The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 311 – Two More Bricks in the Wall

Arusei looked up at the sky as the collection of dark men, women and children behind him were all setting up camp for the night. Elderly or young, scarred or toothless or at the peak of life, men with greying hair and weary bones had risen from their death-beds to at least attempt the journey. They had been offered vehicles for this wasteland of ash that was beginning to spout flora, but it simply wouldn’t do to make this journey easy. It was supposed to be difficult. It was the end after all. As the campfires went up, Arusei went to retrieve the flare gun as the humming and song started.

A red flare that the Goddess had used to mark the start of the Reclamation War. A red flare that burned in the same colour as the crimson eyes and crimson hair of the Goddess. A red flare to make sure they would not forget the fires of reconquest. Fires burned with life reclaimed as the devoured the devil’s wood.

The promise Arusei had made to his father, that his father made to his grandfather, that his grandfather made again. The promise that haunted not just Arusei, but every ancestor who, through Arusei, had outlasted the Jungle, would be fulfilled. Once again would a living soul walk over their ancient ancestral grounds.

They were heading home.

“Is it possible…” Aliana trailed off. “How do you…” She restarted again as Anassa smiled. This was exactly the sort of respectful reaction she deserved frankly. There were Divines like Fer or Kassandora, who were so normal around the Goddess of Sorcery that Anassa had to consciously remind herself of her own Divinity. There were those like Fortia and Maisara, who would try to deny outright, unaware of the self-defeating nature of a such statement. If she wasn’t a Divine, why would her Divinity need to be denied?

But then, sometimes… quite commonly in fact, Anassa ran into Divines like Aliana and Agrita here. Both in their military uniforms. Aliana in light armour of plate, it was asymmetrical, her right arm had considerably less plate to make sure the woman could easily reach over her shoulder and grab hold of one of the arrows. Those were fashioned steel bolts rather than the puny little wooden arrows she had used in the past. It was Iliyal’s change, but they apparently did a better job at penetrating the heavy armour of vehicles as well as felling men in one shot.

Anassa did not really know, nor did she care. “How do I do what?”

“Do you not get second thoughts?” Agrita asked as she looked down the cliff. The Goddess of Rilia, in golden armour fit for mascot-Divines. She had a longer spear and a shield that had been battered with gunfire. The Goddess was pretty, prettier than Elassa, shorter and with a far more pleasant face that could actually manage to have some warmth in it.  The armour was thick too, although Anassa had never worn armour. Things like armour was for beings which could be hurt. Divines could not be hurt, and Anassa was a Divine. Naturally, she did not need such trite as armour.

“Should I?” Anassa tried to keep the sheer amount of pride out of her voice as she looked down. The two Divines were stood on the edge of a cliff. Anassa had brought them here to show off how Divines thought wars. Kassandora had given her permission to do a little training with the new girls, so why should Anassa hold about?

Falling from the cliff was one of the major coastal highways that ran up and down Rilia. The Guardians, led by three minor Divines, had tried to quickly seize the advantage after a battle redirected Anassa and Agrita to the other coast of the country.

But such things as space were for mortals to deal with. A Divine should be as overpowering as Olephia and as omnipresent as Arascus. Anassa smiled in joy as her eyes ran down the joy and she used her own sorcery to remove the edge of her crimson dress, unmoving like a statue even though the seaside wind was blowing both Agrita’s and Aliana’s hair out of place. Below, the highway was covered in red too.

But unlike the bright red silk Anassa always wore that proudly proclaimed the Goddess of Sorcery had arrived, this was thin streams of deep, dark crimson snaking their way from the vehicles and bodies on the ground. They made their way off the tarmac of the road and plunged down another cliff to discolour the sandy beach below. “I suppose not.” Agrita said grimly.

“Kassandora taught me to teach you.” Anassa said. “Now I will not bother to teach you with the spear or the bow.” Anassa paused and raised an eyebrow at the two Goddesses on the cliff. She wanted either of them to question her statement or to try and call her out on whether she was simply pretending to not be able to fight. Anassa had never once lifted a weapon like that in her life, she simply didn’t need to. But naturally, she assumed she’d be able to outduel either of them with a conjured blade.

Neither Goddess raised argument. They looked down at the White Pantheon tanks and APCs that had been moving more than a thousand men up this route. The front jeep had a smaller Divine, some no-name invention probably that had fallen out of the vehicle after Anassa had killed him. Anassa had brought the vehicles to a stop in the middle of the road too, and now they were nicely arranged as if someone had parked them here. “So what I’m going to teach you is something so important I am baffled as to how neither of you possess it yet.” Anassa said and took another pause.

This time, Agrita did take a chance to speak. “What is it?” She looked up to Anassa with those large eyes that were obviously hungry for knowledge. If she was mortal, then Anassa would lead her down the path of awakening sorcery within herself, but alas, such extension of willpower was reserved for mortals only. Anassa and Elassa were the only exceptions to the rule.

“Mentality.”

Nicholas lowered his binoculars as he sat down on the back of the tank. If they were fast enough, they would secure the next town, they’d be able to quickly disable the coastal artillery, and White Pantheon ships would be able to dock and bring reinforcements.

And even if they couldn’t, then an urban area would provide enough holes to fire from that they would be able to keep the dreaded Sorceress away. Already, each division had its own office devoted to working out the woman’s weaknesses and news was coming from Olympiada as scholars were researching the ancient texts that talked of Anassa in the Great War. She couldn’t be immortal, that was for certain. There were men in Kirinyaa who had seen Fortia put a hole through her chest.

Nicholas kicked his legs against the tank. Speed was key and his battlegroup had lost vehicles through attrition or through combat. Rilia was terrible terrain to fight in, that was for certain. The country was mountain after mountain and were the land smoothed out; it smoothed out in such a terrible way that the flatlands became dying fields with not even a bush for cover. The fact that mountains on which artillery could be hidden were ever-present meant that both sides avoided those plains as much as possible.

The tank suddenly sped up, the turret started turning and the officers began to shout orders to look up and aim. Nicholas turned, looked around, and his eyes immediately went to the figure in the light-blue sky of dawn. A figure in red, in a ball of a dress that spread out as if it was on the ground and not floating in the air. It wasn’t even touched by the wind even though even the trucks had to drive carefully as to not lose control from the aftermath of the night-time storm.

The sound of a finger-snap sounded from above. An eye appeared behind the figure. Another one. The sky looked down on the convoy of White Pantheon Guardians. And Nicholas thought of raising his gun. He saw a massive behind try to, he saw the weapon fall into pieces as the Goddess above snapped her fingers again and again. Was there even a point to try and fight back? What could he even do? This was a presence more overwhelming than when Fortia inspected the troops herself.

“Anassa, Goddess of Sorcery, sees you!” Nicholas’ eyes widened and he moved to lift the rifle over his knees. “Now die!” His arms barely had the strength to move. He coughed and tasted blood coming up his throat. Nicholas swayed as his vision started to go dark and he saw the Guardian next to him. The man was falling backwards, the light had left his eyes. His neck had a tiny pin-prick that a small drop of

Nicholas fell and felt the same on his own.

Anassa snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Another Anassa looked around as the first Anassa kept Agrita and Aliana busy. They had started questions now. About what to do in specific situations and so on. That was good and fine frankly, that Anassa could keep them busy as this Anassa got to pick-up drop that was in White Pantheon controlled territory in Rilia. Supposedly so, anyway, in reality, this was just a valley far south of the frontline that Raptor One had dropped a crate off in twenty minutes ago.

This Anassa got to work searching for the crate. Captain Douglas had sent the co-ordinates and supposedly the stupid little box had a transmitter on it so it should be easy to find. But Anassa needed to use her phone for that and Anassa hated using her phone. Such things were below Divinity and frankly, she felt old whenever she used it. Ever since Fer had set that stupid ring-tone for her, she had tried to keep it out of earshot rather than trying to smash the brick wall that was working out how to change it. She could ask for help of course, but did Divines ask for help? No, they did not.

All in all, Anassa knew she was lying to herself. Fer’s annoying was an excuse as was the lack of help, she could always ask Arascus after all. The reality was that she would not bend for the phone and the phone was an inanimate object. It could bend for Anassa, but then it would snap in half and it would be a pain to get a new one. But she her lie made sense, and because it made sense, she could believe it. Divines did not bend for technology, Divines did not ask for help, Divines knew everything and what they didn’t know, they simply wouldn’t try in. And so, this Divine, even though she could use whatever the thing that Malam had installed to find the crate, decided to search for it manually.

Anassa idly hummed to herself as another Anassa appeared by her side and started moving quickly along the centre of the rocky valley. Another Anassa took the west side, yet another Anassa the east side, then three more moved in the other direction. This Anassa scanned the land around them, two more Anassa’s, one south and one north, kept watch for White Pantheon forces although no one was coming.

And the Anassa overlooking the destroyed convoy, that talked to Agrita and Aliana made sure to drop one piece of information about herself. It was a total lie, but Anassa had no issue with lying. Besides, after Malam had explained the plan, this was the best way to avoid a headache later. “I’m sure Fer and Iliyal have both explained the need to go for the kill immediately.” Anassa said. “But being that sort of person all the time will return the favour back to you. It initiates a fight or flight response in Divines, and most Divines will choose fight against you.”

“I’ve had Divines evade me.” Aliana said.

“Most Divines that matter.” Anassa added. “Being able to hold your strength back can instil a terror greater than any sort of violence will.”

“It’s one thing to be able to snap your fingers and make hundreds of yourself.” Aliana said. “But I don’t think I’m… scary.” She had to force the word out.

“I know I’m not.” Agrita said.

“You’re both Divines.” Anassa declared. “The idea of facing Aliana or Agrita in battle should be terrifying. That sort of fear is crippling.”

“It’s a bit different for us.” Aliana said again.

“Kassandora is terrifying and Kassandora is not strong.” Anassa. “The idea makes the Divine. The more battles you accrue and the greater than pool of blood around your feet, the more your legend will grow. If you don’t tend to it now, it will be the legend of a competent fighter, but nothing terrible. Whereas you can play your cards right and you’ll end up as a Goddess men will refuse to engage out of sheer terror and nothing else. That’s how you know you have power, when you don’t even need to lift a finger yet you still defeat armies.”

“You just snap them instead.” Aliana said, Anassa found her opportunity and found a wave of rage roll over her. This little upstart needed to be shown exactly what the power of fear meant.

Anassa snapped her fingers and Aliana was thrown into the air. A blade of red sorcery stopped an inch from her eyes, then expanded to blind her vision. “I could blind you right now.” Anassa said. “And in such a way that it would need Kavaa’s regeneration to fix it.” Anassa couldn’t, but Aliana didn’t need to know that. “The White Pantheon assaults have stopped because I have appeared on this front Aliana. Not because we’re winning or anything like that, it is because no soldier will willingly walk off a cliff if they have any sanity in them. I am that cliff Aliana.” And now, it was time for the true lie. “My ability to maintain simultaneous existences is shorter than you’d hope but longer than you’d like. I’m not able to protect a whole country by myself, no Divine is. Yet my image, the terror I inspire, is enough to stop all assaults.”

Aliana nodded. Her entire body was tense, her knees were quivering as her legs kept themselves straight. “I-I-I-I u-u-underst-stand.” The Goddess of Allia croaked out. Anassa didn’t really care about the woman’s fear, she had communicated what needed to be communicated, and in such a way that didn’t make it obvious she was obviously setting up a false flag: Anassa’s range of existence was not infinite, but it was far grander than the distance from Rilia’s west coast to Rilia’s east coast. If she stood in the north of the country, she would be able to reach Kaczaw in Lubska.

And as she said that, one of the Anassa’s in the valley found the package. A small box dropped off in a parachute. Anassa snapped her fingers and opened it. There it was, just as Malam said it would be. Anassa didn’t even need to touch it to know what it was simply through the stagnant aura it exuded.

A gemstone enchanted to produce a beam by a human mage.

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