The siege on the free guilds alliance moved according to plan, Slom surveyed his latest conquest with satisfaction, the first of many true cities to fall, controlling the guilds' spawn points was the pivot to his conquering arm and now things started falling into place.

Looking at the prisoner line he could spot a few legacy avatars that will either be converted to the cause or removed from the board in some remote island where they could do no harm.

"Well done Thalil", he congratulated the admiral, "perfect execution"

"Thank you emperor", the man knew his job, "it was all thanks to the men and women of the armada", this moment was recorded for future holos where others will play their part, "and their sacrifices for the greater good"

"Not too many sacrifices I hope", the emperor also knew his part, "we will need them when we proceed in the conquest"

"Not at all emperor", he replied.

Rumors were surfacing of a new arsenal for the guilds, with new classes and modern weapons, but Slom and his lieutenants had yet to see these wonders and rumors were rampant in every campaign.

Walking to his cabin he wondered what happened to the girl with the date, she took the joke pretty hard and vanished even though he gave her an extra treasure, but Annie was with her and a staff of ultimate magic, so it was impossible for her to get in too much trouble.

Sitting behind his desk and putting his legs up he remembered how things were when he was younger, the same, his fleets attacked the guilds and then they got together again and with the power of friendship pushed him out to sea, until they became corrupt and ripe to his picking like a wasp stung fig.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

They had so much strife this time, up to requesting system arbiters to stop some guilds from extorting rich kids, maybe he could push all the way up to the lizards' empire this time.

Now that was a force to be reckoned with, not as many Legacy avatars but what they lacked in quality they had in quantity and then some, with some of his captains meeting a new dragon threat, forces had to be diverted to watch the skies.

 The young Kobold assassin was well hidden within his sanctum, if the chair didn't trip him the attack could even reach the emperor, but nothing in his room was as it seemed, the youngling was flat on his nose before he knew what happened and tangled in an impossible knot of wooden legs within seconds, the flames consumed the wood too fast for Slom to react but luckily the bath was there, full for an evening dip but also ready for a quick dousing.

Steam rising from his flaked scales the boy looked so miserable, "which of my trusty lieutenants sent you boy?"

"Nobody had to send me to kill a filthy Human", ah tedius answers from religious fanatics.

"Who showed you the hidden door then?", the emperor walked to the cabin holding a certain sword.

"I came through the door", the wet youngster protested.

"I think you are a very interesting individual", holding the sword in front of him, "not a player", a tiny slash through the air, "and not the other kind", jabbing the air, "and yet you speak fluently", in a heartbeat the sword was pressed to the creatures neck.

Gulping, "how do you know that?" Feeling his scales getting warmer.

"One of many secrets I will not share with you", lifting the sword from the being's skin, "though there is another secret you will know about me very soon", the emperor's hand was glowing before everything turned dark.

The youngster's eyes adjusted to the darkness and he found himself surrounded by feral Kobolds, untreated ancient ferals, "welcome to your own worst nightmare", he heard the emperor laugh and saw the ferals press their faces against an invisible barrier, "at any moment of my choice they can touch you", another sinister laugh, "in the real world we would call them zombies", saliva ran down the barrier to a filthy floor, "but here to your kind", silence except the hungry snarls from the feral, "they represent something much worse".

After having his fun with the uninvited guest the emperor sipped his drink in the bath and had happy thoughts of glory and conquest over the burning Kobold empire.