Smite Stories 1 (Joust 1v1) Rise of the Dragon King (Part 3)

Ao Kuang floated down, shrinking his form as he did so and told the villagers to rise. He bowed to each of them and instructed them to do the same. He could smell the fear emanating from each of them, and smiled inwardly. It would be easier to get things done if they feared him, but he did not want to be feared any longer, he wanted to be revered and respected. Too log he had ruled through fear, and his favorite scout and third brother had both been slain because of it. He thought for a moment, reflecting back at all of the battles he had won, and the ones he had not. He could sense that Ne Zha had been called down, and Ao Kuang bristled with fury, but he was on another continent, a world away for all the villagers knew, but he would have his revenge. He contented himself with helping the villagers, no, townspeople first, and decided he would kill Ne Zha when he was free of his contract.

The TownKing and the others looked at him awkwardly, clearly wanting him to say or do something. He thought that it was interesting how easily they slipped their little town into his hands, and how easily he could crush it. He straightened himself up, and even with his shrunken form, he still rose above them by a foot.

"You will need to train your army not to fight, but to win. What are their typical training hours?" He spoke to Ferst, the War Chief.

"12 hours a day sir, and rest after that." Ferst looked down sheepishly, already prepared to hear how inadequate the hours were.

"Splendid! Have them cease all training the day before the battle, and rest. I also want all of the town walls fortified, and the roads cleared of debris. Most of the fighting will take place in the main road and the two side alleys to the left and right. You need to erect a ballista just in front of the junction of the two alleys and the main road. You will gather all of the villagers into the castle at the North Village Fountain, and have a 10 foot ash pit placed just behind the ballista." He spoke to the TownKing and Ferst for the order, and then turned to Rowan.

"How good are you at summoning angels my friend...?"

---

Ao Kuang watched the townspeople work to build the fortifications that he asked for, but he wondered if it would be enough. His plan was foolproof, but it would only work if he didn't fail. He turned and looked at rowan working away at a summoning scroll, the first scroll lay neatly wrapped up in a tube, and the second one was almost done. Despite the pressure of the upcoming battle, Ao Kuang felt happier than he had in a long time. He could feel the villagers faith slowly turning towards him and he felt more powerful than he had in centuries. But doubt still lingered in his mind. He had been trying to push it away, but it still plagued his mind. He hadn't fought in a real battle in a long time, and his Chrystal Palace's armory had long ago been looted of all of its weapons. He had no magical items to defend himself with, and that worried him.

He was certain that since the other gods had been on Earth longer, they would have found or looted the items that they needed, but he had another way.

He approached Rowan and waited for him to check the arcane symbols on the scroll, they weren't the same symbols he used to summon Ao Kuang, those were ancient symbols created by humans and imbued with power, the symbols he was writing on the scroll was a language that the ancient gods and titans used. The language was long forgotten to almost every god, but a few still remembered it or had been gifted the knowledge of the arcane language. The greek gods still remembered, and their pantheon was the biggest order that still knew the language. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon stole a tome from their father, Cronus the Titan, that detailed the language, right before they banished him and his fellow titans to tartarus, the Great Pit at the edge of creation. The Tome of the Arcane Language was once in Poseidon's possession, and that was how Ao Kuang found out about it. He studied it when he could, sneaking into Poseidon's undersea palace, and he memorized the language long ago. He brought forth that knowledge and shared some of it with Rowan earlier, knowing that he would need it to make a summoning spell.

The plan was this: Use the Tome of the Arcane Language to summon two of Cronus' desendants, Order Titans. The titans required a host to stay in the Earthly Plane, and hosting a titan was no easy task. Rowan was going to summon one at the North Village Fountain, and one at the South Village Fountain, where Anubis was expected to break through the town walls. The Order Titans would bond to Ao Kuang and Anubis, plus both of their respective phoenix's, that was what the ash pit was for, the titans would regenerate vitality from the phoenix's themselves, while restricting Ao Kuang's and Anubis' power, vitality, and immortality. Making them able to die, but also able to regenerate. Ao Kuang and Anubis would draw the regeneration energy from the Titan's own essence, so if the titan fell, then it's respective god wouldn't be able to regenerate a physical form for a while. It was a costly maneuver, but one that Ao Kuang hoped would help him win the upcoming battle. Ao Kuang hadn't battled first-hand with an Order Titan sapping his strength and vitality, but he knew the effects. On the other hand, Anubis didn't, and that was what Ao Kuang was counting on.

Rowan finished putting the finishing touches on the summoning scroll and showed to Ao Kuang. After looking it over, Ao Kuang decided that it was satisfactory, and handed it back to Rowan with a nod of his head.

"Summon the Order Titans as soon as Anubis breaks through the wall. You will not have a second chance, and if you fail, Jostono will fall and I will not be able to help you."

Rowan looked forlorn, and he nervously glanced around him, probably remembering the town before he died. Ao Kuang could not really relate to what Rowan was feeling, since he was immortal for the time being, but he sympathized with him. He was about to offer a word of encouragement when the alarm calls went out.

Anubis and the town Reganas were here.