As the sun rose above the Silver Mountains, Jack, Lee and 500 swordsmen began walking towards hills in the mountains, where he had, many days ago, found the huge iron resource guarded by 500 guardians.
In the horizon to his left and right he could still vaguely see the lines of the two commanders armies.
They where heading to vest and east side of the northern Silver Mountains.
They would climb them from each point and eradicate every beast in their paths until they met in the middle, which considerably was the same point where Jack was headed.
[Mission(Epic): Kill the leader of the mountain trolls that have spawned on the Silver Mountains. Reward: Random Epic Ranked Artifact]
This was what Jack was aiming for.
The mission explicitly said 'on' the mountain. Which was why he was confident that his two armies could accomplish it by traversing it from both sides.
Also his original 30.000 army had brought a lot of resources in wagons.
In these there were also a small amount of tents, flint-and-tinder for fire, stockpiles of leaf-wrapped and salted meat and many other very essential items.
Including rope. A very vast amount of vine-fledged rope. They where shared equally between the two armies, and Jack was confident that his armies could, almost, safely traverse the bulky mountains.
The Black Mountain in the west was enormous. The legs vast and wide. His main tunnels had reached the center, but was still far from claiming to inhabit the entirety of the single mountain, which had three cloud-reaching peaks.
The Bloodfall Mountains in the south had many sharp and pointy peaks. Lower and not as enormous as the Black Mountain. But the peaks where many and shap as spears. Deadly enough to shudder just by looking at them.
The Silver Mountains where different.
The mountains bulged as heavenly breasts on a high seas ocean.
Not intimidating and pointy, but vast and bulgy.
His troops would have no issues traversing them.
At least not when then could establish ways towards the top.
However he knew that the Silver Mountains had a single death trap; vertical rocky sides here and there.
Prime locations for rockslides. Yet this is where his sturdy ropes came it.
'I can only hope they will find the best route through. Even if they have to scale a few hundred meters here and there, to cross a mountain river(a steep hole with vertical cliffs), I can only put my faith into my new commanders'.
'I could go with either side, and easily create a strong bridge to save time...'
But Jack had other plans.
So far he controlled the tip of the peninsula stretching mountain-enclosed from the main continent.
The crazed forest had been swallowed and now also a vest area of grassland and a huge part of the river in the Dilato Fields.
It all belonged to Jack.
He had Black Mountain City.
The Crazed forest garrison village-camp.
Lake-Town with all its resources and treasures.
Besides this, he had put a lot of faith in Cochi and the south plains small-river garrison.
However.
He did not have a garrison or chained habutial point in the north of the Dilato fields.
He intended to remedy that while his commanders brought him Silver Mountains.
'What is the point of thousands of troops and Heroes, if I have to do everything myself?'
500 swordsmen camped beneath the cliff-plateau where the huge iron deposit once where.
Jack and Lee watched from 15-20 meter above.
"Lee, I will build a base here. These troops will be yours personally as my highest ranking commander. And the future city as well. However it goes without saying that it will take time before you can stay here yourself."
Lee looked at his lord, bowed and accepted the gift without any fuss.
He had truly been 'awakened'. Not only had he been 'set-free' from the shackles of total obedience of a troop.
But he had also awakened his latent ability.
By being 'free' from being a troop, he had gained a massive influx of lost skills and independence.
But his ability...
It had drastically increased his mental capacity in all these ways and even critically in split-second decision making and military thinking capability.
"Thank you my lord. However allow me to say that you don't need to say that. I have no other wish than to stay by your side and not only truly explore my new capacity, but truly put it to work for you and our future."
Jack looked at Lee.
He looked directly into his desp-black eyes.
He saw a connection there. Not only a full respect from an individual in his domain, but also as a human being.
'I find it hard to keep eye contact with him?'
Jack was a fraction taken aback.
Jack was in old-earth a European white human, and had taken these features with him, even if much younger and stronger bodied.
'I didn't realise this, but back then I now realise that I actually, unknowingly, felt superior to any other corner of old-earth.'
Jack blinked but didn't break eye contact with Lee.
'Undeserved superiority complex....'
True many could argue that the old-earth white countries where strong.
But as Jack looked into Lee's eyes, all that nonsense disappeared.
This was a human. Just as Jack.
Equally strong-willed, a steel-soul.
Handsome despite the human differences.
'Actually, if not for the Lord System, Lee might be an even more astonishing specimen of the human race than I...'
Jack though all this in a second and from this point he would never again, even unconsciously, think less of any other human being just because of how they appeared.
'We are one. In the scale of Prime, we are one and unified race!'.
These where Jacks thoughts on the matter, especially as he knew that every other race in existence was now competing for dominance on this Colossus of a giant planet.
"I appreciate your words and understanding Lee. Now please step back and watch."
Jack broke eye contact with Lee and turned his gaze down towards the troops below.
Jack and Lee was located on a small plateau on the steep cliffs of Silver Mountain.
The plateau was roughly the size of 500 square meters, with a wide and deep cave into the mountain.
The cave, after inspection could easily be another 500 square meters.
Down below, Jacks 500 troops had made camp and Jack began his work here.
He remembered the old 'star forts' that had domineered the battlefields in a certain era on old-earth.
He created a half-circle starfort of walls, beginning and ending at the steep cliffs of Silver Mountain.
Roughly 1 kilometer from end to end, with 4 'spikes' of wall protruding from the semi-starcircle.
A single huge gate was made in the middle of the half-star-fort before it was all upgraded to stone.
At both edges Jack created artillery-towers, upgraded from wood into the larger stone variants, to allow larger siege-engines to be placed.
On the wall to the 'spike'-points of the starfort, he placed 3 more.
On the 4 spikes in the wall he created 5 of the huge stone towers.
In the end the 'fort' was completed with 6 meter tall stone walls, 4 projecting 'spikes' of even more stonewall with 12 towers on the 'inner' wall and 20 more on the protruding spikes.
Inside the approximately 300.000 square meters area, the 500 swordsmen where firstly alert about the change, but then looked up at Lord Jack and smiled with confidence, as they understood that this was all his work to their benefit.
Even with the ground area inside the spikes of the semi starfort, Jack estimated the area as such, but would let more mathematical minded individuals persue the proper measure if they so wanted.
Just beneath his feet, at the edge of the steep cliffs from the ground to the peninsula, Jack turned to his ability.
He fortified the earth and cliff before he carefully created a long flattened road up to the plateau.
Where the 10 meter wide road ended at the plateau, he created another layer of upgraded 6 meter high stone wall.
It encompassed the entire plateau with a gate down the newly made roam.
In just 10 minutes Jack had created a double wall with towers.
An easy and very strong defensive position.
He still had a long time before he thought he would receive word from the armies, so he continued.
He built 4 garrisons inside the semi starwall.
Enough for 40.000 troops to be garrisoned.
He built upgraded civilian houses in the inner area, on the plateau and inside the cave.
Enough for 30.000 civilians to live here.
He continued with forges inside the cave.
Tanneries and bakeries on the plateau.
After all this, Jack sat down with Lee amongst his troops by the fire.
Waiting for news, while all the time thinking and planning ahead.
Gunnar had spent most of the day organising his troops according to Lord Jacks orders.
The last dilator where being fastened to horses and wagons as Xena had been extremely efficient in allocation the workforce.
Gunner had cursed his luck that he wasn't present for the fight.
'William and Ruben are now commanders! And what am I? A measly transporter of cadavers!'
Gunnar cracked his neck in annoyance.
'Next time I will be the one to get a promotion! I won't stand on the sidelines as weaker men overtake my position!'
Gunnar was a disciplined man, yet he coveted power.
It's human nature to grasp the hand if offered a finger.
However even if his thoughts were harsh, his loyalty to his Lord was not the source of his displeasure.
It was the 'stolenc chance of promotion, the other captains had gained something that he felt could just as well have been his!
Xena was standing on the walls of Lake-Town, watching as rows of horses, wagons and endless troops marched and carried the slain dilatos.
'You've been busy father... In just a single day... All these resources and renown for your accomplishments..'
Xena was vaguely aware about Jack lack of awareness about his overall strength.
Be it his personal strength, body and ability...
Or his overwhelming luck, riches and resources..
'He truly doesn't know just how strong he is! When I was a lord, my missions only gave me resources, often gold coins or the rare building schematic...'
Xena knew that Jack was a different kind of lord. Something unique compared to others.
Where billions or the initial trillions of lords would get mission to 'scout this area: reward 1500 gold coins', or 'survive the attack until dawn: reward 10 trash troops', Jack had gained missions and rewards in a entirely different level.
Xena was aware of this, and her thoughts in this matter were obvious.
'Maybe the Lord System, as it initially stated, would only help to further the lord. Meaning that if you're a weak lord with a low amount of civilians and troops, the missions will be what's entirely Infront of you, and the rewards equally weak or needed?'
Xena pursued this thought a bit; 'when I barely had any gold coins and couldn't move far from my barricades, the missions where simple and often gave gold coins - the exact thing I needed to further my territory...'
Xena felt she was on the right path.
'If that's the lat of the land, then it actually makes sense... Jack has a limitless gold resource... To further his territory he doesn't need resources. He needs power and treasures. Survivability in the confrontational manner..'
Xena smiled upon this realisation.
If this was truly the way of the Lord System, then Jack would be harvesting mission rewards of a much higher value than others, years, maybe even decades, before other lords reached his level of prosperity.
'I truly wonder how far you will come tomorrow, father!'