Chapter 33: Territory and Recruitment

My return to the surface was met with a warm reception and once again I couldn’t help but tear up at the sight of my family. Amaya, Tara, and Akash where so much bigger and I smiled as they crowded around me and began to chatter. Giving them hugs one by one. It was a pleasant experience knowing that I was loved and missed. My mother burst into tears at the sight of me and I couldn’t help but join her.

After a while I finally received the opportunity to retire to my room. Murnia led the way. She too had grown, and her dark hair gave off a luscious shine. For the first time in years, I would remove my armor without having to call upon it and a weight I hadn’t know I was carrying removed itself from my shoulders as I settled into my room. Nothing had changed since the night I left with the only exception being the size of the clothes. Unequipping my weapons gave me a sense of reluctance as I had gotten so use to my life being in danger constantly that without a weapon, I felt almost naked. To compromise I kept my punch blade that was always strapped to my thigh and my dagger on my person. Tonight, would be a feast in my honor and I would be receiving multiple items for accomplishing my mission. But for now… now I would sleep. Now I would rest.

*

I surveyed a map of the land that I received to train my troops and a gift from my father from completing my pilgrimage. Amaya, Roan, and a few of the promising soldiers such as Kai and Mel were here in attendance as well. They where squad commanders Amaya had appointed in my absence, and I appreciated her diligence in training my troops in my absence, but they were my troops, and I would be reorganizing the entire thing. I made sure Amaya knew of my appreciation, however. My cousin had truly grown from the little girl she was prior however I was an entire life ahead of her and had different views and values. She wanted me to recruit sons and daughters of nobility yet with the way I would be training this force. I would not need any inquiries upon my methods. It seemed however that she too would be creating her own army and was already in the process of doing so. With Lord Fross guiding her as a mentor.

That territory that I would be governing while I trained my forces was south of Ashburn following along the Great River as it snaked its way through the continent.

“Are you sure you don’t want to recruit any sons or daughters of the western nobility? With the quest uncle has assigned to you…”

“Thank you, Amaya, but no. I have my own plans and reasons.”

“Many have complained, and their parents have even spoke up. They feel that the Kans are not taking their heritage into account.”

“I don’t give a rats ass about it. I need men loyal to me and only me. The sons and daughters are loyal to their families first before anything else just like we are.”

Amaya pursed her lips before nodding. I knew she didn’t understand my reasonings, but I was already setting things in motion.

‘Missions.’

Mission:

Activate the System Monolith

Details:

Place both hands upon the System Monolith to activate it and convert a minimum of 100 people into new aspect users.

A breath was release as I looked over the mission and map. Construction on my city was already underway and a city able to house ten thousand would be completed in under two weeks. With plumbing and mage lights already in place. This would be a pseudo military base strictly speaking and one where I would train the troops that would launch the offensive into a new world. I couldn’t lie I was nervous and excited. My mother, aunt and Amaya had broken the news that one last thing needed to be done for me to become the officially recognized heir to the Kan dukedom. Well, if my siblings didn’t challenge my position, but I don’t believe that was something I would have to worry about.

I was a bit mad at first when I heard the news. Especially after going on such a long journey but after I completed the mission by meeting Alice and Alex the two blacksmiths, I recruited in the Empires capital. My mind changed for I would be the sole person in charge of the expedition with my own troops and in a world far from the eyes of people just as powerful as my family. I could do whatever I wanted. At least within reason.

After the small impromptu meeting with a few of the notable figures of my army I was impressed yet disappointed. Most of the people sat at tier one with only a few like the squad commanders being tier two. The Path of the Body cultivation method that was for the military use of the Kan family was… far below what the actual members of my family used. It didn’t help that the common man understanding of the body was abysmal. It didn’t help that there was no higher education system with easy access to commoners most being reserved for the nobility. For a commoner to rise they must do something truly outstanding or have a backing of a guild such as the Thieves, Blacksmith, Merchant, or something else such as EGER.

Thankfully I have aspects and if I remembered anything I remembered that aspects will slowly come to replace your cultivation method.

A few weeks passed in the blink of an eye and my city was ready to be christen into the dukedom. Troops from Lord Fross where here and ready to help train my growing force.

I stared at the small crowd of people who had come. My mother and aunt being amongst the crowd. I’d yet to pick a name for the city and even in the moments before the christening I was still at a loss. Do I name it after myself like great conquerors from earth did or do I come up with something entirely new?

“Aurora,” I said to Amaya on my left.

“Hmm?”

“Aurora the city of Dawn and New Beginnings.”

“That’s ahhh, interesting.”

I rolled my eyes at her, and she laughed. Dax waved at me from the crowd of onlookers waiting for the official event to begin and I waved back. This would be a city of new beginnings.

Recruitment was already underway, and I would even be hosting a small tournament in the city to attract visitors and adventurers. Hopefully I could snag a few. Tomorrow after the celebration my aunt and mother would sit down with me and tell me more about the worlds under our control and what it meant in terms of status and power.

I still had the technique I snagged from SEE GOD, SLAY GOD sect and so little time to go over it. With all these responsibilities and obligations, I’d yet to have any time to test my aspect as the runic cuffs that had cut my strength in half had finally been removed. So many things and people needed and wanted my attention, and it was daunting. I now understood a bit on the insight it would take to lead a city, and, in a few decades, I would lead the entire dukedom. I would meet the challenge and I would go even further beyond!

“Family and friends, I would like to welcome you to the City of Aurora,” I said with a flourish.

***

Ahana rubbed her hand over her belly and sat in the chair waiting for her nephew and daughter arrival. Keala sat in the chair next to her reading a book and appearing relaxed. Ahana chuckled as she knew Keala was anything but relaxed. The amount of money she poured into her son’s expedition could fund a barony for a year. The boy was supposed to use his territory to generate his own funds, but Keala would hear none of it and with Vasu out of the picture… well Ahana wasn’t going to stop her. She would have done so if Keala hadn’t. Ahana was part of the faction of her family who wanted to do without the stupid test the heirs had to undergo. Although she kept quiet as she knew the necessity of them. That didn’t mean she had to like them.

She sat up straighter as Amaya and Aegis walked into the room.

“Aunty.”

“Mother.”

They said respectively and at the same time while looking in different directions for each. Ahana wanted to laugh as they were almost like her two favorite twins.

“Hello children,” Ahana said. She waved her hand and a servant enter pouring tea and bringing snacks for them to enjoy as they discussed. Keala put her book away and her starlit eyes focused on the children.

After a bit of small talk and enjoyment of the pastries Ahana got down to business.

“As you know in a few years’ time you will be traveling to an entirely new world and conquering it under the flag of the Kan. Today we’ll be teaching you a bit about the wider world and our understanding of it,” Ahana said. Looking to the children to make sure they understood the gravity of the conversation.

“First let us discuss the history of humanity a bit on Nia to help you understand how and why we came to such a position. Roughly six thousand years ago it is said our ancestors arrived on the continent Nia coming from the sky. We know not why but that history is not for me to tell.

In our arrival and after our enslavement and freedom from the greenskin races it was the humans who discovered the secret to planar and dimensional travel. We know that these worlds exist somewhere in the vastness of the universe, but it was in the study of old ruins that we discovered not only how to build teleportation gates, but interstellar means of travel were discovered as well. With this travel we discovered new worlds and races not on the continent of Nia perhaps they exist somewhere in Gaia. I would not know.

What we discovered along with these new worlds is that the magic and essence of these worlds where in a lesser quality than the one available on Nia allowing us to exert dominance over the native races of the worlds we conquered.”

Ahana paused taking a sip of her tea and eating a pastry before continuing.

“That does not mean your mission will be easy. In fact, your mission will be incredibly hard as you are limited in the resources available to you and will not receive any help in conquering the world. Whatever force you bring is all that you will have.

To this date the dukedom has conquered what we call three Lesser Worlds and a small handful of Minor Worlds. The difference between these worlds is the quality of the mana available on them. Most will have little to no essence in truth.

Minor worlds can host a up to a Land God. Lesser Worlds can host up to rank two beings in power or Sky God’s, yet we’ve found that the quality of these beings is… lesser. In truth they are pseudo–Sky Gods and cannot truly express the power one from Nia can easily dispatch. Keala if you will.”

An illusion appeared before Amaya and Aegis whose attention was wrapped in listening to Ahana. The two watched in fascination as two powerful beings battled. The sky was on fire and the earth was shattered and still the two fought swinging blades of pure destruction at one another. Apparitions of different creatures appeared in the air and did battle against one another as the two called upon the power of their bloodline. Keala waved her hand and the illusion dispersed.

“That was a battle on one of these lesser world between two powerhouses of the Empire. The entire continent they fought on was destroyed. Not all at once by any means but roughly 4 million square miles were gone. The battle raged on for weeks. We have not taught you this but the power of a ranked being drastically increases. You will come to understand once you finish the Path of the Body and you the Mind Amaya.”

“It is by your fathers wish that you will conquer a new Lesser World for the Kan family.”

Ahana watch the children’s face morph between a colorful number of emotions. Confusion, rage, fear, resentment and finally acceptance.

“How… after seeing something like that could I even hope to accomplish something like that.”

“Ahana stop teasing them!”

Ahana chuckled at the confusion on the children’s face at the words of Keala.

“Your mother and I have fought against this decision and so you will be traveling to a Minor World to conquer. We have already determined the world and you will receive the information on it shortly.”

She watched the tension visibly leave the children’s bodies and another chuckle escaped her lips.

“You will conquer a minor world and provide us with new resources such as mana stones, precious ores and gems and a new source of revenue lessoning the burden on our people and allowing us to reduce the taxes further and create more opportunities for the people of the Kan dukedom to excel.”

Ahana watched the excitement radiate off Aegis body while her own daughter expressed much of the same but in a reserved manner. She smiled savagely.