Sha'ri had been busy and full of vengeance ever since she had lost her breeder.
She had aggressively expended her realm to entirely encompass the former 5 inner territories from the large lake, to the mountains in both side and to the mountains to the mainland.
She didn't controle the 2 mountain areas on both sides of the large natural road through them, that connected the peninsula to the mainland.
Those mountains were inhabited by strange and giant 4-legged beasts on the south side, and giant ice-trolls on the northern mountains.
She let them be, and they rarely came down the mountains to bother her.
Hence she had established her main stronghold between those two mountains, directly on the road in between them.
She had her main stronghold there, with enough citizens to be called a city.
But beyond that she had many small villages scattered everywhere.
A few small towns and 2 large towns.
Her territory and resources where vast.
But it was not enough.
Despite what Jack thought, she was not the only lord, besides Jack, on the peninsula.
Another female reptilian lord, Ang'ris, where also flourishing here.
Although Ang'ris only possessed a single territory, it were rich in gold and other resources.
Ang'ris had acquired multiple 'treasure'- resources as well, enough to compete with Sha'ri even on a single territory.
The territory was the mountain range that spanned in the south.
From the Bloodfall Mountains edge, to the south part of the Icebound Mountains that connected the peninsula to the mainland.
This mountain territory was called Glimmering Peaks, and every inch was completely controled by Ang'ris.
Sha'ri and Ang'ris had originally been on hostile terms.
But Sha'ri had gained an audience deep in Ang'ris mountain halls.
Sha'ri had shown Ang'ris the promised future of their entire race. A single surviving offspring of the litter, that had come to life in Sha'ri, by the seed of a Gusha slayer.
Ang'ris, as a female reptilian, watching this extremely fast-groeing offspring, had no choice but to follow her instincts as they spiked to levels unheard of in the remembered history of their race.
This offspring, a male, were already 1 meter tall despite being only a few weeks old.
But that was just part of the surface.
He was handsome. Looked like a human, but with glimmering green scales covering his larger muscle areas.
These scales was a measure of vitality for the reptilians. The stronger your scales, the more attractive and naturally strong.
The child had condensed these amazingly beautiful green coloured scales on the back and front of both his lower and upper legs.
His gentials was exposed, long and human. The protective green scales ran like a 1000-branches needlethin rivers throughout this area, back and front.
His abdominal and breast muscles had human skin, inlaid with the thinnest membrane of tiny green glimmering scales, they had ever witnessed. When standing exposed in the sun, he seemed as living green dragon in human form.
His arms, like the legs, had green armour on both sides of the lower and upper arms, covering the bulgy muscles.
On his hands, only the knuckles had a single hard scale each. A single human punch from such a positioned defensive barrier, could be utilised to extreme deadly effect when aggressive thrown out.
His back and neck had the same glimmering thin and small scales as his stomach area.
However the back and neck had intricate woven patterns that beautifully extended both sides of his neck and ended in a half crown around his head and a single claw-looking mark directly center of his forehead.
All of this, when Sha'ri had presented him before Ang'ris in her mountain halls, had made every single female reptilian, Ang'ris very much included, drip moisture all over the floor.
Not because they craved the child-being before them.
No!
But because they craved the being who had given the seed of life that enabled this 'wonder' to be born.
But even still, this were still just superficial.
What really gave this special child the aura to completely lay down all the female reptilians...
Was his inner ability.
Despite being the most well-made reptilian, an evolutionary wonder, and currently, indisputably, the strongest member of the entire race, globally, it wasn't solely what drew them in.
He had a monstrous ability.
The ability to controle blood.
And not just any blood of their race. Any blood of any creature. And his current potential was mythical!
Something they had never seen before!
As Ang'ris saw this child. She, for the first time in remembrance, considered bowing down to a male of her race.
To let a high-king enter the race and forge an empire that they could have never even dreamt about!
Sha'ri had shown this wonder on purpose.
She needed Ang'ris forces in the war.
Ang'ris had quickly accepted a military alliance with Sha'ri. After being promised mating rights with the father for 1 year after the war was won.
Sha'ri had for many days tested Jacks forces in skirmishes and found that a frontal attack was likely to very successful.
Hence she had gathered mostly all her forces 10 kilometres from the outer outpost where the skirmishes had been concentrated.
215.000 trash troops.
50.000 common troops where the strongest half had been given the standard reptilian iron-armor.
Rings of iron attached to the leather armour.
These iron-rings protected vital areas in their bodies. Like the joints and where their natural hard scales didn't protect.
She even called in her tri-horn warmachines.
A huge domesticated tri-horn was attached to a wagon of heavy wooden armour, allowing a reptilian to controle the rains while being protected by barriers and 4-5 reptilian archers inside the wagon.
These where her trump-cards.
50 wagons capable of breaking any military line while also raining death from a distance.
She was confident in her own forces, but knew that her breeder, Jack, was not without tricks of his own.
How could he not, when he was able to kill a gusha!
As such her battle formations marched forth, as she knew Ang'ris had thousands of reinforcements on the way from the Glimmering Mountains.
Sha'ri watched from 1 kilometers away, as her troops moved hastily made wooden ladders to the front lines.
When the 1000 ladders had arrived amids the frontlines she finally shouted;
"First wave! Scale the shorter walls in the center! Kill everyone and bring me the Lord!"
100.000 trash troops, carrying 1000 ladders, rushed forward over the 1 kilometres stretch of grassland and small rivers.
--
'And so it begins' Jack silently thought.
He was atop Highmane. Gunnar to his left and 6000 common rank riders at his back.
He was watching from atop a small hill, behind Williams forces on the south side.
'Just where are you Lee? I could use you in one of the castle towers to manage my army right now...'
Jack watched as the thousands of reptilians with swaying tails forming a sea before the 6 meter tall stone walls in the center.
Arrows from the longbow in both sides, rained a dense sea of death every few minutes, directly into the mass of enemies.
The 100 mounted small scorpions on the walls rained large iron bolts directly downwards, easily skewering multiple reptilians per bolt.
Yet the vast tide of enemies pushed their ladders against the walls and began to climb.
The trash troops upon the walls became a hive of bees. Hurriedly tried to tumble the ladders back down, still with climbing reptilians who fell many meters down with high pitched screeches.
Yet even through the valiant defenders attempts to stem the tides, many ladders stood firm.
Reptilian trash troops jumped into the walls and fighting ensued all over the top of the walls.
First blood had been drawn.
--
Approaching Lake-Town, Lee was finally spotted by Xena's scouts.
In the past days Lee had been extremely busy.
With a vastly superior mind compared to trash and common ranked reptilian troops, he had quickly and decisively eradicated their presence in the borders of his town. Including the entire beach area and far inland.
The town itself was already prospering, mainly due to the huge silver- and iron veins in the mountain.
The civilians had even begun to trade amongst themselves and Lake-Town, all the way up to Black Mountain. And their personal wealth were accumulating.
He had completed his Lords commands, even building pole-fortifications around a few houses on the beach that he used as a base to study the Prime Rex.
No detail would be left unrecorded!
But this is where he initially ran into the most tricky obstacle.
How could he record all his findings?
The answer had come to him by sea.
Ramisesthegoat had dispatched a large ship with tradegoods and 100 common soldiers, to hopefully re-establish communication with Jack.
Lee had welcomed them.
They had been allowed to set up stalls within his slightly fortified beach camp.
There the civilians onboard, with their wide variety of tradable items, had been met with an equal amount of civilians from Silver City.
Lee had allowed this mutual trade to take place in Jack's name.
It was here that Lee's civilians came into possession of paper.
Paper and wodden-wrapped chalk.
It enabled him to use the number runes he remembered from his past life-skills.
He would make marks on a paper for every action of the Prime Rex.
Once a day it would sleep, x rune. And so forth.
Everything possible behaviour he would invent a rune for, and apply the number rune accordingly.
Besides this material boost, Lee spoke with the captain of the ship.
He now understood many things. In many ways, he now understood the way of the close world around him, much better than Jack himself.
Of the civilians of Silver City, a single person with high intelligence was singled out by Lee.
His right hand man. Denghis.
Denghis was a brown skinned youth with thick and strong black hair.
However his intelligence shone through his eyes.
Denghis had been sent back with Ramisesthegoat's ship.
Lee's mission for him was to deliver a call for aid.
Through Lee's many and quick skirmishes, he had learned a crucial truth.
Sha'ri was not alone, and their combined armies counted in the half-millions.
Jack needed help. If he knew it or not, Lee, as the second in the army chain of command, could not take the gamble.
'He chose me to share the conquest. And I will do my utmost. If it turns out that help truly wasn't needed, then I will take full responsibility. But if not. If this helps if what ultimately saves my lord. Then I won't hesitate!'
Lee had taken the chance to not only establish outside trade, but also friendly relations and foundating for future development alongside other human lords.
As all this had taken place, it was also the reason why Lee had been late and neglected to send word to Jack about his dealings.
Lee was intelligent enough to know, that to truly impress his Lord, he needed to be equally visible and not just send word.
Jack would receive the help when he most needed it! And Lee would be the one to bring it.
Lee had a quick exchange of words with Xena at Lake-Town as Lee's mercenary army marched past.
Xena contributed additional 8500 freshly trained trash troops to join Lee.
20.000 common troops with their 10 earth-human lords personally present, 8500 of Jacks troops behind Lee, now all marched the stretch of land between Lake-Town and the battle in the rivers.