Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection Book 3) by David Beers (best historical fiction books of all time txt) 📗

and Hel walked through. Her Whip was still on her hip, so she could cut her way out of here if she needed to.

The underworld leader sat on a couch to the right of the door. A fireplace was in front of the couch, burning the same as Hel's torch had been, only lacking the flesh to destroy. Manius had a DataTrack on his lap, and he'd pulled up a holocam. Hel saw that he was looking at a tunnel.

She heard the door close behind her.

They were alone, and Manius didn't look up as he spoke. "Things haven't gone as you expected. This man you said I would be able to kill has killed my men, and from the looks of it, converted one of my gigantes to his cause."

Hel didn't know what a gigante was, but the underworld leader sounded less than pleased.

He pressed a button on the DataTrack, and the holocam floated above the fireplace. A creature larger than anything Hel had ever seen was on the right side of the hallway, and Kane was on the left. The creature almost made Kane look small, which was saying something.

"My men will meet them momentarily," Manius said as he watched the group walking through his tunnel. "The gigante must have told them about the tunnel, meaning he's flipped." His eyes fell on Hel. "You're going to have to pay extra for this. I hope you understand and agree."

"Certainly," Hel said as she watched the crew that was coming for them.

The underworld leader touched the DataTrack, and the holocam disappeared. He placed the device next to him. "The man you're torturing. Is he still alive?"

Hel nodded. "He is."

Manius crossed one leg over the other and thought for a moment. "This Kane, he's coming for that man, right?"

Another nod from Hel.

"The credits you've given me aren't worth all this headache, but I can't simply give back a tortured man. Every person alive will think they can just show up here and demand something from me. No, this Kane needs to be an example." He nodded to himself. "I'm okay with that. Sometimes examples are needed."

His eyes met Hel's again. "I should kill you all and be done with this mess, but you've paid me, and I will honor that. Once he is dead, I assume you'll be leaving, correct?"

"That's correct," Hel responded. "With haste."

"I didn't ask a lot of questions before because I thought this would be a fairly simple task. Now it appears a bit more complicated. This man that has one of my slaves following him, so how dangerous is he?"

Lying would yield no benefit. If Kane had evaded death by the killers sent to him, somehow converted one of these assassins, and then showed up here? "He's the most dangerous human I've ever met in my life."

Manius stared at her for long seconds, looking as if he wasn't impressed with what she had to say. He eventually asked, "Do you plan on helping us repel him, or would you rather go back to your little torture chamber?"

It didn't matter what she told him; Hel wasn't facing Kane one on one again. No, if she had a chance to kill him, it would be using stealth, not brawns. "I'll help," she lied.

"Good." The underworld lord nodded. "Go on, then. I'll expect payment once he’s dead."

"They're almost here," Caesar said.

The group had only walked half a kilometer, but the reaction time in the fortress was impressive. They'd gassed the tunnel, though the SkinSuits had protected Alistair's crew. There'd been lasers on the walls, but Servia had taken them out with her StarBeam. The impressive part was the men on the ground, flooding the tunnel and nearly at their location now.

Alistair brought everyone to a stop. He could hear footfalls in the distance, though the tunnel had been built in a way that kept them from seeing the enemy. Slight valleys made it impossible to tell where they were.

He looked at Caesar. "You and I are going to take the brunt of this. I don't know how many they've sent, but I hope they don't see us as a serious threat. Regardless, we have to push forward because if we don't get to the other gigantes, we're dead. I can assure all of you on that point. We have to push through this no matter what they send our way."

Alistair pulled a blade from his belt and rolled the suit back on his arm. They knew what was coming, or everyone but Caesar did.

Alistair took a knee, and those in front of him followed his lead. Caesar stared at the group, not understanding, but the Fallen Titan didn't pause.

"I do not kill for glory," he said.

"I do not kill for glory," was the response.

"I do not kill for malice. I kill because it is right. Because if I do not kill, those who seek to harm me and those I love will do so."

His soldiers' words echoed his own.

Alistair brought the blade to his arm and sliced his flesh. Blood dripped on the floor. He watched as those in front of him did the same.

"I do not fear the enemy. I do not fear death. I only fear living without protecting those I love. I only fear cowardice and hiding from my duty. As this blood flows, so will I. I bleed now so that I will not later. I bleed now so that those who sow harm against me know that blood does not frighten me. I bleed now because it is this blood that will conquer anyone in my path. See it and fear. See it and die."

His hood rolled back into the neckpiece, and Alistair took the blood from his arm and smeared it under both eyes.

His crew did the same, everyone but Caesar, who had turned to stare down the tunnel. "A few more seconds, master."

Alistair stood, and his hood rolled back over his face. He hooked the blade to his belt and grabbed his Whip. The