Home / Fantasy / THE RELUCTANT WARBORN / Chapter 61 – Regroup and Recover

Chapter 61 – Regroup and Recover

Author: Jules

2026-01-11 18:26:21

They retreated to a mountain stronghold.

Not the First City. That was lost. Taken by Cassius's forces when he'd betrayed them. And Never reclaimed.

This was smaller. A natural cave system Kael's scouts had found weeks ago. Defensible. Hidden. And Remote.

Fourteen hundred survivors made the three-day journey. Four hundred dead at the capital. Another hundred lost during the retreat. Every face Kael passed reminded him of the cost. Of his failure.

They set up camp in the caves. Tended the wounded, counted supplies and assessed damage.

"We're low on everything," the quartermaster reported. "Food for maybe two weeks. Medical supplies for one. Ammunition nearly depleted. Water's fine since we have underground streams. But everything else is critical."

"What about the supply caches?" Kael asked. "The ones we established over the past month?"

"That's the problem. I sent teams to three different caches. All empty. Stripped clean. Either scavenged by refugees or..."

"Or someone told enemies wh

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Chapter 69 – The Artifact Awakens
Kael woke three days later.His body was healed, mostly the physical damage repaired by Warborn regeneration and medical care. But something felt different. His artifacts pulsed with energy he didn't recognize. Blue light flickering with patterns that seemed almost alive. "You're awake." Lyra sat beside his bed. Dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't slept much. "How do you feel?""Strange. Like something's moving inside me. Inside the artifacts. Like they're trying to tell me something.""They've been doing that since you passed out. Glowing, shifting and responding to nothing we could detect." She handed him water. "What happened with the Warlord? What was that power you used?""I don't know. It just came. From somewhere deep. Somewhere I didn't know existed." Kael sat up slowly. His artifacts flared brighter. "But I think they know. The artifacts. They're connected to it somehow. Responding to it and amplifying it."He stood. Walked to the window. Outside, his people were rebuil
Chapter 68 – The Hidden Warlord's Challenge
They made it two miles before he appeared.Not his mother. Not the Dominion. The First Warlord himself. Standing in their path alone and waiting."Stop," Kael ordered. His people froze. Everyone recognizing the threat. The impossibility. The end."Hello, Kael." The Warlord smiled. Pleasant and casual. Like they were meeting for tea. "You've been busy. Breaking into fortresses, stealing data and learning secrets. I'm impressed. Truly. You've exceeded every projection.""Get out of our way.""No. I don't think I will. You see, you've become a problem. A variable I can't predict. A piece that won't stay where I put it. That bothers me deeply. So I've decided to remove you from the board. Permanently.""You've tried before. Failed before. What makes this different?""This." The Warlord gestured. Reality shifted. Everyone except Kael vanished. Transported somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Somewhere far away.They were alone. Just the two of them. In a space that wasn't quite real. "A pocket
Chapter 68 – The Hidden Warlord's Challenge
They made it two miles before he appeared.Not his mother. Not the Dominion. The First Warlord himself. Standing in their path alone and waiting."Stop," Kael ordered. His people froze. Everyone recognizing the threat. The impossibility. The end."Hello, Kael." The Warlord smiled. Pleasant and casual. Like they were meeting for tea. "You've been busy. Breaking into fortresses, stealing data and learning secrets. I'm impressed. Truly. You've exceeded every projection.""Get out of our way.""No. I don't think I will. You see, you've become a problem. A variable I can't predict. A piece that won't stay where I put it. That bothers me deeply. So I've decided to remove you from the board. Permanently.""You've tried before. Failed before. What makes this different?""This." The Warlord gestured. Reality shifted. Everyone except Kael vanished. Transported somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Somewhere far away.They were alone. Just the two of them. In a space that wasn't quite real. "A pocket
Chapter 67 – Siege of the Eternal Fortress
They didn't wait for his mother's army.Kael made the decision in the darkness. Standing over Sarah's body, watching Cassius struggle to breathe and feeling the weight of Marcus's betrayal crushing down."We attack first," he said.Lyra looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Attack what? We're surrounded and oOutnumbered. Barely holding together after—""The Eternal Fortress. My mother's primary stronghold. Where she keeps her command center. Her research. Her plans." Kael activated his artifacts. The void energy responding. "She pulled everyone here. Left it vulnerable. We hit it now while she's focused on destroying us.""That's suicide. The fortress is impenetrable. Everyone who's tried to breach it has died.""Everyone who tried head-on, through the main defenses. The obvious approaches." Kael pulled up a mental map. Information from his mother's memories. Things she didn't know he'd seen during their confrontations. "There's a weakness. A flaw in the design. Something the First
Chapter 66 – Betrayal and Loss
The attack came at dawn.Not from the Warlord. Not from Kael's mother. The dominion. A full assault. Three thousand soldiers enhanced, armed and coordinated."Defensive positions!" Kael shouted. "Get everyone armed. Now!"People scrambled, grabbed weapons and activated artifacts. This wasn't a skirmish. This was total war. The Dominion had decided to crush them completely.Lyra appeared beside him. Already armored. "They're hitting all sides simultaneously. Trying to overwhelm us through numbers.""Where's Marcus?" Kael looked around. Marcus led the defensive strategy. Had planned for this exact scenario."Haven't seen him. He was on watch but—"An explosion. The eastern wall collapsed. Dominion soldiers poured through. Marcus was supposed to be defending that section."Find him!" Kael activated his artifacts. Dove into the fight, reality bends around him and void energy manifesting. This was war. Real war. No holding back.He fought through the eastern breach. Cut down soldiers, disa
Chapter 65 – The Rival Strikes Again
Cassius arrived at camp two days after Kael's return.Not sneaking, not attacking. Just walking through the perimeter. Alone and unarmed. Like he owned the place."I challenge you," he said simply. "One on one, You and me. No interference, no tricks. Just combat. "Why?" Kael asked."Because I'm tired of being second. Tired of being artificial while you're natural. Tired of proving myself to people who'll never accept me as equal." Cassius's black artifacts activated. "I beat you, I lead. You beat me, question's settled. Either way, we stop wasting time on rivalry and focus on the war.""And if I refuse?""Then I leave, take my people and you lose three hundred fighters because you're too proud to prove you're better than me."Lyra stepped forward. "This is a trap. Obviously.""Probably," Cassius agreed. "But what choice does he have? Refuse and look weak. Accept and risk dying. Either way, I win something.""Honest, at least." Kael activated his own artifacts. The new power from the P

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