City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

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Leonas Cardin

“Governor,” I greeted the woman as she stepped out of the carriage.

“General,” she replied, and began to walk with me toward the front of the army, which is standing ready in front of the gate.

It is past midnight, and every soldier has woken up.

They are well-rested and leveled up after the battle; I did not. I need to do far more to level up than commanding cannons and archers from the wall.

The lord had finally given me that chance that I had been desperately seeking.

It was a complete surprise. I didn’t think Silver would choose me. I thought it would be Trask or even Axseer who would lead.

He has finally given me a chance, and it is a big one. It is an opportunity to prove myself, and I will not let it go to waste.

“I wish you all the success, General,” she said.

I have to respect this woman; many in her position would have fled the city, but she did not. She had stayed with it, and I could see it had brought her the deep respect of her people.

“Thank you, Governor,” I replied.

Her preparations were impeccable. The food was ready when we entered the city, and so were the beds. My men were able to devour their food and sleep afterward.

Soon, we appeared in front of the army, Trask, Axseer, and others were already waiting.

I turned and stopped.

In front of me is an army; I am going to lead it in the battle. I could feel the nervousness, excitement, and doubt.

It is an open secret about the death skill I am afflicted with.

If not for the charm, I wouldn’t have dared to take this assignment.

“We have a difficult battle ahead of us. The enemies are strong, and we have no choice but to fight them. Not to conquer another city, but to liberate the people.”

I took a pause, looking at their expressions, which made me relieved.

“Lord Silver had given us the command to march to Gailhorn and liberate it from the clutches of the undead and betrayers, and he can be damn well sure that we will do it!” I finished.

A moment later, their boots begin to hit the ground hard in affirmation.

The crushing victory against the undead gave them a significant boost to their confidence. They need it for what they will be facing in Gailhorn.

There will not only be the undead, but also the living people.

I could see the surprise in the eyes of many; it is the same surprise I had when he told me that I would be leading the attack on Gailhorn and not Norke.

Norke would have been much easier, given the considerable forces that the undead had pulled out of it.

In Gailhorn, we will face a human force along with the undead. That is a deadly combination, and I would have preferred a greater force than what I am taking there.

Still, the victory is attainable, and I will achieve it.

I had finally gotten the chance to prove myself, and I will not waste it.

“To Gailhorn!” I commanded and led the army toward the gates.

…

Silver

“General Karjan has taken Riverbell,” informed Zela.

I am not surprised, I didn’t even turn from the sun that has begun to come out of the clouds.

The force might not be large, but it was experienced. Grimvale’s army might not have experience against the undead, but it had experience against men.

There was also a capable general leading the army.

Zanav had captured Bilgas, and now Grimvale had captured Riverbell, leaving only Summerfield’s army fighting in Almin.

It’s extremely crucial that he capture Almin, because he has already lost a city. It would be devastating for him if he were not able to take Almin to make up for it.

It is essential for me as well that he succeeds in it.

Speaking of which, my forces should reach Gailhorn in an hour.

Norke would have been an easier choice; I had complete confidence that I would have been able to capture it, but it’s not the city I want.

Greltheaven lies in a river route that could be closed by any party.

It is tough, but it could happen. This route makes it especially difficult for me to bring poached troops to the city, as Deerpond is always on the lookout for them.

Now with the Grimvale, it will be even harder.

The other two trade routes, from Mirador Hold and Nakar Baronies, could also be closed as well. There are also other important considerations.

I route the poached soldiers through the merchant state. It’s an expensive affair.

If I got the Gailhorn, I would have a port city in my hands. I could bring the poached soldier through it.

It is extremely hard to block the sea route. One needs a considerable navy for it, and the undead didn’t have a big enough navy on the continent to do that.

I would even say that getting Gailhorn will be game-changing for the Dominion. So, despite the difficulty of capturing it, I sent Cardin with the army to make it happen.

Soon, the sun had fully come out, and I looked away from it.

“Let’s leave,” I said.

I had told Summerfield I would stay until sunrise, and it is sunrise.

Now, it will be up to him to capture Almin. I was never going to be involved directly; it was only if the undead reinforcements came.

The horn rang out, and people who were resting began to get up.

In less than five minutes, the army began to move toward the Panar. With Cardin leaving, it is unprotected once more; I can’t have that.

I wanted to leave earlier, but I gave him my word.

“You should have rested,” said Zela, seeing another yawn coming from my mouth. “I will after we reach Panar,” I replied.

I didn’t sleep. I wanted to sleep, but I needed to be alert. There are enemies that can release the spell from a considerable distance, and there are not enough people to defend against them.

Though my people rested and looked at their faces, they levelled up as well.

The level-up didn’t come for me, but I am neither surprised nor disappointed. Looking at my class, I know I am going to level up.

It will be after the battle of Gailhorn.

…

Deerpond

“Almin is ours.”

Informed my mage, and the cheer rang through the whole room as they heard it.

I finally released the breath I had been holding.

I needed Almin since I had lost Riverbell. My heart still seethes when I think about the backstabbing betrayal of Grimvale; we had an alliance agreement.

If Silver had failed, I would have joined my army with his, but now he has captured my city.

I wish I could curse the bastard, but it’s not the time. I may have captured Almin, but not without a cost, and that is just the beginning.

I had reports of the condition Silver had found Panar in after he captured it from the undead.

Just thinking about the money it is going to cost me is making my head hurt. What makes it worse is that it is a common city with only common mines.

Unlike the Riverbell that I lost. That had the river route; it might not have been flourishing as Deerpond, but it was stable and, most importantly, I didn’t need to spend any money on it.

I used to get money from it, but now that wouldn’t be the case, and on top of all that, it’s very close to Ashton Harbor.

Far closer to it than Deerpond.

It makes me really angry, not only at Grimvale, but also at Silver. I am angry at him, more than Grimvale. It is because of him that I attacked Almin.

If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have lost my precious Riverbell.

I will not let Riverbell be in the hands of Grimvale for long. I will capture it back, and also Greltheaven and every other city in the region.

The mine will make it possible.

The monsters that were making trouble had led us to an even purer vein of energy crystal. There are even signs of the precious metals.

It is so large that we haven’t explored it yet. There are also monsters, powerful ones that we didn’t dare to venture into, but soon we will.

When we do, nothing will be able to stop me from mining it all to fuel my plans.

…

Grimvale

“His army had reached Gailhorn,” said Imerla, my general.

Just when I had thought he couldn’t surprise me anymore. He did it again.

I wish I had all my army. I would have sent it to Deerpond, gaining half the control over the river or even further to Panar, which would have made things very difficult for Silver.

Although Greltheaven is the city I want most, I initially wanted to attack it as soon as possible, but I’ve put that on hold now.

I won’t be attacking it until I understand how he dealt with the undead.

If he used even a quarter of alchfire on my forces, they would be utterly wiped out. So, I need to know the skill he used to do it, as well as the witchcraft that reduces the strength of enemies.

These are potent weapons, and until I understood them, I wouldn’t have been attacking Greltheaven.

Which made me even more glad that I captured Riverbell. Now, I need one more thing: a port city.

Silver is very intelligent. He could have gotten Norke easily, but he chose to attack Gailhorn. If he achieved it, it would open another route for him.

“Do you think he will succeed in taking Gailhorn?” asked Dasir.

“It’s hard to say; I would say it would be difficult. There are around two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand undead there, along with around thirty thousand of a human army,”

“Silver had only brought fifty thousand. If the undead played defence, it would be hard to conquer,” she replied.

“There is also the general leading it. Although he is afflicted with the death skill,” Dasir added, but she shook her head. “Silver wouldn’t have sent him if he didn’t have confidence in him,” she replied.

It silenced the room for a while.

“Whatever the result, we need to be prepared. Who knows, it might present an opportunity, like Riverbell,” I said.

I hope it does.

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