The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 32: War Games

Hannah exchanged blows with a Roman who had climbed the ladder, imposing herself between the rival demigod and Clara. She wasn't sure how long she could hold though, Hannah could handle a sword just fine, but it was not her preferred weapon. Suddenly, as Hannah was being pushed back, a blunt arrow struck the guy in the shoulder. This caused him to stumble, giving Hannah a chance to step under his guard and knock him out with the pommel of her sword. "Cadere retrorsum!" Hazel called out. "The walls have been lost, cadere retrorsum!" The defenders on the wall frantically fought to break out of their encirclements and reach the towers to get off the walls.

"Go, get off the wall, I'll hold them back!" Hannah called to the demigods around her, manipulating the mist and shadows cast by the setting sun to blind attackers surrounding the defenders. Members of the fifth cohort defending the gate and western flank started forming ranks in the courtyard below, protecting the inner sanctum where the flag was kept. Under the direction of Thalia, Hunter's starting arranging themselves behind. Feeling her energy starting to drain and seeing most of the demigods had made it out of harm's way, Hannah released her hold. She made a mad dash for the tower, only to find her way blocked by maybe a half dozen members of the first cohort.

"Surrender Graecus, we have you surrounded!" a girl called out to her. However, before Hannah could do anything, a silver arrow flew from the darkness of the tower and landed at their feet. A cloud of green smoke erupted from it, giving off a horrid smell and causing all of the Romans to erupt in coughing fits.

A silver-clad girl with auburn hair emerged from the shadows. "Come on!" Clara called.

Holding her breath, Hannah shoved her way past the Romans and to the stairwell. "What are you doing here!" Hannah hissed. "I told you to go!"

"I couldn't leave you!" Clara protested as they ran down the stairs to join everyone else."I won't lose you too!"

"It's just a game, Clara," Hannah said as they emerged into the courtyard before the gate. The situation looked sure, the father cohort was facing off against the combined might of the third and fourth cohorts, along with a portion of the first. "I would have been fine."

"You don't know that!" Clara yelled. "What if something had happened while I was gone!" Hannah couldn't help but feel for the kid, last time someone close to her had left he died.

As the two were running Hannah sheathed her gladius, and then formed her spear. Twirling it around, Hannah used it to daze and trip up legionnaires as they fought their way to the fifth cohort defenders. Dakota and Hazel were busy shouting orders, but they were slowly being pushed back by the combined might of four other cohorts. "Oh, thank Jupiter you're here!" Hazel cried when Hannah and Clara fought their way to her side. "I have an idea, but I need your help."

Hannah listened as Hazel explained. "It should work," Hannah nodded. "We just need to hold until Percy can get here." With a nod from Hazel, the trio faded to the back of the Roman ranks. Both Hazel and Hannah then proceeded to close their eyes in concentration, most swirling around them as they raised their arms.

Suddenly, black pillars erupted from the ground, made partially of stone and shadow, in between the fighting forces. This caused both sides to scramble backwards in surprise, and gave Hazel and Hannah the opportunity to erect pillars all around the invading force. They then caused the Mist to gather into a physical form and create a barrier around the attackers, leaving a single opening in the wall facing the fifth cohort and the gate. Walls also started appearing in the inside, dividing the force into more manageable sizes and creating a maze of sorts.

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Percy grinned, he hadn't been able to use his powers like this in a long time, and it felt great. Plus, to sweeten the deal, he got to do it with his sister, Kate! Taking out the siege tower pushed by the second cohort had been a cinch. Using the water from the cannons, and some help from Kate to give her some practice, Percy formed two giant fists and crushed the top between them. The ladders had proved trickier. Kate had come up with a good idea though. She suggested that they use small tendrils of water to push back the ladders whenever they got too close. It was simple, but effective.

"We've got them on the run!" Atalanta cheered as the Romans started retreating.

Percy frowned, they wouldn't just retreat like that unless they had a reason. Turning around, he was horrified to realize that he was right. The western flank had been breached, and the members of the fifth cohort not on the wall with Percy were conducting a last stand in the courtyard below. Suddenly, the tide shifted and the defenders still on the wall could only stare in wonder at the scene before them. Black pillars were erupting from the ground, separating the two forces and blocking the attackers in. Percy was the first to recover. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he called. "Attack!" Then, with the sound of battlecries Hunters fired into the trapped attackers while members of the fifth cohort rushed to reinforce their brethren. "Stay here," Percy said to Kate, noticing that she was ready to collapse. "We'll finish this." Kate could only give a nod before she sank to the ground in exhaustion.

Drawing water from the air, and from the water cannons, Percy made it swirl around him and carry him into the air a few feet. Floating above the courtyard, Percy had a perfect view of the maze the attackers were trapped in. It was quite impressive, but he could already see parts of it flickering. This couldn't have been an easy thing to maintain. Without wasting a moment, Percy sent the streams of water around him down into the maze, grabbing legionnaires in its grasp as it flowed along. Pretty soon, it had picked up all the members of the attacking cohorts and spat them out back outside the gate. Percy then let the water carefully carry him down to the defenders, and his friends.

Hannah and Hazel looked exhausted, while Thalia and Clara flanked them, standing at the ready. "Show off," Thalia smirked once Percy had let himself drop in front of them.

"Maybe a little bit, but you know you love it Pinecone Face," Percy said with a wink. This caused Thalia to blush slightly, but it quickly disappeared as Reyna and Frank landed in the courtyard.

"The fifth cohort and the Hunters of Artemis are victorious, they have successfully repelled the attackers!" Reyna announced, causing those victorious to cheer, and those defeated to groan as everyone headed back to the barracks for some much needed sleep.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! Life's just been pretty crazy these last few days. Anyways, I thought a chapter dedicated to the War Games could be fun.

Have a great day!