*Authors note: Sorry for the delay this chapter. I took a little time to consider the over all direction of my story and several elements thereof. I would have had this chapter finished the previous day, or else this morning, however, bae wanted to talk last night. She gets scary when she doesnt get what she wants and I have no intentions of dying at the tender age of 18. So there you have it. Also, I'm probably going to start my second series soon. It will be called Devastation, just wait on it.*

Creon paced restlessly across the floor of his tent. I need more strength, this wont be enough to turn back the tide against them. Dammit Gabriel you lucky OP bastard, it isnt fair. During the previous wave of enemies from the Southern Alliance, Creon and Gabriel lost the same amount of soldiers despite gabriel having a larger force. Normally this would be considered natural, a force more equal to the opposing force would lose less men, however Gabrel's army was completely assault-based. their offensive power was top notch... but defensively all they could really rely on was the armored drakons. And this was definitely a defensive battle.

Creon had asked Gabriel about it, and he seemed to dodge the question. Creon thought this was suspicious. They had decided to reveal everything regarding their militaries to each other in order to build trust as well as make more efficient strategies. If Gabriel had held something back, that was a violation of their alliance. Creon was sure to stress this to Gabriel.

"It's..... probably better that you see it. It will be much easier to explain afterwards. Check the online forums, It's probably all over the place." Gabriel said, averting his eyes. "I wasnt trying to hide it or anything bro, but it technically isnt a military secret, but a personal one, I didnt want to use it until the time was right and..." and you dont know if you might possibly have to use whatever it is against me someday, finished Creon mentally.

Creon logged out and checked the forums like Gabriel suggested. What he saw there amazed him, shocked him, and at the same time made him feel a little fear. Gabriel, was commanding his army from the top of the highest hill. Th terrain was hilly all around, Creon had suggested this battlefield to Gabriel in order to slow down enemy cavalry. The drakons wouldn't mind it because the narrow passages and occasional wide open spaces were similar to their natural habitat: a huge system of caves underneath the same mountains where Creon had found Shao Ghul.

The battle began As expected, with the enemy having trouble navigating the hills, and the Ezzian army attacking them all throughout the hills. However, the video skipped to two days later, and the enemy had adapted, and began pushing Gabriel back. After losing a couple thousand men, Gabriel personally went down to lead the attack the enemy, whose hq had come very close to his own during their advance.

As Gabriel ran down the hill, it happened. He transformed into a drakon. His scales were the same as his hair, golden with brown flecks, which shined as they caught the light. He wasnt much bigger than the other drakons, about 12 meters long, but he was obviously different. He had asort of majestic air about him, and after his appearance, the other drakons changed. they became more aggressive, and rushed to Gabriel's side. They began to push the enemy back, then the video ended.

Jameson had sat there for a moment, then got up and logged back in. "Gabriel how did you get that?" he asked in a calm voice. Being angry at him for hiding it would not help anything, so it would be best to simply move forward with the situation. This was a good thing after all. If he could emulate that power, it would bolster their chances of winning.

"Well," Gabriel started, "It all started after you visited me with Shao Ghul. I too wanted a dragon corps after that, I mean who wouldnt? but when i went to the mountains in Aquila, All the drakes and wyverns were gone, they had joined you. I had almost lost hope of having dragon allies until I saw one: a giant lizard crawling out of a cave. It attacked, but I and the small warband i took with me subdued it and questioned it. It wasn''t very smart, but it answered our questions. it seemed that it had come from a huge colony further underground."

Gabriel paused to reflect on what happened next then resumed. " I told the warband I was with to wait at the entrance, as I would go alone into the cave with the lizard. I'm not good at stealth, but even I know that the sounds of ten sets of armor marching through the cave would sound suspicious. when we entered the cave, I was sure to let the lizard know in no uncertain terms, that if it were to turn on me, I would make sure to kill it first, even if I were to die. It understood, and I got on top of it. as we traveled downwards using the least populated routes, we began seeing bigger versions of the lizards we had passed earlier. I was told that these were the racial evolution of the lizards: drakons.

" But anyway, skipping all the boring parts and minor fights, after a week, we eventually got to the heart of the mountains where the chief was. I had planned to negotiate with him, and form an alliance, as now i assume you did. However, as soon as we approached him, he made a huge ruckus drawing all the denizens of the caves toward us. Then, declaring him a traitor, he killed the lizard I was with. in my rage I immediately attacked the chief drakon. The lizard and I could not be called close friends, but after traveling with someone for a week, you begin to develop a sort of kinship. That and I'm fairly sure it was going to kill me after. but anyway, it was a rough battle that I barely won. After I cut him down, i fell into my enemy, and inadvertently slipped into a pool of its blood, unconscious. when i woke, I wondered how I was still alive, and why the other drakons stood around, not trying to kill me after i just killed their leader. then a bunch of notifications appeared. Apparently I completed some sort of ritual which involved me killing the chief of the dragon clan and bathing in its blood. I received a racial change to Dragon-Kin, and the functional title of Drako-"

"Functional title?" Creon interrupted. "Yeah, I never heard of one before I actually got one either. Theyre permanent, and are actually added to your name. If you could see my status window, you would see that my name is Gabriel Drako Skylark. Anyway, after that, I became the new chief, and gained the ability to shift into a drakon. There are other transformations, but drakon and half drakon are the easiest. they seem to boost the morale of my clan too. there were a few other changes, but that's pretty much it."

It had been three in-game weeks since that conversation. Creon had been desperately trying to strengthen his army before the 5 million men from the north came back to attack them. He had less men and resources than the first time. He wasnt going to get any more, as most of the players had already enlisted, and many of the male npcs were also assisting the war effort. He couldnt pull from the reserves either, as they were the armies that protected the cities. Worst news, the enemy had began guarding against assassinations. So he began working on quality. Because of the victories, his army was fairly high leveled, with the average in game level being 60, and theirs being 70. Creon began having them do skill training in their spare time. Stat training was part of their military drills, and included lifting weights, running, and striking the straw dummies. They rarely trained their skills other than [Sword Mastery].

After Creon rectified this,He began reassigning the other species in the army. he had let the generals fill in their troops as they so wished, but looking at the way the troops were assigned, he immediately regretted it. Sprite foot soldiers, gnome archers, elven heavy infantry, the list went on. Creon spent the whole day having people reassigned to areas that made more sense.

Then he began working on himself, training as hard as he could, trying to raise his stats. He also looked amongst the various books he had bought for ways to become stronger. If he could attain the sage class, perhaps he could be strong enough to tip the balance, but he didnt think he could meditate for ten days straight. Even if he could, that meant two days in the real world with out food or water, too dangerous. He had Cello ask around the other species as well, but they pretty much all had generic answers, or solutions Creon couldnt take.

Then three days later, Cello brought a group of sprites to his tent. The leader among them addressed Creon. "Excuse me sir, but i believe we may have a solution to your problem... although it wont be pleasant." Creon was ready to endure pain or discomfort. he had worked for too long, done far too much to let it all end now. "Speak brother, I'm prepared." he said. The Sprite looked at him with an expression Creon could not recognize, then asked him: "How would you like to become a spirit?"