"The rumour of a mysterious military force that has taken the Abyssal Forest seems to have spread. From what I have heard, a couple of them makes us seem quite devilish," said Roland.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"For example, one of the popular ones is that we have mind-controlling magic, to create soldiers etc."

"My favourite is that we sacrifice people to control the 'dragons'." chuckles Christina.

"However, the people within our territories know that all the supplies and new improvements come from our 'sinister' organisation, so they will be hard to persuade to believe these rumours." Aidan also joins in with a joke.

"Do we have any idea where these rumours are coming from?"

"Mostly from the Empire, so I assume that either Otis or Tristan is behind it. Navar wouldn't use such tactics, but that's because he's got muscles for brains," explained Christina, as she had the most interaction with them.

"It could also be the Loyalists faction, who are still on the run," Roland suggested.

"We have units tracking them down, but most of them are staying low," I answered.

"Fair enough; I'm surprised that those old traditional fools are staying low," says Christina.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, contrary to what you might think about the Loyalists faction. Their loyalty doesn't lie with Orklarth but with the family itself. The Loyalists were loyal as long as whoever was on the throne had the right to be in the first place."

"Plus, with the Emperor now imprisoned, and soon to be executed, who knows what they will do next," added Roland. "Though there is a high chance they would try and free Orklarth to restore the Empire."

The Loyalist faction could cause problems depending on their actions. If they managed to free the Emperor, they could start another war to reclaim the Empire, and we would be right at square one. Though it was a problem that could be easily solved, none of us really showed any concern on our faces.

Even if they managed to restore the Empire, it would be even weaker than before, allowing the Weston Union to easily storm through it.

"Christina, I will also dispatch a battalion stationed in your territory, as I have done with Roland and Aidan. Similarly, they will listen to your orders unless it is for personal gains or not within our interest."

"I understand."

"The next thing I want to talk about is the human supremacy that the Empire was known forever since Orklarth took the throne. We shall be known to allow races like demi-humans into our territories. Are we all in agreement?"

"I'm certainly fine with that. The demi-humans are known for their unique traits, like the beast people and their strength. Not only would it increase our reputation, but also our workforce." says Aidan.

"I agree with Tristan, not just the beast people, though. The giants are also known for their strength; I can't tell you how much help they were before Orklarth took the throne."

"I agree very much with that. As a merchant, I have done business with demi-humans, especially the dwarves, known for their craftsmanship. They dabble from furniture to weapons, and anything they make is guaranteed to be top tier." Christina, as always, looked at the business aspect of things.

"Perfect, we will need to ensure that any racial discrimination, as well as any type of discrimination, will be punishable. The next thing I want to propose is purchasing the land that belongs to Otis's faction."

"May I ask where the funds will come from? Otis may only accept coins so that he could pay for his army?" asks Roland.

"Don't worry; we will not take it from the people, well that's not true, as it will be the profits from selling our own products in other regions. I entrust Christina with most of the operation; if there is anything that you require, don't hesitate to ask. Are there any concerns?"

"About the manufacturing processes, is there any possible way to hire civilians for some of the jobs?" requests Aidan. His territory had lost two towns and had a problem with slightly overpopulation in a few of his cities. Even with the planned expansion of each city and town, jobs will still be required.

"That is certainly doable; I will have to check first. As you probably know, there could be some processes we cannot allow people to know. However, production will begin after we become a nation.

We will start rolling out our currency at that same time, as I don't particularly want to use Empire coins, but until then, we will continue to use them."

Our meeting lasted just over two hours, and I had spare time as most of the paperwork was now handled by the office units. They were just as capable as Ayumi, just without the gold obsession. Maybe she has faulty wiring or something, but it felt rude and intrusive to say that to her.

I took a look at the plan for our future capital city that would be close to our main military base. It was probably going to be one of the biggest cities in this world, with enough space to build housing for nearly a million people.

There would be a full running water system for the entire city, and the whole city was supported by an enormous solar energy plant. The main capital building in the centre was yet to be named, but it was just a decoy made to be for appearances.

Underground bunkers are built for emergencies, though I doubt they would be used much.

Moving on, the plans to instal a railway system was complete. We have been stocking up on materials as it will be a large project. We have several different models for the trains, like passenger trains, cargo trains, and military trains. All of them have some form of protection, such as an extra layer of amour or a mounted M61 machine gun.

But all our plans would only start after we announced ourselves as a fledgling nation and were backed up by another country like the Kingdom of Haiumi, which have a good reputation.

We still have to contact the Queen to receive permission to send our troops in.

I then suddenly spot a report that I had completely forgotten to read. The remnant of the Empire was on a hunt, specifically a treasure hunt. It was widely known that the Emperor had increased the tax, except they didn't know where all the tax money was stored.

When the Rebel army entered the capital palace, the place was completely looted. They found artefacts, gems, and treasures in the vault, except the tax money he ordered to be collected. Apparently, the amount of money was nothing to sneeze at.

No one knew where the money had gone, and our spies came up with nothing until now. One high-ranking finance adviser stole all the money and smuggled it around disguised in barrels.

"Supreme Commander, I would like you to sanction a black ops mission."

"I assume it's to do with all the stolen money?"

"That is correct; I would like to deploy our black ops unit to recover the stolen money. It will definitely tip the balance if it is found by any of the three lords."

"I don't feel fine taking it either. The people of the Empire are already suffering enough if they were to be taxed anymore; no one would be able to survive."

"What if we were to anonymously donate most of the money. We may not be able to return all of it to the people, but we could make their lives more bearable."

"Hmmm, that's certainly a good idea; fine, you have my approval. Plan the mission beforehand, and see if you can incorporate any of our experimental weapons." I gave the go-ahead for the black ops mission, and I was left alone as Ayumi eagerly skipped out of my office.

I felt my body shiver when I remembered that there would be a load of gold coins retrieved during the mission. Let's just hope that Ayumi doesn't have any make me look rich ideas.