( 4 days later )
Max was casually inspecting the batch of non-flammable tape rolls that had just been circulated amongst the troops and found it to be unsatisfactory.
To manufacture them fast, Max had ordered them to be made while applying glue to existing rolls of normal tape and then coating them with non-flammable wax to achieve the desired result.
Following his order, Asiva had mobilised a sizable work force to make these tapes and within 4 days made enough to fully cover 300,000 troops, but Max was not very happy with the first batch.
The coat of wax meant to stick on the tapes was very thin and would slowly melt off under about 10 minutes of a direct flame applied to it.
For their use to be even considered effective, Max needed them to at least work for 25 minutes.
He could achieve those levels if he wet the tapes and covered them in mud, but the tapes themselves were not upto the mark.
However, considering that the next batch would take at least 7 days to make with the modifications he asked for and would be of the same size 300,000 he did not stop the circulation of these sub-par ones amongst the army.
Little did Max know that it would be the last order that he would sign as the Lord of Bloodfall clan before out of nowhere a pillar of light would shoot towards the sky in the dark faction territory signalling the start of a disc raid.
The earth began to rumble, the alarms began blaring within the Aurelius stronghold as a sense of urgency engulfed the entire camp.
Max hurried to the nearby window and prayed that when he opened the flap the beam of shooting light would not be from the south-west.
However, reality proved to be cruel.
The light indeed came from the south-west meaning it was the sovereign's Satan's camp.
It meant that the fight they were preparing for was finally here and that it was time for the vampires to march and fulfil their duty towards the light faction.
*********
( Meanwhile Regus Aurelius )
If one wanted to judge the character of a man, they only needed to observe him during times of crisis.
As his underlings ran around and shouted at the top of their lungs, unable to figure out what the fuck was going on, Regus walked with an absolute sense of calm as he began armouring up.
The last the vampires checked in the morning, the light faction had only destroyed 97 orbs and were at least 2-3 days' progress away from triggering the next raid.
Apparently, the dark faction had destroyed three orbs on their end to throw the timing of the next raid off, trying to force the light faction army into action when they were not fully prepared for it.
While the low level clan members lost their minds, Regus seemed to walk with a calm and confidence that reassured everyone.
If his grandeur in itself wasn't enough, his pressure when he was fully armoured was absolutely stifling.
He looked much broader when he put his shoulder blades on and his ' V ' taper torso looked much amplified as a result.
Unlike his robes which always featured a cape, his armour did not feature one.
In terms of looks his armour looked the same as any of the Aurelius clan armour, however, it was divine grade and custom built for his body after he became a monarch.
A noble combination of green- red and gold gave him a unique look that was easily recognisable throughout the battlefield as it should be.
A war of this scale was not just a war of soldiers, it was also a war of morale and appearances.
If Regus fell, with him would the morale of his army.
If he persevered with him would the entire vampire army, so the attention was a must.
He was the main character of the upcoming battle.
*********
( Meanwhile Sebastian )I think you should take a look at
Once the alarms started blaring, Sebastian knew he had only about 30 minutes to prepare before the armies marched out.
He had returned a god 4 days ago and the news was a cause of great envy and celebration amongst the Bloodfall camp as all his friends including Max heartily congratulated him.
Anna seemed to be envious while Severus just seemed to sigh at how the kids were out growing him so fast, however, what Sebastian did not tell anyone was how Kremeth had handed him the Vayu-Astra.
It was a tier9 weapon and after putting it on once, Sebastian understood just how strong it really was-
He was truly fortunate to have received such a treasure, but he wondered if it would make Max feel uneasy.
His master had three disciples, and Sebastian was the only one to ultimately receive his legacy and while he felt honoured he also felt unsure if it would cause a rift between two brothers out of jealousy.
For some reason he could not bring himself to tell Max about the matter as somewhere in his own heart he knew that if his master had chosen Max as the inheritor, Sebastian would have felt extremely jealous.
For 4 days he contemplated on how to tell Max about this and found no good methods as the longer the time passed the more difficult it seemed to come up with a good reason.
When the alarms began to blare, however, Sebastian knew that he needed to inform Max about this fact before they marched towards war and hence he sprinted for his best friend's room.
*Knock* *Knock*
Sebastian knocked on Max's door, but did not even wait to hear come in as he barged in right after only to find him armouring up in a new armour he had not seen his friend wear before.
" Isn't that…? " His voice trailed off as he knew exactly whom this black and gold armour belonged to.
It was the armour of the sovereign Kane and now Max was wearing it all so casually.
" Why haven't you armoured up? We need to move Sebastian - " Max said with urgency in his voice as it jolted Sebastian back to the purpose he came here for.
Taking in a breath of cold air Sebastian took out the Vayu-Astra and put it on as Max raised an eyebrow upon seeing the weapon.
" Master Kremeth wanted me to have it…. I'm sure you know what it is, and I understand how valuable it is, I just hope you understand that the master wanted me to have it and that's why I have it and not because I earned it.
It could have been passed on- " Sebastian tried to explain but looking at Max's indifferent gaze he stopped.
" I'm so happy for you Seb, the old turtle master of ours sure knows how to spoil their disciples no?
But we can talk about all this later, first we really need to gear up for war " Max said as there was genuine joy in his voice alongside a sense of urgency that left Sebastian baffled.
In the end, the thing he overthought about so much did not even faze his friend at all.
Max did not care if he was now in possession of the Vayu-Astra as if he did not want the weapon in the first place.
Max had secrets of his own, secrets that not even Asiva and Sebastian knew regarding Drax and the Agni-Astra, however, even if he did not have both those Trump cards in his pocket he still would never feel jealous of his friends progress as that was just not the kind of man Max was.
Feeling all his doubts melt away, Sebastian felt as light as a feather as he chuckled and rushed out of Max's room to go armour up himself.
He felt both silly and happy at the same time.
He felt silly for thinking that Max would feel jealous as it was simply ridiculous.
He felt happy for having a brother like Max in his life. After Kremeth, he was the man Sebastian considered closest to his heart and would gladly die for.
Although he never said it out loud and probably never would-
He truly did love Max as his brother.
Now with the bells of war ringing once more over their heads, he made a resolve to protect both his and his brother's life at all costs.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT target, good job everyone. ///