The days after the assassination attempt were restless. The Cohort drilled harder, eyes sharper, their laughter edged with iron. They had seen their captain bleed and survive, but they also knew the knives would return. Leonidas carried the scar on his shoulder like a brand, a reminder that the enemy did not always come with shields and spears.
Still, the Second Wave would not wait for daggers in the dark. The system's counter burned at the edge of his vision. [Time Remaining: 21 months]. The enemy would not be shadows next time—it would be armies.
---
Leonidas began where every campaign must: with food. Damon the farmer oversaw the expansion of fields beyond Lakonia. Grain sprouted where weeds had once ruled, irrigation ditches cut deep to carry water. Villagers who had once feared the Spartans now worked willingly beside them, soothed by Damon's gruff leadership and the protection of Leonidas's Cohort.
"Two harvests more and you'll feed not just these men," Damon told him, "but another five hundred."
Leonidas nodded, his mind turning. Enough to hold through a siege. Enough to march far without starving.
The overlay shimmered:
[Food Supply Increased: Army can campaign 30% longer before resupply.]
---
Next came weapons. Phokas and Lyra clashed daily at the forge, sparks flying not just from iron but from their rivalry. She worked bronze into razor-sharp spearheads, balanced and elegant. He hammered sturdy shields, rims reinforced to endure heavier blows.
When the Cohort tested the new gear, spears punched deeper into targets, shields held longer against repeated strikes. Even the Lakonian recruits felt the difference.
Doros swung his new spear with delight. "Sharp enough to shave Kleon's beard off from five paces!"
Kyros laughed. "Let's try it next time we see him."
The overlay pulsed again:
[Weapon Quality: +15% effectiveness in combat.]
---
The cavalry was last. Eryx drilled his riders from dawn until dusk, shaping them into more than men on horses. They learned to ride as one, to wheel and strike in flanking arcs, to scatter foes and circle back in tight formation. The horses, once half-wild, now moved with growing discipline under his hand.
Leonidas watched as they thundered across the plain, dust rising behind them like a storm. For the first time, he imagined not just a wall of shields, but a hammer of hooves crashing into an enemy's back.
Eryx rode up to him afterward, sweat streaking his brow. "They'll be ready to cut a flank before the Wave comes. Maybe even punch holes if we keep drilling."
Leonidas clasped his forearm. "Good. When the Wave breaks on us, we'll need claws as well as teeth."
The overlay chimed:
[Cavalry Cohesion: 88%. New Trait Developing: Flanking Discipline.]
---
But preparation was not just numbers or drills. Leonidas knew morale mattered as much as sharp steel. Each night, he sat with his men around the fire, breaking bread, drinking watered wine, listening. He asked the names of new recruits, remembered them, praised small victories.
When one young Lakonian hesitated in drill, Leonidas corrected his stance personally. "You're part of the wall now. If you fall, the man beside you falls. Hold for him."
The recruit's loyalty bar flickered brighter. [+5% Loyalty].
Slowly, the militia ceased to think of themselves as conquered. They began to think of themselves as Spartans.
---
Yet shadows still hung over the camp. Theron came to Leonidas one night, his voice low. "The council will not forgive the trial. The knives were only the first stroke. Expect more—poison in food, spies in the ranks."
Leonidas nodded. He had already begun laying the foundation of his own counter—his future corps of shadows. But that would take time, trust, and silence. For now, the Cohort itself had to stand as both wall and shield.
"We'll meet both spears and daggers the same way," Leonidas said. "Together. Iron does not bend."
---
The system pulsed as if agreeing, filling his vision with progress:
[Faction Progress Report]
Iron Cohort: 50 veterans, cohesion 98%.
Lakonia Militia: 200 recruits, cohesion 76% (steadily rising).
Cavalry: 12 riders, cohesion 88%.
Artisans: Phokas (Blacksmith), Lyra (Weaponsmith), Damon (Farmer), Eryx (Horse Trainer).
Morale: High.
Food Supply: Stable, growth forecast positive.
Loyalty: Average 85% (significantly higher than global norm).
[Warning: Second Wave Expected in 21 Months.]
[Recommended Action: Expand further before Wave to avoid collapse.]
---
Leonidas stared into the flames, mind turning like a wheel. He had bread, steel, horses, men. More than he had months ago, but still too little compared to Evelyne's knights, Marcus's legions, or Darius's Immortals.
The wall stood strong, but it was still small.
Theron sat beside him. "What's the next step?"
Leonidas exhaled slowly. "Another conquest. Another brick in the wall. If we don't grow before the Wave hits, it won't matter how hard we stand—we'll be drowned."
His gaze turned north, where Evelyne's star burned brightest in the heavens. He imagined her knights glittering in steel, Seraphine at her side. Proud. Untouchable. And yet even her banner bent at seventy-four percent. His wall had no such ceiling.
Steel bent. Bronze tarnished. Iron endured.
But endurance alone would not win. The wall must grow, and soon.