I Reincarnated as a Prince Who Revolutionized the Kingdom Chapter 107: Expanding the Territory

The victory over the Akunza Confederation had sent shockwaves through the region. Word of the Elysean army's brutal efficiency spread quickly, reaching distant villages and settlents. So sent envoys to pledge their submission, hoping to avoid the sa fate. Others retreated further into the wilderness, clinging to the belief that they could resist.

Marshal Armand Roux had no intention of giving them that chance.

From his command post at Fort Saint-Louis, Roux wasted no ti in organizing the next phase of the campaign. The fort was no longer just a neglected outpost—it had beco the heart of Elysea's expansion in Pan-Arica. Engineers and laborers, both Elysean and native conscripts, worked day and night to expand the fortifications.

Stone walls replaced the rotting wooden palisades. Artillery emplacents were reinforced. A new barracks was built to house the growing garrison, and supply depots were stocked with rations, ammunition, and dical supplies.

Giraud, ever eager for action, stood beside Roux as they observed the construction efforts. "It's coming together," he noted. "This place was a ruin when we arrived."

Roux nodded. "A ruin won't hold an empire. When we're done, Fort Saint-Louis will be an unbreakable stronghold."

More soldiers arrived from the fleet, bringing Elysea's forces in Pan-Arica to nearly 6,000 n. Settlers from the holand had also begun to arrive, eager to claim land and wealth in the new colony.

Despite the rapid progress, resistance still simred. So villages accepted Elysean rule but remained passive, refusing to assist the occupiers. Others harbored fugitives from the Akunza Confederation or plotted in secret.

Roux would not tolerate it.

One morning, scouts reported that a village to the south had refused to send tribute. Worse, they had killed an Elysean patrol and left their bodies to rot on the outskirts of their settlent.

Roux acted imdiately.

Leading 500 n, he marched on the village. The soldiers arrived at dawn, surrounding the settlent before the inhabitants could flee.

The village chief, an elderly man with a defiant glare, stood at the center as his people were forced to their knees. "We do not answer to foreigners," he spat.

Roux did not argue. He gave a simple order: "Burn it down."

The soldiers set fire to the thatched huts while the villagers watched in horror. Smoke rose into the sky as the flas consud their hos, their food stores, their way of life. Those who had resisted were executed on the spot. The survivors were marched back to Fort Saint-Louis, where they would be put to work expanding the colony.

Roux turned to Giraud. "Make sure word of this spreads."

Giraud smirked. "Oh, it will."

By the next week, three more villages surrendered without a fight.

With the surrounding region pacified, Roux turned his attention to securing the land for Elysean settlers. Surveyors were sent out to map the terrain, identifying fertile land for agriculture and sites for new settlents.

The first colonial town, Nouvelle-Solenne, was established twenty miles west of Fort Saint-Louis along the banks of the Great River. It would serve as both a trading post and a hub for Elysean expansion. Roads were cleared through the dense wilderness, connecting the fort to the new settlent.

However, expansion was not without difficulties.

Disease was a constant threat. The humid jungle climate bred sickness, and supplies of dicine were limited. So soldiers and settlers fell to fever, their bodies buried in shallow graves outside the fort's walls.

Wildlife posed another danger. Stories of massive beasts lurking in the rivers spread among the n, and so patrols had gone missing in the night. The local tribes knew the dangers well, but they did not share their knowledge freely.

"We need more native scouts," Roux admitted to Giraud one evening. "Ones who understand this land better than we do."

"We'll find them," Giraud assured him. "Everyone has a price."

As Elysea tightened its grip on Pan-Arica, Roux knew that their presence would not go unnoticed. The scattered colonial settlents in the region belonged to other European powers, and sooner or later, there would be conflict.

The first sign of trouble ca when an Elysean patrol encountered a group of foreign soldiers near the eastern coastline. The soldiers bore the flag of the Iberian Crown, a rival empire with its own ambitions in Pan-Arica.

The Iberian officer, a grizzled veteran nad Captain Hernando Castillo, was brought to Fort Saint-Louis under orders to "discuss" the situation.

In Roux's command tent, the two n faced each other across a wooden table.

"You Elyseans move quickly," Castillo said, his tone neutral. "We had assud Fort Saint-Louis was abandoned."

"Assumptions can be dangerous," Roux replied. "Especially in war."

Castillo smirked. "War? No, no, Marshal. This is not war. This is discovery. Pan-Arica is a vast land, unclaid by any one power. My king believes in peaceful expansion."

"Peaceful expansion," Roux repeated. "And yet, here you are, wandering into my territory."

"Is it your territory?" Castillo asked. "Or are you simply claiming what does not belong to you?"

Roux leaned forward. "Everything belongs to Elysea if we decide it does."

The tension in the room was palpable.

Castillo chuckled. "A bold statent. But you and I both know the truth—our nations will not settle this with words."

Roux did not smile. "Then prepare for what cos next."

Castillo stood, giving a slight bow. "A pleasure eting you, Marshal. Let us see who claims Pan-Arica in the end."

The Iberians left the fort peacefully, but the ssage was clear—conflict was coming.

Roux wasted no ti. If war was inevitable, he would strike first.

Giraud was placed in charge of training additional cavalry units. Fortifications around Nouvelle-Solenne were reinforced. More supply ships were requested from the holand.

At night, Roux stood atop the walls of Fort Saint-Louis, staring out into the darkness. The land ahead was vast, untad, and full of enemies.

Elysea had carved its first foothold into Pan-Arica.

Now, they would take the rest.

The wind carried the distant sounds of drums from the wilderness, a reminder that the native tribes still watched, still resisted. Roux tightened his grip on the stone battlents. The Iberians, the natives, and the wilderness itself—all stood in Elysea's path. But the empire did not stop for obstacles. It crushed them.