The next week passed by without many issues arising. Ares spent most morning working out, running with his soldiers and then lifting heavier and heavier rocks, usually pushing or carrying them on the way towards the shrine after his run.

He started allowing many of the squads to have their own space to train, though had them compete against a second company to motivate them and to make sure the space was being used efficiently. The Marching Blades and Roaring Tridents had been kitted out with very specific weapons relative to their names, and were wearing the heaviest sets of armour. They would often train together, though they were also looking out for the hardest working soldiers in order to replenish their ranks.

The Phoenix Guard was still being formed. There were already about eighteen prospects that had started training. They would train about as much as the other special units, the Marching Blades and the Roaring Tridents, but were given heavy sacks to carry around. They were also helping the farmers and the crafters, carrying various items for them, before then eating only once in the evening. They slept quite early, though woke up early as well in order to begin their training.

The watchtowers had been mostly built, and the area around it was being tilled and cleared in order for the various squads there to live whilst sustaining themselves. The pathway had been mostly made as well, though of course the longest and hardest part of it, making a flat stone path, was still to be laid forth.

The watchtowers were tall, and the tops of them expanded so that the giant ball of fodder and twigs could be set on fire a little ways away from the tower and then they could play the drums at the top to warn of anything. Ares was still figuring out the system, though he had made it so that the more they slammed the drum, the more urgent the problem was. The fires were for extreme emergencies, the kind that would require mobilisation of as many soldiers as possible, half of which would travel on the straight path, the other half to go around to the original path so that neither was for want of soldiers.

The wolffolk Company under Ares’ wing, dubbed the Flying Wolves, trained by themselves often. They were shooting hundreds upon hundreds of arrows everyday, and the best thirty six would be rewarded with their own special blades, as well as some black viper leather. This would be a competition that was to last over the month, but Ares had said that there would be more competitions. Ares had them shoot on foot as well as on wolfback, and made sure that the best thirty on wolfback gained the rewards, and the best six on foot did as well. He was trying to get them to focus on wolfback in order for him to utilise the rather impressive way that the Mongols had overcome their foes and created one of the largest empires ever known to man at the time they had, and in such speed.

Of course Ares had been thinking about the various unsavoury ways they had managed to spread their name and the fear of it along the path. He had already thought about it many weeks ago when he slew his first group of soldiers, but he decided that perhaps it was a little too much… still…

Then his thoughts went to his family. Runar, Ozar and Ozri, whom were all growing rather quickly. Runar had begun headbutting him in order to get his attention, and the pair of twins had learnt how to roll to places. How adorable were his kids? The cutest for sure.

Each time he thought about the evils he chose to commit, he would think of his children. It was foolish, evil was evil, and yet…

The fort had made great progress and most of it, or at the very least most of the base, had been completed. He had a few hundred soldiers working on it on any given day, swapping out a squad at a time every five to six days. It was massive, and the round walls had been quite awkward to deal with, but the various stonesmiths had taken the challenge to heart.

The area around the outer walls were the lowest, and then each layer of wall increased in height and the ground was brought up. Three layers of walls, with enough space to sprint between each of them. No doubt there could be at least a few hundred people living within here with ease, perhaps even close to a thousand. Not including the expansions he had planned.

The pillars that were to connect between each wall was no longer an option, Ares had allowed the stonesmiths to change the original plans he had made, and he was glad they had spoken up. The fort was far more imposing than he had expected, and yet they hadn’t formed the greatest part of the fort as of yet, the various towers. They had formed the skeleton of it and had already begun forming the base layers, it had been the last thing they were to work on. There was a single, large tower on one side towards the inner section, and then a smaller tower on the outer wall opposite it.

Ares inhaled the fresh air deeply and smiled, looking between the stonesmiths. He slapped one against their back. “Good work! Good work!” He said as he laughed and then went around to inspect each wall, though spent most of the time laughing with joy.

Heria had come to tell him off. “Your laughter is upsetting the people nearby.” She said as she poked him with the back of her spear.

“I can’t help it! It’s so-” He looked around to see everyone else. There were a large number of eyes on him and very quickly he stood up straighter. ‘I’m the King, aren’t I?’ He cursed at himself. “Carry on.” He said as he made his way to Heria’s Company, which had been dubbed the Flaming Wolves. Ares hadn’t asked why they had been called as such, though had spent some time flying around to see if they had burnt anything down.

“You’re a King, aren’t you? You need to be more aware of your behaviour.” Heria said as she then poked Ares’ back with the spear again.

“Well, aren’t you meant to be my Major? You shouldn’t be poking me unless you want me to punish you.”

“You wouldn’t punish me.” Heria said as she raised her nose at him from atop the wolf. “You like me too much.”

“That’s why I would punish you.”

“Oh, that kind of punishment?”

Ares sucked in the air through his teeth and then shook his head before leaping up into the air and then flying back to check on the towers. ‘Seriously, what a brat! A beast!’ Ares chuckled as he flew back to the main city, flying over the watchtowers.