City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

The loud booms of cannons rang as fiery balls shot into the sky at great speed, toward the army standing at the opposite side.

"Fire!"

The commander of the opposite side ordered. The spells shot out, along with the hail of arrows, striking against the cannonballs descending toward them.

Explosions rang out as they clashed, covering the sky above them in a fiery blanket.

"The timing and the execution are becoming more efficient," said the Knight. "Hmm," I hummed with a smile.

I am focused on making my forces more efficient and deadlier, rather than on increasing their numbers. I slowed down recruitment, keeping it open only to mages, archers, officers, and special talents such as cannoneers.

My army is experienced, and slowly I am molding them into the force I want.

We are training them to fight in the wasteland. This is our battlefield; we have no interest in other places. As long as they leave us alone, we will leave them alone.

But obviously, that's not going to happen. So, we will need to be prepared.

I now have enough numbers in my army and am moving toward specializations. We need it, considering the different types of enemies we will have to deal with.

Monsters, people, and the undead.

There are also other challenges, like what we might encounter in the Panar mine or in that place near Norke.

It is why, in a few months, I am planning to create another elite force. Orok has established how effective he is, and people are, and I want another one with a different specialty.

"Attack!"

A few minutes later, both armies of twenty-five thousand men charged toward each other with thousands of skills activating.

I could feel the man beside me focusing, and I closed my eyes as well to sense them. The skills, thousands of them, are activated in stages.

We want to layer them for maximum power.

It is hard to do that due to the sheer number and variety of them. There is also a thing about skill secrecy. People don't like to share the knowledge of their skills.

So, we developed a system using types, which orders people to activate specific types of skills on command.

That is the easiest part; the hard part is managing it efficiently. So, that skill stacking would work. We have been working on it for the past few months, and it has already increased the army's strength by 10%.

It might not seem much, but it is huge on the battlefield.

It is one advantage of having a central army. So, I could mold them the way I want.

I absorbed the armies of Mirador Hold and Nakar. Some nobles still kept men, but they gradually dissolved over the months. Especially since I began sending them people.

They are now more focused on their development, and with their family pulling back support, they are cutting back on other expenses, such as the private army.

Now, their security depends entirely on me. They are keeping only the police force for internal law and order.

In a few months, Count Viremont and the Marchioness Arenthal will descend upon the region, bringing huge armies. I am worried; they are powerful, but they are not the ones I am most worried about.

It is opportunities that they might create for the undead and Grimvale.

Those two are not sitting still either; they are preparing. The undead reinforcements kept coming from Vris'alud, while Grimvale was increasing and training his forces.

The storm is brewing in the region.

In a few months, it will come, and even those who think they are safe will find themselves scared.

I watched the exercise for another half hour before riding back toward the city with my guard. The Knight stayed; he is the one guiding them.

The man is not only a great fighter, but also a great commander. He had led armies before and had very extensive experience.

In half an hour, we reached the city.

When I reached my office, I dismounted, and Tempest trotted away, while I stepped into the building.

Soon, I reached my office and saw two people already waiting, with Argys talking with them. "My apologies for being late, Baron Halewright, Lord Halewright," I greeted. They seemed surprised by my apology.

I am two minutes late, but late is late, and it deserves an apology.

"You didn't need to apologize, my lord; we arrived only a few minutes ago," replied the man, to which I smiled and turned to his son.

It's the first time I've seen him since the party over six months ago, after I negotiated his release. He is no longer thin and malnourished.

He is handsome, especially with an enviable jawline and a fit look.

It shouldn't surprise me; he is a warrior. He fought against bandits and monsters before going to fight for the prince.

"I hope your trip was successful?" I asked.

They have come to meet a few merchants; they are buying items for the territory. Signing a few long-term contracts, they also held a meeting with my people.

"It was my lord," he replied, looking at his smile. Things seemed to have gone quite well for him.

"I am glad," I said.

He smiled before his expression became serious. So has his son's; there is unwillingness in the face of the old man, but he sighed after looking at his son, then shook his head.

It made me quite curious to see different expressions play across their faces.

"I want to join the army, my lord," said the younger Halewright, surprising me.

So much so that I wasn't able to control my expression. "He barely survived last time, and now he wants to throw his life on the battlefield once more," replied the old man, sighing once more.

"You do not need to join the army, Lord Halewright. You have the house's forces," I said.

Clearly, his father is against it. I don't want to risk the loss of one of my loyal nobles by agreeing with his son. "A company worth of soldiers didn't count," he replied, almost derisively, to his father's dismay.

The man is thirty years old, but behaves like a child. I wanted to laugh seeing it, but controlled myself.

"You shouldn't make a hasty decision, Lord Halewright. It's been barely half a year since you returned."

"You should rest and recuperate more; you need it after what you have been through. Help your father, I am sure, he needs the help, to run the territory." I said, and the old man nodded.

"I told him. Going as far as willing to give the position of Baron to him, but he is not listening,"

"Even after suffering what he suffered, the ghost of the army still hadn't left his soul," replied the old man, massaging his head.

"If you didn't let me join the army, Lord Silver, I will go another way," he said. "You won't like that way, Father," he added, turning to his father.

I am barely controlling my laughter right now. Even Argys, who is listening with a straight face, is at his limit.

They seemed to have had this conversation before. He wouldn't have brought him here if he hadn't. Still, the old man looks like he is at his limit.

I thought he would snap. Instead, he turned to me.

"I request that you let my son join the army, my lord." The old man requested, in defeat. Hearing that, all the mirth in his heart vanished instantly.

"There will be no exception for your son, Baron Halewright," I stated clearly.

I will not let my army suffer the same disease that so many armies in the empire and many kingdoms do.

The children of nobles get a special commission; they are given a high position without talent or experience. It produces catastrophic results.

I will not have that.

"He will be tested like any new officer we take; there won't be any priority posting; I will even suspend his title until his service is over."

"If there is battle, your son will have to fight, and there is a chance he will be wounded and even die."

The old man simply nodded grimly while the son looked excited by it. Instead of scared, he is really something. Maybe taking him to the army wouldn't be bad.

"Since it is the only thing he wants, I agree." Said the old man and he looked quite pitiful.

"Good, I want to join today," said Arik Halewright. That brought anger back in the old man's eyes, and he smacked his son on his head.

"First, return to the territory and talk to your mother. She is going to worry sick about it," said the old man. The younger one seemed to want to argue about it, but decided against it and nodded.

"My apologies, my lord, you had to see us so uncivilized," he apologized. To that I smiled.

"Thank you for letting me join the army, Lord Silver. I won't disappoint you," thanked Arik. The man has experience and, according to intelligence, is quite a good fighter.

A very rare type of fighter.

He was born with a rare psionic talent and uses specialized weapons in addition to conventional ones. "You will soon be cursing me, Lord Halewright," making both father and son laugh.

"How are things going with your family?" I asked, and a smile wiped away from their faces.

Someone in his family had played a part in his son getting captured, but the man was rational; he didn't accuse them. He kept the relationship going, along with benefits.

It changed with the death of Nightingale and his daughter succeeding.

It had not only changed things for him, but also for every baron in Nakar from both sides.

Knowing the barons are unwilling to relinquish their position, and I am supporting them. It has forced families to evaluate their investments in the baronies.

Some, like Baron Homer, made the deal with the family quickly, while most others are still in negotiations.

Leila and Baroness Arim are extreme at both ends. Leila has the complete support of her family and covert financial assistance, while Baroness Arim has completely cut relations with them.

No baron planned to do what she has done; they understand they still need their family's help to grow and prosper.

Relinquishing the position and the decision of the heir are out of the question, but other things are on the table, including a marriage alliance.

"Still negotiating, but there have been a few successes," he replied.

I know of them; they are related to agriculture and mining, and he will give the stake to his family. I had set limits on those; I don't want them to be fully dependent on their families.

They understood it as well.

"I am glad to hear that," I replied, before I asked the question I wanted to ask.

"How are things on the other side?" I asked. He is the man who has a very good relationship with the other side, including Rose and Lockridge.

He would have gone with them if not for his territory closer to the north.

"They are also having trouble with their families, and many want people. They are willing to pay good money for them." He said and looked at me.

I am sure many of them had asked him to ask me for that.

"Any indication they might want to attack us?" I asked, and his expression became thoughtful.

"Lockridge and Dane are both more than ready, but most of the nobles are against it."

"Relations are improving, trade is increasing, not to mention, people you are sprinkling on them, they don't want to lose that," he replied, and I nodded.

Unfortunately, the nobles didn't have as much leverage as they used to have before.

Like me, Grimvale is also dismantling the nobles' armed forces. They are still keeping larger forces than my nobles, but they do not have enough numbers to put a weight to stop Grimvale if he absolutely wants to.

Though there is some leverage, they might be able to delay the upcoming attack if I pull the levers correctly.

He stayed for another fifteen minutes before leaving with his son, while I closed my eyes and brought out my aura.

Watching my army train, I want to train hard as well. I have progressed since my battle against a necromancer half a year ago, but there is still a lot more I could improve.

I am going to do that. I will need the strength to deal with the enemies that are coming for us.

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