World Conquest Online

Dom was soon on the route back to the Military Camp that was based between Riverside and Tongpai Town. It would take them the majority of the day to get there, especially with the tired legs of the Warriors that walked behind him. Morale was high, but their was exhaustion on their faces after the long expedition they had been on.

Dom was currently mounted on his Red Hare at the front of the column, with three Centuries, the First, Third and the Praetorians. As well the majority of the Celtic Mercenaries and fifty percent of the Hoplite, Spartans and Horse Archers. They had departed soon after the meeting with the other Commanders and Dom was looking forward to seeing Riverside.

The Balearic Slingers, Second Century and the remaining units, including the Forbidden Guard, Cavalry and Foot Units were still in Tongpai Town, with the next batch of them due to follow Dom and return in a couple of hours. They would be led by Crassus and Lu Fang, with the final units being led by Subutai and Tomoe. Gan Ning had decided to wait until last and had transferred to one of the fast Bireme, ready to take the final units that would search the hopefully safe to search town back to Riverside himself, these would be led by Xun You.

Beside him was Tomyris, who was surprisingly asleep in her saddle, as were some of the Horse Archers, allowing her well trained horse to follow the route of those around it. Dom was exhausted himself, having arrived in the late afternoon and having fought through until the early hours. He needed sleep himself, but felt it was best to let Tomyris rest for now. He turned behind him and looked at the exhausted faces on the Praetorians that marched directly behind him, pride swelling in him at the fact that no one stepped out of line or ask for a break. Centurion Septimius proudly marching at the front, his crested helmet reflecting the rising sun, most of the mud and grime having been cleaned off their armour.

The lull of his horses movement continued to pull at Dom’s eyes, meaning he had to fight himself so that he didn’t fall asleep, a similar feeling he had in his lectures at the Academy. His body had began to ache from the earlier fighting, his mind flashing back to the grotesque creatures that they had just fought against. It felt different than the other battles he had been involved in, the fighting had felt normal against Humans, but part of him felt horrified by what he had seen. He pushed himself onwards, making sure to wake himself up so that he didn’t look weak in front of his men, not that any of them would judge him for it.

Hours passed by as he fought against sleep, until Tomyris woke up and told him he should rest. He had little energy to argue back and fell asleep in his own saddle. Unaware of how much time or distance had passed. They had taken several breaks on the journey so that the troops could rest, taking quick drinks from the water bags and bites to eat from their rations, but the morale was high as they got closer and closer to the Military Camp.

...

Dom had woken up an hour or so earlier, feeling a bit more refreshed mentally, but his body still ached from both the night prior and the long march on horseback. He refused to complain though as the men behind him had walked throughout the day with little moaning at all, well most of them anyway.

Dom turned and looked at his personal guard, a mix up of Forbidden Guards led by Chen Lu and the few Hoplite who had been with him from the start. Most of the original Hoplite who had received armour from the upgrade to their Warriors Hall, had evolved their fighting style for their new roles. They now fought like normal Warriors with sword and shield, flanking the Heroes of Riverside as general’s aids. Dom was flanked by Gregorios and Trojan, who unlike the marching Warriors, often complained about each other during the journey back to Riverside.

Dom looked up in the distance, seeing the outline of the Military Camp and the setting sun behind it. In front of the camp their were scouts that were stationed, keeping a vigilant watch for the returning troops. A young teenager who was acting as a scout quickly jumped on his large Red Hare Horse when he noticed the approaching column and quickly turned and galloped towards the camp. Dom watched him ride, wondering how busy the camp would be, hoping that the relocated Tongpai Town members would be mainly at Riverside now, a problem he could deal with another day.

In the distance, the gates of the small wooden palisade wall quickly swung opened, with a column of shiny armoured Hoplite leaving, marching two by two. As they left, half went to one side, with the other half going opposite to them. They raised their long spears high and loudly banged on their shields in welcome.

"Damn Thebians!" Gregorios grunted with a cheerful smile, "Always have to make a show of things."

"You’re just jealous that they are clean." Trojan shot back.

"I can’t wait to get back to Riverside and use the bathhouse!" Gregorios replied honestly.

"If you ask nicely, they may join you." Trojan teased, with a laugh from Gregorios in response.

Dom rolled his eyes at their conversation and looked ahead to the now open gates. From them exited two people on horses who began approaching the column of returning Warriors. One was dressed in fresh armour, a sword at his side and a friendly smile on his face. The other was dressed in an expensive toga that was made of a material that shone in the sun, her smile radiating as all those around her showed her respect.

"She really does make a good match for you." Tomyris said from beside him, who had also been ignoring the Hoplites chatter.

"I’m just wondering what she’s doing here and not at Riverside." Dom replied, understanding what Tomyris meant when he gazed upon Meritamen. Her beauty a huge contrast to the horrible things he had been fighting hours earlier.

Soon the two parties met and Tomyris called the column to a halt, the Warriors behind eager to enter and take a much needed break.

"Welcome home Lord Lazarus and the mighty warriors of Riverside!" Xun Yu said loudly, his voice echoing so those around could hear. A loud cheer from the Theban Hoplite that stood as an honour guard was returned.

"Welcome back Husband." Meritamen said as she rode forwards and gave Dom a kiss on his armoured cheek. Before whispering in his ear, "I think you need to bathe."

Dom heard Gregorios hold in a snort as Meritamen gave the Hoplite Guard a teasing grin.

"Welcome home mighty Warriors of Riverside." Meritamen echoed Xun Yu’s welcome, a huge cheer coming from the returning Riverside Warriors. "The former residents of Tongpai Town have arrived, grateful to have been saved by your sacrifice and join our prosperous family for a better future. You have secured security for our small city and have given us the first step in becoming a major power in this region. Rest tonight for when you return, there will be lots of celebrations!"

They roared with excitement and pride at her speech. With whispers spreading through the different units as they discussed their own celebration plans between themselves. Dom was happy to see this, glad that the majority of his Warriors had returned with him.

"Is the camp ready for us to enter?" Dom asked Xun Yu as Meritamen showed of her high charisma, he genuinely felt that if he disappeared, Riverside would continue with her.

"It is, there is plenty of food prepared as well as tents to rest. We have also set up areas where they can clean. Some residents are here who will clean their armour and make sure everything is in order." Xun Yu replied, before looking at the small column apprehensively. "When will the rest arrive?"

"They should be leaving in sections, I expect the next group to be a few hours behind us." Dom explained, "your cousin will meet us back at Riverside, he’s travelling back with Gan Ning. He wants to check over the remains first."

"That sounds like him, but I never thought he was a fan of the water much." Xun Yu laughed.

"How are our wounded recovering?" Dom asked, thinking about those dispatched back to Riverside before Dom had logged out previously.

"They are recovering!" Xun Yu replied honestly, "Guo Sheng is recovering, according to Hatshepsut he currently looks mummified as he is heavily wrapped in bandages. He will be fine with some rest, Hua Tao just doesn’t want his wounds re-opening. Cunomoltus is alive, but he has had to have an arm amputated and will most likely not fight again, it is still touch and go on if he will make it through. The two new Heroes you left us, Qin Ming and Huang Xin are both ok. Qin Ming is currently assisting Liao Hua and Xun Yan with the defences, and Huang Xin is in a similar situation to Guo Sheng. We call them the bandage twins."

"I expect Guo Sheng is fed up of being a twin, a Halberd twin and a Bandage Twin. I wonder what is next." Dom joked, "It’s great news that everyone is recovering, hopefully Cunomoltus makes it through, I have heard good things about him and his men performed well."

"I am hoping we can make the Celtic Mercenaries a permanent part of Riverside." Xun Yu replied before looking towards Meritamen proudly, "I think she’s finished, we can chat about this tomorrow more on the return to Riverside."

"Have you been teaching her?" Dom asked as he saw that she had indeed finished talking to the crowd and was now discussing something with Tomyris. Xun Yu grinned and Dom realised that his leadership had been busy in his absence. He turned and saw that the army was waiting patiently for his order.

"Warriors of Riverside, thank you for your commitment and bravery! For now you are dismissed. Commander’s I expect you at my tent at first light. Tomorrow, we go home."

"Lord Lazarus, Lord Lazarus!" They chanted his name in celebration, as Dom a turned back on his horse and marched in to the Military Camp, his army behind him.

"Why are you here?" Dom asked Meritamen as she pulled her horse in beside him, not in an accusing way, but more out of worry.

"I thought it best to show a friendly face to our new residents, and see my victorious husband return." She replied with a wide grin 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"What if we had lost? You could have put yourself at risk." Dom questioned her.

"Then there would be no more Riverside anyway, so why worry about what may happen. I have my role here, as do you and everyone else. Our role is more important than our individual lives." She stated seriously, "The only one who can’t be replaced is you."

Dom went quiet for a second, seeing that Tomyris was deep in conversation with Xun Yu and his guards and other men had given the couple a wide space so they could talk. They soon walked under the long spears of the Thebian Hoplite and entered through the gate of the Military Camp.

Inside the tents had all been arranged neatly, with each century or unit with a dedicated space. There were also now some wooden buildings that had been built, and Dom could see that the lower wall had been extended.

"You’ve been busy!" Dom exclaimed at the sight of the growing camp.

"Xun Yu’s idea, he said we need a more permanent Base here to defend the wider territory we are going to claim." Meritamen explained. "Abubakar’s report was enlightening, it seems the strategy worked and we’ve had minimal damage."

"It was constantly at risk of failing." Dom replied honestly, "They fought like wild beasts, I just hope we have eradicated that risk."

"So do I." She smiled, putting her hand in Dom’s shoulder, at which he winced as his shoulder was sore from the fighting. "Da Qiao has been a welcome addition, with her and the elder Thucydides, we have calmed our new residents successfully. There will be a lot of work to do once we return, that isn’t just swinging swords."

"And Stabbing spears." Dom agreed, knowing there was a painful few days ahead, as they approached one of the wooden buildings in the centre, a plaque on top saying command centre. Two young men quickly appeared and took the reins from Dom and Meritamen, who both dismounted. "How is Lucius coping?"

"There a bedroom in here that you can use tonight, Subutai can have it in the future." Meritamen explained. "Lucius is moaning as always, but he’s doing well. Shang Yang has stepped in and is explaining the rules and laws of Riverside, he seems to be enjoying himself."

They entered the command centre, a similar map table to that in Riverside’s Town Centre was in the middle, with a door to the bedroom at the end. Meritamen led him towards it, his exhaustion kicking in again as he saw the candle lit room.

"Get me some hot water and cleaning oil." Meritamen ordered to someone, Dom didn’t see who as he was looking around the candlelit room. There was a large bed placed at the back, a large improvement on the rolls that they slept on in the tents. There was a drawn map on the wall of the surrounding area, as well as shuttered windows on the other walls. In the corner was a large wooden barrel, that had been cut in half and made in to a bath.

Meritamen began to undress Dom, removing his chest armour and greaves. Dom didn’t have the effort to argue back, his eyes watching the flickering flames of the candles and his mind hearing the screams of the enemy as they burned alive in the flames of Tongpai Town.

His armour was soon removed and she had directed him to the bath, where she rubbed the oil in to his bruised body and cleaned away the dirt and grime. He was covered in several cuts and they stung as she washed them.

"How have you let yourself get in this state." She had scolded him as she cleaned the wounds that were on him, especially the larger healing wound from the miscalculation in capturing the Imposter leader of Tongpai Town. "You are a leader, you are supposed to order your Warriors, not put yourself at risk."

Dom didn’t answer, and Meritamen didn’t continue to scold him, seeing that he was in deep thought, thinking back on all of the battles that had taken place since he started playing World Conquest Online. The start at the Gluttonous Chief’s Village, the side missions with Rameses the Xun Family and others. The realism from the game, merging with reality in his mind as he thought back to the smells from the burning enemies at Tongpai Town. It was just a game, he questioned to himself, but why did he feel this way. His body shook a little as his mind flashed back to some of the close encounters he had, specifically the gruesome faces that charged at him fearlessly earlier.

"It’ll be OK." He heard Meritamen say kindly, "My father said that all men go through this after battle upon battle, the reality of the human expense. But you’ll be stronger because of it, growth is good."

He heard rustling behind him of clothes being placed down, and then heard the gentle splash as her feet entered the bath with him. Her soft body pressing against his back in the limited space, her arms wrapping around him and engulfing him in a tight grip. Dom’s mind wandered through different emotions.

"I’m here." She said to him kindly, reassuringly, before leaning over and placing a kiss on his cheek. "I’m here."

.....