>>3461578
>>3457385
>>3457458
(gonna split this fight into two portions)
-14 vs 27 = Decisive victory

Thronus went in front of the wall, halting his horse in front of his men, knowing that he was in clear firing range of all the defenders, and said "hello Urizen, I see you are doing well. What is it you want to ask me before this battle is settled?" You look at your men at the wall, who nodded at the sign and picked up parts of a dead body, throwing them off the wall. The body parts bounced from the rope that stopped them falling at Kurrlonius's feet, and they were thirteen in number, arranged on the wall like a spread out man, who was cut at joints and limbs.
"Your god chose him to defeat me, this is the power of your god against mine, unless you beg to differ? Your bodyguard was strong, Thronus Kurrlonius, but due to the power my god gave me, I was stronger," you said, peering down at your adversary.
"What are you proposing, King of the wastes? A duel of kings? That would be fitting for your stock. If you so wish it, waster, I will kill you today."
You couldn't help laughing at this remark, considering you had never seen this king fight in any of the battles. "So hasty Thronus, I need at least today to enjoy the spoils and lootings of your city, especially the women who refused to leave," you said, leaving the wall side to return to your new keep.
"We will meet at the point where our two armies do, and we shall see who the greater king is than!" you heard from Thronus, who you could now hear anger from, probably after the women raping remark.

That night was certainly heavenly, with women, fine wine, and comfy beds. You woke up without a hangover (thank Mashuk) and headed out to equip yourself. You had set some of the slave workers to make you new armor, made to combine your aesthetic waster tastes, lighter and durable steel, and plenty of maneuverability of the arms and legs. Unfortunately, the Smiths weren't able to complete it before the end of the day, even with the huge forges of Kurrlon, so you went with your normal armor for the fight (leather, rawhide, and small amounts of iron/soft steel).

>>3461580
You had the armor attached by some servants, who you also made give you some more of that delicious wine, drinking a whole bottle, and smashing it before even getting to the gate. Another servant handed you your spear, which you took from his shaking hands, shooing all the slaves. The gates opened, and then the second, which let in a large amount of light from the rising sun, that hit you right in the eyes. When you regained your vision, you saw the enemies men all with interlocked shields, creating a semi-circle arena. Thronus walked in from the other side of the arena, and had his steel greatsword passed to him by one of the soldiers. Thronus was wearing gold-trimmed full steel armor, with a purple cape that seemed to be made from some sort of thin material. He held his sword so that it pointed downwards, but still towards you to create distance. "Shall we begin?" Kurrlonius asked through his helmet, which you replied to with a war-cry, jumping towards him with your spear pointed forwards.
It became evidently clear that the two of you were evenly matched, with him parrying each of your attacks, and you dodging his ripostes. Your advanced strength was balanced out by his superior armor, and his skill in redirecting your blows to harmlessly miss him. You became furious from the sudden realization that your opponent was no weakling and, even though he was advanced in his age, he had great knowledge of combat and dueling.
The minutes passed into hours, with the both of you losing strength from the constant battling. You still had your rage saved up though, which you wanted to use once you found a good enough weakness in his army, which was still a mystery to you. You figured it out then: the armor has no weaknesses, but he does, his endurance and stamina can't remain consistent to yours if he keeps wearing that helmet. He will eventually have to take it off.

>>3461582
"You... thinking... 'bout giving up... yet?" Thronus said, taking deep breaths almost after each word, clearly out of energy. "This... duel... doesn't end... till... one of us... is dead on this floor..." you didn't realize you were this out of breath as well. The king dropped his stance for a moment, so as to open his helmet front to take a breather, and sure enough, his soft-skin face was as red as the setting sun. You took your chance, and lunged at the opening, which he of course anticipated. What Thronus didn't anticipate was the speed that you lunged at him which allowed you to just cut his cheek. You turned around to strike at his face again, but his visor was already down, but his stance was not ready, leaving an opening to grapple instead.
You launched into you primal rage, and jumped at the man with new found strength and vigor, knocking him to the ground. Just before you could slide your sword in to kill him, you felt something un-sword like pressed against your gut. "Move, or even try to alert the men, and you're gut will be lining the pavement." You looked down, and saw a large revolver pointed at your stomach, which was conceiled enough for the soldiers to not see:

>Take the chance: kill the king with your sword
>Do as he says
>Take the chance: call out to your men to open fire
>Write in
Roll 1d100

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>3461583
>Take the chance: kill the king with your sword

>>3461660
Supporting
Death or glory this ends now.

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>3461583
Finish him

>>3463667
>Take the chance: kill the king with your sword

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>3461660
>>3461669
>>3463667
>>3463719
>Take the chance: kill the king with your sword
GLORY GLORY, WE PRAISE MASHUK

>>3463741
If only you rolled a 1

Rolled 71 - 40 (1d100 - 40)

>>3461660
>>3461669
>>3463667
>>3463719
>>3463741
>>3464013
Rolling for Thronus:
2 -30 (Wooden leg [+5], exhausted [+5], has Thronus at swordpoint, master spearman, expert swordsman, Mashuks chosen, lifedrain, Primal rage, strength and speed of Mashuk, and unconventional fighting style) = -28

Thronus gets -40 (exhausted [+5], has you at gunpoint, has a revolver, Master swordsman, the best equipped a person could possibly be, trained since birth to fight in duels, semi used to your fighting style, fights real dirty, Kurrlons chosen, and Kurrlons descendant)

>>3464367
-28 vs 31
Huh, I kinda wanted this to be a close battle, but I guess not:

The thought of this being the end of the war by you killing Thronus with your own blade was too tantalizing; you went to stab him in his eye through his visor. Your stab was enough of a tell for Thronus to shoot, but luckily you moved enough to the side so that he only shot you in a non-vital point, allowing you to stab him in his eye with all your strength. The size of his eye visor made it so that you could only fit the end of the blade in; not enough to kill him. The gunshot had already roused the men, who were now all pointing crossbows and guns at each other, waiting for the grapple to end to confirm the winner.
You pulled the now screaming Thonus from the ground, and took off his helmet, revealing a huge gash on his left eye that had blood running down it. You had your back to the wall, and held Thronus with your spear-sword at his now unprotected throat, using him as a shield against his own men. Thronus had dropped his weaponry to hold his eye, and his gun now was in your left hand, pointing at his own men. The gate opened behind you and you walked backwards in taking the enemy general with you. The gates closed, and the servants began treating both yours and your enemies wounds.

The next day was spent interrogating Thronus; trying every trick in the book to make him talk, even promises of the agreement he offered before, which he laughed at:
>Take his life now, in sacrifice: maybe you could gleam some sort of knowledge from it
>Try torture (genital mutilation most of all)
>Appeal to his diplomatic side, by offering him an agreement (let him free if he marches his army out, and says you won the duel) for something in return
>Kill him, then use your costly power of revival to bring him back after he has seen Mashuk (try to convert him)
>Write in

>>3464537
>Take his life now, in sacrifice: maybe you could gleam some sort of knowledge from it
No mercy, no remorse

>>3464537
>Take his life now, in sacrifice: maybe you could gleam some sort of knowledge from it

>>3464537
>Take his life now, in sacrifice: maybe you could gleam some sort of knowledge from it
I doubt Mashuk would like us just letting a rival leave with their life.

>>3464537
Take his life now, in sacrifice: maybe you could gleam some sort of knowledge from it

>>3464685
>>3464705
>>3464932
>>3466041
You have had enough of this war, and enough of Thronus: you will have a great sacrifice with all the worshipers of Mashuk gathered. You heard from men at the walls that the enemy was launching a siege, and that they were desperate to regain their king, which you responded to with a small smile: they are too late already.
At the sunset you had all the men (even the war prisoners) gather at the town square, where you had Thronus tied to a pyre. The men started a deep chant, giving praise to Mashuk by repeating his name. You looked at Thronus, and said "Woe to the vanquished," which hardly received a response from the beaten man.
"You fool... you should have accepted my terms of peace..."
You laughed, and said, "I am victorious, and you are defeated, a peace agreement would only be in your favor."
Thonus looked up, saying "but you are weak now... and my men are all but spent... I was a warden... and you had to deplete my armies, and divide my people before the attack..."
You were taken back by this new information, but it could also be empty threats and taunts. "Tell me, Urizen: do you know of the kingdoms in the west?"
The chanting of the thousands of men around you had grown louder, which made you go closer to the man, and your heart rate increase. "Yes, I know of them, though they are divided amongst themselves, and are separated by the red waste."
Thronus laughed: "their huge land is as fertile as Kurrlon's valley, it is also flat and bountiful in tree and animal; this means they can support an army much larger than all of this land combined (before in-fighting of course)... that information you got about them is dated, because they are no longer divided... all their ancient houses were united under the command of Yurtherik the great, said to be the chosen of their god: Vukran, god of order and judgment... you are a fool, Urizen of Mashuk," he said, then laughed like a man doomed to die from the beginning.
That is why Berkeran has been taken so quickly, and the men you sent were useless against them: that was Yutherik's army, or vanguard.
You tried to gain more information out of Thronus, who was now laughing hysterically, while all your men were chanting loud enough for you to have to yell while shaking the man who was in shock. It was no use, the only thing left to do now was to end his life in sacrifice to Mashuk.

>>3468171
You lifted your shaking hand to the setting sun above the enemy king, and slowly back down to him. You looked deep into his eyes as you pushed your hand up into his chest underneath the ribcage, and put your hand on his beating heart. You pulled out the organ swiftly then, and raised it to the men who now were cheering and letting out war-cries. Thronus was still alive (though magic of course), and looked up at you while crying, which you responded to by eating his heart in front of him.
When the king died, the pyre he was attached to lit up spontaneously, and burned the man's memory away. The ceremony ended when the sun fully set, and the fire burnt out, leaving only a black pole and ashes in its wake. You heard cries of men, who were calling the soldiers to defend the gate, which was now being attacked full force by the enemy. As you prepared to leave the site for the battle, your legs buckled, and you fell to the floor: unconscious.
>Will you converse with Mashuk, first of his name?
>Will you gain knowledge of Yurtherik?
>Or will you take other knowledge from Thronus's mind (write in)?

>>3468172
>Will you gain knowledge of Yurtherik?

>>3468172

>Will you gain knowledge of Yurtherik?

>>3468172
>Will you gain knowledge of Yurtherik?

>>3468172
>Will you gain knowledge of Yurtherik?

>>3468224
>>3468412
>>3468426
>>3468476
You felt yourself wake up, but when you opened your eyes you only saw black. You got from where you were lying down and looked around: everything around you was either shrouded in darkness or was black from the get-go. You walked forwards, seeing as though there was nothing else to do, and shouted to anyone that would be there. After what seemed like a week of walking (weird sleep time), you saw a small light, which you ran to immediately. It seemed like the whole world became smaller, instead of the light getting bigger, with each footstep sounding quieter. Before you knew it, you were in a room.
"The men have reported a small band of wasters approaching the flats, sir. Some of the men say that the general who leads them is the same that was promised by Varkus Liconus to challenge the Aegis in the arena." You must be in the body of Thronus.
"A militia force from the nearby towns will deal with it, I am currently dealing with larger matters," Thronus said, standing up from his seat at the battle table, so as to show the messenger the door. You saw that there was another man in the room, who, from what you could tell from the thoughts of Thronus, was Naius Margus. "The threat is growing in the west, Thronus, and I'm not sure even all our forces can defend against their onslaught. Yurtherik has made the last of the great lords kneel under his might, and says that once his army is rested, he will march east for his god," Naius said, leaning on the large table-sized map of the lands. "We have at most sixty thousand good men, but most of them are militia, and not used to the harsh lands of the wastes. Yurtherik is said, on the other hand, to have more than one hundred thousand veteran and well-provisioned zealots. I suggest we make a deal with Yurtherik, and give him oil, considering he doesn't know how to convert it into the several different types we have available. We could also promise advanced machinery and-" Thronus held up his hand, and Naius stopped immediately.
"You will go to this 'Yurtherik,' and you will give him a compromise: our knowledge, oil, and large tributes, and they will peacefully occupy our lands."

>>3469057
"Yes, my lord, but do you really want me, your best general to go on a diplomatic mission. Maybe a force of men will arise in our lands and take your towns... you'll need a strong military mind for such things."
"I am well aware of your military skill, but a message of genuine diplomacy must be sent, and that can only be the case if a man of renown goes to the talk." Naius bowed, and walked past the king, and out of the room.

You woke up suddenly, and found yourself back in the square, with no one surrounding it like before. You looked to the west where sound was heard, and:
>Made the men pull back to the last ring of the city, then offered the enemy general an ultimatum, due to the new state of affair your kingdom seems to be in
>Joined the men against the enemy, in one final charge to end this war
>Went back into the walls of the keep, so as to enjoy a good drink, and a nice whore (don't need to roll for this one)
>Write in
Roll 1d100

bump

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>3469061
>Made the men pull back to the last ring of the city, then offered the enemy general an ultimatum, due to the new state of affair your kingdom seems to be in

>>3471602
>Made the men pull back to the last ring of the city, then offered the enemy general an ultimatum, due to the new state of affair your kingdom seems to be in
Yield and join peacefully. Resist and die.

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>3471602
>>3471724
Rolling for negotiations and army withdrawal:
11 -30 (Your raw charisma, your now legendary status as the warlord of Tridents Break (new name of Tridents Rest) and chosen destroyer of Mashuk's enemies, knowledge of greater enemy, more men, and the death of their king and general) = -19

The enemy gets -25 (honor, sacrilege, Kurrlon, last son of Thronus is the new general, and they have you trapped)

>>3471844
-19 vs -6 = success

You walked over to the men who were fighting... the men who were fighting for you. You put your hand on Rathadu, who was doing busy work commanding the men, and looked deep within his eyes. He detached the war-horn from his hip, and slowly handed it to you, a puzzling expression on his face all the while. You were so close to victory... so close to complete success. You blew the horn, releasing a deep sound that broke through the clashing of steel, and the cries of dying men. You got on a horse, which was given to you by a nearby servant, and looked at all your surprised men. "We must retreat back to the inner walls... we must fall back!" You turned the horse around, and rode it back to the inner city, as if a battle was not being had behind you. This is not my end... I will not let superior numbers and false gods stop me from my destiny. Rathadu re-stated your commands, and ordered a full tactical retreat. The losses were minimal to an extent, but another ring was taken, and the men's morale was now low from the defeat.

You had reached the halls of the dead king, and poured yourself some wine, and sat on the throne in a way that no king of Kurrlon would. As you lowered the ornate drinking cup from your vision, you saw Rathadu with the same quizzical expression from before. "Why would we defeat? especially after killing the enemies general. You're sitting here while your men suffer casualties and wounds for y-" you stood up quickly, and threw your cup on the ground, smashing it instantly. "I am king... and you should do best to obey! I know that my men suffer for my every choice, and that their lives hang on my every word!"
You paused, then raised your hand west, saying "I have gained new knowledge... knowledge of an enemy above all previous. To survive, we must unite! Thronus knew this information, and I assume he wanted to use it against me at some point, but never could find the right time to say it. I assume his people don't know of this either, and I seek to gain their help due to this." Rathadu was silent, and was visibly parceling in this new information. "I am sorry for doubting your tactics," Rathadu said, kneeling before you in a courteous manner.
"Tell the men on my behalf of the new state of affairs, and see to it that a Kurrlon virgin (equivalent to a vestal virgin) is brought to my bedchamber: I need a pick-me-up." You grabbed the wine bottle and left the room. The rest of the night you couldn't remember, but you did know that it was enjoyable nonetheless.

>>3471964
The next morning, you had negotiations with the enemy at the gate, and saw their general: Parmelus Kurrlonius. The next half hour was spent telling them information about the new threat, and offering a peace term instead of their annihilation. "I am not my father, and neither am I my older brothers in fact. I was promised no real inheritance or legacy from my birth, which has left me to pursue more antiquated fields. I have no interest in nationality or creed, honor or war. I simply want me and my remaining people a fair slice of your new kingdom. We shall adopt your god, as long as Kurrlon can still remain as a figure for us to honor, whether holy or not. I shall also wish for just Kurrlon as my provincial land, and for all others to be vassals to you." It was the best terms you were going to receive, so you accepted, and granted them their valley, but with a debt so large that it would take years to repay. You marched your army out of the gate, and called for them to either disband their army, or for it to join yours, which they chose for all but the militia. You also received word when you left of a messenger reporting another defeat, this time with the enemy taking the flats, and with it, your source of oil:
>What is your first step as king

>>3471966
Allow them, we give space for time. We for space maybe regained but time can not.

>>3471966
>>3472583
I agree eith this guy. We need a small recuop(?) after this fight.

>>3472583
Gonna assume this means: We let them take the flats, because it gives us time due to there being space between us and the army. We can regain land, but we can't regain time.
>>3472637
And you want to use that time to recoup the army, and consolidate the lands.

"The black sun rises, and the dead dawn breaks," is what a messenger from Yurtherik said, handing you a piece of parchment with the kings signature on it. You drew your sword-spear, and had the man leave Kurrlon before you left him in two pieces. After reading the parchment, you threw it in the hearth, not letting any other lord read it. It promised good terms of surrounded, but only if all gods are discarded for Yurtherik's. You had no time for such divisive tactics. The vassals of Kurrlon were given to you, and most of all: Varkus Liconus. He was now on his knees before you, and so were the lords. Rebellions from subjugated vassals are a real problem:
>Have them killed and replaced
>Have a representative of yours given to each lord to administer their affairs
>Write in

Liconus was given governance over slave affairs, though he would have a careful watch over him. You left Kurrlon, and sent all armies to towns near where the new threat was, though not all in one place.
After a week or two of marching your men back through Kadine's pass, you heard of Balak and Mazgrund rallying up all the men there, even the guardsmen. An interesting strategy, though if we leave our towns undefended and in a standing army, it would be easy for them to be sieged:
>Allow the guardsmen of towns to be sallied out
>Don't allow it

You reached Saltmarch, which was now renamed to 'Urzenthus,' and saw its state: though the town itself was prospering, it was surrounded by slums and refugees from Balak and the flats:
>Make them into soldier militia (fighting for a place in a town)
>Disperse the refugees to around your kingdom
>Write in

An update on the kingdom as a whole

>>3473451
>Urizen's army:
400 Veteran Rattle-Tail heavy cavalry, 300 Veteran Eye-Eaters, 460 Veteran Crimson Chosen, 1600 veteran elite raiders, 440 veteran elite crossbowmen, 40 veteran biker semi-automatic gunners, 6 veteran armored car turret gunners, and 300 veteran gunner infantry. (3,546 men)

>Vassal armies:
Harlotsville's armies: 750 veteran militia
Y'arak's armies: 100 veteran light cavalry, 800 veteran militia, and 400 veteran bowmen (1,300)
Black-Hands Deal: 600 elite light cavalry, 800 veteran militia (1,400)
Scoundrels-Toll: 1000 veteran raiders, 400 elite raiders (1,400)
Kurrlon: 800 Kurrlon veteran militia, 400 Kurrlon veteran bowmen, 60 veteran bolt-action gunners, 100 veteran heavy cavalry, 2 veteran armored cars, 8 veteran biker gunners, and 2 RPG veteran gunner infantry (1,372)
Ulmuran: 1000 militia, and 500 militia crossbowmen (1,500)
Vitcur: 1000 elite militia, 1000 militia, and 400 militia crossbowmen (2,400)

12,268 men in total
Enemy has 100,000 men in total (unsure of their level of skill and ability)

>Lands owned:
Urzenthus (Current capital and your town [12,000 freemen, 4000 slaves])
The Kadine Pass (Murdas Brukus's town [3500 freemen, 3500 slaves])
Trident's Break (Balak's town [3000 freemen, 2000 slaves])
Buckport (Rathadu's town, [3000 freemen, 1000 slaves])
Bollvine (Mazgrund's town [1000 freemen, 300 slaves])

>Current generals:
You, Rathadu, Mazgrund, Murdas Brukus, and Balak

>Garrison:
700 town guard in Trident's Break, 1000 heavy elite town guard in Buckport, 800 elite town guard in the Kadine Pass, 400 town guard in Bollvine, and 1600 veteran heavy town guard in Urzenthus

>>3473451
>Have them killed and replaced
>Don't allow it
Always need someone to gaurd the base.
>Make them into soldier militia (fighting for a place in a town

>>3473451
>Have them killed and replaced
>Don't allow it
>Make them into soldier militia (fighting for a place in a town)

>>3473481
>>3473489
The lords of the towns were quickly executed, then their bodies were buried without ceremony. You had loyalists replace them and, even though they did not know their own towns too well, they were without thought of rebellion. You kept the king of Kurrlon alive, as the agreement states, but he was also stripped of his title and holdings (apart from the city of course).
The guardsmen were to stay in their respective cities, considering an attack from a more mobile force from the enemy could take the towns by surprise.
All the refugees were offered a place in the walls towns and city if they fought for a certain amount of time in the standing army, which most, if not all, young men (and some old) agreed to. You had the men all outfitted, and their gear was, due to your new knowledge of armor and weapons from Aegis, strong enough to take a spear or arrow. All your men, in this short time of consolidation, were outfitted with cloth armor, with the elite wearing metal armor, and the veterans now wearing full metal armor. The forges were hot all through the days and nights, smelting down the scrap into effective equipment. Your army now no longer looked like a band of wasters, but a force of soldiers. You also dropped your raider armor, and donned steel plate (most armor was soft-steel and iron, while yours was high carbon) and thick padding underneath. Your spear was sharpened and refurbished, as well as your spear-sword being reworked. You put on a helmet, (a mix between your war-mask, and a crown) and the dog cloak over the top. Your army was now fully organized, and the time of peace was through.
You learned of the enemies next target: Black-hands deal:
>Let them have it (the guardsmen will stay and defend the town still though), but empty all stores, and burn the lands
>March the army to meet it

You knew that something had to be done to even the odds, and those ruins to the east were the means:
>Go on pilgrimage to the desolate land by yourself: Mashuk will watch over you
>Go with a contingent of the best men, leading the squad personally
>One of the options above, but replace you with another general
>Write in

>>3473751
Go on. A pilgramage personally

>march the army to lead it, not to win but to hold as long as possible. 8g that is unreasonable then let them have it and set up a hard checkpoint further back we can hold for months if needed.

>>3473751
>Have a general march the army to meet it
>Go with a contingent of the best men, leading the squad personally
Don't bring anyone particularly valuable for the ruins expedition. If this ends up being a bust, I don't want it to be too much of a loss.

>>3473751
>>3474096
+1 to this. Make sure our vehicles are prepared too.

>>3474096
>>3476758
Writing

>>3477627

New thread:
>>3477738