invisible string | f. zhang

xiv. the strangest reinforcements you'll ever see

The centaurs didn't stand a chance. The two cohorts crush them like a vise. Soon there was nothing left but piles of dust and assorted hooves and horns.

"Form ranks!" The centurions shout. The two cohorts came together, shields locked, they march into battle against the Earthborn.

Frank shouts, "Pila!"

A hundred spears bristle. When Frank yells, "Fire!" they sail through the air, cutting through the six-armed monsters. The campers draw swords and advance toward the center of the battle.

At the base of the aqueduct, the First and Second Cohorts were trying to encircle Polybotes, but they were taking a pounding. The remaining Earthborn threw barrage after barrage of stone and mud.

Reyna soars above the giant, diving in with her javelin whenever he turned his attention to the ground troops.

"Romans!" Reyna's voice booms across the fields when she notices them marching towards her, "Rally to the eagle!"

Demigods and monsters alike turn and gawk as Maribelle and Percy bound forward on his hellhound.

"What is this?" Polybotes demands, "What is this?"

Percy raises the eagle and shouts, "Twelfth Legion Fulminata!"

Thunder shakes the valley. The eagle lets loose a blinding flash, and a thousand tendrils of lightning exploded from its golden wings.

When the lightning stops, the First and Second
Cohorts were facing one surprised-looking giant and several hundred smoking piles of ash. The enemy's center line had been charred to oblivion.

"Rome! Rome!" They chant.

The giant Polybotes backs up uncertainly, but Maribelle knew the battle wasn't over.

The Fourth Cohort was still surrounded by Cyclopes. Even Hannibal the elephant was having a hard time wading through so many monsters.

"Stand your ground!" Stheno yells, "I've got free samples!"

Polybotes bellows. A dozen fresh basilisks fell out of his hair, turning the grass to poison yellow, "You think this changes anything, Percy Jackson? I cannot be destroyed! Come forward, son of Neptune. I will break you!"

Percy dismounts. He hands Maribelle the standard, but she passes it to Dakota. "You are the cohort's senior centurion. Take care of this." She winks.

Dakota blinks, then he straightens with pride, "I will carry it with honor."

"Belle, Frank, Hazel, Tyson," Percy says, "Help the Fourth Cohort. I've got a giant to kill."

He raises Riptide, but before he could advance, horns blew in the northern hills. Another army appeared on the ridge; hundreds of warriors in black-and-gray camouflage. Interspersed among their ranks were a dozen battle forklifts, their sharpened tines gleaming in the sunset and flaming bolts nocked in their crossbows.

"Amazons," Frank says, "Great."

Polybotes laughs, "You, see? Our reinforcements have arrived! Rome will fall today!"

The Amazons lower their spears and charge down the hill. The giant's army cheers — until the Amazons change course and head straight for the monsters' intact eastern flank.

"Amazons, forward!"

"Queen Hylla!" Hazel exclaims, "She survived!"

"To my sister's aid! Destroy the monsters!"

"Destroy!" Her troops' cry.

"Romans! Advance!"

The battlefield descends into absolute chaos. Maribelle stood alongside Frank and Hazel, listening to the commands of the centurions and striking when necessary. They fight in large groups, defeating the enemy.

As the monsters fade away, they run to Percy and Polybotes, forming a ring around the giant.

"I will take you prisoner, Percy Jackson," Polybotes snarls, "I will torture you under the sea. Every day the water will heal you, and every day I will bring you closer to death."

"Great offer," Percy says, "But I think I'll just kill you instead."

Polybotes bellows in rage. He shakes his head, and more basilisks flew from his hair.

"Get back!" Frank warns.

Fresh chaos spread through the ranks. Hazel spurs Arion and places herself between the basilisks and the campers. Frank changes form and charges the basilisks. Maribelle stays in rank.

They slither away with Frank chasing after them.

Polybotes points his trident and runs toward Percy. As the giant reaches the Pomerian Line, Percy jumps aside. Polybotes barrels across the city limits.

"That's it!" Terminus cries, "That's against the rules!"

Polybotes frowns, obviously confused that he was being told off by a statue, "What are you? Shut up!"

He pushes the statue over and turns back to Percy.

"Now I'm mad!" Terminus shrieks, "I'm strangling you. Feel that? Those are my hands around your neck, you big bully. Get over here! I'm going to head-butt you so hard — "

Maribelle wants to run and assist Percy, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do. So, she stands planted next to Hazel and Arion.

"Enough!" The giant steps on the statue and broke Terminus in three pieces.

"You didn't!" Terminus shouts, "Percy Jackson, you've got yourself a deal! Let's kill this upstart."

Frank rejoins them, hand falling onto Maribelle's shoulder. She gives him a nervous smile.

The giant laughs. Percy jumps up, vaulting off the giant's knee, and drives Riptide straight through one of the metal mouths on Polybotes's breastplate, sinking the Celestial bronze hilt-deep in his chest. The giant stumbles backward, tripping over Terminus's pedestal and crashing to the ground.

Percy hefts the head of the statue.

"You'll never win!" Polybotes grunts, "You cannot defeat me alone."

"I'm not alone. I'd like you to meet my friend Terminus. He's a god!"

Percy smashes the god's head as hard as he could into the Polybotes's nose, and the giant dissolves, crumbling into a steaming heap of seaweed, reptile skin, and poisonous muck.

Percy staggers away, completely exhausted.

"Ha!" Terminus shouts, "That will teach him to obey the rules of Rome."

For a moment, the battlefield was silent. Maribelle breathes a sigh of relief and reaches down to squeeze Frank's hand, he reciprocates and she grins shyly.

A ragged circle of Romans and Amazons stand around Percy. Maribelle grins at him in pride.

The Romans began to chant, "Percy! Percy!"

Then, they were raising him on a shield.

"Praetor! Praetor!"

They chant all the way back to camp.

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