Everyone took their seat as silence passed across the room in anticipation. Unlike the Civilian Meeting where they were discussing the future steps of the Kingdom's development and who would be leading in what area, the Military Meeting was to discuss the formal formation of the armies that would expand the Kingdom's borders.
"Before we begin, let's have a recap for all those in the room, both new and old." Xun You stated, beginning the meeting. Dom found it funny how the two close relatives of Xun You and Xun Yu were seemingly in similar positions in both the Government and the Military. "Tomyris, please can you begin."
"With the formation of Noctus, we have a stable hidden base within the Calm River Mountain. Both Lu Fang and Guo Sheng have been exploring the tunnels, making them safe for human passage." Tomyris began as she stood up from her seat to address the room, "We have found three clear pathways that travel under the Calm River to the land to the North West of us. Further exploration is needed, however it is clear that we have exit points for further excursions and raids as planned. There has been no further sight of any Type 3's, but we have found clear tracks of where the captives were brought from. I will pass you to Guo Sheng for more information."
The group all turned to Guo Sheng who now stood beside her. Guo Sheng had been her deputy since his arrival from the Halberd Twins Quest and was fiercely loyal to the growing Kingdom since it's arrival. He was a former bandit that had turned in to a key part of Riverside's Military. The newer Heroes were hearing terms that they hadn't heard before, especially the children of Heroes that had just arrived.
"Based on our mapping, the majority of the tunnels are placed around the cave exits of the Calm River Mountain, only three of them head to the North West. The first one seems to follow the Calm River as it travels West, but the tunnel was severely lacking in safety and we have been working on it metre by metre." Guo Sheng began, "The third tunnel was similar, heading directly north and to what we expect are forests, we believe that this tunnel could be continued and follow a path around the Tongpai Lake if we ever wish to attack our neighbours beyond. The second tunnel is the key one, with clear features of regular use. The floor is heavily eroded in parts due to constant wear and after having some of our Elite Villagers come and inspect, they have said that this tunnel and some of the others are very ancient."
"In other words, most likely created by someone other than the Type 3's." Tomyris added, there was mixed emotions over this discovery, some relief that the enemy weren't expert tunnellers. It was clear that the tunnel from Noctus to Nakbe was built differently from those under the Calm River. There was also worry that there could be further tunnelling under the rest of the growing Kingdom.
"We have explored quite far North West now, we suspect we have travelled the distance of Riverside to Serenity at least. The tunnel has forked a few times and each route is being mapped." Guo Sheng continued, "I believe we have discovered at least four exit points so far, which we have sealed for our own usage for now."
"When will you begin using these passages to explore above ground?" Dom asked him, intrigued by the discovery. This second path created a lot of opportunity for their planned raiding in the future, with the intention to expand the borders themselves being far in the future.
"We want to finish exploring the main path, but we can begin at any point." Tomyris replied, "We have been waiting on the completion of the Battle Map mission, but we can begin when ordered."
"Thank you Tomyris." Xun You responded as Dom nodded saying that he had no further questions for now, Xun You then turned to Tomoe. "How is the preparation for the Cove commencing."
"I will let my Deputy Qin Ming update you with the full details first." She replied widely with her white teeth showing. Qin Ming had also joined in the Halberd Twins Quest as a defeated officer, his fieriness matched Tomoe's bloodlust well and the two of them were a terrifying combination.
"They must be aware of our existence by now." Qin Ming stated openly, his voice clear as if made for a parade ground. "We have multiple routes of entry from the cliffs that surround them. The plan is currently simple, if we intend to invade then we can launch an assault from the cliffs with projectiles, before travelling down with armed Legionaries and closing them in. Coinciding we can send in some ships in to the cove, and launch a similar projectile and landing attack."
"We did discuss the possibility of them having a similar cave system, since our return from the Sun Family Quest, our forces have been searching for potential exit points." Tomoe explained, taking over from Qin Ming. "We believe there is potential that there may be an exit point in one of the two ancient ruined towns that were discovered in the Red Woods. We have a unit stationed and monitoring, I intend for a second army to be placed there just in case."
"We had the intention of clearing both of those ruins anyway, so this should be easy enough to do." Xun You agreed, before looking to see if Dom had any questions.
"From your observations, is there a peaceful solution to the Cove's existence?" Dom asked, "Can we bring them in peacefully or do we need to take them by force?"
"There is definitely something strange about them." Qin Ming stated confidently. "Conquest would be the safest option."
If this was reality, Dom would have pushed for a peaceful solution, but it was a large open world role playing game, with key influences on war and kingdom building. The impact of the multiple merges so far was already being felt, so Dom was not overly worried about taking things by conquest. The raiding plan already meant that innocent Villages may be taken, so the Cove was just an addition to that. Dom nodded towards Xun You to let him know he had no more questions.
"Thank you Tomoe and Qin Ming. Gan Ning, do you have an update on Tongpai Lake?" Xun You asked the seasoned General.
"We have made contact with the two major Towns on the north, they are called Fort Bronze due to the large number of mines that they have. It's a walled town that is only slightly smaller than Tongpai Town and has little naval presence other than it's trade ships to the other towns and fishing boats. We do not know much else about them, but suspect it is a relatively new town like Tongpai Town was. We do not believe they are the town the Envoy we discovered is from." Gan Ning explained, "The second Town is called Santa Bronce, also named from it's bronze. It seems this whole area is dedicated to the mining of the material. Santa Bronce is also a walled Fort, slightly larger than Tongpai Town and seems to be in a prolonged disagreement with Fort Bronze. Our Scouts have reported that we believe that some of their guards match the description of the guards of the Envoy."
"What are their locations?" Dom asked, whilst those in the room listened on. Su Fei especially as he knew his role would be watching over this area.
"Fort Bronze is to the north of the cliffs that separate us and the north." Gan Ning explained, "A similar position to Renatus and a protected by the Cliffs to their rear and the lake to their front. Santa Bronce is in the North West of the lake, I believe that Guo Sheng's idea of following the tunnel around the Lake would take us there."
"What are your thoughts on this Xun You?" Dom asked Xun You, whilst Subutai beside him sat with a smile as he listened to the updates he had already heard once.
"Let them deal with each other. It is clear that Santa Bronce must have wanted the alliance with Tongpai Town to apply pressure on Fort Bronze. That shows that whilst Santa Bronce may be bigger, it isn't big enough to conquer their neighbour without sacrifice." Xun You explained, an understanding that made sense to Dom. "For now, we should watch and trade, using them as a natural barrier for our northern defence for now."
"Thank you, I agree. Once we have gained control over the Northern Pass and Tongpai Lake, we will have a solid defence line." Dom stated, before nodding for Xun You to continue.
"Finally Liao Hua, how is the progress with the San People in the South West?" Xun You asked, whilst Liao Hua and Huang Xin beside him stood up. Huang Xin was close with Qin Ming, but their personalities were very different.
"I will let my deputy explain, however progress is good." Liao Hua explained, he was young but experienced.
"They are very open to trade and further interaction. Whilst you were busy battling against enemies, my units have been busy building relationships instead." Huang Xin explained, "They seem to understand the importance and risk of us as a large neighbour. With our current force we could conquer them if we wished, however they are a peaceful group and have been very welcoming."
"What is the chance of integration or betrayal?" Dom asked, having not fully decided what to do with them. The San were a natural border for enemies beyond. Dom had discussed with Subutai and Xun You in the past about travelling through their lands to raid, before retreating back through to their own lands. If they integration the San, then they would need to expand their plans for the border, but if they didn't integrate them, there was always a risk of betrayal.
"Betrayal seems unlikely if we do create an alliance. They are impressive hunters, but they have seen our powerful units and know that we out match them. Though they are friendly, they are not weak in any way though and we would suffer unnecessary losses if we did fight them." Liao Hua replied, taking back over from Huang Xin who sat down. "Integration is possible if they are granted similar freedoms as they have now, we have a large amount of land in the Infinity Plains that we want to claim but can not yet populate, they would help with that."
"It would mean expanding the defensive border." Subutai stated, having not spoken so far. "The land from the Red Hare Valley to the sea is longer than the Gluttonous Chief's Village to Serenity. We'd need multiple Forts, frontier Towns and an extremely long Wall."
"So use them as a natural barrier?" Dom asked him, agreeing with Subutai's assessment.
"I'm just explaining the follow up work, extra Villagers, Warriors and especially Hunters and Farmers could be a worthwhile trade." Subutai explained, before turning back to Xun You.
"Thank you all for your updates." Xun You concluded, "As you can all see, we have at least four tasks ahead of us, but after we have dealt with these, we will have four directions in front of us to deal with. The North and the many Kingdom's and Civilisations we are aware off that fill it, the South which is wildly unknown and full of opportunity. The West and the exploration and raiding opportunities that follow, and finally the east, where the Sea is vast and unexplored. As well as the four directions, we also have our home to grow and protect. Some decisions have been made, however I must first pass a note on from Xun Yu who is now in charge of the Secretariat department, under our new Prime Minister Shang Yang."
The room that was already silent, seemed to drop even quieter as Xun You spoke. His first declaring of the different directions excited the Heroes in the room, whilst the second part showed that the serious part of the meeting was about to begin.