Cardin

The door opened, and a handsome man in his thirties entered wearing a khaki uniform.

"General Cardin," greeted the man.

"Commissioner Julian," I replied and asked him to sit.

"I hope you have been well, general," said the man. "I am well commissioner," I replied with a professional smile.

I don't like the man. It has nothing to do with his personality. He has an excellent personality, but his jurisdiction irks me.

His police have complete control over the law enforcement in the city.

Usually, the city guards are under the army, or the army has powers over them. Here, they are completely independent, answerable only to the lord.

The only things in the city we control are our barracks and the gates.

Even the security of the city hall is under the police. In this city, the army is there only for support in case something happens.

"What can I do for you, commissioner?" I asked.

When he asked for the meeting. He said it was important. He didn't mention, what he wanted.

Though, I could guess it, as there could only be a few things. He would need from me.

"I need three level 30s. Two mages and one warrior," He replied. It surprised me, he was not asking for my help, but asking directly for three Level 30s.

Usually, he requests one or two Level 30 powerhouses, but now he wants three with two mages specifically.

The city police have Level 30s of their own. He is one himself and there were two more; one of them is a mage.

That man was someone I had poached. Instead of joining the army, he joined the police.

"It seemed serious," I said. "Yes. It is Ermes 'blue eyes' Bilbo; a captain of the white crows' gang, has come to the city and we want to capture him." He replied.

"He is quite slippery. Evaded arrests tens of times," he added a moment later.

The name of the gang felt familiar, but I can't seem to remember more details about it.

'White crows, one of the biggest gangs of Belnin. Their leader is White Gyrge and they deal in narcotics, kidnapping, and extortion, the usual gang stuff,' informed Kans, my secretary, telepathically.

"He is a big fish," I said.

"He is, and the gang sent him here to establish a branch. We want to crush their attempt before it even begins," he replied, and I couldn't help but nod at that.

The gangs are nasty business. I had seen them controlling the cities and lords.

Greltheaven has gangs, but he and his people manage them well. I hope they will be cautious because those vermin grow fast.

"You will have them," I said after a moment of silence. "The police appreciate the cooperation, General," he said, shaking my hand before leaving.

"He is doing a good job, but I would have done better if the police had been under the army's control," said Kans.

I didn't say anything to that. Instead, looked at the clock. Someone important is coming today.

Someone I know personally.

"What is the progress on splinters of Bastiv?" I asked. "Still trying, but there is progress. We might be able to get two to three officers," he replied.

Bastiv is the city in Rohm that Tabes had captured a few months ago.

It had a strong army, most of which retreated after the defeat. The majority of the army was incorporated into the imperial army and the armies of many nobles, but a significant number remained independent.

They are working in mercenary companies and other ways.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

These are the individuals we target, as there are fewer consequences than trying to recruit from the imperial army or any nobles' army.

"Keep at it and spread the news to Marquess Ranvam's army. Tell our recruiters to focus on them."

"The moment Eldruin captured it. We want to snap up a few officers and a few companies of soldiers," I ordered.

"I will inform them," Kans replied.

More than half of the territory and even his city have been captured by the Edruin and I don't think, he will be able to defend the rest, even with reinforcement from the imperial army.

The moment, he loses his territory. The army will start breaking and it will be the best time to snap up people.

In these past few months, we have created a network of individuals, that help us recruit and poach people.

We are paying good money. A few had done well enough, that we gave them essence potions and spread that news. These rewards motivated the recruiters a lot.

Despite our efforts, it is still hard.

Most don't want to leave the mainland to come here. Where there is an even bigger enemy waiting for them. If they are defeated here, their fate will be worse than death.

If we had faced a living enemy instead of the undead, it would have been much easier to recruit people.

Difficult as it may be, we have to keep recruiting. The undead are increasing their numbers fast. It won't be long before they launch an attack before that happens we need to be ready for them.

A few hours passed as I attended several meetings and finished other work.

There is always a lot of work.

It makes it even more difficult with General Stone staying at Panar.

While I have the freedom to make most of the decisions. I need to consult with General Stone and get his permission before signing off on some.

'It's time,' I said as the clock rang four, and left my office.

The ship will be docking at the port in ten minutes. I want to be there to meet him.

I am a Lt. General. I do not go to the port to welcome the people we poach, but he is important.

I stepped into the carriage, that was waiting for me.

Soon, it got out of the headquarters and moved toward the port.

I opened the file and made some notes. It is an important plan, expensive, but we need to. It is the most important one, considering the geography of the region.

The man who is coming will play a big part in it.

Soon, the carriage passed through the gate, and I closed the file before looking out of the window at the bustling port, filled with people and ships.

I examined the port until the carriage stopped, and my gaze fell on the ship with people coming out of it.

Soon, I saw him. It's been a few years since the last time we met and he looks a little older, but the man is the same.

Seeing him, a smile couldn't help, but appear on my face.

He and others are led by the liaisons from the army. People beside him went to the other carriages, waiting for them, while the man and his family came toward mine.

Click!

Seeing that, I got out.

The man noticed me immediately, and a big smile appeared on his face.

Soon, he was in front of me.

A tall man in his late thirties with thick blond hair a bushy beard and a mustache covered his face. He is handsome and working in the army has made him rugged.

"Lt. General, I didn't think a looser like you would ever reach such a position, even if you fucked the emperor's daughter," said the man.

"Language!" admonished the woman beside him.

"Let him talk, Vena. It is the only way he could hide his jealousy," I replied, and the man smiled before hugging me.

The man is Cartas Luskin. My childhood friend. We joined the army together, but our paths were different. I chose the infantry, while he chose the cavalry.

He reached the rank of Colonel.

"It's nice to see you again, old friend." He said as he let go. I smiled and turned to his wife.

She too is an old friend.

"You look radiant as always, Vena," I said as I hugged her. "You are still a sweet talker, as always. It's a mystery to me, why haven't you gotten married yet," she said as she let go.

I didn't say anything to that and turned to their children.

The two are fourteen-year-old twins. They got blond hair from their father, and amethyst eyes from their mother.

"Children, greet your, uncle," said Cartas to his children.

"Uncle Leonas," they said in unison. It's clear, they didn't recognize me, which isn't surprising seeing how long it had been since I saw them.

"Yord and Nell, the last time I saw you two. You were barely five years old," I said.

The children nodded awkwardly.

"Come, let's go. I am sure, all of you are tired from the travel and want to rest," I said and opened the door.

They have been travelling constantly for over a week. I tried to make their journey as comfortable as possible, but no matter how comfortable, it was a tiring journey.

Especially for the children.

We sat in the carriage, and it began to move toward the city.

"I heard so much about the city. Especially the legacy," said Vena, looking out of the window.

"Is it true that it has a large skeleton of wyrm? And that it's covered in exotic plants that feed on the essence? That anyone could enter inside it?" she asked showing her excitement.

Even her tired-looking children looked excited, hearing their mother talking about it.

"You will know when I take you all for dinner there in the evening," I replied and her eyes lit up, but soon they became somber.

"You don't have to, Leonas. I heard it is very expensive," she said, shaking her head.

"It is expensive, but being a general, comes with privileges," I replied, grinning at her husband.

"You are only a lieutenant general, Nas," said Cartas dryly. To that, I grinned even more widely.

A few minutes passed, and we talked. My eyes fell on his leg, but I didn't say anything. However, I will send him to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up.

"How are things in the empire?" I asked. He was on the front lines until a few weeks ago.

"Still bad, but better than before," he replied sombrely.

Things were pretty bad right after the emperor's death.

The enemies were ready, and they attacked the moment he died.

The emperor had prepared for it, and our forces had been more than ready to deal with any aggression from our enemies, but the civil war happened.

It is still happening, but the princes and other nobles have started to get things under control.

The enemies are still advancing, on more fronts than before, but their progress isn't as swift as it was in the months after the death of the emperor.