Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) Jez Cajiao (top ten books of all time TXT) 📖

“They are Legionnaires!” Faustus interrupted me, glaring indignantly, while Hannimish and his companion kept silent, observing.

“Yes,” I said firmly. “They are Legionnaires. Men and women who dedicate their lives to making sure the Empire is protected, to hunting monsters, defending the weak, and standing between innocents and the evil of the realm. And. You. Just. Treat. Them. Like. Shit.” I enunciated, punctuating every word with scorn.

“Ridiculous; they’re just legionnaires!” Faustus snapped again, totally unaware of the effect his attitude was having. “Anyway, they don’t matter! I was deeded this relic by Lord Barabarattas himself! To that effect, you are trespassing, and you will leave immediately! You have ships, I see… they look similar in design to the great Airships of Himnel, although they are obviously inferior. I will permit you to take two of the smaller ones. The rest will remain here as restitution for your crimes! Legionnaires, I have spoken. Do your duty!”

“You sure that’s what you want them to do?” I asked him, my voice dropping to a low purr. “You want these Legionnaires to perform as their duty tells them?” I could see the Legionnaires in the tent shift, and the fool went on speaking.

“Silence, you oaf!” he snarled at me. “Learn to hold your tongue when your betters speak, or lose it! Legionnaires, I ORDER you to do your duty!”

“Very well. Romanus, do ‘your duty’, please, and inform those outside as well.” I smiled coldly, leaning back in my chair as I reached out to the nearby table, picking up a slim wedge of pale cheese, and taking a bite.

Romanus saluted smartly, and, barely able to keep the grin from his face and the satisfaction from his voice, he called out clearly to the Legionnaires around the clearing, his voice only slightly muffled by the tent fabric.

“Legionnaires! Our duty is clear, and we have been ordered to carry it out! Those two are appear to be enslaved citizens.” He gestured to the shabby man and boy that had been carrying Lord Faustus’s rain cover. “Investigate their story and stand ready. Any and all forces inside the boundaries of the Empire are now declared subordinate to the Legion or are our enemies. As it was in the Empire of old, so shall it be again!” Romanus roared, and the Legion echoed the cry back to him, clashing their swords against shields and advancing upon the tent menacingly.

“As it was in the Empire of old, so shall it be again!” they bellowed to the skies. Dozens of Alkyon and Djinn took up station, appearing from nowhere to hover in the air above, crossbows and spells clearly primed, even as the ships overhead shifted in their steady patrols and dipped lower, closing the distance to the ground.

The woods rang with the sound of marching feet, and dozens upon dozens of Legionnaires marched out into the drizzle, their armor gleaming wetly as they took up position in formation.

Four Legionnaires approached the two slaves that had carried the rain cover, and they spoke quickly in low voices.

“Wait, what… what is this all about?” Faustus whined, his anger and pride draining from him like wine from a cracked jug in the face of the Legion roused to anger.

“I am the Scion of the Empire,” I growled. “Until I take my place as Emperor, I speak for the Empire. when I do take that final step, I will BE the Empire. Either way, you have threatened me, spoken down to me, and attempted to rob me, not to mention breaking the laws of the Empire blatantly before me. And beyond all of these offenses, you had the gall to order my Legionnaires to do their duty? All Legionnaires, everywhere, are under my direct command now, as acknowledged Scion of the Empire. There is no higher authority than mine,” I finished, my anger building as my voice dipped to a low rumble.

I could feel the power building as my anger grew, and I rose to my feet, shaking my head slightly and cracking my neck, feeling the muscles of my shoulders flex as my body subconsciously prepared for war.

“Romanus, get the slaves down here, fast,” Oracle ordered, her voice crackling with authority, and he saluted her without pause.

“Yes, my Lady Wisp,” he acknowledged, spinning to address the Legionnaires close around the tent and passing orders in terse sentences.

I strode out into the gentle rain, Romanus, following along behind, grabbed Faustus, and dragged him along, the weaselly lord’s shoulder gripped inextricably in one gauntleted fist.

I looked over the men and women that had filtered in to surround the clearing. The Legion were present, of course, but peering out from behind them, from every angle, were hundreds of common people. Milling liberally around the stoic Legionnaires, these emaciated, filthy, people who, even now, remained terrified of being harmed, were the slaves we’d freed from the city.

These hundreds of men, women, and children were creatures of every race, small and large, from gnomes to a half-giant creature that huddled at the back in an attempt to hide, seemingly unaware of his massive size and strength.

They stood there, soaking in the rain, all looking to me, all rescued by my order, and all desperate for a chance. A single chance at life again.

They slowly crowded forward as my power grew, sensing as it poured through me, a river growing by the second. I strode into the center of the clearing, my steps implacable, until all at once my feet lifted from the ground and I began to glow. My love, my companion, my heart, Oracle, was drawn up beside me, her usual faint shine now radiating like the sun as she threw back her head, feeling the power flow though us both.

Her emotions resonated with mine, feeding my rage and strangely, my love; the two emotions, so different, yet so necessary, two sides of the same coin, built and reinforced each other, as the Ability continued to amplify.

“Who am I?” I