Baron Lockridge
"Any movement from the North?" I asked. "No, but our sources are telling us that they are cooped in the office," "Only time she got out was to talk to Blackwell," replied Aras.
"Lauryl is calm as well. Though all three of them are meeting with the leader of the army and guard," he replied.
Of the seven council members, two are in the north to fight against the monster. Three at Lauryl and two, including me, at the keep of Baron Dawnsby, with the army camping in front of it.
"What did Rose say?" I asked. "He met the leader of the guard, but his answer is the same as Husk's," he replied, and I became angry, but I controlled my emotions.
Husk has no influence in the baronies aside from Lauryl.
It is a compromise we made; I didn't want someone from the north, while they didn't want someone from the south. So, we struck a deal and gave Husk control.
The leader of Lauryl's guard is his man; the guard also controls an army of ten thousand that always remains stationed there.
If I want to get Lauryl without resistance. I would need him.
"It's finally going to happen," said Baron Schafer, sitting in front of me. "It is," I replied, with a smile.
I tried diplomacy and wanted the baronies to submit to Grimvale, but they weren't willing. So, now I will have to use the stick.
Grimvale had promised to let me lead the baronies.
It is a very good proposition, given that the Nakar forest is a massive territory. Here, I would be able to grow my power and someday, break free of Grimvale.
"What do you plan to do with the northern barons?" he asked. "I will take their territories and will only give them back when they prove their loyalty," I replied, and could see a faint relief in his eyes.
If I could, I would have killed them and finished the threat they pose, but I can't do that.
I need them to handle the monsters and help me when I move against Grimvale. Another reason I can't do anything is that it will make the other barons jittery.
Their support will be essential. To conquer as well as to maintain a grip on power.
"Dane, what part will he play in all this?" he asked, and my expression turned dark.
Dane is returning to the fort and will combine his army with the Marquess. If he conquered the fort, Grimvale is not going to give it back to him.
It's too important, and he does not trust Dane. It is the same with me, but there are barons here he can use to control me. He will also put in some other safeguards.
"He didn't say, but I would ask Grimvale not to let him play any part in baronies," I replied.
It relieved him further; nobody in the Baronies liked Dane. The sooner he leaves, the more relieved these Barons will be.
I was talking to him when the expression on my mage's face had changed
"A force of ten thousand had left through the gates of Greltheaven," he informed. The expression on our faces changed drastically.
"That will leave only ten thousand in Greltheaven. Even less, considering a few thousand among them are fresh recruits, who have never fought a battle," said Dawnsby softly, before turning to me.
It took me a while to come to my senses.
"Any movement from Panar or Gailhorn?" I asked. If he sent ten thousand out, then he needs to reinforce the number from his other cities.
"No movement," he replied, shocking me further.
"Does he really think he could defend the city with only a few thousand people?" asked Dawnsby, and I would laugh. If not for what he did with the Great Horde.
He wiped out millions of undead in a minute; whenever I think about it, I shudder.
"I don't know, and this is not something we should waste our time thinking about," I replied. I don't care what happens to Greltheaven; I care what happens in Nakar Baronies.
"What should we think about is, what is the destination of that force?" I asked, and he laughed.
"Whether it comes here or to the fortress, such small numbers aren't going to make any difference," he replied, and I laughed as well.
He is right if it had been twenty thousand or more. I would have been worried, but with such small numbers, I am not.
…
Ashton Harbor
"Only Silver remained in his city, with only ten thousand men," said Elmid. "So?" I asked, without looking at him from the file.
"We could crush him completely," he said, and I finally turned to him.
"Do we have a way to defend against the alchfire orbs?" I asked. We didn't even know how he was able to attack us with them. "It's definitely a skill and we have people to deal with it," he replied.
"It's not enough. Silver has sent his generals, most of his army, out of the city."
"He wouldn't have done that if he didn't have the confidence. Until I have confidence that we could deal with his skill or whatever it is, we are not going to attack him," I replied.
There was intelligence that he had gotten his hands on alchfire orbs, which are more potent than the ones he used last time.
They are not something I want to deal with unless I have a way to deal with them.
"Aren't we being too scared. We have conquered the kingdoms, and here we are being scared of the little city?" he asked.
He is new to the region, having arrived a few weeks ago. He had not experienced what many had.
"Yes, I am scared. It is a city that won every battle it had fought, killed our powerhouses, including a Great Mage." I replied, looking directly into his eyes.
"So, until I get a direct order from the kingdom or feel confident enough of victory against Silver, I am not going to attack."
I could tell he wasn't satisfied with it and opened his mouth to reply.
"If you disagree with it, then you can contact the higher-ups. I would be more than willing to hand you over the command if they ordered me," I stated.
He closed his mouth and opened it again before closing it. We do not have a way, until we do; there will be no action.
I didn't spare him a moment more and turned to the file. It is in defense of Ashton Harbor. It is very well protected, but I want to make it even more defensive.
We have lost nearly all our cities; only two remain.
Ashton Harbor is the base; I have to make sure it is sufficiently defensive to hold, even if all the armies in the region attack us.
…
Port Midlet
"It's quite the conundrum, Silver has," I said with a smile appearing on my face. I am receiving the news constantly, and I haven't even slept.
I want to know what is happening, as it could affect me.
"Be it Grimvale or Silver, it's bad news for us," said Baspel, wiping the smile off my face.
I know it, but I wanted to enjoy that bastard's misery.
"It's all because of Dane; he just couldn't stay in his fortress," I cursed.
The status quo was good for us. It had kept us things at a manageable level, but now all changed, and that isn't good for us.
We cannot let either Grimvale or Silver get too strong.
Neither of them had hidden their ambitions; they want the whole region, and getting the fortress and baronies is going to help them a lot with that.
"I wish we could do something," said Baspel angrily. I have a good army, but I now control two cities; every decision I make must be based on them.
There is the Undead and Grimvale, who had shown he would not hesitate to move against even allies.
"We cannot right now, but soon," I replied. My father promised more help, and I am also recruiting. It wouldn't take long before I get a big enough army to make moves across the region.
…
Thaddeous Stone
"They are barely ten minutes behind us," informed Eli. I nodded.
I am riding on the horse while the army is marching behind me at the fastest speed. All the skills we could use to make ourselves faster, we are using them.
It is vital that we reach the Hold as soon as possible, before Grimvale's forces do.
There is also Dane; he is coming back. It is very likely that he will combine his army with Grimvale; it will be an army of eighty thousand people.
We are close to the fort, in an hour we will reach it.
"They are going at full speed," informed Eli. I wanted to curse; this speed lets my army keep its energy. Full speed will make them tired, but they have left me with no choice.
"Full speed," I ordered, and the next moment, we began to move fast.
'Use your speed army skills to full power,' I ordered, and the next moment. The skills roared to full power, and the army began to move even faster.
Since we are moving fast, there is no need to hold back on anything.
The men I brought are fit; they are powerful and experienced. Lord Silver was right in shifting these units to Greltheaven for this.
Minutes passed, and finally, the Hold came into view. I could see the relief appearing on the faces of my people.
"We have not reached the fortress yet," I reminded them and pushed them. Grimvale's army is still chasing us. I am surprised that they didn't attack us.
We would have defended; we have a good number of mages and powerful ones, too.
Boom!
A few minutes passed, when a roaring sound came out of the fort and a large cannonball came out blazing. My men became alert, but soon relaxed as it flew over us.
It's not for us, but for those behind. It's a warning shot.
"They stopped," informed Eli. I could feel the clear relief in his voice. I nodded, but didn't order to slow down.
The fortress is massive, with cannons lined up everywhere one can see. If it started shooting at them, they would need to expend a lot of energy to defend.
So, they stopped, but not for long. Soon, Dane will come and join them.
Minutes passed, and finally, we reached the gate. That was when we had finally stopped.
I looked at the massive gate and was about to call out to them when it began to open. Soon, they were fully opened with one man appearing in the middle.
"Welcome to Mirador Hold, General Stone," greeted Cardin, and I smiled before leading the army inside.
…
Carla Salt
"Is it finished?" I asked as General Stone and General Cardin walked into the office; until a few hours ago, it was Dane's office.
"Yes, our people have now occupied the important positions," replied General Stone.
Hearing that, relief flooded into me. Until now, I was worried; these officers have betrayed Dane, and they could betray us as well.
Now, it would be much harder to do that with our men controlling the gates and other vital positions in the fortress.
"Now that we've finished with that, the only thing we have to do is wait for them to come at us," said General Cardin. To that, I nodded.