CH677 Fortuna 300

***

For the first time in nearly a week—since the conflict with the Lost Heathens first erupted—the Fortuna party departed the Fortuna Mansion openly through the front gate.

There were many within BloodIron who mocked them behind their backs, claiming it was only a matter of time before the Lost Heathens wiped them from the map entirely.

Such was the nature of life in BloodIron—and indeed, across the greater Wildlands.

The strong were revered and feared, while those perceived as weak were ridiculed—even by ants who would otherwise not dare to raise their heads, and could be trampled beneath their feet without much thought.

Alex’s ruby-red eyes swept across the roadside crowd. Through his Truth-Seeker Eyes, he easily identified those who spoke ill of them, yet he paid them no mind.

There was no need.

In a few days’ time, those same voices would be singing their praises.

Fear the strong, bully the weak—that was the hypocritical creed of the Wildlands.

Mounted atop Dread’s imposing frame, Alex led what remained of the Fortuna party out of BloodIron.

Scouts attempted to tail them, but Alex, his wives, his six direct followers, thirteen Fury soldiers—including the crossbowmen—seven copper-skinned orcs, and thirty barbarians vanished into the night beneath the cover of his [Dark Shroud] spell.

Once they had shaken off all watchers, Alex turned his head towards Tivela, who rode beside Mordor.

It seemed the woman possessed a natural talent for shamanism, and Mordor just so happened to be capable of guiding her through its basics.

Even without formal training, however, Tivela had already begun to demonstrate her value.

After gathering the barbarian slaves captured during the raids on the Lost Heathen base, Alex discovered that a number of them possessed significant Rune Slot potential—many with five or even six rune slots—making them ideal candidates for his future Rune Soldier programme.

After further reducing his criteria to a minimum of four rune slots, he identified fourteen individuals among the captives who had the potential to become Rune Soldiers.

Kavakan had also managed to persuade Alex to take in seven additional barbarians who did not possess the Rune Slot talent he was specifically seeking.

Together with the three who did possess innate Rune Slots, these seven formed the strongest ten among the barbarian slave warriors who had fought to defend the Lost Heathen base—at least, those who had survived.

Each of them was surprisingly no less than a 2-Star Silver rank warrior, with one even standing on the verge of breaking into Gold rank.

Such talent was exceedingly rare among native barbarians, and even rarer among those kept in captivity.

Individuals of this calibre were usually either sold off to high-tier buyers or eliminated outright, as they were far more likely to attempt rebellion due to their awareness of their own strength.

Under normal circumstances, recruiting such individuals willingly would have been extremely difficult. Yet somehow, Tivela had managed to convince them to join Fortuna—of their own accord.

In fact, in a sense, they had practically begged to be accepted.

With the addition of these twenty-two barbarians—including Tivela—the Fortuna force had grown to a total of sixty members.

It was a considerable increase from their original size, yet even Alex acknowledged that it was still far from sufficient.

"They are here, Master," Udara called out, breaking Alex from his thoughts.

She tilted her chin towards the side. Following her indication, Alex turned his gaze and saw a force of over two hundred individuals advancing towards them.

The newly recruited barbarians instinctively tensed, but the older Fortuna barbarians—those who had survived the Lost Heathen ambush—quickly calmed them.

The approaching force were not enemies.

They were allies— the BattleBanes.

A faint smile appeared on Alex’s lips as he watched them draw closer and merge with his formation.

The BattleBane Guild was an elite force of eight hundred warriors, divided into four companies of two hundred each, with each company led by a Captain. The weakest among them stood at 3-Star Bronze rank, while the majority were already at 2-Star Silver.

Their four Captains were all 2- or 3-Star Combat Masters, and their Guild Master himself was a 2-Star Combat Saint—though currently weakened to the level of a 1-Star due to his affliction.

Although Alex did not accept the BattleBane Guild Master—Saul Redwald’s—offer to fully merge the guild under Fortuna, he did accept the man’s proposal to transfer a number of elite members into his direct command. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

With the addition of new allies such as the BattleBane Guild and, to a certain extent, the Black Scar Syndicate—i.e. the Alston Family—it opened up the possibility for Alex to command multiple distinct forces.

In fact, the existence of multiple specialised forces was not merely advantageous—it was a necessity for building the kind of large-scale power Alex would require to properly utilise the legacy entrusted to him by One Heaven.

With that in mind, Alex decided to act ahead of the curve and establish a personal elite unit—one that would belong solely to him. Regardless of any member’s prior affiliation, that identity would be cast aside the moment they entered this unit.

Unsurprisingly, Alex chose Fortuna itself to serve as the backbone of this elite force.

Equally unsurprising was his decision to cap its size at a modest three hundred.

This was not only due to his appreciation for classics, but also because he had determined that such a number struck the optimal balance between mobility and survivability—large enough to avoid being overwhelmed upon initial contact, yet small enough to be commanded with minimal delay.

To form the first iteration of this three-hundred-strong Fortuna unit, Alex selected two hundred and forty elite members from the BattleBane Guild—sixty drawn from each of the four companies. A significant portion of them possessed at least four Rune Slots, making them suitable for his long-term plans.

The remaining numbers were filled temporarily with other capable individuals, to be replaced gradually as Alex identified and recruited more candidates with the necessary Rune Slot potential.

Given the near-reverent admiration the BattleBanes held for both Alex and Eleanore, the integration of these new members into the expanded Fortuna force proceeded with remarkable ease and minimal friction.

***