City of Desire: Chapter 1034 Action and Reaction I (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

Knight Marshal Liorian. Ashton Harbor

“Is that a threat, Lord Silver?” I asked the man.

His call surprised me, especially since it came the moment our ships appeared. I was likely the first person he contacted after hearing the news.

I looked at the table across from me; all were listening intently.

‘You can consider it a threat or a warning. The thing I want to say is that your actions will have a reaction.’

I could not sense any anger, just cold, hard truth.

I had no desire to attack him; I liked the peace. It had let me work and train. It’s been a decade since I had a time like that, and it’s because of it that I have made incredible progress.

I wish it could continue, but orders were orders.

‘It is still not too late; call back your ships, and I could forget that this happened. We had a year of peace, Knight Liorian, and I wish to keep it that way.’ Me too, but it will not happen.

“I could not; the only thing I could give you is a chance to surrender.”

“If you do that, it could all end painlessly for you,” I offered, and I heard the man laugh.

‘Then be ready for consequences, Knight-Marshal!’ he replied before cutting the call.

“He sounded quite arrogant for a man besieged from all sides,” said Kava, and few laughed at her words, but most remained serious.

“Don’t underestimate him. We had paid a price for that; I'd rather not do it again.” I warned.

The cost had been immense. Personal and reputational.

“Since you do not want to underestimate him, you should have sent me on the ships; I would have given you the victory,” she said, and I looked at Elmid.

I might be the head, but Elmid is in charge of the operations.

It is politics. Elmid is the kingdom’s own man, while my order is allied with it. Allied in name only, since we had become subordinate, in all but name.

We did not have the autonomy that we had been promised before the war.

I had been one of the few who voted against joining the undead kingdom, but they did not listen. They got too greedy and bet too much on the promises made by the kingdom.

“We will need you when we march on land,” stated Elmid to the raven-haired half-elf.

“When will that be?” she asked, and he smiled.

The horde is ready and already at the near boundary of Ashton Harbor. Any further, and they would sense it.

I am glad that Elmid is being cautious. The disastrous assassination operation had brought him to his knees, making him understand the reality of this man.

“Our focus is the battle between Silver and Viremont.”

“It didn’t matter to us who wins as much as both lose. We will monitor the battle and move as we see the chance, and regroup with the horde attacking Gailhorn,” stated Elmid.

Nothing is as important as Greltheaven.

We don’t know if what the upper lords are searching for is there, but even if it is, Greltheaven is a massive prize with its legacy. It is also the best location; with it, we could attack from all directions.

So, if we need to, we will use every undead in Ashton Harbor to conquer Greltheaven.

This time, though, we would be much more cautious about attacking it. We don’t want to suffer the same fate as the last time.

It's why we won’t be the first to attack it.

Thankfully, there are a lot of people who are willing, and we have already promised them a month of immunity from attacking them once they attack Greltheaven.

“Still, it feels almost too cautious,” said Ror, the only orc at the table; he had come with Kava a few months ago.

Nobody said anything to that, because it’s true.

The kingdom had sent forces and powerhouses, but not enough to dominate through sheer numbers. The progress on the island had reduced to a snail's pace.

The enemies are resisting hard. So, they can’t afford to send too many powerhouses.

If they had, Greltheaven would have been ours by now.

We continued with our meeting when suddenly I heard a gasp of great surprise and shock appear on the faces of the mages.

“What happened?” I asked, turning to Lomos. “An army is coming out of the gates of Greltheaven.”

That couldn’t help but surprise me.

Silver had only kept a small army there, just around sixty thousand, which is far from enough to deal with any army in the region.

If not for those bloody alchfire orbs, every army in the region would have already marched there.

Hell, we would have won the last battle without those bloody things. I still remember the terror, the way that alchemical fire wiped away a great horde.

It’s something I could never forget.

“What is the number? Where is it going?” I asked. They didn’t answer immediately. The army might be coming out, and it might take time.

A few minutes passed, and their expressions turned strange.

“Fifty thousand and the army seems to be moving toward Norke,” said Elmid, having a hard time believing himself. I looked across the table and saw only shock.

“Is he an idiot? He is keeping only ten thousand in his most important city.”

“It will make every army march toward his city,” asked Kava.

I didn’t reply; I turned to Elmid and saw him looking at me with the same somber emotions I felt.

Action and consequences, he said. I laughed. It's a fucking excuse, not to attack- no, something more; something in which, if he succeeded, would benefit him tremendously.

“That’s what he wants; this is a bloody invitation,” I spat, feeling a bad taste in my mouth.

…

An hour before.

General Axseer

“General,”

The soldiers greeted me as I dismounted. I nodded and handed him the reins of my beast before walking into the headquarters.

In a few weeks, there will be a new one. Though before that, we will have to get through this storm.

I walked inside before stepping into the elevator. A few seconds later, it stopped, and I stepped out before walking toward General Stone’s office.

A few minutes ago, I received an order to report to his office as soon as possible.

I reached his office and turned to his secretary.

“The General is waiting for you, General Axseer,” informed the secretary. I nodded and kept walking until I reached the door, which the guards opened.

I nodded and stepped inside; the moment I did, surprise appeared on my face.

There was General Stone, but he was not alone. General Hiren sat on the chain on the side, while three familiar people sat on a long chair by the wall.

“General Stone,” “General Hiren,”

I saluted. He nodded before a file flew toward me.

“In my authority as the General of Dominion, I hereby make you the corps commander. You will lead the corps to Norke and liberate it from the undead.” 

For a moment, I doubted whether I had heard it right.

A corps is fifty thousand, and there are only sixty thousand men in the city. If I leave with the corps, then only ten thousand will remain in the city.

“Lord Silver had approved the order himself; you can read it,” added General Hiren.

I didn’t say anything and turned to the file. I opened it, and there was an order. I could feel Velvet Garden's power through it, along with the signatures of General Stone and Lord Silver.

It wasn't a regular signature, but one infused with aura that nobody could fake.

I am explicitly familiar with the feel of it, since I had sparred with him many times.

I reread it before turning the pages. It had information on a corps's composition.

My twenty-five thousand, along with three brigades of eight thousand, will be led by the three Major Generals sitting on chairs by the wall.

There is also the elite battalion of Lt. Colonel Bandstone, a few mercenaries and their teams, and a few powerhouses, including the gladiators who chose to fight.

I read through it before turning to the man.

“This will leave Greltheaven with only ten thousand men,” I said. Well, more than that, there are a few thousand volunteers, but even with them it’s not enough.

“Even a thousand would be more than enough,” he replied, and I understood the meaning.

The Alchfire.

I don’t like to see them depend on a single thing, but I have my orders.

“As you command, General,” I accepted.

A minute later, I walked out of the office, with the three behind me, trying to control the nervousness I was feeling in my heart.

I have always been a part of a campaign, but never led one.

They have given me command of it; there were others. General Hiren, Irab, but they chose me. I am grateful for it and will not disappoint them.

If they want Norke, I will give it to them.

They had already planned for this, as the army assembled within minutes, along with supply carriages, siege weapons, cannons, and other things.

I rode through the city, with the people watching.

Martial law was in effect, but only at the lowest level. People could leave their houses for non-emergency, important purposes.

Even schools were open.

I barely got a few minutes with my girls. General Stone was considerate. He had already called them from school. I wish I had more than a few minutes with them.

At least I was lucky enough.

My men were not; some of them will never get a chance to see their families again.

I could see people watching me from the street and their homes, and I felt the weight of the responsibility increase.

I had to take a deep breath to manage it.

“I am glad you are leading the campaign, General,” said Rakgu beside me. I couldn’t help but smile hearing that.

He used to work under me before they transferred me. He is one of the three brigadier generals; the other two came from the baronies.

I only know them by name. I will try to get to know them better during the march.

Soon, the army reached the gates.

I could see General Stone at the top of it, along with Shaman Trik and Chief Elar. They nodded at me, and I saluted back before leading the corps out of the gates.

I looked at the vast wasteland in front of me, bathing in night’s light.

“To Norke,” I ordered and led my army toward the eastern city of the region. If I succeeded, the dominion would control nearly all Northern Renwall.

I will do everything to make that happen.