City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

“It’s time,” I said, and turned to Cardin.

“I will not disappoint you,” he replied, and a moment later, I felt his skill activating.

“Split,” he commanded, and immediately, a large part of the army began to split. Within a minute, Cardin separated with fifty-two thousand men.

He will lead them to Panar, where they will rest for what is coming, while I keep following the undead as I promised the other two.

Soon, I couldn’t even see them. It will take them less than an hour to reach the Panar.

I want to go there as well, but it’s not the time yet.

So, I lead my army forward, following behind the undead. They are about forty-five minutes ahead of me. So, if they were to turn, I would have ample time to run away with my army.

Though I don’t think they will do that. They have other things to be worried about

Two hours passed, and I looked at the sky. It’s dark, but full of stars. It’s quite beautiful. I wish I could stop and admire it.

I can’t stop, but I could admire it.

“There is a message from the Lord of Inam. The army led by General Karjan had moved out of the Wildhelm,” she informed.

It surprised me, but soon my heart started to beat wildly. I didn’t dare to hope as I turned to Zela.

“Direction?” I asked. “Northwest,” she replied simply.

Northwest of Wildhelm is Riverbell, the city controlled by the Lord of Deerpond. As I heard it, a big smile appeared on my face.

When I failed to gather a unified army, I made the second plan.

I asked Lord of Deerpont and Port Midlet to attack the undead cities. It will help me in two ways: first, it will remove the undead from these cities.

The second benefit is that it will create a sort of buffer.

It won’t stop the undead from attacking me when they want to, but it will create a buffer or force, something that they will always have to be careful of.

There is a third use, which is the trade, but I didn’t think about it as it hasn’t happened yet.

Only Zanav had started attacking, which is not surprising. Bilgas is close to him; he arrived in less than four hours and began his attack on the city.

While Deerpond’s forces are still moving, although slowly.

They don’t want to directly come into the path of retreating undead. They will attack, Almin, after the undead pass by it, and I hope the undead won’t place reinforcement there.

More than Bilgas, I want Almin captured. It’s on the side of Panar.

What made me extremely happy was Grimvale’s forces moving toward Riverbell.

If Grimvale’s forces captured Riverbell, it would be difficult for Deerpond to ally with him against me in the future.

Even Zanav will think carefully before allying with Grimvale.

Grimvale is the biggest threat to me after the undead, and this action of his will destroy his nascent alliance, but I could understand why he did it.

Riverbell is a river city, and it will give him access to a big trade route. He will no longer be entirely dependent on the land route alone.

Not to mention the income from the taxes for the route.

It will also provide him with his base in the centre of the region; he wouldn’t have to depend on his allies for it. Not to mention, it will be a great launchpad for the attack against the north and west.

“Lord of Deerpond wants to talk to you,” informed Zela suddenly.

Hearing that, a smile couldn’t help but appear on my face, and I took her hand; this will be a great conversation.

…

Deerpond

“Fuck!”

I cursed as I finished the call with Silver.

It is because of him that I have sent my forces to attack Almin, and now this bastard is unwilling to help me capture it from the undead.

Unless retreating undead attacked me, like he promised me earlier.

I had hoped that with Silver joining my army, I would be able to send some of my forces back into Riverbell.

Now I am stuck.

I can’t move the forces from the Deerpond, and the ones in Riverbell might not be enough to stand against Grimvale forces.

That left the army, which I had sent to conquer Almin. It will take hours to return.

By that time, Grimvale’s forces would be attacking Riverbell. There are also forces of Wildhelm, Peguix, and Brimbale standing at the gates.

The warning is clear. If I move my forces, they will move theirs as well.

I took a deep breath and calmed down. I am panicking; things aren’t as bad as I am making them out to be.

It took me a minute to organise my thoughts before I turned to Lambdis. “Connect me to the Lord of Riverbell,” I said.

Riverbell has to hold, while my army needs to capture Almin. Once they finished with it, they could send back the part, and I would send another part from Deerpond’s forces.

That way, I will be protecting Riverbell from getting captured, but for that to happen, it needs to hold Grimvale’s forces back.

…

Banmir Liorian

“Are we not going to send any forces to Almin, Knight?” asked Lomos, looking at Almin at the far.

“No, Ashton Harbor is more important,” I replied.

The forces in the region are divided, and they likely won’t be able to form a coalition to attack Ashton Harbor, but that’s not the main reason.

The higher-ups won’t be happy if these cities in our control are recaptured, but they shouldn’t be too worried about them.

From what I could tell, they have not found the thing they are searching for in the city or the surrounding area.

They did not find it in Ashton Harbour either, but it is our base. We have fortified that place, and it would be a massive loss to lose it.

That doesn’t mean the other two cities will be conquered, though.

Wraithhearth might have pulled forces from these cities, but there is still a large number of undead in those cities. They could resist the attack if they remained entirely defensive.

It will give me enough time to deal with those things after I sense the mood from high command.

I shudder when I think about it. The only saving grace about it is that Wraithhearth had made all decisions. Still, I won’t escape unscathed either.

I was in my thoughts when expressions on Lomos’s face changed.

“What happened?” I asked. “A Lv. 4o appeared in Bilgas,” he replied.

…

Taren Zanav

“Charge at the gate!” I roared and moved my beast forward.

Boom Boom Boom!

My cavalry moved with me. Shooting cannonballs as we charged toward the gate, I had to reveal my trump card for it.

A Lv. 40 powerhouse.

My father had sent her to the region to protect me, but I had to use her to open the gate.

For nearly four hours, the undead had put up a strong defence. Seeing the way they were using the undead, I knew we wouldn’t be able to enter the city anytime soon.

That won’t do; I need it. Those three each have two cities, and I want that as well.

My father finally gave me the respect I deserved. I had wanted it all my life, especially after I got my hands on Port Midlet. It wasn’t easy, but I got it, and now I want another.

If I capture Bilgas, he will be even more proud.

I need to carve out my own territory; this is the only place where I can, understanding the empire’s current dynamics.

The nobles are fighting for every small piece of land. It will be nearly impossible for me to get control of a territory as big as the one I currently control.

My father could get me a small one, but it would be nothing compared to what I hold right now.

If I compare the size, it’s about the same as what my father holds. If I capture Bilgas, I will be doubling my territory effectively.

Port Midlet has greatly benefited me, and Bilgas will benefit me even more. The desire for levels, wealth, women, and much more; I want all of it.

My spear moved, cutting through any undead that came at me, and my mages defended me from unseen attacks, while my cavalry blasted through everything that dared to stand against us.

Still, our progress is slower than I liked. The undead are resisting hard.

Time passed, and we fought for every inch till we reached the gate and a few minutes later, got it under our control.

It made me smile, but the battle is far from over.

“To the city!” I commanded and moved my beast toward the city. That weak bastard Silver had dealt a heavy blow to the undead.

It would be a shame for me if I weren’t able to capture this city by midnight.

If I couldn’t do this, then how would I conquer Greltheaven and punish that bastard and his whores, for the greatest shame of my life!

…

Lt. General Lawson, Mirador Hold

“Meeting dismissed,” said Lord Commander Dane, and immediately everyone began to leave.

Aside from me.

“You barely spoke in the meeting.” He said, turning his pale green eyes toward me. “I didn’t need to, since everybody was speaking the same thing,” I replied.

He knows I hate Silver more than anyone, but even I think attacking Greltheaven is madness.

He might have taken the majority of his forces, but that doesn’t mean it is unprotected. Many details had come out, including how he used alchfire to burn over 80% of the Great Horde.

There is no saying he couldn’t do it again, and he would need a fraction of their number to destroy us.

Even without Alchfire, it would be hard for us to conquer Greltheaven.

“The fortress can’t sustain us; we need a city and need it soon, or it won’t be long before we will have an army at the gates,” he said, looking at the window.

Trying to hide the desperation he is feeling. He isn’t the only one.

Everyone is increasing their forces, and now Grimvale has arrived in the region. The man is ambitious, and he has already expressed his desire for the fortress.

“I know, but this is not the chance,” I replied. “We will get it. We just need to be ready enough to take it when it arrives,” I added.

Our best bet is still the baronies. We do not need to capture all or even Lauryl. It would be helpful if we capture a quarter of the baronies.

It will not be that hard, since we are more prepared this time and understand the strength of our enemies.

The only thing we need to do is wait for the chance, and it is going to come soon.

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