City of Desire: Chapter 1027 Alliance? (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

‘Take care, Lord Silver,’ said the man on the other side and cut the call.

It was disappointing. He is one of my contacts, whom I had called for information on Viremont. I have a lot of information about him; it’s why I know there are many things about Viremont we still don’t know.

I want to know everything about him. So, I could make better preparations.

I pulled back my aura from Zela and took a deep breath before looking through my carriage’s window.

I saw my people, the worry they had on their faces. I would have been surprised. If there had been none, as soon we were going to be attacked from all sides.

So, it’s not surprising that they would be worried. I would have been shaken if they had not been.

I will protect them and every one of my citizens.

Soon the carriage stopped, and I stepped out. I went straight into the building and stepped into the elevator. A few seconds later, it stopped, and I stepped out onto the roof.

“Lord Silver,” Stone and others greeted.

I nodded, stood beside him, and looked down at two units standing opposite each other.

A battalion of seven hundred and twenty-four people, led by Lt. Colonel Bandstone. Opposite her was a regiment of two thousand men, led by Colonel Agras; he came with the baronies troops.

“Begin,” ordered Stone.

Immediately, Colonel Agras gave an order, and his men spread into formation before moving toward Colonel Bandstone and her unit.

“About Margaux, do you really want to send her to Baronies?” I asked.

In the morning, he sent the last file on the placement of armies and powerhouses. In it, he advised sending Margaux to Lauryl.

“I don’t want to, but we need a powerful mage against Grimvale’s forces.”

I sighed upon hearing that.

We have brought most of our forces from Bram Fortress to Lauryl and to quite a lot of other areas, and spread them to other cities. Including powerhouses, which include Leila.

She is coming to Greltheaven the day after tomorrow, and he wants Margaux in her place.

“She only knows that one spell, and enemies would guard against it,” I stated. The spell is really powerful; I had fought against it myself, but there are ways to defend against it.

Especially now that the enemy knows about the spell.

“Baron Harrods is capable; he will use her well,” he replied. He loved that woman, but still sent her there. Well, it's Margaux, too.

Knowing she would only be a deterrent in Greltheaven, and knowing the abilities of Velvet Garden, she asked to be sent somewhere she could actually help.

She does not like to fight, but to protect her home, she is willing to do so.

“I know the willingness, but the forces and powerhouses we have should be able to manage Grimvale’s forces,” I said, to which he shook his head.

“Grimvale considers the baronies his defeat, and he would want to conquer it and erase that. We will need an effective deterrent who is also powerful, and Margaux is both.”

I didn’t say anything and looked ahead.

Her spell is powerful, and the advancement of the base class will help, but she couldn’t be compared to the seasoned warrior, much less a Mage.

She had killed a true Lv. 40, but when one looked at the circumstances, they would see how lucky she was and only able to paint that spell because of protection from the principle.

Her advancement made her much better, but it’s not enough to soothe my fears for her safety.

Still, I am desperate enough to use everything I have. Including fielding Margaux on the dangerous front.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused. Seeing how Lt. Colonel Bandstone had been fully surrounded from all sides, she was defending herself.

That is the purpose of this experience.

“They have gotten used to the gear,” commented General Irab. “Though I wish we could have equipped more of them with it. Many units have demanded it.”

Every officer is using every channel and connection to ask for these weapons for themselves and their people, but we cannot give them to every officer.

We cannot do it with simple enchantment equipment, much less with a mist-crafted one.

Still, I have a dream that one day every officer will have at least one mist-crafted weapon.

It will depend on a lot of factors. First is money, of course. We have to decide whether it is worth it financially.

We are a precious resource; the weapon created with it needs to be worth it.

We are still experimenting with it. Each legacy is different, with an emotion scale and type. Velvet Garden is not a forge legacy, but we have some element of craft because of the emporium.

We will see how these weapons perform and how long enchantments last. Only after a cost-benefit analysis will we go ahead with it.

If not, it will be a weapon of the upper echelon only.

“Viremont had stepped into the region,” informed Zela, and immediately the expressions on the faces of every officer turned serious, despite knowing it would happen today.

“It’s such a regret that I will not get to fight in a battle against him,” said Irab, breaking the quiet atmosphere.

Some nodded; some laughed.

He will be stationed in Greltheaven, and the plan is to never let him reach it. Finish him in a single battle; it’s a mountainous task, but it’s not like we have not done it before.

Still, it couldn’t help but fill my heart with fear.

He will be the greatest enemy we have fought, and most importantly, it will be against people. Until now, all our big battles were against undead and monsters.

They were inherently enemies and not people. The psychological impact of fighting people completely different.

“Anything from our sources?” I asked. I must have asked this question at least ten times, but we need as much information about him as possible.

“No,” she replied.

There are two things I want to know the most. The exact number of powerhouses that Viremont is bringing and what is brewing between them.

Something definitely is; the question is what?

The thing is, we don’t even know which route that bastard is going to take, where he is going to set a base, and which city of ours he is going to attack.

On the last one, we are 70% sure, but not completely.

He is keeping information tight, but our intelligence network is not strong either.

It is nascent, and it will take years before it starts bearing real fruit, but one thing is clear: I am going to give it all the resources it needs to develop.

Viremont is just one threat among the long list that will be coming at me.

A capable spy agency would help tremendously in dealing with such threats.

Time passed, and the battle below reached its climax; nobody clapped. This was a military exercise, not a match in an arena, but we all had smiles on our faces.

“I would have loved it if the battalion had been at full strength,” I said.

The sanctioned strength of the elite battalion is a thousand, but there are only seven hundred and twenty-four in it. All decked in armor, with shields in their hands.

Maintaining an elite battalion costs a lot. From their equipment to their diets to their salaries, they are worth every penny.

“Very few could match the standard it needs,” replied Stone. “We have been lucky to attract such talent. Others would have taken a lot more to create what we did.”

To that I nodded.

The elites are the best, but such people are few. Not everyone has the mental and physical capability needed for it.

That doesn’t mean we will not have the numbers. We will, but it will take time.

A few minutes later, I am in my carriage.

I didn’t return to the office immediately; I went to open a hospital. I didn’t stay long; I wanted to, but I had a lot of work in my office.

Still, it lifted my mood.

The carriage stopped, and I got out of it and walked toward my office.

“Chief Carter is waiting for you in your office,” informed Jill, I nodded and stepped inside. The moment I saw him, I knew it was bad news.

“What is it?”

“One of my contacts in Port Midlet had sent news,” he informed, and I braced for the worst.

“Zanav had sent his top team to Viremont to discuss an alliance. If it worked out, he would aid him with his army.” I nearly slammed my fist as I heard that.

I knew he was thinking about it, just like Summerfield, but Zanav joining Viremont would be worse than Summerfield.

Zanav holds a cavalry that will enhance Viremont’s army, which is mostly infantry. It is also not regular cavalry, but a highly specialized one.

“If it happens, it will be terrible news for us,” I replied. He said nothing, just nodding.

Nobody spoke for nearly a minute. I just kept taking breaths to calm myself. If it happens, then I will be forced to decide. I really don't want to, but I will have no choice.

“Keep me informed about it.”