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CHAPTER 92
“Come on,” I told Astrid.We turned and headed toward the center of the marching column, where the strategos's carriage was traveling with his daughter.As it turned out, Alexios regularly brought his daughter along on military campaigns so she could document everything in her biographical account of his life. The book didn't have an official title yet, but Anna had confided in me that she wanted to call it The Alexiad, modeled after the Iliad and the Odyssey.“Climb in,” Alexios called as he opened the carriage door.I hopped onto the step and climbed inside, followed by Astrid.It was worth mentioning that Alexios had already made a pass at Astrid. And not a subtle one, either. He'd been remarkably forward about it, even with another Alexios—namely, me—standing right there.Not that Astrid and I had anything going on between us, but it still felt a little awkward.Fortunately, Komnenos had received a very clear rejection and quickly backed off his advances toward the Nordic necroman
CHAPTER 91
CHAPTER 91 (23)Russian Federation, Vladivostok, Fort No. 1, June 19, 2021A portable electric lamp illuminated Artillery Tower No. 3. Its light reached only as far as an old wooden workbench, behind which stood a man everyone in the Society called Behemoth.Behemoth was working on a personal project he'd undertaken on his own initiative: improving the Society's combat capabilities.The others preferred kidnapping random homeless people from the city and draining them to rejuvenate themselves. Their Mistress had given them what was arguably the most valuable spell of all. After just a week of draining life energy, the Maiden's hands had become roughly ten years younger.No one knew the Maiden's exact age, but Behemoth estimated she was somewhere between forty and fifty.Not that it mattered anymore.Behemoth himself hadn't undergone the draining procedure yet. He considered himself too young for it. At twenty-five, he was in the prime of his mental and physical abilities. There was no
CHAPTER 90
But the most impressive feature was a massive double bed.At a table covered with parchment maps sat a woman of about thirty, dressed in an elegant, expensive gown.She was undeniably beautiful. Her brown eyes were expressive, medium-sized, and framed by long eyelashes. There was a sadness in her gaze. Her nose was straight, a textbook example of the Greek ideal. Her mouth was medium-sized, with richly red lips. A sharp chin complemented the contours of her face. Her skin was snow-white, without a single visible blemish. Her long hair fell in soft waves.It was difficult to estimate her height while she remained seated. Her build was average, and her breasts looked to be approximately a B cup. Objectively speaking, she was a beautiful woman, possessing a distinctive Mediterranean charm.If I'd encountered someone like her on the streets of Vladivostok, I'd have immediately become painfully self-conscious and never dared approach her, let alone strike up a conversation.Still, standing
CHAPTER 89
“What is it?” Komnenos asked, visibly intrigued.“I don't know what it's called, but…”Astrid tore open one of the packets and poured a little sugar into her palm. Then she licked the powder and crunched her teeth together with obvious delight. Good grief. What a spectacle.“Here, Simeon,” the strategos ordered his elite warrior.Astrid poured a little sugar into Simeon's palm. He cautiously brought it toward his face, sniffed it, and then, with equal caution, gave it a lick.“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “It's sugar, Strategos!”“Let me try!” Komnenos leaned eagerly toward Astrid.The necromancer handed him the packet. He poured its contents into his palm and licked up all the sugar in two passes.His eyes closed in bliss as he chewed the crystals, making little sounds of satisfaction. Unbelievable.“You’ll have to pay for the sugar,” the necromancer reminded him.“How much do you want for both artifacts?” the strategos asked, opening his eyes.***Thrace Theme, Strategos Alexei Komnenos’s
CHAPTER 88
The warrior returned. This time, he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by several burly men wearing expensive scale armor. Their armor was noticeably better than that worn by my undead.Unlike our scale armor, with its overlapping scales, these men wore plates fitted tightly together over a chainmail backing. It was a variation on the traditional design that eliminated most of its weaknesses. You'd have a hell of a time piercing armor like that with an upward thrust of a spear, and hacking through it with a battle-axe wouldn't be easy, either.Against that backdrop, my dushnilium chainmail looked downright pathetic. Cheap, even. I'd have to give some serious thought to upgrading my own defenses in the near future. After all, I already had a retinue. What I lacked was the sort of armor that went with the status.“What business do you have on the lands of Strategos Alexei Komnenos?” one of the elite warriors asked.His face was unmistakably Caucasoid, but not Greek, Slavic, or Anatolian.
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 87 (23)Well, from where she was standing, that made perfect sense. She'd spent years raising undead the wrong way. Now that she'd seen something even remotely resembling an optimal method, she considered it practically the pinnacle of necromancy.“My current undead are a temporary solution born out of emergency circumstances,” I told her. “In the future, if I find somewhere safe, I’ll start raising them properly. They won’t need a necroenergy accumulator to keep functioning. An accumulator inside an undead is a sign of a ham-fisted amateur. That’s what the Novice’s Handbook says, anyway.”“But your undead smashed an experienced warrior’s head in,” Astrid pointed out. “And it fought remarkably well against two opponents before they damaged its arm and leg.”Apparently, she was sticking to her opinion.“There’s nothing stopping me from improving them,” I said. “And I will. Stop! Do you hear that?”I’d heard a rustling in the dry bushes to the left of the animal trail we were fo
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