After situating the city, Jason took his army to march on the next kingdom that had broken off from the Free Nation. Marching to each city, sieging them, and engaging in battle if the need arose took time and attention. Attention that should be focused on defeating the Krizians and Chris. The longer this went on, the worse it would be for all of the people of the Free Nation. Chris wasn’t the type of guy to stop once he started to win and the more he won the worse his treatment of his defeated enemies would be. The former Krizian scout had decided to stay in the Free Nation, in particular in the Free City to work closely with Jason. She was free with her telling of her experiences in the Krizian Empire. The more that she revealed about what was going on the deeper Jason felt that it was not only necessary to defend against the Krizians, but that it was needed to actively attack and destroy all of those apparatuses that contributed to Chris’s order remaining in power, terrorizing the people that he conquered. But her experiences were limited to being outside Chris’ inner circle, having been just a soldier in his army. Jason had the feeling that if she could tell him what happened in Chris’ inner circle he would find himself disgusted beyond anything he had felt before. That all had to be put in the background to reunite the Free Nation, but in the meantime he encouraged the former Krizian scout to tell her stories as they traveled from city to city to spread the reality of what their true enemy was and let those who would feel the need to rise up against such evil do so, join their cause, and end the menace before it came to them as it certainly would if left to its own devices.

As the Jason’s army marched new soldiers joined up with them. Their numbers grew with every passing day and soon their numbers swelled to an army of a size larger than even the populations of the largest cities of the medieval age of Earth. Realizing what was happening, the kings of the rebellious Kingdoms made an allegiance. Their pact was to aid in mutual defense against the Free Nation. They agreed to join their militaries together and bring to bear the full weight of their might against Jason’s army, believing that they could be victorious. They chose a city that they would reinforce to become a fortress, using the work that Jason had started to defend the city against the Krizians. They would gather their forces, allowing Jason to believe that they stood no chance to win, but instead, they pulled back, leaving minimal forces in other settlements while building up the armory and fortifications in a single city where they would make their stand, repel the forces of the Free Nation, and begin their new age of expansion.

They thought this was a brilliant strategy that would surprise Jason, but the reality was that Jason had sent out scouts long ago which had informed him of the plans that had been set into motion. He played into them, wanting to cause as little damage as possible to the infrastructure that he had spent so much to build up while also avoiding as many casualties as possible. He set about marching a path and engaging in battles with settlements that were strictly easy to predict, allowing his enemies to choose a place of their liking which had in fact been targeted by Jason as the optimal place to hold this battle. This was the first war that Jason had been involved in. Had he been left to his own ability to strategize he’d never have thought of such a plan, but he had former military to guide him, that had been involved with many battles. Thankfully, his opponents were likewise neophytes to war. The leaders of most cities that were of any concern were of some combination of J`nk species. They were good fighters, but their instincts and cultures made them inferior leaders compared to Humans and Eaugr`n, both of which lead very few, if any, settlements at that moment in time. Their lack of strategic combat experience was just another added deficit in their abilities, causing them to make poor decisions that almost any Human would tell you were mistakes from very early in their lives. They were never told to not put all their eggs in one basket and they’ve never experienced guerilla tactics. If they had they would never have been fooled into such a ploy.

The marching city that was Jason’s army made their move towards the fortress that the rebel kings had set up. At this point, there was no hiding their movements. Jason took aim and lead the army from the last of the conquered cities in their path to the fortress.

The bells rung at the fortress signalling the approach of the enemy. Everyone there knew what that meant. They hurried to finish what they were doing and packed up everything that they could. They were well prepared and had no stragglers. Inside the walls there wasn’t a quiet place to get one’s bearings. If one wasn’t careful one wrong step and they’d run into someone speeding by to their next destination where they surely were preparing to hunker down for the impending attack or checking over their arms to make sure that they were all in good working order. They had all heard the stories of what had happened to the other cities that stood against the Free City. All the rebel kings that stood against them had been killed or taken captive. Jason had imposed his direct control over every city taken. Whatever they were before, they were now under his command to do with as he wanted. And those who didn’t even fight were held accountable and were being tried for crimes they didn’t commit. However, they were also torn. They were also hearing about the enemy that Jason was so eager to fight against. The one that in his efforts to prepare to fight against he had made them suffer, making them believe that rebelling was the right course of action. They had begun to doubt whether their leaders were in the right when they rebelled, but it was too late for them now. It seemed that in the eyes of the Free Nation all who fought against them were the same. However, there was also a third story that was being told underground. While it was true that Jason was bringing everyone to trial that were in those cities, it was mostly a formality. Those who were found to have done nothing wrong were being let free with no consequences. Only those who were directly responsible for crimes, whether it be murder, rebellion, or the stealing from traders under orders or not. This was being suppressed by the rebel kings however and made sure that they promoted the spread of those rumors that would make Jason look as scary a threat as they could make him.

The Humans that had found homes with these rebel kings were not so easily made to believe the rumors. They’d grown up in a world full of propaganda while the other species’ hadn’t the concept. Some kept silent about their thoughts, not wanting to shake things up, and liking the place that had grown accustomed to on Debris. Others secretly passed the truth on. They organized and spread support for Jason and the Free Nation. Even if the rumors were untrue they had to take the risk. The Krizian Empire was a real threat. The rebel kings hadn’t suppressed any of that information as they believed it just helped keep everyone afraid of being associated with the Free Nation. Instead, what happened was that most took note that if the Krizians were really the threat that they were said to be they couldn’t be fighting amongst themselves. They needed to reunite under the best leader who had their best interests at heart. Even if Jason had become a dictator and they would have to be punished by an unjust court system the Krizian threat mean that they needed to come back together and fight as one, but it was only a minority that would raise and support the subject, nowhere near enough people to overturn the order of the rebel kings all of which had taken up residence in the fortress after all, what better place to be than the safest place they could be, and this fortress was definitely the safest place in all of their territories, or so they thought.

Jason’s army surrounded the fortress on all sides. They had become a large enough force to do so on their way to the battle. They had left men in each city the conquered as they went, but other allied cities sent men to their efforts, having come to realize the need to have a unified force… or wanting some of the glory of conquest for themselves. In the time that had passed since Jason had started on his quest Mya had created a voice amplification system (to much of Free City’s population’s dismay).

Jason stepped forward from the masses of soldiers that had formed into ranks ready to storm the fortress, putting a device similar to a microphone to his mouth, “Rebels,” he addressed all in the fortress, “throw down your arms. You will be treated fairly and well. There is no need for us to fight and cost each other our lives. You have been tricked by your leaders, lead you to attack your fellow Free Nation citizens, and now tell you that you will be held accountable for their misdeeds. All those who have gathered here today, they have no desire to see you harmed. The wish to resolve our conflict in a peaceful manner. We were willing to leave you be. Let you be separate from us, but your leaders continued to order you to attack our people and you followed them. We only want this to end so that we can protect ourselves and you from the looming peril of the Krizians. We want you to join back with us and face justice. The Krizians will not be so forgiving of such behavior. To move forward, you must be held accountable for your actions.” Speakers repeated his words, broadcasting them from all around the army, loud enough that all within the fortress could hear his words clearly.

In response, there was silence. Not a single sound could be heard coming from the fortress. An hour went by with nothing happening. Then, several explosions were heard coming from within the fortress. Another half hour passed before anything else happened. The gates burst open and thousands of soldiers poured out carrying more than a dozen people dressed in rich garb. They were tossed to the ground. From afar they looked to be adorned with the most brilliant of garments, but when Jason and several men approached them it could be seen that however much they spent on their clothes they were now torn apart and dirty and their hair were a mess. They tried to stand but beaten and bloodied, it was a challenge to stay on their feet.

“What’s this?” Jason asked, looking at the nearest soldier.

“We surrender. Have mercy.”

Jason nodded, “You don’t have to worry. I follow my word. You made the right decision.”

Jason signaled for his men to take the leaders into custody. Knowing what he wanted they did what he we wanted. They had gone through the process dozens of times, This would hopefully be the last they had to engage in conflict with their allies, but it would be some time for them to get word back from the other rebel cities yet to have been conquered before they would know for sure.