“Commander Apollonios,” Arcaion whispered to Leon after their dramatic entrance and Leon’s offer to parley with the Commander in question. “I sponsored him when he was younger and taught him much about how to be a good leader in my Empire’s army.”

“And what were those lessons?” Leon wryly asked. “Hatred of the ‘Sky Devils’? How to properly flatter your Emperor?”

“You jest, but even those are more entertaining than what it actually entails. The lion’s share of what I taught him was how to navigate the Sunlit bureaucracy—who he ought to get to know, who he ought to pay attention to, and what duties he needed to delegate.”

Leon shrugged. “Good enough lessons, I suppose… My own mentor focused more on morality and judgment than he did on paperwork and networking.”

Arcaion spared him a mildly curious glance. “A mentor’s lessons should be tailored to two things: what he wants his student to learn, and what the student wants to learn. A mentor should always pass on lessons he thinks are worthwhile, while a student will be far more motivated to learn what they’re interested in. Your mentor sounds from your brief description like he fits into the first category, while I was more concerned with fulfilling my mentee’s desire for a prosperous career.”

Leon hummed in acknowledgment, dropping the topic for the moment as Apollonios shot into the air without any guards or backup encumbering him. A grin spread across his face, fully visible since he wasn’t wearing his armor in a bold statement about how much danger he felt he was in.

Apollonios came to a halt a fairly significant distance between them. He was an eighth-tier mage and Arcaion was ninth-tier, so Leon knew they would all be able to comfortably hear each other despite the howling wind that his arrival had brought, but he still drifted downward to meet the city’s Commander partway in a show of sincerity.

As he drew closer, Apollonios glared past him at Arcaion and bitterly spat before Leon had a chance to engage him in conversation, “Have you betrayed our Empire, old friend?”

Arcaion frowned, then closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, his features were set with determination. “I have betrayed nothing; I have betrayed no one. It was I who was betrayed, and for only failing to fulfill a foolish order given to me by a murderous Emperor. I was given an impossible task, and when it proved itself as impossible as I knew it to be, our great and noble Emperor ordered my death. Should I have turned myself over to the headsman of my own accord?”

Apollonios’ glare softened but didn’t disappear. “No matter the circumstances, our enemy has arrived at one of our most strategic cities ready for war and with you at his side. That makes sympathy… hard to find.”

Arcaion sighed again, but Leon spoke before he could continue the exchange.

“Bold of you to ignore a King.”

“I wasn’t aware that I was in the presence of Royalty,” Apollonios sarcastically quipped. “No gold, no crown… what kind of King has neither?”

“Me,” Leon stated with a grin. “Let’s lay out the situation. I have with me a force greater even than the one that sacked this city several years ago. You haven’t the forces necessary to defend it. What’s more, your Emperor is deranged and has been engaged in viciously purging your military’s officer corps. You have no hope of stopping this assault, and even if you survive, what do you think awaits you in Thunderhaven? Nothing more than the ax, I’d wager.”

“I’m tempted to take that wager,” Apollonios growled. “You seem all too smug about this, ‘King’.”

“My attitude shouldn’t matter. I won’t shy away from this fight, and I know that many in the force I’ve assembled would relish a violent assault. You have no hope of victory, so I urge you to do the only thing that will leave you and your men with your heads: surrender. You have my word that you will be treated fairly.”

“And mine,” Arcaion added. “Many were taken prisoner during our attempt to retake the Sword. None, insofar as I’ve been able to ascertain, have been mistreated, despite what I’m sure have been strong temptations.”

Apollonios grimly smiled and slowly turned his eyes from Leon and Arcaion to the city’s sea walls and the men stationed atop their ramparts. Some manned their stations with determination, but most that Leon could see were terrified. He figured they knew that their situation was hopeless, and few of them actually wanted to die in a doomed attempt to hold the city.

“The word of a Sky Devil and a traitor…” Apollonios murmured. “‘King’, might I be so bold as to ask for a moment alone with my former comrade?”

Leon’s eyes narrowed as he contemplated the request. He glanced at Arcaion, who’d spent his time in captivity as one of the most cooperative prisoners he’d ever seen. Neither of them was so strong that they could do much against him, or even try and run away when they were so heavily outnumbered and magically outclassed.

“Fine,” he said. “Though I will remain nearby.”

Both Apollonios and Arcaion nodded their gratitude as he flew back to the arks. He was amused to hear as he hovered in front of Silver Spear that despite asking for privacy, neither Sunlit Commander spoke in particularly hushed tones. He thought it was fairly obvious that he could still hear them, yet they didn’t seem quite as concerned as the request had made it seem.

But at first, both of them hovered in the air in silence, each rather coldly regarding the other. Apollonios was the first one to break that silence.

“How have you been, old friend? Really?”

“Could be better, could be worse,” Arcaion admitted. “It’s hard to see my life’s work ruined so completely in such a short span of time. But I’ve been treated more fairly than I could have ever asked for. I meant it when I said that surrender was your best option.”

“How can I take your words seriously when you arrive with the enemy King at your shoulder and an armada of war arks at your back?”

“By using your judgment. Evaluate your circumstances, your strengths and weaknesses, the foe you face, the forces you have at your disposal, and most importantly, the support you might receive from your superiors. Do as I taught you and adapt to the situation you’ve found yourself in, for it’s the only way you’ll survive. If you fight, you will have to accomplish the impossible and vanquish this invasion force by yourself. That is the only way you’ll live through this. As for fighting and losing, yet not dying in battle… I’m sure you’ve heard rumors of our Emperor’s mental decline?”

Apollonios confirmed he had with a nod of his head.

“Then let me put those rumors to bed, for they are not rumors,” Arcaion continued. “Ever was I a loyal and devoted servant of our Empire, but for my inability to work a miracle against a powerful and determined foe, I was cast out and ordered by our Emperor to die. Such treatment is all the future you can hope for, for if we lose and you win, you’re still left with a mad Emperor. But if you surrender, or even side with us… then we can potentially remake this Empire into something better, something greater than it is now.”

Apollonios’ already grim visage turned even more so. “You’re asking me, then, not just to surrender myself and my men, but to directly rebel against my Empire?”

“What other choice do you have to live? You can’t win this fight, and if you lose, you’ll die no matter what. To surrender is your only option to live. To aid us in deposing the Emperor is your only choice if you want to prosper.”

Apollonios took a long moment to consider the issue, long enough that Arcaion spoke again.

“When you came to me bearing your letter of introduction, I was skeptical of the skinny and ill-disciplined youth before me.”

“I remember those days,” Apollonios quietly mused, though not so quietly that Leon couldn’t hear him. “You made my life miserable back then. I thought you were going to drive me into the gray underworld before my time with all the pointless exercises and paper pushing you made me do.”

Arcaion chuckled. “Truth be told, I was hoping you’d quit. Your father indicated his reluctance in allowing you to join the army, and while he never asked for it outright, the way he phrased his letter of introduction made me think that he wanted me to be so hard on you that you’d just go home.”

It was Apollonios’ turn to chuckle. “Shame it didn’t work.”

Arcaion nodded. “A stubborn boy you’ve always been. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who pursues their goals quite as relentlessly as you.” He lowered his voice and drifted a bit closer to the other man. “But… please. I care about you like my own son. Your father and I met a few decades ago, and while he expressed nothing but pride in the heights you’ve reached, he also made me promise to do all I could to keep you safe. And you know how I feel about lying…”

“You’d rather chop your own cock off than let a lie pass your lips,” Apollonios stated as if reciting an oft-repeated line.

“Please, my boy… Do not give your life for an Emperor who will not value it. Do not waste the lives of your men in a pointless show for those in Thunderhaven who despise you. Join me and live. Join me and let us cut out the rot at the heart of our Empire!”

Again, Arcaion paused to give Apollonios some time to contemplate his words. This time, Leon was encouraged to see the city’s Commander apparently giving them more consideration.

After an almost painfully long time, Apollonios looked up at him and bowed his head slightly. Leon smiled more openly and drifted back down to meet them.

“I… I have some conditions for surrender,” he said slowly and carefully, as if even speaking those words took monumental effort.

“Share them and see them… considered,” Leon said.

Apollonios took a deep breath and said with some uncertainty, “Let’s start with the easy stuff, then. Argos is to be spared from looting. The city can’t be sacked.”

“Done,” Leon readily agreed. “I’d rather this be as bloodless as possible. Furthermore, I have ensured the pay and supplies for my troops, so there is no need to steal the wealth of the people.”

Apollonios breathed a quiet sigh of relief and said, “That kind of sees to my second condition, but I’ll say it anyway: I and my men can’t be harmed. We are to be treated with all due protections for prisoners of war that can be recognized by decent and honorable men.”

“Done,” Leon replied. “Commander Arcaion has testified to his fair treatment; I’ll ensure that you and your men receive likewise.”

Apollonios let out another relieved sigh, and his next words flowed more smoothly than they had before. “We, as prisoners, are to remain on the mainland. We are not to be imprisoned across the sea.”

Leon spoke his agreement.

“Finally,” Apollonios said, “we cannot be forced to take up arms against our own Empire. Those who wish to… I will allow. Those who do not wish to betray their homeland are to have their choices respected.”

“An easy thing to agree to,” Leon said. “So, I’ll agree to it.”

Apollonios straightened himself up a bit and declared, “Then consider this my formal declaration of surrender.”

“Your surrender is accepted,” Leon replied. “See to your men. I don’t think it needs to be said, but I’ll say it anyway: the sooner this is resolved, the sooner we can all relax.” He gave the Commander a pointed look.

After a moment of thought, Apollonios said, “My men can be stood down and returned to their barracks within two hours.”

“Then you have two hours,” Leon sternly replied. “We’ll be watching until then…”

With that, he nodded to Arcaion, and after only sparing the time for Arcaion to give Apollonios an apologetic look, he followed Leon back into Silver Spear. He didn’t say much during the next few hours, and neither did Leon ask much of him. They knew the score, and after Leon informed his forces of the current situation, they settled in to watch.

Leon’s heart hammered his chest like it wanted to escape for a while after that meeting. He was paranoid that Apollonios was going to change his mind and make him look like a fool for trusting him… But the Commander kept to his word, and the Sunlit troops on the battlements quickly stood down and hurried away from their defensive positions. Throughout the next two hours, while Apollonios wasn’t quite able to ensure that all the city’s defenders were returned to their barracks, most of them did, with only a few stragglers to mention.

Of note, however, was a sizable contingent of Sunlit soldiers abandoning the city and fleeing northward. Many civilians followed in their wake, so Leon didn’t order an immediate pursuit. Instead, the second the two hours were up, he gave the order to move in. Transport arks landed in the port and some of the larger parks around the city while war arks took up positions over the key areas of the city.

By the end of the day, the occupation was complete. Argos had been taken without a fight.

---

“… the garrison of thirty-five thousand has been taken prisoner, and with nary a splinter to show for it,” the general briefing Leon and his advisors said, disappointment written all over his face.

“You sound like you wanted blood and death today,” Marcus observed.

“I would’ve welcomed it heartily!” the general bombastically responded. Leon supposed it was understandable—the general lacked a bloodline despite his potent power, but he was from the Lion Tribe and had been raised in a warrior culture. “Taking a city without even fighting feels almost like cheating!”

“There’s no such thing as cheating in war,” a seventh-tier bloodline-less Bison responded. “Argos has been taken, and all it took were some words. That is a remarkable thing. We shouldn’t wish for violence.”

The Lion general—Delios was his name—grunted his disagreement, but spoke no words in response. “Anyway, the city’s key buildings have been occupied and the civilian populace is proving docile enough.”

“Any problems with the Heaven’s Eye enclave?” Leon asked.

“None, Your Majesty,” Delios quickly responded. “As was planned, the enclave was empty when we found it. We’ve placed the area under lockdown until those from Heaven’s Eye return.”

“Might take a while,” Marcus whispered with amusement. “I don’t think anyone was expecting us to take this city so easily.”

Leon nodded but, keeping the optics in mind, didn’t verbally agree. It had been hours but he was still a little in disbelief that Apollonios and his garrison had surrendered. He fully intended on fulfilling all of the Commander’s conditions and had ordered the city’s garrison to be kept in their barracks for the time being, but it still didn’t quite feel real.

“I’ll have Elise get in touch with Heaven’s Eye and let them know they can come in from the countryside,” Leon said. “I’m a little more concerned about the makeup of the troops we’ve taken charge of. As I understand it, Argos is a city that’s supposed to be jointly administered by all four Empires, though in practice is dominated by the Sunlit Empire given its geographic proximity. How many non-Sunlit troops have we captured?”

“None,” Delios said.

Leon blinked in surprise. “None? Not even a single one?”

“None that have admitted to it,” Delios replied.

Leon stared in abject shock at that news. He hadn’t expected any Evergolden or Ilian troops given their alliance, but he’d expected at least a few Sentinel troops.

“Let’s find out why,” Leon ordered. “Question Apollonios about it—actually, I’ll do that myself. Until then, prioritize keeping the peace among the people, ensuring that all city services continue as undisturbed as possible, and preparing the port to receive the rest of our reinforcements.”

His people acknowledged his order, and without much else to discuss, the meeting broke so that his orders could be carried out. Leon, then, was left to revel in this achievement. He’d expected blood, and yet no blood was shed. He’d expected to have to ruin at least half this city, and yet it was seized entirely intact. Even those troops who’d abandoned the city hadn’t even had time to sabotage anything big enough to be noticed on their way out.

In other words, there was much to revel in, and as his family got settled into Argos’ citadel, he decided to take some time to relax. Argos had been taken bloodlessly, but it was far too much to expect any other city in the Sunlit Empire to do likewise.