Aya Bandstone
"Those blasted golems switched tactics the moment hope showed its face," Holr cursed through clenched teeth while the healer worked on his injuries.
I didn't say anything and continued with my briefing to the man in front of me. The battle had changed suddenly after we defeated the twelve golems.
After that, everything went downhill.
I turned to Colonel Uram; he was talking with Generals. The other looked disappointed, while General Azalia's face was unreadable.
We didn't want to leave it to the third chance. We wanted to win against them on the second chance, but the golems turned out to be far tougher, and they could change the strategy mid-fight.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Lt. Colonel," the man thanked me as I finished briefing and went to the other officer.
An hour passed, and Colonel Uram walked toward us. "Rest all of you; we have a big battle to fight tomorrow," he ordered and walked away.
A few minutes later, I walked into a small stone room with a stone bed.
A private room; it's a privilege of the officers and one I appreciate a lot.
The room is carved out of the mine; aside from a mattress and a few necessary items, it is bare. I removed my armor piece by piece and placed it on the table before walking toward the bathroom.
When I came out forty-five minutes later, I felt much better. My mood is still bad, but not as bad as before.
I lay down on the bed, thinking about the battle and those damn powerful golems. They are the strongest opponents I have ever faced, and they are not even alive.
We had a plan, but still had our asses handed to us by them.
I closed my eyes to sleep, but sleep didn't come. Instead, I twisted and turned before I gave up. A few seconds later, I got up and sat cross-legged.
A second later, an aura came out of me.
I practiced the aura until I was fully drained. So, when I lie down and close my eyes, forty minutes later, the sleep that had been eluding me came instantly.
…
Silver
'Do I need to come?' asked Valentina. "No, the problem may be huge, but manageable," I replied to her.
She didn't know the real nature of what we had found, and I am not going to tell her. There had been attempts to snoop on communications over the past few months.
I have to talk as if somebody is listening to the conversation.
"How are things in the city?" I asked. It's been two days since I left the city, and I am worried about it, even though I know Valentina can handle things.
'Good,' she replied.
"Any problems?" I asked, not really believing, there is always something every day.
'Aside from a minor accident at the tower, everything is wonderful.' Hearing that, I couldn't help but smile. Accidents in the tower had become the norm.
In the past few months, there has never been a week when an accident hasn't happened.
Still, despite that, we are making progress, slow as it may be and expensive. It had gone quite over budget, but it is giving us experience and knowledge.
We might have difficulty with this one, but if we succeed, building a second one would be easier and involve far fewer accidents.
"You had a meeting with the merchant guild. How did it go?" I asked. This was a tricky one; they needed something we couldn't give.
We already gave them, but they want more.
'I straight-up told them no. We already gave them land, but they wanted more,' she replied, sounding exasperated.
The merchant guild had already been given a large plot, but, knowing the necessity, we allotted them more land to build their grand new building, which is nearing completion.
They wanted more despite not truly needing it.
"I am sure they wouldn't have liked the answer," I said, and she laughed. "They showed their displeasure in polite words." This time, it is my turn to laugh.
They know she has my confidence, and they remain polite. There is another reason for this.
She is gaining more power over them. I am handing more and more of the city's responsibilities to her. These include powerful institutions like the merchant guild and the mage guild.
As the dominion grows and develops, I get more responsibilities.
It is too much to handle the responsibilities of dominion and micromanage the city. Valentina is more than capable of supporting the city, and I am considering bestowing upon her a higher title than she currently holds, along with additional responsibilities.
I need to do this.
So I could effectively handle the responsibilities of dominion and the problems I am currently facing here.
If I had not handed many of the city's responsibilities to her, I would have a lot of work waiting for me when I returned to the city. Hell, I would have been worried about it while I was here.
"Keep me updated," I said. 'I will, but don't worry, others and I can handle things here; you deal with the problems you have there,' I laughed before cutting the call and pulling back my aura.
"Lord of Inam wishes to talk to you tonight," Zela informed. "Tell him, I can't today. I will talk to him tomorrow."
"If it is about the legacy, tell him to call Carla." I am not taking any outside calls, unless it is an emergency, which it is not, or she would have mentioned it.
She nodded, and her staff lit up, while I picked up the file.
It is the information on the second battle against the Golems. I already read it, but I am feeling nervous enough that I am reading it again.
The golems are powerful, so I wanted to go there and fight myself, but it's not the right choice. The information about the golems' fight reinforced that.
If I go there, I will make things worse.
I was reading it when a knock rang out on my door. Garzong opened it on the other side; it is General Irab.
"They are ready, my lord," he informed. I nodded and got up before walking out of the room.
…
Orok Uram
"Anybody have questions?" I asked while explaining my strategy.
In front of me is a massive board with replicas of golems, including an arial one. The general's mage had done an excellent job actualizing the golems and the men.
"It's extremely risky," said General Irab. "It is, but we tried safe, and it didn't work," I replied.
I looked at my men before turning to General Azalia and Lord Silver. Neither of them has said a word since I started explaining my new strategy.
"It is a tight strategy, Colonel. Every piece needs to work as it is intended, and even then, you will need a lot of luck," she said, and she is absolutely right.
On the last attempt, they caught us off guard despite our expectations.
"It is, General, but I think it is the best strategy, given the limits," he replied.
If I could have doubled the numbers against the golems, I would have been much more confident and chosen a safer strategy, but I could not.
I have to work with the numbers and conditions attached to them.
One of which is that I couldn't change more than a third of the people I took in the first time. It was a good thing; I chose capable, versatile, and powerful people.
I changed twenty-two people, added four more shield warriors, five mages, and seven archers. In the initial brigade, I didn't have archers.
I recruited them later, and I reformed the battalion. I didn't use them in the first tries, but now I am using them. I would need them to deal with aerial artillery.
The rest were from my company, which I had replaced, the ones I had chosen earlier.
"Good, then prepare," she said. I nodded before walking away.
The hours passed quickly, and now, I am standing behind the screen with one hundred and nineteen standing in front of me in neat lines.
"This is our last chance," I said, letting the words settle over the assembled soldiers. "We have to succeed—not for ourselves, but for our families, our friends, and everyone waiting for us in the dominion."
I paused and looked across their faces. I knew every one of them, including the men under Lt. Colonel Bandstone.
"The golems are not just another challenge. They are our chance to stop the enemies from marching toward us. If we defeat them, we bring safety back to the dominion—and to the people we have sworn to protect."
"So give everything you have. For our homes! For the people waiting for us! For the Dominion!" I shouted.
"For the Dominion!" they thundered back, their voices rising as one until the stone itself seemed to tremble. I smiled and turned before taking the step into the screen for one last time.
This time, we must succeed at any cost.