be damned if anyone stops me from splitting that arrogant cunt in half!” Tormund howled back, as he looked on the verge of going into a full-fledged rage.

  “Then you’ll have to gut me, because Njord needs all of you to survive this! If getting split from your people matters that much to you, then save them first and kill each other after!”

  Septimus found it far easier to lock eyes with this bloodthirst man-beast than with the holy half-dead, even as the wild-eyed thing seemed far more willing to just start swinging.

  Then, abruptly, Tormund turned to bold, hearty laughter.

  “I like the way ya think, tin man! Guess that’s how y’all made an empire!” The smile quickly dropped from Tormund’s face, as he quickly and uncomfortably turned to look off in the woods somewhere.

  From the sinking pit in his stomach, the imperial lieutenant felt like he knew why. As Septimus turned back around, he locked eyes with Eva again. Behind her, it looked like she… dealt with Cato, as the boisterous man hunched over ever-so-slightly and had gone quite quiet himself.

  “T-thank-you, Eva.” Septimus managed.

  Silent as the grave… the nickname really is earned…

  After another, impossibly long minute… his body forced him to turn away yet again.

  No wonder we leave dealing with the Templars to commander Tadakatsu… although if the legion commanders are on his level, I’d hate to imagine how much worse they can get.

  “Hey Eva, you can use true sight, right? Can you see much through this darkness? We shouldn’t be too far from Njord by now, but there isn’t any light from the city. My night eye doesn’t seem to be helping either…” A slight hint of concern creeped into Septimus voice.

  “Hell, you didn’t get us lost, did ya?” Tormund interjected, his eyes opening wide in mock surprise.

  They opened wider in genuine surprise, as a faint glow emanated from Evangelia’s helmet, though her sudden gasp grabbed everyone’s attention.

  Before they could even ask… they all felt it.

  A wave of demonic energy washed over them with such power that they didn’t even need to cast any spells to feel it.

  Septimus channeled mana to his ears immediately, as the others likely did as well, to boost their hearing. Even though the explosions he could finally hear sounded distant, the tear that opened within the city’s harbor looked far closer, and it grew quickly.

  It emanated a surreal light, and from it, Septimus could finally gauge that they were on a hilltop overlooking the city, and that it was far closer than he had expected.

  “By Odin’s beard…”

  “Zeus have mercy…”

  Septimus strained his eyes further, and he was barely able to make out the outline of the barrier surrounding the temples within the city.

  Maybe a mile to the gate?

  The estimate was pretty rough, and he knew it.

  The lieutenant turned to Cato, his mouth half open, and then he promptly closed it again. The Templars had begun to move, without needing any commands.

  Cato quickly cast invigorate on the weary mounts, and the horses heavy breathing stabilized. Septimus joined Tormund, along with the other skilled members of their team, to cast haste on their mounts.

  Everyone quickly prepared their weapons, and they readjusted their formation.

  “Junichi, Kenichi, Alsace, on me!” Septimus shouted, as he moved to the right flank.

  Evangelia and her four initiates moved silently to the front, and formed a line across. The other two simply yelled out “Initiates! Now!”

  Septimus scowled, though the men seemed to somehow understand the knight’s intent, and formed up on their respective leaders. Tormund and his two initiates took the left flank, and Cato took his two to the center.

  Bastards can’t even give them the respect of their own names.

  “If we wait for the King’s army to arrive, it will be too late! Be ready for anything! They are already in the city, and only the gods know what awaits us down there!” Septimus shouted, and the others joined in unison.

  Aegis, I call upon you now to break this darkest night! Illuminate my path, Aegis of Light!

  The imperial knight lit up like a beacon in the darkness, with the light of the spirit manifested like a glowing shield surrounding him. The light tore through the darkness, illuminating the ground for over a hundred meters in all directions before it ran out of steam.

  It was then that he saw it… something that he had mistaken for a thin tree near the road just moments earlier. Something that had moved slowly enough that it was imperceptible in the darkness. It froze for a moment at the unexpected flash of light.

  “RIDE NOW! THEY’RE HERE!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

  At the same time, the ambushing demons also made their move.