On the slope, the air buzzed with curiosity.
Aexl strode in wearing nothing but a plain T-shirt, medieval-style pants, and worn boots — his casual appearance drawing side-eyes from the villagers, still whispering about the scandal from earlier.
Lyssa, always quick to dismiss things, waved a hand as she passed.
"He's probably going to declare they're eloping," she said with a dramatic sigh.
Aexl ignored the noise. His focus was sharp.
Before meeting the villagers, he had personally inspected the placement of the boulders, traps, haystacks, and logs along the narrow choke of Rendezvous Slope. Now, he stood atop a low mound and opened the tactical map on his Ephone.
A glowing projection expanded into the air, illuminating the crowd with a bluish hue. Murmurs rippled through the villagers. Some craned their necks, others poked fingers into the shimmering map — until Aexl snapped.
"Stop that."
The tone silenced them.
Then he straightened, voice calm but steady.
"First, I want to say something."
Lyssa rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Here it comes…"
Aexl continued, unfazed by her childishness.
"Before anything else, I want to thank all of you... especially your leader, Lyssa."
Lyssa crossed her arms. "As if kind words would sway me," she mumbled.
He didn't stop.
"You've all done a good job. What you've accomplished here is no small feat. Every barricade placed, every hand that helped — this is the first step toward victory. So, thank you."
There was a brief silence. Then his eyes narrowed, his tone sharpening like a blade.
"Lyssa."
It was a voice that made you sit up even in your sleep.
"You sent a scout?"
Lyssa's lips parted. She blinked, surprised by the sudden shift.
"Y-Yes, General…"
The words spilled out without thought. She hadn't meant to reply like that.
"He should be here by now…"
"Already here!" Dobi's voice rang out as he trotted in, breath short and quick.
Aexl turned immediately. "Status?"
"They're not stopping. It's like they're in a race."
Aexl's eyes gleamed red with opportunity. "How are they moving?"
"Some are eager... like they think there's a prize hidden in the village. Others look tired, disoriented."
Probably the effect of last night's ambush at Rendezvous Slope, Aexl thought, a predatory grin curling on his lips.
"Perfect…"
Gruff raised his hand, half-joking. "So… we do another round?"
"No," Aexl said, tone sharp. "Prepare yourselves. Those who can't fight — go to the right. The rest, stay on my left."
The villagers shuffled quickly, forming a divide. Aexl tilted his head when he saw who remained on the left: the three hunters, Roderick, the Valkyrie unit — and then Selene and Lyssa.
"What?" He let out a short laugh. His eyes flicked to Roderick.
"Don't Look at me like that I trained them," Roderick said quickly. "I promise."
Aexl clicked his tongue. "This is exactly why I need a hundred units."
Then his gaze turned to his last true asset.
"Armenia. Summon your berserkers."
Armenia stepped forward, her expression hardening. Her voice dropped into a soldier's seriousness.
"Commander, understand this. Once I summon them, they cannot be recalled. If they fall, they fade forever. And they will need food, shelter, everything a living soldier needs."
Before Aexl could respond, Lyssa stepped forward, arms crossed.
"So instead of eloping, you bring another mouth to feed?"
Aexl let out a tired sigh. He gestured toward Armenia.
"This is my unit. Warlord Armenia, you can call her Armenia"
He stepped closer, his voice calm but firm.
"Remember when I said I had an army? She's the first to arrive."
Lyssa's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Then... Why is she alone?"
"Because she's asking if we can support them when they come."
Lyssa hesitated, then spoke up louder this time.
"We can provide. Of course." Her voice steadied. "Anything for the village and peace"
Aexl give a nod... and Armenia replied with a sharp nod, driving her axe into the ground with a solid thunk. "Then I'll call them."
Her golden eyes narrowed.
She tilted her head back, then let out a howl — long, sharp, and commanding — a cry that rolled across the field like a gathering storm. It wasn't just a sound. It was an order. One that echoed with ancient power.
The villagers froze. Even the cuckoos fell silent.
The air trembled.
From beyond the slope, behind the perimeter traps and hay-laced ridges, shadows began to stir in the mist.
Shapes formed.
Flickers of movement.
Embers glowing faintly in the fog.
Silhouettes shifting like phantoms drawn to battle.
Then..
Nothing.
Absolute silence. NOTHING
Not a single warrior emerged.
Even Armenia's confident gaze faltered.
Aexl's brows lifted. He looked between her and the empty field.
"What... is wrong?"
Armenia didn't answer immediately. She stepped forward, Axe still planted, scanning the field as if willing it to work.
"I... I cannot explain. This has never happened before."
She took a breath, slowly turned to face him, and then said with a seriousness that was both unsettling and surreal…
"Commander… Perhaps we should call the War Dominion hotline."
Aexl stared at her. "…The what now?"
"The War Dominion hotline. For issues pertaining to purchases," Armenia replied without a hint of sarcasm.
Aexl just blinked.
"Armenia... this is a fantasy world. You're telling me there's a customer service hotline here?"
"Yes, Commander. It functions here as well."
He raised both hands. "Right. Of course it does. Monsters, magic, medieval villages… but the customer service department made it through the portal too."
A few villagers nearby started murmuring.
"What's he talking about?" one asked, leaning over a hay bale.
"Did he just say... hotline?" another tilted his head.
"I think he's about to cast a spell," an older woman whispered, clutching her necklace. "The kind where you whisper to your wand and pretend to be polite."
Lego nudged Quink with an elbow. "Bet it's some kind of long-range communication."
Aexl sighed and pulled out his Ephone, ignoring Lyssa as she tried to whisper something. He hushed her with a gesture, eyes locked on the screen.
[Ephone Interface]
► STATUS ..... View Commander Rank, Buffs, Bond Effects [New]
► UNIT TAB ... View Current Units [CLICK TO OPEN]
► MAP OVERLAY ... Tactical View / Enemy Movement / BATTLEFIELD
► RESOURCE COUNT ... [LOCKED] (Requires Settlement Upgrade)
► COMMAND OPTIONS ..... [LOCKED] (Reach Village Level 6)
► TAVERN / MARKETPLACE ... View to Purchase [CLICK TO OPEN]
► QUEST .... Active Missions / Bond Events [CLICK TO OPEN]
► WAR DOMINION MANUAL .... Tactical Glossary / Terms of Service [CLICK TO OPEN]
He tapped on War Dominion Manual.
Two tabs appeared:
[Tactical Glossary] [Terms of Service]
And just beneath them...
[Need Help?]
He tapped.
A submenu dropped down.
[Customer Support: Troubleshooting Units, Coins, Summon Failures]
[Submit a Ticket][Hotline]
Aexl's thumb hovered. [Hotline]
The screen shifted into a strange, glowing dialing interface.
Brrrp… brrrp…
The murmurs among the villagers grew louder.
"Yep, he's definitely talking to his wand," someone whispered.
"Maybe he's contacting the ancestors," another chuckled.
Then — unbelievably — a calm, polite voice answered.
"Thank you for contacting War Dominion Customer Support. How may I assist you today?"
Aexl froze mid-breath.
"Wait—no, seriously—where the hell am I right now? And where are you?!"
"I'm sorry, sir," the voice replied in a perfectly neutral tone, "but I cannot answer questions outside of service-related issues. This hotline is intended for purchases and technical concerns only."
Aexl's eye twitched.
"Alright then," he growled, "why is my purchase missing ninety-nine units? And why is there nothing here?"
"Please remain calm, valued customer," the voice said smoothly. "Let me explain. All units purchased from the Market require a standard summoning time of nine hours. This is your first summoning, correct?"
"…Right," Aexl replied, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Good. The system has awarded you a three-hour reduction as part of our welcome-back promo for returning players. Congratulations."
Aexl blinked. "Promo…?"
"Yes. After that, once a Heroic Lord is summoned, they must undergo a nine-hour readiness period before they can begin summoning their troops. This is to allow new commanders time to assess compatibility. In some cases, Heroic Lord may be returned to the system during that window — but only in Easy to Hard difficulties."
"Wait, returned? Like… refunded?"
"Yes, Commander. If a summoned Heroic Lord does not meet expectations, they can be unlinked within the nine-hour readiness window. However, once a Heroic Lord starts deploying troops, the refund option becomes void. This feature is not available on Hell difficulty."
Aexl narrowed his eyes. "Why nine hours though? That's insane."
The voice didn't skip a beat.
"Nine hours is quite generous. In other console of the War Dominion game, unit recruitment could take months, even years depending on cooldowns and fortress type. This system simply reflects realism without offering a fast-forward button."
Aexl's jaw dropped. "Wait... you're right. In the RTS game version, we had to speed it up manually with the time acceleration button..."
"Correct. But in War Dominion IX, that feature has been removed. Consider it… immersion. Think of it as conceiving a unit like a baby being born turning into an army."
Aexl ran a hand down his face.
"But what about the unit count?! War Dominion always starts with 100 units. I only got one!"
The voice was polite, but final.
"You are correct. The default unit quantity of one hundred is exclusive to Extreme and original Hell difficulties. However, in War Dominion VIII and onward, the Hell difficulty setting was rebalanced."
"Rebalanced!?" Aexl snapped. "You're telling me Hell got nerfed?"
"…Correct. For players who selected Hell difficulty, the starting unit count has been adjusted to six, gradually increasing as the General's level rises."
There was a pause.
"Do you have any other questions?" the voice asked, still infuriatingly calm.
Aexl opened his mouth, then closed it. His mind raced.
"Wait, wait—what do you mean Hell diffic—"
Click.
The line was cut off.
A system prompt appeared instantly on his Ephone screen:
[System Message]
📵 Hotline Access Limit: Once per Month (Hell Difficulty Players)
Aexl stared in disbelief.
Then — pure rage.
"What kind of customer service is this!?" he yelled, shaking his Ephone like a madman. "I want a refund! Compensation! Gimme back my command coins!"
The villagers stared, wide-eyed.
None of them had any idea what they were witnessing.
"Is... is he possessed?" an elder asked.
"No," another said slowly, "I think he's arguing with a tiny box god."
"Should we get the priest?" someone whispered.
The aexl remembers
He remembered the screen from before at the cabin.
[ SELECT DIFFICULTY ]
(Easy)(Moderate)(Hard)(Hell)
He chuckled to himself.
"Why wouldn't I? I've got nothing but time now."
He tapped Hell.
[ HELL DIFFICULTY CONFIRMED. ]
Everything that the support agent said — the waiting periods, the unit cooldowns — it was all real.
Except the nerf part. That had been a new upgrade
Back when he used to play, special units always came with recruitment timers. And if you don't want to wait, you could hire local militia from conquered territory, but that was different. More complicated
Now he glanced across the slope. One hundred villagers — mostly women — stood watching him expectantly.
Yeah... this difficulty really was Hell.
With a sigh, he tapped his Ephone again. The crowd had gone completely quiet, waiting to see what the "wand-whisperer" would do next.
[ Ephone Interface ]
► STATUS ..... View Commander Rank, Buffs, Bond Effects [New]
He tapped STATUS.
[ Summoning Successful. Welcome to War Dominion IX ]
[ World: GAIA ]
[ War Dominion Status ]
• Summoned by: Lyssa of Eldenthyr
• Rank: Village Chief
• Summoned Class: Stone Tier (Lottery)
• General Name: Alexander Reyasu
• Code Name: General Aexl
• Level: 2
• Status: Lifebound – Mission Accepted
• Command Coins: 950
• Unit Capacity: Variable
• Unit List: (View)
• Territory: (View)
• Armory: (View)
• Mission: (View)
• Return to Origin: Locked
[ New Ability Points Gained: +3 ]
(Tap to Allocate)
He tapped Allocate.
The screen flared as he allocated the points
[ ABILITIES ]
+1 → [New Ability: General of Eldenthyr — Valkyrie Warrior (Lv.2)]
• Female warriors under your command:
– Attack, Accuracy, Defense +100%
– Gain: Berserker Trait — the more they bleed, the more dangerous they become
– Mounted Warriors: gain Charge Attack
– Ambush Warriors: initial strike deals double damage
+1 → [Strength of a General (Lv.2)]
• Wield any weapon or armor with ease
+1 → [Stamina of a General (Lv.2)]
• Unlimited endurance during battle
• Unit fatigue recovery is doubled when resting
• Tripled when sleeping
[ Unallocated Points: 0 ]
Aexl lowered the phone, as flickers of light from the screen fading into the dusk.
He looked up.
And then he saw it.
A faint shimmer surrounded the villagers — like heat rising off stone — but colder, more ethereal. Pale blue auras drifted off some of them, as if invisible hands had just brushed their shoulders. Guards, hunters, all of them who moments ago looked tired and stiff now stood taller, firmer.
Even an old woman near the back gasped, blinking in confusion.
"Oh… my ache is gone?" she muttered, rotating her shoulder. "I haven't felt this loose in twenty years…"
They hadn't noticed it, maybe he was the only one who saw it.
But Aexl was sure of it now.
The passive effect was real.
He clenched his fist slowly, as the realization settled deep.
He really was their General now.
Just then, Lyssa stepped forward, voice breaking the silence.
"Well?" she asked, cautious yet expectant. "Where's the army?"