Divine Ascension: Reborn as a God of Power-Chapter 35: The War of Kaeron (Part 4)

The air was different once I teleported to Kaeron, or at least close to it, since the system teleported me to a hill just above the village. And it wasn’t just the humidity from the coast or the salty smell of the sea... it was something else, something I knew well: fear.

Until not long ago, I was afraid too. Afraid of dying, but I changed and now with me here, the people of Kaeron wouldn’t have to worry about that. So I jumped towards the village.

Speaking of Kaeron.

I could already see it from the sky as I fell, and the view was breathtaking. The city stretched out like never before. Its streets had multiplied, the houses now formed neighborhoods, and the markets pulsed like open veins full of life. Well, at least they would have if the place wasn’t completely empty, probably because the people were either taking refuge in their homes or had go fled the city or on some cases were preparing weapons and shields for the arrival of the Athenians.

Once my foot touched the central stone of the square, a golden tremor ran through the ground. The few people who were there, who seemed to be carrying their belongings and moving out of the city, moved away as if a star had descended. I could hear several muffled cries, stifled breaths... and eyes wide open as if they were seeing a ghost.

"Who is it?"

"Is it him...?"

"The god?"

"It can’t be. I thought he was just... a myth."

"The priests said he had ascended to heaven!"

My gaze swept across the faces. And I could see them, dozens of people who had prayed to me but had never seen me. They knew me from stories, sculptures, paintings. From repeated rituals and prayers with no clear direction.

And yet, here I was.

Akhon, in the flesh. Ready to kick some ass.

It was then that I saw a figure break through the crowd. His voice was loud, but unmistakable.

"AKHON! THANKS TO THE OLYMPUS!"

Themistios.

The old exile, the wise man who had led the creation of the city and whom I had accompanied in the early years of the city. At that moment, his face was gaunt, as if he hadn’t slept in days, and he seemed barely able to stand, supported only by his staff.

"Did you see? People of Kaeron! He did not abandon us, as he promised! I told you that I saw him ascend to Olympus with my own eyes! And now he has returned, as he promised!"

This seemed to influence the discouraged masses, who now seemed to have regained hope that things might end well, that it would not be a massacre. I heard trembling voices begin to repeat my name. And then, they began to shout it.

"Akhon!"

"Protector god!"

"Kaeron lives by your grace!"

I closed my eyes for a second.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔔 DING!

🧱 Authority +3

Faithful Status → Fervent

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

But there was no time for that. My gaze rose to the east. The first Athenian formations were already crossing the last hill. The ground vibrated with the footsteps of thousands of boots. Shields glinted in the rising sun, blue and gold banners waved arrogantly. The Athenians were here.

"THEMISTIOS!!" I shouted, getting the old man’s attention. "Show me the situation."

We climbed the steep stairs leading to the highest point of the eastern wall. From there, the view was clear and not particularly comforting: a human carpet of bronze and blue spread out like a wave ready to swallow everything. It was not a warning force. It was a full-scale invasion.

I activated the function.

[’Scan’]

A slight buzzing sensation ran through my eyes as data appeared in real time over the field while the system adapted to scanning various life forms. The good thing was that the ability was intuitive, so in a few seconds it was able to give me concrete data on the two armies just by looking at them.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⚔️ Invading Army: Athens

🔢 Total soldiers detected: 5,162

🛡️ Heavy hoplites: 2,050

🏃 Light infantry: 1,700

🏹 Archers: 850

🐎 Cavalry: 290

⛪ Accompanying priests (non-combatants): 12

📈 Morale: High

🍞 Estimated provisions: 10-12 days

🧱 Mobile fortifications: None

⚙️ Level of organization: Very high

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🛡️ Defending Forces: Kaeron

🔢 Total available combatants: 243

🗡️ Trained guard (ex-soldiers, adventurers): 59

🧱 Urban militia (armed citizens): 104

🏹 Local hunters and archers: 48

⛪ Priests and acolytes of the cult: 6

📉 Morale: Mixed

🍞 Estimated provisions: 4 days

🏯 Fortifications: Basic (stone wall, no towers)

⚙️ Level of organization: Low

📊 Probability of victory without external intervention: 0.4% ❌

📊 Probability of victory with direct intervention (current level of divine authority): 63%✅

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I clicked my tongue.

"Well, a ridiculously large force against a handful of neighbors with spears. What a surprise."

"What do you say, my lord? Do we have a chance?" asked Themistios, without taking his eyes off the enemy.

"No, absolutely not. In fact, if this were a ball game, we’d already be losing five to zero."

"What if you play?"

"Maybe they have a chance. No, what I mean is, if I use my powers, this will probably be over quickly, so let’s do this. I’ll go down and face the Athenians alone. I’ll try to negotiate with whoever is in charge, and if we can’t reach an agreement, well, let’s just say I hope they have enough coins left over to bury their dead."

"Are you sure, my lord? It’s not that I doubt you, but it’s an army of thousands of men," replied Themistios with a worried expression. "Wouldn’t you like me to mobilize everyone else as well?"

"Yes, but do this: gather the guards on the wall, leave the archers at the top, and keep the militiamen ready to cover any gaps if they break through. But keep this in mind, and this is an order: tell them not to try to be heroes. History tends to remember only those who survive to tell the tale."

Themistios nodded without protest.

"Understood, my lord. I will relay your orders to the troops," he said as he disappeared over the wall.

Meanwhile, I stayed on the wall a moment longer, watching the Athenian ranks line up like pieces on a board. There were many of them, and they seemed well trained. And, to be honest, they seemed to enjoy the idea of crushing the people. They surely thought it would be an easy battle and that in less than a week they would be back in Athens, welcomed as heroes.

Oh, but how wrong they were.

"Well, boys... you came looking for a holy war," I muttered to myself as I opened a floating panel. "You’ll get a holy war, the holiest you’ve ever had in your lives."

I leaped down from the wall in a jump that would have been suicidal for any human. But I wasn’t just human, was I? I landed firmly, kicking up a small cloud of dry dust. The gates of Kaeron were not yet open, but from above, the militiamen looked at me with a mixture of bewilderment and reverence. Most of them probably had only heard stories, myths, exaggerations... To them, I was little more than a myth, a symbol carved in temples, not a real person.

Kaeron’s small walls weren’t exactly impressive. Stones held together with hardened mud, makeshift watchtowers made of local wood, some sections still unfinished. They weren’t built to withstand a long siege, let alone hold back a professional army. But at least they served as a backdrop for the scene that was about to unfold.

The terrain in front of the city was a dusty plain dotted with dry bushes and the occasional rock jutting out of the ground. The sun had already climbed high enough to punish anyone without a helmet. In the distance, the banners of Athens fluttered arrogantly, as if they had already won.

And there I was, walking calmly toward the enemy. More than five thousand eyes turned toward me, at first with confusion, then with a spark of recognition. Some lowered their weapons just an inch. Others crossed themselves. And the youngest... were simply petrified.

When I was at a safe distance, I raised my voice.

"I want to speak to the one in command!" I shouted, projecting my voice with the help of a slight divine impulse. "I have not come to kill, I have come to reason!"

There was movement among the enemy lines. A group of horsemen separated from the rest, advancing at a measured pace. At the front, mounted on an imposing black horse, came a man in ornate armor and a dark blue cape. The guy exuded authority from a distance, even without speaking.

He stopped about five meters away from me. He looked at me with a frown and his lips pressed together. His eyes analyzed everything: my clothes, my posture, the fact that I was not carrying a visible weapon.

"Akhon, I presume?" he said in a deep voice. "I am Leontes, general of the Athenian troops. If you have come to surrender, I can assure you that your citizens will be treated with mercy."

I couldn’t help but laugh softly.

"I didn’t come to surrender, Leontes. I came to prevent a massacre. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want this land stained with the blood of men who are only following orders. And I don’t want Athens to bear the blame for starting a war against a god."

Leontes raised an eyebrow, a dry smile barely concealing his contempt.

"A god? You? Don’t waste my time. You can perform tricks, perhaps scare a village of farmers, but you won’t stop an army with pretty words. We fight and die for Athena. You and your people... you’ll be nothing more than a footnote in history."

"So you’re decided," I muttered. "No truce? No honorable retreat?"

"The only honorable thing would be for you to disappear before my army tramples you like the joke you are."

I nodded once.

"As you wish."

And then I began to focus my energy, glowing like a golden beacon.

The ground beneath my feet shook as energy gathered in my palms, flowing through my arms like liquid fire. I spread my arms out to the sides, and a golden shockwave exploded from my body as if the air itself had imploded.

The blast swept across the front of the Athenian troops. I could see and hear the men and horses in the front rows being blown away.

I didn’t kill them outright, although some may have died from the impact if they didn’t land well, but hey, that’s war. However, the point was that he impact was brutal. The first hundred soldiers were thrown away like leaves. Some rolled on the ground trying to cushion their fall, others who had been thrown landed on their horses or were crushed by them, losing their shields, spears, and any notion of glory.

I saw the banners bent. How the horses whinnied in terror. And I saw how Leontes himself had to hold his horse steady with both hands as a crack split the ground between us.

A deathly silence fell for a moment over the entire battlefield. Only the floating dust and the clanging of armor stirred by the wind broke the scene.

I took another step forward, my voice firm:

"You should have accepted peace while you could. Now you will face the wrath of a god."

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