As the days passed since our return, many things that needed doing were still stacked on my plate. With my schedule opened up in the morning, when my usual Dungeon runs would occur, new things were slotted in to fill up my day.
My continued study of Enchantnts and Wards took up so of the ti while most was allocated for sothing else.
I needed to stop delaying taking actual charge and forging more permanent additions to my City.
The first of which was the establishnt of a Guard Company.
There was a mixture of reasons I had held off on doing so but all of that silliness was left behind. After fighting the Demons and nearly dying, my hang-ups felt childish.
Other than the financial burden for permanent Guards, it was an authority thing. I had shied away from it at first in the tutorial, but when I picked it up later, I picked all of it up.
I was the head of many things as the Leader and it was nice to know that I was the sole person in charge in case things went wrong. The bits of authority I gave away were to my family, who I trusted completely.
Abigail the most.
Creating Guards was sothing I would have to branch out for, hiring people who were not related to and people I wasn't sure I could trust. It was my biggest hang-up before the Demons but now I didn't care.
Well, saying I didn't care was wrong, more like I grew comfortable with the idea of loosening the reins now.
The people showed their honor, they traveled the land at my call and fought with their lives on the line. It was dishonorable to continue doubting them.
They showed their trustworthiness and respect and now I needed to return it.
The first Guard Company would be ford in Frostheim and I knew just the man to lead it.
Other than hiring official Guards, we needed information. The way the Demonic threat popped up was a major cause of concern and I did not want it happening again.
We had to find out about it from another pylon which was unacceptable!
No threat should be able to remain close without our knowledge.
Being aware of the whole world was too much, even the entire continent, but we should at least know what was happening nearby. Until we had the resources to expand that scope to even further.
Executing all my different plans took so ti away from my training but I was fine with that for now. My involvent wouldn't be needed forever, only to get the ball rolling and to put people in charge to run things.
The last big thing that I took care of was sending people West.
Mountainside had sent a letter and my response was ready. I hadn't sent a delegation or even soone to negotiate anything, only a letter detailing my response.
I was fine with opening communication and enthusiastic about trade, but I was curious how they were going to go about doing it. The trip would take months, even in good weather, and I didn't see that being fixed any ti soon.
Winter being on the horizon would only make things worse.
Still, I welcod it and said as much in my letter. It was up to them how they wished to go from there.
The last thing I planned to do had to wait, though. While I could fight, I wasn't in tip-top shape.
My dexterity in my new arm was growing by the day but I wasn't as good at manipulating it during a fight. I could one hand one of my ford hamrs, but waiting until I was recovered wouldn't take that long.
Doctors put it in the middle of Winter, but I felt it would be closer to the beginning.
Other than the letter sent to Mountainside, I had another one delivered down South to Austin.
I wasn't sure what he was up to, but I let him know the threat had been dealt with and to keep an eye out for any talk of Demons.
Taking days off fighting was weird, but my mind was busy with implenting the changes I needed to make and ti slipped by.
Marcus
Their attack into the heart of the insect's territory was going better than he thought it would. They had fought tooth and nail for every foot of territory conquered from the insects' and now they were pushing for the center.
The bodies of dead bugs could be stacked higher than any local mountain by this point and the disposal of them had long been a problem.
The storehouses were full of anything they could provide and their chitin was overflowing by this point that they didn't even bother to skin anything below E-rank.
Even then, low E-ranks were beginning to be left behind.
The campaign against them was brutal.
Months of fighting were required to push them back from an area and they needed to be constantly ready for counterattacks.
Slowly, ever so slowly, his City gained ground.
It was a Dungeon at first. Giving them an avenue for resources and growth while also taking away the mana the bugs were using to grow. They sward around anything with enough mana or in areas of high mana density, the three surrounding Dungeons chief among them.
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Gaining their first Dungeon showed the first distinguishable change.
His people grew faster than the insects could keep up with.
Every battle since then gave them that much more. More bugs fell during the fighting, more essence flowed into the people, and more resources were able to be gathered.
It was a change in the tide and Marcus could feel it shift in his very bones. While saying he could feel the tide change was mainly taphorical, sothing told him he wasn't far off.
A feeling inside him humd at the thought.
Now, Marcus stood atop the battlents watching those under him leading the charge. He wanted to be down there. His body twitched to be down there, but he held back.
Patience and planning held him back.
While they gained ground, the bugs fought that much harder to get it back. Every strike launched against them was t with an equal and opposite retaliation.
His glaive was needed to face what would co after, not what they faced now.
Still, he couldn't keep the feeling at bay. Watching others attack while he stood and did nothing went against everything he felt a leader should be. He was used to leading from the front, leading the charge among the Vanguard.
That honor was given to another.
Soone who had grown on Marcus, even if he would die before admitting that fact. The frivolous, cavalier little shit would gloat until the day Marcus died if he ntioned that he was growing fond of his presence.
He was the embodint of everything Marcus wasn't. He shirked responsibility faster than water could roll off a duck, he refused to be serious, he... he-
His rising heart rate forced him to center himself. Sohow, the man was able to get on each and every nerve, knowing where to press and how hard to get a reaction.
It was unnerving to be seen through like that which only made it worse.
As much as the man grated on Marcus, he could admit he was a central pillar to their attack strategy. Without him, it would have taken a lot longer to do what they had, maybe months before they would have reached where they were.
Longer still to get the resources they needed.
Growing out of the City gave them the needed space to take care of nearly everything they lacked. Fertile ground was conquered and held. Seeds were planted and grown.
Harvest was nearly upon them.
Harvest!
It had been nearly 2 years since that had happened and it ca at the perfect ti. Food, blessed food. It was enough to bring a cheer through the city.
Other than food, water flowed in. Their efforts to dig through the solid rock under their feet were rewarded and they hit the depth required to reach the watershed.
No more runs to the river were needed for survival.
It was hard to pin the changes to the exact day their fate changed, but he knew the man fighting down below was a big part of it.
Speaking of, he needed to keep track of the battle happening.
Austin, the man in question, led the charge and was doing a remarkable job. Letting the outsider lead was hard on Marcus, but he was able to extend his hand in the end.
Light shot out spearing another insect as he danced around those surrounding him. Marcus witnessed the ease in every move, the confidence that every stab would land.
It spoke to the experience of many battles. Light and searing heat were his main weapons, but his spear wasn't far behind. Similar to Marcus, he utilized his weapon well, empowering and extending what he could do with it through his powers.
Others among the frontline he was observing were the opposite. They relied on their powers to deal the damage and used their weapon to launch it. While opposite to what he did, he wasn't experienced enough to call it wrong.
The mages stood behind creating grand feats of magic while Rangers unleashed arrow after arrow.
So broke apart into a carpet of them, raining down on a wide area and piercing nurous bugs. Others flew through the air with a growing power that penetrated through the swarm of bugs taking multiple down before it ran dry.
The thods were nurous but all had a practiced ease behind them. A will behind them that shed into the whole.
Their charge stalled as the swarm thickened. The bugs rallied to defend their last Dungeon while humans sought to defeat them.
From the insect's response, Marcus could tell that today wouldn't be the day, but they were getting close. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, but the day they held all three Dungeons was coming close.
The front line realized what he had seen monts ago and started their fighting retreat. One foot placed behind the other while they fought on as they backed away.
"Ready Defenses!" Marcus called and he didn't need to look around to know he was heard.
chanical locks clanked into place and bowstrings were pulled tight. The ballistae along the walls were nocked and loaded, along with the catapults on the ground behind them.
The large boulders one would expect the massive contraptions to launch were nowhere in sight, and instead, a pile of sharpened rocks sat in the catapult's pouch.
A form of grapeshot that proved more effective against the swarm of bugs.
Marcus wasn't sure he should be proud or disappointed at how fast his City advanced at war.
It wasn't too long ago they were waking up to work normal jobs, yet now weapons were readied and siege preparations were completed within seconds of his order.
Watching how fast people ca around to militarization made Marcus wonder if the fighting was this fierce everywhere else in the world.
The thought was quick but it was sothing he would rember later. His attention was needed on the battle, but that was sothing he would think about when he had ti.
The massive gate cranked open as the attack force filed into the city. The edges collapsed in first before being followed by the forces in the center.
As the gates slamd shut, it was ti for Marcus to take over.
Orders to fire were unnecessary by this point and had been for a long while. Twangs and creaks sounded down the wall like dominoes falling in both directions.
He readied his glaive and slamd the butt into the ground rhythmically.
The water inside him started to roil and build. The placid calm his inner lake held beginning to change.
The ripples rolling out strengthened with every tap.
Soon.
The ti to unleash the tide would co soon.
Tracy
Her face recoiled in anger at the letter she read. It took everything in her to not start throwing things. The ssenger who delivered it was still standing by her side awaiting a response and she couldn't make her displeasure known.
She knew Nick wasn't the smartest leader, but she had at least thought him smarter than this.
Their City flourished under her care and it was growing- had grown into the regional powerhouse. Other pylons were located and so had even co under their banner.
Their reach had spread as they grew yet Nick's hunger for more grew with it.
Skirmishes and testing probes to the surrounding powers started before Tracy could stop it and neither could she stop the retaliatory strikes in response. Their neighbors were slighted and she knew Nick did it on purpose.
He burnt the bridge before she was able to make friendly relations.
Tracy should have known he would.
The City of Storms was too big a prize to give up and she knew once Nick caught sight of it, they would be dood. Not dood in the major sense of the word, but dood to go along with his ego.
He was the Master of Storms, or so he would claim, and no one else could claim the title. His vanity had only grown in proportion to their land.
His thirst for more didn't even last a month before he readied the armies. His letter informing her of his imminent departure along with a sizable chunk of their workforce.
The army he ford had so of the crafters she was relying on. The outstanding orders would go unfilled. The trade agreents along with it unless she pulled another magic trick out of her hat.
Luckily, Tracy had engrained in Nick's mind that she was useless on the attack. She was far from it, but it didn't hurt to keep so cards up her sleeve. Remaining weak on the offensive was a weakness she corrected long ago.
A certain man forced her to adjust her strategy accordingly. If Tracy ever saw Chris again, she would have to thank him for revealing her oversight.
Additionally, it was a way to declaw herself and let Nick believe her non threatening. Even on the off chance he turned on her, she wanted so surprises up her sleeve.
Doing so allowed her to remain behind, without being called to war.
She could only watch from the walls as thousands marched away.
She should have never allowed Nick to go to Chicago but it wasn't like she could have stopped him either.
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