V5: Epilogue
…
So, a fourth Citadel.
You must be wondering what that gives in terms of tech unlocks and how broken it is.
With a fourth Citadel, the presumption is that every AI faction will be against you and that they’ll be allying with one another. In a few months, they’ll be united and have four Citadels, while their armies are hitting every front that you have. And, mathematically speaking, the crises will begin soon after you get your fourth Citadel. It’s just flat-out impossible to get five Citadels before the big bads show up, because of movement constraints, the amount of resources you can gain the first decade, and tech limits.
So, whoever has a fourth Citadel will have to deal with an opponent rising rapidly to parity, while monsters spill out of every corner of the planet with intent to kill, murder, maim, and become better at all three by taking your shit.
Whatever the fourth Citadel unlocks needs to be worth all that heat.
A weapon so strong that it acted as a shield by being a deterrent.
Unfortunately, no, I can’t just churn out nukes and glass my opponents.
I need eight for that, and irradiating the whole planet wasn’t my style.
Alright, fine, I’ll stop being coy.
If you’ve got four Citadels under your command, you can start building Citadel Guardians and deploying them as armies in your territory.
Yeah, it sounds simple, but it’s also powerful.
It’s honestly all you need.
They’re T3 Units, and you can produce a unit of them, a thousand in number, in every Citadel you’ve got and they finish within four turns. While they can’t operate in enemy territory, they’re devastating on the defense, because they’re literally murder-robots made up of knives, have maxed out armor values, and are fast as hell, too. Once you get four Citadels, the next move is to churn them out and have anything stepping into your territory torn get apart.
It’s a slow-down sign for the developers.
You’ve got your bag, now hold on and chill, until you can fight.
Once you get these Citadel Guardians churning out, presumably from playing your heart out, you hold your ground, improve your tiles, and hold the line. Remake the armies you’ve lost, consolidate who you’ve got left, take stock, and get ready for the storms to come barreling your way. Explore other avenues of attack and stop neglecting everything else. No matter the stage in the game you’re in, it’s time to buckle up, put in the mouth guard, get ready to beat up, and choose the victory condition you’re going for… behind a teaming mass of unflinching, ever-loyal murder robots.
Fear nothing, because you’ve got pearly-white terminators who didn’t need plasma rifles in the 40 watt range.
If you don’t make them, you get jumped by everyone else and lose all your hard work… and you’d deserve it for being an idiot.
Anyway, with the Citadel’s foundries churning them out for the next year, that still left four seasons where my existing armies need to be spread out to cover everything that we claimed.
So, no marches for me for the near future.
Just, y’know, planning a religious schism, an assassination of a religious leader currently my ally, and putting in someone else as a puppet for the papacy.
Typical 4X game shenanigans, really.
…
“Was the outside world as horrible as I predicted?”
“Worse.” Khanrow took a seat, while I typed off a few more messages to coordinate my brief disappearance from the rest of the Citadel. He was looking clean and fresh, probably enjoying the luxuries offered by the Citadel. His old haunt was taken over by Iterants now, who were running the surveillance systems. Just hundreds of them in shifts watching every little problem in the underground of the Citadel. Meanwhile, Khanrow was enjoying a guest suite, before I shipped him off to Riegert’s old position at the Scholar’s former Citadel. There, he’ll be heading our new espionage efforts, while I did the heavy lifting. “There are whole cities out there filled with the same creatures that laid the Conquerors low with a single sword. They have roads with constant traffic, regions where they keep primitive, docile versions of our people, and they are armed, organized, and strong.”
“Any sign of Ancient weaponry or derivatives?”
“No, but that’s not much of a blessing. They have different forms of magic, but magic all the same, and in great numbers.” Khanrow reached into his desk and pulled out his notes. I took it and started reading. From the very first page, only critical information was present. Size and scope of the city, how its infrastructure was, how many people he estimated there were, and how their soldiers were armed. Everything checked out. The Demons were modelled after Aztecs in their blood rituals, architecture style, and general propensity towards being extremely viscous, but also pretty good at being a stable, strong nation. If they were allowed to ramp up and take a Citadel, they were going to be a steamroller. Vanilla and basic as far as endgame crises factions went, but they’re the measuring stick against all other foes were measures… along with tactics. “This is the part where you tell me that you have the perfect plan to kill them all, Jack.”
“We need the slowed down, but we also need to go out there and find more facilities left behind by the Ancients. Leaving anything behind will just put it in the hands of the enemy once things get hot.” Khanrow nodded with my assessment, while I looked through his notes. There wasn’t much in the lore about the Demon’s infrastructure and society, so even the little tidbits gathered by Khanrow were interesting. That little thought made something occur to me. Hitting the enemy wasn’t a possibility since they just technically spawned in, but here that wasn’t the case. Our enemies were constrained by logistics, which meant we had something we could hit. “I think that the best course of action lies in what I believe does not exist outside our lands.”
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Khanrow’s brow furrowed, so I explained.
“How many flying creatures did you find while you were out there?”
Khanrow’s eye brightened as he realized what I was asking.
“None. They didn’t have any at all.” That’s right. Flying mounted creatures were a product of the Ancients. It was their method of making sure that their descendants had the aerial advantage, while all infrastructure was destroyed. Bioengineered species that operated off of technology as much as magic. The flying Horses, Wyverns, and Gryphons were all made on this continent, had genetic memory to never go beyond, and to breed in large numbers to supply the Ancient’s descendants. “A bombing campaign, then?”
“No, even with bases on the mountains, it’ll be too far.” It sounded crazy in my head, but I came up with something that could just be possible with magic. “Not without a massive project that may very well fail.”
“Any risk is worth it, if we can cut off even one city close to our mountains. We’ll extend their supply lines by incredible amounts, and they’ll build defenses before sending out armies.” Khanrow insisted and provided some insights that didn’t occur to me. He was right. I’d thought about smashing a city or two to stop the enemy from having a forward base that was so close, but our attacks could also threaten the rest of their nation… making them dedicate resources and counters to our bombing efforts, which could otherwise be used to make armies. “This isn’t the time to be cautious, at least against the foes beyond the mountains.”
“I’ll get to work on it and talk to our mages, scholars, and just about everyone vaguely useful.” We can make massive amounts of the lightweight, but very sturdy materials made by the Citadels now. Our economy was in good enough shape, especially since the fight against the corrupted Conquerors wasn’t that bad, and we were developing their lands a lot quicker since we didn’t have to deal with subversive elements like with the Scholars’ region. With the latter cleaned up and the Conquerors working with us to develop their own, we should have enough resources to build, research, and maintain it. Right. Time to skip a stages in the HQ tech tree. “I’m thinking of a mobile platform, similar to what the Scholars had, but smaller… that only needs to carry our bombing force and a few thousand soldiers.”
“…one of the legendary flying ships of the Ancients? Is it possible to make one?”
No, we can’t make spaceships, dude.
Yet.
“No. Not those. Something more akin to the ships we use on the oceans, but fit for the skies. Think of a flying, levitating block, but simply scaled up to the extreme.” I lifted a book and cast magic on it, until it floated horizontally just an inch off my hand. “Hollow within, for storage and troops, but on the top a long, controlled area for our knights to land upon.”
“Like your airlift from the Conqueror’s Citadel, but without the large cargo.”
“Exactly.” I lied, but went with his idea. No, I was thinking along the lines of a flying, light carrier. The unit didn’t exist in the game, but flying HQs did. There were tons of mods that made the units possible, but they were considered unbalanced, because a mobile, flying HQ that can run away, which is defended by flying knights and mages and archers is kinda overpowered. However, in my case, it sounded like just what I needed to reign some hell down on some Demonic cities. “It can even extend the reach of our expeditions and make them less dangerous.”
“I see… very good. That might work. However, can we afford it with the build up of Guardians to man our borders?”
I had the answer to that ready.
“No. We’ll have to start it after the end of the next year, but in that time we’ll do the research and test the feasibility.” This was a huge project, practically a Wonder. However, my transport system used about the same amount of resources as a Wonder, and it existed and provided benefits nonetheless. Why shouldn’t I try again and see how far I can go with some more lateral thinking/stealing mod ideas to my benefit? “I’ll keep you updated on it, and it’ll be my highest priority. I understand the need for it perfectly.”
“Good. Good.” Khanrow nodded twice and scratched his chin. He leaned back into his chair, while I dropped the book and put it back. He interlaced his fingers and laid them upon himself, just a bit below his sternum. If he had a big belly, he’d rest it on that, but a year of living it rough made that sort of stomach impossible. “Onto more important matters, then. How are you getting along with my granddaughter?”
Hoo-boy.
Yeah.
I can see where this is going, and I felt like a train was coming my way while I was chained down the tracks, but I couldn’t stop it.
Shadow-ruler of four Citadels, freshly returned from another continent, and faced with the fact the world outside was filled with monsters, Khanrow had legacy in mind.
“She’s capable beyond belief, one of my personal guards, and the finest Champion I could ask for. Without a doubt, any reason for her to be relieved of her duties would be a detriment to the land.” Still, I tried my best to rage against the inevitable. I cried in the depths of my heart for my dreams that would never come true. Alas, I shall never enjoy the company of tall, muscular women who could literally just pick me up to either hold me like a teddy bear or crush me with their bare arms. Yes, she’ll either treat me like a cherished plush toy or just absolutely break my spine and kill me. I accept no compromises. I will take both, though. “Where have you been hiding her and how did you train her? With a hundred more, we’ll conquer the planet. Not just survive.”
I was waiting for the sucker-punch that would be engagement to the big bad of the setting… and it didn’t come?
“Much of it is by her own volition. Ever since she could read and write letters, she’s been training hard. She wants to survive. No, she wants to thrive in this world of ours, and ever since then she has been driven, calculating, and composed.” Khanrow eyed me up for a moment, before giving me a small bow. Not as a ruler, but as a grandfather. “It’s only after she came here and met you that she’s begun to act her age, Jack. When I met her just a few days ago, I saw her smile for the first time, and laugh like a young woman… not someone marching in defiance to her death. Thank you.”
Huh.
I guess that I was technically doing a great job and Morgan was able to be less worried about all the threats coming in every direction.
Or, maybe, this was a long-con/psy-op on her part to make me drop my guard and make me think that she won’t turn into a full-blown ultimate boss of a JRPG when given the chance.
Mhmm, yeah.
I’m not going to fall for it. Still going to keep an eye on her and making sure she only gets jobs that she can’t create power bases from.
I’m still going to take advantage of the goodwill, though.
“If there’s anything truly good that we have both done, it is by giving people an idea to trust. The King of Wisdom is someone made up by you, Riegert, and me… and he’s a symbol that people can believe in.” I really wanted a massive robot that can traverse any terrain and shoot nukes at cities. I’d even settle for a massive oil platform. Anyway, I might not be the greatest soldier, but I was sure as hell able to cheat and steal. “We need to keep it up, no matter what, because in the coming days it’s not our bodies or weapons that will fail us. It’ll be our minds and spirits. More than anything, the King of Wisdom’s duty is to safeguard the nation’s spirit and keep people from falling into despair and madness.”
I guess, technically speaking, you can call deciding the world should be put down can be considered madness.
Personally, I’d rather call it psychotic, but that didn’t sound as venerable.
“I can’t speak for you, nor Riegert, but I will do my part to the best of my ability. We each have our own part to play and each one is of immense importance.” That’s right, buddy. I’m part of a trio. It’s not just you and Riegert. I’m just as important as the two of you, and my decisions carry the same weight. “Let’s keep working together, Jack, until the day comes when you can get that retirement into luxury that you’ve always wanted.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Khanrow.”
Right.
Picked up at eight, and now I’m eighteen and nearly nineteen, but I’ve secured my back from any knives and ensured that surviving will get me a peaceful retirement.
Just need to put down a lot of good friends, kill many enemies, and survive multiple apocalypses first.
Then, it’s living near a beach surrounded by hot women who can snap me like a twig.
Honestly.
Might be worth all the trouble.