"This feeling... it’s familiar." Alexander’s face was a mask of stone, but within his mind, memories churned. "It’s been a long time."
Centuries ago, after a few particularly brutal cross-realm campaigns, he recalled carrying Leonidas and Arthas back in much the same way. Though Leonidas’s treatment had been less dignified; Alexander remembered dragging him back by the thick mane on his neck.
...
> Survivor’s Platform // Champions Alliance Public Channel
Leonidas: Day 47 of watching paint dry. Am now an expert in bubble-blowing and advanced napping techniques.
Kraken: Sirs, you have to give me something to do. I feel like a tourist on a holiday where all the shops are closed. Is there a portal home?
Leonidas: Squiddy, my boy! Why don’t you swim over to the Ashenfang Traverse? My forward scouts are already tangling with the Silvermoon Empire. Plenty of action for you here!
Kraken: I appreciate the offer, Leonidas, but while I can manage on land for a time, my Sea-Race warriors can’t.
Alexander: Kraken, find a suitable location and establish a base of operations. Use this time to fortify our rear. My situation here is stabilizing; I will have a coastal encampment soon. You can teleport over then. There may be opportunities for you in the seas of this continent.
The great battle was not yet over, but with the enemy Archlords all slain, the outcome was certain. The Shadow Banshees and their allies would break; it was only a matter of time. Alexander’s message was a quiet declaration to the others: he had made progress.
Leonidas: So quick? No way. Don’t tell me you brought your true form down.
Leonidas was always the first to cry out in shock or doubt—partly because he was perpetually bored, but mostly because it was his nature.
Alexander: My true form remains where it is. The arrival of Hulk and the Deputy Commander broke the stalemate. We caught the enemy completely off guard.
Leonidas: Ah, so the Deputy Commander himself showed up! Well, no wonder!
Leonidas’s tone took on a playfully sour edge. He couldn’t stand to see his brothers suffer, but he died a little inside when they got a new warhorse and he didn’t.
Leonidas: Commander Edward, sir, do you not love me anymore? Hulk and I were in mortal peril last time, and you didn’t so much as send a postcard!
Sometimes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. When dealing with beings on the level of the Commander and his Deputy, Leonidas had no shame in acting the part of the squeaky wheel.
Edward: The key to this victory was not me. It was Hulk. The credit is his.
Leonidas: You can’t be serious. I know the kid is tough, but this is ridiculous. Sir, your avatar is at the peak of the Archlord rank.
Edward: Hulk’s strength is greater than you imagine. He slew a middle-tier Archlord in less than a minute. Furthermore, he endured an encounter with a demigod’s will-projection. It was a trial by fire, but because of it, he is now on the verge of ascending to the rank of Archlord himself.
Following the Deputy Commander’s words, the Champions Alliance public channel fell into a dead, profound silence.
The most stunned of all were Leonidas and Kraken.
No... it can’t be, Leonidas thought, the words echoing in his mind. It’s only been a few months. He’s going to become an Archlord? Did he have another breakthrough? Or... when we fought together... was he holding back?
The questions spiraled, finally settling into a long, weary sigh. Gods, he’s about to become an Archlord. How far am I, really, from demigod?
In an undersea cavern in the coastal shallows, Kraken and his retinue were hidden. He had been breeding fodder troops and sending out scouts, searching for a viable target.
Hulk is ascending? Impossible! The news hit him like a physical blow. He became a Lord after I did! Is this a mistake? No... the Deputy Commander said it. It must be true.
If anyone was shocked, it was Kraken. He and Hulk had joined the Champions Alliance around the same time. They were brothers of the same cohort. And while no one ever spoke of it, everyone knew they were in a constant, unspoken competition.
It had started in the Godforsaken Land, when Arthas and Leonidas had first led them. It had continued in the Valkorath Realm against the fungal creatures, a race for resources, for power. The Deputy Commander had even contributed the legendary Lightning Cloak as a prize to fuel that rivalry, to drive them both toward the rank of Archlord.
And now, Hulk was there. The news was a heavy blow for Kraken, who had not yet amassed a sufficient foundation, who had no clear path to his own ascension.
It seems... in my competition with Hulk... I have lost. The massive octopus mused in the deep, a swirl of surprise and frustration churning within him.
But there was also, strangely, a sense of relief. He and Orion were good friends. With the example set by the likes of Arthas, Leonidas, and Alexander, he knew their own bond of brotherhood would be no different. Birds of a feather flock together, a rule that held true even in the Champions Alliance.
Shaking off his melancholy, Kraken’s spirit rekindled. He focused on the future.
Kraken: Alexander, when will your position be stable? I can be ready to teleport at any time.
If one road was blocked, he would find another. Perhaps the seas off this new continent held the opportunity he sought. If he could conquer a domain here, he could accelerate the growth of his own power. This was his path forward. He would seize it.
Alexander: The fighting should conclude within half a month at the latest. Prepare yourself. You can teleport then. I will send my shadows ahead to scout the nearby seas for you.
Kraken: Ah, thank you, sir. If there is anything I can do, you need only ask.
Alexander: We will speak of it then.
Once Alexander established his coastal camp, his cooperation with Kraken would be essential. He would need Kraken’s forces to secure the shallows and protect his flank. Only then could his own army truly be said to have a secure foothold.
It was the same principle as his arrangement with Leonidas: mutual reliance, mutual support, and the creation of a safe rear. It was the only way to survive.