The outpost wasn't much yet.
A palisade wall of sharpened logs. Two watchtowers. A training square stamped with the Λ of Sparta. It was only days old — but already, it stood with more order and discipline than many Westerosi keeps.
And now, it would be tested.
Alex stood atop the gate, red cloak snapping behind him, watching the enemy approach.
Forty strong.
Bandits. Deserters. Exiles. Men who knew no loyalty but blood and gold. They came like a wave — screaming, hooting, drunk on violence and false confidence. They thought they were storming a wooden fort held by a dozen men.
They didn't know they were charging straight into Sparta.
---
⚒️ SYSTEM ALERT:
> [ALERT: Your Outpost is Under Attack]
Hostile Force: 42 Identified Units – Mixed Weapons, No Formation
Optional Quest: The Unbreakable Line
Objective: Defend your outpost using only 10 Spartan initiates.
Reward: Unlock Red Cloaks (Elite Unit Tree) | Morale Aura Passive | +15 Notoriety
WARNING: If the line breaks, the outpost falls.
He didn't flinch.
"spartans what is your profession"he roared.
"Awooo"awooo"awooo"
'Ahh. that sends goose bumps in me' Alex thought and then ordered "SPARTANS HOLD!"
The gates opened just wide enough to bait them in. Bandits surged through the bottleneck, howling. One ran ahead of the pack, flailing a rusted axe. He screamed—
—and was impaled clean through the chest by a waiting spear.
The Spartans locked their shields. Formed the phalanx. Five wide, two deep. Spears over and under. Shields overlapping, bodies moving as one.
The second bandit hit the wall — and bounced off a shield so hard he broke his nose.
Another tried to leap over the front rank — only to be caught midair by an upward thrust through his gut.
Steel. Discipline. Blood.
---
> [Spartan Passive: Formation Mastery I Activated]
+15% Damage Resistance | +10% Counterattack Efficiency
[Morale Check: Enemy Force] → FAILED
7 Enemies flee the battlefield.
"Cowards!" one of the enemy captains shouted. "They're just ten men! Ten!"
But the men didn't listen. They saw their comrades die on spears. Heard no cries from the Spartans. No mercy. No chaos. Just cold, perfect killing.
The Spartans advanced.
One step.
Two.
Shields slammed forward. Spears lashed out. The enemy broke.
The battlefield became a slaughter.
---
By sunset, the snow was red.
The outpost still stood.
All ten Spartans were alive — bloodied, bruised, but unbowed. Piles of corpses lay scattered before the gate.
The Spartan king stood beside the last dying bandit — a captain with a sigil tattooed on his neck. A crude eye inside a sun.
"Where did you come from?" Alex asked coldly
The man coughed, grinning through blood. "You think we're the worst? You think we're the last? There's more coming. Raiders. Sellswords. Whole damn warbands. You just lit a fire, redcloak."
He died laughing.
Alex rose and said "Good."
---
🛡️ SYSTEM UPDATE:
> [QUEST COMPLETE: The Unbreakable Line]
Reward Unlocked: RED CLOAKS Unit Tree
Red Cloaks: Elite Spartan Veterans | +Fear Aura | +Health Regen | +Morale Break on Kill
[New Passive Unlocked: Commanding Presence]
+10% Combat Efficiency for All Allied Units Within 50m of the Strategos
[NOTORIETY +15]
The North speaks of a crimson-cloaked warlord in the wild lands. Some say he is a god of war reborn.
---
☁️ Elsewhere...
🔥 Winterfell – Great Hall
Maester Luwin placed the scroll on the table. "Another raven, my lord. Reports of organized raiders in the foothills. Armed. Trained. Some say they fight like… nothing we've seen."
Eddard Stark frowned. "Wildlings don't train. Not like this."
"They say their leader wears crimson. That his men don't speak. Don't retreat."
"Send a scout," Ned said. "If this is true… we may have a greater problem than squabbling lords."
🔥 Castle Black
Jeor Mormont read the blood-stained letter retrieved from the dead patrol.
"They're not wildlings," he muttered. "They're something else. Something… old."
🔥 Essos – Temple of R'hllor
Melisandre gasped awake, soaked in sweat.
"Bronze men… in fire and frost. A crimson king. A god of discipline and war."
She looked into the flames, eyes wide.
"He is not Azor Ahai. He is something else. Something… beyond prophecy."