As Jack and his generals were already assembled in the throne room, Jack had explained all the new changes and dangers that would come to Prime.
Lee, William, Ruben, Gunnar, Goran and even Princess Xena and Empress Angelica where present.
But before they could debate the matter further, the lord system sounded again.
[Lords System: Be adviced, a Mythic Dungeon has spawned in your Empire in Bloodfall Mountains]
[Lords System: Be adviced, a Rare Dungeon has Spawned in your Empire in your Baron Ramises beach territory]
"There is no time to talk further, we will have to investigate ourselves! I want the entire population in our empire to make a choice. If they want to become a hero, then the mansions in Black Mountain and Eros will be open in 7 days from now. Go generals! Spread the word and let the willing civilians gather at the mansions!"
The generals bowed and hurriedly left to spread the word.
"Goran, Xena and Angelica. You three are my family and will join me in White Coor and investigate the rare dungeon first."
'I want to make my family stronger. The system mentioned personal growth from entering dungeons, and I will never let another member of my family die! They need to be strong enough to escape death!'
Jack looked at Goran for a moment.
'Yes even you Goran... You've actually come out and fought for me and saved one of my generals... However you still broke out from the prison. Maybe spending some time together will help us both.'
"Goran. We need to be at least 5 to enter the dungeon. So take your drake and fly to Cochi at Victory Hold. Tell him to ride at once and meet us at Ocean City in 2 days!"
--
Brutus had finally killed the large sand golem boss that roamed the beach area.
The beach merged into Etal Empire and Brutus himself founded a village on the beach.
He now had 3 territories from the beach in a straight line into the mainland, more than he ever had on his own. Even the numbers of civilians and troops in particular had growed exponentially after he joined the empire.
He needed this beach to connect his territories to the main territories of the empire.
Soon he could establish a large harbour city here, yet he needed to ask the emperor for additional funds to speed things up.
But first, as was his way, he checked the local lords chat.
[Emperor Vance: You all need to join my Twilight Empire before it's too late! You all heard about what happened to Ramises, Angelica and Brutus! They were forced to join him! And remember all the lord's who was thrown off his ships! Some even drawned! That Jack is crazy and it's just a matter of time before he will pursue and I slave you all!]
[King Kanabis: Oh shut up Vance! They might aswell join my Kingdom. The Wolf Kingdom in the south are open to any and all lords who reside in the south! There are plenty of territories here to expand into, and contrary to this Emperor Vance guy is saying, Emperor Jack isn't expanding into the mainlands! I've only seen his army go and claim the south beach immediately in extension of his own territories! Everyone would do that if they had those lands! The armies retreated after leaving a detachment and forming a village!]
[Queen Diaz: Don't listen to those two! Northern lords, I urge you to join my Emerald Kingdom in the north! We are truly strong already and claim much of the jungle borders here! Join now while the conquest is easy!]
[Queen Helga: Oh stop your recruitment promotions already! All surviving lords are strong and intelligent enough to make their own choices! And the middle kingdom of High Spring is the best choice by far!]
[Lord Chen Hui: Can you all cut your bullshit! We need to share our experiences with the dungeons and hero recruitment! While you idiots try to grow you empires or kingdoms, all the new dungeons will overflow in just a week! We will all die if you don't pull yourself together!]
'Oh I rarely see Chen Hui in the chats, and I check every day! He has a point... I've seen the tall tower appear in the beach territory just south of the territory I just claimed.'
Brutus knew he had to reach out to his emperor about a few things now.
[Baron Brutus: Emperor, the chat is growing hot with Vance's growing Twilight Empire to the east, King Kanabis's Wolf Kingdom to the south, Queen Diaz Emerald Kingdom to the North and Queen Helga's High Spring Kingdom in the center... Besides this, many lords are frustrated by them and terrified of the new dungeons and desperately needs information about them. Also, I'm sorry, but I need more resources to build your new harbour city so the territories can be joined by the sea...]
Brutus had sent this and hoped that Jack was in a good mood.
[Lord System: Imperial Funds Received. Five million wood, stone, iron and gold has been added to your resources]
'Damn!' Brutus whistled as he saw the numbers appear.
[Emperor Jack: I'm aware of the mainlands situation. We won't get involved for now. Fortify your current cities. Build the Harbour and name it Conquest City. Continue to build up your armies to the maximum daily capacity. Three warships is on their way to protect the beach. They carry many supplies and I've sent 10 newly trained and steel-clad giants with them. Those units are your reward for expanding the empire. Protect the north!]
'This Emperor Jack... I'm beginning to see why he wanted to unite us inside his empire instead of through alliances. Also... I like the way he thinks. I can already guess he wants to wait and see what happens in the newly formed kingdoms and Vance's Empire. As the only one with true experience in leading an empire, he must know of many bottlenecks they need to overcome... They are not a threat right now. And Jack probably wants to explore these dungeons and grow his own empire in this direction before they become a new and more deadly threat.'
Brutus was satisfied with his Emperor, and quickly began to expand his beach town.
--
Three days later, Jack and his ship had reached Ramises who brought out a lavish feast for them all to enjoy inside his uncommon castle.
"The Dungeon is a walled graveyard with only a single entrance. 50 floors and the hero parties needs to be between 5-15 heroes."
Ramises had already investigated the walled graveyard that spawned at the edge of the beach territory.
It was close to the Icy Peaks mountains, and the white wall surrounding the forest territory and White Coor, could be seen in the distance.
"Do you want to join us Ramises? As members of the Empires royal family and mobility, we can't awaken as heroes. And even if your abilities is not suitable for fighting, your personal strength surely surpass that of a common troop by now. And if the system is to be trusted, we will all grow inside that dungeon."
Ramises thought about this while they were all sitting around his table, feasting.
Xena looked happy, talking with Goran opposite her. Almost 14 years old and quite a beautiful Princess already.
Goran was also very happy, always seemed to be springing to life whenever Xena was around. He had never seen such a lavish feast with multiple expensive dishes before, and eagerly tried them all.
Cochi sat next to Princess Xena, munching on a freshly baked and sugar-coated small cakes.
The Empress Angelica, sitting next to Jack, was as always quiet.
Her elegant dress and very beautiful exotic asian features made her truly look as if she was born to be royalty.
'He truly was lucky with her. She's just perfect! I knew her before. She's very clever and insightful. I just wish he would treat her better, such a prize deserves to have a smile on her face...'
Ramises grabbed a leg-piece of a small dimwag and teared a large piece of it.
After gulping down the tender and flavourful meat he finally answered.
"Yes Emperor. I will come. After being part of your empire and experiencing the peace within it, and simultaneously witnessing what's happening around us... I truly believe that if we strengthen the Empire and ourselves, we have a true chance to create something long lasting for humans here."
Jack just nodded at this.
"We will leave tonight. Prepare a heavy guard for us Ramises, even in our own territory, I will no longer take any chances!"
Ramises understood this. He knew Jack had been ambushed before, he knew what he had lost personally and of his family losses.
When evening arrived, 10.000 common troops, 20 giants and 500 common troops on horses awaited them.
Jack, Angelica, Xena, Cochin, Goran and Ramises joined them, and they marched towards the dungeon.
It didn't take long before they arrived.
Jack had expected a large wall encased graveyard, but instead he found a very small area enclosed with a high wall.
The the blur-glimmered gate area, only a few graves and a wooden hut could be seen inside.
"Make camp here right outside. The giants will stay at the dungeon entrance, have the cavalry spread out and pratrole our entire camp borders. I want no mistake or enemies coming close without us knowing."
Jack saw the soldiers erect tents and the cavalry splitting up into multiple directions as his orders were instantly carried out.
"And just how do you expect them to warn us of danger if we are inside the dungeon! My dear Emperor!"
Angelica almost never spoke, but when she did, and actually whenever Jack even looked in her direction, he felt clumsy...
Ever since the day he had lost Nisha and his trueborn son Janus, he had changed and became truly harsh in his Imperial position as Emperor.
However, Angelica always seemed to find a way melt through him. Even her presence and the way he long eyelashes whipped as her eyes turned in annoyance, he noticed everything about her and truly couldn't even understand how she was actually already his wife.
"You're right, of course Angelica... Let's just hope it won't take long inside."
Angelica just crossed her arms over her tight black battledress, decorated with high-red patterns with silver and steel protecting her vital zones.
Jack saw her stance and something settled inside him.
"Empress. When this dungeon business is settled. I want you to join me when we sail for the islands. You are my wife, and I've been too neglegtive of you. In the future, I don't want you to leave my side."
Jack said this not as a command, but as a fact that he truly cared about her.
'Tsk... I don't even know what is worse! On one side I just want to run and leave you behind. But on the other side, Jack, I've always found you to be honest and genuine. I liked you from the first time I saw you. If you can stop being a cruel emperor, like back on that ship... Then. Maybe.'
Angelica was truly torn about her future. But she had decided to join him. However, that didn't mean that she would simply forget what he had done.