Lamprey Port was a beautiful town. If left to grow, it would unofficially reach city status in just a few more decades. Whether the Duke granted it a chart was up in the air. Given his known fear of allowing rivals to grow, Leonard doubted the current one would. His son wasn’t shaping up to be much better either, but he knew firsthand that people could change in surprising ways.
Leonard envisioned a future where his conquest of Lamprey Port would allow it to grow exponentially. As the second major port on the southern coast, it had the potential to rival Treon one day. The prospect of having such an industrial powerhouse on his side fueled his ambition, knowing it would significantly bolster the Revolution's strength. They wouldn’t depend on foreign powers if he had his say.
The first significant shipments from Brander and the Handriatic Union had finally arrived, bringing much-needed steel and enchantment materials that couldn’t be found in the Darkwood.
Given the Revolution's monetary situation, the foreign countries had been surprisingly generous, but it didn’t take much to understand they were selling him the rope they thought he’d tie around his neck.
They could have extracted a bit more cash from him by raising the prices above their market standard, knowing he couldn’t refuse, but that would have put his government, which was currently busy rebuilding Alpar and Thelma, firmly in the red. They wouldn’t have been able to afford a second shipment then, and the lack of resources would have weighed heavily on their campaign.
From an outside perspective, that would have been a deadly blow to his chances. And Leonard was sure the scheming bastards wanted him to be strong enough to give the Royal Army a bloody nose so that the kingdom would be too busy rebuilding to turn its eyes to the southern shipping lanes.
Obviously, he didn’t intend on stopping there. Conquering Lamprey Port would show everyone just how serious a threat he was. It would put him in a dangerous position, as having the potential to be threatening but not the strength to back it up would attract the sharks that thought him too frail now.
Which is why I’ll need to deliver a decisive victory here. I wanted the army to do most of the work, and I was even prepared to allow them to besiege the town for a while, but the situation has changed. We have used up too much time to train the recruits and need to move quickly to keep up with the timetable I set.
Leonard needed to get to Treon before Count Pollus could bring his army to bear. He needed to have his fledgling nation grow and produce more goods. Enough to sustain the campaign while only occasionally bolstered as he looted the noble holdings.
Even if Leonard didn’t hate the kingdom’s aristocracy with a burning passion, he’d still be forced to take their wealth, as otherwise, he’d never be able to keep his operations afloat. Not with the wages and social programs he had set.
It was a delicate moment. He needed to conquer more lands to sustain the army, which would keep expanding as he got more people under his rule and freed more slaves, which would require more money to maintain. It was the kind of situation where terrible mistakes were made.
I’d like to think I’m different, but everyone else in the same position also thought the same. Still, I doubt many had as much personal power as I do. This is why I’m going to leverage it now when small victories can make a big difference. It’ll be another thing altogether when we are facing tens of thousands of well-equipped soldiers.
“Still brooding?” A suave voice asked from behind him, and Leonard felt a smile tug at his lips. Turning around, he saw that Amelia had returned from consulting her spirits.
“I’m annoyed that I won’t be able to let the Army get some experience without me tainting it, but there is nothing to do about it. We need to take Lamprey Port quickly.” He said, returning to look at the bustling town in the distance.
Even from where they were camped, the sound of dozens of bells ringing was audible. It wasn’t a surprise that they had been spotted, as once again, their slow speed meant they had been expected.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to add some more worries, then,” Amelia murmured, going to stand next to him. “Count Pollus has finally had enough and threw several of my unwitting pawns in the dungeons, which was enough for the rest to fall in line. He’s free to start preparing his army in earnest now.”
Leonard hummed, acknowledging her words, “I see. Well, we knew it wouldn’t work forever. He’s a bit faster than I hoped for, but we should still be able to make it to Treon if nothing else happens along the way.”
“We should. General Locke is taking his time, and my agent reports that Count Luster-Treon is entirely uninterested in helping with the efforts, preferring to throw decadent parties.” She replied.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Amelia habitually never brought bad news without pairing it with something to brighten his mood. He appreciated her efforts to keep the morale high and regularly told her, “It’ll be good for the Ministers to know that we won’t only have capable commanders to face. I know Gerard has been looking forward to the fight, but I’ll take an incompetent noble leading the armies any day over a talented general.”
She snorted, somehow making the sound still ring elegantly, “I doubt we’ll have a shortage of foppish nobles anytime soon. Even in Lamprey Port, with all its mages and military detachments, they call the shots. We are also still being underestimated, which is good. They haven’t called for help and focused on preparing the defenses to receive us because the local nobles want the accolade of defeating you to their name.”
That didn’t surprise Leonard. He had expected to find fierce resistance, but learning that the leaders of Lamprey Port hadn’t even tried to get outside help had been surprising. Welcome, of course, but still surprising. He’d have thought his name would be enough to instill enough fear in the nobles that they’d run away with their tails tucked and had even been afraid he’d find empty vaults upon taking the town, but this was better.
“I have to say, I thought it’d get boring listening to their desperate attempts to keep their heads after a while, but somehow I still find myself amused.” He replied.
“Now, now, what would the clergy say if they heard you being this bloodthirsty? If you listened to the sermons they give the men, one would think you are the divine incarnation of the Light.” Amelia laughed, pushing her shoulder against his.
Leonard laughed along, though the sound was slightly strained. They weren’t as far off as she thought.
Fortunately, they were interrupted by Oliver, who came running up to them, waving to get their attention, “Sir Leonard! Sir Gerard has completed the preparations! We are ready to march!”
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Lamprey Port’s walls were much stouter than Thelma’s. Thirty feet tall, they ran around the town until they met the sea and were wide enough at the top that a carriage could run along their length.
They had also been built with expansion in mind, and to this day, a century after the first spell was cast, they had enough space inside that the town could freely keep growing.
Despite their large size, they were much better defended than Thelma’s. Hundreds of riflemen could be spotted along their length, mainly concentrated around the main gates, where Leonard was leading his army.
Dozens of cannons also sat there, seemingly undefended, but he knew better. The slightest shimmer in the air betrayed the wards’ presence a hundred feet ahead of the walls, though even an attentive mage could have been forgiven for not noticing them, so well they were hidden.
These wards differed significantly from the temporary ones that could be raised around a small town to defend against raids. Lamprey Port had permanent protections that hundreds of mages could empower at any time.
They were the Silver Wind’s gift to the town for allowing her to build the Tower; to this day, they stood firm. She had been a Master, and it showed.
Beyond the shimmering wards that would disintegrate any unwary attacker, he could see the killing fields laid out with precision - fields riddled with magical traps and strategically dug ditches designed to slow any advance.
He knew he couldn't simply order a charge against such defenses. The wards were formidable enough that his new Mage Corp, despite being much better than expected, would spend hours ineffectually battering them.
Behind them, the open ground was a deadly maze of ensnarements that would decimate even the most disciplined army if they attempted a direct assault under the constant barrage from the cannons and riflemen above. All in all, the defenders had used the time very efficiently and prepared a series of advantages that would have discouraged almost anyone.
Leonard drew a deep breath and turned to his army, arrayed in neat ranks behind him. These men and women had followed him from Alpar, through Thelma, and now to the gates of Lamprey Port without a single complaint about his decisions. They trusted him and believed in the cause he championed, in the promise of freedom and peace. They, too, could see the defenses, and yet only the slightest doubt lingered.
Spurring his stallion, Leonard moved to the front line. He could feel the weight of their gazes upon him, their faith, and their fears mingling in the early morning air. He raised a hand, signaling for silence, and as he spoke, he infused his words with magic, beginning to cast [Halo of the Righteous].
“Warriors of Freedom,” he began, his voice carrying across the ranks, bolstered by magic to resonate with supernatural authority, “Today, we face one of our greatest challenges yet. Behind these walls lie thousands of our brothers and sisters, trapped by ancient magic and held captive by those who refuse to see the truth of our cause.”
He paused, letting his gaze sweep across the faces of his soldiers, their attention rapt, hanging on his every word. “We will not shy away from any challenge if it means liberating a single man, much less thousands. This is your moment, the time to show that the strength you have gained from your training has meaning. That it is with purpose. I can feel the Light burning bright within each of you, a beacon against the darkness that seeks to oppress us.”
As he spoke, [Halo of the Righteous] shimmered around him, a radiant aura that began to extend, enveloping the entire army. The soldiers began to glow with holy light, limbs strengthening and minds firming with supernatural vigor and determination.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/y69KNdmz/persimmon0-handsome-muscular-medium-short-length-hair-blonde-he-044d9dca-967e-4b98-8230-f6b7b20845e8.png]
“Our path is just,” Leonard continued, his voice rising with passion, “for we fight not for conquest but liberation. We are brought together, united by a common goal - to bring peace and freedom to all, no matter who stands against us. We will not allow slavery to continue any longer! For freedom!”
The army roared as he lifted his sword. Where any soldier would feel trepidation, seeing the mighty defenses before them, the revolutionaries were fearless. [Halo of the Righteous] was a spell Leonard had been hesitant to use precisely because it could turn just about anyone who could hold a spear in an unrelenting fighter, but the situation required a heavy hand.
Before he could call for the charge, however, he needed to deal with the wards. With his enhanced eyesight, he saw buzzing activity along the walls as the men realized something was happening. They’d begin shooting as soon as they got in range, and while his spell and the Mage Corp should be enough to avoid casualties, Leonard didn’t want to give them a free shot.
There was also the matter of the killing fields. But Leonard had known about this all in advance and decided to reuse a tactic that had proven very effective against any defensive position held by the Void.
The fact was that regular spells didn’t work, and Pure Casting required a long time, even for talented mages. So he, alongside his friend Bernard, had devised a way of turning the chessboard upside down. Something available as a possibility only because of his immense magical reserves.
Turning his senses down, Leonard allowed his mana to seep into the ground and, when he had saturated everything for hundreds of feet, enough that his actions couldn’t be ignored even by a mana-blind idiot and the activity on the walls became frantic, he heaved.