Day 9 of the Autumn Equinox.

Time 3:03 pm

Natalia had been rowing for the past three hours, her heart rate kept struggling to maintain blood flow and she could feel her muscles tearing on every stroke. Her hair was tied back and clearly showed the fatigue in her eyes and the sweat pouring down her face, her gray garments were clearly soaked and were weighing her down, the only thing keeping her sane was the beat of the drums that etched into the back of her mind. Her partners weren't any better as they too struggled to move the oar. Everyone below decks kept silent trying to conserve as much energy as possible.

...

"SWITCH" a crisp refreshing command flew into her ears as she stopped to catch her breath and relive her sore muscles. " THE CABINS CHANGING ROOM IS AT THE BACK OF THE SHIP LINE UP AND CHANGE YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES TO REPORT TO THE BOW."

Natalia bolted up the cabin along with the others and grabbed a fresh set of fatigues. She didn't know how she found the energy to sprint but she did and quickly fell into line. After the struggle of changing she reported to the top of the deck. There the captain stared them down and inspected their lines. "Hmm, you recruits achieved at top speed of 6 knots while against the currents , your speed isn't enough you have 3 hours to rest and eat before reporting here.

Below deck dozens of Demigods frantically heated their rations and catch up on sleep. One of the demigods even got reprimanded for almost setting the ship on fire. Dozens more demigods simply collapsed on their bunks and slept praying they would get enough energy to continue. After devouring her ration Natalia immediately collapsed in her bunk and joined the others in slumber.

...

The sleeping demigods were all woken up after hearing a deep beating drum that reverberated throughout their bodies, the drum echoed the beat of war deafening all of the demigods that were complaining. Natalia sleepily made her way up to the top of the cabin. Under the watchful eyes of the captain they formed ranks and silently waited for orders.

"Demigods are not to be judged by mortal standards, we have the blood of the gods coursing within you, this is merely a taste of hell of what's to come, the next two hours will be siege engine prep, there are a total of 25 ballistas on this ship, each bolt you fire will weigh close to 25 kilos counting the weight of the rope, these ballistas have a draw weight of over 2000 kilos thus you will be partnered up, the sequence follows one loads, two drawbacks the ballista and one retrieves it from the water, the bolt will get heavier and heavier as the rope absorbs more water, NOW BEGIN"

Natalia was paired with a woman and once everyone lined up bolts were distributed . The captain wasn't exaggerating the weight on these bolts, Natalia could see that her partner was struggling to hold up the rope and the bolt. A command came ushering out "LOAD" and her partner rapidly slid the blot in the notch and tied the rope to the metal anchors. Both women gritted as they cranked back the draw string, it was already stretching their muscles to the limit and the lack of sleep didn't help. Natalia was responsible for angling and aiming the turret and she discovered just how heavy it was to hold it up. "FIRE"

The cycle repeated and repeated for the next two hours, the only thing satisfying the demigods were the water distributions at that offered a few seconds of break.

....

"ONE HOURS REST". Natalia never felt so happy hearing this command she set the ballista down and laid on the deck, she looked at her partner and said "Do you want me to retrieve the bolt now and you reload?"

The woman nodded here head and took a huge gulp from the water jug saying "Sure, sounds good to me Death Stalker"

Natalia was puzzled since she never heard of "Death Stalker",

"What do you mean Death Stalker?"

She carefully observed the woman and notice her uniform had a patch that was different from the others, it was a rain cloud raining down massive lightning bolts in the shape of a spear.

"I see your patch, Heavy Infantry are the ones with the highest casualty rate aside from combat rescue, and Hades Legion is infamous for having the lowest survival rate." the woman replied "however some don't consider your legion to be casualties as you already have died and will die in the coming months."

....

Xia Fang had mentioned that recruits in Hades were selected by fate as they would be summoned from the depths of the Underworld for repentance. Completely different from the other legions where they had recruited demigods that were of age from the mortal and demigod world. Most the legions were distinguishable by their "theme" Xia Fang jokingly said.

"Im a recruit for Zeus's shock troops" replied the woman clearly showing pride in the patch. "We are the light infantry and one of the elites in the entire demigod army. My names Sonia Dekat, nice to meet you" as she glanced at Natalia's patch.

"Likewise" smiled Natalia as she shook her hand.

"Heavy Infantry, seems like you would like to be on the front"

"I should say the same thing for you, light infantry is usually the first to engage"

The two quietly chattered for awhile during their breaks.

"How did you end up here and not on a boat filled with Zeus's legions?"

"I came from another border town close to the camps and was selected at birth to become a solider for Zeus's, I have Hermes blood flowing through me. As you may have learned only Hades accepts the dead and contracts them for repentance, the other legions have to recruit from towns and cities."

"How is life in the border towns, I know the Hades Legion was deployed a few months back and stationed themselves in a border town ?"

"Well, its actually pretty pleasant when it comes to daily life, most of the Demigod army make up our economy and most of our foods are blessed by the Gods so we never worry about starving, however due to us being a border town we witness the thousands of dead men that have died in the nearby battlefields, making us almost depressed as we know the war won't ever end."

"i'm sorry your town has to experience that, at least your now fighting to change your future Sonia."

"Heh, war in the demigod army won't ever change, even if it does we have to worry about the mortal world we so desperately defend"

"Why? Whats in the mortal world, all I know is Combat Rescue and how their unit only accepts Imperials."

"Its because of God Slayers, there are those in the mortal world that know about ours and all the precious resources that come from our world only, not only do they slay demigods born in the mortal world they slay any demigod that opens a portal to the mortal realm, you may wonder why would demigods even do that if they risk themselves being ambushed, its due to the distance, 1 kilometer there is over 10 kilometers here, combat rescue is able to implement this and save legions from total annihilation, this is all I know from my dad."

Natalia sat in silence as she wondered what could kill such figures, she knew only that that the mortal world had machines that made like convenient the fridge and toaster she came to admire. She had seen the imposing figures of Imperials during her stay in the camp and knew they were powerhouses as demigods would all bow in respect if they see one.