"Hehehe..."
Adam's laughter echoed across the courtyard.
The sound rolled through the ranks of the Black Legion like a sudden thunderclap, causing many of the n to stiffen instinctively.
"Hahaha!"
Every step he took across the stone floor felt like a hamr striking their chests. The steady rhythm of his boots approaching the formation made their hearts pound louder with each passing mont.
Several of the Magi began sweating despite the cool morning air. Their hands tightened at their sides, and a few of them unconsciously held their breath. They were nervous.
Terrified, even!
But above all else, two feelings weighed heavily upon them.
Guilt and sha...
All of their heads were lowered, their gaze glued to the ground. They didn't dare to look at the Dark King. No, to be more precise, they didn't think they were even worthy of looking his way.
Adam sensed the emotions swirling around these n, his laughter slowly dying down.
But a faint smile still hung on his lips as he set foot on the platform. He walked up to Daniel Ranzenberg and offered a polite nod.
"Lord Marshall."
Daniel, stoic as ever, nodded back. "Count Constantine."
Adam then swept his gaze over the courtyard, taking in the ranks of the Magi standing below. His eyes lingered briefly on the balconies above, where the Mana Foundation and Mana Liquefaction Magi stood, watching in tense silence.
Not a single voice rose to greet him. The entire bastion seed to hold its breath beneath the weight of his re presence.
Adam sighed.
"What's the matter with you lot?" He asked, raising his chin. "Did soone die?" No one answered.
The n of the Black Legion stood rigid in their ranks, eyes fixed on the ground, their silence heavier than any reply could have been.
Adam looked over the silent ranks, his sharp voice cutting through the courtyard.
"What's gotten into the brave n of the Black Legion?" he asked. "Still brooding over the Battle of Ravenfell? Still thinking about the blades you drove into my chest?"
He scoffed.
"Well, I'm not."
His eyes hardened as he looked across the bowed heads.
"So why the fuck are you?!"
Adam took a step forward.
"I never blad any of you for what happened. Not then. Not now. You were victims of the sa lies that nearly destroyed ."
He spoke louder, his voice sharp and commanding.
"So lift your fucking heads! You are the Black Legion! The finest warriors Ravenfell has ever produced! If there is a guilt to carry, I have already carried it for almost fifty years!"
Adam's gaze swept across them like a tidal wave.
"And I will not have my soldiers standing before like defeated n!"
The n of the Black Legion had not expected those words. They had braced themselves for anger. For condemnation. Perhaps... even punishnt.
But what they had received instead was sothing none of them had prepared for.
Understanding.
For a long mont, the courtyard remained silent. Then, slowly, one after another, the warriors began to raise their heads.
Their eyes were bloodshot, many of them glistening with unshed tears. The weight they had carried seed to have loosened ever so slightly as they looked upon the man they had once called their Lord Commander.
Adam spoke again, his voice filled with iron resolve.
"I do not care about what happened in the past," he said. "The past is dead. What matters to is the present... and the future."
He pointed eastward.
"A great war is coming. One that will shake this world to its foundations. And when that storm arrives, I will need n."
His voice rose higher.
"Strong n! Brave n! n who will stand beside and fight against the evil of the Cult!"
Adam took another step forward, his tenebrous eyes blazing with passion.
"You want my forgiveness? Then stand shoulder to shoulder with and fight
to save our world!"
His lips curled into a fierce, wicked grin.
"You want glory? Then follow to the very end of the world!"
His voice thundered across the courtyard.
"I promise you this... together we will carve a path through our enemies, paved
with their blood and their corpses, and we will stand at the very top of this
world!"
He paused briefly, letting his words sink into every heart present.
"But I cannot do it alone."
His voice lowered, but its weight only grew heavier.
"I need you..."
Adam looked at the n who had once marched under his command.
"So tell , mighty warriors of the Black Legion... will you heed my call to war?" The Dark King's words struck the n of the Black Legion like rolling thunder.
For a while, they had lived with the guilt, sha, and regret. Yet in a few short monts, those emotions were swept away and replaced by sothing else... sothing fierce and burning.
Pride.
Purpose.
The storm of feeling raging inside them was overwhelming. So felt the sting of tears in their eyes. Others trembled with a rising heat in their chests. It was like being dragged through a typhoon of emotions all at once.
So when Adam asked his question, many of them were too stunned to respond.
The courtyard fell into silence.
Adam's gaze intensifed and he roared to the heavens:
"Will you heed my call to war?!"
This ti, his words struck like a war drum.
The n of the Black Legion clenched their fists. Their jaws tightened. Their
bloodshot eyes burned with renewed fire.
And then, as if moved by the sa spirit...
They scread from the bottom of their hearts.
"HOO-AHH!"
"HOO-AHH!"
"HOO-AHH!"
Their war cry erupted from the courtyard like lightning.
The voices of the Black Legion rolled across Ravenfell in a deafening wave, echoing through the streets, across the towers, and over the stone walls of the
city.
Everyone stopped and turned in the direction of the Black Bastion.
The sheer force of their cry made the very ground tremble beneath everyone's
feet.
It was the roar of warriors reborn!
Adam raised a hand, and the elite Magi of Ravenfell fell silent at once. He then
turned to Daniel and said in an even voice:
"Lord Marshal, fifty n. That's all I need. I request fifty of your best."
Daniel intently studied the raven-haired youth, then silently nodded.
Adam stepped down from the platform and headed for the exit, his final words
hanging heavily in the air.
"Two days," he said. "Bid your farewells and put your affairs in order."
He paused for a mont, his eyes narrowing.
"Then, we begin our march south."
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